Author: Brian

What’s wrong with justice?

Bush says,

“That’s their decision. That doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.”

[Whitehouse version] [a Dissent]

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What’s wrong with democracy?

US.

We let dying defend too little.

picture removed, just too rough for my taste

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I’m deeply embarrassed to accuse. It’s far different than I care to be. Yet in a time of concern, our days of loss and tomorrow of debt, I want to be strong, urging, and able.

Is it true we’re fooled? Is it true we merely gild the rich? Is it true our leaders tell lies to us? Do they favor friends? Are tricks common and principles lost?

We see millions dying and killed, millions, and cannot understand and no longer respect our effort.

Oh, the incongruity! My butter heart is too thick in these dilute waters.

I know these are temporary days, as short as the longest war, but I truly truly ache so deep because we have no fist, no grip, no hand that is building our prosperity or keeping our grand horizon, nor assisting our survival, nor proud to share it.

We cannot let our era be fruitless labor. We cannot let heritage be cheap.

Not once are these odd failing days where we put our hope. Then, not once we give our hope to arrogance, not cheap satisfaction, never falsity.

We know we have proud days.

I’m sure these are proud times too.

These are times our conscience comes.

Could this be true? It’s from a comment at cbc.ca pointing out that locals in Guatemala have only low quality coffee available because the ‘middlemen’ export nearly all the good beans.

“Starbucks pays $1 per pound (green beans) for certified shade grown, hard-bean, fair trade coffee from Guatemalan farmers. 1lb of beans ends up making about 20 to 30 cups of coffee at Starbuck’s where we pay $2 per cup. They make $40-$60 per pound, making the margins astronomical.”

My worry button is saying coffee will spike its prices soon. Let’s build a solar roaster and buy in bulk. Hey! We need our coffee. Jennifer Warner at WebMD says we get “More Antioxidants From Coffee” than any other source; “Nothing else comes close”.

Bush leaves Germany and at least one German newspaper wastes no time expressing how they feel.

The Cowboy and His Sunset: Europe Happy to See the Back of Bush

…
German newspaper commentators have launched a scathing attack on US President George W. Bush’s record, saying he embodies “the arrogance of power” and has shattered the world’s faith in America. more…

…
It’s the best of all bad forms of government, but for many it’s no longer good enough. Today democracy leaves lots of people cold, and in Asia and Africa, many prefer autocratic systems.

Damaged by Bush, Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, few are interested in the model of democracy exported by the United States. By Erich Follath more…

John Dvorak offers grumpy as a main feature & promo, and sometimes it’s important to be grumpy. He says, “Our tolerance for corruption has certainly changed since Nixon’s, and then Clinton’s Presidency.” He’s also pointing out Kucinich is making progress.

Kucinich won 50 percent of the vote in a five-way House Democratic primary in March.

“Kucinich, D-Ohio, read his proposed impeachment language in a floor speech. He contended Bush deceived the nation and violated his oath of office in leading the country into the Iraq war.

“Kucinich introduced a resolution last year to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. That resolution was killed, but only after Republicans initially voted in favor of taking up the measure to force a debate.”

helpless empathy burns

poor refugee and poor police and poor politics, even Mandela is silent. had we not dumped the ill on the street during Trickle Down nor let our homeless content our scorn, then during these horrid days we would have known to do.

look after ourselves.

3) …. it is not just a system of economics, but a system of political economy.

Two sides of the same issue jumped the links and media tonight.

1) Feeble government lets the superclass soar over the rest of us.

2) Gangsters, profiteers, poisoners and pimps are ripping through global society.

This is a formidable set of potential liars, equipped with money, technical expertise, transnational reach and state power.

guile rulz
Stop it, America.

Nothing is Left or Right and nothing is so radical as failing.

Go get ’em.

David Letterman:

“Don’t you agree? The guy was a mistake. It’s not the greenhouse gases. It’s the Whitehouse gases.”

Need work?

The government has put up websites, but it hasn’t done much to make it so that it’s easy to access the data available in those websites or (even more important) let other applications and services do something with that data and actually make it useful to the citizens that data is supposed to help.

Good ol’ Mike Masnick at TechDirt has a bit more to say here.

McBush? Please no!

The choice between Obama and McCain is as fundamental as between the future and the past.

“We did not arrive at the doorstep of our current economic crisis by some accident of history.”

New York Times, June 10, 2008

With Fall Vote in View, Obama Assails McCain on Economy

RALEIGH, N.C. — Senator Barack Obama, with the Democratic stage to himself for the first time, began a two-week assault on Senator John McCain’s economic policies in a series of battleground states on Monday, moving to focus on the ailing economy as the central theme of the general election campaign.

… relieve the hardships of American families

… rescue the economy from the brink of recession.

… a more active government role in restoring the nation’s economic health and aiding distressed families.

… no McCain tax cuts for corporations.

… preserve Social Security by requiring higher payments from the wealthy.

… resist all efforts to privatize Social Security or raise the retirement age.

… repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest.

Assail McCain has a ring to it.

“We were promised a fiscal conservative. Instead, we got the most fiscally irresponsible administration in history.

“And now John McCain wants to give us another. “

Well, we’ve been there once. “

We’re not going back.”

“Bottom-up prosperity will keep America strong and competitive in the 21st century.”

After Gas

Chris Locke uprising?

Conspiracy theory, my ass.

Merely reminding us.
Passive is a greater terror.

All societies are wasteful of the capacities of their people. All societies are wasteful of the capacities of their people. All societies are wasteful of the capacities of their people.

Robert Frost was wondering about justice, our weak estate.

With what was another man’s work for gain.
My right be love but theirs was need.
And where the two exist in twain
Theirs was the better – agreed.

Not one great challenge ahead of us is solved by war. There’s relief in that.

Take birth.

“too posh to push”

Having a woman lie on her back, feet prone in the air, actually makes the pelvis SMALLER and doesn’t allow the baby to turn or move the way it needs to in order to descend and be born!

The number of bacteria living within the body of the average healthy adult human are estimated to outnumber human cells 10 to 1.

10 to 1.

“It is entirely possible that everyone could have a unique bacterial signature much in the same way everyone has a unique DNA signature or a unique fingerprint.”

The human microbiome…

David Sirota:

A big theme in my upcoming book, The Uprising, is our culture’s inability to see anything other than elections – and specifically federal elections – as a major instrument of social change or democracy. This myopic view expresses itself in all different ways – the media coverage of presidential campaigns, the blogosphere’s narrow focus on Democratic Party prospects in election cycles, to name just two. But as I write in my newspaper column this week, there are many other arenas of democratic expression – some far more important for social change than any election.

Continue reading The Power of Shareholder Democracy

On another and related front, Sirota is examining shareholder ‘uprising’ too:

After all, through pension funds and 401(k) plans, ordinary Americans collectively own a lot of stock, and consequently a big chunk of shareholder resolution votes. These votes often go unexercised, but the more attention shareholder resolutions receive, the more citizens will “become educated about various corporation policies” because they will realize “they can do something about them,” as famed shareholder activist Saul Alinsky once said. That is what truly scares Corporate America — and what could bring the most “real change” of all.

A Different Kind of Democracy

Don’t stop. David Sirota does this for a living:

The reason why a free trade deal is thousands of pages long is not because it’s a free trade deal. If all you wanted to do was lower tariffs, it would be one page long, and it would say “no tariffs.”

The rest of the thousands and thousands of pages are protections for corporate profits.

…
These are really huge issues. I would actually submit to you that they’re among the biggest issues that we face, mainly because all of the domestic laws on economic issues are affected by them. We can raise the minimum wage all we want in our country. But if we have a trade policy that encourages companies to outsource jobs to countries where they only pay a worker a dollar a day, no amount of minimum wage laws in this country is really going to cure that situation and stop that race to the bottom from happening.

A Populist Revolt Brewing

“Every major change in this country has happened because of a popular uprising… non-partisan… organized around issues.”

There are very few people who are willing to take on these forces that are kind of hidden in the background because of the media filters. Much of the focus turns to non-issues, like the idea of patriotism, as we saw in that infamous ABC debate in Philadelphia where George Stephanopoulos asked Obama if he thought his Reverend was as patriotic as he was, as if any of that had to do with anything regarding the future of the United States. But the buzzword of patriotism, the hot button of the lapel pins, the flag, — all of this sense of nationalism is fed to the masses, while the corporations are really becoming the new global United Nations, except that it’s united corporations.

Would you agree that, really, part of the what’s happened is this disdain among the ruling elite, the Washington, D.C. insiders, and their view that the United Nations is passé, because really we’ve replaced the United Nations with a rule by corporatocracy?

Finally, here’s a summary of Sirota’s path and motives. Though posted in 2006, it’s clear David Sirota is smart and sincere:

Sirota’s Progressive States Network focuses like a laser on replicating good municipal and state legislation around the country, creating a nation-wide system of good government. Forget “trickle down” strategies. For Sirota and his network, America’s political playing field is going to be leveled by the American grassroots.

Think Nationally, Act Locally

Bumper Sticker:

Democrats are sexy.
Ever heard of a nice piece of elephant?

Which President isn’t a rookie?

One on his feet.
Another near his grave.

Which President isn’t able?

One beginning.
Another late.

One of my ‘mentors’.

Oh, the stories.

In 1942 or 43, a staff general came to ask if there was enough Nevada electricity to melt aluminum into bomb bay doors. Frank woke at 3AM and answered positively by 3PM.

In 1944 or 45, believing we wouldn’t need aluminum after the war, a staff general came to ask if there was another way increase jobs. Then, aircraft was the only important use of aluminum.

Frank invited 50 officers to watch a P-59 jet try to blow down his new Kawneer aluminum wall, and later proved aluminum at Colorado’s impressive Air Force Academy.

Frank helped erect more than 1,500 aluminum and glass shopping centers across the USA.

When he reached 97, I asked if he wanted his work known beyond a handful that called him the ‘grandfather of the shopping center’. He answered, “It’s just factors. It’s just seeing what’s needed and putting it there. Nobody needs to learn that more than once.”

Humble but proud of one thing, Frank said he was the only American to own a share of the Laphroaig Distillery.

The Independent has learned that at the end of July, Bush is planning to declare military victory and claim the invasion of Iraq has been vindicated.

Bush wants 50 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors.

The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law…

Oh woe, war is forever these grand plans…

Jim Nollman asks whether we’ve created a brutish institution against dying that refuses simple relief.

Weeks go by when standing’s too much for me to bear
Then one good day arrives, the pain seems to disappear
It could take as long as a year or two
Before my body finally goes
Doc, won’t you please prescribe the medicine
No one else ever has to know

My family does its best to help me bear this pain
They accept my decision, sure I feel their strain
I’ve never told anyone how to live their life
So don’t tell me how to end mine
Doc, won’t you please prescribe the medicine
And I won’t take any more of your time

These days my body’s numb and all strung out on meds
Hooked to this humming machine parked beside my bed
What makes so much more sense to me
Is to go out clear of mind
Doc, please prescribe some medicine
Before I run out of time.

Who can say for certain what awaits us after this
While some say we come back, others talk of heaven’s bliss
But don’t lecture me that life’s worth living
Can’t you see its meaningless to me
Doc, won’t you please prescribe some medicine
And you will set me free

Last Days, about dying with dignity, and featuring an interspecies interaction with wolves.

Google News Comment by Bill Gluba, Mayor, City of Davenport, Iowa

Time Again to Ask “Why Not?” – 9 hours ago

As a twenty-six year old idealistic political activist out to change the world through the democratic process, and as one who had marched with Dr. Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C., I was almost totally devastated when first Martin Luther King and then Bobby Kennedy were senselessly gunned down.

For many of us who thought we were changing the world for the better and who had nothing but hope in our hearts for the future, it was hard to continue to be an optimist and still believe that our system might work. In fact a lot of young people from that period just gave up and left the political system entirely. But for those of us who were inspired by the message of hope and idealism of these three great leaders – John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King — we knew we had to continue the struggle and we did.

For many it was the words of Bobby Kennedy that “Some men see things as they are and ask ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?” that gave us the strength to continue to fight for social and economic justice for the next forty years. It is now heartening that the nomination of my friend Barack Obama, has lifted and renewed the spirits of a lot of us from the sixties who again feel there is hope for the future. It is time again to ask “why not?”

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit reveals:

THEY TOLD ME THAT IF GEORGE W. BUSH WERE RE-ELECTED, it would mean the end of privacy. And they were right: “The report reveals that the IRS made 4.5 billion disclosures of tax return information to federal and state agencies.”

The Democratic Party agreed to implement Obama’s policy to no longer take contributions from registered lobbyists or special-interest political action committees.

“If we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different,” he said.

“As the Democratic nominee for president, I’m announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard. We won’t take another dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs.”

“They will not fund my party.

“They will not run our our White House.

“They will not drown out the voices of the American people.”

Notch #1.

Reuters posts the letter from Hillary:

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: On Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party’s nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.
I made you — and everyone who supported me — a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I’m going to keep that promise today, tomorrow and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Salute.