A Killing on Fourth & Washington

 

 

Spoticus, the big purple octopus at 4th & Washington (downtown) is dead.  His carcass may sit on the building for a while, but the Greek Cusina closed on December 31, a victim of a series of failures and the depression.

 

Timing is everything, and few could have fully assessed the extent of the current economic downturn.  But Ted Papas is a survivor, and it’s not the recession that killed his restaurant, at least not the downtown one.

 

Two things, conspired to put a stake through the restaurant’s heart.  Mr. Papas started some renovations in his building without getting some permits, and that fell into the cross hairs of Randy Leonard’s HIT squad.

 

I need to be very clear that I like both men.  Randy and Ted are in many ways, very similar men.  They both are strong willed, stubborn, survivors, and “hands on”, “what you see is what you get” kind of men.  One could sit back and look at their squabbles and almost find it amusing, except for one fact that seems to have been lost in the lack of due process that prevailed in this affair.  The closing of the Greek Cusina puts about 50 people out of work.  One of them is a dear friend of mine, who was one of the first casualties.  Her job as events manager, was scheduling wedding receptions, birthday and graduation parties and such in the beautiful Minoan Room on the third floor.  Due to the renovations which had not been approved by the city, the HIT squad closed the building above the 2nd floor.  This included the Minoan Room, offices and residences.  While I understand the initial fire safety concerns that closed these facilities, what followed was premeditated suffocation.

 

The city decided to impose a 24 hour, 7 day a week “fire watch” on the building, ostensibly until an additional high tech smoke/fire detection system could be installed.  There was a working “sprinkler” system in the building, but apparently that  was not sufficient.  The city demanded the additional system, which was not cheap, that had an automatic alarm at the closest fire station, so that it would automatically signal either smoke or fire and send the fire department coming instantly.  In the meantime, Ted had to pay for the cost of the security guard service that patrolled his building 24/7.  Of course it was a city approved contractor, and that was not cheap, $500 a day.  But, the smoke/fire alarm system got installed, so the fire watch should have ended, right?  Well, not exactly.  For whatever reason, it remained, for over a year, it has been in place, to the tune of five hundred dollars a day.

 

So the price tag for the fire watch started adding up, and since Ted’s ability to earn money was significantly compromised with the closure of his biggest income source  (the Minoan Room), he couldn’t pay the bill, so the city put a lien on his property.   With the lien in place, Ted could not get the necessary financing to complete the renovations to his building to bring it under code.

 

Then, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (O.L.C.C.) somehow got involved, due to alleged violations.  Suddenly, every alcohol sale had to be within the letter of the law.  One example, normally when a customer in the dining room would purchase a bottle of wine to have with their dinner, the wine would be brought to the table.   The OLCC ruled that could not happen since technically the dining room was not in the bar area, so after the server poured the glasses of wine, the bottle had to be returned to the bar.  Imagine how that went over with customers?  The OLCC was “encouraged” to place the restaurant under heightened scrutiny by the City.  That scrutiny chased away even more customers.

 

During all this time, I was at a couple of City sponsored meetings, and the question of a restaurant to host a meal for the group(s), I suggested the Greek Cusina.  Both times, city staff said “Aren’t they closed?”  The first time this happened was about a year ago.

 

So clearly, the word was out about closing the Greek Cusina around City departments.  Someone’s mind was already made up.

 

Because my friend was the first casualty in this war, I had a vested interest in trying to resolve it.  I talked at length with Ted, and in one of those conversations talked with a couple of City inspectors (one of whom was a police officer), and had a brief conversation with Randy Leonard.

 

There was a lot of passion over these issues.  In a sense, it was like dealing with two siblings who were fighting, both proud, both having a deep sense of being “right”, and both determined to prevail.  What was also clear was the City’s determination to close the Greek Cusina.  Randy had the power of his office, and his HIT Squad, Ted was just one person, trying to keep his business open.

 

I also need to add that I got to know a lot of people who worked for Ted over the last few years, and all of them shared about what a generous employer he was.  My friend was dealing with the declining health of her elderly mother, and Ted was always flexible, allowing her time off to deal with her mothers doctor and hospital visits.  If she needed an advance on her salary, he was there for her.   That kind of generosity, and treating employees like “family” is rare in today’s world, and the loss of it is one more aspect of this that is difficult.  If one looked at the demographic of Ted’s staff, he employed many more minority staff and people over 45 than most employers.  Being an immigrant, he understands prejudice and hunger in a much more personal way than most.  The loss of his generosity will be missed as well.

 

I don’t like bullies.  Part of my feelings about this relates personally to being “big enough to go bear hunting with a stick” (6′1″ and 260#), part of it is a genuine distaste for any abuse of power.  Power is a very interesting thing, the more you have of it, the less it should be used.  Sometimes people confuse passion with power, but ultimately, the person who has a lot of power shouldn’t use it to hurt others.   This urination contest between Randy and Ted has cost 50 people their livelihood, and that’s what has made me so disgusted by the situation, and specifically irritated by city leadership that used it’s power to punish rather than assist.

 

In the rush to “punish the evildoer”, 50 people are now out of work, and one of the landmark hospitality establishments in the city is now closed, and gone forever.

 

As much as one might want to place the blame at the feet of one commissioner, there are three others and the mayor.  In the midst of a depression, it is inexcusable for the city to encourage or allow the destruction of a business that employs 50 people downtown.   Moreover, if this could happen to one business, what might stop it from happening to others?

 

 

 

Some “back story” for those of you who may not have heard about the attempt of CRC to exclude as much public testimony as possible.

I arrived at the Port Building around 8:35 AM with Pam Naugle, a neighbor.  The sign in sheets and table were already in place, we both signed in.  Marcela Alcantar was also signing in.

The young man who was staffing the table asked us if we were going to testify, and we all said “Yes” and took the small testimony slips to fill out.  While doing so, we mentioned that we had come early to make sure that we would be first on the list to testify because we knew time would be limited.

The staffer, Dennis Sandstrom explained that there would be no order for testifying, “We’re going to put them all in this box, shuffle them around and then pick folks at random” was the explanation we were offered.  He went on to explain that the reason this method had been chosen was “It’s more democratic.”

I explained that I had a leadership position with the project (Co-Chair of the Hayden Island Plan Steering Committee, member of the Community & Environmental Justice Group) and he said that wouldn’t matter, that a decision had been made.   Several other persons were told this as well, all the way up to just before the meeting.

I called Mayor Adams and left a message for him, informing him of this issue, and also made a statement to the Channel 6.

When  the room opened up, the I heard CRC staff try to tell Channel 6 that they were not allowed to bring their cameras into the room.  I confirmed this with the cameraman on our way in, the news teams just ignored this “request” by CRC staff and went in to film anyway.

In addition, Sharon Nasset made an announcement in the room just before the meeting started, that our public testimony was being picked at random by the project

Because of the pressure exerted by all of us, and the presence of the media, the process was changed, and everyone got one minute to testify.  A staff person came to me and asked me to fill out a second slip, apparently the first one I filled out could not be found.

My name was called a second time at the very end of the testimony, but I had already spoken.  Ms. Nagle and Alcantar, the first two people to arrive, were among the last five to speak.

 

I share all of this because of the blatant attempt to manipulate public comment, circumvent democratic processes, and exclude the press from the meeting.  This is one more example of how CRC continues to circumvent democratic public processes in order to push through their agenda.

In the face of this, they wonder why increasing numbers of people have lost trust in the project, and are so angry about the process.

I hope that an investigation can be done to find out who at CRC ordered this protocol for the meeting, and that person can be censured in an appropriate manner, including prosecution of any laws that were broken. I am not a lawyer, but this could be considered “Conspiracy to obstruct Justice” or some other violation of public meeting laws.  Whoever ordered staff to do this needs to be held accountable, even if is just some time off without pay.

I am calling on our elected leaders to not just let this sweep under the rug, and let it go.  No matter what one’s position on the CRC, the decisions should not be made in an illegal manner, or one that specifically attempts to exclude public concern and testimony.

 

Regards,  Ed Garren, MA, LMFT

Candidate for Portland City Commission, seat #3

www.EdForPDX.com

503-922-0338

 

 

 

 

 

If only we could pass on wisdom as effectively as we pass on pathology.

 

The biggest challenge for a person or a society is to move from where we are,

to where we have never been.

 

ed@edgarren.us

www.edgarren.us

 

 

If only we could pass on wisdom as effectively as we pass on pathology.

 

The biggest challenge for a person or a society is to move from where we are,

to w

ed@edgarren.us

www.edgarren.us

 

 

 

 

 

If only we could pass on wisdom as effectively as we pass on pathology.

 

The biggest challenge for a person or a society is to move from where we are,

to where we have never been.

 

ed@edgarren.us

www.edgarren.us

 

 

 

 

 

If only we could pass on wisdom as effectively as we pass on pathology.

 

The biggest challenge for a person or a society is to move from where we are,

to where we have never been.

 

ed@edgarren.us

www.edgarren.us

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in the Oregonian on 12/02/2009 by edgarren

December 02, 2009, 9:18AM in response to the article:

“Portland police commissioner explains turnabout on cop who fired beanbag round”

Link Below:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/12/portland_police_commissioner_e.html 

 

I worked with Law Enforcement agencies and have family members and friends who work in Law Enforcement, so while I am empathetic to how difficult and stressful the job is, how this all played out is unacceptable.

Turn the situation around, imagine a “suspect” who was acquitted of manslaughter, now involved in an assault case. “Where there is smoke, there is fire” is the usual comment. The police union is embarrassing itself, protecting someone who has been involved in two excessive force incidents.

Does anyone in the union realize that when the plaintiffs familes file lawsuits against the city and win that all of us pay for it, including them? Do they also realize that by strong arming the situation, they just further alienate citizens who feel “no confidence” with their ability to self regulate one of their own who has twice been involved in situations perceived to be excessive force, one of which related to someone’s death?

The initial decision to remove badge and firearm was reasonable and appropriate. This is the second questionable situation for the officer. That reality seems to be lost to the police union, and to Mr. Saltzman.

I also think the negotiations should have occurred BEFORE the initial decision was made. The public hates to see this sort of “flip/flop” and it does not bode well for the person doing it.

As for “de-escalation”, if a “no confidence” vote had been made, nothing would have happened afterward. There was no runaway train, the police department would not have evaporated. A disagreement would have been declared (which both sides are entitled to do) and life would have gone on the same for everyone, except that members of communities traditionally at odds with law enforcement would have felt some vindication, that finally someone was listening to them.

Our obsession with “let’s all just get along” and avoiding conflict at all costs is not serving us well with regard to law enforcement issues in the city. Sooner or later the buck stops somewhere, and I thought that is what we elect management to do, take the heat that goes along with doing the right thing, not the expedient thing.

Regards, Ed Garren
Candidate for PDX City Commission, seat #3

www.EdForPDX.com

 People ask me why a Psychotherapist is interested in public office.  The most prominent reasons relate to social, environmental and economic justice, as they relate to self esteem and public policy.  I’ve spent a lifetime helping people improve their lives, make meaningful changes, become more fulfilled in life.

This is the “pursuit of happiness” part of how our government and society are supposed to work, that relates squarely to my work as a therapist.

Part of my work as a therapist includes not settling for the status quo.

 What I’ve also learned is, many of the most important elements of anyone’s life, a good job, decent housing, a livable community, all of these things happen because of inclusive and innovative public policy.

While our status quo is better than many places, there is a lot that can still be done.

 This year, the atmosphere hits 400 Parts Per Million of carbon dioxide, a “tipping point” that many scientists say will usher in weather extremes and ice cap melting that will be unprecedented.   The first tornado in recorded history just hit Newport Oregon this week, as well as the latest hurricane (after the end of “Hurricane Season”) along the northern Gulf Coast.  I’ve lived long enough to actually see significant changes in weather over my lifetime, particularly the last 25 years.

 Our region is blessed with significant sustainable electric resources.  We are able to generate electricity from water, wind, and with proper vision, solar.  With all this electricity, we should be leading the nation in abandoning carbon based energy and moving to sustainable electricity.

New construction technologies exist for which our city has not developed codes, much less requiring them in new construction.  Soon, plug in hybrid and electric automobiles will be available.  Are we developing the policy infrastructure to encourage their use?

 There are other issues which our city can show leadership in, offering economically sustainable housing for homeless persons, developing meaningful strategies to deal with racial profiling, and the increasingly difficult issues in public safety that our faltering economy has produced.

A city is not just buildings and infrastructure.  A city is people.  We have worked very diligently to develop our material environment.  Our next challenge is to develop our human assets, the diverse array of creativity, intelligence and passion that make Portland the amazing city that it is.

After a lifetime of work, beginning as a tradesman (Journeyman Gas Pipe Fitter, auto mechanic, appliance repairman) and a post Masters professional career in Rehabilitation, Recovery, Child Welfare, Education,  to help people improve their lives, I believe I offer a unique and creative set of skills for our city.

If you are interested in sponsoring a meet and greet event, please send an eMail to EdForPDX@gmail.com or call me at 503 922-1892.

 ”The biggest challenge for a person or a society is to move from where we are, to where we have never been.” 

To my many friends and supporters.

This has been a whirlwind day.  After a busy morning, I went to city hall to declare my candidacy for seat #3 on the Portland City Commission.  This evening, I hosted a meeting of my neighborhood association and the Willamette University Sustainability Clinic, which is producing an Environmental Justice workshop in my community next Saturday the 14th.

 

I want to be very clear that I am NOT running against Dan Saltzman.  Mr. Saltzman has not declared if he will seek re-election, his only commitment on the subject is that he will announce his decision in January of 2010.

 

Any publicly financed candidate must turn in 1,000 five dollar contributions on January 31 of 2010, so waiting for Dan to declare or not declare is not an option.   I think that Dan has done many wonderful things for this city, and my declaring for seat #3 is about offering the voters genuine choice next year.

 

A lot of folks have encouraged me to run, as varied as environmental justice and sustainability activists, members of the press, homeless persons and their advocates, organized labor, cyclists, students, persons who care about people.  I have been honored by their encouragement, and ultimately, this bid is about them.

 

The first part of the election process begins with gathering at least 1,000 five dollar contributions to qualify for public financing.  Over the next week we will begin that process.   We are in the process of arranging house parties and other events and opportunities for folks to meet me, and make a contribution if they believe that I am a viable alternative to the status quo.  If I cannot get this basic grassroots support, then I have no business running, so the next eleven weeks will be significant in answering that question.

 

If you are interested in hosting an event on my behalf please let me know.

 

The campaign can also accept “Seed Money” checks of up to $100 as a part of the Public Financing process.   Seed money contributions can be made out to “Ed for PDX 2010″ and mailed to 813 SW Alder St., #004, Portland, OR 97205.  Please include disclosure information (Full name, address, occupation, phone #) with any donations.

 

One other important milestone occurred today.  My mother Edna turned 97.  Born the day Woodrow Wilson was elected president, she was almost named Woodrow.  She is an amazing and strong woman, who left the abandoned train station she grew up in to complete high school on scholarship, (in the hills of north Georgia) and make a life as a legal secretary, business owner, and economic justice activist.  From her I learned the importance of education, hard work, enjoying the fruits of one’s labor, caring for animals and people less fortunate, and the importance of having a sense of humor about the unexpected challenges life throws at us.

 

A photo of her at her 90th birthday party, with my nephew Michael Lee Garren is attached.

 

Both of my parents instilled a strong ethic that with blessing comes responsibility, that any gifts I received from my creator are to be shared with this broken world, and that patience in the face of injustice is NEVER a virtue.

 

I myself will turn 60 on the 21st of this month, and we are planning a campaign kick off event that day, as soon as a suitable location can be identified.  This will be an afternoon “meet and greet” as well as contribution gathering and social mixing event.

 

Please feel free to forward this to your friends.  If you, or they want any information about who I am and what I stand for, simply do a “Google” search for “Ed Garren.”

 

Regards,  Edward “Ed” Garren

 

 

If only we could pass on wisdom as effectively as we pass on pathology.

 

The biggest challenge for a person or a society is to move from where we are,

to where we have never been.

 

ed@edgarren.us

www.edgarren.us

 

 

Read the full story here:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/health/policy/30health.html?emc=eta1

I’m REALLY angry about this one.  

I used the links below to go to their web pages for “letters.”  Then I filled out and wrote a scathing comment about “bought” legislators, etc. into the “comment” section for the first one, then copied and pasted it in for the comments to the rest of them (including Bill Nelson of Florida, the “sold out” Democrat).  

 Those comments are below.Anyway, I eMailed all of the listed in the article senators from their sites.  

I’d suggest if you’re as mad as I am, do the same thing.  Take pointers from my comments below.Here are links to some of the senators who voted “no.”

http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issue

http://carper.senate.gov/contact/webformIQV2.cfm

http://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webformIQV2.cfm

http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

http://grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm

You can also check out:  http://www.sickforprofit.com

Regards, Ed

*************************My “form” letter is below:

As one of the 48 million Americans who cannot (and never will be able to) afford “private” health insurance (male, over 50, monthly premiums exceed $700 a month) even though I’m “healthy as a horse”, I am mad as hell that you sold out to your buddies in the Health Care industry and rejected the Public Option.

The cost issue is simple. I’ve worked in health care much of my career. The non profit hospitals, where nuns drive Chevrolet’s, have no problem with what Medicare pays.

The private hospitals, where the administrator drives a $70,000 car and gets a huge bonus “can’t afford it”.

What’s wrong with this picture? Making a profit off of sick people, that’s what’s wrong.

In the meantime, millions of us don’t have and will never get health insurance, and you, in your wealth and comfort, don’t give a damn.

I hope they vote your sorry posterior out of office next time. It’s “bought” politicians like you that have ruined this country. You’re supposed to be working for US, not the health care industry.

Regards, Ed Garren, MA, LMFT Psychotherapist

 

I got an eMail today from an associate.  She is a member of a Portland City Commission, a gentle and loving woman who moves around in a wheel chair.

 

The eMail had a link to a digital movie short she had made about an incident of discrimination which occurred in her life last fall on an outing with her family.

 

I have been deeply troubled by that event all day.  I have talked about it with friends.  I remain troubled by the incident, and other recent incidents that have swept into my life in the last month or so.

 

Another friend, an elderly gay man, who is also wheel chair bound now, had an issue at his dialysis clinic, because he is “sweet” on one of the technicians at the facility.

 

In his case, he was friendly with the tech, nothing sexual, just trying to make conversation because his entire life consists of going to dialysis and going home.  He is about as harmless as a de-clawed house cat, and probably not long for this world at 77.

 

For whatever reason the clinic felt it necessary to bring him into the directors office and tell him that his behavior was unacceptable, and that he was to have no further contact with the technician.  The technician had never mentioned anything, expressed any discomfort or concern.  All of a sudden, my friend gets hauled in and dressed down for his harmless conversations.

 

In tears, he related this story to me, and his sense of betrayal over the situation.  His partner was also deeply hurt and angered and gets sick at the thought of ever going back to the place.

 

The woman who is mentioned at the beginning shared about how she was bullied out of the event, and her family went on to do the event without her, leaving her in tears outside.

 

I was shocked, not just that the bullies had run her out, or that her family had not opposed the injustice, but then they went on without her, leaving her alone with her tears.

 

As I write about this, I want to be very clear that it is not just my associate, or my friend, but a regional malaise, a mental illness if you please that seems to run a heavy thread in most “native” families in the region.

 

My comments are not meant to be accusatory of her, or her family, or my friend at the dialysis clinic.  This is a systemic issue, a cultural one, and most of us who have moved here from other places, or locals who have lived elsewhere and returned all have the same reaction to it.

Dumbfounded amazement.

 

This is truly “off the scale” to me.  I just don’t get it.  Not just because of my own sense of personal justice, but our national legacy of “taking a stand”, “sitting in”, and other non violent acts of courage that have formed a more just society.

 

What if Rosa Parks had cooperated and gotten up and given her seat to the white man on the bus?  After all of the blood shed so that people could live with more dignity, surrendering dignity in order to “get along” makes no sense, and insults those who died so that we could have freedoms.

 

The “South” is just as polite, just as “family oriented”, and has family roots that run just as deep.  But any of this bullying behavior would be met with a very different response “back home.”  The response would be measured and polite, but firm, “you and what army?”

 

Surrendering to a bully is the ultimate way to “lose face.”

 

The south is a culture that spawned the Dixie Chicks song “Good Bye Earl” about two women who poison an abusive husband and dump the body in a lake.  Capitulation is not celebrated, life is too tough.

 

People out here don’t seem to understand that all of the work of Gandhi and King was “in your face” direct confrontation of an oppressive status quo.  The actions were peaceful, measured and disciplined, but they were also confrontational and combative.  It specifically was civil disobedience, in other words, they broke laws that they believed to be unjust.

 

I have a wonderful documentary, “The Women of Country Music” about the rise of women in the music business in America.  Few realize that it was these women who were the first to write their own songs and sell millions of them.  They changed the music business forever.

 

One of the earliest, Patsy Montana, the first woman to sell one million records (”I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart”, 1936) shares about how in her career, they tried to pay her less because she was the “girl singer.”  She said, “I stood my ground, I didn’t let them scare me, I stood my ground and I got the cut I was supposed to get.”

 

In the same documentary, Loretta Lynn states, “you have to toughen up to survive in this business.”  Given the brutalities of current life in America, that seems like good advice for all of us.  What the documentary makes clear is that the only way people get ahead is to feel comfortable fighting for what is important to them.

 

There seems to be an ethos in the region about confrontation, and the avoidance of it, that makes it very easy for bullies to rule the day.   I would also suggest (as winter and “the rain” approaches) that our region has some of the highest rates of clinical depression in the country.  We blame the weather on it, but I suspect the weather is only a co-factor.

 

I think a lot of people are depressed because they don’t feel much control over their lives, and human interactions seem to be one long mine field filled with injustice and pain and no acceptable way to protect ones self from assault with one’s own honest anger.

 

In my private practice, every client I’ve had who is a native of the region (and usually trying to get off of the anti-depressants they have been on for years) comes to the conclusion that he/she has never learned an acceptable way to express anger when someone is hurting them.

 

So how did we get here?  To this place where we are obsessed with being polite to people who push us around, where we think we are being noble martyrs because we won’t say “No” when we are being treated unfairly?

 

Family Therapy theory and practice acknowledges the importance of culture with regard to belief systems, particularly regarding human interaction and dealing with people in daily life.  The culture of the Pacific Northwest is legendarily “Conflict Avoidant”, people here will avoid any form of conflict or seemingly adversarial behaviors at all costs.

 

In the case of my associate, even her family did not object to the way she was being treated, and then went on to the event without her.  My friend at the dialysis clinic was polite in the directors office, agreeing with her, and only when he got in the safety of his car, did he break down and cry over the humiliation of the event.

 

Depression is “Anger turned inward”, so when someone treats us in a hurtful way, where does our anger go if we don’t express it in the moment when the hurt is inflicted?  We all have a large capacity to absorb pain and process it, but even the largest storage has limits.  When those limits are exceeded, something snaps.  It may be a nervous breakdown, or it may be the guy who goes home and shoots up his family and/or the neighborhood.

 

Those “Summit Health” ads on TV, “If your anti-depressant alone isn’t working” give me creeps.  How much more “Soma” do you need?

 

I have lived in three cultures before moving here.  After four years, I still love the place, and the people who live here.  But for the sake of the mental health and the social justice of the region, we need to learn ways to express our anger when we are mis-treated back at the person who is mis-treating us.  Bottling it up inside is a slow poison, that adds to the “grey” of our lives, makes us sick, depressed and unhappy.

 

In the same documentary, singer Lacy J. Dalton says of the early days of the feminist movement, “I didn’t like the militancy of it.  But as I’ve become older, I’ve really become very understanding of that.  Because unless we really make a fuss sometimes, nobody is gonna listen.”

 

If you’re unable to defend yourself, can’t stand up for your own personal dignity and justice, then why would anyone else fight on your behalf?

 

I told my associate that I hope she, her family and friends, go back to the venue this fall, all go in, and if they try to boot her out, make a big ruckus.

 

Oh, I told her to invite the press too.

 

“You have to make the injustice visible”  Mohandus Gandhi

 

Thanks,  Ed Garren

A friend sent this excellent article, published in The Guardian (a United Kingdom newspaper).

At the risk of incurring the wrath of many of my friends, I agree with the author.  We “liberals” have been too polite, too complicit and too compliant with the onslaught of “conservatives.”  In other words, we have been “lambs” while the wolves have been tearing the country to shreds, devouring the poor, gutting the treasury, and bankrupting the country.

 Is it any wonder that the use of anti-depressant drugs has doubled in the last ten years?

 One of the reasons that Barack Obama has gained so much respect is that when someone attacked him during his campaign, he came right back with an intelligent response.

He continues to engage those with whom he has differences, and while being politically expedient, he has not been politically impotent.

One of the main reasons we “progressives” have not fared well in the last decades is that we are afraid to take on issues, bullies, malcontents and liars.  Barney Frank and Barbara Boxer seem to be the only persons in congress with good old fashioned “balls” and “backbone.”  Maybe it’s because they are both Jewish and understand that when you’re dealing with bullies, you need to fight back, period.

Until we “progressives” are willing to fight back, hard, we will continue to lose ground, which we can no longer afford to do, both for the sake of the nation and the planet.

Here it is, please feel free to comment below.

*******************

To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go tohttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/aug/29/edward-kennedy-democrats-defeat

 Ted Kennedy: a lamb, not a lion

I admired and supported Ted Kennedy ? but he was the symbol of an era when liberals lost the battles that mattered

 Muhammad Cohen

Sunday August 30 2009

guardian.co.uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/aug/29/edward-kennedy-democrats-defeat

Ted Kennedy was the champion of the American left during the greatest surge to the right in US political history. Rather than the liberal lion of the Senate, fiercely defending his turf, he was a lamb who failed to halt, and even abetted, the country’s slide away from his principals and ideals. The very word “liberal” morphed from an adjective to an accusation while Ted Kennedy was the keeper of its flame.

I don’t make these charges as one of the legion of Kennedy-haters. Quite the contrary: I’m a proud, card-carrying liberal. My “To sail against the wind” poster, a campaign contribution keepsake from Kennedy’s one and only presidential run in 1980, showing the senator stoutly striding to the left, has graced my walls on three continents. I would have voted for Kennedy over any presidential candidate of the past 40 years, so count me as a true believer.

I don’t blame Kennedy for that 1980 run against Jimmy Carter, a sitting president of his own party. I don’t even blame Kennedy ? although many do ? for Carter’s subsequent defeat at the hands of Ronald Reagan. In 1979, Jimmy Carter threatened: “If Kennedy runs, I’ll whip his ass.” Kennedy let Carter whip his ass, and that’s unforgivable. Though friends and foes alike salute Kennedy’s legislative record, those bills are mere footnotes to the dominant US trend of the past 40 years, a huge ass-whipping for liberals. The Americans With Disabilities Act, No Children Left Behind and the Occupational Safety and Health Act don’t stack up to a single Clarence Thomas or Rush Limbaugh that Kennedy helped create. Kennedy was the leading light on the left during an era when liberals got whipped in every battle that mattered, a loser of historic proportion.

Kennedy didn’t just fail to stem the rightward tide, he helped power it. Through his own personal misconduct, from cheating at Harvard to Chappaquiddick to his binge with William Kennedy Smith of blue-dot rape trial fame, Kennedy exemplified the privileged irresponsibility that fueled the rightwing revolution.

The Kennedy name was said to be magical among liberals, but it became even more effective for conservatives. The mere mention of Ted Kennedy on any issue was enough to open rightwing wallets. For every dollar Kennedy raised for causes he supported, his name probably raised ten times more for causes he opposed. While portraying himself as a champion of the working class, Kennedy financed the movement that convinced millions of Joe the Plumbers to vote against their own interests.

Kennedy became a powerful symbol for his enemies of everything that was wrong with government, liberals, Democrats, and Washington, but failed to use his iconic position to inspire and move his allies. He was the one liberal politician of his time guaranteed a national audience whenever he spoke out. But Kennedy rarely chose to grasp that big stage to galvanize his side and move public opinion on key issues that defined the US over the past four decades.

Where was he on the George Bush the elder’s Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas, the rightwing extremist whose lifetime appointment to the court will have a far greater impact than Kennedy and his brothers combined? When Thomas’ 1991 confirmation hearings deteriorated into a circus with pubic hair on soda cans in the centre ring, where was Kennedy to tell the president and the country that it had to demand someone better? Actually, Kennedy was right there on the Senate Judiciary Committee, gagged by his own string of sexual peccadilloes.

When Thomas cast the vote that made the younger George Bush president, where was Kennedy to say it was wrong in a democracy for nine judges to order vote counting stopped? Where was Kennedy to express liberal outrage at this farce and to lead a movement to refuse to recognise Bush as president until the votes were counted? Why wasn’t he calling on fellow lawmakers to stand and turn their backs whenever they were confronted with this immorally-appointed president?

Well, Kennedy was too busy then crafting the flawed and under-funded No Children Left Behind Act that not only made public education less effective but gave the sham president legitimacy. After asserting Bush betrayed him, Kennedy went back to work again with that same administration on prescription drug coverage for seniors, only to see his support used to create a government handout for drug companies. Fool me twice….

Where was Kennedy’s call for liberals to take to the streets to protest the invasion of Iraq, as they had to end the war in Vietnam? Where was he on the erosion of civil liberties under George Bush? Where was he over the past 40 years on taking meaningful steps to end America’s dependence on imported oil and stop fouling the planet?

Most important, where was Kennedy on the decades-long slide starting with Reagan that transformed government’s mandate and public opinion about the very mission of America? Kennedy’s silence was deafening as Republicans and Democrats alike pandered to business and cut taxes on the wealthy, mocking his brother John’s clarion call in his inaugural speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

It’s deeply ironic that Kennedy dies in the midst of a national firestorm over healthcare reform, the cause that he hoped to make his crowning achievement. He leaves the issue mired in the lies and muddle that he didn’t challenge while it spread to poison the national debate. Senior citizens with their social security benefits and Medicare cards stand up at town hall meetings today demanding, “Keep government’s hands off my healthcare,” not only because of Fox News and rightwing radio, but because Ted Kennedy refused to use his mantle to refute the noise and nonsense on the right, leaving it instead of the likes of Al Franken.

Kennedy eschewed that national spotlight to become the consummate Capitol Hill insider. His accomplishments, while noteworthy and substantial, did nothing to counteract the nation’s lurch to the right. He chose to work in the comfortable, clubby confines of the Senate while his team desperately needed a public leader. Perhaps, given the times and trends (though with Watergate, Reagan and his hoodlums, 9/11 and Iraq, the Democrats certainly have had some cards to play), Kennedy drew a Mission: Impossible ? but unlike the fictional agents, Kennedy chose not to accept his mission.

Renowned as an orator, it’s fitting that Kennedy’s best known words have come in tragedy and defeat. There’s this beautiful tribute in his eulogy for Robert Kennedy: “As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: ‘Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say, why not?’”

After Carter whipped his ass, Kennedy told the 1980 Democratic national convention: “The work goes on, the cause endures, the dream will never die.” In his electrifying appearance at last year’s Democratic party convention in Denver, the stricken Kennedy, whose early support helped Barack Obama secure the presidential nomination, said, “The work begins anew, the hope rises anew, the dream lives on.”

Because of Kennedy’s own failures and flaws, despite nearly half a century in the Senate, so much of what he stood for remains nothing more than dreams.

An earlier version of this article appeared in Asia Times Online.