The Power of The Vote

This in from Intrepid Liberal Journal:

Supporting a presidential candidate for me is deeply personal. It’s not simply deciding which candidate I will pull the lever for in the privacy of a voting booth. Rather I approach the decision as an activist and ask myself: after weighing all the virtues and flaws of the declared candidates on whose behalf am I willing to devote my free time?

In my darker moments I’ll ask myself, “Do any of these lying corporatist whores deserve my support? Why bother with any of them?” The ship has long sailed on my days of being a "true believer."

Ultimately, in spite of my disenchantment, I believe in the power of the vote. Even with the sordid history of stolen elections and broken promises, I remain convinced the best way to change the system is through participation in the political process. And the best vehicle for progressive reform is by leveraging the Democratic Party – flawed as it is. Which means I have to finally stop creasing my butt, get off the fence, and choose a candidate.

Read Sitting on the Fence is Creasing My Activist Butt in the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

interview with Barbara Slavin on US-Iran

Barbara Slavin, senior diplomatic correspondent for USA Today since 1996 and author of the recently published book,Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S., and the Twisted Path to Confrontation (St. Martin's Press), writes that,

"Iran and the United States are like a once happily married couple that has gone through a bitter divorce. Harsh words have been exchanged - husband and wife have come to blows and employed others to inflict more punishment. Apologizing is hard and changing behavior even harder. This relationship is unequal, with one side or the other feeling more vulnerable at any given time and afraid the other will take advantage of concessions."

Currently, the public faces of both nations, presidents George W. Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been content to throw rhetorical bombs and raise the diplomatic temperature - increasing the likelihood of war. Indeed, at times it appears that conservative hardliners in both countries are eager for conflict as a means to maintain their respective grips on power.

Using her extensive contacts among the powerful inside Iran and the United States, Slavin documents missed opportunities for reconciliation between both countries during the administrations of the first President Bush as well as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The combination of her remarkable access to people such as Madeline Albright, Condelezza Rice, Iranian reformers like former President Mohammad Khatami, longtime establishment figures such as Ali Rafsanjani, as well as dissidents like Akbar Ganji and everyday citizens, allows Slavin to shed sunlight on a nation most Americans know very little about. She is also the first newspaper reporter from the United States to interview Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

Slavin has accompanied three secretaries of State on their official travels and reported from Iran, Libya, Israel, Egypt, North Korea, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Syria. She is also a regular commentator for U.S. foreign policy on National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting System's Washington Week In Review and C-Span. This month, she joined the U.S. Institute of Peace as a Jennings Randolph fellow, to continue her research on Iran. Slavin also serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Slavin agreed to a podcast interview with me about her book, Iran and their turbulent relationship with the United States. Our conversation is just under thirty minutes.

Listen to, "An Interview With Iranian Expert and Journalist Barbara Slavin" in the Intrepid Liberal Journal.#


Published by permission. Thanks, Rob, great work!

Awakening Warrior by Timothy Challans

Timothy Challans, a career infantry officer writes in his new book, Awakening Warrior: A Revolution In the Ethics of Warfare (State University Press of New York) that,

“The great paradox is that America goes to war against forces that it plays a large role in creating, and each war spawns new threats of largely its own creation.”

In a thoughtful book that blends philosophy and history, Challans diagnoses the ills of what he describes as the “warrior ethos” and the “American War Machine” which encompasses those political and military institutions that engage the world with physical force. Challens argues that America’s survival is contingent upon replacing the current warrior ethos with a new paradigm guided by ethics.

A native of Colorado, Challens is a West Point graduate and earned masters and doctorate degrees in philosophy at the Johns Hopskins University. For more than ten years he taught over a thousand military students from the rank of cadet to colonel, at West Point (USMA), the Command and General Staff College (CGSC), and the School for Advanced Military Studies (SAMS).


Read Awakening Warrior: an interview with author Timothy Challens in Robert Ellman's Intrepid Liberal Journal.

it's Cicada Time again: Brood XIII

Midwest Braces for Swarms of Cicadas as Brood XIII is about to emerge from its 17-year snooze to provide high-protein meals for birds, squirrels, and pets, esp dogs.

Yum...but I'd like mine chocolate-covered please.

Just goes to show that insect infestations aren't only found in Washington DC--and that no amount of chocolate can provide cover for political varmints and the sins they're in.

At least the red-eyed, shrimp-sized cicadas don't bite or sting--and they'll be done with their work in about 30 days...more than can be said for 99% of our Capitol Hill infestation.


Heads-Up: be sure to check out this excellent post at Intrepid Liberal Journal on gate crashers and who they really are.