Toys for TotsPerhaps there are no limits. Anything goes. Beverley Hills Teddy Bear Co., a company based in Valencia, California, got rebuffed when they offered 400 "......foot-tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season." The crassness of those who resort to such means to indoctrinate kids is sickening. However, not all Christian organizations follow that path. In the San Francisco Bay area there are quite a few food kitchens run by religious organizations. I serve as a volunteer in one of them (this is my 14th year). We serve hot meals to the poor and homeless. All comers are greeted cordially and with respect, no questions asked about their religious affiliation and no one tries to make them see the light. I have never heard or seen a church official or a volunteer make any efforts to proselytize. The day I do will be my last as a volunteer there.A talking Jesus doll has been turned down by the Marine Reserves' Toys for Tots program. A suburban Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the foot-tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season. The battery-powered Jesus is one of several dolls manufactured by one2believe, a division of the Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., based on Biblical figures.But the charity balked because of the dolls' religious nature.Toys are donated to kids based on financial need and "we don't know anything about their background, their religious affiliations," said Bill Grein, vice president of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in Quantico, Va.As a government entity, Marines "don't profess one religion over another," Grein said Tuesday. "We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."Michael La Roe, director of business development for both companies, said the charity's decision left him "surprised and disappointed.""The idea was for them to be three-dimensional teaching tools for kids," La Roe said. "I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible."According to the company's Web site, the button-activated, bearded Jesus, dressed in hand-sewn cloth outfits and sandals, recites Scripture such as "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." It has a $20 retail value.Grein also questioned whether children would welcome a gift designed for religious instruction. "Kids want a gift for the holiday season that is fun," he said.The program distributed 18 million stuffed animals, games, toy trucks and other gifts to children in 2005.

Voter Fraud: Ehrlich and Steele's Dirty Tricks Exposed$100.00 per head, coffee, donuts, three meals and free bus rides! On November 7th, people behind the campaigns of Republicans Robert Ehrlich and Michael Steele picked up poor and homeless African Americans in Philadelphia and used them to deceive Black voters in Maryland with misleading fliers. Their dastardly tactics failed. Pox on them all. The shameful details in Washington Post.The six Trailways motorcoaches draped in Ehrlich and Steele campaign banners rumbled down Interstate 95 just before dawn on Election Day.On board, 300 mostly poor African Americans from Philadelphia ate doughnuts, sipped coffee and prepared to spend the day at the Maryland polls. After an early morning greeting from Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s wife, Kendel, they would fan out in white vans across Prince George's County and inner-city Baltimore, armed with thousands of fliers that appeared to be designed to trick black Democrats into voting for the two Republican candidates.The glossy fliers bore photos of black Democratic leaders on the front. Under the headline "Democratic Sample Ballot" were boxes checked in red for Ehrlich and Senate candidate Michael S. Steele, who were not identified as Republicans. Their names were followed by a long list of local Democratic candidates.Nearly a week later, a fuller picture has emerged about how the plan to capture blacks' votes unfolded -- details that suggest the fliers, and the people paid to distribute them, were not part of a hurry-up effort but a calculated strategy.Republican leaders have defended the Election Day episode as an accepted element of bare-knuckle politics. But for many voters, it shattered in one day the nice-guy images Ehrlich and Steele had cultivated for years.

More than a "Lame Duck" Session * Kiran DesaiThe Republican legislators return to their last session. They are making noise about getting things done, and there are pending issues that need to be concluded. An editorial in the Post mentions some of them. It also points out important issues that are to be left for the 110th Congress. The surveillance program under the USA Patriot Act is an abomination that the Bush Administration, aided by a complaisant Congress, foisted on us. It needs thorough scrutiny.We would like to see carefully crafted legislation to provide a legal framework for the administration's warrantless surveillance program, but the measures that have been proposed so far go overboard in giving carte blanche to the administration. This is an important subject -- and one that ought to be taken up by the 110th Congress. Meanwhile, the president's last-ditch push to win confirmation of controversial U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton during the lame-duck session isn't a particularly good omen of presidential willingness to compromise with Democrats. Mr. Bolton's nomination is a matter the White House would do better to drop, for the lame-duck session and beyond, if Mr. Bush is serious about that new tone he talked about the day after the election.Citizenship in Bush's AmericaI get the feeling that here in the Silicon Valley a majority of the Indians are likely to be supporters of President Bush and the Republicans. Kiran Desai is not a resident of California. It was interesting to read comments by this year's Booker Prize winner -- that she put off going through the citizenship process because of her "disapproval of the president's foreign policy". Perhaps an extreme view but understandable. I love my adopted country. There are times though when I am not proud of what our government does. By Martin Roberts Wed Nov 8, 12:31 PM ETIndian novelist Kiran Desai said she may never have won the Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards, had George W. Bush not been U.S. president - as he put her off becoming an American citizen.The Man Booker Prize is open only to British and Commonwealth citizens and Indian-born Desai has yet to apply for a U.S. passport, although she has lived in New York for 20 years."George Bush won once and he won the second time and I couldn't bring myself to (apply)," Desai said late last month in an interview in Toronto as she voiced her disapproval of the president's foreign policy."So I really owe George Bush my Booker, in an odd way. It's really very funny."Desai, 35, became the youngest woman to capture the 50,000 pound ($95,000) prize last month with her sweeping novel "The Inheritance of Loss." The book's narrative ranges from undocumented workers in New York to political violence in the foothills of the Himalayas during the 1980s.The novelist divides her time between New York and New Delhi, and while she finds traveling difficult on an Indian passport, she said it helped her maintain an essential contact with her roots while penning her prize-winning book."I couldn't have written this book without being interested (in India), I felt very Indian while writing it," she said."With politics in the United States, my immediate thought is how is this going to affect India or the Third World, who are they letting into the country, who they happen to be bombing."But Desai is quick to point out that her book deals with an underclass that is exploited in rich and poor countries alike.Applause and a bouquet for Kiran Desai.

Poems by Karen Karpowich and Yehuda AmichaiFeels different than a week ago. I'm looking at the same street, trees, and neighbors. Yet, there is a difference. It is in my heart. The barbarians have been defeated. There is a sense of hope. I don't believe in miracles. Things are not going to change overnight, but they will not continue to worsen. There is hope that the soldiers would begin to return home, that fewer people would die because of actions of our government; hope that the abuse of power would be checked, the divisive rhetorics muted. Above all, there is hope that a few megalomaniacs would never again be so easily able to con us into going to war. *A Poem Against War Near the band shell are Elms planted for heroes of a forgotten war. The trees create a thick canopy. It’s cool. No grass grows. A narrow path is pounded out by joggers who pass never noticing the plaques filled with names. A child might say this place is haunted. I only feel its sadness. Young men who fought and died never knowing what it is to live. I walk here each day. My pace quickens at its dark center.---Karen KarpowichHalf The People In The WorldHalf the people in the world love the other half,half the people hate the other half.Must I because of this half and that half go wanderingand changing ceaselessly like rain in its cycle,must I sleep among rocks, and grow rugged likethe trunks of olive trees,and hear the moon barking at me,and camouflage my love with worries,and sprout like frightened grass between the railroadtracks,and live underground like a mole,and remain with roots and not with branches, and notfeel my cheek against the cheek of angels, andlove in the first cave, and marry my wifebeneath a canopy of beams that support the earth,and act out my death, always till the last breath andthe last words and without ever understandig,and put flagpoles on top of my house and a bomb shelterunderneath. And go out on raids made only forreturning and go through all the apallingstations—cat,stick,fire,water,butcher,between the kid and the angel of death?Half the people love,half the people hate.And where is my place between such well-matched halves,and through what crack will I see the white housingprojects of my dreams and the bare foot runnerson the sands or, at least, the waving of a girl'skerchief, beside the mound?Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000), Translated by Chana Bloch And Stephen Mitchell

Our President and the so called "Christian Right"After the election of 2004, I wrote:"Post election ruminations in a Judeo-Christian Land Slouching towards fundamentalism."The message from voters could not be more clear. The majority did not give a hoot about real issues. They elected a hollow man to lead the nation for another four years. They remained blissfully oblivious of his lies and embraced him for his religious position. How could John Kerry, a Catholic, compete against that, especially when Catholic priests were exhorting their parishioners not to vote for any candidate who supports women's right to choose? And then there was fear of terrorism in the home land. Again, it was George Bush and his talk about god and America that resonated."How good it feels to see a reversal. There were signs that cracks were appearing in the president's Christian base (one of his "core" support groups). The man who alluded to being told by God to go to war, was facing problems with the lies and deceptions that came to light. The costs (casualties and waste of our money) could not be brushed aside. Wonder if the weasely president,who is now turning somersaults to salvage the remaining two years of his term, feels like Julius Caesar -- "Et tu, Brute" after being deserted by the Christian Right. In "Democrats Win Bigger Share of Religious Vote", Alan Cooperman of the Washington Post comments about the religious vote.As the results of the midterm elections sank in this week, religious leaders across the ideological spectrum found something they could agree on: The "God gap" in American politics has narrowed substantially.Religious liberals contended that a concerted effort by Democrats since 2004 to appeal to people of faith had worked minor wonders, if not electoral miracles, in races across the country.Religious conservatives disagreed, arguing that the Republican Party lost religious voters rather than the Democrats winning them. *"Bigotry is the sacred disease"---Heraclitus (544-483 BC)

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" ?The Israeli Government admitted that the shelling was due to "technical error" and stated that it could happen again. One can argue endlessly about the justification for such attacks. One thing is certain -- retaliatory action follows every time after such incidents. Recruits are readily available to become martyrs to avenge their family members and friends. The cycle of violence will continue and a generation of children (those who survive) will grow up with anger and hatred in their hearts.As the major suppliers of military hardware to the Israelis, we are not free from responsibility in the deaths and destruction. There is pressing need for negotiating a settlement. Unfortunately, we have squandered our moral authority. The Bush administration's distaste for Hamas made it sit back and give full support to Israel. But Hamas came to power after legitimately held election. Disregarding that fact is neither right nor prudent.Beit Hanoun (BBC)This street in Beit Hanoun is very, very quiet indeed. It's just a matter of hours since a number of Israeli shells fell on houses in this area, killing 18 people, including six children and two women. * Gaza hit was 'technical failure' (BBC)Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has said an army artillery barrage that killed 18 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip was the result of a "technical failure".He said troops had targeted an orange grove from which rockets had been fired on Wednesday, but instead hit homes in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.The victims, including several children and women, were buried in Beit Hanoun on Thursday amid emotional scenes.Palestinian officials described the killings as a massacre."I'm very uncomfortable with this event. I'm very distressed, Mr Olmert was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.."I checked it and I verified it. This is not the policy," he said.But military operations against suspected Palestinian militants would continue, he added, admitting that further mistakes "may happen". *Washington Post: "BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip, Nov. 9 -- This farming community buried the al-Athamnah family Thursday, after marching through muddy streets bearing the bodies of the dead aloft and reaffirming in angry chants its commitment to war with Israel.Tens of thousands of Palestinians squeezed through narrow lanes here a day after Israeli artillery shells killed 20 civilians, all but three of them from the same family. The Israeli military announced Thursday that the bombardment of the neighborhood was the result of a "technical failure in the artillery radar system.""You see the sadness everywhere," said Rawda Hamad, 40, one of scores of women in enveloping black gowns who had gathered at the burial site. "And violence will bring violence." *Jonathan Steele comments in The Guardian: "A profound pessimism has taken hold of Israel"The Israeli artillery fire that claimed 18 civilian lives in Beit Hanoun this week is the worst single attack in Gaza for six years. Whether it will prompt an end to Hamas's moratorium on suicide bombings hangs in the balance, but the attack - said by Israeli officials to be an error - has clearly put Israel on the moral defensive.Even if the shells had been properly aimed, they would still reflect the same shockingly disproportionate response that Israel inflicted on Lebanon this summer after two soldiers were captured in a cross-border operation by Hizbullah guerrillas. Three months after the 34-day war against their northern neighbour, Israelis are still debating what, if anything, it achieved.

Defeat for George Allen in Virginia * Defeat for Richard Pombo in California 11:05 AM Pacific timeSenate goes to Democrats. What is the vice president (tiebreaker) to do? Gnash his teeth and shoot someone or something. All of a sudden there are reports about a "changed president". Huh ! The man is scrambling to salvage what he can. He either plays ball with Congress or spends the remaining term of his presidency with Barney, the dog. Sen. George Allen will concede the Virginia race to Democrat Jim Webb, giving Democrats a majority vote in the U.S. Senate, CNN.And in the 11th Congressional District of California, Richard Pombo (who never met a polluter he didn't like) was defeated by newcomer Jerry McNerney despite (or perhaps because of) personal appearance by President Bush and a barrage of negative ads against McNerney.The San Francisco Chronicle (Editorial 11/9/06)TO FULLY understand Tuesday's Democratic victory, look no further than California's 11th Congressional District.It was there that Jerry McNerney, an obscure Democratic candidate with almost no political experience, toppled Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, a powerful member of the Republican majority in Congress.Pombo suffered from being a protége of disgraced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who elevated this San Joaquin County rancher with a hatred of many environmental regulations to chairman of the House Resources Committee. He also had received contributions from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.Pombo's efforts to weaken environmental regulations inspired the anger of environmentalists who, among many others, flooded his district to promote McNerney's candidacy. Almost the entire volunteer effort was run independently of the Democratic Party.The GOP selection of Pombo to head a committee charged with guarding the nation's environment was one of the most cynical acts of its now shattered majority. His departure from Congress is long overdue.

And More Bushspeak - The Frat Boy LivesSarah M, a kindred spirit from England forwarded the editorial from this morning's Guardian with the note "from Sarah, too" And she attached image of a rose. She is not happy about Lieberman's victory. It didn't please me either. It would be interesting to see what Senator Lieberman does as an Independent member. The Democrats need him on their side and no doubt they will make some accommodations.Thank You, AmericaFor six years, latterly with the backing of both houses of a markedly conservative Republican Congress, George Bush has led an American administration that has played an unprecedentedly negative and polarising role in the world's affairs. On Tuesday, in the midterm US congressional elections, American voters rebuffed Mr Bush in spectacular style and with both instant and lasting political consequences. By large numbers and across almost every state of the union, the voters defeated Republican candidates and put the opposition Democrats back in charge of the House of Representatives for the first time in a dozen years.When the remaining recounts and legal challenges are over, the Democrats may even have narrowly won control of the Senate too. Either way, the results change the political landscape in Washington for the final two years of this now thankfully diminished presidency. They also reassert a different and better United States that can again offer hope instead of despair to the world. Donald Rumsfeld's resignation last night was a fitting climax to the voters' verdict. Thank you, America. * To read the complete editorial, go to the link in The Guardian, UK.The Asia Times has a number of reports about Secretary Rumsfeld's departure. One of them reads: "Rumsfeld takes a hit for Bush"! There can be no questions about his botched up management of the war in Iraq, but it is the president ("I'm a war president") who should be held accountable. Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz, among other champions of PNAC, persuaded the president to go to war. The president cannot admit that, so he and Donald Rumsfeld went through a charade.A few gems from the president's press conference on November 8th.And while the ballots are still being counted in the Senate, it's clear the Democrat Party had a good night last night. And I congratulate them on their victories.Deliberately or due to his ignorance, the president continues to say "Democrat Party" instead of Democratic Party. I'm inclined to think that he does it deliberately. It is the frat boy in him."To the people of Iraq: Do not be fearful."BUSH: As you take the difficult steps toward democracy and peace, America's going to stand with you. We know you want a better way of life, and now is the time to seize it.If I were an Iraqi I'd say "You have done enough. Please leave us alone."My point is is that, while we have been adjusting, we will continue to adjust to achieve the objective. And I believe that's what the American people want.Somehow it's seeped in their conscience that, you know, my attitude was just simply "Stay the course." "Stay the course" means let's get the job done, but it doesn't mean staying stuck on a strategy or tactics that may not be working. So perhaps I need to do a better job of explaining that we're constantly adjusting.And so the fresh perspective (ph) on what the American people here today is we're constantly looking for fresh perspective.

A Joyful Morning * Bullies and Buffoons Depart Center Stage"The will of the mass of the people must prevail."--Alcuin (735-804),in a letter to CharlemagneA hearty "Thank you" to those who voted in the midterm elections. This is what I had posted on November 8, 2004: "Many of us seem to be in denial, offering arguments that Bush does not have a "mandate". Face it. He has, he has. Backed by a Congress with larger majorities in both houses, he will continue to move the nation to the right. His core support groups expect it of him, and he has proven beyond any doubt his tenacity to stick to his positions. Be prepared for social and environmental issues to suffer set backs on the domestic front. On foreign policy matters he might be forced to give some ground in an effort for rapprochement with Europe. " On that day I certainly did not expect the political landscape to change so drastically within two years. But the Republicans helped; led by a dictatorial president they became power mad and self-destructed. The arrogant president will no longer have a subservient House of Representatives at his beck and call. It is uncertain whether the Republicans would be able to maintain their majority in the Senate, but if they do Vice President Cheney (Dr. Strangelove) might have to emerge from his secret bunker often to be the tiebreaker.Blue is BeautifulNot quite a tsunami, but close. What a difference two years make! The fact that the blustering, mean-spirited,hypocritical bullies have been put in their place is cause for rejoicing.The following deserve special mention.Santorum: Sanctimonious Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania who wrapped himself in Bible and the flag, sank. Pass it on.Harris: Katherine Harris -- the champion of theocracy who, as Florida's secretary of state, engineered gross violations of voters' rights in 2000,-- got hammered. Pass it on.Applause for 21 Senators, including one Republican (Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island) and the 133 members of the House (126 Democrats, 6 Republicans, 1 Independent) who had the courage to stand apart and vote "Nay" against the Iraq war in 2002.Applause for South Dakotans who voted against the draconian abortion ban introduced by bigots in their state.The victory feels good.......YES. But I have no illusions about the Democrats. How are they going to handle power ? They will not remain squeaky clean -- our campaign finance system makes that an unattainable goal -- but they can stay above the abysmal level of their predecessors in Congress. An ordinary rank and file Democrat, if I could speak to a member of the Democratic leadership, this is what I would say.Be humbleRemember that results of the 2006 Midterm Elections are more about their loss than your victory. The American people voted against them and you won by default.The president gleefully created a bloody mess in Iraq and some of you helped him to do it. There is no easy way out. But the majority of the Iraqis don't want us there. Look for solutions, avoid platitudes.Don't go to bed with the K-Street gang. Think of what happened to those who did. When you are courted by the lobbyists, remember you don't get something for nothing.Support the proposed H.R. 4682: Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2006Give god a rest. A lot of bad things have been done in his name during the past six years.The separation of church and state, as envisaged by Thomas Jefferson, served the nation well in the past.Your words and actions will be judged just as the members across the aisle were judged. Make sincere efforts to reach bipartisanship.You're there to serve your constituents -- all of them -- not select groups represented by lobbyists.Be humble.

Midterm Elections 2006 Please, don't sit this one out. There is a lot at stake and your vote counts.America's Crisis of ConfidenceSurvey Finds Doubts About Leaders, and Nation's SafetyBy Elizabeth WilliamsonWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, November 7, 2006; A19Here's something to think about when you cast your vote today: A new study shows that Americans have lost faith in the people who lead their federal, state and local governments, and in businesses, churches and schools. And they are afraid to fly."America is in trouble," reads the introduction to the 2006 National Leadership Index, sponsored by U.S. News & World Report and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. According to the report, nearly three-quarters of Americans think that the nation faces a "leadership crisis."This is the survey's second year, and it has been downhill all the way, said Todd Pittinsky, the center's research director. "Most groups are following the general trend of having low confidence and, if anything, having that confidence slip further."The only leaders who earn more than a smidgen of Americans' confidence, the researchers say, are those in the military and medical fields. (Confidence in the media didn't slip, but it was in the sewer already.)"We could have asked about grandmothers," Pittinsky said. "Maybe we could have had more confidence in grandmothers."The researchers hope the survey will "contribute to our ongoing civic dialogue -- deepening our understanding of ourselves and the pressing need for effective, responsible democratic leadership."Sounds scary. Like the section called "Global Leadership and Fear," in which 1,600 people were asked: "How optimistic do you feel about the safety of the United States from a terrorist attack?" Half felt at least a wee bit optimistic. But of the other half, 18 percent were somewhat pessimistic, and 16 percent wigged into the panicky "very pessimistic" category. Oddly, an additional 15 percent were neither pessimistic nor optimistic about the nation's safety.Perhaps, joked survey researcher and assistant professor Seth Rosenthal, these are people "so paralyzed they can't even tell you if they're pessimistic."The researchers also asked: "If you flew today, how confident do you feel that you would be safe from terrorist harm on a domestic flight?" Nearly half sucked it up on this one, saying they felt confident about flying safely. But 13 percent put a potential evildoer on every plane. "That's pretty bad," Rosenthal said. "Obviously there aren't planes being dropped out of the sky every day."Blending fears of leadership failure and flying, the study further found that "Americans who are not confident at all that government leaders in Washington will respond effectively to an emergency crisis are less confident than other Americans about their safety from a terrorist attack on a domestic flight."Any bright spots?The group was asked to guess where the United States ranks among the top 32 industrialized nations in terms of citizens' life expectancy, economic equality and mathematics literacy.Sunny optimism: The group put the United States in 10th place for longevity, and 15th for both economic equality and math skills.Misplaced optimism, it turns out: Global rankings place the nation in 24th place for longevity, 30th for economic equality and 25th for math literacy. In other words, we are more elitist and lousier in math than even these disappointed, mistrustful and frightened Americans imagined. And we'll all die sooner than they thought."Americans . . . hold the country in high esteem," Rosenthal said. "Maybe higher than is realistic."