Takin' it to Congress/NJ's Saxton Gets Tag Teamed!!

Yesterday NJ Congressman Jim Saxton got an earful. Make that two earsful. When I arrived at Mr. Saxton's district office in Mount Holly for a noontime petition-drive yesterday it was shockingly cold. I heard the phrase "February weather" mentioned more than once. Also shocking was the sight of the Grinch (!) in a Santa suit no less, right there on Saxton's front doorstep! Turns out the petition-drive, organized by citizen activists and MOVEON was not the only progressive-minded outfit with a sensible message for our Congressman. The Grinch was actually representing NJ Citizen Action, a statewide watchdog organization committed to economic, social, racial and political justice. And who better than the Grinch who stole Christmas to highlight how Congress' recent budget cuts stole vital social programs from the neediest? As organizer Michael Olender remarked at the rally, "The last thing we should be doing this holiday season is jeopardizing help for the most vulnerable people in our State!!" Amen to that.

My coalition of citizen activists and MoveOn members took our message (complete with a petition signed by almost 1,ooo voters from Saxton's 3rd district constituency ) to the Congressman first. In a nutshell, our message was this: to encourage the government to begin persuing a sensible exit stragety from Iraq.

It's unfortunate that the Bush Administration's repeated gaffs have left us with very few good options in the Mid East. With today's parlaiment elections in Iraq marking an important milestone (hopefully) the time has come for our legislators to turn their attention towards a viable exit stragety. This was our message and we delivered it perfectly. In fact, there was a reporter on the scene who recorded the entire at Saxton's office. When I heard the playback, i almost felt sorry for the staffers who fielded our passionate greivances. We went through 'em (and their specious "stay the course" argument) like a hot knife through butter. Ours was an easy argument to make, really. We support our troops by fighting to bring them home. And in one piece. Most Americans agree with us, it's not just the 9oo+ folks on out petition. While we were inside, the NJ CitizenAction gang held court downstairs, holding up placards with our message to "Bring 'EM HOME!" We retuned the favor when they went inside aftewards , keeping their message visible. (see photo {that' s me!!} above)

All in all it went very well. The anti-war message is gathering momentum across the country. And that our sensible message was well-complimented by that of our bothers and sisters at at NJCA was a huge bonus!! It leaves me feeling somewhat encouraged. And that's important for me, since I'm in it for the long haul.
p.s. thanks to my friend Peter Lien for the snappy photo

JOLLY OLD DICK CHENEY CLAUS!!!!

I am a huge fan of editorial comic humor. This gem is the handiwork of Bill Mitchell.

Police Thuggery at Philly Anti-Bush Rally/UPDATE

I posted an entry yesterday about the cops running roughshod on the crowd that assembled to protest Bush's speech in Philadelphia. It appears that the incident got more coverage in the Deleware press than it did here locally. Here is another link to a bit-piece that appeared in today's Inquirer http://www.philly.com/... It turns out that witnesses to incident were a-plenty, and the media even got some pics of the dust-up. I was also contacted my the lawyers guild in Philly and I am assisting their efforts to work out a legal solution for the family involved.

Now having said that, I can not shake the image of a helpless mother's face, watching in horror as her sons got beat up by the cops. I think about what I'd feel like if my mom had to bear witness as my brother and I were senselessly beaten by the police. Seriously folks, it almost makes me want to cry. I always fancied myself a thick-skinned, seasoned, battle-hardened activist but this incident has reminded me this it's my hyper-sensitivity to social justice that serves as my primary moral compass.

Philly Peace Protest Turns Violent as Police Lose Their Cool (again)

When George Bush's motorcade rolled into Center City Philadelphia today the President was greeted with a loud and sustained chorus of boos and whistles from the crowd of protesters that assembled outside the president's hotel. Bush was in town to deliver a speech about the latest in Iraq. (transcripts of Bush's speech) This was the 3rd in a series of four events staged by the White House to respond to critcs of Bush's Iraq policy. Later across town, Pennslyvania Congressman John Murtha, the hawkish democrat and war veteran whose recent challenge to end the war effectively reframed the Iraq debate, responded to the president's latest Iraq assessment charging that the continued US presence in Iraq undermines any political progress. "The Iraqis are not against democracy!" Murtha said, "they are against our occupation."

It was towards the end of today's protest that things turned decidedly nasty as police charged the crowd, clubs in hand, wrestling a number of protesters to the ground. What had been a peaceful and pleasent demonstration quickly disovled into mayham and confusion as Philly's finest essentially turned "attack dog" on the crowd. It was not immediately clear what kind of threat the cops perceived when they began their assult on the crowd, but they arrested two (black) men who had joined today's rally with their family. Just a few minutes before the altercation, I actually spoke to the two men involved. When they were initailly approched by the plain-clothed policeman none of us had any idea that this guy was a cop. He seemed like a goon to me, out to cause trouble. While the plain-clothes policeman was wrestling one of the men to the ground, his shirt was raised, exposing his badge and gun. Almost immediately, a half dozen more cops (all in uniform) descended on the scene. I believe their aggressive response just made things worse, basically scaring the shit out of everyone at the scene. All the while the crowd chanted out "the world is watching!!" and "SHAME!!" I should note that the fracas was also witnesses by the young sons and the grandmother of the victims who looked on in horror while police brought all the force they had to bear on the two men. No one had any idea at the time what could have possibly provoked the police to act out on the crowd like that.


Local media later reported that police had concerns that one of the men involved was carrying a dangerous object, which turned out to actually be a glass of hot cider. Harmless enough, if you ask me, afterall it was freezing outside. I also later learned from a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter that one of the men involved was taken to the hospital and released. The other is in lockup at the 9th Police District, charged with assult on a police officer. Bitterly ironic.

While I am tempted to vent my frustration at what i saw towards the police, that would be too simplistic of a target. I think what i witnessed today is a byproduct of the politics of fear, a fear that is so prevelant in this country nowadays, as methodically employed and cafefully cultivated by the Bush Administration. In this post-9/11 world, the government seems to have masterfully exploited our sense of fear by inundating us with scarey, color-coded, mostly abstract messages that eat away at our peace of mind. Has it gotten to the point where everyone in the country is so "on edge" that a simple thermos of cider can set the cops into an asswhippin' frenzy?? After what I witnessed today, my answer is an emphatic YES.

Photo credits to Bob Herbert and the Deleware NewsJournal.

Remembering John Lennon

"We all shine on........"
194o-198o

Nationwide Drive to Bring the Troops HOME!

Next Wednesday, December 14, citizens of NJ's 3rd Congressional District will be presenting a petition to our very own voice on Capital Hill, Congressman Jim Saxton at his Mt. Holly office urging him to support a more sensible Iraq-war policy. To this point, Mr. Saxton's position regarding Iraq is very much consistent with that of the White House. It seems pretty clear that the current stragety in Iraq is a bad one, and it's time to take that message to our leaders in Congress.

There is a lot of frustration in my community about the direction of the war. The government's current stragety inspires very little confidence and it's essential that we give our legistlators a wakeup call next Wednesday. And we won't be the only ones! Citizen activists nationwide will also be delivering petitions in their own districts.

Isn't fighting to bring the troops home the same as supporting them? JOIN IN THE FIGHT NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!!

Corzine Taps Menendez for US Senate

Looks like NJ Governor-elect Jon Corzine chose Bob Menendez as his replacement in the Senate. Corzine's choice is an historic one. Menendez will be the first Hispanic (Latino?)to represent NJ as a Senator.
Personally I would have prefered State Senator (and sistah) Nia Gill. Gills appointment would have made her the 2nd black in the Senate (besides Barack Obama. ) As it stands, blacks comprise a mere 1% of senate. Even less if you consider Obama is 1/2 white!
Anyway, the appointment of Menendez is still very much a nod to pregressive sensibilities. Like women and blacks, Latino/as are woefully underrepresented in the upper house of Congress.
As a resident of Cherry Hill NJ, I keep my fingers crossed. I don't necessarily see Menendez-as-Senator as a bad thing, yet somehow i can not escape the feeling that this business of political appointments seems dubious, at best.

Yo Corzine, Who's It Gonna BE???????

Now that NJ Senator Jon Corzine has won the governorship, we in Jersey are quivering with anticipation to find out who'll be taking Cornize's place in the Senate. On the short list: Reps. Bob Menendez, Rob Andrews, Rush Holt, Frank Pallone and State Senator Nia Gill. The announcement should come at any time. Hopefully not before I finish this blog!

Menendez comes from NYC 'burbs with a HUGE campaign warchest. Now i don't want to make too much of the size of a man's warchest, but remember, whoever gets the call has to run for re-election in less than a year against a popular GOP candidate, Tom Kaine Jr. Menenendez would be the first Hispanic Senator from NJ so a pick for him is definitely a nod to liberal sensiblilities. Cons for Rep. Menendez are his right-wing attitude regarding Cuba and his penchant for amourous and political nincompoopery.

Another possible first would be the appointment of Nia Gill. She's a state Senator and aparently a crackerjack lawyer and orater. She'd be the first black woman to represent NJ in the Senate, so just like Menendez, this would be an historic pick. At this point she's my sentimental choice, even if she's not the odds-on favorite. It's shocking and shameful that Barack Obama is the only Afro-American in the Senate. Picking Nia Gill almost seems like a moral imperative to me.

Like Menendez, Rep. Rob Andrews has not been shy about telling us why he's 'the man.' I like Andrews, who is from nearby Haddon Township. Andrews was quite vocal in the fight to stave off Bush's Social Security privatization schemes and is generally a reliable progressive. But as much as I would love a to have a neighbor become Senator, I just do not see this happening.

By Jersey standards, both Holt and Pallone have a squeeky-clean image. Neither can match Menendez's campaign endownment, so it kinda feels like a waste of time to talk about either of these two getting a promition any time soon.

The announcement can not come soon enough for yours truly. Don't get me wrong, the anticipation is titilating and stuff, but THE SOONER THE BETTER!

AIDS in Africa (top pic) vs. AIDS in USA. Any questions?

Thanks to USNews and World Report for the top pic. And thanks to my boyfriend Greg who took the bottom picture of me this past summer. I think these images together highlight a chilling and shameful disparity. Seems pretty black and white to me.

World AIDS day.

I am HIV positive. Thirteen years.

Each and everyone of us knows and loves someone with HIV/AIDS. Something like 60,000,000 people in the world are infected which sounds an awful lot like a statistic, if you ask me. If you lined the HIVers up head to toe, they might stretch from here to the moon or something. (are there any fact checkers out there??)

But seriously, as I sit here writing this i realize I am one of the lucky ones. I have an undectable viral load, 1000 T cells, am in great shape, and by all outward appearances, have a totally normal life. Does anyone out there ever wonder how much my HIV meds cost, retail, peryear? something like $18,000. Folks, that is like one dollar 18,000 tiimes!!!! (yuck, yuck)

Again, i stress, as an American I am clearly one of the lucky ones. HIV transmissions are highest wherever poverty is rife : Africa, Southeast Asia, the former Soviet bloc. In these regions the price of HIV meds is upwards of 10 and 20 times what people make in a whole year. Scarey huh? People who are socially, politically, culturally or economically marginalized will ALWAYS suffer greater degrees of EVERYTHING that is bad, HIV transmission rates not withstanding.

Twenty years on and we still have a helluva fight on our hands. maybe it has been too long since we have witnessed people getting skinny and (literally) dying before our eyes, but the fact remains, THIS PANDEMIC IS STILL REAL!