Songs of the Potomac (audio)

These past weeks have been filled with the strong noises of political discourse. In the midst of our reporting, a collegue and I went to the Potomac to walk the banks of the river that Washington D.C was built by. This river has seen millenia, a time long before this area was consumed by the politics of today. In fact, this region was part of the land where the Iroquois Confederacy thrived, a great influence upon our modern democracy.

The Potomac is heavily polluted, as are many rivers of our land. While walking along the river promenade, we mused over the children laughing at the balloon artist, the joggers running by, couples cuddled on benches and the sounds of river ferrys going to and fro. We asked people about their views on the nearing election. It was an evening of reflection upon the beauty of the moment not consumed by political banter.

A gentleman set up a table and began to arrange sixty glasses on it and filled them with water. One by one, he tuned them by sliding his wet fingers over the rim of each glass. As he began to play music on this harp of glasses, a crowd drew around. With expert precision, he played us the classical masterpiece of Händel's “Water Music" and a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach. These melodies filled the evening air and welcomed all passersby. These old compositions from the past blended with the sounds of the Potomac.

In completion of Yes! Magazine's D.C.-Blog, I want to thank each and every one of you who have journeyed through this election with me, reading my D.C. blog, by sharing these songs with you. May these songs soothe the heart and inspire us with creativity for the efforts of these next years to come.

Best, Alysa

Enjoy:
Real Audio Stream
Windows Media Stream

The musician is Jamey Turner.

The separation of church and state (audio)

The separation of church and state is a precious fundamental key to the success of our country. The founders of our country, authors of the Constitution, felt it both necessary and vital to insure the freedom of religion and to clearly protect our governing policies from religious doctrine.

When I spoke with Susan Jacoby, the author of “Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism,” she expressed her deep concern for the preservation of the separation of church and state and religious freedom in America. In the past term of the Bush administration, she pointed out there were numerous instances of the separation of church and state becoming foggy, if not non-existent. This can be seen, for example, in the faith based initiatives that were initiated under the Bush administration and the judicial nominees that the President set forth to Congress.(see links below)
Mr. Bush has made no secret of his belief that his religious doctrines should play a part in our government’s policy.

Religion also played a key role in this election. The exit polls after the election showed that moral “values” were the leading topic, over terrorism and the economy, of interest and influence upon people’s voting. The exit polls show that 75% of Evangelicals who voted gave their vote to President Bush.

At the end of this posting I have gathered an array of websites and articles which I hope you will find interesting.

Listen here to my interview with Susan Jacoby:
Real Audio Stream

Windows Media Stream

mp3 download (right mouse click) for your iPod etc.

Articles:
“Vote and Be Damned”
New York Times Op-Ed by Maureen Dowd

“The godly must be crazy: Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment”
By Grist Magazine on the Working for Change website

“The White House Wasn’t Always God’s House”
By Arthur Schlesinger Jr. for the Los Angeles Times. Historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was a top aide to President Kennedy.

“On the Final Sunday, Sermons Pulse With the Power of Spiritual Suggestion”
New York Times by Robert D. Mcfadden

“Third player in presidential race: God Supporters in both parties believe religion’s role is significant”
By S.V. Date

Websites:

Center for Inquiry-Metro New York
Director—Susan Jacoby

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State

First Amendment Center

The Interfaith Alliance

White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

Faith Based Community Initiatives

Center for Reclaiming America- election issue fact page

Christian Coalition of America—Voter Guide

I Vote Values

What is happening to the view of America overseas?

While the image of the United States abroad may not concern all Americans, I believe it should. An article in the BBC yesterday asks it's U.S. citizen readers to answer the question: “What do you want President Bush to do now?”

Today I spoke with Simon Anholt, in the U.K., one of the world's leading specialists in the theory and practice of creating brand strategies (also referred to as public diplomacy) for countries, cities and regions. He is the author of the book, “Brand America: The Mother of All Brands,” released two days ago.

I asked Mr. Anholt about the seriousness of the growing discontent with America abroad. “I think America is sailing in choppy waters,” he answered. “People are less sure of what America stands for.”

When I asked Mr. Anholt about the recent GMI study (referred to in one of my earlier blog postings) regarding the decline of American brand sales in other G8 nations, he responded, “There is a growing feeling…that this is a brand which we no longer feel sure of.” He told me he has heard many reports that reflect this in Europe, one such example is German restaurants refusing American Express cards.

Anholt explains that in order to restore trust in a brand, it is important to make wholesale shifts that show your consumers, your clients, that you understand the need for change. He said the recent U.S. election would have been an opportunity of that nature. Given that President Bush was re-elected he thinks this process is going to require much more thought and effort. “If America and her allies are able to turn things around in Iraq, that might be an opportunity to change its perception.” The question of course stands as to what will happen with the American occupation of Iraq. Right now, each week brings higher casualties and the pains and cost of protracted battle.

America and Americans have an important road ahead to address nurturing our diplomacy and the representation of ourselves abroad. If not we may face the consequences of the growing discontent with peoples’ views, not only of our government, but also of ourselves.

Listen to my interview with Simon Anholt:
Real Audio Stream

Windows Media Stream

mp3 download (right mouse click) for your iPod etc.

Environmental policies are up to us

The election is over and now come the questions of policy and the legislative choices that will be made during this next term. In his press conference today, President Bush said, "I earned political capital in this election and now I intend to spend it."

While much of the American media attention the past couple of days has been upon the political issues of this election, important environmental findings have also come to light. There was frightening news yesterday about an eight-nation report (due for publication November 8th) created by 250 scientists who say the Arctic is warming almost twice as fast as the rest of the planet. The major contributor to this extreme situation are the high emissions of green-house gases into the atmosphere, of which the U.S. is believed to produce one quarter.


There is no time for environmental protections to be slowed or compromised. The fight for these protections has just gotten tougher; requiring us to get more energized, more determined, more smart and more passionate about fighting for environmental concerns, for the health and survival of ourselves and our planet.

The questions of Middle East Peace

President Bush just completed the first Presidential press conference of his second term. There is much confusion surrounding Yasser Arafat's health, with one reporter asking for the President's response to the information that Arafat had passed away. The President responded, "God Bless his Soul."

Further reports throughout today have countered this reporters statement to the president. Several sources, including those close to Arafat, have indicated a huge deterioration in Arafat's health over the past 24 hours, however he is still alive.

Prime Minister Tony Blair indicated yesterday that he feels peace in the Middle East is one of the most, if not the most, important international issues on the horizon. Prime Minister Blair is hoping for support from the United States in the continued effort to bring this difficult peace into existence.

Wall Street

The activity on Wall Street today made it no secret which sectors of business seem to be favored by President Bush’s win and which ones are preparing for a very different outlook in these next years ahead. The military contractors, oil industry, and pharmaceutical companies all surged. Both alternative energy and stem cell research companies took a fall.

A power sweep

Today there are tears of disappoinment, sorrow and loss. For others there are tears of joy and hope. The challenge to unite this country will face our President in the days, months and years to come. It is a challenge that will also face each and every one of us, for we live here together in this nation.

Senator Kerry said in his concession speech earlier today, “Today I hope we can begin the healing…..In an American election there are no loosers….I believe what we started in this campaign will not end here.” These words echoed those of John Edwards who implored his listeners, “You can be disappointed, but don’t walk away…..This fight has just begun.”

Despite a valiant effort to turn out record numbers of votes from Democratic supporters, the Republican Party has claimed a victory not only for the presidency of the United States, but also in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate. The GOP will have a much easier road ahead as they pursue the passage of their agenda through Congress. With Tom Daschle’s senatorial loss in South Dakota, as well as others, the GOP has taken a 55-45 lead in the Senate, as well as adding to their lead in the House of Representatives. The Republican leadership believes they have received a mandate. President Bush said in his celebration speech just a short time ago,”America has spoken…..When we come together and work together there is no limit to what America can do.”

Republicans face the question of how to lead this country without further alienating and enraging the millions of Americans who feel their voice has gone unheaded. Meanwhile, the Democrats face perhaps a more difficult task—to hold their heads high, continue to fight for the issues they treasure in heart and mind and prepare the grounds for success in the next elections.

John Kerry announces concession

John Kerry will give his concession speech at 1pm ET, followed by a speech by President Bush at 3pm ET.

International observers very disturbed

The International Herald Tribune (IHT) reports about the response from the international election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe. The IHT writes: "The observers said they had less access to polls than in Kazakhstan, that the electronic voting had fewer fail-safes than in Venezuela, that the ballots were not so simple as in the Republic of Georgia and that no other country had such a complex national election system."

Konrad Olszewski, an OSCE election observer stationed in Miami, said: "To be honest, monitoring elections in Serbia a few months ago was much simpler."

It is very disturbing that arguably the greatest nation in the world is unable to conduct a fair and clear presidential election. This is a sad day for fledgling democracies around the globe that are looking to the United States as the example for how to run a democratic election.

Electoral reform

Discussion of electoral reform has been a topic for a long time. This election absolutely brings this issue to the forefront. Colorado's initiative for electoral reform did not pass yesterday, however this presidential race may force the entire country to reconsider our Presidential election process.

One organization that has advocated for the abolition of the electoral college system for quite some time is the League of Women Voters.

I would like to hear what you think.

Edwards promises that every vote will be counted

Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, addresses the Kerry-Edwards supporters in Boston and the rest of the nation watching. He stated: "....We made a promise that every vote would count...we will fight for every vote."

The Buckeye State

Ohio Secretary of State warned all this very early morning,"Take a deep breath and relax." Their voting system is such that the provisional ballots will be counted eleven days after the election voting day. Also, there are military absentee ballots that can arrive up to ten days from this election. Ohio is being watched, shall I dare to say, by much of the world.

It is time that we are all patient and let the processes that are in place take there due course.

Offical statement on Ohio from John Kerry Campaign

Patience is a virtue

The language of this evening is all about patience. There is no reason to rush to conclusions. The word "should" has been replaced by "could", as the possibilities are too vast to go beyond speculation to assuredness. "Too close to call" is the safest statement, so common a theme, that the networks have an abbreviation for it: "TCTC". Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward said his newspaper's saying goes: "When in doubt, leave it out."

People are still standing in lines, some of them have been there for up to 9 hours, waiting to vote in countless states. In Ohio, there are reports that in some areas there were so many people in line to vote when the polls closed, the voting will continue as late as midnight ET.

Every vote must be counted so let's be patient. The question, though, that remains on my mind is why do we insist, election after election, to have long lines of voters because of refusing to make our election day a holiday or have it on a weekend so that people have more time to get to the polls.

The balance of power and the power of balance

The strength of our government exists in its' balance of power and the checks and balances that were designed into the system by our country's founders. While the spotlight rests on the outcome of the next President of the United States, the control of the Senate and House of Representatives rests in the balance as well.

In this election there are 34 Senatorial seats up for election and all of the Representative seats are being decided by the voters. The majority of the seats are not being reported on by national media as it is quite typical for the incumbants to retain their positions for multiple terms. Nevertheless the races are very important in determining the direction legislation will take in the next term.

CNN just projected the first Senate seat pickup for the Democrats with a win for Barak Obama in Illinois. In order to regain the majority of the Senate the Democrats need to pick up 2 or 3 seats, depending upon the Presidential win because the Vice President can be the Senatorial tie-breaker.

The party that wins the majority in the House and Senate will have a great deal of power over the upcomming four years, regardless of the Presidential outcome.

Take a look at a past article in the Economist about the dangers and impact of gerrymadering on the layout of districting in the State races.

The-vote-gets-out

The phone banks are certainly at work today. My grandmother, who resides in the swing state of Wisconsin, just told me that she has stopped answering her phone because she is receiving so many calls, first encouraging her to vote and then asking her if she had already. She voted, of course, and laughingly told me that she didn’t want to hang up on a live person so she is just letting calls go to the answering machine. She said that in all of her years, she has never experienced such a concentrated get-out-the-vote atmosphere.

Check into the blogosphere

Blogs have been extremely popular and quite successful in this years election. If you are interested in more blog information and up-to-the-minute postings, check out the blogger.com election page with blogger sites from both the left and the right.

Other blogs I find valuable:
Mother Jones blog
Tompaine.common sense blog
BBC blog
Alternet blog
Rock the Vote

There was so much traffic today on the popular political blog, instapundit, that the server is currently down.

Quotes from the Candidates

Here are couple quotes from the two Presidential candidates today:

President Bush: "....I feed off the enthusiasm of the people."

John Kerry: "...People invest their hopes in you....I am deeply moved by it--by the beauty of our country and the courage people have had to share their hopes with me."

When Kerry was asked about today's high voter turnout, he offered with a smile: "I've got a number in my head, I'll share it with you after the election."

Today's voting success

Millions of absentee ballots have been submitted. Young people from all over the country have registered for the first time. An amazing number of people voted early, hoping to ensure their vote would be counted. Across the country there are unusually long lines in many voting districts. Regardless of the final voting outcome, today’s great democratic success will be the high voter turnout. While the question of our country’s next leader remains unknown, we do know that the right to vote is being exercised by many, likely in record numbers. The American people want to be heard.

Newsday reports, “there has been a four-decade trend of declining voter participation that has given the United States one of the world's lowest voting rates.Up to 120 million people are expected to cast ballots, about 60 percent of eligible voters and an increase from 105 million in 2000, when turnout was 51 percent.”

This election's first Supreme Court decision

Is it protection from voter fraud or voter suppression? Republicans claim that there must be oversight and challenges to the voter registrations to insure that people are not voting illegally. Democrats claim that Republicans are trying to deny people their right to vote through intimidation and false claims. There is probably a little of both—the question is how much.

CNN reports that the Supreme Court made its first decision regarding this election this morning, “when Justice Paul Stevens, who handles appeals from Ohio, refused a request to stay the 6th Circuit decision.” Republicans have been granted the right to question the eligibility of voters in Ohio. Lawyers for the Democrats will also be on hand in Ohio to help people who feel their voting rights are being compromised.

For more information on voting integrity issues, see the articles and websites that Yes! Magazine compiled.

Not all of the polls are close

A cell phone poll of 18-29 year olds showed a likely voting percentage that was not so close. Senator Kerry led by 15 points, 55% to 40%, in this recent joint poll by Zogby and Rock the Vote.

CNN "sponsor"

This morning, while watching CNN news, we heard an announcement for one of their “election coverage sponsors,” Americans for Balanced Energy Choices.

There is of course nothing wrong with having sponsors, however it is a bit disturbing to have a coal energy lobby organization sponsoring election day coverage.

What do you think?

International observers also watch U.S. election

For the first time in the history of U.S. elections, representatives from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an international elections monitoring organzation, will be present in the U.S. to observe the voting process. The OSCE, invited by the U.S. State Department, will be in several states, including the battleground states of Florida and Ohio.. They were present for some of the voting already this morning in South Carolina. The OSCE will be holding a press conference in Washington on November 4th to discuss their observations and suggestions for future U.S. elections.

While the United States remains one of the world’s premier democracies, we saw last election that we have much to do to improve the integrity of our voting system. Today will be a test of what has been learned and a strong reminder of what must still be changed to insure the fair and equal representation of the citizens of our country. This time we will also get to hear formal recommendations from abroad.

Another look at the issues

As you head to the polls today, and might like to see a little more about the issues one more time, take a look at NPR's WNYC 30 issues in 30 days page.

CNN also has an easy-to-navigate overview

John Kerry's website

President Bush's website

Where is the military budget being spent?

With a $400 billion dollar defense budget you might think U.S. troops have everything they need to fight the war in Iraq, but that is not the case. The families of soldiers in Iraq are buying the missing gear for their children, themselves. CBS’s 60 Minutes reported on the widespread armor and weapons deficiencies experienced by our soldiers in Iraq, “18 months after President Bush declared an end of major combat, the Pentagon is still struggling to provide the equipment needed to fight the war.” Gen. Ray Byrne, commanding general of the Oregon National Guard, says, “the stories about families in Oregon having to go out and buy for their sons and daughters radio equipment, body armor, GPS gear, computers and night vision goggles because they weren't being issued are true.”

Where are the $400 billion dollars going?

CBS also reports, “Winslow Wheeler, a long time Capitol Hill staffer who spent years writing and reviewing defense appropriations bills, says $2.8 billion that was earmarked for operations and maintenance to support U.S. troops has been used to "pay the pork bill."

Where else is the money going?…to the weapons companies whose contracts with the U.S. Government went up 75% in the first three years of the Bush Administration. According to the World Policy Institute's (WPI) Arms Project Report, contracts to the Pentagon's top ten contractors jumped from $46 billion in 2001 to $80 billion in 2003. Notes William D. Hartung, the director of the WPI report, "While some of this funding is related to the war in Iraq or the campaign against terrorism, much of it relates to Cold War relics like the F-22 combat aircraft or nuclear attack submarines that have little or no application to the threats we now face or the wars we are now fighting."

The recent report shows how well the arms industry has done this past term, and in turn the monetary contributions they have made to the 2004 campaigns. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the arms industry contributed $13 million dollars to the elections of 2004, 62% went to Republican candidates or committees, while 38% went to Democratic candidates or committees. President Bush received $766,355 and John Kerry $399,000.

Will any of our Congresspeople have the courage to address this abuse of our taxpayer dollars and take responsibility for the protection of our troops?

blog@selenemedia.com

note: for an unknown technical reason this posting, from earlier today, was deleted and is now reposted.

It could be the biggest political online campaign to-date

Today the Kerry-Edwards campaign sent out an internet-only video to millions of people via email, blogs and banner ads. On the eve of the election, it is estimated that this video will be watched by eight million or more as it catches like a wild fire over the internet.

-->Watch the Kerry video ("Your Stories")
-->Watch George W. Bush's last video ("Road to Victory")

While discussing the Kerry video, Joe Trippi, Howard Dean’s former internet campaign mastermind, spoke of the amazing influence of the internet for citizen participation in this election. On MSNBC, he encouraged viewers to volunteer as “citizen journalists” through a program being offered by MSNBC

Comic Relief

On the eve of this important election, it might help to get a little comic relief. Very popular is Jon Stewart’s Daily Show.
Also airing tonight is the “Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash 2004: The Great Debates.” It will air at 10:00 pm ET, on NBC.

..and here is your Florida Voting Machine:
An online satire, produced by Dutch design firm BoomChicago


-->Quicktime Movie

Daughters on the Campaign Trail

Intelligent, bright and charismatic young women are being heard in this years’ election. Led by seasoned Caroline Kennedy, several of the "Democratic daughters" campaigned today in Wisconsin. Most notably, Chelsea Clinton gave her first-ever public political speech today.

Meanwhile, President Bush’s daughters continued campaigning in many states for the re-election of their father.

Justice Rehnquist does not return to the bench today

A statement was released by the Supreme Court today, informing us that Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist was not able to return to the Court today as planned, due to his ongoing treatment for thyroid cancer.

This is sobering news as voters head to the polls tomorrow to vote for the man who will likely have great influence upon the highest court in our country.

Could Schwarzenegger be President?

In less than 50 years, the U.S.Census Bureau projects that immigration will cause the population of the United States to increase from its present 288 million to more than 400 million. Immigration is an issue in this election and will be in elections to come. Immigrants want to be represented.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would like to run for President of the United States. This would require an amendment to the Constitution, allowing foreign-born citizens to seek the highest office in the United States Government.

Mr. Schwarzenegger is an economically conservative Republican with a somewhat progressive view on social issues such as the environment, gun laws, gay rights and stem cell research. After a year in office, his approval rating is at the high mark of 65 percent.

The Governor should count himself lucky that he already has his U.S. citizenship. The process has become much more difficult, especially due to an increase in national security measures after 9/11. Foreigners seeking visas must go through an incredibly rigorous administrative process; part logical and part intimidating and without reason.

In his interview with CBS’s 60 minutes, Schwarzenegger commented about a future bid for Presidency, “What's the worst that could happen?' That you fail... That's really not that bad."

Schwarzenegger figured out the key element to his success a long time ago. "You can have the best product in the world, but if you don't know how to sell it, and if you don't, if you don't have anybody who can sell it for you or tell the public, it's a waste of time, the whole thing...Selling and communicating to the people is the most important thing.”

Right now, the Republicans are hoping he can help sell Bush.

Note: The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that the foreign-born population of the United States is currently 33.1 million, equal to 11.5 percent of the U.S. population. Of this total, the Census Bureau estimates 8-9 million are illegal immigrants.

The Role of First Lady

The cultural viewpoints vastly differ on the role our first lady should play. Despite women’s ever-increasing role as leaders in all sectors of American life, the position of first lady seems to be overshadowed by an old restrictive mindset. Teresa Heinz Kerry’s self described “opinionated” views are at the center of much disagreement and even attack. Today, Colin McNickle of the Pittsburgh Tribune wrote: “…Teresa Heinz Kerry, the Muppet-haired Mozambican who loves to talk about herself.”

In her speech at the Democratic Convention, Teresa declared, ''My only hope is that one day soon, women--who have all earned the right to their opinions--instead of being labeled opinionated, will be called smart and well informed, just like men.''

If her husband wins the election, Mrs. Heinz Kerry plans to do something no first lady has previously done. She wants to continue her philanthropic work as CEO of the Heinz Family Foundation. This assertion has certainly disturbed some who believe that the primary job of the first lady is to attend to her husband. USA Today writes, “By more than 2 to 1, those 65 and older say a first lady shouldn't hold an outside job, according to the nationwide survey. Those 30 to 64 are divided roughly evenly on the question. But younger Americans, 18 to 29, say by almost 2 to 1 that it would be fine.”

What really amazes me is that, of people polled, more would support a female President than a first lady holding a job post. The position of first lady has continued to be promoted as a bastion of conservatism.

About Teresa Heinz Kerry

USA Today interview with Teresa Heinz Kerry

About First Lady, Laura Bush

Transcript of Mrs. Bush’s speech at the Republican Convention

PBS special on First Ladies

Halliburton's greed knows no bounds

A new report by the New York Times outlines the continuation of investigation into issues of the Halliburton contracts, not only in Iraq, but dating back to the conflict in the Balkans. It is said that the F.B.I. is seeking an interview with the chief of contracting of the Army Corps of Engineers, Bunnatine H. Greenhouse. Ms. Greenhouse claims that attempts have been made to remove her from her position due to her official complaints. Her filed complaints include the no-competition bid by Halliburton, the alleged overcharging by Halliburton’s subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) and the waivers of charges made by KBR without her legally required approval.

Halliburton, led by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995-2000, is being attacked for both over-charging the U.S. military, hence the American taxpayers, and failure to pay its sub-contractors. Halliburton received a 10-year Army agreement to supply logistics services to the U.S. military. Corporate Watch is reporting that KBR is facing several suits for tens of millions of dollars from companies who have subcontracted for them.

Renowned journalist Bill Moyers wrote an article that eloquently addresses the appalling abuses of corporate welfare by the largest of companies and the urgent need for them to be answerable to the American people.