Heart Disease and sore bellies

Hello,
It's been a long time since I commented here. In that time I moved from Massachusetts to California. Economically this has been a very good move.

Today I read a piece of evidence I had read before, that of how isolation from the community contributes to disease, psychicly. The specific reference is G. A. Kaplan, et al.,
"Social connections and morality from all causes and from cardiovascular disease: perspective evidence from Eastern Finland", American Journal of Epidemiology, 1988; 128: 370-80, as presented in Lynne McTaggart's, The Field the Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe. Once again I am reminded that my isolation is not good for me.

During the late Sixties and early Seventies I was busy with my mate making alternative culture. Some part of me wishes we had kept the 80 acre farm we owned in Wisconsin for three years. Poverty clouds the perception of choices. After reading most of the way through McTaggart's book, I wonder how much other people's expectations of me have clouded and hampered my movement toward success.

My journey has been one of Spiritual seeking, and paranormal investigations. I returned to college/university life after being evaluated for disability by the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, to whom I am very grateful for their support and guidance. So far I have not been able to capitalize on my degrees as economic forces conspire to channel me into the work they were trying to educate me away from. I'm sure some of you know the problems we are facing in America of talent and knowledge being wasted for all time through mismanagement of personnelle. Some of it is the result of direct gender prejudice. With all the proofs that remote healing and remote viewing effect people no matter what the distance, gender prejudice that holds one person back may be attempted murder by psychic involvement in negative stereotypes.

Right now we are experiencing the White Guy revival. I suspect even some blue White Guys are happy with Ah-mold. Poor Maria! Because of my university training, I have learned there are Guys, and White Guys, and that has nothing to do with ethnicisity. A dose of pigmentation in the skin does not exclude one from being a White Guy. White Guys are a cultural attitude. The predominant attitude is that White is Right and no other way measures up. White Guys believe everyone else is inferior and only they know how to run a world. Condi Rice is trying to be a good White Guy, but guess what? She'll never make it in the end.

White guys want to make Social Security profitable for them. They want to take away a woman's choice about birth. They want all their special friends to get the perks. They want us to shut up and go along.

I don't blame them for anything. We're letting them get away with murder.

So, back a few years I took personal responsibility for my life. I began to work on my attitudes and beliefs. I found a lot of closet cleaning to do. I found a lot of attic work, and cellar storage molded bad. I worked with personal affirmations and applied psychic protection to block negative thought forms like racial (I'm part American Indian), sexist, and gender discrimination. I started to study other people and give them what they wanted for the money. More and more I learned they don't care as much about what you can deliver in product or service as they do about you and me performing the correct "role" as they see it. Most people will allow poor performance resulting in money lost simply to be with someone they're more culturally comfortable with. Playing this game has disrupted my psyche. I suffer from a stomach problem now. I am seeing it as a connection to living the lie of the respectable fit into place cog. When I get there my artwork drops off, I don't go to as many Pagan drum and dance circles, which are fun. I don't do my morning and evening prayers as much. Seems the ripples of the cosmos want me a certain way, and that living that certain way is the most harmonious thing I can do. I must search out meaningful connections where I am now, or the disruption of my waves will continue. Being true to myself is inescapable. The economic side of my life was helped greatly by my attention to my intention, now I find that I must ignore the pressures of the White Guy world (no more negative television!), and begin to intend my direction into that which will create greater healing within me. As I work through this time of isolation, I must keep my focus on the good things of my life and do unto others what they have done unto me, dismiss them from my thinking (aka living rent free in my head). The trick is to dismiss them in a loving way so that negativity does not come back to me threefold.

There! Now I'm back in the Blog Sisters.

Robin Marie Ward

WANTED: A NEW REGISTRAR FOR BLOG SISTERS

Back in March of 02, when I was a lot, lot younger, I joined Blog Sister founder Jeneane Sessum's exciting bandwagon and took on the job of registering new Blog Sister members and putting them on the blogroll. That was before. Before my almost-89-year old mom, of whom I give/take care, began to become increasingly befuddled. Before I had a grandson with whom I really like to visit. Before the bad guys won (well, that's a whole other predicament, isn't it.)

My Medicare card arrived in the mail last week. I've discovered that it's true that the older you get, the quicker time goes by. So, with this post, I am submitting my resignation as registrar of Blog Sisters.

I have a list of emails from women who want to join to which I haven't responded. The blogroll is terribly behind the times. I can't keep up, and I'm putting a call out for a Sister who might have the time, energy, and interest, to

-- be the contact for membership inquiries
-- serve as an administrator of the Blog Sister's site
-- respond to the inquiries by logging into the template and sending out the invitations to join
-- enter the new Sisters into the blogroll

Anyone interested should either leave a comment on this post or contact either Jeneane at ewriter@bellsouth.net or our blog "techie" Andrea James at roceal@jngm.net. One of them will have to select the new registrar and provide the instructions for how to do the job. At some point, it also would be a good idea to contact existing members and see who's still out there and still interested. There are quite a few who haven't posted in a long while.

So, until there's someone to take over, new memberships are on hold. My apologies to those whose inquiries are still sitting in my inbox. If I can get to them, I will. Otherwise, I will pass them along when someone steps up to the plate.

Keep in mind that it's not that being registrar is a lot of work; it's rather these days my life is all work and no play. I need more play.

And so it goes.

One More Good Reason To Workout

When I was sweating through my crunches and squats and abductor lifts this morning, I was thinking about how much fun it is to work out when you have a new lover and every effort you make working out, will give that person something lovely to look at in bed.

Even if you don't have a new lover, the idea that you can workout hard, basically getting ready for one that might just drop into your lap, so to speak, is a helluva motivation. Hit the gym folks.

Homeless life span short, sickly

A study conducted by researchers in Seattle offers some new insight into who the homeless are and what ails them. I realize we think we are already know who the homeless are. The panhandler in front of Safeway or Trader Joe's who will curse you out if you don't hand over some money. The 'rider' who can clear the gathering at a bus stop just by showing up sans bath and deodorant. The stereotypical drunken Indian you step over or walk around to get where you're going. Some of us have factual information about the homeless. We know there is a correlation between being homeless and a former ward of the foster care system, or a military veteran, or low level employee, such as a security guard. The researchers delved deeper by looking into one of the most telling aspects of a person's life: what he or she dies from.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has the story.

SEATTLE, Wash. -- The average homeless person in King County died prematurely at age 47, and most likely suffered from alcohol or substance abuse, a new study found.

Some homeless people had as many as eight health problems but the average was three, said the study released Monday by Public Health-Seattle & King County, which reviewed 77 deaths that occurred last year.

Roughly two-thirds of the dead had a history of alcohol or substance abuse, more than half suffered from cardiovascular disease and a quarter had a mental-health problem, the study said.

The most common cause of death was acute intoxication, followed by cardiovascular disease and homicide. More than half of the deaths occurred outside, the study said.

It is estimated that about 8,000 people are homeless each night in King County.

Having spent more time than I should have at a blog dominated by Right Wingers this year, I been told over and over again that poverty either does not exist in the United States, or, that those mired in hopelessness deserve to be. The results from the King County study reveal the interplay that makes escape from the worst kind of poverty impossible for many of those caught in the cycle. To acquire a job, housing and consistent health care, a person needs to be at least moderately functional. Many homeless people aren't because of their ill health. Their addictions make a difficult situation a futile one.

Dr. Alonzo Plough, director and health officer for public-health agency, said the study reveals the complex health challenges faced by homeless people as they struggle to survive.

"It reflects the harshness of life on the streets and in shelters, inadequate access to health care, enormous human suffering and loss," Plough said in a statement.

Though the study is not large, and is localized to the most populous county in Washington state, its findings are similar to those elsewhere in the U.S. The lives of the street dwellers seem to have changed little despite our progress as a technological society. Seattle in 2004 could be Charles Dickens' London of 1804. Life on the margins is still short, sickly and brutish.

Note: This entry also appeared at Mac-a-ro-nies.

Upstart Egalitarian David Takes On Matriarchal Goliath

I was so peeved by Eve Ensler's recent appearance on The Jane Pauley show, and her continual insistence that all of women's problems have to do with "The Patriarchy," that I wrote a rather scathing indictment of Ensler's position.

I thought of posting it here, but realized that some of y'all might not want to read it, so it is over on my own little blog.

But I'm hardly an addle-brained heterosexual enthralled to a man. Quite the contrary...I'm the product of Smith College (highest honors, yadda-yadda-yadda) and of an Italian Matriarchal Dynasty. I was excommunicated from the Matriarchal Dynasty because I went to College. Go figure. So much for Matriarchy.

Overall, my feelings are if Patriarchy is so bad, what makes some people think Matriarchy will be any better?? Any "archy" is probably going to be repressive or oppressive to *someone,* so why repeat the mistake?

Women and Men are complimentary-- it seems to work better when we cooperate and have a great sense of humor about it all.

--Tish G.

P.S....if anybody can tell me how I can list myself on the sidebar, and have my sig on the bottom of my posts, please email me a clue :)

Political Poems & an Ode to Starbucks

I've gone political poetry mad, with new poems about Dubya's Homeland Security Secretary nominee Bernie Kerik, the GOP's no-time-to-read-just-vote insanity, Halliburton's latest screwup, and the infamous privacy invasion tax clause.

Plus, in a time-out from politics, I wrote an Ode To Starbucks.

DOMINANCE?

I'm still taking time out, to devote time and energy to the "other" things in my life, but the familiar yearnings are stirring, the faint longings for some Dominant authority are here.

Compartmentalizing my life into pigeonholes, in order to best manage this interest and not pay too high a cost in my well-ordered world, is an imperative. It does not overlap into any other part of my existence, like a foreign and separate thing; I must mentally and emotionally journey to "this place" in order to partake of it, play, scene, experience. Unlike many I know, I'm just not willing to confuse my worlds...nor am I willing to make any changes. It is, at times, dissociative. I wonder at that. What price, this lifestyle? What cost, my kink?

The vanilla ones I've confessed to -- I've lost ground. I can feel the chasm widening, the invisible divide yawning and separating, cementing into a permanent crack. It is the silent withdrawing that comes from being different. I see it and can do nothing more than watch. How do I let J know that I miss her, that I am becoming invisible, that she moves with different tides and that it can't ever be the same? Like seeking out like isn't what I'd imagined for lifetime friendships. If I'm honest, though, it isn't JUST my kink....

One foot in, one foot out, I find it harder going when the worlds collide. Compartmentalizing it seems a less chaotic way of experiencing it all. None of my "kinky" friends crossover into my non-kink world...and vice versa. Except James.

Ah, James...

He is simultaneously, confusion, an aggravation, a frustration, an outlet, a lover, friend...Dominant? Disciplinarian? I wasn't prepared for him or his presence in my life. Foolish me. But no matter how uneasiliy I allow him access into all my worlds....He is a a gift. My gift...I belong to him, naturally, easily, fluidly...even though that knowledge dismays me.

I cannot imagine a world without Him.

Odd that one so easy going, polar opposites to my fiery and intense nature...He has the ability to bring me to heel without being the Ogre Dominant (that which I despise and loathe and cannot respect nor submit to). Without crushing me or my spirit, He has managed to provide the barest of fences for me. I am not an easy submissive soul. I am....at times...impossible.

I wasn't prepared for anyone, reluctantly acknowledging this kink even to myself...grudgingly accepting and anguishing over my need, creating vulnerable need. Polyamory or infidelity, whatever. There are no adequate labels. I know that I am lucky, to have two intelligent, strong souls...loving me. Each, so very different, laying claims to different parts of me. One anchors me while the other sets me free. I make no apologies -- both know of the other, each support and encourage and accept the limits I have.

I am lucky.

It shouldn't surprise me to have what I need, to be my own determinant. I cannot make apologies for the gaps in my life, my hubris which allows me to grab for those things forbidden and unsafe. I find, in my fettered ties....I am free. Without compromise, without apology, without second thoughts. Simply, I am an inconvenient woman. Yet, I am free. However, with that freedom comes a price tag -- and I will spend forever paying my debt to both. It is enough?

For over two years now, I've been challenged by James -- it has never been easy to love me, nor me to love in return. Need is not a word that sits well in my lingo. There are days when I feel the burdensome weight of it all, like Atlas carrying the weight of the world on his broad shoulders. I have, by turns, spurned, denied, tested fences, dared, challenged, behaved outrageously. I have come undone. In this one laid back soul, I have perhaps, met my Dominant equal? Even if my direct cognitive brain seeks an outwardly Dominant Authoritarian, perhaps, the one I seek would have broken me or failed me by now....

Well-read soul that I am, I keep looking and checking for the similiarities of my story to...anyone else's. Trite, that. He has never stepped on me, crushed me, broken me, even though, perversely, I try to get him to. Control is an interesting game. Have I been underestimating this all along?

Perhaps the Dominance I seek...isn't so readily packaged nor recognized, brand-labelled? Perhaps, Dominance, at least what works for me, cannot be brutal, overpowering, direct....perhaps, it is quiet, reasonable but implacable, rational, calm? I don't have many rules, yet I sought them out, wondering why He won't provide me with what I 'know' is a standard expectation in the kink?

Is it Dominance, to be ruled and tamed by the heart, rather than the lash? Is respect first gained from the heart -- outward? Can one tame with a soft word, a look? Can one be humorous, gentle, loving -- and still be Dominant to...ME?

Couch Potato Nation

Believe it or not, according to the jounal Science, and reported in The New York Times today, a study of 909 women in Texas proves unequivocally that women in general are most happy when they are watching TV by themselves.

Excuse me, but I don't think a study of 909 bored and possibly neurotic women in Texas should be held as the benchmark and bellweather for the rest of us in the Nation.

I'm off to have a hot chocolate and listen to some Italian jazz--and maybe move to Canada.

*Please note: an entry similar to this (although a bit more tart) appears at Tish G's blog

Gregoire to challenge 42-vote 'win'

Democrat Christine Gregoire would like to challenge a ballot recount that gave opponent Dino Rossi the governorship of Washington with a 42-vote margin. That means she must raise $700,000 as a deposit on another recount of at least some districts. If discrepancies are found in selected districts, that will trigger a statewide recount.

Gregoire must make an official request for a recount by 5 p.m. Friday. About 9.2 million votes were cast in the race Nov. 2.

The Olympian reports.

"Our goal is to have a statewide recount. . .the trick is raising money. If this happens tomorrow and we have to raise $700,000 by Friday, it presents a challenge," Gregoire spokesman Morton Brilliant said Monday in Seattle.

He said the organization has less than half the money needed.

Brilliant did not specify how much money is in hand, but said: "We are raising money for a hand recount right now. . .These are a lot of small donors coming in now."

Secretary of State Sam Reed and Gov. Gary Locke, a Democrat, will certify the elections results today. That will initiate a process that allows the person on the short end of a very close contest to request a recount. The previous recount was automatic and the costs were covered by the state. Gregoire will pay for the new recount if it occurs.

. . .When Reed certifies the election results, Rossi will become the state's governor-elect, but the title might not be as significant as it usually is.

"With the race this close, one thing I've made clear to the Rossi folks is that it doesn't really mean a whole lot, because we expect a recount," Reed said.

So many voters. Such a small margin. How did it happen? Rossi, who is anti-abortion and quite far to Right on other issues, has downplayed his conservatism. In 2003, Rossi earned a 100 percent rating from the Washington Conservative Union (www.washcon.org). Like former candidate Jack Ryan of Illinois, he relies on a pleasant demeanor and hints at moderation to enhance his electability. His reputation, as a self-made millionaire in real estate and budget wizard, may also have impressed some voters. Gregoire may have been hurt by her gender. There are still voters who will favor a man over a woman in electoral politics. She was doubtlessly harmed by the higher than usual turnout by voters who oppose gay marriage, and, voted Republican. Some also say she ran a low-key campaign, not touting her achievements enough.

The Associated Press cites a more direct reason why Gregoire trails -- write-in votes from Democrats for other candidates.

SEATTLE -- If Christine Gregoire officially loses the race for Washington governor her supporters might blame 502 voters in King County who wrote in Ron Sims.

The King County executive lost to Gregoire in the primary. His supporters may not have known that a candidate who loses in the primary cannot be a write-in candidate in the general election.

The write-ins disclosed by the county also show 40 votes for Gary Locke, who is not seeking a third term. His wife Mona got one vote.

Other write-ins included Phil Talmadge with 28 votes, Mike the Mover with nine votes, Edgar Martinez with nine, Norm Rice with six, Donald Duck with six votes, Ralph Nader with five, Alice Cooper with two and God with two votes.

Neither Nader nor God drained away enough votes in King County to make a difference. But, 502 ineligible votes for Ron Sims may cost Gregoire the election.

Reasonably related

The Seattle Times describes the transformation of Dino Rossi's image from hardcore conservative to moderate.

Update

As of Dec. 1, Democratic Candidate Christine Gregoire is soliciting donations for the recount through the national party. The online donation site is here.


Note: This entry also appeared at Mac-a-ro-nies.

Have a happy Buy Nothing Day

Today, Friday November 26, the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year, is also Buy Nothing Day in the US. In the UK, Buy Nothing Day will be on Saturday the 27th.

• Be at the mall early to be at the front of the shopper stampede when the shops open? Nope.
• Go to your favorite online sites and use your holiday discount coupons for a pre-emptive Xmas shopping strike? I don't think so.
• Stand in line at the local big box electronics store for the latest big hype toy/game/movie release, and then afterwards go for the Starbucks grande vanilla latte? Nuh uh.
  

The release of the new movie Christmas With the Kranks, based on the John Grisham bestseller Skipping Christmas, is another manifestation of the growing trend towards simplification and especially away from the overweening commercialization of the Christmas season. It's kind of at cross purposes, tho...

"OK, here's the pitch: we take this huge Grisham bestseller about rejecting the over-commercialization and mindlesss consumerism of Christmas and we make it into a big holiday-season film with millions earmarked for ads so millions will shell out 8$ apiece to see it. Yeah! That's the ticket!"

Here's an assignment for you. Compare and contrast these two news stories on Yahoo today:

Some Americans trim more than the tree


Bargain shoppers get early holiday start


OK, now answer me this: Am I just delusional, or did anybody else notice that the majority, almost all of the 'simplify' stories and examples in the first story came from Blue states?
And practically all of the 'shopping frenzy' quotes and examples in the second story came from Red states? [Or, if not in a Red state, then from a Wal-Mart in a Blue state?]

Hmmmm. What can we conclude from this, moral values-wise?


Being together with loved ones, not buying things, is the true spirit of Christmas?

Or:

If you don't spend enough on Christmas presents, you'll make baby Jesus cry?


Happy BND everybody.

This post also appears here.

Eat turkey if you like

It is almost Thanksgiving. That means it is time for a yearly rite. No, not buying cranberry sauce. The tradition I refer to is one begun by the animal rights movement. Each year about this time, animal rights organizations publish claims that eating turkey is injurious in one way or another. Their objective is, of course, to persuade the public that they should decide what other people can eat. Turkeys would be excluded from the list they would email us, I gather. Maybe we would be allowed lobster on our birthdays, though. This material is typical of the trend.

Press release from D.E.L.T.A. Rescue:

You're Eating Cats and Dogs for Thanksgiving!

GLENDALE, Calif., Nov. 22, 2004 -- As millions of Americans feast this Thanksgiving, they have no idea what their turkey ate before ending up in the supermarket.

It is unimaginable to consider that our holiday main course may have been fed the bodies of dead pets, but according to actor and animal welfare activist Leo Grillo, rendered animals end up in the feed lots of the nation's livestock and poultry industry.

Rendering is the gruesome practice of "cooking" the bodies of euthanized pets from animal shelters, veterinary offices, horses, other livestock, and "road kill" to produce animal protein meal and "yellow grease". These products are then either sent to Asia (where they are used as feed for farm salmon, eel or shrimp returning to the US for human consumption) or used as a dietary supplement in the poultry and livestock facilities across the country.

And the chemicals used to euthanize the animals, the drugs used to treat the animals if they were sick, may ultimately find their way back into the human food chain too.

"Don't forget the diseases those poor animals died from, the cancers ... the bacteria and toxins in their decomposing bodies ... and we wonder why we have so much cancer," said Grillo. "What we as consumers don't understand is that the food we eat, from hamburgers, to fish and shrimp, to milk and cheese; contain the bodies of our dead pets and the chemicals, drugs and
diseases that they took with them."

This is not one of those mocking attacks on the animal rights movement that the writer ends by urging readers to go out for a nice, thick, juicy medium--rare steak. I don't eat beef. Or pork. Or chicken. Or turkey. (I really liked turkey. Still miss it after all these years.) I've been a semi-vegetarian since college. Furthermore, I do not detest the animal rights movement. I believe it does some good by publicizing abuses of animals -- such as not enough space in pens -- that lead to reforms. But, unfortunately, the animal rights movement undermines the good it does by lying and its occasional violence.

I wish people would not publish material like this press release, mainly because the allegations are not true. Fowl are fed grains. Sometimes drugs to encourage fast growth or prevent disease are added to their feed. It is illegal to include tainted stockyard debris, though that occurred in the past. Renderers mainly process large animals, such as cows and horses. Since the last Mad Cow Disease outbreak, including the bodies of dead animals in feed is under scrutiny. New rules, not yet finalized, will prohibit it. The claim that Thanksgiving turkey eaters will be dining on cats and dogs is false and fatuous. D.E.L.T.A Rescue apparently thinks people are both ignorant and vapid. Stupid enough to believe lies about what turkeys are fed. Vacuous enough to shove away that drumstick at the thought that it is somehow Fido or Puffball.

Furthermore, activists such as these ignore two important aspects of the decision-making about diet:

~ People are naturally omnivorous. That is not going to change, though a minority will choose to be vegetarian.

~ People have much of their autonomy stripped from them in modern society. They should be free to make their own decisions about what to eat, within reason.

Lou Grillo would serve the public better by publishing intelligent, well-written, and, true material about how Americans can make the lives of both food animals and pets easier.

What does a vegetarian do for the holidays? Make do. Tomorrow, I will eat vegetables, bread and dessert while ignoring the enticing aroma of the turkey and dressing. Fortunately, I like cranberry sauce. It will be my consolation prize. This evening, Trader Joe's gave away free packages of bell peppers. (They would have perished while the store was closed.) I will have to find a recipe for stuffing peppers that does not use hamburger.

The more responsible people in the animal rights movement mean well. But some seem to get involved because of the opportunity to lord it over others. A participant I discuss the topic with from time to time says he is becoming annoyed with some of the tactics being used himself. He will not be participating in a monthly protest in front of a doctor's office, anymore. Her offense? She conducted a medical study in which she used three house cats.

So, I am shirking my supposed duty as a vegetarian. I will not harangue all those meat eaters out there. What you eat is your business. Neither I nor anyone else should try to mislead you with disinformation about foods. Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal -- turkey and all.

Reasonably related

•After pressure from consumers and health care officials, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration produced less meat industry-friendly rules for what animals can be fed in July. I blogged the controversy here.

•You can help make the food supply safer by urging the Bush administration to act on those delayed federal rules. Write your Congressperson.

Note: This entry also appeared at Mac-a-ro-nies.

WE DO NOT CONCEDE

If you cherish your right to choose, go to this site and do as many of the actions as you can!

http://www.donotconcede.com/

A Plea to all My Liberal American Blog Sisters

My son (who is knowledgeable about how to do such things) has just started a legitimate online petition that will go the the Democratic National Committee. If you think it's worthwhile, maybe you can pass it along to your Democratic friends who agree that Howard Dean should be given a major leadership role in what we hope will be a re-energized Democratic Party.
http://www.givedrdeanthednc.us/

Be sure to check out his links at the end of the article and sign the petition as well. This is for real. My son, AKA theonetruebix, established the website and the petition, and I vouch for its authenticity. (His "experiment in citizen journalism," the Portland Communique is given a page and half in the recently published The Power of Many by Christian Crumlish.)

If you support the efforts of the petition, please share the petition with all others you know who might also agree.

I remain, "delighting in dissent,"
Elaine of Kalilily
Self-Proclaimed Resident Crone of Blogdom
http://www.kalilily.net/

If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em

Over at Digby's place, guest blogger Thumb has announced that he's seen the light, abandoned the false, Democrat hedonist liberal elite, and converted to the party of all real Americans. His testimony is so forceful and so... so... well gosh, it's just so plain, old-fashioned, Plain Old-Fashioned that I 'm joining him right this moment. No time to lose! I bask in the good old, plain old happy smothering warmth of Moral Values. Maybe you can too! ....Perhaps. ...Possibly. If you're the right kind of American. ...A real American. Read along, moral ones!

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

So the people voting for Bush told exit pollers that moral values are their #1 issue.

Because the Republicans are obviously superior in both numbers and cause, and their values oriented agenda should no doubt be a boon to humankind, there's obviously only one thing left to do at this point. Convert. Therefore, in an act of supreme solidarity to our new national conservative alliance and their emphasis on values, I would just like to say, they're right. I'm ready to sign up.

But first I need to declare that I too no longer care about losing millions of American jobs. I too no longer care about health care. Or social security. I also no longer care about education. I no longer care what happens to the poor, the elderly or the millions of American children growing up in poverty, despair and hopelessness. I no longer care that the US ranks a lowly 41st in infant mortality. I no longer care that the gap between rich and poor is approaching third world levels. I no longer care that Fortune 500 corporations can avoid paying taxes by opening an offshore mailbox and I no longer care that the working class will be forced pick up the difference. I no longer care that we've taken a record fiscal surplus and in three years turned it into the largest debt in the history of our country or that it will be our children, and their children, that will have to pay it back. I also no longer care how many Americans die at the hands of terrorists (as long as they're dying over there and not here at home) or how many thousands of foreign civilians die in the course of our projecting American global hegemony. I no longer care what the rest of the world thinks of America, as long as they know to fear us. I no longer care about the science of potential medical breakthroughs nor do I care about slowing the spread of AIDS nor whether we have sufficient supplies of safe vaccines. I no longer care that the number of abortions is on the rise (though I'll pound my chest and pretend that I do) because I no longer care about birth control, sex education or family planning. I no longer care about our environment and whether we're allowing industries to poison our water, our air and ultimately our food supply, and I no longer care about the consequences of releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere and its likelihood of accelerating global warming. I no longer care that our Bill of Rights, once enshrined to protect our personal freedoms and liberty, is being stripped down or that our 200 year old Constitutional protections are being traded for a false sense of security.

So what do I share with our new majority as my #1 concern? Values. I care about moral values.

Now that I've completed the switch to the other side moral values is all that matters to me. Moral values. Yes sir, I care enough that sufficient numbers of people share these moral values to make sure that we elect politicians that will put these moral values into law (even if it takes rigging the new electronic voting machines) and that those politicians in turn appoint judges guaranteed to ensure that everyone else is forced to live by these same moral values. Now some of you remaining Unbelievers may ask, "But if everything you no longer care about isn't a moral value, what are your moral values?" Easy. The single most important moral value, overriding all other concerns, is that two people of the same sex are blocked from achieving secular legal recognitions that could in any way be similar to that enjoyed by heterosexual couples. Health and survivor benefits? Forget it. Employment protection? Come on. Inheritance rights? No way. Hospital visitation? Get real. Adoption? GOD FORBID!

You few, final remaining Democrats, moderates, greens and libertarians really need to get onboard the bandwagon. This new stripped down moral value is so easy I don't know why I didn't think of this myself earlier. Effortless morality. That's the ticket. It's like a gift from God. Now let's jam it down everyone's throat.

And God bless the New American Morality.

Crossposted at Tild~

It's not over till the fat lady burns the Constitution.

A note to my liberal friends here:

I know things seem hopeless. We fought so hard, we gave it our all, and Bush won anyway. More people voted against Bush than against any sitting president in history, but -- unfortunately -- it's also true that more people voted for Bush than for any president in history. The young people voted, and it wasn't enough. Minority voters turned out in record numbers, and it wasn't enough. It's so easy to throw up our hands and say, "Oh well. We tried." But please resist the urge to be a defeatist. It's so unbecoming.

There's plenty to fear:

Democrats have to deal with the fact that President Bush is now no longer a minority president, however slim his majority may have been. They also need to contend with his expanded senate majorities. But this is what I fear will be a growing pattern in this second term: an effort to use a narrowly secured majority not only to govern, even govern aggressively, but to make institutional changes that strip away the existing powers and rights of large minorities. These formal and informal checks and balances constitute the governmental soft-tissue that allows our political system to function.

There's plenty to mourn:

Maybe this time the voters chose what they actually want: Nationalism, pre-emptive war, order not justice, "safety" through torture, backlash against women and gays, a gulf between haves and have-nots, government largesse for their churches and a my-way-or-the-highway President.

But there is also plenty to make us hopeful:

Democrat Barack Obama trounced his right-wing opponent to pick up a senate seat in Illinois. Despite voting for George Bush by a 20% margin, Montanans elected a Democrat as governor... Perhaps most importantly, nationwide, the progressive movement came together in an unprecedented way and mobilized millions of new voters to go to the polls. Liberals and progressives united, and millions of people gave time and money in an effort to swing the election.

Be glad that so many people became involved in the political process. We can't lose those people, can't let them think that their efforts were for naught, can't afford to return to the 1990s, which hung under a cloud of taking everything for granted. I'm not especially optimistic about the next four years. I agree with Paul Krugman:

I don't hope for more and worse scandals and failures during Mr. Bush's second term, but I do expect them. The resurgence of Al Qaeda, the debacle in Iraq, the explosion of the budget deficit and the failure to create jobs weren't things that just happened to occur on Mr. Bush's watch. They were the consequences of bad policies made by people who let ideology trump reality.

As responsible citizens, we can no longer let "ideology trump reality." We can't let people continue to vote against their own best interests. So I've made a decision.

It's time to stop over-politicizing everything and instead focus on educating people to make wiser political choices. I'm convinced that if people were more educated about the implications of their choices, they would vote more wisely. I don't want this to sound condescending. But a few days ago, I saw a television reporter interviewing an self-proclaimed undecided voter. The conversation went something like this:

Reporter: So, have you decided who you are voting for yet?
Voter: Well, I was undecided just yesterday, but I think I've made up my mind to vote for Bush.
Reporter: Why? [Good question. -ed.]
Voter: Well, there's just something I don't like about Kerry. I can't quite put my finger on it -- it's just something that rubs me the wrong way.

These undecided voters are the ones who -- in many ways -- decided the outcome of the election. If people are making choices that are not based on a full understanding of issues, then how can an election truly be fair?

Here is my proposal: The next four years will be bad news politically for fair-minded Americans. I don't want to waste breath or ink pleading with a government that has secured not only a Republican president but majorities in the House and the Senate. Instead, I want to launch a campaign to educate America. I want to raise money to give voters the facts about Iraq, the "war on terror," gay marriage, Roe v. Wade, Social Security, the Patriot Act, Halliburton, healthcare, tax cuts for the wealthy, and Bush's "fiscal house of cards." I want there to be "WAKE UP" commercials all year round, not just around election time. I want to mail pamphlets, make websites, and send speakers to schools and churches and public squares. I want to shake the American people out of their zombie trance and let them know what they've been missing -- I bet they'll be pissed.

(Cross-posted at Fire & Ice.)

sashinka | observation orientated, with a twist of lime

I am about as angry as I've ever been. That is all.

sashinka | observation orientated, with a twist of lime

I am about as angry as I've ever been. That is all.

Push Back or Get Out of My Way

I'm pushing back at www.kalilily.net

Please feel free to use my"Push Back or Get of My Way" image. I would put it here if I could figure out how to insert it from my own server.

Yet Another Anti-Bush Poem

Lost explosives -- many tons.
Feeling safer anyone?
Bush forgot to mind the store.
Must not give him four years more.

The rest of my Anti-Bush Poem is here.

Solidarity

The "have-lesses" of America usually have their fingers on a important national pulse that the "have'mores" don't have to care much about.

The United Auto Workers Union magazine, "Solidarity" offers some telling facts about the effects that the Bush regime has had on the hard workers of America. These are just a few of the article titles in their current issue:

"The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get..."

"Republicans Condem Bush"

"Things About John Kerry that George W. Bush Doesn't Want You To Know"

"Things Bush Wants You to Forget"

There's lots more good information here that the guys who are waging a futile war with me here don't want to know. It's about twenty against one (me) and I still haven't given up. It's the Xena in me.

Two former presidents of the UAW put in their pitch for Kerry:

[excerpt]

Why is this election so critical? Because George W. Bush has set a radical — and we believe dangerous —course for America in both domestic and foreign policy.

George W. Bush had his chance — and he failed.

Bush’s policy choices over the past four years have created a raw deal for America’s working families. Too many are living paycheck to paycheck — or racking up crushing credit-card debt — as wages have stagnated or fallen, while health care, child care, energy and college tuition costs have soared. And too many workers have lost good-paying manufacturing jobs, and find themselves competing with their own kids for $7-an-hour jobs.

Bush’s misguided tax cuts have transformed the budget surpluses he inherited from President Clinton into record budget deficits that stall economic growth and take dollars away from education, Social Security, Medicare and other vital domestic programs.

We need more ways to share the truth with those who still can't see past the military perspective on "stay the course" and Bush's version of "strong leadership."

(Cross posted on my weblog. See this post also for my appeal to women as peacemakers.)

Paths of Glory

Watched Paths of Glory on Turner Classic Movies the other night. This was always one of those movies I'd heard a lot about: Kubrick direction... "Really significant"... "One of the most profound anti-war message films ever made"... etc. But I never had even the smallest urge to actually see it.

Then TCM showed it last month. Even tho we only saw the last half, it was absolutely devastating. Mr. Tild even made calendar entries for this month's showing just so we wouldn't miss the opportunity to see it in its entirety.

This showing was 'hosted' by John McCain, who mouthed a smattering of things about war, 'n' ethics, 'n' junk like that. You know, the big sad truth about McCain is that in the final analysis he's just another Republican tool. In that same toolbox with Rudy Giuliani. Give up on them both, kids. They will ultimately always toe the party line, no matter how devoid of ethics and honor.

Watch Paths of Glory, a fictional story about French soldiers who are tried for cowardice for refusing to engage in a suicidal charge during WWI, and then read today's news story from Iraq about 17 US soldiers who refused to go on a mission because their damaged, faulty, inadequate vehicles and armor made their mission tantamount to suicide. See if today's life- imitating- art scenario doesn't send a chill up your spine.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he plans to submit a congressional inquiry today on behalf of the Mississippi soldiers to launch an investigation into whether they are being treated improperly.

“I would not want any member of the military to be put in a dangerous situation ill-equipped,” said Thompson, who was contacted by families. “I have had similar complaints from military families about vehicles that weren’t armor-plated, or bullet-proof vests that are outdated. It concerns me because we made over $150 billion in funds available to equip our forces in Iraq.

“President Bush takes the position that the troops are well-armed, but if this situation is true, it calls into question how honest he has been with the country,” Thompson said.

What will happen to these US soldiers, who are now, at this minute, military prisoners? Will a courtmartial be severe enough punishment? Would courtmartial and dishonorable discharge send a strong enough message to the rest of the US soldiers forces in Iraq?

Will these 17 US soldiers face a firing squad?

If it should come to that, it won't be fictional French soldiers facing execution in order to 'preserve' the pride and prestige of a corrupt general; it will be actual, real-life American men and women facing execution in order to 'preserve' the glorious, tough-talkin War President image of George W Bush. Think it could never happen?

Paths of Glory. It'll be on TCM again on Saturday Oct 16th; check your local listings for times. Watch. No wonder it's #40 on the IMdb Top 250.

Also posted over here.

Bush & Cheney Horrorland Song Parody

In "honor" of the new White House Holiday page, I've written the "Bush and Cheney Horrorland" song parody, which you can sing to "Winter Wonderland." It starts:

People die, for no reason.
People starve, 'tis the season.
A terrible blight,
Each night after night,
In the Bush and Cheney Horrorland.

Gone away is our lockbox,
And the worth of our hot stocks...

Bush & Cheney Horrorland is here with a sing-along midi link and a link to the horrific White House Holiday page.

Education President Song Parody & Our Wired Prez Limerick

I've written a limerick about Bush's debate bulge, which begins:
Some think that George Dubya was wired,
While debates with John Kerry transpired.

The rest of my Wired Prez Limerick is here.

And speaking of debates, I wrote the Education President Song Parody in anticipation of all the bragging about his "education accomplishments" Bush will inevitably do during the domestic issues debate: Here's the first verse (to be sung to Barry Manilow's I Write The Songs):

Bush promised parents that he'd fix our schools.
That he'd make sure their children didn't turn out fools.
But all the teachers got were lots of rules.
Let's right his wrongs, let's right his wrongs.

Education President Song Parody is here.

Why Vote FOR Kerry and Not Just AGAINST Bush

I would like to respond to Janine's suggestion on one of my posts below. Here's why I intend to vote for Kerry. For Kerry, not just against Bush. Kerry is a good man, I think, and I'm hopeful that his presidency will reverse so many of the trends our country has suffered in the four years of the neo-cons.

Someone has to fix the mistakes that have been made. First. What have those in power done to our country? Here's a short list.

1. Put the country into an incredible amount of debt. We need to raise taxes lickity split, and figure out how to revive the economy, which is farming out jobs at an incredible rate. As long as taxes are framed as a "problem," this will be hard to accomplish, but at least with a Democrat, we won't have a government that is its own worst enemy. Would you hire a CEO whose avowed purpose was to shrink the company and drive it into the ground? Nope, I wouldn't either.

2. Enmired us in a senseless war that is tapping our resources, both psychologically and financially, as well as disappointing the entire planet. Seems they sometimes look to the US as a ray of hope in the otherwise corrupt bleak world wrought by centuries of imperialism and capitalism. Now the US is just as bad as any other power-hungry empire. Is there no hope?

3. Sent the environment on a downward spiral to doom. This is completely flat-out frightening. We're all doomed! The fish are dying! We're breathing in poison! Our water is dirty! By any measure, it's BAD. Bad, bad, bad.

Okay, so those three things are important. Most candidates admit to those problems, even the Republicans, who refuse to take any blame for them. But what can Kerry do that no one else can? Why not vote for the Greens, or the Libertarians, or write in your own name?

First, the obvious. He has been annointed by the Democratic Party, which means that there is probably no surprise dirt that can be dug up on the guy. He has been checked out thoroughly. Believe me, if they had any character issues on him, we would have known about it a while ago. He's clean. Therefore he has a chance to win.

(Frankly I don't care about a person's personal life when it comes to their job performance, but I think I'm alone in that sentiment. Personally, I'm sort of grudgingly happy for Bush that he used his family ties to get out of combat duty. At least he was THAT smart. He's still a complete jerk, but he did dodge the draft. You have to give him that.)

We have a two-party system in this country. It's a shame we don't have a parliamentary system whereby various parties get a percentage share of the seats according to the percentage of the population which voted for that party, but we DON'T. So to my way of thinking we have no choice but to vote for Kerry. Votes for another candidate mean that one of the two candidates garner a vote by the simple fact that it is not cancelled out by a counter-vote.

Even though voting for Kerry might be voting for someone who is more conservative than you, or who has to toe the party line and it isn't strong enough for you, or you simply want to be an iconoclast: I say whatever, suck it up. It's not so bad. If our country's two-party system really bothers you, figure out how to change it. I believe that voting for some third-party candidate will NOT show the powers-that-be that you are protesting the two-party system; actually, they are HAPPY when you do so. Or at least the wrong side is happy, generally speaking.

Kerry might just stand for most of the things you do, if you look closely. He can argue his way out of a paper bag without wearing a wire. He's smart. He has a lot of experience in politics. I think he has a chance of getting us OUT of the stupid war we're in, because he is a military man and knows how the military works, presumably. Strangely, I'm a bit leery of his heroism in the military because I spent my childhood among hippies in the Vietnam era, but I admit that it is a prejudice.

Because you know what's nice? Kerry protested that war, even after he won his purple hearts, so he probably isn't some kind of cretinous military guy in disguise! He probably sees the military as what it has the potential of being, which is a powerful deterrent, as well as an opportunity to reach out to the world with help when the powers of good are threatened. (I say "help" and I don't mean "full-scale invasion," you'll note. "Help" in the form of distributing bags of rice and flour, keeping the peace when sociopathic warlords are in power, protecting people, etc. is what I have in mind.)

And finally, the environment: here's what I know, and it isn't much. Kerry isn't entirely in the pocket of corporations. Again, he has been annointed by the Democratic machine, which means that he toes the line in terms of Democratic platform, and generally speaking, that means standing up for the little guy. It means that money is not necessarily the first consideration in any question. Conservation and preservation of nature do not make money for anyone, and it seems entirely possible to me that a man like Kerry might see past money interests to higher priorities, like the future of the human race on this planet. I hope. Oh, I hope.

(cross-posted on Spanglemonkey)

Why Should You Vote?

All right, it's getting down to the wire, people. If you haven't registered to vote by now, it's likely you're SOL for November 2. Now the question is: will you vote?

Will you vote on November 2?

It's amazing how many registered voters in this country do not vote in any given election. It's mind-boggling, in fact. I've voted in elections with a turnout of less than 50%, a pathetic number by any stretch of the imagination. Granted, presidential elections usually have a better turnout, because people care more about the outcome -- nevertheless in the 2000 election most states' turnout hovered between 60 and 70 percent.

Lame.

A sizeable section of the population didn't care about the outcome, in other words. Those who opted out might have wanted to leave the voting to someone who did care. They might have thought their apathy would register as a protest.

This "protest" has never made sense to me. "I'll take my toys and go home if you don't pony up the perfect candidate?" What, you'd rather live in a totalitarian state? You'd rather not be able to vote? Yeah right, that'll show 'em. I'll just go and vote, while you're having your little protest...

Lame!

Anyway, this year, with one of the most contentious elections in our country's history, voter registration has boomed. It's likely that many of those newly registered voters will turn up on election day, and I hope you will too.

Whether you approve of Bush's foreign policy or not, you can't have missed one of the central arguments made on behalf of the war itself; that the US would bring "democracy" to the Middle East, and that the Iraqi individuals would be better off with a say, however small, in the formation of their own government. Whether democracy has any potential to flourish in such a place is a thorny question; my point in bringing it up is that an underlying assumption of "bringing democracy" to a place is that democracy is desirable. It's not perfect, as a system; there's the distinct possibility that a majority of a voting population will be misled into voting against their own best interests. But as a system it's the best thing humans have come up with yet. It utilizes a collective decision-making process, and as long as citizens have free and unfettered access to information with which to make their choices, it is likely to result in fairly good government.

Or at least government whose mistakes can be reviewed every four years or so. *ahem.*

It's not a perfect system, and yeah, it would be great if our individual votes were more powerful than they are. It's a collective endeavor, voting, and there's little that compares to the humbling sensation of being a tiny grain of sand in a huge dune. And if statistical insignificance is what bothers you most about voting, if that's what is keeping you away from the polls, can I make a suggestion please?

Run for office yourself. See, the reason we elect representatives to do the work of government is that it would be absolutely unwieldy to hold a vote for every single decision it would take to run a city, a state, or a country. They're called representatives for a reason. They represent the majority of their constituency. They're the ones who make decisions for large groups of people. That's how it works.

So here's why you should vote on November 2nd: because you can. You are immensely fortunate in living in the place you do, at the time in history you do. You don't live in China, or North Korea, or a country whose dictatorship might hold mock elections to cement its lock on one-party power; no, you live in the United States of America, and it's about time you started to act like an American. You have more power in the mark on your ballot than most people in the history of the world ever had in their lifetimes. It's time to choose the representation in your government, and I would take that seriously if I were you.

Don't be lame!

(essay also posted on Spanglemonkey)

Democratic Underground - HIT THESE POLLS AFTER THE DEBATE

Democratic Underground Forums - HIT THESE POLLS AFTER THE DEBATE ... AND FIND MORE POLLS!

Democratic Underground has the hook-up. Follow this link toward the end of the debates tonight and vote for Kerry. It may seem a small thing to vote in online polls, but Kerry is gaining momentum and a good showing will add to that. Get your friends involved, too! Thanks!

A Noble Woman

Congratulations to Kenyan activist Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai was announced as the prize recipient earlier today for her three decades of fighting for environmental protection and women's rights and against government corruption.

Maathai, Kenya's deputy environment minister, is the first black African woman to win a Nobel Prize in any category since the awards were first handed out in 1901. She gained recent acclaim for a campaign planting 30 million trees to stave off deforestation.

Maathai, 64, learned about the award, which includes $1.3 million, while campaigning to protect forests and distributing food to hungry constituents suffering from drought near her hometown of Nyeri in central Kenya. ...

In her first speech after winning the award, she spoke in her native Kikuyu language to an audience of 200 people, mostly poor women who had gathered to collect government food aid.

"Don't farm in forests ... because we will lose our forests," she said. "We have been given the responsibility of caring for future generations, and the younger ones, so that they may have water."

This is the first time the peace prize has recognized environmental work. What makes Matthai so worthy of the honor is that she sees the connection between saving the planet and preventing war. "Many of the wars in Africa are fought over natural resources," she told The Associated Press. "Ensuring they are not destroyed is a way of ensuring there is no conflict."

Former US President Jimmy Carter, who won the award in 2002, hailed the selection of Matthai: "I have known her for many years as a heroine in Kenya and throughout Africa," he said in an e-mail to the AP. "She has fought courageously to protect the environment and human rights, in the face of severe governmental pressures to silence her often lonely voice."

It appears the Nobel committee has made a wise and honorable selection. The prize will be awarded officially on Dec. 10 in Oslo, Norway.

from all facts and opinions

Cheney v. Edwards Debate Limericks

I thought I'd commemorate the Cheney v. Edwards debate with a pair of limericks:

There once was a Veep named Dick,
Whose actions made liberals sick.
He took us to war...
The rest is here.

There once was a Veep named Dick Cheney,
Who conducted himself inhumanely.
He debated John Edwards...

The rest is here.

Urgent: Help Stop Family Violence Now || Act Today

Help Stop Family Violence Now || Act Today

Thanks to Jared at Worshipping at the Altar of Mediocrity for the heads up. The Evil Empire is at it again, and this time they are endangering abused women. Please Act now, and spread the word.

Debate Fever Rages On

Before John Kerry and the Shrub meet up for their second faceoff tomorrow night, there is another political debate taking place. Tonight (7:30 pm) at Blogcritics, the Independent/Green position will be pitted against the Libertarian point of view in a cybercontest.

Taking the virtual podia: For the Libertarians, Mike Kole of Kole Hard Facts, who is secretary of the Indiana Libertarian Party, chair of the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County, and candidate for Secretary of State 2006. For the Greens and Independents, me.

Moderator Dawn Olsen has the details at Blogcritics.

Join us, won't you? There are more than Dems and Repubs involved in the upcoming election -- take stock of other viewpoints.

Hormone Replacement Therapy Increases Blood Clot Risk

A new study has shown a link between HRT and increased risk of blood clotting.

The study, called the Women's Health Initiative, found that women taking estrogen plus progestin at the strength once commonly in use had a doubled risk of venous blood clots, which can travel to the lungs and cause death.

I could have told you that 16 years ago. In February of 1988 my mother died of a pulmonary embolism [ a massive blood clot travelled up from her lower extremities and lodged in the major artery serving her lungs and heart]. Death occurred within 5 minutes. She was 64 years old. She had taken Premarin for 20 years. ...Coincidence?
Unsurprisingly, I decided to do without HRT when I entered perimenopause a few years back. I've never regretted that decision for even a second. Right now, today, I can truthfully say:
Believe that it can be done.
Your skin will not shrivel up and flake away.
Your nails will not shatter like sheets of micah.
Your hair will not fall out or get all goofy looking. Or at least not any more goofy looking than it might be right now.
The hot flashes and nightsweats can be managed [invest in a blowdryer with a cool-air setting.]
Calcium supplements stave off osteoporosis at least as well as estrogen replacement.
You can enjoy sex without having to sit in a tub of K-Y jelly beforehand. Of course, if you want to sit in a tub of K-Y jelly beforehand, that could be ...interesting, too.
Got a headache? Ibuprofen and acetominophen and aspirin still work.
If you feel inordinately cranky and argumentative, don't worry about it, and especially DON'T FEEL GUILTY! Savor the joys of being a crankpot. I say you've earned it.

All will even out eventually, and you will get back your energy and your calm disposition and a full night's sleep.

For more resources on going HRT-free, go here. And here. And here.

Cross-posted at Tild~.

What Would Gore Have Done? (WWGHD)

(this post also appeared on my blog, Spanglemonkey, last week)

I am dwelling briefly on a forwarded email from my hapless friend with the orange-county-style Republican parents, who sometimes forwards these missives to us, her friends, in a "Can I Get a Witness!?" manner.

This one asked the offhand question: "Where would we have been if Gore had been president!" a question meant to be rhetorical, implying "Oh dear lord, with a big fat liberal at the helm we'd all be Islamic and forced to marry people of the same sex by now!" (Dibs on Catherine Zeta-Jones, I say...)

I have often thought of that particular question. What would Gore have done? (WWGHD?)
With his interest in the environment (the place where we live, you'll recall) I can imagine a response something along the lines of a more direct correlation between cause and effect. Where did the "terrorists" come from? They came from Saudi Arabia. What is our connection with Saudi?

Oil.

We put refined oil into our cars. We depend on oil to support our infrastructure in such an intricate way that we can't really imagine life without it. In fact, the thought of life without it scares the bejeepers out of us. Will we be reduced to some kind of stone-age looting and pillaging? Will Bibles lie in smoldering piles in every intersection? Will we have to marry people of the same sex?!

I imagine that Gore would have had the nuts to address this connection to the "terrorists" head-on, and to draw it into the public discourse. He might even have been able to take on the oil lobby, since he wasn't actually IN the oil lobby in the first place, or count on members of same to be best men for his children's weddings and such. Certainly I imagine that he wouldn't have used the general fear and collective Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to advance the interests of the oil lobby.

Nope, I can picture Gore making a connection between our own oil usage, and the savage anger of a disenfranchised and brainwashed group of religious fundamentalists who are, well, "resentful" is one word for what they see as a life-threatening intrusion on their culture and society.

Perhaps by now we'd see a reassessment of our priorities as a nation, in terms of our energy usage. Perhaps we could have channeled some of our collective shock and surge in patriotism (remember the blood drives?) into a Plan. A Plan like building trolleys in medium to large cities with little or no good public transportation (Bakersfield. Las Vegas. Phoenix. Heck, Deadwood City, my own burg.) A plan to investigate hybrid fuels and alternative sources of energy to heat houses.

We might, in other words, have found a way to strengthen the people we are at our best: innovative, forward-thinking, filled with trust and optimism, yes, perhaps naive. Perhaps we wouldn't be spending all of our collective energy making excuses for the knee-jerk violence and doubletalk of an administration with no earthly idea of the beauty of the system that put them in power in the first place.

The Grandmotherly Revolution

We are not your fathers' grandmothers. We grandmothers of today are not afraid to speak out; we've on this planet long enough to have some perspective; we've learned that it doesn't pay to give up. Ever.

The rocking chair in my sidebar links to Granny Voter, an effort to rally us grannies to use our voting power and our potential power to influence younger voters. Go Grannies!

A new website, Women and Girls Unite for Freedom ,developed by another activist grandmother has the following as its mission:

To encourage informed and enlightened women and girls (men, also) to help raise the consciousness of other women so that they, too, will TAKE ACTION through their VOTE on November 2 to remove from office George W. Bush and his right wing conservative supporters in the U.S. Congress, and elect John Kerry for President along with other pro-choice candidates for Congress, thereby, greatly increasing the possibility of Equality, Justice and Freedom for all women and girls.

When I have a chance, I'll add a link to that site in my sidebar. It's got a great overview of the ways that the rights of women in America not only have been kept at a minimum, but how that minimum continues to be eroded by the Bush administration.

Hey -- girls, women. Think about this:

We all agree that there are innumerable laws and regulations that control what a woman can and cannot do, personally, with HER body.
How many laws can you list that control what a man can and cannot do, personally, with HIS body???
Think about what kind of kick-ass old lady you want the right to be someday.

Hey, Can you say Abu Grahib?

washingtonpost.com - Presidential Debate Between President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry:
"KERRY: Well, first of all, I appreciate enormously the personal comments the president just made. And I share them with him. I think only if you're doing this -- and he's done it more than I have in terms of the presidency -- can you begin to get a sense of what it means to your families. And it's tough. And so I acknowledge that his daughters -- I've watched them. 

I've chuckled a few times at some of their comments. 

(LAUGHTER)
And...

BUSH: I'm trying to put a leash on them.

(LAUGHTER)

KERRY: Well, I know. I've learned not to do that."


Do we really want to be talking about leashes for our grown daughters in the after-math of Abu Grahib? That's just creepy, George.

An Appeal for America to Be American

I received an email from Catholic pacifist activist Kara Speltz, who is my dear friend and a Soulforce colleague. In the missive, she asked me to share with readers the following essay by author, lecturer, peaceworker, and Benedictine nun Joan Chittister, OSB. Of course I will comply with her wish: Wondering what the media are not telling us is something that takes much of my time. Take a read; the full text can be found at the National Catholic Reporter site, but I will post it in its entirety here. I believe you will find Sr. Joan's thoughts fascinating and more than worth your time. And I recommend that you open your eyes and ears to more sources than mainstream ones -- getting the full story (and making up your own mind) will be especially important as we watch the media spin the upcoming presidential debates.

I have discovered that there is a lot you never find out, even about your own country, unless you go somewhere else.

For instance, Aug. 31 during the Republican National Convention, 203 Asian scholars from 13 countries published a public declaration, endorsed by 42 Asian organizations, appealing to U.S. voters "not to vote for a president who will turn Asia and the global society into America's enemy." The statement, they tell us, was released simultaneously in both New York and Japan, a nation that understands first-hand what war can do to a people for generations.

"Another America is possible," the declaration insists.

Maybe you heard about it but I didn't. Instead, they handed the document to me in Tokyo, amazed that I knew nothing about it at all.

Which, it seems to me, too, is strange, given the fact that the declaration purports to be the work of groups such as the International Movement for a Just World, the Women's International League of Peace and Freedom, the Friends Service Council, Sociologists Without Borders, the Center for Research on the Environment, the Japan Lawyers International Solidarity group and the Korean Professors Union.

It is embarrassing to have to explain how it is that a "free press" is simply free to disregard so important a story. After all, John Kerry had said early in the campaign that world leaders preferred his presidency to four more years of another Bush regime.

The Bush camp challenged Kerry to prove the assertion, of course. They had no reason to believe that other world leaders weren't fully committed to the policies of George Bush, they insisted, and, in fact, knew that it was just the opposite. It took months before the press even attempted to test the truth of the statement but when they did, lo and behold, they finally announced that "30 out of 35 major countries were solidly pro-Kerry, and only Poland of all the countries of Europe, was pro-Bush."

This statement of Asian concerns they never published at all.

In the light of these recent findings of world-wide defection from present U.S. policies, I read it carefully. After all, even if the American response to such an appeal is "Who cares?" -- which in John Wayne's America, it may well be -- someone ought to at least acknowledge the concerns.

Most surprising of all, perhaps, is the fact that it is neither rant nor screed. It simply appeals to Americans to preserve the moral leadership that Americans have been seen before now to exert. The declaration makes four major points:

1. With the war in Iraq, America's leadership and its influence have crumbled worldwide. The Iraqi war, they say, is "immoral, unlawful and unjustifiable."
   
   The real news about such a position as this is not that others are saying what the circumstances clearly demonstrate but that Americans, who claim to be the ultimate defenders of the rule of law, don't seem to mind the fact that they are in violation of international law. Nor does it bother them that the war was launched on insufficient and old -- very, very old --data. Nor does this church-going nation seem to think that the moral dictums they teach their children -- as in "thou shalt not lie," for instance, -- have anything whatsoever to do with politics and the standards we set for our politicians even when thousands and thousands of innocent people die because of it.
   
   
2. The unilateralism and militarism of the United States in this mis-directed war has evoked "broad and seething rejections from all corners of the globe." It is, they argue, only the first attempt of this new kind of United States to achieve US domination of the world.
   
   Most ironic of all, they maintain, is the fact that because of US militarism, the world is much less safe than it ever was before the US launched its new doctrine of preemption. There is "unprecedented political unrest to the Middle East," they argue. And, most ironic of all, this campaign to "make the world safe for democracy" is now being used as an excuse for whatever political goals other authoritarian governments may have-as in the amendment of the Peace Constitution and the military rearmament of Japan.
   
   They maintain that in its anger over 9/11, the United States has simply unleashed another arms race all around a world that is now using the fear of "terrorism" to justify it.
   
   
3. In a globalized and interdependent world, they insist, they have a right to make this appeal because this election is no longer a local affair.
   
   What we do politically, as they see it, effects their countries as much -- sometimes more -- than it effects us. If the United States maintains its present policies, they mourn, "peace and democracy in Asia will be only a dream long gone" as other governments use the same tactics to eliminate human rights and suppress their own peoples.
   
   "By the rest of the world, your country is looked at as an Empire," the document goes on, "looming large over the globe with pre-emptive strike doctrines and blind anti-terrorism policies depending heavily on macho military measures and ignorance of human rights ..."
   
   It is easy to see how this letter could have been written to Julius Caesar, or Nikita Kruschev. But to George Bush II? To us? Have we really fallen this low? "The United States of American is looked at," the document says, "as the most dangerous and destructive nation in the world by civilized global societies."
   
   
4. Another America is possible, they remind us. The one that struggled against Hitler and Stalin, against Nazism and Communism, for the rights of all people everywhere.

It is an appeal for America to be American.

From where I stand, this is one of the saddest letters I have ever read in my lifetime. What else besides arrogance or ignorance can possibly account for the fact that as a nation these things don't seem to bother us at all? Most of all, how is that such positions never see the light of day in the very democratic country that stands to lose the most by being unaware of such anger, such pain, such global despair?

Sr. Joan suggests some worthwhile documents to read: The Declaration of Asian Intellectuals, a press release explaining the declaration, and an open letter to Americans.

from All Facts and Opinions

Top Secret Debate Contract Addendum

As most people know by now, President Bush and Senator Kerry have signed on to a 32 page debate agreement. But few are aware that they also signed a secret addendum to that agreement. Fortunately, MadKane.com has an exclusive copy of that secret addendum, provided by a DC insider whom I will identify only as "Debate Throat."

TOP SECRET ADDENDUM TO ELECTION 2004 DEBATE AGREEMENT, entered into on September 20, 2004 by President George W. Bush (hereinafter referred to as "Bush") and Senator John F. Kerry (hereinafter referred to as "Kerry")

WHEREAS, The interesting thing about being the President is you don't have to explain things;

WHEREAS, If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier; and

WHEREAS, Bush and Kerry have entered into a Debate Agreement and wish to modify it and memorialize certain secret debate terms.

NOW, THEREFORE, Bush and Kerry hereby agree to the following top secret provisions:

1. Kerry shall be required to answer all debate questions in French.

2. Bush shall be required to answer all debate questions in English.

3. Throughout each debate, the backdrop behind Bush shall feature several U.S. flags, the precise number of which is subject to further negotiation.

4. Throughout each debate, the backdrop behind Kerry shall feature a map of Massachusetts and two life-size photos of Kerry with Jane Fonda.

The rest of the Top Secret Debate Contract Addendum is here.

Your or Someone You Know May be Eligible to Vote in Florida

OPERATION: SNOWBIRD is contacting registered voters, especially in New York and New Jersey, who intend to cast their votes for Kerry/Edwards, but who also spend at least part of the year living in Florida. Voting in Florida instead of in the north could definitely impact the outcome in Florida, providing the critical margin of victory for Kerry. [Al Gore lost the popular election in Florida by only 537 votes]
Under Florida law, if you maintain a mailing address in the state of Florida and intend for Florida to be your state of legal residence, then you meet the definition of a Florida resident. You do not have to be a homeowner in Florida, but could be a part-time renter who may reside in two different states during different parts of the year. Of course, one may registered in and may vote in only one state.

To complete a standard Florida voter registration form go to http://election/county/index
The Florida county that one lists on the application must match up with the Florida address listed.

The deadline for registering to vote in Florida for the 2004 Presidential Election is October 4th.

For more details go to operationsnowbird.com

Today is Talk Like A Pirate Day 2004

"Gather 'round, lads and lasses! Gather 'round! Remember: in a pirate ship, in pirate waters, in a pirate world, ask no questions. Believe only what you see. No -- Believe half of what you see."

Avast, ye lubbers! This bein' the 3rd annual International Talk Like A Pirate Day an' all, heave to and belay all orders but these:

Fetch the grog and salt pork from the galley! Grab the nearest yardarm! Man the DVD player! Load! Watch The Crimson Pirate!

Aye, this movie's awash in pirate lingo. I'll wager a month's ration o' rum that no finer piratical picture ever sailed the Spanish Main. There be all kind of swashbuckling and buccaneering from beginning to end, plus yer more unusual pirate movie elements includin' hot air balloons, submarines, nitroglycerine bombs and the Captain in drag.

Last but not least, ye'll be fixing yer spyglass on some very fine piratical eye-candy.

Now, ye can spy a fleet o' other jolly jack tars on the silver screen. Some o' me own favorites bein':

Cap'n Jack Sparrow

Captain Peter Blood

the Dread Pirate Roberts

Captain Hook

Long John Silver

...but they're all barnacled bilge rats compared to

Cap'n Vallo an' his scurvy crew.

Now, if ye only knows Burt Lancaster from the likes o' his latter-day roles in Field o' Dreams or classics like Birdman o' Alcatraz, ye might not be acquainted with how he looked back in the early days o' his career.

Take a gander at 'im in 1952. Aye, now I've never bin one t'drool over the musclebound mateys, but if he was to ask me to 'prepare to be boarded' ... Shiver me timbers! Hoist the jolly roger!

...Even in a dress he's a right ...umm... proud beauty! Well, actually I thinks I likes him better without the dress.

May all ye lubbers have a safe and festive TLAP Day.

This post also appears over here. Arrrrrrrr!

URGENT: Anti-Choice rider being sneaked through Congress!

The Blogging of the President: 2004

Thanks to Shaula Evans at BOPNews.com for the heads up. This passed the House with nary a whimper, but if we all get after our Senators, we might be able to stop it.

The Guardian reports that another assault on reproductive freedom has quietly passed the house:
A little-noticed provision cleared the House of Representatives last week that would prohibit local, state or federal authorities from requiring any institution or health care professional to provide abortions, pay for them, or make abortion-related referrals, even in cases of rape or medical emergency.

Translation: if a woman requires emergency medical care, a hospital can legally turn her away, and state and local governments can't do anything about it.

Cheney's E-Bray

We have great news on the jobs front via Dick Cheney: The jobless numbers and other bleak economic factors are no longer meaningful, because so many people are making a killing on eBay. As soon as I heard this I rejoiced ... and wrote a poem:

Cheney's E-Bray
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Be happy and be gay.
It's a fabulous new day.
Things are A-okay.
Cause you're trading on eBay.

Praise Cheney. Don't delay.
Never, ever speak français.
Kerry's so passé.
Cause you're trading on eBay.

Spend money. See a play.
Do not think about Ken Lay...

The rest of Cheney's E-Bray is here.

TXTMob was created as a tool political activists could use to organize their work, form staff meetings to street protests.
To sign up for TXTMob, users enter their cellphone numbers into the TXTMob Web site, www.txtmob .com.

To thwart spammers, the system uses opt-in registration: a machine-generated authorization code is sent to each registered number and must be re-entered into the Web site to activate the registration. TXTMob is designed to carefully maintain members' privacy, not surprising given why most are using TXTMob.

Of the 142 public groups listed on the TXTMob site, the largest are dedicated to protesting the Bush administration, the Republican Party or the state of the world in general.

...TXTMob had its first major New York workout on the evening of Aug. 27, during the Critical Mass, a loosely organized bicycle ride through Manhattan by anti-Republican protesters. From the start of the ride, participants in a TXTMob group called comms_dispatch sent a slew of messages alerting one another to route changes and warning of traffic snarls. As the ride neared its end, comms_dispatch buzzed with reports of arrests from Second Avenue to 10th Avenue, and around St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery.

The ORIGINAL Vote or Die T-Shirt!!!

DON'T BUY THE P. DIDDY VOTE OR DIE RIP-OFF.
My son, blogger TheOne True b!X created and marketed the original Vote or Die t-shirt back in 1999 and has been selling them through cafepress.com since. Instead of supporting Macy's and an already-rich guy, support b!X, a really poor guy, and buy his Vote or Die shirts (various colors and shapes) as well as buttons, magnets, mugs, bumper stickers, hats, mouse pads etc. etc. etc. Go HERE check them out.

Welcome Back Keillor

Huh. Just when I'd dismissed him and his sellout smarm forever, little Gary Keillor from Anoka steps up to the plate and belts one out of the park.

In the years between Nixon and Newt Gingrich, the [Republican] party migrated southward down the Twisting Trail of Rhetoric and sneered at the idea of public service and became the Scourge of Liberalism, the Great Crusade Against the Sixties, the Death Star of Government, a gang of pirates that diverted and fascinated the media by their sheer chutzpah, such as the misty-eyed flag-waving of Ronald Reagan who, while George McGovern flew bombers in World War II, took a pass and made training films in Long Beach. The Nixon moderate vanished like the passenger pigeon, purged by a legion of angry white men who rose to power on pure punk politics. “Bipartisanship is another term of date rape,” says Grover Norquist, the Sid Vicious of the GOP. “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” The boy has Oedipal problems and government is his daddy.

Welcome back, Gary.
Keillor's been a presence in my life for over 30 years now. In the 70s he hosted the morning show on MPR from 6 - 9 am, and he got me up and outta bed every morning with killer selections like the Mpls. Sabathani Baptist Choir singing "99 and a Half Just Won't Do". And for a long time, long before Prairie Home Companion went national, it seemed like everyone in the state of Minnesota including me turned the radio dial to PHC every Saturday night from 5 to 7 pm.

Then he got all huffy at us because he bought a big house on bigtime old-money Summit Avenue in St. Paul, and Nick Coleman published the street address in one of his columns for the Pioneer Press, so Keillor suddenly had to deal with a pesky multitude of the great unwashed streaming by his front door every day. Well, not entirely unwashed - -this *is* Minnesota, after all - - better make that 'the great unshowered in the past 4 hours'.

Anyway, Gary got all bent out of shape over the rigid, parochial, un-cosmopolitan-ness of Minnesotans. Never mind that with just those exact characteristics we've provided him with very lucrative fodder for his writing over the past 40 years... Anyway, Gary blew outta town, to settle first in his then-wife's home turf of Denmark for a year or two, then in NYC for a few more years. All the better to rub suede-patched elbows with the other cognoscenti, my dear.

But, after a few years of being a Noo Yawker, you could just tell Keillor was starting to pine for us all, back here in the Best Little Treasure Trove of Quirky Behavior a writer ever was lucky enough to stumble upon. So, he came back, and he settled somewhere out in the St. Croix river hinterlands beyond St. Paul, and he got married again, and he and his new wife had a baby, and that gold-plated PHC juggernaut just keeps chugging along.

Somewhere in the course of the past several years I lost the habit of listening to Garrison Keillor, or reading anything he wrote. He became just another grasping , pretentious auteur, a celebrity who'd sold the last vestiges of his heart and integrity in pursuit of the almighty Dollar. He just didn't matter any more.

I've seen him many times over the years, and asked him to sign a book or two or three along the way. Today I'm thinking back to 1985 and what he wrote in the front of my copy of Lake Wobegon Days.

For Tild, standing beside me. Best -- Garrison Keillor

Here's a news flash for you, Gary. Today I'm standing beside you again. And never more proud to be there.



This post also appears over here.