August 2006 Archives

Camp Democracy opens in less than one week, on Tuesday, September 5th!

Read about our press conference at the National Press Club on Tuesday, August 29th and all of the amazing speakers lined up for Camp Democracy.

We still need volunteers. Please ask everyone you know to sign up.

Tabling only costs $25 per day. Why not set up a table with your information?

Here are free rooms and rides.

If you can send a bus and need help paying for it, ask us at:
david@davidswanson.org

If you need help filling it, post it on the board.

You can help spread the word about Camp Democracy with the tools found on this page, including a local event guide, a sample press release, Email announcements, flyers, posters, web banners, audio of a public service announcement, a student activism kit, and a short blurb for newsletters.

Dress for success. You cannot buy shirts at Camp Democracy, but you can buy them beforehand.

Please make an appointment with your Congress Member in Washington on September 19th and join us for a day of lobbying, preceded by a day of training on September 18th.

Will there be more get out of jail free cards being issued to Republican officials in the coming weeks, or will someone actually be held accountable in our criminal justice system?

This morning's perusal of of The New York Times delivers us this bit of information:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 — Richard L. Armitage, a former deputy secretary of state, has acknowledged that he was the person whose conversation with a columnist in 2003 prompted a long, politically laden criminal investigation in what became known as the C.I.A. leak case, a lawyer involved in the case said on Tuesday.

Mr. Armitage did not return calls for comment. But the lawyer and other associates of Mr. Armitage have said he has confirmed that he was the initial and primary source for the columnist, Robert D. Novak, whose column of July 14, 2003, identified Valerie Wilson as a Central Intelligence Agency officer.

The identification of Mr. Armitage as the original leaker to Mr. Novak ends what has been a tantalizing mystery. In recent months, however, Mr. Armitage’s role had become clear to many, and it was recently reported by Newsweek magazine and The Washington Post.

In the accounts by the lawyer and associates, Mr. Armitage disclosed casually to Mr. Novak that Ms. Wilson worked for the C.I.A. at the end of an interview in his State Department office. Mr. Armitage knew that, the accounts continue, because he had seen a written memorandum by Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman.

So Mr. Armitage, while serving in his role as Deputy Secretary of State and warmonger extraordinaire, leaked classified information about a CIA agent about her identity and her work, to a reporter.

Why isn't he under arrest?

He knew the information was classified. There is no indication that the President declassified the information with a wave of his mighty hand, prior to Mr. Armitage's conversation with Mr. Novak, as the President indicated when asked earlier about the classified status of Valerie Plame's identity with regard to Vice-President Cheney and Scooter Libby's leaking her name to any reporter who woould be willing to act as their stenographer.

This is disturbing, to say the least. But what I find equally disturbing, is the fact that CNN, MSGOP, et all are devoting any number of hours of coverage, not to the statutory violation under the Espionage Act by one of the top ranking officials in the country, but to the non-story of capturing a person who has no physical connection to a one person crime that happened a decade ago.

The media's lack of coverage of this story is a negligent abdication of their responsibilities that ought to be a crime.

My other concern, is that Dick Armitage retained his security status, well beyond when it was known that he had leaked the information.

Moreover, if the multi-verified reports are true, as it seems by a preponderance of the evidence they are, then Mr. Armitage appears to have committed a crime. Where the hell are the charges? Why is this obvious friend of OBL and enemy to the War on Terra, walking around free?

What does it take to get someone stripped of their security clearence in this White House? How are we supposed to expect the Bush Administration to protect us, when they can't even weed out the traitors in their midst (yeah, I'm looking at you Scooter, and you too Jimmy/Jeff Gannon)?

In summation, we know who the primary leaker was, we know who directed the political part of the operation, further criminalizing an already criminal act, and the Press Corpse remains asleep at the wheel (except for Kyra Phillips, who was busy gossiping with her skirt up and her mike open in the ladies room). White House infiltration of security via the Press Room and The State Department get ignored.

So now what? What happens next? Where the hell is the Rule of Law in America?

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece resumes, re-edited by its author.]

One year later after the Katrina disaster, we reviewed how we raged, hoped and prayed that somehow, there would be enough awareness and political will to summon what is necessary to bring a great city back to life. For the last year we've heard and read the reports of incompetence, the finger-pointing, the corruption and misappropriation. A year later, this is where we're at:

Federal Disaster Relief
From all accounts, its a mixed report card on progress by FEMA, which has shown some improvement in providing loans, emergency aid, supply logistics, communication, and goods procurement. More work needs to be done to improve access to temporary housing and evacuation. Leadership has a long row to hoe.

Reconstruction Progress
In July 2006, the City of New Orleans published its report on infrastructure restoration by zip code. As of July 2006, the last area awaiting complete restoral of basic services is the Lower Ninth ward.

Political Will
Over the last year, Congress has enacted legislation to provide help to victims of Katrina's devastation. This report provides, in plain English a descriptive list of what Congress has done to date.

The Human Face
"The Lost Year" provides an overview account from a year later on the events of the storm and its political aftermath on a local, state and federal level. The personal stories--the human face of the disaster, are devastating.

[Later Update: According to Coburn, via TPM, it was Ted Stevens who blocked him bill. Not too surprising, since Coburn took on Stevens over the bridge to nowhere. Your classic Senate pissing match. Pathetic. Your tax dollars, hard at work.]

[Update: And then there were six...and my money is STILL on Ted Stevens, who pissy attitude who love of all things pork, make him the perfect candidate.]

[Editor's Note: I came across this story yesterday on TPM Muckraker, which is also keeping a rolling tally. There are plenty of Senators who still need calling (32, as of this posting). Just pick up the phone....]

From Center for American Progress:

According to this report, a mystery Senator has placed a secret hold on open government legislation. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced legislation that would create a free database of government contracts, grants, financial assistance (worth $2.5,000,000,000,000 last year). The legislation (S.2590), the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, had already been passed unanimously by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, with bipartisan support.

Unless the senator who placed a hold lifts the hold, the bill will never receive a Senate vote. The Senatorial "hold" is not even part of the Senate rules. It allows a senator to delay legislation or a presidential appointment, indefinitely and can be done secretly.

Bloggers on the left (TPM Muckraker) and the right (Porkbusters) have joined forces to 'smoke out' the Senators behind the hold. Both sites are featuring a running tally of which Senators have been called and who have issued denials or statements.

Time to act.

"One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law."

Martin Luther King

So ended the speech of Ehren Watada, as he spoke at the national Veterans for Peace convention at University of Washington recently. It was Lt. Watada who inspired me to fast for several days, after I heard him speak out aganst the war on legal grounds, on my radio as I was commuting.

Lt. Watada says he is not a hero. He is though, and a leader, for taking the stance that he has. He will touch many lives, and he deserves support for his courage. As he said, if more American soldiers in Iraq know that they, along with their families, will be supported if they stand up against this illegal occupation, countless more will follow, and this repulsive war will end.

(photo courtesy BayIndyMedia)

About Ehren Watada:

- a First Lieutenant in the United States Army who publicly refused to deploy to Iraq for the Iraq War in June 2006, saying that he believed the war to be illegal and that it would make him party to war crimes.

He is the first commissioned officer in the U.S. armed forces to go public about refusing deployment to Iraq. Ehren joined the Army in 2003, after the war in Iraq had already begun. His term ends in December of 2005, but the Army is able to extend officers' commissions at their own discretion, and have refused to honor his resignaton.

The charges against him include conduct unbecoming an officer, missing movement, and contempt toward officials. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Lt. Ehren Watada addresses national veterans convention

Veterans Give Conscientious Objector Standing Ovation

By Dahr Jamail

Lt. Ehren Watada, for those who don't already know, became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to the unlawful war and occupation in Iraq. While doing this on June 22, 2006, Watada said, "As the order to take part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well, I must refuse that order."

Just as Watada took the stage and began to speak, over 50 members of Iraq Veterans Against the War filed in behind him. Watada, surprised by this and obviously taken aback by the symbolic act, turned back to the audience, took some deep breaths, then gave this speech:

I came across a few interesting things that I think folks would be interested in.

At Daily Kos, diarist Tarhellian51 has a piece up (part of a series I believe) about understanding the dynamics of voter turnout. While I understand that voter turnout might not be the sexiest part of politics, knowledge is power. And I think there will be an interesting discussion arising out of the 2004 election on in-state grassroots for GOTV operations versus importing the paid masses to come in and do it. Bear in mind, that the same consultants who are the inside the beltway types that hate Dean's 50 state strategy, are also the same folks, in a number of instances, who run these professional grassroots-for-hire firms. This is a discussion that parties should be having as soon as possible.

Over at Talking Points Memo, guest blogger Matt Yglesias points us to a piece on understanding Arab media, written by David Ignatius. The explosion of Arab media and its influence in the Middle East on politics and terrorism is barely discussed here, other than to call Al-Jezeera names. This is a mistake. The effect of the recent ability for Arab populations to reccieve mass communications is a component of understanding the Middle East that must be taken into account. In a related item, Anthony Shadid did an interview with Terry Gross on NPR which aired last night. Once of the things he discussed was how media played a role in the War In Lebanon, and how the US media becamse part of the story. Go give a listen while you wash the dishes or fold laundry. You'll be glad you did.

Last, but not least by any means, is Melissa Block's interview with Sarah Chayes. Here's the introduction, which gives you an idea of Chayes background, but her story unfolding throughout the interview, and the true story of the US role in Afghanistan will astound you.

Sarah Chayes is a familiar name to NPR listeners. She reported for NPR from Paris, the Balkans, and after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan. She became so captivated by the potential of Afghanistan that she left reporting, and started a nonprofit group in the southern city of Kandahar.

She still lives in Afghanistan, now running a cooperative agricultural venture that sells local soaps and oils. Chayes has written a book about her years in Afghanistan. Her book tells a story of corrupt warlords, counterproductive U.S. policy, and murder.

Sarah Chayes has written a book about her experiences in Afghanistan titled, "The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After The Taliban". Again, go give a listen. You will be glad you did.

People ask me how I pick out the blog pieces for roundup. I don't have a process or guidelines. That's probably bad. Oh, well. I just try to find things that I think will add to the conversation, things that will add to our collective base of knowledge for future use, and sometimes things that me me laugh. Today was not one of the things that make me laugh days, but I did find a number of platinum nuggets out there that will enrich anyone who cares to read or listen.

Hope you enjoy.

Do you ever wish you knew how to create podcasts? Or Op-eds? Or could sing loud and clear directly to Congress?

Do you ever think about what it would be like to be with thousands upon thousands of people who decide to return this country to a democracy by making their presence known in Washington DC? Folks like Cindy Sheehan, Howard Zinn, performing artists, musicians, writers, peace activists, veterans, blue-collar workers, immigrants...

Do you feel called to do something more than read and talk about the current wars, abuses, and loss of human and civil rights?

Do you have wisdom and/or skills to share?

Do you want to inspire others? Do you want to BE inspired?

HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH YET?

If these questions make your heart beat a little faster, you need to make your plans NOW for September 5-21 and beyond. Come to the National Mall in Washington DC for Camp Democracy.

We're not talking about another rally or march here. We're talking about bringing people together to learn the skills we need to make democracy work for everyone. And along the way, we'll celebrate the spirit that moves us with music and dance and theater.

Camp Democracy's multi-day events are a chance to learn about democracy in a whole different way.

We especially encourage everyone to come during September 9-11, when workshops will abound and follow-up plans will be made. September 11 is, in addition to the fifth anniversary of 9-11, the 100th anniversary of Gandhi's nonviolence movement and we will be honoring the tenets of nonviolence that day through workshops, music, dance, and films. Come and learn how to actively create peace and justice.

And then, please stay and help us make it happen, or go home and make it happen. The time is now, and the vehicle is US.

http://www.campdemocracy.org/

In the future, when someone describes something as creepy, I will have a new frame of reference to use: The media coverage of Jon Benet Ramsey and John Mark Karr. I'll say, "By creepy, do you mean, "regular" creepy, or do you mean "the way the media covered Jon Benet Ramsey and John Mark Karr" level of super creepy?

Is it me, or does the coverage of this non-incident seem downright pornographic? Weird? Freakish?

If the media harpies and saprophytes want to talk about beautiful dead girls, this Kos diarist has it right. Why not talk about these beautiful dead girls?

From Think Progress, President Bush admits that the was no connection whatsoever between Iraq and 9/11. You have to wonder how heavily THAT is going to be covered on Fox News. Or anywhere for that matter.

President Bush was in the midst of explaining how the attacks of 9/11 inspired his “freedom agenda” and the attacks on Iraq until a reporter, Ken Herman of Cox News, interrupted to ask what Iraq had to do with 9/11. “Nothing,” Bush defiantly answered.

Watch the video of the lies and the lying liars who tell them here.

The AP does a nice job in this piece of documenting the numerous broken promises made by President Bush in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:

How has the government performed in the most critical areas of the recovery and reconstruction effort?

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE: A June report by the Government Accountability Office concluded that FEMA wasted between $600 million and $1.4 billion on "improper and potentially fraudulent individual assistance payments."

Government auditors found that debit cards distributed to Katrina victims were used to pay for things like Dom Perignon champagne, New Orleans Saints season tickets and adult-oriented entertainment. The audit also found that people used fictional addresses, fake Social Security numbers and the identities of dead people to fraudulently register for assistance. FEMA also double-deposited funds in the accounts of 5,000 out of the nearly 11,000 debit card holders.

CLEANUP: The job still isn't done. More than 100 million cubic yards of debris have been cleared from the region affected by Katrina. So far the government has spent $3.6 billion, a figure that might have been considerably smaller had the contracts for debris removal been subject to competitive bidding.

Working through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA gave each of four companies contracts worth up to $500 million to clear hurricane debris. This spring government inspectors reported that the companies — AshBritt Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla., Phillips and Jordan Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn., Ceres Environmental Services Inc. of Brooklyn Park, Minn. and ECC Operating Services Inc. of Burlingame, Calif. — charged the government as much as four to six times what they paid their subcontractors who actually did the work.

I wonder if the companies that got the contract gave any campaign contributions to anyone?

Fair use prohibits me from printing more of the article, and believe me, there's more, including housing, rebuilding, levees, and poverty.

Suffice it to say, the list of broken promises gets longer every day.

Greetings, DCPers...

As you may know, recently I was released from a lengthy captivity in the bowels of the White House tunnel complex. My therapist tells me that I am now at a point in recovery where sharing my experiences may be productive. And so I shall...

Fortunately I kept a daily diary while I was held by my captors. Today, I will relate an early episode where the humble black pump played a key role in my salvation.

Is he President of The United States, or is he auditioning for the 1970's disco band, The Village People? Let's review the costumes.

First up, the President as...

The Cheerleader

The Construction Worker

The Fighter Pilot

The Cowboy

The Fashionista

And The Latest...The Biker

And now ...

The Village People

So what is it--President or member of The Village People? You be the judge.

I held my baby in my womb.

Prayed for him to have ten fingers and toes

instead of eleven.

Raed Jarrar, Director of the Iraq Project for Global Exchange

Fear Up had a great opening night at the New York International Fringe Festival. We lucked out and drew a beautiful new space, the lighting designer did an amazing job with almost no previous access to the facilities, and we nearly filled the house.

Nicole Shalhoub and Michele Reisch (Costume Designer)

Here's what the Fringe Festival program says about the show:

Marietta Hedges

Fear Up: Stories from Baghdad and Guantanamo
The Democracy Cell Project
Writer: Karen Bradley and Marietta Hedges
Director: Joe Brady
Choreographer: Karen Bradley
A riveting expose of the Iraq war and prisoner abuse. True stories of detainees, interrogators, military and civilians in Guantanamo, Baghdad and America. 9 actors, 20 characters give voice to the torture technique called Fear Up. ARE WE ALL VICTIMS?
1h 25m Washington DC Drama FringeHIGH
VENUE #1: Dance New Amsterdam
www.democracycellproject.net/gallery/fearup.shtml

The bigger surprise was when the play was over, and we invited the audience to come around the corner to a bar/restaurant where we could talk about the play and the wars in the Middle East with two experts: Emi Maclain, the Guantanamo Initiative Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Raed Jarrar, Director of the Iraq Project for Global Exchange.

Raed Jarrar addresses the post-show crowd

We told the owner to expect about 20 people, but more than 40 showed up, producing a momentary panic among the restaurant staff. But the staff were as professional as our actors, and quickly settled down. After plenty of beer and pasta, Emi and Raed spoke about their work, and then we went to questions.

Shanti Elise Prasad

[photo from the New Haven Register]

A good friend of mine once said, "Words are weapons", and in no uncertain terms, so are names.

Naming someone or something puts a spotlight on that person or thing, defining them in a way that can uplift (e.g., "hero" or "patriot"), or accuse (e.g., "traitor" or "terrorist"). Naming joins you to a community, or removes you as an outcast.

Naming also demeans. Take for example Presidential hopeful George Allen on the re-election stump for his Senate seat in Virginia, pointing out a young man, S.R. Sidarth, while speaking before a predominately white audience. Mr. Sidarth, of Indian descent, is a volunteer for Allen's opponent Jim Webb. Allen questioned Sidarth's presence, repeatedly calling him a "macaca".

Today's editorial in the WaPo framed it as life in "George Allen's America". And yesterday, Josh Marshall ironically referred to it as one of Allen's more relatively "innocent" gaffes.

Racism by any other name still remains what it is. We're still recovering from battle scars caused by a long history of racial tension, divide and oppression. Now was it just Allen's gaffe or a revelation on his history, preferences and predilections? Did he think he could get away with it without consequences because he was surrounded by a predominately white audience? In all his years as a Senator of the United States, let alone his consideration to run for President in 2008, wasn't there a message somewhere on his desk that such sentiments are frowned upon as abhorrent in multi-ethnic America?

Perhaps he should ask Trent Lott. He knows the consequences of such words. All too well.

Not for nothing Dana Milbank, but we've been pointing this out for, what five-six years now? From WaPo:

The White House press corps spent its first day in exile yesterday, banished from the White House compound for the first time since the John Adams presidency while the West Wing briefing room undergoes a renovation.

Bush has traveled out of the Washington area at least seven times this year without a press plane, including four times in the past month to fundraisers closed to the press. This development, devised by a secretive White House and enabled by cash-strapped media outlets, has helped Bush to stage a series of father-protector photo ops with few of those pesky questions that reporters tend to ask. (emphasis added)

Sooooo, it's been months of this, and you folks are just picking your heads up off the bar and noticing it now? And only one of you is writing about it now?

As if to deepen the isolation, press secretary Tony Snow, stepping over some plywood and into the new digs on Jackson Place NW for his daily briefing, adopted the Borscht Belt comics' practice of answering questions with questions.

Does President Bush think the cease-fire in Israel and Lebanon will undermine support for Hezbollah?

"Well, we're going to find out, aren't we?" Snow replied.

"Did the president call for the respect of sovereignty by both sides?"

"Respect of sovereignty?" Snow parried.

Does Bush support the Republican candidate for Senate in Connecticut, Alan Schlesinger?

"Why do you ask?" Snow counterquestioned. "Is there something about the candidate that I should know about that would lead to judgments?"

So we should not assume the president will automatically support Republican nominees?

"Why don't you wait and see what happens?" proposed Snow, citing "peculiar characteristics" in Connecticut.

Snow's performance, in addition to making life even more miserable for candidate Schlesinger (6 percent support in a new poll that finds Sen. Joseph Lieberman and Democratic nominee Ned Lamont neck-and-neck), fits neatly in a renewed Bush administration effort to keep the media at a safe distance.(emphasis mine)

Well, here's a tip Dana, they've been doing this for years, son. And while you are trading pithy Borscht Belt insider humor that only about 5% of the people reading this will get, maybe you or one of your crackerjack wide awake buddies hanging around the snooze department should be reminding Tony Snow that just two short months ago this was the plan:

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.

Ah, memories...

It would be nice if the media would step up and remind Mr. Snow and Company of the earlier bamboozlements. What's that called?

Oh yeah, doing their job.

[graphics love to Chinimooman]

At long last, people in the media are beginning to question some of their own, and do so out loud, and proud.

From Media Matters:

Media Matters to CNN: Will anchor Roberts be disciplined for suggesting Lamont is "the Al Qaeda candidate"?

Dear Messrs. Klein and Santos:

I am writing to express my great concern over an incident that occurred on your network Friday, August 11, 2006. As the Think Progress weblog noted, during a discussion on CNN Headline News of the recent Connecticut Senate Democratic primary won by Ned Lamont, anchor Chuck Roberts asked: "Might some argue, as some have, that Lamont is the Al Qaeda candidate?"

One expects to hear this kind of hyperbolic rhetoric -- which also perfectly plays into the Republican Party's baseless smears of Democrats as soft on national security -- coming from the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, or Michael Savage. CNN, however, is supposed to be a legitimate news organization.

Mr. Roberts might have a defense if it were actually the case that people were calling Mr. Lamont "the Al Qaeda candidate." But as Arianna Huffington pointed out on CNN's own Reliable Sources yesterday, the smear appears to be entirely the creation of Mr. Roberts. We note that Mr. Lamont's opposition to the Iraq war is shared by a majority of the American people; we hope it is not common practice among CNN anchors to refer to most Americans as Al Qaeda sympathizers.

As Huffington clearly demonstrated in her column, the only person saying that about Lamont, was, in fact, Mr. Roberts. She mentions having done an exhaustive news database search and not come up with a single instance of anyone else using Mr. Roberts' construction.

I'm all for free speech and the 1st amendment, but I believe that CNN, and any other institution that claims to be a legitimate media outlet, has a responsibility to the public that goes beyond the 1st amendment.

The media's presentation of the world changes how we understand the world. When someone who is ostensibly presenting the news comes up with such a hate-filled, destructive metaphor like one, the management of that institution has a moral responsibility to show the world that such remarks are outside the accepted bounds of journalism.

I don't know anything about CNN's internal disciplinary processes, but if there ever were a time to haul a reporter on the carpet and publicly admonish him, that time is now.

What is CNN going to do about Mr. Roberts that will show him and the American people that there are still limits which decent people do not cross?

The best posts on blogs aren't usually the funniest ones, or the most clever. They are often the ones that put the human face on the abstract idea of a "political issue". Tutterfly's posts on Terri Schiavo come to mind.

As politicals often seeks to remove us from the emotions of our higher selves, there are the very real consequences of the moral choices we face when we vote, when we act, or when we choose not to act.

Last night TRex wrote an amazing post over at Firedoglake that I think everyone should go and read. It speaks to this point better and more eloquently that i ever could.

TRex relates his personal experience coming back from the Lamont victory on the plane, and first hand witness of a family's grief at being told of their loved one's life-threatening injuries sustained in Iraq. You must read this very moving story yourself.

It's more than a story. It's a tale of a chain of events that happens as a result of action and choices. It's about the relevance of being a fully participating citizen of our democracy. And it's a tale worth telling to any one who can hear it.

Read it here. Then come back and discuss.

Allrighty, let's review.

Democracy had a good night last night. Voter turnout was high. The people spoke. Always a good thing. The more, the better. And now...let's see who talked back and what they said:

Lamont: Thank you. I'm happy to be a Democrat.

Lieberman: Screw you. I'm now an Independent.

Hillary Clinton: Bye, Joe. Payback's a bitch. Hello, Ned. The check is on it's way, Big Boy.

John Edwards: Not so fast Hillary. My power play came first. I called Lamont to congratulate him before the ink was even dry on the tally sheets.

Evan Bayh: Yeah, me, too. I support Lamont...now. And um, I support maybe the war wasn't such a good idea after all. Or I might in another six weeks. If enough other people say so. Hey, when's someone gonna interview me?

John Kerry, Mark Warner, Joe Biden and the rest of the pack: Please report to the White Courtesy Phone and let us know what you think.

Chris Dodd: Joe, put the microphone down. Step slowly away from the podium, and we'll get you some professional help.
Beltway Consultants: Waaahhhh. I want my Mommy, I want my Mommy.

MSM: Craaazzyyy liberallls are taking over the party!!! Run for your lives!! [whaddya mean that the majority of Americans support their views? facts? we don't need no stinkin' facts?]

Outside the Beltway Consultants: Boo Frickin' Hoo to the Beltways Consultants.

The People: Thank God the robocalls have stopped. But for how long?

Who did I leave out? What have you heard? What do you think this portends? Who will spin it and how?

Talk to me.

"Fear Up" director Joe Brady minces no words.

Three days before opening night, I had a chance to interview Joe during the usually frenetic schedule of a theatrical production week. Joe previously directed me, Victoria Ellen and a cast of actors in the Washington DC reading of "Fear Up" last September. "Fear Up" is about to make its debut at the New York Fringe Festival on Friday, August 11th.

Joe says, "In doing this play,"(based on interviews and stories of the Tipton Three from Guantanamo and Riverbend's blog from Baghdad), "the one thing I didn't want to do is to be didactic. I want a conservative member of the audience to be willing to really listen to what Riverbend and the Tipton Three had to say, AND I want a progressive audience member to not go away saying "been there, done that."

Joe is no stranger to political theater. His bio appears in this program from La Mamma: "...he founded both Mother Lode Productions, a theatre company dedicated to producing works which focus on social and political themes; and The Flying Tongues, a sketch comedy/improv troupe. With Mother Lode Productions, he won Best Director and Best Production awards for "The Mysteries" and "What's So Funny" by David Gordon and "Waiting For Lefty" by Clifford Odets. He also won Best Director for "Kafka Dances" by Timothy Daly at Axis Theatre.

I asked how he felt directing a play on one of the most politically volatile issues of this country--the Iraq War and its consequences--for a New York audience.

"Are you kidding me?--that's obvious".

"The space is amazing. We're incredibly lucky to have found a truly, remarkably, talented group of actors. The story is based on three parts: an introduction to the characters, the events in Guantanamo, the return to England by the Tipton Three to England as well as the more recent experiences in Haditha."

The show's main thread is the journey and evolution of the reporter who documents the odyssey of the Tipton Three from their capture, to their incarceration and release. The reporter also knows and covers the soldiers involved in the Haditha incident. Her path and development throughout the play provides for our discovery.

I asked if he felt the show was ready for opening night. "Of course we are. This piece hovers between theater and dance. Its a pretty intense experience with intense moments that are balanced by some funny writing by Riverbend and the Tipton Three."

Joe said, "When I came to this process this time, I wanted to make sure this piece was viable in and of itself--an interesting evening of theater."

"After seeing the show, I hope to have audiences ask themselves what are we going to do now".

I first attended the Hiroshima Day ceremony in 1994, just after my father died, and have not missed it since. He would have been 84 yesterday, and this ceremony always falls one day after his birthday.

This ceremony has come to be more important to me than Christmas and 4th of July combined. My father was a WW2 vet, stationed in the Pacific, and was expected to fight the Japanese. On this day, I sent out a lantern onto the water, in remembrance of my father, all veterans and their families, and all war dead. My calligraphy spelled out "Compassion." Everyone there created a personal yet communal peace memorial and wish, whether "Love" "World Peace" or a personal letter for a loved one.

We gathered, about 2000 of us, prepared our lanterns with Japanese or Punjabi calligraphy, folded Origami peace cranes, and listened to Taiko music and the Children's Peace choir. These children compose and perform songs of peace in 14 languages. Their music has been taken to Iraq for the benefit of Iraqi children in hospitals and orphanages. They were introduced by young Jewish and Muslim people who alternated their delivery of heartfelt writings.

As we gathered to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, we were torn by many feelings. We grieved at all acts of violence committed during war, however well-meaning the warriors. We hoped that the forces of disunity that are especially strong this year will give way to a deep spiritual commitment by every individual to the oneness of humanity, and that this commitment will bring about peace both locally and globally.

The event was sponsored by area churches, peace fellowships, cultural organizations, the local chapter of the UN Association, and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Imagine an international network of people working as allies, working for justice and nonviolence, fighting for ideals others may dismiss as utopian. Why can't we reject the old paradigm of "political realism" and adopt the new paradigm of "mutual interconnectedness"? Why not reject cynical realism and cultivate compassion?

We need to support peacemakers in the middle east who are working for nonviolent solutions. We need to emulate their courage wherever we are.

I'm up awfully early for a Sunday morning. I went to the dentist last Thursday and I think they broke my jaw. Or maybe they just punched me in the jaw while I wasn't paying attention. Either way, it woke me up enough to take some Alieve.

And not wanting to add misery to pain, I decided it's too damn early to write about politics. I'll get to that later after I have some coffee and write some e-mails asking for support and volunteers to phone bank for our candidate for Congress.

In the meantime, today is our son's fifth birthday.

Congratulations to him for surviving the newbie parents.

We got him a new bike (his legs were hitting the handlebars of his beloved tricycle). It's a two wheeler with training wheels. Get this: the owner's manual that comes with it is how many pages long?

112 pages. That's right. 112 pages for a bike for a five year old.

And let me tell you, it's not a nuclear powered, remote controlled, digitally mastered and remixed push button operated fully loaded six CD changer bose speakers ipod connected master cylinder made in Italy country touring roadster. It's two rubber wheels and handlebars.

112 pages. God help us.

He climbed into bed with us in the middle of the night last night. When I got out of bed this morning and looked down on his sleeping babyish boyface with the impossibly long eyelashes and lips straight out of a Raphael painting, a few things struck me.

First, how did he get so big, so long and so old? Memo to self: No more Wheaties for this kid.

Second, is this beautiful, clean, and sleeping angel the same child that comes in the house with an inch of mud and grease on him every night? Yes. Thank God he has two parents. One that provides the grease and mud. One that provides the soap and water. You can guess which one I am...

Third, this is what I fight for. Every day. My heart breaks for the parents of the children of the wars. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Lebanon and Israel and Darfur and Central Africa. The parents of the soldiers, too, because they were once someone's five year old, sleeping in beds, and having faces with impossibly long eyelashes, children full of hope and promise.

God help us all.

I'm going back to bed. To cuddle with the birthday boy, the birthday Dad and say a few prayers of gratitude, thanking God for both of them.

Maybe the next generation will find a way to end the wars that our generation started, and succeed where we have thus far failed. I hope so. Right now, we are doing what we can today.

Today, we are phone banking and learning to ride a bike.

You have to start somewhere.

[Thoughts and impressions from longtime DCP member DiAnne Grieser on the close up experiences of attending political events. Maybe we can't be there, but we can bring you the reports of those who can! Thanks, DiAnne. Editors.]

It was heartening earlier this week to see a real President join a local hero, Jim McDermott, in a Celebration of Freedom of Speech. As Jim said, "I wish I could turn back the clock!" Together, they planned this amazing evening to entertain, educate and motivate "we the people" in the most beautiful symphony hall. We enjoyed world music (Children of the Revolution), jazz (Stanley Jordan) and commentary (Thom Hartmann of Air America).

Thom Hartmann reminded us that Jefferson sent letters to Madison in 1776, from Paris, desperate to persuade him that we explicitly needed a Bill of Rights in addition to our Constitution, in which said rights were implicit. Jefferson advocated for absolute unlimited freedom of speech including political speech. Prior to the Magna Carta, only kings had Freedom of Speech. Following the Magna Carta, only the wealthy had Freedom of Speech. From 1776, "We the People" were likewise given Freedom of Speech. In 1798, the Alien Sedition Acts was established under President Adams, and passed by only one vote. Benjamin Franklin was arrested. Freedom of Speech was re-established via the Election of 1800. Without Freedom of Speech, a free America could not exist.

(photo credit Scott Cohen, Seattle Times)

The Court Case

We are at such a crossroads again. It started in 1993 with Newt Gingrich, who was fined $300,000 for using tax-deductible money to finance a political organizing tool, which was highly illegal. Gingrich organized a conference call with House conservatives to craft a media response, though this was expressly prohibited. Two citizens intercepted the call and recognized Gingrich's voice. Eventually McDermott heard the tape and leaked it to two newspapers. Gingrich was forced to resign. McDermott thus became a target and was sued by Representative Boemer, the first case of one Congressman suing another in the nation's history. McDermott's interpretation is that he is defending "the people's right to know," and he has the support of Dow Jones, ABC, Associated Press, DBS, Heart Corporation, McGraw-Hill, NBC, New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Washington Post, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and even the Wall Street Journal. To some, he is just another "leaker."

A Contrast in Values

Bill Clinton has been doing alot of travelling in America. People someimes tell him that they don't know what the Democrats stand for. He laid it on the line in this manner: Republicans like to concentrate wealth and power, Democrats like to reward the working middle class. If concentrating wealth and power is the primary goal, a secretive government, no-bid contracts and corporations that regulate themselves do not seem odd. If ordinary people are to be empowered, openness and accountability are called for. Democratic values would encompass a cleaner energy future, good healthcare, a decent living wage, good education, and a security policy that fights terror but seeks to have more allies and create fewer terrorists.

Secondly, he contrasted Republicans as "ideological" and Democrats as "philosophical." If one has an ideology, they can fit the facts to their belief system. If one has a philosophy, values lend a direction but facts are taken into consideration. In an "ideological" system, it is best if people stop thinking and questioning. He cited Ron Susskind's latest book, in which certain conservatives felt that progressives were "trapped in the reality-based world."

[courtesy of Paramount Pictures]

We do a section each week about Art and Politics, but until now, I never realized that the connection was so much closer than I had ever imagined. And now that I know, I'm not so sure I like it.

My new-found knowledge began with Matthew's link to the New York Time's article, 'Odd Bedfellows Align to Market Film About 9/11 coming out this month in advance of the premiere of "World Trade Center" by Oliver Stone.

Habfinger was right when he said, "Odd bedfellows..." because most who think of Oliver Stone, think of movies against the establishment and anti-war, such as "Platoon" or "Born on the Fourth of July". And movies like "JFK" or the 1995 film "Nixon" that portrayed the former GOP president as a borderline psychopath are certainly not designed to be-friend conservatives. There's more movies on his anti-establishment list: "Salvador" in 1986 was critical of President Reagan's Central American policy. And "Alexander" Stone's 2004 movie was rumored to be a subtle indictment of President Bush and the Iraq war.

As a result, most would be excused for choking on their morning coffee when they heard the rave revues from right-winged pundits about this movie:

"L. Brent Bozell III, president of the conservative Media Research Center and founder of the Parents Television Council — best known for its campaigns against indecency on television and for stiffer penalties on broadcasters — called it “a masterpiece” and sent an e-mail message to 400,000 people saying, “Go see this film.”

Cal Thomas, the syndicated columnist and host of "Fox News After-Hours", wrote last Thursday that it was “one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-faith, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.”

As the New York Times points out, these rave reviews were no accident and they were brought to you by the same Public Relations Firm that brought us the well-known smear campaign against John Kerry in 2004. (The Swift Boat Veterans...) Here's a sample of their work:

A screening in Washington last week, for example, drew members of the Family Research Council, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the evangelical Wilberforce Forum, along with a producer for William Bennett’s radio show, writers for The Washington Times and a reporter for the Web site of Human Events, which first reported the event. Creative Response Concepts has played a prominent role in promoting conservative causes. Heading into the 2005 Supreme Court nomination battles, it advised members of the Federalist Society on how to handle television interviews and was active in promoting the nominations of John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr. When the AARP came out against President Bush’s plan to overhaul Social Security, the firm went to work for a conservative group that took on the AARP. And it promoted Newt Gingrich’s 1994 political strategy, Contract With America.

But it was in the 2004 campaign that Creative Response Concepts made its biggest mark on the political landscape, advising the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which assailed Mr. Kerry’s Vietnam record as a Navy officer and as a leader of the antiwar movement after he returned home. Its well-funded attacks were among the most damaging blows to the Kerry campaign.

The firm also played a major role that year in assailing CBS — then a corporate sister of Paramount at Viacom — for the “60 Minutes” report on President Bush’s record in the Texas Air National Guard that led to Dan Rather’s resignation as anchor of the “CBS Evening News.”

So from there, I began investigating more. Follow along as I try to show you the connections I discovered along the way.

[photo: Sebastian Scheiner, AP]

I ran across this while Googling on local reaction to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah:

We at Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives ask you to join our effort to place ads in national and international newspapers calling for an end to the slaughter in Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Territories—and to use this moment not only to create a temporary cease fire, but to resolve all outstanding issues between the various parties in the Middle East. We are calling upon the international community to foster a new approach to resolving conflicts. We approach these issues from our commitment to a “Progressive Middle Path,” recognizing that in the context of the past 120 years, both sides have legitimate grievances and both sides have acted with insensitivity and cruelty toward the other. We do not accept that one side is the “righteous victim” and the other side the “evil aggressor.” But we do recognize that at this moment Israel has far greater military power, and so we ask for Israel to take the first steps toward ending the cycle of hatred and violence, even as we condemn Hezbollah for initiating the current escalation of violence.

Tikkun's advertisement appeared Monday in the NY Times, and there are plans to place similar ads in the Washington Post, and newspapers in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iran. Which leads me to question:

1) Why is Tikkun having to go to these lengths raising money to buy ads providing this perspective on the conflict?

2) Why is this view on the conflict not getting airplay in the mainstream news media?

Any answers out there?

What is still the matter with Kansas? A complete and utter lack of understanding of the difference between a scientific theory and a belief, that's what.

TOPEKA, Kan., Aug. 1 -- . A member of the state Board of Education who approved new classroom standards that call evolution into question held onto his seat Tuesday, turning back a challenge from two defenders of Darwin.

John Bacon won his primary with 49 percent of the vote. Two pro-evolution challengers split the remaining vote, including one who had been a leading critic of the anti-evolution standard.

Five of the 10 seats on the board were up for election in the primary, the latest skirmish in a seesawing battle between faith and science that has opened Kansas up to international ridicule.

Let's just be clear here: Creationism is not a scientific theory, nor is intelligent design. Evolution is, in fact, a scientific theory.

In order for something to be a theory, you must be able to prove or disprove the wrongness of the theory put forth. In other words, a scientific theory must be falsifiable, able to be tested. Creationism and Intelligent Design can never be theories, because you could never prove the non-existence, or existence, of God. You can't test for God in the lab. God is a belief.

It's one thing to hold your private beliefs about God. It's quite another to insist that your beliefs are scientific fact, or even scientific theory.

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

What on earth is so complicated about that?

[graphic/picture credit to Dan Kurtzman]

UPDATE: As several people have noted in the comments, and I was aware at the time of posting, the overall power of the Topeka Board of Education has swung to the "pro-evolution" forces. Obviously, we now know what's getting better in Kansas. I had seen both articles in the Post (odd that there wasn't one story instead of two). I chose to write about the anti-evolution person who retained his board seat because I wanted to write about the persistence of the the anti-science forces, despite a full airing and questioning of the so-called 'facts' behind the creationist or intelligent design beliefs. I regret any confusion I may have caused by not pointing to at least the existence of the other article. CLM.

Amateurs talk about strategy, professionals talk about logistics.

So when the asinine neowingnuts talk about the US supporting Israel going to war with Syria or the US going to war with Iran, they might want to ask a few generals and such to weigh in and answer the logistics question, "With what Army?"

From ThinkProgress:

In an interview today with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, President Bush declared, “We have a very strong military and we can deal with any threat to the homeland there is and will if we have to.”

In reality, “the Army is showing the wear and tear of constant battle after nearly five years of war.” Rep. Ike Skelton, the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, recently reported:

Army readiness is in crisis. The administration has brought us here because of a lack of planning and a lack of funding. Today two-thirds of the brigade combat teams in our operating force are unready.

As a result of the crisis, the Army is being forced to cut resources to nondeployed forces to make sure front-line troops stay at the highest combat readiness. Rep. John Murtha explained that these are “the units that could be called upon or would be called upon to go to war in North Korea, Iran, or any other country or region.”

In 2000, Bush explained who should be blamed for a military that is overextended:

So let’s get something straight right now. To point out that our military has been overextended, taken for granted and neglected, that’s no criticism of the military. That is criticism of a president and vice president and their record of neglect. [CNN, 11/3/00]

Today, two-thirds of the Army’s brigade combat teams are a testament to Bush’s record of neglect.

Since no one at the White House seems capable of picking up a history book and, say reading it, maybe we can provide them with the "Land Wars in Asia For Dummies". Should such a book exist, it might remind them of the lessons of VietNam and the price of being in the middle of civil wars, and it would surely point out that this is how the Soviet Empire was bankrupted and subsequently unable to maintain its power.

First, Terrorism for Dummies. And now, History for Dummies. Or the Bush Administration. Same difference.

[graphics thanks to mystery person who sent this to me]