by executive order of the president... wtf?

over the past year, i've been told over and over again by Very. Important. People that the president didn't want to use an executive order to stop military discharges under "don't ask, don't tell" because, good heavens, don't you know, that's not a permanent fix and the next president can just as easily reverse that with the swipe of a pen. these Very.Important.People have been quite condescending about my and others' ignorance of how the Real.World works.

[note to Very. Important. People: stopping military discharges pending permanent repeal through an executive order is not, i repeat not, intended as a permanent fix but rather a measure of decency and a show of commitment to repeal.]

[ps, i am not stupid.]

well, lo and behold, now some Very.Important.People over at the Center for American Progress are all "hey look, Obama can use his executive powers to get some things done."

Through his own executive powers, Obama can work to reduce oil imports, stave off home foreclosures, and delay military discharges to blunt the effects of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring gays from serving openly, the report said. A White House official said the report would get a close look. [http://lat.ms/aDEwIq]

 oh.  my.  fucking.  god.

we're two years into a four year term, and folks have just discovered executive powers!? it's almost enough to turn me to prayer...

let's review: has a law degree so i assume took at least one conlaw class, taught conlaw at university of chicago so i again assume has a passing acquaintance with the different powers given to the three branches of government, was a junior senator from a midwest state for almost a whole term while bush was president so i also assume has at least a vague recollection of the use of executive orders, elected to presidency in 2008, inaugurated in january 2009, lives in the white house so i assume someone has mentioned who can issue executive orders by now, has the ability to effect changes in policy and practice if not law without anyone else's say-so through the use of the multiply-aforementioned executive orders, and is now going to take "a close look" at a report about using executive orders....

yep, it's sunday and i'd better start looking around for a church. sheesh

connect the dots - being american

and the stories just keep coming. i hate to use the time-worn statement but "what she said" -

This TSA issue does crystallize for many the encroaching police state in a way that people who care about such things should pay attention to. It’s not abstract and it affects Real Americans rather than some faceless foreigner. It’s one of those proverbial “teachable moments” if anyone cares to connect the dots.

if we can't make this a teachable moment, if this matter which has clearly gripped regular everyday americans without regard to politics can't be used to force a much-needed very public discussion about civil liberties and rights, then the terrorists and Republican'ts have really won.

right now, every statement coming out of tsa is just making it worse. And what Obama said today? oh boy, did he miss that mark by about a mile and a half.  Obama does not do "I feel your pain" well at all.

connect the dots - do you like being publicly exposed, humiliated? did you know you gave up all your rights by buying a plane ticket to gramma's? and don't get me started on warrantless and/or secret searches or wire-tapping, data-mining by the feds, ... how'm I doing so far?  this should be front page outrage by progressives, not the other folks.

do victims of rape or abuse deserve to be aggressively groped in public by strangers? do people with disabilities have less rights to dignity than Congresspeople or blond haired blue eyed 24 year olds (male or female)?

just what are we gaining by taking the most invasive and expensive approach in an intentionally crowded security crushes when others are doing as good or better using well-trained well-paid humans beginning from the minute someone walks in the door?

connect the dots - this "teachable" moment will slip away soon, another shiny object will appear, the crowds will move on, and we will lose another bit of what makes us Americans.

on the day after

it's the day after midterm elections: lots of democrats lost in the house, some democrats lost in the senate, maryland stayed on course with democrats in charge and a few more in the state senate. the president today said he'd be more open to compromise, which seems strange to me since he's been doing that all along.

am i more or less bitter than after other elections? i think a bit more. after gaining majorities in the house and senate in 2006 and 2008, with the white house in 2008, even with a depressed economy, this was really the democrats' election to lose. the media drove the opposite message by giving whackos and nutjobs massive unearned free media coverage, making whack-a-doodle o'donnell almost a household name.

for two years, instead of acting on a clear mandate for transformative change voters gave obama and congress in 2008, we saw moderation and incrementalism. yes, health care reform passed but it was really health insurance company protection dressed up. we did get the abolition of pre-existing conditions bans but i don't trust insurers or employers to do this correctly or well. and my distrust is indicative of the white house's main failing: communication. they failed miserably on health care, financial melt-down, and just about everything else. obama didn't rev up for the midterm elections until about two weeks out, too late to make a significant difference with more vague "yes we can" promises. [warning: i'm not a big fan of our president, folks. deal with it.]

so now what? hell if i know. by the accounts i'm seeing, democrats continue to learn the wrong lessons from these defeats. instead of going with the "let's get back to standing up for and by our fundamental principles and values," they're all "ooo, someone's mad at me. i better be even more milquetoasty." yuk! when i look at the democrats i'd follow--even without agreeing with everything they've said or done, i think of Alan Grayson (D-FL08) and Russ Feingold (D-WI). and both lost. i love Bernie Sanders (D-VT) but as an independent, his chances at leadership are low. Reid will likely continue as senate leader, and with obama's words ringing in his ears, we're bound to have even weaker leadership from him. lovely...

women's rights and especially our right to determine our reproductive future are definitely on the chopping block - what a wasted opportunity the past two years have been on this. chances of eliminating the hyde amendment seem at an all-time low, greater restrictions to access are likely to proliferate, and democrats seem to care not a whit.

and what about issues affecting civil and human rights over the next two years? well, don't bet on dadt passing congress. so will obama finally figure out he has the power to block further discharges? will holder's doj continue defending the unspoken war on "terror" that translates into the war on american civil rights? will the white house continue entrenching and extending the bush/cheney secrecy and "right" to wage an executive war? and will the media ever focus on how this administration has done nothing to undo the worst legacy of the previous one? (hint: not likely)

while i love ted kennedy's words ("the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die."), our current leaders are not the ones who will ensure that the dream of an america for all lives on.

clouds

found a site that shows my tweets in cloud form. tres kewl!

here is my hashtag cloud:

#1 #2 #99ers #abortion #actly #afghanistan #aflcio09 #africa #africom #banclusterbombs #blacktide#bp #camejo #catholic #chileanminers #china #choice #cholera #climate #coal #congo #dadt#darfur #dc #dc10210 #drc #dt #fail #fem2 #ff #gay #genocide #genprev #givehealth #gop#gulf #haiti #hcr #healthcare #humanrights #iran #iraq #jail4blankenship #jobless #jobs #kysen#laborday #leogande #leogane #lgbt #maddow #mdgs #mlk #mosque #netneutrality #nn09 #nn10 #npr#obama #oil #oilspill #onenation #onwt #outbreak #p2 #p21 #pakistan #peace #phb #politics#poverty #prochoice #prop8 #publicoption #rwanda #sheparty #socialsecurity #stopnelson#stopstupak #stupak #sudan #sudannow #tcot #teaparty #thisweek #tibet #tillerdocu #topprog#twittermarch #un #unemployed #unemployment #unionmember #usmnt #vaw #votedem #water#women #womensrights #youmightbeadofh

 and here is my words - i took out the folks i retweeted:

#99ers #cholera #dadt #darfur #dc10210 #haiti #hcr #p2 #prochoice #sudan #tcot 000 10 11 abortion abt act action aid america american americans anti ask @barackobama beck best better big bp @bpgulfleak bush campaign care @care change check child children choice congress cont country darfur day dc dems did does doesnt @downwithtyranny end fight follow fox free genocide going good gop great ground haiti happy health help home hope house ht huff human hv iraq @joanneleon jobs join justice know left lets life live long love make march media mosque mp ms mt nation need new news nyti obama oil @onenationteam org ow party peace people @peterdaou petition pls policy president public rally read real really @reddust2010 reform @renewal4haiti right rights said say says security sen senate sign stand state stop @stopbeck story sudan support tax tell thank thanks think time tl today twitter @usembpretoria video violence vote want war watch water way white women wont work workers working world www year years yes youre

from an earlier blog I thought to start

sept 11 - I still lost
Wednesday, September 12, 2007

I didn't lose anyone that day, but i still lost

this will never be a day of parades or flags or 'support the troops' for me. it will probably always be a day of tears, of reflection on what our country lost that day and in the days and weeks and months that followed. and i will probably always be offended by those who try to make it into some ideal patriotism holiday.

today, for me, isn't about Petreaus or Bush or the presidential elections. it isn't about flags or concerts or amusement parks. it will never ever be about glorified speeches or Congressional hearings.

today, and every september 11, will be about a single beautiful fall morning with crystal clear skies, a spring in the step from the energy of the season. it will be about waking up to another day, as simple and plain as the last and as promising as the next.

it will be about that image captured forever in pictures, the tragic accident of the first plane, the horror of the second, the realization that my future and that of everyone else in this country will never be the same.

it will be about the sound of that plane overhead, looking up and thinking "that can't be right" as i rushed to the metro to be with others on this first day of a new world of fear.

it will be about going through the motions for a while as we all waited to learn the fate of our friends in NY and across the river in Virginia. it will be the deep sadness when we learned about the flight that went down in a field in Pennsylvania.

September 11 will always be a day of deep sadness for all that we went through that day receeding into the past, and all we have lost in the years since then.

on September 10th and 12th and every other day of the year, i will fight like a cornered tiger for my rights and my country.

on September 11, i weep.

civic duty and other stuff

well, here I sit. waiting to find out if I'll be called for a jury or not. where I live, we have a 'one day-one jury' system: you serve for one day if you don't get selected or one trial if you do. whichever one comes up, you then don't get called for at least another three years. or in my case, apparently, maybe ever. I've lived in this county since 1984 (with a few years here and there in neighboring jurisdictions) and this is the second time I've been called to serve.

for most folks, jury duty is considered a drag, an inconvenience to be dreaded. for me, it's something I look forward to and actually want to do. I'd rather get a criminal case than a civil one if only because the issues involved are likely more cut and dried--was a crime committed, is the charge correct, did this particular defendant do the crime. in civil cases, it's often harder to figure out if what is being claimed is actually against the law much less whether the particular defendant is responsible for the action. but whatever. to me, it's all a big logic puzzle and fascinating as I get to see the law in action without having to deal with lawyers directly--something I am loathe to do any more by the way. every time I contemplate working for lawyers again, I stop breathing--not a good sign as I look for a job. actually, every time I think about being a secretary again, I stop breathing.

back to jury duty (and breathing). here comes my voyeurism in full on mode. outfits range from upper executive to barely out of bed. my favorites are the girl (yes, she looks barely of voting age) dressed in sweats, wrinkled t-shirt and hoodie, with her hair pulled into a not quite brushed ponytail. I'm thinking she really really doesn't want to get picked. then there's the one bundled up in a down parka--the temperature in this lounge must be approaching 75 or above. lots of computers going, even a few iPads besides mine. one woman is knitting what appears to be a full-sized afghan out of bulky wool and at the rate she's going will be finished this afternoon if not before--click click click. people try to sit at least one seat apart from each other, though some conversations have gotten started. you can spot the extreme extroverts a mile away--please universe, if you're listening right now, keep me off a panel with one of them!

the county certainly tries to make this as easy on the waiting jurors as possible. Cafeteria folks were here earlier with not awful coffee, pastries, etc. there are computers available (no Twitter though) and wi-fi. tomorrow, if I have to come back, I'll hang in the jury lounge again during any breaks to take advantage of that if possible. the folks in the jury office are almost preternaturally nice--they actually seem to want folks to be a comfortable as possible.

only two panels have been called for the morning and with one of the higher numbers, I'll likely be sitting here for most of the day in case of an instant jury call. that's a new term for me--I do so love learning new stuff. if someone is brought before the district court and demands a jury trial, the case is automatically remanded to circuit court where I am now and a panel is formed. because this can happened at any time during the day, we have to hang around until probably 4:30 or 5:00 to see if we're needed. fine with me though I expect lots of folks will be grousing come 3:00.

in other news, spent a fair amount of time on twitter Saturday evening and Sunday following the cholera outbreak in Haiti. again, watching people's reactions to different parts of the event and how rumors get started and spread is fascinating. I again realized how easy it is for me to get caught up in a frenzy, and how different that fact is from my image of myself as one who would be cool under pressure. while I may be relatively calm on the outside, clearly others do have a strong influence on my actions. the nice thing though is having had this lesson several times recently, I think I'm beginning to see it happen earlier and earlier, and so to recognize earlier when to step back or perhaps be more cautious. another thing I very much like--learning something new about me that I can actually do something to correct. I may have this whole life thing down by the time I move to the next life! or at least these lessons may be more apparent earlier next time around...

sadly never made it to Haiti

back in august, when I thought I'd start this blog (and then got sidetracked again), I was excited about the possibility to going to Haiti in October to work on building an operating room module for a hospital in Leogande. sadly, really really sadly, that trip didn't materialize though i understand they may be going in December. by that time, however, i hope to be ensconced in a new job and not likely to be able to go. so, as some may have noticed, i've spent a lot of time on twitter getting to know some truly wonderful Haitians and supporters of Haiti. in many ways, Haiti is a great example of what is wrong with US media, government promises, and our society: out of sight, out of mind.

think about different problems and how a resolution is often dependent on focused attention: human trafficking where the money spent combating this atrocity is mere pittance compared to the profits, gutting off-shore drilling regulations and enforcement (see Deepwater Horizon). and those are the easiest ones off the top of my head.

and Haiti. less than a year after that country's most populist areas were devastated by an earthquake, after billions of dollars of aid were promised (but not delivered by the way), most people and certainly the lame stream media give it hardly a thought if they think of it at all. we moved on to the next shiny object or story. not that there hasn't been important events after that: back to the Gulf and BP, Pakistan's floods, and now the US's self-obsession with months-long ugly politics. but still people live in tent camps, die without needed medical attention, go without education or honest work -- all problems that could be addressed with the right attention.

Out of sight, Out of mind.

random thoughts to begin

stepping away from my old blog, i find i may finally have something to say. i've felt stifled when in fact it was just me not wanting to engage any longer at a different place. so today, i begin again - smaller in scale, more personal, quieter, more me.

some days, i'll ramble about politics. other days, perhaps i'll extoll (or not) a book or movie. and i'll definitely document my effort to go to Haiti this October with Renewal4Haiti. we'll see how it all works out.