December 2007 Archives

Please feel free to continue to leave messages for ABQ John on the previous thread and note his comments there. Today's thread and discussions can begin with:

Kenya, Pakistan, Iraq, bin Laden, and Iowa....

What's on your mind?

Our own ABQ John lost his wife, Linda, at 4:30 am this morning, after many years of battling pulmonary disease. Just a few words about both of them, and then I know he would appreciate any outpouring of support we can muster up here.

We first noticed ABQ John on the Kerry blog as a passionate advocate and also someone who put boots to the ground. After the devastation of the 2004 election, John spent countless hours investigating the voting fraud in New Mexico and he was also a founding member of the DCP, believing, as they both did, that only through informed action can we take back our democracy.

Linda supported John, even as he took gentle care of her. Many of us would call their house and spend a few minutes with Linda, hearing all about how important we have been to both of them. In the past few weeks, a special sweetness has been present, as both of them knew the end of her struggles to breathe might be nearing. For Christmas dinner, he told me, he made her ten good dishes of her favorite foods. And she enjoyed it!

It is a mighty love that allows two people to care for each other as John and Linda did. She will always be a part of him, and she will always be a part of us as well. We envy them their passion for democracy, for doing the right thing, for honesty, for each other, and for life itself.

Please leave your own thoughts below.

ABQ John at the FDR Memorial, DC

Eyes are on Pakistan now after the brutal murder of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Yet, in July, 2007, John Kerry chaired the U.S. Senate Committee's Foreign Relations hearing on Pakistan's Future. The question was, "Are we building Democracy or fueling extremism?"

Upon hearing the news of Bhutto, I listened to those hearings with a new perspective mostly because I was trying to make sense of who she was, why someone murdered her, and what consequences it might have on the region and our actions.

This is what I've gleaned so far. There is a ideological war, a civil war, between the conservatives and moderates. She was a woman asking for an high-ranking position in a country divided on the issue of modernization, religion, and the treatment of women.

Bhutto's murder seems to be a consequence of the conservative extremist in that region. Even if we do not yet know if Al Qaeda is responsible, the Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban hated Bhutto for her close ties to the Americans and support for the war on terrorism. They had previously attempted to murder her last October when she returned to the country after years of exile.

According to the A.P., Bhutto had wide support as the opposition leader. She had impeccable qualifications.

Bhutto's death certainly points to the answer to the question asked above-- democracy or extremism.

Clearly, our focus on Iraq has caused more damage and allowed extremism to regain a foothold in the Pakistan and Afghanistan region.

So what is the next step?

Here we come a wassailing among the leaves so green
It's Christmas Time in Washington, and neither Woody nor Cisco nor MalcomX nor Martin Luther King are in sight (see below for lyrics). What is in sight, is too much green stuff.

It's December 25th, for Christ's sake (as Huckabee might put it). As benefits an old 18-foot wide Washington rowhouse, I've got a tiny postage stamp of a front yard, maybe 12-feet deep, with one camellia, one 15-foot high Japanese maple, a red climbing rose intertwined reluctantly through a simple cast-iron fence, a new yellow climbing rose just starting out, and a few sprays of various groundcovers, also new.

But what's this? Damn, it's the daffodils, muscling their way through two inches of two-week old bark mulch. The little yard is full of them, but this is ridiculous. It's December! When we moved into this house 8 years ago, the daffodils came up in late March. They're admittedly in a sunny spot, nestled up to a brick housefront that radiates heat at night. Last year, I was alarmed when they came up in late January, only to be blasted by a subsequent freeze, so that only a few of them ever managed to blossom.

The camellia also went off much earlier last year, and the frost turned its beautiful blossoms into the most unattractive color brown, and now it's fixing to do the same thing, only earlier.

Watching an entire season disappear before your eyes is a strange and unnerving experience. It's not unlike the equally strange and unnerving experience of watching your country disappear before your eyes. There's even a simple connection between the two: George W. Bush, and the inexplicable failure of the Congress, the courts, and the electorate to act to save the country and to save the planet.

Students of stressed natural systems warn of the existence of tipping points, (or to be a little more mathematical, of non-linear responses), where a situation that has been getting worse a little bit at a time suddenly accelerates past a point of no recall, like over-fishing cod off New England and then boom, all of sudden there are essentially no more cod to be caught.

How can you tell when you are close to a tipping point? In ecological policy, there is a concept called the precautionary principle, which suggests that in the absence of data or experience showing that some new action is safe, say the release of a new pesticide, you should not allow that pesticide to be released commercially until its manufacturers have proven that there are no harmful, unintended side effects.

Our country has refused to embed the precautionary principle into environmental law, unlike the European Union, for example.

But we would be equally well served by a precautionary principle in the political arena as well. From this point of view, the efforts of the founders to embed a system of checks and balances into the Constitution was a conscious effort to set up such a precautionary system. That this system has utterly failed to protect us from the constitutional depredations and the illegal prosecution of aggressive wars is a great tragedy.

Depending on the failure of the follies of ones enemies to undo them makes for a most unsatisfactory and unsaleable politics. How much pain and torture, how many innocent civilian deaths, how much of our national treasure thrown away, before enough people see what's sitting there in front of them, the determined shoots of authoritarianism, forcing their way into the light?

Steve Earle's song is a reminder of times when other Americans saw clearly the dangers facing the country, Americans who were spit upon and reviled and even murdered in political show trials. They're not names that trip off the tongues of politicians touring Iowa, but they're the names that burn in memory, because they refused to close their eyes, or shut their mouths.

Lyrics to Steve Earle's, "It's Christmastime in Washington"

It's Christmastime in Washington
The Democrats rehearsed
Gettin' into gear for four more years
Things not gettin' worse
The Republicans drink whiskey neat
And thanked their lucky stars
They said, 'He cannot seek another term
There'll be no more FDRs'
I sat home in Tennessee
Staring at the screen
With an uneasy feeling in my chest
And I'm wonderin' what it means

Chorus: So come back Woody Guthrie
Come back to us now
Tear your eyes from paradise
And rise again somehow
If you run into Jesus
Maybe he can help you out
Come back Woody Guthrie to us now

I followed in your footsteps once
Back in my travelin' days
Somewhere I failed to find your trail
Now I'm stumblin' through the haze
But there's killers on the highway now
And a man can't get around
So I sold my soul for wheels that roll
Now I'm stuck here in this town

Chorus
There's foxes in the hen house
Cows out in the corn
The unions have been busted
Their proud red banners torn
To listen to the radio
You'd think that all was well
But you and me and Cisco know
It's going straight to hell

So come back, Emma Goldman
Rise up, old Joe Hill
The barricades are goin' up
They cannot break our will
Come back to us, Malcolm X
And Martin Luther King
We're marching into Selma
As the bells of freedom ring

Chorus

Karen's analysis of body language led to a discussion of which candidate we'd like to have a beer with. Then Carol came and reminded us where that thinking got people the last time.



So I'd like to expand upon that notion just a little bit.


Instead of which candidate would you want to have a beer with, my questions are more along the lines of what would you ask or say? Would it be a shouting match, or a reasoned debate? So tell me...what conversation would you have with that candidate?

And just for kicks..would you have beer there?.

Reposting Karen's thread here for Chuck and anyone else who can't post in the other page. Sorry about the difficulty folks.

A friend wrote today suggesting that Hillary was outspending the rest of the Democrats in Iowa and might pull it out there. As you all know, as a DCPer and as a movement analyst, I have no horse in this race, nor would I endorse anyone. But I thought it might be fun for you to see what I told him, and let's see if I have any credibility left after January 3rd!

Dear __,

Not so fast. It's not ALL about money. I don't think we know how the Iowans are going to caucus and here's why:

As a movement analyst who has called a number of these races correctly, often against what the pollsters understand, there are a certain factors on the nonverbal front that make or break a candidacy:

1. Listening: Here HRC may have the advantage. No one models listening behavior up close the way she does. She had good practice in her Senate race in New York state, where she listened impressively. I have observed Edwards' ability to actually lean over and listen well, but too often, his responses are a little too pat, or canned. Iowans tend to hate that. Obama is a tad remote, and that may work against him in the end. But Hillary has practiced her "listening tour" demeanor and people may be swayed towards her for that reason. However, note that when I made phone calls into Iowa four years ago, she was hated. Universally despised. So her listening demeanor needs to overcome some fairly high negatives.

2. Accomodating/Shaping/Connecting authentically: Shaping always trumps content, see Huckabee for evidence. Shaping is the ability of the candidate to move both posturally and gesturally in three-dimensional patterns that include the back pat, handshake, hug, or inclusive spreading and enclosing patterns. The key here is authenticity. Clinton and Reagan had it, Kerry had it on the stump but rarely on TV, Bush has it on occasion but anyone who thinks it's authentic is fooling themselves. It is a limited form of shaping--the buddy-back-slap pretty much sums up his relational abilities. Huckabee has it, tons and tons of it. Edwards does too, but it does not read as authentic all the time--he often distances at the same time he accomodates. Hillary does not do this well at all, although she can--at least I have personally experienced it in a small group setting. Obama has it in droves, but does not always ACCESS it when necessary. He is not yet master of the authentic exchange, but he can get there. The question is: Will he? Has he? Iowa will tell us a lot.

3. Grounding: Grounding--the ability to "hold the ground" through an energetic connection to the ground beneath, reveals something about commitment and follow through as well as maturity. Chris Dodd is by far the most grounded of these candidates, but it's not enough to overcome the rest of his limitations. Hillary can be extremely grounded but she also tends to access what we call BOUND flow at those moments--she looks a little rigid. When she is grounded, she is her least feminine self, and when she is most feminine, she often loses her grounding. She has clearly been practicing to appear both strong and feminine. Obama needs to be more grounded. If he wins Iowa and NH, he is going to need more help than just Oprah (who may be the MOST grounded human being on the planet). Edwards just does not have much grounding--his character is one of passion and energy and charm, but I am not sure we understand how well he will get the job done.

4. Complexity/Innovation: Movers who are patterned and predictable, but complex and variable (within a range) inspire. Huckabee has this ability, which is why he is beating the crap out of Romney. Hillary has little variability and she needs to develop more--the droning just does not work. Edwards is almost always the same: predictable without offering anything new or innovative. (I say this despite his having some of the better policy ideas--but if you can't sell it at the dance, no one will buy it). Obama has much more of this than any of the others, which is part of his appeal.

Iowans, god bless 'em, are hard to fool. Those who participate in the caucuses are still thinking about it. But, there is also the concept of the "last click" and that plays a role. For those who work fulltime and are swamped with information, there is a tendency to go with the most recent impression. This is a function for western society as a whole. It does not hold true for the older generations, who are slower to come to conclusions. But for anyone under 60, the "last click" impression is the most potent impression and people will vote for the one whose most recent "click" resonates positively.

And there you have it. Too close to call yet, and what the next week will bring by way of candidate education remains to be seen! As my brilliant husband often says: the candidate needs to learn what works.

I guess what I am saying here is that candidates win by love OR money. And we all know what the world needs now is....

cue Dionne Warwick...

Yours in movement,

Karen

I meant to post an open thread yesterday for Solstice. I could have been on time had I used this handy-dandy equinox calculator--a calculator for those equinox geeks, but, alas, I'm not a great organizer so you're stuck with a solstice thread a day late. (I'm sure you'll survive the disappointment.)

You might want to know a few tidbits about the Solstice.

It's more than just the shortest day or the day with the least sunlight sourrounded by white H*ll--my pseudonym for snow or Winter Hell.

The petition has been trudging along gaining signers rather quickly considering the media blackout on impeachment.

Many Kos people have been discussing how to push the story out there. We've listed the following actions that require all of us to actually DO and not just discuss.

Here's some of them:

• Post the link on every article out there, including the entertainment ones! I'm sure Britney and her sister want impeachment too, don't you?
• Send LTE's to every paper in the land and ask that they publish Wexler's op-ed. Give your own reasons too. I know there is a link to all the papers but I'm not sure where it is. It'd be great to see you post some of your letters and ideas here too.
• Stamp or write "IMPEACH--wexlerwantshearings.com" on all your money and on your credit card.
• Post it on area bulletin boards.
• Put a sign on your car.
• Call your local radio shows and talk to the DJ's about it.
• Call your local media.
• Go shopping, go to a bar, get out and get a life--but spread the word as you go!

Now...I'm placing a sign on my car and heading west.

Jesselyn Radack asked for us to spread the word on this.

Tomorrow the American Freedom Campaign, founded by Naomi Wolf, will hold an initial teleconference at 11:00 am EST as part of the "American Lawyers Defending the Constitution Campaign." You can call in at (800) 894-5910; Conference ID: 7AFC

We will discuss our frustration with congressional leaders who have turned their backs on Bush Administration malfeasance, and specifically how the Bush Administration's obstruction of justice is part of a pattern: over 5 million missing White House e-mails, the missing hit lists from the U.S. Attorney Massacre, the erased CIA videotapes. . . Remember the good old days when the Justice Department was prosecuting Enron and Arthur Anderson for destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice? These days the Justice Department is too busy trying to shut down the House Intelligence Committee's plans to investigate the destruction of the CIA tapes documenting torture. Way to circumvent the little meaningful congressional oversight that exists! Would somebody please appoint a special prosecutor already?

The Justice Department also tried to shut down U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. from inquiring into the tapes. Kennedy refused. Coincidentally or not, Kennedy was the judge who presided over Jesselyn Radack's lawsuit against the Justice Department for its conduct in the Lindh case.

And don't forget to get more signers at wexlerwantshearings.com

Watching Christy nurturing her art and seeing Dianne's beautiful photographs reminded me of some of the great political poster art that's become a mainstay of our history.

Pictures like these from WWII:

These pictures were designed to evoke a response in us--a patriotic response. And interesting enough, when I went searching for these posters, I discovered that one of the key words to use in the search was 'propaganda.'

So I went in search of current propaganda and artwork.

Being snowed in, I had nothing to do but catch up on work and watch the ticker at wexlerwantshearings.com. The ticker is now at 62,622 signatures and rising by the second.

But I started thinking that if Congress received 62,622 callers, faxes, emails, or mail each day would they begin to listen to their constituents?

And what about the corporate media?

Would they be able to maintain the silence on impeachment if people were snapping at their heels too?

It brought to mind some of the words during Clinton's impeachment from the corporate media and their Republican sponsors.

Let's take a look at some of them...

Ralph posted some suggestions about the Wexler tape. He said:

PLEASE PROMOTE AND SUPPORT THE WEXLER VIDEO BY:

1) DOUBLE CLICKING ON IT AND WATCH IT @ YOU TUBE (not just here at DCP)

2) RATE THE VIDEO WITH FIVE STARS

3) LEAVE A TEXT COMMENT, SOMETHING yeah, impeach the bastard etc..

4) IF YOU HAVE A YOU TUBE ACCOUNT, FAVORITE THIS VIDEO; THEN THE VIDEO WILL APPEAR ON YOUR YOUTUBE homepage..

Listen, folks, we should do at least as well as the Paul folks do at promoting their stuff on You Tube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQDLyKGX268

So I followed Ralph's advice and commented and favorited it. Then I explored around Youtube a bit. Apparently, they have a "Most Popular" list. And you can get more views by getting on this list. There are also things like, most comments, most views, most favorites, etc...

It brought to mind other venues out there were we can get more coverage, such as Myspace, Facebook, and other social network sites like Meebo or Cupid.com

So give it a try and find some creative ways to get the information out there.

If Paul's supporters can do it, so can we!

NMP reminded us on the last thread of how history repeats itself.

CIA Torture Plane Wrecks .. and it's carrying cocaine.

Just like back in Iran Contra days.

Let's be frank here.

The recent discovery of documents related to the torture videotapes that were destoyed is old news, not new. The fact is that since 2001, our government has tortured, lied about the torture, and destroyed court ordered evidence and documents of the torture. In other words, they've done everything they can to cover their own asses.

Ask Jesselyn Radack.

If you don't know who Jesselyn Radack is, rest assured that Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, Gonzalez, Rumsfeld, De Pue, Cherthoff and other high ranking officials do. Jesselyn Radack was the ethics advisor at the Department of Justice in 2001 at the onset of America's emerging torture policies. She was also one of the first to witness how far this administration would go to destroy evidence of their torture and to attack anyone who revealed them to the public.

Take a short trip down memory lane.

Most of us surely remember the famous picture of John Walker Lindh--naked, blindfolded, strapped and bound to a board with the word "SHITHEAD" sprawled across the duct-tape on his forhead, as he was lifted out of the freezing cold, unlit shipping container, where he'd been bound for days. He suffered dehydration, hypothermia, and frostbite. Parts of his torture had even been caught on videotape.

(Image courtesy Wikipedia)

Remember that?

And most of us remember Ashcroft standing in front of a microphone saying:

"Today I'm announcing the filing of criminal charges against John Walker Lindh, an American citizen who was captured in Afghanistan fighting for the Taliban. ...

...As set forth in the complaint, the charges filed against Walker are based on voluntary statements made by Walker himself. The complaint alleges Walker knowingly and purposely allied himself with certain terrorist organizations with terror; that he chose to embrace fanatics; and his allegiance to those fanatics and terrorists never faltered, not even with the knowledge that they had murdered thousands of his countrymen, not with the knowledge that they were engaged in a war with the United States, and not, finally, in the prison uprising that took the life of CIA agent Johnny Spann.

...Walker is in the process from being transferred from the custody of the United States military, where by his own account he was treated well and received adequate food and medical treatment, to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As the complaint states, prior to being interviewed by the FBI, Walker was informed of his Miranda rights, including the right to speak to consul. He acknowledged that he understood each of his rights, and he choose to waive them both verbally and in a signed document.

Remember that too?

Well, Ashcroft was lying. Jesselyn Radack knew he was lying. She had the proof. Official documentation. A judge hearing the Lindh case asked for her documents but suddenly those documents had disappeared. When Jesselyn discovered that Ashcroft, Du Pue, and other superiors at the DOJ had not given the court ordered documents to the judge, Jesselyn became investigator and whistleblower.

What were her documents and why were they so important to hide from the court of law and the American people? Why were these documents so important that the Bush administration intentionally destroyed them?

We use to have more open government and more accountability, but...

today, we just have an open thread-- for now.

A Homecoming

Brothers and Sisters…I say this for we are all brethren…brothers…sisters…sons…daughters…Family. A great American Family. Born of malcontent and dissent, we are by our very nature free-thinkers…Rebels…Patriots. Though we mourn the loss our Natural Rights through a slow, blatant and merciless oppression we are here not to bear witness to a funeral of sorrow and despair but instead bring about by our own will a revival…a glorious rebirth…a renewal of our Homeland…our Nation…our Beloved America.

No adversary…no government can deny us this, our right, to dream a new dawn of Democracy and Freedom or to turn that dream into a reality for the benefit of all.

There have always been those who embrace the worst characteristics of humanity…they are the contrast between the light and the darkness and serve a great purpose...they show us the difference between futility and enlightenment. Just because evil exists is no reason to abandon the brighter light of Truth which serves those who live by compassion, and within this realization is the true wisdom in defeating our own personal challenges…for only then can we truly work together…and when we do there is no task too great for us to accomplish nor obstacle we cannot overcome.

We need not relive our shared history…battles lost or won…our uncommon Heritage or what it means to be an American...for each and every one of us have been created through a unique tale of tragedies and triumphs, failures and successes, loves and losses…these are the forces that define us...that challenge us...ground us…the experiences that make us each rare and precious within our profound existence.

A beginning can be a turbulent time...and yet, we here find ourselves drawn to the chaos to stand united within our Hope.

Longing to have our individual voices heard in harmony, to enlighten those who are seemingly oblivious to the dangers of being mislead down a path of reckless abandon, to restore and improve our governance, We the People have gathered here to forge a Monument to America…not of steel and stone upon the shifting sands of time, but based upon the principles and doctrines which have brought forth this great revolution of conscience guiding us to a better, stronger and brighter future for all of mankind...a Beacon of Freedom calling us ever closer to Home...to America.

~~Indy-- August 24, 2004

This has been such a busy week that we almost forgot to remember Pearl Harbor, but Monkey in the irc reminded me that today is the day that we think back upon the victims of Pearl Harbor, our involvement in WWII, and the President at that time Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

What do you think about the difference between the leadership our nation had experienced then vs the leadership we've had since 9-11?

FDR gave us Fireside chats... 'W' gives us heartburn, torture, rendition, illegal wars...

FDR held this nation together while fighting both Hitler on one continent and Japan on another... asking us to sacrifice, and we did.

Some have said that our country is standing on a precipitous right now. We have leaders who are encouraging the same type of fascism that FDR fought against. Our country is experiencing the same angry bitter times and economic destruction that existed in Europe pre-WWII.

Thus, we are ripe for electing another demagogue like Hitler or another great Progressive like FDR.

So this December 7th, as we remember Pearl Harbor and how FDR moved America past its darkest day, let's discuss how we can move America past her darkest days now.

Huge hat-tip to Monkey for most of the ideas in this thread header

Chuck was reminiscing about Mark from Iowa in the last Open Thread, so I thought I'd start this one with some updates. We saw Mark over the summer and he is splitting his time between Iowa and Rhode Island, he is writing, and thinking about what to do next.

The friendships many of us were lucky to make in the last election have continued to provide many blessings, even though we do not see a place, like the Kerry blog, where everyone hangs out. But we learned so much from each other and learning never goes away.

Occasionally folks show up here and post a comment or two and then head back to busy lives, many post on Kos or DU, and some have started their own sites. It's all good.

When we talk about the Kerry blog (which I did to several anthropologists studying online communities on the Internet last weekend), I point out that it was, truly, a teaching and learning community. It was that aspect that we wanted to foster with the DCP. It was a huge conversation, one that changed many hearts and minds, and one that, I still believe, could have made a difference in many more ways, had the party and the campaign understood it.

This morning we have snow, reminiscent of December 2003, when the bloggers got together and bought pizza for the snowbound JK internet team, and the staff finally understood that REAL people out in web-land cared. It was a profound moment, and even though it did not make the longterm impact on their consciousness, it made an impact.

I am so interested to see where some of those staffers wound up too. Many went to John Edwards and Barack Obama, some to Dodd and Biden, one or two to Hillary Clinton (but that is unusual--her campaign was fully staffed before the ink was dry on George Bush's 2nd inaugural address), and several to the DNC, DSCC, and DCCC. Some learned, some did not.

As we head into the frenzy of the primaries, just a reminder that DCP is a nonprofit, not affiliated with any political party or candidate, and all opinions ought to be backed up by actual facts whenever possible. Aside from that, let the teaching and learning continue.

Since some apparently cannot post on the main page and the other Open Thread is getting rather full, feel free to address the information Richard provided on caucuses and proportional representation here, or just continue discussing whatever! It's the OPEN Thread! And happy birthday Matthew (last week), Toni (monkey's daughter), Shelby (Christy's daughter) and let's get some DEMOCRACY back in this country!

Pravda was the official arm of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. It was also the only news the citizens were allowed to read without getting into trouble with the government. Ironically, Pravda means "The Truth" (Правда) and yet we know that their news was used to spread the government's press releases and was used to promote the Communist agenda--even if it included lies, distortions, and inaccuracies.

We all know what happened to those who dared read or write something that wasn't approved of by the Soviet Government.

Then there's, China, another Communist country. The People's Daily is considered to be the mouth piece for China's Communist Government. And in fact, not too long ago, it was revealed that Google was censoring it's online information so that it met their Communist government's control of information.

Winter is upon us. The days are shorter, the nights are longer, and yet is there a hint of sunlight on the horizon?

It's December and it's Primary Season in Iowa, and yet despite the winter storms throughout Iowa and the Midwest today, the Democratic Presidential Forum was held in Heartland, and Iowans were excited about it.

Five thousand community members heard Obama, Edwards, Kucinich, and Clinton (via telephone) address their concerns and issues--issues like: immigration, healthcare reform, government oversight, and executive power.

We're in the dead of winter, and our democracy has spent the last six years in a deep frost--dying daily. I've got my winter coat, my snow shoes, and of course, I've grabbed my trusty ole' shovel for digging my way through whatever gets tossed out--media lies, candidate's hedging etc... and God forbid, a little snow here and there.

I'm hoping as we inch towards a new Presidential election season that the dark days of American, corporate fascism will be over.

Grab your shovel and join me folks. Something tells me there's going to be a lot of shoveling to do.