Anyway, there’s no excuse now not to read the whole thing!

BURN BABY BURN
The California Celebrity Fires

Published October 26th, 2007 in Articles

The ‘Boo ain’t no N.O.
Plus: George Bush, Flame Retard
By Greg Palast

What color is your disaster? It makes a difference. A life and death difference.

Dig:

Population of San Diego fire evacuation zone: 500,000
Population of the New Orleans flood evacuation zone: 500,000

White folk as a % of evacuees, San Diego: 66%
Black folk as % of evacuees, New Orleans: 67%

Size counts, too. Size of your wallet, that is:

Evacuees in San Diego, in poverty: 9%
Evacuees in New Orleans, in poverty: 27%

The numbers would be even uglier, though more revealing, if I included evacuees of the celebrity fire in Malibu.

The President didn’t do a photo-strafing of the scene from 1700 feet this time. Instead, we have the photo op of George, feet on the ground, hanging with Arnold the Action Man. (However, I’m informed that the President was a bit disappointed that he didn’t get to wear one of those neat fireman hats like Rudi G got at Ground Zero.)

In 2005, while the bodies were still being fished out of flooded homes in New Orleans, Republican Congressman Richard Baker praised The Lord for his mercy. “We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did,” he said about the removal of the poor from the project near the French Quarter much coveted by speculators.

But as this week’s flames spread, no Republican Congressman cried, “Burn baby burn!” to praise the Lord for cleaning up them ‘Boo, the sin-and-surf playground of Hollywood luvvies.

In New Orleans, God’s covenant with real estate developers has been very profitable. Over 70,000 families
remain, two years after the waters receded, in mobile home concentration centers far away from the N.O. re-building boom. Let’s see how long it takes to get Tom Hanks back on his beach towel.

Standing next to Governor Schwarzenegger, a smug little Bush said, “It makes a big difference when you have someone in the statehouse willing to take the lead” – a snide attack on the former Democratic Governor of Louisiana on whom the White House successfully dumped the blame for the horror show in New Orleans.

Mr. Bush never mentioned – and the media would never give away his secret – that 15 hours before the levees broke, the White House and FEMA knew the flood barriers were cracking, yet failed to inform the Governor and state police. Nor did Mr. Bush mention that his Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA trolls took away evacuation planning from the state and gave it to a crew of crony contractors who, for a million bucks, came up with a plan that came down to, “If a hurricane comes, get in your car and drive like hell.”

In California, plans were in place, money poured down with the flame retardant, and no one is suggesting that Mel Gibson move his swastika collection to a FEMA trailer.

Not comparable, the ‘Boo and the N.O.? You can say that again. But as a kid who grew up in the ass end of Los Angeles, I can tell you that disaster apartheid applies on the local scale as well. Look at the tarry filth of Compton and Long Beach shores versus the panicked reaction when a bit of garbage or oil sheen hits Malibu sands. (I remember, standing on the crude-covered shore of an Alaska Native village in March, 1991, the day Exxon announced it would end the clean-up from the Exxon Valdez spill. That day, the papers showed the careful scouring that week of every pebble on Malibu beaches hit by dinky spill incident.)

Please don’t get the idea I’m slap-happy about the California inferno. My parents live in San Diego - and one of my favorite Air America hosts had to evacuate from her Del Mar hot tub, poor dear. (I’ve heard, however, that billionaires well done taste just like chicken.)

What I’m saying is: Besides the flames, there’s a class war raging in America. Or, should I say, Class Massacre. Because only one side is taking all the bullets. Malibu, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica are “incorporated communities” – islands of privilege politically fenced off from the riff-raff sea of Los Angeles. These self-incorporated Bantustans of the wealthy have their own fire departments and schools. The money islands are relieved of having to pay for the schools and hospitals of the city where their gardeners live. (I can’t tell which is the worst disaster that can befall an Angelino – a fire, an earthquake or the LA public school system.)

Now, it’s easy to say it’s just George Bush who’s the class clown of the class war. But it’s an old story. When a flood took out the tony homes at Westhampton Dunes, the Clinton Administration picked up the full tab for rebuilding these summer hideaways of the investment bankers. While today, death-by-poison stalks the environment of Black townships of Louisiana (the FEMA ‘guests’ are parked in a zone called Cancer Ally), Al Gore can’t be found. But when speaking of rising sea levels that can take out the homes of his buddies in ‘Boo or the Hamptons, Gore goes ga-ga.

The one thing I’ll say in favor of that vile little Louisiana Republican cheering the drowning of public housing residents, at least he’s honest about how the system works. He’s not afraid to remind us of the gods’-honest truth: disaster response is class war by other means.

So let me not forget to report the war’s body count:

New Orleans flood deaths: 1,577.
California celebrity fire deaths: 11 (at time of posting)

For news report, see story about this event at Oklahoma Indymedia, Gold Star Fathers Call for Peace at Oklahoma City Rally.

They are a small but dedicated group of folks who are selflessly committed to justice and who really love Oklahoma. I feel honored to be working with them.

I drove to the meeting with my friends and fellow Greens, Rachel and James, who happen to be the state party co-chairs. On the way home we took Rt 66 all the way from Stroud to Oklahoma City. Just before sundown, we took a turn on to a strip of the original roadbed of Rt. 66, a section which is no longer in use as a public road. It was kind of wild to see how unassuming and narrow it is. The “Mother Road” is such a huge iconic symbol in America, but the road itself is dwarfed by what highways have become in this country.

Speaking of icons, we also stopped at the new Pop’s soda shop in Arcadia. I’ve got some cool pictures of that place, which I’ll upload later in a separate post.

I was glad to see that the Speaker of the House, Lance Cargill, with whom I usually don’t agree, made a relatively measured statement, saying he would accept the book, and give in exchange a copy of the bible. Seeing as how the whole affair was getting a lot of publicity, I thought his approach was about as good as could be expected from an Oklahoma politician.

I sent him a email to say thanks for toning things down and to encourage more of the same:

Thank you for your measured response to the Quran controversy which was stirred up by some Oklahoma legislators. I think what they did was rude and reflected very poorly on Oklahomans, not to mention Christians, now that this story is going all over the media and the internet.

I feel that your statement will help diffuse a needless controversy, or so I hope. I further hope you will not inflame a conflict, or allow the legislature’s resources to be used for that purpose, over this matter, but that your exchange of religious books will be respectful and positive.

Thank you again.

Meanwhile, OKC activist, and my friend, Nathanial “Batch” Batchelder wrote a letter to the editor of the Tulsa World (where I think this story broke and has continued to be reported in a rather inflammatory manner, in my opinion). He addresses the ridiculous contention by the Oklahoma congressmen that the christian faith has never motivated violence. (He doesn’t mention the Crusades, or the Conquistadors, but I guess it isn’t really necessary to go back too far in history to point out the error. Commenters in some other sites have also mentioned Northern Ireland as a recent example of “christian terrorism.”)

Dear Editor,

State legislators declining the gift of a Quaran on the grounds that Islam foments violence must be unaware of Old Testament scriptures describing mass murder for God: Leviticus 24:16, Numbers 31:17-18, Samuel 15:2-3, Josua 6:21 and Luke 19:27. These passages justified the Crusades to kill infidels who would not convert to Christianity.

Don’t these legislators know that Rev. Pat Robertson used his TV ministry to call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez? Or that biblical scriptures were used to justify slavery in America for 250 years? But that’s “old violence.”

Modern violence by our “Christian nation” is worse: Since the US invasion of Iraq, more than a million Iraqis have been killed, some five million have been seriously wounded, two million have left the country, and two million are homeless refugees inside Iraq. That’s 40% of the Iraqi population.

Perhaps the 17 righteous legislators who would not accept a Quaran should consider the admonition: “Look not to the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but rather to the log in your own eye.” Shame on them for another “Oklahoma embarrassment.”

Sincerely,
Nathaniel Batchelder
2912 N. Robinson
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
405-524-5577
batchokc@aol.com
www.PeaceHouseOK.org

My So-Called Life was not your average teen series. It wasn’t even average TV fiction. In my opinion, and I’m not alone, it was the best fiction ever made for American TV.

Perhaps you missed it when it debuted on a Thursday night in August 1994; a week or two later, in the same time slot, was the premiere of a little sitcom called Friends. The latter became a phenomenon; the former was lucky to have its 19 episodes all broadcast, rather sporadically, during that TV season.

I was watching that first night, and immediately fell in love — with Angela Chase, her friends, her family and her self-aware, angst-ridden view of her oh-so-fortunate life. The writing was excellent, the acting simply astounding, and the production’s ability to capture and provoke the widest variety of human emotion so exceptional, that those who witnessed it at the time, and not a few who have found it since, were forever changed by it. They still talk about it reverentially, and, like one of the characters says about a particularly moving night, “We had a time.” The series ended with lots of unresolved plot threads, so passion was all the more excited to know “what happened.”

I took part in the discussion board that popped up around the show (maybe it was on AOL, or ABC, the network that broadcast it) and although many of the other participants were in their teens or twenties, the conversations on that board were frequently transcendent. Oh, how I wish they had been preserved. There was a very vigorous effort to save the show, but ABC lost faith in it, and Claire Danes was exhausted (watch the series and you’ll see why) and wanted to do film (she did pick up an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her work in the show).

Those original boards may be gone, but a fan web site still exists and is still active; in fact it just was given a complete remodel, so while it is a museum to a past event, it’s a dust-free one.

I recorded (on VHS) many of the episodes as they aired (or when MTV showed them the following summer) and wore those tapes out. Then a couple of box sets of six episodes came out and I bought them, but the production of that VHS series was not completed.

In 2000 or so, a DVD set with all 19 episodes came out, with a very limited number of copies pressed. Since I was on the fan email list, I got the opportunity to pre-order, but the cost was $100 and I didn’t have any money at the time and missed the opportunity. I’ve been looking for a copy of that set for years, but from what I heard, if it was offered, the cost could run about $300 or so.

Well, my wish has come true and the series is finally being reissued in a proper DVD commemorative edition, with interviews with the writers, cast and crew, a book, the whole works. I am ecstatic, to say the least. This is the best news in “my so-called life” in a long time.

I ordered it today (for only $48 — yay!), and will be waiting on pins and needles until it arrives. I feel like Angela, Rayanne, Ricky, Jordan and the rest are family or close friends that I haven’t been able to visit with in much too long. I know it sounds crazy to say about a tv show, but this tv show was Art. So think about a great book that stays with you, and remains relevant to your life. If you are the least bit interested in art (whether tv, writing, acting), or or just the human condition, then you need to check out My-So-Called Life.

There’s no excuse now. It’s on Amazon and all the other places, including (soon) the Netflix waiting list.

I haven’t been watching the series, just caught a glimpse after Countdown tonight, enough to catch the sponsorship info. But someone who did watch said this:

It was disturbing to see the onslaught of American Petroleum Institute and pro-Coal commercials playing during Planet In Peril last night. Why are they lobbying so hard right now? Is there energy legislation on the table?

American’s For Balanced Energy Choices - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQSqviu9_7k

and another had the same reaction I did with this

If they want to be taken seriously, one would think that CNN would have sought a corporate sponsor who was more concerned about the environment than CP.

According to Wikipedia, the Conoco Phillip’s environmental record is mixed:

On April 11, 2007, ConocoPhillips became the first U.S. oil company to join the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, an alliance of big business and environmental groups that in January sent a letter to President George W. Bush stating that mandatory emissions caps are needed to reduce the flow of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. ConocoPhillips has said it will spend $150 million this year on the research and development of new energy sources and technologies— a 50 percent increase in spending from 2006.[4]

A recent University of Massachusetts study has ranked ConocoPhillips third among U.S. corporate producers of air pollution. According to the researchers, ConocoPhillips facilities release more than eight million pounds of toxic chemicals annually into the air.[5] The company has also been implicated in some of the United States’ worst toxic waste dumps; the Center for Public Integrity has announced that United States Environmental Protection Agency documents link ConocoPhillips to 52 Superfund sites.[6]

In 2003, ConocoPhillips was named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by a Georgian environmental group called Green Alternative. The suit claimed that a number of foreign oil companies colluded with the Georgian government to induce authorities to approve a $3 billion pipeline without properly evaluating environmental impact.[7]

In 2007, a number of environmental groups including the Sierra Club and the Prairie Rivers Network announced their support for ConocoPhillips’ plan to expand its Wood River oil refinery. A spokesperson for the group said that, despite ConocoPhillips’ history of environmental policy violations, she was optimistic that the corporation would comply with pollution laws as it expanded the refinery.[8

I’ve watched or listened to so little commercial media for so long, that I am extremely biased against it. Unlike a lot of regular viewers, I cannot tune out the corporate propaganda. And I would be extremely suspect of any program on the environment that depended on an energy company to be broadcast.

Some more things to read on the topic:

http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/pub460.cfm

http://www.deusexmalcontent.com/2007/10/its-so-easy-being-green.html

My friend Desiree gets right in the face of Condoleezza Rice, who is, indeed, a “war criminal.”

(Tried to embed the video, but had technical problems.
Updated, with photo from Reuters.)

Update 2: Reuters story

Update 3: This AP photo is better, due to the angle (and Rice’s expression).

This cartoon makes me think of my Quaker friend Christine O’Brien, who died last November ending a beautiful life, deeply lived. We would have had a great conversation about it, laughing, talking about Zen koans, Quaker meetings in which not a word is said, but everyone feels connected and full of love at the end, or about brief but powerful messages, like “Attention” that get everyone vibrating silently. She would bring out one of her little Paragraph magazines, and read a prose poem we both would consider “cosmic”.

And we would sit and watch the light move across her patio and through the French doors into the dining room, playing shadows across art objects, dried flowers, rows of little stones and beads, books, lots of natural wood and wonderful, wonderful food in handmade plates.

What some people call “religious” is just a bunch of noise and anxiety. You really don’t have to say, or hear, a thing to feel connected to something powerful. In fact, the less said, the better.

NASA announced it was extending for the fifth time the mission of Mars space probes Spirit and Opportunity, in their indefatigable exploration of the Red planet.

The two robots touched down three weeks apart on Mars in January 2004 for an expected 90-day mission that instead could stretch out to 2009, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on its website.

In September, Opportunity began a perilous descent into the Victoria crater, in Mars’ Meridiani Planum region.

On the opposite side of the dusty planet and in the opposite direction, Spirit in early September began climbing onto the Home Plate volcanic plateau where scientists believe the volcanic rock might contain traces of water.

[…]

To date, Spirit has driven 7.26 kilometers (4.51 miles) and has sent back to Earth more than 102,000 images. Opportunity has driven 11.57 kilometers (7.19 miles) and has returned more than 94,000 images.

Green Party of Oklahoma to have 6th Annual Meeting in Stroud

The Green Party of Oklahoma will have its annual meeting on Sunday, October 21 at 3pm at the Rock Cafe in Stroud.

Anyone interested in the Green Party, its values and positions, is welcome to attend, whether official members of the Green Party or not.

The Oklahoma Greens are currently engaged in a petition drive to ease requirements for placing third-party candidates on the ballot. They are working with the Oklahoma Libertarian and Constitution parties, as well as Oklahoma Independent voters to change what many academics and activists call the strictest ballot access laws in the nation. More info about the coalition campaign, Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform, can be found at okvoterchoice.org.

The annual meeting agenda will include a report on the ballot access campaign, proposed changes to the state party organizing structure, outreach projects and election of officers.

This year is the 6th Annual Meeting of the Oklahoma Greens, which was established in 2002 and received recognition from the Green Party of the United States in 2005.

Greens are committed to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing, working to renew and expand democracy without the support of corporate donors.

The Rock Cafe is located at 114 West Main Street. A map to the site can be found at http://www.rockcaferoute66.com/map.html

For more info about the Green Party of Oklahoma, see okgreens.org or call (405)205-6048.

The Rock Cafe looks very cool. So if you’re not into the politics, the food and atmosphere might be worth the trip.

I went with my friend and co-revolutionary James to promote the GI Rights Hotline outside the big hoopla send-off for the poor National Guard troops who are being deployed to Iraq. But we had to make stops for sign supplies, then got caught in bigtime traffic — there must have been 10,000 attending at the Noble Center at OU. Anyway, we were late, had to park in a field, but we did get maybe half an hour of holding our signs. I’ll post or link to the pictures James took once he gets them off his phone.

Meanwhile, in route, we had major discussions about the organizations we work on together, which is good, but also rather draining to me since I’m so backlogged with all that organizing work and feeling somewhat negative about how some things are going.

Finally, get home, and while fixing a dinner of leftovers that my mother is giving me major grief over, try to get caught up with the news, which is horrible, with major losses on S-CHIP, and privacy, and the soon to be new AG pretty much condoning the president to not only torture, but just not obey any law he doesn’t agree with (which he’s doing anyway, but jeez, they’re not even pretending to be lawful anymore.

Insane, but I’m too tired and disgusted to be coherent here, though I did respond quite nastily to a fundraiser letter the Democratic Party sent me today, with the audacity to headline it “Elections Matter”. I shouldn’t have even been on that mailing list, and have no idea how I got on it, since I’m not a Dem, but I was allowing it to continue just to see what they were up to. Well I unsubscribed today (and read some comments on Daily Kos from real Dems who did exactly what I did).

I also sent Chris Dodd a thank you note, since he stood up and put a hold on the telecommunications amnesty nonsense. Though still more bad news when it turns out Harry Reid is going to go around that somehow. He likes those checks from AT&T, I’m sure.

Man, this once-great country is so screwed.

I’m going to bed early. Maybe I’ll wake up and it’ll be Nov. 1970-whatever and Nixon is being prosecuted in federal court, and Gerald Ford has kicked out all the sorry Nixonian asses like Cheney and Rumsfeld into the dustbin of American history where they fade in ignoble shame. Cuz that’s how far back you’d have to go to really begin to fix the disaster this government, and the media that covers it, has become.

Anyway, here’s a bit from Dr. Prescott’s speech:

President Bush! You are a multi-millionaire and you raised millions to get elected — yet taxpayers foot the bill for your health care. You have no moral authority to veto health benefits for poor children. You don’t need a safety net. Poor children do.

Mr. President, before God and all these witnesses I implore you — stop sacrificing the health of our poorest children. Stop being so short-sighted. Invest in their future. Their future is our future.

Members of Congress! More than a third of you are millionaires and all of you have raised millions to get elected — yet taxpayers foot the bill for your health care. United States Senators! Almost half of you are millionaires and all of you have raised millions to get elected — yet taxpayers foot the bill for your health care. You have no moral authority to deny equal benefits to the children of the poor. You have a safety net and don’t need one. Poor children need a safety net and don’t have one.

Congressmen Cole, Fallin, Lucas, and Sullivan and Senators Coburn and Inhofe, before God and all these witnesses I implore you – don’t let the President sacrifice the health of our poorest children. We can’t afford to be so short-sighted. Invest in their future. Their future is our future.

Here are some of the news reports on the event, which a lot of media outlets came too, for a change. As sent out by event organizer wonder woman, Darla Jane:

Michael Moore website has Tulsa World article and KSBItv video clip.

KSBItv great video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnHzzzI9oF8

Tulsa World: Advocates protest veto of children’s health program

KOKH: Health care advocates protest veto of children’s health program

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is preparing to alert eight National Guard units that they should be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan beginning late next summer, The Associated Press learned Wednesday.

The U.S. military is reaching out to more Guard units in an effort to maintain needed troop levels, ease some of the strain on the active duty Army and provide security for ports, convoys and other installations.

The article provides some context:

There are now 171,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, largely because several units are overlapping as some move in and others move out of the country. Once those transitions are complete and the drawdown begins, the level of troops in Iraq could drop to as low as 135,000.
[…]

All together, the Guard announcement would involve about 13,000 soldiers.

Here’s the kicker:

Specific brigades were not identified, but they will include units from North Carolina, Oklahoma, Illinois and Hawaii, according to officials. Some of those being alerted this week have done tours in the war zone already, and others would be going for the first time.

Emphasis added.

This is especially heart wrenching because tomorrow, 2,400 soldiers of Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Brigade will be feted at a gala ceremony at the Lloyd Noble Center as they leave for Ft. Bliss in preparation for going to Iraq. This is the OK National Guard’s “largest deployment since the Korean War.”

This recent development will keep the phones at the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline busy well into next year, no doubt.

Volunteers are needed for the next training, so if you can help, please call (405)231-1138.

1) Sen. Rice today called on members of the Oklahoma House delegation to vote to override President Bush’s SCHIP veto tomorrow. The text of the press release is available at our website, http://www.andrewforoklahoma.com/newsroom_details.asp?id=963 , and the text is below this message.

2) Thanks to PAC contributions, Jim Inhofe did raise more funds than Andrew Rice in the 3rd Quarter. However, just counting individual contributions, the two candidates were nearly neck and neck:

Q3 Individual contributions for Jim Inhofe: $346,172
Q3 Individual contributions for Andrew Rice: $304,656

And Sen. Rice only kicked off his campaign a month before the end of the quarter, raising almost as much as Jim Inhofe from individuals in 60 days of fundraising (vs a full quarter). It’s clear - real Oklahomans want a change.

3) Speaking of “change,” did you see this video of Sam Donaldson and George Will on climate change? http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/14/sam-donaldson-blasts-george-wills-climate-denial/

4) Last but not least, for those of you in the Oklahoma City area, make sure you pick up a copy of this week’s Oklahoma Gazette - they feature Sen. Rice on the cover, with an in-depth story about him. Unfortunately, the Gazette only has a snippet of the story on their website. But if you can find a copy, pick it up and blog about it!

Oklahoma Gazette website: http://okgnews.com

Best,
Karina Henderson
Rice for U.S. Senate
karinaATandrewforoklahoma DOTcom

I know candidates try to spin things positively, and I think Rice did do pretty good with fundraising in the length of time he had (he formally announced on Sept. 5). However, with $41,516 difference between Inhofe and Rice, I don’t see how they can really call it “neck and neck.”

That being said, I think everyone knows that Inhofe is going to significantly blow Rice away in fundraising. First, he’s an incumbent, which always brings a big advantage, in money among other considerations. But also, Big Oil and other corporate donors will make sure Jim has more than he needs to conflate the issues even more irrationally than ever before.

No, Inhofe cannot be matched for money. Andrew is just going to have to make up the difference in virtue and charm. Fortunately, this will not be difficult.

Full disclosure: I am registered Independent, but identify as Green, and have donated $25 to Rice’s campaign, and have even set up an ActBlue page to encourage other Independents (or anyone, really) to donate.

I haven’t agreed with all of Rice’s votes in the Oklahoma Senate (specifically 1804 - Immigration), but he’s light years better than Inhofe, and in politics there’s no perfect candidate. I intend to support his campaign, with time and money, in the very small amounts that I can.

And here’s the press release that was also in the email:

Press Release: Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Contact: Karina Henderson (405) 606-2288

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 17, 2007) – State Senator Andrew Rice, D-OKC, today urged all of Oklahoma’s five U.S. Representatives to vote Thursday to override President Bush’s veto of critical funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

In a letter faxed to each Oklahoma House Member, Rice asked the Representatives to separate fact from fiction to vote for funding that will help 127,000 Oklahoma children afford health insurance.

“If you don’t believe that health insurance for our children is a moral obligation, I encourage you to think of children’s health insurance as an economic investment,” Rice said. “Health industry experts from across the political spectrum agree that reducing the number of uninsured Americans will lower premiums and costs for all Americans. And furthermore, healthy children perform better in school and become healthy, better-educated adults competing for American enterprise in the global marketplace.”

Rice cited three myths used by opponents to degrade the compromise legislation vetoed by the President. He said that claims by President Bush and others that the bill would extend health insurance to illegal immigrants, upper middle income families and families already covered by private health plans are false.

“I think that when it comes to the well-being of 127,000 Oklahoma children, we should avoid the Washington spin and just consider the facts,” Rice said.

• Insanely Useful Web Sites | Sunlight Foundation - broad range of information available to track government and legislative information, campaign contributions and the role of money in politics.
• Spitting on the troops - Hullabaloo - The political activists who metaphorically spit on the troops today are on the right.

Google just celebrated their one-year anniversary of it’s New York City offices. So they made a scale-model cake of the huge facility, using for reference (natch) Google Earth and Street View, two wildly cool Google technologies, and a crew of seven worked four days to construct the thing.

So they’ve got the cake production process published as a Picasa (another Google app) photo album, and the story posted on the official Google Blogger (yep, they own that too now) blog.

I was glad to hear that they made a point to eat every bit of the cake (over several meals), and not just toss it in a dumpster after the party. Even my niece didn’t do that with the two dozen cupcakes made for her daughter’s birthday party this summer.

Nonetheless, I called my Congressperson, Frank Lucas, on S-CHIP — twice.

So here’s what happened.

The first time, last week, I called the Yukon office and just said I hoped that he would change his vote. The woman I spoke with was polite, but didn’t seem to have a clue what I was talking about, just couldn’t seem to comprehend that I lived in Oklahoma and supported the program being expanded.

Sigh.

So then, today, I call the DC office. I get a male aide and I ask him if Lucas has decided how he will vote on the override.

He has to go check. Great, obviously the whole staff is brimming over with conservative compassion and really keeping up on this issue.

Anyway, he comes back and says Lucas is voting “no” because he likes the way the Republicans originally wrote the bill and doesn’t believe more children should be covered.

I say without the veto being overridden, in fact next year LESS children will be covered than now.

He says that Lucas thinks that only POOR children should be covered.

I say that the program was not designed for poor children, that it was designed to cover MIDDLE CLASS children and his argument was thus facetious.

“Well, thank you for calling.”

Cross-posted at Blue Oklahoma, where I also included a snarky poll.

Save SCHIP Candlelight Vigil
Tuesday, Oct 16, 7:00 PM

Join us in front of the OK County Republican Headquarters, 4031 N. Lincoln, Oklahoma City, OK 73105. Children and Families especially.

Sign up for this event.

Sponsored by MoveOn, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, Americans United for Change, USAction, TrueMajority and MomsRising.

OVERRIDE SCHIP VETO RALLY
Wednesday, Oct 17, 12 Noon to 1:00 PM

OK State Capitol - South Plaza Steps, Oklahoma City, OK 73105

This event is being led by Reggie Cervantes, 9/11 rescue worker featured in “SICKO”
and OK Chapter President of American Patients for Universal Health Care

THE VOTE TO OVERRIDE IS THURSDAY, Oct 18

CALL REPS: SULLIVAN, LUCAS, COLE & FALLIN TO OVERRIDE THE BUSH VETO

CONGRESSIONAL SWITCHBOARD
(202)224-3121 or (800) 828-0498

[…] Iraqi security forces would not be able to salvage the situation. Even if all the Iraqi military and police were properly trained, equipped and truly committed, their 346,000 personnel would be too few. As it is, Iraqi soldiers quit at will. The police are effectively controlled by militias. And, again, corruption is debilitating. U.S. tax dollars enrich self-serving generals and support the very elements that will battle each other after we’re gone.

This is Operation Iraqi Freedom and the reality we experienced. This is what we tried to communicate up the chain of command. This is either what did not get passed on to our civilian leadership or what our civilian leaders chose to ignore. While our generals pursue a strategy dependent on peace breaking out, the Iraqis prepare for their war — and our servicemen and women, and their families, continue to suffer.

There is one way we might be able to succeed in Iraq. To continue an operation of this intensity and duration, we would have to abandon our volunteer military for compulsory service. Short of that, our best option is to leave Iraq immediately. A scaled withdrawal will not prevent a civil war, and it will spend more blood and treasure on a losing proposition.

America, it has been five years. It’s time to make a choice.

This Wednesday, the RESTORE Act enters the final round in the House of Representatives, where it will be presented to the entire House for a floor vote. Within the next 48 hours, all House representatives must hear the same, clear message — keep telecom immunity out of the RESTORE ACT.

Last week, we initiated a targeted campaign to call key House committee members to demand that they resist pressure from the telecoms and the Bush administration to give immunity to lawbreaking telephone companies. Thanks to your calls, grassroots efforts, and renewed news coverage, the RESTORE Act does not currently give the telecoms immunity for helping the executive branch spy on Americans. But that’s a momentary comfort in an environment where President Bush has threatened to veto any bill lacking telecom immunity, and where a contingent of House representatives is trying to sneak immunity into the bill at every opportunity.

We’re now asking you to call all representatives in the House. Call now and demand that they hold the line — no telecom immunity in the RESTORE Act!

Sign the Petition

Giuliani’s failure to provide FDNY with adequate radios must be investigated
10,433 signers

We, The Undersigned, demand an investigation into the Giuliani administration’s failure between 1994 and 2001 to equip firefighters with the radio equipment they needed to perform their duties on 9/11 with the highest likelihood of their own survival. We ask for an investigation to find answers to the following, unresolved questions:

* Why was nothing done to improve FDNY radio performance for seven years after a clear need was demonstrated in the 1993 World Trade Center attack?
* When new radios were finally ordered, why did the city block other companies besides Motorola from bidding on the contract?
* Once Motorola was given the contract, why did its cost jump from $1.4 million to $14 million?
* Why were these new radios never tested?

The families of the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11 deserve answers to these questions. We call on a full, public investigation to uncover the facts behind the Giuliani administration’s pre-9/11 emergency preparation

Sign the petition.

Jane Hamsher outlines Rudy’s huge 911 problem:

The need to lionize the firefighters as the true heroes of 9/11 left the public (and the media) with little appetite to hear how they had been betrayed by Rudi Giuliani. Falludi goes on to recount how, when Giluliani tried to claim in his appearance before the 9/11 commission that the firefighters had “stood their ground,” one of the people in the back of the room shouted “My son was murdered! Murdered because of incompetence, and the radios didn’t work.” Tom Kean tried to shut her up, saying “You are simply wasting time here.”

But Rudy’s running for President now, and his whole shtick depends on him being the true hero of 9/11. The fact is, however, that in a competition the firefighters have a much more solid hold on that place in the firmament. It’s ironic yet fitting that the power they derive from the national need to fill that void will be used to take Rudy down, but if the families are successful and the New York City Council launches an investigation of what happened with the radios, I frankly don’t see how he overcomes it. Even the true believers will have to side with the firefighters, having erected all their justifications for a five year war on the need to avenge their deaths.

If Rudy is revealed to be a greedy, incompetent, excuse-making churl in the process, he can try and follow the right wing playbook and smear the firefighters like they were some brain injured 12 year-old boy.

Good luck to him with that one.

• Revealed: the man behind court attack on Gore film | UK News | The Observer - The Observer has established that Dimmock’s case was supported by a powerful network of business interests with close links to the fuel and mining lobbies.
• ACLU: DoD sought citizens’ bank records - Army Times - “Once again, the Bush administration’s unchecked authority has led to abuse and civil liberties violations,”
• The man who knew too much | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited - He was the CIA’s expert on Pakistan’s nuclear secrets, but Rich Barlow was thrown out and disgraced when he blew the whistle on a US cover-up. Now he’s to have his day in court.

Because if I can visit your site and see your obvious mis-use of what is a bad choice to begin with, I am getting out of there so fast, my visit won’t even register on your hit counter. And there are millions who will do the same, believe me.

If I could set my browser to screech, ring alarms and reverse direction whenever frames are detected, I would. Some enterprising hacker needs to make just such an extension for Firefox.

I know you went to a lot of trouble to learn how to make websites with frames (when you studied cutting edge HTML, back when only a few obscure computer geeks had even heard of CSS) because you thought it was rad cool on some site you visited in 1999. It entranced you. Well, snap out of it!

No, I’m not going to explain why they’re god-awful. If you have ever browsed the internet beyond your own mangled web site, you would know why.

So just don’t do it.

If you are really interested in improving your site beyond this fundamental rule, and are an Oklahoma progressive activist or artist or non-profit, let me know, I have lots more free advise to offer.

But this one’s on me. No charge.

PS. And no frickin’ music on load!!!!

Just this weekend alone, two taser related “accidents”, first in Vancouver

A man in his 40s died early Sunday minutes after being zapped with a Taser by RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport.

then right here in Oklahoma City

An infant was injured by a Taser Friday evening at a northwest Oklahoma City apartment complex when a bounty hunter tried to serve an arrest warrant, Oklahoma City police said. The baby’s mother was arrested for child endangerment after she allegedly used the child as a shield when the Taser was fired, according to police.

A taser is a dangerous weapon, and it looks to me like police and other “authorities” are being trained, or excused, for using them to just get people’s attention.

Additionally, it looks increasingly like airports are not safe for the public.

• Ex-Commander Says Iraq Effort Is a ‘Nightmare’ - WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 - In a sweeping indictment of the four-year effort in Iraq, the former top commander of American forces there called the Bush administration’s handling of the war “incompetent” and said the result was “a nightmare with no end”
• Marines Press to Remove Their Forces From Iraq - New York Times - The Marine Corps is pressing to remove its forces from Iraq and to send marines instead to Afghanistan, to take over the leading role in combat there, according to senior military and Pentagon officials.
• Afghanistan ‘is going down fast’ | The Australian - THE bloodshed in Afghanistan has reached levels not seen since the 2001 invasion as anger at bungling by an ineffective Government in Kabul and its foreign backers stokes support for the Taliban and other extremist groups.
• Why Do You Need Immunity If You Haven’t Broken the Law? - The Bush administration is desperately trying to get immunity for the telecom companies inserted into the next wiretapping bill.
• Ex-Phone Chief Says N.S.A. Sought Data Earlier - Says Bush Administration enlisted telcoms to spy on Americans, seven months BEFORE 9/11 .
• Daily Howler: How many times do we liberals plan to get ourselves punked by the Post? - Post-Nobel: Back to the war on Gore

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men with leprosy came toward him. They stood at a distance and shouted, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us! Jesus looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” On their way they were healed. When one of them discovered that he was healed, he came back, shouting praises to God. He bowed down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was from the country of Samaria.

Jesus asked, “Weren’t ten men healed? Where are the other nine? Why was this foreigner the only one who came back to thank God?” Then Jesus told the man, “You may get up and go. Your faith has made you well.”

~ Luke 17:11-19

Shown the Door at the White House

[…] About half way through the question, Mrs. Bush realized this was not a friendly softball being lobbed from the peanut gallery, but a real question with an agenda from the press gallery.

Mrs. Bush looked down and walked to her seat without a word. The smile was gone.

At that moment, White House staff formed a human wall between the press and the First Lady and pointed to the door.

One White House staffer told Plotkin he was out of line because the event was “about the kids.”

“My question WAS about the kids,” Plotkin fired back.

[…]

What has the 4th estate become when we attended a government press event that includes a press release, lights, microphones and all the accommodations needed for the press, yet it is somehow rude for us to ask a question?

A complacent spoon-fed press is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they left us the gift of the First Amendment.

So good for Plotkin and shame on the rest of us who sit by and watch.

h/t Americablog

The idea that we should be laying awake at night afraid that a group of at most several thousand people who control almost no territory or valuable military equipment might establish a universal caliphate or “collapse freedom loving nations like us” is ridiculous. Al-Qaeda’s goals are absurd, and obviously so, and one ought to say so confidently. The fact that a relatively small group of people with lunatic goals can nevertheless knock down giant office buildings and murder a huge number of people is, indeed, something to be afraid of but not nearly on the grand geopolitical level Romney is postulating here.

He (Romney) isn’t even a very good fear monger — hasn’t learned much from Cheney/Bush these last five years, that’s for sure. He’s strangely dispassionate about the whole business, like he’s talking about what he’ll have for dinner, instead of whuping the “jihadists”.

• A mother’s call to action - Washington Blade - Judy Shepard: Nine years after my son was killed, gay youth remain vulnerable.
• Sliming Graeme Frost - Paul Krugman: All in all, the Graeme Frost case is a perfect illustration of the modern right-wing political machine at work, and in particular its routine reliance on character assassination in place of honest debate.
• China joins UN censure of Burmese regime - · Security council demands political prisoners’ release · No sanctions yet, but vote marks big shift by Beijing
• Environmental Group Attacks Inhofe’s Record - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe has brought more embarrassment to Oklahoma. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has designated Inhofe as the leader of its “Dirty Dozen” list for possessing one of the worst anti-environmental records in Congress.

OpenOffice.org community celebrates its 7th anniversary
104 million downloads of the open source productivity suite

Today, the open source project OpenOffice.org celebrates its 7th birthday. Founded by Sun Microsystems on October 13th, 2000, continues to experience tremendous growth. The project recently counted 104 million downloads from its website, and downloads have been increasing since the release of OpenOffice.org 2.3 last month. It is widely considered the most important open source productivity suite and one of the largest open source projects.

OpenOffice.org is available in more than 80 languages and runs natively on every major platform; it uses the ISO standard, the OpenDocument Format, for its files. Thousands from around the world contribute to its ongoing success, helping with the development, localisation, documentation, user support and marketing of the program. “OpenOffice.org is being developed around the world, and it is being used around the world by governments, businesses and individuals”, said Florian Effenberger, Marketing Project Co-Lead of OpenOffice.org. “The community has achieved what few predicted seven years ago, and we have just begun!”

In addition to its founder and main contributor Sun Microsystems, OpenOffice.org is also recognizes the contributions of RedFlag Software, IBM, Red Hat, and Novell, among others. OpenOffice.org welcomes the contributions of all organizations and individuals.

OpenOffice.org 2.3 can be found at http://download.openoffice.org/2.3.0/
Links to community and professional support, templates, books, etc., can be obtained from http://support.openoffice.org

If your computer comes with a fully functional MS Suite, fine. Otherwise DO NOT BUY MICROSOFT OFFICE; unless you have some rare, specialized need, it is a waste of your money. Open Office is a free (as are several other Office alternatives) and its Writer program does pretty much everything MS-Word does, and few things it doesn’t (PDF creation).

Plus it has a thriving, mostly volunteer support community, which is a lot more useful and responsive than Microsoft’s to those who aren’t able or willing to fork over a few hundred dollars every couple of years.

Another MS-Office alternative that I haven’t used personally, but that “geeks for peace” I know use and recommend is KOffice.

However, Gmail isn’t perfect, and the Google folks are still adding features. If you are a current Gmail user, please hop over to the suggestion page and contribute your opinion.

If I may, let me suggest you click on “More functional Contacts list” Under Organization, which will provide you with several specific options:

• Control who is added to my Contacts list
• Ability to re-order the names
• Access your Contacts list when forwarding, cc’ing, etc
• Ability to block a user from sending mail to your account

All of these are good ideas for improvement, but I’m partial to the first one, and would like to get the feature sooner, rather than later. I manage several listserves, and like to use the email approval option. Every time I do, however, another completely unique and never to be repeated email address is added to my contact list. Bah!

The correct behavior would be to offer the ability to auto-add email address on compose/reply as a customized setting AND to have a check-box to override this option in the compose/reply entry form.

THAT would make Gmail a lot closer to perfect, as far as I’m concerned.

And from the comments:

Does this mean Inhofe will back down on his (23+ / 0-)

threat to have the Senate cafeteria rename Swedish meatballs “Freedom Droppings”?

by yojimbo on Fri Oct 12, 2007 at 11:42:49 AM CDT

(I’ll be glad when Inhofe isn’t around (DC) to embarrass Oklahoma at every opportunity.)

I support transgendered people, and want to see them covered, but right now, politics being what they are this is what we can do — and when you are out of the major cities, you know the problems of prejudice and violence are great and time is of the essence.

On the ninth anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death, the need for protection for the “fly-over” gays is still very acute. Let’s pass this version of the bill, then go to work together to educate and advocate for more and better for our trans brothers and sisters.

Betraying the ‘fly-over’ gays
Plight of rural Americans should compel us to support narrow ENDA.
SHOULD GAYS WAIT for civil rights until transgender people can be included? That’s the question in the recent controversy over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The answer depends on how much weight you give to the concept of a single “GLBT community” against the practical need to make incremental progress in civil rights.

[…]

Nevertheless, lots of activists and organizations are vowing to work to defeat ENDA unless it includes gender identity. They believe gay people should wait until “everybody” in the “GLBT community” is included.

[…]

The opposition to ENDA is coming mostly from a cadre of articulate, politically aware and protected gay activists living in cocoons on the coasts and in large cities. They are imposing gender and queer theory on the lives of millions of gay Americans throughout the South, Midwest and West. They charge that a gay-only ENDA manifests a selfish willingness to throw trans people out of the boat.

Instead, the all-or-nothing ENDA manifests a self-satisfied willingness to sell the fly-over gays down the river. Hearts pure and integrity intact, elite activists who already have their rights will defend their high-minded principles right down to the last gay Alabaman.

I feel for Barney Frank. This bill will be a significant crowning achievement to his career, if those he has fought for for so long don’t destroy it.

An Oklahoma Health Care Authority proposal to allow all pregnant women to receive prenatal care sets a “dangerous precedent” and subsidizes illegal activity, said state Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore.

Yeah, well I think Randy Terrill sets a dangerous precedent.

Good on the Authority, and good on Henry, for doing the right thing.

I’m not that crazy about my state rep, since I’m one block away from having a much better one, but at least I don’t have Terrill. What a meanie. (So naturally Lou Dobbs booked him…)

NukeFree.org

Craig’s `wide Stance’ Enters Lexicon - New York Times
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Among the most famous excuses ever given for questionable behavior, ”I have a wide stance” must fall somewhere between the schoolchild’s favorite ”the dog ate my homework” and President Clinton’s ”I didn’t inhale.”

But Sen. Larry Craig’s contention — made just after his arrest in a restroom sex sting — has permeated the public consciousness, showing up as more than just the punch line to late-night talk show jokes.

The online Urban Dictionary defines ”wide stance” as a euphemism for a closeted homosexual. David Kurtz of the blog ”Talking Points Memo” called Craig’s wide stance claim ”The Best Legal Defense of 2007.” And Beau Jarvis, who writes about wine, travel and food on the blog ”Basic Juice,” notes that the phrase has become less than innocent and proposes ”cleansing” it by using it to describe a well-balanced wine.

h/t to Americablog.com

The Oklahoma law that requires petition gatherers for ballot initiatives to be state residents is being challenged in court. I hope that it is struck down.

But in the meantime, those campaigns are given pretty clearcut rules to follow. The residency requirement isn’t the half of the problems they face, as the Ballot Access effort now underway makes clear.

TABOR was and is lousy legislation; there are already term limits on all elected officials: elections. But the irony is that because of a lot of obfuscation on this issue, term limits is very popular in conservative areas, and if the TABOR folks had followed the law, they probably could have got the damn thing through.

Fort Hunt’s Quiet Men Break Silence on WWII - washingtonpost.com

“We got more information out of a German general with a game of chess or Ping-Pong than they do today, with their torture,” said Henry Kolm, 90, an MIT physicist who had been assigned to play chess in Germany with Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess.

And they’re making like 60’s era draft card burning hippies to make it real clear they don’t like Bush’s war:

Several of the veterans, all men in their 80s and 90s, denounced the controversial techniques. And when the time came for them to accept honors from the Army’s Freedom Team Salute, one veteran refused, citing his opposition to the war in Iraq and procedures that have been used at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

“I feel like the military is using us to say, ‘We did spooky stuff then, so it’s okay to do it now,’ ” said Arno Mayer, 81, a professor of European history at Princeton University.

When Peter Weiss, 82, went up to receive his award, he commandeered the microphone and gave his piece.

“I am deeply honored to be here, but I want to make it clear that my presence here is not in support of the current war,” said Weiss, chairman of the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy and a human rights and trademark lawyer in New York City.

They don’t call them “The Greatest Generation” for nothing, I guess.

“Route 66: The Mother Road Journey - Past, Present, and Future”

“Rt. 66: The Mother Road” Official Oklahoma Centennial Series - Year 5

September 20-November 1, 2007
Anthony Ross- “Signs of the Road: Route 66”
This exhibit features original paintings and limited edition prints of historic and neon signs from the journey of Route 66. The original works were created by nationally reknowned artist Anthony Ross for our “Rt. 66: The Mother Road” Oklahoma Centennial Series. Ross resides in Anaheim Hills, California, and exhibits around the United States, including at the Oklahoma City Arts Festival. For more information about the Anthony Ross Studio & Gallery visit website www.ross-art.com.

November 1, 2007
Luncheon presentation “Route 66 Today” by Michael Wallis
Meet nationally recognized artist Anthony Ross and author Michael Wallis during this presentation, which will be in RCC’s Conference Center. Books and artwork will be available for purchase. For more information about Michael Wallis, please visit http://www.michaelwallis.com.

Schedule:

10-11 am - John Dwyer Speaks at a pre- Luncheon lector about “1930’s- Dust Bowl” in Oklahoma in the RCC Conference Center.

11 am-12 noon - Viewing in the gallery and book purchasing (RCC’s bookstore will have the Wallis books for sale before Nov. 1, have a table set up on Nov. 1, and have books for sale through the month of Nov.)

Noon-12:45 pm - Luncheon and music by Brian Dunning and the Rockabilly Trio

12:45-2 pm - Michael Wallis presentation

2-3 pm - Artist reception, book signing, and music by Brian Dunning and the Rockabilly Trio

November 2, 2007
“Route 66 Today” bus tour with Michael Wallis
(SOLD OUT)

A bus tour will feature highlights of Oklahoma Route 66 in centennial fashion. A small fee of $57. 00 per person for the tour and lunch is required. To sign up please contact Kincaid Tours & Travel at 405-324-9888 or www.kincaidcoach.com.

A link to the kincaid poster for the event is as follows: http://www.kincaidcoach.com/user_uploads/flyer.pdf

Highlights for the day:

The renowned author and celebrity Michael Wallis will offer one-of-a-kind stories and interesting facts about the historic Route 66 Highway, along with music and videos throughout the day. Wallis’ narrations are a must-hear for everyone from Route 66 experts to first time enjoyers. From seeing the sights to visiting with Michael Wallis, voice of the sheriff from the movie “Cars”, this is a once in a lifetime experience for anyone.

Tour schedule:

~8 am - depart from Redlands Community College

~Head east via Interstate 40 to OKC/ music, film, storytelling in route

~Depart I-44 east of OKC and go north to Arcadia turnoff, Route 66

~Stop and tour site of POPS (http://www.pops66.com), the Round Barn at Arcadia (www.oklatravelnet.com under Route 66 videos)

~Proceed east on Route 66

~See Rt. 66 at Seba Station, Depew, and Stop to visit the local Chandler Museum

~Stop to eat Lunch at Rock Café in Stroud (Lunch included in bus trip cost, including oatmeal pie)

~Pause/drive-by at Shoe Tree and other roadside sites before Tulsa

~Arrive Tulsa

~Tour of “Secret Sites,” including art deco gems, outlaw hideouts, Cain’s Ballroom, Brady Arts District (www.oklatravelnet.com under Route 66 videos), and Blue Dome District (www.oklatravelnet.com under Tulsa videos)

~Return between 5 and 6 pm

To the question “Do you approve or disapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing as President?” overall, 59% of Oklahomans disapprove and only 39% approve.

I posted some comparison info on Blue Oklahoma:

In 2006, Bush was 43/53 in OK. And in 2005, 45/50. So he’s been steadily dropping, with twice the rate of decline this past year compared to the previous one. But when you consider that Bush won OK 66/34 in 2004, there’s significant change — well assuming disapproval would affect vote, with our media, you might not want to make that assumption.

Congratulations to all, and a big collegial hug to Mike at Okiedoke who does such a great job with the awards each year, in addition to his own great blog.

I have to admit I haven’t read most of the winning blogs, which I plan to remedy soon. I have set a goal for myself: to read, analyze and review each of the Blog Oklahoma member sites over the next year. Of course, in order to have even the remotest chance of reaching this goal, I’m downloading the list as of today. If you aren’t a member yet, your blog will have to wait until next year.

Blue America Welcomes Andrew Rice (D-OK)
By: Howie Klein

[Please welcome Andrew Rice from Oklahoma — the state that gave us Woodie Guthrie, Will Rogers and Bill Moyers. As always with guest chats, please be polite, stay on topic, and take any off-topic discussions to the prior thread. Welcome, Andrew! — CHS]

He addressed questions on Iraq, energy, health care, bi-partisanship and of course, since he’s trying to unseat Senator “Global Warming is a myth”, the climate crisis. He also addressed whether someone as progressive as he could win in what’s perceived as the reddest of red states:

howieklein @ 42

I just saw a gigantic bump in Andrew’s Blue America total. Jane, you’ve been matched. I’ll match Jane’s $100 for all the people who add a donation to the Blue America PAC (the box on the top of the page) along with their contribution to Andrew’s campaign.

Andrew Rice @ 91

from a poll last week:
Bush is at 39% in Oklahoma (he won Oklahoma with 65% in 2004)
and John Edwards beats the top GOP contenders here in head to head match ups, Hillary beats Romney and is within the MOE of the other 2.
Oklahoma is sun burnt (RED) and peeling to purple.Brad @ 86

Andrew:
From a fellow Okie-Progressive in Tulsa…wow, am I glad to hear about you! We will contribute. And thanks for lighting a little candle in this deep red pit.

The money quote from Senator Rice that the Oklahoma voter needs to think about:

unlike anti-government republicans, I think the government can do a lot of good things for people, it is not perfect, but it has a legitimate role and responsibility for the common good. I feel like I can impact people’s lives better in the public sector, where we have more power to do great things, and where unfortunately, incompetant public servants have the power to really mess things up

The visit apparently was a boost for Andrew’s fundraising effort:
howieklein @ 42

I just saw a gigantic bump in Andrew’s Blue America total. Jane, you’ve been matched. I’ll match Jane’s $100 for all the people who add a donation to the Blue America PAC (the box on the top of the page) along with their contribution to Andrew’s campaign.

Andrew’s Act Blue page is here.

Update:

I’ve taken the plunge and contributed to Andrew’s campaign. In fact, in a leap of political insanity, I even set up a page on ActBlue for other Oklahoma registered Independents to support Andrew. So if you’re going to give to him, use my page! (I won’t really be checking your Voter ID card, so you’re welcome if your a Dem. LOL)

The form won’t display for some reason, so go to the page and donate, if you are so inclined.

[…]

And the danger out-of-control military contractors pose to American forces has been obvious at least since March 2004, when four armed Blackwater employees blundered into Fallujah in the middle of a delicate military operation, getting themselves killed and precipitating a crisis that probably ended any chance of an acceptable outcome in Iraq.

Yet Blackwater is still there. In fact, last year the State Department gave Blackwater the lead role in diplomatic security in Iraq.

Mr. Singer argues that reliance on private military contractors has let the administration avoid making hard political choices, such as admitting that it didn’t send enough troops in the first place. Contractors, he writes, “offered the potential backstop of additional forces, but with no one having to lose any political capital.” That’s undoubtedly part of the story.

But it’s also worth noting that the Bush administration has tried to privatize every aspect of the U.S. government it can, using taxpayers’ money to give lucrative contracts to its friends — people like Erik Prince, the owner of Blackwater, who has strong Republican connections. You might think that national security would take precedence over the fetish for privatization — but remember, President Bush tried to keep airport security in private hands, even after 9/11.

So the privatization of war — no matter how badly it works — is just part of the pattern.[/quote]

read more | digg story

[…]

“He has broken faith with the soldiers he commands and the Army to which he has devoted his life. He has failed his country. History will not judge him kindly.”

So will American Conservative magazine get the Move On treatment and a condemnation from the majority of the Senate?

read more | digg story

Our new report, America’s Wild Legacy, highlights these fifty-two special lands and our efforts to protect them. From the fragile caribou habitat of Alaska’s Teshekpuk Lake to the wild forests surrounding Oregon’s Mt. Hood, the Sierra Club is working with local communities to protect our last remaining wild lands for future generations.

In Oklahoma, they chose the Glover River. They say it’s the last free flowing river in the state. Certainly damming it, and selling the water to Texas, is not in the best interest of Oklahomans, by any gauge. (Click the thumbnail for a larger, readable image, which is snipped out of the full report.)

If you have the computer resources, you can visit all 52 Places with Google Earth.

read more | digg story

A young lesbian joins the Army National Guard. She is sent to Afghanistan in a desk job working with financial information. While on home leave, she says to her family, “If something happens to me in Afghanistan, don’t let it go without an investigation.” A month later she is found dead behind a building on Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, with a single bullet wound to the head. The military tells her family first that she died in combat, then changes their story to the death being attributable to “non-combat-related injuries.”

[…]

The family has not received autopsy results. They have requested an independent autopsy, but the military has not responsed to their request. The military has refused to make Durkin’s paperwork available so the family can determine her wishes as to her funeral.

h/t to susie

In 2006, the United States agreed to sell $10.3 billion in weapons to the developing world, or 35.8 percent of these deals worldwide, according to the study. Russia was second with $8.1 billion, or 28.1 percent, and Britain was third with $3.1 billion, or 10.8 percent.

Pakistan concluded $5.1 billion in agreements to buy arms in 2006. That total was followed by India with $3.5 billion in agreements and Saudi Arabia with $3.2 billion in deals.

The combined value of arms sales worldwide to both developed and developing nations in 2006 reached $40.3 billion, a decline of nearly 13 percent from 2005.

When combining totals for arms sales to developed and developing nations, the ranking of world arms dealers remained the same. The United States led with $16.9 billion, followed by Russia with $8.7 billion and Britain with $3.1 billion. The 2006 sales figures for all three nations were higher than their totals in 2005.

DownWithTyranny already responded as I would:

War is big business and from George Washington to Dwight Eisenhower, we as a people have been warned about not allowing the military-industrial complex to have undo power. Now we’re in a situation where the military-industrial complex– of which the Republican Party and a good chunk of the Democratic Party is a subsidiary (see Rahm Emanuel’s disgraceful appearance on Bill Maher’s show)– allows the citizens of this country very little influence. As a people we are a disgrace ourselves; we’ve allowed our liberty and our dignity to slip out of our hands while we watched Monday Night Football.

Meanwhile Congress Quietly Approves Billions More for Iraq War and of course, Dems will stay in Iraq.

Bleahhck! Here, have a palate cleanser.

“What War on Terror?” asks Larry Johnson, who has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism, thus has a rather more “serious” perspective than the pants-wetting warmongers on the teevee and tubes:

The threat of terrorism, particularly for the U.S. military, has become a raison d’etre in the same way that the Soviet Union fueled budgets and weapons systems during the cold war. But with this critical difference–the Soviets actually had a five million man Army, thousands of ships, intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear subs, and a genuine first strike capability. All of the terrorist groups in the world, even if they combined their forces, do not begin to approach the scale and scope of threats the west faced during the Cold War.

At some point we need to recover common sense in dealing with terrorism. The threat is genuine but not ubiquitous. No terrorist organization in the world has demonstrated the ability to project and conduct sustained operations outside of their geographic support base. This means that coordinated, sustained pressure to disrupt financing, training, and recruitment will pay significant dividends in reducing the scale and scope of terrorist activity.

Bottom line:

When the history of the Bush Administration’s “war” on terrorism is written, two critical shortcomings will emerge–the failure to sustain operations in Afghanistan and completely dismantle Al Qaeda and the failure to create a coordinated counter terrorism strategy that employed the vast resources of the Federal Government. The Bush Administration has talked a good game but, in terms of execution, it has fumbled the ball.

SRES 325 IS

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. RES. 325

To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus , Commanding General, Multi-National Force–Iraq, soldiers serving honorably in the failed Republican War in Iraq deserve the full support of the Senate and strongly condemns personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General David H. Petraeus soldiers serving honorably in the failed Republican War in Iraq and all the members of the United States Armed Forces.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

September 29, 2007

RESOLUTION

To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus , Commanding General, Multi-National Force—Iraq soldiers serving honorably in the failed Republican War in Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemns personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General David H. Petraeus soldiers serving honorably in the failed Republican War in Iraq and all the members of the United States Armed Forces.

[Insert individual Service Records here]
…

Whereas a recent attack through a full-page advertisement in the New York Times by the liberal activist group, Moveon.org the full-throated slander over hundreds of radio stations using the public airwaves by noted Republican Liar and Drug Addict, Rush Limbaugh, impugns the honor and integrity of General David H. Petraeus soldiers serving honorably in the failed Republican War in Iraq and all the members of the United States Armed Forces: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate–
(1) to reaffirm its support for all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, including General David H. Petraeus , Commanding General, Multi-National Force—Iraq soldiers serving honorably in the failed Republican War in Iraq;

(2) to strongly condemn any effort to attack the honor and integrity of General David H. Petraeus soldiers serving honorably in the failed Republican War in Iraq and all the members of the United States Armed Forces; and

(3) to specifically repudiate the unwarranted personal attack on General Petraeus soldiers serving honorably in the failed Republican War in Iraq by the liberal activist group Moveon.org. scurrilous Conservative Liar and Drug Addict, Rush Limbaugh,

Whenever PBS airs a big program/mini-series there is an announcement at the end. “Corporate sponsorship of Name of Mini-Series was brought to you by Name of Corporation.” This had unfortunate and amusing results for General Motors’ sponsorship of Ken Burn’s The War.

But this is an idle bemusement relative to the core problem with Burn’s whitewashing of The War.

In every media interview he gives, Burns preempts the inevitable questions about the current war in Iraq by pointing out that he began his project before the 2003 invasion. And diplomatically refusing to make any comparisons, he insists that “there’s not a political bone in this film.”

One can understand Burns’s need to not alienate his sponsors. Yet one cannot help but wonder if his desire to avoid the politics of the present did not also severely shape his telling of the past, for, as much as he attends to America’s racial injustices, he drains America’s second world war generation of any real political commitments or aspirations.

Burns’s narrator appreciatively states that Roosevelt redirected the energy of the New Deal to the war effort, and Burns’s now-elderly storytellers recall how FDR’s voice inspired them. Yet we hear nothing about what the New Deal entailed and why it mattered. We also never hear FDR pronounce the “four freedoms” or call for a second bill of rights for all Americans.

We never hear about the hundreds of thousands of housewives who volunteered to police local businesses in support of wartime price controls. And we never hear about labor unions, whose membership during the Depression grew from three to nine million, and during the war to 15 million. Burns makes no reference to A. Philip Randolph’s AFL Pullman Porters and the March on Washington Movement that pushed FDR to integrate the war industries, or the CIO’s policy of biracial unionism.

We need to know about those things to better comprehend how, in the wake of a devastating and in critical ways persistent depression, Americans - of every colour and ethnicity - were both ready and eager to fight not only imperial Japan, the country that attacked them at Pearl Harbor, but equally and, all the more aggressively at the outset, Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. We need to know those things to better understand the commitment to and confidence about America that we hear so beautifully expressed by Burns’s own storytellers. And we need to know those things to grasp more fully why we look back to our parents’ and grandparents’ generation as we do.

In The War, Burns has produced a masterpiece of oral history. But no more than Stephen Ambrose in Citizen Soldiers, Steven Spielberg in Saving Private Ryan or Tom Brokaw in the Greatest Generation does he ever really get at what prepared, encouraged and sustained young Americans in all their diversity to fight fascism and imperialism.

Failing to address the aspirations, struggles and developments that made the nation more democratic, gave Americans the confidence and hopes needed to pursue the war and left a legacy and a vision to challenge later generations, Burns fails to cultivate the kind of memory that might truly enable us to transcend the divisions that rend the nation’s social fabric today. He fails to speak to his fellow citizens of America’s historic purpose and promise and to remind us that we have been at our best when we have united and sacrificed, motivated not by fear, but by progressive solidarities and possibilities.

I know that being aware of the SPE, (studying it to the limited degree one can in Psych 101) helped me to understand myself and human nature in general, and events of the past and present. I have seen the capacity for evil in myself, social groups, and my government with a more objective eye.

I believe than being aware of that human capacity does not threaten my morals, but upgrades them. I can, to at least some degree, be conscious that I have the potential to do bad things, thus hopefully check myself from actually committing them. I believe that those individuals and groups who think they are in some state of grace and incapable of evil, are most likely to commit it.

Zimbardo’s disastrous experiment has inadvertently done more to combat evil than many a self-anointed saint or holy warrior.

I’ve just ordered Zimbardo’s latest book on the topic, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil and am looking forward to reading it.

Here’s a really good review of the book.

As you might deduce, Zimbardo thinks about heroism a little differently than it is currently promoted in the popular culture, which deems, for example, that anyone in the military is automatically a “hero” without exception (unless you start resisting orders you think are evil, or just disagree with the CiC’s foreign policies). There are sections of his web site called “Celebrating Heroism” and “Resisting Influence” in which he touches on the positive side of his life’s study, and says he’s writing and developing a web site. In the meantime, if you find this as interesting as I do, you may want to read this (pdf).

Speaking of heroism and resisting, I watched Diane Ackerman on C-SPAN this weekend, discussing her book The Zookeeper’s Wife. Fascinating true story! as they say. Turns out that not only did Hitler love art and his dog, he was an environmentalist with very progressive views about the preservation of nature and animals — all in the cause of Aryan purity and propaganda of course. Another book to add to my list.

I was hoping that C-Span would have a tape of Ackerman’s talk up, but alas, unable to find it.

A senior European diplomat attending the conference, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting confirmed European suspicions that it had been intended by Mr Bush as a spoiler for a major UN conference on climate change in Bali in December.

“It was a total charade and has been exposed as a charade,” the diplomat said. “I have never heard a more humiliating speech by a major leader. He [Mr Bush] was trying to present himself as a leader while showing no sign of leadership. It was a total failure.”

More juicy — unsourced – feedback printed in the foreign press. Here, more ass kissing for George! Gotta love that liberal media!

The wingers’ language is simple and direct, filled with monosyllabic feelgoods, and a nasty one-word putdown. The response was hedged (”So far”), polysyllabic, included words with complex structure and meaning (”palpable,” but “palatable” is meant), and unjustifiably restrained. Certainly both Fleischer and Sembler can easily be characterized as “obnoxious,” and that’s the least of it.

When the MoveOn.org ad first appeared, I did not care for the play on General Petraus’ name — I thought it sophmoric. I completely agreed with the ad’s premise and tone, and certainly thought it fair and accurate otherwise, just quibbled with the copy choices.

But now, I think something that has caused this much ruckus, has a lot going for it. Clearly, the language got through, made a clear point and struck a nerve, unlike most our our rheteric.

Anyway, like the Dixie Chicks, this whole episode will be viewed very differently in a year or so, if not less, as things nosedive in Iraq, Iran gets bombed and unleashes 10 times the chaos in the Middle East, the economy here crashes and 50% of the population can’t afford to buy gas. MoveOn will look like prophets, if any Republican even gives a shit about Petraus’ wittle hurt feelings at that point which they won’t one bit, because they really don’t even now.

BTW, the staged backlash to the ad is the attempted swiftboating of the netroots, and we are not going to go limp like Kerry did. Any “liberal” who isn’t supporting MoveOn 100% on this: get off the fucking bus right now.

As of Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, at least 3,803 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 3,099 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.

The AP count is five higher than the Defense Department’s tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

The British military has reported 170 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 28,009 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department’s weekly tally.

The latest deaths reported by the military:

Including:

(Harrah, OK) Brown, Kevin R. Staff Sergeant 25-Sep-2007
and
(Wayne, OK) Scripsick, Bryan J. Corporal 06-Sep-2007

(from Iraq Casualties)

My heart goes out to their families and friends.

This article courtesy our neighbor to the north, where apparently truth can still be spoken occassionally within the mainstream public discourse without three-quarters of the political establishment/puditry going into spastic fits of mock outrage.

This “Anbar Awakening” has been a slow process, beginning long before the recent U.S. “surge” that increased the number of American troops in Iraq by 30,000, to 180,000. But it is still a shaky union, a desperate marriage of convenience based on shared enemies: Iran, and the Sunnis’ former-friend-turned-foe al-Qaeda. Many of America’s new allies are former insurgents and Saddam Hussein loyalists (Saddam was a Sunni) who only a short while ago were routinely called terrorists, “anti-Iraqi fighters,” and “Baathist dead-enders.”

And man, are the rightwing nutcases incensed! And trolling his blog. Grab some popcorn, as they say. I love it!

I found a “new” computer on OKC’s Craig’s List and will get it tomorrow.

Intel pentium 4 2.4ghz 1 gig ram dvd/floppy/wireless kb

I bought a “new” computer less than a year ago, a used one, but an upgrade from the previous one, which was slow as hell and ran Windows 98. I got this one because it was quite a bit faster (1 ghz compared to 300 mhz) and I thought (and the seller assured me) that it could handle several memory upgrades. It started with 256 and I plugged in another chip for 512 total pretty quickly. Grooved along on that for a while, but performance was declining as I added various utilities and then Evernote — which I love — really started dragging it. No problem, I thought, now I get another 512 and be good for another year.

But turns out the motherboard maxed out at 512, so when I added more, it refused to function. GRRR. Well, at least the guy that lead me astray took the unusable chip back.

So I’ve been looking around while my machine is slowly (literally) driving me nuts. Sometimes it takes 20 seconds to get the damn cursor to move.

You better believe I made damn sure this new machine can last me a while. It took about 10 emails back and forth, and the seller initially claimed that because there were four slots, it could go to 8 gig. I got four slots now, so I know that means nothing. He ended up contacting the local company that built it, and found out my concerns were justified, it can only go to 2 gig.

He came down a little on the price, and after checking a few more details, I decided to take it. One gig now will seem lightening fast to me, and I can do up to two more 512 additions before it’s maxed out.

Maybe by then, I will get that check from George Soros and be able to buy what I really want.

P.S. I think I’m going to wipe the old machine and install Linux and play around with that. Hey, I said geek alert!

Mom, who’s got a bladder infection now added to her escalating neuropathy symptoms, was in great pain all night, and I slept even less than she did, maybe an hour total.

At some point, I got up to try to identify some banging from outside, which I never did, but I did discover the living room ceiling leaking.

And we were lucky. My friend James at JMBzine links to some of the horrible news stories (and some pictures) from the storm, including the drowning death of three women in one family, relatives of Kiowa chief Billy Horse. Today, CNN and other cable news stations were showing the flooding in Kingfisher, just north of El Reno.

Noting the nearby flooding, my brother said that El Reno can handle water runoff better than any town he’s ever lived in. Frankly, he hasn’t lived in all that many towns, and maybe he said more than any town he’s ever seen (we were in the emergency room of the hospital with my mother, so forgive me for being unclear) but he has lived in El Reno a long time and drove a truck around the Southern Plains for years, so I’m going to trust him on this one — for one very important reason: I have now found something to like about El Reno.

I myself don’t have the stomach to watch Tom for an hour (or Rose either, for that matter), but the Atrios reaction posts are here and here, and pretty much tell you all you need to know: Thomas Friedman is a bad person, and really not very smart.

Our media, unfortunately is overrun with such evil, stupid people, who make a lot of money and get to spout their delusional, self-centered nonsense on TV every day, while the people who were actually spot on about foreign policy decisions like Iraq, and can cite actual facts to back up their opinions, and can talk about world problems without resorting to embarrassing displays of Freudian issues, are still considered unworthy for public discourse.

It appalls me when I hear smart people, well-educated liberals, talk about Tom Friedman as if he’s an unending font of wisdom and rationality, particularly on the Middle East. Do they actually read his work?

Aaarrrgggghhh!!! Just shoot me now!

Cliff Notes version (in which the author’s true meaning is devined):
David Rees: Cormac Ignatieff’s “The Road”

Have you seen the documentary Paradise Lost (and its sequel Paradise Lost 2)? If not, get it. The injustice that led three young men to be stigmatized in a small Arkansas town and convicted of murder will chill you to the bone. It will also make you want to do something to rectify the situation.

This year, DNA testing was done and no evidence of any of the three men was found. The support team is appealing for donations to help fund an appeal based on the new evidence)

August 6, 2007

Dear Friends & Supporters:

For more than a decade, thousands of you from all over the world have spoken out about the grave injustice in West Memphis, where three men, including my husband, were wrongfully convicted of murder. You have spoken out to raise money and awareness; you have brought widespread attention to this case and refused to let people forget that three men are in prison for a crime they did not commit; and you have made a difference, through creativity, passion and sheer force of will. The families of the West Memphis Three (Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin) can never thank you enough.

Today, I am writing to you because we urgently need your help. Whether you have supported and followed the case over the years, or you are just learning about this tragic injustice, we need you to step up today.

Over the last two years, compelling new evidence has been discovered by DNA tests, forensic pathologists and investigators. The lawyers are working to assemble what will be a dynamic appeal; one that will change forever the way this case has been perceived, and will prove– once and for all — the innocence of the three convicted. The filing will include new evidence that is backed up with factual, hard science; a miraculous development in this error-ridden case.

Your support over the years has enabled us to achieve unbelievable progress. We’re now asking for your help to put all of this effort to work in the courts. We need the resources that will enable our experts, lawyers and investigators to work full time over the next couple of months, so the appeal can be filed as quickly as possible.

Time is running out, and we need your help.

If you have ever considered donating, the time is NOW. Cases like this take years and cost millions of dollars. We are in the final lap toward overturning these convictions and finally securing justice, but we simply cannot do it without the money it takes to bring all of the science and expertise and investigation into court so that the truth can finally come out.

I am not an expert on the law, science, the criminal justice system or the art of fundraising and organizing. What I know for sure is that these three men are innocent, and that we can prove it if we have the money it will take in the next four weeks to file the appeal that’s been more than 10 years in the making. Please help us, and please know that your support has already gotten us farther than many people thought possible.

Thanks very much,

Lorri Davis and the Damien Echols Legal Team

Please make your check or money order payable to:
Damien Echols Defense Fund
PO Box 1216
Little Rock, AR 72203

Or use PAYPAL!

It’s easy, free and allows you to use your credit card.
We suggest that International Supporters use this option.
Click this link to find out more.

Please use LDavis11@hotmail.com as the “recipient” address. Don’t forget to include your name and address!

That this is still an issue is just ridiculous. It’s sad that Merv felt the need to stay closeted all his life, but he was from a different generation, and I’ll cut him some slack. But to continue to promote a myth after he’s gone does neither Griffin nor the country — nor the entertainment business I guess I should add — one bit of good.

News tip for the media: there’s nothing wrong with being gay, so stop your silly tiptoeing around the truth, which is supposed to be the business you’re in, not pacifying bigots and whitewashing the lives of public figures.

Pam’s House Blend:: Mervgate continues — article restored, but altered

You’d think the matter of an obit about or reminiscence of a public figure wouldn’t generate all this brouhaha, but that’s what happens when the world outside of the closet is so frightening to people in Hollywood that all sorts of insane measures are taken to reinforce the message is that there is something inherently wrong with being gay.

I think it could be the next, and even bigger Camp Casey-like movement.

We have a new coal fired power plant in the works right now, so Oklahomans won’t have to go far for their spot on the line.

This initiative would return the number of signatures for recognition of political party back to 5,000; the number required in Oklahoma from 1924 until 1974. This would make Oklahoma the 30th state to require 5,000 or fewer signatures for a new political party or independent presidential candidate.

The initiative would also make the requirements more reasonable for a party to demonstrate support and stay on the ballot. Current law requires that a party’s presidential or gubernatorial candidate receive 10% of the vote to maintain party status. The initiative would lower the vote requirement to 1% and apply it to all statewide races.

90,000 signatures are required — and they must be collected in just three months. If you support this effort, please add your name, and ask your family and friends to join you. If you can afford to make a financial contribution, it will help the campaign a lot.

I’ll post more on this later, when I have some more specifics, and have a petition in hand. Once I do, I’ll be bugging everyone I know to sign.

The Draft Card is on the Table- But No One Looks Like They are Going to Pick it up!

On Friday, Aug 10, Michelle Norris of NPR’s All Things Considered pressed “War Czar” Lt. General Douglas Lute about whether or not he foresaw a return to the draft. He responded, “I think it makes sense to certainly consider it, and I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table, but ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation’s security by one means or another.”

This has resulted in a flurry of discussion about the draft in some circles, reporters pressing the issue in press conferences (such as August 14, 2007’s National Press Club meeting with Gen. George L. Casey), and many calls to Selective Service and the Center, and has evoked responses from at least 2 presidential candidates. (Edwards and Clinton).

CCW has monitored draft issues for decades, and we have always warned that the government has retained the possibility of resuming a draft if it felt it was necessary because of military shortfalls. And with the current wars and shortfalls, we have urged our supporters to be prepared for the possibility even though we didn’t see any evidence of an imminent draft- and we continue to encourage people to be ready, just in case.

The fact that such a statement was made by such a highly placed official in an administration that has always said publicly that a draft was bad policy and unnecessary is cause for some concern. Was the administration floating a trial balloon, to see how the public would react to a draft as some have suggested?

We have carefully investigated this matter, and as of this writing we see no evidence that the administration is gearing up for a draft. In fact, Selective Service officials have told us that they have not been told to gear up for such a scenario. On Friday the Associated Press quoted National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe saying, “The president’s position is that the all-volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft. Gen. Lute made that point as well.”

And he did. In the same interview he went on to say, “Today, the current means of the all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well. It would be a major policy shift - not actually a military, but a political policy shift to move to some other course.”

So the evidence suggests that this is not a trial balloon moving towards a draft. However, our advice to be ready just in case still stands.

Although there is no immediate evidence that the draft is returning, now is a good time to make sure that your representatives in Congress hear from you:

A draft is unacceptable!

With increase pressure on meeting recruitment goals, the discussions of a possible invasion of Iran, the possibility of the return of the draft remains.

You can locate your Congressional members online at:

http://www.house.gov/

and

http:/www.senate.gov/

Links to contact Oklahoma legislators here

If you are a young person who feels a strong moral conviction against war (ALL war), or the parent of one, you should register as a conscientious objector, and begin a file documenting your beliefs — regardless of whether there’s a draft or not. For more info and assistance with this process, see www.okobjector.org.

Army suicides at highest level in 26 years
USA Today - 8/16/07
Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.

Fatigue cripples US army in Iraq
The Guardian/Observer - 8/12/07
Exhaustion and combat stress are besieging US troops in Iraq as they battle with a new type of warfare. Some even rely on Red Bull to get through the day. As desertions and absences increase, the military is struggling to cope with the crisis

Homeless vets: A hidden crisis
Orlando Sentinel - 8/6/07
A growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are joining the ranks of Florida’s homeless after returning home. Experts say a system already buckling under one of the nation’s largest homeless populations might collapse under the weight of a new wave of veterans, many saddled with mental-health issues and crippling brain injuries.

The best way to help these GIs is to get them out of the situation they never should have been in to begin with. Short of changing the past, or completely overhauling the regime in DC instantaneously, doing whatever small things (in comparison) one can to keep deployed service people as sane as possible in their insane circumstances, is a worthwhile project.

Even some comfort items might help.

To this end, in Oklahoma City, the Democratic Party is organizing a collection of items to send to Iraq and Afghanistan for the soldiers. The effort is being spearheaded by Katherine Scheirman, a retired Army Air Force officer (sorry, can’t remember the rank see update below), who is also active with the Peace House and the OKC Peace Planners group.

[Update: Dr. Katherine Schierman, MD, Col. (ret) USAF]

The announcement is on the front page of okdemocrats.org right now, but there’s no link, so it’ll rotate off and eventually disappear (please, people, learn how to use dynamic content and archives!), so I’ve posted the story at OKIMC.

Right now, the ACLU is raising money to run full page ads in the hometown newspapers of Senate leader Harry Reid (Nevada, Las Vegas, I presume)) and Nancy Pelosi (SF, California), calling them on their failure to hold Bush and gang accountable for the most heinous crimes against the American people and the Constitution itself.

In August, Congress is in recess (despite the horrible crisis we’re in) and so a local focus for politicians is particularly appropriate. In the ad, the ACLU portrays the two Democratic leaders as following Bush like sheep, In this case, a bit of public humiliation is not out of line — besides, it’s Saul Alinsky’s 5th rule.

Send them a few dollars if you can. You can also download a printable version (PDF) of the ad if you like. Post it where your Yellow Dog Democrat friends will be sure to see it!

At this point in my life, I’m not making my own shopping or eating choices: I live with and care for my 86-year-old mother, and must cater to not only her culinary tastes, but also her obsessive bargain shopping. So most of our groceries are from the local … Walmart. I do penance for it, and look forward to the day when I can go back to real, unvarnished and non-corporate food.

Maybe with almost 10 months notice, I’ll finally get there in 2008

Mark your calendar: You need to be in Minneapolis on June 6-8, 2008, for the next National Conference for Media Reform.

Activists, media makers, educators, journalists, policymakers and concerned citizens will converge once again to call for real and lasting changes to the media. Find out why so many call this event the most inspiring and informative conference they’ve ever attended.

Registration will open in a few months. For now, mark your calendar and join our conference mailing list.

Join the NCMR 2008 Mailing List: www.freepress.net/conference/

Add NCMR 2008 to Your Calendar: www.freepress.net/conference/2008ncmr.ics

2008 provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to put media reform in the national spotlight. Join us in Minneapolis and help build this critical movement.

Last year’s conference in Memphis was a remarkable event. More than 3,000 people connected, strategized and drew inspiration from rousing speeches, provocative panel discussions and hands-on workshops focused on all aspects of the media.

Check out highlights from Memphis: Check out highlights from Memphis: www.freepress.net/ncmr07/

NCMR 2008 is an event for anyone who is concerned about the state of our media and committed to working for change. Come to connect, learn, share and build the growing movement.

See you in Minneapolis,

Josh Silver
Executive Director
Free Press
www.freepress.net

P.S. Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what other participants had to say about the National Conference for Media Reform:

“The entire Conference was an A++++++++++; it was the best conference I have ever attended in my very long life. Kudos!!!” — Joya J., Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Finding out that I am not alone nor one of a few outsiders but a member of a large and growing community of progressive activists means I look to the future with less dread and more hope.” — Charles M., Searcy, Ark.

“The value for me was being lifted from a socio-political valley of lonely shadows to a sunlit plateau populated by smart, energetic people who have done and are doing things to take back our democracy.” — Kelly P., Astoria, N.Y.