Barack Tour

Well I'm impressed! Mr. Obama is looking mighty fine in every photo op we've seen so far. Andrea Mitchell did her best to downplay the footage with Obama and the troupes, insisting that since no journalists were allowed into the event, we can't know exactly how staged it really was.

I've looked at a lot of audiences in my time, and in my professional opinion -- those soldiers were not pretending to be thrilled to be in the same space as the Democratic candidate for president oh no, the excitement was genuine. Images of GW Bush meeting troupes and foreign leaders over the past 7 and a half years immediately came to mind in order to compare the performance styles. While Bush goes for the good ol' boy from Texas, he nevertheless delivers from a posture of swaggering superiority. With Obama, there is a warmth that radiates and lights up those around him.

I am imagining this will be the same with the various leaders Obama will be meeting during his Barack Tour. WE know that GW has done precious little listening to other people during his regime. In order to solve conflicts, the parties must be willing to listen to each other, and even look at problems from the other's point of view.

No, I haven't turned into an Obamamaniac, but I do see the potential for his "Change" mantra, if he continues to be direct and open in the way he approaches people. He can be the antidote we need to heal foreign and domestic relations, if we can just keep Bush junior busily occupied with Olympic team photo ops from now until Inauguration Day.

Is there some other guy running for president this year? He has completely slipped out of my mind today!

Not much more Living With War?

I took the day away from the 'puter. Real life activities beckoned! When I finally got online this evening, I was thrilled to read the news that Maliki has publicly endorsed Obama's 16 month plan for troupe removal from Iraq. This leaves McCain's campaign sputtering on about "the Surge" succeeding. Does he honestly think that we will forget the fact that the Iraq war was a mistake? The US lead invasion almost immediately turned into an occupation that brought about ever-increasing violence.

I'm not jumping on the Hey let's leave Iraq so we can send more battalions into Afghanistan. I'm hoping that this is Obama electioneering. In my politics of hope, I'm imagining that Obamba's election actually leads to a focus on peaceful rebuilding in the region along with United Nations oversight. Although I am really excited about finally being able to remove my No Iraq War window sticker from my truck, I really don't want to have to replace it with US Out of Afghanistan.

So in honor of today's momentous news, here's Neil Young reminding us that Living With War is no longer acceptable. As the old sign said, It's not healthy for children and other human beings, and I would add -- does nothing to decrease the planet's carbon and other toxic emission load.

George Carlin: We Like War

George Carlin never rolled over for anybody. I'm very saddened to read of his death. Here's one of his most potent routines. As we learn that the main stream media has cut way back on its war coverage, this one is more than apt. As in all Carlin routines, this one uses all the words that make some people cringe. And those were the people Carlin loved to target.

The numbers keep going up - post election notes

I began writing this post last night only to be dumped by the weather -- both my Internet and cable TV connections went down about 10 PM, most likely due to the ice storm that hit our state. So I enjoyed an old fashioned election night via listening to WAKR AM's Larry States.

Last night at this time, the counter in the right hand column of this blog had not yet reached half a trillion dollars. Today it has gone beyond that -- amazing how fast a billion dollars can be spent by our insane governmental "leaders." This is what I had written before the power went off:

Not talking about the election returns this evening, but the numbers of dollars spent on the useless War in Iraq. You can see them ticking away to the right of this post. We are fast approaching 500 billion dollars. That's half a trillion not spent on health care, education, low-income housing, science research, developing green technologies and so on.

Soon after I began this blog, I found the counter you see embedded here and at that time it was around 350 billion. But dollars wasted isn't the worst aspect of this war. It's the loss of life and not only soldier lives. Every Iraqi death creates more potential terrorists among the survivors. No wonder McCain feels the need to stay there for 100 years.

Woke up this morning to find that Hillary had taken 3 out of 4 states, doing extremely well in Ohio. I wasn't surprised. Most people I had talked to were voting for her, although they also expressed admiration for Barack Obama. Many folks continue to want both of them on the ticket.

In local news, we are thrilled that Issue 8 passed and that public transportation will not be diminished in Akron.

Saddest election story is the defeat of Louise Heydorn for county council. Full disclosure -- Louise is a colleague of mine. I can attest that she is an outstanding leader: bright, collaborative, science-minded and a diligent worker. She has been the only Republican on Summit County's council for many years and had been working to develop green initiatives for our county.

She was defeated by John Widowfield, a conservative endorsed by the local Republican party. I wonder if Heydorn was hurt by Independents and Republicans crossing over to vote in the Democratic presidential primary. I hope she picks herself up and runs again in the future -- come join the Democrats, Louise! We need women of your character and intelligence to represent us.

Dreams and Nightmares

Turns out I wasn't dreaming about Kucinich welcoming Ron Paul onto a shared ticket. Yellow Dog Sammy tracked the item down here.

Would that the news I heard on Olbermann tonight was just one big nightmare of a dream I could wake up from tomorrow. But alas, it turns out that in reality the White House has done an end run around your elected officials in order to bind the US to Iraq for many years to come.

This so-called US-Iraq Declaration of Principles and Friendship and Cooperation means that the US has effectively taken sides with al-Maliki's faction and will be committed to fighting his enemies in order to build "democracy" in Iraq. TPM Muckraker has the details.

And for the ultimate eyeball popping keep you up all night sweating news, check out this report on global water shortages and just try to think to yourself "it can't happen here."

All Hail the Return of Olbermann!

He's back after blowing out an appendix. And has one of his patented Comments ready for delivery at the end of the program. I'm feeling better already.

Although tonight I have had to sit through too much footage of the man pretending to be president. His snarls, sneers and catty remarks were stomach curdling. I had to leave the room for a medicinal glass of wine. Evidently the Stubborn Decider had a news conference today and gleefully smacked down "the Democrat party" for supporting MoveOn.org's Petraeus-Betray Us ad.

Which lead to the sheep in the Senate voting 72 to 25 to condemn that evil left wing organization, but only by implication. What a lot of cowards! I'm proud that Senator Brown stood firm withing the minority of 25 and I salute him!

And the biggest coward of them all remains George W Bush. He hides behind the man in uniform with all the shiny badges and impressive ribbons. How dare we question the motivation of a real life US General?

There's no getting over you - oo - oo

Habeas corpus -- not restored, Bush wins.

Mandatory extended rest time for combat troops -- no go, Bush wins.

We the people lose again. I'd like to just tune it all out until Bush is finally gone, but I'm afraid the world will be blown to bits between now and then if I don't keep paying attention. As if there is anything I can do to stop him. If the mightiest Democrats in the land can't, what can I do? Send more money to Democrats? Hell no. I've been deleting all their requests as fast as they come in.

This great and hallowed governmental system we are living in -- why is it so great? It seems to have become an excellent tool for the few to screw the rest of us.

And it really irks that such a moronic prating prick is the one who wins.

Match The Gravel Campaign Fund in Ohio

I'm fed up with politicians and that includes all the Democratic candidates for president right now -- except for Mike Gravel and maybe Dennis Kucinich. I'm a bit peeved at Dennis because I tried to toss him a bit of campaign money but his web collection apparatus didn't work. Come on, if you want my support, take my money! Show that you have some modicum of efficiency in your operation.

Mike, however, runs a smooth and clean operation. He's got a new web site up:

Everyone who registers there will automatically get the PDF "Man for America," a full bio on Senator Gravel and more. Plus, they'll also get the opportunity to ask the Senator a question he will answer on his new LIVE weekly videoblogs.

He's seeking public funding for his campaign and is close to getting the matching funds necessary. He only needs $744 in Ohio, because I just sent him another 50 because I was feeling so damn frustrated by the War That Never Ends and the enablers of it from both sides. Nobody wants to take a principled stand any more. Nobody except Mike Gravel.

So Come on Ohio -- Let's get Mike Gravel his matching funds. Isn't it reassuring to look at a figure in the hundreds rather than all those gaudy corrupt millions sported by the other candidates?

Here's Mike on Matching Campaign Funds:

For the next month, I will be campaigning in key states across the
country, which means I will need your support now more than ever.
Because I do not have the deep-pocket support of corporate interest
groups, I am focused on securing federal matching funds for the
campaign, which will bring in as much as $200,000.

The federal matching funds program is one of the best ways to raise
money without having to sell out. But not surprisingly, those in
power have set the bar high and made it difficult to do this. There
are a host of rules limiting the dollar amount of donations, but
simply put: If I can raise $5,000 in 20 states, I can qualify.
There are a lot of details and rules, but the bottom line is, we
need your support in the states below more than ever.  Please email
your friends in the following states to donate now using the links
below.  As soon as we raise the money stated in these states, we
get our check from the federal government.

If you live in the following states or know someone who does, I am
asking for your help supporting my campaign. I need to raise at
least the following amounts:

ARIZONA: $984

COLORADO: $1,169

CONNECTICUT: $868

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA $1,034

MARYLAND: $1,109

NEW HAMPSHIRE: $730 (very close NH!)

OHIO: $794 (close Ohio!)

WISCONSIN: $1,257

Of course, you can see this hasn't been a problem for me in many
states. For example, in Alaska, California, Florida, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Oregon, I have raised
enough funds to qualify -- thank you to those states!

We can change the way Washington works together. Really.  I've been
around long enough to know the game.  Get me in the game, keep me
there, donate now!

1. Credit Card: https://secure.gravel2008.us/donate.php
2. Paypal: http://www.gravel2008.us/donatepaypal
3. Check/Money Order: https://secure.gravel2008.us/donate-mail.php

Call 'em up!

Received via email recently, a message exhorting us all to call our US senators and congressperson to voice our commitment to ending the war in Iraq. I looked everywhere tonight, but couldn't find the email, so I don't know which exact lefty/progressive group to credit for promoting the tactic. I do believe that today, Thursday September 6th, was the target day for calling.

But I'm not saying "Drat, I missed it" and moving on to other things -- no, I think it is a good enough thing to do that one could take the time to call every single day until those who claim to represent us actually do just that.

So look up those phone numbers and put them on your speed dial list.

You can find your senator's contact info here. Don't forget to add Harry Reid, Democrat Majority Leader.

And for House of Representatives' information, go here. Remember to include Nancy Pelosi in those daily calls.

Voinovich Double Talk Express

The following just arrived in my email box and as it has a deadline of August 13, I thought I'd better get it out to all my creative readers. And thanks to all Iraq Summer Campaign people for keeping the heat up on these duplicitous politicians who try to pretend that they are opposed to the war but when the voting begins, you find them backing Bush while 70% of the population want the war over -- now!

Tired of seeing Senator George Voinovich say one thing and vote for the opposite?

In June, Voinovich said, “I believe we can accomplish more in Iraq by gradually and responsibly reducing our forces.” A month later, he voted against a bill that would set a timeline for U.S. troop withdrawal.

What better way to get George Voinovich’s attention than a huge 10’x20’ billboard? We will drive this billboard around the state as part of the “Voinovich Double Talk Express.” Our message will reach thousands of Ohioans, including the Senator himself.

We came up with a few slogans ourselves ("Cleveland Voinovich and his evil twin D.C. Voinovich" and "Voinovich's House of Waffles") but after much debate, we’ve decided to leave it up to the people!

We’re asking YOU to come up with a creative slogan for a full side of our “Voinovich Double Talk Express” mobile billboard!

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR MESSAGE TO SENATOR GEORGE VOINOVICH!

Please abide by these rules:

• No Profanity
• 100 character limit
• Must communicate a clear message about the war to the public and especially the Senator

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR MESSAGE TO SENATOR GEORGE VOINOVICH!

We will announce the finalists on Monday, August 13^th and a vote will determine the winner!

Peace,

Matt Hurm

Ohio Field Director, Iraq Summer Campaign

Protest Voinovich's Sell-out Fundraiser

This arrived in the email today and I think it is definitely worth passing along. I may just attend this event:

PROTEST SEN. VOINOVICH’S SELL-OUT

FUNDRAISER WITH Fmr. PRESIDENT BUSH PAYBACK FOR VOTE AGAINST TROOP WITHDRAWAL

BUSH SR./VOINOVICH PROTEST

WHERE: Intersection of Fairmount Blvd and Chagrin River Rd. Hunting Valley, OH

Iraq Summer/Americans Against Escalation in Iraq

Wednesday August 8, 2007

7 p.m.

-LAKE COUNTY CARPOOL: Meet at 7575 Tyler Blvd. Mentor, Ohio at 6:15 p.m.-

Too far away?

Click here to write a letter to the editor about this unseemly political payback

Political Payback You Be The Judge:

Former President George H.W. Bush comes to town tomorrow for a fundraiser for Senator George Voinovich which was announce on the same day Senator Voinovich – a sometimes vocal critic on Iraq – voted against an Amendment to begin withdrawal of troops.

• June 26, 2007: Senator Voinovich in a well publicized letter to President Bush announced his break with the Bush Administration’s Iraq policy and the need to bring troops home.
• July 10, 2007 the President then visited Cleveland to shore up GOP support for his Administration.
• July 18, 2007 the Plain Dealer reporter the President’s father would be hosting a fundraiser for Senator Voinovich.
• July 18, 2007 the Senator then announced his intention to vote against the Levin Amendment which would have laid out a plan for troop reduction in Iraq.

“This smacks of a political payback,” said Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director of ProgressOhio.org. “On the same day the President’s critic flip-flops and votes with the administration his family member announces a fundraiser. It hardly seems coincidental.

How Many More Mother's Sons Will Die in Iraq?

We have reached another vile benchmark --3500 Us soldiers now dead in Iraq. Presidential candidate Mike Gravel says in a campaign letter to the Village Green:

"To understand why over 70% of Iraqis want our troops out of Iraq, consider that peer-reviewed research by the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health indicates about 818,000 Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the U.S. invasion. The U.S. population is about 12 times the size of the Iraqi population. Thus, the suffering our invasion has unleashed on Iraq is comparable to an extra 9.8 million violent deaths in the U.S. during the last four years, or equivalent to killing every person in 10 U.S. states and two major U.S. cities."

This week, another "perfect son" from Green, lost his life in Bush's tragic misadventure. What will be the magic number of casualties on our side that finally ends the slaughter? Assuredly nobody seems to care how many Iraqis are killed.

You might want to send a link to your Senator or Representative to the video below. It's a haunting cover version/video of the Kinks' "Some Mother's Son" from Arthur, of the Decline and Fall of British Civilization, by doctorcastille via YouTube:

Thanks Betty Sutton...

...for voting against Bush's no-strings attached war supplemental last week. You represented my best interests, and I'm extremely grateful for it.

I did call her office before the vote and spoke with a pleasant young man. Unfortunately, I forgot to call the office of Senator Sherrod Brown. Guess I expected that he'd not waver to vote against this insane war. Turns out, he and a whole lot of other Democrats, voted to send Bush his money. Clinton and Obama voted No. They were allowed to because they are running for president. The others faced the reality of yet another Bush veto and caved.

When I first heard this news last Friday, I was running reams of angry tirades through the blogging voice in my brain, but decided to go garden instead. This vote, happening right up against the Memorial Day Weekend, was loaded with irony. Vote to fund the troops so they can stay in Iraq to kill and be injured or killed. Or vote against knowing the troops will say in Iraq to kill and be injured or killed.

After three days of active planting and contemplating, I view the vote in tones of downright cynicism. Bush has the power until somebody can find a legal way to get it out of his hands. Push on, Democrats, with your many investigations into corruption, incompetence and illegalities committed by various members of this administration.

Call your congress person today!

The House of Representatives will be voting on a new Iraq war funding bill that deletes all calls for time tables and bench marks. And I believe it still includes a load of tacked on items designed to gain the support of specific house members, especially Democrats.

If you are one of the 70% who want the war to end ASAP, then call your representative and tell the person answering the phone how you want your congressperson to vote on this issue. You can easily find the correct phone number for your representative here.

I just called Betty Sutton's office and gave a message to the person answering the phone. He took my name and address and then listened to my comments and said he'd pass them along. I said I wanted Ms Sutton to vote against the new supplemental bill tomorrow. And furthermore, I will no longer give money to any Democrat who continues the war by voting for funding without a time line for departure.

It felt good to do that. I now get requests for money online and in the US mail from a variety of Democrats and their organizations. I will not contribute any more money to the Democrats unless they take a stand. If this means that Mike Gravel is the only candidate to win my hard-earned donation money, then so be it! Howard Dean -- I like your committee and how you have organized it, but you aren't getting anything more from me if the Democrats cave tomorrow.

So don't be shy! Call, write, email and pledge to withhold your campaign contributions. Do it today!

What does it take to get rid of Gonzales?

This is a guy who tried to pressure a sick man in the intensive care unit to go along with Bush's illegal eavesdropping program. And you know that the eavesdropping plan must be profoundly wrong if even Ashcroft refused to sign off on it.

Why does Bush keep clinging on to his ethically-challenged Attorney General? Maybe because the call that sent Gonzales scurrying to the hospital was from the White House. Jason Leopold and Matt Renner at Truthout report the details from testimony by former Acting Attorney General James Comey:

Comey described in extraordinary detail how the March 9, 2004 meeting at the hospital unfolded.

"I was headed home at about 8 o'clock that evening; my security detail was driving me," Comey said.

"And I remember exactly where I was - on Constitution Avenue - and got a call from Attorney General Ashcroft's chief of staff telling me that he had gotten a call from Mrs. Ashcroft from the hospital ... Mrs. Ashcroft reported that the call had come through, and that as a result of that call, Mr. Card and Mr. Gonzales were on their way to the hospital to see Mr. Ashcroft."

Comey said that he rushed to the hospital to arrive before the White House officials.

Comey testified that he believed President Bush had phoned Ashcroft's hospital room directly, and he was sure that the call "came from the White House." Mrs. Ashcroft was not allowing any calls to be taken by her ill husband. She then called Ashcroft's chief of staff to inform him that the White House was sending Gonzales and Card to the hospital to meet with the debilitated attorney general face to face.

At Ashcroft's bedside, Gonzales did most of the talking, Comey said, adding that Gonzales and Card pressed the attorney general to reauthorize the program in spite of reservations about its legality. Comey said Ashcroft reiterated his concerns and refused to sign the order reauthorizing the program.

I don't know about you, but this story gives me the creeps! It's ghoulishly thuggish, and probably typical tactics for this lot. It used to be, if you turned over a rock and exposed the creepy crawlies, they'd shrivel up and die. Under the Bush regime, the lies and illegalities have multiplied while soldiers and citizens are the ones to die. Gonzales deserves to be tossed for what he has done. The Democrats heading up committee investigations need to keep digging and exposing the truth until there's nothing left to be done but impeach Bush.

Gravel to present A Legislative Plan to End the War in Iraq

Wow! I'd really like to attend this event! Hope it shows up on C-Span and YouTube.

A Legislative Plan To End The War In Iraq

WHO: Former United States Senator and
Democratic Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel.

WHAT: The Senator offers a plan to create a constitutional confrontation between
the US congress and the President, adjudicated by the American people.

WHEN: Monday May 14, 2007 at 9:30 AM EST.

WHERE: National Press Club
Edward R. Murrow Room
529 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20045

Honour is a mere scutcheon

Shakespeare's history plays are all too timeless. Contenders and pretenders elbow each other for the crown, grasping and grappling for the patriarchal staff of authority. Somehow they manage to convince thousands of men to face each other on a field of battle and go at it with swords and pikes until enough blood has gushed away on one side or the other.

Sitting in the enveloping darkness of the theatre tonight watching Henry IV Part 1, the following speech brought all of my senses to attentiveness. The actor, alone in a pool of light, gave us the following words -- in a delivery so profoundly true to the moment that I felt a burning tear in the corner of my eye:

"Can honour set to a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery then? No. What is honour? A word. What is in that word honour? What is that honour? Air - a trim reckoning! Who hath it? He that died a Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. 'Tis insensible then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore I'll none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon - and so ends my catechism."

A scutcheon is the shield that is painted on a coat of arms. It offers no real protection. Staying the course may sound honorable to some, but the warriors would prefer they have body armor.

The words the leaders use to send the young men off to war may have changed in form over the years, but the end result remains the same. Young people die for no good reason, while others bear wounds that will never heal.

Happy Anniversary -- Not! Four years in Iraq and still counting

Four long bloody pointless years in Iraq, with "leaders" as dumb and hard-headed as rocks. The NO IRAQ WAR window sticker in my vehicle, hand-made and placed there in the lead-up to the Petroleum War, is fading and sad. Rather like my hopes that our elected officials will do anything other than wring their hands and say "we can't" and point to the other side and blame each other.

Moveon.org sent me an email asking me to tell the Democrats in Congress what to do because they don't know.

I think the Dems do know what to do but they can't because they don't have a veto proof majority. The fate of Iraq really lies in the hands of the Republican minority in the senate. The question becomes how long they back up their Decider. Having been programmed in talking points for seven long years, is there any chance the Pubs might decide for themselves and their constituents.

Clearly the anti-war pressure has to be turned on the senators who resist. Anybody know if any of the groups are focusing on this as a project? Here's a Wikipedia list of a whole bunch of anti-Iraq war groups. The photo above is from a group called Voices for Creative Nonviolence. I like their name but know nothing about them. You can visit them here.

Meanwhile, what the Democrats are doing is keeping the pressure on in various ways. I'd like to see a little less harping at each other about differences in tactics and more shoving it in the faces of the Pubs. After all, there are new hearings to be opened every week, so it seems. Thanks to the Pubs who are lifting up their own slimy stones and showing us the dirt in new and different ways each day.

Friday Night Kick Back: The Clash

Today the House of Reps passed a non-binding resolution to oppose the surge but continue to support the troops. As a life long pacifist and anti-militarist, I can only think that the best way to support those young men and women is to get them out of there and out of uniform.

This goes out to anyone who is tempted to join the military. Don't heed the call-up, You don't want to kill. You don't want to die.

Ladies and gentlemen -- The Clash:

Snow Day Three

One more picture from the Great Snow of 2007.

Another school day off. We have used up all our snow days! I miss my students and feel very out of sync with all upcoming deadlines.

More digging out today after the snow plow made it up our hill, but nothing too difficult. I revved up the vehicle and drove for the first time since Tuesday morning. The roads had been plowed but lots of snow was still apparent on the streets and sidewalks.

I made it to the Kenmore Acme and picked up some soy milk, tofu and vegetables. Looks like the drive to school tomorrow will be fine. Yes, the kids are out of school tomorrow, but the teachers will report for their mandatory In-Service Day.

Meanwhile like an absurdist drama, the Iraq debate continues in the House. The citizens figured it out by last November, yet the politicians are still trying to figure out "the safest" way to vote on the non-binding resolution.