Okay friends, here goes, I'm about to do something which is very difficult for me, and that is ask for help. I'm in a huge personal financial crisis/career transition and let me say right up front: I do NOT want "donations," and I wouldn't accept any, BUT I do want to put out the word that I am seeking work. (I currently have 2 part-time jobs which, together, meet about half my monthly expenses.) I do wordsmithing of all sorts -- editing, writing, proofreading, you name it. If you or any of your friends and/or associates could use such a service, please send me an email, or refer such people to me. I was a college English professor for 12 years, I have published books (reader reviews of The Poetry Reader's Toolkit are on Amazon.com), and I have some writing samples online: an essay at http://www.eastbayexpress.com/archive/021800/featureb_021800.html as well as book reviews at http://www.fearlessbooks.com/Reviews.html. My rates are reasonable; my work is fast, dependable, and excellent. Satisfaction is always guaranteed. My phone number is (510) 237-6648. Thanks in advance and much love. Hope no one is offended.
Marc Polonsky <marcwordsmith@sfo.com>
El Cerrito, CA USA - Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 19:44:14 (PST)

Hey BJ, have you ever heard the song "She Ra, Princess of Power" by 2 Nice Girls? It made onto my personal "greatest hits of the decade" tape.
Marc
USA - Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 19:24:19 (PST)

Aaron has just spent the last little while holding me while I cried over my memories of Liz. He asked, why don't you get together with her friends? I guess this is the best place to do that. I don't feel good or bad about the verdict today. Oddly enough, my feelings reflect the comments from Lockerbie residents more than the American families. I don't even know what justice is in this context but holding one person more responsible than another doesn't seem like it. The thing that got to me today was the various "alternate theories" that posit things other than what the police told me in Lockerbie. I think what I'd like to do is stick with my version of the "truth". In fact, we'll never really know the truth and I don't think that is really necessary. What is important is to honor Liz's gifts in our lives. I was telling Aaron about something she did for me while I was going through my divorce. She would never allow me to be less than positive about my own strengths and to underscore her point, she used this She-Ra, Princess of Power jigsaw puzzle that she bought for a dime at a garage sale. For a month, everyday in the the mail I got an envelope with one of the pieces. At the end of the month, I received the base, on which she wrote,"Bj, YOU are the Princess of Power." For her next birthday, I gave her the She-Ra doll I'd dressed to look like her. I know a good deal of the strength I carry with me now resulted from her simple, sometimes confounding faith in me. I loved her so much and am a much better person because she loved me. And I'm so grateful to have all of you to share with now. Many blessings, Bj
Bj
USA - Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 16:16:50 (PST)

Here's an idea that I just recieved via email: On President's day make a donation to Planned Parenthood (or other reproductive rights org) in W's name, having a card sent to him saying "A donation of $X has been made to Planned Parenthood in your name."
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 14:02:28 (PST)

Here's that e-letter from Laura -- Jan. 2001 Dearest Loved 0nes-- It’s been awhile - too long - since we’ve been in touch! I write from the ‘dream cabin’ which has blissfully become the home-base I’ve been praying for. Finally I’ve found time to get my hands back in the earth! Creating beautiful, healing flower beds and growing some of my own food, while befriending the local wildlife -esp. my beloved Mountain Chickadees. Living my ideals in this simple good life does not require that much cash flow. Those needs are mostly taken care of with part time seasonal work (in the mountains & on the river), designed to keep huge chunks of time available for the more important peace work.The past few years have been quite the challenge - keeping myself still enough [as in not on the road all the time with walks and actions] to bring back into balance having a humble home. But I have been able to do it -and beautifully! I do hope you can come visit! It is my peace work that prompts me to write you at this time with this long overdue update.The support-team idea seems to work best when I can inform you of specific projects on my plate. So that is what I will do from now on. I am preparing to depart in a few days for the CALIFORNIA PRISON DHARMA WALK. I have been asked, and agreed to come organize this important effort. I need to raise at least $1000 by mid-March while walking and organizing. So,besides very much wanting to be in touch with you this is also a call for help. Any support you can offer will be, as always, greatly appreciated and well used: phone/fax,copy,mailing, travel costs, other Walk support. If you can, please send donations ASAP to LAURA JOHNSON C/O JONNIE LIEBERMAN, 277 STEINMAN DR, ASHLAND, OR 97520. PH# (541) 482-0252. Jonnie is my main support person on this project and will join us toward the end of the walk. I plan to return to Ashland with her after the completion of the walk for a couple weeks work, and you can reach me there. During the walk please use Arnold Erikson's # (415) 457-1573. I should be back home in Colorado by Mar. 21 or so. Being active these past years has been on a different level as in more limited stints with walks like the year long Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage - New England to South Africa. I helped with some basic preliminary organizing in early `98 then joined them in New Orleans to Key West, FL to help coordinate the start of the Ocean crossings later that year. Our annual Spring Gatherings at Big Mountain with the resisting Dine happen more informally around, now, 4 (!) Sundance Ceremonies on the land each summer. The Elders/Resistors ask for support at times,and privacy with family at times throughout the year. Feb. 1, 2000 was the latest dead-line for the Feds. to attempt to forcibly remove the resistors from their traditional homelands. I was there, as were 100’s of supporters, and the day passed quietly without incident. There was a small international walk that began on a sacred mountain in Japan & finished at Big Mountain that day. I joined them for a 2-day Fast,Vigil & Walk around the Relocation Office in Flagstaff. The evil efforts continue mainly through harassment on the land, and courts trying to force signatures on the alleged Accommodation Agreement with the Hopi Tribal Council. The Resistors remain strong and their numbers may have gotten smaller but their amazing spirits certainly have not. With a huge push for Clemency we held high hopes, but were disappointed Clinton did not grant a pardon for Leonard Peltier before leaving office. So this battle continues. At the Nevada Test Site -Healing Global Wounds has sadly folded. Shundahai Network and Western Shoshone Spiritual Leader Corbin Harney’s PooHaBah healing center have fortunately formed. Efforts to halt the nuclear madness have splintered but remain very active. I am awaiting info right now on a Western Shoshone Walk around the Test Site later this year. I’ve seen many groups come and go over the years and I’m sure we will pull together again. I remain a part of Sundance Ceremonies in South Dakota and other locations, as well as Buddhist ceremonies at the Nipponzan Myohoji Peace Pagodas in NY, MA, and here in Colorado when we can wrangle Sawada Shonin to stick around long enough! Utsumi Shonin and Denise Anju-san at the new temple in Atlanta are planning peace pilgrimages this summer and fall. The GA temple also just announced a Ground Breaking Ceremony for the new Rocky Mountain Peace Pagoda in TN this summer... yet another center for people of all faiths and colors to come together and work for world peace! Most immediately of course there’s the CA Prison Dharma Walk for which I now seek support and plan to fully participate in. Of course there’s the ongoing good work of so many long-time groups - Citizen Alert, Seeds of Peace, The Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice, and so many others, I could go on and on.. I still firmly believe that people have the power to create the world in which we wish to live. Peace Walks remain one of the most effective ways of inspiring others to become informed, involved and active in our struggle toward peace and justice for all. I thank you ever so much for your love, encouragement and support over the years. Please know you are much loved, thought of often and dearly missed! Let me know what you’re up to. It would be great to see you're smiling face at my door! With Much Love & Respect, Laura Johnson Independant Walk Organizer/Coordinator& Laura PO Box 27 Howard, CO 81233 ph# (719) 942-4891 gliska2000@yahoo.com
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 00:10:06 (PST)

I didn't mean for this to be a trading of tried and true techniques and family secrets, but I sure do thank-you all for your assistance in my muddywaters of cuttin' and pastin'. Hopefully Laura's letter will be posted real soon. She's about to leave for the walk that begins this Thursday, or she's already left not too long ago. BTW looks like Ashcroft is getting quite a few votes out there.
Jonne Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 17:17:35 (PST)

Yah, shuurrre, Gene. Wave yer red flag in fronta dat raygin bull, Marc da wordguy! All we need from ya, now, iss ta kick off "Word War Tree", by golly! (8^>?
Frank
Minneapolis, MN USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 15:29:03 (PST)

Hi, Jonnie. The four GPMers are not with the SF protest pictures, but on a page by themselves called PEACE MARCH PORTRAITS. How ya doin' with cut 'n paste? When writing a long piece for this page I compose it in a Word document, cut and paste to my heart's content, then transfer the whole thing over to the GPM Guest Book box.
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 15:08:03 (PST)

Okay, I tried cutting n' pasting, n' copying and sending the file to a text file first. I've tried just about everything I can think of of. Any other great ideas that you may have, please be very specific. I've had no problem cutting n' pasting from the files that you've all sent, especially some of the jokes and websites that you've all sent, but this is my first time trying to cut and paste into our comment box. HELP, THANKS
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland , OR USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 11:39:43 (PST)

Got to your site, Gene. It's coming along nicely and the photos look great! :>)
TNH <yeahyou@trytryagain.org>
Bliss Falls, CA USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 11:39:34 (PST)

Gene, I got to your website and all looks fine to me. Just couldn't find all those gpmer's, couldn't recognize them, perhaps I've too small of a screen? I recognized them on the GPM site, just not below the pics of Dubya at the demonstration. As for Laura's letter, I'll try to cut n' paste again and see what I come up with. Ta,ta
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 11:24:20 (PST)

'Cutting and pasting' is the key, JDL, though it is usually best to do a little editing on the GuestBook copy, once you past it there, as the format is pretty restricted. Do you have the e-mail letter "open", when you try to 'cut' or 'copy' it? On most browsers, you can't 'copy or cut' from the letter that arrives, you have open it, first. :>)
TNH <yeahyou@wishinanahopincuttinanapastin.net>
Bliss Falls, OR USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 09:57:29 (PST)

If and when it were to happen, I would certainly take part, Marc, but there are many among us with far greater organizing skills and talents than I. Gene, the web address you give for your website is not working. [And, BTW, in case anyone is interested, de Toqueville's tour of America was actually in the early 1830's and his book was published in 1835 ;>]
TNH <yeahyou@rattlemycageandrockmyworld.org>
Bliss Falls, CA USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 09:50:14 (PST)

Hey you all, Laura Johnson asked me to forward on this long and exciting letter. She only gets to a computer not so very often so here ya go: Alright how do I do this? I just tried to cut n' paste from Laura's email. It didn't work. Must I retype it all? I can't imagine that you folks who wrote those treastises (sp?) on this here page did that, did you? Let me know quick like the short cut route or else it's my fingers that will be doing the walking.
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 09:37:13 (PST)

NEW! Two groups of photos on our web site: first, a group of six from the January 20 San Francisco demonstration against Bush. (It's on the page called Latest News.) Then a group of four gorgeous photos of Peace Marchers we all know and love. These look like they were taken by Ansel Adams. Check them out on http://wochica.tripod.com/juneandgene/
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 00:55:12 (PST)

So, TNH. About this march next year. You wanna organize it?
Marc
USA - Monday, January 29, 2001 at 12:50:13 (PST)

Hey folks, I'm usually the one resisting email petitions but now I have one I can honestly endorse. www.opposeashcroft.com was designed by my good buddy who brought us www.webwhiteblue.com, the rolling presidential debate. We went to a movie the other night and he described the 100,000 petitions his company, mindshare, has produced in a jount effort with People of the American Way. He says he can't wait to deliver them himself! I'm not sure which day he plans to do that, but if you'd like to be a part of this important effort, it's free and fast and I can assure you, your comments will get into the right hands. Sign the petition at www.opposeashcroft.com. Another thing, one of mindshare's primary areas of concern is internet privacy. PFAW will not sell or give your information to anyone. Tell a friend!
Bj <bjkt@innerstory.com>
USA - Monday, January 29, 2001 at 11:53:23 (PST)

What you said about your baby really resonates with me Roberta. It is almost impossible to hold and love a living child without having hope for the future. On the other hand it is almost impossible to hold and love our world without being pessimistic about the present state of affairs here and abroad. It feels like the only way out of that paradox is to stay involved and active pursuing those issues that move us. I have been calling various Senators to encourage them to oppose Ashcroft during the nomination vote and I have some hope that a Democratic Senator will filibuster the vote until Ashcroft withdraws.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Monday, January 29, 2001 at 09:23:33 (PST)

A French fellow named Alexis de Toqueville toured the United States, back around the time of the Civil War I believe, and went home to write a couple volumes about Democracy in America. Two observations he made were particularly striking. 'People unaware of the lessons of their history', he commented, 'are very likely to repeat its errors and re-commit its most tragic mistakes'. He was also very fond of the fledgling "republican party", which was indeed the party of Abraham Lincoln at that time, and which he felt held out great promise for the future of our experiment in democracy, and for the future of all mankind. About 75 years later, another very astute social observer, somewhere in China, pointed out that, left unattended, 'over time, virtually all human organizations tend to become their opposites'. It occurs to me that another coast to coast march on Washington may be necessary, in a year or two, to return control of the government to the people of this, now-faltering, democratic experiment.
TNH <yeahyou@echosinourminds.org>
Bliss Falls, TX USA - Monday, January 29, 2001 at 05:43:58 (PST)

I'm so embarrassed. Here I go copying and pasting: If you oppose the confirmation of Sen. Ashcroft for Attorney General, please _do not_ forward the petition that has been circulated, as the ones that are printed and mailed (if they ever do get mailed) contain many redundant names. Instead, send an email directly to Senator Daschle: tom_daschle@daschle.senate.gov This is a far more effective way of communicating your opposition than "signing" and email petition. Please be sure to include your name, address, city and state at the end of the letter, or it will not be counted. Good luck, and here's to the Democratic process!
Marc
USA - Monday, January 29, 2001 at 01:08:26 (PST)

Various thoughts: Holding little baby Dova makes my heart soften. Makes me want to believe in a positive future, all evidence to the contrary. But only 51% of eligible voters voted in this election, meaning Gore won 25% of the vote and Bush a little less. 51% is considered a HIGH turnout in our country. So much for democracy. The powers that be DO NOT WANT high voter turnout--it would challenge the people who control us, as this one did with just 51%. It is interesting that as Russia has become more "open," our press has become more and more controlled. The Pacifica Foundation, which has provided broad and deep progressive coverage for 40+ years is being threatened by corporate thugs who are taking over the Board of Directors and are trying to rewrite the bylaws to silence the nearly last progressive voice left in the media. (Since the leader is a Democratic insider, it makes me wonder who is at the helm of this takeover.) And another thing: While we were recovering from the March, the US (under elder Bush) was invading Panama--just saw "Panama Deception." We didn't want control to go over to the Panamanians, as we agreed to in our treaty with Panama under Carter. So, we destroyed their army and claimed that they are now unable to defend the canal--so we have to stay. We also killed 4,000+ civilians there and used our experimental weapons there. And another: Will rolling blackouts be the excuse for building new nuclear power plants? What does a person do when their country is a colonizing force for evil? What does a person do when the leaders' desires for keeping control is overwhelming the ideals of democracy and individual freedom? What does a person do when their tax money is used to enrich the military and nuclear providers? --Pondering good and evil and very glad to have such dear ones on the path with me....
Roberta Wilson <bertaw@bainbridge.net>
Bainbridge Island, WA USA - Sunday, January 28, 2001 at 23:42:52 (PST)

It is great to be in contact with the March so far from the US! Jan and I would like to hear from anyone.
Rudy Whitehead-Lopez <whiteheadlopez@yahoo.com>
Havelock North, NZ - Sunday, January 28, 2001 at 19:34:12 (PST)

Okay, this is long, but I found it interesting. >>> Corporate Democracy; Civic Disrespect > by John K. Galbraith>> With the events of late in the year 2000, the United States left behind > constitutional republicanism, and turned to a different form of > government. It is not, however, a new form. It is, rather, a > transplant, highly familiar from a different arena of advanced > capitalism. This is corporate democracy. It is a system whereby a Board > of Directors--read Supreme Court -- selects the Chief Executive > Officer. The CEO in turn appoints new members of the Board. The > shareholders, owners in title only, are invited to cast their votes in > periodic referenda. But their franchise is only symbolic, for management > holds a majority of the proxies. On no important issue do the CEO and > the Board ever permit themselves to lose. > > The Supreme Court clarified this in a way that the Florida courts could > not have. The media have accepted it, for it is the form of government > to which they are already professionally accustomed. And the shameless > attitude of the George W. Bush high command merely illustrates, in > unusually visible fashion, the prevalent ethical system of corporate > life. > > Al Gore's concession speech was justly praised for grace and humor. It > paid due deference to the triumph of corporate political ethics, but did > not embrace them. It thus preserved Gore for another > political day -- the obvious intention. But Gore also sent an > unmistakable message to American democrats: Do not forget. > > It was an important warning, for almost immediately forgetting became > the media order of the day. Overnight, it became almost un-American not > to accept the diktat of the Court. Or to be precise, Gore's own > distinction became holy writ: One might disagree with the Court, but not > with the legitimacy of its decision. Press references from that moment > forward > were to President-elect Bush, an unofficial title and something that the > Governor from Texas (President-select? President-designate?) manifestly > is not. > > The key to dealing with the Bush people, however, is precisely not to > accept them. Like most Americans, I have nothing personal against Bush, > Dick Cheney, nor against Colin Powell and the others now surfacing as > members of the new administration. But I will not reconcile myself to > them. They lost the election. Then they arranged to obstruct the count > of the vote. They don't deserve to be there, and that changes > everything. > > They have earned our civic disrespect, and that is what we, the people, > should accord them. In social terms, civic disrespect means that the > illegitimacy of this administration must not be allowed to fade from > view. The conventions of politics remain: Bush will be president; > Congress must work with him. But those of us outside that process are > not bound by those conventions, and to the extent that we have a voice, > we should use it. > > In political practice, civic disrespect means drawing lines around the > freedom of maneuver of the incoming administration. In many areas, > including foreign policy, there will be few major changes; in others > such as annual budgets and appropriations, compromises will have to be > reached. But Bush should be opposed on actions whose reach will > extend beyond his actual term. > > First, the new president should be allowed lifetime appointments only by > consensus. The public should oppose -- and 50 Senate Democrats should > freely block -- judicial nominations whenever they carry even the > slightest ideological taint. That may mean most of them, but no matter. > And as for the Supreme Court especially, vacancies need not be filled. > > Second, the Democrats should advise Bush not to introduce any > legislation to cut or privatize any part of Social Security or Medicare. > > Third, Democrats should furiously oppose elimination of the estate tax a > social incentive for recycling wealth to the non-profit sector, to > foundations and universities, that has had a uniquely powerful effect on > the form of American society. Once gone, this ingenious device will > never be reenacted. > > Fourth, the people must unite to oppose the global dangers of National > Missile Defense -- a strategic nightmare on which Bush campaigned -- > that threatens for all time the security of us all. > > Fifth, Congress should enact a New Voting Rights Act, targeted precisely > at the Florida abuses. This should stipulate: mandatory adoption of > best-practice technology in all federal elections; a 24-hour voting day; > a ban on private contractors to aid in purging voter rolls; and > mandatory immediate hand count of all under-votes in federal elections. > > With those steps taken, Democrats must also recognize and adapt to the > new political landscape that emerged from this election. Outside of > Florida, Democrats are finished in the South. But they have excellent > prospects of consolidating a narrow majority of the Electoral College -- > so long as, in the next election, there is no Ralph Nader defection. > > What can prevent such a thing? Only a move away from the main Clinton > compromises that so infuriated the progressive left. Nader's voters were > motivated passionately by issues like the drug war, the death penalty, > consumer protection and national missile defense -- issues where New > Democrats took Republican positions in their effort to woo the South. > Clinton the Southerner succeeded at this -- but against Republicans who > were only weakly "Southern" at best. Gore, on the other hand, was > principally a Northern candidate, strongly backed by the core Democrats, > who ran against, and defeated so far as ballots were concerned, a wholly > Southern Republican. Future Republicans almost surely also be > "Southern,"; for that is where the base of the party now lies. And > future Democrats, if they are Northern candidates too, can beat them -- > all the more so if they bring the Greens back into the Democratic fold. > > In short, Al Gore's campaign proved that there is an electoral majority > in the United States for a government that is truly a progressive > coalition, and not merely an assemblage of sympathetic > lawyers, professors and investment bankers. Rather, Americans will elect > a government that firmly includes and effectively represents labor, > women, minorities -- and Greens. This is the government we must seek to > elect --if we get another chance. > > And for that, the first task is to assure that the information > ministries of our new corporate republic do not successfully cast a fog > of forgetting over the crime that we have all just witnessed, with our > own eyes. > > > ================================================================ > > This article will appear in the Texas Observer. > >
Elizabeth
Dallas, USA - Sunday, January 28, 2001 at 19:17:08 (PST)

Elizabeth, thank you for the info on that million-prayer website. WOW!! What an inspired use of the internet. I haven't been there yet, but I will go, and I'll add my prayer. Like we Jews often say . . . well, let me tell it in a joke. This guy is crossing the street and he's hit by a car, and he's down. A Jewish woman runs over and shouts out, "Quick! Somebody get this man some chicken soup!" A nearby cop says, "Lady, chicken soup isn't going to help." The woman replies, "Well, it couldn't hurt."
Marc <marcwordsmith@sfo.com>
USA - Sunday, January 28, 2001 at 00:03:50 (PST)

Marcher seeking photo: Anyone out there have a photo from the GPM with a picture of me, Jeanine Malito in it? It would need to be presentable to children (8-}) because it's for Skye's school project. I still have (had?) my ID card, but suddenly cannot find it. Her "cultural fair" is on Feb. 8th, less than 2 weeks away. I would surely return the photo. Thanks!!
you may say I'm a dreamer... <dsoper@clipper.net>
USA - Saturday, January 27, 2001 at 15:19:59 (PST)

Wow, Dan Chavez and Rhoda Evans in one day! A march in Selma and dirty jokes to boot! Who could ask for more? I am so happy.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Friday, January 26, 2001 at 16:06:19 (PST)

Wow! Rhoda is in the political joke business big time now. Here's another of hers: "Republicans announced today that they are changing their emblem from an elephant to a condom because it more clearly reflects their party's political stance. A condom stands up to inflation, halts production, discourages cooperation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives one a sense of security while screwing others."
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Friday, January 26, 2001 at 11:53:17 (PST)

Just got this email from old GPM partner Rhoda Evans: "You've got to love New Yorkers! A Kentucky Fried Chicken location in New York City has a special on what they are calling the 'Bucket of Hillary' - two small breasts, two large thighs and a bunch of left wings."
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Friday, January 26, 2001 at 11:33:33 (PST)

Dan, It's great to hear from you and welcome to the site. You missed a wonderful reunion in Colorado, but there will be more. What are you doing these days? I appreciate your info about the Selma march. I don't think I can make it, but I'm glad you'll be there.
Elizabeth Fairchild <elizabirth@aya.yale.edu>
Dallas, TX USA - Friday, January 26, 2001 at 08:11:24 (PST)

Hi GPM. My first time on here. Great to see so many contributors. Sorry missed the CO reunion, had airline tickets but work assignments kept me away. Am writing to encourage GPM presents at the next annual Bloody Sunday March in Selma, AL. The walk commemorates the March 7, 1965 efforts to pass the civil rights act. Do we have any marchers from that area who could represent us? I am making plans to attend, it's one of the marches I wish I had done, but March is likely to become a busy month for me. My regards to you all. Take care, In the spirit the unites us, be well.
Daniel Chavez <danielchavez52@hotmail.com>
Herndon, VA USA - Thursday, January 25, 2001 at 20:46:06 (PST)

You know, TNH, you are right. I am going to call both of the Senators from Colorado. Even though they are Republicans they deserve to hear the other side.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Thursday, January 25, 2001 at 06:09:58 (PST)

What could anyone say, Joe? You really do do nice work! Though I suspect that Mahatma Gandhi would probably go right ahead and continue to 'knock on the doors' of those republican senators of yours, rather than allow them the opportunity to rest unchallenged with the belief that they are voting the 'will of their constituents'. ;>)
TNH <yeahyou@helpmemakeitthroughthenowevidentlyendlessnight.org>
Bliss Falls, CO USA - Wednesday, January 24, 2001 at 15:02:59 (PST)

ONLINE JOURNAL ---- http://www.onlinejournal.com/ ----- GOP leaders are members of the secretive, hard right Council for National Policy ----- Aside from being Republicans, what do House Majority Whip Tom (The Hammer) DeLay, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Majority Leader Richard Armey have in common? Besides their desire to drive President Clinton from office, they, and several other of their congressional colleagues, are members of the secretive, extremist religious right Council for National Policy (CNP). Never heard of the CNP? You are not alone. While the CNP is a veritable who's who of the Christian right, it prefers to do its business in secrecy, as you will see in the articles that follow. Whether it's a matter of ignorance, apathy or design, the major media have shown no interest in the CNP, despite the efforts of the Institute for First Amendment Studies to get their attention. Patrick McGuigan, one of The News Hour's (PBS) regular regional commentators, is listed as a member of the CNP. McGuigan is editorial page editor of The Daily Oklahoman which has called for Clinton's impeachment. In addition to DeLay, Lott and Armey, senators Jesse Helms and Don Nickles, Lauch Faircloth, representatives Dan Burton, Ernest Istook and John Doolittle are listed as members of the CNP. They are in the company of such right wing Christian luminaries as Pat Robertson, Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Joseph Farah, Reed Irvine, Larry Klayman, Tim and Beverly LaHaye, former Attorney General Edwin Meese, Ralph Reed, Howard Phillips, Phyllis Schlafly, Donald Wildmon, Paul Weyrich, Oliver North, and the Rutherford Institute's John Whitehead. Then there is R.J. Rushdoony, the founder of the Chalcedon Foundation and the father of the Christian Reconstruction movement, and his son-in-law Gary North of the Institute for Christian Economics. Members from the business community include Richard DeVos of Amway, several members of the Coors family, Pierre S. duPont IV, Richard Wirthlin and Nelson Bunker Hunt. What was Hillary saying about a "vast right wing conspiracy?" ----- The membership list may be found on IFAS's web site. http://www.ifas.org/
Teach
San Francisco, CA USA - Wednesday, January 24, 2001 at 14:47:03 (PST)

I just heard that Senator Feinstein declared her opposition to Ashcroft! Perhaps all those calls helped.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Wednesday, January 24, 2001 at 10:39:39 (PST)

Jan Kinkade can be reached out to at: -- bekstr112@aol.com --. She had surgery, December 12th, for what had been thought to be a fibroid tumor, but, at that time, they discovered the cancer. At present, she is about to undergo her third round of chemotherapy, and she says she doesn't mind the 'buzz cut' hairdo so much, but her head gets cold in the high desert winter weather, down there in Tucson. Whenever I think of her and the Tucson contingent, I remember their unswerving confidence about our being able to cross the Mojave via the powerline road and the three trucks of food their supporters, back home, quickly mobilized, when we were bogged down at Stoddard Wells and in Barstow. (8^>?
Frank Holmgren <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Wednesday, January 24, 2001 at 09:55:52 (PST)

On another note, here's something positive that's circulating.>>The Million Prayer March>> "Yasser Arafat recently said that it would take a million prayers to bring peace to the Middle East. Join tens of thousands of people from around the world who have already added their prayer. When a million prayers have been reached James Twyman, author and Peace Troubadour, will physically bring the prayers to President Arafat and the president of Israel. Go to http://emissaryoflight.com and add your Prayer of Peace today. There will even be a counter to tell you which number your prayer is. Dont hesitate. This is your chance to become a part of the peace process.\" \" May Peace Prevail on Earth!\" In Light, James F. Twyman>>>>And here's more:>> Get ready for the second phase of the Million Prayer March this summer. Imagine a series of marches taking place around the world where people commit to actually walking a million prayers. BEGINNING IN JUNE YOU WILL BE INVITED TO LITERALLY WALK YOUR PRAYERS INTO THE EARTH, LIKE A DRUM BEATING FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO FEEL. IT TAKES APPROXIMATELY 300 MILES TO WALK A MILLION STEPS. If six thousand people, in one way or another, participated in this project, then we would have enough prayers for everyone on the planet. That's six billion prayers. The impact would be remarkable. The first three week journey will take place in Alaska this June, then from Los Angeles to San Francisco in August. Other marches will take place in Australia, Hawaii and England in 2002. The marches will be like a three week workshop, with guest speakers and hundreds of participants. If you want more information go to http://emissaryoflight.com and get your hiking shoes ready.
Elizabeth <Yeahitsalongpost@butreaditanyway.please>
Dallas, USA - Wednesday, January 24, 2001 at 04:01:26 (PST)

I wanted to add, but not mixed in with the political outrage I'm feeling, a note about another peacemarcher some of you may also know. My good friend Jan Kinkade of the Tucson contingent, a powerhouse of a nonviolence organizer and relentless seeker of truth and wisdom, told me today that she has ovarian cancer. Her spirits are high, her support network appears to be strong, and she is confronting the problem as a 'challenge', rather than as a foregone conclusion, but I am still very saddened to hear of it. She has never really been accessible online, until this time, but she is staying with close friends of hers, one of whom has internet access. I have and will post an email address for Jan, as soon as I get confirmation that I have the correct spelling of that e-address. Your support, encouragement, and loving energy will doubtlessly be welcomed. (8^<(
Frank <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 21:09:25 (PST)

I got your meaning, and your outrage, immediately, James. I can see that we're all on the same rant and headed in the correct direction. Elizabeth, thanks for 'filling out' that cynical corollary to my bumper sticker idea. It did occur to me, but I was drawn to the more direct, heartfelt observation. All I really know for sure is that I am very angry, and that bush will, for me anyway, never achieve the status of the office he and his rightwing cronies have stolen.
Frank <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 20:46:27 (PST)

BTW, I spoke to "Jonathan" too. He's having a busy day.
Marc
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 17:40:59 (PST)

James, James, just teasin' ya, man.
Marc
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 17:40:16 (PST)

OK, I'm not sure if my last post was misunderstood or if I'm misunderstanding the responses to my last post, but here's an addendum for the sake of clarity. I am in no way trying to dissuade anyone from calling (or faxing, or emailing, or throwing a brick with note attached through the window of) Feinstein. On the contrary, I encourage the deluge. I was reacting in outrage at an elected official smugly ordering her constituents (ie the people she works for) to not trouble her with their opinions on an issue she is about to vote on. It strikes me as perhaps the most overt "fuck you" from an elected official I've heard in a very long time, a product of someone dangerously (perhaps pathologically) out of touch with the very nature of the office she holds. By "negative" she did not mean negative in tone but "against" Ashcroft. When I called I first registered my opposition to Ashcroft, then my outrage at her attitude toward the people she allegedly represents. Both were recieved "politely" which is why the brick idea is sounding better to me by the second.
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 15:52:12 (PST)

Both of the senators here in Colorado are foaming-at-the-?! Republicans, hence I will not waste a call to them. However, I did just finish calling Senator Feinstein's office to register my discontent with Attorney General Designate Ashcroft. A nice young man named Jonathan answered(he too was nice, TNH) and asked me my zip code. I gave them a zip in Fresno that belonged to Bob Alei(another nice young man, TNH). I volunteered my name as Joe and started to tell Jonathan, nicely of course, about the evils of the Attorney General Designate,but Jonathan cut me off and told me that they would register me as a call opposed to Mr. Ashcroft. DID I DO A BAD THING?
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 15:13:27 (PST)

James, I didn't make any negative comments. I just registered my opposition to Ashcroft, that's all. And gave the guy my zip code. (He asked for that, but not my name.)
Marc
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 14:42:16 (PST)

A little nonviolent direct action? +++ _onder _ho did it? W-keys missing in Washington By The Associated Press (1/23/01) — George Who Bush? An escapee phones home, a pot-smoking cat, and more bizarre headlines. At the Old Executive Office Building next to the White House -- where a lot of presidential staffers work -- it is impossible to type the new president's full name on some computer keyboards. According to the Washington Post, outgoing Clinton administration staffers pried off the "W" keys, as a welcome-to-Washington practical joke. Actually, that wouldn't be "Welcome to Washington." It would have to be "elcome to ashington." Anyway, a White House aide says dozens -- maybe hundreds -- of keyboards are W-less, and it's keeping repair people busy. In some cases, the W was just blacked out. But in other cases, the keys are missing. They've sometimes been found on top of doorways -- 12 feet high. Al Gore's former campaign press secretary tells the Post that it's probably the work of "the vast left-wing conspiracy." :>)
Teach
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 14:40:52 (PST)

Thanks Joe, James: I knew other people were out there on this issue but as I said before, it has been alarmingly quiet. And special thanks to you James, I , for whatever reason thought that song was by John Prine and was frustrated that I couldn't find it. It's such a powerful song... Ann...WB you were missed. Best to ya all. Hope you're feeling better. Kathy...Lets get moving on it! Later.
Marek <m.p.parker@worldnet.att.net>
Bflo, NY USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 13:45:40 (PST)

Californians really DO need to pressure Feinstein. If she can't see that the same ideology drives Ashcroft that drove Dan White, what good is she? The simple fact that she is a woman, obviously, does not make her a progressive Senator. "...there's a battle outside, and it's raging...". Tell her to wake up and take a stand appropriate to the will of the people who put her in office. (Both Minnesota Senators finally came out as opposed to Ashcroft today, BTW, which the Aide I spoke to at Wellstone's office was clearly relieved to be able to tell me. They were disgustingly slow to take that position, too. So, don't give up hope on Feinstein. But don't mollycoddle her either. Caving in, now, is a very bad start for the four years of struggle we, as a nation, are now facing.) BTW-- The LA Weekly online ran an article, today, about an anti-bush webmaster who received a visit from the Secret Service, yesterday. They claimed they were only there to check out a complaint, but their obvious mission was to intimidate him. Anyone, especially a Senator, who wants to kick back and give the Resident 'a chance' is clearly not tuned in to the coup that is taking place.
Frank <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 13:39:55 (PST)

Marc, did you hear what feinstein said on Saturday ?(when making a statement about how she was uncertain how she was going to vote) She said "don't deluge my office with negative comments". That's from OUR representative elected in a landslide. I'm so glad I voted for Green Party candidate Medea Benjamin. I'm still going to call Feinstein's office (just to piss her off).
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 13:18:17 (PST)

Thank you, Gene. I found Valerie's report heartening. HEY! CALL YOUR SENATOR TODAY!!! Urge your senator to vote against Ashcroft. As far as CA goes, Boxer will vote against Ashcroft, but Feinstein seems to wavering. Call her office please (if you're a CA resident) at 202-224-3841. The vote is probably gonna be tomorrow.
Marc
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 13:07:33 (PST)

Gene here again passing along a piece I received in my email moments ago: "Take heart! For those of you who couldn't make the inauguration in DC, I'm writing to tell you it was a smashing success. There were thousands of protesters along the entire parade route shouting heartily at Bush as he fled by in his closed limo. He got out and walked for that staged photo you saw in The Times, one block at the end of the route. That block had been barricaded off by the police, and you needed a ticket to get in. Aside from those few ticket holders, that was all we saw of supporters for Bush. The streets of Washington were swarming with protesters. From where we were standing at Pennsylvania Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets the security forces were incredible. It was more like a military maneuver than a national celebration. The police were standing in two lines facing the protesters, shoulder to shoulder. That's one man about every three feet. Behind them was a line of military personnel, and interspersed were riot police in full gear plus the sharpshooters on all the rooftops, mounted police, and helicopters flying by overhead. We were searched and bags were checked before we could even get near the parade route. It was freezing cold and raining, but the crowd kept growing. When it began to hail, everyone spontaneously started chanting 'Hail to the thief! Hail to the thief!' Well, it felt good to yell at that black limo roaring by, with secret service men actually running along its side like they had their coats caught in the door. But almost as satisfying was the cry that started as a roar, rolling up to us, up the parade route, directed at what we finally saw were two flatbed trucks carrying reporters and camera crews. The cry was 'Shame! Shame! Shame!' Shame indeed. And that's why I'm writing because the press did not cover this event. After looking at The New York Times this Sunday morning I felt I wanted to let you know that there were thousands at the inaugural expressing their anger at the first selection of a president. Best, Valerie"
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 12:26:20 (PST)

just returning from d.c.i'm a bit overwhelmed to say the least.aside from feeling exhausted and somewhat sickish,i'm also feeling appalled,and also heartened,by what i experienced.managed to avoid the more ' blatant'violence,but now i kindof wish i'd been there in solidarity,too.i think we need to get our gpm community going,in one place,on some land somewhere.i'm serious.
kathy reutlinger <krpoobah22@hotmail.com>
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 12:17:34 (PST)

Re: Marek and Joe's death penalty discussion. I'm with ya Joe, once again. As to the death penalty movement's selection of cases, I think that it is often confusing and unfortunate. Issues around the fallibility of the justice system, pointed up in cases like Mumia's (is he guilty? did he get a fair trial?) or in cases regarding the mentally impaired (are they responsible? or, most bizarrly, do they understand what is happening to them? as though knowing that we are about to murder them somehow makes it OK), or because of the racist application of the death penalty, really muddy the central point that you bring up. To me those are separate (and extremely important )issues and must be kept very clear from the question of whether it is "right" to, in the words of Holly Near, "kill people who kill people to prove that killing people is wrong". Every time I hear "Free Mumia" chanted along side "abolish the death penalty" I feel that a real examination of the death penalty is being derailed once again.
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 09:18:30 (PST)

Missed you Ann. Sorry to hear you and the family have been sick. I’ve had no black outs here in Southern California. I hear that Northern California is most effected and their blackouts have lasted up to 30 minutes. Doesn't sound too tragic to me. I believe this whole blackout business is just another sneaky way for the rich to separate us from our money. I am livid that after so many years of protesting nuclear power plants we are being forced to bail out the corporate shareholders once again. Same shit…different day. If you want to see a powerful example of how we waste electricity go to this web page. It’s quite startling. http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg.
Coleen Ashly <coleen@ihearyaelizabeth.com>
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 09:11:15 (PST)

sorry to be out of the psoting loop so long. Chris got the lead in the school play, "Anything Goes", JD's dad is here to do construction, and most of us have been sick!! I have been following the news a bit and wonder how these rolling balckouts are effecting our California contigent-are you folks getting blacked out? How often? Do you know ahead of time and how's it effecting your lives? Its great to know I can go right to the source for info! I still have not written to my congresspeaople about paying down the debt instead of giving us a tax cut-think it would do any good? hugs to you all!
ann <astill@mailandnews.com>
Bowerston, OH USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 08:44:07 (PST)

Actually, Frank, FIVE WRONGS DID MAKE IT RIGHT--FAR RIGHT.
Elizabeth <i'mnotsurei'llbeabletostandthis>
Dallas, USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 07:47:11 (PST)

Marek, I wanted to respond to your posting about the death penalty. My thinking on this matter has evolved over the last few years. I am now totally opposed to any form of the death penalty for anyone, anywhere. I now believe that humans cannot judge the worth of other humans and conclude that other humans should die. We are simply not competent to make such decisions. There are all sorts of strategic issues as well such as the fallability of justice systems everywhere, but the real fallability is in the heart of humans. Moreover, the hope of redemption on this planet and in this life is the greatest hope of all for any given person and the death penalty precludes that hope. As to victims of crime and their families, I understand that the greatest and most immediate feeling is a desire for justice and punishment. I am not opposed to either justice or punishment and believe that putting someone to death precludes the real possibility of either justice or punishment. The death penalty is really a form of vengeance that degrades everyone involved. I have had people say to me, "Well, what if your wife and children were raped and killed. Wouldn't you want the people responsible put to death?" The answer is yes I would, but that would not make it right and ultimately, I would come back around to the belief that the death penalty is wrong in every case.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 at 06:23:26 (PST)

Maybe it's time for some us to join our local police forces. We can show them how to truly be peace keepers. And if that doesn't work, we can become assets.
Bill O'Neill <boneill@cape.com>
Hyannis, MA USA - Monday, January 22, 2001 at 10:59:52 (PST)

Congrats to Darryl Purpose. His latest CD, "Traveler's Code," just received a four-star (out of four) review from Q magazine, the British equivalent of Rolling Stone. Q doesn't give out many four-star reviews, and hardly ever gives one to a singer-songwriter (Brit-pop bands like Blur, Pulp and Oasis usually get the mag's raves). The timing is perfect, as Darryl is playing in England this week. To see the review, go to http://store.yahoo.com/tangible-music and follow links to UK Happenings and to the Q review.
Bill O'Neill <boneill@cape.com>
Hyannis, MA USA - Monday, January 22, 2001 at 10:58:22 (PST)

James, that would be "all of you WHOM I did not see this weekend."
King of Words <guesswho@backinthesaddle.comeon!>
USA - Monday, January 22, 2001 at 10:33:51 (PST)

Bushes to the left of me; Bushes to the right of me. Where is the Agent Orange, when you really need it? ;>)
TNH <yeahyou@theresneveragardeneraroundwhenyouneedone.org>
Bliss Falls, MD USA - Monday, January 22, 2001 at 00:17:00 (PST)

Well, I'm back from SF and missing you all. In the end, I was glad to be among thousands of loving, righteous, angry people this Saturday. More than that, I am happy that I was with some of the marchers in my life who mean so much to me; Marc and Eve, Schaefer and Tim, Tomas and Hannah. BJ, loving your clients is just as important to changing this world as "taking to the streets", but you already know that. Much love to all of you who I did not see this weekend.
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 21:36:05 (PST)

Nope, Gene, I didn't see that particular float, I don't think, though I saw lots of creative stuff. I had an eye out for you too. I even told James, "I bet Gene is here." but we didn't see you. Anyway, I left as soon as the march was done; I was beat. Hey BJ, to tell you the truth, I think your passion for your clients is a whole lot more important than standing in front of the Supreme Court building and expressing anger. I say, if it's a choice between directing your passion toward healing or toward blaming, well . . . Anyway, James and I had some interesting discussions while he was here, and now that Clinton didn't pardon Peltier as I had expected (lots of speculation as to why not, but that's a whole different discussion), it all sort of comes together in my brain: i.e., we've been completely disenfranchised all along; it's just more obvious right now than usual. And maybe that's a good thing. Anyway, I'm taking note of all the good things that have happened as a direct or indirect result of Bush's acendance to the presidency. I had a lovely visit here with James, and he wouldn't have come up if not for the demo. Now he may come up more often anyway, so that's very good. And by the way, yes, we did hammer out a tentative peace agreement regarding copy-and-paste posts; details will follow. Also, there've been some very creative jokes, some of which I've seen on this page, like The Beverly Hillbillies song. Before I left to go to the demo yesterday, I went to say goodbye to my wife, who was weeding in the backyard, while simultaneously talking on the cordless phone with her sister. She and her sister were talking politics as I came up to say goodbye, and as long as I was there, I figured I'd pull a few weeds. Eve turned to me and said, "You have to get them out by the roots; otherwise they grow back." Her sister heard her say this, and thought she was talking to her, referring to Presidents Bushes. Well, you had to be there; it was really quite funny. I'll leave you with this thought tonight: If Reagan hadn't been elected twice, we all probably wouldn't have known each other, would we have?
Marc
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 21:26:16 (PST)

Lost you all for four whole days! We had a severe computer crisis and had to go all the way back to square one as if we had just carried home a brand new machine from the store. It was all I could do to stay away from the library - to hop on the Internet and see what y’all are sayin’. In the midst of this crash we went down to San Francisco for the anti-Bush rally. It was incredible! Thousands poured into the plaza, whole contingents and armies with a sea of signs and banners and floats to rival those at the Rose Bowl Parade. One float carried Dubya himself – a guy lying in a bed wearing a big rubber Bush face mask. In bed with the illegitimate president were two “justices” in black robes. One was none other than Clarence Thomas. Did you see that float, Marc and James? I took lots of pictures and will see if I can post some soon. In this tremendous demonstration I saw almost all the activists I know in the Bay Area – folks from Food Not Bombs, from Free Radio Berkeley, from the Unitarian Fellowship I go to sometime, radical folk singers, even a Wo-Chi-Can! But darn it, I did nor see Peace Marchers – not Marc nor James nor Tomas and Hannah, all four of whom I saw in the big Mumia parade some time ago. Anyway, June and I were exhilarated.
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 18:35:21 (PST)

SO...Is anyone else feeling uneasy about the up-coming murder of Timothy McVeigh? It seems that Death Penalty activists are staying unusually quiet on this one. I've not found anyone who doesn't feel that he is indefensible (sp?) which he is, but I still can't find any good to come of his murder. How are others feeling about this? Are many of you running into the same sort of apathy? I must admit that right now I'm pretty removed from the peace community in Bflo so that might be part of the probem, but I haven't heard or seen anything in the media regarding opposition to his murder. (With the exception of famliy members of victims of the Oklahoma blast saying that death is the easy way out.) Thanks for giving me a place to share.
Marek <m.p.parker@worldnet.att.net>
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 18:05:46 (PST)

ARGH...I just wiped out my last post, before posting! I shall return!
Marek
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 17:46:03 (PST)

I remember my mother saying to me when I was a child. "You can be anything that you want to be! You can grow up and be President some day." That always excited me when I was a kid. It made me feel good and think that all things were possible. Recently, I heard a grandmother say that same thing to my son, Alexander. "You could grow up and be President some day!" My reaction at this time in history and this time in my life was to laugh. I laughed and thought, "Whoa, I sure hope THAT never happens!" Certainly, I want my son as well as my daughter, to know that all things are possible and to be excited about their futures. Moreover, I want them to be honest and happy and lead well integrated lives full of love and heart. None of those things seem compatible with being President. None of those things seem compatible with the current political system in our nation. This makes me incredibly sad(like you NJ). Yet, I cannot give up on my children's future nor on the future of this planet. Every action has consequences. Every action has consequences and we are all activists, forever. We have no choice but to manifest our beliefs and make our choices and influence the future. We can work for justice and create peace regardless of our political system. Every action, every step has meaning. Despair itself motivates people to great things, like the GPM. I will continue to tell me children that all things are possible. I know that deeply and believe that our current despair will become a creative and positive force for the future.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 17:44:33 (PST)

To be frank ...which I am often thought to be... my spirits are challenged, today, too, but the enclosed e-mail I just received has helped with that a little bit. Maybe it'll do that for you, too. I believe that feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness are frequently just the by-products of not having enough information to glimpse, or at least imagine, 'The BIG Picture'. Often, for me, the solution to these doldrums is just to gather a bit more input. (8^>? -- Anyway, this guy writes: "My wife, her sister and I went to DC for the counter-inaugural protests. While it was cold and wet, we had a great time. We left Boston after a bus mixup that delayed our departure until after 11:00 p.m., and got into DC at about 9:30 a.m. We took the Metro to Dupont circle, where thousands had already gathered and speeches and chants were going on. The signs and individual comments were fantastic--I wish I could remember more of them. There were flags with $ signs in the canton, lots and lots of "the people have spoken--all FIVE of them!" What may have seemed discouraging to some was that people kept wandering off to different sites. We were unsure what to do, trying to meet up with friends and not too familiar with the city, so we walked around a bit and returned to Dupont circle. At 1:00, the march began to the elipse, with a truly ludicrous and circuitous route to our eventual destination. It was a somewhat confusing, exhilirating, wet and exhausting day, and while some people started to get discouraged, I think we need to keep our eyes on what the situation was. There were, indeed, tens of thousands of us in DC; but we were spread out at many different sites. We weren't the main event, unlike rallies across the country, but a counter-protest to a 40 million dollar installation ceremony that was already well-planned. Nonetheless, the press could not manage to ignore us, and the A.P. article posted earlier is a great mainstream press victory. No matter where you went in DC, there were protestors everywhere. It was uplifting to see so many people so fired up about the theft of this election. The chants were moving: BUSH, CHENEY, GOP, THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY!! and the more mundane WE'RE WET--WE'RE COLD--DEMOCRACY'S BEEN SOLD!!! While the national press seemed to want to insure that Bush be granted "his day," the most important group of people to convince is still the 52% of the population who did not vote for this traitorous coup. It was invigorating to hear news filter in from spots around the city, and later, from around the country. After a 14 hour harrowing bus trip back home through an overnight blizzard, I came home to open e-mail with messages of congratulations and solidarity from other protests in Boston, Hartford, New Haven, Talahasse, Dallas, Houston, > Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Eugene, Portland, FAIRBANKS!!!, Austin...and more still coming in! One thing that is really incredible is that these small grass-roots demonstrations sprung up wherever people were. Why, for example, should there be a rally in New Haven when there's already one in Hartford? Just because people are so pissed off on so many levels that they can't wait for a forum to express it in. I got an excited e-mail from a friend in L.A. talking about a state Senator he hopes will run for higher office when her term ends. This is how it grows, folks. Whether the press covers it to our satisfaction or not; whether the press focuses on the angle we want them to or not. The press has always lagged large, meaningful change. We were there--we were EVERYWHERE--and no matter what happens, we can't forget or forgive the way the GOP stole this election from the people. I was fortunate to meet--by chance--FOUR people who had heard of our bumper sticker campaign and thanked me for getting out a nationwide, simple message: REMEMBER FLORIDA: VOTE DEMOCRAT IN 2002. [we have distributed now over 3,000 stickers in all 50 states, and passed out a couple hundred more at events yesterday in DC--email me for more info.] I am as critical of the Democrats as the next guy, but by one means or another, we will see these republican bastards thrown out of power at the next available opportunity. Yesterday was a great day, not a sad one--a wake up call for the spineless Dems in the Senate, a warning to the Right, and a shot in the arm for those of us on the left who care about a progressive agenda. Take heart, keep in touch, and FIGHT THE RIGHT!" -- Dan in Salem
Dan <wpdanny@aol.com>
Salem, MA USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 17:04:19 (PST)

My spirit also feels crushed, Beej. It's not just about the "pips," although their decision was devastating, but as you say it's about the political process. At this point, this moment, I no longer believe activism makes a real difference anymore. It keeps small numbers of people busily occupied cleaning up the messes the rulers make -- which serves their interests much more than our own. Honestly, it's as if the decision-makers are entertained by our little rebellious antics while everyone knows that dissent in this police state is quashed anyway. What does it matter -- the will of the people doesn't prevail except to serve the monied class. I'm toying with the idea of not voting anymore, especially if the electoral college process isn't revamped or done away with. Sorry, Alexa. The activism instinct hasn't completely gone from my system, but it's been badly battered. I'm glad you feel passionate about other elements in your life, Bj, and I hope your spirit recovers its juice. Like the poem says, "For all its shams, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy." It's just really hard to do that right now, I know. The sadness and dismay make it hard to feel juiced about anything.
Nj
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 15:19:27 (PST)

nice to be home again i walked from mckeesport, penn. to d.c. you are the best peace activist i've ever known. that journey has affected me the rest of my life i missed the last reunion saw marchers in 89 an nev. at the test site lets stay in touch. someone tell willie i said hi i miss everyone just recently moved to boise after living in cincinnati,ohio the last 9 yrs. i was on the march a few months and i'm still and will always be an activist. lets push mandatory recycling in all cities and apt.compexes buisnesses etc. nuclear plants etc. are no cost effective in this country and abroad. will we ever march again i'm going gray now but i think we need another cross country march for the environment and to save the planet from self destruction from nuclear destruction i will do it again in a heartbeat peace from elliott hi to everyone please send me messages at my e-mail address is their anyone any peace marchers i can hook up with in Boise thanks glad you are here Elliott
lisa elliott, nickname elliott <ann6elliott@msn.com>
boise , idaho USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 14:59:46 (PST)

nice to be home again i walked from mckeesport, penn. to d.c. you are the best peace activist i've ever known. that journey has affected me the rest of my life i missed the last reunion saw marchers in 89 an nev. at the test site lets stay in touch. someone tell willie i said hi i miss everyone just recently moved to boise after living in cincinnati,ohio the last 9 yrs. i was on the march a few months and i'm still and will always be an activist. lets push mandatory recycling in all cities and apt.compexes buisnesses etc. nuclear plants etc. are no cost effective in this country and abroad. will we ever march again i'm going gray now but i think we need another cross country march for the environment and to save the planet from self destruction from nuclear destruction i will do it again in a heartbeat peace from elliott
lisa elliott, nickname elliott <ann6elliott@msn.com>
boise , idaho USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 14:56:28 (PST)

nice to be home again i walked from mckeesport, penn. to d.c. you are the best peace activist i've ever known. that journey has affected me the rest of my life i missed the last reunion saw marchers in 89 an nev. at the test site lets stay in touch. someone tell willie i said hi i miss everyone just recently moved to boise after living in cincinnati,ohio the last 9 yrs. i was on the march a few months and i'm still and will always be an activist. lets push mandatory recycling in all cities and apt.compexes buisnesses etc. nuclear plants etc. are no cost effective in this country and abroad. will we ever march again i'm going gray now but i think we need another cross country march for the environment and to save the planet from self destruction from nuclear destruction i will do it again in a heartbeat peace from elliott
lisa elliott, nickname elliott <ann6elliott>
boise , idaho USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 14:55:31 (PST)

Hey, BJ-- I just tried to email you something and your 'innerstory' e-address bounced. Have you made a change without keeping us (me) up to date? (8^>?
Frank Holmgren <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 13:31:44 (PST)

Ya know Marc, if you could send me some of your passion, maybe I could be your proxy protester, but save that, I just can't imagine it. (thanks for the support Frank) To be honest, I felt guilty for not hitting the streets yesterday. Sure, I've got excuses...Aaron is sick, I have a big paper due...blah, blah, blah. The truth is, my spirit is broken. I am currently dis-spirited and can't rightly say when I will be otherwise. I have passion for my clients. I'm completely energized by doing therapy, even when it goes badly. But I'm having a hard time mustering more than dull, depressed anger for the political process. I, deep in my heart, feel robbed. Yes, by the much-less-than Supreme Court. I can see shady politicians wielding self-interest and give them a "what do you expect" shrug, but this is different. This is the worst I've felt since I moved to this place and discovered that the people we entrust our safety to are no more and, in many cases, much less intelligent then we are. I don't know what I expected, but growing up elsewhere led me to believe that people in power ought to be smarter than me, more logical and better suited to express the will of the nation. The 5 pips (I'll never call them supreme again), once and for all, shattered that illusion.
Bj
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 13:08:46 (PST)

Well, can't say I didn't try, anyway, but putting it in that box doesn't work. And, we already know from past attempts that the 'URL' box on this webpage is not 'active', so I guess we have to go back to those 'wonderous days of yesteryear' [like in 1993, when everyone was still driving XTs and 386's, and when this little guestbook program was probably written], and manually cut and paste the darned URL into our browsers. Ho hum. What a drag! Just the same, though, it's worth the effort. Check it out! You'll feel like you're back at Whiskey Pete's, watching GPMers crossing the line with GreenPeace at the Nevada Test Site. (8^>?
Frank <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 12:40:44 (PST)

Hi, All! Happy 'National Prayer Day'. This is some pretty good coverage of the J20 demonstrations in DC, yesterday, from ABC. At the bottom of the story is another link entitled: "Anger At The Inauguration", which will start an, also pretty good, video clip of the demonstrators and the motorcade. By putting it in the 'E-Mail' box, below, I'm trying to make this link I want to share with you 'active', (so you can just click on it to view the webpage). Don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a try. If it doesn't work, you can just cut and past the whole link into the 'Address' box on your internet browser and hit 'enter' to view the link. (8^>?
Frank <www.abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/DailyNews/INAUGURAL_protests010120.html>
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 12:30:10 (PST)

Sigh...
Alexa <justanotherfreak@hotmail.com>
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 09:43:38 (PST)

Well, I'm in baby-bliss, while the turmoil continues. Thanks all for the posts. I am not surprised about the state of D.C. for the inauguration. Security forces did an outstanding job of beating up protestors in D.C last Fall. In fact, little towns throughout America have trained (with Federal dollars) small police forces in swat-team, paramilitary practices. So, we have a nation of well-trained working class guys and a few gals who are trained to beat up other working class people if need be. Anything to protect private property. And we have got the top-dogs (the Supreme Court) willing to protect other top-dogs--make sure that first family keeps their lineage in the White House. And then we have voters whose will has not been followed. Sounds like a paper coup to me. And a new president that talks compassion, but whose programs are likely to bring folks to their knees. What will happen next????
Roberta Wilson <bertaw@bainbridge.net>
USA - Sunday, January 21, 2001 at 07:41:44 (PST)

Ya, shuuurre, you betcha, Lynn. Dem ol' false cognates vill gitcha, every time! Sorry fer da confewshun. (8^>?
Frank Holmgren <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 23:22:54 (PST)

True confessions. In the early months of the electoral campaigning, I wasn't paying much attention to details about Bush. But now and then I'd read a paper lying around and became curious: did he have a Russian wife? A best friend or advisor? Or who was this Slavic woman that kept getting passing mention? You know, Dubya! duh. (Doob-ya, my lyoobeemayah, sertsay moya....)
Lynn Nadeau
USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 21:29:14 (PST)

I have been listening to interviews with "Black Bloc" (Anarchist) participants, about 400 of whom were surrounded, trapped, and being beaten and arrested by the police, at one point in their march. They were rescued by a large contingent of "Votermarch" marchers, which is a much larger national organization that is essentially made up of Democrats and 'ordinary' middle class citizens. Votermarch surrounded the police, who had the Black Bloc contingent surrounded, and (nonviolently) forced the police to withdraw, leaving the Black Bloc marchers behind. THAT, though perhaps not likely to happen often, as one Black Bloc interviewee pointed out, is a very inspiring example of the sort of cooperative power this anti-bush movement is capable of mounting in the future. [Marc -- your idea of a daily vigil at the Supreme Court is a fine one, though just a bit too time-consuming to be asking a working therapist to do all by herself ... don't you think? What about a national bumper sticker campaign with something like "FIVE WRONGS Do Not Make It Right", and just a simple one for Dubya: "He Ain't Mine"] ... BTW... have you seen the Dubya palindrome circulating on the net? ... "Dubya won? -- No way Bud!" (8^>?
Frank
USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 19:14:46 (PST)

I just got back from the SF demo. I left James there; we hooked up with Tomas and Hannah of Santa Cruz, and later they'll meet Schaefer and her husband Tim for dinner, but I was feeling under the weather so I came home early. I can't honestly tell you that it was one of the biggest demos I've seen. In fact, my rough estimate would be merely about 5,000 people. Some of the signs were very clever, for example: "Never mind sex. What will we tell our children of democracy?" I was glad to see signs that specifically were aimed at the Supreme Court. In fact, I wish that more of the rage and indignation people are feeling all around the country was directed at the Court, because they betrayed us so completely, they betrayed the honor/trust/charge of their station utterly, and scarcely tried to even conceal it. It was as if they had come right out and said "F-- you, America. We're accountable to no one. The Constitution? The Constitution is nothing more or less than what WE care to say it is." BJ, if I were you, I'd organize demos in front of the Court every day, every day. I'd go there myself for at least an hour a day with a sign: "The Supreme Court betrayed the country." "Resign, traitors." "RIP Rule of Law" Stuff like that. I'm not saying you should of course . . . I just wish someone would. There's just not enough outrage at the Court.
Marc Polonsky <marcwordsmith@sfo.com>
El Cerrito, CA USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 18:18:35 (PST)

let the banners fly high without wavering in the winds of global corporation need I for one have not the need for power on the nuclear level save for steadfast convictions of democratic and peaceful society!
timothy miles guist <timothyguist@home.com>
salem, or USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 15:34:30 (PST)

You are right Frank. I just trolled around the major outlets and could find only a passing reference to some "tension" on Pennsylvania Ave. but the abcnews site states clearly "the vast majority of the protesters are congregating peacefully." Nothing at all about tear gas.
Bj
USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 12:31:53 (PST)

BJ, thank you so much! Jess and I both read your post, totally agreed with your take on it all, and appreciate you taking the time to write us and let us know what it's like from a local, peace marcher perspective. It's bad enough being here in California on this horrible day...we can't imagine what it must be like there for you and other like minded folks!
Coleen Ashly <Nukebuster@aol.com>
USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 12:28:28 (PST)

BTW-- Are you picking any of the protest activity up on conventional media? Although there are tens of thousands of demonstrators in DC, I haven't seen a single video shot of them on any of my local stations.
Frank
USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 11:12:43 (PST)

Live interviews on Independent Media are telling us now that a couple hundred "Black Bloc" demonstrators are now sitting in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue, blocking the parade route... Clinton did pardon another 100 people, today, but did not pardon Leonard Peltier....
Frank
USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 11:10:44 (PST)

Protesters are challenging police, now, along the inauguration parade route, chanting "Jail to the Thief" and "Hail to the Thief". National Guardsmen are being deployed. One security fence was reportedly pulled down by the protesters and tear gas was reportedly used at one flashpoint in the city....
Frank
USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 10:49:54 (PST)

If you have RealPlayer or MP3 streaming capability on your computer, you can pick up live alternative broadcasting from DC, now, on the internet at: dc.indymedia.org (8^>?
Frank Holmgren <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 10:46:11 (PST)

Well Coe, there is loads going on, and I'm awfully grumpy about it. First, this last week has seen the "police state" atmosphere of the "America's Front Yard", othewise known as the National Mall, reach a def-con 2 status. Oh to be a fencing contractor on the East Coast. There isn't a single walkway within 5 miles of my home (and I mean that literally) that isn't controlled by barriers and/or motorcycle cops. The weather, grey and rainy, matches my mood and to be honest, if you hadn't asked, I would not have bothered checking out the local news coverage. A former roommate of mine, who works on the Hill, summed it up when she said that Thursday night, as the fireworks roared, she turned her head. "I don't want to participate even on that level." Amen sister. My favorite local action recently was a couple of Middle-agers skulking through the neighborhood armed with a tape gun and color copies of W's face with the words "Hail to the Thief" superimposed. When I approached them, they thought I was going to chastize them! Instead, I took one to put in my window. Back to the fences. The news media is euphemistically calling the gestapo-like checkpoints as "unprecedented." I'll say. I've been here for 4 inaugurations and I've NEVER seen anything like this security. I have to ask, what does it say about the will of the people when you have to wear a flippin' flak jacket to see a parade?! This minute, Dick is taking the oath. Ugh. I'm sure you saw the photos of W shaking his bon-bon with Ricky Martin the other day. What you may NOT have heard is the the main bridge into the Federal part of the city...Memorial Bridge...was closed for much of the day, not because of construction, or even security...but because the big campaign donors needed to move more freely around town. You have no idea what a sacrifice to working people closing that artery entails. But the rich folk in limos had a good day. I can hear the 21 gun salute and cannon fire right now. W has just taken his oath. It sounds like a war out there and, by God, I expect it will be. But not today. There are nearly as many cops as there are protesters. W's irritating voice is wafting down the street with an alien echo. How ironic, nay, how MADDENING that this man, who has bald faced stated that his first order of business is to undo Clinton's out-going executive orders and rules, is using the words justice and unity. The streets are clogged with lies. Oh my God. I can't take it anymore, not even for you my dear. I won't fight today. I will retreat into my work and rebuild my strength. It is truly a sad, disgraced day...not because "my" side lost but because we all have and it is not the nightmare from which I had so fervently hoped I might awake.
Bj
Please God, let me wake up and find this all a dream, DC USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 09:37:43 (PST)

On inaguration eve I pass on this website to keep you entertained for the next four years!!http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com BJ what's happening in DC?? You doing anything exciting?? Fill us in, will you?
Coleen Ashly <Nukebuster@aol.com>
USA - Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 00:48:16 (PST)

Heh. So I have. Must be an Alpha thing... [<-- this post writen in a break taken from writing a 15 page school paper... on the irrevocable damage caused by superpowers ( and genetic modification)]
Alexa <superpower@GPMsite.com>
West Branch, IA USA - Friday, January 19, 2001 at 13:08:31 (PST)

Shoot. I meant to write "across the bottom AS WELL AS down the side." But you knew what I meant, right?
Marc
USA - Thursday, January 18, 2001 at 23:40:22 (PST)

Do you realize what you've done, Alexa? You have forever altered the topography of our web page!! Now we have a scroll bar across the bottom down the side. There is no telling what ramifications this may have for our whole little cyber-ecosystem. How do you like that, James? I thought WE were the superpowers.
Marc
USA - Thursday, January 18, 2001 at 23:39:18 (PST)

[Hey, GPMers! I (Frank Holmgren) just received the following email, yesterday, and I'm listening to the hearings right now. Just thought you might want to, as well.] ---- If you have "RealPlayer" installed on your computers, you can listen to the Ashcroft hearings in the Senate, live, right now, on "radioforchange.com". Just go to the website at: ---- play.rbn.com/?wassets/wassets/live/247live.ra ---- We must be informed if we're going to fight. In solidarity, becky bond
Becky Bond <bbond@wafs.com>
Producer, WorkingForChange.com , USA - Thursday, January 18, 2001 at 08:56:30 (PST)

Alexa! :>)
TNH <yeahyou@bitemytongue.oops>
Bliss Falls, IA USA - Thursday, January 18, 2001 at 00:40:01 (PST)

Alexis--I really like your e-address. I don't think you should change a thing. It is clear to me that you see things more deeply than most of your peers. As you understand, clearly, a "freak" is no more derogatory a term, than is a "geek", these days. They are, in fact, both terms of admiration and respect. I never really knew your Mom on the march, but I do remember having respect for her being there on her own, and admiration for her baby, which was, of course, you. I hope you will always feel gratitude for the world you were born into. What luck--to have been a Peace March baby! My own take on life is that it is a continuously evolving process, most readily understood by folks, who do not pause to think that they finally have it all figured out. I do truly love the peacemarch community, one and all, regardless of whether some of them feel the same way about me. Because of our common commitments, and our common sacrifices, we are brothers and sisters in a way that few people in this country have ever really had the opportunity to experience. There are things very special about this particular group that considers you a member of its 'family'. And I can see that you understand those things, as well as anyone. One thing I have observed, over these past 15 years is that the Peace March was made up of an inordinate number of "alpha" personalities. These are people who do not easily accept the leadership of others, as they are leaders, themselves, and who need to be 'listened to'. That's why the "meetings" we all suffered through, along our trek across America, were so abominably long, and so often concluded with 'unresolved issues'. "Alphas" want most in life to be heard. They know they have good ideas and they yearn to lead; their secondary concerns in life are "listening and following", which is why so many meetings went on and on, as people tried to achieve consensus by forcing others to adopt their particular point of view. It is also why we succeeded in making it across the country, as, in the end, when we were finally exhausted with trying to dominate one another, we allowed one another the 'freedom' to pursue whatever was most important to him or herself. That is what got the job done, and THIS is Anarchism, at its finest. It works, and it is joyful, although there are also, often, many bruised egos at any given moment in the process. None of us wants anyone else to be the first to reach the "best understanding", in any given situation. That's the alpha personality in action. And it's okay. We are what we are. As long as we realize that we are best, when we are together. We can deal with the ego problems that arise from being entwined with a group of very talented and intelligent equals. Of course we will insult one another, from time to time. Personally, I'm not even really interested in trying to not do so, as any insult I inflict, in the course of seeking the truth, is never intended to tell another peace marcher that he or she is somehow 'inferior' to me. Getting one another to understand the truth about ourselves is certainly much more important than a few ruffled feathers from time to time. In the end, we will all "shuffle off this mortal coil", and my own perspective is that we must not waste the time we have here, now, together. Whatever we have to offer Humankind can only be given when we face the truth together. Self-deception and hypocrisy, the by-products of trying to make truth 'palatable', will only attenuate our impact on the improvement of the world we live in. We are a group of individuals who have much to offer to Humanity. We were drawn to this path, humble as it may be, because we know we must make that contribution. I hope you have a very long and very joyful life. You will, quite obviously, join in the process of leadership, as you are, yet another, alpha personality. I look forward to reveling in your achievements. ;>)
TNH <yeahyou#letsfocusonlearningwhowereallyare.net>
Bliss Falls, IA USA - Thursday, January 18, 2001 at 00:33:04 (PST)

Alexa, if you think YOU were bored when you came up with your e address, check out mine! Did you see any of the annual Paris-to-Dakar off road race when you were in Morocco? Is it too late to say happy new year to you all?
BIL COLBURN <bilcolburn@yahoo.com>
LA, YA USA - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 23:13:12 (PST)

What's a morpheme?
Marc
USA - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 22:02:52 (PST)

Well put Bob. I'm glad it made someone think... I haven't gotten that far with it yet...
Alexa <anotherofthoseclaimedomnipotentfreakslurkinginthecornersofcyberspacewithbadlog-onnamesbecausewewereboredandcouldn'tthinkofanythingbettertotitleourselves@mygodmyemailaddressislongerthanmypost.org>
USA - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 19:01:17 (PST)

Alexa, Just a quick note to say that I've been enjoying your posts and am intrigued by your email address - justanotherfreak@hotmail. I am tweaked by all three morphemes in the prefix (there's a good linguistics word for you and yes Marc, I realize that there are actually four morphemes but let's not get technical). I know you well enough to know that you are not a freak in any derogatory sense of the word. But then again, aren't we all freaks and greatfully so? As such, there is no way there could be "another" of you, or any of us. You are unique and magical in your individuality and spirit. Of course, you are right that there are a lot of others of us out here. But the part that prompted me to write this was the idea that you could possibly qualify yourself with the dismissiveness of "just". Perhaps you were in Morocco too long! If you insist on "anotherfreak" then I would suggest that you could more aptly call yourself anothermagnificentfreak, proudtobeanotherfreak, or anotherfreakwithanattitude. On the other hand, this is just a post and we are all just visitors here.
Bob Alei <ohwhatafreakinfreakiam@basketcase.com>
USA - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 18:15:40 (PST)

Hello all-- thanks for your responses to my plea for knowledge... I've learned a bit-- at least enough to tide me over until the next wave of curiosity crashes... Morocco was a startling reminder of the way women live in some parts of the world. What was even more startling though, was how quickly I got used to living within and accepting the opressive life. And I was only there for two weeks! But I suppose America opresses its people in different ways, less glaring (to some of us). About the "nice" vs "sarcastic" discussion; if well-writen, I very rarely am struck by even the extremes of either approach to expression. I myself, in conversation especially, can quickly find the sarcastic side of a matter, so I enjoy the quiet cynisism of others. I found that the article Gene posted, although maybe less hope-filled than something someone else might have chosen to direct at a learning young 'un, was very well-writen and gave a view that I could learn from, thus accomplishing its goal (I'm assuming). [Woo. Long-winded sentences are fun.] Niceness isn't necessarily the goal when learning, as the school system has reminded me many times... Knowing myself, and my tendency to stray from the original discussion-- I hope I said a little of what I was trying to say, if not all.
Alexa <justanotherfreak@hotmail.com>
West Branch, IA USA - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 12:33:00 (PST)

Aaah, familial bickering. It is so soothing to come home to this site. I taught at a school this morning where there was a fire drill. The school I work for shares space with a Japanese nursery school I was preparing to step outside, the 'Anglo' kids and teachers laughing and hurrying. I went down one of the hallways used by the Japanese school, where I saw 3- and 4-year olds running, not having taken the time to put on their coats. They were quite serious and had their hands over their mouths. It hit me that although they were probably all born here, culturally their teachers have a different memory. And I was brought back to the feeling of death I experienced during our "die-in" on Hiroshima Day (I think?) in Dixon,IL. Suddenly the sirens made me feel panicked and sad, tears began to flow. I tried to avoid the children so as not to scare them, but went back into the building through the office. Of course the adults I saw asked me why I was crying. I am not claiming to be the most articulate person on earth, especially when feeling so upset. But I found it even more upsetting that no one could relate at all to what I was saying, feeling. I mentioned my sadness and fear being compounded by the re-opening of a nuclear power plant 45 minutes away, despite all our elected officials agreeing that it was not safe. (Con Edison prevails again.) No one there knew what I was talking about! So I come home to all of you, and am comforted by the breadth(sp?) of your concerns, and the minutiae of our debate. And to TNH, and all of us who piss people off from time to time-what's so great about family, especially this one, is that we love one another anyway! THere's no avoiding that. THank you all for being here. In the larger picture, I am trying to counter my anger and feelings of doom regarding the upcoming inauguration and looming of people like J. Ashcroft by reading Coretta Scott King's "My Life With Martin Luther King, Jr.". Talk about sticking with love and non-violence in the face of adversity! We have mighty shoulders to stand on, and one another to lean on. Let us not forget and feel alone. Love and Light to all, Nora
Nora <Nirmala@attglobal.net>
New Rochelle, NY USA - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 12:07:19 (PST)

Thank you Marc.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 09:09:57 (PST)

TNH, I just want to add that I didn't think your last post was particularly mean or vicious, or that I think you're unkind in general. I think it's okay for us to have shoot-from-the-hip reactions to each other's politics. I think that can serve to spice things up sometimes. But I also think Joe has a point, in that your last post was very sarcastic, and if I were Gene I might feel dissed. And your anonymity somehow sharpens the edges of that sarcasm. You might not see that and it's impossible to explain, but you can believe it. Anyway, I just re-read my own post and I'm afraid it sounded a little mean toward you there at the end. I'm sorry if it felt that way. I like you and enjoy your presence here, and I enjoyed your recent teasing of me about he vote.com website. You're always respectful toward me, so how can I not like you? Light teasing is always pleasant; can you see how sometimes you cross the line though?
Marc
USA - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 01:04:05 (PST)

Joe, I always appreciate your kindness. I feel it's a breath of fresh air every time you post. "Nice" is a funny word, and it's funny how the meanings of words change over time, how they take on different connotations. For example, "cordial" used to simply mean "polite and friendly" but now it also can carry the connotation of "distant and cool." Similarly, "nice" is now a suspect word, as in "nicey nice" or "sugary." Once in a while I perceive people in that light, but I've never felt that way about anyone on this page. And in any case, there's more than enough irony to go around; it's very much in vogue today, I think. I personally prefer the company of pleasant, well-intentioned people to that of sharp, ironic, "clever" people. My sense is that everyone on this page is well-intentioned, though we occasionally step on each other's toes, and also many of us (all of us?) carry all kinds of old hurts that come out in funny ways. Like you once said, Joe, we're all so fallible. I'd add we're all so vulnerable. Today I'm appreciating again that I'm blessed with a connection to this community which, despite its problems, is centered on an ethic of kindness. Of course we bicker (seriously and not-so-seriously), of course we have discomforts with one another sometimes. The only kinds of communities I've ever known which could boast "perfect harmony" were fascist religious cults! I love you, Joe; I think your presence on this page is precious and very thoughtful and I'm nourished by the things you say, every time. Jonnie, I wish I could go with you on that walk! Maybe I'll see you around the beginning of it; please keep us posted. TNH, I think you're intelligent and funny and provocative, but being so coy as you are is bound to generate misunderstandings. I also wonder, do you think it's an important function to tweak people's egos, to point out our little foibles and inconsistencies? Look what happens: People get hurt and mad at you. I hope that in "real life" you get better strokes than that. Much love to everyone. Even James Knight.
Marc Polonsky <marcwordsmith@sfo.com>
El Cerrito, CA USA - Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 19:30:14 (PST)

Here's the website address for all info on California Prison Dharma Walk. It has the complete schedule posted as well as incredible links to info on and about prisons. WALK.PRISONWALL.ORG I spoke with Arnold Erikson, the SF contact and he asked that we post info and spread the word, so please help pass this info along. Hope to see some of ya on part of the walk. Till then,
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 15:26:20 (PST)

I think that Gene is clear and straightforward in his communist beliefs. While I disagree with that particular point of view, I love and respect Gene and think that he has integrity in those beliefs. In any case there is no reason to attack and belittle him as you, THN, have done. Perhaps being nice(which I try to do) may be of little value to you TNH. From what you write in this guest book it seems to me that you value mostly the anonymity that allows you the freedom to be scathing. If you used your real name, then everyone would know who is being so scathing and so often mean. Then you rather than your pseudonym would have to take responsibility for the things that you write and consequently would not write in such a nasty way. You seem to be in pursuit of your version of truth and revolution, which I respect. Yet, your sarcasm and dismissivness is really not truthful nor revolutionary. While this must be very invigorating to your ego; it is not constructive and I wonder why you do it and why you do it behind TNH.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 12:36:00 (PST)

Geez, Gene. When did Shotwell write that? 1937? Do you think he's included the current state of the former Soviet Union in his analysis? Has he read any political analysis of international events published, since Nikita banged his shoe on that UN table? I mean, we're peacemarchers, Gene. Couldn't you try to be a little bit nicer, like Joe? ;^)
TNH <yeahyou@getchatanksgunsandbodybagsrighthere.net>
Bliss Falls, CA USA - Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 11:59:42 (PST)

Morocco sounds interesting. What was it like Alexa? I have never been there. Lori was there for a short while with Bren about 15 years ago. How did it feel to be in a place ruled by a King? Did you feel that? What was it like to be in a Muslim country? Were women veiled? I understand that Berber, Arabic, French and Spanish are all spoken in Morocco; is that true? I am so interested in hearing about your trip.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 08:55:37 (PST)

Hope everyone is watching the magnificent “Jazz” on TV. Just came from Installment IV, inspired to write to you all. Also inspired by Alexa’s appeal and an email just received from a Wo-Chi-Ca friend. I think you’ll forgive the length of this post when you realize what a rare and brilliant and militant piece this is. It’s the call to a new American Revolution! I’ve cut it down some for this board. But Alexa – how’s this for an answer to your question?: “When times get tough the only class that is protected is the bossing class. Workers bear the burden of every slump in the economy while the chumps in ties shift their capital to a more lucrative enterprise. If all else fails, they’ll pack us off to war and profit hand over fist on every pound of patriotic flesh. Unemployed workers are stockpiled like sandbags to dam the rising tide of inflation. Meanwhile, cuts in social programs provide negative incentives for “lazy mothers” to get off their asses and find gainful employment in temp agencies where social commitment has no more currency than a peso in Decatur. As the old mine worker John L. Lewis once said, ‘Labor and management may be partners in theory but they are enemies in fact.’ The fact is workers take the hit and the bossing class takes a shit on our dignity. Teamwork, partnership, and 'people are our most valuable asset' is all crap. No damn CEO in the nation will tighten his own belt. He’ll tighten the harness on our necks instead. It’s a recession, they say. Let’s open the contract and make concessions. Work harder, faster, longer, leaner. For all the high tech machinery and productivity increases they still rely on whipping the horses in assembly and sweating the donkeys of supply. Forget the contract. Can the time study. Stick the gentleman’s agreement up your competitive behind and press your nose to the grindstone. You’re in for the Big Squeeze, baby. We all know what happens in an economic down turn. One shift is laid off and the other works overtime. When our brothers and sisters are laid off we should refuse as much overtime as possible. No more favors. No more rush jobs. Workers will rule when they want to rule. Never forget how many times you were laid off, sold off, cut off, spun off. Never forget how many times you had to relocate your family. Never forget all the setbacks you endured at the hands of the bossing class. Strike back! Where is it written the owners must never sacrifice? Where does it say only the rich may pursue happiness? Why do we let the dumb-ass boss decide how to divvy the workload and slice the pie? Why isn’t full employment a workable reality? Who says democracy doesn’t belong in the workplace? Why must the poor, the elderly, the disadvantaged, pay for the excesses of the wealthy? Who calls this system Christian blasphemes. Who calls our country free and our government fair is blind to economic inequality and the barriers to social justice that courts call 'injunctions.' Workers are outlaws in America. It’s no damn wonder they don’t want us to own guns. Strike back! Strike back because your brothers and sisters are laid off. Strike back because you hate the bastards. Strike back to redeem your dignity. Strike back for full employment. Strike back to abolish inequality. Strike back because your job is a bore and your boss is an ass. Strike back for freedom. Strike back to restore the balance of power. Strike back because you are human and care about life. Strike back to break the corporate choke-hold. Strike back to get the leeches off our backs. Strike back for more democracy. Strike back because they never listen to you. Strike back to control the means of production. Strike back because Medicare doesn’t cover prescriptions for your mother. Strike back because politicians retire in splendor. Strike back because injunctions are only against unions and never against management. Strike back because judges are the lackeys of industry. Strike back because no one believes in the system. Strike back to show we can strike back. Strike back!" In Solidarity, Gregg Shotwell UAW Local 2151
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 00:05:11 (PST)

Hm. I've been in Moracco (I'm quite sure I've misspelled that yet again) for the past two weeks so I haven't been following the [increasingly humorous-- thank you James and Marc-- it's good to know that the SuperPowers That Be are still Being--] banter on this page-- it's nice to return to pages of interesting reading. Have any of all y'alls published? Some of the best literature I've read I read on this site... > oh ya. right. Got to put in my Two Sense on the presidential matter>> Next election I will be able to vote. The responsibilities and biases and whatnot attatched to the voting scene will be passed down to me. But I have no idea what that means. I am painfully uneducated. So I cannot form a solid thought process to base opinions on... anyone care to educate me? my e-mail address is posted under this posting, if any of you OldTimers [heh. heh.] to the ways of politics would like to teach me whatever it is you know-- [for those of you who don't have kids, but want to tell some kid something you wish you'd've been told..]. Righto then. I'm off.
Alexa <justanotherfreak@hotmail.com>
West Branch, IA USA - Monday, January 15, 2001 at 18:38:11 (PST)

I just sent out an e-mailing to all GPMers on the e-list. Forgive me, if it feels intrusive, as I am feeling much more than a bit enthusiastic, these days, about the prospects for social change organizing that are now looming before us. Many of you may not be receiving the input I am, as my Yahoo e-mail box fills, daily, with posts from the ongoing national and local discussions taking place around the country among organizers and participants in the upcoming Inauguration Day demonstrations. (You, too, can tie into this discussion, through the "Trust The People" organization. Personally, I haven't felt this much progressive energy surging, since the early 70s, during the anti-Vietnam War movement. So, grow your beards and dig out your guitars, folks. We're going back to "war" for peace, justice, and (surprisingly enough, this time!) the "American Way". (8^>?
Frank Holmgren <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Monday, January 15, 2001 at 14:49:29 (PST)

Here is wishing everyone a wonderful Martin Luther King Jr. Day! He was one of the greatest Peace Marchers of all. Blessings to all our relations.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Monday, January 15, 2001 at 10:29:21 (PST)

Hey! You could submit that for Vote.com's next question. "Should politically duped individuals be permitted to sue those who cause their dupification?" And, if so, "What limits might be placed on the awards won by 'the duped' against their 'dupers'?" And, of course, "Should an individual who dupes more than one hundred 'easy Marks' be dubbed a 'Super Duper'?" [Sorry, Evan. I couldn't come up with a good 'name' to assign you, as you requested in your last post. Though, I guess we could call you a "dirty old peacemarcher, badly in need of a quick 'marcher-in-the-home-with-a-shower-and-laundry' gig," eh?.... ;>)]
TNH <yeahyou@gottagreatidea.con>
Bliss Falls, CA USA - Sunday, January 14, 2001 at 18:17:21 (PST)

As for your absurd, and obviously facetious accusation that I am, in fact, Dick Morris, well, in the words of my favorite president, I won't even dignify that with an answer.
Marc
USA - Sunday, January 14, 2001 at 17:51:57 (PST)

So sue me. I didn't check out that web site too carefully. Just proves my point, doesn't it? Gotta be careful about whose words we quote/post. It was a well-intentioned (I assumed) mass email that I had posted. So . . . one more week of Clinton; let's all make sure to call him up tomorrow, yeah? I wonder how THAT tally is shaping up.
Marc
USA - Sunday, January 14, 2001 at 17:49:27 (PST)

Marc-- I have just returned from a lengthy cyber-sortie into the "Vote.com" website, which you recommended we visit to express our support for Leonard Pelltier's clemency. Gotta tell ya, my immediate question is: Did you check into any of the other votes and "archives", where the details of hundreds of questions and "results" are recorded? The Peltier question is actually the only one that I came across that has anything of an appearance balance (46% for clemency and 54% against). Every other vote that I looked at, including: "Should Ashcroft's anti-gay feelings prevent his confirmation?" (we're losing by a margin of 3:1), "Should Bush support the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?" ("No" votes won by 6:1), and "Do lawsuits by environmentalists PREVENT endangered species from getting protection?" ("Yes" votes won by a 3:1 margin). So, now, a couple questions of my own, Marc... First: Is "Marcwordsmith" actually a pseudonym for that notoriously amoral political spinmaster Dick Morris? "Vote.com" is clearly nothing more than a thinly veiled right wing plot aimed at providing politicians with 'supporting evidence' that implies across-the-board public support for their regressive agenda. And, my second question is: Has this recent metamorphosis of yours, in the direction of "spammist extremism", actually been nothing more than a complex smokescreen intended to further obscure your true identity, Mr. Richard Morris??? ;>)
TNH <yeahyou@dupedagain.con>
Bliss Falls, CA USA - Sunday, January 14, 2001 at 17:33:56 (PST)

I'm not fooled by your PLOT, everyone! I know you've run away from me to another guestbook page somewhere in cyberspace, and you've taken that lily-livered James Knight with you. You're ALL afraid of me! But I'll find you. Don't think you're safe from me and my documents. HA HAAAA!!!!
Marc
USA - Sunday, January 14, 2001 at 13:37:27 (PST)

oh, incidentally, anyone know the whereabouts of Sheryl Neckritz?
Ben Zeman <benz@smoc.org>
Framingham, MA USA - Friday, January 12, 2001 at 10:20:36 (PST)

oops! I read Peace Pagoda, which is based in Leverett, MA, and thought it was out here...oh well, I guess I should read more carefully. Sorry, Jonnie!
Ben Zeman <benz@smoc.org>
Framingham, MA USA - Friday, January 12, 2001 at 10:20:14 (PST)

Ben, I know you don't like long postings, but the first sentence did say that the walk would be in California, so I don't know how many of us will be walking to Framingham. Although I seem to remember I've been to jail in Framingham, I wouldn't mind vigiling from the outside. I guess you'll have to wait for everyone to come for your wedding. Anyone interested in going on part or all of the California walk? I'm considering being on it for the last week, but don't know if I can walk 15 miles/day, it's been a while. Anyone in Southern Oregon out there that would like to begin training? And James, if you're coming up to San Francisco, why don't you come for a visit to Ashland, afterall it wasn't that long ago you were considering moving here, isn't that so? Well, the full moon is waning, or is it waxing, any way it's getting smaller and I'm being IM'ed by my niece in Aussie so gotta run, love hearing from all of ya and being part of the ongoing conversation.
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland , OR USA - Friday, January 12, 2001 at 00:01:59 (PST)

i interject into this stimulating/simulated inanity/animosity a query;does any of usn's or youn's have e-mail addresses for bob trausch and ms guthrie smith?also,i'd like to add this announcement/invitation to the red tent all-night- and- day meeting agenda-see you in d.c. on the 20th!
kathy reutlinger <krpoobah22@hotmail.com>
USA - Thursday, January 11, 2001 at 21:52:51 (PST)

I hear you James. I think that the plural of Dominatrix is Dominatrices, but then again it would get very confusing and probably painful as well as expensive for you to use more than one at a time. Remember if pain is pleasure, then we are in for an excellent time for the next four years! Hope that cheered you up; what are friends for?
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Thursday, January 11, 2001 at 17:23:59 (PST)

Wow! I've now been compared to Ronald Reagan AND Rush Limbaugh. And I've been told I "can't be trusted" because I voted for Nader and my dislike of Clinton stems from "personal problems". All in one week on this web site! Its great to have friends! Think of the money I'm saving on Dominatrix. (Sorry Marc, what is the plural of Dominatrix??)
james knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Thursday, January 11, 2001 at 13:42:00 (PST)

you're awesome, Bob! Jonnie, if you or anyone else come to that walk here in W. Mass, please come visit me in Framingham. Na mu myo etc.
Ben Zeman <benz@smoc.org>
Framingham, MA USA - Thursday, January 11, 2001 at 11:24:34 (PST)

Florida Ex-Offenders Barred from Vote Decisive in Election 31% of State's African American Men Denied Vote (New York, November 8, 2000) The permanent disenfranchisement of over 400,000 ex-offenders in Florida is likely to have determined the outcome of the presidential election, two non-partisan research and advocacy groups said today. Almost one third of the African American men in Florida were unable to vote because of a felony conviction at some point in their past. Florida is one of only thirteen states that deny the vote to ex-offenders who have fully served their sentences. A 1998 report by Human Rights Watch and The Sentencing Project estimated that 436,900 former felons were disenfranchised in the state. Among Florida's African American residents, the impact of the state's disenfranchisement laws is particularly dramatic: 31.2% of black men in Florida -- more than 200,000 potential black voters -- were excluded from the polls. Assuming the voting pattern of black ex-felons would have been similar to the vote by black residents in Florida generally, the inability of these ex-offenders to vote had a significant impact on the number voting for Vice President Gore. In their 1998 report, Losing the Vote, Human Rights Watch and The Sentencing Project documented state by state the impact of disenfranchisement laws across the country. Among the report’s findings: Nationally, one in fifty adults, an estimated 3.9 million Americans, were not able to vote because of a felony conviction. 1.4 million of these are ex-offenders who have completed their sentences and are not in prison or on probation or parole. Losing the Vote is available on-line at http://www.hrw.org/reports98/vote/.
Teach
CA USA - Thursday, January 11, 2001 at 00:15:02 (PST)

Hot off the Press! Just got a letter from the Peace Pagoda in Leverett. There will be a California Prison Dharma Walk February 1 to March 4, 2001, to dissolve the walls of punishment, shame, fear, and isolation that separates those in prison and those outside, and to profoundly change the nature of the prison system. An interfaith pilgrimage to the major prisons of California, from Marc's land to James land. So, after that summit meeting they can both walk hand n' hand and as Bill said have a reason to march again. Derek, you may want to join them since walking is good for the soul, did they mean sole when that was written? The walk leaves from Oakland City Hall and 2/10 attends Conference in Fresno: Environmental Justice and the Fight against Prison Expansion. Walk continues south vigiling at nearly 20 of the 33 state prisons in California. For more info. contact Arnold Erikson @ (415) 457-1573 or rusami@email.msn.com. I have the flyer and could possibly post it on our longer listings part of this web site. Na Mu Myo Ho Renge Kyo
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 20:29:54 (PST)

Be of good cheer and have hope, Bill. James and I are having a little summit meeting here next week. Let's hope it turns out better than Rejkavik '86. The negotiations will be intense, as I will be insisting that James dismantle his missive defense system (which is really an OFFENSIVE weapon, make no mistake), and then he'll probably just walk out in a huff, like Reagan did back then. Actually, the more I think about it, James IS a bit like Reagan and I'm a little like Gorbachev, don't you think? I mean, you know, he's from L.A. (near Hollywood) and I originally come from the East. Derek, it is lovely to hear from you! Thanks for your update. Happy 60th and thanks for walking for us. Speaking of the speed of our souls and the pace of life, what are your thoughts on the Internet?
Marc Polonsky <marcwordsmith@sfo.com>
El Cerrito, CA USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 19:21:20 (PST)

Good thing some of you still have your Y2K canned foods. You might need them if the war of words (oh, so many words) between our two superpowers escalates. For those of you looking for a reason to march again across this grand land, here is your cause. Let's work to build a path of peace between James and Marc; let's keep their fingers off the copy and paste buttons. Any one care to write a song for this cause? (Just keep it really, really short.)
Bill O'Neill <boneill@cape.com>
Hyannis, MA USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 17:37:36 (PST)

Hi Everyone, January is upon me I want to curl up and rest by the fire here on Keats Island. Elsi our dog, always living in hope, sits patiently on the porch with her stick. I move slowly putting on my rubber boots and raincoat and walk with Elsi down to the meadow. The pond deepened with rain is dark and still, the fish have gone to its depths to meditate until spring. Even Buddha who sits on a rock in the middle of the pond has gone further inside. All things begging me for reflection. Somehow I expected more of the " New Millennium" and less of my sixtieth birthday. My heart still aches at the news in the Middle East and the growing trend to more fear and less love in the world saddens me. Nevertheless the year 2000 was full of personal growth and lots of warm memories to comfort me in the cold of the winter. There is so much to give thanks for, certainly in my immediate family. I've heard that walking is the true speed of the soul. That when we travel quickly through life, in planes and in our lifestyles we are ahead of our true spirit. So I embrace my slower way through life, feeling positive and ready to engage. I feel alone and I feel supported as I look to another year of walking. Thank you all for walking beside me through life. I wish you Peace, health, happiness and an abundance of prosperity in the coming year.
Derek W Youngs <walker@portal.ca>
Vancouver, BC Canada - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 16:50:49 (PST)

Sorry, boys. I'm opting to keep my manuscripts of mass destruction right here at my fingertips. No one's ever called me a superpower before! It's nice to get a little respect.
Marc
USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 13:57:31 (PST)

Bob, you've touched my soul. In an act of good faith I have unilaterally put my Proust-"Remembrance of Things Past" file in the trash. I will empty it as soon as I get word from Mr. Polonsky on the terms and verification procedures of this agreement.
james knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 11:14:48 (PST)

We the smaller voices in this global community do hereby unite and demand that you two superpowers (James and Marc) cease and desist with your MAD posting rhetoric that can only result in the annihilation of all of the white space on this wonderful page of ours. As each of you stockpile words, smaller rogue voices, perhaps some sitting quietly in the wings, will be motivated to develop their own potent weapons. Imagine Evan Conroy with the NY Phone book. Or TNH with his finger on the Bible (Old and New Testaments)! Get a grip guys. *S*S*
Bob Alei <onesmallcountry@earth.org>
WhoVille, USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 10:52:13 (PST)

Actually, I'm going to SF to visit Marc and attend various inaugural balls. LA is a depressing place to protest so I go where its sympatico, no? I'll get bashed less by angry Dems for wearing my Green Party button up there. And yes, Marc and I will be pushing buttons when we get together. Each others!
james knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 09:54:35 (PST)

Sorry J9, I spelt your name incorrectly. And I haven't yet used emoticoms, I guess someday I'll get the hang of it, somewhat like answer machines and computers, it will just become natural.
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 09:45:43 (PST)

Jeannie, If Republicans or Democrats can try to rule, why can't anarchists rule? Is it because it isn't anarchist like? And James if I didn't know Marc were coming to visit you, one might surely think that Marc will in fact press that button. Perhaps the two of you could do it together?
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 09:42:36 (PST)

Some folks post in pithy prose, with words so eloquent, while others rely on broader input, for truth to find its vent. ;>]
TNH <yeahyou@credibilitygapjunction.con>
Bliss Falls, MT USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 09:42:31 (PST)

I've got one thing to say to you Marc Polonsky: The Noam Chomsky Archive. Loaded and ready. And, I've got my new Strategic Missive Defense Software (unkindly referred to as "Scroll Bar Wars") all in place. It cost me a pretty penny too, but well worth it. Of course some pinko programmers don't think it'll ever work... but are you willing to take that chance?
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 07:30:33 (PST)

TNH -- You're critizing OTHERS for "name calling?" Have you READ your own posts? Sheesh, the level of hypocrisy does some damage to your credibility. Now go ahead, call me a name.
Evan Conroy <evanconroy@yahoo.com>
USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 02:56:29 (PST)

I have JUST ABOUT had it. If James, Teach, and their ilk keep this up, I am going to adopt a scorched earth policy. I will go to the official War and Peace web site, and I will copy, paste, and post the whole thing. So help me God, I'm warning you; don't call my bluff here. I'll do it, dammit. My finger is already on the button.
Marc
USA - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at 02:40:42 (PST)

Wow! I am so excited to be back home and see all these posts! Even the incredibly huge ones, which I read/skimmed with enthusiasm! I want to respond to several postings, but am too tired from travel. So I will wish everyone beautiful dreams tonight. Dreams that are filled with feelings of peace and love and hope - visions of the future that we can share with each other. Blessings to all our relations.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 17:39:04 (PST)

also, "anarchy" can rule, but I do not think (philosophically, anyway) that "anarchists" can rule ... 8-}
j9
USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 16:18:14 (PST)

Jonnie -- Did you forget your smiley face, at the end of the last one? 8-}
j9
USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 16:14:22 (PST)

Looks like we may need to go to the red tent sooner than later, just to know how long our posts should or should not be. Anarchists perhaps may rule.
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 15:49:12 (PST)

"Corporate Democracy; Civic Disrespect" by John K. Galbraith -- With the events of late in the year 2000, the United States left behind constitutional republicanism, and turned to a different form of government. It is not, however, a new form. It is, rather, a transplant, highly familiar from a different arena of advanced capitalism. This is corporate democracy. It is a system whereby a Board of Directors-- read Supreme Court -- selects the Chief Executive Officer. The CEO in turn appoints new members of the Board. The shareholders, owners in title only, are invited to cast their votes in periodic referenda. But their franchise is only symbolic, for management holds a majority of the proxies. On no important issue do the CEO and the Board ever permit themselves to lose. The Supreme Court clarified this in a way that the Florida courts could not have. The media have accepted it, for it is the form of government to which they are already professionally accustomed. And the shameless attitude of the George W. Bush high command merely illustrates, in unusually visible fashion, the prevalent ethical system of corporate life. Al Gore's concession speech was justly praised for grace and humor. It paid due deference to the triumph of corporate political ethics, but did not embrace them. It thus preserved Gore for another political day -- the obvious intention. But Gore also sent an unmistakable message to American democrats: Do not forget. It was an important warning, for almost immediately forgetting became the media order of the day. Overnight, it became almost un-American not to accept the diktat of the Court. Or to be precise, Gore's own distinction became holy writ: One might disagree with the Court, but not with the legitimacy of its decision. Press references from that moment forward were to President-elect Bush, an unofficial title and something that the Governor from Texas (President-select? President-designate?) manifestly is not. The key to dealing with the Bush people, however, is precisely not to accept them. Like most Americans, I have nothing personal against Bush, Dick Cheney, nor against Colin Powell and the others now surfacing as members of the new administration. But I will not reconcile myself to them. They lost the election. Then they arranged to obstruct the count of the vote. They don't deserve to be there, and that changes everything. They have earned our civic disrespect, and that is what we, the people, should accord them. In social terms, civic disrespect means that the illegitimacy of this administration must not be allowed to fade from view. The conventions of politics remain: Bush will be president; Congress must work with him. But those of us outside that process are not bound by those conventions, and to the extent that we have a voice, we should use it. In political practice, civic disrespect means drawing lines around the freedom of maneuver of the incoming administration. In many areas, including foreign policy, there will be few major changes; in others such as annual budgets and appropriations, compromises will have to be reached. But Bush should be opposed on actions whose reach will extend beyond his actual term. First, the new president should be allowed lifetime appointments only by consensus. The public should oppose -- and 50 Senate Democrats should freely block -- judicial nominations whenever they carry even the slightest ideological taint. That may mean most of them, but no matter. And as for the Supreme Court especially, vacancies need not be filled. Second, the Democrats should advise Bush not to introduce any legislation to cut or privatize any part of Social Security or Medicare. Third, Democrats should furiously oppose elimination of the estate tax a social incentive for recycling wealth to the non-profit sector, to foundations and universities, that has had a uniquely powerful effect on the form of American society. Once gone, this ingenious device will never be reenacted. Fourth, the people must unite to oppose the global dangers of National Missile Defense -- a strategic nightmare on which Bush campaigned -- that threatens for all time the security of us all. Fifth, Congress should enact a New Voting Rights Act, targeted precisely at the Florida abuses. This should stipulate: mandatory adoption of best-practice technology in all federal elections; a 24-hour voting day; a ban on private contractors to aid in purging voter rolls; and mandatory immediate hand count of all under-votes in federal elections. With those steps taken, Democrats must also recognize and adapt to the new political landscape that emerged from this election. Outside of Florida, Democrats are finished in the South. But they have excellent prospects of consolidating a narrow majority of the Electoral College -- so long as, in the next election, there is no Ralph Nader defection. What can prevent such a thing? Only a move away from the main Clinton compromises that so infuriated the progressive left. Nader's voters were motivated passionately by issues like the drug war, the death penalty, consumer protection and national missile defense -- issues where New Democrats took Republican positions in their effort to woo the South. Clinton the Southerner succeeded at this -- but against Republicans who were only weakly "Southern" at best. Gore, on the other hand, was principally a Northern candidate, strongly backed by the core Democrats, who ran against, and defeated so far as ballots were concerned, a wholly Southern Republican. Future Republicans almost surely also be "Southern,"; for that is where the base of the party now lies. And future Democrats, if they are Northern candidates too, can beat them -- all the more so if they bring the Greens back into the Democratic fold. In short, Al Gore's campaign proved that there is an electoral majority in the United States for a government that is truly a progressive coalition, and not merely an assemblage of sympathetic lawyers, professors and investment bankers. Rather, Americans will elect a government that firmly includes and effectively represents labor, women, minorities -- and Greens. This is the government we must seek to elect -- if we get another chance. And for that, the first task is to assure that the information ministries of our new corporate republic do not successfully cast a fog of forgetting over the crime that we have all just witnessed, with our own eyes. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
Teach
USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 15:07:33 (PST)

I'm glad you asked Jonnie! One very unglamorous movement I'm involved with now is for Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). This system of voting, with the last election as an example, would have succeeded in allowing everyone who felt inclined to vote Green Party to do so without fear (no spoilers), erased the anti-Nader campaigning of Gore, forced a Dem/Green coalition instead, and led to a MAJORITY win by Gore (by that I mean more than 50% of the votes cast, meaning that for once a majority of Americans would have voted for, and feel represented by, a president) regardless of the vote tampering by Bush and family. Its a simple system, saves money to the taxpayers and has growing bi-partisan support among Reps and Dems because it allows 3rd parties to grow freely without threatening the big two. At this moment in history more people in America are ready to vote for electoral reform than ever, so I believe it has a chance to really change things. for more info: www.fairvote.org. And as for Mr. Polonsky, there's a device to the right of your browser, kind of a vertical column with arrows pointing up and down...called a scroll bar...its easy to use and does not require reading the material on the page to use it. And, for the record, I have never required that anyone read my posts, long or short, before engaging in a dialogue with me. I also would never consider requiring that anyone censor the length or content of their replies to any of my inflamatory posts. I did not fan this particular flame back to life and I'm damn well not going to ignore it because some people want to just wait four years and have the same stupid discussion in an identically stupid situation. And finally, I love you Marc and look forward to seeing you next week! Hope you didn't scroll through part!
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 12:20:29 (PST)

Not sure why, but I feel like sharing a few lyrics, here, from a song I wrote, back in the '70s... "Liberation is my watchword;/I shall not simply wait/for the good life to get better,/while my world you desecrate./Tomorrow's much too far away./I want my freedom, NOW!/And, if you will not give it gladly,/I'm gonna take it, anyhow./I can hear its sweet song singing in the breeze./I feel its warmth like sunshine through the trees./And, I'll soar above you, forest of my night,/or tear your limbs down from you for what's right."
Frank
USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 11:33:57 (PST)

I'm going to register a vote right now. No more of these endless copy-and-paste posts on this page, please. I'd prefer to be directed to a URL if you want me to read something. Now I know I've been guilty of it in the past myself, so I'll take my own criticism to heart too. I say, if you can't say it in your own words, please don't get some published writer to say it for you on this page. If what we're having here is a virtual discussion, then posts like (most recently) the one from James are like somebody insisting we all read a small book before we can resume conversation. I mean, yes, I can skip it but . . . frankly, James, there was nothing in that post that you haven't basically already said yourself, and just as well or better. BTW, I think that two of the very worst results of this election COULD be: A. Heightened vitriolic rhetoric between Demos and Greens (also known as wasting time blaming and fighting among ourselves) and B. A general weakening of the Green party, because so many people are blaming Nader for Bush's election. I think we can all agree that we need a movement like the Green party, to bring together the various causes we believe in. I don't know that we need a national candidate like Nader right now, but we certainly need more and more Greens elected to office in as many parts of the country as possible. In Sebastopol CA for example, they hold a majority on the city council. . . . It's interesting how the discussion sort of evolves and devolves. I loved NJ's post; I felt it "cleared the air" without being particularly mean to anyone, but it was emotional and indignant; she "got it out" so to speak. And then from there, we degenerated, I think, back into the "Who was right?" debate. I mean the hell with it now. We'll have plenty of time to retread that ground if Nader runs again in four years.
Marc
USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 11:26:53 (PST)

James-- Polnachek's article was both provocative and amazing in it's depth. I probably don't have to tell you, but I do pride myself on reading through each and every entry made here, on the pages of this Guestbook, as I am fascinated by the dialogical potential it holds for us marchers. Today, however, I must admit that I began hearing echos of the theme song from "Chariots of Fire", as I dragged myself across the finish line of her marathon analysis. Wow! (8^>?
Frank Holmgren <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 11:21:39 (PST)

Well, James that was the longest piece I've ever scrolled down, and I read it all! I hope Ben gets to read it cuz it's right up his alley, but a bit long. What I'd like to know is what exactly are we going to do this next four years? Our family of marchers can make a difference if we begin right now. Can we make a platform and work in our communities rather than waiting till the next election? Or do we have to meet in the big red tent for days on end before we decide as a family what direction we want to take? Let's talk.
Jonnie Dale Lieberman <JonnieDale@aol.com>
Ashland, OR USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 11:15:29 (PST)

TNH, let those who have never spoken or acted out of anger cast the first stone at those who vilify Clinton (or Nader for that matter). While it is *easy* to speak as I did of trying to maintain humility and act from love and generosity while still speaking your truth, it is a far more difficult thing to do so. Given my own track record on the subject, I have no room to judge others for their cynicism. Rather, I feel it is my role to gently remind them of another view, as I hope others will do for me when I get on my high horse.
Bob Alei <BAleiHi@mediaone.net>
FresnOjai, CA USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 08:48:21 (PST)

If y'all feel that Clinton was a good president, and if you feel really represented by the Democratic party, thats cool, I have nothing to debate with you. If you don't, then I look forward to hearing about your involvement in the next four years in seeing that the next election provides real options for change, through involvement in or creation of viable third and fourth party movements.
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 06:56:39 (PST)

What Did Nader Bashing Say About Feminism? J. Lee Polnachek, AlterNet December 19, 2000 Viewed on January 8, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------- I knew I needed to take stock of the feminist movement when an eighty-year-old woman noticed my "Another Babe for Nader" button and gave me the finger. It was no small gesture -- she put her whole rail-thin, crisply dressed body into it, jabbing both arms in the air in alternating motions, fingers aloft, energetic and vulgar. "Fuck you!" the aging Upper West Side sophisticate spat at me, "Women are going to die in back alleys because of you!" I felt like Alice through the electoral looking glass. Instead of dodging the usual "Baby killer!" epithets from blue-blooded, gray-haired, family values mavens who curse my participation in reproductive rights rallies, here I was being flipped off by a furious feminist elder who couldn't fathom why a pro-choice woman might value electoral choice beyond the two-party Republicrat cartel. Welcome to the Wonderland of Campaign 2000, where a "Vote Nader/LaDuke For a $10 Minimum Wage" pin might as well have been a "kick-me" sign. Strangers sputtering four-letter-words at Nader supporters were simply taking their cue from the collective ranting of angry liberal pundits, beltway Democrats and corporate media, all of whom painted the Green Party contender as a selfish, egomaniacal spoiler who was only out to siphon liberal votes away from Al Gore, their rightful owner. Feminist leaders and thinkers railed against pro-choice progressive women who refused to be taken in by the smug campaign pitch, "Pucker up, baby -- you've got nowhere else to go!" Where did this demeaning and ultimately self-defeating notion come from? Sure, Democratic powerbrokers expected no-strings-attached progressive support, arrogantly assuming they could get away with egregious wrongs because they are marginally better on social issues than the other major-party alternative. Since Gore is the only thing standing between the GOP and women's wombs, the Democrats argued, "A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush." Mainstream feminist groups such as the National Abortion Rights Action League and the National Organization for Women, and gay rights groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, jumped on board, hammering home that message in a variety of ways. NARAL spent $1.5 million in advertising to convince women that a vote for Nader would jeopardize reproductive freedom. In a scathing interview with the San Francisco Chronicle last September, Patricia Ireland ripped into Nader, saying he showed "an ignorance that's almost willful" when it comes to women's and gay and lesbian rights. NOW's web site insisted Ralph Nader was not "a viable alternative for feminist voters" in part because comments about feminist and lesbian/gay issues on the Greens' web site were too brief. (Ironically, Nader's web site calls for "an Equal Rights Amendment to assure equal treatment for women in education, employment, health and other arenas," and specifically endorses NOW's eleven-point platform.) Also in September, HRC rep David Smith told the Chronicle that his organization equates Nader and Bush votes "whenever we're asked." In an essay for The Nation last August, feminist journalist Barbara Ehrenreich got it right when she characterized this illogic as "a disturbingly Orwellian proposition, easily generalized to 'Don't challenge the system, you'll only make it worse.'" I expected ludicrous finger-wagging from inside-the-beltway boys; I never expected such codependence from feminists, who hold independence as a central principle of the women's movement. One after another, feminist organizations and individuals endorsed Gore without asking for anything in return. A neon sign flashing "Forget us after Nov. 7" might have been as tactically effective. Gore scored NARAL's endorsement - and their expensive ad campaign -- without ever renouncing his anti-choice voting record of years' past; he enjoyed NOW's vocal support without promising to reverse his destructive welfare reform policies. Movement leaders came out swinging not so much for Gore as against Nader. Instead of trying to convince unregistered voters of Gore's merits, feminist icon Gloria Steinem bullied the Greens with a list of "Top Ten Reasons Why I'm Not Voting For Nader." The fourth item on Steinem's list is confounding: Nader didn't deserve her vote, she said, because he asked Native American activist Winona LaDuke to be his running mate 'despite his likely contribution to the victory of George W. Bush,' who has made 'breathtakingly dangerous' statements about Native American issues. What is truly breathtaking is the irony of a feminist who spends more than three decades advocating for women's equality and inclusion -- then tries to persuade voters to shun a populist advocate because he chose a progressive woman of color as the Green Party vice presidential nominee. Such doublethink informed the Nader-bashing phenomenon. When Granny D. walked cross-country to call attention to the need for campaign finance reform, she scored glowing prose in Ms.; when progressives put their votes where Granny D.'s mission is, they got nothing but scorn from Steinem. On a number of online feminist discussion groups I lurk on, participants have over the years praised Barbara Ehrenreich as one of too few journalists bringing a well-researched, progressive feminist perspective to media coverage of women's issues. Yet when Ehrenreich applied her characteristic critical analysis to the presidential race and asked feminists to stop treating Nader supporters disrespectfully, the same Internet communities responded as if she were a heretic. Certainly, there are strategic reasons why mainstream feminist organizations might marshal votes to defeat the candidate they fear the most. Women, especially women of color, are most vulnerable to violence, poverty, discrimination and abuse, and would likely bear the brunt of a Bush administration. Feminists who preferred not to shoulder that burden this time around could not be faulted for that decision. There's a difference, however, between mobilizing against an anti-feminist Republican, and browbeating supporters of the only progressive candidate in the race in order to aid an anti-feminist Democrat. When did 'feminism' and 'Democrat' become synonymous? It hasn't always been this way. In an open letter to the feminist community posted to Women's Enews just before the election, Ehrenreich noted: "some prominent feminists forget that only eight years ago, NOW announced a tentative plan to launch a new feminist political party. I was at one of the meetings to discuss the new party, as was Patricia Ireland, and the feeling at that time was of disgust for the Democrats and weariness with being taken for granted by them. In that year the Republican candidate, Bush Sr., was far more openly aligned with the Christian Right than his son is now. So, even by NOW's standards, rejection of the Democratic Party is hardly treason." Meritless as the "traitor" label might be, it is still a favorite slur against all those who refused to support the conservative Democrats this time around. In a post-election Women's Enews article titled Anti-Woman Backlash Strategy Dwindling, author Tania Melich lowered the Nader-bashing bar with this sketchy theory: "An analysis of the Nader vote indicates that his strongest supporters were under-30-year-old, independent, liberal males. Are they the latest backlash constituency?" Can someone explain that bizarre question to me? Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke called for an ERA, a living wage, and universally safe and accessible health care and day care -- and we're supposed to brand their supporters "backlash" voters? It's bad enough that Melich disappears women from the Green Party, even though women won eight of the Greens' twenty successful national, state and local races, and women were involved in every aspect of grassroots Green campaigning. What's worse is Melich's implication that male Nader voters were motivated not by a sincere dedication to economic and social justice, but by aggressive "anti-woman" callousness. For the Real Backlash, Look to the DLC In 1996, after helping to reelect Bill Clinton and Al Gore, I felt so dirty that a hot, two-hour shower could not wash off the sinking feeling that my evil-of- two-lessers vote had just affirmed the increasingly rightward shift of the Democratic party. That not-so-fresh feeling kept repeating on me with every new Clinton/Gore disappointment: their continued racist drug war, their refusal to ease sanctions on Iraq, their failure to hold the broadcasting industry to any sort of socially responsible standard, their unwillingness to aggressively combat attacks on affirmative action, their tendency to bloat the Pentagon's already overly inflated budget while public school classrooms remained underfunded and overcrowded. The list seemed endless. The gap between the rich and the poor increased under Clinton/Gore, as has the arrogance of corporations who now know that Democrats are almost as good an investment as Republicans. From 1996 on, each new Democratic sell-out deepened my sense of betrayal by a party that seemed determined to prove that there was no Left left in electoral politics. I swore that if given a better option, I would not again be complicit in the Democratic party's abandonment of me and mine. Beyond the differences between the major party candidates on a handful of important social issues such as abortion and gun control, I knew that Ralph Nader was not just blowing smoke when he described the Dems and the GOP as one party that doesn't do much to combat injustice and another that tries to generate more injustice. When it started to become clear Nader was going to run a real campaign this time around, I was thrilled to be able to consider going Green in 2000. Before I made my decision, I listened to the arguments for Gore (the thought of Bush appointing a Scalia clone to the Supreme Court was jarring enough to warrant at least a fair hearing for the Dems). Yet no matter how many stump speeches I listened to or op-eds I read, only one theme emerged: "Vote Gore -- He's not the other guy!" Some liberals claimed the Vice President's leftist tendencies were stifled at Clinton's side. A quick perusal of his record disproves this theory. As Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair report in Al Gore: A User's Manual (Verso, 2000), Gore was far more conservative before climbing the political ladder. He once voted for a fetal protection bill that would have would have defined the term "persons" to include "unborn children from the moment of conception." Way before anyone had ever heard of Dr. Laura, Gore was calling homosexuality "abnormal sexual behavior." Throughout the course of his career, Gore has: sided with Jesse Helms against a bill which would have protected HIV patients from discrimination; supported the Gulf War and Star Wars; voted for the neutron bomb, the B-2 bomber, the Trident II, MX and Midgetman missiles; and, though he talks a good game on the environment, undermined the Endangered Species Act in the snail darter case and fought for the construction of a nuclear reactor in his home state. (Sadly, news consumers heard more about Gore's disturbing political record from Sparky, Tom Tomorrow's cartoon penguin, than from most major news anchors, reporters or pundits.) Lest you think that Gore "evolved" in recent years, the transcript of his Democratic Convention speech is telling: he bragged about being the architect of welfare reform, one of the most anti-feminist policies passed in the last decade. Not only do poor women need public assistance for their basic survival, but battered women often rely on it in order to leave abusive relationships. I'm not sure what disturbs me more: that Gore was confident liberals would reward him for taking away this financial safety net, or that feminists didn't hold him accountable for so serious a betrayal of women's basic economic protections. Though he promised to wage war on drug companies and fight "for the people, not the powerful," Gore spent the last eight years doing the opposite. The Democratic Leadership Council, which he used to chair, is a corporate-friendly, money-hungry centrist body that has done its utmost to steer the Democrats away from the civil rights constituencies they used to serve ñ away from feminists, people of color, labor, environmentalists ñ and toward, as Nader often pointed out, the Exxons, the General Motors, and the DuPonts. Gore has said he wants to hire thousands of new cops, not surprising for a supporter of the prison industrial complex and the death penalty, which disproportionately criminalize people of color. Universal health care, once a prime goal for the Democratic Left, is dismissed a foolish pipe dream by the now DLC-dominated party, led by Joe Lieberman, who receives more drug company cash than almost any other Senator. Shortly after the Democratic convention, the Wall Street Journal reported that Joe Lieberman assured a group of Wall Street types that a Gore/Lieberman administration would be pro-business. Gore's "for the people" soundbites shouldn't worry corporate America a bit, the Senator insisted, since they were just "rhetorical flourishes" trotted out for the convention cameras. Translation: "Don't worry 'bout the insults, boys -- we'll be there for you when it counts!" If it's disheartening that Lieberman flaunted the Democrats' calculated attempts to fool their base, it's downright depressing that their base was so promptly taken in. An Honest Politician: What a Concept Why is it that during presidential elections, time-tested, battle-scarred activists all of a sudden forget how power works? Maybe because it is psychologically easier to castigate progressive women and men as naive than to envision a revolutionary change to our corrupted two-party, no-options system. Revolution is never easy, and often requires risks and sacrifices; conditions get worse before they get better. But where would women and people of color be now if abolitionists and suffragists had decided their struggles were just too difficult or uncomfortable to wage? Where would we be if our fierce activist foremothers were stymied by the notion -- same as what's being thrown at today's Greens -- that it would be better to wait until some mythical "right" future moment before launching a women's rights revolution? By no means am I likening Ralph Nader at Madison Square Garden to Elizabeth Cady Stanton at Seneca Falls. Nader is certainly no saint, nor are many clueless Greens -- and other liberals -- who still believe that while gender issues are generally important, "identity politics" are not quite central to The Grand and Noble Cause. The Greens have a lot of work to do to thoroughly incorporate the feminist platforms they espouse in their campaign literature into their consciousness, and into practice. Despite those limitations, this was the first presidential race that ever truly moved me. I'd never seen a politician running for high office tell the truth before. I liked it. For the first time in my life I heard a presidential candidate condemn environmental racism, corporate welfare and the inherent inequity of a criminal justice system that locks up poor people and people of color for non-violent drug offenses after denying them the educational and economic opportunities that could provide a better life. Also for the first time, I heard a presidential candidate affirm the rights of lesbian and gay couples to marry, raise children and share equal privileges and responsibilities with heterosexual couples. Nader's candidacy encouraged crowds of ten to fifteen thousand energized, mostly young voters to circumvent media invisibility by getting these messages directly from the source, at the largest political rallies of this campaign. Why were so many people so eager to plunk down $5 to $15 dollars a head to attend these rallies? Because Nader articulated the same concerns thousands of protestors brought to the streets of Seattle last year: that globalization, unrestricted trade, and commercial consolidation of the media benefit corporations at the expense of domestic and international environmental, labor and human rights. While he didn't always frame it as such, Nader's denunciations of government incentives for unethical, exploitative corporations were implicitly feminist: women and girls are paid pennies for sweatshop labor in developing countries; women and their loved ones face health risks from genetically modified foods and die from pollution caused by the oil and automobile industries; the alcohol and tobacco industries spend millions in marketing to target women and girls for debilitating addictions. And, as feminist media critic Laura Flanders argued in Real Majority, Media Minority: The Costs of Sidelining Women in Reporting (Common Courage Press, 1997), the corporate media may be responsible for the promulgation of as many anti-feminist myths as right-wingers. Feminists would benefit greatly if, as Nader asserted, news broadcasters were held accountable to the public rather than to their stockholders. According to exit polls taken after the election, Gore lost eleven percent of formerly Democratic voters to Bush, compared to only two percent to Nader, whose support came in large part from people who would otherwise have not voted at all. But it's easier for the left to blame third party backers for Democratic losses than to cop to the monumental failings of the Democrats. Nader did not lose the presidency for Al Gore -- Al Gore, the corporate-coddling, rightward-leaning, welfare reforming, milquetoast wonder did that all on his own. Feminists Should Know Better I imagine that some feminists found Nader-bashing easier than facing the fact that organized feminism has undermined women's collective power. By employing nasty and divisive rhetoric in the attempt to cajole Nader supporters away from a burgeoning progressive movement, we implicitly alerted the Democrats and the media that so long as abortion is legal (never mind accessible), feminists will be willing to ignore the needs of people of color, the poor and the planet. We're doing ourselves no favors by playing the submissive to the Dems. The DLC boys don't care that feminists (and labor, civil rights supporters and environmentalists) voted for them primarily because we feared the threat of Dubya more than we detested the history of Al. They counted on this very fact. When we allow ourselves to be used in this way, we can't expect to be able to force hard changes in the political arena. Why would conservative Dems with shoddy records have any reason to wage tough battles for feminist causes, such as economic equity, child care, universal health care, and affirmative action, after we've given away our political bargaining chips for free? Pro-choicers used to know better. In Marlene Gerber Fried's remarkable anthology From Abortion to Reproductive Freedom: Transforming a Movement (South End Press, 1990), Kathryn Kolbert argued that ending the feminization of poverty must be a fundamental plank in any reproductive rights agenda. "Reproductive freedom means the ability to choose whether, when, how, and with whom one will have children. Choice means not only having a legal option, but also the economic means and social conditions that make it possible to effectuate one's choice," Kolbert wrote. Kolbert's argument is more relevant today than ever. Rather than improving, many of the barriers to economic equity that abridge a woman's right to choose have worsened after eight years of Clinton/Gore. Take housing: Under this administration Niketown has replaced Main Street, USA. Our cities have gentrified at an exponential rate, making real estate moguls multi-millionaires while decimating urban communities of color and forcing low-income women and their families from their homes. Low- and even moderate-income housing is about as much of a memory as Bill Clinton's fidelity. Ask a mother raising her children on relatives' sofabeds, in shelters or on the streets how she feels about choice. The New Democrats have not made affordable, accessible child care a priority, nor have they given working parents the option of mandated paid maternity leave. To their credit, the administration did pass a half-way decent family leave act that prevents workers from being fired if they take unpaid time off for child or elder care ñ but it's unlikely that a single blue-collar mom would ever be able to exercise the choice to go eight weeks without a paycheck. Finally, ask women with minimum-wage futures whose welfare benefits were yanked before their final semesters of college, or women who fear leaving mandatory workfare jobs despite sexual harassment, what kinds of choices they feel are available to them. How did we stray so far from Kolbert's inclusive, challenging, pre-DLC vision? In an essay last July posted on a "Feminists For Nader" web site, D.A. Clarke reflected on "The Nader Dilemma": Working-class feminists, poverty activists, or feminists who feel a loyalty to all women regardless of class, are being put in an invidious situation here; asked to ignore all other considerations, betray our loyalty to the working class and the poor, postpone all our concerns about peace, justice, and planetary survival, and vote the corporate ticket in order to preserve access to abortion for what looks more and more like a privileged few among us in either case. A larger privileged few with access to legal abortions, or a very tiny privileged few with access to top-dollar illegal ones; is this a difference that makes no difference? Or is the upholding of Roe essential, no matter how restricted the numbers of women actually able to exercise the legal right it protects? What's Roe worth to ya? That's what the Dems are asking us, with cynical confidence, holding Roe hostage for our complicity in their other crimes against women. Clarke suspected that most feminists who voted for Gore would cast their ballots with a figurative gun to their head. "The questions for all of us now," she asked, are, "Is the gun loaded or not? And, how do I feel about voting with a gun held to my head?" We are at a crossroads. Now that the election has passed we must ask ourselves some hard questions. Are we to be an inclusive social justice movement that fully understands and promotes race, class and human rights issues as inextricably linked with women's rights? If not, we should admit that all our theoretical arguments in academic journals and hand-wringing debates in activist conferences are simply flowery prose and window dressing. Will we work in coalition with women and men fighting for the preservation of women's, human and environmental rights and safety? If so, we must incorporate a broad-based sociopolitical critique into our work, focusing on the needs of women from the bottom up, striving to do more than retain the protections already afforded to the privileged few (a group growing ever-smaller over time). I've always believed that the women's movement is fundamentally broad-based; always suspected that despite the continual problems of putting a progressive ideology into practice, the majority of feminists recognize that single issues such as reproductive rights do not and cannot take precedence over a whole range of equally important social justice concerns. For decades, feminists have worked to overcome criticisms that ours is an elitist movement serving only the interests of white, middle-class women. In a great many ways, the women's movement has grown more diverse, more challenging, more savvy and more global than ever before. But by attacking women who supported third parties as naive, irresponsible, or even misogynist for voting their consciences on race and class issues, organized feminism has undermined its credibility as an inclusive movement. Its leaders might do well to remember that - and work to correct it - the next time they wonder why so many young women, women of color and working-class women say they feel alienated from feminism. J. Lee Polnachek is a freelance writer based on the East Coast and has been active in feminist organizing for ten years. A version of this piece originally appeared in the January, 2001 issue of the Women's Review of Books.
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
LA, CA USA - Tuesday, January 09, 2001 at 06:50:38 (PST)

Got this in my email basket tonight: Dear friends, The website http://www.vote.com has a poll up with the question "Should President Clinton Pardon Leonard Peltier, Who Was Convicted Of Killing Two FBI Agents?" The current total is about 6,500 votes no and 350 votes yes. Clearly the FBI found out about the poll before we did, but we can fix that! For each person that votes, "vote.com" sends an email to President Clinton, telling him how he/she voted. [Vote.com was created by Dick Morris (who was President Clinton's chief strategist and advisor in the 1996 campaign. He's now a commentator on the Fox News Channel and writes a weekly column in the New York Post) and Eileen McGann is an attorney and former public interest lobbyist.] We are asking all Peltier supporters to go to this website an vote in support for Clemency for Leonard Peltier. In solidarity, --- LPDC
Marc
USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 23:41:21 (PST)

Nj, you do not stand alone. Certainly, we may not agree on all things, but the pain that both you and BJ have voiced, regarding that bitter sense of betrayal many of us feel, not only with the Democrat Senators and Congressmen who have refused to stand up for principle and integrity, but also with the friends we care so much about, who evidently have decided they can derive more satisfaction in slandering Bill Clinton and in venting their personal frustrations in tirades of useless name-calling and finger-wagging invective, than they could in trying to focus that energy in effective cooperative efforts to actually improve the world we live in. I mean, where IS the REASON? And, what IS the POINT of adopting Rush Limbaugh's prurulent analysis and putrid terminology, ranting his ugly rants for him? Does anyone out there really believe he or she is improving the world by slurring Bill Clinton? If you do, then please try to explain your theory of productive social change to those of us who are unable to grasp it? Or, are you just so damned frustrated and angry with the way life is going for you, personally, that you just want to hurt those of us who do not share your anger? Positive social change does not grow out of hatred, hostility, and polarization. We need to draw together and share our creative intellect with one another, if we are ever to transcend that enormous effort we once made, fourteen years ago, with the high hope of building a better future for all people. Let us not waste our time bogging one another down with simplistic negativism, thereby dampening that always fragile confidence we share that authentic change is truly possible. We know we are a powerful force for social development. What is it that prevents us from moving forward, now, to create the kind of future we all want?
TNH <yeahyou@you'llneverwalkalone.net>
Bliss Falls, DC USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 23:33:57 (PST)

God, that was well spoken, NJ.
Marc Polonsky <marcwordsmith@sfo.com>
El Cerrito, CA USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 23:02:39 (PST)

And Bj, I also share in your pain about the lack of Senatorial support for the Black Caucus the other day. It's maybe understandable that a rookie Senator, like H. Clinton, may not have felt free to lend support, but where wasTed Kennedy, or Lieberman, or any of the other democratic Senators? I don't put the onus all on Nader's supporters for the Bush win, because Gore did win the popular vote after all. It was a very, very sad day.
Nj
USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 22:17:07 (PST)

I'm with you, Bob. Here's something I'm struggling with: the acidic, even hateful, dismissal of Clinton on this page is alarming to me. I think the man had his good points and, compared with what we're in for over the next four years, he had virtues as well. I'm going to go ahead and say this because it's been weighing on my heart and soul for months now: although I understand the desire behind voting for Nader, it is difficult for me to see any good in his so-called candidacy. He also had marketers and spokespeople and speech writers like the rest of 'em, and fell into some of the same traps all politicians seem to fall into. For starters, he became one. I find his pseudo-candidacy (he ran, not to win, but to teach us all a lesson ... patronizing is a word that comes to mind here) to have been a sham against his supporters and, as a result, the whole country. The cavalier attitude he showed then toward the specter of a Bush presidency was and is disheartening. What's worse is that I'm also having trouble trusting and believing in those folks who bought into his line enough to vote for him. There, I said it. Flame away if you must. To me, Nader was once a great American, he will always be that for the many decades of service he's given. But he, to me, is as bloated and arrogant now as the Bush man himself and I see no glory or honor in the way he ran his own campaign. If anyone has any wise words to share, I'd welcome them, cynical as I am. But yeesh, if ya think Clinton was bad, you'd better not go anywhere near a newspaper for the next four years. On a related note, although Nader was unconcerned about choice, I'm enjoying seeing the pro-choice NARAL ads airing on TV now. I wonder if it will do any good. I wish I felt that Nader's supporters will be helping to shoulder the crushing burden of trying to hold onto our rights and freedoms now that they've helped elect Shrub, but how do I trust people who were so willing to throw them all away on an empty object-lesson? Ok, well that's my angst and it took a lot for me to be able to say it here because I know I'm outnumbered and all that. But I'm still a peace marcher at heart, still hoping that peace is possible ... against all odds.
Nj
USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 21:55:03 (PST)

The problem I have with that sort of rhetoric spoken by a liar is that its exactly what got me to vote for the man in the first place. I felt hopeful, almost exhuberent when he was elected. Then came the steady stream of betrayals of those very words until I felt sick inside just to open the news paper. Which is why I kept trying to push past the rhetoric of the latest presidential campaign to the men's actions. They say what their "market analysts" think we want to hear, lull us into a false state of comfort and security, then go on with the brutal business as usual. That's not free speech: the price we pay for believing it is far too high.
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 16:10:00 (PST)

For Joe and Bob: "You go, guyfriends!!" I am also experiencing very conflicted feelings about Bill Clinton. Your personal insights are helping. Thanks and good for you!
j9
USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 14:59:53 (PST)

Thank you, Bob. It is hard not to react and humility would help in that struggle. I am afraid at this point, that my ego(as well as my heart) has been so bruised by Clinton and Bush and Reagan that virtually anything that any of them say or said sounds like a lie to me. That after all is my problem and only limits my perspective.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 14:37:32 (PST)

I understand your cynicism James, Joe, & TNH but I must say that as I read Billy boy's words I was moved. Doesn't it say something about the man that he even chose to speak them, even if he has compromised so many of those ideals in his role as president? I hold out hope that he will, in fact, move on to higher things, unfettered by the political forces of compromise. Maybe I am being naive. But I especially liked what he (or his speechwriters?) said about the word tolerance. Perhaps we need humility more than tolerance.
Bob Alei <BAleiHi@mediaone.net>
Fresno, CA USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 13:12:21 (PST)

Yesterday we celebrated Jack's 100th birthday(which is actually today) and it was truly wonderful. What a gift to be able to live to 100 and still be lucid and healthy. As to Slick Willy's speech to the congregants, what a waste to be in a position of power and to speak lies. My Russian friends talking about life under The Soviet Union, refer to the vast gulf between the official and real versions of events that existed and for the need that each person had to gauge the level and depth of lies and to read between the lines in order to discern some truth. I feel exactly that way whenever I hear Slick Willy speak. Writing here about Jack and Willy is sublime and sewarage.
Joe Kinczel <ash@igc.org>
USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 11:51:33 (PST)

Talk is free, in America. At least, that's what the Constitution says it ought to cost. ;]
TNH <yeahyou@morecynicalthanthou.org>
Bliss Falls, CA USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 08:03:05 (PST)

"Talk is cheap and Gortex is not waterproof." John Windle, when asked what he learned on the GPM.
James Knight <jameskni@pacbell.net>
Lala, CA USA - Monday, January 08, 2001 at 06:46:39 (PST)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- [The following is a transcript of remarks by the President to the Foundry United Methodist Church Congregation] -- Foundry United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C. [11:40 A.M. EST] -- THE PRESIDENT: "Reverend Wogaman, staff, choir, congregation of this wonderful church. I would like to thank many people in this audience, but if I might, a few by name. /// "My good friend, Bishop May and Mrs. May, thank you for being here. My counsel-man, Mr. Evans and Mrs. Evans, thank you so much for your friendship and for being here. (Laughter.) Senator Max Cleland, my friend of many years, before either one of us were in our present positions -- surprising all but our mothers by our success. (Laughter.) I am so proud of you, sir, and I thank you for all you have done. /// "I think of this church when reading the words of Paul that Hillary cited earlier, speaking of his gratitude to the Thessalonians, or constantly remembering their work of faith, their labor of love, their steadfastness of hope. I thank Foundry for all that and for being a church home to my family these last eight years. /// "I thank especially those of you who were so kind to Chelsea over the years, who provided her opportunities to participate in the life of the church, especially in the Appalachia Service Project, from which she learned so much. I thank those of you who have taken special care to befriend Hillary and to support her. And I thank you especially for the wonderful welcome you gave her last week, when she came back here for the first time as a senator-to-be. /// "I thank you all for your prayers and your welcome to all of us in the storm and sunshine of these last eight years. I will always have wonderful memories of every occasion where we passed the peace; for all the people, young and old, who came up to me and said a kind word of welcome; to remind me that no matter what was going on in Washington, D.C., at the moment, there was a real world out there, with real people and real hearts and minds, reaffirming the timeless wisdom of de Tocqueville's observation so long ago, that America is great because America is good. You cannot imagine the peace, the comfort, the strength I have drawn from my Sundays here. /// "I want to thank you for a few other things. For the social mission of this church, especially for your outreach to the homeless, which I have been honored to support. And for your constant support of my efforts to bring peace in the Middle East and Kosovo and Northern Ireland and the other trouble spots of the world, where there are people suffering who have no money or power, too often overlooked by great nations with great interests. /// "I want to thank you for making Foundry a true community church, welcoming Christians from all races and all nations, with all kinds of abilities and disabilities, some seen and some not. I thank you especially for the kindness and courage of Foundry's welcome to gay and lesbian Christians, people who should not feel outside the family of God. /// "I thank you for your support for the city of Washington, for its economic and social revitalization, which I have done my best to speed. And for giving its citizens the political equality and statehood I have always believed they deserve, as my license plate shows. (Laughter.) And will for at least a couple more weeks. (Laughter. /// "Especially, I would like to thank Reverend Wogaman, for being my pastor and friend, my counselor and teacher. Most of you know that for more than two years now, he and two other minister friends of mine have shared the burden of meeting with me on a weekly basis. It has been an immense blessing to me and to my service as President. /// "Two weeks from yesterday, at high noon, I will relinquish my office -- doing so with a heart filled with gratitude; gratitude to the American people for the chance to serve and to leave our country with more opportunity, stronger bonds of community and a more positive impact in the larger world, at the dawn of a new century and a whole new aspect of human affairs. /// "Our nation has come a long way together these last eight years, and I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to play a part in it. In the years ahead, America may have Presidents who do this job better than I have. But I really doubt we'll ever have another one who enjoyed it more than I have. (Laughter). /// "Well, those are my reflections. I didn't know what the title of my sermon was until I picked up the program, as I walked into church. (Laughter). /// "What do I anticipate? I anticipate that my Christian bearing will be tested by a return to commercial air travel -- (laughter and applause) -- where I will reap the rewards of not having succeeded in one of the things I tried very hard to do, which was to end all those backlogs. /// "I anticipate that for some several months I will be disoriented when I walk into large rooms, because no one will be playing a song anymore. (Laughter.) I look forward to finding out whether John Quincy Adams was right when he said, there is nothing so pathetic in life as an ex-President. (Laughter.) Or whether, instead of his words, the life of John Quincy Adams and the life of Jimmy Carter prove exactly the reverse. /// "In the next chapter of my life I will do my best to use the incredible opportunities my country has given me to be a good citizen here at home and around the world, to advance the causes I believe in and to lift the fortunes and hopes of those who deserve a better hand than they have been dealt -- whether in Africa, Asia, Latin America or Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, the inner cities or the Native American reservations. I will try every day to remember, as apparently for the first time in my life I will be able to earn a sizeable income -- (laughter) -- that Christ admonished us that our lives will be judged by how we do unto the least of our neighbors. /// "I will also do my best to keep working for peace and reconciliation among people, across their differences, to find ways to get people to move beyond tolerance to celebration of those differences. I know it's sort of out of fashion, but I've kind of grown impatient with the word ``tolerance,'' because tolerance implies that someone who's better than someone else is decent enough to put up with them. And I think we need to move beyond that. /// "We are moving into the most incredible era of human affairs the world has ever known, in terms of our interdependence, our capacity to relate to people across national and cultural and religious lines, and our ability to use these breathtaking advances in technology with advances in bio-medical sciences to lengthen and improve lives in ways that previously are literally unimaginable. /// "And, yet, the biggest threat we face is the oldest problem of humankind, the fear of the other, which can so easily lead to hatred and de-humanization and violence, but even if it doesn't go that far, limits the lives all of us might otherwise live. /// "And I have spent a lot of time, as you might have noticed, in a reasonably combative arena. I am not without my competitive instincts. A lot of days I thought just showing up was an act of competition. (Laughter.) But I do believe, in the end, when all is said and done, what matters most is what we did that was common to our humanity. And, somehow, I will do everything I can to advance that simple but powerful idea at home and around the world. /// "I will also do my best to support my Senator and our daughter. And I will try to keep learning and growing, working to follow the example of the mythic Parsifal, a good man slowly wise. /// "Thanks to the good people of New York, as Phil said, this is not really a goodbye, but the beginning of a new chapter in our lives with Foundry. But it is a new chapter. So let me thank you again, for letting all of us, Hillary, Chelsea and me, make this part of our life's journey with you; for your constant reminder, in ways large and small, that though we have all fallen short of the glory, we are all redeemed by faith in a loving God. /// "God bless you." /// [END 11:53 A.M. EST]
Teach
USA - Sunday, January 07, 2001 at 23:15:22 (PST)

Hey Gene...Some Internet providers offer free web site if you sign on with them.. That's the case with me...You should check with ypur provider...Good Luck...
Marek
USA - Sunday, January 07, 2001 at 17:52:08 (PST)

BJ- Just to offer a bit of insight into one rationale behind the Dems action in the Senate, I'm reprinting a brief e-note, here, that chronicles one of our local "Trust The People" activist's visit with some of Paul Wellstone's aides. -- Re: meeting at Sen Wellstone's office Jan 5 2001 at Noon. -- Gentleman, Your TrustThePeople.com listing got two more actual bodies with two tag along kids to the meeting, where two of Sen Wellstone's Aides discussed our concerns with us. Eric Marshall/Mitchell, at the MN DFL ["Democratic Farmer-Labor Party", which is what we call the Democrat Party, in MN--ed. ;], had said that, "at a meeting", it had been decided that the party would not participate in any such rally, but that, instead, they would pass the word to some people who might be interested. I called ACORN, and other activist groups, and they were going to "fax some people". I called the Minneapolis and St Paul Branches of the NAACP and, though both have limited office hours, the Minneapolis branch did call back, but did not send anybody. I also sent out a press release, but no media reps showed up. The Aides said that there would be "no Senate Protest of the Florida electors" because there was the larger possibility that, if accepting the FL electors was put to a vote, that 97 of 100 senators would vote to accept giving Bush a congressional mandate. Wellstone, the lone liberal voice in the wilderness lately, has put feelers out considering running again in 2002, despite his pledge to only run for two terms. We thought, possibly, we should have contacted our new Dem Senator, Mark Dayton, but there wasn't time to find his office here. Senator Wellstone was on a plane back to DC, when we were there. During the discussion with Sen Wellstone's aides (one was Connie Lewis), we kept coming back to the question of what was most important -- political expediency? Or, the legitimacy of the government and the willingness of the Democrats to, once again, lay down and allow this outrage to work, hoping to make "political hay" another day. Bottom line is: They feel our pain, but won't help. Wish I had had more time to organize this. --Lynn Olivier
Frank Holmgren <randomacts4u@hotmail.com>
Minneapolis, MN USA - Sunday, January 07, 2001 at 16:19:01 (PST)

Happy 2001, everyone. Dominique, nice to hear from you again. To answer your question about why the U.S. President doesn't put a halt to the death penalty nationwide: it sounds easy to do, but within our Congressional and judicial structures it is difficult. The American system of checks and balances gives the President veto power over the legislature, but the duality in the House and Senate limits the likelihood of such a bill even making it that far. While there are federal laws that apply across the country, the issue of "state's rights" also comes into play (such a crock!). Some states do ban the practice, others are free to kill seemingly at whim. And then there's the question of whether a majority of Americans would even support a ban on executions, sad as that is. Mainstream American culture glorifies vigilanteism and loves the biblical quote "An eye for an eye..." Those are powerful obstacles to banning executions. In the past year or so, there has been a lot of press coverage about the number of wrongly convicted prisoners either executed or now on death row, so if you take the long view, maybe we're on an upward spiral toward educating people about this issue. Personally, when I hear of an especially horrendous crime, I'm sometimes aware of an initial inner cry for a "payback" against the perpetrator, but I'm also aware that's not the will of my highest self. "Rise above" = such a good mantra. Many, many people seem unwilling or unable to even try to rise above the base instinct of revenge, which explains Bush/Texas. (Sorry, Texans) Not every criminal can be rehabilitated, of course, but to kill someone for killing someone is, to me, hypocritical and criminal in itself. Just doesn't make sense, either as a deterrent to others (a popular argument, though unsupported by facts) or as a punishment. I'm curious about something: in France, does a life sentence mean that prisoners always stay in jail for the rest of their lives, or do some get released after a certain number of years? Here, there is so much inconsistency in criminal sentencing it makes people justifiably wary of the whole mess.
Nj
USA - Sunday, January 07, 2001 at 13:52:19 (PST)

Bj, yours is the most moving piece I've read in this entire election trauma, prolonged as it is. Very beautiful. Thank you. On my previous subject, I would like to ask Julia and Marek how they built their web sites.
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Saturday, January 06, 2001 at 21:41:56 (PST)

Well, today has been a day of reflection on the American Way. As I sat in the car, outside the Capital building as Aaron ran inside to do an errand, I listened to the certification of the electoral college votes. I listened as every member of the Congressional Black Caucus rose to object to the Florida vote. Each time it was ironically Al Gore who had to tell them that, if their objection was not signed by both a member of the House AND a member of the Senate, the objection could not be entertained. This happened forty times. There are 100 senators. 12% of the American public is African American. Not one senator is black. Even civil rights advocates like Teddy Kennedy and Paul Wellstone sat on their hands, refusing to support the continued debate over the disenfranchisement of minority voters in this great "free" nation. Not one senator would oblige. Not even the retiring or supposedly progressive ones. Joe Lieberman could have signed. Hillary Clinton could have signed. No one stood up. Jesse Jackson Jr. said it best,"It is a sad day in America when not one senator will help." Gore kept reading the same rule over and over again until Jackson finally, after calling out to the few senators present,"Won't any of you stand up for justice?" said "We did everything we could." I couldn't stop crying. Then we went to see "Traffic", Stephen Soderburgh's film about the "war on drugs". Sigh. Michael Douglas' character says that drugs effect nearly everyone's family in one way or another...how can we declare war on our family? It seems we already have in so many ways.
Bj
Cradle of denial, DC USA - Saturday, January 06, 2001 at 20:03:41 (PST)

We’ve had so many great discussions on this page – the political (Nader/Gore/Bush, GPM cabinet); the romantic (Bill and Hillary’s relationship, Bill O’Neill and Cybele’s affair); the medical (depression and even suicide); the social (family and reunions). I wonder that we never discuss the technical. Occasionally we marvel at the technology enabling us to communicate in this remarkable fashion. But I don’t recall any talk of nuts and bolts. I do remember some early Carpinteria reunions with Frank and Lynn talking up email. Only three or four had the darn thing back then and I had not the foggiest notion of what email was. All this by way of introducing our new web site. I found an outfit (Tripod) that makes it easy to build a beautiful, many-paged site. Other Marchers have great web sites – Born Again Hippie, Darryl Purpose, Derek Walker Youngs, Michael Krieger, Michael Tisserand... I don’t how they got a site with no advertising. Tripod puts up an ugly ad box – not only when you open the site, but also as you go to each new page. Yet if you close each ad immediately you’ll see a pretty neat site, if we say so ourselves. One entire page, with drawings by Guy Colwell, is given over to the GPM. Another page tells all about the book we are writing. Still another page glorifies our favorite hobby hot springs. And there are more pages too. Because there are quite a few pictures, some pages may load little slowly. (Does anyone have a DSL line? I catch up on newspaper reading when waiting for slow downloads.) Anyway, I’d love to hear more on your hardware and also how you build web sites. Our site is http://wochica.tripod.com/juneandgene/
Gene <wochica@msn.com>
USA - Saturday, January 06, 2001 at 15:09:14 (PST)

Elizabeth -- I can't tell if my insides hurt from laughing or revultion ... Oddly, I just logging on to say that I'm having a bit of a gut-level reaction to our situation regarding the exchange of federal power... I can't seem to truly grasp that this is happening. There's a bit a vitigo... Elizabeth, thank you!! That was a very funny and very true song. I cannot wait until Dennis gets back from walking Cinnamon. At least we can laugh, it's good for us, it'll keep us healthy for the work ahead. Go us!! Hi all.
j9 <dsoper@clipper.net>
USA - Saturday, January 06, 2001 at 12:42:31 (PST)

Circulating on the web: The Kennebunkport Hillbilly > > (sung to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song) > > > Come and listen to my story 'bout a boy name Bush. > > His IQ was zero and his head was up his tush. > > He drank like a fish while he drove all about. > > But that didn't matter 'cuz his daddy bailed him out. > > DUI, that is. Criminal record. Cover-up. > > > > Well, the first thing you know little Georgie goes to Yale. > > He can't spell his name but they never let him fail. > > He spends all his time hangin' out with student folk. > > And that's when he learns how to snort a line of coke. > > Blow, that is. White gold. Nose candy. > > > > The next thing you know there's a war in Vietnam. > > Kin folks say, "George, stay at home with Mom." > > Let the common people get maimed and scarred. > > We'll buy you a spot in the Texas Air Guard. > > Cushy, that is. Country clubs. Nose candy. > > > > Twenty years later George gets a little bored. > > He trades in the booze, says that Jesus is his Lord. > > He said, "Now the White House is the place I wanna be." > > So he called his daddy's friends and they called the GOP. > > Gun owners, that is. Falwell. Jesse Helms. > > > > Come November 7, the election ran late. > > Kin folks said "Jeb, give the boy your state!" > > "Don't let those colored folks get into the polls." > > So they put up barricades so they couldn't punch >their holes. > > Chads, that is. Duval County. Miami-Dade. > > > > Before the votes were counted five Supremes stepped in. > > Told all the voters "Hey, we want George to win." > > "Stop counting votes!" was their solemn invocation. > > And that's how George finally got his coronation. > > Rigged, that is. Illegitimate. No moral authority. > > Y'all come vote now. Ya hear? >
Elizabeth
Dallas, USA - Saturday, January 06, 2001 at 11:31:48 (PST)

The Year 2000 was incredible. It started with a fun party, in a well-stocked house (read scared shitless)(we're still eating the food). We were blessed to laugh all year about Y2K. This was my 50th year and held such significance for me. I have enjoyed “almost” every moment of it! It ended with Jess and I having a wonderful “adventure” in Hollywood!! We began 2001 attending the Rose Parade and finished it off with a lovely family dinner! Some of us “50 something’s” thought we would never see 2001! I’m happy to say I did. I’m also happy to see you back Dominique. I’ve missed you! I always view your comments about our political system as fresh and real. So happy to hear from you, Verna. I have thought of you so often. Ben, are you really serious about this wedding gig? You really want all of us to come? Hi Isabelle!! Great to hear your voice! I’m sure Jessie has some Abraham stories. I’ll ask her. Everyone else, WHERE ARE YOU??
Coleen Ashly <coleen@implanninga15yearparty.com>
USA - Friday, January 05, 2001 at 23:26:20 (PST)

Glad to see so many of us GPMers still out there! Here's to a blessed New Year for each of us. Does anyone have stories about Abraham Kessler? I would love to compile them into a booklet for him. He just turned 18 and doesn't remember much. He does remember our pink tent, and playing in the sand at Barstow. Love and Peace to all. Issy
Isabelle Kessler <patriciarpatcat@netzero.comm>
Bellevue, NE USA - Friday, January 05, 2001 at 09:47:11 (PST)

Well. A very long time that i read your dialogs. I can't read ALL well, i would like to know your reactoins about the elections, and principaly the electoin of Bush Jr. In France, we don't like this man. We don't know very good his program, but , if we hate him, it's because he kills lot of peapole in Texas. I have another question : here, the death penalty don't exist anymore. Even lots of people is for that, Mitterand ddecided to stoped that. Why, in USA, the President can't stopped the death penalty in all states ? Because, it seems me that Clinton was againt, no ? Happy new year
Dominique <domirose@yahoo.fr>
FRANCE - Thursday, January 04, 2001 at 14:01:03 (PST)

I spent the New Year drumming in a drum circle until 4:30 A.M. - it rocked! Another shameless wedding plug - we're having a drum circle at the wedding. And Cindy (a.k.a. R.J.) is going to be the videographer (thanks, Cindy!). I'd love to see you all there May 26th. :)
Ben Zeman
USA - Thursday, January 04, 2001 at 13:59:29 (PST)

This website has an easy and awesome way for you to take part in bring peace to the Middle East. Pass it on if you wish. http://www.emissaryoflight.com/om_prayers.htm
Elizabeth
Dallas, USA - Thursday, January 04, 2001 at 09:50:14 (PST)

The new year has started with some good lessons. I woke up this morning, and realized all the things I haven't done over the last few weeks, all the decisions I need to make in the next few minutes and just what the year 2000 was and wasn't for me. It certainly whipped right by, didn't it? I started to panic about school (do I graduate in May or not? Not, seems the best choice) and money (if I do graduate, all those loans become due!) and relationship (where is my CHILD! and can I spend another year in 0kaysville). Then I scampered off to meet my first client of the new year. She's a homeless woman who is in real crisis. After that, how can I be caught up in my own petty worries? Stuff has always worked out...so I have to trust that it will again. I hope that 2001 is the best year of all our lives and I give thanks for this wonderful community.
Bj
USA - Tuesday, January 02, 2001 at 13:34:10 (PST)

Happy New Year, happy new millenium! The year 2000 has been full of adventures for the Stillwater family! The summer’s 10 week trip out west was sandwiched between a reunion with Ann’s dad, stepmom, and siblings in Arizona, and the 14th reunion of The Great Peace march for Global Nuclear Disarmament in Colorado. Other highlights this year have been trips to the San Francisco Bay area in April for a cousin’s wedding, and to central New Jersey for the post Thanksgiving celebration of JD’s Grandfather’s 95th birthday. It’s been a traveling year! Our barn home’s construction continues slowly. As a family, we began putting in the joists and sub-flooring for our third floor. We (mostly JD) finished this installion over winter vacation.. On December 23 our new staircase was installed-we are pleased with it! We are actively seeking skilled help so we can finish the Great Room this coming summer. (Happy Birthday Joe! :-) ) Ann: I had one of the best 40th birthday presents ever--a snow day for the Indian Valley School District! It messed up JD’s plans for surprises at work, although I enjoyed the 40 balloons, candies, candles, etc. just as much at home. A hectic spring culminated in my diagnoses of allergies and mild asthma the week before we left on our west coast trip. In the fall I began working as school nurse at the Claymont district’s Middle School. As a grant-funded position, I only have job security for this year, but I love the people I work with, my 2.5 day a week schedule, and only having responsibility for one building! I’ve been using my days off to work on organizing the layers of “stuff” that have accumulated over the years. I’ve also expanded my yoga and Reiki knowledge and have begun working with homeopathics this fall. Healing happens at many levels! JD: I’m not afraid (though a little sheepish) to admit that I thought the Y2K computer problem would have greater impact than it did. Canned peas, anyone? The summer was nice--I learned a lot and brought home many boxes of rock samples for my earth science class. This Fall has been hard on me. . . my teaching has been much more of a challenge emotionally than in the past two years. Things have improved lately, and I look forward to a new semester in our brand new building. I AM pleased about the progress on the house, slow as it is. This is the first year in five that ANYTHING has happened during the school year. I am also very proud about what Chris and Robin are up to, but I’ll let them tell about that. Ann and I signed up to coach Robin’s biddy basketball team for 6 weeks this winter. Maybe we’ll learn something about basketball! Chris (14): Over the summer I fell in love with rock climbing- and a few months ago got my belayer certification. Marching Band was fun this year, we went to state (as usual), but didn’t get the best score we could have gotten (as usual). Also this year, I’m involved in Scholar Challenge and Mock Trial. Over the summer, I got a tour of Cal Tech in Pasadena, and that’s probably my current favorite school (even though I’m only a sophomore in high school). Robin (10): Currently, I am involved in Choir, Band, Basketball, and School. On our trip this summer, I had a lot of fun, especially when I had my birthday party at the Great Peace March Reunion. I also liked Carlsbad Caverns, and had a lot of fun. The power outage earlier this month was a good reminder of what’s important in life, and how well we can live with many fewer things, especially when we pitch in together. May all our new years be filled with similar love and learning!
ANN <astill@mailandnews.com>
Bowertson, USA - Tuesday, January 02, 2001 at 07:34:47 (PST)

Happy birthday, Joe!
Ben Zeman <benz@smoc.org>
Framingham, MA USA - Tuesday, January 02, 2001 at 06:15:10 (PST)

Mornin' Gang! Looks like we made it through another year....Cheer's to the next one and the many more to follow.
Marek
USA - Monday, January 01, 2001 at 13:15:59 (PST)

Gud mornin' ta ya, 'lizbeth. It's been a purty mornin' up heere in Minnysnowta. Da sun iss shinin' an' da sky iss cleer an' blue an' da snow iss acoupla feet deep. It's about twenny degrees an' I'm goin' out ta shovel da sidewalk an' driveway, again, an I was jus' tinkin' ta myself, "By golly! Diss iss da firrst day a da resst a my life." Happy New Yeerss to you all! (8^>?
Frank
Min, MN USA - Monday, January 01, 2001 at 11:55:21 (PST)

Good morning Elizabeth! Good morning all! Skye and I have been wearing out the CV tape Marc P sent us. Who wrote the wake-up song? We love the verses to the John Prine song. Thank you so much to the musicians. I had not heard this music since '86. Skye likes it. What fun. Happy 2001. Love you all.
j9
USA - Monday, January 01, 2001 at 11:11:40 (PST)

Hey, is everybody still sleeping? Clearly you all had more exciting New Years Eves than I did, although I enjoyed mine. My New Year's resolution is to be true to my word to myself and others, so I'm not going to make a bunch of resolutions I won't keep (like getting up at 6 am everyday to exercise). Anybody else got some plans or resolutions for the new year?
Elizabeth
USA - Monday, January 01, 2001 at 10:37:17 (PST)

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