refuse and resist

Two heartbreaking and inspiring views on the war in Iraq.



From the National Catholic Reporter, "What the Rest of the World Watched on Inauguration Day," by Sister Joan Chittister. I'm sure you saw the photo. I liked Sister Joan's description of Dublin commuters confronting their morning papers.



And on the growing war number of soldiers who are refusing to fight this immoral war, "'They Can't Throw Us All In Jail'", by Geov Parrish.



I am very attracted to these stories of dissenting servicepeople. I feel called to help. I have no idea yet what I'll do, but I have a feeling an opportunity will present itself.

bloomberg's boondoggle

A little closer to home, Mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks our financially strapped city - where ancient subway signals are spontaneously combusting and neighborhood activists are chaining themselves to firehouse doors - should increase the net worth of his billionaire friend Robert Wood Johnson IV, owner of the New York Jets.



New York doesn't need this stadium. It doesn't want this stadium. And the stadium plan itself is laughable. Who in their right mind would build a 75,000-seat football stadium without parking facilities?



No city in America has ever made money from building a stadium. People get rich all right, but it ain't us.



Bob Herbert recently wrote a nice screed against this insanity, in which he says:

To take the public's money, which should be used for schoolkids, for subway riders, for hospital patients - for any number of projects that might truly serve the public's interest - and hand it over to a billionaire who will use it as seed money to further his already fabulous interests is obscene.



I presume there will be naming rights for Woody's wonderful new playground. I can see the sign now: Bloomberg's Boondoggle.

For the 411 on stadium-building schemes in general, go to the source. Neil deMause will explain it all to you. His book Field of Schemes is essential reading, and not just for intelligent sports fans. Anyone interested in city planning issues should read it, too.

tribute to henry morgentaler

Continuing the abortion-rights theme here at wmtc, yesterday, January 28, was the 17th anniversary of the Morgentaler Decision. That decision by the Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized abortion and effectively ended legal restrictions to abortion in Canada.



In 1969, in defiance of the law, Dr Henry Morgentaler opened Canada's first freestanding abortion clinic. After a series of trials where Quebec juries refused to convict him, Dr Morgentaler served time in prison. It won't surprise you to learn I admire people with that kind of courage and commitment. Like every movement for social change, this was a long, circuitous battle, culminating in the 1988 Supreme Court decision.



Thanks to ALPF, today I read about Dr Morgentaler's work and life (and about the Canadian reproductive rights movement). Morgentaler is also a survivor of the Nazi slave-labor camp in Dachau. He is still a leader in the struggle for equality and access to reproductive-related medical care; you can read something about his current work at his clinics' website.



Canadian women still face barriers to full reproductive freedom. I'm aware of some of these because Haven regularly helps women from Canada, mainly from Quebec, who take the bus to New York City for their procedures.



There are great differences among the provinces when it comes to abortion access and funding, which, I read, violates the Canada Health Act, which calls for insured medical services to be universal, accessible, portable, and comprehensive. From CARAL, the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League:

Because different provinces and territories have different policies on funding abortions at hospitals and private clinics, women, particularly those who are poor and/or young, have limited access to the service. Too often, abortion-related costs, including travel, accommodation and sometimes child care, or simply the delays required by travel, prevent women from having this medical procedure.



Women in Atlantic Canada, as well as remote and rural areas throughout the country, are particularly hard hit. For example, in Prince Edward Island, the government refuses to provide abortion services at all six Island hospitals, forcing the 200 women who seek abortions each year to leave the province for the service. The minimum cost of the procedure is $450, and associated costs for travel and child care can easily push this to $600 or more. Labrador and Cape Breton also have no abortion services, and there is only limited access in Newfoundland.

The article goes on to detail the restrictions province by province. Another comprehensive article, which I'll be bookmarking and reading thoroughly, is here. It also gives some interesting details about Morgentaler's legal battle.



Canada is still miles ahead of the US on this issue, by virtue of having national health insurance, and not being controlled by religious zealots. But I see there is still work to be done, so maybe I can put my experience to use north of the border as well.

join the purple ocean

You may know that Wal-mart has launched a multi-million dollar advertising blitz to counter its well-deserved image as an enemy of the people. The company bought hundreds of TV and newspaper ads to spread its propaganda and defend its indefensable policies.



Purple Ocean, the political arm of the Service Employees Union (SEIU), is fighting back with a different sort of weapon. Through a grassroots, hand-to-hand campaign, people who care about workers, the environment and community life will help spread the facts about Wal-mart.



I encourage you to read the facts and invite your friends to read them, too. You can track who has accepted your invitation on an animated map that follows your fact sheet as it spreads across the country. Check it out here. I think it's an excellent opportunity to put the old activist's axiom in motion: each one, reach one.



The smart folks at the SEIU have also linked the campaign to a contest. From the original email:

Start the chain by passing on the facts, then see how from day to day, your individual influence spreads the word. If you're one of the first 25 people whose chain grows to 200, then you'll receive $1,000 towards your health insurance expenses—or, if you already have health insurance, we'll put it into a fund that will help provide health insurance for Wal-Mart workers who can't afford it. (The official rules are online at http://www.purpleocean.org/walmart/officialrules)

In launching their campaign, Wal-Mart's CEO H. Lee Scott recently said that he was tired of the criticism of the world's largest retailer - tired of the criticism about its poor pay, bad benefits, sexual discrimination, and poor working conditions. He said he was "tired of being nibbled to death by guppies." Let the nibbling begin!

diamond dreams

I woke up this morning thinking about baseball. Spring training is just around the corner!

quotes of the day

Second-term drinking game for ya: You chug a beer every time you hear the phrase "a contentious but futile protest vote by the Democrats". By the time Jeb Bush is elected, you'll be too wasted to notice the war in Syria.

Jon Stewart, on Condoleezza Rice's confirmation as Secretary of State



Can’t you see? You're not making Christianity better, you're making rock and roll worse!

Hank Hill, on Christian rockers



Do Canadian readers know Hank Hill?



Also, some LOTD from ALPF:



"U.S. Christian right leader urges Canadians to oppose same-sex marriage." Is Dobson really a Christian right "leader"? Or just a wacko with a great publicist?



A very smart man in Pakistan says: "George Bush is a very simple, very violent person with very extreme views, as well as being very much an ignoramus. This is a very dangerous combination."



And finally, why "they hate us". Hint: it ain't because we love freedom. A Saudi Arabian op-ed on Jihad, American Style.



It is very cold in New York. I'm just saying.

canada is so sane

In this wrap-up about the respective states of same-sex marriage in Canada and the US, I liked this bit:

Indeed, many Canadians have come to regard same-sex marriage as an affirmation of secular values that bind their diverse nation. Acceptance of minorities and respect for individuals' rights are paramount in national politics, even if they clash with moral and religious beliefs.

A Canadian woman is quoted as saying, "I think people will look back and feel bewildered that there was even an issue at all." I agree. One day the same-sex exclusion will seem as bizarre as "whites only" drinking fountains seem today.



The article also notes that the opposition backlash in Canada is getting a substantial helping hand from the American religious right. Not content to meddle in their own national affairs, they cross borders to spread their bigoted, exclusionary, pseudo-morality.



Thanks again to ALPF, scouring the web so we don't have to.

another 31 lives wasted

This was the single deadliest day for American forces in Iraq. Thirty-one human beings. Thirty-one people who presumably believed they were serving their country, and whose leaders utterly betrayed their trust.



Resist Fascism pays tribute to all the Americans who have died over there; you can follow it here, here, here, here and continued on.



This whole blog is excellent and well worth bookmarking. I share Resistance's rage and pain, and her/his call to resistance. Thank you for being a voice for peace and democracy.

what i won't miss

The MTA. That's Metropolitan Transit Authority. They suck. They so suck.



On Sunday night, a fire crippled a signaling system on a major subway line, causing a horrendous commute for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. This happens to be our main subway line. Working from home on Monday, I was blissfully unaware of the havoc raging all over the city, as an entire line went out of service, causing stranded commuters to jam onto already-crowded alternate lines.



On Tuesday morning, we awoke to the shocking news that the MTA estimates it will take three to five years to fix the signals. Three to five years?? That's longer that it took to build an entire subway line! How could it take that long to fix anything? What are people supposed to do in the meantime? And what about the ridiculous span of that estimate - they can't get any closer than a two-year difference?



We went out last night and took our "alternate line" home. It was disgustingly overcrowded at 11:30 p.m. I can't imagine what it looked like at rush hour. Yoo-hoo uptown folks, your already inhuman commute just got a little more inhumane.



But hey, who cares about us. We're not tourists. We're not the Olympics or a new sports stadium. We're not a corporation threatening to leave the city. And if you don't fall under one of those categories, the City says fuck you. You don't count. You only live here. Pay taxes. Keep this city alive on a daily basis. You are only the heart and soul of this city, why should we give a fuck about you. (OK, this is not the MTA. This is New York City under Giuliani and Bloomberg. And Koch. And...)



Now, guess what? This morning we are greeted with an about-face. Oh, did we say three to five years? We meant six to nine months. Sorry about that. And now we're supposed to be relieved. Like when they say they're raising the fare to $2.75, you're supposed to happy when it only goes up to $2.00. Try selling that to the tourists.



* * * *



From the New York Times this morning (emphasis added):

The new time frame for repairs will still mean months of confusion and inconvenience on two lines that have an average weekday ridership of 580,000, and hardly diminishes how the fire underscored the vulnerability of a signaling system based on electromechanical switches that were first developed in the 1870's.



Several former transit officials said yesterday that the agency has repeatedly acknowledged over the past 20 years that the signaling system was obsolete or unreliable, but nonetheless chose to devote the vast majority of its limited capital funds to other projects. Reports after two fatal crashes, in 1991 and 1995, recommended improvements in the signal system, though neither blamed the system for the deaths.

That would be luxurious new offices for MTA officials, inane, condescending ads telling subway riders how to behave, and American flag decals for all the trains.



These stories from the Daily News capture the mood around town. We are pissed.

they talk about us around the globe

ALPF (thank you!) has sent this interesting, though amusing, story from India, about Americans "ready to trade in their stars and stripes for the red and white maple-leaf flag". It says we fear that "America seems to be drifting towards conservatism away from liberal, progressive ideas". Say it ain't so!

we get a bad rap

Public hearings on the proposed ban of pit bull dogs in the province of Ontario began yesterday. Mothers of two children who were attacked by dogs testified.



One woman spoke in favor of the breed-specific legislation, but the mother of a child who was killed by a dog opposes the ban. I liken this to people who have had a loved one murdered and still oppose the death penalty, something I tremendously respect and admire.



Two things to note. One, contrary to what you may have heard, Ontario has not yet banned pit-bulls. It is still illegal for a landlord to deny residence on the basis of dog ownership, regardless of breed (though it might be very difficult to enforce).



Two, breed-specific legislation does not work. It simply does not reduce the incidents of attacks. For very good information on breed-specific legislation, and on pit bulls in general, see the good folks at BAD RAP, Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls. Click here for wonderful bully-boy photos.

what i'm watching: robert greenwald

If you haven't seen Robert Greenwald's DVD documentaries, you're missing some thought-provoking stuff. We've been working our way through them slowly, with lots of movies in between. Seeing them all at once could be hazardous to your mental health, or at least your blood pressure. I'm referring to "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War," "Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election," and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism".

We saw "Uncovered" last night. Former CIA, Pentagon, Military and Foreign Service officials systematically prove how BushCo mislead the public into the war. No left-wing conspiracy crazies needed; conservative, establishment white men (and the occasional woman) make the case themselves.

It's interesting to note how, in the run-up to the war, bringing democracy to Iraq was never mentioned. Now it's as if the search for WMDs never existed. We have always been at war with Eastasia...

everyone's got an opinion

Even people who don't know what they're talking about! My anonymous link-posting friend (ALPF?) sent me this. It's occasionally amusing, in a look-at-these-losers kind of way.



ALPF also sent this article illustrating the administration's utter inability to be anything but overbearing and dictating in its relations with other countries. A CBC story called "Bush Pressured Martin Over Missile Plan," refers to a Washington Post report:

The newspaper cites a "top Canadian official who attended the meeting between Bush and Martin" as saying Bush brought up the subject on Nov. 30 despite assurances that he wouldn't do so from Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.



The official said Bush "leaned across the table and said, 'I'm not taking this position, but some future president is going to say, "Why are we paying to defend Canada?"'"



The White House is not commenting on the Washington Post report, which appeared Sunday. [ed: What a surprise!]



The source characterized Bush's approach as a lecture about Canada's duty to join the Ballistic Missile Defence program, which is designed to identify incoming weapons aimed at North America and shoot them down before they can hit their targets.



The U.S. president told Martin he couldn't understand why anyone in Canada would oppose the program.

Maybe because it's a complete waste of money? Or because they have no interest in enriching the US military industry? Because they have brains??

repeating myself

I turned my Roe v Wade day post into an article, and it now appears on CommonDreams.org. Or, if you're finding this later and it no longer appears on the front page, go here.



Apologies to loyal readers who are also on my email list. This must be getting boring!

playing to an empty house

Times Square, at night, completely empty. Imagine that. The neon billboards are flashing, the lights are whirling, yet only one or two people are hurrying by, hands in pockets, hunched against the cold. I saw this last night.



After my shift at the law firm, I am entitled to go home by car service, paid for by the company. That's pretty much standard for night support jobs at big companies in New York City. Let me tell you, after my 12-hour day, it is a nice perk.



But this weekend, the roads were dicey, I couldn't be sure if my street was plowed, and car services were as rare as atheists in the White House. Time to take the subway. I could have gotten a train right under the building where I work, but I decided to walk cross-town and take a different train, to avoid transferring (i.e., waiting) between train lines.



It was cold! (Yes, I know it is colder in Canada. Please do not write to tell me so.) The streets were almost empty. Some cross-streets were closed and had enormous piles of snow in the middle, with plows continuing to add to the small mountain. Three kids were climbing a pile, and a few people were taking their pictures.



And Times Square was utterly deserted, the tourists all gone, New Yorkers having no use for it on a freezing Sunday night.

the definition of fanaticism

I am amazed at how many people who opposed the US invasion of Iraq now believe that the US "cannot just pull out" of the war. These are not wingnuts. They are generally intelligent, good-hearted people. Yet they insist on this illogical non-reasoning: it was wrong to go there in the first place, but now that we're there, we have to stay.



This view ignores a near-certainty: the US will have to pull out eventually anyway. The "insurgency" will not be crushed. People fighting against an occupation are endlessly motivated and resourceful. Combine that with a willingness to die for their cause and you have a recipe for endless war.



Richard Nixon said, "I will not be the first American president to lose a war." Then Americans were airlifted off a roof in Saigon. 58,000 Americans and half a million Vietnamese died before it was over. Who knows how many were permanently maimed, physically and emotionally. What will the final tally be this time? This much we know: Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld won't lose a wink of sleep over it.



In his recent piece in the Miami Herald, Howard Zinn says, "The definition of fanaticism is that when you discover that you are going in the wrong direction, you redouble your speed."



Zinn offers some historical examples and suggests a next step.

keep off the bandwagon

Linda McQuaig, a Canadian author, warns her country of the danger of cozying up to the W clan:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's dogged loyalty to Bush over Iraq has won him little more than the nickname "Poodle." Blair's loyalty didn't even protect British steel exports from punishing U.S. tariffs. Bush's only concession to Blair seems to be the repatriation of British prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Perhaps in the ghastly Bush era, this is the only concession a country can hope to win from the U.S. — a torture reprieve for its citizens.



In his inaugural address, Bush hinted he plans to attack Iran as soon as possible. This sort of lawlessness is offensive to Canadians and others. But, while no country can stop — or even influence — the Bush administration, it's important to steer clear of its bandwagon.



With scary times ahead, keeping a cool head and staying true to our values should be the goal — not trying to find a comfy but worthless niche inside the Republican tent.

The column is reprinted on Common Dreams.

the definition of courage

Support Operation Truth. I admire these men so much. Let's do what we can to help their voices be heard.



Here's a partial list of other veteran groups opposing the war.

what i'm reading: seymour hersh, buster olney

I finally finished Reading Lolita In Tehran, and can now concentrate on Chain Of Command. Because I expect the Seymour Hersh book to be difficult emotionally, I'm going to read The Last Night Of The Yankee Dynasty, by Buster Olney, at the same time.

Olney was The New York Times Yankees beat reporter during the years that I followed the team obsessively (as opposed to just constantly): 1996 through 2002. He's an excellent writer, and not a Yankee fan by birth or nature, so he tends to be more objective than other New York sportswriters. In the depths of winter, with single-digit temperatures and a foot of snow on the ground, it's definitely time to read about baseball.

Reading Lolita In Tehran was disappointing. I liked about half of it. Reading about the everyday lives of women living under a totalitarian regime - this particular one of the pseudo-religious variety - is very eye-opening. But the conceit that distinguishes this book from ordinary memoirs - the literary analysis Nafisi weaves in - didn't work for me. She's supposedly making connections between her life and the fiction she reveres, but I didn't get it.

Also, much of the literary criticism is incomprehensible if you haven't read the books. I've read some of them, but umpteen years ago, in college, and some I don't know at all. The book is on the Times's best seller list, and I wonder how casual readers understand this part. On the other hand, if Lolita In Tehran moves people to read Nabokov, Henry James, Saul Bellow and Jane Austen, then Nafisi is a genius.

Speaking of which, I noticed that Devil In The White City, which I mentioned in this "what i'm reading" post, is also on the paperback best seller list. This is probably the first time two books I've read are on that list at the same time; my reading tastes don't usually coincide with popularity. It's great to see well-written, substantial books are being read by that many people.

Heaven will wait. I was so excited when Handheld Evangelist emailed me a story about the digital collection at the New York Public Library. You can check out e-books online, from any computer. When they are due, the file will no longer open! Brilliant!

The idea of being able to check out books from home really jazzed me, since my goal in life is to do every errand from my computer. (I'm making good progress.) I sat down with my book list, ready to download a few titles, and found... nothing. Not one book from my very extensive to-read list was available digitally through the NYPL. Chain of Command is on the iPAQ, but I'll be reading Buster Olney the old-fashioned way.

exodus, or not

Dr Marco, who writes this very interesting blog, says:

I did a search in Google and was astonished by the amount of information and the number of people who want to go to Canada from the US. If things go the way they are going it might become a significant trend. Canada will really benefit from the arrival of the smartest American minds. I am worried about America.

I would be very interested to see how many people actually go. Of the many thousands who look for information, or who say, "It's time to move to Canada!" (the way we always used to), how many will actually plunk down a couple thousand dollars, fill out a big stack of forms, get all the documents together - go through the whole long process, with all the waiting - and make the commitment to leave.

I'm not worried about the US in terms of smart, forward-thinking people leaving. I think most are in "stay and fight" mode. Many consider leaving, but most won't go through with it. That's my sense of it, anyway. We won't know the answer for another year or so.

Of course I'm incredibly worried about the US for other reasons. But we know that already.