Don't Just Stand There, Do Something: September 2011

9/11/11

Ten years ago, the unthinkable happened to America, to New York; my country and city. I’m a news junkie, so CNN was on when the first plane struck the first tower. I did what so many who lived with the World Trade Center as part of their landscape did: I left my apartment and hit the street with neighbors to assess the horror. I called my son and a few others who lived further downtown just to make sure they were all right. They were. Then came the shock of witnessing the second plane aim for and hit the second tower. A guy from the third floor of my building pulled his car up so we could hear the radio news. We also got firsthand accounts from people who had fled the scene. The corner deli distributed bottles of water and the pizza place passed out slices.

Things are fairly crazy on our lovely planet lately. The following are short pieces about some of the craziness that is cropping up and I’d like to know what you’re thinking. So I hope you will comment on Cheney, Church | State / Bachmann, Qaddafi, how you think Obama is handling Libya and more....

He's Back!

Dick Cheney has a brand new book out with contributions from his wife, Liz, called, In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir. I have not bought this book, nor do I have any intention of reading it. It was enough for me and, I’m sure many of you and other fellow Progressives, to live though eight years of listening to the then-Vice President reinvent reality in real time. According to responses to the memoir from Colin Powell and others who are included in his narrative, he continues taking that liberty when it comes to offering his perspective of history. It seems that Cheney has remained as ill-willed and dark-spirited as ever.

It seems that Michelle Bachmann has never heard of the separation of church and state that Thomas Jefferson introduced as a "wall of separation between church and state," and which was embraced by our Founding Fathers because they understood that the freedom to worship as one chooses was indeed an important freedom. Bachmann has a slightly different take on say, the Declaration of Independence, which she uses, along with Thomas Jefferson, to justify her positions. For instance, she uses the latter part of, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," to promote her anti-choice position, while ignoring the word "all" when speaking of equality when it comes to gays and Lesbians.

It is a real shame, as in, we should be ashamed, to have ever sanctioned anything that the despot Muammar el-Qaddafi has done. There is nothing that George W. Bush ever said about Saddam Husain that can not be said of this tyrant; Saddam/Qaddafi might as well be the same person. Yet, if we learned anything from the nightmare mistake of going into Iraq, besides the fact that grudges and oil are no excuse for waging war, it is that we cannot continue to support despotic regimes in the name of economic interests. War is difficult even for the noblest of reasons, but unlike Bush's decision to enter Iraq, which was among the worst moves the United States has ever made, Obama understood that assuming the lead when it came to Libya would have been more than we could bear. Of course the Republicans would disagree with me, which is comforting.

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The NGO's serving, saving and restoring lives in Haiti are deeply in need of our support. After previous disasters in Haiti where corruption was rife, Common Dreams, which contributes “News & Views” for the progressive community, urges those of who would like to contribute that “In lieu of sending money to organizations with a dubious history in Haiti, those wanting to contribute to relief efforts were encouraged to support Haitian-led grassroots organizations like Konbit Sole Leve and Sakala, which have been providing emergency assistance and shelter."

Founded in 1954, The Humane Society of the United States celebrates animals and confronts cruelty — to all animals, not just dogs and cats. The HSUS takes on the biggest transformational fights to stop large-scale cruelties, such as animal fighting, puppy mills, factory farming, and the wildlife trade. They will pass anti-cruelty laws in every single nation, end extreme confinement of farm animals in cages, stop cosmetic testing on animals, halt cruelty to wildlife, and transform the landscape for pets in poverty. The HSUS and their affiliates also care for more than 100,000 animals each year, through their rescue teams, sanctuaries and wildlife centers, free veterinary care for low-income pet owners, and many other life-saving programs. www.humanesociety.org

ALS is a brain disease that is closely related to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS targets brain cells called motor neurons. Motor neurons send messages from the brain to muscles throughout the body. In ALS, as motor neurons die, a person progressively loses the ability to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe. In 1998, Jenifer Estess, a 35-year-old New York theater and film producer, was diagnosed with ALS. Her doctor told her to “max out her credit cards and eat junk food.” At that time clinicians and scientists were working separately on varying aspects of the disease. There was no structured effort underway to solve ALS until Jennifer Estess and her sisters formed this powerful NGO, Project ALS. Though Jennifer succumbed to the disease, the work that she and her sisters began is still in progress. www.projectals.org

People need healthy oceans to survive and to thrive. The Oceanic Society works to improve ocean health by addressing the root cause of its decline — human behavior. Simply put, the oceans are in trouble because people are putting too much into and taking too much out of them. Through our conservation travel programs, marine research, and investments in conservation, we are inspiring and empowering people at all levels of society to become better stewards of ocean ecosystems. Our mission is to conserve marine wildlife and habitats by deepening the connections between people and nature. You can learn more about how you can help the Oceanic Society through volunteering, donating, following your favorite species, and not throwing plastics in our waterways. After all, we don't want our garbage to destroy the oceans. www.oceanicsociety.org

Refoundry is an innovative not-for-profit that trains people who were formerly incarcerated to refurbish and repurpose discarded materials into unique furnishings. This helps them to create businesses and to support their communities. Prisons in the U.S. are big businesses, so there is less effort to rehabilitate inmates and teach them usable skills, than to warehouse large numbers of them for profit. So, there is a great need to support the 700,000 prisoners set free each year in their quest for gainful employment. Refoundry does just that. www.refoundry.org

Robert Reich’s work, including his pieces available on line at http://readersupportednews.org, stands among my favorite truth-telling when it comes to politics, government, and the economy of the United States. Reich's points of view are clear, concise, and above all, useful. Amazon.com says of this important writer: “Perhaps no one is better acquainted with the intersection of economics and politics than Robert B. Reich, and now he reveals how power and influence have created a new American oligarchy, a shrinking middle class, and the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity in eighty years.” I call this a must read!

9/11/11

Church | State – Never the Twain….

Violence in Qaddafiland