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LOOKING IN THE MIRROR
It's almost the New Year; time for the year-in-review, and the hopes for the future. Time for regrets and resolutions. Time for the lessons to sink in, and to be applied to winning strategies. Here is my own perspective: An essay in four parts. It's a summation of the past year, as well as a call to look ahead.
LOOKING BACKWARDS:
Let us review:
The Blogosphere has been an ever-changing landscape. Most blogs do not last long; all require daily care and nurture, extensive research, and constant moderation. Building the community is never easy. We were fortunate, at the Democracy Cell Project, to have a community demanding a blog for its own purposes; and we merely gave what had been developed during the K-E Campaign some new direction and resources.
As 2005 began, we made plans for the DCP; plans that would delineate us from all of the other online communities, would create a niche for an organization of online activists who would take what we had learned from each other and apply that to local and on-the-ground activities.
What we had come to understand from the Kerry-Edwards blog community:
1. People knew that the media reported untrue things.
2. People had deep and somewhat justified suspicions that the 2004 election was fraught with illegalities and dirty tricks.
3. People understood the concepts of messaging, voicing, and story telling, but needed a means by which to develop those.
4. People were frustrated, angry, and deeply sad. These feelings were genuine and needed an outlet.
5. Our voices were needed. We were to BE THE MEDIA.
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As the year went on, we networked with other bloggers and organizations, online and off, to build an even larger learning and teaching community.
We remembered that back during the *Campaign*, as it grew in size and scope, there was a natural tendency to become ever more hierarchical and disciplined in task and message. More layers of administration and delineated teams for particular tasks were named. As teams floated away from their original sources and deeply engaged with the specifics of their tasks, the requirements for internal communications grew exponentially.
The requirements for getting clear messages TO the electorate also grew (and depended mightily on a free and non-biased media).
The requirements for receiving messages and for developing strategies and messages across the electorate also grew exponentially.
As the pressure grew, so did the "pushback". In other words, instead of saying "Yes, and..." to ideas and strategies, people had to say "NO." Of course, there are simply so many hours in the day. People crave boundaries on the workday. We can only do so much.
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So it was with an understanding of people’s limitations, as well as their passion, that we built the kind of website we have today. We have a loose hierarchy, we have the Five Minutes A Day, we have the forum as a repository of ideas and resources, the blog as ongoing perspectives in the moment, and the irc Chat for more personal conversations.
As the year has unfolded, we have found ourselves to be a strong but small community of good researchers and writers, clever analysts, and a committed group of activists who care about each other, who elevate each other, who rise to the occasion.
The roles we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year have shifted often, as needed. People have come and gone, or taken leave to deal with family or personal crises, so the hierarchy and boundaries we created early on have been fluid. We have welcomed people back as they have returned to being a part of this community again. We still miss some who are no longer with us.
We have also connected with a great many other communities, online and off. Groups we have either assisted or participated with (within the confines of our nonprofit status--we are teachers and learners in all endeavors) include: Code Pink, MoveOn, United for Peace and Justice, the World Can't Wait, the Princeton students, Campaign for America's Future, Personal Democracy Forum, Center for American Progress, and the Progressive Dems of America (PDA). We have learned much from everyone and we have been able to share some insights as we evolved over the year. Much of what we now know comes from you, our community members.
CURRENTLY:
Over the past few weeks, I have been a part of many, many meetings. Most of these have been planning meetings for various events or actions. As you may recall, I also reported on Howard Zinn's appearance and question-and-answer session with teachers at Busboys and Poets, here in D.C.
A recurring theme appears. We all know what it is: Should we be addressing a single issue at a time, for example; the war in Iraq, or all of the issues that face us as a democracy?
After sitting through the 18th or 19th discussion of this issue; one that brings meeting agendas to a grinding halt; I have come to an answer:
YES. AND...
The concept of "yes, and..." comes from the art of improvisation. In developing performance pieces in the moment, artists learn not to say "No" to any impulse or information offered. One must accept the suggestion, and develop it further, before passing it along to another performer. The reason for this rule is that creativity dies with the word "No." There is no future for an idea that has been rejected. By saying "Yes, and.." to all ideas, the good ones will evolve into better ideas, and the less-compelling ideas will be turned into fodder or fertilizer for better ideas.
Whenever I explain this concept to our political colleagues, there is silence. The silence holds the inevitable corollary question.
Who will do the work?
Why is this the corollary question? Well, let's go to the videotape:
If we observe the behavior patterns of the religious and corporate right wing, we can note a particular framework of extremely rigid boundaries and hierarchical organization. (Do not confuse this structure with actual morality, as we have seen with recent exposures). But on the right, roles are defined, and orders are followed. In fact, it might be argued that it is precisely the narrowing of focus that allows individuals to engage in criminal activities without a sense of guilt. We have seen this phenomenon before and I don't have to tell you where or when.
On the left wing side, a great deal of time and energy is spent on deciding whether or not boundaries ought to be drawn, and, if so, where exactly? And by whom? And does my group get to weigh in? What is my group's role? Do we have to raise money? Who will get the band? Can we mention Palestine? Or climate change? WHAT ABOUT THE KATRINA VICTIMS???
You get the picture; you too have been to this meeting. But if by chance, you need further clarification, click through the following links:
The Progressive Majority's list
The Century Foundation on the Progressive Agenda
Ted Kennedy on the Progressive Agenda
Willson Hellie on the Progressive Agenda
Center for American Progress frontpage
I thought about all of this as I sat through a meeting where yet another list of coagulated issues was shared. And discussed. And argued. And not much was accomplished, except an excruciating discussion about the need to define which organizations were inside, which were outside, who was on first, and what was on second...
When boundaries are undefined and loose, everyone is anxious. It is far easier to trust a rigid process than a loose one. If I am only doing my job, as I was told to do it, then I am covered, right? But if I have to figure out what my job is, fight for the opportunity to do it, raise the money for it, carry it out despite all the other people f***ing it up, AND clean up afterwards, well...
It is far easier to stick to the day job and post a few blog items and get on with our lives. Or, as in the corporate and structured world, focus on the job at hand and let someone else deal with the big picture.
So, just how irritated are we that we are stuck in this dilemma?
I, for one, am mighty irritated. I am not sure I can sit through yet another meeting about how we are going to define the process of deciding who gets to set the agenda and why, and when and where we should act. Not only does this dilemma divert energy that could have gone into actual work, it just plain tires people out. The burnout rate is high.
But I am equally concerned that we all need to be working together, each doing our part, if change is to happen.
When a new idea, or even an old idea comes up, we tend to say "Maybe..." and then talk the "maybe" to death. Or we say "No" outright. We are insecure about loose boundaries AND about rigid boundaries. And so we avoid the big picture and narrow in, or we blow up the room in our distress about feeling overwhelmed.
We have all had, or witnessed this experience, right?
THE FUTURE:
Here is what I have been thinking about my own boundaries:
I have often been "accused" of having no boundaries. It is true that I am busy, and I neglect the laundry occasionally. It is also the case that I feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of stuff that comes my way, leading to a desire for clearer boundaries between the personal and the political; and that sense of being overwhelmed is compounded by the outrage I feel on a daily basis at our current government. But lately I have been thinking that both the rigid boundaries and the outrage are luxuries I can no longer afford.
I think I need to remember the wisdom of my training as an artist. I think we all need to take every moment as information, add our own perspective to it, and pass it along to the next person. We need permeable boundaries.
In improvisation, one is called to the role; no one knows who, what, when, or where until it begins. There is a great deal of trust required. Trust is not the same thing as faith, however. In the rigid world of the right wing, faith in the hierarchy and role that one has been given is an absolute requirement. One hears one's cue and gives the proper response. But in improv. world, safety is not defined by the individual, nor is faith going to get you very far. One has to trust the actions of the moment, and know that the next moment may bring surprises, but by listening well, and thinking constructively rather than judgmentally, the performers will work together to create the story.
In other words, the right wing provides resources for obedience and staying within the boundaries, and faithfulness and loyalty are rewarded. The left wing's resources are our very wits, ears, minds, hearts, and feet. We create, and then move through, boundaries.
We need to spend less time worrying about who is on the invitation list and how the process of developing the invitation list will happen, and more time taking what information comes our way, thinking it through within our own knowledge and experiences, adding to it as needed, and then passing it along to the next stage. We need to be facilitators, and generative and generous actors.
We need to sing it loud, baby. Put down the mouse and the laundry and hit the streets once in a while. Write, call, listen, augment, march, paint signs. Trust, commit, care.
We need to take the energy we spend on trying to figure out the process and the casting, and produce results instead. Together.
NEXT STEPS:
So here is what I want to ask us (the DCP bloggers) to do over the next few days:
A little therapy; some group process; perhaps some herbal tea or a good bottle of old Scotch...
And let's think this through.
The themes are boundaries, clarity, organization, roles. What must the progressive (small "d") democratic community do next?
I'm asking for your thoughtful responses. We will issue a summative report to our funders and sponsors, based on these concerns and directives.
You all know what I think. What do you think? It’s your cue....
There's an important post at bradblog with an action alert...
ACTION ALERT: Say No to Prohibited Software in Voting Machines!
All Electronic Voting Software created by Diebold and Others Should Have Federal Certification Immediately Withdrawn Based on Forbidden, yet Newly Discovered 'Interpreted' Code!
Contact the EAC and ITA with your concerns!
Guest Blogged by John Gideon, of VotersUnite and VoteTrustUSA
read the rest here...
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002214.htm
Sent emails to the EAC, as per dwahzon's link, above.
Thanks, dw. Let's get going here, people. Groundswells needed.
I think we should do what republicans seem incapable of...
DEFINE VICTORY
Is it when georgie gets impeached.. or are we out to try the bastard on war crimes..??
Maybe victory is a dem take over of 2006? Which as we discussed yesterday is going to be tricky with the rigged votes.
Maybe victory can be defined simply by the numbers we turn into people who are aware??
Some of us are here simply because we are lone activists who need a place to go, some are here because you make money through such and such, some are here as part of voting issues. Some are here for the conversation.
Everyone came here for very different reasons and the weird thing is we are all still together despite the very vast different reasons we came.
But at some point we ALL must come to one singular ... priority.
I would say impeachment is the common goal, but as I said it has yet to be defined.
To understand what the small d proggressives must do to move forward we must first be able to define one single common goal for us all.
Sooo,...
What is it we would ALL consider 'victory'..??
Define victory - sounds good, as it worked for Newt Gingrich and his Contract on America.
I would like to see balance of power between the three branches of government.
I would like to see real campaign finance reform that is followed.
I would like to see big business become unfeasible in its current form and workers see more fruits of their labor, in US and across the globe.
I would like to see government regulate what it should regulate, not what is none of its business (ie. uteri, who people have sex with, what they choose to put in their bodies).
I would like to see an emphasis on the common good, on the best quality of life for the greatest quality of citizens.
I would like us to be respected in the world again, as they see we are changing in a positive direction.
I would like to see us actually work with those in other countries, from the grassroots up to the highest levels of government.
I would like to see every American have access to good healthcare.
I would like education to extend beyond the 3 Rs and an emphasis on science and the arts both.
I would like to see a return to separation of church and state.
I would like to see fair representation of woman and minorities in government and in the workplace and also in the media.
I would like the media to tell the truth.
I would like our economy to be less dependent on consumer spending, for us to get our budget deficit down and our trade deficit down.
I would like to see complete personnel change in every federal government agency, at the top.
I would like to see less nationalism and higher consciousness, less organized, orthodox religion and more true compassion and spirituality.
I would like to the vision of the People for a New American Century to fade into dust.
I would like the war in Iraq to end, starting with no more stupid moves like the one they did now to close off the year - installing Chalabi as the Minister of Oil!!
I can generate more - these are off the top of my head. I agree with a Vision rather than talking about what we would get rid of. On second thought, I don't really like Victory even if it is, because I hate competition, battles etc. I would rather see something realized, accomplished etc. but realize we have monoliths to vanquish first.
Karen,
Thanks for that post. As you and others know, I tried very hard to get a cell together in my area. Originally it was very well received. Our meetings were well attended, but when people were asked to participate in various activities the interest level significantly decliined. As one of the participants said, "We need to be more than just at group therapy session." There are some people who are part of the cell who were very active in other causes as well. These included trying to stop our county election commission from purchasing Diebold electronic voting machines (unfortunately unsuccessful) and DAWN (DuPage Against War Now) a relatively successful non-political grassroots organization. DAWN has posted in the forum.
Why were these groups successful (I include the the voting reform group here as successful-eventhough they didn't achieve their goals) and the cell not as successful as I had hoped? I think there are several reasons:
1. The cell was not focused, but rather was a bitch session for most people.
2. For a multitude of acceptable reasons, most people could not make the necessary committment to effect change.
3. The community that I live in is overwhelmingly conservative (DuPage county Illinois) and many people feel that it is "impossible" to change the power structure here. Every elected position is held by a Republican and frequently there is no competition for the elected seats. Few people understand that there is an evolution happening here. The frustration is palpable.
4. The national organizations (The DCCC for example) have absolutely no idea what is evolving here, and have done nothing to help the grassroots groups.
5. The "successful" groups remained focused.
6. The "successful" groups were non-partisan
7. The "successful" groups networked beyond traditional political bounderies (i.e. they went to their churches and talked to church members).
Those are just my two cents.
PS
Karen
Has anyone told you it is good not to have boundaries - that you think out of the box - that you can belong to many overlapping groups not just one - that just because you can "focus" doesn't mean it's good to do it all the time - that you're creative - that you're open minded - that you can put yourself in others' positions - that you can still learn - that you can take alternative views - that you aren't limited by someone else's frame - that you can travel and adapt - that you're good with people - that you enjoy them - has anyone put a good spin on it?
There are alot of closed minds, from left to right of the spectrum, along with all the people who don't even care.
DiAnne...
Yes like the Contract for America..
As Karen pointed out the repells are in lockstep.
WE do not want to become like that but at the same time we must be just as... tightly knitt.. as they are to go chest to chest with them. Other wise our numbers will just fracture again.
The only way to keep the calvery in formation is if they ALL understand the destination.
My own personal desire is to see these bastards arrested and tried for WAR CRIMES, but others may feel simply knocking them off the battle field is sufficient.
In the end it seems like semantics. but the differences in priorities MUST be addressed. Only then will we do as they do and reflexivly fight as one.
I still think Civil Rights is the WHOLE ISSUE. The ONLY issue that can win handily.
OnCall
I belong to a Grassroots group here that focussed and has been successful - they focused from the start. There is a core who continue to be the most active but they are people who don't have to work all the time for a living, like I do. They have been successful enough to get an office from a state party head and also to get rid of him!
The focus of the group was on organizing volunteers tightly and electronically all over the state so that when a candidate comes here, the wheel is not re-invented and they are not told what to do like robots but can insist that their "local knowledge" be respected - or they don't provide the labor. We will see if they are successful as the test is coming. This is a partisan group made up of disgruntled former volunteers but the model could be issue-oriented as well. The other focus was on input to reform of election process here and I'm not sure how much of that was inacted. Actually, I wanted to go to their holiday meeting and didn't, as they had it when I was working. My participation is being limited by my work and I'm not going to take paid time off until push comes to shove. I am a working person and a commuter. I do plan to volunteer for a candidate here soon, as alot of us are and we do have a strong grassroots that we developed and it hasn't broken up between the Presidential election and those coming up in 2006, at least not yet!
I didn't start a personal "cell" here that meets as a group because there are quite a few well-functioning organizations to tap into and they also do communicate some. I do have a "cell" here but it's via email and phone mostly and consists mostly of a smaller group who are connected with what is discussed in the above paragraph or something similar. We can mobilize information quickly if we want to and we can also act - what we specialized in is public events - showing up at them to do whatever it is that we need to do.
People are selective about how they use their labor and leisure. I think what gets them involved is seeing results and knowing they were a part of it. The other thing (unfortunately) is when they see danger on the horizon, and we experienced this in the buildup to the war and for the last 2 elections. Remember - more people on the progressive side got involved and donated and participated than ever before, many for the first time, many for the first time in years.
We need to remember how much more informed people are getting to be, as they realize it's for their survival. I think the bottom line is that most people are both too busy and too comfortable - seems paradoxical but I still think it is true.
Christy
We are ready for Civil Rights struggle again- that is for sure. How do we even know the Voting Rights Act is going to be renewed in toto again or that the Patriot Act won't come back to be renewed in a month, as Bush wishes?
As for the war crimes, that fits in with Justice, as does civil rights. Peace is one thing, but it has to go hand in hand with Justice. Fair media, anything fair, fits in with that. Bill Clinton once said the world isn't fair. That is where idealism comes in - we need it to be as fair as possible.
All creatures deserve as much peace and justice as possible.
Integrity - now that is a word we don't hear. That was the most looked-up word in Merrill-Webster dictionary this year. With all the corruption, scandal - we need to think about honesty, transparency - in government and in media.
Our prior stated goals of election reform and media reform both fit with Justice and Integrity.
Our nation is in the middle of the world's countries for media control and for transparency in government. We should be the best. What kind of superpower are we, the bottom of the top, with only third world countries below us where leaders are from the upper classes and take all the goods (like in our own big Banana Republic).
Lately, the wiretapping issue has begun to dominate blogs, our blog, the press - despite the fact that the Administration is trying to blame the leakers vs the wiretapping without warrants being the issue!! That's the equivalent of dog-ate-my-homework.
Across the street from my house is a frame shop (literally), run by an ex-librarian (ironic). There is an Orwell Quote in the window and also a giant sign that says "America Wants the Truth."
I think that is a good frame - it is positive yet implies the lies. I think it fits with Be the Media.
DiAnne,
I agree with what you say is positive about not having rigid boundaries. I do.
yeah, stuff doesn't always get done, but other stuff does.
The dilemma on the left is not that boundaries are too rigid. Or even that they are too loose. The dilemma is that individuals, like the ones oncall describes, simply cannot deal with life on either of those terms.
Paralysis sets in when we feel overwhelmed or when the boundaries are so proscribed that we cease to think creatively or analytically.
You describe the problem as lying "from left to right of the spectrum, along with all the people who don't even care."
On the right, it's not so much of a problem because the power structures there reward and provide resources for the rigid roles. Those people feel pretty good about their lives, so long as they don't actually start looking beyond their narrowly defined focus and start noticing that their storehouse in heaven has been raided.
The ones who don't care are also underinformed, and have narrowed their locus of control to such domains as the laundry, the end-of-the workday punchout, and the WalMart stop for a new fan, made with loving hands by captive workers in Thailand. The wake up call ringing in their ears is being ignored. Not much you can do except wait for flickers of cognitive response to items like this:
http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=3E923D2549A2795C9AE0AB016ADDD4C6?diaryId=4936
and hope for the best.
No, the people I am concerned about are us. And our colleagues. We are burning out and we need some focus, and some goals, but not narrowly defined ones, and not rigid ones. We need to think on our feet, and outside the box, and we need some inspiration. We must be vigilant about not falling into the hole of frustration and outrage at what is happening.
Rage is a distraction.
Personally, I agree with Christy that Civil (and may I add, human) Rights is the fundamental issue at play here, but to be successful we have to look beyond issues. We have to look at strategies for success.
Somebody posted this site yesterday: http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/default.asp
I must admit that I was impressed with their structure. Of course I was nauseated by their analysis and conclusions. However, their structure is a good model, IMHO. They were acting as a "clearing house" for the right wing agenda, and did not seem to have any restrictions on the topics. However each topic even though it is separate from the others was shown to be interconnected with the group. I could not find a "blog", and that I believe is because they don't want opposing messages filtering through the site. To me that is unacceptable, but at the same time, I like the model.
I know we're not much on reposts- but I put this letter on the tail end of the last link and I think it belongs here too. It's evidence of how hard the opposing side is working to shut down free thought in America. This is a forwarded e-mail that I received from a friend who believes, somehow, that I might be interested in joining her in pre-censoring a TV show that is set to begin on NBC in January. The right wing is working hard this week, and I do plan to send an e-mail to NBC, but in support of their right to air the show, and asking them to stand up to those who want us to only hear their side of every issue. Here's the letter:
NBC considers new show featuring a completely dysfunctional family a positive portrayal of Christ and Christians
Dear Wayne,
On January 6, NBC will begin a new series entitled The Book of Daniel.
While the public has not seen the program, NBC is promoting "The Book of Daniel" as a serious drama about Christian people and the Christian faith. The main character is Daniel Webster, a drug-addicted Episcopal priest whose wife depends heavily on her mid-day martinis.
Webster regularly sees and talks with a very unconventional white-robed, bearded Jesus. The Webster family is rounded out by a 23-year-old homosexual Republican son, a 16-year-old daughter who is a drug dealer, and a 16-year-old adopted son who is having sex with the bishop's daughter. At the office, his lesbian secretary is sleeping with his sister-in-law.
NBC and the mainstream media call it "edgy," "challenging" and "courageous." The series is written by Jack Kenny, a practicing homosexual who describes himself as being "in Catholic recovery," and is interested in Buddhist teachings about reincarnation and isn't sure exactly how he defines God and/or Jesus. "I don't necessarily know that all the myth surrounding him (Jesus) is true," he said.
NBC considers The Book of Daniel a positive portrayal of Christ and Christians.
Please take action now! Here is what you can do:
1. Call your local NBC affiliate and ask them not to air the program. You can find their contact information in your local phone book or by Clicking Here.
2. Print out a copy of AFA's pass along sheet, fill in the affiliate call letters and phone number, make copies and pass out at your church. Ask your pastor to announcement it and put information in the bulletin and newsletter. [doc version] [pdf version]
3. If you haven't already done so, send an email to NBC by Clicking Here.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! Please help get the word out by forwarding this to your family and friends. They probably aren't aware of it!
Finally, if you believe we are making a difference, would you consider a small financial gift to AFA? There is so much more we could do if funds were available. Click here to help.
Sincerely,
Don
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association
_________________________________________________
Notice- the letter states that the general public hasn't seen this program yet. I'm sure Mr Wlidmon hasn't either. It's another attempt by the right to censor television that they haven't even viewed yet, exactly as they did when they were able to take the Reagan bio-pic off the mainstream networks.
When censorship succeeds, democracy fails.
It's really that simple.
Why I never started a personal 'Cell' here.
1. If I suggest ANYTHING this side of the Mason-Dixon with the word 'cell' in it, even the black dems that love me would pitchfork me.
2. The ones who DO understand what I am up too, they do not need converting. The most solid democrats I have ever met are right here in La. I have literally seen families here with 5 living generations of core democrats.
No matter what you hear about this supposed 'red state' there are lots of places down here where being a republican just simply ain't acceptable.
Like my nieghborhood. I do not need a 'cell' because I live in an oasis.
3. I have realized, as Oncall has, getting them together is NOT the problem, ASKING THEM TO DO SOMETHING is where it gets tricky. No singular priority, no singular goal.
4. In my clumsy attempts at activisim, I have realized my talents do not lay with democrats, I do however have a startling high success rate at turning repells from the dark side. I make it a point to NEVER ask them to become a democrat, but I have learned thier vote is as dependable on circumstance as anyone. And these days MANY MANY repells are upset with their own party. Once you scream past the talking points, its easy pickins.
Wowzers. That's a heckuva homework assignment, Karen. I'm not even going to attempt to answer all your questions in one long essay. I'll keep posting various segments of my thoughts on those issues as the day (and night) progresses instead. And starting right off, at the top of my mental gotta-do list:
Unless we can band together and focus our national, state, and local efforts to break the single-party stranglehold in the House and the Senate in 2006, we won't be able to accomplish much of anything else.
That's what seems to me to be the highest-priority goal for us small-d democrats in the coming year: taking back the legislative branch of our representative democracy from the corrupt Republicans in Congress. Only then can we move the rest of our agenda forward.
In order to achieve that goal, we'll have to focus on a few key issues rather than trying to push a long laundry list of disparate items; simplify and reframe our key messages so they can be effectively communicated to the average Joes and Janes; and, most importantly, get out there and put our money where our mouths are and our boots on the ground where we live.
Nobody's going to hand us our rights and freedoms back on a silver platter. We'll have to win them back by working our butts off, as individuals and in groups and as a party, to cut through the fog of spin and just *make it happen in 2006*.
clarify; coordinate; communicate,
Otter
I just reread what I wrote...
. I do not need a 'cell' because I live in an oasis.
That gives me an idea.
There are LOTS of 'Democrat Oasis' nieghborhoods like mine.
They don't need a movement they simply need..reinforcements..??
I dont know where this thought is going... Will think on it.
Linda Enterkin
My Republican uncle sent me that, but he is no longer on their side, so he is a person who "warns" what they're up to.
I just caught this too - related, in a way.
FOCUS | Nonprofit Group Funded by DeLay-Abramoff Cabal
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123105Y.shtml
The US Family Network, a public advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay and claimed to be a nationwide grass-roots organization, was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
As far as a vision - a guy I know has a good one!
We change the balance in Congress in 2006 (tall order, I realize). Then there is a majority which can impeach our current Leader. If Democrats controlled Congress, wouldn't the next President be Nancy Pelosi? ;)
People should not get burnt out. We will be doing this til we die and so will our kids.
I agree that Rage is a Distraction - any anger should be channeled into fuel for action. I don't think there is a single focussed type of action that will make all the difference. It will have to converge from many places. I also don't agree that the Republicans are all of one mind - the new Pew study sorts them nicely into the greedy ones who hate gays and poor people and the greedy ones who just hate poor people and the greedy ones who just love money. They will not have an incumbent in 2008. The trick is to let them fight among themselves, attack their strengths not their weakness as they will do that themselves (and that is from Rove's playbook). Another trick they do that seems to work is to accuse others of what they are most guilty of. Maybe we should go around saying that conservatives lack focus, that they're fragmented!! Visualize it!
I would also like to add that sites such as kos, du and others are swamped with with so much individual concerns that the messages get lost in the deluge of posts. I am not sure if those blogs actually help activists achieve their goals-I doubt it. We don't need another site like those. Bradblog on the other hand is infomative and appears to be well researched. If anything his site does help others to understand what they need to do in order to effect change.
Just as DiAnne's post above shows, Victory has many flavors, way too many to wrap one's arms around, but at the same time each in and of itself is appropriate. Restricting issues can be done if those issues are compartimentalized and tied to the whole of the product. People will find those areas that they are able to devote themselves to. Some obviously will have more participants than others.
I would like to say, and you all knew it was coming, I think you are wrong about rage.
It is not a distraction it is a catalyst.
Not one of us would have become an activist without it.
Christy
That is the reason I am on-line - to encourage oases that are not necessarily urban and in blue places.
People in Seattle like to meet more than blog and are hooked up with activism and organizations. If someone is on-line, like myself, or Elizabeth - it is to network nationally r/t an issue or to get info. I also like to transmit info between local stuff and the blogosphere. I don't read Kos much because friend in OR and MN do and send me highlights (or I see them on the blog).
For me it has been to Kerry on some of the connections made during the election, & I worked for Kerry because my/our efforts at preventing a war fell through and it was election time.
It excites me to know there are neighborhoods like yours and that you have a joint blog with people on other continents coming out of it.
I agree, Otter, with the urgency of taking back Congress. "Take Back the White House" was a good rallying cry but now we need to put checks on King George.
Christy
I think rage is a catalyst but I think some of it has to be channeled or it can burn up the vessel containing it.
I have to be sustained for the long term so the rage has been channeled for years, to prevent burnout.
The eternal flame.
Oncall
I agree about blogs. This is the only one I pay attenton to consistently, and it's like a "cell" that is national even international at times.
I do think blogs help some people be more informed, especially young people. My son, a political science major, thinks they're a waste of time and that they may turn off as many people as they turn on.
I know I don't read many of the comments when I look at other blogs - too time-consuming. I think they do become national communities and it's like a new experiment. I bought my son Joe Trippi's book on sale - about the internet - want to read it myself.
I think blogs have some potential but I think they should support action rather than the other way around. The internet is a neutral tool - like the telephone - it depends how it's used. The medium is not completely the message - sorry McLuhan - though it affects it.
You know what I have found works REALLY good at turning someone into an 'activist'...??
Giving them a free blog.
I have made up hundreds of them. The people I make them for do not all go politically active. But MOST of them DO suddenly have the most AMAZING stuff to say about it all.
It gives them something REAL to use. Use in any freaking way they like.
The thing is this... Once they get that... momentum, once they ENGAGE they are more likely to go further.
It is something yall should think about doing at your next cell meetings, ... sit around and make up free blogs together.
Anything that gets people who don't think thinking is good. That's what I meant by people being both too lazy and too busy and that I thought it was not a paradox. They think they're too busy.
By the way, speaking of Justice, Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom got 25 years. There has been quite a bit of perp walking lately - Quest, Enron. It's good.
Christy,
I agree, I am outraged by what has happened to this country, yet I see controlled rage as the means to the ends. How do we "control" the outrage? How do we use that emotion to enlighten others?
As regards to your comments about an oasis. We are not blue, nor are we a red country. As the last election showed us, we are a purple country. The bigger challenge is helping others to understand-as you have been doing-that dogmatics is not good for the country. But at the same time we need to help others deliver a message of change not just for change's sake but for America's sake. I am currently reading 1776 and in that book is a message of hope and freedom. Interestingly the British parliament was not of one mind to fight the Americans but rather many hoped for some degree of reconcilliation. I digress, but my point is people of intellect-most Americans in my view-will come to see that what is happening now is not good for this country. It is with our controlled outrage that our message will best resonate.
The eternal flame.
Posted by: DiAnne at December 31, 2005 01:20 PM
Yup, sometimes I forget I live at a level most people can not ...function at.
But too me, I am not different than you. I see your rage too, it simmers.
Perhaps it never boils over from you because you were raised in a civilized world. To me the 'civilized world' is a cruel dream.
I have always thought the 'politically correct' practices were REALLY about suppressing true human emotion.
Raw emotion, filtered into politeness. It never really works. Eventually it will boil over.
The propaganda is not just used to suppress free thought, or opinion, it is about emotion itself.
The manipulation of them.
DiAnne
How do we use controlled rage..??
The same way republicans do.
HOWEVER... To be able to stomach the doing of them you must first understand what you are fighting for.
In their minds the repells are ALREADY at war with us. They have been 'at war' for DECADES.
It has turned their young into militant little brownshirts going forth and procreating more little facists.
In order to do what must be done you must first realize you are AT WAR.
And it is no less than a battle for the soul of America.
I'd like one thing thing to happen in the new year- I'd like to convince the media to stop saying that the Democratic party is a failure because it offers no ideas, only gripes about the Bush administration.
Our polling numbers in the generic congressional races, which were phenominal only a month or two ago, are beginning to fall because of our party's lack of vision.
And I'm not sure it IS a lack of vision. I think it's more a lack of unity. I spent 30 minutes yesterday listening to the Randi Rhodes show's guest putting down the entire leadership of our party, Kerry, Pelosi, Edwards, Clinton- all of them, for not standing up and supporting Murtha when he made his statement about leaving Iraq now. He wanted our leadership to say 'get out now, leave the country, declare the war illegal,' which is , no doubt, his opinion of the conflict. It happens to be mine too, but I'm not asking our leadership to say those things at this time. Our leadership doesn't necessarily have to believe all the same things I do in order for me to vote for them. But I would like to see the news media admit that most democrats in Congress see this war, now, as illogical, ill conceived, and gone into for the wrong purposes. And I do think that that is the stance of the majority of Democrats in congress. All the media does is focus on the IWR votes of several years ago to inform the public that we are a schizophrenic bunch of people who cannot make up our minds, but who vote one way one day and another the next. I think that becoming the media is still our best hope for success- because they are not going to come over to our side. Not as long as they're controlled by large corporations and large tax cuts are in the favor of their bosses. They do not want unity in our party, and they hope their message is a self-fulfilling prophecy. So far, we're letting it be one.
The internet is our best big gun in that war- but party unity is absolutely essential to success.
No third party is going to emerge and rescue this country from the downhill slide into fascism that we're on right now. We have to be a little more tolerant of the views of other democrats in order to succeed, and I wish that could be the New Years Resolution of a lot of our party members.
Ronald Reagan always said his golden rule was to "never criticize another Republican." That's led to a party unity in that group that has put forward platforms that Americans can understand.
We can do that too- there are a lot of things we can agree on- but we have to agree first on the number one precept that we're going to have to do this together.
That's what I'm hoping for in the new year.
Christy,
Why not ask your recepients to participate at the DCP? The DCP blog allows for the type of concept that you are discussing. What prevents them from participating? I am not sure, but I suspect it is just like the student in class who knows the right answer, but is afraid to raise their hand. People are free to post here anytime, but unfortunately we don't see as many active participants as I would like. Hopefully it is the posts of others that motivates people to get out and participate. The site has the forums, which are sporadically updated, as a resource, but I am not sure how often it is utilized. All things considered this site does most of what we want, but it has not gotten the widespread following that will help enact the change that we want to see. I might be wrong about that, as Karen pointed out yesterday, there are people who read without participating. If people are acting on what they read here, we are doing our job.
Guess what? I'm in a MEETING!
This one seems to be going well--it is focused and specific.
We are talking about getting msm coverage for the World Can't Wait. January 31, February 4.
Feel free to pick up the cue and weigh in...
For those of you who might not have noticed, the widely-syndicated Washington Post writer William Raspberry officially retired from journalism this past week. And that's a loss for our side in some macro ways; but it's a win for our side in some micro ways, too.
I'm not going to eat up blog space by reposting his farewell column here. I will urge you to go and read it for yourselves, though, as several of his points are very much germane to the discussions we're having today. Here's where to look for it: http://tinyurl.com/as9lv
And I also strongly recommend reading his previous week's column as well, because it really hits the nail on the head when it comes to the best ways we can communicate our messages to those who might be inclined to think otherwise. Here's where to look for that one: http://tinyurl.com/a87mk
I am going to quote a few quick wordbytes from the beginning of the latter article, because I think they summarize just what effect we wish (and need) to have on Joe and Jane if we're going to change the world one voter at a time:
-----
I'll breeze right past the fact that the heaviest mail day of my career as a newspaper columnist came when I announced the end of that career. What I want to think about instead is something that is enormously flattering and still a little mysterious.
The dominant theme of the letter writers was that they appreciate my attempt at balance and fairness and, most of all, thoughtfulness. Listen to one letter I've just opened from a "white, more-or-less conservative Republican":
"You may well imagine that we will at some times differ. But it is because of your clear and cogent explanations of your viewpoints that I am able to understand why some people hold opinions and values different from my own, and how their experiences have produced what seems to them reasonable beliefs.
"Because you do this, and do not simply rant at me ... I can appreciate and understand and respect those ideas, even when I do not agree with them. And it does happen, rather often actually, that you convince me that I don't know what I am talking about and that yours is the correct understanding."
-----
That logical, reasoned, effective approach to civil disagreement is probably why there's a thread on freerepublic, the right wingnut message board, with the heading "William Raspberry Is Retiring. Thank The Lord!" If the freepers hate him, he must be doing something right.
My local small-burg newspaper carried Raspberry's syndicated column, too; and this is what they had to say by way of noting his transition from national journalist to local activist:
"A thumbs up to Washington Post columnist William Raspberry, who has retired after 39 years in the newspaper business. We published his farewell column Wednesday. He's retiring to devote himself not to golf (never mind that he's earned some rest) but to the promotion of education in his small birthplace in Mississippi. We will miss Raspberry because he always did what so many politicians, commentators, bloggers and Sabbath gasbags never do: He gave the other side its due. He could argue an opposing viewpoint better than his opponents. To him, opponents were well-meaning people who had opinions worth consideration, not swine who deserved contempt and personal insult. His balanced approach made him all the more convincing. He will be missed. Would that all of us could leave such good memories behind."
And would that all of us could communicate so effectively with those who don't already believe as we do. As a columnist, Raspberry gave us a good role model to study and good instructions to follow so that we can do just that in our own conversations with our fellow citizens. And as a civilian, he'll still be setting the bar high when it comes to achieving real results in the real world. Would that all of us can do the same as well.
To close with a final quote from William Raspberry, then:
"Fantasy imagines success; striving asks: 'What do I do next?'"
democracy is not a four-letter word,
Otter
Linda Enterkin
I listened to Air America once and that was all -
it has commercials and preaches to the converted.
Another thing where I'm content with reports from others. I am an NPR girl.
Christy
I am just not a person who feels better expressing rage. On the other hand, the simmering never stops.
OC...
Most people I give free blogs too are not interested in being part of a 'group'.
You know how it is, some hippie commie liberal wants you to join a group of ACTIVISTS..?? I mean most Americans just do not see themselves as 'activist'... I do however leave links in their link list like raw story and huffpo.
I have invited some to join but that is only if we are both ...umm.. comfortable.. in the conversation.
The thing I am saying by mentioning it though is this.. You make up an account for someone that WANTS to say something. Its a free blog that is theirs to walk away from or play with... ALMOST ALL OF THEM WANNA PLAY WITH IT.
It is at THAT moment they...engage. I do not make up blogs ONLY for people who are political even though I do look for political intrest specifically. What I have noticed though is even those not using it for political means suddenly DO engage in the world of politics.
With thier own blog they can use it for whatever the hell they like, say whatever they want to say, and it is 1005 more likely they will SEEK OUT OTHERS. Your audiance is the ENTIRE WORLD.
To get them 'active' first we must activate them.
Giving them a blog gives them something ...real.. to embrace. It EMPOWERS them.
Give them a voice, and they will use it.
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at December 31, 2005 01:45 PM
Linda,
I agree with what you are saying, but the problem as I see it is that the opposition party leadership really doesn't know exactly what it wants-other than change. If it did there would be a more cohesive message, I don't necessarily blame the media, I blame the "leaders" who are too scared to rock the boat. Their behavior has been abysmal.
When Harry Reid closed the Senate, the media covered it. When Hillary Clinton the defacto leading Presidential candidate waffles on the subject, what is the media supposed to do?
From my perspective the media is guilty of not delivering the message of the administration's criminal behavior.
Christy--you are doing great work with the blogs! Yes, people find their voices and are off to the races.
Then, we all need to commune and communicate.
A lot of change can happen when we each pick up the cues and add on.
The thing with giving away free blogs.. it too works as a 'cell' concept, even if there is no FORMAL cell.
Lets say this group is the main cell, and say I am to count all blogs I have made up for others as part of my 'cell' if you want to call it that.
If thats the case I am about 500 members ahead of yall.
And suddenly here in the main group.. say someone needs a...playwrite... im just making shit up now, but lets say you NEED a playwrite... Well maybe it so happens I gave a playwrite a blog for his..family.. not too long ago...
Suddenly it becomes a vast network of ACTIVE voices and resources for the inner cells.
And the thing is, its the STRUCTURE ITSELF that creates a cell and not any ...participation levels that determine it.
Also a set up like that would allow LARGE groups of say...voting activists, to coordinate EXTREAMLY well.
Christy
I think that's how it works with the public here too. There are individuals in various levels of activation and group affiliation, from solo to very connected. A big event got 55,000 of them into the street so that is one in five people or so. The simmering rage boiled over into that public action. Same happened for primaries and election day - all these people crawled out of the woodwork who are not normally obviously active and they were desperate to do something. (We were hoping they gave a war and nobody came but it didn't happen that way, & we were hoping for a miracle on election day) I do now think people are somewhat demoralized but also very scandalized despite media blackout. What kind of person does not now realize somewhere within them that Iraq is a quagmire and corruption is at the highest levels?!
One of the reasons I listen to Air America is because the hosts generally do know what they are talking about and have cogent arguments and facts about today's issues. Their discussions help me to better articulate my responses to people with whom I engage in political discussions. Yes, it is a commercial enterprise, but I figure that is the small price that I pay for being informed. I also listen to NPR as well.
Christy,
Please don't misunderstand me. I understand everything you are saying and don't disagree. I was only wondering if some of the people to whom you provided blogs might be able to participate in the DCP. You answered that. What you are doing is wonderful.
One very useful function of this DCP blog -- which really doesn't look like a blog or act like a blog in the usual sense, it being more akin to a rather active message board but without the linear hierarchy -- is that it serves as a ready source of news stories, op-ed pieces, and blog links for those readers who don't have the time or the geekery chops to comb through dozens of websites and RSS feeds every day.
That's a worthwhile service for us to provide, and it's one reason we get a lot more people reading these threads than are posting in them on any given day. I'm not a big fan of just reposting long articles sans comment, especially those from easily-available national sources; but I certainly do appreciate the time and effort that some of our posters put into keeping us well-informed.
Truthout.org is an excellent aggregated source for news and opinion pieces of interest to DCPers, and DiAnne frequently posts some of its RSS feed summaries here in the blog so we can follow the links to stories that catch our eyes. Since she hasn't done that in a day or two, I'm going to steal a page from her playbook today and do so myself...
:0)
no noose is good news,
Otter
-----
BUSH AS NIXON: BOTH WIRETAPPED ILLEGALLY, AND IMPEACHABLY
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123005I.shtml
John W. Dean writes that in acting without congressional approval, Bush has underlined that his presidency is unchecked and utterly beyond the law. Now that he has turned the truly awesome powers of the NSA on Americans, what asserted powers will Bush use next? And when, if ever, will we -- and Congress -- discover that he is using them?
NSA USED ILLEGAL 'COOKIE' TO TRACK WEBSITE VISITORS
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123005J.shtml
The intelligence service at the centre of the row over eavesdropping tracked visitors to its website, despite US government regulations. Monitoring files, known as "cookies," were discovered by a privacy activist at a time when the White House is already on the defensive about its use of the National Security Agency to monitor the communications of US citizens.
COVERT CIA PROGRAM WITHSTANDS NEW FUROR, ANTI-TERROR EFFORT CONTINUES TO GROW
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123005K.shtml
A broad-based effort known within the CIA by the initials GST, is compartmentalized into dozens of highly-classified individual programs, details of which are known only to those directly involved.
U.S. TO RESTRICT IRAQI POLICE
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123005L.shtml
After a series of prison abuse scandals that have inflamed sectarian tensions, US officials announced plans Thursday to rein in Iraqi special police forces, increasing the number of American troops assigned to work with them and requiring consultations before the Iraqis mount raids in Baghdad.
INTERNATIONAL TEAM TO REVIEW IRAQI VOTE FOR FRAUD
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123005M.shtml
The International Mission for Iraqi Elections will send a team of assessors to look into charges by Sunni Arabs and secularists that there was significant ballot stuffing in the December 15 elections.
MEDEA BENJAMIN: 10 GOOD THINGS ABOUT ANOTHER BAD YEAR
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123005Z.shtml
Medea Benjamin writes: As we close this year, a year in which we were pummeled by the Iraq war, attacks on our civil rights, and Mother Nature's fury of hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis, there is no shortage of reasons to feel bruised and beaten. But to start the New Year with a healthy determination to keep on fighting, we need to reflect on the good things that happened. And there are plenty.
OnCall
I'm not really dissing Air America. I just never got into the habit. I find it as much as I can do to keep up with the news and I try to read as much foreign press as I can, which is important to me since 9/11/01. I think also that Air America has developed, as it has kept on the air. I heard it when it first came to this city and didn't keep on with it. I have a friend in OR who listens to it alot & sends me the best blurbs and also know fans of Democracy Now and Pacifica radio. I listen to radio mostly only when in my car so maybe I should actually check Air America out again. I have discovered this Spanish language station lately that plays mostly music and it has really cheered me up this winter, along with the lights. I love the accordians and tubas and also listening to language I really don't understand, so hear it just for the sound, like an infant, catching a little here and there.
Otter
Thanks for posting the TruthOut. Sometimes I've already read the articles but I get sent them by at least 5 people, with their comments, and can tell they're sending them around. I think Pitt does a useful service & he has even used Le Figaro lately, so I send him a little money.
I do think this is more like a public bulletin board at times and that is good. I like it that it's not more structured. It is permissable to be oneself and not always on-topic, but on A topic of import. & I think it gets an A for humor.
Oc,
Friends of mine do come here. My mom even watches this blog.
Once when I wasn't looking she snuck into chat.
But coming here and being part of the GROUP are two different things.
My mom is not an 'activist' type but she has finally accepted my word that our nation is caught in something strange and dangerous. It took me a long time to convince her that she could not trust her own eyes. That she was being lied to so thouroughly REALITY ITSELF was in question.
But.. EVEN my mom blogs.. I made up one for her, for our family.. she made up two more for herself.
Actually wanna hear a neat story about my moms blog..??
Yall know the story of my aunt being murdered, and all the accusations and stuff...
Well anyway my aunt was a mother of three when she was murdered. My family fought like hell for her kids but... anyway my cousin Tiffany wound up with her fathers parent, my cousin Pete was actually illegally put into an orphanage in secret and my cousin Kerry who was 12 the last I saw her just disappeared. This year was the 18th year of HER disappearance from our family.
The blog I made for my mom was the first ever blog I set up just to give away. She gets on it.. starts blogging.
Within a month, there was a message in the comments section.
It started Dear Aunt Katherine...
It was signed Love Kerry
She came right to us.
Christy,
To follow up, is it possible for you to add DCP as a link to the blogs that you provide?
THAT is an amazing story Christy.
Hey why don't we get our politics going somehow on the large developing arena of Hispanic radio?!! That would be the way to win in 2008. The west is the most rapidly developing area of "blue" and it would be about time also for a Hispanic-American to run. I can think of at least one who is viable and I don't agree with him on some things but it would definitely be a step in the right direction.
As for the general Dem politician dissing on alternative media (radio, blogs, pubs), that's kind of pissing into the wind. It will take alot more people putting pressure on them that a bunch of "progressives." I have lived long enough to know that. As for Muhrta, I admire what he did but where was he in 2002, for example, before the war? That question can be asked.
& when Tom Brokaw says Clinton would have gone into Iraq, we have to remember that our real president would have been Al Gore, not Clinton. What planet is he on ..
Christy
Well that is why I argue with my son when he says blogging and the internet is a waste of time for politics. It's a tool, a neutral tool, that can be put ito service of what we already need to be doing.
OC..
Yes..There are three... levels of comfort I feel with the people I give blogs too. I give blogs to strangers I meet who seem to want to engage. I give them to, friends, for their families and stuff, and then there is the ones that I make up with the recipiant totally aware of my motive in making them politically 'active' and are ok with it.
Yeah I never really thought about putting up this blog addy because I dont want to offend someone.. who is not that way.. not sure how to articulate it.
But for the last group yes. Them I will leave the links with. I just never really.. incorporated it before.
As for Kerry. It is ... a miracle.
She has not only returned to us but returned a United States Marine with two incredibly beautiful children.
My aunt was 27 years old when she was killed. To think how hard it has been for her children...
She found us because apparently, as my mother still does, she was searching for answers to my aunt.
With just her mothers name she walked right up and rejoined our family with no warning.
If this is all jerky its cause Im bawling just thinking about that moment we realized she was there.
My mother wept like a baby.
oncall- I think that what you said about Hillary Clinton waffling is part of what I'm talking about. Hillary Clinton has never come out completely against this war, and it could just be that that's her opinion, not a waffle. You have to remember that Bill Clinton's administration did say that the removal of Saddam Hussein from power was a goal it would like to pursue as well. So Hillary may just agree with Bill on this one. Bill favors staying in Iraq until the job is done (I suppose he thinks it can still be "done" somehow), and I think he's totally wrong about that. But I still love Bill Clinton, and if he were running for president tomorrow, would vote for him. Because he's right on so many other issues. Hillary's position isn't necessary a "waffle." It's one she's held all along. And if she gets the nomination (ane I hope she doesn't), I'll vote for her. Because this country cannot sit around and wait for perfection in our candidates. It's our duty to stop the right from taking our country into a fascist government.
There's just an extreme distrust and open criticism among democrats of other democrats that doesn't really exist in the Republican party (except, of course, the distrust that they have in John McCain.)
And there's an unwillingness to support any democratic candidate who doesn't completely agree with our personal opinion on every issue. This party has formed its own circular firing squad for the last couple of election cycles now, and it's not helping the good old US of A one bit. I'm fairly certain that the bitterness that was left behind from the last primary season contributed to our loss in the general election- a lot of young voters who supported Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich didn't even bother to vote when the "more mainstream" candidate got the nomination. It was their man and their way or the highway. Unless they had a totally anti-war candidate, a total liberal, they weren't going to waste their time by voting. So they get to, in my opinion, share the blame for the loss of our democracy. They're democrats, but it's their fault. Purists rarely ever succeed in life or elections, that's just a fact. But purists can most certainly succeed in destroying our democracy by waiting for perfection to happen one day. We don't need a party candidate or a party platform that is perfect in every respect- we do need a platform and a candidate that respects human rights and our constitution, and, even if he's wrong on some other issues, he'll still be a thousand times better than anything the Republicans have to offer.
Unless we can learn to accept each other, I just don't know how we can defeat the other side. This is never going to be the "liberal" party that the news media makes it out to be or that a lot of DCP'ers would like it to be, and, if it becomes that, it will fail. It has to be inclusive of moderates, it may even have to be inclusive of some real conservatives who would like the government out of their lives. And it's got to become that way to save this country from the nutcases on the other side. Because in the end, that's what's important.
I know being a fence-straddlin' moderate isn't always a popular thing to be, but I really feel that believing in the Constitution and the rights of individuals under it should be the only pre-requisite for being a Democrat. That should be our platform and our only platform. And that, if we're going to succeed, we should defend our candidates and our potential candidates and not join the MSM in tearing them apart one at a time. That's the job of the other side, not our job.
YES! Linda!
Exactly.
As we sit here and try to figure out ways to be more effective, I encourage you to go to the following link and participate in the effort to have our government ensure verifiable elections.
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=650&Itemid=27
Use the link to the Action Page.
I think this one was predictable, eh? Chalabi, the source of so many LIES about Iraq has been rewarded with a position as oil minister in the Iraqi government 'cuz he couldn't win anything in the Iraqi election.... Chalabi, the pet dog from Iraq of The Cretin's administration....
Chalabi Named Iraq Oil Minister
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123105Z.shtml
As a fuel crisis deepened in Iraq, the government replaced its oil minister with controversial Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi, whose poor performance in the Dec. 15 elections was a setback in his recent attempt at political rehabilitation.
Without Democrats, there is no such thing as DEMOCRACY.
Linda,
I don't disagree with the thrust of your statement and I don't want to make this a forum about Hillary, but I have been bewildered about her comments about the war. IMHO either one is against this war or one supports it. I just don't think somebody can have it both ways when it comes to the lives of young Americans and innocent Iraqis.
So many trials coming up - Delay, Libby, & guy from Enron - who will spill the beans in order to get a lighter sentence? Who will be implicated?
FOCUS | Abramoff, Prosecutors Said Close to Deal
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123105X.shtml
Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff are putting the finishing touches on a plea deal that could be announced as early as Tuesday.
Why is more attention being given to who leaked (warrantless spying) than to the crime itself?
Again, dog-ate-my-homework excuse is lame. & the phrase "dangerous when cornered" keeps coming to mind.
You know what DiAnne..??
I have been thinking about your earlier question.
About rage. How do you control it..??
First you absolutely must let go of ALL fear of it.
ONLY when you do not fear it, can you control it at will.
Linda
I agree with what you posted - about the Clintons, Democrats, fence-sittin' etc.
I know where the critics are coming from but also know that they have to keep the big picture in mind. Maybe that is what people mean when they say we become more moderate with age. I always refused to believe it, but if you're talking about perspective, then yes. There are ways to be idealistic and lose 49 states and when you've seen it happen, you know there has to be a more pragmatic approach that is also sane & humane.
& you can't always be "for" or "against" something - you can lean. Have to go deeper in your examination, get more data, there are "nuances." Alot of people don't get that, & they passed up a chance for a really good President and First Lady. Two of them. (Then there was the cheating, but there should have been such a landslide it would be impossible to rig).
Christy
I prefer to let them use their own momentum against themselves. My energy is spent figuring out how that might be done.
Let me use an example from here about what I am saying about rage being suppressed...
Ok on a previous thread, someone said this, and I have no idea who so Im not trying to single anyone out, but I read basically that..
We must not get people angry at george we must get people against the IDEA of him..
At THAT moment my brain throws on the brakes and I become a Missouri Mule.
I am not sure if that is a manipulation of the rage or a fear of the rage that GEORGE invokes but it is absolutely going to be completely ineffective.
Ill tell you why. As it stands these are the facts...
Georgie is an accused RAPIST.
GW is an accused WAR CRIMINAL.
This little spider is feasting on the blood of the poor and LEAVING OUR OWN TO DROWN.
It is NOT the IDEA of him... IT IS HIM.
He is a liar. A war monger. A theif. A war Criminal. And willing to committ TREASON to get what he wants.
It is time to call a spade a spade and if people get pissed off at GEORGIE...
SO WHAT? HOW CAN THAT POSSIBLY HURT US..??
Actually, it would FURTHER our cause. We are ALL already pissed ourselves.
It is TIME for them to get outraged. THEN they will get up off their asses and DO SOMETHING.
I just realized THAT is the answer to Karens question on the header.
It is no longer about getting people FOCUSED.. it is about getting people MOVING.
It is time...
To stir up a hornets nest.
But you can not go to do that without the realization you yourself may get stung MULTIPLE times yourself.
Christy
There are Buddhists, Quakers and other peace activists who do not like the man himself.
That is extremely bad karma.
CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS
ALL EYES ON D.C.!
Just THAT is all we need.
All eyes on DC.
Christy,
People did MOVE. They took down the Berlin Wall, they sized down the US/USSR nuclear arsenal. They laid in front of trains. Then they tried to stop the war and they tried to elect a leader. They failed twice in a row. If rage is the catalyst, it will come at different times for different people. So it will be a flowing of streams into a river. If it reaches sufficient momentum, it'll be impossible to stop it.
Posted by: DiAnne at December 31, 2005 03:47 PM
Yes when even the Quakers hate you, it must mean you are evil.
I never understood calling someone a 'mi-leader' when LIAR is so much easier to spell and WORLDS more emotionally satisfactory. More to the point and accurate as well.
Just cause you put lipstick on a pig does not keep it from smelling like pork.
The very first casualty in our battle plan MUST be 'Political Correctness'..
Political Correctness MUST DIE, for us to live free.
Christy
I agree, if people could begin to agree on that!
(Constitutional Crisis) - it's serious.
Christy
You mean calling things what they are. I agree.
Political correctness can also be used to prevent things from being called what they aren't, like not calling a black person a nigger.
The term has been appropriated by the likes of Anne Coulter.
Speaking of something that has me pretty enraged - the guy I wanted for head Dem here has stepped down. It was being said on the blogosphere that he shouldn't head the Dems for the state because he is gay. He is a really good guy and happens to be Hispanic, which as I've said, could lead to good things politically in the future. They are being so dumb - parts of this state are backward as hell.
Dianne,
I feel what your saying, but those people were motivated to move simply because they felt the IMMEDIACY of the threat. The outrage had mounted to a point of no return, and good TRIUMPHED.
But this time, people are outraged but they are all just kinda stuck in place. Most do not even realize OTHERS are just as outraged as they are.
Outrage itself has becoime a FAD. A Taboo.
It is not about getting them to join my political activist group.. It is about making them understand the immediate threat is IMMINANT. It is about getting their eyes to turn their eyes and decide for themselves.
They will NEVER understand how close bush is to TYRANNY if we refuse to say the word TYRANT.
That is the whole point of what Im saying about controling rage. It is about controlling its MOMENTUM by trying to direct it into...the one CREATING it.
People are outraged. No one understands at what. but they ALL understand gw bush had something to do with it.
Dianne- I know what you are saying, about people not getting all the nuances. I've never thought Hillary was against the war, I wish she was. I don't think she's spoken in nuances at all about it- I think she just doesn't agree with a lot of us on this blog.Nuances aren't waffling though- a lot of things that I was assured were nuances on this blog during the campaign, the news media called waffling. I just don't like criticizing other democrats, because even the news media picks up on it. If you remember, during the election, they picked up on our online comments that Kerry wasn't denouncing the Swift Boaters early enough, and made it seem like there was disunity in our ranks and confusion among his advisors. And that didn't help our party in the election- not in an election that came down to the issue of strong leadership. That's the kind of stuff that I'd like to see slow down- I'd just like to see us take a kinder, gentler attitude towards our own people. JK wasn't my favorite candidate at first, but I loved his wife, and I still just KNOW that anyone that lady loves must be quite a guy, whether I always see it or not :-) BTW, Secretly, when I was holding up that Kerry sign in front of the polls on election day, I was imagining Teresa's name in little letters above the Blue Kerry lettering. She is quite a lady. No one ever accused Teresa of using too many nuances, did they?
But if it hadn't been Kerry with his fantasic wife, it might have been Gephardt with all the passion he used to use when telling the story about his son's illness, or Dean with his ability to inspire crowds to near madness, or any of those guys, and it would have been ok. Because they would have all been a candidate who respected the American constitution and wanted fair elections and civil rights restored to our country. If it comes up Hillary- she'll be ok too- because she knows what the constitution means and she respects it.
I'd like this year to be about unifying behind our candidates and taking the Senate, at least, back. I think it can be done, but we can't nit-pick our candidates to death if we want that to happen.
If they had no virtues at all, they'd be Republicans, wouldn't they?
Let's say the democratic candidate is..
Joe Lieberman. Facing a very moderate republican.
Are you REALly saying we must just rally behind him..?
I think we should start a petition to ALL dem leaders to REPEAL the title DEMOCRAT from little joe.
It is obvious the man is a wolf in sheeps clothing and if he wants to be a spokesman for repellicans then he should be freed up to do that.
It would also serve as a severe lesson to him and OTHER dems that we are sick of the waffling on THEIR level.
Splitting the ranks...
To unify the center.
A gift Rossi left on
http://www.rebellenation.blogspot.com/
Haha enjoy
May they have a terrible New Year
December 31, 2005 -- In 2006, Tom DeLay will pay. And so will Bob Ney, and Mark Lay, and Ken Lay. Maybe by May, some people say.
And when they pay, let it be so. The same for Tom Noe and Texan Ted Poe. And Wally O'Dell and a Miller named Zell and Jodi Rell as well. Oh hell man, along with Ken Mehlman, it wouldn't be daft to jail Bob Taft
Let's hope none of them get off including Jack Abramoff and Michael Chertoff.
May they have a terrible New Year
And may we all turn giddy, at the conviction of Scooter Libby. And wouldn't it be zany to arrest Dick Cheney? And without bail may he be held, that would be Don Rumsfeld.
Adding to the GOP's depressions, would be scandals for Jeff and Pete Sessions. And it would not be a no no, to investigate Mary Bono. At the end of the day, they may say, "Who knew" they'd get John Sununu?
While the fundies are eating their grits, may they read about the sacking of Paul Wolfowitz. And a bastard named Hastert and the right-wing dodo, Sam Alito.
FDR used to grind away at "Martin, Barton, and Fish," the GOP scoundrels of their day. Today you'd be no meanie to attack "Foxx, Franks, and Feeney."
As for Bill O'Reilly, the lush, may his ratings tumble, ditto for Rush. And may the sun finally set on a nit named Mitt and a suit named Newt.
And how does this rub ya? The impeachment of Dubya. May his fortunes ebb along with those of Jeb. May the House of Bush collapse in debris al fresco thus joining the House of Ceausescu.
And God willing, with the trial of Jeffrey Skilling, the Bush slush fund will be exposed and swallow up Karl Rove. Right into the crap hole, along with Mike Crapo.
And may 06 be dismal for the neocon stooges, the abysmal Ahmad Chalabi, Reza Pahlavi, and George Pataki. Let them all decline, along with Mike DeWine. And there would be no affront in kicking out Roy and Matt Blunt.
In the Year of the Dog may Condi Rice be afflicted with the GOP's political lice -- the whole batch -- from Orrin Hatch to John Bolton's mustache. Even Ted Stevens. Did I mention John Ensign?
And for the sanatorium, how about Rick Santorum? And would it not be stunning to commit Jim Bunning? After a while, maybe Jon Kyl.
After a movie called Brokeback let it be curtains for a hate merchant called Brownback, and John Cornyn and B-1 Bob Dornan. And the GOP won't be merry when they finally find out about Rick Perry and not so holy over Mark Foley. The fundie criers will groan louder about David Dreier and become quite abashed about Victor Ashe.
Let California finally forsake its mistake, the Nazi prevaricator Arnold Schwarzenegger. Wouldn't it be superb, if the GOP had to bring back Mike Curb? And Maryland will grow sick of Bob Ehrlich and there will be no safe harbor for Mississippi's Haley Barbour.
In November, if we could, let's dump Virgil Goode and Ray LaHood, Rick Renzi and in two years, Mike Enzi. It would not be a mistake to toss out Jeff Flake and Errnie Istook who just might be a crook.
This time next year, let us welcome to town a brand new sound. One that is so liberal the neocons will spit meaningless drivel and quickly shrivel.
Happy 06.
Maybe "waffling" wasn't the best word-I admit, but failing to take a stand on an issue is not a nuance, it is political rhetoric. Her stand simply is: ...Based on the information that we have today, Congress never would have been asked to give the President authority to use force against Iraq. And if Congress had been asked, based on what we know now, we never would have agreed, given the lack of a long-term plan, paltry international support, the proven absence of weapons of mass destruction, and the reallocation of troops and resources that might have been used in Afghanistan to eliminate Bin Laden and al Qaeda, and fully uproot the Taliban...
http://www.clinton.senate.gov/issues/nationalsecurity/index.cfm?topic=iraqletter
There is nothing in her statements about being against the war-now. On that point she is waffling.
waffle 1 |ˈwäfəl; ˈwô-| informal verb [ intrans. ] 1 fail to make up one's mind : Joseph had been waffling over where to go. 2 chiefly Brit. speak or write, esp. at great length, without saying anything important or useful : he waffled on about everything that didn't matter. (Oxford dictionary of English Language)
Posted by: Karen at December 31, 2005 01:52 PM
Karen,
I just saw that post. Maybe following Christy's suggesting would be best, get out in front of the main offices of the MSM. At least they wont be able to claim they didn't know it wasn't happening.
Good thread header for the end of the year. As an adult, I've always used this day and this night to do some journaling, and to reflect on the past, tie up details, and prepare for the future year (I got bored with drunken New Year's Eve parties when I was only in my 20s and have refused invitations to them for years). Since getting a computer, that includes writing New Year's notes to a select few relatives and friends who are particularly dear to me, as well as doing a complete system back-up (particularly necessary this time, since some kind of computer bug is due to be released on Jan. 6th, so I'll be doing a system backup again on the 5th and may stay offline on the 6th).
Without thinking it through, I'd suggest that to get Lamestream Media's sustained attention we need a "podium thumper" in the Dem party (and sustained media attention is what Dems NEED, like the drowning need air!). A podium thumper who will address the concerns of the citizens of this nation who never approved The Cretin's illegal, unjustified, immoral, and unethical war in the first place, and one who will keep that horrid issue of torture approved by the current administration as illegal, unjustified, unethical, and immoral. (Cindy Sheehan symbolically thumped a podium by repeating one question: "What 'Noble Cause'...?" I'm not necessarily looking for someone who will physically thump a podium, but someone who will at least symbolically do so, or raise her or his voice in opposition to things that the majority of Americans clearly disapprove of as part of a just and moral and orderly culture and society.) If people are not outraged by torture and an illegal war, they're not paying attention. And I want to hear opposing opinions about that stupid illegal war and the illegal torture on the nightly news for a change, and I want the LIES we've been told by the administration for five years, as well as their illegal secrets, to be EXPOSED on nightly infotainment news (and NOT ending with the usual neoCon dismissal as the last word to be part of the 'news blurb')....
We need a podium thumper who will stand up for the rights of every citizen in this nation against the illegal snooping other violations of our Constitutional rights the Founding Fathers of this nation guaranteed to us, their future generations they knew perfectly well they'd never see. If that means loudly advocating impeachment of this administration for its many LIES and its HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (a long list now), so be it. The Founding Fathers never gave tyrannical or dictatorial (or royal) powers to a president. Our emerging nation at the time was declaring it's independence from royal tyranny and knew the damage that had caused.... Since 2000, The Cretin and his administration have consistently acted outside of the established rule of law. Outlawry was never part of a good culture or social order that was successful or lasting. The Cretin and his administration MUST, for this nation to stay free, be ousted from office, and the sooner the better!!!
In truth, the Constitution only makes a president our figurehead for four years, eight years at most. The will of the people is supposed to be expressed through our elected representatives and senators and laws enacted on our behalf (and since 2000, in particular, Congress has NOT acted in good faith and passed laws that benefit the majority of the citizens of this nation, but benefit corporations; those legislators can be voted out of office, too). It's the duty of SCOTUS to interpret those laws based on the Constitution, not act as a separate body that supports the executive branch and give one person dictatorial powers to break laws (or the spirit or the letter of the Constitution) laid down by our Founding Fathers over two centuries ago. The balance of power between our three branches of government MUST be restored, and that means the Patriot Act must NOT be renewed in Feb. If our nation is not to figuratively go down in flames in 2006 because of the LIES and HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS of the current administration, the balance of power is going to have to be an ISSUE of major importance this year, and impeachment of the current administration MUST become a #1 ISSUE in 2006 (and I will take a candidates' views about impeachment into consideration before voting next fall). May I suggest it become a 'responsible civic duty' (not merely a right) in 2006 of every citizen to email or phone their legislators to let their views be known...?
The media (via TV) has extraordinary powers to influence (even brainwash) the people of this nation because it's the only medium that everyone listens to daily (even if those of us who have seen fit to educate ourselves ignore Lamestream Media's infotainment news nowadays and have turned to the internet and a few reliable news web sites for truth in the news). Even if the only thing(s) one watches on TV are a select few shows for entertainment, the news teasers come on during commercials or are run across the bottom of TV screens during programming (so even hitting the mute button to silence those awful commercials doesn't get one away from infotainment news if one is trying to watch the six or fewer shows worth watching on TV), and people can choose to watch and listen to news or not. TV media gets the news out to people first in this nation whenever there is a disaster, whether in other parts of the world or in our own country. That gives media more power than any president or legislator....
I once wrote to a local TV station (this year) who incorrectly said the military personnel were "in Iraq fighting for our freedom." "They are NOT in Iraq fighting for "our" freedom, yours or mine," I wrote. They are in Iraq to preserve, protect, and defend the oil wells so the Bu$hCo administration (and Chinkster's Halliburton) can control the oil wells per the PNAC web site. (The US military was never in Korea or Viet Nam "fighting for our freedom" either, but I didn't go into history.) I got a politely-worded response that they would keep what I said in mind... but the bandwagon patriotism by that particular station has been toned down and they've not repeated the erroneous words that the military is "in Iraq fighting for "our" freedom" any longer, even if they do keep up with the other bandwagon patriotic slogans they've broadcast since 9/11. I had to further write to the same local TV station when the wife of one of the mercenaries was on the noon news giving info about a potluck dinner for "'all' fallen heroes"... and I reminded them that that the woman's husband was a mercenary ("working for a private security firm" = mercenary) and killed in Iraq because he was working for DynCorp, a Halliburton subsidiary, and he was not a hero because he was a mercenary who hired out his services for money, and receiving a huge salary compared to any US military person, and getting three times the salary of any mercenary from any other country that had also been hired by DynCorp or KBR (Kellogg, Brown, and Root), both Halliburton subsidiaries getting huge amounts of money from the US taxpayers from the no-bid contracts, and once again referred them to the PNAC web site. I cautioned the TV station that they might be getting their butt in a sling for promoting mercenaries as heroes; if there was a follow-up to the story, I didn't see it, nor did I get any politely-worded reply to that email! And, I've written my rep so often his local secretary (or whatever his title is) no longer replies to my emails.
So, my #1 priority will be to include nagging the networks in the coming year to let the Dems have their say without spinmeisters and without the neoCon spin about what any Dems say, and nag the networks about when they will start to list the LIES and HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS of The Cretin and the people in his administration on their nightly infotainment news ('Misled' is too innocent a word, equivalent of 'misspeak' and does not convey the reality about the LIES we've repeatedly been told! The Cretin and his administration have repeatedly LIED, and LIED to cover the original LIES!).... That I'll likely be ignored is a given. I've ignored most political talk shows for the simple reason they've done nothing but promote The Cretin and his administration's policies, although I would watch them if they attempted to let any views but the administration's be known or talked about. But if enough people write and ask for the same thing... maybe Dems will be given some time to complete a sentence before some neoCon spinmeister interrupts and disses them? It's a start, but Dems DO need media "on our side" to begin a revolution in thought from within in the minds of sheeples. If Dems can (for once) be allowed to complete at least a sentence without being interrupted on Sunday yak shows, or if a complete sound byte of an entire sentence spoken by a Dem, or any other person opposed to war, torture, and outraged by the LIES we've been told from the administration, can be run on nightly infotainment news, maybe it will jog hard-core kool-aid-sheeple to think outside the box for once and start asking questions of their immoral administration.... (Well, okay. That's wishful thinking on my part, a fairy tale scenario, and it will likely not happen, but for today it's my wish for 2006 for what I'd like to see on TV infotainment news.)
I have limited resources and limited physical abilities, but it will not stop me from emailing or phoning any legislators OR media outlets and letting them know my opinions....
BONNE ANNEE!!!!!!
I'm alrady in 2006.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.
And........ Good luck!!!!!!
Hey!
Bonne Annee!!!
xoD
Nonny,
I think your points are very important. We state many times BE THE MEDIA, but despite the potential power of the internet, we are not the media. We have to force the MSM to carry the message, but that is not likely to happen given MSM's corporate connections. Hell, I was in Washington during September when there were over 200K people actively protesting the war. Where was the MSM? It didn't really report the story. Do we need a strong focused leader who clearly and forcefully grabs Americans and wakes them from their coma? The answer is a resounding, yes. Do we have such a person? No we do not. If that person should come forward, will the MSM pay them attention? I don't know, but I am pessimistic after the non-coverage of the march in Washington.
There is a power and a curse of the internet. The power is in the communication. The curse is that the communication is so focused to the individual who accesses it, they don't necessarily feel motivated to move beyond their computer screen and network with others in their community. It will be that individual who motivates others to action who will get the coverage from the MSM.
Andree,
Happy New Year to you and to all fellow contributors here on the DCP.
James Ridgeway | The Bush Family Coup
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123105A.shtml
James Ridgeway explores President George Bush use of 9-11 to reorganize and increase the federal government's reach far beyond any existing law to delve into the lives of innocent, ordinary people.
Excerpt:
Install Big Brother
The failures of the FBI and CIA in 9-11 were not because of any wall. These agencies failed because they weren't doing their jobs right. The congressional investigation found the CIA couldn't penetrate al Qaeda-an especially odd claim since we had helped to create and finance al Qaeda as an instrument to win the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. John Walker Lindh and other Americans walked right into al Qaeda and were greeted by its high officials. How come the CIA couldn't do the same? No wall kept the CIA from getting Osama bin Laden. They just couldn't find him. As for how the hijackers got into the U.S., it's hardly a mystery. An FBI informant among the Muslim community in San Diego socialized with two hijackers and rented a room to one of them. When Congress tried to figure out how this happened, the Bureau covered it up, refusing to allow the informant to testify. Again, there was no wall here-just plain incompetence made worse by a deliberate cover-up. The FBI reportedly was informed in April 2001 by a longtime reliable asset of an impending attack using airliners as missiles. It did nothing. An operation known as Able Danger reportedly turned up information on and tracked hijacker Mohammad Atta as far back as 1998, but the Pentagon wouldn't tell the FBI what it knew. Even now, the Bush administration is fighting to prevent the Able Danger officials from testifying before Congress about what they knew and when they knew it. When it comes to intelligence, the only thing worse than the FBI's record is the CIA's.
Given all that's happened, the only explanation for the Bush domestic spying is that it's political. There are no crimes involved here. But there is an over weaning desire by this so-called conservative government to establish and institutionalize a Big Brother regime that tolerates no dissent and wrecks constitutional government.
Happy New Year to all--We are off to our friends' house (Gail and John) for a quiet evening. Wishing you all love and warmth and hope for a much better year:
One full of peace and justice.
NonnyO
Try contacting the sponsors of the offending programs and telling them you intended to buy their products until you found out they sponsored neocons.
OnCall
That is a bad type of political rhetoric because it is too convoluted, even if it's how she feels - like Rumsfeldspeak.
Linda Enterkin
I agree any of the Dems would have been much much better & at least Hillary is coming to fundraise for Maria Cantwell, who we badly need to keep in the Senate (even if I don't always agree with her either). We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Christy,
Liebervan vs a very moderate Republican? Maybe I emigrate, to any country that'll have me. About the outrage, their eyes still aren't open. They need them pried open so they have to look, like Alex in Clockwork Orange, while being given a nausea drug so it'll connect.
Rossi
I'm reading backwards now. You are clever. That is brilliant.
Alot of good ideas for the New Year - it's bleak weather, too quiet, too many things to do but too many drunks on the roads. Got to lay in some supplies before 4 college kids show up and I don't even know what countries they're from but it'll be fun!! They'll party in Vancouver BC tonight and get on the 6 AM train to Seattle and arrive in the morning. I need things hungry boys can eat, alot of sleeping bags too.
Posted by: oncall at December 31, 2005 06:22 PM
I'm disgustingly pessimistic about Lamestream Media covering anything remotely interesting in the political spectrum, given what I've seen these past five years, and especially this last year. They are out to line their pockets, and I know it. (But don't any of them remember that to get viewers they must broadcast controversial stuff?!?)
However, I suspect the right-wingnuts are sending them enough emails to keep them on the straight and narrow to promote The Cretin's administration and all the religious junk I've seen on infotainment news when I've bothered to tune in.
I plan on being one of those giving Lamestream Media a different viewpoint and letting them know I want to see more than infotainment news (and I really, sincerely, do not give a tinker's damn about which celebrity is marrying or divorcing or whatever the hell it is MSM seems to find so fascinating about celebs...). I want to see serious news about politics and political people and their viewpoints, and that VERY much includes the Dems and others who want to know what's up with all the secrecy and laws broken by The Cretin and members of his administration!!!
The only way I can honestly critique them is tuning in to listen to garbage... (shudder)... but if I must take that baby step to tell them what for and how come in my opinions, then I must take the pain and write to them and let them know what cowards they are for not broadcasting the truth about The Cretin and his administration and the fact that I want to hear about the laws they've broken and not the other light news crap.
I can at least let them know that if they want to increase their viewership by one that they must
broadcast the TRUTH for a change (and NOT The Cretin's administration's version of the 'truth' which is nothing but LIES, and I know it).
oncall- and a happy new year to you too. But we have a lot of Democratic leaders who aren't taking a stand under that definition. JE has said that , given what we know now, he wouldn't have voted for the war. Perhaps JK has also said that, but he didn't at one time. But now that the troops are there, I think you're asking a lot of a candidate to say "admit defeat and leave."
I think that would kill any candidate who ran in 2008.
I'm not a politician, so I can say that that's what's going to happen in the long run, but there are a lot of politicians, Democratic and Republican out there with their tails in a crack on this one.
And trust me- whoever our party picks in 2008 to run, it's probably going to be one of those politicians who supported this war at the beginning. There just aren't enough of them that didn't, not really.
Despite all the claims that they were just using nuances and didn't truly mean to vote for the war.
And if we don't close ranks and unite behind one of them, we're going to be responsible for the continued slide into fascism of the USA. I'm not willing to be responsible for that, no matter what my view on this war. The war will end, eventually. But we've got to be certain that we're still here as a democracy after it's over.
Christy- yes, you can exclude Joe Lieberman from the list of people I'd support for president, unless he was running against ANY republican that that insane party decided to nominate. By that I mean that they will not be nominating a "moderate." They are NOT going to nominate John McCain. Not under the present primary system. So, I'd bite my tongue off but I'd support even the republican in Democratic clothing. Because whoever he had as a VP could break ties in the Senate, and that's an important thing to think about.
But it would make me sick to have to support Joe Lieberman.
I don't ever expect to have to do that though, because old Joe isn't going to win our party's nomination either, not with the system we now have.
Hillary may. And she's not Lieberman.
Posted by: Andrée - France at December 31, 2005 06:11 PM
Godt Nytt Aar.... (Norwegian or Danish for Happy New Year!!!)
May 2006 bring you overwhelming happiness and success...! :-)
Le Bon Temps Roule a New Orleans
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5515100,00.html
NonnyO
Try contacting the sponsors of the offending programs and telling them you intended to buy their products until you found out they sponsored neocons.
Posted by: DiAnne at December 31, 2005 06:41 PM
Truthfully??? I find the background music too offensive to actually listen to 99.9% of all commercials, and they're too loud, too. So, my solution around that problem is to tape the few shows I want to watch and fast forward through the commercials....
However, what I see flashing by on fast forward I wouldn't buy anyway for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is they are neoCon companies to begin with, going on to cars I wouldn't go near because I couldn't get in to those huge monstrosities they are trying to sell (I need a smaller car that I can actually get into without climbing up like a child to get into the danged thing, not to mention I wouldn't buy a gas hog anyway), to food I wouldn't eat because it contains MSG and would give me a three day migraine as an allergic response to eating it..., etc.
Quite frankly, I can't think of a thing that's sold on TV commercials that I would actually buy for any reason whatsoever....
NonnyO- how is the mainstream media going to start taking our intelligence seriously as long as some Americans are still watching people eat worms on Fear Factor???????And while they're still watching fake castaways on an island pretending to try to survive- with only a slew of cameramen and a yacht docked offshore filled with supplies to sustain them if they really get into trouble????
Somehow it never occurs to the people that watch this stuff that these people are in roughly the same amount of real danger that Guilligan and the Skipper were.
Let's face it- we've got to convince them that we're smarter than the average viewer, or they really have no reason on earth to respect our intelligence and to stop lieing to us. We've got to keep pointing out every lie they tell by bringing it up on the internet. Unless we're able to buy a TV or radio station ourselves, it's our best medium to get the truth out there.
Forming groups to work locally is political activism, but so is searching the internet for truthful sources and posting them on blogs for the MSM to read. They are reading us- there's no doubt about that.
And we don't need to ignore the resources of the local Democratic party structure in forming our outside connections either. There's a good chance to work there within the organization. There was a separate Kerry for President group here in my county during the election, and they and the party group were constantly at odds on how they wanted to reach out to the community. That stuff needs to be synchronized somehow in the future. I just hope it can be- we absolutely have to win out this coming fall.
Just wanted to drop by and wish everyone here a very happy New Year. In reflecting upon the year past, I am taken back to some memories of the campaign in 2004. Wonderful times even if the outcome was unfortunate for our Country.
Peace to all of you.
History for the complacent - goes back further than the blurb below implies
James Ridgeway | The Bush Family Coup
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/123105A.shtml
James Ridgeway explores President George Bush use of 9-11 to reorganize and increase the federal government's reach far beyond any existing law to delve into the lives of innocent, ordinary people.
NonnyO
My point is that the car companies, drug companies and so on who buy advertising on television can put pressure on content by threatening to withdraw their commercials.
Without commercial advertising, commercial media cannot survive.
When I go to the gym, I can see tv even without sound. I have seen Hummers and other gas guzzlers, pharmaceutical companies that benefit from the political bent shown there.
I doubt the media themselves care about truth or even content in general. I think they would put on anything that would attract big advertising budgets.
Writing to the media and boycotting products are probably mostly of symbolic value but if more of us did both, it might be more effective.
If you don't like a show, just find out once who their sponsors are and I think your complaints might be more effective.
I can't even hardly walk by one of those boxes.
Linda,
Yes, most politicians have taken the same tack as Hillary has, but that is not the same as saying this war is wrong, and we should be doing everything we can to get out of there. Why do you think Murtha got so much attention from the media for his comments? And why was the leadership so quiet(1)? I believe it is not because he is viewed as a politician tryinig to improve his chances to become President, but rather he has been rightly perceived as a knowledgable spokesman for those who recognize that we have a failed strategy. I can't accept the logic that we are obligated to stay there until we help make things right (and that is what HIllary and others are advocating). That may be never. We have seen the Israeli-Arab conflict festering our entire lives.
When it comes to advocating change from our current adminstration, I really don't care what party they are in. America will be a better place when Bushco is gone for good. Still, as long as the Republican party is held captive by the theocrats and corporatists coalition, America will continue on its slippery slope towards fascism (some say we are already there).
I agree with an earlier comment that we should let the Republicans fight among themselves over who should control their party.
(1) Clinton has stayed steadfastly on a centrist path, criticizing President Bush but refusing to embrace the early troop withdrawal options that are gaining rapid favor in her party. This careful balance is drawing increasing scorn from liberal activists, frustrated that one of the party's leading lights has shown little appetite to challenge Bush's policy more directly and embrace a plan to set a timetable for bringing U.S. forces home.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) says she supports neither a definite timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq nor an open-ended U.S. commitment. (By Tim Roske -- Associated Press)
Clinton is confronting the Democratic Party's long-standing dilemma on national defense, with those harboring national ambitions caught between the passions of the antiwar left and political concerns that they remain vulnerable to charges of weakness from the Republicans if they embrace the party's base. But some Democrats say, the left not withstanding, her refusal to advocate a speedy exit from Iraq may reflect a more accurate reading of public anxiety about the choices now facing the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR2005121100846.html
http://www.antiwar.com/frank/?articleid=8223
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=41233
My post above reflects on NonnyO's comments about a leader who can motivate the people-sorry but it is not Hillary.
Linda Enterkin
I have been giving money to news outlets that I depend on, because they aren't commercial so dependon public donations. I've been trying to buy products that don't have to do with corporate media - that's harder but I'm buying less. I don't even like to buy into 2/3 of our domestic economy being dependent on consumer spending. & we've pretty much quit using credit.
We had the problem here with the local Dems trying to mesh with the outside Dems who came to organize. Now with the local Dem grassroots more organized, we should be better able to tell the "coordinated campaigns" that come in - we have our act together, we know the lay of the land, if you want our volunteer labor, you had better listen to our local knowledge and not try to superimpose something you are bringing from elsewhere unless we think it will work here. We'll see how it goes!
My post above reflects on NonnyO's comments about a leader who can motivate the people-sorry but it is not Hillary.
Posted by: oncall at December 31, 2005 07:22 PM
I agree with oncall. Hillary is not a motivator, and she's much too soft on the Iraq war.... She does not get my vote.
NonnyO- how is the mainstream media going to start taking our intelligence seriously as long as some Americans are still watching people eat worms on Fear Factor???????And while they're still watching fake castaways on an island pretending to try to survive- with only a slew of cameramen and a yacht docked offshore filled with supplies to sustain them if they really get into trouble????
Somehow it never occurs to the people that watch this stuff that these people are in roughly the same amount of real danger that Guilligan and the Skipper were.
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at December 31, 2005 07:10 PM
I've seen the commercials for those shows fly by on fast forward. I can't believe those shows are still on the air! (Nope! I've never watched any of them - can't stand the commercials for stupidity in programming.)
But the fact that those shows are apparently still on the air reflect the dumbing down of America...! Sad....
Wow - my friends couldn't stand where they lived and decided to do something about it! Now they have received a nice New Year's gift - from Canada!
Inquiry:
So you actually have our medicals already? Does this mean that the Canadian federal Govt. has totally approved us pending just the medicals and the background checks? Please let me know if this is correct, if so this is really exciting to us!
Reply:
YES YES, EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANS. SO REJOICE. Y(OUR) NEW YEARS GIFT TO YOU......
Hillary has name recognition.
We will hear about her til the populace becomes familiar with new players.
She should stay in the Senate for now, & glad that woman running against her with the tax evader husband is out of the race.
Maybe Kerry should stay in the Senate as long as he can. Kennedy is in John Kennedy's seat and Kerry is in Robert Kennedy's seat. They need to be the old Robert Byrd's of Massachusetts.
Posted by: DiAnne at December 31, 2005 07:37 PM
As bad as things are here, I don't think I could leave. I care too much for the peope that would be left behind.
joncall: I understand what you're saying- that you feel Hillary should be more outspoken on her views on the war, and more supportive of the idea of us getting out. But this is the most important line you wrote, and the most true:
"This careful balance is drawing increasing scorn from liberal activists, frustrated that one of the party's leading lights has shown little appetite to challenge Bush's policy more directly and embrace a plan to set a timetable for bringing U.S. forces home."
I think that what you and a lot of bloggers are wishing for is that Hillary Clinton will begin to act like a liberal. She never has been a liberal, nor has Bill Clinton. That's always been a concoction of the right wing. She's not violating her political beliefs by failing to speak out against the war- the Clintons are moderates, and always have been. That's exactly why they won the '92 and '96 elections, because they appealed to the part of America that was not truly conservative nor liberal. And regardless of what both ends of the spectrum would like to believe, that's the largest percentage of the American electorate.
What's happening, to put it frankly, is that a lot of liberals in our party are very afraid that hillary will get the nomination, simply based on her name regognition in the primary. They may be right- I personally hope she won't get it, because I'm not sure she can win. There are a lot of anti-Clintonites still out there, and they would all come out to vote against her in the GE. But these same liberals, who are acting out of fear that she might get the nomination, are becoming very vocal in their opinion that she should oppose the war in order to draw a distinction between our party and Republicans. Hillary Clinton cannot be expected to change her political viewpoints in order to satisfy every member of our party- she's not waffling, she's expressing the same views as her husband, if you've listened to him lately. It would be wrong of her to lie about what she believes in order to lure the liberals out to support her in the primaries, and then govern in a different direction. If the liberals want to support a candidate- the primaries are only a couple of years away, and they can do that. And, if whoever that is wins the nomination, I'll support them. If not, I'll support Hillary or whoever gets the nomination. But I don't think we need to mortally wound our potential candidates at this point in time by pointing out all their flaws to the MSM. That's up to the Repugs to do, and they're working hard enough against Hillary already, you can be sure of that.
That's their job- to wound our potential candidates. I don't think its wise for us to do it, and I don't think it's a step in the direction we want to go to take this country back, which is the number one priority.
Eventually..
Because of the nature of these issues... It is CERTAIN...
The MSM and John Q Public will HAVE to come face to face.
If not, you know what will happen..?
Nothing.
Tyranny.
Linda E
Thanks - that sounds about right. I'm a liberal and voted for Clinton and Gore but did not donate or work for them. Now I wish to heck I had! I don't think alot of the left really realizes how far to the right this country has swung and that it was pretty far that way to begin with. A successful candidate must not completely alienate any group, but they must also balance that with being able to wrest the nomination and then the prize away from the ruling party. That will take genius strategy. It's just the reality.
I agree with oncall. Hillary is not a motivator, and she's much too soft on the Iraq war.... She does not get my vote.
NonnyO
Nonny- all I'm saying is that I hope that we can all get past this if she does get the nomination. Because if we can't, we're no better than the Deaniacs and Kuchinch voters who stayed home in 2004 and allowed this country to go through another 4 years of hell.
I'd rather have Wes Clark anyday, or John Edwards, or Chuck Schumer. But if hillary is nominated, I'm gonna march down the street with my Clinton sign. It's not about personality- it's about saving the country. If more people had realized that last year, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. An awful lot of Americans stayed home because they said John Kerry had no personality. They just couldn't see one. (personally, I only suspected he had one because of Teresa.) And now look where the country is at. Quite honestly- it's about desparately wanting my country's constitution to be adhered to again. And yes, it has to be a Democrat. Because there aren't ANY republicans out there who care a bit about that "damned piece of paper," as Bush called it.
Linda,
I did not write that quote. It is from the Washington Post. I put the link up with it. I am not saying anything that the MSM doesn't already know.
Here is another quote from Newsweek about HC:
...When asked about a strategy for leaving Iraq, she waved off the question. "Nobody has all the answers," she told NEWSWEEK. For now, Clinton is content to let George W. Bush worry about disarming the enemy in Iraq. She's busy enough worrying about disarming her critics in Washington.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10313850/site/newsweek/
Christy
People I know who have lived under tyranny, such as under Shah Reza Pahlavi in Iran - they learned to ignore the media because they knew it was propaganda. Sad that I reached that point myself in 1991. Now there is a cynic (about media).
There has to be a way to convince America in general that something has gone wrong, but I very much doubt that it will ever be through the media. I really suspect that if enough people figure out they aren't getting straight info from the media, they will just tune it out. Plenty of people already do.
Here is another, perhaps the GREATEST advantage of a blockade of the msm...
You are required to DO NOTHING EXCEPT... show up.
You can go to aggivate or just annoy or just slow them down, or wave , or just blow the ceos kisses.
But until they see OUR faces, NOTHING else will make them feel the need to explain themselves or change their ways.
UNTIL THEN.. nothing will change.
NonnyO
My point is that the car companies, drug companies and so on who buy advertising on television can put pressure on content by threatening to withdraw their commercials.
Without commercial advertising, commercial media cannot survive.
Posted by: DiAnne at December 31, 2005 07:19 PM
I do know what your point is, DiAnne.
However, if there's only an info page and no comment section on the web site addresses given during those commercials, I'm not one to waste my time researching where to leave comments either. No threats about not buying those products or services would ring true, I think, since I wouldn't do so anyway, just on sheer principal, and the corporations are doing nothing but lining each other's pockets and making a larger than usual profit under The Cretin's policies, helped along with the Congress who has given The Cretin's corporate buddies everything they want.
That's why my targets are still infotainment news on regular networks, letting them know what I would like to see broadcast as serious news.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda... the blurb about the NBC show... it sounds like any other dysfunctional family, Christian or not. I don't get NBC (I refuse to pay for cable because commercials come with it, and I refuse to pay money to get commercials). However, alcoholism and drug abuse do not make for interesting plot lines for shows anyway. I predict it will fail because it's a boring plot line. Most people are acquainted with drug and/or alcohol abuse through acquaintances, friends, or family, so it's just not that interesting a topic.
The family and friends of the addict suffer more than the addict, and the only way to avoid suffering more than necessary is to distance one's self from the addict and refuse to be an enabler (it's often the only thing to save the sanity of family and friends). The only person who can help themselves choose to get out of the cycle of addiction is the person who is addicted anyway, and no amount of coercion can force the addict away from their addiction until or unless the addict chooses to stop. (And, yes. That is the voice of experience and difficult lessons learned over many years. I wasted a lot of time feeling sorry for alcoholics who were full of self-pity to begin with, and I refuse to feel sorry for them or enable them any longer, so that's a conscious decision on my part. I wouldn't bother to watch a show about them.)
Here it is Saturday night and my wife and I are at home so our kids can have a new years eve party. My son is expecting about 12 sixth graders (boys) and my daughter is expecting about 5 third graders (girls) should be an interesting evening.
NMP..
We can not simply give up on winning the media.. it is TOO DEADLY a weapon used against us.
Its like saying the beach head is a secure front and not worrying about the machine gun nests on the cliffs.
To win the battle for America... WE must control the spin machine.
Look at the headline on Raw Story
Internal scuffle at the Times: Public editor calls paper's response to one-year delay on NSA story 'woefully inadequate...' Publisher, editor refuse to reply...
http://www.rawstory.com/
They are ripe for a confrontation.
I don't watch tv for the same sort of reason I wouldn't eat meat if I was a vegetarian. Multiply that by a couple of decades and there is an impact. I am not exposed to the propaganda as much, or the commercials. I encourage others to do the same. It is another path, besides blockading them. I do also support IndyMedia, the blogosphere (selectively), PBS (what's left of it), selected shows (worthwhile animation that is intelligent/funny, a very eminent guest such as Richard C Clarke on "60 Minutes" or John Kerry on "Meet the Press"), NPR, BBC, foreign media (for perspective), newspapers (not economically but through dissemination/discussion), & services like TruthOut and AlterNet.
I do not give a goddamn what is on television.
If they had made it worth my time, I would feel differently. When I saw Bagdad getting the shit bombed out of it the first time and they treated it like a video game, when I heard talk about "precision bombing" and "collateral damage" and realized those were innocent women and children down there getting killed, I lost all interest in anything they have to say. I remember my shock - "I am in America and they are showing me propaganda, trying to brainwash me that this is right."
In 1991, at the age of 39, I was mother of a young son and worked with children professionally. I had been working against war, which I felt was wrong since my teens, and just couldn't even take it any more. I am not changing my mind.
Someone else can monitor television. I have hours more to paint, read, think. I don't miss it at all.
If you really want to control the spin, follow the money. It will lead you to Rupert Murdoch, mostly.
Christy
If you are talking about the New York Times or Washington Post or Seattle PI or any newspaper, I'm game. I do read those.
Television news I despise.
And yes, it has to be a Democrat. Because there aren't ANY republicans out there who care a bit about that "damned piece of paper," as Bush called it.
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at December 31, 2005 07:55 PM
True. But I do not expect a woman (Dem or Repell) to get the nomination for president in my lifetime, so, quite honestly, I'm not going to worry about it either.
I used to like Hillary when Bill was pres. She had a lot of good ideas about Medicare at one time. Too bad no one took her seriously in those days....
But her stance on the Iraq war and staying there is a huge turn-off for me for the simple reason that it's exactly the same opinion as the neoCons. I totally disagree with the position because it gives me no choice between a neoCon and a Dem who is anti-war and anti-occupation of Iraq. That goes for other Dems who think we should stay and occupy Iraq when it will be time for the '06 and '08 election cycles. The Cretin had no damned business attacking Iraq in the first place, and the troops should be pulled out immediately, if not sooner.
Republican Lite Dems who think the US should stay in Iraq as an occupation force should just change parties, IMHO.
oncall- I know that the mainstream media is salivating over destroying Hillary Clinton already. Oh, they'll build her up as the "one to beat" in the primaries, and maybe even get her nominated. Then they'll tear her down, just as they did JK. It will happen.
But whatever happens- I want Hillary and all our candidates to be true to what they believe, and the statement that "Nobody has all the answers" rings completely true to me. I don't have the answer, except that, if I were president, I would admit it and pull out now. That's just not the stance that the Clintons are taking.
And like I said, they're not liberals.
Let me ask you this- with the possible exception of the Swiss, and I'll admit to not knowing much about the Swiss, has there ever been a civilization based on the totally liberal virtues of altruism, peace with neighbors, sharing of wealth, and complete concern for every one of it's citizen's wellbeing that has lasted for any time on this planet? Or, even, has there ever been one created?
And would it last if it were created, or would greed eventually seep into the society and corrupt it?
And why is it that more people who consider themselves liberals probably believe in evolution than moderates or conservatives?
I'm not being sarcastic here- I'm asking from a sociological viewpoint. Because a belief in evolution which is based on the survival of the fittest (ie the greediest and strongest and the most willing to kill) seems to be antithetical to a belief that mankind can exist in peace and brotherhood and with charity towards all, even the weakest among us.
What do you think about that?
Do you think a truly "liberal" society could continue to exist, or would greed and the simple ability of one man to take power over others eventually overcome the society?
Can you imagine what happened if you had 1000 people committed to a 10 day sit in around the NY Times... by day 5 there is 5000 by day 10 who knows..??All waving Orange.
Can you imagine what would be going on inside those offices if they had to sit there everyday knowing they were surrounded by people who demanded SIMPLE TRUTHS that they KNOW they have been keeping from us...???
And the FUNNY thing is... with the great LIE of 'Liberal Bias in the blah blah" a whole BUTTLOAD of REPUBLICANS are likely to show up too. AND all the people that know something is up... and EVERYONE in between.
How can they ignore a freaking CIRCUS on their front porch...?
It would rattle them all so bad , honestly, I don't think they would last ten days under that kind of pressure.
Linda Enterkin
It's ironic that so many Republicans are against evolution (don't believe in it) but are complete social Darwinists! (survival of the fittest, every man for himself, it's a dog eat dog world etc. when it comes to ecnomics)
I like to read the Teachings of Buddha and in his writings on compassion and greed, it sounds like 3000 years ago, people were having to deal with the same sort of issues. All that seems to change is the technology involved. He thought it was human nature and so people were to work to realize their buddha nature within, self improvement, requiring conscious effort.
I think most religions have that sort of idea, til priests, mullahs etc start tampering.
Thanks for the call to action, Karen.
I have a rather good idea of what's next in this neck of the woods. Can't share it on here though...
Im talking about a blockade of two in particular..
Foe news and the NY Times.. Both convienantly located in a place that knows they are punks.
The other is a symbolic and more convienant one. The WaPo.
I mean people can sit around the whore... I mean White house gates all day, lighting candles.. so what ? georgie just leaves town...
The WaPo employees do NOT have the same luxury and its in FULL VIEW of the halls of the viper ne,.. i mean power.
Mass cancellation of subscriptions and boycott of advertisers in said publications could also be done.
Yes DiAnne.. Excellent idea for those who want to say something but cant get there..
Boycott and subscription cancellation.
Yes yes yes.
Talk about a podium thumper.. You could set up outside to read their OWN ARTICLES BACK TO THEM.
At foe news read their OWN transcripts back to them.
Put that shittokki on loud speaker and just get literate volunteers to keep it coming.
Oh,.. in my mind its such a FANTASTIC scene.!!
I wish I could wave a wand and make it so.
I wish I could be the first volunteer.
Ohhh I just had another idea..
between articles read to them the DSM and the Uzbek torture memos and the election stories.. things like that.. just so they can not say they have NEVER heard of it before.
Sorry this is so late coming in the thread...but I've been working all day. It seems like just yesterday that we were all working so very hard to get our guys elected (bummer that didnt work out)...and then that dark and fateful day (I call it "Black Wednesday")when the K-E blog shut down so cruelly and coldly...and without the wisdom and caring of Dick and Karen (thanks K for reopening the K-E blog for those few precious moments that allowed us to regather on the IRC temporarily so as to form the DCP)...we might ALL be just drifting aimlessly in the cosmosphere...errrr, BLOGOSPHERE. I for one, and I know I speak for sunny as well, couldnt have coped without ALL of YOU!!! Through ups, and downs, and all the cheating, lying, and corruption...it has brought our family MUCH peace of mind to KNOW that we are still a family, and WILL CONTINUE to be a family throughout 2006 and beyond. Some day...when all this insanity has passed...we can truly "look in the mirror" and understand what we have collectively done for our country. I am SOOOOO proud of all of you, even if I havent said as much lately. You give me faith in my fellow man, and the strength to "kerry on!"
Love doc and sunny :)
Get whats his name...Arrrggggg .. damn.. West I think
'W don't like black people'...
GET HIM to read the DSM to the NYTimes.
PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Hiya Doc and Sunny...
Hugs and kisses to ya.
Happy New Years everyone!!!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051231/ap_on_el_gu/ny_governor_trump;_ylt=Al4MkKx6SuFSDRT77NJ21ppp24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Oh boy. The Donald may run for governor of New York. I wonder what he'd do with his hair to make him look like a more "serious" candidate.
And, we were just talking about dumb TV shows.
FYI... the "May they have a terrible new year" that Christy reposted here at 4:55 pm was not written by Rossiann, as some have assumed. It's actually taken verbatim from a website called the Wayne Madsen Report. Christy did include a link to the original source on her rebellenation blog, but she neglected to include the attribution when she reposted it here.
[Warning: incoming rant – take cover]
I've just spent the last 25 minutes or so looking around Madsen's website, which you can see for yourself at http://www.waynemadsenreport.com ... and I have to say that, despite the crafty wordsmithing to be found there, I am very ambivalent about even bothering to add it to my political-sites bookmark folder. (Your mileage may vary, of course.)
Why so ambivalent, you may ask? Well, to start with its site design is horribly amateurish and garish (so much so that it makes my eyes hurt, which is not conducive to absorbing reasoned rhetoric via my CRT). And a high proportion of the page space is devoted either to Madsen begging shamelessly for donations or to a long series of tacky banner ads. (It took me 10 of those 25 minutes just to set enough adblock filters to wipe all of them off my computer screen.)
Now, I'm not saying it's automatically inappropriate for a political blogsite to request donations or even to include some advertisements. After all, it does take money to operate even a simple website. And I'm always happy to support socially-responsible vendors whenever I can.
But in this case, we're talking about some pretty transparent fishing for whatever cash he can garner from way too many randomly-selected click-thru "affiliate" banners. And that is *not* appropriate.
Why am I making such a fuss over this issue? After all, we're not talking high crimes and misdemeanors here -- merely graceless greedism, right?
Wrong. My irritation at all the randomly-chosen ads turned into anger when I came across two particularly egregious examples of poor choice in affiliations. One of them was shilling for a company that retails military clothing over the Web, presumably to all comers whether they have legitimate need for it or not.
However, the second example was a click-thru affiliate ad for Brigade Quartermasters, which is where "not appropriate" crosses the line to "not acceptable". Why? Because Brigade Quartermasters was founded by and makes huge profits for members of the Werbel family, which is very bad news as far as I'm concerned.
Mitch Werbel is one of the most notorious of the old-school spooks mercenaries. He trained and equipped thousands of soldiers-for-hire at his camp compound in Powder Springs, Georgia, which is now a suburb of ever-sprawling Atlanta (and is where I first got to know him and his operations back in the early '80's *ahem*).
And when I say old-school, I mean *old* school. Werbel was a spook for the CIA before it was even known by those initials. He also was quite involved in union busting and segregation enforcement activities back in the day. (One not-so-apocryphal story is that when he was union busting in the very deep South, Mitch Werbel threatened to kill union organizers and their wives and their parents and their children and their dogs and their cats and their chickens. Later asked if he was serious, he explained that he was kidding -- he'd never bother with their chickens.)
Werbel was, and his clan still is, deeply involved in the shadowy world of the global arms business. He and his paramilitary group provided all the guns and much of the advice for the failed Bay of Pigs invasion back in the 1960's. And they kept themselves busy afterwards, too. In the 1980's he was instrumental in providing all types of weapons -- and I do mean all types, from pistols to Stinger missles -- to, among many others, the Contra revolutionaries that Ollie North was funneling clandestine cash to. As far as I know, they're still practicing the family trade to this day.
Werbel also designed, and a series of his companies manufactured, a number of secret to semi-secret paramiltary weapons including sniper rifles, specialized subsonic ammo, silencers, and the infamous MAC-9/MAC-10/MAC-11 series of assault machine pistols so beloved by drug dealers, mercenaries, and terrorists.
As for Brigade Quartermasters, to quote from circa-2000 message board posting on a right-wingnut mercenaries' website that I won't dignify by linking to from here:
"That would be Mitch Werbel IV's operation, I believe. If I recall correctly, he's the son who daddy Mitch 'The Old Watusi' Werbel III dragged along as a preteen to the Dominican Republic 'Power Pack' invasion by the CIA and 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions around 1964 and '65 so that the kid could enjoy a little taste of life where the action is. I don't immediately recall if he's the one who blew one of his own fingers off playing with a loaded Stinger assassination device, but I believe it is -- I know one of that crew was known as 'Three Toes' from the resultant damage, which happened around the mid-1970s as I recall."
In other words, it's extremely clear that Mitch Werbel and his ilk are *exactly* the kind of heinously unethical persons that we don't want getting their dirty hands anywhere *near* a free and honest democracy like the one we're working to rebuild here.
How Madsen can include an ad for the Werbel-owned Brigade Quartermasters company on the same page on which he proudly plugs a left-leaning fundraising-support operation like the Peace Resource Project ( http://www.peaceproject.com ) is simply beyond me. Either he's completely clueless, which seems unlikely, or else or he's an equal-opportunity greedhead who doesn't care which side of the fence his money comes from. Either way his judgment is *seriously* suspect in my book.
[End of rant -- all clear]
them and us are both known by the company they and we keep,
Otter
Sorry I did not put in the original link..
I guess I should have clarified... Rossi posted it on Reb I thought of it as a gift. Sorry I suppose it was all worded messed up.
Its a .. neat piece.. but no.. it was not written by Rossi.
I apologize.
My New Years Resolution...
I will be nicer to my man.
I would be nicer to the kids but every time I do that it backfires.
No problemo, Christy, it was just a minor oversight. And if hadn't been for my looking around for the source link on your blog page, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to spend an hour refreshing my happy memories of the delightful Werbel family...
a mercenary by any other name is still a soulless killer for hire,
Otter
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at December 31, 2005 08:19 PM
.....has there ever been a civilization based on the totally liberal virtues of altruism, peace with neighbors, sharing of wealth, and complete concern for every one of it's citizen's wellbeing that has lasted for any time on this planet? Or, even, has there ever been one created?
Answer: America
It has taken us a long time to get to the point where our laws and Constitution are based on the ideals you describe-others would say we have not yet achieved that state yet-and as one of the great patriots said, (excuse me if I don't know exactly whom and the quote is incorrect-somebody help me here) We are but one generation away from tyranny.
Actually there us a tribe in Africa where only the women are allowed power and ownership rights.. From what i hear they are quite a benevolent society but that may just be spin..
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at December 31, 2005 08:19 PM
Linda,
As to Hillary's flippant comment about the war. She decided to duck and cover with that one and not take a stand either way. A politician's politician if ever there was one (not the sign of a leader). I don't expect her to say something she doesn't believe, and I get the feeling she has no idea exactly how she feels about the war. I don't believe she is a liberal nor a conservative. I do however respect her on some stands she has taken. If I have to, I will hold my nose and vote for her when she is running against Guilliani.
If we made a symbolic petition to demand the removal of 'democrat' from miller and liebermans titles.. STRIP them of the name democrat..
How many dems do you think would sign it..??
Otter
Thank you thank you
Wayne Madsen was paid more attention to right after the election but it's gone to his head.
I am not a Kossack but have a coupla friends who are and one of the stories they had me read - I also made it through the comments, which I don't usually bother with. One topic was the credibility of Wayne Madsen. The consensus was that he's no longer trusted there and is conspiracyish or has posted stuff that has been largely unsubstantiated. So I will be careful about him for sure, and thanks for the heads up.
I do like renegades, free thinkers and free lancers but the line has to be drawn somewhere.
The advertisers people in the alternative media choose to link to are as good an indicator of their moral structure as the ones the mainstream media are sponsored by. Like I say, follow the money. There are some strange bedfellows in the world, and especially on the internet. This guy wants to be laughing, all the way to the bank.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Madsen
OK this is what they were saying on Kos (those skeptical about Madsen) that he had been unable to prove:
Wayne Madsen Articles
Saudis, Enron money helped pay for US rigged election
(Wayne Madsen article alleging that the Bush campaign spent $29 million to replace polling place officials with operatives who hacked election machines. Madsen is a serious investigative journalist with a strong reputation for accuracy. If Madsen can prove his allegations -- which he has yet to do -- this is the smoking gun that will convict possibly scores of Bush campaign officials and send the Bush administration packing. Note: A month after the initial reports, Madsen has yet to prove his allegations. I have to wonder about this one.)
All I'm saying is beware.
If we want an inspirational leader they may be wise to read along while they listen to this speech:
http://www.jfklibrary.org/j012061.htm
Posted by: Christy at December 31, 2005 09:18 PM
Actually, several ancient cultures in the ancient mideast used to be matriarchal, and they were peaceful. The invaders from the north came in and conquered them and introduced patriarchal rule....
Some Native American cultures were matriarchal. As one fellow in the Native American Lit class I took (he is NA) put it: Women own everything, the children and the belongings. The men were the hunters, but the women actually owned everything. When the white man came along the women allowed some of the men to act as figureheads to give them something to do. (And white men refused to believe women were in charge and wanted to talk to men in charge of a tribe.)
Most civilized countries and cultures respect women and elect them as rulers of their nations. America is one of the few countries that has never had a women ruler.
But if the only choices we have are men and political parties like The Cretin's, perhaps it's past time for America to consider electing a women as leader - a woman who advocates peaceful coesistence with our neighbors around the world, and who harbors no hidden agendas, like attacking another country for no reason whatsoever, or control of oil wells in another country....
Ah, well. It was a fleeting thought.
georgie has now OFFICIALLY spent one year of his entire presidency 'at the ranch'
365 days of VACATION.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/30/AR2005123001326.html
oncall- I'm glad that you at least agree that she's better than Guilliani. I don't think we'll ever come to any agreement on Hillary, because we have basically different political philosophies. I consider myself a pragmatic, slightly progressive centrist, where most people who post on here are liberals. But that's ok. We usually agree on most stuff.
I can't agree with you though that America was built on any belief in sharing of wealth- I don't think the founding fathers thought that way at all. They did believe in "promoting the general welfare," but I don't think that included robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, which is essentially what I'm speaking of. I mean a real redistribution of wealth like Huey P Long promoted- the communist version of "from each according to his abilities and to each according to his needs," if you will, which is the ultimate in liberal policy. I'm speaking here of an absolute liberal society- and I don't think there's ever been one that has really suceeded (or ever even been created. The early Christians actually practiced that kind of society, but we see what Christianity has come to now.
And as far as our founding fathers wanting a peaceful society, yes, George Washington was something of an isolationist. But the peace of society really wasn't a consideration when an encounter with Native Americans took place, so I don't think we can assume that the founders were necessarily looking for absolute neutrality either. There was a lot of stuff in their writings about armed militias. And God knows, early America was an agressive, expansionist society. Not exactly nice to anyone who got in the way either.
What I was asking was - would it be possible, do you think, for a society based on the ultimate liberal values to survive as long as evolutionary processes are taking place. And if evolutionary processes( survival of the fittest) are a given, why do so many people who consider themselves liberals and believe in those processes also believe that society can function in an altruistic way.
I don't think it can- I think that there certain ideals, and that we should pursue those ideals, but only so long as their accomplishment can be reasonably expected. And if you can't reasonably expect them to be accomplished, then the good, and not the perfect, is what we need to seek.
I'm not sure I said that well, but I think that's the real basis of our differences.
I can't call myself a liberal because I can't beat my head against a brick wall hoping for something that I can't see ever happening, the nature of man being what it is. So, maybe this Southern Baptist Christian is more a believer in evolutionary concepts that some non believers are. Who knows.
NonnyO- and I agree with you. If there ever were a truly altruistic society- one that cared for all it's citizens regardless of their abilities, it would be led by women.
Not to show any disrespect for men, but they are simply more agressive in nature (again, the evolutionary thing) than women are.
Oh well- I'm off to bed now. Happy New year to all.
Linda Enterkin
I believe it's about balance and moderation but again, that's coming from a Buddhist framework, and also that greed and compassion are both in our makeup.
Our NEW America
Three Katrina evacuees dead in apparent double murder-suicide
GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) - A family of three Hurricane Katrina evacuees facing eviction were found dead Friday in their North Texas apartment in what police said appears to be a double murder-suicide.
The discovery was made after police were called by the apartment complex to assist in the eviction, Grapevine police Sgt. Todd Dearing said. He didn't know how long the Louisiana family had not been paying rent.
Found with gunshot wounds were a 40-year-old man, a 37-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy. Dearing said police found a shotgun believed to be the weapon.
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=AF0D1F1E-4358-497D-A075-E162A5CB9376
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at December 31, 2005 10:02 PM
"Survival of the fittest" was someone's inept interpretation of what Darwin espoused.
"Adaptation of species" is what he discovered. There are finches, for instance, on the Galapagos Islands who had common ancestors, but they adapted over time to separate species, eventually, and each eats different things which does not deplete the food resources for all, and thus they have not gone extinct through starvation or depletion of food resources. Ditto some of the other species on the Galapagos Islands. They had common ancestors, but adaptation over time led the various animals to eat different things, so they did not go extinct by branching out to feed on different food sources.
They adapted. They did not kill themselves or each other in a "survival of the fittest" mode. They adapted....
I consider myself a realist as well, but I don't subscribe to politicians who will do and say just about anything to stay in office or advance up the political food chain. Actually, I am probably less of a "liberal" than you imagine. I have said some of the things I have because it is the hypocrisy that bothers me most. I too recognize the futility of staying on a path that leads to nowhere, but that doesn't stop me from pointing out that our choices could be better.
No doubt America was not founded with the ideals and faults you mention, but as I said in my earlier post, it has taken us a long time to get to the point where our laws and Constitution are based on the ideals you describe. Can a society survive on equality and justice-that is the challenge of America. If we can't then America is doomed. Does equality mean redistribution of wealth? Not to me it doesn't. It means equal opportunity for wealth. But at the same time Americans do believe that there is a fundamental need to support those with the least. Communism IMHO does not equal liberalism, and that is why liberals believe that society can thrive with a liberal agenda. But, to answer your question, yes I believe we can survive as a nation dedicated to helping the least fortunate among us while recognizing that pure equality is never going to happen as *that* is a futile hope.
Well I now have made a hot drink containing coconut rum, vodka, butterscotch schnapps, Kalua coffee liquer and hot milk. This should make it all easier to bear ..
Posted by: Christy at December 31, 2005 09:48 PM
Gee, too bad he hasn't been on vacation for the other 1460 days. Could have saved a lot of lives if he had just been on vacation since being inaugurated the first time....
Next Time..
He should vacation in IRAQ
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at December 31, 2005 10:12 PM
That's because women give birth to the future generations. We are inclined to invest in the future and care what the future will hold for our offspring. For our species to survive, women must care about what conditions their children and grandchildren and their children's children's children (and so on) will inherit.
Some men care about those things, true; but the others who don't give a rip about more than today (or maybe tomorrow, at the latest - like boy Georgie) don't care whether our species survives or not as long as they can feed themselves and line their pockets with money today.
Our species can only adapt so far without killing itself off completely through war or pollution (not to mention killing off other species in the process).
There may come a time when Mother Nature, tired of human (and corporate) excesses, will simply cease feeding the gluttonous humans who have regularly disrupted the fine balance of Nature She created....
I am now eating dried fruit made by by Mountain Man brother in Oregon, who is tanning a hide using animal brain, getting ready for his Mountain Man rendezvous, where he will sell pipes that he makes. At least he eats what he kills.
Is it midnight on the west coast or is it an hour from now?
Posted by: Christy at December 31, 2005 10:51 PM
Quite frankly, I'd donate every last penny I have toward the cost of a first-class one-way ticket to Iraq for The Cretin.... Since he went AWOL during the Nam years, he owes us some time in the military, yes? (I don't have enough for the full cost of a ticket, but I'm sure others would donate a bit to make up for the rest of the price....) ;-)
Posted by: DiAnne at December 31, 2005 11:07 PM
The times of posting entries on this blog are east coast time, so when it hits midnight (Eastern Time), that will be the first time zone to ring in the New Year in the US. I'm in the Central Time zone, so it's still almost two hours to midnight for me, nearly three hours for Mountain Time, and nearly four hours for Pacific Time....
James Brown is singing "That's My Desire" with big band accompaniment and it is so beautiful..streaming from http://www.radionova.com, Paris France. So fine.
http://www.novaplanet.com sorry
NonnyO
Yeah so I'm Pacific. You need reservations for most parties and clubs here, and the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is is crowded and it's hard to get home when midnight is over, for the traffic. But I'm thinking of a place across the lake from it which might have a good view of the fireworks & not too hard to get back home. Depends on how my energy holds out. It's 8:18 here. Some of the radio stations have countdowns but haven't found anything that great. This Paris station is very multicultural and always very good.
We also live next door to a Hawaiian restaurant with karaoke - that could be cool. It's run by a guy who acted in Karaoke Kid II (from Hong Kong) - fun place! I do Patsy Cline numbers at times or attempt Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, or Karen Carpenter - that's about the extent of it. One night we did "Legalize It" by Peter Tosh and didn't realize it's about a 10 minute repetitious song so were stuck up there for a long time. Another time my husband and I tried to do "When Doves Cry" by Prince and completely butchered it, at an outdoor event in Portland.
Wow - this universe is as amazing as it is punishing. I just Googled this artist I was just listening to and look what I found:
FRIDAY 09/12/2005
Ms Dynamite helps 502,000 children set 'big sing' record
Joss Stone, Ms Dynamite and Lemar helped set a new singing record for the largest number of children singing simultaneously today.
Big Sing featured 502,000 children, who were also raising money for UK children`s cancer charity CLIC Sargent and the African Children`s Choir.
The existing Guinness World Record featured 83,637 children and was achieved three years ago.
Soul singer Stone, Lemar and Ms Dynamite led the youngsters in a rendition of Lean on Me at the Royal Albert Hall. Children at schools across the country sang along as the proceedings in London were broadcast on local radio. The event, which will be followed by a concert tonight at the Royal Albert Hall, was co-ordinated by Young Voices, an organisation which aims to encourage choral singing in schools.
A Big Sing spokeswoman said: "We have had 502,000 children registered to take part in the singing.
"Witnesses will be signing declarations for the number of people taking part, which will be sent on to Guinness World Records."
The African`s Children`s Choir, who were also at the Royal Albert Hall, help children in Africa who have suffered as a result of war, sickness or poverty. The event is expected to raise £500,000.
See - there is so much that can be done - consider that Time Magazine features Bono of U2 and Bill & Melinda Gates rather than any number of horrible but prominent people they could have chosen.
==Wow - now these French are playing Rosemary Clooney with Perez Prado - "Sway"
Why am I not there?!
Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year!Democratic leadership in 2006!
Here in the midwest the party for the kids continues, and of course one of the girls feels "like she is going to throw up"..............aaaaaah 2006 couldn't start any sweeter.
Pacific NW - heading out to the Hawaiian place for karaoke soon but listening to Hendrix on French radio, "Wait Until Tomorrow" - just heard Tricky, "Overcome"
Also just got an email from Vancouver BC that we can indeed expect several young men showing up tomorrow morning on Amtrak - better lay in some supplies!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVRYBODY!!
My pillow is calling now........................
MOST VALUABLE PROGRESSIVES OF 2005
John Nichols, The Nation
The year is ending on a much better note than it began, thanks to the courage and conviction of elected officials,
activists and organizations.
http://www.alternet.org/story/30176/
WORDS TO WATCH IN 2006
Sean Gonsalves, AlterNet
In keeping with traditional year-end contemplation, I offer 'special collection program' as a phrase to watch next year.
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/30144/
Happy New Year Everyone....
May 2006 bring us unrivaled joy with much talk of IMPEACHMENT of the administration that is evil and illegal to its very core....
Go To The Light:
The irony of Bush, the NSA and Gonzales whipping up a criminal investigation into who dared tell the public that they were breaking the law will be lost on far too many Americans.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11424.htm
Raise your hand if you think anyone of "importance" to The Cretin's administration or circle of friends will be affected by Abramoff's ratting on anyone.... If anyone besides minor (therefore, expendable) players are affected by Abramoff's deal, someone will have to bring smelling salts to me because I will have fainted from shock....
Bush removal ended Guam investigation:
A US grand jury in Guam opened an investigation of controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff more than two years ago, but President Bush removed the supervising federal prosecutor, and the probe ended soon after.
http://tinyurl.com/duu9h
Controversial lobbyist had close contact with Bush team:
In President Bush's first 10 months, GOP fundraiser Jack Abramoff and his lobbying team logged nearly 200 contacts with the new administration as they pressed for friendly hires at federal agencies and sought to keep the Northern Mariana Islands exempt from the minimum wage and other laws, records show.
http://tinyurl.com/7lxpe
Nonprofit group linked to DeLay was funded mostly by clients of lobbyist :
The U.S. Family Network, a public-advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to tax records and former associates of the group.
http://tinyurl.com/cyu5j
Abramoff ready to rat on members of Congress:
The plea agreement would secure the Republican lobbyist's testimony against several members of Congress who received favors from him or his clients.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7924.shtml
NonnyO
You still at it? Well right on!
Listening to Sonic Youth & just came from Ivar's Salmon House, where there was some karaoke so bad it was good & we got a pretty good view of the Space Needle fireworks, but as I hoped, no traffic hassles.
I realized that I'm going to start celebrating New Year's Eve for the kitsch holiday it is - right up there with Halloween. Maybe what we need to do is have more cabarets like they did in Germany in the 1930s. It seems like circus and burlesque are enjoying a resurgence here in Seattle - maybe it's a sign.
Well gonna upload some photos and wait for my new kids to come in on the train!
& I admit it - I couldn't stop myself from screaming "Impeach Bush" at the top of my lungs out there on the waterfront after the countdown to midnight.
US spies said to share eavesdropping data
http://tinyurl.com/dzdg7 (Reuters)
Data swept up by the U.S. National Security Agency's controversial eavesdropping on communications between the United States and overseas has been sent to sister federal agencies for cross-checking with other databases, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.
Citing current and former administration officials whom it did not identify, the Post said the NSA had handed such information to the Defense Intelligence Agency among other government offices.
Information from intercepts -- which typically includes records of telephone or e-mail communications -- would be made available by request to agencies "that are allowed to have it, including the FBI, DIA, CIA and Department of Homeland Security," one former official was quoted as saying.
The New York Times reported two weeks ago that President George W. Bush had authorized the NSA to monitor, without court orders, the international telephone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens suspected of links to foreign terrorists.
A 1978 law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, makes it illegal to spy on U.S. citizens in the United States without the approval of a special court.
Bush quickly acknowledged the program, sparked by the September 11 attacks. The Justice Department has launched an investigation to determine who disclosed it, officials said on Friday.
Bush and senior administration officials have argued that the policy of authorizing the eavesdropping -- without court orders -- was legal and necessary to help defend the country after September 11. The White House has said the program was narrow in scope and that key congressional leaders were briefed about it.
Agencies that get the information can use it for "data mining," or looking for patterns or matches with other databases that they maintain "which may or may not be specifically geared toward detecting terrorism threats," the Post quoted a former official as saying.
The NSA did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. The Post said spokesmen for the FBI, CIA and the director of national intelligence, John Negroponte, also declined to comment on the use of NSA data.
The New York Times reported on its Web site on Sunday that James Comey, a top deputy to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, objected in 2004 to aspects of the NSA's domestic surveillance program and refused to sign on to its continued use among concerns over its legality and oversight.
Citing officials with knowledge of the situation, the Times said the concerns prompted two of Bush's top aides -- Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Alberto Gonzales, then White House counsel and now attorney general, to try to get needed approval from Ashcroft while he was in a Washington hospital for gallbladder surgery.
The Times said accounts of the hospital meeting differed, but that some officials said Ashcroft also appeared reluctant to give his authorization to continue with aspects of the program. It was unclear if the White House persuaded Ashcroft to approve the program or proceeded without it, the Times said.
It added the concerns appeared to have played a part in the Justice Department's decision to suspend and revamp the program, according to officials.
The Times said Comey, the White House and Ashcroft declined to comment on the report, while Gonzales could not be reached.
Sign Tallying Military Deaths Upsets Army By PATRICK CONDON, Associated Press Writer
Sat Dec 31, 7:49 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051231/ap_on_re_us/iraq_sign
DULUTH, Minn. - Scott Cameron never imagined his modest memorial to American troops in Iraq would transform a quiet street here into the latest front of the nation's tense debate about the war in Iraq.
His sign tallying the war's dead and wounded rests feet from the local Army recruiting office, and Cameron's refusal to take it down despite Army requests has drawn national attention. The fuss is giving the Vietnam veteran a chance to air a view he wishes he'd expressed long ago.
"The way veterans have been treated in this country is shameful," Cameron said this week.
His tribute has irritated the military recruiters next door, who dislike the daily reminder of friends lost. Staff Sgt. Gary Capan, the post's commander, requested that the sign come down for his colleagues' benefit.
"They're saying, 'Why should we have to look at that? We lost people over there,'" said Staff Sgt. Gary Capan, the post's commander. "It's not just a number to them."
Some of Cameron's supporters believe the sign will hurt recruiting.
"You're a young kid and you see those stark numbers, you might realize there's a cost you didn't consider," said Gary Tonkin, a Vietnam veteran.
It all started a month ago, when Cameron, a volunteer for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Kelley, posted a sign in the window of the campaign's local office. It reads, "Remember the Fallen Heroes," and contains three tallies: the number of American troops killed in Iraq, the number wounded and the days passed since the war began.
"The sacrifices our troops and their families are making are an important part of Minnesotans' lives right now," said Kelley, one of several Democrats seeking to unseat Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty next year. "If this draws attention to that, it's all to the good as far as I'm concerned."
As of Friday, the sign reported 2,177 troops had been killed and 16,155 injured, after 1,017 days in Iraq. Capan said the sign hasn't hurt recruiting: "We had three people sign up just today," he said earlier this week.
It's not the first dust-up over the U.S. military's continued presence in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed there, camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch for weeks.
Duluth seems an unlikely location for the latest flare-up. The city of brick mansions and steep hills rising off Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota is a stronghold of blue-collar progressivism mixed with old-fashioned Midwestern patriotism.
Many residents seem uncomfortable with the controversy.
"This really shouldn't be that big a deal," Sam Johnson said. His companion, Lisa Whitestone, said, "I think it's a fair thing to be reminded that there's a cost for us to be over there."
Cameron said he never intended to discourage recruiting efforts — but he's not particularly concerned if it does.
A native of Spokane, Wash., he went to Vietnam at 19. He was injured when AK-47 fire ripped through the floor of a helicopter he was riding in, hitting his spine and collapsing his left lung.
He's had nearly four dozen surgeries since then, he said, and supports himself with his disability pension.
Cameron said he's always regretted not speaking out against Vietnam after his injury. He's hoping to steer media attention over the sign toward veterans' problems. He wants Congress to pass legislation that would prevent future cuts in benefits.
He said he's contacted several manufacturers to produce and market a line of signs like his that war opponents could post on their lawns or elsewhere. A portion of the profits would go to veterans organizations.
"I'm in awe of what's happening here," Cameron said. "If that sign can be used as a force for good, then it's worth it."
Happy New Year to everyone from Bluffton, South Carolina.
Hey, it IS ok to say Happy New Year, right?
Or is it now, "Happy Year of Our Lord, 2006, A.D."?
O'Reilly's got a brand new bag.
Posted by: marc trager at January 1, 2006 09:49 AM
Oh God, Please tell me O'liely isn't doing that?
I think you just gave him an idea... :(
Happy New Year everyone. This is the time to start talking to people, registering them to vote, and following up with registration parties for after they receive their voter id card in the mail.
January seems to be chock full of activities, so I'd like to suggest a community gathering maybe once a month in one way or another. Remember, it doesn't have to be you that organizes it, but as a friend or group member to help.
Seems to me, Christy's tea party needs another great followup. And one per month until November will make a big difference.
To Karen, DiAnne, oncall, Christy, Linda, Otter, NonnyO and NMP,
What a marvelous discussion you had yesterday. I truly enjoyed reading it. And I think that the William Raspberry column that Otter highlighted refers to some of what we do here.
To PCDoc, Sunny, NativeTexan4Kerry and KerryDemocrat,
It was so good to hear from you. Do stop in again soon and let us know what you're up to and what you think.
To those who stopped to read but didn't post,
Please jump right in. Say hello. Tell us what you think.
And last but not least, Happy New Year to each and every DCPer and visitor and here’s to all our hopes for a better year for our country.
dwahzon
Posted by: dwahzon at January 1, 2006 10:06 AM
I second Dwahzon's comments.
from Tela Zaslof
Teresa Heinz Kerry: The Outrageous Silence of George W. Bush ">http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1500>
The Outrageous Silence of George W. Bush By Teresa Heinz Kerry
In calling the Holocaust “a myth,” as he did last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has drunk from the bloody cup shared by the malevolent enemies of equality and justice, the ultra right-wingers and haters who live in history’s shadows.
Need it be said, again? The gas chambers, the bureaucratic system of murder, the efforts to sever an entire people from their place in this world, did happen, did exist and remains a unifying cause for those who choose justice, now and forever more.
This latest outburst gives the Bush administration a second opportunity to send a strong message in support of Israel and of the global community, and to make a clear statement against bigotry and hatred. This time, President Bush should not let the moment pass — as he did after Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” in an October 28 hate-filled speech.
Ahmadinejad’s denial of the Holocaust and his denigration of an important ally and close friend of America was an outrage. But so, too, was the tepid American response.
The Bush administration — which so often answers challenges with confrontational language — took this occasion to whisper. With the exception of America’s ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, who denounced the remarks as “pernicious and unacceptable,” the Bush administration explained those comments as if they had been uttered by a crazy relative — and then returned to its talking points on Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice noted widespread condemnation of the remarks, but did not offer condemnation of her own: “When the president of one country says that another country should be wiped off the face of the map in violation of all of the norms of the United Nations… it has to be taken seriously…. There has been widespread condemnation of this statement and it only demonstrates why we’re working so hard to keep Iran from getting technologies that would lead to a nuclear weapon.”
The State Department’s spokesman, Sean McCormack, anemically noted that Ahmadinejad’s statement “reconfirms what we have been saying… and I think it underscores our concern as well as the international community’s concern about Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
President Bush’s press secretary, Scott McClellan, told reporters matter-of-factly that, “Many leaders in the international community have spoken out about the comments that were made.”
But Bush was not among them. Not a single word of disapproval passed the president’s lips.
The lesson of the last century and more is clear: Acts of hatred often follow words of hatred, and the best way to head off hideous deeds is to respond swiftly and with certainty. Instead of explaining away Iran’s behavior, or scoring minor tactical points, it is time to let the antisemites know that Americans will not tolerate their calls for violence or especially grievous insults to history.
Let me explain my outrage. I grew up under a dictatorship, in Mozambique. Grown-ups could not speak out against the repression and injustice that surrounded us. But since leaving, I have demonstrated and marched against tyranny and hate.
I began my formal work against antisemitism in 1977, when I joined the Congressional Wives for Soviet Jewry, a group I would later co-chair. It was an honor to meet and stand with Refuseniks like Ida Nudel, Judith Rattner, Vladimir Slepak, Natan Sharansky and so many others. I visited Russia many times, and met with people who had been systematically and sometimes brutally repressed. I learned from them that when we say “never again,” we have to mean it.
Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi of Great Britain, has compared antisemitism to a virus, surviving through millennia by mutating: religious anti-Judaism into racial antisemitism, and now antisemitism morphing into anti-Zionism. Whatever the rationalization its adherents hide behind, though, antisemitism has always had at its heart the same things: bigotry and hate and fear.
The only way to prevent the virus from surviving and spreading is to attack, killing it with the strongest possible condemnations before it has a chance to mutate and spread. In October, Bush missed a chance to do that. Now he has a second chance to speak out. I hope he will take it.
It is time for Iran to be confronted by a unified, outraged and outspoken Bush administration, an administration that feels and dispenses the cleansing heat that such virulent words deserve.
Teresa Heinz Kerry is the wife of Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
THK should not be surprised.
This administration is ideological, but about what we should do in our personal lives, not how people should treat one another. Their interest in the middle east is because of the resources that lie under the sand.
& THK is a powerful writer and speaker, a story teller born in an oral culture, transferred to a junk food media culture.
Happy Freaking New Year
Insurgents Explode 8 Car Bombs in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Insurgents exploded eight car bombs in separate attacks in Baghdad early Sunday, wounding 11 people but causing no deaths, police said.
The bombs exploded within a span of several hours across the city. Police also found a ninth bomb and detonated it, but no one was hurt.
One of the bombs exploded in northern Baghdad as an Iraqi army patrol was passing, wounding two soldiers, police Lt. Bilal Ali Majid said.
The other wounded people were all civilians.
Last Monday, the day after Christmas, attackers exploded six vehicle bombs in Baghdad, killing five people and wounding more than 40.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_CAR_BOMBS?SITE=NYNYD&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Republocrats vs. Demuglicans??
Is this TRULY the best we can do? Are we STILL clinging to the idea that there is a DIFFERENCE between the party participants?
It seems that there are NO politicians that can make up their minds on ANY given subject...IE...Hilary Clinton on the war...Is torture acceptable...Should we spy on American citizens...
If your still "walking the tight rope" or "setting on the fence" unable to understand the concept of "Right and Wrong"...in the face of the evil, lying, cheating, manipulating...even MURDERING that goes on in the name of "Freedom and Democracy", then I fear there is not much hope for government in general.
I have a good friend that says, "Your problem is, that you still think there is is a difference between the parties", and that what people want is NOT freedom...but "another link in their chain". Who wants to give up the corporate sponsored health care benifits they enjoy?...Or those checks from the government that come at retirement age? All we REALLY seem to want is another link in our chains...to be a bit LESS restricted in our daily lives...but only to a point.
One of our own group here, Oncall (a person by the way that I have the HIGHEST respect and regard for) said just last night that he would "hold his nose, and vote for Hilary" if that was the best the Democrats could do in '08. Im sorry..but if Hilary is the BEST we can do...we are in serious trouble as a nation.
I'm afraid our own "irreverant reverand Indy" was correct...we no longer have a two party system, but "Corporatist" and their Lackeys...neither side able to rock the boat too much, in fear of angering the Corporate GODS.
I believe that it may be the case that NOTHING that happens in Washington DC really matters much (at least as far as the "People" are concerned. It may just be that the "best we can hope for" is to get involved in our own local government systems in our home towns and counties...and attempt to make life better for ourselves and neighbors, and hope that the wider state and national systems stay OUT OF OUR BUSINESS!
That "Cabin in the hills, with the long winding driveway with the gate at the road" is looking better and better to me all the time. But people, being the nosey, meddling creatures we are, wont let that happen...just look at Ruby Ridge, and Waco for examples of how they react to THAT solution...
I pray that by 2008 the issues that polarize this nation can be defined, and refind so as to be absolutely clear in our minds...but with the spin and lie machines on BOTH SIDES clouding those issues, I think the odds are not good...2006 may indeed be the more relevant year in politics (assuming that politics really ARE relevant to the individual anymore).
Maybe it would have been a good idea for our representives, rather that posturing, to have attmepted to find out exactly WHY most of the world HATES the US, going back to the iranian hostage crisis in 1980, and even further back to the "banana republics" of the 50's. I wish I had an answer to THAT question...
In 2k6...lets try and "keep it real" folks.
Doing a little reading this morning and here is a hands-on effort that's doable and high-impact. There's a story on dailykos that the AAR station in Phoenix, AZ has been sold and they've now been informed that the AAR programming will be dropped.
Here's one of the replies to that post. I've included the whole thing just because it's so well laid out:
Don't worry, if no one else does YOU can bring AAR back to Phoenix.
In fact, any can bring Air America Radio broadcasts to their local community, no matter how conservative: the recipe is below:
For instance, six concerned citizens of Baton Rouge, deep in rethug territory, were able to get a local station to convert to Air America -- by gathering only 1,000 signatures on a petition.
For the recipe on how it was done -- and how you can easily convince one of your local stations to convert to the fresh air of entertaining truth, go to the link, or the recipe, below:
Step one: Check to see if AAR is already broadcasting in your area by visiting their web page at http://www.airamericaradio.com/stations . (Even if there is an affiliate station near you, it may not broadcast to all of your area.)
Step two: Determine the lowest-rated radio stations in your area by going to http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings/DefaultSearch.aspx?ShowAll=yes , which lists all the radio markets in the country. (The lower the number, the lower the rating--the ratings are actually percentages of the total market in that area.) When you click on a market such as "Cleveland," you can see the ratings for all the stations in that market. (Note: To identify the geographical area for each "radio market," visit this web page http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/mktdefs.asp ).
Step three: Find the mailing address and other contact information for the lowest rated stations in your area. This could be a handful of stations or a few dozen--it's up to you.
Step four: Call up the station managers and express your interest having an AAR affiliate station in your community, and find out who has the authority to change the station's formats. This may be the station manager or some one higher up on the corporate ladder. Be polite. Do not make it into a protest.
Step five: Once the decision makers are identified, ask the decision makers if they are receptive to the idea of switching to AAR and what factors would influence their decision. Try to be helpful to them.
Step six: Based on your conversations with station's corporate decision makers, identify a few stations that seem to have the best chance of becoming an AAR affiliate station. If decision makers do not convey any real interest in switching, you will probably have a very hard time convincing them to switch regardless of what you do.
Step seven: Let the stations know that other people may be writing to them to demonstrate support in your community for progressive radio. (Again, don't turn this into a protest of the existing format. Keep your relationship with the station friendly and helpful.)
Step eight: Determine the number of Kerry voters in your area by checking with your county auditor, secretary of state, etc. This can help you make the case that there are listeners in your area for AAR. Regardless of where you live, there will almost certainly be thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Kerry voters in your local radio market.
Step nine: Organize an effort for people to write letters to the decision-makers of these low-rated stations. An example is below.
Step ten: Print a copy of this article about a Portland station that successfully transitioned to Air America Radio and include it with the letter to each station manager. http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=26823
Step eleven: Ask other local democratic and progressive groups to help write letters.
Step twelve: Keep in contact with the decision maker for the station. After the letters start coming into his/her office, call her/him and ask what she/he thinks of the support for AAR in the listening area.
Sincerely,
Bryan E. Burke, and Tobe from Spokane
Eastern Washington Voters
P.S. Here is a sample letter.
Dear Station manager,
I am interested in listening to Air America Radio in Spokane, and so are others. Over 143,000 people in Spokane and the surrounding counties voted for John Kerry in 2004. These voters could become KAQQ listeners.
October ratings have positioned KAQQ at number 21. Certainly you have a much better understanding of ratings than myself, but from what I gather I think KAQQ can follow the success of KPOJ in Portland Oregon. KPOJ is a Clear Channel owned station that has recently become an Air America Affiliate. http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=26823 .
According to Pete Sculberg, "Since KPOJ switched from oldies music to the new Air America network last March, the progressive format has made the station one of the most listened-to in Portland, and advertisers are following." Mike Dirkx is the operations manager at KPOJ. He is available to discuss the transition his station has made.
See the original diary here with the embedded links...
http://www.dailykos.com/hotlist/add/2005/7/18/144723/171/displaystory//
"Looking in the Mirror" described very well much of what I see everday in my work as a government appointee (democrat, by the way). Not to sound like I have "the answer", here is an answer that folks might find helpful. In group process, there are basically two modes: opening and closing. Opening is brainstorming, dialoging without boundaries and so forth. Closing is narrowing down the field, creating priorities and making decisions. From observation, I'd say that right wingers tend to err on the side of being too narrow, too closed and they become rigid. Left wingers are the opposite--too open, no boundaries, and too loosey-goosey to move forward and be effective. What's needed is a balance, somewhere in the middle of these extremes. For groups I work with that are too open, I use tools to help them close..for example, multi-voting, grouping into categories, straw polling, consensus testing, etc. A good facilitator or group leader will recognize when group is too loose (or too rigid) and use these tools to make adjustments. If this sounds like gobbledy gook, my apologies. Maybe what progressives need as a group is some solid training in facilitation and group process techniques. Because as Karen so aptly put it, we are wasting a lot of energy going nowhere, if we have no boundaries at all. Getting focused is about having and using the tools to get focused... and not being afraid that you'll lose your creativity, acceptance of other views and diversity if you do get focused!
Posted by: inch at January 1, 2006 10:01 PM
Excellent observations, inch. Balance & focus are good mantras.
I agree, inch. Our own Veritas and I had a conversation in the irc chat room one evening about exactly that. Facilitators can be very helpful with getting people to focus and participate. She, too, is a trained facilitator.
When I was working on the planning for the Sept. 24-26 mobilizations in Washington, one thing I will praise was the overt facilitation that some of the group leaders brought. For one thing, they pointed out at the beginning of each meeting that we all needed to be aware of the traditional patterns of speakers at such meetings. (The white guys do all the talking).
It was helpful to be reminded of those patterns. Most of the other meetings I have been in lately have not been that conscious.
The next few weeks are going to be interesting. For one thing, I am sending this essay out and about. And I plan to speak up about the issues herein. There is a great deal we must accomplish, and I so appreciate all the backup from people here as we work together to make a difference.
OT, but not so much.
This morning I had the opportunity to watch a debate on a news channel dedicated to George Cloney's last movie (which title I have forgotten)...and that lasted for about an hour.
Besides the journalist, you had 2 political specialists of American politics and society, the head of a political survey company and a writer, who recently wrote a book on Hoover.
The first half hour was dedicated to the dark eras of America's political history, from the Salem witches, the 20'ies, Hoover and Mac Carthism, Nixon...and the American paranoia about security. Same causes, same use of fear and propaganda, same results : everybody behind the commander in chief...thinking coming later.
The second part was dedicated to the movie and the parallel with the Bush administration with the role of the media. They talked a lot about Edward Murray, who in their opinion was the touchstone of American journalism, that unfortunately vanished away. There was also a ferocious attack of FOX, the propaganda machine together with the fact that the strength of American democracy, each time it was in danger, is that it was saved by ordinary citizens who started again to think by themselves.
That may seem weird seen from far, but what I want to stress is that your country, politics, administration and media are still on close watch outside.
Andree... The name of the movie is Good Night & Good Luck and it was taken from Edward R. Murrow's signature closing phrase in his newscasts.
Here's a couple informative sites about him:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/murrow_e.html
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/murrowedwar/murrowedwar.htm
If you get the chance to see the movie, please go. The parallels between then and now are incredibly striking. Very thought-provoking.
dwazon,
Thank you for the information. The movie is due to come out next Thursday in France, but what stroke me is that is was given a deep political analysis by people known for their expertise who generally discuss serious matters.
I'll check the links and that way i'll learn more about Edward Murray.
Sorry,
Murrow, not Murray.
I checked and read, it's great!
I saw that movie several weeks ago in our town's second run movie house. The audience applauded. After watching it, I went to Yahoo's movie site to see what others had said. Most agreed that it was an excellent movie with relevant ties to today's political and media situation. There were several who were outraged by the "propaganda" and one comment that stood out to me was the one that asked: what had happened to America to let such a climate of fear permeate the country?
The other night I posted JFK's inaguaral speech. I believe it is somewhere in this thread. If you haven't yet listened to it-I urge you to do so. Also read along as you listen. His speech is timeless and asks Americans to examine what is happening to them and their country.
... and the winner for the longest thread of 2006 goes tooooooooo.....
Posted by: marc trager at January 2, 2006 11:17 AM
What was the longest thread on the JK blog?
I seem to remember trashing the bottom of one as a complete newbie with a post 32,000 feet long.
"what had happened to America to let such a climate of fear permeate the country?"
Oncall,
That was largely discussed this morning through different times and events in your history. Clooney summed it up in a sarcastic sentence. "America seems to go nuts every 30 years before coming back to reason".
About the fear/paranoia syndrom, the journalists also pointed out that while Mac Carthysm was raging in the States together with ferocious public hearings, the same was going on in Russia but in total secret and lots of killings.
Fear seems to be inherent to American mentality, being used and overused over the years. For which purpose? You are the super power of the world!
I hope America DOES come back to reason after going nuts!
That may seem weird seen from far, but what I want to stress is that your country, politics, administration and media are still on close watch outside.
Posted by: Andrée - France at January 2, 2006 09:31 AM
I try to explain that to people and most don't listen, but I have 4 young Frenchmen asleep in my living room who know at least as much about America as I do about France! Their alarm clock has just gone off and what is playing? Parliament Funkadelic!
The whole world is connected. Isolationism is not possible in a global economy.
The Washington Note's Steve Clemons asks...
Do you know what a democracy is, Mr. Bush? Do you know what checks-and-balances means?
Would you please scribble out an essay -- in your own hand -- as to what you think the limits of Executive Power are? Or, do you feel that the Chief Executive has no limits?
http://thewashingtonnote.com/
Now there's a great question for the next press conference... Wonder if his answer would be similar to his definition of sovereignty...
Posted by: Andrée - France at January 2, 2006 11:30 AM
Fear is human nature.
Fear is a driving force for all of us and is it a surprise that those who are most religiously zealot also (the most spiritually worried about heaven and hell) are the ones who intentionally utilize the innate fear factor to get what they want?
"You are the super power of the world!"
That's just it, Andree -- we're not. Not any more. Or, even if you assume that we ever really were, we are very soon not to be the super power of the world any more. And that, I believe, has a lot to do with the current crop of neocons' desperation and their hold-the-last-bunker mentality.
Ten years from now -- probably more like five, actually -- America will be a second-tier superpower. Which country will really be dominating the world through sheer size, economic power, military might, etc. instead of us? China.
We know it. They know it. The whole world knows it. Certainly the bunker-boys in Washington (Cheney, Rumsefeld, et al) know it. And that worries the bejeezus out of them. Hence the completely fupped-duck position we find ourselves in now, with those retro remnants still at the helm even though their time has long since come and gone away again.
They will give us the reins of power when we pry them from their cold, dead fingers, to paraphrase a catchphrase that the right wingnuts are famous for bandying about as though it made some kind of actual sense.
There is not, nor will there ever be, a "Pax Americana." Sorry to break the news to you, beltway boys, but you missed your shot at the golden bucket. Get used to it.
we were a better country when we weren't on top of the dogpile,
Otter
Something that reminds me to keep going -- Jane Eyre: "...I remembered that the real world was wide, and that a varied field of hopes and fears, of sensations and excitements, awaited those who had courage to go forth into its expanse, to seek real knowledge of life amidst its perils." Les
Just FYI, there is a new defect that's been found that will affect all Windows OS computers. Using Firefox vs. Internet Explorer does NOT protect you. Up-to-date antivirus software will NOT protect you at this time. I'd strongly suggest NO websurfing until you secure your computer.
A plain english explanation can be found here...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/1/235748/4675
Steps to take to protect your system along with more detailed info on just what is affected may be found here...
http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=994
for those who want to be really geeky, check out this one...
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/archive-012006.html#00000760
and this one...
http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=996
In her latest column (which of course is excellent and well worth reading as usual), Molly Ivins puts forth a key framing issue that, if we play our cards right, could very well be one of the cornerstones of our upcoming say-less-but-do-more campaign to take back our country from the heartless illegitimae currently calling the shots (no pun intended) in our nation's capital:
-----
2006 makes the ninth year in a row the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour. It's bad economics, it's bad policy, it's stupid, it's unfair, and it's high damn time to do something about it. It is also, as Sen. Edward Kennedy says, a moral issue.
The Democrats have a new strategy that may finally get the Republicans off the pot. They're working to get a minimum wage increase on state ballots, including Ohio, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Arkansas and Montana. The theory is that putting a minimum-wage increase on the ballot does for Democrats what putting on an anti-gay marriage proposition does for Republicans -- it gets out the base.
Of the seven states with the best chance to have minimum wage ballot initiatives, five were decided by less than 10 percentage points in the most recent presidential election. In theory, this should scare the happy pappy out of the Republicans, who will then vote to increase the minimum wage the first chance they get in Congress, thus assuring an increase either way. Clever, eh?
[snip]
Full article here: http://tinyurl.com/8z7bn
-----
pick five key issues and beat the bam dastards to death with 'em,
Otter
Welcome Les! Thanks for venturing out...
(Hey--a guy who read Jane Eyre!)
dwahzon--is there a good patch?
Can you tell us all what to do?
Otter
Pretty good analysis too - my son took a political science course that heavily covered the Pacific Rim and made predictions for 50 years from now. We were definitely 2nd tier.
In "Bowling for Columbine," Michael Moore touches on the fear factor r/t guns, locking doors etc. When I was 15, I took a Greyhound to Canada to look up penpals. It was during the Vietnam War. I found Canadians in general to be much better informed about world affairs. I was told, "It's because we're not a super power."
I'm glad if more people in US are waking up - we have been too comfortable and it wasn't safe to make the assumption that we didn't have to protect our basic rights.
Posted by: dwahzon at January 2, 2006 11:55 AM
To one terrific techie from a totally inept nontechie...
Bye!
Posted by: Karen at January 2, 2006 12:00 PM
Follow the steps outlined in the SANS Institute FAQ link:
http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=994
If it takes awhile to load, be patient. It's getting hit heavily. If it fails, try again.
For everyone who saw me going schitzo last night..
Thank you.
Both of my brothers homes are intact, and my grandfathers and grandmothers too. We only lost one shed last night.
Please God let it rain in Oklahoma.
Posted by: Les Bradley at January 2, 2006 11:51 AM
Thank you, Les.
"Are you a good patch, or a bad patch?"
Well, the links that dwahzon so adroitly posted for us can only lead us to a temporary patch. It's a bit rough around the edges, but it'll have to be good enough for now until Micro$loth gets off its overbloated asterisk and does something about this stupid 15-year-old security hole by finally releasing a good patch of its own devising.
So it looks like we'll all be going through a rough patch for the time being. But, hey, going through a rough patch is still better than being so poorly programmed that we don't even have a patch to pitch in.
Nu?
it's just more trickery geekery doc,
Otter
Here's a special shoutout to the DNC, the DCCC, and all the discouraged Big-D and little-d democrats out there:
"If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down."
-- Mary Pickford
never give up and never give in,
Otter
Just cause it made me giggle...
Snip
What may be the first depiction of a gay kiss was discovered in a 4,000-year-old Egyptian tomb, according to a recent conference at the University of Wales.
Their arms entwined, their torsos and noses touching Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep were painted together for eternity in an embrace usually associated with heterosexual couples of the 5th dynasty.
Snip...
The official view by one of the world's most eminent Egyptologists, Zahi Hawass, is that they were brothers, perhaps even conjoined twins
http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article336093.ece
HAHAHA Conjoined AT THE LIPS!!!!!
Hey check this out... Write to this guy and let him know what you think...
His article is titled..'Has Bush Gone Too Far..?'
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1145242,00.html
I can't stand to read articles with these titles:
Billions in Reconstruction Money Diverted for Other Uses In Iraq
Bolton Testimony Revealed Domestic Spying
Nowhere to run!! It's all too much!!
Posted by: Christy at January 2, 2006 12:16 PM
Glad they're alright. Scary moments there...
It's never too early to start looking beyond the next event horizon...
-----
AFTER THE WAR
by Howard Zinn, The Progressive, 1/06 issue
The war against Iraq, the assault on its people, the occupation of its cities, will come to an end, sooner or later. The process has already begun. The first signs of mutiny are appearing in Congress. The first editorials calling for withdrawal from Iraq are beginning to appear in the press. The anti-war movement has been growing, slowly but persistently, all over the country.
Public opinion polls now show the country decisively against the war and the Bush Administration. The harsh realities have become visible. The troops will have to come home.
And while we work with increased determination to make this happen, should we not think beyond this war? Should we begin to think, even before this shameful war is over, about ending our addiction to massive violence and instead using the enormous wealth of our country for human needs? That is, should we begin to speak about ending war—not just this war or that war, but war itself? Perhaps the time has come to bring an end to war, and turn the human race onto a path of health and healing.
[snip]
Full article here: http://progressive.org/mag_zinn0106
-----
it's a zinn not to tell a lie,
Otter
Gee. Go figure.
-----
U.S. HAS END IN SIGHT ON IRAQ REBUILDING
Documents Show Much of the Funding Diverted to Security, Justice System and Hussein Inquiry
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 2, 2006
BAGHDAD -- The Bush administration does not intend to seek any new funds for Iraq reconstruction in the budget request going before Congress in February, officials say. The decision signals the winding down of an $18.4 billion U.S. rebuilding effort in which roughly half of the money was eaten away by the insurgency, a buildup of Iraq's criminal justice system and the investigation and trial of Saddam Hussein.
Just under 20 percent of the reconstruction package remains unallocated. When the last of the $18.4 billion is spent, U.S. officials in Baghdad have made clear, other foreign donors and the fledgling Iraqi government will have to take up what authorities say is tens of billions of dollars of work yet to be done merely to bring reliable electricity, water and other services to Iraq's 26 million people.
"The U.S. never intended to completely rebuild Iraq," Brig. Gen. William McCoy, the Army Corps of Engineers commander overseeing the work, told reporters at a recent news conference. In an interview this past week, McCoy said: "This was just supposed to be a jump-start."
[snip]
Full story here: http://tinyurl.com/drtuw
-----
billions for tribute but not one cent for defense,
Otter
One of the French students just asked me,
"What did the conservatives say when they found out Bush had lied about the weapons of mass destruction?"
So I told them how some people believe he has a halo over his head and anything he does is ok, and about the "flypaper theory" - that we have to "fight them over there so we won't fight them here" and they were absolutely amazed, stunned.
On the other hand, they also told me that they are noticing (and hearing in their country) that America is polarized between the left and the right. They told me to get used it, that they've had that going on for centuries.
What was that about turning something into a parking lot again?
-----
US FORCES STEP UP IRAQ AIRSTRIKES
American forces are dramatically stepping up air attacks on insurgents in Iraq as they prepare to start the withdrawal of ground troops in the spring.
The number of airstrikes in 2005, running at a monthly average of 25 until August, surged to 120 in November and an expected 150 in December, according to official military figures.
The tempo looks set to increase this year as the Americans pull back from urban combat, leaving street fighting increasingly to Iraqi forces supported by US air power.
[snip]
Full story here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1965182,00.html
-----
wow, what a bomber, dude,
Otter
I was also told, "Is it true that the government can see what books you have been reading at the library? So is that the way to catch terrorists then?" LOL
We are comparing stories of growing up in small rural towns and who has used the most primitive can openers and milked the most goats. (Only one kid is qualified to do that)
They were showing photos on the computer, taken in Vancouver BC, and one was pissing off the ferry. He said, "Oh, you're not supposed to see that." I said, "Yeah I know, it's a French thing" and they all started laughing. I know French men do not have a hangup about that, but neither do my two brothers.
I'm having fun - this is almost as fun as travelling. Now they are making sandwiches and finding out "cheese" is not the same thing as "frommage." One shower stopped working and the guy had to wrap up in a towel long enough so I could find some pliers and get them to him.
We also drank this $1.99 wine from Electric Reindeer Winery and it wasn't too bad - a little sweet. I was able to get rid of all of my holiday leftovers. One thing I know about boys - from anywhere in the world - they will eat anything.
This is one of my favorite forms of diplomatic work.
Otter
heh heh heh heh
(We've been watching Beavis and Butthead .. I think if they joined the military they would be getting very excited)
I was at Greyhound bus depot yesterday and we were photographing the video machines. One was called "Terror Target" and it had Bush & Bin Laden on it, and you could stop hijackers, etc. There was a label on the machine BRAGGING about how explicit and graphic the violence.
It's seriously embarrassing. All I can do is sort of nervously laugh.
The number and placement of flags is also quite bizarre to people from other places. The only eqivalent is in history books and they know all too much about that.
Gee. Go figure this, too.
-----
BOLTON TESTIMONY REVEALED DOMESTIC SPYING
By Jason Leopold
truthout.org Investigative Report, 2/2/06
This past spring, an explosive nugget of information slipped out during the confirmation hearings of John Bolton -- nominated by President Bush to be the United States Ambassador to the United Nations -- that in hindsight should have blown the lid off Bush's four-year-old clandestine spy program involving the National Security Agency.
At the hearing in late April, Bolton, a former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, told Congress that since 2001 he had asked the NSA on 10 different occasions to reveal to him the identities of American citizens who were caught in the NSA's raw intelligence reports in what appears to be a routine circumventing of the rules governing eavesdropping on the American public.
It turned out that Bolton was just one of many government officials who learned the identities of Americans caught in the NSA intercepts. The State Department asked the NSA to unmask the identities of American citizens 500 times since May 2001.
Newsweek revealed earlier this year that the NSA disclosed to senior White House officials and other policymakers at federal agencies the names of as many as 10,000 American citizens the agency obtained while eavesdropping on foreigners. The Americans weren't involved in any sort of terrorist activity, nor did they pose any sort of threat to national security, but had simply been named while the NSA was conducting wiretaps.
[snip]
Full story here: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/010206Z.shtml
-----
fee fi fo fum,
Otter
This is worth taking the time to read.The link to complete posting is below.
As the League of Women Voters put it in a letter to Republican legislative leaders' "Its [HB 3's] purported purpose of preventing voting fraud is based on the fallacy that there was widespread fraud perpetrated by voters in Ohio. In fact 'the fraud was committed against Ohio voters by inadequate preparation that suppressed the votes of those whose registrations were not recorded correctly' those who could not wait for hours to vote' or those whose votes were not counted because of misdirection or mishandling."
SNIP
In March 2005 'Congressman Bob Ney held a U.S. House Administrative hearing at the Ohio Statehouse where a general counsel for the brand new voting rights group' the American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR) told the Congressional committee that the voting problems in Ohio were the result of the NAACP paying people with crack in order to entice them to register to vote. ACVR's general counsel Mark F. "Thor" Hearne turned out to be the former national general counsel for 'Bush-Cheney '04 Inc.' with no history of working in a voting rights organization. Hearne relied on a lawsuit filed against the NAACP in Wood County' Ohio "alleging fraudulent voter registration under the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act."
http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2005/1289
And from the It's About Damn Time Department:
-----
DEMS SPEAK UP
By Ruth Conniff, The Progressive, 1/06 issue
So much is going wrong for the Republicans -— sinking poll numbers, the mess in Iraq, torture, scandal, and a bruising budget battle —- that it is beginning to look like political change is coming.
Democrats are raising their voices, criticizing the Bush Administration in terms Bush’s opponents have been longing to hear.
[snip]
Full article here: http://progressive.org/mag_conniff0106
-----
hear, here!,
Otter
Georgie, if you keep breaking your toys, we're not going to let have any new ones...
-----
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL CONTEMPLATES IRAQ
by Alexander Cockburn, 12/29/05
These days, editorials barely matter. Few people outside the professional political classes bother to read them. It's a form of writing as dead as the dodo, so we should find a specimen that is still in decent enough condition to be stuffed for the benefit of posterity.
By great good luck, the day after Christmas, the New York Times produced an absolutely perfect specimen of the editorial genre. Devoted to the elections in Iraq held on Dec. 15, it should be carted off at once to the Museum of Natural History and put in the "journalism" diorama next to the green eyeshade.
Now, nearly a week before the Times' editorial writer squared up to the topic, informed observers had scrutinized the preliminary results of the Dec. 15 poll in Iraq and noted that they confirmed pre-election presentiments. For example, writing in The UK Independent and on the CounterPunch website five days before Christmas, Patrick Cockburn concluded succinctly, "The election marks the final shipwreck of American and British hopes of establishing a pro-western secular democracy in a united Iraq. Islamic fundamentalist movements are ever more powerful in both the Sunni and Shia communities.
He quoted Ghassan Attiyah, an Iraqi commentator, as saying that in "In two-and-a-half years Bush has succeeded in creating two new Talibans in Iraq."
In fact, it didn't even require Patrick's expertise to see that the elections, portrayed by President George W. Bush as a sign of success for U.S. policies in Iraq, in fact meant a tremendous triumph for America's enemies, both inside and outside the country.
[snip]
Full article here: http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/2/2005/1287
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but mom, that's cause they weren't made in america,
Otter
Oncall,
Thanks for posting that article about the League of Women Voters. Sometimes it is just difficult to be a resident of Ohio. However, I know that if the elections had been conducted fairly, Ohio would be blue and Kerry would be president.
I'm working to help Ted Strickland defeat Blackwell for the governorship and will work for whomever wins the primary for senator against DeWine. It's difficult because I like both Sherrod Brown and Paul Hackett. I also intend to send some money to Christine Cegalis. I think she has been treated very unfairly by the DCCC.
Otter
US Customs can't be too swift.
They allowed underage kids to bring me wine and they knew about it. They asked "How old do you have to be to drink beer in France" and were told "sixteen" (which is true). The kids marvel that they can drive, smoke, work, vote, get married, be parents, even kill people in war in many places in US, before they can drink a beer legally.
"The U.S. never intended to completely rebuild Iraq," Brig. Gen. William McCoy, the Army Corps of Engineers commander overseeing the work, ...
Posted by: Otter at January 2, 2006 02:00 PM
No, they only meant to completely destroy it.
Posted by: Christy at January 2, 2006 01:10 PM
Christy,
One of my favorites from that article:
Attorney General Gonzales says the Administration decided to go forward with the program anyway because it was convinced that the President possessed the inherent power to act.
Even though they are owned by the same company, I will bet my house we wont CNN do anything nearly as critical of Bushco.
typo
.... see CNN....
Rev. Rich Lang is pastor of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Seattle, Washington
The Imperial Presidency
By Rev. Rich Lang
The men who wrote the Constitution of the United States knew that if power accrued into the hands of an elite the experiment of democracy (power spread out into the realm of the people) would be over. So they created a system of checks and balances which blocked access to any one person, or any one special interest or elite gaining too much power over others. Thus our executive, legislative and judicial branches of government "balanced" each other. The media was yet another "check" on the accrual of too much power, as was the Bill of Rights, and to some extent the Church (or churches). The system wasn't perfect but it kept alive the possibility of true democracy. It kept alive the dream that one day "we the people" could live in a peaceful commonwealth where every person has what they need to survive and thrive.
That dream died in December 2000 when the checks and balances of our Constitution collapsed and George Bush was inserted into the Presidency of the United States. September 11, 2001 furthered the atrophying of democracy handing the country into the hands of an emerging Corporate (and I say Christian) Fascism.
Fascism meaning the collapse of diverse spheres of power into one. Since that time we have witnessed, and have been unable to prevent, the emergence of an Imperial Presidency that has the unrestricted power to declare war against any country it chooses. The Imperial Presidency has brought to end the Constitutional mandate that 'ONLY CONGRESS' has the authority to declare war. It has furthered weakened international law and undermined the potential of the United Nations to spread democracy throughout the earth.
The Imperial Presidency has also gained unrestricted potential to round up American citizens incarcerating them in military brigs or concentration camps for unlimited amounts of time. The presidency can keep the accused from ever again communicating with friends, families, and attorneys, simply on the certification that the incarcerated are "terrorists," as he has done with Jose Padilla and Yaser Esam Hamdi. The Presidency may also now kill American citizens abroad solely on the basis of naming the one killed "a terrorist". Just ask the family and friends of Ahmed Hijazi, anAmerican killed with a U.S.-fired missile in Yemen. This nullifies the Constitutional right: "no person shall be denied life, liberty or property without due process of law."
Ominous signs are all around us concerning the accrual of power into the hands of the Presidency. If Mr. Bush stays in office I think our future will continue to witness shrinking political rights, financial collapse and endless war. Part of the power and seduction of this administration emerges from its diabolical manipulation of Christian rhetoric. I want to flesh out the ideology of the Christian Fascism that Mr. Bush articulates. It is a form of Christianity that is the mirror opposite of what Jesus embodied. It is, indeed, the materialization of the spirit of antichrist: a perversion of Christian faith and practice.
Christian Fascism
read the rest here...
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=15261
I haven't really been reflecting with the new year, I've been focusing on the year ahead. Maybe this is because I'm staff for a congressional campaign.
I enjoyed reading Karen's thoughtful post and all the comments.
This past year, I continued to deeped my commitment to progressive political activism. I started my own blog so that I'd be forced to learn more about html, website design and writing for a blog. A year ago, I never would have thought I'd be working as staff on a camapign.
The DCP has become a positive on-line community. A great example of moving forward from disappointment.
Happy New Year, friends. Let's change America!
Good to see you Cali Dem. Thanks for your thoughts and past efforts. Looking forward to more.
I love the fact that Cali Dem has struck out on her own a little and is sharing her mot-inconsiderable wisdom with a candidate. That is the perfect outcome. But there are other, equally perfect outcomes as well.
As much as we have discussed on this long long thread, I would still like to hear from each of you as to eaxctly what you want to be doing over the next few months. What do you feel prepared to do?
Well, here I am, finally getting to start catching up on all the threads I missed while I had PC issues. (Still not sure they are all fixed, if not I won't be around for a while still - it's iffy.)
I am still slightly reeling from the expectations of the right wingers around me to conform to rigid boundaries, and my insistence that I won't. I am considered either a bit "off", or a spawn of the devil, which I am not sure. But it is worth fighting for (to live life on my terms, in good conscience).
Unfortunately, the small minds in this undeveloped mindset want every action and reaction programmed without much depth of thought ever being encouraged, utilized, or appreciated.
I am not going to church 12 times a week and doing boring religious rituals, nor do I bow and live my life by other's directions. (It's so freeing - - I lived like this before for many years, but for some reason some of the very religious just have such a TIME with it.)
I am willing to continue to research, to ask questions, to learn, to share, to teach others, (by the way NOBODY in this red area likes Bush except my religious relatives, EVERYONE I have talked to about it thinks he's awful), to join
with others in larger cities to march, protest, campaign. I am available to write letters, do phone calls or phone banks, write LTE's and email Congress.
My budget allows some for travel, so if I know in advance I can funnel my budget in to a trip to Washington D.C. too, even though it could take a few months.
I am a better follower than leader when learning, but make an excellent leader once I am educated and familiar with what I am doing.
And I'm available to do whatever I can.