CHICAGO 10…

The other night this bitch and Brother Rob Thurman took in a bit of film.

Specifically, we took advantage of the Community Cinema series at the Missouri History Museum. They have partnered with KETC/Channel 9 to provide advance screenings of ITVS (Independent Television Service) documentaries followed by a panel discussion of each film by local authorities on the subject.

Fantabulous!

We saw CHICAGO 10 by Brett Morgan, which follows the conspiracy trial that followed the violence of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Some the clips were completely new to me…and a bitch has seen many a documentary about that event. And the use of animation was interesting and creative.

But the real hook of any film that tackles the 1968 DNC and the violence surrounding it is the human drama and bone jarring assault on our basic freedoms. With CHICAGO 10 I found myself becoming very emotional as I watched unarmed people being beaten and gassed in the streets of Chicago. The sounds and the visual chaos were almost overwhelming, but are too important a reminder of what can happen to be ignored.

CHICAGO 10 by Brett Morgan will air nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 9pm.

Check it out…

Crossposted from The Angry Black Bitch.

Post Script from admin~This is a powerful film that must be seen by every progressive, nee every American, if only to see where our country has been and where it’s heading again.

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A word about NeoCon Artists

Dennis Kucinich delivered a hell of a speech @ the DNC yesterday. Mass Media (the non dish stations, including Public Broadcasting) did not air any of it. The best speech delivered, so far—

WAKE UP AMERICA

Crossposted at Ramblings.

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The Lion in Winter

“For me this is season of hope, of new hope . . . This is the cause of my life, that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American will have decent health care, not as a privilege but as a right.

“We can meet these challenges with Barack Obama. Yes, we can and finally yes we will.  This November, the torch with be passed again to a new generation of Americans.”

My daughter and I watched first Senator Ted Kennedy’s inspiring speech, and then Michelle Obama’s equally inspiring speech.  I wept openly as I listened to Kennedy speak from the heart, focusing on those things I grew up believing in:  from his late brother’s Inaugural Address, when newly-elected John Fitzgerald Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,” I have believed that we have a patriotic duty to heal the rifts brought on by fear.

Kennedy spoke to that fear, and to that call to action.

And then Michelle Obama got up there and talked about walking away from her great job in a big Chicago law firm to do just that – to work out in the community to heal the rifts brought on by fear.  She talked openly about how we are all connected – something I believe as well.  We are all connected, no matter our race, no matter our choice of faith or not, we are connected be we straight, gay, or bi-; we are connected whether we live in the United States, or in Iraq, or in Korea.  And my daughter, a single mom with a 3-year-old, wept openly while Michelle Obama spoke from the heart.

She spoke to that fear, and to that call to action as well.

You may not love Obama.  But if you line up the issues, and call yourself a Liberal, or a Progressive, or a Democrat, you cannot support John McCain.  John McCain will not support a health care program for all Americans.  John McCain will not find a way to end this mistake of a war in Iraq.  John McCain will not help people get to work, nor will he search for alternative energy resources.  John McCain will continue the politics of fear that the current administration has played for the last eight years.  So, if you are a Liberal, a Progressive, a Democrat, and you may not love Obama, please dig deep before you cast your vote in November.  It is a choice between the politics of fear, or the politics of hope, and while the candidate may not be perfect, he is a far cry better than what the Republicans offer.

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Michelle Obama’s speech-video and the text.

It can be found here (scoll down for the text of her speech). Its quite moving. I really like to listen to her, she is one good lady that has my utmost respect for how she has lived her life. She is quite the speaker too as far as I am concerned. I might not support her spouse for President 100%, but I do respect her 100%.

As a woman of color (the color brown), as an American, I am proud as fucking punch of what Michelle Obama has accomplished in her own right. To come from a hard-working family, who’s father went to work every single fucking day with MS for years, she was raised right…and continues to do right. I love this woman, and I hope she can convince me to vote for her husband. If anyone can do it…Michelle Obama can.

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Craptacular Egomania!!!

Maybe I’m just feeling a mite testy, could be that staring over the edge of financial upheaval has got me cynical, but frankly, the Clintons “me, me, Me, Me, ME!!!” has just got to stop.

Does it always – ALWAYS – have to be about the Clintons?

This is the question on Day 1 of the Democratic convention. About a week and a half ago, the Denver Post previewed the convention with a story about how the Clinton forces are attempting to make the first two days of this convention a celebration of the Clintons – and Clintonism. As one Clinton ally told the newspaper, “We want to make this all about her.” – David Sirota

Fuck. Why? To sooth your ego for backing the Clinton horse? To sooth her ego that she’s a playa? (Which is so stupid, she did so well, and for so long, it’s a given.) To make Bill look like he didn’t say all the BS he said?

Yeah, it all comes back to the ugly. Damn those internets and their ability to freeze, package and preserve it. We are the living history; every screen capture, every vid caught and set up on YouTube, every picture, every post, we pin the ugly and worse yet, examine it, discuss it, share it and debunk it. Millions of people on the internet called racism on Bill and busted his ass for it. Boo Hoo. Next time, shut it, Mr. President. We’re everywhere.

Basically, I don’t care if Bill needs to rewrite history on the DNC stage. It does not faze me that Clintonites need public rationalization of their candidate’s run. I could give a rat’s rear if Hillary needs to feel the love. None of those reasons are good enough. Super plastic has had its day. This is my damn country, it’s sinking like a pile of poop, and we simply don’t have time to coddle the massive egos of people who claim to serve the public.

The whole business is built on ego, vanity, self-satisfaction, and it’s total crap to pretend it’s not. – George Michael

There you have it. I’m resorting to quoting George Michael to discuss the Clintons. How appropriate. Wake me up before you go go.

On second thought, don’t bother.

Crossposted at Bring It On!

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Sunday in Denver-Protesters and Faux Noise

And of all the media outlets to give it coverage..Faux Noise! Hat tip to Nicole over at Crooks and Liars for having this puppy up. The marchers refused to speak to the Faux Noise goon…which might or might not be a good thing…but anywho…check it out..its short enough!

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Mixed Bag

Well, the hype is over. Biden was chosen as the VP candidate. Some are happy, most a relieved, but I’m in limbo.

I have to say my whole take on politics has become skeptical, and I have a sinking feeling about how corruption seeps into the best of candidates, because they have to play the game to be in it.

I kind of started out really hopeful, and inspired by Obama- until he did the turnaround on FISA, and then announced he’d like to send 10,000 troops into Afghanistan.

I felt betrayed & disappointed.

The champion of Civil Rights & teacher of the Constitution was FOR illegal wiretapping, after he said he opposed it???

The announcement of the surge in Afghanistan blew me away. A surge is a surge & war escalation by any other name is still one & the same.

I won’t go off the deep end & vote for McInsane….. but I am not blinded by the hoopla of the announcement, the convention, or the democratic party itself.

I just can’t buy into the excitement, because a part of me is thinking these Dems, who have been a majority since 2006, failed us. They failed to impeach THE most criminal executive branch in the history of this country.
They failed to use the power of the purse to stop funding the illeal occupation. They failed to refuse to allow the supreme court to tipping to the extreme right. They failed to do anything about torture and abuse. They failed the prisoners in Gitmo. I don’t connsider these items to be small, differences of opinion.

I consider them to be gross Human Rights violations. Against Constitutional & International laws.
Serious and deadly violations, and in conflict of the true spirit, and very foundations of this country.

So I am watching.. waiting

I desperately WANT change, but I have serious doubts about if the system is too broken for the kind of change I hope to see.

That being said I made links to other blogs to check stuff out~

Dusty: Has a story about security for both conventions.

Each city has a $50 million dollar Homeland Security budget.

Denver has what has been dubbed a *Freedom Cage*… a fenced area where protestors can freely express themselves- out of site from the convention center.

Dada: He explores the realms of cognitive dissonance (Urban Survival): “That’s where you’re told one thing (‘The sky is green’) and your eyes or ears tell you something else.

Spado: He’s in the neighborhood of hte repub convention & speaks of 1s2 Amendment rights “What kind of a democracy is this if we let citizens become unnecessarily intimidated about being tazered, pepper-sprayed, infiltrated, spied on or photographed by cameras installed on public streets?”

ChrisPosted a comprehensive list of where Biden stands on the issues. Here’s a sampling:

• “Strongly” supports Roe v. Wade, but opposes public funding for abortion. (Hmm maybe not so strong???)

• Opposes same-sex marriage but supports civil unions. Voted yes on the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied Federal benefits to same-sex couples and allowed states to ignore same-sex marriages sanctioned by another state. (flip or flop…. not sure?)

• Supports direct engagement with Iran “to exploit fissures within the government and between the government and the people.” (Noooooooooooooooo!)

Maybe some of this is why I’m not jumping for joy about the Biden decision.

Where do YOU stand on these issues?

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Will the Iraq War affect the Convention as much as the Vietnam War did in 1968?

My knee jerk reaction is nope. The 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago was a watershed moment in our history and it appears the various law enforcement groups have taken steps to insure nothing even close to the melee in Chicago will occur in Denver. The Denver Police have issued a bulletin, according to RawStory, that alerts all officers what to be on the look-out for. It is a real hoot, check it out. Meanwhile the ACLU has been busting their asses trying to get the courts to support our rights to free speech and assembly, but they haven’t made much headway.

Forty years ago Chicago itself was a battleground, a warzone as the police never issued the permits requested by the various anti-war groups. The police in Denver, the federal government and the DNC have already laid down the ground rules for protests and the courts have backed them up for the most part. The ACLU has tried on several occasions to get the rules changed to allow protestors to gain closer access to the Pepsi Center where most of the ‘festivities’ will be held..but to no avail. From the NYT article linked in this paragraph:

A federal judge in Denver ruled against the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit challenging the government’s security rules for the Democratic National Convention here later this month. The judge, Marcia S. Krieger of Federal District Court, agreed with the group that the security plans — including a fenced perimeter and a parade route away from the Pepsi Center where the convention will take place — did affect the ability of protest groups to engage in “expressive activities.” But Judge Krieger disagreed that the affect rose to the level of an infringement of free speech because other means of expression were available and because the Secret Service and Denver Police had shown that the restrictions were “content neutral,” and thus not intended to quash a particular opinion.

Its a damn shame the feds, the Dems and the Denver police are  afraid of allowing people the right to express

their personal grievances with the election process in general and their elected representatives regarding the war in Iraq in particular. The Denver Police have issued a ‘flyer’ that you can check out here (pdf) which tells people what will be tolerated and what will not. Not to be outdone, the Secret Service has declared both conventions to be…cough..National Special Security Events..and given both cities $50 million in federal funds for ’security’. Protesters will be in a huge pen in the Pepsi Center parking lot..like animals. For pictures of the area protesters will be confined to..click here.

The group Recreate 68, who’s logo graces this post, has plenty of plans for events during the convention. These include music and protests, street theater and major anti-war figures will be speaking at rallies. The following is from their website:

The Re-create 68 Alliance also announced that anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Rosa Clemente will be joining their historic line-up of speakers who include Ida Audeh, Kathleen Cleaver, Ward Churchill, Mark Cohen, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., Larry Hales, Larry Holmes, Ron Kovic, Glenn Spagnuolo, Pamela Africa, King Downing, Jenny Esquiveo, Mumia Abu Jamal – Current Political Prisoner (Recorded from Death Row for the DNC), Gloria Estela La Riva, Ricardo Romero, Natsu Saito, Ann Erika White Bird, and others.

Of course if any of the protesters get a little..cough.. feisty, there is the Gitmo on the Platte facility. Video below is courtesy of Denver’s Channel Four.

What a grand example of American’s exercising their civil liberties, to be displayed to the world next week in Denver and to be repeated during the Republican convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the first week in September.

Bullshit…its all bullshit designed to keep us from exercising our civil rights. Assholes..

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Gitmo On the Platte

Denver prepares for the Democratic National Convention with Gitmo style jail facility.

Wow! They call it the Land of the Free.

Crossposted at Ramblings.

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