The paint isn't dry...

...so please, be careful where you step.

I wrote myself into a corner...and you might well ask, "What color was your prose?"

Umber. In name it is noble with a foundation of humility.

I thought what better use can I make of this chill rainy Saturday morning alone in the house but to write. For the past couple of days a reoccurring thought had been pestering me. In this time of comfortable solitude I was intent on bringing this errant concept-thread to the page. I furrowed my brow, set my jaw and ... took myself way to seriously.

To start I would employ the convention of an illustrative quote ...

I DO NOT WANT WHAT I HAVEN'T GOT
- Sinead O'Connor*

The quote would adequately speak to my central theme but I was immediately concerned about the social and political overtones implied by citing this particular author. I was determined to move forward but only after adding the "*" and disclaimer.

This poetic turn of phrase might be interpreted in this manner: 'If I do not have it I do not want it.' Regardless of the version offered the allusion still remains. Meaning is not conveyed by the statement but by the framing of the 'negative' space.

That's right, I am going to write about talking about something that is by virtue of it's not being.

I recently encountered a situation in which extreme disappointment was expressed regarding unfulfilled expectations. Frequently such dissatisfaction is a result of high expectations - unrealistic goals and objectives and the resultant failure to achieve them. Often there are clearly defined metrics for evaluating such circumstances. Examples might include not scoring a winning touchdown against a better team. Or not receiving the 'expected' bid for a sale item being auctioned.

Unfulfilled expectations ... something that is by virtue of it's not being. Yes, I felt the concentric rings of circuitous ambiguity beginning to constrict. Yet I felt compelled to push on.

Other expectations are less quantifiable. John laments, "My life didn't turn out the way I had expected." The man, John, married his sweetheart, started a family, raised 3 good children, was well employed, lived a long life in a modest home and still his life didn't turn out the way he had expected. While this example is a bit forced it serves as a point of reference when exploring the 'negative' space of expectations.

Well, I have made my premise. Now I should be made to lay down in it. I have drawn you, gentle reader, down this rat rabbit hole with promises of lucidity and insight (I can hear the Red Queen in the background, "Off with his head!")

John's expectation references the negative space of his life while discounting or dismissing his life in situ. John did not endure 3 messy divorces, 2 blended families, being layed-off (twice) or declaring bankruptcy...

Wait, wait, this isn't at all what I expected! There was to be a clearly defined conclusion with a pertinent observation. At least that is what I expected ... when I started.

I was serious when I started. My brow was furrowed, my jaw was set... then I reread what I had written and began to giggle then laugh out loud. In the end the only thing to do was share the entire silly episode.

Gratuitous closing illustrative quote...

I was taken by a photograph of you

Fountain of Sorrow
- Jackson Browne

* I offer no criticism of Ms O'Connor's politics or beliefs. I chose this quote as a handy example of a linguistic illusion.

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Read the head lemur

Micro Review: Kubuntu 8.10

Kubuntu installed flawlessly on VMWare Server

DHCP by default, that is OK at home but I need to set a static IP address.

Network "Connection" config is still lacking. First it was hard to find. Then it didn't set the new network configuration correctly. Finally while I was investigating from the command line (Bonus Tip: sudo bash ) the correct IP addy and netmask mysteriously appeared. All in all not very comfortable for this ol' admin.

KDE 4 is beautiful (and cumbersome) - Eye candy to appease the MS desktop junkies. Desktop widgets are OK. Personally I don't care for the perpetual coming-n-going of tool bars. Either show them or don't but fading in and out is a bit much every time the cursor moves across one.

I did not find the menu choices I expected (e.g. Firefox) Nuff said.

Conclusion:

Kubuntu in a Microsoft world is a significant step in the right direction. It is ideally suited to Joe-the-Plummers who want a real OS and the stability that it brings to a home user's desktop.

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Advocating Slackware since 1997

Hidden Victims

ATHENS, Ga. -- On the eve of the election, long after the late fall sun had set, I went for a walk down Lexington Ave. on the East side of Athens, Ga. I heard from a man named Ed that there was a homeless encampment in the woods down there, something people referred to as Tent City.

When gas prices went up to $3.95 (we're fortunate here in Kentucky) my lunch money dried up. No more 2 and 3 times a week going out for lunch. My expendable income, my recreational 'egg' money ended up going right into my gas tank. I was really beginning to feeling the pinch.

Down the sidewalk after several hundred feet, we came across a fence made from slender logs and some wire. It framed one side of a slight clearing in the woods, opening up for a path. Up a gradual incline, two small wooden structures were visible in the light of a fire, stoked by a man in a baseball cap. We made our way up the path and after a few feet, the beam of our flashlight caught a man lying down directly in front of us, arms sprawled out, either dead, drunk, asleep or all three.

A woman stood up in the second shack, just behind the fire, stretching her arms above her head. Approaching the two, I waved. "Good evening. Somebody told me this was a good place to camp out for a couple nights." The man shook his head and poked the fire with a stick. "Nope. All fulled up."

I pointed to where the path continued behind them. "How about up there?" The woman then, too, shook her head. "You don't wanna go up there. They're crazy up there." She paused. "And they don't like newcomers."

Recently my wife, The Saint, and I sat down and reviewed the state of our family economy. Understanding the degree of sacrifice necessary we decided to acquire a 10' x 16' storage shed. Lacking a garage we are hoping that the additional space will significantly unburden our 1800 square foot 5 person family dwelling.

I went over and said hi to Bobby, poking my head inside his wood hut while he tidied. Above the door was a Georgia Bulldogs flag, a little tattered. Inside, Bobby sat on a small bed, straightening items on top of an old wooden, furniture-style television set. The room was small enough that he could sit on the bed in one spot and touch all four walls, but he keeps it tidy. He smiled bashfully when I asked him if the TV works. He told me, "Yeah, it work, but I don' watch it much." He quickly went back to his tidying, laying out a folded t-shirt on the bed.
. . .
Ed explained to me that the wood shacks were built a while back by members of a Chicago-based organization called The Mad Housers, who visit places like Tent City and assemble these simple, permanent structures for people. "They're a good group," he said. "They have an understanding of housing as a basic human right."

When the Saint said she wanted to home school I made the observation that we would be 'poor' - being a single income family in a two-income economy. The Saint taught home school for 12 years. Just this last fall our youngest transitioned into public highschool. Across those years my single income has bouyed us well. However it has been our austere life style that has made it affordable.

The Saint is in the process of becoming a Certified Home Child Care provider. This will compliment my income nicely. The space freed up by storing our stuff in the shed will be turned in to her 'day care' space. We will continue to enjoy the fruits of our labors and the simple rewards they afford.

Everybody went to bed early, so I watched Obama's acceptance speech alone on the couch. I knew it was an epic moment, one that would define my generation, but I couldn't grasp it. It felt like I was watching underwater or in a thick fog. I watched footage of thousands of crying and cheering people, dancing in the streets all across the country. Sitting alone on a couch in Georgia, a state that voted overwhelmingly for McCain, it all felt very far away.

I knew that there was no dancing in Tent City that night, no tears of joy. I wasn't sure how relevant the lives of those sad and struggling Americans in Tent City were to the lives of these other sad and struggling Americans, who now managed to find their redemption in Obama's victory.

I too stayed up to watch Obama's acceptance speech. In the comfort of my middle class home, surrounded by my family, I celebrated the victory of democracy.

Today I am reminded that my new Amish built 10' x 16' shed would make a very nice home for someone or some family not as fortunate as I or mine.

Excerpts taken from The Place that Hope Forgot to Visit on Election Day
New America Media, News Report, Russell Morse, Posted: Nov 09, 2008

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Read Akma

Simple Soup: Potato Corn Chowder

From the Urban Gourmand series...

Pantry raids, unlike their collegiate counterparts, are an exercise in econolapse survival. Before you go all organic free-range fresh-is-best on me this is about making the best of what we have, not what we want. In this foray we have located ...

• 1 can GV diced potatoes
  
• 1 can GV corn
• 1 can Swanson Low Sodium Chicken stock
• 2 cups Half&Half
  
• 4 oz. Bacon
• 3 Tbls Butter
• 2 Tbls Flour
• 2 Tbls minced onion
• some garlic powder
• some pepper

Fry the bacon in a largish skillet to done but not crumbly. Drain off the free flowing bacon drippings being careful to save all the tasty brown bits. (I am going to use the drippin's later today so I saved 'em.) Drain the potatoes and corn*. Reheat the skillet and deglaze (whoa, I finally got to use that word) with the potatoes and corn infusing them with the bacon brown bits goodness. Add 1 Tbls spoon of the minced onions and stir throughly.

Once the deglazing is done add the potatoes and corn to a small stock pot (Ha! The larger of the two sauce pans I have - the 2 quart size). Add the can of chicken stock and set on the back of the stove. No heat yet.

Rought chop the done bacon and add to the potato, corn and stock mixture. Stir it all together but no heat yet. Just let them get to know one another.

In the smaller sauce pan slowly melt the butter. (BTW we are making a roux here so go slow.) Add in 1 Tbls of the minced onions, 1/4 tsp of garlic powder and ground pepper to your taste. When the onions become tranlucent add the 2 Tbls of flour.

Keep a watchful eye on this new roux. Go slow. Keep the heat low. Stir often.

Personal preference note here: I say that my roux is ready when it is frothy with largerish bubbles and appears to have expanded in the bottom of the pan by 2 or 3 times. (It is imperative that all of the flour granuals are coated with the butter or you will end up with tiny dumplings instead of a smooth soup.)

CAREFULLY add the 2 cups of Half&Half to the very HOT roux. Leave the heat LOW. Stir and then leave it alone over low heat. (Notice the theme here?)

Editorial time-out: Cooking is a present process. I believe that it is important be fully present when cooking. Cooking is a primary activity, not something done while you are doing something else.

So even though it has taken some time the roux and Half&Half have joined to make the creamy base of our chowder. I say it is done when the mixture just barely begins to bubble around the edges of the sauce pan. You milage may vary.

Add the creamy sauce to the potatoes, corn and bacon. Put it over low heat and cover. Bring the entire mixture up to a simmer (very low boil). Remove the pan from the heat keeping it covered and let it rest. Excesive cooking will cause the potatoes to break down which isn't terribly bad but I like the little cubes.)

Bonus: That half a loaf of faux french bread on the second shelf of the fridge - you know the one - slice it thick on an angle. Brush each slice lightly with olive oil, sprinkle one side with a hint of garlic powder and the pan fry (toast) until both sides are slightly browned.

Simple Soup - does a human good!

* Oh yeah, almost forgot that asterisk. When I am making a strong savory soup I will sometimes add the potato and corn liquid right in pot. In the case of this chowder I feel that the corn flavor is just a bit too overwhelming.

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Read Mining Nuggets

Intellectual Discrimination: Protest groups forming now.

Intellectual Discrimination

Living in a conservative Bible-belt region when I uttered the above phrase I was quickly questioned about its political correctness. Can discrimination ever be a good thing? Isn't espousing intellectualism an elitist stance? Is combining the two some sort of insult?

My utterance of the phrase was in fact a statement of criticism.

"One of the problems with our current social situation is a lack of intellectual discrimination."

A great portion of our population appears to have stopped thinking critically. Who, in their right mind, would accept even a third of the rhetoric offered in the last political campaign. Yet there are those today who believe the half truths and innuendos put forth by radical propogandists.

In a recent conversation with an acquaintance I was impressed with the two-dimensional approach she was taking in putting forth her issues of concern. Citing the inequity of CEO and Chairperson salaries in light of government bail-out plans that involved her hard earned tax dollars. She touched momentarily on a number of hot-button topics but neglected to in any way connect the dots of real economic mechanics.

I believe this 2-D approach to opinion formation is a direct result of herd mentality coupled with a sound-bite perspective of issues. People, who's lives are already to complex, simply want to have answers that they can feel good about. Nothing legitimizes an opinion like a shared view by a group of your peers or congregation members or softball team mates. Distilled sound bites offered by authoritative mouthpieces replace personal discernment. In a 'do you want fries with that political perspective' it is much easier to take some "expert's" position than to develop one of our own.

It turns out that Intellectual Discrimination, as well as possibly being un-PC, is a great deal of hard work. Anyway, isn't that what we have leaders for? To tell us independent self-determinists exactly how we should think?

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Read Don't Eat Alone

Leader or Servant: Who's team will you be on?

America has developed a "Lead the world but serve me first" mentality.

I find it curious that people do not want leaders but rather they want Public Servants. They shun governance in favor of what they believe is self-determination. They want politicians to meet their perceived wants and needs but refuse to support them as leaders of our communities, states or even our country.

This must change.

If we, as a democracy, are to survive and grow then we must move away from the 'serve me first' position. Too long the sense of entitlement has lead us to maintain a false sense of warm-n-fuzzy status quo.

This must change.

We must allow and endorse the difficult decisions that our Leaders will make to move our country forward. We must see beyond our immediate comfort zones and recognize that as a nation we must all be moving forward. To force the football analogy we as a team, under the guidance of our accepted head coach, must work together to move the ball toward the goal line. This cannot be done when players stand in the backfield and second guess the plays being called.

This is not to suggest that we are mere automatons. Team work requires the participation of each member to the level of their ability. When it is our time to carry the ball then we, as individuals, can claim the right of self-determination.

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Read Listics

Openness to Experience

Wednesday rained down on folks around here even though it was a sunny day...
There was a pall, a shroud, a haze ... why are so many of my fellow Kentuckians so ill at ease?

Kentucky is a red state - the first to be reported as such on the evening of November 4th. Most assuredly at the end of the evening Kentuckians felt no great sense of elation at the outcome of the election.

Certainly the advent of a Harvard educated, intellectually curious, eloquent newly elected president should not cause such states of malaise. A president who's every breath will be critically reviewed, analyzed and then commented on. A president who will be more carefully monitored and managed than any of the 43 before him. A president who will be more accountable to the American public than any other elected official in this nation's history.

Slowly the lecture "The Real Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives" offered by Jonathan Haidt to the TED community began to resonate for me...

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Vacationing with TED

Who changed my signature?

I wonder who changed my signature? As you can see in the previous post it is intact. In the post before that I manually edited it to add the colors and the uppercase letters.

Curious, who changed my signature? Certainly I would not have left just one "<"

...very curious.

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<

Yes we can!!!

Obama is President!!!

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

1 Winner and 1 Loser

Which ever way the election turns out...

I VOTED FOR OBAMA

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I VOTED for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

The Last Day: A fitting end to "Open" posts

November 2nd, 2008 marked the 1 year anniversary of my "Open" post theme. It is only fitting that on this, the last day of the 2008 Presidential campaign, that I make a definitive change in my blogging. With the close of this most involved political journey comes many needed changes.

1. Instead of relying on the never ending litany of political gaffs, blunders and outright contemptuous media blasts I resolve to return to actual observation and commentary.
2. I am intent on returning to process of chronicling the world as I view it through the lenses of my technological window.
3. While still a staunch advocate for all things open my intent is to move beyond the 'stating the need' to observing and affirming the practice.

Tomorrow, hopefully, the world with have the answer to the question that has branded itself on the heart of peoples everywhere. Tomorrow, hopefully, will be the day of true new beginnings. Tomorrow I will celebrate with everyone, winners and losers, who no longer have to bear the burden of this most difficult quadriannual event.

Please go vote tomorrow!

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open disclosure???

Paulson's Swindle Revealed

Wednesday 29 October 2008

by: William Greider, The Nation

A protester in front of the New York Stock Exchange. The United Steelworkers conducted its own financial analysis of the $700 billion bailout and concluded, in a letter to Secretary Paulson, that the bailout constituted a $350 billion gift from the American taxpayers. (Photo: Getty Images)

The swindle of American taxpayers is proceeding more or less in broad daylight, as the unwitting voters are preoccupied with the national election. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson agreed to invest $125 billion in the nine largest banks, including $10 billion for Goldman Sachs, his old firm. But, if you look more closely at Paulson's transaction, the taxpayers were taken for a ride - a very expensive ride. They paid $125 billion for bank stock that a private investor could purchase for $62.5 billion. That means half of the public's money was a straight-out gift to Wall Street, for which taxpayers got nothing in return.

Emphasis mine! Who is looking out for us?!?!?!? Hey Hank, ya gonna pay my mortgage?

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open Voice of Authority (?)

Dick Cheney Endorses McCain

"In three days we'll choose a new steward for the presidency and begin a new chapter in our history," the Vice President said Saturday morning. "It's the biggest decision that we make together as Americans. A lot turns on the outcome. I believe the right leader for this moment in history is Senator John McCain."

Note: Mr. Kettle and Mr. Pot, open is the new black!

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open Humor: Simple Lessons

Borrowed from the Russia Blog

While the financial crisis continues around the globe and in Russia, we offer you a joke sent to us by Bohdanna Diduch, a reader from Ukraine. We hope it will help you relax from the financial headaches and enjoy the cultural references. -- The Editors

A lawyer and a Ukrainian are sitting next to each other on a long flight. The lawyer is thinking that Ukrainians are so dumb that he could get over on them easy...So the lawyer asks if the Ukrainian would like to play a fun game.

The Ukrainian is tired and just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and tries to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists, and says that the game is a lot of fun. I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me only $5; you ask me one, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500, he says. This catches the Ukrainianʼs attention and to keep the lawyer quiet, he agrees to play the game.

The lawyer asks the first question. 'What's the distance from The Earth to the Moon?' The Ukrainian doesn't say a word, reaches in his pocket pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer.

Now, it's the Ukrainian's turn. He asks the lawyer, 'What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?' The lawyer uses his laptop and searches all references he could find on the Net. He sends e-mails to all the smart friends he knows, all to no avail. After one hour of searching he finally gives up. He wakes up the Ukrainian and hands him $500. The Ukrainian pockets the $500 and goes right back to sleep.

The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes the Ukrainian up and asks, 'Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?'

The Ukrainian reaches in his pocket, hands the lawyer $5 and goes back to sleep.

Don't mess with us Ukrainians.

Posted by Yuri Mamchur on October 21, 2008 5:18 PM | Permalink

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open Doors?

Elkin's Good Fun Cartoons

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open Perspective: The silver lining of our current economic cloud

I have posted this excerpt as a record of a view that nationally, socially and culturally has its origins outside of mainstream American perspectives. Please consider reading the entire post at The Ivanov Report. Once you have done so then take a peek at the author's Bio.


[The Ivanov Report]

The End Of Biography: John McCain's Last And, Hopefully, Unsuccessful Run For Presidency

Only an incorrigible optimist can find a silver lining in the ongoing financial crisis engulfing the United States and the rest of the world. Yet, if there is one, it is that the gloomy prospects for the American economy will most likely put an end to Sen. John McCain's bid to become the 44th president of the United States.

His rival, Sen. Barack Obama, often charges that McCain's presidency will bring four more years of Bush's. Here, Obama gets it wrong. Bush's blunders notwithstanding, his policies have been driven by Bush's vision, however mistaken, of the country's future ("compassionate conservatism" in domestic politics and "democracy promotion" in foreign affairs).

McCain is different, for he hasn't articulated any comprehensive, forward-looking, political philosophy at all. McCain is a man of the past, and his insistence on "experience" is a subconscious admission that his mind belongs to the times long gone. His repeated references to the K.G.B. (disbanded in 1995) and Czechoslovakia (ceased to exist as a state in 1992) aren't just memory lapses, forgivable for a 72-year-old. Rather, they are bold statements that McCain sees the world not as it is, but as he chooses to remember it.

At the center of McCain's world is the Vietnam War. McCain loves wars in which America fights ("to love your country is to fight for it") and he divides them into those that have been won -- with troops coming home "with honor" -- and those that could have been won had not defeat been snatched from the jaw of victory.

. . .

McCain's current presidential run repeats the major theme of his life. He ran in 2000 and was humiliatingly defeated in the primaries by whom he called back then "agents of intolerance", the religious conservative wing of the Republican party. And since then, he's had scores to settle.

He is not running to promote any particular ideological agenda -- as Bush was and Obama is -- for he's got none. He's running to get even with people who stopped him eight years ago. His selection of Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin-- inexperienced and immature populist -- as his running mate is a clear indication that McCain's goal is to get elected at whatever cost. The very thought of what may happen come January 21, 2009 doesn't appear to have descended upon him.

(McCain's choice of Palin shows that he shares Vladimir Lenin's belief that under right circumstances, every kitchenmade ("kukharka") can "run the state." Just put expensive lipstick on her.)

McCain likes to highlight his patriotism by saying that he'd rather lose the election, but win the war. Well, lose the election he most likely will, and it'll be up to President Obama to win all the wars McCain has helped to start.

But I'm not sorry for John McCain. He has enough wars to fight in his head. He'll be busy for the rest of his life.

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open Odds but no gamble.

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open Concern: Laying down with dogs

Chile: The 1985 Meeting Between McCain and Pinochet

from Global Voices Online by Eduardo Avila

In 1985, a U.S. Congressman named John McCain traveled to Chile and met with dictator Augusto Pinochet, among other government officials. The previously unreported meeting was revealed by journalist John Dinges, who published the findings in his blog CIPER [es], as well as in the Huffington Post, where he writes about John McCain “who has harshly criticized the idea of sitting down with dictators without pre-conditions, appears to have done just that.” with “Pinochet, one of the world's most notorious violators of human rights credited with killing more than 3,000 civilians and jailing tens of thousands of others.”

Chilean blogger Juan Guillermo Tejeda writes about some of the details of the meeting [es]:

El senador estuvo media hora con nuestro monstruito, y además conversó con el almirante Merino, cuyo humor sádico conocimos tan bien… El encuentro, organizado por el entonces embajador de Chile Hernán Felipe Errázuriz, no apareció en los medios y el senador se abstuvo de realizar declaraciones.

The senator spent half an hour with our little monster, and also met with Admiral Merino, whose sadistic humor we know all too well… The meeting, organized by the then-ambassador Hernán Felipe Errázuriz, did not appear in the media and the Senator did not make any comment.

Dinges wrote about some of the context of the meeting in the Chilean blog of the Center of Journalistic Information and Investigation (CIPER for its initials in Spanish)

Al momento del encuentro, realizado la tarde del 30 de diciembre, el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos intentaba obtener de las autoridades chilenas la extradición de tres hombres cercanos a Pinochet –el ex jefe de la DINA, Manuel Contreras, y los ex oficiales DINA Pedro Espinoza y Armando Fernández Larios- por un acto de terrorismo ocurrido en Washington DC. Un juicio en Washington determinó su procesamiento por el asesinato en 1976 del ex embajador y ex canciller Orlando Letelier y de la norteamericana Ronny Moffit, quien viajaba con él. La bomba puesta en su auto y que estalló en Sheridan Circle, fue descrita en esa época por la prensa internacional como el más flagrante acto de terrorismo internacional perpetrado en suelo estadounidense por una fuerza extranjera.

En esos mismos días en Chile, la oposición buscaba desesperadamente el apoyo de líderes democráticos de todo el mundo en su intento por presionar a Pinochet a poner fin a la dictadura que ya cumplía 12 años y permitir el retorno a la democracia. Otros congresistas visitaron Chile después de la vista de McCain e hicieron declaraciones públicas contra la dictadura y en apoyo del retorno a la democracia, convirtiéndose en el blanco de violentas demostraciones pinochetistas.

At the time of the meeting, in the late afternoon of December 30, the U.S. Justice Department was seeking the extradition of two close Pinochet associates - the ex-chief of the DINA (National Intelligence Directorate) and DINA officials Pedro Espinoza and Armando Fernández Larios -for an act of terrorism in Washington DC. A trial in Washington determined that they should be charged for the 1976 assassination of former ambassador to the U.S. and former Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier and of U.S. citizen Ronny Moffit, who accompanied Letelier. The car bombing on Sheridan Circle in the U.S. capital was widely described at the time as the most egregious act of international terrorism perpetrated on U.S. soil by a foreign power.

At the time of McCain's meeting with Pinochet, Chile's democratic opposition was desperately seeking support from democratic leaders around the world in an attempt to pressure Pinochet to allow a return to democracy and force a peaceful end to the dictatorship, already in its 12th year. Other U.S. congressional leaders who visited Chile made public statements against the dictatorship and in support of a return to democracy, at times becoming the target of violent pro-Pinochet demonstrations.

At his blog Chile From Within, Chilean-American blogger Tomás Dinges links to the articles written by “document-maven and father” and provides additional links to information, including a response from the McCain campaign that appeared in the Miami Herald's Naked Politics blog.

Many Chilean and Latin American blogs are republishing John Dinges' articles, as a way of spreading the information.

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open Disenfranchisement: Bush to meddle in local politics

Bush, Boehner Want DOJ to Look Into Ohio Voting

Friday 24 October 2008

by: Matthew Murray, Roll Call

A voter casts her ballot in Ohio. (Photo: Al Behrman / AP)

President Bush is asking the Justice Department to look into whether 200,000 Buckeye State poll-goers must use provisional ballots on Election Day because their names do not match state databases.

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

Open Innocence Lost: A view of American politics

The first time I heard Barack Obama speak (as a 2008 primary candidate) I drifted into the childlike dream state of believing in integrity and virtue and altruism and equality and fairness and the innate value of human beings. I believed that Barack Obama embodied those qualities. I knew from that point forward that I would vote for Barack Hussein Obama in the coming primary election.

Moreover, I drifted into the state of believing in the integrity of the American political process. I relished the prospect of civilized discourse and intelligent debate. I longed for dramatic and compelling stump speeches that rallied Americans with visions of the future and acknowledgments of progress and growth. I began to have faith in the American political process.

That is until the final stages of the primary campaign. Then I began to see that pursuit of power corrupts (and the pursuit of absolute power corrupts absolutely.) I began to see that the candidates in attempting to remain PC (Politically Correct - How wonderfully ironic is that?) would not say "Sugar" with a mouth full but their handlers and spokespersons would just as easily use the other "S" word.

So the days, hours and finally minutes ticked off and to some small extent my faith in American politics was restored. Not because a well qualified African-American was nominated over a well qualified woman but rather that the process was allowed to proceed with out artificial encumbrances - like the Democratic Party elite making some backroom decision based on an obscure technical party rule.

My faith was restored at that point for a somewhat more self centered reason as well. Certainly that has to do with the affirmation of my choice. But it more importantly has to do with the affirmation of our choice. I want to have faith in our ability not just as Democrats but as Americans to make good decisions. Now one may argue that had we nominated Hillary Clinton that would have been a good decision but I contend that a.) we did not and b.) the criteria used by the majority was more in line with my views than the minority. The conclusion that I can draw is that as far as the Democrat primary election and subsequent nomination are concerned I can depend on my views as a bellweather for the future of the political process.

Faced now with the field of candidates running for the office of the President of the United States I can without equivication affirm my support for Barack Obama. I can do so because I can have faith in my own person perspective and I can have faith as a bellweather for American voters. I can state that American voters will elect the best candidate. It is my most fervent hope that we are allowed to do so without artificial emcumberances.

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I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.