Ron Kovic

I heard Ron Kovic of “Born on the 4th of July” fame speak last night. Kovic, who lost use of his legs in combat in Vietnam, helped found Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), and has been an peace activist ever since. VVAW was a hugely important group. As Hunter Thompson once pointed out, while cops may have enjoyed cracking hippie skulls at demonstrations, they had no stomach at all for attacking Viet Vets in wheelchairs.

He spoke to about thirty of us at an Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) organizing meeting. ICUJP is a Los Angeles coalition of about 80 mostly faith-based organizations doing serious peace organizing. There were Quakers, several ministers, a rabbi, and two nuns present, as well as people like me, from secular groups. One retired minister (whose name escapes me) has been organizing for peace since 1949 and did federal time for refusal to go to Korea. In other words, these are serious long-time activists. 

Kovic talked about his fury and hatred while lying in the hospital realizing he would never walk again. He regretted some of his early activist statements, when he attacked people and didn’t care if he hurt them - because, he said, he’d been so badly hurt himself. Then he had An Experience, and came to understand that nonviolence is the only way, and the best way.

The core of his speech is as follows. War solves nothing. We as a country already have far too many mangled, disabled, homeless Viet and Gulf war vets, yet now our leaders wish to have another lunatic war? If we wish to stop this war, we must do it on our own. Our elected representatives will be of little help. They are part of the problem.

We are living in dangerous times, among the most dangerous ever in this country. However, with danger comes opportunity. It’s time to speak out, to organize against insane wars with the simultaneous ongoing erosion of basic civil rights. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to take action and make a difference. What happens in the coming months and years will be talked about for decades to come. This moment in history is why we are here.  A rebirth is coming to the US, and we who choose to can help make it happen.

Visionary? Yes! Hopeful? Absolutely! He is a genuine man of peace.

PS Anyone in LA interested in peace organizing should link up with ICUJP. They welcome all.

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The Evangelical Environmental Network has launched this campaign to encourage to drive cars that are respectful of the environment.

From their website, “Have you seen the Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation? The declaration is a carefully considered statement on the biblical call to reduce pollution and environmental degradation and the harm they cause to people and the rest of creation. Since the day we released it, hundreds of evangelical leaders in North America have expressed their agreement with the principles of the declaration by signing on.”

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Further proof the Stones are getting clueless

Bill Wyman vs Bill Wyman.

Bill Wyman, an editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, must stop using his name, says Bill Wyman, formerly a musician for a British rock band called the Rolling Stones. The bassist’s lawyers sent editor Wyman a cease-and-desist letter, stating that if the editor could prove his legal name was Bill Wyman, he would be allowed to use it in his articles only if he included a “prominent disclaimer.” The best part is that Bill Wyman, editor, was born with his name 41 years ago, while Bill Wyman, bassist, changed his name from William George Perks 39 years ago. [Boing Boing Blog]

Just before their current tour, Keith Richard nearly refusing to join because Mick Jagger had been knighted and thus had sold out. Had the tour not been sponsored by eTrade, this might be credible…

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Music file swapping can’t be stopped

Record industry attempts to stop the swapping of pop music on online networks such as Kazaa will never work. So says a research paper prepared by computer scientists working for software giant Microsoft.

The four researchers believe that the steady spread of file-swapping systems and improvements in their organisation will eventually make them impossible to shut down.

They also conclude that the gradual spread of CD and DVD burners will help thwart any attempts to control what the public can do with the music they buy.  [Scripting News]

The best thing record companies could do to increase sales is to drop prices. That, and joining the file swapping world instead of continual attempts to stop the inevitable.

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Sung to the tune: “If You’re Happy And You Know It Clap Your Hands”

If we cannot find Osama, bomb Iraq.
If the markets hurt your Mama, bomb Iraq.
If the terrorists are Saudi
And the bank takes back your Audi
And the TV shows are bawdy,
Bomb Iraq.

If the corporate scandals growin’, bomb Iraq.
And your ties to them are showin’, bomb Iraq.
If the smoking gun ain’t smokin’
We don’t care, and we’re not jokin’.
That Saddam will soon be croakin’,
Bomb Iraq.

Even if we have no allies, bomb Iraq.
From the sand dunes to the valleys, bomb Iraq.
So to hell with the inspections;
Let’s look tough for the elections,
Close your mind and take directions,
Bomb Iraq.

While the globe is slowly warming, bomb Iraq.
Yay! the clouds of war are storming, bomb Iraq.
If the ozone hole is growing,
Some things we prefer not knowing.
(Though our ignorance is showing),
Bomb Iraq.

So here’s one for dear old daddy, bomb Iraq,
From his favorite little laddy, bomb Iraq.
Saying no would look like treason.
It’s the Hussein hunting season.
Even if we have no reason,
Bomb Iraq.

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Five percent of national electorate gay

Self-identified gay and lesbian voters comprise 5 percent of the electorate, according to a poll released today by the Human Rights Campaign and Zogby International.
 
“These numbers clearly demonstrate the importance of the gay community in major elections. In the current political climate, 5 percent of the vote is often the entire margin of victory,” said the HRC’s David Smith

“It’s also important to remember that many gay and lesbian voters are reluctant to come forward and be counted out of fear of discrimination — so these numbers are probably low.”

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Finances of U.S. States Called Worst Since World War II

Plunging tax collections and soaring medical costs have created the worst fiscal problems for states since World War II, the National Governors Association said today.

Governors and state budget officers said the fiscal condition of the states was more dire than the condition of the national economy.

“Nearly every state is in fiscal crisis,” the governors said in a new survey of the states.

With many states already halfway through fiscal 2003, about 23 plan to cut enacted budgets by a collective $8.3 billion. That figure did not include California, where Gov. Gray Davis plans to present a plan early next month to cover a $21 billion shortfall.

Actually, the 21 billion dollar deficit for California is now considered to be way too low.

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