Not the Right Color, Not "Schiavo" Enough...

If you're not the right color, if you're poor, if you're depending on public healthcare rather than a large legal settlement for the rest of your life, if you don't create a media shitstorm, you don't stand a chance.

How do you think Wanda Hudson feels today after last nights macabre fiasco?

Baby dies after hospital removes breathing tube:

...at 2 p.m. Tuesday, a medical staffer at Texas Children's Hospital gently removed the breathing tube that had kept Sun Hudson alive since his birth Sept. 25. Cradled by his mother, he took a few breaths, and died.

"I talked to him, I told him that I loved him. Inside of me, my son is still alive," Wanda Hudson told reporters afterward. "This hospital was considered a miracle hospital. When it came to my son, they gave up in six months. ... They made a terrible mistake."

Sun's death marks the first time a U.S. judge has allowed a hospital to discontinue an infant's life-sustaining care against a parent's wishes, according to bioethical experts. A similar case involving a 68-year-old man in a vegetative state at another Houston hospital is before a court now...

I'm sure that Tom DeLie is rounding up support right now to ensure continuity of life support for the older gentleman...

Update, 10:50AM - Well, well. It looks like DeLie actually did "round up support" at the last moment for the older gentleman. Atrios reports.

I Don't Like Mondays

What's on your mind today?

Since we haven't run an open thread for awhile - give us the juice! It's not like there's a lack of material this morning, that's for sure. So, vent your spleen, and maybe you'll see your spleen venting promoted to a front page story.

It's your turn...

Add Your Voice and Words

It's 10:30PM EST on Palm Sunday. Want a front row seat for watching democracy being dismantled in the halls of congress tonight? Just flip on CNN. They've gone "all Schiavo, all the time".

For the first time, I am truly scared for the future of this country. I've been pissed for a long time, but tonight I am truly scared. What's happening tonight is a complete and total disregard for the separation of the branches of government as mandated by the Constitution. I'm not exaggerating a bit when I tell you that I think that what's happening tonight is every bit as important as the events of 9/11/2001.

Thanks to Lindsay at Majikthise, here's the link to the Democracy Cell Project call for a blogswarm that was posted at 9:45PM. Click over and write your email now - 12:01AM will be too late.

Enough's enough. Write an email, then head to chat if you'd like to discuss...

This Is No Movie. This Is Real.

According to my most favorite of all-time Peanuts' cartoons that is, which has been on the refrigerator for years... I cleaned up the scan a bit. It is still perfectly in keeping with my overlook today on the Happy Planet. I've been incommunicado, in deep hunker-down... but I'm still here and thinking about the ASZ Lovlies and the rest of us on the bus. Just loonier than usual.

The Culture Wars End Today

The three ring media circus over a corpse that remains technically functional, yet who's human spirit departed her earthly bonds so long ago, continues in earnest today. As I type this blog entry, both houses of congress are poised to bastardize the limits of legislative (and perhaps moral) authority as it attempts to deal with the Schiavo case.

This whole situation has gone well beyond extraordinary. The country is going to hell in a handbasket. The planet is going to hell in a handbasket. Hundreds of thousands of functional people will die around the world today from war, state sponsored genocide, starvation, AIDS, spousal abuse, execution, gang violence, narco terrorism, and many other social causes, yet the U.S. congress would never, in a million legislative days (the measurement of time in Washington, DC), consider meeting in emergency session to deal with those issues. Never. Yet they meet today to deal with the moral question of a brain dead woman being allowed to depart this mortal coil with some modicum of decency.

The Schiavo case has gone well beyond the realm of the sublime and absurd, and entered the venue of the ghoulish. But you know what? America is getting what the majority voted for, just like ANWR. Bitch, whine, and moan all you want, but there's not a goddamn thing you or I can do about it. Progressives do not have the media reach. We do not have the high profile pitchmen (and women) who are willing to put everything on the line and pull out all the stops to wake up a nearly completely comatose America. DOCTOR Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, makes a bullshit eighth-hand medical diagnosis for the media, and the TASS-US stenos dutifully lap it up. DOCTOR Howard Dean, newly elected chairman of the DNC, says nothing publicly.

The hypocrisy is, indeed, stunning. Liz at Blondesense comments this morning:

Bush is changing his plans this weekend to rush to sign emergency legislation that might save Terry Schiavo's life if he can get federal judges to rule on this case. This from a man who had no problem signing a law to allow hospitals to pull life support from patients whose bennies had run out, were probably less sick than Schiavo and of course were of the brown skinned persuasion. This from the culture of life man who signed more execution orders than any other governor. This from the man who started a goddamned war in Iraq dragging young men and women from America to fight for his whimsy, get killed or mutilated and then shaft them...

The most absurd thing is that this is no longer about Terri Schiavo. You know it and I know it. It's about unbridled abuse of power. It's one of the final shots in the culture war for the collective soul of America.

And we lost.

Don't just take my word for it, either. Here's a learned legal opinion:

...Look, there is no other way to put it: this is the most blatant and egregious power-grab by one branch over another in my lifetime. Congress is intruding so far into the power of the judiciary, on behalf of a single family, that it is breathtaking.

---

Update, 3:30PM - The Corpse Reanimation and Tent Revival Faith Healing Act of 2005 failed make it past the House on a voice vote. Democrats are forcing the GOP to go on record. There's little doubt that this legislation will pass and be forwarded to the Senate for quick action, but not today. Dennis Hastert has signaled that he'll call another vote as early as 12:01AM Monday - if he can get enough congressional representatives (218 votes and two-thirds of the House) back to Washington from their Easter recess.

Update, 4:30PM - The Washington Post has published an excerpt from a memo that was circulated among GOP Senators:

...An unsigned one-page memo, distributed to Republican senators, said the debate over Schiavo would appeal to the party's base, or core, supporters. The memo singled out Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who is up for reelection next year and is potentially vulnerable in a state President Bush won last year.

"This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue," said the memo, which was reported by ABC News and later given to The Washington Post. "This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a cosponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats...

Can we now dispense with the myth that the GOP faux outrage over this issue actually has anything at all to do with Terri Schiavo? Thank you.

Update, 10:45AM, 3.21.05 - Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings commits the definitive last words on the Schiavo case to the blogosphere.

Peace Reigns in Philadelphia as Well

Around 200 were gathered tonight at City Hall, that tarnished yet proud wedding cake of a building. It was appropriate to end there, underneath the statue of William Penn (that's William Penn on your left there), the Quaker who started this Commonwealth. Quakers are for peace, after all, and they are influential in this area.

The crowd was quiet as the names of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware soldiers who had died in Iraq were read. Nathan, a frail 12 year old stood beside me. I met him and his mother after, but his expression during the reading of the names captured me. His was a mop of unruly hair, and his mouth was crooked in such a way as to hint at an mischievous nature, but the boy was rapt by the reading of the names, his eyes glistening in the light of the candle he held. Were they tears in his eyes, or hope?

Nathan and the young everywhere in this country are our future, and his innocent understanding of the gravity of the moment gives me hope. As I stood during the reading of those names and watched that serious boy I could not help but hear the kids on their skateboards in the distance, doing their tricks on the grounds of City Hall. And yet, it was not the contrast I imagined, callow youths versus Nathan's seriousness, for by the end of the reading the skateboarders had approached and raised their arms with peace signs. The image was odd -- almost like these skateboard punks were channelling Tommy Smith and John Carlos from the Mexico City Olympics, for in those peace signs of theirs was a kind of power that was honest.

We all sang "We Shall Overcome" at the end, and Nathan's high voice joined mine and my friend Stephanie's more adult and less beautiful tones. Indeed, the power of all our voices was sweet and pierced through the traffic just a couple dozen feet away. I have not been so moved in a church in a very long time, but it was not a church, except to those who had gathered to make it so. By the end of the song, we were all smiling, perhaps at the comradery, perhaps at the notion that even a couple hundred can do much.

Tomorrow there will be another gathering for peace at the historic Friends' Meeting House at the corner of Fourth and Arch Streets in Old City, Philadelphia, just three blocks from Independence Hall and a block from Benjamin Franklin's grave. It is sponsored by the Brandywine Peace Community (cClick on the blog link for detailed information about the March). Among the speakers is Michael Berg, who is called a traitor by the wing dings, but is merely the father of Nicholas Berg.

I will go to this march as well. I will listen to the speeches, and in the end I will have spent an important and meaningful Palm Sunday. As is customary for tourists and for Philadelphia citizens, on my way home I will drop a penny on Ben's grave (the picture of his grave is on the right). It is sort of like a wishing well thing. If the penny rolls off the limestone slab, then one's wish is not granted, or so tradition says. My wish will be for many more folks in this world to understand that peace is the first duty of any religion. Peace is what Jesus taught, and while I am rarely of a religious mind, in this season working for peace is the most important work any of us can do.

Bless you, ASZers.

Peace Moves in the Reddest State

I just got back from an anti-war march and rally in downtown Salt Lake City, of all places.

Before heading downtown, I anticipated minimal turnout, maybe less than 50, but I was pleasantly surprised by an amount of people that was probably closer to 300. Along the march, many drivers constantly honked in support, while others held their hands out the windows making peace signs and cheering for us.

Granted, this was in Salt Lake City, which is one of the two most liberal areas in the state (the other being the environmentalist haven of Moab) and is represented in the House by a moderate Democrat who just won his first re-election. However, this also the headquarters of the LDS church, the religious organization which largely supports conservative stances on social and economic issues.

We did have the police following us around with video cameras, which was somewhat disconcerting, and one or two people that heckled us, but I was very pleased with how well we were received.

There were veterans' organizations, gay rights groups, feminists, union supporters, plenty of students, the elderly, small children, Christian pastors, musicians, and even some high schoolers that took part in the demonstrations. I'm looking forward to seeing the newspaper and evening news coverage of the events to see how the demonstrators are portrayed.

Does anyone else have stories to share of similar activities today?

Sanitized for Your Convenience

In case you haven't noticed, the venerable journalism trade publication, Editor and Publisher, is really doing some nice work these days. It's like they've recognized a niche that's not being filled in mainstream media, and they're running with it like the wind. Props go out to E&P Senior Editor Joe Strupp, with who I exchanged a couple of nice emails during the height of Gannongate.

And who knew? Strupp does a nice job covering topics other than gay hookers in the White House press room.

Study: Media Self-Censored Some Iraq Coverage

...One of the most significant findings was 'the amount of editing that went into content after it was gathered but before it was published,' the study stated. Of those who reported from Iraq, 15% said that on one or more occasions their organizations edited material for publication and they did not believe the final version accurately represented the story.

Of those involved in war coverage who were in newsrooms and not in Iraq, 20% said material was edited for reasons other than basic style and length.

Some 42% of those polled said they were discouraged from showing photographic images of dead Americans, while 17% said they were prohibited. Journalists were also discouraged from showing pictures of hostages, according to 36% of respondents, while only 3% reported being prohibited from showing them...

Surprise, surprise.

We haven't been getting the full story from Iraq. And realize, this is "self censoring" of the stuff the military censors let out...so it's even more watered down than it appears at first blush.

Example: do you have any idea what really happened in Fallujah, and what the place looked like in December after the razing? Nope. Why?

Saturday Sex Blogging

"Abstinence-based sex education" is all the rage in public school systems across the country. In fact, an argument could be made that one of the keys to the current fundamentalist hammerlock on domestic U.S. social policies started in the public school systems - with sex education.

An article in the Washington Post this morning on the ineffectiveness of "virginity pledges" will certainly spark some debate:

Teenagers who take virginity pledges -- public declarations to abstain from sex -- are almost as likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted disease as those who never made the pledge, an eight-year study released yesterday found.

Although young people who sign a virginity pledge delay the initiation of sexual activity, marry at younger ages and have fewer sexual partners, they are also less likely to use condoms and more likely to experiment with oral and anal sex, said the researchers from Yale and Columbia universities.

"The sad story is that kids who are trying to preserve their technical virginity are, in some cases, engaging in much riskier behavior," said lead author Peter S. Bearman, a professor at Columbia's Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy. "From a public health point of view, an abstinence movement that encourages no vaginal sex may inadvertently encourage other forms of alternative sex that are at higher risk of STDs."...

So, that got me to thinking. The hotbed of the "just say NO" movement is most certainly in the heart of red state America. You can look it up. Here's an interesting little factoid - putting aside the subject of STD's, teen pregnancy rates (the most obvious unintended consequence of unprotected teen sex) is highest in the states where prevention just isn't discussed in the genteel confines of the halls of secondary education.

According to a Guttmacher Institute study released last year, the top 10 states in terms of teen pregnancy rates are:

Nevada
Arizona
Mississippi
New Mexico
Texas
Florida
California
Georgia
North Carolina
Arkansas

Ok, so California's an outlier. What else is new. The same study found that, for the most part, the lowest teen pregnancy rate (and, it would stand to reason, STD transmission) are those states where comprehensive sex education is mandated in the school systems.

It's hard to argue with empirical evidence, but then, the Calvanists among us never let a little hard science get in the way of puritanical social engineering.

Tomorrow is the 2nd Anniversary of the WMD War on Iraq

We all know the reasons for the war that the Pretzelnit gave us. We all know the destruction of cities that ensued, the deaths of tens of thousands of men women and children. I could go on and on.

In Philadelphia there will be a Peace Vigil organized by The Sojourners. Indeed, Sojourners is organizing the events all over the country, and you will likely find one near you.

I am not much for this type of event, but I might be able to convince my fiancee to head over there. We're buying her a bike tomorrow. Maybe we'll ride up to the Art Museum.

Good night, folks. God Bless.

Sometimes, POV Doesn't Matter

I've been avoiding the Terri Schiavo story like the plague today. To be honest, I have mixed feelings. In the past, I've blogged about capital punishment, and how those who argue vociforously on Schiavo's behalf also have no problem with the death penalty for teenagers or the mentally incompetent.

So, if you'd care to offer your own personal feelings as this tragic story bounces around in the news this afternoon, please do in the comments.

From the current Kos open thread: a site with unbiased information from both sides of the argument...

Sometimes there are no winners.

Fighting Bush's State-Sponsored Propaganda Machine

It's the real deal now, folks. The Republican Party and the State have merged.

Pay attention specifically to the URL of the previous link, the title and obvious intent of the site, and the footer at the bottom of the site that reads "U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Public Affairs".

As Dave, from Seeing The Forest, puts it:

You might not realize it yet but what you're looking at on this web page is the scariest thing that has happened in America in a very long time. It's the government telling you to support The Party.

Let me make this as clear as possible. You are supporting the Bush agenda when it comes to demolishing Social Security, because your taxdollars are being used to fund this website and programs with the same goal.

Now, before you go clean up the shards of glass that used to be your coffee mug and hate me for ruining your Friday morning, take note of this legalese.

No part of any funds appropriated in this or any other Act shall be used by an agency of the executive branch, other than for normal and recognized purposes, for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for the preparation, distribution or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, radio, television or film presentation designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress, except in presentation to the Congress itself.

The above language is found in the Act known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2005 (requires Adobe Acrobat). Specifically, this is Sec. 621 in Title VI (General Provisions) of Division H (Transportation, Treasury, Independent Agencies, General Gov't Appropriations) of the Act. Section 621 is found on page 470, Title VI begins on page 464, and Division H begins on page 391.

While this may seem to directly prohibit Bush's use of funds for his propaganda division, we need to remember that Bush's lawyers doubtlessly believe they have found ways to cover the administration's collective ass against what seems to clearly be a violation of the spirit of the law. One such loophole is that the terms of "publicity" and "propaganda" have never been clearly defined, and thus, the GAO currently interprets possible violations of similar "publicity and propaganda clauses" on a case-by-case basis.

Additionally, it could possibly be argued that this clause relates only legislation pending before Congress. Could this be the reason why Bush continues to state that he has not clearly defined a plan yet?

But he expressed astonishment that people constantly refer to "Bush's plan": "I haven't laid out a plan," he said. "I've laid out some ideas that I think ought to be considered for a plan, and that's what's important for people to know.

However, the language of Sec. 621 does seem to distinguish between "publicity and propaganda purposes" themselves and the "preparation [of media] designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress". In the case of such an interpretation, the loophole mentioned above would likely not apply and hold up in court.

Regardless, it is obvious that Bush's efforts here run contrary to the spirit of the appropriations. With a Republican-controlled Congress and a media that refuses to cover any story requiring mental faculties above that of an average 6th grader to understand, it will be up to the blogosphere to press the issue and possibly convince the GAO to investigate. Its been done with other Bush propaganda efforts such as Armstrong Williams; it can be done again.

Thanks to reader and commenter maxcrat for pointing out this language to me and getting me started in the hunt to find it in the latest version of the Act that has been signed into law.

Republicans Running for Cover on Social Security

It's been mentioned a few places that the Republicans are changing their tactics. They've found that Town Hall Meetings merely give good Americans to tell them they're full of crap, so they're closing the doors. They're going underground to littler meetings. Pennsylvania's own Rick Santorum tells us why:

This month, Republican leaders say they are chucking the open town-hall format. They plan to visit newspaper editorial boards and talk to constituents at Rotary Club lunches, senior citizen centers, chambers of commerce meetings and local businesses. In those settings, "there isn't an opportunity for it to disintegrate into something that's less desirable," says Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.

Republican leaders are urging their party's lawmakers to take the spotlight off themselves by convening panels of experts from the Social Security Administration, conservative think tanks, local colleges and like-minded interest groups to answer questions about the federal retirement program.

The shift in venues and formats, Santorum says, is aimed at producing "more of an erudite discussion" about Social Security's problems and possible solutions.

Real Americans and real opinions are evidently "undesirable" to Santorum. That isn't surprising. But it IS surprising the knows how to use the word "erudite."

One thing we know, he and his fellow Republicans seeking to destroy Social Security are going to get some cover from Progress for America, whose stated goal is to "Our efforts are designed to enhance the general public’s knowledge about issues of importance to the country." How is supporting Republicans in their propaganda plans an act of enhancing the public's general knowledge? Whatever. It doesn't take much to discover the hypocrisy of these Republican organizations.

What's interesting here is that Progress for America, which has been running advertisements across the land in support of Bush's proposals or nonproposals, or whatever he's calling them these days, is now going to provide cover for the Republicans by focussing the advertisement in the Republican districts. Yeah, they're not aimed at swaying Democrats anymore, because that failed. Just as the Republican legislators are headed out to preach to the choir, Progress for America is softening up the choir for them.

I think they're all running scared. And that's a good thing.

Recurrent Themes

"It turns out we were all wrong."
-Alan Greenspan

This phrase seems to have become a touchstone of the Bush administration. How many times do they get away with saying it before it becomes recognized as a trend?

"It turns out we were all wrong."
- David Kay

Chat anyone?

I'll be in the chatroom starting around 9:00 Eastern time if anyone is interested. Perhaps we can talk about the momentous issues of the day, such as Amtrak funding, or Medicare being temporarily saved.

ZoneBot Chat

Sense and Sensibility - Senate Kills Medicaid Cuts

I'm starting to see a mini-trend emerge. There are actually a handful of Republican senators who will occasionally depart from the party line to do the right thing. This afternoon, with the help of an independent and 5 aisle-jumping GOP senators, an amendment to the Bush budget bill designed to gut Medicaid failed.

I know, its a small victory, and the GOP isn't done with it yet. What the vote did was send up a flare that there are at least a few GOP senators willing to listen to their conscience every now and then.

No one argues that both Medicaid and Medicare need serious overhaul. And it's not so much because that the federal government has it's neck in a noose; it's the state governments that are hurting terribly for their half of the costs. However, eliminating one or both programs is not the answer.

In an ideal world, creating a sane universal healthcare program would solve so many problems with the stroke of one broad brush. Think about it. Not only could most Medicare and Medicaid issues be dealt with, but so could the cause of more than 50% of all personal bankruptcies. True healthcare reform would even remove some of the pressure for Social Security reform, or perhaps at least point major reforms in another direction.

A single card. A single payor. 100% of Americans covered. Employers no longer holding the power of life or death over employees.

It seems so rational.

So You Say You Want a Revolution?

It's a work in progress, admittedly, but what's happening in the political petri dish of South America is probably the most under reported political story (at least in U.S. media) of the past year.

There's a true revolution in progress on the South American continent. Of the people, by the people. They've figured out how to throw off the chains. It's scaring the living beejeezus out of the U.S. plutocrats.

Are there lessons for us to learn?

On Wolfie and His New Gig

Eligere gets right to the point:

It looks as though Paul Wolfowitz will soon be adding usury to his portfolio, which let's face it is a little too heavily weighted towards mass killing. Any responsible manager would recommend diversification in other sectors, especially lust and envy, with supplemental positions in gluttony, greed and sloth...

Kindness

Does anyone know what it means?

It's on my mind this morning. As we know full well here at the All Spin Zone, the ugliness on the Happy Planet can absorb hours and hours of our short lives. It makes me cranky and full of spirit-killing tension. It makes me bark at Mr. Keys for no good reason, and wake in the middle of the night shivering and rasping curses. Sometimes it just flat out paralyzes me. And then sometimes I remember that there is much more than politics, and the kluggy machinations of limited minds. Sometimes I remember that simple kindness is what separates me from the neandercons, and all the rest that are filling their emptiness with all manner of acquisitions that don't, in the end, fill up the empty spaces at all. In fact they just create more emptiness, but I digress.

My life has not gone as smoothly as my imagination and dreams would like in the last few years. In spare moments of clarity I know I am not alone in this feeling. I try not to whine out loud, but know also that sometimes I have to, because ... well, we just have to. The whole denigration of self-pity is nonsensical to me. If I cannot have pity and sympathy for myself, then I can have it for no one else. Which reminds me of my favorite Kahlil Gibran quote: "I would that my life remain a tear and a smile. A tear to unite me with those of broken heart, a smile to remind me of my joy in existence." There's a old story there about being 18-years old at the university, and the first year law student who loved me, but again I digress.

So, I suppose I'm mostly just thinking out loud (it's what blogging is all about, yes?) ... asking you all to consider that we, you and me, are not the political morass that we see all around us. I am not, and you are not. We are human beings who have incredible potential to do creative kindnesses on the Happy Planet every day. Change the world. I really want to know, as the Grateful Dead sang in "Uncle John's Band" ... "are you kind?" I'm guessing you are. We have a rare bird here at ASZ. We have people who can think.... people with capacity for critical thinking... believe me, it's more rare every day. But I read every day you all crying "I'm Human" to the world. More and more I'm struck dumb with the the notion that it is courageous to be kind on the Happy Planet, circa 2005.

I pulled a couple of links... The first is the phenomenon that started with one woman... the "Random Acts of Kindness" movement, the World Kindness Movement. The other is the loosely associated group that began with the novel and film "Pay It Forward". It's an excerpt from the novel. See the film if you haven't already. You can find more on the subject if you look a bit. Here is a collection of quotes on kindness.

I know, have known for some time, that I'm over the bleeding edge where politics and all of its shams are concerned. Politics is not a part of living. It's just another show, however entertaining. Kindness is living.

Rick Santorum Defends Himself on Social Security

Rick Santorum responds to the Letters page of the Philadelphia Daily News today and he seems a bit piqued at some of the citizens who've been writing against his advocacy of the Administration plan. Though it was the central feature of his campaign for Bush's Social Security Reforms, Santorum does not mention private accounts once. Not once. That's a lie by ommission, since that's the feature his interlocutors are most concerned about.

Have the Republicans given up on private accounts, or are they searching for a snappy name before they remarket their reforms? How does "individual millionaire accounts" sound? Well, as long as they're lying we can help them think of something effective. "Operation Betraying the Elderly" just won't sell.

Tip of the cap to Attytood!