July 2006 Archives

In our era of unseemly American triumphalism, it is easy to lose sight of just how liberating and dangerous early American ideas appeared. Rodney Bolt, the author of ‘The Librettist of Venice’, a new biography exploring the life of the most unlikely of Americans, Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's librettist for three of his greatest operatic works (The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi Fan Tutte) illustrates this point, if only by accident. I quote from a New York Times Book Review by Megan Marshall:

“The precocious first child of an improvident Jewish leatherworker, Da Ponte lost his mother when he was 5, then became the beneficiary of his father’s decision to convert to Christianity as a means of marrying his way out of the ghetto. Born Emanuele Conegliano, the boy was baptized, along with his father and two younger brothers, shortly after celebrating his bar mitzvah; he also received a new name, that of the bishop who performed the conversion. Bishop Lorenzo Da Ponte found his promising young namesake scholarships to seminaries that yielded him a solid education in the classics, the invigorating companionship of other aspiring poets and a clerical collar that would hamper his romantic life, although less so than one might imagine.

Famed for his response to the attacks on 9-11, Rudy Giuliani became America's mayor, not just New York City's mayor. August 30, 2004, Former NY Mayor Rudy Guiliani addressed the Republican National Convention. Who can ever forget these words:

There are times when leadership is the most important.

On September 11, this city and our nation faced the worst attack in our history. On that day, we had to confront reality.

For me, when I arrived there and I stood below the north tower and I looked up, and seeing the flames of hell emanating from those buildings, and realizing that what I was actually seeing was a human being on the 101st, 102nd floor, that was jumping out of the building, I stood there, it probably took five or six seconds, it seemed to me that it took 20 or 30 minutes, and I was stunned.

And I realized, in that moment, in that instant, I realized we were facing something that we have never, ever faced before.

We had never been confronted with anything like this before. We had to concentrate all of our energy and our faith and our hope to get through those first hours and days. And we needed all the help that we could get and all the support that we could get.

And I will always remember that moment as we escaped the building that we were trapped in at 75 Barclay Street, and I realized that things outside might actually be worse than inside the building.

We did the best we could to communicate a message of calm and hope, as we stood on the pavement watching a cloud come through the cavernous streets of lower Manhattan.

Our people were so brave in their response.

At the time, we believed that we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed. Without really thinking, based on just emotion, spontaneous, I grabbed the arm of then-Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, and I said to him, "Bernie, thank God George Bush is our president."

I say it again tonight. I say it again tonight:

Thank God that George Bush is our president, and thank God that Dick Cheney, a man with his experience and his knowledge and his strength and his background, is our vice president

That was 2004...What happened in 2005?

Day 17 and no cease-fire.

Dr. Rice aims for a "durable peace".

And on top of that: John Bolton's re-confirmation hearings.

This is your diplomacy roundup, where the range wars are waging madly out of control, and now there's a surprising new player in an old conflict.

Happy Friday everyone.

I woke up this morning wanting to write about something other than this. But it doesn't seem to stop, it doesn't change, and it's time for folks to call them what they are.

They are the War Pornographers. They are the lamestream media.

I am disgusted by the fact that the media seems to have a resurgence of war lust that is nothing less than obscene, sending a bazillion reporters into "The Crisis In The Middle East". It's like the beginning of the Iraq War redux. Moreover, it's as if Iraq is no longer part of the Middle East. Or in fact, on the map at all.

Afghanistan? Forgotten. Iraq? Forgotten.

Nope, the media has moved on to the declare the Lebanon-Israel conflict as the only war going on in the Middle East.

The Lebanon-Israeli conflict is the new wife; younger, prettier, shinier, with more jiggle and action-packed. Iraq and Afghanistan are, like, sooooo four years ago. This screen shot says it all, doesn't it?

New war, new ratings.

Well, using human suffering to boost ratings is execrable.

Ultimately, war is humanity's greatest failure, not it's most glorious achievement.

War is tragedy that is largely preventable.

The media needs to stop the breathless reporting, the overcoverage, the endless speculation, the intellectualizing of human suffering. It only serves to fuel those mindless idiots who would see war as some sort of wonderful opportunity. They need to start reporting the truth of war.

The truth of war is that nations are ruined, lives are destroyed, and families are ripped apart forever.

The truth of war is that hope, humanity and civilization are set back generations at a time.

The truth of war is that the wounds never heal.

Where's that part of the reporting?

UPDATE: CNN jacks up the hype and drama with this idiocy.

Last night at Busboys and Poets, donors to Fear Up got a preview and generated a far ranging discussion about the War, Guantanamo, and the antiwar movement. It was a spicy evening. But then, it's a spicy time.

Marietta Hedges and Maboud Ebramizadeh read from the play

Maboud read: TIPTON MAN:

We were moved to a new tent. The next morning our numbers were called out and we were made to sit while soldiers chained us up together and then to a hook on the floor. Then, these guys came in with clippers, they shaved my hair and my beard; they cut all my clothes off and threw this medication over me, to kill the lice. Then they unlocked me from the floor and led me into another tent naked where they forced me to squat again and did another “intimate cavity search”. They made us take off the blue jumpsuits and put on orange jumpsuits, and made us wear thick gloves taped to our sleeves. Then, they made us sit outside on the gravel while they processed everyone. We had no water all day, but towards the end they gave us an MRE [a ready-to-eat US army meal] but no spoon. I had to try and trough it like an animal.

Marietta read:

My husband has been serving in Iraq with Kilo Company. He was supposed to come home several times. It was supposed to be a six-month deployment. So he was supposed to come home in October. They extended it to December. Then they extended it to March, and then finally to April to make the year. And the week before he was supposed to leave Iraq, he got extended for three months.

I’m mad at the Army for breaking its promise but I’m also mad at my husband. I fought with him over the phone about wanting him to come home, especially since our baby is having minor surgery next week. But Byron can’t take the time off like a civilian. He can’t quit his job without risking jail time. I felt like, you know, something has to be able to be done. Why can’t you talk to somebody and why can’t you just come home? But like, really, he can’t. They can do whatever they want with him. You’re signing up for the military just as much as your spouse is. You don’t just re-enlist a soldier, you really enlist the whole family.

and other selections.

Ronald Nelson read a statement from John Kerry, in support of the Fear Up project and what we are trying to do. He also implored those present to give money.

And then John Pike got up and spoke about trying to stop the war before it began.

At the moment he was chiding the antiwar movement for poor organization and leadership, Cindy Sheehan arrived.

Spinning out of control...

Pakistan has begun building what independent analysts say is a powerful new reactor for producing plutonium, a move that, if verified, would signal a major expansion of the country's nuclear weapons capabilities and a potential new escalation in the region's arms race.

Satellite photos of Pakistan's Khushab nuclear site show what appears to be a partially completed heavy-water reactor capable of producing enough plutonium for 40 to 50 nuclear weapons a year, a 20-fold increase from Pakistan's current capabilities, according to a technical assessment by Washington-based nuclear experts.

IMHO, the most bizarre sentence in the story has to be this, from a senior Pakistani official:

"Pakistan's nuclear program has matured.[...]"

It's a frightening society which thinks that the words "nuclear weapons program" and "matured" belong in the same sentence, especially when discussing the expansion of that program.

GrassRoutes was a multidisciplinary arts event, held 5/21/06 in Seattle, which represented the paradox inherent in our transportation choices. It was held where in 1969, several thousand citizens marched to stop construction of an Expressway which would have cut through the beautiful Arboretum. Citizen protest won out, leaving "ghost ramps."

In "Tour of the Future: Come Visit the Historic Ruins of Highway 520," artist Nicole Kistler acted as our "tour guide of the future." Inspired by visits to archaeological ruins such as Tikal, Rome and Ankor Wat - whose societies collapsed - she decided to illustrate the eery parallel with the behaviors of our society. Signage was posed along the trail loop, with simulated binoculars and telescopes for viewing from historical and future periods. We passed installations such as a site of possible former car worship, the "tangled web" woven by the oil companies, and an opportunity to experience what it felt like to ride in a "single occupancy vehicle." Finally, we ended up at Ghost Ramp Field for a dance by backpackers and participatory percussion with instruments made from cars, the transportation mode of the past.

(more photos below the fold, including The Happy Monk)

Oncall and Vic regaling Kay with tales of online politics...

It was a lovely afternoon at Fern's when suddenly, a loud whistle pierced the din in the bar.

The room was invaded by seven men in bright red devil suits, led by a guy in armor with a sword. The Vulcans had arrived.

Vulcans

The Vulcans are a St. Paul tradition, born of the Winter Carnival. They are mischievous merry-makers and civic-minded individuals who enjoy meeting the community members. Today they met the DCP.

We got to hold the "Sword of Mars". The GREAT Sword of Mars. (Eat your heart out, Larry)

The Vulcans carry on a tradition that began in 1886, when town leaders decided to prove to the nation that humans could survive in Minnesota year-round. (Apparently, liquor helps.) And in fact, it worked. People actually LIVE here.

Jean and Vic, for example, our beautiful hostesses.

The Vulcans were enthralled with the DCP, believing in the value of community, helping your neighbor, and defending your country. We had scintillating conversations about grassroots activism and volunteerism. We have lots of advice from them for the progressive forces.

To keep warm, or to emphasize their points, they play with fire:

Vi and Karen are impressed...

And then, oh joy, we got to ride the Vulcan FIRE TRUCK:

That's Vic on the left, me, Karen (NoisyDem), above her is Oncall, with Vi and Suz, ummm, driving?

They have their own website too.

The household is awakening; perhaps like the rest of America, perhaps not.

Coffee is brewing and discussions are already happening. What do we need to be doing, as the DCP and as individuals, to turn this horrific ship around?

Dick pondering and writing

Vic in her element

Suz reading--plotting? Where will she freeway blog next?

We do not need to recount the myriad of issues and concerns we all share. What we need to do is to discuss the myriad of actions, both online and locally, that we feel need to be taken in the next six months.

Each of us will take turns outlining some thoughts in the comments section of this thread and we ask each of you to add your own. Please feel free to put links to articles and news items in the previous thread so we can also keep up with the day's news. But let's keep this thread for the day-long conversation of the next six months.

CALL IN:

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218-936-6666

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We need your voice.

This weekend, our Midwest DCP Conference is beginning.

People attending will be discussing the direction of the DCP, what to focus on during the coming year, how best to distill what we have learned and disseminate it to the widest possible audience, fundraising, and the best use of resources.

To that end, let's hear your thoughts on these topics. Obviously, not all DCP folks can participate in person, but we would like to have as wide an involvement as possible.

We are working on a DCP phone-in meeting call, so watch this space for that information. You will be able to participate directly in the meetings in St. Paul.

We need you. We need your ideas. You are what make the DCP work.

So, let's hear it. The good, the bad, the fundraising.

Be nice and be constructive.

[UPDATE:

The CALL:

1:00pm Saturday Eastern
12:00 noon Central
11:00am Mountain
10:00am Pacific

218-936-6666

press 2

Access code: 160214#

Please let us know if you will be joining us.]

Seriously, now, if this were Bill Clinton in this picture and not George Bush, wouldn't we be hearing from the gasbag punditry non-stop about this behavior as sleazy, sexually abusive, reprehensible (fill in your own gasbag adjective here) behavior?

Really, it's still all about the narrative.

(pictures lifted from Josh Marshall)

UPDATE: Via Nim, this is seriously messed up.

On days like yesterday, I am full of gratitude for other bloggers, both here and elsewhere. My ethernet connection was down all day yesterday, but thanks to the posts of people all over, I can go back over the days events from a wide variety of perspectives and get a real-time sense of what happened.

It always amazing to read across the blogs and see the fine writing, knowledge, and depth of personal commitment different bloggers bring to their craft.

These are just a few of the things I came across that I found interesting:

AJ at AmericaBlog gives an excellent explanation of the Israel-Lebanon situation, in a thorough, concise and clear-eyed way that our addled media seems incapable of. (It was painful and embarassing today to watch CNN, who couldn't seem to keep straight the difference between Palestine, Lebanon, Hezbollah and Hamas).

A TPM reader writes in on why Bush's jaw-dropping frat-boy behavior at the G8 is actually newsworthy. Robert Scheer, writing at Truthdig, explores this further. As an aside, I wonder how annoyed the White House is at their experience with warrentless eavesdropping?

NYCEve heartbreakingly documents her one-woman fight for healthcare justice here.

The NYT headline on Ralph Reed's loss in GA Lt. Governor race speaks volumes: "Ex-Lobbyist in Abramoff Case Loses Georgia Race". No more the saintly "Christian Coalition Leader"? One can only hope...

Personal observation: Is it me, or is this administration incapable of recognizing crisis until it's at least three days old? Witness 9/11 response, Tsunami relief, Katrina and now evacuation of Lebanon.Not only do they seem incapable of leading in a crisis, they seem utterly incapable of even recognizing one.

Professor Juan Cole of Informed Comment posts a letter from a friend in Beirut.

And finally, Billmon guest posting at FDL on the party yet to be heard from in the latest conflict: Al Qeada.

That's what I have this morning. What do you have?

It feels so familiar. The kidnappings, the raising of rhetoric, the accusations, then, the bombings. Strike. Counterstrike. Airports, then ports. The mass exodus of foreign travelers, and the local populations seeking shelter and safety from the latest attack.

When it comes to the situation in the Middle East, why does this feel like time has stepped backwards? Are you feeling like me, that this situation has added a new heavy burden to the heart of the world?

"With God on our Side" Bob Dylan

Oh my name it is nothin' My age it means less
The country I come from is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there the laws to abide
And that land that I live in has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it they tell it so well
The cavalries charged the Indians fell
The cavalries charged the Indians died
Oh the country was young with God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American war had its day
And the Civil War too was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands and God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys it closed out its fate
The reason for fighting I never got straight
But I learned to accept it accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead when God's on your side.

When the Second World War came to an end
We forgave the Germans and we were friends
Though they murdered six million in the ovens they fried
The Germans now too have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians all through my whole life
If another war starts it's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them to run and to hide
And accept it all bravely with God on my side.

But now we got weapons of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to then fire them we must
One push of the button and a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions when God's on your side.

In a many dark hour I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you you'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin' I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin' ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head and fall to the floor
If God's on our side he'll stop the next war.

It's way too hot everywhere. Pray for rain.

My friend Touba and I got up early and went to Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Seattle Sunday morning. The sermon was given by Reverend Al Sharpton. We saw $67,000 given out in University scholarships and the music was so fabulous we didn't stop moving for two hours! I told Sebastien in Paris about it and he sent the photo of himself (upper right, tall guy) taken in NYC while he was an intern for Bill Clinton recently. "Is this the guy?" he asked. Definitely!! I heard Al Sharpton at the DNC in Boston, 2004 and that was riveting, but hearing him from the pulpit was magnificent!

"Every day above ground is a great day!" Reverend Sharpton proclaimed this in observing that the world seems on a collision course, with bombs, going to Iraq on a lie, poverty and homelessness. He talked about how the church needs to return to its roots of social justice. We should not come to church expecting to learn how to get rich via "gospel Lotto." After 150 years of segregation, why should people be afraid to discuss what's going on in the world?

"You meet many preachers but few ministers."

"Anyone can be saved for two or three hours a week."

"God used Moses to speak up against Pharaoh, and God can use an Al Sharpton to speak up against George Bush."

He really hit hard on going back to "the fruits of our roots." Knowing that there is a large black middle class in Seattle yet some gang and social problems, he wondered whether parents were doing enough to underline the historic role of people who "died to give them their rights." He championed illiterates who paved the way for later generations to go to college, unempoyed who opened the door for corporate executives.

"Mirrors are not to reflect what you see. Mirrors are to correct what you see."

Lying is an effective way of governing, if no one calls your bluff. For months, David A. Prentice, a scientist with the right-wing Family Research Council and Senator Sam Brownback (both strong opponents of loosening restrictions) have claimed that adult stem cells were just as useful as embyronic stem cells, and that adult stem cells were already treating more than 65 diseases. Prentice cited scientific studies, which he said demonstrated the use of adult stem cells against these 65 diseases.

Only one problem. Prentice was lying. According to a letter from three scientists in the latest issue of Science, Prentice's footnotes do refer to scientific studies: it's just that most of these studies have nothing to do with the treatment of any disease with adult stem cells.

To take one example: Prentice cites a study he claims shows the use of adult stem cells in treating testicular cancer. Nope. The study is about isolating adult stems cells.

Another "study" turned out to be "a layperson's statement in a newspaper article."

At best, the studies Prentice cites refer to adult stem cells being used to treat 9 diseases, not 65.

This story was in yesterday's papers. But this morning, in a Boston Globe story on the Senate showdown, we find the head of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins, telling the Globe:

Embryonic stem-cell research has produced no successful tretment for human beings, whereas adult stem cell research has produced results for over 70 different medical conditions.

Notice that Perkins, after his organization has been exposed as lying about the effectiveness of adult stem cells, has expanded the lie by raising the total to 70.

And note that the Boston Globe's reporter and editors are asleep at the switch. The Globe should be ashamed of itself for printing such trash without any acknowledgement that this Perkins' number is based on a "study" that has been completely discredited.

Clash Over Stem Cell Research Heats Up
Scientists Dispute Claims of Leading Foe of Bill to Ease Embryo Restrictions
Washington Post, July 15, 2006

Senate showdown nears over embryonic stem-cell policy
Boston Globe, July 16, 2006

"Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience...The logistics of doing street theatre necessitates simple costumes and props, and generally there is little or no amplification of sound, with actors depending on their natural vocal and physical ability...The performances need to be highy visible, loud and simple to follow in order to attract a crowd."

A thousand years ago, strolling and traveling "players" were cultural and political ambassadors, bringing news and innovative ways of understanding the world at large to remote corners of a realm. Through song, dance, and storytelling, actors informed the spread of modern ideas, practices, and news items.

In the 1960s and 70s, street theatre became a way of confronting the status quo and of protesting the war in Vietnam. By presenting sometimes violent and shocking images right in front of folks walking down the street, people were often startled into paying attention to an issue they would rather not think about.

For the past five years, individuals and groups in Washington have engaged in street theatre, dressing up in black robes as Supremes, to call out the Supreme Court justices' meddling in the elections, dressing up in orange jumpsuits with hoods and nooses and silently kneeling in Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, and, last Tuesday, demonstrating in front of the Dirksen Building at the hearings for Michael Haynes, torture-supporting judge.

That's Pat Elder, playing the "Man" in the suit. Pat is a longtime Washington peace activist. I did not get the name of the man in the nude suit. But I can tell you that as Pat yanked on the chain and yelled at the man on the ground, people were roused from their stupor, even if briefly.

The sudden appearance of artifice that reveals truth may be the highest form of art. Certainly the tradition of spreading news through entertainment is an old and mainstreamed effort; witness Fox and CNN. But adding the confrontational nature of what protesters have been doing means a less soporific form of entertainment; one that crosses over into art.

Consider the value of public storytelling in simple, straightforward and graphic terms. How much clearer can we be? Torture is wrong and we are condoning it.

"You're either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem." Eldridge Cleaver

For those of you who were worried about Karl Rove and Dick Cheney escaping culpability for their roles in exposing CIA agent Valerie Plame, you may be interested in the civil lawsuit which Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson, filed today against Cheney, Rove and Scooter Libby for violating their rights.

What fun the lawyers doing discovery for Wilson and Plame are going to have! And all the while new information is emerging about who told what to whom before Bob Novak's story exposing Plame's CIA identity finally hit the newsstands.

Plame and Wilson filed the suit in federal court in DC today. You can read the full complaint here.

For more information about the lawsuit, visit The Joe and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust.

The Wilsons and their attorneys are holding a press conference this morning at the National Press Club. Chances are good that C-SPAN and other TV and internet video channels will carry the press conference live. As they say, check your local listings.

Thanks to Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake for posting this transcript of this speech today by Representative Maxine Waters:

...Mr. Speaker, I have a difficult time explaining to African Americans all over this country why the congress of the United States has to continue to re-authorize the Voting Rights Act. the answer to that question is sad but simple and true true — discrimination. America, we stand before you today re-authorizing the voting rights act because we have to continue to have safeguards in law to prevent cities, counties, states, and other jurisdictions from devising laws, practices, tricks, and procedures that impede the right to vote by minorities in this country.

One may ask, "what laws and tricks are you alluding to?" Mr. Speaker, in the past the tricks were poll taxes, literacy tests and voter intimidation. Today and throughout the years the laws and tricks have changed but the game is the same. Deny and prevent minorities from exercising the power of selection of candidates and laws by any means necessary.

What are some of these tactics being used today in some jurisdictions in America?

Oh there are tactics like in Georgia, create the need for an identification card that you have to pay for, that is only issued by the state. In Florida, create data bases identifying people as felons, people who have never ever been arrested before. Change voting rights laws so that you create at-large districts rather than districts where minorities can be elected from. Minority candidates get elected by districts and when you create these at-large districts you eliminate the possibility of getting elected.

Place uniform guards at polling places to intimidate voters. The list goes on and on. The voting rights act will guarantee pre-clearance of these attempted discriminatory acts and hopefully deny these kinds of actions. I ask my colleagues — don’t disrespect the civil rights movement. Don’t dishonor us. Pass this voting rights re-authorization bill and show the world that America is sincere about democracy.

For those of you watching the televised debate on the renewal of the Voting Rights Act on C-SPAN, watch and learn. Not only for the power of Rep. Water's speech, but for what Jim Crow looks like in the faces of those who would amend sections 2 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act. And if you think we should relax and make it unecessary to renew the VRA for another 25 years, or to soften it, look at the vehemence behind the current rationale to amend those Voting Rights Act provisions.

There is a reason why the VRA is in place and why it needs to be renewed for 25-year stretches. The Civil Rights Movement is about a half-century old. Time may change places and people, but old habits die hard and old prejudices die even harder. They may appear to have different names and faces. But they keep coming back.

UPDATE: The House has just voted to renew the Voting Rights Act, and the bill will now move to the Senate. Stay tuned.

[Editor's Note: Carol Sharick, long time DCP member shares a guest blog with us about our need for national unity, to find common ground to achieve common good. Please post your thoughts to the important questions Carol poses.]

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching lately – about where we are, how we got here, and what we can do to turn our country around. My thoughts have been shaped by many things, including the Take Back America conference and all the great ideas there, by Karen and the other fasters in DC and around the country, and by the shenanigans around the Fourth of July parade in my town.

What keeps coming back to me is that the biggest lie George Bush ever told us was that he was “a uniter, not a divider”. He said it here and here.

And it became somewhat of a tag line for him in the 2000 election.

What we all know in reality is that his policies, his architect Rove, his congressional rubber-stampers, and his propaganda machines Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and others have done exactly the opposite. They have done everything in their power to create an “us against them” atmosphere in our country. It’s an atmosphere where we are suspicious of the politics of folks we don’t know. It’s an atmosphere where family members have been pitted against one another. It’s an atmosphere of intolerance – where the only opinion that is OK to have is yours, and if anyone strays from that opinion, they are the bad guy.

And we’ve all taken the bait.

I have a new game that I play with my friend Bill in New York. It started last January over dinner, when I asked him - when will the New Enlightenment come?

He thought about it and then answered: "It has to get pretty dark before it happens."

Every so often these last seven months, I check in with Bill, usually around the time my tolerance threshhold has been breached by yet another in the latest of the administration's dismal environmental policies, the congressional majority's utter lack of productivity, the onging problems with Katrina relief.

And of course, Iraq.

Each and every time, I e-mail Bill with my grocery list of grievances asking: Is it dark enough yet?

Witness this blog entry by Lawrence Kaplan of The New Republic. Here's an excerpt:

Even by the degraded standards of everyday life in Baghdad, this report from CNN's Nic Robertson comes as a shock:

One international official told me of reports among his staff that a 15-year-old girl had been beheaded and a dog's head sewn on her body in its place; and of a young child who had had his hands drilled and bolted together before being killed.

...Robertson's dispatch points to a revolting truth about the war in Iraq--one that American officers discovered long ago, but which has yet to penetrate fully the imaginations of theoreticians writing from a distant remove. The fact is, there is very little that we can do to dampen the sectarian rage and pathologies tearing Iraq apart at the seams. Did the Army make a mistake when it banished "counterinsurgency" from the lexicon of military affairs? Absolutely. Does it matter in Iraq? Probably not. How can you win over the heart and mind of someone who sews a dog's head on a girl? Would more U.S. troops alter Iraq's homicidal dynamic? Not really, given that, on the question of sectarian rage, America is now largely beside the point.

This is Josh Marshall's commentary yesterday in Talking Points Memo:

Kaplan's one of the smartest and most candid of the neocons (not much of a compliment in itself, I grant you, but deserved in a fuller sense in his case). But here you have the final come-down. Not an admission of error here or there or in execution, but total -- that the whole idea and concept and program was upside-down-wrong in its essence.

Mark the moment -- that's the ghost given up.

Iraq's internal violence has so escalated that even the neocon press are beginning to admit our military presence DOESN'T EVEN MATTER. Yet by pure stubborness, pride, face or job-saving that needs to be done, the message still seems to be STAY THE COURSE. I don't know which is darker--is it the violence itself or the need to be right regardless of the reality?

The last time I emailed Bill, he said, "Any one of the issues that you mention should be enough to stop business as usual here in this country if we were really there yet!"

The question is how much darker do we need to go before we begin to see light? Are we really there yet to finally admit that its gotten dark enough?

Yesterday morning we woke up early, determined to speak some truth to power. We arrived at ABC News a little after 8, and almost immediately Senator Lugar arrived. He was cordial but obviously in a hurry to get inside.

A little later George Stephanopoulos came outside and was quite supportive and sweet to us. He said he would stop by Lafayette Park. He understood why we are doing this action. Lots of good eye contact.

We waited around for Sen. Lugar to come out and engaged in discussions with the cameramen and a few security and police who came by to question us. One guy told us we were blocking the sidewalk (we had left an aisle for folks to walk) and we pointed out that the CAMERAS and MICROPHONES were actually blocking the sidewalk. But in all cases, when we said that we were people who had not eaten in six days, opposition and confrontation melted. People tend to look down, to think, and to become very different. It touches people in a very personal and ethical place to see others deliberately choosing not to eat for a cause.

Dick Gregory told us that a fast is spiritual and I think that is what he meant.

Sen. Lugar came out eventually (we could see him sitting inside and we held up a sign saying "We just want to talk to you").

Toby Blome, who had actually run into and met briefly with Sen. Lugar spoke with him at some length. He was telling her he would not change his position and would not meet with us, but what she was saying did seem to affect him. We followed him to his car after he gave his statement to the press and it did appear he could not look at us at all.

Toby Blome and Sen. Lugar discuss the war

Fasters Join in the Media Moment

We headed over to CBS to see if Sen. McCain and Sen. Dodd were available. Sen. McCain did his protion by remote, but Sen. Dodd came out and gave a very strong sound bite against the war. He called Iraq "a mess" and said the troops need to come home very soon.

He approached me immediately afterwards and we had a warm and useful discussion. He said "Bless you" about our fast, and agreed to meet with us. I gave him some information.

And then we headed back to Lafayette Park for another day of spirit and longing.

Sen. Dodd seems to have been fasting too. He feels for me.

I am giving him a press release that's about the U.S. testing missiles and sending them from Vandenburg AFB in CA towards Korea. I am asking him to look into this and to encourage the Senate to do so with him.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be suspending my fast for a few days while I head to NYC to begin rehearsals. I will resume it while I am in DC. Suz has offered to fast in my stead, and she will be doing so in her hometown. Suz is the only person, right now, committed to fasting in her town and she plans to take it public. She will need a lot of support, as it is much harder to do this alone. Suz, I send you lots of love and the support of all fasting here in Washington DC.

I have been thinking alot about Karen's political and personal courage this week. How many of us dramatically exclaim how we are starving if we miss two meals in a row. I remember one time when I was about eight years old and whined to my father, "But Daddy, I'm hungry." My father looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Little girl, you have no idea what hungry is."

I'm not sure if it was the tone of his voice or the look in his serious blue eyes, but it made a lasting impact on me.

Hunger is indeed powerful. And personal. And for however long Karen's hunger strike endures, she has made a powerful and personal statement about her commitment to what she believes.

I accept that I can't make that same commitment in the same way. But I can do more. I can make the political more personal.

It occurred to me that this weekend, and in the next several weeks and months to come, my Congressman will be at home in the district, likely doing some campaigning. It's hard to know just where he will be since his office doesn't publish his schedule (God forbid he encounter the rabble). But I plan to find him and ask him questions, in person, as often as I can from now until the election.

In front of my small child, I will ask him questions about the choices he has made as my Congressman. I will ask him about the choices he made which will impact my small child's entire life.

I will ask him to explain to my son and me how he chooses who lives and who dies. Who eats and who doesn't. Who gets medical care and who doesn't. Who gets to be married and who doesn't. Who prays the right way and who doesn't. Who works and who doesn't.

These are the decisions a Congressman makes and I want to know how those decisions get made.

My first question will be about minimum wage:

"Congressman Sweeney, do you think it's right to ask people to live on less than ten thousand dollars a year, when you just voted yourself a three thousand dollar a year pay raise? Isn't that immoral?"

As Karen shows us, it's not enough that we feel our politics personally. We need to do what we can to make our politicians feel the personal commitment of our politics as well.

It's time to challenge them personally, to insist they defend the morality of the choices that they are making. In my case, the immorality of those choices.

It's time make our politics personal.

Yesterday at the Code Pink Troops Home Fast circle, we had a far-ranging conversation about political and personal actions that can make a difference.

We heard from young and old, experienced and novice, US-born and Iraqi-born. We spoke with folks from all over the world as they stopped by to chat and thank us, or argue with us. Telling the personal stories and linking those with the variety of understandings of how we are and how we need to act made for a comprehensive, if not clearly directed day.

First, the photos:

Dick Gregory speaks of bodily fluids and perseverance, medical science and faith

Raed Jarrar tells us about the Iraq Reconcilation process and how the US pressured Maliki to remove four key points that the Iraqi people had agreed upon

As I sat there listening and talking with passers-by, I was struck by how much I was learning, and re-learning, about how to tell the stories, how to frame, how to engage with the truth, how to listen.

And I came up with a short list of notions and experiences I want to reinforce in myself as I continue down this strange path:

1. Be inspired, not inflated: BREATHE.

2. Trust your own inner crap detector.

3. Trust the path you are on too.

4. LISTEN. LISTEN more.

5. Commit to the moment.

6. Yes, and... Never say no to an idea. Generate something new from the event of the moment.

Off to the day...

President Bush has decided to travel the country to find out what's on people's minds. From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON -President Bush will hold a news conference Friday in Chicago as the White House explores new venues for putting the president before the public.

It will be his first full scale news conference since June 14 in the Rose Garden on his return from a surprise visit to Iraq.

[...]

Bartlett said the Chicago trip was the beginning of occasional presidential trips around the country to learn what's on Americans' minds.

How nice. He want to know what's on Americans minds. Occasionally. But I think we all realize that the President could figure out what's on people minds from, oh, say, reading the damn newspaper like the rest of us.

Or I could just save him the trip and send him this birthday post, courtesy of the powerful photo essay blogging of Hecate.

But before we jump to any conclusions such as, Bush will be meeting the ordinary townsfolk (you know, the ones that do the living and fighting and working and dying that the Bush policies have forced on them) I think we need to ask, is this another Bamboozlepalooza Tour?

Is this just going to be another series of staged events wherein the President speaks to worshipful hand-picked audiences and the press remains somnambulent and silent about this massive fraud at taxpayer expense? And isn't the "adoring fans only" ticketing policy perhaps part of the reason why the President remains isolated and clueless as to what Americans are thinking? And doesn't that same policy perhaps explain Mrs. Bush's oddly delusional view of reality, as evidenced by this excerpt from the Bush's appearance on Larry King Live last night? (emphasis added)

KING: Doesn't it hurt to say more people are -- don't like what I'm doing than like what I'm doing?

G. BUSH: Well...

KING: Does it bother you?

L. BUSH: Not really. I mean, the polls are just...

KING: But it's a sign.

L. BUSH: It's a sign, but it's not necessarily really what we see. I mean, when we travel around the country, when we visit with people, that's not what we hear all the time.

Really, isn't this just a way to get Bush around the country at taxpayer expense to fundraise for beleagured Republicans candidates?

Is anyone in the press corpse going to ask this question?

Let's see if any of them notice this part as a feature of the kick-off event for the "Find Out What's On American's Minds Tour":

Friday's session, around 11 a.m. EDT, is expected to run about an hour and be open to Chicago-area press as well as the White House press corps that accompanies the president, said Dan Bartlett, the president's counselor.

Somebody want to explain to me how the President will be finding out what on American's minds when the event is only open to the press?

This afternoon, an Indian gentleman stopped by the place at the White House where we have been talking with visitors about the Troops Home Fast. He listened as John Pope explained why we were there. Then he looked at all of us and said, in a strong calm voice, "Hunger is powerful."

It is such encounters that keep me going. Yesterday two soldiers stopped by and thanked us. We have spoken with families from Australia, New York City, Canada, California, Arizona--almost all were supportive. Those who are not tend to yell at us.

The Indian man told us that he met Mohandas Gandhi. It seems Gandhi devoted fifteen minutes every day to playing with children. When this man was 1 year old, his father (a freedom fighter) took him to meet the great leader.

Several of us moved into the shade to hear more. The man spoke about asking his father for the money to attend university, which his father refused. He told his son that he did not want the bad karma associated with progress; progress that threatened the livelihood of farmers and weavers.

Diane Wilson listens to the discussion of progress

Father Louis Vitale spoke about being in Bangalore and hearing the workers speak of Gandhi as too regressive. Father Vitale is a veteran of many fasts, and has been jailed often for his actions, particularly at the School of the Americas. He lives in San Francisco and works with the poor and homeless in the Tenderloin district.

Father Vitale saying goodbye to the Indian man

Father Vitale and Diane Wilson are both here for the duration -- until the troops come home. Dick Gregory stopped by for a while today and he inspired us anew.

I have to share that this is a pretty incredible experience for me. I do not have half the conviction of the people I am with; it is day by day for me. But to hear Diane talk about how effective she has been--well, you can see it in her.

As the PM of Canada was leaving today, the police told us we had to clear the park. They said that radiation had been detected. Diane did not leave. Raed (who is Iraqi) stayed as well, and he was incensed that the same tactics that Saddam used on his people were being used on us. He may sue.

I will add that we thought that it was not very nice of the police to clear us out, away from the dangerous radiation, while they themselves had little or no protection. We did point out our concern, but they seemed unworried.

It is President Bush's birthday today and we have made a big birthday card, which I will put up later. Feel free to leave your own wishes for his special day here.

I sent this out to my master mailing list as a 4th of July message, following the example of a local Professor Emeritus in the UW Department of Communications. It's easy to call this administration on their incompetence, but this latest piece by George Lakoff, Marc Ettlinger and Sam Ferguson of the Rockridge Institute warns us against such a simple trap.

Subject: Reframe competence & conservatism

Bush Is Not Incompetent!

Progressives have fallen into a trap. Emboldened by President Bush's plummeting approval ratings, progressives increasingly point to Bush's "failures" and label him and his administration as incompetent. For example, Nancy Pelosi said "The situation in Iraq and the reckless economic policies in the United States speak to one issue for me, and that is the competence of our leader." Self-satisfying as this criticism may be, it misses the bigger point. Bush's disasters - Katrina, the Iraq War, the budget deficit - are not so much a testament to his incompetence or a failure of execution. Rather, they are the natural, even inevitable result of his conservative governing philosophy. It is conservatism itself, carried out according to plan, that is at fault. Bush will not be running again, but other conservatives will. His governing philosophy is theirs as well. We should be putting the onus where it belongs, on all conservative office holders and candidates who would lead us off the same cliff.

To Bush's base, his bumbling folksiness is part of his charm - it fosters conservative populism. Bush plays up this image by proudly stating his lack of interest in reading and current events, his fondness for naps land vacations and his self-deprecating jokes. This image causes the opposition to underestimate his capacities - disregarding him as a complete idiot - and deflects criticism of his conservative allies. If incompetence is the problem, it's all about Bush. But, if conservatism is the problem, it is about a set of ideas, a movement and its many adherents.

So far, the week has been a strange series of the weird and unexpected. Ken Lay dies. The all-European FIFA Match. North Korea test-launches long-range missiles.

Take your pick. It's Open Thread time, ladies and gents...

I have wondered about my sanity and my vanity lately. Every morning I wake up and come to this blog, like a junkie, wanting to see what new horrors DiAnne and NonnyO have discovered; looking for Casey's midnight jabs, hoping that monkey has some wry commentary or pun that will wrest a grim smile from my face.

I am never disappointed. And once again, I wonder what the f*** I can do about all this.

Many days, I sit here until it is long past time for a shower, or the laundry backs up, and I feel like a wretched piece of pissed-off garbage.

I check the emails and calendars--is there an event I can cover? Is a national leader saying something rational? Should I do my hair and grab the cellphone and the laptop and get to some meeting? Will anything that I do today make one damn bit of difference?

This man wonders too. His name is Daniel Ellsberg.

The man in this picture, so tall and open, is Andy Shallal, who has been so generous and supportive, especially of FEAR UP. Without him, the peace and justice movement in DC would be weak and even more marginalized.

That's Dick Gregory, in white, veteran of many fasts, although, as he told us, never with so many along for the ride. He is with a woman who is part of the DC voting rights and statehood issues, and the Revs. Yearwood and Sekou, both of whom gave blow-away invocations throughout the day yesterday.

But it is this woman, Diane Wilson, An Unreasonable Woman, who got me past my own sanity/vanity trap.

There is no reason to be reasonable any more. I can think of no payoff for being easy to deal with, pretty, lighthearted, or anything other than pointedly questioning, focused, and attention-seeking.

I learned a long time ago that teaching from the edge of the room is a different postition and gets different outcomes than teaching from the center of the room. But today I am hanging out in the center of the room, with Diane, and Cindy, and Medea, and Jodie, and Dede, and Ann, and Dick Gregory et al--3,000 plus folks who stopped taking in food at midnight last night.

We did this, not because we think George Bush will care; not because we believe that our lack of food will stop a war. We do this because people take notice; they pay attention, and they take hope from such actions.

No one here has to join me in fasting. And no one need admire me for it, either. I come to it reluctantly; I would much rather be at the beach, holding hands with my husband while the sun sets over a fire, with a glass of wine and some fresh seafood. I would be in a white dress and my hair would toss in the wind...yes, that's my vanity.

But instead I will be out in the heat, with my huge bottle of water (yes, Nonny!), or the rain, with my gear, and I will be with a lot of people, and all I ask of you is to pay attention to it.

Follow the stories of the day here, and stay focused on the positive changes we are all seeking, together. Post your own findings, and help us all bolster each other's efforts. If I have learned nothing else over the past three years, I have learned that networking works in mysterious ways, and what matters is listening to the cues.

It's our cue. Let the real work begin. What will you do?

It's the nature of too many politicians not to take chances, and Joe Lieberman announced today that he's decided not to take a chance with the Democracy primary voters of Connecticut on August 8.

On the off-chance that anti-war insurgent Ned Lamont might beat him fair and square in the Democratic primary, Lieberman announced today that he was launching a petition drive to get on the November ballot. He's got until August 9 to gather 7,500 signatures, which shouldn't be a problem. And he says that if he wins in November, he will still caucus with Senate Democrats.

Lieberman's in jeopardy because of what many Democrats see as his much-too-tight embrace of George Bush, and especially his support of Bush's war in Iraq. Netroot activists have played a significant role in forcing Lieberman to take this drastic step. They've raised tons of money for Lamont, and mounted the kind of independent attacks, complete with devastating videos on youTube, that most challengers only dream about.

It's hard to imagine a more genuine tribute to the power of the netroots than Lieberman's announcement today. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone a year ago who said Lieberman would be in such desperate political trouble now. If netroot organizing can throw this much of a scare into such a well-established politician, the possibilities for surprises in other races are huge.

Who's next?

As we head into the 4th of July, I thought it would be good to remind ourselves that patriotism wasn't invented by ultraconservatives, and that some of our most cherished pledges and songs were written by the progressives of their times. (And don't miss the revised "Declaration of Impeachment" at the end!)

The Pledge of Allegiance was written by a Christian socialist, Francis Bellamy: "One nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" referred to corporate robber barons vs oppressed workers.

This Land is Your Land was written by Woody Guthrie, a progressive who wrote protest songs and wrote for "The People's Weekly."

The Statue of Liberty's "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" was written by a progressive poet, Emma Lazarus. She challenged the anti-immigrant sentiment of the time.

"American the Beautiful" was written by Katherine Lee Bates, a Wellesley graduate involved in feminism and worker's rights. Her life partner was Katherine Coman, also an activist.

Here are a couple of patriotic quotes that I've always liked:

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticise her perpetually" - James Baldwin

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to th American public" - Theodore Roosevelt

"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one unAmerican act tht could most easily defeat us" - Justice William O. Douglas

"Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let them label you as they may" - Mark Twain

It's not often enough that I can rave about an artist. And not only an artist, but an artist with a bold vision and an artistic maturity rivalled by very few of her age. Or mine.

She's prolific, thought-provoking, and a person whom I would love to meet. She's Ava Lowery.

I think I have about as many theater productions over a period of thirty years as Ava has video animations over a period of one year. Mostly, she concerns herself with the war in Iraq. Her latest, "More Than A Number" is devastating.

I first saw her work at Yearly Kos three weeks ago, and the more I see of her, her confidence, her demeanor and her creativity, the more I am impressed.

This weekend, while we're preparing for our Independence Day celebrations, take a minute to look at Ava's work. Its a reminder that our country's creativity and independence of spirit is neither lost nor in vain.

Its just waiting for us to hear the call to keep it.

DCP ANNUAL MEETING
JULY 21-23
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, MN

Anyone wishing to attend the DCP annual meeting in St. Paul, please email
SuzATdemocracycellproject.net or VickyATdemocracycellproject.net

(We have written the emails without the '@' symbol to avoid major spammage in our emails.)

Since people will be arriving at various times on Friday, the bulk of our business will happen Friday evening and Saturday. Those of us that do not have to travel on Sunday can meet then also.

Saturday afternoon (about 3:00 pm) there will be a reception and
information table at Fabulous Fern’s in St. Paul, where DCPers can mix and mingle with local activists.

Saturday evening and Sunday’s plans TBD