Ruth's Report

Ruth's back.  She's narrowed the focus and says she's either Cher at this point or Roseanne.  We think she's wonderful.

 

Ruth's Report

Ruth: As Joni Mitchell might sing today, "By the time we got to quagmire, there were half a million dead . . ." Iraqis and 2560 American troops dead.

What will end the war? Resistance and awareness so, with that mind, I was happy to grab Mike's idea of a weekly meeting to discuss the war the press still wants to portray as 'winnable.'
Originally, my group was meeting on Saturday but, due to the report going up on Saturday mornings and our own schedules, we are now meeting Fridays.

It's an interesting group of fourteen. (We are already starting to grow.) We are all grandparents (ten women, four men) but our families differ. (Religion wise, we are predominately Jewish.) Some, like mine, were universally opposed to the illegal war when it began. Others contain a mixture of sentiment and support then and now.

So you can see it as an attempt by some to get their own houses in order and by all as an attempt to provide support and ideas. Mainly, though, we are attempting to treat the war like a war and not, as Mike so wonderfully put it when critiquing so much of the press coverage, as an after thought. Like Mike and Cedric, I print up the Iraq snapshots to reference during the Friday meetings. I grab my yellow highlighter and color in various details I want to bring up.

In addition to those, this Friday I printed up copies of Andrea Lewis' "Pentagon cultivating culture of violence against women" (Salt Lake Tribune) and my notes from the discussion Ms. Lewis and Ruth Rosen had on Tuesday's KPFA's The Morning Show about Ms. Rosen's recent article, "The Hidden War on Women in Iraq." (We discussed Ms. Rosen's article in the previous week's meeting.)

Other topics brought up included CODEPINK's TROOPS HOME FAST! and there was some hesitation as to whether or not people our age should or could participate? I took part on the Fourth of this month as did my grandchildren Tracey and Jayson, plus two of my sons and three of my daughter-in-laws. I was able to address the questions of can you get through 24 hours? That was an issue, believe it or not. I think that is because some of the group is old enough to have lived through the tail end of the Great Depression and we were certainly all encouraged by our parents to "clean our plates" growing up with warnings of that and "children starving in China." Two group members are on medical diets and they will be consulting with their doctors to make sure they are medically able to participate in the one day fast we are planning to take part in August 3rd.

That is a Thursday and, as one woman explained, "If I do it, I'm going to be talking about the next day and will be phoning all of you" so that by the time the next Friday meeting rolled around, she was afraid she would have "talked it to death."

In the "Iraq snapshot" Friday, C.I. noted Hannah Charry's report (Hartford Advocate) on sixty-year-old John Woods taking part in a once a week fast every Friday. That went up after the morning meeting so I was not able to bring it into the discussion but I will next week. The group members have, largely, taken part in some form of activism in the past but none had ever fasted and, for my group, I really do believe it has to do with both concerns over our age and the lingering impressions from the Great Depression.

The idea of fasting excites them and there is support for it. Most wondered what their children would think of their one day fasts and what effect it would have on them?


March 1, 2006, on KPFA's Against the Grain, C.S. Soong interviewed conscientious objector Aidan Delgado who felt one area that the peace movement needed to move towards was more settings in smaller groups where people could communicate their ideas. In my group, I am finding that a lot of participants make statements to the effect of, "Saying I was against the war was all I was comfortable with offering." They are now going beyond that. It is offering a forum to test the waters and to explore.

People are strengthening their knowledge and I think we will all take that from the group and into other areas of our lives. I spoke to Mike about this last night before his own group started and he asked me if I remembered that he had mentioned community members Goldie and Marlene in his column for Polly's Brew? I had remembered that but Mike feels that their house parties on the war, which Rebecca has written about, have not received enough attention or credit so he asked that I note Goldie and her mother's work on bringing the issue into their lives and into their friends lives.

Whether you do it in a festive setting like Goldie and Marlene are doing or in a more cut and dry fashion, I hope you will consider starting a discussion group. The public opinion tide has turned with regards to the war. The bravery so many showed in opposing the war earlier no longer results in a lonely stance but to get the troops home will require more than just saying, "I am opposed to the illegal war." It will require that we bring it into our daily lives.

Lorraine talked about how she now reads the scant coverage not only to be informed but also looking for something she can bring into our weekly meetings. Along with information, Lorraine is looking at bringing in other people as well such as a young homemaker two blocks from me who has a two-year-old child. My grandson Elijah is, of course, at the meetings so young children are certainly welcome. Lorraine says that two years ago the woman and her husband were the only ones on that block opposed to the war. The opposition is no longer an isolated viewpoint, it probably was never as isolated as the media portrayed it to be, and now is the time for us to come together and address the issue that the media continues to show reluctance towards.

That will be the real change and, I would argue, the time is now. As C.I. noted, I have again changed the name of my report. It is now "Ruth's Report." I joke that it will soon be just "Ruth" and I will be like Cher after the divorces from Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman. The resons for the change, as the community is fully aware, has to do with leaving the stance of cheerleader. I will happily note people addressing the war but I am not interested in, as C.I. has put it, handing out gold stars each week. Besides the fact that there would be many weeks where no gold stars were handed out, there is the more important fact that everyone should be addressing the war. That is where my focus is.

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Blog Spotlight: Mike on the issues that really matter

Jim swears this is his favorite of Mike's post from last week because of the humor but several think it's because Jim gets a mention.  Regardless, arm yourself against crotch rot.

 

Iraq and other stuff

Hump day. Get to humping! :D Elaine said Cedric had a wonderful idea about us using the snapshot as our headline and going through and noting but she said, "It's so much!" :D It is. It was a great idea. How we're doing it right now is we're noting it and then we're going to write on one thing in it. Whatever stands out to us. So let's kick things off with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Iraq today? Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London) sums it up as follows: "A civil war between Sunni and Shia Muslims is spreading rapidly through central Iraq, with each community seeking revenge for the latest massacre." That pretty much describes life on the ground. There's also more news in the inquiry to the death of Jake Kovco as well as news on Medea Benjamin and Cindy Sheehan.
Bombings?
Outside Baghdad's Technology Institute, three bombs went off. AFP notes that a "police patrol" had just passed by and that the interior ministry of Iraq is saying that police were the targets of the bombings. Reuters reports five dead and 22 wounded in the three bombs -- first came the car bomb, then two others went off "apparently targeting a crowd that gathered at the scene."
The other single event getting the most press attention at this time is the kidnapping of at least 19 people. Al Jazeera explains that fourteen were kidnapped on Tuesday "by gunmen in civilian clothes" and that an additional five were traveling in a vehicle, forced off the road, and then kidnapped. The Associated Press reports that the twenty (they go with the figure of 20) were all employees of the Sunni Endowment and that the agency's response has been to announce they "would stop working effective immediately and that its chairman, Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samaraie, would give more details later." (Reuters also goes with the figure of 19 kidnapped and it taking place yesterday and today.)
Elsewhere, Reuters reports that mortar rounds have claimed the life of a two-month-old child and left another child and one adult wounded and that a bombing in Kirkuk has left at least four dead and at least 16 wounded. CBS and the AP note a roadside bombing in Kirkuk that took the lives of two.
Shootings?
AFP reports that Major General Fakhr Abdel Hussein was killed in Baghdad ("in front of his home"). AFP notes that he was "[t]he head of the interior ministry's justice office". In Najaf, Reuters covers the death of the owner of "a women's hair salon" and notes that 3 are dead and 11 wounded after a market was stormed by assailants. AFP also notes: "Gunmen in the eastern suburb of Baghdad Jadida opened fir on a store selling vegetables, killing four people inside. They then planted explosives inside the store and blew it to pieces." Also in Balad, AFP reports, a home invasion has left a child dead and a woman wounded.
Corpses?
Reuters notes a corpse ("gunshot wounds") discovered in Mosul as well as 18 corpses discovered in Mahmudiya ("gunshot wounds . . . signs of torture"). Meanwhile the AFP reports that six corpses were discovered in Baghdad and one in Karbala.
Addressing the UN report that found almost 6,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the months of May and June on The KPFA Evening News yesterday, Max Pringle noted that: "In the first six months of the year it said 14,338 people had been killed. The UN report also details the rise in kidnappings particularly of large groups of people. In addition women report that their rights have been rolled back by religious muslim groups both Shi and Sunni. They say that their social freedoms have decreased since the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and they are now barred from going to the market alone, wearing pants and driving cars."
Brian Edwards-Tiekert also addressed the report today on KPFA's The Morning Show , noting that it indicates that "violence is claiming more lives in Iraq now than at any time since the US invasion of that country. The UN estimates 100 Iraqis are dying a day"
Speaking of the report yesterday, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Farhan Haq noted that "the report raises alarm at the growing number of casualities among the civilian population killed or wounded" and that's a thought echoing in today's press with some noting occupation puppet Nouri al-Maliki's statement from last week that Iraq was getting it's "last chance" or Hoshiyar Zebari's assertion that "months" remain before "all-out civil war" breaks out.
Turning to Australia and the case of Jake Kovco who died in Iraq on April 21st, the inquiry into the events of his final moments continue. Dan Box (The Australian) reports that: "HOMICIDE detectives will trave to Baghdad to take DNA samples from soldiers who served with Private Jake Kovco after tests revealed unidentified DNA samples on the trigger of the gun that killed him." Speaking on The World Today (Australia's ABC) with host Eleanor Hall, Conor Duffy reported that Detective Inspector Wayne Hayes found "what . . . [he] called a gross amount of someone else's DNA, and that DNA was on the trigger of the gun, the slide and on the grip." Australia's ABC reports that: "As many as 30 Australian soldiers in Baghdad could be DNA tested." Dan Box also reports that the two roommates of Jake Kovco will testify to the board next week "by videolink" from Baghdad. Judy and Martin Kovco, Jake's parents, have been fighting to have soldiers serving with their late son called to testify before the inquiry -- though the testimony will be by "videolink," the 'win' on this is due to their persistence.
And in peace news, Matthew Cardinale (Atlanta Progressive News) reports on Cindy Sheehan and Medea Benjamin's visit to Atlanta to show their support for Cynthia McKinney in her primary bid (McKinney won the most vote but now faces Hank Johnson in a primary runoff). Medea Benjamin states: "The peace movement is aat a very critical juncture because on one hand, we have managed to capture public opinion. Most people think the Invasion of Iraq was a mistake and want the troops home at the end of the year. 72% of troops themselves say this. You can't continue to have politicians voting for the war. What's new on this is the Iraqi said, not just Iraqi people, but the [Iraqi] President, Vice President, and National Security Advisor".
Medea Benjamin and Cindy Sheehan continue their fast as part of the Troops Home Fast protest. From CODEPINK:
TROOPS HOME FAST! On July 4, we launched an historic hunger strike called TROOPS HOME FAST in Washington, DC in front of the White House. While many Americans expressed their patriotism via barbeques and fireworks, we're fasting in memory of the dead and wounded, and calling for the troops to come home from Iraq. We're inviting people around the world to show their support for this open-ended fast by fasting for at least one day. Read an interview with Diane Wilson to learn more. Please sign here to to support us and encourage your friends to do the same. Click here to view photos, and read our blogs!
The fast is ongoing, anyone can join at any time, for a single day or more.
Finally, the BBC reports that four more people kidnapped from the "meeting of the Iraqi Olympic Committee last week" have been released and that the number of those released is now nine.

What stand out to me? The continued violence and how little coverage it's getting. Iraq as an after thought again. I can't believe how little the press cares about Iraq. They sold the war and now they disown it. Not by calling it out and demanding the troops come home, but by ignoring it. We've gone from bemoaning "strategy" to just ignoring reality. "Strategy" isn't the issue unless it's examing the "strategy" of lying a nation into war. But you hear all these guys in the press talking about how if we could have done this or done that, it would be different now. But the reality is that it would still be an illegal war.

I can't believe what's going on in the Jake Kovco case. I was sympathetic to the parents (and to his wife Shelley) but I never would have guessed that details like the stuff above would emerge. If you use the links, the investigation did a recreation of when Kovco died and where he was when he died doesn't match where his rommates say that he was. So what did happen? They're even saying, the roommates, that they don't remember seeing him with a gun. His family has never believed it was suicide and I don't think you kill yourself in front of two people without saying something like, "Goodbye, guys." If you're going to do it in front of people, seems like you would want them to see it. (But I don't think most people would do it in front of people.) So I don't think it was suicide. I figured he was just cleaning his gun but now I'm wondering about that to. Too many details aren't matching up. I hope his family gets the answers, they need them and they deserve them.

Okay, to answer a question Trisha had: Why is KPFA the only thing noted these days in the "snapshot." If Ruth calls (or Rachel or Micah e-mail) C.I. with something from WBAI, it would probably be included. But C.I.'s attitude is basically: "I'm only noting what I listen to. If someone has a problem with it, they can have a problem with me." Unlike the rest of us, C.I. really did (and probably does) think "the war and peace report" program should still be noted. We missed Laura Flanders Saturday when we were discussing the latest edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review because four hours was spent arguing about that program and whether the issue of why it's not be noted anymore should be addressed. C.I. was against discussing it. Finally, after Ava and C.I. disappeared to write their TV review and came back about thirty minutes later, it was decided by Jim that the feature would be written but only by the six people who are part of that site (Jim, Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and C.I.). If you read that "The long and winding edition," I think you can tell C.I. is ticked off about it even being done. Jim didn't get that. We were on the phone Monday night and I mention that and he goes, "C.I. wasn't mad." I go, "Uh, yeah." Jim called today and goes I was right. So the point is, for Trisha's question, C.I. listens to KPFA and stands by KPFA so C.I. will note stuff from it. But the hassle from the other program has pretty much meant that if it's not a program produced by KPFA, C.I. probably won't note it because it's not worth the hassle.

Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava are all out there staying with C.I. and Jim said he couldn't believe that if it made C.I. angry, C.I. wouldn't have brought it up. I go, "But C.I. didn't want to write about it to begin with, why did you think it would be a topic for conversation after?" Jim laughed and said Dona had told him the same thing.

A guy wrote and said to call LW. He wanted to explain that WBAI's Evening News can't cover some stuff. He said that if they covered Israel's aggression right now (in Gaza, in Lebanon) because it would "upset" a lot of listeners? I don't know what he's talking about because Deepa and Mitch have been covering this on Wakeup Call (Deepa also played some parts of a really good documentary on Haiti this morning). LW said there were two stories on Congress, the New Orleans story, and local news. Yeah, there was that. Where was their coverage of Gaza? Of Lebanon? But I didn't even mention that yesterday, I asked where was their coverage of Iraq? If LW's right and covering wars would "upset" listeners of the Evening News, well maybe they need to be upset? Maybe they need to know what's going on.

But Mitch and Deepa aren't being silent so don't pin it on what WBAI listeners can handle. Maybe LW is right that the evening news crowd couldn't handle it? But too f-ing bad. The silence on what Israel's doing in Gaza is a war crime. Shoving your fingers in your ears and acting like it's not happening isn't reality.

It's cowardly, if LW is right, it's cowardly. But it's not reality. One of the Congress stories they covered was Alberto Gonzales' testimony and their expert (who seemed quite smart) said that we'd hear in a bit that Gonzales "mispoke." So why turn that into a main story? But whatever you make your main story, if you're not making room for the tragedies of Iraq, Israel and Gaza, you aren't doing a news report.

I was glad LW wrote and he seems to know a lot about WBAI so I bet he listens a lot. He may be calling it right on the evening news. I hope he's not. That's worse than anything I said or suggested yesterday. He asked me to listen to it "as a report about what's going on in NYC and DC" and that might be good advice but there's a whole world besides those two places and my time is pretty tight so thanks for the suggestion. If I ever do listen again, I'll take it under advisement.

Get your butts over to Truth Dig and read Tom Hayden's "Things Come Round." That's like brutally honest and real. It's worth reading and then some. If you don't read it, you're cheating yourself out of something really important.

Also read "Online, latter day Dylan hits another sour note and the Evan Blah lovers" because that's got stuff in there that needs to be said too. I'm sick of the website that said "You can't blame Israel this time!" on Sunday. How stupid are they? Then, Tuesday, they start applauding Evan Blah's b.s. -- what happened to "framing"? They pushed that crap and didn't even look at the speech in terms of what is being "framed" (Dems have sold out the middle class). It's all b.s. from a b.s. DLC-er. That website should be ashamed. I didn't get, until I read C.I.'s thing, that Evan Blah was also attacking John Edwards. That's exactly what Blah's doing when he's saying we don't need to focus on poverty. That's John Edwards' big issue. But I especially enjoyed C.I. taking on "the online, latter day Dylan." I love it when C.I. does that. C.I. knows that jerk's writing and can always point out where the guy's accusing others of doing what he did himself. Cedric's probably going to write about the jerk too because there was a thing he wrote that ticked off Cedric, where he was defending Obama and tsk-tsking over the Obama critics. The jerk's just an old puke who thinks he knows everything and when he was in a class room with a bunch of kids, they may have smooched his butt but there's no reason the rest of us have to.

Wally and me were on the phone going, "Yes!" C.I. gave us both shout outs today. :D I go, "Did you check your e-mails?" He did and his were up too. That always happens when C.I. gives us a shout out. But today, we got mega-shouts. :D

Now Beau's got a problem and it's natural, it's that time of year when it's too hot everywhere. So let me do my PSA here and say, "If you get crotch rot, it is treatable. Take a shower, soap up seriously, dry in that area seriously, then apply deodorant to your crotch once it's dry -- ONCE IT'S DRY. I use Old Spice High Endurance." Beau wrote he read about that last year and laughed. Then it happened to him this week (he's doing landscaping this summer) and he couldn't remember what to do if you get it. (Crotch rot is my name for when your groin gets an odor that won't go away after excessive sweat.) I also told him in the e-mail that you need to do this more than once. Do it at least two days in a row and then, based on whether the smell's gone, continue or cease until needed again. And you're working on the nicks and crannies here, guys. You're not brushing your pubes with the deodorant. (You can do that.) If the smell is coming from your pubes, trim 'em.

I'm laughing as I type this, but it happened to me a few summer's back and I know it's not funny. What's really awful is the time before you realize that smell is you and you're thinking, "What is that smell?" And maybe you're even saying that to your buds. When you realize it's you, that's pretty embarrassing. You won't laugh about it until after the smell's gone, but once it is, you will. So if it happens, just deal with it and don't worry too much about it. It happens. If you don't deal with it, you're going to have that smell forever. So be glad you realized it was you.

This has been Mike McKinnon speaking for the American Society Against Crotch Rot. :D

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Humor Spotlight: Betinna's latest reflections on her husband Thomas Friedman

Besides filling in for Rebecca, Betty found time to write another chapter at her own site. She's not thrilled with this chapter but we love it.

Thomas Friedman says, "Drop the five on the dresser before moving to the bed"
There were two not so surprising conclusions to a news-bit in my husband Thomas Friedman's Friday column "Order vs. Disorder." The news-bit was that "Israeli telephone company, Bezeq, was installing high-speed Internet lines in bomb shelters". The not so surprising conclusions of Thomas Friedman?


His first snap conclusion was that this was "no ordinary war." I read that and thought, "Blow, blowhard, blow." It never is for Thomas Friedman who gets giddy from watching Hogan's Heroes. It's a mini-catch phrase for him and it all happened when he decided to listen to my "The Best of Sade" CD. I tried to correct him, to tell him Sade was singing "love" not "war" -- "This is no ordinary love, no ordinary love . . ." But with a War Hawk is there really a difference?

In better times, Thomas Friedman would leave me little notes: "Betinna we are out of Nutter Butters and canned cheese." He'd draw a frownie face and then write "I" and "you" with a little mushroom cloud in between. I took offense at that before realizing that "I NUKE YOU" is a War Hawk mating call.

So "war" for "love" was not a surprising substitute.

His second snap conclusion was that is was a sign "of Israeli resilence, a boundless ability to adapt to any kind of warfare." "That they start" was left unsaid. As was the fact that, if Palestinians controlled the traffic to their own land, if their borders and traffic weren't controlled by Israel even during what passes for "normal" in the continued occupation of their land by Israel, they might have the money to show some of that "resilence" because, let's be honest, the sign that Thomas Friedman misses is the very real one: money. Money as power.

Israel always has that.

And like a hooker two Johns short of a night, Thomas Friedman has to cozy up yet again for fear of getting pimp-slapped by his employers, the "New York Times".

Which had me wondering if he had a list with prices?

For one hundred bucks he'll sell your war one time.

For daily payments of one hundred dollars, he'll sell it repeatedly.

For a thousand, he'll piss off half the world while selling your war.

For two thousand, he'll stroke you war while you stroke his.

That sort of thing. Of course, all money must be provided up front and there's probably some disclaimer at the bottom of the list which reads: "I don't kiss on the lips." Which would be no surprise to anyone who knows his work since, it's obvious, he prefers to kiss ass.

The real difference between a sex worker and Thomas Friedman is that a sex worker doesn't keep a body count of fatalities.

With the continuous daily chaos and violence in Iraq, you might think Thomas Friedman would feel some shame? However, professional War Hawk traffic in the loss of lives so who has time for shame?

Humor Spotlight: Wally on Bully Boy's visit to the NAACP

Wally on Bully Boy's speech to the NAACP.

THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY DISCOVERS RACISM! NEXT UP: GRAVITY!
BULLY BOY PRESS - DC.
THIS JUST IN!

BULLY BOY DISCOVERS RACISM! NEXT UP: GRAVITY!

SPEAKING TO THE NAACP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS 6 YEARS IN THE OVAL OFFICE (HE'S VERY SHY, WHITE HOUSE FLACK TONY SNOW SWEARS THAT BULLY BOY IS EVEN QUOTE: "PEE SHY"), BULLY BOY DECLARED, "I UNDERSTAND THAT RACISM STILL LINGERS IN AMERICA."

THOUGH THAT 'DISCOVERY' UNDERWHELMED WHEN HE PLAYED "BULLY BOY CONFESSIONS," HE GOT HUGE APPLAUSE BY SAYING "I UNDERSTAND THAT MANY AFRICAN-AMERICANS DISTRUST MY POLITICAL PARTY."

ALBERTO GONZALES STOOD UP AND SHOUTED, "YOU GO, GIRL!" THEN LOOKED AROUND AWKWARDLY WHEN HE REALIZED EVERYONE WAS STARING AT HIM.

IN A MUTUALLY SELF-SERVING MOMENT WHERE THIS REPORTER BONDED WITH TONY SNOW OVER HOW "WHITE" THE INTERNATIONAL WINNER IN THE BILLIE JEAN KING LOOK-ALIKE CONTEST) AND ATTORNY GENERAL WAS, TONY SNOW REVEALED THAT BULLY BOY DISCOVERED RACISM STILL EXISTS AFTER WATCHING THE THREE HOUR BLOCK OF GOOD TIMES ON TV LAND EARLIER IN THE DAY.

Recommended: "Iraq Snapshot"
"Other Items"
"NYT: Wong and Slackman play "smackdown" with al-Maliki"
"Ani DiFranco and fasting (C.I. guesting for Kat)"
"The Mamas and the Papas (C.I. guesting for Kat)"
"A bit of everything"
"Iraq and other stuff"

Humor Spotlight: Wally on Evan Blah

Wally had too many posts (one with Cedric) not to note. Here's one and it's pretty important. So important that Rebecca called during the session and said we had to note it.

THIS JUST IN! EVAN BLAH ATTACKS HIS OWN! TRIES TO EAT 'EM!
BULLY BOY PRESS - DC

THIS JUST IN!

EVAN BLAH ATTACKS HIS OWN! TRIES TO EAT 'EM!

HISTORICALLY THE MOST DIFFICULT THING FOR EVAN BLAH HAS BEEN DEALING WITH AN ADAM'S APPLE THAT LOOKS LIKE HE'S SWALLOWED A GOLF BALL. BUT THE SENATOR FORMERLY KNOWN AS BAYH SEEMS DETERMINED TO REPLACE JOE LIEBERMAN AS MOST USELESS MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

EVAN BLAH PROVED THIS AFTERNOON THAT HE COULD "ZELL-BOY UP" AND GET READY FOR HIS FOX-TIME CLOSE UP BY FALSELY SLAMMING HIS PARTY FOR ABANDONING THE MIDDLE CLASS IN A PURSUIT OF "LOWER-INCOME AMERCIANS."

EVAN BLAH DEMONSTRATED YET AGAIN THAT THERE'S NO ROCK HE'S NOT WILLING TO EMERGE FROM AS HE REINFORCED A FALSE STEREOTYPE BETTER THAN HIS REPUBLICAN BRETHERN COULD.

WAGS SAY HIS 2008 SLOGAN WILL BE: "EVAN BLAH: NO BACK LEFT UNSTABBED."




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"Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts 'Song of the Bully Boy'"
"And the war drags on . . ."
"NYT: Dexy has five but, like a good xenophobe, extrapolates to 'all'"
"NYT: Selling the witchhunt through sourcing"
"Will the Babble Be Unbroken? Not while I'm substituting for Rebecca!"
"Friday"
"My thoughts"
"What to call it? I'm too tired to figure that out"
"A light post (I won't pretend this is deep)"
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A Note to Our Readers
Editorial: House of Cards Collapses
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Blog Spotlight: Elaine addressing "a bit of everything"

Elaine talking books, Iraq, cooking, silence and just about everything.

 

A bit of everything

Cedric had a wonderful idea, that Mike and I could use the snapshot to add commentary to. Wonderful idea. But so time consuming. There is so much information that C.I. provides that to add commentary to every second, third or fourth piece of information requires writing an essay.
It was a wonderful idea and more than worth a try but what we've decided is that we will continue to post it (we need to be paying attention to Iraq) and we'll add a comment or two on whatever stands out the most to us in that day's snapshot. Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's comments.


"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Iraq today? Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London) sums it up as follows: "A civil war between Sunni and Shia Muslims is spreading rapidly through central Iraq, with each community seeking revenge for the latest massacre." That pretty much describes life on the ground. There's also more news in the inquiry to the death of Jake Kovco as well as news on Medea Benjamin and Cindy Sheehan.
Bombings?
Outside Baghdad's Technology Institute, three bombs went off. AFP notes that a "police patrol" had just passed by and that the interior ministry of Iraq is saying that police were the targets of the bombings. Reuters reports five dead and 22 wounded in the three bombs -- first came the car bomb, then two others went off "apparently targeting a crowd that gathered at the scene."
The other single event getting the most press attention at this time is the kidnapping of at least 19 people. Al Jazeera explains that fourteen were kidnapped on Tuesday "by gunmen in civilian clothes" and that an additional five were traveling in a vehicle, forced off the road, and then kidnapped. The Associated Press reports that the twenty (they go with the figure of 20) were all employees of the Sunni Endowment and that the agency's response has been to announce they "would stop working effective immediately and that its chairman, Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samaraie, would give more details later." (Reuters also goes with the figure of 19 kidnapped and it taking place yesterday and today.)
Elsewhere, Reuters reports that mortar rounds have claimed the life of a two-month-old child and left another child and one adult wounded and that a bombing in Kirkuk has left at least four dead and at least 16 wounded. CBS and the AP note a roadside bombing in Kirkuk that took the lives of two.
Shootings?
AFP reports that Major General Fakhr Abdel Hussein was killed in Baghdad ("in front of his home"). AFP notes that he was "[t]he head of the interior ministry's justice office". In Najaf, Reuters covers the death of the owner of "a women's hair salon" and notes that 3 are dead and 11 wounded after a market was stormed by assailants. AFP also notes: "Gunmen in the eastern suburb of Baghdad Jadida opened fir on a store selling vegetables, killing four people inside. They then planted explosives inside the store and blew it to pieces." Also in Balad, AFP reports, a home invasion has left a child dead and a woman wounded.
Corpses?
Reuters notes a corpse ("gunshot wounds") discovered in Mosul as well as 18 corpses discovered in Mahmudiya ("gunshot wounds . . . signs of torture"). Meanwhile the AFP reports that six corpses were discovered in Baghdad and one in Karbala.
Addressing the UN report that found almost 6,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the months of May and June on The KPFA Evening News yesterday, Max Pringle noted that: "In the first six months of the year it said 14,338 people had been killed. The UN report also details the rise in kidnappings particularly of large groups of people. In addition women report that their rights have been rolled back by religious muslim groups both Shi and Sunni. They say that their social freedoms have decreased since the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and they are now barred from going to the market alone, wearing pants and driving cars."
Brian Edwards-Tiekert also addressed the report today on KPFA's The Morning Show, noting that it indicates that "violence is claiming more lives in Iraq now than at any time since the US invasion of that country. The UN estimates 100 Iraqis are dying a day"
Speaking of the report yesterday, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Farhan Haq noted that "the report raises alarm at the growing number of casualities among the civilian population killed or wounded" and that's a thought echoing in today's press with some noting occupation puppet Nouri al-Maliki's statement from last week that Iraq was getting it's "last chance" or Hoshiyar Zebari's assertion that "months" remain before "all-out civil war" breaks out.
Turning to Australia and the case of Jake Kovco who died in Iraq on April 21st, the inquiry into the events of his final moments continue. Dan Box (The Australian) reports that: "HOMICIDE detectives will trave to Baghdad to take DNA samples from soldiers who served with Private Jake Kovco after tests revealed unidentified DNA samples on the trigger of the gun that killed him." Speaking on The World Today (Australia's ABC) with host Eleanor Hall, Conor Duffy reported that Detective Inspector Wayne Hayes found "what . . . [he] called a gross amount of someone else's DNA, and that DNA was on the trigger of the gun, the slide and on the grip." Australia's ABC reports that: "As many as 30 Australian soldiers in Baghdad could be DNA tested." Dan Box also reports that the two roommates of Jake Kovco will testify to the board next week "by videolink" from Baghdad. Judy and Martin Kovco, Jake's parents, have been fighting to have soldiers serving with their late son called to testify before the inquiry -- though the testimony will be by "videolink," the 'win' on this is due to their persistence.
And in peace news, Matthew Cardinale (Atlanta Progressive News) reports on Cindy Sheehan and Medea Benjamin's visit to Atlanta to show their support for Cynthia McKinney in her primary bid (McKinney won the most vote but now faces Hank Johnson in a primary runoff). Medea Benjamin states: "The peace movement is aat a very critical juncture because on one hand, we have managed to capture public opinion. Most people think the Invasion of Iraq was a mistake and want the troops home at the end of the year. 72% of troops themselves say this. You can't continue to have politicians voting for the war. What's new on this is the Iraqi said, not just Iraqi people, but the [Iraqi] President, Vice President, and National Security Advisor".
Medea Benjamin and Cindy Sheehan continue their fast as part of the Troops Home Fast protest. From CODEPINK:
TROOPS HOME FAST! On July 4, we launched an historic hunger strike called TROOPS HOME FAST in Washington, DC in front of the White House. While many Americans expressed their patriotism via barbeques and fireworks, we're fasting in memory of the dead and wounded, and calling for the troops to come home from Iraq. We're inviting people around the world to show their support for this open-ended fast by fasting for at least one day. Read an interview with Diane Wilson to learn more. Please sign here to to support us and encourage your friends to do the same. Click here to view photos, and read our blogs!
The fast is ongoing, anyone can join at any time, for a single day or more.
Finally, the BBC reports that four more people kidnapped from the "meeting of the Iraqi Olympic Committee last week" have been released and that the number of those released is now nine.

I want to talk about the fast. I took part on July 4th and I got through with minimal hardship. But these people who are staying on it, they have tremendous will power. I'm going to grab another day. Sunny wants to as well so we'll probably grab a workday that way, when we'd normally be eating lunch together, we can give each other support. I think this is really important because it effects you and, if you're discussing it, if effects the people around you as well. It's a ripple that has impact. CODEPINK is really good at seeing a hurdle and saying, "Okay, how can we leap over this."

Betty and I both tried out the recipe Trina posted this week ("Rosemary Roasted Potatoes in the Kitchen"). Betty wrote about it last night in "Not even cooking with grease (shorter post than planned)." This really was a wonderful recipe. I wasn't expecting it to be because it's a really simple dish; however, that may be why it turned out so wonderful. I ate about half of it Monday night and took the rest into work to share with Sunny on Tuesday. She wouldn't believe me when I told her the recipe so we pulled up Trina's "Rosemary Roasted Potatoes in the Kitchen" so she could see how simple it was to fix. I'm not big on cooking. I'll usually stop on the way home from work most nights and grab a salad or sometimes a little more. But this wasn't difficult to make. Three times, while the potatoes cook in the oven, you have to stir the potatoes. Every fifteen minutes may seem like a bit much but what I did was carry the book I was reading into the kitchen and sit at the table reading. I used the mircowave timer and just stirred when it went off.

The book I'm reading is Lord of the Flies, which most people have probably already read. I hadn't and a patient is using it as a point of reference so I'm attempting to get up to speed. (The author is William Golding.) I do remember this book from English class in high school (I believe it was tenth grade). It was a book choice and I grabbed something by F. Scott Fitzgerald instead (probably The Winter of Our Discontent). Winter? Now that would be nice right now.

Like Cedric, the heat is starting to get to me which makes me think of people who are without air conditioning or not using it due to the high costs. We had a delivery today, it wasn't Sunny's boyfriend Ramon, and I really wanted to go off on the man. He was talking about a report he heard about some elderly people who were having a very difficult time in the heat and offering the opinion that they were just "weak." He felt this would toughen them up and said that we're all spoiled and that a hundred years ago we got along just fine without air conditioning in this country. Yes, and a hundred years ago, ceilings tended to be higher (which really does make a difference since heat rises), we had more trees and woods, we had less concrete buildings blocking the wind.

We've also got hotter summers and that's not open to debate, that's on record. Which is the result of our trashing the environment. I just felt the man was either trying to impress with how "manly" he was or just completely devoid of compassion.

When you realize it's not even the end of July and we still have to face August, it's rather frightening. In terms of elections, you have to wonder how the rise in energy costs will impact the votes of the elderly on fixed incomes? I think that will have an impact.

If you're someone who doesn't get why it was important for Nancy A. Youssef's article that the US government was keeping body counts on Iraqi civilians, read C.I.'s "NYT: Semple's wrong in print but how can he know what no one reported?" which addresses how Kirk Semple got it wrong. If that had been noted (and I'm thinking of one program in particular), Semple might not be writing today that the US government doesn't keep a body count.

I don't think I've noted Ava and C.I.'s "TV: 4 Days in 7th Hell" yet this week. In that, they're taking on the television program 7th Heaven and it's extremely funny. I enjoy it when they do straight criticism, but I also enjoy it when they take a creative angle -- such as with "TV: TESR Investigates: NYC" which completes their Jerry Bruckheimer canon, although I believe he's got at least one new show on the fall season according to Rebecca. The latter review carries over a theme they used for "TV: TESR Investigates" last month.

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Blog Spotlight: Cedric, filling in for Kat, on losing it

Cedric fills in for the vacationing Kat and shares a memory.

 

Musical memory & C.I.'s Iraq snapshot

"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills)
The US tries to firm up a commerce deal in Iraq, Jake Kovco's family learns more details and despite all the happy talk, chaos and violence continue with one single event that is being called the "bloodiest" by many.
A US soldier was "fatally wounded" in Baghdad today, the AP notes pointing out that since Saturday four US soldiers have died "in the Baghdad area." Baghdad, location of the month-plus security 'crackdown.' Sunday, in Basra, a British soldier died and the BBC reports that he was John Johnston Cosby. Also on Sunday, Reuters reports that Laith al-Rawi ("local leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party") was killed in Haditha.
Today, the AFP notes that six died in Baquba. The biggest attack (AFP calls it the "deadliest since the July 9 bloodbath") took place in southern Iraq. Reuters notes that, in Mahmudiya, "[g]unmen stormed a crowded market" and at least 56 are dead with at least 67 wounded according to "a local hospital" (Ministry of Defence says 42 dead). James Hider (Times of London) reports that along with attempting to downgrade the number of those killed "a Defence Ministry spokesman tried to convince reporters that the deaths had been the result of two car bombs, insisting that no gunmen had been involved. That statement was flatly contradicted by the testimony of survivors."
Alastair Macdonald (Reuters) explores the events and notes Muayyad Fadhil, mayor of Mahmudiya, stating: "There was a mortar attack. Then gunmen came from . . . the eastern side of town. They came into the market and opened fire at raondom on the people shopping." The AFP notes the attack was "a coordinated assualt of car bombs, mortar attacks and rampaging masked gunmen". One victim, Muzzaffar Jassem, tells AFP: "About six cars with at least 20 masked gunmen blocked the market road from two sides, got out of the car and opened fire randomly on women, children and elderly people in the market".
As the violence heats up, the so-called coalition gets smaller. Reuters reports that Japan has pulled "[t]he last contingent" of their troops out of Iraq today.
In Australia, some feel answers are arriving as to the death of Jake Kovco; however, his family wants more answers. As Bruce Scates (Sydney Morning Herald) notes: "It has been almost three months since Private Jake Kovco's body was finally returned to Australia." Australia's ABC reports that Dr. Johan Duflou, who performed the autoposy on Kovco, told an inquiry board that "his opinion was the death was the result of an accidental discharge of a weapon." Kovco's parents are requesting that "several soldiers" in Iraq give testimony to the board about the events of April 21st when Kovco became "the first Australian soldier" to die in the current Iraq war. Members will remember the Judy and Martin Kovco as well as the parents of Jake Kovco's widow Shelley (David and Lorraine Small) were bothered, not only by the fact that Kovco's body was lost when it should have been returning to Australia, but also angered by what they saw as an attempt to smear Kovco with baseless rumors.
(Kovco died on April 21st but, due to mix ups on the part of the military, wasn't buried until May 2nd.)
Yesterday on KPFA's Sunday Salon with Larry Bensky, Bensky and Aaron Glantz discussed Iraq and Glantz noted, "The Iraqi paliament is on the verge of putting together a referendum demanding a timetable for the US withdrawal from Iraq and when they put forward that proposal, I think it will become a little bit more difficult for the Bush adminstration to say that we are there to help the Iraqi people when the Iraqi people say very clearly that they want the US military out within a specific amount of time."
Despite Dexy Filkins' 'reporting' for the New York Times, the issue Glantz outlined was one of "the Bush administration [. . .] rounding up these supporters of this idea including some people who are very high ranking in many of the political parties and this is the latest thing that we've been covering, the political crackdown by the US military of the people who want a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. "
[Saturday, we linked to a recent Glantz article on this topic.]
In other parliament news, as noted by Brian Edwards-Tiekert on KPFA's The Morning Show today, Shi'ites stormed out today in protest over the Mahmudiya killings.
In commerce news, Australia and Iraq have reached an agreement over the June 21st death of Abdul Falah al-Sudany's bodyguard by Australian soldiers. Reuters reports that compensation will be paid to al-Sudany (trade minister) and that al-Sudany has stated: "We don't have any vetoes on importing Australian wheat and we hope to go back to a normal relationship with Australia."
Also in commerce news from Iraq, CBS and AP report that: "U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Guiterrez arrived in the Iraqi capital for meetings aimed at jump-starting the economy." Though the US press is seeing this as some sort of 'big win,' the AFP reports Abdel Falah-al Sudany (the same trade minister noted in the pervious item) is much more cautious and declared that privatization would not happen "for at least five to 10 years."
Possibly the excitement stems not from a lack of caution but a desire to turn the topic away from William Lash III -- the topic Gutierrez was addressing this weekend: "Bill was a passionate, committed and hard working individual . . ." following the news that former assistant commerce secretary Lash had apparently killed himself after killing his 12-year-old autistic son.
In peace news, Eric Seitz, attorney for Ehren Watada, states that there is a date scheduled "tentatively" for "Watada's Article 32 hearing . . . Aug. 17 or 18." Seits tells Gregg K. Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) that this hearing would "determine whether sufficient grounds exist to warrant a court-martial" and that the maximum punishment for Watada's refusal to serve in the illegal war could be 7 and one-half years in prison.
Finally, Tommy Witherspoon (Waco Tribune-Herald) reports that the county of McLennan (where Bully Boy's ranch-ette is) is attempting to move Cindy Sheehan's lawsuit against the county into the federal court. The issue is whether or not Camp Casey can return to the activities and protests that first took place last summer or whether the county can now "ban parking and camping along roads leading to" Bully Boy's ranch-ette.
ADDED: The Legal Defense Network reports that Rhonda Davis participation in a June 3rd rally in support of sam-sex marriage has resulted in the US Navy bringing "discharge proceedings against a 10-year veteran." Davis states: "I am a proud, patriotic American who happens to be gay. My sexual orientation has never stood in the way of getting my job done, and I was looking forward to continuing my Navy career. Unfortunately, federal law places discrimination ahead of national security and gay service members are caught in the crossfire. It is past time for our leaders in Washington to repeal this senseless law and allow gay Americans who want to serve, like me, the opportunity to do just that."

Guess what? No Kat in the house. She's on a family vacation. Every year, her family goes to Ireland (where their ancestors are from) and this year, they're going during the summer. She'll be gone for at least ten days. (I'm not sure I understood when she's getting back.) It's just the women in her family this year and her father.

So Cedric here. She was going to just let the site go dead for the ten (I think) days but Mike and I told her we could take turns filling in. She said okay, provided we're not doing it more than twice a week. I blog at Cedric's Big Mix and Mike blogs at Mikey Likes It!

So I told her I would pop over Monday and write something about music. She said, "Don't go to the trouble of doing a CD review just to fill in for me." I told her what I planned to write and she said that would probably be better than a CD review.

A lot of times you have a song that brings back a memory. I have a lot of songs that bring back different memories. Some people have a song that makes them think of the first time they made love. For me it's an album. (Which sounds boastful, but it's not. Hold on for the memory.)

I was under 18 and I'll leave it at that. There was a big party for a guy who'd gotten a promotion who was a friend of my mother's. That should have been good news but it also meant that he and his family would be moving and I was sweet on his second oldest daughter. We were in the same class at school and I did the carry her books to class, read her long notes and write back a short one, and all that stuff. We'd kissed a few times.

But this was her father's party for the new job and to wish them well as they left to relocate. Everybody knew each other and the adults were all talking about the old days and when they went to school together.

They had their vinyl albums playing on the record player.

And she asked me to help her get something down from her closet. So we went into her room and we were talking for about an hour when we realized no one had even noticed that we were gone. It was like a disco in the living room and you'd have thought the music was on in her bedroom because we could hear it.

The record playing goes off and we're just kind of staring at each other. She says she's going to miss me and I say the same thing back and just then "It Seems To Hang On" comes on. That's an Ashford & Simpson song. We started kissing, just quick pecks like we'd usually done by the water fountain at school or in the park and then we started kissing some more. By then the second song was on, "Is It Still Good To Ya" and we were running all the bases.

Before the song was over, we were doing it and then I really don't remember any music until "You Always Could" was playing and we were just staring at each other.
It was my first time but it wasn't her first time which was good because otherwise I probably wouldn't have known what to do.

At the end of the nineties, I saw Ashford & Simpson's Is It Still Good To Ya on CD. I was surprised because it was an old album. (Something my parents listened to.) And a lot of times, African-American artists don't have their older albums on CD. (Motown should be ashamed of itself because there's no reason why they can't keep the stuff by the Temptations, the Supremes and the Four Tops issued. They should keep it issued just for the historical place those artists hold and the historical place the label holds.) So I snapped up the CD and it brought back a lot of memories. So that's my music memory for tonight. Next time this week, you get Mike who will do a great job.

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Blog Spotlight: Reality calls Betty in the middle of a post

Betty continues filling in for the vacationing Rebecca at Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude.  This was our favorite post because we liked who wondered in near the end of it.

 

Various thoughts

Betty here, opening with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

The US tries to firm up a commerce deal in Iraq, Jake Kovco's family learns more details and despite all the happy talk, chaos and violence continue with one single event that is being called the "bloodiest" by many.
A US soldier was "fatally wounded" in Baghdad today, the AP notes pointing out that since Saturday four US soldiers have died "in the Baghdad area." Baghdad, location of the month-plus security 'crackdown.' Sunday, in Basra, a British soldier died and the BBC reports that he was John Johnston Cosby. Also on Sunday, Reuters reports that Laith al-Rawi ("local leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party") was killed in Haditha.
Today, the AFP notes that six died in Baquba. The biggest attack (AFP calls it the "deadliest since the July 9 bloodbath") took place in southern Iraq. Reuters notes that, in Mahmudiya, "[g]unmen stormed a crowded market" and at least 56 are dead with at least 67 wounded according to "a local hospital" (Ministry of Defence says 42 dead). James Hider (Times of London) reports that along with attempting to downgrade the number of those killed "a Defence Ministry spokesman tried to convince reporters that the deaths had been the result of two car bombs, insisting that no gunmen had been involved. That statement was flatly contradicted by the testimony of survivors."
Alastair Macdonald (Reuters) explores the events and notes Muayyad Fadhil, mayor of Mahmudiya, stating: "There was a mortar attack. Then gunmen came from . . . the eastern side of town. They came into the market and opened fire at raondom on the people shopping." The AFP notes the attack was "a coordinated assualt of car bombs, mortar attacks and rampaging masked gunmen". One victim, Muzzaffar Jassem, tells AFP: "About six cars with at least 20 masked gunmen blocked the market road from two sides, got out of the car and opened fire randomly on women, children and elderly people in the market".
As the violence heats up, the so-called coalition gets smaller. Reuters reports that Japan has pulled "[t]he last contingent" of their troops out of Iraq today.
In Australia, some feel answers are arriving as to the death of Jake Kovco; however, his family wants more answers. As Bruce Scates (Sydney Morning Herald) notes: "It has been almost three months since Private Jake Kovco's body was finally returned to Australia." Australia's ABC reports that Dr. Johan Duflou, who performed the autoposy on Kovco, told an inquiry board that "his opinion was the death was the result of an accidental discharge of a weapon." Kovco's parents are requesting that "several soldiers" in Iraq give testimony to the board about the events of April 21st when Kovco became "the first Australian soldier" to die in the current Iraq war. Members will remember the Judy and Martin Kovco as well as the parents of Jake Kovco's widow Shelley (David and Lorraine Small) were bothered, not only by the fact that Kovco's body was lost when it should have been returning to Australia, but also angered by what they saw as an attempt to smear Kovco with baseless rumors.
(Kovco died on April 21st but, due to mix ups on the part of the military, wasn't buried until May 2nd.)
Yesterday on KPFA's Sunday Salon with Larry Bensky, Bensky and Aaron Glantz discussed Iraq and Glantz noted, "The Iraqi paliament is on the verge of putting together a referendum demanding a timetable for the US withdrawal from Iraq and when they put forward that proposal, I think it will become a little bit more difficult for the Bush adminstration to say that we are there to help the Iraqi people when the Iraqi people say very clearly that they want the US military out within a specific amount of time."
Despite Dexy Filkins' 'reporting' for the New York Times, the issue Glantz outlined was one of "the Bush administration [. . .] rounding up these supporters of this idea including some people who are very high ranking in many of the political parties and this is the latest thing that we've been covering, the political crackdown by the US military of the people who want a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. "
[Saturday, we linked to a recent Glantz article on this topic.]
In other parliament news, as noted by Brian Edwards-Tiekert on KPFA's The Morning Show today, Shi'ites stormed out today in protest over the Mahmudiya killings.
In commerce news, Australia and Iraq have reached an agreement over the June 21st death of Abdul Falah al-Sudany's bodyguard by Australian soldiers. Reuters reports that compensation will be paid to al-Sudany (trade minister) and that al-Sudany has stated: "We don't have any vetoes on importing Australian wheat and we hope to go back to a normal relationship with Australia."
Also in commerce news from Iraq, CBS and AP report that: "U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Guiterrez arrived in the Iraqi capital for meetings aimed at jump-starting the economy." Though the US press is seeing this as some sort of 'big win,' the AFP reports Abdel Falah-al Sudany (the same trade minister noted in the pervious item) is much more cautious and declared that privatization would not happen "for at least five to 10 years."
Possibly the excitement stems not from a lack of caution but a desire to turn the topic away from William Lash III -- the topic Gutierrez was addressing this weekend: "Bill was a passionate, committed and hard working individual . . ." following the news that former assistant commerce secretary Lash had apparently killed himself after killing his 12-year-old autistic son.
In peace news, Eric Seitz, attorney for Ehren Watada, states that there is a date scheduled "tentatively" for "Watada's Article 32 hearing . . . Aug. 17 or 18." Seits tells Gregg K. Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) that this hearing would "determine whether sufficient grounds exist to warrant a court-martial" and that the maximum punishment for Watada's refusal to serve in the illegal war could be 7 and one-half years in prison.
Finally, Tommy Witherspoon (Waco Tribune-Herald) reports that the county of McLennan (where Bully Boy's ranch-ette is) is attempting to move Cindy Sheehan's lawsuit against the county into the federal court. The issue is whether or not Camp Casey can return to the activities and protests that first took place last summer or whether the county can now "ban parking and camping along roads leading to" Bully Boy's ranch-ette.
ADDED: The Legal Defense Network reports that Rhonda Davis participation in a June 3rd rally in support of sam-sex marriage has resulted in the US Navy bringing "discharge proceedings against a 10-year veteran." Davis states: "I am a proud, patriotic American who happens to be gay. My sexual orientation has never stood in the way of getting my job done, and I was looking forward to continuing my Navy career. Unfortunately, federal law places discrimination ahead of national security and gay service members are caught in the crossfire. It is past time for our leaders in Washington to repeal this senseless law and allow gay Americans who want to serve, like me, the opportunity to do just that."

I want to say that I'm always really glad when Jake Kovco gets covered. That's the story you never heard covered most places. C.I. was covering this when Kovco died. I thought, when they sent the wrong body to Australia, it would get some coverage. There's his family waiting for him to arrive and the coffin finally does and . . . it's the wrong guy.

I don't know what happened to him but I know his whole family has been screwed over. Not just with the 'lost' body. If you're new to the story, their guy who's the equivalent of Donald Rumsfeld starts going on TV and saying things that there is no proof of. Then others start spitting out rumors about how he was depressed. His wife's name is Shelley and I belive they have two kids. I could not believe that his parents would have to go through all the nonsense but when I'd think about Shelley Kovco or her two kids, I'd just get really angry.

I think the family has every right to demand that people who were around when Jake Kovco died give testimony to the inquiry. I think any family has that right but especially considering how many screw ups and insults the Australian government is responsible for after Jake died.

It's a real shame that the media wasn't interested in this story because, if they had been, internationally (Australian media was interested) the family might have support and there might be pressure on the government to make sure that the inquiry covered everything.

I was going to talk about Wally's post today but I can't get his site to display which worries me because that may mean I'll lose what I've written (if Blogger's having problems tonight).

So let me just say you should read C.I.'s "And the war drags on . . ." and add something from Anthony Arnove's Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal (pages 115-116):

One of the consequences of American exceptionalism is that the U.S. government considers itself exempt from legal and moral standards accepted by other nations in the world. There is a long list of such instances: the refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol regulating the pollution of the environment, the refusal to strengthen the convention on biological weapons. The United States has failed to join the hundred or more nations that have agreed to ban land mines, in spite of the appalling statistics on amputations performed on children mutilated by those mines. It refuses to ban the use of napalm and cluster bombs. It insists that it must not be subject, as are other countries, to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
What is the answer to the insistence on American exceptionalism? Those of us in the United States and in the world who don't accept it must declare very forcibly that the ethical norms concerning peace and human rights should be observed. The children of the world should all be seen as part of one family. It should be understood that the children of Iraq, of China, of Africa, children everywhere in the world, have the same right to life as children in the United States.

When I read C.I.'s entry where the talk was about how people aren't our governments. We really aren't. As a Black woman, there's no one serving in the administration that represents me. (You know Condi doesn't represent me.) Exceptionalism allowed Bully Boy to invade Iraq and it allows Israel's government to go to war on civilians while people hold their tongues (and children die).

I thought that entry took bravery. C.I. has no shortage of bravery. This isn't even C.I.' primary issue, it's Rebecca's. But with her on vacation, C.I.'s tried to hit on it at The Common Ills and has really insisted on it at The Third Estate Sunday Review.

Another thing it made me think of was Princess Diana (who was in the news for the wrong reasons as people published photos last week of her dying moments). She worked the land mine issue. She really gave her all to it and because of who she was and how liked she was, politicians had to at least listen.

Then I started wondering if Laura Bush had anything she cared about? She's been in the White House for six years and what has she done? Even her mother-in-law (with only four years as First Lady) had a reading program. (Though I understand she really wasn't big on reading.)
So what does Laura Bush do all day? Smoke cigarettes and booze it up?

Maybe she's one of those people who doesn't like to work? If so, she married the right man. But it's a real shame that Diana dies and no one can take the issue of land mines.

My thoughts for tonight. Oh, I was reminded to tell the story. Sharkey's Machine, which I've never seen, was a film that starred Burt Reynolds. A friend that's a few years older thinks her parents decided to 'tell' her about sex by taking her to that movie. They never talked about sex with her, before or after the movie, and she was six-years-old when they took her to the R-rated film with some . . . sex. It really screwed her up. How she saw sex and how she saw herself. That's the sort of thing that I worry about with my kids. When they get older, they're going to want to go to films that are rated higher than G. I always remember her stories about the effect that movie had on her.

And I say "some . . . sex" because this wasn't vanilla sex. I don't want to call it "bed" or "weird" because to each their own. But it was too much for a six-year-old who knew nothing about sex and was never given any guidance from her family on the issue.

(I will talk to my kids about sex. My parents did me. It's part of being a parent. If you're not able to do it yourself, you find an adult you respect who can.)

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