Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Bill Moyers--Does It Get Any Better?

Moyers is fearless. He takes on the big boys--from chemical companies all the way up to the President of the United States. He simply doesn't care about the ramifications because what he says needs to be said.

And the thing about Moyers is that he understands that to say what no one else is saying and to say it well, honors both the truth, and art. Few people have that combination of passions, talents and tastes.

I'm not a religious man, but I thank God for Bill Moyers.

If I haven't yet made it clear, I'm a rather large fan of Moyers. And the following excerpt from a Huffingtonpost article is testimony to why. Ostensibly it's about Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff, but really, it's about the state of political affairs in Washington. He maintains that corruption has gotten way out of hand, and we need to do something about it. The article is a rallying cry, and we would all be wise to heed its call:

"Something can be done about it. Organized people have always had to take on organized money. If they had not, blacks would still be three-fifths of a person, women wouldn't have the vote, workers couldn't organize, and children would still be working in the mines."

"Our democracy today is more real and more inclusive than existed in the days of the Founders because time and again, the people have organized themselves to insist that America become 'a more perfect union.'"

"It is time to fight again. These people in Washington have no right to be doing what they are doing. It's not their government, it's your government. They work for you. They're public employees - and if they let us down and sell us out, they should be fired. That goes for the lowliest bureaucrat in town to the senior leaders of Congress on up to the President of the United States."

So as you think that the Republican machine is too finely-tuned, too entrenched, too devious, remember that the proposition we face now has always been this way. In fact, probably much worse in times past.


Very powerful people look after their power with great care. It's only through time, a massive effort, organization, creativity and guts that we will overcome the odds. What I'm talking about really, is securing the tenets of our Democracy. The stakes are that high.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

While TV Was Playing the Dean Scream a Million Times...

...here's what Dean was saying in the leadup to the Iraq war.

"The Administration has not explained how a lasting peace, and lasting security, will be achieved in Iraq once Saddam Hussein is toppled. We have been told little about what the risks will be if we do go to war."

"Iraq is a divided country, with Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions that share both bitter rivalries and access to large quantities of arms."

"Anti-American feelings will surely be inflamed among the misguided who choose to see an assault on Iraq as an attack on Islam, or as a means of controlling Iraqi oil." "There are other risks. Iraq is a divided country, with Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions that share both bitter rivalries and access to large quantities of arms."

There's a full URL below with more. The point here is that television news made an absolute FOOL out of Howard Dean by playing the Dean Scream constantly instead of a speech like the above one. What an amazing disservice was done the American public by this kind of stupidity.

As you can see, everything Dean warned against has transpired, and nearly all the predictions by the Administration have turned out to be wrong. Who looks the fool now?
http://www.crooksandliars.com/stories/2006/02/25/whoseJudgmentOnTheIraqWarIsEntitledToRespect.html

Monday, February 20, 2006

Peace. A Recurring Theme


It's been pretty close to two months since I've blogged. Part of me feels so bad about this because I know there are a dozen or two people at very least who check in from time to time to see if my blather is of interest. To you I apologize.

Regarding politics, my thoughts have been pretty dark of late. In the last two months we've had further revelations on the Katrina disaster. The Vice President shot a hunting companion, and kept authorities away for 12 hours while they made sure everyone's story added up (got sober perhaps?). Have decided to give a large measure of control over several American ports to the UAE. They've installed another right wing Supreme Court justice. We've discovered that the government may be spying on a goodly number of us (hi there, if you're working for the gov!). The Vice President's revealed he has the power to classify, or de-classify secrets (which could in work as a defense if he's found to be the reason Valerie Plame was outed [a shame the CIA didn't know about his de-classification]). Then of course there's the Jack Abramoff scandal.

That's all in just less than two months. I know I've missed a scandal or two. Or three. And this is the gang of thieves who said they were going to clean up the way Washington DC runs things. Do you really need me to point out that...well, someone's definitely cleanin' up allright!

I gotta be honest...my faith in the American people is measureably on the wane. After these scandals in the last two months (piled onto all the other scandals of the last 5 years) what in the hell do Americans need to lose faith in the so-called leadership of George W. Bush? His popularity still hovers at 39-40% when common sense tells you he should have been tarred, feathered, and run out of Washington quite some time ago.

Yes, I understand. The Republicans have control of everything right now, so the chances of an impeachment are far-fetched at best. Nonetheless, Americans are free to answer poll questions honestly, and 39% of them honestly think GW Bush is a good President. That's enough to make me want to jump off a really tall building.

Instead though, I've been making some more stained glass. Pictured above is my Peace window, designed and built for my daughter. When the politics of this world make little sense to me, the concept of peace still does. I kind of like my daughter, too. So before you get too burned out on the politics, don't forget to get back in touch with whatever makes this wacked-out world make sense to you. And then be sure to vote on March 7.