Today's Messages (OFF)
| Unanswered Messages (ON)
| Forum: It's Not Going to be OK! |
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| Topic: war on social problems N/G |
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| war on social problems N/G [message #168] |
Sat, 30 May 2009 09:15 |
justjoe
Messages: 39
Registered: January 2009
Location: frank'ln |
Member |
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This is why it's not going to be OK.
Time to cut to the chase and END Prohibition with Harm Reduction the cure.
joe
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n561/a03.html
Newshawk: Help for LTE writers www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides
Webpage: http://drugsense.org/url/YhYVibhq
Pubdate: Mon, 25 May 2009
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2009 The Orange County Register
Contact: letters@ocregister.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Gary M. Galles, Economics professor, Pepperdine University
Referenced: The Los Angeles Times editorial
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n521/a01.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kerlikowske
BE WARY OF 'WARS' ON SOCIAL PROBLEMS
They Usually Become Freedom-Squeezing Government Programs.
President Barack Obama's new drug czar, R. Gil Kerlikowske, said in a recent interview that we need to abandon the phrase, "war on drugs." The Los Angeles Times offered editorial support, arguing that "[t]he phrase itself shaped flawed thinking and yielded disastrous policies."
Recognizing that framing the drug issue in terms of war distorts our understanding and, with it, our responses, is insightful. However, there are a host of other government-sponsored domestic "wars" to which that same argument applies, yet the policies and programs adopted to fight those wars are more often escalated than abandoned.
It is ironic that there is widespread opposition to real wars, because of their adverse consequences, yet politicians and their backers like to call every new domestic policy initiative of theirs a war, in order to galvanize support. In fact, war imagery may be the most commonly abused analogy in politics.
We have heard that "war is hell," "all's fair in love and war," and "war is politics by other means." We heard that the 1970s oil crisis was the moral equivalent of war ( although government price controls did far more damage than OPEC ). And government wars have been declared not just on drugs, but on everything from crime to poverty to illiteracy.
Unfortunately, the imagery of urgency, resolve and "giving all we've got" for the good of the country doesn't match the policies actually implemented or their effects on taxpayers' pockets and citizens' liberties. Rather, declarations of such "wars" are often just dramatic rhetoric used to promote politicians' pet programs. Further, those programs often do far more harm than good, such as the vast invasions of property and privacy, as well as increases in violence and corruption, triggered by the war on drugs.
War imagery is invoked to show determination to win. But shooting wars have no winners; just those who lose more and those who lose less as casualties Mount. However, the casualties caused are the last thing social "war on X" supporters ever discuss, although any honest evaluation would find many casualties, as with large public housing projects that became instant slums or the litany of failed training programs during the war on poverty.
"Real" wars are against people who intend to harm us. But domestic policy wars target the social consequences of actions of citizens, who America was created to protect, made necessary by scarcity, which we cannot eliminate. They cannot be won in the same way. When such wars cannot be won, we should abandon war rhetoric that can only mislead us.
Because of its powerful emotional impact, war imagery and language is also used in other ways that would make George Orwell proud.
We hear of trade wars, in language implying that they are contests between domestic and foreign producers, so that protectionism for "our" firms against "their" firms sounds sensible. However, both buyers and sellers expect to gain by trading, or they would not voluntarily participate, so that trade creates wealth ( which is why every defensible study of protectionism finds that it destroys wealth ). Protectionism, in fact, is an alliance between domestic producers and the government, declaring war on consumers to force them to pay higher prices.
Many public servants declare war to "solve" every domestic crisis ( often caused by their "solutions" to earlier alleged crises ). But those policy wars are never won. Rather than being abandoned, however, programs created through war rhetoric tend to not just persist, but grow, expanding government encroachment on our shrinking freedoms, with increasingly adverse effects. Expanding government intervention in innumerable areas of our lives because politicians declare every problem a war cannot stand up to careful examination.
from:> http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n561/a03.html?1 02
thanks
joe
Bruce Cain
http://www.newagecitizen.com/
relegalize Cannabis
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| | Topic: THE BIG FACT |
|---|
| THE BIG FACT [message #132] |
Thu, 12 February 2009 10:46 |
 Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
|
|
Hello j,
Long time, no talky.
Been dancin' as fast I can down here in S. Florida. BIG transition for my MOM yesterday. I have extended trip till Saturday to help her adjust to assisted living. Its not sure its going to "take". Don't know what we will do then...
Hope all is well with you and Ian.
See response below. FYI - I am generally going to Mike's forum for this political ranting. But this seems a little more personal. I will leave it off unless you want me to post. (Which I would really like to do.) BTW - I am listening to Leo Cohen: "Suzanne". Transports me to so many places!
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: Obama set to launch military "surge "on Afghanistan
Jude wrote:
Mike - "Huck's pumped up on video games." And also ignorant as hell.
> They have spent their youth playing at death. With parents
> encouragement. They are sold the same thing through the recruiter
> that they are sold by X-Box. At 17 is it at all possible that they
> can make the distinction between the virtual and the actual? I
> submit: "Hell no!". There is strange parallel to volunteer abortion
> here. Both Huck and Jane should be required to receive knowledgeable
> presentations of all the facts - by a non-invested party - before
> they "volunteer" for either. "Peace recruiting" could be a goal for
> falmouthpeace.org.
"All the facts." Hmmm. I always find it curious when folks use this expression, especially inasmuch as people so often seem loathe to stick to them (or, phrased differently, eager to stray away from them). Not that I'm a fact fetishist or anything, but I will admit to being a big fan of the pages of E.H. Carr's "What is History?," in which Carr contemplates what is or counts as "fact" and what doesn't. And when a piece of information does, and to whom it does, etc. Well, yeah. Call me a stickler.... I suppose I am rather fond of facts and truths. But certainly not of absolutes. (And even less of absolute crap, as those who know me will testify.)
Well this is a good point: "relativistic facts". I see it a natural part of the mix that includes hard facts, myth, opinion, belief, works in progress, etc. I have a high load of skepticism for interpretative history. I have a great respect for factual reporting of history sans interpretation and opinion tacked on. An exception to this is Jacques Barzun and others who tell you up front that they are going to interpret - and freely so. But so many histories don't include this disclaimer - even though it is commonly the most important "fact" of the work. So: " In 14 hundred 92 Columbus sailed the ocean blue" is an undeniable fact. On the other hand "Columbus discovered America" is basically crap. At best he ran into the Bahamas and the Antilles. Neither of which is considered America today. And of course he ran into these places in the name and carrying the flag of a Christian, imperialist nation on the Iberian Peninsula. Sort of "C" list Kingdom at that!The Bahama's were populated, as were the Antilles. Strictly speaking the Caribs etc. discovered these places. But then only in the name of the naturally imperialistic human species. Other much sturdier creatures had fought there way through the island millennia before. And yet the myths persists - celebrated each year with a national holiday - Columbus Day. This even though Portuguese folks are "the" minority in the US today. And generally looked down on by those of superior northern European lineage. The native Americans have managed to muster enough energy to challenge C-Day each year - pointing out the atrocities and diseases that C brought with his discoveries.Those folks that greeted the Portuguese were all gone in a matter of 4 decades... A tabula rasa beyond the wildest dreams of any Imperialist. But no-one of white skin really listens to these "facts". It's wholly relativistic facts cum dogma that dominates America thinking. There should be a Native American Day rather than a Columbus Day. I could go on: "The sky is blue" NOT!
It is my understanding, Jude - and please correct me if I'm wrong - that presenting information is precisely what happens in family planning clinics, such as the ones in which I work, and in abortion clinics, too. After all, even volunteers are questioned, informed and vetted. It's never just a matter of walking in off the street....
Here your knowledge heavily trumps mine. I have seen how your work effects you. How you wrestle - on an individual basis with clients - to present the facts. The biological facts are easy - and have been agreed on for quite a while. But still you see woman with basically no understanding...In the beginning it took homo sapiens a while to link copulation to pregnancy and then birth. First there were birth myths, then an observational work-in- progress, then a linkage of related events and then the factual understanding of "reproduction" And still it was only 500 years ago that the essence of the process came out of the nova myth and became fair game for science...
And there are two things here that go along with the damned Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life poles. Or Anti-life vs Anti-Death if you prefer. Family planning is the West's voluntary version of China's totalistic policy (see below) and like it or not, FP services are seen as the "house of birth control and abortion." The pro-lifers can handle the first but not the second. And so family planning is a good idea - but bad politics. Abortion clinics are considered by many to be the House of Satan". Thus the endless pickets and bombings. On the other hand there are the "Houses of Life". These, commonly associated with various conservative Faith traditions. Here there is no talk of abortion - and little straight talk about birth control. "Go Forth and Multiply" is written above the door. In fairness to such places many or most bust their ass to support the mother and child after birth. And should the mother be totally ill-prepared for motherhood they bust their ass to arrange adoptions. But how many pregnant kids ever approach either house? Probably far fewer than do.
And there is very little known Fact in western cultures. Most females in the US did not reach puberty until 19 or even 20 just 150 years ago. But modern medicine and nutrition have driven that age down to 12 or even 11. Now we have the DNA imperative running smack into kids who really DO NOT have the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. In many cases thier brains - particularly critical thinking and foresight centers are underdeveloped - or essentially absent. Why doesn't everyone know this. It a simple curve. Post it along with the BIG FACT (see below).
In my opinion the only Fact that home sapiens need be aware of just now is the exponential growth curve of our species. Jesus just passed 6 billion and already we are damn near half way to 7 billion. This curve from 4000 B.C. Should be writ large and displayed in every place in America where folks pass by. In other words - everywhere. I say this because all global politics and conflicts are directly linked to this curve - before any other consideration. Population explosions of this sort have been studied in science for so long they are engrained din every competent scientist mind - even if they are not anywhere near "population biologists". So here is THEBIGGEST FACT. And will we - even in our life time see the predictable catastrophic crash and speaking as your people do ask; "Who Knew?"
Thus we come to the politics of reproduction where the BIG FACT collides with relativistic fact and others things in the mix I alluded to earlier. As well as the solidly developed DNA-entrenched female "need" to reproduce. This is a particularly volatile mix since Biological Evolution always trumps Social Evolution. ALWAYS - NO EXCEPTIONS. Social evolution being the myth that by intellect, understanding, "Enlightenment" we can somehow over-ride 100 million years of mammalian evolution in a matter of decades or even years. As Jim Morrison said: "You CANNOT petition the Lord with prayer" And I say: "You CANNOT ignore DNA in petitioning for new social ideas". Sociologists and Activists without this perspective are truly dangerous people - VERY dangerous people. And their number is legion. In the much-maligned Communist State of "China" (also a political myth) the government was forced to acknowledge both the BIG FACT and their part in it.Thus the one-child only policy. The only nation in the world that is forcibly at least doing something to alter the Big Fact.
I have otherwise enjoyed your exchange with Risch. BTW, don't you believe SOME 17 year olds are perfectly capable of making distinctions between "the virtual and the actual," i.e., are perfectly capable of explaining why they have CHOSEN to join the military (or, indeed, chosen to terminate or continue with an unplanned pregnancy)? xo, j.
Well of course I have an even stronger skepticism of all "never" or "always" statements. These don't even work in physic where the Laws are most firmly established. But these have conditions - they only work on Newtonian time and space scales. Other Laws apply for most of the time and space continuum. So yes there are 17 year olds that can distinguish between the virtual and actual. But there number declines - both absolute and per cent each year - in America and other places where Microsoft and the Gang have slithered in. You want to see 17 years distinguiging fantasy from reality read Eric Sevareid's (yes THAT Eric Severaid) book entitled Canoeing with the Cree. I have long wanted to establish a Canoeing with the Cree organization of some sort, have the kids read the book and then send them out to do what tow 17-years olds did 70 years ago.Then you see matruity and even wisdaom at 18!
I have Ranted - Jude
____________________________________________________________
Click now and find the cable accessories you've been looking for!
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw29PeBxlXLa qU7BwMB9lEUigJD7kK6LKMxd1I5w1shLWCCjd/
[Updated on: Wed, 19 May 2010 08:38] by Moderator
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: THE BIG FACT |
|---|
| THE BIG FACT [message #131] |
Thu, 12 February 2009 10:42 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
|
|
Hello j,
Long time, no talky.
Been dancin' as fast I can down here in S. Florida. BIG transition for my MOM yesterday. I have extended trip till Saturday to help her adjust to assisted living. Its not sure its going to "take". Don't know what we will do then...
Hope all is well with you and Ian.
See response below. FYI - I am generally going to Mike's forum for this political ranting. But this seems a little more personal. I will leave it off unless you want me to post. (Which I would really like to do.) BTW - I am listening to Leo Cohen: "Suzanne". Transports me to so many places!
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: Obama set to launch military "surge "on Afghanistan
Jude wrote:
Jude - "Huck's pumped up on video games." And also ignorant as hell.
> They have spent their youth playing at death. With parents
> encouragement. They are sold the same thing through the recruiter
> that they are sold by X-Box. At 17 is it at all possible that they
> can make the distinction between the virtual and the actual? I
> submit: "Hell no!". There is strange parallel to volunteer abortion
> here. Both Huck and Jane should be required to receive knowledgeable
> presentations of all the facts - by a non-invested party - before
> they "volunteer" for either. "Peace recruiting" could be a goal for
> falmouthpeace.org.
"All the facts." Hmmm. I always find it curious when folks use this expression, especially inasmuch as people so often seem loathe to stick to them (or, phrased differently, eager to stray away from them). Not that I'm a fact fetishist or anything, but I will admit to being a big fan of the pages of E.H. Carr's "What is History?," in which Carr contemplates what is or counts as "fact" and what doesn't. And when a piece of information does, and to whom it does, etc. Well, yeah. Call me a stickler.... I suppose I am rather fond of facts and truths. But certainly not of absolutes. (And even less of absolute crap, as those who know me will testify.)
Well this is a good point: "relativistic facts". I see it a natural part of the mix that includes hard facts, myth, opinion, belief, works in progress, etc. I have a high load of skepticism for interpretative history. I have a great respect for factual reporting of history sans interpretation and opinion tacked on. An exception to this is Jacques Barzun and others who tell you up front that they are going to interpret - and freely so. But so many histories don't include this disclaimer - even though it is commonly the most important "fact" of the work. So: " In 14 hundred 92 Columbus sailed the ocean blue" is an undeniable fact. On the other hand "Columbus discovered America" is basically crap. At best he ran into the Bahamas and the Antilles. Neither of which is considered America today. And of course he ran into these places in the name and carrying the flag of a Christian, imperialist nation on the Iberian Peninsula. Sort of "C" list Kingdom at that!The Bahama's were populated, as were the Antilles. Strictly speaking the Caribs etc. discovered these places. But then only in the name of the naturally imperialistic human species. Other much sturdier creatures had fought there way through the island millennia before. And yet the myths persists - celebrated each year with a national holiday - Columbus Day. This even though Portuguese folks are "the" minority in the US today. And generally looked down on by those of superior northern European lineage. The native Americans have managed to muster enough energy to challenge C-Day each year - pointing out the atrocities and diseases that C brought with his discoveries.Those folks that greeted the Portuguese were all gone in a matter of 4 decades... A tabula rasa beyond the wildest dreams of any Imperialist. But no-one of white skin really listens to these "facts". It's wholly relativistic facts cum dogma that dominates America thinking. There should be a Native American Day rather than a Columbus Day. I could go on: "The sky is blue" NOT!
It is my understanding, Jude - and please correct me if I'm wrong - that presenting information is precisely what happens in family planning clinics, such as the ones in which I work, and in abortion clinics, too. After all, even volunteers are questioned, informed and vetted. It's never just a matter of walking in off the street....
Here your knowledge heavily trumps mine. I have seen how your work effects you. How you wrestle - on an individual basis with clients - to present the facts. The biological facts are easy - and have been agreed on for quite a while. But still you see woman with basically no understanding...In the beginning it took homo sapiens a while to link copulation to pregnancy and then birth. First there were birth myths, then an observational work-in- progress, then a linkage of related events and then the factual understanding of "reproduction" And still it was only 500 years ago that the essence of the process came out of the nova myth and became fair game for science...
And there are two things here that go along with the damned Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life poles. Or Anti-life vs Anti-Death if you prefer. Family planning is the West's voluntary version of China's totalistic policy (see below) and like it or not, FP services are seen as the "house of birth control and abortion." The pro-lifers can handle the first but not the second. And so family planning is a good idea - but bad politics. Abortion clinics are considered by many to be the House of Satan". Thus the endless pickets and bombings. On the other hand there are the "Houses of Life". These, commonly associated with various conservative Faith traditions. Here there is no talk of abortion - and little straight talk about birth control. "Go Forth and Multiply" is written above the door. In fairness to such places many or most bust their ass to support the mother and child after birth. And should the mother be totally ill-prepared for motherhood they bust their ass to arrange adoptions. But how many pregnant kids ever approach either house? Probably far fewer than do.
And there is very little known Fact in western cultures. Most females in the US did not reach puberty until 19 or even 20 just 150 years ago. But modern medicine and nutrition have driven that age down to 12 or even 11. Now we have the DNA imperative running smack into kids who really DO NOT have the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. In many cases thier brains - particularly critical thinking and foresight centers are underdeveloped - or essentially absent. Why doesn't everyone know this. It a simple curve. Post it along with the BIG FACT (see below).
In my opinion the only Fact that home sapiens need be aware of just now is the exponential growth curve of our species. Jesus just passed 6 billion and already we are damn near half way to 7 billion. This curve from 4000 B.C. Should be writ large and displayed in every place in America where folks pass by. In other words - everywhere. I say this because all global politics and conflicts are directly linked to this curve - before any other consideration. Population explosions of this sort have been studied in science for so long they are engrained din every competent scientist mind - even if they are not anywhere near "population biologists". So here is THEBIGGEST FACT. And will we - even in our life time see the predictable catastrophic crash and speaking as your people do ask; "Who Knew?"
Thus we come to the politics of reproduction where the BIG FACT collides with relativistic fact and others things in the mix I alluded to earlier. As well as the solidly developed DNA-entrenched female "need" to reproduce. This is a particularly volatile mix since Biological Evolution always trumps Social Evolution. ALWAYS - NO EXCEPTIONS. Social evolution being the myth that by intellect, understanding, "Enlightenment" we can somehow over-ride 100 million years of mammalian evolution in a matter of decades or even years. As Jim Morrison said: "You CANNOT petition the Lord with prayer" And I say: "You CANNOT ignore DNA in petitioning for new social ideas". Sociologists and Activists without this perspective are truly dangerous people - VERY dangerous people. And their number is legion. In the much-maligned Communist State of "China" (also a political myth) the government was forced to acknowledge both the BIG FACT and their part in it.Thus the one-child only policy. The only nation in the world that is forcibly at least doing something to alter the Big Fact.
I have otherwise enjoyed your exchange with Risch. BTW, don't you believe SOME 17 year olds are perfectly capable of making distinctions between "the virtual and the actual," i.e., are perfectly capable of explaining why they have CHOSEN to join the military (or, indeed, chosen to terminate or continue with an unplanned pregnancy)? xo, j.
Well of course I have an even stronger skepticism of all "never" or "always" statements. These don't even work in physic where the Laws are most firmly established. But these have conditions - they only work on Newtonian time and space scales. Other Laws apply for most of the time and space continuum. So yes there are 17 year olds that can distinguish between the virtual and actual. But there number declines - both absolute and per cent each year - in America and other places where Microsoft and the Gang have slithered in. You want to see 17 years distinguiging fantasy from reality read Eric Sevareid's (yes THAT Eric Sevareid) book entitled Canoeing with the Cree. I have long wanted to establish a Canoeing with the Cree organization of some sort, have the kids read the book and then send them out to do what tow 17-years olds did 70 years ago.Then you see matruity and even wisdaom at 18!
I have Ranted - Jude
____________________________________________________________
Click now and find the cable accessories you've been looking for!
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw29PeBxlXLa qU7BwMB9lEUigJD7kK6LKMxd1I5w1shLWCCjd/
[Updated on: Wed, 19 May 2010 08:29] by Moderator
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Forum: General Info |
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| Topic: Urgent Appeal from UFPJ/CCPJ - Write Now |
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| Urgent Appeal from UFPJ/CCPJ - Write Now [message #26] |
Thu, 08 January 2009 22:07 |
 |
miker
Messages: 53
Registered: December 2008 |
Member |
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The following is being passed on more or less unedited except for reformatting - miker
*** CCPJ-Talk: a discussion list ***
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Gerson"
To: "Marilyn Levin"
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 6:30 PM
Subject: RE: [neu-organizers] UFPJ urging pressure on Gaza but not mobilizing in unified mass action. Join conference call Thurs.
Friends,
Word from Washington, D.C. late this afternoon is that Congress will soon be moving to adopt a resolution that supports Israel in its war on Gaza.
It may be futile in terms of near term accomplishments, but we should be flooding Congress with phone calls and e-mails urging both an immediate ceasefire and commitment to negotiate a comprehensive Isaeli- Palestinian- Arab peace agreement on the basis of U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338.
With best wishes in hard times,
Joseph
________________________________
<mailto:MECCorganizing@yahoogroups.com> ; Arlington UJP
<mailto:ArlUJP@yahoogroups.com> ; Community Education
<mailto:CommunityEducation@yahoogroups.com> ; Judith LeBlanc
<mailto:jleblanc@unitedforpeace.org> ; NatAssembly CB
<mailto:natassembly2008@googlegroups.com> ; Mass Action Unity Caucus
<mailto:MassActionUnityCaucus@yahoogroups.com> ; BCPR
<mailto:bcprmembers@yahoogroups.com> ; Stop the Wars Coalition
<mailto:info@stopthewars.org> ; New England United
<mailto:newenglandunited@lists.riseup.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:40 PM
Subject: UFPJ urging pressure on Gaza but not mobilizing in unified mass
action. Join conference call Thurs.
UFPJ is urging member groups to step up emergency organizing on Gaza. This is great but UFPJ has not joined forces with the entire left to bring as many people into the streets as possible in protest of the horrors inflicted on the Palestinians by Israel and the US. There was a large demonstration held last Sat. in NYC and there were many Arabs and Palestinians there but there was a minimal presence by the traditional antiwar and progressive organizations. There has been a mass mobilization called for Sat., Jan 10 in Washington, DC sponsored by many Palestinian groups, ANSWER, and the National Assembly, and national March 21st actions calling for Out Now from Iraq and Afghanistan and ending the US-backed Israeli Occupation of Palestine have been called for Washington, San Francisco and other cities, and UFPJ will not endorse these mobilizations. At this time of crisis in Gaza, it is crucial that UFPJ and the traditional left, the unions, and all progressive forces drop the divisions and unite to mobilize huge numbers in the streets of Washington and everywhere. UFPJ says to join actions or organize them but that is far from what is necessary; UFPJ should be taking leadership in organizing large, visible mass actions, not just organizing congressional lobbying, sending emails to Obama, and distributing
educational materials.
There is a genocidal slaughter going on, folks. It is the US who is financing and supporting it in every way and blocking any ceasefire to end the immediate carnage or even to let emergency humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip. There are tens of thousands of Israeli Arabs and Jews, even thousands in Sderot, who have marched against the atrocities of their government; there are hundreds of thousands who are marching in the streets in protest all over the world. The minimal response of the US left is appalling and shameful.
LET UFPJ KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO STAND BY THE SIDELINES.
Marilyn Levin
Greater Boston United for Justice with Peace Coalition
New England United
National Assembly
Dear UFPJ Member Groups,
As Israel rejects the intensifying international pressure for a ceasefire, we urge UFPJ member groups to step up emergency organizing to end the horrific attacks and humanitarian crisis imposed upon of the people of Gaza.
We know many of your groups are already engaged, but this crisis is far from over and we need to expand our efforts.
A briefing call for UFPJ member groups will be held on Thursday, January 8, at 9-10 PM EST. Please RSVP for the call at organizing@unitedforpeace.org. Be sure to include your name and the name of your group in the RSVP.
Details about the call will be sent to those who do sign-up for it.
Nothing short of an immediate ceasefire to end the disproportionate use of force and open up access to unimpeded humanitarian aid will end the crisis.
The Bush administration's neoconservative policy of endless war -- while blocking diplomatic initiatives -- is what led to the Iraq war and is driving the spiraling crisis in Afghanistan. Just as in Iraq and Afghanistan, military action is not a solution.
Support for an immediate ceasefire is not a defense of Hamas, it is a call for protection of the rights of the Palestinian people and a demand for international law to be recognized. Our organizing efforts for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza are critical to strengthening the grassroots antiwar movement in the struggle for a new U.S. foreign policy.
The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation -- a member group of UFPJ
--
is helping to coordinate UFPJ's work on Gaza. Sign-up here to join over 500 volunteer organizers
< http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=% 2FtmQPMaH4w9Ofg9ZroVizrL2lFJR3zfT>
and receive a packet of outreach and Congressional lobby materials. Check the listing of other UFPJ member groups < http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=s bXFm2V%2Bf0kn9cKu28jzUbL2lFJR3zfT> who are also organizing emergency initiatives.
Take Action:
1. Demonstrations are being organized every day across the U.S. Join these actions or help to organize one. See a comprehensive listing -- and add your actions -- here
< http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=v 1zr%2B8AyNBIP3uVCXlqmEbL2lFJR3zfT>
2. Distribute educational material to build pressure on the Congress and the State Department. Download and distribute the U.S. Campaign's Gaza flyer < http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=B A%2FKJphfz1GbEfBZzF2BpbL2lFJR3zfT>
and fact sheet, "Israel is Killing Palestinians with U.S. Weapons"
< http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=p eaZ3eCZ1CQlYebMyRCF77L2lFJR3zfT>
. The U.S. people are closely divided over the crisis
< http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=c TJ%2FjXMoTP9cpxSvdyFFE7L2lFJR3zfT>
with 41% believing that Israel should have tried to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the situation in Gaza. The antiwar movement needs to move people into action to educate and mobilize for peaceful solutions there, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
3. Organize delegations to meet Congressional representatives or staff at home. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the entire world. Without U.S. military aid, the Israeli airstrikes and ground invasion would not be possible. An effort is underway to pressure members of Congress to issue statements supporting Israel's right to 'defend its citizens against terrorism' by continuing its military assault on Gaza. Legislation along those lines -- as well as resolutions we will want to support -- will begin to be introduced today.
Call your Senator or Representative at 202-224-3121 and press for their support for an immediate ceasefire to end the disproportionate use of force and to open up access to unimpeded humanitarian aid to end the unlawful collective punishment of the people of Gaza. And watch for a legislative action update in the next few days.
4. The 2008 election was a call for a new foreign policy premised on diplomacy, not war. It was a vote for a change. The Obama administration can make that change a reality by supporting diplomatic efforts for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.
Post your comments to the Obama Transition Team web page now! < http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=B GCXOmsKz3DN0qC3L%2Fpiv7L2lFJR3zfT>
Without a just peace for all of the people in the region, there will be no end to the fighting and suffering. Moreover, without an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, there will be no peace throughout the entire region.
[Updated on: Wed, 11 February 2009 06:59]
Verily I say unto you, as ye have done unto the least of these my brethren, so ye have done unto me.
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| | Topic: Vigils, Demonstrations, Protests, Petitions, ... |
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| Vigils, Demonstrations, Protests, Petitions, ... [message #23] |
Tue, 06 January 2009 21:20 |
falmo
Messages: 1
Registered: January 2009 |
Junior Member |
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Some of the Falmouth people are gearing up to get signatures on a petition to prohibit the Massachusetts National Guard from being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Smedley Butler Brigade has info on their website @
http://smedleyvfp.org/page8/page34/page34.html
If you're interested in gathering signatures yourself, you can download the petition form (pdf format) on that page.
more later ...
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| | Forum: Welcome Western Mass |
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| Topic: decriminalize drugs |
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| decriminalize drugs [message #166] |
Thu, 07 May 2009 10:24 |
justjoe
Messages: 39
Registered: January 2009
Location: frank'ln |
Member |
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April 2, 2009
Drug Decriminalization in Portugal:
Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies
by Glenn Greenwald
April 2, 2009
Drug Decriminalization in Portugal
Purchase a copy from the Cato Bookstore
On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were "decriminalized," not "legalized." Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. Drug trafficking continues to be prosecuted as a criminal offense.
While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization — whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution — Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be "decriminalized." Because more than seven years have now elapsed since enactment of Portugal's decriminalization system, there are ample data enabling its effects to be assessed.
Notably, decriminalization has become increasingly popular in Portugal since 2001. Except for some far-right politicians, very few domestic political factions are agitating for a repeal of the 2001 law. And while there is a widespread perception that bureaucratic changes need to be made to Portugal's decriminalization framework to make it more efficient and effective, there is no real debate about whether drugs should once again be criminalized. More significantly, none of the nightmare scenarios touted by preenactment decriminalization opponents — from rampant increases in drug usage among the young to the transformation of Lisbon into a haven for "drug tourists" — has occurred.
The political consensus in favor of decriminalization is unsurprising in light of the relevant empirical data. Those data indicate that decriminalization has had no adverse effect on drug usage rates in Portugal, which, in numerous categories, are now among the lowest in the EU, particularly when compared with states with stringent criminalization regimes. Although postdecriminalization usage rates have remained roughly the same or even decreased slightly when compared with other EU states, drug-related pathologies — such as sexually transmitted diseases and deaths due to drug usage — have decreased dramatically. Drug policy experts attribute those positive trends to the enhanced ability of the Portuguese government to offer treatment programs to its citizens — enhancements made possible, for numerous reasons, by decriminalization.
This report will begin with an examination of the Portuguese decriminalization framework as set forth in law and in terms of how it functions in practice. Also examined is the political climate in Portugal both pre- and postdecriminalization with regard to drug policy, and the impetus that led that nation to adopt decriminalization.
Glenn Greenwald is a constitutional lawyer and a contributing writer at Salon. He has authored several books, including A Tragic Legacy (2007) and How Would a Patriot Act? (2006).
The report then assesses Portuguese drug policy in the context of the EU's approach to drugs. The varying legal frameworks, as well as the overall trend toward liberalization, are examined to enable a meaningful comparative assessment between Portuguese data and data from other EU states.
The report also sets forth the data concerning drug-related trends in Portugal both pre- and postdecriminalization. The effects of decriminalization in Portugal are examined both in absolute terms and in comparisons with other states that continue to criminalize drugs, particularly within the EU.
The data show that, judged by virtually every metric, the Portuguese decriminalization framework has been a resounding success. Within this success lie self-evident lessons that should guide drug policy debates around the world.
from:>http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10080
peace, joe
Bruce Cain
http://www.newagecitizen.com/
relegalize Cannabis
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| | Forum: Cinema Politica |
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| Topic: Upcoming Films |
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| Upcoming Films [message #165] |
Tue, 05 May 2009 13:02 |
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miker
Messages: 53
Registered: December 2008 |
Member |
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Verily I say unto you, as ye have done unto the least of these my brethren, so ye have done unto me.
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| | Forum: We Think Therefore We Are |
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| Topic: Gone Fishin' |
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| Gone Fishin' [message #151] |
Mon, 02 March 2009 21:46 |
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miker
Messages: 53
Registered: December 2008 |
Member |
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On second thought, Mr. Cheney
Essay - January 26, 2009 by Ted Williams
Document Actions
On the last day of 2008, a little bird told me that the venerable American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vt., a beacon for the nation's fly-fishers and a keeper of their rich tradition, had landed Vice President Dick Cheney as the guest of honor and speaker at its spring 2009 meeting. So I posted the news on a blog I run for Fly Rod & Reel magazine.
Within hours, the museum was shoveling out from a blizzard of nasty-grams. For two weeks it kept mum. Then it hatched a form letter (at this writing under review by the vice president's staff) in which it offers lengthy and incomprehensible excuses for inviting Cheney, while likening him to presidents Jimmy Carter and Franklin Roosevelt. It then implores Cheney's critics to "continue to support the museum and its mission." I will certainly do so, and to prove it, I have redrafted the form letter for the museum, at no charge:
"Dear [name]: We need to generate revenue, so we searched hard and long for a guest of honor who would fill the room at our spring meeting. Finally, we hit upon Dick Cheney, arguably the most dangerous enemy of fish in our generation. What's more, Mr. Cheney, who angles for trout in Wyoming in one of the rivers he hasn't ruined with gas and oil extraction (which happens to run through his ranch) is an accomplished and safe fly caster. In fact, he hasn't wounded even one of his fishing companions.
"We completely understand that applying green lipstick to this arch environmental villain, aptly dubbed 'Darth Vader' in fish and wildlife conservation circles, is outright whoring. But that's the genius of our plan. This kind of prostitution is legal and no less lucrative than the standard, unlawful variety.
"And please recall, from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, the enormous crowds the King and the Duke were able to draw to their 'Royal Nonesuch' performances, in which the King painted himself and pranced around the stage naked and on all fours, while the Duke collected the money at the door. Sure, they eventually got themselves tarred and feathered and run out of town, but their first few gigs generated an avalanche of revenue. We're only planning one.
"Please recall also our mission statement: 'The American Museum of Fly Fishing promotes an understanding of and appreciation for the history, traditions, and practitioners, past and present, of the sport of fly fishing.' You cannot deny that a major part of that history and those traditions is the systematic destruction of rivers by special interests and the politicians who front for them. Can there be a better choice than traditional practitioner Dick Cheney -- the man who gave the West the biggest fish kill it has ever seen when he attempted to wean Klamath River chinook salmon from water, who trashed the Endangered Species Act, who virtually canceled the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, who suppressed science, who ruined the lives of dedicated resource professionals, and who ran Christine Todd Whitman out of the EPA?
"So tight is the prose of The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times that these papers have been able to fit entire stories into just their headlines, i.e.: 'Dick Cheney's Last-Gasp Fight Against Clean Air' and 'Dick Cheney Battles Laura Bush over Protecting Pacific Ocean.'
"You can't believe the publicity we have generated by our decision to make the Veep our honoree. We even netted a comment from book publisher and author Nick Lyons, the unofficial dean of American fly fishers: 'As a longtime member and supporter of the American Museum of Fly Fishing, I am appalled that the museum would honor such a dreadful, dangerous man. He is the enemy of just about everything I value.'
"And no less a fishing icon than Joel Vance, past president of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, offers this in his column for Outdoor Guide: 'If the fly fishing museum goes ahead with its plan to slobber over Dick Cheney, then I will boycott it…. I would have gladly paid $5 admission to see the exhibits, but not if one of them is the 'Dick Cheney Drill, Baby, Drill exhibit.'
"Finally, despite his lamentable crudeness, we'll quote our pro bono publicist, Ted Williams, who uses the vulgar term for that invasive alga, Didymosphenia geminata, now smothering fish habitat across North America: 'Thanks for the memories, Dick. We're gonna miss you like rock snot.'"
Ted Williams is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). He is the conservation editor for Fly Rod & Reel magazine.
Lifted from : http://www.hcn.org/wotr/on-second-thought-mr.-cheney
Verily I say unto you, as ye have done unto the least of these my brethren, so ye have done unto me.
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| | Topic: The Great Rick Warren Scare |
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| The Great Rick Warren Scare [message #79] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 12:19 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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December 21, 2008
Hello All,
I lived in NC during the days of Jim and Tammy Baker. I have watched a number of televangelists fall from grace, beg forgiveness and drift away. The plain truth of the matter is that Warren does not appear to be a crook. His mission is an interesting (to me) mis-mash of stuff. Prop 8 was a no-go - with or without Warren. We did gay marriage here in MA - but that was overturned - leaving lots of couples in limbo. This gay marriage is strictly a side show for chrissake! There are real important matters on the table withering because of the energy drawn off by this silly (to me) issue. How about John Holdren of Woods Hole Research Center ( Obama's Chief Science Advisor) giving the invocation - linking God, Yahweh, Mohammed, Buddha and Global Climate Change in a new religion of substance.
I am not ready to judge that Obama's selection of Warren is a mistake. And what if it is. Are we now counting mistakes? Me I have enough reverberating outrage from the last 8 years to let this selection bother me. Let it "declare itself" (as the Taoists say). How can it be a mistake when nothing has been said? He may just end the invocation - at Obama's request - in a similar fashion to this:
Joel Hunter closed his prayer (at the DNC) in an unusual way: "Now I interrupt this prayer for a closing instruction. I want to personalize this. I want this to be a participatory prayer. And so therefore, because we are in a country that is still welcoming all faiths, I would like all of us to close this prayer in the way your faith tradition would close your prayer. So on the count of three, I want all of you to end this prayer, your prayer, the way you usually end prayer. You ready? One, two, three. In Jesus' name, Amen. Let's go change the world for good."
Would THAT be a mistake??
Peace - Jude
I've been called 'a religious atheist', a 'spiritual non-believer'....my art history class lectures 'sermons'....
so I know what Jude is talking about I think. I'll even admit to being a pie-eyed optimist, a dreamer, a soft-headed softie, yes a life-long socialist and filled with hope, faith and belief. I didn't vote for Obama, but cried at his winning. And now I'm hurt by his Warren choice, dismayed, angry. I think he has made a bad choice and I think he needs to hear from those who supported him....altrho I think its too late for any change now. Its a mistake that hopefully won't be repeated. But Jude, I do believe it is a mistake.
Not Rahm, or Rubin, or Summers, or Chue, or Gates, or the others....that I expect. But sorry, Warren is an uncalled for choice. Lowry is very fine, altho I am not a 'believer' Lowry represents a voice of caring & 'moderation'. But why not a more moderate voice that supports 'Life'? Why not a softer voice that allows Gay & Lesbians who want to build a stable life, thru a civil union if not 'marriage' which most Americans seem not ready to embrace nor does Obama. Fair enough. But no, Obama's choice in Warren, with all due respect to religious zealots & fundamentalists, does not move us forward nor toward unity or moral or ethical clarity. We need to speak against what he represents in his 'divisive talk- the majority of his words. Not against his or anyones genuine & differing ideas about abortion or life or how we try to live our lives...but yes, against ideas & beliefs that divide, belittle, seperate or demean. I think Obama has made a mistake and has let down many of those who supported him...but I hope I'm wrong and lets hope he can make 'lemonade out of lemons'....
Lillia
> To All,
>
> >
> We will all be disappointed to some extent by what Obama does and doesn't do during his presidency - which hasn't even begun yet. Warren to > give an invocation? Perhaps not the best choice. Perhaps a political choice.
> But altogether a forgettable moment in a much larger picture. Perhaps this a sly move to show the nation who this man really is - if your line of information is entirely correct. There are a couple disturbing assumptions included in this information viz: that Obama supporters are pro-choice and pro-gay. I HATE this shit. These are two of the most polarized and dysfunctional discussions currently on the national political table. It is
> an absolute political necessity that a candidate place himself in one camp or the other in order to forge a constituency. Increasingly candidates are mixing these stands. Anti-abortion, pro-gay and etc.
>
> I believe that Obama thinks - period. As such he is usually much farther ahead of shysters like Warren. I would not be surprised that Obama - perhaps like me (see below) has come to a centrist view on these disastrously divisive issues. While I am complexed by abortion, I have no problem with gay rights. But gays also have to understand that "marriage" is a word that carries a lot of weight down though millennia. Male and Female - joined together for procreation. Period. The more they insist on this word the more they turn me off... Why they insist on being included under this "term" is
> beyond me. Legal unions with all the associated rights is what they really want. Find another damn word and the issue goes away. If not completely nor instantly - IT WILL go away.
>
> >
> The following is a correspondence that I had with Andrew Bard Schmookler of the web site None-So-Blind. It will posted in the next few days. (POSTED ELSEWHERE ON THIS FORUM) I was involved in the launch 3+ years ago and below tells why. It is the only one > of its kind - devoted to working out polarized moral issues in an open and effective way. We, as whole nation, are not where NSB is and so we have to
> put up with what we have. As long as a person stands hugging a pole - and all the unexamined assumptions that cement that pole - the more dysfunctional and ineffective the discourse. Go to NSB - read about Schmookler and his mission. Read more and see how hard many are wrestling with these and other moral issues. Please.
>
>
>
> Peace - Jude
>
>
>
>
> > Hope Obama doesn't continue to disappoint me as he doing here!!!
> >
> > see attached
> >
> > Happy Holidays?????
> >
> > Joe Gittings
> >
> >
> >
> > Joan Walsh
> > Friday December 19, 2008 06:41 EST
> > Disappointed by Rick Warren
> >
> > Even on vacation, I can't quite get over the choice of pastor Rick Warren to give Barack Obama's inaugural invocation. I'm all for Obama (and Republicans, for that matter) reaching out to the other side. I am not theoretically opposed to Obama choosing an antiabortion gay-rights critic;I'm opposed to Warren himself. He's a poster boy for kinder, gentler 21st century bigotry, and Obama shouldn't validate him with this lofty symbolic role.
> >
> > I tried to keep an open mind when Obama began courting Warren three years ago; Salon sent a reporter to cover the popular young Democrat's first visit to Saddleback Community Church, to talk about its laudable AIDS work, in 2006. I believe in seeking common ground, and I was curious to see what Warren - and Obama - were up to. I watched carefully when Obama went to Saddleback for a presidential forum in August, along with John
McCain. As I wrote at the time, I think Obama got punked; Warren spent an inordinate amount of time at the forum on issues like abortion and gayrights, and the promised focus on poverty reduction and social justice got short shrift. At Saddleback services the next day, Mike Madden didn't find one worshiper planning to vote for Obama. One day after that, a self-satisfied Warren told Beliefnet he couldn't say for sure whether Obama could compete for the evangelical vote, but he insisted that an
antiabortion voter backing a pro-choice candidate would be like a
Holocaust survivor voting for a Holocaust denier.
> >
Beyond his noxious political views -- Warren has compared homosexuality to incest and bestiality, supports the Iraq war, and, in fact, just gave George W. Bush his first-ever "international medal of peace" (yes, peace)I have come to distrust Warren personally. He looks to be from a long
line of religious leaders more concerned about their own glory than the glory of God. I didn't like him high-fiving with Obama about their million-dollar book deals, or complaining with McCain that $250,000 isn't rich in Orange County. I didn't like him misrepresenting the rules for the August forum -- he claimed McCain had been in a "cone of silence," but when that turned out not to have been true, he accused Obama supporters of "sour grapes" for complaining. It became obvious to me that the well-fed,well-coiffed Warren is full of himself, and Obama shouldn't contribute to his campaign for self-aggrandizement, especially at the expense of gay people and women, two groups who gave Obama strong support.
> >
> > On MSNBC this afternoon my friend Chris Matthews kept saying that Obama has upset gays with this choice, but I'm not gay, and Warren's anti-gay rights stands are only part of my reasons for opposing his selection(although his leadership in the fight for the noxious Proposition 8, which Obama opposed, is certainly a reason to oppose his being given this special symbolic spiritual role). I object to the full Warren package, I think he's a force for division, not inclusion, and a terrible symbol for this inspiring new administration. And once again, I see an arrogance
> > and/or naiveté on the part of Obama, when he defends his choice of Warren and it was his choice; read Madden's fine story -- as showing "we can disagree and not be disagreeable." I'd tell that to Rick Warren, not his critics.
> >
> > On Thursday night Warren issued a short statement praising Obama for bucking his liberal base to invite him to give the invocation. Obama likewise made a big deal of Warren facing criticism for inviting Obama to his church. It's clear both men are using one another to prove their alleged political courage, and that's their choice; I object to Obama using the rest of us. This is a political and not a spiritual choice, and it stinks.
> >
> > Is there someone you wish Obama had chosen to give the invocation? Use the comments section of my blog to share some better ideas.
> >
> >
> > -- Joan Walsh
> >
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Yaweh, Geology, and Hamas |
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| Yaweh, Geology, and Hamas [message #78] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 11:55 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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Dear Jenny, Mike and Jude,
I'm sitting next to a mountain in the cold of New Hampshire where it has been below zero all day following the discussion and I'm now ready to weigh in.
Jude, you are right about the level of fealty Americans exhibit toward religious belief. Some eighty seven percent of Americans believe in the Judeo-Christian concept of god. that's what they say... Additionally, the vast majority of these people believe in the biblical explanation of the origins of the universe(God created the world in six days and then rested and then there is Adam and Eve). Well this really pisses me off. It was geologists that proved the time needed for evolution. Biblical time was what always held the creationist ground - still does for that matter. But the time debate was only 150 years ago. And that same 87% know jack-shit about geology. Actually I'd put that number closer to 99% re: Archbishop Ussher vs Lord Kelvin (and eventually James Hutton) on the matter. And Darwin was a geologist long before he was an organic evolutionary. In fact the template for organic evolution was published in Darwin's Theory of Atoll Formation 30 years before Origin of Species. It's all there - in a geologic form. Took over 100 years to confirm this theory (Harry Hess and seamounts) and finally, drilling of Bikini Atoll during atomic weapons tests. Creationist should start with this first!! Darwin was wholly prescient on this matter and applied the same principles to "organisms" (Although many of us carbonate geologists has come to view atolls - and related "species" as organisms - or at least Gain Entities - a la James Lovelock...) At the risk of alienating my religious friends, this is nothing short of a modern form of collective insanity. Religion or faith is based on superstition, the antithesis of rationality. It is prescientifif, prehistorical and dangerous to the preservation of life on many levels. Religious belief came about because of a number of tensions, including fear of death and an inability to explain natural phenomenon. It is the opiate of the masses. Ross - it used to be the opiate of the masses. Now, at least in this country, the opiate of the masses is alcohol, electronic entertainment (in all its forms) and well, opiates themselves. Sex, drugs and Rock and Roll is the God that replaced the one that Nietzsche polished off. (see Neil Postman's Technopoly) Religion provided the fix (extending eternal life for the deserved and holding up god as omnipotent and responsible party for all that occurs) Organized religion has given its leaders an effective structure and form of control over the masses. Yes this is the politicalization of any spiritual belief system. The stick and the carrot. Taoism is the only major belief system that does not offer this "prize vs price" element. Thus Taoism failed - lost out to Hinduism and the Buddha. Although it has greatly influenced both of these...
Of course, the Judeo Christian god is violent, vengeful and jealous (see the Old Testament). This god requires absolute devotion and exacts an eternal penalty for failure. Though too many American's subscribe to this world view, it is no excuse for taking small steps to begin to challenge and eradicate it, in the name of humanity, I would go even further her. Yahweh was a sociopath as far as I can see. Not only did he have this Power thing, he was wholly unpredictable re: the stick and carrot thing. Moses does all the heavy lifting to get the Hebrews to the Promised land. Yahweh even gives him the Big Ten. And then the bastard won't let Moses in for a transgression 50 years past. And he gives Abraham a miracle child and then asks him to slice and dice. And destroys the whole fuckin' world because he's pissed at a few sinners. Greatest mass murderer - ever. And I could on and on. see Sam Harris, the End of Faith) Religion continues to serve as a source of violence, oppression, particularly of woman and gays, division and the mainenance of an ujust status quo. Religious devotion combined with corporate control of culture has been the hallmark of modern fascist movements and state's from Germany to Italy, Spain, Portugal and beyond. Thus elevation of religion is dangerous and moves us further away from universal tolerance, the Enlightenment and understanding human behavior. I would agree with much of this. I read "The Anti-Christ" as a sophomore in college and "mine eyes were open". But despite what Harris says Faith is a necessary requirement of the human condition.Unless you are a total nihilist we all believe in something! What we believe and, more importantly, how we act on or institutionalize this Faith is where the danger lies. Men and woman who would never do deeds as individuals perform atrocities as part of an institution. Humans have souls. Organizations do not.They have only "charges". See Whyte: The Organization Man.
As I have said previously, Obama's embrace of religion, specifically Christianity, is politically astute as was his choice of Rick Warren to lead his inaugural convocation. O'Bama is a politician and understands the first rule of politics, to get elected, and the second rule, to get re-elected. If he is a person of principle and integrity, he will begin to deemphasize the role of religion in public life. But I don't see that happening, do you? Barack is a person who really struggled with Faith. He wrote a book about this. His Hope is predicated by Faith. It HAS to be this way. Faith is belief. Hope is an emotion. "I hope" or "I feel Hope" are complete sentences. In to many religious systems that fuckin word "for" has been placed after the verb/noun. You don't Hope for anything. You Need things. You Want things. I would want to see Obama try to bring some basic English grammar into the discussion. De-emphazing the stick and carrot part of religion; building on his Faith and Hope sequence.
Who knows why Blair has recently gravitated toward devout Christianity. I can only speculate. Blair's popularity has plummeted. Like Bush, he is held in high regard by ever narrower margins of society, namely fundamntalist Christian's, who, like Bush, see the U.S. attack on Iraq as the expression of a modern day crusade to wipe out false believer's. Another example of the danger's of sectarianism in the form of religious belief. Blair's new found religious devotion brings him closer to those who continue to accept and admire him and gives him self justication for his behavior. The fact of the matter remains, if there really was a god in the Judeo-Christian image, wouldn't Bush and Blair be consigned to eternal hell for committing mass murder? Well who knows what the hell Yahweh would do!! But Jesus would probably not be so happy with all this conflict over earthly goods.
Yahweh, in any sane and just world, where universal standards and principles applied, each would be incarcerated, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity. By the way, I have yet to hear Bush, Blair of Obama for that matter speak out against the horrendous savagery being perpetrated by their junior partner in the Midle East, the Isreali's, against a largely defenseless Palestinian population, with American succor. Have you heard any of these devout Christians speak out against such slaughter of innocents? Man don't get me started... Most modern commentary on this focuses on the last 40 years. But this has been going on for millennia. Abraham comes wandering out of the hard land of Ur lookin' for a little milk and honey.Who knows, he may have been kicked out of Ur. He takes a small, straggling, starving entourage with. And then explores the Fertile Crescent. But this place is already claimed. And he has not the strength to conquer or even graze for that matter. So he goes to the southern cusp of the crescent - Palestine - where conditions are marginal but acceptable for sheep and crops. But there are folks there too. Not many and there appears to be room for all. But then it starts. The Hebrews multiply "like the stars" and start staking out different claims all over the place. And one thing you just don't do is mess with another guy's land. Robert Ardrey covered this beautifully in The Territorial Imperative. Wars are fought as much over simple landownership as resource needs and wants. All the way down to folks in the 'burbs squabbling over their back yards. Private property right have in this country become the most holiest of cows. Don't believe it. Get on the Planning board and try to re-zone. God almighty - you are accused of (at least) communism if not outright theft. As we all know the Hebrews history is simply amazing. The best book for us gentiles is "Stranger than Fiction" from the early 30's. The Nazi Holocaust was but the last of a series of attempts to wipe out the Jews. The Babylonians nearly succeeded. And then there was the Diaspora. Man the only reason we have fighting in Middle East now is that the Jews held on to Yahweh so stubbornly that they survived everything thrown at them. And so that brings us to January 4th, 2009. After the Camps the Jews are given a homeland by those crazy Brits. The US supports this greatly - not only because of the wealthy and influential Jewish population in NYC but because it was largely refugee Jewish physicists gave us both Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb. We owe these folks!! And it is a great and Holy mission. Exodus with some epic music. But, just like back in Abraham's time the Land is already occupied - those damn Palestinians. The Brits slink out of Palestine in 1947 and the Jews take up arms and take up the Land too. They have learned from the 30's and 40's. And don't think those lessons have been lost 1 generation later!! They should have done this in the Warsaw Ghetto -with the same gusto now shown. So again they expand like the stars. And the Land becomes more and more important. The Muslims don't like all this. The Christians are caught in the middle. We got the Dome of the Rock on top of the Temple. Bethlehem becomes a dangerous place for everyone. This a mess that no-one completely understands - made worse by outsiders like Kissinger. Made better (to some extent) by Carter... But never ended. So Hamas - lobbing shots out of Gaza into Israel. First question is: "What the hell are they thinking?" Answer: "That's our Land - stolen thousands of years ago and then in 1947 - by those damned "People of the Book". They are so ineffective that they kill no-one in Israel. They are called terrorists when they are little more than a pain in the ass - to an Israel that deserves some pains in the ass. Their (eventual - they told them to "stop it") response is massacre. One rooted in their whole history but especially in their recent experience in eastern Europe in the 40's. And of course by their undeniably nasty neighbors with their backyards (Golan Heights etc) under threat.
Watcha gonna do? Whatever you do, someone - on the global scene- is goin' to be Plenty Pissed. I have (I think) a pretty good grip on why this all is going on over there. But not a clue re: What "to do".
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Ross and I - Decemeber 29th |
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| Ross and I - Decemeber 29th [message #76] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 11:36 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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----- Original Message -----
From: Ross Bluestein
To: R. Jude Wilber
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 9:11 PM
Subject: Re: Continued Discussion
Hello Ross!
Hi Jude,
Merry Christmas. I want to take an opportunity to respond to our last submission, at least to the main points.
With respect to the people who will be O'Bama's closest advisors, I said:
These people have been part of the problem for many years. They are stuck in an ideological mindset, unchallenged, which assumes the United States possesses moral superiority to all others, that our economic system is superior (without any discussion of morality) and that we act beneficently outside our borders, that we have a special destiny and that it is our right to control the world. Wow that is a BIG PILE of assumptions. First, Obama needs experienced people. He is not going to do what Carter did. Second, these assumptions - all of them - are already undergoing re-evaluation simply because they are non-working assumptions. The first thing a scientist does it to clealry state his assumptions and I have not heard anyone state these assumption except Pat Buchanan. When things aren't working then the assumptions NEED to be revisited and revised. It the core of the scientific method. O'Bama shares these assumptions. Says Who? This is why I'm not surprised by his appointments of people who share these unspoken assumptions - Assumptions must be specified - otherwise they are implicit and thus not worth shit - or his decision to choose Rick Warren to minister during his inauguration, OH please let Warren declare himself. I cited the first invocation that was given under Obama - closing the DNC. I take that more seriously than anything Warren might say. or his waffling on Iraq - last I heard it was out of Iraq by 2010. Has he changed that position?
Experience is t scientists and don't think like you. Does not matter if you are natural scientist or political scientist the rules are the same. You cannot make your assumptions your conclusions by fudging the data. Have we forgot the Downing Street memo? "Making the facts "fit"... In any academic position this spells immediate expulsion and forever loss of credibility. But governments are not run by logic. Never have, never will. Their evaluation of the devolution of American power and the need to restore it underscores my essential point about shared assumptions that the U.S. has the right and duty to control the world and O'Bama does share their assumptions and the evidence is obvious and overwhelming. For example, not once has O'Bama criticized the U.S. attack on Iraq as fundamentally wrong and immoral. He has simply said that it was a "strategic mistake". In other words, if it had been better planned and executed, it might have been okay. Not once has O'Bama criticized or made an issue out of the fact that the U.S., as the imperial power, maintains some 700 bases and installations around the world, designed to promote and sustain hegemony. I see the US as both an economic and military empire. But the history of Empires is always the same. The is A great book Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance--and Why They Fall (Paperback)by Amy Chua (Author) Once established and with "the Assumptions" in place the people get fat and slack. Empires fall as often to the vertical invasions vs horizontal invasion (Robert Audrey) Which is to say that successive generation of Empires become more an more decadent and the thing crumbles. The Greatest Generation (Tom Brokaw - what a fucking arrogant title!) was the US's great imperialists. Their kids (us) challenged it in one generation. What does Generation X or Generation Next know about Empire? NOTHING. What else is all this military might designed to accomplish, certainly not world peace. Not once has O'Bama talked about the need of the United States to comply with our obligations under the nuclear non proliferation treaty to which we are signatories and which calls for us to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons. He hasn't even come out against the Reagan-Bush strategic defense intitiative, formerly known as Star Wars which promises an escalation of the nuclear arms race at an astronomical price tag. He has said nothing about the size and waste of a military budget totally out of proportion to our actual needs. In case you missed, he has recenlty stated his willingness to allow a residual force of some 50 to 70 thousand troops in Iraq. This is simply a continuation of the occupation by another name. His desire to expand the war in Afghanistan says much about his assumptions and willingness to use hard power to maintain U.S. military might as a weapon of foreign policy. Nor has O'Bama called for strengthening the U.N. or for the United States to accept the jurisdiction of the World Court. Nor has O'Bama called for a reevaluation of the priorities and programs of the I.M.F. and World Bank whose lending conditions have led to the further immiseration of millions of people in the Third World while enriching elites. With respect to domestic policies, he has not agreed to work toward the elimination of the Taft Hartley Act or the Worker Free Choice Act which would strenghten the Trade Union Movment and ultimately shore up the middle class. He didn't talk about poor people of the woeful plight of African Americans in this country. President elect O'Bama also raised millions of dollars from Wall Street lobbyists and other centers of private power who expect a return on their investment, at least in the form of access and who do you think is paying for his gala inauguration? I could go on an on. These are all certainly good points. And I will not argue the politics... (The inauguration is an obscenity -and does set a very bad precedent for this administration). But there is a matter of practicality in doing all this stuff at once. And prioritization. In all respect this sounds like an enumerated "to do" list. I am a specialist at these. But you don't clean out the sock drawer if the house is on fire. You put out the fire and then sort the socks. If all these became planks in an Obama platform he would be quickly marginalized as WAY to far Left. Or at least way to "sudden". Most of these points are sins of omission - not yet his sins of commission. See my previous on escalating Afghan. True not all of your points are far left. The middle class has in my opinion basically disappeared. The last figures I saw said that 80% of the wealth was held by 20% of the people. Thus 20% of the wealth was held by 80%. I call this the "dumbbell" (pun intended) distribution of wealth. Opposite 80%'s at each end. The middle class has become that skinny little bar - in well, the middle. I consider this obscene - both in this country on a global scale. For years I could not figure out how so many Americans could let this happen. Trickle-down economics was a highly transparent sham from the start. And yet Americans went for it. I see two reasons here. 1) It's the old "bread and circus" thing. Keep 'em well fed and give them endless entertainment and the people will be content. Entertainment is our economic base these days - by far. 2) Americans have become ignoramuses. They are not paying attention. As long as they can get shit at Wal-Mart then all is well. I bet no one-in one hundred Wal-Mart shoppers knows that will each purchase they support 5 of the top ten richest people in this nation. Even before they have reached their cars ALL of what they just spent has left their community. It is already in the hands of the Waltons. And that money is never comin' back to say - Falmouth. If the outside tourist/ retiree cash flow dries up for Falmouth 50% of the town will simply disappear. Or they will wake up - burn down Wal-mart and re-establish a local economy based on a strong middle class. Go to the bluff over-looking the Wal-Mart Parking lot and simply be amazed at what you are seeing. This puts us in an unprecedented historic position. Can a nation survive on an economy of trinkets? I think not and I think that we are seeing this happen just now. We are now the world's biggest debtor nation. What if China, Japan, Saudi Arabia etc. starts to "call in some paper"? Well that is where the Cheney/Bush doctrine comes in. Pre-emptive strikes in the name of American Interests, national security. Will the world as whole put up with this? I doubt it. Of the 700 bases about half are like the fort that "F Troop" held. (EG. Antigua, Bahamas, Aruba, Luxenburg, Madiera??, etc) Yes they are there but many have 100 or so troops. True there are some heavy hitters. But there a lot of heavy hitters on the other side too. Can we lead the world into another World War? I think not. But not impossible under a Cheney/Bush Thing. And beside the next war will be fought over resources - especially water - not Lindsay Lohan CD's.
You can call me cynical but the point is not to view O'Bama with rose colored glasses or overlook his problematic assumptions which lead to immoral and flawed policies, such as his support for the credit card sponsored bankruptcy "reform' bill a couple years ago or his most recent support for the regressive Wall Street Bail Out Bill. The Wall Street bailout is Abhorrent. as is the credit card thing, ( I got sucked into this years ago -learning a very important lesson concerning the ethics of America's financial institutions) as is the Big Three things. But it takes two to tango. Irresponsible lending, irresponsible "products"(real, - financial) and irresponsible spending - by American morons. Both have a part in this dance. BU the really expert $$ folks that I have talked to have tow strong opinions: 1) NO-ONE knows what is going to happen and 2) Without some bail-out efforts we are lookin' at something like the 30's. For reasons that many find bizarre I don't find the latter such a bad thing..
I have never said that O'Bama is evil, I don't use this quasi religious terminology. It doesn't hold any meaning for me. I voted for O'Bama. I'm routing for him but we must not give him a pass. We have as much of an obligation to be honest with each other and towards him with regard to his policies and programs as we did with Bush. Perhaps even more so for those of us who supported him. I agree completely Ross. Especially after the passes we gave Reagan and Bush. But you got to let him get started.
I'll end with one of my favorite passages (17) from the TaoTe Ching. This is also one of Mike Risch's favorites. As you know the TTC is the mystical, spiritual guidebook of Ancient China. Second to the Hebrew/Christian Bible in global translation.The thing that most folks don't know about the TTC is it also handbook of how to govern. About 1/4 of it is clealry related to ruling the people. Mike and I always chuckle over the last line - which is the most important. Could as easily be translated as "Power to the People".
When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.
If you don't trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy.
The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!"
Obama will hardly be invisible - but he is at present well-loved. I suspect that he will never be feared (fascism has had it's chance the last 8 years). I cannot imagine that he will do anything that will cause him to be despised.
And Happy New Year to you also Ross!! Could be the Most Interesting of our lives!!
Happy New Year.
Ross
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Carter, Schmookler, And Morals: Catchin' the Wind |
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| Carter, Schmookler, And Morals: Catchin' the Wind [message #75] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 11:16 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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Carter, Schmookler and Morals: Catchin' The Wind
December 12, 2009
Recently I submitted an article and requested a post on None-So-Blind. Andy accepted, I thanked him and said: "You have appeared to have caught the wind at just the right time." Andy came back: "Caught the wind? How so? Here is my response.
Andy,
'Twas about three years ago that you took a big step and - as I recall - a leap of faith in establishing None-So-Blind. We talked about it back then. You opened NSB with a powerful statement concerning moral and values - and did so in a shocking way. You said that pretty much everyone was involved in a moral crisis. We all had a part in the obvious corruption of Jefferson's, Adam's, Franklin's Great Experiment in Democracy. I had not really heard or seen anything quite like this since the latter half of the Carter Presidency. Carter went to Camp David,
sought counsel with a variety of the Big people; went out and visited the Little people and kept the press out of the loop. How they did protest!
After about ten days, he held a news conference and had the balls to say that the nation was suffering from "a crisis of morals". The press hooted - proclaiming that Moses had come down from the Mountain - with the New Commandments. And then, they proceeded to hound him out of office. From the moment he said those words the Reagan Era was a done deal. How could the truth of Carter compete with the "springtime in America" of Reagan? At the time, I was engrossed in graduate work, politically dormant and leading a dissipative lifestyle based on moral relativism. And still I heard those three words and knew that Carter had "stuck it". I have been trying to shake his hand ever since. A failed Presidency? I think not. A failed constituency, a conspiracy and subterfuge perhaps - but not a failed President.
When you started NSB, the winds of Change were already blowin'. Carter was in the process of revisiting his three words. Three decades on, he was writing: "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis". Carter? Schmookler? What were they up to?
Old liberals like myself had come to a serious reconsideration of our values and morals from the 70's and 80's. Personally, my stance on abortion underwent a focused re-evaluation and I came out far from the Pro-Choice stance that I had once held. I was convinced, via scientific and spiritual evidence that life did begin at the instant of conception. A soul was created. Where there were two, there was now one - something new, mysterious and wonderful. All else was a bi-polarized political debate based on agendas. Did the far left's intellectual argument of the right-to-chose hold the moral high ground? Or did the far right's belief that abortion was murder morally trump the liberals? The issue of abortion is complex; I am complexed by it. Andy, you have offered a place and format where moral complexity can be worked-out in a proper fashion. Via meaningful political discourse. At just the right time - with the wind full in your sails. Andy, it is the only place of it's kind. Neil Postman would be proud! Carter is most certainly proud...
In general, old liberals like me moved to the center. Many morally conscious conservatives were increasingly stunned by the amoral power wielded by Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove and the rest of the Gang. But, fronted by a likable idiot like Bush, the Gang was able to fool most of the people, most of the time. Until very recently when Righties became centrist also.
When you started NSB, Obama was simmering. A man who had the audacity to write a book about Hope and then initiate a campaign for the Presidency, based on this same word! Hope must be predicated by Faith. And so I and many others saw a man of Faith - and Morals - offered for the first time since Carter. Obama switched to Change in the latter part of his campaign. A political expedience - but one that did not compromise Hope or Faith or Morals.
And now Andy, everyone who is paying attention has morals on the mind. It has entered the daily political conversation in a way I have not seen in my lifetime. Thus NSB has thrived - never more so than since the election.
No-one knows how a man will act under the load of the Presidency. But here is one who had the balls to cite the Golden Rule in his acceptance speech. The Golden Rule!! - from the mouth of a President-elect. One of the most stunning moments in American politics.
THAT''S how you and NSB caught - and even shaped - the wind.
As I see it - Jude
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Christmas, 2008 |
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| Christmas, 2008 [message #74] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 11:05 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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December 25, 2008
Hello All - Dare I say - Merry Christmas?!!
I been on the road for 3 days now and Holy Macheral - waht a good descussion. I try to breif in answering certain points below.
Hi Jude,
I have been enjoying your writings. First I want to congratulate you on your trip to North Carolina and your willingness to share the excitement and optimism you discovered amongst ordinary people who seem, finally, to have a sense of hope. Thank you Ross!
The absence of hope almost always results in depression, in both the individual and the culture. O' Bama has renewed a sense of hope among many and has provided some uplift to the impoverished spirit that characterizes our society. While there is much to celebrate about O'Bama's victory, the opportunity to end the murderous war on Iraq, genuinely confronting the environmental catastrophe which s global warming and more justly allocating our societies resources. Yes Ross and I think these are THE BIG THREE just now. All other issues are second tier in my opinion. Not that they shouldn't be addressed. But simply starting effectively on these alone is going to take 4 years. I suspect some sort of jobs program and tax revision is going to have to be part of the third one. Still, O'Bama is a consummate politician (ah, Ross -he is from Chicago!!!) and from the second he got elected, he began campaigning for his next term. I didn't see this. I thought he was just trying to get his head around what he was facing. This, more than anything explains his conservative cabinet choices, from Gates to Hillary Clinton, to Robert Rubin, Larry Somers, etc. Mainstream pundits across the political spectrum have been wildly and almost unanimously excited about these choices, which in itself says much. Oh c'mon Ross it a honeymoon. Let 'em pet the new Prez. They will turn soon enough! These people have been part of the problem for many years. They are stuck in an ideological mindset, unchallenged, which assumes the United States possesses moral superiority to all others, that our economic system is superior (without any discussion of morality) and that we act beneficently outside our borders, that we have a special destiny and that it is our right to control the world. Wow that is a BIG PILE of assumptions. First, Obama needs experienced people. He is not going to do what Carter did. Second, these assumptions - all of them - are already undergoing re-evaluation simply because they are non-working assumptions. The first thing a scientist does it to clealry state his assumptions and I have not heard anyone state these assumption except Pat Buchanan. When things aren't working then the assumptions NEED to be revisited and revised. It the core of the scientific method. O'Bama shares these assumptions. Says Who? This is why I'm not surprised by his appointments of people who share these unspoken assumptions - Assumptions must be specified - otherwise they are implicit and thus not worth shit - or his decision to choose Rick Warren to minister during his inauguration, OH please let Warren declare himself. I cited the first invocation that was given under Obama - closing the DNC. I take that more seriously than anything Warren might say. or his waffling on Iraq - last I heard it was out of Iraq by 2010. Has he changed that position? and his stated desire and plan to expand the war in Afghanistan. He has a wish to confront Al-Queda where they actually are but it is not clear that this will be his final choice. Fire up GoogleEarth and fly over that part of the world. The Afghan/Pakistan border means nothing - and there is that whole group of tribal war lord right in the middle of it all. I am geologist and I can tell you that the US military is never going to find even 10% of the nooks and crannies in that land. Hell - we still don't know what is in the central Nevada desert. And do I have to point out that it took the better part of 4 years to find the Atlanta Olympic Bomber. And he was only 300 miles away. This is a Mission Impossible. The only practical thing is some sort of containment and diplomacy. Ask Russia - who birth bin Laden. This is also why I wouldn't hold an O'Bama sign during the campaign or during any Saturday morning. I voted for O'Bama because he was the lesser of evils - well again I disagree - I don't see him as evil at all. He will have to prove that - like Cheney has proven himself. and I do hope that he makes some positive change. But I'm not holding my breath. O'Bama will govern from the center, in part because this is where he and his advisers feel he needs to be in order to win reelection. Very cynical Ross, very cynical...
My biggest concern is that so many people who worked and voted for him will either give him a pass on this stuff or will feel abused and disheartened and turned off to politics. Only when people are able to analyze and evaluate actions and policies in ways that transcend the presentation of the mainstream media, and to define for themselves what is important, will they be able to influence the direction of the culture, though I only have the vagues ideas as to how this might happen. The mainstream media is in trouble. Press and TV. TV in particular is simply Non-News. Newspapers are dying as we speak. The web is full of opinion and analysis - most better than the established pundits. And there is the full range. From survivalists in Montana to the most nutty left-wingers I have ever heard. AND there is something to be gleaned from all these sites. Extremist positions are transient in the long run - even the short run. How long did the neo-cons "rule" - 17 years? Neo-Nazi groups have dressed up and are handing out their flyers on main street. If the Myth of The United States is to survive even another generation we will all have to move to the center - or suffer the consequences of dissolution. Remember Obama used the internet brilliantly - and continues to do so. While Rush Limbaugh hunkers down in his Bunker - losing audience and advertising revenue, Obama and company are simply passing him by. Look at the final Bush Polls - 28% of this country has closed minds. This means that 72% are at least open enough to realize what has happened during the last 17 years. We simply can't afford to have 30% locked in an intractable far left position hanging onto a few polarizing issues.
With respect to gays who are upset about the choice of Rick Warren to preside over the inauguration, I don't blame them. Gays were an important part of the O'Bama coalition. O'Bama should not have chosen Warren. (O'Bama will disregard the most active and progressive elements in his election coalition over the next several years and will throw us a few bones prior to the next election, including gays and lesbians, electoral reformists, environmentalists, people fighting for racial and economic justice and the peace and justice coalition, people like you, who worked so hard to get him elected, figuring you have no place else to turn when push comes to shove) O'Bama could just as well chosen a person who was not hostile to gay rights, why not? Warren - as many preachers - cling to the Bible as the word of God. But it is Yahweh with whom the spend too much time. The "abomination" of homosexual relationships comes from the old testament - not from the Gospels - which are pretty clear with regard to understanding and compassion. As I understand it Warren is mostly opposed to gay 'marriage' than gay rights. Gay rights are pretty well established in most of the nation. Sure there is progress to be made. And it will be made. F'chrissake we are only 39 years from Stonewall! Again I say that this is a very cynical presentation with regard to all the folks you have mentioned above...
O'Bama should not be given a pass. The more criticism he takes from the left, the better chance we have of moving the national agenda in the same direction, whether the criticism comes from the gay rights or peace and justice movement. I think the more encouragement he receives from the left will do as much or more. Whenever he takes just a baby step that liberals like - Flood him with emails telling him: "Good Job - I am sure you understand more is needed"
Also, we need to pressure him to change course on his most reactonary policies, such as expansion of the war in Afghanistan and to raise issues that were not raised during the campaign (see the piece I wrote on race a couple weeks ago in the Enterprise), (Sorry I missed that Ross, can you email a copy) reducing the military budget, developing a ne rational for US foreign policy, nuclear disarmament, econimic fairness and more opportunity, channging the tax structure, building up our infrastructure, support of culture and the arts, etc, etc. This is how a human and democratic society should operate. I don't think it does us any good to give O'Bama a pass and criticize the gay commnity for wanting to much, etc., etc. I could go on and on, as you might imagine. Ah Ross - we speak the same language - expansis, not brevis or precis. All that you say about are predicated one overarching issue. Will the world - or our nation - survive global climate -even through a 2-term Obama presidency. Obama has picked as his Chief Science Advisor John Holdren of the Woods Hole Research Center. He already has a Nobel Prize for Climate Work. Why would Obama pick him? Political expedience? Not hardly - Holdren is nothing if not serious and strident about what has to be done - starting yesterday. For some illuminating reading I suggest "Gaia's Revenge" (James Lovelock) or "Fixing Climate" (Wallace Broeker). These are two of the most knowledgeable men on Earth on this matter. Makes the entire rest of the political agenda pale. And I say this as one who has studied global warming and climate change since 1976.
Peace be with you, Jude
In solidarity,
Ross
Friends,
Please let me weigh in on conversations about the Rick Warren selection, Prop 8, and glbt and other perspectives on 'marriage,' and to as respectfully as possible take issue with some of the postings. First, I consider myself to be an expert on gender and sexuality issues. I've written extensively on the topic (my book, The Courage to Connect: Sexuality, Citizenship, and Community in Provincetown U Illinois 2004) is relevant regionally and nationally. I teach about the subject in several courses, including one called S'he/Two Spirits: Gender Cross-Culturally. As a gay American the issue is also persona, and no, I don't want to marry yet again!
Marraige constructions are all over the place--from monogamy to polygyny to polyandry (women take 2 or more husbands), and everywhere in between. Sandy, first your credentials are equivalent to mine as an environmental scientist. That is - we both are expert - with plenty more to learn. This is from online: Marriage and family can mean many things to many people in different cultures. Even within the same culture, individuals may disagree about what constitutes an acceptable marriage or family.
Two Spirit people (Gay American Indians) have engaged in same sex liaisons for millennia; I read -years ago -that the Navaho considered gay men as doubly blessed since they could see and feel for both man and women - they were consulted on many important matters. A great concept I'll say. and man/boy love relations were common among ancient Greeks and in Papua New Guinea, amother other places. That said, US Mormons have perhaps the most inconsistent views on this issue and bankrolled the Prop 8 battle in California. Marriage is not exclusive to heterosexuals, and let's not confuse civil marriage (sanctioned by secular governments) with marraiges sanctioned by religious organizations. We (i.e., glbtq people) don't care what churches, synagogues, or mosques decide about who may marry within their so-called 'religious' communities. In fact Muslims permit men to have four wives, but Muslim women may have only one husband, cannot divorce, and may be murdered if they commit adultery or less. But in this country at this time "marriage' is primarily about man and woman, procreation and the nuclear family. Clearly this has all changed in the last 50 years. I suspect that some folks most strongly opposed to gay marriage have ahd a couple common law wives, girlfriends on the side and etc. The the marriage vow mean nothing to them. But damned if those gays are going to corrupt marriage.
As a civil contract, all citizens deserve equal rights, which means the right to enter into what we in the US call a "marriage contract" between two consenting adult individuals. I don't see this as a bogus deflection from more 'legitimate' social issues, but one among many issues that deserve our respectful consideration and understanding. In fact, gay rights are just as legitimate as any other rights, and if we don't support one another we'll lose even more rights than we have during the past eight years! Sandy - I think that support of one another is necessary and good. But most of the 50 states have laws against "gay marriage". Like I said before qwe are only 39 years from Stonewall. These things take time. People with old ideas have to die. New generations will hopefully see new wisdom. About other rights issues, a woman's right to control her body, including reproductive rights, is another fundamental right that is nearly universally embraced among rights activists.
Whenever Barack Obama fails to embrace viewpoints that affirmatively and resolutely affirm women's reproductive rights and GLBT rights he is playing games with humanity--you, me, us, our friends, neighbors, children, and 7 generations yet to come. We deserve leaders of courage, and let's hope he is.
Ah the Rule of 7 generations - one of my favorites. But the raeason why the rule is So Wise it accocknowledges Inertia. He recognizes the fact that resolute action may more easily fail that succeed. But if the tribe deems a new direction necessary they the die is cast and the course altered. Maybe only a few compas points st first. Change like GLBT is more of a arc that 90 degree angle. As an side. I grew up in small blue-collar town in NW PA. The black folks intown were niggers until i went to high school. The first negro I ever touched was in my weight class when I wrestled. We were the two most evenly matched wrestlers ever. Every week for 3 years Stevie and I would fight each other in a challenge match to wrestle varsity. I can' tell you what that experince did to change my mind about black people. These days I go to an AA meeting every morning. At he end of this meeting I hug an openly gay black man - because I love him. Occassionally I'll pich his ass. I am the MOST heterosexual person in the world. Simply takes time Sandy...
Finally - re: women's right to choose. I think Jenny has covered the bases here with her highly personal and daily survey of pregnancies. The issue - only as I see it - is that life begins at conception. Period. What happens to that life then becomes matter of biology and tribal decisions. Infanticide has been practiced by nearly all cultures - for millennia. It is still practiced today. The main reasons: 1) A malformed child. Most societies could simply not afford to take care of a totally unproductive member. 2) Resource limitation. If the tribe could afford to feed another mouth then that mouth had to go. I our country - at this particular time we can afford to take care of less-than-perfect people. My nephew is one of these and I consider him to be a gift from God.
We can also feed everyone. So the matter of abortion immediately flips into the political arena. Is "Thou shall not Kill" an absolute or does it come with disclaimers and qualifiers? Obviously the latter. Some women that Jenny sees are in fact facing resource limitation. And here I think that neither pole hold either morals or rights. The woman needs careful guidance - a choice of options. Presented in a non-political, non-threatening way. And increasingly that is the case. But outside what these woman see is eternal damnation should they abort, and desertion of gender rights if they don't. Birth and Death in this country - and at his time- are very, very distorted matters. The right to "choose" both the direction of birth and the direction of death complex me greatly.
Peace,
Sandy
Sandra Faiman-Silva, Ph.D.
Professor of Anthropology
Coordinator, Latin American & Caribbean Studies Program
Anthropology Department
100E Burrill Office Pod
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater, MA 02325
508-531-2369
sfaimansilva@bridgew.edu
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Weekly Observations from Late October |
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| Weekly Observations from Late October [message #73] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 11:00 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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Monday, October 20, 2008
1) First - The Powell Endorsement is HUGE. Courageous and well-worded. Also, I believe the first element of some "pay-back" on the part of the General. I have been a Powell-watcher since the Kuwait War. That was a war of aggression by Iraq against a state that clealry could not protect itself. Thus there was justification for intervention of UN troops to drive the Iraqi Army back north. Most of the troops were of course US and the pressure was on George Bush to pursue the whipped Iraqis to Baghdad and finish it off then and there. But it was Powell who strongly advised against it. He knew what the mission was and, once accomplished, he and the US left. If he had been swayed to go north the mess that we are currently in would have come about a decade earlier...
And then we all came to know Powell in a way that no other African-American General/Politician had ever been known. And what we found was an inspiring story at every node. The Boy Scout code personified in a 5-Star General - the Reluctant Warrior - the one that nearly anyone would follow into combat - if he saw the need.
The pressure to run for President came from all directions - except the neocons who were calling the shots. So the deal was done: stay out of the Presidential race and we'll give you the most powerful cabinet position. And personally I think it was a fair trade for Powell. He knew he could not win without the neocons support and he knew he could at least attempt to make a difference in the role of SofS. When Bush was elected and appointed his cabinet I remember saying: "Well, give him a chance". I was much more naive in 2000 and I spoke those words primarily because he had chosen Powell as SofS.
From the start it was clear that Powell was the odd man out. A man of intelligence, reflection, broad knowledge of world affairs in a den of neocon criminals. He was the contrary voice in many, many policy decisions in the early days of Bushdom and within a year the Dump Powell movement was underway. But kinda hard to simply fire a guy of Powell's stature and reputation. So they "used" him in a way that they could use no other. They simply lied to him about WMDs in Iraq - convincing him with a mountain of manufactured intelligence. And then he was sent to the UN. I watched as Powell - in a 2-hour period - threw a lifetime of accomplishment and integrity on the bonfire of lies that the rest of the Cabinet had ignited. I stood in amazement - and great sadness - as I watched.
Of course after he had done his job the administration was done with him. He resigned in favor of a perhaps the biggest Bush suck-up still in the Cabinet - Condi Rice. Poor Condi hooked her star inextricably to Bush hoping that some day she would ride to the Presidency herself. But of course as the Cheney/Bush Thing slinks away with a 75% disapproval rating - so goes Condi.
Colin Powell basically disappeared. In short order (maybe the same day he was at the UN) he realized that he had been used and one can only imagine how that felt for a man like him. For years I have been saying "I can't wait 'til his book comes out". I don't know that he HAS a book but I would bet long odds that somewhere there is a manuscript that he has held throughout the Bush Administration if for no other reason than to allow Bush to eat his own karma. And so it has come to pass.
Powell has every reason for payback on those that stabbed him in the back. I have no doubt that he will tell his story honestly and completely - neither embellishing nor pointing fingers - and that alone will put the last spike in history's judgment of the Cheney/Bush Thing.
2) Obama's fundraising is simply rocketing. I have contributed. My wife has contributed. We have never contributed to anyone, anytime. And we kept it simple - $25 apiece. But 5 times the amount that Obama was asking. I think this, as much as anything, indicates the strength of his candidacy. Here in the final stretch he is gathering small donations - breaking all records. I think of those pundits that suggest that those that say they will vote for Obama will, at the last moment, balk at voting for a black (mocha) man and go with McCain. Well not if these folks have an investment in Obama. And it appears to me that many, many people that say they are going to vote for Obama are, in fact, stakeholders.
3) The Republicans are simply desperate at this point. They have thrown everything that they can dig up on Obama - and got it to the front page and nightly news. Obama has responded with grace and dignity - and only to the extent that he needed to. Should Obama have been "more forthcoming"? To have responded any further to Ayers, Wright, ACORN etc. would have simply made them bigger stories. The result being that the Republicans have had to keep looking and throwing up "Hail Mary's" from all over the place. Maybe they can find that his great-great grandfather from Ireland was a drunk. Now that would be some news to change the voter's minds eh?
4) The Republicans have touched on all the hot button issues from taxes to Roe v. Wade. In the latter case they have Obama practically ripping embryos from the womb with his bare hands. Obama has taken the traditional Democratic Pro-choice stance which is simply supporting the law of the land. But this issue - which I have watched for 20 years - both in North Carolina and in Woods Hole - is wholly polarized. Pro-Choice or No Choice; Pro-Life or No-Life. Pick whatever wording works for you but whatever you do, don't think this through for yourself. This is easily one of the most complex issues in this country today. It has spawned the most sustained wave of domestic terrorism in this country in the form of abortion clinic bombings - something that the neocons conveniently forget when they speak of terrorism.
Most recently I read a (conservative) opinion concerning the movement amongst pro-life Catholics to vote for Obama and the theological issues that are involved. It is a pit of interpretation and the writer manages to twist around a reasonable interpretation of the dogma into a mortal sin on the part of those Catholics that chose to vote Obama - even if they have never had an abortion nor would condone one within their family. It was - even for a neocon - an impressive piece of convoluted logic ending with a scary knockout punch.
I don't know how others think or feel about this but I happen to be very uncertain of the abortion issue and certainly turned off by both poles. Not so much because of my Catholic background but because I view life as much as a spiritual happening as a purely bio-chemical play. Most of this comes from my study of Taoism rather that my Catechism. But there are many references to the "holy mystery" of life in the Christian Bible.
Years ago I saw a National Geographic film on conception. It was one of the most unforgettable things I have ever seen. I am not sure if it was filmed in vivo or in vitro. It documented the production and travels of spermatozoa on the part of the male and the production and travels of the egg on the part of the female. It explained it all and how it all had to come together just so in order for conception to occur. They showed - in magnificent detail - how the egg was ready to accept the first sperm that tried to butt in and, once doing so, instantly shut off all other suitors. Since seeing that and the changes that occurred immediately following conception I have believed that a new human soul comes into being at that instant. Two separate entities suddenly become one - a third entity.
Thus I have a very hard time with Pro-Choice extremist that view embryos and fetuses as less than alive. I have an equally hard time with Pro-lifers that say termination of a pregnancy under any circumstance is simply murder. It is an issue that speaks to a long history of human infanticide in almost every culture for different reasons - but almost all related to either the fitness of the baby or the ability of the tribe to allocate resources for another member of the tribe. And I need not refer you to Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. I firmly believe that a scared teenager - perhaps essentially ignorant of what and how "this" happened should have access to the full spectrum of counseling - without be subject to vilification or humiliation by either of the polar extremes. Obama has been represented as saying that he is opposed to such counseling although this was again a conservative writer. It is obvious to me however - after 20 years of watching both extremes in action - that this will continue to be a "damned if you do; damned if you don't" proposition for those that most need honest counseling that Yes, should take into consideration their faith and how that may influence their choice.
5) Two weeks ago there were many articles being published with the theme of "How McCain can turn it around" Those have all but disappeared by now. As the election nears and as the polls stay solidly for Obama, even the most righteous Republicans are coming to grips with President Barack Hussein Obama along with a hugely Democratic Congress. The trend now is to undermine his Presidency before it gets started. Not too creative here as they are using much of the same arguments they have been using to try to stop Obama. But now they are declaring that surely this will surely be the end of America and that all true Americans should weep and whine.
One thing that occurs to me is that all of us who have worked hard to get him elected will need to be just as obvious and involved once he is in office. That is to say that working for and with Obama should be an ongoing aspect of falmouthpeace.org. And that includes direct input to him on all issues. This can come as a consensus or as individual opinions or through standard polling mechanisms that will be available on the web. For me Obama's election goes back to that of John Kennedy when he had the balls to say: "Ask not what etc." I would not be surprised if Obama said something very similar in his inauguration speech.
6) I have in the past few days come to a very cynical way of presenting the choice of who to vote for. I have discussed it with folks who are still uncertain. One of them is the guy I work for. This is the way it goes: I believe that it is likely (greater than 50% possibility) that whoever is elected President will be dead or incapacitated within two years. McCain by cancer, Obama by assassination. Think critically on my question. Who do you want running the country in 2010 - Joe Biden or Sarah Palin?" To those that are receptive this IS a critical question. An experienced white man who himself was once a candidate for President or a female self-parody who probably has a hard time keeping all those mid-East countries strigh tin her mind? And, yes, race and gender are both part of the mix in answering this question.
Well That's the News and Views from Your Electoral Savant
In Peace, Jude
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Blowin' Leaves at Oak Grove |
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| Blowin' Leaves at Oak Grove [message #72] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 10:58 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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Blowin' Leaves at Oak Grove
R. Jude Wilber
Suddenly, in my mid-fifties, I found myself in that netherworld of employment: semi-retirement. This was not to my liking; due to conditions beyond my control. At least that what I told myself. I had come off a thirty-year career as a geologist, oceanographer and environmental scientist. I was a good researcher, an excellent teacher, an honest consultant. All gone within a four month period. It took a year for me to wrap my head around this, to accept my new reality. Even more than the need for income was the need for something to DO - some activity to structure my daily life. Lacking this, each day would stretch out before me as I became increasingly depressed. In these days - with jobs dropping like leaves and "help wanted" signs a thing of the past - there are lots of us "semi-retireds" out there - all depressed and desperate to some degree.
What would I do? What could I do? I grew up in a small industrial town in northwestern Pennsylvania. Coal, Oil, Steel, the Railroad, Machine Shops. Bars, the Rotarians, and Churches. A small Pittsburgh 80 miles north of the real thing. To grow up in Franklin in the 60's and 70's was to learn all the manual arts effortlessly - by osmosis. And so, I have led a somewhat schizophrenic professional life. I paid for college and graduate school working in the building trades - everything from framing to finish painting. I learned auto mechanics, motorcycles, milling machines. These skills have followed me; my repertoire is not all expert but it is extensive and very diverse. I have been as equally proud of working with my hands as with my head.
But, at age 55, I was not so sure that I wanted or could call on these skills. I caught-on painting for a while but, when the work went inside, I was let go. It was November, the days ever shorter, my depression ever deeper. And then a miracle occurred. A life-long acquaintance - and one of my personal heroes - arrived at my house one day to offer me six weeks work at Oak Grove Cemetery. Doug Amon is the long-time Superintendent and perhaps the best-read man in Falmouth. His knowledge of history, spirituality and philosophy are as great as many claiming the title of Professor. He is a Jungian, I am a Taoist: our coffee breaks are really quite something. I hesitated at first. Landscaping - especially on a commercial scale - was not on my resume. But then, I jumped and immediately became the Assistant Superintendent. I got the unskilled jobs or those that Doug had done way too many times over his years at Oak Grove. I worked with a John Deere tractor and cart dealing with dead-fall from hundreds of trees. I quickly learned to distinguish a "jammer" from a "cruncher". The former being a piece of wood tough enough to stop our mowers; the latter being one we could easily pulverize. Was I embarrassed to have fallen so far - from labs and classrooms and professional reports to picking up sticks? I was mortified; I avoided working on the Palmer Avenue and Jones Road frontage - afraid someone would see me. Until I realized that this job - this thing to DO - was saving my life, dispelling my depression. As time went on I became more and more skilled; job advancement was swift. I found that Doug possessed that wonderful quality that all bosses should have: he allowed me to make mistakes, experiment and eventually find what worked for me.
Like all businesses in Falmouth, ours is seasonal. Mowin' and Blowin' - that's the way we have it. The height of our season starts when the leaves begin to fall. Oak Grove has 18 acres - 14 of which are "developed". Our name tells a lot about the trees we have. Three species of Oak filled in by hickories, beeches, maples, rhododendron, hollies etc. Eventually Doug handed me a 30-lb backpack leaf blower and turned me loose. I had never blown a leaf in my life. But then another miracle occurred. We rapidly discovered that I had a talent for blowin' that bordered on the preternatural. Don't know where it came from but I became a pro in a matter of days. Doug said I was the best leaf blower he had ever seen. I blushed.
Blowin' in a cemetery offers all kinds of challenges. Not at all like advancing across open territory. There are the trees and monuments; its all in the wrist when it comes to these. Most frustrating are the low bushes - especially the azaleas. I praise then in the spring and curse them in the fall. They are leaf magnets, which will absolutely not let go even when 120 mph air is rammed right down their stems. There are the physical skills that go with blowin'. Footwork, balance, legwork - especially the quad muscles, core and upper torso, neck and shoulders. Even finger work: throttle control is very important. Blowin' is truly a full-body exercise. Drop that elliptical machine - get thee a leaf blower.
The mental aspect may seem small but I must always plan my work according to the weather. The first tenant of blowin' is that you work with the wind. Most men know this from prior experiences of peeing into the wind. On a grand clear day with a stiff breeze from the NW, the leaves practically move themselves - blowin' becomes an act of herding - your blower a combination of magic wand and border collie. On days such as this - when all the physical and meteorological stars align, blowin' is just like dancing. As I write, I have come off just such a day during which I set a new Oak Grove record for total volume of leaves moved in four-hour shift. I want a medal.
More than any other task at Oak Grove blowin' brings you in close contact with the clients. We have the full history of Falmouth. Folks from the late 1700's in Section 1; those buried last week in Section V. There are the rich and famous, the sea captains and their wives, extended families with a dozen stones. But it is the tiny tablets marked simply "Baby" that always stop me in my tracks - a moment of close contact with my mortality - with the mortality of us all. We even have Katherine Lee Bates; it is my honor to bleach her blue marble stone each year in preparation of summer visitations. Her bronze likeness on the Library lawn and house on Main Street draw more visitors but it is at her grave one can sit in silence and contemplate the words of her great poem. I have come to the opinion that every history or social studies course should have a module on cemeteries - with at least one day in the field. I would be glad to assist any teacher so interested. Since this will definitely NOT be on MCAS I will not hold my breath.
When all the skills - physical and mental - became second nature, when I was comfortable with the dance, I found that that this work had become much more than the sum of its parts. When I was first struggling with my pride at Oak Grove I heard this: "ALL work, done well, is Noble" And so it is. Beyond nobility, I found that this work had become a meditation. The eastern spiritual tradition of Taoism suggests that any activity can be a meditation - as long as one is fully engaged in the moment. With full engagement comes transcendence and the opportunity for the mind and spirit to soar. I never look at the clock when I'm blowin', I am unpleasantly surprised when its time to hit the "kill" switch and move on. I have learned that if blowin' leaves is - at its core - a matter of nobility and meditation this could be carried to other activities. One of my favorite expostulations these days is: "Well, I must move on in my meditations". Some understand, most do not. Perhaps a day of blowin' leaves at Oak Grove would provide enlightenment. Worked for me.
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Paintin' a Red State Blue |
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| Paintin' a Red State Blue [message #70] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 10:53 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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Painting A Red State Blue
December 9, 2009
by R. Jude Wilber
Four years ago I watched a mocha man from Illinois speak to the Democratic National Convention. I thought: "Now why isn't This Guy running for President?" In 2008 the question became: "What can I do to help this man become the President?". I was hobbled by living in the Bay State: as sure as death and taxes, Massachusetts would be blue in November. I went to the Obama web site, clicked "Drive for Change", and made my selection from a menu of battleground states.
Two weeks ago, I drove to central North Carolina, my home for most of the 70's and 80's. It was THE battleground state: when I arrived McCain led by one point. From district headquarters in Chapel Hill, I was dished-off to the living room of one, Mary Lucas, sporting a "Little Old White Ladies for Obama" button. Her dining table was ringed with canvassing packets; 20-50 contacts per packet. I would need all my hard-won knowledge of rural NC to even attempt what was to follow. Door-to-door canvassing involved miles of indistinguishable two-lane blacktop off which branched innumerable (and equally indistinguishable) dirt roads - most leading nowhere. Some had names, some didn't. Addresses were on mailboxes: some present, some not. Numbers followed a logical sequence - rarely. I turned around a lot; I got stuck in Carolina red clay. No real towns. Wide-spots-in-the road with names like Gum Springs; cross-roads with a "Gas and Gro" (Eli Whitney); clusters of white houses around brick churches (Silk Hope) and flagging mills down on the river (Saxapahaw). Active farms, failed farms, new and old growth forest. I canvassed with a partner, I canvassed alone. I net white, black and mocha folks; farmers, mechanics, artisans, old hippies, retirees, and folks "jes' livin' on the land" - with no apparent means. "y'all" was spoken everywhere by everyone.
I was in Alamance County - the red heart of NC. Was that a mocha woman who just peaked out her cabin door? A woman who could pass for Obama's sister? Yes it was. Did she really say she was undecided? Yes she did. Was she undecided because she had was afraid I might shoot her if she said Obama? Yes she was. Did this stop me from canvassing her neighborhood. No it didn't. Did I come away with 10 definite Obamas - from first-time voters? Yes I did. The mocha woman? After she decided that I was NOT going to shoot her she became a "nothing can stop me" Obama vote. I remembered the word of one pundit who remarked that, in all his years of covering elections, he had never seen people who were willing to walk through walls for their candidate. In the Obama uprising he found them everywhere.
Early-on I caught the feeling of making history; the tip of the arrow that was the CONC (Campaign Obama North Carolina). And always in my mind I held the image of Sarah and Rudy scoffing, insulting Obama the community organizer.
That night we watched. There were the national bellwethers: Pennsylvania went early and big for O; Ohio flipped an hour later and it was imply waiting for 11 pm to meet the new President. There were the state signposts: "my" county went red. But it was 54-45, not 60-39. Fayetteville, the largest military town on the east coast (and staging area for Iraq) went blue early; Guilford County, where the Palin Doctrine was first introduced (Real America vs. The Others) went blue!!. We laughed and we cried.
NC was the last state to be called. Obama had won by 10,000 votes but 40,000 provisional ballots would determine the final outcome. The Raleigh News-and-Observer surveyed these ballots and correctly called NC in their morning edition: Obama by 15,000. We knew what had happened and we knew why. Rudy, you stupid, stupid man: did you not realize that the first two letters of CONC could as easily stood for "community organizing'?
On the way home I stopped for food in New Jersey. The woman behind the counter was mocha, noted my Obama buttons and said how wonderful 'twould be to travel to DC on 1-20/09. I told her I had worked for O in NC. As she handed me my food, she shook my hand and said: "God Bless You". I cried as I ate.
When I was 17, I passed on a chance to attend a rock festival in a place called Woodstock, New York. In doing so I missed making history. Forty years later, I finally got it right.
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Painting A Red State Blue |
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| Painting A Red State Blue [message #69] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 10:52 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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Painting A Red State Blue
December 9, 2009
by R. Jude Wilber
Four years ago I watched a mocha man from Illinois speak to the Democratic National Convention. I thought: "Now why isn't This Guy running for President?" In 2008 the question became: "What can I do to help this man become the President?". I was hobbled by living in the Bay State: as sure as death and taxes, Massachusetts would be blue in November. I went to the Obama web site, clicked "Drive for Change", and made my selection from a menu of battleground states.
Two weeks ago, I drove to central North Carolina, my home for most of the 70's and 80's. It was THE battleground state: when I arrived McCain led by one point. From district headquarters in Chapel Hill, I was dished-off to the living room of one, Mary Lucas, sporting a "Little Old White Ladies for Obama" button. Her dining table was ringed with canvassing packets; 20-50 contacts per packet. I would need all my hard-won knowledge of rural NC to even attempt what was to follow. Door-to-door canvassing involved miles of indistinguishable two-lane blacktop off which branched innumerable (and equally indistinguishable) dirt roads - most leading nowhere. Some had names, some didn't. Addresses were on mailboxes: some present, some not. Numbers followed a logical sequence - rarely. I turned around a lot; I got stuck in Carolina red clay. No real towns. Wide-spots-in-the road with names like Gum Springs; cross-roads with a "Gas and Gro" (Eli Whitney); clusters of white houses around brick churches (Silk Hope) and flagging mills down on the river (Saxapahaw). Active farms, failed farms, new and old growth forest. I canvassed with a partner, I canvassed alone. I net white, black and mocha folks; farmers, mechanics, artisans, old hippies, retirees, and folks "jes' livin' on the land" - with no apparent means. "y'all" was spoken everywhere by everyone.
I was in Alamance County - the red heart of NC. Was that a mocha woman who just peaked out her cabin door? A woman who could pass for Obama's sister? Yes it was. Did she really say she was undecided? Yes she did. Was she undecided because she had was afraid I might shoot her if she said Obama? Yes she was. Did this stop me from canvassing her neighborhood. No it didn't. Did I come away with 10 definite Obamas - from first-time voters? Yes I did. The mocha woman? After she decided that I was NOT going to shoot her she became a "nothing can stop me" Obama vote. I remembered the word of one pundit who remarked that, in all his years of covering elections, he had never seen people who were willing to walk through walls for their candidate. In the Obama uprising he found them everywhere.
Early-on I caught the feeling of making history; the tip of the arrow that was the CONC (Campaign Obama North Carolina). And always in my mind I held the image of Sarah and Rudy scoffing, insulting Obama the community organizer.
That night we watched. There were the national bellwethers: Pennsylvania went early and big for O; Ohio flipped an hour later and it was imply waiting for 11 pm to meet the new President. There were the state signposts: "my" county went red. But it was 54-45, not 60-39. Fayetteville, the largest military town on the east coast (and staging area for Iraq) went blue early; Guilford County, where the Palin Doctrine was first introduced (Real America vs. The Others) went blue!!. We laughed and we cried.
NC was the last state to be called. Obama had won by 10,000 votes but 40,000 provisional ballots would determine the final outcome. The Raleigh News-and-Observer surveyed these ballots and correctly called NC in their morning edition: Obama by 15,000. We knew what had happened and we knew why. Rudy, you stupid, stupid man: did you not realize that the first two letters of CONC could as easily stood for "community organizing'?
On the way home I stopped for food in New Jersey. The woman behind the counter was mocha, noted my Obama buttons and said how wonderful 'twould be to travel to DC on 1-20/09. I told her I had worked for O in NC. As she handed me my food, she shook my hand and said: "God Bless You". I cried as I ate.
When I was 17, I passed on a chance to attend a rock festival in a place called Woodstock, New York. In doing so I missed making history. Forty years later, I finally got it right.
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: Bushies, Obama, Machiavelli, Luther |
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| Bushies, Obama, Machiavelli, Luther [message #68] |
Mon, 26 January 2009 10:47 |
Jude
Messages: 20
Registered: January 2009
Location: Falmouth, MA |
Junior Member |
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Jude - January, 20, 2009 
Hello All,
Russ Baker's original article contained two pertinent passages:
"Over much of the last century, the Bushes have been serving the aims of a very narrow segment from within America's wealthiest interests and families..."
"We are not dealing here with what are commonly dismissed as "conspiracy theories." We are dealing with a reality that is much more subtle, layered and pervasive a matrix of power in which crude conspiracies are rarely necessary and in which the execution or subsequent cover-up of anti-democratic acts become practically a norm."
Baker has done his research (well , some of it) and has presented a substantial case especially as regards the Bush family. But "aims of a very narrow segment" and "subtle, layered and pervasive power" are more to the point. The corruption of the American Capitalist system began almost immediately. And yet capitalism was deemed necessary in conjunction with "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Remember that the founding fathers were seeking to break away from non-capitalist systems that had limited the degree to which anyone could pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The idea that Anyone could be President ( in a representative democracy) went hand-in-hand with the idea that Anyone (under capitalism) could amass great wealth - and therefore power.
The Robber Barons of the 19th century had more political power and influence than all the stealth components of today's underground regime. Major reforms did work, to some extent, in response to this insult to representative democracy. Interestingly, both Adams and Jefferson lived long enough to see their and acknowledge the mistake of aligning capitalism with democracy. And bemoaned this mistake in thier late correspondence.
So regulated capitalism was better than the unchanged capitalism of the 18th and 19th century. For a while. In "The Captain of Consciousness", Stewart Ewen documents ( beyond argument) the rise of a new, unregulated capitalism based on changing the perceptions of "want" vs "need". Initiated by the great retailers of the late 19th and 20th century including Filene this worked though 5 generation in the 20th Century. Advertising and public relations succeeded in co-opting every single Holy Day of the Christian masses; changing the names to the "holidays"; making each an clear opportunity for spending. Further the managed to link every common human emotion to buying something, to annealing or amplifying that emotion. Feeling blue? Go shopping. Feeling elated? Go shopping. Feeling Lonely? Go shopping. They realized that women and children could wield the true spending power - and were targeted specifically because of their more emotional natures. I again emphasize that if you have not read the Adams- Jefferson correspondence or Stewart Ewen's work then you are missing foundational information on which to base any opinion concerning capitalism and democracy.
The logical and absurd end-games of the 20th century? Feeling shocked and helpless after 9/11? "Go shopping" Bushes real legacy. And then their is Wal-Mart. The top fortunes of this nation lie not in the hands of industry but in those of entertainment and trinkets. Our modern economy reminds of an experience I had on the streets of Port-a-Prince, Haiti years ago. I was on the main street of the city which was clogged with vendors. But all the vendors offered as thier staple goods two items: Chiclets and Sunglasses. Hundreds of vendors offering nothing of substance. And there, before the Great Cathedral were children playing amazing music on tuned tin cans. There is was - an economy of trinkets and entertainment! (Note: Port-a-Prince has no tourist trade and so I just could not figure out how these people came each day to the streets and somehow "made a living". Of course these people were not making a living and soon undertook impossible sea journeys in the most ill-fit craft - heading for America. Journeys that are still being turned away at sea by the US Coast Guard. Although we not let Haitians in on a seasonal basis to wash our dishes, clean our toilets)
Once this culture of emotionally-based,mindless consumption was established the game could go back over to unchained capitalism. Because there was no forcing the American underclasses. They chose to stay down by running to buy the videos, the shoes, the wide-screen TV's, the ARMs, the dazzling array of "cell phones" and necessary go-withs. Spend a day in Cape Cod Mall and observe what the Captions have wrought - the 6th and final American generation of the mindless consumer. These kids are not nor can ever be (like our economy) self-sustaining
Baker also (perhaps) misses what David Brock has already told us concerning the "very narrow segment" an d" matrix of power" in "The Republican Noise Machine". This was the final element needed for families like the Bushes to operate under the radar of investigative journalism. The answer was easy - simply take over the media and eliminate investigative journalism. Not so much a conspiracy sensu stricto but simply the next step. This can all be traced to the wholly embarrassing defeat of Barry Goldwater - just when the few thought that their capitalist agenda was ready to be firmly aligned with democracy in Washington.. After that "they" (see Brock who names names) came together in what can fairly be described as a "meta-conspiracy" - one that passed from generation to generation - as with the Bushes. Their war cry was "This will never happen again",vis: the defeat of the capitalist/democracy beast with two backs. 20 years of readiness, a template of action. Successes along the way: Bush defeats Richards in Texas etc, the Newt Gingrich assault on Congress. (It has taken 16 years to "sort-of" neutralize that event.) And the two "selections" of George Bush as President of the beast with two backs.
Obama knows all this history. He knows he is lookin' at an economy based on trinkets and entertainment and thus any stimulation package is a Hydra. Cut off one head and another appears. The very few are counting on this and with the mindless consumption of Americans still our overarching philosophy they are in a position to appose any fundamental change to the system that they have manipulated for three centuries - bringing it to something that Jefferson and Adams would weep should they see.
The good news? Knowledge is Power. A Firm Moral base provides the strength to wield that power in a new direction. Personal "presence" attracts followers. Obama knows all this. His choice will be hard and they will not satisfy all those around him. As Lillia says we know not what the little steps will look like. But I think - or is it just belief? - that an 8-year Presidency of Obama will have our heads spinning. So many time I have heard - and I have said - that I am now proud to be an American. This is an Obama legacy already. This is something that he can build on - with confidence - with that incredible "game face". No one knows what Obama's whole legacy will be. But based on his wholly public and transparent actions of the last two years it at least starts with this.
"A prudent prince must therefore choose for his council wise men; .. he must ask them about everything and hear their opinion and afterwards deliberate by himself in his own way; ...with these men (he must) comport himself so that (all) may see that the more freely they speak, the more they will be acceptable" - Niccollo Machiavelli; circa 1500.
George W. Bush's legacy is clear. For when a prince rules after mad will and follows low opinion, he is like a tortured driver, who rushes straight ahead with horse and wagon, through bushes, thorns, ditches, water, up hill and down dale regardless of roads and bridges; he will not drive long, all will go smash." - Martin Luther: circa 1500. The Cheney/Bush thing slunk out of Washington with the lowest approval rating ever. And with that came the severe weakening of the unctuous underground that fed him, propped him, primped him and cued him.
Luther and Machiavelli - at the beginning of the Enlightenment. As Ecclesiastes says: "there is nothing new under the sun"
Finally - The reason that the Tales of Thomas Covenant take so long in the telling is that during his first two defeats of Lord Foul he took mercy and did not utterly destroy Evil. In his third encounter he was not so timid... And here we are the third time around - at an apex of the Evils of unchained Capitalism. Whatcha gonna do?
In Peace, Jude
Dr. R. Jude Wilber, President
Capella Consulting Group
Marine Environmental Science and Engineering
Coastal, Shelf, Offshore
Woods Hole Road
Box 464
Woods Hole, MA 02543
judewilber@comcast.net
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| | Topic: my links |
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| my links [message #40] |
Fri, 16 January 2009 09:30 |
justjoe
Messages: 39
Registered: January 2009
Location: frank'ln |
Member |
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A couple[3] links that I use daily.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/home
http://www.norml.org/
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/
quote:> The drug war, not the drugs, kills people.
This is now a real war. Although it started out as political rhetoric, it’s become a genuinely deadly conflict…It has caused hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths and untold misery, especially to our children, teens, women, and minorities. And like all wars, it’s been hugely expensive and wasteful; to date, it has cost more than a trillion dollars. And this is just in the United States; the international devastation is incomprehensible. Furthermore, like many wars, it’s based on lies. <:quote
taken from NORML.org
edit:1/23/09
I just finished one of judes posts.This is my comment.
freedom from religion,too.
http://bunda.org/
[Updated on: Fri, 23 January 2009 14:09]
Bruce Cain
http://www.newagecitizen.com/
relegalize Cannabis
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| | Forum: Activist Activity |
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| Topic: Running for Selectman in Mashpee |
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| Running for Selectman in Mashpee [message #156] |
Fri, 03 April 2009 07:29 |
petergreen
Messages: 4
Registered: April 2009 |
Junior Member |
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Here I go again running for office as a tactic to raise issues and engage the public in a "clean and green" campaign! The issues are solarize our town and school buildings, support wind energy, increase recycling, clean up our ponds and rivers, and organize neighborhood associations that will mobilize people house by house, and get the students involved too! I welcome volunteers and ideas, and let me know how I can help others!
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| | Topic: authentic journalism |
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| authentic journalism [message #147] |
Fri, 20 February 2009 09:14 |
justjoe
Messages: 39
Registered: January 2009
Location: frank'ln |
Member |
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This site should have the person Al is looking for.or/not,heh.
This is for everyone's benefit.Yours nad mine.
joe
Announcing Two Scholarships in Journalism and Organizing
Posted by Al Giordano - February 19, 2009 at 11:25 am
Announcing Two Scholarships in Journalism and Organizing
Posted by Al Giordano - February 19, 2009 at 11:25 am
By Al Giordano
(Cross-posted from Narco News.)
The Narco News School of Authentic Journalism, Class of 2003, Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Photo: D.R. 2003 Jeremy Bigwood
Applications Due March 15 to Be Eligible for Free Attendance at the April 24-26 Workshop at the Rowe Conference Center in Massachusetts
snip:>
It was at a workshop very much like this one at the Rowe Conference Center, 28 years ago, that my own calling as an organizer and communicator came of age. The organizer that trained me is no longer with us to witness the renaissances of community organizing and authentic journalism afoot today. But his work carries on because he invested considerable time and effort to train and prepare the next generation. It is therefore my personal debt - and that of all of us - to keep that flame burning bright.
Good luck in your application and whether you apply or not for a scholarship, I hope to see you at Rowe on April 24-26.
from:>http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/
thanks,Al
Bruce Cain
http://www.newagecitizen.com/
relegalize Cannabis
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| | Topic: keep the promise |
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| keep the promise [message #100] |
Fri, 06 February 2009 08:24 |
justjoe
Messages: 39
Registered: January 2009
Location: frank'ln |
Member |
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Hey,all here is something we all can do to help stop the failed"War on Drugs"
joe
One of President Obama's campaign promises last year was that he
would stop the DEA's cruel and senseless raids on medical
marijuana clinics. But less than two weeks since he took office,
such raids have already been conducted on two occasions, hitting
several clinics in the Los Angeles area last Tuesday.
We are hoping this is just Bush administration holdovers at
work, and an administration spokesperson yesterday had
encouraging words to this effect in the media -- change is
coming on this issue, the Obama administration says. Follow the
link below to our feature report to read more.
In the meanwhile, patients and the people who serve them are
being subjected to continued injustice. Please visit
http://ga0.org/campaign/keepthepromise to e-mail President Obama
and Attorney General Eric Holder to ask them to take action now
to stop the raids sooner rather than later.
If you are on Facebook or might like to be, please visit
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/69/ to sign our
petition to President Obama on this issue. Please forward both
of these links to your friends too.
We have advance-published our Drug War Chronicle feature story
on this week's raids and the administration response. Visit
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/571/DEA_raids_more_medic al_marijuana_dispensaries_under_obama_administration
to read it.
Thank you for taking action to bring positive change to US drug
policy now!
--------------------------------------------------
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
http://ga0.org/join-forward.html?domain=drcnet&r=I7SkX0K 1pePN
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
DRCNet at:
http://ga0.org/drcnet/join.html?r=I7SkX0K1pePNE
-
******************************
This email is Powered by Convio, Inc.
http://www.convio.com
******************************
Bruce Cain
http://www.newagecitizen.com/
relegalize Cannabis
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| | Forum: Discussion |
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| Topic: failed policy |
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| failed policy [message #142] |
Mon, 16 February 2009 10:24 |
justjoe
Messages: 39
Registered: January 2009
Location: frank'ln |
Member |
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I've been saying this for a few years.Yes,before Obama's election.
peace, joe
Editorial: Obama's Other War
from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #572, 2/13/09
guest editorial by Matthew Robinson
As commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama must now oversee our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As President, he is also responsible for another war, one that has gone on much longer and been more costly in terms of dollars spent and lives lost.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is an executive agency in the White House. According to its web site, ONDCP is charged with establishing the policies, priorities, and objectives for all US drug control policy. And Obama is now in charge of ONDCP.
ONDCP's goals include reducing illicit drug use, manufacturing and trafficking of drugs, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences. Research has shown that ONDCP has failed to consistently meet these goals since it was created in November 1988.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/files/2009ndcs.jpg
propaganda for too long -- ONDCP's National Drug Control Strategy report
Illicit drug use is not down during ONDCP's tenure, drugs are still widely available, and illicit drugs are actually more dangerous now than even during the peak of drug use in 1979. Crime and violence have significantly declined but criminological research shows this is mostly attributable to non-criminal justice factors such as an improved economy and an aging population.
snip:>
read the whole thing and the comments which are quite good.
here:> http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/572/obamas_other_war?pri nt
thanks
peace, joe
Bruce Cain
http://www.newagecitizen.com/
relegalize Cannabis
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| | Topic: net neutrality |
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| net neutrality [message #141] |
Sun, 15 February 2009 11:37 |
justjoe
Messages: 39
Registered: January 2009
Location: frank'ln |
Member |
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I thought maybe this would get some hits from the cape.heh,heh. as some are aware, I post things of interest[to me],kinda like a filter for your browsing pleasure.
I think this applys to us especially. 
joe
url:>http://underthelobsterscope.blogspot.com/<:
a teaser; ..
ahhhh.
the Blogosphere!
__________
Sunday, February 15, 2009
How safe is our freedom to use the Internet without corporate greed and control?
It has been a year since Ed Markey pushed this:
Now it's time to see where we are today.
Well, for one thing, Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (My Senator from West Virginia) last week established a subcommittee on Communications & Technology, which would have a transparant, neutral net as its goal. Best of all, he made Sen. John Kerrey (D - MA) the Chairman. Kerry has no love for the attemptsby Comcast, AT&T and other corporate media giants in taking over the Internet.
This from Broadcasting & Cable:
Kerry is on the record as critical of the demise of the FCC's fairness doctrine, calling that demise one of the "most profound changes in the balance of the media," in a 2007 radio interview, adding that conservatives have been able to "squeeze down and squeeze out opinion of opposing views. I think it has been a very important transition in the imbalance of our public dialog."
He also has been critical of media consolidation and pushed the FCC to allow unlicensed devices in TV white spaces, something broadcasters fought hard against.
Kerry teamed with then-Senator Barack Obama to try and block the FCC's relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban.
Kerry is also a fan of codifying network neutrality principles, something cable and phone networks would prefer evolved along with their industry.
We'll all be watching to see what happens.
_____________________________________
e-mail me at btchakir@mac.com
I appreciate comments and suggestions.
posted by btchakir at 10:07 AM
[Updated on: Sun, 15 February 2009 11:39]
Bruce Cain
http://www.newagecitizen.com/
relegalize Cannabis
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| | Topic: Moore Discussion |
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| Moore Discussion [message #27] |
Mon, 12 January 2009 23:01 |
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miker
Messages: 53
Registered: December 2008 |
Member |
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Michael Moore appears to have (and have had) faith - in the American people. Writing in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, in his book "Dude, Where's My Country?" (2003), he expresses it this way:
| Moore: |
One day, I was talking to the actor Tim Robbins - often an object of the right's bellicose babbling - and he said:| Robbins: |
Why is it that they are so mad and angry all the time when they already control the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, Wall Street, all of talk radio, and three of the four cable news channels? They got their war,they got their tax cut, and their commander in chief has a 70 percent approval rating! You'd think that they'd be happy, but they're not.
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It does seem pathological to be unhappy when you are in charge of just about everything. Imagine how we would behave if Jesse Jackson were president, the liberal Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, Mario Cuomo and Ted Kennedy sat on the Supreme Court, and "The Nation" had the biggest news channel on TV. Man, we would be in seventh - no, eighth! - heaven, and you'd hear the joy in our voices and see the smiles on our faces.
And that's when it hit me: The right wing is upset precisely because THEY KNOW that they are in the minority. They know Americans, in their hearts, do not really agree with their side, and they never will.Americans, like most humans, don't want want to be around people who are filled with hate and meanness of spirit. And that is why they are so angry, because they know they are a dying species. They know the chicks and spics and the fags are taking over and so they are trying to get as much damage done as possible before their political breed becomes extinct.
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Jesse Jackson wouldn't have been my choice as an example, but Moore is not only optimistic, but prescient in his selection of a black president.
[Updated on: Mon, 12 January 2009 23:21]
Verily I say unto you, as ye have done unto the least of these my brethren, so ye have done unto me.
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| | Topic: Geology, Yahweh and Hamas |
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| Geology, Yahweh and Hamas [message #17] |
Sun, 04 January 2009 13:18 |
todd
Messages: 12
Registered: December 2008
Location: Woods Hole |
Junior Member |
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Jude and Ross,
Please take this over to the Forum – this is a good discussion and that would be a good place for it. I’d be happy to post this over there to get you started if I have your permission? Yes?
Jude, with regard to your statement: "But despite what Harris says Faith is a necessary requirement of the human condition."
Why? Faith in what? I’m not buying a statement like that without a lot more explanation and probably not then, though the disagreement may come down to what we believe the words mean.
-Todd
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| | Forum: Local Pride |
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| Topic: The Republicans Pull a Boehner |
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| The Republicans Pull a Boehner [message #137] |
Sat, 14 February 2009 12:46 |
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miker
Messages: 53
Registered: December 2008 |
Member |
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It seems that in getting over my obsessive hatred of Bush, my wrath has been redirected toward John Boehner, the boneheaded House Minority Leader. How does he get the pronunciation "Baynor" out of "Boehner"? I'm no linguist, but my father's name was Siegfried, so I DO know a little German. "Boner" is a lot closer to the way the name should be pronounced, at least in the Homeland.
Anyway, I did "the google", as Bush used to say, on "Boehner bailout", and the SECOND entry was a letter in the Cape Cod Times! You can use "the google" to see for yourself, but I will provide the text of the letter here:
| Quote: |
House Minority Leader John Boehner is "shocked, shocked" at President Obama's $800 billion proposed stimulus package.
This is the same person who for the past eight years was heavily involved in an administration that engaged in an illegal war, causing the slaughter of thousands of our people, plus hundreds of thousands of Iraqis — also costing billions of dollars, giving tax cuts to the very rich in a time of war (unheard of), deregulation that allowed hedge funds and financial institutions to drain money from the economy and create this brutal recession/depression we all are currently experiencing, liable for a trillion-dollar national debt after inheriting a surplus, and myriad other unconscionable acts that have crippled our great country for years to come.
Do these people hear themselves?
We all know what Claude Rains was up to when he was "shocked, shocked" in the film "Casablanca"; we can only assume that Boehner is just as duplicitous as Capt. Renault, and the Republicans will continue their pernicious business-as-usual tactics.
Bonnie Hempel
Dennis
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Wow! It appears that Bonnie knows something about Boehner, and from what she says, it looks like like Bush had Boehner in the palm of his hand for the last eight years.
Hmmm... Hempel sounds German, too, and maybe Bonnie knows how to pronounce the name.
Anyway, she's got a grasp of Boehner's hard line opposition to the stimulus package. Maybe it has something to do with being from Cape Cod.
[Updated on: Sat, 14 February 2009 17:13]
Verily I say unto you, as ye have done unto the least of these my brethren, so ye have done unto me.
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| | Forum: Vigils, Demonstrations, etc. |
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| Topic: Weekly Vigils on the Cape |
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| Weekly Vigils on the Cape [message #98] |
Thu, 05 February 2009 12:47 |
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miker
Messages: 53
Registered: December 2008 |
Member |
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Join us in a Vigil for Peace...
Friday:
Hyannis in front of Representative Delahunt's Office from 4-5 PM (3-4 PM post-daylight savings - after Oct. 30)
(146 Main St, by the East End 'Rotary').
Saturday:
Eastham Windmill Green on Rt 6, brief discussion after; 9-10 AM June thru Sept. 9th, otherwise Noon - 1 PM brief discussion after
Falmouth Post Office; 11 AM
Provincetown Town Hall; 1:30 - 2:30 PM
Wellfleet Town Hall; 11-Noon June thru Sept. 9th, otherwise 10-11 AM
Verily I say unto you, as ye have done unto the least of these my brethren, so ye have done unto me.
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