Cue: Sound, Fury

“It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”     —Macbeth, William Shakespeare

Last week, Obama failed the republic for which he says he stands. At a Tuesday, June 23 press briefing, Obama replied directly to inquiries about his stance on the Iranian uprising. He finally made a tepid statement condemning the government brutality in beating protesters, but only referred to Neda’s death.

“The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings and imprisonments of the last few days,” Obama said Tuesday, adding that he strongly condemns “these unjust actions.”

There have been many more. 450 protesters were arrested last weekend. Homes were invaded. Confessions are being tortured out of the imprisoned protesters. Last Wednesday, June 24, 2009, hundreds of state police in riot gear waited in a mosque for the protesters to arrive. Then they viciously attacked and beat them bloody, resulting in broken bones, cracked heads, saving the most brutal attacks for women who dared to be in public to voice their opposition. By some accounts, they wielded axes and threw people off bridges.

And we thought this would be different than Tienamen Square. And we (well not us, but you know who) thought that Obama would be different than George Bush I, who remained silent as unarmed Chinese protesters were slaughtered or jailed.

The president lied outright, and no one called him on it. He answered a question from Fox News’ Major Garrett who followed up on Obama’s regrets by asking a tough question (Shock!): Were Iranian government officials still invited to US Embassies’ Fourth of July celebrations? (Here at 8:19) Given the repressive government crackdown on its unarmed citizens, shouldn’t Obama make a statement about it by uninviting them? Obama replied, quite haughtily I might add, that the US does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, (so they would naturally not be included). However, contrarily CNN reported that Obama contacted “Supreme Leader” Khamenei before the election, and that invitations for the 4th celebrations had been extended. CNN reports that these invitations have not be rescinded.

(CNN) — U.S. President Obama sent a direct message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weeks before this month’s disputed election, Iranian sources said Wednesday.

“See, I can use my middle finger just like your guy.”

The letter requested dialogue and engagement between the two nations, the sources said.

The sources said that Khamenei has yet to reply to the letter but that nonetheless it “had set the negotiating table in order for both sides to sit around it after the election.”

The White House refused to “get into the specifics of our different ways of communicating,” a senior Obama administration official said.

“We have indicated a willingness to talk for a long time and have sought to communicate with the Iranians in a variety of ways,” the official said.

It’s like Obama is trying to make friends with all the tyrannical countries and leaders who don’t like us, as if he’s trying to win the love of his father who treated him like crap. It’s like now we’re experiencing Bizarro Bush III. But instead of bullying bad agents, he’s rolling over and acting submissive.

Khamenei made an indirect reference to the letter in his sermon on Friday at Tehran University.

“The U.S. president said that we were waiting for a day like this to see people on the street,” the Iranian leader said. “Some people attributed these remarks to Obama, and then they write letters to say we’re ready to have ties, that we respect the Islamic Republic, and on the other hand, they make such comments. Which one should we believe?”

And this is the country our president courts? Well, we can see where they’re at. CNN continues:

One Iranian source said, “We thought President Obama would send congratulations to President Ahmadinejad,” and before the election, his senior advisers prepared a response to the anticipated note, which never came.

The Iranian source said the election dispute is wasting time on the issue of starting U.S.-Iranian negotiations. Watch how the reported letter is part of a new policy of engagement »

Following Amanpour’s coverage of this at the above link, you can hear the sad account of a woman who was part of Wednesday’s protests.

“The longer it is delayed,” [an Iranian official] said, “the less likely [U.S.-Iranian talks] will happen.”

Another Iranian government official said there is still “no trust” between Iran and the United States.

Say what? What invitations? I don’t got no stinking invitations.

But the administration’s tack toward Iran may be changing, as senior officials in Washington said the Obama administration is seriously considering not extending further invitations to Iranian diplomats for July 4 celebrations overseas. Some invitations had been sent and will not be rescinded, senior administration officials said.

The officials said intense discussions on the issue were taking place, but the final decision had not been made.

UPDATE Oh, wait. There were invitations:

6/24/09 WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama administration has decided to rescind invitations to Iranian diplomats for July Fourth celebrations overseas because of violent crackdowns against protesters in Iran, the White House said Wednesday.

Look at who really rescinded the invitations. Not this guy.

He didn’t even make the statement. He was the obfuscator. It was this guy:

“July Fourth allows us to celebrate the freedom and the liberty we enjoy: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble peacefully, freedom of the press,” White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. “Given the events of the past many days, those invitations will no longer be extended.”

The administration had decided to invite Iranians to the celebrations at overseas posts as part of the president’s policy of engaging the Iranian regime.

In late May the State Department sent a cable to its embassies and consulates worldwide informing them they “may invite representatives from the government of Iran” to their July Fourth celebrations.

Who is the person that evidently felt the pain of the protesters and actually gets it? . . . Guess who-ooo?

67th US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

But in a fresh cable sent to all embassies and consulates Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered posts “to rescind all invitations that have been extended to Iranian diplomats for July Fourth events.

“Unfortunately the circumstances have changed and participation by Iranian diplomats would not be appropriate in light of the Iranian government’s continued violent and unjust actions against its own people,” said the cable, obtained by CNN.

“For invitations which have been extended, posts should make clear that Iranian participation is no longer appropriate in the current circumstances. For invitations which have not been extended, no further action is needed.”

A senior administration official said Clinton made the decision, and then informed President Obama.

One senior administration official said Wednesday the reconsideration of the July Fourth invitations is consistent with Obama’s comments Tuesday, in which he said he was “shocked and appalled” at the violence against demonstrators.

President Obama on Tuesday toughened his stance on Iran’s crackdown on protesters.

Post script: Here’s a line from CNN’s article that I omitted. I like it better in.

The source said he is waiting for “real change” even though the Iranian government welcomed the change in tone of the Obama administration before the current election turmoil in Iran.

About that “. . . waiting for “real change” thing. Yeah, buddy, get in line.
[cross-posted at The Widdershins]

Iran: Power to the People

I was walking home from my workout at the gym, the first in way too long, thinking about wanting to express my support for the Iranian people’s rebellion. I have friends who left Iran in the eighties (when the Jews left) and in the nineties. They were artists, musicians, poets, doctors and other professionals, hippies and free-thinkers. They left to have more freedoms, as they say. They were sick of having so much of their daily life regulated, of being told what they could wear, read, watch, see, and do — and this was before the age of the internet, facebook, and twitter.

So, on the way home, dressed in my workout clothes, taking that simple thing for-granted, I wondered: How could I talk or even think about it? I’ve read reports and blogs that ask whose revolution this is? Does the U.S. have a hand in it? Is Mousavi, with his own tarnished past, really better than Ahmadinejad? (At least Mousavi campaigned with his wife, the first candidate to do so, who brought out large crowds of women to hear about women’s rights.) What stays with me is, how could so many votes be hand-counted in only four hours?

Although there must be many undercurrents, I feel that it’s the heartfelt will of the people, pent up for thirty years, influenced by our robust election here, (no matter what we think about it). It is understandable that many people here might be suspicious because they saw a corrupted national election process in their own country — three times in a row!!! For years, both sides have seen the land of the free betray its finest principles in the name of God and Democracy. I wonder how such gigantic protests would be handled here in the good ole U.S. of A.? Then again, we PUMAs did protest.

The people of Iran are fighting and dying for the basic rights that we take for-granted everyday. Twenty-three journalists and bloggers have been arrested by the Iranian regime in the last several days. Protesters are being dragged out of their homes. In other Central Asian and Middle Eastern Muslim countries, the people are not even near the point of protesting. Look at the people of Iran, all ages, largely unarmed, only a minority of them with rocks, standing up to armed soldiers in riot gear. I asked before and do again: How many times have we voted complaining about the lesser of two evils? This may have started with an election but it is the expression of something way beyond the candidates. The people of Iran deserve the united support of the people of the world for the success of their freedom movement.

Press play.

Iranian Uprising (videos)

There is no doubt the people, young, old, women, are uprising in Iran. I don’t fault them for having to select what they may consider the lesser of two evils. How many times have we had to do that in our lifetime? In a “free” society, no less. The protesters are brave, considering they’re living in a repressive regime. I don’t think we know enough about the alternative candidates, also brave, whose lives are likely not safe.

These protest videos, taken in various Iranian cities, were posted along with commentary from independent Middle East reporter, Michael Totten: http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/06/insurrection-da.php. Totten is the 2008 Weblog Awards winner for best Middle East or Africa blog. The video below is from Tehran in the middle of the night:

Now take a look at this video [dated 6/13/09] uploaded from the city of Isfahan. A ferocious-looking unit of armed riot police officers is shown running away in terror from civilian demonstrators.

I found this one from 6/14/09, sounds like Italians with cameras:

Liberals, Slammed with Reality, Fail to Respond

So what is it about Obama’s failure to have principles that “liberals” don’t understand?

Every assessment that PUMAs called upfront, where we said:

• Obama is without principles and cannot be trusted.
• He contradicts himself and talks with forked tongue.
• He has risen to power with questionable moves.
• He has failed to create a voting record on purpose.
• He is a misogynist and a homophobe.
• He is a conservative, with a dictatorial more than a liberal mentality.
• He is a narcissist and more concerned with being adored than actually governing.
• He favors Arabs and Palestinians over Israel.
• He cannot be trusted to end the wars.
• He is naive about the economy, foreign affairs, history, and 9/11.
• He lacks a sense of real compassion.

Every one of our assessments is proving to be true as he sells out his campaign promises one by one.

Obama promised and has failed to:

• End the war in 16 months (I will start bringing 1 to 2 combat brigades home per month as soon as I’m elected (h/t madamab). Hillary voted for the war.)
• Close Gitmo, release photos of illegal torture. (Bush should be prosecuted for war crimes.)
• Support Israel. (Stop with the emails, I’m not a Muslim. My name means blessed. Some of my best friends are Jews. AIPAC, June 4, 2008.)
• Fix the housing market and the economy that wasn’t his fault. (I’ll create jobs and boost the economy by helping the environment. John McCain will make the country bankrupt and reward the rich. Look how many houses he has.)
• Support gays and women. (”I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA].” h/t taggles and garychapelhill.
• End warrantless wiretapping. (I’ll end Bush’s program.)
• Reverse Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. (That silly ole President Clinton just didn’t know what he was doing way back then—unlike my hero in all things: Ronald [Ketchup is a vegetable; what Iran-Contra? trickle down economics; let the air controllers union and mentally ill people eat cake.] Reagan.)
• Hope/Change how Washington works. (Those lobbyists are dirt. My administration will not hire them. Come on, Congress, can’t we all get along? No more pork barrel projects.)
• Sign the Freedom of Choice Act. (This act would have made it illegal to deny any woman birth control or a procedure that she asked for.)
• Make government more open and transparent. (The public will have 5 days to look at bills and be allowed to comment on them before they are signed into law.)

Here are some resources. A letter from a former supporter from New Hampshire, read any article at The Widdershins.

He has, however:

• Bailed out banks with trillions of our dollars.
• Taken ownership of major US car companies.
• Fired corporate CEOs and hand-picked their replacements.
• Filed a brief to strike down repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
• Decided to fund universal health coverage by cutting medicare and medicaid funding.
• Voted to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) while still in the Senate. (Well, at least he cast a vote on something. Once again, liberals dismissed his obvious “reversal.”)
• Kissed the ring of an Arab leader and denied it. Lectured Israel to get its act together, laying blame on Israel for continued Palestinian problems, while he was in Cairo.
• Bestowed egotistical, culturally ignorant and insensitive gifts on allied countries’ heads-of-state.
• Signed a President’s note to the teacher for a child whose dad brought her to a speech.
• Continued to rail against hatred, stereotypes, misogyny, homophobia, intolerance, anti-Semitism, and racism, while perpetrating them and demeaning people.

The only promise he has kept is the one to have date nights with his wife. How often did he have fancy date nights before he became President? How are those nights out at taxpayer expense any different than his criticism of auto executives who flew their corporate jets to their congressional bailout hearings?

During the campaign, he mocked Gucci loafer wearers, SUV owners, people who use heat instead of donning sweaters. Yet, look how he behaves in that regard. Doesn’t he get that people are out of work, struggling, losing their homes, their life savings, their livelihoods, suffering for their gender, and dying for their beliefs? In his heart, I really don’t think he gets it—at all. It’s not enough that he lives in the White House? He’s home from work at 6:30? Wow. Pretty good. If you have a job, are you home then?

Poor liberals. Poor working class. Poor any class. Poor women. Poor LGBT community. Poor duped voters. So many of you believed and swooned for an American Idol president. Do you get it yet? When will you wake up to find the honeymoon’s over?

NYC Fire Letterman Rally, Tuesday, June 16, 4:30pm

It’s time to stand up for women’s rights and take action to let the MSM and their sponsors know that jokes at women’s and girls’ expense will not be tolerated!

UPDATE: **NOTE DATE CHANGE**

FIRE DAVID LETTERMAN RALLY

When: Tuesday, June 16, 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

Where: Outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, 1697 Broadway @ 53rd and 54th Streets, New York City.

Bring your own signs (be creative but PG rated!)

Contact: michaelpatrickleahy@gmail.com if you can provide some time with organization or outreach.

Keep telling your friends on the internet and in person to sign the letter to CBS asking them to fire David Letterman at http://www.firedavidletterman.com.

Progress is being made:

1. CBS has received so many negative comments about Letterman they have shut down the comments section of their website.

2. A leading New York State Legislator, Brian Kolb, publicly called for CBS to fire Letterman.

We hope you can make it. Some of us will join in after work. Let’s turn it out!

*** BTW, if you missed the flap about this . . .

Letterman makes joke at teenagers’ and women’s expense. . . . and fails to make an apology.

David Letterman takes his jokes to a new low in throwing off his remarks aimed at Governor Sarah Palin’s daughter(s) and, of course, Palin herself. What was he thinking? Apparently that women of this country will continue to take it lying down. (sic) Would these “jokes” be tolerated about the family of a male governor? How about Obama’s daughters? Of course not, they’re off limits. Pardon my grossness, but keep the barf bag handy.

Cambodian Human Rights Advocate In Danger

Mu Sochua, 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee for her work in Cambodian human trafficking awareness

From Alegre. Please read, spread the word, add your voice, do whatever you can for Mu Sochua, whose story is below with more info at the links, including the documentary Seven:

Hi Folks:

I got a disturbing email from VITAL VOICES.org (Invest in Women. Improve the World) this evening about a tireless champion of human rights in Cambodia.  Mu Sochua was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for her work to stop human trafficking in Cambodia and Thailand, and has worked with Vital Voices over the years – and they just found out that the ruling party is moving to have her thrown in prison because of the threat she poses to their base of corrupt power.

I met this woman last fall and she’s a remarkable and inspiring leader.  We can’t sit silently by while they shut her away.  I’ve posted an action diary on Alegre’s Corner and I’m hoping you’ll make some calls and spread the word.  I’m not sure if our phone calls or posts on the Vital Voices blog will help, but it’s the least we can do as women’s rights advocates, and (in many cases) supporters of Hillary and her work on behalf of women and girls over the years.

I hope you’ll read my post and help spread the word within your own networks and circle of friends.  It doesn’t sound like we have much time to make a difference – but if we generate some heat around this maybe we might help Mu Sochua remain free to continue her life-saving work in Cambodia.

Thanks a million!
Alegre

What Is True Beauty?

All the rage, currently with over 22, 10, 7, 5 million hits on YouTube as of April 16, 2009 (number appears to have quadrupled in 24 hours), Susan Boyle stepped onto the Britain’s Got Talent stage and sang in full-throated glory I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables. I cried when I heard it yesterday, and still do watching the video. Admittedly, I kvell at lots of stuff like this, even at the theater when performers receive their applause—perhaps, it’s the unfilled performer in moi, but I’m just an emotional kind o’ gal. Back to story: Unfortunately, the YouTube is disabled for embedding by the evil entertainment conglomerates, but you can watch and come back.

I’m a true sucker for and believer in underdog stories, so perhaps it’s the dichotomy of her not-ready-for-camera looks and her diamond clear voice. (The very minor part of me that’s cynical says: Who knows, maybe we’re all duped and that was part of the act. However, the pre- and post- interviews belie that.) But, even when I close my eyes, the voice that did not break into a belt as its velvet slips up the stair-steps of “eternal dreams are shar-er-er-air-aired” gets me every time, every time.

Andrea Bocelli’s album Viaggio Italiano had a similar effect, but I’m that way about music: I get a tune in my head and it permeates my entire body and being. I find it extremely difficult to read when music’s playing and could never do homework while listening to music, because the music always, always wins.

As the judges put it, people were all very cynical and didn’t want her to succeed; they were laughing at her. The pervading cultural tone, in any culture, I’ll venture to say, is that Your Shell Sells. You must look the part. Anyone can chime in that its a female, sexist thing, and you’re welcome to discuss, but that’s only partly true. How many times has Dennis Kucinich, one of the smartest, most compassionate, hard-hitting, and liberal politicians of our time, been ignored or dismissed because of his height or his looks?

One could say it’s a Western cultural thing, but every culture has its norms, what and whom it considers beautiful, according to the times, the fashion, the roles of women and men in the society, women’s slave-like body image concerns. Now, that’s a huge topic, name-a-culture, bringing to mind Western contemporary culture as compared women who must wear burkhas, to the 1950s as compared to Victorian times, or to foot binding, for example.

About one half of the citizens of the US bought what the media and the power brokers sold them, and people swooned, oo-ed and ah-ed over the hip, new Presidential hopeful and his family. They heard what they thought was deep, and it was coming to America: Hope and Change. (”That means trouble right here in River City . . . “) No matter what the media was selling, many people (not us) bought the ideal rags to riches, dreams of their 60s fulfilled story. They thought they were buying substance, but they really were buying style and all the hype that goes along with it. I’d describe the POTUS’ governing style as crickets fashion; and nothing’s changed about “that one.” Flatterers and detractors of Michelle Obama’s style have opinions—and mind you, I AM a fervent, well-put together, “follower of fashion” and often wonder what’s she’s thinking in that department. But, what about what’s inside? What is?

In contrast, in my work I teach people that bringing into coherence their inner and outer mission and purpose for the good brings them into integrity, which makes them look and feel vibrant, alive, and centered. And it’s true. How the heck do I look so good at sixty-one, baby? So, while I am saying that it’s what’s inside that matters, and that our outer reflects our inner and vice versa, beyond that, what do our filters tell us about ourselves? What do the glasses through which we see the world tell us as individuals and cultures about who we judge and how we judge them?

Of course, Susan Boyle has been singing since childhood, and has practiced her art and craft. But really, for me, this story is about letting ourselves be touched. Period. In this case, by someone who is sharing a genuine gift of something very special given from the heart. As the judge said, I felt privileged. Cynics, and even a bit of myself, might say, “What a sap, look at the swells of music, and how the clip was packaged.” But nothing can take away from the artist, and how the clarity and care she emitted in her performance touched a universal, higher realm in people, which is what they really were applauding and fell madly in love with.

I’d venture to say that we each can experience these moments in our day, in the midst of our despair and fear, if we slow down, open our eyes, breathe, and appreciate, really appreciate people when they’re here, and just be with what is true—without having to guard or sacrifice what is true about ourselves. That simple act is one of life’s most freeing and most difficult, isn’t it?

[cross-posted at The Widdershins]

Addendum: If you watch the Susan Boyle clip, when the judges interview her before she performs, you’ll notice that the audience’s biggest laugh at her came when she said her age: 47. It’s as if that age rendered her far too old to be discovered, a star, a hit, a wonder, a revelation, a gleaming light. Let it be known, I’m still going for it.

One of the most insidious -isms in our culture is ageism. Let this be a lesson to all those who ever doubted Hillary Clinton or any powerful woman who gives it her all and succeeds. Hey, don’t we already know that women live longer, peak later, and last for a long, long, long time?

Are You Ready to Rumble?

Protesters from all over the country made their voices heard in D.C.

The PUMA movement was born spontaneously in the zeitgeist around the May 31, 2008 DNC RBC meeting in Washington, DC. We mobilized to action during the shocking events leading up to and as a result of the Democratic Party’s betrayal of the fair reflection of the voters.

So, PUMAs . . . what are you doing now?

We New York Area PUMAs are still connected! We have formed an unaffiliated grassroots group, and created a new blog: NYPWR: New York Area PUMAs for Women’s Rights. Our mission is articulated by Hillary Rodham Clinton in her statement that “women’s rights are human rights.”

We will have meetings, events and actions of our own, and we will also link to other groups and actions to which we’ve given our PUMA Roars of Approval!

NYPWR’s leadership includes TPT/NY, LadyBoomerNYC, MadamaB and Sheri Tag.

If you’re in the NY Area, including any Eastern states, and want to join us, please visit NYPWR, say hi, subscribe to our blog, and sign up for our email list!

This Week’s Events

New York City

The Sky Below film screening presented by the Foreign Policy Association
Wed, April 8th, 5:30-8 pm, Scandinavia House, NYC

Click here for more info and tickets. Watch the amazing trailer!

Don’t miss this award-winning documentary film about the partition of the Indian subcontinent, with NY PUMA, Director Sarah Singh.

NYC & Nationwide

A New Way Forward, a coalition of progressive organizations, is planning protests all over the country, this Saturday, April 11, 2 pm EDT. Sign the pledge on their website and send a message to the President and Congress to break up the banks, fix them, and resell them to the private sector.

NYC protest is in Union Square. Find a protest in your city and sign up!

Okay, PUMAs—it’s time to emerge from our chilly hibernation! Let’s go! We’re just getting warmed up!

Launch of The Widdershins

GaryChapelHill, Lady Boomer NYC, MadamaB, Mawm, and Sheri Tag invite you to their new blog: The Widdershins.

Widdershins means to take a course opposite that of the sun, going counterclockwise, left hand-wise, or to circle an object, by always keeping it on the left.

We are a mostly left-leaning community that was founded by bloggers who were orphaned by the hostile takeover of the Democratic Party in 2008 under the mantra of “Hope” and “Change” by decidedly non-liberal forces. These autocrats were aided by one of the most disciplined propaganda machines that this country has ever seen. They infiltrated the party, the mainstream media, and the so called “progressive blogosphere” that many of us had wrongly assumed to be just that, progressive.

Read more About us here.

The bloggers at The Widdershins would like to invite you to join us in an ongoing conversation about politics, economics, culture, art, or any other thing that might pop into your head. We don’t have any rules about being a member of this community other than showing respect and civility to those that you meet here. If you are reading this, we hope that you will take a moment to see what we’re all about, and maybe throw in your two cents as well.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Tonight: No We Won’t Radio @ 8pm!

Join Host Sheri Tag with MadamaB and AngieNC on PUMA United Radio’s NO WE WON’T, tonight at 8 PM EDT! Tune in and listen to their lively discussion of the politics of the day and week!

Call in to join in: Dial: 347-539-5420

Yours truly, Lady Boomer NYC, will make a special appearance at the end of the show, leading up to a special event after the show! Don’t miss it, or as we baby boomer hippies used to say, “be there or be square!”