The pacifier tree
"Dad, did you know the governor of Illinois was arrested?"
Well, no. This was last week. I was in Denmark, visiting my daughter, and this was my first news from Crazy Land in a while. It's dangerous to go online when I'm traveling. I learned, among other things, that my governor, Rod Blagojevich, was taped discussing the sale of the president-elect's old Senate seat because it's "a bleeping valuable thing. You just don't give it away."
No way. Not in this economy.
But even though I felt no real surprise at that or anything else I eventually returned home to — flying shoes, collapsing Ponzi schemes, a federal report documenting waste and ineffectiveness in the reconstruction of Iraq (who would have guessed?) — I was nevertheless blindsided by the cumulative effect of the week's news. All it took was a week of expatriate perspective to see how surreal, how nuts, American normal has become.
Well, no. This was last week. I was in Denmark, visiting my daughter, and this was my first news from Crazy Land in a while. It's dangerous to go online when I'm traveling. I learned, among other things, that my governor, Rod Blagojevich, was taped discussing the sale of the president-elect's old Senate seat because it's "a bleeping valuable thing. You just don't give it away."
No way. Not in this economy.
But even though I felt no real surprise at that or anything else I eventually returned home to — flying shoes, collapsing Ponzi schemes, a federal report documenting waste and ineffectiveness in the reconstruction of Iraq (who would have guessed?) — I was nevertheless blindsided by the cumulative effect of the week's news. All it took was a week of expatriate perspective to see how surreal, how nuts, American normal has become.
Last US House seat filled on grave of stolen 2004 election
The last US House seat has been filled by a Democratic County Commissioner in a vote count defined by the ghosts of 2004.
And the provisional ballot system installed by former Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell---now a candidate for chair of the Republican National Committee---continues to haunt the electoral process in the nation’s premier swing state, a legacy underscored by a landmark election protection conference held just as this final House race was being decided.
Mary Jo Kilroy of Columbus will be the first Democrat to represent any part of Franklin County in Congress since 1982, and the first to represent her 15th Congressional District since the 1960s.
In 2006 Kilroy barely lost to incumbent Deb Pryce as thousands of contested provisional ballots went uncounted. Under then-Secretary Blackwell, voters in Democratic precincts were routinely challenged on minor details and forced to cast provisional ballots to allegedly be counted at a later time.
And the provisional ballot system installed by former Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell---now a candidate for chair of the Republican National Committee---continues to haunt the electoral process in the nation’s premier swing state, a legacy underscored by a landmark election protection conference held just as this final House race was being decided.
Mary Jo Kilroy of Columbus will be the first Democrat to represent any part of Franklin County in Congress since 1982, and the first to represent her 15th Congressional District since the 1960s.
In 2006 Kilroy barely lost to incumbent Deb Pryce as thousands of contested provisional ballots went uncounted. Under then-Secretary Blackwell, voters in Democratic precincts were routinely challenged on minor details and forced to cast provisional ballots to allegedly be counted at a later time.
The silent winter of escalation
Sunday morning, before dawn, I read in the New York Times that “the
Pentagon is planning to add more than 20,000 troops to Afghanistan” within
the next 18 months -- “raising American force levels to about 58,000” in
that country. Then I scraped ice off a windshield and
drove to the C-SPAN studios, where a picture window showed a serene
daybreak over the Capitol dome.
While I was on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” for a live interview, the program aired some rarely seen footage with the voices of two courageous politicians who challenged the warfare state.
So, on Sunday morning, viewers across the country saw Barbara Lee speaking on the House floor three days after 9/11 -- just before she became the only member of Congress to vote against the president’s green-light resolution to begin the U.S. military attack on Afghanistan.
While I was on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” for a live interview, the program aired some rarely seen footage with the voices of two courageous politicians who challenged the warfare state.
So, on Sunday morning, viewers across the country saw Barbara Lee speaking on the House floor three days after 9/11 -- just before she became the only member of Congress to vote against the president’s green-light resolution to begin the U.S. military attack on Afghanistan.
Interview with Iraqi journalist Salam Talib
On October 22, 2008, I recorded a talk I had with Salam Talib, who is a computer engineer and journalist from Iraq and who is now studying in San Francisco. He has worked with US independent journalist, Dahr Jamail, and other independent journalists as an interpreter and fellow reporter on the conditions in Iraq that ordinary people have faced during the US military occupation. Dahr Jamail is the author of "Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq."
When I met a person by the name of Zaineb Alani, I learned that I have been mispronouncing 'Salam Talib'as I made the following audio recordings for the radio program. Saying his name with a long 'a' after the 'l' and a long 'i' after the second 'l' is incorrect, according to Ms. Alani.
The audio for the WCRS 102.1 and 98.3 LP FM program that aired in late October or early November of 2008 is divided into four parts. You can find the audio portals below, after the paragraphs of text.
Here are some questions and some notes I developed as I put together the radio program. Please go to tomover.com and offer your ideas and whatever else you want to express.
When I met a person by the name of Zaineb Alani, I learned that I have been mispronouncing 'Salam Talib'as I made the following audio recordings for the radio program. Saying his name with a long 'a' after the 'l' and a long 'i' after the second 'l' is incorrect, according to Ms. Alani.
The audio for the WCRS 102.1 and 98.3 LP FM program that aired in late October or early November of 2008 is divided into four parts. You can find the audio portals below, after the paragraphs of text.
Here are some questions and some notes I developed as I put together the radio program. Please go to tomover.com and offer your ideas and whatever else you want to express.
With shot and shell or
"Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent."
- Isaac Asimov
The Army Times reported on September 30 that a combat brigade, about 4,000 troops, which could be called on for “civil unrest and crowd control,” had been assigned inside the United States for the first time since Reconstruction.
Civil libertarians reacted immediately, noting the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits federal military personnel from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States. Peace activists condemned the decision as well. “It is a sad day for America when our government is preparing to protect itself by using the military on its own citizens,” Michael McPhearson, Director of Veterans For Peace, said in response to the news.
- Isaac Asimov
The Army Times reported on September 30 that a combat brigade, about 4,000 troops, which could be called on for “civil unrest and crowd control,” had been assigned inside the United States for the first time since Reconstruction.
Civil libertarians reacted immediately, noting the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits federal military personnel from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States. Peace activists condemned the decision as well. “It is a sad day for America when our government is preparing to protect itself by using the military on its own citizens,” Michael McPhearson, Director of Veterans For Peace, said in response to the news.
Three Party Time!
While talking heads sway back and forth between bashing progressives for their lack of "realism" and bashing republicans for their lack of reality, the really neat thing that seems to be occurring is the realization of a desperately needed three-party system in America.
It seems like only a decade ago - wait a minute, it was a decade ago - that angling for a viable third party was akin to liberal treason. Voting Green, for example, was throwing your vote away or worse, just handing it over to the Republicans.
In the frightful tug-of-war between Nazi and Nazi-lite, it was all hands on hemp (so to speak) and "lesser of two evils" was the battle-cry pragmatic progressives were reduced to.
Well, screw that now.
The emerging political landscape is the most fertile one yet for a three-party democratic system, and what's most intriguing about it is that it gets to happen within the existing two-party architecture.
My rationale for this lies in math you don't even need a calculator to compute.
It seems like only a decade ago - wait a minute, it was a decade ago - that angling for a viable third party was akin to liberal treason. Voting Green, for example, was throwing your vote away or worse, just handing it over to the Republicans.
In the frightful tug-of-war between Nazi and Nazi-lite, it was all hands on hemp (so to speak) and "lesser of two evils" was the battle-cry pragmatic progressives were reduced to.
Well, screw that now.
The emerging political landscape is the most fertile one yet for a three-party democratic system, and what's most intriguing about it is that it gets to happen within the existing two-party architecture.
My rationale for this lies in math you don't even need a calculator to compute.