Bravo pour les Americains!

Greetings from the city of light where the Eiffel Tower is lit up in blue! No, France is not the 51st (blue) state but it currently holds the presidency of the European Union.

Upon departure, I was shocked to see so many French people in line for the airplane wearing Obama buttons. Upon arrival, I have seen Obama buttons, stickers, and t-shirts in store fronts. I gave a friend's children Obama buttons (because they are half-American) and as we walked through the city, some teens spotted it and said, "Allez Obama! Allez Obama!"

I had a long conversation with a cab driver last night. He was from Antibes and we discussed the positive impact an Obama presidency will have on the world. I have been so used to America being hated (having lived overseas while Reagan was president) or derided for its political hypocrisy and puritanical obssession with sex and politicians (having lived overseas while Clinton was president).  From an intellectual perspective, it was clear having a new president would have a positive impact on the rest of the world. But here in Paris, I felt the difference from an emotional perspective. A young, intellectual biracial President with an incredible rise and a Muslim middle name speaks volumes about the diversity of America and our potential for living the values of tolerance and justice that are laid out in our Constitution.

It is truly an amazing to witness such symbolic change. And it's so refreshing to put aside the cynicism and doubts of "politics" and celebrate the moment.

I told my cab driver about an interesting article in New York magazine that talked about how children under 10 today would only remember America having a black President and a black First Family and what an enormous impact that would be. He agreed and told me how when his kids were young they had friends of all races and ethnicities - and they were so open they didn't even realize they were black and they had friends who were not. He ended by telling me something I've never heard in France before, "Bravo pour les Americains! Bravo!"

 

There are many Obama parties in Paris tonight but most are sold out or trop cher. I will be watching coverage from a friend's house. I imagine horns honking all over America when the final tally is in! More later.

The Vote

In a blog post in September 2004, I wrote, "I'm audacious enough to imagine a Clinton-Obama 2008 bumper sticker." And two years ago, almost to the day, I wrote a post, entitled, Barack Now that explained the reasons I thought he should and would be President. I included these lines, "I think he's going to run and I think he's going to win."

Friday, I submitted an absentee ballot in my eighth presidential election with my vote for Obama-Biden. The more disillusioned I have become about politics, the more emotional I am about having the right to vote. And so I cried, like I do every time I vote.

When I filled in that little circle with my black pen, I thought of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Medger Evers, Emmett Till, Harriet Tubman, and so many other black Americans who gave their lives for such a moment. It is powerful and yes, hopeful, to see not only a man of color's name at the top of the ticket but such a colorful name it is - a name that represents the very idea of America.

I have been asked many times in the last few months, if I have become a Republican because I have questioned the authenticity of Obama's platform of change, because I have refused to make cruel jokes about Sarah Palin and her family, and because I haven't judged John McCain's personal life nor do I believe he is evil.

My answer is no, I have actually become more liberal.

And yes, I am fully aware that if either of the Obama girls were teens and pregnant, the Republican Right would be relentless in their assessment of Barack's and Michelle's parenting. I know that if Michelle had been pregnant when she married Barack, the Republican Right would say she was unfit to be First Lady. I know that if Barack had gone to six colleges and earned mediocre grades, he would not have gotten this far in the race.

But I thought - and believed Obama thought the same - that we Democrats respected all Americans -whether they were Red State or Blue State. That Democrats didn't need to be negative because our ideas were better and because we hold ourselves to a higher standard. That's why I stood for Obama when so many people said I was naive and didn't understand how politics work in this country.

What this campaign has revealed to me is the growing hypocrisy of the Democratic party. What I continue to find is that Democrats (including our nominees) can be just as manipulative, phony, greedy, and politically expedient as Republicans. And sometimes, more. Democrats wallow in Wall Street money (more, in fact, than McCain) and lobbyist money and make deals with those who help get them elected.

That is our system, everyone says. You have to play the game to get elected.

But when a candidate says they are running on a platform of change, he or she is asking to be held to a different, higher standard. And when that very stance is the one that has inspired millions of new voters, young and old, to get involved, it says something else. It says, maybe you don't have to play every single game to get elected.

So yes, I am going to hold you to a higher standard.

What this campaign has revealed to me is the utter state of mediocrity of the media and their push to divide instead of fairly and accurately presenting the facts. They have been relentless in trying to surface examples of racism. Didn't they learn anything from the Iowa primary? Americans are, in fact, ready and willing to vote for a black man for President! They present poll figures that "indicate racism" when in fact, no Democratic nominee has gotten more than 50% of the vote since FDR, with the exception of LBJ, 11 months after JFK died.

Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, and Maureen Dowd, among the self-identified liberal press, proved they could be just as petty, stupid, self-righteous, egotistical, and hateful as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.

They write stories with a decidely sexist angle without shame. Consider the male who lost the Democratic nomination in 1980. He gave no speech, attended no event, and offered not a single appearance for the winning nominee. The winning nominee's eventual loss ushered in the Reagan Revolution which was devastating to the very people this losing nominee said he stood for. But this same man is now so highly regarded in the Democratic party that he was granted the power to "pass the torch" to a new generation of male leaders during an excessive and overwrought Democratic convention. Yet, a female in the same position in 2008, who gave a stirring speech, along with her husband, in support of the winning nominee and who makes weekly appearances for the candidate, is presented as "not doing enough," "only stoking her ambitions for four years later," and "not authentic or effusive enough in her praise."

Yes, it's true some women were angry when she lost. Much like Michelle Obama's honest admission of hesitation, in the heat of the campaign, when asked if she would support Hillary if Barack lost. Hillary supporters felt the exact same way when Hillary lost. They also felt the exact same way Michelle did when moments later she said that she would, of course, work so that the party won.

Women aren't that stupid to vote for a ticket that doesn't support women. It is after all women who elect the leaders of this country. We vote in greater numbers and with more consistency than men. And yes, have no fear, we still we continue to vote for men instead of women because our standard for women is much higher than for men. But that's another post.

And yes, racism does exist in this country. But I always find it intriguing when it's blamed on poor, white women. Last time I checked, the majority of government, corporate, religious, and academic institutions and organizations are being run by white men.

With the exception of Obama, I'm not sure that's going to change anytime soon. A recent article in The New York Times relayed that transition teams for both parties are hard at work getting potential Cabinet members and appointees in place. And I equally noted neither side mentioned a single woman's name. All white men.

Yes, change we can believe in.

This campaign also revealed to me my own immaturity in thinking that Barack Obama can or is even responsible for making America live up to its potential. And the more I sought to understand why my disappointment in him was so deep, the more I realized how little Americans, me included, actually do for their country.

And then I understood the reason Bush's junta succeeded in subverting the constitution, why our economic system is on the brink of failure, how two wars we started are spiraling out of control in violence and cost, how we can ignore a crumbling infrastructure, how we can tolerate an unmanageable and inefficient health care system, how we can accept embarrassing infant mortality rates, and how we do nothing about a public education system that allows children to graduate without being able to read or write.

The reason is because Americans are lazy, apathetic, ignorant about their own history, and only really care about issues when it affects them personally. We (and the Democrats) are the reason Bush, Cheney, and that whole lot of men have been able to run this country into the ground.

Yes, we are the ones we have been waiting for - and none of us showed up to make a difference because we were too busy watching cable TV, working overtime, filling our SUVs with gas, shopping online and at the mall, reading celebrity gossip, going out to dinner, bitching about evil Republicans, and isolating ourselves from the fact that our country is falling apart.

But at other times in this country's history, regular citizens standing up did make a difference. When did we stop having the courage to make a difference?

If we want this country to be different we have to stand up and fight for it. We have to do more than vote. We have to work to find new solutions and not just because someone with charisma and a talent for speech making tells us to. We have to do it because it's the right thing to do. John Edwards, even though he is being vilified for behavior that is quite common -especially among politicians and government officials -still had the best line in the campaign, "It is time to become patriotic about something other than war."

Patriotic means learning about your country's history, reading the constitution, holding your representatives accountable, criticizing them when you feel they are wrong, participating in your community's growth and success. It means not accepting racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other intolerance of people who are different than you. It means fighting just as hard for peace as we do for war (when we aren't ignoring it.). It means being more responsible with energy and finding ways to reduce consumption. It means we have to stop being a victim and stop demonizing the other side.

I know the media likes us to believe old lies like "war and poverty will always be with this" or "those groups have been killing each other for years" but until we change our thinking about what is possible we will have the same corrupt political system.

And so I voted for Barack Obama because when he gave that speech in July 2004, he inspired me to believe again in the potential of America not as the "best country in the world" but as a place where liberty, tolerance, and innovation flourishes, where women and men who think differently, believe differently, and live differently can still be respected and treated with dignity.

I voted for Barack Obama because I am as committed to my country as I am to the world. I am willing to pay more taxes to make better all that we need to make better - to bring our troops home and to care for them when they get here, to support diplomatic efforts, to provide health care for every single American, to reaffirm the values and morality of the Constitution, to clean up the corruption in corporations and Wall Street and in government, and to listen again -without judgment -to those who think there is a different way to get there.

I voted for Barack Obama because even though his actions to date have not yet reflected the change he offers in his speeches, he does represent a symbolic shift in what is possible to achieve in this country. That alone is reason to be proud and joyful.

Most important, I voted for Barack Obama because if we all accept our role to participate fully in creating, supporting, and accepting the changes that are necessary, then yes we can change the world.

MLW will be reporting the European perspective live from Paris, France, on Election Day 2008.

Bobby

History teaches us that iconic figures and events often make deep impressions that stretch beyond the individual and the circumstance to capture our own personal disappointments and sorrow.

And with Bobby Kennedy, it has always been very personal to me.

Today’s post begins with family lore. The year was 1964; the place, the Municipal Airport in Kansas City, Missouri. Both my parents seemed in awe of Jack but in love with Bobby. My father guessed that Bobby would be coming through a different and less crowded entrance. As he did, I imagine all 10 of us were thrilled to discover he was right! But no one more so than my brother Frank, 5, who was crushed that the moment passed and he had missed shaking Bobby’s hand. Whether it was for the love for a child or the adulation of someone who represented hope, my mother propelled herself and Frank forward, (along with my 9-month old sister, Lorraine, in her arms) rushing after Bobby. His security pushed her aside but Bobby stopped and walked along with my mother asking about all the kids he had just met, comparing to how many he had at the time. And then he leaned over to shake Frank’s hand and tousle his hair. It is one of life’s ironies that Frank is the only member in my family to become a Republican but he still has deep admiration for Bobby. And my mother says to this day, she has never seen eyes more blue or a face more full of sadness.

I was six years old when he was murdered four years later. Eight weeks before, I had been pulled from my First Grade class mid-day and sent home with my brothers and sisters. Martin Luther King had been killed and there was fear of rioting. I had seen National Guard tanks drive down our street the summer before during the riots. I remember feeling sadness for Mrs. Renaud, the only African-American teacher at my elementary school and her daughter, Nikki, who was in my class. It seemed to me as if Dr. King was a member of their family in that small way in which children view the world.

My father cried. My mother ripped from a wall in our TV room, a popular poster of the era of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as “Bonnie and Clyde.” I remember hearing through her anguished tears, “I am so sick of violence in this country.” I daydreamed I was a famous doctor who could save him so everyone could be happy again. We went to Mass. Later that evening I went to a family friend’s house for dinner. There was no conversation about Bobby, no sorrow, no tears. I was stunned that this family was not at all touched by the death of someone I assumed everyone loved. I wanted to go home. Like the Renauds and Dr. King, it seemed that Bobby was a part of my family.

As I grew up, I read everything I could about him. And deepening the connection, I remember, “Robert F. Kennedy and His Times” was the last book my father read.

There is no question that Kennedy was a flawed man. He supported one of the most hated senators in American history, Joseph McCarthy. He was obsessed with Jimmy Hoffa (perhaps their propensity for revenge was a mirror). He was famous for saying “Don’t get mad, get even.” He was considered ruthless, vindictive, and a person who would do anything to win. He was slight, barely 5’9”, introverted, a stumbling and uncomfortable speaker. There are shadows in many other places that may never be uncovered.

But the tragedy of his brother’s death changed him in a noble and lasting way. It is in this transformation that his largeness can be found. His sister-in-law, Jackie, was responsible for much of his adult education, introducing him to Greek mythology and French existentialism. He seemed to absorb these different perspectives of life as a salve against the pain in ways the faith of his childhood could not offer.

And in this sorrow, came the compassion and authenticity that reached across the divides of America that no politician since has been able to recreate. Bobby didn’t look like the disenfranchised, the forgotten, the oppressed, the poor, the hated, and the ignored –nor did he in his abundant wealth and extreme sports - live like them. He was, however, the first white male leader who noticed them; noticed them as human beings and not simply a demographic providing the Democratic Party with a voting advantage.

As he transformed, he became a more courageous politician. His face bore a vivid and ravaged map which spoke of what it meant to be human – to know both the best and worst of times; to know profound joy and deep loss; to know supreme accomplishment and bitter regret. And so, he entered places in which the forgotten of America and outside of America persevered, their hope stowed away in place of the grit needed to survive: the burnt-out streets of Watts, the forgotten black hills of Appalachia, the ignored farmlands of California, the entrenched poverty of Bedford-Stuyvesant. He flew to California to support the migrant worker’s strike and was humbled by the dedication of their leader, Cesar Chavez. Ascending from a horrendous coal mine in Lota, Chile, his comment to a reporter was, “If I had to work in that mine, I’d be Communist, too.” He challenged South Africans, still under apartheid rule, to imagine God as black.

He wasn’t afraid – although he was shocked –to listen in silence to the anger of blacks who were fed up with the slow pace of civil rights progression. Although their lack of patriotism was abhorrent to him (much like those who were naively shocked by Michelle Obama’s uncensored outburst of pride when her husband won the Iowa primary), he sought to understand their anger.

When I see photos of him cradling the face of a poor child in his very privileged hands – it is clear it wasn’t for his own personal glory but for the photo opportunity that would allow that child’s agony to be known to a wider audience. Over and over, published articles and books tell of his weeping after witnessing scenes of poverty and despair. It is no wonder, yet still astonishing, that he routinely used the words love and compassion in political speeches.

His words on the occasion of Martin Luther King’s death is one of these speeches and it is the best ever given by an American politician. He spoke in a poor, black, neighborhood in which the police refused to protect him. He asked the crowd to put down their signs of support for him and then he told them the news. He used no notes. He quoted the Greek poet, Aeschylus, in a voice –halting and full of sorrow- without arrogance, without exclusion, without expediency - because it was what had comforted his own soul and his own heart; and perhaps, theirs as well. Indianapolis –unlike many other American cities that night- was quiet.

His other nod to the Greeks, the phrase, “let us dedicate ourselves to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world” is what I wrote on my team’s white board when I returned to work after 9/11. It was one of the first things I thought of on that awful day because it captured the essential human condition – how to make sense of that which has no explanation?

Putting the romanticism aside, here’s the truth. He was not the favored candidate. He did not have the support of the Democratic Party. He was not the front-runner. He was not the candidate of intellectual liberals. He waited much too long to speak out against Vietnam and because of it, he did not –contrary to current media lore– have the student vote. His supporters were not the union heads but the union rank and file.

What he had was the poor –and he had them whether they were white, black, Latino, or Asian. In the Indiana primary, he won 85% of the black vote, and also won seven counties which had voted for George Wallace in the previous election.

What he had was the ability to transcend the boundaries of his upbringing - to demonstrate respect for those who were not respected, to share life’s pain in a way that did not demand pity but challenged us to be more compassionate, more loving, more honest, more soul-searching, and yes, more full of hope. Because this was the way he was living his own life.

For me, Bobby’s life is one of deep spiritual pain; pain that asks, “Why?” And when finding no answer, making the choice to keep being human, keep finding truth in compassion, and keep seeking salvation in empathy; redemption in action.

Maybe for those of us who admire him, we see our own potential for salvation, recognize our own pain of exclusion, our own chance for redemption. Maybe in his life’s example, we too, may choose a different and better way to live as individuals and as a country. We too, may, seek a newer world.

4,563

Ever wonder about the origins of Memorial Day? I did, so I checked out http://www.usmemorialday.org/ and discovered...

"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I. It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed in December, 2000, which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans 'To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps.'"

When I was growing up we had an American flag that we'd hang from our front porch on national holidays. I liked the rules associated with handling it. I liked watching my dad and my brothers fold and unfold it. Although I have a French flag hanging in my kitchen, I've never owned an American flag. As I grew older, the beauty of the flag's symbolism and the idea of American patriotism had been so manipulated by those who seemed to have little interest in our nation's history or its future, and who curiously enough, had never served in the military.

It's easy to forget that America is actually at war right now with all the media focused on waiting for a candidate to misstep or distorting a candidate's comments beyond recognition. I know this shit has been going on since Thomas Jefferson - but today, it seems so petty compared to what our country and our world is facing.

But no politics today.

My original intention was to list each of the 4,563 soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan but the list was too long for my blog platform to handle. So instead, I link to The Washington Post's site.

Please read at least one soldier's story. And while we are remembering, let's not forget the people of Iraq and Afghanistan the extent of whose suffering we may never know.

The Last Word

Leave it to an Elvis to get it right.

I don't own a recording of "Taps" but I do of this song. And listening to it will be how I remember the 4,563 who have lost their lives.

Recorded by Elvis Costello, written by Nick Lowe, this one is unfortunately timeless. For a modern version, you can also watch Chris Cornell.

"As I walk through
This wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.
I ask myself Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?
And each time I feel like this inside,
There's one thing I wanna know: What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?
Ohhhh What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

And as I walked on Through troubled times
My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
So where are the strong
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony? Sweet harmony.
'Cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me wanna cry.
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?
Ohhhh What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

So where are the strong?
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony? Sweet harmony.

'Cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me wanna cry.
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?
Ohhhh What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?
Ohhhh What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? "

The Latest, Not So Greatest, the Past, and Obama for President

As much as I love politics, the ridiculousness of our presidential campaigns sometimes gets the best of me. So I take a break and immerse myself in history where the characters seem more noble, less petty, and a hell of a lot smarter. Alas, negative campaigning and keeping women on the sidelines are as old as our country. But still, some of those 18th century guys were off-the-charts brilliant. If you missed it, buy the DVD for HBO's series John Adams and let freedom reign.

Generally speaking, though it's the media and the campaign experts and consultants and mercenaries (see David Alexrod and Mark Penn) who are more annoying than the candidates. For the first time in my life, I can understand some of the criticism of the Left. I'm not saying I agree with Republican policy but there isn't much intellectual or inspiring about today's liberal intelligensia. A few recent irritations and my reactions...

Samantha Power and Hillary the Monster
If you've read her book, The Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, which I highly recommend as it's one of my top-ten non-fiction books, you'd know she is no fan of the Clintons. Interestingly enough, she reserves praise in her book for only two American political figures - Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush with regard to foreign policy and action. When I was still an Obama fan I thought she was an excellent choice as a foreign policy advisor (one of many) because I thought she offered a unique view and understanding of the world.

Was I bummed that she called Hillary a monster?
Yea, I thought it was a cheap shot and it made her look like an amateur. It made me mad because I think she's brilliant. I hate when people I admire disagree with me!

Do I think she should have been fired or resigned?
Hell, no.

Democrats are always so spineless when demonstrating loyalty (and I count the Clintons among them) to their staffs when the press attention turns negative. She apologized a million times.
Get over it. She has a right to an opinion and a right to express it.


Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Chickens
I haven't watched any of the videos clips but from what I've read, I have to say I agree with a lot of what the man is saying. Did it really take Barack's overhyped (where he gave both his grandmother and the good reverend a slapdown) speech about race for people to realize that American blacks feel disenfranchised? Are you kidding me? I grew up in a very segregated city (not that New York is much better - it just hides it well) and I had enough relationships with African-Americans to know that they were treated and thought of differently by a large percentage of the white population. How is this news?

"The chickens coming home to roost" quotation (infamously used by Malcom X in response to a reporter's question about the assassination of JFK.) regarding 9/11 is exactly what Ron Paul said in one of the Republican debates, albeit, in somewhat less blunt terms. Rudy Giuliani then demanded that Paul apologize and he rightly refused to do so. If any American doesn't realize that our foreign policy plays a very large role in how we are viewed around the world then they need to immediately enroll in American History 101.

Does my statement mean I think 9/11 was an appropriate response? Of course not. I am pacifist who thinks violence only begets violence no matter how it can be justified. But America can't continue to intervene in political situations around the world and not expect violent ramifications. I do not believe there has ever been an American military action that was based solely on preserving human rights. Regardless of how we like to view ourselves, American economic interests are always in the foreground when it comes to military force.

I also like how the reverend reminded his audience that he served in the military unlike Dick-I-had-other-priorities-Cheney.

I haven't changed my mind about Obama but I think this is much ado about nothing. Do Catholics running for office have to defend some of the offensive, misogynistic messages that have come out of the Vatican? (Although the Catholic Church has always been right on poverty, war, and the death penalty - too bad most of their focus is on keeping women down.)

A small aside, Rudy is back in the news because he was given Communion during Pope Benedict's visit to NYC and as a twice-divorced man and pro-choice supporter, that's a no-no. The ever-evolved Cardinal Edward Egan of New York released a statement that he "deeply regretted" that Guiliani received Communion." How did Jesus Christ's teachings of love, forgiveness, and community get so distorted? Even if Rudy is a jerk and a professional Catholic who cares about giving him Communion? If he's going to Mass, doesn't that say something about his faith?

I always thought it was very revealing (and this is when I was for him) that Obama used Wright's "audacity of hope" line without giving him proper credit. It's such a powerful and a visual phrase - how could you not credit the source? Seems to me if he and Barry were really close, he would be laying low now instead of continuing to make speeches that inflame Fox News and force Obama to keep responding.

Poor, White People Are Racist and That's Why They Vote for Hillary
Yes, there are demographics that historically indicate that urban areas (with more minorities) will vote with Democrats. But in 2008, suddenly if you're white and poor, you are also racist and won't vote for Obama.

Why isn't the long list of rich, powerful, white men who quite publicly endorse and support Obama called sexist? Maybe because they are still the ones in charge - of our government, our corporations, our hospitals, our military, our educational institutions, our economy.

There is no question that neither candidate grew up poor or worried about getting a privileged and elite education. (Student loans don't cover the entire tuition tab.) It reminds me of the same tone after Hurricane Katrina. Why are the poor in this country continually regarded as stupid and/or criminal? Working-class -whether white, black, brown, yellow, female, male -does not equal stupid nor does it equal racist. Just like upper-class doesn't equal smart or evolved or liberal or open-minded. Racists come in all shapes and colors and genders. This is where Bubba always scored more points because even though he had an extremely privileged education, he never pretended he was better or smarter than the people voting for him. More about our Elvis president below.

Bill Clinton has forever tarnished his reputation
The man was impeached - do we really think some stupid comments in this campaign are worse than that? I don't think so. Bill's speciality is redemption. He'll be back.

But I do think he's more focused on Obama losing than Hillary winning. And so much for FOBs. All those people who the Clintons campaigned for (word to Claire McCaskill - there is a difference between a man who cheats on his wife and a pedophile. But if you are really worried, at the next Obama event, you might want to keep your daughter far from Bill Richardson -he is rumored to know a thing or two about sexual harrassment.) jumping ship like nobody's business. Political karma will eventually bite all of them on the ass, too. I wish one of them would just say, "Listen it's better for me to go with who I think is going to win -this way I'll get that political appointment I want."

And now a long-time MLW Readers and guest blogger, Kelly Johnson tells us ...

Why I Support Barack Obama
During the last eight years, I have either experienced or witnessed the negative changes that have occurred in this country. I am at the point where most days I can’t stand to look at the news anymore because of what I might hear next.

I’m either hearing about the number of people who have lost or are losing their homes due to foreclosure; or people losing their jobs due to outsourcing, off shoring, or the impact of the slowing/poor economy. I never would have thought that in 2008 we would hear about nooses hanging from trees or in places of business, or trees that only white people can sit under. Worse yet, that we would have a federal justice system that does not care or is no longer equipped to fight these injustices because they are inadequately staffed.

Then there’s the youth in this country. They’re either impacted by poor educational systems, lack of good health care, or have just run out of hope. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what I see as the slow decline of this country.

Now more than ever, something must be done to bring about serious change in this country. We need to be brought together more now then ever or we’ll continue to fight against each other, never move beyond where we are today, and just continue on a slow decline.

American needs a change…bad! We need a new point of view; we need someone who isn’t so out of touch with what’s going on in the real world because they’ve spent too much time in Washington. We need someone who has worked among us to bring about change. We need someone willing to work with the people who may be on the opposite side of the political aisle from them. Or someone who doesn’t have a problem meeting with our enemies in an effort to defend America’s interest. Remember the saying “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”

I believe that Barack Obama is that candidate and not only understands the issues that affect Black America, but America as a whole. He’s done something that no candidate running for president has done in many years; inspire hope in so many different people.

And to see so many young people inspired by his candidacy is also moving. The impact of Obama becoming president will send a ripple of hope to so many of our young people, it’s unbelievable. I think young minorities, especially men, will be impacted most of all. I think for the first time for so many of them, they will have real hope in their dream to become President of the United States some day.

I support Barack Obama because he’s smart, he’s capable, and I think he can bring about the right kind of change we need. I support Barack Obama because the issues I care about, he cares about and wants to correct the problems brought on by our current administration.

I truly and honestly believe he’s the right person for the job. That’s why I’m supporting Barack Obama for President.

Kelly Johnson is a communications professional who lives in Houston, Texas, and knows when to use a classic quotation from Don Vito Corleone.


The Last Word
This made me cry and reminded me of John Edwards best campaign line, "It's time to be patriotic about something other than war." Start watching at 4:16 if you don't have time for the whole clip.

Yes She Can

It ain't over til it's over. I don't know what over means but I do know this week,

• The press woke up (for 60 seconds)
• The voters took pause
• Something in the VOTERS is not yet decided

What is clear .....on to Denver.

And the Comeback Kid comes alive.

MLW's First Guest Blogger

As much as I love to write, I find that you, my readers, are often better and more interesting writers! In that vein, today's edition of My Liberal World has a guest editor known as DGB. Before we get there....If you'd like a shot being my guest blogger, just email me.

Last month's post, garnered the most comments of any post I've published -thank you for reading and caring enough to make public your comments!


A Shout-Out to...

Dorothy F. Bednar for voting in her 15th Presidential election (even if this was just the primary- Missouri didn't always have a primary!)

Micaela Johnson, Arthur Johnson, and Caroline Godfrey for participating in their very first primary caucus.

Here is what Caroline wrote about her vote...
I'm so excited that for the first time I got to voice, truly voice my opinion in the American Democratic system. The turnout was amazing; the place was soo crowded! People came to vote and were excited about it. Right before we went in to vote I was STILLL trying to figure out who to vote for. Hillary or Obama? Obama inspired me to care about voting, but Hillary is ready for the White House. It truly was a Super Tuesday!!!

Here is what Micaela wrote about her vote...
The reason I voted was to change America. I would like the economy to be reliable so i will be able to get a job in a few years when I graduate from college. I voted for Obama because to the young people in his country, he is fresh and clean and inspirational. Our generation wants a president with no history and Obama is brand new to us. He is uniting the young people of this country and that has to happen if we are really going to change America!

To the lovely woman who sat next to me at Hillary's speech at Hunter College last week who told me, "I'm a proud to be liberal because it means I look beyond my own interests and take into consideration the interest of others, too."

Who Will I Vote For?

I am a demographic. That sounds odd but that is what a pollster hack sees when he looks through his kaleidoscope to define who the voter is. I am divorced (anulled through the plenary power of the local dioceses), remarried to a beautiful and intelligent woman, a father of three incredible boys, and, I am a corporation. I'm a lawyer and I defend those accused of committing crimes.

I live in the world that most people are able to see and read about through the talented writings of more eloquent lawyers. In my world and yours, interrogations are not just a political issue limited to debate during times of war or presidential elections. They occur on a daily basis in any small town across the United States, not just in Cuba or some CIA building located in Europe. Those interrogated are not just the shoe bombers, the Muslims, or the Arabic men shuttled through the dark of night in an unmarked government jet.

Those interrogated are your neighbors, your co-workers, your brothers and sisters, and your children. When the government starts to chip away at our freedom because "it will make us safer," it should signal that we are about to give up something that is precious. We would never sacrifice something important unless there was something more important to be gained. That is why this con is always masqueraded as the pillow we lay our head on at the end of the day. The comfort we've been looking forward to, the security that we all need.

Is this what Malcom X thought when he said, "Don't be bamboozled or hoodwinked by the man!" Because that is what has happened over the last eight years. The demographic described in the first paragraph, has been so eager to trade his constitutional rights so he can take his wife and 2.5 kids to Applebee's and sit there safely and eat jalapeno poppers, that he does not give a shit that his son is, one day, going to be interrogated down at the county jail until he confesses to something he didn't do.

What is patriotic about letting the FBI conduct a "sneak and peak" search of your home because you donated to a questionable charity or surfed websites linked to terrorism? What is patriotic about letting the phone company and your internet provider disclose all of your records to overzealous field agents working for the Fed? What is patriotic about being stopped on the interstate and having to explain to a cop where you've been and what your intinerary is? Why do we sacrifice for safety? We don't. We sacrifice for political expediency. It's bullshit and it has to stop now.

I want a president that is going to value our constitutional rights. I want a president that looks to strengthen our right to counsel, our right to a speedy trial, and above all, the right of privacy in our homes. We've had enough and it's time to fight back.

I was recently impressed with the new-found strength of a client that sent her husband to the emergency room with a punctured lung. Mr. Tough Guy had been an abusive fellow for most of his relationship with my client. Taking advantage of her, as well as taking his problems out on her, she was his personal punching bag. She's been to the hospital, too. Black eyes, bruised spleen, broken jaw, and other "accidents" that afflict similar women. Tough Guy boasted that as soon as he came out of the bathroom she was going to get the ass kick'n she deserved for looking at his friends the way she did.

Things did not turn out so well for Tough Guy. He came out of the bathroom all fired up but he was greeted by the most appropriate of all things, a "survival" knife. After an extremely intense struggle, she called the paramedics to haul him off. She had enough.

Sure, he paid the rent, he brought home money for the kids to go to school, and money to put food on the table, but the security he offered was really none at all. Tough Guy had his own version of the Patriot Act.

Only fourteen Senators voted last year for change. Obama and Clinton were two of them.

Hillary is going to be my "survival" knife. Hillary is going to be my Big Sun. She can do what Obama dreams of doing.

Go listen to Eddie Vedder's cover of Indio's Hard Sun or read the lyrics.

Hillary is like the woman described in that song.

Hillary is the strength that we need.


When I first started defending people, I was frustrated when people told me that they appreciated my positive energy and my desire to fight their case and to fight for their defense, but they had decided to hire another attorney with more experience. However, after a decade of criminal defense work, I have not only gained the necessary experience, but the positive energy and the will to fight has grown stronger. When I look at Hillary, I see me. Hillary is not deterred by the obstacles and the challenges, those are her strengths, that is her energy. Hillary is my choice because I don't give a fuck where I lay my head down at night. Right now, the sense of security is false and I want it to be real.

I will hire Barack one day but not today.

Guest Blogger, DGB, a criminal defense attorney remains anonymous to protect his client's privacy.

My Vote This Tuesday

I begin with a shout-out to five of my nieces and nephews - who will participate for the first time in this year's election.

Micaela, Michael, Andrew, Caroline, and Arthur - rock the vote!

And second, a salute to Senator John Edwards. It was a honor to support a man, along with his wife, who was angry, authentic, and focused in his support of Americans who have not had a voice in this election, and more important, in this country for an obscene amount of time.

I hope that our next president finds him a place in their administration. Imagine John Edwards as Attorney General - now that's a way to banish the hideous memory of smug, torture-advocate Alberto Gonzales.

With Edwards' absence, I've had to reassess many of my opinions and judgments. I read what the pundits have predicted about which candidate will pick up his supporters. It is interesting to start with an almost blank slate when trying to decide who to support. So this week, I researched, I asked other people for their thoughts, I listened, and I read.

And this is what I noticed...

I see Hillary being crucified for running a campaign - a campaign just like men have run for years.

I notice that Barack and his campaign's personal attacks on her (from Michelle Obama insisting one had to get their own house in order before putting the White House in order to David Axelrod, Barack's chief strategist/political mercenary, associating Benizar Bhutto's assassination with Hillary's vote for the war) are downplayed by the media.

I see Hillary being criticized - once again -for her husband. What American isn't aware of the flaws of Bill Clinton? The false incredulity and disdain is beyond hypocritcal. I don't understand why calling someone's stance "a fairy tale" is demeaning. Isn't dismissing the impact of Bill's presidency while giving props to Ronald Reagan more distasteful? I find the praise of Reagan particularly insensitive to those of us who didn't get a drop of the trickled-down wealth of the 80s. The compassionate echoes of Barack's 2004 DNC speech that left me speechless in awe are less and less audible.

During the South Carolina debates, I heard Barack compare his work as a community organizer to Hillary's presence on the board of Wal-Mart. (and her comeback was just as sharp - I think slumlord was bandied about.) The truth is both Barack and Bill owe the freedom to pursue their passion for public service to their wives who pursued the right to make 76 cents on the dollar working for the corporate man.

The headlines this week are so 1992 -Hillary who "will do anything to get elected." Bill is risking his flawless reputation as "global leader." The Clinton machine has "an unquenchable thirst for power and will stop at nothing to achieve victory." You'd think that they'd hired Karl Rove to run things.

This same outraged press was mute while the junta led us into a phony war; stole an election; and questioned a triple-amputee Vietnam veteran's patriotism. A press who quickly forgot the national disgrace in the ongoing aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And all these self-righteous Democrats suddenly don the mantle of brave, ethical statesmen while forgetting their total and embarrassing submission to the Bush administration during the last eight years.

I used to complain about Edwards not getting media attention. This week I notice the disparity in coverage between the two remaining candidates. For example, how many times has the press mentioned the endorsement by Ted and Caroline Kennedy and now Ethel Kennedy? How many times have you read that Kathleen, Kerry, and Bobby, Kennedy, Jr. have endorsed Hillary?

The supposed biggest difference between Hillary and Barack is that he gave a speech against the war in 2002. Yet when he actually had the power to manifest that opinion as a U.S. Senator, we find that in 69 votes on the war in Iraq, he and Hillary have similar voting records. There is only one vote in which they differed. (Hillary voted against; Barack voted for confirming George Casey as Chief of Staff for the Army.) When Barack had the chance to -at least - symbolically stick with the his pre-election stance, by voting against the confirmation of Condoleeza Rice, he chose to go with the establishment. On his own website, the response to why he continued to vote for funding the war, was because so did the other Democrats. Now tell me again how he represents a breath of fresh air and progressive thinking?

So if there is no difference between Hillary and Barack in their overall stance on the war and other issues, how to cast my vote?

I've heard people say that jihadists will be less likely to attack the U.S. if a man with brown skin is our president. It has hasn't stopped anyone from killing the men and women of color who wear the uniform of the U.S. military.

I've heard people say Barack is inspiring young people to participate in the political process in unprecedented numbers. I have no argument with that. But surely there are some young women inspired by the first female candidate for president as well? Has anyone asked The White House Project and Emily's List for those demographics?

I remembered watching the healthcare debates in Las Vegas last spring. Even as an Edwards supporter, I was impressed by Hillary's performance. She was comfortable, confident, and comprehensive in her knowledge.

The next president is going to have a hell of a mess to clean up. This week at work a colleague told me she thought in terms of "who would I hire?" Makes perfect sense.

When you are under 25, you look for inspiration from those in authority above you because it's rare that you are doing the hiring. With age and experience, I think we demand something more substantial than just inspiration from those we hire or from those above us.

I'm not sure the person the LA Times describes as a poem and a self-proclaimed "work in progress" is who I would hire to clean up the disaster area that our government has become.

As you know from previous posts, being like JFK is not an asset in my eyes. He might have touched a generation with the poetry of his speechwriters (interestingly enough, Barack's speechwriters study the speeches of Bobby, not Jack) but his actual record is less than inspiring. And a lot of that inspired generation ended up fighting in a war he helped escalate. JFK didn't show much courage when it came to real societal change - a quick review of the civil rights movement demonstrates that.

When John Edwards said he had to step aside to let history blaze its path, I knew I too must make my contribution to this special moment in time. So I ask myself:

How can I ignore the impact of having a qualified woman -not just any woman -assume the most powerful position in the world?

How can I ignore that in 2008 women are still judged more harshly, paid less, and live in fear of their physical safety?

How can I ignore the possibility that the rampant low self-esteem of women could be replaced with a tidal wave of belief in their own potential for greatness?

How can I ignore the symbolic effect a female president could have on the dreams and aspirations of women in generations to come? Not to mention, the generations of men, too.

But in the end, the heart and the intellect must come together to choose -regardless of race, regardless of gender. So I am casting my vote for the candidate I think is smarter, tougher, more prepared, more able to facilitate lasting change through doing, and yes, more compassionate and more inspirational.

On Tuesday, in Election District 80 in Manhattan County, I am proud to say I will pull the lever for Senator Hillary Clinton.

Here We Are Now

Yes it's been a long time. Working for the man can do that to you. But it's all good because sometimes working for the man ain't such a bad thing. Good pay, good people, great benefits. I can't bitch when 45 million Americans don't have what I have...

health insurance.

So let's start at the beginning....answering questions from the last post about the war in Iraq. The war isn't much in the news these days because according to our extremely curious and deep-digging press (See post "The Fourth Estate") the surge is working. In reality, I think it's probably a combination of the Presidential election and celebrity obsessions.

No one responded to MLW saying that knew anyone in Iraq personally - a few extended relationships. I still don't know anyone personally - there was a guy who I was friends with in grade school but he is long since back. Imagine being sent to war at 46.

What have we accomplished in almost 5 years?
I know a brutal dictator was taken down. A dictator we supported in the recent past. I don't know of any other accomplishment to put under this category. With all the mainstream media support of Bush's war, it's surprising that I can't name more victories ripped straight from today's headline!

How many American servicemen and women have been killed?
Since the war began on March 19, 2003, the Department of Defense (DOD) lists 3,921 American soldiers killed as of January 12, 2008.

How many American servicemen and women have been injured?
28, 822. Twenty percent of these are serious brain or spinal injuries. More than 30% of soldiers returning home will suffer from serious mental health problems.

How many Iraqi civilians have been killed since the war began?
The DOD doesn't keep records of civilians killed in war. You would think we'd be interested in knowing how many people have been killed in a country we are trying to "save." But nope. Not interested.

A British polling agency, Opinion Research Business who has been working in Iraq since 2005, released results in September 2007, that report more than 1 million Iraqis have been killed since the invasion began.

More than 1, 000, 000.

Most reports say that under Saddam, 100,000 Iraqis were killed. Do the math and tell me we haven't created a new generation who will hate us.

How many Iraqi civilians are now refugees?
There are more than 2 million Iraqi refugees currently living in Syria and Jordan. That's about half the population of Iraq before America waged war.

How much have Halliburton's profits increased since the war?
Halliburton's CEO, David Lesar's stock has increased by $78 million since the war began in 2003. The company itself has profited $13 billion. Although it's subsidiary, Kellog, Brown & Root was sold in 2007 (after they were handed down indictments when a Pentagon audit revealed rampant overcharging), they still have contracts worth up to $18 billion including the single no-bid contract "Restore Iraq Oil." I haven't even mentioned their contracts in Afghanistan.

How much have oil companies profited since the war?
Exxon posted record profits in 2006 - 39.5 billion. The biggest in their history. According to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, "In 2006, the big five oil companies made $97 billion — nearly five times their profits in 2002."

She described this rise as obscene. I think it's safe to say the only oil company who wouldn't have profited during this time is the now-defunct Arbusto Oil Company because their CEO wasn't very smart. Although he was smart enough to go bust and still walk out with cash. I'm not sure if that's smart or corrupt.

Now the Election

I think this race is going to topple a lot of longstanding conventional wisdom when it comes to American presidential elections. I can't tolerate TV coverage because all the reporters are so ridiculous - more interested in their celebrity status than actual journalism. Can we please get Bill Moyers to moderate a debate.

I watched both debates the first week in January and it continues to amaze me how the media and other candidates laugh at Ron Paul's wise comments about our foreign policy. Rudy Giuliani, in particular, makes such incredibly ignorant statements that I can't believe anyone takes him seriously. He is especially ridiculous when he talks about knowing how to handle terrorism. As a reminder, Rudy -against all expert advice- placed his emergency operations next door to the heretofore only American location attacked by terrorists -hardly indicative of good judgment.

The truth is - anyone is going to be better than George Bush. But we actually have a choice this time, so might as well be particular.

Who I Support and What I Think About The Others

I'm still for John Edwards. I've seen him speak twice since the last posting and each time he's impressed me with his vision for the future. He's not in the press much except as being behind in the polls and being portrayed as "too angry." He's still has a more passionate and authentic narrative than any of the other candidates. An AP article this morning indicated he still has 20% of American voters behind him and they are considered very loyal.

I think while John's message has hope it reminds us of what's under the carpet. Americans in this day and age are extremely judgmental about poverty or they feel all sorts of power about monitoring how their tax-deductible charity is spent. On the one hand, I agree. Life is about choices. Fiscal responsibility is a powerful choice.

But I can tell you, that it's by the grace of God that some of my bad choices and fiscal irresponsibilityhaven't landed me in a low-paying job, living in a crappy, unsafe apartment, with too many kids, and an abusive husband. At each step of the way in my life, there were people or institutions who extended themselves to help me. From work studies in high school to student loans for college to friends who got me an interview at the right place, I had help. That's what makes my experience as an American great. The ability to move up with encouragement and help. I didn't get here on my own.

My bottom line with Edwards - he's the real deal.

Hillary Clinton - I think she's the best debater, very competent, and brilliant. I think her tears were real. Trust me, I have cried more than once in the bathroom at work. And while I've had some shitty bosses (both men and women), I didn't have to put up with the indignity of journalists and pundits making fun of my hair, my ass, my cleavage, and my clothes. And yes that's what you get when you are in the public eye but why do we tolerate that?

And contrary to Maureen Dowd's misogynistic (yes, she's a woman-hater) comments, I think it was more than just about losing. I am conflicted about not supporting a woman because it's about damn time we had a woman as President. All this talk of being power-hungry. Why is wanting to have power to make changes a bad thing? Men have thirsted for power since time began but someone how it's evil when it's a woman.

My bottom line with Hillary - she keeps supporting the war and she's has so much lobbyist money behind her. How is she going to get universal health care that doesn't ensure the insurance and pharma companies keep reaping the monstrous profits?

Barack Obama - He's the male version of Hillary as for as special interests. He's got Wall Street and is only second to Hillary in health care lobbyists behind him. I was impressed that Samantha Power is his foreign policy advisor. Sure he was against the war in 2002, but once he got power, he voted to keep the funding. And yes the troops need funding to maintain but where's the fight to bring them home? Where's the fight to make sure they are adequately cared for when they return?

Smooth, elegant, intellectual, and aloof. I met the guy when I was at the height of my support for him and even then I could say he was not warm. Friendly but not warm. I think he's a poet and I think he's an unparalleled orator. I've got his DNC speech on my iPod! But I think he's the Ronald Reagan of the Democratic party. Great looks, great brain, great words, great speaker - but what else is there? I like his wife better.

My bottom line with Barack - I thought he was Bobby Kennedy and he's Jack instead.

Gail Collins wrote in The New York Times last week, "Who is 21 and not for Obama?"
Gloria Steinem endorsed Hillary.
Michael Moore is behind Edwards.

I think it's up for grabs. Still.

Questions for You

Who are you for?
Which network do you watch for coverage?

Do You Know?

As we head into Memorial Day weekend, which according to Wikipedia, is to honor U.S. men and women who have died in military service, I have a few questions. If you know the answers, please post them in Comments.

Do you know anyone serving in Iraq?

Do you know anyone who has died in Iraq?

We are not a country at war. We are a small percentage of Americans fighting for a cause no one can describe, against a country that has done nothing to America.

There might be insurgents there now -since 2003 - who are sponsored by terrorist parties but there is no proof that they were there before we started this war.

We -as citizens of a country supporting pre-emptive war- have sacrificed nothing for this war.

Nothing.

Not a dime.
Not a drop of blood.
Not a moment of our time.
Not a gallon of gas.

Although I bet those of us with SUVs are bitching about $3.50 a gallon.

The Bushes even broke tradition to decorate the White House at Christmas. Never before had that been done when America was at war. (Thank you, Nancy Johnson, for that fact.)

And George Bush and his chickenhawk junta support the troops?

I pass by a very small group of people at St. Paul's Church in Lower Manhattan every Monday evening at 5:00 p.m. who have stood vigil there since the war began.

In 2003.

4 years ago.

Next week, I'm going to join them.

What have we accomplished in 4 years?

Do you know how many American service men and women have died?

Do you know how many American service men and women have been injured?

Do you know how many Iraqi civilians have died? By civilian, I mean women and children.

Do you know how many Iraqi civilians are now refugees?

Do you know how much Halliburton's profits have increased since 2003?

Do you know how much oil companies' profits have increased since 2003?

Please ask anyone you know who supports this war to answer these questions.

Then ask them if they would send their son or daughter to fight this very critical war for our nation.

The Shame List
It's only partial. And it's in red for the blood on their hands. They can use all the phony and politically expedient language that will make them re-electable and prevent anyone from saying they "didn't support the troops." But they are no way supporting the troops by allowing this measure to pass. They can kid themselves for the rest of their political career.

100 billion dollars.

But they can't fool MLW.

Claire McCaskill (D) - Missouri.
I'm sorry I shook your hand and congratulated you on your victory in January. You are an embarrassment to all women of Missouri.

Chuck Schumer (D) - New York
Why didn't you vote, Chuck?

Diane Feinstein (D) - California
How can you look at yourself in the mirror? San Franciscans should revoke your senatorship.

Evan Bayh (D) - Indiana
I bet if you were running for President, your vote would be different. You'd have to keep up with Hillary and Barack, wouldn't you?

Mary Landrieu (D) - Louisianna
Not really a surprise, you sold out your own people on CNN during Katrina until Andersen Cooper shone a bright light on your political ass-kissing.

Robert Byrd (D) - Virginia
You can't tell me you prayed and then voted this way. After all this time in the Senate, you don't have the courage to vote the right way? And you carry the Constitution in your pocket? It is besmirched by your presence.

Joe Biden (D) - Rhode Island
Yes, Mr. Foreign Policy. What a wise and thoughtful vote. How many sons do you have that could enlist?

James Webb (D) - Viriginia
After you smarted off to Bush - you vote for his war? With your son over there?

The 14 Lone Rangers

Boxer (D-CA)
Burr (R-NC)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coburn (R-OK)
Dodd (D-CT)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feingold (D-WI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Obama (D-IL)
Sanders (I-VT)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Former VP Al Gore spoke across the street tonight at the 92nd Street Y. My neighborhood was full of Gore 08 button-wearing people. I asked a woman how he did - she said, "He was forceful."

Yea, it's about time.

Only he and Edwards are speaking truth these days. Inconvenient or not. But let's focus on haircuts, why don't we? Because that is what really matters in politics and for the future of our country.

I'm a liberal feminist. I make a middle-class salary. I got my hair cut and colored a week ago. I do it every 4-6 weeks.

My bill was $300.

Yes. It's crazy. Yes. It's vain. Yes. It's way too much money. And I bet, 10 women who read this blog could give me similar figures on what they spend on their hair.

Please tell me how that makes any difference to my political views? My dedication to making this country a better place to live? My commitment to those less fortunate than me?

Yea didn't think so.


The Last Word
Why is Alberto Gonazales still our Attorney General? How is this possible?

Ad Astra Per Aspera

Ad Astra Per Aspera

This special edition of MLW is in tribute to the people of Greensburg, Kansas and Governor Katherine Sebelius (D). The title of the post is the Kansas state motto, "to the stars, through difficulty."

As you know the town of Greensburg was devastated by a tornado last week. Twelve of their total population of 1,600 people were killed.

State emergency response resources were slowed because - like the towns impacted by Hurricane Katrina -a large percentage (60%) of National Guard equipment is being used in Iraq. Governor Sebelius was outspoken about the resource deficit and was derisively dismissed by junta propagandist, Tony Snow. Mr Snow-Job blamed the governor for the lack of resources by saying you have to ask for something in order to get it and the only thing she had asked for were FM radios. Here you'll find a history of the governor's requests for replacement equipment dating back to 2005. Some reports say that 90% of the National Guards across the nation face the exact same resource deficit. We see how this impacted the citizens of New Orleans and we see how difficult it's becoming to keep blaming the victims.

If you've got anything extra to spare, think about donating to this brave little town in the heartland. You'll find a link to one of the local organizations partnering with the American Red Cross on the right under "Give If You Can." An MLW reader in Houston, Kelly Johnson, provides this link to aerial photographs of the destruction.

The Fourth Estate - Blood on Their Hands

This week, I bow to the best journalist in my lifetime. In his special, Buying the War, Bill Moyer's dignity and integrity stands far and above today's media. The non-celebrity grunts at Knight Ridder also earn this distinction because they take their role as journalists seriously - they do the actual work of reporting that the hacks at the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) are too scared (lazy) to do. Their fear seems more connected to their personal bank accounts and status as celebrity journalists than it does to incurring the wrath of the junta. Even Oprah should be ashamed of herself - watch her slap down an audience member who dares question the war.

This story is also definitive proof that the Big Three and The New York Times are not liberal. Ever since I read "Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in the Media" and saw "Manufactured Consent," I realized that while there may exist a liberal press in America -it is not mainstream nor is it referred to as journalism. More than often than not, the non-mainstream view is considered "out there cranks," "kooky and paranoid," and "anti-American."

When did questioning authority go out of fashion? On September 12, 2001? Or was it on December 12, 2000, when a non-violent coup d'etat led by the U.S. Supreme Court put the junta in power?

I remember coming to work the morning after John Kerry had been nominated as the Democratic candidate for President in 2004. The security at work was heightened and the headlines were not of Kerry but of then Attorney General, John Ashcroft, revealing a terrorist plot to blow up financial institutions, that the FBI had miraculously foiled. When I questioned the timing and the veracity of the claim, a consultant told me I was "out of control with the cynicism." Not cynical at all as it was later proven that the discovery of the plot had happened months before - with no fanfare or suggestions to tighten security - and the timing was to distract from Kerry's nomination.

The Moyers piece is five parts around 15 minutes each but it is well worth watching. If nothing else but to see the most overrated journalist in America, Tim Russert, flounder under Moyers succinct questioning.

I do wish Moyers had questioned Bob Woodward whose ascent to Chief Propagandist under the junta (until it was more lucrative to criticize it -unfortunately, that MO hasn't worked too well for George Tenet) almost, almost negates his role in bringing down King Richard.

France Stays Red

In France, it's Sarkozy. Eighty-five percent of the French electorate voted today.

85 percent of eligible voters voted.

Imagine asking Americans to vote twice within a two-week time period!
I had hoped it would be Madame Royal but fear seems to have won over faith. Maureen Dowd wrote her usual inane column today (with an inappropriate French word in the title. I'm pretty sure she didn't mean to say "The Countryside, That's Me" in her Louis XIV play on words) but she did provide an interesting description of Sarkozy, "the right-wing front runner is a brute, Rudy Giuliani without the restraint." Rudy the Rock, as Chirac called him - being compared to a French politician - quelle horreur for the right wingers in America! It would be interesting to see Rudy actually act with restraint in order to make an objective comparison. (LePen refers to a far-right, openly racist candidate. Sarkozy as Interior Minister once referred to immigrants in Paris' northern suburbs as "scum." He made these statements shortly before the three weeks of rioting in 2005).

Condi's Dad was a Black Panther
Just kidding - but that headline is an example of how the junta and the American media manipulated the march to war. I have never read about our Smoking Gun Secretary of State's father but in the Time's Lede blog post about the anniversary of Kent State this week, the following response was included. Dean John Rice, died in 2000 but the story below made me wonder what he would think of his daughter's role in this atrocious and unjustified war.

One college dean whose identity may surprise your readers was deeply disturbed by the Kent State shootings at the time. He was the father of our Secretary of State. Chip Berlet, who edited the student paper at Dean Rice’s institution, wrote this account in 2004:

“When I hear Condoleezza Rice defending the war in Iraq, I think of her father denouncing the war in Vietnam. Condi’s dad was a Dean in the college of liberal arts at the University of Denver in the early 1970s when I was editor of the student newspaper, the Clarion. His name was John Rice, but no student dared call him that. He was an imposing figure, and we all called him “Dean” Rice.

In her book "Bushwomen," Laura Flanders traces how Condi Rice was recruited by right-wing Republicans. Flanders recounts how Ms. Rice, speaking at the GOP convention in Philadelphia, said that her father “was the first Republican I knew,” and claimed “In America, with education and hard work, it really does not matter where you come from; it matters only where you are going.”

That’s not what I learned from Dean Rice. I took his class “The Black Experience in America,” and continued to attend the seminars with his encouragement. The seminar was built around a series of invited speakers who lectured in a public form followed by classroom discussions. That’s where I met Fannie Lou Hamer, a black voting rights activist from Sunflower County Mississippi, who led the successful challenge to the all-white Mississippi delegation to the 1964 Democrat Convention. That’s where I heard Dean Rice explain that he had always refused to register as a Democrat because that was the party of the bigots who had blocked his voter registration when he and his family lived in the South.

Dean Rice may have been registered as a Republican up North, but he taught me about working for progressive social change and opposing institutional racism.

He taught me that white people like me enjoyed privileges routinely denied to blacks. He taught me that the proportion of blacks serving in Vietnam was tied to economic and social policies at home. And he pointed out that along with this knowledge came an absolute moral imperative to act.

The seminar speakers invited by Dean Rice included a wide range of perspectives–from members of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, to exiled South African poet Dennis Brutus, to Louis Farrakhan explaining the teachings of Black Muslim Elijah Mohammed, to Lee Evans and John Carlos who were organizing black athletes to resist racism. It was Carlos and a teammate who gave the black power salute after winning medals at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

I still have a tape of the lecture by Andrew Young who was then a leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It was long ago, but I think I remember Condi as a teenager all dressed up playing the classical piano introduction to Young’s speech. Condi was so smart and talented she was a bit scary. We all knew she was being groomed to go far, but we never suspected she would end up painting a public picture of her father that many of us would not recognize.

Dean Rice had high standards for all of us; and as his students we respected him enough to ask him to speak in May of 1971 at a campus memorial service for the students slain at Kent and Jackson State the previous year. Dean Rice eulogized the dead students as “young people who gave their lives for the cause of freedom and for the cause of eliminating useless war.” He read the names of those from the university community who had died in Vietnam. He spoke of the atrocities.

Then he challenged us all: “When tomorrow comes will you be the perpetuators of war or of peace? Are you the generation to bring to America a lasting peace? Or did your brothers and sisters at Kent and Jackson State die in vain?”

More than thirty years later I leaf through old issues of the University of Denver Clarion and old letters from Dean Rice. On the television I hear the Bush Administration justifications and rationalizations for the war in Iraq, the war on terrorism, the endless wars. And I know that what I taught my child, and what I teach others, is shaped by the question asked by John Rice in 1971: “When tomorrow comes will you be the perpetuators of war or of peace?”

The Last Word
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This Week Other Peoples' Words Are Better

Sometimes you have to concede when someone else's words are much better than yours. This week, first, I hand the keyboard over to an 80s icon for keeping it real, and then to the group that brought a political grassroots movement into the new millennium.

A shout to Paulie B for sending this to me. I checked on Urban Myth and it's real. Lee is cooking!

Lee Iaccoca Speaking Truth to -Everyone!

"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.

But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.' Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out! You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, 'Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people.' I'd love to as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests.

Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. (ed. note, Take that Karl Rove!)

Who Are These Guys, Anyway?

Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy. And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together. Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?

The Test of a Leader

I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points not ten (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the 'Nine Cs of Leadership.' They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely. So, here's my C list:

• A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the 'Yes, sir' crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines,' he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, 'Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.' Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go. If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.


• A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. 'The President was serene,' Joe recalled. 'He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'How can you be so sure when you don't yet know all the facts?' Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. 'My instincts," he said. 'My instincts.' Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush, 'Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough.' Joe Biden sure didn't think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't. Leadership is all about managing change whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.


• A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.


• A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, 'If you want to test a man's character, give him power.' George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths for what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.


• A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk. If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.


• To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake. It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.


• A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a at guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she was going to go right through the roof.


• A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA President. Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA President, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.


• You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie used to tell me, 'Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horseshit from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it.' George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of- a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush. Former President Bill Clinton once said, 'I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world and I like it here.' I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while.

The Biggest C is CRISIS.
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero.

That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith-based, not reality-based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, I don't know what will.

A Hell of a Mess
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way.

These are times that cry out for leadership. But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen and more important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry. I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.

The Last Word from Those Who Know More

Veterans and their families speak their truth.