The Progressive Blog Alliance HQ

Original post at P!

My Dear Friends and Allies:

I was not in the streets of Chicago forty years ago, but many of my close friends were. I will not rehash the details of those days, The Days of Rage that followed, nor the history and context of those times. All that is readily and copiously available.

As you reflect and, I hope, recover from yesterday's events, I urge you to think carefully and choose wisely in these next few days. There is great danger in unchecked emotion and thoughtless action. I hope you will not see martyrdom as an option.

We live in a time and place of ubiquitous mythology. While much of that mythology is recently contrived by the corporatocracy to justify its slash and burn juggernaut, a mythology has also been constructed by the Left to cover its steady demise over the four decades since the fiasco by the lake. I feel it my responsibility to discredit some of that mythology, and I will do it quickly and bluntly. It is best bludgeoned rather than surgically carved.

In spite of the fact that the Chicago Police Department made a fool of itself, more damage was done to the image of the Left than to that of the reactionary Right. Those few days, in fact, rang the death bells for any effectiveness that Port Huron might have hoped for.

Fleeing the House of Horrors is a work of feminist sociology... It is based on detailed interviews with 39 women in Ontario who had successfully left a relationship with an abusive male partner.

The book spends the first few chapters setting the stage in terms of past research and academic writing in the general field of male violence against women, including...

(See the full review at A Canadian Lefty in Occupied Land.)

All right. Sorry for taking this long. My job is really giving me a stressful time right now, so I can dedicate less time than I would like to this site.

Now, there are several problems:

• Spam comments were submitted like no tomorrow.
• Worse, spam nodes were being submitted like no tomorrow.
• People are still not on the blogroll.
• The captcha apparently doesn't work, in that it doesn't keep spam out but has been known to keep out legitimate users.
• The site allows unfiltered HTML posts, which is practically an invitation to hackers.

I have been approaching all of these issues in turn...

Ward and June al Cleaver and their two sons, Walli and Beav al Cleaver shown here in their Baghdad home.
The photo above is said to depict the President's vision of "the typical Iraqi family in the "post Saddam era,
by that I mean the era that is after Saddam," the President is reported to have said. The photo was leaked exclusively
to Worldwide Sawdust by an anonymous but highly placed source who told this reporter that "this will be the

Dear Cindy:

Last night Keith Olbermann told me that you have moved to a place of personal peace. I can certainly understand. Sometimes it seems to me that the only way to change our guilty species is by means of a rock from outer space. Our endless war is evidence that humans are no better than other beasts. We are as ripe for extenuation as the dinosaurs ever were. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to wipe clean man's guilty history and start fresh. Educating humans is a hopeless, thankless task. You gave it a noble try, Cindy. Thank you, mother Sheehan You are among the best of us all.
Nevertheless I didn't want you to leave without telling you about my debt to you. I quite probably owe you my life. At the least I owe you my new life.

Thank you Mitt Romney for that jewel of wisdom. So basically McCain is the only major Republican candidate against American use of torture. Oh, Rudy and Romney can say they want "enhanced interrogation techniques" but what does that actually mean? Here are six examples of identified enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA. The first three aren't too bad, but they get worse fast.

1. The Attention Grab: The interrogator forcefully grabs the shirt front of the prisoner and shakes him.
2. Attention Slap: An open-handed slap aimed at causing pain and triggering fear.
3. The Belly Slap: A hard open-handed slap to the stomach. The aim is to cause pain, but not internal injury. Doctors consulted advised against using a punch, which could cause lasting internal damage.

Watching congress do whatever it is that they do is like watching my screen saver, a lot of movement, a bit of color, a little cheap entertainment but ultimately a waste of time.

I would like to have 10 percent of the monetary value of the man hours expended by members of the House, the Senate, and their respective staffs that was piled atop the redolent heap of history's wasted gestures in the recent exercise in futility that was the fight over the Iraq supplemental appropriations bill.

Talking about electoral fraud on the Today programme yesterday, Jack Straw made the following comment:

'No party has a monopoly on a minority of bad people.'

Can anyone tell me if this makes any sense?

Thinking Through is a short volume of essays, most or all published originally in other venues over a number of years. Himani Bannerji is a Canadian academic whose politics are, as the subtitle would indicate, feminist, anti-racist, and Marxist. It is, however, a particular kind of Marxism, as much of her work develops themes from the work (and the particular reading of Marx) of Dorothy Smith...There are a number of important issues that Bannerji tackles in the book. The first major essay looks at the relationship between identity politics and class politics, and presents...

(See the full review here at A Canadian Lefty in Occupied Land.)

What has George Bush wrought?
While watching Joe Scarborough of MSNBC last night (May 1st 2007) it occurred to me that George W. Bush has wrought many changes in the American political landscape. I imagine that almost all of these changes were unintentional.

Suppliers in China have admitted to adding melamine to animal feed. The FDA
is trying to screen out the additive, which is now blamed for many pet deaths
Associated Press Photo

Recent polls show support for Dick Cheney at eighteen percent. Of course it is amusing to see support for this tyrant at such rock-bottom levels. Obviously it's laughable that Cheney has even a single supporter. That's not the point. The point is who are these people? There is a lesson to be learned here and it's an important one.
Who are these people? Who continues to support Dick Cheney (and by association, the President)? What should be done? Should these people be engaged in debate? If you do you will be wasting your time, time better spent stopping them. Should we teach them the error of their ways? "If they haven't learned by now," the saying goes. These dead-enders, to borrow a phrase, are people who would, for example, support the use of torture. Torture! Think about it!

Reflecting the desperation of the Repub warmongers who want to be President, yesterday Rudy Giuliani told New Hampshire Republicans that electing a Democrat in 2008 will result in another 9/11-type attack by terrorists.

Saying that America will be safer with a Republican in the White House and that, with a Democratic President "we will have more losses and it will go on longer", Rudy ginned up the Repub crowd and, shockingly, reached the conclusion that he, Rudy Giuliani, would be the best choice for a safe America.

Blogging can be an art form when you have a tumblelog

Thats what I have migrated too

Your welcome to visit

mini ZuD

Cul was still actively posting just last Sunday. He made no mention of any major problems in weeks worth of blogging, by my count. Suddenly, his domain expires on Monday. No explanation, no warning. His site's email address is gone, too. Does anyone know what happened, or how to get in touch with Cul?

http://www.deeperwants.com/cul1/homeworlds/journal/

I will pay his domain name fee, and the fee to his web-host , if we can find it. Anybody know it, or how to find it? Write me here or at my blog.

http://blog-me-no-blogs.blogspot.com/2007/04/wheres-cul.html

So you wanna wage a "war" on terror. Start by banning guns, all guns, all people. Pay attention!

Enough is more than enough. As I write, at least 32 people are dead at VT, the victims of a lone gunman, apparently with an assault rifle.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution:

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

OK, look, goddammit . . . it says, "a well regulated militia". Individual gun ownership has nothing to do with a well-regulated militia. And it's obvious that nothing here is well-regulated. We don't at all need a "militia" composed of individuals, except perhaps the National Guard. The Second Amendment was written at a time when individual states had no organized militias. During the Revolution, armies were created (read "bought") to respond to a specific threat, then disbanded when the conflict was over. Our Navy was created later to guard our shores and defeat piracy. Later, with guns in individual and army hands, we perpetrated the genocide of the tribes who first possessed Turtle Island.

The Gun Control Network reports:

Most Mass Gun Killers are also Legal Gun Owners - Research

The following data were prepared in the wake of the shooting in Erfurt, Germany, 26 April 2002.

In the 14 deadliest mass shootings committed in wealthy nations during the past 35 years:

• 79% of the victims were shot with lawfully held firearms (185 of 233 victims)
• 86% of these mass shooting (12 of 14) were committed by lawful gun owners

Many killers, like the 19-year-old who shot 16 people dead at his school in Germany, were previously law-abiding sporting shooters or pistol club members - men whose legal ownership of guns was not questioned by authorities until after the tragedy . . .

In a study of 65 high-profile multiple-victim shootings in the United States during 40 years, 62% of handgun shootings and 71% of long gun shootings were committed with legally acquired firearms (Violence Policy Center, 2001)

Private gun ownership in the 21st century should be a crime. Protecting private property is the police force's job. I remember at least two widely reported incidents in which kids were killed by an armed property owner who objected to their trespassing. Guns for "sport" hunting are an anachronism. Non-human species are enough in short supply without humans killing them for fun.

Here's the history of the "right to bear arms."

Here are some other stats, from he@lth:
# In 1998 (the most recent year for which there are statistics) 10 young people a day died from gunshot.

# Gun homicide is the fourth leading cause of death for young people 10-14 years of age and the second leading cause of death for young people 15-24. [National Center for Health Statistics, 1997.]

# Gunshot wounds are the leading cause of death for both African-American and white teenage males [Journal of the American Medical Association].

# One in six parents say they know a child who accidentally shot himself or herself with a gun [Harvard School of Public Health].

# A youth aged 10-19 committed suicide with a gun every six hours in 1995 -- 1,449 young people in one year [National Center for Health Statistics, 1997].

# At a national level, emergency room data verify that suicide attempts with firearms are almost always fatal -- for every gun suicide, there is less than one nonfatal injury. [Journal of the American Medical Association, 1995].

# Suicide is nearly 5 times more likely to occur in a household with a gun than in a household without a gun. [Kellerman, A.L. et al., N Engl J Med 327, 1993.]

# In 1996, 2 people were murdered by handguns in New Zealand, 15 in Japan, 106 in Canada, 213 in Germany, and 9,390 in the United States. [FBI Uniform Crime Report]

# Nine out of ten young people who are murdered in industrialized countries are slain in the United States [United Nations Children’s Fund report, "The Progress of Nations" quoted in St. Paul Pioneer Press, 9/26/93].

# Guns kept in the home for self-protection are 43 times more likely to kill a family member or friend than to kill in self-defense. [ Kellermann and Reay, N.E. Journal of Medicine]

# Every two years, more Americans die of gunshot than there were American soldiers killed during the entire Vietnam War [National Center for Health Statistics, Department of Defense Almanac].

Repeal the Second Amendment. Down with the NRA. Close down arms makers, dealers, and other merchants of death.

WHAT PART OF DEATH DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND, FOOL?

Does anyone know if there is there any truth to some GIs signaling that if they die in Iraq that they desire to have their remains (ashes) dropped or spread on President Bush's Texas ranch or personally delivered to him by a surviving family member? I've heard that the thinking is, the president had them killed therefore he owns them. Similar to you broke it you own it.

So,

I was visiting a blog I found while seeking and found more words about the CBS, radio personality, nappy haired ho fiasco.

The blogger was saying something to the effect of "Who would have known this man would have actually been fired. Usually, someone in the public eye would get a slap on the wrist along with some community hours or some cultural sensitivity training."

I commented saying something to the effect of

"I don't think what happened to that radio announcer has anything to do with public outcry. This is the media we're talking about, remember? Their motives are often obscure and convoluted, yet always related to money and power...."

I am homeless. This is the second time in a year that I've been so. It ain't easy.

Just about a year ago, I was laid off from a job I had held for four years. It was a pretty good job, doing research, geographic information systems, and data analysis for an institute at a local university. The layoff was unexpected. I drew unemployment for awhile, had an apartment.

Not long after the layoff, however, I went into a deep clinical depression, was hospitalized for awhile and have needed to spend a time recovering. Financially, however, I was a mess, lost my apartment, and spent several weeks in a local homeless shelter. Boy, did I learn a lot.

I got back on my feet, started looking for a job, got an apartment. I was doing all right, then got hit with another bout of depression and had to be hospitalized again.

Hospital bills, other unforeseen expenses, etc. I lost my apartment again about two months ago. So I'm homeless again, living in a shelter program.

I'm pretty lucky. (What?!! . . . "lucky"?!)

Yeah, lucky. Because the county I live in has a shelter which also provides a lot of services: substance abuse/alcoholism counseling, 12 step meetings, mental health care, including a psychiatrist, a case manager, job-hunting assistance, money management counseling, transitional housing, and connections to other services, like medical care. For free. It's not a great place, of course: dormitory living with people in a very wide range of situations, like real street bums, active alcoholics, junkies, crackheads, mentally ill folks, folks in crisis like me, folks who lost their jobs and can't find new ones, folks who lost relationships and/or got divorced and really screwed because of it, disabled veterans, released prisoners, and just damn unlucky, confused, and lonely folks.

But the place is fairly safe and the staff work hard. It got really fucking cold last week and the shelter crammed in as many folks as would fit. Food, clothing, shelter in a life-threatening situation.

This isn't true in a lot of areas in this country. But you probably know that. I read an article yesterday about a homeless man who was beaten to death by a gang of suburban kids. This has happened often in the past few years. It seems it's a brutal sport.

"Street people" are severely marginalized. Prejudices are still ubiquitous. Once in the circle, it's hard to get out. Many cities and communities either arrest homeless folks or just push them outta town (this is called "passing the trash"). Many places have no shelter or programs, other have just the bare minimum. Charity and humanity is in short supply. I know I'll make it through (with some help), because I'm smart, very employable, and resilient. There's sometimes very little hope for many of my brothers and sisters out here.

There aren't many, but there are some folks on our side:

Just Neighbors . . .

The Just Neighbors Mission

The mission of Just Neighbors is to raise awareness of the root causes of poverty and homelessness.

Just Neighbors brings to its participants a deep understanding of the reality of poverty and a deep empathy for people living in poverty. Congregations, nonprofit organizations, colleges, universities, and high schools are using the program to change attitudes, to recruit volunteers, and to empower them as advocates for their neighbors in need.

The entire Just Neighbors experience is designed to foster a sense of community among the participants. It is an engaging, thought-provoking curriculum that offers a wealth of resources and materials along with the flexibility to make the program work in the widest possible range of settings and organizations.

National Coalition for the Homeless.

The National Coalition for the Homeless, founded in 1984, is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission. That mission, our common bond, is to end homelessness. We are committed to creating the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to prevent and end homelessness. At the same time, we work to meet the immediate needs of people who are currently experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of doing so. We take as our first principle of practice that people who are currently experiencing homelessness or have formerly experienced homelessness must be actively involved in all of our work.

Core Principles

* Every member of society, including people experiencing homelessness, has a right to basic economic and social entitlements of which safe, decent, accessible, affordable, and permanent housing is a definitive component.

* It is a societal responsibility to provide safe, decent, accessible, affordable, and permanent housing for all people, including people experiencing homelessness, who are unable to secure such housing through their own means.

* All people, including people experiencing homelessness, who are able to secure safe, decent, accessible, affordable, and permanent housing through their own means need economic and social supports to enable them to do so.

* People experiencing homelessness deserve access to safe, decent, accessible, affordable, and permanent housing through the same systems and programs available to people with housing.

* People experiencing homelessness have unique needs and life circumstances that may be addressed through housing programs designed specifically for them.

* All people should have equal access to safe, decent, accessible, affordable, and permanent housing regardless of their unique needs or life circumstances.

* Universal access to safe, decent, accessible, affordable, and permanent housing is a measure of a truly just society.

National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Our Work
The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a leading voice on the issue of homelessness. The Alliance analyzes policy and develops pragmatic, cost-effective policy solutions. We work collaboratively with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build state and local capacity, leading to stronger programs and policies that help homeless individuals and families make positive changes in their lives. We provide data and research to policymakers and elected officials in order to inform policy debates and educate the public and opinion leaders nationwide.

The Ten Year Plan
Guiding our work is A Plan: Not a Dream—How to End Homelessness in Ten Years. The Alliance’s Ten Year Plan identifies our nation's current challenges in addressing the problem and lays out practical steps that can be taken to change its present course and truly end homelessness. The announcement of this plan started a snowball effect that is now felt across the country. The Administration and Congress have adopted significant parts of the Ten Year Plan as policy goals. Opinion leaders have begun to echo the language and key concepts of the plan and communities and states across the nation have taken up the challenge to end homelessness. Hundreds of communities are developing or have implemented plans to end homelessness within ten years. Across the country, the movement is growing. Now more than ever, our nation is poised to end homelessness.

Homelessness is fundamentally an economic problem. These and other groups, agencies, and programs are trying to address this. Especially under the regime of the Doubleduh-Chainey Gang, it seems an impossible task. But we must try.

On a personal note, we're doing a fundraiser here at P!to keep me alive (and in cigarettes and bus fare) as I look for a job. My finances are trashed and I can use whatever help I can get. Please. Just donate what you can, if you can - I'll be more grateful than you can imagine.

Thank you.

Be at peace.