Quiet time for me

The best aspect of blogging has been the friends I've made - wonderful people who care deeply about our world and who want to make a difference. The worst aspect has been the amount of time it takes - sitting at a computer, when it's goregous outside, gets tedious. I want to be outside, in the water, playing.

And so I'm not exactly closing Journeys with Jood; I'll pop in from time to time when I really have something to say. But right now, I have nothing to say. I don't even feel like visiting other blogs because I have nothing to add. And what little I do have to say, I will say at The Sirens Chronicles.

For all of you who do visit, thank you. Thank you for your opinions, your comments, your humor, your challenges - you've all made me grow and think, and stretch. But now it's time for me to get quiet.

Peace, love, and understanding!

Sunday Sounds

August 18, 1963

August 18, 1963, James Meredith gradutated from The University of Mississippi with a degree in History. That doesn't sound very impressive by itself, because plenty of people graduate from Ole Miss. However, James Meredith is black. He was the first Black student to graduate from this former bastion of segregation.

Meredith had applied to the University twice, and was denied admission; eventually accepted, he attempted to enter on September 20, 1962 but was barred from entering. Governor Ross Barnett, a staunch segregationist and alumni of Ole Miss, opposed Meredith's enrollment and riots broke out on campus. President John F. Kennedy sent in US Marshalls to qwell the riots, which killed two and injured hundreds, and on October 1, 1962, James Meredith became the first Black student to enter the bastion of Whites-Only education.

Why is this important today? Why is Meredith's quiet heroism important today? And he doesn't see his actions as heroism, all he wanted was an education - something that ALL US Citizens should desire, but apparently don't. Meredith's actions are important today because they remind me of how far we've slipped away from decency, dignity and acceptance.

This week, Jose Padilla was convicted on all charges in his "terrorism trial." What does this have to do with James Meredith? Really?



When Meredith entered Ole Miss, he was proving TESTING what our Declaration of Independence spells out:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Mr. Padilla's trial proves that we need to keep our Constitution and return to a real rule of law. Waging a "war on terror" does not require giving up our rights under the Constitution and substituting Constitutional Law with Military Law, which, under this administration, is not law at all.

Padilla, a US Citizen, was arrested in May 2002 in Chicago under a warrant to testify before a Grand Jury. He was held in civillian custody for a month, but on the eve of his hearing in Federal Court, President Bush decided he was an "enemy combatant" and Padilla was whisked off to a military cell in South Carolina. Then-US Attorney General John Ashcroft said that Padilla was part of a terrorist plot to set of a "dirty bomb" in a US city.

Shades of Snidely Whiplash.

For nearly two years, Jose Padilla was denied all access to his lawyers, his family and the court system. The Bush administration claimed that he could be held without trial until the end of its "war on terror."

The war on terror is endless. It is a war on an idea, and an idea whose sole goal is to keep people terrified. Padilla was tortured. He was deprived of sleep. He was subjected to extreme temperatures. He was kept in stress positions. He was held without human contact; without natural light; without a clock - complete sensory deprivation.

I'm not going to list the details of the Padilla case - other bloggers have done so, and done it well. No. What sickens me is how we, as a nation, have gone so completely backward since James Meredith gradutated, with dignity, from Ole Miss and gave that University some measure of dignity with his presence. Meredith broke down a wall of fear. And since September 11, 2001, the Bush Administration has rebuilt that wall bigger, higher, thicker, and with mortar made from the poison of hate.

Jose Padilla and James Meredith are worlds apart. Padilla was a small-time thug, a petty criminal who has become an important symbol of how our government uses fear as a weapon. James Meredith is a writer, an educator, and an example of good. But does that mean Padilla should be stripped of his rights as a US Citizen? Not at all. Not at all.

Padilla did not set out to be a hero, nor is he. The heroes in his case are the attornies who worked on his behalf, and, ultimately, on my behalf and yours attempting to keep our Constitution out of the shredder. We are not out of the woods by any means. Our President is making noises to justify his desire to invade Iran; I still fear an "October Surprise" in 2008 which will let him invoke Martial Law, suspend elections and declare himself President for Life - after all, the "war on terror" is endless if you are in charge of it.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said after the attack on Pearl Harbor "The only thing to fear is fear itself." How the Bush administration has twisted that - because this administration has created so much fear in order to keep people afraid.

In one of the Harry Potter books, the Wizard Students are learning about "boggarts", dark magic creatures that are our deepest fears. The way to combat a boggart is the charm "Ridiculos" - so, to Bush, Cheney, and all their cohorts, I say to you "RIDICULOS" - you are ridiculous. No, I will not cave in to your example of fear and hate. I choose to follow the example of James Meredith. I choose dignity.

cross posted at The Sirens Chronicles

Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changing - 1965

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

Shhhh. I have to laugh now. I can't laugh if everybody is all pissy and angry because the government is a mess - right now, right this minute, on Friday, I have to laugh. It's summertime, and I can chase butterflies. And I can go to the beach, and I can play in my wading pool in the back yard. I can jump on doggie, and jump on Mommy. I can't jump on Mama because she's not here all the time but she's coming to visit again in a couple of weeks. I told my uncle "wait a minute" so I could show him my ouchie booboo on my elbow and he could kiss it better. I have to laugh. So everybody shhhhh about the bad people for a few days.

Do you feel a draft?

The Bush administration is preparing to declare that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps is a foreign terrorist organization, senior administration officials said Tuesday.

So, really, how's all that workin for ya, George?

Tuesday Post for Peace

The Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information wants you to Walk the Green Line. Nov. 29th marks the 60th anniversary of the UN decision to partition Israel/Palestine into 2 states - one for the Jews and one for the Palestinians. This 3-day trek is a political action that provides a unique opportunity for participants to learn first-hand what the conflict is really about. The route is the Green Line, which demarcates the border between Israeli and Palestinian territories. The trek is being publicized in Israel, Palestine, and internationally and intends to draw attention to the urgent need to resolve the conflict on the basis of two states for two peoples.

IPCRI is a joint Israeli-Palestinian peace center and think-tank, located in Jerusalem. This fund-raising trek is intended to support bringing Israelis and Palestinians (and the world) together in people-to-people programs that advance peace. To participate, you must raise $2500 plus supply your airfare.

UN Resolution 181, on Nov. 29, 1947, resolved that this land be divided into two states: one Jewish (Israel) and one Arab (Palestine). Israel became a state in 1948, but Palestine has yet to be created.

The Green Line border set in the armistice agreements of 1949 marks the line that designates the basis of the future border between Israel and Palestine. Since the beginning of the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem following the June 1967 war, the green line border has been gradually disappearing. Walk the GREEN LINE is a political statement aimed at marking the line where the future border should be so that Israeli-Palestinian peace can emerge and develop.

It means a withdrawal by Israel to the June 4, 1967 borders and an end to armed conflict based on respect for International Law. It means cooperation between two sovereign nations that would be for mutual gain. It means peace.

The trek is 3-days, but you sleep in hotels along the route, and the day-to-day itinerary includes meetings with a variety of people:

Three days of hiking along the green line with a professional guide

Meetings with Israeli President and Nobel Peace Laureate Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Meetings with senior Israeli and Palestinian politicians

Meeting with Israeli and Palestinian peace workers and NGOs

Evening cultural programs

Political briefings

Discussions and debates on the political, security, environmental, and economic situation

The Route

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The Gilboa: Mount Avinadav view over Jelaboun, walking along the view line to the area of Mt. Yitzpur over looking P'koa

Bus to Nazareth for the night

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Central area: Barta'a – walking along the green line, bus to Baqa al Gharbia – walking along the wall, bus to Tzofin and walk along the area of Modi'in Elite.

Bus to Nazareth for the night

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Jerusalem area: Walaja, Batir, Nahal Hamayanot, Wadi Fuqin – meeting with residents of the village. Ending of walk – Abu Dis.

Bus to Bethlehem for the evening

Evening program – political event marking 60 years since UN Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine into two states.

This is, my friends, a unique opportunity. Support Peace in the Middle East, please.

Cross posted at The Katrinacrat

Pet Insurance for ALL Children!

SCHIP, or the State Children's Health Insurance Program is a state-and-federal program that successfully provides medical insurance to children whose families cannot afford insurance, and who do not qualify for other programs, such as Medicaid. But the program is in trouble. The AMA is worried that the Senate may move to strip the Medicare physician reimbursement increase out of the children's health legislation and dubs the negotiations in both Houses as "contentious." Just before leaving for their August recess, Congress passed a measure that would prevent Medicare physician pay cuts for the next two years; the next day, the Senate passed Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 which did nothing to change physicians Medicare payments. Because the bills are substantially different, when Congress reconvenes in September a committee will attempt to work out a compromise to save SCHIP before it automatically expires Sept. 30th.

But the program remains in serious jeporady. In his infinate lack of wisdom, President Bush threatens to veto ANY legislation he's sent:

"The program is going beyond the initial intent of helping poor children. It's now aimed at encouraging more people to get on government health care. That's what that is. It's a way to encourage people to transfer from the private sector to government health-care plans."

Yeah, THAT's the ticket. Pesky government health-care plans sounds like (gasp) Socialized Medicine.

"(The program) has a solid track record of working to get kids covered and that's important because kids who don't have health care coverage are less likely to see a doctor," said Elaine Arkin, communications director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Vincent DeMarco, of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, an advocacy and lobbying group based in Baltimore, says that SCHIP is, in his opinion, one of the most successful government programs ever.

Barbara Ehrenreich suggests a solution:
Open up pet health insurance to all American children now!

This year, Americans will spend about $9.8 billion on health care for their pets, up from $7.2 billion five years ago. According to the New York Times, New York's leading pet hospitals offer CT scans, MRI's, dialysis units, and even a rehab clinic featuring an underwater treadmill, perhaps for the amphibians in one's household. A professor who consults to pet health facilities on communication issues justified these huge investments in pet health to me by pointing out that pets are, after all, "part of the family."

Well, kids are part of the family, too, and can do almost as many tricks as your dog! And they snuggle as well as your cat. So, why not? Pet insurance is not very expensive, around $33 per month. Of course, Ms. Ehrenreich refers to an article by the NY Times' Bob Herbert from June of this year. In the article, Mr. Herbert wrote about Diamonte Driver, a 12-year old boy who died recently from an abscessed tooth because he had no insurance and his mother could not afford $80 to have the tooth pulled. And he also wrote about 14-year old Devante Johnson, who died when his health insurance ran out in the middle of treatment for kidney cancer. Both these kids could have been treated by a Veterinarian. Instead, their lives were cut short for lack of insurance, for lack of $80.

We can, we must, do better. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you.

cross posted at The Sirens Chronicles

Can I have a side of Denver Boots and a soft drink, please?

A Chicago police officer tickets the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in the 400 block of North Michigan Avenue.

American Scot of the blog AYE! has become my favorite source of Chicago images - makes me homesick, he does! However, this story just did me in:

A massive hot dog clogged Chicago's main artery Thursday morning.

In a rare occurrence of an encased-meat vehicle committing a traffic violation, Chicago police ticketed the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile for illegal parking on the Magnificent Mile.

The incident began at 10:57 a.m. in the 400 block of North Michigan Avenue. At least two members of the Wienermobile entourage left the vehicle in the six-lane street with its emergency blinkers on. The vehicle is registered to Kraft Foods under the Wisconsin license plate "WEENR."

A police officer approached the Chevrolet with the 27-foot fiberglass sausage and removable bun roof. The officer radioed for a tow truck.

Matt Smith of the city's Streets and Sanitation Department said the city would have been ready to handle the job.

"We have access to tow trucks that could have handled a Polish sausage, not just a hot dog," Smith said.

The officer wrote the ticket and affixed it to the wiener's footlong side mirror. Ed Walsh, a spokesman for the city Department of Revenue, said parking in a "Parking/Standing Prohibited Anytime" zone is a $50 violation.

About 15 minutes later, as curious passersby snapped pictures with their camera phones, the driver and passenger of the vehicle returned before tow trucks could arrive. "The situation was resolved without the use of ketchup, which in Chicago is a big thing," Smith said.

The entourage got a grilling from the officer.

"You can't just park here," the officer said.

One of the passengers, who declined to be identified, said they were visiting a Wienermobile alumnus who worked nearby, but were unaware that one could not park a giant sausage in the middle of the city's busiest thoroughfare.

Sydney Lindner, a spokeswoman for Kraft Foods, said the Wienermobile is on a nationwide tour promoting a contest to sing the Oscar Mayer jingle in an upcoming commercial.

She said "regardless of the reason" the driver had for parking there, the company neither condones nor relishes such actions.

"It's against company policy to park in undesignated area even if you're driving a company vehicle that's shaped like a giant hot dog," Lindner said. "We appreciate the police doing their job and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused."

The hot dog was last seen driving north on Michigan Avenue.

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

So but I love flowers and insects and trees and birdies and fish and stuff and so we found out this report that Arctic Sea Ice broke the record for the lowest recorded ice area in recorded history. I know that the lowest recorded Golf score wins because my Daddy is teaching me golf. Not really yet but he got me my own plastic golf clubs and I play with them. But the lowest recorded sea ice is not a good thing. But so this this other scientist says it really won't break the record but it's close.

Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center said that there's a triple whammy. A high pressure system makes the clouds stay away, and lots of winds from the south with warm air, and lots of open water. I like no clouds and I like warm winds and I love water, but this is way too much of these things. My mommy says that I have to get out of the water after playtime is over.

There is still a whole month left before the sun sets in the Arctic, so there might be more melting ice. Where will the polar bears go to rest? They can't all go to the zoo, they don't like the zoo, they like to be outside. I like the zoo, but I'm two and I'm not a bear. My mama is coming to visit again soon, I talked to her on the phone yesterday and said "Hi mama. I'm TWO."

And then all these big government people are getting all mean about who owns what shipping routes and planting flags and threatening, like they can't share. They should all go to pre-school, we learn to share in pre-school. The Russians planted a flag in the sea bed in the North Pole, and the Canadians got all huffy. I think Government people never went to pre-school, I'd bet all my Elmos on it.

Bye-bye, I have to go to pre-school now.

Shuffling the Deck Chairs on the Ship of Fools

Sumo told me about this article at Alternet called Neocons on a Cruise: What Conservatives Say When They Think We Aren't Listening. Johann Hari, the reporter, set simple ground rules for himself when he booked himself as a guest on the National Review's annual cruise for Conservatives. He had one rule for himself:

If any of the conservative cruisers asked who I was, I answered honestly, telling them I was a journalist. Mostly, I just tried to blend in - and find out what American conservatives say when they think the rest of us aren't listening.

If you have not read the article, you must. The cruise was organized through one of my competitors, which doesn't surprise me, and people paid a massive premium to join the cruise. But I looked into the one that just ended: Alaska, on the ms Noordam, July 29 - August 5, 2007 so you can't get on. However, when you click on the link, John Bolton's face pops up at you telling you he's just been added as a speaker. What is it about Neo-Conservatives that when they try to smile, they look like it hurts?

One of last year's cruise guests, Steven M. Warshawsky, wrote this article about his experience. He said

We weren't on the cruise for the sunny and scenic destinations; we were on it for the conservative camaraderie and bonhomie for which National Review cruises are well known. The NR cruises offer an unparalleled opportunity for ordinary folks like us to meet and mingle with leading conservative academics, commentators, and politicians.

Isn't that nice? Ordinary people getting to experience conservative camaraderie and bonhomie. How nice. Johann Hari describes this bonhomie well:

The etiquette here is different from anything I have ever seen. It takes me 15 minutes to realise what is wrong with this scene. There are no big hugs, no warm kisses. This is a place of starchy handshakes. Men approach each other with stiffened spines, puffed-out chests and crunching handshakes. Women are greeted with a single kiss on the cheek. Anything more would be French.

Sounds delightful. Mr. Hari mentions a Judge he encounters on the cruise who is the founder of Canadians Against Suicide Bombing Mr. Hari asks him if there would be many members of Canadians FOR Suicide Bombing, and the Judge, confused, replied that yes, there would be. Hmmmm. Yet at dinner, one of Mr. Hari's table-mates said, regarding the United Nations building in New York, "They should suicide-bomb that place."

Mr. Hari confronts Kenneth Starr:

Mr Starr, do you feel ashamed that, as Osama bin Laden plotted to murder American citizens, you brought the American government to a stand-still over a few consensual blow jobs? Do you ever lie awake at night wondering if a few more memos on national security would have reached the President's desk if he wasn't spending half his time dealing with your sexual McCarthyism?

Starr replies with a series of legalese versions of "It's not my fault." No accountability. No concern. Conflicting morals. A cruise fueled by hate. Not a way I want to spend MY summer vacation.

I don't feel good

My nose is stuffed, my throat is sore, my chest is congested, I'm coughing, and I'm in a bad mood. Don't mess with Diva Jood when she's in a bad mood. Oh, and yes. I have to go to work now.

So I will post a picture of Alaska instead of having any rational thought today.

Tuesday Post for Peace

It is said that a person who folds 1000 Paper Cranes will be granted one wish.

August 6, 1945 was the real day that will live in Infamy. On that date, the United States became the first, and so far, only nation, to use Nuclear Weapons against other human beings. And we did it again, three days later. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki created a class of people known as the hibakusha (A-bomb victims and survivors). It is essential to learn from them. They survived the most inhumane act, infernal pain and suffering, and have opted for a path of reconciliation. Their wish: “I want no one else to suffer the way I did”.

But the Hibakusha's average age is over 70 years - they will not be with us forever. They have so far effectively prevented the third use of atomic weaopons; their goal is a complete elimination of such weapons. War is not the answer, and this genie must be put back in the bottle.

And as my own country devolves further and further into a totalitarian regime devoid of conscience and decency, I see it all falls to us. To me. If I must fold 1000 paper cranes to create peace, I will do so. I don't believe that the citizens of the United States are inherently evil; so why do we allow evil in our government? I will fold 1000 paper cranes, and this is also my wish:

This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.

Post #501: Outsourcing Intelligence

Harriet Hands George the Osama Memo - Logo by Tengrain of Mock Paper Scissors

Today is the six year anniversary of the Presidential Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US."

This July 31st article in Alternet both confirms the date of the PDB, and walks us through the outsourcing of the most sensitive national security document: the President's Daily Brief.

We all know about Blackwater USA, which bills itself as "the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world." That's a fancy way of saying they are paid mercenaries. Founded in 1997 by an ex-Navy Seal, Blackwater was awarded a $21 million no-bid contract in August, 2003, to supply security guards and two helicopters for Paul Bremer, the head of the U.S. occupation in Iraq. The company also provides security for food shipments in the Fallujah area.

But what is not generally known is that the secret side of the Iraq War and the larger "war on terror" is also conducted by private corporations, fielding private spies. The reach of these corporations has extended into the Oval Office. Corporations are heavily involved in creating the analytical products that underlie the nation's most important and most sensitive national security document, the President's Daily Brief (PDB).

A question was raised in the comments to my post about King Dick, Granny asked "Who is pulling Dick Cheney's strings?" The answer becomes clear when we learn that 70 percent of the intelligence budget goes to private contractors.

And this is true of every branch of our Intelligence Network. Between 50-60% of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, which is responsible for the gathering of human intelligence, comes from employees of for-profit corporations.

Corporate intelligence professionals from companies such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC and others are thoroughly integrated into analytical divisions throughout the intelligence community, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It is the ODNI that produces the final document of the President's Daily Brief.

It was the PDB that warned on August 6, 2001, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US." Of course, the PDB has all kinds of corporate logos printed all over it, and the Alternet article indicates that it is almost impossible to tell if the work is the government's, or the corporate intelligence-gathering.

Concerned members of the intelligence community have told me that if a corporation wanted to insert items favorable to itself or its clients into the PDB to influence the US national security agenda, at this time it would be virtually undetectable. These companies have analysts and often intelligence collectors spread throughout the system and have the access to introduce intelligence into the system.

So when we have our most sensitive security analysis being done by people with allegiance to a private company, with private agendas, it tends to color that analysis. There is nothing fair, or balanced in any of this. It is all about who is going to turn a profit this year. Bush's allegiance is not to the citizens of the United States of America; it is to those various CEOs who drive the conversation. Cheney belongs to Halliburton.

And what do we expect of this Administration? Yesterday, August 5th, Mr. Bush signed into law a bill that broadly expanded the government’s authority to eavesdrop on the international telephone calls and e-mail messages of American citizens without warrants. I speak to people in foreign countries daily - I wonder how many of my conversations will be monitored? Free travel advice, get your fiber optics monitoring systems while they're hot!

Can this be fixed? Yes. It would take the Director of National Intelligence to develop a spine, acknowledge the problem, and mustering the political will and leadership to work toward a solution. It would take Congress to step in and Impeach those in charge who have consistently broken the laws of our nation. Speak up, people. Speak up.

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

I love my swimming class, because I love the water. Mommy goes with me. When Mama visited last week, she went with me too and stayed on the pool deck taking pictures of me, and of Mommy. Mommy lifts me up out of the water and then puts me back in and I laugh and then I do reach and pull, reach and pull, and then I do kicks and then we sing songs and we have fun. When I am going to swim class, I sing "pool, pool, pool" all the way there. And I cry when I have to leave.



And when Mama took this picture, Mommy and I were saying "CHEESE" because I think that's funny. Bye bye, I have to go to school now and play.

King Dick

Hat tip to Mentarch, who refers to VP Cheney as "Regent Cheney." Mentarch builds a case for Cheney's Office of the Unitary Regency of the U.S.A. (O.U.R.U.S.) here, and here, and here, confirming for me that Richard Cheney is the most dangerous man in the United States.
Earlier this week on CNN, Cheney told Larry King

I made the decision when I signed on with the President that the only agenda I would have would be his agenda, that I was not going to be like most Vice Presidents, and that was angling, trying to figure out how I was going to be elected President when his term was over with.

But there is no need to angle to figure out how to become President after Bush is out of office, because Cheney has been calling the shots since day one. King asked Cheney "Does it pain you when Brent Scowcroft says, 'This is not the Dick Cheney I knew'?" The response says so much via a slip of the tongue:

Brent doesn't walk in my shoes these days. He's not in the job I'm in. He's not responsible for making the decisions the President has had to make and those of us who support him and advise him.

So it does beg the question: is Cheney indeed confirming that HE is responsible for making the decisions the President has had to make? Sure sounds like it to me.

Hankies and Pankies galore

A little while ago, Peacechick Mary created the Mega Meme to End All Memes. So the winners were announced yesterday with appropriate fanfare and other cockamamie whatsitz, and yes, my bribe worked. I am a winner. One of six. Of course, there were only six entries, so what can I say?

Peacechick Mary wrote:

Since nearly everyone I visit has been tagged, here is what I propose: We hold a final runoff and select the Greatest Thinker of All Time (for the moment) and the Biggest Fat Ass Schmoozer. Now tell me you aren't lusting for one of those faabulous titles? All you have to do is write a post using two keywords (see below) linked to ending the war in Iraq. Our distinctive panel of judges will select the winners and post the results by the end of the month.

Keywords - Lust and Bee

Well. There we are.

Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal

I don't have photoshop. If I had photoshop, I would re-do the venerable Wall Street Journal as one of Rupert Murdoch's rather tawdry shock-sheets. Now, some people might not see this as change - after all, The Wall Street Journal is geared toward business readers, and it has been Conservative for years. But what it has not been is cheap, or sensationalized, or dishonest, or fearmongering. It has been respectable.

Not now. Now it will belong to Rupert Murdoch, who also owns Fox News OPINION.

But I hope that someone with photoshop will re-do the Wall Street Journal so it fits well with THESE: