The Cool Blue Blog

Grandma

"You take this money and you give it to the man over there and you get two tokens. You understand?"

"Yes grandma."

Returning with the coins she took them from my hand but didn't let go of me. I was taller than her but she held my hand anyway.

The shopping bag she carried was from Macy's Herald Square, though we hadn't been there today. Grandma always saved her shopping bags and kept them neatly in a drawer by her sewing machine for trips like this. Right now it contained the sweater which I refused to wear but she insisted that I take.

"You'll catch a chill and get sick," she reasoned.

I can't argue with grandma.

Muslims for Bush

And while we're on the subject of diversity, has Kerry made any appeals to the Muslim or Arab communities?

This neglect may hurt him. This AP report seems to indicate that Muslims don't think Bush is waging a war on Islam:

It was just a throwaway line, an aside in a speech to some fellow American Muslims that Muqtedar Khan considered a surefire crowd-pleaser. But when he criticized President Bush over the war on Iraq, Khan was surprised by the response.

``I was booed. They were shouting and booing at me,'' said Khan, a political scientist at Adrian College in Michigan. ``A man came and told me, `If you think the war in Iraq is not moral, then I'm sorry to say you have no idea what morality is.' ''

And what about Kerry?

And while Democrats outnumber Republicans among U.S. Muslims, there is a sense that presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry has done relatively little to reach out to the community.

The piece goes on:

Among Bush's supporters are Iraqi-Americans and others grateful that Saddam Hussein was ousted, giving their fellow Shiites a chance to govern in that country after decades of oppression.

Others are immigrant business leaders loyal to the GOP. They can be found among the Bush campaign's Pioneers and Rangers, who have raised tens of thousands of dollars for his re-election...

More votes could come from socially conservative Muslims, drawn into the Republican camp because of its opposition to gay marriage. ``We are working hard to maintain and build upon the support for the president,'' said Scott Stanzel, a Bush campaign press officer.

You know what I think? I think Kerry is afraid to be seen with Arab/Muslim Americans while criticizing Bush.

I think the Kerry campaign feels they simply can not appeal to this community without appearing to be on the side of the enemy.

Diversity U

As we track the downward spiral of Presidental candidtae John Kerry, we notice that more are questioning his potential as a vialble candidate. Now, the Washington Post has questions:

There's a lot of talk this week in Washington about the diversity—or lack thereof—in the presidential campaign of Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry.

The campaign is feeling the heat and is aggressively attempting to get a hold of this issue before a damaging perception is created among Democratic voters. For the Kerry campaign, this is crucial: African Americans are the Democratic Party's most loyal constituency, followed closely by Latinos, a group of voters that Republicans are increasingly trying to court.

Before a damaging perception is created?

Too late, I think.

How exactly is Kerry going to fix this without it looking like he is installing "token" minorities for the sake of the appearance of diversity?

But isn't this just a reflection of the Democratic Party as a whole?

It took the Republicans taking over Congress in 1994 for the first woman chair of a Senate committee to be appointed. All those years in control of Capital Hill, and not a single woman Senator in a leadership position?

It took a Republicans to begin nominating hispanics to Federal benches and Democrats to deny them such. Publically. It took a Republican President to first nominate a woman to the Supreme Court.

The first black Secretary of State is Colin Powell. Appointed by a Republican.

Condie Rice is the first woman and first African-American to serve as National Security Advisor.

And none of these individuals can be said to be tokens for anything but excellence.

Why it is that minority groups and women's groups have decided that their only hope lies with the Democratic Party is beyond me.

Perhaps, tokenism is all these groups, and Kerry, require.

Star Chores: Bug Hunt

Captain Smash of the USS Surprise walked briskly out of the elevator and onto the bridge. As a Starship Captain, he didn’t have to give orders to be briefed. Commander Matt Blackfive, First Officer, walked him to the command chair and began talking.

“The colony on Beta Gamma IV has reported that they are under attack. It is a new colony sir, established only three years ago. They would like us to respond immediately.”

“Who is attacking them?” The captain shifted in his seat.

“It’s not a who, sir. It’s…”

“Cockroaches.” Science Officer Lt Commander Steven Den Beste filled him in.

“What?”

“Ah, yes sir,” Matt began, “they seem to have been infested more than invaded.”

“So what do they want us to do? It sounds like they need an exterminator.”

“The last thing they said before communication was mysteriously discontinued was that the very survival of their colony was at stake.”

The captain did not hesitate. “OK, OK. Mr. Blackfive, take us out of orbit and lay in a course for Beta Gamma IV.”

Lt. Donovan please lay in a course for Beta Gamma IV,” Commander Blackfive ordered.

“Aye sir. Course for Beta Gamma IV laid in sir.”

“Warp factor 4. Engage.”

“Aye sir. Warp factor 4. Engage.”

“Sir?”

The captain turned his head. “Yes Faire, go ahead.”

“I was wondering. What’s the charge number for a bug hunt?”

IndyMedia is Traitorous

IndyMedia is attempting to create a 5th column for the enemy by hijacking a soldier support group Soldiers Angels.

I found this organization Soldiers Angels maybe there are others. Outreach to soldiers is the best way to persuade them to stop killing civilians. Maybe they will even begin fragging (killing their officers) like in Vietnam. It's worth a try. At least send your newly adopted soldier some real news instead of the Stars and Stripes propaganda they hear 24/7.

Here's a suggestion: Make nice the first time you contact your soldier. Then send anti-war information or whatever. Once you have the address/name and build a relationship your mail will get through. The first time it may not if it's clearly anti-war that's why it might work best to make nice at first.

This is simply sick and IndyMedia must take responsibility and remove all such posts or else be understood to be the enemy.

UPDATE: Blackfive has some suggestions about what you can do.

What's France up to these days?

Hidden from the news is France's adventurism in the Ivory Coast. Together with the UN, it seems things are pretty much a mess.

Channel New Asia reports:

Thousands of hardline supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo crowded into an Abidjan stadium demanding newly-arrived UN peacekeepers "liberate" Ivory Coast from rebels who still hold the north and west 19 months after an armed uprising.

Parc Champroux stadium was filled with as many as 20,000 people, witnesses said, and ringed by Ivory Coast security and defense officials as well as guards attached to the "Young Patriots" who organized the rally.

Firebrand Young Patriots leader Charles Ble Goude said earlier this week the rally was a chance for his supporters "to tell the peacekeepers what we expect of them": the rapid and efficient disarmament of the rebel forces whose failed coup bid in September 2002 plunged the country into war.

If they refuse, he warned, "we will send them back where they came from."

But, it seems, not everyone likes President Laurent Gbagbo . According to this report from VOA:

The Face of Iraq

A new Gallup Poll reflecting the mood of the Iraqi people is out. While the headline is sensational, the data needs to be heeded. Specifically:

...more than half of Iraqis say killing U.S. troops can be justified in at least some cases. But attacks against Iraqi police officers, who are U.S.-trained, are strongly condemned by the Iraqi people.

And this is exactly why the June 30th date for an Iraqi takeover of the poltical mechanism is not negotiable.

Many pundits have questioned whether the President should have put a hard date on the transfer of power. They say that it does not allow for "wiggle" room if the situation on the ground changes.

But this line of reasoning neglects to consider that the longer there is a US hand in the government of Iraq, the longer the US will be viewed as occupiers. Additionally, Iraqis need to know that we say what we mean and that all this talk of handing government back to Iraqis is not a smokescreen for colonization.

And this situation is not significantly changed if you replace the US with the UN as Mr Kerry and his ilk advocate. If it is not Iraqi's calling the shots, then an occupier is. And it doesn't matter if the individual hails from Bakersfield or Belgium: They're not from Iraq.

Security is another thing. The US will need to remain to reinforce and train indigenous units. But here again, the greater the Iraqi presence, the less we will be perceived as an occupying force.

And we must not be perceived as occupiers at all costs.

Are the Iraqi's ready for Democracy? Probably not. But neither were we in 1776. And we were not much better in 1876.

Will there be cronyism and corruption? Probably. But our own history shows that these are steps along the road. Remember Tammany Hall and the Daley Political machine of Chicago?

It took us a long time to get the Democracy thing worked out. And we are still working on it.

Democracy is reinvented everytime it takes root in a new country.

We need to let Iraq invent the Iraqi version.

Star Chores Teaser

It is a time of unequaled scientific achievement.

All the laws of physics have yielded their secrets to the unblinking eye of science. All the galaxy has prospered.

But in the dark underbelly of space, roams the trivial anomaly. Physical events that do not fit into the carefully constructed laws of science. Inconsequential and infrequent deviations from the expected patterns.

What is a Galaxy to do? Rework all of the laws of nature to account for a few deviant observations?

That would be a whole lotta work.

No! It’s time to do the chores

Star Chores!

A Federation Ship, the USS Surprise, streaks through the universe really, really fast on a ten year mission to clean up the universe:

To go where none would go (voluntarily)

To take out the trash

And to mop where none has mopped before

Star Chores!

Picking up after a very sloppy creator thingy.

The future is here,

And it’s a mess

Coming Soon to The Cool Blue Blog exclusively

Next

Getting rid of the 17th Amendment

One of the few reasonable Democrats has come out for repealing the 17th Amendment, something I have been advocating for years. His argument:

[Sen. Zell] Miller, who is retiring in January, was first appointed to his post in 2000 after the death of Paul Coverdell. He said Wednesday that rescinding the 17th Amendment, which declared that senators should be elected, would increase the power of state governments and reduce the influence of Washington special interests.

"The individuals are not so much at fault as the rotten and decaying foundation of what is no longer a republic," Miller said on the Senate floor. "It is the system that stinks. And it's only going to get worse because that perfect balance our brilliant Founding Fathers put in place in 1787 no longer exists."

I agree. The original intent of the Framers was that the House would be a body that reflected the immediate desires of "the people" while the Senate was a sort of political filter which would tend to smooth out the the emotional responses and decide what was in the long-term interests of the country.

As such, Senators were appointed by state legislatures, not elected. In such a system, Senators would not have to be responsive to those who fund their campaigns and they would not feel it necessary to "bring home the bacon" in the form of Congressional pork.

So let me again add my voice to those who say "Repeal the 17th Amendment" along with Sen. Miller.

Ancient Reverie

There is a story that has no words, a book without pages.
There is a place where it can be told, read. But it is not here, and it is not now.

There is a song that has no sound. So sweet that it can bring the warrior to tears.
There is a place where it can be sung, heard. But it is not here, and it is not now.

I saw you sitting in the garden behind our favorite church and the bells began to ring. It reminded me of that place and that time. You reminded me. You sitting in that place that has been Holy for countless millennia, and through all time and dynastic dreams.

A single leaf fell from the branch above your head, displaced by a single sparrow. It floated with the gentle breeze on the scented air gently, slowly until it crowned your head. And you didn't even see it, or know it. But it was there, perfectly placed.

I approached the gate to the garden. You looked up and saw me.

It was then that I first heard the song that had no sound.

It was then that you told me the story that had no words.