DemocracyInteractive.com - A Dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King

Hello Everyone:

This is Dar. It's been awhile since my last post/confession, but I'm glad to be back.

Although we honored Dr. Martin Luther King yesterday, his actual birthdate is January 16th, and today I'm proud to announce the launch of our new site DemocracyInteractive.com (formerly DemocracyChat.com). The site, as our tagline conveys, is "a real-time free speech forum." We decided to dedicate the site and our very first frontpage to Dr. King because he exemplified the true power of free speech.



I was born and grew up in Selma, Alabama around the time of the Civil Rights Movement, and now live in Montgomery, Alabama, so Dr. King is very much a part of my life and history. My grandparents, who could not vote without the threat of harassment, job loss or worse, had pictures and paintings of Dr. King around our house like a member of our family. In many ways, he's a member of all our families.

Dr. King possessed the rare conviction to stand for what was right when he had every reason not to do so. For starters, he had 4 little children, his home was firebombed, he was almost fatally stabbed, and too many other incidents to name, but he remained steadfast. Today, we have a man in office who stands for the wrong things, with no consequences, and thinks that's real conviction. Dr. King stood up for what was right despite the consequences. That, more than anything, is what makes him great.

It's not brought out enough, but one of Dr. King's most passionate stands was against the war in Vietnam. I truly believe that if Dr. King were here with us today he be standing against us sending more of our men and women into another bloody quagmire. He would be standing for those held without trial for years and he would be standing against a government that seeks to spy on and deny the rights of its citizens .

So, we dedicate our site to Dr. King and others, before and since, who've had the courage to stand for democracy.

I invite my fellow members of the Howard-Empowered community to join us at DemocracyInteractive to chat about the issues of the day, and to have some fun. If you haven't already, sign up, login and express your free speech today.

Alternate link for comments

Tuesday Morning

Dar has a post about Martin Luther King in draft, but has asked me to hold off on posting it until around noonish. So, in the meantime, here's an open thread. And a picture of a snow cat, courtesy of listener.

Alternate link for comments

The Scooter Libby Trial

Just a reminder that jury selection for the Scooter Libby trial begins tomorrow.

Bloggers at Firdoglake have been following the case, and will be liveblogging as the trial progresses.

By the way, completely unrelated, but I just found Oscar's MLK Day post at Underground Railroad.

Alternate link for comments

Martin Luther King Day

(Design by jc)

Thanks to mainefem in the comments...

MLK speeches & sermons here (Stanford Papers Project's "The Voice of King").

The I have a dream speech on YouTube

Alternate link for comments

Great Message from my Town Rep, Gaye Symington, who happens to be VT's Speaker of the House

Many friends and colleagues have asked me about my trip to Washington for the election and swearing-in of Nancy Pelosi. I thought you might like my impressions. This weekend I spoke to newly elected speakers of state legislatures at a conference at the University of Virginia. There I met the three other women speakers, all of them Democrats; Barbara Buckley of Nevada, Terie Norelli of New Hampshire and Margaret Kelliher of Minnesota. It was interesting to exchange notes and hear about the challenges their states face. They too are thrilled that a woman is taking the reins of the Congress with the intent to guide a change in direction for the country.

Gaye

Notes from January 4, 2007:

Last week I attended the election of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The election of a woman to the most powerful legislative post in the nation is an historic moment. I was seated in the gallery above the floor of the House near the section labeled in gold letters, “The Ladies’ Gallery.” I sat between a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Maggie Fox, the wife of a three term congressman from Boulder Colorado, Mark Udall. Maggie’s sixteen year old daughter was sitting with Congressman Udall. Other children and grandchildren sat with members of congress as well.

Vermont’s newly elected congressman, Peter Welch, was below and perhaps ten rows in front of us. The clerk called the roll in alphabetical order, each member naming their candidate, Pelosi or Republican John Boehner. The Californians would embellish their vote with, “voting from the home state of the most honorable new Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.” The Baltimore members would chime in “Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi,” with emphasis on the name of Pelosi’s father, the former Baltimore mayor. One member voted with the intonation of an accomplished preacher, “in the name of equal rights, justice and for the love of Jesus, Nancy Pelosi.” Several members voted “in the name of all the children and grandchildren” in their specific district. During the hour it took to get to the U’s and the W’s Maggie pointed out various current congressional leaders such as Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and former Speakers Tom Foley and Dennis Hastert, as well as celebrities in the galleries, such as Martin Sheen, Tony Bennett and Howard Dean.

Some in the gallery were sporting a lapel button where Pelosi’s face had been substituted for the face of Rosie the Riveter, a substitution that was more flattering than the same move a Vermont health care advocacy group had made with my face two years ago. The well known World War II poster has become a symbol for women stepping into roles of power.

The tone of the day appeared uncharacteristically gracious for Washington politics. Both Republican leader Boehner and Speaker Pelosi spoke of working together in the name of serving all Americans, not just their political parties. In her remarks the day before, Pelosi had spoken about making decisions with the prosperity of future generations in mind, a theme the Vermont legislature has also articulated.

As she accepted the gavel from Congressman Boehner, Speaker Pelosi invited children to come up to the podium. As she gave her remarks, two boys, perhaps ages 7 and 10, stood by her right arm. The younger boy kept picking up the gavel and twirling it around like a pinwheel. The older boy would reach around from behind to stabilize the gavel. After a few minutes the younger boy would resume the twirling only to be reminded by his older side-kick to put it down. Eventually Speaker Pelosi put her right hand down and gently but firmly took control of the gavel and placed it on the podium, without missing a beat in her speech.

I was struck by the familiarity of this barely discernable move. She could have been engaging in any of the multi-tasking that she has undoubtedly done as a parent of five children born within six years. Except this time she was delivering an address to the people of the United States about her vision for our country, and all the while establishing a limit to how much “fiddling around” she was going to tolerate from these boys.

After the vote and the speeches, we left the gallery to get in a “line” (it was a mob, not a line) of family members of new members of Congress waiting for a picture with Speaker Pelosi at a “private swearing in.” There was nothing private about it. It was total chaos. Eventually our group was called in as the family ahead of us finished up. We moved into place, Speaker Pelosi and Peter Welch holding the Welch family bible while about fifty cameras clicked and whirled.

As we turned to leave, Peter introduced her to me as the Speaker of the Vermont House. She held out her hand, and said, “Ah, Madam Speaker” and, fairly star-struck, I said the same in return and we shook hands and held them together for the cameras. In a few seconds the Welch entourage was swept into the adjoining atrium. It was the next group’s turn to hold hands with history.

Alternate link for comments

Sunday Morning

This and that before I head off to church...

An article about yesterday's inauguration...

With a soothing cadence instructed by his years as a counselor and Methodist minister, Strickland stoked that optimism, holding forth the promise that he will enable a "raw hope ready to be put to purpose" against the cynicism that has scarred Ohio government with corruption and hastened the state’s economic decline.

Text of the inaugural address

A post (with pictures) from Buckeye State Blog about the inaugural ball

If anyone is looking for Oscar's Word for the Week and comics thread, they are at Underground Railroad, except now he goes by Athanasius.

New designs at Cafe Press by Catreona, jc, and Demetrius.

And finally, some cute otters.



Alternate link for comments

Inauguration Day

Lobster corn dogs? I had no idea such a thing existed.

Party’s party has a rural touch

Democrats from across Ohio are descending on Columbus this weekend as Gov. Ted Strickland and other statewide Democrats are formally inaugurated with pomp mixed with lobster corn dogs and "jazzed-up fair food."

Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who took office Monday, were set to repeat their ceremonial oaths of office about noon today, followed by Strickland’s inaugural address as the state’s 68th governor.

Read the rest here. Another report on today's festivities, with video, can be found here.

Buckeye State Blog promises updates throughout the day.

Alternate link for comments

How to make a werewolf

You're all just dying to know this, right? Nah, probably not, but I wanted a light, fun topic to post for Friday night. Basically, it's an open thread. ;-)

Anyway, I thought I'd tell you about my Sims. For Christmas we got a couple expansion packs for the Sims 2, including Sims 2 Pets. In addition to being able to adopt dogs and cats, there is the possibility of having your little simulated people become werewolves. I found this guide that explained what you need to do...

In all, there's really no reason not to have a werewolf. Having that instant boost of energy will especially help single Sims have fun out on the town, and it gives newly created Sims a chance to level the playing the field by devoting extra time to studying job skills. Also, werewolf Sims can be called on at night, unlike normal Sims that get all mad when you call them at 2 AM. Really, they didn't need that sleep, did they?

To have a werewolf in your neighborhood, you'll have to work a bit for the first one. First, you'll need a house that has a lot of trees. And when I say "a lot," I mean like two dozen. Literally. Just spend every cent you've got on the pine trees (or any kind of tree really) and place it somewhere on your lot.
...
The specific wolf you're looking for is one with glowing eyes.

The wolf looks like this

And you need to greet him and pet him and play with him and get to be really, really good Sim friends with him, which can take several nights, before the Leader of the Pack wolf will finally honor you with the "nibble" that is needed to turn your Sim into a werewolf.

When I was finally able to achieve that with one of my Sims, the "nibble" seemed an awful lot like a bite to me. But I guess it's a lot milder than the social interaction whereby Sims spread lycanthropy from one to another--which is by "savaging", or essentially beating the crud out of each other.

But when they're not trying to turn another Sim into a werewolf, werewolves are perfectly normal (if hairy and somewhat lumbering) human Sims. Some of them can even make lobster thermidor.



Alternate link for comment

Beyond Vietnam/Iraq

Via Democrats.org "TGIF Open Thread"...

Heads up! You can catch Governor Dean on CNN's The Situation Room today at 5:15 p.m. and on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews at 5:30 p.m.

At last night's anti-escalation vigil, I ran into Rev. Tim Ahrens, who is the founder of the We Believe Ohio group. He spoke on camera to reporters, although I haven't found that online yet. He also said a few words to the vigil attendees as we were attempting (unsuccessfully for the most part) to keep our candles lit. He spoke of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech at Riverside Church in 1964

Ahrens said that in that speech, King expressed regret for his own ten years of silence on the Vietnam War. He was particulary concerned about the connection between the protracted war in Iraq and poverty...

There is at the outset a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle, and others, have been waging in America. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor - both black and white - through the Poverty Program. Then came the build-up in Vietnam, and I watched the program broken and eviscerated as if it were some idle political play thing of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic, destructive suction tube. So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.

You can read the rest here. What Tim Ahrens said last night is that we don't want to be ten years into the Iraq war and regretting our silence, so we need to make sure we are speaking out now.

Alternate link for comments

READY FOR A LITTLE STRESS RELEASE?

On Vermont Public Radio's "Switchboard" Thursday evening was the topic of Vermont seceding from the Union.
See the related item at: http://www.vpr.net

Here are my notes made during the show...for your stress-releasing musings!
XOXOXXX ♥ listener


"Why secede?"
Government has become too big
The US Empire has become unmanageable.

"What about the loss of federal funds?"
We will have more usable funds ourselves than the funds we receive with mandates.

"How would the rest of the country view us, and how would VT be perceived as a Republic? How would it affect tourism?"
50 nations and states in the world are smaller than Vermont.
Other nations may feel MORE willing to visit VT if it were independent.

"What if we had an emergency?"
Two words: Hurricane Katrina.

An immigrant called into the VPR show shocked that anyone would want to secede from a country that has done him so much good. He thinks VT would become a third world country.
(It might anyway, as Karen pointed out.)

Fun irony....the immigrant came from ENGLAND. Given that the USA effectively seceded from England, it was a humorous call, in a way.

VT was a Republic until 1791...the good ol' days. ;)

There is some talk about Peaceable Secession.
I honestly don't think it'll fly...because VT is presently "owned" by the Union. I doubt the rest of the country would say, "Oh well, sure, go ahead."

Caller from Montreal, Quebec (which has had it's own secession idears), Canada ...
suggests it has been great for Quebec to talk secession because Canada woos them! Ha!
Says folks from Quebec (immediately to our north) are sympathetic and would still come to visit! :)
Says to ask ourselves if the issues are a temporary thing or not. Is it WORTH getting out of the USA for what might be limited benefits.

"Canada is Vermont's #1 trading partner."
Would stay the same in the Independent Vermont.
Note: Not intended as an ISOLATIONIST idear...still very friendly toward and open to the rest of the USA.

So, who here would want to move to Vermont if we become an independent Republic?
Would Howard Dean be our leader?
Maybe instead of a President or a King we could just have a Doctor or a Guv. ;)

Another Montreal caller. Pretty sweet how interested our friends from the north are in this process! :)

The guest on "Switchboard" became interested in the idear as a skeptic but also as a professional historian. The more he considered it, the more he liked the idear and the more he was able to articulate why. So there is some very real sentiment toward doing so.
My town Rep is also the Speaker of the House in VT, though, and I know she is skeptical, understandably. I think it would take awhile (years) before it caught on here. But Bush is sure making it sound better and better, so who knows? Stay tuned! :-)

There is talk of Vermont being self sustaining, though not isolationist.
I think Vermont is better suited to this than many states, as the populace is very conscious of the need to be frugal and tending the environment, buying local, etc.. (sounds very Dean, doesn't it?) ;-)

I don't know if it would ever happen, but it is actually COMFORTING to ponder the possibility of Vermont seceding.

I wasn't taking it seriously until hearing the very reasoned and reasonable purposes in secession, and hearing that it's desired to do so peaceably and non-violently!! I LOOOOVE VERMONT!!!

"How would Vermont as a Republic defend itself?"
Well, we already have a National Guard.
(And I'm thinking: And they'd actually be HERE!)

A guy from MI just called in! Apparently the Upper Peninsula wanted to do something similar at one point! It failed because of the dependency on the Lower Peninsula. So he suggests creating ambassadors as a first step.

LOL! A woman called in with a strong British accent and misspoke saying, "I moved to Texas from America..."
She was concerned about people letting go of USA citizenship.
So it was suggested, "Why not dual citizenship?" (VT and USA or VT and CANADA...etc.)
I LOVE the idear of being a compatriot of some of my friends from Canada as well as some of you! Way cool. A new way to be a world citizen, perhaps.

Hey, turns out Americans have a constitutional right to secede.
Ooooooooo. What if we ALL (the whole nation) secede together and just leave Bush alone?
He can have the little peninsula in Kennebunkport where the Bush compound is anyway. ;)

Alternate link for comments

Peace Action

So, what are people doing where you live?

Alternate link for comments

"America Says No" Rallies

Crossposted at Daily Kos, Buckeye State Blog, My Left Wing and Booman Tribune.

So, whatever happened to the notion that "Elections have consequences"? George W. Bush, after his narrow "victory" over John Kerry in 2004, claimed that he had a mandate to press forward with his agenda, rather than trying to work in a more bipartisan manner. You know, "Reach across the aisle"? Apparently that is only considered an admirable trait when it's Democrats that are in power.

The midterm elections have been described by many as being driven largely by public dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq. From those elections to any public opinion poll I've seen, the message from the American public has been a resounding "No!" to the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq. Bush's response has been the equivalent of sticking his fingers in his ears and yelling "La la la la la!"




For anyone who is not aware of this...

Volunteers will host actions in cities and towns across the country within 24 hours of the president’s speech with a simple message: "America says NO more troops in Iraq!”

I will be the first to admit that I am tired of trying to oppose a president who is so bound and determined to ignore and isolate any voices outside of his small circle of "yes men" (and women). Do I believe that we can change his mind on the escalation of the war in Iraq, announced last night in a special address to the nation? Sadly, no.

But the world is watching us, and I think it would be a sad commentary on American apathy if these rallies were sparsely attended. What does that say to people in other nations (who used to hold our country in such high regard) if our response to Bush acting in direct opposition to our will, is, "Yeah, whatever."

Click here to find a vigil or rally in your area.

P.S. Please see Denise's comment here, which unfortunately was written just as I was putting up a new post.

Alternate link for comments

"No, thank YOU" Open Thread

Thank you so much to everyone for the wonderful messages in the 100,000 thread--those of you who are regulars and those I haven't seen for a while. (Of course, it goes without saying that I would love to see those in the latter category stop by more often.) Thank you to jc for letting people at BFA know about the milestone, and for capturing the image of the Sitemeter as it reached the 100K mark. Great new bumper sticker, by the way...

Been tossing around some idears myself, but haven't gotten too far with it. Something along the lines of a car teetering precariously at the edge of a cliff, noting that even a "new" way forward is still going to be a very bad plan.

By the way, here's the cake Demetrius made for my birthday.


The cake is chocolate and the frosting is white chocolate ganache, and yes it is yummy. (But no, we haven't finished it yet...we do have *some* self control.)

P.S. Apparently there was some sort of game thingy that Ohio State lost to Florida. Football, was it? To say we're not really "tuned in" to the local sports scene would be a serious understatement. But I think even many of those who *do* care deeply about such things, take some comfort in our BIG win...

We're getting a new Democratic governor this weekend! W00t!!

Alternate link for comments

Closing in on 100,000 site visits

Update: We did it!



I just scrolled down to the bottom of the page and saw this

which means that, most likely some time tonight, it's going to do this



and it will be time for us to do this

Celebrate! (I think it's okay to start a little early!)

Alternate link for comments

UnState of the Union Thread

My bad...This year's state of the union will be held Tue Jan 23 7pm - Tue Jan 23 8pm. Tonight is the convince Americans to send more troops speech.

As always, you can chat about whatever you like, but if you have anything to say about tonight's State of the Union address, go for it. Some of us can't stand to watch it ourselves, but appreciate it when others fill us in on what was said, how people reacted, etc.

Click here for a parody of last year's SOTU.



Alternate link for comments

UnBEARably cute

Earlier this evening, I received the following e-mail from listener...

Son*in*Oregon sent this!!! Use if desired

A family just built this playground in their yard last weekend for their 3 and 4 year-old boys. The next morning, the mom woke up to this scene (see attached.) Four juvenile black bears.

Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

I was trying to come up with some ideas for the Cafe Press Anti-Valentine's Day contest. I was going to try to come up with a design using these cherubs, and the caption below was suggested by Demetrius. It's not exactly anti-Valentine, but I thought it was cute, so I made the design.

Talk amongst yourselves. We're going to watch some of the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and enjoy some of the birthday cake Demetrius made for me. Catch you all a little later.

Alternate link for comments

Medicare action item

From Shelley in the comments

Time to e-mail your Congressperson and let them know we're in favor of allowing Medicare to bargain for lower drug prices, as the VA does.

A year's worth of Fossamax through the VA: $250.

A year's worth of Fossamax through
Medicare: average, $800.

A year's worth of Zocor through VA:
$127.

A year's worth of Zocor through Medicare, average: $1500.

(Thanks to Al Franken on airamericaradio.com right now for the stats.)

Let your Senator know, too. The vote's coming up!

Alternate link for comments

"Against Nature?" museum display in Oslo

Found out about this via Firedoglake:

Gay animals out of the closet?
First-ever museum display shows 51 species exhibiting homosexuality

A first-ever museum display, "Against Nature?," which opened last month at the University of Oslo's Natural History Museum in Norway, presents 51 species of animals exhibiting homosexuality.
...
Almost a quarter of black swan families are parented by homosexual couples. Male couples sometimes mate with a female just to have a baby. Once she lays the egg, they chase her away, hatch the egg, and raise a family on their own.

"Homosexuality" and "heterosexuality" are terms defined by societal boundaries, invisible in the animal kingdom.
...
Like most complex issues, animal homosexuality is challenging and poorly understood. Therefore, educators tend to shy away from covering it in their teaching. Many scientists don't even want to be associated with this type of research.

"I've had primatologists offer to give me their data on homosexual behavior because they didn't want to publish it," Wolfe said.

"Against Nature?" was set up partly to demystify the concept.

It's an interesting article, although it's still a sad commentary that people feel too ootsy about the whole thing to teach or publish the information. And the article referenced, from Live Science, is, I don't know, kind of campy. There's something weird about having to rate each animal picture before moving on to see the next one.

And I'll never be able to look at the "smile" on a dolphin the same way again. (If you want to know why, go read the caption. It's one of those "intended for mature audiences" things that I don't feel quite right posting on the front page.

Alternate link for comments

March on Washington January 27

Many of you probably know about this already, but I figured I should go ahead and frontpage it anyway. Via the United for Peace and Justice web site...

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN, NOW CONGRESS MUST ACT.

On Saturday, Jan. 27th, people from every corner of the country will march on Washington, DC. Our message will be clear, our voice will be strong: End the war in Iraq, Bring all the troops home now! We urge you to join us!

On Mon., Jan. 29th, we will take our message directly to the new Congress during our lobby day.

Click here for more.

(Sticker design by jc.)


Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

This is an Open Thread. You may use it to talk about stuff.


Moose picture via Cute Overload.

And, w00t, The Daily Show is back from vacation tonight!

Alternate link for comments

Screw "electability"

Mom, if you're reading, sorry about the language. But I really feel like this is something that needs to be worded strongly. Because I just read this (emphasis mine)

On MSNBC last week, Mr. Rangel said of Mr. Obama: “He’s brilliant, he’s talented. He’s not tested, but who could be with the limited political experience?” He said that Democrats “should have as many exciting candidates up front as we can get, so we can find out who’s electable and who can best lead our country.”

Now, the premise there is good--I agree with the overall idea--but that *word* has got to go. As far as I can tell, the word "electability" was only invented recently. It was certainly used in full force by people attempting to convince those who might otherwise vote for Howard Dean to reconsider, and vote for someone they think *other* people will be willing to vote for.

The word has been used to encourage people to doubt their own instincts and second-guess their judgements. To vote, even in the primary, not for someone they could be excited about working for, but for the one who pundits (those people who get paid no matter who wins) say will be acceptable to *other* people.

The time to nip this thing in the bud is now. Stop using that word! Talk about our dreams and our ideals, bringing people together, what's good for America and the world...there are plenty of other ways to talk about the kind of candidate we need. But the word "electability" needs to go away, and it needs to go away now.

Alternate link for comments

The imperial presidency

I've been really struck by the gall of George W. Bush since the November elections, bullheadedly pushing forward with the same agenda, the same approach, as if the elections don't mean anything. (Yet when he was reelected in 2004 by a small margin, he called it a "mandate" that meant he had "political capital".) I found this article in the International Herald Tribune via Crooks and Liars, and it puts some of that into words better than I've been able to...

Observing President George W. Bush in action lately, we have to wonder if he actually watched the election returns in November, or if he was just rerunning the 2002 vote on his TiVo.

That year, the White House used the fear of terrorism to scare American voters into cementing the Republican domination of Congress. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney then embarked on an expansion of presidential power chilling both in its sweep and in the damage it did to the constitutional system of checks and balances.

In 2006, the voters sent Bush a powerful message that it was time to rein in his imperial ambitions. But we have yet to see any sign that Bush understands that. Indeed, he seems to have interpreted his party's drubbing as a mandate to keep pursuing his fantasy of victory in Iraq and to press ahead undaunted with his assault on civil liberties and the judicial system.

There's more, about the specifics of how the administration has responded to the new Democratic leadership. You can read the rest here.

Alternate link for comments

Borning Cry

Daughter in Ohio sang with the children's choir in church today. The following isn't the song the girls sang, but was the "hymn in procession" before the baptism that was scheduled for today. The actual baptism didn't take place, because the baby was sick, but they still did the renewal of baptismal vows with the congregation--that thing with the "I will, with God's help" that I mentioned in my prayer for the New Year. Anyway, I found the song just tear-jerkingly beautiful--such that I wasn't able to actually sing it along with the congregation. When I turned around toward the baptismal font, I saw another mom of a choir member, and she was dabbing her eyes. So I know it wasn't just me. Anyway, I thought I'd share...

"I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.
I was there when you were but a child,
with a faith to suit you well;
In a blaze of light you wandered off
to find where demons dwell."

"When you heard the wonder of the Word
I was there to cheer you on;
You were raised to praise the living Lord,
to whom you now belong.
If you find someone to share your time
and you join your hearts as one,
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme
from dusk 'till rising sun."

In the middle ages of your life,
not too old, no longer young,
I'll be there to guide you through the night,
complete what I've begun.
When the evening gently closes in,
and you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been
with just one more surprise."

"I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold."

Alternate link for comments

Sunday morning open thread

Thank you floridagal for providing us with a link to video of Howard Dean thanking the activists and netroots for their efforts towards the Democratic victories of 2006.

And in honor of the Epiphany, here's another image from the Episcopal Church and Visual Arts site, entitled Darkness Holds the Seeds of Light.


Update: You can check out Oscar's 'toons and Word for the Week here.

Alternate link for comments

This Modern World Petition Drive

Via Firedoglake, This Modern World has been dropped from the print edition of The Village Voice (apparently it hasn't been dropped from the online edition.) If you're not familiar with TMW, click here for the most recent strip and here for more. Tom Tomorrow, the creator of the strip, has started a petition asking that it be reinstated.

A small request for New Yorkers, and anyone else who reads the print edition of the Village Voice. As you may have heard, there have been a lot of changes at the Voice in recent months. My own work still runs in the online edition, but has recently been dropped from the print edition (edit: sometime in the last two or three months, not sure exactly when). In other instances when something like this has happened, I’ve suggested that readers send in email to the editor, but the problem with that approach is that it can irritate the editor and end up hurting more than helping. So I’ve decided to try something new — I’ve posted a petition, here, respectfully requesting that the editors reconsider this decision. If you’re a New Yorker and/or a Voice reader, do me a favor and go sign it. When and if I get a decent number of signatures, I’ll pass it along.

The image below is part of a strip that ran after the November elections. Click here for the whole thing.


Alternate link for comments

Happy Birthday, Catreona

Okay, I guess it's kinda cheating to use the graphic jc created for Cat last year, but that *is* still her name, and today is her birthday again.

Hope it's a good one!

Alternate link for comments

Renee's Cake!

Alternate link for comments

For Tanner

From puddle's blog...

Short form. Tanner had an earache and fever last night. The family spent the night in OR, came home and was called back because the culture showed gram negative bacteria. The fear now is sepsis.

Sepsis is what killed Edwin.

Prayers, please.

Click here for Tanner's candle page.

Alternate link for comments

Blogger Question

I was just going to put this in the comments, but I thought it should be its own thread so that more people will see it. Has anyone here converted to the new version of Blogger? I am still using the older version. I got an e-mail from one of our contributors, Andrew C. White, asking about whether I had converted or whether I am planning to. He added,

OK... according to blogger documentation... since I am not the original creator of the group blog I can convert my account to the new release without it affecting the group blog. They write:

"If a team member of a blog switches their account to the new version of Blogger before the blog owner does, then the team blog is not converted. It will appear on the team member's converted dashboard, but clicking on it will lead back to the old version of Blogger. Thus, the blog will still be usable, but without the new features of Blogger (e.g. Labels, Layouts, etc.)."

I still haven't done this yet. Have any of the other contributors converted yet? The other group blog I belong to is a special case that blogger says they handle differently because the original creator has relinquished ownership of the blog thereby making it ownerless. So I can't use/see that as a test case.

If no one else has converted yet then I will go ahead and do it as a test case at some point when you are prepared to rescue it in case there are problems. I never trust new versions of software.

I have pretty much been putting off dealing with this--it wasn't *that* long ago that I took on the project of redoing the template again. I'm always a bit shy about touching anything after surviving that endeavor. And I don't know if the new version of Blogger would mess with the custom template in some way. The one time I did use it (on that other blog, which I never really did anything with) I wasn't all that impressed. Granted, that was several months ago.

I know there's documentation I can go wade through to try to figure this all out, but I'm not teaching any classes this quarter, and really need to turn my attention to generating some income. So, my personal inclination is to do nothing. If there's any compelling reason that I need to convert to the new version, someone please explain it to me, using small words. :) I suppose Blogger may make everyone switch eventually, but if I don't have to deal with it right now, I don't plan to.

Alternate link for comments

Morning Birthday Post

OK, so it's kind'a a lame graphic. What I'd like to say is kind'a lame too, about how grateful I am for this blog and for the wonderful lady who runs it. So, I'll just say:

Happy Birthday, Renee!

Alternate link for comments

♥ OVERNIGHT BIRTHDAY THREAD ♥

. . . . . . . . . . ♥ . ♥ . ♥ ..♥ .♥ . ♥ . ♥ .♥. .♥. .♥. .♥. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . ||..||..||..||..||..||..||..||..||..||..||.. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ~~~~~~~~~♥ H A P P Y ♥~~~~~~~~~ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ~~~~~~~♥ B I R T H D A Y ♥~~~~~~~ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ~~~~~~~~~♥ R E N E E ! ♥~~~~~~~~ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . . . . . . . .

Alternate link for comments

Paul Begala: still a jerk

scottforamerica at Daily Kos has a diary about talking to Paul Begala at today's swearing-in ceremonies.

I was going to just politely greet him and shake his hand, but I had an attack of conscience. After all that Begala and Carville have done to undermine Gov. Dean’s efforts at the DNC, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. "I hope you will support the 50-state strategy," I told him, expecting the shrug off or a "nice to meet you too," but that isn’t what Begala had in mind.

"That depends what you mean by 50 state strategy he said." I responded by telling him that I meant the plan for Democrats to compete everywhere and for every office in the country. That I don’t support he said, "we should start with principles and values." "Sure, we should compete everywhere" he muttered, "but that’s not the right strategy."

The money quote:

"Anyway," Begala continued... "I don’t need some a**hole from Vermont telling me what to do."

We should give Paul Begala something nice. Maybe one of my cats or dogs could "make" something for him.

Note for the irony-impaired (e.g. anyone from the "news" show Greater Boston): that was a joke.

Update: Thank you to Jessica for pointing out Maura's great diary In praise of some a**hole from Vermont.

Utterly gratuitous photo of me, some asshole from Vermont, and my dear departed dad from a Kim Hynes for State Rep. fundraiser in Stamford in 2003

By the way, I've been lucky enough to meet Howard in person a few times and I've found him to be kind, down-to-earth, personable, and smart as a whip. I don't think he's an asshole at all. But the extent to which Paul Begala and his ilk do think Howard is an asshole is greatly to the Gov's credit. May his assholishness in Begala's eyes continue apace as we move on to a big victory in '08.

And to Begala, I say, Get outta the way and go on to your cocktail parties where you can bash Dean and commiserate with your compatriots about your increasing irrelevance. A whole bunch of us and some asshole from Vermont are busy.

Alternate link for comments

Welcome (Democratic-led) 110th Congress

Firedoglake has a post about the new session of Congress that begins today, including a neat picture of Nancy Pelosi getting a hug from her granddaughter.




Paul Kiel of TPMmuckraker notes that new Represenative Keith Ellison, D-MN, could be seen making his way over to Rep. Virgil Goode, R-VA, to introduce himself. More, with video clip, here.

And, for anyone who missed this earlier, some in the Republican minority have been pushing for a "Minority Bill of Rights". It's based on a proposal made by Nancy Pelosi two years ago. Guess what Denny Hastert's response was at the time?

Alternate link for comments

50(ish) Hats, etc

While I am normally a happy little bean counter, the beans sort of slipped through the cracks on this project, making it impossible to count them. Sorry about that...

The good news is that counting the number of coats, hats, etc sent to the Cangleska Battered Women's Shelter from this HEP Project dosn't really matter. They will still warm that many people...whatever that number is, which I think is around 50 based on emails and blog posts I've seen.

The other "good" news is that this is an ongoing project; items needed throughout the winter, not just during the Holiday season...This is good for people like me who just finally mailed her hats...

If you would like to help, you can send new, homemade, or gently used winter outerwear (coats, snowsuits, hats, gloves, scarves, etc) directly to:

Via UPS or FedEx:
Cangleska, Inc., 1 Public Safety Road, Kyle, SD, 57752

Via US Mail:
Cangleska, Inc., P.O. Box 638, Kyle, SD, 57752

For more information, visit Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation.

Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

Talk amongst yourselves.

Hubby and I are going to watch some Red Dwarf, and later on if I have time, I'll add some news/diary links to this thread.

Update: Heading to bed, but wanted to add a link to this story (mentioned in the comments earlier)

The first Muslim elected to Congress says he will take his oath of office using a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson to make the point that "religious differences are nothing to be afraid of."

And also, for something completely silly, from the Sims 2 Pets game we got for Christmas. Werewolves. In love.




Alternate link for comments

Real coverage of the Scooter Libby case

Given the mainstream media's tendency to be insanely disappointing in its ability to provide accurate, fair coverage of the news, given what is, quite frankly the *conservative* bias of the so-called liberal media, this is good news. Via Firedoglake

After several months of phone calls and e-mails for logistical assistance, tracking down just the right person for inquiries at the courthouse, and lots of leg work, and thanks to the gracious assistance of Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post, we have managed to secure one of the very limited press passes for the Scooter Libby trial. (A huge thank you to Arianna for all of her assistance in this.)

Yep, that is correct: your intrepid pals at Firedoglake, with the more than able assistance of Marcy Wheeler, Emptywheel of The Next Hurrah, and fabulous author of Anatomy of Deceit, and a few other all stars who have talked with us about covering various aspects of the trial process, are headed to DC to cover as much of the trial as we can manage to see and hear.

To do this coverage properly, we are working on subletting an apartment in DC, to allow us to be at the courthouse as frequently as we can manage with our respective schedules. We also have travel costs, to and from DC, and food costs and a number of other necessary budget items that all add up.

But we need a little help from anyone who can give it.

Click here to read more.

Alternate link for comments

Just say no

Via Firedoglake, discussion of Bush's plan to "surge and accelerate" in Iraq.

How many more Americans should be asked to die for a mistake and to prop up a President's ego? How many more innocents should be caught in the crossfire for the same reason? How many more?

And while we are at it, is this who we are? Because, if so, I am ashamed — holding someone prisoner and interrogating them says a lot about who we are as a nation. It used to be that the United States was an example of what to do with prisoners in terms of their treatment off the battlefield. No longer.

FDL also linked to Keith Olbermann's special comment from last night. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend that you do.
Transcript
Video

Demetrius reminded me that Bush's plans for "winning" in Iraq are eerily similar to the Zapp Brannigan Doctrine.

The Killbots? A trifle. It was simply a matter of outsmarting them.
...
You see the killbots have a preset kill limit; knowing their weakness I sent wave after wave of my own men at them until they reached their limit and shutdown.

Of course, the insurgents are not robots, so I don't think that will work here. How about we respond to Bush's plan with a resounding "NO!" And then start seriously investigating him and his whole corrupt administration, and get their sorry hindquarters out of office and sent someplace "safe" where they can't break anything.

Update: This entry also posted at Daily Kos, My Left Wing, and Booman Tribune.

Alternate link for comments

A New Year's resolution worth making and keeping

However you personally feel about New Year's resolutions, I think this one is worth the effort. And I resolve to keep coming back to it and working to make more people aware of these Millennium Development Goals. From Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's New Year's message...

“Consider what might happen if all of us resolved to make 2007 the beginning of a new era in which the hungry are fed, the ill cured, the young educated and women and men treated equally”, she writes. “What if all had access to clean water and adequate sanitation, basic healthcare and the promise of development that does not endanger the rest of creation?”

Dr Schori, who was a practicing scientist before she became an Anglican priest, continued: “For people of all faiths and for those who claim no faith, the Millennium Development Goals provide a way in which together we can achieve greater global good by leading local lives intent upon the eradication of poverty and disease.”

Alternate link for comments

CNN wants to be Fox when it grows up

I'm becoming increasingly convinced that CNN is trying to become as much like Fox News as possible, in the hopes that it will make people like them. Sorta like the Democrats who hoped voters would like them if they walked and talked and dressed up like Republicans.

Via Crooks and Liars


For anyone who has trouble seeing the image, it is a screen capture from CNN depicting Osama bin Laden, with the words "Where's Obama?"

Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

Getting ready to turn in and figured we'd better have a new thread. The flowers are from church, where it was still the 7th day of Christmas. We sang carols and learned the stories behind some of them. And I did one of the readings, and someone complimented me on my voice. I like my church. :)

Alternate link for comments

New Year's Eve 2003 Flashback

Wanted to find a new picture of Howard Dean, or a link to a video, or *something* Howardly to post, but came up blank. So we'll have to settle for a New Year's Eve flashback from December 31, 2003. (That was the same December when Howard said the capture of Saddam Hussein hadn't made us safer, remember?"

Via the Blog for America archives...

Flat Howard united the feuding wings of the office -- he made peace between Joe Rospars and Clay Johnson, on behalf of the South and North sides of HQ, respectively, who agreed that we can only take out country back if we all come together.

Bittersweet, I know. What could have been. But I'm thankful that Howard brought us all together, and thankful that he's still working to take this country back and restore our honor in the international community.

Alternate link for comments

A prayer for the new year

Holy Mother...Loving Father...
Source of All That Is...
Oh--You know who You are!

That daughter You gave me said a funny thing yesterday:
"It seems like God has gotten shy over the years"
(Meaning You don't talk to people like in the "old days")

I said I wasn't sure that was true--
that sometimes it just doesn't get written down
Sometimes people aren't sure it's really You
(Or are afraid to believe that it is)

And I told her of the time I heard from you
(or one of Your "people")
"Help heal the world" were the words I heard
while lying in bed early that morning
And then You held me close

Maybe I imagined that, but it didn't matter
The words felt real enough, and the need for healing was real,
so I promised that I would
Later I learned about tikkun olam,
the Hebrew phase which translates to "repairing the world"

That confirmed the notion that the call to help heal the world was true and real

It's also impossible

There can never be enough glue, tape, bandages, needles and thread, hammers and nails, hope, patience, and love, to get the job done

I suppose that's why the baptismal vows say, "I will, with God's help"

So as we begin a new year, I ask again for Your help
Help me to find the strength, energy, and love to keep working
to mend that which is broken,
both in myself and in the world You entrusted to our care.

Alternate link for comments

New Year's Wishes

What are your hopes for 2007? Anyone have any special plans for ringing in the new year?

One year our family did a ritual where we lit a candle, and said what in the ending year we were thankful for, and then what our hopes were for the new year. Maybe we should do that here. Who would like to go first?

Alternate link for comments

P.S. Click here for Oscar's 'toons.

Remembering who enabled Saddam Hussein

I was wondering if I could find some appropriate words to post about the execution of Saddam Hussein. I'm conflicted--of course he was a bad man, but so much about the way all of this went down is just wrong. Just for starters, in a diary entitled Why Saddam Must Die Before Sunrise, FishOutOfWater noted

The Bush Administration wants Saddam dead before the Kurdish war crimes trial begins.
...
With Saddam dead, the complicity of Bush Senior with Saddam's regime can be covered up.

I'll leave you tonight with this excerpt from Show this picture everywhere, by wiscmass

Saddam was executed for murdering 148 Shiite men, women, and children from a town where someone tried to assassinate him about 25 years ago. But let's not forget that Saddam was able to maintain his power for so long with a lot of help from a few specific people. Accordingly, I want to see this picture everywhere for the next several days:

Read the rest here. Saddam Hussein was, of course, a very bad man. But we're not exactly the guys wearing the white hats in this story either.

Alternate link for comments

New post by Riverbend

There is a new post at Baghdad Burning for the first time since November 5.

End of another year

What has me most puzzled right now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the larger cities in the south and the capital. Baghdad is being torn apart with Shia leaving Sunni areas and Sunnis leaving Shia areas- some under threat and some in fear of attacks. People are being openly shot at check points or in drive by killings… Many colleges have stopped classes. Thousands of Iraqis no longer send their children to school- it's just not safe.

Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam's execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.
...
Here we come to the end of 2006 and I am sad. Not simply sad for the state of the country, but for the state of our humanity, as Iraqis. We've all lost some of the compassion and civility that I felt made us special four years ago. I take myself as an example. Nearly four years ago, I cringed every time I heard about the death of an American soldier. They were occupiers, but they were humans also and the knowledge that they were being killed in my country gave me sleepless nights. Never mind they crossed oceans to attack the country, I actually felt for them.

Had I not chronicled those feelings of agitation in this very blog, I wouldn't believe them now. Today, they simply represent numbers. 3000 Americans dead over nearly four years? Really? That's the number of dead Iraqis in less than a month. The Americans had families? Too bad. So do we. So do the corpses in the streets and the ones waiting for identification in the morgue.

Is the American soldier that died today in Anbar more important than a cousin I have who was shot last month on the night of his engagement to a woman he's wanted to marry for the last six years? I don't think so.

Just because Americans die in smaller numbers, it doesn't make them more significant, does it?

Click here for the rest.

Alternate link for comments

Poverty

I strongly recommend reading Christy Hardin Smith's post Bringing Poverty to the Table. Yes, as I suspected, the post was prompted by Edwards' announcement yesterday. But even if you support a different candidate, please read. As Christy noted at the end of the piece:

That it has taken a Presidential candidate standing up and talking about this issue to get it back on the front pages of newspapers — at least for the day yesterday — is unconscionable. But at least people are talking about it again, and for that I applaud John Edwards for sticking to a topic that all of us need to be talking about much more frequently.

I don't have a candidate to support yet, as Gore still seems unwilling to run, Feingold has said he won't, and Howard Dean is a man of his word, who promised not to run if elected chair of the DNC. But poverty is one of those uncomfortable, dauntingly big and complex issues that tends to get swept under the rug by the majority. Maybe it's a bit like global warming in that respect. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were graphic examples of the urgency of both issues--we can't afford to ignore either. So I will join Christy in applauding Edwards getting poverty back into the headlines, even for one day. But I hope it will be for longer than that. Hopefully other candidates and officeholders will join him.

And I don't say this as a supporter of any political candidate. I say it as a human being. I also say it as an Episcopalian who is proud of my new Presiding Bishop who insists on keeping the focus on this issue, in spite of the efforts of others to shift the attention back to issues of human sexuality. From an interview in June of 2006:

Bishop JEFFERTS SCHORI: We need to be examining the poverty that is real around the world. We need to be examining the fact that our brothers and sisters, Anglican and not, in places like Africa and Asia don't have enough to eat. Their children don't have the opportunity to go to school. AIDS and tuberculosis and malaria are rampant in many parts of this world and people with those diseases don't have access to adequate health care. That's where our focus needs to be.

And, from a description of Katharine Jefferts Schori's book, scheduled to be released in January...

Grounding her reflections in a theology of the reign of God—‘God’s dream for creation’—she dares to ‘dream big’ herself, casting a vision of a world without poverty and hunger, where we all recognize our interdependence with every other child of God.

Jefferts Schori's book can be preordered here.

And I have heard those words echoed by Bishop Gene Robinson, and by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and by many other people I respect and admire. I hope that more and more people will talk about it--especially people who have an audience. And when people try to distract us with something shiny, I hope that we will redirect, and bring the discussion back to issues of vital importance for our human family.

(Also posted at Daily Kos, My Left Wing and Street Prophets)


Update: I just discovered that Part II of Christy's discussion of poverty is now posted at FDL.

Alternate link for comments

Teeth Wanted!

Thought those of you with children or grandchildren may want to send an email about this to the toothfairy...

The Radiation and Public Health Project is working to show the links between nuclear power & weapons and radioactive strontium-90 in the human body. They need baby teeth from all over the country/world in order to show the difference between areas around nuclear reactors and those not near them. The website gives you directions on how to participate.

http://www.radiation.org/projects/tooth_fairy.html

Alternative link to comment

Why we're here

I wasn't going to try to do a post today, as we need to get ourselves on the road and head back to Columbus from Chicago, in time to pick up our dog that's at the sitter. But I felt that, since people are starting to declare candidate preferences, it was worth a few minutes of my time to say something about who we are and why we're here. It was this guy who "brought us to the party"...some of us for the first time.

Maybe this isn't necessary, but I'm still kind of smarting from Oscar's departure. Yes, it was his choice. But one of the special things about Howard Dean was that, stereotypes aside, he attracted a diverse group of supporters. And for me, both in politics and in the rest of life, learning to live together in community with people who are different is a big part of the curriculum.

I don't know what will happen to this blog as the next presidential election approaches. I know that I *don't* want to be the boss of it, so I relinquish any notion I am steering this thing. But for a long time, most of the posts were by me. Such that, when I looked at the blog this morning and saw the words "Why I'm supporting Edwards", for a moment I had to ask myself, "When did I write *that* title? That's not what I *thought* I wrote!"

It shouldn't be necessary, but I'm toying with the idear of adding a disclaimer somewhere that opinions expressed in posts at Howard-Empowered People belong to the individual posters, and in no way represent the group as a whole. Because, in my mind's eye, I'm imagining that someone is going to ask "Is this the Edwards blog now?" No, it's not. People are welcome to write their own posts about who they support or don't support. I only hope that we will find a way to continue as a community, held together by those values that first brought us together, and deal respectfully with our differences.

Alternate link for comments

Why I'm supporting Edwards

In 2003 and 2004, many of us where changed by our experiences with Gov. Dean’s campaign for president. He told us that we have the power, and we believed it. We took up the power and we started changing our country. People set up DeanCorp and went out and tried to make our country better. He told us, “The biggest lie that people like me tell people like you is that if you vote for me, I solve all you problems. The truth is that you have the power.”

Well, who is going to inspire people to take action to build a better country this time around? I am watching Sen. Edwards on C-Span announcing his candidacy. He is talking about people getting involved, signing up for OneCorp (Sound a little like DeanCorp?) He is telling us that the same sort of message about us needing to take up our power.

I know that it is early. A lot of you probably haven’t made up your minds yet. Some of you might have ill feelings from one comment or another from the 2004 cycle, but I would ask that you all listen seriously to what Sen. Edwards has to say and think about how you can get involved.

Full disclosure: I’ve been in talks for some time about working as a staffer for Edwards’ campaign. You can see some of my thinking from this blog post.

Alternate link for comments

Edwards announces a day early

Via Yahoo News

The North Carolina Democrat's campaign accidentally went live with his election Web site a day before an announcement Thursday that was scheduled to use Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans as a backdrop.

The slip-up gave an unintended double-meaning to his campaign slogan on the John Edwards '08 Web site: "Tomorrow begins today."

There's been some discussion of Edwards as a candidate in the comments on this blog. I am probably more uncommitted than many. Yes, I know he voted for the war. Yes, I know he took advantage of the lame Confederate flags on pickup trucks kerfuffle and used it to scold Howard Dean.

So, on the one hand, I see bloggers out there falling all over themselves praising him (not at this blog), and I'm certainly more skeptical than *that*. But on the other hand, I can't accept the notion that anyone who has ever taken a position with which I disagree, or ever dissed Howard, is therefore not redeemable, ever.

And, really, truly, I do not have an agenda with this post. And I *do* feel like I'm just not ready for the '08 campaign season to begin in earnest. But I'd like to toss a few questions out there.

I'm wondering what you all want/need from a candidate. What issues are crucial, in your minds? How would a candidate indicate that s/he takes the grassroots seriously and will be willing to work with us?

We do a lot of "ruling out"--and I've certainly done that myself, with Hillary, Biden, etc. Or we sometimes say who seems okay--or at least seems to suck less than other potential candidates. And certainly most people at this blog would be happiest if Howard Dean would be the nominee. But I'm wondering if it's possible to step back for just a moment from naming names and talk more generally about what we want in or from a candidate.

Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

OPEN THREAD

Here is a quote from OPEN MIND by Diane Mariechild ~

Social change must start in our hearts: peace and prayer open our hearts. People who practice spiritual disciplines have the most enduring impact on life because the inward work we do makes us more effective in any situation. We are most effective when we can return good will for ill will and show kindness to those who would harm us; when we look for a common solution without anger or a desire to retaliation; and act on principles of care and concern without a need for reciprocation.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This quote made me think of our many conversations here and how we help each other keep on despite frustrations. I suppose, in that regard, blogging here is a spiritual practice. Thanks, Renee. ♥ Thanks to all! XOXOXXX ~ listener

You're quite welcome, listener. Just adding a quick note that, since so many are in need of prayers and light, I wanted to add a candle to this thread. Since it's Kwanzaa time, I figured I'd use these candles. And here's the link to the HEP candle page.




Alternate link for comments

The "peace on earth" part of Christmas

From the blog An Inch at a Time: Reflections on the Journey, part of a sermon given by Rev. Susan Russell of All Saints Church in Pasadena, California.

It is a longing that transcends culture, religion, language and custom -- a longing that is represented tonight for us as Christians in the baby in the manger -- the sudden, amazing and incomprehensible gift of grace: a God who loved us enough to become one of us. Yes, we manifest the wonder of Christmas in the gifts given, the meals shared, the gathering of family and loved ones. But the greater wonder is that the God who is love incarnate came down at Christmas to be among us as one of us. Came to show us how to share that love with a world in desperate need of it – to a world yearning for the “peace on earth, good will among all people” the angels proclaimed.

The “peace on earth” part of Christmas is arguably the crescendo of the Christmas story but twenty five years ago tonight my attention was on another part … on the “and she brought forth her first born son” part. What must it have been like, I wondered, for a teenaged mother to bring forth her first-born child and cradle him in a manger rather than a bassinet in an occupied territory under martial law with the words of the angel who announced his coming still echoing in her head? It was the year I heard the Christmas story quite specifically through the lens of my own experience; the particularity my impending motherhood. On Christmas Eve 1981 I was not only pregnant for the first time, I was waaaaaay past “great with child.” Actually, I’d hit “great with child” back about October, reached “enormous with child” sometime in November and by “O Holy Night” was pretty much “immobilized with child.”

Although Jamie came into the world a week later – on New Year’s Eve -- on that particular Christmas Eve for me it was all about the baby. And in what seems like the blink of an eye here it is 25 years later -- and this Christmas Eve my New Year’s Eve baby is a helicopter crew chief serving on active duty in Iraq -- so “peace on earth, good will among all people” – the crescendo of the Christmas story – is very much the focus of both the prayers in my heart and the music in my head this Christmas Eve.

Click here for the rest.

Alternate link for comments

Happy Boxing Day and first day of Kwanzaa

And today is also the "second day of Christmas" right? The one with the "two turtle doves"?

Here's a required part of Christmas when celebrated with my Mom's family:

One of the most beautiful and most revered Polish customs is the breaking of the oplatek. The use of the Christmas wafer (oplatek) is not only by native Poles in Poland but also by people of Polish ancestry all over the world.

The oplatek is a thin wafer made of flour and water. For table use, it is white. In Poland, colored wafers are used to make Christmas tree decorations. In the past, the wafers were baked by organists or by religious and were distributed from house to house in the parish during Advent. Today, they are produced commercially and are sold in religious stores and houses. Sometimes an oplatek is sent in a greeting card to loved ones away from home.

Family members extend oplatki (plural--oplatek is the singular) to one another, and break pieces off, offering good wishes and blessings for the coming year.

Every year we know that Oplatki Time is coming. It's awkward--like knowing you will be required to give a mini-speech to people you haven't seen since last year. Every year someone jokes about not doing it, or tries to barter it down to just holding up the wafers and making one big communal Christmas wish/blessing. But we always do the thing. It's tradition, dang it.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to Heifer in my Mom's honor. She was really surprised, and quite touched. Will share more later, but now it's family time. Thank *you* all for being here--you're family too!
♥
Alternate link for comments

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas all you wonderful Howard-empowered people!

Alternate link for comments

Blessed Christmas

The picture is from listener

Alternate link for comments

Christmas Eve

TRAVAIL
(A poem for Christmas Eve)

Out of the depth and quiet
of this chill, stark night,
a gnawing ache, a yearning
deepens, rising
like a threatening wave.

The young woman trembles.
Every inmost part of her is
shaken, all comfort broken.
Her hand gropes for something firm to grasp,
but all that was certain has become
obscure, all encompassing,
racked with pain.
Scarcely able to catch her breath,
~ each wave is larger, more
frightening than the last ~
as the great wave breaks over her,
she is broken,
momentarily forgetting what she accepted,
what love she bears,
yet choosing steadfastness when all seems lost.

Suddenly and completely
she, still bathed in sweat,
enfolds love in her arms,
knows joy as one victorious,
sees clearly as one who has been
stretched and changed,
that peace is always
born of travail.


~ listener

You did it my dear friends! You carried that great Hope through a mighty long process until the time was right.
You laboured greatly and with much Travail. And oh what Joy, what Peace you have brought into being!
Alleluia! ♥ Alleluia! ♥

Thinking of you tonight, especially, Kimmy Cash
with prayerful hopes of a gentle labour and smooth delivery
and great joy at the last....at last...at last. ♥

Alternate link for comments