Login HereDon't know about you guys, but I'd like my Constitution back.
Freedom and the Rule of Law: it is 2007 -- time for some accountability and a commitment to our nation and not just some ephemeral moment of its leadership. The President is a placeholder for a brief moment in history. The United States is more than a single Administration, and we must stand up for the principles on which this nation was founded. I will no more allow George Bush to dictate my understanding of the meaning of freedom than I will allow Osama Bin Laden to dictate that I spend my life cowering in fear.
I am an American. I am not afraid. And I refuse to be any less a patriot than that which my nation needs -- from 1776 forward until today, this nation has called forth to every generation to stand up and be counted as a protector of liberty. As Dr. King so famously said, "A time comes when silence is betrayal." I will not be silent. Not now. Not ever.
We hand over our rights to a false protector at our own peril. I refuse to do so -- silently or otherwise. They are my rights, they are my liberties, and they are my responsibility to protect -- every day of my lifetime.
It is equally the duty of members of Congress, who have sworn an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution and the laws of this nation of ours, to ask the questions and demand the adherence to those same laws by the Executive branch, a job which has not been done by the Republicans who abdicated this solemn responsibility in favor of a grab at the power ring and a few trinkets, and who heard the will of the American public in November rejecting that craven, self-centered dereliction of duty. For shame.
It is 2007. The time for accountability is now. For liberty. For equal treatment under the law. For freedom.
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Happy New Year!
Happy new year, Shooogarp. :)
Give’m both barrels Christy! (figurativly of course)
Happy New Year FDL!
Christy-
Your writing sometimes seems to echo what I was thinking of at the moment, maybe the night before in a conversation with my wife.
Last night at a New Year’s party with some friends I said the words that everyone in America should be saying. I’m not afraid. Last night while I was talking with friends I decided that in 2007 I am gonna just plain get in people’s faces. Call them on their lack of critical thinking and their abdication of the duty as citizens to be heard.
Dr. King was right Silence is betrayal.
For those who remember this post at FDL, a local corporatist now chooses to bastardize the success for a big ol’ corporate welfare program.
Vivisection here.
Whatta twit.
Christy — “We hand over our rights to a false protector at our own peril. I refuse to do so — silently or otherwise.”
a bit of amen to the chorus of courage and brilliance we find here, and may it strengthen until we can enjoy the fruits of rebuilding the founders’ dream.
shooogarp at 4 — that’s my favorite quote from all of Dr. King’s speeches. And it is the question that I ask myself when I hestitate to speak up about something — what is the reason for the hesitation, and is the resulting silence a betrayal.
Impeachment now!
Out of Iraq now!
Restore Integrity now!
The fight just never ends, does it.
Oilfieldguy @ 8
Not for this American.
Oh, and OFG.
Happy New Year. I always enjoy your insightful comments. Keep it up.
Thanks for the great year of posts Christy. This is also a powerful one.
I have a generational question, however, related to this issue. Having come to political age in the 60s I wonder why in this case (and the Iraq war situation) you and other leaders of the younger generation think it is better not to push for public demonstration. I’m not questioning the decision, and I know we now have other means available (as well as fewer ones - such as radio outlets playing various protest songs key musicians). Yes we won the election, and maybe we are now in a situation of wait and see, but, no doubt, there also will be pushback, and too many perhaps will feel (as now) that doing nothing is better than rocking the boat. So, in short, in taking back the constitution what strategy will work best. Interestingly, like net neutrality, maybe this is somethign that thoughtful leaders of both the left and the right and come together on to make happen without broad popular response. I don’t know.
For freedom.
Thank you, Christy.
Good to be fighting along with you and all at the Lake in the New Year.
Just a quick visit. I need to drive to Ft. Smith, AR to pick-up a compressor in the a.m.
christy,
in these first two posts you’ve set the tone at a really high level. no surprise there, but judging by the start of ‘07 FDL is going to have an even better year than in ‘06.
my deepest thanks to you and jane for your leadership. i think we foot soldiers will follow you just about anywhere.
OFG at 9 — No, it doesn’t. It’s pretty much a constant struggle between what is and what ought to be.
When I was at the symposium in DC in December, someone asked me how and why I started blogging, given my background as a lawyer and all the things I could have been doing to…um…earn real money and make incremental changes on a case-by-case basis. The response that I gave them seems appropriate for here: I got tired of sitting back and waiting for someone to step up and say the things that I felt needed to be said.
There comes a time where you have to step up and be the leader that you think is needed in a particular situation. And if there is any influence that I can have through my writing, then I have done what I set out to do at the start. We have to all BE and DO the change that we want to see, not wait for someone else to do it for us. That is the lesson that I took from 9/11, and all the days that have followed in its wake.
Right on!
Be a soldier or be a General. Hmmm. This is the crossroads I find myself at.
This is why I am so disturbed by the facility with which Bush views the ending of human life at his command.
The power to kill is the ultimate jewel of all fascists.
G.W. sure digs his killing.
No life, no liberty.
-GSD
Oilfieldguy @ 18
what would jesus do? heh heh heh ……..
Oh, and GO SOONERS!
Oilfieldguy @ 5
Never stop selling.
To me “progressive” just means the opposite of “conservative”, IOW, progressive people try to change things to make them better, conservatives think they’re good enough the way they are. Of course, neither definition truly describes the progressive or conservative political movements, but that’s a distinction people need to keep in mind when they’re reading this stuff.
Anyway, glad to know this guy is educating young minds. Talent like that shouldn’t die.
Richmond at 12 — Well, at 38 and counting, I don’t exactly think of myself as a young ‘un. *g* But purely from my perspective here in WV, the sentiment is not here publicly to do any sort of meaningful push in terms of protests. I just do not feel it as yet. In the 1960s and 70s, the draft really pushed that sentiment forward — propelled it really — due to the urgency that was there for everyone on every college campus and in every high school across America. That same sense of urgency does not exist today, for whatever reason, although I tend to think that the lack of a draft is a big part of that.
But I do live in a very rural environment. Maybe someone that lives in the midst of more of an urban center can speak to what the viewpoint is from there. A lot of the movement building in during the Vietnam era was centered around college campuses — and I am, unfortunately, too far removed from that framing to know what is going on with that these days. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Oilfieldguy @ 18
Generals have nicer offices.
Just a thought.
For all of our rejoicing over the Democratic sweep of the Congress we need to remember that we are in the midst of a process and that history won’t begin with the new year, it continues in an unbroken line from before our kind learned to write in its annals.
Let’s be grateful for our victories, but never let down our guard, for our enemies will not rest, they will not stop, they cannot be reasoned with.
If we can’t be bipartisan when dealing with these ugly destroyers we must use our majority to crush our foes, by whatever means comes to hand. I spit in the face of the cowards who call for comity only when they lie upon their backs with their bellies exposed.
Richmond @ 12
I come from that generation also, though from the consciousness expansion side rather than the street protest side. Still, i have felt the fear of gordon liddy’s helicopters surveilling over our farm. And i still wonder about the wisdom of hitting the streets.
Now more than ever, money rules society. If our congress won’t pull the funds for this idiocy (Not only the Iraq war is idiocy, but the faith-based assault on science that is killing the chances for amurka’s kids to participate in the world. Not that i’m not thrilled to learn that the Grand Canyon was formed from Noah’s Flood.), then i will!
When one third of the nation refuses to pay its taxes, then without going to the streets, we have changed history.
Richmond - I’m of the same generation and wonder about the same. There was great value in the mass gatherings you and I participated in at that time and I have been involved in years since with organizing demos and mass civil disobedience, etc but I wonder about the actual impact particularly with a dismissive administration and media. That said, I attend everything here in Chicago but … the teams who have taken on that organizing are not my faves. The events themselves are pretty deadly dull and seem closer to the old dogmatist socialist camps than to the vibrant resistance I find energizing and powerful. I do like the planned events at the end of this month that include lobbying of Congress - that sounds like something worth supporting.
Ah sweet Iraq democracy.
First a third rate, ham handed killing by masked militia thugs.
Now it is time to start banning tv stations.
Also time for the US to step up attacks on Sunni legislators too.
Sounds like the 80% solution is about to go into effect.
This time the US will be participating in the genocide.
-GSD
Another classic by Tom Joad:
In letting congress know we want our constitution back how about doing something along the lines of Crashing the Gate but handing out Greenwald’s “How would a Patriot Act?”.
Somehow it would be fun to see the look on Lord McCain’s face but he never permits the voters access. He is a BushCo all the way, handpicked crowds now too.
George Wallace changed his segregation tune when he had to experience a crippling to his freedom. Nancy Regan changed her stem cell tune when she had to witness the devastation of disease. Maybe Shrub and Dead Eye Dick need a dose of their own medicine.
Happy New Year, everyone. Thank you to Jane, Christy and all the posters here at FDL. Finding this place of thought and discussion and finely honed snark has been so very important to my renewed belief in my country.
The powers-that-be did a good job of drowning out our voices for quite a while. Those days are over.
I printed out something Trex wrote in a Late Nite post some time ago:
It hangs next to my computer and no matter how depressing the news is each day, that statement helps keep me focused and motivated.
2007 is going to be a wild ride. I’m up for it.
Moon — I would not wish the fear and heartache of having to worry about a family member or dear friend in uniform these days on anyone. Not even George Bush. But I would hope that he could have the wherewithall and the empathy to move beyond his “I’m always right, dammit” mindset to at least the closer approximation of sanity of “what if I am wrong” or “what could I be doing better.” Not that I’m holding my breath or anything…
Now I read Glenn’s book, “How Would A Patriot Act”, and didn’t do a book review, prolly cause I have never done one before.
But it seems to me, after chronicling earlier transgression all the way back to the founding of our country, and the efforts made by those who came before us to build the nation and beat back constitutional assaults, it was resoundingly clear to me the title of the book was directed to those who hold the book while reading it.
My late and much abreviated review.
Now, whatcha gonna do about it?
Domestic agenda: the Constitution
Foreign agenda: Geneva Conventions
which I’m pretty sure forbid aggressive war except for “imminent threat.” That’s why they forged the phony WMD documents. I’m sure the jury at the Hague will be understanding.
Thank you all for responding to my query earlier. Lots of insight and further query, which is what I love about this site. I think the draft was key, coupled with alot of life death (now or never) issues - civil rights, birth control, gender rights. Then as now there were good and bad leadership. However, I don’t think that then we felt we had much of a chance to change the political leadership structure, nor did we know how to begin. November was a great success - and an eye opener. That is what makes me so sad about the apparent demise of Air America (at least in Boston). Radio, I think was becoming critical in reaching a critical mass. But so too has been the WEB. Also, the opposition (the evangelical nuts and Neocons) are so out of touch and corrupt that they are an easy mark. I think another difference however is that there was far more well being (and dispersed wealth) in the U.S. back then, something which gave people a bit more of a sense of emotional freedom to challenge the status quo. Sadly now with the middle class dwindling, with more and more people holding 2 and 3 jobs, and with fewer able to afford a 4 year college education, there is a greater sense of anomie (nerves) which can be somewhat debilitating. But still, large numbers of people saw through alot of the crap in voting which is great. And, mega leaders like Carter and Oberman felt compelled to speak out and shout truth to power.
We have to prevent this from happening!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....sp?id=1520
GSD @ 28
GSD, are you familiar with the writing’s of War Nerd? He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but has a unique viewpoint.
Christy: A generation (in real terms) is about 20 years, so we are separated/joined by that difference. My 15 year old & the peanut (another interesting generation in the making) will likely be part of the next major shift.
Happy New Year to all Firedogs !!!
hey look what some other dirty stinkin hippies wrote 231 years ago . . .
half way through 2nd paragraph, dig it !
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/
The New York Times has a good article on the hours leading up to and following Saddam’s execution:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01.....r=homepage
You really have to wonder how we can expect anything from an Iraqi government that can’t manage a single, simple execution, a government that can’t organize itself or accomplish anything, that dithers endlessly but finally bestirs itself now for this and can’t even get that right. Yet this is the entity that Bush thinks is a responsible partner, that will take over from us. Maliki shows himself for the thuggish, bumbling clown he is (if there were any doubts). When you take our own bungler in chief into account, we are so screwed.
Hugh - but look at the counter story up on Raw now. We were in control of the whole thing. The NYTImes is just spin.
egregious @ 35
This is another of my wishes for the new year, that some one will get to the bottom of the Niger forgery, and that we will learn whodunit.
I believe, of course will no evidence at all, that the forgers knew what Bush wanted and provided the goods for money or favor.
The real crime is that they used the counterfeits knowing they were bogus. There is a tale to be told there, and I hope it comes soon enough.
This nails it for me too. This, plus the absence of a draft. My lotttery number was 333 and as the father of two boys (22 & 17) it’s absence/existence is constantly on my mind.
Crazy Horse @
26
i did both the consciousness expanding and the street protesting (Wash DC) and went to Cindy Sheehan’s demonstration in DC (Sept 24?). One, the demonstration was vastly downplayed in the media and no follow up editorials. Two, many protestors were coming in on Amtrak and damned if the train didn’t get stuck, arriving 12 (?) hours late. Three, i heard of some surveillance program in place and maybe there was a hint of some biologic agent detected in the DC mall. Four, the Halliburton camps just had their dress rehersal with the hispanic workers. Five, with no habeas corpus, etc, my enthusiasm to taking to the streets is somewhat diminished. But, still, protest we must.
Richmond - the other big difference I see between now and the days of the 60’s demos is that we used to believe we would be heard - we still had that JFK gleem, real democracy and all that … I know I thought (and I began going to demos at age 13 in ‘64) that if we could only get enough people into the streets to show the war should stop, our government, our democracy would listen. For me, the lesson of the 60s was that they do not listen - the war ended only when we were roundly defeated by the Vietnamese - and I fear the same is true today. We have clearly lost in Iraq but we do not have an administration willing to see the reality … when they do, they too will find a way to leave (though I suspect it will be much longer before they are forced to leave those permanent bases guarding those lovely oil wells)
The lessons of the 60s for me taught that action, often symbolic action, still has value standing up and saying no is am important act on its own, bearing witness to truth and justice has value in itself. But government change is a long, very long road and I simply hope my contribution to that road helps to move us forward …
Tim @ 44
I think this is the one important of this war that is truly different from Vietnam - most people’s children aren’t in danger of fighting it. The people who are in the military are the ones bearing the burden of this war, which to my way of thinking is not a good thing for the stability of the country. If the military and its country are too far apart, they’ll start to think of the rest of the country as a different group of people. Since they have the weapons and the training, that should be a sobering thought.
Christy –
I think of the Federalist Papers as the most important commentary on American political institutions and culture. They were written at time when the stakes for the Republic were very high, and they represent an articulate and important set of questions, concerns, and comments on the direction of the young United States.
You, Jane, and the rest of the community here, Glenn Greenwald, Digby, Steve Gilliard, Dave Neiwart, and the rest of (for want of a better term) Progressive Blogistan are our time’s Federalist Papers. Bits and pieces have reached print such as “How Would a Patriot Act.” We’re all concerned, and we all want our freedom — and the ability to participate in and be proud of — our country back.
Happy New Year to you, your family, and to all at FDL!
GW Clusterfuck has now butchered 3002 american troops in Iraq- of course this is just the tip of the iceberg with regard to his butchery in that country.
In Afghanistan- the butchery is growing- and fairly rapidly:
2004–butchered 58
2005–butchered 130
2006–butchered 191
2007–?
This is the military genius who is now figuring out his new STATERGY in Iraq
Fuckin cretin- if he doesn’t have the balls to resign- he oughta shoot himself as a blessing to humanity.
CBL - back in the 60s there was an amazing recording by Dick Gregory in which he encourged his listeners to turn off the sound of the news accounts of the riots in Watts and instead listen as he read those words … one of the most powerful things I ever heard.
scory at 48 — Right back at you. We could not do what we do here day in and day out without all of our wonderful readers and commenters. This is truly a vibrant, participatory community — and one for which I am very grateful indeed.
rwcole @ 48
No one with a working instinct for self-preservation would let him anywhere near a firearm.
Tim @ 44 - I was immoderate somehow. Hit Reload (A.K.A. F5) to see my reply at #47.
Cujo359 @ 52
Au contaire. They let him keep Saddam’s confiscated pistol nearby.
1,381 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizen Hardin Smith:
The only way that the constitution can be restored is through impeachment and decisive rulings of the Supreme Court. Impeachment is inevitable if investigations into all of the lawlessness, including the illegal surveillance, the lawless tribunals and the erasing of habeas, actually go forward. I am, however, not optimistic that the Congress will be able to go forward with it’s investigations because the White House will stonewall and threaten Congresspersons with treason if they disclose classified information. And, of course, the Supreme Court will seal the evidence behind whatever executive privilege claim the executive makes. The lawlessness of the tribunals, the torture , the renderings and the removal of habeas need decisive censure from the Supreme Court and that is not forthcoming from the 5 kangaroos currently makin’ up the majority.
The system of law and justice and the constitutional protections of individual rights that we all believe in and that you have given a good portion of your life to upholding and instituting are gone. I have no faith in the remnants of our political system being able to re-institute constitutional government absent the Supreme Court.
Whatever solution we find to this terrible moment in history will be extra-constitutional and won’t be forthcoming as long as the military remains loyal to the oligarchy.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION…WE’RE GUNNA HAFTA FIGHT FOR OUR FUTURE!!
It was symbolic that 2006 ended with a colonial hanging - most of it shown on state television in occupied Iraq. It has been that sort of year in the Arab world. The trial was so blatantly rigged that even Human Rights Watch had to condemn it as a travesty. Judges were changed on Washington’s orders, defence lawyers were killed and the whole procedure resembled a well orchestrated lynch mob. Where Nuremberg was a relatively dignified application of victor’s justice, Saddam Hussein’s trial was the crudest and most grotesque to date.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm.....75,00.html
Go Eliot!
I have some questions and would like to get some serious answers here - who sits around and thinks up ways to get around the Constitution? Is it Rove, Addington, a team of lawyers, the corporations, who is behind all of this? Bush isn’t that smart, but that is not my point. At what point is this going to stop? The Dems can hand out subpoenas all they want, but if the Bush Adm won’t participate, then what? What’s next? Martial law? or are we going to see a modern day mutiny take place in this country? What is going to stop the Bush Adm et al? What purpose does the gutting of the Constitution serve? Its not for the voters interest or in the name of the war on terror, but something else. That is the $64,000 question.
I’d like to see anyone in our government responsible for committing capital offenses, here or abroad, tried, and if convicted, hanged.
As 2006 comes to a close I would think that it would be a good thing to look behind us and assess our current place in this great nations history. At the same time, we should try to contemplate what were the events along our path that got us to this place.
Rarely is so very much that is so very historically significant been witnessed in so very short of a time span. Within 6 short years I have seen my America go from a land of hope and opportunity to a defacto Banana Republic complete with torture, crippling debt, arguably the poorest leadership in our nations history, coupled to unrivaled corruption of every stripe.
I will not rehash yet another long list of jaw dropping debacles. But I will say that the list covers the spectrum between New Orleans being drowned and forgotten to “Do I make you a little horny?” IM’s from our corridors of power. The only word that comes to mind is ’shameful’.
Things have gotten so bad in my humble opinion, that I no longer think of these shenanigans in terms of the short term political gains that might be gleaned for Dems in their wake. Instead, I find myself wincing with each new development. I shake my head with every sad rock that gets turned over. I grew up in the USA and I know that the USA is better than this.
But as they say, hope springs eternal. Counselors say that in order to get a junkie or a drunk to change their life, they will have to hit rock bottom. If this isn’t rock bottom then surely we must be pretty damn close. Perhaps our decision makers have collectively binged on power, hubris, corruption, avarice, fear and immaturity to the point that they are passed out in the alley, sad little reminders of their maniacal selves dripping spittle and wallowing in their own filth. Maybe I am wrong, they might have farther to fall. I do know that they have to “go through it in order to renew it”. My point is that maybe these horrible times may end up being a good thing in the long term if all the collective bullshit initiates a strong national awakening.
Things are never as bad as they seem. Americans are supernaturally resilient. We will endure, we will triumph over our collective weaknesses and the incompetent failures. We will emerge stronger and more optimistic than we ever thought possible. When Thomas Edison was successful on his 1000th attempt to invent something, he would say that he had found 999 ways not to do something! I am optimistic and I truly believe that our long and winding road to ruin will lead this country to a progressive rennaisance. Best of everything and Happy New Year!
tryggth @ 54
That’s a frightening thought on so many levels.
Richmond @ 12
Hi Richmond -
The Ruckus Society provides environmental, human rights, and social justice organizers with the tools, training, and support needed to achieve their goals.
That’s our mission statement text: in practical terms, Ruckus provides the tools for non-violent direct action (including mass assembly) to social change groups across North America and the world.
Ruckus resumed large Action Camp trainings in 2006, and I was again able to join them as one of the camp medics.
I’m delighted to report that the young community leaders I served at Ruckus are quite open to large mass actions in the service of non-violent ends to the Endless War on Freedom (GWOT).
Even Political Insider expects major mass protests in the spring of 2007:
If the writers at Political Wire think the next big voting lever on Iraq will be pulled in the streets, they are just now learning what I heard last summer in Indiana at Ruckus camp - from our “students”.
When the ‘06 elections don’t end the war, the ‘07 marches will.
Spring is coming - good time for teaching and sharing mass action skills.
And for the first small patriotic marches to wend their way through small towns to the local cemeteries…and perhaps on to vigils for the Constitution and our Republic.
The (ex-?) Stalinists in the neo-con think tanks chose to start this war - we’ve seen what their War on Freedom brings: chaos and ruin.
Bush and his neo-con owners have nothing to offer.
They never did.
The marches that end this war won’t have the tired (ex-?)Stalinists from ANSWER spouting the same angry cadences and hatred.
Nope, the 2007 marches that end Bush and the neo-cons’ War on Freedom will have the mothers, fathers, wives and husbands of the vets and of the survivors of our War on Brown People.
ICE chose the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe to escalate the War on Brown People.
And trad media thought the pro-immigration marches of 2006 were big?
That was before the Freedom Marches of 2007.
We - people who cherish family and community and peace over slogans and greed and ideology - we truly are everywhere.
The marches of 2007 will see us grow and strengthen our bonds and our work for freedom and peace and the living world - three treasures we shall protect and reclaim from the megacorps and the governments they purchased and corrupted.
When I came of age there was a draft, but for reasons other than patriotic I joined the army. It was not a pleasant interlude, as I found myself incompatible with military life. I managed an honorable separation after my three year obligation, nonetheless.
The soldiers I found myself among were not the cream of the crop. We weren’t baby killers or lunatics, by and large, and most were pretty solid. Many, if not most, were draftees. My RA service number prefix stood out like a sore thumb among the crowd of USes.
I think the move to higher standards and volunteers is a good thing for the most part, but the prospect of a separate “warrior class”, a class that owes allegiance to the commander or the regiment before country is a genuine danger, and one that must be guarded against.
Richmond @ 42
I disagree. It is hubris and a mistake to think that we hold a monopoly on stupidity. A lot of the world is run by thugs and they are not our thugs.
The Iraqi government is usually both ineffective and ineffectual but in the execution of Saddam at least it was calling the shots. That it couldn’t handle a simple execution without bungling it says a lot about Bush’s vision of it as a responsible partner. That leaders like Maliki couldn’t distinguish between justice and vengeance says a lot too about the absence of a civil society in Iraq and the little likelihood that one will develop there any time soon.
Another good (more general) take on the Saddam trial and execution by Fareed Zakaria can be found here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16...../newsweek/
I often disagree with Zakaria but I agree that our original mistake was in handing Saddam over in a legal (although not physical) sense to the Shia dominated government instead of trying him in an international court or in a Nuremberg setting. My criticism of the Zakaria article is not one of content but of timing. It could have and should have been written sometime between when Saddam’s trial began in October 2005 and when it essentially finished in June 2006. At that time it would have been insightful. Now it is a good summary of the obvious.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 33
I was only thinking that maybe they should have the experience to actually see the results of their own orders. Or maybe even visit Gitmo and witness life in a cage, with no way out. I would never wish for any ill to come to anyone, even them. Of course seeing either one of them spend the night in a drunk tank might be interesting.
I think that the notion of “taking to the streets” like we did in the 60’s-70’s. While the war in Vietnam was certainly what galvazined the “movement” there were many elements that simply don’t exist today. When you combined the impact of the civil rights and women’s movement, music, and drugs it was a volatile cocktail that is very difficult to replicate. While there were millions of well meaning people who took to the streets there were also some really crazy people and a good measure of “agent provocateurs” who fomented violence and really hurt the cause. Many people turned away from that kind of activity by the ealry 70’s tried to work on local issues. We see the same kind of things at some of the big demonstations where small groups are able to provoke the cops and get people hurt.
Christy, Thank You.
I want my constitution back. I want my America back. We were able to retrieve our America after Viet Nam. This time I am not so sure.
We have been a world leader and steered our own course for so long, it seems like a natural law. It is not. If we force the rest of the world to curb our excesses because we will not, it will not end there. If things progress to the point of World Court intervention, a process will begin that we cannot avoid, short of building a wall around the country.
Here’s to changing from within. Fight the good fight.
See ya in Gitmo!
Christi and crew,
As your post observes, not everyone has the same appreciation of what ‘freedom’ is. Our current president has an understanding of ‘freedom’ that stands in stark contrast to the actual definition of ‘freedom’. Dubya believes that ‘freedom’ is a gift of God as he appreciates God. One does well to remember that Dubya believes in a god that accords one the ‘freedom to comply’. He manages his office accordingly with indifference to the impact upon those who disagree with him, much like his limiting vision of God. Many share the president’s belief. We would do well to remember and remind others that the ‘freedom to comply’ is an oxymoron.
A large part of what you are talking about was due to Project 100,00Project 100,000. I went in on my 17th birthday in 66 and the mere fact that I could read at a fairly high level made me almost a oddball.
jeffreyw @ 63
Christy Hardin Smith @
23
I left the US in 1969 for Canada, where I now live. I found not long after 9/11 that I was still a US citizen, so I too was responsible.
So, the 60’s were the 60’s, and this ain’t then. Not demonstrations, not yet. The planned, peaceful ones are too easily neutralized by Them — no media coverage, permits cancelled or for places blocks away from the focus point, yada — or suborned by those ever-present folks who love to have us demonstrate for their particular flavour of cause. Not to mention infiltrators.
CarolynUrban said this, and I keep quoting it, “These Internets are our streets, and we are taking to them.” When the time comes we will be so fed up that we will rise up and we will not be stopped. Olberman or John Stewart or you or Jane or somebody will say something and it will be as a spark to tinder. We can prepare for that time by nurturing our sense of community, strengthening our bonds and keeping our information coming. Protect net neutrality. And refuse to be terrified.
Richmond @ 42, when I read the Times article I saw an attempt by the poop scoopers to clean up the Administration’s guilt in the hanging farce. History won’t let that sorry event be cleaned up. I hope.
Christy Hardin Smith @
23
I think that the biggest reason is that folks like us are more ahead of the curve than those around us. The outrage that we feel isn’t the level of outrage in the public, yet.
I agree with you Christy that here in WV, the rural areas have a bigger challenge for large spontaneous gatherings. I could see the organized protests catching on in the next few years but it will take more outrageous actions by this admin first. A sustained escalation in Iraq that results in more bad consequences could tip the balance.
kirk murphy @ 62
i’m in.
One thing the Administration and the media pundits don’t want is the citizenry to take to the streets. They will ignore anything like that unless it’s just too big and too loud to ignore. But, I’m for it.
raven @ 65
Witney @ 57
I’d argue that the civil change of the 1960s and 1970s, including the civil rights marches, the antiwar demonstrations, and the student rebellions in the United States and Europe created in some people a type of reaction formation against increases in freedom. Both Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld come to mind, as does Antonin Scalia. Witney wanted to know who was responsible for thinking of the ways to subvert the Constitution, and I’d argue that all three of those men, rather than subverting the Constitution, have a rather special — and incorrect — understanding of what the Constitution allows. Events have transpired to let their interpretation be actualized. It’s now our responsibility to apply the right corrective actions.
Wanted to share my hands-down favorite which seems so apropos to the “thread mood” at the moment.
http://www.djpauledge.com/wewillnotbesilenced/
1,381 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizens Moon and Hardin Smith:
“But I would hope that he (Bush) would have the wherewith all and the empathy to move beyond his ‘I am always right, dammit’ mindset…”
I’m sorry, but there is no “empathy” from sociopaths whose whole social psychology is absent any acknowledgement of the right to life of others outside their class. Further, we have seen a profound absence of “empathy” from the great unwashed public for families experiencing the grief of loss…look at the collective back turning on Cindy Sheehan.
No good people, collectively the majority of our corporate culture are morally dead and psychologically incapable of sharing the pain of others experience until they are hit with it themselves.
Do not wait for the “empathy” of those in power to arise from the wreckage of their dead souls…action, putting ourselves on the line in order to shake our neighbors awake and keep faith with those under fire is what we must do. We gotta lead our kids out into the streets this Spring, see Citizen Kirk Murphy’s post @62. Don’t let another generation of our children get cut down in the street while their parents cower behind the locked doors of their 3 bedroom bungalows.
KEEP THE FAITH, GOD IS WATCHIN’!!
I have several close family members serving in the military. Most have been to Iraq, and some are still there. I still cannot understand why anyone would voluntarily join the Army or the Marines knowing that in all likelihood they will end up in Iraq fighting this dirty Bush war. And please, I am weary of the arguments about educational ‘bennies’ etc.
Moi aussi, but these thugs are very clever. There were enormous demonstrations opposing the invasion of Iraq before it started — but they were given next to no play in the “mainstream.” Moreover its equipped with its designated stooges whose whole purpose is to speak instead of us : Joe Klein, Howie Kurtz, Tweety, Leon Wizenheimer, Patient Less Than Zero, et. al.
We must do everything in our power to destroy these characters.
By any means necessary.
Happy new year to everyone
The Top 10 GOP Sound Bites, Final 2006 Edition:
1. “New Way Forward”
2. “Surge”
3. “San Francisco Values”
4. “Fresh Eyes”
5. “(Democrats) Pamper the Terrorists”
6. “Terrorist Surveillance Program”
7. “Cut and Run”
8. “Culture of Life”
9. “No Civil Liberties When You’re Dead”
10. “Criminalization of Politics”
Here’s the complete “Bushboard Top 10 Chart.”