Tuesday, May 6, 2003

Arise All Women QUOTE OF THE DAY "Arise, then women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts, whether our baptism be that of water or of tears! We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience." - - Julia War Howe (in 1870) MAY 6th IN HISTORY: 1970 - - Congressional hearings begin on ratification of Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution. Meanwhile, Stanford University experiences its "worst riots in its history". Between May 6th & about the 20th, student strikes disrupt 448 colleges, involving at least 1 million students (some historians say as many as "4 million students"). The strikes occurred at 750 plus campuses (out of 2500 nationwide) with demonstrations against sending troops to Cambodia (PDF, 92k) at over 1200 campuses. RHINO HERE: If anyone doubts the dire need for the citizens of the U.S.A. to work at convincing their relatives & friends to register & vote, I think the articulate essay by Jill Nelson linked below could convince them. And if anyone doubts the possibility of getting shrub & company out of La Casa Blanca in 2004, consider that half of the Americans of voting age, aren't registered, and half of the Americans that are registered, don't vote. In some ways I can't blame them cause seeing how the political system can turn even a good person into a cynical compromiser can be depressing enough to turn people way off. But this time, 2004, is so important. Rhino wonders, "Is there a candidate in the current crop of democrats that is so uncynical & strong & smart that they could inspire, with our help, all those non-voters to come out of the woodwork?" THE BOTTOM LINE today is one of several responses I received to my inquiry yesterday asking for reactions to Saturday night's debate. The writer will remain anonymous but Ill tell you 3 things about her, 1) That I said "her" is the first. In the spirit of "Arise All Women" & Mothers Day week, it's a she. 2) She doesn't wanna shout rash judgments as endorsements or condemnations, but is eager to provoke discussion 3) The Rhino, personally, agrees with everything she's said here. Couldn't have said it better myself. A mean-spirited America - Today, I fear my own government more than I do terrorists By Jill Nelson, MSNBC, 5/2/03 These days, a sense of apprehension and foreboding lurks in the back of my head and the pit of my stomach. It's a gut-wrenching reminder that something very bad has happened and is about to happen anew. It is an anticipation of the next insult and injury in an America that has been defined under the Bush administration by a profound meanness of spirit... THE ENTIRE ESSAY IS AT: http://www.msnbc.com/news/907766.asp#BODY See Jill Nelson's book, "STRAIGHT, NO CHASER; How I became A Grownup Black Woman" at: http://www.afrobookstop.com/g0399142622.html SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MOTHERS DAY EVENT FOR PEACE PEACE ON THE BEACH & CODEPINK TAKE MOTHER'S DAY BACK TO HER ROOTS… A DAY IN 1870 WHEN WOMEN ASSEMBLED -- FOR PEACE! On MOTHER'S DAY, Sunday, May 11th, 2:00 - 4:00 pm PEACE ON THE BEACH and CODEPINK will bring together thousands of mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, mothers to be, their families and friends - to reclaim Mother's Day from commercialism and platitudes, to celebrate women's political engagement in society, and to continue the call for an International Movement of Women for Peace. We remind the world with our peaceful presence -- Mother knows best! Commentator, author and activist, ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, and Ohio Representative, Democratic Presidential Candidate, and author of the initiative for the Department of Peace, DENNIS KUCINICH, will kick off the event at 2:00 pm, followed by other special guests and musical performances. http://www.peaceonthebeach.com NATIONAL CODE PINK MOTHERS DAY ACTIONS POSTED AT: http://www.codepinkalert.org/ 8:30:42 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Rhino's Blog Reader Reacts To Debate A Rhino's Blog Reader Reacts to The South Carolina Democratic presidential Debate Gary -- Thanks for this opportunity to debrief. I saw the debate on CSPAN last night. Along with the video of the shmoozing beforehand at the Democrats' big dinner, which was illuminating. Politics has in common with showbiz that horrible sign of phoniness: "Nice to see you!" as a safe greeting. You don't take the chance that, in saying "Nice to meet you!" to someone you've never seen before, you might be offending someone who HAS shaken hands or met you before, and they'll be hurt and angry that you don't remember. John Kerry shook many hands, looking right in the faces of people who told him "I'm so glad to meet you!" and he said, right back, never-changing, "Nice to see you." I went in rooting for Dennis Kucinich and having been impressed with Howard Dean in person, so wanting to see him on TV. Kucinich -- rock solid honest, terrier-like persistence, freedom from single message. Good statement when Stephanopolous asked about Cleveland's default predicting national fiscal disaster. He's refreshing because he has nothing to lose, and doesn't attempt to seduce or cajole the voter. He assumes you're listening to what he says, and if you like it, you'll like him. At the same time, he has a very likable elfin energy with a genuine smile that was sorely lacking anywhere else around the table. Dean - He did suffer from appearing to have something to lose: momentum. It gave him a bristling defensiveness that was not apparent when he spoke to an adoring crowd in LA recently. Then, he was the Good Doctor. I suppose the Angry-at-letting-people-suffer Doctor is even more necessary, but it was distressing to see how easily Dean let that anger be manipulated into one-on-one discussion with Kerry, as if he already believed it was a two-man race, and his job was to dethrone Kerry in this debate. His job was to introduce himself to Democrats, and it was unseemly that he was introduced as a man already playing King of the Mountain within the party. I also thought his remark that "This is part entertainment" -- to justify entering the conflict with Kerry -- was unfortunate. No, it's not entertainment, Howard. With Hollywood on your side, someone better explain that to you immediately: Hollywood entertains. Washington governs. Washington can mean the difference between life and death with the stroke of a pen; Hollywood doesn't have that immediate power (though its cultural power is huge, with life and death also in the balance as a result.) It's AWFUL to hear a politician accepting the mandate to entertain. I hope someone gets that out of his repertoire and his head ASAP. My husband, who'd never seen him before, thought he seemed too smug, too soon. That aside -- and I think that mistake might be due to his campaign advice, which might be too aggressive to have stayed clear on who the audience was for this debate -- Dean's message was great. I am still on his side (along with Dennis, who really is my favorite) but if I could get to his campaign I'd warn that Howard has a McCain-like quality that the other side can too easily manipulate -- even without Dean doing anything, I fear! --to make him seem too volatile and moved to pugnacity to rule. Though it's just what George W has, so it'd be the pot calling the kettle black. It's just an impression from last night, but the nervousness that erupts at important moments is telling, and I hope Dean's campaign has people who can unwind it in Howard. He was best when he said why he got in the race -- because no-one else was giving the country the message he knows (and I agree) is necessary in all its elements. "Wrong war at wrong time" leaves open the question he doesn't answer: What's the right war at the right time? Dennis Kucinich is MUCH better about military and defense; he acknowledges we need it, at the same time offering much more support to addressing root causes, along with the background that testifies he won't back down when he's defending his beliefs. Mosley-Brown -- YES! Loved her. She would be a great President. Probably the nation's not ready for her candidacy in the top position -- but I hope she's top choice for veep. Why would I relegate her to second position so soon? Racism? Sexism? Politics. But I'm sending money to her campaign today; she should be in this race and her election would be a miracle of sanity if it happened. Edwards -- I liked Edwards. I don't know much about him, but everything he said in response to questioning was great. He listened very openly, and spoke openly; I felt I was seeing a candidate without any handlers at all. Only in his final statement, about where he was from, did I detect the strategy of "Small-town me" that I fear leaves out any principled action on real problems of the crowded places in this country: schools, housing, health, security. Gramm -- As my husband said, "Why would the Democrats elect a politician from Florida who couldn't even deliver his state to Gore?" Why indeed. Really a throwback from LBJ days; I know the Florida Democrats have some nice qualities -standing up to the Cuban right wing can't be pleasant -- but we're past the era of silver foxes rich with political capital to buy favors. Florida's also crawling with CIA front businesses; I think it carries too much baggage to be of help in our new and complex international situation. Lieberman -- I'm sorry, but no. He, too, is smug; one fears he has it all wrapped up somehow. But -- no. One cannot help but think about the central destabilizing issue for the world, and how would Leiberman handle it -- Israel and Palestine? No comment from any candidate, but why can't Democrat Lieberman state a vision different from the GOP and make it a wonderful reason to make him our candidate? I find his hawkishness on Iraq and his silence on the rest of the world very unsettling, and it makes me not trust him. Kerry -- Also no. Too careful, too old-school. If he thinks differently from a candidate of the early seventies, he doesn't say anything to prove it to me. He seems like a man in a time warp, protected by the protocols of the Senate which seem to have defined his career and personality. As my husband said, "They shouldn't let Senators run, because they've been too protected from the real effect of issues." It's all "my esteemed colleague" and "the gentleman from such-and-such" disguising peevishness about being wounded on little issues of procedure and power protocol. The world has outrun all that. He can be in the Cabinet, or stay in the Senate. Sharpton -- I was impressed beyond expectation. I still remember Tawana Brawley, in which all of us were misled, or maybe not, but the truth got muddier and more sordid and he was right in the middle, shouting. But he and I have grown up, and I like his message. The ducktail hair was wonderful, but I'm not sure everyone will like it as much as I do. I'm glad Al doesn't seem to care. "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. 7:14:19 AM    comment

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