Apocalyptic New Era
By Padmini Arhant
The Presidential election results were out in the Islamic Republic of Iran and predictably, the theocratic rule through flawed electoral process declared the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner, with a landslide victory against the reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, recognized as...
More @ http://www.padminiarhant.com
Thank you.
Padmini Arhant
I'm already feeling a change and it isn't the one I wanted. I'm hearing and reading from others how they're already beginning to feel disillusioned with Barack Obama because of his decision to elevate hate at the upcoming inauguration. I say no way, no how will this victory be stolen from those of us who are looking to this new President to lead this country back to the course we must be on to fulfill our obligations to each other and the world. But just like Obama told us, we can't rely on just his rhetoric, his appointments, and his decisions. We must also participate in the change and with that in mind, I'm looking for like-minded individuals who want to find an organized way to express our outrage during the inauguration about the decision to include hatemonger Rick Warren.
I am very disappointed with the Rick Warren invitation, but I am not ready to write Obama off -- far from it. Instead I want to essentially follow his repeated calls to get more fully engaged. Had this been a policy decision I would not have been as surprised. After all, Obama ran opposed to gay marriage. Instead, and most perplexing, Obama chose to do this -- offend gay Americans and their friends and family -- over a strictly symbolic matter and sometimes symbols can be exceedingly important. This is one of those times. The man was elected because enough voters were swayed by his argument that the time for divisiveness was over. The very survival of the nation being at stake -- so we had to set aside things like the culture wars and deal with the fundamentals of national security, economics and environment. I totally agree with that premise.However, elevating a hatemonger to deliver a prayer on the stage at the nation's big day is a symbol of exactly the opposite: that we're not really setting aside those culture wars. Instead we're lending them more credibility. Just as I would not have expected Obama to select Gene Robinson (the openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church Diocese of New Hampshire) to deliver this prayer, so I would have assumed his choice would have been any number of clergy who have a far less public profile of the culture war issues such as gay marriage, abortion rights and stem cell research (all actively opposed by Rick Warren).While I hope the invitation will somehow be rescinded, having already made my plans to attend the swearing in, I and many other like-minded citizens need to prepare now for an organized action while the whole world is watching. Rarely will gay activists and their supporters have such an incredible stage to show ourselves and discuss our issues. For those of you who believe that doing anything like this on the occasion of the swearing in of our nation's first bi-racial President could be a PR disaster for us, I disagree. We can be forceful and respectful, especially if we plan this in advance. Those who agree that hatemongers should not be elevated in our society in this way need to have a way to express themselves right then, right there during the ceremony.
Having made my own personal case for organizing, I'd like to hear from others and especially get some ideas on what could be done in Washington at the Mall during the ceremony and/or the parade that follows. I'm sure many of you will write about how wrong this is as a strategy, but this blog is about taking a pro-active stand to speak out at the inauguration, not about debating whether we should be silent. As they once shouted in the Reagan years at ACT UP demo's, "Silence equals death." And this queen is silent no more!
Regardless of your party affiliation, I am asking everyone to stop a moment and think about the things you love that make this country great. I bet after you think a while, it all boils down to being able to live your live making your own choices and live what we think of as a normal life free of fear for making those choices: whether to be religious and how, having any kind of conversation with anyone, whether or not to own a gun, what kind of job you want, where you want to live, the kind of job or career you have, etc.
Let freedom ring again thoughout our great United States! For the last several years, we have been ruled by an administration that has instilled fear in us in order to rule us, an administration that has degraded the liberties guaranteed in our Constitution. Living in fear is not a free life and is instead a weakening of our great democratic republic. I ask you to contact your representatives and add your voice to mine. Say to them we want freedom, not fear, and demand they act to protect our freedoms. I share the below with you not to inspire fear, but instead to inspire patriotism.
I have recently heard some very disturbing news. On October 1st, what is sometimes called the Bush Brigade (brigade = 3000 - 4000 soldiers) was deployed somewhere inside the United States. this brigade reports directly to the president. In any other administration, I would give this action the benefit of the doubt. But our current president has shown that he has repeatedly been willing to lie to us and take illegal actions. Below is an excerpt from Naomi Wolfe's article on Huffington Post yesterday:
"First, the founding generation set a bright line to keep military from policing our streets in 1807 because they knew from their own experience how easily military forces -- King George's -- could subdue civilian society. The First Brigade is Bush's force: they are not answerable to Congress or to the Governors of states: they are answerable to the Commander in Chief. In an Alternet posting, I interviewed Air Force Colonel (retired) David Antoon who noted that the troops must obey the president, even if he asks them to arrest Congress or fire on civilians or attack media outlets. If they do not obey orders, he notes, they face five years in prison.
We should not have to remind ourselves that these scenarios are unlikely to understand that this power is dangerous. Antoon himself calls the deployment 'ominous.' Troops on our streets makes us something less than a democracy: one definition of a police state is when a leader sends his own military units into civilian streets. Meanwhile the civilian policing of citizens is becoming more brutal. Hundreds of preemptive arrests took place in St Paul, dozens of journalists were arrested."
It is supposed to be illegal for these troops to enforce civil laws, but the president put a signing statement on the law that basically says he's going to ignore that portion of the law (found what I think is a conspiracy site after following a few links in the articles above, but the text quoted is directly from law documents). I'm not saying he has already used these troops, but the potential is there based on his disregard for personal liberties thus far:
"The use of U.S. troops in law enforcment duties is a complete violation of the Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act, which substantially limit the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement unless under precise and extreme circumstances.
Section 1385 of the Posse Comitatus Act states, “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
Under the John Warner Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Bush on October 17, 2006, the law was changed to state, “The President may employ the armed forces to restore public order in any State of the United States the President determines hinders the execution of laws or deprives people of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law or opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.”
However, these changes were repealed in their entirety by HR 4986: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, reverting back to the original state of the Insurrection Act of 1807. Despite this repeal, President Bush attached a signing statement saying that he did not feel bound by the repeal.
The original text of the Insurrection Act severely limits the power of the President to deploy troops within the United States.
For troops to be deployed, a condition has to exist that, '(1) So hinders the execution of the laws of that State, and of the United States within the State, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or (2) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws. In any situation covered by clause (1), the State shall be considered to have denied the equal protection of the laws secured by the Constitution.'”
Again, I share this information not to cause panic or fear. I have faith in our people and our democracy, and we can choose to make a difference. Please support our lawful government, and contact your representatives.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/14/103042/902
"Alaska Women Reject Palin" Rally: Pics and Videos by frsbdg [Subscribe] Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 07:30:42 AM PDT
We begin in Anchorage, Alaska, where a group of average women decided to hold a small rally to let it be known that their Governor, Sarah Palin, does not represent their views on many of the issues that are important in their lives.
They put together a press release and sent it to the Anchorage media outlets. A local right-wing talk show host broadcast the names and phone numbers of the two organizers over the air. They began receiving a series of harassing phone calls for the remainder of that afternoon. The leading TV station picked up the story on Thursday. Alaska Public Radio Network put up some audio.
An anonymous caller contacted the local media on Friday afternoon and told them they were one of the organizers, and the rally had been cancelled. Someone even faxed forged a document saying the Secret Service had cancelled the permit for the rally, even though no permit is required. Some people were putting an awful lot of effort in to making sure no dissent would be heard from Alaska.
Well, it didn't work. Despite overcast skies and a forecast for rain, there was a rally here today. Oh man, was there! In fact, it was by most accounts the largest protest rally in the history of Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News wrote that the rally drew an "estimated" 1500 people. Let me be clear: the organizers used a hand-clicker and counted at least 1,483 Alaskans, mostly women, who showed up to say that Sarah Palin does not speak for them. They also counted 93 McCain/Palin supporters. The national media loves to say that Sarah Palin enjoys an "80% popularity rating" in Alaska. Do the math on todays rally, and you'd need a faith-based calculator to get 80%. This was grassroots activism at its best - Alaskans coming out to speak their minds on a host of issues. Here are some still pics, I'll update with video later today.
UPDATE 4: All the pics are back up now.
UPDATE 3: Lots of viewers were asking for the lyrics to the song "Shine" by Cyndi Lauper. This version of the music video has subtitles included.
UPDATE 2: Wow, I just have to say how blown away I am this morning. I feel privileged to share the feelings of these strong, independent-thinking women with everyone. The passion of the last woman in the video just takes my breath away.
UPDATE: And the video is here! Gotta love iMovie!
The site of the rally.
At 10:30 AM, the sidewalk was empty.
So was the lawn.
Would anyone show up?
It started out small.
Then a few more showed up.
Was this it?
Nope - the rally gets bigger.
Holy cow!
Seriously. Wow.
Probably the biggest protest rally in Alaska history. I can believe that.
The Theme of the Day
This woman wasn't buying it.
And neither was this this one.
Or this whole family.
Oh, snap!
No shortage of Pitbulls and Lipstick.
A smart young girl.
Two of my favorites.
Another good one.
These two women weren't buying the hype, either.
An excellent question. Governor?
Lots of other folks here support her choice, too.
I sense a pattern developing here...
Folks weren't wild about her ideas on war, either.
Here's a hockey mom with a different opinion.
The McCain/Palin supporters came out in force.
This guy was too lazy to make a new sign. Or maybe he's just saying that Sarah's not fit to be VP, and should just remain Governor of Alaska. I'll drink to that!
Let me close with this one. Teach your children well, indeed.
Check out more pics here.
As you can see from these photos, the rally was AMAZING! With few exceptions, there was no friction between the two camps. To help keep things civil, the organizers set up some ground rules for the rally. Here is the "Code of Conduct" that they distributed to attendees:
ALASKA WOMEN REJECT PALIN RALLY Saturday, September 13, 2008, 12:00 noon Loussac Library, 36th and DenaliWelcome to the Alaska Women Reject Palin Rally. We invite you to introduce yourselves to each other and discuss legitimate policy concerns and what brought you out this weekend. Please review the code of conduct outlined below. We are committed to exercising our right to free speech and assembly in a peaceful, respectful manner. • This rally is non-partisan. • Stick to issues and speak about your individual experience and views. • Be respectful of all view points. • Do not engage with counter rally participants in arguments about the merit of specific issues or value systems. • No personal attacks on Governor Palin, her family, or her supporters. • Do not use abusive language. • Stay off the lawn and do not block sidewalk or road traffic. • Please recycle this flyer and don’t litter.
ALASKA WOMEN REJECT PALIN RALLY Saturday, September 13, 2008, 12:00 noon Loussac Library, 36th and Denali
Welcome to the Alaska Women Reject Palin Rally. We invite you to introduce yourselves to each other and discuss legitimate policy concerns and what brought you out this weekend.
Please review the code of conduct outlined below. We are committed to exercising our right to free speech and assembly in a peaceful, respectful manner. • This rally is non-partisan. • Stick to issues and speak about your individual experience and views. • Be respectful of all view points. • Do not engage with counter rally participants in arguments about the merit of specific issues or value systems. • No personal attacks on Governor Palin, her family, or her supporters. • Do not use abusive language. • Stay off the lawn and do not block sidewalk or road traffic. • Please recycle this flyer and don’t litter.
The corporate news channels are awash with news that "white women" are charging into the McCain camp in record numbers. Supposedly they are being lured there by the nation's newest rock star, Sarah Palin, McCain's VP choice. To this I say - horse manure!
None of my friends or loved ones have ditched Obama simply because Palin is a woman. Of course, my friends and loved ones are mostly lesbians, mothers and grandmothers, middle-aged, white, Southern, Appalachian, and poor. I don't believe any of us are storming toward the McCain camp. Hillary fans are not now drawn to McCain. I am sick to death of the "women's vote" being treated as a monolith by the corporate media. Hmmm...let's see, is Gloria Steinem an equivalent of Phyllis Schlafly? Anita Hill and Kay Bailey Hutchison? Rosie O'Donnell and Elizabeth Hasselbeck? Mary Daly and Ann Coulter? Puhleez.
FRESH FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (7 HOURS OLD) IS GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE OF US WHO WANT A DRAMA FREE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.
SNIP:
Judge: No changes to DNC security plan
By P. SOLOMON BANDA and IVAN MORENO – 7 hours ago
DENVER (AP) — A federal judge declined Wednesday to change security restrictions for protesters at the Democratic National Convention, concluding that parade routes and a demonstration zone established by the city don't infringe on their free speech rights.
Judge Marcia S. Krieger ruled in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of protest groups. They feared the restrictions would keep them from being seen and heard by delegates attending the convention, which begins Aug. 25.
Protesters wanted to be allowed closer to the Pepsi Center during the convention, saying the arena should serve as a symbolic backdrop during their marches and demonstrations.
Krieger's ruling did not address security at Invesco Field at Mile High, where Barack Obama is scheduled to give his acceptance speech Aug. 28, the final day of the convention. A hearing on those security measures is scheduled for Tuesday.
Mark Silverstein, legal director of ACLU-Colorado, said the groups were disappointed.
Krieger noted that the security plan is designed to protect convention-goers and the public from attacks involving explosives and weapons, to prevent unlawful or violent protests, to ensure emergency access and to preserve orderly traffic around Denver.
She said a demonstration zone, which protest groups have dubbed the "freedom cage," is designed so convention delegates can see and hear those inside. Delegates will be within 200 feet of the demonstration zone during a portion of their walk to the Pepsi Center, the judge said in her ruling.
(My Take)
I think this is fair considering the threats of poop slingin by the protest groups.
The protests currently being led by the Republicans are a wonderful bit of theater staged to help McCain sell a bill of goods to the American people. Energy independence my arse. They are rattling their sabres, accusing the Democrats of holding up much needed legislation to allow for off-shore drilling, when in fact such drilling would be of virtually no help in the energy crisis.
This is a false issue, dragged out by the Republicans to distract the public from the fact that they don't have any good ideas to get out of this mess. Washington Republicans have sold out to big oil. They are too beholden to Big Oil to truly take a stand to change the direction of this nation's energy policies. They do not care if lower-income families are struggling to survive in this economic crisis as long as the Fat Cats are getting fatter.
Both McCain and Dubya have admitted that off-shore drilling would not make any difference to our oil supply for 7-10 years because it would take that long to even produce any crude oil. Even then, the supply would go into the world market where it would be a drop in the bucket of oil supplies on the planet. ANBAR is another false issue - there are approved areas for drilling in Alaska that do not endanger life, but it is easier to create a false issue out of the Democrats blocking ANBAR drilling.
The Republicans pretend not to know this, even as their party leaders admit it publicly. The also don't tell the public that there are many areas on land in the Continental US appoved for drilling that the oil companies are not interested in developing. Land drilling in areas not protected for envitronmental reasons is far preferable to off-shore drilling.
This staged protest in Congress just reinforces the corruption of the Republican Party. They manipulate the 'low information' voters with false issues, spurious conflicts and so many lies that it is hard to believe anyone anywhere in this country can vote for an Republican for any office in the country.
Obama doesn't have to make negative personal attacks against McCain - he just has to tell the people the truth. It doesn't need to be presented as self defense, it just has to be factual. McCain has revealed his own lack of scruples in this campaign and Obama needs to fight back with the truth. And the truth is, as T. Boone Pickens' ads are clearly stating, the US cannot drill its way out of this crisis.
Obama's lead in the polls has evaporated, and it must be blamed on the misleading negative ads the Bad Guys are putting on the air in areas where truth is in short supply. I know something of that demographic. I have family members who were Union members all their lives, who collect Union pensions; blue collar workers who support the Rebublican Party because they don't understand how anti-union the Bad Guys are. I have siblings who still believe Iraq was involved in 9/11 and had WMD.
We must continue to get the truth out there. This country is in trouble now and cannot afford four more years under the control of the Evil Empire. So far McCain has shown no honor or integrity, but he is making so much noise - like a child throwing a tantrum - that it distracts voters from real issues. Let's throw a bucket of cold water on this childish old man. His campaign is a disgrace for a man who was once a true hero.
I just went to the darkside and checked out Hillary's website. The blogs on there are very scary this morning, so we've got a lot of work to do. You see, it seems most of the posts actually believe that an injustice was done today and are encouraging, if not demanding, that Hillary take it to the convention. I wonder if they realize that the same delegates who voted for yesterday's proposal, and the same superdelegates who have overwhelmingly gone for Obama, and the same elected delegates who Obama has won the majority of, will be the ones making decisions at the convention. The party has picked its nominee. If they go to the convention and make their case, all they will be doing is hurting themselves politically. The credentials committee will decide the same way the rules committe has, and the covention will vote the same way. Obama has won.
The latest I've heard from the inside is that Hillary isn't dumb and realizes this is over. However, she's been preaching about counting votes for so long, she has to stick it out until Tuesday. Once the prerequisite twenty or so superdelegates make their choice for Obama, she will make a speach from New York endorsing Obama and we can move on. Can she, or does she want to, get her supporters behind Obama, though? Some will never move -- racists and diehard, older feminists will be stung by this for a while. But the rest need to be convinced. How do we do that?
Most agree it's up to Hillary to do that. I have a brilliant idea. Imagine Hillary and Barack doing joint interviews on all the morning shows, "The View", daytime talk shows, and news networks. They get together, have a few laughs, joke about the campaign trail and things they said at debates. See, no hard feelings; in fact, we were the best of friends the whole time -- just really competitive friends. Get all the women watching those shows, especially "The View", to see this side of their relationship. It's perfect. Would Hillary go along for the ride? Maybe not, unless...
The VP slot. The numbers in polling currently show both candidates beating McCain in a general election; however, Hillary is beating him more. Moreover, the swingstates each candidate would use to beat McCain are DIFFERENT. She gets the Ohios, Floridas, and Michigans of the world, while Barack takes the Western states, Virginia, and Iowa. I see a landslide. And Hillary would be more willing to do the "see-we-love-each-other-more-than-life-itself" tour as VP. In fact, they could spin it that they ALWAYS had the agreement that the loser would be VP, but didn't want to discuss it until all the votes were counted. AHHHHH....harmony.
Some say its just not that easy, but the simplest option is usually the right one. Why overthink it. This politics game, for better or worse, is about advertising and marketing. What would you rather go see -- a U2 concert with REM opening or some band you never heard of? Now, the question is whether or not REM would be able to put ego aside and open for ANYONE. We'll have to wait and see. The balls in our court, though, and inaguration day seems closer than ever. With history on the horizon, it's hard to keep a level head. But if an Obama/Hillary ticket upsets any Obama supporters out there, just remember, all the ideals in the world won't do us a damn bit of good with McCain the White House. We need to win to have the opportunity to showcase our ideals, and to lose the election to maintain those ideals would be like chopping off your head to stop a headache!
I’m fired up and I am tired.When a nation whose name includes the word “United” and its people are nothing more than divided, I’m tired. I’m tired of hearing news about shootings, in school, homes, shopping-area's, and churches.
I’m tired of hearing about children killing parents,
Yesterday, the 4000th U.S. soldier died in Iraq. From Washington comes very little sympathy. From right wing conservative news media (FoxNews) and blogs comes only an additional cry for support of a war that 71% of the nation does not support.
I took part in a anti-war rally today in Elkins Park. There were about a dozen protestors in a event which was covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer. During my time there, there was well over a 100 people who showed their support by giving a thumbs up or shouting words of support as they drove by. We did not meet a single person who supported the war.
Just a little note on website functionality. On my screen, once I roll over the drop down menus, they expand but fail to "de-expand" after I have navigated my pointer away and are now in the way of my seeing what I am typing....
(Also, when I try to click on the oh - so - helpful "what is this" lower on this page near extended post text, the text box flashes and fades with the click, far too fast for any human I know to read it....thanks)
I am certain someone will get to that.
Troops Home Now
Georgie Boi was our first president to see protesters on his Inauguration Day. Is this a trend that will never end? When before in history was a politician interrupted several times while announcing his intent to run for the highest office in the land by onlookers chanting his name in five degree weather. Senator Obama has brought a 'Happy Gilmore' feel to the once drab world of politics.
Unfortunately for him, one must accept the good with the bad and following his name chanting interruptions, he found himself being interrupted by people chanting "troops home now". Well, would we not all like the troops home now? Perhaps. Maybe Barack even wants the troops home now; he was against the very idea of this war from the start. However, until we get him elected, it is not his decision and if angry protesters want to interrupt someone with their troops home now rhetoric, they should be interrupting King George and the Royal Court or someone who didn't already lay down a clear plan of phased redeployment getting our fighting men and women out of harm's way by March of 2008.
HA, out....
