Deceived

words
stroked thickly
upon crumpled canvas
transparently seeping
through fine jagged lines

colors
gasping for oxygen
or a fluid bedrock
obstructed instead
by blood drops
dried
cracked
lost in the crevice
to be burned
like fuel
evaporating in the heat
of frozen moonlight
Cyndy posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Commune

via Rhino's blog
“For years, filmmakers and journalists have tried to make a film on our commune and I’ve always told them, ‘We’re saving the best stuff for our kids.’”
—Stephen Gaskin, commune leader

Introducing the kids!

Tonight MTV will be airing "The Social History of Concerts" a documentary by the Mundo sisters who are working on "Commune", the story of The Farm and the kids that lived there. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

truthout, Democratic Convention Coverage

Audio & Video coverage of Take Back America., including Michael Moore. (which Dave at seeingtheforest wrote about)
Also William Rivers Pitt video interviews with Dennis Kucinich, John Conyers, Joe Wilson, Chris Heinz and more!
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

John Kerry Endorsed by Progressives

Notes from the Progressive Summit in Boston yesterday attended by presidential candidates Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich, Tom Hayden, Medea Benjamin, Granny D, Jim Zogby, congresswoman Barbara Lee, and others.
By Joel Stonington, Utne.com

...Laura Blubaugh, national organizer of the Kucinich delegates to the National Convention, said the "different opinions and issues expressed by Kucinich delegates are something that will eventually strengthen Kerry and the Democratic Party."

That is the key. Unity is not conformity. Unity, as expressed by Kucinich, means a diversity of opinions. That means continuing to speak one's mind is important and necessary. "We are giving [Kerry] a mandate that he better pay attention to," said Tom Hayden.

...The Kerry inauguration won't be the time to relax, it will be the starting point for progressives throughout the country to start rebuilding and recreating the parts of America that were stolen and destroyed during the presidency of George W. Bush. [ more ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Unhappy Workers Should Take Prozac --Bush Campaigner

"American workers unhappy with low-quality jobs should find new ones -- or pop a Prozac to make themselves feel better."
Can't I just smoke a joint instead? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Convention: Lautenberg Praises Kerry for Stance on Israel

"John Kerry defends Israel's right to build a security barrier to prevent terrorist attacks. He agrees that the fence is a legitimate response to the terror Israel faces. It is an effective tool against terror, it is not a matter to be litigated before the International Court of Justice, nor, for resolutions by a United Nations General Assembly, that has done nothing to address the terrorist threat Israel faces."
Ahem..?

posted by Andy | link |    | |

The Campaign Lives On

If you are in the area, please consider attending! Progressive Summit 10:00 - 4:00 PM Thursday, July 29th, 2004 Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA.

Kucinich joins dozens of national figures this week in a series of “social forums” discussing almost everything: bringing the troops home, restoring Jean Bertrand Aristide to the presidency of Haiti, creating a universal healthcare plan, endorsing gay marriage, supporting Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. The agenda goes all the way to defining, in the words of Zogby, “what America will become.” This new organization is called PDA, or Progressive Democrats of America, and most of the issues raised by the progressives in Monday’s two-hour opening forum aren’t in the Democratic Party platform.

The list of scheduled speakers for the week reads like a national progressive who’s who all-star team: Prof. Angela Davis, former California State Sen. and ‘60s icon Tom Hayden, U.S. Rep. John Conyers from Michigan, Sen. Dick Durban from Illinois, Actor Sean Penn, Global Exchange Executive Director Medea Benjamin, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., new-age author Marianne Williamson, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, and former LBJ press secretary and television personality Bill Moyers. It has become an ambitious project, to say the least

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Media Decompression Collective

Take Back Democracy Film Festival

WHAT: A free series of 40-plus left-leaning political documentaries and shorts shown in multiple locations.

WHEN: Series began last Thursday and continues each week through Oct. 29.

Schedule

The Media Decompression Collective in Toledo, Ohio is part of an international media syndicate originating from the basic need of people for artistic expression that represents our cultures, needs, and struggles. It exists to provoke us to question all philosophies and information before accepting it into the most private aspects of our lives.

The Collective seeks to provide venues for community
participation and interaction with independent media. Our non-profit Collective is based on a philosophy of inclusiveness and non-hierarchical organization.

Organize a film fest in your town posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Supporters plan to vote Kucinich

Patrick West, a Boulder resident and coordinator of the Kucinich campaign in Colorado, said even though Kucinich released his delegates and asked them to vote for Kerry, "every single one of them said, 'No, we're still going to vote for Dennis Kucinich.'"

Kim Cohen, a Boulder County delegate to the convention, said it's important to support Kucinich -- even though he's withdrawn from the race -- because the Democrats have drawn support and new members from the Green Party and others this year partly because of candidates like Kucinich. Though Kerry will get the nomination, the vote for Kucinich will tell those newer Democrats they're being taken seriously, Cohen said.

They are the children of the lost cause
"If we marched in lockstep we'd be Republicans. This is the party of diversity. This is the party of multiple voices." posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Blogging the Convention

Meet the Bloggers is a nice introduction to and questionnaire of some bloggers you may feel you already know. Wall Street Journal.

Cyberjournalist has an extensive list of bloggers covering the convention and a forum to post questions you'd like answered.

Technorati is doing what they do best!

Liberal Oasis was featured in this Chicago Trib article. Some of my other regular reads Seeing The Forest, The American Street, Pacific Views and Blogging of the President will be adding their voices to the party too.

Convention*Bloggers has a handy news aggregator.

Hanging Out With the Duchess has some good Kucinich coverage and a few ideas about dissent.
Will the Kucinich delegates vote for him the first round? I hope so.

That should be enough links to keep you busy. I doubt I'll be doing much posting as I'll be busy reading and, just perhaps, checking to see if my tv still works.

UPDATE: As I find irresistable posts about the convention, usually related to Kucinich of course, I'll add them below.

Breakfast with The Kooch Joshuah Bearman

PBS Interview with Dennis Kucinich

If the convention just isn't your thing, I found animated versions of The Story of Mouseland! Real Player or Windows Media or QuickTime versions.

It should be shown at the convention.
Dennis Kucinich should introduce it.
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Refreshing

hope is found in GentleBreezes
where elders meditate and poetry grows
where I learn of a Resolution of Inquiry (go Dingell, Markey and Waxman!)
and see the love of sunshine and trees. I'll be walking there often. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Shut Up!

O'Reilly at his finest .mov from Outfoxed. See More clips posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Impermanence

Last year at this time Craig and I were at the art fair sitting in the Kucinich booth.
He was just beginning his new chemo protocol, was newly bald and his voice was rough from his paralyzed vocal chord. He actually surprised me by showing up at the booth. I knew he wasn't feeling well. After my time frame was finished, he humored me in his exhausted state by accompanying me to my favorite Indian food booth near Old Towne where we could also listen to some local music. I remember sitting there two years prior when he was just a couple months out of surgery. It was a tough trip that year because just walking one block was almost more than his body could bear. It was also the push he needed to realize he could recover.

I fully intended to make the best of it this year, take some pictures, listen to some music and eat Indian food. I spent some time in the non-profit area, signed the IRV petition at the Greens booth, noticed something humorous, made a mental note and decided to check it again later.

I wandered amongst the art pondering permanence and impermanence. The delusion of permanence; the ritual of going to the art fair year after year, seeing the same artists with the same art in the same location for some reason wasn't at all comforting to me this year. There was no Craig and no Kucinich booth. As of this evening there wasn't even going to be a Rubber Soul Records. I didn't feel like taking pictures, people were too close and I needed space. I headed to the woods instead but not before checking again at the non-profit booths just to see if I had room to laugh again.

I couldn't bring myself to go to RubberSoul's closing party last night. I love those guys and I have a lot of good memories. I just don't know how to deal with another piece of my life missing. I was afraid my emotions were too on edge. I need to figure out something soon to let them know how special they were to me and to the community. I'm so sorry they couldn't make it work.

Today is the last day of the art fair. I gave up on getting any art pictures, or even any of the crowds, but I did want to go back for one more laugh. I also had to get one more plate of food from the Indian food booth.
It really isn't hard to make me laugh. After seeing this 3 times I know it isn't an aberration and my smiles are indeed warranted.
Notice the picture on the right. It's a Kerry booth. I stopped by to get a bumpersticker to put next to my Kucinich sticker, and they had run completely out. See the people lining up? There seems to be quite a bit of interest. I'm not thrilled with the Democratic platform nor Kerry's position on Iraq but a picture like this means we're getting a little closer to the Kucinich vision.

Compare to the lonely picture here. In this case impermanence doesn't even phase me.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Wampum of Mass Destruction

"It's just like the West," Jones said, "when we were trying to settle it with the Indians."
He wouldn't elaborate.
"It means that we have to kill all of them," said a captain nearby, half-joking.

Reading this just as I've started Howard Zinn's _A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present_ obviously struck a chord. But wait, the coincidences just keep coming, as Zinn writes:

"Forty years after the Pequot War, Puritans and Indians fought again. This time it was the Wampanoags, occupying the south shore of Massachusetts Bay, who were in the way and also beginning to trade some of their land to people outside the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their chief, Massasoit, was dead. His son Wamsutta had been killed by Englishmen, and Wamsutta's brother Metacom (later to be called King Philip by the English) became chief. The English found their excuse, a murder which they attributed to Metacom, and they began a war of conquest against the Wampanoags, a war to take their land. They were clearly the aggressors, but claimed they attacked for preventive purposes. As Roger Williams, more friendly to the Indians than most, put it: 'All men of conscience or prudence ply to windward, to maintain their wars to be defensive.'"

posted by Andy | link |    | |

U.S. Admits to 'Bounty Hunter' Contact

The US military has admitted it detained an Afghan man handed over by a US citizen accused of running a freelance counter-terrorism operation.

A military spokesman said the prisoner was handed over by the American, Jonathan K Idema, in May.

A BBC correspondent in Kabul says that the disclosure is embarrassing for the US, which said it had had no links with the alleged American mercenary. [ more ]

Much more below on July 14th too.


Flogging the Simian has added parts 7 and 8 to her series about Idema.
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Jonathan Idema on trial for private "war on terror" claims Rumsfeld link

A US citizen in court charged with running a private "war on terror" in Afghanistan claimed he and two other Americans were working with the full knowledge of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.


Jonathan Idema, who denies charges he detained and tortured Afghan citizens without US government consent, said they were hunting terrorists under the auspices of the Pentagon and said they had since been abandoned by US authorities.

The group had emails, faxes and recordings to prove their links with senior US Defence Department officials, he added.

"We were in contact directly by fax, and email and phone with Donald Rumsfeld's office, with the Deputy Secretary of Defence for Intelligence, and with Kevin Anderson, a four-star rank officer level at the Pentagon."

"The American authorities absolutely condoned what we did, they absolutely supported what we did. We have extensive evidence of that," said Idema, who is on trial with his subordinates Brent Bennett and Edward Caraballo. [ more ]

UPDATE: 9/15 He was found guilty of torture today. See Flogging the Simian's 18 part coverage to date. Links are on her sidebar to each part. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Is this Dude For Real??

What, being a war president wasn't working too well so he thought he should flip-flop?


"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind. "


"The enemy declared war on us," Bush told a re-election rally in Cedar Rapids. "Nobody wants to be the war president. I want to be the peace president... The next four years will be peaceful years." Bush used the words "peace" or "peaceful" a total of 20 times.

Or does he really think we're that stupid? Are we? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

CPR 4 Democracy

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Why Vote? The Rapture is Nigh!

a funny t-shirt design to confuse Christians, by The Gus.

posted by Andy | link |    | |

Posts at Post -Atomic

From Post-Atomic comes such goodies as:
Armageddon Anxiety: Evil on the Way
What Happened to Aldous Huxley?
and
Eyes Wide Shut
Brain food without echo. I like mutants. I also like people writing from the year 2020. I wonder if he's a mutant? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

BC's 'summer of fire' can't hold candle to Yukon

As wildfires rip through the Yukon, old records are going down in flames.
Yukon Wildfire Bulletins

And he's worried about mosquitoes. The smoke will drive them away.
Stay cool and safe! posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Hawking cracks black hole paradox

"After nearly 30 years of arguing that a black hole destroys everything that falls into it, Stephen Hawking is saying he was wrong. It seems that black holes may after all allow information within them to escape. Hawking will present his latest finding at a conference in Ireland next week."

Random thoughts...

John Titor said Steven Hawking was wrong about Black Holes, now Hawking agrees. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Clash intensifies over access to forest lands

"Unlike many public lands issues, this one unites environmentalists with hunters."
This is just the beginning.
We have 60 days to speak. Written comments on the proposed rule may be faxed to (801) 517-1014 or e-mailed to statepetitionroadless@fs.fed.us
Bush may just be the great uniter afterall. This is a non-partisan issue that is dear to many. I think he just screwed himself. Please get busy and don't let up! posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Jonathan K. (Jack) Idema (continued)

Flogging the Simian continues with a 6 part series about Jonathan K. (Jack) Idema.
I'll only add that I find it interesting, if not a bit disconcerting, that my referrer logs indicate interest about him via centcom.mil, army.mil, dnd.ca, state.gov and usdoj.gov among others.
Friends call man arrested in Afghanistan a patriot.

UPDATE: From the webpage http://www.pbnnews.tv/about.htm which can no longer be found. Google cache can no longer find it, but I was able to find, and save a cache elsewhere. It seems you can fairly easily find the first paragraph quoted below, but finding the one I bolded was not a simple task.

J. K. Idema, is a former US Army Special Forces operative. As a Green Beret he has extensive experience in covert investigations and intelligence gathering. In 1997 he left the world of black ops to become a journalist and member of the IRE. He has extensive experience uncovering difficult stories. His nuclear smuggling investigation and information enabled CBS 60 Minutes and US News & World Report to win the IRE Tom Renner Award in 1996 for their stories on Russian Nuclear Smuggling. In June 2001 the National Press Club announced Idema had won first place in their Online category for "The Colonel's Wife."

In October 2001, Idema left PBN to join the war on terrorism and left for Afghanistan to assist the Northern Alliance.

You may also find the thread at SOCNET of interest.


UPDATE 9/15: The above permalink to Flogging the Simian keeps changing. She has written 18 parts to this story now and has links on her sidebar to her series, including a link to a BBC video for a good overview of who this guy is. His trial began again Sept 12 and he was found guilty of torture. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Margaret Atwood, 1985

"You had to take those pieces of paper with you when you went shopping, though by the time I was nine or ten most people used plastic cards. Not for groceries though, that came later. It seems so primitive, totemistic even, like cowry shells. I must have used that kind of money myself, a little, before everything went on the Compubank. I guess that's how they were able to do it, in the way they did, all at once, without anyone knowing beforehand. If there had still been portable money, it would have been more difficult.

It was after the catastrophe, when they shot the president and machine-gunned the Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics, at the time.

Keep calm, they said on television. Everything is under control.

I was stunned. Everyone was, I know that. It was hard to believe. The entire government, gone like that. How did they get in, how did it happen?

That was when they suspended the Constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn't even any rioting in the streets. People stayed home at night, watching television, looking for some direction. There wasn't even an enemy you could put your finger on...

Things continued in that state of suspended animation for weeks, although some things did happen. Newspapers were censored and some were closed down, for security reasons, they said. The roadblocks began to appear, and Identipasses. Everyone approved of that, since it was obvious you couldn't be too careful. They said that new elections would be held, but that it would take some time to prepare for them. The thing to do, they said, was to carry on as usual..."

--The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, 1985

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

R Soul is not immortal

Everything is Broken

Dear Friends:

Everyone said it couldn’t be done. They said opening an old-fashioned record store in this modern world was a folly destined for failure.

Yet we tried it and found that … well … everyone was right.

And so, after two years of successfully avoiding jobs of work (and unsuccessfully trying to scratch out a living,) we’re giving up the ghost. Come the end of July, Rubber Soul will be history.

Why do we tell you this? Because we’re trying to blow out a lot of really cool merchandise that won’t fit in our houses come Aug. 1. That means new and used CDs at huge savings; used vinyl half-off (or more), fixtures, posters, office supplies, our family pets … the whole ball of wax.

As they say, everything must go!

We’ve had a blast during these past few years and, while our decision is bittersweet, we’re thankful for the great friends we’ve made, the incredible shows we’ve hosted and all the great music we’ve been fortunate to share with all of you. It’s definitely been the experience of a lifetime.

And, in keeping with what we do best, we’re going out in style with a free show on July 23, featuring live music from the Boomerangs, Chris Richards and the Subtractions and Dune Buggy Attack Battalion, all three of which have been great friends to us from the start. It’s going to be a great show and a great time and -- who knows? – maybe we’ll even sell some stuff.

Thanks everyone,
Will and Bob

The Rubber Soul Guys

via | ann arbor ypsi posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Progressive Vote, Progressive Democrats of America

The Blog
 
The Vision
Progressives recognize that most Americans share their values – but not their label.
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Roadless Rules for Forests Set Aside

F*cking A$$holes!

The Bush administration said yesterday it plans to overturn a Clinton-era rule that made nearly 60 million acres of national forest off-limits to road-building and logging, setting aside one of the most sweeping land preservation measures in decades.

..."It's another case of the Bush administration having happy talk on the environment, but it's basically rape and pillage," said Earthjustice attorney Doug Honnold, who has defended the rule in Idaho, Wyoming and D.C. courts. "The broader debate is: Should [national forests] be devoted to development and corporate subsidies, or should they be set aside for amenity uses like wildlife protection and places where people can go to avoid the crush of civilization?"

...But New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), a member of Clinton's Cabinet, called the new plan "an abdication of federal responsibility" and a partisan move just months before the presidential election. Richardson said he will petition to protect "every single inch" of roadless areas in New Mexico [ more ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Flashback to April: Postponing the presidential election – could it happen?

For all the hype of the past few days, remember this:
There is no federal election for president.
All you do is vote for your state's electors to the electoral
college. The presidential election is purely a state matter and barring a constitutional amendment, bush cannot cancel or postpone elections, though he could, of course, ask each state individually to do so.
However, to get an idea what type of fear-mongering and possible contingency plans (including martial law, where all bets are off) the administration is geared towards, recall the past few months: Between the Lines with Tom Brown. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

'Bucky' Gets Lucky With Stamp

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

U.S. mercenary arrested in Afghanistan

"Jonathan K. Idema, 47, and Brent Bennet were arrested in Afghanistan for allegedly torturing prisoners after they were found dangling upside down in a private cell."
The American Street has more: "Of course, our government has to distance itself from him now, but there's little doubt that he served as a CIA contractor in the early stages of the war--It was a CIA operation."

More information on Jonathan Idema at Flogging the Simian posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

See Donald Fire Bush

Sharing the load to show Bush the door.

Watch it QuickTime format posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Only the US judge dissented

In a highly anticipated opinion today, the International Court of Justice said Israel's West Bank barrier violates international law and must be dismantled.

By a vote of 14-1, the judges said the barrier "severely impedes the exercise of the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination, and therefore is a breach of Israel's obligation to the respect of that right" and "the court accordingly finds that the construction of the wall, and its associated regime, are contrary to international laws."

Only the U.S. judge dissented. [ more ]

The rogue White House brushed aside the ruling.
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

photos of the abandoned Ypsilanti State Psychiatric Hospital

via Ypsidixit. Craig worked here. posted by Andy | link |    | |

Inequality Matters

"The middle class and working poor are told that what's happening to them is the consequence of Adam Smith's 'Invisible Hand.' This is a lie. What's happening to them is the direct consequence of corporate activism, intellectual propaganda, the rise of a religious orthodoxy that in its hunger for government subsidies has made an idol of power, and a string of political decisions favoring the powerful and the privileged who bought the political system right out from under us."
-- Bill Moyers, Keynote speech, June 3, 2004
video and transcripts posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Ann Arbor debates new pot law

The medical community has increasingly been receptive to the possibility of using the drug for medicine. In 1993, a pair of Harvard University professors, one of whom held a medical degree, published a book called "Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine." It presented numerous case reports of symptomatic relief of a wide variety of physical and psychological illnesses. Several medical societies and caregiver groups have since endorsed medical marijuana or more research into it.
... Ream said he is confident Ann Arbor voters will pass the initiative.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

A graphic statement whose time has come

posted by Andy | link |    | |

Mental disorders are common for Iraq veterans, study finds

Among soldiers and Marines in Iraq, 9.3 percent who were involved in one or two firefights reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, compared with 12.7 percent of those involved in three to five firefights, and 19.3 percent of those engaged in more than five.

posted by Andy | link |    | |

Missle Defence a Done Deal

The Martin government decided to sign on to missile defence because the Americans will proceed with it whatever we do. Putting the program under the North American Aerospace Defence Command will ensure that Canadian officers are part of the chain of command. We might even get a lucrative defence contract or two, but let's not be grasping. We're talking about the Defence of Civilization here.
...Nonetheless, the NDP and the Bloc are both opposed to Canada joining what they call Star Wars, because they fear the program will lead to the weaponization of space.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Ditch the Panties and Lipstick Pitch

Success at attracting attention is the first step. After I posted the 'Axis of Eve' link, I was surprised at the number of searches looking for it. I haven't seen 'Running in Heels' and don't feel inclined to look for it', but if it gets womens attention, why not?

A rash of new organizations with names like Axis of Eve and Running in Heels sprang up across the nation, offering colorful thongs emblazoned with slogans like "Lick Bush" and "Bush Free Zone." Using clever marketing in the service of the deadly serious goal of changing the course of the country, these groups have indeed been successful at attracting attention of both the media and single women.

Yet as a progressive single woman, I am troubled by this kind of hype. The lipstick and panty pitch trivializes and caricatures the very people liberal-leaning activists are out to recruit. To begin with, single women are not all nightclub-hopping twenty-somethings; two-thirds of them are 30 or older. And even those who are young have more pressing concerns than their panties. [ read on ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Grieving mother of Iraq war casualty brings her antiwar plea to Ann Arbor

I wanted to write about this yesterday but time wouldn't allow. It was the second time I saw Farenheit 911, this time as a benefit for the Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace. Lila Lipscomb spoke and answered questions after the showing. Jo Mathis describes the evening here
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Ex-C.I.A. Aides Say Iraq Leader Helped Agency in 90's Attacks

This article is about a month old but it hasn't gotten much exposure. People I have talked to are still unaware. I think it illustrates quite well the paradox of freedom fighter/terrorist.
By whose definition? The end justifies the means? Doesn't it seem terribly familiar?

Iyad Allawi, now the designated prime minister of Iraq, ran an exile organization intent on deposing Saddam Hussein that sent agents into Baghdad in the early 1990's to plant bombs and sabotage government facilities under the direction of the C.I.A., several former intelligence officials say.

Dr. Allawi's group, the Iraqi National Accord, used car bombs and other explosive devices... Ex-CIA officer Robert Baer, recalled that a bombing during that period "blew up a school bus; schoolchildren were killed." [ more ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Michael Moore's first blog entry

Hey, my first blog entry! Welcome fellow bloggers and blog readers! Blog doggers and blog loggers...read on posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

November Elections: Terrible Choices for Progressives

There has been a lot of time and energy wasted arguing the merits of Cobb, versus Nader, versus Kerry lately. So much so, that I've personally backed away from reading such discussions and when I do read them I get increasingly irritated. Follows is an excerpt from
from Dave Pollard's 'How to Save the World' which puts the progressive's choices in perspective and helps focus our options. Read the entire piece, stop arguing and use the voice we have readily available.

"Such a squandering of the opportunity to unite and rid America of the worst president in its history and present voters with an unmistakable choice and contrast in 2004 is inexcusable. To hope and expect Bush to defeat himself by sheer incompetence may be a viable election strategy, but it is a cowardly one, and an insult to the electorate, which deserves assurances of immediate and unequivocable rollbacks of this miscreant president's ideological and criminal agenda of the past four years, and decisive constitutional actions to prevent their recurrence. It is almost as if Nader, the Greens, and the Democrats are daring progressives to stay home on election night."

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Ralph Reed has been reading William Bennett's 'Book of Virtues'

Yeah, that Ralph Reed.

When Ralph Reed was the boyish director of the Christian Coalition, he made opposition to gambling a major plank in his "family values" agenda, calling gambling "a cancer on the American body politic" that was "stealing food from the mouths of children."

But now, a broad federal investigation into lobbying abuses connected to gambling on Indian reservations has unearthed evidence that Reed has been surreptitiously working for an Indian tribe with a large casino it sought to protect--and that Reed was paid with funds laundered through two firms to try to keep his lucrative involvement secret… via | not watching television

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Michael Moore's Blog

It appears he'll begin blogging tonight. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Frank Duff :Lysergically Yours

The human mind is science's next frontier for exploration, and psychotropic drugs one of its strongest tools. But government sanctions and limitations on research are blocking the most ready paths of progress. The brain has many secrets to tell, but it is against the law to listen. [ read an excerpt ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Wait a minute, bub...

I think the straw just broke

...the Rev. Richard Land, who deals with ethics and religious liberty issues for the Southern Baptist Convention, a key Bush constituency, said he was "appalled."

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Disney Being Sued by 'Wimoweh" Writer's Heirs

I just love this quote:

"We're detaining Mickey, Donald and all the others until proper justice is done by the Americans."

posted by Andy | link |    | |

The Problem is Bigger than the Bushes

Viewers who have suffered through the nightmare four years of the Bush administration and marched against the horrendous invasion and occupation of Iraq are understandably hopeful that Fahrenheit 9/11 will help produce "regime change" in the U.S. this fall. That may prove to be the case, but will putting Democrat John Kerry in the White House lead to withdrawal of U.S. troops, military bases, and profiteering corporations from Iraq, repeal of the Patriot Act, or a reorientation of U.S. foreign policy away from its drive for imperialist hegemony? And, if replacing Bush with Kerry does not deliver any of these results, does Fahrenheit 9/11 at least provide its viewers with the information and analysis they will need to understand why the leadership of the Democratic Party has betrayed their hopes and needs? We will attempt to answer these questions after first summarizing Michael Moore's indictment of George W. Bush. [ read on ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Aral catastrophe recorded in DNA

..."If ever there was an example of manmade ecological and human catastrophe, the Aral Sea and the dusty, salt-encrusted lands around it must be the most vivid anywhere on the planet."

... The impact on public health is devastating. Malnutrition is rife as are conditions including anaemia and TB.
Most alarming is a rate of a particular form of cancer - cancer of the oesophagus - that is the highest in the world.
Up to 80% of cancer victims in the region suffer this form of cancer. [ more ] posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Keep on Rockin in the Free World (mp3)

The urgency is behind me. It doesn't mean there isn't still a lot of work to do, but I'm not feeling the urgent need to grab people by the neck, shake them, and scream, "Look what's happening to this country!"
I may feel differently tomorrow, but optimism creeps in when I hear of Yankee fans booing Cheney, and of thoughtful reactions to Farenheit 911.

I've been stumbling around in the darkness, lost, banging into walls with very little direction since Craig died. Everyday I say to myself, "I just don't know what to do". The same goes for this weblog. I never wanted it to be strictly political but it was a matter of urgency. Now there are many voices out there and mine is repetitive. Repetition isn't necessarily bad and is in fact needed. I just don't want to do it anymore.

I have more stumbling to do and I'd like to play around with a new design and more original writing and other art. I'll be adding links to my del.icio.us which show up on the left sidebar, and perhaps Andy will begin adding to this page again. If anyone else would like to help take up the slack let me know.

I've taken a stock blogger template and added a new blog to Craig's site. I'm linking to things I would have sent to him. I've had many impulses to send 'this or that' his way and couldn't. Now I have a place to send them.
I'm keeping his site and will add to it. I can't touch his old weblog but it's there to stay.

I imagine I'll have this 'lost' feeling for quite a while, but I'm muddling through and I'm still rockin. On that note and as a tip of the hat to Michael Moore and Neil Young, here is a link of a cover Craig and fiddlerbob did of Rockin in the Free World mp3 at RubberSoul Records 8/24/02. Yep, just the two of them, with a huge sound.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |