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An Unlikely American
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.
“Bolt, a masterly scene-setter, reports that the Venice of Da Ponte’s young adulthood was seen as ‘a paradise for friars and whores,’ and that Venetians ‘had long stopped seeing priests as models of high moral behavior, and had themselves grown God-shirking and hedonistic.’ Da Ponte lived most of his 20’s in Venice as a cicisbeo, or attendant on married women, supporting himself as a teacher and tutor, or, when lucky, on winnings from the gambling table. But what attracted the notice of the Venetian Riformatori, a board of censors with Inquisition-like powers, wasn’t his adulterous liaisons carried on, in Bolt’s phrase, as a “Jew in a cassock.” Rather, it was a Latin elegy he’d written in 1776 called ‘The American in Europe,’ expressing dangerously democratic sentiments. The incendiary poem brought him a guilty verdict and a sentence forbidding him to teach anywhere in the Venetian territories, effectively preventing him from earning a living. Politics, too, Bolt theorizes, lay behind a second public trial three years later, ostensibly an investigation into one of Da Ponte’s love affairs, that ended in his banishment at age 30 from this friars’ ‘paradise.”
Indeed, it wasn’t the kind of sexual license by a member of the clergy that would simply shock the pious today that led to Da Ponte being banished from Venice. No, they clearly understood human frailty so much better than we would nearly two hundred and fifty years later. No, it was his admiration for, of all things, American ideas!
How fitting is it then that Da Ponte, after stays in Vienna (and his legendary collaboration with Mozart) and London, would eventually turn up in America – first trying his hand as the proprietor of a grocery store, later as a Professor of Italian at Columbia University, and finally as the guest of honor at the initial American performance of his (and, of course, Mozart’s) “Don Giovanni”?
As Marshall concludes her review:
"Da Ponte lived to see his most cherished dream realized: the first Italian opera house built in the United States, in Lower Manhattan. But by then he had become, Bolt writes, ‘an old man out of place in bourgeois New York — his head filled with memories of Mozart, powdered wigs, embroidered silks.’
Da Ponte’s is a story that deserves to be told, and in this year of celebrations marking the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Mozart’s birth, it is finally being told. Aside from being a rollicking tale that seems too entertaining to be authentic, but nonetheless is, his story once again reminds of us of the Enlightenment era roots of our American Republic, and of a time when Americans properly understood that it was by their example, not their military might, that they stood the greatest chance of furthering the cause of liberty across the planet.
Thanks, Matt. I love learning new things when I come here. Do you have any idea where exactly the Opera House was/is?
I'm going to be spending a lot of time in lower Manhattan in the next few weeks and it would be fun to know where it was and what it has become.
I also want to add that the news is so heart-breaking today that thinking about an Italian Jewish/Catholic gigolo who loved music and democracy gives me a little hope for mankind.
Karen
Just thinking the same thing!
I just wrote CEASEFIRE really big on the back of my shirt.
While you were typing away, I just had coffee with an artist who gave me these quotes - aren't words amazing?!:
While you are away, movie stars are taking your women. Robert Redford is dating your girlfriend, Tom Selleck is kissing your lady, Bart Simpson is making love to your wife. -- Clueless Iraqi radio announcer, Baghdad Betty, trying to demoralize our Gulf War troops..
Capital punishment is our societies recognition of the sanctity of human life. -- Orrin Hatch, Senator from Utah..
Honest businessmen should be protected from the unscrupulous consumer. -- Lester Maddox, then governer of Georgia, on why his state should not create a consumer protection agency.
Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. -- Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, D.C..
Who ever heard of Casablanca? I don't want to star opposite some unknown Swedish broad. -- George Raft, on the role of Rick in Casablanca..
I was not lying. I said things that later on seemed to be untrue. -- Richard Nixon, discussing Watergate in 1978.
It is more profitable for your congressman to support the tobacco industry than your life. Jackie Mason.
Bite the wax tadpole. -- Coca-Cola name as originally translated into Chinese (later changed to "May the mouth rejoice")..
Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave. -- Ad slogan "Pepsi comes alive" as initially translated into Chinese..
If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war. -- Senior Pentagon official, explaining why the U.S. military censored footage showing Iraqi soldiers sliced in two by U.S. helicopter fire..
They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist-- -- Last words of Union commander General John Sedgwick, spoken as he was watching enemy troops at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House..
Sure, it's going to kill a lot of people, but they may be dying of something else anyway. -- Othal Brand, member of a Texas pesticide review board, on Chlordane..
I have no weakness for shoes. I wear very simple shoes which are pump shoes. It is not one of my weaknesses. -- Imelda Marcos, owner of 3,400 pairs of shoes..
Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind. -- General William Westmoreland on why the media should be controlled in wartime..
Facts are stupid things. -- Ronald Reagan.
These come from Interdenominational Service that was held recently in Seattle. Now our mosques and synagogues are under guard.
Muslim Prayer for Peace
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created
us and made us into tribes and nations that we may
know each other, not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also
incline towards peace, and trust God, for the Lord is
the
one that heareth and knoweth all things. And the
servants of God, most gracious are those who walk on
the Earth in humility, and when we address them, we
say "PEACE."
Christian Prayer for Peace
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there
is hatred ... let me sow love. Where there is injury
... pardon. Where there is doubt ... faith. Where
there is despair ... hope. Where there is darkness ...
light. Where there is sadness ... joy.
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be
consoled ... as to console; To be understood ... as to
understand; To be loved ... as to love; For it is in
giving ... that we receive; It is in pardoning ...
that we are pardoned; It is in dying ... that we are
born to eternal life. -- Attributed to St. Francis of
Assisi
Jewish Prayer for Peace
Lord of Peace, Divine Ruler, to whom peace belongs!
Master of Peace, Creator of all things!
May it be thy will to put an end to war and bloodshed
on earth, and to spread a great and wonderful peace
over the whole world, so that nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
anymore.
Help us and save us all, and let us cling tightly to
the virtue of peace. Let there be a truly great peace
between every person and their fellow, and between
husband and wife, and let there be no discord between
people even in their hearts. Let us never shame any
person on earth, great or small. May it be granted
unto us to fulfill Thy Commandment to "Love thy
neighbor as thyself," with all our hearts and souls
and bodies and possessions. And let it come to pass in
our time as it is written, "And I will give peace in
the land, and you shall lie down and none shall make
you afraid. I will drive the wild beasts from the
land, and neither shall the sword go through your
land. God who is peace, bless us with peace !!! --
Attributed to Rabbi
Nachman ben Feiga of Breslov
This is from the Lucis Trust. It used to be broadcast as a public service announcement every Friday (I believe, although I could be wrong about the day) on New York's WQXR-FM (the radio station of the NY Times).
The Great Invocation
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men -
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria ripped into Donald Rumsfeld this morning on ABC’s This Week.
[If I were running against conservatives,] I would make up a campaign commercial almost entirely of Donald Rumsfeld’s press conferences, because the man is looking — I mean, it’s not just that he seems like a bad Secretary of [Defense]. He seems literally in a parallel universe and slightly deranged. If you listen to what he said last week about Iraq, he’s living in a different world, not a different country.
Zakaria may have been referencing Rumsfeld’s “glib” remarks last week when asked whether Iraq was getting “closer to a civil war“:
SEC. RUMSFELD: Oh, I don’t know. You know, I thought about that last night, and just musing over the words, the phrase, and what constitutes it. If you think of our Civil War, this is really very different. If you think of civil wars in other countries, this is really quite different. There is - there is a good deal of violence in Baghdad and two or three other provinces, and yet in 14 other provinces there’s very little violence or numbers of incidents. So it’s a - it’s a highly concentrated thing. It clearly is being stimulated by people who would like to have what could be characterized as a civil war and win it, but I’m not going to be the one to decide if, when or at all.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/30/rumsfeld-deranged/
Then read this:
The Legacy of the Oh I Don't Know Gang
"Oh, I don't know." An exquisite choice of words. How succinctly they crystalize the Republicans' attitude toward their stewardship circa 2001-2006 (but hopefully not beyond this November). "Oh, I don't know." On its face it's a simple statement of ignorance. Beneath the surface, though, bubbles an undercurrent of petulance, apathy and arrogance. He might as well be saying, "Oh, I don't know. Shut up, leave me alone and print my press release."
This will be the lasting legacy of the "Oh I Don't Know Gang"---the knuckledraggers who claimed they wanted to usher in a new era of responsibility...
-
What should we do to stop the bloodshed in the Middle East? Oh, I don't know.
-
What's our plan for getting out of Iraq? Oh, I don't know.
-
Is FEMA ready if a category 5 hurricane hits the Gulf Coast? Oh, I don't know.
Read the rest of this great list here ===> http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/29/184741/944
Check out Fear Up at Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117947619?categoryid=15&cs=1
You have to register
Bush to Open New Maximum-Security Jail at Guantanamo
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073006Z.shtml
The controversy over the US-run detention centre at Guantanamo Bay is to erupt anew with confirmation by the Pentagon that a new, permanent prison will open in the Cuban enclave in the next few weeks. Campaigners pointed to Mr. Bush's claim earlier this summer that he would "like to close" Guantanamo. The revelation that Camp 6 is poised to open is proof that he intends to keep using the prison.
1 - Does anyone know which military group is "guarding" the prisoners at the concentration camp at Guantanamo? We hear about the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, but no one ever talks about which military unit is guarding the prisoners at Gitmo.... (I privately wonder if it's the mercenaries hired by Halliburton subsidiaries like DynCorp and KBR.... How convenient if it's mercenaries hired by Dead-Eye Dick's old corporation, their very own private army. Halliburton or its subsidiaries rake in tax dollars from building these prisons, on top of the money they get for the building projects and the mercenaries in Iraq and Afghanistan... but are they also getting money for guarding the prisoners at Gitmo and for renditions and who knows what else?)
2 - Why do we have to read about this kind of stuff in foreign newspapers who publish their stories on the internet, but Lamestream Media in the US is silent as a tomb about it? How much money is Lamestream Media being paid to keep this kind of information from US citizens? (If US media corporations resent being nicknamed Lamestream Media by bloggers, they have only themselves to blame for never reporting these things on the nightly news on TV where most people get their primary news. "Liberal Media," my ass! Republican-controlled propaganda is all we get out of the White House or the Pentagon, and all I've ever heard when I've tried to listen to nightly news.)
3 - Was the money for this project part of those "emergency spending bills" that are financing Bu$hCo's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
4 - I have a nice long list of people I'd like to see incarcerated at Gitmo, starting with Bu$h, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Rove.... (Well, hey - it's a nice tropical climate, no? And with global warming it could get warmer; and they may enjoy a few hurricanes while incarcerated there....)
And, because he needs to fill those prisons just added on to:
Bush Bids for Sweeping Detention Power
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072906X.shtml
US citizens suspected of terror ties might be detained indefinitely and barred from access to civilian courts under legislation proposed by the Bush administration, say legal experts reviewing an early version of the bill. A 32-page draft measure is intended to authorize the Pentagon's tribunal system, established shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks to detain and prosecute detainees captured in the war on terror.
Edward M. Kennedy: Roberts and Alito Misled Us
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073006X.shtml
"The careful, bipartisan process of years past - like so many checks and balances rooted in our Constitution - has been badly broken by the current Bush administration. The result has been the confirmation of two justices, John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr., whose voting record on the court reflects not the neutral, modest judicial philosophy they promised the Judiciary Committee, but an activist's embrace of the administration's political and ideological agenda," writes Edward M. Kennedy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060729/ap_on_go_co/congress_rdp
Voters in mind, Congress eyes money issues
Audit Finds US Hid Cost of Iraq Projects
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073006A.shtml
The US agency responsible for administering $1.4 billion in reconstruction funds in Iraq has sought to hide major cost overruns on high-profile projects from Congress by engaging in questionable accounting maneuvers, according to a federal audit released late Friday. Overall, the report found a "lack of effective program management" by the State Department and the US Agency for International Development, which oversees US reconstruction spending in Iraq and other countries.
Frank Rich | The Peculiar Disappearance of the War in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073006D.shtml
"CNN will surely remind us today that it is Day 19 of the Israel-Hezbollah war - now branded as Crisis in the Middle East - but you won't catch anyone saying it's Day 1,229 of the war in Iraq. On the Big Three networks' evening newscasts, the time devoted to Iraq has fallen 60 percent between 2003 and this spring, as clocked by the television monitor, the Tyndall Report. The steady falloff in Iraq coverage isn't happenstance. It's a barometer of the scope of the tragedy," writes Frank Rich.
Report on Prewar Intelligence Lagging
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073006E.shtml
When angry Democrats briefly shut down the Senate last year to protest the slow pace of a congressional investigation into prewar intelligence on Iraq, Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) claimed a rare victory. Republicans called it a stunt but promised to quickly wrap up the inquiry. The Republican-led committee, which agreed in February 2004 to write the report, has yet to complete its work.
France Offers New UN Resolution on Mideast Crisis
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073006B.shtml
France has drawn up a draft UN Security Council resolution that would call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Israel and Lebanon and prepare for the deployment of an international force.
More Than 60 Percent of US in Drought
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073006F.shtml
More than 60 percent of the United States now has abnormally dry or drought conditions, stretching from Georgia to Arizona and across the north through the Dakotas, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin, said Mark Svoboda, a climatologist for the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Brad Rippey, a federal Agriculture Department meteorologist in Washington says it's the third-worst drought on record.
Buddhist Prayer for Peace
May all beings everywhere plagued
with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid,
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power,
and may people think of befriending
one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless,
fearful wilderness--
the children, the aged, the unprotected--
be guarded by beneficent celestials,
and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.
US Selling over $5,ooo,ooo,ooo in arms to Arab States
--Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4CC856EA-FC28-4F38-9047-A678E7C94A9F.htm
Those are the rich ones whose leaders back us & who without the help might have see popular revolt
-------------------------------------------------------
More on Bandar - remember - this part is supposed to be satire
http://www.whitehouse.org/ask/bandar.asp
Questions & Answers for Bandar
Dubya's Prayer for Peace
Oh Lord,
you who in your infinite wisdom made me President
even though I received fewer votes than the heathen Gore,
I ask you today to smite my enemies,
to break them all into little pieces,
so that peace in the world can be restored,
and thy will, which is of course my will,
as I am nothing but your humble servant,
can be done.
A not so good report (as I turn the topic to immigration).
My best friend in Yuma, Arizona, a naturalized immigrant himself, has just told me that he has changed his voter registration from Democratic to Republican, over what he calls the Dems' complete embrace of illegals. In Yuma, the illegals' strain on government resources is a serious problem. (I agree - even here in neighboring California, the illegals' destruction of construction work wages is a serious problem.)
While I do see that the misguided policies of the Republicans in the US and the PAN in Mexico, as well as the greed of the employers, are at fault, I will not hold the illegals themselves harmless either. After all, they knowingly breached the borders of the US.
My only response: I told him that the Dems seem to be seeing immigrants as potential future voters, and that is a dangerous thought, given the rampant Republicanism of some immigrant communities.
I did thank him for not falling into the neocon talking points (though I privately think, based on his thoughts on John Roberts' qualifications, that he is taking the Lamestream Media a wee bit too seriously, even though he does accuse Fox of being a propaganda channel).
Karen - I want to bring this up with the preparers of the Camp Democracy immigrant rights workshop. The politically correct approach to immigration, that we on the left use, completely ignores the reality. Please check your inbox.
For those interested, we went to Coushatta this afternoon and set up a memorial/tribute of sort for Aline.
I want people to see it now because we put it up in front of her old apartment, it is still the killers family property. We tried to ask permission but they refused to answer the door.
We put it up anyway, but it may not be left in peace for long. We never had a grave for her. Might never have really.
I put the pics of what we left here on a new blog we started for her. Second post down.
http://fayealineself.blogspot.com/
Ally
My mom went to stay with a friend in Yuma & I visited there.
Guaranteed there are sorts of people there who talked your friend into this stance. I didn't care for the place. Most everyone had a big fence, a big truck & a big dog & I was told they were to keep out illegal immigrants, of which I didn't even happen to see any. I did see alot of dust, people with blue or purple hair (hint - they weren't punk rockers) & alot of huge land yachts heading up to the border to the mega drugstores.
Christy
Nice site & memorial - glad you folks did that.
defarge:
when I heard Zakaria's plan for Iraq this morning I turned to my wife and told her, hum, interesting. That sure sounds identical to John Kerry's plan that the right ripped into a few months ago. Interesting that both Zakaria and George Will now support the John Kerry Iraq plan. Its too bad they didn't acknowldge that on This Week.
and it is exactly this judicial activism of Alito that upsets me the most about Lieberman and which very few in the media seem to be paying any attention to. They keep repeating its all about Iraq in Connecticut, I think they are missing that angle. Zakaria also stated and I agree. that Democrats need to repeat Reagan's line, are you better off (Ohio, Pa, Missouri), etc. than you were 4 years ago and then show images of rising gas prices, Rumsfield and an out of control war raging on.
Posted by: DiAnne at July 30, 2006 08:53 PM
DiAnne,
I'll most likely head for Yuma this coming Thursday to see for myself. I've been there before, and it reminded me of Tucson, a place I really hated myself.
The actual issue may be my friend's arch-conservative wife, who ensured that the marriage would be a COVENANT marriage per Arizona state law (a dangerous mix of religion and state), and was an anti-choice Republican all along. She's also a naturalized immigrant.
But the illegal immigration issue did hit SoCal hard too - especially among unionized construction workers. They are among the staunchest supporters of the Democratic Party and the progressive movement, but they are NOT happy about illegals taking construction jobs at below minimum wage when union guys should be doing it at $30/hr or whatever the prevailing wage is.
Of course, the contractors that are hiring the illegals and crashing the labor market must be punished themselves. Honestly, my family business is just about the only immigrant-owned contractor that I know of, which abides by prevailing wages and hires only legals (and pays fair taxes); everyone else I know of is using dirt-cheap illegal labor, paying cash for them, and evading taxes (and buying mansions and luxury cars with the "savings"). In fact, the common wisdoms in the Asian immigrant enclaves are "only idiots pay taxes" and "there are no profits after paying taxes."
I'm proud to be an "idiot" in this case, and honestly, a crackdown on immigrants should also include a crackdown on these legal and naturalized immigrants who evade taxes.
http://fayealineself.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Christy at July 30, 2006 08:14 PM
I'm bookmarking that - thanks for sharing the memories. Sorry I can't be of more help.
Ty Dianne.
And Ally, the best thing you can do right now is just know.
That knowing will finally finally force the hand of the Red River Parish Sherrifs dept and they can not lie or obstruct anymore with so many watching.
Alines case is very different than the other cases he is admitting too. For example, her and Wanda Hudson were the only victims he knew and lived within feet of.
And he says her death was actually 'accidental'. That she died from the chemicals in the rag.
Of all his victims hers is the ONLY body he claims to have disposed of unmolested, unmutilated or unwounded in any way. I mean other than dead. No wounds.
I am going to say something and I know it will sound ...umm.. sick, but this whole situation is sick.
When I had heard that he said she 'accidently died' before he could have his way with her, I was so proud of her. I actually jumped up and... giggled.
I know that sounds wrong, but damn she was a little firecracker, and I am so glad to know she had the moxie to go on and die on him, almost peacefully, and ruined that sick freaks whole plan. I hope she ruined his whole week.
My mom thinks he is lying, because hsome of the details are wrong, but in a way, I hope is he telling the truth.
Wanda was not only stabbed but he sexually mutilated her with that screwdriver. If he is telling the truth, my aunt did not suffer any more than the initial attack with the rag on her face.
I know he is lying too, but I want it to be the truth.
LOOK THEY ADMIT IT IS MISSING!!! THEY ADMIT THE EVIDENCE DISAPPEARED!!!!
Killer's Confessions Challenge La. Sheriff
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:24 p.m. ET
COUSHATTA, La. (AP) -- A convicted murderer's claim that he killed three women in this tiny Louisiana town in the 1980s, part of a sensational tale of dozens of slayings across the country, is creating challenges for the area's top lawman.
Red River Parish Sheriff Johnny Norman must now investigate the three cases anew, but he doesn't have any crime scene evidence and the body of one victim was never found. Many of the notes from witness interviews also have disappeared over the years, he said.
''We've got pieces and bits of it, but not the whole thing,'' Norman said Saturday.
Norman's challenges stem from the confessions revealed last week by Robert Charles Browne, who is serving a life sentence in Colorado for murdering a girl there in 1991. He has claimed responsibility for 49 killings and Colorado authorities said they corroborated six of them -- including three in Red River Parish in the early '80s.
However, convicting Browne in Coushatta would require evidence good enough for a jury -- something Norman said he doesn't have. He wasn't sheriff then and he doesn't know what happened to evidence from the crime scenes.
''I don't know where it went. That was two sheriffs ago,'' he said.
Browne grew up in Coushatta, a north Louisiana farming town of about 2,500 people, as the youngest of nine siblings, the son of a dairy farmer who later became a sheriff's deputy.
Continues
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Colorado-Killer-Coushatta.html?_r=1&oref=login&pagewanted=print
OMG what if Aline DID screw up his plan and he took it out on Wanda Hudson?
--Faye Self, 26, a neighbor, was reported missing March 30, 1983. Browne said he went to Self's apartment after the two met at a nightclub and killed her after placing a chloroform-soaked rag over her face. He disposed of her body in the Red River. It was never found.
--Wanda Faye Hudson, 20, was found stabbed multiple times in her apartment. Investigators think she was killed on May 28, 1983. Browne later moved into that same apartment with one of his wives. He says killed her with a screwdriver, police said.
Hudson's death was particularly vicious, police said. Royce Killingsworth, who lived here at the time, said he persuaded a sheriff's deputy friend to let him look at the bloody crime scene -- an experience he now regrets.
''I've done a few things in my life I wish I hadn't. Looking in that house was one of them,'' Killingsworth said.
And NO he did not just 'meet her at a bar'!!! They are ALL saying that.
He lived TEN FEET FROM HER. Had master keys to her apartment. HE KNEW HER.
They too are making it sound like she was just some tart meeting men in bars. Which strangely enough is pretty much what the police tried telling us for 23 years.
THE BASTARDS.
[The DCP is a non-profit, non-partisan site. Please do not post e-mails from the DCCC here. Thanx.]
If they admit that the evidence is MISSING, just to be clear now, cause Im freaking out inside...
If they A DMIT police records are 'missing', even though 'that was two sherriffs ago', and that sherriff is dead and the killers cops daddy is dead too...
Just because it was another admin. from the past, does that in any way absolve the Red River Parish Sherrifs department NOW?
Can they wiggle off of this hook by blaming it on dead men or are they still liable?
A year ago they were still blowing us off saying it was crazy to think there was a connection between the two, they even told us that they thought they KNEW what happened in Wandas case and it was an EX BOYFRIEND!
They told us that 1 year ago.
Are they liable and what exactly kind of liable are they at this point...? This is so bizarre and...unbelievable.
Me thinks my mother may need multiple lawyers.
And speaking of democratic congressional campaigns...
here's a link to an article about Howard Dean's visit to campaign for my husband's high school friend Jason Altmire, who is running to unseat GOP incumbant Melissa Hart in the PA 4th district. She's a Delay/Santorum crony who has been on the House Ethics Committee, obviously not doing her job.
http://postgazette.com/pg/06211/709755-177.stm
This is a nice boost for the campaign!
And speaking of peace prayers, here is "This is my song", my favorite hymn - Original tune is Finlandia - a prominent national song of Finland composed by Jean Sibilius, adapted by Lloyd Stone who wrote an international version of the lyrics in 1934
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandia_Hymn)
This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
Another verse by Josh Mitteldorf, for difficult times:
When nations rage, and fears erupt coercive,
The drumbeats sound, invoking pious cause.
My neighbors rise, their stalwart hearts they offer,
The gavels drop, suspending rights and laws.
While others wield their swords with blind devotion;
For peace I'll stand, my true and steadfast cause.
A verse by Georgia Harkness:
May truth and freedom come to every nation;
May peace abound where strife has raged so long;
That each may seek to love and build together,
A world united, righting every wrong;
A world united in its love for freedom,
Proclaiming peace together in one song.
A must see tv!
Minimum wage increase with a Republican twist.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/posts/2006/07/31/minimum-wage-increase-with-a-republican-twist/
You can listen to a clip of Finlandia sung by the Indigo Girls here:
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,3272136,00.html
Breaking News from Andy Borowitz
Axis Of Evil Flooded With Membership Applications
Kim Jong-Il 'Very Picky' About Filling Open Third Slot
The Axis of Evil, which originally consisted of Iran, Iraq and North Korea, has been flooded with membership applications of late as evildoers around the world vie to fill the slot vacated by Iraq.
That is according to North Korean President Kim Jong-Il, who since 2002 has served as Chairman of the Axis of Evil while also holding down the post of Chairman of the Axis of Evil's membership committee.
At a press conference in Pyongyang today, President Kim said that the bewildering number of applications received at the Axis of Evil offices each day is "proof that evildoing is alive and well."
"No question about it, evildoing is a growth industry," Mr. Kim told reporters. "It's the only thing in the world these days that's keeping pace with obesity."
Mr. Kim said that in addition to the terror group al-Qaeda, which submits Axis of Evil applications on a weekly basis, the A.O.E. has also received applications from Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
"This is going to be a very, very tough call," Mr. Kim told reporters. "All of these folks probably deserve to be in, but there's only one slot."
The North Korean madman said that he had hoped to make a decision by the end of the week, but that is probably unrealistic: "Mel Gibson just sent in an application and that's going to need some serious consideration."
Elsewhere, after former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein said he wanted to be executed by a firing squad if he is sentenced to death, President Bush dispatched Vice President Dick Cheney to Baghdad.
If The Cosmic Joke Isn't Funny ..
http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/
CNN this morning...
Rice hopeful of cease-fire 'this week'
Monday, July 31, 2006; Posted: 5:50 a.m
CNN Breaking News: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says there will be no cease-fire.
William Rivers Pitt | Cease-Fire Now
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106J.shtml
"It is notable that not even Israel pays heed to the wishes and attempted diplomacy of the United States anymore," writes William Rivers Pitt. "The Bush administration has squandered its ability to serve as any kind of broker in the region, having chosen to allow Israel to do whatever it pleases. Now, the burgeoning democracy of Lebanon has been subsumed by a wave of violence and outrage."
Israel Continues Lebanon Strikes Despite Agreement to Halt Raids
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106K.shtml
The Israeli air force carried out strikes Monday in southern Lebanon despite an agreement to halt raids for 48 hours after nearly 60 Lebanese civilians were killed in an Israeli bombing.
What are they thinking ..
Gunmen in military fatigues kidnap 29 in Iraq
Hostages led into 15 waiting cars; Maliki urges fight against insurgents
Updated: 10:12 a.m. ET July 31, 2006
(AP)BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen kidnapped 29 people in Baghdad on Monday, while Iraq’s latest wave of violence killed 19 people, including four Iraqi soldiers in a suicide bombing.
The interior minister faced calls for his dismissal because of the worsening security crisis in Baghdad and surrounding towns, mostly blamed on sectarian conflict between Shiites and Sunnis.
Gunmen in military fatigues drove to the main shopping area of Karrada in 15 vehicles and split into two groups, one going into a mobile phone shop and the other into the office next door of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce, said police Lt. Thair Mahmoud.
They kidnapped 15 staff and customers from the shop and 11 from the chamber, he said. All were believed to be Iraqis. No other details were available.
In a second kidnapping, gunmen in commando uniforms, blocked a car carrying a millionaire businessman and his two sons, seizing the three in southeastern Baghdad, said police Lt. Bilal Ali Majeed.
Rampant abductions
Kidnappings for ransom have become rampant in recent months. Abductions are believed to be a major source of income not only for criminal gangs but also insurgents fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14115961/
Wait, lemme guess, these are the birth pains of a new democracy, right?
House, Senate Democrats write Bush, call for phased withdrawal
RAW STORY
Published: Monday July 31, 2006
House and Senate Democratic Leadership, as well as ranking minority members from the national security committees, have written President George W. Bush to call for the phased redeployment of U.S. forces by the end of the year, RAW STORY has learned.
"Far from implementing a comprehensive 'Strategy for Victory' as you promised months ago," Democrats write, "your Administration's strategy appears to be one of trying to avoid defeat."
"Iraqi political leaders must be informed," they go on to say, "that American patience, blood and treasure are not unlimited."
The letter, as acquired by RAW STORY, follows:
#
July 30, 2006
Dear Mr. President:
While the world has been focused on the crisis in the Middle East, Iraq has exploded in violence. Some 6,000 Iraqis were killed in May and June, and sectarian and insurgent violence continues to claim American and Iraqi lives at an alarming rate. In the face of this onslaught, one can only conclude that the Baghdad security plan you announced five weeks ago is in great jeopardy.
Despite the latest evidence that your Administration lacks a coherent strategy to stabilize Iraq and achieve victory, there has been virtually no diplomatic effort to resolve sectarian differences, no regional effort to establish a broader security framework, and no attempt to revive a struggling reconstruction effort. Instead, we learned of your plans to redeploy an additional 5,000 U.S. troops into an urban war zone in Baghdad. Far from implementing a comprehensive "Strategy for Victory" as you promised months ago, your Administration's strategy appears to be one of trying to avoid defeat.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops and taxpayers continue to pay a high price as your Administration searches for a policy. Over 2,500 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice and over 18,000 others have been wounded. The Iraq war has also strained our military and constrained our ability to deal with other challenges. Readiness levels for the Army are at lows not seen since Vietnam, as virtually no active Army non-deployed combat brigade is prepared to perform its wartime missions. American taxpayers have already contributed over $300 billion and each week we stay in Iraq adds nearly $3 billion more to our record budget deficit.
In the interests of American national security, our troops, and our taxpayers, the open-ended commitment in Iraq that you have embraced cannot and should not be sustained.
Rather, we continue to believe that it is time for Iraqis to step forward and take the lead for securing and governing their own country. This is the principle enshrined in the "United States Policy in Iraq Act" enacted last year. This law declares 2006 to be a year of "significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with Iraqi security forces taking the lead for the security of a free and sovereign Iraq, thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq." Regrettably, your policy seems to be moving in the opposite direction.
This legislation made clear that Iraqi political leaders must be informed that American patience, blood and treasure are not unlimited. We were disappointed that you did not convey this message to Prime Minister Maliki during his recent visit. Reducing the U.S. footprint in Iraq will not only give the Iraqis a greater incentive to take the lead for the security of their own nation, but will also allow U.S. forces to be able to respond to contingencies affecting the security of the United States elsewhere in the world.
We believe that a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq should begin before the end of 2006. U.S. forces in Iraq should transition to a more limited mission focused on counterterrorism, training and logistical support of Iraqi security forces, and force protection of U.S. personnel.
Additionally, every effort should be made to urge the Iraqis to take the steps necessary to achieve a broad-based and sustainable political settlement, including amending the constitution to achieve a fair sharing of power and resources. It is also essential to disarm the militias and ensure forces loyal to the national government. Finally, an international conference should be convened to persuade other governments to be more involved, and to secure the resources necessary to finance Iraq's reconstruction and rebuild its economy.
Mr. President, simply staying the course in Iraq is not working. We need to take a new direction. We believe these recommendations comprise an effective alternative to the current open-ended commitment which is not producing the progress in Iraq we would all like to see. Thank you for your careful consideration of these suggestions.
#
The letter is signed by:
Harry Reid, Senate Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader Dick Durbin, Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, House Minority Whip Carl Levin, Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee Ike Skelton, Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee Joe Biden, Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tom Lantos, Ranking Member, House International Relations Committee Jay Rockefeller, Vice Chairman, Senate Intelligence Committee
Jane Harman, Ranking Member, House Intelligence Committee Daniel Inouye, Ranking Member, Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee John Murtha, Ranking Member, House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/House_Senate_Democrats_write_Bush_call_0731.html
Bills Soar As Many Hit Gap in Drug Plan
Medicare Provision Jolts Some Seniors
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/29/AR2006072900800.html
That's what happens when you let the businesses write their own legislations!
Reports from questioning by the fifth circuit this afternoon regarding the Texas Republican party's efforts to prove that Tom DeLay has become a resident of Virginia is not going very well for them, reports the Houston Chronicle. They are trying by hook or crook to replace Tom DeLay as their candidate for the 22nd District here in Houston.
It will be very interesting if DeLay is compelled to be the Republican nominee after previously withdrawing his candidacy.
CNN will be broadcasting another "end of the world" secgment on Paula Zahn's show tonight. If only God would begin with CNN.
Maybe it's time that we organized a boycott of Time Warner.
oooooooo....you MUST see the reaction to the minimum wage; republican shame in this thread. (It's been posted less than 8 hours and there's almost 10k hits on that thread alone.) Also, read the reaction to the facts presented...it's an eye-opener to be called 'commie' etc...
http://www.progressiveu.org/122827-the-minimum-wage-increase-republicans-show-no-shame#comment-64933
FDA reverses course on morning-after pill
Proposal would allow Plan B sale to women over 18 without prescription
Monday, July 31, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government revived efforts Monday to widen access to the morning-after pill, but only to women 18 and older, issuing a surprise announcement that it was reconsidering over-the-counter sale of the emergency contraceptive almost a year after it was thought doomed.
The Food and Drug Administration notified manufacturer Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. early Monday that it wanted to meet within seven days to iron out new steps the company must take in its three-year battle to sell the pill, called Plan B, without a prescription to at least some women.
"We think this is a positive development. We will see how the meeting goes and move forward from there," company spokeswoman Carol Cox said.
Cox could not predict how quickly the company could amend its FDA application, which already includes a plan to restrict distribution of the pills. The FDA said a final decision could be reached within weeks, if talks with Barr go well.
The announcement came just 24 hours before President Bush's nominee to lead the regulatory agency, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, was scheduled to appear before a Senate committee, where he was expected to face grilling on why the morning-after pill had apparently gone into bureaucratic limbo.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/07/31/morning.after.pill.ap.ap/index.html
Who’s to blame for gas prices? You know who
Motorists tend to blame Big Oil and research somewhat bears that out
Updated: 1 hour, 11 minutes ago
(AP) While U.S. oil companies blame the global oil market for high gasoline prices, a close analysis of pricing suggests it's not so simple: The run-up at the pump also comes from domestic refining, which is largely controlled by Big Oil.
In consultation with several economists, The Associated Press examined pricing trends since 1999, which was the starting bell for the modern era of pricier gasoline. It found evidence that:
The portion of gas prices tied to refining has ballooned all on its own, apart from oil.
The suspicion of frustrated drivers is correct: After upward spikes, the price of gasoline drops back more slowly than the price of oil — and someone pockets the difference.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14122229/
KEY DEMOCRATS UNITED ON WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ:
CNN ALERT
Alert Name: Baghdad
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/31/democrats.iraq.ap/index.html
Key Democrats united on Iraq withdrawal
Letter calls for the start of a 'phased redeployment'
by year's end
07/31/06 04:05 PM, EDT
Key Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have
united to call on President Bush to begin pulling U.S.
troops out of Iraq by the end of the year, citing an
overtaxed military, billions of dollars spent and
ongoing sectarian violence.
FULL STORY
http://www.thesoapboxroadshow.com
Monkey,
Great links. I'm wondering if the FDA thing is an election year reaction...still trying to help get Republicans back in office.
Posted by: monkey at July 31, 2006 04:50 PM
Oh, my. Between the NeoCons needing confirmation for one of their own and fall elections coming up, that was mighty convenient, wasn't it? Wonder how long it will take for the fool to reverse his decision the day after election?
The schmuck should still not be confirmed.
The Journal Enquirer | The Heart of the Party
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106O.shtml
"The fight for the soul of the Democratic Party is the fight between those who want to go back to Franklin Roosevelt and those who want to be corporate Democrats, in sync with banks and large corporations and the greater money interests of the land. It is the battle between those who believe in a party of issues versus those who think any party is a collection of interests," the editorial board of the Journal Inquirer writes.
{{{Excellent short - and accurate - essay!!!}}}
The Secretive Fight Against Bioterror
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106N.shtml
On the grounds of a military base an hour's drive from the capital, the Bush administration is building a massive biodefense laboratory unlike any seen since biological weapons were banned 34 years ago.
{{{Second story, same link, from The Guardian, UK: "US Begins Building Treaty-Breaching Germ War Defence Centre." I forsee huge problems with this.... Between the new prison at Gitmo, now this... WHAT kind of monsters are Bu$hCo unleashing on the citizens of this nation, and the citizens of the world?!?!? Bu$hCo resents any comparisons to Hitler's regime, but when they act like the Germany prior to declared dictatorship, what else are the citizens of this country and the world to actually think? If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, and it looks like a duck.... It must be a duck! The people in Bu$hCo are quite clearly insane to condone concentration camps and bio-warfare.... Already Bu$hCo is a de facto dictatorship and the US an undeclared corporate fascist nation. What next?!?!? Using biotoxins at the new prison at Gitmo???}}}
CHENEY'S HALLIBURTON LOSES ITS IRAQ CASH COW
Charlie Cray, TomPaine.com
Finally, Dick Cheney's former company has had its lucrative contract to rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure canceled, but the company may still get more chances to rip off the U.S. taxpayer.
http://www.alternet.org/story/39567/
A Rallying Cry for Democratic Populism
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106B.shtml
What would happen if the opposition party actually chose to oppose the one in power? Not just on the margins, but by rejecting outright the majority party's fundamental beliefs on trade and tax policy?
The New York Times | Republicans Fooling the Voter
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106C.shtml
The New York Times writes, "The Senate has one week before its summer recess. As the senators struggle to produce decent legislation from the House's sham bills, Americans will see the truth: their representatives in the House went on vacation without doing their job."
A Primeval Tide of Toxins
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106G.shtml
Runoff from modern life is feeding an explosion of primitive organisms. This "rise of slime," as one scientist calls it, is killing larger species and sickening people.
NATO Takes Over From the US in Afghanistan
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106H.shtml
Today is the official date for the handover of responsibilities from the US coalition to NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, where Taliban incursion and coalition failure to keep aid promises complicate NATO's task.
{{{Hmmmm.... since this doesn't get our troops home faster, just exactly what is the point of the UN taking over in Afghanistan?!?}}}
Took a 4 hour walk with no phone, no laptop, no music. Just a break (day off). Work has been almost a pleasant distraction.
From Bert:
'Nightline' To Air Explosive Iraq War Charges
ABC's Nightline http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154053/ , which had developed a reputation over the years for breaking more important news stories than any other nightly news program, is planning to air an exclusive interview tonight (Monday) with an American soldier who charges that his command gave orders to kill all military-aged males encountered and that U.S. military units compete with each other on "kill rates." The soldier, PFC Corey Clagett, has been charged along with three other soldiers of murdering prisoners in Iraq. He was interviewed in Kuwait by Nightline co-anchor Martin Bashir http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0059797/ .
From TruthOut:
Dahr Jamail | "Supporters of Hezbollah"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106A.shtml
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon announced, "All those in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah. In order to prevent casualties among Israeli soldiers battling Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, villages should be flattened by the Israeli air force before ground troops move in." Writing from Beirut, Dahr Jamail shows us these so called "supporters of Hezbollah," in the hospitals of Sidon.
From Alan:
"It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion , clearly and courageously , a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism , colonialization , or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands. "
Ariel Sharon , Agence France Presse , November 15, 1998
Some of these things are sent out with a request "for your thoughts" to those receiving (via group email). All I can say is that I am shocked, saddened, scared.
Posted by: monkey at July 31, 2006 04:55 PM
I knew it. The price of refining is independent of the price of crude oil, which is only one of the several factors in determining what you pay at the pump.
There is a lot of politics involved, especially here in California, where stringent environmental regulations equal excuses to tack on another 20-30 cents per gallon.
Thanks for sharing.
I am posting John Kerry's entire Health Care speech from today in Boston at the bottom of the last thread, because it is long.
Blogger MBK is there today.
I will also see Bill Clinton tonight, with Jim McDermott & Thom Hartmann from Air America. He has an event today with Maria Cantwell, who acc/Kos is "surging" but has not yet hit 50.
Ran into some partisan types when walking through the University district and they were doing their bit - earnest young lads, well-spoken & clean cut.
Ally
That's right (refining separate from crude).
I used to work with Shell Oil, seems like in another life.
I was a billing clerk at a refinery in St. Paul.
Somebody help me please. I believe it was last week that there was an article about people hiring companies to do push polling but they sneak it through a 3rd party so that the party is not identified. (I believe it may have been used in the Webb race or the Lieberman race.)
Today I got pushed polled. The name of the firm was Mountain West Research. www.mwrcenter.com and I did the survey but then called the number to get information on who had hired them to do this push poll. They refused to say.
So, I told them, "That's fine. I've got your name, the questions asked, and I intend to call the media and tell them about the survey and explain to them what makes a survey valid and what makes it a 'push poll'."
The person is asking his 'clients' for permission to release their name to me tomorrow when I call back. (And you can bet that I will be phoning them back tomorrow!)
They are calling approximately 5000 people in Michigan with this specific survey.
(And frankly, since the questions were more towards two people in a specific 'State' district with a few overall push polls about Governor Granhom, without much information divulged about DeVoss her opponent, I suspect you can guess who was being pushed...off the cliff that is.
This comes from Center for American Progress.
Their URL is http://www.americanprogress.org, where you can sign up and they'll send you their summaries, where material like this is full of links to original sources.
MIDDLE EAST
A Return To The Consensus
Yesterday saw the Mideast crisis escalate further, with the tragic loss of dozens of Lebanese lives after an Israeli air strike in Qana, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's aborted second effort at diplomacy.
It's important to remember how we got here: Since President Bush took office, and even more so following the September 11 attacks, there has been wide bipartisan agreement on America's national security priorities: to support a sustained NATO-led effort to help rebuild the failed state in Afghanistan; to aggressively contain Iraq and weaken Saddam Hussein's regime with targeted sanctions; to work with allies to battle the global threats of terrorist networks, nuclear proliferation and climate change, with particular focus on the nuclear threats in Iran and North Korea; and to lead the Middle East to a comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In each case, President Bush disregarded the consensus, and the consequences are evident in the crises erupting around the globe. Now, with the Middle East upturned again by the war in Lebanon, the case for a return to this progressive bipartisan national security consensus is stronger than ever.
ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSE OF HEZBOLLAH AND HAMAS: Former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft wrote on Sunday that Hezbollah is not the "root cause" of the current Mideast crisis, as President Bush and administration officials have said; "it is a derivative of the cause, which is the tragic conflict over Palestine that began in 1948." Others have echoed his analysis.
Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-ME), who led diplomatic advances in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, said recently, "There's only one resolution of this conflict and that's going to be through a negotiation that produces a two state solution, Israeli and Palestinian."
Likewise, in a speech to the Brookings Institution on Friday, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) argued that the "core of all challenges in the Middle East remains the underlying Arab-Israeli conflict. The failure to address this root cause will allow Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorists to continue to sustain popular Muslim and Arab support, continuing to undermine America’s standing in the region, and the governments of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and others -- whose support is critical for any Middle East resolution."
ENDING THE 58-YEAR-OLD TRAGEDY: To President Bush's credit, he has spoken clearly on the urgent need for a two-state solution. But like his rhetoric about the spread of freedom, or the use of military force as a last resort, Bush's claims have been belied by his consistent neglect of the problem. The current crisis must lead to a change in course.
"Now, perhaps more than ever, we have an opportunity to harness that concern and energy to achieve a comprehensive resolution of the entire 58-year-old tragedy," Scowcroft wrote of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Scowcroft presented a plan for the way forward, based upon the parameters established by President Clinton in 2000, which address the borders of a Palestinian state, the refugees, the settlements, and the status of Jerusalem.
The basic framework of this agreement enjoys widespread support within the region and beyond, but only the United States holds the diplomatic influence to "mobilize the international community and Israel and the Arab states for the task that has defeated so many previous efforts." What is lacking from the Bush administration is the will.
WHITHER THE CEDAR REVOLUTION?: President Bush said on Saturday that Lebanon "is the latest flashpoint in a broader struggle between freedom and terror that is unfolding across the region." Indeed, just last year, mass demonstrations (part of the Cedar Revolution movement) "helped force the Syrian government to end its 29-year military presence in the country"; the protests were significantly larger than those organized by Hezbollah in support of Syria.
Pollsters have documented serious positive trends in Lebanese public opinion over the last several years. Favorable opinion of the United States jumped from 27 percent to 42 percent from 2003 to 2005. The number of Lebanese who believed terrorism could sometimes be justified dropped from 73 percent to 39 percent from 2002 to 2005, while the number who believed democracy could work in Lebanon went from 75 percent to 83 percent.
Now, due in large part to the spiraling violence which the Bush administration has failed to bring to a halt, those trends may be reversed. The latest poll by the Beirut Center found that just 8 percent of Lebanese "feel the U.S. supports Lebanon, down from 38 percent in January."
Support for the Shiite-run Hezbollah has spiked, even among Christians, Druze, and Sunni Muslims. Lebanese analysts warn that "even if strife doesn't erupt again, a Hezbollah considered victorious would become a kingmaker in politics." Melhem Chaoul, a sociologist and professor at the Lebanese University in Beirut, predicted Hezbollah could hold a veto over members of government, effectively creating "a semi-totalitarian state in the form of a consensual democracy." Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who pressed for Syria's removal from the country, yesterday thanked Hezbollah for its "sacrifices" in its war against Israel.
PRETENDING LEMONS ARE LEMONADE:
During a press conference Friday, President Bush proudly declared that American foreign policy no longer seeks to "manage calm," and that the violence in the Middle East was evidence of a more effective foreign policy. He repeated this line during Saturday's radio address: "For decades, American policy sought to achieve peace in the Middle East by promoting stability in the Middle East, yet these policies gave us neither," Bush said, clearly implying that long-term peace is best achieved through instability.
This is a shallow attempt by President Bush to excuse his administration's lack of consistent engagement in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and a false effort to portray the current bloody violence as a positive in and of itself.
As former U.S. Middle East Envoy Dennis Ross has observed, a stable process is necessary in the Middle East because "process absorbs events -- without a process, events become crises." Sen. Hagel said on Friday, "[Ross] was right. Look at where we are today in the Middle East with no process. Crisis diplomacy is no substitute for sustained, day-to-day engagement."
more on Kerry health plan
John Kerry | Health Care for All Americans
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106R.shtml
Today at Boston's Faneuil Hall, Senator John Kerry put forth his comprehensive health care plan. "For five decades, Presidents have approached this challenge and then backed away - and powerful interests have had their way. As Democrats, we have to take up the cause and refuse to back down. We can't triangulate this issue; no, we have to go to the heart of it - affordable health care for every American."
I used to work with Shell Oil, seems like in another life.
I was a billing clerk at a refinery in St. Paul.
Posted by: DiAnne at July 31, 2006 06:37 PM
Well, you aren't alone in having worked for the devil... I worked briefly for Northrop-Grumman and applied to work at Bechtel. (Of course, Bechtel decided I was too much of a trouble.)
-----------------------------------------------
John Kerry | Health Care for All Americans
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/073106R.shtml
Posted by: DiAnne at July 31, 2006 07:18 PM
Thanks for sharing. This is an urgent issue for me, and I want to be sure that Kerry won't back away from this issue, like so many others have done before him.
Another devastating Billmon post:
http://billmon.org/archives/002607.html
Heathen Town
by Elvis Costello
They used to call it Sin City
now it's gone way past that.
Painting the town
and then burning it down
now even that's old hat.
Now there's a choir of angels
at the fall of Rome
singing "Ave Maria"
or "Home, Sweet Home"
It's just a heathen town
I hear only evil
as my tongue is tightened.
I used to be god-fearing
now I'm so frightened
'cause the devil will drag you under
by the sharp tailfin
of your checkered cab
And I can't sit down,
I'm going overboard
in this heathen town.
It starts as a flirtation
and ends up as an expensive habit.
With one eye on her place
in debtor's prison
And the other on a girl
dressed as a rabbit.
Now you can live forever
endure fits and starts
The only stake you cannot raise
Is the one driven through your heart.
It's just a heathen town
I hear only evil
as my tongue is tightened.
I used to be god-fearing
now I'm so frightened
'cause the devil will drag you under
by the sharp tailfin
of your checkered cab
And I can't sit down,
I'm going overboard
in this heathen town.
Hi DCPers. dwahzon invited me to link a post I made on Kos about our discussion with former Clinton advisor Jay Footlik. Here it is: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/31/10581/3225
Ally
Now I guess I work for the Pope, though I don't agree with some Catholic policy. At least they haven't proselytized & their Mission includes "Compassion." I interpret it in my own way (along the lines of Kwan Yin). We all have to earn money somehow. Sometimes it bugs me alot that I pay war taxes but that's another reason why I like to engage in
long-term boycotts - money is another form of voting. The personal is political. Besides, I help kids at work. We need to do good wherever we are.
I worked for nursing homes under Medicare and finally drew the line at "for-profits," where I encountered outright fraud against the government and the elderly. Podiatrists were known to bill nail cutting as "surgery" etc. If we had a fair and equitable healthcare in the first place, insurance wouldn't be billed at such high rates to subsidize what the government does not, can not and will not pay. That's why there are poor people lined up at emergency rooms and so much is written off. Where is the money for basic preventive care?! There are alot of premature babies, etc. b/c of lack of forethought & education. It could be provided in the community in a more effective & thorough manner. We would have the money if not for all these wars & poor management.
Much of what Kerry has proposed now and previously, would have been able to be paid for out of the tax money from those in the upper two percent - the same ones Bush is cutting
taxes for (both income taxes and inheritance taxes). The new prescription drug bill is unfair - as Suz posted, those with high drug costs eventually hit a "donut" in the payment pattern where they have to bear the entire cost for awhile. It's so unfair that my cancer-survivor mom opted out and is depending mostly on alternative medicine out of her own
pocket plus healthy food, & is doing better than if she'd gone on the Vioxx and chemo they recommended - she has out-lived their life prediction without their help, thank you.
Money that doesn't go into health child care and child education wil probably be spent later paying for the prison system, the welfare system (what's left of it) and military cannon fodder. There doesn't seem to be such a thing as long-term planning in this system.
Getting all dressed up to see Bill Clinton.
Looks like the Democrats are pulling the rug right out from under Pro War, Holy Joe Lieberman right before the primary. Perhaps they are reading the writing on the wall and Lamont will win on Tuesday. I sure hope so...
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
House, Senate Democrats write Bush, call for phased withdrawal
RAW STORY
Published: Monday July 31, 2006
House and Senate Democratic Leadership, as well as ranking minority members from the national security committees, have written President George W. Bush to call for the phased redeployment of U.S. forces by the end of the year, RAW STORY has learned.
"Far from implementing a comprehensive 'Strategy for Victory' as you promised months ago," Democrats write, "your Administration's strategy appears to be one of trying to avoid defeat."
"Iraqi political leaders must be informed," they go on to say, "that American patience, blood and treasure are not unlimited."
The letter, as acquired by RAW STORY, follows:
#
July 30, 2006
Dear Mr. President:
While the world has been focused on the crisis in the Middle East, Iraq has exploded in violence. Some 6,000 Iraqis were killed in May and June, and sectarian and insurgent violence continues to claim American and Iraqi lives at an alarming rate. In the face of this onslaught, one can only conclude that the Baghdad security plan you announced five weeks ago is in great jeopardy.
The letter is signed by:
Harry Reid, Senate Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader Dick Durbin, Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, House Minority Whip Carl Levin, Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee Ike Skelton, Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee Joe Biden, Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tom Lantos, Ranking Member, House International Relations Committee Jay Rockefeller, Vice Chairman, Senate Intelligence Committee
Jane Harman, Ranking Member, House Intelligence Committee Daniel Inouye, Ranking Member, Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee John Murtha, Ranking Member, House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/House_Senate_Democrats_write_Bush_call_0731.html
Posted by: monkey at July 31, 2006 02:06 PM
good report sparrow about push polling in your community. Its something we need to be vigilant about b/c it is so toxic to campaigns. Have you thought about turning that report into a letter to your local editor?
Ira, I have decided to do that. I'm planning on calling them back tomorrow to get the information. And after they divulge which party was doing it I will present the piece as an article and LTE to hope for better publication.
A hint from one of questions..."XXX was arrested on drunk driving and served community service... Is that a "very strong issue, somewhat strong issue, minor issue, no issue"
You go, sparrow!
We all need to be this vigilant.
Posted by: karen at July 31, 2006 11:00 PM
Li'l Vigil Annie... me likey!
Money that doesn't go into health child care and child education wil probably be spent later paying for the prison system, the welfare system (what's left of it) and military cannon fodder. There doesn't seem to be such a thing as long-term planning in this system.
Posted by: DiAnne at July 31, 2006 08:37 PM
Our political system doesn't like long term planning. It's all about instant gratification.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060731/pl_nm/bush_bolton_dc
Senate panel puts off Bolton vote to September
Britain and California Sidestep Bush to Join Forces on Global Warming
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/073106EA.shtml
Britain and California are preparing to sidestep the Bush administration and fight global warming together by creating a joint market for greenhouse gases. The aim is to fix a price on carbon pollution, an unwanted byproduct of burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gasoline. The idea is to set overall caps for carbon and reward businesses that find a profitable way to minimize their carbon emissions, thereby encouraging new, greener technologies.
Senate to Vote on Allowing Offshore Drilling
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/073106EB.shtml
With war raging in an oil-rich part of the world, interest in tapping domestic sources of the precious resource is becoming more acute. At stake is a moratorium - renewed annually by Congress since 1981 - that protects much of the Atlantic and Pacific outer continental shelf from oil and gas drilling. Now lawmakers are moving to open more coastal areas to energy development. The House passed a bill favoring this, and the Senate is poised to do so as well.
There's an excellent diary on asymmetric warfare. Don't know what that is? You should read this one. It accurately names what happened in Vietnam, in Afghanistan to the Soviets, in Iraq, and other conflicts.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/31/172013/456
Dwahzon
Thanks! I had already been referred to that & now will read it for sure.
mbk
Hope you write up something on Kerry & healthcare.
I saw Clinton/McDermott last night & it was amazing - McDermott & preservation of freedom of speech, Clinton on the basic differences between the two parties in a nutshell, plus much music & dance in a symphony hall! I'm still digesting it & need to go to work but will work on more.
Her family KNEW too, all this time we have all known. This really is so unfreakingbelievable it is unreal.
"Possible cover-up
Wanda Faye Hudson's family members suspect a cover-up. Browne was related to numerous law officers in Coushatta, La., where Hudson died."
"Now, Hudson's cousin, Rusty Watson, believes officials deliberately bungled the investigation.
"This is strictly my belief. I say there were folks there who knew he did it all the time. I think they covered it up purposely. I really do," said Watson, who now lives in Petal, Miss."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14088085/
Before I rush off to work:
from mbk:
JK himself on Huffington Post!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kerry/standing-for-
something_b_26187.html?p=4#comments
from me:
Clinton Gets Warm Welcome
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2003166729_clinton01m.html
from NW Progressive live blog:
http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2006/07/live-from-benaroya-hall-president.html
DCP had bloggers at both events, so we have more to say, coming up!
Thom Hartman of Air America & Congressman Jim McDermott's thoughts on freedom of speech need to be unpacked - freedom of speech is critical to freedom in America.
Some of you may have been following the A Soldier's Thoughts blog by Zach Singleton. He is starting to write his story in retrospect and there is some interesting stuff there - Karen he'd be interesting to talk to for Fear Up.
My Vietnam
Looking out of my Humvee window I realized that this was my Vietnam. We were finally made it to the Euphrates and it was like a jungle to me after being in the desert for weeks. Things were quiet as we stopped for the night before crossing a bridge where some of my unit had been ambushed the day before. Sleep came quickly after so many hours of vigilance.
We woke to the sun and baking heat and I decided that I had time to change my essentials (underwear, socks, and shirt). Sitting back inside my canvas Humvee we were waiting for the call to proceed north across the bridge and into Baghdad.
Baghdad, we were finally going to get there after so many days of fighting and driving. The lush vegetation had its own voice, much different than the harsh desert. Sitting there listening to the sounds around me I was hit by that thought, this was my Vietnam, and it was punctuated by an explosion overhead.
The sounds around me changed from those of life to the screech of war and death. For a split second I hesitated and then it struck me, the absurdity of it all. I was sitting under a canvas roof, and I realized that I had to get out of my truck and take cover.
more: http://misoldierthoughts.blogspot.com/
and scroll on down for other musings of late.
Here's a frame worth remembering. I was checking out the comments on Kerry's post at Huffpo and found the following comment:
Oh, and *next* time you campaign for any form of single-payer national health insurance, and you get the old "Do you want the government to decide which doctor you can go to?", do us a favor and give right back: "Do you want for-profit corporations to decide which doctor you can go to?"
By: LiberalDemIda on July 31, 2006 at 08:21pm