"Get out!"

The reaction in the Senate to a potential terrorist threat, when, what turned out to be a Cessna flew into secure airspace, was pathetic at best and ultimately comical. I don't know what was happening in the House, CSpan wasn't covering the house when it happened.

First, what is the plan? Capitol police, whom I respect greatly if only for the potential threats they must face regularly in protecting the majority of overpaid lawmakers who are less than adored, are also faced with a dilemma of actions. But judging by coverage and capitol hill's ubiquitous sampling of video cameras, it appears the plan is run about the building yelling, "Get out! Get out!" as if they had practiced by all learning the same part in a Tennessee Williams play.

Then, it was evidently 'cameras and children first' because the next thing available on televised news was low angle shots from video photojournalists who want us to believe that they had the presence of mind to keep the cameras rolling as they high-tailed it off of the immediate real estate. Great low angle shots guys...

And framed in the bouncing video images were scenes that could be used in the next (or the previous) Godzilla movies. "Run you bastards, run for your lives!! Where? How the hell do I know? We never got that far in Streetcar Named Desire!"

First off, "Get out?????" Now let me see, they knew it was a plane, and they had enough time to evacuate the building, so they basically had a fire drill. But now think back in ancient history to the Blitz in London. First off Parliament had the dignity to simply react (or not) to the the cool British air raid sirens.

In addition, I don't envision Parliament - the House of Lords or the House of Commons scrambling, like chickens out of the henhouse after a Weasel pops its head through a knot hole. No, if the inevitable were going to happen, they, in a dignified manner, would have proceeded - not outside - but to the nearest air raid shelter or subway 'tube.'

Actually, this may be a metaphor for congress' true colors. So many have a tough-guy bully attitude, but when it's time to get in line to meet their maker they're shaking like leaves ready to snap off the twig. Also it was the reaction of people actually taken by surprise - they really haven't taken their own rhetorical fear peddling bullshit seriously, because they've been making it up as they go along.

Most of DC has been protected airspace since shortly after January 13, 1982 when a Boeing 737, Air Florida's Flight 90, plowed into the Potomac due to improper de-icing prior to take off from Dulles Airport. It was then that people realized that, 'Wow, that airport is damned close to the city!'

Eighty-three people were on that flight and 78 died in the frigid water encrusted with ice. They were strapped in from take off when they went into the water, then they froze, as Coast Guard recovery reports said, "... you could see the last expression they had on their faces and their clenched fists..." when they died.


A few heads of a handful of survivors bobbed to the surface, and rescue workers were at a loss in the bitter cold - initially assuming it would simply be a recovery call with no survivors and not a rescue response. So a few tried to hurl lines to the survivors, but the frigid water and broken limbs prevented the living from a secure hold.

Then out of the crowd of onlookers, a splash as a 28 year old mail clerk named Lenny Skutnik has had enough, dives in and rescues a woman, Prsicilla Tirado, who had desperately tried to grab a life line.

Skutnik was making $14,000 per year, had a wife and two kids, saves a drowning, freezing flight attendant, gives his coat to another survivor who had broken both legs. Then, when approached by paramedics he at first refuses to go in an ambulance, not due to continued heroism, but because he wanted an assurance that he wouldn't be charged because he couldn't afford the medical bills. Later in an interview, he talked about his family and said, "Every once in a while you just have to close your eyes and blow a couple bucks," referring to the intermittent moments when he had saved enough and would take his wife and kids to dinner and movie.

Less than two weeks later, Skutnik was the uncomfortable guest of the Reagan's when the President delivered his State of the Union address. Skutnik only made 14 grand a year, but the political capital for Reagan was priceless as he introduced the self-effacing and visibly uncomfortable hero.

Ron got after the congress for the incredible deficit that existed (until Bill Clinton reversed that trend), and in the same speech he proposed a catastrophic health care plan for the elderly. Near the end he said:

In our Constitution, we the people tell the government what it can do and that it can do only those things listed in that document and no others.

Virtually every other revolution in history has just exchanged one set of rulers for another set of rulers. Our revolution is the first to say the people are the masters, and government is their servant.

And you young people out there, don't ever forget that. Some day, you could be in this room -- but wherever you are, America is depending on you to reach your highest and be your best because here, in America, we the people are in charge.

Just three words. We the people. Those are the kids on Christmas Day looking out from a frozen sentry post on the 38th Parallel in Korea, or aboard an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. A million miles from home.But doing their duty.

We the people. Those are the warmhearted whose numbers we can't beg into count who'll begin the day with a little prayer for hostages they will never know and MIA families they will never meet. Why? Because that's the way we are, this unique breed we call Americans.

We the people. They're farmers on tough times, but who never stop feeding a hungry world. They're the volunteers at the hospital choking back their tears for the hundredth time, caring for a baby struggling for life because of a mother who used drugs. And you'll forgive me a special memory -- it's a million mothers like Nelle Reagan who never knew a stranger or turned a hungry person away from her kitchen door.

We the people. They refute last week's television commentary downgrading our optimism and our idealism. They are the entrepreneurs, the builders,the pioneers, and a lot of regular folks the true heroes of our land who make up the most uncommon nation of doers in history. You know they're Americans because their spirit is as big as the universe and their hearts are bigger than their spirits.

We the people. Starting the third century of a dream and standing up to some cynic who's trying to tell us we're not going to get any better.

Are we at the end? Well, I can't tell it any better than the real thing-- a story recorded by James Madison from the final moments of the Constitutional Convention -- September 17th, 1787. As the last few members signed the document,Benjamin Franklin -- the oldest delegate at 81 years, and in frail health-- looked over toward the chair where George Washington daily presided.At the back of the chair was painted the picture of a sun on the horizon.And turning to those sitting next to him, Franklin observed that artists found it difficult in their painting to distinguish between a rising and a setting sun.

Well, I know if we were there, we could see those delegates sitting around Franklin -- leaning in to listen more closely to him. And then Dr. Franklin began to share his deepest hopes and fears about the outcome of their efforts,and this is what he said: "I have often looked at that picture behind the President without being able to tell whether it was a rising or setting Sun: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun."

Well, you can bet it's rising, because, my fellow citizens, America isn't finished - her best days have just begun.

Ronny was despised by bunches of people, including Cosmo. But, man I'd vote for him now in a heartbeat if I knew the vote wouldn't be rigged - I'd vote for him in his current condition over the current administration. But remember 'trickle down economics?'

Little did we know that his VP was grooming his own demon spawn - much like mama Hitler doted on her Fuller Brush mustahio'd offspring - to destroy the same constitution that Ronny was talking about - "We the People" - indeed.

Hell later, with Ronny on ice they used the old man's body, or at least a casket to string out the grieving and to grab a chance at the last gold of the political capital pot that Ronnie could give. I saw Newt Gingrich rubbing the coffin like Aladdin's lamp, as if he was hoping to have some of the Reagan magic rub off on himself. I'm surprised they didn't have him lie in state at the grand opening of some shopping mall that Tom DeLay had invested in while they were at it.

So last week the reaction to a Cessna entering secure air space was something to see, and the faces of the senators told the whole story. Their expressions said, "Wait a second, everything we've been saying about terrorists has been bullshit. The plans we put in place...all bullshit using fear for cheap political mileage. I mean planes really don't fly into buildings unless we tell them to... Let me out! let me out! Get out of my way!"

And that campaigning echoes across the nation. A few weeks ago I took a train to Chicago. At Union station in various corridors a recording is triggered every so many minutes. It says, "beep - If you see a suspicious package or luggage, don't go near it but find station security or report it to police officers. - beep" and I said to my traveling companion, "Listen, those bastards have a political message playing every five minutes until the next rigged election."

My friend replied, "It won't work - you can only fear fear so long."

I asked her what she meant and she told me, "Look, Cosmo, if you put a rat in a maze and it never gets the cheese, after a while it just stops looking for cheese, and starts looking for a sure thing."

Sounds like a good analogy, except we're not the rats.

Best ongoing effort award...

Watertown Peace and Democracy Coalition stays visible. I hear there was a single counter-demonstrator as they marched against efforts to limit filibuster. Bold on both parts, but in true form they invited the prodigal along to continue the discussion. Kind of a metaphor for the demonstration's purpose - the ability to continue debate. They used giant puppets, too - great!

They earlier hosted a discussion/presentation by George Martin of Peace Action Wisconsin. George told me that he was thrilled with the turnout, even though the WPDC had expected more.

Rumor has it that WPDC will be hosting a screening of a talk by author David Ray Griffin, PhD who poses concentrated questions on the government's potential involvement in the events of 9-11. Let's all ask those questions and the other questions over and over until somebody gives us an answer. Great job WPDC! Stay viable, credible and above all, visible!
# # #
Bye for now,

Cosmo

Repair the vote FIRST!

There continues to be such talk about changing tactics in the Democratic party in order to have it appeal to more people, and I assume the reasoning for that is to win the next elections.

First, I don't want the Dems to change, and certainly don't want them to be more like the Republicans just to win more votes.

Secondly, that is not the reason why a the current administration was elected to the presidency twice. And if one ever wants a non-Bush non-neocon Republican to be president again, the voting situation MUST BE REPAIRED.

I was iffy on the 2000 election, but that iffy-ness was confirmed in 2004. There is just too much evidence, and it must be repaired if anyone ever wants something besides an administration of organized crime. How many rotations will it take before people take to the streets and shut down this country. In the Ukraine, they stopped everything because they knew the majority had not elected the person of choice. In Kyrgystan, same thing, and in a relatively gentle manner said - "Excuse me, we'll take the keys, thank you..."

Already the institution of filibuster has been threatened. What makes you think they are above trying to rescind the 22nd amendment of the constitution.

We currently have a president that was never elected. This is not a matter of simply not getting a majority of the popular votes -- it is fraud, deception and theft. This isn't news to many. Now the issue is a matter of the need to repair things before the next election.

Shortly after the November 2 '04 elections, Steven Freeman, a senior statistical researcher at the U of Penn did a study on the odds of exit polls in two states (Floriday and Ohio) being so far out of whack with the norm and out of context with a exit poll findings in all the other states. That study indicates that the odds of exit polls in those two states being that divergent from the historical reliability of exit polls, and with consideration that the exit polls in the other 48 states were inline with historical statistical accuracy of the past, were way off base. In fact the odds of that likelihood ended up being 250 million to 1.

Well columnist Russ Baker refuted this by questioning Freemans' work. Of course it is in the realm of many columnists to dub themselves experts in subjects upon which they comment - Cosmo has to be careful here - but there is a difference in saying "so-and-so says something" or "this event happened here" and actually taking on an expert in a different field.

Freeman countered the claim with a legitimate repudiation of Baker's espoused ignorance in the field of statistical research. Baker's interpretation of the study appeared to just be an effort to make it fit his columns needs. Freeman's reply included a concern many are facing when he said, "Baker's critique begins with a sloppy attempt to shoot the messenger, questioning my credentials."

Let's face it, guys who work with numbers and who make a statement about a study only have to wait a matter of minutes before there are a gazillion other guys who work with numbers out there with their calculators ready to confirm or dispute those findings. You see, unlike Diebold voting machines, these guys have to show their work...

Freeman, who originally played down his credentials and this study, backed up his authority and the substance of this work in that repudiation, including the value and accuracy of exit polls and polling practices. But he also counters the situation and phenomena of information aversion that has riddled our country's mentality of late by stating, "Scrutiny of an election with many unanswered questions does not damage public confidence in the democracy; absence of scrutiny does."


Well as it happened, many of the people who checked his work decided to jump on board the study, if for no other reason than to get their name attached to it.

Another study looked at the accuracy or possible anomalies of the 2004 exit polls.

They concluded that they couldn't find a statistical reason why Ohio and Florida's exit polls were inaccurate, but did note that they were basically messed up due to outside influences.

Another study headed up by John Simon agrees with the initial concerns of the Freeman study. The executive summary states:

• There is a substantial discrepancy—well outside the margin of error and outcomedeterminative— between the national exit poll and the popular vote count.
• The possible causes of the discrepancy would be random error, a skewed exit poll, or breakdown in the fairness of the voting process and accuracy of the vote count.
• Analysis shows that the discrepancy cannot reasonably be accounted for by chance or random error.
• Evidence does not support hypotheses that the discrepancy was produced by problems with the exit poll.
• Widespread breakdown in the fairness of the voting process and accuracy of the vote count are the most likely explanations for the discrepancy.
• In an accurate count of a free and fair election, the strong likelihood is that Kerry would have been the winner of the popular vote.

Reports of statistical studies on this matter have either confirmed Freeman's first assertions or gone even further in narrowing potential reasons why these polls didn't reflect reality (and with reference to the Bush administration, the word 'reality' should give everyone a clue). But these experts are not just interested in political outcomes, they want to know if systems previously proven correct or accurate weren't, or if they weren't, they want to know why. So they checked the formulae against the controls and they all say, either the stars lined up in a special way that day (ahem...) or somebody purposely influenced these numbers...

They have done their job, but the public must now do it's job! People must SCREAM that the emperor has no clothes. They must point to the elephant standing in the middle of the room, and they must insist that the voting process is safe. Harry Truman said that the voting booth is the most valuable piece of real estate in the nation and that if anyone sells it, the nation will cease to exist.

Almost prohetically Truman also said:

Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.
- August 8, 1950

So it appears to come down to "fix it/save it or lose it." We ramble on and spend untold amounts on potential terrorist threats with concern over potential physical harm, when the potential for harm both physical and to the existence of this nation sits in our ability to make voting results in this country accurate, to make each person's vote count and to be able to depend on the results.

Right now elections have degraded to a "Super Bowl" mentality, and half of the morons who voted for the current administration just wanted to be on the winning side. Duh!

Come on people! We have lived through presidents we didn't necessarily vote for, but we all agreed that whoever it was was legitimately elected by a majority of the people. And so we lived together. And if it was an awful administration or simply didn't fit the nation's needs, no matter how slick the marketing prior to the next election, at the next election we knew we could simply vote the person out of office. But the current situation negates the wishes of the electorate and that capability.

The greatest irony here, even though they don't realize it, is that even the votes of the so called winners were rendered of no value in this situation. They just think they are the winners, and this satisfies that group. But tampered ballot counts render all votes cast invalid.

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Bye for now,
Cosmo