Tuesday, February 05, 2008

THIS JUST IN! STONERS FOR BAMBI!

 
WHAT'S MORE PATHETIC?
 
THAT A 60S 'BAND' IS ENDORSING A POLITICIAN OR THAT IT IS ENDORSING BARACK BAMBI OBAMA?
 
 
 
BOB WEIR, MICKEY HART AND PHIL LESH -- IT'S OKAY TO SAY "WHO?" -- REGROUPED TODAY BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING TO LEFT TO DO AND NO CAREERS OF THEIR OWN.  THEY THREW A GET OUT THE VOTE FOR A POLITICIAN WHO HAS REPEATEDLY SPIT ON THE 60S.  APPARENTLY ORRIN HATCH DIDN'T NEED HELP FROM "THE DEAD" THIS WEEK?
 
WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT, BOB WEIR EXPLAINED, WHILE STOWING HIS BONG, "MAN, I JUST THINK, MAN, THAT, LIKE I SHOULD HAVE HAD AN ICE CREAM, YOU DIG, I MEAN JERRY GARCIA WASN'T EVEN INTO ICE CREAM, YOU KNOW, LIKE IT BUMMED HIM OUT AND STUFF AND LIKE I WAS THE ONE GOING 'THE CREAM SHALL RISE THE CREAM IS OUR FRIEND WE ARE THE CREAM AND THE CREAM IS US' AND LIKE I TURNED SONNY BONO ONTO CHOCOLATE.  BEFORE ME, HE ONLY LIKE ATE VANILLA.  I WAS LIKE, DIG IT, THE PLAYGROUND PUSHER FOR ICE CREAM ALL THROUGH THE SIXTIES, WOAH, ARE THE WALLS TALKING.  SHH.  DUDES, LISTEN."
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Bruce Elder (Sydney Morning Herald via The Canberra Times) reviews Joshua Key's book The Deserter's Tale (written with Lawrence Hill) and notes, "Most nights on SBS's NewsHour With Jim Lehrer there's a silent roll call of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are, with few exceptions, teenagers or young men in their twenties. Who are these casualties of war? What is their background?" and concludes, "This is the raw, front-line story of America at war and it makes ugly, deeply disturbing but essential reading.  Key's final line -- 'I owe one apology and one apology only, and that is to the people of Iraq' -- neatly sums up the tragedy of the war."  Joshua Key recognized what he saw on the ground in Iraq: an illegal war.  Today, he and his family lives in Canada and are among the ones hoping to be granted safe harbor status.  Stuart Netbydrou Oja Jay (The Dominion) reviews the month of January and notes this, "Three hundred supporters of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, the first two war resisters to cross into Canada after refusing to deploy to Iraq with the US military, gathered in Toronto calling upon the Canadian parliament to pass a motion allowing them to remain in Canada. The rally was attended by Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae, as well as Toronto NDP MP Olivia Chow. Similar rallies and actions were held in 11 cities across the country. Days before, a rally of 50 Iraq veterans gathered at the Canadian Embassy in Washington urging the Canadian government to provide sanctuary to all military service personnel looking to escape deployments with the US military. In November the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the cases of Hinzman and Hughey, on the grounds that they had previously been turned down by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, which considered the illegality of the Iraq war under international law inadmissible."
 
You can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada.  Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.



Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
 

 
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.

 
March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'."  As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers.
 
[. . .]
 
Meanwhile out lesbian Laura Flanders writes at The Nation (no link to trash), "I wish I felt what Robin Morgan feels.  'Our President Ourselves!' she cheers, in a rousing pitch for Hillary Clinton."  Laura, we all just wish you'd have the self-respect to call out the homophobia by the Barack Obama campaign instead of writing that ridiculous "please, Bambi, break with Richard Daley" whimper.  It was stupid because Michelle Obama was assistant to who?  Richard Daley, that's right.  Information is power and lack of it is weakness -- thereby explaining RadioNation with Laura Flanders (again, no links to trash).  It was disgusting because when a gay woman won't call out homophobia, what will she call out?  Nothing. 
 
Flanders likes to talk about "people power" and used to enjoy rocking out to Patti Smith's "People Have the Power" but Laura herself has none because she refused to call out of homophobia.  It was more important to her to 'fit in' and be 'one of the gang' than it was to stand up for justice, to stand up for what was right.  If you haven't already, be sure to read Marcia's "Laura Flanders the self-hating, disrespecting lesbian."  Apparently having a girl-crush on Michelle Obama, Laura Flanders concludes, "Today, with fingers crossed, I'm voting for Barack and Michelle Obama.  At least we can call their community organizers' bluff."  What?  Flanders has never called Barack or Michelle out on anything.  Homophobia was okay with little Laura when it was blasted onstage in South Carolina.  Not a peep.  Can't speak up when it matters then maybe you shouldn't have a voice. 
 
But this is the woman who wanted to get up in arms that Obama's campaign was using a song by a child molestor (yes, that was over a year ago, she fell in line because she knows who signs her checks and keeps her on air) but had no problem booking Pig-Boy who was twice busted for online predatory activities with younger women.  It's a funny kind of 'strength,' a temporary one.  She's weak.  And that may be the worst we can say about someone who's tried to self-present as strong. 
 
She might try to argue that she's applauded the 'movement' and not the candidate previously.  When the 'movement' utilizes homophobia, applauding it and refusing to call it out makes Flanders the Andrew Sullivan of the 'left.'  She was once a strong voice.  The Nation cut her great radio program down from six hours a week to one.  It took Flanders to cut herself down from greatness which she has.  And all these people using their 'name' and 'image' this campaign cycle don't seem aware of the damage they've done to themselves.  These things will not be forgotten, regardless of today's outcome.  They have trashed their own nests and, for chuckles, picture ten years on down the line when it's, "Ms. Flanders, clean up an aisle twelve."  Hopefully, someone other than Bambi -- and of course Flanders herself -- will have stood up for the rights of LGBT so she'll have some work place protections left. 
 
Robin Morgan, the one and only Robin Morgan, puts it into perpsective, puts it on the table, in "Goodbye To All That (#2)" (Women's Media Center) and that's because it takes a woman not afraid to be called a woman -- or any of the slurs on women -- to speak the truth.  A woman who hides, who says, "I'm gay but if I call out Bambi's homophobia they might cancel my radio show and no one listens to it anymore and I can't get a real job so I have to make nice . . ." can't speak for any woman because she can't even speak for herself.  Morgan's never been a Flanders.  Morgan explains the double standard in place that exists to knock down a female candidate no matter what. 
 
-- Young political Kennedys -- Kathleen, Kerry, and Bobby Jr. -- all endorsed Hillary.  Senator Ted, age 76, endorsed Obama.  If the situation were reversed, pundits would snort "See?  Ted and establishment types back her, but the forward-looking generation backs him."  (Personally, I'm unimpressed with Caroline's longing for the Return of the Fathers.  Unlike the rest of the world, Americans have short memories.  Me, I still recall Marilyn Monroe's suicide and a dead girl named Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick.)
[. . .]
Goodbye to pretending the black community is entirely male and all women are white . . .
Surprise! Women exist in all opinions, pigmentations, ethnicities, abilities, sexual preferences, and ages -- not only African American and European American but Latina and Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Arab American and -- hey, every group, because a group wouldn't exist if we hadn't given birth to it.  A few non-racist countries may exist -- but sexism is everywhere.  No matter how many ways a woman breaks free from other discriminiations, she remains a female human being in a world still so patriarchal that it's the "norm."
[. . .]
Goodby to some women letting history pass by while wringing their hands, because Hillary isn't as "likeable" as they've been warned they must be, or because she didn't leave him, couldn't "control" him, kept her family together and raised a smart, sane daughter.  (Think of the blame if Chelsea had ever acted in the alcoholic, neurotic manner of the Bush twins!)  Godbye to some women pouting because she didn't bake cookies or she did, sniping because she learned the rules and then bent or broke them.  Grow the hell up.  She is not running for Ms.-perfect-pure-queen-icon of the feminist movement.  She's running to be president of the United States. 
[. . .]
Goodbye to some young women eager to win male approval by showing they're not feminists (at least not the kind who actually threaten the status quo), who can't indentify with a woman candidate because she is unafraid of eeueweeeu yucky power, who fear their boyfriends might look at them funny if they say something good about her.  Goodbye to women of any age again feeling unworthy, sulking "what if she's not electable?" or "maybe it's post-feminism and whooosh we're already free."  Let a statement by the magnificent Harriet Tubman stand as reply.  When asked how she managed to save hundreds of enslaved African Americans via the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, she replied bitterly, "I could have saved thousands -- if only I'd been able to convince them they were slaves."
I'd rather say a joyful Hello to all the glorious young women who do identify with Hillary and all the brave, smart men -- of all ethnicities and age -- who get that it's in their self-interest, too.  She's better qualified.  (D'uh.)  She's a high-profile candidate with an enormous grasp of foreign- and domestic-policy nuance, dedication to detail, ability to absorb staggering insult and personal pain while retaining dignity, resolve, even humor, and keep on keeping on.  (Also, yes, dammit, let's hear it for her connections and funding and party-building background, too.  Obama was awfully glad about those when she raised dough and campaigned for him to get to the Senate in the first place.) 
I'd rather look foward to what a good president he might make in eight years, when his vision and spirit are seasoned by practical know-how -- and he'll be all of 54.  Meanwhile, goodbye to turning him into a shining knight when actually he's an astute, smooth pol with speechwriters who've worked with the Kennedys' own speechwriter-courtier Ted Sorenson.  If it's only about ringing rhetoric, let speechwriters run.  But isn't it about getting the policies we want enacted?
 
That's a lengthy excerpt but not even the entire piece.  Take a moment to grasp how much the Womens Media Center is needed. It's not going to be cross-posted at Common Dreams -- just, as Jess pointed out, they refused to cross-post Gloria Steinem's "Women Are Never Front-Runners" but were happy to post a 'rebuttal.'
 
Jess: What is known is that Common Dreams posted an idiot's response to Gloria Steinem but failed to have posted, before or since, Gloria Steinem's column "Women Are Never Front-Runners." And for anyone trying to give Common Dreams a pass on that by saying, "It was a New York Times column," Common Dreams regularly reposts NYT columns and editorials in full with their "fair use" tag at the end. They made a decision on Tuesday, when the column ran, not to post it. On Thursday, they made a decision to post a Bambi's groupies' trashing of Gloria Steinem.
 
What the election cycle has demonstrated on the Democratic side is how much women are still devalued and hated.  Don't kid that it's not so.  Like Laura Flanders has no problem bringing the Pig (twice busted for attempting to set up sex with an underage female online) onto her radio program, Common Dreams has no problem posting him.  They've got him up today.  But they didn't post Steinem and they didn't post Morgan.  With Pig, we're supposed to overlook the busts.  It's more important that his 'voice' be heard than that he's a predator and, thing is, women know that argument because we've heard it over and over, decade after decade.  Gender is the greatest barrier.  All women are told to wait -- over and over.  Ask Flanders why she was so offended about Gary Glitter but thought nothing of repeatedly booking Pig on her program?  Ask her to explain that.  Ask Amy Goodman to.  Ask Katrina vanden Heuvel why she, the mother of a teenage daughter, thinks his rambles are worth carrying at The Nation?  Big media had the sense to wash their hands of him when the arrests came out.  Not little media.  Because you've got a lot of queen bees who won't use their voices, they don't want to look 'bitchy' or 'assertive' or 'demanding.'  How's that working out for you?
 
 

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