Op-Ed
My friend Steve Cobble gave Kucinich a great introduction, receiving applause for each point he made about Kucinich's platform and past performance, arguing that Kucinich was right four years ago that opposition to the war and support for fair trade were key to winning, and that's how Democrats won in 2006.
Kucinich opened with the need to cut off the money. He proposed simply not offering any more bills to fund the war. Kucinich won huge applause as he shouted about the troops coming home, the bases being closed, the oil being left to the Iraqi people...
We must challenge the very idea of war in order to reconnect with the nations of the world, Kucinich said. "I believe that the path to peace runs right through Jerusalem," Kucinich said, promising an even-handed approach. He got loud applause for being the first to raise the topic.
Kucinich opened with the need to cut off the money. He proposed simply not offering any more bills to fund the war. Kucinich won huge applause as he shouted about the troops coming home, the bases being closed, the oil being left to the Iraqi people...
We must challenge the very idea of war in order to reconnect with the nations of the world, Kucinich said. "I believe that the path to peace runs right through Jerusalem," Kucinich said, promising an even-handed approach. He got loud applause for being the first to raise the topic.
While the Take Back America conference has included two self-organized and underpromoted panels on impeachment, on Wednesday it included an official panel, well promoted and in an actual room on the topic of "Curbing the Imperial Presidency." Former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta opened the event by listing endless Bush crimes and offenses, concluding that Bush recognizes few if any limitations on his power. Congress must act, Podesta said, to oversee, review, and litigate. (Litigate?) This being a conference dedicated to the policies of Nancy Pelosi, impeachment is off the table.
The second speaker was Ambassador Joe Wilson. How do we restore the balance of power, Wilson asked. He didnt answer, though. He told the story of his writing his NY Times op-ed, and concluded that by publishing that op-ed he had held his government accountable. Of course, I applaud him for publishing that op-ed, but who exactly has been held accountable? Wilson went on to win huge applause by calling Cheney a son of a bitch. But the son of a bitch is still vice president.
The second speaker was Ambassador Joe Wilson. How do we restore the balance of power, Wilson asked. He didnt answer, though. He told the story of his writing his NY Times op-ed, and concluded that by publishing that op-ed he had held his government accountable. Of course, I applaud him for publishing that op-ed, but who exactly has been held accountable? Wilson went on to win huge applause by calling Cheney a son of a bitch. But the son of a bitch is still vice president.
So we bomb a school and then are aghast when seven children die. “If we knew that there were children inside the building, there was no way that that air strike would have occurred,” a spokesman for what the media still bother to call “the coalition” said afterward, by way of explanation if not apology.
The public has mostly tuned out of these wars. Of those who still pay attention, many do so from behind Fortress Patriotism, with its ramparts of cliche: “freedom isn’t free,” etc. Thus when children die and it’s our fault and publicity is unavoidable, the media will usually remove the stinger from each tiny death, and keep the American conscience untroubled, by putting the deaths in the larger context of U.S. strategy or mission.
We bombed the eastern Afghanistan compound, which contained a mosque and a madrassa (Islamic school), this past Sunday because we were hunting insurgents who may have been involved in the massive suicide bombing of a bus a few hours earlier in Kabul, which had killed as many as 35 people and wounded 52.
Got it? Next question . . .
The public has mostly tuned out of these wars. Of those who still pay attention, many do so from behind Fortress Patriotism, with its ramparts of cliche: “freedom isn’t free,” etc. Thus when children die and it’s our fault and publicity is unavoidable, the media will usually remove the stinger from each tiny death, and keep the American conscience untroubled, by putting the deaths in the larger context of U.S. strategy or mission.
We bombed the eastern Afghanistan compound, which contained a mosque and a madrassa (Islamic school), this past Sunday because we were hunting insurgents who may have been involved in the massive suicide bombing of a bus a few hours earlier in Kabul, which had killed as many as 35 people and wounded 52.
Got it? Next question . . .
"Hip Hop Artists and Activists: Politically Empowering a Culture of Resistance" was the name of a panel at the Take Back America Conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Cherryl Aldave from National Hip Hop Political Convention MC'd.
Speakers included Billy Wimsatt from the League of Independent Voters in Chicago, D Labrie from Hip Hop Congress in the Bay Area, Jay Woodson from National Hip Hop Political Convention in Philadelphia, Dave D from HardKnock Radio in Oakland, J Period - a Hip Hop DJ from Brooklyn, DJ Chela - a Hip Hop artist from Brooklyn and North Carolina, Wise Intelligent - a Hip Hop artist with Intelligent Music, and GRIME - a Hip Hop artist and activist and student and MC.
GRIME: "Hip Hop really did save my life. There were songs that made me care about history and about people. Hip Hop is the reason that I'm not dead or in jail, which is where a lot of people are who came from the community I came from." GRIME said he became a student activist but wanted to reach more people and turned to Hip Hop. That's what a lot of us are doing.
Speakers included Billy Wimsatt from the League of Independent Voters in Chicago, D Labrie from Hip Hop Congress in the Bay Area, Jay Woodson from National Hip Hop Political Convention in Philadelphia, Dave D from HardKnock Radio in Oakland, J Period - a Hip Hop DJ from Brooklyn, DJ Chela - a Hip Hop artist from Brooklyn and North Carolina, Wise Intelligent - a Hip Hop artist with Intelligent Music, and GRIME - a Hip Hop artist and activist and student and MC.
GRIME: "Hip Hop really did save my life. There were songs that made me care about history and about people. Hip Hop is the reason that I'm not dead or in jail, which is where a lot of people are who came from the community I came from." GRIME said he became a student activist but wanted to reach more people and turned to Hip Hop. That's what a lot of us are doing.
It’s a popular notion: TV sets and other media devices let us in on the
violence of war. “Look, nobody likes to see dead people on their
television screens,” President Bush told a news conference more than three
years ago. “I don’t. It’s a tough time for the American people to see
that. It’s gut-wrenching.”
But televised glimpses of war routinely help to keep war going. Susan Sontag was onto something when she pointed out that “the image as shock and the image as cliche are two aspects of the same presence.”
While viewers may feel disturbed by media imagery of warfare, their discomfort is largely mental and limited. The only shots coming at them are ones that have been waved through by editors. Still, we hear that television brings war into our living rooms.
But televised glimpses of war routinely help to keep war going. Susan Sontag was onto something when she pointed out that “the image as shock and the image as cliche are two aspects of the same presence.”
While viewers may feel disturbed by media imagery of warfare, their discomfort is largely mental and limited. The only shots coming at them are ones that have been waved through by editors. Still, we hear that television brings war into our living rooms.
Obama got a packed house and huge applause before saying anything about what he would do as president. For a while it was all about the influence of lobbyists in Washington, the tragedy of Katrina, the tragedy of Iraq, the need for a politics of the people, the need for hope and optimism. All opposition to the way things are, and the need for something vaguely better.
All feel good. And a lot of people clearly felt good in the room. A lot of people shouted "all right!" "you said it!"
But what did he say? He talked about what he did in Illinois. He talked about how bad things are. He said he believes in hope. But what would he do if he were president? For a while, Obama gave us no idea, other than hope, which he said is the cause he will work for every single day as president.
Finally, Obama got to some substance. He said he wants to bring together businesses and unions and insurance companies to solve our health care crisis. He promoted his "universal health care plan that covers every American." But his plan does not cover every American, and as long as it includes the insurance companies, how much hope can there be for it?
All feel good. And a lot of people clearly felt good in the room. A lot of people shouted "all right!" "you said it!"
But what did he say? He talked about what he did in Illinois. He talked about how bad things are. He said he believes in hope. But what would he do if he were president? For a while, Obama gave us no idea, other than hope, which he said is the cause he will work for every single day as president.
Finally, Obama got to some substance. He said he wants to bring together businesses and unions and insurance companies to solve our health care crisis. He promoted his "universal health care plan that covers every American." But his plan does not cover every American, and as long as it includes the insurance companies, how much hope can there be for it?
There is much that I can agree with or tolerate in Barack Obama's new article in Foreign Affairs. On the occupation of Iraq, he does not favor completely ending it, and he does not mention the ownership of oil, but he does say:
"[W]e must make clear that we seek no permanent bases in Iraq. We should leave behind only a minimal over-the-horizon military force in the region to protect American personnel and facilities, continue training Iraqi security forces, and root out al Qaeda."
Obama is no George W. Bush. But then, neither was candidate Bush what he and Dick Cheney have been in office. And preferability to Bush is far too low a threshold, I think, to merit support as a candidate for president. It is an indication of how far to the right Washington opinions on war and peace have shifted, that a Democratic candidate for president can write the following:
"I will not hesitate to use force, unilaterally if necessary, to protect the American people or our vital interests whenever we are attacked or imminently threatened. We must also consider using military force in circumstances beyond self-defense…."
"[W]e must make clear that we seek no permanent bases in Iraq. We should leave behind only a minimal over-the-horizon military force in the region to protect American personnel and facilities, continue training Iraqi security forces, and root out al Qaeda."
Obama is no George W. Bush. But then, neither was candidate Bush what he and Dick Cheney have been in office. And preferability to Bush is far too low a threshold, I think, to merit support as a candidate for president. It is an indication of how far to the right Washington opinions on war and peace have shifted, that a Democratic candidate for president can write the following:
"I will not hesitate to use force, unilaterally if necessary, to protect the American people or our vital interests whenever we are attacked or imminently threatened. We must also consider using military force in circumstances beyond self-defense…."
Cindy Sheehan’s temporary withdrawal — in exhaustion and frustration — from a leadership role in opposition to the war that claimed her son has at least given the mainstream media something to talk about: the antiwar movement’s lack of a “face,” or celebrity void.
That’s news, I guess, while mere abysmal poll numbers, which indicate that the war is lost on the home front, seem to have little more than curiosity value. And, indeed, the American public’s two-to-one opposition to the war and a presidential disapproval rating of nearly 70 percent have so far barely caused a sputter in the Bush war machine. Its vigor and ability to intimidate Congress haven’t flagged, and plans for a 50-year occupation of Iraq proceed apace, under cover of impenetrable cliche: Our troops have to be allowed to complete their mission.
That’s news, I guess, while mere abysmal poll numbers, which indicate that the war is lost on the home front, seem to have little more than curiosity value. And, indeed, the American public’s two-to-one opposition to the war and a presidential disapproval rating of nearly 70 percent have so far barely caused a sputter in the Bush war machine. Its vigor and ability to intimidate Congress haven’t flagged, and plans for a 50-year occupation of Iraq proceed apace, under cover of impenetrable cliche: Our troops have to be allowed to complete their mission.
On Monday, Ted Koppel offered a report / commentary on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" which can be found online ( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10947954 ) with this headline: "A Duty to Mislead: Politics and the Iraq War," and this introductory text: "Democrats are telling voters that if they are elected, all U.S. troops will be pulled out of Iraq. But as Sen. Hillary Clinton privately told a senor military adviser, she knows there will be some troops there for decades. It's an example of how in some cases, politics can force dishonesty."
Well, someone is trying to force dishonesty. I'm not sure it's politics.
Well, someone is trying to force dishonesty. I'm not sure it's politics.
The most creative, energetic, and effective peace activists in the United States right now are women organized explicitly as "CODE PINK: Women for Peace." While CODE PINK welcomes the participation of men (and when I'm in DC I stay at the CODE PINK house), the group is organized around the idea that women have a special role to play in working for peace. So, every once in a while I ask a bunch of Code Pinkers "Why don't we have a group of Men for Peace?"