The President's speech in Tucson

Via Digby:

To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow.

There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy pull through.

As Scripture tells us:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff, and many of her constituents gathered outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders – representatives of the people answering to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns to our nation’s capital. Gabby called it “Congress on Your Corner” – just an updated version of government of and by and for the people.

That is the quintessentially American scene that was shattered by a gunman’s bullets. And the six people who lost their lives on Saturday – they too represented what is best in America.

Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. A graduate of this university and its law school, Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench by John McCain twenty years ago, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and rose to become Arizona’s chief federal judge. His colleagues described him as the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to his Representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three sons, and his five grandchildren.

George and Dorothy Morris – “Dot” to her friends – were high school sweethearts who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together, traveling the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their Congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. Both were shot. Dot passed away.

A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter, she’d often work under her favorite tree, or sometimes sew aprons with the logos of the Jets and the Giants to give out at the church where she volunteered. A Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better.

Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together – about seventy years ago. They moved apart and started their own respective families, but after both were widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy’s daughters put it, “be boyfriend and girlfriend again.” When they weren’t out on the road in their motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent his spare time fixing up the church along with their dog, Tux. His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers.

Everything Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion – but his true passion was people. As Gabby’s outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits they had earned, that veterans got the medals and care they deserved, that government was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved – talking with people and seeing how he could help. Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fiancée, Kelly, who he planned to marry next year.

And then there is nine year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A student, a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. She often proclaimed that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age, and would remind her mother, “We are so blessed. We have the best life.” And she’d pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.

Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts are broken – and yet, our hearts also have reason for fullness.

Our hearts are full of hope and thanks for the 13 Americans who survived the shooting, including the congresswoman many of them went to see on Saturday. I have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here, where our friend Gabby courageously fights to recover even as we speak. And I can tell you this – she knows we’re here and she knows we love her and she knows that we will be rooting for her throughout what will be a difficult journey.

And our hearts are full of gratitude for those who saved others. We are grateful for Daniel Hernandez, a volunteer in Gabby’s office who ran through the chaos to minister to his boss, tending to her wounds to keep her alive. We are grateful for the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. We are grateful for a petite 61 year-old, Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer’s ammunition, undoubtedly saving some lives. And we are grateful for the doctors and nurses and emergency medics who worked wonders to heal those who’d been hurt.

These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned – as it was on Saturday morning.

Their actions, their selflessness, also pose a challenge to each of us. It raises the question of what, beyond the prayers and expressions of concern, is required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to their memory?

You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations – to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of that which seems senseless. Already we’ve seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health systems. Much of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government.

But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized – at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do – it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, “when I looked for light, then came darkness.” Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath.

For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind.

So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future.

But what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.

After all, that’s what most of us do when we lose someone in our family – especially if the loss is unexpected. We’re shaken from our routines, and forced to look inward. We reflect on the past. Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in awhile but every single day?

So sudden loss causes us to look backward – but it also forces us to look forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame – but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others.

That process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions – that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires. For those who were harmed, those who were killed – they are part of our family, an American family 300 million strong. We may not have known them personally, but we surely see ourselves in them. In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis – she’s our mom or grandma; Gabe our brother or son. In Judge Roll, we recognize not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America’s fidelity to the law. In Gabby, we see a reflection of our public spiritedness, that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union.

And in Christina…in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic.

So deserving of our love.

And so deserving of our good example. If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let’s make sure it’s worthy of those we have lost. Let’s make sure it’s not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle.

The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives – to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations.

I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here – they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.

That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.

I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.

Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. “I hope you help those in need,” read one. “I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.”

If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.

May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America.

State of the Union in 2011

Right-wing paranoia in a hurricane glass.

The US Dept of Education recently announced that President Obama will deliver a speech to America's students next week. The department says Obama "will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning."

Naturally, the chairman of the Florida republican (sic) party -- a troll named Jim Greer -- is "absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology." This genius believes the President intends to use schoolchildren "as tools to spread liberal propaganda." He even refers to the President of the United States of America as "Pied Piper Obama".

All because the President is going to speak to the nation's schoolchildren about personal responsibility and the Dept of Education issued an accompanying list of suggested resources & lesson plans.

To gain the approval of Florida republicans (sic) and other haters of President Obama, perhaps the speech should be altered to include a screed against illegal immigrants, a proposal to murder thousands of brown-skinned women & children in faraway places, and a promise to pray for the souls of Rush Limbaugh & Sean Hannity.

Nah ... right-wingers like this Florida windbag would still balk. They're terrified of their children gaining access to President Obama (even via television) without an accompanying voice of rage & paranoia to drown out whatever message the democratically elected President of the United States may communicate.

Kids know that whatever their parents don't want them to do, see or hear must be worth doing, seeing or hearing. All anyone who cares for the future of the USA can do is hope these kids gain a desire to learn more about what's got their parents so afraid.

R.I.P. Sen. Edward Kennedy

President Obama delivers the eulogy at Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral. Obama captured Kennedy's legacy with typical grace:

Today we say goodbye to the youngest child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy. The world will long remember their son Edward as the heir to a weighty legacy, a champion for those who had none, the soul of the Democratic Party, and the lion of the United States Senate -- a man whose name graces nearly 1,000 laws, and who penned more than 300 laws himself.

Of course Kennedy failed himself and others in his life. The Kennedy brood has lived under a microscope that pre-dates today's 24/7 news cycle and viral online gossip-mongering and 'Teddy' must hold the record for late-night-comedian jokes at his expense. The man saluted by President Obama as 'the greatest legislator of our time' was for many years a womanizing booze-hound. Hell, Ted Kennedy spawned Mayor Quimby on 'The Simpsons'. You don't get more iconic than that.

For right-wingers celebrating his passing -- and they're out there, holding their forked tongues -- Ted Kennedy represents a stark contrast to the hypocritical hate-mongering masquerading as modern day Republican politics. Kennedy was never a moralizer. He was a devout Catholic and public servant who saw in his Senate seat an opportunity to always 'to always give a voice to those who were not heard'. His shambolic personal life was a sideshow to 46 years of legislative success. Conservative politicians who rise to power espousing virtues and values they privately laugh at, and who reward the rich while demonizing the poor, couldn't, to use a sports vernacular, carry Ted Kennedy's jock.

Watch Pat Buchanan punch himself, over & over & over ...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This video begins with the conclusion of President Obama's stirring speech to the NAACP before segueing into a debate between Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchanan that quickly devolves into a dying generation digging its own sad, isolated grave.

What next ... an ACTUAL lynching?

I was sitting at Cafe Ivanhoe yesterday on a chilly, quiet afternoon, flipping through the Sunday Herald Sun, when Paul, the affable proprietor, asked if I'd seen 'THE' photo. I asked him to elaborate. He said, 'There's a picture in there of Obama checking out a woman's behind'. I found the photo and shared a laugh with Paul, agreeing it wasn't a dignified shot, especially with French President Sarkozy practically drooling beside him.

It's nice living in Australia. I don't have to bear the stench of US right-wing smears and scare campaigns unless I stumble upon them online. The photo seemed out of context when I saw it in the paper, and less than 30 seconds spent online produced video footage showing what Obama was doing that, in a millisecond, resulted in the 'scandalous' photo. How a cafe owner in Australia came to believe an African-American president was acting lascivious on the world stage offers a crystal-clear cross-section of how today's mainstream media (MSM) mimics human waste secretion. Let's begin:

It starts with Drudge (ascending colon), moves through the right-wing blogosphere (transverse colon), gets further broken down by Limbaugh/Hannity/Beck/etc (descending colon) and finally splashes across the pages & broadcasts of the MSM (rectum).

Meanwhile, this same coterie of hacks blames media bias for the sudden resignation of their pin-up girl, a woman whose only discernible qualification for public office was an appeal to white/rural voters and whose innumerable public gaffes have been serially overlooked by the mostly white/male/postgraduate/balding right-wing media mob.

Through the bulk of US history, it didn't take much for a black man to get strung up in a tree by a pack of braying whites. All it took was a look, or the accusation of a look, at a white woman.

Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose ...

Sick, sick f*cks ...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Osama bin Laden Needs to Attack America
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

It's left to Jon Stewart to blast the latest murderous rhetoric courtesy of right-wing demagogues:

SCHEUER: The only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States....only Osama can execute an attack which will force Americans to demand that their government protect them.

Exactly what could be more disloyal, more unpatriotic, more treasonous, than this?

Imagine a pair of progressive commentators espousing the slaughter of US citizens. They'd be hounded night & day by the cretinous Malkin/O'Reilly/Limbaugh/Hannity militias. How -- HOW?? -- are right-wing haters of true democracy like these two piles of excrement allowed to titillate the lunatic fringe this way?

All conservatives are cop killers.

Adopting right-wing subjectivity is easy. Avoid fairness and reason, disregard logic and exploit tragedy to further your agenda. BOOM! The headline to this post.

Here's how friends described the 22-year-old, right-wing, gun-hoarding coward who shot and killed 3 cops as they responded to a domestic disturbance call in a quiet Pittsburgh neighborhood:

He said he'll be ready if there's ever an invasion of the United States and that he had stockpiled foods and guns for that eventuality.

And:

He feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon."

How could somebody get THOSE paranoid and delusional notions tattooed onto his obviously addled brain?

Take a bow Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter, Savage, Beck, et al. This is your moment! Your lust for ratings and attention through hate-filled rants about President Obama is having the desired effect! Men defending their right to bear arms and blowing away cops, leaving grieving widows and fatherless children!

Meanwhile, untold thousands of lunatics stockpile guns and ammunition throughout the US, awaiting their day in the spotlight, goaded by hate-spewing media superstars.

For most US citizens, the election of Barack Obama was a glorious resurrection of America's hopeful promise. For others, brainwashed by thousands of hours of liberal bashing on Fox News and AM radio, it was time to lock and load.