'Deis for Deval

Deval Patrick won the Democratic nomination for Governor of Massachusetts yesterday:

Deval Patrick, a Democrat making his first run for elective office and a bid to become the state's first black governor, beat two opponents in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary to win a place in November's general election.

Patrick, 50, headed the Justice Department's civil rights division under President Clinton.

...

If Patrick wins in November, he would be just the second black elected governor in the United States, after L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia in 1989. However, no Democrat has been elected governor in this bluest of blue states since Michael Dukakis 20 years ago.

Reilly and Gabrieli both conceded the race to Patrick before 10 p.m. EDT. With 35 percent of the precincts reporting, Patrick had 46 percent, Gabrieli had 29 percent and Reilly had 24 percent.

His opponents are Republican Lt. Governor Kerry Healey and moderate Independent Christy Mihos.

I'm fond of Deval. He's got all kinds of experience (other than the elected kind), he's dynamic, he's got charisma, he's generally progressive, and he could actually win against sixteen years of Republican incumbency. Kind of the Barack Obama of the Bay State.

My role in the Brandeis Democrats will probably put me on a number of canvassing/publicity events for the fellow. More information to come.

9/11 Five Years On

It's very late and it's been a long time since I've posted anything, but it didn't seem right to let this event pass me by.

I remember the day very clearly. I remember the unbelief and the confusion and the fear. It's a cliche, but I really do think that everyone in my generation will remember where they were when they heard that the towers had fallen.

So, now that we're five years after the day that was supposed to 'change evrything', we should ask: are we braver now than we were then? More wise? More understanding of the world we live in? 'Safety' and 'security' are such feeble, external things. The real strength comes from within.

So say a prayer, wave a flag, light a candle, honor the memory of this day however you see fit. But if adding another Event Day to your calendar was the only change you've made, try again.

More Alarmism, Please!

There must be something deeply unpleasant about being a high-ranking Republican that I'm just not getting. Maybe they wear hair shirts under their three-piece suits. Maybe every Friday they have to gather at Speaker Hastert's house and perform unnatural acts. Whatever it is, it makes them grouchy. For the last six years or so their party has been in control of the White House, Congress, and the Courts, almost continuously. But are they happy? Not at all:

From the Washington Post

U.S. Spy Agencies Criticized On Iran
GOP-Led Panel Faults Intelligence

By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 24, 2006; Page A01

A key House committee issued a stinging critique of U.S. intelligence on Iran yesterday, charging that the CIA and other agencies lack "the ability to acquire essential information necessary to make judgments" on Tehran's nuclear program, its intentions or even its ties to terrorism.

The 29-page report, principally written by a Republican staff member on the House intelligence committee who holds a hard-line view on Iran, fully backs the White House position that the Islamic republic is moving forward with a nuclear weapons program and that it poses a significant danger to the United States. But it chides the intelligence community for not providing enough direct evidence to support that assertion.

...

The report relies exclusively on publicly available documents. Its authors did not interview intelligence officials. Still, it warns the intelligence community to avoid the mistakes made regarding weapons of mass destruction before the Iraq war, noting that Iran could easily be engaged in "a denial and deception campaign to exaggerate progress on its nuclear program as Saddam Hussein apparently did concerning his WMD programs."

Honestly. With the nation going deeper and deeper into debt to finance the ruins of neoconservativism, you'd think they'd welcome the chance to avoid a war. Ah well.

Beirut Blues

In recent days I've shifted my employment from the halls of CET to the basement of a consulting firm run by an elderly Jewish fellow who also has a medical-relief charity. Most of his business and philanthropy is centered around the middle East, and with children and grandchildren having served or currently serving in the IDF, the situation there is of keen interest to him.

When he saw the recent Reuters article on Hezbollah's effort to rebuild Lebanon, he got mad:

"The Israelis have been outwitted again... Hezbollah is ten times as strong as they were before this conflict started. We can't be afraid of lessons like this."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060817/wl_nm/mideast_usa_rebuilding_dc_1

Israeli society is more than a little disillusioned about the war which was so widely supported only weeks ago, and governmental heads are set to roll.

Any further invasion of Lebanon would further weaken the country's infrastructure and almost certainly strengthen Hezbullah.

Mr. Kramer's idea is that the U.S. and Israel ought to take the lead on Lebanese reconstruction. my knowledge of Lebanon is quite limited and I have my doubts about whether such a plan could ever get off the ground.

But really, what fair-minded perosn would expect Israel to do such a thing? This isn't the Marshal Plan; Lebanon never surrendered. Hassan Nasrallah was never tried at Nuremberg. The idea that they (Israel) might be expected to pour billions of dollars into a country which not only recently attacked them and still holds several of their soldiers hostage, and has every intention of doing so again, sounds like a bad joke.

Seen in my Barrio

I haven't had much time to be at the computer lately, so just enjoy this, located not three blocks from where I live: