Iran Remains Tense: Tribute To Neda

As the situation in Iran continues to deteriorate, the government has stepped up its bloody repression against its citizens. Opposition presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezai have quietly scaled back their criticism of the electoral fraud perpetrated by the government while Mir Hussein Moussavi continues defiant. Declared winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a victory celebration that was attended by less than half of the members of parliament. Reports contend that Tehran remains tense.

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Earlier this week I posted a tribute piece about Neda the young lady executed by Basij paramilitary thugs. The image of her lifeless body has become a symbol for the opposition. I received a response to the piece from Luis Tijerina. His comment included a poem which I thought was both touching and beautifully written. With Mr. Tijerina’s permission, I have reprinted the poem. Thank you Luis for your moving words!

THE VOICE OF NEDA AGHA SOLTANI

 (For The Iranian People)

Your beautiful face and voice speak to us

in the streets, on the rooftops of Tehran,

O Neda, O Neda!

Voice of the stars, voice of the earth, voice of the people…

Your death will be remembered

where you have fallen, the street is swelling

 with protesters who have taken up your banner.

Who will ever forget seeing you die bravely

among those marching in rage against the dictator,

against the tyrannies in your country!

Your name is now the “call” to humanity,

It is our voice for all time.

                                                                 Luis Tijerina

Governor Sanford Confesses: Hold The Applause

As reported on my last blog piece, South Carolina’s Republican Governor, Mark Sanford’s hiking trip excuse seemed “fishy”. As it turned, the governor was enjoying a brief sabbatical from both his state and his family in Argentina with his mistress. His political career in shambles, the clock continues to tick towards resignation hour. In a poll conducted by The State, a Colombia SC newspaper, readers responded that he should resign at a 70% clip. Yet, for some insane reason, the governor has yet to indicate that he will be quitting.

I am sure that there are many people out there whining that the “liberal media” is piling on the governor in his moment of crisis. Granted, this is a tragedy for his family. Surely, this will not be the last high profile politician to be caught having an affair. What makes this case unique is that he clearly was derelict in his duty by simply vanishing without explanation. He lied to his wife. He lied to his staff. He lied to his constituents. Did he really think that no one was going to uncover this tryst? If he did, then he deserves this harsh treatment not for having an affair but for being stupid enough for thinking he could get away with it unscathed. His mea culpa press conference was bizarre and he still continues to be deceptive.

Someone in the Republican Party needs to stand up and say enough! The party is in complete shambles. Last week, Senator Ensign of Nevada admitted to his Republican colleagues at a caucus meeting that he had an affair with a former staffer. The caucus responded with a round of applause. That’s right… applause!  Does this sound like the party of family values? The Republican Party for years has excoriated the Democrats for their “deviant” views on traditional values.  What has become apparent is that the Republican Party’s stance on values is fraudulent. Governor Stanford, Senators Ensign, Craig, and Vitter have given true meaning to the phrase, “Do as I say…”

While spousal cheating is a bipartisan activity, it is the Republicans who claim moral superiority and thus, deserve the scorn and ridicule of all. Yet, I am sure that the governor will hold a press conference, shed some tears and ask for forgiveness. We being the forgiving people that we are we will probably show compassion and do so.

But please, save the applause for truly noble actions.

Idiot Watch: Republican S.C. Governor Mark “The Hiker” Sanford

Folks… This one is wierd!

I’ve got to hand it to Republican Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina. In the short life of this blog he holds the dubious distinction of being named LPL’s Idiot twice. His latest idiotic episode had him going AWOL from his governor’s post allegedly without informing anyone in the state government of his whereabouts.

Apparently, the Governor had decided to go “hiking” on the Appalachian Trail sans his security detail and without informing his own family. Boy… does this one smell fishy. Here are a few selected readers’ comments to the news taken from the Columbia SC newspaper The State:

Note: LPL admits to being extremely biased and has made no attempt to post comments defending the Governor’s actions.

•  eharrisonjr wrote on 06/23/2009 01:13:24 PM:  My question is how soon would he do this if he were elected President. If he can handle the pressure of running South Carolina were he has a very nice Republican majority. How can he handle running the Nation with all of its problems.
• XanderB wrote on 06/23/2009 01:04:29 PM:  So he takes off over Fathers Day Weekend. Nobody knows what he’s actually doing, but everyone gives conflicting stories. Now he was suddenly hiking? With no form of communication? Riiiiight. How about we hear what really happened? Or are we asking too much to have the truth given to us?
• bronksgrl wrote on 06/23/2009 12:49:57 PM: I felt Gov. Sanford should have taken a hike a long time ago!
• CaryG wrote on 06/23/2009 11:43:33 AM: The typical stay in detox is 3-7 days. Do the math.
• rmcswain wrote on 06/23/2009 11:43:22 AM: Let’s see now, Obama spends father’s day with his family emphasizing the importance of fathers. Sandford of the “family values” party spends father’s day who-knows-where and according to his wife, was writing something and “wanted to be away from the kids.”
  Writing something on the AT??? Oh puleeze. Lugging a laptop I presume which would only have a few hours of battery life and no place to recharge it for miles. Yeah, right…
• Stateworker wrote on 06/22/2009 06:07:24 PM: Does that mean he’s coming back……I’ll chip in 5 bucks if he stays where ever the hell he is………

And my personal favorite:

• jerseyjack wrote on 06/22/2009 07:27:28 PM: Kinda reminds me of our former New Jersey governor, Jim McGreevy. He used to disappear sometimes, too.

For disappearing for nearly a week, without telling your wife or kids where you might be (during Father’s Day weekend no less) and leaving your state with no one in charge while you were “clearing your head”, South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford… You are an IDIOT!

NEDA: The Voice Of A Defiant Iran

THE VOICE

NEDA AGHA SOLTAN (1982-2009)

Murdered by a Basij militia sniper on 20 June 2009 in Tehran

 

Iran Pulls a Zimbabwe: Sham Elections!

The ayatollahs in Iran have put an end to its people desire for reform by essentially rigging yesterday’s presidential elections in favor of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. According to authorities, Mr. Ahmadinejad garnered 62.3% of the vote. His main rival, popular candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi received 34% of the votes cast. Pre-election polling had Mr. Moussavi leading all candidates. In 2005, Mr. Ahmadinejad became president receiving 62% of the popular vote.

What makes this election rather odd is the anomaly of the results for the last place finisher, Mehdi Karroubi who received a paltry 300,000 votes. In 2005, he finished third in polling receiving over 5,000,000 votes. Mr. Karroubi decried the results. Mr. Moussavi has publicly claimed victory while calling the results fraudulent. There has been sporadic violence through out the country. Skirmishes between Moussavi supporters and police have lead to the death of one protester.

It is a shame that in this era of political awakening through out the world, the Supreme Council of Iran has decided to “steal” the elections. The people’s desire for reform is undeniable. As Iran tries to join the nuclear club of nations, it has shown, through this sham election that its political conscience is no more sophisticated than that of Zimbabwe. Much like the neo-conservative movement was thrown out of power in this country in 2008; the Iranian people have expressed their desire to shift away from their archaic theocracy.

Will there be real change in Iran? I doubt it. Will the protests escalate into a full blown revolution? The next few days will tell.

Obamanism: A New World Order

The United Nations has 192 member states. FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, has 208 international members. For generations, the United States has considered itself superior than all the rest of the world. Granted, we have the planet’s largest economy, strongest military and have been at the forefront in science and medicine. We are the largest donor of humanitarian aid as well as the Earth’s largest exporter of arms. Being at the head of virtually all things, we have managed to exert influence through out the planet politically, economically, and culturally. Unfortunately, that power has corrupted our nation’s standing in the world. Many countries view ours with envy. Many more view us with disdain. For too long, we have been looked at as ugly Americans. The nations of the world do not hate us because of “our freedoms” as President Bush used to say but because we became drunk with power and became arrogant. Our well deserved pride transformed into ugly arrogance. We lectured the world on the virtues of democracy yet we have propped up oppressive and murderous regimes through out the world. (Hussein in Iraq, the Saud’s in Saudi Arabia, Marcos in the Philippines, many South American generals) We were a leading supporter of the apartheid regime in South Africa. We trade with China while ignoring Tiananmen. We scold nations because of their nuclear ambitions yet remain the only nation in history to have actually used nuclear weapons; and we did it twice. We decry the lack of freedom of ethnic minorities in the world, yet we have a sad legacy of enslaving, stealing from, expelling and disenfranchising our own minorities. We are reckless in our use of the world’s resources. Our foreign policy is unambiguous in its favoritism thus negating any semblance of diplomatic credibility.

Enter President Barack Obama.

While there are many who are characterizing President Barack Obama’s overture to the world as American defeatism, the president is on the mark on one thing. While recognizing America’s role as a global leader, he realizes that with that leadership comes global responsibility. America is not an entity independent from the rest of the world community. Though clearly the strongest member, it is still just one of the 192 world nations. To regain the respect and credibility of the world community, Barack Obama has chosen to disarm our adversaries with humility and not with threats of force. His overtures to the Muslim world are nothing short of monumental. It’s still a carrot and stick approach but the stick is not overtly displayed.

 President Obama’s action on the international stage has strengthened our presence and reputation. He has added a new word to the vocabulary of many nations when they describe us. And that word is FAIR. A fair leader is a respected leader. A fair leader is a powerful leader. A fair United States will be a powerful United States. This nation has reassumed its leading role in the world through cooperation and not coercion. The coming months will be telling. Will America continue on its march to restoration while remaining a collaborative member of Earth’s community of nations? I certainly hope so. And so does every one else.

 The world is waiting. And watching.

What do you think? Drop me a comment and let’s discuss it.