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Nine Good Men and True
You know, I try not to let these DCP threaders get too personal. I've said before that this is your blog, not mine, and I sincerely mean that. But tonight I'm going to interrupt the normal flow of DCP discourse for something that is rather personal for me. I hope that's okay with you. I'll try to connect it to a broader and even a more politically-connected context by the time we're done here, really I will. But for right now those aren't the terms I'm thinking of. So please bear with me while I break my own rules and let things get personal for me here tonight, too.
I've done a whole lot of things over the years, you know. It's been a pretty complicated and pretty darn interesting life. Or lives, rather; I often refer back to something that happened in "one of my previous lives," because at times they seem so odd and unconnected even to me, in the glare of 20/20 hindsight and all. But what's making me post this threader tonight is closely connected to one of my previous lives, and at the risk of misusing this bully pulpit I'm temporarily occupying, I need to write about this stuff or I will never get to sleep tonight for all the thoughts and memories and wishes colliding around inside my head.
As some of you know, I lived in Atlanta for the last two decades or so of the 20th century. Most of you don't know that I spent a significant chunk of those two decades on call waiting for bad stuff to happen while hoping like hell that it never did. I haven't shucked on a set of turnouts and stepped into fire boots since, oh, I think maybe 1988 or so. It's certainly been a lot of years since the last time I stood up and accepted my certification docs from the Georgia Fire Academy.
But, yeah, anyway, been there and done that. And even when you don't do that no more, some of it stays with you no matter what. So no matter how many years have gone by and no matter how thin the link may get stretched by time, even after all this time and all this space those who are bold enough and brave enough to do what has to be done in the face of the evil dragon that is Fire are still, at some level, my brothers in arms.
And when they fall I mourn them, every one. Tonight, though, I mourn nine of them in particular:
Capt. William "Billy" Hutchinson, 48 years old;
Capt. Mike Benke, 49 years old;
Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34 years old;
Mark Kelsey, 40 years old;
Bradford "Brad" Baity, 37 years old;
Michael French, 27 years old;
James "Earl" Drayton, 56 years old;
Brandon Thompson, 27 years old;
and Melvin Champaign, 46 years old.
They had wives, kids, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, friends. They believed in what they did. They gave it everything they had. And, when push came to shove, they gave it the last full measure of devotion.
If you'd have had the chance to ask those nine men if they were heroes, they would have insisted otherwise. They might have held up the New York firefighters who died on 9/11 as heroes instead.
But if you'd have the chance to ask the same thing of those folks who responded to the horrible events at the World Trade Center on that terrible day, out of the hundreds of firefighters who ascended the stairs in the WTC on 9/11 and especially out of the dozens who survived to come back down, they would have insisted (and still do insist) otherwise also.
The troops who've served in Afghaniraqetnam over the last six years are much the same way as those firefighters are. They're not heroes, they insist. They're just guys and gals doing what they signed up to do. Their comrades might be heroes, but they're not. They don't deserve that kind of credit, though their brothers and sisters in arms do.
They'll all insist to you that they aren't heroes; they're just lucky enough to have served in the company of heroes, that's all. Everyone who served with these nine men from Charleston would tell you the same thing, too.
You don't need me to give you links to all the news stories that have been posted about the firefighters who fell in Charleston, South Carolina last week. If you haven't seen any of the articles or stories about what happened there, then you just haven't been paying attention. You've heard the news and you know the story, at least in passing. So it's actually pretty self-indulgent of me to grab hold of this bully pulpit tonight and use it to mark the passing of these nine good men and true.
But you know what? There's a reason that thousands of firefighters from all across the country gathered in Charleston to pay respects to their fallen comrades yesterday. It's the same reason that's driving me to post this threader here tonight. They were brothers in arms, even for the far-flung likes of me, and they deserve to be remembered with honor.
Billy, Mike, Louis, Mark, Brad, Michael, Earl, Brandon, Mel --
May flights of angels sing you to your rest.
Blessed be.
And may you always be known for the unclaimed, unsung, but undisputed heroes that you truly are.
Amen!
And may you always be known for the unclaimed, unsung, but undisputed heroes that you truly are.
Posted by Rick Albertson at June 23, 2007 10:09 PM
Everyday heroes. They never take credit for what they do; it's "just part of the job" to go do what they've been trained to do. Give them a compliment and they blush and insist they're not the heroes we insist they are. That's always the way it is with the people who have jobs that ultimately have the potential to save lives of many people: firefighters, police officers, first responders in the ambulance, and other people with jobs like that, including our guard and reserve troops who assist people in natural disasters here at home. Just. plain. ordinary. good. people. The highest ethical and moral values that one reads about in great philosophy books, but they don't talk about it much, if at all. They just do what they do to the best of their ability, and appreciate their loved ones off the job. No one hears much about them; they exist, but they're almost mythological because one just knows they're "there" without thinking about it.
I share your maudlin thoughts. You with firefighters, me with police officers. (Been there; done that; bought the T-shirt.) The job is filled with training, daily tasks, good friendships with people who always have one's back in a crisis, laughter and inside jokes having to do with the profession, more training, waiting for something to happen that you hope won't happen because it may mean someone is dead or horribly injured, relief almost to the point of tears when there are minimal or no injuries, but all that training puts one in auto-pilot and one does what one learned in training.
We need more everyday heroes....
I have never met anyone as consistantly brave as firefighters.
Just imagine, facing down hell with a waterhose.
What a tragic shame to lose so many like that.
May God be with their families.
We need more everyday heroes....
Posted by: NonnyO at June 23, 2007 11:14 PM
Actually I think our world is filled with ordinary, every day heroes. They don't want to be held up to admiration because they are simply people who see something bad happening and want to fix it. They are selfless acts. They put the lives of others ahead of the value of their own lives.
I heard and saw reports in our media of the 9 who died in Charleston. It reached us here in Australia. And when people who die trying to help others, their loss is all the greater.
We farewelled another hero here in Australia the other day. 43 year old Brendan Keilar was jogging before work at his Melbourne city law practice when he saw a woman being dragged from a cab by her hair. He tried to help her and was shot dead. Hundreds of people attended the funeral for a man hailed a courageous hero and Good Samaritan for his final act.
24 year old Dutch backpacker Paul De Waard, who also went to her aid, was seriously injured from gunfire. His mother cried for the family of Brendan Keilor.
The everyday heroes are everywhere, in all parts of the globe. And although we all hope that we would go to the aid of someone, we don't really know until the circumstances arise.
The living and the dead - those who have risked their own lives to save another are certainly worthy of the word hero. There are many to come who we don't even know about. There will be heroes to come from Iraq and Afghanistan who are neither military nor citizen participants in rescue efforts. The rescue efforts of those who venture into unsafe natural disaster areas to do what they can for the suffering make their deaths all the more tragic.
These are the people who restore our belief in the basic goodness of humanity. These are the people who show us that the George Bushes of the world are weak and immoral. These are the people who show us that they are the majority and the evil doers are the minority.
A good thread, Rick. It's good to remember that in the aftermath of all the evil your President and his cronies have done in, and to, the world, there are far more unsung heroes doing the good on a quiet, but regular, basis.
Everywhere.
Truth
"From what I remember, one of the relatives was in hiding like in a witness protection program, and he even tells of a reporter who went in to Oswald's cell before he was shot and came out and said "I have a story that will blow the top off this country." According to that relative, that same reporter never made it home that night, her car "went out of control" on the way home.
I would say 'Are you freaking kidding me?', but I totally doubt you are. If you can, can you please find me that reporters name?
This is what I see when I look at it....
Ever wonder about Jack Ruby, the 'mafia guy'....?
Have you ever heard anyone correctly identify EXACTLY which cartel he was part of? Ever wondered how some chick on the side of the road in Louisiana knew that they were going to 'kill Kennedy' right before they...killed Kennedy? Ever wonder where georgie got his coke from? Ever wonder how this election rigging became a national issue? Why was the murder of Faye Aline Self covered up...? Why is the poppy fields of Asghanistan now producing the worlds biggest supply of heroin?
What if all of these questions, had the exact same answer?
Hey Woz,
Just out of curiousity, you said your kids were not academics like you.
What kind of academics?
Education - I was a teacher, and then a consultant in Special Educaton
Very cool. Hard job, teaching.
I think I am the only one that comes here with virtually no education.
Hopefully that will change though if I ever figure out how to cover my kids being home with me in school. I have a hard time feeling comfortable with being dependant on others being there with my kids. I have always been with them everyday.
At this point the thought of leaving my house for 8 hours a day freaks me out. I think I have developed agoraphobia.
Christy, that would certainly be understandable under the circumstances. And education isn't just the job of schools. My father was the smartest man I've ever known or heard about since he died. He went to school till he was 12 and then had to leave school to work on the family farm. All the girls completed 2ndry and tertiary courses becoming doctors and teachers and whatnot. All the boys were destined to be farmers and consequently pulled out of school. Before I started school I could quote some of the more famous lines from Shakespeare and Omar Kayham among others. The school of life is where the greatest quantity and quality of education happens.
Are you able to take time out and go away from home for a long break?
I spend a lot of time at home Christy. I had a serious car accident 22 years ago that put me out of teaching forever. I've had a couple of kids books published, and really need to try and do some more writing. Otherwise, I'm home alone. But I'm changing over to a laptop so that I can go and sit amongst life to write.
My parents moved around a lot. Average of once every nine months. I can remember 21 different public schools and never made it past the 9th grade.
Almost every year I was in school, I changed schools at least once. New town, new state. Twice I went to three different schools in the same year.
I was always the new kid with no friends so I read all the time.
I thought it was funny when you said textbooks are your cure for insomnia, it is exactly the opposite for me. I LOVE textbooks. I prefer reading them to reading novels.
No long breaks, but I try to stay productive on the artistic and writing front.
My kids could be starting World War 3 right behind me, but if my attention is on a canvas I seriously may not even notice it.
That's what I consider my 'vacations' when my famly members step in and take the kids so I can write, paint, or even just nap.
That is too bad about the car accident, it always amazes me at how life can rebound, even in spite of serious drawbacks.
Life is so fragile, and simultainiously tenacious as hell.
If you ever want to share your work, please hit me up.
there are far more unsung heroes doing the good on a quiet, but regular, basis.
Everywhere.
Posted by: woz at June 23, 2007 11:51 PM
This is quite true. I run into this constantly with my genealogy research, so I know it's true of people all over the world. Helpful, kind, caring, wonderful individuals. Thankfully, they have school systems that start their kids learning English from early grade school forward.
Ah, teachers. More unsung heroes, IMHO. I still revere the memory of my first-through-third grade teacher. She's the one who said I could go to the library all by myself when I finished my work quickly and correctly. (I was the only child in my grade, second through sixth grade, then transferred schools and had classmates, although with four grades in each classroom in a two room school, I heard what the kids older than me were learning all along.) Thanks to that marvelous teacher (she was still alive when I was in my 40s, just before I entered college, so I had the opportunity to thank her for her positive influence on my life), I have arrived at my senior years with the largest private library of anyone I know (including a few college profs). Before I got a computer I often read two or three books per week.
I know there are many good people in the world; they're also found on this blog. Positive people who are caring, intelligent, helpful, and kind. Like the majority of people in the whole world. In every country in the world, the majority are good people and only a tiny fraction of any population anywhere are bad people.
Knowing this, I still can't grasp how the hell we ended up with the most unintelligent, egomaniacal psychopath to "lead" this country to the edge of the abyss.... Just. does. not. compute. in. my. brain....
There you go - the school of life. I can't imagine a childhood spent at different schools. And I stayed put for most of my kids school years. But since they've grown and moved on into their lives, I've become a bit of a gypsy - until the last few years. My health kind of dictates my locations now. I've really enjoyed this blog and the opportunity to meet like-minded people. I do find American politics to be as important to me as our own because we are inextricably linked I think. And the policies of America impact on all the world.
Stay with your creative work, Christy. And your text books! LOL Have you read Clarissa Pinkola Estes - Women Who Run With the Wolves? I'm now the granny who gets to tell the stories that teach the lessons.
Your life has certainly given you plenty of lessons most of us don't get. Those are the experiences that makes each of us unique. You're certainly very well educated.
Rick Albertson
I didn't know about any of that (Atlanta, firefighting) - thanks for the story and our hearts are with you and the firefighters and their families. Have been following the story on NPR. Thanks again.
Just. does. not. compute. in. my. brain....
Posted by: NonnyO at June 24, 2007 01:47 AM
What if... all of these questions... had the same answer?
' I do find American politics to be as important to me as our own because we are inextricably linked I think. And the policies of America impact on all the world. "
Woz
I believe all of us here from the Western Hemisphere also believe Australia and the US are linked intimately.
I told Rossi before, we are sister nations, born of the exact same parents, within just a few years of each other.
Our mother was Britian, or fathers ...Revolution.
Our people are eeriely similar. Even the story of your natives almost perfectly mimic the atrocities committed here against the Indians.
I am not sure there has ever been two so perfectly well matched nations.
Regarding our different political perspectives I saw an Aussi quated once that said something to the effect of ..
"The British founded us with criminals, but thank God they gave the Americas the Puritans'.
I read that and laughed, then I went, 'HEY!! No fair.'
When you put it that way it seems kinda harsh, but it does explain a few things.
"Women Who Run With the Wolves?"
Ummm, nope. I think I missed that one.
That's a textbook..?
We Didn't Start The Fire
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Maciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dancron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge On The River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkwether, Homicide, Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Hemingway, Eichman, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning on us
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Billy Joel
Christy,
Where is Rossi anyways?
Yes, I read that too, Christy. And laughed. When my lot came to Australia in the 1850s - as free settlers, believe it or not - another branch of the family sailed for the Americas. Same tree - different branches. And that's a tale of more than just the one tree I'm sure. But in a way it's true.
Without the convicts, most of whom were simply poverty stricken individuals forced into stealing food for family, the Australian population would have been very different. Their sentence - transportation for 7 years; or 14 years; or life. Children as young as 7 years were convicts sent here to work on chain gangs and most never saw their parents and families again. It would have been a very different place.
Did you know that Aboriginal people were not counted on census records until 1971. And there was an Aboriginal contingent who served with other Australian soldiers in the 2nd world war. Ignored again when they got home.
Rossi is still leading a blessed life. She is still on Reb, celebrated her 100,000th hit recently.
I swear her personal blog is the best thing I ever did online. She has a truly fascinating life.
She will probably kill me but her addy is...
http://www.rossiannsretreat.blogspot.com/
Go say hi to her and check out her great pics.
Women Who Run With the Wolves was introduced to me by a Jungian Psychotherapist, friend and teacher. The writer searched the world to see if she could work out why the more frightening tales for children were written. She discovered that all versions of the stories began in the oral tradition with the grandmother being the person responsible for the raising of the children, especially the girls.
She investigated various stories of a range of cultures and found that they all had similar content.
The writer gives an analysis of various well known stories and the cultures in which the oral tradition was used. In that way you can read it any way you like. Each of the stories is well known across the world. I recommend people read the Introduction even if they don't want to read the rest.
George W is probably Bluebeard. Actually the US is currently run by serial Bluebeards.
And Christy - this is one text book that didn't put me to sleep.
Woz and Christy,
My sister read "Women Who Run With The Wolves" and said it changed her life - made her more self-sufficient. I remember watching her change from a quiet subserviant woman to one who took control of her own life as she was reading that book. That book had such an impact on her life that she talked about it and shared passages from it the entire time she read it. Then she went out and grabbed the world by the tail.
Posted by: Christy at June 24, 2007 01:16 AM
Christy, I am not positive, but I think that reporter was listed by name in the book Double Cross, along with many names of people who met similar fates for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Seems to me there was something going on in Louisiana that was part of the whole deal. Don't remember the exact details, do remember some of the players names that were in the book. I don't know anyone myself personally who was involved, but as you say someone might/could connect the dots.
Say no more. Your kids need their mom.
Christy,
I would look it up for you but I got rid of 3/4 of my library when I moved to start my gypsy life myself, and that book was one that went. At least I think it did. Since I moved a couple of weeks ago into a bigger place, I plan to take some books out of storage and put them in book cases that are in the process of being built. I have everything unpacked in my new home except my books.
Do your homework; keep your promises.
I wish peace and comfort to the families of the fallen firefighters from Charleston. They are in my prayers.
Posted by: TSP at June 24, 2007 07:20 AM
Yes. Most people find the book gives them permission to trust in their own instincts and independence. Having some children's stories published made me fall in love with the stories and the history of the grandmothers the world over in their lessons for the children. I loved the history of Estes researching and writing of the book as much as I enjoyed the book. She is an encredibly passionate mix of Hungarian and Mexican.
And I turned to get it today but I must have loaned it to someone who didn't give it back! That is one I must replace. I often pick it up to read a bit.
I will definately look up Doublecross and Women who run with Wolves.
You know its wierd, cause obviously I wasn't born when Kennedy was assasinated, and for most of my life I heard 'all about it', but to me, the figure Jack Ruby always stuck out like a sore thumb.
I suddenly realized one day that no one could tell me what cartel he was part of, although 'everybody knows' he was mafia. I thought it was odd.
When I stumbled across a certain cartel some 4 years, it set off alarm bells in Alines case all the way around.
When I was actually sitting there reading what the feds thought they were and where, my whole body broke out into a cold sweat.
All of the sudden things just MADE SENSE, and in 20 years of searching before nothing else had.
And before the end of my first day researching them, all I could think about was Jack Ruby.
Christy
It was wierd to see Jack Ruby come up and shoot Lee Harvey Oswald right on television.
It was as wierd as how they claimed to have found Mohammed Atta's passport at the site of 9/11, perfectly intact.
Christy,
I don't know how much of the book is true. I do know that if it is it ties alot of it all together. Ruby's name is mentioned, along with Oswald, Giancana, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Kennedys....here is a tiny url about another book that might be interesting. I remember something about N'Awlins being mentioned, possibly was a meeting place for several of them.
http://tinyurl.com/35rs47
Woz, Christy
America - Australia - linked
Well both are fairly big - sparsely populated in the middle - lots of water on the edges - big men who drink alot - necessity of driving - formerly dominated by the Crown of England - young - populated originally with people Europe didn't want - geographically isolated - English speaking - what else?
One time when I was on Guardian Talk when they still had it, some Australians were dissing US and I brought up the similarities - for every "negative" they presented, the same was well-known to be true for Australia as well, and I am not someone who defends either country for the sake of it. Some Brit said "Spot on, Slugbug!"
More:
Occupation and domination of indiginous population -
selectivity about acceptance of immigrants (Canada has alot of people that weren't accepted).
We don't really eat Vegamite. & we don't say "bloody" as an adjective unless things have blood on them (though it sounds cool).
See here Americans, Canadians, Australians discussing which country is most or least racist, multicultural etc. I like to read and talk with people from other countries, being limited mostly to English-speakers because of my linguistic limitations (unfortunately).
http://www.discovervancouver.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=129908
Woz,
It is wonderful that you have written children's books and had them published.
I would be curious to know sometime how you got your start.
My husband was an author who published his own books. He had enough capital to publish his first one, it was a hit and he took the money and went on to write several more books and have them published, eventually building a publishing business. His genre was history, plus he wrote a few religious books.
Perhaps we can meet in the chat room sometime and exchange email addresses.
It's interesting .. someone, from India, I think .. measures racism while travelling by the degree to which he or she "feels my color." I have "felt my color" in Thailand. I was aware of skin color (like the underbelly of a frog), my hair color (reddish then in a sea of black), my height (medium here, a head taller there) and especially my age (40s then and everyone seemed to be a 20 something). Then there was the language barrier but I still did things like go and get my haircut alone (which I am afraid to do here).
I had better get ready for the day - appreciating all the writers and book lovers in here - TSP, Christy, Woz etc. Have a nice day! I do like Louise Erdrich (native American) and Margaret Atwood (Canadian). There I go labelling people - is that racist? I have been reading too much about it and now I am too aware.
I am going to the 2nd Pride parade today so had better get the batteries charged up!
NMP,
Why are you afraid to go get your hair cut alone?
Is your hairdresser like mine? You tell her what you want but you come home with what you get?
"I remember something about N'Awlins being mentioned, possibly was a meeting place for several of them."
There was this man named Barry Seals. A real bad guy.
It was him that allegedly moved the drug operation from Lake Charles to Mena Arkansas in Oct 1983.
Big turf war within the Dixie Mafia. Barry Seals was known for whacking people. I read once he was their 'top assasin'.
He was gunned down in New Orleans, murder still unsolved.
They started processing him as a victim, and realized he had the personal phone number of a sitting president in his possesion.
George Herbert Walker Bush.
The number was a direct line to him.
THAT'S WHAT I NEED!
A big hunky bodyguard wearing black gloves with silver knuckles on them to take with me to the hairdresser's. I think I would get the cut I asked for that way. Mine is very nice, but she has good days and bad days. We always pray for her to have a good day on the day we go, but this last time a couple of us came home looking like a dog half groomed.
(No more personal stuff, I promise. At least for today!)
Christy,
Ain't corruption grand? Now keep your head down and hush up, darlin'. I mean it.
Off to get ready for my day too. Have a great day everyone!
Seems to be "women's day" here! The women with whom I was close some years ago called ourselves "The Women Who WOULD Run with the Wolves if We Didn't Have Laundry". We got together whenever any of us needed to laugh.
Which was often.
Last day in Mobile. I got to hang with Veritas the other night and see her ship! That was way cool.
We need to send love to ABQ John too; he needs our support.
IMPEACHING CHENEY NEWS:
Using Cell phones (I don't really understand this because I don't use a cell-phone, but I though it was a good idea for others who do...)
CALL UP RADIO SHOWS AND GIVE OUT THE CELL PHONE SHORT CODE, AND AT
RALLIES
5. At considerable expense we have fronted the money to set up the
capacity to take votes by cell phone. If you are hip to sending text
messages you can text "IMPEACH" to 30644 to vote Yes, or "KEEP" to
30644 to vote No (we haven't had any No votes this way yet even
though the option is available). Call up progressive shows and talk
about the latest Cheney abuses of power, and then ask if you can give
out the cell phone voting options. This is also a great thing to do
if you are speaking at a rally of any kind.
FWD:
WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT A LAW DEFYING, POWER GRABBING VICE PRESIDENT
OUT OF CONTROL?
There are a million things we can do, and many of them are listed
below. If you cannot make a donation to support the impeachment ads,
etc, then please just skip down to the next heading and pick at least
one thing you CAN do this week to help build the impeachment
movement. But if you can make a donation, and have not done so, or
can do it on some recurrent basis you can
1. Donate to Dennis Kucinich to thank him for leading the movement to
impeach Vice President Cheney, by introducing H.Res. 333. This easy
dual action form can do both Act Blue and mail donations:
http://www.usalone.com/donations_kucinich.php
2. Make a donation to help us run more impeachment ads. We have blog
ads running it a dozen of the biggest progressive blogs right now,
and we are starting to go mainstream. Please help us to keep this up
and do even more.
http://www.usalone.com/donations.php
HELP COLLECT VOTES FOR THE IMPEACHMENT POLL IN YOUR COMMUNITY
3. This is easy. Just print out one of the vote gathering sheets for
the National Cheney Impeachment Poll where we have already had more
that 72,000 votes, 99.22 percent saying Yes to impeach Cheney. Carry
one with you in your daily travels and get everyone you can to cast
their vote, whether it is yes or no.
http://www.usalone.com/cheney_votesheet.php
PUT AN IMPEACHMENT ACTION BUTTON ON YOUR OWN WEB PAGE OR BLOG
4. We have hundreds of action buttons posted by our participants
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hits. Get the code for the buttons here.
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CALL UP RADIO SHOWS AND GIVE OUT THE CELL PHONE SHORT CODE, AND AT
RALLIES
5. At considerable expense we have fronted the money to set up the
capacity to take votes by cell phone. If you are hip to sending text
messages you can text "IMPEACH" to 30644 to vote Yes, or "KEEP" to
30644 to vote No (we haven't had any No votes this way yet even
though the option is available). Call up progressive shows and talk
about the latest Cheney abuses of power, and then ask if you can give
out the cell phone voting options. This is also a great thing to do
if you are speaking at a rally of any kind.
EVEN MORE REASONS YOU CAN CITE TO IMPEACH CHENEY NOW
The descriptions at the top of this alert are not ours. In the face
of new revelations of the wholesale dismissal of the Constitution by
the Vice President Cheney, "Power Grab" was the headline on the ABC
New site. "Defiant" was the headline of the Washington Post. By now
you could not have escaped hearing all the stories of the assertion
by the vice president's office that he is a branch of government unto
himself, and not beholden to any other. And if you have not read the
stories, they are all linked in the "Arguments" section of the main
action below. Just remember, if you are the original recipient of
this alert you have already voted in the poll, but you can send this
link to others who have not.
http://www.usalone.com/cheney_impeachment.php
Congress will NOT defy the voices of millions of us speaking out.
That's what it will take. We have over 72,000 votes already, and we
have only just begun to scratch the surface of the anger about what
Cheney and his gang have done to our great country, sucking us into a
ruinous, wrong-headed war on phony evidence they cooked themselves,
criminal illegal wiretaps, torture as official U.S. policy, while
they sell out our economy to foreign oil interests and crony war
profiteers.
Our democracy can be saved, but ONLY if we get more people to speak
out now.
Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
to be ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know.
If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
http://www.usalone.com/in.htm
Send your offspring to die for Chinese oil from a revived Saddam contract!
Eight US Soldiers Are Killed in Iraq Violence
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062407Z.shtml
Eight American servicemen were reported to have died in Iraq on Saturday, bringing the four-day death toll to at least 23 as insurgents continued to use huge roadside bombs to rip through combat vehicles.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b411e11e-2127-11dc-8d50-000b5df10621.html
By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing and Steve Negus, Iraq,Correspondent
Baghdad has revived a contract signed by the Saddam Hussein administration allowing a state-owned Chinese oil company to develop an Iraqi oil field, the Iraqi oil minister told the Financial Times in Beijing yesterday.
Hussein al-Shahristani also said Baghdad welcomed Chinese oil company bids for any other contract in the country through a "fair and transparent bidding process" to be laid out in the new oil law under discussion in Iraq's parliament.
China National Petroleum Corporation, the country's largest oil company and the parent of listed group Petrochina, signed a deal with Iraq in 1997 to develop the al-Ahdab oil field. The field is one of the first to be offered to foreign investors since the 2003 US-led invasion.
Iraq has been reluctant to revive Saddam-era contracts, but seems to have turned to China as security problems and uncertainties over Iraqi investment law have deterred other investors.
The field had an estimated pre-war capacity of 90,000 barrels a day and the 1997 contract was valued at about $1.2bn (¤900m, £600m). "The contract with the previous administration is still valid - it was signed and we will honour it," Mr al-Shahristani said. "We have been talking since I visited China eight months ago and the Chinese have just submitted a revised proposal to meet the new technical requirements for oil field development laid out by the Iraqi government."
He said there were still some technical details to work out but that the two sides would begin discussing revised commercial terms and price details "within one month". It was too early to put a dollar value on the revised contract.
US diplomats in Beijing said they were not aware that the deal had been revived.
The breakthrough on the contract was made during a weeklong visit to China by Jalal Talabani, Iraqi president, last month. Mr Talabani met his counterpart, Hu Jintao, and Wen Jiabao, the premier, and signed a number of agreements on topics such as oil, trade, commerce, education and cultural exchange.
During the visit China said it would cancel a "large margin" of Iraqi debt, although no specific figures were released. Mr Talabani was quoted prior to his visit as saying he would like to see $8bn of debt to China cancelled.
Officials from the state-owned Chinese refiner Sinochem said the company had no plans to invest in Iraq and was waiting for new Iraqi oil legislation to be passed into law.
"The Iraqis told us we will be able to bid in an open and transparent system under the new legal framework," said one senior Sinochem official. "That law will be very important."
TSP
Why am I afraid to get my haircut alone? Yes it's because I tell her what I want and I come home with what I get. At least in Thailand they are used to dealing with straight hair, it costs $1.50 and they trim your eyebrows, nose hairs and clean your ear wax out, as well as wash, blow dry and style.
Ralpheh
We must be on alot of the same email lists! There is an impeachment forum today (training). Washington for Impeachment. There must be alot of money on the side of not impeaching or it would have happened a long time ago. These guys also would never have gotten into office in 2000 were it not for money money money. Ever check out Cheney's holdings? Used to be at Center for Public Integrity, Buying of the Presidency thing but I don't think they'll start that up again til closer to the election.
Ralpheh
Cheney is worth between $30 and $150 million but we can't know - it's a secret.
Lords of Misrule Still in Charge at the Bagdad Bubble
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1976781.ece
War's good business .. invest your sons (circa 1967)
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Bagdad's Green Zone
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/29/151212
Excerpt from Imperial Life:
http://mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a8798.asp
btw FAUX is panning "SickO" - going on & on about "socialized mediciine"
FOUR PART SERIES ON UNCLE DICK CHENEY IN THE "WAPO"
(better late than never
This article begins a 4-part series that explores Cheney's methods and impact.
Cheney exerts influence out of public view
Vice president has shaped his times as no other has before
PART 1 OF 4
By Barton Gellman and Jo Becker
The Washington Post
Updated: 10:40 p.m. ET June 23, 2007
Just past the Oval Office, in the private dining room overlooking the South Lawn, Vice President Cheney joined President Bush at a round parquet table they shared once a week. Cheney brought a four-page text, written in strict secrecy by his lawyer. He carried it back out with him after lunch.
In less than an hour, the document traversed a West Wing circuit that gave its words the power of command. It changed hands four times, according to witnesses, with emphatic instructions to bypass staff review. When it returned to the Oval Office, in a blue portfolio embossed with the presidential seal, Bush pulled a felt-tip pen from his pocket and signed without sitting down. Almost no one else had seen the text.
Cheney's proposal had become a military order from the commander in chief. Foreign terrorism suspects held by the United States were stripped of access to any court -- civilian or military, domestic or foreign. They could be confined indefinitely without charges and would be tried, if at all, in closed "military commissions."
"What the hell just happened?" Secretary of State Colin L. Powell demanded, a witness said, when CNN announced the order that evening, Nov. 13, 2001. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice, incensed, sent an aide to find out. Even witnesses to the Oval Office signing said they did not know the vice president had played any part.
CONTINUED -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19378776/
Posted by: not my president at June 24, 2007 01:25 PM
Good. I hope they pan the hell out of it, because only an idiot would think we didn't need socialized medicine in this country. Even my partially brain dead relatives who watch Faux 24/7 know we need socialized medicine, because the system we have now sucks, and they are either without health care insurance or relying on the V.A., which can be slow and incompetent in some rural areas. Remember Bob Woodruff's excellent documentary about the difference in the excellent care he got (paid for by ABC), and vets who had similar injuries as his whose care was retarded, thus retarding their healing progress.
The WAPO reporter who wrote the Cheney article will be online to answer questions and discuss the article.
Barton Gellman
Washington Post National Reporter
Monday, June 25, 2007; 1:00 PM
Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman will be online Monday, June 25 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his stories about how Dick Cheney built one of the most powerful vice presidencies in U.S. history and his role in post-9/11 decisions.
Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/22/DI2007062201277.html?hpid=topnews
Gellman is a special projects reporter on the national staff of The Washington Post. He shared the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2002 and has been a jury-nominated finalist (for individual and team entries) three times.
** new thread **