September 7-14, a very big week . . .

It began with Labor Day. To be sure, the week felt markedly like a transitional one.  During the week President Obama spent a great deal of time at the podium, making a number of very significant speeches.  NASA watched over its STS-128 mission and released a number of spectacular images on Wednesday from the newly refurbished Hubble telescope.  On Friday, the anniversary of 9/11/01, the President and First Lady spent time giving service to the community, as did thousands of people across the nation marking a National Day of Service.  The week’s news was full of stories about the politics of health care reform in a Congress now back to work, opinion about the growing divide amongst the electorate, and uneasy reports about the future of the war in Afghanistan, as well as the future of the U.S. space program.

What has changed, if anything? There is a bigger divide between members of the two major parties, evident in the behavior of Republicans during the President’s speech Wednesday evening to a joint session of Congress.  There seems to be growing opposition among many Americans, as well as rank and file  Democrats, to the war in Afghanistan and its climbing casualty figures.  This may have caused President Obama to say in his 9/11 speech at the Pentagon that he does not want Americans to forget the true nature of al-Qaeda, reports Scott Wilson of the Washington Post.

Opposition to health care reform has now grown to the point that organizers were able to stage a 9/12 march on Washington.  Tens of thousands (according to the Washington Post estimate) of a loosely organized coalition of conservative “tea party” protesters marched on the nation’s capitol Saturday.  Jeff Zeleny of the NYT, summarized the tone:

Their anger stretched well beyond the health care legislation moving through Congress, with shouts of support for gun rights, lower taxes and a smaller government. But as they sang verse after verse of patriotic hymns like “God Bless America,” sharp words of profane and political criticism were aimed at Mr. Obama and Congress.

At the same time a crowd of over 10,000 people came to enthusiastically stand and cheer at President Obama’s health care rally at Minneapolis’ Target arena.  The President told the crowd that now is the time for action and warned against the scare tactics being employed by the opposition, reports Reuters.

What has stayed the same? A year later, little has changed on Wall Street, according to  the New York Times‘ Alex Berenson.  Big banks have not really restructured, financial stocks are on the rise, complex derivatives remain in play, few hedge funds have closed and executives are still pulling down huge bonuses.  For instance, “30,000 Goldman Sachs employees will earn an average of $70,000 this year.”  Worst of all the Obama administration’s proposed regulatory changes have gone nowhere in Congress.  And the passage of time decreases the chances of significant crisis-driven reform.

The space shuttle Discovery completed another highly successful mission to resupply the International Space Station Friday, landing safely at Edwards AFB in California after battling bad weather in Florida for a couple of days.  To quote Reuters:

Discovery had carried more than 7.5 tons of food, laboratory equipment, science experiments, spare parts, a new treadmill and crew quarters for the space station. The outpost is a $100 billion project involving 16 nations, which is nearing completion after more than a decade of construction.

NASA is turning over crew transport to the station to Russia, at a cost of about $50 million per seat, as it begins phasing out the shuttle. The space agency is also considering hiring U.S. commercial firms to ferry its astronauts. . . NASA has six flights remaining to finish outfitting the station and then plans to move on with development of a capsule and rocket that could ferry crews to the moon. Barack Obama considers the results of a study that has determined NASA’s lunar ambitions exceed its budget by about $3 billion a year.

What could change – “Humans aren’t going to Mars — or anywhere else — without more money,” is the story from Wired-Science (9/8/09).  Another headline, “Panel’s report threatens NASA’s mission,” comes from The Hill (9/10/09) via Twitter.  The article opens:

A report suggesting that NASA’s space travel goals are too ambitious for its budget is imperiling efforts by Florida and Texas lawmakers to win more money for the agency’s budget.

“The full Final Report is still being prepared and will be released when complete”  is also via Twitter from NASA_HSF, the U.S.  Human Space Flight Committee.  Look for it to be released in early October.

What will not change is the mainstream media’s fascination with conflict, who is winning or losing, with outrageousness and with the mistaken idea that any old lie is merely the other side’s point of view.  The week of September 7-14 saw President Obama seeming to regain his stride and the right-wing crazies more determined than ever to keep him off stride.  The election in Afghanistan remains undecided and more and more war casualties occur.  Nor has the President decided the future of the U.S. space program.  Congress has its hands full with health care reform, and has no time (nor perhaps the stomach) for financial regulatory reform.  Maybe it would be a good idea for everybody to take an occasional day off and catch their breath.

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The Cost of War- Guest Featured

I have been away from the blogs for quite a while. Summer has been very busy for me. A lot of travel and family business to take care of, a move from Northern Wisconsin back to St. Paul, MN and dealing with the tragedy that has struck some great long time cherished friends.

One of the projects that I was involved with was The Longest Walk II. This is a commemorative walk from San Francisco to Washington DC of the original walk that took place in 1978. The purpose of the walk was to bring forth, in a positive way, concerns about pollution of Mother Earth, the idea that all life is Sacred, Peace and Justice, the degeneration of the people from sickness, the failure of the government to adhere to treaties and to keep Sacred sites Sacred.

Read all about the Longest Walk II, see the pictures and read the stories at this site:

the longest walk

One of the purposes of the walk was to assemble a Manifesto and deliver this document to Congress. The ideas set forth in the Manifesto were from the actual lives of people across the United States as we walked.

As a Veteran, my duty was to prepare a piece to address the growing concern over benefits and benefit changes to soldiers returning home from the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters of war.

The entire Manifesto is also available to read at the above listed site. Here is the article I presented to Congress on behalf of my Veteran Bothers and Sisters:

ADDENDA

to

Manifesto For Change

“All Life Is Sacred”

THE COST OF WAR: Message from a Veteran

By Joe Spado, member of Veterans For Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and The American Patriot Institute.

As we crossed the United States, we on The Longest Walk II heard many concerns from a wide variety of citizens. Most of these concerns dealt with environmental problems like poisons or cancer causing substances in the drinking water, or pollution of water supply reservoirs and air quality. Problems related to health issues and access to adequate healthcare. Problems with the cost of food, gasoline and drugs. Problems dealing with discrimination based on skin color or spoken language for jobs and/or housing opportunities. Problems with the treatment of areas and sites that are considered Culturally Sacred, or actual burial sites of family members and ancestors of the Native Indigenous people of America.

These matters are of extreme importance to the individuals that are exposed, but affect all people in one way or another. Another problem that needs to be addressed is the treatment and access to benefits for Veterans who served in the armed forces of the United States. The Veterans from wars of the past, World War II, Korea and Vietnam and returning Veterans from the current war activity in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As I spoke with Veterans I heard their accounts of rejection for benefits and the long waiting period even the denial takes. One Veteran told me he was refused health care as his home was being foreclosed upon.

It is hard to get benefits. The application process is flawed and inaccessible to many. The bureaucracy and long waiting periods, rules and regulations make it hard for Veterans to make and keep appointments or persevere in their attempt to see their claims through to a fair conclusion.

In most cases, the burden of proof lies on the shoulders of the Veterans to prove they were even in a battle zone or that they were injured while on active duty. Laws have been changed and benefits have been reduced or taken away from Veterans.

When I speak of benefits, I am talking about health care as a priority, but also benefits relating to job seeking and job keeping skills, the teaching of real life technical and liberal education and readjustment counseling after a Veteran has served in a combat zone or in any theater where combat and the violence and destruction that goes along with it are present. I speak of housing benefits, educational benefits, mental health treatment benefits and other benefits that were implemented to help the Veteran get back to a normal life after serving in the military.

I speak of legal help and relief from creditors. Many Veterans were taken from their everyday routine and put into repeated tours of duty, disrupting their income. They return to face bankruptcy or credit problems so severe there is no escape.

Obviously, one solution is to sign onto law the needed bills to rectify these problems for Veterans. This would cost money to the taxpayers. In an attempt to keep taxation low, benefits were cut and measures taken to reduce the cost of care for any Veteran. But spending less on war and war related armament and activities would offset the additional cost that would be needed to take proper care of our Veterans.

Another solution is to work harder and create laws that allow for peace and peaceful settlements of disputes with other countries and adopt this as a main ideal in our framework of foreign policy.

As a member of Veterans For Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and having fought as a combat infantry soldier in Vietnam, I speak from the first hand experience of being in war and seeing it up close. Peoples’ lives are shattered, both the lives of the soldiers on both “sides”, and the lives of their close friends and family members. The lives of the civilians caught up as war has its collateral damage and their close friends and family members.

The death and destruction to people and property. The after effects of wounds received and inflicted, both physical and emotional wounds. The obvious and blatant war profiteering by the arms companies and others that partake in such crime. The continuing effects of weapons and arms left behind like unexploded bombs and depleted uranium armaments. The destruction of lives from the behavior that results from such trauma, like drug addiction and alcoholism, spousal brutality, anxiety, anger, depression and panic attacks.

Society decides and allows war, through the officials they elect. It is societies burden then, to pay for it before it starts, while it is happening and when the conflict is over. The cost of war isn’t the billions that the President asks for from the legislature to fight the war. It is ongoing as the wounds of war to the people of the world never cease, even years after the conflict.

A first shot should never be fired by our Nation. We should stand ready to defend, but not be the reason for war. Standing as the worlds strongest Nation has a responsibility to the rest of the world, and that is to help promote peace at all costs.

The cost of war is staggering in dollar value, but the cost to humanity is even more as lives lost and the lost lives of the survivors can’t be counted with dollars. The best and easiest investment is in real peace through diplomacy and negotiations. The best and easiest solution to the problem of providing for our Veterans is peace.

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relationships

i am not a terribly social person. i don’t like small talk and playing social games that many seem to enjoy. i much prefer intimate settings where folks can get to know each other and talk about interesting things- and i think that’s why i enjoy blogging so much. i don’t need the instant gratification of a telephone call or instant messaging- indeed i much prefer email or snail mail. my friends on the receiving end prefer email because i have such horrible handwriting. my mom told me i have doctor’s handwriting this time of year makes folks reflective and i suppose i am no different. i look back at the last year and i marvel at the folks i have gotten to know from around the globe- most of us united by common threads- saving democracy; saving the planet, and just plain life experiences. for me, i am grateful for the internet and if i had one cause to fight for it would be to save the current freedom of communication that we have now. on the internet, it doesn’t matter what color you are- or religion or gender- your words and thoughts show up on the screen first. it doesn’t matter where in the world you are- common folks coming together for a common cause can find each other- and the bonds of humanity are strengthened. what better way to promote peace and common threads and similarities than reaching across the digital expanse and shaking hands?

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The Times, They are a’ Changin’

The Roman Senate

There are certainly enough issues out there right now. Overwhelming, actually, that we’re pulled in so many directions trying to do the right things on every front. Each of us may take up our own favorite cause, and some of us try to respond and put out all the fires at once. On some blogs, there is a new story each day, and sometimes multiple stories on the same day, and each should require your whole and immediate attention. I tend to read about most of them, but I don’t get to take action on everything. I just can’t. Overwhelming perhaps? Yes, perhaps, but I believe we need to find our niche and fight for the right things.

My main concern has been the war in Iraq. I want our country to pull out, Now! We stayed in Vietnam for the same political and financial gains, then when public outcry finally became unbearable to the leaders and they had to do something, they pulled out of Vietnam. Hanoi took over Saigon and literally renamed it over night to Ho Chi Minh City. We, as a country and powerful proud Nation, lived through it. It can even be said that we “lost” that war. Let me tell you a little secret. War is a lose lose situation every time.

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The Resister

It’s been a long time since I was in the Army. I was drafted in 1968 and I served 22 months in all, with the last 12 being in Vietnam. I was a combat infantryman in a mortar platoon. I always had some shame after Vietnam. I was always ashamed that I didn’t see the war for what it was right away. Others make the excuses for me and I’ve heard them all. “You were a young boy” or “You did what your country asked of you”. Yes, I was young, very young. I was in the Army before I was 19. I got out, after being in the war, before I was 21. And I did go and serve when I was asked to via the draft. But the truth be told, as a young boy, I believed that if I was drafted and I didn’t report, I’d get caught and go to jail. It would be breaking the law and they wouldn’t let anyone get away with that. I knew there were those that were going to Canada to escape the draft. There were also those in college. My brother went into the Marine Corps in 1963 when he was 17. Dad signed a waiver so he could join while so young. He had to graduate high school first. It wasn’t long after he was in the Marines that his girlfriend joined him at Camp Pendleton, California. They got married immediately and they had a child. I can’t attest to this being his plan so he wouldn’t have to go to Vietnam. In 1963 it was just “advisors” being sent over there anyway. Or it might be me not wanting to give my brother credit for avoiding the war.Once in Vietnam, I realized that it was a crock of bullshit and that I wasn’t defending freedom for anyone. It was dog eat dog, just like it is in any place in the USA. If you had a hungry family, you had to get food. If the North Vietnamese Communists had the food, you were a Communist. If the South Vietnamese had the food, you were a Nationalist. Some went both ways and were Communists by the light of the moon, and Nationalists by light of day.

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Protestors still going after Gonzo :)

YAY!!! I can be thankful for these students who disrupted Alberto Gonzales’ speech at the University of FL. on Monday evening. From the CommonDreams writeup linked above:

In his first appearance at a university since resigning in August, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was met at UF on Monday with a mixture of cheers, boos and scattered interruptions by protesters, two of whom were arrested.1120 11Gonzales, who resigned from his position after a controversial tenure, spoke to more than 800 people at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

During his prepared speech, Gonzales largely avoided discussing the controversies he faced in office, including his dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys. Watch the videos after the fold and in the second one, listen to the BOOs at the end of his speech. The school paid Berto $40 grand to show up..which came from student tuitions according to the first video which is a news station’s footage.

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what am i thankful for this year?

i have been wracking my brain trying to think about what i was going to do a post about this week- not that i don’t often find myself in that situation but it’s that time of year when we are supposed to really be thankful for something. i won’t lie- it has been a tough year and it ain’t over yet. what has struck me most is how this year has turned out to be one of tying up loose ends and of great loss- for most people. out of the ashes rises the phoenix though- and i have also seen much spiritual growth from quite a few folks- and the amount of relationships forged between complete strangers astounds me. so- i will have to say- if i had to pick one thing only to be thankful for- it is the human spirit. the human spirit in many countries rises above tyranny and oppression and has fought back and created beauty out of ugliness and brilliance out of poverty. the human spirit has prevailed against despotism and police states and transcended races, religions and cultures of all kinds to pull together and overcome. we have seen it in the past- and we will live through the current nightmare to make a new future. we, the people, of the united world- as one planet- have been coming together one person at a time- one blog at a time- to see through the veil of lies and deceit and light the candle of truth. for this- i am thankful. happy thanksgiving to all. b

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Are you this committed to ending the war?

The folks in Olympia WA are and they proved it this past weekend by using civil disobedience. They are using the tactics we employed during the Vietnam War. Why doesn’t the peace movement now use them? Are people not as committed to ending BushCo’s wars now as we were during the Vietnam war?

 

This was gleaned from the good folks over at The Big Brass Blog. A huge thank you to them for putting it up..because I sure as hell wouldn’t of known about it if I depended on our MSM to give me real news. When I watched it all the emotions and pain came flooding back to me. How the cops beat me with their batons, spit on me, fired rubber bullets at us..but I would do it ALL again to see an end to this war, inspite of my blown discs..you can bet your sweet ass I would..why? Because I am that committed to ending this war.

We need to clog up their fucking courtrooms with protesters, with folks willing to use civil disobedience to get the word out…we need to do these things again..in every city and every state. But we won’t..

And thats so fucking pathetic to me.

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Historical Retrospect on Pacifism in Religion

Early History The tenets of non-violence exists in all of the early Abrahamic religious traditions (Jewish, Christian and Muslim), the Darmic traditions ( Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism) and many pagan traditions. Secular movements use non-violence as a practical or strategic effort purely as practical strategy without the moral or religious worthiness overtones. I note with some irony ,the UN on Nov. 10, 1998 declared 2001-2010 to be the International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. Wars promptly broke out.

Some religious pacifists believe it is the height of irrationality to use violence to shape a peaceful future~ as goes the seed, goes the tree. Many observe love thy enemy concept~ as with Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”, the wu-wei (effortless action, as in the martial art Aikido) of the Taoists, metta ( loving kindness towards all beings) of Buddhism and Ahimsa ( non-violence towards any being) shared by Jainism, Buddhism and some forms of Hinduism. The liberal movements in Islam point to the story of Abel in the Quran to promote Islamic ideals of non violence. The tenets of non-violence are present in most religions ,but a quick scan of history shows the tenets are easily forgotten in the rush to power.

Abrahamic

Jesus is seen by many as the penultimate Pacifist~ the Sermon on the Mount being the classic example~ Love thy enemy. In fact the whole New Testament rushes to the moment where Jesus surrenders himself to an enemy who plans on killing him and orders his followers not to defend him. Some citing the story of Jesus using the whip driving the dishonest market traders from the temple(despite the fact Jesus did not use the whip on people) claim he is no pacifist~ despite biblical evidence to the contrary. Others see these passages, such as Luke 22:36 ,as metaphorical and on no occasion does Jesus shed blood or urge others to do so. The early Christians practiced pacifism until they became integrated into society and gained positions of power and authority. Then strict pacifism was seen as impractical and even irresponsible when force could be used to end evil.

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Thousands Protest Oct 27th across the nation.

Of course the majority of the MSM has little to say on the topic. But IndyMedia, Boston.com, LAT and IndyBay.org have good writeups on the protests held in 11 major American cities. The events were organized by UnitedForPeaceAndJustice, their site has a great section on each city with reports and pictures. A few of the writeups:

On Saturday, Oct. 27, anti-war protesters in Philadelphia formed a human chain from the Veteran’s Hospital in West Philadelphia all the way into Center City, and then proceeded to march down to the the Liberty Bell and Constitution Center. Initiated by United for Peace and Justice, eleven different cities around the nation, including Philadelphia, mobilized Saturday against the war. Read Rich Gardner’s photoessay from the day.

Local media estimated the crowd at over 10,000 in a protest highlighted by a mass die-in during which protestors laid down on Market Street, San Francisco’s principal throughfare. The protest received page B1 coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle (Thousands “die” in anti-war protest on Market St. in SF).

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What a REAL military tv ad should look like..

You have to watch it all the way through my dear reader. The good stuff is at the end. You know how the pharma ads tout their product then rattle off all the side effects quickly at the end? Well, this ad does that for enlisting in the military..

[youtube]AwS1bmggoZ0[/youtube]

H/T to Chuck and DonkeyOD for putting this up on their sites.

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darfur- take action!

most folks know that the situation in darfur is desperate. the news is never good there- and i guess i continue to wonder about how human beings can view other humans as objects to be tortured and killed. i think folks get numbed to the mindless genocide around the world and it is all too easy to write these impoverished places off. the ‘oh well, let them kill each other if they want to’ mentality amazes me- especially from ‘bleeding heart’ liberals and ‘pro-life’ conservatives. we allegedly went into iraq (in the third incarnation of reasons i think) to save those poor folks from the horrors of living under saddam hussein. why, then, are we not preemptively going into darfur to save those folks from the janjaweed? and no- that isn’t a name from a star wars movie. the west has completely ignored africa- except to plunder its natural resources. we bribe or intimidate whoever we have to to get what we want- and to hell with the indigenous peoples.

the un has coalition troops ready to go- but then- we get the news that blackwater has reared its ugly head yet again. yes, since they have done such a fine job in iraq, apparently, they want to make a few billion dollars more in darfur. so, not only do we have to pressure our government to get involved in darfur- we have to pressure them to NOT send the blackwater thugs to darfur. nice.

for some resources and info on darfur- quaker dave at the quaker agitator- has some good ones on his sidebar.

instantkarma.org has information and petitions to sign- but please, take a moment and think about what africa means to the world. we agreed after world war 2 to never allow genocide happen again. more than 2 million people are displaced and hundreds of thousands are living in refugee camps. no hard data exists as to the death toll, but experts are convinced it’s also in the hundreds of thousands. how many folks have to die before it is called a ‘terrorist act?’

amnesty international darfur action guide

tags: darfur, Terrorism, amnesty international

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solidarity for peace on october 27th

www.oct27.org

 

those words mean working together for peace. on october 27th, massive demonstrations will take place in boston, chicago, jonesboro, tn, los angeles, new orleans, new york, orlando, philadelphia, salt lake city, san francisco, and seattle- not to mention in other communities across the country. for more info- go to their website- www.oct27.org

 

cross posted at life’s journey

 

tags: peace movement, iraq war protest, activism

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Conscientious Objectors-Historical Perspective

Before we leave the story of WW2 CO’s and get into the historical perspective, the story of some of theses brave men deserves a last look. Rather than feel despair at the overwhelming support for war in the U. S., many felt energized, used their experiences to fuel later movements at home and around the world.

David Dellinger

A student at Yale, he walked out to follow the path of Francis of Assisi, was among the first to resist and was jailed twice, taking part in the hunger strike that resulted in the desegregation of the Federal Prison system. He coined the phrase “the whole world is watching” regarding the media coverage of the police riots at the Democratic Convention in 1968.Yours truly, as young girl sat and watched ,horrified by what she saw. That moment in time shaped more than any other. During the trial of the Chicago Eight, he and the other defendants turned the tables on the government ,it became a trial of the government.

Stephen G. Cary

He was a CO and a director of a camp, later he used his experience to become commissioner for the Europe Relief for the American Friends Service Committee. In 1947 the committee received the Nobel Peace prize for their work.

Bill Sutherland

An African American he has lived in Africa working for social change and promoted Pan African relations~ serving as special assistant to the 6^th Pan African congress in Tanzania. He co founded Americans for South African Resistance, the American committee on Africa, and the World Peace Brigade.

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“The Good War And Those Who Refused to Fight It”

CO’s~ conscientious objectors, a ridiculed segment of our society ~especially in times of war. Yellow bellied cowards who took everything from this nation and then refused to give back ~right?

This week I learned different, after the excellent Ken Burns film The War hinted briefly at CO’s contributions to WW2 ,how they were allowed to become ambulance drivers and field medics.

Then the hour long program “The Good War And Those Who Refused To Fight It” shed light on a little known and almost lost part of the WW2 story ~ the courage of the thirty -seven thousand CO‘s who preformed alternative service.

A national system of work camps, administered and set up by the “Peace Churches” (Quakers, Mennonites and Brethren) allowed the CO’s to prove their courage and commitment to the country. They could not kill another human being, but could put their own bodies in harms way ~ by becoming fire jumpers, human guinea pigs, often participating in fatal experiments. Thousands of other CO’s volunteered to go into the insane asylums working to transform these places into the mental institutions of today. Thousands of others ~the hardest group to understand, those led only by ideals , refused to participate in the war machine at all, spending the war years in federal prison and eventually integrating the federal prison system.

“About the only thing these men have in common is their intense conviction that it is wrong to kill a fellow man. And they are building for themselves ,in a Chinese Wall of human spirit,what to most Americans must seem a never-never land,an impossible mirage of peace and brotherly love in a world of war and hate.”– Saturday Evening Post 1940

CPS Camps

A conflicted system was established, between the Selective service, whose goal was to keep the CO’s “out of sight” so as to not hurt wartime morale and the Churches desire to protect it members from the treatment they had receive in WW1.Some 200 other religious organizations participated, representing individuals who had no other common bond than a rejection of war.

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