Politics

I’m pretty strongly liberal — about as far left as one can go without falling into libertarianism. Posts collected under this tag will likely reflect that viewpoint.

We Interrupt This Broadcast

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Mom and dad sent me a wonderful present for my birthday that just arrived in the mail a couple of days ago. It’s a book called We Interrupt This Broadcast, a collection of news events that shocked the world. In addition to essays for each event looking at the events of the time that influenced what happened and the details of each event, from the Hindenburg explosion to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th, 2001, the book comes with two audio CDs with the actual radio and television broadcasts that went out over the airwaves. Wonderful, fascinating stuff.

Reading through the introduction by Walter Cronkite, I was struck by his description of his on-air announcement of the death of President John F. Kennedy…

As is the nature of many events which warrant interrupting broadcasts, I also was there to report on the terrible tragedies.

Our flash reporting the shots fired at President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade was heard over the “CBS News Bulletin” slide and interrupted the soap opera As the World Turns.

For the first hour, I reported sketchy details to a nation in shock. Then came the report from Eddie Barker, news chief of our Dallas affiliate, and Bob Pierpoint, our White House correspondent. They had learned the President was dead. We were still debating in New York whether we should put such a portentous but unofficial bulletin on the air when, within minutes, the hospital issued a bulletin confirming the news. It fell to me to make the announcement.

My emotions were doing fine until it was necessary to pronounce the words: “From Dallas, Texas, the flash — apparently official. President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. central standard time — a half hour ago…”

The words stuck in my throat. A sob wanted to replace them. A gulp or two quashed the sob, which metamorphosed into tears forming in the corners of my eyes. I fought back the emotion and regained my professionalism, but it would be a few seconds before I could continue: “Vice President Johnson has left the hospital in Dallas, but we do not know to where he has proceeded. Presumably, he will be taking the oath of office shortly, and become the thirty-sixth President of the United States.”

Reading that, and remembering other accounts of how the nation reacted to the news of his death, it hit me that I can’t think of a single President since JFK who would inspire such loyalty and love in the nation. I wonder how long it’s going to be before we as a nation are able to respect our leaders, our nation, and ourselves like that again. For the curious, here’s a complete list of events covered in the third revision of the book:

  • The Hindenburg Explosion
  • Pearl Harbor Under Attack
  • D-Day: The Normandy Invasion
  • President Roosevelt Dies
  • V-E Day: War in Europe Ends
  • Truman Defeats Dewey
  • General MacArthur Fired
  • Sputnik Launched by Soviets
  • John Glenn Orbits Earth
  • Marilyn Monroe Dies
  • Cuban Missile Crisis: Nuclear War Threatened
  • President Kennedy Assassinated
  • Lee Harvey Oswald Assassinated
  • President Johnson Declines Reelection Bid.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated
  • Robert Kennedy Assassinated
  • Apollo 11: Man Walks on the Moon
  • Apollo 13: Astronauts Escape Disaster
  • Kent State Massacre
  • Munich Olympics Tragedy
  • Nixon Resigns
  • Saigon Falls
  • Elvis Dies
  • Iran Hostage Crisis
  • John Lennon Assassinated
  • President Reagan Shot
  • The Challenger Explodes
  • Berlin Wall Crumbles
  • Operation Desert Storm Begins
  • Rodney King Verdict Incites Riots
  • Waco Standoff Ends in Disaster
  • O.J. Simpson Saga
  • Oklahoma City Bombing
  • Flight 800 Explodes Over Atlantic
  • Atlanta Olympics Bombing
  • Princess Diana Dies
  • The Impeachment of President Clinton
  • Tragedy at Columbine High School
  • John F. Kennedy Jr. Dies
  • The 2000 Election
  • America Under Attack

Also possibly of interest: Where Were You?, a post where I look back on what I remember of historical events that have occurred in my lifetime, and encourage readers to do the same.

iTunes: “Sad and Damned” by Nymphs from the album Earphoria (1991, 2:59).

Gore’s speech at NYU

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Excellent speech given by Al Gore at New York University yesterday (it’s a shame that this Al Gore wasn’t the Al Gore campaigning against Bush in 2000). This is a long one, but it is really worth watching, or reading, in its entirety.

C-Span Video (RealOne, 1 hour 9 minutes): Al Gore at NYU.

MoveOn.org Transcript: Remarks by Al Gore, May 26, 2004.

George W. Bush promised us a foreign policy with humility. Instead, he has brought us humiliation in the eyes of the world.

He promised to “restore honor and integrity to the White House.” Instead, he has brought deep dishonor to our country and built a durable reputation as the most dishonest President since Richard Nixon.

[…]

As a nation, our greatest export has always been hope: hope that through the rule of law people can be free to pursue their dreams, that democracy can supplant repression and that justice, not power, will be the guiding force in society. Our moral authority in the world derived from the hope anchored in the rule of law. With this blatant failure of the rule of law from the very agents of our government, we face a great challenge in restoring our moral authority in the world and demonstrating our commitment to bringing a better life to our global neighbors.

During Ronald Reagan’s Presidency, Secretary of Labor Ray Donovan was accused of corruption, but eventually, after a lot of publicity, the indictment was thrown out by the Judge. Donovan asked the question, “Where do I go to get my reputation back?” President Bush has now placed the United States of America in the same situation. Where do we go to get our good name back?

The answer is, we go where we always go when a dramatic change is needed. We go to the ballot box, and we make it clear to the rest of the world that what’s been happening in America for the last four years, and what America has been doing in Iraq for the last two years, really is not who we are. We, as a people, at least the overwhelming majority of us, do not endorse the decision to dishonor the Geneva Convention and the Bill of Rights.

[…]

In December of 2000, even though I strongly disagreed with the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to order a halt to the counting of legally cast ballots, I saw it as my duty to reaffirm my own strong belief that we are a nation of laws and not only accept the decision, but do what I could to prevent efforts to delegitimize George Bush as he took the oath of office as president.

I did not at that moment imagine that Bush would, in the presidency that ensued, demonstrate utter contempt for the rule of law and work at every turn to frustrate accountability…

So today, I want to speak on behalf of those Americans who feel that President Bush has betrayed our nation’s trust, those who are horrified at what has been done in our name, and all those who want the rest of the world to know that we Americans see the abuses that occurred in the prisons of Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo and secret locations as yet undisclosed as completely out of keeping with the character and basic nature of the American people and at odds with the principles on which America stands.

I believe we have a duty to hold President Bush accountable – and I believe we will. As Lincoln said at our time of greatest trial, “We – even we here – hold the power, and bear the responsibility.”

(via MeFi)

So much for that idea

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My plan for the morning was to wander down the hill and see Kerry speak on today’s swing through Seattle. It even looked like I was going to be able to pull it off — I set my alarm an hour early, actually managed to haul myself out of bed, and was out the door by 8:45am.

Springtime in Seattle, though, doesn’t always have the best weather, and today is definitely one of the drearier days. Grey, windy, and rainy. I wasn’t terribly concerned about this on the walk down the hill, as one of the first things I learned about being a Seattleite is that an umbrella is a necessary part of one’s supplies. I walked down Pike to the Pike Place Market, took the stairs down through the market, and crossed Alaskan Way to head to the pier. One of the police officers on duty directed me to the line, and I started working my way down…

…and down…

…and down…

Waiting to see Kerry speak

…and about five blocks later or so, finally found the end. Still, I’ve got no big problem with queueing up for something that interests me, and I’ve been curious for a while as to how Kerry would strike me in person. What little I’ve seen of him (generally during snippets on CNN while I’m eating lunch, as I’m without TV at home) hasn’t really impressed me to date, but I also know that many people can come across far better in a personal appearance than in a compressed 15-second news soundbite. So, I staked out my spot in line and waited.

And kept waiting.

An hour later, after having moved only about the length of two blocks, it became very clear that chances of actually making it into the designated area when Kerry was still around were getting slimmer and slimmer. The final straw, though, was when word came down the line that due to security measures, umbrellas were not being allowed into the secure area. Bags not being allowed I was expecting — that had been mentioned on Kerry’s website — but umbrellas? Sure, I’m not going to melt, but that doesn’t mean that I particularly relish the idea of standing out in the wind and rain, either.

The pile of umbrellas

So, I gave it a few more minutes to think it over, decided that it wasn’t worth it, and wandered my way back home. On the way out, I passed the solution to the umbrella situation: a huge pile of umbrellas at the bottom of a lamppost close to the screening area at the entrance. Ugh. Talk about a quickly improvised and badly thought out solution. I was not impressed.

So, that was my morning adventure — an aborted and unsuccessful attempt to form better impressions of the Democratic nominee for the 2004 election cycle. Hopefully I’ll have another chance before November rolls around (and if I do, I hope it goes better than this one did).

iTunes: “Heartbeat (Armand van Helden)” by Somerville, Jimmy from the album Platinum on Black, Vol. 2 (1995, 4:53).

Kerry in Seattle tomorrow

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From the Seattle PI: John Kerry to speak in Seattle:

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will be in Seattle at a free public appearance on Pier 62 tomorrow morning.

The 9:45 a.m. event is open to the public. Those who want better seating can stop by the Democratic Party campaign headquarters at 1848 Westlake Ave. N. for reserved seats. The morning event is not a fund-raiser.

Kerry, who arrives in Washington late this evening, plans to talk about the steps he would take as president to make the country energy-independent. Kerry will speak tomorrow evening at a \$1,000 a plate fund-raiser at the Westin Hotel.

If I can get my butt in gear early enough, I may wander down the hill and see if I can make it to this. Early in the morning for me, but would be good to see how Kerry presents himself, as I have to admit that he hasn’t overly impressed me in what I’ve seen so far.

iTunes: “Posthaste” by Crack Machine from the album Freak Accident (1994, 3:41).

Republican lightbulb joke

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How many members of the Bush Administration are needed to replace a lightbulb?

The Answer is SEVEN:

  1. one to deny that a lightbulb needs to be replaced
  2. one to attack and question the patriotism of anyone who has questions about the lightbulb,
  3. one to blame the previous administration for the need of a new lightbulb,
  4. one to arrange the invasion of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of lightbulbs,
  5. one to get together with Vice President Cheney and figure out how to pay Halliburton Industries one million dollars for a lightbulb,
  6. one to arrange a photo-op session showing Bush changing the lightbulb while dressed in a flight suit and wrapped in an American flag,
  7. and finally one to explain to Bush the difference between screwing a lightbulb and screwing the country.

(via Daily Kos)

iTunes: “Situation (Richard”Humpty\” Vission Radio Edit)\” by Yaz from the album Don’t Go/Situation (1999, 4:01).

Draft targeted to resume in spring 2005

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There have been rumors about this for a while now, but it’s been looking more and more likely all the time, and now the first major steps have been set in motion.

There is pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills: S 89 and HR 163) which will time the program’s initiation so the draft can begin at early as Spring 2005 — just after the 2004 presidential election. The administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public’s attention is on the elections, so our action on this is needed immediately.

\$28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. Selective Service must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation.

(via Phil)

iTunes: “I’m Too Sexy (Spanish)” by Right Said Fred from the album I’m Too Sexy (1991, 2:51).

Good point

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I’d rather be shot than vote for Bush at gunpoint. After all, I can recover from a gunshot wound in, say, a couple months. Voting for Bush, well, that takes four years.

— Phil, via IM tonight

White House clearing national policy with apocalyptic fundamentalists

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This Village Voice article is enough to have me seeing red: Bush White House checked with rapture Christians before latest Israel move.

It was an e-mail we weren’t meant to see. Not for our eyes were the notes that showed White House staffers taking two-hour meetings with Christian fundamentalists, where they passed off bogus social science on gay marriage as if it were holy writ and issued fiery warnings that “the Presidents [sic] Administration and current Government is engaged in cultural, economical, and social struggle on every level”—this to a group whose representative in Israel believed herself to have been attacked by witchcraft unleashed by proximity to a volume of Harry Potter. Most of all, apparently, we’re not supposed to know the National Security Council’s top Middle East aide consults with apocalyptic Christians eager to ensure American policy on Israel conforms with their sectarian doomsday scenarios.

But now we know.

[…]

The Apostolic Congress dates its origins to 1981, when, according to its website, “Brother Stan Wachtstetter was able to open the door to Apostolic Christians into the White House.” Apostolics, a sect of Pentecostals, claim legitimacy as the heirs of the original church because they, as the 12 apostles supposedly did, baptize converts in the name of Jesus, not in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Ronald Reagan bore theological affinities with such Christians because of his belief that the world would end in a fiery Armageddon. Reagan himself referenced this belief explicitly a half-dozen times during his presidency.

While the language of apocalyptic Christianity is absent from George W. Bush’s speeches, he has proven eager to work with apocalyptics—a point of pride for Upton. “We’re in constant contact with the White House,” he boasts. “I’m briefed at least once a week via telephone briefings. . . . I was there about two weeks ago . . . At that time we met with the president.”

[…]

When Pastor Upton was asked to explain why the group’s website describes the Apostolic Congress as “the Christian Voice in the nation’s capital,” instead of simply a Christian voice in the nation’s capital, he responded, “There has been a real lack of leadership in having someone emerge as a Christian voice, someone who doesn’t speak for the right, someone who doesn’t speak for the left, but someone who speaks for the people, and someone who speaks from a theocratical perspective.”

When his words were repeated back to him to make sure he had said a “theocratical” perspective, not a “theological” perspective, he said, “Exactly. Exactly. We want to know what God would have us say or what God would have us do in every issue.”

(via Atrios)