The second day at TBA was a whirlwind. I couldn't sleep well-- woke up at 3:15, was waiting for the gym to open at 5:30 AM, and spent a little under 45 minutes running and walking 4.2 miles on the treadmill, watching, outside of the commercials, 90% of the time, the news about the nine firemen.
But at least, at Take Back America, they were talking about the big stuff-- criminal acts by politicians and government-- the kind of news, the kind of things going on in the world that used to get HUGE media coverage.
But it wasn't the press talking, it was the liberal members of congress and presidential candidates-- Gravel, Richardson, Obama, Edwards (in the order they spoke.)
Richardson seemed to go even further than any of the other candidates, calling for COMPLETE removal of the troops, and soon.
There was a buzz of energy as the crowd of over 3000 liberals waited for Obama. The excitement was very palpable. As one colleague, Bob Fertik, of democrats.com commented, "He's a rock star."
BUt among the people I spoke to, most of them count Obama as their second choice after Edwards, who leans further left.
Mike Gravel, introduced by Ralph Nader, gave his standard stump speech, which I agree with, that the way to get out of Iraq is to keep introducing, every day, the bill to get out. Let the Right wingers reject it every day. It was good to get to speak with Ralph Nader a bit. I asked him about one of our big issues-- voting-- and he replied that we need to go to hand counted paper ballots. I worked it out with his communications director so we'll be getting more of his articles on OpEdNews.
At the gala dinner, I took our Voting Integrity editor Joan Brunwasser, opednews writer Diane Pearlstein, and one of Patrick Murphy's interns (having a pass from a cancellation by one of our other reporters.) Jason Alexander did a great job weaving a story about "who took America" since the meeting was about taking it back. The message-- no-one, we gave it away, by allowing our rights to erode. Either he wrote a great talk or had a great writer. Either way, he delivered it VERY well, so we couldn't tell.
Then, Roger Wilkins was honered with America's Future Lifetime leadership award. This is a man who the word Class, is not good enough. In any world, he would be among the nobility.
Next, Ned Lamont gave the Paul Wellstone Citizen Leadership Award to the Progressive Bloggers. About 50 of us got up on the stage. I knew about eight or ten of them, but, once the dinner was over, got to know about eight or ten more. The thing is, about 80% of them don't know about OpEdNEws, even though our traffic sees more page views than all but three or four of the biggest blogs. And speaking of that, I mentioned that someone didn't know who Thom Hartmann was yesterday. So, of course, Thom, probably through google alerts, read it. Now, I mentioned it because Thom is one of, if not the top talk show hosts in the progressive world. Most people do know him. Matter of fact, when he and I went up, after a panel, to see Bernie Sanders, who has been on Thom's show every friday for over three years, one woman, waiting to talk to Bernie, commented, "Omigod, I was going to tell Bernie I listen to him every friday on the Thom Hartmann show. She was more excitd to see Thom. Now, of course, I'll get in trouble with Bernie. NOT!! Bernie is an amazing guy who is also a real rock star. I was not the only one thinking that I wished he'd run for president.
The crowd's heating up this morning. Hillary will be here in a few minutes. Last year, a few old hippies (I'm another one, I guess, but, they had a lot more hair) booed her. I spoke with one of her media people a few minutes ago. She said she thought we'd be pleased with what she has to say. Time to sign off and make sure the front row seats I grabbed are still untaken.
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.
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and there are Rob's quotes, here.
To Watch me on youtube, having a lively conversation with John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary committee, click here Now, wouldn't you like to see me on the political news shows, representing progressives. If so, tell your favorite shows to bring me on and refer them to this youtube video
My radio show, The Rob Kall Show, runs 9-10 PM EST Wednesday evenings, on AM 1360, WNJC and is archived on www.whiterosesociety.org Or listen to it streaming, live at either www.wnjc1360.com or here.
A few declarations.
-While I'm registered as a Democrat, I consider myself to be a dynamic critic of the Democratic party, just as, well, not quite as much, but almost as much as I am a critic of republicans.
-My articles express my personal opinion, not the opinion of this website.
Rob, I am trying to begin walking 15 minutes a day in the mall and can't get my mind wrapped around it. You should write a short column one day about how you started working out and how you're doing with it. Looks like you're doing great.
Dusty
by
Dusty Nathan (16 articles, 0 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 51 comments)
on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 7:07:29 AM
. . . by the people and for the people is what OpEdNews is. It's a level playing field. There are no elites so "elite" bloggers naturally won't gravitate towards it.
You can keep your Democratic Underground and Daily Kos with their blogging class system, and Huffington Post with its lame celebrity bloggers. I'll take OpEdNews.
And soon, thanks to Rob, we'll have Ralph Nader.
by
Russ Wellen (58 articles, 1029 quicklinks, 66 diaries, 335 comments)
on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 8:16:10 AM
... before I let the people who hung out with him and know him well, speak first. (Although, several months ago, I met Markos -- not realizing how rare that is, and shared over an hour of face time, drinking a couple of beers together -- even rarer. My rendition: he didn't like me for primarily insisting that he inform himself about, and express a position in, Nine Eleven Op evident true facts; and I was put off by him preferring self-absorption to the exclusion of the dynamic which he's carried in -- I'd like a better proportioned sense of balance between self and context awarenesses. It reminded me of my strong-bonded friendships which weakened when he or she fell in love with abstract celebrity status, either mine or their own. It felt like I could truly love the real Markos, inside the cover of the book, yet I haven't had an opportunity to behold and read him.)
There is a degree of visibility in the blogging class system
... where the blogger cannot say what they think, and know, (perhaps because they don't, and don't), and are left only going through the motions. A term applied to such condition is (leftwing) Gatekeeper, a fashion of thought police.
Then their material is propagandized lies, by omission instead of the more common (rightwing) commission form. Just so -- propaganda pap -- is, as said, Democratic Underground, dailyKos, Huffington Post, and on and on.
A reliable litmus test, usually, is in questioning the blogger's comprehension of the Nine Eleven Op hoax, (yet there are other, 'advanced' studies, say, the hoax that is the FBI -- learn J. Edgar Hoover's bio, and that the Bureau is his total creation, in his own image, whereas he didn't know his own birthdate, or parentage, and destroyed whatever clues of it he could find; a real psych-demented closet case, voila: his FBI).
What is tested in comprehending the Nine Eleven Op hoax, (and other frauds), is less in knowing or arguing the particulars of Who? did it, and How? it was done, and most in knowing and able to argue Why? If it is a hoax, what is the motive?
Knowing and arguing about motivation requires a well-developed understanding of human nature, traits and characteristics and behaviors inherent in the human anatomy, pathology evolved along the 'ascent' of man, (apologies to Jacob Bronowski).
In the case of Nine Eleven Op, WHY is someone knowingly complicit in mass murder? And the answer must test out to be the same answer in human nature as it ever was and always is of mass murderers' motive. Which is, in essence, that it is a psychodramatic calculation that costing a 'few' will be saving the 'more.' And the 'more' is seldom, but may be, the more number of persons; whereas often the 'more' is the more dear of persons -- the murderer's family, clan, village, ethnic, genetic lineage. That's WHY.
And, we see, that's not a reason at all. Motivation hardly is 'reason,' it's reflex. Hard-wired. Anatomic. Pathologic. The murderers frequently say they 'had to.' Suggesting it was nottaught them, they had it in them. What they didn't have by birth is peace of mind, 'peace that passeth understanding.'
[As applied in the N.E.O. mass murders, Dubya is the witless (cut-out, holding 'probable deniability'), and Cheney is the obedient (and others you can name), patsies of Poppy, ol' no. 41 himself, in whom is seen the born (6/12/1924) and bred (Prescott's home profit in the hitlerian) reflex supremacism, 'psychodrama calculation,' of saving his most dear Master Race ilk. So that the Teutonic (WASP) lineage best have the last petroleum on Earth, before all others of humankind. Notice Poppy is not saving 'Americans,' but only saving his genetic, ethnic, 'north-western European' type. Just so foretells, and same as long-recorded practice in the respects of Herbert's helping henchmen, there develops a lethal double-cross of the persons in the role of cut-out whenever investigating the trail of evidence approaches toward the core mastermind. Reflexive human nature of the guilty. The most chance that Dumbo and Cheney, (Jeb, Rummy, Race, Rave, Gonzo, Ashcreep, Ten-nut, Gapes, Mull-er, Excrelia, congresspersons plural, Rudy, Tony, Silvio, don'tcha know, each and every one recruited and 'made'), might ever roll over and rat out Poppy don, comes not in bargaining the threat of what law enforcement could do to them if they don't, but only comes to them for escaping the threat in what numero uno 41 would do to them if they do: he's got their back, for the stabbing. In fact, the act does not wait, has not waited, for actual betrayal kisses, any possibly pouty pucker is all. What can be hoped is that Cheney (and the rest) can spontaneously recognize he is done for, already, (lest he escape into witness protection), soon or sooner, a gone goner, inevitably, automatically, methodically, regardless whether or not questioned, what or not asked, how or not answered. Have will today or leave Will tomorrow. Even hopeless Dumbo, needing merely one Rovian history lesson, (of B. Franklin: Three people can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.), recalling simply one thing he knows of his old man, by some remnant shred of autonomic survival-of-the-organism reflex, could get drinking once enough to sense there's only time to spill his guts before his guts get spilled. Being the one bona fide casualty of reverse oedipal complex, the same complexion inflicted on all of Herbert's casualties, but Dumbo could never reckon it that way; indeed, in that sociopathology, forward and reverse are the same thing, unreckoned either way, unknown another way. Maybe if we all shout together: "Dumbo, save yourself," his ears might give him flight.]
[The Gemini Godzilla fascinates on twin assistants. (Like: the number 11, Twin Towers, double-crossing, etc.) His two survivors both are Gemini, (the singular is plural), too. His mentor, Henry Killinger (5/27/1923), and his mate, Blabs (6/8/1925). Tarzan and Fay Rey. (Bad vintages, three years joined: '23, President Warren Harding poisoned under Teapot Dome; '24, Socialist Giacomo Matteotti tortured to death; '25, Willian Jennings Bryan dies on cross examination.) Stiltwalkers say, if one prop buckles all falls down. See also: B. Franklin. Last week, Poppy stepped over a line beyond Blabs' reach, into an 84th year.]
As it is unexpected to hear bloggers comprehend N.E.O., it may be impossible to hear a presidential candidate, either Depublican or Republican, bring it up, bring it out, bring it on. The best hope has to be for Mike Gravel, first to hope he knows. One we might imagine talking N.E.O. de-hoaxing talk is Dennis Kucinich -- heaven knows he knows: I put fifty print-out pages of 911Truth in his left hand while shaking right hands. (Then he put it in his aide's keeping.) Ron Paul may have spoke of N.E.O. in recent days, I think I read, yet I have avoided hearing any word of a selfsaid Republican. Last, it is good to hear Michael Moore has switched from saying, 'no N.E.O. comment,' and now says, 'let's investigate.' I hope it's his next documentary.
Somewhere along my daily blog run, Rob, it said at the Take Back America this week, there are groups at card tables, relegated behind curtains at the back of the hall, carrying topical information they want to get out to America. I think the categories are Impeachment and Nine Eleven Op. Your schedule plate may be overflowing -- it certainly sounds like your eyes are wider than your daylight! -- but if you notice any appealing sidedishes behind a curtain somewhere, share them as a part to America we can take back, for here or to go. Continued good luck, continued fun, and bon appetite.
by
meremark (1 articles, 3 quicklinks, 23 diaries, 473 comments)
on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 10:28:01 PM
not young enough to do anything but opine. Remember when the Hippies called the teenagers who invaded San Francisco "teenie boppers?"
But with bloggers, I'm beginning to sense that a whole new hierarchy of entrepreneurs are creeping in, and some of us late yahoogroupees don't know how to react. I've been on sites where to talk against Kos is to be shunned. He's a cute young man who was interviewed on Q & A by Brian Lamb and I was struck by his knowledge of servers and hit counts.
Now I hope no one believes I'm downplaying the new media. It's gives greater latitude than a back fence political discussion. All in all, the serious articles of OpEdNews appeal to me. It takes a lot of my time, but I often send some of them to my yahoogroup, a mere few hundred members but not hard to join (name: progressive). It's a hard trick to balance good information with the jackrabbit conclusions of some who post.
At the moment I'm on the last volume of Taylor Branch's trilogy on the King Years. The voting rights act is on the plate this evening. I wonder just how many serious e-politickers have a good recollection of how hard LBJ worked to get that passed. It hurts sometimes to have respondents talk about the evil of LBJ, because he killed boys in Viet Nam.
Besides single-interest voters, I sometimes wonder if there aren't single-interest thinkers.
by
Margaret Bassett (21 articles, 1302 quicklinks, 26 diaries, 772 comments)
on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 6:26:02 PM
Hello,
I am a supporter of Mr. Obama and have been trying to get friends behind him as well. I seem to be running across a problem with a couple of good friends asking if he is a Muslim fanatic and wanting to take over America from within. Seems when that piece about him having attended a Muslim school came out, some folks started believing that he along with the terrorists had planned to get him president of the U.S. How do I get the message across that this is just plain nuts? I would really appreciate any info I could pass on.
Thank you,
Elaine
by
Elaine (0 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments)
on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 12:17:58 AM
