One Nation

Every year it comes around and every year it means something else. One year it meant going to Shea Stadium with my Dad and brother. One year it was taking my sister to see some grunge bands. The last several years it has been reverie in a local park just relaxing and watching the fireworks.

This year; has been about a lot of independence. Some of it has been about personal struggle. A freedom if you will from the machinery of my past and all that quantifies that passage. We come up to that age that gravity lets loose on aspects and intellect. We are left standing with the results of what we thought was a good idea.

What we thought of as a good idea is where we find ourselves today on the 4^th of July 2006. Two hundred and thirty years ago we decided that we have had enough. I remember the celebrations thirty years ago. Our country was limping out of a serious funk; but we found unity and in the way that Americans do; knocking it out. I have probably compared all celebrations to that year since then.

So I ask? Is it a happy birthday this year? Or is it like turning thirty all over again?

I know I know…you don’t want to be reminded. But even the most civil of our civil engineering founders didn’t take the day off to flip burger and yell at the kids. No ~ these guys were probably up all night considering if what they were doing was going to have them meet the hangman.

With that being said, we have a lot to consider. I have long considered the crew we have leading us to day are leading us directly into the arms of a mother England style monarchy. The republican revolution is all about one party rule and one party rule becomes manifest destiny and manifest destiny becomes dictatorship and or monarchy. I consider the monarchy closer to the ideal because of how they are about exclusionary blood lines and superior idolatry.

Somehow that is more acceptable than if I used the popular dictatorship comparison; isn’t that a hoot? A kingdom more acceptable than a dictatorship and on the 4^th of July too. Imagine what the founders would say?

I have several links to opinion pieces from the rest of the country. The thesis is about the dissident nature of the republic. We are a nation of folks who disagree with the status quo. We believe in making things better and by that we tend to make things worse. It takes others to finitely define the answers to the question.

Once that happens we again are able to right the ship. One way or the other we then try to screw it up again.

Suggesting that even for a moment we give up our civil rights… that our liberties are open to compromise...if we were say in France and some Frenchy wanted to invade our American Civil Liberties we would shout, I’m going to see the American Consulate about this!!! But if our country asks us if it’s worth it we say Yes? Because we have become the skinny little puppy behind that couch. We talk the talk and think that we walk the walk…but for real we have no real balls because we cower with fear over every bump in the road.

Example A: all the insulting expressions to The New York Times. This piece that the TPM demonstrates the good work of such Martians Freerepublic.com and Accuracy in Media. …ah gotta love it huh?

On the other hand there is this report called CIA Closes Bin Laden Search Unit.

Howard Troxler has this opinion: It was a radical idea, to not swap out one monarch for another

E.J. Dionne Jr. has this article A Dissident’s Holiday

Richard Brookhiser has this piece WWFFD?

And last but not least we have the: I have looked into his soul and he said Gimme WTO or Else!

Have a happy and safe 4^th of July America.

And for all the rock and roll fans…a sweet song.

For the People by the People

Weren’t those such quaint words for such a quaint time in American politics? We compare the fight against terrorism to every war we consider noble; WW2, the Cold War…Vietnam. Have sat back and thought about the cultural civil war we have been in since 9/11?

We have embarked on a Global Civil War when we began bombing Iraq. This noble great nation full of money and might have succumbed to considering ourselves an animal trapped in the corner.

The Republican Mitch “Skid Marks” McConnell said on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, that we can talk all we want about the war in Iraq; whether it was right or wrong, but we haven’t been attacked in America since 9/11/01.

Well, shiver me timbers!! Tha’s right…we ain’t been hit since...doesn’t mean that anyone hasn’t tried or Has tried? (and if anyone brings up those bums in Florida that got arrested you aren’t paying attention…).

Old Mitch is well noted for his diarrhea of the mouth disease and is only repeating the party line. Well, repeating statements of that nature is like saying that one can seriously believe in such notions as the “Curse of the Babe” or “step on a crack and break your mother’s back”.

I had a conversation earlier this week with someone concerning all the hot air about the banking story that was released to the public in the press weeks ago. I mentioned that we are supposed to be a transparent country. Our policy’s and politics are out there for all the world to see. What we deem secret lately has ballooned to be what used to be considered secret in those cardboard club houses of youth…treasure maps…Susie’s training bra…

Former President Jimmy Carter calls attention to this in his Op-Ed piece called We Need Fewer Secrets. In the article the noble prize winner asks the question “What difference do these laws make?” It is important question to ask and if you are a regular reader or if you have had any serious conversation with me ever…you know that is my favorite question.

Jimmy is noted for many things. Over the years he has managed to piss off the right and the left. I enjoy his bitter backbone especially when it comes to calling out this hypocrisy that we employ.

I say Shame On You Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney and Mr. Rove for attempting to smear the freedom of the press. I say Shame On You for calling all other governments to be transparent and not keeping the promise you made to the American people.

Americans you do remember that the reason we went to war in Iraq was hinged on the fact that Saddam Hussein was not being transparent enough with his weapons programs? It wasn’t really about whether or not he had them; it was mostly that we couldn’t PROVE that he did or didn’t have them.

So suck it up and be a man axis of idiots (Bush, Cheney and Rove). If ya dish it out; be prepared to take it…Lawyers, Guns and Money…Dad get me out of this…

It’s My Party…

Marshall Wittmann has been bringing up the seminal rift of the Democratic party time and time again and I want to applaud him for it.

<>He is using a good point to prop up a candidate (Joe Lieberman) that I don’t appreciate for reasons I’m not going to get into now; but would JFK get elected today if he ran? Sure he would. It would be a fight similar to the way that Bill Clinton got elected; but in the fashion of a two man race not a three man race. But it should not be that hard to get a Centrist elected by the Democrats. Unfortunately it is.

The DoD sent out an story today about Veep Cheney thanking the NASCAR folks for supporting the military. Where are the Dems on this? The only story I had ever seen similar to it by a Democrate was Bob Graham when he was running for president in ’04 spoke similarly.

I think Joe is important to have in the party. He at least in his misdirected ways brings up something to talk about. I say keep him in Connecticut and stay Senator.

But folks like Joe and Bob Graham need to have more voice in hawkish conversations. We need to embrace folks like Gary Hart as well; folks who do know what they are talking about. Hart was one of those guys that was telling us about 9/11 and the plots and possibilities well before they happened.

We need a hawk wing, we need a social wing and we need a economic wing of the party. We can have those planks and still have a focused message.

And for Pete’s Sake somebody Shut John Kerry up!!!! Loud mouths like him set this party back 15 years every time he opens his mouth. …you too Russ Feingold…mind yourself. Hillary…you too: be a leader in policy but don’t open your mouth. None of these people should be standing on the platform come summer of ’07.

All are lightning rods for the right. We need to show a new vision before we campaign for 2008. We should actually try to build from the ground up; not from the top down. No – trickel down party building.

We need to open the door for new leaders that are part of the leadership of coherence. Find a message…stick with the message and attack the opposition…does this sound at all familiar to you?

Where is that party that spawned JFK? WJC? and HST? The New Deal is going to be over turned if we don’t get it together.

This should not be our alternative.

Wake up…Wake up…