"Gosh, how can I argue with that? My sense of perspective is hereby restored."

Look at the bright side, the silver lining. He's not using a gun to take your money. That's progress!

Apparently Sen. Lieberman also signed that letter in support of Sen. Harry Reid. His head must be about to explode from cognitive dissonance because he is also represented on Op-Ed pages this weekend writing this about Reid (if not by name):

"When politicians here declare that Iraq is 'lost' in reaction to Al-Qaida's terrorist attacks and demand timetables for withdrawal, they are doing exactly what Al-Qaida hopes they will do, although I know that is not their intent."

I read the article in the Hartford Courant but it is online at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (link: http://www.startribune.com/562/story/1149322.html). Most of it is standard issue Cheney/Lieberman conflation of Iraq insurgency/Al-Qaeda/9/11 but the graf on Reid leaps out in its patent dishonesty and sleaze. Joe Lieberman is a man with neither shame nor honor.

I'm from CT but voted and volunteered for Ned Lamont.

"By definition neo-cons and their running dogs and fellow travellers should be recognized by the masses as deep in political error."

This is precisely the blind spot Mona has. She thinks I have one about Stalin because I identify with social democracy, like Orwell. That makes no sense whatsoever. Go figure.

I leave it to the rest of the readers to decide who has the blind spot.

Here is a quote from the visionary designer, William McDonough. He makes a lot of sense to me. The "old way" involves brute force. When brute force doesn't work you use more brute force (e.g., the "Surge"; harsh interrogation techniques; clamping down on civil liberties). We sense that more brute force is not the answer. So we yearn for a new approach. What is it?

[Y]ou have to design with positive principles and positive goals. Modern industrial culture doesn’t seem to have principles, except something like: “If brute force isn’t working, you are not using enough of it.” While its goals are unclear, its de facto goal appears to be to create ecological and human tragedy. If you play a game, you have to have a clear goal; in chess, you’re going to take a king. So we have an end game in mind because without this strategy becomes meaningless.

What we seek is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world, with clean water, air, soil and power, that is economically, equitably, ecologically, and elegantly enjoyed.

This seems to me to articulate a philosophical touchstone for what needs to take place as we go forward in the 21st century. (There is no undoing the 20th century, and there's no going back to the 19th.) All actions can flow from this principle. It suggests what America can stand for on a national and international level - in a nutshell - hope (once again), not fear. It also suggests a positive vision that ordinary citizens can have for their own communities, as they work for change on a local level.

Quote is from this link.

http://www.massivechange.com/2006/08/07/william-mcdonough-interview-march-23-2004/

P.S. Thanks, Karen M., for your comment to me yesterday. I am trying to translating "talk" into "walk" (i.e., action) in my own life. But I agree that articulating ideas can have great effect - to the point of helping to create a sea change.

It looks like all the GG regulars are bellied up to the bar on this one. I'm really enjoying the impassioned exchanges and occasional diatribes from what seem to be a diverse group of social conservatives, libertarians, liberal democrats, socialists and occasional fascists.

I started my day reading a review of Clive James Cultural Amnesia by William Deresiewicz

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070514/deresiewicz

and then I came here. Talk about Deja Vu.

If the ship of state is truly changing course (and I believe that it is) and this represents the new direction, I couldn't be more hopeful. Maybe the 21st century will get off to a decent start after all.

Joe Lieberman takes his orders from AIPAC, and he's not the only Democrat who gets money from them.

http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=225627

WASHINGTON – Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) made the following statement today regarding reports that members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) were involved in the alleged unauthorized sharing of sensitive information from the U.S. Department of Defense to Israel:

“AIPAC is an organization of American patriots committed to promoting America’s interest in strengthening ties with our democratic ally Israel. Since its founding fifty years ago, AIPAC has served its fellow Americans by promoting peace, justice and security in the Middle East and beyond. AIPAC deserves our gratitude and support for its important service and devotion to our country.”

If that isn't the biggest crock of shit I have ever read...

Let the accusations of anti-semitism commence...

Winston Churchill had this to say about the turning of the tide with the stopping of the German advance at el-Alamein:

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=388

So I see the stemming of the current offensive against the Constitution of the United States of America. It has been coming for a long time, but coming it was; in general the American people don't like being lied to, and they don't like being played for chumps, and they most certainly don't like being lied to and played for chumps and treated like they are too stupid to realize it. Churchill's cautious optimism is well suited to the present situation. It is not over, but it will no longer continue unchecked.

What we seek is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world, with clean water, air, soil and power, that is economically, equitably, ecologically, and elegantly enjoyed. -- William McDonough, via j.m. greysky

It's been said before:

All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

I like to think (and

the sooner the better!)

of a cybernetic meadow

where mammals and computers

live together in mutually

programming harmony

like pure water

touching clear sky.

I like to think

(right now, please!)

of a cybernetic forest

filled with pines and electronics

where deer stroll peacefully

past computers

as if they were flowers

with spinning blossoms.

I like to think

(it has to be!)

of a cybernetic ecology

where we are free of our labors

and joined back to nature,

returned to our mammal

brothers and sisters,

and all watched over

by machines of loving grace.

-- Richard Brautigan, 1968

May he rest in peace.