This coming Wednesday, August 20th we are planning a major media awareness event at 7:00 p.m. at Steelworkers Hall followed by a musical fundraiser at Grossman's around the corner.
The Harper Government is starting to play "hardball" so the next month will be pivotal in winning over public support for our case!
If you live in the greater Toronto area and are able to attend please take note of the information below.
Media Awareness Meeting
Date: Wednesday August 20th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Steelworkers Hall - 25 Cecil Street, Toronto.
---------------------------------------------------
Benefit for U.S. War Resisters
Live musical performance featuring Chloe Watkinson and the Crossroads
Suggested Donations: $5-10 dollars or PWYC
Date: Wednesday August 20th
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Location: Grossmans Tavern - 379 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Having a Kathy Griffin Moment
Dear Lord, Gayken was on The View today.....and told Sherri that he wanted a talk show ala Merv Griffin--Ha! Yea right! He knows he wants to be Joan Rivers!
R.I.P> Bernie Mac
What a shock it was to learn of the death of Bernie Mac. A fellow Chicagoan and best friend's with my cousin Ricky-Bernie Mac was a magnificent man. When my cousin Theresa was ill, he paid for her hospital care. What a blessed soul, may he rest in peace.
Chicago
Chicago was great--it was a glorious week.... I mostly just wandered around the city browsing, buying and pinching books(only one, from a coffeeshop--it was on the bookshelf) and I did venture out on the northside quite a bit. I found a great new restaurant downtown, Tapas--very nice spanish place. I also eventually wandered into the Cultural Center and took in the Marilyn Monroe exhibit(which I really didn't care about, but it was amusing). I did manage to take some pictures.
At one point, my cousin Quinn took me to an art gallery down on 70th and South Perry, near my old neighborhood(which has gone down horribly since I knew it). A mississippi contractor purchased a house in the neighborhood and has undertaken this house as his lebensarbeit, turning it into an art gallery. The house has had an incredible transformation under his hands--as he personally replanted and landscaped the yard and turned the former crackhouse into a beautiful place with an incredible spirit. Later in the week, my cousin Barrington's wedding was nice. The ceremony was held at Coppin, which seemed smaller than what I remembered it to be. Of course, I was a little boy when I knew the church, when my cousin Brooke and I used to run around the pulpit and play in the balcony. Oh, what memories.... The reception was held at Barrington's high school, St. Ignatious Loyola, which is a very nice campus. I met some interesting people there at the wedding and it was a very nice time. I had a great time dancing--mostly with Telkie's sister, Aunt Rita. I also bought an ipod--after using Quinn's and wanting one. I met some interesting men too....but thats another story.
At one point, my cousin Quinn took me to an art gallery down on 70th and South Perry, near my old neighborhood(which has gone down horribly since I knew it). A mississippi contractor purchased a house in the neighborhood and has undertaken this house as his lebensarbeit, turning it into an art gallery. The house has had an incredible transformation under his hands--as he personally replanted and landscaped the yard and turned the former crackhouse into a beautiful place with an incredible spirit. Later in the week, my cousin Barrington's wedding was nice. The ceremony was held at Coppin, which seemed smaller than what I remembered it to be. Of course, I was a little boy when I knew the church, when my cousin Brooke and I used to run around the pulpit and play in the balcony. Oh, what memories.... The reception was held at Barrington's high school, St. Ignatious Loyola, which is a very nice campus. I met some interesting people there at the wedding and it was a very nice time. I had a great time dancing--mostly with Telkie's sister, Aunt Rita. I also bought an ipod--after using Quinn's and wanting one. I met some interesting men too....but thats another story.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Blogging
I am drained...and tired....have a lot to blog about. Will do so later. I just returned from Chicago.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Blogging From Chicago
In the Mother Jones article "December Surprise" in the August/08 issue concerning the financial crisis the United States currently finds itself in, s wuoyr gtom Jrttu Bowyer, chief economist for financial services for Benchmark sttes that fault for the subprime crisis "lies with the small army of hard-left political hustlers who spent the early 90s pushing risky mortgages on home lenders. And the fault lies especially with the legislation that gave them the power to do it."
This is interesting....it uncovers and reveals a lot. From what this says to me, the economy was magnificent when moneylenders only had to give $50,000 dollar loans to white people to move out of the city and into the suburbs.....so they could get away from the ghettoes and the onslaught of negroes.....when they had to give loans to "risky" elements....the economy went south. Well, I say let it go south. I also say some penises should be severed and the persons who own those penises ought to be made to eat them.....Evil, wicked....boy do I hate to be mad in the morning time.
This is interesting....it uncovers and reveals a lot. From what this says to me, the economy was magnificent when moneylenders only had to give $50,000 dollar loans to white people to move out of the city and into the suburbs.....so they could get away from the ghettoes and the onslaught of negroes.....when they had to give loans to "risky" elements....the economy went south. Well, I say let it go south. I also say some penises should be severed and the persons who own those penises ought to be made to eat them.....Evil, wicked....boy do I hate to be mad in the morning time.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Memories
When I was thirteen or fourteen...we went to Huntingdon, West Virginia to meet some of my mother's relatives....I remember sleeping in the drafty, allergic attic and waking up with a headache...being extremely attracted to the man who lived in the house and was an administrator at the local college...who was my mothers...first cousin?....and watching him get dressed every morning....and the old lady who lived next door whom I spent the bulk of my time sitting on her porch with her talking and having a great old time....double cousins..and triple cousins... and a great, big family photo...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
One beautiful summer during my teenage years, I spent most of it down in Enterprise, Alabama at my Uncle's houe. During that most pleasant vacation, I mostly stayed in his bedroom up the alternate stairs with the wood paneling and I for truly the one time in my life watched MTV...I remember i listened to the continuous plays of K.d. Lang's "Constant Craving
Madonna's "This Used to be My Playground"
and Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"
Interesting the things that stick with you.....
Madonna's "This Used to be My Playground"
and Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"
Interesting the things that stick with you.....
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
From Color of Change Concerning Lavena Johnson
LaVena Johnson was a 19 year old private in the Army, serving in Iraq, when she was raped, murdered, and her body was burned--by someone from her own military base. Despite overwhelming physical evidence, the Army called her death a suicide and has closed the case. 1
For three years, LaVena's parents have been fighting for answers. At almost every turn, they've been met with closed doors or lies. They've appealed to Congress, the one body that can hold the military accountable. But, as in other cases where female soldiers have been raped and murdered and the Army has called it suicide, Congress has failed to act.
Will you join Mr. and Mrs. Johnson in calling on Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, to mount a real investigation into LaVena Johnson's death and the Army's cover-up 2? Will you ask your friends and family to do the same?
http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1866-234260
>From the beginning, LaVena's death made no sense as a suicide. She was happy and had been talking with friends and family regularly 3--nothing indicated she could be suicidal. And when the Johnsons received her body, they noticed signs that she had been beaten. 4 That was when they started asking questions.
After two years of being denied answers and hearing explanations that made no sense, the Johnsons received a CD-ROM from someone on the inside. It contained pictures of the crime scene where LaVena died and an autopsy showing that she had suffered bruises, abrasions, a dislocated shoulder, broken teeth, and some type of sexual assault. Her body was partially burned; she had been doused in a flammable liquid, and someone had set her body on fire. A corrosive chemical had been poured in her genital area, perhaps to cover up evidence of rape.5
Still the Army sticks by their story. They refuse to explain the overwhelming physical evidence that LaVena was raped and murdered and continue to claim that she killed herself.
For many Black youth, and working class young people of every race, the military is seen as an option for securing a better future. LaVena came from a deeply supportive family, and while the military wasn't her only option, she was attracted by its promise to help her pay for a college education and the opportunity to travel around the world. She also thought that by joining she could continue her lifelong commitment to serving other people in need. She made a decision to serve in the military, with all its risks, and expected respect and dignity in return.
LaVena's death is part of a disturbing pattern of cases where female soldiers have been raped and killed, and where the military has hidden the truth and labeled the deaths suicides. 6,7 In virtually all cases, Congress has been slow to investigate or hold the military accountable in any way. Unfortunately, most families simply don't have the resources, time, and psychological strength to push back.
We can help the Johnsons, and other families, by holding Congress accountable in the LaVena Johnson case and by demanding it investigate the pattern of cover-ups by the military.
Please take a moment to join those calling on Congressman Waxman to investigate the cover-up of LaVena Johnson's death:
http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1866-234260
Thanks and Peace,
-- James, Gabriel, Clarissa, Andre, Kai, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 29th, 2008
References:
1. "The cover-up of a soldier's death?" LavenaJohnson.com, March 6, 2007
http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html
2. "Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?" CommonDreams.org, April 28, 2008
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564/
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq, Her Parents Continue Their Call for a Congressional Investigation," Democracy Now!, June 23, 2008.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/23/suicide_or_murder_three_years_after
6. See reference 2.
7. "2 Years After Soldier's Death, Family's Battle Is With Army," New York Times, March 21, 2006.
http://tinyurl.com/mzcvh
Other References:
"Justice for Pfc. LaVena Johnson," DailyKos, June 30, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5bh73v
"Rapists in the Ranks, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/2z2c8l
For three years, LaVena's parents have been fighting for answers. At almost every turn, they've been met with closed doors or lies. They've appealed to Congress, the one body that can hold the military accountable. But, as in other cases where female soldiers have been raped and murdered and the Army has called it suicide, Congress has failed to act.
Will you join Mr. and Mrs. Johnson in calling on Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, to mount a real investigation into LaVena Johnson's death and the Army's cover-up 2? Will you ask your friends and family to do the same?
http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1866-234260
>From the beginning, LaVena's death made no sense as a suicide. She was happy and had been talking with friends and family regularly 3--nothing indicated she could be suicidal. And when the Johnsons received her body, they noticed signs that she had been beaten. 4 That was when they started asking questions.
After two years of being denied answers and hearing explanations that made no sense, the Johnsons received a CD-ROM from someone on the inside. It contained pictures of the crime scene where LaVena died and an autopsy showing that she had suffered bruises, abrasions, a dislocated shoulder, broken teeth, and some type of sexual assault. Her body was partially burned; she had been doused in a flammable liquid, and someone had set her body on fire. A corrosive chemical had been poured in her genital area, perhaps to cover up evidence of rape.5
Still the Army sticks by their story. They refuse to explain the overwhelming physical evidence that LaVena was raped and murdered and continue to claim that she killed herself.
For many Black youth, and working class young people of every race, the military is seen as an option for securing a better future. LaVena came from a deeply supportive family, and while the military wasn't her only option, she was attracted by its promise to help her pay for a college education and the opportunity to travel around the world. She also thought that by joining she could continue her lifelong commitment to serving other people in need. She made a decision to serve in the military, with all its risks, and expected respect and dignity in return.
LaVena's death is part of a disturbing pattern of cases where female soldiers have been raped and killed, and where the military has hidden the truth and labeled the deaths suicides. 6,7 In virtually all cases, Congress has been slow to investigate or hold the military accountable in any way. Unfortunately, most families simply don't have the resources, time, and psychological strength to push back.
We can help the Johnsons, and other families, by holding Congress accountable in the LaVena Johnson case and by demanding it investigate the pattern of cover-ups by the military.
Please take a moment to join those calling on Congressman Waxman to investigate the cover-up of LaVena Johnson's death:
http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1866-234260
Thanks and Peace,
-- James, Gabriel, Clarissa, Andre, Kai, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 29th, 2008
References:
1. "The cover-up of a soldier's death?" LavenaJohnson.com, March 6, 2007
http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html
2. "Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?" CommonDreams.org, April 28, 2008
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564/
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq, Her Parents Continue Their Call for a Congressional Investigation," Democracy Now!, June 23, 2008.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/23/suicide_or_murder_three_years_after
6. See reference 2.
7. "2 Years After Soldier's Death, Family's Battle Is With Army," New York Times, March 21, 2006.
http://tinyurl.com/mzcvh
Other References:
"Justice for Pfc. LaVena Johnson," DailyKos, June 30, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5bh73v
"Rapists in the Ranks, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/2z2c8l
Reserve Your Right to Make a Citizen's Arrest!
Today, Democracy Now reported that a group of individuals were jailed for taking Karl Rove into their custody while making a citizen's arrest. Cheers to them for their effort! Others should continue it!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Bush Goes Out With a Bang
Bush is going out with a bang, allowing for military executions. Oh how macho, how brave. I can smell the aftershot of his penis.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Michelle and Barack Obama On The Cover Of People Magazine
I am soo proud that the Obama family is from my hometown of Chicago!
#9 Dream
John Lennon
So long ago
Was it in a dream, was it just a dream?
I know, yes I know
Seemed so very real, it seemed so real to me
Took a walk down the street
Thru the heat whispered trees
I thought I could hear (hear, hear, hear)
Somebody call out my name as it started to rain
Two spirits dancing so strange
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Dream, dream away
Magic in the air, was magic in the air?
I believe, yes I believe
More I cannot say, what more can I say?
On a river of sound
Thru the mirror go round, round
I thought I could feel (feel, feel, feel)
Music touching my soul, something warm, sudden cold
The spirit dance was unfolding
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
So long ago
Was it in a dream, was it just a dream?
I know, yes I know
Seemed so very real, it seemed so real to me
Took a walk down the street
Thru the heat whispered trees
I thought I could hear (hear, hear, hear)
Somebody call out my name as it started to rain
Two spirits dancing so strange
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Dream, dream away
Magic in the air, was magic in the air?
I believe, yes I believe
More I cannot say, what more can I say?
On a river of sound
Thru the mirror go round, round
I thought I could feel (feel, feel, feel)
Music touching my soul, something warm, sudden cold
The spirit dance was unfolding
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé
Whatever Gets You Through The Night
John Lennon
Whatever gets you through the night 'salright, 'salright
It's your money or life 'salright, 'salright
Don't need a sword to cut through flowers oh no, oh no
Whatever gets you through your life 'salright, 'salright
Do it wrong or do it right 'salright, 'salright
Don't need a watch to waste your time oh no, oh no
Hold me darlin' come on listen to me
I won't do you no harm
Trust me darlin' come on listen to me, come on listen to me
Come on listen, listen
Whatever gets you to the light 'salright, 'salright
Out the blue or out of sight 'salright, 'salright
Don't need a gun to blow your mind oh no, oh no
Hold me darlin' come on listen to me
I won't do you no harm
Trust me darlin' come on listen to me, come on listen to me
Come on listen, listen
Whatever gets you through the night 'salright, 'salright
It's your money or life 'salright, 'salright
Don't need a sword to cut through flowers oh no, oh no
Whatever gets you through your life 'salright, 'salright
Do it wrong or do it right 'salright, 'salright
Don't need a watch to waste your time oh no, oh no
Hold me darlin' come on listen to me
I won't do you no harm
Trust me darlin' come on listen to me, come on listen to me
Come on listen, listen
Whatever gets you to the light 'salright, 'salright
Out the blue or out of sight 'salright, 'salright
Don't need a gun to blow your mind oh no, oh no
Hold me darlin' come on listen to me
I won't do you no harm
Trust me darlin' come on listen to me, come on listen to me
Come on listen, listen
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