Gunning for Giffords Rethought: The events in Tuscon chill one's soul. All of us who call ourselves human and who live in one of the freest nations on earth must be staggered by the carnage that occurred in that city which resembled more of the wild west from which Tuscon was born. Many are focusing on the electric explosive current coursing through the veins of the contemporary politics of our nation today. The Internet we know is filled with violent speech calling for the elimination of one or the other political pundit or perceived political foe. This rancid discourse happens on both the left and the right. It happens in our own homes and living rooms. It happens even between friends. The media 24/7 news cycle will be concentrating on the sad fact of the incivility of American political discourse today and try to analyze its cause. It is appropriate that they should do so.

Some on the left are retracting statements, taking down angry speech and even apologizing as Keith Olbermann and others on the left have done. See his Special Comment on his web site eschewing angry political speech. Some on the right are doing so, albeit weakly, as well.

I wrote an opinion when this tragedy first occurred but I decided to retract it and write another. I rethought my argument that the right is mainly to blame for the angry rhetoric spewed by certain news media, the Internet and certain blogs and in part responsible for this dastardly deed. I decided that even though I may have my own favorite indictments of the extremist right I will NOT be impervious to hyperbolic speech that exists on both sides of the political spectrum and which most of us say at one time or another. It is not singular. It encompasses both extremes and everywhere in between.

As I thought about the edits to my opinion I remembered a stunning phone call I received from a political ally on the left who called to scream at me because we disagreed on one issue. I also remembered that during the election this November signs for Democrats were bent, uprooted and thrown to the ground on my lawn. Angry rhetoric and unacceptable behavior are not the domain of a single political point of view. It happens on the right and the left.

I think we can all agree that the perpetrator of this disgusting event in Arizona is mad. The question, though, is this madness stoked by the explosive anything-goes vitriol that passes for political fact in our supposedly democratic republic. I believe that both are so enmeshed that we probably cannot separate the two. If Jared Lee Laughner’s actions were not political (I personally think they were) then someone else somewhere who is equally unbalanced will think their 15 minutes of fame and their cause will be perfectly justified if they commit a stunning act of violence against their perceived enemy. Think of all the attention they would get. There are surely repeat offenders in our midst.

Sarah Palin's cross-hairs post during the 2010 election cycle, I believe, is a contributing factor to our violent present-day mood. When our prominent public figures contribute to this hateful social climate it brings in a tsunami of grief and unprecedented gun violence to this nation. Palin's website where she used gun cross-hairs to target Representative Gabrielle Giffords of the 8th District in Tuscon and many others elsewhere in the nation to be marked for elimination was out of bounds. She says she meant the cross-hairs as a surveyor tool but who really does believe that when she used gun rhetoric to say “Do not retreat but reload?” The underlying sentiment of gun violence is crystal clear. There is no way, in my opinion, Palin can twist and squirm her way out of this one. Both she, Glenn Beck and others have not apologized sufficiently enough for the contributory negligence of their violence-tainted histrionic remarks. In fact, Beck removes himself as a contributing factor by not only coming to the defense of Palin but by putting up on his own website a retraction of violence as he stands there as if he were part of a Norman Rockwell painting peering in so cutely with a gun.

I am questioning today whether any of the injured or any of the family of those who perished could bring suit against most particularly uber prominent political personalities and the microphones and conduits they use to make millions without thought about the consequences of their speech. I believe their rancid public rhetoric comes perilously close to encouraging malice, violence and even treason against our country.

Free speech is one thing but yelling fire in a crowded theater is unacceptable and our Supreme Court under Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said so. The 1919 unanimous decision by the Court in Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919) established free speech limits which exist even to this day. This case used the "clear and present danger" yardstick to limit just how far one can go if one by their speech could endanger the public safety. The Court stated and I quote:

The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. [...] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.

I believe there are limits -- ESPECIALLY for public figures -- as to the express and implied violence of their speech which could encourage the tinderbox that is our nation to ignite. They are to me guilty of contributing by their violent rhetoric to the horrendous occurrences and attempted assassination of a Representative of the U.S. House Gabriel Gifford, the killing of a US District Judge John Rolle and five others who were simply stopping by to say hi to their Representative Gabriel Giffords while attending a political event. Whether those who clearly incite violence can be indicted for contributing to this national catastrophe remains to be seen. I suspect their First Amendment rights to free speech will provide the umbrella they would need to defend themselves but it should give them pause for thought before they speak.

In George Orwell’s famous novel “Animal Farm” about the nature of the all tyrannical extremes he states: “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” In this case I say all political extremes are guilty of contributory negligence in this latest Tucson horror show but some extremes are surely guiltier than others.

The 9 year old girl, Christina-Taylor Green, who was killed in this mayhem was born amazingly on 9/11. If that is not a metaphorical fact of what violence has done to this nation than nothing is.

Words to Contemplate:

The Wrath of Fools: An Open Letter to the Far Right

Monday 10 January 2011

by: William Rivers Pitt, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

The Wrath of Fools: An Open Letter to the Far Right
(Image: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t)

To: Palin-lovers, Fox "News," the "mainstream" media, and the Far Right, et al.

From: William Rivers Pitt

Date: Monday 10 January 2011

Re: The blood on your hands

Dear “Patriots,”

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords isn't much older than I am. She served in the Arizona State House of Representatives, and the Arizona State Senate, before being elected to three successive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. She once described herself as a "former Republican," and is today considered a "Blue Dog" Democrat, meaning she holds a number of conservative political positions. This is not terribly surprising, given the generally conservative political bent of the state she has served for the last ten years. She was married four years ago to a space shuttle commander who had served as a Naval aviator, and who flew 39 combat missions in Desert Storm, before volunteering for astronaut training.

Last Wednesday, she was sworn in to her third term as the Representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district. One of her first acts in the newly-minted 112th Congress was to read aloud from the House floor, in response to the Republican Party's recitation of the Constitution, the following lines: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

She returned to Arizona not long after to assist in the implementation of that most vital of Constitutional principles, calling together a meeting of her constituents in a peaceable assembly so the citizens she represents could petition the government for a redress of grievances. Among the gathered crowd were a number of her staffers, a judge, and a nine-year-old girl named Christina-Taylor Green who was born on September 11, 2001.

And then all Hell broke loose.

A man named Jared Lee Loughner waded into the group and fired a bullet into Rep. Giffords' skull at point-blank range, before turning his weapon on others in the crowd. Christina-Taylor Greene, who would have celebrated her tenth birthday on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, was shot in the chest and killed. The woman who brought her to the event was also shot. Gabriel Zimmerman, who served as Rep. Giffords' director of community outreach, was also killed. He was 30 years old, and was recently engaged to be married. U.S. District Judge John Roll, who had served on the bench for twenty years, was also killed. Dorwin Stoddard, a church volunteer, died after putting his body between his wife and the hail of bullets. His wife was also shot. Two of Rep. Giffords' constituents, Dorothy Morris and Phyllis Scheck, were also killed. All in all, 31 shots were fired before several brave souls tackled Loughner, disarmed him, and wrestled him to the ground.

At the time of this writing, Rep. Giffords is lying in a hospital bed in critical condition. The God you Bible-spewing frauds love to flog the rest of us with must have been in that supermarket crowd with her on Saturday, with His hand on her shoulder, because it is nothing short of a full-fledged miracle she survived at all. Doctors are actually cautiously optimistic that she will survive, though the degree to which she will ultimately recover is still sorely in doubt. She can respond to simple commands, according to her doctors, and is marginally able to communicate. If she survives her wound, it is wretchedly certain her life will never, ever be the same.

I just thought you should know a few things about the people you helped into their graves and hospital beds this weekend.

Yes, you.

You false patriots who bring assault rifles to political rallies, you hack politicians and media personalities who lied through your stinking teeth about "death panels" and "Obama is coming for your guns" and "He isn't a citizen" and "He's a secret Muslim" and "Sharia Law is coming to America," you who spread this bastard gospel and you who swallowed it whole, I am talking to you, because this was your doing just as surely as it was the doing of the deranged damned soul who pulled the trigger. The poison you injected into our culture is deeply culpable for this carnage.

You who worship Jesus at the top of your lungs (in defiance of Christ's own teachings on the matter of worship, by the way) helped put several churchgoers into their graves and into the hospital. You who shriek about the sanctity of marriage helped cut down a man who was about to be married. You who crow with ceaseless abandon about military service and the nobility of our fighting forces helped to critically wound the wife of a Naval aviator who fought for you in a war. You who hold September 11 as your sword and shield helped put a little girl born on that day into the ground.

You helped. Yes, damn you, you helped.

The "mainstream" media is already working overtime playing up the "Disturbed loner" angle with all their might. There is no doubt, from the available evidence, of Mr. Loughner's transformation into a disturbed individual. But here's the funny part: all the crazy crap he spewed, about the gold standard (a favorite of Glenn Beck, the master of Fox "News" fearmongering...so he can sell his gold scam to suckers) and government mind control and everything else before going on his rampage, is straight out of the Right-Wing Insanity Handbook. His personal YouTube ramblings were a mishmash of right-wing anti-government nonsense...the kind that attracts sick minds like Loughner, the kind that only reinforces their paranoia, the kind that finally pushes them over the brink and into the frenzy of violence that took place on Saturday. The kind that the likes of you have been happily spreading by the day.

He did not act alone. You were right there with him. You helped.

I'm talking to you, "mainstream" media people, who created this atmosphere of desperate rage and total paranoia out of whole cloth because of your unstoppable adoration for spectacle, and ratings, and because the companies that own your sorry asses agree with the deranged cretins you helped make so famous and powerful. It was sickeningly amusing on Sunday to watch Wolf Blitzer bluster and bluff on CNN about how the media owns no responsibility for this disaster. It was like watching a ten-year-old try to explain how a lamp got broken while he was running through the living room, but no, it wasn't him. It was, in reality, a pathetic display...but that is what you generally get whenever Wolf is on your screen.

"Mainstream" news personalities like David Gergen and John King bent over backwards warning people not to blame Sarah Palin and her ilk for this calamity. It was a sick man who did this, they said. Bollocks to that. I hate to break this to the "mainstream" media know-betters, but words matter. When people like Palin spray the airwaves with calls to violence and incantations of imminent doom, people like Loughner are listening, and prepared to act. The "mainstream" media lets it fly without any questions or rebuttal, because it's good for ratings, and here we are. Words matter. Play Russian Roulette long enough, and someone inevitably winds up dead.

Remember the run-up to the Iraq invasion, and the subsequent occupation? "WMD everywhere, al Qaeda connections to 9/11, plastic sheeting and duct tape because we're all gonna die!" was the central theme of the majority of your broadcast schedule for years...until it was all proven to be a lie. You helped the liars, you were the liars, but you knew that. You also got your spectacle, and the corporations that own you got paid a king's ransom, so everyone was happy, except the dead.

Tell me this is any different, I dare you. For the spectacle, the ratings and the pleasure of your owners, you ran names like "Sarah Palin" across the sky in lights, even after she should have faded into well-deserved obscurity, and helped this blister of right-wing rage fester until it finally burst. This was your show, and in perhaps the most wretched irony of all, I would bet all my worldly possessions that your ratings are through the roof right now. You got what you wanted. I hope you are pleased.

And yes, I'm talking to you, Sarah Palin, you unutterably disgusting fraud. You pulled it off your ridiculous website, but it's out there: you put cross-hairs - literally, cross-hairs - on Rep. Giffords, you blithered about "reloading" instead of "retreating," and you made this country more stupid and violent with every breath you took. Well, congratulations, you failure, you quitter, you inciter of mobs. You put the cross-hairs on her, and someone finally pulled the trigger. Run from it all you like, Lady MacBeth, but this blood will never be washed from your hands.

I'm talking to you, Sharron Angle, you walking punch-line, who talked about "Second Amendment remedies" being necessary if you didn't get your way on health care reform during your failed Senate campaign.

I'm talking to you, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly, and Michael Savage, and Ann Coulter, and Laura Ingraham, and to every other right-wing tripe-spewing blowhard blogger and Fox News broadcaster. I hope you are proud of yourselves, because this is the day you get to reap what you have been relentlessly sowing since you were forced to encompass the unmitigated outrage of a Black man winning the office of President of the United States.

That's right, I said it. Anyone who thinks good old-fashioned American bigotry and racism are not the core motivation for a vast majority of these so-called "revolutionaries" should get their heads examined. You've heard of the "elephant in the middle of the room?" Well, this is the burning cross in the middle of the room, and no amount of spin will douse those flames.

I'm talking to you, Koch Brothers. Your money to create and spread this disease was well-spent; you now have one less Democrat in the House to worry about, at least for the foreseeable future. Congratulations, you un-American sacks of filth.

And I'm talking to each and every one of you who listened to these traitors and believed the nonsense they spewed at you for no other reason than to pick your pockets for campaign/organization contributions. I'm talking to you who wore your silly fatigues and carried your badly-spelled fact-deprived signs to protests with pistols on your hips and rifles on your shoulders. You who threw bricks through the windows of politicians you disagreed with. You who shot out the windows of Rep. Giffords' office not even a year ago.

You worked very hard to create exactly this atmosphere in America, and now it has come to be. We have entered the age of the Wrath of Fools, and we now must again exist in an America where the word "assassination" has become all too relevant.

You helped this happen. You.

You know it. I know it. Have the guts to admit it, even if only to yourselves.

I know many Republicans and conservatives, and consider them to be dear friends. The single most influential person in my life (aside from my mother) was a rock-ribbed conservative Republican, and there is no person I respected more than him. I do not count these people, and those like them, among those whom I address here. They are as sickened and repulsed by you as I am.

This is not the end of the story, but is just the beginning. The good people of the United States of America, the true patriots, have finally seen you with your media-painted masks ripped off. They have seen what comes to pass when hate, venom, ignorance and violence goes unchecked and unanswered. You have been exposed, and the fact that it took such an unimaginably horrific act for that exposure to take place only increases the fierceness with which you will be answered. You will be repudiated, not with violence, but with the scorn and rejection you so richly deserve. Spin it as you will, scramble all you like. You are found out, and you have nowhere to hide.

Oh, P.S., if anyone reading this is operating under the delusion that the overheated right-wing rhetoric that went a long way towards almost getting Rep. Giffords killed, and had a strong hand in putting six people in the ground, is some sort of new Obama-era phenomenon, well...

"I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus - living fossils - so we will never forget what these people stood for."

- Rush Limbaugh, Denver Post, 12-29-95

"Get rid of the guy. Impeach him, censure him, assassinate him."

- Rep. James Hansen (R-UT), talking about President Clinton

"We're going to keep building the party until we're hunting Democrats with dogs."

- Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX), Mother Jones, 08-95

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building."

- Ann Coulter, New York Observer, 08-26-02

"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."

- Ann Coulter, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, 02-26-02

"Chelsea is a Clinton. She bears the taint; and though not prosecutable in law, in custom and nature the taint cannot be ignored. All the great despotisms of the past - I'm not arguing for despotism as a principle, but they sure knew how to deal with potential trouble - recognized that the families of objectionable citizens were a continuing threat. In Stalin's penal code it was a crime to be the wife or child of an 'enemy of the people.' The Nazis used the same principle, which they called Sippenhaft, 'clan liability.' In Imperial China, enemies of the state were punished 'to the ninth degree': that is, everyone in the offender's own generation would be killed and everyone related via four generations up, to the great-great-grandparents, and four generations down, to the great-great-grandchildren, would also be killed."

- John Derbyshire, National Review, 02-15-01

"Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity. The degree these two have diminished is in direct proportion to the corruption and fall of the nation. Every problem that has arisen (sic) can be directly traced back to our departure from God's Law and the disenfranchisement of White men."

- State Rep. Don Davis (R-NC), emailed to every member of the North Carolina House and Senate, reported by the Fayetteville Observer, 08-22-01

I could go on, and on, and on, and on, but you get the gist.

Most Disrespectfully Yours,
William Rivers Pitt

Gunning for Giffords: The events in Tuscon chill one's soul. All of us who call ourselves human and who live in one of the freest nations on earth must be staggered by the carnage that occurred in that city which resembled more of the wild west from which Tuscon was born. Many are focusing on the electric explosive current coursing through the veins of the contemporary politics of our nation. The Internet we know is filled with violent speech most especially on the extremist right calling for the elimination of Democrats. In the coming days there can be no doubt that media will be concentrating on this sad fact of the incivility of American political discourse today.

Michael Moore recently sent to his supporters his Twitter blog about this dastardly event. If you Google his name you will see his opinion and even an opinion by Keith Olbermann about this sad occurrence which Moore posted on his page as well. The link is: http://www.michaelmoore.com.

Specifically and most importantly, Sarah Palin's cross-hairs post during the 2010 election cycle (sent to me by a relative) appears in the writings of the great conservative-leaning journalist Andrew Sullivan (See link below). It is sickening evidence, indeed, that our prominent public figures are contributing to this hateful social climate which is bringing in a tsunami of grief and unprecedented gun violence to this nation. Palin's site which she used targeted Representative Gabrielle Giffords of the 8th District in Tuscon and many others elsewhere to be in the cross-hairs marked for elimination.

I am questioning whether any of the injured or any of the family of those who perished could bring suit against most particularly uber prominent political personalities such as Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, and the microphone for them Fox News, they have used to make millions. I believe their rancid public rhetoric against Democrats and other progressives comes perilously close to encouraging malice, violence against them and even treason against our country.

Free speech is one thing but yelling fire in a crowded theater is unacceptable and our Supreme Court under Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said so. The 1919 unanimous decision by the Court in Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919) established free speech limits which exist even to this day. This case used the "clear and present danger" yardstick to limit just how far one can go if one by their speech could endanger the public safety. The Court stated and I quote:

The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. [...] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.

I believe there are limits especially for public figures as to the embedded and implied violence of their speech which could encourage the tinderbox that is our nation to ignite. They are to me guilty of contributing by their violent rhetoric to the horrendous occurrences and attempted assassination of a Representative of the U.S. House. Whether Palin, Beck, and many others on the right not the least of which is Fox News can be indicted for contributing to this national catastrophe remains to be seen.

The 9 year old girl who was killed in this mayhem was born amazingly on 9/11. If that is not a metaphorical fact of what violence has done to this nation than nothing is.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/01/an-assassination.html

If I had a Hammer: Matt Taibbi's piece in Rolling Stone Magazine "The Crying Shame of John Boehner" which is about John the new Speaker of the House Boehner and weep (link below). Boehner REALLY is crying for himself because NOW he is in the spotlight. Please if you read nothing else read this article. Taibbi writes in a VERY entertaining way and even though it appears long it goes by in a nanosecond it's that good. While you're at it pass it on and let all your friends know just WHO John Boehner our new Speaker REALLY is and what many who are in Congress are REALLY about.

It is sickening indeed that the GREAT maybe the GREATEST speaker of the House EVER, Nancy Pelosi, had to give up her gavel for this utter beltway lobbyist boot licking fraud, John Boehner.

Read, savor and enjoy!

God bless America and God bless our Constitution creators for creating the most important freedoms; the ones contained in the very FIRST amendment -- Freedom of the press, speech, etc. Without it if you think it's bad now one can only imagine the horror of this country without it.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/matt-taibbi-the-crying-shame-of-john-boehner-20110105

Swan Lake as you have never seen it before!

This was sent by a relative of mine. To say it is GORGEOUS does it a supreme disservice.

Did I say the Chinese people astound me? This is why China is rising and will, if they have not already, eclipse this nation in many things especially things of intellect and art! Just my opinion. There is a precision and perfection these people exhibit which I saw at the Olympics and which takes my breath away. This performance of Swan Lake was SO beautiful it sent chills through my body.

p.s. I was the second girl from the right in the line! :-\ Click on the link below and enjoy it is perfection!


http://www.nzwide.com/swanlake.htm

Forgive even though English IS my first language: Yes, forgive the spelling error in my last post. Did I say I love English but I really do NOT like homonyms? They tend to make English foot stamping annoying. I promise I do know the difference between thrown and throne. Cross out thrown as in throwing a pie which is what I would like to throw in MY face and in its place put throne as in the highest seat of power which resides in the next to last sentence of my opinion.

Writing one's thoughts with no errors in the late evening near the midnight hour is always a risk for me. One part of my brain is saying write and the other part of my brain is saying sleep.

I write (NOT right) when I SHOULD have slept! :-\

I loath grammatically incorrect sentence structure and not only that I hate it! :-)

A Done Dailey Deal? 315 million human beings in this country and you mean to tell me Barack Obama could not find anyone who could (1) get along with everyone and (2) tout progressive policy to fill the vacant Chief of Staff position? Today Barack Obama yet again kicked his base in the teeth. Am I angry? Yes, I am, damn angry that he selected Bill Dailey once I found out from whence Dailey came – JP Morgan Chase and the wonderful world of Wall Street banksters. I thought the president yet again turned his back on his base, the ones who loved him and gave us his posterior. Okay, maybe I'm wrong and Howard Dean, who has enormous respect for Dailey is right. I certainly HOPE so. You BET I was angry though. I was FURIOUS really and I said so to the NYT which printed my sentiments online. This is what I said with a few grammatical corrections:

Having fallen in love with Barack Obama during his campaign in 2008 and celebrated into the wee morning hours after the November, 2008 election, I stand incredulous, scratching my head wondering if this was the man I thought would finally put my yearning to have an FDR-like president occupy, once again, the White House. I thought this man would infuse this nation and me with the same charisma, strength of leadership and purpose with which FDR filled my own parents’ hearts. Having been born three years after FDR's death I had to be content with study of that, as the historian Doris Kearns Goodwin puts it, no ordinary time.

I thought we were in no ordinary time when we came painfully close to economic annihilation. I THOUGHT we were in no ordinary time when we were involved in two and some say THREE bank-busting blood-curdling wars at the same time one of which was utter folly. I put my whole heart into the election of this president but the change is oh so painfully slow and often barely evident on the big ticket items. It is said and I have read that it really was not the president who achieved all that the lame duck Congress did but rather it was thanks to Nancy Pelosi and Leader Reid for its accomplishments. It was they I have read who wielded the most power and cared about the base more than President Obama ever did. He merely signed what they had written. Thank god at least for that.

I am not discounting the things that have been done by this president and passed by the 211th Congress or, most especially, in the lame duck session. Still, the occupiers of the seats of power and administration’s advisers take on a HIGHLY conservative bent so much so that I do not know why so called "conservatives" gripe about anything this president does.

Summers is out, Gibbs is out and others soon will be out. Who comes in? Open the doors wide for Chief of Staff who -- William Dailey of the bankster J.P. Morgan Chase fame. Yet ANOTHER even more Wall Street entrenched adviser will be the gateway to the president. Since day one of the Obama administration I have been asking myself who is this Barack Obama. Who is this man I heard give such rousing speeches that warmed my heart, buoyed my spirits and made me think my prayers for a Rooseveltesque presidency would FINALLY be answered?

I am more disappointed than I have ever been. I am sadder than I have ever been as I see our economy sputter barely lifting its head. It needs more than a band aid to resuscitate it and who does Obama put in grave positions of immense leadership more foxes who killed us poor chickens in the first place.

I will just BET Mr. Dailey JP Morgan Chase had a fine year last year with a firm which was one of the most egregious offenders in our economic debacle. I will just bet his 401K did not tank. I will just bet that he has no worries about getting sick, losing his home or his ability to pay for the next prescription drug. I'll bet Mr. Daley did just fine.

I thought Barack Obama was the most liberal member of the Senate. One could not prove that by me. Where is the evidence of that? Why do I think that Barack Obama really does not want this job? Why do I think he is doing everything he can to alienate his base so that they will NOT show up for his reelection in 2012?

Please forgive my armchair psychology but I cannot help but think that what the first lady was alleged to have said to the French president's wife was the truth. They back peddled it in France a bit but when asked by Mrs. Sarkozy how she enjoyed the White House, Michelle allegedly said: "It’s hell. I can’t stand it!" I think not only SHE thinks that way but her husband and our president does as well. It is the only reason I can come up with for the president to kick dirt in the face of those who loved him and brought him to the dance. It is the only reason why I see no effort whatsoever to bring those banksters who committed those dastardly acts to face prosecution and ultimately jail. Now with a decidedly right wingnut Republican House that is revolting in the extreme and an Obama White House dedicated to the protection of the top 2% I can kiss justice goodbye. It's arc is bending in the opposite direction.

If our president is looking for an invitation to dinner from conservatives I say good luck, Mr. President, with that. You will NEVER be part of their group NOR should you give your base one moment to think that that is what you REALLY want. On the other hand if it isn’t and If you TRULY do not want to be president in 2012, please by all means, abdicate the thrown (oops I mean THRONE) now. At this point, I will take Joe Biden and be thrilled!

Civil Agreement: I wrote this letter to The Boston Globe regarding Jeff Jacoby's January 5, 2011 article entitled "Reliving -- and denying -- an Ugly Past (link below)

Jeff, astounding we agree. Your January 5, 2011 The Boston Globe article "Reliving -- and denying -- an ugly past" was beautifully written and quite correct. It did not skirt the obvious and provable pre and post Civil War history of our country that slavery, indeed, was the Civil War's centrifugal force. To say that slavery was not the inextricable fact of the so called southern "cause" is like a Holocaust denier saying the Holocaust did not exist to the extent that Jews say it did. Those who deny both make me see red.

I suggest, if you haven't already, watching on PBS "American Experience" a biography of exalted-to-sainthood-by-the-south General of Confederate forces, Robert E. Lee. It speaks to interesting truths most especially about the background and personality of Lee. I never have held any illusions about southern Confederate history as I hold no illusions about the morphing of the contemporary Republican Party into its Dixiecrat child. The Republican Party bears absolutely no resemblance to the party of Lincoln despite the myth that Republicans love to perpetrate themselves as the party of him. The Republican Party today and its Dixiecrat parent resemble more the biography of Robert E. Lee.

Until his death the only regret Lee had was that he lost the biggest battle of his life, the Civil War. He did not regret ever having fought for essentially the preservation of slavery (he had 200 slaves) and for what he considered was "the cause of states rights.” States Rights was the ever-present euphemism (and still is in other ways today) which gave cerebral comfort to those who used it as intellectual cover for the perpetuation of slavery and the insurance it bestowed of a permanent black under class in the south. It was an intellectual ruse so that the southern states could maintain slavery and not have it be declared illegal by Federal executive order.

The south first thought the election of Lincoln would undermine the white valued way of life. They were wrong. Lincoln wanted compromise and wanted to do anything to keep the union together. The Emancipation Proclamation was done not so much because Lincoln loathed slavery, although he did not like it very much, but was rather revenge since the south did not capitulate immediately after its initial heavy losses. Contrary to what Lincoln thought, the Emancipation Proclamation gave the Confederacy under the command of Robert E. Lee its necessary infusion of anger which fueled the righteous might of their cause. Robert E. Lee held that and, indeed, used it to catapult him to southern fame.

Lee believed in the white Christian male superiority above everything else and that god ordered him to defend it. He became a fanatically religious Christian despite the obvious hypocrisy that he believed in (as de Tocqueville stated) that "peculiar institution" his entire life. To forget this fact is to deny history. Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis too, in the end, were lucky they were not hanged for treason. Were it not for the benevolence of President Lincoln and Union General Ulysses S. Grant they would have.

There are hundreds of monuments to Lee in the south. Having those monuments would be like Germany making hundreds of monuments to Hitler and scattering them all over Europe. In total deaths, the American Civil War was the deadliest war in American History with over 620,000 fatalities. Lee died of a massive stroke maybe as he contemplated the death he delivered both to his beloved Confederate troops and to the nation against which he committed treason.

The angry sentiments surrounding our nation's fracture have not mended entirely even to this day. One can clearly see much of it. Whether one calls our fight the Civil War, the War Between the States or the War of Northern Aggression, it is emblematic that the passionate divisions which created that war still exist. Robert E. Lee, I believe, would find a home in the Republican Party today in general and the Tea Bag Party movement in particular. This is a sad fact of our collective American experience indeed but one which cannot be denied!

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/01/05/reliving__and_denying__an_ugly_past/

Base of Support: This was printed on the NYT comments section in response to its article "Republicans Set to Wield New Power in Washington"

If President Obama ignores his base he does so to his peril. The Republican House does NOT reflect the nature and desires of the American public. It reflects the fact that white people especially those who do not understand economic realities had cold water splashed on their face by the president's election AND it reflects that the president's base, people LIKE me stayed home and did not vote (although I personally DID vote Democratic.) Much of his base and his supporters are young liberals, left of center allies, most minorities and women as well. IF our base gets out to vote en mass like they did in 2008 Mr. Obama will be elected and Republican efforts to put into law their rancid destructive ideals stymied. If the president's base is discouraged and embarrassed by the president's kow towing to mainly white Republicans than his tenure in office will be brief.

He and other Democrats should know in no uncertain terms that compromising the hallmark of the FDR's New Deal legislation, Social Security and Medicare is OFF limits. His base IF he cuts or eliminates those programs will sit home and not vote. Why should they vote? Either he is for those majorities who brought him to this pinnacle of world power or he is not.

The Republicans SAY they will not compromise while they hold ONLY the House. They seem to mean what they say. They dig in their uncompromising heels in even when they were responsible for the ditch into which this nation was thrown. Their actions should be met with equal and opposite STEADFAST reactions by Democrats.

There can be NO compromise on the greatest programs this nation has ever seen. To leave the fate of millions of elderly, disabled or sick human beings to Wall Street banksters is to assign those sick, elderly and disabled to a certain short life and eventual early death. Ironically the Republican party IS the TRUE death panel.

The markets have betrayed the public over and over and over again. Maybe some day our American public will learn. The Republican party is bought, sold and tied in a bow for the top 2%. It is a party NOT about the middle class or the poor. It is masochistic for a public again and again to vote a toxic brew into power who care only about the very very rich.

We on the other side of the isle should be GLUED to our seats, GLUED to our philosophy, GLUED to our principles. We should never falter and we should never fail. We are at a crossroads perhaps similar to our Civil War era. Either we succeed as a nation together or we fail. Mr. President and all Congressional Democrats, it's up to you to ensure your own fate and the fate of our Republic as well!

Do NOT forget your base, Mr. President, your legacy, so far not all I would have wanted, but admirable nonetheless, in 2012 will be at stake. Make no mistake your base is watching!

Next Best Writer!

I wrote this to Salon.com after reading Matt Zoller Seitz's article for Salon entitled "The Oprah Winfrey Network's odd, splashy kick-off" I urge you to read it. It is wonderfully written, entertaining and in my view, right on the money (so to speak!) I enclose the link below.

Matt, I was as enthralled with your article as I sometimes have been with the big "O's" programming during her meteoric rise to fame over 25 years!

YOU should be part of a show dedicated to finding the next BEST writer. This article about the "NEW" Oprah-saturated OWN network is described by you better than I, who humbly consider myself a decent writer, ever could. I was riveted on your "The Oprah Winfrey Network's odd, splashy kick-off" article. There is not one word in it with which I do not agree. Your writing is superb and ever so interesting I could not wait to get to the next word.

Your thoughts calm all the years of my frustrated rage watching Oprah's money sucking sugar coated kitsch with someone else who is often glued to her comments. Your piece is brilliant and satisfies me beyond anything the "New Network" could convey!

Having said that and still believing all of it, one cannot deny that in many ways Oprah over the years has helped many distressed humans. Sometimes even I, the world's most seasoned curmudgeon and doubter supreme, think about her positive mantras.

Still, charlatans and snake oil salesmen have been with us since the horse drawn carriage. That salesmanship has matured to heights never before imagined but it does not mean that those who drive the horses with their wares inside are not the same. They are. It's simply snake oil by a different name -- OWN!

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/2011/01/01/oprah_network_premiere/index.html

Wired: This is a response to Glen Greenwald's article on Salon.com (link below) entitled "Wired's refusal to release or comment on the Manning chat logs." It concerns Private Manning, Wikileaks, and two journalists from "Wired" story about Private Manning (and their government informant source Lamo) but their refusing to answer pertinent questions about the important minutiae of what Lamo said about his communication with Private Manning. Click on the link below to get the details of Greenwald's article. It is rather lengthy but I think it important.

I responded to it:

I love Glen Greenwald because he is a brilliant attorney and because his life is dedicated to the enforcement of civil libertarian principles which are the underpinning of our democracy or what is left of them after 911. I love him because he possesses the laser-like ability to challenge inconsistencies of truth in what the government is telling a public, what the press is telling that same public and what the powerful may be withholding from the public to ensure their own survival at the expense of the powerless.

I have said I had mixed emotions about Wikileaks BUT I have no mixed emotion where the rights of the state to detain, interrogate and imprison human beings in conditions which amount to torture and which afford the detainee no ability for habeus corpus, presentation of evidence against him or the ability to face his accusers to present a case even within the military justice system.

Most ESPECIALLY I feel strongly about an American citizen being afforded those rights especially if the person is apprehended and imprisoned without hope of trial, illegally tortured by residing in the harshest conditions and is wearing the uniform of the United States which represents all of us who are citizens of these United States.

Glen Greenwald has an attorney's razor sharp analytical mind which sees accusations against a detainee and logically analyzes the veracity of the charges, the method of detention, and the implementation by the state of the due process clauses of our Constitutional republic i.e. the1st , 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th , and 14th Amendments.

He, unlike an extreme right wing nationalist, truly sees the possibility of human rights abuses that the government can perpetrate because they are entrusted by the people with such IMMENSE power. If we give them that power the rule of law we trust will prevail. We trust that the due process Amendments to our Constitution will be enforced even and most especially during the most DIFFICULT circumstances for the state.

Clearly, in my opinion, the terrorists win if we as a nation so cavalierly ignore humanity's hard won rights from King John's Magna Carta of 1215 to our own 1789 Constitutional manifesto. If those rights are abridged it is at our own peril because if WE as individuals ever need those rights to protect us they will not be there. History has, indeed, shown how easy it is for government to ignore those rights and skirt the boundaries of power.

The government does NOT give us those rights. We rather give those in government the right to use that power judiciously adhering to the rule of law. All too often, especially after a national tragedy, abuse of those powers prevails despite an administration heretofore saying it is resoundingly dedicated to the observation of those civil libertarian rights. We were promised this administration would strictly observe those rights and that transparency of government would prevail.

If Bradley Manning, the alleged perpetrator of the transmission of state classified information is guilty then so be it. BUT before we pronounce him as such and he is relegated to imprisonment for the rest of his days, this young Manning SHOULD have his day in court, should be able to face his accusers, see all of the evidence against him and mount a public defense.

Kevin Poulsen and Evan Hansen the editors of “Wired,” Adrian Lamo the alleged government informant confidant of Poulsen and journalists in general are the public’s only safeguards against the tyrannical abuse of power by government. It is the only instrument which the individual in a democracy has at his or her disposal to determine fact from fiction. Poulsen, Hansen, and Lamo owe a truthful response to Glen Greenwald’s pointed questions about Private Manning's dissemination of classified state information with respect to the Wikileaks case.

In the final analysis it is Private Manning's right and, truthfully, it is all of our right to demand to see what the charges government brings and what evidence exists to support those charges. It is the press’s obligation to support those rights and expose its statements to public scrutiny. Without that ability to see and assess the truth clearly we, as the world's most premier democracy, will become something else, indeed, but a democratic republic is not it!

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/29/wired_1/index.html

Peace in our time: We know a lovely family which is composed of a Palestinian husband, a Jewish wife and their three lovely children. My words are beyond their ability to do justice this family's goodness. I was wished a happy New Year from them and responded in kind. I can only hope what I said to them is what transpires for all of us in a New Year. If I had the power I would make it happen. Collectively we can if we want it fervently enough and simply address our hearts and minds to its occurrence. We must strive to do better and retract the claws of intransigence and hate.

I said to them and I post on my blog for public reflection to all for the New Year:

You are surrounded in a sea of love and that is a wonderful thing.

We are privileged to get this one chance, albeit short, to view the awe inspiring wonder of our earth, the wondrous expanse of the universe and the beauty in each other. Man is truly a work of phenomenal art in both his body and mind. The next step is to perfect that beauty and work together for peace in our time!

A happy and peaceful New Year to all!

Supremely Good Choice: I wrote to the NYT the following opinion which was in response to its article entitled "Sotomayor Guides Court's Liberal Wing." (Link below)

This is exactly why to those of us who call ourselves progressives the election of a Democratic president Obama was CRUCIAL. I thank god or fate every day that someone occupies the oval office with a brain. I do not always agree with him on some policy but his elevation of two eminently qualified justices to the highest court in the land is a breath of fresh air and testament in and of itself why elections matter. I only hope fervently for our president to have the possibility of naming (and having confirmed) one or two more. Even just one would change the balance of the Court from a long time national progressive nightmare corporate Republican lackey activist Supreme Court to a significantly fairer court which would have the middle class and the poor more at heart. Most importantly, it could reverse the rancid Citizens United decision which put money at the heart of American politics as if it were not there enough already. Now it is there on steroids!

The elections as they exist now are and will be bought and paid for with OODLES of corporate cash. It is the worst legal quid pro quo our nation, ever in its history, including during the time of the robber barons, has experienced. It, in my opinion, nullifies one man one vote because in Orwellian "Animal Farm" fashion although all men are equal, we know some men with hundreds of millions in cash are infinitely more equal than others!

Thank you, Mr. President, for two solid intellectually stellar justices who come with, I hope, a progressive bent. We desperately need it!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/us/politics/28bar.html

GAAHEAD MAKE MY DAY!: In reference to the Globe article 12/24/10 about the Republican possible Tea Party primary challenge to Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown because of his vote Yes on DADT and the START treaty, I have one thing to say: Gaahead make this Democrat's day! Kudos to Scott Brown for not marching in lock step towing the Republican right wing extremist party line and for putting his country first!

Eating Crow?: Obviously all that the president and his administration pushed through in the last two weeks of a lame duck congress is impressive to say the least. I support him and will continue to do so into the 2012 elections. Having said that, MSNBC telejournalist Lawrence O’Donnel on his show “The Last Word” which you can Google, interviewed four authorities, journalists and policy interpreters that one could say are part of President Obama’s ardently liberal base. The question was asked in view of this landmark legislation including the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, START, the 911 responders successful legislation and more, do they feel that their criticism of him is now muted.

I will write more on this subject because my criticism of some Obama policy and, indeed, criticism of the systemic institutional decay of our nation and the world resulted in a significant disagreement with a relative whose opinion I value. They are an ardent Obama supporter, who takes umbrage at my criticism of him and the perceived aura of negativity that she thinks I often, display. There are methods to my madness. I do not need affirmation of my position but it is helpful to hear others more qualified than I still have similar indictments. The four people Lawrence O’Donnell questioned shared much of my opinion assessing the Obama presidency so far. I cannot go into detail now but will try later to give the minutiae of what they said, some of which even surprised me. Indeed, I am not alone holding a microscopic lens over anyone who occupies the most powerful position in the world even if it is the current president whom I more often than not support. More to come.

A Letter from Michael Moore: The following is a letter I received from Michael Moore, the documentary film maker. It shows just how far power will go NOT to help those whom they serve but to protect their OWN power. It is why we must be ever vigilant no matter who holds the reins which determine who shall live, who shall die and what the fate of our country and world will be. They literally play god with our lives. The letter he wrote which left me both incredulous and, its opposite, not surprised, I paste below and after that I enclose MY own response to him:

Subject: Another WikiLeaks Cable from the Bush Administration About My Movies -- a note from Michael Moore
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

Twice within four days, my name has popped up in the Bush-era secret cables uncovered by WikiLeaks. Lucky me. Though nowhere near as earth-shattering as the uncovering of American misdeeds in Iraq and Afghanistan, these classified cables provide a stunning and bizarre peek into the paranoid minds of the Bush White House when it came to the subject of one Michael Francis Moore.

And considering how WikiLeaks has released only 1,826 cables of its planned drop of 251,287 -- and I've already played a starring role twice -- I can only say I await with bemused anticipation how the moi-storyline will play itself out.

The most recent secret cable revelation is in today's Guardian newspaper of London. It's entitled, "US Intervened in Michael Moore NZ Screening." Oh yeah, baby! New Zealand! That's where we'll stop Moore and his band of evildoers!

The date was July 30, 2004. 'Fahrenheit 9/11' was already a huge hit in the United States. Just to give you an idea how huge, it had hit #1 at the box office, the only documentary to have ever accomplished this feat, and had made more on its opening weekend than 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.'

But it was no easy path to get there. Disney (which owned Miramax) was apoplectic when they saw the final cut. So they pulled the film from its theatrical schedule. Then they put a permanent block on its release, insuring no one would see it. But then the New York Times, in a front page story, reported that the real reason Disney hated 'Fahrenheit' was they were worried about the tax breaks it got in Jeb Bush's Florida for Disney World. This caused some embarrassment, so Disney then sold 'Fahrenheit' to the Weinstein Bros., who said they'd spend their own money to distribute it.

The release of the film caused concern at the White House, as this was the re-election year. They hired a pollster who told them the film might tip the election. That was enough for them to swing into action. Much of July was a nonstop barrage of attacks on me and the movie. But that just resulted in more tickets being sold.

Which brings us to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. There are few nations on earth further away from us. A local chapter of the ruling Labor Party apparently had decided to do a fundraising screening of 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' It was to be hosted by the Prime Minister's Cabinet Secretary for the Environment.

Well, when the U.S. Embassy in Wellington got word of this, it was like all heck broke loose. America was offended! Phone calls were made to the Prime Minister! Then to the Cabinet Secretary! We ... are ... not ... happy!

Apparently, the Kiwis backed down and the Cabinet Secretary withdrew as the host. A sigh of relief whiffed its way through the American embassy. Moore stopped! The cable back to Washington showed the embassy had no problem taking credit for putting the kabosh on yours truly:

"... it is probable that this potential fiasco may only have been averted because of our phone calls -- it is apparent to us that neither the Minister nor anyone else in the Labour government seems to have thought there was anything wrong with a senior Minister hosting such an event."

So here's my question:

Really? I mean, seriously -- really? This is how the Bush State Department was spending its time -- on a single screening of 'Fahrenheit 9/11' in freakin' New Zealand? Was this kind of interference happening just to New Zealand? Call me crazy, but I gotta feelin' it doesn't stop there.

Just as a health insurance executive has now come forward as a whistleblower to reveal the millions spent to smear 'Sicko,' I can't help wait for that day when the whistleblower from the Bush White House comes forward to tell the fascinating tale of how the Bush team believed they had to do something -- anything -- to stop 'Fahrenheit.' Or worse (like the "Plan B" the health insurance companies discussed -- to "push Michael Moore off a cliff."). I didn't want to think about what the Bush Plan B would be. Just wasn't worth the crazy-making. So I ignored the things I'd hear, kept my head down and motored on.

But, it does make you wonder. And I ask you, is it fair to pose the question: If they were this focused on some insignificant screening in New Zealand, what else were they up to? And I don't mean in regards to me. I mean anyone who was on their enemies list ...

I can't wait to read more classified cables.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Of course, given the false claims the State Department made in the other "secret" cable about my movie 'Sicko,' I guess anything was possible.

P.P.S. Don't miss the REAL revelations from just the first batch of WikiLeaks cables. For instance, the Obama administration worked together with Republicans to kill an investigation by Spain into Bush's torture. Pfizer hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on the Attorney General of Nigeria. Bush's ambassador to France planned to "retaliate" against the country for standing up to Monsanto. And we're less than 1% of the way through [the leaks] ...

MY RESPONSE:

Michael so many love you (including me) and depend on you for the revelatory information you expose through your appearances and through your documentary film making. When you are on any programming (radio, TV, film, or if you are sending smoke signals) I watch or listen!

Keep doing what you are doing and, PLEASE stay healthy because many love you, need you and people like you to shed the truth. I worry about you as I do ALL people whom I think are SO important to be our voice of REASON, artistic excellence and who are instrumental in speaking truth to power. You have changed the importance of the documentary film because you shed light on those who create madness with their toxic, self-serving, cruel, deceitful, explosive and often illegal use of power they should never have had but did and probably will again because the people do not know the truth.

It is wonderful we, who do not have much power, have people like you and many others who bring light to the darkness and show the insects which depend on that darkness for life, scurrying for cover.

Long may you live!

Summing up--Leadership of the Possible

A relative, who is an Obama supporter, to put it mildly, writes opinion. I am an Obama supporter too as those who know me could attest but at times, when warranted, I levy criticism. I am going to paste in what I said to my relative when they summed up the two-year Obama presidency. My relative sees things realistically pragmatic and emphasizes the good this progressive president has done especially given the divided nation in which we live. Everything is a work in progress to which I wholeheartedly agree.

I do not, however, believe in political self-censorship. I believe in speaking truth to power no matter who it is. It is not only ideal it is pragmatic and the essence of the democratic system in which we live. A president or at least his administration must know the criticism especially when it is criticism within the base of the party. The Internet affords the public the unique possibility, not enjoyed by the electorate of bygone eras, of conveying sentiment instantaneously both to the administration itself and to the public at large. This is distinctively characteristic to our time. Those of us who vote in party primaries serve to ultimately choose a candidate. I believe it is my duty to praise and make public that praise but also my duty to criticize power when I deem it necessary. I do and will, of course, not stop. I offer support and have many times when it is my opinion. I did so in my response to my relative's blog below and to offer an end of the year summary in response to that as well.

I wrote the following:

I cannot help but LOVE your perspective even though I may be a curmudgeon at heart.

Yes, we are a split down the middle divided nation and we MUST get our Democratic side out to vote in 2012. A Republican president is what I am afraid of most. I am a pessimist out of mainly fear even though, my hero despite his shortcomings, FDR said that is the only thing we do have to fear.

Another relative of mine told me that the Obama naysayers should just shut up or they WILL get a Republican president next year. The image I had of myself is a little kid maybe like Peanuts or Linus with head lowered, walking away sucking his thumb and dragging a blankey feeling just a bit cowed. Sometimes, indeed, the glass is half full and we should enjoy the drink.

When one ties everything up in a bow it truly is amazing that the president has managed to do what, in fact, he has done including hate crimes legislation, DADT repeal, The Lily Ledbetter law, two progressive female SC justices, and probably a SALT treaty and more. The opposition he had would have overwhelmed any another man even the strongest. I do stare at him sometimes in amazement.

I am happy but I am worried. If one thought these two years were difficult with an intractably hateful other side of the isle, just think what is in store in the next two years. In one of my posts I asked the president to keep his handy dandy veto pen close at hand. Thank god or fate that a Democrat is sitting in the oval office to be able to use it. Remember Sarah Palin? She is always out there making one realize how good it is to have defeated the likes of her.

I, a proud member of Obama’s liberal base, still support him enthusiastically for 2012. The alternative simply chills me to the bone and yes, he has done much good and presented us with a new definition of leadership of the possible. He saw a path to compromise and did so! We did get some rather than getting stuck with none. More than even that is he is a historical figure of monumental import elected to our highest office in our time. I am most happy I had the chance to live to see that, indeed!

Happy Holidays and Happy Healthy New Year!

Wall Street’s Theft and Its Hold on Power: Back to reality after the high of the DADT overturn. Good feelings cannot last forever especially since the American public’s Wall Street ire has seen fit in its infinite wisdom to elect Republicans (the party of Wall Street) who are double the right wingnut extreme of the last Party of No in the 111th Congress. This one will provide, I suspect, even more hair ripping moments for people of my political persuasion. Moreover, since many of the state legislatures are in Republican control the Congress for the next election may prove even more difficult for Obama’s 2012 hoped-for victory. My good mood, therefore lasted exactly 24 hours.

Quoting from MSNBC:

The 2010 census report coming out Tuesday will include a boatload of good political news for Republicans and grim data for Democrats hoping to re-elect President Barack Obama and rebound from last month's devastating elections.

The population continues to shift from Democratic-leaning Rust Belt states to Republican-leaning Sun Belt states, a trend the Census Bureau will detail in its once-a-decade report to the president. Political clout shifts, too, because the nation must reapportion the 435 House districts to make them roughly equal in population, based on the latest census figures.

I love the NYT economic editorialist Paul Krugman. Mr. Krugman has a way of putting one of the most complex Wall Street theft stories and its parasitic hold on power into simple terms the Everyman can understand. I believe what he says in his NYT editorial last week. I link his post “Wall Street White Wash” below.

I have thought from Day 1 of the Obama presidency and during his ultimate selection of the banksters for his economic advisers -- the foxes who got the chickens nearly killed -- that he should have put Dr. Krugman and forces like him who are allied to the middle class and not to Wall Street, at his side. Krugman's predictions so often are correct.

President Obama did not do all I thought he would when I voted for him. The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has tempered my otherwise down-in-the-dumps feelings but I have for two years been scratching my head and wondering why he is not the man I thought I knew whether it was about health care, tax cuts, civil liberties or war. Here is some of the analysis about which I gave a great deal of thought:

I believe the president knew from the moment he stepped into office that there are forces of money and power in Washington, in the country and, indeed, in the world that even the president cannot control. He realized in no time that they, in fact, controlled him. I believe he, too, has a compromising personality as his time on the Harvard Law Review suggested. The tax deal and health care were symbolic of his understanding that legislation is about compromise. The question becomes, however, will the other side accept that premise too especially in our new even more decidedly “conservative” majority House and with the Republican gains in the Senate as well. Mr. President, keep your handy dandy veto pen in close proximity.

Washington is bought, sold and owned by huge corporate banking and industrial (often military) moneyed interests. While the fact of this monstrosity may not have been Obama's cup of tea he had a proclivity to politely drink what he was offered knowing it was probably an offer he could not refuse.

He knew he could not overrule the banks and their lobbying interests stuffed with cash. Moreover, (I'm going out on a limb) maybe he even feared for his life if he challenged them. Recently, I have been reading a book entitled "Family of Secrets" about the Bush family dating back to W’s grandfather and H.W. Bush’s father, Prescott Bush.

Their Yale Skull and Bones comrades and other good-ole-boy connections with their attendant right wing political and business ideological rigidity always remained secret but a source for the acquisition of monumental power. Many of their connections were in banking and oil and, in the book, there is speculation, albeit unverifiable, about their relationship to the JFK assassination. The author suggests that a cozy clandestine relationship of right wing business and government interests had a desire to see JFK removed from office. The author submits that certain high powers within our government thought JFK was not sufficiently committed to their military, industrial, anti-Communist acquisition-of-oil from-South-America purposes. Who knows if there is truth to the author’s writing? I suggest you read the book. Let’s just say, I am reasonably satisfied that what is true about the JFK assassination is not contained in the government-produced “Warren Report.” Kennedy made a lot of enemies especially on the right.

Perhaps, the president senses the real truth of government power, has a personality amenable to compromise, and ignored much of his take-for-granted base which he gave a few but nonetheless important tidbits. Much of his presidency is an extension of the oligarchy that has, in truth, existed for decades and it will, indeed, pay any price and bear any burden to keep that power and wealth situated in the same hands of a few at the expense of the many.

If we as progressives cannot win policy even with formerly the most liberal member of the Senate elected to the pinnacle of power then we, perhaps, never will. Unless there is a true non-violent uprising of the people for humanitarian purposes on the left and not just the corporately bought off white tea bagging often ignorant nationalist clones on the right, we might have a better chance! Until then Wall Street’s theft and hold on power will be, seemingly, eternal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/opinion/17krugman.html

Press Pass – Fact not Fiction: I wrote this in response to an MSNBC story “Will Wikileaks Prompt Crackdown on Journalists.” link below.

One of the biggest culprits in the run up to the Iraq war against people, who were not involved in 911 and who did nothing to us, was the press. The press may be even guiltier than the ones who actually perpetrated wholesale slaughter for nothing because the press collectively did not do its Fourth Estate job, an imperative in a democratic state. How some at the Washington Post and the NYTimes (the big journalist guns) can sleep at night I will never know.

Those of us who have huge consciences when our nation becomes a perpetrator of war waged for no damn good reason have trouble sleeping. It makes me thrilled I never entered federal government service because I would have died of sleep deprivation. It bothered me when I inadvertently killed a bird that flew into my car window. Yes, I laud myself for that because the essence of who I am is that I could not hurt even a fly. This should not be an extraordinary human characteristic.

What is wrong with our humanity? Did we flush morality down the sewer? If I live to be 120 I will never understand the inhumanity of man against man. Nothing is worth unjustifiably taking a human life that is not yours to take. War should be the last option not the first and this country and any country should think long and hard before the first bomb is launched. Most importantly, pertinent to this article, is that the press should have examined scrupulously whether a violent action is justified and whether government is telling its people fact. The press should not hesitate a millisecond to uncover lies and speak truth to power. War is not worth the price paid by our brave troops who, ultimately, when they die, get lost in time and to other innocents who are taken way before their time if war is not fought for profound truths such as, in the case of Iraq, the existence or non existence of WMD.

Shame on much of the press for not asking the necessary penetrating questions to uncover the truth about the facts of the Iraq War, before not after the dastardly deed has been done. The press's Fourth Estate law should be, in fact, a preemptive war of the word so that we the people who do not have access to the truth can know it. It is better than a nation waging a preemptive war that kills thousands without close scrutiny of the rationale for doing so. The press could actually have saved these thousands of lives if it had doggedly pursued the rationale or lack of it for war. But the press, indeed, got a pass. They chose to cower in fear of power instead of confronting it. They are guilty of stupidity or collectively they are an immoral accomplice to wholesale murder or both!

Those who are in the echelons of power should be held accountable but they never will be because this nation’s new mantra of moving forward ignores looking backward to those who unnecessarily killed thousands, unleashed a civil war, destabilized an entire volatile region, handed our arch nemesis, Iran, hegemony and exiled over a million in our name. All of you in the press who ignored the truth that there were no WMD are as guilty as are our leaders of perpetrating an unjust, illegal, immoral war based on lies while our people slept. Next time, show some spine. Investigate and discriminate between what is fact and what is fiction. All of our lives may, indeed, one day depend upon it!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40729019/ns/politics

DO ASK AND DO TELL: DADT will be repealed! FABULOUS!! I am crying from joy. Lt. Dan Choi and so many others who have been at the forefront of the effort at great risk to themselves and who have been so oppressed, come out come out wherever you are. YOU ARE FREE! Finally, a simply difficult 111th Congress has done the right thing and without the president who will sign it this could not and would not have been done.