I had been receiving many warm birthday greetings and notes yesterday but this one touched me the most:

Michael Horan wrote:

I am ordinarily no great fan of free verse, but your mom’s poem is one of those rare pieces that, by dint of both raw emotion and true craftmanship, genuinely rises above the common mass of second-rate stuff composed in this vein. She was/is a true talent; it’s not everyone who has something this rich written about their birth and youth, and I’m glad you had the nerve to put it up in public like you did (not that anyone is likely to suspect of you of a lack of nerve).

Happy Birthday. Many of share your hope–and sense–that your best years lie ahead. Don’t slow down—“

Robert Wicks writes:

”It always amazes me when the worst tellers of lies are complaining about someone telling the truth and having the guts to do it. I have never trusted any man who smirks when he talks about soldiers lifes being lost. Sooner or later the truth always surfaces for those who tried to hide the truth. If you are on the right side you need not say anything!”

Mors writes on my piece “Pattern Recognition in the Bush era”:

“All this just goes to prove the mediocrity of the American mind, if there truly is an American mind left. I think not, personally. Interestingly, a close friend of mine, who considers herself a conservative (I’m a non-compliant), agrees with most of how I think of these times in which we struggle. She also thinks that Bush is a man of G-d and when I asked her how-so, she compared him to Clinton (no doubt thinking of Monica). Here is another example of the mediocrity of the American mind: to parlay G-d in terms of Bush/Clinton.

Our place in the world demands more experience than this. And more thoughtfulness than what it appears we have to work with.

G-d have mercy.”

VOTING MACHINES???

Jackie Newberry asks:

” Why is it that Diebold is trusted by banks and financial institutions to provide ATM machines without apparent problems or hacking? Yet they can’t seem to get the voting machines right? Just asking.”

FUNDING PROGRESSIVE MEDIA IN AMERICA

”While progressive donors give as much or more to their causes as conservatives, progressive organizations continue to struggle. In These Times Senior Editor Christopher Hayes explores why in, “The New Funding Heresies: What everyone knows (but no one will say) about funding the left.” After conducting more than three dozen interviews, including discussions with the Democracy Alliance, the New Progressive Coalition program officers from liberal foundations, activists and philanthropy experts, Hayes dissects the major criticisms of the existing funding system for the left and lays out the five areas both activists and funders must tackle to successfully build a political counterweight.

“If the progressive movement is going to build an infrastructure to rival the right, it has to examine and undo the numerous dysfunctions that stem from the way it is currently funded,” Hayes writes. “In order to do that, it must initiate a public debate, no matter how awkward such a discussion might be.”

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2697/

GORE FILM GETS SCIENTIFIC APPROVAL

CNN carries this report:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s top climate scientists are giving “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore’s documentary on global warming, five stars for accuracy.”

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/06/27/gore.science.ap/index.html

ANNOUNCING: A TEACH-IN ON IMPEACHMENT

The Center for Constitutional Rights and Melville House announce:

”The National Teach-In on Impeachment, sponsored by, now has over 100 screenings of the documentary short HOW TO IMPEACH A PRESIDENT scheduled for the July 19th launch.

“Screenings, hosted by constitutional experts, are scheduled for venues ranging from the Grand Lake theater in Oakland, CA to the Judson Church in New York City, and dozens more bookstores, churches, college campuses, community centers and private homes in between.

“It’s not too late to sign up to attend, or to schedule an event of your own, by visiting www.articlesofimpeachment.net. There, you can also obtain a teach-in kit, copies of the handbook ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST GEORGE W. BUSH, or view an excerpt from the documentary.

“Please join the growing grassroots movement calling for an impeachment investigation. Spread the word, and join the CCR, the nation¹s leading institute of constitutional scholarship and activism, on July 19 to find out what you can do to make impeachment a reality.”

BUSH GRAM

In this age of shrinking stories and “breaking news” headlines, writer Tom Lewis has summed up his analysis in the form of a telegram. He calls it a Bush Gram:

”Puppet Karzai govt. in Afghanistan failing. Taliban returning. Stop. Bush Administration incapable of telling truth to American public. Stop. War in Iraq based on lies from beginning. Stop. Current American political system incapable of plan to end war and bring troops home. Stop. Hillary Clinton for president? Take poll, make policy? Stop. John Kerry (again)? Learned nothing first time. Stop. Al Gore not interested and failed to fight hard in Florida in 2000. Stop. Any Democrats out there? Get serious. Stop. Now what? Full Stop.

I love that format, don’t you?

Let me know what you think Medichannel should be doing in this period. Comments and suggestions welcome to: Dissector@mediachannel.org