Monday or Is Justice situational?

It's time then, my son, to hoist the Black Skull and Crossbones high, let the World know that their time is nigh!

. . . . .Following the Thanksgiving weekend post that explained the Black Flag references and the legacy of the Lost 10th, (ed. note: Go to the left hand Archives column under Welcome to the World to grab it) we'll follow in that theme, that of trying to weave the pursuit of justice as an underlying theme for a while, as we get back to our normal political and cultural shenanigans. There's nothing like a long holiday weekend to divert you from the news, but it's time to get right back to it, especially considering some of the developments over the weekend and today: Mumbai, The automakers showing back up in DC today to join the growing list of financial debacles, Obama's unveiling of his security team, Sarah Palin prostituting herself for Saxby Chambliss down in Georgia (The Devil Went Down to Georgia, ya know, Charlie Daniels told us all so!) and Bill Kristol proving once again just what category of mouth-breathing moron he is, ranking right there with Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin.

. . . . .Today's soundtrack - Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - The B-side of Gil Scott-Heron's first single Home is Where The Hatred Is from the 1971 album Pieces of A Man. Yes, I like poetry, especially slam poetry and rap (some), just as much as I like rock, singer-songwriters and outlaw country. Rap and hip-hop are viable art forms and good music. Unfortunately, the political commentary of Paris, Common, DMX, NWA and before them Ice-T & Public Enemy gets overshadowed by other, less socially relevant work. Understanding that art reflects social conditions, and while we're starting off on a justice theme, to understand what's happening in urban conditions and how unbalanced social justice is, take a listen to some of these guys.

. . . . .Today's movie magic moment - "Believe me when I say we have a difficult time ahead of us. But if we are prepared for it, we must first shed our fear of it. I stand here, before you now, truthfully unafraid. Why? Because I believe something you do not? No, I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am not here because of the path that lies before me but because of the path that lies behind me." - Morpheus - The Matrix Reloaded.

"The road goes on forever, and the party never ends" - Robert Earl Keen - The Road Goes On Forever
. . . . .I was not and am not now part of the growing chorus coming from the left that President-elect Obama's Federal financial, Federal Reserve, Treasury and Economic Recovery appointments "didn't go far enough", "weren't progressive enough" or "were more of the same", I think they're the right people for the job. That said, his announcement this morning of his Security, Defense and Foreign appointments absolutely wowed me, for a variety of reasons, I'm excited (and I'm reaching the point where I drop everything to listen to his daily press conferences), I highly recommend you click the link here and read the transcripts and watch and listen to the conference itself, and most especially Hillary Clinton's words, overall a very clear message was sent this morning, to the country, to the world, and to the the entrenched Bush doctrine acolytes that a sea change, a seismic shift occurred today in the world. I cried, out of relief, that these key positions were filled with people who are patriots, Americans & realists, in the truest senses of those words, I'm sure that once again, the Left will cry out about 3 of the appointments, since they are noted Dem hawks, but they're the people needed right now;
. . .Vice-President Elect Joe Biden - The question for weeks has been "What's Biden's role? He's not spoken since the election". Question is answered kiddies, answered loud and crystal clear this morning. His extensive Senate experience in foreign relations and with the military are what came into play here, and once again, Obama is playing to people's strengths and experience. Joe will lead this team well.
. . .Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State - key phrase from Obama's announcement "She will command respect in capitals around the world". This is a man who very carefully chooses his words and vocabulary. I agree with him, she commands respect. In her remarks this morning, an overall theme of regaining the world's respect for America, and acknowledging that we must work in partnership with others and asking for their help. "to secure our future, we must recognize that America needs the world, and the world needs America". Listen here.
. . .Robert Gates - Sec'y of Defense. A brilliant holdover, a true rebel, while working for Bush/Cheney for the last two years, he has called a military strike against Iran a "strategic calamity" and has denounced the "creeping militarization" of U.S. diplomacy. With wars being fought on two fronts, and the outgoing administration continuing it's sabre-rattling, (which will probably go on up to Jan. 19th). Key phrase from Obama's press conference: "The day I take office, the mission will change" He wants us out of Iraq, with the Iraqis controlling their own destiny, and in Afghanistan, where we should have been all along. It's only where the Taliban, Al-Queada, Bin Laden and Zawahiri live, but that never seemed to matter to Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld. Gates quote "Afghanistan is where the war on terror began, and where it must end".
. . . Retired Marine General James Jones -National Security Adviser - Again, a bipartisan pick, Jones worked for McCain at one point. As opposed to folks who want to call themselves mavericks, Jones is the real deal. Jones has called the Iraq war a "debacle" and has urged that the detention center at Gitmo (ed. note: one of our greatest national shames, a torture center) be closed "tomorrow".
. . .Eric Holder - U.S. Attorney General - It would be hard to find someone who was more of a 180 degree opposite of Ashcroft and Gonzales. Holder is committed to upholding the Constitution, guarding citizen's rights, and of just as much importance, (and they better view this as a warning bell) pursuing criminals in the board room with just as much vigor as criminals in the streets.
. . .Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano - Sec'y of Homeland Security - OK, this is another seismic one, that entire department better get ready to be turned upside down, shook hard and the deadwood, detritus and lint taken out of the corners. She will, I am confident, reform that department and turn into the Department of Homeland Security instead of the nightmarish 1984 George Orwell Department of State Security In Charge of Suspecting All Citizens as it exists now.

"The battery's dead and the phone won't charge, we don't even know where the hell we are, but that's the way it goes. Just doing my best to get back home" - Chris Knight - To Get Back Home - Enough Rope
. . . . .Over the weekend, Mumbai. What is it that makes us so egocentric and nationalist paranoid that out of over 200 killed, with the 5 Americans among them, we somehow want to make this into an attack on America and American interests? I deplore that it happened, I am saddened by the loss of life, all life, not just American citizens, but Indian citizens as well. The true question that needs to be asked, if we are to examine it in light of a terrorist act as it applies to us is what happened. This was 10 men, 10. Highly trained individuals with sophisticated weaponry and a very effective attack plan, that did an incredible amount of damage and inflicted massive casualties. This was not a group of rag-tag home grown guerillas, these were commandos, that took over 48 hours to subdue and a much larger contingent of Indian Army special forces and regulars. When it all comes out, my bet is that it will be found out that this was a state-sponsored attack by Pakistan, as it edges closer and closer to outright Taliban rule, designed to send a clear message to India about it's emulation of American ways. Mumbai, the former Bombay, is an equivalent to Los Angeles in that it's culture, city and lifestyle and the trendsetters for the rest of India. The scary part to me is that both India and Pakistan are members of the nuclear neighborhood.

. . . . .I wrote last week about Michael Medved's deplorable statements about Native Americans (ed. note: check the archives in the left hand column for last week's column about Michael Medved's claiming that the first, #1 big lie in American history is our treatment of Native Americans, that in his worldview, supported by "fact", no genocide occurred. It's a lot like saying that the Holocaust didn't occur.) I ask you please to read this column by Mark Anthony Rolo, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, whose column ends with, "Not a Thanksgiving has passed without Indians staring through America's dining room window". I also ask you please to go visit Michael Medved's heinous lie over at Townhall.com and leave him an e-mail and tell him what you think of his version of "The #1 American big lie".

"Well if she wants to see me, tell her that I'm easily found. Tell her there's a spot 'neath the Abrams bridge and there's a darkness on the edge of town" - Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town from album of the same name.
. . . . .These two are connected at the hip or some other body part. Sarah Palin is prostituting herself today down in Georgia, "exciting the base" (ed. note: is that code for something?) for Saxby Chambliss. She's getting blasted in her hometown newspaper for (1) leaving town in the middle of a budget crisis she caused (2) once again putting herself, her own political career and her ambitions ahead of her elected job and (3) plainly and simply supporting Saxby Chambliss. Chambliss, we all recall, during the Presidential election, told his white voters to "get out there, because the other folks are voting". Saxby Chambliss is a yellow coward and a liar. From the Alaska Daily News online:

"Chambliss was elected to the Senate in 2002 by running one of the most reprehensible campaigns of modern times. He was up against incumbent Democrat Sen. Max Cleland, a Vietnam War veteran who lost both legs and his right arm to a grenade during that conflict.

Chambliss avoided serving in Vietnam. He got four student draft deferments, and when his number finally came up, he was medically disqualified with knee troubles.

In the best Karl Rove fashion, Chambliss the draft-evader attacked Cleland the war hero for being soft on terrorism. Distorting Cleland’s votes about workplace rules for the new Homeland Security Department employees, Chambliss portrayed him as a tool of terrorists like Osama bin Laden.

Here’s how the Almanac of American Politics (2006) described it:
“Chambliss ran an ad, much attacked in the press, showing pictures of Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Max Cleland, and saying that Cleland 'voted against the President’s vital homeland security efforts 11 times.’” (Those “vital homeland security efforts” Cleland opposed were intended to strip homeland security employees of union rights and other workplace protections.)

The man who couldn’t bring himself to serve in the military said a man who left three limbs behind in war was a weakling who would turn the country over to terrorists."

. . . . .Along those lines, Bill Kristol (how in the hell can someone write for both the New York Times and the Weekly Standard?) Sarah Palin's biggest fan and apologist, is at it again. Andrew Sullivan points this one out from Kristol, wherein he doesn't just want Bush to pardon the Gitmo torturers, he thinks he should bestow the Medal of Freedom on them before leaving office?

"One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning--and should at least be vociferously praising--everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation. In fact, Bush might want to give some of these public servants the Medal of Freedom at the same time he bestows the honor on Generals Petraeus and Odierno. They deserve it."

. . . . .This guy is a total mouth-breathing lunatic. Here he is at it again, Matthew Yglesias over at Think Progress points out that while also promoting new wars in North Korea, Syria, Iran and the Sudan (along with the two we're in) he wants just one more teensy little war before Bush leaves office:

"And while [Bush is] at it, perhaps he could tell various admirals to stop moaning about how difficult it would be to deal with the pirates off the coast of Somalia (isn’t keeping the shipping lanes open a core mission of the Navy?) and order the Navy to clobber them. If need be, the Marines would no doubt be glad to recapitulate their origins and join in by going ashore in Africa to destroy the pirates’ safe havens."

"The future started yesterday and we're already late" - John Legend - If You're Out There on the Evolver CD.
. . . . .There are some folks that I've talked to in some of the circles that I run in, sit with and talk with who want to label the current economic and financial crisis as "not real" or "it's not the real problem" or a "distraction" designed to keep us from exploring fundamentally, deeper core issues that are somehow more important. I love them, they're my friends, and I respect their opinion on many things, but to this one I must say, politely and respectfully, Bullshit, that's a load of ignorant crap!
Currency exchange has been a fundamental part of human society as far back as the Sumerians and Mesopotamia. The pursuit of economic justice cannot even begin without a basic realization of the economic injustice that has been perpetrated over the last 20 years, especially the last 8. In my ideal libertarian world, the free market would rule, without regulation or interference. Society would decide what was of worth and what wasn't, whose skills were valuable and whose weren't. It don't work that way people! We're human! And being human we are fundamentally flawed with that little thing called free will. In some people, greed and avarice overtakes the higher brain functions, and they willingly, sociopathically will harm others in the pursuit of their own personal wealth. It results in the situation we find ourselves in now. We must find answers, and we must find them fast. Without a sound financial structure, the supply siders and the amount and flow of money will dictate that the funding just plainly isn't there to pursue answers to climate change, global warming, hunger, homelessness, health care and myriad of social programs that the population of this country needs right fuckin' now! I say this to try and direct a little focus on what is real, and what is real ,right now, right here is that the markets are failing. In an absolute stroke of brilliance and mastery of the obvious, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced today that we, the nation, are in a major recession and have been so since December 2007 (ed. note: Remember folks, your tax dollars pay these brain donors salaries). The major manufacturing index this morning indicated that U.S. Manufacturing was at a 26 year low this last quarter. None of us has any answers alone, but in terms of consciousness, we cannot achieve any of the societal aims or social programs we so desperately need without a good, solid flow of currency and sound markets. We have a couple months left of this administration before the new Economic Recovery Team gets put in place. A lot of damage can be done, stay on your Senators and Representatives and ask for oversight and accountability in the billions that are being handed out like candy right now to the financial institutions that started this mess. The money cannot and should not go there; it needs to be put back into the societal infrastructure, into troubled mortgage assets and homeowners, into manufacturing, into roads and bridges, without which healthy commerce cannot flow.

I'm back in the game, but outta here for today, back out to sea in a day or so. Kiss your kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do. Remember if you submit it, either comments or e-mail, I'll publish it. Keep sending those thoughts on "change" and let's salt in some "justice" for a while too.

The Desolation Angel

Welcome to the World

It's time then, my son, to strike the colors, raise the Black Flag and reclaim the Republic for the honor and glory of the generations to come!

. . . . .Welcome to the world Hero! Hero Thomas Summerlin, son to Jeremy Summerlin and Julia, grandson to Tom Summerlin and Zetta arrived to this world today, 11/28/08 at 12:20 PM. 8 lbs. 1 oz. 21 in. We welcome you, bright light.

. . . . .There are no coincidences or accidents, only synchronicities. Thank you Vickie for electing to maintain the balance in all things and help Hero to come to the world. What did you whisper in his ear as he came today?

. . . . .I actually wrote the following almost 3 weeks ago, and this morning was finished editing and was going to post it when Jeremy sent the news, now it seems even more fitting.

I'm asked, quite often actually, about the quotes that begin the posts each day and the reference to the Black Flag. I'll finally tell the story, as I was told it. It's one of those that even if it isn't true, it's good enough that it should be.

I was told. . . . . .
. . . .Centuries ago, during the Roman Empire, the 10th Legion was the most feared military machine in the known world, marching under a red banner and a golden eagle. They were loyal to Caesar, and loyal to the ideal of Rome. Caesar had built the legion out of the best soldiers that the Roman Army had to offer, out of gladiators, out of slaves, out of free-roaming soldiers who had come from Celtic tribes, the Britons and the Picts, from the Gauls, and from the Sarmatians of the Russian steppes. The 10th was made of hand-picked soldiers by Caesar, not mindless brutes or killing machines, but soldiers who could think, who could improvise and act, yet still fight as one unit, 10,000 of them. You didn't volunteer for the 10th, nor were you drafted and put in it, you were tested, picked and then trained. It is said that the soldiers of the 10th believed, each and every one of them, that they had been Hell's Lieutenants, doomed and damned souls who had been sent to Hell and trained by the Lord of the Underworld to lead his Armies in the Final Battle, but after being trained, had reclaimed their souls and their honor, rebelled against the Dark Lord and wrested the chance to go back to Earthly realms one more time to claim redemption, restore honor to their souls and be loyal to one man and one cause, to fight against the forces of darkness and tyranny that were threatening to engulf the world.
Caesar fought at the front of this Legion, side by side with each of them, unlike any other General or Emperor in Roman history, and his reason for hand-picking each of them, for training them, for teaching them to think and to understand loyalty and honor? His reason for instilling in them the same ideals that he had for the future of Rome and restoration of the Republic? Simple, he knew that the time of the Emperors had come and gone in Rome and it was time to restore the Senate, and to give the people a seat and a voice therein, to restore the Republic and democracy. He knew that he would need the 10th, their fierce loyalty and pride, their belief in his ideals to make it happen should the ruling class of Rome object, which he knew they would, drunk with power and greed as they were.
. . . .When Caesar returned to Rome to accomplish this, he left the 10th camped far North of Rome, he didn't want the people of the city being frightened by the appearance of the fiercest legion in history at the gates of the city, nor did he wish to immediately resort to a military option to wrest control from the ruling class, but instead had hoped for his rival's better nature and their own share in the best interests of Rome's future to prevail. As history records, this didn't happen, and Caesar was murdered in the Forum, betrayed by his own ideals and belief in what Rome could become, betrayed by those who expressed their own alliances with him.
When word reached the 10th Legion of what had occurred, two options presented themselves. They could storm the city, and wreak vengeance for their sworn leader, but the ideals that he had trained them in could not and would not allow them to do that and kill their fellow citizens, so they threw down the Red banner that they had fought, bled and died under for so long, taking Caesar's eagle with them, and turned their steps and faces North, marching under a Black Flag. The true 10th Legion left Rome that day, and afterwards, men like Mark Antony, Caligula and Nero tried to resurrect it, but as Rome and the known world fell towards ruin and darkness, the true 10th was never heard from again.. . .
. . . .Some say that the soldiers of the 10th after going North for a while split in three directions, some to the East, some the West and some to the North. The Sarmatians, the Gauls and some of their other brothers went East, back into the Russian steppes, while those who went West went back to their Celtic, Briton and Pictish homelands taking many of their comrades with them, while those from the far Northern tribes took some of their brothers with them and returned home to become Vikings, fierce fighters. Those who had returned to Celtic homelands eventually interbred and married within the Celtic tribes, and when finally forced into a corner were able to repel what Armies Rome had brought back to Britain and repel the Saxon invaders. Those who went East, well. . ., it is said that a true Russian has never been defeated in battle, I think that's accurate, just ask Napoleon or Hitler. Those who went to the far North, their reputation is well cemented in history, and they were the first travelers to North America, not the Europeans, and some say those that stayed intermarried with the indigenous peoples there. It's said that the bloodline of the 10th flowed through the Knights Templar, whose mission it was to protect the bloodline of the Grail, and history would show them once again betrayed by the representatives of that ideal that they had believed in, in that case the Pope and the Church.
. . . .Just as the Grail bloodline flows throughout European and Middle Eastern history, just as the shaman and medicine people of the old European tribes had to become traveling troupes of gypsy actors, jugglers and musicians in order to survive and keep their bloodlines intact, becoming in this day and age rock and roll musicians, so to has the bloodline of the 10th survived down to this day. Throughout history, wherever a Black flag is flown, whether it be pirates, renegades, outlaws or anyone who cannot live by a society's rules, mountain men, cowboys, bikers, buccaneers, outsiders, loners,whoever, but is always willing to sacrifice themselves to make sure that those who cannot speak for themselves, those who have no voice anymore, those who have been so beaten down that they have no will to fight, those whose hands and minds have never known violence but who work to heal and help others, those in need of protection; those who work and stand under the Black Flag protect them. The Black flag strikes fear into the hearts of those who would keep what they've stolen, those who know in their hearts that the only position they have is one that they gotten to by trampling on others and keeping them down. For those people who look for hope, for a protector, for justice, for someone in whose bloodlines flows the blood of the legendary Lost 10th, they know that the Black flag offers protection and haven. So, people, the song's been sung, the bells have rung out, the signal fires have been lit and Black flag has been hoisted high, it's time then for the descendants of the legendary Lost 10th to become who they were meant to be, to earn redemption, at long last, for their ancestors and to find justice for the people. The election wasn't a revolution, it was only a start, and now those who would work for the betterment of the people will need protection, will need guardians from the forces that would stop them, the people who see the fuel for their own greed and their lust for power being stripped away from them. Time then, for the Lost 10th to rise again as one, to think, act, fight and defend as one unit. You all know who you are, you hear it in your blood, it's a whisper that becomes a stirring. You know each time the soul of a member of the 10th is reborn into the world. Time then for desolation angels, for night walkers, for pale riders, for dog soldiers, for guardians, for warriors, for heroes to stake their sashes to the ground, to raise their shields and banners and and turn themselves, standing proud and strong, to face the growing forces that will threaten to engulf the people, and make their final stand, triumphant, under the Black Flag.

. . . .And that's the way the story has been told to me, so I pass it on to you all.

. . . . .Starting tomorrow, a series that I've put together on justice.

Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do.

The Desolation Angel

Tuesday, Another Day, Another Dollar Gone

It's time then son, to sail head-on, Black flag flying high, into a fierce wind, sails fluttering and slapping and make course for where we know shelter to be.

. . . . .This link to the Vickie Quibell Memorial Page will stay up top of the post here the remainder of the week until I move it over to the left hand column permanent links. You can go there, read what others have written as remembrances and tributes to Vickie, leave your own or e-mail me if you have longer one that won't fit into the comments box and I'll post it.

. . . . .Today's movie moment: "Gort! Klaatu barada nichto!" - Patricia Neal as Helen talking to Gort the robot in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 version)

. . . . .Today dear readers, we have contributions from Barbara Vitale, Kay Mejia and in the on-going series on "change" and the mandate that we handed over on Election Day to President-elect Obama and what that means to each of us personally and how it manifests in the larger body politic, a well-crafted essay from the Rev. Charla J. Hermann down at Hawkwind.

. . . . .Today's musical soundtrack, Tom Morello: The Night Watchman with Saint Isabelle from The Fabled City CD. (I know, I said yesterday in the e-mail posting update that he was there for Monday, but a minor technical glitch on my laptop, like not having the track, put Steve Earle and the beautiful Jericho Road up into the rotation). Please check out the left hand column and check out an organization that Tom was one of the founders of, Axis of Justice, a social justice organization that tries to reach a younger audience than this old geezer and make people aware of the injustices that exist everyday in our society. I loved Tom's incendiary guitar work with Rage Against the Machine, and that group's ability to combine politics and hard-core heavy metal rock and roll, I'm loving Tom's quieter, reflective acoustic work as The Night Watchman.

. . . . .Friend and reader Kay Mejia submits this:

Hmmm...Obama just named Larry Summers director of the National Economic Council, and Christina Romer as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. Larry Summers was forced to resign from Harvard in 2006 for his assertion that men were innately better at mathematics and science than women. In 2008, Christina Romer's husband, David Romer, turned down a tenure-track position at Harvard because Christina's appointment for same was vetoed by Harvard's president Drew Faust. This ought to be interesting...BTW...Summers was vetted for Obama's position by Derek Bok - the man named interim president at Harvard when Faust was also forced to resign under allegations of sexism.

Citibank has so far received $45 billion in federal assistance and we are now guaranteeing their junk assets as well. I don't know why we insist that these bail outs are necessary. AND...we still have no limits on the way corporations we allow to suckle at the teat can spend our money, no limits on them shipping jobs overseas, no limits on corporate salaries, benefits and incentive packages. In my view that the stock market has turned into a gambling casino run by mobsters, and our great-grandchildren will continue paying for the largest transfer of wealth to the wealthy in American history. That money should have gone to the taxpayer, and those giant firms that were greedy and mis-managed allowed to fold. I am so sick of this! And Obama does not seem to have anything better in mind than to follow along sheepishly after Keynesian remedies to our current financial crisis. He's appointing politicians to economic governance posts, not Nobel prize winners. If the "people" had all the money we have given to the greedy and already wealthy, they would spend it, save it, pay taxes on it, pay off debt with it, refinance with it, donate it, buy stock in the companies they work for, start businesses and there would be no more crisis. Main Street needs that money. Wall Street can kiss my ass.

Does Joe Lieberman have a chin? I'm not sure... (Editor's note: No Kay, he doesn't, nor a spine nor a couple of other vital parts)

Apparently John Boehner thinks that protecting the right of workers to cast secret ballots when deciding whether to accept a labor union is unnecessary - he said acceptance of unions is 'almost automatic'. Personally I think unions need to get realistic about their demands. But my Grandfather was one of the original Chrysler union organizers in Indiana. My parents were shot at by Pinkerton agents, and I was weaned on stories of what life was like before the unions came into being. I got to experience the reality of this when a boyfriend attempted to organize a restaurant we worked at. Apparently it was Mob owned. He got fired, I got invited to the boss's office and slapped a couple of times across the face - then fired. The Prosecuting Attorney was owned by the Mob and did nothing. We took it to Detroit but there was not enough evidence. They changed buildings and names and still operate in the area today. Believe me, big business is not a kind, gentle, responsible father. We still need unions, as well as protection and anonymity while voting them in.

Wednesday AM update (Kay)

About Obama's recent appointees

I got a little flippant yesterday about a recent Cabinet appointee, but I believe the ability to work in unison without infighting is key to the ability to administer change quickly. I am not convinced that Larry Summers is part of the change we need, but will pray that he plays like a grown up. I did find some good stuff about other appointees though, especially this speech by the next Treasury Secretary:

"Change and Challenges Facing the U.S. Financial System"
Remarks by Timothy F. Geithner, President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, before the New York Bankers Association's Annual Financial Services Forum, March 26, 2004
You can google it, or read it at the following site:You can find more at: http://search.newyorkfed.org/search/frbny.jsp?querybox=Timothy+F.+Geithner&search_submit.x=28&search_submit.y=12

Reading through his speeches at this site, I am vastly reassured that Geithner knows exactly what is wrong with our current financial systems and has some ideas to remedy the current crisis. They may be like swallowing Castor Oil though.

The Obama staff also announced Peter Orszag as Office of Management and Budget Director. He's a little green but has a hefty intellect - without as much real world experience as the others. I'll take a wait and see approach to him. The following is an exerpt from the blog he ran as Director of Congressional Budget Office. It speaks to his belief (read in other posts) that we need reform of the Health Care system.

"Although it may not seem immediately relevant given our current difficulties, it will be crucial to address the nation’s looming fiscal gap — which is driven primarily by rising health care costs — as the economy eventually recovers from this current downturn. Indeed, our ability to address our current economic difficulties (through both financial market interventions and potential additional fiscal stimulus) would be severely impaired if investors were not so willing to invest substantial sums in Treasury securities without charging much higher interest rates. That willingness reflects the (currently accurate) view among investors that Treasury securities are extremely safe investments."

. . . . . .One worth taking a look at by clicking the link here is the Cooperative Global Engagement Project, one of the projects of the Open Society Institute. The Cooperative Global Engagement project is exactly what it sounds like, an effort to encourage the United States government to work in collaborative fashion with other governments on issues of common concern and take the welfare of and outcomes for a larger population than the United States into consideration. It's worth a read and some support.


. . . . .From Barbara Vitale -

'No people will tamely surrender their liberties, nor can they be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved. On the contrary, when people are universally ignorant, and debauched in their manners, they will sink under their own weight without the aid of foreign invaders.'

-Samuel Adams (letter to James Warren, 4 November 1775)

. . . . . .I really don't believe that I've seen a stranger Presidential transition in my lifetime, and probably in modern times. GWB is just kind of fading from view rapidly before Thanksgiving and Barack Obama is stepping into the leadership role now. Other than a few midnight regulations designed to destroy the environment and pardoning some criminal cronies, GWB is just chillin'. Given the extent and depth of the havoc he's wreaked on the American people, the Constitution, the economy and the rest of the world for the past 8 years, what he's doing right now ain't nothin' folks.

. . . . .Wednesday AM Update (Kip) - Just watched the 3rd press conference in 3 days. A couple of points here:

1. I enjoy watching him, he is Presidential in stature, voice, timbre and tone. He controls the press conference and gets his point across. My viewpoint might be skewed by watching 8 years of the English language being mangled, body language that spoke of things being hidden and absolutely no solid real answers, but regardless of any of that, he does have a command stance and it finally feels like someone is in charge of the country again. (Other than Dick Cheney from an undisclosed location.)
2. I have already heard the rumblings from the press and the far Left that he is "recycling", that there's no fresh faces, etc. Personally, I think his choices so far are brilliant. There a fews minds better at understanding how the Fed works than Volcker, who will head the newly formed President's Economic Recovery Board. Austin Goolsby is a fresh face, new to Washington who has done some ground-breaking work on tax policy. Can anyone say hyrid flat-progressive? It wasn't me.
3. Howard Dean, if the rumors are true for Secretary of Education would be not a new voice, but a strident one who takes no shit from anyone and who innately understands that we spend more per student than any other nation on Earth, yet we are still somehow woefully behind in every relevant metric; reading, math, science.
   

. . . . .Oh happy day! Ann Coulter's jaw is wired shut. No shit, really!

Update: Wednesday (from Kay) This one's also cute...from B Barker at Political Marchine: "For the next few weeks, fans of Ann Coulter--anyone?--will have to rely on Lindsay Lohan to provide insensitive, backward-thinking sound bites."

. . . . .My favorite Republican train wreck, Sarah Palin, is going to grace all of our Southern readers down there in Georgia with her presence on Monday, the day before the run-off, in support of Saxby Chambliss at 4 different rallies. Aren't you all just gosh-darn lucky? You betcha! Ummmm, she's not the Veep candidate anymore, she's back to being just good ol' Sarah from Alaska, so, doesn't an appearance on behalf of the National party do one of those "ethics and conflicts of interest" things, since her state's now going to be in a deficit, due to her mangling of the budget, and the books are required to be closed before the end of the fiscal year? Just asking! God, I want her to stick around so badly and keep splitting that party and leading the lemmings over the cliff. There are those who think she's pretty sharp, but I think those folks are a lot like those turkeys getting decapitated in her last televised interview.

. . . . A second press conference on economic policy this morning. See the paragraph above, Barack Obama is already stepping into a leadership role, and that's all I asked of him. To see what needs to be done, and not screw around getting it done, to step in and step up, even if it means stepping on toes. We cannot afford to wait any longer, something has to be done now, and we can't wait until January 20th.

. . . .One of the best things I've seen in a while, Candace Gingrich, little sister to Newt published an open letter to him over the weekend. Candace is a stalwart warrior in the fight for equal rights for the LBGT community and is at the forefront of the challenges and protests to overturn Prop. 8 out in California. The whole letter can be found here. In part, it says:

However, I realize that you may have been a little preoccupied lately with planning your resurrection as the savior of your party, so I thought I would fill you in on a few important developments you might have overlooked.

The truth is that you're living in a world that no longer exists. I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as -- and we embrace what it can be. You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past.

Welcome to the 21st century, big bro. I can understand why you're so afraid of the energy that has been unleashed after gay and lesbian couples had their rights stripped away from them by a hateful campaign. I can see why you're sounding the alarm against the activists who use all the latest tech tools to build these rallies from the ground up in cities across the country.

. . . . .Today's contributor on the issue of "change" and the mandate we handed over on Election Day to President-elect Obama and what that means to each of us personally and in the larger context to the body politic is the Reverend Charla J. Hermann from down Hawkwind way. Her essay on it:

"We find ourselves at a great crossing point in time. Our desire to participate in the restoration of a planet in crisis becomes more than a call in the night. This call to action has been prepared for in every way. Many of us have spent our lives rehearsing the process of renewal. We have learned the ancient songs and the dances. We have groomed and designed our tools of transformation. We have brought forward the Cannunpa Wakan ( Sacred Pipe of healing) and it is awake in our hands reaching to the world with new action. Our drums have come together to create a new harmony of all nations. We are mindful as we work with the elements and animals as part of our healing team. We have made relationship with the plants and Sacred Medicines. Yet, as we reach into our Medicine bag of tricks, it is pulling out a rabbit that can feed the millions of starving and dipping into the waters to quench the thirst of even more.

Right now the most powerful tool of the trade is our hearts! It is the heart that aches from the desolate places the people have gone as they embrace fear, shame, guilt and lack as gatekeepers. We have to step into the heart of the Wise Woman that feels hope and knows the hidden places of Soul-utions to bring forward the wisdom of these times. It is the love we have for children, puppies, and beautiful walks in the woods that allows us to see beyond the chaos. we must look beyond the false economy of this time. It is with our old and wise heart that is rich with experience that we reach with to hold one another. We reach with the wisdom that this Shamanic Shattering of our Earth Mother is right timing and a means to regeneration. We are living the "Death and Resurrection show" of all time.

We watch the nose dive of our great american system, like a junkie who is forced to consider recovery. We watch the composting of ways that no longer serve us and a new garden being planted. We do not wait for 2012, that would be too late. We set our tools to work NOW. We activate the codes of soultion and listen to the call of Spirit in the wind. We bless and transform the waters and we plant new corn. We dance, we sing, we pray and we celebrate a new wholeness of opportunity that came in chaos. We honor that we the Wise Women, Medicine Women, Goddess, Priestess, Grandmother, Mother, daughter and child have come together to form new life. We weave together as one heart knowing that the "I" stands alone, and the We is working together.

We stand together to feed the body, mind and Spirit of those around us. We dance into each other's Medicine kitchen to nurture forth the seeds of new beginnings. Renewal, restoration, regeneration and integrity are our code and a goal to achieve together. We know the promises well and now we tap into our most powerful and important skills. We now form one great big heart, one glorious song, and we dance into the Golden Age. We look to the East and we give gratitude for the clarity and understanding of this journey, and we honor our wings to fly over the adversity. We look to the South and we honor the compassion of gentle tricksters, and we ignite a new fire of passion to be effective at our task. We look to the West and we give gratitude for all of the healing tools around us, and the pure waters of new life that flows through our veins. We give thanks for the power of the Thunders who blast that amazing New-Clear energy though our souls. we look to the North and we give gratitude for wisdom nurtured through the old ones who blessed our lives, and we take responsibility for keeping the vision alive. We look to Earth mother and give gratitude that she holds our steps and feeds our body for another good day. We look to the Stars and the night sky to find a map and a code that will get us back home when the time is right. We look to the Dawn Star for a new beginning. Then we stand in the center of Great Mystery and hold the magic that is the God/Goddess in all of us. We cherish the magic of this Earth Walk that is ours. We come to honor that each of us is an altar of healing and transformation, and that the time to be an AWAKENED ALTAR is now. We make this transformation for all our relations.

We welcome this portal of transformation. We welcome the opportunity to honor an ancient contract to become the seeds of tomorrow. We honor that wholeness is an action word, and it is time to get busy.

May we all join as one."

Mitakuye Oyasin

Rev. Charla Hermann

Grandmother Blue Otter

Hawkwind Earth Renewal Cooperative

Founded in 1987

. . . . .Peace out until tomorrow kiddies, keep the cards and letters coming, your contributions make this a collaboration, rather than a pulpit. Kiss you kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do. Think seriously about what you're going to do for Thanksgiving. Invite someone over who wouldn't get a meal otherwise? Go to a shelter or a kitchen in the morning and serve the people? Something folks, it has to start in our own homes, in our own kitchens and hearts now, don't think about it, do it.

The Desolation Angel

Monday, Monday, Monday

It's time then my son, to fly the Black flag and reclaim the Republic!

. . . . .Vickie's Memorial page is parked over at the Vickie Quibell Memorial. I'll leave this up top for about a week before moving it over to the left sidebar with the links and give you all a chance to link to it and add it as a favorite.

. . . . . .Today's soundtrack to the blog - Steve Earle with Jericho Road from his latest, the Washington Square Serenade CD.

. . . . . I was talking about Presidential pardons in regards to GWB yesterday as he gets ready to leave office, Leon Lloyd sends this one along, give it a click and a read. Dafna Lizner over at Slate put it together. . . .bottom line kids; great chances for Scooter Libbey (he of obstructing investigators in the outing of Valerie Plame), Skillings and Fastow (Enron kings/dunces) and Michael Milken (junk bonds) to get their walking papers. Michael Vick, Marion Jones (add Leonard Peltier to the list). No d**n chance.

. . . . . .24, one of my favorite shows, returned to the air last night in a 2 hour teaser to catch us up on Jack Bauer's eternal search for redemption and his inevitably being pulled back in to being a one-man badass brigade to save us all (this upcoming season looks like it's an enemy within, which is fitting) and get us ready for next season. If you watched, I hope that you realized that Keifer, as executive producer, was also trying to highlight a problem that affects us all, that would be our total ignorance of what is happening on the African continent, and the number of child-soldiers kidnapped and put into militias and armies, some as young as 8 years old. The Red Hand Campaign of the Human Rights Watch is trying to bring attention to this issue and put a stop to it. Click the link and give it a read, consider giving them your support, take a good look at your kids or grandkids, somewhere on the African continent, there is one of the over a quarter-million child soldiers this morning, one of whom is just like them, only holding a gun and fighting.

. . . . . .Headline of the day, from the Huffington Post "Another Day, Another Massive Government Bailout"

. . . . . .Somebody help me here. First, $700 billion for the financial institutions that started this death spiral, now $300 billion this morning alone for Citigroup, another financial that's part of the "Oh Shit" gang. No oversight, Congressional, Treasury or White House. No watchdogs (I don't count using the law firm that handled 7 of those 9 banks mergers as a watchdog, nor do I consider using the guy who ran the Iraqi Green Zone when Halliburton & KBR made off with unaccounted for millions as oversight), but no relief for mortgage holders about to lose their homes just before the holidays, and no relief for any manufacturing (not just autos), which is the "hard" economy that will lead to job creation. I'm not getting it.

. . . . .Steve Forbes on CNN yesterday on Treasury Secretary Paulson: "Worst Treasury Secretary in modern times."

. . . . .The Rev. Charla Jo Hermann, of the Blue Star Times and down at Hawkwind sends this along this morning, a reminder from our past, and from one of Obama's role models and heroes. She's also queued up for tomorrow, Tuesday, with a well-crafted piece that is her contribution to the continuing series on "change" and the mandate that we handed not just the President-elect but ourselves.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage earner down
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they should and could do for themselves

Abraham Lincoln

. . . . . .The Economist magazine is receiving the news about Obama's pick for Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, (currently the head of the New York Fed) very well, calling him a "seasoned crisis manager"

Mr Geithner looks a lot younger than his 47 years (though not as young as he did before the crisis began). He skateboards and snowboards and exudes a sort of hipster-wonkiness, using “way” as a synonym for “very” as in “way consequential” and occasionally underlining his point with the word “fuck”. In temperament he seems similar to Mr Obama: he is suspicious of ideology, questions received wisdom, likes a competition of ideas and is keenly aware of how uncertain the world is.

. . . . .This sounds like my kind of guy!!


. . . . . .I really, really hope that you were aware of, and registered for your free Dr. Pepper on Sunday. In case you were unaware, Dr. Pepper was so certain that Axl Rose and G 'n R would never, ever, really release Chinese Democracy that they offered a free Dr. Pepper to every citizen in the United States if it ever really did happen. Well, they were good for their word, but it was only a 24 hour registration for it, yesterday. I got mine! By the way, there isn't a track on the album that doesn't just absolutely suck canal water, I got my listen early.

. . . . .Another female suicide bomber in the Iraqi Green Zone in Baghdad this morning. We need to pay attention closely. In the history of guerilla warfare and insurgencies, it is extremely unusual for women to take on the role of suicide bombers. Fighters in insurgencies and guerilla wars, yes, but suicide bombing, never before now. Traditionally, women's role as child-bearers and life-givers outweighs the inevitable outcome of a suicide bombing. Among other things, it shows the level of dedication and desperation that Al-Queada, Hamas and other organizations are willing to go to in order to get us out of there.

. . . . . .But that's alright, because GWB is "very pleased" with the Iraq War outcome. He said so in a pre-recorded interview overnight on Japanese broadcast radio.

. . . . .Obama is naming his economic team this morning. As I'm watching and as I expected,and written above, Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers as the head of the National Economic Council. Summers was Treasury Secretary under Clinton. Remember him? That would be the President we had when we had jobs, money and a growing economy. The reactions are summarized here. The best one, again, quoting from The Economist ".....ah competence, glorious, glorious competence, how we've missed you." His other picks, which have me feeling a little excited - Christina Rohmer who is absolutely the definitive expert and economic historian on the Great Depression and New Deal. Beyond history, she brings a unique understanding of the mechanics, the "whys" and the interlocking puzzle pieces behind the New Deal policies and programs and how Roosevelt essentially used a socialist nationalization program to save capitalism. His other pick, Melody Barnes, is a veteran Capitol Hill infighter and able to navigate the Senate building and get what's necessary done. Robert Reich, the current pundit that everyone turns to for opinion had this to say this afternoon:

All are pragmatists. Some media have dubbed them "centrists" or "center-right," but in truth they're remarkably free of ideological preconception. All have well-earned reputations as hard workers, well-versed in the technical details of public and private finance. They are not visible veterans of the old battles over supply-side economics or deficit reduction, nor are they well-known to the public. They are not visionaries but we don't need visionaries when the economic perils are clear and immediate. We need competence. Obama could not appoint a more competent group.

. . . . .Back in the swing of things with the pieces that you readers submitted in response to the question/issue/thought to ponder about "change" and what it means personally in context to the mandate for change that we, as a body politic, handed over on Election Day to President Obama. Today's contribution, originally slated for last week, comes from Eric Williams down in Indianapolis, (some of us know him as Kip) . . . .

Space and time to be silent on a regular basis.

A critical friend that will ask good questions and not give advice.

An opportunity to serve other people with your gifts.

A willingness to be present to your uncomfortable feelings.

A real problem to solve that does not have easy, obvious, or quick solutions.

An unapologetic recognition of your impermanence.

Direct and on-going experience with the natural world.

. . . . .I'm outta here for the day, check back in tomorrow, kiss your kids, tell the ones that you love out loud that you do, peace out.

The Desolation Angel

Sunday Morning (back at it again)

It's time then, my son, to set sail again this fine morn. Strike the colors, raise the Black flag and let us reclaim the Republic for you and your children!

. . . . .Vickie's memorial webpage is parked permanently over at The Vickie Quibell Memorial site, you can click the link and it will take you right there. It will be maintained and kept up, you can still add remembrances, comments, if there's a special picture, poem, prayer or passage you want there, e-mail it to me and I'll post it up. You will always be able to go visit her there. In the meantime, Vickie and I shared the same passion for the political process and she understood how the political, the cultural, the social were actually all one big pond, where each affected the other . . . . .sooo, back at it again . . . . . .

. . . . .Todays movie moment - "So . . . . .tell me about my ship" - Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a surprise reappearance, walking down the stairs, in the final scene of Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead Man's Chest

. . . . .If you're new here, and want to catch up, go over to the left hand column, under Archives, click on November or October, then the individual post titles, that should pretty well catch you up with the action through the election.

"Every once in a while honey, let yourself show" - Alejandro Escovedo - Always A Friend - the Real Animal CD

. . . . . . .Coming into Thanksgiving week, the organization that I'd like to highlight today that is working towards solutions for a problem that absolutely should not exist in the world's most prosperous nation, childhood hunger, is Share Our Strength, an umbrella coalition group that works with community organizations, activists and food programs to catch children at risk of going without food and make sure they're fed. Give the link a click and check them out. I'll recap a lot of the organizations that we talked about over the last couple of weeks, Wounded Warrior, Progressive Future et al later on this week, all good folks working for solutions.

. . . . . . I am so very impressed with the weekly YouTube address that President-elect Obama is giving every Saturday. It's cool, I watch it, and he's talking to me! Looking at me and explaining things. Please check this week's out, it's a well-thought out bold plan to restore, maintain and create up to 2.5 million jobs. The key phrase in this week's that stands out to me is "the survival of the American Dream". Wait until today's song finishes playing out so there's no crossfeed on the sound. There's a form to fill out on side of that page that allows you to give him feedback with your thoughts, take the time to do it. I've found that they respond and it's quite worthwhile. While you're at Change.gov, take the time to explore the site and fill out the feedback forms that want to know both your experiences during the election and the run-up to it, and what your vision for America is. And while you're at it, the application for a job with this adminstration is there too. Folks, this is what participatory and representative government is!



. . . . .Can't help it, I shouldn't participate in giving her the exposure, but my favorite political train-wreck, Sarah Palin, was at it again over the last 5 days. Check out the footage of her interview. It's damn hard to even listen to what she's saying, too busy checking out the guy in the background who keeps staring at the camera while cutting the heads off struggling turkeys. But then . . . . there is always the possibility that the turkeys were thankful to not have to hear her grating voice and her inability to put voice to a grammatically correct sentence structure.

. . . . . . Morning Joe, on MSNBC, put together a "Top 10" list of the recent Presidential campaign's most sublimely ridiculous moments:

1. Hillary Clinton citing Obama's kindergarten essay titled "I Want To Become President"
2. Mike Huckabee's ongoing "buddy cop movie" with Chuck Norris
3. Obama Girl
4. Paris Hilton for President
5. "Terrorist Fist Jab"
6. Hillary Clinton's drinking beers and taking shots of Crown Royal
7. Barack Obama bowling, or, as it came to be known, "The Altoona Massacre"
8. Wardrobe-gate, Sarah Palin's $150K (or more) clothing caper
9. Joe the Plumber
10. "Lipstick on a Pig"

. . . . . . .Shouldn't it scare everybody, regardless of your political affiliation, that Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay are the leading figures coming out to put the Republican Party back together and not George Will, Peggy Noonan, Andrew Sullivan and Christopher F. Buckley?

. . . . . .Is it legally possible for Bush to pardon himself, Cheney and Rove in advance before his stuff is packed in cardboard boxes and he's shown the door? Speaking of which, does this mean that we'll finally see Cheney emerge from his "undisclosed location"?

. . . . .This week's recommended reading - Ghost Dancing the Law: The Wounded Knee Trials by John William Sayer which is an account of the trials and an in-depth look at AIM activism and the United States legal and social response to that activism. Well worth your time.

. . . . .Of all the pardons that I fervently hope and wish for, I know this one won't happen with Bush and we'll have to wait 4 or 8 more years, but I truly pray for Leonard Peltier to see at least one more sunrise and sunset as a free man.

. . . . .Thanks to Lulu for keeping an eye out for things until I got back in the saddle. She forwarded this along to me. It's a list of regulations and rules that got pushed into effect under the "midnight rules" that come into effect at the end of the adminstration. Think George W Bush can't do any more damage with only 60 day to go? Wrong? Take a look here at what got pushed into law, and the only requirement was that they be published in the Federal Register by midnight Friday November 21st, no Congressional oversight, no passage of a law, nothing. Most of them are environmental requirements and regulations that got abolished or relaxed. Check them out here, where an organization called ProPublica dedicates themselves to ferreting out these "midnight regulations". Your recourse? Contact your Congressperson at Congress.org and raise hell! Tell them that you want this investigated and these "midnight rules" repealed.

. . . . . . .Tomorrow, Monday evening, I'll get back on track with the submissions by you readers on "change" and what the mandate handed to the President-elect on Election Day means to you personally and what it means in the larger context of the body politic. You can check out the previous submissions by Barbara Vitale, Tom Summerlin, Lulu Sliker & Jim Howell by going to the archives in the left hand column and checking out the November posts. Tomorrow, Eric Williams (known as Kip to a lot of us) and his contributions. Please e-mail me, (use the e-mail button on the left hand side, reply to the website update e-mails you receive or contact me at k.williamsdesolationangel(at)gmail.com {replace the (at) with an @ symbol} ) with your own submissions, as we'll continue this through the end of the year, moving on into sustainable living and your thoughts on that in the first quarter of next year. Today, I'm going to take a little personal time for my own reflection about Vickie, I've tried throughout this last week to remain a communication hub for you all and keep everyone informed along the way and I've not taken the time for my own thoughts and to be able to say what I needed to say about my friend and sister.

. . ."If I leave you, it doesn't mean I love you any less. Keep me in your heart for a while" - Keep Me In Your Heart for A While - Warren Zevon on The Wind CD

. . . . .Vickie Lea Quibell was to me, first and foremost, a friend. If there was only enough food on the plate for one person, Vickie wasn't going to eat and you were. If it was cold and she had a coat or a sweater on and you didn't, you'd wind up with it. In our world, in the particular spot that some stand in, there are those who are always the last to eat, making sure others are fed first, that the elders and children are taken care of first. Vickie was always the first woman who stood there in back making sure that those ways were upheld. For the men and women who stand in that particular spot, it is our vow, our life calling to stake our sash to the ground, hold one spot unwavering and dedicate ourselves to making sure that the fires are kept burning, that the people are fed and warm, that the elders and children are safe. Vickie exemplified that. For those who know that place in the wheel, it grieves and tears when one of our own goes down, it leaves a hole inside that will never go away. But I know this, Vickie is now in a place where she can do her work unhindered, without physical pain and be everywhere at once, serving the people she loved so dearly and so much. She is somewhere where she can dance without pain, stand all night behind a Drum singing and move to the music of the stars and the wind. I will miss her, miss her "stealing" a cigarette from me, miss her ability to make the coffee that I loved so much; strong, bitter and black, miss her wisdom and her humble willingness to share what she'd learned. I will miss our conversations. She was, is, and, evermore, will always be my friend. May the wind, the Moon, the Sun and the stars keep you well dear Sister. Someday again, we will share a cup of coffee and a smoke and talk into a soft, gentle evening.

The Desolation Angel

Sad Thursday

. . . .My normal posts won't be up for a day or two, if you're a visitor, please check out the archives listing on the left hand side for November and October's daily posts. If you're family, you already know the below. Feel free to comment and leave a remembrance of Vickie.

By now, every one who needs to be informed before this goes up has been informed, and I can put this post up. Our Dear Sister Vickie Quibell transitioned to Spirit early Tuesday morning. She went quietly and in her sleep. She was doing the things she loved; she was on the Road, with her dear friend Mary, traveling to see Grandma. She was loved, and will be missed beyond words. Our communities grief is deep, and we appreciate from our hearts the calls and offers of help that have been pouring in all day long. Our prayers will be turned towards her grandson, Kyle, her two sons, Matt and Jeremiah, her parents and her family. We gathered to pray in our way as a family circle tonight at 7 and we appreciate all the work that was done in a good way to get it going, and really appreciate people's hearts and minds as they came together to do this.

. . . . . There will be a memorial service this coming Saturday, November 22 at the Nie Funeral Home, Liberty Road Chapel, 3767 West Liberty Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Phone Number (734) 302-1000. Time frame is 1 PM for the service, with the chapel open at 11:30 AM for gathering together, viewing pictures and sharing remembrances. After the service, people will gather at Kip and Mary's, 6170 Whittaker Road, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 for a feast and sharing, with ceremony planned for later on that evening. If you wish to travel in from out of town for this, please contact either someone you know in our circle, or us directly, just shoot a quick e-mail and I will give you one of our phone numbers.

Google Maps link (click the link, enter the addresses and you can get a map to either place)
Windows Live Map Search link for the same purpose, enter the address you want and get directions, if you prefer to use that particular map service.
Yahoo Maps link, if that's the mapping service you're used to using.


. . . . .There was a bank account set up this afternoon at Key Bank of Michigan, the Vickie Quibell Memorial Fund, that people may donate to, in order to take care of the costs associated with all this. Kay Meija is the primary contact for that, at the moment, and again, please shoot me a quick e-mail from the e-mail link on the left hand side or at kiprwilliams(at)hotmail.com (replace the (at) with an @ symbol) or k.williamsdesolationangel(at)gmail.com and I will share with you what details I know.

UPDATE THURSDAY EVENING

Hello all,

I wanted to let you know that the expenses are mounting quickly, and ask you for any immediate help you can grant. It would be very much appreciated by Vickie's family. Please call me at (734) 660-2039 if you are out of state and need an address to send donations to. All checks should be made payable to the Vickie Quibell Memorial Fund

Services will be held on Saturday, November 22, 2008, from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Liberty Road Chapel of Nie Funeral Home, Westside Location - 3767 W. Liberty Rd., Ann Arbor, MI. The Chapel will open at 11:30 a.m. for us to gather together to celebrate Vickie's life with pictures and song. You can share your favorite memory of Vickie in the memory book at this time as well. The formal service will be at the same location from 1:00 - 1:30.

Blessings to you,

Kay Mejia

. . . . .When the guestbook is set up on the Funeral Home's webpage it will be at www.niefuneralhomes.com, you'll be able to go there, search her name, Vickie Quibell and sign it, though that won't be until a little later in the week.

Friday afternoon updates:
. . . . .The following obituary was placed in the Ann Arbor News and the Bayfield Times today:

Vickie Lea Quibell, Ann Arbor, MI

Age 57, passed away Monday, November 17, 2008. She was born October 27, 1951 in Springfield, MA, the daughter of Gene Quibell and Delores (Quibell) Minzey-Coulter. Survivors include: sons, Jeremiah & Matthew McEwen; grandson Kyle Chapman; sisters Lisa Tyluki & Lori Quibell; brother Gary Quibell; and her parents. The service will be 1:00 pm. Saturday, November 22, at the Nie Liberty Road Chapel, 3767 W. Liberty Rd., Ann Arbor, MI; the Reverend Orval L.E. Williams is officiating. Vickie’s Celebration of Life will be held from 11:30 – 1:00. The family will receive friends from 2:00 – 4:00 at Kip & Mary Williams home. Please see the following site if you would like to post permanent writing and/or pictures: http://anidiotsravingsattheedge.blogspot.com . The family is requesting donation made out to the Vickie Quibell Memorial Fund & deposited at any Key Bank in Michigan, or mailed to 759 Valley Circle Dr. #105, Saline, MI 48176. Prayers for all of us, and the Groves/Birch extended family, would be greatly appreciated as well.

Kay Mejia

734 660-2039

759 Valley Circle Drive #105

Saline, MI 48176-1422

Place of death: Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cremation to be handled by: The Cremation Society of Eastern - Central - Western Iowa

888-871-3361

"

. . . . .If you are coming over for the gathering and food tomorrow after the service (from 2 to 4 at Kip & Mary Williams' house); please bring a meal-size freezer container and lid (empty) that you are not expecting to be returned. All food at the end of the day will be divided up into meal-sized containers, marked and frozen so the boys may have food to get them through the next few weeks.

. . . . .Please e-mail me with anything you might want to say about Vickie, or comment in the comments section below, I will park this page permanently once we get through all this, so that you may go visit it any time you want.

Kip

Monday's Rantings and Ravings

It's time then, my son, to sail full on into the wind. Raise the Black Flag and let them know who they're dealing with.

. . . . . Today's musical selection? 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, a song by Richard Thompson done by Reckless Kelly on their Reckless Kelly Was Here CD. In honor of today's guest contributor, Mr. Jim Howell, whose essay on "change" and the mandate delivered by the people is below, at the bottom of the post, where all essays go.

. . . . ."I never knew Detroit was a dirty word" - Detroit Free Press headline on Sunday, November 16th
. . . . . Those who know me, know that I worked for Ford Motor for 20 years. The line-in-the-sand for bailouts appears to run through Detroit and corporate headquarters of Ford, General Motors & Chrysler. The conservative reaction, across the board, to the bailout of the Big 3 - Let 'em die - So, tell me then, why does Bear,Stearns or AIG deserve the bailout money but the automotive companies don't. I will also tell you that I worked both UAW and management, and would bite my tongue when my co-workers would rave about Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and the Republican party, well, just a sampler below, but click the links and read what that same bunch has to say:
To Save Detroit, Let It Go Bankrupt
Detroit: Same Old, Same Old
Bankruptcy Is The Best Option for GM
Detroit Automakers A Relic of the Past
Detroit Bailout To Nowhere
No Free Lunch For Detroit
Blame the UAW For Detroit's Problems
Listening to the Sunday talk shows on Sunday, I heard it all. One intellectual professed that Toyota was successful "because they didn't make trucks" (ever hear of a Tundra dumbass?); one brain donor insisted the the Chevy Volt was made by Ford. My point? It's not just that they don't give a damn about you, they want to see you gone, the companies gone and the State of Michigan shut down.

. . . . .Do the car companies and the UAW share their share of the blame? Yup, I was working there, so I saw a lot of it. But, remember a couple of things. We made what you all wanted to buy and we could make profitably. That happened to be trucks and SUV's that you all wanted for a long time, previous to that, it was Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles, Barracudas, Roadrunners, 57 Chevys, Woodys and the list goes on. An auto company isn't a utility, it's a for profit corporation. Any corporation, by 1963 Supreme Court ruling, exists to make profit for it's stockholders. Another point to remember is very simple; the automotive industry is basically the backbone and spine of the "hard" American economy, put those 3 out of business and the total ripple effect through the steel, plastic, rubber, electronic and other supplier industries will put 3 to 5 million people out of work. The total cost for their state unemployment benefits alone will be 10 times what any bailout money would be, and it will most definitely not be a recession, it will become a long, hard Depression.
. . . . The last point to remember is simple. Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile, but in inventing high-speed standardized assembly line manufacturing, and controlling his entire industry from front to back and paying a decent wage (the first person to employ African-Americans at the same rate as whites) and, finally, putting out an afforable product, the Model's A & T; he basically "invented" the middle class in this country and provided the base for the steel, rubber, chemical (plastics) and later on, electronics industry. When America and the world needed it, Detroit turned around overnight and started making tanks and planes for WWII, and employed women in manufacturing jobs to do so. The Detroit automotive industry, in many ways, made this nation what it was and is. It's time yes, for flexibility out of the UAW, inventive and creative solutions out of Detroit engineering, but it's not time for this nation to turn it's back on Detroit.

. . . . . "She's going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She's not going to be the de facto leader." Newt Gingrich (architect and leader of the conservative "Class of 94") yesterday on CBS's Face the Nation yesterday with the next-to-last word on Sarah Palin.

. . . . . And just because she's a good ol' girl just like all of y'all, from Wasilla, Alaska who likes to shop in consignment shops, how about the detailed bill (thank you FOIA) for Sarah Palin's (ya know, conservative, down-to-earth "hockey mom") VP campaign wardrobe, courtesy of public campaign financing and donors, all $150,000 worth, and Todd's $40,000 bill. (Hint: start with a couple of Ralph Lauren jackets worth over $4,000 apiece, the skirt she wore at the RNC worth over $4K, and one suitcase that cost 6 grand. I betcha all got closets full of stuff jist like it!)

. . . . . I've rambled on some at length about how out-of-touch the Repub Neoconservative Theocracy is with the rest of the country, Frank Schaeffer, a conservative Republican talks about how out of touch his own party is with the rest of America and why he, and so many others of his party, switched their vote:

"The Republican Party is only a step away from becoming the fringe of the fringe, identified more with cross-burning weirdoes wearing hoods, folks like the Alaska secessionist party, all those gun owners stocking up on assault weapons before the "Socialist/United Nations/Obama/Muslim" conspiracy comes to fruition, than with anything remotely like a serious national political force.

The Republican Party--and I speak as a former lifelong Republican who, up through the 2000 primary campaign supported John McCain and even worked for him by arguing his case on various conservative and religious radio stations--is now the toy of the Rush Limbaugh windbags. These folks include outright crazies (such as Sarah Palin's Assemblies of God pals who are waiting for Spaceship Jesus to rescue them and/or rooting out "witches" from their midst), white racists and a few not-very-bright attention seekers, including Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity etc."

. . . . . I put some numbers behind it in yesterday's post, but here is Cenk Uygur with more numerical proof that America is not a "center-right" nation -

"By the way, one more thing -- this has never been a center-right country. Of course, there are pendulum swings in the political spectrum and the country is more conservative at times and more progressive at other times. But overall, we built the United Nations, we started the idea of human rights, we expanded voting rights and civil rights for everybody, we spread the idea of individual rights throughout the world, and we even rebuilt our enemies after World War II. It is no exaggeration to say that America is one of the most progressive countries in the history of the world"

. . . . . Today's contributor on the subject of "change" and how he sees the mandate for change reflected both personally and on a national body-politic basis, our good friend Mr. Jim Howell, creaky ex-logger (from Idaho in past life) currently residing in the Great Lakes state:

"Change is one of the constants in our universe. Its kind of like gravity in that we're stuck with it whether we are enjoying its current manifestation or no! It seems to me that America came out of the depths of the 1930's and 40's with a well deserved attitude of 'we can do anything we put our minds to'. We were fairly successful in changing the direction of an industrial war machine to point its nose towards consumer goods. That change seemed like a good thing as folks got refrigerators and washing machines and telephones and TVʼs and...
I think that this lead up to a subtle change in national attitude more of a 'we can have
anything we put our minds to'. This change was, I think hardly noticeable in the beginning, say the early 50's, but we baby boomers certainly embraced it and our parents acknowledged it and us and it came into the national psyche -- ever growing, ever changing. We came to define personal success to be our ability to collect more and bigger stuff without really paying any attention to how it was being made or where the resources were coming from. The 60's came and brought some more change. A few folks came to realization that unrestrained consumerism might not be such a good thing in the long run and fighting wars for no real reason might not be such a good thing in the short (or any) run. And then the sixties went-- boy did they go! Some time passes and more change happens. A peanut farmer gets elected
to be leader of the land and he finds out that the status quo of the land might not be ready for 'honesty is the best policy'. Some other folks get together and decide that maybe we're better off with an actor in the big house. Around that time a writer/director puts another actor on the silver screen and the actor utters (more like shouts) the words, "Greed is good!" What might have been intended as a bit of a farcical parody becomes a mantra and boy, oh boy, we're a changing again. We, and I'm using the larger 'we' here, the societal we, bought into this hook, chopped up line and marching powder sinker. Oh yeah, disco was in there some place, too. Hmm, is there a theme starting to pop up here? Well, things are still changing, still moving and still seemingly inching towards me instead of we.
Fast-forward another twenty or thirty years and who are we thinking of? It appears to still be: 'ME'. Kids get shot for the sneakers on their feet. We're spending more per capita on our students of anyplace on the planet, yet we rank 18th of 24 nations in a study by UNICEF. We're involved in a long, unpopular and most likely unnecessary war, the world's economy is headed to a much warmer place while sliding quickly along in the proverbial handbasket and... wait, the pollsters are saying that 'we' do not like the direction the country is headed in! And to paraphrase a tree in what's left of the Amazon rainforest, "Its about goddamn time!" At this point in my brief history of change, WE come to a point where WE can make a positive difference. WE can effect change for a more rational use of natural resources. WE can insist that policy decisions are made for the good of the many rather than the few. WE can
do this with love in our hearts, but...WE MUST DO IT! Itʼs past time to talk. Itʼs past time to think that someone else can deal with it while I watch the game. Itʼs past time to worry about right and left -- it is time to worry about right and wrong. It is time to touch base with our inner spirit, pay close attention and then do the right things, even if they may be a little inconvenient in the short term. Change is always happening and now is a time when WE can, when WE must direct that change with all our hearts. All aboard!"

. . . .Thanks for that Jim. Keep those cards and letters coming folks. It's been absorbing and fascinating to see and read what you all have put together. Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do.

The Desolation Angel

Sunday Morning Snow

It's time then, my son, to fly the Black Flag and reclaim the Republic

. . . . . .Today's musical selection - Hey World (Remote Control Version) by Michael Franti & Spearhead off of their latest - All-Rebel Rockers (If you're having trouble hearing it, most Firefox users aren't, if you're using Internet Explorer, check your Flash plug-ins and ActiveX controls, although I expect this week to go to a continuous loop podcast jacked in from another website of mine and move my music upstream to a skydrive, so there will be a constant rotation of my listening tastes to subject you to)

. . . . . .Today's contributor of a piece on "change" and what it means to us, the work we all have to commit to do, and in context to the mandate for change that we, as a population, a body politic, handed to incoming Adminstration - Ms. LuLu Sliker, from down Hawkwind and Red Queen way. It's down below here at the end of the post body, where I put the themed essays. Mr. Jim Howell is queued up next for tomorrow with his contribution.

. . . . .TV moment of the (upcoming) week - "I will shoot you" - Jack Bauer, of 24, my favorite show and my all-time favorite guilt-ridden, self-doubting, mentally tortured badass, returning in 7 days, thank you very, very much.

. . . . .I think, in framing terms of reference, that Obama is not building an All-Star Team for his Administration and Cabinet, so much as he's building an Olympic Dream Team. You know, built once every four years, with each contributor brought in for specific talents and abilities, despite normally playing on rival teams, but put together for a common goal, that of reaching the highest level possible. All-Star Teams are a once a year, one night flash in the pan. Dream Teams are built with purpose. I really, really hope it's composition is a lot like the first NBA one (Jordan, Johnson, Byrd, Barkley, Dumars et al). Nothing has matched it's composition since. FDR, now Lincoln? If he pulls out Profiles in Courage by John Kennedy, I'm gonna faint!

. . . . .God, I love Ray Wylie Hubbard. His songwriting ability, his greasy blues guitar, his growl. An acquired taste, but there are few better. Screw You, We're From Texas still ranks as one of the best attitude songs I've ever heard.

. . . . . Yes, the application that they send for the new Administration really is 63 pages long, and for those who know me well, the fact that I know this is an absolute scream. How do I fill out the question about past affiliations with questionable people or organizations?

. . . . . .I spent a few keystrokes yesterday on the FDR analogy. Well, now it's Lincoln's turn. Lincoln built a team of rivals given the proportion of the crisis he was facing, and having an innate understanding of what they could accomplish if they were focused on a common goal. Both he and Hillary reference the same book, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. In it, Goodwin explores how Lincoln built a team of his foes and rivals to accomplish the goal of re-uniting the States. You'll have to check yesterday's and Friday's post out (at left and down the column) to check out what I had to say about Hillary, I mentioned earlier in the week that McCain was restoring some of the respect I had for him, by stripping himself of Palin and his campaign managers and returning to the McCain of old, the bipartisan rebel who could get things done in the Senate. Well, tomorrow's meeting calendar for Obama has a big time block circled out for sitting down with Johnny Mac.

. . . . .Snowing here this morning. I can actually deal with snow a lot better than cold rain. Physically impossible, but it always seems a little warmer when it snows than just cold, dreary November rain. Either that, or I really am getting older and having a harder time dealing with the cold, Christ, I'll be 51 at the end of this week. I know, quit whining! But, the election brought home to me, if you've been following the posts here, that it was the day before Kennedy's assassination that I turned 6 years old.

"The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born, is busy dying." . . . . . Bob Dylan - It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding).

. . . . .The right, the conservative core of the Repubs is at it and has been at it since the election. They're attempting to minimize the magnitude of Obama's election victory with a con-ven-i-ent (Thank you Dana Carvey and Church Lady) set of lies they're spreading. Like the best lies, they all have a grain of truth in them somewhere, but in the end are all designed to somehow delegitimize the Obama administration from the start, and somehow leave the door cracked open for the return of the extreme far-right fascist rule of the Neoconservatives. It's important not just because it's an attempt to delegitimize him, it also delegitimizes all of us. Here's how it really lays out:

• The Repubs are increasingly a marginalized, fringe party, and due to their own betrayal of "conservative" principles in terms of political reach, the size of government, the budget and the economy are close to extinction. They in no way reflect the composition of the American populace, but instead look like a bunch of upper middle management execs gathered at the club sipping Old Hennessey bitching about their short game who are so Caucasian they make Wonder Bread look a little dark and so male and straight they think Celine Dion is really hot.
• In terms of that composition, Robert Borosage, of Mother Jones, and one of the Directors of Our Future, a progressive agenda organization that deserves your time and clicking of the link, did some extensive mathematical research just before the election, Election Day and the day after and came to some interesting conclusions. He does a far better job of breaking down the demographics than I can, but here are some of baseline numbers and facts; people who call themselves moderates (which is a far larger chunk than those who call themselves liberal or conservative) lean left on the major issues of the day. 39% of registered voters are Democrats, 32% Republican and 27% independent. In the upcoming 8 years, and one more election cycle, it's far more likely that independents will surpass registered Republicans than Repubs catch up to the Dems. To quote him: "
  

  When we asked whether Republicans lost because they were too conservative or not conservative enough, or whether they should move to the center or reaffirm their principles and stay on the right, liberals and moderates were clear. They lost because they were too conservative and should move back towards the center. Conservatives, not surprisingly, reaffirmed the faith.

  On issue after issue, moderates stand with liberals, not conservatives. This is a center-left nation.

  Republicans are not only an aging, monochromatic, regional minority party. They not only must now suffer the circular firing squad that follows defeat. They not only struggle to find a compelling leader or a relevant agenda. They swim against the tide. They are a largely conservative party in a center-left nation. Obama's mandate is clear. And they'd be well advised to get out of the way."

• They keep saying that Obama's win wasn't that "big". Wrong, it was massive, 8 million more votes massive. Courtesy of Michael Glitz - "Obama won the biggest percentage of the popular vote for any Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. He's the first to win more than 50% since Carter in 1976. Virtually, the entire country went more Democratic than Republican -- except for the Old Confederacy, where the Republican Party still holds on to a narrow, poor strip. Obama was the first Democrat to win North Carolina since 1976 and the first to win Virginia and Indiana since 1964".
• The next lie? That Obama won because of the African-American vote and Far Left. I put this one here on purpose; check the two points above. He beat both Bushes, Kerry and Gore in every demographic.
• I've saved my two favorites for last: first up would be Karl Rove editorializing in the Wall Street Journal the day after the election that Obama won because he ran a "center-right" campaign. This coming from a guy who editorialized twice a week and was on Fox News and CNN once a day for 6 months before the election calling Barack Obama a socialist who was going to take the country so far left that it would tip over on it's axis!
• My absolute favorite lie, but one which I hope has some truth - that Sarah Palin is the future of the Republican Party. As a screaming out loud Progressive populist myself, I sure as hell hope she is! Lead on, Sarah, take 'em right on over the cliff!

. . . . . .And now, in her contribution to today's column, Ms. Lulu puts forth a pretty good piece on how she sees the mandate for "change" for both the incoming Administration and for each of us, and the work required of us:

"Change has to begin in the heart, in the home, in the families. Change must begin with the little children. Change can come when a mother is able to stay home with her new born baby and nurture and nourish her/him uninterrupted by the stress and worries about how the bills will be paid and when she will have to go back to work and leave the baby in some others care. All new mothers should be given the right to stay home with their new born. Change will make it so that each new mother is given that opportunity. We need to create programs that support that choice to be home. A new born thrives best with mother at its side. From there we need to find ways to better the choices that a young family has about where who and how their children will be cared for. The first few years of life are the most precious in establishing a bright healthy happy human being. Day care is a scary place to be for a young child. We need to find a way to support positive nurturing centers. Funding that would provide better pay for the caregivers of the very small. These people get paid very little for the service they provide. I am sure that the quality of care would greatly improve if these things were looked into. The education of the children needs to focus on building positive self esteem in each child. Children that are told "yes you can" grow up to be strong individuals with active imaginations (just take a moment to think what that one statement "Yes we can" did to your grown up imagination and think what it will do for a child that is told that throughout his/her lifetime). They will surly grow up with abilities to make choices wisely. We must create programs in the school system that inspire the imagination and that will teach respect and tolerance to our children. We must think about who exactly has been raising our children while parents are struggling so hard just to put food on the table. More youth centers with creative outlets like the arts and drama and music, not just sports. Opening up the minds of the youth is most important. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Giving them the very best from the beginning will create a healthier adult. I feel the amount of children described as ADHD will plummet when provided with good nurturing early on. Over all I believe mental health costs will decrease because of this kind of support and foundation building of whole healthy people.

Change is when we all use reusable bags at the grocery store without giving it a second thought. When we all recycle because it is just what you do. When energy conservation is second nature and it becomes effort less in each household. When we can all afford alternative fuel vehicles or when available ride alternative public transportation. Change is grants and funding for alternative energy. Not just research, I think we are about past that, but funding to actually build off shore wind generators and underwater turbines or whatever else. The technology is there. It's time to put it into action and figure out how to set up the grid to get these things within reach of the homes and businesses in our country. These changes will create many jobs. These changes will begin to have a positive effect on the environment. These changes will change the world and the way rest of the world views us. No longer will we be called pigs because we use up so much of the earth’s valuable resources.

We need to be leaders in these changes and then offer our support to others who ask for our help. America needs to listen to other countries more and hear what is going on before we go in with a heavy hand. That is part of the strife in the world. We are bullies. It is time to change that image. Let’s use our imagination and figure out how to make that change. How to earn respect back. I admit that I am not a political genius by a long shot, but I see how we are perceived and it is time to change that perception. America is a great country but greed got in the way. Things go out of hand and we have neglected the things that are most important to sustaining a good and balanced country. Children, care of our elders, Veterans care and support they receive, the environment and our relationship with our global community. Lobbying the decision makers needs to be looked at and given an overhaul. Again, this is a system that I am pretty ignorant about but I sense it can be better managed. The idea of community service hours to earn college students tuition support is brilliant. This could be expanded upon and more programs could benefit from the give and receive of community service. Giving of ourselves with volunteer service in places or issues we are each individually passionate about would help the changes to take place and give each change strong support merely because of the pride of the accomplishment each individual involved would hold.

I feel the new administration coming in is setting things up in a way we could hardly have dreamed possible in the past. I feel the Internet, in this situation is going to be a powerful tool. I feel this time the people's voice actually will count, so we need to remember to speak up on all issues and let your feelings be known. This I know, for too long the ones with money have been in charge. It is time to let the little man make a stand. Give voice to what is working and point out what is not. It is time to wake up and live. We all have a dream. Mine is to live my life in a way that when I look back over my shoulder, when my hair is long and very gray I can smile. I live my life for the children coming behind us. Let’s all make our little changes, be it car pooling, recycling, writing to our new administration, lending a hand or simply seeing the person at the gas station for the very first time with real communication. We are all here together. We are all part of the mess we have made. We all can make the change we know is possible. Yes We Can.

LuLu "

. . . . . .Thanks for that, Lulu, beautiful and heartfelt. Tomorrow, Mr. Jim Howell, the venerable ex-logger and creaky, aging hippy, formerly of Idaho, with his perspective on it.

. . . . . I've got one ready, that when all of your contributions are in and posted, that speaks to the Black Flag (and believe me, it probably isn't what you think, by a long shot!) that I always reference at the top of every post, and what it means. Believe it or don't, there's an agenda at work here, and your contributions on change all speak on that subject.

Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do, and our work is just starting, so buckle up, get ready and let's go, it's time to rock and roll.

The Desolation Angel

Welcome to the World

It's time then, my son, to strike the colors, raise the Black Flag and reclaim the Republic for the honor and glory of the generations to come!

. . . . .Welcome to the world Hero! Hero Thomas Summerlin, son to Jeremy Summerlin and Julia, grandson to Tom Summerlin and Zetta arrived to this world today, 11/28/08 at 12:20 PM. 8 lbs. 1 oz. 21 in. We welcome you, bright light.

. . . . .There are no coincidences or accidents, only synchronicities. Thank you Vickie for electing to maintain the balance in all things and help Hero to come to the world. What did you whisper in his ear as he came today?

. . . . .I actually wrote the following almost 3 weeks ago, and this morning was finished editing and was going to post it when Jeremy sent the news, now it seems even more fitting.

I'm asked, quite often actually, about the quotes that begin the posts each day and the reference to the Black Flag. I'll finally tell the story, as I was told it. It's one of those that even if it isn't true, it's good enough that it should be.

I was told. . . . . .
. . . .Centuries ago, during the Roman Empire, the 10th Legion was the most feared military machine in the known world, marching under a red banner and a golden eagle. They were loyal to Caesar, and loyal to the ideal of Rome. Caesar had built the legion out of the best soldiers that the Roman Army had to offer, out of gladiators, out of slaves, out of free-roaming soldiers who had come from Celtic tribes, the Britons and the Picts, from the Gauls, and from the Sarmatians of the Russian steppes. The 10th was made of hand-picked soldiers by Caesar, not mindless brutes or killing machines, but soldiers who could think, who could improvise and act, yet still fight as one unit, 10,000 of them. You didn't volunteer for the 10th, nor were you drafted and put in it, you were tested, picked and then trained. It is said that the soldiers of the 10th believed, each and every one of them, that they had been Hell's Lieutenants, doomed and damned souls who had been sent to Hell and trained by the Lord of the Underworld to lead his Armies in the Final Battle, but after being trained, had reclaimed their souls and their honor, rebelled against the Dark Lord and wrested the chance to go back to Earthly realms one more time to claim redemption, restore honor to their souls and be loyal to one man and one cause, to fight against the forces of darkness and tyranny that were threatening to engulf the world.
Caesar fought at the front of this Legion, side by side with each of them, unlike any other General or Emperor in Roman history, and his reason for hand-picking each of them, for training them, for teaching them to think and to understand loyalty and honor? His reason for instilling in them the same ideals that he had for the future of Rome and restoration of the Republic? Simple, he knew that the time of the Emperors had come and gone in Rome and it was time to restore the Senate, and to give the people a seat and a voice therein, to restore the Republic and democracy. He knew that he would need the 10th, their fierce loyalty and pride, their belief in his ideals to make it happen should the ruling class of Rome object, which he knew they would, drunk with power and greed as they were.
. . . .When Caesar returned to Rome to accomplish this, he left the 10th camped far North of Rome, he didn't want the people of the city being frightened by the appearance of the fiercest legion in history at the gates of the city, nor did he wish to immediately resort to a military option to wrest control from the ruling class, but instead had hoped for his rival's better nature and their own share in the best interests of Rome's future to prevail. As history records, this didn't happen, and Caesar was murdered in the Forum, betrayed by his own ideals and belief in what Rome could become, betrayed by those who expressed their own alliances with him.
When word reached the 10th Legion of what had occurred, two options presented themselves. They could storm the city, and wreak vengeance for their sworn leader, but the ideals that he had trained them in could not and would not allow them to do that and kill their fellow citizens, so they threw down the Red banner that they had fought, bled and died under for so long, taking Caesar's eagle with them, and turned their steps and faces North, marching under a Black Flag. The true 10th Legion left Rome that day, and afterwards, men like Mark Antony, Caligula and Nero tried to resurrect it, but as Rome and the known world fell towards ruin and darkness, the true 10th was never heard from again.. . .
. . . .Some say that the soldiers of the 10th after going North for a while split in three directions, some to the East, some the West and some to the North. The Sarmatians, the Gauls and some of their other brothers went East, back into the Russian steppes, while those who went West went back to their Celtic, Briton and Pictish homelands taking many of their comrades with them, while those from the far Northern tribes took some of their brothers with them and returned home to become Vikings, fierce fighters. Those who had returned to Celtic homelands eventually interbred and married within the Celtic tribes, and when finally forced into a corner were able to repel what Armies Rome had brought back to Britain and repel the Saxon invaders. Those who went East, well. . ., it is said that a true Russian has never been defeated in battle, I think that's accurate, just ask Napoleon or Hitler. Those who went to the far North, their reputation is well cemented in history, and they were the first travelers to North America, not the Europeans, and some say those that stayed intermarried with the indigenous peoples there. It's said that the bloodline of the 10th flowed through the Knights Templar, whose mission it was to protect the bloodline of the Grail, and history would show them once again betrayed by the representatives of that ideal that they had believed in, in that case the Pope and the Church.
. . . .Just as the Grail bloodline flows throughout European and Middle Eastern history, just as the shaman and medicine people of the old European tribes had to become traveling troupes of gypsy actors, jugglers and musicians in order to survive and keep their bloodlines intact, becoming in this day and age rock and roll musicians, so to has the bloodline of the 10th survived down to this day. Throughout history, wherever a Black flag is flown, whether it be pirates, renegades, outlaws or anyone who cannot live by a society's rules, mountain men, cowboys, bikers, buccaneers, outsiders, loners,whoever, but is always willing to sacrifice themselves to make sure that those who cannot speak for themselves, those who have no voice anymore, those who have been so beaten down that they have no will to fight, those whose hands and minds have never known violence but who work to heal and help others, those in need of protection; those who work and stand under the Black Flag protect them. The Black flag strikes fear into the hearts of those who would keep what they've stolen, those who know in their hearts that the only position they have is one that they gotten to by trampling on others and keeping them down. For those people who look for hope, for a protector, for justice, for someone in whose bloodlines flows the blood of the legendary Lost 10th, they know that the Black flag offers protection and haven. So, people, the song's been sung, the bells have rung out, the signal fires have been lit and Black flag has been hoisted high, it's time then for the descendants of the legendary Lost 10th to become who they were meant to be, to earn redemption, at long last, for their ancestors and to find justice for the people. The election wasn't a revolution, it was only a start, and now those who would work for the betterment of the people will need protection, will need guardians from the forces that would stop them, the people who see the fuel for their own greed and their lust for power being stripped away from them. Time then, for the Lost 10th to rise again as one, to think, act, fight and defend as one unit. You all know who you are, you hear it in your blood, it's a whisper that becomes a stirring. You know each time the soul of a member of the 10th is reborn into the world. Time then for desolation angels, for night walkers, for pale riders, for dog soldiers, for guardians, for warriors, for heroes to stake their sashes to the ground, to raise their shields and banners and and turn themselves, standing proud and strong, to face the growing forces that will threaten to engulf the people, and make their final stand, triumphant, under the Black Flag.

. . . .And that's the way the story has been told to me, so I pass it on to you all.

Saturday mornings are meant for corned beef hash, bacon, raisin toast, eggs over medium and COFFEE!

It's a fine thing my son to sail under the Black Flag and know in your heart you're free!

. . . . .Yes, dear readers I do listen to you and read what you write. Today's musical selection - With My Own Two Hands by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals on Diamonds on the Inside. Request submitted by Ms. LuLu, a constant reader and contributor and a good friend.

. . . . .Today's statement around how the mandate for change that we, as a body politic, handed over on Election Day can be conceived was produced and contributed by my good friend and brother Tom, who often offers profound insights into the "root" of things, the meta behind the concrete, the meat behind the hash browns of everyday, this one is no exception and well worth the read, it's at the end of the post where the essays always are.

. . . . . . Bumper sticker of the week: "The Dude abides . . . ."

. . . . Today is Saturday, so it's kind of "Blog lite", until you get to the change essay. I've put a hard week in, go over to the left column, down to Archives, and catch up on the week's news and opinions.

. . . . .Sooooo, Barack Obama really seems to have it going on. Today marks the first of his Web addresses, which can be found and listened to here at Change.gov. The topics he covers today? Change, folks, and how we, not he by himself, have to get to work on climate change, health care, education, and taking care of one another during the economic crisis. Sound familiar? He plans to do these as weekly YouTube addresses, a form of fireside chat, which I will always provide links to. I find it fascinating. He obviously plans to continue the same media outreach that made the campaign so successful, now through his administration. It does two things; reach a generation and a culture that is becoming increasingly web-based and bypasses the media. I'm good with that, personally, I've had it with political pundits on either side, what the hell do I need someone to tell me what someone else just said? Hunh? Whuzzat about? Personally, if I need anyone's take on it, I prefer Louis Black, Bill Maher or Jon Stewart.

. . . . . .In terms of place names, have you ever heard of any name as great as Irish Bayou? It's part of why I love the New Orleans area.

. . . . .Speaking of fireside chats, Michael Hirsh over at Newsweek in this week's edition, puts up a good little piece on the similarities between Obama and FDR. Both faced an economic crisis of gigantic proportions brought on by the previous Republican administration. He points out the "first 100 days" measure of a Presidency was rooted in the Herculean efforts that Roosevelt had to put in during that period to not just save the country's economy, but capitalism itself. The startling historical irony, of course, is that Roosevelt had to initiate basically socialist programs and principles in order to save the concept of capitalism, which gave his Republican foes plenty of fodder and led to them referring to him as "that Man in the White House" and of course, led to the 2 term limit. Hirsh's piece further explores how our own excesses have led to this catastrophe and how, once the Soviet Empire collapsed under Reagan, fueled by the telecommunications and network boom around the globe, capital raced from country to country, fueling deficit spending and creating artificial credit bubble after bubble. The analogy isn't lost here, think of what happens in a bathtub once all the bubbles have grown cold and run out of hot air for fuel, it all begins to collapse.

. . . . .One of the best opening riffs to any CD (all-time) has to be the opening bars of Custard Pie by Led Zeppelin off of Physical Graffiti. The same I believe to be their best, superior to ZOSO, matter of fact the opening three tracks are still incredible. I miss John Bonham, and I'm pissed at him for drinking himself to death. He had an innate understanding of the primal power behind drumming rock and roll for the greatest heavy blues-rock outfit of all time. Check out In My Time of Dying, where he and Page literally trade melody and rhythm throughout the track, with Bonzo occasionally taking the melody part, whilst Mr. Page takes the backbeat over with a slide guitar. It was that track that gave the clue to their new label Swan Song, and it's image of the falling angel. But then, of course, I listened to the second LP and it's opening track, In the Light, and immediately questioned whether or not the angel was ascending. Talk about duality!

. . . . .One of my fundamental problems with bailout packages and spending stimulus plans is this; the government doesn't just go the money store and get new money to inject into the economy. It has to take it from somewhere else that, due to the incredible deficit spending of the last 8 years and a $6 billion dollar a month war in Iraq, means it's probably not there either, so an I.O.U. has to be written. Brian Reidl in the Wall Street Journal has a good analysis of that here.

. . . . .I want to go back to the Obama administration and it's savvy handling of the media. Think about it. Thursday's news cycle was all about Sarah Palin's gaffes at the podium at the Republican Governor's conference. Come Friday morning, out of a team that handled and continues to handle press leaks very tightly comes a rumor, comes word, that Hillary Clinton was flying to Chicago to be offered the job of Secretary of State. It dominates the news cycle on Friday, going into the weekend and guess whose name isn't in the news going into it. This bunch ain't stupid folks!


. . . . . I'm still a sucker after all these years. Space Shuttle Endeavor did a night launch on Thursday night to go do an "Extreme Home Makeover" up at the International Space Station. I remember being at Boy Scout camp at Camp Rota-Kiwan, and being put in the mess hall one hot summer night and watching in awe as Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. We will get back there some day, and beyond, I believe it.

. . . . Speaking of which, the Hubble Space Telescope is back up and running and taking some darn good pictures. Check the following out, it's a picture of dark matter surrounding a galaxy cluster. Helps me to remember that there is still some mystery "out there" and is a good lead into the essay on change below.
. . . . .Tom submitted this one in response to the request I made the other day around wanting your concepts, your ideas around what "change" was. We mandated change when we went through the election process, but now we need to know what "change" is. The contributions have been fascinating, deep and thoughtful, as is this one:

"A primary focus when change is mentioned typically observes outer
conditions, rather than inner process. 'They should', statements fill
the tomes of the world as well as our casual conversations.
Considerable evidence exists to suggest the degree of separation between
They and I is a figment of our imagination. Responsibility for this
acknowledgment rests entirely with each individual. Having said that,
can change happen one individual at a time with only loose agreement of
the goals? Is the fulfillment of a dream accomplished with symbolic
gestures? What is the source of energy that fills our perception of
change? Can agreement being consummated on simple points of common
ground be effective in reflecting change?
It is the psychosis of an intellectual response to a spiritual
discernment that finds answers through additional questions. The
intellect presumes understanding when the best it can claim is
analytical conjecture. Our common ground condition is perception from
singular expression that has its umbilical irretrievably rooted in all
of creation, fueled by the essence of all that is, with no choice but to
contribute to the total expression of the human experience.
Now being the event horizon, each focused or even idle thought being the
impetus of change, we have collectively expressed as the attitude of a
rude child referred to as mankind, dreaming that we can, fake it until
we make it, symbolically embracing change rhetorically.
I pose that I am joining with each of you reading this, knowing that
change is afoot because we will make a change in our thinking. The
government is the intellect, we are the only hope of real change through
our true nature as interconnected spiritual beings resisting the
temptation to express anything other than Change...............
It is this blank space that we are urged to start, in communicating with
each other we can express change, however without a focal point chaos is
the result.
Suggestions for filling in the blank:
Change - belief in separateness
Change - belief that the earth is our litter box.
Change - belief that time has to pass to correct attitudes
Change - belief that there is any special privilege we humans hold over
the earth

Since we are all truly indivisible I know change is at hand, and that is
our mandate. Let's not waste it on an elected official, but encourage
him to be a cheerleader and statesman for each of us to do our work."

Thanks so much Tom, I've gotten other submissions from all of you that run the gamut, from philosphical to nuts and bolts everyday and you all put some damn hard work into them, and each of them is worthwhile, you keep sending them, either as comments, to the blog e-mail or to my personal e-mail and I'll continue to put them up. Plan on doing that through the rest of the year, and I believe first quarter of next year, I'll ask to start collecting your thoughts around sustainability, as in agriculture, food and water and we can act as individuals and a body politic, a citizenry of the Republic to affect "change" in that area.

. . . .On a final note, back on Thursday, (you can go over to the left and jump to it yourself) when I made the initial request for this definition of change, one of the "lurkers" as I refer to them jumped in on the comments section to tell me precisely what he thought. I get them all the time, and it's typical anonymous hate from the extreme right-wing. I try not to let it get to me, and I normally just let it go. One of you readers jumped in anonymously and responded very appropriately, intelligently and firmly. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, it makes this all just a little less lonely and lets me know that there's folks out there that have my back. I think I know which one of you it was, and I love you for it.

Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do. Tomorrow, we'll examine some of the lies that the extreme Right is already spreading about Obama's election in order to minimize and disenfranchise him, the impact of his election and the work that lies ahead of us Remember that the world is still awash in full-on bull-goose loonies and it's our job now to do the work, we didn't elect him to do all of it himself. Y'all are cool.

The Desolation Angel

Friday's fiends and friends

It's time then my son, to hoist the Black Flag and reclaim the Republic for our brothers and sisters!

. . . . . . .Wow! To say the response to yesterday's request was a little overwhelming is an understatement. I asked you all to define "change" in the context of the mandate handed over to the new Administration last Tuesday, what "change" meant in terms of where this nation's direction should go, it's policies, it's programs, it's political direction in terms of it's soul and heart, what we as individual members of the body politic thought. It's pretty open-ended, since so many of you come from such diverse backgrounds, but that's the idea, to form up a shared vision of what "change" is, whether that be from a political, social or spiritual perspective and what it means for those coming behind us. The responses have been starting to come in and it's awesome. I'll post those down below at the end of the post where I normally put essays that came in from some of you, today's is a good thought starter. If you have started to respond, keep doing it and get it submitted to me. You can either comment at the bottom of the post body, e-mail me using the e-mail submission down below or, as long as you know it, e-mail using the personal address. I know this is a repetition of what you can do over at the Obama-Biden transition team's website, www.change.gov where you can tell them what change means to you, but I view this as more of a collaborative effort, to form up the diverse opinions into solid form and move it all forward.

. . . . .Today's background music - This Hard Land - Bruce Springsteen

. . . . . .Today is Friday, spent yesterday exposing and bringing to light some of the off-the-wall crazy that the extreme right wing, neoconservative evangelicals are trying to pump out through the Fox/Drudge/Limbaugh pipeline, so today is about solutions and the positive steps forward we need to take on some of the most pressing issues facing all of us, not just the administration: energy independence, veteran's issues, climate change, housing, health care, food, water, etc.

. . . . . Coolest thing! UNESCO has just published the first ever map of the world's underground fresh water aquifers, I'll put a small thumbnail of it below and you can download the entire map here.
. . . . .The significance of this is pretty simple. We all use, or have heard the term "water wars". The guys over at New Scientist explain it this way:

What the UNESCO map reveals is just how many aquifers cross international borders. So far, the organisation has identified 273 trans-boundary aquifers: 68 in the Americas, 38 in Africa, 155 in Eastern and Western Europe and 12 in Asia. Each trans-boundary aquifer holds the potential for international conflict - if two countries share an aquifer, pumping in one country will affect its neighbour's water supply.

. . . . . . .I sincerely hope the rumors of Hillary Clinton being offered the Secretary of State job are true. If anyone deserves this post, it is her. She can bring intelligence, loyalty and savvy to the job, and I am truly chuckling at the thought of foreign heads of state trying to deal with her once she has her jaw set and heels dug in on a foreign policy issue that she knows she is right about. It will dovetail nicely with former President Clinton's Global Initiative, a wonderful project, if you haven't checked it out, please do so here. The Clinton Global Initiative is unique in that it is a non-partisan umbrella group that facilitates, rather than direct, members projects designed to provide solutions to the some of the world's most pressing issues. You can have some personal involvement, just click the link here to go to MyCommitment.org to make your own committment to solving these issues. Go ahead and make a commitment, it's pretty open-ended and you're given the choice to basically shape and form up what your commitment to a better world will be.

. . . . .Another project that I think deserves attention and support is the Wounded Warrior project. Their motto is simple: "The greatest casualty is to be forgotten". Their mission is simple, but damn hard. The provide advocacy, help and services to severely wounded veterans as they make the transition from active service to civilian life. I shouldn't understate this one, this is one the most deserving projects that I know of, and it deserves all of our support.

. . . . .While I'm on it, I sincerely hope that Obama considers Major Tammy Duckworth for the office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. This brave soldier lost both her legs in Iraq when the Blackhawk she was piloting was shot down by an RPG. She has since served as the head of the Illinois office of the Veteran's Administration and consistently fights for "her guys and gals". She's cool as hell and deserves all of our respect.



. . . . . .So, this week so far, I've managed to put out there some really cool groups and projects that deserve checking out, deserve support and deserve some personal energy, again, I'm going to reiterate it, the work behind the election was one thing, now changing our world requires our efforts, check these folks out, you'll find something somewhere that grabs you:

Axis of Justice - Founded by two young musicians and designed to promote social justice
American Freedom Campaign - For our civil liberties and the Constitution
My America Project - Fighting fascism here on our own shores
Progessive Future - To promote issues around health care, energy, education and climate change
MoveOn - Progressive populist political action
Clinton Global Initiative - Commitments to change the world, in concert with others
Wounded Warrior Project - Aiding severely wounded warriors in the transition to civilian life
Divided We Fail - Bipartisan efforts around health care, education and the economy

. . . . .I need to hear from some of you around First Nations and First People's projects and initiatives that we can add to the list.
. . . . . Let's not forget to support our brothers and sisters out in California who are fighting so hard against the passage of Propostion 8. I can think of no more fascist thought stream than to define, by exclusion no less, what the relationship between two human beings can be.
. . . . . .And as a thinking point, Barbara Vitale sent this one along as her response when I asked what "change" meant. I'm asking all of you to continue to formulate your own responses, and remember I want to know what that "change", in whatever form it takes, means to you in response to the mandate we handed Barack Obama last Tuesday, so to kick this off for y'all here's Barbara:

WOW! This is a big order. When I think of change I feel movement towards rather than away from something. I believe change is the process of remembering who we really are and remembering why we came here. The change on this dimension is manifesting the energy of those remembering as hu-man beings (Light beings) into the NOW. The Sanskrit for light is HU.

In the process of the movement towards transforming this planet and it's people there is also a process of destruction of the energies of relationships, organizations, corporations, religions, and ideology that does not vibrate on the energy we have choosen. That energy is the energy of Light and Love for everything. That includes the safety of our planet and our children.

Often destruction is necessary to make room for the new. Remembering that our Reality is based on our belief system, the destruction will come in the areas that we judge not of Love.

Be careful!! I remember asking to have everything removed from my life that did not carry the pure energy of Light and Love. With in 28 hrs I lost my home, my job, broke up a relationship, and had several friends remove themselves from my life. At the time I saw it as a disastrous change, today I see it as one of the most enlightening times of my life.

Choose a gentle way by consciously letting go of your judgments, anger, resentments, and fears.

I choose LOVE

. . . . . .Peace out for the day, remember to kiss you kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do and if you've made it this far, remember, I'm trying to build community here, so we'll stay on the topic of "change" until the Winter solstice, about a month from now. Give me your thoughts around that. Use the comments below (hint: just click on it) to respond, and if you have song or soundtrack suggestions, I'm always open to it.

The Desolation Angel

Blue Moanin' Thursday

It's time then, my son, to fly the Black Flag and reclaim the Republic!


. . . . . .Today's song? You're listening to Troubled Land by John Mellencamp, if you're interested in checking out the video to it, it can be found by following the link here.

. . . . . Dear readers, we are starting off on a new adventure today. We all worked very hard, each in our own way to bring about change last Tuesday, but what is "change"? How do you define it? It's not a nebulous question, but one rather that can, and of necessity, needs to involve all of you. We were sick and tired of the last 8 years, sick and tired of our country's reputation, image and honor being sullied and dragged through the mud so we worked, energized and invigorated, for change. What is the mandate? How do you see it? I want to know. What is the progressive mandate that we have handed Obama, is it based in the liberal thought of the '60's? Is it based in liberation theology? Is it based on libertarian principles? Many of you, all of you, such a wonderful, diverse collection of friends and people come from different thought streams along that progressive path, some, older now, come from the Movement days of the 60's and early 70's. Some come from the feminist movement and some from the Men's movement. Some come from a path of following Traditional Native elders, some come from a newer generation based on social networking and social justice. Here's the deal. Respond, send me your ideas, you may not know it, since everyone is blind to everyone else here how many of you there are, and how many of you respond to me privately. What I'd like to do is this: Comment at the bottom of a post or send me an e-mail at k.williamsdesolationangel(at)g.mail.com (with the (at) replaced by an @ sign) which is the website e-mail or for those of you who know the other e-mail address that's personal, use that. I'll collect and post your responses, then you check back in and see what others have to say and then continue to dialog around it, until we get a group consciousness around what "change" is for ourselves, our country and our children. If you want to remain anonymous, say so, and I'll leave your name out. The rules are simple: No hate, no personal insults, no racism, no bigotry allowed. We can build a community and we can re-build a movement, but we need a roadmap to get there, and defining "change" is the start of that, and we have to do it as a group, a body politic, where every individual is respected as an individual with unique gifts to bring, every one of you is welcome. Please don't not do it, even though you may not think your contribution valuable or it's not worth your time, it is. As we collect, respond and build over time, it will truly be a case of the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts. I'm asking you to put the same energy into this as you put into your own contributions to the election. It will take time, but we can build it. I can't do it alone, and I'm asking for your help. Ask yourself, thinking about your children and grandchildren, what is change? What does it look like, feel like, smell like? Let's help one another here.

. . . . . Today's movie moment: "Get to ze chopper!" - Arnold Schwarzenegger in every one of his movies (except Twins or Kindergarten Cop)

. . . . .Because I was so hard on him during his campaign, I must put this one up top. Thankfully, sans Palin and Davis-Schmidt (his campaign managers), it looks like McCain is reverting back to being himself, the Senator, the McCain of 2000 that I so respected, and will take up the role again of being the man who reaches across the aisle, who is bipartisan and a true voice of centrist moderation. Kudos to him for having a spine and turning his back on the people within his own campaign who betrayed him and tried to remold or reshape him into someone who could attract the "base".

. . . . ."Last night I saw a naked cowgirl, she was floatin' across the ceiling, she was mumblin' to some Howling Wolf, 'bout some voodoo healin' " ZZ Top - My Head's in Mississippi - Recycler

. . . . .Last Thursday I wrote about the mess that the bailout was, and is, and research that Naomi Klein over at Rolling Stone had done during the campaign as to the complete and total clusterf**k it was becoming. As of this morning, there are Senate and House hearings going on, and Treasury Secretary Paulson has made a complete 180 degree reversal on the positions that he had prior to forcing the bailout down our throats and making 2 law firms and 9 banks richer with our money. If I recall, and my memory isn't that bad, he insisted that the country's financial system was a hair's width away from complete and total collapse and the bailout package absolutely had to go through. Well, check out the transcripts of the Senate hearings here at CNN, or check out this article here, where the Inspector General for the Treasury says "the bailout is a mess" and "no one knows how proper oversight is going to done". According to a report released this morning, Thursday, another 85,000 homes were lost to foreclosure last month. The numbers came in this morning from the Department of Labor that show another 32,000 jobs last week alone for a seasonally-adjusted high of 516,000 while the Commerce Department said that the trade deficit had dropped to only $56.5 billion. The reason, of course, for this (he said sarcastically) particular bit of good news? Sales of imported goods had dropped. Me, I think it's cuz people have no money, no jobs and aren't buying anything, but what do I know?

. . . . . "Skies on fire" - AC/DC - Skies on Fire - Black Ice

. . . . .I wrote yesterday what the schedule would be, every other day I would write about the issues facing us such as Energy Independence, food and housing, health care and the wars overseas and veterans affairs and solutions and people working towards them, while on these days, I'd examine what the extreme right-wing was doing and is still doing. It matters, and it's important to know what the evangelical neoconservatives have in store and what Fox News/Limbaugh/Drudge are saying and doing. I'm sure it cranks some people up, as I get e-mails asking me why I "go negative" and can't "stay positive" with the other issues and the activities and actions around solutions. I do it for a simple reason, and I'm going to steal a phrase from Bob Cesca over at the Huffington Post - "intellectual violence", I think it's a beautiful phrase and describes exactly why we need to watch what they're doing and saying. He put it better than I could with this

Since their thumpin' last week, the far-right has pushed the crazy to eleven and snapped the knob clean off -- an opening salvo of twisted hackery portending an insane four-to-eight years of attacks on the Obama administration. If the last seven days have been any indication, the far-right is shaping up to make the 1990s seem quaint -- even erudite by comparison. That which used to be your basic, off-the-shelf intellectual dishonesty has grown into, as Digby pointed out recently, full-on intellectual violence.

Intellectual violence. While not a new term, it perfectly defines what we're seeing now: accusations and smears that so severely confound logic they literally attack -- violate -- reality and the human intellect. It's like a berzerker dervish of argumentative elbows and fists indiscriminately flailing around, thwacking anything in its orbit, so much so that constructing a counterpoint is literally painful, "Why the hell am I trying to debunk this?! Ow! My head. Aw hell, I need a drink."

. . . . ."She asked me why, why I like this song, So I went ahead and told her 'It's bad you know' " - R.L. Burnside - It's Bad You Know - Come On In

. . . . .That's why Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber mattered and still matter. The completely reckless choice of Sarah Palin as a Vice-Presidential pick was one thing, her connection with the Republican "base", or what they perceive as their "base", is another entirely. Her constant string of lies, her rejection of any indicator whatsoever of the ability to critically analyze an issue, her completely unrealistic take of what the composition of America is, who it's people are, her trying to define areas of the country as "pro-America" and people as "anti-American" or unpatriotic feed completely into the extreme right neoconservative evangelical Fascist wing of their party. Her rejection of any form of political education and her inability to grasp and frame any issue all speak to one thing. That would be the characterization of the rest of us as somehow unpatriotic, as somehow anti-American. The embrace and immediate "push" of her by Fox/Drudge/Limbaugh are truly frightening. I am not of the camp that says if we ignore her, she'll go away. I am not of the camp that says if we only put positive thoughts and prayers out, what she represents will somehow wither and die. It won't. Our vigilance and constant fight against the misinformation and smears must continue. It is the only way that the new Administration and those of you who will work with it for the betterment of America will be allowed the freedom to do what you need to do. I have a need for my leaders, the leaders of this country to be smarter than me, to be able to frame a debate and to examine issues. I don't want a leader that thinks that a porn flick made with a look-alike of her during the campaign is somehow cute or funny.

. . . . . The same things are why Joe the Plumber mattered and still matters. Joe wasn't a plumber, not a licensed one. He didn't own a business. I've said it before, I'm Kip the Electrician, 30 years as an electrician, a Licensed Master and I own a business, a small one, but I own it and it's mine. I endorsed Barack Obama, and still endorse him. Joe mattered, because again, Fox/Limbaugh/Drudge oversimplified it and pandered. I've worked 30 years at my craft, with my hands, learning how to do it safely and right, as have all of the craftsmen and tradesmen that I know. We're proud of what we do, and it wasn't easy to learn it and to characterize Joe as "someone just like me" is insulting and wrong. I've worked damn hard at it, and I don't appreciate someone who rode the far-right publicity train for his 15 minutes trying to call himself a tradesperson.

. . . . . Speaking of Fox/Drudge/Limbaugh, doesn't anyone get the hypocrisy screaming through their voice when they use the phrase "mainstream media". They are the fucking mainstream media! Or do those of their listeners/viewers/readers who so slavishly hang on their every word actually believe that somehow they're helping out some underground, pirate type of communication? They live for ratings folks, and they are juggernauts! That makes them mainstream!

. . . . . .Same with the word "elite", which they so handily bandy about when referring to us. Last I looked, I lived in a world where the folks I know wear jeans and work boots, live in modest homes and drive cars and trucks with a looooot of miles on them. It's more George Orwell 1984-speak shit. The word "elite" in their mouths has become a code word for not trusting someone who reads, thinks or isn't a knuckle-dragging mouth breather.

. . . . .Ed Kilgore over at the Democratic Strategist put this one up yesterday on how the Republicans, 7 days later, don't get the extent of their repudiation, and the rejection of their failed policies and probably won't.

. . . . .While on the other hand, P.J. O'Rourke (yup, the one from National Lampoon and Rolling Stone) put this one up on Tuesday in the Weekly Standard on how conservatives blew it over the last 8 years by not pursuing true conservatism and instead handing the party over to the "base", the extreme neo-conservative Fascist wing of their party.

"There's only one way out, might be your old man, mama, I don't know" - The Allman Brothers - One Way Out

. . . . . So, guess who's already put their hat in the ring for the Repubs for 2012? Yeah, yeah, we know about her. How about Newt Gingrich? Check out this transcript from his appearance on Hannity & Colmes on Wednesday night
. . . . . .I wrote two days ago about how the Right absolutely wants the automotive companies to fail and how so many of the people I used to work with at Ford slavishly listen to Fox/Limbaugh/Coulter/Hannity et al. Well, take a look here at what Cal Thomas in Human Events yesterday has to say about the UAW and how it's to blame for destroying Detroit. Get it folks? They don't care about you.
. . . . . The sanest voice in the Republican party (other than John McCain), Ron Paul put this one up yesterday on CNN, it's worth a read, it talks about the direction their party needs to take and why it was repudiated so soundly last week. Instead of examining themselves and where they went wrong, they need to take a look at why the U.S. is on the wrong track and what they did during the 8 years they were in charge to get it on that wrong track.


I'm out, check back in tomorrow, we'll take a look at a couple of things around energy independence and climate change, specifically the first every map of the world's fresh water aquifers has been developed and released, so we'll look at that. Meanwhile don't forget to check out Tarwater at Red Queen Tattoos in Chattanooga, TN if you're nearby, check it out and say hello, get some ink!

The Desolation Angel

Wednesday

It's time then, my son, to strike the colors and fly the Black Flag and reclaim the Republic

. . . .A couple of technical notes dear readers, I've embedded an MP3 player in order to provide a soundtrack whenever you read the page. If you're in a spot where you don't want to have a soundtrack, turn your sound off or turn it down. Whenever I embed a video, let the embedded song play through, I normally only put one in the soundtrack, before clicking on or playing the video to keep you media player from going whacko. Today's selection? God's Golden Eyes by John Hiatt off the Crossing Muddy Waters CD.

. . . . .On another note for newer readers, remember that the archive is at the left side and you can click on any of them to read a previous day's, week's or month's postings. That's also where you'll find the links to the Desolation Angel's friends. Get yourself caught up. And please, please, I've tried to make it easier to comment. Please do so, it's a whole lot better when there's feedback for me to work with. If there's an issue that you'd like me to explore, research whatever, just let me know and I'll attempt to accommodate you. If you want to be added to the mailing list to have an update whenever I repost or put up new "stuff" just write me at k.williamsdesolationangel(at)gmail.com with the (at) replaced with the @ symbol. Your name will be kept private and I use a blind CC list to send out updates so no one ever knows who else is on the list. Please forward this to your friends or those in your address books, the larger community we build with the same intent, the better the work, and the more the work we can get done.

. . . . . Thanksgiving is approaching rapidly. I know that it's normally a family time for people, but maybe this year it's time to expand the family. Please give serious thought to going down to your local church, mission or homeless shelter and serving Thanksgiving dinner to those who have had some less good fortune in their own lives. Invite some folks over for dinner that would otherwise find themselves sitting home.

. . . . . .I'm gonna embed the Dave Stewart video of American Prayer for a while. I find it more relevant than ever, it probably means more to me after the election than it did before. A lot of people ask about my sentence that begins every post about the Black Flag. It's simple kids, it's time for the pirates, renegades, outlaws and cowboys to get busy and do the work to build a better nation for our kids and grandkids. The work is just starting, and involvement in the election and voting was awesome, but it's time to get to work!



. . . . . .I write for me, to keep my sanity, to have an outlet, but I write so that you all can have a "one-stop" shop for you all on issues that I know, from a combination of talking, comments, feedback and technical site stats what issues keep you clicking in. There's two parts to it for me:
. . . .First - on alternate days, for those of us who are dog soldiers, desolation angels, shadow walkers and night riders; those whose job it is to protect the elders, the children, the people, those who work in the light and do not know anger or violence; those who know that their role and their fate is to face the forces of darkness, fascism, repression and violent ugliness with their sash staked to the ground, refusing to yield. For those of you who know that to be your role, those days will be centered around the tremendous amount of misinformation and attacks being leveled from the extreme right-wing fascist, evangelical neoconservatives who would assume the power in this country; and what we need to do to fight that. Those days will be centered around issues of civil liberty, freedom and patriotism, the real definition of it.
. . . . .Secondly-on the "other" alternate days, information and solutions around the most pressing issues facing us, like climate change, energy and food. Many of you, dear readers, are people who are born, wired and built to serve the people, and I know that by passing along the things I've found to be helpful in that, you all may find an avenue or outlet that appeals to you. I've said it over and over, the election was only a step, albeit a gigantic first step, but he cannot do it alone. Remember that this is a Republic "of the people, by the people and for the people". If you ask how should I help? why should I help? How can I get involved, there's a great little article on Activism 101 provide courtesy of the folks over at Axis of Justice that you should read. Just click on the link and it'll take you there.

. . . . .Three of the most pressing issues facing, first and foremost, us and then, the new Administration, are food, energy, and climate change, which are, as you all know, very closely tied together. It helps to be informed, to have background facts, and hopefully today, I'll provide some path to answers and action.

. . . . . First up? A great article on steep food price increases coming at us in 2009. In a Reuters article brought to you courtesy of Tom Morello and the folks over at Axis of Justice there's some pretty good stats from the Department of Agriculture that says that we'll see an overall increase of at least 7% this year, making it the third year in a row that food prices will outstrip the overall rate of inflation. The reason behind it? Rising feed prices, which are, of course, tied directly to rising energy costs.

. . . . .Which of course will make it harder than ever for those who are going hungry to begin with to nourish themselves or their children. I'm gonna put a plug in here for Food Not Bombs, a great organization whose mission is to feed the hungry. Please click over on the link and check them out, they're good people and if you feel like donate a dollar, just one dollar. What other damn thing were you going to spend it on today. That's all they ask of people, a buck.

. . . . .The reason for those rising feed costs, rising energy costs of course, due to a depleting supply of oil and rising per barrel prices. You might doubt him, but I don't, T. Boone Pickens, the architect of the Pickens Energy Plan is actually quite a brilliant man. Yes, he made his money in oil, and is richer than the rest of us, but he's got kids and grandkids too, and an investment in this country. T. Boone has some real out of the box ideas, and he deserves at the very least, for your own kid's future's sake, at least one click over on the link and a read-through. He's got some radical ideas around energy independence, which I believe to be a vital issue. The more independent we become of foreign oil sources, the safer and more secure we'll be. Want proof? In 30 years we've gone from importing 17% of our oil, to importing 60% of it. Now, now dependent are we really on countries that we've really managed to piss off?
. . . . .This ties in with an essay by Michael T. Klare at Tomgram courtesy of Axis of Justice. The most pressing issue facing the Obama administration that underlies everything? Energy. America, with only 5% of the world's population, day in and day out, every day, consumes 25% of the world's daily total energy supply. 40% of that comes from oil, approximately 20 million barrels a day. Think about it, 5% of the world's population using 25% of the total supply. And we wonder why people resent us and call us lazy and greedy.

. . . . .And quit sending me e-mails about the supposed largest field in the world, the Bakken Field here in North America that somehow, some way, someone is keeping secret from you and me and not developing. I've worked in oil and gas and still work in it, the Bakken field, is (1) not nearly as large as first thought, so quit reading Wikipedia, instead read reports from the United States Geological Survey and the Minerals Management Service. (2) The Bakken field is yes, an oil field, but it's the getting to it, through the layers of rock that is the problem. Due to it's location, think of the Rocky Mountains as a tree, where that particular field is located, it's under the "roots" of the Rocky Mountains. Yes, there are good drillers, but they're not that good yet to just instantly have the technology to drill through basaltic, granite mountain roots. Where we drill now, in the Gulf of Mexico, is through salt domes about 8,000 foot down on the sea floor. It's like drilling through limestone, a lot easier. As it is, unless you have some appreciation of what it takes to find an oil field and locate it's true position, drill there, build a platform to get the equipment there, then build the processing equipment to deal with it as it comes up out of the ground and then tie it into pipelines to get it where it has to be, you don't have a real appreciation of it.

Anyhow, time to plug those who do so much for our future, please be sure to check out the folks at:
Progressive Future
Divided We Fail
Moveon
Remember that you can have a say in the issues that you want to Obama Administration to address, you can do so at:
Change.gov
And those who work to protect our civil liberties and our rights:
Axis of Justice
American Freedom Campaign
My America Project
Common Cause

For a rockin' good time, great ink and some laughs, be sure to visit Ms. Lulu and Tarwater down at the Red Queen in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Lee Highway (that's Highway 11).
For a good bunch of folks who are working to bring about creative positive change in the universe, check out the folks at Hawkwind at the Blue Star Times.

Kiss your kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do,
Peace Out,
The Desolation Angel

Tuesday - Veteran's Day

There are days, my son, when it's time to reflect and lower the black flag to half-mast for brothers gone. Brothers who stood beside us, fought with us and will always be remembered.

. . . . .First today, a note of sorrow. A good friend, Everett Burch, passed from us late Monday night/Early Tuesday morning. Our thoughts, prayers and songs go with him, and are with his daughter Abbey, and his family Grandmother Bertha Burch Grove, and Alden Naranjo. He was a father, a brother, a friend, a teacher and for a very long time pointed the way, as we know he will from where he is now. He will be missed and we are thankful for the opportunity to have known him.

. . . . .This Veteran's Day, take the time to thank the veterans in your life and to remember those in your family who have passed on, and all those veterans who served so well and so proudly. Never, ever confuse the war with the warrior. Wars are caused by politicians, for reasons unknown to most of us. Wars are fought by those we know personally. It is our families, our fathers, our uncles, our brothers, our sons and increasingly, our mothers, sisters and daughters who wear the uniform and go into combat. Any who put on the uniform and wear the flag on their shoulder need to be honored and respected. Remember that increasingly our Veteran's Administration is unable to meet the needs of an entire generation of Vietnam Veterans who are past retirement age, and many have lost their health benefits from the failed companies that they worked for. As well, the first generation of women combat veterans is hitting the VA, for which they were unprepared, along with the entire generation of combat veterans coming back from Iraq. Please make taking care of Veterans one of your priorities, and contact your Senator or Congressperson at www.congress.org, and contact President-elect Obama at www.change.gov and leave your thoughts and ideas there about taking care of our veterans.

. . . . . .It's time for a very serious boycott of some media figures, most notably, Rush Limbaugh, who has now gone to spewing absolutely hateful nonsense. (I'm going to note that as someone who has been clean and sober a looooootttttt looooonnnnggeeerr than Rush, his sponsor needs to take his microphone away and kick his ass):
- Rush's latest foray into tastelessness: Straight from the folks at Media Matters, Limbaugh falsely asserted on his October 27th broadcast that Barack Obama "rejects the Constitution".
- The day after Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama, Rush's reaction to the endorsement of Obama by this elder statesman? "It's race-related"
- His latest campaign? That the economy heading into the tank is Obama's fault, since it's people and the market reacting to his proposed tax plan. Guess Rush figures we were all asleep for the last 8 years while the sub-prime mortgage meltdown went on, while the credit bubble burst, while the auto industry failed, while the housing bubble burst, while the dollar collapsed and 3 million manufacturing jobs went overseas.

. . . . The suggestion: simple, turn him off and don't listen to him. If one of your local radio stations carry him, let them know in no uncertain terms that you won't listen to them as long as he is on the air.

. . . . . .If you work in the automotive industry, or an industry or company that is closely tied to the automotive industries, you need to turn Fox News off, and leave it off. The attacks from this media monster are increasing everyday. You cannot go an hour without hearing a Fox news talking head nattering on about a failed industry that was killed by it's workforce and that's why it should die, to punish the lazy, drunk freeloading unionized auto workers from Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago. Don't believe for a second that watching Fox News is somehow patriotic, it was the automotive industry that built a middle class in this nation that could afford televisions and 165 cable channels in the first place. The automotive industry built the middle class, the steel industry, the rubber industry and plastics industry as well as bolstering rail and truck transportation. Are there problems with productivity and union contracts, hell yes there are, but an industry that is the backbone of the income level for the nation's middle class cannot be allowed to die. I understand full well that those other companies built non-union plants in other states that are paying pretty well, but at the end of the day, the real profits flow back overseas to countries that vowed to destroy us back in 1945 and the plants themselves sit on tax-free land that the local citizens will pay for forever, with new workforces that you can bet will be dumped on their keisters as soon as they get retirement age.


. . . . . Remember to go to the new Adminstration's site that asks for your suggestions: www.change.gov and leave your suggestions for the new President and his team.
. . . . . Again, support your local veterans, and check out organizations like Divided We Fail, MoveOn and Progessive Justice to continue to work and keep this ball rolling. We cannot let him fail, and it's up to us to pitch in, help out and do some work to make sure that he doesn't fail. If he fails, we fail, all of us, don't forget that.

Monday - This changes everything

Tell me then my son, once more, before I close my eyes of the glorious time that we flew the black flag once more and reclaimed the Republic for the people.

. . . . . .Every so often, there are periods of time, if you're open to them, that change everything. Just had 72 hours like that. Like some damn movie, or truly one of those moments of epiphany, it changes everything. Draining, exhausting, exhilirating all at the same time. And a new perspective on some things that have been plauging me for a while.

. . . . .Robert Bly and John Lee meet Tarwater and Kip, I'm not sure that the modern Men's Movement will ever be the same again, I'm sure I won't.

. . . . . .The trick of course, as human beings, is knowing that awareness, without follow-up action, doesn't mean shit. I'm sure some of what's been presented to me has been presented to me before, I probably just wasn't in the space or position to read or hear them.

. . . . .I just love that, don't you? Being presented with something that on a very real, soul existence level that you have to say "Oh shit, I thought (take your pick here) I was through with that or I wouldn't have to deal with that or I thought I was unique or I thought no one would notice."

. . . . .Fitting with that entire theme, and the transition to something new for not just me, but this country that you and I worked so hard and prayed for. Please check out the new Will.I.Am video below that speaks to exactly what I've been saying. It's a brand new day, but now the real work starts for all of us, and it's a joyous thing that the work can start.



. . . . ..I'm saying some hosanna's this AM, with the news that Obama plans to close Guantanamo, that's one point towards salvaging some of our national honor. We are the United States of America, and all people deserve the right of habeas corpus, and deserve the rule of law. Not being held outside the rule of law. We're better than that as a nation, and already we're starting to move back to that place of honor. Full story on that one here.

. . . . .Not quite sure where I stand on the issue brought to light this morning on the news that we've been sending regular military raids into countries that we aren't at war with. Going after Al Queada is one thing, and that I agree with. But doing so without informing nations that we're going into is another, it's that presumptive arrogance that the Bush administration so exemplified. Full story in the New York Times here.

.. . . . . .Me, I'm doing backflips over the choice of Rahm Emmanuel as Obama's White House Chief of Staff. It allows President-elect Obama and Vice-President Biden a clear route to bi-partisan compromise, with Rahm taking the role of "bad cop" and using his reputation as a tough no-nonsense pit bull in the House to get things accomplished. Full story from Politico here.

. . . .Grandmother Barbara Vitale sends along this link this morning to the Obama transition team's website. Kudos to her for it. It is extremely informative and very interactive, there is a portion of the web site called the American Moment where you can share your story of the campaign, election night, your hopes and ideas. Please do so. You can find the site at www.change.gov or go right to the interactive section here.

. . . . . .As I predicted, the right-wing extremist media have given Obama all of 72 hours and the attack dogs, most notably led by Rush Limbaugh have started in. The best one came from Limbaugh who claimed that Obama was going to take over 401(K)'s and trust fund them. In fact, he has said nothing of the kind, and it's a total fabrication on Limbaugh's part, based on the opinion of one economist amongst a panel of many, who advanced that as an idea, which in fact, is not going to be taken up by President-elect Obama. Sean Hannity after pledging to give Obama a chance, and expressing his wish for success for him, immediately started back in with his crap about "Who is Barack Obama?" Me, I wonder why they keep asking that. Have they been hiding under a fucking rock for the last 2 years? Full story on it from the L.A. Times here.

Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the ones that you love out loud that you do.

The Desolation Angel

Thursday November 6, 2008

It's time them, my son, to fly the black flag and reclaim the Republic

Today's movie moment: Scott Glenn as Emmett in Silverado to Danny Glover as Mal: "Here put on one of these" holding up a six-shooter and belt. Mal's response, turning around and holding two .50 caliber Henry rifles - "These'll do".

"The Revolution starts now" - Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts Now on the album of the same name.

. . . . . . . I wrote last night about Divided We Fail, the bipartisan organization that is working as a coalition of other organizations to press the issues of universal health care and financial security. As promised, we'll go through one a night for a while. The next one that deserves some attention and support is Progressive Future. They're the ones who put that beautiful ad up over the last weekend with the Paul Simon song. Progressive Future is another non-profit coalition of progressives that works on a grassroots level much like MoveOn in a community setting on issues like clean energy, fair housing, economic fairness and security, education reform, health care and global security. Please give them a look, I'll continue to put at least one of these a night up. The important work lies ahead of us, and even though we elected him, he cannot do it alone, it is up to us, each of us and all of us to harness that energy that you all put into the election and start to change the world for the better, it is up to each of us to do it, so even though we're all busy and tired, we found the time to help in an election. Now, let's start helping out with the same energy transforming this country into what it could be.

"Revolution comes without a warning" - Michael Franti and Spearhead - Yell Fire

. . . . . . .In actuality, Bush's speech this morning in the Rose Garden to the White House Executive Staff was really quite nice. He spoke well of them, and his expectation around the coming transition. However, I've worked in corporate America long enough to know when you're seeing someone who has been operating far beyond his level of competence and is just absolutely relieved that someone else is taking it over.

"You say you want a revolution, yeah-ah, you know, we all want to change the world" - John Lennon - The Beatles - Revolution - White Album

. . . . . .Ooohkay, let me get this straight Karl Rove. 48 hours ago, you were calling Barack Obama a socialist, a communist, a friend of terrorists and the most "far-left" Senator in Washington. Yet somehow today, you say here in the Wall Street Journal that Obama is a conservative centrist and that's how he won?

"The revolution will not be televised" - Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - The Bottle

. . . . . .Alright! It's been less than 48 hours and the feeding frenzy and circular firing squad has begun. Listening to Keith Olberman tonight on MSNBC and the following is all beginning to pour in, bear in mind that this from inside the McCain campaign and inside the Republican party, not from the left, not from Democrats, not from the Obama camp; right now there are Republican campaign lawyers heading up to Alaska to get the clothes back, including the ones we didn't hear about. Beyond the $150,000 at Saks and Nieman-Marcus, there is also several tens of thousands of dollars worth bought by McCain staffers on their own cards. From inside the McCain camp; Sarah Palin didn't know the difference between Africa and South Africa, (hint: she thought Africa was a country, not a continent); she couldn't name the three members of the NAFTA trade agreement (another hint; it'd be the 3 countries that comprise North America) and if anyone thinks my nicknames for her that I liked (Caribou Barbie and Bible Spice) stolen liberally from someone else were somehow offensive, check out the internal nickname in the campaign for her was "Wasilla Hillbilly". Again, remember, this is coming from inside the inner circle, not from the liberals, the Democrats, the progressives, but from inside the campaign that picked her to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Gee kids, isn't politics fun?

. . . . .In all seriousness, the conservative movement is going to have to decide who they are. Are they going to continue to pander to the "base", the fascist evangelical extreme right wingers? If so, then they should make sure to keep her around.

. . . . Remember that $700 billion dollar bailout that we were all so outraged about, but somehow seems to have gotten buried in the news cycle of the election. Well, there are some journalists that have not forgotten and aren't letting it go. Notably, Naomi Klein in Rolling Stone has done some good investigation and come up with some pretty scary stuff, things that you need to contact your Congressional representatives and Senators about and demand some action around. First and foremost, the man named by the White House to handle the bailout is Rueben Jeffrey III, if his name isn't familiar to you, it should be. He headed the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad in the early days of the Iraq War when so many millions went just plain missing and wound up in contractor's pockets, that whole "Green Zone" thing. The law firm handling one portion of it, Bracewell & Guiliani, yes dear, former mayor of New York and former Presidential candidate Guiliani. The other law firm involved? None other than Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, the very same law firm that handled all of the bank mergers that started this avalanche. In fact, they represent 7 of the 9 banks that they will supposedly be watchdogging, but who will be feeding from the trough. Oh yeah, the folks over at Morgan Stanley, one of the linchpins in the crisis? They still plan on paying themselves $10.7 billion this year, almost the entire amount of their first chunk of the bailout money, much of that in bonuses. Call or write your Congressional representative and Senators and tell them you won't stand for such garbage and demand some oversight and an investigation.

As always, check out the Ms. Charla and folks over at the Blue Star Times and for great ink and some good laughs, Tarwater and Ms. Lulu up at Red Queen Tattoo in Chattanooga, TN.

Peace out, kiss your kids, the work is just beginning folks, it's up to all of us to make it happen. So let's do it, no excuses.

The Desolation Angel

Wednesday November 5th - The Day after the World Changed

It's time then, my son, to hoist the black flag and reclaim the Republic

Today's movie moment: "If you strike me down Vader, you have no idea what you will bring about" - Obi Wan-Kenobi to Darth Vader

. . . . .Things to do today in an anarchist progressive dreamworld -

• Throw a pair of handcuffs on Sarah Palin and make her answer for treason for her ties to the AIP (Alaskan Independence Party), for whom she's given the keynote speech their last two conventions. AIP is a violent, secessionist party to which her husband Todd still belongs, and whose founder met his end in a plastic explosives transaction gone wrong.
• Take Bill O'Reilly to Guantanamo and have him waterboard Ann Coulter, while Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh wander around in only pair of whitey tightey Jockey briefs and black hoods.
  
• Go get the audio animatronic robo-Dick Cheney from his undisclosed location, turn him around in front of the cameras, take the back of his head off and tell the aliens in there to shut it down. Then go find where the real Dick is, open the coffin up and drive a stake through that vampire's heart.
• Someone do the country and the poor man a favor, go to the White House and drag George W Bush out to treatment. That poor drunk won't even notice that he's gone, he probably doesn't even know there was an election and that he's out of a job soon. Get him out of there before he does one more thing to further cement his legacy as the worst President ever. Given a chance, he will.
  
• Take a bag of burning dog poop over the Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis' doorsteps (the McCain-Palin campaign strategist and manager, respectively), write "From Karl" (Rove, that is) on the bags, ring the doorbell and run.

. . . . . .That truly was a nice concession speech that John McCain gave last night, but it did sound rather insincere coming from a man who had been calling his opponent a socialist, a communist, anti-American and a friend to terrorists only 24 hours earlier.

"I remain among the believers" - Steven VanZandt (Little Steven) - Among the Believers - Voice of America
. . . . .That was truly an inspiring speech that Barack gave last night to the crowd in Grant Park. Truly inspired, and it touched me, touched the people, touched all the right chords. It sounded Presidential.

. . . . .One of the most touching moments of the night, Jesse Jackson in the crowd at Grant Park in Chicago, tears streaming down his face.

. . . .I don't know about you, but I held my breath all night, expecting to find out on Wednesday morning that somehow Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia were all in recount with hanging chads and none of it was real.

. . . . .OK, I'll admit it, my jaw dropped at the holograms that CNN beamed in last night, it was definitely the coolest fuckin' thing I'd seen in a long time.

. . . . . . What does it represent? The analysts will be gnawing on this one forever. What it represents to me is change and hope. It represents that unique ability the American people have to rise above themselves and find their way home once more. It represents our desire to be respected around the world again, to be America. It represents our desire to have it be our America again, and not their America.

. . . . .It was a mandate for change, but analyze the voting maps closely, there were many, many Republican areas and it was still a tight race. For this day and age, for this voting electorate, it was as close to a landslide as we will see however.

"Seek, seek and destroy" - Metallica - Seek and Destroy - Master of Puppets

. . . . .On that subject, it won't take long for Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Hannity, Coulter, O'Reilly et al to get out the long knives and begin the process of attempting to delegitimatize him. They cannot stand, nor can the extreme fascist evangelical Right stand being out of power. Fear and power are what have fed them, the monster Rove created is now out of control. Please remember to make Media Matters a link in your favorites, they do a great job of keeping it all in check and deserve our attention and help. They're a pretty interactive bunch, it's easy to get on their e-mail update list and also communicate with them when you hear something that just ain't right.

. . . . .On that subject, please if you still have Matt Drudge bookmarked, get rid of it. Don't give that man one more click. I believe that he proved his irrelevance and his complete sellout to the Fox News, fascist evangelical extreme right crowd though this election cycle.

. . . . . I truly hope this forces the Republican party to take a reality check. The next 12 months will be telling, should they decide that they want to remain a "values" party and keep Sarah Palin and her ilk as their leaders and figureheads, they will still be running down a dog that absolutely will no longer hunt in the America of the first 2 decades of the 21st century. I truly hope for their sake that they listen to, and take the counsel of George Will, Ed Rollins, Alex Castellanos, Christopher F. Buckley, Peggy Noonan and Andrew Sullivan. This group still has the intellectual soul of a true conservative and harkens all the way back to Truman and Eisenhower.

"Everybody stop, hey, what's that sound, everybody look what's going down" - Buffalo Springfield

. . . . For all us old hippies, it represented a return to the "Movement", the ability of large groups of people to work together to achieve social change and affect political policy, for it to feel like it was our American again and that we mattered.

. . . . . . . .For the next few, I'll be examing, starting tomorrow, the absolute crime that's been committed with your $700 billion dollars, (remember that, it was only a few weeks ago) and how Bush and Paulson have committed the crime of the century with it right under everyone's nose while everyone was focused on the election itself. There's been some pretty good investigative reporting that has gone on with it, and it's not too late at all, but first you need to facts so then you can call, write or e-mail your Congressperson to get something done about it. I meant what I said about taking all that energy and not resting, but going back to work to bring about change.

. . . . .Speaking of wanting change, and in keeping with that theme, I'll also start writing about organizations that deserve your attention. There's a variety and I'll put one a day up, and it's link, along with a description of who they are and what they do. I'm going to beat this one into the ground, we elected him to be our leader, but much of the work will remain with us, and we must do it, to bring about the change we and our children deserve.

. . . . So, the first one up is Divided We Fail, a bipartisan coalition of a few different organizations that is dedicated to making health care and financial stability and security the two major issues that Congress (remember them, that's where most everything happens, really) tackles and is relentless in not backing off. Please check them out, there are plenty of organizations devoted to social justice and social change, we'll take a look at a lot of 'em. There will be one for you in there somewhere, one that resonates and that you can put some time and effort behind.

So, one more time for old time's sake . . . again, I thank you all for what you've done and here's the three that carried me through the campaign, the election and gave me hope every day.

. . . . . Johnny Cash's America

. . . . . My American Prayer

IN MY AMERICA

. . . . . .In my America, a man shouldn't have to be afraid because he dares to strive for the nation's highest elected office, but wasn't born all-white. In my America, he shouldn't have to worry about the safety of his wife and children because the other guy and his partner made a conscious decision to incite the ugliest tendencies of angry, howling anonymous mobs and inflame the fires of racism.
. . . . . In my America, no one is able to get away with spewing hatred and obscene epithets about someone they've never met because the man or woman standing next to them will stop him or her and tell them that the right to free speech is the right to an opinion and a differing viewpoint, not immunity for exercising racism, threatening assassination or assaulting someone's character.
. . . . .In my America, that doesn't happen because one of God's messengers was shot in Memphis for the same reasons, and we have to believe that he died knowing his death meant something, that it would never happen again. It doesn't happen because 3 souls died, alone and afraid, in a field in Mississippi because they dared to have principles and believed that all American citizens deserved the right to the same schools and a vote that counted as much as any others and we were ashamed and learned from that.
. . . . . In my America, it doesn't happen because brother stood against brother at places like Gettysburg, Chickamauga and Bull Run as a nation ripped itself in two, and another of God's messengers was shot for believing that "our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" and we learned from that, we learned that "a house divided cannot stand against itself".
. . . . . In my America, that doesn't happen because over 300 men, women and children were massacred at Wounded Knee for the crime of not being white, not being Christian and wanting to pray. It doesn't happen because it happened over and over again, at Sand Creek and countless other places, as an entire race of people, the original inhabitants of this continent were almost hunted to extinction because they were "godless heathens" and we felt guilty and ashamed.
. . . . . In my America, words like liberty, freedom and patriotism mean exactly what they were intended to mean, what men like Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Madison, Paine, Franklin and countless others risked everything for. Those words aren't twisted to incite the flames of Fascism, and used to exclude and hate because another holds a different viewpoint or opinion than yours. Those words are used to include and hold promise.
. . . . . In my America, we remember the blood that our fathers and grandfathers shed on the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima. We remember the acres of crosses that stand in every National Cemetery as they left this place and went to fight the tide of Fascism and Nationalism that was threatening to engulf the world. We remember that they sacrificed for liberty and freedom, for the chance for every man and woman to work and better their familes. We remember that they came home and quietly went back to work on farms and in factories and raised us, and we honor their sacrifice and hold our liberty and our freedom as the precious gifts that they are, and remember that same liberty and freedom is guaranteed to each and every other citizen of my America and they remind us silently that our efforts are demanded now and called upon to stem any tide of Fascism that may now be rising within our own borders.
. . . . . In my America we don't panic because our 401K lost some imaginary value and we may have to work a few months longer than we planned. We remember the elderly person down the road who needs some gas money to get to the doctor, or the family who is just getting by with small children that needs a bag of groceries anonymously dropped on the doorstep.
. . . . . In my America we remember that we are spending $2 billion dollars a month on a pointless civil war in a foreign country and we get angry that a child is going to bed hungry somewhere tonight because their parents can't afford food, or is huddled against the cold because they have nowhere to live because their family has no money. We get angry because an elder is eating dog food, if anything at all, because they cannot afford anything else. We get angry because a father or a mother dies and leaves their family alone because they can't afford an operation or a trip to the doctor. We get angry when even a single child will go without a Christmas. We get angry and we demand of our leaders that they stand accountable for these travesties and use that same money to take care of our children, our elderly and all of us whom others count on to be there everyday.
. . . . . In my America, we remember that we have sacrificed over 4,000 of our youngest, best and brightest to a fruitless cause and remember to honor the ones who do make it home, because we know that their young souls have seen and done things we cannot imagine in order to survive to get home to their families and to take care of the man standing beside them in battle. We remember that over 30,000 of these young men and women were maimed and wounded and we become outraged at the lack of treatment our government gives them after asking them to sacrifice so much. We become angry and we demand of those who would lead us that they stand accountable.
. . . . . .In my America, we don't torture, we don't spy on our own citizens, we don't hold prisoners outside the rule of law and apart from an equal hearing. We know that we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, and we are accountable to it, and that as long as we are silent, we give our voice away to those who would twist it and use our silence as assent.
. . . . . In my America, we remember that we have a voice and that we have power. We remember that we can stand up and demand different, demand accountability, demand better, demand more from those who would put themselves in the position of being our leaders. We remember that they work for us and not the other way around. We remember that is was our ancestors, our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and on back who sacrificed, who bled, who strove, loved and prayed for all of us.
. . . . . In my America, we hold that sacrifice as a holy obligation to become now who we were meant to be and rise up. Rise up and remember that the same blood flows in our veins as flowed in the hearts and veins of our family lines, our parents and grandparents.
. . . . . In my America, we will not be afraid and we will speak out, we will act and we will once again restore honor and pride to our spirit. The coming generations of our children demand that we act, that we speak, that we rise up as one and it will no longer be my America, it will be our America.
. . . . . In my America, we will once again become that shining city upon the hill.
. . . . . In my America, even though you may be or feel alone, you will stand, you will speak and you will hold because you will not be afraid. Know that in the desolation there are angels watching over you, angels who would give their last breath for you, angels who would walk with you alone down the darkest alley against countless odds to make sure that you came back out alive, angels who will be there always.

. . . . . .Rise up kids, it's time. We all raised our hands when they asked who wanted to come back one more time for this particular round of the rodeo. Time to fulfill the obligation. Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the people you love out loud that you do.

Peace out

The Desolation Angel

Election Day

Tuesday November 4th, 2008

. . . . .I'm crying almost too hard to write tonight, for joy, for relief, out of releasing tension, for happy, for sad, for so many years of being a cynic and letting it cover a heart that wanted so badly to believe. For tonight, for 24 hours, I can believe again.

. . . . .I woke this morning in New Orleans, rather I should say I was walking the streets of New Orleans along the river at dawn this morning, couldn't sleep last night. There is no other city that I'd rather be in on this particular Election Day than here, the Crescent City. No other city, no other population suffered more under this regime than here, it has my heart. . . . . .I was remembering. . . . .Remembering walking home from Gull Road Elementary on a cold November day in 1963, one day after my 6th birthday, sent home because the President had been assassinated and everyone was crying. . . . . . . I remembered Detroit, 100 miles to the East of us, burning in 1967 when I was 10, that long hot summer . . . . . Remembering an evening in April 1968 when I was 11 and the TV said that Dr. Martin Luther King had been shot, a man whom my parents hated because he was black but I remembered hearing his speech the night before on the black and white television "And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But, I want you to know tonight that, we as a people, will get to the promised land." . . . . . .Remembering two months later, in the middle of the night, waking up in the morning to find out that President Kennedy's brother, Bobby, had been shot in Los Angeles . . . . . . .Remembering two months after that, in Chicago 100 miles to the West of us, the riots during the Democratic Convention . . . . . I remembered a far-off place named Wounded Knee and hearing about how the Indians had an uprising against the FBI . . . . . . I remembered being a "long-haired hippy" arguing in the kitchen with my father that Richard Nixon was wrong, that he was a criminal and getting thrown out of the house because I was too stubborn to back down and knew I was right . . . . . I remembered Nixon getting on that helicopter . . . . . .I remembered so much in between, and remember my rage, my bitterness and my cynicism over the last 8 years and two stolen elections, over a people ignored and trampled by a near imperialist regime, a war of occupation all for settling a debt to win his father's love that cost us 4,000 young men and women, a city destroyed and ignored because it's population was mostly black, an economy destroyed and a middle class decimated to line the pockets of cronies and buddies, a small faction that held power trying to tell me what it meant to be an American, what it meant to be a patriot.

. . . . .I knew this morning, as I walked these streets along that river and talked to the spirits of this city, so many lost and gone, but who still walk here and talk to me when I'm alone, they told me what would happen and I believed them. I spent the day in anticipation, and now as the vote totals go over the magic 270 electoral number, I cry, for myself, and for all those lost along the way. I cry for happiness and joy, for a release for one night at least from the bonds of anger and cynicism.

. . . . . .I thank you, all of you, those who voted, those who worked on the phones, at polls, at the campaign headquarters, those who wrote and blogged, who did podcasts, those who gave a damn and took a stand and told their friends to stop the hateful e-mails, the rumors and the slander, those who took the time to think and make a conscious choice. He cannot do this alone, it will take all of us, and I hope that the energy that you all expended doing this was only a warm-up for the energy that that we will now have to put into healing, reclaiming and rebuilding our nation.

. . . . So tonight, a break from writing about all the things that are wrong and need fixing, you'll get plenty of that from me in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. You'll forgive me I hope, if I get my ass out in street just for a while and cry and laugh and dance and allow myself to believe for 24 hours that somehow we, as a people, united together, reached beyond ourselves, reached to our higher nature and dared hope and believe in something better.

The Desolation Angel

Election Eve

Go change the world, go vote! Take the soul of this country back and let everyone know, it's our America, our country, our nation and we're tired of how they turned it into their America. Go now, vote and be a part of history!

Sunday November 2, 2008 - The eve of Election eve (I think? Isn't that how it goes?)

It's time then, my son, to fly the black flag and reclaim the Republic

Today's movie moment: "It be too late to alter course now, mateys!" - Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End steering into the maelstrom in the final battle.

"Mom, wherever there's a cop beating a guy, wherever a newborn baby cries, Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air, Look for me Mom, I'll be there." . . . . . .Bruce Springsteen quoting John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath in the Ghost of Tom Joad from the album of the same name.

. . . . Some 48 hours or less to go until the greatest day in recent American History. Not because of who will or will not gain office. Either way, it will be history-making, either a man of African-American descent will gain the office of President, or we will choose to elect a comedic duo that likes of which we haven't seen since Martin-Lewis or Abbott & Costello (of course, this pair of comedians will have their fingers on the nuclear launch codes, that's just a little sobering thought there). The greatness will come from all of you, the American people, the citizens of the Republic, who are already starting to turn out in record-breaking numbers to vote, to participate, to no longer feel powerless and who want to have a say in their government. Who want to be an active part of the body politic and reclaim the nation's soul and honor.

"Hey Eddie, can you lend me a few bucks, and tonight can you get us a ride, gotta make it through the tunnel, got a meeting with a man on the other side." . . .Bruce Springsteen - Meeting across the River - from Born to Run

. . . . . . .I respect and honor John McCain's service in the war in Vietnam, his imprisonment and his scars and wounds. I do not respect his leaving his honor behind him in a ditch somewhere to run his campaign the way it's been run.

. . ."Don't call yourself religious, not with that knife in your hand" - Steven VanZandt (Little Steven) - Undefeated (everybody goes home) - Voice of America

. . . . . .Typical fascist extreme right wing Republican garbage. They've run their campaign not based on policy, not based on clearly outlining a plan for America, but instead have run their campaign based on attacking their opponents patriotism, citizenship, family and friends and playing subtly to the streak of racism in America that always lies just under the surface. Hopefully, the American people will send a clear mandate at the polls on Tuesday that we're sick of that crap.

. . ."Somebody help me, we gotta stop a crime, I've been betrayed by my own kind. I been quiet, too quiet, while across the borderline, we die." - Steven VanZandt - Voice of America - Voice of America

. . . . . .Speaking of that, thank you so very much Dick Cheney for coming out and endorsing John McCain yesterday. A better gift couldn't have been asked for than a visible reminder that the current government of W and the Republicans was given a $5.6 trillion dollar budget surplus and leaves us a $10 trillion dollar debt. A reminder that you cost us 4,000 young lives and destabilized an entire region of the world while pursuing a personal vendetta to straighten out your own twisted psyche and try to win a father's approval, while ignoring the man who attacked us on our own soil, Osama Bin Laden, and Al Queada who wandered Afghanistan and Pakistan uncontested, growing stronger and getting more recruits day by day due to your wrong headed campaign to rid the world of Saddam Hussein. Thank you Dick Cheney for reminding the American people that you and W were the people who passed the Patriot Act, who mandated torture, who stripped basic Constitutional Rights from the American people. You'll help everyone remember the party that he's aligned with, and associations, that John McCain has.

. . ."We'll ride until we fall, we'll sleep in the fields, we'll sleep by the rivers and in the morning, we'll make a plan. Well, if you can't make it, stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive and meet me in a dream of this hard land." - Bruce Springsteen - This Hard Land

. . . . . .Like I said yesterday, Joe the Plumber ain't shit. I'm Kip the Electrician, a real one, licensed for 30 years, and really do own my own business. I wear black, have tattoos and pierces, I'm white and 50 years old and I endorse Barack Obama, because I don't make over $250,000 a year, and I need a tax break for the middle class.

. . . ."There's blood in the mouths of all lies and liars, the bloody red eyes of a rodeo clown" - John Mellencamp - Rodeo Clown - Freedom's Road

. . . . .By the same token, I hope this spells the last of Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis, McCain-Palin campaign managers, they were hatched out of the Rove factory a little too soon. They got the "attack your opponent" thing right, they forgot the "we actually need electoral votes to win" part.

. . ."I was walkin' down the street in the town where I was born, movin' to a beat I'd never felt before. So I opened up my eyes and I took a look around. I saw it written across the sky, the revolution starts now, yeah, the revolution starts now." - Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts Now - Album of the same name

. . . . . .In case no one ever figured it out, I'm a math freak and I watch the Sunday morning talking head shows when I'm able. Just listened to Ed Rollins, one of the only Republican strategists I trust and admire basically write the epitaph for the McCain campaign already. He stated the case that the Obama campaign did all the things that the Bush campaign did 4 years ago, 8 years ago and go on to win. Key elements; great ground game, more money at the end, put the other campaign on the defensive. The electoral votes add up in the states that are already considered solidly in the fold to more than 270.

. . . "In this jungle, we're slaves to politics, and we call ourselves civilized. If you ain't got the muscle, fear is gonna run your life." - Steven VanZandt (Little Steven) - Fear - Voice of America

. . . . . .Personally, I hope this fracture in the Republican party grows wider and deeper until they split completely apart. Let Caribou Barbie take her "values" crowd with her (and Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Anoka, Minnesota and Sen. Elizabeth Dole of NC with them). The true hope for the conservative mind lies in the direction that George Will, Peggy Noonan, Christopher F. Buckley and Andrew Sullivan want to take them. I do not believe that the two parts of this party will ever be able to find common ground again. What Barry Goldwater feared happened, the "kooks" took the party over.

. . . . ."This land is your land, this land is my land, this land was made for you and me" - Woody Guthrie - This Land

. . . . . .I couldn't have brought myself to vote for McCain no matter what. I resent it when someone treats me like I'm stupid and refuses to talk policy and give me plans for getting us out of the mess that we're in i.e. an occupation in Iraq, a war in Afghanistan and Pakistan and a financial nightmare that threatens to shut down the world. I couldn't care less who sat on a couch with William Ayers 20 years ago or who went to a banquet 12 years ago. Don't run a campaign based on the other guy losing and expect me to buy into that crap.

. . . . .P.S. Don't pick a manic Yorkshire terrier that acts like a tweaking meth freak for your Vice-Presidential pick.

. . . . . ."Come on up for the Rising, come on up for the Rising tonight" -Bruce Springsteen - The Rising - Album of the same name

. . . . . .So . . . on Tuesday PARTICIPATE! Go vote, if you've already voted absentee or early, then volunteer at a polling place, drive some senior citizens to the election site, the lines will be long, go make some coffee and sandwiches for the people who are standing in line exercising the basic rights of any citizen of the Republic, the right to vote and participate. Emotions are running high, just go to a polling place or an election site and be a beacon of calm, help ease those tensions that will run throughout the crowd. This is and has been a very divisive election cycle, be part of the healing process that we will need, as a nation, to get through rapidly afterwards. The world won't wait for us to lick our wounds or hold long, never ending discussions about healing the rift. It will be time for us, all of us, to jump into action. Just voting is important, but at the end of it, that will only be the first action of what will be required. I hope this has energized all of us old hippies back into action.

OK, so you know how it goes, I'll put the links to the two videos below, and post the essay that I wrote all by my little lonesome. Peace out, keep believing, don't stop acting, always be positive and me hearties, now maybe you're getting it. We have to take the Republic back, it's up to us, and there ain't a thing wrong with hoisting the black flag of piracy to do it. Peace out.

. . . . . Johnny Cash's America

. . . . . My American Prayer

IN MY AMERICA

. . . . . .In my America, a man shouldn't have to be afraid because he dares to strive for the nation's highest elected office, but wasn't born all-white. In my America, he shouldn't have to worry about the safety of his wife and children because the other guy and his partner made a conscious decision to incite the ugliest tendencies of angry, howling anonymous mobs and inflame the fires of racism.
. . . . . In my America, no one is able to get away with spewing hatred and obscene epithets about someone they've never met because the man or woman standing next to them will stop him or her and tell them that the right to free speech is the right to an opinion and a differing viewpoint, not immunity for exercising racism, threatening assassination or assaulting someone's character.
. . . . .In my America, that doesn't happen because one of God's messengers was shot in Memphis for the same reasons, and we have to believe that he died knowing his death meant something, that it would never happen again. It doesn't happen because 3 souls died, alone and afraid, in a field in Mississippi because they dared to have principles and believed that all American citizens deserved the right to the same schools and a vote that counted as much as any others and we were ashamed and learned from that.
. . . . . In my America, it doesn't happen because brother stood against brother at places like Gettysburg, Chickamauga and Bull Run as a nation ripped itself in two, and another of God's messengers was shot for believing that "our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" and we learned from that, we learned that "a house divided cannot stand against itself".
. . . . . In my America, that doesn't happen because over 300 men, women and children were massacred at Wounded Knee for the crime of not being white, not being Christian and wanting to pray. It doesn't happen because it happened over and over again, at Sand Creek and countless other places, as an entire race of people, the original inhabitants of this continent were almost hunted to extinction because they were "godless heathens" and we felt guilty and ashamed.
. . . . . In my America, words like liberty, freedom and patriotism mean exactly what they were intended to mean, what men like Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Madison, Paine, Franklin and countless others risked everything for. Those words aren't twisted to incite the flames of Fascism, and used to exclude and hate because another holds a different viewpoint or opinion than yours. Those words are used to include and hold promise.
. . . . . In my America, we remember the blood that our fathers and grandfathers shed on the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima. We remember the acres of crosses that stand in every National Cemetery as they left this place and went to fight the tide of Fascism and Nationalism that was threatening to engulf the world. We remember that they sacrificed for liberty and freedom, for the chance for every man and woman to work and better their familes. We remember that they came home and quietly went back to work on farms and in factories and raised us, and we honor their sacrifice and hold our liberty and our freedom as the precious gifts that they are, and remember that same liberty and freedom is guaranteed to each and every other citizen of my America and they remind us silently that our efforts are demanded now and called upon to stem any tide of Fascism that may now be rising within our own borders.
. . . . . In my America we don't panic because our 401K lost some imaginary value and we may have to work a few months longer than we planned. We remember the elderly person down the road who needs some gas money to get to the doctor, or the family who is just getting by with small children that needs a bag of groceries anonymously dropped on the doorstep.
. . . . . In my America we remember that we are spending $2 billion dollars a month on a pointless civil war in a foreign country and we get angry that a child is going to bed hungry somewhere tonight because their parents can't afford food, or is huddled against the cold because they have nowhere to live because their family has no money. We get angry because an elder is eating dog food, if anything at all, because they cannot afford anything else. We get angry because a father or a mother dies and leaves their family alone because they can't afford an operation or a trip to the doctor. We get angry when even a single child will go without a Christmas. We get angry and we demand of our leaders that they stand accountable for these travesties and use that same money to take care of our children, our elderly and all of us whom others count on to be there everyday.
. . . . . In my America, we remember that we have sacrificed over 4,000 of our youngest, best and brightest to a fruitless cause and remember to honor the ones who do make it home, because we know that their young souls have seen and done things we cannot imagine in order to survive to get home to their families and to take care of the man standing beside them in battle. We remember that over 30,000 of these young men and women were maimed and wounded and we become outraged at the lack of treatment our government gives them after asking them to sacrifice so much. We become angry and we demand of those who would lead us that they stand accountable.
. . . . . .In my America, we don't torture, we don't spy on our own citizens, we don't hold prisoners outside the rule of law and apart from an equal hearing. We know that we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, and we are accountable to it, and that as long as we are silent, we give our voice away to those who would twist it and use our silence as assent.
. . . . . In my America, we remember that we have a voice and that we have power. We remember that we can stand up and demand different, demand accountability, demand better, demand more from those who would put themselves in the position of being our leaders. We remember that they work for us and not the other way around. We remember that is was our ancestors, our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and on back who sacrificed, who bled, who strove, loved and prayed for all of us.
. . . . . In my America, we hold that sacrifice as a holy obligation to become now who we were meant to be and rise up. Rise up and remember that the same blood flows in our veins as flowed in the hearts and veins of our family lines, our parents and grandparents.
. . . . . In my America, we will not be afraid and we will speak out, we will act and we will once again restore honor and pride to our spirit. The coming generations of our children demand that we act, that we speak, that we rise up as one and it will no longer be my America, it will be our America.
. . . . . In my America, we will once again become that shining city upon the hill.
. . . . . In my America, even though you may be or feel alone, you will stand, you will speak and you will hold because you will not be afraid. Know that in the desolation there are angels watching over you, angels who would give their last breath for you, angels who would walk with you alone down the darkest alley against countless odds to make sure that you came back out alive, angels who will be there always.

. . . . . .Rise up kids, it's time. We all raised our hands when they asked who wanted to come back one more time for this particular round of the rodeo. Time to fulfill the obligation. Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the people you love out loud that you do.

Peace out

The Desolation Ange

Saturday morning

It's time then, my son, to fly the black flag and reclaim the Republic

UPDATE: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1ST, 6 PM


A good friend and tireless worker for the people, Grandmother Barbara Vitale sent this along to me this afternoon and asked me to get the word out. Please click the link below, which is Congressional testimony by a computer programmer who was asked to write a program (asked by a member of Congress, I might add) that would, undetected, flip the results of any election to 51-49 for whatever candidate or party you wanted, undetected. In these last few days, as so many people wait, this is important. Please, watch this, and forward this to your address books and your local and national media. Far from being a reason to give up, it gives the dog soldiers of the Republic even more reason to be vigilant and watchful in these waning days.

Pre-programmed election fraud testimony

. . . . . .Joe the Plumber ain't shit. I'm Kip the Electrician, a real licensed one, and licensed contractor who really does own his own business and I endorse Barack Obama.

. . . . . . .Ron Reagan Jr. endorses Obama here

. . . . . . .President Reagan's Chief of Staff endorses Barack Obama in this CNN Politics article.

. . . . . . . .Add in Colin Powell, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, The New York Times, the Washington Post, George Will, Christopher F. Buckley, Andrew Sullivan, Peggy Noonan, you get the picture.

In the meantime, back on the slimy side of town . . . . . .

. . . . . .Sarah Palin claims that her First Amendment rights are being violated by criticism, as written here? Hunh? Whazzup with that? It only demonstrates, for the umpteenth time, her complete and total ignorance of the American Constitution, and the extreme Right evangelical Fasicst wing of the Republican party's worldview. Does she not get that the First Amendment guarantees a free press the ability to report fact and publish opinion? Guess not!

. . . . . .That's OK, her boss's own National Security Adviser, Lawrence Eagleburger said here in an interview that she definitely wasn't ready for the job of President.

. . . . The winner of today's most disgusting one? Right here, where Senator Saxby Chambliss, the Republican from Georgia, in a report picked up from Politico, tells his white base that "the other folks are voting".


It's all good, 72 hours to go. Rock and roll, kids, it's time for the show, pyrotechnics and all. Get out there, keep believing, do what you can in your own neighborhood and all around you, we can reclaim all this. You know the three below, check out the two videos, read the essay, keep forwarding it along.

"This train is bound for glory" - Bruce Springsteen - Land of Hope and Dreams

. . . . . Johnny Cash's America

. . . . . My American Prayer

IN MY AMERICA

. . . . . .In my America, a man shouldn't have to be afraid because he dares to strive for the nation's highest elected office, but wasn't born all-white. In my America, he shouldn't have to worry about the safety of his wife and children because the other guy and his partner made a conscious decision to incite the ugliest tendencies of angry, howling anonymous mobs and inflame the fires of racism.
. . . . . In my America, no one is able to get away with spewing hatred and obscene epithets about someone they've never met because the man or woman standing next to them will stop him or her and tell them that the right to free speech is the right to an opinion and a differing viewpoint, not immunity for exercising racism, threatening assassination or assaulting someone's character.
. . . . .In my America, that doesn't happen because one of God's messengers was shot in Memphis for the same reasons, and we have to believe that he died knowing his death meant something, that it would never happen again. It doesn't happen because 3 souls died, alone and afraid, in a field in Mississippi because they dared to have principles and believed that all American citizens deserved the right to the same schools and a vote that counted as much as any others and we were ashamed and learned from that.
. . . . . In my America, it doesn't happen because brother stood against brother at places like Gettysburg, Chickamauga and Bull Run as a nation ripped itself in two, and another of God's messengers was shot for believing that "our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" and we learned from that, we learned that "a house divided cannot stand against itself".
. . . . . In my America, that doesn't happen because over 300 men, women and children were massacred at Wounded Knee for the crime of not being white, not being Christian and wanting to pray. It doesn't happen because it happened over and over again, at Sand Creek and countless other places, as an entire race of people, the original inhabitants of this continent were almost hunted to extinction because they were "godless heathens" and we felt guilty and ashamed.
. . . . . In my America, words like liberty, freedom and patriotism mean exactly what they were intended to mean, what men like Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Madison, Paine, Franklin and countless others risked everything for. Those words aren't twisted to incite the flames of Fascism, and used to exclude and hate because another holds a different viewpoint or opinion than yours. Those words are used to include and hold promise.
. . . . . In my America, we remember the blood that our fathers and grandfathers shed on the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima. We remember the acres of crosses that stand in every National Cemetery as they left this place and went to fight the tide of Fascism and Nationalism that was threatening to engulf the world. We remember that they sacrificed for liberty and freedom, for the chance for every man and woman to work and better their familes. We remember that they came home and quietly went back to work on farms and in factories and raised us, and we honor their sacrifice and hold our liberty and our freedom as the precious gifts that they are, and remember that same liberty and freedom is guaranteed to each and every other citizen of my America and they remind us silently that our efforts are demanded now and called upon to stem any tide of Fascism that may now be rising within our own borders.
. . . . . In my America we don't panic because our 401K lost some imaginary value and we may have to work a few months longer than we planned. We remember the elderly person down the road who needs some gas money to get to the doctor, or the family who is just getting by with small children that needs a bag of groceries anonymously dropped on the doorstep.
. . . . . In my America we remember that we are spending $2 billion dollars a month on a pointless civil war in a foreign country and we get angry that a child is going to bed hungry somewhere tonight because their parents can't afford food, or is huddled against the cold because they have nowhere to live because their family has no money. We get angry because an elder is eating dog food, if anything at all, because they cannot afford anything else. We get angry because a father or a mother dies and leaves their family alone because they can't afford an operation or a trip to the doctor. We get angry when even a single child will go without a Christmas. We get angry and we demand of our leaders that they stand accountable for these travesties and use that same money to take care of our children, our elderly and all of us whom others count on to be there everyday.
. . . . . In my America, we remember that we have sacrificed over 4,000 of our youngest, best and brightest to a fruitless cause and remember to honor the ones who do make it home, because we know that their young souls have seen and done things we cannot imagine in order to survive to get home to their families and to take care of the man standing beside them in battle. We remember that over 30,000 of these young men and women were maimed and wounded and we become outraged at the lack of treatment our government gives them after asking them to sacrifice so much. We become angry and we demand of those who would lead us that they stand accountable.
. . . . . .In my America, we don't torture, we don't spy on our own citizens, we don't hold prisoners outside the rule of law and apart from an equal hearing. We know that we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, and we are accountable to it, and that as long as we are silent, we give our voice away to those who would twist it and use our silence as assent.
. . . . . In my America, we remember that we have a voice and that we have power. We remember that we can stand up and demand different, demand accountability, demand better, demand more from those who would put themselves in the position of being our leaders. We remember that they work for us and not the other way around. We remember that is was our ancestors, our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and on back who sacrificed, who bled, who strove, loved and prayed for all of us.
. . . . . In my America, we hold that sacrifice as a holy obligation to become now who we were meant to be and rise up. Rise up and remember that the same blood flows in our veins as flowed in the hearts and veins of our family lines, our parents and grandparents.
. . . . . In my America, we will not be afraid and we will speak out, we will act and we will once again restore honor and pride to our spirit. The coming generations of our children demand that we act, that we speak, that we rise up as one and it will no longer be my America, it will be our America.
. . . . . In my America, we will once again become that shining city upon the hill.
. . . . . In my America, even though you may be or feel alone, you will stand, you will speak and you will hold because you will not be afraid. Know that in the desolation there are angels watching over you, angels who would give their last breath for you, angels who would walk with you alone down the darkest alley against countless odds to make sure that you came back out alive, angels who will be there always.

. . . . . .Rise up kids, it's time. We all raised our hands when they asked who wanted to come back one more time for this particular round of the rodeo. Time to fulfill the obligation. Peace out, kiss your kids, tell the people you love out loud that you do.

Peace out

The Desolation Angel