It’s that time of year, when journalists in newsrooms across the country gather ‘round computers to read that long-awaited list.
If it’s September, it’s “Project Censored.”
Sonoma State University’s “Project Censored” has released its top 25 news stories of 2006-2007 – which have been censored by the “mainstream media’s” lack of coverage.
These are the stories we might be hearing or reading if the MSM were not obsessed with the latest car chase, sex scandal and celebrity fluff.
(NOTE: This post is long, because it has a list of 25 stories, a brief description of each and links to the winning articles. After you read the introductory paragraphs, just scroll down through the list to see what interests you. You might want to click on the post title and bookmark the post page for future reading. Thanks.)
Hundreds of stories are submitted; vetted by students, faculty and journalists, then the top 25 are submitted to judges who rank their importance.
What makes this 31-year-old tradition so exciting? After the list is published, the top stories eventually make their way into the MSM.
So, why not read tomorrow’s news today?
Drumroll.
Here are the top 25 censored stories of 2006-2007, from the Project Censored 2008 news release (LINK):
#1 No Habeas Corpus for Any Person
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) ushered in military
commission law for U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike. Text in the
MCA allows for the institution of a military alternative to the
constitutional justice system for any person arbitrarily deemed to
be an “enemy of the state,” regardless of American citizenship.
Winning entry:
“Who Is 'Any Person' in Tribunal Law?”, Robert Parry, Consortium, 10/19/2006, LINK
“Still No Habeas Rights for You” Robert Parry, Consortium, 2/3/2007, LINK
“Repeal the Military Commissions Act and Restore the Most American
Human Right” Thom Hartmann, CommonDreams, 2/12/2007, LINK
#2 Bush Moves Toward Martial Law
The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to deploy military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent
of the governor or local authorities in order to "suppress public disorder.”
“Bush Moves Toward Martial Law” Frank Morales, Uruknet, 10/ 26/2006, LINK
#3 AFRICOM: U.S. Military Control of Africa’s Resources
In February 2007 the White House announced the formation of
the U.S.-African Command (AFRICOM), a unified Pentagon command center
in Africa. Presented as a humanitarian guard in the “global war on terror,” the real objective is procurement and control of Africa’s oil and its global delivery systems.
“Understanding AFRICOM, Parts 1-3, b real, MoonofAlabama.org 2/21/2007, LINK
#4 Frenzy of Increasingly Destructive Trade Agreements
The U.S. and European Union (EU) are vigorously pursuing increasingly destructive trade and investment agreements outside the auspices of the WTO, resulting in unprecedented exploitation, loss of livelihood, displacement and degradation of human rights and environments.
“Signing Away The Future” Emily Jones, Oxfam, 3/2007, LINK
“Free Trade Enslaving Poor Countries” Sanjay Suri, IPS coverage of
Oxfam Report, 3/20/2007, LINK
#5 Human Traffic Builds U.S. Embassy in Iraq
The enduring monument to U.S. liberation and democracy in Iraq – the world’s largest embassy - is being built by forced labor. Contractors subcontracting to the U.S. State Department are using bait-and-switch recruiting practices to
smuggle Asian workers into brutal and inhumane labor camps "in the middle of the U.S.-controlled Green Zone.
“A U.S. Fortress Rises in Baghdad: Asian Workers Trafficked to Build World's Largest Embassy” David Phinney, CorpWatch, 10/17/2006, LINK
#6 Operation FALCON Raids
Under Operation FALCON - federal and local cops organized nationally - more than 30,000 fugitives were arrested in the largest dragnets in the nation's history. Over 960 state, local and federal
agencies were directly involved. Only promotional coverage supplied
by the Department of Justice was ever aired. We have yet to be told who these fugitives were and what became of them.
“Operation Falcon and the Looming Police State” Mike Whitney,
Uruknet, 2/26/2007, LINK
“Operation Falcon,” SourceWatch, Updated 11/18/2006, LINK
#7 Behind Blackwater Inc.
Blackwater, the most powerful mercenary firm in the world, is the company that most embodies the privatization of the military-industrial complex. Bush’s contracts with Blackwater have allowed the creation of a private army of more than 20,000 soldiers, operating with almost no oversight or effective legal constraints, to deploy in nine countries and aggressively expand its presence inside U.S. borders.
“Our Mercenaries in Iraq: Blackwater Inc and Bush's Undeclared Surge” Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! 1/26/07, LINK
#8 KIA: The U.S. Neoliberal Invasion of India
The Knowledge Initiative in Agriculture, quietly signed by Bush and India’s Prime Minister Singh, trades India’s agricultural sector for U.S. nuclear technology. The KIA allows for the grab of India’s seed sector by Monsanto, its trade sector by giant agribusiness ADM and Cargill, and its retail sector by Wal-Mart.
“Vandana Shiva on Farmer Suicides, the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal, Wal-
Mart in India” Democracy Now! 12/13/2006, LINK
“Genetically Modified Seeds: Women in India take on Monsanto” Arun Shrivastava, Global Research, 10/9/06, LINK
“Sowing Trouble: India's Second Green Revolution” Suman Sahai,
SciDev.Net, 5/9/06, LINK
#9 Privatization of America’s Infrastructure
More than 20 states have enacted legislation allowing public-
private partnerships to build and run highways. We will soon be paying Wall Street investors, Australian bankers and Spanish contractors for the privilege of driving on American roads.
“The Highwaymen” Daniel Schulman with James Ridgeway. Mother Jones, 2/2007, LINK
“Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway” Jerome R. Corsi, Human Events, 6/12/2006, LINK
#10 Vulture Funds Threaten Debt Relief for Poor Nations
Vulture funds, as defined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are companies that buy up the debt of poor nations cheaply, when it is about to be written off, and then sue for the full value of the debt plus interest, which might be 10 times what they paid for it. Otherwise known as “distressed-debt investors,” these companies profit off plunging impoverished nations into crippling debt.
“Vulture Fund Threat to Third World” Greg Palast with Meirion Jones for BBC Newsnight, 02/14/2007, LINK
#11 The Scam of Reconstruction in Afghanistan
Much of the U.S. tax money earmarked to rebuild Afghanistan actually ends up going no farther than the pockets of wealthy U.S. corporations. Paychecks for overpriced, and often incompetent,
American experts under contract to USAID go directly from the Agency to American bank accounts. Seventy percent of the aid that does make it to a recipient country is carefully tied to the donor nation for further fraud and exploitation.
“Why It's Not Working in Afghanistan” Ann Jones, TomDispatch.com,
8/27/06, LINK
“Afghanistan Inc: a CorpWatch Investigative Report” Fariba Nawa,
CorpWatch, 10/6/06, LINK
#12 Another Massacre in Haiti by UN Troops
On December 22, 2006, more than 30 unarmed Haitian civilians, including women and children, were killed by extensive and indiscriminate gunfire from UN peacekeeping forces, reportedly as
collective punishment for a massive demonstration days earlier calling for the return of President Aristide.
“UN in Haiti: Accused of Second Massacre” Haiti Information Project, Haiti Action, 1/21/2007, LINK
“Haiti: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege” Wadner
Pierre and Jeb Sprague, IPS, 2/28/07, LINK
#13 Immigrant Roundups to Gain Cheap Labor for U.S. Corporate Giants
In the wake of 9/11, Immigration Customs Enforcement has
conducted raids and roundups of illegal immigrants under the rubric of preventing terrorism and keeping our homeland safe. The real goal, however, is to replace the immigrant work force in the U.S. with a tightly regulated, exploitive guest-worker program.
“Migrants: Globalization’s Junk Mail?” Laura Carlsen, Foreign Policy
in Focus, 2/23/07, LINK
“Which Side Are You On?” David Bacon, Truthout, 1/29/07, LINK
“Workers, Not Guests” David Bacon, The Nation, 2/6/07, LINK
#14 Impunity for U.S. War Criminals
A last minute adjustment to the Military Commission Act of 2006 redefined torture, removed the harshest definition of war
crimes and provided exemption for the perpetrators from prosecution for such
offences dating back to November 1997. The source of this provision is, however, a mystery. The White House denies any involvement or knowledge regarding the insertion of such language into the MCA.
“A Senate mystery keeps torture alive, and its practitioners free” Jeff Stein, Congressional Quarterly, 11/ 22/06, LINK
#15 Toxic Exposure Can Be Genetically Transmitted to Future Generations
Research suggests that our behavior and our environmental conditions might program sections of our children’s DNA. New evidence about how genes interact with the environment suggests that many
industrial chemicals may be more ominously dangerous than previously thought. One researcher points to a revolution in medicine: You aren't eating and exercising just for yourself, but for your lineage.
“Some Chemicals are More Harmful Than Anyone Ever Suspected” Peter Montague, Rachel's Democracy & Health News #876, 10/12/06, LINK
#16 No Hard Evidence Connecting Bin Laden to 9/11
Osama bin Laden’s role in the events of September 11, 2001, is not mentioned on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted” notice. Six years later, an FBI spokesperson explains that the reason 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama bin Laden's “Most Wanted” page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11.
“FBI says no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11” Ed Haas,
Muckraker Report, 6/6/06, LINK
#17 Drinking Water Contaminated by Military, Municipalities and Corporations
Corporations, municipalities and the U.S. military are using America’s waters as their dumping ground "often with little or no accountability.” The average major facility discharges pollutants in excess of its permitted limit by over 275 percent, nearly four times the legal limit, while more than 40 percent of U.S. waterways are already unsafe for swimming and fishing,
“Factories, Cities Across USA Exceed Water Pollution Limits” Sunny
Lewis, Environment News Service, 3/24/2006, LINK
“Military Waste In Our Drinking Water” Sunaura Taylor and Astra Taylor,
AlterNet, 8/4/2006, LINK
#18 Mexico’s Stolen Election
U.S. interests were significantly invested in the outcome of Mexico’s 2006 presidential election in which overwhelming evidence reveals massive fraud.
“Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in Mexico” Chuck Collins and Joshua Holland, AlterNet, 8/2/2006, LINK
“Mexico: The Political Volcano Rumbles” Revolution, 9/10/06, LINK
#19 People’s Movement Challenges Neo-Liberal Agenda
In Latin America, massive opposition to U.S. economic domination has demanded that populist leaders and parties take control of national governments, building powerful alternatives to neo-liberal
exploitation.
“Is the U.S. Free Trade Model Losing Steam?” American Friends Service Committee, Trade Matters, 5/3/06, LINK
“Economic Policy Changes With New Latin American Leaders” Mark Weisbrot, International Herold Tribune, 12/28/06, LINK
“Is Hugo Chaves a Threat to Stability? No.” Mark Weisbrot, International Affairs Forum, 3/31/07, LINK
#20 Terror Act Against Animal Activists
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act of 2006 expanded the definition of terrorism to include acts that interfere, or promote
interference, with the operation of an animal enterprise. More than 160 groups opposed this Act on grounds that its terminology is dangerously vague and poses major conflict to the U.S. Constitution.
“The AETA is Invidiously Detrimental to the Animal Rights Movement
(and Unconstitutional as Well)” David Hoch and Odette Wilkens, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, 3/9/07, LINK
“U.S. House Passes Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act With Little Discussion or Dissent” Will Potter, Green is the New Red, 11/14/06, LINK
“22 Years for Free-Speech Advocates: Six Animal Rights Activists Given Lengthy Prison Sentences for Running Website” Budgerigar, Earth First! Journal, 11/06, LINK
#21 U.S. Seeks WTO Immunity for Illegal Farm Payments
The July 2006 Doha round of WTO negotiations broke down over the
contentious issue of farm trade and the unrestricted opening of markets to agricultural products. In a last-minute proposal, one not included on the original agenda, the U.S. insisted that all trade
agreements include a special Peace Clause that would make its use of illegal farm subsidies immune from prosecution by the countries affected.
“Canada launches WTO case on U.S. subsidies” Eoin Callan, Financial
Times, 1/9/2007, LINK
“U.S. seeks get-out clause for illegal farm payments” Oxfam, 6/29/2006, LINK
#22 North Americans Invade Mexico
The number of North Americans living in Mexico has soared from 200,000 to 1 million (one-quarter of all U.S. expatriates) in the past decade. With more than 70 million American baby-boomers expected to retire in the next two decades, experts predict a tidal wave of migration. The land rush is sending up property values to the detriment of locals whose children are consequently driven into slums or forced to emigrate north.
“Border Invaders: The Perfect Swarm Heads South” Mike Davis,
TomDispatch.com, 9/19/2006, LINK
#23 Feinstein’s Conflict of Interest in Iraq
Dianne Feinstein is involved in monumental conflicts of interest as she promotes and exploits the “global war on terror.” As a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Senator Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions of dollars to her husband's military construction firms, while consistently voting to fund U.S. military proliferation.
“Senator Feinstein’s Iraq Conflict” Peter Byrne, Bohemian, 1/24/2007, LINK
#24 Media Misquotes Threat From Iran’s President
A mistranslated quotation attributed to Iran’s President Ahmadinejad, which threatened that Israel must be wiped off the map, has been spread around the world. Ahmadinejad’s actual statements, however, were significantly less threatening.
“Wiped Off The Map - The Rumor of the Century” Arash Norouzi,
MohammadMossadegh.com, Global Research, 1/20/2007, LINK
“Full Text: The President of Iran's Letter To President Bush” Translated by Le Monde, Information Clearing House, 05/09/06, LINK
#25 Who Will Profit From Native Energy?
The U.S. government and the energy industry intend to market a shift away from dependence on foreign energy by deregulating and stepping up their exploitation (development) of wind and solar resources located on Native American reservations.
“Native Energy Futures” Brian Awehali, Lip Magazine, 6/5/06, LINK
***
From the Web site:
“Project Censored is a media research group out of Sonoma State University which tracks the news published in independent journals and newsletters. From these, Project Censored compiles an annual list of 25 news stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported or self-censored by the country's major national news media.”
Read more about “Project Censored” and purchase the yearbook “Censored 2008:” LINK
9/14/2007
9/13/2007
Four past midnight
The buzz on missing bees
The importance of honey bees in our world cannot be underestimated. Columbia University scientists might have solved the mystery of the disappearance of billions of bees – a devastating condition known as “Colony Collapse Disorder,” or CCD. Watch the NBC Nightly News report: LINK
Powell: ‘Terrorists cannot change us’
“Former Secretary of State Colin Powell doesn't think it's terrorists that pose the biggest risk to this country. About the greatest threat facing this country, Powell tells GQ magazine: ‘People will say it's terrorism, but are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But, can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So, what's the great threat we're facing?’
“Powell also says that he would approach the problem of terrorism differently. He says we should send in military forces when there's a target. But, beyond that, he would look for opportunities to create initiatives that help the world - things that move us toward more respect for human rights: creating democratic institutions and increasing the efficiency of market economies.
“He says that this doesn't mean there isn't a terrorist threat, but rather that we are ‘taking too much counsel of our fears,’ adding we shouldn't destroy ourselves and use fear for political purposes.”
- Jack Caffery, “The Situation Room,” CNN, 9/10/2007 (LINK)
‘Do Not Call’ list expiring
Registrations on the “Do Not Call” list are beginning to expire. Go to the link below and click on “Verify a Registration.” This EASY process will generate an email which will verify whether your home phone is registered, will tell you the date you registered and the date your registration will expire. (LINK)
Democracy or theocracy?
A new poll, conducted by the non-partisan First Amendment Center, shows 65 percent of Americans say our nation's founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation, and 55 percent say the Constitution established a Christian nation.
As for public schools, 58 percent say teachers should be allowed to lead prayers; 43 percent say that public schools should be allowed to put on nativity re-enactments with Christian music; and 50 percent say teachers should be allowed to use the Holy Bible as factual text in history class.
Finally, only 56 percent of Americans believe that freedom of religion applies to all groups.
Source: CNN (LINK)
The importance of honey bees in our world cannot be underestimated. Columbia University scientists might have solved the mystery of the disappearance of billions of bees – a devastating condition known as “Colony Collapse Disorder,” or CCD. Watch the NBC Nightly News report: LINK
Powell: ‘Terrorists cannot change us’
“Former Secretary of State Colin Powell doesn't think it's terrorists that pose the biggest risk to this country. About the greatest threat facing this country, Powell tells GQ magazine: ‘People will say it's terrorism, but are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But, can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So, what's the great threat we're facing?’
“Powell also says that he would approach the problem of terrorism differently. He says we should send in military forces when there's a target. But, beyond that, he would look for opportunities to create initiatives that help the world - things that move us toward more respect for human rights: creating democratic institutions and increasing the efficiency of market economies.
“He says that this doesn't mean there isn't a terrorist threat, but rather that we are ‘taking too much counsel of our fears,’ adding we shouldn't destroy ourselves and use fear for political purposes.”
- Jack Caffery, “The Situation Room,” CNN, 9/10/2007 (LINK)
‘Do Not Call’ list expiring
Registrations on the “Do Not Call” list are beginning to expire. Go to the link below and click on “Verify a Registration.” This EASY process will generate an email which will verify whether your home phone is registered, will tell you the date you registered and the date your registration will expire. (LINK)
Democracy or theocracy?
A new poll, conducted by the non-partisan First Amendment Center, shows 65 percent of Americans say our nation's founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation, and 55 percent say the Constitution established a Christian nation.
As for public schools, 58 percent say teachers should be allowed to lead prayers; 43 percent say that public schools should be allowed to put on nativity re-enactments with Christian music; and 50 percent say teachers should be allowed to use the Holy Bible as factual text in history class.
Finally, only 56 percent of Americans believe that freedom of religion applies to all groups.
Source: CNN (LINK)
9/11/2007
Our 9/11 moments
In 2002 – a year later - I asked family and friends to share their memories of 9/11/2001 moments. The following article – a result of that sharing – appeared in The Voice of the Southwest, a newspaper published by my friend Father Tim Farrell, pastor of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Farmington, New Mexico, at his request.
9/11 moments define our collective soul
by B. J. Trotter
11 September 2002
We were ordinary Americans doing ordinary things when the clock hand ticked away a minute that would throw our country into extraordinary times.
At 8:45 a.m. (EDT), September 11, 2001, most folks on the East Coast were arriving at work while the first, faint light of day was spreading along the Pacific coastline. At that moment, our lives changed forever. The clock ticked on, and it would be another 18 minutes before the second plane hit the second tower of New York City’s World Trade Center, and the awareness of that change began to creep into our collective consciousness.
While updating The Chicago Tribune’s Web site, Becky thought about her brother, a former NASA astronaut and now an American Airlines pilot, until she learned he was safe.
For Father Tim, a Catholic priest in New Mexico, the moment things got personal was 9:43 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. Father Tim’s brother is a Coast Guard captain assigned to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s office.
Comforting her students was foremost on the mind of Mary, director of the Applied English Center at a major Kansas university. The Center teaches English to foreign students, and Mary said they were “so far away from the comfort of their families. They were suffering, particularly my Muslim students, who were afraid their friends here would blame them.”
On Sept. 10, Joe Galloway, co-author of “We Were Soldiers Once … And Young” on which the movie was based, was sworn into government service as special consultant and speechwriter for Secretary of State Colin Powell. On Sept. 11, his first day at work in the State Department, Joe was standing in line to get his new ID badge and security pass, when at 10:22 a.m. the building was ordered evacuated. While entering the building Joe had seen smoke rising across the Potomac. He recalls, “I walked outside and now knew that the smoke was rising from the Pentagon where so many friends worked. People coming out of the building were gathering on the lawn, under the trees, sitting on the walls. I thought this was not too smart. I walked back to the Metro and tried to go home. It took me three hours to get there, by Metro, by city bus and by foot. I kept trying to call my wife on her cell phone, but the lines were all jammed.” All morning Joe was thinking about his old Vietnam War buddy Rick Rescorla, chief of security for Morgan Stanley’s office in the WTC.
Linda teaches third grade in Memphis. Her thoughts were with her son-in-law who would have been exiting his commuter train under the WTC that morning. “Some folks were asking, ‘Where is God?’ ” Linda said, but she knows God was with her son-in-law when he missed his train that morning.
The God they worship was with these friends during those heart-wrenching moments, and was with the victims and their loved ones.
The horror unfolding brought every one of us a kinship with every person in those buildings and on those planes. In an instant, they were our brothers and sisters. In another instant, their souls seemed to meld into one American soul, defying defeat by any evil foe.
More than 500,000 anxious minutes later, I asked these friends, and 52 other friends and family members across this country, to reflect on that fateful day. With few exceptions, they were willing and anxious to email their 9/11/2001 experiences. Our actions and our reactions as we went about our early morning routines that day are locked indelibly in memory.
Some were already at work; others had not yet had their morning coffee. Some were dropping their children off at school, enjoying a morning run or working out at a gym. One was waiting to board a flight when the country’s airlines shut down. Ordinary people doing ordinary things.
Without exception, each of us picked up the telephone to call loved ones: spouses, parents, children, friends. We wanted to know if they were getting the news, and, above all, we had to know they were safe. Just like the victims in those buildings and on those planes, we sought comfort hearing the voices of those we love.
However much we complain about “the media,” it is there when we need it – a lifeline, a free press which keeps us informed. We were listening to car radios, viewing news streamers on computers, “glued” to TVs. I remember “Today” going off, then Katie Couric saying, “We have breaking news.” I remember Matt Lauer's incredulity when he said, “That building’s coming down!”
One of the toughest jobs that morning was the comforting of children. Emails from young mothers, a pre-school teacher, a school pictures photographer and two elementary school teachers revealed they were no small heroes that day as they protected little ones in their charge.
“My mom and Jack picked me up from school,” recalls 12-year-old great-nephew Spencer. “They were trying to explain to me what happened. I had heard the teachers’ radios, but no announcements were made or discussed that day. Just silence. I was angry and sad that so many people died and were hurt. I called my dad, because he was supposed to fly somewhere that day.”
When reading Spencer’s email, I was reminded of the opening of the movie “Platoon:” “The first casualty of war is innocence.”
One of our first thoughts that morning was “How can I help?” In the days ahead we would pour out our pocketbooks and our prayers for the families of the victims.
John, a Microsoft executive in Washington State, said, “I was amazed at the level of our community involvement at work. I was leading our division’s United Way campaign at the time, and many people approached me to see how they could help. Microsoft really rallied and immediately played a major role in building the computer infrastructure for the Ground Zero crews. They set up computers to help loved ones looking for those lost. They set up the infrastructure the Red Cross needed to run things in NYC. Several folks from Seattle drove to NYC with computer systems and their own expertise and helped without thought of commercial gain. The feeling of national unity and genuine community was amazing, and everyone I worked with was inspired to reach out and join together in a way I’ve never experienced.”
Reflections on that fateful day continue. Some of us remember feeling suddenly cold or as if we were hit in the stomach. We felt anger. We felt fear. We felt pride. We felt love. We felt pain.
Linda keeps picturing all those waiting ambulances and medical personnel, lined up and ready to save victims who never came out of the rubble. I remember thinking New Yorkers really do have “heart.”
Father Tim remembers: “I guess the saddest moments of this whole horrible mess were the haunted eyes of all the loved ones with little Xeroxed and computer-generated pictures of their missing loved ones. Person after hurting person stared at me in my comfortable living room. There they were looking for hope with a little picture on a piece of paper. I didn't know them, but I hurt for them then, and I hurt for them now. It was the most helpless feeling I have ever felt.
“As a priest, I visit the sick and the dying all the time. There is great comfort I can bring them. In this instance, I felt so helpless. But, I prayed for all those lost and saddened eyes. They still haunt me, and I still pray for them. I probably will for the rest of my life.
“Late night Tuesday, Sept. 11th, I sat with Father Ray Mahlmann, a New York City boy and my good friend and assistant pastor. We sat together in silence in our living room of the rectory, watching the dark city of New York, his hometown, enveloped in tragedy and loss. All of a sudden it struck me: when I was a little boy and terrible things happened, my Mama would make chocolate chip cookies, and I would eat them with a big glass of milk. I went into the kitchen and made homemade cookies, and we ate ALL of them with lots of cold milk. After such a horrible day, this seemed my answer: that by eating cookies and milk, the sun would come up tomorrow, and we would rebuild. Cookies and milk can do that for a soul.”
Niece Debra remembers her husband Preston (with a degree in construction management) was explaining to her that there was no way the buildings could remain standing because “the soaring heat on the steel structure will cause the supports to weaken and collapse” when a minute later the first building fell.
Several who emailed had the personal experience of having seen NYC from the top of the WTC and dining at Windows on the World.
My son Ladd emailed that “nothing short of ‘War and Peace’ could express what we have all felt since that tragic event.”
Friend Faye, wife of a Unity pastor in St. Louis, prayed the Unity “Prayer of Protection:” “The love of God enfolds us; The power of God protects us; The presence of God watches over us, Wherever we are, God is.” Friend Gene, who had worked in a newsroom with me here in South Carolina, simply ended his email: “Prayed a lot.”
Ann, the mother of 4-year-old Ryan, is concerned that we are becoming apathetic, that we are forgetting the enormity of our wound. “I feel more vulnerable than I did a year ago. I feel like we could be attacked at any time. Every day before I turn on my TV, I say a little prayer that nothing has happened.” Ann, whose birthday is the 11th of September, is worried about Ryan’s world.
As the clock ticked toward midnight on that new “day of infamy,” Microsoft’s John was second-guessing himself: “Strangely enough, it took some time for the ramifications to sink in. I remember one newsperson saying life as we knew it would take a dramatic turn. Honestly, I remember questioning that since it was ‘so far away,’ both geographically –from Seattle – and culturally – NYC and all it stands for. By the end of the day – as predicted – life began its gradual but pervasive shift to ‘post-9/11.’ ”
Writer Joe Galloway’s old war buddy Cyril R. “Rick” Rescorla died that day: “Rick called for an immediate evacuation and was responsible for saving the lives of 3,000 Morgan Stanley employees. He got them all out but five, and he had gone back in to get them when the building fell in. Rick died in that building, but he died saving the lives of 3,000 people and preventing incalculable damage to the lives of their spouses, children, siblings, parents and friends – a circle that surely totaled more than 15,000 other people. We miss him and mourn his absence, but Rick died a real American hero.”
We must draw upon the strength and resolve of all the heroes that day and trust that, in the words of the patriotic song, “Right is right, and right will stand the test.”
-END-
***
An important second post follows.
9/11 moments define our collective soul
by B. J. Trotter
11 September 2002
We were ordinary Americans doing ordinary things when the clock hand ticked away a minute that would throw our country into extraordinary times.
At 8:45 a.m. (EDT), September 11, 2001, most folks on the East Coast were arriving at work while the first, faint light of day was spreading along the Pacific coastline. At that moment, our lives changed forever. The clock ticked on, and it would be another 18 minutes before the second plane hit the second tower of New York City’s World Trade Center, and the awareness of that change began to creep into our collective consciousness.
While updating The Chicago Tribune’s Web site, Becky thought about her brother, a former NASA astronaut and now an American Airlines pilot, until she learned he was safe.
For Father Tim, a Catholic priest in New Mexico, the moment things got personal was 9:43 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. Father Tim’s brother is a Coast Guard captain assigned to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s office.
Comforting her students was foremost on the mind of Mary, director of the Applied English Center at a major Kansas university. The Center teaches English to foreign students, and Mary said they were “so far away from the comfort of their families. They were suffering, particularly my Muslim students, who were afraid their friends here would blame them.”
On Sept. 10, Joe Galloway, co-author of “We Were Soldiers Once … And Young” on which the movie was based, was sworn into government service as special consultant and speechwriter for Secretary of State Colin Powell. On Sept. 11, his first day at work in the State Department, Joe was standing in line to get his new ID badge and security pass, when at 10:22 a.m. the building was ordered evacuated. While entering the building Joe had seen smoke rising across the Potomac. He recalls, “I walked outside and now knew that the smoke was rising from the Pentagon where so many friends worked. People coming out of the building were gathering on the lawn, under the trees, sitting on the walls. I thought this was not too smart. I walked back to the Metro and tried to go home. It took me three hours to get there, by Metro, by city bus and by foot. I kept trying to call my wife on her cell phone, but the lines were all jammed.” All morning Joe was thinking about his old Vietnam War buddy Rick Rescorla, chief of security for Morgan Stanley’s office in the WTC.
Linda teaches third grade in Memphis. Her thoughts were with her son-in-law who would have been exiting his commuter train under the WTC that morning. “Some folks were asking, ‘Where is God?’ ” Linda said, but she knows God was with her son-in-law when he missed his train that morning.
The God they worship was with these friends during those heart-wrenching moments, and was with the victims and their loved ones.
The horror unfolding brought every one of us a kinship with every person in those buildings and on those planes. In an instant, they were our brothers and sisters. In another instant, their souls seemed to meld into one American soul, defying defeat by any evil foe.
More than 500,000 anxious minutes later, I asked these friends, and 52 other friends and family members across this country, to reflect on that fateful day. With few exceptions, they were willing and anxious to email their 9/11/2001 experiences. Our actions and our reactions as we went about our early morning routines that day are locked indelibly in memory.
Some were already at work; others had not yet had their morning coffee. Some were dropping their children off at school, enjoying a morning run or working out at a gym. One was waiting to board a flight when the country’s airlines shut down. Ordinary people doing ordinary things.
Without exception, each of us picked up the telephone to call loved ones: spouses, parents, children, friends. We wanted to know if they were getting the news, and, above all, we had to know they were safe. Just like the victims in those buildings and on those planes, we sought comfort hearing the voices of those we love.
However much we complain about “the media,” it is there when we need it – a lifeline, a free press which keeps us informed. We were listening to car radios, viewing news streamers on computers, “glued” to TVs. I remember “Today” going off, then Katie Couric saying, “We have breaking news.” I remember Matt Lauer's incredulity when he said, “That building’s coming down!”
One of the toughest jobs that morning was the comforting of children. Emails from young mothers, a pre-school teacher, a school pictures photographer and two elementary school teachers revealed they were no small heroes that day as they protected little ones in their charge.
“My mom and Jack picked me up from school,” recalls 12-year-old great-nephew Spencer. “They were trying to explain to me what happened. I had heard the teachers’ radios, but no announcements were made or discussed that day. Just silence. I was angry and sad that so many people died and were hurt. I called my dad, because he was supposed to fly somewhere that day.”
When reading Spencer’s email, I was reminded of the opening of the movie “Platoon:” “The first casualty of war is innocence.”
One of our first thoughts that morning was “How can I help?” In the days ahead we would pour out our pocketbooks and our prayers for the families of the victims.
John, a Microsoft executive in Washington State, said, “I was amazed at the level of our community involvement at work. I was leading our division’s United Way campaign at the time, and many people approached me to see how they could help. Microsoft really rallied and immediately played a major role in building the computer infrastructure for the Ground Zero crews. They set up computers to help loved ones looking for those lost. They set up the infrastructure the Red Cross needed to run things in NYC. Several folks from Seattle drove to NYC with computer systems and their own expertise and helped without thought of commercial gain. The feeling of national unity and genuine community was amazing, and everyone I worked with was inspired to reach out and join together in a way I’ve never experienced.”
Reflections on that fateful day continue. Some of us remember feeling suddenly cold or as if we were hit in the stomach. We felt anger. We felt fear. We felt pride. We felt love. We felt pain.
Linda keeps picturing all those waiting ambulances and medical personnel, lined up and ready to save victims who never came out of the rubble. I remember thinking New Yorkers really do have “heart.”
Father Tim remembers: “I guess the saddest moments of this whole horrible mess were the haunted eyes of all the loved ones with little Xeroxed and computer-generated pictures of their missing loved ones. Person after hurting person stared at me in my comfortable living room. There they were looking for hope with a little picture on a piece of paper. I didn't know them, but I hurt for them then, and I hurt for them now. It was the most helpless feeling I have ever felt.
“As a priest, I visit the sick and the dying all the time. There is great comfort I can bring them. In this instance, I felt so helpless. But, I prayed for all those lost and saddened eyes. They still haunt me, and I still pray for them. I probably will for the rest of my life.
“Late night Tuesday, Sept. 11th, I sat with Father Ray Mahlmann, a New York City boy and my good friend and assistant pastor. We sat together in silence in our living room of the rectory, watching the dark city of New York, his hometown, enveloped in tragedy and loss. All of a sudden it struck me: when I was a little boy and terrible things happened, my Mama would make chocolate chip cookies, and I would eat them with a big glass of milk. I went into the kitchen and made homemade cookies, and we ate ALL of them with lots of cold milk. After such a horrible day, this seemed my answer: that by eating cookies and milk, the sun would come up tomorrow, and we would rebuild. Cookies and milk can do that for a soul.”
Niece Debra remembers her husband Preston (with a degree in construction management) was explaining to her that there was no way the buildings could remain standing because “the soaring heat on the steel structure will cause the supports to weaken and collapse” when a minute later the first building fell.
Several who emailed had the personal experience of having seen NYC from the top of the WTC and dining at Windows on the World.
My son Ladd emailed that “nothing short of ‘War and Peace’ could express what we have all felt since that tragic event.”
Friend Faye, wife of a Unity pastor in St. Louis, prayed the Unity “Prayer of Protection:” “The love of God enfolds us; The power of God protects us; The presence of God watches over us, Wherever we are, God is.” Friend Gene, who had worked in a newsroom with me here in South Carolina, simply ended his email: “Prayed a lot.”
Ann, the mother of 4-year-old Ryan, is concerned that we are becoming apathetic, that we are forgetting the enormity of our wound. “I feel more vulnerable than I did a year ago. I feel like we could be attacked at any time. Every day before I turn on my TV, I say a little prayer that nothing has happened.” Ann, whose birthday is the 11th of September, is worried about Ryan’s world.
As the clock ticked toward midnight on that new “day of infamy,” Microsoft’s John was second-guessing himself: “Strangely enough, it took some time for the ramifications to sink in. I remember one newsperson saying life as we knew it would take a dramatic turn. Honestly, I remember questioning that since it was ‘so far away,’ both geographically –from Seattle – and culturally – NYC and all it stands for. By the end of the day – as predicted – life began its gradual but pervasive shift to ‘post-9/11.’ ”
Writer Joe Galloway’s old war buddy Cyril R. “Rick” Rescorla died that day: “Rick called for an immediate evacuation and was responsible for saving the lives of 3,000 Morgan Stanley employees. He got them all out but five, and he had gone back in to get them when the building fell in. Rick died in that building, but he died saving the lives of 3,000 people and preventing incalculable damage to the lives of their spouses, children, siblings, parents and friends – a circle that surely totaled more than 15,000 other people. We miss him and mourn his absence, but Rick died a real American hero.”
We must draw upon the strength and resolve of all the heroes that day and trust that, in the words of the patriotic song, “Right is right, and right will stand the test.”
-END-
***
An important second post follows.
The Cliff Notes on Petraeus
After six hours of sheer boredom listening to testimony, this is all I need to know about Petraeus:
Excerpt from Brit Hume’s exclusive interview with General David Petraeus, Fox News, 10 September 2007:
HUME: Would you say that we wouldn't be in the situation we are in today in terms of sectarian violence in Iraq generally had not al Qaeda been present and active there?
PETRAEUS: That's correct. That is correct.
HUME: Has this, in an ultimate sense, turned out to be more than anything else, a war with al Qaeda?
PETRAEUS: Well, it is al Qaeda and associated movements, I think, or affiliates, if you will, because again the insurgents, until they started flipping more and more certainly throughout the Euphrates river valley and now other areas, certainly were associated with al Qaeda, at the very least turning a blind eye to them, and at the most in many cases aiding and abetting them.
HUME: What is the great reward for this undertaking? What, briefly, General, is the payoff here?
PETRAEUS: Well, I think an enormous payoff is the fact we may be able to defeat al Qaeda. Al Qaeda Central, if you will, does regard Iraq as the central front in its war of terror. Our overall commander who prosecutes the global war on terror ... regards that as the central front. And, so this would frankly be an enormous blow to al Qaeda if we were to defeat al Qaeda in Iraq. The converse of that would be really a huge lift for al Qaeda and really a shot of adrenaline to them.
-END-
And, there you have the Party line. Unbelievable.
Excerpt from Brit Hume’s exclusive interview with General David Petraeus, Fox News, 10 September 2007:
HUME: Would you say that we wouldn't be in the situation we are in today in terms of sectarian violence in Iraq generally had not al Qaeda been present and active there?
PETRAEUS: That's correct. That is correct.
HUME: Has this, in an ultimate sense, turned out to be more than anything else, a war with al Qaeda?
PETRAEUS: Well, it is al Qaeda and associated movements, I think, or affiliates, if you will, because again the insurgents, until they started flipping more and more certainly throughout the Euphrates river valley and now other areas, certainly were associated with al Qaeda, at the very least turning a blind eye to them, and at the most in many cases aiding and abetting them.
HUME: What is the great reward for this undertaking? What, briefly, General, is the payoff here?
PETRAEUS: Well, I think an enormous payoff is the fact we may be able to defeat al Qaeda. Al Qaeda Central, if you will, does regard Iraq as the central front in its war of terror. Our overall commander who prosecutes the global war on terror ... regards that as the central front. And, so this would frankly be an enormous blow to al Qaeda if we were to defeat al Qaeda in Iraq. The converse of that would be really a huge lift for al Qaeda and really a shot of adrenaline to them.
-END-
And, there you have the Party line. Unbelievable.
9/10/2007
'Books are my life'
Many of you know about my buddy Chris, a “special” young man now age 24.
Chris travels with an armload of books he cannot read, and once told me, “Books are my life.” So, it’s appropriate that we met over a book.
I was sitting on my porch reading when a red-haired little boy with a big smile and a speech impediment came up and leaned over the porch rail to talk.
Chris, the son of my then neighbors, Teresa and Charlie, was 11 at the time. Getting to know him, I asked several questions, and I’ll never forget his answer when I asked him about Charlie’s work:
“He cuts people open and takes their guts out.”
It turned out, after my initial shock, that Charlie is county coroner, and Chris had given me a pretty apt job description.
From that moment on I have never underestimated Chris’ wisdom. I learned if I really listen, he makes a lot of sense.
And, we share a love of books. Ironically, he cannot read their printed words, and I can no longer see them. Tears ran down my cheeks once when I was cooking, and he was in the living room turning the pages of a book. I heard him say, “Once upon a time” as he tried to make his book come alive.
One summer on our weekly trip to the public library, Chris was interested in a display of prizes to be won in the summer reading program. If a kid read a hundred books, he could get it all: T-shirt, Frisbee, a certificate to frame and other assorted goodies.
So, we marched up to the front desk to enquire whether if I read the books to Chris, he could participate. Then, off we went with a sackful of children’s books.
That summer we sat under the trees and read, and what a gift it was – a chance to enjoy children’s classics – old and new.
I might otherwise have missed our favorite that summer, Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” and would have been the poorer for it.
Reading of Connecticut author L’Engle’s death last week at age 88 brought all these memories back.
This award-winning writer of some 60 books once told the Associated Press: “In my dreams, I never have an age. I never write for any age group in mind. ... When you underestimate your audience, you’re cutting yourself off from your best work.”
She did not like being labeled “the writer of children’s books.” She understood, as do I, that a good story is ageless and will find a reader sooner or later.
Read about this amazing woman’s life and death: LINK
Chris travels with an armload of books he cannot read, and once told me, “Books are my life.” So, it’s appropriate that we met over a book.
I was sitting on my porch reading when a red-haired little boy with a big smile and a speech impediment came up and leaned over the porch rail to talk.
Chris, the son of my then neighbors, Teresa and Charlie, was 11 at the time. Getting to know him, I asked several questions, and I’ll never forget his answer when I asked him about Charlie’s work:
“He cuts people open and takes their guts out.”
It turned out, after my initial shock, that Charlie is county coroner, and Chris had given me a pretty apt job description.
From that moment on I have never underestimated Chris’ wisdom. I learned if I really listen, he makes a lot of sense.
And, we share a love of books. Ironically, he cannot read their printed words, and I can no longer see them. Tears ran down my cheeks once when I was cooking, and he was in the living room turning the pages of a book. I heard him say, “Once upon a time” as he tried to make his book come alive.
One summer on our weekly trip to the public library, Chris was interested in a display of prizes to be won in the summer reading program. If a kid read a hundred books, he could get it all: T-shirt, Frisbee, a certificate to frame and other assorted goodies.
So, we marched up to the front desk to enquire whether if I read the books to Chris, he could participate. Then, off we went with a sackful of children’s books.
That summer we sat under the trees and read, and what a gift it was – a chance to enjoy children’s classics – old and new.
I might otherwise have missed our favorite that summer, Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” and would have been the poorer for it.
Reading of Connecticut author L’Engle’s death last week at age 88 brought all these memories back.
This award-winning writer of some 60 books once told the Associated Press: “In my dreams, I never have an age. I never write for any age group in mind. ... When you underestimate your audience, you’re cutting yourself off from your best work.”
She did not like being labeled “the writer of children’s books.” She understood, as do I, that a good story is ageless and will find a reader sooner or later.
Read about this amazing woman’s life and death: LINK
9/07/2007
Bin Laden's FBI poster
Hmmm. So, another bin Laden tape is set to be released just in time to bolster Bush’s claims that Iraq is the frontline in the “war on terror” – which, of course, is just in time for his and Petraeus’ reports on Iraq.
Remember that “reverse psychology” tape just days before Election 2004 telling Americans NOT to vote for Bush? Might as well have slapped a bumper sticker on his ass. (OK, if I use “donkey” the right will find a way to blame the Democrats.)
And, all these heightened terror alerts and arrests? So timely. (See my post, “Read or ignore: it’s your country!” 6/7/2007 LINK)
What follows is the exact text of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” poster on Osama bin Laden. Can you, dear reader, leave a comment and tell us what is MISSING?
POSTER TEXT:
MURDER OF U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; CONSPIRACY TO MURDER U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; ATTACK ON A FEDERAL FACILITY RESULTING IN DEATH
USAMA BIN LADEN
Date of Photograph Unknown
Aliases: Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin, Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, the Prince, the Emir, Abu Abdallah, Mujahid Shaykh, Hajj, the Director
DESCRIPTION
Date of Birth: 1957
Hair: Brown
Place of Birth: Saudi Arabia
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6' 4" to 6' 6"
Complexion: Olive
Weight: Approximately 160 pounds
Sex: Male
Build: Thin
Nationality: Saudi Arabian
Occupation: Unknown
Remarks: Bin Laden is the leader of a terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda, "The Base." He is left-handed and walks with a cane.
Scars and Marks: None
CAUTION
USAMA BIN LADEN IS WANTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE AUGUST 7, 1998, BOMBINGS OF THE UNITED STATES EMBASSIES IN DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA, AND NAIROBI, KENYA. THESE ATTACKS KILLED OVER 200 PEOPLE. IN ADDITION, BIN LADEN IS A SUSPECT IN OTHER TERRORIST ATTACKS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST U.S. EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.
REWARD
The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden. An additional $2 million is being offered through a program developed and funded by the Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association.
June 1999
Poster Revised November 2001
(If you prefer to read the poster, here’s the LINK.)
***
By the way, that “deadly substance” found in a United Nations office in late August and hysterically reported, turns out it was “a non-toxic commercial solvent.” LINK
9/8/2007 UPDATE:
Click on the TITLE of this post for readers' interesting comments and discover the ANSWER to what's MISSING from bin Laden's FBI poster.
Remember that “reverse psychology” tape just days before Election 2004 telling Americans NOT to vote for Bush? Might as well have slapped a bumper sticker on his ass. (OK, if I use “donkey” the right will find a way to blame the Democrats.)
And, all these heightened terror alerts and arrests? So timely. (See my post, “Read or ignore: it’s your country!” 6/7/2007 LINK)
What follows is the exact text of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” poster on Osama bin Laden. Can you, dear reader, leave a comment and tell us what is MISSING?
POSTER TEXT:
MURDER OF U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; CONSPIRACY TO MURDER U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; ATTACK ON A FEDERAL FACILITY RESULTING IN DEATH
USAMA BIN LADEN
Date of Photograph Unknown
Aliases: Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin, Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, the Prince, the Emir, Abu Abdallah, Mujahid Shaykh, Hajj, the Director
DESCRIPTION
Date of Birth: 1957
Hair: Brown
Place of Birth: Saudi Arabia
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6' 4" to 6' 6"
Complexion: Olive
Weight: Approximately 160 pounds
Sex: Male
Build: Thin
Nationality: Saudi Arabian
Occupation: Unknown
Remarks: Bin Laden is the leader of a terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda, "The Base." He is left-handed and walks with a cane.
Scars and Marks: None
CAUTION
USAMA BIN LADEN IS WANTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE AUGUST 7, 1998, BOMBINGS OF THE UNITED STATES EMBASSIES IN DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA, AND NAIROBI, KENYA. THESE ATTACKS KILLED OVER 200 PEOPLE. IN ADDITION, BIN LADEN IS A SUSPECT IN OTHER TERRORIST ATTACKS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST U.S. EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.
REWARD
The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden. An additional $2 million is being offered through a program developed and funded by the Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association.
June 1999
Poster Revised November 2001
(If you prefer to read the poster, here’s the LINK.)
***
By the way, that “deadly substance” found in a United Nations office in late August and hysterically reported, turns out it was “a non-toxic commercial solvent.” LINK
9/8/2007 UPDATE:
Click on the TITLE of this post for readers' interesting comments and discover the ANSWER to what's MISSING from bin Laden's FBI poster.
9/06/2007
The roar of the crowd
Speculate! Embellish! Overkill!
“Throw him to the lions!”
“Burn him at the stake!”
“Off with his head!”
“Crucify him!”
Throughout history there has existed a bloodlust to destroy persons whose behavior does not fit the current mores – the political, religious or social convictions of the crowd.
Aside from the possible hypocrisy of Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, which I wrote about a few days ago in “Outing the sex police,” (LINK) something else has been heavy on my mind.
What if Sen. Craig is innocent? Aren’t we all supposed to be “innocent until proven guilty?” What proof do I have that he is guilty of so-called “deviant sexual behavior” or “lewd and lascivious conduct?” We have the word of a lone undercover officer.
The man, with his character on the line, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of “disorderly conduct.” There was no trial. There was no verdict of his peers.
And, it’s true that the U.S. Senate has never sought to expel a member for such a charge.
Also true: Republican senators know if Craig eventually resigns, a Republican governor will appoint his successor. On the other hand, Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana remains at his post despite a known liaison with a prostitute.
The differences in attitudes toward the two, one can surmise, are: Vitter admitted his indiscretion and asked for forgiveness, Vitter’s act did not involve homosexuality, and, of course, Louisiana’s Democratic governor could replace him with a member of her own party.
Then, there was the media. Do I approve of sex with strangers in public restrooms? No. Would I want a public airing of my own bathroom habits? No, again. Would you? Probably not.
Journalism gets more “yellow” every day. Tabloid fever has replaced legitimate news across the cable spectrum.
In my opinion, with the continual looping of Sen. Craig’s police interview cable news hit a new low – feeding the prurient lusts of viewers.
How low can the media go?
The Web site mediabistro.com reports (LINK) “ABC's ‘20/20’ will air its investigation into NBC rival ‘Dateline’ this Friday.”
The “20/20” exposé “looks into ‘Dateline's’ ‘To Catch a Predator’ series, and the suicide of a Texas prosecutor who was also a suspected child predator.”
NBC News President Steve Capus calls this “silly competiveness,” but ABC sees it otherwise.
An ABC insider is quoted by mediabistro, "The only interest ABC News has is doing a fair piece about a very interesting story in which 23 suspected pedophiles can't be prosecuted because of the interaction between police and ‘Perverted Justice’ (Web site) and NBC News."
Personally, I find a degree of perversion in anyone who enjoys watching these cretins caught on camera.
And, in equal proportion, I am appalled by the willingness to destroy another human being before ALL the facts are clear.
***
A second post follows.
“Throw him to the lions!”
“Burn him at the stake!”
“Off with his head!”
“Crucify him!”
Throughout history there has existed a bloodlust to destroy persons whose behavior does not fit the current mores – the political, religious or social convictions of the crowd.
Aside from the possible hypocrisy of Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, which I wrote about a few days ago in “Outing the sex police,” (LINK) something else has been heavy on my mind.
What if Sen. Craig is innocent? Aren’t we all supposed to be “innocent until proven guilty?” What proof do I have that he is guilty of so-called “deviant sexual behavior” or “lewd and lascivious conduct?” We have the word of a lone undercover officer.
The man, with his character on the line, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of “disorderly conduct.” There was no trial. There was no verdict of his peers.
And, it’s true that the U.S. Senate has never sought to expel a member for such a charge.
Also true: Republican senators know if Craig eventually resigns, a Republican governor will appoint his successor. On the other hand, Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana remains at his post despite a known liaison with a prostitute.
The differences in attitudes toward the two, one can surmise, are: Vitter admitted his indiscretion and asked for forgiveness, Vitter’s act did not involve homosexuality, and, of course, Louisiana’s Democratic governor could replace him with a member of her own party.
Then, there was the media. Do I approve of sex with strangers in public restrooms? No. Would I want a public airing of my own bathroom habits? No, again. Would you? Probably not.
Journalism gets more “yellow” every day. Tabloid fever has replaced legitimate news across the cable spectrum.
In my opinion, with the continual looping of Sen. Craig’s police interview cable news hit a new low – feeding the prurient lusts of viewers.
How low can the media go?
The Web site mediabistro.com reports (LINK) “ABC's ‘20/20’ will air its investigation into NBC rival ‘Dateline’ this Friday.”
The “20/20” exposé “looks into ‘Dateline's’ ‘To Catch a Predator’ series, and the suicide of a Texas prosecutor who was also a suspected child predator.”
NBC News President Steve Capus calls this “silly competiveness,” but ABC sees it otherwise.
An ABC insider is quoted by mediabistro, "The only interest ABC News has is doing a fair piece about a very interesting story in which 23 suspected pedophiles can't be prosecuted because of the interaction between police and ‘Perverted Justice’ (Web site) and NBC News."
Personally, I find a degree of perversion in anyone who enjoys watching these cretins caught on camera.
And, in equal proportion, I am appalled by the willingness to destroy another human being before ALL the facts are clear.
***
A second post follows.
Seven rights make a wrong
Caught the replay of the GOP debate from New Hampshire last night and came away with one impression: these guys are nuts!
Maybe it was the combination of Fox News’ biased questions, the rehashing of hot-button issues like abortion and illegal immigration, or just the eight candidates attempting to outwit each other, but I found the whole debate tiresome and lacking in spontaneity.
To a man, each candidate had his prepared one-line zinger for Fred Thompson, who was seated in the “Tonight” show studio, yukking it up with Leno and finally entering the fray.
A surreal moment: John McCain’s stuck-record reassurance that the surge in Iraq is “working, it’s working, it’s working.”
The post-debate coverage got equally surreal with Tom Tancredo’s exaltation of torture, egged on by a salivating Sean Hannity.
The Hannity hammer came down on any candidate who didn’t agree with him that we should attack Iran ASAP.
A panel of audience members dubbed Giuliani the loser for talking about nothing but his record as NYC’s mayor.
In typical Fox fashion, Mike Huckabee was declared the winner in a confrontation with Ron Paul, despite audience applause indicating the contrary.
When the Fox News viewer poll revealed the one candidate on stage who made an iota of sense – Ron Paul – had won by a long shot, Hannity and Colmes attributed it to “Paul supporters redialing like crazy.”
With the exception of Paul, there did not seem to me to be an ounce of conviction on stage. These guys know their “base.”
Don’t know which is scarier: nuclear warheads in our friendly skies or the possibility that any one of these spineless self-seekers might be president.
Maybe it was the combination of Fox News’ biased questions, the rehashing of hot-button issues like abortion and illegal immigration, or just the eight candidates attempting to outwit each other, but I found the whole debate tiresome and lacking in spontaneity.
To a man, each candidate had his prepared one-line zinger for Fred Thompson, who was seated in the “Tonight” show studio, yukking it up with Leno and finally entering the fray.
A surreal moment: John McCain’s stuck-record reassurance that the surge in Iraq is “working, it’s working, it’s working.”
The post-debate coverage got equally surreal with Tom Tancredo’s exaltation of torture, egged on by a salivating Sean Hannity.
The Hannity hammer came down on any candidate who didn’t agree with him that we should attack Iran ASAP.
A panel of audience members dubbed Giuliani the loser for talking about nothing but his record as NYC’s mayor.
In typical Fox fashion, Mike Huckabee was declared the winner in a confrontation with Ron Paul, despite audience applause indicating the contrary.
When the Fox News viewer poll revealed the one candidate on stage who made an iota of sense – Ron Paul – had won by a long shot, Hannity and Colmes attributed it to “Paul supporters redialing like crazy.”
With the exception of Paul, there did not seem to me to be an ounce of conviction on stage. These guys know their “base.”
Don’t know which is scarier: nuclear warheads in our friendly skies or the possibility that any one of these spineless self-seekers might be president.
9/05/2007
The faithful reader
Few things are more meaningful to a writer than a faithful reader.
Whether the writer is a blog author or a bestselling wunderkind, there is pleasure when one’s words are awaited.
Over the last three days I finally got to listen to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final installment of J. K. Rowling’s magical epic.
After reading (listening to) the 3,361 pages of the first six books, I fought sleep day and night to finish the 759 pages of this last book – the end of Harry’s story.
Ms. Rowling is a writer so skilled as to render 4,120 total pages of a work with no minor characters – each so imbedded in the reader’s psyche as to never be forgotten.
I am her “faithful reader” and for that I am the recipient of one of the seven dedications in Rowling’s climatic tome.
While waiting for this “talking book for the blind or visually impaired,” I made every effort to dodge those who seemed intent on spoiling its outcome.
One well-read friend made a casual and innocent comparison to a Dickens book I had recently read. His clue, as subtle as it was, hit me like a “confundus charm” and colored every plot twist of this final experience. To his great credit, he’s still my friend.
No spoiler myself, I will sum up this final book in one word: intense - and, for me, made a thousand times more intense by the acting skills of the talking-book series’ narrator, Erik Sandvold, who brought each character to life with distinctive voice and gripping emotion. In the words of one reviewer, award-winner Sandvold is simply “masterful.”
My longtime friend Annelle, who read the seventh book, then immediately read all seven again, opines that it would be a grave mistake for adults to dismiss these as children’s books and deprive themselves of such an experience.
If you, faithful reader, have not read J. K. Rowling, you are missing arguably the greatest imagination ever put to print.
***
Once more:
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 26 June 1997, 309 pp. (UK title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2 July 1998, 341 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 8 July 1999, 435 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 8 July 2000, 754 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 21 June 2003, 870 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 16 July 2005, 652 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 21 July 2007, 759 pp.
Whether the writer is a blog author or a bestselling wunderkind, there is pleasure when one’s words are awaited.
Over the last three days I finally got to listen to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final installment of J. K. Rowling’s magical epic.
After reading (listening to) the 3,361 pages of the first six books, I fought sleep day and night to finish the 759 pages of this last book – the end of Harry’s story.
Ms. Rowling is a writer so skilled as to render 4,120 total pages of a work with no minor characters – each so imbedded in the reader’s psyche as to never be forgotten.
I am her “faithful reader” and for that I am the recipient of one of the seven dedications in Rowling’s climatic tome.
While waiting for this “talking book for the blind or visually impaired,” I made every effort to dodge those who seemed intent on spoiling its outcome.
One well-read friend made a casual and innocent comparison to a Dickens book I had recently read. His clue, as subtle as it was, hit me like a “confundus charm” and colored every plot twist of this final experience. To his great credit, he’s still my friend.
No spoiler myself, I will sum up this final book in one word: intense - and, for me, made a thousand times more intense by the acting skills of the talking-book series’ narrator, Erik Sandvold, who brought each character to life with distinctive voice and gripping emotion. In the words of one reviewer, award-winner Sandvold is simply “masterful.”
My longtime friend Annelle, who read the seventh book, then immediately read all seven again, opines that it would be a grave mistake for adults to dismiss these as children’s books and deprive themselves of such an experience.
If you, faithful reader, have not read J. K. Rowling, you are missing arguably the greatest imagination ever put to print.
***
Once more:
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 26 June 1997, 309 pp. (UK title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2 July 1998, 341 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 8 July 1999, 435 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 8 July 2000, 754 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 21 June 2003, 870 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 16 July 2005, 652 pp.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 21 July 2007, 759 pp.
8/31/2007
Healers or tormentors?
Like so many who are willing to take advantage of this “great information highway,” I have known about the practice of “rendering” for years - long before the MSM even got a whiff of it.
“Rendering” is the CIA’s practice of moving prisoners (read: suspected terrorists) to “black sites,” prisons in countries which have no laws restricting the use of torture.
That’s why this note from a friend, "the goddess Athena," fired my curiosity:
“Some strangeness happened within the field of psychology last week. There was a big APA conference, and the topic was a task force report on psychologists' involvement in the rendition and interrogation of detainees held in CIA black sites around the globe. The task force was on whether psychologists should be participating in torture. It created a big uproar and debate among psychologists and a protest. Did you hear about it? The crazy thing was that the task force was made up of nine psychologists, and six of them were from the Department of Defense! Well, you can guess that the task force concluded that it is OK for psychologists to participate in interrogations. Go figure.”
“Democracy Now!” host Amy Goodman’s column, “Psychologists in denial about torture,” 22 August 2007, (LINK) gives an excellent recap of the "uproar" within the American Psychological Association (APA).
The rift? Goodman writes:
“Defenders of the APA's position are clear: psychologists need to be present at the interrogations to protect the prisoners, to ensure that the interrogators do not go over the line.
“Critics argue that psychologists are there to help interrogators push the line further and further, to consult with the interrogators on how best to break the prisoners.”
The 148,000-member APA “rejected a moratorium that would have prevented its member psychologists from participating in interrogations at U.S. detention centers at such places as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and secret CIA ‘black sites’ around the world.”
The ACLU’s Anthony Romero had warned the APA: "We have found troubling evidence of the collusion of medical psychologists in the development and implementation of procedures intended to inflict psychological harm on prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other facilities."
Ms. Goodman concludes her column using Romero’s final plea to the APA:
"The history of torture is inexorably linked to the misuse of scientific and medical knowledge. As we move fully into the 21st Century, it is no longer enough to denounce or to speak out against torture; rather, we must sever the connection between healers and tormentors once and for all. As guardians of the mind, psychologists are duty bound to promote the humane treatment of all people."
How does it go? "First, do no harm ..."
“Rendering” is the CIA’s practice of moving prisoners (read: suspected terrorists) to “black sites,” prisons in countries which have no laws restricting the use of torture.
That’s why this note from a friend, "the goddess Athena," fired my curiosity:
“Some strangeness happened within the field of psychology last week. There was a big APA conference, and the topic was a task force report on psychologists' involvement in the rendition and interrogation of detainees held in CIA black sites around the globe. The task force was on whether psychologists should be participating in torture. It created a big uproar and debate among psychologists and a protest. Did you hear about it? The crazy thing was that the task force was made up of nine psychologists, and six of them were from the Department of Defense! Well, you can guess that the task force concluded that it is OK for psychologists to participate in interrogations. Go figure.”
“Democracy Now!” host Amy Goodman’s column, “Psychologists in denial about torture,” 22 August 2007, (LINK) gives an excellent recap of the "uproar" within the American Psychological Association (APA).
The rift? Goodman writes:
“Defenders of the APA's position are clear: psychologists need to be present at the interrogations to protect the prisoners, to ensure that the interrogators do not go over the line.
“Critics argue that psychologists are there to help interrogators push the line further and further, to consult with the interrogators on how best to break the prisoners.”
The 148,000-member APA “rejected a moratorium that would have prevented its member psychologists from participating in interrogations at U.S. detention centers at such places as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and secret CIA ‘black sites’ around the world.”
The ACLU’s Anthony Romero had warned the APA: "We have found troubling evidence of the collusion of medical psychologists in the development and implementation of procedures intended to inflict psychological harm on prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other facilities."
Ms. Goodman concludes her column using Romero’s final plea to the APA:
"The history of torture is inexorably linked to the misuse of scientific and medical knowledge. As we move fully into the 21st Century, it is no longer enough to denounce or to speak out against torture; rather, we must sever the connection between healers and tormentors once and for all. As guardians of the mind, psychologists are duty bound to promote the humane treatment of all people."
How does it go? "First, do no harm ..."
8/30/2007
Practice what you preach
“Beat the Press” is a new feature on MSNBC’s 9 p.m. ET slot with Dan Abrams – a segment he calls “our daily look back at the absurd and sometimes amusing perils of live TV.”
Here’s a taste (LINK):
“PBS‘s Bill Moyers and FOX News anchor Chris Wallace are going at it after Moyers attacked Wallace over an interview with Karl Rove.
“At issue, Moyers' suggestion that Rove is an agnostic who manipulated the Christian right for political gain. Wallace responded on his show:
WALLACE: “If you (Moyers) had talked to Rove, as I did, you would have found out he reads a devotional every day, and the biggest charitable contribution he ever made was to his church. Of course, you never called Rove. That‘s reporting 101.”
ABRAMS: “That is reporting 101, fair enough. Reporting 102, though, suggests you don‘t necessarily accept everything that Karl Rove or any other political figure tells you at face value.”
Correct.
Last night in this new segment, Abrams suggested the reporters for Rupert Murdoch’s new Fox business channel might want to get copies of “Finance for Dummies.”
I have seen CNN’s “God’s Warriors,” a three-part documentary, many times now, having taped it both for myself and a friend.
After seeing his ridiculously biased segment Monday night (LINK) on this outstanding six-hour documentary, I think Abrams should pick up a copy of “Objectivity for Dummies.”
***
A second post follows.
Here’s a taste (LINK):
“PBS‘s Bill Moyers and FOX News anchor Chris Wallace are going at it after Moyers attacked Wallace over an interview with Karl Rove.
“At issue, Moyers' suggestion that Rove is an agnostic who manipulated the Christian right for political gain. Wallace responded on his show:
WALLACE: “If you (Moyers) had talked to Rove, as I did, you would have found out he reads a devotional every day, and the biggest charitable contribution he ever made was to his church. Of course, you never called Rove. That‘s reporting 101.”
ABRAMS: “That is reporting 101, fair enough. Reporting 102, though, suggests you don‘t necessarily accept everything that Karl Rove or any other political figure tells you at face value.”
Correct.
Last night in this new segment, Abrams suggested the reporters for Rupert Murdoch’s new Fox business channel might want to get copies of “Finance for Dummies.”
I have seen CNN’s “God’s Warriors,” a three-part documentary, many times now, having taped it both for myself and a friend.
After seeing his ridiculously biased segment Monday night (LINK) on this outstanding six-hour documentary, I think Abrams should pick up a copy of “Objectivity for Dummies.”
***
A second post follows.
Changing times
If your baby just turned 40, you will remember the lethal odor of the diaper pail and rinsing out dirty diapers by hand before washing and hanging them on the clothesline.
One milestone of women’s lib was the advent of disposable diapers.
Now, there’s a lot of talk in the news about “diaperless babies.” The idea is to leave the diaper off the baby, observe facial grimaces and listen for grunts, then take the wee one to the toity.
Apparently, all this is to prevent diaper rash. And, save money on those expensive throwaways. And, maybe save a few trees in the process.
Doctors say until babies reach a certain age they have no control over the muscles which make all this necessary, and the mother would have to be on guard 24/7.
Who thinks this stuff up? Diaper rash is easily prevented by changing the baby often. Caldesene baby powder, if it’s still around, keeps bottoms dry and rash-free.
I have a great idea for saving money and trees – cloth diapers.
When they make a comeback, here’s a trick for today’s modern mom: running the diaper pins through your hair makes them go through the cloth easily.
The things your mother could teach you!
One milestone of women’s lib was the advent of disposable diapers.
Now, there’s a lot of talk in the news about “diaperless babies.” The idea is to leave the diaper off the baby, observe facial grimaces and listen for grunts, then take the wee one to the toity.
Apparently, all this is to prevent diaper rash. And, save money on those expensive throwaways. And, maybe save a few trees in the process.
Doctors say until babies reach a certain age they have no control over the muscles which make all this necessary, and the mother would have to be on guard 24/7.
Who thinks this stuff up? Diaper rash is easily prevented by changing the baby often. Caldesene baby powder, if it’s still around, keeps bottoms dry and rash-free.
I have a great idea for saving money and trees – cloth diapers.
When they make a comeback, here’s a trick for today’s modern mom: running the diaper pins through your hair makes them go through the cloth easily.
The things your mother could teach you!
8/29/2007
Outing the sex police
I am no Dr. Ruth, but it’s apparent to me that sexual, cultural and religious suppression forces latent passions to come out, so to speak.
Les liaisons dangereuses have long enhanced history and fiction. Tales of randy dandies and femme fatales with voracious sexual appetites abound in history and literature – even in the Holy Bible.
Sex has been around since the Garden of Eden, where God blessed it for pleasure and companionship as well as procreation.
Lust has long been with us, as has hypocrisy. I have a problem with the latter.
To engage in dalliances that are nobody’s business is one thing, but to condemn others openly while hiding one’s own sexual exploits is another.
The list continues to grow of persons who, on the one hand, claim to be keepers of “moral values” while indulging in, to quote Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead, “loo-ewd and lascivious” conduct.
The tote board is heavy on the side of the morality arbiters of the right-wing.
Sex sells. Cable news knows what appeals to prurient interests – whether peddling the latest sex scandal or exposing sexual predators.
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, in my opinion, has a perverted obsession with all things outside what he deems the sexual “norm” - falafel fetish notwithstanding.
When public figures such as evangelists and politicians get caught practicing what they so loudly preach against, well, that’s one thing.
To enjoy a little healthy canoodling sans hypocrisy is another.
Les liaisons dangereuses have long enhanced history and fiction. Tales of randy dandies and femme fatales with voracious sexual appetites abound in history and literature – even in the Holy Bible.
Sex has been around since the Garden of Eden, where God blessed it for pleasure and companionship as well as procreation.
Lust has long been with us, as has hypocrisy. I have a problem with the latter.
To engage in dalliances that are nobody’s business is one thing, but to condemn others openly while hiding one’s own sexual exploits is another.
The list continues to grow of persons who, on the one hand, claim to be keepers of “moral values” while indulging in, to quote Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead, “loo-ewd and lascivious” conduct.
The tote board is heavy on the side of the morality arbiters of the right-wing.
Sex sells. Cable news knows what appeals to prurient interests – whether peddling the latest sex scandal or exposing sexual predators.
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, in my opinion, has a perverted obsession with all things outside what he deems the sexual “norm” - falafel fetish notwithstanding.
When public figures such as evangelists and politicians get caught practicing what they so loudly preach against, well, that’s one thing.
To enjoy a little healthy canoodling sans hypocrisy is another.
8/28/2007
Flotsam and jetsam
“After months of unfair treatment that has created harmful - a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to resign his position, and I accept his decision.”
(…)
"It's sad we live in a time when a talented, honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeding (sic) from doing important work because his name has been dragged through the mud for political reasons.”
***
dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot
Skipper here, sir, she’s sinking fast.
Have you ever heard of C-SPAN? Might surprise you to know that some Americans actually stay on top of what’s going on in your White House.
The “harmful distraction” at the Justice Department, according to testimony, seems to have come from Gonzales himself – for, in your words, “political reasons.”
Stop blaming the Democrats for the imcompetence and deceit of your administration. They are doing their job. Republicans failed this nation when they didn’t hold you accountable.
No more B.S. We have had enough! Better prepare, sir.
Oh, and that’s not mud. That’s sand. One by one, the beached flotsam and jetsam – washing ashore after jumping or being thrown overboard from this sinking ship of your failed administration.
Swim for the shore, Mr. Gonzales! Don’t look back! That’s not a shark behind you, that’s Cheney.
Stop shifting the deck chairs, Mr. President, it’s time to go.
Fasten your life jacket, matey, and tell me quick, is that “mission accomplished” banner across the bow your legacy – or is it a mirage?
(…)
"It's sad we live in a time when a talented, honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeding (sic) from doing important work because his name has been dragged through the mud for political reasons.”
***
dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot
Skipper here, sir, she’s sinking fast.
Have you ever heard of C-SPAN? Might surprise you to know that some Americans actually stay on top of what’s going on in your White House.
The “harmful distraction” at the Justice Department, according to testimony, seems to have come from Gonzales himself – for, in your words, “political reasons.”
Stop blaming the Democrats for the imcompetence and deceit of your administration. They are doing their job. Republicans failed this nation when they didn’t hold you accountable.
No more B.S. We have had enough! Better prepare, sir.
Oh, and that’s not mud. That’s sand. One by one, the beached flotsam and jetsam – washing ashore after jumping or being thrown overboard from this sinking ship of your failed administration.
Swim for the shore, Mr. Gonzales! Don’t look back! That’s not a shark behind you, that’s Cheney.
Stop shifting the deck chairs, Mr. President, it’s time to go.
Fasten your life jacket, matey, and tell me quick, is that “mission accomplished” banner across the bow your legacy – or is it a mirage?
OUCH!
During the Miss Teen USA Pageant Friday night, Miss Teen South Carolina, 18-year-old Lauren Caitlin Upton, was asked what the judge called a “thought-provking” final question: “Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?”
The apparent crème de la crème of South Carolina’s education system answered:
“I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and that I believe that our education, such as in South Africa and Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should - our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future.” LINK
At least she didn’t say her platform was to promote “whirled peas.”
Miss Upton was third runner-up to winner Miss Teen Colorado, Hilary Carol Cruz.
The apparent crème de la crème of South Carolina’s education system answered:
“I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and that I believe that our education, such as in South Africa and Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should - our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future.” LINK
At least she didn’t say her platform was to promote “whirled peas.”
Miss Upton was third runner-up to winner Miss Teen Colorado, Hilary Carol Cruz.
8/27/2007
Humor heals
What is it in the makeup of a man who would kidnap, rape and bury a little girl alive?
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”
In the press conference following John Couey’s death sentence, Jessica Lunsford’s father, Mark Lunsford, made an impassioned statement.
Throughout the judge’s explicit recounting of the horror and Lunsford’s choked back tears, everyone held a collective breath.
Then, a reporter asked Lunsford: “Mark, it's the question a lot of us think at home, who are watching this around the country, and are afraid to ask, but I’ve got to ask it. You're sitting 20 feet away from the man who savagely murdered your daughter, how do you hold yourself up?
LUNSFORD: “I get between an FBI agent and a detective.”
There was laughter, and everyone released their breath in the light moment.
The human spirit is an amazing thing, isn’t it?
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”
In the press conference following John Couey’s death sentence, Jessica Lunsford’s father, Mark Lunsford, made an impassioned statement.
Throughout the judge’s explicit recounting of the horror and Lunsford’s choked back tears, everyone held a collective breath.
Then, a reporter asked Lunsford: “Mark, it's the question a lot of us think at home, who are watching this around the country, and are afraid to ask, but I’ve got to ask it. You're sitting 20 feet away from the man who savagely murdered your daughter, how do you hold yourself up?
LUNSFORD: “I get between an FBI agent and a detective.”
There was laughter, and everyone released their breath in the light moment.
The human spirit is an amazing thing, isn’t it?
Mayhem and mirth
“Mayhem Moments” in the morning news was the subject of Mike Nizza’s “The Lede” blog on 16 August 2007 (New York Times).
Earthquake in Peru. Flooding in North Korea. Tropical depression in Texas. Hurricane in the Caribbean. U.S. stocks set for heavy losses. Deaths in Mosul, Iraq. Trapped miners in Utah.
Make you want to go back to bed and pull your security blanket over your head!
Comments left by visitors are often better than the blog author’s efforts. To-wit:
“If you think this is mayhem, just wait a few more weeks.
“I predict a global economic crisis. Fuel prices will rise to $14 a gallon. An explosion in Iraq that will kill 10,000. Karl Rove will announce he is running for president. Hillary Clinton will scratch Obama’s eyes out with her fingernails. Bush will survive a falling tree at the ranch. 9/11 will be revealed as an inside job. Florida will submerge all the way to Apalachicola. O.J. Simson will do it again. And, Don Imus will be chosen head of the FCC.
“Of course, I could be wrong. ”
- Posted by Jason Wolffe
“Where’s Pat Robertson when we need him to tell us that some great big invisible paternal figure who lives in the sky, who created the entire universe, has nothing better to do than to exact retribution on his children by orchestrating the confluence of these horrific events?
“The pasty, Bible-wielding manics, driving gas-guzzling SUVs with a lead-painted, Chinese-made ‘Support Our Troops’ yellow ribbon on the tailgate, must be swooning at the prospect of the End Times. Proclaiming their faith, they’ll soon be plucked from the face of the Earth in their birthday suits and be relieved of these hellish gasoline prices forever, all the while denying that global warming is a reality and that we’re sacrificing inordinate blood and treasure in Iraq for oil.
“What better reason to invade Iran than to hasten the Second Coming, making all the consequences of gaining and burning their oil irrelevant? That is, unless you’re a heathen Muslim or Jew or Hindu or — gasp — atheist, in which case you’re in for a good ass-kicking by an omnipotent being when all this happens.
“That’s gonna hurt — on second thought, I’d better send Robertson a tithe - and quick.”
— Posted by trippin
In my experience, if you don’t read the comments posted here, you’re missing the better part of my blog.
Earthquake in Peru. Flooding in North Korea. Tropical depression in Texas. Hurricane in the Caribbean. U.S. stocks set for heavy losses. Deaths in Mosul, Iraq. Trapped miners in Utah.
Make you want to go back to bed and pull your security blanket over your head!
Comments left by visitors are often better than the blog author’s efforts. To-wit:
“If you think this is mayhem, just wait a few more weeks.
“I predict a global economic crisis. Fuel prices will rise to $14 a gallon. An explosion in Iraq that will kill 10,000. Karl Rove will announce he is running for president. Hillary Clinton will scratch Obama’s eyes out with her fingernails. Bush will survive a falling tree at the ranch. 9/11 will be revealed as an inside job. Florida will submerge all the way to Apalachicola. O.J. Simson will do it again. And, Don Imus will be chosen head of the FCC.
“Of course, I could be wrong. ”
- Posted by Jason Wolffe
“Where’s Pat Robertson when we need him to tell us that some great big invisible paternal figure who lives in the sky, who created the entire universe, has nothing better to do than to exact retribution on his children by orchestrating the confluence of these horrific events?
“The pasty, Bible-wielding manics, driving gas-guzzling SUVs with a lead-painted, Chinese-made ‘Support Our Troops’ yellow ribbon on the tailgate, must be swooning at the prospect of the End Times. Proclaiming their faith, they’ll soon be plucked from the face of the Earth in their birthday suits and be relieved of these hellish gasoline prices forever, all the while denying that global warming is a reality and that we’re sacrificing inordinate blood and treasure in Iraq for oil.
“What better reason to invade Iran than to hasten the Second Coming, making all the consequences of gaining and burning their oil irrelevant? That is, unless you’re a heathen Muslim or Jew or Hindu or — gasp — atheist, in which case you’re in for a good ass-kicking by an omnipotent being when all this happens.
“That’s gonna hurt — on second thought, I’d better send Robertson a tithe - and quick.”
— Posted by trippin
In my experience, if you don’t read the comments posted here, you’re missing the better part of my blog.
8/24/2007
Sanity's warriors
Dear reader, my mind has not been on my blog these last few days.
What has occupied my thoughts has shaken me to the core.
The last three nights I watched “God’s Warriors,” sure to win awards for CNN’s Christiana Amanpour. On Tuesday night the two-hour segment was “Jewish Warriors;” on Wednesday night, “Muslim Warriors;” and last night, “Christian Warriors.”
Up front, I am Christian with liberal convictions and a belief that the Democratic Party’s social consciousness most closely adheres to the true tenets of Christianity.
In the words of one of the Christian youth leaders featured, that makes me a “virtue terrorist.”
I believe in each of these major religions there are good, moral people with kind hearts, all of whom find favor in God’s eyes.
Two common themes running through all three segments: hatred of others and a belief by zealots in each religion that all people should believe as they do and should be converted or annihilated.
This is not the world I was reared in, and I have both my parents and my church to thank for that.
My church has changed. I didn’t leave it: it left me. Former President Jimmy Carter, another Southern Baptist, calls it a “radical departure” from the faith he grew up in.
I will speak to the segment on “Christian Warriors.” These fanatics won’t stop until this nation is a theocracy, all the while claiming their way was the intention of its Founding Fathers.
They have been so programmed to focus on abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, sexual abstinence and evolution, they are overlooking the most powerful words of Jesus the teacher.
Where is the love? The Jesus of my New Testament loved the unloved.
It might surprise them to know the subject Jesus spoke of most – some 700 times – was “the poor.”
He taught love, peace and forgiveness, and that appeals to me. Pretty good foundations for human relations.
Have they not read Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”?
While they seek to subjugate women, are they ignoring Jesus’ attitudes?
These so-called Christian soldiers, to advance their agenda, helped put George W. Bush in the White House and Republicans in Congress, and the social consciousness of the nation haa suffered for it.
Is the value of human life, in their eyes, only limited to the womb?
They depict Democrats, liberals and progressives as having no moral values – godless foes out to destroy religion. They are talking about Americans.
Do these zealots have the right to vote? Absolutely.
Are they a wake-up call for the 36 percent of voting-age citizens who did not vote in 2004? To be sure.
“God’s Warriors” will re-air on CNN Saturday and Sunday nights at 9 EDT.
Sanity’s warriors will be both shaken and inspired by this exceptional documentary’s message.
What has occupied my thoughts has shaken me to the core.
The last three nights I watched “God’s Warriors,” sure to win awards for CNN’s Christiana Amanpour. On Tuesday night the two-hour segment was “Jewish Warriors;” on Wednesday night, “Muslim Warriors;” and last night, “Christian Warriors.”
Up front, I am Christian with liberal convictions and a belief that the Democratic Party’s social consciousness most closely adheres to the true tenets of Christianity.
In the words of one of the Christian youth leaders featured, that makes me a “virtue terrorist.”
I believe in each of these major religions there are good, moral people with kind hearts, all of whom find favor in God’s eyes.
Two common themes running through all three segments: hatred of others and a belief by zealots in each religion that all people should believe as they do and should be converted or annihilated.
This is not the world I was reared in, and I have both my parents and my church to thank for that.
My church has changed. I didn’t leave it: it left me. Former President Jimmy Carter, another Southern Baptist, calls it a “radical departure” from the faith he grew up in.
I will speak to the segment on “Christian Warriors.” These fanatics won’t stop until this nation is a theocracy, all the while claiming their way was the intention of its Founding Fathers.
They have been so programmed to focus on abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, sexual abstinence and evolution, they are overlooking the most powerful words of Jesus the teacher.
Where is the love? The Jesus of my New Testament loved the unloved.
It might surprise them to know the subject Jesus spoke of most – some 700 times – was “the poor.”
He taught love, peace and forgiveness, and that appeals to me. Pretty good foundations for human relations.
Have they not read Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”?
While they seek to subjugate women, are they ignoring Jesus’ attitudes?
These so-called Christian soldiers, to advance their agenda, helped put George W. Bush in the White House and Republicans in Congress, and the social consciousness of the nation haa suffered for it.
Is the value of human life, in their eyes, only limited to the womb?
They depict Democrats, liberals and progressives as having no moral values – godless foes out to destroy religion. They are talking about Americans.
Do these zealots have the right to vote? Absolutely.
Are they a wake-up call for the 36 percent of voting-age citizens who did not vote in 2004? To be sure.
“God’s Warriors” will re-air on CNN Saturday and Sunday nights at 9 EDT.
Sanity’s warriors will be both shaken and inspired by this exceptional documentary’s message.
8/22/2007
Larson's gift
On the western coast of Africa, a butterfly flits around the left side of a tree instead of the right; a teeny ripple of a breeze begins.
This simple act of nature resulted in the deaths of 8,000 to 12,000 persons in Galveston, Texas, as a hurricane, born of a gentle African wind, hit the island on 8 September 1900.
In 1999, I ordered a book because Entertainment Weekly had named it the non-fiction book of the year. The title, bearing the name of my father and brother, caught my eye.
Erik Larson is not just a storyteller; he pulls you into the story with him, and he doesn’t let you go until the last page and maybe not even then.
“Isaac’s Storm” is not just the story of Galveston’s “weather man” and its people: it is the story of the hurricane itself – from little breeze to killer blow - in breathtaking detail.
Larson cannot write books fast enough for me! In 2003, his “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America” was equally engaging.
The major player in this true tale is a Chicago racing from Gilded Age into the 20th Century and daring to host the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, “The White City.”
Against that backdrop Larson tells the stories of the indefatigable architect who brought the fair to glory and of the serial killer whose macabre hotel brought only horror to his young female victims.
The perfect blending of history and humanity - it’s Larson’s gift.
***
Another post follows.
This simple act of nature resulted in the deaths of 8,000 to 12,000 persons in Galveston, Texas, as a hurricane, born of a gentle African wind, hit the island on 8 September 1900.
In 1999, I ordered a book because Entertainment Weekly had named it the non-fiction book of the year. The title, bearing the name of my father and brother, caught my eye.
Erik Larson is not just a storyteller; he pulls you into the story with him, and he doesn’t let you go until the last page and maybe not even then.
“Isaac’s Storm” is not just the story of Galveston’s “weather man” and its people: it is the story of the hurricane itself – from little breeze to killer blow - in breathtaking detail.
Larson cannot write books fast enough for me! In 2003, his “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America” was equally engaging.
The major player in this true tale is a Chicago racing from Gilded Age into the 20th Century and daring to host the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, “The White City.”
Against that backdrop Larson tells the stories of the indefatigable architect who brought the fair to glory and of the serial killer whose macabre hotel brought only horror to his young female victims.
The perfect blending of history and humanity - it’s Larson’s gift.
***
Another post follows.
'I got my dog!'
I am so grateful my closest circle of family and friends is made up of animal lovers.
Last night on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” a brief clip brought me to sweet tears of joy.
The clip was of a boy holding his 14-year-old Dalmatian just rescued after four days of being stuck in a drainpipe. The boy, through tears, happily exclaimed, “I got my dog!”
Several years ago, my son Ladd’s Boston terrier DuPont, named for Jeff Gordon’s race car, went missing.
“I know DuPont is somewhere where you can’t get to him,” I kept telling Ladd.
DuPont had a bad habit of scratching under the backyard fence and taking off. Once, he had crawled into the back of a pickup truck and ended up 15 miles away. Thankfully, because he wore an ID tag, the truck’s owner was able to bring him home.
Days and weeks passed, but I couldn’t give up hope that Ladd would get his beloved dog back.
Exactly one month to the day after DuPont went missing, I was online when my CallWave answer machine took the call: “Mom, I hope you’re sitting down. DuPont is home!”
I cannot write here words to describe the tone in Ladd’s voice.
A woman had found the little fellow, half-starved and quivering, under her car and was kind enough to bring Ladd’s “baby” home. She refused his proffered reward money. I’m certain the joy as man and animal made contact was enough.
DuPont was only a few miles away – on the other side of a major highway. Although he had lost weight, the vet pronounced him in good health.
A certain wish of animal lovers: if animals could only talk.
I kept Ladd’s phone message for a long time (until my computer crashed) and listened to it often. It brought tears of joy and a reminder of hope.
Last night on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” a brief clip brought me to sweet tears of joy.
The clip was of a boy holding his 14-year-old Dalmatian just rescued after four days of being stuck in a drainpipe. The boy, through tears, happily exclaimed, “I got my dog!”
Several years ago, my son Ladd’s Boston terrier DuPont, named for Jeff Gordon’s race car, went missing.
“I know DuPont is somewhere where you can’t get to him,” I kept telling Ladd.
DuPont had a bad habit of scratching under the backyard fence and taking off. Once, he had crawled into the back of a pickup truck and ended up 15 miles away. Thankfully, because he wore an ID tag, the truck’s owner was able to bring him home.
Days and weeks passed, but I couldn’t give up hope that Ladd would get his beloved dog back.
Exactly one month to the day after DuPont went missing, I was online when my CallWave answer machine took the call: “Mom, I hope you’re sitting down. DuPont is home!”
I cannot write here words to describe the tone in Ladd’s voice.
A woman had found the little fellow, half-starved and quivering, under her car and was kind enough to bring Ladd’s “baby” home. She refused his proffered reward money. I’m certain the joy as man and animal made contact was enough.
DuPont was only a few miles away – on the other side of a major highway. Although he had lost weight, the vet pronounced him in good health.
A certain wish of animal lovers: if animals could only talk.
I kept Ladd’s phone message for a long time (until my computer crashed) and listened to it often. It brought tears of joy and a reminder of hope.
8/21/2007
'Karl Rove never apologizes'
If it’s Sunday, I’m cooking breakfast - and it’s “Meet the Press.”
I was in the kitchen when Sunday’s edition came on, with guest host David Gregory. As I settled down to eat, I heard the guest’s machine-gun pom-pom of Republican talking points.
“WHO is this guy?” I asked out loud. He had the talking points down pat! I walked to the TV to try to catch his voice.
Of course, he did – he wrote them.
Karl Rove.
Most of Monday’s media reports on the Rove appearance concentrated on what he had to say about Sen. Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.
Overlooked was Rove’s “he said, I said” tap dance around what he told columnist Robert Novak about outed CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson.
NOVAK: “I mentioned I had heard that Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA in the counterproliferation section, and that she had suggested Wilson be sent to Niger. I distinctly remember Rove’s reply, ‘Oh, you know that, too.’ “
That, Novak said, was “a confirmation” for what he was about to do – out a covert CIA operative.
Was it a confirmation?
ROVE: “No. And, I, I remember it slightly differently. I remember saying, ‘I’ve heard that, too.’ ”
As Gregory pursued the point, Rove then ducked behind the “ongoing legal matter” shield.
Did he owe Ms. Plame an apology? “No.”
Drum roll. Later in the program, enter Conde Nast Portfolio’s Matt Cooper, formerly of Time magazine.
COOPER, commenting on Rove’s earlier appearance: “Yeah, I think he was dissembling, to put it charitably. Look, Karl Rove told me about Valerie Plame’s identity on July 11, 2003. I called him because Ambassador Wilson was in the news that week. I didn’t know Ambassador Wilson even had a wife until I talked to Karl Rove, and he said that she worked at the agency, and she worked on WMD. I mean, to imply that he didn’t know about it, or that this was all the leak ...“
GREGORY: “Or, that he had heard it from somebody else ...”
COOPER: “... by someone else, or he heard it as some rumor out in the hallway is, is nonsense.”
GREGORY: “But, he makes no apologies to Valerie Plame.”
COOPER: “Karl Rove never apologizes. That’s not what he does.”
TRANSCRIPT, Meet the Press, NBC, 19 August 2007
I was in the kitchen when Sunday’s edition came on, with guest host David Gregory. As I settled down to eat, I heard the guest’s machine-gun pom-pom of Republican talking points.
“WHO is this guy?” I asked out loud. He had the talking points down pat! I walked to the TV to try to catch his voice.
Of course, he did – he wrote them.
Karl Rove.
Most of Monday’s media reports on the Rove appearance concentrated on what he had to say about Sen. Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.
Overlooked was Rove’s “he said, I said” tap dance around what he told columnist Robert Novak about outed CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson.
NOVAK: “I mentioned I had heard that Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA in the counterproliferation section, and that she had suggested Wilson be sent to Niger. I distinctly remember Rove’s reply, ‘Oh, you know that, too.’ “
That, Novak said, was “a confirmation” for what he was about to do – out a covert CIA operative.
Was it a confirmation?
ROVE: “No. And, I, I remember it slightly differently. I remember saying, ‘I’ve heard that, too.’ ”
As Gregory pursued the point, Rove then ducked behind the “ongoing legal matter” shield.
Did he owe Ms. Plame an apology? “No.”
Drum roll. Later in the program, enter Conde Nast Portfolio’s Matt Cooper, formerly of Time magazine.
COOPER, commenting on Rove’s earlier appearance: “Yeah, I think he was dissembling, to put it charitably. Look, Karl Rove told me about Valerie Plame’s identity on July 11, 2003. I called him because Ambassador Wilson was in the news that week. I didn’t know Ambassador Wilson even had a wife until I talked to Karl Rove, and he said that she worked at the agency, and she worked on WMD. I mean, to imply that he didn’t know about it, or that this was all the leak ...“
GREGORY: “Or, that he had heard it from somebody else ...”
COOPER: “... by someone else, or he heard it as some rumor out in the hallway is, is nonsense.”
GREGORY: “But, he makes no apologies to Valerie Plame.”
COOPER: “Karl Rove never apologizes. That’s not what he does.”
TRANSCRIPT, Meet the Press, NBC, 19 August 2007
8/20/2007
One month in 1969
This nation needs the passion and social commitment that marked the 1960s – maybe the most volatile, certainly the most inspiring decade of my lifetime.
With a level of selflessness and dedication not seen since, Americans supported those who fought and died in Vietnam, fought against that same war, fought and died for civil rights.
Our collective heart stood still for four days as we mourned a slain president who had promised to put an American on the moon by decade’s end.
In a few years, more assassinations caught our collective conscience.
By the ‘80s we had evolved into the “Me Generation,” a self-absorbed lot with runaway consumerism and a cultural and educational dumbing-down – a “don’t give a damn” attitude toward environmental issues, workers’ rights, education and integrity in government.
There was a flicker of hope in the early 70s when hard-hitting investigative reporters uncovered the Republican “ratf*cking” of Watergate – the flicker rose to a fiery crescendo and just as rapidly faded out.
A new century, a new millennium and an undoing of the struggle, an unraveling of the nation’s soul.
Looking back on this date in 1969, possibly the last great decade of my lifetime was winding down. A month of headlines mark that it did not go quietly:
July 21: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon.
July 25: Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts pleads guilty to leaving the scene of the Chappaquiddick car accident which took the life of Mary Jo Kopechne
August 9 – 10: The Tate-LaBianca murders occur in California, the culmination of Charles Manson’s “Helter Skelter.”
August 16 – 18: In a muddy field near the village of Bethel, New York, 400,000 young people celebrate drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll at “Woodstock.”
August 17 – 18: Hurricane Camille, the second category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S., wiped out the Mississippi Gulf Coast. (After riding out 160 mph winds at Monticello, Miss., the first news I got the next morning was “The Coast is gone.”)
August 20: Camille moves into the Atlantic and regains strength after crossing Mississippi, western Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. Torrential rains and flooding claimed more lives. Total damage: $1.5 billion, total dead: 248.
One month in 1969. One American decade that never let up.
With a level of selflessness and dedication not seen since, Americans supported those who fought and died in Vietnam, fought against that same war, fought and died for civil rights.
Our collective heart stood still for four days as we mourned a slain president who had promised to put an American on the moon by decade’s end.
In a few years, more assassinations caught our collective conscience.
By the ‘80s we had evolved into the “Me Generation,” a self-absorbed lot with runaway consumerism and a cultural and educational dumbing-down – a “don’t give a damn” attitude toward environmental issues, workers’ rights, education and integrity in government.
There was a flicker of hope in the early 70s when hard-hitting investigative reporters uncovered the Republican “ratf*cking” of Watergate – the flicker rose to a fiery crescendo and just as rapidly faded out.
A new century, a new millennium and an undoing of the struggle, an unraveling of the nation’s soul.
Looking back on this date in 1969, possibly the last great decade of my lifetime was winding down. A month of headlines mark that it did not go quietly:
July 21: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon.
July 25: Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts pleads guilty to leaving the scene of the Chappaquiddick car accident which took the life of Mary Jo Kopechne
August 9 – 10: The Tate-LaBianca murders occur in California, the culmination of Charles Manson’s “Helter Skelter.”
August 16 – 18: In a muddy field near the village of Bethel, New York, 400,000 young people celebrate drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll at “Woodstock.”
August 17 – 18: Hurricane Camille, the second category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S., wiped out the Mississippi Gulf Coast. (After riding out 160 mph winds at Monticello, Miss., the first news I got the next morning was “The Coast is gone.”)
August 20: Camille moves into the Atlantic and regains strength after crossing Mississippi, western Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. Torrential rains and flooding claimed more lives. Total damage: $1.5 billion, total dead: 248.
One month in 1969. One American decade that never let up.
8/17/2007
The Coal Miners Prayer
The Coal Miners Prayer
by W. Calvert
Each dawn as we rise, Lord,
We know all too well,
We face only one thing –
A pit filled with hell.
To scratch out a living
The best that we can,
But deep in the heart,
Lies the soul of a man.
With black-covered faces,
And hard-calloused hands,
We work the dark tunnels,
Unable to stand.
To labour and toil
As we harvest the coals,
We silently pray,
"Lord, please harvest our souls."
by W. Calvert
Each dawn as we rise, Lord,
We know all too well,
We face only one thing –
A pit filled with hell.
To scratch out a living
The best that we can,
But deep in the heart,
Lies the soul of a man.
With black-covered faces,
And hard-calloused hands,
We work the dark tunnels,
Unable to stand.
To labour and toil
As we harvest the coals,
We silently pray,
"Lord, please harvest our souls."
From my journal, August 16
Listened to Halberstam’s “The Fifties” until 4 p.m., when I switched to the news shows. Halberstam is now focusing on civil rights violence, particularly in that old kicking-boy Mississippi. So far, he has talked about the murder of Emmett Till and has mentioned William Bradford Huie, who wrote a magazine article about the Till murder.
In the summer of 1960, when I went off to USM to try to find a job and work my way through college, my friend and Jackson CHS classmate Ronnie had gotten a job at the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American. We were staying with Ronnie’s mother, “Cricket.” Ronnie and I did research work and typed notes for William Bradford Huie, who was there doing research for a Cavalier magazine article about the racial murder of Mack Charles Parker. Huie wrote “The Execution of Private Slovik” (1954), “The Americanization of Emily” (1959), “The Hero of Iwo Jima” about American Indian Ira Hayes (1962) and many other books and articles.
Interestingly, we didn’t get the job through the newspaper. Cricket was a good waitress at a restaurant on Broadway Street and told Huie we were available and qualified to help him with his research. Nothing like a good cup of coffee to influence a writer!
I did get a parttime job with a lawyer, but Cricket said he was a “skirt-chaser” and advised against it. Went back to Jackson, Miss., got a job and finally entered USM in 1978! Ronnie, by the way, named her only child, a girl, Cricket.
***
Later. Three events of the 50s shaped American culture to come, Halberstam writes: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas; the invention of the mechanical cotton picker and the migration of blacks to the north; and Elvis Presley.
Halberstam has now moved on to Elvis and James Dean, “the eternal rebel,” and those wonderful GM cars of the 50s.
Interesting to be revisiting my youth on the anniversary of Elvis’ death. What fate to be born at just the right time to be a teenager in the 50s!
In the summer of 1960, when I went off to USM to try to find a job and work my way through college, my friend and Jackson CHS classmate Ronnie had gotten a job at the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American. We were staying with Ronnie’s mother, “Cricket.” Ronnie and I did research work and typed notes for William Bradford Huie, who was there doing research for a Cavalier magazine article about the racial murder of Mack Charles Parker. Huie wrote “The Execution of Private Slovik” (1954), “The Americanization of Emily” (1959), “The Hero of Iwo Jima” about American Indian Ira Hayes (1962) and many other books and articles.
Interestingly, we didn’t get the job through the newspaper. Cricket was a good waitress at a restaurant on Broadway Street and told Huie we were available and qualified to help him with his research. Nothing like a good cup of coffee to influence a writer!
I did get a parttime job with a lawyer, but Cricket said he was a “skirt-chaser” and advised against it. Went back to Jackson, Miss., got a job and finally entered USM in 1978! Ronnie, by the way, named her only child, a girl, Cricket.
***
Later. Three events of the 50s shaped American culture to come, Halberstam writes: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas; the invention of the mechanical cotton picker and the migration of blacks to the north; and Elvis Presley.
Halberstam has now moved on to Elvis and James Dean, “the eternal rebel,” and those wonderful GM cars of the 50s.
Interesting to be revisiting my youth on the anniversary of Elvis’ death. What fate to be born at just the right time to be a teenager in the 50s!
Media whacking Wikipedia
This infoholic often goes to Wikipedia to read about some obscure subject, say “The Brinks Robbery,” “The Boy in the Box” or some old Scotland Yard case.
Although my friend Bill warned me about trusting Wikipedia, I’ve found most of the entries I’ve researched have been thorough and interesting.
What makes them so is reader input, the ability to edit the entry and add your “two cents” – your own knowledge and research.
FishbowlNY's Neal Ungerleider (LINK) writes about "Wikipedia vandalism" with news outlets going after the competition: primarily employees of Fox News and The New York Times.
Ungerleider has posted a list of Fox News' extensive Wikipedia edits - which include “false information about the ratings of Fox News shows.” Traced through its IP address, FNC employees posted “accusations that MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann made light of Peter Jennings' death and deleted ratings info for MSNBC programs."
He continues, “Now, over to the New York Times. Right-wing blog Little Green Footballs found that someone from within the New York Times edited George W. Bush's entry to call him a jerk. Classy. But, more interestingly, employees of the Times are apparently editing the Wall Street Journal's Wikipedia entry. Hmm...”
These modern-day “Kilroys,” like “forum freepers,” are the same folks who write on bathroom walls. Wasting all that precious time on pettiness, when they could be investigating real issues and scandals.
God knows, there’s plenty to go around.
Although my friend Bill warned me about trusting Wikipedia, I’ve found most of the entries I’ve researched have been thorough and interesting.
What makes them so is reader input, the ability to edit the entry and add your “two cents” – your own knowledge and research.
FishbowlNY's Neal Ungerleider (LINK) writes about "Wikipedia vandalism" with news outlets going after the competition: primarily employees of Fox News and The New York Times.
Ungerleider has posted a list of Fox News' extensive Wikipedia edits - which include “false information about the ratings of Fox News shows.” Traced through its IP address, FNC employees posted “accusations that MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann made light of Peter Jennings' death and deleted ratings info for MSNBC programs."
He continues, “Now, over to the New York Times. Right-wing blog Little Green Footballs found that someone from within the New York Times edited George W. Bush's entry to call him a jerk. Classy. But, more interestingly, employees of the Times are apparently editing the Wall Street Journal's Wikipedia entry. Hmm...”
These modern-day “Kilroys,” like “forum freepers,” are the same folks who write on bathroom walls. Wasting all that precious time on pettiness, when they could be investigating real issues and scandals.
God knows, there’s plenty to go around.
8/16/2007
Elvis and me
A young woman named NANCY J. BURDINE married ABNER HAMPTON TACKETT, both b. 1825, and they begat:
MARTHA TACKETT m. A. WHITE MANSELL, and begat:
OCTAVIA LAVENIA “LUCY” MANSELL m. ROBERT LEE “BOB” SMITH, and begat:
GLADYS LOVE SMITH m. VERNON ELVIS PRESLEY, and begat:
ELVIS ARON PRESLEY (b. January 8, 1935 d. August 16, 1977)
***
NOW, start with that same young couple: NANCY J. BURDINE m. ABNER HAMPTON TACKETT and begat:
SERENA B. VALE TACKETT m. RICHARD “DICK” PENNINGTON, and begat:
SARAH ELIZABETH PENNINGTON m. ISAAC LAFAYETTE “IKE” TURNER and begat:
MARION MONROE TURNER m. KATIE BELL PIERCE and begat:
ISAAC LAFAYETTE TURNER (b. 1905) m. RUTH MARIE TIMMONS (b. 1907) in 1925 and begat:
BETTY JEAN TURNER (B. J. Trotter) (b. 1942)
***
The daughter of my father's cousin, Hazel Wright Jones of Oxford, Miss., spent a quarter of a century compiling a 500-page book* tracing our family tree. I treasure my copy. One of the interesting persons she found in our family tree is Elvis Presley!
Abner Tackett and Nancy J. Burdine Tackett were my great-great-great- grandparents on my father's side and Elvis' great-great grandparents on his mother's side.
I remember my daddy’s stories about “Grandma Pennington” – Serena - moving her children by wagon after her husband was killed in the Civil War and fighting off Indians along the way.
And, I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard Elvis on the car radio and exactly where I was when I heard he had died – 30 years ago today.
Thanks, Hazel, for the family tree! And, thanks, Elvis, for the thrills.
* LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CALL NUMBER: E548 .W55 1991. 11. 92-125897: Jones, Hazel W. (Hazel Wright), 1931- ) Wright-Tubbs family tree and related branches. Memphis, TN (5049 Haleville Rd., Memphis 38116): H.W. Jones, c1991, 474 p.: ill. (some col.).
***
BBC’s “This Day in History, August 16, 1977, article and broadcast: LINK
MARTHA TACKETT m. A. WHITE MANSELL, and begat:
OCTAVIA LAVENIA “LUCY” MANSELL m. ROBERT LEE “BOB” SMITH, and begat:
GLADYS LOVE SMITH m. VERNON ELVIS PRESLEY, and begat:
ELVIS ARON PRESLEY (b. January 8, 1935 d. August 16, 1977)
***
NOW, start with that same young couple: NANCY J. BURDINE m. ABNER HAMPTON TACKETT and begat:
SERENA B. VALE TACKETT m. RICHARD “DICK” PENNINGTON, and begat:
SARAH ELIZABETH PENNINGTON m. ISAAC LAFAYETTE “IKE” TURNER and begat:
MARION MONROE TURNER m. KATIE BELL PIERCE and begat:
ISAAC LAFAYETTE TURNER (b. 1905) m. RUTH MARIE TIMMONS (b. 1907) in 1925 and begat:
BETTY JEAN TURNER (B. J. Trotter) (b. 1942)
***
The daughter of my father's cousin, Hazel Wright Jones of Oxford, Miss., spent a quarter of a century compiling a 500-page book* tracing our family tree. I treasure my copy. One of the interesting persons she found in our family tree is Elvis Presley!
Abner Tackett and Nancy J. Burdine Tackett were my great-great-great- grandparents on my father's side and Elvis' great-great grandparents on his mother's side.
I remember my daddy’s stories about “Grandma Pennington” – Serena - moving her children by wagon after her husband was killed in the Civil War and fighting off Indians along the way.
And, I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard Elvis on the car radio and exactly where I was when I heard he had died – 30 years ago today.
Thanks, Hazel, for the family tree! And, thanks, Elvis, for the thrills.
* LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CALL NUMBER: E548 .W55 1991. 11. 92-125897: Jones, Hazel W. (Hazel Wright), 1931- ) Wright-Tubbs family tree and related branches. Memphis, TN (5049 Haleville Rd., Memphis 38116): H.W. Jones, c1991, 474 p.: ill. (some col.).
***
BBC’s “This Day in History, August 16, 1977, article and broadcast: LINK
8/15/2007
Cheney on Iraq, 1994
Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser under the first President Bush, has said of his old friend, then secretary of defense, “This is not the Dick Cheney I knew.”
The following is an excerpt (LINK) from a 1994 interview with Dick Cheney. The interview has been featured recently on C-SPAN and is now on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that U.S. or U.N. forces should have moved into Baghdad?
RICHARD B. CHENEY, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?
CHENEY: Because if we had gone to Baghdad, we would have been all alone. There wouldn't have been anybody else with us. There would have been a U.S. occupation of Iraq. None of the Arab forces that were willing to fight with us in Kuwait were willing to invade Iraq.
Once you got to Iraq and took it over, and took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you going to put in its place? That's a very volatile part of the world. And, if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off. Part of it, the Syrians would like to have, to the west. Part of eastern Iraq, the Iranians would like to claim, fought over for eight years.
In the north, you have got the Kurds. And, if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey. It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq.
The other thing was casualties. Everyone was impressed with the fact that we were able to do our job with as few casualties as we had. But, for the 146 Americans killed in action, and for their families, it wasn't a cheap war. And, the question for the president, in terms of whether or not we went on to Baghdad, took additional casualties in an effort to get Saddam Hussein was: how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth?
And, our judgment was not very many. And, I think we got it right.
***
In a recent interview on ABC, Cheney was asked to respond to similar comments he had made after “Operation Desert Storm.” His reason for a change of heart? “9/11” – once more making the connection between the 2001 attacks and Saddam Hussein.
That is just bullsh*t! Cheney signed the “Statement of Principles” (LINK) of the “Project for the New American Century” (PNAC) – official think tank of the neoconservatives - on 3 June 1997 and had his sights on Saddam from that day until we invaded Iraq.
Stop lying, Mr. Vice President, and stop using 9/11 as an excuse for imperialism.
The following is an excerpt (LINK) from a 1994 interview with Dick Cheney. The interview has been featured recently on C-SPAN and is now on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that U.S. or U.N. forces should have moved into Baghdad?
RICHARD B. CHENEY, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?
CHENEY: Because if we had gone to Baghdad, we would have been all alone. There wouldn't have been anybody else with us. There would have been a U.S. occupation of Iraq. None of the Arab forces that were willing to fight with us in Kuwait were willing to invade Iraq.
Once you got to Iraq and took it over, and took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you going to put in its place? That's a very volatile part of the world. And, if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off. Part of it, the Syrians would like to have, to the west. Part of eastern Iraq, the Iranians would like to claim, fought over for eight years.
In the north, you have got the Kurds. And, if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey. It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq.
The other thing was casualties. Everyone was impressed with the fact that we were able to do our job with as few casualties as we had. But, for the 146 Americans killed in action, and for their families, it wasn't a cheap war. And, the question for the president, in terms of whether or not we went on to Baghdad, took additional casualties in an effort to get Saddam Hussein was: how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth?
And, our judgment was not very many. And, I think we got it right.
***
In a recent interview on ABC, Cheney was asked to respond to similar comments he had made after “Operation Desert Storm.” His reason for a change of heart? “9/11” – once more making the connection between the 2001 attacks and Saddam Hussein.
That is just bullsh*t! Cheney signed the “Statement of Principles” (LINK) of the “Project for the New American Century” (PNAC) – official think tank of the neoconservatives - on 3 June 1997 and had his sights on Saddam from that day until we invaded Iraq.
Stop lying, Mr. Vice President, and stop using 9/11 as an excuse for imperialism.
The I-man Cometh
Good News, Bad News
NEW YORK (AP) - Don Imus has reached a settlement with CBS over his multimillion-dollar contract and is negotiating to resume his broadcasting career. FULL STORY
NEW YORK (AP) - A member of the Rutgers women's basketball team sued Don Imus and CBS on Tuesday, claiming the radio personality's sexist and racist comments about the team damaged her reputation. Kia Vaughn filed the lawsuit alleging defamation of character in state Supreme Court in the Bronx. FULL STORY
***
Hurry back, Don Imus, your faithful fans know you’re not racist or sexist.
NEW YORK (AP) - Don Imus has reached a settlement with CBS over his multimillion-dollar contract and is negotiating to resume his broadcasting career. FULL STORY
NEW YORK (AP) - A member of the Rutgers women's basketball team sued Don Imus and CBS on Tuesday, claiming the radio personality's sexist and racist comments about the team damaged her reputation. Kia Vaughn filed the lawsuit alleging defamation of character in state Supreme Court in the Bronx. FULL STORY
***
Hurry back, Don Imus, your faithful fans know you’re not racist or sexist.
8/14/2007
Will we ever learn?
A little quiz, dear reader: what EVENT precipitated the following quoted assessment? (I have used ellipses for proper names to avoid giving clues.)
“The national security complex became … a fast-growing apparatus to allow us to do in secret what we could not do in the open. This is not just an isolated phenomenon, but part of something larger going on in Washington, a transition … to America the international superpower, from Jefferson democracy to imperial colossus.
“A true democracy had no need for a vast, secret security apparatus, but an imperial country did. As America’s international reach and sense of obligation increased, so decreased the instinct to adhere to traditional democratic procedures among the inner circle of Washington policy makers.
“Our new role in the world had put us in conflict … with our own traditions. What was evolving was a closed state within an open state.”
(…)
“American foreign policy was changing. It was doing so very quietly with very little debate taking place - in fact, almost no public debate, for that was seen as something that aided the enemy.
“The president himself and many of the men around him … believed they were operating in a period that was, in any true sense, a continuation of the wartime period when America had struggled against totalitarian governments … now they believed the same struggle continued. …
“Because the enemy was cruel and totalitarian, we were justified in responding in kind. Our survival demanded it. There were no restraints on the other side; therefore, there should be no restraints on us.
“The men who were the driving forces of this new philosophy … as well as the president himself were from a generation profoundly affected by … attack. … They worried endlessly that the very nature of a democracy – the need for the consent of the governed – made this nation vulnerable. … Therefore, in order to combat the enemy, the leaders of democracies would have to sacrifice some of their nations’ freedoms and emulate their adversary.
“The national security apparatus in Washington was, in effect, created so America could compete … and do so without the unwanted clumsy scrutiny of the Congress and the press.
“Given the nature of the … war and domestic political anxieties, the national security apparatus gradually grew richer and more powerful, operating under a separate set of laws – on occasion, it would become clear, under no laws at all. In any crisis, if there was an element of doubt about legality, it was best to press ahead, because that was what the other side would do.”
***
The men: President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his inner circle.
The enemy: The Soviet Union
The goal: oil.
The date: August 1953.
The EVENT: the successful U.S.-led coup to overthrow the prime minister of Iran, gaining control by the British and Americans of Iranian oil and strengthening the weak Shah. Following the coup, British Petroleum took 40 percent of the oil; U.S. companies, 40 percent, and Iranians, 20 percent.
Subsequent event: U.S.-led coup in Guatemala in behalf of United Fruit Company. But, that’s another post.
Source of quotes: David Halberstam, “The Fifties,” 1997.
“The national security complex became … a fast-growing apparatus to allow us to do in secret what we could not do in the open. This is not just an isolated phenomenon, but part of something larger going on in Washington, a transition … to America the international superpower, from Jefferson democracy to imperial colossus.
“A true democracy had no need for a vast, secret security apparatus, but an imperial country did. As America’s international reach and sense of obligation increased, so decreased the instinct to adhere to traditional democratic procedures among the inner circle of Washington policy makers.
“Our new role in the world had put us in conflict … with our own traditions. What was evolving was a closed state within an open state.”
(…)
“American foreign policy was changing. It was doing so very quietly with very little debate taking place - in fact, almost no public debate, for that was seen as something that aided the enemy.
“The president himself and many of the men around him … believed they were operating in a period that was, in any true sense, a continuation of the wartime period when America had struggled against totalitarian governments … now they believed the same struggle continued. …
“Because the enemy was cruel and totalitarian, we were justified in responding in kind. Our survival demanded it. There were no restraints on the other side; therefore, there should be no restraints on us.
“The men who were the driving forces of this new philosophy … as well as the president himself were from a generation profoundly affected by … attack. … They worried endlessly that the very nature of a democracy – the need for the consent of the governed – made this nation vulnerable. … Therefore, in order to combat the enemy, the leaders of democracies would have to sacrifice some of their nations’ freedoms and emulate their adversary.
“The national security apparatus in Washington was, in effect, created so America could compete … and do so without the unwanted clumsy scrutiny of the Congress and the press.
“Given the nature of the … war and domestic political anxieties, the national security apparatus gradually grew richer and more powerful, operating under a separate set of laws – on occasion, it would become clear, under no laws at all. In any crisis, if there was an element of doubt about legality, it was best to press ahead, because that was what the other side would do.”
***
The men: President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his inner circle.
The enemy: The Soviet Union
The goal: oil.
The date: August 1953.
The EVENT: the successful U.S.-led coup to overthrow the prime minister of Iran, gaining control by the British and Americans of Iranian oil and strengthening the weak Shah. Following the coup, British Petroleum took 40 percent of the oil; U.S. companies, 40 percent, and Iranians, 20 percent.
Subsequent event: U.S.-led coup in Guatemala in behalf of United Fruit Company. But, that’s another post.
Source of quotes: David Halberstam, “The Fifties,” 1997.
8/13/2007
Lobotomy!
Comes the news that “Bush’s Brain” is leaving the administration at the end of the month.
With Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton and "Scooter" Libby gone, and Condi Rice marginalized, the post-operative days of the Bush White House – all 507 of them – will find the “inner circle” of neonconservatives reduced to one – Dick Cheney.
One cannot underestimate the impact of Karl Rove’s legacy on this nation. Bush has called him “The Architect” – a nom de guerre from another period of empire building.
Karl Rove did his job. He put all the players in place. That things went terribly awry can only be blamed on the fact that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Now, Bush’s “Turd Blossom” will “spend more time with family,” and we are left to count down the days until, hopefully, America takes a turn for the better.
With Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton and "Scooter" Libby gone, and Condi Rice marginalized, the post-operative days of the Bush White House – all 507 of them – will find the “inner circle” of neonconservatives reduced to one – Dick Cheney.
One cannot underestimate the impact of Karl Rove’s legacy on this nation. Bush has called him “The Architect” – a nom de guerre from another period of empire building.
Karl Rove did his job. He put all the players in place. That things went terribly awry can only be blamed on the fact that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Now, Bush’s “Turd Blossom” will “spend more time with family,” and we are left to count down the days until, hopefully, America takes a turn for the better.
Express yourself!
A Texas megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy vet because he was gay. Click HERE to vote on whether you side with the church or the vet’s family. Of 410,600 votes on AOL, 78 percent sympathize with the family.
8/10/2007
Side effects
A few years back I had an unsightly black fungus under my thumbnail. I called to get a free VHS tape about Lamisil, a prescription drug for such a condition.
Right up front on the video were the “side effects.” When I got to “could cause retina damage,” I tossed the tape.
More than half of a drug commercial is devoted to the rattling off of such effects, most far worse than whatever ailment you have.
One drug touted to “control your blood sugar level” actually says “could cause low blood sugar.”
Ambien is my favorite: commercials now warn you can “sleepwalk, eat or drive without being fully awake, with amnesia of the event being reported.” Perfect for anyone who lives alone.
Mirapex for “restless leg syndrome” might “increase sexual or gambling urges.”
Pharms have apparently caught on and made the names of drugs more pleasant. Remember Creomulsion and Imodium AD? Now, you can match your color scheme with Nexium, “the purple pill.”
Not so pleasant are their warnings of vomiting, headache, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, constipation, diarrhea …
I’m thankful my medicine cabinet contents are limited to three-grain generic aspirin and Pepto-Bismol tablets.
Right up front on the video were the “side effects.” When I got to “could cause retina damage,” I tossed the tape.
More than half of a drug commercial is devoted to the rattling off of such effects, most far worse than whatever ailment you have.
One drug touted to “control your blood sugar level” actually says “could cause low blood sugar.”
Ambien is my favorite: commercials now warn you can “sleepwalk, eat or drive without being fully awake, with amnesia of the event being reported.” Perfect for anyone who lives alone.
Mirapex for “restless leg syndrome” might “increase sexual or gambling urges.”
Pharms have apparently caught on and made the names of drugs more pleasant. Remember Creomulsion and Imodium AD? Now, you can match your color scheme with Nexium, “the purple pill.”
Not so pleasant are their warnings of vomiting, headache, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, constipation, diarrhea …
I’m thankful my medicine cabinet contents are limited to three-grain generic aspirin and Pepto-Bismol tablets.
Holy Rayovac, Batman!
Homeland Security “is developing a new weapon to fight the bad guys: a flashlight that makes a person throw up. The bright light pulses, which vary in color and duration, induce disorientation, vertigo and nausea.” LINK
'A tale told by an idiot'
GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) proclaimed this week that the U.S. should bomb the holy Muslim sites, Mecca and Medina, as a “deterrent” to an Islamic fundamentalist attack on the U.S. Tancredo adviser Bay Buchanan concluded, “This shows we mean business.”
A State Department spokesman called Tancredo’s statements "reprehensible" and "absolutely crazy."
Incredible how claims of bringing “democracy” to the Muslim world are being skewed by the right wing’s blurring the distinction between Muslims and Islamic Jihadists.
Many on the right went after Barack Obama, claiming he is a Muslim educated in Muslim schools and calling him “B. Hussein Obama.” For a while, Pat Buchanan, who must hold the record for MSNBC appearances, referred to Obama as “Osama.”
Fox News, The Rev. Pat Robertson, Bo Dietl, Michael Savage, Pat Buchanan – all need to decide if we’re in this God-awful mess in Iraq to free Muslims or not.
A State Department spokesman called Tancredo’s statements "reprehensible" and "absolutely crazy."
Incredible how claims of bringing “democracy” to the Muslim world are being skewed by the right wing’s blurring the distinction between Muslims and Islamic Jihadists.
Many on the right went after Barack Obama, claiming he is a Muslim educated in Muslim schools and calling him “B. Hussein Obama.” For a while, Pat Buchanan, who must hold the record for MSNBC appearances, referred to Obama as “Osama.”
Fox News, The Rev. Pat Robertson, Bo Dietl, Michael Savage, Pat Buchanan – all need to decide if we’re in this God-awful mess in Iraq to free Muslims or not.
8/09/2007
'The Book Lady'
There was a time wherever I went my books went with me – to the University of Southern Mississippi, then Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
A friend kept telling me, “You can find all these books in libraries, you know.”
When I left Carbondale to join that friend at the University of Wisconsin-Plattville, I decided to sell my books, to unburden myself of moving them from place to place.
I boxed up special books from my boys’ childhood and shipped them to their dad for safekeeping. I gave the other children’s books to a neighbor’s kids. “We’ll keep them forever,” she said.
I called the organizers of an antiques show coming up at the nearby Ramada Inn and asked if I could sell my books there. With their gracious consent, I asked for a big table by the exit.
I reasoned that many who came to admire the treasures of old estates and attics would find the price tags beyond their reach and, not wanting to leave empty-handed, would buy a book.
So, on an early February morning, I moved 72 boxes of books down two flights of snow-covered stairs, making many round-trips to the Ramada Inn.
Throughout the day, I became known as “The Book Lady,” as hundreds of book lovers obliterated my library. The joy on their faces alleviated the pain of parting with my own personal treasures.
“I’ve always wanted ALL of Frank Yerby’s books,” a woman exclaimed.
A sociology professor bought my 1908 Sears & Roebuck catalog. “Guess this one escaped the indignity of the outhouse,” he chuckled.
“She wants to learn French,” a Japanese man said of his wife while purchasing two years of French textbooks. “Merci,” she said softly as they walked away.
From classics to bestsellers, fiction and nonfiction, one by one my books found new readers, and the day turned out to be one of the most satisfying of my life.
Today, my two-story townhouse is once more filled with books, old companions who have taken me places I’ve never been and let me experience life as I might never have known it.
I’ll keep them close.
Selling them on eBay just wouldn’t satisfy like the joy I brought to others on that cold February day.
A friend kept telling me, “You can find all these books in libraries, you know.”
When I left Carbondale to join that friend at the University of Wisconsin-Plattville, I decided to sell my books, to unburden myself of moving them from place to place.
I boxed up special books from my boys’ childhood and shipped them to their dad for safekeeping. I gave the other children’s books to a neighbor’s kids. “We’ll keep them forever,” she said.
I called the organizers of an antiques show coming up at the nearby Ramada Inn and asked if I could sell my books there. With their gracious consent, I asked for a big table by the exit.
I reasoned that many who came to admire the treasures of old estates and attics would find the price tags beyond their reach and, not wanting to leave empty-handed, would buy a book.
So, on an early February morning, I moved 72 boxes of books down two flights of snow-covered stairs, making many round-trips to the Ramada Inn.
Throughout the day, I became known as “The Book Lady,” as hundreds of book lovers obliterated my library. The joy on their faces alleviated the pain of parting with my own personal treasures.
“I’ve always wanted ALL of Frank Yerby’s books,” a woman exclaimed.
A sociology professor bought my 1908 Sears & Roebuck catalog. “Guess this one escaped the indignity of the outhouse,” he chuckled.
“She wants to learn French,” a Japanese man said of his wife while purchasing two years of French textbooks. “Merci,” she said softly as they walked away.
From classics to bestsellers, fiction and nonfiction, one by one my books found new readers, and the day turned out to be one of the most satisfying of my life.
Today, my two-story townhouse is once more filled with books, old companions who have taken me places I’ve never been and let me experience life as I might never have known it.
I’ll keep them close.
Selling them on eBay just wouldn’t satisfy like the joy I brought to others on that cold February day.
An essential catchphrase
“Prevention.”
Any presidential candidate who uses that catchphrase would get my attention.
With so many issues of the day, the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is, in my opinion, essential to a stronger citizenry, national safety and sane spending
At each end of the Mississippi River are prime examples of what that “ounce of prevention” could have meant.
In health care, imagine the reduction of both expenses and grief if problems were prevented or caught early rather than relegated to major medical status.
There’s a far-right tendency to poke fun at a formal education, and that’s just lunacy. The value of a well-rounded and liberal education for Americans is immeasurable, both in leadership abilities and quality of life.
Even the ever-present dilemma of abortion would be lessened by birth-control education. Abstinence as an alternative is whistling in the wind.
Remember that other old adage from Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanack:” “A penny saved is a penny earned”?
Any presidential candidate who uses that catchphrase would get my attention.
With so many issues of the day, the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is, in my opinion, essential to a stronger citizenry, national safety and sane spending
At each end of the Mississippi River are prime examples of what that “ounce of prevention” could have meant.
In health care, imagine the reduction of both expenses and grief if problems were prevented or caught early rather than relegated to major medical status.
There’s a far-right tendency to poke fun at a formal education, and that’s just lunacy. The value of a well-rounded and liberal education for Americans is immeasurable, both in leadership abilities and quality of life.
Even the ever-present dilemma of abortion would be lessened by birth-control education. Abstinence as an alternative is whistling in the wind.
Remember that other old adage from Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanack:” “A penny saved is a penny earned”?
Mr. Frodo's mission
Mr. Frodo, irrespressible hobbit, faithful visitor, frequent commenter and nonpareil blogger, has found those missing weapons allegedly shipped to Iraq.
You’ll love his report: LINK
You’ll love his report: LINK
8/08/2007
'I used to feel so uninspired'
From “A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton” by Carl Bernstein, 2007:
“Hillary is neither the demon of the right’s perception, nor a feminist saint. Here is a story of strength and vulnerability, a woman’s story. She is an intelligent woman endowed with energy, enthusiasm, humor, tempestuousness, inner strength, spontaneity in private, lethal (almost) powers of retribution, real-life lines that come from deep wounds, and the language skills of a sailor and of a minister, all evidence of her passion—which, deep down, is perhaps her most enduring and even endearing trait.”
A natural woman, a natural leader.
“Hillary is neither the demon of the right’s perception, nor a feminist saint. Here is a story of strength and vulnerability, a woman’s story. She is an intelligent woman endowed with energy, enthusiasm, humor, tempestuousness, inner strength, spontaneity in private, lethal (almost) powers of retribution, real-life lines that come from deep wounds, and the language skills of a sailor and of a minister, all evidence of her passion—which, deep down, is perhaps her most enduring and even endearing trait.”
A natural woman, a natural leader.
'Give 'em an inch ...'
Back in the 1870s fundamentalist Anthony Comstock mounted a one-man campaign against all things sexual. The resulting Comstock Laws were so radical that shop owners were arrested for displaying naked mannequins in their windows and any information about birth control was banned from the mail.
Many women knew little about personal hygiene and were destined for subservient roles, multiple pregnancies or $5 back-street butcher-shop abortions.
The indomitable birth-control pioneer Margaret Sanger went after the Comstock Laws in an editorial. In part, she wrote:
“Women should look the whole world in the face with a go-to-hell look in the eyes. to have an ideal, to speak and act in defiance of convention.”
Oh, and title pun intended.
Many women knew little about personal hygiene and were destined for subservient roles, multiple pregnancies or $5 back-street butcher-shop abortions.
The indomitable birth-control pioneer Margaret Sanger went after the Comstock Laws in an editorial. In part, she wrote:
“Women should look the whole world in the face with a go-to-hell look in the eyes. to have an ideal, to speak and act in defiance of convention.”
Oh, and title pun intended.
8/07/2007
No offense, but ...
Turns out Rudy Giuliani and Fox News guru Roger Ailes are old buddies. Turns out Rudy has received more air time on Fox News than any other presidential candidate.
According to a report by Russ Buettner (NYT 8/2/07), “Mr. Ailes served as the media consultant to Mr. Giuliani’s first mayoral campaign in 1989. Mr. Giuliani, as mayor, officiated at Mr. Ailes’ wedding and intervened on his behalf when Mr. Ailes’ company, Fox News Channel, was blocked from securing a cable station in the city. This year, they were tablemates at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner , which Mr. Giuliani attended as a guest of Fox’s parent company, News Corporation.”
Fox News' political editor Brit Hume denies any connection between the friendship and Rudy’s coverage.
Here’s the kicker: the NYT article said other Republican candidates are keeping an eye on the situation, "though none wanted to speak publicly for fear of offending Fox News."
And, these men want to be president of the United States? Imagine a president who wouldn't want to OFFEND Fox News!
According to a report by Russ Buettner (NYT 8/2/07), “Mr. Ailes served as the media consultant to Mr. Giuliani’s first mayoral campaign in 1989. Mr. Giuliani, as mayor, officiated at Mr. Ailes’ wedding and intervened on his behalf when Mr. Ailes’ company, Fox News Channel, was blocked from securing a cable station in the city. This year, they were tablemates at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner , which Mr. Giuliani attended as a guest of Fox’s parent company, News Corporation.”
Fox News' political editor Brit Hume denies any connection between the friendship and Rudy’s coverage.
Here’s the kicker: the NYT article said other Republican candidates are keeping an eye on the situation, "though none wanted to speak publicly for fear of offending Fox News."
And, these men want to be president of the United States? Imagine a president who wouldn't want to OFFEND Fox News!
Why I love Dickens
From his “Appendix,” “The Old Curiosity Shop” by Charles Dickens:
“I spend many hours of every day in solitude and study, have no friends or change of friends, but these; only see them at stated periods and am supposed to be of a retired spirit by the very nature and object of our association.
“We are men of secluded habits with something of a cloud upon our early fortunes, whose enthusiasm, nevertheless, has not cooled with age, whose spirit of romance is not yet quenched, who are content to ramble through the world in a pleasant dream rather than ever awaken again to its harsh realities.
“We are alchemists who would extract the essence of perpetual youth from dust and ashes, tempt coy truth in many light and airy forms from the bottom of her well, and discover one crumb of comfort or one grain of good in the commonest and least regarded matter that passes through our crucible.
“Spirits of past times, creatures of our imagination and people of today are alike the objects of our seeking. And, unlike the objects of search with most philosophers, we can ensure their coming at our command.”
“I spend many hours of every day in solitude and study, have no friends or change of friends, but these; only see them at stated periods and am supposed to be of a retired spirit by the very nature and object of our association.
“We are men of secluded habits with something of a cloud upon our early fortunes, whose enthusiasm, nevertheless, has not cooled with age, whose spirit of romance is not yet quenched, who are content to ramble through the world in a pleasant dream rather than ever awaken again to its harsh realities.
“We are alchemists who would extract the essence of perpetual youth from dust and ashes, tempt coy truth in many light and airy forms from the bottom of her well, and discover one crumb of comfort or one grain of good in the commonest and least regarded matter that passes through our crucible.
“Spirits of past times, creatures of our imagination and people of today are alike the objects of our seeking. And, unlike the objects of search with most philosophers, we can ensure their coming at our command.”
Don't eat your words
Remember this email?
“If you look at my lovely FEMA attire you’ll really vomit. I am a fashion god.” The words of ole “you’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie” himself.
Email is permanent, searchable and can be altered, and people often have to eat their words.
Will Schwalbe, editor in chief of Hyperion Books, and David Shipley, deputy editorial page editor at The New York Times, have written “Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home.”
The authors want you to tell them about annoying emails and “any kind of obnoxious or toxic disaster, trivial or huge.” LINK
Theirs is not just another “how to email” book. The emphasis is on people skills, both for personal and business emailing. Great new tips in this MSNBC.com review: LINK
“If you look at my lovely FEMA attire you’ll really vomit. I am a fashion god.” The words of ole “you’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie” himself.
Email is permanent, searchable and can be altered, and people often have to eat their words.
Will Schwalbe, editor in chief of Hyperion Books, and David Shipley, deputy editorial page editor at The New York Times, have written “Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home.”
The authors want you to tell them about annoying emails and “any kind of obnoxious or toxic disaster, trivial or huge.” LINK
Theirs is not just another “how to email” book. The emphasis is on people skills, both for personal and business emailing. Great new tips in this MSNBC.com review: LINK
8/06/2007
I goofed!
I accidentally disengaged my comment function on the next three posts. If you care to comment on any of them, you may do so on this post. Thanks. BJ
Answering to Americans
Bush didn’t care for it.
Republican hopefuls, most notably Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, have left the GOP version, originally scheduled for Sept. 17,, an uncertainty.
Robert Novak said of the Democratic CNN/YouTube debate, "I thought it was really disgusting. ... The reporters were terrible, but this was ludicrous." Novak argued, "You know when we did away with the monarchy and went through democracy, there was a lot of fear that this sort of thing would happen. It took 200 years, but we got there."
Novak recently said heaven would be a "place where there are no blogs." He previously explained that bloggers "bloviate. They give their opinions. They don't try to find things out." LINK
Republicans have come a long way since, as historian Doris Kearnes Goodwin writes, the ordinary citizen could walk into the White House and ask to speak to Abe Lincoln.
Republican hopefuls, most notably Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, have left the GOP version, originally scheduled for Sept. 17,, an uncertainty.
Robert Novak said of the Democratic CNN/YouTube debate, "I thought it was really disgusting. ... The reporters were terrible, but this was ludicrous." Novak argued, "You know when we did away with the monarchy and went through democracy, there was a lot of fear that this sort of thing would happen. It took 200 years, but we got there."
Novak recently said heaven would be a "place where there are no blogs." He previously explained that bloggers "bloviate. They give their opinions. They don't try to find things out." LINK
Republicans have come a long way since, as historian Doris Kearnes Goodwin writes, the ordinary citizen could walk into the White House and ask to speak to Abe Lincoln.
boobtube.com
Or …
cleavageforclinton.com
Slow down, guys, the sites don’t exist, but it’s not a bad idea!
The last time a woman’s neckline got so much attention, she was wrongfully pegged with "S'ils n'ont plus de pain, qu'ils mangent de la brioche."
As for the recent inane “cleavage” commentary, let them eat cheesecake.
cleavageforclinton.com
Slow down, guys, the sites don’t exist, but it’s not a bad idea!
The last time a woman’s neckline got so much attention, she was wrongfully pegged with "S'ils n'ont plus de pain, qu'ils mangent de la brioche."
As for the recent inane “cleavage” commentary, let them eat cheesecake.
'No other course'
With conservative pressure mounting on President Harry S. Truman to build “The Super” – the hydrogen bomb – in the face of what was perceived “the Soviet threat,” the secrecy surrounding the debate made it seem a “fait accompli.”
David Lilienthal, then chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, noted in his diary: “We keep saying we have no other course; what we should say is we are not bright enough to see any other course.”
(Source: David Halberstam’s “The Fifties”)
Prescient words.
David Lilienthal, then chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, noted in his diary: “We keep saying we have no other course; what we should say is we are not bright enough to see any other course.”
(Source: David Halberstam’s “The Fifties”)
Prescient words.
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