Rest in peace, Senator Kennedy

It's with sadness that I awoke this morning to hear about the loss of Sen. Ted Kennedy (above, left, with brothers President John F. Kennedy (center) and Robert F. Kennedy). There was no greater champion in the U.S. Senate over the last five decades for civil rights, healthcare reform, world peace and even stem cell research than Ted Kennedy.

Of course, in these highly partisan times that we live in, I've no doubt that many on the right will quietly cheer the silence of this proud liberal voice (and no doubt a few will even publicly do so), but that's to be expected. As far as the right's strong hatred for Kennedy, I'll say this - if there was any way to quantify it, you'd have to multiply that by a factor of a million to even begin to describe the way I feel about Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and the rest of the conniving, profiteering, scum of the Earth who pillaged this country during the eight years of the Bush administration. However, President Obama has been in office for a little over 200 days, so now we can blame everything on him now! At least, that seems to be the battle cry among many conservatives these days. But, I digress.

It would be wrong to completely whitewash Kennedy's entire career in the wake of his passing, for the man was deeply flawed, for sure. But, I try to see the other side when it comes to Kennedy, too. I can't begin to fathom the emotional strain he must have endured after seeing two of his brothers assassinated and also losing two other siblings to tragedy very early on in their lives. I'm not making excuses for Kennedy's often boorish and even tragic behavior, but it's easy for people to judge his behavior, but more difficult to comprehend the many tragedies in Kennedy's life. Many critics point to the Chappaquiddick incident as proof of Kennedy's criminality, and his actions are impossible to defend, and I'm certainly not going to try here. However, many conspiracy theorists have argued that Mary Jo Kopechne was intentionally drowned by Kennedy, and I'll never believe that. But, I'm also not naïve enough to believe that Kennedy didn't receive special treatment from the justice system because of his last name, either.

One of the stupidest bumper stickers I ever saw on a car read: "Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my guns." I've always wanted to print bumper stickers that say "George Bush has killed many more people than Ted Kennedy's car," but I never got around to it. I still say it could have been a seller, though.

Despite Kennedy's many flaws, in the end, I admire the man for the way he handled the many tragedies he had to endure, and largely how he handled them. One of his finest moments was courageously eulogizing his brother, Robert, following his assassination in June 1968:

My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.

Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: 'Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.'

I think the same can be said of Ted Kennedy himself, too. What a career on Capitol Hill - during 46+ years in the U.S. Senate, he authored 2,500 bills, 300 of which became law; and he co-sponsored another 550 bills, too. Because of personal flaws and mistakes, he was not destined to be president, but he certainly made a difference on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

From civil rights, to Title IX, to healthcare and 18-year olds gaining the ability to vote, Kennedy was in the middle of all those legislative debates and more during the last five decades. I've often written that I believe in term limits for all members of Congress, and in the end, I probably still do, but Kennedy is an example of what career politicians can accomplish during a long and mostly distinguished career on Capitol Hill.

To the man who was never ashamed to be called a liberal (I share that same trait), I say this - well done, Senator, well done. Liberals and like-minded moderates alike will continue the healthcare fight in your absence, but the fight just became a little harder without you.

Below is the tribute to Senator Kennedy during the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention - it's pretty good and worth a look (thanks, Sadath) ...

The lion's roar may be silenced, but the fight will live on. Rest in peace, Senator Kennedy.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Sorry for the inactivity on here as of late - it's been a very busy and tough 2009 thus far, but I will be back at it soon. I have been keeping up with the issues lately, though, so I have plenty to write about in the coming days.

Just wanted to post a tribute and thanks to all of our vets and troops, for all they do and have done. I sure am one lucky guy - this American has plenty to be thankful for, without question, and today, I'd like to thank those past and present in our armed forces. While I don't always agree with their use and deployment, specifically in Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, that doesn't mean I'm not thankful for their service.

Unfortunately, I strongly feel that the country isn't doing all it can and should do for our returning troops, especially those who are wounded mentally and physically. I'll have more on that soon - I saw a story on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday that had me hopeful, saddened and angered - it was about our troops who have been wounded and severely burned by IEDs in Iraq. But, more on that a bit later.

Happy Earth Day!

Sorry for the recent inactivity - it's been hard to find time to breathe lately - I've never taught six college courses in a semester, but it's been quite the bear.

Anyway, Happy Earth Day to all of you - more than any other Earth Day in my lifetime, I'm thinking of ways today that I can lessen my carbon footprint - to use less, recycle more, and to conserve, which is truly the spirit of Earth Day.

I'll be back late this evening with more, and I've got PLENTY of thoughts to share with you all in the coming days about recent developments in the world of politics - just because I haven't posted doesn't mean I haven't had my ear to the ground; I'm a big ball of excitement and outrage, all rolled into one - there have been some truly despicable things going on in Washington, D.C., yet some inspiring things, too. Yes, in the cynical world we live in, I can still be inspired. And hopefully I can inspire some of you, too.

As I go about my business today, I'll try to come up with the answer as to who the stupidest man in America is - Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity. Try picking a winner there! Talk about a Murder's Row of idiocy.

More later.

Limbaugh now merely a parody of himself

I stopped getting angry at anything at comes out of Rush Limbaugh's mouth long ago. But that doesn't mean that I'll stop pointing it out.

During one of his latest tirades, well documented as always by Media Matters, the drug addicted, bloated one dropped the curtain to give us a deep look into the commode that passes for his soul to reveal his MO for the length of the Obama administration (let's hope it's 8): that he hopes Obama "fails."

All I can say is this: Typical.

I find it pretty stupefying how quickly Repubes have changes course in just over 30 days since Obama took office. For eight years, they whined, sniveled and complained about liberals and progressives "rooting for Bush to fail in Iraq" (among other places), yet now they openly despise Obama while shamelessly rooting for his policies to fail. Talk about Party Before Country.

As much as I despised Bush's policies in Iraq (and will go to my grave with the unflinching belief that our misguided war was and is a wast of taxpayer money, not to mention all of the bloodshed), I never, EVER hoped that our military would fail. I think Bush led us down many disastrous roads, but I do believe that he believed he was doing the right thing for the country and the American people. Well, that's not entirely true, though - I think the last six months of his presidency (and especially during the last three), when he knew Obama was going to be president, Bush quietly did all he could to make sure that Obama got handed a big steaming turd on January 20, 2009.

I do support Limbaugh's right to say what he says, and quite frankly I hope he keeps on saying it. Hey, God bless him - it just reaffirms my belief that Obama is doing something right if he's driving Limbaugh nuts.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Limbaugh's ratings go up, not down; so many conservatives now feel under siege because Obama is president - you know, that they've losing their country, and blah blah blah.

However, I do think that the government should step in and do something to promote a diversity of voices over our radio airwaves. NO, I'm not advocating that anyone should have his or her "microphone taken away" (already a trite right-wing talking point), but the government should do all it can to strongly encourage companies to provide a diversity of voices on their airwaves. Actually, no, the government should REQUIRE a diversity of voices. I'm sick and tired of right wingers whining about the phantom "liberal media."

I wrote about his last fall before the presidential campaign got into high gear, but perhaps it's best to remember one of Sun Tzu's maxims from The Art of War: It is wise to present your greatest strength as your greatest weakness, and that's precisely what Republicans have been doing for the last 40 years with regard to our mainstream media. (Thanks once again, President Nixon.)

If you think I'm exaggerating, go back and find some Sarah Palin interviews from last fall's campaign - whenever bad news came out, she just went on the offensive, bashing the "liberal media," which is always red meet for the drooling drones on the right.

Anyway, Limbaugh is simply a modern-day Joseph Goebbels, although thankfully many more Americans dismiss Limbaugh than Germans dismissed Goebbels.

By the way, if you're one of the few liberals left who doesn't support and visit Media Matters, I strongly encourage you to do just that. The folks over there are doing tremendously effective and important work.

I'll be back later this evening with lots more, so please check back. (And, as usual, there I'll have lots to share on Sunday.)

Obama's speech: HOPE vs. NOPE

Just in case you didn't get a chance to view it the other night, here's President Obama's complete speech. I'll be back a bit later today with much more to say about it, but in short, below is the part of the speech that I found particularly poignant (and I'm echoing C&L from a few days ago, because I agree whole-heartedly):

President Obama: I've come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here.

I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven't been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has – a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family. You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day.

It's the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It's the job you thought you'd retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that's now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

Yes! That's exactly the note of optimism that America needs right now. Of course, the Doubting Thomases (Read: Republicans) are taking aim at Obama's speech, saying it was "well short on specifics." In some ways, yes, but what was he supposed to do, talk for four hours? Then these people would have complained that his speech was too long. Obama needs to mostly ignore these critics bitter nitpickers, who are angry that McSame and Palin didn't win the election. No matter what Obama does, these people will have something to say. So be it - at least Obama is trying, which is much more that can be said for Bush during the last year of his presidency.

Put another way, just think for a second what kind of confidence McCain and PALIN would be instilling in the American people right now had they won; McCain would be babbling about a $300 million award for a car battery, and Palin would be responding to questions about the economy with a *Wink* and a "You betchya!" Puleeze.

Perhaps no one summarized Obama's speech better than CNN's David Gergen on Tuesday night, who had this to say:

...this was the most ambitious president we've ever heard in this chamber in decades. The first half of the speech was FDR, fighting for the New Deal. The second half was Lyndon Johnson, fighting for the Great Society, and we've never seen those two presence [sic] rolled together in quite this way.

That about nails it, and I rarely find myself agreeing with Gergen.

However, the night was only getting started. It really got entertaining when Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (R-LA) gave the Republican response to Obama's speech, which was beyond laughable. See for yourself:

I don't have enough time to offer thoughts on Jindal's "response," but I'll be back later today. It was pretty priceless.

I'll also have lots more today on Obama's $4 tn budget that he unveiled yesterday; it's not a perfect budget (no budget is), but there is a great deal to like.

Alan Keyes McCarthy: welcome to 1950

I always knew that Alan Keyes was a far-right wing extremist crackpot (and so did an overwhelming majority of Americans, hence his lack of traction in running for president on three separate occasions), but today he reached a new low, even for him. Take a listen to his comments about President Obama. If he changed his last name to McCarthy and we turned our clocks back about 60 years, to listen to him, you wouldn't know the difference between Alan Keyes and Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

The most alarming lowlight:

Obama is a radical communist, and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it's true," said Keyes, who ran unsuccessfully against Obama for the state's open Senate seat in 2004. "He is going to destroy this country, and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist.

Other than being political pornography for the likes of sewer rats like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, this sort of rhetoric does absolutely zilch for our political discourse, and I find his comments deeply disturbing but not at all surprising.

This guy has a lot of anger. Maybe it's because he simply cannot win elective office on a national scale. Or maybe it's because this Reagan right wingnut is frustrated that his daughter came out as a lesbian. (You might want to call Dick Cheney for some advice about how to reconcile this contradiction in your sick, twisted mind, Alan.)

At any rate, could this guy be any more cliché? The only mildly surprising thing is that Keyes didn't call him a "pinko liberal." If we give him long enough, I'm sure he won't disappoint.

Looks like Keyes is using the well-worn, dog-eared playbook of Karl Rove, where it's considered sport to depict political adversaries as evil, intent on destroying America, and blah, blah, blah.

Philly's Inky & Daily News bankrupt

Well, I can't say I'm surprised.

Philadelphia Media Holdings, L.L.C., the company created by Brian Tierney (left) a few years ago that purchased both The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

It's another sad chapter in a long list of them for the nation's daily newspapers, and it's pretty sad to see. It's also sad to see that the once great Inky, as it is sometimes known, continues its downward slide.

Even though I personally dislike him greatly for being the partisan GOP hack that he is, I was pulling for Tierney and Co. to turn around Philly's newspapers. I feel his failure to do so is mostly a sign of the times - the newspaper itself is turning into a relic of yesteryear - something that Baby Boomers and grandfathers read. Personally, I no longer buy them, but I do visit my favorite paper's Websites on a daily basis: the Inquirer's, as well as the LA Times, the Washington Post and of course The New York Times. I don't think that any but the most successful papers have figured out how to make money off of their Websites, yet, but I think it will happen.

But, I do fault Tierney for a few decisions he's made. When the announcement was made that he would be operating the city's newspapers, Tierney pledged that he would not meddle with the editorial content of the papers. I don't think that even his biggest cheerleaders, if they were being completely honest, believed that one. And it didn't take the skeptics long to be proven right.

I couldn't help but laugh when Tierney hired former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who lost his reelection bid in 2006 to Sen. Bob Casey, to be a columnist for the Inquirer's editorial page. Hmm, that was a smart move - it didn't take a genius to figure out that one of the country's most Democratic cities wasn't exactly crying out to hear from one of the most polarizing Republicans in recent memory. Maybe Tierney can, ahem, inquire if Sarah Palin is available to write about her pathetic qualifications for being vice president or president? Yea, I'm sure Philly would love that.

A more damning incident about Tierney's stewardship occurred prior to the '08 election, when the editorial board voted to endorse Barack Obama for president. An editorial meeting about the endorsement reportedly became quite heated when Tierney forcefully pushed for the endorsement of Sen. John McCain. So much for not interfering with editorial content.

And so much for a comeback for Philly's daily newspapers.

Here's hoping that Philly's newspapers survive this latest sad chapter in their respective histories. My prediction is that the Inquirer will survive, but the Daily News will not. It's been rumored for years that the Daily News will be shuttered, and I think within the next year or two, we'll sadly see that happen.

Must-sees: Taking Chance & Burning Coal

I saw two movies this weekend while convalescing from some sort of nasty virus, and I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

The best and by far the most powerful movie I've seen in a long time is Taking Chance, a movie by HBO Films. The film plots the journey of the body of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps - from the battlefield all the way home to his final resting place in Dubois, Wyoming, following his death in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

I found the movie to be an incredible inspiration, and educational, too. I had no idea that there was any such thing as uniformed military escorts, and that soldiers' bodies were never without an escort, from their death on the battlefield to the grave.

This film should be required viewing for every American; I know that won't happen, but it's that powerful. These days, now that deaths aren't piling up in Iraq and Afghanistan as they were a few years ago, and with the economy in the tank, both of the conflicts that our country is now fighting, all in our names, doesn't get the media coverage it deserves. What's more, Americans aren't exposed to the powerful images that this film offers - our soldiers being carried home - the real cost of war.

In the film, Kevin Bacon portrays Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, a Desert Storm veteran, who came across Chance's name on a casualty list; they both came from the same hometown, and Strobl volunteered to escort him home. While Strobl accompanies Chance's body across the country from Dover Air Force Base to Wyoming, he is visibly touched and moved by the outpouring of support he receives from the many people he runs across during the journey. I found it impossible to not be moved by this story - the film is impeccably directed and produced, sans the Hollywood razzle-dazzle, which this story doesn't need.

Bacon's performance is masterful, which I've come to expect from such a fine actor - one of the best of his generation. He cuts a pretty impressive, believable figure in a Marine uniform, too, just as he did in A Few Good Men nearly 20 years ago.

You must see this movie, regardless if you have any interest in the military. Every American should see it to better understand the impact that the death of ONE soldier can have on a community, much less the impact that 4,247* can have - the current American death toll in Iraq - or 657*, the number of American dead from the War in Afghanistan.

* - as of this afternoon

The second movie, Burning the Future: Coal in America, rips the scab off of coal production in West Virginia, and, needless to say, it uncovers a lot of pus.

I find it startling and amazing that the coal companies in America continue to have the power they do - both over our supply of electricity and our political system and politicians. We can and we must end our reliance on coal if we are to clean up the air we breathe. It doesn't take a scientist to deduce that burning coal has had horrible consequences for the planet, but I never knew the extent of the environmental ramifications that strip mining has on the communities surrounding these mines.

Burning the Future takes a pretty startling look at what those consequences are, including polluted ground water, increased flooding, polluted rivers and streams and tens of thousands of dead fish and wildlife.

I don't know if it's outrageous or hilarious when these coal companies trot out their PR flaks to try and defend the coal industry during this film - it almost sounds like stand-up comedy. It reminded me of the GM executives who lamely tried to explain away the company's inexplicable decision to kill the GM EV-1 electric car during the movie Who Killed the Electric Car. Hey, someone has to lie for the cameras, right? When I hear people simply lie for a company or an industry, it makes me both relieved and delighted that I'm no longer teaching public relations.

So far, and it's obviously very young in his presidency, but President Obama is no exception to Big Coal's death grip on both our politics and our energy supply. I heard Obama on numerous occasions during the '08 campaign extol the virtues of "clean coal technologies," which is a misnomer if there ever was one. There currently isn't any such viable thing as a way to burn coal "cleanly" that's cost effective, and even if there was, there doesn't seem to be a willingness on the part of coal companies to extract it from the ground in an environmentally friendly way.

The only viable answer, and it's not exactly viable yet, is to come up with other means of electricity production.

I understand why Obama said what he said about coal during the campaign- after all, he needed votes in Ohio and Pennsylvania to win the presidency. Being anti-coal would have cost him the presidency, period. I prefer to view the glass as half full - that Obama said what he said knowing that once he won the presidency, he could affect some change in our energy policy. Sof far, his intentions regarding energy make me very hopeful that his presidency will be the beginning of the end of coal; I realize it's going to be a long time until we are kicked of this filthy habit, but we've got to start sometime, and that time is now.

Burning the Future: Coal in America is now airing on the Sundance Channel - it's a very enlightening look at one of America's best-kept dirty secrets - our powerful coal industry. Take a look and educate yourself about coal, and then write your elected representatives and senators - our health depends on it.

For a much more in-depth look at the power of Big Coal, I strongly recommend the book Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future, by Jeff Goodell. I read this book last year, and I'll never forget it.

Today I'm thinking about The White Rose

Today I'm thinking about The White Rose, the German Resistance Movement to the Nazis during World War II.

Above, members of the White Rose, Munich 1942, (from left): Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, confer to plot strategy against one of the most brutal regimes humanity has ever known. Okay, I have to confess, I didn't think of The White Rose just out of the blue - Wikipedia gave me an assist with its "On This Day..." section, which I read every day. Sixty six years ago today, following their capture by the Gestapo, members of The White Rose were found guilty of treason and guillotined.

I'm looking forward to reading some books about The White Rose, most notably Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, by Jud Newborn. I find their heroism and courage inspiring, especially considering the odds they faced and the consequences they surely knew they were facing if they were captured, which they were. Hitler and the Nazis had a zero-tolerance policy, to say the least, against any political opposition whatsoever. I cannot even begin to comprehend that sort of cost for opposition to one's government; despite what some would have us believe, especially during the George W. Bush administration, we had a duty to keep our mouths shut and "get behind our president while troops were in the field." What a crock.

And my feelings haven't changed now that Obama is president - questioning what our government is doing, including Obama, isn't only a right, it's a responsibility, and that hasn't changed with the new administration.

The people of The White Rose didn't just question, they put our lives on the line and paid the ultimate price. They should be remembered around the world for their courage in the face of horrifying consequences.

At right is the monument to the "Weiße Rose" in front of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where their memory is alive and well.

I shudder when I read what some of the leaders of The White Rose wrote in their leaflets - here are two short experts...

From The White Rose's first of six leaflets that the group distributed, guerrilla-style, to university students and other covert places:

Isn't it true that every honest German is ashamed of his government these days? Who among us can imagine the degree of shame that will come upon us and our children when the veil falls from our faces and the awful crimes that infinitely exceed any human measure are exposed to the light of day?

Pretty chilling words when read almost 70 years later.

Even more damning, from the group's second leaflet:

Since the conquest of Poland three hundred thousand Jews have been murdered in this country in the most bestial way - the German people slumber on in their dull, stupid sleep and encourage these fascist criminals... Each man wants to be exonerated of a guilt of this kind, each one continues on his way with the most placid, the calmest conscience. But he cannot be exonerated; he is guilty, guilty, guilty!

If only the German people and the rest of the world had listened.