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Connecticut Opposes the War Rally!
So, I've been organizing for our state's anti-war group since January (hey - I needed a gig since the campaign ended!). In February, we held 21 town meetings around the state, with the purpose of doing some local organizing for the big rally today. We had hundreds of people at these meetings - it was fantastic. So, much planning, organizing, and anticipating for the big day - and then, the storm came. A huge Nor'easter yesterday. Arrggh! Long conference calls were held to decide whether to postpone until next weekend or not. Finally, what with not being able to secure the venue for the following week, and all the trouble we went through getting the police to agree to this thing in the first place, we decided to go ahead. We had buses from every corner of the state, so we encouraged folks to ride the buses if the roads were bad. We were really unsure of how many folks would actually show up, as every single other event in the state was canceled or postponed today. Including the St. paddy's Day parade. And they NEVER cancel parades!Aldon, Fiona and I got there about an hour early to help set up. The roads were clear, though it took us several hours to get our of our driveway. There was about 6 - 8 inches of snow on the lawn, but the courtyard of The Old State House had been thoroughly cleared. Microphones were set up, chairs for the elderly and disables, etc. Everything was ready - how many people would show up? I ran around, nervously waiting for the speakers to arrive.
3 pm - people started showing up - buses dropped off crowds, the SEIU was out in force, and the courtyard started filling up. All the speakers got there on time, and a lovely woman with a guitar started singing Tracey Chapman songs. Fiona danced with abandon, and handed out signs we had made last night. It started looking crowded, and all the appropriate TV cameras went on. The MC was someone I had gotten to know through the Lamont campaign, <a href=http://www.mtaerybaptist.org/About_Us/pastor.html> Pastor Bennett</a> from Bridgeport's Mt Aery Baptist church. Man, he knows how to wind up a crowd. We had several of our Congressfolk, the state majority leader, the President of the AFL-CIO in CT, and two recent Iraq vets. The energy in the air just buzzed, and we chanted, sang, and cried together. Senator Lieberman was roundly booed as a vigil outside his office was announced for Monday. Buckets were passed, and people gave generously to the cause. Everyone was thrilled to be there - from wee ones, to veterans, to the wheelchair bound, to grandmas and great grandpas. Last count I heard was 1500 people. 1500 people! On a cold, wet day. If it hadn't stormed so badly the previous day, we would have doubled that, but I am home - happy and tired and glad we did it.
You can see some pics after the jump.
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Hey, we are first. back to tell other thread.
Great firsties seashell!
Lamont is now rallying with Chris Dodd.
Hillary Clinton supporters better kick it in gear on the pulse poll. Bill Richardson is gaining.
Joan, Newt DID! Sadly, Newt served his wife divorce papers WHILE SHE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL recovering from a Cancer operation.
the next generation is in good hands with the likes of Fiona
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Congrats on Firsties from away, Sea! ♥
Take care down there!!
Send me email sometime and tell me what you're up to!
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listener, your link doesn´t take us to Elizabeth´s page. My heart goes out to her and the family. I have a candle here in my apartment and i´ll lite one today when I return.
Fire sent me a great article about Soros coming out against AIPAC and how the dems are whining about that. Shame on all of them, including Obama who again is on my don´t vote for list. So what is Soros now going to do with his money?
Gore-Soros´money
Shame on the dems in general and I never trusted Pelosi and if she surprises me, good. But the paygo the supplemental would have shown me and other dems that they mean to stop bush. It´s realy gettig embarrassing to be an american traveling and i am so disappointed in the dems I really have no words to express it. )(/&%$
Life here continues to be a bestseller of misunderstandings, and most things going amusingly awry. Last night I had a cabbie who should be a stand up comic. He was explaining the street layout in Buenos Aires,...how a street will be one way for 2 blocks and then suddenly change names and reverse t 0 one way. he went on and on and i was literally laughing so hard my tummy hurt. He said that becuz of the streets, he needs to either start yoga and went öhmohmohm, or buy tranquilizers. His delivery was so perfect, so funny and he´s right. The layout is enuf to drive anyone crazy and I can´t figure out why they bother to mark lanes with those white lines. Nobody pays any attention and staddle the lines sometime 6 cars abreast in four lanes. But this guy was my favorite so far altho i had a driver the other night that must have thought i was having a baby and the head was crowning he drove so fast.
Stores close when they should be open, the internet goes down at random and I still have trouble finding the question mark...forget the slash...
I remember when I lived in Mxico it took 8 months to get a toilet seat and we had a huge party at my place in celebration. This place is like that in many ways.
Dancing incredible.
Good to see you have Firsties, Seashell,
I gave the wrong title for the Tom Bissell book. It's The Father of All Theings: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam. In the bibliography he describes Henry Kissinger this way: " A disgustingly evasive book from a thoroughy disgusting statesman." This referring to Kissinger's book, Ending the Vietnam War: A History of America's Involvement in and Extrication from the Vietnam War.
I think Thich Nhat Hahn is exactly right when he says, generosity is a requirement for peace.
We have to begin to understand our hearts, that the seven deadly sins of envy, greed, pride, sloth, gluttony, wrath, and lust, and I'll add my Catholic school girl's deadlies: murder and despair are part of the human condition. That the middle way, the Golden Mean, is what we can use for a balance, for peace, for good lives. We must get off the idea of war, superiority, domination, and oppression of others.
War is obsolete. But, we also must protect our environment, give back to it what we take, practice ahimsa (refusal to harm any living thing) and control our population, though I am worried that all the hormones in birth control pills are doing terrible damage to the bodies of young women. I've read that when the hormone induced depression occurs, doctors prescrible Prozac and other medications that enhnace mood.. We must find a way to control the population without doing harm. A huge task.
Phil, they're not on sale yet, but he is promising to set some aside. He said details to come, so I don't think there is a waiting list of sort yet....although, I better make sure.
I signed up on the Live Earth sight as soon as I found it, but you can here.
"Tickets are going to sell out fast, and I wanted to make sure that you have the chance to see the show. That's why we will set aside a special block of tickets and let AlGore.com members purchase the first ones sold. I will let you know more details before these tickets go on sale.
If you would like to learn more about the Live Earth concerts you can visit:"
http://liveearth.org
Video: Rep. Lynn Woolsey Speaks Out Against Supplemental
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2007-03-21 22:27.
Congress | Video and Audio http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=nod...
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey is leading efforts to block the Supplemental bill in the House to fund the war. Here's a video (wmv) of her speaking about this at a rally on Sunday in Fresno, California. Here's a video (wmv) of David Swanson on the same topic at the same rally. Here's an edited video (Quicktime) that includes Woolsey, Swanson, and others. Here's a video (wmv) of part of the march through Fresno that preceded the rally. Videos courtesy of Mike Rhodes. Event sponsored by Peace Fresno.
Fresno,CA -- 1,000+ of us cry out for peace....
See us on SunMt Chronicles: http://www.sunmt.org/march20chron07.html...
On IndyMedia: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/03...
The Iraq debate rages on, but leaders in Congress are kicking off another important fight—public financing of our elections. Top Democrats and Republicans just announced a groundbreaking bill to repair our democracy with fairly funded elections.1
Can you imagine if people could be elected to Congress without massive wealth and without begging for campaign cash from big donors? Congress wouldn't owe corporate lobbyists any favors. That's why those very lobbyists will work overtime to kill this exciting reform.Let's work to make Congress answer to the people. The first step is to gather 200,000 signatures for this petition: "Congress must pass public financing to make our elections fair."
Please click here to add your name to the petition:
http://pol.moveon.org/fairelections/
After you sign, forward this email to your friends, co-workers, and family to spread the word.
This is our best chance ever to advance the cause of public financing for fair elections. The idea's been proven in numerous states, and with the new Congress, this effort has a real shot.2 It will take hard work, but public financing of elections has become a personal passion for two of the most powerful senators in the country—the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). This bipartisan effort is unprecedented.
The Fair Elections Now Act would let candidates run on their ideas, not how much money they can raise. Candidates would qualify for public financing by raising small donations from enough voters to show they have real grassroots support. If their opponent opts for private fundraising, publicly financed candidates would receive extra funds to match dollar for dollar.3
The money for the Fair Elections system would be raised by charging a new fee to big media companies. Media companies use the public airwaves to make huge profits from political ads every election season.
Beating back the lobbyists and winning this reform won't happen overnight, but today we begin a crucial fight for fair elections.
Sign this petition to make Congress answer to the people: "Congress must pass public financing to make our elections fair." Clicking here will add your name:listener, I can barely get to a computer much less send notes to people. I don´t have a computer in my apartment so I just come here at random when it´s open.
I do have a quick story tho. The nightwatchman told me he has fallen totally in love with me and that it happened at first sight. If I lived here, I´d date him. Hé´s has a angelic face and manner about him, besides beside good looking. He´s 70 and looks 60. What am Igoing to do with him<' Last night as I came home from dancing, we talked a bit and he took my had and kissed it. If I had a peso for every time my hand has been kissed here,I´d be very well off.
Then there´s the Italian from Como who has his eye on me¨as well as his lips on my hand and cheek, and is leaving on the 3rd.
Not to mention the handsome Frenchman I met last year.
Oh, and the great dancer from Montreal.
So many men, so little time. lol
I can´t tell you how wonderful it feels to be so appreciated here. One man said, ¨Women don´t have ages. Several men have said, ¨¨American men are cold, aren´t they? Compared to these men, Yes yes and more yes. They have their flaws, but they are romantic, chivalrous, open doors, compliment us all the time...they truly love women. And they are not afraid to tell us.
And they are touchers and cheek kissers. I just love the warmth of Latins and Europeans.
enuf for now, keep well.
besitos,
sea
War is obsolete.
__________________________________________________________________________
No pat.............it is not, for some nations and some peoples...........its a way of life, a national honour, an excuse to keep building more potent and terrible weapons...............a country like ours should be leading the way to disarmamanent, not escalation.....................again I present the british production of "Threads"............our smart alecks in Congress should view this 10x over...............the end of society as we know it, and all the flags, war memorials and statues end up meaningless in the final analysis.............................the phony politicians for all their meaningless speeches..........................
8.
Linda NM,
Yes, I remember that now, thanks, though I would prefer to ignore anything Newt does or ever did.
Thanks Phil, for posting the link to MoveOn. I signed it and commented:
Yes, Yes, Yes. It's about time. If we are to salvage this democracy, we've got to get special interest money and the exorbitamt amount of time involved in raising it out of our elections.
"I was just saying today, after reading Tom Bissell's The Father of All Things: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam, that appointing ambassadors and department heads because of the money they've raised for a condidate is to promote incompetence and do real damage to our reputation in the world and to the needs of our citizens at home.
Another book of great importance is American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges. We cannot allow our system to be corrupted by those who would exploit it and make it into a theocracy."
Michael Ellis, you are correct, but it should be obsolete. It's not even a source of population control. After major wars, the population explodes. Furthermore, with transportation, communication, the Internet, books, etc., it doesn't expand culture either.
A long time ago, a professor remarked that war was the beginning of literature, eg. The Illiad and the Odyssey. Well, we were just discussing this at our house: the Korean War that had no real ending; the Vietnam War when war babies and baby boomers had known more government benevolence than any other generation, suddenly the war hero became someone who had invaded antoher country without understandomg even what we were fighting for. Though people like Kissinger insisted it was the Domino Theory, after the fall of Vietnam, that didn't happen. In Bissell's book heremarks that though the North won the war, they nearly destroyed the country with their Marxism.
Frankly, there is in human nature a desire and need to protect, to be brave, to take huge risks, but it not only is wasted in places like Vietnam and Iraq, it's not necessary. We can do without war. We can learn about human nature. We can learn about other cutlures. We can use diplomacy, education, communication, cultural knowledge and exchange, and we can, we, of all people, should be generous. We can work for a better measure of equality and social justice. I believe we could do this, Michael.
Sorry for all the typos. I wonder what the next evoltion of text will be.
I believe we could do this, Michael.
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Yes Pat, you are wise................most on this board could also..............instead we are often called the looney left, weak on defense, cut and run, alarmists, defeatists............un American etc.........Katrina should be a warning sign.....look how a natural disaster like that resulted in a near/total collpase of services,health care food ,housing..martial law imposed.......lawlessness................
Pat,
No problem, makes everyone else know they're not alone:))
My daughter, the mother of four of my grands, now writes me in one complete block of text, no commas, no para breaks, no caps, no nothin'. She did so well in school too -- wha' happened? It formerly the teeny bopper style now being used by grads.
24. Joan.. HA! Thanks...you're the 2nd person who said that, which made me do some thinking...then I searched. I thought I deleted that. Now I have to decide being that it seems to have reappeared what to do. ???
well, now that Elizabeth Edwards is experiencing a recurrence, any bets on how long it will take ann coulter to start trashing people with cancer?
1, 10, 17 -- Seashell keep the picturesque posts coming! And keep those men at bay (I should have such a problem once in my life LOL)
Everyone you can vote in the True Majority office pool as to when Gonzales will step down and win a year's supply of ice cream.
http://www.truemajority.org/gonzales/
30
Susan
Nice to see they have that up. Sad to see what it says.
BTW, I'm surprised I didn't see this mentioned, or maybe it was and I missed it.
But after this latest bit of news, I would be surprised if the B O Campaign WASN'T involved in the 1984 video.
Joe Rospars seems to be having difficulties these days. I find it hard to believe that the guy who made the video, who worked for Blue State Digital, which is Joe Rospars technology company, in which Joe Rospars also works for the Obama, wasn't involved. Too many dots connect.
And firing the guy is the same game everyone plays when someone gets caught doing something that doesn't look good. Another fall guy. We're dealing with that now, again, in the Whitehouse even.
Is Blue State Digital still running DFA's system? Is that why there is unlimited voting on this Poll? Not restricted to members or one vote per computer? Maybe not. Maybe that's not why the votining was set up this way. But none of it is good.
"De Vellis was employed, until Wednesday, when he was unmasked, by Blue State Digital, the Washington, D.C., firm whose founders include Joe Rospars. Rospars is the Obama campaign’s new media director and oversees the extensive Obama Web operation. The Obama campaign contracts with Blue State to manage the server and provide only technical services."
OOps, forgot the link.
"De Vellis was employed, until Wednesday, when he was unmasked, by Blue State Digital, the Washington, D.C., firm whose founders include Joe Rospars. Rospars is the Obama campaign’s new media director and oversees the extensive Obama Web operation. The Obama campaign contracts with Blue State to manage the server and provide only technical services."
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/03/...
28.
well, now that Elizabeth Edwards is experiencing a recurrence, any bets on how long it will take ann coulter to start trashing people with cancer?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Jane,
Only if they are Democrats with cancer. Republicans will get a free pass.
35. I was just reading some horrific statements from the wingers, Someone wrote a diary at Kos - they are truly disgraceful.
Edwards is not my candidate but I wish nothing but the very best for Elizabeth and her family. Class act she is.
Dear Linda,
On December 22, 2005, just a few months after returning from an eleven-month tour in Iraq, our son Joshua took his own life. Like so many of the brave men and women who have fought in these wars, Josh was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
We made a conscious decision not to stay silent about our son's death. Josh's aunt Julie established a memorial site for our son, and we've been working with the media and veterans organizations to make sure his story is heard. If these efforts save one life and keep one family from going through this great sorrow of loss, it is worth it.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, which will mandate better suicide prevention training for VA staff, establish a referral system to make sure that vets at risk receive care and open a 24-hour veterans' suicide hotline. This bill has Josh's name on it, but represents so many men and women, before Josh and after, who were unable to live with the physical, emotional and psychological aftermath of their service for us.
Thank you so much for continuing to support IAVA and our young veterans. We would also like to thank Congressman Boswell for his steadfast work on presenting and assuring the passage of the Act in the House of Representatives.
It is now time to work on passage of the companion bill in the Senate, S.479 introduced by Senator Harkin. We're making progress, and it's time to get this bill into law, and get it out there so it can help those men, women and families that need it. Please call your Senators today, or send them a note, and tell them you support S.479. It is our duty and responsibility to do whatever we can to help our veterans survive the peace after their service.
Thank you.
Ellen and Randy Omvig
Parents of Spc. Joshua Omvig,
Iraq War Veteran
Joan* In*Florida
Thu, 03/22/07
2:44 pm
Reply to this
Pat,
No problem, makes everyone else know they're not alone:))
My daughter, the mother of four of my grands, now writes me in one complete block of text, no commas, no para breaks, no caps, no nothin'. She did so well in school too -- wha' happened?
------------------
I was on the dean's list in college, studying computers, but could not get a job because I had learned no usable skills, but the professors made sure I worked my ass off, so I felt like I was getting somewhere.
You can call me anti-education, but we really need some real changes. Don't use "reform" that word has been totally corrupted by neo-cons. We need a revolution, and the only ones who can do it is the Democrats, because every time some thing is suggested that the NEA and Unions disagree with, they call it "anti-education." They can get away with it with the Republican, but we are the only friends they have.
Not to blame it all on the teachers either, if fact we need more legal protection and personal security for teachers who have to deal with impossible classroom disrupting children, with parents that defend them.
Jean Wyant
Thu, 03/22/07
2:59 pm
Reply to this
well, now that Elizabeth Edwards is experiencing a recurrence, any bets on how long it will take ann coulter to start trashing people with cancer?
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We should be exposing the people CAUSING cancer and other degenerative diseases, like Alzheimers, Parkinsons, etc. All we hear about is more money for "the cure" from the same people working in the chemical, cosmetic, body care, plastic, construction, pharma, oil (where most of the raw material comes from) the companies making the products that is most likely are causing these diseases.
Get ready for another generation of rising degenerative diseases from the vapors and toxins from the unregulated Chinese manufacuring sector. Nobody is watching what comes into the proverbial store in our government either.
I just got a new plastic reading glasses lenses that I can't use because they gas-off something that smells like plastic cement, and it gives me a headache. Eyeglasses? Wait until the cell phones start taking their toll.
mainefem
Thu, 03/22/07
3:54 pm
----------------
Hey mainefem ! Long time - no see.
What do you call a liberated woman who chain smokes ?
A phleminist, maybe? 
Just a drop in. In defense of Amrican males. No, they are generally not romantic, but mostly they are honest, and I revere that. They also treat women as equals, expecting the same strength of character of women as they do of themselves.
Don't forget that those pioneer women did everything men did and more. Wyoming was the first state wherein women received enfranchisement, the right to vote. I've always admired and looked up to strong women, and while I appreciate courtesies and particular sensitivities, I require equality and honesty more.
I like American men. I dated men from other countries, and sometimes all that flattery was really a way of establishing superiority, and I found it somewhat irriating, not to mention demeaning.
Just my 2 cents. BBL
Pat in Colorado
Thu, 03/22/07
5:08 pm
Reply to this
Just a drop in. In defense of Amrican males. No, they are generally not romantic,
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You mean this ain't Romantic?
Big Grin! No, it ain't Fred, but you are honest, forthright, passionate, and you communicate wonderfully. That's top notich in my book. ; )
top notch!
41.
Not only do i try to not buy Chinese, i can't in many cases, particularly shoes. Something in the fabric or adhesive they use is reactive with my skin.
Mostly i have to go with Portugese of Brazilian shoes, just hope there's no blatant human rights issues that deter me there.
Well, heck, Pat! You just said what I was about to, lol!
If you think of your women as puppies or kittens, you pat them, purr to them, spat them, and make great fusses over them. Equality on the other hand is a great deal more work. . . And in the end, a great deal more fun. . . .
It's actually the reason I prefer Greek males over Italian, French, and South Americans. They listen, they share, and they don't pat you. . . .
Looks like Blister's Situation Room is trying to self-destruct. They have had an indicted Tom DeLay on two days this week promoting his book and under SEC investigation Bill Frist. Wolf sure does take to the crooks.
Fred, you are our pet.
MoveOn takes a membership vote before it takes a stand. very grassroots up. more so than DFA, they always ask for a vote
but to me the grassroots is like a native prairie with many complimentary species
Shout to Mainefem. YES, MOVEON's so-called poll was worded so poorly that it slanted the vote. They have stained their good name. Moveon has become the voice of the sellout center and not a progressive force in my view. What a disappointment they've become. Too much desire to be in the "in" crowd in Washington.
Phil, you can't seriously say their vote wasn't slanted by the wording in their message. Moveon seriously distorted the debate and the bill to its members.
I knew exactly what I was voting for, and I think most members did.
We want a supplemental that Bush vetoes. wording neutral questions is very difficult
before you can get out, you have to agree that the direction you need to go is out, and I think that is a significant development that virtually all Democrats have agreed
41.
Get ready for another generation of rising degenerative diseases from the vapors and toxins from the unregulated Chinese manufacuring sector. Nobody is watching what comes into the proverbial store in our government either.
Wow, Fred, great points need calling attention to. Thank you.
I haven't forgotten you, Monica--if my personal life ever calms down to a rolling simmer (not quite yet!), I'd love to come down in June to Manchester/D-Fest!
Thank you for thinking of me...will be in touch, either way.
we are headed for a major showdown. Are you with Pelosi or not?
a little early to bail on our new Speaker don't you think?
I come to this from a background of getting a diverse group of Democrats (Iowa's Platform Committee) to agree to exact words
we have spent literally hours arguing over a couple of words
sometimes you want to accomodate a certain bias with your choice of words but I don't think that was the case here
neutral wording is difficult to achieve<
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By seashell on Mar 22, 2007 1:04 PM EDTDean and Argentina are almost first!!!!