The Ice Flow

By Mary Hannington

From Sybil Vane over at Bitch PhD:

Mr. Vane has this coworker who regularly sends out to a handful of coworkers emails that present her hyperbolic and hysterical fiscal conservatism in reductive bullet points. Copied and pasted from some mass email type thing. E.g. "The free market did not create massive budget shortfalls, big gov't did! The free market did not create ineffectual public schools, big gov't did!" The sort of thing that Mr. Vane generally ignores, because there's really only one confrontational type in the family, but the other day she sent one that was all about big gov't and the big banks and the Fed, etc. So Mr. Vane, who has just finished reading Ron Paul's End the Fed [which yes I know, is it's own thing], writes her and says, "You might be interested in reading this, I feel like you might be surprised to learn about the connections between the Fed and some of your favorite old timey free market capitalists." And so she writes back and says, "How could I take anything that guy says seriously, he doesn't even believe he is who god made him to be."

And so Mr. Vane thinks, ummmm, ok. I mean, Ron Paul is a Bible thumper, right? Whatever, this woman is clearly loony.

And then 2 hours later she emails him to say, "Oh man, I have to apologize, I was telling my husband about the book you recommended and he pointed out that I was thinking of Ru Paul."

And apparently poor “Tea Party Paul”, Ron not Ru, is being asked to leave the “party” by the anti-incumbent Tea Party movement.

This despite the fact that Paul’s fundraiser held on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party is said to have started the whole Tea Party movement in 2007, though others argue it was CNBC’s Rick Santelli’s rant calling for a “tea party” in Chicago.

Tim Graney, who is running against Paul in the next congressional election, formerly of the Katy Tea Party Patriots, said that the sentiment is false. Graney and another Republican candidate for congress, who sponsored a local tax day Tea Party rally last April said and that Paul had nothing to do with the Tea Party foundation and is not paying attention to his district and earmarking bills.

Paul shot back that the earmarks don’t matter because he votes against all appropriations bills anyways.

Still there is Tea Party favorite Paul’s son Rand, who was endorsed by Sarah Palin at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville. An event attended by a crowd of 600, who were described as white, older and mostly southern.

BUT all is not warm and tea-like in Tea Party town.

Outside of the Republican Party 42% of adults have never even heard of the Tea Party.

Still others cry “Amateurs!”

There is a 20 year old planning to run on the Tea Party ticket in 2010 in Boston and a math teacher, who organized “porkulus” (a combination of the word “pork” and “stimulus” coined by that clever drug addict and radio announcer Rush Limbaugh) protest in Seattle and Mark Meckler, a California attorney and now a national Tea Party figure, who felt that Rick Santelli “was speaking directly to me.”

His group, Tea Party Patriots, suggest “Stand up and shout and sit right back down.” as a way to disrupt your representative’s speeches.

According to Meckler they are a “non-partisan” group and are endorsed by other such non-partisan folks like Michelle Malkin, Parcbench, Freedom Works, Red State and Red County.

Despite the fact that liberals have argued that conservative PACs like Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks were behind all these parties and used professional PR firms to create the feel of a grassroots movement Tim Philips of Americans for Prosperity assures us that the Republican party is too “disorganized” to pull that off.

Abundant groups of Tea Partiers have turned up like 9-12 Delaware Patriots, the Louisiana Tea Party Federation and Lewis & Clark Tea Party Patriots, who have recently called for their Democratic senator to be hung.

There is even a Tea Party Blog, where hilohaw is planting an avocado tree in Hawaii to honor of the Tea Party movement. She compares the ten years the tree will take to mature and the tens years it will take to tap oil resources and calls for us to start drilling now! She says it would be okay to put up some windmills and solar panels too.

Speaking of trees… Tea Partier Fred Neff says, “…liberals use Science to cut away at the Tree of Liberty.” He goes on to explain how Science manipulates us.

And mach1, who hopes the Tea Party will blossom like the tree says, “Go Tea Party Go!” He is clearly of the anti-incumbent Tea Party variety and suggests, ““Vote out the incumbent” should be the mantra - even if the other choice is a complete nut case. A nut case is better than the self-serving leaders we have now.”

The Northwest Side Tea Party of Cincinnati meets at Clippard Industries next to the Sunoco every month.

Tea Party Nation of Tennessee is expected to make a profit in the high “two figures.”

And last time I checked the Tea Party Patriots (Official Home of the American Tea Party) had almost 30,000 members, who are all presumably standing up and shouting and sitting right back down all across this great nation of ours.

Posted by M. Hannington at 08:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Matthew Storey

On Thursday night, in East Harlem, 25 year old NYPD officer, Omar Edwards, was shot dead by an NYPD officer named Andrew Dunton. Officer Dunton had been part of an anti-crime patrol, who had come upon Officer Edwards, off-duty and out of uniform, with his gun drawn while chasing a man who had broken into his car. Reports from the scene state that Edwards stopped when Officers told him to drop the gun and turned around slowly, when he was plugged by Dunton's gun, six shots fired from a distance of 15 feet. NYPD regulations require Off-duty officers to identify themselves as NYPD and there is no indication that Officer Edwards did so, nor any independent witness who can testify that he did not.

Officer Dunton is a 4 year veteran, who lives in a small hamlet in Suffolk County, where he grew up. He attended Siena College in Upstate New York. Suffolk County is 85% White, 7% Black, 11% Hispanic and entirely suburban and rural. Siena College lists its student body demographic as being 15% Minority; the surrounding community of Loudonville, New York has less than 10% minorities. Suffolk and Loudonville are both separated geographically from direct access to urban populations.

Officer Edwards was newly married, to the mother of his 1 1/2 year old and 7 month old. He was a 2 year veteran who grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Brownsville is 85% Black, 14% Hispanic, 4% White and entirely urban. Brownsville is a neighborhood within Brooklyn, a borough of 2.5 million people in NYC, a city of 8.5 million people, all reachable on foot or via public transportation.

East Harlem, also known as 'Spanish' Harlem, was a predominantly Italian neighborhood until the 1950's, when huge influxes of Puerto Rican immigrants settled in the community and it became known by its new name. In the last 15 years, the neighborhood has seen broad development and a greater demographic diversification has blurred the lines between the Upper East Side neighborhood to its South in Manhattan and Central Harlem to its West. Current demographics indicate East Harlem is 42% Black, 31% White and 23% Hispanic, but it is safe to assume the Hispanic population is significantly larger given the huge numbers of uncounted immigrants (also true, to a lesser extent in Suffolk and Brownsville)

In Harlem, in 2009, Hispanics, Blacks, White are more likely to live side by side than at any other time in the community's history, and white collar workers, students, blue collar workers and artists live more harmoniously than they ever have. The economy works in East Harlem, Public Housing works in East Harlem, the streets are safer than they once were and much of the credit belongs to the NYPD, who have effectively worked to foster better relations with all the constituents in the community and to weed out the violent crime that terrorized earlier generations 'Up East'.

At this point, and I expect at no point, has any evidence been revealed that makes any suggestion that Office Dunton, who is a white man from a suburban community, has ever demonstrated that he is a racist. From the first account of this incident, and early reports about both men's service records, this appears to be a case of two good young cops who came upon one another during a crisis, and tragedy resulted.

We can look at the demographics of the places that formed these men's understanding of the streets and shape conjecture, but no genuine understanding of this particular INCIDENT is suggested here or required for the scope of this discussion. All that we KNOW is that a good man is dead and a good man shot him.

For several decades, New Yorkers have debated the imposition of a 'Residency Requirement' that would require NYC employees, and specifically, NYPD, to live in the 5 Boroughs of the City. This is problematic in the sense that Americans have the right to live anywhere they wish, and the Patrolmen's Benefit Association (PBA) have argued against the provision, noting the high cost of living in many parts of the city and the difficult social conditions that exist in more affordable areas - places like Brownsville, or to a lesser extent, East Harlem.

Officer Edwards, who has been described by Brownsville neighbors as a 'Mama's Boy', was a hulking physical specimen who was a star on the NYPD Football Team and wanted to be a cop since he was a boy. Growing up in Brownsville, he would have found the East Harlem community to be easily interpreted and relatively safe. It is also possible that he grew up seeing White police in conflict with young Blacks in Brownsville and internalized a sense of vulnerability to such encounters.

Officer Dunton, a quiet, well regarded student, officer and neighbor. Growing up in Suffolk, attending school in Loudonville and living in Suffolk, it is entirely possible that the street scenes he encountered and the community he served in East Harlem, were unfamiliar to his experiences and that he may have internalized a sense of menace from young blacks, who account for a disproportionate percentage of arrests and convictions in Harlem.

It isn't much of a leap to imagine a furious Officer Edwards, interrupted from a legitimate chase of a suspect he'd caught red-handed stealing from his OWN car - failing to follow procedure and not understanding the gravity of doing so. It is certainly no stretch to imagine an adrenaline fueled Officer Dunton, encountering a huge, powerful, suspect with a drawn weapon, failing to exercise appropriate restraint when Officer Edwards turned towards him. A cool, rationale response is not to fire until one HAS to, emptying six rounds at short range indicates fear, panic and a perception of threat.

For Officer Dunton, regardless of intent or character, the preponderance of evidence (60% of Crimes in NYC are committed by Black men under 40 years of age) and the weight of personal experience resulted in a snap decision that left a cop dead. Had he been exposed to more life on the streets, he very well may have come to a different conclusion about Officer Edwards. We'll never know.

What we do know is that a Large Black man with a gun is a person who is threatening and an understandable fear requires no suspension of disbelief.

Understandable then, that Edwards, of Brownsville, was less than enthusiastic about being detained and that Dunton, of Suffolk, made a snap decision based upon profiling and circumstances.

Understandable, but unacceptable.

The NYPD is not a Social club or a Political party, it is a Law Enforcement organization that sends armed officers into every community to protect the public. Those officers cannot be left to their backgrounds, emotions and biases, when they confront the infinite variety of possibilities in a modern urban environment. They have to rely on TRAINING, and preparation. They have to KNOW what they will do in a situation, no matter how laced with peril it may be - they are Cops - it IS going to happen.

In an ideal circumstance, every neighborhood would be patrolled by officers who grew up on those streets, who could read the vibe with a heightened understanding. Residency requirements make a lot of sense, but they cannot be installed, because of the individual rights of officers. Individual rights make things more complex, but also make things FAIR and in this instance, fairness dictates that the Officers rights and the communities rights must be balanced.

Nobody should bury a 25 year old like Omar Edwards, a hero with a lifetime of service and joy with his family in front of him.

Make his loss mean something.

There are young officers from Suburban communities, who ride in fear every day through Urban neighborhoods they can scarcely be expected to relate to or understand, any more than many of us Urban dwellers would relate to life on Long Island's Eastern end. There are young officers from Urban areas, who have incorporated a sense of mistrust for the very badge they wear, putting themselves and their partners at risk in a dangerous situation. Officers need to rely LESS on probability and 'profiling' and more on interpreting the individual circumstances of a scene - the only way these sorts of tragedies can be avoided is to relentlessly drill and train, drill and train. That suspect may be a Cop. That Cop may be a suspect. Anything can happen out there, and probably will.

Officer Edwards should have laid his weapon down and shouted 'I'm NYPD!'.

Officer Dunton should have positioned himself so that the turning suspect would not threaten him, should have been prepared to shoot in the leg, IF needed, after the maximum amount of precaution and discretion had been observed.

Instead Edwards is dead, shot in the back.

Prepare them. No cop should die at the hands of a cop.

Posted by Matthew at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Red Sox Steve

Prior to his time as Roman emperor, Julius Caesar served as a governor of territories which bordered lands yet to be conquered by the Roman empire. This gave him the opportunity to extend Roman influence, and his own in the process. Under his rule, both the Gallic and Germanic tribes were conquered around 55 BC; he then led his armies farther north, across the ocean and onto a land occupied by people he feared were aiding the enemy Gauls: Britons. Although Caesar's initial attacks were unsuccessful, Rome eventually was able to create a military and political presence there, calling the land it occupied Britannia, which it maintained for over 400 years.

For the next 1,000 years (the "Middle Ages"), this part of the world was the site of conflict, feudalistic rule, and shifting alliances, in the constant pursuit of temporary power and elusive control. During the reign of King John, nobles at Runnymede in 1215 compelled the king to grant the Magna Carta which moved England toward a parliamentary system. 50 years later, in 1265, Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester and leader of the barons in their opposition to Henry III, called the first Parliament, with representatives of the rural nobility and of the boroughs and towns. In the late 13th century, Edward I expanded the royal courts and reformed the legal system, diluting the power held by the throne. Different kingdoms continued to jockey for power over others, until a civil war broke out in 1455, which took 30 years to resolve. After the conflict (known as the Wars of the Roses) had died down, Henry Tudor (a/k/a Henry VII) emerged as the monarch who was to govern all of England. This era marked the beginning of what is known as the Tudor Dynasty in 1485, or the start of what other historians call Early Modern Britain and it is where our discussion continues.

In 1534, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy which confirmed Henry VIII (descendant of Henry VII) as the head of church and state and declared the Catholic religion null and void. Henry wanted separation from the Catholic Church because he had failed to obtain papal approval for his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. Meanwhile because of England's economic ties with the continent, Protestant ideas arrived soon after the German Martin Luther's declaration against the church in 1516. As a result, Henry's withdrawal of England from its relationship with Catholicism met with widespread approval.

After centuries of struggle, under Henry VIII much of governmental power became centralized in the monarchy. Parliament, however, in part made up of members of the nobility, continued to have some ability to control finances; Parliament alone had the right to enact new taxes, and the failure of previous monarchs to implement a financial system to fund wars gave Parliament a measure of control. In 1536, Parliament under Henry's pressure incorporated Wales into England. English law was imposed on Wales and English was made its official language. The two became known as England. Five years later, the English Parliament declared Henry VIII, “King of Ireland.”

After Henry's death and the death of his son and successor, Edward VI, Henry's daughter Mary, a Catholic, was aided by anti-Protestant sentiment in her bid for the Crown against Edward's chosen Protestant heir. Mary's repressive regime, during which hundreds of Protestants were burned at the stake, earned her the nickname Bloody Mary, and deepened the divide between Catholics and Protestants, part of which resulted from her father's establishment of the Church of England. Mary further strengthened her reestablishment of the Catholic Church in England by marrying Philip II of Spain, who was at the forefront of the Counter-Reformation, the goal of which was to eradicate Protestantism from Europe.

Queen Elizabeth I, coming to power after Mary’s death in 1558, sought to restore Protestantism by modifying some of its practices to mollify Catholics, however some similarities between Catholicism and Protestantism still remained. These remaining parts were enough to harden opposition to Catholicism among a sect of extreme Protestants, called Puritans. What happened next led us to one of the critical events in European history. Mary (another one), Queen of Scots, was a Catholic who was deposed by her own people. In leaving Scotland, she sought refuge with Elizabeth. However, because Mary was Catholic, she was imprisoned by Elizabeth and executed in 1587. In response, the pope instructed King Philip of Spain to invade England; because of the pope’s instruction, and because the English, Scottish and Irish had been aiding the Protestant Dutch in the Netherlands against Spanish rule, the Spanish Armada sailed the following year, 1588. The Spanish Armada, in attempting to attack and defeat the English, sailed back to Spain after having lost almost half its ships and control of the seas to the English and Dutch.

Ireland came under English rule during the Tudor dynasty. When Elizabeth I came to power, prior to the sailing of the Spanish Armada, she felt that Ireland without direct English rule was a threat to England. However, although she sought to establish regional councils in Ireland to moderate the tribal power in existence there, this was undermined by brutal attacks on the Irish by English explorers such as Sir Walter Raleigh. Elizabeth was threatened by the assistance the Irish had given to Spanish seamen, especially when Irish chiefs repelled an English army attempting to slaughter all Spaniards in Ulster. This defeat led to confiscation of lands and the English colonization of Ulster (Northern Ireland) and by 1590, the ruling family of Monaghan (Northern Ireland) had been removed from power by the crown. Further attempts at English colonization led to nine years of rebellion, during which much of Ulster was devastated, and the destruction of cattle and crops caused widespread famine.

After Julius Caesar had acquired Britain for the Roman Empire, Scottish tribes like the Picts posed a threat to the peace and stability of Brittania. The solution that the Romans arrived at was to construct a series of walls in the northern part of the country. The most famous of these, partly because it is still standing today, is called Hadrian's Wall, constructed in 122 AD built after a visit by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. From the time of the wall's construction Scotland remained independent from the British monarchy. During the Tudor dynasty, however, that all changed. The beginning of the unification of Scotland and England as Great Britain can be traced to the rise of James VI of Scotland to the English throne as James I in 1603. However, England and Scotland retained separate Parliaments under the united Crown. The flag of the United Kingdom still in use today was created at this time by superimposing the red cross of St. George, patron saint of England, upon the X-shaped white cross of St. Andrew, patron saint of Scotland.

What was known as "The Union of the Crowns" ended the rule of the House of Stewart in Scotland, and united England and Scotland under one king. It was slightly over 100 more years until each of the Parliaments of England and Scotland mutually agreed to pass what is known as The Acts of Union. This was a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed in 1707 by both Parliaments to put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed in 1706, following negotiation between the two countries. The Acts joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate states, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch) into a single United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Ireland had been in personal union (rule by England merely to prevent Irish uprisings, a lesser degree of governance) with its first king, Henry VIII. This relationship existed between Ireland and the United Kingdom until the Act of Union (1801) was passed. Similar to the Act of Union which brought Scotland under British rule, this was a set of complementary Acts which merged the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. As a result, the red saltire (X-shaped cross) of St. Patrick was added to the flag of Great Britain.

By the middle of the 19th century, Ireland was a devastated land. Britain was in the midst of an industrial revolution, while Ireland had yet to develop an industrialized economy. The population was growing, and land was becoming more expensive, so agriculture was the last hope for many families to feed themselves. By 1841 the population was at 8 million, with two-thirds working in agriculture. It was common for a family to own a half-acre plot. The only thing that could be grown on a half-acre plot that could feed a family was the potato.

The unfortunate reality of potato farming in Ireland prior to that point is that the crop had been completely wiped out by disease several times before, giving way to famine and widespread poverty. In the mid 1840s, a potato virus was brought to Ireland from overseas (possibly the United States), and had devastated the crop for 4 consecutive years. At least 1 million Irish died, and another million left Ireland for America and Liverpool. The famine decreased the number of Protestants in Ireland and hastened the replacement of Gaelic, the language of the poor, with English. By 1851 the Irish population was 6.5 million, and many Irish were upset with how their government had handled the problem.

Home Rule in Ireland was essentially the legislative action that cleaved the Irish from British rule. Although Home Rule had gained political momentum over a few decades, global events interceded, preventing the Irish from achieving independence until after World War I. By the end of the war, two parliaments were envisioned in the Government of Ireland Act of 1920. The Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland (the "Anglo-Irish Treaty") was signed on Dec. 6, 1921, creating the "Free Irish State". One of the main provisions of the treaty was as follows: "Northern Ireland shall not be subject to the rule of the Parliament and Government of the Free Irish State." Ireland as we know it today was free from British rule, however Northern Ireland remained under the monarchy.

Between the end of World War I and the start of World War II, Britain, like other European countries had taken a pacifist stance, and was simultaneously afflicted by the economic depression that had taken hold. As we've discussed here in our analysis of Spain and Italy, by the late 1930s, fascism was on the march in western Europe. In May of 1937, Stanley Baldwin was replaced as British Prime Minister by a former industrialist, postmaster general, and son of a statesman, Neville Chamberlain. By early 1938, Adolf Hitler had invaded Austria and positioned the German army for a move into the German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia. Britain had previously entered into treaties with European nations like Czechoslovakia, France and Poland, signifying British desire to protect such nations if attacked. Later that year, Chamberlain met with Hitler in Germany and the British PM agreed to give Hitler all that he wanted, requesting first permission to speak with French and Czech leaders. The French were unable to sway Chamberlain, and the United States was unwilling to enter the war at this point. Although Chamberlain was victorious in persuading British allies to agree to Hitler's request, Hitler occupied the entire nation of Czechoslovakia in direct repudiation of the agreement. As a result of this and other actions taken by the Germans, a declaration of war was made by Great Britain in September 1939.

Chamberlain was removed from office within a matter of months, and the statesman who took over as British Prime Minister would lead Britain through the end of the conflict: Winston Churchill. Churchill, in conjunction with Stalin, De Gaulle and Roosevelt prosecuted the Allied war effort against Germany, although diplomatic relations between the nations was sometimes unstable. After Hitler was defeated in May 1945, Churchill's party was subsequently defeated in August 1945 by the Labour Party. Churchill remained in Parliament as head of the Conservative (opposition) party, before he returned to power as Prime Minister in 1951.

After the end of the war, the Labour party had promised a series of social welfare reforms, and was attempting the nationalization of certain industries. Although they were able to push through a number of these reforms, the political momentum turned to inertia as the Conservatives were able to return to power on two separate occasions prior to 1980. The reality of Britain at this time was one of an empire in decline. It was trying to maintain multiple alliances like NATO, and by the mid 1970s, the British electorate had indicated by a 67% majority that it would like to remain a member of the recently joined European Community. The economy was in ruins and as a result of the flareup of conflict in Northern Ireland, tensions there persisted for a number of years.

In the last 20 years, the British have shifted from the Conservative party (Thacher, 1979-1990; Major, 1990-1997) to the Labour Party (Blair, 1997-2007; Brown, 2007-present). Each side has attempted to reduce the tension between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The "Downing Street Declaration" that took place in 1993 between British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds over the future of Northern Ireland suggested that undisclosed contacts had been maintained for some time between the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Sinn Feìn (political wing of the IRA), and the British government. The United Kingdom, under Tony Blair in 1998, and Ireland signed a peace agreement (Good Friday agreement) which led Ireland to amend language in its constitution, ultimately disclaiming Northern Ireland as its territory. In return, the United Kingdom promised to amend the Government of Ireland Act.

After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Prime Minister Blair offered support for the global war on terror and specifically the March 2003 declaration of war on Iraq by the United States. His actions, however, were not without controversy: Blair acknowledged flawed intelligence as it related to Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, and also presided over the "Downing Street memo" controversy which summarized a secret July 2002 meeting among British intelligence, government, and defense leaders, at which there was a discussion about the fact that US efforts were made to deliberately falsify intelligence in order to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

Subsequent to Tony Blair's election to a third successive term (hitherto unprecedented in the Labour party) in May 2005, Britain was wracked by terrorism. Not only did a train bombing in London in July 2005 kill 52 people and injure 700, but later there was also discovery of a terrorist plot to take down 10 airplanes going from the UK to the US. As a result of Blair's questionable handling of the terrorist threat and foreign policy, he was forced to resign his position as of June 2007 and hand over the keys to 10 Downing Street to his successor and current British PM Gordon Brown.

Brown, prior to taking over for Blair, served directly under him as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 1997. In this position, Brown was responsible for economic and monetary matters, which is similar to the responsibilities held by the Minister of Finance or Secretary of the Treasury in other nations. In recent British history, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been known as the second most powerful position in British government to the Prime Minister. The current global economic crisis is certainly a threat to the incumbent's ability to get re-elected, and with the next election only a year away (May 2010), Brown spoke directly to US Congress in early March, and clearly seeks a collaborative relationship with US President Obama through his actions at the more recent G-20 meeting.

Since World War II, Britain's role morphed from one of unquestionable empire to one that now seeks to build alliances with other global powers. Britain has had to deal with a declining influence in world affairs, domestic economic pressures, historical and constitutional challenges related to Northern Ireland, the global conflict against Islamic extremists, and more recently the global economic crisis in getting from where it was to where it is today. We will continue to pay attention as events in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland unfold, knowing that millennia of history have given the world a nation which understands the grave importance of a representative democracy and seeks to work with any nation that shows a willingness to build a more stable world.

Posted by Red Sox Steve at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On North Korea...

'Maybe this is unusual because you are supposed to be so careful that we spend hours avoiding stating the obvious. I think it's worth, perhaps, being more straightforward, trying to engage other countries on the basis of the reality that exists'

'North Korea is not going to get a different relationship with the United States while insulting and refusing dialogue with the Republic of Korea'

Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton

On China...

'I see our job right now, given where we are in the World, and what we've inherited, as repairing relations, not only with Governments but with people'

'We know what they're going to say, because I've had those conversations for more than a decade with Chinese leaders'

“I think that to worry about something which is so self-evident is an impediment to clear thinking,”

On the job one HAS...be it First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the USA, Senator, Candidate, Secretary...

'Bloom where you're planted'

"Amnesty International is shocked and extremely disappointed by U.S. Secretary Clinton's comments that human rights will not be a priority in her diplomatic engagement with China.

"The United States is one of the only countries that can meaningfully stand up to China on human rights issues. But by commenting that human rights will not interfere with other priorities, Secretary Clinton damages future U.S. initiatives to protect those rights in China.

"The Chinese people face a dire situation. Crackdowns on Tibetans, Uighurs and religious groups such as the Falun Gong are widespread, resulting in thousands of political prisoners--some of whom have been executed. Half a million people are currently in labor camps. Women face forced abortion and sterilization as part of China's enforcement of its one-child policy.

"It's not too late for Secretary Clinton to do the right thing for the Chinese people. Amnesty International urges Secretary Clinton to repair the damage caused by her statement and publicly declare that human rights are central to U.S.-China relations before she leaves Beijing."

T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific

“The US government cannot afford to let Beijing set the agenda”

Tenzin Dorjee, Students for a Free Tibet

'The sound of gunfire, off in the distance
I'm getting used to it now
Lived in a brownstone, lived in the ghetto
I've lived all over this town'

David Byrne, 'Talking Heads' - 'Life During Wartime'

Where oh where to START!

1.) TIBET

Let's start at the last quote. The US cannot let Beijing set the agenda on Tibet?

Think that through for one moment.

We'll wait...

Turn it around for a moment.

Tibet has been a part of The People's Republic of China since 1950.

The CIA attempted to promote a Tibetan insurrection in 1956.

'The Dalai Lama has said that he sees the millions of government-imported Han immigrants and preferential socioeconomic policies, as presenting an urgent threat to the Tibetan nation and culture'.

Of that, there can be no question.

That is what modernity will do to a Faith-Based enclave living in a remote region of a secular, emerging Global Power.

Ask the Sioux of South Dakota if they'd have preferred the Tibetan deal for gradual integration, rather than the 'Manifest Destiny' they got in its place.

China is a country of 1.5 Billion, mostly Han citizens. Like Americans streaming into the Black Hills and over the American West, that they are going to spread throughout the Country is a given, and, that spread is going to signal cultural change.

'The Dalai Lama has stated his willingness to negotiate with the PRC government for genuine autonomy, but according to the government in exile and Tibetan independence groups, most Tibetans still call for full Tibetan independence'

A man whose acolytes proclaim to be a 'Living God' is WILLING to negotiate with a sovereign Government for autonomy?

Ask the Confederate widows what happened in America when the South declared a determination to preserve 'their' culture and assert 'their' independence.

The Dalai Lama, of course, understands this and has modified this unrealistic stance "We are willing to be part of the People's Republic of China, to have it govern and guarantee to preserve our Tibetan culture, spirituality and our environment."

No such guarantees exist in life. Culture is fluid, changed and altered by every element, 'preservation' is futile. All that can be hoped for is a peaceful and enlightened approach to coexistence and assimilation. More than that is a fantasy. Tibetan Nationalism, as it exists currently, is an American construct, much like the Irish-Americans who brayed on about the UK and Northern Ireland, belligerent and unwilling to compromise while safe on the streets of New York or Boston, while Belfast mothers and children, orange OR green, took their lives in their hands on each trip to the store...then the parties sat down with Clinton and George Mitchell, and things got better. Today, of course, Arab expatriates, thriving in Brooklyn or Michigan, continue demanding a radical approach to Israel by Lebanese and Palestinian citizens who have nothing and live in fear of their overlords who fuel on such rhetoric AND the Israelis who those groups exist to destroy. Not enough food, commerce or progress.

More fantasy.

How refreshing to see an American Administration engaging the World and talking about REALITY, acknowledging the REALITY of American power in 2009, the interconnectedness of Chinese and American interests across a BROAD, rather than narrow, spectrum.

2.) Falun Gong

Unlike Tibet, which has existed in some form since the 7th Century, and therefore can at least claim precedent for its cultural and spiritual separateness, Falun Gong came into existence in 1992.

That was the year Secretary Clinton's husband won the Presidency...if you're reading this - you can remember that time pretty well.

Falun Gong, once again, is fueled by American critics of the Chinese, this time on the Right, who see it's theology as being a hopeful foot in the door against Chinese secularism. It is likely that both they AND the Chinese Government see parallels between the grass-roots nature of Falun Gong, the resultant persecution of its members and the experiences of Roman Christians.

It is just as likely that they read the lessons of that history differently, with the Christian Right hopeful for a blossoming of mystical belief overtaking the regime, as Augustine's conversion forever altered Rome and the future of the West.

Meanwhile, the PRC, immersed in unprecedented efforts to modernize its huge, formerly agrarian Nation on BEHALF of its people, may note that Christian Rome evaporated, fell and that Christianity led the West down a Thousand year 'Dark Ages'.

Benedict may pine for such times and the Southern Baptist Convention is on record as agreeing.

Not the Chinese.

3.) Xinjiang - Uyghur Province (East Turkistan)

As peace loving American leftists agitate the Chinese on behalf of gentle Tibet, and faith-based American rightists support moralizing Falun Gong, Islam and Russia both have a hand in the aspirations of dissident Islamics in Central Asia who clamor as their brothers do for autonomy and freedom to create a Islamic society in Ughyur of Western China.

For Russia, who continue to consolidate their grip on the other 'Stans' in the region, agitating for anti-Western policies in Kazahkstan, Kyrgyzytan, Uzbekistan and for a way to extend a solid buffer zone between the succesful economic model of the Chinese and the subjugated former provinces of the Soviet Union.

For Russia, its about influence and energy.

Unlike China, Russia has nothing going for it Economically or Demographically. There are ten times as many Chinese and their economy not only dwarfs Russia's, but is growing, organically, WITHOUT energy resources. Conversely, under Putin, Russia has moved away from Market economics and towards becoming a Petro-State - a strategy his people cheered when Oil was at $150 and tanks rolled through Georgia. But with oil having shaved two thirds of its value and Winter fast receding, money for Putin's expansionist fantasies has evaporated, along with Russian markets and currency. Putin is desperate to remain relevant, as evidenced by the spigot wars with Ukraine and Belarus and the sabre-rattling over Poland and Eastern European NATO membership.

For Islam, it is about maintaining and expanding the Islamic World on every border. As it is, from the far Eastern tip of Islamic Indonesia' Jayapura in the South Pacific Westward to the Atlantic Coast of Casablanca in Morocco, only Japan, India, Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam and Israel join China in being distinct from Islam. Like the American Christians, Islam views secularity as apostate, beyond even the sins of other 'Peoples of the Book' (Jews, Christians). To Muslim sensibilities, those who believe in a monotheism of the Middle East have at least SOME of the story right, but what to do with a people who not only refute belief but militantly refuse to allow an Islamic toehold in their secular republic?

Imagine that. Almost as if the Chinese leadership have not ONLY been studying economics, engineering, geology, space and history...but also watching the news.

In Gaza...

In Mumbai...

In the Philippines...

In London...

In Madrid...

In Manhattan...

In Washington, DC...

In rural Pennslyvania...

Think that list is too long to make the point?
The list is massively abridged, out of concern for space, not accommodation to sensibilities.

But the point is made and it is this, China says 'not here'.

4.) Taiwan

Relationships ebb and flow. Two people may be 'made' for one another at a particular point in their lives and hopelessly mismatched at another. The Same is true for companies, neighborhoods or even NEIGHBORS.

It is true for Countries.

Times change, interests alternately converge and diverge.

Taiwan understood the need for Democracy when mainland China was under totalitarianism.

Taiwan understood the need for Market economics and broad educational opportunity when China was under a morass of ideological and cultural control.

China has come around to the Taiwanese model, first on education, then on economics, and utilizes it's central control more in response to items 1-2-3 on this list and the urgency of its population issues than it does to impose Maoist style repression.

China in 2009 'gets it' in a manner unimaginable to anyone in the World, scarcely two decades ago.

Taiwan is an engine of growth, tolerance and accomplishment right off of China's shore.

Taiwan has more to gain from fuller engagement with 1.5B Chinese than it does from a meaningless flirtation with hard line American Right concerns that were more appropriate in Nixon's day than in 2009, with a China whose economy is poised to bestride the globe. Taiwan is BUILT upon commerce and commerce means China.

Pretending otherwise is, what?

You got it!

A fantasy.

And, while we're on the subject of self-serving, detached-from-reality scenarios...

5.) Human Rights

Does anyone in the World doubt that Hillary Clinton is an advocate for women all over the world?

Does anyone believe that women in Asia do not realize that she is?

This is the one place where the typically opposed fantasists on the American right and left come together, whether from cynicism or naivety.

As previously discussed, American History hardly stands up to a ringing endorsement for any particular virtue in this arena.

You know all those PHD's in the Chinese Government?

They can read.

They know about the Slaves, they know about the Indians, they know what it meant for the Irish, the Italian, the Jew, the Slav, the Hispanic and the Chinese when they first knocked on the door of America.

They sat on their hands when that idiot, Bush, and his blundering henchmen, lectured China on Economics and Investment as Chinese coffers stood brimming with Dollars and America's passion for 'structured finance' and the internal-combustion engine sent it tumbling down a hole that cannot yet be measured (since the tumble continues...) and has damaged the economy of every nation on Earth.

In America, Dick Cheney goes from Halliburton to the White House and the Government then spends more money with Halliburton than it did in the entire Second World War. Cheney now leaves the Government and unwinds a 'blind trust' worth hundreds of millions of dollars due to these expenditures under his watch.

In China, bureaucrats are found to have taken bribes at the expense of the common good and are executed.

Different? Sure.

Guru knows who he believes got it right.

They sat again, as Bush, leader of an American sect with perhaps 150 years of history, the aforementioned holders of slaves, slaughterers of indians and abandoners of New Orleans added cultural absurdity to the economic by lecturing a 5,000 year old China, essentially, on how to be more like Texas.

Both left and right are apparently still beholden to the notion that we Americans somehow are 'calling the tune' in this and other relationships. How grateful we can all be that the President and the Secretary are under NO such illusion.

READ that laundry list of complaints from Amnesty International, We've addressed them.

We have plenty on our plate, thank you. Reforming China from afar, with our own fortunes plummeting is CERTAINLY not 'change', right Joe Biden?

'That's more of the same'.

The World will get better the way it always has, incrementally, through education, commerce, peaceful coexistence. Or there will be War.

In China, India, Brazil...the accumulation of such incremental steps has resulted in an undeniable progress that none can question. Are they ideal constructs?

Nope.

Ideal and Human Society are not compatible.

But they are better than they've ever been and moving the fortunes of their populations upward and the interactions with other nations forward. Beijing, unlike Moscow and Teheran, does not desire conflict - that is the LAST thing they want. If conflict was their goal, Bush was the ticket and our current weakness and indebtedness would make us ripe for the picking.

That too would be fantasy-based.

As Hillary noted, China and America are the two most important players on the Global stage and, for the first time, both seem to realize it.

Further than that, the Chess board that is the World of conflicting interests finds an unprecedented opportunity for agreement in the wake of the economic meltdown.

We've learned how linked we are. We realize that ALL of us need the engine of progress, of trade, of environmental stewardship, of future exploration and that NONE of us wants nor needs more destitute peoples to care for or more armed conflict that creates such populations.

Barack and Hillary realize that America can build a coalition of allies like India, Japan, Australia, Canada, Israel. South Korea...places where honest business can occur, human rights are desired and the FUTURE is the guiding spirit, not the past.

China is already there. So is Brazil. The USA needs to emphatically strengthen its relationship with both.

A 'United Nations' implies something. That something has never been more attainable, but it requires CLARITY, honesty and humility.

In Latin America, Brazil is the dominant player and its market-friendly socialism has trumped Hugo Chavez and his Castro-esque pretentions. Venezuela is zero threat to the United States. Chavez anger with Bush was right on target, Bush is an oligarch with long attachment to the deposed oligarchs of Venezuela AND Cuba who tried to effect a coup in Caracas. Barack is no such thing and Chavez knows it. America, under Obama, will make it easy for Chavez and Raul Castro to navigate back towards the middle and ratchet down both the rhetoric and the condescension. Obstructionism, given the reality of the circumstances, is futile.

That is where things can get done.

If Latin America can be included in the alliance with those other freedom and peace-loving peoples, all can be considered as 'opting-in' to a working global dynamic.

Which leaves three players on the Globe not accounted for.

The first is Sub-Saharan Africa, and the allied countries have the ability to effect change through TRUE economic integration and reform that will finally result in an Africa that stands firmly in the modern world and cares for her own. Africans look to the future as well, they have little to hope for in the past.

There are two systemic obstructions to African progress. The first is an ecclesiastical 'cold war' that uses Africans as proxy for its conflicts, much as the Cold War combatants sacrificed Vietnamese lives for no purpose whatsoever. Islam converts and arms one side, Western Christians convert and arm others and gangster hordes maneuver between the cracks and gunfire to insure spoils for themselves while African people die needlessly, underfed, undermedicated, disconnected from any meaningful say in their own futures. Africa IS on the front lines of any confrontation between the World and Islam, but that cannot be, as Bush hoped, a 'conflict of civilizations' - a crusade, it is simply between the modern world (life) and antiquity (death). Africa can be fixed, but not under a cross or a crescent.

Not so, Russia and Islam. Neither has effectively integrated into the global economy or culture. Neither bases its goals and aspirations upon thinking of the Future and looking to the well-being of its citizens.

Concerned about 'Human Rights' and the plight of women? Don't ask about China, speak with a woman who has spent time in 'The Kingdom', or Afghanistan.

Think the Chinese are not transparent enough, go stand next to a Russian journalist with a dissident view.

Remember to duck when the sedan rolls by, Compton-style, or is it Chicago?

Russia is busily attempting, 19th/20th Century style, to 're-fight the last war' and, once again is lurching towards 'strong-man' control, as they did under Monarchy, Communism and Oligarchy. Having found the fluctuations of markets, diversification and regulation too difficult to implement, they have instead hoped for the Petro-State model and its promise of instant gratification and now, in its reversal, bandy about borders and 'sphere of influence'.

Russia wants to MATTER. The way they once did, but they do not. Under Putin, they've made it clear that they will work to change that, not through measured, incremental changes, but through force, coercion, extortion.

The usual recipe.

Islam, of course, owes its entire economic existence to that same Petro-model, and is beholden to 7th Century Theology. Like American Conservatives at the 'Cato Institute' or who admire WIlliam F. Buckley, Islam seeks to stand astride History and yell 'Stop'.

They only differ on the Century they'd have us return to. And who gets to hold the reins.

Russia and Islam do NOT 'opt-in', they have no rationale that gets them there.

An alliance between America, China and the others effectively blunts Russia AND Islam. A united commitment to dramatic new Energy policies will only further isolate and destabilize these corrupt and dangerous players. And that will result in conflict. An alliance assures that conflict will resolve itself in favor of those places looking towards the FUTURE, not hopelessly dependent upon yesterday's theology, yesterday's energy, yesterday's technology or yesterday's map

As long as America and China are not in alliance, those players can work in the cracks and the Globe can be held hostage.

This President and this Secretary of State are a formidable voice for change that can WORK.

It is hardly surprising that they will have to attempt its implementation over squabbling children on either side of the American aisle.

But it remains eternally disappointing.

Posted by Matthew at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

'Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.'

Proverbs 16: 18-19

'We didn't start the fire, it was always burning, since the worlds been turning...'

Billy Joel - 'We Didn't Start the Fire'

'Funny how it's usually the bigots that make the public 'bigot' accusation first, and generally, as in this case, is a guy making the claim with zero factual backing.'

Curt Schilling on Facebook, responding to being called a 'Bigot' by Guru

Gee, Curt...you came to Boston, an overwhelmingly progressive place and set yourself up as Advocate Number One for the political goals of the Christian Right, championed George W. Bush, advocated anti-immigration policy, advocated anti-gay policy, advocated policies that would diminish the rights of single women...alienated Immigrant teammates (imagine being Manny, a New Yorker and a Dominican from a neighborhood with more Dominicans than there are PEOPLE in Boston, where 200,000 illegals live in FEAR every day of people JUST LIKE CURT...and be listening to Curt rap on the City and anti-immigration themes...) and you have continued to be a tireless blowhard for a GOP that received;

Curt Schilling's Official Blog

5% of the Black Vote

(influenced by a Mulatto candidate to some degree, but the GOP received only 11% in '04 and 9% in '00, despite successive African-American Secretary's of State)

43% of the Female Vote

(despite the Female Democrat losing and the presence of a Female GOP candidate for VP)

31% of the Hispanic Vote

(despite the Hispanics Democratic choice by a 2/1 margin in the primary losing)

21% of the Jewish Vote

(despite unprecedented outreach by Christian Right organizations seeking influence in Israel)

35% of the Asian Vote

Clearly, Guru is not the only one who sees bigotry in Mr. Schilling, his brethren and his party.

Three days ago, I had posted a note on a Facebook photo of our old friend, Morrissey, of his wife, Mrs. Mo, wearing a Schilling t-shirt. At the time, I didn't realize that the photo was Mrs. Mo (not really visible, just the shirt) and hadn't stopped to consider the propriety of politicizing the photo.

On the one hand, Curt is a Baseball Player, a dynamic winner who has been part of the only two championships Boston has known in 90 years - a natural choice for honor to a Red Sox fan...and having such a person sleeping in my home and another one as my right hand colleague here on VagabondGuru.com - I certainly have no issues with Red Sox fans and their passion for their team.

On the OTHER hand, as mentioned above...Curt, like the despicable Charlton Heston, before him (may there be a Hell, simply so that his flesh can burn for longandlong...), has long ago shaken off the role of being just a 'ballplayer'. There has been no more forceful advocate for the Right in the public sphere than Schilling, certainly not in the solid blue North East, where it is possible to go YEARS without encountering someone who shares his belief system. At every turn, on every topic, in the game and in society, he has been OUT FRONT, happy to identify his Baseball celebrity with Right-Wing, Evangelical politics.

It's a dilemma, an ethical one. Curt is a bad guy who has done a great deal of harm and will continue to do so as long as he draws breath, he has PROVEN who he is, countless times and has earned the rage and condemnation of every American - no less than others of his ilk.

But...Facebook is not a forum for argument, it is a place for friends and Mo has been the classiest of men in my experience, we disagree on much, but honorably, and I have never detected the types of venomous hatred that Schilling spews from Mo. In this case, the benefit-of-doubt should have gone towards my friend and I should have restrained from commentary. There have to be safe spaces where people can live their lives and hold to their preferences without being trampled upon...what Manny and Pedro might have felt about their workplace prior to Curt.

Took me two days of teeth-gnashing contemplation to understand that...my typical approach is to attack anytime a Right Wing presence is detected, and to use FULL VOLUME ABUSE in so doing.

I'm conditioned to respond this way, by a lifetime of the fight against the Religious Right, its ignorance and its all-encompassing bigotry. I watched Alexandra Pelosi's Documentary 'Right America: Feeling Wronged' on HBO this week and it is S-C-A-R-Y.

This problem is way beyond contain.

In every meaningful way, the vanquished ideals of the 19th Century;

...the Nativist instincts of the Protestant 'Know-Nothing Party', perversely intertwined with the Conservative Catholics who the KNP were seeking to expel in 1850 and who now, under Benedict, find common cause with their former tormentors against latter-day Immigrants and non-English speakers.

...the sense of racial entitlement felt by Southern and Western Confederates to live their lives amongst others of similar racial and cultural belief systems and to oppose 'progress' that would seek to dilute this ability.

...the belief that only that which can be extracted from the Earth, in the form of raw materials or agriculture is a desirable form of commerce.

...the belief in 'Creationism', 150 years after Darwin and 84 years after the 'Scopes Monkey Trial.

...an abhorrence of the Homosexual, the sexually active single woman, sexually aware teenagers.

Are alive and well in these 21st Century Americans. As Islam and its fundamentalist movement has stood in the way or progress for nigh on 1,500 years, its twin 'ankle weight' on Humanity, the fundamentalist Christians are prepared to hold on, hold out, obstruct and subvert America until it can LOOK and FEEL as they wish.

What I didn't realize until I watched this film, is that these people have ZERO intention of joining the 21st Century, making common cause with their Blue State brothers, the rest of humanity...ANYONE. They are dug-in, culturally, as deeply as the Japanese in World War II, their Confederate forefathers, Hamas in Gaza...it is possible to hear, when listening to their rhetoric and that of Benedict an actual LONGING for the 'Dark Ages'...something that most Westerners hear, recognize and revile in the ideology and theology of Al Queda and Zawahiri - a fanatical devotion to what WAS and aversion to what IS.

For years, decades really, I have tried to use logic, reason, rational thought to connect the historical and scientific D-O-T-S for those on the wrong side of this divide and had zero success. I've come to realize this is not, in any meaningful way, different from trying to counter Yankee-Haters with facts or perspective...only to realize that they too, do not CARE about the 'quality' of the game, about 'free enterprise' or the primacy of large places in all things - what they DO care about?

1.) Folks JUST LIKE THEM doing well.

2.) Folks just like GURU doing poorly.

However that can happen. Ethics, which I grapple with daily, are simply not a consideration to the 'Holy'.

If blathering on about Whitewater and Monica can defeat the Clinton's - do it.

If nonsensical idiocy about drug tests and salary caps can defeat the Yankees - do it.

It's not enough for them to do well, or have a CHANCE to do well, its important that those who represent modernity, urbanity and success do POORLY for them to feel better about the world.

And here is the thing, for an America crumbling in on itself, economically, culturally, politically, environmentally...it is impossible to imagine a scenario where the likes of Guru and Curt might combine their resources and energy to work TOGETHER - our world view and goals for America are as different as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton - diametrically opposed.

We CAN make it if we can just rely on the Constitution and the guidance of the founders, free to be as each sees fit...but to the Evangelical (listen to Mike Huckabee...) the founders were/are a Secondary authority to that of scripture. These people REJECT the enlightenment, they REJECT a multi-cultural, secular society in tune with the wider world...they want, what they WANT.

Abraham Lincoln sacrificed the lives of 360,000 Americans to insure that the Confederate nightmare was not allowed to spread. But his assassination insured the cleansing could not be completed.

Enlightened thinkers of the day, believed that the South and the Right, thusly chastised, would JOIN modernity and adopt the ideals of Jefferson/Paine that guide the Declaration and Constitution.

They did not.

The 'reward' of Union victory was 100 more years of Racial segregation, anti-intellectualism, adherence to supernatural fantasy...

Lyndon Baines Johnson was a man of the South. He knew that America could not be whole if it did not resolve its racial wounds and that, until Black men were truly free in the South, America would not be free. He ALSO knew that White Southern Segregationists would never relinquish those rights willingly and he sent in the National Guard to insure those people would not be able to obstruct the intent of integration, 100 years after the Civil War.

Enlightened thinkers of the day, believed that the South and the Right, thusly chastised, would JOIN modernity and adopt the ideals of Jefferson/Paine that guide the Declaration and Constitution.

They did not.

What followed was George Wallace, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, George H.W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Tom Delay, Grover Norquist, Bill Kristol, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hanitty, Ann Coulter, George W. Bush, Sarah Palin...Curt Schilling...The Cato Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, Homeland Security, FOX, Focus on the Family, Moral Majority, Christian Broadcasting Network, Southern Baptist Convention, Opus Dei...

There have never been meaningful triumphs for enlightened Americans without bloodshed.

There will never be meaningful triumphs for Israel without bloodshed.

There is no negotiating with people who claim supernatural or racial domain.

N-O-N-E.

Which leaves two choices.

Fight, persevere and see an America that is built for the 21st Century, free of 19th Century baggage.

Continue to live the 'wish theory' and see the likes of Curt Schilling advocating racist, regressive policies and attitudes and see MORE generations of Americans suffer the fate of the Post Reagan 'lost tribes' who have no real way forward in the Modern world.

Time's up America. Act, or perish. How do we heal the divide between us, which is and has been, irreconcilable, without killing one another?

Posted by Matthew at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Media missed it.

Shocked?

Sure you are. So is Guru.

They refer to Judd Gregg (R-NH) withdrawing from his nomination as Commerce Secretary in the Obama cabinet as the '4th Blow for Obama'.

Gee, I don't know...let's look!

1st 'Blow'

The 1st Commerce Designate was Bill Richardson, a guy who is Apostate to the Clinton Democrats, both in the cabinet and the country. Appointing him, a supporter with a solid resume was no blight on Barack - nobody doubts Richardson is competent, the guy has served his country and state with distinction.

But...he's got a thicket of ethical concerns to wade through, and his withdrawal in no way reflects upon Obama. In fact, by acknowledging the political debt to the guy and still not having to deal with the divisive energy around actually having him AROUND. Obama comes out in a win-win scenario, and the smirks on we newly docile NorthEastern dissidents accrue to the President without him having to do anything.

What could be wrong there?

2nd 'Blow'

Then there is Tom Daschle at HHS (Health and Human Services). Another political chit that had to be observed, another serious player with vast experience and a bust-out resume, another perfectly valid reason for the appointment, another guy with ethical baggage, another undesirable in the Upper RIght Hand corner of the Map disappears for reasons entirely of his OWN doing.

Who's complaining?

3rd 'Blow'

Guru has no idea what a 'Chief Performance Officer' (is that a Urologist?) does, so its tough to get worked up about the 'loss' of nominee, Nancy Killefer. One thing is sure, that is not a 'blow' that Barack will feel.

4th 'Blow'

And so we come to the 2nd Commerce Designee, the aforementioned Mr. Gregg. Ole Judd is a dinosaur, one of the last New Hampshire GOP still standing after a generational/demographic shift that has taken the Granite State from Red to Purple to Blue in the past two decades. He engaged in a series of balletic moves upon being considered and had to place language in his deal that insured the NH Senate slot he'd be vacating would not be given to a Democrat (ahead of the 2010 election when the natives will do so on their own, thank you).

Then, having secured those assurances, and seeing the Democratic Governor of NH, John Lynch, accede to them and select R - Bonnie Newman, to succeed him and seeing Ms. Newman, dutifully report and begin the introduction process in a tricky spot, he now pulls the rug out on EVERY deal he made...leaving the President looking for another Commerce Secretary and having wasted his time along with pissing off BOTH NH parties, creating useless waste work for Lynch and a life/career upheaval for Newman. Sure he has made himself a hero to the Trogolodytes. So is Sarah, and Cheney...

So let's see...Barack honors his goal of selecting a GOP member of the Cabinet (along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates) AND honors the spirit of the candidates concerns with an unprecedented re-working of traditional deference to the Governor and still doesn't have to deal with the schmuck in his cabinet - infused with the types of moronic, bad economics that are the hallmark/millstone of the GOP.

Final Score?

On Judd...GOP vow kept. Feudalist idiot not in Cabinet. NH looking like a lock for Dems in '10.

Keep taking 'blows' like that B-Bam and we may just have something!

As for the overall tally...all 'paybacks' and promises were honored without having Cabinet members that many Democrats do not want anyway. Barack certainly loses nothing with his base, losing out on political lifers with longer careers than the average Obama voters been alive.

He should break the box he was in and go for what he WANTS with the rest of the team, now.

He doesn't owe anyone else, and doesn't have to play this ridiculous game out any longer.

One observer, who shall remain nameless (but has a HUGE forehead!) would like to see Michael Bloomberg, NYC Mayor, self-made Billionaire and the state-of-the-art on Infrastructure and Budget offered the role. While the Mayor is likely to decline (he has a bigger job now and won the right to run again in '09 for a third term...), he is a patriot and a problem solver, in total control of himself, beholden to none and the absolute POSTER-child for post-partisanship (there's a phrase...) as a lifelong Democrat, who switched to the GOP to avoid a crowded Democratic primary, rode out that ruse as long as it benefited his City (with a hostile GOP President in office) and then switched to Independent the SECOND said loser could no longer benefit/harm his town.

Bloomberg automatically becomes the biggest and most trusted economic mind in the Administration and calms Obama base fears about Summers and Geithner, who would effectively slide into deputy roles.

It's a brilliant idea (wish I knew it's anonymous parent!) that would turn the 4 'blows' into the wind, where we've shown they already reside, in every sense but in the minds (teensy) of the Gossip columnists writing Politics from the Capital. They'd catch on to the above, probably...in July.

Posted by Matthew at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

"Let us remember that we are doing so as servants to the same flag, as representatives of the same people, and as stakeholders in a common future, that is the most fitting tribute we can pay and the most lasting monument we can build to that most remarkable of men, Abraham Lincoln."

Barack Obama, February 12, 2009

Well said, Mr. President.

Both of you!

Both of you know that eloquence is no guarantor of Greatness, and its lack, no impediment.

But when it is found in a leader who is Great, the World moves forward.

Barack Obama, need not be 'great' to be a success, but we all should be grateful for his eloquence, his humility and his balance.

I was not a Barack Obama supporter.

I am now.

I looked and I saw and heard...Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Howard Dean, John Edwards...Joe Trippi, David Axelrod, Michael Moore, Matt Taibi...Michelle Obama...I missed the man, was too busy listening to those who have demonized the Clintons and betrayed John Kerry, allowing the maniac to scorch American Earth in order to prevail at a future date.

Then I looked again and saw and heard...Joe Biden, Rahm Emanuel, Leon Panetta, Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton at State, John Kerry chairing Foreign Relations...and I said, 'wow'.

Another look brought worry, Tom Daschle, Bill Richardson, Caroline Kennedy...but events intervened, they disappeared, and conflict...poof..., was gone. I supported Barack Obama.

Today, when I read those words..I wanted to be a Better American and a Better Matt.

That is eloquence.

But this place is about keeping it real. And so we will.

We are not what our President would have us be. Not 'United', in any meaningful sense of the word, beyond currency, it can be difficult to find ANY commonality in our belief systems, in our values, even in our sense of what America, actually IS.

That moment, awesome...breath-taking...horrible, that we had, in Manhattan rubble, did not last.

Bush knifed it.

The rest of America, kicked it.

The left, denied it.

The worst, endorsed it.

Those who flew the planes are stronger now.

Those who saw, in their despicable acts, a means to separate ends, plot still against us.

We are split in more ways then 'Red' and 'Blue', 'Liberal' and 'Conservative'...on the Left, on the Right...there are numerous competing belief systems, each category stronger than it was, but less in line with its opposite numbers or former allies.

We are a mess.

And a mess we shall remain.

We must find the common ground the President seeks and it is in our founders intentions.

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia...

They had few illusions of commonality of lifestyle.

Those are generated by marketers, not realists. The beauty of our system is what you see in that list.

Diverse. Different. Willing to work together, despite it.

The very FIRST words that are part of something that came to be called 'The United States of America' can be found in the Introduction, by Thomas Paine, in his pamphlet, 'Common Sense' that was the call for not only Revolution, but for an entirely new way of governing, of seeing man's place amongst his fellows, of organizing...

'Perhaps the Sentiments contained in the following Pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general Favour; a long Habit of not thinking a Thing 'wrong', gives it a superficial appearance of being 'right', and raises at first a formidable Outcry in defence of Custom.

But the tumult soon subsides.

Time makes more Converts than reason.'

Of Paine, another American master of Eloquence in the White House, Thomas Jefferson, said;

'It will be your glory, to have steadily labored, and with as much effect as any man living, to bring about the greatest of revolutions'

They understood that we, as they, would learn more, and change more, with time...and left in place a system that allows that growth to be reflected in government.

Lincoln saw, at unimaginable cost, that their ideas survived and that their beliefs would spread to more of her citizens, a process that has continued but it is more a continual struggle than 'destination'.

Freedom's enemies do not rest. Equality's enemies do not rest.

We must find the strength to come together, as we did that day...to unite, in the ways we CAN, and to allow others to live as they wish in the ways we MUST.

We cannot pretend. We cannot equivocate. We cannot blow it.

Posted by Matthew at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

VagabondGuru.com is a website about ideas.

The Ice Flow is the place on the site where Political discussion takes place.

Guru established the site as a forum for views borne of education and life experience that are identified solidly with the much derided American 'center'. Guru comes from a place that has been all but forgotten by an America that scarcely knows who she is in 2009 - a place that formed the BASE of FDR's support in the '30s and '40s, but was shunted aside in the post war ebullience and saw its voice move from the mainstream to the off-beat. A place co-opted by mainstream media and political operatives and mis-categorized over the past thirty years, but which still contains, broadly, the generic belief of America.

This form of Working Class Progressivism once fueled the American Labor movement - no more.

It was once THE voice of the American Left - no more.

It was found in the words of Jack Newfield, Jimmy Breslin, Mario Cuomo, Barney Frank, and still can be found, just not as readily as it once was...before the Religious Right hijacked the debate and used semantics and phraseology to marginalize this constituency, which it rightly blamed for the FDR progressivism that had marginalized the Religious Right! They called these people 'Reagan Democrats', even though, the overwhelming majority of them would no more vote for Reagan and his anti-labor ideas than they'd cut their legs off with rusty saws. The idea being, associate the demographic with its antithesis and it will wither.

It Worked.

Beautifully.

As a result, many working Americans feel disconnected from the Left they once represented, they feel estranged from an ideology that comes from those who have never known toil and regard their efforts and their pride as displaced, a form of 'Wage Slavery' (Chomsky). This thinking, an academic elitism speaks to the working person from 'on high', offering condescension and emancipation fantasies with no grounding in real-life experience.

Guru's view of the American Electorate, 2009, holds that the country is split (effectively) between Democrats and Republicans, Left and Right and that this split exists upon a continuum.

On the Right, the GOP is dominated by Religious Right, Feudalist and Jingoist elements, comprising some 60% of the Party, or, roughly 30% of Americans - something like 90 Million people.

On the Left, the Democrats are less ideologically polarized, but not by much. The party is split about 50/50 between Leftists who want fundamental changes to American economic, social and cultural approaches (75 Million people) and those who believe America already has the system in place, as designed by the founders and developed in 233 years of this experiment, to handle all that ails it, as long as it avoids the hubris and criminality of the Feudal right.

The Mainstream media has concentrated, in the post Internet age on defining Party politics by these polarized extremes, the coverage and the bulk of public debate rage on between Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, Rick Warren and their various cohorts on the Right and MSNBC, Moveon.org, Howard Dean and their acolytes on the Left.

These elements comprise approximately 165 Million Americans. They have no in-house voice in The Ice Flow. But their voices cannot be drowned out, so ubiquitous is their braying...they need no forum here to be heard yet they cannot be AVOIDED in American discourse, a forum must be provided.

Accordingly, Guru will file The Ice Flow on Weds, Thurs and Friday of each wee, speaking from his working class progressive viewpoint and will bring in voices 'From the Right' every Monday and 'From the Left' every Tuesday to discuss a defined topic that will be presented in Friday's column. ANYONE who reads the site and believes their views to come from either camp is invited to address the topic in column form and submit their writing to the editor - each week, the strongest voice from each group will have a forum. It is my hope that this will provide an honest exchange of ideas without detaching from our charter, which is to serve an underserved center of American Political thought that comprises some 135 Million Americans.

Posted by Matthew at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)