November 15, 2004

Shrubite Shakeup

Colin Powell's out as US secretary of state (good for him), and goddess help us, Condi Rice is the Shrub's pick to replace him. Should the current national security adviser -- so hawkish she must have talons -- win Senate approval, I fear the world is in for a hellish next four years.

Business Week offers its take on Rice's ascendance:

The reported promotion of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to Secretary of State is a bad sign. The former Stanford University provost taught Bush most of what he knows about foreign policy and is his prism for viewing the world. But she has struggled to master the operations of the National Security Council, let alone the added task of coordinating Iraqi reconstruction. By putting Condi in charge of the vast bureaucracy at Foggy Bottom, Bush sends a message: It's more important to be right beside him than to be right.

Which sounds eerily like the philosophy of 51 percent of the voting American public.

Stephen Hess, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington, echoed this notion in an interview with Bloomberg. "We know that this is a president who cares a great deal about loyalty," he said. "We know the odds are very great that many of these appointments for a second term will come out of the administration."

The replacement of Powell with Rice is but one of the many changes that have come and will come in Bush's cabinet. Last week brought news of the impending departures of Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans; the Shrub has nominated White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales to succeed Ashcroft. (Now there is one scary choice.) Monday brought word of four staff resignations: Education Secretary Rod Paige, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, and, of course, Powell.

Who's next? Will Donald Rumsfeld leave the Defense Department? Will Tom Ridge turn over Homeland Security to someone else? Time will tell, and neither man is talking. And what about the shakeup at the CIA, the reported effort to rid the agency of "leakers" and "liberals"? Newsday reports that Bush wants to create a CIA that will bend to his will -- again, it's better to be loyal to the Shrub than to be right. The whole mess makes Sunday's ep of CBS' "60 Minutes" a must-see: It features a bin Laden expert who was often at odds with the Bush administration and now is one of the many CIAsters to leave the agency. The man, Michael Scheuer, happens to be the "Anonymous" behind Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror, one of the most compelling books I read this year.

In any case, whatever happens to the cabinet or the CIA, don't be surprised if you see Shrubbie nominate and recruit folks eager to help him spend his political capital on right-wing, imperialist, violent, pro-business, anti-people efforts. After all, he insists he has a mandate. It's Georgie's way or the highway...

Posted by Natalie Davis at 10:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 14, 2004

GOP Hypocrisy - Protecting Choice

Here is the unvarnished truth: By whatever means employed, the GOP has control over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the US federal government. This reality means progressives have many reasons to toss and turn at night, among them the fight for reproductive rights. As New York Newsday notes, American women are one Supreme Court justice away from disaster:

Anyone who thinks abortion rights aren't in serious jeopardy should consider the plight of Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Specter has been a Republican for 40 years. He's in line to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. He has voted to confirm every single one of ... George W. Bush's judicial nominees. Despite that record, angry conservatives are determined to block his rise to chairman. Why?

Because Specter supports abortion rights. And because he had the temerity to state the obvious: That Bush would have trouble winning Senate confirmation of any Supreme Court nominee who is notoriously anti-abortion rights. That's a simple mathematical fact.

It takes only 51 of 100 Senate votes to confirm a judicial nominee. But it takes 60 votes to cut off debate and move to a confirmation vote. Come January, there will be 55 Republicans in the Senate. Do the math. That's not enough to derail a determined Democratic filibuster. Specter said he was alluding to that numerical reality when he made the remark that has haunted him all week.

But conservative foes of abortion rights have been emboldened by the perception that they provided Bush's margin of victory Nov. 2. They aren't of a mind to tolerate even the barest hint of resistance to their agenda, which is reversal of Roe v. Wade. That would be a tragedy. It would strip women of the right to control their bodies and turn the clock back to the grisly days of back-alley abortions.

Which is exactly what the Religious Wrong, twirling around in a post-election victory dance, wants:

After years of frustrating Democratic rule followed by a gridlocked Congress under Bush, [conservative Christian fundamentalist leaders] now hold daily conference calls and meetings to review a long legislative wish list: conservative judicial appointments, a federal amendment banning gay marriage, abortion restrictions, tougher obscenity laws, school vouchers, a ban on all human cloning. And they're counting on Bush to deliver. "We're going to strike out and demand a conservative agenda," says direct-mail guru Richard Viguerie. "If we don't do it now, when do we do it?"

What happens, in large part, is up to the Shrub and how he deals with the phenomenon of "activist judges." According to many Republicans, certain judges who reinterpret constitutional law -- those who disagree with GOP philosophy -- are a danger to the nation. Arguably, without "activist judges," there would be no marriage equality in Massachusetts. Of course, if a judge wants to repeal the law allowing women control over their own bodies, that isn't "activism," to many GOP members. That judge, in their eyes, is a patriot.

Michael Kinsley, in the Los Angeles Times, states the question of the hour:

Judges make decisions and impose their will all the time. That's their job. When does this generally salutary activity turn into the dread judicial activism?

The GOP hue and cry against activist judges is nothing more than hypocrisy. More from Kinsley:

Republicans cheer ... when courts overturn state or federal -- or even private -- affirmative action programs, and they boo when such programs are allowed to continue unmolested. They have great hopes -- largely unrealized, so far -- for the "takings" clause of the 5th Amendment as a tool for overturning environmental regulations or any other government policies that may reduce the value of someone's property. ...

And let's not forget that the Bush administration owes its very existence to the boldest act of judicial activism in a generation: the Supreme Court ruling that settled the 2000 presidential election dispute.

And how's about this for judicial activism: A Senate GOP effort is under way to rule Democratic filibusters against Bush's judicial nominees as being in violation of the US Constitution.

The GOP has its sights set on Roe v. Wade and, sadly, the Shrub's choices will decide what happens. Will he spend his political capital on Supreme Court nominees with an agenda to end legalized abortion? Or will he choose more moderate nominees who stand a chance of surviving confirmation proceedings in a very divided Senate?

Before we get the answers, pro-choice progressives need to be proactive.

NARAL Pro-Choice America is already on the case. The organization is doing opposition research to get the facts on potential nominees and keep non-GOP senators apprised and ready for necessary filibusters. You can help the effort, says a NARAL alert:

Put Bush on notice that you and all pro-choice Americans will not give up. Sign our petition to tell him that you'll firmly oppose any Supreme Court nominee who doesn't support Roe v. Wade, then spread the word to your pro-choice friends and family.

Planned Parenthood is at work as well and asks for your assistance in letting "Dear W" know how we feel.

We all know "W" does not stand for women. So let President Bush know what you really think about his policies on women's health and reproductive freedom. Write a personal letter and we'll deliver it to [Dubya] Bush.

The fight isn't over, but this one will not be easy to win. Any victory for women's rights will have to circumvent Bush's capital, GOP arrogance and hypocrisy, and the power of the Religious Wrong.
We have no time to worry -- we must get active.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 08:01 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

November 13, 2004

The Evildoers

John Ashcroft may be going bye-bye, but there are plenty of right-wing rascals -- in addition to the Shrub and bin Cheney -- who threaten all that is good and decent in the US.

It's Saturday morning, and while I am in Massachusetts now, I suspect my son is watching the anime 'toon "Pókemon," which features the dastardly Team Rocket, whose stated mission seems to come straight from the Bush Thug playbook:

To protect [our] world from devastaion, To unite all people within our nation, To denounce the evil of truth and love, To extend our reach to the stars above... Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Good always triumphs over Team Rocket's evil in this children's fiction. Not so in the real world.

Political analyst Jim Lobe, commenting for Foreign Policy in Focus and its Project Against the Present Danger, writes about the bad guys and their evil plot.

A neo-conservative with longstanding ties to top hawks in the administration of ... George W. Bush has laid out what he calls "a checklist of the work the world will demand of this president and his subordinates in a second term." The list, which begins with the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq and ends with the development of "appropriate strategies" for dealing with threats posed by China, Russia and "the emergence of a number of aggressively anti-American regimes in Latin America," also calls for "regime change" in Iran and North Korea.

The list's author, Frank Gaffney, the founder and president of the Centre for Security Policy (CSP), also warns that Bush should resist any pressure arising from the demise of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to resume peace talks that could result in Israel's giving up "defensible boundaries."

While all seven steps listed by Gaffney in an article published on November 5, 2004 in the National Review Online have long been favored by prominent neo-cons, the article itself, "Worldwide Value," is the first comprehensive compilation to emerge since Bush's re-election Tuesday.

It is also sure to be contested, not just by Democrats who, with the election behind them, are poised to take a more anti-war position on Iraq, but by many conservative Republicans in Congress. They blame the neo-cons for failing to anticipate the quagmire in Iraq and worry their grander ambitions, like those expounded by Gaffney, will bankrupt the Treasury and break an already-overextended military.

Do read Lobe's entire piece and familiarize yourself with the fate for which 51 percent of the nation's participating voters cast their ballots.

And keep watch on these baddies as they reach for the stars above:

In addition to Cheney and [Defense Secretary Donald]Rumsfeld, he cited the most clearly identified -- and controversial -- neo-conservatives serving in the administration: Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby; his top Middle East advisors, John Hannah and David Wurmser; weapons-proliferation specialist Robert Joseph and top Mideast aide Elliott Abrams, on the National Security Council (NSC). Also on the roster are: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz; Undersecretary for Policy Douglas Feith; Feith's top Mideast aide William Luti, in the Pentagon; Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton, and for global issues, Paula Dobriansky at the State Department. ... [There are also] former Defense Policy Board (DPB) chairman, Richard Perle, who has been close to Gaffney since both of them served, along with Abrams, in the office of Washington State Senator Henry M. Jackson in the early 1970s.

You can find Gaffney's National Review piece here. Take a read, and remember: The present danger is large, looming, and all too real. Stay alert and never surrender.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 03:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Baby Steps

The work continues off and on, little by little. As you have noticed if you have popped in here over the past couple of days, the site's look has changed -- for the better, I hope -- although problems persist with trying to integrate the older postings, which date back to 2001. If the problem does not resolve itself, it will mean coding about 3000 postings by hand (and that doesn't include the many comments generated over the years). I am praying things don't have to go that route; available time is already scarce. Keep your fingers crossed that life cuts me a break for once -- paraphrasing the Dead, man, do I need a miracle.

Today is my birthday. I am in Boston talking writing, the 'Net, and post-election progressive politics -- can't imagine a better way to spend a milestone day. Still, I can't get the AF&O crisis out of my head -- every rare free moment I get is spent in front of my friend Felicia's PC banging my head. But I intend to have some fun before flying back to Maryland this evening.

In the meantime, a brief plea: If you know anything about Movable Type's importing process and have any hints (I import a perfectly coded file; the system says the process was successful, but the files don't appear) -- please share. I would consider such assistance a wonderful birthday gift and welcome reassurance that people in general are not scum. (Of course, if you're reading this, you obviously are not scum anyway...)

Posted by Natalie Davis at 02:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 12, 2004

Relocation Update

Things are a tiny bit better. Now I have all the files uploaded, but there seems to be no way to link them to this new version of Movable Type I have. I still have no access to the files in such a way that I could export them into this new system, which would solve that particular problem. And I still can't access my old templates, so the current scheme that is up is plain and, well, sucks. Grrr. It will look different after my return from up north (or during, if I find a Kinko's or an available computer).

The work continues. If anyone is an MT expert and a generous, kind person, I could use some serious advice. And if anyone knows how to reach the administrator of Bloghosts, please let me know.

Grrr.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 04:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 11, 2004

Transitions

Oh, what a headache.

My old web host is biting the dust. In the process of switching to a new host (Cyber Wurx, which rocks so far), my old files -- years' worth of work -- are inaccessible. I am working on it as best as possible considering I am supposed to be in Boston right now. We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I beg your patience. We will be up and strong again soon.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 03:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 09, 2004

All About the Moderates

My mind hasn't changed: Christian fundamentalists who want the law to punish those of us who don't follow their religious beliefs are a major threat to the US and progressives. Part of the reason Bush is still in the White House is due to the fact that Shrub puppetmaster Karl Rove motivated fundie churches to instill fear into their congregations over gay marriage and abortion and convince them that voting Bush is what God mandated. But that is not the only reason. There is the looming specter of dirty politricks too, but that doesn't explain everything either.

Just as it was true following the 2000 electoral debacle, it is true now: the Democratic Party has to face its own shortcomings.

EJ Dionne notes this in yesterday's Washington Post:

Consider these findings from the network exit polls: About 38 percent of those who thought abortion should be legal in most cases went to Bush. Bush got 22 percent from voters who favored gay marriage and 52 percent among those who favor civil unions. Bush even managed 16 percent among voters who thought the president paid more attention to the interests of large corporations than to those of "ordinary Americans." A third of the voters who favored a government more active in solving problems went to Bush.

True, 22 percent of the voters said that "moral values" were decisive in their choices. But 71 percent picked some other issue. All this means that Bush won not because there is a right-wing majority in the United States but because the president persuaded just enough of the nonconservative majority to go his way. Even with their increased numbers, conservatives still constitute only 34 percent of the electorate. The largest share of the American electorate (45 percent) calls itself moderate. The moderates went 54 to 45 percent for Kerry, good but not enough. And 21 percent of this year's voters -- bless them -- called themselves liberal.

These numbers do not lend themselves to a facile ideological analysis of what happened. The populist left can fairly ask why so many pro-government, anti-corporate voters backed Bush. The social liberals can ask why so many socially moderate and progressive voters stuck with the president. The centrist crowd can muse over the power of the terrorism issue. The exit polls found that perhaps 10 percent of Al Gore's 2000 voters switched to Bush. Of these, more than eight in 10 thought the war in Iraq was part of the war on terrorism. ...

Nothing should be allowed to diminish the importance of the huge turnout efforts made in base Democratic areas. But that organizing needs to be supplemented by a campaign to reach both social moderates and populists, many of whom live in those far suburbs and small towns.

Perhaps this is not a Republican country after all.

Michael Moore has been saying this for years -- scratch the surface of the heartland and you'll find middle-of-the-roaders whose lives have not been improved by Bush and his cronies. Yet many of them voted Republican. The Democratic Party failed to reach them.

If we want to see positive, progressive change in the US, Liberals must figure out how to win credibility with moderates while battling the Religious Wrong. Additionally, they have to earn the hearts, minds, and trust of those who did not vote -- 41 percent of the adult population. Yes, this will be a daunting task. But it just may be the only way to save America from the Bushies -- and from itself.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 08:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 06, 2004

There Remains Impeachment

Millions of people had hoped the recent US presidential election would take care of that nasty White House infestation. As you know, efforts by Democrats and progressives fell slightly short -- so the problem continues. We can moan and wail over our defeat at the hands of Chrisian fundamentalists and ignoramuses. We can even take a moment to see the silver lining inside the dark cloud of Nov. 2. But whatever our outlook on what happened, it is clear that, as progressive Vietnam vet John Cory writes, we must take decisive action for change. Dems should follow the advice of Paul Krugman: "Democrats shouldn't cave in to Mr. Bush when he tries to appoint highly partisan judges - even when the effort to block a bad appointment fails, it will show supporters that the party stands for something. They should gear up for a bid to retake the Senate or at least make a major dent in the Republican lead. They should keep the pressure on Mr. Bush when he makes terrible policy decisions, which he will." And we can pursue a once-abandoned path -- one many find to be legitimate, one that merits attention from responsible citizens: working to impeach Bush.

How can we suggest impeaching a president who just "won" the popular vote? Well, Bonnie and Clyde were popular but they broke the law and they had to face justice. Bush has broken several laws including the US Constitution, the UN Charter, the Nuremberg Charter, and the Geneva Convention. His actions have resulted in many tens of thousands of deaths and place this country [and the world] in grave peril. We must consider all legal means to prevent him from doing any more damage to this country. I don't think we can survive another four more years. We must impeach George Bush now!

Impeach Bush offers a list of actions you can take to help move the impeachment train forward.

Some history of the movement to impeach Dubya Bush:

In October 2002, following speeches by Vice President Cheney calling for a preventive war against Iraq, Prof. Francis A. Boyle, a leading US expert in international law, set up a national campaign to impeach Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ashcroft. On March 11, 2003, Congressman John Conyers, ranking member of the House judiciary committee that has jurisdiction over any bill of impeachment, called for a meeting in Washington, DC to discuss introducing a draft bill of impeachment. Forty to fifty of his top legal advisors met with Boyle and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and weighed and reviewed the case for impeachment.

The case was argued on its merits: violations of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Human Rights, the UN Charter, international law, etc. There is, today, a second, revised draft bill of impeachment sitting on Capitol Hill, ready to go.

With an expanded military campaign imminent and the prospect of World War III looming on the horizon, a powerful nationwide movement to impeach George W. Bush is only a matter of time.

As Prof. Boyle writes in his book Destroying World Order, "In international legal terms, the Bush Jr. administration should be viewed as constituting an ongoing criminal conspiracy under international criminal law in violation of the Nuremberg Charter, the Nuremberg Judgment, and the Nuremberg Principles, due to its formulation and undertaking of war policies which are legally akin to those perpetrated by the Nazi regime in pre-World War II Germany."

We gave the electoral system a chance and came up short. It appears the time to push impeachment has come. Take a look at Prof. Boyle's draft impeachment resolution. Do the research and search your soul. Then, for the good of America and truly American values -- justice, peace, freedom, environmentalism, and equality -- commit to making regime change happen. If we wait until 2008, we may be too late to save this nation and the world from the terror that is Bush. Keep up the dissent.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 03:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 05, 2004

Why Stay in Hell?

A tip of the baseball cap to Max Obuzewski of Baltimore's American Friends Service Committee, who sent this piece by Sarah Anderson, a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies via email. Had to share:

Ten Reasons Not to Move to Canada

Ready to say screw this country and buy a one-way ticket north? Here are some reasons to stay in the belly of the beast.

1. The Rest of the World. After the February 2003 antiwar protests, the New York Times described the global peace movement as the world's second superpower. Their actions didn't prevent the war, but protestors in nine countries have succeeded in pressuring their governments to pull their troops from Iraq and/or withdraw from the so-called coalition of the willing. Antiwar Americans owe it to themajority of the people on this planet who agree with them to stay and do what they can to end the suffering in Iraq and prevent future pre-emptive wars.

2. People Power Can Trump Presidential Power. The strength of social movements can be more important than whoever is in the White House. Example: In 1970, President Nixon supported the Occupational Safety and Health Act, widely considered the most important pro-worker legislation of the last 50 years. It didnt happen because Nixon loved labor unions, but because union power was strong. Stay and help build the peace, economic justice, environmental and other social movements that can make change.

3. The great strides made in voter registration and youth mobilization must be built on rather than abandoned.

4. Like Nicaraguans in the 1980s, Iraqis Need U.S. Allies. After Ronald Reagan was re-elected in 1984, progressives resisted the urge to flee northwards and instead stayed to fight the U.S. governments secret war of arming the contras in Nicaragua and supporting human rights atrocities throughout Central America. Iraq is a different scenario, but we can still learn from the U.S.-Central America solidarity work that exposed illegal U.S. activities and their brutal consequences and ultimately prevailed by forcing a change in policy.

5. We Can't Let up on the Free Trade Front Activists have held the Bush administration at bay on some issues. On trade, opposition in the United States and in developing countries has largely blocked the Bush administrations corporate-driven trade agenda for four years. The President is expected to soon appoint a new top trade negotiator to break the impasse. Whoever he picks would love to see a progressive exodus to Canada.

6. Barack Obama. His victory to become the only African-American in the U.S. Senate was one of the few bright spots of the election. An early opponent of the Iraq war, Obama trounced his primary and general election opponents, even in white rural districts, showing he could teach other progressives a few things about broadening their base. As David Moberg of In These Times puts it, Obama demonstrates how a progressive politician can redefine mainstream political symbols to expand support for liberal policies and politicians rather than engage in creeping capitulation to the right.

7. Say so long to the DLC. Barry Goldwater suffered a resounding defeat when he ran for president against Lyndon Johnson in 1964, but his campaign spawned a conservative movement that eventually gained control of the Republican Party and elected Ronald Reagan in 1980. Progressives should see the excitement surrounding Dean, Kucinich, Moseley Braun, and Sharpton during the primary season as the foundation for a similar takeover of the Democratic Party.

8. 2008. President Bush is entering his second term facing an escalating casualty rate in Iraq, a record trade deficit, a staggering budget deficit, sky-high oil prices, and a deeply divided nation. As the Republicans face likely failure, progressives need to start preparing for regime change in 2008 or sooner. Remember that Nixon was re-elected with a bigger margin than Bush, but faced impeachment within a year.

9. Americans are Not All Yahoos. Although I wouldn't attempt to convince a Frenchman of it right now, many surveys indicate that Americans are more internationalist than the election results suggest. In a September poll by the University of Maryland, majorities of Bush supporters expressed support for multilateral approaches to security, including the United States being part of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (68%), the International Criminal Court (75%), the treaty banning land mines (66%), and the Kyoto Treaty on climate change (54%). The problem is that most of these Bush supporters werent aware that Bush opposed these positions. Stay and help turn progressive instincts into political power.

10. Winter. Average January temperature in Ottawa: 12.2°F.

Personally, I can take cold weather. The other stuff merits considering, though. Still I can't get this thought out of my mind: Up north, I would be equal under law. In the US, I am not and not likely to be, if ever, for an intolerably long time. Why is it wrong to want to be where one is equal?

Note: New URL -- We're at http://www.armchair-activist.NET now, not org. This address points to this very page.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 03:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 04, 2004

American Nightmare: Different Approaches to Dealing

Shades of 2000: Journalist Greg Palast says John Kerry actually won Tuesday's election.

Say what?

Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.

So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate. Pollsters ask, "Who did you vote for?" Unfortunately, they don't ask the crucial, question, "Was your vote counted?" The voters don't know.

Here's why. Although the exit polls show that most voters in Ohio punched cards for Kerry-Edwards, thousands of these votes were simply not recorded. This was predictable and it was predicted. [See TomPaine.com, "An Election Spoiled Rotten," November 1.]

Once again, at the heart of the Ohio uncounted vote game are, I'm sorry to report, hanging chads and pregnant chads, plus some other ballot tricks old and new.

It's a theory; it may well be accurate. But Kerry has conceded, the Edwards family has a bigger issue to face, Bush is off to spend his political capital, and we are just going to have to deal with the mess. Going by reported percentage totals, 51 percent of the country stands behind the lying, imperialist terrorist Christian-fundie bigot. We who are part of the remaining 49 percent, if we don't or can't flee, will have to dig in our heels and fight.

A quote from the Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge on the Christian GLBT site Whosoever describes the country into which fate left me, the one that made such a horrible decision this week: "The United States, as a nation, does not possess any of the qualities of blessedness that Jesus spells out. We are a rich nation, where the meek, the hungry and the peacemakers are marginalized, not only in society at large, but within the nation's churches, as well. We are not God's chosen nation -- we are a nation forsaken by God -- a nation that has forgotten that to be truly blessed is to be humble and meek."

My dear friend, activist Kara Speltz, sent e-mail pointing to a recent entry at Rev. Chellew's blog, The Christian Agnostic. Like many of us, the election news depressed her and thoughts of moving to Canada filled her head. But then, after praying for peace, she heard a song by the Indigo Girls:

I sang along with the song for a few minutes before the words sank in. I'd heard the song so many times and know it by heart, but suddenly, the words took on power and meaning - they were God's answer to my morning prayer.

The song is called "Let it Be Me" from their 1992 release Swamp Ophelia. The song itself was written about the first Bush administration, but it still applies today.

Sticks and stones battle zones A single light bulb on a single thread for the black Sirens wail history fails rose-colored glass begins to age and crack While the politicians shadowbox the power ring In an endless split decision never solve anything From a neighbor's distant land I heard the strain of the common man ...

Well the world seems spent

And the president has no good idea of who the masses are

Well I'm one of them and I'm among friends

Trying to see beyond the fences of our own backyard

I've seen kingdoms blow like ashes in the winds of change

But the power of truth is the fuel for the flame

So the darker the ages get there's a stronger beacon yet

Let it be me (this is not a fighting song) let it be

me (not a wrong for a wrong) let it be me,

If the world is night shine my life like a light

In the kind word you speak

In the turn of the cheek

When your vision stays clear

In the face of your fear

Then you see turning off a light switch is their only power

When we stand like spotlights in a mighty tower

All for one and one for all

Then we sing the common call

"Let it be me," the words swirled in my head. As 11 states voted to deny marriage rights to people like me, as an administration with a track record of

oppressing the poor, the marginalized and the outcast seems poised to fill the office for four more years, as discrimination, greed and a mean-spirited form of

religion seems to take hold in our land, these words resonated deeply inside.

"Let it be me" who shows the world that Christians are not petty and mean. "Let it be me" who shows the world that lesbian couples are just as boring as

heterosexual couples when they come home, fix dinner, feed the dogs and take out the trash. "Let it be me" that person who reminds the world that love casts out fear and that justice will roll down like waters in a mighty stream. "Let it be me" that speaks truth to power. "Let it be me" who makes a difference in the

lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who are hurt and angry because they have been abandoned by their families, their churches, their

neighbors and their political leaders.

If the world is night, shine my life like a light. ...

Shine your life like a light today my brothers and sisters. Do not despair. God's justice may be slow in coming but it will arrive and it will be a glorious day when love finally triumphs over fear, mercy wins over sacrifice, equality wins over oppression, distributive justice wins over greed, honesty trumps dirty tricks, and compassion is no longer a politically hollow word.

Must say I like her approach. Of course, there are other approaches. The following is a suggestion to UNplug GWB.

In 2000, GWB was selected for us by his Supreme Court.
We survived. And grew stronger.

In 2004, GWB was selected for us by Osama bin Laden.
We shall survive. And grow stronger.

Here's the plan: UNplug GWB. Do absolutely as little as possible to support GWB.

So what's changed, you ask?

Everything. We thought it was enough just to show his deceit and to vote him out. But he and Osama conned too many Simpletons. Now we must do everything possible to cause GWB's corrupt way of life to fail.

This is a warrior's defensive strategy, to celebrate all the good things about being a loyal American citizen. We do it quietly. We do it with friends. We do it

in the spirit of 55.4 million patriotic Americans who said loudly that they understand the dangers of GWB. We do NOT do it with his comrades.

Like all movements, this one is from the heart, and requires commitment and sacrifice. It builds a stronger you. And it builds a better America.

UNplug is what it says it is: no support for GWB. No energy flows to him while you are UNplugged.

1. Conserve. Everything.
   
   
   • When you conserve, you don't spend. That helps bring down a corrupt economy. Trade. Barter services. Just don't buy. Make it yourself. Repair it. Do without.

   • Find alternatives to driving. Walk, ride a bike, car pool or just don't go. Buying gasoline supports GWB's mid-east oil wars. Conserving oil brings down the price, and under finances GWB's plan for global dominance.

   • Plant a Victory Garden. Turn a plot of ground this Autumn and enrich it. Plan it over the Winter. Plant it next Spring. Begin enjoying fresh wholesome food that does not support GWB. Bless him with every bite! (Live in a city? Look into square-foot gardening.)

   • Earn less. Spend less. Pay less taxes. Enjoy life more.

   • You pay no tax to the war machine on what you make for yourself or friends, what you grow, trade or barter.

2. Turn-off distractions.
   • Turn off the TV. Listen to music. Take a walk.

   • Never shop at Wallmart again. Stop consuming.

   • Teach your children honesty, thrift, and how to UNplug.

   • Unclutter. Yard sale or send Goodwill your junk.
     
     Use these 4 years to reduce your possessions by at least half.

3. Break your addictions. Live healthy. Live happy.
   • Refuse to participate in any activities dominated by Republicans. Choose carefully where to apply your precious time. Find others who share your core beliefs.

   • Leave Republicans off your guest list. They are not your true friends, and never can be.

   • Cherish the friends you made fighting GWB. Build bridges and allegiances with others of similar mind.

   • Our job is to drop below their radar screen, repair and rebuild, and emerge stronger than ever before.

4. Withdraw. Grow inwardly.
   • Open a good book. Use the Public Library. Buy less. Trade and loan books you own, or give them to the Library.

   • Take a class. Learn a skill. Become self-sufficient.

   • Develop habits of confidence, intelligent thinking, and true compassion for those who are worthy. Grow strong. Live simply.

   • Visualize GWB as a metastasizing cancer, ever consuming the good of our Nation. He can never be accommodated, appeased, nor long tolerated.

5. Teach and learn.
   • Teach someone. Mentor and raise consciousness.

And know in your heart, that these things taken in the fullness of their measure nurture your America.

GWB sought to conquer America by dividing her into competing factions bonded only by his hatred. And so he has. In a CNN poll, 66% said they would NOT get behind whomever won. There is absolutely no reason to support anything GWB wants to do. Good folks always have healthy, happier alternatives.

In our history during war times, Americans survive by cutting back, sharing, and sacrificing. This assault by GWB on everything good and decent in America

requires nothing less. Live a better life with less, contributing a big Zero to GWB's success.

The flag in my front yard now flies at half mast, and shall until the day the man that Osama bin Laden put back in our White House has been vanquished.

I don't agree with everything in there -- segregation makes me nervous -- but some of the ideas provided are helpful. Living a kynd lifestyle is the thing to do, IMO, no matter who occupies the White House.

While we are trapped in a land where slightly more than half of the nation's voters are poised as our enemies and enemies of truth of justice, we must nurture ourselves for the unavoidable fight between Left and Right, true and false Christianity, people and greed, good and evil. Standing against the Shrub and those who support him is a huge part of that.

Of course, if you can flee, more power to you.

Speaking of which, I've been hearing a lot of the "love America or leave it" crap from gloating right-wingers. Frankly, if I could afford to go, I would. In a heartbeat. So -- here is an opportunity to help a queer pinko get the hell out of America and protect her kids from the 51 percent: The official AF&O Flee to Canada Fund is accepting any and all contributions.

Any and all proceeds will go toward rescuing a progressive-left family from the pit of hell that is mendacious, Shrub-loving Amerikkka. Thanks in advance for your support.

Tongue removed from cheek: Until the flight, we fight. My perennial question is: Can America be saved from the fascists, fundies, and 'phobes? I doubt it. Seriously. But while I am trapped here, I will do my best to make a positive difference. I pray you will too.

One way to start: Check out the Black Box Voting and an article by Greg Palast alleging that Ohio's touchscreen machines skewed the election. Also see this.

MEET-UP with members of your community. Have a community meeting to create a space to speak-out and discuss voting irregularities in your community, what happened nationally, and where do we go from here to demand accountability. Post your meeting on-line at No Stolen Election - click on "Directory of Local Actions."

CONNECT with the Urgent Response Network:

1. Sign the Pledge of Action, and check your email for alerts
   
   
2. Check this and related websites regularly
   
   
3. Sign up to receive text-message alerts on your cell phone
   
   
4. Call 917-779-0013 for an automated voice mail message

INFORM YOURSELF about and advocate for the full platform of voting rights, election, and structural reforms that will democratize America. Go to www.Nov3.Us and click on "Defend Voting Rights," "Reform Our Elections," and "Deepen Our Democracy," for some great places to start.

Again, stand by, be vigilant, and don’t forget that all of your efforts for peace, justice, and democracy are going to create positive change in the long run.

Positive is as positive does. Let's get to work... positively.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 04:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 03, 2004

Republican Country?

I am holding my breath. Almost literally. Much of last evening and this morning was spent viewing or listening to election coverage -- CBS News, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and Fox were my channels of choice. The latter network was chosen, naturally, for opposition research.

The balloting and vote count were fascinating to watch. After exit polls gave the impression that Kerry was winning handily, the truth finally emerged -- this was a horce race. At 3:05 Wednesday morning, the race was too close to call. Ohio was the focus: The Bushites insisted they'd won the Buckeye state; Democrats said the race was not yet over. As the world watched and waited, right-wing media took the Bush line as left-leaning journalists hoped against hope that sanity would win the day.

It didn't, of course. I awoke to the news that Kerry shortly will concede the election to the Shrub. I am still numb at this point -- hence, the inability to breathe consistently: The hell that was the last four years is about to get worse. Much worse. The smirking one now thinks -- erroneously -- he has a mandate.

A FOX analyst said chilling words very early this morning: "This is a Republican country." In other words, non-GOPsters are in for a world of hurt -- quite bluntly, it appears half the nation is screwed. And so is the US's electoral system.

Who or what is to blame for the nightmare we face? I suspect it is Christian fundamentalism combined with right-wing fear and good old American bloodlust. Another factor is a Democratic party that resolutely refused to budge beyond Demublicanism. From Counterpunch:

The strategy of the Democratic Party as formulated by DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe amounted to belief in the simple potency of corporate cash, plus hysterical demonization of Bush and Nader, represented at full stretch by Michael Moore, who began the year backing General Wesley Clarke and ended it as a pied piper for Kerry. They came to the Rubicon of November 2 replete with fantasies, about the unknown cell phone vote, the youth vote (which actually remained unchanged from 2000), the galvanizing potential of Bruce Springsteen and Eminem.

Week after week Kerry and his boosters displayed an unmatched deafness to political tone. The haughty elitist from Boston probably lost most of the Midwest forever when he said in the high summer that foreign leaders hoped he would win. The applause of the French in Cannes for Michael Moore's 9/11 was the sound of the cement drying over the corpse of Kerry's chances of carrying the Midwest. Soros's dollars were like flowers on the grave. After the billionairess Portuguese-American Teresa Heinz Kerry said in mid-October that Laura Bush had never held a job it was all over.

If there was a visual premonition of why George Bush would achieve a popular majority beyond challenge it was probably the photographs of gay couples celebrating their marriages outside San Francisco's city hall. America is a very Christian country. In the regular national survey conducted by the University of Chicago in 2002, 53 per cent of the adult population identified themselves as Protestant, 25 per cent as Catholic, 3 per cent as Christians of some other denomination, 3 per cent as adhering to "other religions", 2 per cent as Jewish and 14 per cent as having "no religion". That's a lot of Christians, and though many of them may have had a mature tolerance for the preference of Dick and Lynn Cheney's daughter Mary, a strong percentage felt very strongly that state sanction of same sex marriage was going way too far.

There was a ballot initiative in Ohio to ban gay marriage and it was probably what helped Bush overcome the smoldering ruins of the Ohio economy and the increasing unpopularity of the war.

October surprises? No candidate was more burdened by them than George Bush. Just in the last couple of weeks, headlines brought tidings of US marines killed in Baghdad and other US troops rising up in mutiny against lack of equipment to protect their lives. The president's brother Neil was exposed as influence peddling on the basis of his family connections. The economic numbers remained grim as they have been all year. And this was just the icing on the cake. You can troll back over the past fifteen months and find scarce a headline or news story bringing good tidings for Bush. History is replete with revolutions caused by a rise in the price of bread. This year the price of America's primal fluid--oil--on which every household depends, tripled.

But Kerry and the Democrats were never able to capitalize on any of these headlines, a failure which started when Democrats in Congress, Kerry included, gave the green light to the war on Iraq, and which continued when Kerry conclusively threw away the war and WMD issues in August. When he tried to a chord change at NYU on September 20 it was too late and even then his position remained incoherent. He offered no way out. More tunnel, no light.

And what of the Green Party, the one I supported, the one that garnered only a few thousand votes in the balloting? We aren't surprised.

So, we have a win for Bush, for Jerry Falwell, for violence and greed, for bigotry, for lies. As MSNBC puts it, slightly more than half the nation is A-OK with these horrors:

They don't care that Iraq is turning into murderous quicksand and a killing field for our children. They don't care that the Bush presidency has made us less safe by creating more terrorists, inspiring more anti-American hatred and refusing to engage in the hard work that would be necessary to make a meaningful dent in our myriad vulnerabilities at home. They don't care that he has mortgaged our children's future to give trillions to the wealthiest among us. They don't care that the economy continues to hemorrhage well-paying jobs and replace them with Wal-Mart; that the number without health insurance is over forty million and rising. They don't care that Medicare premiums are rising to fund the coffers of pharmaceutical companies. They don't care that the air they breathe and the water they drink is being slowly poisoned and though they call themselves conservatives, they even don't care that the size of the government and its share of our national income has increased by roughly a quarter in just four years. This is not a world of rational debate and issue preference.

It's one of "them" and "us." He's one of "them" and not one of "us" and that's all they care about. True it's an illusion. After all, Bush is a millionaire's son who went to Yale and Harvard and sat out Vietnam, not even bothering to show up for his cushy National Guard duty, and succeeded only in trading on his father's name and connections in adult life. But somehow, they feel he understands them. He speaks their language. Our guys don't. And unless they learn it, we will continue to condemn this country and those parts of the world it affects to a regime of malign neglect at best -- malignant and malicious assault at worse.

The sad truth: Michael Moore was wrong when he opined that most of the nation was on the side of decency. It isn't. The victors believe in legally mandated discrimination. They don't care about endangering women's reproductive rights. They do believe in war and revenge. And they will stand by war-criminal "leaders" who lie. Election 2004 proved that.

The US truly is divided between "us" and "them," and the slight majority of "them" leaves "us" in a precipitous position, in a dangerous place -- potentially for a very long time. Our only choices: Fight or flee.

Four more years. Forget Osama. This is terror.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 04:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 02, 2004

Mission Accomplished

The job is done: I voted Green this morning at my local polling place and visited another site while serving, with my son David, as a volunteer Kerry/Edwards poll driver for elderly and shut-in voters. What I saw was heartening: Both places were abuzz with activity. Lines were long and voters were excited. There is an enthusiasm out there that is palpable. Perhaps it bodes positively for the future.

At the balloting sites David and I visited, there were more Kerry poll workers than Bush minions in the electioneering areas. Inside the polling places, volunteers were very helpful in assisting people with the Diebold electronic voting system. (Let's hope the computer touchscreens won't screw people out of their votes.)

Thankfully, though rain was predicted for the Baltimore area, so far we have been blessed with sunny skies and comfortably mild temperatures. No doubt this is one reason for the apparently high turnout. But another reason became clear after my discussions with various voters and volunteers: There is a sense that this election is of extreme importance. Even senior-age voters said this vote is probably the most important one they will ever cast. Many people told me they believe the stakes are inordinately high -- and yes, they are. But voters are troubled too -- no one seems to have a clue about how today will end. Plus, many told me that they are concerned about the integrity of the vote, particularly in Florida; the fear that today's balloting will produce another election 2000-like debacle is strong.

None of that at Baltimore's Democratic headquarters. The mood was energetic and upbeat when David and I dropped by for a visit. The boy was amazed by the passion of the volunteers and campaign staffers. One asked my son -- eight-year-old political volunteers are exceedingly rare and easily noticeable -- if he saw himself running for president someday.

"No way," David said emphatically, though the boy added that he liked volunteering for the effort and was proud to work for John Kerry. When asked why, his response actually made my eyes moisten.

"Because Kerry has to win," he said. "And helping people is what Jesus would do."

That's my boy.

However today's vote turns out, it is obvious that all of our lives and those of future generations will be affected by its result. Let's hope the effect will be for the better.

If you are registered and haven't cast your ballot, get to it. My son is depending on you to do the right thing.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 03:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

October 29, 2004

Forging a Common Destiny

The approval of 25 countries and the European Parliament are needed for it to take effect, but otherwise, the hard part is over: The European Union has a new constitution.

Getting to this point has not been easy. From the UK's Evening Times:

The signing, at a ceremony with other European leaders, intends to reform the way the community works, but has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the choice of Italian Rocco Buttiglione as a commissioner.

The conservative Roman Catholic has said he regards homosexuality as a sin and that single mothers are "not very good mothers."

Incoming Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso withdrew his entire team of commissioners in the face of opposition from the European parliament to the appointment. [More on that from the Times of Malta.]

Today's event is essentially ceremonial and full talks on the issue may have to wait until next week's EU summit in Brussels.

In the meantime, attention will be focused on Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who now has to decide whether to continue backing his choice of Mr Buttiglione. Socialist and Liberal MEPs said they would not accept Mr Buttiglione, who had been selected for the justice portfolio. The dispute is shaping up into a trial of strength between the various EU institutions.

Even without the controversy, the leaders will sign the draft constitutional treaty knowing it will only if it is accepted by all members' national parliaments accept it. Several, including Mr Blair, are committed to holding referendums on the treaty, any one of which could derail it.

In other words, the document signed today -- New York Newsday presents highlights of the EU constitution -- is not a done deal. Yet. It will be interesting to see whether this becomes reality and how long it may take. And then there is the troubled European Commission. The sum total should provide Europe watchers with much excitement.

The situation reminds me of the birth of the US Declaration of Independence. Its initial (pre-ratification) signing in 1776 was delayed by a dispute over bigotry -- that of Southern slaveowners who wanted to make sure their "right" to own other humans was upheld under the document. Now we have, in 2004, the EU drafting a constitution and contending with the bigotries of sexism and homophobia. The more things change...

Posted by Natalie Davis at 11:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

October 12, 2004

Hubba Hubba Timeout Times Two

Update: In all of the excitement, I jumped the gun -- Hugh was born on Oct. 12, 1968. Oops.

This necessitates a rerun of my birthday greeting to the Aussie hunk (with a different photo), along with another birthday greeting that will follow.

It's Hugh Jackman's birthday -- why not give myself a gift?

Happy, happy birthday, Hugh. And let's hope that Wolverine thing gets the green light.

(By the way, the E! article linked says Jackman is an Emmy winner -- E! is mistaken. The Australian-born stage and screen star actually won the Best Actor in a Musical Tony Award earlier this year for his electrifying turn as songwriter-entertainer Peter Allen in the now-closed The Boy from Oz.)

AND, if memory serves me right, it is also the birthday of another multitalented and gorgeous human: Tanjoubi omedetou to Takeshi Kaga, the acclaimed Japanese actor-singer best known internationally as the host, from 1993-1999, of the wild cooking-competition TV show "Iron Chef." Yeah, I am a bit obsessed with him at present; I am not alone in this.

  

While I share Simone Maxwell's fascination (okay, and lust) for this intriguing man, I must take issue with a couple of points she made in the piece linked above. Look upward at those photos: Kaga is that attractive. Oh. Yes. He. Is. And "underemployed Japanese Broadway actor"??? The man has made a host of big- and small-screen films and was honored with Japan's Academy Award for his work in the 1984 film Majan Horoki (The Diary of Gamblers.) And he's still busy. Last I heard, Kaga-san was hosting the Japanese version of "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" (there, it's called "Time Shock 21"), and he recently starred in the stage musical Jekyll and Hyde. Read more about this accomplished thespian and check out more Kaga photos -- if you can stand it. Hubba hubba, indeed. Nine hours to go until the next IC ep airs on Food Network...

Have a happy one, Kaga-san. Gotta go get a cold drink. Jackman, Kaga... it's all too much.

Posted by Natalie Davis at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)