Why Not Talk With Iran?

"[W]e say all options are on the table, except, apparently, the option to talk with them directly. What do you lose? It's worth a try....I don't understand why we continue to threaten Iran but won't talk with them."

For more of this interview with Lt. Gen. Robert Gard (Ret.), U.S. Army, see the video on C-SPAN (scroll to the interview on August 24, 2006).
Tags: Iran, Robert Gard

What Goes Around, Comes Around: The Implosion of Katherine Harris's Campaign

I've been watching with interest the workings of slow justice in the form of the implosion of Katherine Harris's campaign for the U.S. Senate. Readers may recall that she, In Her Discretion, declared that an extension to allow further recounts was unnecessary during the election debacle in 2000 that disenfranchised thousands of voters in Florida. She sucked up to the Bushes in an effort to get herself ahead, but now that it's payback time, they're not sucking back.

Now she's gone over the top once again in an attempt to pander to the far right-wing. This week, she commented that "[i]f you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin." (By her standard, I guess even Joe Lieberman must be one of Satan's elves.) She said the separation of church and state is a "lie we have been told" and that God did not intend the United States to be a "nation of secular laws." She also said that "we have to have the faithful in government" because that is God's will, and that separating religion and politics is "so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers."

No, Katherine, actually We The People choose our rulers, and we prefer the quaint term, "representatives." You can look it up. (Or is she saying that God personally chose Bill Clinton too?) Veteran Tampa Bay Republican activist Ruby Brooks said, "[t]his notion that you've been chosen or anointed, it's offensive. We hurt our cause with that more than we help it." Yep.

Katherine Harris needs some remedial history education, which she should have plenty of time for after she loses. Unfortunately, there are many others who agree with her and have been organizing to gain control of our government and our way of life. They are uncomfortable with democracy and pluralism, and they would like to set up a kind of Christian Taliban in America. (See, for example, "Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism.") Harris knows those people are listening, and that's why she's saying what she's saying. We The People, Christian and otherwise, who hope to preserve traditional American principles need to keep our eyes peeled for this rising phenomenon and fight these radicals locally and nationally however we can. There is a crucial difference between being informed by your faith versus imposing it on others, and between freedom of religion versus state support of a particular religion -- distinctions that have served us well for several centuries, and that such people are hoping to erase. For the sake of our country, we must not let them succeed.
Tags: Katherine Harris, theocracy, recount, democracy

Now I've Seen Everything: Iranian President Starts a Blog

Iranian president Mahmood Ahmadinejad has started a blog and posted a message about his life and where he comes from. He also appeared on a television interview (60 Minutes) here recently. (You can find it here - scroll down to "Interview with Iran's President," August 14, 2006.)

I think this is a positive development and I wish more people from that part of the world would do the same, and that people from our part of the world would respond. It's harder to dehumanize people when they're communicating directly with you. I decided to post a comment on his blog to that effect. You never know, he might actually read it, and maybe it'll do just a tiny bit of good. Maybe he'll realize we're all human beings over here too.

I know this sounds naive or possibly even outrageously ambitious, but it's at least remotely possible that the blogosphere and the Internet community can make some progress where our governments have been unable to. I know Ahmadinejad is a tough guy, and I know some people don't want peace or don't want the same things we want. I'm not stupid enough to think that a few Internet chats will transform hearts and minds or solve all the world's problems. But we might as well try it because nothing else seems to be working. Let's think outside the box. It's not so far-fetched if you consider that bloggers and others in the Web community are now a powerful new element in politics and media, which formerly were largely controlled by those within the power structure who had the big bucks. A new force to be reckoned with, if you will. Now all the "little people" are having an impact too, because they have the tools to reach the world directly (and let's keep it that way, but Internet access is a topic for another blog).

And if nothing else, isn't technology amazing these days when someone from America with no involvement in government can post a comment to the Iranian president's blog that he might actually read one day? Maybe some postings from Americans to his blog will make him think a bit, somewhere deep down, in the middle of the night when nobody's watching. Maybe he'll be just a little bit more hesitant in condemning the West if he sees that we're not all out to dominate or even destroy his country and his people, which is unfortunately a prevailing perception over there and one root of the problems we're having now.

Here's my comment:

"Just wanted to say thanks for setting up this blog, and for appearing on television in America to explain your views. I think it would be very helpful if people from your part of the world did these types of things and talked to us directly (the people, not the government) more often. We are desperately in need of education about the Middle East here and we don't get it by watching the news, which is full of nothing but war and threats. There are a few good TV programs that have been shown *about* the Middle East, but if people in the Middle East spent more effort on communicating directly through interviews, outreach, and cultural exchange, as you seem to be doing now, I think we could make some real progress and people here wouldn't be so fearful of people over there. I know the perception is that the West wants to dominate the Middle East, and that unfortunately seems to be true of at least some of our governments, but most of us 'regular' people don't have such aspirations and just want things to be peaceful and people to cooperate on goals of mutual benefit, if at all possible. I know I'm sickened and saddened by the death and destruction on all sides of these recent conflicts. And if your life really is about Islam, showing us your human side will win converts or at least friends. It's hard to make a case for it now when all people see on TV is innocent people dying and new threats every day, and it's hard to make peace when that's what people on the other side see too.
Thank you."
Tags: Iran, Ahmadinejad, Middle East

Everybody's Got to Fight to be Free: A Tribute to Tom Petty

So it's my birthday today and I can say whatever I want. I've decided to use my blog space for a little Tribute to Tom Petty. You might say I'm doing a little "Free-Fallin'."

Why Tom Petty all of a sudden, you ask? His music was playing while I was enjoying a free meal courtesy of Austin Grill, which sends me a coupon for my birthday every year, God bless 'em, and I was thinking about how much I love Tom Petty and his music.

Did I mention how much I love Tom Petty?
OK, now let me tell you why. First of all, the music's damn good. Great from-the-gut guitar riffs and fine, singable melodies that I have belted out solo on many a highway. Good old-fashioned rock-and-roll. The lyrics are straightforward, no-nonsense, straight from the heart, great stories, no frills, honest, lots of hard-won wisdom. Some people say he's ugly but I always thought he was the coolest.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album, according to Billboard. Here are some other good reasons to love Tom Petty. And here is his official Web site.

"You don't have to live like a refugee." Happy Birthday To Me. Goodnight, Tom, wherever you are, and thanks for the music.

Blogger Jailed for Refusing to Turn Over Videotapes

Wow, jailed for up to a year for taking pictures. Josh Wolf shot some video at a protest that turned violent and now he's in jail for not handing it over to the government. What’s next, life plus 20 for blowing out the wrong nostril? And meanwhile a systematic policy of human rights violations goes unpunished.

As Josh notes on his blog, "My first experience in the field of journalism came in my senior year of high school working on the school newspaper. After graduating high school, I briefly wrote for UC Santa Barbara’s Daily Nexus before taking an Internship at the Santa Barbara Independent where I worked for about six months writing blurbs for the news department." Sounds like a threat to homeland security. Throw that boy in the slammer.

Our country's gone completely insane. Hang tough, Josh (the blogger) and Liz (Josh's mom), and when Josh gets out, he should do a talk show tour. Maybe he can even work on a book draft while he’s in jail, or invite the press in to interview him. That will help to get the word out about just how far our government is willing to go these days to intimidate people who are guilty of heinous crimes like photography and blogging. For shame.

Here's his blog.