140

I have decided that everything I really want to say can be said in 140 characters.

Excuses You Might Believe In

People and organizations who fail to push the Obama Administration into providing progressive programs, and who remain silent in the face of the growing disappointment of promises broken and actions not taken,will end up losers in what apparently is an effort to mollify the mythical middle.

In one of many articles to appear recently challenging whatever/whomever remains of the progressive left to stand up and be counted, Ted Rall wonders what the "excuse they [the Dems] [will] come up with for sitting on their butts..." and doing nothing!

Great read... http://www.uexpress.com/tedrall/

P.S. It may not be hopeless, yet, but having 27 Dems sell out to the NRA last week on a gun amendment in a credit card bill isn't helping me feel hopeful. Do we really need "to protect innocent Americans from violent crime in national parks and refuges” by letting them carry loaded weapons?

Has the U.S abandoned respect for human rights?

Among the lasting memories I have of my years with Amnesty International are the conversations I had with people, women & men, who were victims of torture.

These were people from all walks of life who were caught up in political unrest, war, terrorism, genocide, and all the other ugliness that happens when one party wants to dominate another.

What I remember most vividly were the emotional scars they all bore. It was very difficult to hear their stories and even more difficult to watch them tell their stories.

Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is: "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a male or female person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

Torture is most often sponsored by governments.

Torture is prohibited under international law and the domestic laws of most countries. Amnesty International estimates that at least 81 world governments currently practice torture, some openly.

In the 21st century, torture is widely considered to be a violation of human rights, and is declared to be unacceptable by Article 5 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Signatories of the Third Geneva Convention and Fourth Geneva Convention officially agree not to torture prisoners in armed conflicts. Torture is also prohibited by the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which has been ratified by 145 states.

National and international legal prohibitions on torture derive from a consensus that torture and ill-treatment are immoral, as well as being impractical. Despite these international conventions, however, many organizations (e.g. Amnesty International) that monitor abuses of human rights report a widespread use of torture condoned by states in many regions of the world.

So, when the United States of America engages in torture, either directly or indirectly (through the insidious practice of extraordinary rendition - sending prisoners to another country to be tortured) it is an arrow through our national heart. It degrades us.

It seriously undermines our moral and ethical authority and renders us impotent.

But, as we knew then and know better now, this country has been engaging in torture for the better part of the last decade.

With the direct knowledge and permission of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney, the U.S. engaged in practices most often identified with outlaw regimes and dictatorships.

But now that we have an opportunity to expose the sins and the crimes of the Bush Administration we are being urged by President Obama, by Democratic leaders like Harry Reed, and by the mainstream media, to act cautiously and not aggressively pursue the truth.

We are told that it will hamper efforts to move the country forward.

That's ridiculous.

What will hamper this country from moving beyond it's horrendous past is by suppressing the truth.

It is morally bankrupt to use the excuses and reasons being put forth by Obama, Reed and the mainstream media.

This country needs a Truth Commission to expose the truth about torture and to bring those responsible to justice.

There is simply no other way to heal our national wound.

Spain, Guns & Butter & Crazies

Got back from Spain recently and the reentry back into USA life has been rough - particularly because of the ever-present 24-hour news cycle that hovers over bad news like a buzzard over a carcass.

But first, Spain.

According to The New York Times, "the Spanish economy expanded faster than almost any other economy in Europe over the past decade, but economic activity has dropped quickly over the past year as the construction sector collapsed and the global crisis hit.

Spain's economic outlook is now the grimmest in Europe.

But everywhere we looked we saw workers and we saw signs of government investment in infrastructure improvement - in every city we visited we saw men and women working on bridges, roads, and subways, and cleaning streets, washing windows, etc.

Xavier Segura, chief economist at the savings bank Caixa Catalunya, said that Spain was "spending billions of euros on public infrastructure projects" but the government also needed to take long-term measures to improve productivity.

“We need to change the model of growth,” he said. “The problem is that it’s when you are in a positive economic cycle that you should foment value-added activity. When you are in a crisis with high unemployment you have to feed money to local governments for labor-intensive public works.”

Labor-intensive public works - what a great idea.

Just where is the Obama administration re implementing serious public works projects in this country? Maybe he should visit Spain during his European Vacation and see what we saw.
____________________________________________________________________

Now, about reentry back into the good ole USA and that ceaseless news cycle.

News "Highlights" were:

• Unemployment numbers hit a 25-year high (the NY Times reported the answer "a lot" to the question of how much longer and how much worse will the recession get!)
• US funded Afghanistan showed it's true colors by passing a law allowing marital rape
  
• The FBI reported a link between long-haul truckers and serial killers - thus giving credence to the plots of all those horror movies and TV shows portraying the "killer" truck, racing at high speed through the night, just inches from your car's rear bumper.
• North Korea showed us their "Big One" - posing just one more threat on the global front

But the worst of the really bad news was the escalation of gun violence in this country. If anything best defines the culture shock of reentry back into the USA from another country, it is the never-ending incidence of gun violence and the attendant reportage.

An unidentified 31-year-old woman is gunned down in the middle of a Brooklyn street. 5 children are found murdered in Seattle - killed by their father. 13 people, most of whom were looking for a better life in the US, are mass-murdered in Binghamton, New York by a "troubled" unemployed man.

And just two weeks after after a parolee shot and killed four police officers in Oakland, Calif., 3 cops are murdered in Pittsburgh by a gun nut who believed the Obama Administration was preparing to negate his 2nd Amendment right to own guns - lots of guns - an AK-47 rifle, a .22 long rifle and a pistol. Friends said the gunman recently had been upset about losing his job and feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.

A few people die from eating contaminated pistachio nuts and this country goes on the immediate offensive to tackle the problem - but people get killed every day by gun violence and this country stands by and does nothing.

Jesus, is this not some crazy shit?

And you know what? This "armed and dangerous" mentality is being fed by people like Glenn Beck and other Ministers Of Revolution on right-wing radio and TV all over this country.

Charles Blow addressed this very issue in his NY Times column, "Pitchforks and Pistols."

"...But, it’s not all just harmless talk. For some, their disaffection has hardened into something more dark and dangerous. They’re talking about a revolution. Some simply lace their unscrupulous screeds with loaded language about the fall of the Republic. We have to “rise up” and “take back our country.” Others have been much more explicit.

"For example, Chuck Norris, the preeminent black belt and prospective Red Shirt, wrote earlier this month on the conservative blog WorldNetDaily: “How much more will Americans take? When will enough be enough? And, when that time comes, will our leaders finally listen or will history need to record a second American Revolution?”

"And between his tears, Glenn Beck, the self-professed “rodeo clown,” keeps warning of an impending insurrection by saying that he believes that we are heading for “depression” and “revolution” and then gaming out that revolution on his show last month. “Think the unthinkable” he said."

"At the same time, the unrelenting meme being pushed by the right that Obama will mount an assault on the Second Amendment has helped fuel the panic buying of firearms. According to the F.B.I., there have been 1.2 million more requests for background checks of potential gun buyers from November to February than there were in the same four months last year. That’s 5.5 million requests altogether over that period.

Coincidence? Maybe. Just posturing? Hopefully. But it all gives me a really bad feeling."

Gives me a really bad feeling too.

When will this country wake up and finally address the guns and crazies issue?????

Welcome home.

Top 10 Reasons I'm Looking Forward to Vacation

JG & I are outta here on Thursday - bound to España to eat pintxos, canned bonita, and suckling pig.

Here's my top 10 reasons why I'm happy to be leaving ...

10. TMI about Kelly Clarkson peeing in the shower.

9. One too many traveling "debates" between Ann Coulter & Bill Maher - two masters of extreme position taking who actually like each other - yuk!

8. Way too much air time for Jim Cramer and way too much sanctimonious BS from Jon Stewart - that was not a Edward R Murrow moment! But nice to see CNBC finally get slammed!

7. Can't stand to see Duke lose.

6. Tired of calculating my net worth plunge to see if I qualify to be "an average American household."

5. Only way to stop myself from buying iPhone apps and Kindle books

4. Must escape depressing news about the millions of unemployed and uninsured.

3. Can't stand to read one more "news" story about Octomom.

2. Afraid of the re-emergence of Dick "Dr. Strangelove" Cheney.

1. Have to leave before I commit a felony against an AIG trader.

Alan Krauss 1962-2009

Times Scrapes Bottom in Hire of New Columnist

The New York Times has hired Ross G. Douthat, a 29-year-old conservative writer and editor at The Atlantic, as an Op-Ed columnist, nearly two months after ending the year-long run of another conservative columnist, William Kristol, officials at the paper said Wednesday.

The cashed-strapped Paper of Record writes that Mr. Douthat "steers away from partisanship — he frequently criticizes Republicans — or doctrine... On abortion, he said in an interview, “I’m sort of a squishy pro-lifer,” interested in finding areas of compromise."

Bullshit!

Mr. Douthat is but a twenty-something version of the classic anti-choice white male masquerading as the new voice of compromise on the topic of abortion.

Yes, dear readers, Mr. Douthat has been anointed by the Times as their new conservative opinion columnist- eligible now to write upon it's hallowed pages, virtual and otherwise.

For those of you more interested in truth than self-promotion, here's what the Times left off it's little blurb about Ross...

http://didntaskme.blogspot.com/2008/12/latest-anti-abortion-manifesto.html

Do you think this appointment will help drive legions of young people, particularly young women, flocking to the Op/Ed page of the Times?

Tell me I'm having a nightmare!

Bloviators, Comedians & GOP Leadership

Before Michael Steele came along we only had Rush Limbaugh as Bloviator/Comedian/Head of the GOP in Residence.

Now don't think for a moment that Steele can replace Rush - the former(??) Oxycontin Head still has a huge listening audience comprised of 60+-year-old angry white males - but the 50-year-old Steele is offering up some serious competition.

Steele is promising a “hip-hop makeover” that would attract even “one-armed midgets” to his party. Seriously. He said that.

In true GOP tradition, Mr Steele is a born actor and a former high school drama star. He recently gained lots of media attention when he accurately described Rush the Comedian's show as "ugly" and incendiary."

That pissed Rush off. Not a good thing for an obese former drug addict. Getting his blood pressure as high as his picture seems to indicate may be a death sentence.

Which is kind of the same thing he wished for Sir Senator Ted Kennedy this week when he said Kennedy would be dead when health care reform passed.

The Steele comment sent Rush rushing to the hustings where he gave a jugular-vein-popping speech that prompted the White House to name him the face and the voice of GOP leadership.

The sweaty, swollen man in the black, half-buttoned shirt ranted for nearly 90 minutes at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He reiterated his desire to see the president of his country fail. He misstated the Constitution’s intent while accusing President Obama of “bastardizing” the document. He made fun of one man’s service in Vietnam, to laughter.

David Letterman compared him to an Eastern European gangster. But he looked more like a bouncer at a strip club who spent all his tips on one bad outfit.

But for the Republican Party, Limbaugh has become very much a vice. Rush is as addictive as those pain-killers he used to take. And angry white men on the fringe just can't seem to get that monkey off their backs.

But wait a minute, there's a new drug on the street. And new comedian doing Hip-Hop shtick. Is that Michael Steele I see around the corner, trying to "apply conservative principles to urban-suburban hip-hop settings?"

Yep, it sure is.

Michael Steele who offered the "friggin' awesome" Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal some "slum love." (yes, that Bobby Jindal, you know, the Tom Sawyerish, 14-year-old Gov of Louisiana who gave the worst speech in history in response to Obama's Joint Congressional Address - Bobby Jindal - the former next best thing in the GOP).

Michael Steele is the GOP's new fix/ation.



Anyway, have fun with all of this. Don't take any of it too seriously. And remember, it will only be about 3 years before Romney and Palin reappear - reestablishing their rightful claims as Comedians in Residence for the GOP.

CNBC Finally Gets Called Out for Their Bullshit

I always wondered why I haven't read or seen or heard more about CNBC and their unique brand of corporate pimping and their extraordinary failure in seeing the financial meltdown even while we were in the middle of it.

Now, thanks to Jon Stewart, we at last see what bullshit CNBC and their overpaid anchors engaged in while the country was going south.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mr Stewart's last comments....

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Why I Bought A Kindle

As the market falls below 7,000, to it's lowest point in 12 years, I find diversions of almost any kind welcome - especially diversions involving technology.

So I'm going to write a little about technology and specifically why I spent almost $500 on the new Kindle 2, a leather cover, a cool Mighty Bright reading light and 3 books I had whispernetted to the thing while it was still in transit.

As enamored as I am with technology, I'm not an easy mark. I don't accept or subscribe to never-ending technological developments just because they exist.

Technology that doesn't in some way enrich and improve my life, or lives in general, is of no value to me. Developing means to robotically kill opposing forces is evil. Developing means to robotically vacuum my carpet is good.

And technology has to be very user-friendly for me to adopt it. The days of my attempting to read hundreds of badly translated pages in a "User Manual" are long gone. I don't have the time, aptitude or advanced engineering degree to cope with that.

Remember the first versions of videocassette recorders - VCR's of the 1970's - and the subsequent VHS vs. Betamax formatting battle? My brother-in-law Dave could write a book about it as he was working on the leading edge of marketing those devices back in the day.

What they all had in common was an impossible-to-read operating manual. Badly translated from the original Japanese, Korean, Mandarin or what-have-you, by the time it reached your hands it was incomprehensible.

The inability to set those babies up to actually record has become part of popular lore.

Another major "advance" was audio cassette players for your car that required turning over the vehicle to 2-or 3 guys who looked like they just stole all the equipment they were about to install in your car - they had to cut holes for speakers, run wiring, stick the player in the dashboard and then turn it back to you so you could figure out how in the hell to operate it while driving 70-miles-per-hour on the freeway.

Or how about car phones? That was fun - especially when they didn't melt from the heat and sun or more likely, get stolen on a frequent basis.

I'm not a first adapter either. I really believe that someone else should be the guinea pig for Version 1.0 of anything. The only time I failed to adhere to that was with Vonage - I bought in as soon as it was introduced and it was a miserable failure from the get go. Every time it rained I lost phone service. I got rid of it fast. And I still have a land line - just in case I need to call 911 and have them actually know from where I'm calling.

I haven't jumped for HDTV (yet). I have a Dell desktop PC with a cable ISP - no cool Apple laptop - no WiFi. I do have a pair on noise-cancelling headphones because I don't want to lose anymore hearing than I already have. And I have an iPod 4GB Nano that's a couple of years old.

But in the last few years my love affair with new technology has really kicked-in. First it was the proliferation of on-line tools that made a neat connection between my personal and professional life - blogs, blogging, facebook, twitter, etc.

It just made sense to me to be able to express myself both personally and professionally through those forums. It has helped me enormously in keeping in touch in brand new ways with my friends and business colleagues. And it has provided me a means to reconnect with people I want in my life.

Then my applemaniac friends introduced me to the new iPhone 3G and the whole wide world of apps.

I was smitten! So in love! Never saw anything like it. The iPhone offered me compatibility, portability and connectivity that I didn't have. And in such a small, sexy package to boot.

The iPhone actually enriched my life. It made communication possible on a whole different plane. It also made it possible to have fun on a whole different plane. How else can you flick bowl in the palm of your hand?

One of the first things I did after putting my favorite music on iPhone and hooking-up my personal & work e-mail, and getting all those must-have apps, was to download audiobooks and e-reader to my iPhone.

Once again, it was the seductiveness of portability and convenience that drove me in this direction.

I live in Brooklyn and I commute via the subway to work. On weekdays the "F" train is frequently overcrowded and finding a handhold while simultaneously holding a 300-page book and turning pages in nigh impossible. As is actually finding a seat during prime commuting times. And after years of hauling heavy books around in my messenger bag I was beginning to feel like a pack mule - plus my shoulders would ache by the end of the day.

So I started to listen to audiobooks with my noise-canceling headphones while riding the subway. The very first one I listened to was Camus' The Stranger narrated by acclaimed voice actor Jonathan Davis. The experience was transformative. I had forgotten how much I missed having someone read to me. It was heaven, and I was forever hooked on the experience.

About this same time I was also downloading free e-reader apps on the iPhone. Mostly "classics" such as Moby Dick, Paradise Lost, The Time Machine, etc. You can change the font color and size, and the background "paper" color. You can "turn" pages with just a flick of your finger across the screen and the sound made is actually that of a page being turned! Very cool and very readable - and again, all in the palm of your hand. I also downloaded books from Beamitdown.com - they allow you to scroll the pages to your reading speed. That's pretty amazing! I have Benjamin Button, a biography of Lincoln and a couple of Sherlock Holmes tomes in this format.

I'm thrilled with this new reading freedom. And not having to lug books around anymore during my daily commute is wonderful.

Now don't get me wrong. I love "real" books. But I live in a typical NYC apartment - meaning I have finite space limitations to deal with. Right now I have numerous places to display and stash books - bookshelves, under tables, on tables, in little niches, books on top of books, etc. I find it hard to part with my books, so I keep them around. But I'm running out of room.

So it wasn't much of a jump for me to look to Amazon and their launch of Kindle 2.0.

I didn't pay much attention to the first Kindle - it was clunky looking, had some issues that needed to be dealt with and just didn't make an impression on me.

Bur when I started to read about the new Kindle 2, saw pictures and read critical reviews, I was sold.

Based on a heads-up article written in the NYTimes, I ordered a Kindle before the new one was announced. The article assured me that I would receive a new one and not the obsoleted version. And sure enough the e-mail from Amazon arrived telling me that I would be among the first to receive the new Kindle 2.

2 days after it was officially launched - I took receipt of it and have hardly put it to "sleep" since.

The one thing that describes the great technology available today is ease of operation - it's linear, coherent, and crystal clear. You can start using it almost out-of-the box.

That describes the Kindle 2 perfectly. I quick turn through the user guide and I was ready to go.

And, I ordered 3 books while it was on a UPS truck and when I turned it on all 3 books were already downloaded and ready to read.

The Kindle pages remind me of newsprint and the size of the page reminds me of a paperback - so there's absolutely no disconnect for me re a real reading experience. And the page turns are super fast.

I love it. And once again I feel I have engaged a new technology that will help enrich my life.

And nothing can compete with it's convenience and effectiveness.

I do not believe that Kindle and e-readers will replace books - I believe it is but another tool to aid the reader in accessing books and authors in the formats that make the most sense for the readers lifestyle. And if you commute by train and travel often like I do then having something like the Kindle makes a lot of sense.

Publishers need to stop whining about technology and find a way to participate. Old business models, circa early-to-mid 20th Century simply no longer work - whether it's book publishers or newspaper publishers.

Purist critique of technological advances seems pathetically rooted in a longing for a world that longer exists.

It's participate or perish. And everyone wins when everyone participates.

Freak Show/s

I was going to devote this post entirely to Mickey Rourke, but recent events demand that I also include the bizarro tale of Sandra Herold and Travis the chimp - but more on that in a bit.

First, Mickey Rourke.

OK, someone has to say it. Mickey Rourke is a one-man freak show. I mean what is up with the royal blue velvet slippers with crest? And that hairdo? And that Paris-Hilton-like-dog (rest it's poor soul).

Maybe I'm just pissed because I think this guy is going to steal the best actor award from Sean Penn. Or more accurately, the "Academy" is going to deny the award to Penn because he's already been there and done that and, god knows, Hollywood loves a good redemption story.

But Rourke's story is too weird. And The Wrestler was just Rourke actually being himself - what's "acting" have to do with it?

And am I the only one who thinks The Wrestler is a panegyric to steroid use and self-abuse? When asked if he took steroids, Rourke replied “When I’m a wrestler, I behave like a wrestler."

Yeah, right, I think I hear you.

Plus, I think the film is both bad and bogus.

Now, for Travis the chimp.

I'm sure you've already heard the horrible incident where Travis the chimp mauled a women, his loving owner tried to stab his ass to death, failed, and finally the cops had to shot him to death.

But did you know that Ms Herold treated Travis as both surrogate child and husband?

Too weird!

Look at that picture above for a few minutes. Let me know what your reaction is.

What A Bad Week Looks Like

1. Tax evader and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner danced through a major speech on Obama's new-and-improved bank bailout plan on Tuesday, raising many more questions in the process. I agree totally with the New York Times Editorial Board, that "his speech invited, at best, healthy skepticism from the markets, the public and lawmakers — and at worst, more mistrust."

2. Geithner's performance prompted comedian Bill Maher to go on the Larry King Show and say that he believed that things are a lot worse than we are being told as evidenced by Geithner's "vagueness." This does not make me hopeful. Is Maher an economist by the way?

3. My financial advisor (actually my super-smart financial wizard sister) advised me to get out of all markets - I'm now parked in an account earning so little it's hard to compute. But at least I'm not losing more $$.

4. The Republican party voted NO in the House and Senate on the stimulus package . I am convince that the Repugs are bent on bankrupting this country. What makes Obama think reaching out to them is prudent? The big question now is what is Obama's follow-up game plan. This stimulus package is relatively small potatoes, where's the grand plan. I am not confident.

5. My friend Dallas and I discussed how a capitalistic system based on hyper-consumerism is doomed to fail - especially when millions of jobs disappear and salaries are severly deflated and depressed.

6. Less than 1 in 4 people believe in evolution. America appears to becoming dumber. Gallup showed a "linear correlation between education level and (dis)belief in evolution." We need a poll for that?

7. A good friend needs a hip replacement. When asked how soon he should he have it done, the doctor said, "when the pain gets unbearable."

8. Another plane crashed, this time killing all aboard. I knew one of the victims - Alison L. Des Forges - a dedicated human rights activist who documented the genocide in Rwanda.

9. Another woman decided to be a martyr and blew herself up in Iraq, killing 50 - many of them women and children resting from a pilgrimage.

Tough to be optimistic or confident right now.

Can An Unrepentant Holocaust Denier be Rehabilitated?

After Pope John Paul II made reconciliation between Catholics and Jews a key feature of his papacy and after he publicly apologized for the sins of the Church and Christians over the past 2000 years, you would think that the Church would continue seeking common ground with Jews.

Rev. Thomas Reese, Jesuit author and the former editor-in-chief of America, said in an interview with Ray Suarez of PBS in Feb of 2000, "I think that the Pope has talked about the Holocaust in the past, the failure of so many Christians to reach out to help the Jews and to protect them from the Nazis. The Pope has put on a back burner the whole question about the canonization of Pius XII. Clearly this is a pope who wants to have reconciliation with the Jewish community and is asking for forgiveness of all the sins, all the sins. And there are lots of sins that the Christian community has committed against the Jews."

So wouldn't you think the Church would want to continue to examine it's relationship with Jews and continue to seek the truth? (With the exception of course of Pius XII's complicity with the Nazis).

Evidently not.

Pope Benedict XVI has just recently announced the "rehabilitation" of Holocaust Denier Richard Williamson, a member of the ultraconservative Society of St. Pius X whose excommunication was lifted by the Vatican last month. The decision sparked outrage because Williamson had said in a television interview he did not believe any Jews were gassed during the Holocaust.

What on earth can this Pope be thinking?

How can Joseph Ratzinger, the ultra-conservative former German Cardinal, a former member of Hitler Youth, a former member of a German anti-aircraft unit, who's zeal in enforcing Church orthodoxy attracted labels such as "The Hammer," "Cardinal No" and "God's Rottweiler," bring Holocaust denier Williamson back into the Church's fold?

It's disgraceful. It's sinful. It's a retrograde step that underscores the continuing influence of far right-wing, ultra-conservative thought and policy in the Roman Catholic Church - especially by secretive groups like Opus Dei and the Society of St. Pius X (which was founded in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council.)

Israel’s highest religious body sent a letter to the Vatican asking to postpone an annual bilateral meeting and voicing “sorrow and pain” at the pope’s decision to welcome the bishop back into the fold.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly urged that the Pope make a “very clear” rejection of Holocaust denial.

Under such pressure and criticism the Vatican is now demanding that Williamson recant his denial before he can be readmitted as a Bishop in the Roman Catholic Church.

Remember, this is the guy that said only 200,000 to 300,000 Jews were killed during World War II and none was gassed.

This is the guy who refuses to visit Auschwitz and see the truth.

Williamson's response to the Vatican? "...I must look again at the historical evidence.'' It is about historical evidence, not about emotions,'' he added, ''And if I find this evidence, I will correct myself. But that will take time.''

Isn't that the same thing as saying "fuck you?"

By the way, Williamson lives in Argentina. Isn't that where a lot of Nazis escaped to after WWII?

The only moral response from the Vatican now is to tell Williamson not to bother. Let him remain excommunicated. Let him remain in Argentina. Let him remain outside the Church.

To do otherwise would be to lay waste to the progress made by John Paul II and to forever taint the Church's relationship with Jews around the world.

The person who needs to recant now is Benedict.

Is Cheney Dr Strangelove?

I was too struck with the image to mention it at the time, but I think Dick Cheney is actually Dr. Strangelove.

Intervention Needed Immediately

You didn't ask me, but I'm an avid tennis fan, and at one time was a pretty good player.

In the men's game I've been a big fan of Connors, McEnroe, Borg, Agassi, Sampras. etc. I like guys with big games and incredible skills and who can play on any surface.

In recent years I've been following Roger Federer. I've been in awe of his natural skills and his seeming march to tennis immortality.

But a big bump in the road appeared a few years ago on Mr Federer's journey - Rafa Nadal - the lefty from Mallorca who appears to be the albatross around Roger Dodger's neck.

I've suffered through Federer's close losses to Nadal, all the while thinking that Rafa is indeed the next big thing on the tennis horizon.

And I thought that what the hell, let Nadal own clay, I mean Sampras never won the French either.

Then Nadal won Wimbledon and I thought, well what the hell, Roger can't be beat on hard surfaces.

And then came the wee hours of this morning and Federer's painful-to-watch match against Nadal at the Australian Open. And boom, just like that (well 4 and 23 minutes worth anyway) Nadal now owns Federer on hard courts too.

So here it is - someone has to say it - Federer needs an intervention.

He needs both a coach and a therapist.

He needs a coach to tell him that he must change his game in order to beat Nadal. Roger can't stay the same and expect success in defeating this kid.

And he needs a therapist to help him deal with grief and loss.

I mean all this public crying is one thing when you win but looks a little pathetic when you lose, and your tear-filled runner-up comments are being broadcast around the world.

Roger, get a grip!

And get a coach.

Apture: The Coolest App Ever

You didn't ask me, but I have a friend named Rory O'Connor who writes @ Media Is Plural.

Rory, author of "Shock Jocks, Hate Speech & Talk Radio," has been writing recently about emerging technologies, Web 2.0, and social media's impact on journalism, trust and credibility.

On his site today, Rory did the blogging world and other online sites with text content a major favor by writing about the new, FREE, application called Apture.

Apture is a new communication platform that literally adds fresh dimensions and a web of information to previously two-dimensional posts.

How? Read Rory's post for all the information. And, if you write a blog or other online content, add Apture.

It adds unbelievable depth and context to your content.

This blog post is full of Apture aided references - just roll your mouse over the highlighted words.

Who? New York Suddenly Looks Second Rate

You didn't ask me, but I awoke this morning still dumbfounded by how an accidental Governor could so mishandle one of the most important decisions he will ever have to make - choosing a replacement for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.

But mishandle he did. In the run-up to Gov Paterson finally making his choice - he and his staff took on the competing personas of Catskill comic and second rate hit men. Paterson constantly joked his way through mangled messages of the day and laughed his way through every public appearance and his staff ended up tarring and feathering a member of one of America's premiere political families (as well as pissing off the Cuomos and the Clintons).

No doubt that Caroline Kennedy's withdrawal from consideration is filled with mystery and leaves a bad taste in the mouths of plenty of liberal Democrats - like me.

But as Gail Collins said in her NYTimes article this morning, "Respectful of the longstanding state tradition that there is no situation so bad that it can’t be made worse, Paterson’s office followed up by sliming Kennedy."

And then the second-rate Governor made things even worse. He picked a second-rate pro-gun politician from somewhere Upstate to become the junior Senator from New York.

Blue Dog Caucus member, 100% NRA rated, gun-supporting, conservative "balance the budget," very junior Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand is now the pick to succeed Hillary Clinton.

Who you said? Right! Who!

It was an amazing Palinesque move by our accidental Governor.

A gun loving conservative to represent my city? As Mayor Bloomberg said,

"She has actively opposed the efforts of New York City, and cities around the state and nation, to enact commonsense measures that keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals. For instance, she has voted to keep critical data needed to track illegal gun traffickers from law enforcement, has voted to tie the hands of the ATF, and has also voted to protect dealers who sell guns illegally."

But look - the real situation is this. Paterson choose a politically expedient way out of his mess. He didn't choose stature, or gravitas, or connectedness, or achievement, or common purpose.

He choose someone from a majorly conservative section of the State who may be able to boost his pathetic chances to run for Governor in 2010. He choose someone whom he thinks can get him elected.

It's a disgrace. it's a disgrace to progressives state-wide, it's a disgrace to residents of NYC where gun violence is a fact of everyday life in some communities, and it's a disgrace to the democratic process.

Of course we all know that most politicians do not operate according to a set of core beliefs, they mostly operate by political expediency.

And, faster than a speeding bullet, Senator-Designate Gillibrand's (Who?) "politics are evolving at a rate previously seen only in science-fiction movies. She’s developed a hitherto unnoticed belief in gay marriage. At her press conference, she expressed an interest in working on one of McCarthy’s gun control bills. And, she has an appointment to meet in Harlem with Al Sharpton."

I'm trying really hard to adopt President Obama's positivity, but damn it's hard not to be a cynic when this is the best we get from the great state of New York.

My state is suddenly looking very second rate. Does any body really believe that Gillibrand is the best we could have done?

The 2010 election can't come soon enough for me.

More Good News On Global Family Planning

You didn't ask me, but I have a a great friend, Deni, who works for Americans for UNFPA (the UNFPA part is the United Nations Population Fund).

Deni just told me that President Obama committed to making sure that funding is restored to UNFPA as part of his lifting the ban on the Global Gag Rule.

This is one more piece of tremendous news to top off a fantastic week.

Here's that statement that Americans for UNFPA released tonight:

President Obama Vows to Restore UNFPA Funding, Return U.S. Leadership to Women’s Issues

New York, NY – January 23, 2009—President Barack Obama today ended the stunning disregard our government has shown the world’s women when he pledged to implement policies that help raise the status of women around the world, including the restoration of a U.S. contribution to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

“… I look forward to working with Congress to restore U.S. financial support for the U.N. Population Fund. By resuming funding to UNFPA, the U.S. will be joining 180 other donor nations working collaboratively to reduce poverty, improve the health of women and children, prevent HIV/AIDS and provide family planning assistance to women in 154 countries,” said President Obama in an official White House statement issued Friday evening.

“With this declaration, the Obama Administration allows all Americans to again hold our heads high. We can be proud to be part of a nation that is, once again, ready to lead the world in promoting the health and rights of women,” said Anika Rahman, President of Americans for UNFPA.

The United States, which was integral to forming UNFPA in 1969, is the only country in the world that has ever refused to fund the agency for reasons that are political rather than financial. From 2002-2008 the United States Congress voted to appropriate funds to UNFPA but this contribution was withheld by the Bush Administration. A total of $244 million was blocked.

Now, we look to Congress to support President Obama and women everywhere by allocating $60 million in FY 09 to UNFPA, as Congress finalizes the FY2009 appropriations process.

“Together Congress and the Obama Administration’s actions will allow UNFPA to enhance its programs immediately,” said Rahman. As Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton so strongly articulated before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it’s crucial that our government consider women’s issues as integral to our foreign policy.”

“For too long, we have viewed U.S. assistance for global women’s heath programs as important, but not necessary to our own interests. The needs of women are so intrinsically tied up in the needs of families, communities and nations that it’s absurd to consider ‘women’s issues’ separately,” said Rahman. “By restoring funding to UNFPA, the Administration recognizes women’s rightful place in the world.”

UNFPA provides women’s health care and promotes the rights of women in more than 150 countries around the world. It is the largest international source of such assistance. UNFPA’s work has significantly reduced maternal mortality in countries such as Bolivia, Egypt and Zimbabwe, provides 500 million women with modern contraceptive methods annually and works to combat gender-based violence around the world.

To learn more about Americans for UNFPA visit www.americansforunfpa.org.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, provides women's health care and promotes the rights of women around the world. Americans for UNFPA is dedicated to building American support for the work of UNFPA and to restoring the United States' moral, political and financial contribution to the organization.

No More Tears: Obama Lifts Global Gag Rule!

You didn't ask me, but I say "Yes He Can!"

Just 3 short days into his presidency, President Obama showed his commitment to women around the world by lifting the global gag rule - a Reagan and Bush era onerous policy that has cost women their dignity, their futures and their lives.

"For eight long years the global gag rule has been used by the Bush administration to play politics with the lives of poor women across the world," said Gill Greer of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in London. "In rescinding this disastrous and unjust policy, President Obama has returned the United States to the international consensus on women's health."

Read all about it here it in the Washington Post.

President Barack Hussein Obama

Your didn't ask me, but I'm glued to CNN right now, 9:02 AM, Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - Inauguration Day!

So many worked so long for this day. So many gave so much for this day. So many suffered so much for this day. So many gave their lives for this day. It's time to finally celebrate!

I don't know who or what President Obama will evolve into during his presidency.

As The New York Times said: "He remains hard to read or label — centrist in his appointments and bipartisan in his style, ... He will eventually have to choose between competing advice and priorities, risking the disappointment or anger of constituencies that for the moment can still see in him what they hope to see."

All I know for sure, at this precise moment in history, is that Barack Hussein Obama is my president, and I couldn't be more proud.