Read: The Ghost Brigades

This is the middle volume in John Scalzi's trilogy, starting with Old Man's War, and ending with The Last Colony (both previously reviewed here and here, respectively.

There is probably the most science in this one, as well as more exploration of the ethics of the biotech described in the story. Like the other books, there are great battle scenes and, what's more, great space/future battle concepts (e.g. freefalling from space, "skipping" into precise battle environments, integrated platoons). Also, like the other books there is lots of humor, very dry humor. In fact, humor became a theme running through the book in relation to these barely human soldiers of the future. Finally, there are some sudden bursts of pathos, sometimes from unlikely directions.

Good read!

Finished: Raven

Like its companion novel (see previous post), this one is very overwritten, and has some logic holes. There were a few interesting additional twists, but still kind of kooky, very confusing, and not a book I'd recommend. Of the two, I thought The Flesh, the Blood, and the Fire was the better one.

The Left and the Right

In my post on the Ron Paul event I marvelled at how these two ends of the political spectrum had seemingly made common cause in recent years, and wondered about where it might lead:

The interesting question in my mind is whether this could really be some new sort of politics, something really new. For example, at some point during the primary season people were bandying about the idea of a Ron Paul/Dennis Kucinich presidential ticket! Or will the issues we don't agree on end up being dealbreakers...and coalitionbreakers.

Well, yesterday Ralph Nader, Ron Paul, Cynthia McKinney, and Chuck Baldwin held a news conference and announced a set of principles on which they agree.

What's next??

reading: Raven

This is the first of two novels under one cover by Steven Swiniarski (S.A. Swiniarski, to be precise), whose real name is S. Andrew Swann. The title of the book itself is Blood and Rust. (See the previous post about the other novel, The Flesh, the Blood and the Fire.) Both novels are vampire tales set in Cleveland.

The driver in this story is what it would be like to wake up from unconsciousness with amnesia and discover one had been changed to a vampire. How does one learn to cope with that? That's the protagonist's task, while at the same time discovering who he is and what was the mission he was on when it happened.

Like its companion novel, this one is set in a complex vampire society which, I suspect, was borrowed from or inspired by White Wolf Game Studio's Vampire: The Masquerade. I find it a little silly. Of course, politics and intrigue in any society generally make for good stories, and of course there are some twists particular to vampirism.

read: The Flesh, The Blood and The Fire

This is the second of two novels under one cover by Steven Swiniarski (S.A. Swiniarski, to be precise), whose real name is S. Andrew Swann. The title of the book itself is Blood and Rust. I heard about The Flesh, the Blood... first (through Amazon.com's suggestions, believe it or not!), and so read it first. Both novels are vampire tales set in Cleveland.

The interesting thing about this novel is it's based on a true historical crime spree in Cleveland in the 1930s. These were serial murders with beheaded, sometimes otherwise mutilated corpses. Many of the victims were never identified, and no one ever was definitively charged. The other interesting thing is that Elliot Ness (of Al Capone-busting fame) was apparently the head cop in Cleveland at the time. The author elaborates these basic facts into a vampire novel.

Basically, the story has to do with vampire society, in Cleveland, but perhaps in general. There is a Covenant, thralls, masters, and an intricate politics amongst them. The murders are investigated by two cops, who eventually come to grasp the true horror behind them. The novel does have a surprising twist, and ends with another historically accurate event that I will not mention as it would be a spoiler.

It seems to me this "vampire society" stuff is taken from, or at least greatly influenced by, the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, which was first published in 1991. The Flesh, the Blood and the Fire was published in 1998. It's certainly not from Dracula; I wouldn't say that it comes from Anne Rice's vampire stories either. In any case, it somehow seems kind of quaint and silly to me.

I didn't think this book was all that good, but it took me awhile to realize why. It is sooooo overwritten! It reads like Lovecraft's climactic moments... except without the slow atmospheric buildup! Lovecraft at full throttle! Also, there often just seemed to be many holes in the logic. Not particularly a book I'd recommend.

Read: Old Man's War

The first in the series by John Scalzi comprising the previously mentioned Last Colony. Basically a good military-in-space book. First part seems like almost a take on the standard recruit-to-soldier arc in war movies and books...but this one involves transfer of the recruit's consciousness into a new, bio-engineered body! Interesting. Another interesting twist to these books is that the recruits come from the aged sector of humanity. They join up in their 70s, and though they get new bodies, they have a whole previous life's experience. So there is some good pathos in the leaving of each recruit's past..and in some cases, the finding of one's past unexpectedly showing up in the present!

In their characterizations of alien races, these books are reminding me a bit of James White's Sector General novels. I suspect it might be fun to read these series back to back.

The Nader Rally

This rally was a reprise of the "Open the Debates" Super Rally held in Denver during the dem convention. Alas, I was exhausted by the time we got to the rally in Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall, so this won't be much of a report. Fortunately, video of much of both rallies can be found on the Nader/Gonzalez site.

There was a large crowd but by no means was the auditorium filled. The lobby, of course, had lots of t-shirts, books, bumper stickers, etc., plus petitions to get Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot in Minnesota.

Speakers: Cynthia McKinney's running mate, Rosa Clemente, was a very good speaker, very forceful. One striking thing she said was how offended she was at the repub's diss'ing of community organizers! She also offered an interesting hip-hop perspective on political engagement. Singer-songwriter Nellie McKay was her usual hilarious entertaining self. Jesse Ventura spoke and again was very electric, although not as thunderous as in his talk at the Ron Paul rally. Matt Gonzalez, Nader's running mate, was very impressive. He almost became mayor of San Francisco, which is quite a feat. Like Rosa Clemente, he will clearly be a force in some way or other in national politics in the coming generation. Oh...and he looked a bit like Emilio Estevez! :-)

Nader was pretty much his usual serious, intelligent, forceful self. Given his resume, he is really the candidate with the most sheer gravitas of any of them. His message is largely one of corporate domination of politics and government in this country. He feels that large corporations now largely run the country through politicians from both the dems and repubs. In fact, he proposes a Constitutional amendment to take prevent corporations from having the same rights as human beings.

One very interesting thing he announced was that next week he and Ron Paul and Bob Barr would be holding a joint press conference to talk about some beliefs they hold in common, and to demand a place in the coming debates.

Both Gonzalez and Ventura stressed how much their participation in debates during their respective runs for office helped their polling numbers. This, of course, was the point of the rally. Ventura, in particular, complained about the role of the Commission on Presidential Debates, formed in 1987 by dems and repubs, in locking out all but the major party candidates. The debates had previously been run by the League of Women Voters. A history of the debates can be found on the Open Debates website.

Peace Picnic

This event was a very laid-back throwback to the sixties. There was a gathering of musicians playing a mix of new folk songs and older classics (e.g., If I Had a Hammer). I'd guess there were perhaps 200 people there, eating picnic food provided by the organizers, listening to the music, browsing the few vendor and display tables. Since we were literally directly across the river from the Xcel Center, we had an interesting perspective on activity over there. We were constantly overflown by one of two helicopters circling over the downtown area, and the river right in front of us was patrolled by small Coast Guard boats. At one point, a large yacht came by, guarded by a CG boat, which appeared to be a pleasure junket for (and I'm guessing on this) RNC delegates.

One cool thing for me: a brief chat with Ray McGovern. I was able to tell him I appreciated his service to the country as a dissenter in print, and he said he appreciated hearing that. He was really enjoying himself at this event, even getting up to sing with the band! Colleen Rowley, one of the main organizers, was also having a ball. I thought about the evolution these two former government intelligence workers have made in their lives.

Alas, the weather was cool and cloudy, and there weren't enough people to make the giant peace sign they'd hoped to make. We left early to get to the Ralph Nader rally in Minneapolis. On the way, we heard about the gathering march in St. Paul which had been herded by the police onto a bridge. We managed to drive around it, but of course we heard later about the numerous arrests.

The Ron Paul rally

I decided not to try to go to the music fest in St. Paul, in part because it was rainy, but also because I actually looked at the schedule of the Ron Paul event and saw that there were some speakers I'd like to hear.

I got there around 11:30 in case there were any ticket hassles. (I'd bought one on Sunday, but it was just a wristband thingy so I wasn't sure it was going to be accepted. It was, but in any case, by the time I got there they were giving away tickets.) I found an eager throng just hanging out in front of the Target Center flashing signs and buttons and handing out tons of literature. Inside, it was jammed. The atmosphere was very electric; everyone very keyed up. I talked to a few people who were very friendly. The crowd was a mixed one, mostly young but plenty of all ages and styles in the spectrum. We were all waiting for them to actually open the doors

Once they did so I went to my ticketed seat, which was to the extreme side of the stage. It was actually a pretty good seat. The sound was excellent, and in any case they had big screens so I could see everyone (I was actually behind the speaker when he or she was at the rostrum).

These RP people are enthusiastic! That's an understatement. They are absolutely messianic about RP. His name is everywhere, constantly. I don't think he's pushing that, demanding that of his followers; I think he's just doing his thing and it's happening to him. He's unquestionably trying to build a movement, but I don't think he's meant it to be the personality cult it is. I'll also say they really ran a very tight event. It moved along perfectly, flawlessly, very slickly done. It was very much in the style of a campaign event, although what I think the campaign was for was not actually a candidate, i.e., RP, but for a new phase of the movement, the Campaign for Liberty.

The crowd was large but by no means was every seat filled. My section was largely empty. I sat just behind a couple of guys who'd come all the way from northern California for this event, and indeed, there were people from all over the country there. These guys were very nice, friendly, rather excited when I told them I was new to the RP thing and there just to listen and learn. I got a similar response from several other people I chatted with throughout the day. I find it very hard to put these folks in a box. Their belief sets seem very individualistic, hard to predict as to what ideas and concepts one will find together in a given person.

You can see the schedule of speakers/performers and get some brief bio's at the Rally for the Republic website. I'll just dash off a few impressions here.

The first guy, Howard Phillips, I found somewhat repugnant. He seemed to be the kind of right-wing repub in an older mode, less libertarian on social issues. I felt very much the same about Grover Norquist, who came on a little later. He had a very vicious tone (well, he's rather known for it), used some truly repugnant metaphors. Compared to those guys I found the John Birch Society guy, well, better. I must say, I never thought I'd be sitting someplace listening to a Bircher give a speech. While I didn't particularly like him, I admit he didn't seem to be a monster.

One of the really great talks was by Bill Kaufmann. He coined what I thought was the quote of the day: "John McCain cares more about the Georgia of Stalin than the Georgia of Ray Charles." Another striking statement, which I don't think I can produce word-for-word, was essentially that the only foreign policy compatible with strong families is one of peace! He also led the crowd in a brief chant of "WAR....what is it GOOD for!" Obviously a pop music lover! He gave a nod to the local movement, i.e., the buying of local goods, services, and food in our communities -- something I'd previously only heard from the environmental left. He even gave some props to Ralph Nader! I actually found his talk quite inspiring.

Lew Rockwell gave a pretty interesting talk, very professorial, a more quiet rhetorical style than some of the other speakers. Rockwell runs a website full of libertarian info and opinion. I read a column there by Karen Kwiatkowski, one of my first exposures to the anti-war right (back then she was posting on a military site, the name of which I can't recall). She actually worked in the military in Rumsfeld's Pentagon under Douglas Feith during the runup to the war, so I found her insights quite interesting. She now writes more generally on libertarian politics.

The former governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson, was interesting. He again exhibited that mixed bag of ideas in his description of his tenure.

Bruce Fein is another of my heroes on the right and when I discovered he was going to be on the program that pretty much sealed the deal on skipping the music concert. He's a constitutional scholar and worked in the Justice Department, I believe during the Reagan administration. He came to my attention because he has been one of the strongest public voices for the impeachment of this administration. His speech was very strong.

But the speaker that really "tore da roof of da suckah" (to quote George Clinton) was none other than Minnesota's own former governor, Jesse Ventura. Oh my goodness! Although he's been away from politics for several years (living in Mexico, actually) he was the old roarin' Jesse of yesteryear (although physically he definitly looked aged and just a bit frail). He totally rev'd the place up several notches (which I frankly hadn't thought possible!) In fact, at one point he quite literally was only a few words away from calling for armed revolution. I am not exaggerating! I suspect if he'd told everyone to leave the building and march down Hennepin Avenue to the Federal Reserve building and trash it...they would have! My new buddies were blown away by him! Loved him. Interestingly, he also all but announced his candidacy, I think for president, in the next election cycle. He also raised some 9/11 questions (which everyone cheered about), and very forcefully called for the opening of the coming debates to other candidates (which everybody cheered for). Wait a minute...these people cheered for everything, constantly!

Speaking of armed revolt, another speaker, an Iraq vet whose name I unfortunately missed, also came very near to calling for insurrection. I did notice, by the way, that while when I first arrived there was a very minimal police presence outside, and only rent-a-cops inside, by the time of Jesse's speech there were significantly more battle-dressed (my own term: not full riot gear but seemingly a little more than typical patrol uniform, especially the plastic handcuffs hanging from their belts) cops in the arena. In fact, it strikes me as a little ironic that while the full "forces of the Empire" riot battalions were marching around St. Paul, macing people standing by the side of the road and arresting this or that scrawny badly dressed kid in a black kerchief, over in Minneapolis these folks were very near calling for armed revolution!

Well, it was around 6 p.m., a not-so-interesing band had taken the stage, and I finally burned out. Although I was only an hour or so away from RP himself speaking, I just had to go. I was just plain worn out by it all. On the one hand I was kind of kicking myself for missing his speech, on the other, I didn't feel too bad about not being overly obsessed with the man himself. It's the ideas they're putting forth that are ultimately more important and more interesting.

What is it that brings these two extreme ends of the political spectrum, far right and far left, into alliance? At times during various speeches I could have closed my eyes and imagined myself at a Nader or Kucinich rally. The vitriol directed at Bush especially, and also McCain, was very strong, positively hateful at times. After thinking about it for awhile, I've tentatively concluded it is the absolute trashing of the Constitution under the current administration. The far right has always been constitutionalist; the left a perhaps bit less explicitly so. But as Bush et al have continued to destroy the Constitution the left has had to talk more and more about it and become more and more conversant with it. The other thing, of course, is the disasterous Iraq war. The RP folks tend to be isolationist and vehemently object to the war on that principal, not to mention the financial ruin it is causing.

The interesting question in my mind is whether this could really be some new sort of politics, something really new. For example, at some point during the primary season people were bandying about the idea of a Ron Paul/Dennis Kucinich presidential ticket! Or will the issues we don't agree on end up being dealbreakers...and coalitionbreakers.

THE March -- THE Evening

Wow again! Holy smoke! What an event it was this evening, with talks and Q&A with both Scott Ritter and Ray McGovern. It was very dicey even getting to this thing; the downtown St. Paul streets were a traffic horror, as you might imagine. Police all over the place, tons of pedestrians, dump trucks parked so as to funnel traffic this way or that...very tough to get to the parking ramp I was aiming for. But I finally made it and found the Lowery Theater. A very cute, funky little theater space in an old downtown building, only a few paces from where my daughter Danielle works. I'd never actually heard of the place! Anyway, they did not have food as promised (the caterer couldn't get there!), so I ran across the street to a Starbucks to grab a sandwich. What a scene that was!! Half a dozen or so press and/or bloggers at tables furiously typing away, downloading video, tables littered with coffee cups and notes, who knows what!

I was tired, so I can't really capture everything that was said in the lecture portion of the evening, but here are some bits and pieces. Ritter recapitulated much of the talk I caught on Saturday (see previous post), but in this one he seemed to emphasize the growing new cold war with Russia. Though he is very concerned about the drumbeat for war with Iran, he seemed to think that was now almost a distraction from efforts to re-demonize Russia, and he expressed his great fear that there were those in our current (and possibly a McCain) administration who actually believed in preemptive nuclear war with Russia. He said that. He believes that. And this man is not some tin-foil-hat guy!! So...yikes!!! I would point out that such a scenario, if it were to come to pass, could happen sooner rather than later, because right now Russia is not the superpower the Soviet Union was in its heyday. Right now we actually do have an edge, and it's actually tempting to think we could pull it off. Insanity, no? but... ?

McGovern was even more powerful in his presentation. He started by informing the audience that today is the 69th anniversary of the invasion of Poland by the nazis and the beginning of WWII. And then he proceeded to point out the similarities between our eroding freedoms here and the way it went in nazi Germany. He then recited, in German and then in translation, a poem by a martyred German churchman who's name I alas cannot recall (not Dietrich Bonhoeffer), which basically said that though he resisted the nazis and spoke up, he did too little too late. McGovern then directly challenged all of us there, even knowing it was a room full of activists, to do even more. In fact, he then informed the room that Amy Goodman, the host and producer of Democracy Now, was at that moment in jail...and suggested that we go to that jail and...well, what? Something! (I was just -- i.e., 10:30 p.m. -- informed by the Ramsey County Jail that she was released "several hours ago.") He said that the erosion of the independent media was perhaps the gravest sign of a slide towards a nazi-like regime.

During the Q&A I asked whether both gentlemen were worried there might not be an election, or, if there was one, that the elected president might not actually be sworn in. Ritter answered assertively that there would be an election and a new president. He also said that if such a thing were prevented, he believed the firefighters (he is a volunteer firefighter in upstate NY), the police, and many others would actually rise up in armed revolt. But he reiterated that he was confidant the election would happen. McGovern, on the other hand, expressed some doubt. At first he sort of echo'd Ritter, suggested that the military would not let such a thing stand, but then expressed concern about a trend he felt he saw towards loss of integrity and dishonesty in the military, citing as a current example the hedging by the air force about the number of civilians killed in a recent bombing in Afghanistan.

A woman made a statement in response to Ritter's pitch about the Constitution (see my previous post about him). She said she'd lived in Germany for awhile and that they had a provision in their constitution outlawing preemptive war, and suggested that we ought to not necessarily think our Constitution was the end-all-and-be-all of constitutions, but look at some other nations' constitutions. I think she really was just advocating for having such a provision in our Constitution (which, of course, could be done through the amendment process). But I mean to tell you, this set Scott Ritter OFF! He went OFF on her, shouting that basically there was no greater constitution than our own and that to think otherwise was almost disloyal. I thought he came close to calling her a traitor! But then he went on, and basically said he thought that before we looked to other constitutions we as a polity should become conversent with our own, and that our Constitution provided ways to be amended, and that once we Americans were all literate about our own Constitution, we might look at others. So in the end I think he got her point, but, WOW, did she ever push his buttons! I think she was stunned. In fact I think everyone was.

After the Q&A there was a break, and then the cabaret part of the evening commenced, but I was tired so I decided to leave. I walked around the corner towards the ramp where I'd parked, and, looking down the street, saw light glinting off of helmets, and heard protesty sorts of sounds. So of course I had to go take a look! This was at the intersection of Wabasha and Kellogg Boulevard on the riverfront, just a few hundred yards down from the Xcel Center. When I got down there, I found an absolute armed camp! There seemed to be several hundred police, many in full riot gear formed up in ranks. Behind them was a phalanx of horse-mounted police, perhaps 20, in a line. I could hear chanting, singing, haranguing, etc., but couldn't really see anything. I asked a bystander what was happening and he said some women in pink (surely CodePink gals) had blocked the intersection, but had now been pushed back by the cops. This was a very tense situation for awhile, and the assembled force was overwhelming and very intimidating. Whether you agree with CodePink or not, you have to admire their courage. They have more guts in their pinkies than I have, period!

While watching the scene, I got to talking with two other guys that were hanging around. (There were a lot of bystanders watching.) One turned out to be a young Ron Paul supporter; the other was a delegate to the convention from Texas! I should mention that I was still wearing my "Impeach Bush and Cheney" t-shirt from earlier in the day! But the three of us had a very amiable conversation, and it was interesting to just listen to the delegate talk about various aspects of the convention, the naming of Sarah Palin, etc. How cool!

After perhaps a half hour or so, the demonstrators dispersed on their own, and eventually the police dispersed as well and the streets were re-opened. I hung around a bit longer just watching delegates (who, believe me, were watching me with my t-shirt!) hanging out in front of the Crown Plaza hotel right there.

I was really struck by how exciting this whole thing was. Good thing I can siphon some of that excitement off in this blog so I can get to sleep!

THE March

WOW!! What a spectacular day! The turnout was huge. How huge? I can't say...I'm sure there will be figures kicked around for a few days, one side bidding low, the other high. But suffice to say, there were a LOT of people! It was tremendously exciting! The weather was glorious: very hot, but with a bit of cloud to occasionally cover the sun, and a very nice sustained breeze. The atmosphere was very festive...as lefty marches and rallies often are. Lots of very cool, fun street theater. Lots of families, the full spectrum of ages, genders, ethnicities... and eccentricities!

At first the police presence was very light...bike cops mostly. As we got closer to the Xcel, we began to encounter fully tricked-out riot police at various intersections, but they were calm, and so were we. At one point, down a block from the main body of the march, we heard a pop and saw a tear gas cloud. Don't know what was up, but while we saw newsies running down the block to catch the action, our parade marshals very expertly kept us calm and kept us moving. There were no further incidents that I, at least, witnessed.

When we finally got to the Xcel, we met...the infamous free speech zone! They had set up a corridor with what amounted to heavy steel cages. The setup forced the march to dogleg into this corridor, slowing things a bit (intentionally I'm sure). I must say, it was somewhat unnerving to be in that cage. I noticed that our section of the march became rather quiet while we made our way through it. I'm not sure if this really qualified as the "free speech zones" we've heard so much about. For instance, I believe the one at the DNC was quite far from the site of the convention; this one was right there at the Xcel, closer, actually, than I'd expected to get.

Anyway, there were no incidents and we left the cage and swung back around to head back to the Capitol grounds. The last quarter mile or so were on a slight but tiring upward grade. Not fair! :-)

We made it back to the Capitol grounds, where we kind of collapsed in the shade to rest and watch those behind us arriving. The event became a spectacular sort of lefty picnic on the grounds of the Capitol.

I would have to say that this event was successful on all sides. I will say that I was very afraid in the weeks leading up to the march. There was great potential for terrible violence. Were the busts earlier in the week of the so-called anarchists the reason the march was largely peaceful?? Remains to be seen. But from where I was, I would commend all sides for restraint.

Did we stick it to them hard? Did this march shake the very ground the GOP walks on? Perhaps not; the mood was very festive rather than smoldering and angry, although there was plenty of anger, too. But we were there and there big-time to let the world know that there was real opposition to the policies of the last 8 years (and perhaps years to come). I hope the wider world will find some inspiration in that.

Now off to an event not on my original list:

THE IRAN TALKS/THE TUMBLEWEED CABARET
Scott Ritter and Ray McGovern (6:00)
Lizzie West and Baba Buffalo CD release party (8:00)
Plus Medea Benjamin and other special guests

Michael Lerner lecture

The site of this talk was a synagogue housed in a lovely colonial-style building in south Minneapolis, in a leafy neighborhood bordering Minnehaha Parkway. Shir Tikvah is a reform Jewish synagogue. They were formerly housed in the same building in which I saw Thomas Frank last Thursday evening! The Universalist congregation and the reform Jewish congregation actually swapped buildings!

Michael Lerner is the editor and founder of Tikkun magazine, and co-founder of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP). In person he's a lovable-looking schlub (don't know Yiddish? It means kind of a slovenly person). One thing I noticed about him as he spoke was that although he was talking about serious things, he was almost always smiling. He was soft-spoken, and had an endearing way of occasionally stopping to ask, "Do you know about this?" "Do you know what I mean?" Almost as if he were in a one-on-one conversation.

The main thing I actually took away from his talk was the same idea as cognitive therapy...that as you think so you create. He said we have two competing impulses within us personally and within society. One is fear or insecurity, which leads to a belief that we must dominate others before they dominate us. The other is hope, which leads to love and caring. There is a continuum between these two poles within us at all times, and we constantly move around on that continuum in our day-to-day lives. He further says that there is a "social energy" that resonates with one pole or the other of the above-mentioned impulses. His obvious example is the "social energy" following 9/11. There was a climate of fear that resonated with our own tendencies towards fear and insecurity. Or something like that! Anyway, he said that the goal of the NSP is to keep reinforcing a positive social energy.

He talked about the feeling that so many have that there is something wrong with the moral fabric of our society, even though we have great scientific advances and wonderful products and money flowing, etc. The NSP calls for a New Bottom Line: not just money and power, but also caring and love. He asserted that such a thing could and must be taught in our schools.

I will let you read about the Global Marshall Plan yourselves. It is a plan to end world poverty and hunger. It seems similar to the UN Millenium Development Goals. I haven't studied the differences yet. Let's do it together! The goal is so worthy, and part of Lerner's point is that this is the way to true security.

Of course, he runs up against doubters and cynics all the time. His retort is to tell about hearing stories from the very early pioneers of contemporary feminism and civil rights. They say that very few of those around them believed that it could happen. And yet, here we are, not totally finished with the job by any means, but much much further along than anyone ever thought possible. I think he was saying that it's not helpful to be a naysayer, but rather, telling each other we believe it can happen is helpful. Whew! There's a message aimed right at me!

I should add that the word "spiritual" in "Network of Spiritual Progressives" is interpreted very broadly by its members. This is an extremely ecuminical group. Although Tikkun started out as a Jewish magazine, and still calls itself Jewish, you will see the full spectrum of religious thought in its pages. I have even seen pagan themes there.

Along with the worthy goals of the Global Marshall Plan, I also think that Lerner's is a voice to listen to on issues involving Israel and Palestine. He's written a book, Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation, the thrust of which, as I understand it (ummmm...haven't read it yet...so many books, so little time!) is that Israeli Jews and Palestinians must truly listen to each other's stories about the situation as a first step towards genuine reconciliation. I think he has in mind something similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions formed after the fall of apartheit in South Africa. In any case, as a Jewish voice from the left on Israel/Palestine, I think he carries a certain authority that some other critical voices do not. At least for me.

Liberty Parade and festival

Well, we didn't make the parade but we did make the festival in Loring Park. It was a small affair, occupying just a small portion of the park. But it was a high-spirited affair, with some bands, lit tables, folks decked out in colorful costumes, and a George Bush clown!

There was a large presence by Ron Paul's folks; in fact, I think they're largely the organizers. I did manage to buy from them a pocket copy of the Constitution. I've wanted one for awhile and never managed to get around to getting one. I also got two tickets to the Ron Paul rally on Tuesday for the price of $20...only slightly more than the $17.76 asking price for a single ticket!

Kind of an interesting blend of left-wing and right-wing hippies! And a beautiful day in a beautiful Minneapolis park.