Category Archives: POLITICS

May 13, 2012 · 3:57 pm

Is ‘Drill Baby, Drill’ the Equivalent of ‘Kill Baby, Kill’?

“what if” near the end is powerful question we each need to answer.

Paul Phillips's avatarSparking The Left

A very interesting read appeared yesterday on CBS News’ website pointing out that many of the recent conflicts around the world, whether it is actual war or just a war of words, have one element in common: energy resources are a big factor in all.  This is an observation that is certainly uncontroversial and most people on both sides of the political spectrum in the United States should be able to easily see the reality of this fact.

These conflicts are obviously over non-renewable, limited energy resources that most countries need going forward to keep their lights on and their societies moving.  But looking at overall energy generation the countries listed in the article have something else in common.  They are mostly at or near the bottom of the list when it comes to percentage of their total renewable energy generation.

This is not to make the argument the countries…

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May 10, 2012 · 8:03 am

ABUSERS AND ENABLERS CAMPAIGN TOGETHER

ABUSERS AND ENABLERS CAMPAIGN TOGETHER

Louise Annarino

May 10, 2012

 

I received the following e-mail tonight: “Louise: Thank you for all the e-mails with information on the campaign you have sent us and others over the past 4 years. You kept us well informed. Unfortunately, Pres. Obama publicly admitted today his preference for same-sex marriages, (emphasis mine) which prevents us now to vote for him. So, please take us from your distribution list.” I must not have understood President Obama. I did not hear him say he preferred same-sex marriage. I am certain Mrs. Obama would have been surprised to learn of her husband’s preference, from these former Obama supporters. http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/politics/obama-same-sex-marriage/index.html

 

The President, like many others, has struggled with his own perceptions, misconceptions, and stereotypes of those who are gay,lesbian,bi-sexual or transgender (LGBT), His past reluctance is even more poignant given his racial heritage. There are those who say he should have known better, having experienced prejudice himself. Others are grateful he was willing to openly engage in the struggle to face down his own prejudices. His journey is one we can all learn from.

 

It is 2:34 a.m. I could not sleep and decided to write. I found the above note as I first sat down at my computer. I had not intended to write about the president’s announcement. I had been thinking I would write about the similarities between the way we treat President Barack Obama and how an abuser treats his victim. The above e-mail fits right in to the puzzle that is abuse.

 

Few of us are strangers to abuse and bullying. If we have not personally been abused, we are close to someone who has been. It is never easy to be the victim, nor to be close to a victim. An abused person seeks to escape the abuse in many ways: denial, deflection, perfection-seeking, appeasement, depression, hostility, violence against self and against others, even suicide. To get close to a victim and stay close is a struggle indeed. It is hard to watch someone be slapped mentally, physically, emotionally – often all three. It is harder to the one slapped.

 

So many have told me over the past few months that they can no longer watch television news programs, nor read the newspaper, nor read on-line missives which contain one demeaning slap against President Obama after another. Even liberal commentators on MSNBC spend much of their programming discussing the attacks. There is no escaping the hateful distortions of his record, personal beliefs, character and leadership. There is no escaping the outright lies meant to undermine the country’s confidence in him. The bullies cannot even credit him with the death of Osama Bin Laden, the resurrection of the auto industry, the steady creation of jobs, the lower cost of health care, the investment in green energy, the increased production and glut of oil and gas since he took office. These abusers credit him with nothing, not even his humanity. They hide their racism behind their abuse. No wonder it is hard to watch. No wonder we cringe in distaste.

 

Obama supporters know the attacks are meant to not only act as cover for those who oppose the president, and seek to destroy his presidency and his historical record; but, are also meant to turn his supporters away from him, to make any close contact with him so unbearably hard to stomach that even his supporters cannot approach him or his campaign. This is classic abuser behavior: Separate then attack,repeat,repeat,repeat. We see it. We know it. We hate it. We avoid it; and, in so doing doing we fail our president, our country and our selves.

 

An abuser is charming. He disarms any potential supporters of his victim with a story-line upon which he acknowledges a commonality with the victim’s friends and family. His remarks appear innocent; hidden behind his smile and slight chuckles is a comment assuming shared agreement with the victim’s poor behavior. He assures friends and family he does not blame them for the victim’s shortcomings. At the beginning of the abusive relationship, both the victim and supporters strive to please the abuser, catering to his whims, reaching “across the aisles” to make everyone feel better about what is fast becoming a “situation”, a falsity created by the abuser to separate the victim from his support group. By the time the supporters get suspicious, and uncomfortable enough to express their doubts about the abuser’s veracity, supporters have already ostracized the victim. Media personalities awoke too late to the abuse game being played out in public view.

 

African-Americans, Native-Americans, and others are not so easily duped. After all, they have been victimized by abusers for over 200 years. They understand the methodology of abuse and oppression. When I voice my outrage to white supporters they too often express a desire to avoid the election entirely. When I express my outrage to African-Americans they often tell me “shoot, this is nothing new; if my people got this upset every time, they would have committed mass suicide! You got to be tough.” They offer this wisdom, “Only white people can afford to get upset; we got to survive!” Those who think African-American voters will avoid voting for President Obama because of today’s announcement, do not understand the strength and wisdom of African-Americans to face down abusers. White supporters need to “get tough” and face them down, too.

 

We are right to feel uncomfortable. We are correct when we acknowledge the abusive behavior. We are justified in saying, “I can’t stand anymore of this!” but, we are wrong to abandon the victim so we can feel comfortable again. None of us should feel comfortable so long as any of us is being abused. That is why President Obama changed his position regarding same-sex marriage. Knowing members of the LGBT community continue to be abused made him more uncomfortable than his own discomfort with same-sex marriages, and his concern of potential political fall-out. He put aside his discomfort and chose to take the courageous path. It is time we all do so.

 

It is time we all acknowledge the abuse of others sanctioned by law, the ongoing victimization occurring daily in our local communities, and the abuse being heaped upon a president who continues to “do the right thing” while abusers attempt to undermine and destroy his every effort on our behalf, his personal integrity, even his personal safety. If you have ever suffered abuse or bullying you can see it as clearly as I can. It can keep us up at night, but it cannot stop us from supporting the LGBT community and President Obama.

 

 

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May 9, 2012 · 5:50 pm

GARDENING A SWING STATE

GARDENING A SWING STATE

Louise Annarino

May 9, 2012

 

It’s cooler today after the heavy rains that soaked my new garden beds. The 88 degree days have subsided; humidity lies like a blanket of clouds over the newly-planted tomatoes. It seems a bit risky for tomato planting, despite the burgeoning evidence that Spring arrived very early this year. It is often hard for the mind to shut out the negativity of hail, wind, snow and ice storms of past Mays. Yet, Ohioans are changing their mind-set, little by little, forced to do so or be left behind in getting their crops to market. Ohioans won’t let changing weather patterns stop their forward progress. Ohio has become a swing-state despite its conservative history; maybe, because of it.

 

In the past,late freezes often occurred in Ohio. Ohioans tend to be conservative gardeners. No root crops planted before the oak tree puts out leaves the size of a mouse’s ear. No flowers or green crops put out before the last official freeze date, which gets earlier every year.Ohioans play it safe doing what they know works, taking few risks, and turning out crops to feed the nation year after year: corn,wheat,soy beans,canola,tomatoes,peppers,pumpkins, and more.

 

Most family farms have been corporatized. We now farm chickens and eggs in tiny cages, in huge barns. Driving mile after mile, we now we see farm field after farm field turning canola flower yellow.  Diversity within a single farm is nearly obsolete. These corporate practices require greater applications of more and more  chemicals, which run off fields into our streams, our small lakes, and our Great Lake resulting in huge algae blooms which  sicken swimmers and kill fish. Chemical companies provide more chemicals to treat the algae blooms. Conservative Ohioans know it is better to prevent a problem rather than treat it after; “A stitch in time, saves nine.” But, chemical companies have lobbyists who pay better than organic farmers, gardeners, and environmentalists.

 

At the same time, backyard farming has taken hold in our cities. Smaller organic farms and dairies are emerging. Farmers’ markets are flourishing. Local restaurants serve locally grown crops, and meat from locally raised, free-range chickens or grass-fed animals. The old is new again in Ohio. Corporations are not people, so have no life-principles, nor historical memory to guide their actions. But Ohio’s people do. And they are swinging back to policies and practices they learned from their farming and immigrant grandparents. Smaller is not always less; and, is often better because a smaller enterprise’s growth can be more closely regulated and controlled for greater productivity and more positive outcomes. Ohioans are not against regulations which protect commerce, banking and investing any more than they oppose regulations to protect the soil, air and water. They are not against gas and oil wells; they are against destroying our water supply by unregulated drilling practices. One can see well heads on farms all across the state, many of which supply energy for the local farmer whose field it sits upon.They are not against wealth accumulation; they are against unregulated and unscrupulous seekers of wealth, who destroy our middle class for their personal gain.

 

Ohioans have a history of shared community; of seeing the larger community as a living being entitled, as well as obligated, to the care of each member. Family farmers care for their own, and for their neighbors. Barn-raisings involve an entire community, sometimes for several days. No disaster is faced alone in an Ohio town. We see fewer farm towns today, but we see their remnants in our caring communities: races for “cures”, change jars on store check-out counters for struggling families, “battles of the bands” for town disasters etc. Ohioans care for one another, as best they can.

 

This is why the messages against “big government” are so insidious and so wrong-headed. The only way to make Ohioans, who are so community focused, believe them is to baldly lie that government is our enemy;and that government is taking away our money, our civil rights, our religion,our very means of survival, and our abillity to  care for one another. The truth is that for every $1.00 dollar Ohio sends as tax to the federal government it receives back $1.05 in return. Ohioans are actually getting more of their money than they give. 1

 

The federal government is the entity which protects our civil rights. Have we forgotten the Civil War? Jim Crow Laws? Anti-Miscegenation laws? Segregated schools? The Civil Rights Act of 1963?  Title VII and Title IX?  Repeal of “Don’t Ask,Don’t Tell”?  The federal government alone was able to assure civil rights protection so that slaves could be freed, African-Americans and women could vote,  African Americans could freely travel-eat in restaurants-get hospital care-drink from a drinking fountain, persons of different races could marry, children of different races could learn side-by-side, girls could play sports and be treated as equals to boys,age discrimination would not be tolerated,and everyone could serve and protect our towns, cities and nation openly and with respect. The government we are told to fear is the greatest protector of our civil right. Does this sound like your federal government is taking away your civil rights?

 

It is the federal government which grants religions tax exempt status so that church-raised dollars support only their religious tenets,not the larger community. And, it is federal dollars raised from American citizens of every religion, as well as from agnostics and atheists, which are given to religions for their “faith-based initiatives” which do serve the larger community. It is the federal government which protects those tax dollars received from all Americans from being used to promote the specific religion accepting the federal funds. This is what the Ist Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, intends by the following language: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”2  Anyone can pray in school at any time. Just don’t do it out loud. The schools are for students of any, or no religious belief; public schools are not religious schools. This does not mean public schools take away one’s religion, nor do they promote religion. This is in keeping with our Constitution. Does this sound like your federal government is threatening your religion’s existence?

 

It is the federal government which regulates the water,soil and air against corporate pollution which destroys are fishing industry, our agricultural product desirability, our own health. It is the federal government through the Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, which regulates medical providers delivery of services against fraud and lowers the cost of services, which insists 80% of insurance premiums are used for medical care rather than corporate profit lowering the cost of heath care, demands no one is to be denied medical insurance due to pre-existing conditions. etc. Providing an environment and social structure to keep citizens healthy, lowers health care cost and promotes growth. Does this sound like your federal government is threatening your right to exist?

 

Ohioans are conservative farmers, gardeners, and citizens; but, they are fair and wise. Those who remember their history, who see through the BIG LIE about BIG GOVERNMENT, understand that S.B. 5’s intended purpose is to destroy unions, eliminate government workers, and undermine Democratic party support by such middle class workers;and they also see this attack actually undermines the Ohio tax base and  Ohio productivity, leads to increased foreclosures and bankruptcies, increases joblessness, and threatens Ohio’s economic recovery. It was the stimulus of federal government dollars which kept police, EMT’s, fire personnel, teachers and other essential public workers on the job despite the actions of Governor Kasich and the Republican-led Ohio legislature to reduce big government. Without “big government”,under President Obama’s federal leadership, the economic consequences for Ohio of Kasich’s small government would have been even more devastating.

 

In the weeks and months to come, as we fight off the pests attacking our fields  and gardens, we will also fight off the pests who sponsor attack ads against “Big Government”, President Obama, and Democratic candidates. These pests have also attempted to destroy conservative Republican candidates such as Lugar, and those like  Snowe and others who declined to run rather than face Tea Party Republican attacks. We can’t ignore such attacks in our gardens, nor in this election. We grassroots gardeners must prepare and amend our soil to strengthen our plants and our minds to withstand such assaults.

 

President Obama has wisely stated that this election could make the difference for the survival or failure of our middle class, of those farmers and gardeners who toil their own crops and tend their own fields, and support their own communities within their middle class means and with their middle class value that we care for one another. We believe in the goodness of community, the power of pulling together and helping others who need our help. We don’t blame the farmer for a lost crop during times of drought or flood. President Obama and the current Democratic candidates don’t blame the middle class for corporate greed and de-regulation by past administrations and elected officials which led to economic disaster. President Obama, who has sought repeatedly to find a hand to hold across political aisle, does know whom to blame: small-minded people  who promote reducing government  oversight in order to amass great wealth through de-regulation, the  people who created the lie of “big government is your enemy.”

 

It is not big government we must fear, but the wrong government. Vote for President Obama. Give him a  congress which will protect the famers and gardeners, the middle class, the true conservatives of small towns and big cities who swing with the sun and rain to protect their crops. The rest of us! Gardening in a swing state ? Ohioans know how to  do that!

 

1.http://visualeconomics.creditloan.com/united-states-federal-tax-dollars/ , V E, Visual Economics

2.http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am1

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May 6, 2012 · 2:04 pm

AFTER THE HONEYMOON

http://photos.mercurynews.com/2012/05/super-moon-shines-on-as-brightest-and-closest-of-2012/10379/#7

AFTER THE HONEYMOON

Louise Annarino

May 6, 2012

Yesterday’s moon appeared 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than normal full moons as it passed closest to earth  all year. As our orbits grow farther apart, and the  light of reflected sun dims, will the moon be any less a presence in the night sky? Or only our perception of it as we look at it from narrower angles? Does such sudden appearance of a moon larger than we can imagine after months and years of only giving the sky an occasional glance while we go about our  daily routines diminish the moon, or us?

In the bottom cavern of my Mom Angela’s china closet, was a stack of photo albums on the right, and a cardboard whiskey box chock full of photos on the left. The photos in albums always seemed more precious for the effort Mom made to enshrine them for posterity. Four triangular holders encased the corners of each photo. They had to be licked before pasting the edges of each photo onto the black pages. It was a work of art;black and white photos against the black page,starkly elegant. This took time, so what was so special about these photos?

The photos in the albums were of my parents when they first met during the war, of each others family members standing with them in first introductions, of days spent at the beach on Staten Island when my Dad Angelo had a few hours leave, of Angelo and his sailor buddies while stationed in Honolulu, of Angelo aboard ship, of Angelo and Angela’s childhood events: first communions, confirmations, graduations; and, of simple things like Angelo riding a bike, Angela and her younger sister Millie eating ice cream cones.

These photos of my parents were 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the parents I knew in the flesh. They were the moments my parents first fell in love. They were on their honeymoon. They offered a glimpse of their true being, not parents, just  people in love with life and with one another. It was a new perspective for me. It was a honeymoon for me to look at those photos, and I looked at them every few weeks.

Mom would often end up sitting beside me before the open doors, the albums spread around me, one open on my lap. I enticed her by shouting questions to her as she worked in the kitchen. Soon, we were back in time, Mom’s face aglow as she remembered much more of her life before kids. Story after story unfolded and she became a glorious creature right before my eyes. I no longer saw her in a sauce splattered apron, hair pulled back, small brother clinging to her leg whining, an exasperated look at the clock moving too fast to get everything done on time. She became the fullness of being that was Angela, bigger and brighter than Mom.

I would corner Dad with an album, climbing on his lap to make him take it seriously and keep him from falling asleep in the chair. Running  a restaurant meant twelve hour days, six or seven days a  week. Dad usually fell asleep as soon as he hit the chair. But when he looked at the album, his first response was a happy chuckle. His tired eyes lit up, his grin awakened his spirit, his happy energy seeped from his body to mine. As he embellished the stories behind each photo, I learned about his youthful shenanigans not caught on film, how many planes he shot down during each battle he fought in the South Pacific, aboard a destroyer. How he was introduced to Mom and immediately asked her to dance; his first words to her, “I’m going to marry you.” He gave me his war medals,battle ribbons and bronze stars to keep in safety, sensing a kindred spirit in his lone daughter. He became the fullness of being that was Angelo,bigger and brighter than Dad.

Yesterday, as the moon was gathering its fullness, Ohio State University welcomed President Obama for his 2012 campaign kick-off. At such a huge rally,  President Obama appeared 14% bigger and 30% brighter than normal. He showed us his fullness of being. He has been the president for over 3 years now. We have come to view him from narrower angles. We have gone about our daily routines, giving him an occasional glance. Others have tried to cast a cloud over him, take pieces out of him, dim his light and reduce his impact on our nation and on our world. But, yesterday, we looked up and gave him our full attention, and we saw him as he is – a leader who understands the tides of war and peace, who pushes the economic flow with a subtlety of purpose that increases growth without eroding profitability and productivity, who monitors the winds and tides of our environment, who strives to keeps us healthy-educated-employed. He has done so since elected, turning back the destruction he found upon his ascendance to the presidency.

The work of the moon is sometimes imperceptible but inexorable. The work of President Obama is often the same. He keeps moving us forward in the right direction, despite sustained opposition of other forces. At yesterday’s rally, we took out the photo album and rejoiced together. We each recalled the honeymoon of 2008 and the inauguration. Life got complicated after that. Reality set in, we each got busy. We lost track of the larger vision. The 2012 campaign is a chance to shine some light on what we have accomplished, where President Obama has taken us, how far we have yet to go. But, we can now see it more clearly and act with more confidence in him, and in ourselves.

The honeymoon is over; let the real work begin. Let’s knock on doors, make phone calls, register voters, get them proper I.D., get them to the polls. Let’s win this election!

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May 5, 2012 · 3:56 am

WALK THE LINE

WALK THE LINE

Louise Annarino

May 4, 1970

 

Walking the line is not the same as toeing the line, nor following the party line. Walking the line is a solitary function, calling for balance, effective pacing, trusting self, and imagining success. President Obama, as every political leader before him has had to  walk the line every day: balancing the diverse interests of Americans to maintain unity of purpose to move the country forward, making friends abroad while protecting our civilians at home and our military abroad, promoting civil rights while keeping the peace in our communities. I think about what it means to walk the line today, as I recall the civil discord on college campuses during the Spring of 1970;when lines were crossed and lives were lost.

 

On May 4, 1970, I was sitting on the Oval at Ohio State University (OSU) with a few thousand protesters.We had to sit in groups of 4 to avoid arrest (an order under martial law that only groups fewer than 5 could gather anywhere on campus)when a young man began running from group to group. He started at the library end of the campus Oval. As he ran we could see people collapsing, pulling their hair, clinging to one another; but, we were still too far away to hear anything. We had to sit and wait. When finally we heard his message we understood. A group scream was emerging in bits and pieces from every soul on that Oval. I am still screaming for those killed at Kent State University (KSU)(for full account see http://www.kentstate1970.org/ )on May 4; and, for those killed on May 15 at Jackson State University. (for full account see

http://www.may41970.com/Jackson%20State/jackson_state_may_1970.htm ).

 

The events of Spring 1970 started years earlier. Students who had been protesting a variety of interests suddenly recognized their interconnected, common interests and a common enemy, when The United States escalated the Viet-Nam War and invaded Cambodia. Fore several years students had been engaging in protests, sit-down and  hunger strikes,and marches to draw attention to racism, sexism, repression, student rights,campus safety, ecology concerns,and The War. It is hard to imagine any institution of higher education left untouched by the voices of dissenters seeking change.

 

For example, at Ohio State rapes and other crimes against women and minorities had been hidden behind a veil. In 1968 through 1969, students had repeated hunger strikes to demand the university install safety phones and lighting across campus, to openly disclose the dates-times-locations of crimes against women and minority students. Groups of students organized fair housing investigations to root out discrimination against African-American students seeking off-campus housing, submitting a list of those landlords discriminating to the university which approved all off-campus housing, and which itself owned over 1/3rd of the off-campus units. Other groups of students responded to Rachel Carson’s SILENT SPRING by pressing for environmental protections such as energy efficiency, recycling programs, food safety and responsible use of chemicals on campus. The draft, the lottery, the elimination of student exemption and the escalation of the war increased campus tension.

 

In February 1970, the presidents of OSU Afro-Am and of the student body of OSU asked for a meeting with the President of Ohio State to discuss a list of 21 requests prepared by African-American students. The president refused to meet with these student leaders or accept the list for his perusal, and the board of trustees likewise refused to do so. The list or requests became a list of demands, and a student strike was called. African-American and white students, male and female students,ecology proponents, anti-war students, and LGBT students found their common problem: a patriarchal institution which enforced “in loco parentis”and believed students should be seen and not heard; a government who sent 18 year olds to die and fight a people with whom they had no argument but would not allow them to drink beer or vote; and institutions which would deny the most basic civil rights, personal safety, and equal treatment to fellow students who by now viewed themselves as a community apart from the larger society.

 

The strike grew larger. Students took over the Oval just as the 99% occupy parks and cities today. Faculty joined in, holding classes on the Oval and working the strike and its issues into their curricula, holding teach-ins as well as sit-ins.A massive march from the Oval to the on-campus home of President Novice Fawcett was planned for the next day when I got a call from a hometown friend who asked to meet me at the state fairgrounds. When we met, I discovered he was billeted at the fairgrounds with other members of the National Guard, who were prepared to attack students who marched on the president’s home. He warned me to stay away from the march so I would not be endangered. Instead I approached the house from the rear to simply be a witness, where I was met by soldiers armed with M-16s who looked as frightened as I felt. It was the first, but not the last time I would have rifles shoved in my gut, ready to shoot on command.

 

The day after the first march, the commanding officer of the Guard asked to speak to students from our podium on the Oval, following Woody Hayes who gave us a pep talk and encouraged us to maintain a peaceful protest as we had so far done. The Guard commander assured us his troops were young men our own age who felt much like we did and meant us no harm, and would remain armed but without bullets in their rifles. He was cheered. The next day, Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes declared martial law, and removed and replaced the Guard commander by a new commander who assured us his men were armed and would not hesitate to shoot us. It seemed unthinkable.

 

We soon had reason to believe him.The movement grew in proportion to the unprovoked beatings, nearly daily pepper and tear gas attacks, and numerous arrests for simply being on the Oval. Even the frat boys joined in when state troopers gassed and shot into fraternity houses along fraternity row, chasing striking students from the Oval into surrounding neighborhoods.

 

Then, Cambodia was invaded and a powder keg was set aflame in the minds of students who had tried every peaceful method to be heard. The students at OSU, Kent and across the country became louder, more verbally combative, and tore up brick walkways for weapons instead of running away from billy club and gas attacks. Gas canisters and bullets flew into dormitories and crowds. Every night campus ministers took our activity fee collections to bail students out of jail, fearing we would be arrested if we went to the jail ourselves.

 

On May 4, 1970 shocked cries were heard across the country, “They killed 4 of us!”. We had become one family;our brothers and sisters had been killed and maimed. We knew their names: Alison Krause, Sandra Scheuer, Jeffrey Glenn Miller,and William K. Schroeder. At OSU, we later learned, more than 30 students had been treated for gunshot wounds, some paralyzed as some students were at Kent State. Newspapers were not printing such stories. We only discovered such stories during “public hearings” on campuses over the summer, when few students were present on campus to hear or to give testimony. The E.R. doctors had carefully created and maintained the shooting record on our behalf.

 

On May 15, 1970, a small group of Jackson State students rioted upon hearing a rumor that the brother of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, Fayette, Mississippi Mayor Charles Evers and his wife had been shot and killed. 21 year old pre-law junior Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, and 17 year old James Earl Green were killed. Injured by gunfire, including one student simply sitting in a dormitory lobby, were: Fonzie Coleman, Redd Wilson, Jr.,Leroy Kentner, Vernon Steve Weakley, Gloria Mayhorn,Patricia Ann Sanders, Willie Woodard, Andrea Reese, Stella Spinks, Climmie Johnson, Tuwaine Davis, and Lonzie Thompson. Police and state troopers picked up their spent shell casings before they called the first ambulance to the scene.

 

Campuses, including Ohio State, were shut down, classes suspended, and every student sent home. The momentum which had been building across the country was stopped by attacking,wounding and even killing participants; and shutting down a place for students to gather. The same strategy is seen today in the institutional response to the 99%, Egyptian, and Syrian protesters. When the threat to institutions becomes acute, the response can cross the line.

 

For years afterward, students crossed to the other side of a street whenever they saw a police officer approaching, hid in doorways when a helicopter flew overhead, shivered when they saw a National Guard jeep or truck, tensed when they heard a police siren in the distance, moved away slowly when a dog approached.

 

With the election of President Obama we hoped those days were behind us, but the backlash against an African-American president indicates it has not. The forces which treated students, women, African-Americans and people of color,and LGBT community as less deserving of their citizenship rights are still at-large funding campaigns of hate and division. We are stronger and wiser than they are. We will not let them cross the line. We will hold the line by holding on to one another. Give me your hand!

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May 5, 2012 · 1:16 am

FORGET GEORGE III; WE ARE AMERICANS NOW

FORGET GEORGE III; WE ARE AMERICANS NOW

Louise Annarino

May 4,2012

All over the country local grassroots groups like the Worthington Area Democratic Club (WADC) are restructuring activities to campaign on warp speed, as illustrated by the following memo:

Instead of holding our usual WADC monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 16, we have decided to ask our friends and members to volunteer to assist the Worthington area Obama For America campaign, headed by Lucie Pollard and Glenda Overbeck.

Their contact information is as follows:

Lucie Pollard” <pollard_Lucretia@hotmail.com>, 785-1843

Glenda Overbeck” <goverbeck@wowway.com>, 436-3229

We also will be continuing our collection of petition signatures for placing the anti-gerrymandering amendment on the November ballot.  Lucie Pollard is coordinating this.

Individual campaigns for Senator Sherrod Brown, Cong. candidate Jim Reese  and HD 21 candidate Donna O’Connor are looking for volunteers.

Their contact information is as follows:

Sen. Sherrod Brown” info@sherrodbrown.com

Jim Reese” info@reeseforcongress.com

Donna O’Connor” oconnorforohio@gmail.com

We expect to get back to our regular WADC meetings in June.

Thank you for your support!

Mike

Wherever you are, whoever you are, ask yourself one thing: Do you support the failed policies of:

– de-regulation of Wall Street, banks, corporations, environment, food safety,   education.

– 15% tax rate on hedge fund, commodities, and investment traders’ income.

– lowest tax rate in history on regular income of wealthiest citizens.

– 15% tax rate on those living on investment income rather than labor income.

    • legislative attack on women’s health, income parity, wages, privacy, and care of their infants and toddlers.
    • increasing health care premiums, deductibles, costs without accountability to  consumers.
    • return to extreme fees and punitive rate increases on ATM use and credit cards.
    • reduction of PELL grants, Stafford Loans, and other student financial aid vehicles; and, increase in interest rates on same; and, privatization of student loan programs which rewards banks over students.
    • denial of health care insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
    • reduction in medicaid benefits for the poorest disabled and children among us.
    • elimination of LGBT civil rights: to join military, engage in civil unions, visit partners in hospitals, share financial wealth while alive and access the wealth of an estate upon death, etc.
    • return to benign neglect at best and outright racist legislative policies governing African-American, Latino, Asian, Arabic and other people of color.
    • oppressive immigration policies which fail to consider humanity of the immigrant, rights and needs of their children born in USA, and labor needs of America’s businesses, innovative ideas from new cultural infusion.
    • ignorance and disdain for the developmental stages of childhood, and the diversity of learning styles; continued “teaching to the test” instead of “teaching to the child”.
    • elimination of unions which are the engine driving increased wealth within the middle class, increasing GNP and productivity of American companies.
    • foreign affairs based on “my way or the highway” philosophy rather than on informed and thoughtful presidential leadership, favors war over limited police actions, does not avail itself of latest technological advances, ignores privacy and civil rights of detainees etc.,would willingly violate Geneva Convention’s ban on torture.
    • privatization, underfunded vouchers replacing guaranteed medicare.
    • risky 401Ks to replace social security contributions for young workers, underfunding guaranteed benefits for oder retirees.
    • appointment of more Supreme Court Justices who think corporations are human beings.

This list is not comprehensive, but should at least explain why we must do several things:

1.Re-elect President Barack Obama. We need his continued pragmatic wisdom and  leadership.

2.Elect Democratic candidate to the U.S.House of Representatives.

3.Elect Democratic candidate to the U.S. Senate.

4.Elect Democratic candidates to the State House and State Senate.

5.Elect Democratic judges.

We do not do this to “Take back our country,” as Republicans constantly assail us. We do it to take control of the Senate, take back the House and keep the presidency. This is not about taking  back or losing our country; it is about taking or losing political office. Those are two very different things and indicate why the Republican point of view has become so toxic and does not serve us well. In years past the rallying cry for each party was “take back the House, the Senate, the Presidency!” Now, for Republicans it is “Take back the country!”.

We don’t lose our country when our party loses an election, and others take control. It is still ours. We don’t lose our religion when religion has no political control over us. Our religion, and that of each believer, is still ours. We don’t lose our freedom and civil rights when we lose a political race; but, the Republican leadership believe we do.

I don’t want a party in control which believes those outside the party must lose their freedom and their rights as citizens, should they lose a political race. That kind of “freedom” is not what our military fights to protect. That is not the political system our founding fathers created. If we wanted an aristocracy of the 1%, religious control of our laws and institutions, and a government which recognized only its own rights and not those of the citizenry we could have just continued to be ruled by George III and the Church of England.

But we are Americans. Republicans who remember this, Independents who firmly hold to this, and Democrats who are struggling to keep this truth must do all we can to make it possible for a re-elected President Obama to enact his forward looking policies into law. He needs a Democratically controlled House and Senate. We need to help make it happen. Even if you have only a limited amount of time and energy, when you join with others, the power to keep moving forward is unstoppable. Good-bye George III, once and for all.

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May 2, 2012 · 5:55 pm

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Louise Annarino

May 2, 2012

 

Is it just me, or do you also find yourself surprised by talking heads’ commentaries? I often wonder if the commentator just watched the same speech or event I did. Our take-aways are usually quite different. Last night was no exception.

 

Earlier in the day, I watched president Obama and President Karzai  of Afghanistan sign a long-term strategic partnership agreement, President Obama acknowledging as he did so that there would be “difficult days ahead”; but, “By the end of 2014, the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country.” This month NATO meets in Chicago and is expected to endorse a proposal to support a “strong and sustainable long-term Afghan force” (Obama).

 

Soon after, the president met with US troops at Bagram Air Force Base and addressed them with compassion and forthrightness. “I know the battle’s not yet over. Some of your buddies are going to get injured and some of your buddies may get killed and there will be heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead. But there’s light on the horizon because of the sacrifices you’ve made.” He ended, “I could not be prouder to be your commander-in-chief.”

 

A few hours later, President Obama addressed the nation and the world in a more formal manner. “I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security,” Mr Obama said. “But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly.” This is nearly identical language to that he used when he announced he would withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. About 23,000 of the 88,000 US troops currently in the country are expected to leave Afghanistan by the summer, with all US and Nato combat troops out by the end of 2014.

The agreement President Obama signed promises Afghanistan an on-going partnership, just as he pledged a strong and enduring partnership with the government in Iraq.

Seemed pretty clear to me that we are positioning ourselves for major troop withdrawl ongoing economic and structural support, continued military monitoring and force intervention to prevent a resurgence of Al Quaeda, as we did in Iraq. Is it a clean end like WWII? No, but we are engaged in different struggle for survival; one calling more for strong policing than for traditional military maneuvers.

Then, the media begins its spin, arguing as Chuck Todd, with his cynical smile, body language of disgust, and obvious prejudice in a truly exceptional Mr. Darcy pose that anyone who believes what the president said is simply “naive”. He and others continue today to insist President Obama’s trip, speech and the signed agreement are merely political. Of course they are political, but there is no merely  about it. When two heads of state and NATO agree after months of negotiation to chart a course for continued partnership and mutual security that is a political act. That is why we HAVE a president, to represent our best interest and negotiate relationships with the rest of the world. TO BE POLITICAL. The reason we televise their speeches and appearances is because we believe in transparency, not because it is an election year, and not because our president is self-serving.

Does Barack Obama hope to be re-elected? Of course. Is he campaigning? Of course. But he is also about our business at home and abroad. The man is simply doing his job; the job a strong majority of us elected him to do. And, he is doing it very well. Those prejudiced against him may find that too much to bear. They would, if they could, deprive those of us who support President Obama of our pride in him.

President Obama will bring our troops home, with a sense of responsibility to Afghans who tolerated our presence on their soil for much longer than they should have had to do so, thanks to president Bush’s inattention to the Afghans. Packaging lies to our congress and to us citizens, President Bush opened a second front in Iraq and abandoned the effort to find and kill Osama bin Laden. He asserted, as Mitt Romney asserted, that getting one man was not all that important. It is estimated President Obama has eliminated 30 of the 40 leaders of Al Quaeda , and we can expect that effort to continue. President Obama understands that simply eliminating the leadership is not enough, we must also offer respectful support and partnership to a country mired in such poverty, hopelessness, and shame that its anger leads to re-emergence of such leaders.

President Obama will bring our troops home, with a sense of responsibility to our troops and to their families. He and Mrs. Obama are leading efforts to assure they receive health care, education benefits, consumer protection, and to prevent the plight of homelessness. This is not a cynical, but a loving president. He is proud to be our commander-in-chief and we should be proud of him.

 

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April 30, 2012 · 2:40 pm

GAME CHANGE: A Review

GAME CHANGE: A Review

Louise Annarino

April 30,2012

I recently read GAME CHANGE, Heilemann & Helperin,Harper collins,2010. I hesitated to read it, fearing it would be one more propaganda piece. I prefer to draw my own conclusions from direct sources rather than rely on second-hand factual analysis. However, the book is delightful. It spares us the too frequent substitution of interpretation of an event over description of the event. As detective Webb would say, “Just the facts, lady; just the facts.”

There is one caveat. The authors perceive events through a white cultural lens. The other candidates, Republican and Democratic were equally ethnocentric in their view of candidate Obama and his wife. Consequently, their comments regarding the Obamas must be questioned, rather than accepted automatically. We saw this phenomenon when Michelle and Barack Obama fist-bumped one another during a rally. White lenses did not know what to make of this “unusual” and “disturbing” behavior. Say what? Such ethnocentrism makes it easy to attack the Obamas. In ignoring racial cultural differences, we ignore the opportunity to truly understand one another. It is an easy trap to fall into. We avoid being racist by avoiding race altogether? Too many of us follow Steven Colbert’s line, “I don’t see color.”

The authors do not shy away from issues of race which surfaced during the campaign.When Heilemann and Helperin share descriptions of an exuberant Obama; and when they share descriptions of his confident, “I’ve got this.” in response to nervous staff before a debate appearance, they say he is arrogant. The audacity of a black man to rejoice in his power is often hard for white America to accept as mere confidence. Candidate Obama had to remind his own staff, “you guys are trying to pretend I’m not black,” Obama said urgently. “I’m black!” (Game Change, p.333,par.1). The cultural differences often complicated relationships among friend and foe.

“You can’t pretend this isn’t an issue. you know McCain is playing the race card by accusing me of playing the race card. They’re making sure that race is injected into this campaign. They’re going to keep doing it in a lot of ways, and when they do it we have to fight back.” (Game Change, p.33,par.2). The Clintons had their own problems running against an African-American. Republicans are still using this strategy in 2012, accusing the president and Mrs. Obama of injecting the race card, at every opportunity.

Another repeat of republican strategy in 2012 is the accusation of  Obama as celebrity. We all remember the July 30 ad with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. While the celebrity of Spears and Hilton may have faded, that of Barack Obama remains strong. Since when is a popular president a bad one? Isn’t that how one wins a vote? Exactly! Attacking your opponent’s strength is an old ploy, worth repeating in every election. expect to see more of this.

GAME CHANGE is a fast read, and reminds us that what we see in ads, commentary and interplay between candidates may not be all there is to the 2012 campaign.

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April 25, 2012 · 12:00 pm

SEEDS OF CHANGE

SEEDS OF CHANGE

Louise Annarino

April 26,2012

 

Diversity of biological forms, structures,colors,scents is the basis of evolutionary change which assures survival of plants, insects, animals and human beings. As the environment changes, it is diverse structures and mechanisms within living things which enables them to channel the new data bombarding it, and make peace with it.

 

Look at the winged seeds of a maple tree. Every seed blown from a maple tree is slightly different, taking advantage of every slight difference in wind patterns, to assure the seed’s dispersal near and far. It is not uniformity and consistency which assures the tree’s survival but complexity and diversity.

 

The ability to change, to expect that nothing ever is exactly like its kin, to anticipate shifts in the wind and create a diverse response team is the hallmark of success for maple trees and for human beings.

 

We must vote for politicians who create diverse teams, and are thus well prepared for whatever winds may blow threw our country; and, who do not make a stand upon fossilized ideas, but are willing to evolve into great leaders of all of our diverse people. This is the only way our country can survive and thrive within the great forests of the world.

 

We must elect politicians who are unafraid to confront seed destroyers: those who create too much heat with angry attacks, those who create too much moisture throwing cold water over any idea different from their own, those who blanket the earth with distortions and lies using up space on the forest floor so seeds of truth cannot take root, those who block sunlight and transparency refusing to disclose or answer questions needing answers, and those whose own fears of annihilation compel them to destroy all within their reach.

 

We have  a president who embodies diversity, who is willing to work the earth alongside the grassroots to nurture the seeds of growth in America, and of its people. 2008 was a revolution. 2012 will be our continuing evolution. Hand me a hoe. I have some seeds to plant.

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April 24, 2012 · 2:15 pm

MISTRESSES AND PRE-NUPS IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Mistresses and Pre-Nups in American Politics

Louise Annarino

April 25,2011

American political campaign’s are a difficult courtship between candidate and electors. Each candidate puts on a good face and woos the public with promises made during romantic events orchestrated to convince his or her audience that this is someone special. This is the one we have waited for our entire lives. Eventually, we meet the entire family, get to know their friends, sometimes even get a look at their tax returns. We cringe when big daddy media questions our beloved too closely. We really prefer not to have our bubbles burst too soon. The wooing seems to go on forever, and at great cost, especially after the wedding date has been set.

Four years after the wedding the other woman shows up to call into question our fidelity, the new candidate’s very presence a reminder this marriage has at best another 4 years. But the new candidate urges us not to wait. “Dump the bum, now! can’t you see what he has done to you?” Please, we know this routine. We have faced it every four years for over 200 years. Yet, we have short memories. Too many of us fall for this every time. And each of us has a great aunt Bertha around to tell us “I told you so”.

But, no honeymoon lasts 4 years. Not every campaign promise can be easily kept. And, in fact, as in any marriage, there is really only one key promise – to uphold the marriage itself. The key political promise is to uphold the Constitution and the laws of The United States of America, to uphold the country itself.

Mitt Romney has many mistresses: ALEC, The Koch brothers and other multi-millionaire SUPERPAC owners, Karl Rove, the TEA PARTY, and Grover Norquist who requires Republican candidates to make THE PLEDGE to him of no new taxes. This pledge has grown so large it now overshadows the marriage itself, undermines governance, and causes Republican members of the House and Senate to forget their greatest pledge to uphold government itself. I don’t trust anyone who needs a pre-nup before committing to me their lives and sacred honor, to love and cherish me, and to be faithful to me.

I don’t want a relationship with a candidate who brings his mistresses along on our dates, who makes promises to them more absolute than his promise to me. I certainly would never marry him, nor elect him president. I’ll keep the man I’ve already got. He has remained true to me even though he can’t always give me everything I want. I’ll keep Barack Obama.

 

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