On this Day of Remembrance, two songs by Eric Bogle about the First World War, lest we forget...

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda (YouTube)

The Green Fields of France (YouTube) (performed by the Dropkick Murphys; video is historic photos)

And now some concerns for the servicemembers and veterans alive today, from Democracy Now! Because a 'thank you' means more when it's backed up by decent support and care:

Study: Over 2,200 US Veterans Died in 2008 Due to Lack of Health Insurance

Sexual Assaults, Inadequate Healthcare Among Spate of Issues Facing Women Servicemembers

And my usual barrage of quotes for the day:

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official...
~Theodore Roosevelt

The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.
~John F. Kennedy

It doesn't require any particular bravery to stand on the floor of the Senate and urge our boys in Vietnam to fight harder, and if this war mushrooms into a major conflict and a hundred thousand young Americans are killed, it won't be U.S. Senators who die. It will be American soldiers who are too young to qualify for the Senate.
~George McGovern

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More from the Quilt Show:


( photos )

So begins my quest to blog more frequently...

Last night I visited the ancestral homestead, where I picked up various fun things like my laundry, a box of things Mom wanted to get rid of (mostly my bookends - two of them are carved stone figures that are bloody heavy, even for bookends), and some of Mom's lentil soup, this time the cumin and coriander variation.
I am eating the soup right now and it's awesome, but I do wish I'd had the forethought to add some cheese to it before I left. There are so few foods that cannot be improved by the application of some extra sharp cheddar.

It's a rather nice change to have so much of my floor visible at home, although I still don't have all my flat spaces cleared. I can't sew yet, for one thing. But I'm close, very close.

Yesterday I did actually draw something, too. It may or may not morph into a full-blown illustration, we'll see.

Also, I took a Democratic Party political survey, the mail-in kind, and I mostly wished I had a big red marker to strike through half of it. "Mark the issues most important to you right now" - well, it's hard to do when they aren't even on your stupid list, Democratic Party. I added some write-ins.
"Which party do you trust to look after your interests?" NONE.
I hope they don't just throw my survey away because it has so much writing on it, outside of the "Please tell us anything else you think we should know" box. I have extremely neat handwriting, Democratic Party interns, you can handle it!

Toll-free Congressional Switchboard: 800-828-0498.

Who is making the decisions that will affect your future? People as old or older than your parents who won't have to deal with the fallout? Don't let Congress gut the programs that could help us. 800-828-0498. Call today. And tomorrow. And the day after that.

Paul Krugman's Op-Ed: On the Edge, should you need talking points.  (NYTimes)
Also: List of Current United States Senators by age (Wikipedia)
Note that age does not necessarily say anything about political viewpoint, but that doesn't change the fact that the people we have deciding the fate of the country very likely won't live long enough to see the consequences. And have perspectives and poltical views mired, most of them, in long-ago decades of Washington political playing.  These are the John McCains who don't bother learning how to use a computer, who don't understand social media or the digital world that we all live in, and who don't tend to have a global vision.  (With some exceptions, of course.)

And on a partisan point, these are the Republicans who are taking their marching orders from Rush Limbaugh, who has stated in so many words his desire for the FAILURE of this president.  Does no one have the vision to understand how such a failure would affect this country, on a world stage if not domestically?  Does he have so little patriotism that he can wish disaster on his fellew Americans in his quest to take down one man? Because that's sure what it sounds like.  What else are we to think when every Republican turns his or her back on us, in lock-step? They need real leadership in their party, not this poisonous rhetoric. Where are the men and women of integrity and intelligence who represent their constituents rather than corporate or celebrity overlords? (And that question can be asked of both parties.)

Toll-free Congressional Switchboard: 800-828-0498

If you don't know who your elected representatives are, http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov. 
I'll even call our local asshole Big John, although it feels rather like spitting into the wind.

Ask them point-blank if they've even read the whole stimulus bill.

Because sometimes it seems like they forget that they should be trying to create jobs and offer educational programs and child-care programs that will allow Americans to be productive.

One of the reasons for jumping up and down, and one reason to be very excited down here in Harris County - the Democratic Party set out in this election to turn the county (the 3rd largest county in the nation) blue.
We won a huge number of judicial seats for Democrats, and swept through a tremendous number of local offices as well, including Sheriff.  This is a *fantastic* reason to jump up and down, in Texas.
I know people think that it can't be done, but what the hell is hope for if not to give us the drive to work to make the change we want to see in the world? We did it with Harris County, we can do it for more counties, we can work together to overcome the monstrous gerrymandering that has skewed the state ballots for years, and we can bring true representation to this state.

Just for the record though, "Big John" Cornyn's win, expected as it was, made me cry a little. I am so disappointed to know that he is going to back to Washington to "represent" some strange amalgam of Texas that he and the various corporate overlords have dictated.

Well, after the jumping-up-and-down stuff last night, this morning brought to light the realities we will face in the coming year and coming term.
This morning on Demacracy Now! Amy Goodman's guest (whose name I didn't catch, and the transcript isn't up yet) said, "Barack Obama's victory is a victory over racism in this country. But it is not a victory for the left. Progressives in this country must keep fighting." Or something to that effect.
And it's so true.

I am hopeful, but I am also determined. I want this election to be a sign not only of the changing face of American political power, but also of increased and consistent activity on the part of citizens to shape their world. I want people to think about what they are voting for - and what they are enshrining into their state constitutions. (The returns from states with anti-gay marriage and anti-gay adoption measures just depress me, then infuriate me. The returns on the "personhood" and feticide propositions give me a smill measure of hope, although too many such laws are already on the books and damaging women's rights and health.) I want people to get out in their neighborhoods and learn how their local politics affect what happens to them, to find common ground with one another so that discrimination of any sort can be stamped out as we come to know one another as human beings. I want people to go back to the candidates they supported, or to the candidates they opposed, and tell these people what they think.

I want people to get out and take part in their democracy even after this morning's hangovers fade. This is not the win. This is not the magic fix. This is, as Barack said, a chance to work for the change we want.

Let's get to it.

We jumped up and down even though our feet hurt from being at the polls since 6am.

So the meme going around is that you post if you are part of a heterosexual marriage or plan to be. I'm not married, with no plans to be, and no real drive to be either.
But I am an interfaith minister who loves to perform weddings, and I think that legal marriage should be available for every couple. I think that the legal institution should be distinct from any spiritual or religious ceremony, and that the two should not be related, really, at all, unless the couple wishes it so. The legal rights of a marriage are different from spiritual union in any tradition. Let them stand apart.
Seriously, there should be no religious litmus test for the idea of marriage. The idea that one particular group has a monopoly on the definition is disturbing, especially in the United States. My feelings on separation of church and state are pretty clear, and run deep on this and other matters.
(Have I mentioned that I also want to abolish the offices of the Chaplains of the two Houses of Congress?)

This was in Sunday's Houston Chronicle Weddings Section:

Mr. Robert Anthony Hergenroeder and Mr. Thomas Arthur Mathews were united in Marriage on Monday September 22, 2008 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. [...] The couple honeymooned on the Amalfi Coast of Italy and reside in the Westbury neighborhood of Houston.

I don't have any idea who they are, but good for them for placing their announcement here! 

(For those unaware, Texas is one of those barbaric and unfortunate places that amended their constitution to define marriage as heterosexual. Texas's constitution is a rather bloated and intimidating tome, the size of a Hemingway novel, I swear.)

Biopsy came back negative. I do not have celiac disease.  It's probably IBS. I've been offered pharmaceutical miracles, but am holding off for now to explore alternatives.  The doc is ok with this, as my symptoms are not horribly debilitating or bringing about significant loss of quality of life.

While I've supported many political causes and the Democratic Party in general this election cycle, I have only given money to two Congressional campaigns outside my own state. I'm sure everybody reading this knows me well enough to guess that the first has been Dennis Kucinich in Ohio.

The other is Al Franken in Minnesota. He's getting a lot of flack these days, so here, have an interesting article about him. And his books are really good, too.

How the press and his critics misunderstand Al Franken. - By Jonathan Chait - Slate Magazine

Yes, today is "spam the flist" day around here.

Truthdig - Reports - Dennis Kucinich on the Democrats’ Bailout Betrayal:

“This was the largest single act of class warfare in the modern history of this country,” Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who led the fight in the House against the bailout, told me by phone from Cleveland. “It is a direct attack on the American people’s ability to be able to stabilize their homes and their neighborhoods. This single vote will define the careers of everyone. We are back to taxation without representation, to markets that are openly rigged.”

It's no secret that I don't especially like Obama as a politician, although I do plan to vote for him, and every other Democrat on the ticket. I do feel that in the absence of any true campaign finance reform, the Democrats still offer the best route to get my voice heard at a local, state, and federal level. This doesn't mean I'm blind to the fact that many Democrats are just as far into the hole to lobbyists and corporate interests as the Republicans. I simply think that ideologically the Democrats are more likely to work for positive change to protect the interests of citizens.
(At least in New York I usually had the option of voting for the Democratic candidates under the Working Families Party. Man, that's a great law NY has.)

This is just depressing and infuriating. (How much do I still love Dennis, though? Today is his birthday, by the way.)

Andl, if when it keeps up, we have pretty explicit instructions from the Founders of our nation on what to do:
( bet you know what's next... )
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Electronic voting machines software extremely vulnerable to rigging:

Rice University in Houston is running an advanced computer security course wherein students are taught just how easy it is to wreak havoc on the computer software used in electronic voting machines.

Fears over US electronic voting machine fraud | News | TechRadar UK:

A professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas has been teaching his students how easy it is to rig the software used in voting machines for the US Presidential election.

I watched this on Democracy Now! when it aired and it was chilling.

Democracy Now! | Is Posse Comitatus Dead? US Troops on US Streets:

Is Posse Comitatus Dead? US Troops on US Streets

In a barely noticed development, a US Army unit is now training for domestic operations under the control of US Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command. An initial news report in the Army Times newspaper last month noted that in addition to emergency response the force “may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control.”

The 65 mpg Ford the U.S. Can't Have - BusinessWeek:

Ford's Fiesta ECOnetic gets an astonishing 65 mpg, but the carmaker can't afford to sell it in the U.S.

Dad and I were discussing this when I drove him to get his car from the shop, and it does seem a bit like the reason Marketing departments exist in the first place: to sell a product to a public who may not know it or realize what it does, or who have an inaccurate picture of it. I suppose the Marketing people are too busy convincing Americans to vote against their best interests to really think about rejuvenating an industry or promoting fuel efficiency.

I have said before that if I had had more experience with cars or more time to do the research, I might have chosen a diesel car instead of a hybrid, but in this case the hybrid was easier and familiar. (I'd already driven one, and Mom got one of the first generation. Plus the early Priuses are so cute!)

(I'd love to see a move toward more efficient public transportation and alternative vehicles, as well, but I don't really think there's any chance, barring total Apocalypse, that we will see the end of a car-based infrastructure in my lifetime.)

 

So last night Mom and I attended the Harris County Democratic Party's fundraising event as table guests of a friend of ours who is a judicial candidate this year.

There were some great speakers, a lot of laughs, a really good video, and lots and lots of hobnobbing candidates. Gen. Clark gave a fantastic keynote address. It's exciting to see so much enthusiasm and real hope for change.
It was also wonderful to see old friends that we haven't seen in ages, and catch up with them. Mom and I fangirled Senfronia Thompson when she spoke, too.  Yay standing ovation!


Retired General Wesley Clark Keynote Address            Crowd shot




Judicial Candidates Roll Call                                        New buttons join the collection!

It's Saturday night, and I'm all dressed up with someplace to go!
Mom and I are attending the Johnson-Rayburn-Richards Democratic Fundraising Dinner, with featured speaker retired General Wesley Clark.  We are going with a family friend who is running for local office.

Should be an interesting evening.

Right Livelihood Award: 2008 - Amy Goodman:

"...for developing an innovative model of truly independent political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by mainstream media."

From the website:

The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 to honour and support those "offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today".

It has become widely known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize' and there are now 133 Laureates from 57 countries.

Presented annually in Stockholm at a ceremony in the Swedish Parliament, the Right Livelihood Award is usually shared by four Recipients.

As was demonstrated in an interview with Katie Couric, Sarah Palin is unable to name any Supreme Court Case other than Roe v. Wade.

The Rules: Post info about ONE Supreme Court decision, modern or historic, to your lj. (Any decision, as long as it's not Roe v. Wade.) For those who see this on your f-list, take the meme to your OWN lj to spread the fun.

Lawrence v. Texas  - 2003. In the 6-3 ruling, the justices struck down the sodomy law in Texas. The majority held that intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected by substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. (text quoted from wikipedia)

If you are an American citizen over the age of 18 with no legal obstructions to your franchise,

Are you registered to vote?

Get on it.

If you are registered, check your voter registration status before you go to the polls. Be sure that you know your rights and your status. Don't give anyone an excuse to deny you, because they will.
Voter suppression and voter fraud are alive and well in this country and no one should forget it.

Corporate media may be calling the shots on TV, but we still have some power as voters and citizens. If your state has Early Voting (like Texas does), take advantage of it. Go early, vote or find out if there's a problem so that you can fix it before your last chance to vote.

Double-check your polling place location. Don't assume it's the same place it was the last time you voted. Population shifts, Party shifts from the previous election, or changes to laws can affect where you vote. Find out before Election Day if your polling place has been moved.

I didn't really pay attention to this when it first surfaced, but a good non-fandom friend of mine sent me the link yesterday and damn if this isn't a wonderful speech.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement : Harvard Magazine:

J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivers her Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association.