An Eerie Glow

This morning I awoke to the remnants of a misty sunrise. Every morning during the week begins with the ritual of clothes, cats and coffee. Throwing on a T-shirt and shorts, just enough clothes to not be embarrassed when I walk the dog, I grabbed the empty water glasses and headed downstairs. As usual, the cats raced me to the front door, eager to begin their daylong adventure of hunt, nap and play. I held the water glasses tightly to my chest with one hand as I pushed open the door with the other to let the cats out.

That was when I first saw it - a grayish, green glow hanging over the wooded yard, like a curtain of mourning veils, subduing the usual summer chroma of suburban yards and street and sky. "Hmmm," I told the cats as they leapt through the doorway, "Strange looking morning." They must have thought so too because they stopped for a moment as soon as they got outside and took in the muted light.

It was not until I took the dog out for her walk more than an hour after sunrise, that I really felt the heavy shadows that the dawn had yet to lift. True, it stormed during the night, but that only partly explains why it looked that way. This was not the kind of golden summer glistening that one usually sees after a big rain. It was a surreal glow.

I wondered how America glowed today. The odd morning light seemed to me a metaphor for the unreal optimism that has been demonstrated by the president in talking about the Gulf Coast's recovery or the upbeat Rumsfeld talking about how great things are going in Iraq and Afghanistan. Somehow, this country's leaders (sadly they are our leaders by default, if not by choice) have begun a new newspeak campaign, coloring the bad news with a rosy glow that is usually reserved for partisan sports announcers praising an incompetent player or team.

That they try to tell us that something good is happening when we know it's not would not be so bad except that they begin to believe it themselves. They say, "We live in wonderful, peaceful, prosperous times" as if it's an incantation, and just saying it makes it so. But like this morning's weird light, it does not reflect the truth. It hearkens back to Hurricane Katrina and the fact that the federal government tried to say that everything was under control in New Orleans when it clearly was not. Michael "heckuva-job-brownie" Brown said as much yesterday on the Today Show, pointing out that in Washington, DC they actually believed everything was ok.

It's the same with the economy, which really did not recover for the majority of Americans, and for the war in Iraq, where we never "turned a corner" and the mission is not accomplished.

The problem is people want to believe the deceptions, because it hurts to face the truth. That does not mean they don't, at some level, know what the truth is. That's why if we want to make a change, it will take more than just exposing the lies that everyone already knows are there (and it doesn't help that most Americans believe that such misstatements are politically bipartisan).

In order to take back our country from those who would drive it into the ground while telling us we are soaring, we have to show we stand for everyone being successful, and we have a plan for it; that we stand for the United States being safe and we have a plan for it; that we are a true global partner for peace, and we have a plan for that.

Only by saying what changes we will make will those changes come to pass. It's not magic; it's commitment, and we must be fully engaged in making it real.

PBG

The Root Cause

" People understand that there needs to be a cessation of hostilities in order for us to address the root causes of the problem. The intent of the resolution is to make sure that we address the root cause."
-George W. Bush, at a press conference about the Israel-Hezbollah War, Crawford, Texas, August 7, 2006

Decades of conflict aside, what really is the "root cause," Mr. President? Let's look at some facts.

You chose to believe liars like Chalabi, Cheney, Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld and engaged in a failed foreign policy that held on to a narrow-minded belief that democracy is the opiate of the people. Democracy frees neither nations nor individuals. All it does is enable the establishment of a government, and as we know, governments are beholden to no one but themselves. The arrogance of your administration has destroyed years of diplomatic activity that has kept tensions in check. Healthcare is what people want, and food and shelter and gasoline.

This isn't just a butter-or-bombs argument. CNN's Henry Schuster, in a recent cnn.com article titled "Hezbollah's Secret Weapon," talks about a young girl in Beirut named Zeinab, who, influenced by Hezbollah's community assistance projects, declares," 'I hope that when I be big and grow up, I want to be a doctor for Hezbollah. If someone is hurt, has a hurt in his hand, I will help him '." And, as Schuster points out, "That is Hezbollah's strength."

To millions of poor, hungry Arabs in the Middle East, Hamas and Hezbollah are successful as social welfare organizations, so the people put up with terrorism in their politics.

There's a lesson for you there. By cutting off relations with your so-called "axis of evil" you opened a void that, like Iraq, is being filled by the terrorist organizations. Radical ideologues that call for the destruction of Israel and the United States fill the bellies, hearts and minds of the people you forget are part of the world. A government, no matter how terrible, is still only a small group compared to the populations they govern. Governments change, but the people don't forget who fed them when they were hungry, who healed them when they were sick.

Frankly, I think Israel could do a great deal in the region if they were to provide some social help to their estranged neighbors, if the Arabs would let them.

Maybe if you took care of Americans like that your poll numbers wouldn't be in the toilet and your party wouldn't be so afraid of losing power. All this money to help heal the world, and it seems all you want to do is subdue it. And that's too bad... for all of us.

-PBG

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The Stupidest Georgia Politician

There are many who would point out the redundancy in that header, and they wouldn't be wrong. This is most definitely a contest that will field a large group.

It would be easy to start with Zell, if he weren't just one in a long line going back farther than I can remember - maybe even to Button Gwinnett (look it up). But what do you expect from a state that's public education system is always in the bottom three?

Here are a few from just yesterday, in no particular order, when Georgia held its gubenatorial and congressional primaries.

1) Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D) 4th District
Although her scuffle with the Capitol Police over the winter garnered a lot of attention, back here that was only another "Oh, that Cynthia" moment in the life of this outspoken suburban Atlanta Democrat. She is very popular in her district, probably the most liberal and ethnically diverse in Georgia. Most people admire her "straight talkin' " attitude, and believe she is one of the few people who actually speaks the truth in Congress.

Cindy Sheehan and other Gold Star Mothers were at her post-primary election party last night to lend their support, and if you consider yourself a good liberal, like I do, it is very hard not to stand with her. She's been outspoken about the war in Iraq, and was the first in Congress to raise questions about the Administration's prior knowledge regarding 9/11. She also brings a lot to her community. So while many in Washington consider her boisterous and ineffective, not to mention a loose cannon, most at home admire her.

Because she enjoys a certain popularity, she did little to campaign except a few yard signs. She skipped debates with her other Democratic challengers in the lead up to the primary. She said she had commitments in the community, and in one debate in particular, she was just a no-show.

Only she and the media were surprised by yesterday's vote. After not getting the required majority (50% + 1 vote), she is now in a run-off for the Democratic nomination for her congressional seat against Hank Johnson, a county politician making his first bid for national office. They finished only a couple of points apart.

So why, in particular, was this stupid? Well, her speech to her supporters when it became apparent she was not going to win outright, was angry and venemous. She attacked her colleagues in Congress, in the Democratic Party, and, of course, the media for her failure. She didn't acknowledge her own mistakes during the campaign itself. No one expects her to apologize for her actions in Washington. She doesn't have to. She's Cynthia. But maybe she should have admitted to having made mistakes during the campaign and take some responsibility. Stop blaming others for your bad judgement, Cynthia. Stupid thing to do in a close race.

2) Ralph Reed (R) yes, that one
Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition and state Republican Campaign Chairman, got endorsements from Rudy Giuliani and Sean Hannity in his bid for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. With all his name recognition, he lost, early and significantly, in a race that was not nearly as close as people thought it would be, to Casey Cagle, a member of the state house from the Atlanta suburbs. Despite his huge war chest, he could not deliver votes for himself.

In a very negative campaign, he ignored accusations about endorsing child labor in the Third World, and responded to criticism of his connection to the Abramoff/DeLay scandal with "I was mislead" about the money and blamed the media of associating him with wrongdoing. Like many modern politicians, he believed what people were telling him about his chances and the mood of the electorate in trying to win in a statewide vote. Again, for not owning his own shortcomings, for wasting more than a million dollars on an unwinnable campaign, he is now yesterday's news. Good riddance.

3) Rep. Phil Gingrey (R) 11th District
Finally, the oddest comment of them all. Even if you take into account any unspoken context, this is the dumbest thing I have heard that a politician said in a long time. After Republicans in Congress wasted time drafting and debating a constitutional ammendment against gay marriage, Gingrey deflected criticism from many quarters that pointed out that given the Senate already defeated a similar measure, and with all the problems in Iraq, skyrocketing gas prices, Iran, North Korea and the Israel-Hezbollah War in the Middle East, this was a pointless excercise.

He said that constitutionally defining marriage as between a man and a woman "is perhaps the best message we can give to the Middle East and all the trouble they're having over there right now."

Wow. Er...interesting perspective. And stupid.

-PBG