Mind Vomit by the ikss ~ a journal
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Friday, Apr. 16, 2004hey, did ya'll know that I don't much care for Dubya?
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�Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead�
-Lucille Ball
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
REGISTER TO VOTE
"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The "seven social sins": Knowledge without character,
Science without humanity,
Wealth without work,
Commerce without morality,
Politics without principles,
Pleasure without conscience,
Worship without self-sacrifice."
--Gandhi
"We have not inherited the world from our forfathers -
We have borrowed it from our children."
--Kashmiri, proverb
Russell Train, a lifelong Republican who played a key role in forging environmental policy under Presidents Nixon and Ford, charges in his recently published memoirs that the current Republican Administration not only lacks leadership on crucial environmental issues, it fails to grasp the "long-term implications" of its bias toward the energy industry.
"The George W. Bush Administration appears to view most issues as either black or white -- that, for example, environmental protection and energy supply are mutually exclusive objectives," writes Train, in Politics, Pollution and Pandas: An Environmental Memoir (Island Press, December 2003). "Such simplistic approaches may lend themselves to good sound bites or to easy political communication, but they do not serve us well in terms of developing effective solutions to the all-too-real problems that face this country and the world."
Train, who served as Undersecretary of the Interior under Nixon and later the second Administrator of the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (1973-1977), left the Ford Administration to serve as President of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - U.S. His memoirs provide a "behind-the-scenes account" of bipartisan efforts under two Republican Administrations to craft the laws and regulations that have protected our environment for more than three decades.
Now chairman emeritus of WWF, Train also offers his insights on the current lack of U.S. leadership on environmental issues, going so far as to say that President Bush "is not playing square with the American people" by "blatantly ignoring" solid scientific research, particularly on man's contribution to climate change.
Train writes that he does not blame the EPA or other federal agencies, because "it has been clear from the beginning of the George W. Bush Administration that it is the White House that is calling the tune. Moreover, it seems that the tune is being called not by program staff in the White House, but by political operatives. I find it unacceptable that the current U.S. political leadership should demonstrate such disregard for and disinterest in values that are among the most crucial concerns of humanity today."
Not only does President Bush ignore his ethical responsibilities in matters of environmental stewardship, he fails to understand the complex relationship between economics and environmental concerns and the longtime consequences of setting policies slanted so strongly in favor of the energy industry, Train writes.
"On a broader scale, we need to recognize as a society that the economy and the environment are not antithetical to each other but are instead different sides of the same coin," he concludes. "Economic activity is to a great extent the conversion of the earth's environmental resources to human use and enjoyment...a healthy economy that is sustainable over the long term can be achieved only in the context of a healthy environment. The two must go hand in hand."
Previous American political leaders -- both Republican and Democratic -- understood that, writes Train. "We need to find that road again; it is the only path to a sustainable future for humanity."
~~~
Dear MoveOn member,
The effort to stabilize Iraq is out of control. President Bush spoke for an hour (the other) night, and still did not lay out a plan. It's time to face the facts squarely, and recognize that America, acting alone, is no longer capable of reaching the hearts and minds of Iraqis.
We've got to transfer management authority over Iraq to the United Nations, to enable a real transition to peaceful Iraqi self-rule. Join us in calling for this change,
Our troops in Iraq are stretched thin -- many reservists have been serving there for more than a year, with no end in sight. U.S. commanders are asking for more troops, and Senate leaders like John McCain share the concern that our current troop levels are inadequate. There's talk of a draft, perhaps to be announced just after our November elections. But instead of simply redoubling our commitment to the present course, we should support our soldiers by taking the bull's-eye off their backs.
At its core, the challenge our troops face in Iraq is about legitimacy: Iraqis see us increasingly as an occupying power, not a liberating one. To send a credible message of stewardship and transition to self-rule, we need a truly international coalition, including key Arab nations like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. As Thomas Friedman put it, "If it is America alone against the Iraqi street, we lose. If it is the world against the Iraqi street, we have a chance."2
Of course, transferring control to the U.N. would also enable many other nations to share the logistical and financial burdens of helping Iraq transition to peaceful self-rule.
This isn't a partisan issue. "In both parties, members are concerned," according to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) "There's not abject panic, but there's deep concern, and there should be."3
The time to make this change is now, before the situation escalates further out of control. Join us in this call.
Thank you, for all you do.
Sincerely,
--Carrie, Joan, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
Wednesday, April 14th, 2004
Footnotes:
1. See this sobering New York Times article for details: "Anti-U.S. Outrage Unites a Growing Iraqi Resistance"
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/11/opinion/11FRIE.html
3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A355-2004Apr9.html
~~~
Word of the Day for Friday April 16, 2004
ossify AH-suh-fy, intransitive verb:
1. To change into bone; to become bony.
2. To become hardened or set in a rigidly conventional pattern.
transitive verb:
1. To change into bone; to convert from a soft tissue to a hard bony tissue.
2. To harden; to mold into a rigidly conventional pattern.
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