When I saw the hell going on at the Franklin Mills Mall, I thought about an obvious historical perspective. Philadelphia is not considered the Cradle of Liberty for nothing!

I stayed overnight only once in Philadelphia, in 1952. I visited my cousin whose husband is a cardiologist. He left Wichita to dare to study pacemakers with Dr. White, the noted scientist who is credited with saving President Eisenhower's life. However, in holiday mood I remember best the cute little second cousins at their house and, later, our drive to Valley Forge to see beautiful dogwoods in May.

This all comes back as I thought about leaving the East to live again in the Rockies where the stench of Senator Joe McCarthy would blow away. Strange how many self-made dictators and fiendish-made political leaders would come to mind since then. Here was Cheryl Biren, hustled off like a common criminal, only because she did what journalist/photographers do--take pictures. In a new century, where is the news? That local citizens do not want their children to be propagandized with video games concerning war--that's what?

Cheryl, good journalist she is, protected her data and up comes Chris Hedges' forlorn face, sufficiently seasoned as a war correspondent to stand back and take in the scene. How well he warned us about the insidious nature of what is happening in our country now! We haven't listened.

As I think about the persons who are caught in this nasty police grip, I also think about Senator Specter. There's a thread of thought there. Ike, warning us about a military industrial complex, my cousin-in-law doing his best to keep us alive, and a third Kansan, born in Wichita. Arlen Specter may belong to Pennsylvania but his diction sounds just like my relatives'. I've always been very partial to him. So it was time for me to seek out his professional webpage at the Senate to see what he's up to as he takes on yet another election.

Here it is:
Schumer, Specter Unveil Revised Reporter Shield Bill That Addresses National Security Concerns, Clearing Way For Passage by Key Senate Panel
Bill, Endorsed By 72 Media Organizations, Would Create a Legal Protection For Journalists Guarding Their Sources' Anonymity
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, September 10, 2009

As Linda Milazzo points out in her article, Chris Hedges has credentials, as a human being and as a journalist. She quotes: "War is not a game. Weapons are not toys. The essence of war is death. The purpose of war is to extinguish all opposing living systems from the economic to the political, social, cultural and finally, familial. Those who entice children to play with mock weapons of war will never allow these children to see what these weapons do to human bodies. They hide from them the fundamental truth about violence and in this way socialize them to kill."

Killing people? That's easy without the other part of the equation. Someone has to know when bad things happen. This is Tuesday afternoon, the 15th. Perhaps I'm not the best Googler in the world but I'm not coming up with articles about what happened, not even from AP. So this is an appeal to Pennsylvanians who have a claim on their Senator. Is it possible that bill was meant to die? I hope not.