Good morning!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, honoring one the greatest civil rights leaders of all time.

Celebrated this year on January 17, 2011, the holiday falls on the third Monday of January every year, right around King’s birthday, which is January 15. King would have been 82 this year.

His “I Have A Dream” speech was recited on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington. King spoke in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Perhaps the most famous of King’s speeches, the repetition “I have a dream” resonated with marches and became a symbol of civil rights. The speech was initially titles “Normalcy, Never Again,” but as King became more and more impassioned, he began to “preach” continuously repeating the phrase.

One can never see Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech too many times:

• Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor in America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.

Readers: I wrote my write last night as I have a very full day and I wanted to sleep in. Only I didn’t. I woke up suddenly as if something terrible had happened. The “terrible something” was that I forgot it was Martin Luther King Day. Being self-employed, most any noted holiday is a working holiday for me, including weekends when I am busy with clients.

So, to all you early birds who read my write early….yes I woke up, and had to change my write that I had already had set last night to publish at 6:00 am. My apologies. I am only one person: The writer, the proofreader, the editor. And yes, I do make mistakes.

That being said, I have never changed my entire write after it has been published.  But there is no way that I could let the day go by and not honor Dr. King. Absolutely not. He was an amazing, courageous, inspiring man whose words are just as important now as they ever were. As I watch his historical speech every year, I always find myself with tears rolling down my face…I am so moved…and yes…I am still so HOPEful. Now is the time…

Could there be any better?

************

Greprom: I do not doubt that we are electrical beings. I wouldn’t have stated the title of my blog as such if I did doubt you. I stated here that we have been told this via the aliens, and I will also state that in private, I have been informed too.

I do understand what you were saying. I understand that Earthlings are electrical and that everything we eat, drink and breathe is electrical, as you stated. But somewhere in my reading I decided to neglect the fact that you brought the Earthlings to your chemical universe which was the reason you had provide them with the ”correct electrically charged foods, liquids, etc.” in the first place, which lead to your discovery of our lasting indefinitely.

And in my haste, I meant to ask if we had to do something here on Earth to “correct” our electrically charged foods etc., Obviously not chemically, which is what is screwing us up in the first place. My misunderstanding – thanks Robert for pointing that out so I could clarify.

So really, the question is, can we find food…food that is available, that doesn’t have all of the toxins in it? We buy meat from a private sustainable farm with free range grass fed cows. I try to eat organic as much as I can, and stay away from packaged foods. I am aware of the toxins that are in much of our food, and I feel that I pay close attention to what I eat, so that I am eating as few toxic foods as I can. Yet, what is really pure anymore? Even if you grown your own fruits and vegetables and raise your own meat – What about our water and air quality? Toxic.

Water is a big problem. Unless a person has a water filter we are poisoning our bodies when we shower and bathe. So what if you’re drinking purified watered – you’re bathing in toxic water. We drink gallons of water through our bodies during this time. And we think we are cleaning ourselves when we are really poisoning ourselves. And the hotter the water, the worse it is for us, as toxins turn into poisonous gases that we then breathe in.

And as far as air quality…forget about it. There is no pure non-toxic air that I know of.

Noris: Thank you for clarifying, but I do understand that old age is not a disease. However there was a time when we didn’t have preservatives and toxins in our food, and the water and air was pure. Yet, we didn’t live to be a thousand years old. Our biggest enemy back then was the natural elements. I guess I was more curious as to what a thousand year old healthy person visually looked like. :)

So back to you Grepron: I know today we really don’t have much of a chance for eating “correct” electrically charged foods. So going back a long time ago, when the air was fine and so was the water, what combination of food would have been the proper balance so that we could’ve survived longer than we did? Did we just really we just need the proper balance of foods?

As much as I am interested, I guess that question really doesn’t matter because we can’t go back to that time when air and water were pure. And as you stated, once our food has been exposed to chemicals it cannot be made electrically correct again. Still…what would be your answer? Obviously I am not the only one who is curious.

So…on another note, we may not last “indefinitely” because of the toxins, but we can last forever one way: Cloning.  If we perfect cloning we could last forever. That is as long as we are able to replace “every” part of our bodies.

That’s my two. What do you have to add? Blog me.

ZL: I hope that your parties were fun and Lily had a great birthday! Tuesday is my one free day that I will be in my office. I’ll call you.

PEACE OUT.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Late last year, Aung San Suu Kyi, after 15 years was released from her most recent house arrest. But as much as no one knew exactly what it would mean for their home country Burma, now called Myanmar, human rights advocates were joyous over her release, and the promise of what it could mean for Burma and the U.S.

Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?

In her own country she’s an uncrowned queen; a slight, fragile but unbending figure glimpsed by few but known to all as The Lady. Beyond it, she has become an icon, a universal symbol of courage, endurance and peaceful resistance, a new Mandela.

The word’s a commonplace but Aung San Suu Kyi really is a legend: daughter of the man who won Burma its independence from the British, but who was assassinated when she was barely two; a political leader herself who for the past 22 years has headed, with a delicate but compelling charisma and unimaginable determination, her nation’s “second struggle for independence”; a prisoner of one kind or another for 15 of the past 20 years; and winner, in 1991, of the Nobel peace prize.

Those who have met her (which isn’t many, recently) speak of a beauty every bit as striking as the photographs, a proud poise and a demure gentility acquired, certainly, at the Anglo-Indian finishing school she attended in New Delhi, where her mother was ambassador.

She apparently also has, though, a quick and by no means prim wit and an infectious giggle. Not, by all accounts – including her own – a born political strategist, she knows precisely the system her country needs, if not precisely how to get there. Her Nobel citation called her a shining example of “the power of the powerless”.

Born on 19 June, 1945, two years before independence, Aung San Suu Kyi – the name means “a bright collection of strange victories” – left Burma with her mother in 1960. In 1964 she was at St Hugh’s, Oxford, studying politics, philosophy and economics. A friend, Ann Pasternak Slater, recalls her “tight, trim lungi [Burmese sarong] and her upright carriage, her firm moral convictions and inherited social grace”.

She worked as a research assistant at the University of London and then for the UN in New York. She got engaged to Michael Aris in 1971, and wrote to him every day before their marriage the following year: “I only ask one thing,” she said: “That should my people need me, you would help me to do my duty by them.” She added: “I am beset by fears that circumstances and national considerations might tear us apart.”

It took 16 years for that need to arise. Michael and Aung San Suu Kyi’s first son, Alexander, was born in London in 1973, followed by their second, Kim, in Oxford, where Michael had a junior fellowship. She resumed her own academic career, teaching Burmese studies and taking research assignments first in Japan, and then in India. One evening in Oxford in late March 1988, the boys in bed, Aung San Suu Kyi took the phone call that changed her life: her mother had suffered a severe stroke.

Back in Burma, the military dictatorship that had run the country since 1962 was suppressing a student-led protest movement. On 8 August 1988, soldiers fired into a peaceful demonstration, killing up to 5,000 protesters. Barely two weeks later, Aung Sun Suu Kyi addressed 500,000 people at the great Schwedagon pagoda in Rangoon. As her father’s daughter, she said, she could not stand by. “True,” she said, “I have lived abroad. It is also true that I am married to a foreigner. These facts have never lessened my love and my devotion for my country.” She demanded freedom and democracy, a multi-party government, and free and fair elections.

The rest is as sad as it is familiar. The National League for Democracy was formed with Aung San Suu Kyi as its general secretary.

“We listened to the voice of the people, that our policies might be in harmony with their legitimate needs and aspirations,” Aung San Suu Kyi wrote. “We explained why, in spite of its inevitable flaws, we considered democracy to be better than other political systems. Most important, we sought to make them understand why we believed political change was best achieved through non-violent means.”

Despite detentions and intimidation, the NLD won 82% of the seats in Burma’s parliament in the 1990 elections, whose results the dictatorship have never recognised. Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest until 1995, and then banned from travelling. In 1999 her husband died of cancer in London; had she left the country to visit him, she would never have been allowed back in. Detained again in 2000, released again in 2002, she was rearrested once more in May 2003. Her phone line cut, her post blocked and her NLD colleagues banned from visiting her, she has lived under house arrest at her home on University Avenue, Rangoon, ever since, writing, reading, exercising and meditating. Not even the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, was allowed to meet her on a visit in 2009.

Then John Yettaw, a confused American, swam across the lake by her house to see her, ensuring she was charged and convicted with breaking the terms of her house arrest and sentenced to 18 months further house arrest – until tomorrow, a convenient six days after Burma’s recent elections. “It is not power that corrupts, but fear,” Aung San Suu Kyi once wrote. “Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” But even under the “most crushing state machinery, courage rises up again and again. For fear is not the natural state of man.”

Jon Henley
guardian.co.uk, Friday 12 November 2010 19.12 GMT

************

I wanted to honor Suu Kyi, Burma’s first lady of freedom, as a “wonderful woman of the world”, today. I too am joyous over her release, and HOPE that it is the last. With her calm but passionate manner, she is a strong, resilient and relentless advocate of freedom and democracy for her country, and to many, including me,  an inspiration and a voice of HOPE.

In light of the state of our country, our own democracy, I think of the words that Suu Kyi said to the New York Times, “To achieve democracy we need to create a network, not just in our country but around the world. I will try to do that. If you do nothing you get nothing.”

“…a network…around the world…If you do nothing you get nothing. I am HOPEing that many of my readers will be inspired to do something, in some way, shape or form. If even only an hour a week in support of something that  helps move our country towards peace, equality, whatever…whatever you feel passionate about that is for the betterment of all...in our country and in our world.

When I end my write with the words, “PEACE OUT”, I don’t just mean, I am signing off with peace…it means that I am sending peace out…out to the world. But that alone is not enough.

I ask you in a country where complacency is common, to allow yourself to be moved…to be inspired by someone or something. Whether it be Suu Kyi or someone else, or peace…or something else…spread peace through some sort of action.

PEACE OUT….

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good Morning.

Jackie: You brought up “civility”. This one’s for you.

Have you heard of ”Civility Project“? I hadn’t until recently. In short, Mark DeMoss, a Republican, founded a project to promote civility in politics. Pretty cool – catchy name – right to the point, right?

CivilityProject.org was started in January 2009: “…because of alarm over what he saw as the increasingly vicious tone in American politics. He asked his friend, Lanny J. Davis, a Jewish Democrat and a lobbyist who worked for President Bill Clinton, to join the effort.”

So check this out:

They sent out 585 letters asking every sitting governor and member of Congress to sign a pledge that said:

I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.

I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.

I will stand against incivility when I see it.

Well “Civility Project” may be a catchy name but signing this pledge didn’t catch on. Out of the 585 letters sent out, just how many do you think signed the pledge?

I’ll whisper it because it is embarrassing to say the least.

Three.

Yes you read it right: Three (3)

Needless to say, after two years and $30,000 in expenses, DeMoss has decided to quit the project. Here’s the write.

Mark DeMoss Disbands ‘Civility Project,’ Citing Conservative Attacks, Grim View On Discourse

Mark DeMoss, director of the Civility Project, a two-year-old effort launched at the beginning of the Obama presidency to prompt legislators across the nation to cool political rhetoric, decided to shut the campaign down earlier this month — even before the latest resurgence of debate about “vitriol” and rhetoric sparked by the events in Arizona over the weekend.

DeMoss, an evangelical conservative with ties to some big-name Republicans, cited a general lack of interest, as well as pervading signs that the nature of political discourse appeared only to be deteriorating during Obama’s first two years as president, as justifications for halting his program.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, DeMoss provided a little insight about how his project was received by some on the right.

“The worst e-mails I received about the civility project were from conservatives with just unbelievable language about communists, and some words I wouldn’t use in this phone call,” DeMoss told The Times. “This political divide has become so sharp that everything is black and white, and too many conservatives can see no redeeming value in any liberal or Democrat. That would probably be true about some liberals going the other direction, but I didn’t hear from them.”

The pledge he sent to 585 sitting representatives, senators and governors in early 2009, asking them to sign on to the project’s three tenets, was simple:

I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.

I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.

I will stand against incivility when I see it.

Yet two years after the launching of the initiative, he had only three signatures: Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Reps. Frank Wolfe (R-Va.) and Sue Myrick (R-N.C.).

“You three were alone in pledging to be civil,” wrote DeMoss in a release this month announcing the closure of the group. “I must admit to scratching my head as to why only three members of Congress, and no governors, would agree to what I believe is a rather low bar.”

While the lack of positive response appears to have been disheartening to DeMoss, he refrained from suggesting that there was any connection between increasingly contentious political discussions and the devastating violence in Arizona over the weekend.

“Whether or not there’s violence, whether or not incivility today is worse than it’s been in history, it’s all immaterial,” he told The Times. “It’s worse than it ought to be.”

Readers: It seems the “right” couldn’t even be civil when it came to sending e-mails to DeMoss with respect to his project. No surprise that they didn’t want to sign the pledge to be civil in politics. But hey, with only “three” signing, the “right” nor the “left” is looking good.

Just what does this say about our government? And the bar was set low!  Comments? Thoughts? It’s Friday…start flapping those lips.

Oh…and according to Astronomer Parke Kunkle, he says that due to the changing of the Earth’s alignment, the dates have changed, and many of us will have new astrological signs because of the additional 13th Zodiac sign: Ophiuchus.

Nope, no thanks. I was never one who paid much attention to my horoscope, but I love being an Aquarian, and I am not going to accept my new Capricorn sign. I’m just not going to change. Nothing against you Capricorns, who are now Sagittarians. :), but I don’t care about the Earth’s alignment presently. I am going by the alignment of the Earth when I was born. That sounds very logical to me. I was born an Aquarian and I will remain one. “Stand behind your sign!” Kudos to Tracey for coining that phrase. :)

Anyone else feel the same way? Blog me.

Tomei: Thanks for your additional comments. I never really looked at it the way you presented it. I understand now. Thank you.

ZL: I got your message. So sorry I haven’t gotten back to you. Work has been busy. I’ll try you this weekend.

Peace out.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

In light of yesterday’s memorial for the victims of Saturdays shooting in Arizona, President Obama gave an inspiring heartfelt speech. He summoned the souls of our nation to come together, honor those slain and injured, and become better people. Obama showed us why he is the president of the United States:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Palin on the other hand summoned sympathy on her Facebook page.  Palin showed us why she will never be president:

Sarah Palin: “America’s Enduring Strength” from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

That’s all the blog time I’m giving Palin.

Back to Obama:

“I believe we can be better,” Obama said to a capacity crowd in the university’s basketball arena – and to countless others watching around the country. “Those who died here, those who saved lives here – they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us.”

I believe those words. We can’t stop all of the evil in this world. (Of course, I could summon Madaline :) But as Obama says, “…how we treat one another is entirely up to us.” The question I ask is, “Will we? -Will we treat each other better?”

As much as I have HOPE, that people will do the right thing, the actions of people and even more so lately, the ever growing polarization of this country, is disheartening to say the least. And we’ve seen what the worst can be.

I would like to think and HOPE a tragedy like this will pull us together as a nation, and not for just a short time, but for the long haul.  As Clarence Dupnik, the Sheriff of Pima County suggested, “Let’s do a little soul searching — and then let’s get to work.”

I would like to add to that statement: “Let’s silence the egos that spew lies, and rhetoric, and racism, and summon our souls, allowing our souls to speak, and be of service.” It is a big task I am afraid. We have our work cut out for us. I feel our country is in a state of emergency, and as much as I want it to turn around, the forces of the evil ego shouting “I am better than you are” are louder than I have ever experienced. Can we silence them and bring peace, prosperity, and equality to all? Obama has the power to inspire us, but it truly is entirely up to us to make the changes that we need for our country to be better for all.

Presently, I give the people of our country a big “F” for “F”ailure. Not because of Obama; to me he has done an incredible job. But because of those “F”ighting him…those who push “F”ear, those who wish him to “F”ail, all at the expense of our country.

Can “A”merica get an “A”? Can we make America be as good as Christina Taylor Green, the 9-year old who lost her life on Saturday, imagined it? I certainly HOPE so.

Before I end I want to say that my heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims. I am so sorry for their loss. Saturday was a tragic day for many. May they all rest in peace.

And on another note..to hear that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time gives  me HOPE that  she will pull through. I wish her strength and a quick recovery.

I also want to recognize the 20-year-old intern , and hero who refuses to wear the badge of “hero”, Daniel Hernandez for his brave actions towards Giffords after she was struck. In my eyes he is a hero.

****************

Readers: I reread my write from yesterday and I have to say…it almost bummed me out reading it. I HOPE I didn’t bum any of you out. Really everything is okay. And yes, I obviously still have HOPE for this country.

Sometimes my feelings just flow through my fingers, and since the flow has not been a go lately, I guess the floodgates opened, and you got what you got. Well…I have always prided myself on the free flow of the written word, for everyone including myself, so I’m not about to start censoring now. :)

Doug: I have to smile. Yes there were some “virgin” paths as you know. And I am proud for treading them. Thank you.

Lena: And that is all anyone can do. But together we can make a difference. God, that sounds so cliché. But I know you know what I mean. :)

Inca: thank you.

Anonymous: Oh yeah…now I’ll finally know who you are. :)

Tomei: :) My pleasure. Hmm…and this “place” is sanity in your eyes. I wish more sanity for you and yours in your “place”.

Jeromy: Hmm…that is an interesting view. Thank you.

Jimmy: Thanks. :)

Kent: I agree with you.

Peace out.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

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Good morning.

As you know, I have not been feeling like saying much these past few days. I have been thinking about the time that I spend here blogging…the articles that I post…the rants that I write…the comments from the commentators that I read and respond.

And as much as I have praised Obama, fought for things that I believed in, addressed the atrocities, and so much more, I can’t help but think: What has all of my time here accomplished?  What changes have I/we been a part of over the past three and half years, since I have been blogging, that has had a grand affect in the broad scheme of it all?

I ask this not for recognition or raves. I am one who has always been hard on myself. Ask anyone who knows me. On the up side, it drives me to do better…to strive for more. And on the down side, if I don’t catch myself, I can use that excuse to fall into self-pity, wallowing in a “woe is me” attitude.

Self-pity is usually born out of my sarcasm, in the form of contemptuous complaints, when I feel like I am doing so much, and basically feeling like I am getting no where. I lose sight of the big picture, my vision narrows, and I am swallowed by the self-pity.

Thankfully it never lasts long as I am usually administered a swift kick to get over myself, which I do, and then I shake myself off and I’m back on track again…on the path of acceptance, “This is how it is…for now“, with a view that is beyond my backyard.

So why am I going on and on about this? Although I may not feel like I am doing much good writing my blog, or that I am inspiring change, or making a huge difference, I realize change takes time and I am a voice. Hopefully a logical voice…and a loud one sometimes. :)

And I, being a voice, realize that I must persevere and continue to voice with conviction. And so must you. Else we’ll drown in the never ending noise and relentless lies and rhetoric, and be victim to the atrocities from the extremist evildoers, the rabid racists, and the cold-hearted killers of this world, who will NEVER stop committing crimes…who will NEVER stop lying and shouting their spurious superiority…and who will NEVER stop killing.

So..speaking of the above…

Terror in Arizona: Just another ‘isolated incident’? Funny how that list keeps mounting

It’s fundamental to their psychology, as Digby often observes, for right-wingers to constantly portray themselves as victims — indeed, the American Right long ago mastered the art of flipping reality on its head and turning attempts to hold them accountable for their predilection for violence into a vicious and unfair attack on their honor — of turning the perpetrators into victims and the victims into perpetrators. In 1870, it was the “bloody shirt”. Today, in the wake of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, it’s the “blood libel,” as Glenn Reynolds puts it.

Indeed, the only thing more predictable than the eventuality of actual violence erupting in a climate of broadly sanctioned violent eliminationist rhetoric is the certainty that the Right will attempt to claim that any discussion of accountability and the need to examine the role our national discourse has in fomenting violence is an attempt to victimize them.

See, for instance, Tea Party Express spokesman Sal Russo this morning on Fox, attempting to claim that Jared Loughner was actually a “far left loon” (sorry, Sal, but that just won’t fly). Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin is trying to counter by claiming that it’s actually folks on the Left who’ve been purveying the ugliest rhetoric.

Predictably, there are the usual suspects among the “concerned liberal” segment likewise wringing their hands that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions (see especially Jon Chait at “even the liberal” New Republic, and Jack Shafer at Slate).

The bottom line for all of them is that this is just another “isolated incident” because Jared Loughner is just “a lone nut”.

Once again, we call that a complete cop-out.

Sure, there are lots of complicating factors, especially Loughner’s pretty clearly deranged mental state. But there are also some factors that are simply undeniable, in particular that Giffords was shot in a climate of extraordinarily heated and hateful rhetoric, including the casual associations of guns and targets with Giffords personally.

Moreover, what’s equally undeniable is that it comes amid a gradually mounting litany of violence directed against “liberal” and government targets, effectively suggesting a fresh onset of domestic terrorism from the extremist American Right.

Just in the past two and a half years, here’s the record of “isolated incidents” amassed so far:

– July 2008: A gunman named Jim David Adkisson, agitated at how “liberals” are “destroying America,” walks into a Unitarian Church and opens fire, killing two churchgoers and wounding four others.

– October 2008: Two neo-Nazis are arrested in Tennessee in a plot to murder dozens of African-Americans, culminating in the assassination of President Obama.

– December 2008: A pair of “Patriot” movement radicals — the father-son team of Bruce and Joshua Turnidge, who wanted “to attack the political infrastructure” — threaten a bank in Woodburn, Oregon, with a bomb in the hopes of extorting money that would end their financial difficulties, for which they blamed the government. Instead, the bomb goes off and kills two police officers. The men eventually are convicted and sentenced to death for the crime.

– December 2008: In Belfast, Maine, police discover the makings of a nuclear “dirty bomb” in the basement of a white supremacist shot dead by his wife. The man, who was independently wealthy, reportedly was agitated about the election of President Obama and was crafting a plan to set off the bomb.

– January 2009: A white supremacist named Keith Luke embarks on a killing rampage in Brockton, Mass., raping and wounding a black woman and killing her sister, then killing a homeless man before being captured by police as he is en route to a Jewish community center.

– February 2009: A Marine named Kody Brittingham is arrested and charged with plotting to assassinate President Obama. Brittingham also collected white-supremacist material.

– April 2009: A white supremacist named Richard Poplawski opens fire on three Pittsburgh police officers who come to his house on a domestic-violence call and kills all three, because he believed President Obama intended to take away the guns of white citizens like himself. Poplawski is currently awaiting trial.

– April 2009: Another gunman in Okaloosa County, Florida, similarly fearful of Obama’s purported gun-grabbing plans, kills two deputies when they come to arrest him in a domestic-violence matter, then is killed himself in a shootout with police.

– May 2009: A “sovereign citizen” named Scott Roeder walks into a church in Wichita, Kansas, and assassinates abortion provider Dr. George Tiller.

– June 2009: A Holocaust denier and right-wing tax protester named James Von Brunn opens fire at the Holocaust Museum, killing a security guard.

– February 2010: An angry tax protester named Joseph Ray Stack flies an airplane into the building housing IRS offices in Austin, Texas. (Media are reluctant to label this one “domestic terrorism” too.)

– March 2010: Seven militiamen from the Hutaree Militia in Michigan and Ohio are arrested and charged with plotting to assassinate local police officers with the intent of sparking a new civil war.

– March 2010: An anti-government extremist named John Patrick Bedell walks into the Pentagon and opens fire, wounding two officers before he is himself shot dead.

– May 2010: A “sovereign citizen” from Georgia is arrested in Tennessee and charged with plotting the violent takeover of a local county courthouse.

– May 2010: A still-unidentified white man walks into a Jacksonville, Fla., mosque and sets it afire, simultaneously setting off a pipe bomb.

– May 2010: Two “sovereign citizens” named Jerry and Joe Kane gun down two police officers who pull them over for a traffic violation, and then wound two more officers in a shootout in which both of them are eventually killed.

– July 2010: An agitated right-winger and convict named Byron Williams loads up on weapons and drives to the Bay Area intent on attacking the offices of the Tides Foundation and the ACLU, but is intercepted by state patrolmen and engages them in a shootout and armed standoff in which two officers and Williams are wounded.

– September 2010: A Concord, N.C., man is arrested and charged with plotting to blow up a North Carolina abortion clinic. The man, 26-year–old Justin Carl Moose, referred to himself as the “Christian counterpart to (Osama) bin Laden” in a taped undercover meeting with a federal informant.

The Giffords shooting brings the tally to 19 total cases of domestic-terrorism inspired by right-wing extremism in the past couple of years. Oh, excuse me: I meant to say “isolated incidents”. Because that is how each of these cases was treated — and how they continue to be reported by the mainstream media, particularly at Fox, which generally does not report on them at all.

We’d like to ask Glenn Reynolds and Michelle Malkin: Exactly how many left-wingers can you find out there who walk into churches, museums and political rallies and shoot people in the head?

When you can name any, then maybe we can talk about how ugly the Left is getting. Until then, all the focus is going to be on the angry people creating a climate in which extremist, unhinging right-wing rhetoric is widely broadcast and officially condoned by supposedly “mainstream” conservatives — at the very top of the food chain, and through the Right’s prominent mass-media organs. That, frankly, is as it should be. Because the toll is mounting.

**************

Readers: So the “right” claims that it is the “left” that are the “extremists”.

Okay..so just who is propagating this hunting permit?

It’s obvious it certainly isn’t liberals.

And remember Joe Wilson’s shout out to the President, “You lie!”. Just who do you think is etching that slogan onto a line of assault rifle components? Yes, you read it “right” and yes, you guessed it “right” – The gun loving, gun carrying “right”.

“Palmetto State Armory would like to honor our esteemed congressman Joe Wilson with the release of our new ‘You Lie’ AR-15 lower receiver,” reads a portion of the company’s website.

The product “is neither endorsed nor affiliated with Joe Wilson or his campaign,” according to a line of text at the bottom of the page. A picture of Wilson holding a rifle and standing in the company’s gun shop appears on the same page. The company offers the components, marked “MULTI to accommodate most builds,” for $99.95 apiece.

“Only 999 of these will be produced, get yours before they are gone!” the website reads.

If you go to the home page of Palmetto State Armory, you can listen to an endorsement by Glenn Beck!

Screenshot from front page of Palmetto State Armory website where you can push button to listen to Glenn Beck’s radio ad for them.

Yeehaw!! Get yer gun before it’s gone!

This is just so sick. I don’t know about you, but there has to be something illegal happening here. How can a slogan like this, under the contect that it was said to the President of the United States, be etched on the parts of a weapon that is used to kill? Isn’t this inspiring a political assassination of the president? Is this taking freedom of speech just a bit too far?

I know that saying this slogan on a weapon puts the president in “imminent” danger may be an exaggeration and taking it too far, but in these times and in light of the Arizona shooting, maybe not.

This may not be a direct threat to assassinate the president, but in my opinion, to the small minds of the crazies out there, this slogan etched on a gun can certainly be read as a summons…a message, to assassinate Obama with this gun.

So what next? Are they going to post a reward, that will be given to one of the 999 gun holders that owns the weapon, that kills Obama? And just what is anyone doing about it? Once again, I can’t help but say that if we had a white president, one could never get away with such heinous actions without consequences.

I am just sickened by the thought. Is this crossing anyone else’s mind?

Anna of Guam: I love the idea. I HOPE that someone here is reading and will give it a try too. Hafa Adai.

Hank: Yes it can be. But what would life be without it. :)

ZL: Thank you. I am available almost anytime today in my office after 11:00 am or later afternoon Thursday or Friday. Hopefully you can catch me, otherwise leave a message and I’ll call you back.

I’m done. Thoughts? I know you have some. Blog me.

Peace out.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"