American Broadside

Senator Coleman About to Cross the Line

2007-03-31T05:43:00.000-07:00

I get and read Senator Norm Coleman's eNewsletter. His most recent one explained why he did not support the Senate's Iraq Funding Bill with the March 2008 deadline for starting the withdrawal of troops from the slaughter.

He wrote,

"During the last week of March, we debated and ultimately passed the 2007 Supplement Emergency Appropriations Bill. Unfortunately, the bill contains language that sets an arbitrary date for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. The safety of our troops – and providing them with the tools they need for success – remains my number one concern. Setting an arbitrary timeline for withdrawal does not protect our troops, but does embolden our enemies. For this reason I could not support this bill. That is the bad news about the supplemental.
The good news is that we succeeded in including a number of provisions that are critically important for Minnesota. This bill contains $4.2 billion in long-awaited agriculture disaster relief I have been fighting for. By a vote of 51-45, we protected $50 million in security dollars to help the Twin Cities afford the necessary security measures for the 2008 Republican National Convention. And the Senate passed my amendment to allow Cass County to build a Critical Access Hospital in the city of Walker – another priority I have been working on for a long time.
The President has said he will veto this bill, which means we in Congress will have another shot at taking out the Iraq language and sending him a bill he can sign into law. As we move ahead, I will fight to keep these important priorities in the bill and will be proud to support it once we take out the language that undermines our troops. "

I responded with the following email:

Dear Senator Coleman,

I am disappointed that you did not support the Iraq funding bill, even though you attached billions of dollars of non-military spending to it.

The theory that the setting of deadlines for a pull out gives the enemy an advantage is disingenuous. The resistance has had the advantage from the start. That is why it was a terrible mistake to go into Iraq in the beginning. That is why President Bush the Elder didn't push on to Baghdad during the Gulf War.

The military adventure that President Bush the Usurper has mired us in was illegal from the start and only grows more so with each passing day.

Remember what Collin Powell said, "You break it you own it."

President Bush broke it and now wants to drag it out until he can somehow turn it into the Democrats war. He is willing to continue to kill and maim Americans and Iraqis, undermine our values around the world, and squander the wealth of our nation at the cost of our children, poor and elderly.

Bush is unable to stand up like a man of honor and accept the heavy responsibility for what he has done.

Anyone who supports his policies or actions that allow him to continue this murderous war only prolongs this disaster. It has gotten to the point that those who enable the President must share in his guilt.

Sir, you are crossing a line that separates patriots from war criminals. Please reconsider your support of this President.

The time has come to hold All of our elected officials to account for prolonging this illegal war.
What supports our troops more: bringing them home and out of harm's way or leaving them in Iraq for an arbitrarily prolonged period where they can be killed, maimed, and psychologically traumatized?

At some point, and that point is now, the excuse that "I was mislead" no longer applies. Too much has happened to permit anyone the comfort and cover of saying,"I didn't know."

We do know.

George Bush and the people that supported him broke Iraq. They own it. Now it is time for them to own the consequences and do the honorable thing: withdraw or troops and admit defeat.

Only then can we get on with the more important tasks at hand: healing our country, restoring our credibility around the world, rethinking our entire approach to how we deal with terrorism, and showing compassion to our children, the poor, and the elderly who have suffered with the squandering of our national wealth.

John McCain, Go Away, Get Lost

2007-03-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

At one time, I ranked Senator John McCain as one of the shining lights of the Republican Party. A man of integrity with the courage to stand up against the fascist right-wing of the party.

No longer.

At some point in late 2005 he caved in and compromised with the Evil Doers in the White House. Since then, he has carried their water.

Today on CNN, McCain said that, "Presidents do not loose wars ... nations loose wars."

For me, that was it!

When a President like George W. Bush, sends a country into an unnecessary no-win war that many people had warned against, failed to properly plan or prepare for it, underfunded and undermanned it, and then provoked the enemy with brainless statements like "Bring It On!"; yes it is possible for a President to loose a war.

Bon Voyage, John!

You just placed the blamed on a large number of Americans who did not vote for George and won't vote for you.

Go Away, John!

Your creditbility is gone and now you are just a fart in the wind.

The Republicans have got a serious problem. After 6 years of supporting the cruel policies a demented Bible thumper and almost 30 years of implementing the racist Reagan manifesto, the American people are starting to wake up and realize that the Republican Party is their enemy.

Get Lost, John!

The Republican Party's problems are yours. If you endorse and promote the same tired crap that Grover Norquist, Karl Rove, and the rest of those anti-American fascists have been engineering for all these years, then you are one of them.

I am tired of listening to your prattle.

Retire, wander off into the Arizona desert and give your flesh back to the earth. That's about all your good for now.

Child Abuse in the "Old Boys Club"

2006-10-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Representative Mark Foley resigned his seat and scuttled off to hide in a treatment program, leaving the Republican house leadership to play slap and tickle with the media. it's all inside the beltway fun and games while the rest of the country clucks, clucks and clucks.

A little main street perspective is in order.

What would have happened if Foley had been a teacher in a public school?

First, the administration in his school would have called in the police pronto.

School administrators, teachers, social workers, doctors and nurses are required by law to report suspect child abuse.

Next, we would be treated to a series of TV images of the alleged offender doing the perp-walk followed by an unflattering mug shot.

Then, the police would be all over the alleged offender like bees to honey.

They would comb through his school files and computer, plow through his home, and interview friends, family members, and anyone that had any contact with him at school.

All of this in just a few days after the allegations of impropriety surfaced.

No one would ask Foley the teacher if he had it under control, take his word that he was dealing with the problem, and then walk away.

Foley the teacher might go into treatment, once he has had a court hearing, post bond, and been released from custody. The school analogy is not far fetched.

Most of the Pages for the House of Representative are far from home. They live in a dorm and take classes as part of their schedule. They work, albeit almost invisibly amongst some of the most powerful and charismatic people in America. Simply put, the House Pages are extremely vulnerable, perhaps even more so than students in a public school.

Don't the adults in the House and Senate have the responsibility, ethical and legal, to protect their young charges? There are other equally significant issues.

Law requires that certain professions report suspicions of child abuse. Doctors are one such case.

Senator Bill Frist, was a doctor before becoming a politician and used his medical background to leverage his political career. Did his responsibility to protect young people by reporting possible abuse go away when he became a Senator?

Don't the Representatives and Senators have a swearing in ceremony where they pledge to uphold the laws of the United States? Isn't pedophilia and exploiting underage kids for sexual jollies against the law? This isn't the first time this has happened and it won't be the last. That is why it is important that our legislators be held accountable now.

Finally, while demographics on pedophilia (technically the sexual attraction to children younger than the 16 year old house pages) is not well known, it appears that up to 32% of all men have some form of physical sexual response to children. It is important to note that most men supress these feelings and do not act on them. By the way, 4% of women have a similar reaction.

It could mean however, that one-third of our legislators might find the House Pages stimulating to some degree. And anecdotal evidence indicates that there is more than one potential predator in every 400 adults in the country.

Our elected leaders are like the rest of us, with the same strengths and weakness. And, like the rest of us, they should be held equally responsible under our laws.

Hugo Chavez, Lou Dobbs, George Bush, Oh My!

2006-09-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

The following is an email that I have sent to CNN's Lou Dobbs. It is in response to the extremely biased reporting that Lou Dobbs, among others, did concerning President Hugo Chavez's remarks in Harlem.

To Lou Dobbs,

I was appalled by your reporting on Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez.

The captions and graphics used in your report stated "The Mouth from the South" and "El Loco Chavez". This was extremely disrespectful to a visiting head of state, not to mention the worst form of tabloid journalism. I watch CNN for news, not middle school shenanigans.

Which leads to an interesting observation.

Have you considered that President Chavez's comments, intemperate as they are, may have serious elements of truth that deserve serious discussion?

President Bush is a self proclaimed alcoholic who has not gone through any reputable recovery program. Admitted, some people do successfully overcome addiction on there own, through the exercise of prodigious will power and strenuous critical self-examination. I think it is evident that George Bush has neither characteristic. If anything, President Bush exhibits all of the characteristics of the "dry drunk" which include a rigid moral compass that sees the world in stark absolute terms and the inability to accept and internalize criticism.

I am not a religious person in the currently popular fashion. But I think that, since President Bush has made his Christian faith a key part of his public persona, President Chavez's charges that President Bush is the Devil deserves discussion too.

From my modest understanding of the Old and New Testaments I believe that the Devil is referred to as the Great Deceiver. I think that is a very accurate description of George W. Bush and the policies of his administration. I won't bother you with the long list of lies and half-truths that President Bush has been caught in over his many years in politics.

Likewise, who has suffered more under Bush's administration: the wealthy or the least among us? Wasn't Christ a champion of the poor and the powerless? Just how Christian has Bush's behavior been, despite his wrapping himself in the labels of Christianity? Again, deception, this time at the heart of the religious issue.

Lou, I suggest rather than making faces at the TV camera and ranting about President Chavez, a president that you can't vote for; you should calm down and start addressing the serious questions of the emotional, moral, and ethical competencies of the president You Can Vote For.

President Chavez brought up serious issues. Rather than throwing mud on the messenger, consider the message.

Thoughts On Cuba

2006-08-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

Castro goes into the hospital for surgery and anti-Castro Cuban Americans are ecstatic: soon they will return to their homeland and reclaim their property and privilege. The usurper Bush, sends his toady, Condi Rice out to speak to the people of Cuba to promise them American support as they build a future democracy. A couple of days later, the usurper himself speaks to the world restating his support of Cuban democracy and mentioning that the lost property of Cuban Americans is an issue to be resolved by the new Cuban government.

In another development, the usurper is thinking about easing immigration rules to permit Cubans to leave Cuba and come to the U.S. in an orderly and safe fashion. This plan includes Cuban doctors who may be practicing in other countries and who would like to come to the U.S. For once, there is a sensible proactive idea from the illegal leadership.

However, taken in its entirety, all this activity is aimed at destabilizing the current situation in Cuba. Chaos in Cuba would be an opportunity for the phony president to spread more of his brand of freedom and democracy.

So far, the Cuban people have been disappointingly orderly and patient, waiting to see what happens next.

There are two things to consider.

First, the history of the Bush administration is one of inaptitude, intentional ignorance, poor planning, and even poorer implementation. The sum output of the last six years has been lost opportunities and the spreading of chaos and misery.

Anyone who puts their hopes in the Bush administration is either a fool or crazy.

Second, those Cuban Americans who live in the U.S. and dream of returning to Cuba to recover lost property and power are in the same boat as the Palestinians. They left their homeland rather than stick it out and defend their interests.

They surrendered their voices in Cuban society and after 47 years no longer have a claim. You've got stay and be part of the struggle; leaving Cuba means they forfeited their rights and property.

Finally, over the last 4 decades both the U.S. and Cuba have blown many opportunities to develop a better relationship that would have allowed Cuba to prosper and the U.S. to build a strategic partnership with a dynamic Cuban society.

Perhaps now, rather than looking for an opportunity to spread Crawford Texas freedom and democracy, we should try to reconcile. Now is the time to actively seek to create a mature relationship with Cuba, the people and the current government.

2006-08-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, the 61st anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, a friend sent me this poem.

INSOMNIA, August 2005

It is too early, my wife protests,
As I rise in the dark of a summer morning,
August 6, 2005,
By the European calendar,
But sleep will not come.
Sixty years ago,
But later in the day,
We listened, excited, to a new President tell us
That he was ending a war,
By attacking a military base,
The Hiroshima Naval District.
I joined in the cheering,
Not knowing then that Presidents lied
Through their teeth,
Whether their own,
As were my
Child’s teeth,
Or as false as old Washington’s
.
I pick up my hometown paper
And see
The lies innocently repeated
By victims blinded
By the fog of war.

Today, taught in their schools
Half-truths,
Misleading statements and
Lies,
Many Japanese children do not know that
Their army still hides
The Rape of Nanking --
So that they will be willing
To abet in new crimes.

Most Americans
Especially those who read their assigned texts
And daily papers,
Do not know that
The ‘Little Boy’ who spread destruction
And tortured deaths
Among the Children
Of Hiroshima
Exploded precisely where it was aimed,
Miles from the Naval District headquarters
Which it did not affect,
But in the center of the civilian city,
Where the few soldiers
Included
American prisoners of war.

Even the sycophantic
Strategic Bombing Survey
Had to conclude that
This WMD did not end that war;
Did not hasten the end of that war.
It was not intended to do either.
Pleas for surrender terms
>From a new Japanese government
Headed by opponents of the war --
As if Dan Ellsberg had been elected here
In ’72 --
Had to be denied
So that the war could be kept going.
Civilians and soldiers
Kept dying for a few more weeks
So that
The bullies could
Prove
Who were the baddest after all.

Many of the terrorists
Continue to believe
That their brutality saved lives,
Because to even suspect
Otherwise
Would be
Too painful!

War and greed
Are the twin diseases
That murdered innocence in that holocaust,
As in the first holocaust of the last century,
Carried out in the American concentration camps in
The Philipines
By U.S. Marines,
And as in the Rape of Faluja
Last year.
They are fueled by lies
We tell others
And ourselves.

As the adorable babies of Hiroshima continued to die,
As doctors pleaded for information needed to save them
Lies were piled on lies.
Lies are needed to cover lies.
We must never mention that
We condemned to death others
Who killed Guernika
On a market day
To quicken the end of a war.

The child who sees through the
Imaginary cloth
Must be silenced
In all places,
In all times
Or we will learn
That power does not come
>From the barrel of a gun
Nor wealth from
A filthy piece of printed paper,
Even if printed in pretty colors,
But from
Refusing to treat others
In a spirit we
Would not like to be treated.

No contract can bind anyone
To do otherwise.

Adolph Hitler died with the position and money
Prescott Bush and Harry Truman aspired to.
General Groves’ coat
Was covered with glorious medals,
Like Stalin’s and Chiang’s.
None left their heirs
A legacy
As rich as that left by
Penniless
Aesop
Or Hillel
Buddha
Jesus
Or Mohandas Gandhi,
Jeanette Rankin
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Or the ladies of the Rosenstrasse.

Love. truth and
And the recognition
That everything I do to the
Worst of us
I do to all,
Are not frivolous
Cosmetics,
But the only tools that
Can defend us,
Can unite us,
Can set us free.
Can save this spec of life
Lest through lust for dominance
We shall no longer be.

Copyright
Zev Aelony

Republicans trying to destroy NPR and PBS, Again

2006-06-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

How often do the Republicans have to be told NO to cuts in NPR and PBS funding? Now President Bush is trying to decimate NPR and PBS funding and in two years end it all together.

They even want to kill Big Bird! Is that compassionate conservatism?

The public support of these networks through subscriptions only demonstrates how valuable they are to the health of our nation and our freedoms. In one week, 1.5 million Americans have signed a petition to oppose cuts and protect PBS and NPR.

Americans trust and rely of public broadcasting for their news because NPR and PBS continuously attempt to provide balanced perspectives on the important issues of the day. Attacking NPR and PBS is ideological in nature and an open assault on free press.

If the Republicans can't stand the heat of public discourse, perhaps they should leave the kitchen of democratic government and return to the cool autocratic world of banking, business, and God.

Love, Life, and Death

2006-06-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

Two nights ago, I buried my old cat, Morris, in the backyard. Yesterday, I planted flowers over his grave and turned it into part of our flower garden. He loved flowers: to smell, rub his face in, and to eat.

Morris suddenly became ill last Friday, it looked like congestive heart failure. Becky and I thought we would loose him Friday and Saturday but he fought on, clinging to life. He quit eating and eventually stopped drinking water. While his breathing improved, each day he grew more and more quiet, weaker, and withdrawn into himself.

He died at 4:30 in the afternoon, while I was getting ready to go to math class. Becky had just got home from work.

The last week has been very emotional for me. Morris was 14 years old and the last of the Gang of Four, a rowdy bunch of animals that had shared our lives: Ashley, Tippy, Bart, and Morris.

I have been doing a lot of feeling and thinking and have begun to understand some important truths.

When I allow myself to love someone, a person or an animal, I open myself to the eventuality that I will loose them. Loss is integral to caring. Loss does not need to be death, although with animals it usually is.

Friends move away either physically or grow older and grow into other people. I move away too, either physically or emotionally.

Yet, even though these things are integral to life, in no way do I want to protect myself from the inherent pain by insulating myself through not caring. It is the rewards of caring that see me through the pain of loss.

I have realized that the length of time spent caring for someone, being emotionally involved and sharing love, far exceeds the period of grief that naturally follows loss. The good times build a reservoir of love that sees me through the drought of losing.

So, while Morris is gone and I am painfully aware of his absence, I still feel his love and the love I gave him. The time I spent with him made me a better loving person.

Starting Another Business? You Gotta Be Joking!

2006-05-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

After some consideration, I've decided to plunge back into another business venture; again it is in a very competitive market. I've begun to post my photography on the site hosted by the Minnesota Artists Organization (http://www.mnartists.org/) which is a portal that supports struggling artists. To find me, search for Les Phillips.

I can't help myself. Throughout my entire adult life my holy grail has been to have my own business: an endeavor that would allow me to focus my creative energies on subjects and tasks that would give me the greatest personal satisfaction. Wealth has never been a goal, though making a decent living has.

My dream career, what I'd really like to do when I grow up, is work as a freelance editorial photographer and writer. Hand me a meaningful topic, a deadline, pay the bills, and turn me loose. Sort of like Thomas Friedman with a camera. I've always had a wide range of interests. Call me eclectic.

Why haven't I done this before?

As I mentioned earlier, this is a very competitive market and, I am fond of eating regularly and keeping a roof over my head. In the past, I've occasional worked as a freelance technical writer, providing me the opportunity to practice many of my skills: technical writing, product photography, and photo-illustration. Recently, my wife and I had a bicycling tour business in the south of France and once again, I was able to practice my skills when creating our brochures, web site, and illustrated road maps.

As I've said, I can't help myself. I love the challenge of creating and operating a business, even with its record keeping and accounting, so long as the result is a creative outlet for my photography, photo-illustration, and writing.

Why did I decide to post my photos on MNartists.org?

It's the best of all possible worlds (thanks Candide). The Minnesota Artists Organization supports artists by providing them a centralized place to display their work and actively promotes the site nationwide. I can continue on my current path, working full-time and going to school, while my photography is actively promoted.

The worse that can happen is that nothing happens. No problemo! I'm only out the effort of posting my images and the cost of a Digimarc watermarking subscription. I'm not giving up photography, it is a physical need that I have to express myself.

What if I get an occasional request and sale of existing photo's on the web? Dyno! Not only do I make a few bucks, at market rates, but I also get the personal satisfaction of knowing that a few folks have uncommonly good taste.

What happens if I start to get project offers? Incredible! I love to explore ideas and brainstorm and if it leads to a creative project, excellent.

What if I get an offer I can't refuse? Out-a-sight! I'm living the Dream.

Currently, my life is very good. I have my tech writing job, I'm going to school so that I can eventually migrate to a new career as a teacher, and I'm doing my personal photography and writing on the side. Anything more will be cream.

So dear reader, please take a look at my work and if there is a project you would like to talk to me about, contact me through my page at www.MNartists.org. Please spread the word.

Moussaoui: Why Life Is Better Than Death

2006-05-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

This morning I was reminded of how time passes, often unobserved, until something happens that draws our attention to it. It wasn't the Moussaoui verdict, life in prison rather than the death penalty: the Moussaoui affair is just one grain of sand on the beach of history.

Rather, it was something that occurs every day and that most of us take for granted, the sun rose.

I start my day early, feeding the cats, fixing coffee, and sitting in my home office reading the online news. The two windows by my desk face east and the early morning sunlight streams through the trees in front of our house and into my office, projecting constantly shifting patterns of gold and shadow into the room. During the winter, the sun rises far to the south, so that the my computer monitor is washed in light and I have to lower the blinds to eliminate the glare.

Today, the sun rose farther north and cast its light through the other window against the wall behind me.

There is nothing amazing about this, just the passing of time and sun's annual progression northward in the sky until the Summer Solstice when it pauses and begins its southward journey. Its just the ticking of the cosmic clock.

But it reminds me, like the lilac bushes beginning to bloom in the backyard, that life surrounds us and time passes. It is at a time like this that I stop and savor the spring sunrise and the bursting purple lilac buds. I shut out the racket of daily life and drink in the moment.
For an instant, I am connected to the great sea of existence that we all swim in and I sense the eternal.

the American experience

The Moussaoui case is of short-term importance. In fifty years, it will be a short paragraph in history and in one hundred years a footnote.

Today, 9/11 is a searing pain in the lives of the families and friends of the people who perished that day. For those of us who watched it unfold, live on television, it will remain a haunted day that we will recall in detail for the rest of ours lives, "What were you doing on 9/11." If you're a boomer you will have a cache of such days, JFK, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and the Challenger Explosion. If you are older, you will have even more such days.

These are the times of our shared collective American consciousness: experiences that shape who we are and how we act today.

However, 9/11 was almost five years ago and there is a new generation that has had no direct experience with any of those events. They are building their own memory albums. These new citizens will have a different American consciousness, shaped by the experiences we create for them.

Moussaoui

The verdict to put Moussaoui in jail for the rest of his life was exactly the right decision.

Putting Moussaoui to death turns him into a martyr and reinforces the jihad world view of the United States as a place without law. Prison shows restraint and takes us back one step from the eye-for-an-eye vendetta politics that we are currently playing.

Killing Moussaoui will not heal anyone suffering loss. Some of the family and friends of the murdered sincerely feel that Moussaoui's death will somehow close this chapter in their lives.Had he been executed, they would have discovered that there would still be a void in their lives and that Moussaoui's death would have been disappointingly unfulfilling.

Putting Moussaoui behind bars shows that we are now ready to move on. That the 9/11 fever that gripped this country has started to cool and we are now beginning to think rationally and humanely about how we deal with terrorists and jihadists.

Putting Moussaoui in jail also puts into perspective the correct method that the United States and the World should use to deal with these extremists: as a legal matter involving law enforcementand the courts. Terrorism is political anarchy which we have a long tradition of dealing with through our courts and police. In extreme cases, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan, the military was needed to confront a nation that housed terrorists. But on the whole, the military should not be our first response to terrorist threats.

We are not in a World War against terror. We are not Israel and we shouldn't apply their world view to our experience. That is what our President and his administration has done. Our war on Iraq is an excellent example if how wrong the war concept can go.

Lastly, by jailing Moussaoui rather than killing him, we open the door just a little to more reasonable behavior towards our friends and enemies. Not all who fight us are religious fanactics. Many fight because they see no other alternative for changing their own culture's condition of decay. We now have the opportunity to re-evaluate our approach to the issues that cause many people to turn to violence against us.

If we step back and look at terrorism as a legal matter and not cultural war, we have much greater freedom in dealing with our adversaries and looking for solutions.

In the end, the Moussaoui verdict is a little thing, just one of a thousand events competing for our attention and exerting its butterfly pressure on the course of history.

Take a moment to enjoy the sun rise and the cosmic pulse.

Cheap Gas: Introduction to an Interrupted Rant

2006-04-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I allowed myself to get sucked into a debate about Cheap Gas. Not the kind that Beano takes care of but inexpensive oil-based energy sources.

Normally, this wouldn't bean issue. However, I engaged on a technical list and after a few days, I was reminded that the list was not the place for political debate. So I agreed to take it off-line and here it is. I left a note to the list that I would post it here and, if anyone was interested, continue it.

The whole thing started with someone, not me, posting the old Urban Myth, the way to get cheap gas is to boycott the big chains and buy gas from the second or third tier companies.

I responded with an impassioned but not very carefully crafted rant about cheap gas being an artifical price and that the genuine cost of gas should reflect our military culture over the last 50 years, in particular the last 5 years.

Well that got the ball rolling and over the next few days I got responses from folks: pro, con, and take it off the list.

That is where it rests now: off the list and here.

The Art of Spring

2006-03-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

Six years into the 21st century and I have to say that I'm not impressed: an illegal war in Iraq, personal freedoms getting flushed down the toilet, 2% of the population controlling 75% of the wealth and trying to get it all, education and health care manipulated to direct more wealth into the pockets of the few while delivering poorer services, and the environment changing before our eyes.

If there is anyone who can screw up a millenium, it's President George Walker Bush.

However, spring is almost here.

This evening, Becky and I went to the pre-opening of the 2006 Spring Flower Show put on by Marshall Fields. The venerable local department store, Daytons, now called Marshall Fields has changed hands so often over the last few years, that I don't have a clue who actually owns it any more. Luckily, the latest owners have continued the tradition of the Spring Flower Show in the downtown store's 8th floor auditorium.

The title of the show is The Artistry of Nature, avantgarden, a series of floral sculptures by the Beligan artist, Daniel Ost.

Before going in to see floral installations, we were pampered by an open bar, excellent food, a charming staff, a beautiful photos of previous works by the artist.

I chatted with a number of friends and then went in to walk amongst the flowers.

Pictures are the only way to share the experience.

In Memoriam

2005-04-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

Il Papa is dead. The leader of the Catholic church for almost three decades has, after a steady and prolonged decline in health, succumbed to septic shock. A once vigorous and charismatic leader, reduced by years of Parkinson's Disease to a withered reed, died an old man's death.

I had forgotten the significance of Jean Paul and the immense good he had done in his earlier years. Or, to be truthful the good he continued to do while Parkinson's turned him into a prisoner in his own body. I had become myopic and focused only on those issues where his decisions and beliefs continued to hold back women and people of various sexual orientations.

Now, with the Christian world involved in a global remembrance, I take time to reflect on Il Papa and how his final act as a man of principal and faith was the perfect summation of his life. He suffered from Parkinson's and allowed death to set the schedule of his dying. Most importantly, he allowed us glimpses of his failing, suffering, and dying. He reminded us of our frailty by permitting us to watch his pilgrimage to death.

I am not a man traditional faith. I do not believe in churches, mosques, synagogue, or temples. Yet, I understand that others may need religion and its symbols in their lives. That is their right.

In addition, I am no stranger to death and dying. My wife and I have lost our parents, grandparents, and almost all our families senior members. Becky is a hospice homecare social worker and is immersed in death daily. Every evening she brings it home with her and we take time to process the experiences and emotions of her day. For us, death has become an integral part of daily life and, despite what many might assume, our home is a place of life; full of color, light, conversation, good food, and music.

For me, the death of Jean Paul reminds me of my own failings, my lapses of open-mindedness, and how difficult it is to strive to be a person of principle. Now, in the silence after Jean Paul's last rasping breath, I can reflect on the complexity of his life and, in turn of my own life and lives of others.

Others can list his accomplishments and failings.

Over the coming days, while the media goes into some freakish kind 7x24 of Pope-afelia, I will mark the passing of Jean Paul, Il Papa, by drinking in more deeply the blue of the spring sky, the sound of my wife's voice, the soft warmth of my cats' fur, and the presence of friends and family -- living and dead.

I am fond of New Orleans jazz funerals. The slow march to the cemetery accompanied by mournful music and the soft beat of the mourners' steps. At graveside there is the intense tear-filled good bye. For a moment there is silence: the world takes a deep breath and then exhales slowly. Then as family and friends turn from the fresh turned earth, the trumpeter in the band begins a mournful call that quickly escalates into a brilliant shout. The band kicks into high gear. The return from the cemetery is a joyous parade: dancing, spinning, and musical.

The mourners have not turned their backs on the dead and forgotten them. On the contrary, they have turned their backs to the empty shell placed in the ground, but have begun a send off party for the departed's spirit. The mourners know that death is transition to something better and they are wishing the departed a raucous bon voyage.

Is there life after death?

Who knows?

All accounts are hearsay.

Does it really matter?

Isn't the important thing that we live well by sharing our love and compassion with others, helping those that have less, and respecting all of our brothers and sisters?

Isn't the important thing that we make this a better world than the one we were born into?

Isn't it more important that when each of us draws our final rasping breath and takes that first step into eternity, we can be certain that our lives had helped to reduce sickness, ignorance, poverty, violence, and hatred?

The passing of Jean Paul has reminded me to dust off my life goal. When it is time for me to turn away from the colorful chaos of life and face the great unknown, I will do it confident that no matter what, I did my human best and that others live better for it.

Il Papa, grazie.

Political Action on January 20th

2005-01-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

A democratic society works only if the focus of the government is on the wellbeing of all its citizens, not just a few. In the U.S. this is no longer the case. Inhuman businesses have greater rights than the average person and the Bush administration wants to add to those rights and protections with things like the Tort Reform bill.

For years, going back before the Bush administration, we have seen Business exercise its power to the detriment of the common person. As time has gone by, the arrogance of Business Leaders and governmental servants has grown as their power has spread.

It is now time to openly resist this rot and January 20th is the day.

The following is an email that I received today. It speaks for itself.

On Thursday, January 20th, President Bush will be sworn into office for another four years. There are numerous protests scheduled for that day. The biggest will be in Washington, D.C. There will also be local protests in every major city throughout the U.S.

But not all of us will be able to participate in these protests and demonstrations. However, there is a more meaningful protest planned for that day that EVERYONE who opposes the war in Iraq CAN participate in.

Please join me in: Not One Damn Dime Day - Jan 20, 2005.

Since our religious leaders will not speak out against the war in Iraq, since our political leaders don't have the moral courage to oppose it, since Bush is wasting 40 MILLION dollars on his inauguration party...while the soldiers have inadequate armor and too few of them to create or maintain peace in Iraq... (and we're accused of being stingy in disaster relief) .

Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is "Not One Damn Dime Day" in America.

On "Not One Damn Dime Day" those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24-hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending.

During "Not One! Damn Dime Day" please don't spend any money. Not one damn dime for gasoline. Not one damn dime for necessities or for impulse purchases. Not one damn dime for nothing for 24 hours.

On "Not One Damn Dime Day," please boycott Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target... Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store. Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter).

For 24 hours, please do what you can to shut the retail economy down.

The object is simple. Remind the people in power that the war in Iraq is immoral and illegal; that they are responsible for starting it and that it is their responsibility to stop it.

"Not One Damn Dime Day" is to remind them, too, that they work for the people of the United States of America, not for the international corporations and K Street lobbyists who represent the corporations and funnel cash into American politics.

"Not One Damn Dime Day" is about supporting the troops. The politicians put the troops in harm's way. Now 1,300 brave young Americans and (some estimate) 100,000 Iraqis have died. The politicians owe our troops a plan - a way to come home.

There's no rally to attend. No marching to do. No left or right wing agenda to rant about. On "Not One Damn Dime Day" you take action by doing nothing. You open your mouth by keeping your wallet closed.

For 24 hours, nothing gets spent, not one damn dime, to remind our religious leaders and our politicians of their moral responsibility to end the war in Iraq and give America back to the people.

Please share this email with as many people as possible.

A New Year, A New Beginning

2005-01-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, so that vote is in and finalized. P.T. Barnum summed it up when he said, "There's a sucker born every minute." I think old P.T. also said something like, "I've never lost money by under-estimating the taste of the American people."

Nuff said.

2005 is, as they say in sports, a building year. It's a year to send the scouts down to the minor leagues to find the talented neophytes that can be groomed for the Bigs.

There is one significant difference however. In 2005, the scouts are coming up from the minors to see if there are any players in the Majors worth cultivating.

The Democratic National Committee has, for at least 8 years, failed to deliver a viable liberal/progressive message to the American people. Instead, the DNC has provided a shallow and timid approximation of the liberal dream. What the DNC has supplied has been a bloodless, nay-saying shadow of what once had been a roaring populist lion.

In mid February, the DNC meets to elect a new Chairman to run the party for the next 4 years. This person will be responsible for setting the political agenda and philosophical tone of the party as well as directing vast human and financial resources. The new leader of the Democratic Party has an historic challenge.

In practice, the United States has a two party system. However, there is no guarantee what parties will make up that dynamic duo. The Democratic Party faces the serious possibility that it will fragment, sending its human and financial resources to the Greens and Independents, as well as new parties. In the past, other parties have faded or metamorphosed into something distinctly different.

The upper Midwest, has traditionally been the birthing place for populist parties, splinter groups with short lives but powerful legacies: honest government, protecting small people from big business, social responsibility.

The DNC has the opportunity to elect a leader that will harness that history and power. The DNC will also need to reform its internal structure and open its membership to average Americans, not keeping it restricted to the moneyed elite. Surprisingly, Minnesota is one of only a few states that has a truly permanent Democratic Party organization. In addition, Minnesota DFL'ers elect their representatives to the DNC, again a rarity. These are two important reforms that the DNC must mirror. Building permanent state organizations in very state and opening the DNC membership to ballot.

If the new DNC Chair is unable to make these changes, and many more, the Democratic party will begin to unravel and usher in a period of political ferment that we haven't seen since the early 20th century.

waiting for the final count

2004-11-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

I have decided not to watch the election returns this evening. An hour of the talking heads going on about how carefully they were being at making predictions was all I could take. I think I got one minute of news for every 40 minutes of breathless non-news.

This morning, in the cold wet dawn, I stood in a long snaking line, waiting over an hour for my turn to vote. It was time well spent. Everyone was cheerful and festive.
It seemed to me that we all knew that this was an historic moment and thus, we were on our best behavior. I live in an overwhelmingly liberal precinct, yet I did not hear any particularly nasty anti Bush remarks. I think everyone in the line knew that we were not unanimous in our political opinions and tried kept it civil. At 8:30 a.m., I became the 380th person to vote at our polling. Becky voted two hours later and she was number 685.

This afternoon, with the weather much improved, Becky and I joined the ACT folks at a local church and, after some brief training on door knocking etiquette, went out canvassing. Our task was to encourage whomever we met to go vote and to offer them information or arrange a ride. While at the church, we ran into an old friend, Susan, and teamed with her and two other committed folks, Art and Sandra, to go knocking on doors.

For the next couple of hours we walked up and down neighborhood streets, knocking on doors, talking to whomever we encountered, and hanging flyers on doorknobs: green side out if the person had voted, red side out if no one answered the door. We used the flyers to signal later canvassers which houses needed a repeat visit.

After canvassing, we returned to the church to turn in our tally sheets, maps, and unused flyers. Then we sat around and talked. Art and Sandra were engaging and interesting people. Sandra, reminded us that we white liberals need to make much a greater effort to understand institutional racism and quit resting on our very old and dusty laurels. Over the past 20-30 years, the gains that we made in the 60’s and 70’s have eroded and Liberals have not reacted or fought back. Racism never disappeared, but today it is much more accepted and not just among the right wing.

Until recently, we white Liberals were terribly complacent, however, now it is time to renew and re-energize our commitment to those basic liberal beliefs. We need to complete the struggle that we were involved in those many years ago: put an end to racism and bigotry, promote a genuine coming together with black Americans, renew our commitment to helping the least powerful and most vulnerable in our society, and insure good education for all of our children.

Racism is not a problem that black Americans must solve. It is problem that we white Americans have and that we must solve ourselves.

We white Americans need to become aware of the unspoken privileges that we have simply by being white: powerful entitlements that we do not know we have. For instance, when was the last time that the police stopped you while you were driving? For me it has been years. For young black men it is a common occurrence. Likewise, when was the last time that the police stopped you while you were walking in your neighborhood? Again, for me it has been many years but for black men and women it is common.

Racism is a white American problem that is the responsibility of white Americans to solve.

As Becky and I were driving home, I turned to her and said, “This is why I’ve been involved in politics this last year. I meet thoughtful, interesting people that still believe in a better world.”

At this time, I have no idea who the next President is going to be, but I do know that regardless of who it is, the battle will just be starting. Reactionary beliefs have become entrenched in the United States. It will take years of struggle to re-establish reason, equality, compassion, and civility.

Now comes the really interesting part.

Domestic Abuse At Home and At Large

2004-10-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

I have not written for a while because I have been busy with work, school, politicking, and attempting to maintain a relationship with my wife, who is equally active. That does not mean that I have not been cogitating on the world around us.

The concept of synergy came up in one of my classes. The instructor was discussing the synergistic effect of taking two drugs: the result can be exponentially greater than you normally would expect, 1 + 1 = 5 rather than 2. This can result in an overdose or psychotic behavior.

Synergy is alive and well in other aspects of our world as well. Frequently, I experience it when two seemingly unrelated ideas or facts merge to create an unexpected result: sometimes, this results in an epiphany, often just gas. You be the judge.

at home

Domestic violence is common in the United States. I have seen estimates as high as 1 in 3 households may experience some form of regular physical, sexual, psychological, or verbal abuse by one or more members. There is a never-ending string of stories about battered wives and children. Less publicized are battered men, though there are plenty of them too.

There is no mystery about the mechanics of domestic violence. There is no mystery about how an abuser thinks. It is just too common and most likely, all of us are aware of an abusive relationship with one-third of us living in one.

What are the key features of domestic violence?

It begins with an unrelenting attack on the victim’s self-esteem. The abuser’s message is simple, “There is something wrong with you. You are unworthy. You are unlovable. You are incapable of taking care of yourself.” Most often it begins with subtle messages and over time escalates as the victim’s defenses are worn away.

Physical violence does not begin until after the victim reaches a weakened emotional state: they are much less likely to resist, they may even think that they provoked the violence.

The abuser’s common excuse is that, “I slipped, I just couldn’t help it.”

This is a blatant lie. Abusers intentionally isolate their partners and families so that society does not discover their behavior. They know full well that what they are doing is wrong and they act to protect themselves by hiding their deeds, often in full sight, through the use of coercion.

In addition, an abuser undermines the reality of what they are doing by repeating over and over again that the victim does not understand what is happening: black is white, night is day, and that the abuse is actually an act of love. This promotes even greater isolation of the abused.

As the victim looses contact with family and friends, the violence and indoctrination intensifies. This system of control and isolation spirals downward until the ultimate violence of total enslavement and murder occur.

at large

We are all familiar with the concept of family used to mean a larger community of faith, race, people, nations, or humanity. This is not poetic license or hyperbole. The dynamics that work within the traditional family exist within the larger incorporations.

Domestic abuse exists at all these levels.

I fear that the family of the United States is being set up for abuse.

First, liberals and progressive thinkers have been systematically maligned, verbally abused, for over 30 years. Our patriotism and commitment to our nation has been devalued and our beliefs reduced to epithets and labels.

Second, liberal and progressive lifestyles have been determined to be “ungodly”. In the eyes of some of our national family, we are substandard, not worthy of salvation (whatever that means), and thus not of equal value as human beings.

Third, since 2000, George W. Bush and his administration have told us that black is white and that night is day: No Child Left Behind, the title stolen from the Children’s Defense League and designed to undercut education, Clear Skies environmental program, undermining air pollution standards, and the War on Terror, much of which directed at undermining American liberties.

Fourth, since 2001, George W. Bush and his administration and followers have made a concerted effort to isolate the American people from the rest of the world. By systematically destroying our links with the global community and undermining or credibility as a nation, the administration has begun to draw the shades over the windows of the American household.

Are we going to permit the radicals and extremists to isolate us so that they can show us that their love is a just and terrible love: like their God’s?

Do we accept their black is white world?

We do not need to resort to the psychological violence of our extremist American brothers and sisters. We can encourage healthy thinking and behavior by being ourselves and not tumbling into the abyss with them. They need our compassion and firmness.

As liberals and progressive, we can resist this growing domestic abuse. We can spread the word and we can vote.

Spread the word.

Vote.

Fool Me Once ...

2004-09-03T02:48:00.000-07:00

It has been a week since Becky and I got back from a two-week trip to Spain and France and already the pleasure of Old Europe has faded to a dim memory. Work and the Republican Convention can take the gild off the lily damn quickly.

While we were traveling, I had time to reflect on life here in the states. It is amazing how your mind clears when it isn’t struggling against the mindless chatter of American newscasters and the fear-mongering of the Bush Administration.

We met with old friends and made new acquaintances. The conversations we had were the equivalent of drinking fresh, cold water after a long hot bike ride: refreshing and renewing. Old Europe is just that, old: with a long history that has a lot to tell us, if we are willing to listen.

One theme re-occurred in our conversations: if we re-elect George W. Bush, we get what we deserve. It appears that until now, the people of the world have given us the benefit of the doubt, and have separated the American people from the policies of our government. For the last four years, Europeans have said to me, “We love Americans; it is your government that we can’t stand.” This is about to change if we re-elect Bush. More than once I was told that re-electing George would be a clear indication that we Americans are as selfish, ignorant, and uncaring as our government and that the good will we have experienced, and abused, since 9/11 will be much harder to find in the future.

Last night, while listening to the recap of the President’s acceptance speech at the convention, I kept hearing the pundits talk about Bush’s domestic agenda and his plans for the next four years. After four years in the cellar, the Compassionate Conservative was dusted off and wheeled out again for our thoughtless consumption.

While listening to the pontificating of the right-wing propagandists I flashed back to a press conference when George had mangled the old saying, “Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

This election is an example of that old bromide playing out on a national and international scale.

For four years, George Bush has consistently deceived the American people. Blaming his policies on 9/11, as some of the propagandists were saying last evening, “9/11 hijacked the original Bush agenda” is just another lie in a long list of lies. There was no Compassionate Conservative then and there is none now.

9/11 had nothing to do with the scuttling of the Kyoto Agreement, which the international community had rewritten to meet American concerns and then had it rejected anyway.

9/11 had nothing to do with the “No Child Left Behind” and other similarly deceptively named programs that implied genuine concern about the welfare of the American people and the environment but were nothing more than methods to undermine our wellbeing.

9/11 had nothing to do with immense shift in power and wealth towards an increasing smaller group of privileged elite who have no interest in democracy or the American Dream.

9/11 has been a very convenient excuse to rape our country.

This election gives the American people the opportunity to say, “Enough of your lies and deceptions. Get ye behind us, Satan!” and kick George Bush and extremist policies out of the White House.

If we do not vote him out, then we the Deceived, become Deceivers too. We will no longer be victims but willing accomplices and we will share responsibility for the terrible things that our government will do in the next four years.

The Shame will be Ours.

“Facts are such stupid things.” Ronald Reagan

Culture Wars?

2004-08-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

It is Saturday morning and I am enjoying my weekend ritual: reading the New
York Times and internet news printouts, listening to public talk radio,
smelling the rich aroma of a freshly brewed pot of French roast coffee, and
spreading some double creme brie on my croissant. If I owned a Volvo I would go
out and wash it.

Anyway, there I am peacefully minding my own business when I spot this
article about a Culture War in America. We have a Culture War? IsnÂt
terrorists wanting to blow us up and at least 90% of world pissed at us
enough? Now we have a culture war to deal with?

I read the article to discover that Extremists, remember I won't call them
Republicans because that would foul an honored tradition, are claiming that
there is a war of culture going on. The radical religious-right are
oppressed by the effete intellectual left-wing Liberals. Me? Moi? I say to
myself. I am oppressing someone?

I smear some strawberry jam on what is left of my croissant and read on.

It appears that the Liberals are dominating our society and making it
impossible for the Extremists and Radicals to practice their way of life. I
was shocked! I do not intend to keep the hysterical Extremists from living
as they want. I do not care how they live so long as they do not abuse
animals, children, women, the weak or me.

I am engrossed and take a long thoughtful drink of steaming black coffee,
tres bien!

The Extremists are saying that because we will not let them say prayers or
practice dogma in school or government buildings that we are offending
their faith.

They say that we all-powerful Liberals are getting in their way of their
faith by supporting the right of Choice and Roe v Wade. Rather than remove
the right of women to make that decision for themselves, according to their
own religious and moral beliefs.

They say that we tax and spend Liberals are taking their money and spending
it unwisely on programs that offend their religious and moral convictions:
such as public education, feeding hungry children, and providing care to
the elderly.

The list goes on and on and I am deeply shocked at my Liberal indifference
to the plight of the helpless Extremists and Radical-Religious Zealots.

I get up and put a CD of Edith Piaf on the player, ah the Little Sparrow of
Paris, her voice brings tears to my eyes. If I smoked, I would light up a
Galois and spit tobacco fragments on the floor.

Perhaps my beliefs are all mistaken and need serious reappraisal: a
practice that the Extremists and Zealots are well known for.

All their complaints seem to come down to a couple of core issues: freedom
of religion and the exercise of personal choice and responsibility.

As I understand it, the intent of the separation of church and state is to
protect religious freedom. The founders of our nation had plenty of living
examples of governments using one approved religion to stifle all others:
in England and Holland, it was Protestantism and in Italy, Spain and France
it was Catholicism.

The founders knew that the only way that all people would be free to
practice their faith, or lack of it, would be if the government were
neutral in the practice of religion. Then the power of the government could
not be used to abuse any particular religious group and, should the
government try, all the religious groups would see it as a threat and
exercise their non-religious powers as voters to change the government.

I took a drag on my imaginary Galois and then sipped my coffee. As I
exhaled phantom blue clouds of smoke, I realized that the founders had been
correct and that government until very recently had been working as planned.

Our society promotes its values through its schools and through its
governmental branches the legislature, executive, and judicial. To keep
these institutions neutral towards religion they must be housed in
buildings that are not decorated in any particular religious motif or
celebrate any particular tradition more than anyother.

Decisions must be made using reason and the principals of law rather than
religious canons or scriptures. Over time our laws have become neutral to
religion and thus protect it. Religious writings on the other hand, tend to
be extremely biased and only protect the believers of a particular sect.

Schools in particular must be careful to teach all children the tolerance
our society requires if religious and political freedoms are to be
preserved. Again, leaving tolerance to religious teaching has shown to be a
very bad idea.

Besides, isn't the practice of religion also the exercise of a personal
freedom and responsibility? While the schools should teach children how to
read, write, do math, etc., the schools are also responsible to teach how
to be good tolerant citizens. That is what insures religious freedom. Isn't
it the responsibility of the parents to teach their children their faith
and not the schools or government?

America is one of the most religious countries on the planet. We have more
churches and denominations than anywhere else. I have read articles that
compare our integration of religion and faith in to our daily lives as
equal to any Moslem country, with the exceptions or Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In other words, what are the Extremists and Zealots squawking about?

They are free to practice their faith and I am free to practice mine.
Unless their desire is to turn us into a Christian version of Saudi Arabia
or Iran, then they have the freedom that they claim they to be denied. If
we do what the Extremists and Zealots want, to turn to a more religious
centered society through the usurpation of the government, they become
their own worse enemies. They destroy the very freedoms that have nurtured
them. This year it could be the Zealots of the Bible Belt and in a few
years Islamic Zealots from American Madrasas. Both sound like horrid ideas.

Another sip of coffee and I stub out the Galois.

Personal freedom and responsibility is at the heart of the ability to
choose for yourself.

Taxes are an integral part of freedom and choice. The state is not free. It
costs money to make sure that we have laws to protect us, schools to
educate us, a military to protect us, and even our roads. The entire
structure of our world is in great part the result of what we have done
through the collection and spending of taxes. That great freeway system
that we love was not free. Our airports are not free nor are our trains,
barges, or bike paths.

Schools are the perfect example of freedom and responsibility. If we want
our children to have good jobs when they grow up, they must have good
educations: not just a few of them but all of them. The reason is simple.
Every child that does not get a good education is less likely to get a good
job and more likely to need governmental services such as healthcare and
perhaps detention. The cost of these services will be born by our kids
which means that they will have to pay taxes which would do them more good
going to schools rather than emergency room care and prisons.

Besides the cost of governmental services, there is also the personal cost
to our children should they need medical care, made more expensive by
serving to poor, or as victims of crime.

Most poor people are honest and religious. Most poor people work very hard
to give their children things that they have not had. They do so because
they have hope in the future. They trust that the future will be better
than the past and that is why they are hones and hard working. Only a few
of the poor are criminals but the cost of those few is enormous.

What would happen if the poor lost faith in the future? What would happen
if they saw that hard work and following the rules did not advance them or
their children? Instead, what if they saw the wealthy and powerful acting
irresponsibly and getting wealthier and wealthier. All this while the poor
found themselves locked into a perpetual state of economic siege? Would
they continue to be honest and hardworking?

History past and present is full of examples where the poor and the middle
class have lost hope in the future and the result is nasty. Is that what we
want for our children?

School taxes are a good example of freedom and responsibility.

Even if you do not agree with schools being religiously neutral, you have
the responsibility to pay taxes to support them, even if you place your
kids in a private academy or teach them at home. Why? Because, while it may
not be important to the Zealots and Extremists to teach their kids
tolerance, their religious freedom depends on the rest of society learning
to be tolerant of their faith.

The better our schools are, the more likely that your religious freedom
remains intact.

I finish my coffee. Edith's voice soars as she sings about lost love and
then all is quiet.

It is a beautiful summer morning and the birds are singing. I can hear them
in between the airplanes coming in to land at the airport.

Culture war? I am not at war with anyone. I have always believed that each
of us has the right to decide for ourselves what to believe and how to live
our lives. I am convinced that the vast majority of us, of the human race,
is primarily interested in living in peace and doing their best for their
children, families, communities, and so on.

I have not oppressed anyone.

It seems to me that the ones waging the war are not the all powerful
Liberals but those poor, oppressed Extremists and Zealots. I do not want to
take anything away from them, yet they seem bent on taking freedoms away
from me.

As I said, I do not care what some one does so long as they do not abuse
animals, children, women, the weak, and me.

Well the Extremists are abusing children, women, weak and me. I care and
I am doing something about it.

Hoisted on His Own Petard

2004-08-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

I'm big on patterns. It seems to me that our lives are full of subtle and
not so subtle patterns, trends, tendencies, what have you.

I look at the world with an historian's eye: seeing events and people as
bound up in web of cause and effect both present and past.

In my personal life I use a simple test to determine if something is worth
paying attention to blowing off as trivial and not worth my time or
concentration: "Will anybody remember it in 10, 25 or 50 years?"

If it may still be around in 10 years, I watch it with curiosity and see if
it signals a trend towards something that is more important.

If I think an event will still be talked about as significant in 25 years I take note.

If I think an event will still have people's attention in 50 years, I pay attention and take it seriously.

Needless to say Kobe, make overs, botox, and local murders, car crashes, etc. don't make the cut. In fact, about 95% of the crap shoveled at us on television, radio, and the newspapers doesn't come close.

With such a ruthless filtering process, a person might think that I have a fairly empty head: uncluttered by the the hurricane of garbage that swirls around us. To a degree they would be correct, though I prefer to think of
my head as uncluttered, not empty.

A couple of days ago, the Usurper President made a statement that, on the face of it would fail my 10/25/50 test. Just one more gaff on his Long Trail of Jeers. And if taken as another Bushism it would.

However, I think it is much more than that. I think it is the classic Freudian slip, the escape of truth from the dark prison of the Usurper's duplicitous mind.

Initially, Becky and I missed it completely, until a friend of ours in the UK mentioned it in one of her email. Then, it was reported in The Guardian, "President Bush offered up a new entry for his catalog of
``Bushisms'' on Thursday, declaring that his administration will ``never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people.''

" Bush misspoke as he delivered a speech at the signing ceremony for a $417 billion defense spending bill.

``Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we,'' Bush said. ``They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.''

"No one in Bush's audience of military brass or Pentagon chiefs reacted"

For once, I couldn't agree more with the Wannabe President.

I combine this statement with the 7 minutes he sat reading My Pet Goat to children while the Twin Towers collapse and a myriad of other statements and actions and I see a very clear pattern. I remember in Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11, there was an excerpt of a speech at a dinner of the wealthy when Bush said (this may not be exact, but close), "Some call you the wealthy elite. But I call you my political base."

I see a failed Texas oilman, uneducated despite four years at Yale, and lacking the mental capacity to deal with the complexity of the modern world. I see a wealthy elitist selling out his country for the enrichment
of his class.

Harsh, yes. But then I didn't say, ``They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.''

I believe him.

Education part 1

2004-07-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Becky and I went to the Garrison Keillor / DFL fundraiser for the Minnesota DFL House Caucus on July 1st. It began in a typical manner with a local country band, state politicians, and an auction. The auction demonstrated just how fiscally conservative liberal democrats can be; I do not think any of the objects auctioned brought in as much as their stated worth. Tax and spend my ass! A liberal holds on to his money so tight that he can make the buffalo on a nickel scream.

The speaker for the evening was Garrison Keillor and when he came on stage, the event went from ordinary to extraordinary. It began with a standing ovation for Garrison and while we were still standing, his asking us to sing the Star Spangled Banner. He reminded us that the song did not glorify war but celebrated survival. It was the best rendition of the song I have heard in years, maybe ever.

During a 90-minute monologue, Garrison gave the classic political chautauqua. He reminded us of our Democratic history and traditions, how our values are integral to America’s national democratic history and traditions, drew clear distinctions between our values and those of the neo-conservative Republicans, and emphasized what our goals are for the coming election and beyond.

Speaking in a soft voice and with trademark dry wit that brought as much laughter at ourselves as at the opposition, Garrison told story after story that illustrated what it means to be a liberal, democratic American. Garrison, in the tradition of Will Rogers the quintessential American storyteller and Native American, spun Great Plains Parables and lifted our spirits.

He told stories about his growing up and going to Anoka High School and then to the University of Minnesota, his dream to be a writer, and his experiences along the way. He reminded us of what we once had; a system of great land grant universities that provided the promise of an affordable, quality education to military veterans, and the almost all of America’s children. They were magnets that drew the young people of the world to our shores. They were a gift from our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and strangers. The public universities were affordable because the public understood what it meant to invest in the future.

Our public schools are another example of this investing in the future. I graduated from Grandview High School, in Columbus, Ohio. Grandview was a small middle and working class town that the city of Columbus had surrounded. The schools in Grandview had dedicated teachers, clean and well-kept facilities, and well supplied classes. The curriculum was college preparatory, and there was a wealth of after school activities including a variety of art, chess, music, science, sports, theater, and more.

Grandview was not perfect. It reflected the racial bigotry of the times: there were no African Americans and only a few very quiet Jews. However, it educated us to be critical thinkers which in turn lead us to strive to be honest and hardworking. We were given the tools to work against bigotry. The education that Grandview gave my classmates and me was not free. It was the result of over 100 years of commitment to a social dream. Grandview High School was the embodiment of an American ideal: a quality education is the foundation to personal success and freedom. Education is the birthright of every American because, through it, you can strive for your happiness on an equal basis with everyone else.

My growing up in Ohio mirrored many of Garrison’s stories. I had forgotten my good fortune until he reminded me: a good fortune generously paid for by others, most of whom never knew me. However, they trusted that when it was my turn, I would do my best to continue the tradition.

By the end of the evening, when we left O’Shaughnessy Auditorium and went in to a perfect Minnesota summer night, I was more resolved than ever to work to undo the 25 years of abuse liberal values have experienced, beginning with the sorry state of education.

Our schools today are a continuation of that inheritance entrusted to us. They are not our personal property. Garrison asked how could we, who as children benefited from the inheritance of fine schools, now refuse to pass on that gift to our children and grandchildren?

Here, are one old liberal’s ideas about American education.

Every citizen, native or immigrant, is entitled to a quality education from birth to death. Schooling is not just for children and young adults. We live in a rapidly changing world where each of us can expect to have several different careers during our lifetime. This is not new. My father and mother both worked in various jobs during their lives. I am currently in school training for my fourth career, this one being a teacher.

Providing a quality education to our children means providing the same type of experience we had as kids. Well-maintained and supplied neighborhood schools, with small class sizes, staffed by well trained, highly motivated teachers. This opportunity needs to be universal, for all citizens regardless of disabilities, medical and emotional difficulties, financial and social problems.

A wealth of research shows that neighborhood schools, small class sizes, adequate supplies, and motivated staff all contribute are very successful in producing educated children that become productive and happy adults. So why are we going in exactly the opposite direction with huge, under funded, factory schools?

Think about the opponents to the public education system and the way they teach their children: home education and small, special-curriculum academies. Both rely on small class sizes, community involvement (similar to neighborhood involvement), and highly motivated teachers. The significant differences are that the educational opportunity is restricted and the curriculum is often extremely limited.

A quality education means a curriculum that includes not only the basic skills such as English (reading and writing), math, and science. Again, research and business surveys show that education in the arts, foreign languages, history, music, sports, and the world at large create well-rounded citizens. Just kind of the people we need in this global economy. Leading businesses in Minneapolis have stated that they liked the Twin Cities because of the well-rounded, educated work force that is able to think creatively and independently.

We do not live in a bubble. America is a major crossroads of the world.

For decades, we have neglected our schools and our children and it is going to take commitment equal to or greater than that of our parents and grandparents to correct the situation. We cannot put a band-aid on a gaping wound and tell ourselves that we have done the best we can. We have been doing that for years: lying to our children and ourselves.

What is it going to cost and how are we going to pay for it?

First, look at what it costs us to continue doing as we are now.

Almost all school systems are cutting staff, aggregating students in larger and larger factory schools, reducing the variety of class offerings, and cutting back on materials and books. A week ago, the Minneapolis school system cut 600 teaching positions. Several suburbs have followed suit. The state of Iowa, recently announced cutting 3,000 teaching positions statewide. This saves the community money in the short-run but costs federal, state, and local governments tax revenues and requires outlay for unemployment benefits and training.

Children who do not fit easily into the mainstream are loosing the specialized education they need to adjust to our society. Again in Minneapolis, the school board announced that it is cutting all the smaller special service or community schools and directing those students back into the mainstream. Often these kids did not do well in the factory schools, that is why they were in the smaller schools. This new move undermines their ability to succeed and increases the likelihood of their dropping out.

Students who drop out of school are much more likely to get into drugs, pregnancy, and crime. But isn’t that the responsibility of the kids and their parents? Why is that the responsibility of the entire community? Isn’t that why we have courts and prisons?

Who pays for those courts and prisons? Who pays for crime through higher insurance rates? Who pays for the medical care of poor teenage mothers (the majority of whom are white) and poor uninsured workers who’s only medical care is through public hospital emergency rooms? Who worries about crime and how unsafe our streets are supposedly becoming?

A variety of studies show that is 3-4 times more expensive to house a person in prison than to give them a quality education. This does not include all the other indirect costs such as insurance, emergency rooms, and your piece of mind. Remember the person with the education will get a better paying job, share the tax burden, and be less likely to use expensive social services such as prison.

Another thing to remember is that continuing to do as we are now insures that things will only get worse.

In the past 5 years, the number of working poor has almost doubled and the number of uninsured people has doubled. Many of the uninsured are children of the working poor. Lack of healthcare when a child leads to long-term illness as an adult thus, good education, tailored to the needs of the working poor and their children can lead to better paying jobs resulting in less demand on the more expensive social services such as healthcare.

What will a revitalized public school system cost?

Over the last 25 years, how much have school budgets been under-funded?

It is going to cost a lot. It is expensive to rebuild school systems neglected for years. For starters, perhaps as much as a small war in Iraq, perhaps more.

The question is not how much. The questions are what does it take and how can we do it effectively. I do not use the word efficient because it is the code word used to indicate cutting, without regard to long-term results.

Where does the money come from?

Where it always comes from, you and me, there is no magical solution to fund our schools. We need to raise our school related taxes. That is the most straightforward and unambiguous method to get the money. We do not need to hide it in user fees or by cutting services to people who are already living well below the poverty line. It is important that we see clearly the amount we are paying, both to help account for its use and as an object lesson to remind us how expensive rebuilding a neglected American Dream can be.

What do we get in return?

For starters, we give all of our kids a good education. We also start giving all of our displaced workers a better chance of finding good paying work. One immediate benefit we will see is an increase in the hiring and rehiring of teachers and the subsequent increase in tax revenues. These taxes will not completely offset the cost but they will reduce it a bit. Do not forget that people with jobs buy services and goods in the community and pay secondary taxes as well.

In the mid-term, in about 2-5 years, we will start to see better-educated citizens emerging from our schools. This leads more productive workers, more entrepreneurs, happier citizens, better policy decision making in government, and a more stable society. In the long-term, it only gets better. In about 10 years, we will see young adults who have grownup in the revitalized public schools. Each succeeding graduating class will increase the number of engaged citizens while reducing the number of the disenfranchised.

The ultimate goal: a nation of happy, hardworking, citizens, engaged in their society and government. A nation that, through the effort and commitment of its citizens guarantees that all citizens get a good education and, because of that education, have the reasonable opportunity to have productive well paying work, adequate healthcare, and a comfortable retirement.

Education is the cornerstone of democracy and personal well-being. The ignorance of one, undermines the well-being of us all.

Editorial: Iraqis don't have country back, nor do we

2004-07-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

Here is an editorial from the Boston Globe. I think the writer, Derrick Z. Jackson, does a nice job of summing up some of the Bush Administration accomplishments over the last three years.

Boston Globe
July 6, 2004
Upon the handing of power to his handpicked Iraqi government, President Bush said, "The Iraqi people have their country back." He said nothing about how long it will take for us to get our country back.

There are 850 U.S. soldiers we will never get back, who died in an unprovoked invasion and occupation that was based on Bush's fraudulent claim that Iraq was prepared to attack us with weapons of mass destruction.

We lost global credibility for years to come because by invading on false pretenses, Bush made America a remorseless killer. Bush's rallying cry in his so-called war on terrorism has been the 3,000 innocents who died on Sept. 11, 2001. The estimates of Iraqi civilians killed by us, from human rights groups, wire services, and defense policy think tanks, range from 3,200 up to 11,300, more than three times the number of civilians who died on 9/11.

Even though Bush admitted that Iraq had no tie to 9/11, he has barely acknowledged the civilian carnage, let alone apologized. With no tie to 9/11 and no weapons of mass destruction, Bush's final excuse for his invasion was, "Iraq was ruled by a regime that brutalized and tortured its own people, murdered hundreds of thousands, and buried them in mass graves."

With his silence on civilian slaughter, Bush behaved as if two wrongs could make a right.

He tried at every turn to keep Americans from contemplating the war's human cost. In Iraq, the military refused to make any estimates of civilian deaths, even as it issued specific, spectacular weekly numbers of "insurgents" killed, gallons of oil that were flowing, restored megawatts, reconnected telephone lines, reopened schools, and rehired doctors. "Health care expenditures are up 30 times over what they were under Saddam," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said last month. Wolfowitz neglected to add how much of those "health care expenditures" were made necessary by our bombs.

At home, the administration has maintained a media ban on covering the arrival of coffins from Iraq at Dover Air Force Base. The ban was established during the first Gulf War. The administration was so maniacal about fogging our view of the fatal finality that until very recently, even some families of deceased soldiers said they were blocked from the base. The Senate, in a primarily Republican vote, recently defeated a Democrat-led proposal to allow media coverage of the coffins being lowered from military aircraft.

Confident that nothing could cut through the fog, the administration stopped counting the coffins. In a House hearing in April, Wolfowitz was asked how many U.S. soldiers had died. He said, "It's approximately 500, of which, I can get the exact numbers, approximately 350 are combat deaths." At the time, 722 soldiers had died, 521 in combat.

By erasing nearly a third of fallen Americans from his consciousness, Wolfowitz symbolized how the lying wormed a hole right through what little remained of Bush's conscience. Treating Iraqi civilians as if they did not exist begat a chain of dehumanization that ended with American soldiers ceasing to exist. Along the way, there was chump change thrown at surviving families of American attacks, prisoner torture at Abu Ghraib, and holding prisoners in the war on terror without trial at Guantanamo Bay (a policy that was overturned last week by the Supreme Court). There are many instances of individual bravery and humanity toward Iraqis by American soldiers. Overall, Iraq tragically proved that you cannot dehumanize the other without diminishing yourself.

Iraq also proved that you cannot conduct the most wasteful war since Vietnam without diminishing opportunity at home. Last week in celebrating the handover of power, the administration boasted that during the occupation 33,000 teachers were trained, 77,000 public works jobs were created, and 2,200 schools and 240 hospitals were rehabilitated.

The Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive Washington think tank, recently calculated that the money spent on the war or about to be approved by Congress could have instead paid for in the United States:

• About 3 million new elementary school teachers.

• Or health care for 27 million Americans now without insurance.

• Or more than 20 million slots for Head Start.

• Or nearly 23 million housing vouchers.

The cost of the war will go past $200 billion sometime next year. That will be nine times more than what the federal government spends in job training and employment. The study projected that the war will cost each American household an average of $3,415.

The financial costs, of course, are only an addendum to the human costs. Bush boasted that the handover "marks a proud moral achievement." The invasion was one of the most immoral acts in U.S. history. With 138,000 troops still there, the occupation is a long way from over. We all know the Iraqi people really don't have their country back. As long as that is true, we will never get ours back, either.

Bug Food

2004-06-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

I think we Americans must think that life is some sort of cosmic sporting event. Our language is fecund with sporting terms that we use for almost every thing: he hit it out of the park, that's par for the course, hat trick, whose you're daddy? Okay, may be not the last one.

Many of our sports are team endeavors that require military-like tactics: defense and offence. The one odd ball, there I go again, is baseball which turns everything upside down.

In baseball the defending team controls the ball and has to throw it, giving up control. The offensive team is in a weird spot because while they are trying to score, they too are in a defensive position, protecting the home plate: three strikes and your out. Everyone plays as a well trained team, but each player is offered ample opportunity to show individual excellence. Baseball really is the American game.

Tonight, I was involved in another of America's great passions: politics. I went door knocking with Frank Hornstein, the Representative for our district in the Minnesota Legislature. I was operating on the old saying, "If it really matters, you've got to put some skin in the game." You were probably wondering where I was going with all that sports talk.

it was a perfect night to go knock on doors in my neighborhood. Frank told me that we need to be out from 7:00 until 8:00 pm. Earlier and we would be bothering folks at dinner and latter, we'd be bothering people as they settled in for the evening. Frank was a community organizer before going into politics, so he has a great deal of practical experience in meeting with people and finding out what is on their minds.

Since it was a beautiful evening, many people weren't at home. The few that were pleasant and talkative.

However, just after 8:00 p.m. while we still had a block or so to do, the bugs came out. And that is when I got some skin into the game.

One of the few sports related memories that I cherish is that of playing baseball on a late summer afternoon/evening. Not being particularly quick on my feet when it came to ball handling, I was always stationed in the outfield. Since I am by nature inclined to take the long view of things, the outfield worked just fine. The smell of the cut grass, the color of the sky as the sun lowers in the west, that strange screeching sound that the night-hawks make when they are diving for insects: it all is as fresh today as then.

And of course, the bugs.

So there I was knocking on doors, doing my part in the great American game of politics, the smell of fresh cut grass, the sun setting, and being eaten alive by bugs. I was in heaven.

You think I exaggerate about the bugs? Did you ever see the science fiction movie Starship Troopers? It was like that.

By the way, I highly recommend the movie. It is not great cinema, but there are some very startling scenes that fore-shadow our world today. It was released in 1997.

Les

Sloganator

2004-06-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you knew this about me, but I've enlisted in the Coalition of the Disgusted and joined the DFL as an active player. For those outside the state of Minnesota, DFL stands for Democrat, Labor, Farmer: an anachronistic throw back to the days 60+ years ago when Minnesota was a Populist state and had progressive political parties not aligned with the main parties. Originally, the DFL was a fusion of Democrats and the Farmer-Labor Party. The DFL is part of the Democratic Party but still holds onto its traditional name. The Republicans were the IR, Independent Republican party, you can guess how long that lasted once Reagan and his lot got into power. All Republican's had to shape up and there went the independent. There might be a lesson there some place.

Pardon me, I digress.

Below is an email I got from the chairman of our Senate District. Our district is the most liberal and active, go figure.

Any way, the Republican use of the Internet is very savvy and almost mythological in its success. On the other hand we Democrats have always felt that the rightness of our beliefs and values was self-evident and besides we are very tolerant of other people's values and prefer not to bad mouth them. We'd rather try to find common ground, compromise, and work things out in a win-win solution.

In these cynical, what's in it for me, times you may think I'm bullshiting you but, those are actual phrases I've heard used by me and my fellow Dems.

Again, I digress.

Occasionally however, the Republicans do something very clever, too clever, and it gets them. The following is an example.

The backstory is as follows: earlier this month, the web site for the Bush-Cheney campaign - the real one, paid for by MBNA America and Richard Scaife - featured a "create your own banner" tool, where you could enter your own slogan and print out your own poster, with the Bush-Cheney logo, and a note at the bottom "paid for by Bush-Cheney '04, Inc." Democrats, of course, couldn't get enough of this. The original sloganator accepted everything, then it started censoring profanity and words like "Hitler" "dictator," and "evil".

Nevertheless,many clever folks exploited the sloganator to their own ends before its sad demise only a couple of weeks after its birth, and its mourners assembled some of the best for the slide show.

The link below is best enjoyed with the sound on:

http://homepages.nyu.edu/~meo232/sloganator/