I am a firm believer that to looking behind slows ones progress in moving forward.  There are exceptions to every rule and 2008 is that exception.  There is no way to sum up the miraculous events that occurred this year if we don’t take a step back and remember all of it, especially the current economic crisis and Presidential election.  The economic crisis festered for the pass six years and came to a head in September 2008, and we will be feeling its effects well beyond 2008. It is part of the past that will haunt us on this day and many more to come. The past also manifested the hopes and dreams of freedom fighters to join with millions in the present that made it possible for Barack Obama to become the first African American President of the United States of America.  The road to his success is also our success.  What couldn’t be done has been done, and that takes away ANY excuse anyone might have in their own life when it comes to believing and/or achieving dreams.  2008 surpassed my wildest imaginings of what America could be if we all united.  Umoja, unity, the first principle of Kwanzaa celebrated December 26^th was and is the key to the coming year.  The slacker administration of Bush and his posse has left a mess of such proportions that it will take a unified country, congress, and agenda to put this country back on the road to prosperity and peace within and outside of our borders. The passing of the baton from George W. Bush to Barack Obama on January 20^th will be the beginning of living in the present. It will be a new way and a new day. It is a cause for celebration throughout the world.  Hope, honor, and possibilities replace regret. Good riddance.  The daunting task that awaits the new president-elect to right our country in 2009 rides on the goodwill and support of the voters of 2008.  It is imperative that we remember what Barack promised to do as president and that we hold him accountable.  The past can only repeat itself if we don’t learn from it.  As we toast good-bye to 2008, remember the good and the bad.  Let us move forward into 2009 knowing that the best is yet to come for our country and for us.

Peace to you all, from Patricia and web mistress Peg

I was amazed and proud as I took my place in line to vote early in Texas. Privilege is not a word I think of when I think of the state of Texas, but this year and this time it was, and is, a privilege to reside in a state where one can vote two weeks prior to November 4^th including weekends.

Prior to the 2000 election I believed my vote counted and would be counted. Who knew there were as many ways to marginalize and bastardize the voting process, as there are states? Standardized voting should be the rule and not the exception. A process that protects the right to vote,  and encourages all eligible individuals to vote, must be established. The most important election in the past forty years is already rife with early voting woes. What in the hell have the election boards and officials been doing for the pass four year besides purchasing voting machines? Since early voting has begun there have been reports of voting machine irregularities, voter suppression, people standing in line to vote for up to five hours especially in Ohio, Florida and Virginia. Is it a co-incidence that these same battleground states plagued by voting problems in the 2000 and 2004 elections now exhibit the same problems this 2008 election? There are still no regulations in place or provisions made to insure that handicap or disabled persons and/or veterans be accommodated so they don’t have to stand in long lines. Why not? Shouldn’t voting be voter friendly? The expectation that the voting process run smoothly shouldn’t be something that I as a voter (or any voter for that matter) should be concerned about. Observing the process in action up to this date in fact is cause for concern. On October 26^th the NAACP initiated a lawsuit against the state of Virginia for not adequately preparing for massive voter turnout. Thank goodness they are being proactive instead of reacting to the same old political tricks that would hamper the voting process.

The tricks to change election results have become a business all to itself. Have you heard of the Man in the Middle? Basically it involves diverting election returns data through a separate computer located in a different place. It is supposedly something computer criminals or hackers do regularly within the banking business. The Man in the Middle is reported to be effective (and hard if not impossible) to detect as a way to change election results. In the past week I watched an evening news show that had a man who manufacturers voting machines demonstrate how to hack into one in less then eight minutes. I voted early but will my vote count? The fight to insure no voter is disenfranchised is a fight that must be won this time around. I believe my concern cannot be emphasized enough. Listen to or read the transcript of the October 22, 2008 cable news show Democracy Now. Amy Goodman interviews Mark Crispin Miller author of Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, 2000-2008. The conversation is chilling and reminds us that being a participant in the democratic process is a responsibility, and in these times imperative. Reports of voting machines that are switching votes and shortages of working voting machines in Democratic precincts, and misleading information about voting is only the tip of the iceberg as I question the outcome of this election. I voted early but will my vote count? I am but one of many voters concerned about the process. For the first time in Texas, poll watchers have been trained and are voluntarily policing the voting process. Apparently the lessons of the 2000 and 2004 election irregularities, missing ballots and disenfranchised voters was enough for many of us to realize the process must be policed by us the voter. Technology and time has changed the way we vote but it must not change why we vote. We vote for change so that the country we live in gives an equal playing field for all that seek the American dream. I voted early, and even if I am suspicious that it might be hijacked, it is not enough to squelch my dream of change. Vote early if you can, but by all means vote! Because YOU are the change you seek.

And in closing, with all the intensity of this election I sometimes forget to laugh. I hope this clip makes you laugh as much as I did.

I thought the column was ready until the wise woman that assists me with getting my words to this blog asked me a question. Her question changed what I was going to present this week, but most importantly, her question changed me. The question was in reference to the current conflict between Georgia and Russia that now includes Poland and the United States. She asked me if I knew all of the facts and had I researched sources outside of what we were being told by the mainstream media in this country? Chagrined, and with egg on my face, I reluctantly sought out other sources. Pissed would be the strongest word I can use on this blog, but that is exactly what I was. I was disappointed that I had (again) let my good sense be deceived by the propaganda channeled into my living room. We, as patriotic and decent citizens, are looking through a prism of lies and distortions from networks that don’t give a darn about the truth – or us.

There was a time when I was growing up that the news was respected and trusted. It was not uncommon in the community I grew up in for most of the families to sit down together after dinner and watch the evening news. It was the prerequisite to our evening television viewing. I remember looking forward to it because it was a another time that the entire family was together on a daily basis.  The news was serious business and the anchors reflected that.  When did the news become nothing more then fodder for fools?

In the 1976 film NETWORK, Peter Finch, a has-been anchor with poor ratings was called the “mad prophet of the airwaves.” Well move over Peter.  I am a madwoman blogging.  Peter Finch’s role immortalized the line, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” It has become one of my daily refrains. The time has come for all of us to seek and demand the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Thirty years ago the idea of white men ranting on air was unimaginable.  Imagine no more since it is now a reality. All major network and cable news channels (other than alternatives such as Democracy Now, Link T.V., Public Television and NPR) are nothing more than talk shows.  The news leeched into our homes is empty of any information that would enable you to think for yourself. In fact, you are repeatedly told, with underlying bylines, what to think.  Friday’s news is recycled all weekend in case you missed your dose of trivial, trashy talk.  The number of commercials during broadcast news is a clear indicator of how much real and truthful information you will receive.  Do you actually believe that money grabbing advertisers, families and corporations that own the news networks and print want you to know the truth?  How appetizing would it be if you understood what was actually in the food you eat, if you knew how it was grown? How many gadgets would you purchase if you knew how many women and children are receiving slave wages or none at all? What congressman or presidential candidate would you support if you knew their true characters before, instead of after, elections? I surmise things would be a lot different if we knew the truth and if the news reported the truth. Misleading news and news spun out of control is showing up in our homes – that is if you still have one during this massive housing crisis. Self-serving, avaricious, venal, and mercenary corporations, companies, and a government working against instead of for us, are destroying this country. Beware and take notice that they are using the broadcast news and print media to do it.  It’s time to wake up and pay attention.  Day after day programs gorged with violence, prejudice and propaganda are shoved down our collective throats and up to our jellified brains. It has changed us. Cop shows, court shows, humiliating and dehumanizing jail shows, and reality shows have rendered us dispassionate, dumb, and dazed.

The caliber and the tenure of mainstream news and media in this country is broken. No number of women in stilettos, or people of color that speak correctly will cover the fact that they are lying.  Consciously, purposefully, intentionally or unintentionally, doesn’t really matter when the perspective of the new is representative of the people who own our news and media. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”…So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.” When you are done with that, the next time you tune in to your favorite news station or read your newspaper of choice and you suspect you are being bamboozled, hoodwinked, or lied to, let them know. Write, call, e-mail then turn them off or unsubscribe. Whatever you do, make them accountable. We are the people, and it is we the people that insure that change will occur. Remember that one person can make a difference.  Let that difference begin with you.

I represent one of the People who believe power must be given back to the people, power to make informed decisions about what happens to us, our families and the planet. The vote allowed consensus about all areas of our daily lives so that we might choose what we the people wanted in our government and it policies. That vote has been diluted, traded, bartered, betrayed and ignored by lobbyist and special interest groups. The neglect of all branches of our judicial and legislative government overseen by an arrogant President is rotting away this country. I believe that the power