Carter blasts Bush on his global impact

“When you call somebody the worst president, that’s volatile. Those are fighting words.” According to Tulane presidential historian and Carter biographer, Douglas Brinkley, that’s what Carter says about Bush. 

Commenting on Bush’s pre-emptive proclivity, faith-based initiatives, environmental policies, and just all around negative global impact, Jimmy Carter, speaking to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, called the Bush administration  “the worst in history…The overt reversal of America’s basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Regan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me.”

The legacy of G. W. Bush is diplomatic carnage and one hell of an uphill battle to rebuild the dignity and reputation of America in the world.  We can’t pretend that W was the only one allowing the damage, the lies, the torture, etc., to continue.  Our country allowed it.  We have to reclaim our heritage, our standing in this world.  We have to repair the holes in our public image.  We could start by insisting that our legislature call for the impeachment of the Bush party. 

Wednesday, May 9, 2007Charges dropped against Nadine Smith
During the traumatic and irresponsible county hearings which resulted in the firing of Largo City Manager Steve Stanton, Nadine Smith was arrested for handing out fliers at a public hearing.  Little pink fliers. Apparently Largo’s finest were indimidated by those little pieces of paper.  And also apparently it took four of those hulking, fine young men to take this brazen activist to the floor.  However, according to the prosecutors, “The state attorney, having taken testimony under oath at a state attorney investigation, concludes that the facts and circumstances revealed do not warrant prosecution at this time, “ 

The Largo police officials, regardless of the findings of the state attorney’s investigation, stand by their man — Sgt. Butch Ward. 

Do I smell a lawsuit in the offing?

Friday, March 23, 2007

 Watershed - Das könnte hier nicht passieren.

It was a smallish tilt in the checks and balances status quo. 

The duly elected government of a republic deferred the interpretation and necessity for and formulation of law to the duly elected leader of that republic.  The passage of the Enabling Act – a seemingly temporary amendment written to run out in four years – was brought about in reaction to an act of arson and terrorism and was ostensibly an attempt to keep safe the citizens of the republic.  
 
Today is the anniversary of the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933.  Seventy-four years ago Germany handed over to Adolph Hitler the keys to facism.  It is a mind-boggling leap from that simply delegation of power to the near eradication of an ethnic people.  No one would ever believe it could happen.  Not in their own country! Not by their own duly elected leader!  Not in a democratic republic! But it happened, there.

After the gas chambers, after the gulags, after the tortures and atrocities it was pledged — “Never again!”  A great hew and cry arose from around the globe — “Never again!” 

America was integral in ending Hitler’s reign of terror.  Hero and democratic beloved, we rode in on the white horse and shot the man in the black hat.  We kissed our horse and rode off into the sunset.  And we cried as we rode, “Never again!”

Now, it seems we are at a similar place in history.  There has been a duly elected body of leaders of a republic who have deferred the interpretation and necessity for and formulation of laws to the duly elected leader of that republic.  The smallish tilt to the checks and balances status quo has been noted.  Shall we believe, as the good people of Germany believed, that it cannot happen in our country, not by our own duly elected leader, not in this democratic republic?  Shall we close our eyes and our ears and our memories and our history books and see and hear and remember and learn nothing? 

Never again.  But what about habeas corpus?

It cannot happen here.  But what about Guantanamo?

Das könnte hier nicht passieren.  Es fängt an, jetzt zu geschehen.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Mandatory HPV vaccine?

I have two daughters.  I wanted to make sure they grew up as healthy as possible.  I  made sure they they received the mandatory vaccinations that all American children had to receive when they were children.  Without those vaccinations they would not have been allowed to attend school.  Without those vaccinations they might have contracted diseases that sometimes turn fatal.  Without those vaccinations I could have lost one or both of my daughters.   

Now, the question I ask myself is, would I have made sure my daughters had those shots if they were not legally mandated?  Honestly, I don’t know.  I know that I would WANT them to have those vaccinations.  But based on my income level for quite a portion of my daughters’ childhoods, I don’t know if I could have afforded the shots if they were not provided by various health departments, nor do I know if they would have been offered by various health departments if they had not been legally mandated.  It’s possible that I would not have spent the money on “preventive measures” if that money was immediately needed for rent or food.  I was lucky that I could receive the vaccinations for my girls at a nominal (or no) cost.  

There is now a vaccine that tests out to be amazingly effective at preventing HPV, the virus which is the predominant cause of cervical cancer.  It is only effective, however, if a female gets the shot prior to being infected with the virus.  Since the virus is a sexually transmitted virus it would be most prudent for all girls to have the vaccination before becoming sexually active.  And therein lies the rub…Should the vaccine for this almost entirely preventable disease be made mandatory?  Since the other “vaccination” would be total abstinance by girls and boys prior to marriage, and fidelity within marriage, would making the vaccine mandatory in some way put the moral seal of approval on sexual activity outside of marriage?  Does it usurp the parental right to control moral and sexual education of children and transfer, in some portion, that right to the government?  

This moral quandry is now part of the public debate on the issue of mandating the Gardasil vaccine.  Personally I don’t care if the state’s mandating of this measure ostensibly blesses illicit sexual activity.  Parents should take the responsibility of conveying their moral guidelines to their children from day one.  If having that shot is the deciding factor for a girl as to whether or not she becomes sexually active some parent somewhere has not been very effective.   It is a moot issue morally for me personally.  However, it will likely continue to color the public debate and threaten any mandate on this vaccination. Without making this very expensive (between $300 - 500) series of shots mandatory it is questionable whether it would be available through public funding.  That, unfortunately has the potential to create a class division in yet another area of medicine — more affluent families will be able to afford the vaccination for their daughters while those families in poor or struggling lower middle class famlies will have to decide between rent, food and a voluntary “preventive measure”.   Since this vaccination has been tested to be 100% effective against the strain of HPV that causes cervical cancer it could save thousands of lives a year in the United States alone. 

Are the fragile morals of some worth the potential loss of lives of many women?  Make the shot mandatory.  Give everyone access.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Deja vue all over again.
Everything old is new again…even social theories and “intellectual studies”.  When I was raising my own daughters, now 34 and 24, we mothers had the same conversations about the media and body image, about Barbie dolls and body image, about unrealistic expectations for our young daughters.  So today, USA Today publishes an article entitled “Media Cited for Showing Girls as Sex Objects”. 

The article, based on a report by the American Psychological Association, stated in part:

       The report, released Monday, analyzed
       some 300 studies over the past 18
       months. It included a variety of
       media, from television and
       movies to song lyrics, and
       looked at advertising showing
       body-baring doll clothes for pre-
       schoolers, tweens posing in
       suggestive ways in magazines
       and the sexual antics of young
       celebrity role models.

       The researchers found such
       images may make girls think
       of and treat their own bodies
       as sexual objects.

       “The preponderance of evidence
       suggests a cause for concern in
       these sexualized images and
       the mental health outcomes
       for girls,” says task force
       member Tomi-Ann Roberts,
       a psychology professor at
       Colorado College in Colorado
       Springs.

       Individual studies have found
       problems related to eating 
       disorders, low self-esteem
       and depression, but Roberts
       says there hasn’t been a body
       of work that illustrates how these
       problems are “directly linked”
       to sexualized images in ads
       and popular media. The group
       recommends more research on
       girls since the bulk of the studies
       reviewed dealt with teens and
       young women.

I thank the American Psychological Association for their study and report, but I hope that no one needed to hear that information at this time to know how true it actually is.  Philosophers and feminist theorists have been crying this theme for decades.  When my daughters were young, especially when my youngest was in her tweens and teens, the deluge of “thin-is-in” media ads, “women bringing home the bacon but still making you feel like a man” subservience provided a subliminal training ground for the new generation. Hell, even further back I was so influenced by the media of the 60’s and 70’s that I struggled mightily to creat myself in the image of Peggy Lipton of Mod Squad.   

Men and women, boys and girls have been sexualized from long before the intervention of the media in our thought processes. Although the media may now be leading the charge, our societal mores forged the theme that the media now spreads — if there was not a market for the message being given, the message would change. 

However, even though this media influencing of our youth and their self/body image is not new, I  see it getting much more severe.  And although it has never been limited to females only, I believe that the effect today on girls is much more insidious.  Not only are we sexualized, we are, in many cases, nothing but sex.  We are there for the pleasure of others. I find this to be especially prevalent in the new music. 

So, whether we think of this as a fad, a phase or even a societal mandate of some kind, we do have the right and the responsibility to fight it.  Give our young men and women back a reasonable standard for their self-image.  Give them back some reality.  Let’s take away the automatic audience. 

Saturday, February 10, 2007 

Gotta hear it to love it!

Crosby Loggins is without a doubt one of the most gutsy and solidly talented singer-songwriters to spring from the loins of a superstar.  Although it is impossible not to detect some hint of the parental influence in his music, it would be very wrong to pass Crosby off as a mini-Kenny.  He is quite a force and talent on his own.  Add into this recipe the percussion of Jarred Pope and electric-violin of Paul Cartwright, and some new blood mixes with the old-school in a variety of genres.  From the irony-soaked protests of “March on America”, to the swinging shot of reality in “My Grand Design”, Crosby brings an air of experience far beyond his years. 

Crosby Loggins and the Light trio will be appearing at the Tampa Performing Arts Center, Ferguson Hall, opening for Joe Bonamassa on Valentine’s Day, Wednesday, February 14.   

My partner, Patti Petow, has been fortunate enough to be able to work with Crosby and his bandmates and management company, assisting with providing some local promotion.  Crosby Loggins trio will be appearing on Studio 10 (airing Tues, Feb 13, 10:00 a.m.) and Daytime ( to be taped and aired at a later dates in different markets).   

Listen to him.  You gotta hear it to love it.  Believe me, you will love it.

 Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Ask! Tell! The IDF way…
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/08/Worldandnation/Israeli_experience_ma.shtml

Fourteen years ago Israel dropped all resistance to gays and lesbians serving in the military forces.  Right about the same time the US barred any known gay and lesbian from serving in the military forces, softening the ban later in the year to a “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” policy. 

Fourteen years later Israel is now leading the way for other nations. 

“It’s a non-issue,” said David Saranga, a former IDF officer and now Israel’s consul for media and public affairs in New York. “There is not a problem with your sexual tendency. You can be a very good officer, a creative one, a brave one and be gay at the same time.”

“As a country almost continuously at war, the Jewish state has always had mandatory conscription although known homosexuals were usually discharged before 1980. The IDF’s first official statement on the matter, in 1983, allowed gays to serve but banned them from intelligence and top-secret positions.

Opposition to the policy came to a head 10 years later when the chairman of the Tel Aviv University’s chemistry department revealed the IDF had stripped him of his officer rank and barred him from sensitive research solely because he was gay. His testimony before a parliamentary committee created a public storm and forced the IDF to drop all restrictions on homosexuals.

Since then, researchers have found, Israel’s armed forces have seen no decline in morale, performance, readiness or cohesion.”

Earlier this week Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had  previously supported “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” called for the US to now reject that policy.  The success of the more liberal policy on service in the military by gays and lesbians in Israel cannot be ignored, claims the General. 

Not all discrimination and discomfort regarding sexual orientation has disappeared in Israel as a result of the inclusion of all in the military, but it seems to be on the wane. 

One can hope in this regard that as Israel goes, so goes the world.  

Sunday, December 10, 2006

An accidentally beautiful place.
I stumbled across this almost year old blog entry from 3Quarks Daily while doing a search on my undergrad alma mater, Eastern Kentucky University.  This entry, Down the Rabbit Hole is one of the most colorful and descriptive narratives I have read of a travel through that memorable part of my past.