So, you are not voting ?

To you, who told me of your plan to go for 2 weeks vacation this coming week end and who forgot to send an absentee ballot, I say shame on you!

To you, who have helped elect our president and feel that your vote was the most important one and won't go to the polls until the next Presidential Elections, I say shame on you!

To you, who have moved and did not take the time to register at your new locality, I say shame on you!

To you, you feel that your voice doesn't matter because after all what is one voice among thousands? I say shame on you!

And to you women, remember THIS
and do not make the fight of courageous women who gave you the right to vote, be in vain! VOTE!
And if you don't, shame on you! Don't ever complain as if you ever do it would be too late - much to late- you would have lost your right until next time!

The real cowards

I recently met a man who said he gave-up reading and/or watching the News "I rather enjoy my life" he said. I worked with anti-war activists who got burned-out, some moved to Canada other left the cities where they worked and lived and began a new life in small villages overseas. Not too long ago, I would have thought that those people were cowards. Today, I would like to have the courage to abandon my fight for Justice and Peace but it is in my veins and I cannot get rid of it. Since Obama's inauguration I have not marched, not written much but I am here wondering when would I see the end of the nighmare I thought would come - if not now, in a near future I would see- of waging military wars and unjust treatments of human beings here and in the world. Having the courage to abandon the fight is fighting for survival when you have nothing more to give. Being a true activist is not about making your name a name to remember but to give strength to those who join you, bringing hope that will survive in time for another generation. The sad reality is that we cannnot trust the people we put in power. They are the real cowards who do not have the courage and integrity to deliver their promises. Those are the real cowards.

Hypocrisy driven by Fear

During the Bush administration I have seen the same faces protesting in the suburbs of Philadelphia, in center city Philadelphia, Washington DC and NYC. It was not just the war on/in Iraq that took us to the streets but the warrantless surveillance of citizens, Guantanamo, torture of prisoners,water boarding, women rights to choose, gay rights -to name a few- Simply put, we spent 8 years protesting beginning with the shameful fiasco of the 2000 Election
We were good at pointing out lies and injustice and making our voices heard (well, at least we tried).
Today we Have the man we voted for and the whole world knows that he inherited Bush's mess. But today president Obama is a Noble Peace Prize winner and while some of us argue that we should not criticize him - as he does all he can and perhaps he knows things we don't know and that's why he is sending 30.000 more troops in Afghanistan - most of us agree that he does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. But here is where the hypocrisy surfaces: Among all of us only a minority has the courage to openly criticize our President for accepting this prize or better, for not openly criticize the Nobel Prize Committee and this pisses me off!

The bottom line is that the people with whom I have protested for justice for 8 years are adopting the Right Wing attitude that their man they put in the White House in 2000 and 2004 could not do anything wrong and since he was the President and the Commander in chief should no be criticized. They didn't. Republicans stick for each other, no matter what!
The argument today from the quiet Left is that we shouldn't give anything to the Sarah Palin's crowd. This argument does not make us better than those we criticized.
Sticking for each other - no matter what- is not the voice of justice. By continuing doing so, we are losing our collective voice I once believed was never to be called hypocrisy driven by fear.
We must stand for Justice, no matter who is in power.
Will you again SPEAK OUT?

Forever after

A few days ago a woman from my past approached me during the intermission of a concert I attended, just as I was thinking that I can be among hundreds sharing same interests in a town I lived for many years and yet not see a soul I knew. One person instantly brought back memories of places and events many of them I did not want to remember, yet without them I would not be where I am today.
I am grateful for being alive and for my experiences.
She told me of the unexpected death of an old friend's son, a young man in his '30 a couple of years ago on Thanksgiving day. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child and today for many people it is a sad day.
As President Obama will soon announce his decision to send more troops in Afghanistan
I share William River Pitt's "Unhappy Thanksgiving"
I don't mean to rain on your parade but my friends the reality of more casualties is there and we cannot, should not ignore this. On this Thanksgiving day listen to the wish that will always be in my heart. If only, we all could say NO to wars !
This would be one of the greatest experience we could happily share.

Racism is here to stay

After a while, lies become legends and no matter what, no matter how big is the question mark for some, people believe and lies stay. Most of those morons are not being brainwashed, they just repeat what they hear from their political party. Arguments/proofs? They have none, except for being racists. But don't hold your breath, you will never hear this from them, unless caught on tape. This video was recorded during our protesting Palin/McCain when they came to Media. "You were even born in America" said one of their supporters to me. This woman was right, I was not born in America but she had no reason to believe this, unless if any American who speaks with an accent is not an American born. In any case, does not matter if I am American citizen, does not matter if I have the right to vote and if I pay taxes. Morons and racists fall into the same basket. Bill Maher is right, if we do not stop the lies we are in deep shit. The hatred towards our President is real and I am convinced that if the color of his skin were the same as mine questioning his birth certificate would not exist. Shame on those who call themselves "Patriotic" while teaching hatred to their children! Those children will be our America of tomorrow. Racism is here to stay.

To this, I say never!

when I volunteered to work on Howard Dean's campaign and joined the hard core liberal-democrats of "PhillyForDean", I also joined many on a long bus drive to Iowa. This was January 2004. Today I am still a democrat but I am aware that some of us have left he party to become independents. After so many deceptions we went through, I do not blame them. But when one of them recently contacted me and told me that she could not openly speak about being a democrat because of her personal relationship with a die-hard conservative and suggested that I should embrace the differences for the sake of debates and/or possibly reconciliation, to this I say, never!
I find outrageously hypocrite for someone to pretend and/or hide beliefs in order to please someone else and I cannot comprehend anyone having a personal relationship with someone with such deep political differences. Sad to say, but too many people do not see the reality that politic touches their life from the morning they wake-up to the time they go to sleep, in their own life at home, from the toothpaste they use, the food they eat, the car they drive and the air they breathe ( to name a few.)
What is the name of a die-hard conservative who fights against the big corporations making money at the expense of the tax-payers, who opposes making riches richer and who supports the rights of every citizen to be treated equally and have access to health insurance (even if not affordable)?
I choose not to lose time in debating. Too busy fighting for what I morally believe is right.

Food, Inc. and me

Today I saw a documentary which made me ashamed to belong to the human race. the way we dare treating animals for our own consumption, manipulate food for profit without caring of the negative effects on future generations and abusing our planet. Ten years ago, I chose to become vegetarian not just because of the growth hormones ( rBGH or rBST)given to animals and which I did not want in my body, but I came to the intelligent conclusion that I did not need to eat meat to survive. Today more than ever I am outraged that our society believes that animals are here for us to kill and eat. But for those who believe that this is the case, I urge them to watch the documentary, they may change their mind.
As if fattening and killing animals were not enough, the food industry is killing us all, bit by bit by destroying vitamins in the food we eat. One has to look at a company such as Cargill which "threatens the environment in both the United States and abroad. It has spilled toxic waste into the San Francisco Bay, violated the Clean Air Act with harmful emissions, and deforested key habitats for endangered species in South America."
It is time to wake-up, don't you think? That is if you care.
In a few weeks I will get to work and enlarge my vegetable garden. I am grateful to have a garden to begin with and if you do not, I urge you to buy from your local farmers and support the farmer markets which accept food stamps ( a great suggestion that was given to the audience watching the film).
Organic food being - usually- more expensive, should be available to all!