This Syria Affair

I am so tired of hearing these talking heads making hay out of this Syrian affair that I want to scream. My undergraduate major at the University of Kentucky was diplomatic history. I have a good idea how diplomacy works. That the so-called media experts can’t look below the overt and see what has been going on behind the scenes is absurd.

Let’s fantasize a bit and look at this scenario:

The scene: the 2013 G-20 summit in St. Petersburg. It is between sessions. Pres. Obama and Pres. Putin meet “informally.”

Obama: Neither one of us wants the United States to attack Syria. How about this plan. Since Syria is a longtime Russian ally, you will suggest to Pres. Assad that Syria give up its chemical weapons making a U.S. attack unnecessary  That will solve the problem 100%.

Putin: I like the idea. I can take credit for preventing United States attack. Right?

Obama: Right!!!!!!!!

If you need me to spell it out: the threat of a missile attack on Syria is President Obama’s negotiating point—the big stick. All of the hoopla about the attack over the past two weeks was to convince the Syrians that the threat is real. Do you understand?

PreElection Messages

There should be no doubt in anyone's mind regarding my vote on Tuesday. If I am forced to live under another plutocratic regime such as the eight years Dubya and Chaney ruled us, I am considering ending my life--unless, of course, the GOP ends it for me by revoking Social Security and Veterans benefits. 

Lot's of warnings and other messages from like-minded folks are flying around the Internet, especially Twitter. Below are but a few videos made by people you may recognize:

Sarah Silverman:

Cher and Kathy Griffin:

Pauley Perrette:

Bill Maher:

Chris Rock:

Miscellaneous Videos:

And, finally, Bill Cosby:

Please!

If I am forced to live under another plutocratic regime such as the eight years Dubya and Chaney ruled us, I am considering ending my life--unless, of course, the GOP ends it for me by revoking Social Security and Veterans benefits.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRESIDENT OBAMA

Thank you for all that you are to so many millions of us around the world.

May all your birthdays bring you joy;
many, many, more
years to journey.

May each new day be more wonderful than the last;
discovering life's bounty;
filled with love, health, and happiness.

May your heart follow its path
through all that you do
as God continues to bless you.

I Was Overwhelmed by Fear

The massacre in Tucson really affected me. I have had to reevaluate my response to the political right wing. I find that the words of pundits such a Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin frustrate and anger me. However, frustration and anger are not the emotions that drive me. That is fear.

I was overwhelmed by fear. The rational basis of my apprehension is history. I’ll not go into that other than saying the action of the contemporary U.S. right wing parallel the end of the Roman Republic as well as the rise of 20^th Century dictatorships. I may expand on this in a future blog post. This fear is intellectual and rationale.

A second form of fear I experienced that is evinced by the words of the right wing pundits is purely emotional. Actually, this fear is closely related to grief and even more closely related to survival.

The extremists of the right wing have been threatening to do away with Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for decades. I survive because of Social Security and Medicare. Without them I would have no shelter, food, or health care. If the Republicans and Tea Party do take Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid away from the American people, many of us will die.

I said that this dear is purely emotional. I do not rationally believe that Congress will end these program, although there is the possibility that Congress can gut them. Whatever! When I have heard the vitriol of hate, prejudice, and oppression coming from the mouths of Glenn, Rush, and Sarah in regard to anything I believe is important, I want (and have) returned volley for volley (to use a Palin-type metaphor).

After reflecting upon the words that President Obama spoke in Tucson on Wednesday, I again remember that I cannot be driven by fear.

The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives - to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let's remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations.
I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here - they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.
That's what I believe, in part because that's what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us - we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.
Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called "Faces of Hope." On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child's life. "I hope you help those in need," read one. "I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles."
If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.
May God bless and keep those we've lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America." (Complete text HERE)

 
I regret that I have responded to the right wing, volley for volley. That action is not the Way of peacemaking. Also, being driven by fear is the way wars begin. I regret that I have allowed myself to be snared in that web.

There is, for me, only one way of not being driven by fear! It is simple: I must remember than I am not alone.

 

I Was Going to, But I Didn't

Last week I wrote in the comments of my Friday blog post that today (Tuesday) I would post more about my views regarding President Barack Obama becoming a Nobel Peace Prize Laurette. I've made several attempts to write such a post, but trashed (deleted) each.

The deletions were not because I have lost the pride I feel as an American in the awarding of the Nobel to my President. I remain very proud! Rather, I deleted what I wrote because, as I read each draft, I found that what I was saying was not only ethnocentric, but also pejorative towards those who had a different opinion of the Nobel award.

I believe that each of us has a right to our own opinions. More than that, in democratic societies we each have the obligation to have opinions and to share them with others. Therefore, I accept and celebrate whatever your opinion is of President Barack Obama becoming a Novel Peace Prize Laurette


That said, let me move on to something more personal that I am celebrating'

Yesterday afternoon I posted on FaceBook these words:

My physical therapist just left. Today I achieved my goal of walking down the street and around the corner to the coffee house and back!

The two series of physical physical therapy that I have undergone in the past few months have not only renewed my ability to walk a couple of blocks, but have also reopened a part of life that has been closed much too long. I am very thankful to the physical therapists, Jo and Robert!

Robert, my last physical therapist

Jo, my first physical therapist

I began weightlifting, which became body building, with a set of weights that I received for Christmas when I was 13-years-old. By the time I was 15-years-old I was developing into a, uh, hunk. (I have tried to locate a photo of myself from that period, but could find none. I believe that they are in boxes of photos that my ex-wife borrowed about 11 or so years ago).

I continued exercise discipline until midway through my university years when other pursuits (including pursuing) took priority. Through the years there have been periods in my life when exercise was important; however, there were others when I didn't even think about it.

As most of you know, about six or so years ago I fell apart-- physically, spiritually, socially, mentally, financially, and emotionally. I am not going into the details (if you scan through the 1,330 posts in this blog, you will be able to piece together most of the story).

I have been healing slowly over the past six years. These sessions of physical therapy have been primary in that process. I am doing things today that I could not do just a few months ago. Yesterday's walk was not only the achievement of a goal, but a renewal! This morning I again walked up the street to Frankfort Avenue and its little shops. Tomorrow I plan to do the same.

I may never again be the hunk I was 48 years ago, but think I am becoming a functioning senior citizen!

My Schwinn Airdyne has also become a part of my exercise routine.

Bless You, Mr. President!

President Obama at the United Nations

I wonder what it must be like to be awakened from one's sleep and informed that you have become a Nobel Peace Prize Laurette? I shall never know; however, President Barack Obama now knows. Wonderful news!

In the brief time since I awoke to the BBC informing me of President Obama's honor, I have already encountered several complainers (on radio, TV, and Internet) questioning why our President deserved the honor. I suppose that is to be expected: there are those who will never see anything good or honorable in an African-American President.

Without going into detail, I can list these reasons why I believe that President Barack Obama is sdeserving of being named a Nobel Peace Prize Laurette:

• In less than a year, he has begun to change the image that the world has had since the Bush administration of the United States being a bully to being a friend.
• His administration has been willing to negotiate rather than threaten.
• He has moved toward healing rather than increased conflict and division.
• He has addressed the important issue of climate change which the Bush administration refused to do.
• And lastly, I personally see President Barack Obama as a peacemaker.

God bless you, Mr. President!
And, of course, congratulations.

Heat Update & a Few Other Quickies

Last night I slept in my bed rather than the living room chair for the first time since Saturday night. The stormy weather (at the moment it is 58 F) has cooled off my bedroom. 

I still have no information of the repair of my air conditioner, but I should be cool in the house at least another day; the weather is forecast to remain cool until Saturday, when the high is forecast as 88 F.

For the past few days my glucose level  has been the lowest (lower than what is healthy)  it has ever been since I began testing about a month ago. I wondered if that was because I have been too hot to eat?.

When I told that to Dan-el, the nurse who now visits me weekly, this morning , she went over the symptoms of Low Blood Sugar. Yep! Exactly how I've been feeling and  the result of me not eating. 

It sadden me to hear of the death of David Carradine.  I appreciated him as a human being, full of life and a roll model for many. When will the media talking head stop using the phrase this president and speak his name? That phrase was developed during the last administration to distinguish the then president from his daddy. I believe it is time to bury it.
I am still applauding President Obama’s Cairo speech. I wonder how the Muslim world is responding?

On Driving, Riding, Prostate, & More

I drove to the VA hospital yesterday and had no problem moving my right leg from the accelerator to the brake! I did have a problem finding a parking space; I drove around the parking lot for almost twenty minutes before deciding my only alternative was to park in a handicapped spot marked Side Lift Vans Only. But, hell! There were three of those spots sitting empty in the parking lot and I was running close to my appointment time. I feel not guilt at all for parking there.

Then I got to ride in my new wheelchair! It was wonderful having Tasha push me through the endless corridors of the hospital rather than my shuffling along with my cane, enduring the pain in the legs and back, and stopping every few steps to regain my breath! 

The “procedure” went well.  Yeah, having the doc finger my prostate was prickly, but I’ve been much more uncomfortable many, many times in my life.  More importantly, the doc was intelligent and talkative and didn’t treat me as if I were an imbecile, as the nurse practitioner who is my case manager at VA does. He and I decided that I don’t require a “sample” of my prostate for further analysis! That’s grand news!

Speaking of grand news, as I watched President Obama on TV last night, I was struck by his optimistic tone as well as his honest evaluation of the nation’s economic status and plan to recover.

To end this mishmash of a blog post, I want to share a video I encountered the other day of one of my favorite songs: Don’t Laugh at Me (Peter, Paul & Mary). Enjoy it, please!

Flush Rush & Some Family Updates

NEWS ARTICLE: 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched an online petition to express outrage at conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for saying he wanted President Obama to "fail."

A couple of automobiles ago, I had the one and only bumper sticker I have ever placed on a car. It read:

In responding to the comments to yesterday’s blog post, Winter Storm, Mom, & Alex, I provided updates on my mother’s status in regard to the present ice storm. For those who don’t read comments or don’t want to click back to that post, below I have coped the most relevant information:

• In the last contact I had with Mom today, she had no electricity, heat, or water. I asked her to telephone me as things change so as not tp unnecessarily us up her cell phone.

• You know, it isn’t the snow that causes the power outages; it’s the ice weighing down tree limbs that break and fall onto power lines that then break. The last I read, there 800 known line breaks affecting the power of about 500,000 consumers, the second worst ice storm in the history of the Commonwealth. It’s now estimated that some folks won’t get power for maybe 10 days.

• If worst comes to worst there are numerous shelters that have been opened across the Commonwealth for folks without heat and power. Since my mother lives within a major city, her wait for power may not be too long. My sister, on the other hands, lives on a farm in the hinterland. It may take her much longer to get power.

• The sound of breaking tree limbs, weighed down by pounds of ice, is a frightening and distressing noise. So far as I can tell, I have only one broken limb in my yard…

 

As for me and my leg, I have had two excellent nights of sleep. I wasn’t awakened from pain in my leg. Hopefully, healing is taking place.

“…an extraordinary day for civil liberties and our country”

Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote the above email yesterday in regard to four actions taken by President Obama on Thursday:

With four executive orders today, our new President:

• Ordered Guantánamo Bay shut down
• Banned torture
• Ordered a full review of U.S. detention policies and procedures, and
• Delayed the trial of Ali al-Marri, an ACLU client whose case is at the center of the Supreme Court’s review of indefinite detention policies. 

Personally, I had hoped that President Obama would take swift action to bring back into balance the civil liberties and human rights trampled on by the Bush administration over the past eight years. I did not, however, think that he would act so swiftly and directly!

As a “card carrying member” of the ACLU—a “Pinko” or even a “Commie” to some of my right-wing acquaintances—the chipping away at the civil and human rights so zealously guarded by those who wrote the Constitution of the United States by the previous administration has struck me as if I was being philosophically and emotionally scourged with a fascist cat-o-nine-tails.

There were times since the passing of The Patriot Act that I felt that I was living in Germany of 1935 when the Nürnberger Gesetze were passed. As I began to understand the significance and injustice of The Patriot Act as well as numerous Presidental Executive Orders, I began to speculate on the impending termination of justice, freedom, and liberty in the United States.  I perceived myself to be more than helpless as I remembered the words of German theologian and pastor, Martin Niemöller:

In Germany they came first for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me — and by that time, there was no one left to speak up.

When I received yesterday’s email from Anthony D. Romero, I suddenly felt a great weight being lifted from me. A balm of healing has been placed on my own wounds and those suffered by our nation and the Constitution caused by that imaginary fascist cat-o-nine-tails. Freedom and justice are returning to the United States of America!

So I responded to Mr. Romero’s suggestion that we thank President Obama for his swift and just actions. I joined numerous others in signing the following and emailing to our new President:

Thank you for taking decisive action on civil liberties—issuing four executive orders to close Guantánamo, end the military commissions, ban torture and delay the al-Marri trial. I am proud that in your first 48 hours in office you are beginning to free America from the civil liberties outrages and human rights abuses of the Bush era. I promise you my support as you continue to take actions to renew American justice and look forward to your next steps towards ending this national shame and restoring America's moral leadership in the world.

You, too, may join in the thank you to President Obama by clicking HERE.

Please Note: You do not have to be a citizen of the United States to join in the Thank You to President Obama. His actions impact more than us Americans!

 

We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32^nd President of the United States of America  

If I had a Hammer ~ Pete Seeger 

In Case You're Wondering...

This is how I'll be spending today:

Ally, Ally Oxen Free ~ The Kingston Trio

Let the Celebration Begin

In 1965, as an ROTC cadet and member of the Pershing Rifles fraternity, I marched in the Inauguration Parade of President Lyndon B. Johnson. It was an exciting experience for an eighteen year old. Although I had visited the District of Columbia before, there was something about the crowds and parties and celebration activities that really moved me—even as I felt the memory of the assassinated President John F. Kennedy saddening the festivities.

1965 was the last Presidential Inauguration I took a really meaningful interest in—until 2009 and the inauguration of President Barak Obama on next Tuesday. 

I really wish I could be there!

 

INAUGURATION EVENTS

SUNDAY, JAN. 18

_ Obama will kick off inaugural activities with a welcome event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday afternoon. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. Beyonce, U2, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Usher, Shakira, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban and James Taylor are among the musicians scheduled to perform.

_ Presidential Inaugural Luncheon and Fashion Show at the Ritz-Carlton.

_ EMILY's List Inaugural Luncheon with scheduled guests including Cabinet appointees Hillary Rodham Clinton and Janet Napolitano, Sens. Kay Hagan and Jeanne Shaheen, and North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue.

_ African-American Church Inaugural Ball at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

_ 2009 Latino Inaugural Gala with Marc Anthony at Union Station.

_ Aloha Inaugural Ball, organized by former Obama campaign workers, held at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel at 7:30 p.m.

MONDAY, JAN. 19

_ National Day of Community Service event: To honor Dr. King's legacy, Obama, Biden and their families, joined by Americans across the country, will participate in activities dedicated to serving others in communities across the Washington, D.C. area.

_ Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball, sponsored by the Texas State Society, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

_ Green Inaugural Ball at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Ball hosted by former Vice President Al Gore.

_ Huffington Post preinaugural ball at the Newseum.

_ Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts. Hosted by the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, among others.

_ A children's evening concert at the Verizon Center honoring military families. Event hosted by Michelle Obama, who will attend. Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers are among the entertainers.

_ Obama to attend three private dinners to honor former secretary of State Colin Powell, Biden and Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, for their public service. Dinners at the Hilton Washington, National Building Museum and Union Station.

TUESDAY, JAN. 20 (INAUGURATION DAY)

Gates to the Inaugural Ceremony open at 8 a.m. The inaugural festivities are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. They will include:

_ Musical selections of The United States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

_ Sen. Dianne Feinstein provides call to order and welcoming remarks.

_ Invocation by the Rev. Rick Warren.

_ Musical selection of Aretha Franklin.

_ Biden will be sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

_ Musical selection of John Williams, composer/arranger with Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet).

_ Obama will take the Oath of Office, using President Lincoln's Inaugural Bible, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts. Scheduled around noon.

_ Obama gives the inaugural address.

_ Poem by Elizabeth Alexander.

_ Benediction by Rev. Joseph E. Lowery.

_ The National Anthem by The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters."

After Obama gives inaugural address, he will escort outgoing President George W. Bush to a departure ceremony before attending a luncheon in the Capitol's Statuary Hall.

The 56th Inaugural Parade will then make its way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.

Later that day, the Presidential Inaugural Committee will host 10 official inaugural balls:

_ Neighborhood Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center.

_ Obama Home States (Illinois and Hawaii) Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center.

_ Biden Home States (Pennsylvania and Delaware) Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center.

_ Midwest Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center.

_ Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center.

_ Western Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center.

_ Commander in Chief's Ball at the National Building Museum.

_ Southern Inaugural Ball at the National Guard Armory.

_ Eastern Inaugural Ball at Union Station.

_ Youth Inaugural Ball at the Washington Hilton.

Unofficial balls include:

_ Congressional Black Caucus Inaugural Ball at the Capitol Hilton.

_ Creative Coalition Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts.

_ Recording Industry Association of America's ball for Feeding America.

_ BET's Inaugural Ball at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

_ Africa on the Potomac inaugural celebration at Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va.

_ Inaugural Purple Ball at the Fairmont Hotel.

_ Human Rights Campaign's Equality Ball at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel.

_ Inaugural Peace Ball at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

_ Impact Film Fund ball.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21

_ The president, vice president and their families will participate in a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.

Good-bye, Mr. Bush