Moral Values? American Values?

Greetings.  I know it's been a while, so here we go!

I'm quite sure that by now most of you have heard of that infamous speech by our nefarious Sec. of State in which he said: "Our values around freedom, human dignity, the way people are treated – those are our values. Those are not our policies."  He went on to say: "In some circumstances, if you condition our national security efforts on someone adopting our values, we probably can’t achieve our national security goals."  (He seems to have no problem with the Global Gag-Rule which ties our health assistance to some value - oh wait, that's one of the right-wing's values!)  You can read The Guardian report on on that Tillerson 'values' speech here .

Moral Values

Maybe we should start our thoughts here with some words from our Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..  This quote is from a speech he delivered in 1954:  "The first principle of value that we need to rediscover is that all reality hinges on moral foundations.  In other words, that this is a moral universe, and that there are moral laws of the universe just as abiding as the physical laws." 

Critiquing Tillerson's speech, John Kirby, the state department’s former spokesman tweeted: “Divorcing our interests from our values in foreign policy is like trying to plant cut flowers.”  (from The Guardian's coverage) How can we claim "moral leadership" if we don't champion them at least on some level?  Look at the very recent spectacle of our nutjob  #45 meeting with all those dictators in Saudi-Arabia (and an arms deal!).  He also congratulated the new dictator of Turkey, Erdogan. Our actions do speak, often quite loudly.

Next, please consider this quote from professor/scholar Edward Said:  "Every empire, however, tells itself and the world that it is unlike all other empires, that its mission is not to plunder and control but to educate and liberate."  (The entire article by Said is worth reading!) Telling thoughts indeed. Wouldn't it be refreshing to see us actually promoting policies and programs that in reality help and empower folks? And once again, I maintain that investing in such initiatives is more productive than investing in guns and bombs. Here is a recent review from Oxfam on some facts about poverty-reducing foreign aid from the U. S.. We're not actually such big givers, which will probably surprise many. Such programs with real local input, however can make a difference.  (Now a quick aside here... recently Cal. State, Fresno made a quite controversial decision to not this year fill the position of an Edward Said Professorship )

Further, isn't there also an old saying that 'if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything'? (The exact origins of this quote are very hard to pin down: there are variants listed from Chaplain Peter Marshall, Ginger Rogers, Malcolm X, Dr. King and a BRITISH Alex Hamilton;  it's often attributed to our A. Hamilton, but with little hard evidence.)  To me this means that although in this life, countries - and we as individuals - sometimes do have to make compromises; but we need to always have our guiding moral principles in mind to make sure we don't stray too far from what we claim to be about.  Our policies should, as much as possible, reflect our commitment to our values, values such as freedom and human dignity, which even Tillerson mentioned.

Values must also not exist in a vacuum. Pres. Thomas Jefferson recognized the need to have laws back up our values.  In a letter to Mordecai Noah (1818) he wrote concerning the religious intolerance often faced by Jewish Americans:  "Your sect, by its sufferings, has furnished a remarkable proof of the universal spirit of religious intolerance inherent in every sect, dis- claimed by all while feeble, and practiced by all when in power. Our laws have applied the only antidote to this vice, protecting our re- ligious as they do our civil rights, by putting all on an equal footing. But more remains to be done, for although we are free by law, we are not so in practice..."  (one place the full text of this letter may be found is in this online volume!)

Our values, our guiding principles must be backed up by laws, policies, programs, and daily actions if they are to be effective in their job of lighting the way forward.  Our job is to keep them in mind always when configuring our decisions and programs.

American Values

So what are American values anyway?  My own list would include: equality, freedom, democracy, social mobility ('The American Dream'), justice, individualism & independence, human dignity,  and the rule of law.

These values are deeper than just "Mom, the flag, and apple pie." They speak to aspirations we still need to work toward.  America has often been called an "Experiment."  Well, doesn't the experimental process usually involve adjusting things? Controls, procedures, or maybe materials, and hypotheses get modified as the quest to answer a question continues.  Thus, we must continue to advocate for changes which will move us closer to the full realization of the values and ideals we supposedly stand for.

American values can even trace their roots back in time!  The Founders were definitely influenced by European Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke.  Locke, in turn, was definitely at least somewhat influenced by Aristotle.  What? Those Ancient Greeks again?  I remember (it was only  - um - X - years ago) a class in Freshman Western Civ., with our most excellent prof, Ms. Audrey.  One day she brought in a travel ad for Greece which had as its main caption "You were born here."   From our study of those Ancient Greeks and our consideration of the values the U. S. supposedly espouses, we decided it rang true.  So the aspirations these ideals speak to didn't just spring up overnight.  It might be "enlightening" if we thought of them as part of an evolving human endeavor.

Conclusion

Values should not be something we intentionally sideline.  They should be a constant source of guidance for our policies and programs.  If we align our decisions properly with our values and ideals, I believe results will be most effective.  And it is also good to keep a bit of historical perspective in mind as well.  And to tie things all together, here is a fantastic quote from Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower. This comes from his First Inaugural Address in 1953:

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both...these basic precepts are not lofty abstractions far removed from matters of daily living.  They are laws of spiritual strength that generate and define our material strength."

So on to you, readers.  Any thoughts about values? Please share in comments. 

BONUS!
Here's something I found while working on this post.  A blast from the past which speaks so clearly to us today. 

Please do comment and/or share if you find this or any post here to be of value.  Thanks!

Is There a Shred of Hope?

Greetings.  I'm not sure exactly what to say, but I'm just too emotional and heartsick not to write something.

I want to scream at people - look at the harm that's being done!  I just cannot see how ANYONE of ANY sort of good will could be party to the mess that we're in.  And it's a huge one - that even a certain nutjob's supporters should have seen coming. Our very democracy is under severe attack, there are missile strikes, civil liberties continue to be attacked, and we haven't even touched on climate concerns yet.

I was half expecting bad news about the nefarious SCOTUS nominee - and yes, it was bad. Commondreams.org listed the 4 Dem. Senate collaborators in voting for cloture, and I posted a link to that article in my twitter feed.  The GOP keeps showing us that they have no thought or care for anything but their own power.  Is there any line they won't cross?

But I was NOT prepared for the horrible news of the missile strikes on Syria.  This is wading in to very deep, dangerous territory ---- and it ignores our Constitution and international law. Trevor Timm in his twitter feed  (he's @trevortimm ) tweeted a video where Brian Williams called these strikes "beautiful" numerous times.  I'm sorry, but destruction and loss of life are certainly not MY idea of beauty.  Timm also has several tweets which show the msm for the most part has failed to be even a bit critical and just be submissive in reporting this.  Sounds a lot like Orwell, doesn't it: "War is Peace."  My mind and spirit are so troubled by this development and I can't help but also wonderalong with Peter Van Buren (see his tweet  in the commondreams article in link above) "No one knows where this ends."

That's certainly bad enough.  And there's more.  The  gov't wants to unmask an anonymous "rogue" twitter account user who has been critical of the admin..  And get this, according to an ACLU spokesperson, "on the face of the summons the government has offered no reason for seeking this information."  As a new twitter user, of course I'm concerned; and everyone else should be as well.  Free Speech needs to apply to ALL!  I'm glad that twitter is filing suit and that the ACLU is defending the user.

I know there's quite a resistance around, but is there hope for getting us out of this mess?  The stakes are too high and I'm concerned as I've never been.  The dangers are real, folks.  I'm not sure about answers, but I AM doing a LOT of praying.

And do remember, if you find this post or any post here of value, please do comment (they're GOLD, remember) and/or share.  Thanks!

What Tools?

Greetings.  It's still hard to look at current events and not be ready to go into hibernation or something until things start looking up.  We have challenges to our civil liberties here in the U. S., challenges to our social safety net  (what's left of it), and even to our democracy itself.  On top of that, there are concerns we are putting our entire Planet in danger by ignoring climate change and raising the threat of a nuclear arms race. 

I often feel it seems we are looking at a Gordian Knot of interconnected problems. Whatever means Alexander the Great used to cut or untie the legendary knot, we need to think of what tools we have to slice through our own problems and work toward solutions.

As I was thinking of this post, a song came to mind.  "If I Had a Hammer," written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, a protest song (and do we ever need them now!) which needed Peter, Paul, and Mary to make its big splash.  Here are the lyrics with some really great notes about the song.   How about a video? I really like the version by Trini Lopez!  I'm not sure about the Hammer, but it seems fairly clear to me that the Bell would be our Liberty Bell, reminding us of our founding principles. And the Song? Well, maybe the Allman Brothers' "Revival" might do!

So what tools do we have?  

How about the key to freedom we hand off to others, especially those who may be different from us?
How about the ladder of opportunity we help build for others to rise?
How about the globe we need to always keep in front of us to remind us to care for Planet Earth?

And as for song... how about this?    Get Together

So, what tools do YOU have?  Do share in comments!

Do comment and/or share if you find this post or any post here of value! Thanks!

My "Cacerlolazo" or "People's Address"

Greetings.  Well, there was a speech last night, eh?  I saw on commondreams.org that an act of resistance can be to write one's own "cacerlolazo" or "People's Address" to counter and resist the administration and its' policies.

The term cacerlolazo means "casserole" and the tactic is rooted in folks banging pots, pans and other utensils in noisy protest.  OK, let's make some NOISE!

My own "People's Address":

Honorable Members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices, Cabinet Secretaries, and Honorable Fellow Citizens:

This country needs to chart a new path. A path that will take us ever closer to the fabled American Dream and The Dream of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..

We need to chart a path which will move us away from hatred, bigotry, and fearmongering into a new path of acceptance, understanding, and cooperation.  We must ensure that there will be no second-class citizens; that equal protection of the law applies to each citizen, and that every voice has an equal chance to be heard.

We need to chart a new path to ensure that our First Amendment Rights are honored and protected.  The freedom to worship freely, protest and dissent freely and to have a free press must be absolutely and always respected.  We should also broaden the scope to make sure that rights to privacy are also included.

We need to chart a new path in the way government works; its focus should be working for the people. That means the first concern of policy should be the people of our country, not corporations or large donors.  Citizens also deserve a government based on truth, transparency, and accountability.  Our government should always be held to those principles.

We need to chart a new path by enacting policies to further public education and programs that will lessen or eliminate the tremendous burden of debt with which so many students have been weighed down.  We must recognize that investing in our students is one of the best investments we can make.

We need to chart a new path on immigration to make sure that people are treated with fairness and humanity, and that violence is not done to families.

We need to chart a new path on jobs, the economy, and the climate.  We need to foster policies and programs which benefit the majority of Americans, not just wealthy and well-connected elites.  We need to understand that we must not ignore climate change, but work to protect the Planet; that this is not necessarily a forced choice between jobs and climate.

We need to chart a new path with our military and law enforcement. It is true that we need a military, however, we need not allow it to be bloated out of control.  We also need to scale back the increasing militarization of law enforcement and make sure that the justice system is fair for all.

Finally, we need to chart a new path, a new course globally, and lead in seeking ways toward Global Peace.

Thank you all and God bless our nation and our Earth.


Remember, if you find this or any post here of value do comment and/or share.  Thanks!

Moral Resistance

Greetings once again on this day before Valentine's Day.  How about some reading and musings to consider.

My homepage is commondreams.org (there's a link in my "side" navbar) and when I saw the headline of their story concerning the huge protest in NC, the phrase "Moral Resistance" really resonated.  Especially after having read some days before, a wonderfully written and extremely thoughtful piece in their 'Views' section.

The article is:  A Malignant Attack on American Values and was written by Adil E. Shamoo and Bonnie Bricker.  They encapsulate so much of what I (and it seems like many, many others) have been feeling about the "present administration."  Please take the time to read it and digest it.

A short snippet from this article: "The president is a role model for our entire country. When lies are routine and ethical standards are violated in every arena we would be deceiving ourselves to imagine that such malevolence will not invade every corner of American life." 

Beyond dealing with the horrors of this administration, it's clear that there is so much to do in trying to reach out, educate, cajole, whatever, - folks into more positive attitudes. The fact that there is as much support as there is for the travel ban on Muslims (although poll numbers can vary quite a bit) is certainly cause for concern. I've also seen reports that there is some support for torture out there.  Really?  How in the world can anyone justify doing that to other human beings?  And evidence shows that it doesn't work!  Further, try visiting some recent current event comment threads at either The Intercept or The Guardian and you will have to note some very racist and uncivil comments; I can only imagine how bad those "alt-right" (read 'white supremacist') sites are.  How can we break through all this?  I know we're never going to get everyone on board, but we have to reach more folks, really we do.

Well, I suppose it's time to give my Moral Resistance offering:

Please don't hesitate to share thoughts in comments!

And as always, if this post or any post here you find to be of value, please comment and/or share.  Thanks!

Related Post:

The Path of Love (With a New Note)

What We Need To Be (Poem) + Some Must Reads

Greetings again... anyone there?  Please let me know; comments are gold, you see!

You know, you never know where inspiration might come from.  I was reading an article at The Guardian about some Super Bowl (nope, didn't watch, don't care for either of those two teams) commercials which were - ah -slightly political.  One, from 84 Lumber actually had to be toned down for broadcast.  Just in case you missed it or haven't seen the ending, you can do so here .

And then it (inspiration, that is) hit me.  So here is a poem:

What We Need To Be

We need to be Joshuas
Who march, sound our trumpets and ram's horns, then shout
Until intangible walls dividing us fall
Until physical border walls no longer seem an option

We need to be Caregivers for our Mother Earth
As Native Americans continue to teach
For She has been entrusted to all of us,
Including future generations

We need to be Parkers and Kings
And bend arcs toward justice
For it must be available for all
If we are to live in true liberty

We need to be Champions of Democracy
Guarding gains achieved by generations of struggle
Then extending circles of inclusion
For more fully open participation

We need to be Diogeneses
Searching for those who are honest
And we must also follow the example of Aristides
Who was himself legendarily honest

We need to be Scanners Beneath Surfaces
To recognize we have common humanity,
To learn that we need each others' gifts,
And to see our differences as glorious
As we move toward acceptance with love

 *******
 Wondering about "Parkers and Kings?"  Check this out!

*******
 Now for the two must reads:

Der Spiegel in Germany had a controversial cover.  I think this is exactly the type of thing the media should be doing!

At The Intercept , there's a very troubling story of the FBI's "Rap Black" program which gives employers real time access to employee data that law enforcement gathers.  Why is this troubling?  Some of this data may be related to exercising First Amendment rights  (say, arrest at a protest).  Further, updates are not always given; charges may be dismissed and it may not be noted.  There may be other inaccuracies as well.  There are also very little limits on how the data may be used (and with Rap Black may be kept indefinitely) and what populations should be subject to this.  From the article:  Such a broad mandate could “provide employers with an unprecedented window into employees’ lives,” according to Jennifer Lynch, a lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

It is well worth reading and being alert to this troubling database.

Please do comment and/or share if you find this or any post here to be of value!  Thanks. 

Open Memo Re: Pence at Hamilton

Hello - anyone out there?

I'm sure most of you have seen or heard of the visit paid by Mike Pence to the show Hamilton on Friday night and the lecture given on behalf of the cast.  WOW!  And a certain so-and-so had the NERVE to call it "harassment!" If you haven't seen this or would like a refresher, here are two good articles:

First: a report from the bbc .  Second: this is a really neat article .  

Now my Memo:

Memo Re: Pence's Visit to Broadway Show Hamilton

To: DJT:  Sorry, but you are shameful, so I won't use your name.  Speaking truth to power is NOT harassment.  It is what a little thing called DEMOCRACY  is all about.  Remember the U. S. is supposed to be about "We, the People" - that is, ALL OF US.

To: Mike Pence: First, you should realize how lucky you were to even have seen this show.  Second, I echo the thanks given you for staying and listening to the cast's open letter.  Third, I hope you will now think on this and follow the example of Jock Semple.  He tried to throw Katherine Switzer out of the 1967 Boston Marathon - and was against women competing in it.   But he later supported women in the race and he and Switzer actually became friendly.  I think there are some lessons in that story - one might be support opportunities for others, don't oppose them! Feel free to read a reminiscence by Switzer here .  And here is Semple's Wikipedia page.

To: Brandon Dixon and the cast of Hamilton:  Thank you for speaking truth to power so eloquently, powerfully, civilly, and respectfully.  That's the sort of discourse the U. S. needs.  Indeed, let us keep spreading your message.

And please, if you find this post or any post here of value, please comment and/or share.  Thank you!

Seek a Just Unity

Greetings again all.  I'm not sure I'm over the election results yet.  My mind and spirit are still quite troubled.  One of the things the author of a 'views' piece at commondreams warned about was "normalizing" this dangerous (can I still say "nutjob"?) so and so.  Well that is what appears to be happening ALREADY.  They have a recent report on their site.  We must NOT stand for this!!!  We nead journalists and media outlets to do the real job of informing.  We all need to make sure that hate, bigotry, misogyny, discrimination against any group, disrespect of civil liberties, and disrespect of the environment DOES NOT STAND!!!

Read the report  .

But the calls for "unity" to work with him have somewhat troubled me.  Now, I support unity, have written often about it here, but something about the calls in this situation made me vaguely unsettled.  Then I happened on this excellent piece by Paul Louis Metzger.  And he put form and shape to the vagueness I was feeling.  I hope that everyone will take the time to read it.  It is certainly worth the time.  And I still believe that we need to unite to solve common problems, but, at least for a while, will think and write just a bit more carefully about unity.  We will need to make sure that whatever unity we achieve is, as Metzger hopes it would be, a "just unity."

And let us not forget that there IS much at stake here.  Please also read this beautiful op-ed by Steven W. Thrasher.

You may also wish to check out this article about preparing for January from commondreams. There are two links in it to sites which give info about preparing for the nightmare administration which awaits.

And don't forget to pray - or call for protective vibes. 

Please, if you find this or any post here of value, please comment and/or share.  Thanks!

Election Horror

That's the only way I can describe the election results.  How can this have happened?  This is so troubling on so many levels.  I just don't know how to begin to describe my concerns, except to say, anyone who voted for this nutjob voted to make America meaner, nastier, and a much more scary place because of him and the mindset to which he has catered.  It truly is a horrible result.

There is a columnist at The Guardian, Jessica Valenti, who is a real strong feminist - and progressive.  She has two very recent columns that express so much of what I've been feeling:

The pre-election column

And the quite new, post-election column .  From the article:  "The truth is that this shameful election result was backlash, pure and simple – a reaction to women’s growing rights, racial progress and a cultural shift that no longer centers straight white men. They were votes based on fear, bigotry and ugliness."  That does NOT mean I wish to throw anyone under the bus, but that as one commenter at commondreams pointed out in comments to their original election result article, nonwhites that voted Democratic were certainly not all upper or even middle class.  Who propelled this horrible result?

Valenti goes on with a note of hope and ends:  "And that we owe it to ourselves and our country not to let fear stop us now. Not ever."

I'll tell you today, I can use all the hope anyone can throw out.  Yes, it's that bad.  Segway to:  John Nichols and a fine article at commondreams with some ideas.

It certainly is a dark moment.  I just hope - and pray - we can make it through.

P. S. 
Jon Swartz at The Intercept has a good article about what to do next  .

And if you found this post - or any post here - to be of value, please comment and/or share.  Thanks!

Open Questions to ALL Presidential Candidates (With Update)

Hello Readers -

I do see I have been getting page views - so how about some comments and conversation?  Can't be that hard, can it?  Would mean a LOT...

This was originally posted on 10/12/2015, but I thought as we're fully into Presidential primaries and there are debates all around, that I would put this back up top.  And with an update.  Thought you all might enjoy reading about what the American Friends' Service Committee is doing with training folks to ask tough questions of candidates.  Now back to the original post:

I don't usually post so quickly after another post, but I wanted to keep this one timely and I believe the first Democratic Debate is tomorrow.

I was again stunned by an article I saw in The Guardian (though I'm increasingly wondering why I'm not even more cynical than I am).  The latest:  Bernie Sanders on drones .

Bernie, how could you (or anyone with some sort of conscience)?  This amounts to justifying extrajudicial killing which should be abhorrent to those who value the rule of law and the tenants of our Constitution.  Here's an article from 2012 which lays out the problems.  And here's another article about the drone strike memo, authored by the odious David Barron.  And a bit more:  Then Attorney General Holder " previously summarized the justification, saying that targeted killings — whether by unmanned aerial vehicles or manned aircraft — can be carried out if the citizen in question poses an imminent threat, cannot be captured, and can be killed without violating the more general laws of war. So far, four Americans are known to have died through the targeted strike program, including al-Awlaki and his son. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has estimated that over 3,500 people in total have been killed under the program."  What's the problem ---- well, many have pointed out that "imminent threat" is way to broad for one thing.  Also, there is way to little concern for civilian deaths; often termed "collateral damage" (a euphemism that we should not accept the government-military-industrial complex hiding behind).  Any wonder why I would like to see all drones grounded and destroyed for scrap metal?

The Guardian is running a feature via their Guardian Witness (probably by the time you read this the deadline will have come and gone), asking for folks to send in questions for the Democratic Presidential candidates. One reader already sent in a question very close to what my feelings were after reading the first linked article above.  --- "Will you stop execution by drone?" Good question.  There was another good one about addressing Citizens United. So what about a few more?  I can propose a few - and not for just the Democratic candidates, but the Republican candidates and any others, as well.

• What would you do to restore a respect for human rights, to put an end to torture once and for all, and to hold torturers accountable?
• What would you do to end mass surveillance and to restore a respect for privacy?
• What would you do to end police abuses and end overly-militaristic policing?
• What would you do to bring hope to the poor and the working poor?  How would you support the middle class - what's left of it?
• What would you do to help heal the environment?
• What would you do to fight against GMO foods?
• How would you work for world peace? 
• What would you do to ensure the rights of free speech, dissent and protest?
• What would you do to bring Americans together - besides fearmongering or hatemongering?

Please share your questions in comments!

Enabling

Have you dear readers heard about this?  National Review Punished

Well, I had to respond.. Here's the text of the e-mail I sent the Republican National Committee (yes, I really sent it):

Dear Folks:

Oh, I fully support your punishment of The National Review for critiquing ----- oh., a certain candidate (initials DT).  How DARE they suggest what some of us feel, that he’s a STAIN on your party:  "Not since George Wallace has there been a presidential candidate who made racial and religious scapegoating so central to his campaign," Cato Institute president David Boaz wrote.  How DARE they be against someone who a lot of us feel is a dangerous, bigoted nutjob?

How dare ANYONE be against the kind of policies he promotes that many of us find reprehensible and divisive? Way to go.  You’re really doing a fine job of enabling this stain on our politics to continue.

Sincerely,


Please,  I hope there's some hope somewhere.  The mood is getting pretty ugly.

Fight the Bile (With Updates!)

I truly shudder at the vile atmosphere the U.S. seems to have descended into.  It seems the mood is increasingly anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, among other things.

I am heartsick that anyone favors Donald Trump and his vileness.  His rhetoric is nastily divisive and his proposals unAmerican and definitely unDemocratic (well, aren't we supposed to be a - Democracy, Republic, something?).

How can we just brush aside the indignities and real threats so many American Muslims are facing right now?  Glenn Greenwald did an overview of some very recent incidents at The Intercept.

Then I just read a heartbreaking story on Yahoo news about the effects such hateful rhetoric is having on Muslim children.  And what have THEY done?

And what else?  Trump actually encouraged supporters to assault a heckler.  Now, if that happened in another country, wouldn't we UNIVERSALLY AND QUITE STRONGLY condemn that?  In fact, if any other presidential candidate here did that, I think their campaign would be in serious trouble if not over.  Juan Thompson at The Intercept wrote about visiting a Trump rally and the the ensuing poor treatment of him and also those who came to protest.

That Trump isn't alone is scary.  Just a couple of weeks ago during C-Span's Landmark Cases - Brown v. Board of Education episode, a caller started spewing the most vile racist filth.  Sue cut him off, but really not soon enough.  I keep asking myself, what year is this?  Many disparate people of good will for centuries have tried to bring us into a society closer to our ideal of  "All men (and I'll add women!) are created equal."  Have we forgotten their struggles?  Have we forgotten to what we're supposed to aspire?  I shake my head and pray.  Pray hard.

It was at least some measure of hope that many added condemnations of this dangerous person to The Guardian's Guardian Witness "assignment" of "# We Do Care" in response to Trump.  I didn't see mine there, though?  What's up Guardian???

Moral of the story:  we must fight the bile.  We must reject hate, fear-mongering and divisiveness.  And we need as many persons of good will as possible to do this.  Stand up NOW!!!

UPDATES:

I don't know if anyone saw this since I so very recently posted it, but I just got on to this story via a report from one of my mailing lists.  It is so excellent - although I don't favor the expletives, just be aware ... Don't Hate All Muslims...

I didn't dare watch that GOP debate; I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach it.  And I was right.  The canddates were competing on - who can drop the most bombs - not seeming to care about civilian casualties?  Check this out.

Related Posts: (in addition to the few just preceding this one:

 Equality Begins With Respect, And... (with Update)

Equality, Equality

Excellent Presentation, Real Challenges

This weekend I was able to watch Noam Chomsky's presentation from New Mexico in support of his book, Masters of Mankind. His message isn't exactly cheerful, but not devoid of hope, either.  He really lays out the concerns that challenge us.

It's definitely worth the time to view his presentation

And here is my effort at a visual summary of his talk:

Revisiting "A Modest Proposal"

Almost exactly a year ago on my Daisies and Diamonds blog, I posted a small rant against commercials.

Well, as viewing would have it, I feel it's time to revisit. Just for now, my primary consideration is tv commercials; but internet ads are also far too invasive and ubiquitous.  It seems to me that the tv situation has probably gotten worse!  I haven't sat with a stopwatch yet (two would be good - one to track actual show time, one to track commercial time), but I've noticed that we're lucky to get ten minutes of show time between commercials.  It seems closer to around 8. This article has some Nielsen stats as of May of last year. 
guess what?  I just found some more recent stats - and commercial time has increased again!  And I read somewhere we allow more commercial time than does most of Europe. Then there's the matter of the commercials themselves.  Well, the aforementioned article says that there has been an increase in short (15 second) commercials.  Maybe.  But I also seem to notice some long ones -  those that run around FIVE minutes (think vacuum, weight loss system, the 'not shampoo' haircare line, and some creepy thing to wear over your eyes while sleeping).  All those overly long commercials are extremely annoying and quite unwelcome - to me, anyway.  Oh yes, and if you feel the networks are jamming in more commercials; you are correct!

What is this doing to us? First, a big item: this affects our democracy.  Really.  John Nichols and Robert McChesney, authors of Dollaracracy, have written this overview article.  Pay attention to their points about political ads found on page 2!

Second, what does it do to us to be so relentlessly subjected to sales pitches?  Although I'm not quite as negative as the author of this article, he did hit on a point I feel is very on target. From the article:  "It is not the cacophony of the commercial claims on our attention that has shortened our attention spans; it is the soullessness that the market economy demands that has sent us searching for self-medication."  He also has some great stuff about Neil Postman's prediction about entertainment conquering social domains and the fears arising from monetizing attention in the paragraph just following that quote.  There was also something I saw about a fellow who said that tv was now just a medium for getting us to pay attention to commercials - but I've even combed through my history several times and haven't found it.  But that observation does have the ring of truth, doesn't it?


But to inject a humorous vein and in an effort to shame the offenders, here are nicknames I propose for some of our tv networks, although rampant proliferation of commercials seems to be across the board:

• Americans Broadcasting Commercials
• Commercial Broadcasting Service
• Nothing But Commercials
• Greeting Card Channel Sales and Promotions
• Hawking Quite Zealously (think of the letters that are two before each starting letter alphabetically)
• Commercial Nirvana Nightly
• Totally Broadcasting Spiels
• Advertising Massively Channel
• Ultimately Serving Advertisers
• Every Sponsor's Product Network
• Advertisements & Endorsements

And the matter of those "Pledge Break Stations" is another discussion entirely!

If the commenters on some of these articles are any representation, at least some folks are disgruntled about this ad creep.  So - what can we do to scale these commercials, ads, and promos back to some reasonable level?  How can we push back about the relentless advertising - not just on tv, but on the internet and so many other places all around us?  Thoughts?

Wrong Again!

Learning today of the Supreme Court declining to hear Hedges v. Obama - you know, the lawsuit challenging the "indefinite detention" provision of the NDAA really made me shake my head in dismay.


For background, here's a story from the Long Island Press (Be sure to read Tangerine? Jennifer? Bolen's facebook post in its entirety), and another from Truth Dig (where you can find articles by Chris Hedges).


I find that the plaintiffs are quite brave to have engaged in this challenge.  The entire idea of indefinite detention is scary.  It's not a stretch to imagine folks being picked up, held without an attorney or legal redress, for who know how long.  It's not a stretch to imagine this could be used against dissenters.  And get this - check out what is says on SCOTUS Blog  So if your not harmed, you don't have standing - but in this case, if you ARE harmed, how can you get any legal redress?  Terrible reasoning, I feel, by the Appeals Court and an equally terrible decision by the Supreme Court not to review this.


Wake up, folks!

Tales of Oligarchy

Greetings, fellow 99%ers!


In case you haven't heard of their study , economic researchers Gilens and Page have studied decades worth of economic and political data and have found that in essence,we are living in an oligarchy.
An oligarchy - where the elites and privileged control policy.  In fact, their conclusion is that unless the policy preference of the 99%  is aligned with the preference of that infamous 1%, the policy has little chance of being adopted.  In the article I linked to, there is a link to their pdf document.  I will be going through that and trying to digest their data and arguments.  It's not that long and at first glance seems to be fairly readable.
French economist Thomas Piketty has garnered a lot of notoriety for his book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, in which he explains that we are rapidly heading toward oligarchy or are already there.  He argues that rising wealth inequality threatens capitalism itself.
I've long thought that greed would wreak havoc on us; well, greed and complacency.  We've continued to not challenge policies that enable the elite to control all the shots.
Now for a truly disturbing display of oligarchic privilege, read about this event   Sorry about the title of the post, but I didn't write it.
I just don't understand why more people aren't up and arms over this sad state of economic affairs.

The Supreme Court Got it Wrong...Again!

What should we be feeling after the horrendous McCutcheon Decision? I know I feel many emotions - outrage, frustration, sadness among them. 


The decision is abominable, of course, but after Citizens United, I suppose it was not unexpected.  I find it a slap in the face to ordinary citizens and a solidifying of the power of the wealthy elite - what the top 1% - the top .1% ? - those who have been chief campaign contributors and will now be able to control politics even more.  Here is a great graphic that explains brilliantly what the decision means, monetarily.


My thoughts, which I alluded to above, are aligned with those so cogently expressed by Robert Weissman, the President of Public Citizen, in their statement which can be read here.


There is a glimmer of hope, though, however faint.  There are several grass roots groups that are protesting and seeking to get a Constitutional Amendment passed to get the big money out of politics.  I know that so many folks have day to day challenges that make reforming campaign finance seem relatively unimportant.  But as with the surveillance state revelations, these are extremely important issues.  We must stand up for the society we want to become.  It will not be easy.  However, we must get some outrage going and channel it into productive action to transform our present mess into something more responsive to ordinary citizens.  You know - the people our government is supposed to be of, by, and for.

Remember Civility and Civil Rights

Many recent reports make me wonder what we've descended to. A fellow was arrested because they THOUGHT he had protested against Romney in NH. Read about it in his blog here. A Ron Paul supporter was treated roughly by Gingrich security; read here. And some Ron Paul supporters have harassed a professor online (story here) . Haven't heard stories about such things on the Democratic side recently, but if they are happening, they're also shameful.

First, while there is a need for security, we should not permit security to become abusive. That's NOT what America is supposed to be about. Second, we simply MUST start respecting the right to protest and dissent. If the United States is to truly stand for freedom we have got to make sure we honor the Freedoms of Speech and Assembly among others. Third, we NEED to agree to disagree and not be so disagreeable in the meantime. We are going to have differences of opinion and it is crucial that we maintain some basic civility and respect for each other as we make our way through challenging times. We have got to remember two things: one: we're all in this together and two: the golden rule - treat others as we wish to be treated. MAYBE if we remember those things we can make some real progress.

Flag Day / Bill of Rights

Today is Flag day. It's a good day to honor our flag and to honor the values we believe it stands for: things such as freedom, liberty.

So get out a flag and ponder those things today.

And in regard to freedom and liberty, why not take a few minutes out and read the Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments to our Constitution. Shouldn't we all know what these important Amendments say?

You can go here to read them and even print out a copy.

Happy Flag Day.

Who Would Sign the Declaratiuon of Independence Today?

Some thoughts...
At our college, Education majors sometimes put up sample bulletin boards as class assignments. In my opinion, the best one (at least so far!) was one put up last year and themed on the Declaration of Independence. There was a section of the board where people were invited to sign. I did, as did at least one of my colleagues.

This may not be an uncommon thought, but who would sign such a document today? Indeed, the signers did take a tremendous risk in doing so. But today, with the poisonous political climate and intolerant dialog about about certain religions, I thought about this again.

Would you sign the Declaration of Independence, knowing it said "all men are created equal?" Remember all means all - not just ones like you or like "us." Would you sign knowing that this equality would extend to those who worship differently from you? Would you sign knowing that this equality would extend to those of different ethnic backgrounds from yours? Would you sign knowing this equality would extend those of different sexual orientation from yours? And what about us women? Would you sign if it specifically said "all men and women are created equal?"

The President just reminded us this is "one nation." Will we see that all are treated equally under the law? That was the vision, even though the Founding Fathers fell short on really putting it into practice. That was the fight and struggle through the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. That was the dream of Rev. Dr. King and so many others. It's still an unrealized dream for some Americans. So who would sign the Declaration of Independence today? Would you?