Tea Parties: An AstroTurf-Roots Movement

April 14, 1865 - Abe Lincoln Has Died Today

April 14, 1865
April 14, 1865: Lincoln fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending play at Ford's Theater, Washington, D.C.

A southern sympathizer loyal to Virginia, Booth was a twenty-six-year-old struggling actor at the time of the assassination. Shortly thereafter, after escaping to Maryland and then Virginia, he was apprehended and shot to death during a struggle with federal agents in a barn in rural Virginia.

-----


A 19th-Century poster


"He dreamed at night of his death by the hand
Of a bitter world and a faceless man

And he saw his body in a ghastly dream
Draped in black while his widow screamed

Two silver dollars on his eyelids lay
"Abraham Lincoln has died today."

- From the song "John Wilkes Booth" by Mary Chapin Carpenter

THE PREMONITION

"About ten days ago, I retired very late. I had been up waiting for important dispatches from the front. I could not have been long in bed when I fell into a slumber, for I was weary. I soon began to dream. There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs. There the silence was broken by the same pitiful sobbing, but the mourners were invisible.

I went from room to room; no living person was in sight, but the same mournful sounds of distress met me as I passed along. I saw light in all the rooms; every object was familiar to me; but where were all the people who were grieving as if their hearts would break? I was puzzled and alarmed. What could be the meaning of all this? Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and so shocking, I kept on until I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. There I met with a sickening surprise.

Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng of people, gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face was covered, others weeping pitifully. 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers, 'The President,' was his answer; 'he was killed by an assassin.'

Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd, which woke me from my dream. I slept no more that night; and although it was only a dream, I have been strangely annoyed by it ever since."

-- President Abraham Lincoln

For Becky

My condolences go out to Becky, author of the blog "Benny's World". Sadly, Becky lost her mother this week. My prayers and healing thoughts are with Becky and her family.

The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through
My instrument
And his song is in my soul --
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
Im just a living legacy
To the leader of the band.

The One Man Village by Simon El Habre

The One Man Village - Trailer
Source: www.youtube.com
A Feature Documentary by Simon El Habre

Semaan is a farmer leading a quiet life, in the small village of Aïn El Halazoun, in the Lebanese mountains. He wakes up at the crack of dawn, tends to his cows and other animals and prepares the produce he will sell at the market

During the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), Aïn el Halazoun was completely destroyed and eventually deserted. Its original inhabitants, all from the El Habre family, regularly go back to the village to visit their houses and cultivate their plots of land, but they always leave before sunset.

By observing life in a quasi ghost village, the film reflects upon collective and individual memory, in a country whose inhabitants seem unwilling to learn from their past, even while on the brink of a new civil war.

From ODE Magazine -
Semaan Bilda’ia: A Glimpse at Peace

"Sometimes a film can make a difference. I just saw this one at Berlinale. Wow! [...]

Spiritual Healing Around the World

Spiritual Healing Around the World - Photo Essays - TIME Source: www.time.com
Across countries and faiths, the devout believe the power of the spirit can heal the ills of the flesh.

Civilian Deaths Stain US Military Support in Uganda

The troops did not seal off the rebels’ escape routes or deploy soldiers to many of the nearby towns where the rebels slaughtered people in churches and even tried to twist off toddlers’ heads. - from NY Times

I was sick at heart to have read that a US-aided military mission in Uganda has resulted in a killing spree unleashed upon innocent civilians in nearby villages. The civilians were targets of the Lord's Resistance Army. For all the good some may say we're trying to do, the massacre - 900 innocent lives taken - puts a stain on the US simply for having been formally involved and, if we were going to be involved, having overseen the result - a muderous mess.

I wonder what the Obama foreign policy team is thinking about this kind of military support? If the foreign policy of the United States is such that we're attempting to regain our reputation and are playing the part of our brothers' keeper, it seems we're playing it thin and candestine with too many innocent lives on the line. Don't we citizens have the right to be made well aware of what our nation's goals are in asserting our military efforts in this part of the world...and how far we'll go to achieve those goals?

There will be certain ideologues who will say that the US has few direct national security interests in Uganda and that we can't go around protecting every human right. There are some who'll say that they believe it's morally right to use US military to defend the innocent in an ever-increasingly interdependent world. As a pragmatist living in a nation that is struggling to stay economically afloat, I land somewhere in between, admittedly more on the side of protecting human rights because my conscience informs me that we can't just turn our heads and look the other way. Yet, if we're going to become involved, we can't go about it half-assed.

When innocents are massacred and it's shown that, for unclear foreign policy reasons, the US is becoming more intensely involved, it's time for US citizens to ask their leaders to start talking about Africa and our foreign policy goals in Africa for the 21st century.

See Jeffrey Gettleman and Eric Schmitt's NYTimes story

USPSA - Obama’s Peace Corps?

The the U.S. Public Service Academy [USPSA] has found a new home for communication on Twitter.com. Things seem to be happening very fast right now for Chris Myers Asch who, according to a January 6th article in the NY Times, "with no money, contacts or obvious qualifications, [..] quit his job three years ago at a Mississippi after-school program and started a campaign to create a civilian service academy — a West Point for bureaucrats."

Looks like a commitment with a whole lot of belief behind it...and support and/or endorsements from public figures such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden.

As of 5:30 today, here is a the USPSA's Twitter history [you may wish to follow them]:

Calling Senator Gillibrand's office
about 1 hour ago from web

Just got visited by ABC News about 4 hours ago from web

Missouri student supports USPSA: http://tinyurl.com/augz7j about 8 hours ago from web

Washington student supports USPSA: http://tinyurl.com/atzxhe 1 day ago from web

New York Times supports USPSA: http://tinyurl.com/d5pmym 1 day ago from web

Kansas student supports USPSA: http://tinyurl.com/bmm2o7 1 day ago from web

Reading the Baltimore Sun's column supporting USPSA: http://tinyurl.com/cualon 1 day ago from web

Building the U.S. Public Service Academy! www.uspublicserviceacademy.org 1 day ago from web

"Tear Down This Myth" by Will Bunch [Preview]

If the Reagan legacy has been a sacred cow for conservative ideologues these last twenty years or so, its near-mythical essence - after having been intelligently de-boned and stripped by Will Bunch in his new book - is seen in reality as more fast-food ground patty than juicy Ruth's Chris Porterhouse.

Let's face it - a lot more hamburgers have been served to Americans under Golden Arches than expensive steaks under chandeliers, and this should be made apparent as Mr. Bunch lays out the Reagan-era realities v. the right-wing myths.


Everyday Americans have lived with the effects of the Reagan years, where much pragmatic compromise was made for the common good, while those modern conservatives who've cleansed key truths and magnified the legend already cleverly self-created by the politically gifted President Reagan have pasted an almost-cinematic image of the man and his times on our collective memory like Smith & Wollensky on grilled short loin. You might say, in a figurative sense, that Mr. Bunch grounds it all down to everyman's chopped beef - no pretense - pass the ketchup, please.

You can read an excerpt from Chapter One of Tear Down This Myth - How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future [Simon & Schuster's Free Press] at Mr. Bunch's Philly Inquirer blog Attytood

Mr. Bunch lays out what he calls a "political three-step tango" - the great storyline that an aggressive breed of conservatives have used as a tool to win elections and perpetuate policies that fit their extreme agenda since Reagan left office. The steps of the dance include washing away negative references to actual occurrences during Reagan's time as President, awarding him far more credit than he deserves for positive turns of events during his time as President, and intentionally leaving out the fact that Reagan was, in reality and to his credit, a political pragmatist on key issues rather than an unyielding and impractical idealist.

I found this comment from Chapter One to ring particularly true:

"Reagan's devotion to certain principles was genuine, but it was coupled with an equally genuine belief in the importance of compromise and an understanding that you had to get the best deal you could under the circumstances," notes Stephen Knott, an associate professor of political science at the U.S. Naval War College who previously ran the Reagan Oral History Project while at the University of Virginia. "I'm not sure this part of Reagan's legacy is appreciated by George W. Bush and those Republicans looking for 'another Reagan.'"

Mr. Bunch suggests that the political genius of Ronald Reagan was actually found in his unique ability to create and say the words that shape ideas that last - and provide food for the makings of a legend by those politicos and think-tankers who'd stand to ideologically benefit - long after the speaker has proverbially left the building.

What Mr. Bunch also suggests is that perhaps the influential and publicly popular pragmatist who was the real Reagan was not a one-of-a-kind. While most of the Democratic primary contenders in Campaign 2008 couldn't seem to escape the "deepening shadow of the legacy of Ronald Reagan," Barack Obama seemed to intuitively understand the public desire for hope and optimism and decidedly sought to praise the political style of the twice-elected Republican. Mr. Obama told the editorial board of the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal in January 2008:

"Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not, and a way that Bill Clinton did not" [...] Seeking to elaborate, the Democratic senator said that "[w]e want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."

Today you see President Reagan's son, conservative talk-show host Michael Reagan pointing to Obama's political pragmatism while Reagan's other son, Ron Reagan, had endorsed Mr. Obama for President.
Strange days, indeed...most peculiar, Mama...

At Attytood, Will Bunch provides up-to-date commentary about his own book:

OK - but you may ask whether the Reagan myth matters as much now that George W. Bush is back at the ranch and President Obama in the White House. I would argue that it does. Increasingly, the GOP minority in Washington, including 41 senators with just enough votes to derail the administration’s proposals, is going to invoke the Reagan myth to continue to justify a tax system that harms the middle class and policies that ignore the scientific consensus on climate change. Look at the first major policy debate of the Obama presidency, over the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus. Democrats are under enormous political pressure to weight the plan toward tax cuts, and away from spending programs, which Republicans quickly branded as much pork - despite evidence that jobs programs stimulate the economy at twice the rate of tax reductions. "I remain concerned about wasteful spending that might be attached to the tax relief," House GOP leader John Boehner said - and right-wing talk radio was a lot less restrained. Ironically, the spending sought by the Democrats seek to undo the crumbling of America’s infrastructure and the failure to create "green-collar" jobs that dates back to the Reagan era.

And here’s another reason the Reagan myth still matters, and that’s because there’s a pundit class inside the Beltway that cuts its teeth in the 1980s and remains firmly convinced that America is a "center-right" nation, despite massive evidence to the contrary. These pundits will urge Obama to enact an economic recovery package in the Gipper’s image, ignoring the long-term harmed caused by Reagan’s brand of "trickle-down economics."

Unless we don’t let them - and tear down this myth.

I look forward to reading the rest of the book which can be purchased, if you're also interested, here or you can receive news from the book’s Facebook group here.

See Yourself at the Inauguration

This is really cool.
Click on the photo below and, if you were anywhere near the Mall on Inauguration Day, you'll see yourself. (Use the tools on the left).

Forbes List of 25 Most Influential Liberals in US Media

Romenesko is linking Forbes' list of The 25 most influential liberals in U.S. media. According to Forbes, Paul Krugman is Number One.

I'm wondering:
Where on earth is Steven Colbert?

Here they are from #25 (listed first) to #1 (last in order): Michael Pollan [25], Kurt Andersen, Kevin Drum, Ezra Klein, James Fallows, Gerald Seib [20], Andrew Sullivan, Glenn Greenwald, Hendrick Hertzberg, Matthew Yglesias, Maureen Dowd [15], Christopher Hitchens, Bill Moyers, Chris Matthews, Fareed Zakaria, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga ("Kos") [10], David Shipley, Joshua Micah Marshall, Rachael Maddow, Oprah Winfrey, jon Stewart [5], Thomas Friedman, Fred Hiatt, Arianna Huffington, Paul Krugman [1].

Israel Palestine - Fourth UN School Hit - Saudi Prince Warns US

Juan Cole is reporting that Israel has hit yet another UN school before ceasing fire. This will have been the fourth UN school to be shelled and, in this one, 1600 refugees were huddling from the airstrikes. More children are dead. Only two little boys dead - a small number, some may say. Ask their mothers how small.

The rationalizing that so many are willing to do in order to defend Israeli conduct during this time has become empty-sounding to people like me who, like many other US citizens, support the state of Isreal yet clearly see that the lack of even-handedness by US government has only fueled the cold calculations recently made by the Israeli government. Despite US political leaders blaming Hamas totally and at nearly every opportunity, Israel is losing in the court of US public opinion because conscientious people aren't buying it.

Professor Cole makes an excellent point when discussing Israeli election authorities who, by fiat, may "simply ban certain Arab parties from running in the next election." [Jonathan Cook, Alternet]

I agree with the belief that, in a world with ever-increasing diversity in populations due to immigration and a global community that becomes more closely-knit by the day due to modern technology facilitating instant communication, a monochrome ethnic nationalism is more and more difficult to maintain because the people of the world are watching as if they're looking into a picture window and seeing nearly every move governments make in real-time. They see the injustice that comes with cleansing a government of relevant voices - and how it stands to become a very sad apartheid. It requires more and more violence, as pointed out by Professor Cole.

Saudi royal family member Prince Turki al-Faisal has warned President Obama in a Financial Times op-ed that the Middle East peace process and U.S.-Saudi ties are at risk unless Washington changes their tack on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. al-Faisal says,

"Unless the new U.S. administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the U.S.-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk."

From: Saudi patience is running out by Turki al-Faisal, January 22 2009

This is not an entirely new idea coming from leaders of the region, by the way. In a rare November 2001 television interview, Prince Turki Al-Faisal had described how "[then Crown-Prince] Abdullah had sent a [pre-9/11] letter to [then new] President George W Bush in which he stated that relations between the two countries were at a crossroads because of unsatisfactory U.S. handling of the Middle East conflict.

Also being reported today in the Financial Times, President Obama has urged Israel to open Gaza's borders.

Gov Paterson Chooses Kirsten Gillibrand

I'm pleased to know that Gov. David Paterson has chosen Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Senator Hillary Clinton. The new Sen. Gillibrand will not have to waste a second being brought up to speed on the unique and longstanding economic troubles that have plagued Upstate NY and that predate the current economic crisis by a good number of years.

At a time when some voices are claiming that Upstate NY is being pushed to the side by
the current Governor's plan, the choice of Gillibrand as Senator may restore some confidence in Upstate citizens that their concerns and their job opportunities are important.

Gillibrand, currently serving in the House of Representatives where she serves on the serves on the House Armed Services Committee [Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities subcommittee] and the Agriculture Committee [Livestock, Dairy and Poultry subcommittee, Conservation Credit Energy and Research subcommittee and the Horticulture and Organic Agriculture subcommittee], has a website where you can see her stand on the issues. Some progressives will probably not like her stand on Gun Rights. In her district [NY-20], I doubt she ever would have stood a chance of being elected if she had not listened to the concerns of her constituents. As Senator, she will face a new and much wider group of citizens who will likely require her to think [and show that she'll listen] carefully about their views on that particular issue.

Already a member of a new Upstate Majority Caucus [made up of Upstate Democrats serving in the New York State Assembly, New York State Senate and the House of Representatives], Gillibrand will have greater influence, as Senator, in their collective unified effort to jumpstart the struggling economy of Upstate New York. [See The Albany Project]

Rep. Gillibrand founded the Congressional High Tech Caucus [along with Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX)] "with the goal of ensuring that the United States remains at the forefront of emerging technologies and high tech industries." [source: Online Office of Rep Gillibrand]

As Special Counsel to the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [Andrew Cuomo] under President Clinton, Gillibrand worked to strengthen enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act, which came into the public focus in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when the Bush administration attempted to indefinitely suspend Davis-Bacon and was politically unsuccessful (or, at best, unpopular) for having done so, reinstating it within a month under public scrutiny.

Any "Eli Stone" [ABC] fan can recognize Gillibrand's own dedication to service in her maintaining of an extensive pro-bono practice for clients whose voices are seldom heard and needs seldom addressed.


In other news:

This poor fellow only wishes to keep his giant hot dog.

Busted! World class musicians were arm-synching at the Inauguration ceremony. What a lovely piece it is! Here's the performance:



THIS SONG is dedicated to the world-class musicians who did a great job of arm-synching at the Inauguration.

America's Song [with Agape Choir as seen on Oprah]

LINK to Oprah video from Kennedy Center

Martin Luther King 1929-1968

"Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it."


Turning my thoughts to Martin Luther King:

[Listen to] "I Have a Dream" speech - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

[Listen to] "We Must Work" - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

[Listen to] "We Shall Overcome" Jun 17 1966 – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

New Obama Photo Shown (Pete Souza/Dateline NBC)

Obama's Whistlestop Tour Begins

Song of the Day: Love Train


An Historic Ride Begins After a Speech in Philadelphia (video below)
Photo: Reuters

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Obama gets on board for his historic Whistlestop Tour
Photo: Reuters


Photo: AP


One of the first (if not THE first) posted photos of the train as it embarks on its jouney to the nation's Capital for the Inauguration.
Photo credit: Jim MacMillan.net


Waving to the crowds

The Delaware Stop

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Record turnouts of citizens on an extremely cold day in Delaware

The Baltimore Stop


Photo: Reuters

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Suburban Guerilla has the transcript of the speech

Vote NOW for Department Of Peace

Got a message from Yoko Ono on Facebook this morning asking us to vote NOW for a Department of Peace: http://tinyurl.com/64r567 [change.org - "Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Non-Violence"] Please vote.

Innocence Speaks

This video isn't about propaganda or ideology. It's a video about real effects of war on children who have many questions, as you can well imagine. The video was created by Rula Mughrabi, 26 year-old Jordanian woman who works at a microfinance organization in Jordan.

Hillary Clinton's Confirmation Hearing

Politico: Clinton to emphasize 'smart power': http://tinyurl.com/8rzruq

OneCampaign: Hillary Clinton’s Remarks on Global Development http://tinyurl.com/8scafv

Iddybud Journal: "Microlending: Obama's Mother a Founding Force" [Sept 13, 2008] - Sen. Clinton spoke about this in her confirmation hearing today http://tinyurl.com/8qh7ew

Huffington Post/Ryan Grim: "..Clinton appeared to send a signal to Israel that that it would not have a free hand to operate in the Middle East."http://tinyurl.com/73byf3

Before I post an excerpt from a politics article by Paul Richter appearing today on the LA Times site, I offer my opinion as a blogger who's attended [and blogged] annual meetings of the Clinton Global Initiative [CGI]:

If most Americans could fully know what amazing progress Bill Clinton is making in "leading the leaders" to help the most disadvantaged people on the planet - whether they're leaders in the business world or writers/thinkers/activists or leaders as ordinary world citizens or leaders in NGOs or leaders of philanthropic institutes or dignitaries or heads of state - most US citizens would realize that the truly good and transparent work of the CGI is far, far beyond petty U.S. politics.

LA TIMES Excerpt:
[..] Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the committee's senior Republican, urged the Clinton foundation to exclude all foreign donations. He said the foundation represented a "unique complication" because of the risk that foreigners might think giving money will win favors from the former president's wife.

Clinton defended her husband, contending that plans for disclosure of contributors go beyond that required by government ethics watchdogs.

Clinton's foundation has worked to provide healthcare, particularly for people with AIDS in underdeveloped countries. It also promotes economic growth in Africa and Latin America, combats global climate change and works to solve such problems as childhood obesity in the U.S.

Matt McKenna, communications director for the former president, said by e-mail that the Clintons were "by far the most financially transparent former first couple in American history." [..]

Circus Time With Blago - Cartoon by Iddybud