Frances Fox Piven Agrees With... Me?

I came across and article headline this morning that was 'kind of, sort of' familiar.  When I clicked over to the actual article referenced, I realized why it sounded familiar.

Because I wrote about it months ago in:  Fringe back on October 17, 2011 

Of course, back then I was CRAZY. 

Well, like they say, "Craziness LOVES company..." (I believe this should be 'misery' but with the amount of misery in this country over the past three years?  Yeah, let's just say 'crazy'.)  Here comes my special friend, my co-conspirator, my bestest ever favorite author and all-around great Socialist...

Frances Fox Piven! 

Come on, let's be givin' it up for her!!!

[Silence]


Found on TheBlaze.com:

According to Frances Fox Piven:

  

• The Occupy Movement is made up of “All parts of the Left.”
• That includes proudly: “Democrats, Socialists, Communists, Anarchists.”
• Must all work together because of the “Huge task of transforming America and the world.”
• “We are all together”

  

At last weekend’s Left Forum 2012, the annual pep-rally for liberal thought, renown leftist professor and activist Frances Fox Piven shown some light onto the makeup of the current America Left.  In this minute  of audio, Piven tells the packed auditorium which worldview philosophies embody their movement:
 
“There is room for all of us. Religious leftists, people who think peace is the answer, those who think that wholesome food is what we really need, ecologists and old-fashioned Democrats,  Democratic Socialists, Socialists and Communists.”

Piven goes on to discuss the major undertaking that the leftist movement is working on and why these ideologies must unite:

“We can work together because we have a really huge task before us, transforming America and the World.”

Both statements were met with applause and agreement from the audience of over one thousand.


I had never heard of the Left Forum 2012 (or any other year).  Being a curious cow, I decided to check it out and see what all the fuss was about. 

Yeah, I went there.  Now I need another shower...

Courtesy of THE NATION: 

Each spring the Left Forum convenes the largest progressive gathering in North America in a rambling, lively confab unlike anything else in the United States. Originally established in 1981 as the Socialist Scholar's Conference, the event was renamed the Left Forum in 2005 after a split in the ranks forced a year's hiatus and a reconstituted organizing structure.


Continuing a tradition begun in the 1960s, intellectuals and organizers meet to share notes, perspectives, strategies, experience, vision and, of course, drinks! [Kool-Aid?] 

Last year's conference, led by the LF's energetic director, Seth Adler, saw a record 3,500 activists attending more than 300 panels and workshops. This weekend's proceedings, invigorated by the Occupy movement, are expected to beat these numbers.

This year, the Left Forum will focus on the $64,000 question of how best to confront global capitalism:

How can American leftists best support the many revolutionary struggles abroad that took root in 2011?

How can the Occupy movement be sustained and nurtured in the US?

How can new technologies help foster social change?

What needs to happen for new chains of solidarity to bloom between workers in the West and their counterparts in the global South?

Are democracy and capitalism mutually exclusive?

Join an illustrious group of writers, thinkers and activists in this immensely important conversation about the fate of the earth.  [Moos Note:  If I were THIS full of myself, I'd spontaneously combust]
 
Speakers include Medea Benjamin, Michael Ratner, Frances Fox Piven, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Wallace Shawn, Marina Sitrin and Nation writers John Nichols, Laura Flanders, Michael Klare, Ari Berman and Doug Henwood.

Panel topics are, to say the least, wide-ranging: This video featuring Barbara Ehrenreich [Moos Note:  Please be sure to watch the following video clip in which Barbara Ehrenreich refers to 'Angry Old White People' - then look at HER.  This is your official 'Moment of Irony' of the day - enjoy!] at last year's opening plenary gives a good sense of the breadth and depth of the conversations you'll find at the LF.

2011 Left Forum- Opening Plenary part 10

Taking place at on March 18 and 19 at Pace University in Manhattan, the Left Forum, which is co-sponsored by The Nation, is the place to be for progressives this weekend. Check out the full, very extensive schedule, read up on the speakers and register your spot in the conversation.   [Moos Note:  Ewwww, so sorry I missed it.  Perhaps next year?!?!]

Since I hadn't stopped in to visit the Communist Party USA website in a couple of months, I figured that I should see what they're up to since they called for the 'Occupation' of everything.

Yes, Communists never fail to make me scratch my head and wonder aloud, "WTF?". 

This morning's headline: 

Was Jesus a communist? — Live Broadcast Mar 27
A new short film by Matthew Modine is making the rounds at film festivals and is receiving positive reviews. 'Jesus Was A Commie' is sparking a new wave of discussion about religion and economics.

Tim Yeager, a dedicated trade union organizer and Episcopal priest, will speak about the economic and social justice message in Christianity in a video presentation March 27.

Today many Christian conservatives have attempted to interpret the message of the Bible to justify a right-wing agenda of division, exploitation, capitalism and inequality. But what if the values at the heart of the gospel were really about equality, justice, environmentalism and collectivity?

What is liberation theology? Aren't Marxists against religion? Is the U.S. a Christian nation? Was Jesus a communist? What's the significance of the Christian right? Should religion influence politics at all? Do common teachings of progressive values (peace, love, equality, justice, the golden rule, etc) provide a basis for broader unity among religious and secular people?


Remember to dial in often to this particular session, I'm sure audio ports will fill up fast!!!

Wondering where Communists, Socialists, Progressives and Liberal Democrats are staking their futures?

With this Guy...

I am staking my future with Him too.  But isomehow I can't help thinking that my belief in Christ is a bit 'different' than theirs...  Well, at least from what I've seen and heard them say in the past. 

Know what I mean?

Por ejemplo:

And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

And they marvelled at him.

Please notice that Jesus said to 'render' (a.k.a.:  'give') the things which are Caesar's (a.k.a.:  government's). 

He never said anything about Caesar taking from one man and giving it forceably to another...

Have a nice weekend folks. 

Remember to say your prayers tonight. 

We're going to need them. 

Past Tense

Past Tense:  In English, the so-called simple past form, sometimes called the preterite, is a true tense in that its use always places the action in the past.

The present perfect form is an aspect that relates the past to the present; it specifies a present state that results from past action, and as such it is a form of present tense even though it makes reference to past action.

It can be altered to move the time that the state is experienced to the past. The other basic form of English verbs is the progressive aspect form, which shows ongoing action; this too can be altered to place the action in the past.

English also has two forms, one of them unique to the past, that indicate past habitual action.

Another defining moment, courtesy of Wikipedia

LINK:  In Search Of...  Amelia Aerhart

Fast-Forwarding almost eight decades...

Yahoo!News, March 20, 2012: 
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had encouraging words Tuesday for a new investigation into one of the 20th century's most enduring mysteries: the fate of American aviator Amelia Earhart, who went missing without a trace over the South Pacific 75 years ago.

Clinton and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave their support and encouragement on Tuesday to historians, scientists and salvagers from The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, which is launching a new search for the wreckage of Earhart's Lockheed Electra plane in the waters off the remote island of Nikumaroro, in what is now the Pacific nation of Kiribati. 

[Moos Note:  Kiribati?  I wrote about these folks last week.  Coincidence?  I dunno...  Re-visit  Wet Feet and Open Minds for more detail.  I smell a Global Climate Change moment of Zen coming from Washington SOON...]

Earhart was an inspiration to Americans in difficult times as the nation struggled to emerge from the Great Depression, Clinton said, adding that her legacy can serve as a model for the country now.

[Moos Note:  It's odd / surprising / sad that Ms. Clinton cites Amelia Earhart's legacy as an inspiration to Americans in difficult times - adding "that her legacy can serve as a model for the country now".  Please note that I never said we were in a Depression, however, I believe that Secretary of State Clinton MAY have just done so.]

Never one to leave well-enough alone, Ms. Clinton continued...

"Amelia Earhart may have been a unlikely heroine for a nation down on its luck, but she embodies the spirit of an America coming of age and increasingly confident, ready to lead in a quite uncertain and dangerous world," Clinton said at a State Department event to announce the new search. "She gave people hope and she inspired them to dream bigger and bolder."

"Today, we meet at a time when the challenges are not so dire despite what you might hear on cable television or talk radio. But these are still difficult days for many Americans," she said. "After a long decade of war, terrorism and recession, there are some who are asking whether we still have what it takes to lead, and like that earlier generation we too could use some of Amelia's spirit."

"We can be as optimistic and even audacious as Amelia Earhart," she said. "We can be defined not by the limits that hold us down but by the opportunities that are ahead."
...

"The most important thing is not whether we find the ultimate answer or what we find, it is the way we look," he said. "We see this opportunity to explore ... the last great American mystery of the 20th century as a vehicle for demonstrating how to go about figuring out what is true."

The Obama administration takes no position on any of purported evidence and acknowledges there is fierce debate on the subject. But Clinton, who noted that the State Department and other federal agencies had actively supported Earhart's flight, cheered the searchers on.

"Even if you do not find what you seek, there is great honor and possibility in the search itself," she said. "So, like our lost heroine, you will all carry our hopes ... We are excited and looking forward to hear about your own great adventure."

Okay, so what's the deal?  Why is the United States' Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, cheer leading for the project to locate Amelia Earhart's 'remains'? 

Is it:

• To take our mind of our very own 'Great Recession'?  [ I NEVER said the 'D' Word ]
• To make us aware that Global Climate Change might flood the island-nation of Kiribati?
• To encourage our Nation to 'look somewhere else' for 'something else'?

The question then becomes, "Why?"

What's with all the nostalgia?  Is this Secretary Clinton's way of taking our collective consciousness off a few of the actual challenges facing our Nation today?

Iran.


Iraq.


Afghanistan.


Greece.


Economic Free falls in Europe.


US Cities preparing once again to be 'Occupied'.


Unsustainable debt levels.


Middle-income Americans struggling to provide for their families.


Contraception.  (Sorry, had to go there.)

Secretary of State Clinton wants to look for Amelia Earhart?  Is it because looking to the past is easier than looking ahead into the future?

Did 'Hope and Change' actually happen 75 years ago? 

If it already did happen, did our grandparents miss it too?

I honestly don't know.  The only thing I do know is that the Obama Administration is highly adept at the art of diversion. 

As a magician pulls a white bunny out of his hat while you're watching elsewhere on the stage - these guys are forever sending out stage hands to distract you. 

The question is not "Why are we looking for Amelia Earhart?".  The question is in truth, "What are we NOT supposed to be looking for WHILE we're talking about Amelia Earhart?"

My gut tells me that somehow the search will spotlight Kiribati and swing back to Stage Left as this 'sinking island nation' is thrust into the World view as a cautionary tale of global climate change and the general ugliness of man's existence.

Of course, I'm not ruling out the appearance of very large, very angry, and very hungry bunnies...

   

Timber

Straight up and a little to the right

There was a point in my life when I didn't believe that there were enough hours in the day to get everything which needed to get done...  Done.

As of yesterday, thanks to members of the United States' Congress, I have clarified my thoughts on the matter somewhat.  I now believe that while there still isn't enough time to get the really important things done, there's always enough time in which to create mischief.

From the Huffington Post, 03/14/2012:

As a member of a heavily male- and GOP-dominated state Senate since 2008, Ohio legislator Nina Turner says she has cringed watching her colleagues pass bill after bill to regulate women's reproductive health. Now, the Democrat has become the latest in a series of female state legislators to give her male colleagues a taste of their own medicine by introducing a bill that limits men's ability to get a Viagra prescription without meeting certain government conditions. 

"We should show the same attention and love to men's reproductive health as we do to women's," Turner told HuffPost. "And my bill does that."

Specifically, Turner's bill would require men to receive psychological counseling to verify that they have a medical reason for taking erectile dysfunction medications, such as Viagra, before they can legally obtain a prescription for it. It would also require doctors to inform men, in writing, about the potential risks of drugs like Viagra. 

The bill borrows language directly from Ohio's controversial "heartbeat bill," which bans abortions after the fetal heartbeat can be detected -- often before a woman even knows she's pregnant. But Turner said her bill is not just an answer to the heartbeat bill; she has been outraged by number of bills and amendments over the past couple of years, including one recently proposed to ban physician assistants from placing or removing intrauterine devices (known as IUDs), a common form of birth control, based on the Republican sponsor's moral opposition to that method of contraception. 

[Whaaaa?  Did anyone hear about ANY Republican 'moral opposition to that method of contraception???  Is Turner getting confused between the whole 'Church and State' thing again?  Why do all Democrats have Attention Deficit Disorder when they get to Congress?  Focus people, focus!]

"We need to fight fire with fire," Turner said. 

[Does anyone else get the feeling that Ms. Turner is 'At War' with Republican Men in Congress?  How is this possible during the Post-Partisan, Post-Racial, Post-Sexual Reign of President Obama?]

Turner is inspired by female legislators across the country who have been countering anti-abortion and anti-contraception legislation with men's health-focused measures that come with conditions, she said. Oklahoma Sen. Constance Johnson, also a Democrat, proposed a "spilled semen" amendment to her state's "feel personhood" bill that would declare it an act against unborn children for men to waste sperm.

Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, another Democrat, introduced an amendment to a state mandatory ultrasound bill that would require men to watch a graphic video about Viagra's side effects before being able to receive a prescription for it. A bill filed by Virginia state Sen. Janet Howell (D), would require men to obtain a rectal exam before obtaining such a prescription.

[Ah, yes, the dreaded 'rectal exam' provision.  The ultimate "UP YOURS" from the women of the Democrat Party to men across America.  Well played and memorable.  Men across America will remember this in November.  Although some Democrat Men may actually enjoy this aspect of the Bill 'a bit much'.]

"You know, the Cow Guy has a point..."

In Wilmington, Del., City Councilwoman Loretta Walsh authored a resolution that declares "each 'egg person' and each 'sperm person' ... equal in the eyes of the government."
...

Terri O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, said that while she would not endorse any of the gender equity amendments being introduced, she thinks they're a "brilliant" strategy to combat anti-abortion legislation.

"Obviously in terms of policy, we would not support any of these amendments; health care is health care and should be left to the individual man and his doctor or woman and hers," she told HuffPost. "That said, I think they've injected in a wonderfully humorous way some common sense. The whole idea of using humor that snaps people out of this one mind-set and gets them to look at the problem from a commonsense point of view; it reminds me of the humor used to defang Joseph McCarthy way back in the 1950s."

If her bill sends a message to male legislators and injects some common sense into lawmaking, then Turner will be pleased with that outcome--but, for the record, she's not joking at all, she said.

"I'm just as serious as a heart attack," Turner said. "I'm serious about the potential side effects of Viagra. I'm as serious as my right-wing male colleagues who introduced bills to legislate women's health. It's ironic that when it come to women's health people think that's a serious matter, but when it comes to a man, they think we're joking. I don't think any of my sister legislators are joking."
...

A resolution passed by the city council of Wilmington, Delaware calls on Congress and other states to pass laws giving eggs and sperm "personhood" rights.
"Each 'egg person' and each 'sperm person' should be deemed equal in the eyes of the government and be subject to the same laws and regulations as any other dependent minor and be protected against abuse, neglect or abandonment by the parent or guardian," says the resolution. "Laws should be enacted by all legislative bodies in the United States to promote equal representation, and should potentially include laws in defense of 'personhood,' forbidding every man from destroying his semen."
Councilwoman Loretta Walsh authored the resolution in protest of legislation like the Mississippi "personhood" amendment.
    

Seriously, how do you argue with logic such as that found above?  Oh, wait, that's right, you don't HAVE to argue with it - you only have to REMOVE it from the Congress of the United States. 

While our Economy continues to flail lifelessly about, oil prices continue to increase due to NO positive energy leadership out of DC, and our troops continue their duties in harms way while abiding by politically-motivated 'guidelines of engagement', Democrat women of the US Congress use THEIR time to write legislation to mandate rectal exams, declaring semen sacred, and personhood rights for eggs? 

Witless wonders all.  The common theme above is that each of the legislators referenced above is a Democrat.  The common theme evolving is that each of the legislators above will have a lot more time to work on their writing following the November 2012 erections (oops, sorry, that should read, 'elections').

You wonder why Congress can't get anything positive done?  It's because morons like these are honing their comedy routine vs. solving the real issues affecting each of us today.  The good news is that they'll be 'one of us' again soon enough.  Although, after reading the above, I can't help but think that even when they're out of Congress, they won't actually be like the rest of us.

Well, at least I hope they're not.  

That wouldn't speak well of us. 

We are NOT like them. 

Thank God. 


   

Earth's Women - The Final Frontier

"Uhura, I'd like to make a collect call... to the future, or, perhaps, the past - whichever applies.  The time paradox 'thing' always confuses me..."

"Captain, ready to transmit on your command." Uhura responds.

The Captain continues, "I need to contact Hillary Clinton regarding, regarding

her job description in 2012."

"Your call's going through now Captain.  Oh, and let me go, you pig..." 

"No, no, no.   NO more collect calls from the future, I've had enough.  I'm happy living here in the present."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on a mission to boldly go where no Secretary of State has gone before. 

The question is, I wonder:  Is it truly HER mission?

Please bear with me as we take a break from the post's normal banter for a 'defining moment'. 

Let's look at the mission of the United State's Secretary of State, according to the US Department of State website:

Under the Constitution, the President of the United States determines U.S. foreign policy. The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department and the Foreign Service of the United States.

Created in 1789 by the Congress as the successor to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of State is the senior executive Department of the U.S. Government. The Secretary of State’s duties relating to foreign affairs have not changed significantly since then, but they have become far more complex as international commitments multiplied.

These duties -- the activities and responsibilities of the State Department -- include the following:

• Serves as the President's principal adviser on U.S. foreign policy;
• Conducts negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs;
• Grants and issues passports to American citizens and exequaturs to foreign consuls in the United States;
• Advises the President on the appointment of U.S. ambassadors, ministers, consuls, and other diplomatic representatives;
• Advises the President regarding the acceptance, recall, and dismissal of the representatives of foreign governments;
• Personally participates in or directs U.S. representatives to international conferences, organizations, and agencies;
• Negotiates, interprets, and terminates treaties and agreements;
• Ensures the protection of the U.S. Government to American citizens, property, and interests in foreign countries;
• Supervises the administration of U.S. immigration laws abroad;
• Provides information to American citizens regarding the political, economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian conditions in foreign countries;
• Informs the Congress and American citizens on the conduct of U.S. foreign relations;
• Promotes beneficial economic intercourse  (ewwwwww!) between the United States and other countries;
• Administers the Department of State;
• Supervises the Foreign Service of the United States.

Okay, enough of traditional Constitutionally-mandated job description stuff for the Secretary of State.  And on to the ever-accelerating transformational government of the current United States of America...

I came across an article on CNSNews.com regarding... 

You guessed it, Hillary Clinton.

In this article, someone actually took the time to listen to Madame Secretary and transcribe her words into a well-written post.  The article was written by a woman named, Susan Jones. 

It takes real talent to take disjointed thoughts and link them together so that they form cohesive sentences - especially when they originate from the lips of Hillary Clinton.


From Susan Jones' article on the CNS site:

(CNSNews.com) - During her tenure as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton says she's instructed U.S. diplomats and development experts to "partner with women to find ways to engage and build on their unique strengths, help women start businesses, help girls attend school" and "push" women to get involved in peace talks and elections.


"I've made women a cornerstone of American foreign policy," Clinton told a 'Women in the World Summit' in New York City on Saturday.


Clinton says the U.S. government, for example, is giving grants to female activists and journalists in Kenya to train them on "early-warning systems for violence." The U.S. also is supporting a new trauma center for rape victims in Sudan.

And there's more: "We're helping women in the Central African Republic access legal and economic services. We’re improving the collection of medical evidence for the prosecution of gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
...
"Now, we know that young woman in Tunisia and her peers across the region already are facing extremists who will try to strip their rights, curb their participation, limit their ability to make choices for themselves. Why extremists always focus on women remains a mystery to me. But they all seem to.

It doesn’t matter what country they’re in or what religion they claim. They want to control women. They want to control how we dress, they want to control how we act, they even want to control the decisions we make about our own health and bodies."

Clinton's apparent reference to the "reproductive rights" controversy involving a Georgetown University law student was met with applause.

"Yes, it is hard to believe that even here at home, we have to stand up for women’s rights and reject efforts to marginalize any one of us, because America needs to set an example for the entire world," Clinton said. "And it seems clear to me that to do that, we have to live our own values and we have to defend our own values. We need to respect each other, empower all our citizens, and find common ground."

Clinton challenged women at the conference to "be part of the solution."     

Okay, so here's the thing:  Instead of being the President's mouthpiece for Women's Global 'Social Issues' in her role as Secretary of State, how about Madame Clinton does the freaking job she was HIRED to do? 

Oh, I know it's hard to imagine that she would 'kind of / sort of' following the job description put in place for her by her predecessors and the US Constitution, but seriously, wouldn't it be a delightful change?  Just imagine how much fun it would be to say ANY of the following phrases out loud and in public and have them be TRUE?

1. "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with President Obama today and 'advised' him regarding what the United States should do regarding Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Israel.  Recommendations from the Secretary of State were coherent, cogent, and very specific in nature.  The President committed to act upon the actions proposed in a timely fashion and agreed to NOT blame the US for Global Issues, many of which we had nothing to do with..."
2. "Secretary of State Clinton met with the President today and offered a visionary plan to secure the US Border, address the issue of existing illegal aliens, and developed a plan to secure the safety of Americans traveling abroad.  Hillary Clinton also committed to discontinuing taxpayer-funding to any nation which threatens the safety and / or sovereignty of the United States and its citizens." 
3. "Hillary Clinton announced today that effective immediately, the United States will NO LONGER attempt to force its beliefs upon other nations of the World.  Instead, the Secretary has re-affirmed that the US will continue to be a Role Model and as such, Hillary Clinton has invited other nations to come and learn from the World's Oldest Successful Democracy.  Any nation wishing to extend a hand of friendship to the United States will be a welcome ally going forward.  Any nation wishing to harm the US must understand that it does so at its own peril."    

None of these things above will happen during the Obama Presidency.  

Our leaders do not celebrate the virtues which made our nation great.  Instead we apologize for our Nation's greatness and speak internationally of our shortcomings foremost over our achievements.  

We do not stand arm-in-arm with other friendly nations in the World.  We allow Israel to face Egypt, Iran and the rest of the Middle East alone.  The President tells Israel that "He's got their back."  This is easy to do when you're always "Leading from behind".  You see a lot of backs because someone else must lead. 

This Administration treats the World as if it's a Social Laboratory - funding State Department pet projects with taxpayer dollars 'just to see what would happen if...' 

This latest 'thrust at women' (did that sound dirty to YOU too?) sounds great on paper - but in reality, it's not our stinking job to impose our standards on other countries.  We are NOT the conscience of the world - we can lead by example, but we cannot 'PUSH our example'.

Will Madame Clinton relent?  Will she get tired of failing in her attempts to fix her Extra-Constitutional Women's Worldwide Woes at the expense of US Taxpayers?

No.  She will not.  Not just because she is an ideologue first, and a Secretary of State second. 

It's because she will not tire.  She "ain't no ways tarred"...   

She never gets 'tarred' when she's playing to an audience.  It's what she does.  Fake regional accents and all.  

AND as Secretary of State - the World is her stage.

We, by comparison, are the props to be directed by her and this Administration.

Everyone take your place.  Be quiet while the lights are dimmed.  Repeat the words you have been given and for the love of God, nobody ask any questions...

Shhhhhhh, the show is starting. 

Get with the "Program"...

Yes, she has her own comic book.
Hey, is she wearing 'stretchy pants'?
She appears to be stretching all over...

The White House Channel!!!

Tired of one-sided-politically-biased news reporting from your TV, your local newspaper, and online via your PC?

Tired of "Messages from our Sponsors" popping up when you least desire them?

Are you wondering if there are any Guaranteed-Virus-Free sites out there from which you can get your weekly talking points?

Looking for an unbiased, factually-accurate, and entirely transparent-news-viewing experience?!?!?

Well, have I got news for YOU!


Yes ladies, gentlemen, boys, and girls, allow me to introduce you to...  [Drum roll]


THE WHITE HOUSE CHANNEL
[ON YOUTUBE]


Yes, while looking for something 'else', I came across a bounty of FREE, FACTUAL, FASCINATING, and FRESHLY SQUEEZED Presidential information online.

Yup, I found the President's Personal Communications' Network on YouTube!!!

Not only can you see and hear highly-edited versions of 'factually-interesting' comments the President has made (as introduced by an actual, 'Narrator'), but you'll also see exciting places the President has been!!! 

You'll get a daily rundown of where the Videographer-In-Chief has been during the prior week! 

In this week's webisode of "West Wing Week", President Obama discovers that he, while channeling Teddy Roosevelt:  "Carries a Big Stick". 

Speaking ONLY for myself, I have felt that President Obama WAS a 'Huge Stick' from the moment he introduced his desire to run for President in 2007 at the fashionable [think the despised '1%' here] home of Bill Ayers, one-time-co-founder of the Weather Underground and later, 2008's, 'he's just another guy in the neighborhood' non-repentent terrorist dude.   

Since this week's video was posted yesterday OVER 10,200 people have already viewed this inspiring webisode.  With viewership like this, the White House Channel is certainly poised to give the 91 regular viewers of MSNBC a run for their money!

But, if YOU are looking to advertise on the WhiteHouseChannel on YouTube... 

SORRY! 

All promotional air time has already been purchased (by you) the purposes of re-electing the President.  I don't fault him for this, but I only wish that more people could take the time to view his inspiring words and actions. 

Maybe if the President added more dynamic 'Narration' to spice up the videos up a bit more?

Perhaps if the President could get 'Randall' to do ALL future voice-over work for him? 

For an example of Randall's work, please view the following (when the kids are not around - because the language IS a bit rough) video excerpt of "The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger" which has gotten over 40 MILLION views since it was released in January of 2011. 

Possible scripting examples for future WhiteHouseChannel video releases for Randall's new gig:

"This is President Obama, watch him speak in slow motion.  He's a completely fearless President who just don't give a _ _ _ _."

"President Obama don't care.  President Obama smacked the _ _ _ _ out of Bin Laden."

"Eww, what's that?  Republicans in Congress?  President Obama don't take nothing from them, President Obama just don't care.  He's one Nasty _ _ _ President who just doesn't give a _ _ _ _ about what anyone else thinks.  He just does whatever the _ _ _ _ he wants."

"President Obama says, "Thanks Harry Reid for doing my nasty _ _ _ work in the Senate.  I don't need you to keep your job, because I just need to keep mine.  I don't care that Nancy Pelosi lost her Majority seat in the House because I still got what I want...",  President Obama just don't care."


Sometimes you're the Cobra. 

Sometimes you're the Honey Badger. 

The choice is up to you...

Chose wisely my friends.

Wet Feet and Open Minds

This just in from our International MoosRoom Division:   

Part I:  Fearing that climate change could wipe out their entire Pacific archipelago, the leaders of Kiribati are considering an unusual backup plan: moving the populace to Fiji.

Kiribati President Anote Tong told The Associated Press on Friday that his Cabinet this week endorsed a plan to buy nearly 6,000 acres on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. He said the fertile land, being sold by a church group for about $9.6 million, could provide an insurance policy for Kiribati's entire population of 103,000, though he hopes it will never be necessary for everyone to leave.

...

Some scientists have estimated the current level of sea rise in the Pacific at about 2 millimeters (0.1 inches) per year. Many scientists expect that rate to accelerate due to climate change.

Fiji, home to about 850,000 people, is about 1,400 miles south of Kiribati. But just what people there think about potentially providing a home for thousands of their neighbors remains unclear.

...

Tong has been considering other unusual options to combat climate change, including shoring up some Kiribati islands with sea walls and even building a floating island. He said this week that the latter option would likely prove too expensive, but that he hopes reinforcing some islands will ensure that Kiribati continues to exist in some form even in a worst-case scenario.

"We're trying to secure the future of our people," he said. "The international community needs to be addressing this problem more."

...

Although like much of the Pacific, Kiribati is poor — its annual GDP per person is just $1,600 — Tong said the country has plenty of foreign reserves to draw from for the land purchase. The money, he said, comes from phosphate mining on the archipelago in the 1970s.



Yes, the money to acquire the 'escape-property' in Fiji comes from phosphate mining revenues generated during the 1970's.  Forty years later they continue to reap the financial rewards of the RAPE of their natural resources by evil multi-national conglomerates.   Bad Kiribatis, bad!



Part II:  Anote Tong is the leader of the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati. Mr Tong has attracted international attention by warning that his country may become uninhabitable by the 2050s because of rising sea levels and salination provoked by climate change. 

He has stated that Kiribati may cease to exist altogether, and that its entire population of 94,000 may need to be resettled with dignity, not as climate refugees. 

In 2008, under his leadership, Kiribati declared 150,000 square miles of its Phoenix Islands marine area a fully protected marine park, making it off limits to fishing and other extractive uses. This pristine ocean wilderness is the size of California and has been designated a UN World Heritage Site.




The pristine ocean 'wilderness' is now off-limits to fishing and other 'extractive' uses?  


Okay, let me get this straight - there's this little atoll / island-thingy in the middle of nowhere which has no industry, no products or services to speak of, and a monthly average income per person of approximately $133.33?  AND they have blocked ANY natural resources from being used surrounding the island, thus assuring their island nation's financial doom?


AND, digging a bit further into the two separate articles above, their population increased from 2008 from 94,000 to 103,000 in 2011?


I KNOW what their problem is!  


The islands are sinking under the weight of all the new humans being born in the Progressive Mecca of Kiribati!  Heck, they don't need relocation, they need free contraception and a boatride!

They don't need no stinking FIJI!  

They need Massachusetts!  Free health care, scenic waterfront, unemployment benefits (hey, they're all unemployed, right?) AND more Planned Parenthood locations than Starbucks stores line the streets of gold in the great Progressive State of Massachusetts. 


The United States of America needs more hard-resting, over-sexed, wildly reproducing, and under-paid immigrant citizens!  PLUS 103,000 New Democratic voters in Massachusetts?  Be still my heart. 

Welcome Kiribatis!  Welcome home to Massachusetts!

Um, when you all come here, can I have your atoll?  It looks really nice and I hear the fishing is EXCELLENT!

When Progressive Leaders rule the World we'll all be looking for somewhere else to live.  Just remember, I've got DIBS on Kiribati...  I found it FIRST.

Have a nice weekend folks.


p.s.:  In visiting http://www.fiji-island-holidays.com/fiji-culture.html, I learned the following:   

The majority of the population is a mix of Indigenous Fijian, and Indian but Fiji also has a small Chinese population which is more prominent in the capital Suva. 

The two main ethnic groups live relatively separately because of their different religious and cultural beliefs which are hard to blend together. 

Often they have specific Fijian or Indian villages each with their own primary schools but they tend to mix more as they become older, at high school and especially in the working environment. 


Just another reason for the Kiribatis to make Massachusetts their home - Barney Frank LOVES everybody!  He loves the assimilation of other cultures and other peoples into his home state.  And those fresh young Kiribatis; they cook up so sweet and tender!   Yumm-O!   




 

 

Why E.J. Scott Runs

E. J. Scott, CHM's "Running Man"


There are posts which evolve of their own accord as they are written.

There are posts which go places I never imagined them going prior to having completed them.

Lastly, there are rare posts like this one - those which I don't know how exactly to begin, neither do I know how they will ultimately end.

Well, I guess I do know how to begin - the trouble is in the process of 'the starting'.  


When all else fails, go with the basics: 

1. Post a photo, and, 
2. Free-style some random verbiage as the thing begins to breathe on its own

But as for the ending...

I just don't know.

Nope. I can't tell you yet. I honestly don't know how this one ends.


By way of your introduction to E. J. Scott, our aforementioned "Running Man", let's begin with a few of the things which I DO know:

• I have never met E. J. Scott
• I have never met E.J.'s girlfriend, Deborah Ann Woll, the actress who portrays Jessica Hamby on HBO's "True Blood" series
• E. J.'s Occupation, according to his website, is listed as: "Being awesome, but it pays terrible"
• E. J. Scott and I have much in common (as we are both 'awesome', although honestly, when it comes to 'being awesome' - he 'owns' me)

E. J. Scott has a rare retinal degenerative condition known as 'Choroideremia'. How rare? At last count, there are fewer than 6,000 Americans afflicted with this particular genetic-pie-in-the-face-from-God.

You'll never hear about Choroideremia (a.k.a.: 'CHM') on the evening news because it doesn't affect enough people (I believe there are at LEAST 6,000 people who would argue with this last statement, but in the end, it is what it is - this particular genetic defect is 'Honest Politician' rare).

This is one of those 'Good News / Bad News' situations.  You most likely don't know what Choroideremia is, nor what it does.  The good news is that if you don't know WHAT it is, it most likely does not affect you. 

Conversely, E. J. knows all too well what Choroideremia is. So do I. We both have become acquainted with the condition differently, but as he has experienced the progression of this visual condition personally, I have seen it through the eyes of others. Six of my favorite eyes in the world.

There is another major difference between E. J. and me:

E. J. wages his war against CHM publicly. 

In 2012, he plans to run in twelve marathons to raise money to find a treatment, cure, or perhaps another 'miracle' to stop the progression of CHM in himself, as well as 5,999 of his closest friends. 


As I sit on my rump typing this, E. J. runs.   With two marathons started and finished - he has ten more scheduled through the remainder of this year.  Not only is E. J. running these road races on behalf of all those with CHM, but he's also running them...  Blindfolded.

At 36 years old E. J. is legally blind.  He's used a cane to augment the peripheral vision he's lost over the years since being diagnosed about a decade ago. He got the idea to wear the blindfold to both call attention to CHM as well as to protect his remaining eyesight. Bright sunlight will hasten the progression of CHM; so when he jogs through the throngs of other runners on race day - he's the only one who runs in the dark.

E. J.'s younger brother and his seven-year old nephew also have been diagnosed with CHM.  Typically, when CHM 'hits', it comes after your family like your family is the trailer park and the CHM is the angry gray tornado hungry for corrugated metal.  It takes what it wants and leaves you wondering "Why us / me?".     

In an article I found on the Austin Statesman, E. J. provided some insight into his experiences with CHM and 2012's 'marathon' of Marathons to raise money to find a treatment:

Times when he bumped into people or didn't see someone started to make sense. And, he said, it's scary. Especially to watch his family members follow suit.

"I'm running for them," he said.

Putting one foot in front of the other amid thousands of people running alongside him can be confusing, he said.

Listening to someone instruct his every move gets annoying. He's stumbled before, and the noise alone is overwhelming.

At the finish line of the first marathon he ran, in Chicago in 2010, he was exhausted but triumphant.

He has 10 more marathons looming and $120,000 to raise. But his family will be on the sidelines. And he hates this disease.

"That's why I do everything," he said.

"I'm running for them", he said in Austin, Texas.  Reading the statement above shamed me.  After all, what have I done lately to support the effort to add Choroideremia to the list of 'Cured Illnesses'?  Other than monthly matched contributions to the Choroideremia Research Foundation I make monthly at work...  In a word, nothing.  

I wait for a miracle to happen, a cure to be found, wait for smiling Angels to descend from Heaven as I sleep, nudge me awake and tell me, "It's okay, we've fixed them - no more need to worry - it's all good.  They're okay now.  All that praying you did over the past eighteen years?  It WORKED.  He heard you..."

As of this morning the only nudge I received was the one from the loopy little rescue dog as she bolted up onto and across the bed to throw herself down next to (in truth, 'across') my legs at 5:15 this morning.  This would have been about five minutes prior to beginning this post.  

Maybe she WAS my nudge?  They say that "God works in mysterious ways" but Sandy?  Seriously?  A dog who recycles her food?  

I dunno... 

But what I DO know is that I'm writing this post for a reason.  It is not political.  It is personal and it is time-sensitive.  It is a request for support made on the behalf of roughly 6,000 Americans and for the families of all those affected by CHM.  

If you can afford to help E. J. Scott fund his cause for the elimination of Choroideremia and its 'definitional removal' from the Medical Encyclopedia, I would be eternally (as in, 'For all time') grateful.  

I'm delighted to report that HUGE progress has been made over the past two years.  Researchers are using available funding to develop a workable gene-therapy treatment for this disease AND successful outcomes from this research will extend into other eye-related illnesses.  Several months' ago clinical trials began in the U.K. and are (hopefully) coming soon to the U.S. and Canada.

I'd try to explain how it all works, but being NOT a medical guy, I'd just mess it up and you'd probably get mad at me.  Instead of my own rambling and incoherent thoughts, I'm embedding a video here of Dr. Jean Bennett, researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, so she can overview what's up with her research and its implications for those affected by this, and other retinal degenerative diseases:

       

  

E. J. Scott is not only running against the miles involved in associated marathons he's in, he's running against time itself.  

He's running for the hope of a cure and he's running with my family's hopes riding firmly on his back. 

If you can help support his efforts to raise money against CHM, please take a moment to sponsor his race for vision by visiting his site at:   

EJCURECHM, 

or,

Via the homepage of the Choroideremia Research Foundation's site at:  CRF 

On the CRF site you'll find a video from E. J.'s recent appearance on the Dr. Drew show and get a chance to meet the man behind the blindfold.
 

My profound thanks to E. J. and his efforts to put a stake-through-the-heart of this condition.  

If you can assist financially (or by even getting the word out about CHM fund-raising via the forwarding of this post) in searching for a treatment for Choroideremia - please accept my thanks in advance.

Thanks for your time - make it a great day.

Mike Kane

alias:  'Moos'

alias:  'Dad' to Ben, Jon, and Tim