NEON GODS

If President Truman can do it, why not Barack?

Saturday evening President Obama once again promised to end Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell(DADT) in the military, but again refused to say when or say why it couldn't be done soon.  Given the fact that a majority of Americans support it, no wonder gay bloggers are getting increasingly pissed.Worse, the White House decided to add salt to these gay blogger's  wounds by suggesting that the bloggers need to get out of their jammies and grow up.

Given the fact that President Truman integrated our Armed Forces in 1948 (1948!) with the stroke of a pen (Executive Order 9981), one would think President Obama could do the same, especially given that gay rights have far more support today than did the integration of our military in 1948 (actually, the integration wasn't instantaneous, it was just the opening shot).

President Obama should review Truman's strategy for integrating the military services.  The executive order he signed stated "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin."  This order from the Commander-in-Chief more or less forced the military to eventually comply despite the strong opposition from many segments of society.  Obama should also review how Truman reacted when faced with strong opposition from the Army (the day after Truman signed the executive order, Army Chief of Staff General Omar N. Bradley stated that desegregation will come to the Army only when it becomes a fact in the rest of American society).  Truman never let the military intimidate him and refused to back down. By March, 1951, all basic training in all the services was integrated.

14 years later, when I joined the Air Force in 1965, about 15% of my basic training unit was African American. For probably 95% of the whites in the unit it was the first time we ever had any prolonged personal interaction with African Americans. I can't overstate the positive affects of this because ever since I have never felt uncomfortable around people of other races, and I suspect this was true of most of the whites I served with. In fact before entering the service I opposed the civil rights movement (due to my upbringing in an extremely conservative home and church) but when I left the Air Force in 1969 I was a strong supporter.

If President Clinton had been able to open the military to gays back in the early 90s, we probably wouldn't be seeing the anywhere near the opposition to gay rights we see today.  Isn't it time for President Obama to show the same courage Harry Truman showed when he issued Executive Order 9981?

--Trakker

The Peace Prize is more a rebuke of Bush/Cheney than a prize for Obama

Wow!  President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize...after only 9 months in office.  I'm surprised so many pundits and bloggers seem surprised.

We shouldn't be.  The Bush/Cheney Administration scared the CRAP out of the rest of the world, given our tremendous military power and their seeming desire to use it against anyone they disagreed with.

Since January when Obama took office we Americans have concentrated our attention on our economy and health care, and Obama's leadership in these areas.  What we have tended to ignore is how Obama has approached foreign affairs, his Cairo speech, his conciliatory approach to the Muslim nations, his admission that the U.S. has made mistakes in the past and that we plan to rely on diplomacy not force.

We probably underestimate the huge sigh of relief heaved around the world as they have seen our President begin to act responsibly again after the previous President's 8 years of bullying.

Ironically, I believe this Peace Prize is more a rebuke of the Bush/Cheney approach to conflict resolution than Obama's actions.  Obama is only employing the kind of reasoned diplomacy that any reasonable world leader would use to resolve problems.  No matter, Obama's new approach is a breath of fresh air for all of us.

UPDATE: Two excellent comments from Andrew Sullivan's readers:

So now the far right is angry that Obama got the peace prize. No surprise, everything makes them angry, but this one is especially hysterical. How is it possible that American citizens can not take pride in the idea that an elected sitting President has received one of the world's highest honors? So allow me to pose a question they have asked many times: Why do you hate America?

and, the most astute comment I've seen so far about Obama's peace prize:

You know, this Peace Prize has more potential than people give it credit. Think of it in the long term: it works to paint him into a course of action. Does he want to be the Nobel Peace Prize President who invaded a third country? Who continued two wars beyond all reasonable expectations? Who hides evidence of torture? By handing out this award, they have sent their own message to the President concerning future international relations: live up to the expectations of the Peace Prize.

--Trakker

The peasants are revolting

When Bank of America raised her interest rate to 30% on her credit card, Ann Minch finally blew a gasket and posted a YouTube threat to BofA.  This is something that could catch on.  A few years ago my bank made changes to their online bill payment service which I didn't notice and it caused my Capital One Visa card payment to be late.  The total penalty and interest they charged me for that mistake was more than $200!  I've since closed the account, with pleasure (their parting blow was to refuse to pay me my reward points I had accumulated - about $45).

I hate banks and I hope Ann Minch's revolt catches on and millions of Americans refuse to pay their balance until their interest rates are lowered to something reasonable (hint: banks are paying out almost nothing in interest on savings these days. I don't think an interest rate greater than about 8% on credit cards for customers with a good payment history is warranted).

--Trakker

No Guns on Campus...in Texas?

Here is an encouraging, uplifting post on DailyKos about a graduate student who was able to block a bill allowing college students (21 and over) to carry concealed weapons on campus.  In today's political atmosphere, where gun ownership in America trumps life itself, this was a big victory, but look where it happened: TEXAS!

Kudos to John Woods.  Damn impressive story!

--Trakker

Edward Moore Kennedy (1932-2009)

John F. Kennedy was elected President when I was 14 years old.   My family was hard-core conservative and Kennedy's election pushed them into the lunatic fringe of the Republican party which they never recovered.  As a teenager I found it hard not to like President Kennedy.

Fast forward to my Air Force years ('65-'69) when I was exposed to liberals and progressive ideas for the first time.  Jack had been assassinated by then and Bobby was beginning his own journey to the left.  Bobby was the first politician who gave me hope for the future, and his assassination hurt like a kick in the nuts.

I can only imagine what effect having his two older brothers assassinated so publicly had on Teddy, but unless you were alive during this period you cannot imagine how much the right hated the Kennedys.  If YouTube had been around back then you would be shocked at the similarities between the lunatic right's hatred of the Kennedys and the same lunatic fringe's hatred of President Obama (which is why we should never allow those idiots near Obama with a gun!).

After Bobby was shot, everyone - everyone but those on the right - was fearful for Teddy's life.  Many wanted him to retire from politics. I was one of them. The right had already assassinated three liberals who had fought hard for equal rights for African Americans and I wasn't sure I (or the country) could take another assassination, especially a third liberal politician from the same family.

Teddy didn't retire from politics but he did keep a lower profile for the next 5-10 years.  Many people thought Teddy was the lightweight of the Kennedy family.  Jack and Bobby had overshadowed him early on, plus Teddy had earned a reputation for immature behavior, even to the point where he was an embarrassment to the family.

But the death of his two older brothers shook Ted up, and he seemed to understand that he had a responsibility to see that his brothers' progressive ideals were carried forward.  However, tragedy continued to strike the Kennedy family and it took a large toll on Ted, and he turned to alcohol.

By the 1990s much of the right's hatred of the Kennedys had died out (literally) and Ted remarried in 1992.  The marriage stabilized his life and he slowly emerged as one of the most effective and respected leaders of the Senate.  What was impressive was that the respect was shared by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Ted Kenndy's death, while not unexpected, is a sad blow to progressives.  Had he been healthy, I can almost guarantee that the current health care reform debacle wouldn't have degenerated into what it has now become.  On the other hand I'm relieved that Teddy lived long enough to earn our respect as an individual instead of as the brother of Jack and Bobby.  And I'm glad he died of natural causes at the age of 77 instead of by a bullet before he was 40.

I'll miss Ted Kennedy in the Senate, but here's something you probably didn't know about him.  He was a starting end on Harvard's football team in his senior year and was contacted by the Green Bay Packers asking if he was interested in playing professional football.  Ted said no, instead he planned to go into another contact sport, politics.

--Trakker

Government Lies, Real Journalism, and Suffering On Behalf of the People

Nancy Youssef, of McClatchy News, wrote a long article about Haji Sahib Rohullah Wakil, an Afghan who was detained in U.S. custody for 6 years, most of that time was spent in Gitmo.  He was released in 2008.

He's back in Afghanistan working as a tribal to help the people of his province, and much to his horror the Pentagon is now accusing him of engaging in terrorism again.  Read the article to see how ridiculous their claim is and how badly Wakil has been treated by our country.

Glenn Greenwald used this article to highlight the many lies our government has been telling us about terrorists, detainees, Gitmo, and the whole Bush war on terrorism.  Glenn praises Youssef's article and calls it an example of how real journalism should be practiced.

As the McClatchy article reflects, what is and is not real "journalism" is not that complicated.  The government makes a claim.  The role of the "journalist" is not to repeat it or merely report that the government claims..., but instead, to investigate it with skepticism to determine whether it is true, and then report if it isn't.  And journalists don't have to wait for a member of the "opposition party" to call them and object before doing so.  That's so basic that it's staggering to believe that it is disputed, and yet not only is that proposition disputed, it is explicitly rejected by many -- if not most -- establishment journalists.  And in that fact lies much of the explanation for what has happened in the U.S. during this decade (at least).

Also of interest is the first comment posted to Glenn's column.  Jim White is a frequent commenter and here is what he wrote:

At the end of the [McClatchy] article, we have this:

"Where is the justice? I am still being threatened because of this," Wakil said, his arms flailing. "But I do not want to retaliate. People respect me now more than before because they know I am innocent. It is my job as a tribal elder to suffer on behalf of my people."

What a succinct summary of the depths to which we have sunk. First, of course, Wakil understands that the concept of "justice" no longer exists for the United States when it come to the Great War on Terror.

Further, though, I dare anyone to give me a single example of a political figure in Washington who sees their job as entailing the obligation "to suffer on behalf of my people". Inside the Beltway, the only objective is to enrich oneself as much as possible in both cash and power while ensuring re-election. The concept of doing anything, let alone suffering, on behalf of the people is completely foreign to our government...

--Trakker

Another NRA Loony Ends Up In Shackles

Just how fanatical are the right wing gun loonies in this country?  Let's take a look at talk show host and blogger, Hal Turner, of New Jersey. 

The National Rifle Association (NRA) challenged laws banning handguns in Chicago and suburban Oak Park.  The three judge 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the NRA challenge and upheld the laws banning handguns. Turner went nuts.

On his blog Turner wrote, “Let me be the first to say this plainly: These Judges deserve to be killed.” Then he posted photographs of the judges, along with their work address, room numbers and phone numbers, and a picture of the building where they work (according to the FBI, the photo of the building included arrows and a label referencing “Anti-truck bomb barriers” to help would be assassins).

Even though Hal Tuner lives in New Jersey and the two laws that were upheld only affect Chicago and a suburb, the idea that a panel of judges would slap down the NRA sent him over the edge.  Hal Turner was arrested by the FBI yesterday for threatening assault and murder of federal judges.

I say, kudos to the 7th District Court of Appeals for having the guts to stand up to the NRA.

--Trakker

Iran: The Government Has Already Lost.

Here is a missive from one of Andrew Sullivan's readers which he posted on his blog Daily Dish.  It ends, "TICK, TOCK, MOTHERFUCKERS" and it describes just how badly the Iranian government has fucked itself.

Thursday afternoon I realized that this was no longer a protest about votes, it is a cry for freedom, a demand that the people to be allowed to choose their leaders and have a greater voice in their government. 

I was reduced to tears earlier today by this gut-wrenching video (it shows a girl or young with blood erupting from her nose and mouth and then dying as we watch - so I won't embed it).  This is how the government is responding to unarmed protesters.  When they decided killing is an acceptable way to respond to peaceful protest, they lost their people.

We are watching a revolution.  The current Iranian government has lost all credibility in the eyes of their people and, increasingly, in the eyes of the world.  These religious fanatics have gotten away with so much shit for so long, they thought they could get away with stealing an election. Not just stealing it, but doing it in such a clumsy way that they rubbed the voters faces in bullshit.  That was stupid and now they are going to pay a high price for their folly.

UPDATE: The gut-wrenching video that I linked to above has probably been yanked by TouTube by now but the young woman's name was Neda and she was shot through the heart by the Basij some distance away from the main protest.  She was standing next to her father when she was shot.  Imagine watching blood ooze out of the nose, mouth, and eyes of someone you love as she dies in front of you.  More here.  Find the video if you can to see firsthand what the peaceful Iranian protesters are facing.

FURTHER UPDATE: The girl who was shown in the video: "...her full name was Neda Agha-Soltan, and she was at the protest with one her professors and several other students. She was, they said, shot by a basiji riding by on a motorcycle."  This correction is typical of the news coming out of Iran right now.  It's hard to know who to believe.  The videos are show snippits of violence but it's hard to put it in perspective. 

--Trakker

GREEN!

Many bloggers are turning our blog designs green to show our support for the people in Iran who are putting their lives on the line, demanding fair elections, more democracy, and more freedoms.  I'm in awe of the numbers of Iranians who are facing down their brutish government.  I wish you safety and success.

--Trakker

Memorial Day - What It Really Means

Memorial Day should be a somber affair, a day when we ponder and honor those men and women who have died serving in our military.  I wish I could write, "...who died defending our country" but we all know that our wars are often a result of whims or ego or outside pressures rather than to defend our country from real threats.  The Iraq war is just the most recent example.

The rich and powerful of our nation have managed to manipulate our political system to the point where they and their families never end up in the National Cemeteries buried under marble headstones.  They usually benefit from the expanded government spending that accompanies war.  Because they now control our politics by sponsoring our politicians, we can probably expect more stupid wars in the future and more marble headstones in our cemeteries.  We could put a stop to this if we wanted to badly enough, but we Americans appear increasingly demoralized and act powerless because we know that nothing less than a full-scale rebellion can change the system.

So, on this day that we have set aside to remember and honor those who have died in battles we have deemed necessary, please take some time to think about what a huge sacrifice they made, and then take a few more moments to acknowledge that many of these young lives were needlessly sacrificed and think about just how wrong that is.

--Trakker