Veterans for Peace "Walk to New Orleans"

Every Bomb Dropped on Iraq Explodes Along the Gulf

About the March

MARCH-CARAVAN SCHEDULE

13 MAR 06

3 PM - 4:30 PM

Press Conference at 100 Bessemer Avenue, Prichard, AL. Remarks from
Paul Robinson , President (MOBILE CHAPTER (Chapter 130) -- VETERANS FOR PEACE); from Michael McPhearson (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR -- VETERANS FOR PEACE); from Kelly Dougherty (FOUNDING MEMBER -- IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR); and from Vivian Felts (SAVIN' OUR SELF -- [SOS]); Scott Saterwhite, President (PENSACOLA CHAPTER (Chapter 135) -- VETERANS FOR PEACE).

14 MAR 06

5 PM - 6:30 PM

Moss Point/Pascagoula Press Conference and Survivor Speak Out.

BASIC REPRESENTATIVE OPENING REMARKS (30 minutes):  David Cline,
Vietnam Veterans Against the War, President -- Veterans For Peace;  Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace (Former Foreign Service Officer, Retired
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army);  Michael T. McPhearson, National
Executive Director -- Veterans For Peace;  Stan Goff, Veterans For
Peace, Military Families Speak Out (Retired Special Forces Master
Sergeant, father of Iraq veteran);  Michael Dean Cuzzort, Iraq Veterans
Against the War (hurricane survivor from New Orleans, veteran of
Afghanistan);  Camilo Mejia, Iraq Veterans Against the War (war
resister, went to prison to protest the war in Iraq, combat veteran of
Operation Iraqi Freedom);  Kelly Dougherty, Iraq Veterans Against the
War (combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, co-founder of IVAW);  
Paul Robinson, Veterans For Peace, Hurricane Survivor, Savin' Our Self
(SOS);  Vivian Felts, Hurricane Survivor, SOS;  Niki Wilson, Relief
Worker, Slidell Louisiana.

Cynthia Seawright-Wright, a hurricane survivor and recovery organizer
will introduce the work of Outreach of Love; Four local survivors will
tell their stories; Iraq Veteran Jesus Bocanegra OF IVAW and talk about
the war in Iraq and his impressions of the Gulf Coast.

15 MAR 06

6 AM
First Call. (This is a general wake-up call, done with three short
blasts of an air horn. It will not be followed up. It's just a courtesy
alarm clock. The goal is to have everyone on the bus by 8 AM.)

6 AM - 8 AM
Coffee, Breakfast, Hygiene, Packing. Home stays return to camp.

8 AM - 9 AM
Shuttle to starting point, Leg 3 - Old Spanish Fort & Museum,
Pascagula, MS. Message at Spanish Fort, delivered to press in remarks
by IVAW member, Camilo Mejia. Just as the Spanish pushed out the Native  Americans, the US Government is now trying to push out hurricane survivors. We cannot let this stand, and the military must not be used this way around the world or in the Gulf.

9 AM - 12 PM
March Leg 3; from Pascagoula to City Hall in Gautier, MS (pronounced
Go-SHAY).

12 PM - 1 PM
Lunch. Local speak-out with Gautier hurricane survivors. Opening
remarks from Reverend McCoy of Mt. Pilgrim AME Zion Church, Gautier.

1 PM - 1:30 PM
Shuttle to starting point, Leg 4 -- Hwy 90/Hwy 57 Junction, Ocean
Springs, MS.

1:30 PM - 4 PM
March Leg 4; 90/57 Junction to Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Ocean Springs.

4 PM - 4:30 PM
Vigil at MS Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Dave Cline, of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and National President of Veterans For Peace, will make remarks alongside Vietnamese immigrant and hurricane survivor now living in Mississippi; another wrong war. Larger group will leave individual flowers.

4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Press Conference at Macedonia Baptist Church" Benediction and welcome from Reverend Jesse Trotter, Bible Study Baptist Church.

BASIC REPRESENTATIVE OPENING REMARKS (30 minutes):  David Cline,
Vietnam Veterans Against the War, President -- Veterans For Peace;  Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace (Former Foreign Service Officer, Retired
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army);  Michael T. McPhearson, National
Executive Director -- Veterans For Peace;  Stan Goff, Veterans For
Peace, Military Families Speak Out (Retired Special Forces Master
Sergeant, father of Iraq veteran);  Michael Dean Cuzzort, Iraq Veterans
Against the War (hurricane survivor from New Orleans, veteran of
Afghanistan);  Camilo Mejia, Iraq Veterans Against the War (war
resister, went to prison to protest the war in Iraq, combat veteran of
Operation Iraqi Freedom);  Kelly Dougherty, Iraq Veterans Against the
War (combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, co-founder of IVAW);  
Paul Robinson, Veterans For Peace, Hurricane Survivor, Savin' Our Self
(SOS);  Vivian Felts, Hurricane Survivor, SOS;  Niki Wilson, Relief
Worker, Slidell Louisiana.

SOS will speak, as well as members of the Mississippi Immigrant Rights
Alliance. Black-Brown Unity is the theme. The contractors who hire
Latino's are taking advantage of the poverty the US enforces abroad to
exploit immigrant labor. The same contractors seized the contracts in
both Iraq and the Gulf Coast. They abuse and refuse to pay immigrants
because they can, and they can't with residents. Latino's are not the
enemy. Black and Brown should unite against a common enemy... and it's not in Mexico or Central America. It's in the nation's capital.  
Victoria Cintra will speak for MIRA. Cynthia Wright, an African
American survivor who lives in Ocean Springs will tell her story.
Janeth Perez, a Latina survivor and worker will tell her story, as well
as Melquiades Vicente (a 16-year-old injured worker) and Santos Moran (another injured worker, with Victoria Cintra translating). Also
speaking will be Peruvian immigrant Javier Ruiz del Aguila, who
chauffeured the press through the area after the hurricane and watched George W. Bush staging his photo ops.  Jose Vasquez of IVAW will MC, and provide concluding remarks about the war and his decision to become a conscientious objector.

6:30 PM - TC
Supper (Organized by Macedonia Baptist Church) & Socializing, Camp
Preparation, Home Stays.

16 MAR 06

6 AM
First Call. (This is a general wake-up call, done with three short
blasts of an air horn. It will not be followed up. It's just a courtesy
alarm clock. The goal is to have everyone on the bus by 7:30 AM. There is a long shuttle this morning.)

6 AM - 7:30 AM
Coffee, Breakfast, Hygiene, Packing. Home stays return to camp.

7:30 AM - 9 AM
Long Shuttle around Biloxi Bay to starting point, Leg 5 -- Hwy 110/Hwy 90 Junction in Gulf Port, MS.

9 AM - 12 PM
March Leg 5; 110/90 Junction (Gulf Port) to Junction of HWY 90 and
Cowan Road (along the beach).

12 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch & ad hoc Interviews. Done on the beach. A simple stop along the
road. Opportunity for short nap.

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
March Leg 6; 90/Cowan Road Junction to ruined City Hall in Long Beach.
(THIS IS AN AREA OF EXTREME DAMAGE!)

4:30 PM - 6 PM

BASIC REPRESENTATIVE OPENING REMARKS (30 minutes):  David Cline,
Vietnam Veterans Against the War, President -- Veterans For Peace;  Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace (Former Foreign Service Officer, Retired
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army);  Michael T. McPhearson, National
Executive Director -- Veterans For Peace;  Stan Goff, Veterans For
Peace, Military Families Speak Out (Retired Special Forces Master
Sergeant, father of Iraq veteran);  Michael Dean Cuzzort, Iraq Veterans
Against the War (hurricane survivor from New Orleans, veteran of
Afghanistan);  Camilo Mejia, Iraq Veterans Against the War (war
resister, went to prison to protest the war in Iraq, combat veteran of
Operation Iraqi Freedom);  Kelly Dougherty, Iraq Veterans Against the
War (combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, co-founder of IVAW);  
Paul Robinson, Veterans For Peace, Hurricane Survivor, Savin' Our Self
(SOS);  Vivian Felts, Hurricane Survivor, SOS;  Niki Wilson, Relief
Worker, Slidell Louisiana.

Survivors' Speak-out, organized by Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church.
Remarks by Abbie Pickett (IVAW, an Iraq combat veteran comparing what she sees in Long Beach and what she saw in Iraq) and Reverend Robert Landoor of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, followed by stories from three local survivors, first being Charles Guy.  VFP member Ann Wright will close.

6 PM - 7 PM
Shuttle to camping point, Long Beach, MS.

7 PM - TC
Supper (Prepared by Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church) & Socializing, Camp
Preparation, Home Stays.

17 MAR 06

6 AM
First Call.

6 AM - 7:30 AM
Coffee, Breakfast, Hygiene, Packing. Home stays return to camp.

7:30 AM - 9 AM
Long Shuttle to starting point, Leg 7 -- Zapporo's Bay Plaza,
Washington St. & MWY 90, Waveland, MS.

9 AM - 12 PM
March Leg 7; Waveland to end of HWY 90 Service Road on right (app 8.5 miles).

12 PM - 1 PM
Lunch in the middle of nowhere. (No event - no pressure)

1 PM - 1:30 PM
Short Shuttle to starting point, Leg 8 -- Shamrock Drive/Hwy 90
Junction.

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
March Leg 8; Shamrock/Hwy 90 to Camp Land-o-Peace, Slidell, LA. (This takes us up 190B to Slidell, left on HWY 11 [aka Front Street], turning right on Bayou Liberty Road.)

4:30 PM - 7 PM

Press Conference with Bayou Liberty Relief. Relief worker Niki Wilson
makes opening remarks, emphasizing experience with FEMA.

BASIC REPRESENTATIVE OPENING REMARKS (30 minutes):  David Cline,
Vietnam Veterans Against the War, President -- Veterans For Peace;  Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace (Former Foreign Service Officer, Retired
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army);  Michael T. McPhearson, National
Executive Director -- Veterans For Peace;  Stan Goff, Veterans For
Peace, Military Families Speak Out (Retired Special Forces Master
Sergeant, father of Iraq veteran);  Michael Dean Cuzzort, Iraq Veterans
Against the War (hurricane survivor from New Orleans, veteran of
Afghanistan);  Camilo Mejia, Iraq Veterans Against the War (war
resister, went to prison to protest the war in Iraq, combat veteran of
Operation Iraqi Freedom);  Kelly Dougherty, Iraq Veterans Against the
War (combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, co-founder of IVAW);  
Paul Robinson, Veterans For Peace, Hurricane Survivor, Savin' Our Self
(SOS);  Vivian Felts, Hurricane Survivor, SOS.

Tina Garnanez, Native American Iraq Veteran Against the War will make
remarks, followed by Ronald and Cheryl Courteaux of the Grand
Caillou-Dulac Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees (BCCM) and Naomi Archer, of Four Directions.  Other speakers are:  
Shequita Walker from Covington. She worked in the shelter in Pineview
though not with Red Cross; Kieth Long from Northern Washington
Parish--Mt Hermon; Barbra Gibson Mayor of Sun, La.; Alice Cothron from Isabell--Helped to feed and hold her community together from her small rural grocery store, cooking on a large barbecue till the shelves were empty; Lilliaian Blackburn from Franklinton--Bethal Church of Christ Holiness.

Final remarks by Geoffrey Millard (IVAW) and Darlene Ong- Williams (an Iraq Vet's Mother, Hurricane Survivor).  Two survivors of Hurricane Floyd in North Carolina will testify to the continued neglect of FEMA there after SIX  YEARS.

5:30 - TC
Press Conference (continued) & Cajun Cookout. Camp & Home Stays.

18 MAR 06

6 AM
First Call.

6 AM - 8 AM
Coffee, Breakfast, Hygiene, Packing.

8 AM - 9 AM
Shuttle to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge at end of Hwy 11
bridge over Lake Ponchartrain.

9 AM - 10 AM
Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge Press Conference. Environmental Justice advocates will join this, with environmental justice organizer Reverend Lois DeJean, Gert Town Revival Initiative,  giving opening remarks.  Ward Reilly, a Vietnam Veteran, will speak about Agent Orange, and Iraq Veteran Rafael Naboa about Depleted Uranium.

10 AM - 11 AM
Shuttle to starting point, Leg 9 (New Orleans) - Chalmette National
Military Cemetery/Jean Lafitte Park (commemorating the Battle of New
Orleans... we are inaugurating the Second Battle of New Orleans).

11 AM - 12:30 PM
A veteran each from WWII (Gene Glazier), Korea (Ellen Barfield),
Vietnam (Billy Kelly), the Covert Wars (Stan Goff), Gulf War I (Michael
McPherson), and today's war (Garret Reppenhagen), each will give a
brief bio, followed by remarks on the military and civilian casualties
from these wars. Remarks by Cindy Sheehan (GSFP). A hurricane survivor advocate, Kali Williams, will commemorate those who died in the storms or of neglect, hostility, and incompetence later.

12:30 PM - 1 PM
Fast Brown Bag Lunch.

1 PM - 4 PM
March Leg 9; Chalmette Cemetery to St Augustine's Church, New Orleans, LA.

4 PM - TC
Veteran's Art Collective Event and camping at the church. Visual art
displays, spoken word, music, drama, etc., from vets and hurricane
survivors. Opening remarks by Cindy Sheehan (Gold Star Families for
Peace), Michael Cuzzort (Iraq Veterans Against the War) and Dave Cline
(Vietnam Veterans Against the War).

19 MAR 06

7 AM
First Call.

7 AM - 9 AM
Coffee, Breakfast, Hygiene, Packing.

9 AM - 10 AM
March Leg 10; St Augustine Church to Congo Square - Armstrong Park, New
Orleans, LA.

10 AM
Enter Armstrong Park and begin the rally.

NOTE: Rally begins at 10:30 AM with music and speakers. Tentative
speakers list includes:

Father Jerome LeDoux, St. Augustine's Catholic Church
Paul Robinson, President, Veteran's For Peace (Mobile, Alabama Chapter)Michael Cuzzort, Iraq Veterans Against the War -- New Orleans Chapter)Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace
Vivian Felts, Saving Ourselves (SOS) Ward Reilly, C-3 (Concern, Community, Compassion), Veterans For Peace &
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
(Baton Rouge) Ishmael Muhammad, People's Hurricane Relief Fund
Marty Rowland, C-3 (Concern, Community, Compassion)
Elliott Adams (VFP) Stan Goff, Military Families Speak Out
Malik Rahim, Common Ground Collective
Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace
Victoria Cintra, Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance
Niki Wilson, Bayou Liberty Relief

Lead, Follow or Get the Hell out of the Way: Enough is Enough

I'm not going to waste a lot of time on my own words here: suffice it to say that I have truly, truly had enough. And whether or not it does any good, whether or not I am joined by an army of zero or an army of one: I am hitting the streets. I challenge the rest of you to do the same--and if you sincerely cannot (because you have some physical impediment), then at least spread the word.

For many months, I have made excuses for myself, contending "there's no point," the "media will ignore us," "it's a waste of time." Blahfuckingblah.

But when I finally did get up off my ass and attend the Cindy Sheehan vigils in August, a funny thing happened: the AP picked up a picture of me at the vigil and, by dint of sheer coincidence,  printed it  in my hometown newspaper. I didn't hear about that until many months later, when I got a letter (with newspaper clipping) from an 80-plus year old former professor. Ironically, I had just been `preaching' to my undergraduate class about getting out and protesting, told them, "well, I'm really too old for that kind of political involvement--you guys need to do that part--believe me, I spend a lot of time writing letters to Congress and the Press!"

My former prof had sent the AP picture to another former prof, also  in his 80s, and what he said was: "Lilly is still out there fighting the good fight! She's always out front, isn't she? If she can do it, we can do it, too. All of us really need to be out there on the streets."

Ha. My former professors unwittingly called Bullshit on me.  Mind you, these are not peace-lovin'-hippy-type profs--they never were. They were always just plain-old-mom-and-pop types, doing their jobs, having their kids, teaching to put bread on the table.

I was certainly moved by the letter--at a loss for words, actually--because these professors, back in the day, also stood on the frontlines with us. They attended the demonstrations we organized--to protest the nuclear arms build-up, to protest project ELF in northern Wisconsin, to protest Rape and Violence against women--they signed my petitions to make our city a Nuclear Free Zone and accepted "I was speaking at a protest" as a valid excuse for missing class. What a sad state of affairs to see that nowadays, students are being reprimanded for this level of political involvement!  This more than anything, perhaps, inspires my utter dismay at the MIND ROT that has set in and paralyzed this entire country--nowadays, a written statement from your employer stating that you had to WORK is an excuse for missing class--organizing a protest will get you suspended!  Certainly can't fault anyone for making money, now, can you--but when they start making WAVES, time to whack em on the back of the hand with a ruler!

Right now, I am ashamed of most of my colleagues--fellow professors and public intellectuals--who apparently have their heads stuck so far up their asses they can see the backs of their teeth without looking in the mirror. I will NOT share their shame.

I will not let Feingold stand alone (stand: two feet planted firmly on the street, not keester at the keyboard!)

I will not let Conyers stand alone.

Signing their petitions, emailing, faxing and phoning in support is not enough.

In my day, we were rewarded for taking a stand, not decried as starkravinglunaticradical , peace-loving hippy types: and if someone called you a part of the "women's studies crowd" that was a badge of HONOR, not an INSULT.  My, how times have changed.

World Can't Wait

March 13, 2006

The massive protest that brought the Loop to a stop on Friday was organized to oppose the Sensenbrenner bill which, if passed by the Senate, will make it a felony to help illegal immigrants in any way (even providing water), and make undocumented workers into felons. Not only was this protest the largest ever held in Chicago, but the crowd (consisting mostly of Latinos and other immigrants) by and large took off from work to come, shutting down many businesses and risking their jobs. At a time when the Bush regime increasingly criminalizes and brings about new suffering to immigrants, and right-wing vigilantes like the Minutemen hunt them down with government encouragement, this resistance by many of the very people facing such attacks is extremely important and an example we all need to follow.

For those of us who were there, it's hard to find words for the exhilaration felt in the streets of Chicago that day. Official police figures put attendance at the march at 100,000 and here in Chicago, the rule of thumb is to double the police figure to get the real one. But the expanse of people was beyond our capacity to absorb! Grandmothers and toddlers in strollers, whole groups of workers and even owners from businesses marching in their work uniforms, mostly Latino but smaller contingents of Polish workers and Irish too--it was inspiring.
World Can't Wait got to the park where the marchers assembled two hours ahead of time and we weren't too early. What was going to be our meeting spot turned into a logistical station as people lined up to get our "Bush Step Down" posters as fast as they could be stapled onto picket sticks, many signing up to keep in touch and many more donating to our cause as well. And the whistles with green stickers in Spanish were very popular. Teams of teenagers we met there took leaflets and whistles to distribute in the crowd and brought back donations, then turned around and took more of everything to get out.

Our contingent of WCW organizers was small and we could never have distributed all 20,000 copies of the Call in Spanish that we brought without the efforts of many hundreds of people in the march we met on the spot. But we did, along with thousands of copies in English as well. Many sections of the march were dotted with our bright green Bush Step Down! posters and the chant of "Fuera Bush, Si se puede" was taken up by the crowd around us at several junctures. We marched for hours with our green "World Can't Wait - Drive Out the Bush Regime" banner, arriving at the Federal Plaza with thousands of others after the rally had been prematurely ended by the police, who were anxious to get all these people out of the Loop before rush hour.

Many marchers thanked us for coming but we replied that this is our struggle too, about the kind of country we're all going to live in. Some of us had talked before the march about whether it was up to Jews to fight anti-semitism under Hitler or whether all Germans had that responsibility. We are determined not to be good Germans! Frankly, there were very, very few non-immigrants apparent in the march so it wasn't surprising that they might see our participation as an anomaly.

Passing out our Call, we agitated that the war is criminal, the regime is criminal, but immigrants are NOT criminals and it's the regime that has to go. Fuera Bush! This was met with almost universal support, which shows the strong anti-war sentiment among the marchers as well. We urged people to come out next week too (March 18th anti-war march) as part of taking on the whole program of the Bush regime, not only "fighting Bush's outrages one at a time."

How did all this happen? There was certainly no word of this in the mainstream English-language media, although the Spanish dailies reported on the growing movement, including an Irish pub on the Northside that sponsored an Irish contingent. We heard many stories, such as a grocery store in a far south suburb of Chicago that shut down and paid for 10 buses to bring their workers and customers to the protest. But so many wanted to come that they ordered three more buses, people chipped in to pay for them, and there still wasn't enough room for everyone. In many neighborhoods and suburbs, grandmothers opened their homes to take in children so their parents could participate. And many churches and schools brought their congregations and students en masse to the protest.

People under vicious threat by this government, facing their families being ripped apart by this new legislation if moms and dads without papers can be deported and their children left behind, took to the streets to fight for their rights. They realize that demonstrating does make a difference and that they must take responsibility for the direction their lives and this society are going to go. What if this had been the response to the murderous callousness of this regime after Katrina? And when will women who know the devastating impact of the loss of choice follow this example rather than the mis-leaders of the Democratic party and quit "putting our hopes and energies into 'leaders' who tell us to seek common ground with fascists and religious fanatics"?

World Can't Wait must learn from and build on this inspiring new development, this "sleeping giant that has awakened" (as the Spanish news reported) to build a movement that can stop "the whole disastrous course of this Bush regime."
Most immediately, this week will mark the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and important protests are planned around the country. We say, "3 Years of War & Occupation - The World Can't Wait! End the War - Drive Out the Bush Regime!"

Join us on Saturday, March 18, at 3 PM in Union Park (Lake & Ashland) to rally to demand an end to the occupation and bring the troops home now.
Call everyone you know and urge them to come out too. World Can't Wait contingents will be participating in feeder marches from the UIC campus, Humboldt Park, Evanston, Pilsen, and Senn High School that will converge on Union Park for the 3 PM rally. We will also have a "float" in the march down North Michigan Ave. that steps off at 7 PM Saturday evening. Meet us at Ogden School (on Walton) at 6 PM to be part of our contingent there down Michigan Ave. The World Can't Wait - End the War - Drive Out the Bush Regime! Click here for feeder march information

Hate to do this to y'all (apologies to Ductape ;-), but the synchronicities are just too great here. Throughout the many discussions that have been going on here at BooMan Tribune in recent days, I keep remembering this article I wrote back in 1993. It was published in the journal Race Traitor, Issue # 6.

I hadn't realized until today that the piece has since been posted online. Reading it today, I am tragically reminded of how utterly 'topical'  it remains--13 years after it was written. And so, in the spirit of John Conyers' "for the record" (cf. Lewis Lapham, Why America Can no Longer Afford GWB, and in lieu of a diary on predatory capitalism, here an oldie on the subject of A-words and such.

America: Love It or Leave It!

This piece was inspired by some comments posted on floridagal's diary from Friday, What have you to offer me

The subject turned to the notion of "unintentional dismissiveness" in the context of harmless, unintended sleights made by members of racially, sexually, religiously, physically and/or otherwise "privileged" communities.

Today I am inspired by a book discussion going on in the Boobooks Reading Room, where the selection is James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me, a work I have long since been recommending as required reading, especially for teachers of any kind. As I sated in one of my comments to the thread, I rely on it as a reference work all the time.

As  must be obvious from the title, this diary began as a comment in response to Suskind's diary WE ARE NOT SCREWED .

Surely I know these views won't be popular, but I'm accustomed to being the bad guy by now, and I simply cannot refrain from expressing my honest, heartfelt response to the ideas expressed there...so, fwiw, may the bitch-slapping begin.

Heros come and go...and one man's hero may be another man's Ho!Ho!Ho!.

If anything good has come from the FEMA disaster in New Orleans for me, at least, it has been that I've picked up a new hero: Ben Marble, MD.

Ben Marble is the physician who pedaled by Mr. Dick Cheney and so pointedly said, on national television, "Go Fuck Yourself, Mr. Cheney, Go fuck yourself."

Ever since then, he's been my hero.

[cross-posted at a Historical Footnotes]

Well, so I guess you all had to know I'd be blogging about it, especially since it seems clear that my Historical Footnotes blog was going to be as much about writing as it was about politics. And, ever since I was recently "tipped off" by Harold Pinter's German agent that his acceptance speech would be a "doozie," and probably worth the time to listen, I've been anticipating the speech.

It was better than I expected. The 45-minute speech on "Art, Truth and Politics" can be heard here.

FWIW, my take on it...

Hello FrogPond.

OK. So I gone and done it, dammit.

I'm sure you all know the story of the Wide-Mouthed Frog, and, while the details are fuzzy to me now, and I don't have time to look it up, I'm starting to feel like that story is the story of my life (actually, I've always felt that way, so I guess it's no coincidence that I ended up landing here in this Pond).

So, in the interest of diminishing the ongoing ripples and ruffling of feathers, I have decided to do the deed....

It's very bare bones at the moment and I'm learning as I go, as they say.

Yes, I fully intend to be adding links and buzzers and bells and all that, but for now...here 'tis. Ignore it, abhor it, adore it or just shake your head and walk away.

FWIW...introdcucing....my blog

Historical Footnotes

Well, hm. Almost hate to put this big long thing out here right now, but since I haven't yet set up my own blog and am anxious to post this

See, I was talking to this friend of mine the other day--the author of this article who was pretty frank about the pointlessness of chasing windmills and told me my time would be better spent telling stories. So I wanted to get this story out to him, and ...well, Justanoldman, this one is for you.

Perhaps many of you know about students at Hampton University currently facing expulsion for participating in the November 2 protests sponsored by The World Can't Wait.

If not, here is information about it and a call to support the students

Ah the advantages of being able to dress up like a good girl and slap a few words on university letterhead!

I have called the university and written the following letter which is going in the mail today. I encourage anyone and everyone to do the same (especially if you have university "credentials"). Feel free to beg, borrow or steal from this letter as you wish, and/or to pass it on.

Letters are to be send to Dean Long, Dean of Women at Hampton University and to Woodson Hopewell, Jr., Dean of Men

Hampton University
Hampton Virginia 23668

I didn't see anything on their site about this scandal in which they are currently embroiled. Maybe someone should write them to inquire!

My letter below the fold.

Well, so maybe it's not a good idea to come in here with this today, but there are only a few days left to American Indian Heritage Month and only a few hours left to the weekend....FWIW, another couple 1,000 words, to be taken with a spoonful of sugar if necessary.

[WARNING! The following piece, while it addresses some very serious issues and contains a number of legitimate "action items," is also riddled with heretical humor which may be offensive to some readers. Parental supervision may be advised.]

Well, what the hell, so here it comes. Many of you may have been party and/or witnesss to the shitstorm unleashed by my diary on dKos, originally titled "How Dare You Cindy Sheehan?" which appeared last night (out of nowhere) in lieu of another piece I had in mind, originally scheduled to be written under the title "Attitudes of Gratitude" in the "Greetings from Turtle Island" series I have been posting throughout American Indian Heritage Month.

Watching the "gang bang" unfold over there in the course of this day has not been a pleasant experience, but at the same time, it has sort of been like watching the FEMA fiasco unfold in the aftermath of Katrina: all the horrific filth and muck and mire that lies just below the sham-faced surface of this society's commitment to "diversity", to "freedom of speech", to the notion of "one nation under (someone else's) God" and a whole lot of other empty platitudes  bubbled to the surface and spewed from the pens of so-called "liberals" and "progressives" in a hailstorm of racism, hatred, childish human-being-bashing, and vile refusal to look in the goddamned mirror.  

There is already a far better diary here at Booman Tribune addressing related issues in a much different way, titled "Thanksgiving from the Rez", posted by Cannibis.  By all means, please read that. It is powerful and perhaps more effective than the approach applied here. This diary has nothing to offer but sheer, unmitigated pain and ugliness--especially now, in the aftermath of the shitstorm.

If you choose to join the gangbangers in blasting me off the page and out of your holiday celebration, my only request is that you do it over there. I am relieved that the diary has since gone off the recommend list--but there is still ample room for you to join in the hate-mongering "fun" on the related diaries currently on the recommend list there. Never could I have ever imagined that I would be so happy to see my diary disappear from the recommended list, and it's sure not the way I'd ever hoped to get there. The fact that THIS of all things is what it took is again substantiation for everything I have been saying about the so-called "liberal" community and its collective indifference to "alternative lifeways".

I will not be available for response and/or comment for the remainder of this day. If you can't stand the heat, I guess, go back to the kitchen. And that's where I'm headed--I've got a loaf of wonder bread in the oven.  

[Note, the original diary by Cindy Sheehan to which this diary originally responded was deleted by the author; the alternative version, which I have not read, is said to have been redacted to eliminate the offensive use of the term "trail of tears." It is available at Truthout.org.]

As previously announced, this is the third in a series of diaries acknowledging American Indian Heritage Month; this diary was originally posted on DailyKos.com under a slightly different title. Previous diaries in the series can be found here and here. Related entries by others may be found here, here, here, here, and here; also of interest: tributes to Vine DeLoria, Jr. here, here and here