Howard Dean's Radio Address on Iraq

Via Democrats.org Dean: We Will Do What the American People Have Asked Us To Do and Bring Our Troops Home" :

As Americans, we are united in our support for our troops. And because we support our troops, Democrats have put forward a plan for success in Iraq. A plan to get us out of Iraq.

We have made it clear that we will work with the President to find a solution. In response, the President continues to say "my way or the highway," and Vice President Cheney uses divisive rhetoric to question the patriotism of members of Congress who disagree with him. That's not what the country needs right now.

It is time for the President and Republicans in Congress to stop try to bully their way through this and work with Democrats to end the war. It's time for the President to show respect to the American people, who voted overwhelmingly to leave Iraq.

President Bush and his Republican allies did not have a clear plan when they misled our nation into this war and they do not have a clear plan to get our troops out. The Republicans sent our brave men and women in uniform to Iraq without proper body armor, equipment or training.

Our military is now stretched to a breaking point. Just this week, the Army announced they will send large division units back to Iraq without giving them at least a year's rest at home, as the Pentagon's standards require. Because our forces have been so badly depleted, the Pentagon just yesterday announced they are deploying an additional 12,000 National Guard reserves to Iraq.

The disgraceful conditions at Walter Reed and veterans' hospitals across the country are an appalling example of the way that President Bush and Republicans in Congress have failed our men and women in uniform. Upon returning home from Iraq, too many of our troops face a system that has been starved of resources for six years, and cannot adequately provide the care and services our troops deserve.

That is wrong.

Click here for the rest, including a link to the audio of Howard Dean's address.

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DemocracyFest Only 2 Months Away!

I'm posting this for Jessica, who must not have switched over to the new version of Blogger--Renee

The 4th Annual DemocracyFest will take place in Manchester NH, on June 9-10, 2007. Tickets are limited (really!) so get yours today:

http://www.democracyfest.net

Our theme this year is: Potluck Politics: The Art of Participatory Democracy. Don't miss this opportunity to network with grassroots activists from all over the country and prepare for coming elections!

Weekend tickets are only $155 per person and include:

Friday night Pre-Event Party
All trainings and workshops on Saturday and Sunday
All entertainment on Saturday and Sunday
Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday
Mid-Day Snack on Saturday and Sunday
Dinner on Saturday and Sunday
http://www.democracyfest.net

Don't forget to make your travel plans early to take advantage of lower flight costs and the special DemocracyFest guest room rate at the Wayfarer Inn, where all 4th Annual DemocracyFest events will take place. To reserve a guest room for the discounted rate of $87/night (double occupancy), you must call the Wayfarer Inn directly at 603-622-3766 and tell them you are attending DemocracyFest.

We look forward to seeing you in June!

The DemocracyFest Incorporated Team,

Charlene, Ellen, Jessica, Liane, and Quintus

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Good Friday

From el cabrero's diary "Good Friday" at Street Prophets:

The practice was in part a spectacle of power and degradation. Hengel continues, "By the public display of a naked victim at a prominent place--at a crossroads, in the theatre, on high ground, at the place of his crime--crucifixion also represented his uttermost humiliation, which had a numinous dimension to it. " Often the crucified were denied burial and simply left on the cross, which for many in the ancient world was worse than the death itself.

Historians and believers agree that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem during Passover week shortly after he caused a disturbance at the Temple. Passover was more than a religious holiday to the Jews in Roman controlled Judea: it was a subversive celebration of freedom. The Roman occupiers would have been on high alert for the slightest disturbance at such politically charged times.

One of my memories from when I was growing up is spending the weekend of Easter at my grandmother's house, and I would attend services with her on Good Friday. On Holy Saturday we would take baskets of food to the church to be blessed. This season holds a lot of memories for me, but it has only been in recent years that I began to learn the significance of crucifixion in first century Palestine.

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Happy Birthday, Donna!

I know a lot of people have already posted their birthday greeting in the old thread, but these adorable aliens wanted to wish you a happy birthday in song. (They didn't know your name, so they called you hmmm-hmm.)




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Citizen Grapski Documentary

From the comments

You have to see the documentary, Citizen Grapski, by Tom Miller of Gainesville, Florida.

See the real Charlie Grapski, the one you know, that the powers that be in Alachua City Hall want to defame.

See what Grapski has had to endure for our sakes. Please spread this around. The link now takes you to parts one and two of this awesome and frightening documentary. You will laugh. You might even cry. But it is something that the world needs to see.

DVDs will be available of the full show in high definition today. You can request copies from MillerV@grapskidefense.org

Help us stand up for Charlie while Charlie stands up for us. Find out what it is like to be a citizen in Alachua.

Alachuan

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1979 radio interview with Douglas Adams

Just 'cause I want to. Via Darker Matter:

Almost 28 years ago, a young (27) and still overdrawn Douglas Adams was poised on the brink of fame. The first radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy had been released ("Escaped," was more the word, according to Douglas) and largely ignored in a late night slot on BBC Radio 4. It had then been repeated at a less perverse time, gathering listeners and momentum as the six episodes unfolded. But the books, the second radio series, the TV show and the long, long-delayed movie version were still to come.

Douglas Adams had done a handful of short interview pieces, most of which had just pinched his jokes and ignored his opinions. But when freelance reporter Ian Shircore got the chance to spend several hours with him under cover of an unlikely feature for Penthouse magazine, Adams found himself with half a day to ruminate, pontificate and smoke too many cigarettes in the cluttered office where he was earning a crust as script editor for the Tom Baker-era Dr Who. Apart from the few column inches Penthouse was able to accommodate, these tapes, from 1979, have lain unpublished ever since. They are being released now, in three parts, to mark the first issue of Darker Matter, the online magazine that brings you the best new SF short stories from around the world.

Click here to read the interview.

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Open Thread

I just noticed that tomorrow is the end of the week long run of the first Blogad someone purchased on this site, so if you have a chance, show Treehugger (at the top of the left sidebar) some love and give a clicky.

Also, in the right sidebar, part way down the page, you can see two "feeds" that I've added recently. One is for the Independent Bloggers' Alliance, and the other is for Al Gore's journal. The feed lets you see what the most recent posts are, and you can click directly on the title you're interested in.

Silly, but amusing. The new Sims game I got (the Seasons expansion pack) has a penguin that comes wandering through the neighborhood. So much nicer to pet than the skunk. (Anyone remember the skunk?)



Off to work now--talk amonst yourselves. :)

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Nothing "new" about the DLC

In the comments, floridagal wrote:

Reposting from last thread because I can't figure how they want to make the New Democrats "new" again. It gets tiresome when they keep redefining.

On a related note, Booman has a post entitled Ford, Clinton, and the DLC.

As the good people of Nevada explained, you can not represent us and give legitimacy to Fox News (let alone accept a paycheck from them) at the same time. The DLC is dead to anyone that has payed even a remote amount of attention over the last six years. Forget policy. It's not about policy. It's about dishonesty and complicity in a stunningly failed foreign policy and it is about cowering wimpishness in the face of an executive power grab, lamely served to us as being tough on defense.

The war in Iraq will have consequences. One of those consequences will be a renewed vigor on the left, as it has devised tools to overcome the crap served up to us by the Washington political establishment. The only way the progressive backlash can be avoided is if it is stopped in its tracks by the nomination of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee. If that happens, it won't be possible to stop a massive splintering on the left and will not matter how many people write STFU diaries or invoke the ghost of Ralph Nader. People should be well advised to oppose her nomination NOW, so that we go forth with unity and take the White House AWAY from the establishment that got us into this mess.

None of our candidates are saviors and they each have their own taint with the establishment. But they are not all DLC/Harold Ford/Joe Lieberman warmongering Fox News Democrats.

Click here for the rest.

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Obama responds to claims that he "caved" to Bush

From the Union Leader:

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama says he has not softened his position on Iraq, despite suggestions to the contrary from other presidential camps and liberal blogs.

The Democratic presidential candidate took issue with a weekend report suggesting that he believes that if President George Bush vetoes a withdrawal bill, Congress should quickly provide full funding with no strings attached. Other campaigns privately pointed out the Associated Press report and questioned if Obama has changed his stance. The liberal blog Daily Kos carried a headline on Sunday stating, “Obama Caves to Bush.”
...
He said it would be unacceptable for Congress “to fold up tent because the President vetoed the bill.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

Bryan at Buckeye State Blog has weighed in here and here about the way some of the big names in the Democratic blogosphere were piling on Barack Obama yesterday.

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Tainted wheat gluten was sold as "food grade"

Via Huffington Post

Del Monte Foods has confirmed that the melamine-tainted wheat gluten used in several of its recalled pet food products was supplied as a "food grade" additive, raising the likelihood that contaminated wheat gluten might have entered the human food supply.

"Yes, it is food grade," Del Monte spokesperson Melissa Murphy-Brown wrote in reply to an e-mail query.

Click here for more.

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Wanted: a candidate worth working for

Thought you all might appreciate some of what Rob has to say in So Who Has That Vision Thing?, which is posted at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance. If you read on, you'll see that he's leaning towards Edwards, and I know some here don't consider him an option at all for one reason or another. But I decided to post at least this section, because I think it puts into words what I've tried to express, with varying degrees of success, in the past, about my support or lack of support for a candidate. (Emphasis mine.)

As a liberal Democratic Party activist, I’ll know the candidate I support when I’m compelled to knock on doors and phone bank in get out the vote (GOTV) efforts. Activism is disruptive to one’s life. It has to be coordinated around one’s work schedule and personal life. Often done after hours, on weekends and at the expense of more pleasurable activities.

Hence, I need to be inspired by a candidate before I sign up and help in their effort to become president. Inspiration is not something easily quantified. We know inspiration when we feel it. So, what are the ingredients that inspire activists to stuff envelopes and get doors slammed in their faces? What are we looking for in our next president?

You can read the rest here.

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Alex, the amazing African Grey (parrot)

This is what the title of Subway's post reminded me of this morning...

From the Alex Foundation web site

Dr. Pepperberg purchased Alex from a Chicago pet store in June, 1977. He can label seven colors, is learning the alphabet and can count up to six objects. Alex is also working on identifying objects from photographs. Alex likes cardboard boxes, keychains, and corks.

Research papers and video of Alex in action are available for download here.

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The amazing Alex Grey

There is a very special museum space here in New York City called The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors. It presents the mind of a unique artist named Alex Grey. As I wait to open my research next weekend, I invite you to explore this amazing website.

Namaste

Subway

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