Rock ‘n Roll for Truth, Justice, and the American Way

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Bruce Springsteen might not be superman, but he’s coming close these days.
I stayed up late to watch him on Nightline with Ted Koppel, who threw some very tough and legitimate questions at The Boss — who answered with obvious thoughtfulness and intelligence.
Springsteen’s Op Ed piece in the NY Times today is even more eloquent. It begins with this:
A nation’s artists and musicians have a particular place in its social and political life. Over the years I’ve tried to think long and hard about what it means to be American: about the distinctive identity and position we have in the world, and how that position is best carried. I’ve tried to write songs that speak to our pride and criticize our failures.
These questions are at the heart of this election: who we are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics. Instead, I have been partisan about a set of ideals: economic justice, civil rights, a humane foreign policy, freedom and a decent life for all of our citizens. This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out.
Through my work, I’ve always tried to ask hard questions. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the world finds it so hard to keep its promise and faith with its weakest citizens? Why do we continue to find it so difficult to see beyond the veil of race? How do we conduct ourselves during difficult times without killing the things we hold dear? Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?
The rest is just as good.
Springsteen said something to Koppel that he doesn’t say in the Times, in response to a question about the ethics of artists using their influence in the political arena. His answer not only affirmed that artists are intelligent enough to have informed opinions about politics and government, he also reminded Koppel that lobbyists try to influence politics and government all of the time. When Koppel countered with the fact that lobbyists use their influence so that the companies they represent can sell more “widgets,” so is a “personal thing,” The Boss had the best answer of all. He said that it it’s even more personal for him because he’s concerned about the country that his kids are growing up in. It’s very personal for him.
As it is for all of us.
Bruce Springsteen, American champion of Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
Rock on.
And Vote For Change

b!X gets picked

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….PC [Portland Communque]overcomes the banality of the personal weblog with insightful original reporting and gives otherwise impenetrable news a human spin. Commenting on all the events we don’t have time to attend and posting with the regularity of a Metamucil dealer, b!X is clearly Portland’s new Blog Baron.
So say the staff of the Willamette Week out there in Portland, Oregon. And the newspaper’s readers concur, naming his the “best local weblog.”
Read about the whole Metamucil metaphor here.
OK. So, where is that rich patron who will keep his PC from going the way of Jack Bog’s gone blog???

The Terror of the Bush Twins

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I’m passing this along from non-blogger myrln, who always gets it right.
Okay, when there’s a terror threat in Saudi Arabia, or Israel, or elsewhere in the world, what does the US do? It tells Americans to leave. When Cheney goes to Washington, he goes to his “undisclosed” location.
Jump cut to NYC. Monday. Financial buildings under high security because of increased terror level/alert. Trucks, cars stopped. Williamsburgh Bridge closed. Other bridges backed up for hours. Barriers at Wall Street and Citicorp. Then who shows up at the Citicorp building for lunch? Why it’s Laura Bush and the Bush twins! It’s true, they did.
Yeah, terror alert. Right. Don’t you believe for a sec anybody was using the alert system to politick. They wouldn’t do that. Uh-uh.
And yesterday, a United Airlines plane from Boston to Washington had to divert to Albany. Why? To pick up the Bush twins who’d been partying upstate. Word is the 120 passengers were pissed at the diversion. But who cares? Hmmm…120 terrorists on one plane?

Bird Walking

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Yesterday, when I was out walking in the park, a couple approached from the opposite direction, and I noticed that the young woman had some sort of a pouch that was strapped to her front. At first I thought that she was carrying a backpack backwards. She was holding it so gently, however, that I decided that it must be a very small baby. As I passed them I looked over at the pack and realized that, inside, was a small, live colorful bird — bigger than a parakeet and smaller than a parrot. Live and learn.

As not for whom the whistle blows…..

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The following is from an Open Letter to Thomas Kean, Chairman Of The 9/11 Commission from FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds and make public on Scoop and Truthout.
Snipped from the first paragraph:
Unfortunately, I find your report seriously flawed in its failure to address serious intelligence issues that I am aware of, which have been confirmed, and which as a witness to the commission, I made you aware of. Thus, I must assume that other serious issues that I am not aware of were in the same manner omitted from your report. These omissions cast doubt on the validity of your report and therefore on its conclusions and recommendations. Considering what is at stake, our national security, we are entitled to demand answers to unanswered questions, and to ask for clarification of issues that were ignored and/or omitted from the report. I, Sibel Edmonds, a concerned American Citizen, a former FBI translator, a whistleblower, a witness for a United States Congressional investigation, a witness and a plaintiff for the Department of Justice Inspector General investigation, and a witness for your own 9/11 Commission investigation, request your answers to, and your public acknowledgement of, the following questions and issues:
And finally, the loud whistle of a last paragraph:
In order to cure a problem, one must have an accurate diagnosis. In order to correctly diagnose a problem, one must consider and take into account all visible symptoms. Your Commission’s investigations, hearings, and report have chosen not to consider many visible symptoms. I am emphasizing ‘visible’, because these symptoms have been long recognized by experts from the intelligence community and have been written about in the press. I am emphasizing ‘visible’ because the few specific symptoms I provided you with in this letter have been confirmed and publicly acknowledged. During its many hearings your commission chose not to ask the questions necessary to unveil the true symptoms of our failed intelligence system. Your Commission intentionally bypassed these severe symptoms, and chose not to include them in its five hundred and sixty seven-page report. Now, without a complete list of our failures pre 9/11, without a comprehensive examination of true symptoms that exist in our intelligence system, without assigning any accountability what so ever, and therefore, without a sound and reliable diagnosis, your commission is attempting to divert attention from the real problems, and to prescribe a cure through hasty and costly measures. It is like attempting to put a gold-lined expensive porcelain cap over a deeply decayed tooth with a rotten root, without first treating the root, and without first cleaning/shaving the infected tooth.
OK, everybody. Wet your whistles and blow before we become a truly toothless nation.

The Benefits of “Branding”

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The article by Karen Trimbath of Women E-News for which I was interviewed a while ago is now out there, complete with a photo of me. It’s a good photo. Of course. It’s two years old and now my hair is a little longer and my face is a little fuller. I gave her a couple of photos to choose from and she chose that one. Fine by me.
I think the things that Blog Sisters Jeneane and Shelley say in the article are a lot more astute than what I say. But that’s OK. We provide a good cross-section of approaches to how intelligent women approach blogging. (Yes, of course I consider myself intelligentj!)
Those involved in e-commerce and marketing write a lot about “branding.” I consciously “branded” myself online as the Crone. And I guess it’s paying off. After all, while my blogging is a self-satisfying activity, like most other bloggers, I also hope I have readers.

While Bush Conspires, Kerry Inspires.

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How does one ask a man to be the last one to die for a mistake.
That, or something very much like that, was part of the young John Kerry’s remarks when he testified before the Senate Committee after he returned from the Vietnam War.
It seems to me that, before he went to Vietnam, he was a military innocent — believed that serving the miltary goals of his country was the right thing to do. While there, he became aware of (as he also testified) the raping, the torturing, the senseless killing of innocent Vietnamese villagers by American soldiers. So, he changed his mind about the wisdom of serving that particular goal of his country. And he hung in there as long a he could, did his best, and opted out.
And then he opted into the peace movement. He changed his mind based on his own war experiences.
As someone on tonight’s CNN Born to Run program on Kerry said, anyone who has fought in a war and killed people and doesn’t come back advocating peace — well, there’s something wrong with them.
Kerry’s also accused of changing his mind about supporting the war and on other issues as well. Only simpletons see the Iraq issue as a simple one. And it has only gotten more and more complex since those early Senate votes to support the troops in Iraq.
And only simpleton and untruthful politicians hide from voters how much horse trading they do to get any bill passed that has anything in it that they support. Having worked for a Republican Senate Majority Leader in my home state, let me tell you — it’s a wonder anything good ever gets voted into legislation. Kerry admits that he had to play that political game to get any of his priorities even considered. Only a simpleton would believe that anyone can survive in politics and not spend an awful lot of time struggling to stay afloat the constantly churning political waters. And only a devious politician will deny that it happens. Kerry doesn’t deny it. He understands complexity and, unlike Bush, is not afraid of it.
While Bush gets an idea and holds onto it come hell or high water, Kerry stops, thinks, and is not afraid to change his mind based on experience and evidence. It takes courage to change your mind and leave yourself open to the simplistic criticism of your opponents.
While Bush conspires, Kerry inspires.