Funny, True, and Sad - all at the same time

Joe Wilson's War

Well, apparently even though it's acceptable to bring guns to meetings where Congressfolk and / or the President are speaking, it's still socially unacceptable to shout "liar" at the President during a speech in the Capital building. As SC representative Joe Wilson found out last night, and again today. His website is still down, But I'm sure once it's back up and running he'll enjoy hearing from you about the appropriateness of his actions.

I do feel for the people of SC. I mean, sure, ok, some of them elected this guy, and all of them elected the governor, but the state really is taking a one/two punch from their politicians these days. Then again, after all those years of Strom Thurmond in the Senate, they should be used to the lowest possible denominator of representations.

I Had No Idea We Had That Option!

Pastor Steven Anderson of Phoenix gave a sermon recently titled "Why I Hate Barack Obama," followed by asking his parishioners to join him in praying "that God strikes Barack Obama with brain cancer."

My personal disgust with the Bush administration led me to start up this blog some years ago. And in that time I made any number of pleas for Bush / Cheney / Rumsfeld and crew to do the right thing. I called for impeachment hearings and investigations.

But not once, not a single time have I on this blog or in my personal life wished death on any of them. But the idea of what that idiot pastor calls "spiritual warfare" is beyond comprehension or belief. The tenor of these repugnant creatures - bringing guns to town hall meetings, praying for a US president's death (and not even having the decency to call him Mr. President or President Obama, but then once you're praying for a man's death, I suppose all pretense to decency has pretty much flown out the window), the whole insane, "we're all Rush L playthings now" ideology just baffles me.

How on earth are these creatures formed? Where does this come from?

Laughter(and ridicule), the best medicine

On the subject of what Popessa calls the "town hall psychos" and their rhetoric, especially the alleged administration "death panels" in the works to "kill off granny," I stole this meditation from James Fallows of the Atlantic. If the psychos REALLY think they're destined for the DEATH PANELS, then why don't we announce immediate availability of same, with the following options:

PUBLIC OPTION:
Firing squad manned by NRA members
Being dressed like a dog and thrown into the locker room of Michael Vick
Being left in the median strip of a major interstate highway


PRIVATE OPTION:
Going hunting with Dick Cheney
Being left on an Alaskan glacier to await Sarah Palin's gunning you down from a helicopter
Being forced to ingest the medications that Rush Limbaugh is on

As Fallows concludes, laughter and Barney Frank-style contempt just might be the cure for this idiocy.

OMG! We Have GOT to Start Spending More Money on Education!

Ok, so I've avoided the "town hall" nonsense out of sheer stubbornness. But I've just listened to a few snippets and am convinced that the number one problem in America is that we've become very very stupid.

A 20-something girl who bemoans that all of this is because the nation is "becoming like Russia" or those that FEAR we are becoming socialists. Or have convinced themselves that the President of the United States wants to kill the elderly.

I can't figure out what astounds me more about these idiots. That they're letting themselves be led by the nose by those who love the status quo that is screwing them over at the moment, or that they seem to actually believe the nonsense they spout. They must, how else do you get such full throated screaming unless you think you're being personally attacked.

Well done Fox news and the health care industry. You certainly have done a great job of convincing many people to do your work and thank you for it. PT Barnum would be proud.

Personally, I'm going to agitate as hard as I can for more money for education.

Thinking about bias...

Watching the Sotomayor hearings play out, I am puzzled by the insistent questioning about her "biases" that she would presumably bring to bear unfairly on her rulings. Does this mean that white men appointed to the court bring no bias whatsoever and therefore are the only reliable arbiters of this society's legal tangles? Were the people pursuing this line of questioning really serious?

Just sayin,' that's strictly a rhetorical question. I watch in wonder...

Better late than never...

I've been away from Make It Stop for awhile, partly because nothing moved me sufficiently to offer a comment-- why should you inflict perspective-free drivel on people--and because I spent about ten days in France, utterly removed from the News. I had no computer, no smart phone, no television, even. I did keep my eyes and ears open, though, and something DID get my attention.

As we know, France's state motto is "Liberte, egalite, fraternite"--liberty, equality, brotherhood. Since the time of the French Revolution, French people have steadfastly insisted that everyone in France is a Frenchman, period. In theory, you have no social class, no ethnicity, no religion in the eyes of the state--you are a Frenchman. Unfortunately, in recent years, this insistence that "we are all French" rang hollow in the case of those French citizens who came from France's former overseas colonies, particularly Algeria and Tunisia. They are Frenchmen, all right, but they are disproportionately represented in low-income housing, the ranks of the unemployed and poor, and manifestly underrepresented, even absent, in high-profile or prestige occupations. The word on the street is that if you are of African descent, you are a lot less French than some other French people when it comes to opportunities for advancement in society. French authorities have repeated "we are all Frenchmen" like a mantra even in the face of destructive riots and protests in the last few years.

So imagine my surprise when my friend and I drove to Verdun to inspect the memorial complex there last month. Verdun is Verdun, a monument to some of the bloodthirstiest military leaders ever. This time, though, I immediately noticed a new, white, mosque-like structure with a small obelisk within on the road to Fort Douamont. It turned out to be a monument--to my knowledge, the first-ever monument--to the French Muslim(read:colonial) troops who played a key role in saving Verdun from German conquest. Then-President Jacques Chirac dedicated it two years ago this month. We wondered what brought this on, since previously all soldiers on the allied side were "French," period. Apparently it came in response to some flagrant grave desecrations elsewhere, especially in Arras on the Somme, vandals . But this is not a one-off...at every memorial area, museum and bookstore, we noted new exhibits and volumes specifically dedicated to the French colonial soldier's experience in the Great War. At last, it seems that the French government acknowledges that there ARE differences among Frenchmen, and that maybe it is a wise gesture to recognize some of those "different" groups. That isn't going to integrate politics or business overnight, but it's a constructive step that COULD make some people feel valued and/or welcomed. France is a multicultural nation...might as well learn to like and live with that!

Plus c'est la meme chose, plus ca change...

Iran Protests Continue

There has been a spark of life among demonstrators today after the past week's violent repression. Among those wandering out to stand with demonstrators was Mehdi Karroubi in this video. Karroubi came in 3rd in the election before this. While he hasn't made much news in our cable news, he has a following in Iran and may be making his move now.

Watching Iran - 2

Some other places that are keeping tabs on what is going on in Iran.

Reporters Without Borders

CNN blog wire

Al Jazeera

Words from Mousavi

Even as we watch & cheer the revolts in Iran, I remind people that Mousavi isn't exactly Ghandi. He was a member of the government, supporter & proponent of the Islam revolution in Iran and isn't exactly Mr. Peace & Good Will. That said, here is some of Mousavi's latest word (from Tehran Bureau) on recent events (only a piece, the post is quite long, so feel free to click over to TBureau to get the rest).

A turning point in the history of our nation is emerging these days and nights. People are asking themselves and, in their rallies, me about what should be done [about the present situation], and which direction should be taken [to continue the protests]. I consider it my duty to explain to you what I think, and to tell you and be taught by you, so that we will not forget our historic mission, and take the responsibility for the future and fate of many [future] generation and eras. . . . We are not up against the Basij [the paramilitary group controlled by the government], they are our brothers. We are not up against the Sepaah [the Revolutionary Guards], they protect our revolution and our political system. We are not up against the army, the army protects the security of our borders. We are not up against our holy political system and its legal structure, it protects our freedom, independence and the Islamic Revolution. We are up against lies and deviations [from our revolutionary principles], and we wish to reform it [the system] by returning to the pure principles of the Islamic Revolution.

Watching Iran

There are so many places to keep in touch with what is going in Iran. Almost none of them involve cable or tv news.

Videos from Iran
http://www.youtube.com/schlokhre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw9sIVeuIIo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLo_6Qp1eTk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIrX6UiXReE

Blogs
UK's Guardian doing live blogs from Iran

Twitter
Tehran Bureau from Twitter
And of course the hash marked tweets - http://www.twitter.com (#iranelection) (#iranrevolution)

Congratulations to Pro Life Crowd

For encouraging some of the most twisted logic one can imagine. Abortion is murder. But apparently shooting doctors who perform abortions is righteous? Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, KS was killed at his church Sunday morning. NYTimes Story here.

This crew is nothing less than disgusting. Operation Rescue (which has spent much time demonstrating at Tiller's clinic) issued a comment condemned the shooting as a "cowardly act." Of course, this is the same organization that refers to Tiller as a monster who gets away with murder on their website. Ex O.Rescue founder Terry called Tiller a mass murderer. So what does Terry have to say about Tiller's death?

We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God." I am more concerned that the Obama administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder, and we still must call abortion by its proper name.

I can think of a whole lot of names for Terry and the ORescue crowd. None of them proper.

20 Years Ago

Twenty years ago this week I was living in a wretched little apartment two blocks away from the Chinese embassy building here in DC. I watched with all of us in horror as the Chinese government sent tanks and troops into Tiananmen Square to crush the Chinese students' protest for democratic government. And I was one of many who spent the next few days planted in that tiny, triangular park in front of the embassy in protest. Before long some creative protesters had added a small, defiant "Goddess of Democracy" statue to the park, standing in silent protest and condemnation of the embassy across the street.

News channels have already started the anniversary stories on the Tianamen crackdown and massacre. Images stay with us. A lone man in a stand off with a line of tanks the day after the attack on the square perhaps the most iconic. The stories will note that we still do not know how many people died that day 20 years ago in the square. The Chinese government will decline to comment on the story. But what we will see and hear most of all will be how things have changed. How students who were killed for advocating democracy have become students who listen to music on ipods, surf the web, own property and enjoy the right to determine what they want to do in life.

Some stories may ask us to conclude that the students of 1989 have won the long battle. I would disagree. The Chinese government has used economic freedom to distract the people from political freedom. Shiny new toys do distract for a while. But they do not distract forever. The voices of 1989 will rise again, and this time I believe they will persevere. I believe the people who died that night at Tianamen Square will be heard again. I can't wait to listen.

When is an Insult Not an Insult?

I would say it's when a Latina judge says she would like to think that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." To me that's a no brainer. I don't see the term "Latina" as much as I see the term "woman" and "richness of expereince" and can only agree with the statement. I've lived my entire life in a world dominated by white men whose life experiences don't much match mine, those of women I know, or those of men of color I know. And honestly, I do think that life experience can be a critical component of making a good judge.

I have to say something I find fascinating has been the ease with which some white men have fallen into the "we're the victim in all of this" mentality that they bitterly attacked during the women's movement and civil rights era. I think it's that interesting turn around more than just about anything else that I have found greatly amusing in the rants of Gingrich or Will or all the other poor white middle age very rich men who are now crying their hearts out about injustice.

Remembering the Women

In WWI, 359 servicewomen are known to have died - influenza, vehicle & aircraft accidents the causes.
WWII - 543 women died, again vehicle accidents. 16 Army nurses died from enemy fire.
Korean War - 17 women died, vehicle accidents.
Vietnam - 8 women died, vehicle accidents, a suicide and one hostile fire.
First Gulf Wars - 16 women died, vehicle accidents and hostile fire.

Iraq and Afghanistan
Almost 170,000 female American soldiers have served in the Iraq/Afghanistan wars since 2003. One in every 7 troop members is a woman. They are 15% of the active duty forces. More than 450 women have been wounded in Iraq to date, 71 have died.

Who are these women? Where are they from? They include Michelle Ring, who was killed on July 5, 2007 by enemy mortar fire in Baghdad. And Tracy Lynn Alger, killed in Shubayshen, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her vehicle on November 1, 2007. Megan McClung from Coupeville, Washington, killed on December 6, 2006 in Al Anbar province, Iraq and Lizbeth Robles from Puerto Rico, who died on March 1, 2005 of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident. They are daughters, sisters and mothers. Women who, as The Navy Times poitns out, too often have to fight more than the enemy. The Navy Times looks at the toll of war on some of those troops here. Sadly, as NT points out, serving in a war as a woman can mean a greater risk from fellow troops than from the enemy.

Word among female troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan is they are more likely to be raped by fellow soldiers than killed by the enemy. One statistic — the 9-to-1 ratio of men to women in the military — works against women’s safety, Wells said.

This is the "The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq" Helen Benedict writes about in her new book, "The Lonely Soldier." As we remember the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform through the centuries, let us not forget that far too many of our troops continue to fight on two fronts.

Obama's Speech at Notre Dame

If you haven't had a chance to read the speech in its entirety, click here, it is worth the read. The President covers many issues, including the abortion debate and the current state of the nation and the world. But there was one paragraph that touched me the most. One that speaks to each of us individually, reminding us that we are not islands, but each responsible for the other.

So many of you at Notre Dame – by the last count, upwards of 80% -- have lived this law of love through the service youʼve performed at schools and hospitals; international relief agencies and local charities. That is incredibly impressive, and a powerful testament to this institution. Now you must carry the tradition forward. Make it a way of life. Because when you serve, it doesnʼt just improve your community, it makes you a part of your community. It breaks down walls. It fosters cooperation. And when that happens – when people set aside their differences to work in common effort toward a common good; when they struggle together, and sacrifice together, and learn from one another – all things are possible.