the joyful left

Gifford shooting: 1 shooter, 1 gun, 1 magazine, 31 rounds

2011-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

A vigil is held for Gifford

Jared Lee Loughner, the shooter in a quiet northwestern part of Tucson yesterday, carried with him a gun with a magazine containing 31 rounds.

31 rounds in 1 magazine. I wonder what that might sound like.

let's see what that sounds like.

9 Year old Christina Green.

Bang.

Federal Judge Roll

Bang.

Final tally: 31 rounds, 6 dead, 20 injured. Among the dead include 9 year old Christina Green and a Federal Judge.

The only reason the shooting stopped WAS BECAUSE THE SHOOTER HAD TO PAUSE TO RELOAD AFTER SHOOTING HIS 31 ROUNDS.

Here we go again.

It's like Virginia Tech and the rest.

Banning assault weapons and limits on gun magazines has been my argument all along...for years...and the Obama Administration's cow-toeing to the right and NRA interests has done absolutely nothing to bring any progress to this issue. I've been balking about magazines of 19...until yesterday I didn't even know you could get 31-round mags.

A magazine of 31 is designed for one thing: to kill another human. There's no way to argue around that fact.

Sadly, yesterday should provide some motivation to put an end to such things...but unfortunately not before there's more spilled blood.

Don't Ask Don't Tell REPEALED: Senator McCain, choke on THAT!

2010-12-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

Hit the deck! Senator McCain sneers once again.

I would imagine that right about now Senator John McCain is in the middle of a hissy fit, spitting nails in every direction, at whoever has the pleasure of being in his crosshairs. Oh, and of course with that timeless sneer that only a Liberal, centrist, or Independent can chuckle at.

Then, let's see...he's probably throwing some creepy shape-shifter faces at his wife, followed by the c-word in a variety of creative sentences...which is a stretch in that department of his brain, as he usually likes to jump barbed wire fence away from any idea that's creative or remotely outside the box.

But this is a special day for Senator McCain...as Don't Ask Don't Tell has been repealed...so we start to watch him spit as he yells. That icky white pasty stuff starts to cake at the corners of his mouth.

Tissue please? We need a little help over here in this corner of the chamber...no, with the "other" Republican white-haired gent. Yes, this one.

I'm sure after that episode, his crosshairs then move to his daughter, and her more centrist pro-gay views, where he has saved a special grab bag of a few choice words for her. By this time there's drool coming out of the corners of his mouth.

Let's see...what happens next. Then it's time to hit the bottle I suppose, if he already didn't start the day early within 30 seconds of entering his office after today's Senate activity. Needless to say, I'm sure he's throwing a few back tonight, crying in his scotch after today's activity on the Senate floor.

What can I do to help...let's see...oh, I got it. "Here's another tissue for your issue."

The vote finally passed in the Senate today, and President Obama will sign it into law on Monday. Gays will finally be able to serve openly in the military without the risk of repercussions.

No thanks to you, John McCain. The times are a-changin', there's no doubt. Unfortunately some Senators are too old and stubborn -- waaaaay past their shelf life of serving -- to know the difference.

This country, society, and the world for that matter, will simply shove them out of the way and move right past them.

Living in the "Age of Stupid"

2010-02-05T23:25:00.000-08:00

I've always admired and held in high esteem the European world view. As a people, and from a general political standpoint, they're smarter than us. I base this not so much on research and what I hear or read as I do on my travels, personal experience, and many deeply political conversations I've had with the Danish, Norwegians, Brits, Germans, Italians, Spaniards, French, Croatians, Serbians, Romanians, and others.

I feel like they have some very relevant and well thought out ideas about the world and the future...particularly with respect to the planet's future from an environmental standpoint.

To add insult to injury, they're subject to American stupidity with the way our political system works and seldom budges away from its rigidity, apathetic hubris, and attacks on each other on Capitol Hill in the form of self-interest and slutty corporate interests (like it might be today perhaps? Name the issue, any issue).

Europeans don't understand the lack of progress and why they need to bend to us...and I frankly don't understand why they have the tolerance...but in my experience, it's simple. They're generally tolerant, worldly, peace-loving people who understand what it is to show some respect, and they employ a little hope to go along with it...and usually do it all with a pint of ale or a glass of wine in their hand...not a bad way to live!

I need to get my butt back to that neck of the woods, over that Atlantic pond.

I feel their pain...I also have adopted their view as part of my credo on how I imagine my America can be. I don't think we should turn into Europe -- that's not what I'm saying -- but I do think they have some interesting ideas on how to run aspects of their society...ideas that are difficult to poke holes into. Perhaps America can find a hybrid of one of those good ideas, or as least that's my hope.

This all being said, here's an interesting post to Dead Air Space, the blog on the British band Radiohead's website. Thom Yorke, the lead singer and an ardent environmental activist, is usually the one you hear from, and he attended the Copenhagen Summit which I blogged about over at Sweva's P-patch...but the other members of the band also have some interesting things to say along the same lines. Here's a post from guitarist Ed O'Brien that really hit home...it was good to read what he had to say...I hope he posts more often!

A rant and some other stuff

I haven’t spoken to Thom yet, but judging by his entries here and reading today’s papers the outcome of Copenhagen is a bloody disgrace … I wanted to put something up on DAS, as a kind of personal round-up to the year (also because I rather pathetically don’t contribute much to this), so excuse me if I kick off in a somewhat dejected manner, because in fact none of what I write seems at all relevant or important in the face of serious climate change …. This is the bottom line for all our lives whether we choose to face it or not, and believe me I choose not to most of the time in the name of my own personal happiness and subsequently of those around me … anyway here goes ..

I read an interesting book in the Summer by a man called Terence McKenna, entitled “Food of the Gods” .. his hypothesis is that certain natural plants have been integral in explaining mankind’s development in the spheres of language, intelligence and culture… it’s really fascinating, but a particular passage popped out at me, whilst reading, and it seems particularly relevant now:

“Looking down on Los Angeles from an airliner, I I never fail to notice that it is like looking at a printed circuit: all those curved driveways and cul de sacs with the same little modules installed along each one. As long as the ‘Reader’s Digest’ stays subscribed to and the TV stays on, these modules are all interchangeable parts within a very large machine. This is the nightmarish reality….. the creation of the public as a herd. The public has no history and no future, the public lives in a golden moment created by a credit system which binds them ineluctably to a web of illusions that is never critiqued. This is the ultimate consequence of having broken off the symbiotic relationship with the Gaian matrix of the planet. This is the consequence of lack of partnership; this is the legacy of imbalance between sexes; this is the terminal phase of a long descent into meaninglessness and toxic existential confusion.”

Now, I don’t walk around with this stuff in my head every hour of each day, in fact the opposite would be true. I’m happy feeling so grateful to the deck of cards that I’ve been dealt. Yet it’s always there, this knowing that we are all living in “The Age of Stupid’ … I’m sure most people feel the same way….. Yet our leaders seem incapable of leading … managing would seem a better word, or rather mismanaging…… Leadership implies wisdom; it implies vision and dynamism; the ability to foresee problems, create solutions and see them through … does that sound like our leaders? NO it doesn’t… And why is this not the case? What is preventing them from leading? Is it the power of big business/corporations/ the financial industries? It looks increasingly like it … vested fucking interests, no degree of what’s fair for all … plain and simple self-interest. I don’t know about you but most people I know don’t make decisions solely on what works best for them … it’s a balance between what is good for others too…

This is officially a rant now and I may not post it .. apologies to my brothers in the band if they are reading this and don’t like it .. tell me I’m being an arse and I’ll take it down..

Flashes of the alternate reality of corruption and Fascism that could have been

2010-02-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

So it appears that there actually WAS IN FACT a right-hand "handyman," literally, in the governorship while Sara Palin inhabited the office in the great State of Alaska...

...and who is this handyman? Well let me tell you...his name is...Todd Palin! How 'bout dat. Read all about it here!

As if any of this was any surprise....Oh Sarah...and we joke about it now, but remember: less than 15 months ago, this was a person who was running to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

The Obama-Orszag team schools the GOP on their own turf

2010-01-30T13:15:00.000-08:00

President Obama, outnumbered 140-1 in Baltimore yesterday at the House GOP retreat, skillfully performed in an unscripted, untelepromptered Q&A session on the most difficult core questions pressing politics today.

No matter how you slice it, there's no denying how Obama is truly the master of the debate. This exchange is a sight to behold, and an impressive display of politics to study...Democrats, Independents, and Republicans (especially) need to all watch it: See the full Q&A exchange between Obama and the GOP at this link, on the C-SPAN module provided if you scroll down a bit.

I can't help but gloating slightly here -- only as a natural human reaction to the countless accounts of screaming, demonizing, and disrespect that's spewed forth from the lunatic fringe element of the GOP towards President Obama in his first year in office. It's been frustrating to watch. Most of it -- if not all of it -- has been totally unfair and the GOP have really given him no chance to act and preside in the manner that he is capable of.

However, yesterday Obama essentially volleyed all of the garbage the GOP has launched at him over the last year back in their direction...he did it in a direct manner, but of course with a smile on his face.

Nobody can question now -- if by some mistake they did before -- as to whether or not President Obama knows his stuff. This guy is for real...and as some pundits were saying on television last night, it should be obvious that the most capable and qualified person for the highest office in the land, the presidency of the United States, has filled it.

Not only did Obama have perhaps the best day of his presidency so far, in how he calmly and smoothly handled a barrage of questions from GOP leaders (if you even call those questions), but the unsung hero is Peter Orzag, Obama's cheif economic adviser (pictured with him at the top), who helped to debrief him before he went into the room.

The GOP keeps making the same miscalculations of underestimating the ability of this President...and they did so again yesterday when he attended the House GOP retreat in Baltimore.

I'm hopeful that there was a pivot point yesterday and that something positive can come out of the Q & A session that occurred between the President and Republicans at this retreat. I hope the air has been cleared (along with some of the brush) for these folks to finally start working with the President on issues that desperately need attention...so that we can make some progress in this country on vital things such as health care reform, a clear and green-oriented energy and climate plan, and other things down the road such as immigration reform.

A Libertarian's take on the latest SCOTUS decision involving CFR

2010-01-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

For some reason, the Libertarian view has always fascinated me...and not necessarily in a bad way. In some ways, I see their perspective and agree with them on most things on the social front.

A close Libertarian friend of mine passed this along to me earlier today, from another one of her Libertarian friends...it's worth checking out and mulling over.

To all my friends who have been braying about CFR. You might find things you agree and disagree with in here. As I am always refining my position, I'd love to hear your thoughts...

My friends who are pro CFR have a healthy and well-intentioned fear of corporatism. When big business and the government get too cozy we can rightfully call this relationship fascism-- that's exactly what it is by definition. And this state of affairs is rightfully to be avoided. Fascism is basically socialism for business. America is and always has been in danger of creeping fascism, and some fear that stripping away the "check" that CFR provided will accelerate that movement. There's a recent NYT article that essentially refutes the argument that CFR or any corporate giving to politicians have influenced votes or elections-- something I knew before this issue reemerged on the political radar, but something that not everyone can readily accept.

CFR was "bad" law, found to be unconstitutional by the SCOTUS. CFR punished some forms of group expression and not others. For example, unions had a number of ways of skirting the CFR laws, and newspaper editorial columns were exempt from the CFR restrictions altogether-- but some filmmakers who made a film under an LLC could not present their anti-Hillary Clinton film 30 days prior to the election. Why is the corporate owned New York Times allowed to stump for a candidate and not the filmmakers? Or Starbucks? Or Microsoft? Well, they may now do so-- at the peril of alienating vast numbers of consumers, especially given the fact that now they will be compelled to disclose their identities on any political ad, something that COULD BE AVOIDED with soft-money contributions in the CFR era.

I also fear creeping fascism. My libertarian philosophy is engaged in a constant struggle to accept freedom along with the dangers said freedom also presents. But I have a different approach to the solution. Instead of looking for new laws to restrict freedoms on various classes of people and groups, I seek ways to correct existing law that is not in keeping with my principles. As a libertarian, I am against many types of welfare, including corporate welfare. I am against laws that establish protected classes of individuals and groups. And I am for Constitutional amendments that clarify and specify our nation's intent.

The concept of any group not having the same rights as an individual is very Constitutionally core and must be addressed through the amendment process. This would be analogous to the debate over the 2nd amendment's right to either an individual's right versus a group right to bear arms. Ironically, here, it is the left who favors the group's right-- not the individual. This is another core issue that most Constitutional scholars claim must either be "left alone" or directly amended to reflect a new point of view.

Most of my friends on Facebook and in real life are democrats, progressives and liberals of various stripes. And it must be a drag to have a lurking libertarian in your midst-- truly libertarians are an unloved bunch-- hated by the right for our fierce love of social rights, and hated by the left for our strict interpretation of the Constitution. But, I hope you'll take this opportunity to understand that even people who disagree with you on this point of law, do so with full knowledge of the consequences, and believe that a strict adherence to the exact wording in the Constitution is a far better approach than passing bad laws that attempt to counter other bad laws.

Welcome to the United Corporations of America...UCA! UCA! UCA!

2010-01-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

In case you're wondering -- with yesterday's Supreme Court decision allowing for unlimited corporate campaign contributions to elections -- your democracy as you know it just changed overnight into a "corporacracy," if there's such a word.

If there isn't such a word, there it is...I just friggin made it up.

You're now living in a nation where every elected position in the land, from President and Congress down to State, County, and City/Town Councils, can be -- and mark my words, WILL BE -- bought. This isn't the case a decade from now, nor a year from now...this is EFFECTIVE TODAY. Politicians will be nothing short of prostitutes and whores to corporate America.

Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and his 4 other conservative colleagues -- the men who planted George W. Bush into the Presidency in 2000 -- yesterday overturned over 100 years of repeated common law decisions limiting corporate spending on campaigns...and thus flushed our future further down the shitter.

So there goes our democracy, floating down the river and out to the ocean, reduced to a stinky slutty sea pickle.

That being said, we should get familiar with the flag (above) and the Pledge of Allegiance to our new corporacracy, the UCA.

I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United Corporations of America

and to the soulless money whores for which it stands,

one Ruse under CEO,

divisible or merging with fishnets on,

and justice for deep pockets.

Enjoy your new country as you watch your future erode into Fascism -- unless something can be done, and done quickly, to reverse this decision, or its effects.

Be sure to celebrate this day with a walk in the park and a snack...because at some point down the road the memories of a calm hang in a park with a snack might be all you have to hold onto.

So what are you going to do about it?

Bear this in mind...this is worse than the Dred Scott decision in the 1850s that started the Civil War...and this makes something like the specter of Roe vs. Wade being overturned (which may be soon to follow, it wouldn't surprise me) seem like a minor inconvenience...this decision simply gobbles up anything and everything else that means anything in our country.

So what are you going to do about it?

Unless something's done to remedy this insane and horrible decision, this is the start of the Dark Ages...and if it means civil war, then so be it. Bring it on. I plan on dying a free man...do you?

So what are you going to do about it?

Have a nice day.

The Pandemic of Voter Apathy

2010-01-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

It's presence in American politics seems to be inevitable, like that hideous hairy mole that appears on your face with age when you're too old to be bothered to do anything about it...or the nagging mother-in-law who won't shut the f##k up.

The recent election of Scott Brown involved apathy on several levels. First, the Democratic candidate was a complete idiot...she made the #1 mistake in politics: never assume the election is a lock. She only has herself to blame; she completely blew it. Period.

Not only did she just blow an election, but she gave up Ted Kennedy's seat -- a seat held by the Democrats for half a century.

Still, despite any anger or frustration with the system, Mass. voters shouold have known better and understood what's at stake. Why didn't they? Here's my take.

Selfishness. When you have a state-run health care system that takes care of you, why worry about the rest of the country? Who cares about the other guy? Apparently very few...apparently it's too easy to get caught up in the hysteria of your own little world and "make a point at the polling booth"...assuming you hopefully know what you're doing, which leads me to my next point.
Short-sightedness. Apparenty the voters of Mass. have a case of severe short-term memory loss, or passed out from too much Sam Adams winter ale. Uh, recall what Americans did to try getting things moving again in the last election? Yes, that would be called progress.
Plain old apathy. Recall how we voted in more Progressives because we were tired of the same old politics from Conservatives? Sometimes creating fundamental change canvasses more than one election cycle...so all this being said, what sort of change, my Commonwealth Bostonian voter, do you expect to see if you tip the scales back into the hands of Conservatives? Christ, you're a friggin Dem...what's that all about? Apparently pulling your head out of your ass isn't one of your strong suits.

Apparently with Ted Kennedy's passing also passed health care reform legislation in its current form as we know it...but why is that necessary?

My answer: We need to go nuclear. Dems need to grow a goddam backbone for once and pony up to eliminate the filibuster, which was originally intended as a seldom-used tactic but has become commonplace in Washington nowadays to the effect that we're deadlocked and can't get anything done. This is supposed to be a democracy where the majority rules, NOT A SUPERMAJORITY.

If the filibuster isn't eliminated, and eliminated soon, we're screwed on all the issues: health care, clean energy, immigration...everything.

The Chronicles of PlanetWrecker: Part 1

2010-01-16T00:54:00.000-08:00

I've intended for some time now to reveal a fable, if you will, about a sort of character. We'll call him "PlanetWrecker."

He's hiding behind the stained glass window for now...but trust me, we'll reveal more of his "hot looks" later on. I'll leave it up to you to determine if he's fact or fiction.

Let's do a brief pass over the general tendencies of our character. PlanetWrecker is of a ruthless mindset. He has one sole objective; money and power. PlanetWrecker cares little about the wreckage that he leaves in his wake (and, uh, there's quite a bit of it), be it family (including effects on his own children), strangers, and the planet as a whole. More on all those elements later, with lots of dirty details.

Not beyond our surprise, he actually makes his money by destroying the planet...hence, the moniker of PlanetWrecker.

So we've established, relatively speaking, some of PlanetWrecker's tendencies and mindset...but what forms such a mindset? Who or what shaped PlanetWrecker to become what he is? If we look into his past, can we figure out what morphed him into the planet-wrecking son of a bitch fishnet stocking-wearing money whore that he is? How do we wrap our minds around the opera that is his life?

We'll take a stab at it.

PlanetWrecker was born in the early 1950s in the Northeast U.S. Early on, a tough father of Slavic origins ingrained the necessary survival skills in him, with a take-no-prisoners approach: kill or be killed. Of course, this was a pattern carried down from PlanetWrecker's father's father, and so forth -- once again, the cycle never breaks.

A stern life rubric was pounded into PlanetWrecker: a view that life is survival of the fittest and take no prisoners...follow the rules, don't break them...strategize so you're always 3 moves ahead of your opponent...and if it's a trusted counterpart or colleague, you'll get the chance to put the knife in when his/her back's turned to you.

Also, it was conveyed that everything that falls into one's path should be evaluated on its resourcefulness or economic value -- otherwise it's of no use. If it's of no use, it should be tossed aside, and onto the next thing.

While this view is self-serving and may garner one some successes, unfortunately it's an unhealthy path on which to tread, and some of the shrapnel inflicted on those around you who you damage may come back to bite you.

We'll get into more specifics, and unveil more of PlanetWrecker's superopera in the next episode of The Chronicles of PlanetWrecker.

America's Steamy Holiday Stinker

2009-12-19T06:45:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays America!

Here's your early X-Mas gift!

No, no, go ahead and unwrap it while we watch, it's okay.

Let's see...hmm...just let me unwrap this end here...oh, you taped it up and packaged it so well, it's taking me extra time here to get into it!

Okay, I unwrapped it...oh, a box! I wonder what's in the box? Oh, that's right, I need to read the note first!

The note says: "Courtesy of the United States Senate, Washington D.C. Have a relaxing, pleasant, and HEALTHY holiday."

Just then I notice that something's starting to stink, and I proceed to open the box...

"Wow! Thank you! I've always wanted this! My very own health care reform SHIT SANDWICH for X-Mas! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Boy am I glad I'm an Independent right now. Should I hang my hat on that? Sure. With pride. That'll do.

Sheriff Arpaio: Arizona's Public Enemy #1

2009-12-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

I want to start out by saying that I don't normally -- or like to -- target law enforcement officers in my blog. I have the utmost respect for their kind and what they do, and I personally know some Seattle cops. I'm also heartbroken over the recent murders of 5 police officers in the Puget Sound area.

However, I'm focused on an individual today who is an exception to the noble profession of the police...a man who, for many years, has been degrading all other cops around the country, and retarding what it means to be a law enforcement officer. He erodes the great reputation of his profession and the very concept of public service in general. He disgraces law enforcement, period.

Having spent 16 years of my life in Arizona, I'm very familiar with the ways, means, and tactics of Maricopa County Sherrif Joe Arpaio. I'll let you google his name to look him up on your own, but one thing's safe to say: you don't ever want to get pulled over in Maricopa County, or Arizona at all for that matter, if you even have anything to the effect of or resembling an unpaid parking ticket. Chances are pretty good that you'll get hauled into jail...and while you might encounter an understanding cop, he/she is more than likely in the same school of thought as Arpaio and will do everything in their power to at least detain you, even if they don't have a good reason to arrest you.

That's because if he could be judge, jury, and executioner, Arpaio would be all three...including for petty crimes such as clapping at a county supervisor's meeting, which this article talks about, among other things.

His actions, however, aren't completely without reactions or consequences. Here's an article on his interview at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism on the ASU campus that he walked out of due to protesters. Boy I wish I could have been there to see that! Hopefully he left the stage shaking his fist in the air shouting "You Liberals!" Well, probably not. It's still fun to imagine.

Allow me to back up a bit, since the story of Sheriff Arpaio is based out of Phoenix and Maricopa County in the late 1980s.

There was a time when someone like Arpaio sounded like a good idea. In the early 1990s, Phoenix's crime was out of control, and the public were losing their tolerance with endless accounts of innocent folks killed by drunk drivers. Many of the accounts of bad behavior and violence stemmed from much of Arizona's transient population and newcomers who had very little vested in their communities, or were in the state under shady pretenses to begin with.

So when Joe Arpaio came up for election as Maricopa County Sherrif in the early 90s, promising to "clean house," the public drones, in a typical and predictable knee-jerk reaction, jumped all over it.

Something needs to be understood about the makeup of the Maricopa County populous...let's see...how do I explain this. It presents for the most part an obedient audience, sorta like the minions who won't put up a fight or dare to speak out against the Evil Galactic Empire in a Star Wars movie. Those who put Arpaio into office are folks who don't think much for themselves, much less dare to in the first place. They vote out of fear; there's really no other explanation to the phenomena of voting for and empowering a coward like Arpaio.

If you consider that public mindset and the added theater Arpaio puts on for the news (being the media whore that he is) about how he's doing "this," cleaning up "that," and implementing the "other" -- with all that "media meat" sandwiched in a "bun of fear" through the spectre of "all the problems caused by illegal immigrants," if you follow the bad analogy -- then you have the perfect recipe for mass deception and brainwashing...not to suggest that the web Arpaio spins is that complicated, as I don't think the man's really that smart. It has more to do with the public he served in his county than any brainchild maneuver on his part.

So, needless to say, it's been a mess of accounts of racial profiling episodes, and a host of horrors for the Hispanic community in Phoenix, capped by accounts this past decade of ripping families apart and sending members out of the country in middle of the night house raids. Sure, some of these folks have been illegal, but many also have not. When one considers the potpourri of countless rights-trampling escapades and how many innocent lives have been destroyed and disrupted, one might start to wonder.

As first, some of the stories coming out of his summer jail camp episodes, such as making inmates wear pink underwear, came across as funny and cute. However, as the surface started to get peeled back and as more stories about inhumane conditions were brought out into the light (many, oddly enough, by Arpaio himself), things weren't really that funny and cute anymore. Many were left asking: "...and why exactly is this necessary?"

I'd imagine it all has the same effect as torturing terrorists in Guantamano Bay; you don't cut down on crime by humiliating and dehumanizing criminals, let alone someone who's been pulled over for a petty traffic infraction or an expired parking ticket. You tend to get the opposite reaction -- breeding fear and hatred towards law enforcement and government in general, for that matter.

Being not exactly the youngest kid on the block, it seems to be rather simple. Bad behavior manufactures, well, bad behavior. One might think that a slightly more balanced approach to handling a jail one-timer who goofed or had a bad day is different from how the system handles, say, a really bad criminal such as a murderer -- AND NOT THROW THEM IN TENT CITY TOGETHER. Just a thought.

So what does one do with Arpaio and his cronies? I guess it's simple...but there's good news and bad news about this guy. Good news first.

You can get rid of the guy by voting him out. Now here's the bad news.

Unfortunately we're talking about Maricopa County; the most populated county in a state of mainly anti-government transplants who, in my opinion, are either retired and don't want taxes (usually Republicans), the types "running away from something" (also typically Republicans by nature, as they're usually anti-govt due to past experience or run-ins with the law), or just simply trying to "start over" from a former life. That being said, there are few Arizona natives...they're totally outnumbered.

So then, needles to say, the place is run from top to bottom by the lunatic fringe...meaning people who are intolerant and don't understand what dignity is. Hardliners on petty crimes who think everyday folks who have no record and goof, or make a mistake once, should be "taught a lesson" and thrown in jail with murderers. People who rule their lives by fear, because that's how they were brought up or the society conditioned them that way. It's all they know.

The following is a post I put up on the Spokane Examiner in response to comments assuming it's all Liberals making the noise against Arpaio's fascist regime.

It's not all Liberals who oppose Arpaio's fascist ways of policing...plenty of conservatives and Republicans are unhappy with him, and there's good reason. He has a rap sheet that goes back to the early 90s, and a HORRIFIC track record of stomping on First Amendment rights of everyday citizens.

Unfortunately the majority of the populous in Maricopa County is too brainwashed by anti-immigrant propaganda, and/or too uneducated to understand that the trampled rights of a few mean that the rights of everyone are taken away...like being arrested for clapping in a county supervisor's meeting. That's illegal? You're kidding, right?

Give me a break. If that sort of freedom of expression is being quashed, then Phoenix residents have more serious issues to worry about than the other problems triggered by Arpaio and his henchmen...such as rounding up alleged illegals via racial profiling, and folks with old parking tix being thrown in with murderers in 1930s-style prison camps in 120 degree heat.

SurvivaBall

2009-10-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

Your latest protection against global warming!

My New Heroes

2009-10-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

They're called The Yes Men...which I'd imagine is a title borne of sarcasm/purposeful irony, sorta like this blog.

I'd heard of these guys before, but saw them on the news tonight after they pulled a stunt posing as U.S. Chamber of Commerce staff with a fake news conference.

Absolutely beautiful...these guys rock! I'm sure we'll here more from them again...here's a clip of their fake news conference.

Allegories from Kunstler apply to our health care debate

2009-08-31T06:17:00.000-07:00

Reading is such a funny activity...it never ceases to fascinate me on how you can be going over subject matter of one thing, and realize as you're going through it how it applies to something completely different.

Books covering the subject matter of urban planning are particularly interesting in this regard, especially when they focus on the philosophy of the field.

I want to share an excerpt from Howard Kunstler, the author of The Geography of Nowhere and its follow-up, Home from Nowhere...this is from the latter.

You'll see, as you go through it, how what he's saying applies to what we're seeing right now in our health care debate; in terms of the conservative perspective vs. the liberals ones...and the question about whether we can tap into our better angels.

Starting from p. 37, Chapter 2: The Public Realm and the Common Good:

"Main Street USA in America's obsolete model for development---we stopped assembling towns this way after 1945. The pattern of Main Street is pretty simple: mixed use, mixed income, apartments and offices over the stores, moderate density, scaled to pedestrians, vehicles permitted but not allowed to dominate, buildings detailed with care, and built to last (although we still trashed it). Altogether it was a pretty good development pattern. It produced places that people loved deeply. That is the reason Main Street persists in our cultural memory. Many people still alive remember the years before World War Two and what it felt like to live in integral towns modeled on this pattern. Physical remnants of the pattern still stand in parts of the country for people to see, though the majority of Americans have moved into the new model habitat called Suburban Sprawl.

For all its apparent success, Suburban Sprawl sorely lacks many things that make life worth living, particularly civic amenities, which Main Street offered in spades. Deep down, many Americans are dissatisfied with suburbia---though they have trouble understanding what's missing---which explains their nostalgia for the earlier model. Their dissatisfaction is literally a dis-ease. They feel vaguely and generally un-well where they are. Nostalgia in its original sense means homesickness. Americans essay to cure their homesickness with costly visits to Disney World. The crude, ineffective pallaitives they get there in the form of brass bands and choo-choo train rides leave them more homesick and more baffled as to the nature of the their disease than when they arrived---like selling chocolate bars to someone suffereing from scurvy---and pathetically, of course, they must return afterward to the very places that induce the disease of homesickness.

Historically Americans have a low regard for the public realm, and this is very unfotunate because the public realm is the physical manifestation of the common good. When you degrade the public realm, as we have, you degrade the common good.

The public realm is furnished with some nonphysical equipment in the form of laws, beliefs, social agreements, and preeminently language, which enables all these other mechanisms to operate. One might call language the basic operating system of the public realm, without which all the other applications needed to run human society would not function. When you degrade this equipment, this language, as we have in our time, then you impair the ability of a group of people incorporated as the republic to think about the common good."

My letter to President Obama for EFFECTIVE health insurance reform

2009-08-24T12:50:00.001-07:00

I've had this in the works, in my mind for a long time...years, actually. It's just been a matter of getting it on paper, and TIMING.

The time is now.

So now, this last weekend, I put something together and mailed it off to the White House, addressed to the 44th President of the United States.

I've also written my two Democratic Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, in addition to Ted Kennedy, to thank them for their efforts.

It didn't end there.

I've written my representative in the House, Republican Dave Reichert, and cc'd copies of that letter to House Republican Minority Leader John Boehner of the 8th District of Ohio, as well as Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky...in hopes (probably in vain) that my family's story will have some effect.

All the letters are nearly identical, with the initial and ending paragraphs differing slightly...the one to Republicans is more about urging bipartisan support.

It will be interesting to see where this all goes. It's a bit of a protracted letter, and I'm sure there's some out there that are more concise, so I'm not expecting it to necessarily be in the "A Group" to appear before eyes such as Obama's...but if it gets before the right person, and hits home, I'm hoping it has great possibilities of effect.

We shall see...here's the text from the letter.

August 24, 2009

President Barack Obama, 44^th President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Re: My family’s story with regard to the need for EFFECTIVE health insurance reform

Dear President Obama:

I write you today with a heavy heart—and hope—in the push for effective legislation to reform our health insurance system so that it will function in a way that does not rob covered working families of their golden years. Unfortunately, my family—along with many other American families—has direct experience with the failures of the current system; while acting responsibly with full health coverage.

You are the first U.S. President I have ever written to. I’m currently 40, and a technical writer with a background in city planning…and a 3^rd generation only child like my mother and her father before her. My folks were born during the Great Depression, and the practice of fiscal conservatism was ingrained in them at a young age. They developed a jack-of-all-trades skill set; my mother’s background in teaching, nursing, & administration, and my father’s in civil engineering & international sales helped them build a successful manufacturer’s rep business after working for various employers in the 1960s and 70s. In the 1980s they converted the basement of our Seattle area house into an office, and their dynamic skills shined bright as they put passion, time, and diligence into the business.

I recall my father insisting that he wear a button-down shirt and tie before embarking on his commute of twelve stairs into our basement office. He never deviated from that rule once, as it helped get his head right for the workday. While it may seem like a small act, it’s a testament to his work ethic. The business, the xxx, was very successful going into the 1990s…there was every indication my folks were on their way to achieving their retirement dreams through hard work.

Then tragedy hit the family. In June of 1993 my father (57 at the time, fit, and physically active with an impeccable bill of health) suffered a cerebral hemorrhage that snuck up on him; things were fine one minute as we were having Sunday dinner, and then after a rush to the hospital he was in the middle of brain surgery nine hours later. Luckily he survived, but not without some damage to his speech center, right side, and other effects from the trauma. Over the course of the next couple of years my father endured a total of 3 brain surgeries, along with ICU stays, protracted in-patient hospital stays, long stretches of therapy, and a smorgasbord of medications. His speech therapy continues to this day.

As sole proprietors, my parent’s insurance premiums to Regents Blue Shield were approximately $1,500 per month—in 1993…it was the best coverage they could get at the time from their menu of options. Yet, Regents refused coverage for decisions made by the hospital in the use of certain specialists, they went after every possible loophole, and bird-dogged every charge associated with my father’s illness. As if being a small family dealing with this tragedy wasn’t enough, the costs (in the range of 100K) nearly bankrupted my folks and triggered a domino effect of slow financial decline (when you factor in the loss of income from my father’s inability to work) that forces my mother to continue working in other capacities today—in her 70s. Needless to say, the toll of everything accelerated their aging significantly, to the effect that my involvement in a caretaking role—again, as the only child—is happening much sooner than I expected.

This scenario involving my family is unconscionable. The behavior and games played by their insurance company were despicable. I can’t believe that my parents—who were responsible with finances, worked diligently to make a life and future for themselves, and carried full coverage at the time of an illness—could suddenly become victims and essentially be robbed of their golden years.

If working families like mine—who have coverage and act responsibly—are being victimized like this, then obviously our health insurance system is not only broken, but rigged with merciless pitfalls. In the reform efforts taking place at this time, it is imperative that the final product have teeth in it that will protect working families with meaningful coverage; especially those in that vulnerable age bracket from 50–65, and in doomsday scenarios such as the unpreventable one that presented my father’s illness. I see legislation that’s any less effective as simply adding to an already imploding house of cards.

We all deserve to pursue the American Dream built on our own will and efforts; one that won’t be torpedoed by the health insurance machinations and its complex web of cloaked tiger traps. My parents were on track for a solid retirement before having the rug yanked from under their feet by such devices. They deserved better. This is why I write to you today…so that other families don’t experience the horrors with health insurance that mine went through. As a small business owner (I included a couple cards for you) I’ve followed the example my parents set, and needless to say I am concerned about my own coverage when the cards are on the table (in a situation similar to my father’s, heaven forbid) and scenarios to that effect that could wreck my family’s financial future.

Thank you Mr. President for reading this…and for standing firm on your vision of health insurance reform that’s effective and furthers the efforts of many others before you. I appreciate your continuing efforts and personal sacrifices you have made in the interest of fixing the broken pieces of America—like the issues I speak to here. Let’s further perfect our Union with EFFECTIVE health insurance reform.

Yours truly and respectfully,

Sweva

Washington State Obama Delegate for the 41^st Legislative District 2008 Democratic Caucus

Obama for America campaign fundraiser of approximately $2,000

Cc: Ms. Kathleen Sebelius, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

See ya...wouldn't wanna be ya!

2009-07-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

Bye bye Sarah...for now, I guess...as I'm assuming we'll eventually see her head pop up like a jack-in-the-box surprise, promoting some horrific cause.

What will she do next? Perhaps she'll go back to radio...or maybe try to sell us weed wackers on some infomercial.

Oh, I can't wait for that.

For the sake of Alaskans, I couldn't be happier...oh, and thanks Sarah, for helping make bloggers like myself part of the mainstream media. In that regard, with your media and blogger war mongering, you're the greatest thing that ever happened to us.

Ahem, moving on now...next!

Oh, that was smart

2009-07-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin is resigning from the Alaska governorship...and setting aside the fact that I'm not her biggest fan, I must ask: why?

Answer: Palin Logic...yup, sorta like Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic. Makes sense...see? Sure...it makes just about as much sense as her resignation.

WTF? Does she really think this is going to help her ascension to be more effective for the weird stuff she believes in?

Don't try to figure it out, there is no logic here. Haven't you figured that out by now? Don't try to figure it out. It's anyone's guess what this brainiac's next boobhead maneuver is going to be.

Neda

2009-06-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

She's the latest to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.

An innocent student ~ Neda ~ marching in protest of a fixed election from a crooked Iranian theocracy.

Be warned...it's a little bloody and creepy with her eyes, which seem to be fixing on the person taking the video (appears to be from a phone camera).

Our President is a nice man...sorta.

2009-06-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

I realize it sounds like something a kindergartner would say, but it's very basic and true.

This week, Mr. Obama expanded Federal benefits to include same sex partners...and while some say it should have happened sooner, I'm guessing he's had more pressing matters to deal with.

Wow, we have a human being in office. Imagine that.

...but some in the gay community thought he could have done more.

Nevertheless, this is yet another sign of our progress as a society, and a mark of kindness and openness from our President. It's a sign of the great man that he is...even though he isn't personally in favor of all the rights that homosexuals seek in this country (Obama supports civil unions, but not gay marriage), he still understands what it is to be fair.

This also sets an excellent example for states, counties, and cities, which eventually (hopefully) will follow suit...along with Congress, who is the only body that can allow for full bennies to domestic partners of Federal staff.

Yet ANOTHER "enemies list" in an angered Nixon Camp

2009-06-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

It's remembered only by those who are in their mid-40s or older...and the only reason I remember it in my early 40s is due to the fact that I grew up in a Republican household that kept the television on after I watched Sesame Street and my afternoon cartoons.

It's the story that keeps on giving, and seems to never want to die.

It's called WATERGATE.

Aside from having evolved into part of the political linguistics that define anything resembling a scandal with a President or Governor (x-gate), Watergate seems to rear it's head back every few years with new information. There were the Frost-Nixon interviews of the late 70s...then there was always the "What's he doing now?" period at the end of Nixon's life, when he was trying to salvage his image. For years we didn't know who Deep Throat was, but then that was revealed in a deathbed confession in the last 10 years.

Now, in 2009 and 15 years following Nixon's passing, a new (and most amusing) twist on Watergate has arisen.

According to Newsweek, the Nixon Presidential Library, in commemorating the 37th Anniversary of Watergate (Nixon was also the 37th President of the United States), has decided to invite none other than John Dean to speak at the event.

Yes, you read that correctly...the John Dean who resigned as Nixon's White House attorney and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice after testifying about his boss's role in the cover-up.

Needless to say, the Nixon Camp is livid...a former communications aide of Nixon's has been quoted as describing it this way: "It's like having Monica Lewinsky speak at the Clinton Library."

It doesn't end there.

Caught in the crossfire is historian Timothy Naftali, who took over as the library's director over two years ago when the Nixon Library was handed over to the publicly run archives. It was his idea to invite Dean.

It's also helpful to understand that before the library was handed over to the public archives, it was run by the Nixon Foundation...and when I personally visited it in 2002, the whole operation was completely sanitized of anything Watergate-related or ANYTHING, for that matter, that even suggested anything negative about the Nixon Presidency.

That being said, it's the privately run Nixon Foundation and its officials (comprised of Henry Kissinger, George Schultz and Nixon's two daughters), who are upset about the Dean appearance...so much that they have compiled an "enemies list" to the effect of this anticipated event.

An enemies list in the Nixon camp? Really? Like the long blacklist of names Nixon himself had in the Oval Office during his Presidency?

You know, THAT list...the one with the reporters and conspiring Hollywood actors on it...and some 95 yr old grandma who was thought to be a spy when she was merely mailing the White House to shame Nixon in the early 70s.

Now do you know what list I'm talking about?

I can't begin to express the level of amusement that this conjures up, having been fascinated with Nixon since I was basically 4 years of age...and this only further perpetuates the enigma surrounding Nixon, who I see as the most fascinating and complicated President of the 20th Century.

Such an interesting development...I guess the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree.

My guess is that these new developments are a reaction to how sanitized the Nixon Library has been up to this point...and believe me, it has DEFINITELY been sanitized, sterilized, and disinfected.

Until now.

In anticipation of Dean's appearance at this event, apparently we can expect some serious fireworks! Apparently Dean is going to be revealing some damning new details with Nixon's role in Watergate. Quoting Dean in a recent interview with Newsweek: "They're going to be particularly unhappy when they hear what I have to say."

I'll leave you with another nice little ditty from the Trickster himself...and this one isn't altered...it's the genuine article from Tricky Dick himself!

Yes, the World hates you Sarah. That's why you feel this way.

2009-06-13T10:17:00.001-07:00

The GOP's Cruella DeVille wannabe, Sarah Palin, is at it again...this time it's with a late night talk show host.

Really? Is that the best you can do? Really? Really? Really?

Ohhh Sarah.

Once again, Sarah Palin and her husband are either the most moronic idiots of this early 21st Century, or they're struggling for an opportunity to stay in the media spotlight by manufacturing drama that began with David Letterman joking about her in his nightly Top 10 list this past week.

Uh, it was a joke, Sarah...even if part of it involved your daughter.

No, the other daughter...the one that HAD the baby.

Instead, of course, the Palins reacted to Letterman's self-proclaimed bad taste by calling him a petifile and putting the spotlight on their 14-year-old daughter...the one Letterman DIDN'T include in his joke.

The Palins have brought this on themselves. The daughters wouldn't be in the spotlight if the parents hadn't marched them onto the stage like royalty during the GOP convention in Minneapolis last year.

Moreover, Sarah, the status of how the World hates you (minus the brainwashed or insane mini-sectors of the right-wing freak show) is utterly and completely of your own undoing. Cause and effect. It also probably has something to do with your over-the-top reaction to jokes coming from a talk show host, and your defensive posture.

Again, Sarah, IT WAS A TALK SHOW HOST. IT WAS A JOKE.

The Palins should assess the structural integrity of your own glass house before throwing rocks...but you're not going to do that, Sarah, are you?

Well then, you have a loooooooooooong and torturous road ahead of you. Good luck with it...oh, and try laughing about things like this sometimes. You might live longer.

Honoring "Tank Man" 20 years later

2009-06-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

I actually thought of this back in March of this year, and put it up with a delay so it would come out on the 20 year anniversary of the incident, which occurred on June 5, 1989.

This image is burned into the brains of many people who witnessed it at the time, including my own.

I'm reposting a post I found from 2006 on a blog called A Liberal Mormon.

I think of tank man as one of the all-time heroes in human history...he's definitely in my hall of fame.

Tank Man By Derek Staffanson

I have a very un-macho thing to confess. I get choked up every time I see the tank man.

You know who I mean.

Tiananmen Square. 1989. The government is pulling out all the stops to stamp out the peaceful demonstration for political change. The military has been called in. A column of tanks is rolling down the multi-lane street. And this guy steps out in front of the tanks. He doesn’t appear to be a demonstrator. He looks like some guy on his way home from work with a couple of bags of groceries. And for whatever reason, he just walks out a few feet in front of the tanks and stops. The tank hesitates, and then tries to drive around the guy. But this guy slides back and forth, making sure he is standing directly in front of the tank. And this tank–this column of tanks–is stopped. This one man holds up millions of dollars of Weapons of Mid-level Destruction. It only lasts a few minutes before (if I recall correctly) a handful of men run out to grab this guy and usher him out of sight. Police or soldiers whisking him off to disappear permanently? Friends rushing him off before he gets himself in serious trouble? I’ve no idea. But in those few minutes, he burned himself into (albeit anonymous) immortality in the minds of people around the world.

Seriously, my throat is constricting and my eyes watering even as I write this. I honestly get choked up. Embarrassing but true. I’m that emotionally invested in that image.

This man represents so much I believe in on a social/political level. Just an average person, a regular guy, standing up against evil (not the tank driver per se, but the use of force and political oppression). He has to know he can’t win. He can’t win the revolution. He can’t bring down the government of Bejing. If he is identified, he faces certain imprisonment at the least. He can’t even stop this column of tanks from going where they want to go.

But he does it anyway.

He walks in front of the tanks because, no matter how futile, he is standing for what is right.

And for a few brief moments, he wins.

It shows immense courage. Incredible conviction.

And what a display of hope and faith in humanity! He could not have walked out there if he did not have faith in the goodness of humanity. He had the hope that, no matter what his orders and to whom he was loyal, the tank commander was ultimately a decent human being; that he wouldn’t casually roll over one harmless man.

That is the man I aspire to be. I want to stand for what is true, noble, and good, no matter the odds. I want to have the positive belief that I can do some good simply by doing what is right. I want to believe that I will be doing some good by fighting for what appears to be futile causes when those causes are just. And I want to have the integrity to stand for something not just when I have planned the action, but when important opportunities present themselves.

Tonight on local PBS affiliate, Frontline is presenting an episode on the Tank Man (more info here). I can’t wait to watch and learn more about him and his legacy. I have no idea if Tank Man has ever been identified or if we will learn his fate. Hopefully he isn’t languishing in some prison, but who knows? I can’t wait to learn whatever there is to learn, and I look forward to the time after this life when I can express my appreciation to him for the example he has set.

One of the comments from the blog had this to say:

I just came upon this while searching for information on the Tank Man. Very well-written entry. But I just want to comment on one thing you said:

“Just an average person, a regular guy, standing up against evil (not the tank driver per se, but the use of force and political oppression).”

Although you rightfully acknowledge that evil doesn’t refer to the tank driver, I think you’re making an enormous understatement.

What people often fail to appreciate is that the tank driver is as much a hero as the man in front of the tank.

There have been several reports (though all lacking hard proof, like a lot of things associated with the tank scene) that the tank driver was told to run the man over but refused. Some have speculated that he was punished through demotion or even jailing as a result. The tank man gets all the credit, but the tank driver stood up against oppression just as much. In some ways, that’s what makes the scene so haunting yet so beautiful.

BOTH men, though seemingly on opposite sides, stood up for humanity.

Long Live Dick's Jaw Flappin' Tour!

2009-05-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

After Obama's inauguration last February, as Bush Era torture talk began to spin hither and tither, many of us who were not Bush supporters (to put it beyond polite) would see Cheney's face on the television here and there defending his administration.

At first it came across as annoying, but not many of us were surprised. When it comes to our "special li'l Dick," we all know what sort of egomaniac we're dealing with.

However over time, Dick's Jaw Flappin' Tour of endless pro-Bush Era defensiveness has morphed into diatribes and rhetoric that could bring down the whole house.

He seems to operate like clockwork these days...whenever something pipes up (or someone) regarding the issue of torture as it relates to Guantanamo and the Bush presidency, some jaw flappin' from Dick isn't far behind.

His tone keeps growing more defensive and bitter...and with it, he keeps revealing more information about who made what decisions as it pertains to torture. Just recently, he has essentially implicated Bush himself as a decision-maker who knowingly called shots regarding torture.

Everything he states in interviews only digs the ditch deeper...remember, it's all admissable in court. If he keeps it up, he could expose the whole Bush Administration on war crimes and accounts of torture.

So keep it up, Dick! Please!

Oh, and can you send me that Oroville Redenbacker coupon you promised me? I need to stock up on all the popcorn I'm going to need when the war crimes trials begin.

Think of the $20 bill as 20 opportunities Jackson squandered

2009-05-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

...and why exactly is Andrew Jackson worthy of being on a $20 bill?

Because I'm a bit confused about that, lol.

It's probably something you've never thought about...however if you're of Cherokee descent, you'd probably rather fatten your wallet with 20 $1 bills than carry a $20.

Andrew Jackson is the only President in history to openly defy a Supreme Court decision that protected the removal of a Native American tribe from their homeland; the Cherokee when they inhabited what is today most of northwest Georgia.

Other than defacing U.S. currency (I would cover Jackson's face with a pic of a famous Cherokee, such as Chief John Ross, pictured above), I'll display a picture of Ross instead of Jackson...and I'll choose to interpret it this way: the "20" represents at least 20 opportunities Jackson had to change his mind and honor the homeland of the Cherokee.

...or 20 bad decisions...or 20 (insert logic, or lack thereof)...in other words, 20 opportunities squandered.

Needless to say, Jackson didn't have an epiphany, nor a moment of clarity, in his Tennessee-raised military-esque anti-Indian drunk-with-power early 19th Century Swiss cheese brain.

He defied the Supreme Court and went forward with the Indian Removal Act...and we all know what that led to: one of the United State's most shameful moments, The Trail of Tears, which represented an account of ethnic cleansing and part of the U.S. government's systematic destruction of Native American homelands and way of life that continues to this day.

How do we correct our shameful and erroneous ways of the past?

GIVE THEM THEIR LANDS BACK. Read on.

Andrew Jackson - The Worst President The Cherokee Ever Met
by Christina Berry

from All Things Cherokee

The title of worst US president is hotly debated and is most often awarded to Andrew Johnson or Warren Harding. Many polls and studies rank Andrew Jackson in or near the top 10 best presidents. However, to many Cherokees Andrew Jackson is without a doubt the worst US president. Some Cherokees would rather carry two ten-dollar bills or twenty one-dollar bills than carry a single twenty-dollar bill. Why? Because the US has chosen to commemerate Jackson's presidency by putting his face on the twenty dollar bill.

So why is Jackson so disliked by the Cherokee? Oddly enough, at one point the Cherokee were allies with Andrew Jackson. It was at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend where Andrew Jackson's famous story really began. He was considered a hero after his victory in this battle against the Creek Indians, a victory he would not have attained had it not been for his Cherokee allies who fought alongside him.

Several years later in 1828 Andrew Jackson was elected president. His popularity and subsequent election are largely attributed to his pro-Indian removal platform. Once in power he began to allow whites to move onto Cherokee land. He also allowed Georgia to extend state law to include the Cherokee Nation. This called into question Cherokee sovereignty and declared their government and laws void.

In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. Gold had been discovered on what was Cherokee land in western Georgia and the white settlers wanted to get the Cherokee out of the way. In Jackson's own words, "[The Indian Removal Act] will place a dense and civilized population in large tracts of country now occupied by a few savage hunters." Jackson painted a picture of the Cherokee as illiterate, uncivilized "savage hunters" even though 90% of the Cherokee Nation could read and write in Cherokee (many could also read and write in English) and were farmers.

The Indian Removal Act was very popular among voters. However, not everyone supported Indian removal. The Act's strongest opponent was Congressman Davy Crockett, but the Act passed regardless. Once passed by Congress, President Andrew Jackson quickly signed the bill into law. And so it began.

Andrew Jackson was pleased with the passage of the law because in addition to enabling the States to "advance rapidly in population, wealth, and power" he believed the law would also help the Cherokee and other Indian tribes. In his address to Congress in 1830 Andrew Jackson stated:

"It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the Government and through the influence of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community."

The Cherokee did not consider the Indian Removal Act to be the humanitarian act Jackson claimed it to be. They fought the law by challenging it in the Supreme Court. In Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia (1831), the Supreme Court refused to hear the case on the basis that the Cherokee Nation did not represent a sovereign nation. However, in the case of Worcester vs. Georgia (1832) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee. The Supreme Court this time ruled that the Cherokee Nation was sovereign thus making the removal laws invalid. The decision, rendered by Justice John Marshall, declared the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation to be illegal, unconstitutional and against treaties made. President Andrew Jackson, who had the executive responsibility of enforcement of the laws, stated, "John Marshall has made his decision; let him enforce it now if he can."

Andrew Jackson was clearly unhappy with the Supreme Court ruling. In order for Jackson to remove the Cherokee he would need for the Cherokee to agree to removal in a treaty. In 1835 Jackson got what he wanted. The Treaty Party, a small faction of the Cherokee Nation led by Major Ridge, his son John, and Elias Boudinot, signed the Treaty of New Echota. The Treaty violated Cherokee law. Chief John Ross gathered 16,000 signatures of Cherokees who opposed removal. However, once the treaty was ratified by the US Senate it was official: the Cherokee could now be removed.

In 1838 the removal of the Cherokee began when General Winfield Scott, along with several thousand men, forcibly removed thousands of Cherokees from their homes and their land. The trip was brutal and about 4000 Cherokees died along the way on what became known as the "Trail Where They Cried" or the "Trail of Tears." John Ross, then Chief of the Cherokee, led the later parties from Georgia to Oklahoma and helped many to survive the harrowing journey.

The Cherokee settled in Indian Territory. The Cherokee land covered the Northeastern corner of present day Oklahoma. For their act of betrayal against the Cherokee Nation the leaders of the Treaty Party faced a punishment of death, according to Cherokee law. In 1839 Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot were all assassinated. The factionalism created by the Treaty and removal did not go away and divided the Cherokee people for many years. Many are still divided over the issue of blame between the Ridge Party and the Ross Party.

It is important, when looking at these events in history, to remember that Andrew Jackson did not work alone. While there was some resistance to his Indian Removal actions, there was a lot of support. The United States voters who voted for Jackson because of his pro-Removal stance are also responsible. Some people considered Indian Removal a humanitarian gesture to help isolate the Indians from encroachment, but many others simply wanted more land. Davy Crockett who opposed the bill was ruined politically and left politics and Tennessee for Texas (where he died in the Alamo).

Of even greater concern is the fact that these same issues -- treaty rights and tribal sovereignty -- are contemporary issues which are still being fought in the US courts. As they say, "If we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it." Before we shake our finger at the mistakes of the past we need to take the time to learn about the issues of today and the mistakes we could make tomorrow. Know your history; don't repeat it. How close did we come to having Slade Gorton nominated as secretary of the interior? Too close.

History lessons: Olbermann addresses President Obama on the prosecution of Bush war crimes

2009-04-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

While many are not fans of him (usually those with far right-leaning views), I see Keith Olbermann as the Nation's conscience in some ways. Each and every time there's an issue that forms into the likes of an elephant in the room, the man goes right after it's throat.

This is yet another example of why I love Olbermann's reporting. The man is simply fearless. We need more voices like this in the news.

A much-needed discussion has begun

2009-03-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

I first want to issue my deepest apologies for not posting more often as of late, especially in light of some interesting political times going on right now.

I'm commenting on exactly that thing today...aren't you relieved?

It's been a combination of things, ranging from a little burnout and a vacation from blogging to a more legitimate reason, which involves a business I'm starting up and launching a website in conjunction with networking, media packets, and a whole host of other things...such as accounting...jeepers, do I really have to keep the books current?

Oh yeah, there's that thing called the IRS, I guess I should...but it's, uh, not my strong suit.

Anyway.

One of the networking events I attended this past week is through an online group called Biznik, and so far I give it a two thumbs up.

The event was at the Cactus, across from Alki Beach north of West Seattle. There were about 10 folks there, most of whom work in completely different industries. It was billed as the sort of event where you want to put on your professional hat and be on somewhat filtered behavior...which, I'm proud to say, can be challenging for me at times. Generally that's a good thing, as being square sucks and is no fun...but with this sort of thing, and in an effort to put a professional image out there, I guess I can check the wierd beard at the door...for 20 minutes...clock's ticking!

That being said, I did not expect to have a protracted discussion about race and politics with an African American lady, who we'll refer to as "V." That's something I would have never expected at all anytime soon, let alone at a professional networking luncheon.

I arrived before about 3-4 others, and V entered; a tall slender woman with a big laughing smile, wearing an Obama pin that almost looked homemade but really slick, stating "The New Hope" and sporting a picture of Barack and Michelle.

Since we were together at one end of the table, we started discussing this and that...then I decided to ask about the Obama pin.

The discussion quickly ~ and comfortably ~ got into political ideals and anecdotes, which was easy since we're all Obamaheads...and some race-realted current events of the time were brought up, such as the former Klansman who apologized to John Lewis for beating him up when he was marching in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

The most moving part of my conversation, however, was hearing the story of V's father and uncle, who had passed away a few years before Obama was elected. I can't imagine how much their presence during the election would have meant to her (see my previous blog about something similar to that notion), and hearing her voice crack when she spoke about it, and seeing her eyes water a bit drove home the gravity of what this past election means to the black community and all of America.

The greatest, most enduring effect I believe Obama is having with the country ~ and begun when he started running for office just over two years ago ~ is propelling the discussion of race into a place where blacks and whites can feel comfortable talking about it.

Through all the awesome, progressive-thinking policies of the Administration ~ through all the undying hope and dreams that citizens will be able to realize in the years ahead that they otherwise wouldn't ~ through everything that the Obama Presidency means to this day and through a historical perspective ~ I believe his greatest legacy could be the discussion he empowers progressive-minded folks with on the streets of America.

It's made changes in our everday lives, in the way blacks and whites interact with one another in our day-to-day business.

To folks who are 35 and older, this is especially an important step in the evolution of the American mindset. In the past, whites felt like they couldn't bring up the subject, afraid they were going to offend somebody...and blacks, based on conversations I've had, perhaps felt uncomfortable with it because they thought they might make whites uncomfortable ~ as it conjures up a shameful, horrific period in American history.

The reasons for NOT talking about it were all numerous, complex, emotionally-tinged, and deeply personal...and opened up too much room for misinterpretation...so why bring it up at all?

Obama ended all that...not only becuase of his great abilities as a leader, but I believe also because of what he represents genetically. The way I see it, he's the purest representation of America having come from an Anglo mother and a Kenyan father. Both blacks and whites can identify with him, and are invested in him on many levels.

Obama represents our meeting spot...he's our virtual meeting place if you like. He opens up discussions in restaurants, bars, cafes, ballparks, and living rooms all over the country. Amen! Let the discussions happen! Let MLK's dream reign! Let the cork pop out of the bottle and the wine hath shall flow!

I'm not saying these cross cultural and cross-racial discussions should happen every time whites, blacks, Middle Easterners, Asians, Hispanics, Indians, and Native Americans get together...that's not realistic, and we're naive to assume that everyone and their mother is going to be comfortable with it...but, more often than before, it's there if we want to go there, and we can be more comfortable with it.

I'd venture to say that's a light year leap from where we were at even three years ago.

This is a healthy thing we've been waiting for...this is something American needs. An evolution of the minds. A way to rehabilitate sad minds, heal old wounds, and amend silly perceptions through this much-needed discussion that has begun.

Update: Generally, I'm feeling mellower

2009-02-08T15:36:00.000-08:00

Just checking in real quick in the middle of a hectic work schedule, which is why I haven't posted much lately.

I'm feeling mellower.

Since Dubya left office, I don't seem to have as much focused rage at the Administration. Looking back, it was something that built up over the eight years that he was in office....and it juuuuuuuust draaaaaaaaaaaaged out. It was torture. It seemed like it would never end.

Sure, there were the policies and decisions that flew in the face of every breath of principle I stand by, but what really got me was the fact that:

He stole the 2000 election, which set the stage for everything that followed it.
As an idiot or via malicious intent, he completely wrecked the Presidency and much of the country in the process.

While Obama's having to clean up after Bush's poopy mess, I'm so glad to be letting go of that rage.

I sleep better at night. While things are still chaotic, especially with the economy, I feel like things can only get better...and if they get worse before they get better, I at least know there's a person, and an administration in the White House, that's doing EVERYTHING they possibly can to make America better.

That's worth feeling mellow about.

YES WE DID

2009-01-20T18:29:00.000-08:00

Oopsie daisies...not now, John

2009-01-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

Obama's now President...alas!

But, uh, not without a hiccup or two.

Chief Justice John Roberts garbled administering the Oath of Office to Obama, mixing up the word "faithfully" near the beginning.

Of course he did.

I'm sure he's aware of it too...and I'd imagine probably beating himself up pretty hard. In his defense, I can appreciate how nerve-racking the moment must have been...but, uh, exactly how hard is it to administer an oath of 35 words? Part of me is left wondering if the guy assumed it was too easy and failed to rehearse it.

Still, that was quite a goof...I guess we can chuckle about it and move on.

Errr, better luck next time, John.

I'm in a cold sweat

2009-01-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

It's less than 15 minutes before Obama takes the oath, and it's hard to describe what's going through my mind...I'm breaking into a cold sweat.

Obama was just introduced and came out to the sea of people on the mall.

What an incredible moment.

I wish these folks were here today...

2009-01-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

It's t-minus 90 minutes...

As Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office today as the nation's 44th President ~ and the first African-American President in our history ~ I'm thinking about a few names out there who I wish could be present for this historic occasion.

My grandmothers
Gramps
Michael Haugh & David Papadupolo, my two deceased fraternity brothers -- the former who helped recruit me
Obama's grandmother
Obama's mother
Gandhi
MLK (duh)
Jackie Robinson
Rosa Parks
The bus driver who had Rosa Parks arrested
Buck O'Neal
All deceased Negro League ballplayers
Curt Flood
Branch Rickey
The four little girls killed in the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, and their families
The men who gave rise to the KKK...make them see the white of Obama's eyes as he gives the oath!
Miles Davis
Johnny Cash & June Carter
Lincoln
FDR
JFK
JFK's son
RFK
Lyndon Johnson
Louis Armstrong
Sun Ra
Brian Piccolo
Walter Payton
John Wilkes Boothe, with a front row seat after the metal detectors, a solid patdown, and a thorough cavity search

Of course, it's easy to imagine these folks looking from above and being present in spirit...especially those who this moment is linked to, such as Lincoln and MLK.

Obama's viewpoint

2009-01-20T06:45:00.000-08:00

The day has finally arrived!

When I saw this photo today, I figured this was the view Obama will have today from the Capitol Building as he takes the oath to be the 44th President of the United States of America.

Am I dreaming? Is this real?

Today is a beautiful and historic day for our Nation. It's a day of brotherhood amongst countrymen, in its truest form.

Over two million folks are expected to attend today. The train lines getting into Washington are so backed up, including the platforms at the end of the line, that people are actually boarding outgoing trains just to be on them when they turn around to go back into the city...ever heard of that before?

Despite the hassles of getting into the capital city, I'm seeing lots of happy faces today. I'm one of them!

Keith's Farewell Address to Dubya

2009-01-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

Here's Keith Olbermann's Farewell Address to Dubya...8 years in 8 minutes. I thought it was much worthier and more informative than my rant a couple days ago, so I went ahead and eliminated my post. If it's of any interest, I was probably at my most effective with my initial post to this blog last September.

I hope to stop seeing red after next Tuesday

2009-01-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

Simply put, he has to literally leave office.

I've figured out that my venom for Dubya won't start subsiding until he's literally out of office.

You probably wonder why I seem to get so "carried away" on this site when it comes to all things Dubya-related.

Believe it or not, I speak for lots of people out there who are angry and fed up with the last 8 years...to the point where it tends to boil over.

I'm one of them...and I won't ~ I can't ~ see ANYTHING BUT RED until the son of a bitch leaves office. Part of my fury today involves the anticipation of some serious nose-thumbing from the Oval Office in Dubya's last address to the nation, which I don't plan on watching, but probably will run into nonetheless.

Once I see Obama being sworn in, and it all starts to sink in, I'm expecting the red to start fading; hopefully to be replaced by peaceful hues of blue and green...but there will be an adjustment period.

I'm sure the red will flare back up every now and then as we learn more about the goings on during the hijacked years of Dubya...but with time, hopefully it will start to fade into the annals (or anals, if you like) of history.

Cry me a f'n river...FREAK!

2009-01-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

Soon to be impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, in a press conference today, decided to read us some poetry.

How touching.

It was also beyond the Great Unknown in terms of bizarre. REALLY BIZARRE...possibly the weirdest press conference I've ever witnessed from a politician.

The press conference was his "artful reaction" to the Illinois State House of Representatives voting in favor of articles of impeachment with respect to a mounting case of evidence that he tried to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat following the election last Nov. 4.

The guy was all over the map. He lined up a group of citizens (apparently from Illinios and affected by health care issues - I don't want to imagine how that group was assembled) and pontificated about health care pitfalls on the part of the State House.

I even heard him mutter the word "pap smear" in the press conference. Uhh, yeah.

Some of the talking heads think he's a political mastermind at messing with the political landscape right now...personally, I think he's simply delusional.

I don't believe this fella is working with a full deck. In any event, it should be obvious that the sooner this character is kicked out of office, the better.

An Era of Heartless, Revolting Dishonesty

2009-01-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

I picked this up on Dec. 31 in a coffee house in Ketchum, Idaho from the Idaho Mountain Express...and thought it was worth spreading the word.
Nothing like starting out the New Year with a bang. Right?
An era of heartless, revolting dishonesty

By PAT MURPHY

Bernard Madoff, the New Yorker who fleeced investors of $50 billion with heartless precision, and Vice President Dick Cheney, a principal architect of America’s ruin as an envied world leader and engineer of calculated abuse of power, share the same amoral lack of ethics except for one distinguishing fact.

Madoff forlornly admits his revolting dishonesty and theft of investments from philanthropists, friends, foundations and celebrities. However, right up to the last days of his dark reign, Cheney not only refuses to admit his deceit, but boasts that kidnapping and torture of terror suspects, wiretapping Americans, ignoring Congress, lying to the public, launching a war on fraudulent grounds, alienating overseas allies, pandering to loony religious agendas and legislating for the wealthy were collectively beneficial to Americans.

Loyalists of George W. Bush and Cheney will protest. However, a reasonable case can be made that the Bush-Cheney years were golden for corrupt public conduct.

Touted as one of Wall Street’s “most respected” financiers, Madoff claimed in his business motto an “unblemished record of value, fair-dealing and high ethical standards.” That phony façade led to perhaps the largest fraud in history.

Likewise, President Bush began his presidency with a lie—that he was a “unifier, not a divider.” No president in modern history has so divided a nation, especially favoring the wealthy and those placing self above principle.

Without Bush-Cheney orders to government regulators to back off, Wall Street couldn’t have leeched fortunes from hapless investors. In the end, taxpayer bailouts were needed to remedy reckless Bush-Cheney policies.

Government whistleblowers were silenced while abuses thrived in federal programs. Lawless wiretaps were encouraged. Fraud of private contractors in Iraq was ignored. Agency officials were ordered to not cooperate with Congress.

Of course, gullible consumers falling for too-good-to-be-true deals greased the Wall Street collapse, and spineless congressional leaders—notably House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid—encouraged Bush-Cheney malfeasance by promising no impeachment for criminal conduct.

My opinion is that George W. Bush, coming off years of alcoholism and business failures, truly was little more than a willing puppet in search of success for the Machiavellian personality of Vice President Cheney. Bush’s rote revealed a shallow man reciting a rehearsed script.

The sum of the Bush-Cheney years undeniably meets impeachment requirements of the U.S. Constitution’s Article II Section 4—for “high crimes and other misdemeanors.”

Is it possible that a nation that cherishes its heritage of law will blithely allow a lawless president and vice president to simply walk away unscathed from their years of criminal conduct?

Another hero rises up: Tim DeChristopher

2008-12-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

This article from the Daily Kos was brought to my attention by my helpful assistant...we need more people like this to rise up and monkey wrench the system over the next month to combat these eco-saboteurs.

Remember This Name: Tim DeChristopher

by Words In Action [Subscribe]

Sat Dec 20, 2008 at 09:58:12 AM PST

Per UTVoter's excellent diary, "Holiday oil and gas sale & civil disobedience" and the Salt Lake Trib article, "Impostor disrupts lands bid: Civil disobedience » U. student drives up bids, may face charges", Tim DeChristopher is a hero.

Tim DeChristopher, 27, faces possible federal charges after winning bids totaling about $1.8 million on more than 10 lease parcels that he admits he has neither the intention nor the money to buy -- and he's not sorry.

"I decided I could be much more effective by an act of civil disobedience," he said during an impromptu streetside news conference during an afternoon blizzard. "There comes a time to take a stand."

The Sugar House resident -- questioned and released after disrupting a U.S. Bureau of Land Management lease auction of 149,000 acres of public land in scenic southern and eastern Utah -- said he came to the BLM's state office in Salt Lake City to join about 200 other activists in a peaceful protest outside the building Friday morning. But then he registered with the BLM as representing himself and went to the auction room.

I would love to post the SL Trib's photo of Tim DeChristopher right here. If someone could post it in a diary, that would help bring this important person to the prominence he deserves.

Effective Action

Not only did he disrupt oil and gas lease sales, DeChristopher provided an important and effective example of modern civil disobedience. He came up with a creative, effective, pragmatic solution--one that would not disrupt, inconvenience or anger the general public on whose behalf he was acting--and then summoned the courage to act on it.

Legal Consequences

David Thoreau would be proud.

In addition to disrupting the sales AND providing a good example of civil disobedience, DeChristopher's may have a legal consequence, which is in fact a customary feature and one of the points of civil disobedience: to demonstrate against law of a state that would allow a particular injustice to take place.

Most acts of civil disobedience lead to a night or a few in jail. In DeChristopher's case, as the Trib article notes, the federal charges may lead to larger penalties. Only time and the courts will tell what the outcome might be. No matter what, however, the risk Tim DeChristopher took on behalf the current and future general public for having "monkey-wrenched a federal oil- and gas-lease sale Friday" was substantial, calculated and taken.

Responses

We owe Tim DeChristopher a great debt of gratitude.

As we follow this story, we should consider and act to raise funds, as necessary, for the following expenses, if any:

* legal defense leading up to and during the trial, * legal defense during his prison stay * fines * loss of income (if any)

Whether or not these funds are needed, IMHO, he deserves a financial demonstration of gratitude, to him or in his name.

This event is also worthy on many levels of a documentary:

* To expose the Bush administration's 11th effort to enable private entities to plunder public lands and wreak environmental havoc pursuing more carbon-based fuel. * To document the sale event itself: the preface, including public outcry, including voices such as Robert Redford's and Terry Tempest Williams; the event, including footage of the protest at the location, and a review of the transactions and DeChristopher's involvement; the aftermath, in terms of what happens to DeChristopher and the parcels he impacted with his action, what happens to the other parcels, and what happends to DeChristopher. * To shine a light on modern civil disobedience. This country is in definite of information and educaton; i.e., voting is not the only responsibility or answer. Direct action and civil disobedience also have had, have and should continue to have important roles in civic involvement.

I will be contacting the following and encourage you to do the same:

Geralyn Dreyfus, Executive Director, Salt Lake Film Center
Sundance Film Institute
Robert Redford
Marshall Thompson, "A Soldier's Peace"

I urge you to contact anyone/everyone you know who could help make a documentary happen.

It might also be worth considering raising money over time to one day acquire a plot of land near Arches and put up a small monument commemorating and expressing gratitude for his act. This may sound over the top, but raising awareness for and inspiring direct action and civil disobedience is no trivial matter, especially with so many significant problems weighing on us. We need activists to spur and accelerate progress.

Thanks you, Tim DeChristopher.

Tags: Tim DeChrisdtopher, Civil Disobedience, Direct Action, Utah, Salt lake City, Arches, Canyonlands, Nine Mile Canyon, Federal charges, Federal gas and oil lease sale, fundraising (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Bush's Boot Camp

2008-12-15T21:58:00.000-08:00

Check out this new video game for some shoe flickin' fun! You try to shoot the shoes as they're being hurled at the President.

It's "SHOETIME," baby!!!

2008-12-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

Applause! Applause! What a wonderful performance! Encore! Encore!

If it reeks of EVIL, and acts EVIL, then it must be...EVIL?!?!

2008-12-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh, so THAT'S what he's been up to, apparently, in recent weeks since the economy tanked?

It turns out Dubya has a "legacy team" together, because rumor has it that it needs some assistance.

Just a hunch.

What a sad joke. This team can try to churn out whatever hocus pocus crap that it wants, but the American people - and the world, for that matter - aren't stupid.

Bush's "legacy," if you even want to call it that, will be fodder thrown to the wolves...and if you beg to differ, consider this: the former Presidents that have always been the brunt of the biggest jokes, before Nixon at least (who had positive attributes, but still abused his power), have been Herbert Hoover and James Buchanan. Come on...remember your grandparents stories about "Hoovervilles" during the Great Depression? There ya are.

Bush's failures eclipses all three of the aforementioned leaders, IMO.

Nixon, from my vantage, was simply a tortured soul who thought the Presidency was untouchable. He thought he could get away with anything, and was proven wrong as he was forced to resign over Watergate. He was an extremely insecure man who generally didn't like people and was out of touch as President. He would have fared much better as a college professor.

Nevertheless, Nixon still performed some tasks that are commendable, such as ending Vietnam (after waging a secret campaign in Cambodia, of course), signing into effect environmental legislation, and his foreign relations abilities were amazing -- as evidenced by how he handled China -- and are the standard by which all who follow him are measured...and despite it all I still do an impeccable impression of him, as he's the former President that entertains me the most.

Hoover, FDR's predecessor, sat like a deer in the headlights while the Nation slid deeper into the Great Depression...he was ill-equipped to handle the crisis, and stood in a mental prison of the cowardly ideology that "it will all work itself out," as Bush has essentially done today.

The only thing I will say, in his defense, is that this President was dealing with a situation that had no precedent...yes, I intentionally typed that so I could write President and precedent in the same sentence (yuck yuck yuck).

Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln's predecessor, sat idly by without any effort to intervene while the Civil War began...and while it can be argued that he didn't start that war per se, and that the issues of slavery and the related economics had grown into a bubble about to burst, he certainly didn't help matters by either doing nothing or fanning the flames as 1861 approached and the nation unraveled -- literally -- as southern states seceded and the war began leading right up to Lincoln's inauguration.

That being said, and despite having the lessons of history at his disposal, somehow Bush has managed to channel the legacies of Buchanan, Hoover AND Nixon at the same time, and in some ways SURPASSED their failures.

My first reaction would be to think "Isn't that pretty hard to do?" Maybe not...not if you have no tendency to see yourself and your decisions in retrospect, as that obviously seems to be a trait that Bush lacks.

Nevertheless, it is what it is...the economic collapse and Bush's policies speak for themselves...and while Iraq has not been a civil war fought within our borders -- in which Americans have bloodied each other up -- thousands of Americans, and untold numbers of Iraqui civilians, have still died. George W. Bush has lots of blood on his hands.

In addition, Bush has presided over the turbulence of this first 21st century decade thus far, and only fanned the flames of the deepest divisions in the nation since the 1860s...but the gravity of the American Civil War is made up by the fact that Bush ignited the Iraq War all himself, through mass deception, with some advisement from his cronies. Sure, blame Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove too...they share it...but the buck stopped with Dubya.

Then, when he's not deceiving the planet, he spends his time thumbing his nose at everyone who disagrees with him or "dares to question him." No remorse, no willingness to listen...only arrogance...just intoxicated with power.

If that's not evil, I don't know what is.

So I rest my case. Bush's horrible legacy will be the "new low" in terms of the low bar set for Presidents of the future...and he'll be the brunt of jokes for generations to come...that's just how it works.

I don't believe he's in denial of these emerging facts, as a team designated for the task of "rewriting history" would seem to indicate...and if arrogance wasn't bad enough, he's making every effort to go out with a middle finger to the American public by selling our environment down the river to mining interests, and appointing new public officials who seemingly can't be fired...intentionally making things that much more difficult for the new Obama Administration.

So...as far as that new Bush library goes?

I can't wait to relieve myself in a few years when I visit Texas...I'll be sure to drink lots of water and have oat bran for breakfast before I stop by.

And as far as the Bush team's efforts to try to "rewrite history?"

Uh, good luck with that.

An Obama Thanksgiving 4 U

2008-11-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

Here's links to all the latest and greatest in our new reality known as the BARACK OBAMA UNIVERSE...and yes, his universe has universal appeal...aren't I punny?

The following should give you something to gnaw on besides a turkey leg. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

From the office of the President-Elect

2008-11-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

Sarah unleashed!

2008-11-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

So how's that Fleetwood Mac song go?

"Sara, you're the poet in my heart,
Never change, and don’t you ever stop..."

Wrong spelling of Sarah, but you get the idea...anyway.

She's the gift that keeps giving. She's the mustard stain on the tie that won't come out. She's the termite infestation that keeps returning to eat away at the foundation, despite continued efforts to exterminate...she simply refuses to go away.

...and I couldn't be more amused!!!

Sarah Palin might very well be the greatest bomb to go off in the face of the GOP...and as a Left-leaning Independent, I'm just crackin' another beer and kicking back to enjoy the show.

I really, really hope Sarah Palin keeps talking and blabbering away.

The more she opens her mouth, the more the oxygen is sucked out of the Republican room...and the more she sandbags the GOP's efforts to get breathing room to retool and strategize.

Like, for example, today...when she totally hijacked the Republican Governor's meeting and steered the biplane right into King Kong's swatting fist.

I love how she chases her tail in the spotlight, being the self-proclaimed "pit bull with lipstick" that she is...just chasing her tail...going faster...and faster...and faster! Until all the china crashes all over the floor!!!

I can hear Republicans seething with every word that comes out of her mouth. Even if Republicans start telling her to shut her mouth, that will only rile her up even more and spin her into new heights of "Sarah unleashed."

Perhaps Sarah's fire will burn out, but it doesn't look like that will occur anytime in the foreseeable future.

I'm beyond amused with this gift known as Sarah Palin that fell out of the sky. Sarah! Sarah! Keep talking! Don't stop! Go on, and on, and on, you little energizer bunny! Don't leave us anytime soon!

Revisiting MLK's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech

2008-11-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

I find that many of us have heard about it, and have heard it referred to numerous times over the years...and many of us may have referenced it ourselves.

...but have you actually sat down to watch the entire thing?

You should...it's some of the best 17 minutes of your life you'll ever invest in.

It's ESPECIALLY interesting following Obama's election to the Presidency. You can see what Obama has referenced to in his speeches; especially in his DNC acceptance speech last August. it's fascinating to see where he's channeled MLK and borrowed lines from him, such as "NOW is the time."

Check it out here, all 17 minutes of it...actually, we should know the entirety of this speech by heart. It's arguably the most critical, transcendent, sweeping speech in our nation's history.

A final thought after this historic week

2008-11-09T23:32:00.001-08:00

The healing has begun

2008-11-08T06:31:00.000-08:00

As the dust settles from the historic election several days ago, my thoughts have been all over the map on the hope and possibilities that lie ahead for America.

More than anything, I keep going back to the complicated issue of race relations, and where we stand today. The lives lost in the Civil War and the family trees that could have been... the bloody and insanely protracted history of racism since... the civil rights movement and Dr. King's martyrdom... the misconceptions and gaffes I had growing up in Seattle, arguably the least racist part of the States... the Rodney King riots and resulting destruction that I witnessed firsthand... my conversations about race with black fraternity brothers in college... witnessing racism firsthand in Tucson against Latinos and confronting it... everything. Everything I've ever read about, heard about, discussed, or witnessed firsthand.

...and now what having an African-American in the White House means.

It means everything, especially for black America. I'm hoping it starts putting many of the issues I just touched on to bed, and accelerates the healing.

As Sheri Shepard said on The View, "No more limitations." A black mother or father can now look their kid in the eye and tell them that they can become President --- and mean it. It can't be questioned. It's indisputable. We can point to proof.

I believe Barack Obama has the ability to heal this nation in ways that we can't begin to imagine...even in ways that HE can't begin to imagine.

The light is shining in...let the healing begin!

Here's Sheri Shepard from The View, see below...but have a handkerchief ready, this is powerful stuff.

Relive the Obama Presidency victory announcement on CNN

2008-11-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of CNN, covering the last minute before Obama was announced as the President-elect.

I'm glad someone put this out there...I have to say I missed most of the coverage after the announcement due to a bizarre reaction I've never had before...a combination of hysterical weeping and laughing at the same time...what one might feel, perhaps, if their team won the intergalactic Super Bowl.

A personal message from Obama

2008-11-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Checking my email today, I got this message from the Obama Campaign last night.

While I realize it's just something routine, it's the message I've been waiting to read...I can't believe that I'm seeing this...dear God, this day tastes sweeter than I could have ever imagined!!!

Sweva --

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.

We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

A chessboard sweep in Seattle

2008-11-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

Last night was a FANTASTIC night up here in Washington State and in the Seattle area.

The following took place:

Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire got reelected...and I think we dodged a HUGE BULLET on this one, as Dino Rossi would have been an utter nightmare, like another Bush. He's such an ass...it's the second straight election loss where the guy's refused to concede...and this time he got his ass handed to him. So then, Dino, GO AWAY.....
Prop. 1 passed, which extends the light rail lines to Bellevue and moves toward completing a light rail corridor that links Everett to Tacoma. This is a massive, massive, move in the right direction for the region to alleviate traffic congestion...we have some of the worst in the nation.
Initiative 195 failed...which would have made our traffic woes even worse...it was a citizen-based initiative driven by our local village idiot, Tim Eyman. Let's just say it's a long story on that scab that's not worth going into.
Washington passed a death with dignity law. It allows terminally ill patients to get prescriptions from their doctors to end their lives if they have less than six months to live (from a severe cancer diagnosis, etc.).
The House Rep race between Darcy Burner and Dave Reichert still hasn't been called...we'll keep our fingers crossed on that one. Go Darcy!
...and last but not least...Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States of America!!! Woohoo!!!

What a glorious day today is. These sorts of victories don't happen very often...but last night was a massive, massive victory night!!!

Puget Sound residents have invested in their future, and invested wisely...now let's roll up our sleeves and get to work!

Obama's win is an indescribable feeling

2008-11-05T07:36:00.001-08:00

It's difficult for me to absorb the feeling I had when I woke up this morning, or even to describe it.

As I awoke, all I could hear were victory trumpets going off in my head...you know, like the ones from King Arthur, being blown by those duke dudes in tights with feathers in their hat?

Shut up...you know what I mean.

I opened the window and all the little creatures in the woods were waving at me as they danced in a circle holding hands.

Not really...but it certainly feels that way!

It's a beautiful day...my heart feels fuller than it has in a long, long time. Hope has prevailed.

It's a feeling that's been hard fought and won. After knocking on all those doors...after raising more than $1,500 for Obama's campaign...after representing him as a 41st District representative in the primary...after all the caucusing...after all the days of frustration...after all the days of not knowing what the future would bring...after pining over the future of the planet...after suffering the loss of a classmate in Iraq...after the thieves left us standing in our living rooms with an empty bag in our hands in 2000...after a razor-edged steel toed kick in the balls in 2004...after screaming in anger and pain all the way to work the following morning the day after...

...after going through all that...all that garbage...after being beat down so hard again, again, and again...so hard that you can't look up anymore...

...IT'S THAT MUCH SWEETER.

The dawn of a new day has come. I have a little more steam in my stride today.

Oh, and when the sun rose today, it looked like the Obama logo coming over the hill...how about that?

Not really.

Now the REAL WORK begins...let's get busy! Hop to it!!!

HISTORY

2008-11-04T20:44:00.001-08:00

The vote has been cast...

2008-11-04T09:04:00.001-08:00

Here it is...the vote!

The day has finally arrived!

...and not a moment too soon.

What you see here is my actual vote for the U.S. Presidency from my absentee ballot, which I scanned before dropping it into the mail last week.

Tonight (God willing) we will have a new President-elect. Someone to hopefully lead us out of the mess we're currently in.

Better days lie ahead for this country and the world...I know this...I can feel it.

Let's just keep our fingers crossed and get the damn thing over with!

Toots and my hair stylist: on Election Eve, it's all about them

2008-11-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

Going into the last day before the election, things certainly aren't short on drama.

First, Obama's grandmother, who's lovingly referred to as "Toots," passed away today, hours before the election.

My condolensces to Barack Obama and his family...and I like to think she has a higher calling right now...somehow she's needed to help with tomorrow.

However, I can't imagine what's going through Barack's mind right now, and the strength and resilience he's putting on display. As if the road to Election Day isn't difficult enough to begin with, the guy loses his grandmother the day before...sheesh.

Be strong, my man...I know you are. We're all in this with you.

Then there's the story of my hair stylist, Brenda, who I've been going to for about 4 years now...not that she "styles" my hair, as all I require is a basic cut.

So...why speak of these individuals in the same post? What do Toots and Brenda, both who never met nor know of one another, have in common?

They share the same dream: to see Barack Obama elected President of the United States of America.

This is how I see it: Toots shaped Barack's upbringing and brought him to this moment to -- through a chain reaction, or network if you will -- inspire people like Brenda, who is a Taiwanese-American who was born in Asia and immigrated here with her family some time back, and finds herself now voting in her very first election.

Not only is Brenda voting in her first election, which was triggered by her registering to vote in just this last month, but she has engaged numerous family and friends in the voting process.
By educating them, she got them to send in their voter registration last month in time to vote in tomorrow's election.

...and why this election? Why now for Brenda? Why, in 2008, at this point in time, is she so engaged in the future of America?

Perhaps it involved a conversation the two of us had about six weeks ago about the future of America, the last time she was cutting my hair. We spoke of Obama and how we liked him, but in the conversation I discovered that she wasn't registered to vote...and with a bit of a perceived language barrier, or lack of knowledge of the process or where to go, she seemed a bit too busy or distracted to do anything about it.

So I decided to bring the process to her.

Following the haircut, I stopped by a library and put together a packet for her, with some registration forms and Obama propoganda that I printed from online. I even included a reader's digest version of the issues between the two campaigns as they view them, to provide both the Democratic and Republican perspectives.

A couple days thereafter, when I was passing by her work, I dropped off the information for her...I had no way of knowing what she'd decide to do with it.

It was only until I went in today, on the eve of the election to get my hair cut, that I found out the efforts she had made in the last six weeks, and all the other people she got registered to vote.

I told her the greatest feeling I have as an American -- as a free individual exercising my right in a democracy -- was when I vote.

She plans on going to her polling place tomorrow morning with her sister to experience that feeling for the first time. She expressed excitement about the prospect of voting in her first election as a free American.

I couldn't be prouder of her. LET FREEDOM RING!

Toots --> Barack --> me --> Brenda --> her family = 6 more votes for Obama.

GObama!!!

Now let's go out and win this thing!!!

VOTE!!!

2008-11-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

Obama's greatest hits...watch it!

2008-10-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

Having been a political junkie over the last couple of years, and after following the Obama campaign's every move, last night's infomercial seemed like more of "Obamas greatest hits."

However, for those who were getting familiar with Obama for the first time, it was perfectly crafted...check it out here...it's the most valuable 30 minutes you'll ever invest in.

The new party: the G.O.D.

2008-10-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Call it the Grand Old Dissolve...G.O.D. Fitting, huh?

I never thought I'd live to see this. The Republican Party is splintering apart -- literally -- before our very eyes. It's happening from top to bottom, and everywhere in between.

EVERYTHING is catching up to them...FINALLY. The campaigns of divisiveness and racism...the corruption and putting special interests ahead of the American people...the manufactured wars and lies...the shitting all over the environment...the political hubris...the self-righteousness and arrogance...the hijacking of elections, God and Christianity...the lack of compassion...and the lack of a moral compass.

Coming off the heels of Dubya is setting the table for a perfect storm...and then you add John McCain, who the party can't seem to decide to stand for or against...and factor in how his campaign refuses to tackle any of the issues facing Americans, and all the racism oozing from their campaign while in the world spotlight...THEN bring in the grand 'ol crook, Ted Stevens...THEN factor in allegations (some already proven and some not) of local races such as the Washington State Governor's race, in which Dino Rossi's campaign is being looked at for illegal contributions. Have I left anything out?

Yes, I believe I have.

The largest factor seems to be the great divide over Sarah Palin...either you're for her or against her. Interestingly enough, a hockey mom from Alaska could represent the final blow to usher in the dissolve of the Republican Party as we know it.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the Republicans to cleanse their party and salvage what soul they might have left.

There's serious questions now as to whether or not we'll be working with a two party system after this election cycle. So what do I say to this?

Stand back and let it play out...LET THE PARTY BURN TO THE FUCKING GROUND.

I'll happily throw gas on that fire as I dance around it...but I say it with a little bit of sadness, in that the Republican Party in my eyes is attached to Abraham Lincoln, our greatest President...but it has become something that wasn't what he envisioned: tolerant of racism.

The Republican Party was founded on those principles of ELIMINATING SLAVERY...so it seems to make sense to me that if that same party has become tolerant of racism, IT SHOULD DISSOLVE. Essentially, it has run its course.

America no longer has room for racist diarhhea anymore...so anything that embraces it SHOULD GO AWAY.

So, as Democrats and Independents, what is our job through all this?

Embrace national unity. In my opinion, we should give moral support to our colleagues as they go through the process of the G.O.D. and receive true defectors with open arms. When things start to reform, we should extend a helping hand to include people in the decision-making process.

While it's obviously a democracy, an attitude of trying to achieve a consensus would be refreshing.

The Vet Who Did Not Vet

2008-10-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

Enjoy this!

Biden signs my book...thanks Joe!

2008-10-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

I ended up at a rally today in Tacoma, Washington for Joe Biden...well, the rally was really for Chris Gregoire, Washington State's Governor, who's in a little trouble and needed a hand from the Obama campaign.

Well, I finished the event with a prize that I certainly didn't anticipate: I got a signature from the man himself.

As the start of the day, I didn't even expect to be attending the event due to 12 hours of moving furniture the day prior...and with a lower back that seems to have a mind of its own these days, I wasn't even sure I was going to get out of bed.

However I made it...in time to park and get in line...at a place called Cheney Stadium, no less!

I thought I'd add one more important detail about the voyage there...on my way out the door, I figured that I'd grab Biden's book Promises to Keep in case he'd be willing to sign it...that is, if the opportunity arose. I was partially kidding myself, thinking that there was no way such a thing would happen.

We arrived there around 11:30 and waited in a long line to get through security and in the door. There were no signs of protesters. Once we were in we made our way onto the field, and stood about three rows back from the podium on the grass.

There were over 14,000 in attendance at this rally today. You can see how close we were through the photos!

After Biden was finished, I tried to find a position ahead of the line he was progressing on to get a chance to say hello and hopefully have him sign the book.

I was right near the railing holding out the book at he was approaching, when a Secret Service Agent took the book from my hand without a word.

I didn't know what to think at first, wondering if perhaps they thought it represented some kind of threat to his safety (as if I was going to bop him over the head with it). I waited around the area for the next 10 minutes.

An official from the campaign finally arrived with a book and a banner in his hands...he handed the book to me, and I opened it to find Joe's signature on the inside page with the date of "10-18-08" written underneath...which was actually yesterday, but I'll give the fella a break as I'd imagine it's all very difficult to keep track of when you're in perpetual motion on the road in the last couple of weeks of a campaign.

What a cool guy.

Forget that I agree with his politics...the fact that he took the time and care to sign that book -- when he could have been using his time to address many more important matters -- is totally astonishing.

I have to give him TONS OF CREDIT especially for thinking of dating the book, which calls out a date approximately 2 weeks before the election...I take it as good energy from one thoughtful man to another... I was in gleeful shock and this made my day, to say the least...especially considering I woke up this morning not knowing if I was going to be attending the event.

I was personally very moved and touched by Mr. Biden's kindness. Very cool stuff...thanks Joe!

Does Joe the Plumber wear lipstick?

2008-10-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

I just had to ask...

...but then I got my answer when I took a second look at his photo today.

The answer: NO. Apparently only pigs wear lipstick.

CHECKMATE

2008-10-16T00:36:00.000-07:00

Obama secured the election tonight.

When McCain belittled the health exception with regard to abortion, in addition to his angry demeanor, HE BLEW IT.

...and we're not angry John; many of us are scared, worried, and depressed...so go shake your fist at another cloud...or go make more Halloween faces like you're doing in the pic here...nice costume, by the way.

Game, set, match...and Barack that's not being cocky, that's reality...so you be quiet too!

Barring something unforeseen, it's over...I CALL IT NOW.

Coping with racism towards your candidate

2008-10-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

As we near election day -- and McCain's campaign stops seem to only get uglier with racist rhetoric -- it's something every Obama supporter's going to be forced to manage for themselves.

It's the stain on America that doesn't seem to want to go away...the skid mark that won't come out after 10 bleachings in the laundry.

It's called RACISM. And right now, it's no joke.

While we've known all along that it's been inevitable in this presidential race, part of us has wanted to simply wish it away -- just hoping that it won't rear its ugly head back, and therefore won't need to be dealt with.

Unfortunately that's naive and wishful thinking...and I'm as guilty as the next person.

April 15, 1947

First, I want to go back in time...to a day that occurred over 60 years ago...April 15, 1947. The place: Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn, New York. Some of you out there know where I'm going with this.

That was the day that the color barrier was broken in baseball by Jackie Robinson. It was seen as more of an issue of curiosity at the time among whites...and while it meant everything to the black community then, today its meaning is viewed as monumental as any event in the course of human drama.

I wouldn't say I'm a student of Jackie Robinson...however I believe I have a sense of his character, and I am certainly aware of the hardships he went through in the process of integrating baseball.

I go on the record stating that I am full-blodded Anglo, just so you know the source...but also bear in mind that after having worked in a tribal setting for 4 years, I understand what reverse-racism is...and that being said, I still know that IT'S NOT THE SAME THING. So take that for what it's worth.

At the time Robinson came into baseball, it universally understood at the time that -- in the saddest and most horrible of phrases -- he had the weight of the black race on his shoulders, so to speak. Branch Rickey, the GM of the Dodgers, chose Robinson to do this based not only on his abilities, but mainly his character. However, he had to promise Rickey that when he was antagonized by other players that he wouldn't fight back for 3 years.

The abuse and pressure on Robinson during this process was unrelenting. Robinson experienced racism in many different forms...the heckling and name calling from dugouts and the stands...a black cat that was released onto the field right before a game...and the way runners would slide into the base with their spikes in the air, laying open Robinson's thigh.

What Jackie Robinson successfully endured -- keeping his dignity firmly intact while others around him stooped into the darkest of places -- was probably the most unfair burden put on any human being in modern history...bearing that unimaginable pressure essentially killed him...he didn't live long after his baseball career.

That's why we see #42 hanging from the rafters and walls of every ballpark, an honor that was granted on April 15, 1997, on the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson taking the field.

Watching and living with Jackie through his pain and struggles, it's probably fair to say that mostly blacks bore the brunt of those times...so that being said, I want to fast forward to the present.

November 4, 2008

I believe, whether or not we see it, that Obama bears a similar pressure to that of Jackie Robinson...whether he wins OR loses on November 4...but most definitely if he wins the election.

I parallel what Obama is doing right now with what Jackie Robinson did back in 1947...there's some obvious differences, such as one setting involving baseball while another involves presidential politics.

If you look closer at these scenarios, however, you'll see that they aren't really that different. In both scenarios, a color barrier is being broken for the first time...and don't tell me that Robinson's debut in Ebbett's Field wasn't political. It was simply macro politics on a different stage. It still represented, as does Obama's accomplishments, accounts that embrace the advancement of our society.

There's one big difference this time, however.

Instead of just focusing on the black race, the effects of racism now involve all of America. Nobody's immune anymore. Accounts of racism against Obama are felt from all of Obama's supporters, and then some.

How do we deal with it?

Contending with racism is tough stuff for me and others that I know -- I know and maintain friendships with whites, blacks, Asians, hispanics, and native Americans -- who think of racism as a crock of diarrhea, which it is.

It's a dark, dark place for a person to go...but people go there, whether it's blatant or cloaked. Like it or not, be it family, friends, co-workers, someone on the street, or someone at a campaign rally, YOU WILL BE CONFRONTED WITH IT.

So what are the tools we should use to deal with it?

At first, you want to take on racism with a biting rage and anger, to snuff it out and shame it...maybe even pound it into the ground. These circumstances we are seeing, however -- racism bubbling to the surface in the media spotlight on a macro level -- are something new...and we have to adjust to the reality of what's happening, and understand why it's happening.

Here's my theory. The specter of an Obama presidency feeds deeply into the fears of some in this country. Some folks see a black president as a reflection of our country's identity being "tainted black" if you will...again, another sad statement. While I would like to believe most of these sentiments are harbored in the South, it's probably more realistic to assume they spider out to any area that was affected by the Civil War (that's based on personal experience...a conversation for another day).

For those of us who aren't racist and believe in Democratic values -- we just need to take a step back -- and take a deep breath. We do everything we can to receive the ugly divisiveness and racism of a losing campaign, and whatever comes after it, as something we should try to understand and respond to with patience and understanding -- with great practice...and great patience.

Don't get me wrong...these are exciting and historic times. There's some incredible things happening right now in our lifetime, and I feel honored to witness the increasing possibility that a black President will enter the White House...it's really cool, cool stuff. Spine-chilling cool.

...but as we take each blow with Obama as yet another nut job pipes up, I believe we will eventually -- I don't know when, but eventually -- turn a corner on the issues of racism that have plagued this country for years...and arrive to a place where we've never been before. A GOOD PLACE.

However, it might just be a bit painful getting there...and we have to prepare ourselves in how to react to racism when it confronts us. I believe we must listen to those who are fearful, and let them speak out. We should try to understand what drives their fear, and turn it into an ongoing conversation.

If we listen to each other and if people feel like they're being heard, then we can keep a conversation moving in a positive direction...and that puts us one step closer to knowing a world where racism is a thing of the past.

We must keep talking about this.

BURN BABY BURN! How 'bout THEM APPLES!

2008-10-10T17:39:00.000-07:00

So how's that Hail Mary pass treating you, John?

Huh?

What?

What was that you said?

Oh yes, that's right.

So you and your staff did absolutely nothing to vett your Veep nominee before giving her the nod, and now IT'S COMPLETELY BITING YOU IN THE ASS.

Today is a day of serene beauty and poetic justice.

A state legislature report in Alaska just determined that Gov. and Republican Veep Sarah Palin abused the power of her office.

You can follow the developing story HERE at CNN.

Needless to say, this is damaging to the McCain campaign. Palin has now officially become more of a liability than an asset...as if she still had any value as an asset left in her to begin the day, she certainly isn't ending the day with any.

You know? This ride to election day is becoming most entertaining and fun...let's just see if we can riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide this wave through next week.

The queen has just been captured...the king's in check again, and we're moving closer to "checkmate."

McCain's Temper

2008-10-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

It's worth your time to check this out...another reason to not put McCain in the White House.

ELECTION COUNTDOWN -- T-minus 4 weeks!

2008-10-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

Four weeks from today, we will vote for a new President. It's shocking, really, that it's that close...we're less than a month away. It will be here in nearly the blink of an eye.

Also just as important, we will also vote for new Senators and new Congressional seats.

If the polls maintain in Obama's favor the way they have over the last three weeks, it might make sense to focus on the effect you can have for Capitol Hill and filling those seats with Democrats and left-minded Independents.

If you don't know already, find out who your Senators and Representatives are and see what you can do. Every little bit matters, and you can have a much greater impact as an individual with those races.

Saying you're too busy or don't have time is NO EXCUSE. That's total hogwash. You can make time.

You do the math...can you spend the next four weeks investing in your future for the next 4-6 years? Because that's essentially what you're doing...you don't really need to crunch the numbers...so seek out your Senators and Reps and make some calls to ask how you can help.

Good luck, my fellow electioneers, and go out there and start doing your stuff!

Keating Economics

2008-10-07T05:35:00.000-07:00

The video about McCain that EVERYONE should see...grab a cup of coffee and check it out.

Saucy Sarah sasses...AND GETS CLOCKED

2008-10-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

What was that? The gloves are off? Oh no, look out now! We didn't see that coming now, did we?

Sarah, you're sooooo sauuuuuuucy! Or is it sassy? Can you be saucy AND sassy at the same time? She can, I guess.

Keith Olbermann was on total fire tonight! Here's the link to the Huffington Post, showing the MSNBC video and his "special comment" on Countdown.

Nothing like seeing "Saucy Sarah" get clocked with a cream pie in the face.

Oh Sarah, quit your sassin'.

Hey Sarah Palin! I'm so F@%kin' scared of you...

2008-10-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

We'll see if I can embed this properly....

Yahooooooo! Enjoy.

P.S. - R-rated for language!

If McCain wants to go nuclear, BRING IT ON

2008-10-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

There's less than a month left before the election, and the never-ending horror movie that is the economy continues to spin out of control...even after nearly ONE TRILLION of our tax dollars have left our pockets to be pissed into the black hole.

Oh, and for the record; when it comes to presidential campaigns, the GLOVES ARE OFF. Palin said it herself...nothing is off limits now.

So that being said, I guess I have to take my gloves off too. When it comes to campaign issues the McCain campaign loses on EVERY SINGLE FRONT, such as:

Fresh ideas.
The debates.
Not calling your wife the C word.
Adultery...repeatedly.
Character. (uhhh, you think?)
Intelligence.
Senility.
Sanity.
Veep candidacy.
Veep scandal investigation interference.
Judgment.
Temperament.
Truthfulness.
The economy.
Reacting to the economy like a calm leader should.
Age.
Alcohol abuse.
Drug addiction.
Good intentions.
Not saying "Doggonit!"
That's a list off the top...there's more and more and more...

AND I'M BARELY WARMING UP. STAY TUNED FOR MORE IN ANOTHER POST SOON.

So...let's think about this. If you're running for President, and you're facing that sort of deck being stacked against you, what do you do?

You go nuclear and bark at everything like the local junkyard dog. You fire all your missiles blindly and erratically into the dark at anything that moves; perceived, real, or imagined through the warped kaleidoscope of delusion...and without considering the future cost to your own political career.

Only there's one thing: YOU BETTER BE SURE.

You better be sure you know who your opponent is. You better be sure you know the level of his determination, intelligence, savvy, preparedness, and resourcefulness...and that of the people he's surrounded himself with in his campaign...oh, and the same might be said about his supporters too! ;>)

If you live in a glass house (or seven of them), you better be prepared for lots of broken glass if you start throwing rocks. You better be five steps ahead of your opponent, with numerous alternative strategies waiting in the wings...oops, that's right, the McCain campaign has only ONE option.

Again, if the gloves are off, then it goes both ways...NOTHING is off limits.

If the McCain campaign wants their opposition to focus more on just the issues, I'm sure they're happy to do that...but only if they and the GOP decide they want to move in that direction first, which doesn't appear to be very likely.

So if you decide to go nuclear when your king's in check and your time is running out, you better know what you're doing...and do it really, really, really well...and really, really really accurately...and really, really, really fast.

The clock's still ticking...we're 10 more seconds closer to Nov. 4...oh, there's 5 more seconds.

There's No Good Reason NOT to vote for Obama...

2008-10-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this guy's video about voting for Obama??? (The video is below...It is 7 minutes of time well spent.) This union guy is full of fire and passion for Obama and he is addressing the very real possibility of his union workers' racism translating into not voting for Obama.

Richard Trumka just skewers those racist notions! There ARE no good reasons not to vote for Obama....Mr. Trumka gets so fired up and that even brings a tear to my eye toward the end. I made Mr. LunaGirl watch this video this morning----and he could appreciate the impact of this man's words to that audience.

I think here in the Pacific Northwest we are a little removed from the overt racism in the rust belt and can feel good that most people we know, white and otherwise, are voting for OBAMA with enthusiasm and pride. 30 days!!!

Props to you, Mr. Trumka! GObama!

Blind Spots

2008-10-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

Today's a good day.

While it seemed like a rather uneventful debate last night with no knockout punches or serious Palin goofs, I believe it represents more than meets the eye.

I give the debate to Biden on the substance...Palin had no substance, and I could tell she ran into what I call "blind spots."

Blind spots, in public speaking terms, usually occur when you either need to cram for an engagement, are overloaded, caught off guard, unprepared, or just plain nervous.

I know about this from my experience in my early days as a city planner, when I was uncomfortable with public speaking and had to go before the planning commission and city council in public hearings. You get to the podium, and draw a complete blank on certain subjects that aren't in your notes...or a question catches you off guard...so you tend to conjur up what you know, and keep going back to it.

I could see that happening to Palin last night...I could see it in her face, in addition to what she was saying (Colorado Jyms calls these "software loops" over at The Rant from Boulder).

The only difference between my job experience and Palin's debating was that I didn't have the luxury of going off-topic, and I had better know what I was talking about. I didn't have the luxury of knowing what questions I was going to be asked in advance of the meeting...and I didn't have the luxury of spewing fluff out of my mouth. If I goofed big, my job could easily be on the line.

The Obama campaign scored a BIG victory in the Veep debate...by all accounts, Palin had very little if no impact...and now the focus shifts back to the front runners, and Obama is up in the polls with a month left before the election. He has the wind of the economic issues blowing his momentum from behind.

The specter of a McCain presidency seems to keep slipping away, day by day.

Today's a good day.

Watch CNBC if you're worried

2008-09-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

If you have any interest in what's happening with the recent stock market collapse and its domino effect on markets around the world, watch CNBC.

The U.S. collapse is affecting markets all over the world. Banks all over Europe are failing and needing to be bailed out...the most recent action of stabilization I'm seeing is from the Belgian government.

Why this is happening at the depth it is in Europe, I don't really understand why...I don't claim to be an economist or understand this stuff.

It should give you an accurate pulse on that theory that "when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold."

...but sit back for a minute and ask yourself: "Why is this happening? What are we witnessing? Where is this headed?"

If you're worried about what's going on right now, talk to your financial adviser...and if that adviser is your common sense, then follow that adviser.

Pay off all your debts...that means student loans and credit cards...then it's commodities and bonds, baby.

I'll see you when I'm on the rooftop of my place sitting on a pile of cash with a shotgun in one hand and a bottle of Jack in the other.

Friendly reminder to GOP: No earpieces in the debates, please.

2008-09-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

The subject of whether or not Dubya was wearing an earpiece at a 2004 presidential debate with John Kerry is certainly in question, as you'll see in this video.

Note his head & shoulder mannerisms, and how he proclaims (after saying nothing at all, except for fumbled words): "Let me finish!"

Hello? Aren't there rules at these things? It's all VERY suspect, if you ask me.

If it's ever proven that Bush did in fact wear such a thing in one of the debates, it could guillotine an already destroyed legacy...however where it begs an interesting question is with the upcoming Veep debate.

If Palin is as clueless and flustered as she appears to be in a simple interview, it might be something to look for in a debate with Joe Biden...something to think about. Everyone bring your radio jamming devices!

Remember! McCain's health is still in question.

2008-09-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

Colorado Jyms over at The Rant from Boulder posted this last Thursday, and I thought it was important enough of a reminder that I should put it up as well.

What's McCain's next stunt?

2008-09-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

If your brain hasn't already popped a blood vessel from the theatrics of this week, here's another something for you to ponder over...from a website begging the question about what McCain's next stunt will be!

What will it be???

1. Returns to Vietnam and jails himself.
2. Offers the post of "vice vice president" to Warren Buffett.
3. Challenges Obama to suspend campaign so they both can go and personally drill for oil offshore.
4. Learns to use computer.
5. Does bombing run over Taliban-controlled tribal areas of Pakistan.
6. Offers to forgo salary, sell one house.
7. Sex-change operation.
8. Suspends campaign until Nov. 4, offers to start being president right now.
9. Sells Alaska to Russia for $700 billion.
10. Pledges to serve only one term. OK, half a term.

Do you have an idea for McCain's next campaign stunt? Send it to us at NextMcCainStunt@gmail.com, and we will publish the best ideas. E-mails may be quoted by name unless you indicate otherwise.

Gotta go...time for the first Presidential debate! S

Obama shoots hoops--McCain takes a nap!??

2008-09-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

So I was amused to read an article about debate preparations under way for Friday night. Senator Obama will spend the day working out and shooting hoops while Senator McCain will spend the day preparing and taking a nap.

Now is it just me or is that a pretty striking contrast in age and energy levels???? I think Senator McGrumpy will need more than a nap not to get testy.

GObama!
The Luna Girl

Biden's book is an inspiring read for ANYONE on the political spectrum

2008-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is probably a book that gets overlooked by all the Obama reads floating around out there, but it's definitely worth checking out.

It's Promises to Keep by Joe Biden, the Vice-Presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket. It came out when he announced he was running for President last year, his second attempt for the highest office in the land.

He soon dropped out after a few debates in the primaries...however little did he know that he would soon be joining Barack Obama on the Dem ticket for the White House! Fate works in mysterious ways.

He's an impressive man, but also a bit of an average Joe (aren't I punny?)...he's a regular fella like you and me. Got in fistfights as a kid...played football and baseball...drinks a beer. Calls it the way he sees it. I don't know of a political figure out there that represents the average American more than Joe Biden.

Here's an excerpt from his book:

To me this is the first principle of life, the foundational principle, and a lesson you can't learn at the feet of any wise man: Get up! The art of living is simply getting up after you've been knocked down. It's a lesson taught by example and learned in the doing. I got that lesson every day while growing up in a nondescript split-level house in the suburbs of Wilmington, Delaware. My dad, Joseph Robinette Biden Sr., was a man of few words. What I learned from him, I learned from watching. He'd been knocked down hard as a young man, lost something he knew he could never bet back. But he never stopped trying. He was the first one up in our house every monring, clean-shaven, elegantly dressed, putting on the coffee, getting ready to go to the car dealership, to a job he never really liked. My brother Jim said most mornings he could hear our dad singing in the kitchen. My dad had grace. He never, ever gave up, and he never complained. "The world doesn't oew you a living, Joey," he used to say, but without rancor. He had no time for self-pity. He didn't judge a man by how many times he got knocked down but by how fast he got up.

Get up! That was his phrase, and it has echoed through my life. The world dropped you on your head? My dad would say, Get Up! You're lying in bed feeling sorry for yourself? Get up! You got knocked on your ass on the football field? Get up! Bad grade? Get up! The girl's parents won't let her go out with a Catholic boy? Get up!

It wasn't just the small things but the big ones --- when the only voice I could hear was my own. After the surgery, Senator, you might lose the ability to speak? Get up! The newspapars are calling you a plagiarist, Biden? Get up! Your wife and daughter -- I'm sorry, Joe, there was nothing we could do to save them? Get up! Flunked a class at law school? Get up! Kids make fun of you because you stutter, Bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-Biden? Get up!

In addition to going into detail about his personal life and heartbreaking tragedy, the book has many fascinating accounts of his behind the scenes dealings with many prominent world leaders and politicians.

You might also say he criticized the Bush Administration...only a little though, I promise.

As you can see from the excerpt, it's an inspiring read and forces you to contemplate the character of who we want to elect to the White House (including the Veep) this fall. S

The calming mechanism we need

2008-09-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just me, but there's something very reassuring about this interview in which Obama gets the giggles from a fly buzzing around him (the fly wins). It happened in the face of a turbulent week in our economy and financial market implosion.

It echoes the demeanor of a guy who's going to calm us and reassure us through tough times, not stress us out. He laughed about it and put the reporter at ease...

...unlike McCain, who probably would have lost his cool and blamed Obama for the flies. S