CODE BLUE FOR DEMOCRACY By The Cosmic Messenger

Is Lady Liberty On Life Support?

"We need to get out of war, get our economy back up, quit spending money outside of America and bring it here," ... Democrat Lisa Pollard, 45, an insurance company analyst in Arlington, Texas.

The metallic explosion of the hospital's ER trauma room doors echo loudly throughout the nearby waiting room as an EMS gurney enters transporting a cardiac victim in ventricular fibrillation. Two first responders have been working over the unfortunate person the past 15 minutes frantically applying chest compressions while manually breathing oxygen into her lungs. At this point a team of medical professionals steps in and a physician begins shouting protocol commands used to stabilize a situation when the loss of life is imminent. Get a monitor on the lady immediately, I need to see if we have a heart rhythm. Continue chest compressions. Someone secure her airway with an endotracheal tube and begin bagging her. We need a IV line flowing, time is critical.No pulse exists and a cart with a crash defibrillator is brought forward beside the stretcher. A decision is made to forgo epinephrine and administer shock pads without further delay. Their jolt succeeds in restoring a weak heart rhythm and nearly a half hour later the woman is moved to the intensive care unit of the facility. While being transferred someone asks if she's been identified. One of the EMT's who brought her in responds she's a boxer and told us her name was Liberty right before losing consciousness.

Last month's Congressional compromise on the Iraq war funding bill dealt a painful blow to Lady Liberty. In round one of the fight between corporate hegemony vs constitutional democracy, our legislative branch delivered a near fatal body punch to the female symbol of freedom. Cheered on maniacally by CEO kingpins sitting ringside waving greenbacks to motivate their actions, business centrists of both political parties savagely pummeled its opposition into submission. ...(Read the whole post)

Peace,Cosmic

An Iraqi boy hides behind a U.S. soldier on Monday amid gunfire after a car bomb in Central Baghdad killed 24 people

Cindy Sheehan And A Tendency Toward Hope

I haven't posted here before, and have been mostly getting to know some of you. I'm not sure of the etiquette or the protocols involved- of what to post and when. I am posting because I think that perhaps many of you share the sense of loss about Cindy Sheehan's decision to "go back to normalcy". Truth is, I dont want her in "normalcy". I want her to stay where she was, where she is needed, to be the person that so many of us can't be for a variety of reasons- a real activist. And one who articulates what we are feeling on our behalf.
Some of us at The Peace Train decided to take some time this week to post a "tribute" of sorts, to reflect on Cindy Sheehan's role in the anti-war movement and the importance of her simple question. I hope you don't mind my choice to do this here.
Her question haunts us, because it really sets the stage for the bigger question which is essentially: When is war justified? What CONSTITUTES a 'noble cause'?

And how do our feelings about the standards we wish to see employed get translated by our actions as citizens? Is there any way at all to make our government one that must meet standards to ensure that violence is a last-resort unavoidable defense, not a tool?
I think that Cindy Sheehan's hope for us was a hope that resonated, a hope that we would come to our senses and really look into our own hearts, to ask ourselves questions about who we are as a country. That Sheehan has decided to give up on her fellow citizens is a sad statement. Her cynicism and criticism of the "new" crop of politicians,her futility and fatigue from years of attacks- all come through in her words of resignation. She has been treated to more than her share of the ugliness that partisan apologist fools see fit to dish out when they cannot debate merit but rather- must resort to personal and petty slams.
So...what next, America? Where do we stand as people organizing for a more peaceful and just world? There are too many problems, too few speakers. Regardless of how one feels about Cindy Sheehan- her importance, her activities, her approach- I think we can agree that she spoke and she spoke loudly. What's next?-Lynn, The Peace Train

Enhanced?

From Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish for Tuesday (link via TPM):

The phrase "Verschärfte Vernehmung" is German for "enhanced interrogation". Other translations include "intensified interrogation" or "sharpened interrogation". It's a phrase that appears to have been concocted in 1937, to describe a form of torture that would leave no marks, and hence save the embarrassment pre-war Nazi officials were experiencing as their wounded torture victims ended up in court. The methods...are indistinguishable from those described as "enhanced interrogation techniques" by the president. As you can see from the Gestapo memo [reproduced in the article], moreover, the Nazis were adamant that their "enhanced interrogation techniques" would be carefully restricted and controlled, monitored by an elite professional staff, of the kind recommended by Charles Krauthammer, and strictly reserved for certain categories of prisoner. At least, that was the original plan.

Torture is the most outrageous of the outrages foisted upon this nation in the last five years.

Torture is wrong.

Sanctioned use of torture violates the Geneva Conventions and rushes the entire world back to the days when there were no protections for any prisoner of war, combatant or non-combatant, against inhumane treatment. (See the excerpt from The Enormous Room that I posted here Monday.)

Sanctioned use of torture puts us in the wrong in the eyes of the world.

AND torture does not work. (24 is a fantasy!!!)

See this morning's NYTimes:

WASHINGTON, May 29 — As the Bush administration completes secret new rules governing interrogations, a group of experts advising the intelligence agencies are arguing that the harsh techniques used since the 2001 terrorist attacks are outmoded, amateurish and unreliable.

The psychologists and other specialists, commissioned by the Intelligence Science Board, make the case that more than five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has yet to create an elite corps of interrogators trained to glean secrets from terrorism suspects.

While billions are spent each year to upgrade satellites and other high-tech spy machinery, the experts say, interrogation methods — possibly the most important source of information on groups like Al Qaeda — are a hodgepodge that date from the 1950s, or are modeled on old Soviet practices.

Some of the study participants argue that interrogation should be restructured using lessons from many fields, including the tricks of veteran homicide detectives, the persuasive techniques of sophisticated marketing and models from American history.

Outmoded, amateurish, and unreliable.

So really enhanced interrogation might be at least as smart as the American marketers.

So here we are, a nation that likes to think of itself as the most clever and innovative in the history of man, and we can't do any better than the Spanish Inquisition or, shudder at the word, the Nazis, when it comes to getting information out of people??

Give. me. a. break.

Cross-posted at Sherry Chandler.

IN PEACE by Helen Losse

Peace

If we believe,
as we say we believe,
that there is a
knowledge that passes
beyond all we know
or can even hope to know
now, past all we can dream by
the rushing river or realize once
the frenzy of mystical vision is gone,
and if, in choosing to believe,
we get to knowledge-beyond-knowledge
that we do not fully possess
but believe is God-imbued,
so that just as the stream,
encountering the worn rocks and the urgent falls,
does not question the source
either of its being or its continuance,
but flows—trusting—toward the closest sea,
somehow we know without knowing
that we more than endure,
ride in wide-loving arms.

Now that’s something to know.

So why don’t we live
like the bell-shaped lilies live,
growing and thriving in peace?

First published in Domicile...



Please visit Helen at Windows Toward the World

tuesday post for peace

when i started my blog over a year ago, i wanted to try a new thing. i didn't have any idea of where i wanted to go or what i wanted to do- i just wanted to learn how to use this new fangled (to me) medium. i still don't really know where i am going or what i want to do- but i have honed and refined my opinions as an american and as a citizen of the world. this platform helped me to do that.

i sat on my front porch yesterday- as many idealized pictures and movies of early america show- and looked around my little spot on this planet. you can google earth your home these days- satellite pics doncha know- and it is really quite amazing (and a wee scary). anyhoo, we were due to get the obligatory thunderstorm (because it just seemed to fit yesterday) and the wind was starting to pick up and toss things around. i felt like dorothy gale for a minute- but i stayed in my lawn chair enjoying the moment. just that moment. i remember thinking to myself- 'live for this moment.' why? because there may not be more moments like that one in my lifetime.

so- this is a post for peace. i think folks who are posting for peace should just put "peace- NOW!!" on the blog- because what else is there to talk about? what else is there to hash over or rehash? being occupiers in iraq and afghanistan was not what the founding fathers had in mind- but then again, neither was shredding the constitution that they worked so hard on. what do we stand for? white sales and summer bbqs? i don't begrudge people those activities. i enjoy them myself. but when they take precedence over you being a responsible person and citizen of the 'greatest democracy' then- yeah, i think that there is a problem. there is no reason for america to still be in iraq. or afghanistan. osama bin laden is dead. that is why they can't catch him.

peace in our time.

cross posted at life's journey and the peace train

Sentenced To Death...China's Food Boss...

Zheng Xiaoyu was accused of taking up to $780,000 in bribes to approve untested medicines.

The former head of China's food and drug safety regulatory body has been sentenced to death for corruption. Zheng Xiaoyu was convicted by a court in Beijing on charges of taking bribes and dereliction of duty, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

Zheng, 62, headed the watchdog State Food and Drug Administration which sets standards for food and drug safety, from 1998 until he was sacked in 2005.

Food Safety and Drugs...

Beijing has pledged tougher inspections amid growing domestic and international alarm over tainted products. Several countries have already imposed bans or voiced concerns about Chinese imports:

United States

Deaths of hundreds of pets blamed on Chinese pet food tainted with melamine, a chemical used in plastics, fertilizers and fireproofing

Mississippi and Alabama banned Chinese catfish after tests found they contained antibiotics

Europe and Japan

Excessive antibiotic or pesticide residues in Chinese shrimp, honey and other products

Hong Kong

Turbot found to contain traces of malachite green - a potential cancer-causing chemical used to treat fungal infections

China

Babies die after being fed fake baby formula

Cancer-causing dyes injected into eggs to make yolks redder

Children given saltwater passed off as rabies vaccine

More...

WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE ?

Hi TPM ... haven't had time to contribute something original to the THE PEACE TREE yet but hope to soon. Until then, I thought I'd share this excerpt from Lee Iacocca's new book which THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL published recently.

In it, he attributes the decline of U.S. Democracy to a change in business management style and presents his reasoning below.

My latest Column appears June 1 and can be found at Cosmic .

Hope your audience is able to spend time relaxing and honoring our fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. I'm headed to a public event with friends now.

Peace,
Cosmic


Original Story URL: JS Online

Where have all the leaders gone?

By LEE IACOCCA with CATHERINE WHITNEY

May 26, 2007

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage?
We should be screaming bloody murder.
We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up.
I hardly recognize this country anymore. The president of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.
While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do.
And the press is waving pompoms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged.
This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're 82 years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to - as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention.
I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests.
Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them - or at least some of us did.
But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers.
Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from, that's a dictatorship, not a democracy. And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew.
We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together. . . .
There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
I've never been commander in chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points - not 10 (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses).
I call them the "Nine C's of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have.
We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.

So, here's my C list:
A leader has to show CURIOSITY.
He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir"crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place.
George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the president of the United States and he never reads a newspaper?
Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter."
Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go. If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. . . .

A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. . . .
Leadership is all about managing change - whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.

A leader has to COMMUNICATE.
I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth.
Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while.
Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.

A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER.
That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power."
George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths - for what?
To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster.
A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.

A leader must have COURAGE.
Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, my gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the 21st century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.

To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION - a fire in your belly.
You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done.
How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. president - 400 and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. . . .
It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only 97 days in 2006. That's 11 days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term "do-nothing Congress." Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it.
But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.

A leader should have CHARISMA.
I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. . . .

A leader has to be COMPETENT.
That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA president.

Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA president, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq.

And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.

You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE.
I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile and a core of steel.
Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horse---- from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it."
George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know - Mr. they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush.
Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world - and I like it here."
I think our current president should visit the real world once in a while.
Leaders are made, not born.
Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself.
It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. . . .
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence and common sense? Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies?
How did this happen - and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name?
Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play.
That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America.
It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horse---- and go to work.
Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.

This article is excerpted from "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?,"

written by legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca,

and is reprinted with permission of the book's publisher, Scribner.

It has been on bestseller lists for several weeks.

From the May 27, 2007 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Memorial Day 2007

(End of post)

for my country...

for my constitution

cross posted at life's journey

don't let the right re-write history

The Way That I See It Is...: I Have Uncovered A Great Lie Being Told About The Vietnam War Era

(End of post)

Memorial Day Readings

Read Juan Cole.

Read Steve Benen.

Read Andrew J. Bracevich.


(End of post)

THE LAST POEM by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco

With this poem the poet laureate of the Toronto Star retires his verse from their pages -

The Last Poem

Remember, poetry is not
Read.
It is uttered sincerity,
Or your child's eyes
Spoken in what you do.
It is every brick you kiss as you build,
Or a curse in the absence of love.

As for poets, they are all around you
Hidden in bad employment or
Prose. And remember each metaphor is
A house you will have to live in,
And wisdom is knowing when to leave.

You will have to pronounce "sentiment"
As something that is the reason for
Doing anything,
In a country that fears its heart.

This too is a cross,
No greater than the market greed
And the golem of bright ideology.

And then there are the poems that are
Prayers,
That arrive like dew if you have the sense
To grow a garden,
Let no one talk you into languages
You do not know
Beyond feeling

That said, you are a poet, and the world will fear
You and desire you
As a blessing,

And if you are useless for a time
There will be a way to return home,
When your words are needed,
When the dreams are revived,
And the fevers of children
Are ended.



(End of post)

Standing Women (Prague, Czech Republic)

(End of post)

Much of America's Business is none of America's Business

Patience Bleeding

Cross-posted from Silly Humans

It's extremely sad but all too true that human beings react emotionally and leaders like we choose our based on emotions rather than George Bush was elected because he made folks feel better than the stiff and intellectual Al Gore (well, a little judicial cook-bookery certainly had a part to play.) Americans supported the illegal (according to our binding commitments to the United Nations) invasion of Iraq thanks to the lies of the Bush administration which effectively used Saddam's cruelties and dictatorial murderousness to equate his secular insanity with bin Laden's religious insanity in their fearful and ignorant minds.

With this week's seeming Congressional capitulation on War Funding without pull-out deadlines, those of us who support Peaceful conflict resolution, even between extremely violent parties, feel like we've been punched in the solar plexus by the Democrats whom we elected with the simple mandate to End The War.

E. J. Dionne, amongst others certainly, has managed to retain reason - as a Good Reporter must - in describing why this horrifying situation, one which will necessarily result in at least dozens if not hundreds of more dead American service personnel, is really the best solution to be achieved on the road to Peace.

America still has much to do to assure ourselves of freedom from the religiously and politically motivated terrorists throughout the world. We must take a more rational and less fearful look at the effects - both benefits and deficiencies - of our culture's Wealth and Power in this ever evolving world.

For now though.. well. Here's a snippet from Dionne's very well-reasoned WaPo story.

See You in September

By E. J. Dionne Jr.

Friday, May 25, 2007; Page A19

*****
(Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)) notes that the agreement to go forward with the funding bill passed yesterday (a majority of House Democrats, Pelosi among them, opposed it) included a promise to take up his withdrawal amendment this fall. This gives teeth to Pelosi's pledge -- "we'll see you in September" -- to continue to battle Bush on the war.

As a tactical matter, it could have been useful for the Democrats to move another bill containing timelines to Bush's desk for a second veto, simply to underscore the president's unwillingness to seek bipartisan accord on a change in policy. But these are the brute facts: Democrats narrowly control the House but don't have an effective majority in the Senate since Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) votes with the Republicans on the war and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) is still too ill to vote.

Democrats, in short, have enough power to complicate the president's life, but not enough to impose their will. Moreover, there is genuine disagreement even among Bush's Democratic critics over what the pace of withdrawal should be and how to minimize the damage of this war to the country's long-term interests. That is neither shocking nor appalling, but, yes, it complicates things. So does the fact that the minority wields enormous power in the Senate.

What was true in January thus remains true today: The president will be forced to change his policy only when enough Republicans tell him he has to. Facing this is no fun; it's just necessary.

[Patience doesn't have to bleed us all to death . . .]

Baghdad through the years

BAGHDAD - video powered by Metacafe

We've Been Betrayed...

Last November we voted the Democrats in position because they promised us the reward of working in our interests. Slaps head...we could have had a V-8! I think the reality is that we really in the end knew this would happen. Oh...we didn't want it to...hoped it wouldn't...despite our honest efforts to prevent it. Our situation with the leadership that we have is just a pus filled sore waiting to split open and dump its contents onto an unsuspecting multitude of good honest folk. We actually believed our leaders and trusted them to do right by us...for one, they said that they would. I'm cynical just about all the time...and even I bought into it...because I desperately wanted someone to genuinely care.


We've needed someone to care about 'we the people' for 6 years now and counting. I feel I've pathetically had unrealistic hopes of a better world, better America...better everything because I want it desperately for all of us. I'm not a selfish person...I'm willing to share the good times, the inevitable ups...the downs...the highs...the lows...it's second nature to us now...like breathing out and breathing in...we've grown accustomed to our life. (thank you My Fair Lady!) Yet we don't want out way of life at the expense of innocents dying in Iraq. I can no longer face the TV scenes when a car bomb has gone off and you hear the inevitable numbers of the tolling of the dead.


With so much going on we have to pause to take it all in...in smaller proportions to even begin to make sense (if there's any to be had that is!) The bottom line ~ if the Democrats do not vote down the blank check Iraq War supplemental bill they are proposing, they will be complicit in the war, and should expect to feel the consequences in monumental proportions. If you vote for it...you now own it! Russ Feingold said in March..."The realization is growing that the only way to stop this thing is to use our power." But, power is not always used for good...and I know you've read that in some fairy tales in your childhood somewhere.

Now here's a weird situation if I ever heard one. Some politicians are afraid to "take political ownership" of the war by using their power to end it. So, in the meantime as they focus on their particular brand of politics...while people are dying...it becomes clear that Feingold is right. "If the Democrats don't use their power, when we're in the majority in both houses, we're going to start owning this war." Russ Feingold who seems a man of integrity swimming in a pool of sharks also said, “It is George Bush’s war, but if we don’t get serious we’re going to start owning this war.” This is a critical point that many politicians are seemingly forgetting right now. The president may have started the war, and may own it politically, but he was also elected in 2004 just the same...or even in spite of it.

So this brings us to an uncomfortable realization about his being elected...he was elected on honest pretenses as pertaining to the war technically. The Democrats on the other hand...were put into office with a great deal of grassroots effort in 2006...drum roll...because they promised to end the war. So...by their betrayal (that's what it is to me) they've just turned around and become complicit in the very war they promised to stop...which by definition gives them a bigger chunk of ownership of the war than our Fearless Decider...because (and hang in here with me) they have broken their word to "us" and our country. Pure and simple.

A lot of people are bystanders walking way round this issue and say they do not have the ability to stop the war...which of course makes them innocent mostly in their own hearts and minds...but we know the truth about the shape of their spines. November was a heady time of joy and elation that lasted several days. We thought we'd gotten our country back and would soon get it moving toward a better understanding of what the American people wanted and needed. And some of what we wanted and needed was to get out of Iraq and leave those poor people and their families alone. They'd endured enough destruction and death to last a lifetime. And we knew we'd spend a lifetime making it up to them if given the chance. But...Nancy Pelosi said she would vote against the blank check bill...but she won't use her power to actually stop the bill from moving forward. Does that sound like a person with no power?

I've said this myself...and many lawmakers say it also...that the war is Bush's responsibility...not mine...not theirs...he must develop a plan to end the war. But it certainly doesn't mean our lawmakers don't have many ways at their disposal to force him to develop a plan. Through timelines tied to funding is a good example. If our Congress had the guts to brandish its Constitutional power of the purse strings and cut off funding by a certain date...it should force Bush and his so-called military commanders to furnish a much needed redeployment plan.

I guess that is whistling in the wind for what that's worth. But we can hope...there's always that. But I don't see the future as a bright presence any time soon. I think we have far more hurdles to jump before we land on good solid ground with this situation. It would be so wonderful for the Dub to wake up one morning...smell the fragrance of the flowers blooming outside of his bedroom...and turn to Laura and say..."you know Pickles...this war has gone on long enough, and too many people have died over it. It's time we brought our people home." She'd sit up and look at him...reach for her glasses...and say..."Who are you and how did you get in here?"

PROGESSIVE DEMOCRATS OF AMERICA

Visit PDA and Take Action! There's much to sign and act upon!

Previous Post - THE PRIEST NEXT DOOR

How To Be Free in a War-Ridden World

On the Importance of Writing and Other Creative Modes of Expression: Or How To Be Free in a War-Ridden World
by Helen Losse

Writing is a process whereby we set ourselves free - not always in our circumstances but in our minds and souls and hearts. This doesn’t mean everything is right in the world; it means there is a germ of hope that no human being can completely stamp out. It means we are because God is, and that hope is the joy of this reality – the promise of heaven.

Writing allows us entry, if only for a moment, to that place where joy is the norm, which in turn gives us the hope that we can create this peace for all people. We need not only writing with words but with music, and painting with color. Because of Hitler, we read Ann Frank. Because the world knows war, we need Beethoven’s joy more than ever. The muses must bring reality, because we live in a violent world.

In writing, we gain a grip on reality that the world has dismissed. We reclaim precious values. The writing of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is not only possible in a war-torn world, it is essential to the possibility of peace.

---

Developed from a comment at Sherry Chandler's blog. Cross-posted at Windows Toward the World.

SONGS OF WAR by Helen Losse

Perhaps, the adage believed by children is true.

It concerns the way they view the world,
line blasted streets.

The men will die for those who govern,
singing songs of war and trumped-up creeds,
pitting brother against brother, maiming for life.

The sucking babes who cannot cry
have parched throats—throats that swell
amid the rubble. Have those children no homes,
no mothers?


first published in Poets Against the War (February 2003)

a tuesday post for peace

isn't this reason enough to stop this stupidity?



"Over 1,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since three US soldiers were kidnapped in Iraq.
During that time, the predominant focus of thousands of US troops has been to locate those three soldiers.
What does this say to you about the priorities and ethos behind the Iraq War?"

this could be a fairly short post. it says to me what it has been saying to me from day 1- we shouldn't be there. the war is being handled like everything else in this country- poorly. millions of dollars are spent on a new embassy and new military bases in iraq- while homes and schools and businesses are destroyed. the infrastructure of iraq is crumbling, and we don't have enough armor for troops- but the priority is to find 3 soldiers. not that i am against the three- but how many other soldiers have been in that position and not found? what irks me is that this is a distraction and a publicity ploy- at the expense of our men and women in uniform.

here's the deal- i don't know if i am going to use the questions from one million blogs for peace anymore. it's a fine idea and i will continue to post for peace- but really. i would rather focus on what people are doing or ways we can work for peace- we already know why we shouldn't be there. we already know why we should bring the troops home. so- i am urging you to post ideas and results on post for peace tuesdays- and throw in the fluff too if you want.

cross posted at life's journey and the peace train

Andrew Bacevich asks a question

What kind of democracy is this, when the people do speak, and the people's voice is unambiguous, but nothing happens?

Andrew Bacevich, a retired Army officer who served in Vietnam and has become a noted conservative critic of the war in Iraq, talks about his son Andrew, who was killed in Iraq. Andrew was a first lieutenant. He died on Mother's Day in a suicide bombing north of Baghdad.

Listen on NPR.

It's two and a half minutes that will break your heart.

The Assault On Reason...

Al Gore has a new book...and it's all about our favorite president and decider the Dubbie.

Almost having lost his bid in the election of 2000 that robbed him, Gore still says he has no plans to run for president, but his latest book, "The Assault On Reason," is so blaringly critical of the Bush administration it's hard to really know what his plans may be.

It's a book that looks back at the last six years...and his perspective as to how the world might look today if those stinking chads had not been pregnant or perhaps fallen the other way. See, in his world...there would not be a war in Iraq or troops fighting there or Afghanistan. We would know the name of Abu Ghraib as simply a town's name and nothing more. He see's us better prepared for a Hurricane Katrina...global warming with a higher priority and maybe a different outcome to September 11, 2001.

There's 308 pages of some real meat and potatoes that says it in real language...not the careful pablum the others throw at us because they are afraid of being elected again.

"I'm not a candidate and this is not a political book, this is not a candidate book," Gore told Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America" Monday. "It's about that there are cracks in the foundation of American democracy that have to be fixed."

Our Al runs the gamut of emotions in this missive. He begins discussing the president by accusing him of sharing President Richard Nixon's unprincipled hunger for power -- and the book proceeds to go downhill for the Dub from there. While Gore stops short of calling for the impeachment of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, he gives the impression that in his view such a move would be well deserved. He calls the president a lawbreaker, a liar and a man with the blood of thousands of innocent lives on his hands.

Most of Al's emotional passion is about the war in Iraq, a war that he opposed from the beginning. Bush, he writes, "has exposed Americans abroad and Americans in every U.S. town and city to a greater danger of attack because of his arrogance and willfulness."

As for what now? Gore says the nation, indeed the world, is at a fork in the road. Gore calls for the United States to rejoin the international community and lead the war on crises involving global warming, water, terrorism and pandemics such as HIV/AIDS. He calls for a repeal of the Patriot Act, and for the Bush administration to disclose all of its interrogation policies. He wants more transparency in political TV commercials and an expediting of the shift from television toward the Internet as a method of communication. Works for me!

abc.news

NEW DISEASE

-Cancer-
A class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). Cancer may affect people at all ages, but risk tends to increase with age. It is one of the principal causes of death in developed countries.

-The death of truthiness-
If you want to know what I think when it comes to important issues facing our world today all you need do is ask. I’ll not hesitate to tell you my actual position on any topic under the sun. I hope that is the case with anyone when dealing with issues that are paramount to our war-laden globe. Unfortunately, it would appear, the truth is hard to come by. Hell, even truthiness is beginning to disappear from the political lexicon. Truthiness had a short run, but then suffered a quick death at infancy; the truth got skipped, the “i” omitted and the “ness” lopped off, leaving the converse of fact.

-Just ask-
Go ahead, ask any neocon for an answer. Instead of the truth, or even truthiness, you’re likely to find more spin than a Hoover Megaload 1600 and more lies than the Grand Canyon brimming with Nixons.

-Neocon psyche-
I'm sure on the surface the neocon has a sense of being immortal, yet, truth be told, deep down they must feel rather grotesque, I mean, after all, they suffer from the disease I've coined neoconcer.

-Neoconcer-
A class of disease that stands alone. Characterized by controlled division of people and the ability to recruit the weak to spread lies, either by direct contact with the naïve and/or ignorant populace, or by implantation into the national psyche via fear, God, patriotic fervor, or all three, where by megastasis (where neoconcer cells are transported through the weakened blood flow to the brain). Neoconcer may affect people at all ages, but risk tends to increase with age. It is one of the principal causes of death in oil rich nations and can spread most readily via political/governmental deceit and propaganda. It is an indiscriminate disease. It can invade the right, center, left, any color skin or religion and can cross ethnic and economic lines with ease. However, neoconcer is found mostly in those that claim to be Republicans.

-The signs-
Neoconcer attacks the intellect and the spirit and leaves these essential qualities bogged down in a dark and oppressive fluid with no chance of surfacing. It is no small matter, as I’m sure you know. The entire earth’s population is effected from the millions who suffer from this disease.
Here in the US all one need do is watch any 2008 neocon presidential candidate speak, I do not call them Republicans, for they do not deserve the party moniker. (As for the 08 GOP contenders Ron Paul would be the exception since he seems to be immune from neoconcer). But, if you watch a neocon speak you will see all these telltale signs; the insipid one-line catch-phrases based on WW I, WWII, 9-11, terror or freedom and God. You will also witness the constant trumpeting of such hot-button issues like abortion, immigration or gays (in or out of the military) and the self-conscious look of “I can’t believe these fools are clapping?”

-Truth and the neocon way-
You’ll be hard pressed to find a shred of truth within their words, but they are sure to inflame and spread the debilitating disease. There is no substance in their answers, none. They simply do not care to be honest about the true extent of the threat of terrorism in this country, or to solving or alleviating the issue of immigration. They'd rather exaggerate the threat of terror and immigration and keep building on the illusions that GW and his minions, most notably Dick Cheney, have forced down our throats for the last six years. And when it comes to the occupation of Iraq, despite the reality on the ground, or the will of the American people, or the voices of other nations, the neocon continues to attempt to try and make us believe that victory in Iraq will miraculously arrive tomorrow.

-Summary-
Want to know what I think? Those suffering from neoconcer are a danger to themselves and to the world at large. They may only appear to be nothing more than 9-11-sychophantic-prepostorous-inane-terrorizing-catch-phrased-one-lining-hot-button-toads, but they must be stopped at all costs.

Have not a doubt, my friends, neoconcer is the greatest threat our nation and the world has ever faced, bar none.

-WHITE-HOT VIRUS-

The white hot virus void of justification,
Veiled in fear’s manifest cloak
Writhes in an endless variance with truth.

Counterfeit words tumble through teeth,
Eye to eye in treacherous speech
to the sycophant’s prophetic acclaim.

Rumbling bluntly, blindly to bow
at the blood-spattered feet of death
and propel air-sucked spin upon them.

There’s no poetry in the neocon despair,
No verse reckons their woeful wish,
No cure, save for complete removal.

There’s no prose in a bomb’s release,
No hope in a child’s blasting grief
Save for strapping `round vengeance.

Turn, heavy and searing neocon! Retreat!
Be done with your contemptuous deceit!
There is no peace in it…
None...

Copyright © 2007 mrp (thepoetryman)

Eulogy for Falwell

Been waiting and waiting
Craving inspiration
Seeking to eulogize
With mounting frustration
A man whose crass actions
Divided the nation.
But lacking in outrage
His death no sensation,
In place of expected,
Sought after elation
I'm feeling a kind of
low-impact deflation,
And so just perhaps I'll
Give in to temptation
Reflect for a moment
On Falwell's vocation.

Seems that the crackpots
From Westboro Baptist
Will try for a Lynchburg
Pre-funeral protest.
They're going to preach
That Falwell expressed
Not nearly enough of
The hate they attest
Christ has for gays, women,
Blacks, Jews, and the rest.

And so with the scum of
Topeka I find
We are quite ironically
Of the same mind
Agreeing that Falwell
Will not find salvation
But is quite more likely
In line for damnation.

They say you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but I can't help but feel that the world will be a better place without Jerry Falwell in it. The funeral's tomorrow, and many GOP luminaries are planning on skipping it.

So Who Are the Real Gate Crashers?

The topic below was originally posted in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

In 2006, Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos and Jerome Armstrong of MyDD published Crashing The Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics. Ostensibly, they advocated for taking over the Democratic Party from inside the beltway K-Street corporate elitists who perpetually sell out their constituents for the almighty dollar. To the extent that ordinary citizens through the blogosphere or progressive “netroots” are more plugged into politics and empowered to become activists is all to the good.

Personally, I was an activist before I became a blogger and didn’t need an account with Daily Kos to become one. If the blogosphere ceased to exist tomorrow I would remain involved. I’m sure that’s true for many of us. That said, liberal bloggers have amplified the voice and impact of core progressive values in the ongoing debate-taking place.

Whether this amplified voice has the leverage to facilitate transformational progressive change inside the corridors of power remains to be determined. I hope so. Certainly retaking the congress as well as numerous statehouses in 2006 was an important step and the “netroots” were important to that effort.

I have my doubts though about the long term and believe “crashing the gate” of a political party is not an elixir for our democracy. Indeed, history is replete with examples of “gate crashers” or “revolutionaries” dethroning the previous order only to become corrupted themselves. As Orwell’s classic Animal Farm illustrated, it didn’t take long for the pigs to resemble Farmer Jones. The real gate to be crashed is as information brokers, fact-checkers and investigative reporters free of corporate influence and dedicated to preserving accountability on the citizenry’s behalf.

The foundation for any democratic civil society is truth. Without it a civil society can’t remain civil because the absence of truth translates into a loss of faith in the laws and institutions designed to promote opportunity and justice. Once a citizenry loses faith, either anarchy or oppression isn’t far away. Hence, the importance of a free, independent press doggedly pursuing truth wherever it leads. Truth seekers are gatekeepers of integrity that preserve democracy’s machinery.

For example, Carl Bernstein and his partner Bob Woodward, before he became co-opted by the very insiders he used to expose, relentlessly pursued President Richard Nixon’s diabolical efforts to subvert the Constitution. In so doing they helped preserve our democracy’s checks and balances. Congress initiated impeachment proceedings against Nixon and he resigned. The system worked.

We’re dependent upon truth seekers to scrutinize the fine print and actions of those in power on our behalf. Since we have our own lives, families and jobs to look after -effectively seeking truth ourselves is a Herculean challenge. Most of us don’t have the resources, ability to travel on demand or cultivate sources among the powerful.

Sadly, our country is at best ill served by the so-called free press. When I watched Bill Moyers report how the press covered the lead-up to the Iraq War, I was thunderstruck by their lame justifications for not doing their job. Walter Pincus, a national security reporter for the Washington Post actually admitted to Moyers that since the Reagan Administration,

“We stopped truth squading every sort of press conference, or truth squading. And we left it then-- to the democrats. In other words, it's up to the democrats to catch people, not us.”

And there was this classic exchange between Moyers and Tim Russert from Meet the Press:

BILL MOYERS: What do you make of the fact that of the 414 Iraq stories broadcast on NBC, ABC and CBS nightly news, from September 2002 until February 2003, almost all the stories could be traced back to sources from the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department?

TIM RUSSERT: It's important that you have a-- an oppos-- opposition party. That's our system of government.

BILL MOYERS: So, it's not news unless there's somebody-

TIM RUSSERT: No, no, no. I didn't say that. But it's important to have an opposition party, your opposit-- opposing views.

How the hell does any reporter justify allowing a political party to interpret the truth? Political parties are not about truth. Political parties are self-serving entities dedicated to obtaining and maintaining power. Since the Democrats were spineless and didn’t provide an alternative dialogue, Pincus and Russert believe they should be excused from doing their jobs? Ridiculous. Yes, Republicans were feculent and irresponsible while Democrats were feckless and cowardly. All the more reason for the press to do their job and relentlessly pursue the truth.

I’m a loyal Democrat and support my party as a means to advance progressive causes I believe in. And Democrats such as Henry Waxman are doing a splendid job of investigating the Bush Administration’s malfeasance now that they have the majority. It was also oversight by the Democratic controlled Senate Judiciary Committee that resulted in former Deputy Attorney General James Comey’s dramatic testimony.

Nevertheless, I don’t want the press to solely cede ground to Democrats about holding the Bush White House accountable. Nor do I want the press to curry favor with powerful Democrats and refrain from reporting on their transgressions.

Of course reporters such as Pincus and Russert merely reflect the will of their corporate bosses who curry favor from the powerful. Some reporters remain dedicated to their craft. James Risen of the New York Times, who first reported about the Bush Administration’s domestic surveillance program in violation of the FISA framework is a fine example. However, the New York Times management didn’t allow the story to surface prior to the 2004 election.

As I see it, the real gate being crashed is what people like Josh Marshall are doing at Talking Points Memo. It was reporting done for that blog that broke the bough on how the dismissal of US Attorney’s were covered and exposed Attorney General Gonazales as a liar. And citizen contributors to Firedoglake were so effective as information repositories for the Scooter Libby trial that even mainstream press reporters relied on them for real time facts. Epluribus Media has also become an effective vehicle for citizen journalism.

Another example on a smaller scale is a good friend of mine who used to work for Kaiser Permanente, a health organization that claims to be a non-profit. She was a whistle blower and they responded by personally trying to destroy her. So she transformed her Corporate Ethics blog into a repository of information regarding Kaiser’s harmful activities against their patients. Kaiser Thrive Permanente Exposed is another weblog devoted to serving the public by exhaustively covering Kaiser in a manner that the corporate media has resisted.

As the blogosphere continues to mature, it is the gate crashing of citizen journalists that has me the most excited. Hopefully citizen journalism from the “reality based community” will become more adept at keeping the corporate media, corporations and politicians honest.

My optimism however is tempered by two concerns. One is that the powerful elites among the corporations, mainstream press and politicians will pass laws that undermine the effectiveness of online citizen journalism. My second fear is that citizen journalists will at some point resemble Farmer Jones.

open thread friday

the questions of the week are- are humans worth saving? and- do i care if humans destroy themselves? the short answers are no- and no. now, for the long answers.

i was thinking about this the other day after daniel broached the subject over at his blog- and i guess i got a bit disillusioned. actually, i have been disillusioned by people for quite some time because i really thought that greed and egocentrism was a learned thing. i am beginning to think it might be intrinsic to the species. i began thinking back to time immemorial- history and ancient civilizations and all of that- and i figured it out- there isn't any real hope for change because people have been behaving this way since adam and eve- for all of those creationists out there- and since at least lucy- for all of those science loving homo sapiens.

well, let's see- our past has been littered with greed, lust for power, wars, cruelty, waste, etc., etc. you get the idea. as far back as i can tell- the ancient romans were similar to the western world- and so on. i am beginning to think that the bubonic plague was a good thing. at least it led eventually to the age of reason. so- where was i? ah yes- do i care?

yeah- i do. i love my country and my planet and it frustrates me to no end that we, as a species, can't cut the shit and live together. i find it ridiculous that we won't look at each other as fellow humans- regardless of color, race, political party or religion- and allow each other basic human dignity and provisions. i find it contemptible that we are so greedy- especially in the western world- that we won't put aside our quest for power and riches in order to save the very planet we live on.

because we won't do that- it isn't that we aren't capable- i have little faith that global warming and the eventual destruction of the human race and life as we know it- will be stopped. the only peace and comfort that i have found is knowing that once we are gone- the planet will heal itself. with no more fossil fuels burning, the greenhouse gases will dissipate and the ozone layer will finish repairing itself. life will begin again- and i can only hope that the next round of critters who inhabit the planet will be better stewards than we were.

cross posted at life's journey.

Disproportional Representation

The 2006 mid-term elections were hailed as an ushering in of a new era turned against the Bush administration and politics as usual, and statistically speaking, the 110th Congress is the most diverse in US history. Yet there remains a serious disparity between the demographics of the United States population and the demographics in the Congress, which will be explored below.

Over Representation

Males - As of the 2006 congress, 83.7% of the Congress is male, while the percentage of males of the voting age population (18 plus) is only 48.4. If this is further evaluated to include the over-representation of white males, the figure is even more staggering: 36.3% of the voting age population are white males, yet there are 79 White Male senators making up the Senate (79%).

Older age groups (55 and older) - The average male and female age in the United States is 35.9 and 38.4 respectively compared to the average age of Congresspeople at 56 years old -- 55 in the House of Representatives and 60 in the Senate. The age demographic breakdown in the United States is as following: 20-34: 20.9%; 35-44: 16%; 45-54: 13.4%; 55-64: 8.6%; rounded out by people of age 62 years and over in the US population at 14.7%. In the US Senate, 63% of the members are over 62 years old, topped off by Robert Byrd of West Virginia who is 90 years old.

The Wealthy/Educated - In the Senate, fifty-six senators hold degrees in the law, seven have MBA's, and four have MD's. The majority of COngress members come from upper-middle class to upper class income backgrounds, and the jobs themselves as Representatives and Senators pay $165,200 per year putting them in the top 5 percent of American household incomes, which does not reflect spouses income either (top 5% is deliniated by $157,000 per household).

On a similar note, the front-runner candidates for President in both parties (many of whom are currently serving in the Senate) had incomes that placed them in the top 1% of the population. Rudy Guiliani made 16.1 million dollars in 2006 with $45 million in assets, John Edwards $1.25 million in income and $29.5 million in assets, Barack Obama reported $938,000 in income and over 1 million dollars in assets, and possible third party candidate Michael Bloomberg has over 6.5 billion in his personal fortune.

Jews - While comprising 1.8% of the total United States population, Jews make up 7 percent of the Congress. This disproportional representation is extended higher in the Senate, where 13% of senators are Jewish.

Under Representation

Women - Women of voting age represent 51.6 percent of the voting age population yet are 16.3% of the Congress, putting America below the global average of 17% female representation at parliamentary level. As of 2007, the US ranks 68th in terms of women holding office in the legislature -- this puts the US just above Turkmenistan, and just below El Salvador and Panama.

Latinos - Hispanics represent over 14% of the U.S. population, while their Congress representation is 3% in the Senate and about 5% in the House.

African-Americans - The Senate is 1% African American and the House is roughly 9.2% African American compared to the 12.3 percent of American population that are of Black or African-American descent

Sources & References

http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RS22007.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census%2C_2000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_DP1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States_Congress
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070416obama-tax,0,445005.story
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/17/candidates.finances.ap/index.html

Originally on PBH.

In Memoriam, Jerry Falwell

Anthem

It's not Bethlehem on an ass
I do. It's not the eye
upon the sparrow
I know.

The long history of man and god
from castle keep to carpet bomb
is not my battle hymn.
My eyes have not seen the glory.

Say
can you see
the way the prophet
jerks like a marionette.
No strings attached.

First published in My Will and Testament Is on the Desk (FootHills Publishing)

DANSE by Case Wagenvoord

O, children!
Don’t you know growth
is but a dance of death,
a slow march towards
the grave?

The Devil’s Bell Curve
of ascent, apogee
and decline
‘tis but a neon glare
telling us
decline is ascent;
decay, perfume.

O Children,
don’t you recognize
your death?


Poem by Case Wagenvoord of Open Letters to George W. Bush

DEFCON - Reality Check!

Oppose The Creation Museum! an institution built by Answers in Genesis (AiG) and designed to promote the falsehood that science supports the notion of a 6,000 year old Earth.

tuesday post for peace

"more foreign soldiers have now been killed in Iraq than were killed in the 9/11 attacks. While there are obvious distinctions in the manner of death and status of the dead (civilian vs. military), the fact remains that each dead person leaves a gaping and torturous hole in the world of the people they leave behind.
Could you imagine politicians leveling the same rhetoric against the Iraq War that was leveled against 9/11?
Do you feel that those responsible for perpetrating the war have any sense of this responsibility they bear?"

one million blogs for peace

the short answer is no and no. the folks who got us into the iraq war had their own agenda that had nothing to do with 9/11. in fact, they used 9/11 as a catalyst to move forward to go into iraq- and now, we are in a nightmarish quagmire that is bankrupting the country financially and 'leaving a gaping and torturous hole' where the many civilians and military personnel have been killed.

as far as feeling a sense of responsibility, no. the architects of this war feel nothing for anyone. how else to explain why they are unresponsive and flat out ignore the will of the very people they are supposed to represent. they continue to operate in secrecy against the best interest of america and the rest of the world- to push forward their own secret agenda. they are out to further their own interests at the expense of the iraqis and the american people.

these people, and many of their rank and file followers in america and worldwide, don't really think about nor care about the people being killed so regularly. they are 'collateral damage' and since it is necessary to further their agenda, unavoidable. the talent, creativity, and all out brain drain created by the killing, wounding, maiming, and mental wounding of thousands of people in both parts of the world- will be felt for generations. to be the cause of that- as a nation- is not something i live with easily.

cross posted at life's journey and the peace train

A Standing Woman

In the days before Mother's Day this year, Standing Women sent out the following request:

Please stand with us for five minutes of silence at 1 p.m. your local time on May 13, 2007, in your local park, school yard, gathering place, or any place you deem appropriate, to signify your agreement with the statement [above]. We ask you to invite the men who you care about to join you.

Being a solitary, a poet, and a country woman, I decided that I would stand, not in a park or school yard, as those places are not natural to me, but on the front stoop of our house in rural Bourbon County, Kentucky. My husband stood by me, as he has done for 35 years now, and so did our son. It was on this stoop that we kept our candlelight vigil four years ago, on the eve of the War in Iraq. It seemed appropriate.

It was very quiet in Kentucky at 1 p.m. on May 13. For most of the time, the only sound was that of the wind in the trees and the birds fussing at their nest-building. Later on, we heard the noise of a jet in the distance.

The sky was a cloudless blue, the sunlight butter yellow. The grass and the trees wore their shiniest springtime green. The wind moved in waves through the tall pasture grass. The black locust was just beginning to show its white, sweet-smelling bloom.

The male oriole, flitting from locust to locust in his gorgeous orange-and-black and singing his simple but elegant song, was like a Renaissance courtier, a Donne, perhaps a Sir Walter Raleigh. The robin with his puffed rose-colored vest was more a country cleric out of an Austin novel.

What a beautiful place I live in. How privileged is my family to have this quiet safe haven, to share a place with these beautiful creatures.

I mourned (and still mourn) that there are children in the world who cannot experience some version of this quiet and simple beauty. This is the world I would dream for them now and for seven generations to come.

Yet I was also strongly comforted by the thought that women were standing, as I was standing, in simple, eloquent protest, standing up in ranks as the world turned.

Other women are sharing their stories at the link.

SHEEP GOVERNED BY JACKALS

The Jackal The ancient Egyptians believed a jackal-headed god, Anubis, guided the dead to those who judged their souls. Such beliefs were probably encouraged by the jackal's cleverness, nocturnal habits, eerie howling and scavenging.

(Tete Primitive by Ben Heine - Cartoons)

LIKE SHEEP GOVERNED BY JACKALS

In the color of awakening our eyes glimpse frontward;
The still picture of life choosing our strange development.
Only as god-headed Anubis rises do we begin to sit up.
Does our blood not run with its unique being until shadow?
Our choices aren’t merely life, but its dancing nourishment
Of wish, yet we seem content in our slack jawed living,
Startled, like sheep governed by jackals.

Now is the occasion of our most hallowed sanctuary;
We are stirring the untamed humility of a new province
And we should, we must, see the angels motioning to us
From their silver-lined occurrence.
We’re tasting an account of empire that is infected
And has begun to sketch our days in thickened blood.
The hope of kindness is being spent in fees of silence,
Slain, like sheep governed by jackals.

War and theft are now boarders in our homes,
Sharing a bed and smacking their greedy lips at our table.
Accounts seem lost to these events in the steady drum,
The throb of liberty and speech blasted thickly in it.
Are we awake? Are we alive? Are we beckoning to it?
We see, we smell, we hear it, must we suffer it, too?
If we’re dead how might we then change course;
Voiceless, like sheep governed by jackals.

The jackal’s eerie howling and scavenging senses
Are most suitable for our dank and willful gloom,
Picking over the carcass of our living, dying and dead.
The leopard, hyena and eagle dare not answer
For they know they too have lost the spirit to fight.
Does our blood not run in our being until shadow?
Are our ideals dead? We’ve no more yearning than this?
You can rest assured that the jackal does.

Copyright © 2007 mrp / thepoetryman

Ben Heine - Cartoons

Tell your representative to put an end to the occupation of Iraq

The Ambiguous Spector of Victory

The “Islamic State” is a coalition of eight insurgent groups operating in Iraq to form a Sunni alternative to the United States backed - Shiite dominated administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Iran is a Shiite state. The documentary “Why We Fight” recalled 1,000,000 Iranian civilians demonstrating in the streets of Tehran in support of the victims of the World Trade Center towers after 9/11. I wonder if the citizen’s of Iran, the role model of Middle Eastern democracy, would take to the streets in our support after the last six years of US Middle Eastern policy? It would seem that we have a lot more common ground than the administration wants to talk about when it comes to Iran. The administration’s accusations of Iranian nuclear proliferation, while flexing our ample military in the gulf, undermine our insistence that we seek a peaceful resolution to our differences with Iran. And all the while the prospects of “staying the course” as a means for stability in Iraq seems tenuous at best and myopic at least.
In spite of the mandate of the American public to the contrary; American policy continues to seek an ambiguous specter of victory in Iraq. We have postured the USS Stennis and USS Nimitz Strike Groups in the Persian Gulf as a reminder to Iran of our military prowess. I am reminded of the abusive parent in the toy aisle of the local Wal-Mart who scolds an upset child to behave or they will really get something to cry about. Somewhere our administration has lost context in the expression “walk softly but carry a big stick.” The result is greater instability in the region and emboldened defiance by a sovereign nation who feels it is being backed into a corner.
Everybody seems to agree that Iran as a nuclear threat is not acceptable but our dependence on military solutions, both inside and outside of diplomacy do not seem to work very well with proud and ancient cultures that our administration seems to have chosen not to attempt to understand. Before we escalate the tensions even further in the Middle East with actions like sending our Vice President to give speeches on air craft carriers about “victory” perhaps we should define what victory is. There should be no objective that includes American business interests or creating a photo-op that we can point to and say we won something. And yet those who are supporting this war, this thinly veiled windfall for the military industrial complex and American oil interests, and the macho mental adolescents who can not accept that we could not just walk in and impose our will, continue to decry that those who want to bring our troops home are weak on defense; defeatists and quitters.
The Islamic State announced Sunday that, according to AP news “it had captured American soldiers in a deadly attack the day before, as thousands of U.S. troops searched insurgent areas south of Baghdad for their three missing comrades. The statement came on one of the deadliest days in the country in recent weeks, with at least 124 people killed or found dead. A suicide truck bomb tore through the offices of a Kurdish political party in northern Iraq, killing 50 people, and a car bombing in a crowded Baghdad market killed another 17. Troops surrounded the town of Youssifiyah and told residents over loudspeakers to stay inside. The troops then methodically searched the houses, focusing on possible secret chambers under the floors where the soldiers might be hidden and marked each searched house with a white piece of cloth.”
Captured American soldiers and 124 people killed are headlines which serve as evidence that our military presence in Iraq will continue to be painful and proof that expanded diplomatic measures are called for. Call your Congressional Representatives, write letters to the editor, attend peace rally’s and let prospective candidates who visit your area know – our only mission in the Middle East should be to lay the groundwork for a lasting peace with a high regard for human rights among those living in the region. Imperialism born of economic considerations, the bravado associated with declaring victory or the misguided justification of mistakes made by our President should have nothing to do with what a moral nation would do in a situation such as that which we find ourselves at this time.