Justice Served?

Go to this story on Free Press.Net to read about the arrests of journalists at the Republican National Convention which included none other than Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. I guess Free Press.Net is taking a lot of the credit for their bombardment of pressure on the City of Saint Paul so the charges would be dropped against all journalists arrested at the RNC. Let me tell you, there were plenty of St. Paul residents that put pressure on City Hall over their part in handling the chaos of the RNC. It wasn’t just Free Press.Net that made them drop the charges.

The fact remains that the so-called law enfarcement, (I call it enfarcement instead of enforcement),were orchestrated by the Federal Government. It was obvious that the Mayor of St. Paul, its City Council and other Local, State and National level elected officials stayed clear and did not comment or interfere in any way shape or form. Gutless bastards in my book. The “law” succeeded in removing, at least for a few hours and in some cases a day or so, legitimate journalists that would tell the real story about what was happening on the streets of St. Paul. That real story being that police were beating, using pepper spray and rubber bullets on anyone they wanted to with no attempt to assess a situation. You were guilty of no crime but were persecuted for being there and exercising your first amendment right to free speech.

The people who broke windows, tipped over dumpsters and newspaper boxes broke the law. Funny isn’t it, how Faux News had a camera trained on a lone masked protester who broke a window at Macy’s Department Store. The march was going on, with crowds of over 10,000 people, (some say as many as 30,000), and they happen to have a camera on this lone window breaking incident, blocks away from the march itself. Why would any major news outlet be blocks away from the action? How uncanny. The thought that the Fox camera operator and newscaster were right there, at Macy’s window. How convenient. Some journalists, with press pass credentials, who were close to the actual march, were arrested, with some being brutally beaten, like Democracy Now’s Nicole Salazar, while the big news media’s Fox cameras were johnny-on-the-spot with a photo op to show the world how dangerous these protesters are.

In my opinion, it was a set up, pure and simple, and it sucked. It was propaganda that made the old USSR propaganda machine ala Pravda look like a children’s read.

What really gets me is the fact that when the University of Minnesota, a Big Ten conference school, won the NCAA National Hockey crown in 2003, the streets of Minneapolis were burning with cars being tipped over, windows broken, police being attacked by the drunken revelers and no storm troopers with AR 15 assault rifles and gas masks were around to keep the peace and quell the riot. They used regular law enforcement techniques to stop a full scale riot and video cameras to prosecute those that needed it.

But here at the 2008 RNC, they were ready to take anyone off the streets that they might have thought would pose any type of problem and would bring the truth down to the level of the common man about the plain and simple fact that the people were marching and asking for an end to an unfair, immoral and illegal war.

This whole RNC business, and yes, it was a $50,000,000 business deal, was hard to take in St. Paul. I mean why did the Republicans want to come to St. Paul, a small town by standards of the big cities out there. The damn Xcel Energy Center, a great wonderful hockey venue by the way, seats under 20,000 people for a Minnesota Wild game. The Democrats used Pepsi Center in Denver and seated almost 80,000 attendees!

Some say that the Repubs thought Minnesota to be a swing state. Others said it was because of the Norm Coleman Senate seat that might fall to Al Franken. That second scenario could not have been true as Norm, the wife beating Senator, was never seen nor mentioned at the RNC. Even the idea that Minnesota’s Govenor, Tim Pawlenty, would be chosen as Vice President didn’t come to fruition. Nope. There was no reason to come to St. Paul except to showcase their might. They even had a machine gunned equipped Coast Guard boat on the Mississippi River for chrissake!

I believe that parts of the whole affair were orchestrated in an effort to show the peaceful public that anyone who thinks liberally is breaking the law. To instill fear into the minds of everyday people. They tried divide and conquer.

There are more demonstrations scheduled in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I bet you won’t see them on Fox or any other of the major media outlets. They are peaceful events and stay that way until the enfarcement comes around in riot gear.

To make my point perfectly clear, here is a short story about my family’s involvement at the RNC march on September 1, 2008:

We arrived at the Capitol around 10:45 a.m. The announcement flyer said to be there by 11 a.m. We gathered, talked with folks and lined up for the march. I had my wife with me, my oldest daughter and her four children who ranged in age from 1&1/2 to 10 years old. If I had thought there would be violence or danger, I never would ever take a chance that would put those Grandkids in harms way, period.

We marched. I was in front, with the Veterans For Peace who were to lead the march. The VFP relinquished the lead to the Iraq Veterans Against the War just before the start of the march. My family was behind me a few hundred yards. There was a sea of people marching and carrying signs of protest and asking for peace.

When the march was completed, I waited near the Capitol. I called Barb on the cell phone and since we were familiar with the layout of the grounds of the Capitol campus, we met at a place central to where we finished, the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial fountain.

It was a hot day. The children were hot and sweaty. They saw the pond at the memorial and proceeded to wade, then immersed into the cool water. I mean, they are kids, and they have common sense and did what should come naturally. They went swimming on a hot day.

Two State police. Capitol guards, in a golf cart, in shirt sleeves who were in the area drove by the memorial and without stopping the cart and getting out of it, directed the adults, in this case my daughter and wife, to get those kids out of the pool as “They can’t swim in there” was proclaimed. They drove off without watching to see their instructions enforced.

This casual reckoning was business as usual, not six blocks from the pepper spray, rubber bullets, swinging billy clubs and show of force to people marching for peace. The local State police guards knew their people, knew we were peaceful, knew we liberals weren’t there to cause trouble. They see us all the time, and the hardest part of their law enforcement job is to shoo four little kids out of the pond at the foot of a granite memorial to “real” cops.

The saddest part for me is that St. Paul will never be the same. And it isn’t one bit strange that none of the journalists detained and arrested were charged. They succeeded to get them off the streets for a time, so Faux News can get their window breaking shots on the six o’clock news.

Peace to All.

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The POW and Barracuda show comes to an end..

Happily, the RNC convention came to a close. For the most part it was damage control. First Mother Nature had her say & threw a hurricane on opening day. No one is going to forget the awful images and memories of the Katrina catastrophic disaster enhanced by the Bush administration incompetence.
Cindy McCain & Laura Bush actually stood in front of the mostly empty convention hall, and said ” it’s time to take off our Republican hats, and put on our American hats” and help hurricane victims. How’s that for a snapshot of a mindset? They must have been wearing their Republican hats during Katrina.
Palin was all over the map. Was she the holier-than-thou respect my daughter’s privacy persona. Sister Palin would have us bow to her pro-life choices and ask, no demand we respect their privacy, while she & the republican would destroy our ability to make our own personal choices. Palin opposes abortion, even in the case of rape.

Then we saw pit bull Palin. The gun in each hand, Annie Oakley persona. She’s a rootin’ tootin fighter. But don’t cross her or she will fire you. She had the gall to insult Biden’s 35 year service in the Senate, claiming she had more experience. Palin was 9 years old when Biden became a U.S. Senator.
Palin showed us some bitchy snark, and in her attempt to put down Obama, just happened to distort the facts, and lots of them. I hope the media does their homework, to let the public & Palin know, she is playing loose with the facts, and call her on it.

I want to add that it is not a double standard to question the wisdom or practicality of having parents of an infant, a 4 month old special needs infant , in the mix of the Executive branch of Government. It is not a double standard for females, it is practical question and an observation- I’ve never seen an infant in ANY executive branch family male or female, because it is both parents choice and responsibility to care for their infant. It’s not fair to the infant, or either parent that such a demanding job would come first over the care of an infant. Palin’s political power hunger trumps the needs of her infant. I’m sick of reading articles saying no one ever questions male politicians parenting skills or obligations. To that, I reply no male politician has sought an Executive Branch position with in infant in tow. Like vinegar & oil, the two don’t mix. Parents with infants have stayed away from the job for good reason. Let’s not leave common sense at the door, trying to make this a gender issue.

The republican party is 93% white. There is not much diversity there. This convention spent waaay too much time retelling the Prisoner of War story of McCain. I have no doubt McCain went through hell. It is an amazing story, and he did an honorable thing, I respect and admire his story. That being said, it really has nothing to do with the problems we face in the here & now, problems HE was a part of creating. The problems we face will not be solved by the minds that created them. ( Ok I am quoting one of my bumper stickers now)… but it’s true. McCain IS a part of the problem. He’s votes with Bush policies 90% of the time. Why would anyone think we would see any different policies or much change at all, with McCain at the helm?

The republicans want to carry on the same agenda. They want to bow to big oil and allow the rape & pillage of our land. Alternative energy to them means Nuclear power plants, nuclear waste dumps, offshore oil drilling, and coal mining. McCain & Palin will support Exxon, Mobile, Chevron & Shell, and the rest of us can go to hell.

McCain said he hates war & wants peace, but that was after he said a 100 year war was fine by him. I’m sure his speech writers & handlers advised him to try to soften his original remark. More damage control ~ their reputation is at an all time low- and they have earned it. Remember George Bush promised to restore integrity to the White House in his presidential campaign. Safe to say his mission failed, miserably.

There was a whole lot of glitz and shallow, sanctimonious rhetoric. What crowd there was, chanted U

• SA, and at some point, people were yelling “Drill baby Drill”. The republicans are big on enemies, terror, and fear.

The party is so tattered, they decided to keep Bush out- no personal appearance from the sitting president. They beamed him in via sattelite, for a video appearance. He was allegedly immersed in overseeing relief efforts for the hurricane. Truth is he is just a liability.
There was nothing the republican party could have said or done to get my vote.
In summary, their version of “leadership” has been torture.

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Repubs screaming SEXISM is bullshit.

From a NationalJournal writeup:

Meg Whitman, a McCain adviser and the former chief of eBay, told Fox News that she thought the press was pursuing legitimate questions about Palin

*snip*

If Palin takes on the traditional role of No. 2 candidate as attack dog — and she flirted with that role in her speech — it might seem as though she was trying to provoke sexist attacks in a culture that is still uncertain how to assess aggressive women.

*snip*

An inescapable question is whether the Republicans are playing the sex card the way they sometimes accuse black Democratic politicians of playing the race card. The answer is no more straightforward with gender than it is with black-white relations. Some measure of outrage at what Palin is facing is clearly genuine; some measure of political calculation is just as real. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And an emotional charge like an accusation of sexism can be a powerful distraction in a campaign.

*snip*

Deborah Tannen, a Georgetown professor whose book, “You Just Don’t Understand,” was a best-seller, said yesterday that on some level women can’t escape their gender identity. Male politicians can be “neutral,” but female politicians will always be “marked” as women in people’s minds. The consequence of that, she said, is that “anything you say [as a woman or about a woman] is going to have extra meaning in it, and is going to get someone’s back up.”Because the world is the way it is, there are no clear lines to guide political discourse. “Is it sexist to talk about women’s clothing? Yes. But it tells us something about them. And the same with their hair.”

They will use this issue up until voting commences in November…take it to the bank.

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Palin ~ A Bridge to Nowhere

What is it that bothers me so about Palin?

First, it’s the doublespeak. While touting anti abortion, & abstinence, we are asked to respect the family’s privacy on this personal matter, while at the same time Republicans are making laws and stacking the courts with judges who would deny us our ability to make equally personal choices of our own.

Then it’s the double standard. Without making a personal judgement on teen pregnancy, it is a program of the Bush administration- the abstinence program that has the teen pregnancy rate up for the first time in 14 years.

This is a failed policy. Not only has it led to more teen pregnancies, it is a double whammy- it is coupled with the idea that funding teen parent support programs, sex education & healthcare, are considered “pork barrel spending”.

Where’s the Substance? We’ve heard Hockey Mom, PTA, and Mayor. We’ve heard about the family pregnancy issue.
We’ve not heard about Foreign policy. Where she stands on the Iraq War, Gitmo, Iran, Afghansitan. The US economy, the mortgage crisis, global warming, funding education.

We have heard she fired the Wasilla Alaska librarian for not banning books, and she fired anyone who did not agree with her agenda.
Palin did run a small Alaska suburb as Mayor. A population under 7000. She handled such matters as should they pave dirt roads, and putting a financially unfruitful sports complex project ahead of installing sewers. Although the Mayoral position of Wasilla is non partisan, she made it partisan.

Just read an excellent editorial by Ellen Goodman:

“The Straight Talk Express twisted itself into a pretzel trying to defend her qualifications to be commander in chief. More to the point, the mother of five had a personal story meant to capture the imagination of the American people, whose minds were beginning to wander ominously to such non-entertaining narratives as the Iraq war and the economy.

*snip*

Then along came the news that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. Immediately, the “family values” folks who have fashioned a political wedge out of moral judgments began insisting that anyone who remarked on this baby bump was an insensitive invader of privacy.
But let’s not forget that it’s the right wing that made social issues into a political issue. The right wing decided that pregnancy was not a matter of private decision-making but a harsh and unrelenting political battle.

Palin opposes sex education programs that go beyond abstinence only.

*snip*

John McCain, an unrelenting opponent of abortion, was once asked whether the government should provide contraception and replied, “You’ve stumped me.” The Republican platform is not similarly stumped with its implacable opposition to every abortion and its renewed “call for replacing ‘family planning’ programs for teens with increased funding for abstinence education, which teaches abstinence until marriage as the responsible and expected standard of behavior.”

Pregnancy is indeed private. Decisions are to be discussed and determined in a family. But the party meeting in St. Paul, Minn., would put decisions about pregnancy in the hands of the government and replace sex information with disinformation. No, you don’t have to pass judgment on a 17-year-old to pass judgment on these unrelenting policymakers.

Sarah Palin? So far, she looks like a Bridge to Nowhere.”

My commentary on Palin’s RNC Speech:

I found her speech to have very little substance. Her lengthy introduction to her large family, including 5 children, and parents took up a whole lot of time that should have been used to tell us about her platform specifics.
I don’t care that her husband is a champion snow mobile racer~ I honestly don’t. I sincerely believe the people whose mortgages are about to foreclose, or who must file for bankruptcy because they do not have health care coverage really did not tune in to get the extensive low down on her family tree.

I think Palin showed just how desperate she was– she discounted Obama’s entire resume by playing loose and sloppy with facts– he’s “just a community organizer”.

8 years in the Illinois Legislature
Harvard Law School Grad
2 years of teaching Constitutional law @ the College level
4 years as a US Senator

He also did community organizing & practiced as a Civil Rights Attorney.

So for her, and her podunk Hockey Mom, PTA, Mayor of a tiny suberb “governmental experience”, discounting Obama’s accomplishments was just pure bullshit.

If you don’t have much to tout about yourself, then you are reduced to attacking the person you are running against. If that is in fact the case– this tough talking lady is really running scared, and she should be.
For her to proclaim on National TV that she herself has more experience than Obama & Biden combined was ludicrous.

Biden himself has served in the US Senate since 1973. Thirty five years of experience.on the Foreign Relations Committee, and the Senate Judiciary Committee. That means Biden has been dealing with Federal Foreign Affairs since Palin was 9 years old.

As one pundit put it– it is one thing to read a prepared speech in front of an adoring crowd… quite another to answer real questions in a debate setting on complex foreign affair issues.

I hope anyone who has the wherewithall to listen to what the RNC is serving up, it would be helpful to have an interpretive guide to terminology:

• Energy Independence = Drill for Oil
• Lower Taxes = For the Rich
• Alternate Energy = Nuclear Power Plants & a National Nuclear Waste Dump
• Clean Coal = Delusion
• Lower Fuel costs = Sacrifice Arctic Natl. Wildlife Refuge/Kiss Polar Bears Goodbye
• Attack Obama = Easier to talk about than actual issues
• Hockey Mom, PTA = I have no Foreign Affairs knowledge whatsoever

It is hard to imagine a McCaine regime could be even more oppressive and mismanaged, than the Bush adminstration- but I believe that would be the case.

The more I learn of Palin’s political resume, I am convinced her path is abuse of power, with limited knowledge ~ a dangerous combination.

The American Gothic image the republicans would like to portray.

The surreal likeness of something a little more close to reality.

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Planet RNC

While about 500 people gathered outside for the Poor People’s March, facing Police in Riot Gear…

A partially empty arena conducted the Republican Nlt. Convention. It’s hard to tune in to the RNC, it’s really like a different planet. When I first tuned in, I caught the tail end of Fred Thompson’s rant. Talking about democrats raising taxes. Right Fred, because why should people- especially wealthy people have to pay taxes…. nothing wrong with running a $9.5 trillion dollar debt. Fred made a strange comment- that McCain picked a VP who is the only one who “knows how to field dress a moose” (hunting reference). Maybe this was meant to be funny and macho, but please….. what an insult to everyone’s intelligence.

Next up was “lost sheep” Joe Lieberman. Joe pointed out over & over & over again that he is an AMERICAN, ans we all are, before we might be Democrats , Independents or Republicans. He had the gall to call himself a Democrat, as he stood at the podium at the RNC, pitching McCain as the man for the presidency. Joe has all the appeal & fervor of a wet dishrag. My dolt-o-meter was in the red zone.

I heard a lot of reference to the “T” word. Terrorism & some fear mongering. Lots of grumbling about why a sitting president fails to make a personal appearance @ the convention of his party. The answer is he has tarnished the Rep brand. He is a liability and a black mark on a candidacy. They are saying he is busy with hurricane relief business- but it’s not like he does not have his own government plane he can hop in & go wherever he wants. It’s been 40 years since a sitting president has not attended their convention. Then again- think about it– if they tried to make one of those video montages about his terms as president, it would be some horrific recount.

Scenes from Abu Ghraib, bodies floating in the floods of New Orleans, crowds of people chanting We Need Help!.
The first election, settled by the Supreme court. His “bring it on” international “diplomacy” tactic. Six years of an illegal occupation, with the Mission Accomplished backdrop. The indictments. The revolving door of his staff as Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Powell, Scooter, Delay, Abramoff, Gonzales and a host of others came and went- often to jail, or should have gone to jail, but skated. Now we have economic failure, the mortgage mess, and his abstinence only program has raised, for the first time in 14 years, the teen pregnancy rate. That failure has hit really close to home as the wildcard VP choice of Palin is abuzz with the announcement her unwed 17 year old daughter is pregnant.
Chalk up another one for republican failed policies. Thus the absence of both the president & the video montage.

There was a strange & uncomfortable moment of a Minnesota firefighter, making no rah rah political statement, just saying she is proud to be a firefighter who sorted through the rubble of the collapsed bridge.
The crowd looked uncomfortable and somber.
The speaker in her floral dress just matter-of-factly told the story & said she was a proud firefighter.
The republicans have this disaster to be responsible for- as it happened under their watch.
The failing infrastructure is another republican legacy.

While this yammerfest went on, I found this story about a 17 year old who was beaten by 5 officers in St. Paul.

From The Minnesota Independent:

As he walked along, someone asked him if he had a lighter. He said he didn’t think so but he would look and then set his backpack onto the ground and began to look through it. He explained that almost immediately five police officers surrounded him and demanded that he “put the bag down and put his hands in the air.” He was confused but immediately dropped the bag. Being inexperienced with the police, he did not raise his hands over his head immediately, but rather held his hands out and said, “What? I’m not doing anything!” They immediately attacked him, throwing him to the ground, repeatedly kicking, beating, dragging and hitting him. He responded by protecting his body, only to be accused of resisting arrest. When he was escorted away from the scene he was heavily covered with blood, so the police officers used a shirt to cover his body, possibly to avoid media coverage of the attack. The officers subsequently arrested those that were within the area who attempted to defend our son. Apparently because the people within hearing distance responded to his screams during the attack, he was later told that he was being charged with felony conspiracy to incite a riot. Additionally, he was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and despite giving his correct name and telling the officers exactly where his wallet was in his backpack so they could see his id, providing false identification. However, I should add at this time that since he never had his Miranda rights read to him, was never offered a phone call nor were we, his parents, ever notified of his arrest or charges, and when we sought information from the Juvenile Division they refused to give it to us, and since he was not provided with any paperwork indicating what he was arrested for or ever arraigned in court before being released, we are not entirely certain what the charges against him are.

To our horror, despite his medical needs, he was released from the Juvenile Detention Center, into the darkness of night, alone, without a parent ever having been contacted, to a city that was unfamiliar to him, by the Ramsey County Juvenile Division. He was forced to borrow a stranger’s cell phone to call home. After much confusion about his location, his father found him and brought him into our hometown hospital for medical treatment. They treated his multiple wounds, bruises and scrapes, took pictures, wound measurements and after hearing the story, stated that they would record the incident as a criminal assault.

Our family is devastated. The police could not have attacked a more respectful young man. We are asking anyone who might have been present for the beating to please contact us. Our son is unsure where he was located at, but he overheard an officer refer to 9th and believes that may be the street he was on or near. He was wearing tight fitting, knee length, dark grey corduroy pants and a dark green and black long sleeve flannel. The police ripped off his shirt during the attack and replaced it with a white t-shirt with a flag on it that said “Remember 9/11″. We are also interested in any recordings or still photos of the incident. We are currently seeking legal advice for how to proceed. Any suggestions are appreciated.”

Read the full story here.

How much more can we stand to listen to the *God Bless America* speeches, knowing this chaos in the streets is going on?

Crossposted at Ramblings.

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rethuglican highlights: you can’t make this stuff up

but stupes will still vote right wing

my thought- rove is an ‘unofficial’ adviser to mccain’s campaign- i think he gave the word for palin’s nomination-why else would he use the word ‘brilliant?’

anybody else hear about john mccain’s temper? well, somebody might want to start taking notice- he apparently calls people names and throws tantrums

aside from all of her other issues- sarah palin has decided not to attend her soiree` thrown by phyllis schlafly- instead, she will probably be meditating about motherhood and grandmotherhood- and whether or not she has foreign policy experience. media doesn’t seem to know.

remember how i said that disgraced, scandal-ridden rethuglicans never really go away- they are just recycled? sigh. i was correct.

gingrich

delay

gramm

the gulf coast region is part of the nation’s bible belt. their god must be really pissed at them. gustav and newspaper filled levees aside- they have political shenanigans being pulled that puts sarah palin’s ‘troopergate’ scandal in the pee wee leagues.

and, just because a rethug in a smack down is fun:

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A Little More on Recent Days

Labor Day this year was exceedingly odd.  It was hard work for a lot of people, no holiday. It was not to be a day of rest for everyone. We treated is as normal day here at our home. Hot dogs and potato salad were the extent of our celebration. And I do not feel particularly “at home” these days. I felt unsettled and watchful, carried along by outside events. There was a surreal tone to the day, as if I were in a theater watching a cheap movie.

Homes in the Gulf empty – The uninvited guest, Hurricane Gustav came in as a Category 3. Three years ago about now, a bigger Hurricane, Category 5 Katrina, came ashore in New Orleans, Louisiana and a long nightmare began for the entire Gulf Coast region. It was reported that 95% of the population heeded the evacuation orders of officials this weekend. A number of them had just gotten back into their repaired homes after waiting years to do so. Many had been living in our region, the diaspora from other hurricanes.

Not where expected – Many others of us around the nation were not in our usual places yesterday. This Labor Day was to have been the day when the Republicans convened in Minneapolis to nominate their candidates for President and Vice-President. That event was scaled back to the minimum required under election law, because of the impending hurricane. The presumptive Republican candidates were out and about, however, looking properly concerned and self-sacrificing for the occasion. We can assume they were relieved that our current president (OCP) and his Veep did not be attend. At the same time OCP and his officials have seen to it that a number of protesters are neither at home nor in the streets; they have been rounded up and put in the Minneapolis jail without being charged, probably until Wednesday.

I did not feel as if I properly celebrated Labor Day. Much of the news was disturbing.  However, the good news was that the hurricane could have been much worse. Here is some more good news.  From “betmo”  (8/28/08) on MSNBC came this to celebrate: “The world’s most powerful women” — “Business and political leaders on Forbes list control $26 trillion worldwide” To quote:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list for the third year running as the ranking democratically elected female leader. Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the embattled U.S. bank-deposit insurer, debuts in second place as she tries to stave off financial panic amid a worldwide credit crisis.
At No. 3, Indra K. Nooyi of PepsiCo is the highest-ranked woman in business as she expands the food and beverage giant internationally to counter a decline in Americans’ preference for soda and chips.

. . . Candidates for our list are globally recognized women at the top of their fields: chief executives and their highest-ranked lieutenants, elected officials, nonprofit leaders. They don’t have to be rich, but they do have to wield significant influence. This year, an architect, a war correspondent and several foundation executives all won spots on the list.

We measure power as a composite of public profile - calculated using press mentions - and financial heft. This year, for instance, the woman with the highest public profile is Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, No. 28, who garnered intense media scrutiny for her failed U.S. presidential bid.

Power surge/The top 10

1. Angela Merkel
2. Sheila C. Bair
3. Indra K. Nooyi
4. Angela Braly
5. Cynthia Carroll
6. Irene Rosenfeld
7. Condoleezza Rice
8. Ho Ching
9. Anne Lauvergeon
10. Anne M. Mulcahy

Here is another “feel good” story, from one of my regular contributors, Jon. The news celebrates the little guy.  Labor Day was meant to celebrate all the little guys, those salt of the earth folks who form the bedrock of our nation.  From the (8/24/08) Time Magazine comes: “Goliath Loses: Accountant Beats IRS.” To quote:

It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute. Not only that, but tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers could benefit from his victory.

The accountant from Baxter, Minn., challenged the method the IRS has used for more than 20 years to tax shares and cash distributed by mutual life insurance firms to their policyholders when they reorganize as public companies.

Further — under the feel good section: One of my favorite bloggers wrote this about Senator Obama, who also celebrates the little guy:  “Regional Vox Populi (election edition)” by “buckarooskiddoo” at Make it stop! Make it stop! It is worth clicking the link just for the uplifting words.  To quote just a few:

Thursday night, I attended a Barack Obama Acceptance Speech house party here in rural Oregon. While we were there to watch and cheer the speech, which everyone did with gusto, the most interesting thing to me was hearing the attendees explain why they support this ticket. . . other assessments, which went along these lines:
. . . This war is poisoning this society and culture, making it sicker and sicker…Obama is the antidote.
“. . . I am tired of the entitlement culture of the Bush administration.”
“. . . I think that if we want to live in the 21th century, we have to vote Obama.”
“. . . I feel that Barack Obama respects me and values my opinion.”

. . . these comments moved and heartened me…I was proud to count myself among these entirely ordinary Americans, and I can only hope that there are a whole lot more people out there who share their views.

I know that, in a few short weeks, I will be finally be able to cast a vote for President with joy in my heart, rather than a clothespin on my nose.

By the numbers: The Neilsen ratings for the Dems Convention. “38.4 million total viewers this week”:

Nielsen just released its ratings for Day Three of the Democratic National Convention. The key takeaways are:

1) Bill Clinton and Senator Joe Biden drew more viewers (24 million) than Michelle Obama (22.3 million) - but fewer than Hillary Clinton (26 million).

2) Older viewers (age 55+) continued to dominate the TV audience Wednesday night, with 18.1% of all Americans in that age group - 12.5 million people - tuning in to the convention coverage.

In conclusion I leave you with a silly little poem titled,
Holidays Are Of the Heart

Holidays were meant for happy hearts.

New Year’s Eve is about fresh starts.

MLK’s birthday tugs at heart strings.

Valentine’s Day’s for diamond ear rings.

Easter Sunday signs Resurrection’s hope.

Mothers Day brings me scented soap.

Fathers Day the kids always call home.

Birthdays bring  PJ’s and a card poem.

Independence Day’s for love of country.

Labor Day declares workers honorees.

Thanksgiving makes our hearts grateful.

Christmas for family, gifts by the sack full.

Copyright by Carol Gee - 2/19/06

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

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word out of st. paul

spadoman updated his blog. he is currently in st. paul and will continue protesting and standing vigil.- betmo

Protest March at the RNC

Amy Goodman, news anchor for the Pacifica Radio broadcast of Democracy Now, was arrested a couple of hours ago in Ramsey County, MN. Here’s the link to the Democracy Now website to view the short Youtube of her arrest.

At this moment, we are headed to the Ramsey County Minnesota jail to stand in vigil and solidarity and demand her immediate release.

There were some trouble makers at the RNC march today. Some people, mostly in hoods and wearing black and labeled Anarchists by Fox News toppled news stands and broke store windows. These illegal acts happened away from the legal permitted march route where, in the words of St. Paul police chief John Harrington, “tens of thousands” of people marched for peace in an orderly and safe show of dissent to the war in Iraq.

Updates will be forthcoming regularly as we here who live in St. Paul, watch closely as our city becomes a police state.

spadoman

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Gestapo tactics-Amy Goodman, journalist, arrested at RNC.

Watch it…amazing..simply fucking amazing. Fascism anyone?

From the email from DN and from their website:

Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers who were being unlawfully detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman’s crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.

Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar.  These calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman’s office at 651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).

Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of these journalists.

During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force. Several dozen others were also arrested during this action.

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism’s top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar  is a transparent attempt to intimidate  journalists from the nation’s leading independent news outlet.

Democracy Now! is a nationally syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.

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police state amerika

rnc raids have been targeting video activists

welcome to st. paul, minnesota or denver, colorado or anytown, usa

“Their crime? None whatsoever. No one was trespassing or engaging in acts of civil disobedience. Instead, members of I-Witness Video, a New York-based media watchdog group that records police activity in order to protect civil liberties, were holding an organizing meeting at 949 Iglehart, the home of St. Paul resident Mike Whalen, when armed police officers arrived in the early afternoon and ordered their surrender.”

more info here

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First Hand Eyewitness, RNC Arrests

On Sunday, August 31, 2008, a group of people marched on the Xcel Energy Center, site of the 2008 RNC National Convention. This was a permitted march. It was a solemn march. Those that participated were asked to wear the orange and black that is worn by prisoners, (detainees), at Guantanamo Bay. They carried replica tombstones and the names of dead soldiers and Iraqi civilians were read amidst a single drumbeat.

I will be at another March on the RNC that is due to take place today. We gather at 11:00 a.m. and march at 1:00 p.m. The march today is billed to be larger than the solemn march that took place on the 31st. Some accounts said there were 1500 people attending Sunday’s march. Others say it was closer to 750. But these are guesses by those on the ground. There was no media or law enforcement count mentioned anywhere that I have looked for it.

Todays march will be decidedly larger. Estimates are for 6000-10,000 people to assemble. The route is being done with a permit, but some people may decide to pass a blockade and risk arrest like Steve and others did. I will report the truth after todays action.

Go HERE for more reporting and pictures of the arrests.

Steve Clemens, an activist from our area of the world, wrote this update about his Civil Disobedience at this Solemn March on the RNC:

Report Back on the RNC 9 by Steve Clemens. September 1, 2008

Sunday August 31, 2008 saw the first arrests of peaceful protestors at the Republican National Convention held in St. Paul, MN. As plans began to be announced for scheduled protest marches and rallies against the on-going war on Iraq and “against the Republican agenda”, a few of us in the local peace community in the Twin Cities grew uncomfortable with the style and tenor of some of the protests.

Although we are as strongly apposed to the war as many other groups, some of us wished to have a more reflective and solemn protest against the loss of life and physical and psychological destruction of both soldiers and civilians this war has wrought. This war had been supported by both major political parties and is not just a “Republican” issue.

My friend Dr. David Harris, an active member of Veterans for Peace, shared these concerns and generated the idea of a silent march carrying symbolic tombstones with the photos and names of dead U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war. Our mutual friend and peacemaker, Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi-American and founder of the Muslim Peacemaker Team provided photos he has taken during the war of some of the enormous numbers of Iraqi casualties that he has witnessed first-hand.

Dr. Harris’s idea was to march to the Xcel Center, the location for the RNC, carrying the tombstones with just a drum cadence and the reading of the names of the dead on both sides with the response from the marchers being “We remember you” in a similar fashion to the annual protest at The U.S. Army School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, GA. There, each November, the vigilers respond with “Presente!” when names of the victims of that notorious remnant of the Cold War are sung out.

Dr. Harris also felt the need to include an option in the march for those who felt called to supplement their protest with an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Marchers were told that if they wished to risk arrest, they could nonviolently continue beyond the legal route of the march and attempt to carry their tombstones to the convention site itself. He was public and clear with both the marchers and the police about these intentions and the risks involved.

Prior to the start of the march, only 4 expressed an interest and willingness to commit to the civil disobedience portion of the march with one saying she would like to do so but wasn’t sure she’d have the physical stamina to be able to march to the point where the breach of the security line would occur. So, initially, three of us chose to branch off the route to an area scouted out in advance where it appeared there was an opening in the fence.

However, when we approached the opening, it turned out to be a swinging gate to allow vehicles to pass and the gates were quickly shut and secured as we slowly approached. As I entered the area, I noticed a gap under the fenced-off area where I though we might be able to squeeze under and so I told the other two to follow me. Given my physical size, it was somewhat a chore to squeeze under the wrought iron fencing but after I managed it, I waited for the other two. When we had cleared it, I noticed to my chagrin that we were “boxed in” by fencing all around us except for a rear building entrance on one side.

However, on closer inspection, I discovered that one section of the fence wasn’t properly secured and could possibly be lifted off its hinge pins and removed to the side. Joel and David gave me a hand in lifting the heavy 4’ x 10’ panel up and as I moved the section to the side, at least a half dozen law enforcement officers rushed to the site from inside the perimeter to prevent our access. I gently pushed the fence as they struggled to close the breach. I told the officers that we were committed to nonviolence and had no intention of injuring anyone – we just wanted “to go to the Xcel Center to deliver a letter and documents to President Bush”.

Earlier that morning, I wrote an open letter to the President, calling him to immediately end this war, quoting portions of International Law and treaties it had violated. Needless to say, the police were more concerned with their security perimeter than the desires of a few to peaceably confront the “Commander-in-Chief”. After it became clear that we would be unable to proceed further in a nonviolent manner, we decided to remain where we were. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that Josh, Dan, and Duncan had joined us. I knew Josh and Dan from the recent 500 mile “Witness Against War” walk from Chicago to St. Paul they had completed the day before. I was glad to have their gentle spirits with us! None of us had previously known Duncan but he was the one who had shown David the area where we might by-pass the fence prior to the walk.

As at least a dozen police officers in riot gear with long wooden batons quickly established themselves between us and the fence, I then noticed that three other friends and joined us on “the wrong side of the law”. Sister Betty Mckenzie, a nun who is 78 had crawled under the fence along with Mary Vaughan and Jeanne Hynes. All three women have been faithful peace activists and active members of AlliantACTION, a local group that has vigiled weekly for the past 12 years at the headquarters of a war profiteer, Alliant Techsystems. So that completed our group of nine.

As the police regrouped and officers were deciding what to do with their caged prey, Mary decided to lead us in song. Down By The Riverside, Let It Be, Give Peace a Chance, and even a spirited solo by Duncan of James Brown’s classic, “I Feel Good” rang out. Many members of the media had crowded up against the outside of the fence wanting to get a photo or a quote from Betty or Jeanne who were closest to them. One of our group asked me to read aloud my letter to the President so the surrounding police could hear it. I obliged.

After what seemed to be 15-20 minutes, a police commander came to inform us that “You know you are under arrest?” Actually, other police must have been a little lax in their training as that was the first we were notified that we were “arrested”. We had a pleasant conversation with him, informing him of our commitment to nonviolence and our intent to deliver the letter and documents to the Convention site. He said that wasn’t going to happen and asked if we would “cooperate” with the arrest procedure. David, ever the diplomat, responded “of course” but then quickly added, “Actually, we might not cooperate but we are certainly nonviolent”.

In an act of supreme irony, David was the first to be shackled with a set of PINK handcuffs! I told him how proud Media Benjamin and her Code Pink group would be if they could see him now. (Media and Code Pink members had marched with us before we veered off-route.) I had to settle for black handcuffs and the officer cooperated with my request to not make them too tight because I suffer from carpal tunnel. He was very respectful and all of the officers responded to our peaceableness in a professional and respectful manner. A number of the officers responded positively to David’s ready identity as a military vet since he proudly had worn his Veterans For Peace t-shirt. I had chosen to wear my LA Catholic Worker shirt with a Dorothy Day quote: “The only solution is Love” on it. Jeanne wore her NO WAR t-shirt which included “Our God is Love; Our Gospel is Peace”.

The booking process began in the building we had come behind – St. Paul’s famous Landmark Center. We were searched and patted down and then photographed alongside our “Arresting Officer” with a white board declaring our names, birthdates, and case numbers. Our metal handcuffs were replaced with sturdy plastic flexi-cuffs and we were herded out to a waiting police van to be transported to the Ramsey County Jail for the rest of the booking process.

I later found out that Sister Betty has collapsed while being processed and was caught and helped into a wheelchair. I think the combination of the outside temperature, the march, and the excitement of crawling under the security fence had strained her frail physique. Mary informed us that she thought Betty was recovering fine. We later discovered that they kept Jeanne and Betty at the first location and completed their booking process there so they wouldn’t have to be transported elsewhere. Again, we were treated with respect and dignity despite the fact that the two previous days had seen what seemed to me as egregious excesses by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office against what they and the media defined as “anarchists”. They were probably ignorant that Dorothy Day herself and many of today’s principled servants of the poor, the Catholic Workers, identify themselves as anarchists.

After having our property put in plastic bags (belts, combs, watches, keys, pens and paper …) we were fingerprinted and booked. Duncan was placed in a separate cage because he didn’t have any identification on him and he was from out-of-state. It was indicated that he might be held until they could verify his identity through other means. After receiving a citation for “trespass: refusing to leave the premises of another”, the police put us back into a van with stainless benches and a divider that reminded me of a cattle truck. They drove us a block or two away from the jail and gave us directions about how to walk back to the State Capitol, our starting place. We were given our property back at that point so we were able to contact our families and friends to let them know we were OK and able to breathe free air again.

The citation indicates that we will be contacted by mail for our court appearance and, I know from previous experience, that we can be fined and get up to 3 months jail time if convicted. But that is for the next leg of this journey for peace. We must end this war!
(There are some good photos of the peace witness on The Minnesota Independent website.
Peace to All.

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