Talk Walker

It is with deep and profound sadness that I say good-bye to the benefactor of this site, and one of my biggest fans: L.C. Jorgensen, Emeritus Professor of Sorts, known mostly to his friends as “Chuck.”

I first met Chuck when I returned to school after a 20-year hiatus to complete my degree, which I had now (again) changed to Political Science. Some of my classes were not “transferable” so I opted to take his U.S. History to rebuild my transcript. When I walked into class that night, there was a tall, elderly man, carrying a pipe and chatting with some friends. He opened the class with a somewhat off-color joke, which I thought was funny. Then he began humanizing our nation’s history in such a way I was able to grasp dates and details with more clarity than I had previously experienced.

“Okay, so somewhere in the 1850’s, there was a civil war in Germany … and these guys lost. Now, when you lose a civil war (pause) you gotta get out of town, so all these Germans came to the East Coast and settled it. That’s why you see all this German architecture… There were a lot of union organizers (in this group), who were a major influence in the birth the the American Labor Movement…”

In spite of having taken history throughout my education, in this instance I understood the animosity and resentment spawned by choosing a violent solution to a political problem. Prior to this moment, even at the age of 45, I only thought of wars as when they happened and who was involved. That’s probably because that was all I was ever tested on. Chuck’s class began my re-education in the ways of the world in a way I never would have imagined.

His Poli-Sci 101 was especially enlightening, as in my previous classes at another university, my instructors had been devout Marxists and doused me with what they (and I ) thought was a good understanding of communism and socialism as an alternate to our democratic/capitalist system. They made it sound like a Shangri-La where everyone shared the work and benefited from its rewards. There were no power-trips, parasites or hidden agendas.

Having been an important activist in LA politics during the 1960’s (Chuck was a co-founder of the Peace & Freedom Party), he spoke openly about how when some personalities were thrown in to the mix of political philosphies, theories and ideas, it didn’t always come out like the Me Generation had hoped. Mistakes were made and The Movement failed in several instances for several very human reasons. I was, and will always be emminently grateful for Chuck’s ability to provide me with a truly well-rounded, 360-degree perspective of what had really happened in the U.S. while I was coming of age.

During office hours one evening, he shared with me how he wanted to retire. I was dismayed at the thought of losing him from my life so soon after finding him, and replied selfishly “But you were going to be my mentor!” No doubt he was surprised. He eventually retired anyway, but took on his mantle of mentorship, supporting me in more ways than I can count (and bore you with).

Needless to say, Chuck supported me with letters of recommendations when I went after scholarships and applied to and was accepted UCLA. We worked together on The Millenial Files (www.mmmfiles.com), a website he established in the early 90’s, with an objective of providing evidence of global warming as well as solutions. Shortly after the blogging boom, we transitioned into www.mmmfiles.com/mmm. It was at that time he insisted I start my own site, which you are now reading. I’m not sure that I believe it, but he felt I was so bright and insightful I should have a space to share my observations with others. He was willing to put his money where his mouth was, and has funded the site since its inception, never editing or attempting to censor any of my writings. Praise and encouragement was all I ever received from him.

Last summer Chuck was diagnosed with lung cancer. When he told me, he said it was okay, and that he had lived a full life, which was more true for him than anyone I know. As a committed activist in the Sixties, he wholly embraced the Counter Culture, and organized and led demonstrations in support of civil rights, now known as social justice. He partied in Isla Vista, California, was a Merchant Marine and traveled to Eastern Europe. His two signs which traveled with him from West LA to Boise, Idaho say it all:

“I spent most of my money on wine, women and song. The rest I wasted,” and

“No whiners.”

Chuck lost his battle with cancer yesterday. This time I couldn’t change his mind with a question of who will mentor me. He did a really good job of “getting me” when others closer to me didn’t. I will miss him dearly. I already do.

Thanks, Buddy.

With all the talk , speculation and analysis about an economic meltdown (read Depression II), I can’t help but wonder why no one is talking as if no one could have seen this coming. I’ve lost count how many “Financial Experts” I’ve heard recommend all we (the people) need to do is stop spending and start saving (with what?). Never mind the big red flag about this meltdown having to do with a freeze on credit, I don’t get why no one is talking about $1billion dollars the U.S. is spending on the Iraq Occupation (even though Iraq has a $59 billion in oil revenues), hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost due to NAFTA, and American corporations getting tax credits for offshoring their manufacturing facilities (and jobs) overseas.

I’ve often heard people say if you want to get to the root of a problem, follow the money. Well, what about following the loss of money. It’s bad enough our middle class had been taking it in the shorts since the passage of NAFTA and ensuing loss of ”living wage” jobs, without President Bush and Vice President Cheney lying our country into Iraq, for an open ended occupation that is costing U.S. taxpayeres $1billion a month. Those two factors alone would drive any economy into the ground, without Senator Phil Gram coming up with legislation to deregulate banking and mortgage practices.

My conjecture is when income’s started falling, the financial industry came up with no-cost, no-interest loans that would balloon in 2-5 years. That way, no one would realize how poor they had become, because interest-only payments made it possible to live like they would if they could afford it. Unwitting victims signed contracts they did not want to believe they could not afford, even though their creditors did. When they defaulted on those loans, the creditors foreclosed on their homes and tried to start the cycle all over again, banking (in more ways than one) on property would continue to appreciate. Can you say house of cards?

John McCain and President Bush have a lot of nerve acting like they never saw this coming. If they are as naive (read blind and deaf) as they claim, they have no business holding their positions, but that’s another story.

If Congress and the President really want to fix this sinking US ship, they need to renegotiate NAFTA (and any other similar trade agreements), stop granting tax breaks to American corporations who offshore manufacturing facilities, end the Iraq Occupation, and force anyone holding paper on an ARM of ARM-type loan to down to lenders to negotiate home loans so the homeowners can afford to affordable rates.

That way, we can start spending money on our own needs and not those of Halliburton & KBR, and people will be able to stay in their homes until manufacturing jobs can come home.

It still looks to me that the GOP Presidential bullpen is weaker than has been seen in recent history. A significant number of registered Republicans have opted for “None of the Above,” and Independents are leaning away from the GOP and toward the Democratic Party.  Yet, the Republican Primary race continues to get attention as if any of its candidates would be a real contender against the top-tier Democratic candidates. When it comes to the Dems, an oft’ said comment I hear is the Presidential contest is the Dems to lose. WHAT?

First off, the 2000 Bush-Gore contest revealed Gore won the popular vote, and the Supreme Court’s intervention (appointment) of George Bush undermined our electoral process. Then in 2004, electronic voting dominated by Bush-friendly Diebold, especially in Ohio played a huge role in John Kerry’s defeat. So those two elections were not the Dems to lose, but rather be cheated out of.

With all the 50/50 coverage of the Democratic candidates vs. Republicans, I can’t help but think no one has gotten the memo: in 2008 Republicans are IRRELEVANT! Who has forgotten the a critical factor in Bush’s victories in 2000 and 2004 (besides election rigging, voter suppression and out and out stealing the election) was significant support from Independent voters? Furthermore with the fracturing of the Republican party, no frontrunner (so far) is guaranteed across the board backing.

Conversely, the Democratic party has mostly viable candidates who are secure in being supported by their own in “vote the bums out” movement, that is growing daily.  Added to that is according to recent polls, Independents are heavily leaning towards voting Democratic. Thus, the Democrats this year are fully capable of knocking out any Republican candidate, as long as all the votes are counted fairly, and there is no hanky-panky electronic voting scams.

I for one, am going on record to say it doesn’t matter what happens in the Republican party as long as its house of cards continues to implode, its rats jump ship, and the rest start eating each other. Relax, have a beer and be sure not only to vote, but make sure everyone qualified is allowed to vote and all the votes get counted.

If you take a look at the date of my last post, you will see I have been “running silent” for the last six months. Some of you know me well, others not so. Regardless, I have felt for a long time my life experience in the U.S. of A. has been pretty typical, and my recent past has been no different.

In June of this year, in the midst of making plans to run for local office, I discovered a lump that turned out to be malignant. Because I a have PPO I bought online,  I was able to get to a surgeon right away without having to wait for “prior approval.” Then the fun began. True to form (according to Sicko), after subsidizing my surgery (I have a $2500 deductible), my insurance company found a tentative loophole which would have given them the right to make me wait three months before starting chemotherapy, in spite of being in Stage III. I called on a few politically active friends who recommended I report this to the Insurance Commissioner. I did, and within a week the issue was resolved and I was able to begin chemo in the recommended time.

That’s the bad news. The good news is I have benefitted immensely from advancements made in the last five years in breast cancer, particularly with managing the side effects of chemo. During my four months of treatment, I never threw up once, and my immune system remained fairly intact. This was primarly due to the wonder drugs Emend , Neulasta and Zofran. Emend neutralizes the receptor in the brain that tells you, you’re nauseous. Some chemos, especially the strong ones, are known for suppressing white cells. To compensate for that, Neulasta stimulates the bone marrow to produce more.http://www.virtualcancercentre.com/drugs.asp?drugid=1795&type=

The down side of this event was I have a $500 pharmaceutical deductible, so the first dose of Emend cost me $300, and the second $200. After that, it went down to $30. Fortunately the Neulasta was administered at the hospital, so it was included in my overall bill. Zofran (another anti-nausea drug) has been around long enough, it is available in generic form, which calls for a minimal co-pay. However, for some reason my insurance company would not approve payment for more than 12 pills a month, no matter how badly I needed it. Out of pocket cost for that was around $50.00.

Nevertheless, I have now finished my chemotherapy and am preparing for radiation, and doing diagnostic testing to make sure the little buggar hasn’t popped up someplace else in my body. The side effects of the chemo and steroids (for anti-nausea) are dissipating, and I feel well enough to put my opinions to the keyboard. With the Bush Administration truly showing its colors brightly enough for even the most blinded American to see, and the upcoming 2008 election, this should be fun.

On the health front, I cannot encourage ALL women over over 40 to  do monthly breast exams, and a yearly mammogram ( preferably sonogram vs. x-ray). Although most abnormalities found in mammograms are benign, 85% of those found to be malignant are in women over 50. Had I taken this advice, I could have detected the tumor early enough I would not have had to deal with chemotherapy, and my life revolving around fighting this disease during a time I could have been pursuing my passion.

We have known for awhile about private contractors being used in Iraq to for security, or similar jobs the army could do, but at more than thrice the price. In addition to  driving us deeper in debt, a major issue of this policy is contractors like Blackwater are not held to the same military code of conduct of this man’s army — nor are they held accountable.

In April 2005, when four contractors were brutally beaten, dragged through the streets and two left hanging from a bridge, I could only wonder what was the source of such rage. Contrary to President Bush’s opinion, it is not likely the citizens of Iraq picked out these men just because they do no like “our way of life.” That kind of rage-killing had to be revenge of some sort. Of course, there was no investigation, at least that was made public, and for the most part this fading memory is probably going to be used by Bush to justify staying in Iraq until he leaves office.

Now, at a time when conditions in Iraq are precarious at best, we find out a Blackwater employee fired at and killed an Iraqi taxi driver for reasons unknown, which led to a conflict between the U.S,  Iraqi Minstry forces and Blackwater “security guards”. According Eugene Robinson, of  the Washington Post:

“A Blackwater guard shot and killed an Iraqi driver Thursday near the Interior Ministry, accordingto  three U.S.  officials and one Iraqi official who were briefed on the incident but spoke on condition of anonymity because of a pending investigation. On Wednesday, a Blackwater-protected convoy was ambushed in downtown Baghdad, triggering a furious battle in which the security contractors, U.S. and Iraqi troops and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters were firing in a congested area.”

WTF. In plain English, we now have U.S. forces and private contractors, fighting the very military our U.S. army and marines are trying to “stand up.” What is WRONG with this picture?

It’s tough enough putting our soldiers in harms way, often in untenable positions, without compromising their safety further by companies making huge profits, and mercenaries whose primary objective is a huge paycheck. If we can’t bring our soldiers home, at least we can cancel the contracts for Blackwater. The American taxpayer should not be paying inflated prices for mercenaries who are making a bad situation horrifically worse. I would also conjecture with the savings, our own soldiers could be provided adequate up-armored vehicles, shock-proof helmets and bullet proof vests to help protect them in the aftermath of what these contractors have wrought. 

I have very mixed feelings this Memorial Day.  My family has made no plans for BBQ’s and we will not be attending any heroes parades. We are one of the less than one percent of the U.S. population with a member who served in the Iraq Occupation.  My son is out of the service now, and it has been two years since he was in Balad, Iraq, so I have a different perspective than most when we talk of honoring the fallen.

I am also the wife of a Viet Nam vet who has been experiencing intense PTSD for a large part of our marriage, so I know what it’s like to survive those horrors, and re-live them with regularity.

A buzz-phrase often attached to “Suport our troops” is often along the lines ”who gave their lives for us… to protect our freedoms.” That may have been true during WWII, but it was hardly true during Korea or Viet Nam. Today, it is the furtherst thing from the truth. We are in this Occupation because of the short-sightedness of Karl Rove, who wanted to assure President Bush’s re-election by making him a war-time president. He knew historically, war-time Presidents have never been defeated, so in a wag-the-dog strategy, he created a war, based on false pretenses, to give President Bush the edge he needed. A little cheating went a long way as well.

Now we are in a conflict with no end in sight, that drains our coffers and fills our coffins, and fractures the souls of countless American families (still under 1 percent), with a ripple effect no one wants to acknowledge is crippling even more working-class Americans.

I’m all for celebrating the lives of those who fought the good fight, but I cannot rationalize lost and wasted lives at the behest of a President who should have known better, but  couldn’t care less.

As a political activist, for me, everyday is Memorial Day, and it is no reason to celebrate. Whether it is CNN’s Fallen Heroes list, or George Stephanopolous’ This Week’s “In Memoriam,” everytime I see a name of a soldier killed in battle, I check the age and  melancholy sweeps over me. Never enough to stop me in my tracks, but just enough to make me think: 25, I wonder if he went to college? 42, must have been a lifer — or was he in the National Guard and missed his daughter’s graduation?

I like BBQ’s and family gatherings, but to do so while more of our children, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers and friends continue to be killed in the name of making a President re-electable is a heartless act I can no longer do.

Maybe next year.

I think President Bush mis-spoke when he said (again), at the end of his press conference today, ”I will continue to reach out and work with the Democrats.” I think what he meant to say was : ” I will continue …”and choke their throats.

The Democrats should not allow the President to fracture our unity. They should vote NO on today’s supplemental bill, and if the Republicans, a few Blue Dogs and Joe Lieberman want to continue the Iraq Occupation, let them vote for it. Apparently, they did not get the November memo on why they were elected.

The American voters and public need to know who they are — our new Target Group.

For the first time in a long time, I can honestly say I am so proud of our House Democrats. This morning I tuned into C-Span to see what was going on. To my surprised delight, they appeared to be in the final stages of taking a vote on HR1585, a Defense Authorization Bill (new name for the Iraq Acoountability and Funding Act). My first smile came when they approved an ammendment which requires the Pentagon to periodically report on Guantanamo detainees and their dates for release, and all interrogations to be videotaped. Conversely, they held together to defeat a Republican ammendment that would have permitted the U.S. to establish temporary military bases in Iraq — although this is kind of moot because they are already constructing permanent ones withouth Congressional approval.

What really thrilled me was, as the Bill was on its way to a final vote, Congressman Hunter of San Diego attempted to send the bill back to committee with a proposed ammendment that would have integrated Israel’s missile defense system with the U.S.’s. It was clearly an attempt to conflate our policy with Iran (against the country) with our failed Iraq policy. He  and a second Republican cloaked passage of the ammendment  in rhetoric wrapped in Israel’s right to survive. My smile lost its sparkle as I wondered how Democrats could oppose this without being accused of abandoning one of our closest allies. I have no problem supporting Israel, but given what they did to Lebanon last year under the guise of protecting three Israeli soldiers, I do not trust strengthening a missile defense program that could be used offensively.

The committee initially graciously accepted the ammendment for consideration, but gradually questioned its timing. Finally, Rep. Howard Berman stepped up to the plate and called Hunter not only on the timing but the manipulation of using Israel’s right to survive as a foundation for passage of the ammendment. He took great umbrage and showed his disdain openly. I have often questioned Congressman Berman’s motives when it comes to Israel’s right to be the aggresor in the Middle East under the guise of its right to exist, so I was pleased to see him display this insight.

Unfortunately, Duncan Hunter was successful in stalling the passage of a bill that had more accountability than the previous bill. To a degree, his tenacity in the face of truth is kind of amazing. However, he was not able to push through a questionable ammendment without debate. I have not idea how this will turn out, but it is nice to see the Dems getting the memo from the November elections, and finding the nerve to take a stand.

I don’t get all the attention being paid to the GOP candidates running for President. There’s such a big hoopla over Giuliani being ahead of the pack, or Grandpa McCain making minor gains, which in the long run, doesn’t really matter.  The one who really deserves the attention is Ron Paul, the new Maverick of the GOP, but he will surely be buried for speaking the truth at last night’s debate.

As it now stands, the who is ahead in the Republican Party is incosequential. The Indpendents have been leaning heavily toward the Democrats since last August. I can only imagine the growing dissastisfaction with the Iraq Occupation, disaffection from within the Republican Party and President Bush’s cellar  approval ratings of 28 percent have repulsed them from the GOP even more — even the Republicans expect a Democrat to win in 2008.

President Bush’s legacy will not only be that he led our beloved country into an ill-fated military occupation for self-serving reasons of getting re-elected as a wartime President, but that he took the GOP down with him.  Too bad for everyone. Even though his policies will ensure a Democratic President and Congress in ‘08, it will still be at the expense of fallen soldiers and fractured families.  It will take years to undo all the damage and havoc this President has wreaked on our nation and world, but at least we will eventaully be able to stop his runaway train of destruction. Sometimes that feels like a small consolation.

Now that all the broo-hah-hah has died down on Don Imus’ firing by CBS and MSNBC, I have had some time to fully digest the issue and confirm my stand.  There are some defenders of the man, who say what a philanthropist he is, and how much he actually did for those he slammed, through major fundraisers etc. That doesn’t wash for me — he can still facilitate fundraisers for whoever he wants, and if he stops because of being fired, then it looks to me as if he was buying silence and condonement of his racist, bigoted comments with his “good deeds.”

Others argue this will put a chill on free-speech. Please. He was not called out for expressing an opinion, or inadvertently offending someone with a poor choice of words, but rather for degrading a classy group of educated, disciplined women from one of the best schools in the nation. I am sure many were suprised at the Rutgers women’s basketball press conference to see they were not nappy-headed, nor did they display any significant tatoos — there was nothing Ho-like about them. 

So if this puts a chill on hate-mongers like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage, Neal Boortz, John Gibson, Melanie Morgan, Michael Smerconish, Michelle Malkin etc., and makes them think twice about degrading anyone based on creed or color, so much the better for the quality of discussion on our public airwaves and internet lines. Like Mario Solis Marich of KTLK-LA has observed, “shock jock” or race-baited discussion is the lowest common denominator used to build an audience. It’s much akin to fart jokes kids resort to get a laugh. Anyone can do it with very little grey matter.

If you want to talk about putting a chill on free speech, then let’s talk abou what the Cattlemen’s Association did to Oprah Winfrey when she said she would never eat another hamburger, or Randi Rhodes of Air America, who has been sued twice by defense contractors for criticizing their practices. The chill worked so well on her, she won’t even mention those companies’ names on-air.

Don Imus being ‘released from his contract’ has less to do with free speech than a sign of the times. Shock jock/hate speech radio has been losing its audience share steadily for the last two years. When Air America first launched, many said it was doomed to fail. I believe I heard Mr. O’Reilly give it one year. Yet five years later, and still struggling to turn a profit, it continues to expand stations and radio hosts like Randi Rhodes and Ed Shultz continue to beat out their conservative competition in major markets like New York, LA and Florida. Before he stepped down to challenge Senator Norm Coleman’s seat in Minnesota, Al Franken was beating out Rush on a regular basis. The conservatives are still “Top Dogs” but they are approaching becomin half the men they were, when Air America began.

Don Imus losing his job has more to do with with more Americans seeing the right-wing conservatives and liberal Democrats  in a different light. The GOP’s chance to prove itself was squandered with the rise of the Bush/Rove administration. Not only did the emperor have not clothes — worse than a lack substance was a presence of self-serving motives, ill-will, and insensitivity to the needs of working-class people. These are NOT American principles, and by and large the general public is turning away from that bandwagon of morality.

Instead, they are embracing democratic principles of fairness, justice and equal treatment for all. Hate speech is not a part of that, and as a result, when the spotlight shone on Imus’ degrading description of a bright, disciplined group of young Rutgers Freshmen, a majority of us said, “Enough.”

Thank God.