Sad news today as reports surface of the apparent suicide of actor David Carradine. According to the Huffington Post:
The Web site of the Thai newspaper The Nation cited unidentified police sources as saying Carradine was found Thursday hanged in his luxury hotel room.
It said Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot a movie and had been staying at the hotel since Tuesday.
The newspaper said Carradine could not be contacted after he failed to appear for a meal with the rest of the film crew on Wednesday, and that his body was found by a hotel maid at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. The name of the movie was not immediately available.
It said a preliminary police investigation found that he had hanged himself with a cord used with the room’s curtains. It cited police as saying he had been dead at least 12 hours and there was no sign that he had been assaulted.
[Carradine's] personal manager, Chuck Binder, confirmed his death this morning, saying the actor had been in great spirits.
A news report in Bangkok said he was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide, but Binder said he believed Carradine died of natural causes.
In Karen Tumulty’s TIME MAGAZINE article, In Battleground Virginia, a Tale of Two Ground Games, she writes about visiting the GOP’s “Gainesville operation on Saturday morning, to get a first-hand glimpse of its ground game in Prince William County, Virginia, a fast-growing area about 30 miles from Washington, D.C.”
In her article, Tumulty describes her experience observing GOP Chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick as he “climbed atop a folding chair to give 30 campaign volunteers who were about to go canvassing door to door their talking points — for instance, the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden: “Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon,” he said. “That is scary.” It is also not exactly true — though that distorted reference to Obama’s controversial association with William Ayers, a former 60s radical, was enough to get the volunteers stoked. “And he won’t salute the flag,” one woman added, repeating another myth about Obama. She was quickly topped by a man who called out, “We don’t even know where Senator Obama was really born.” Actually, we do; it’s Hawaii.”
Now, let’s talk a bit about this whole Bill Ayers connection the GOP (particularly Sarah Palin) love to reiterate and distort beyond recognition. Bill Ayers earned a B.A. from the University of Michigan in American Studies in 1968. Ayers became interested in the student activist organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in 1965 when then SDS President asked the question, “How will you live your life so that it doesn’t make a mockery of your values?” Ayers commented that his feeling at the time was, “You could not be a moral person with the means to act, and stand still… To stand still was to choose indifference. Indifference was the opposite of moral.”
In 1965, Ayers joined a picket line protesting a Michigan pizzeria for refusing to seat African Americans. The first time Ayers was arrested was at a sit-in at a local draft board.
Ayers eventually became one of the leaders of SDS. The particular group of members Ayers headed in Detroit later became known as the Weathermen. In 1969, Ayers participated in planting a bomb at a statue dedicated to riot police casualties in the 1886 Haymarket Riot confrontation between labor supporters and the police. The intention was to destroy the statue, not kill or injure anyone. And no one was.
Ayers also participated in the Days of Rage riot in Chicago in October 1969. According to Ayers:
“The Days of Rage was an attempt to break from the norms of kind of acceptable theater of ‘here are the anti-war people: containable, marginal, predictable, and here’s the little path they’re going to march down, and here’s where they can make their little statement.’ We wanted to say, “No, what we’re going to do is whatever we had to do to stop the violence in Vietnam.”
In 1970, several associates of Ayers, including his then girlfriend, were killed in a nail bomb-making explosion in a townhouse in Greenwich Village. Shortly after the explosion, Ayers and other Weathermen members went “underground”. Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and The Pentagon in 1972. Again, no one was killed or injured.
By 1977, federal charges were dropped against Ayers due to Prosecutorial Misconduct. In 1980, Ayers and his girlfriend, Bernardine Dohrn (a former Weathermen member and mother of their two sons) turned themselves into authorities.
In 2001, Richard Elrod, a city lawyer injured in the Weathermen’s Chicago “Days of Rage,” received an apology from Ayers and Dohrn for their part in the violence. As Elrod remembers:
“[T]hey were remorseful. They said, ‘We’re sorry that things turned out this way.’”
In 2001, A New York Times article quoted Ayers as saying:
“I don’t regret setting bombs” and “I feel we didn’t do enough”, and, when asked if he would “do it all again” as saying “I don’t want to discount the possibility.”
In a Letter to the Editor published September 15, 2001, Ayers responded to the quotes with:
“This is not a question of being misunderstood or ‘taken out of context’, but of deliberate distortion.”
Ayers insisted then and still maintains that when he said he had “no regrets” and that “we didn’t do enough” he was referring to his efforts to stop the United States from waging the Vietnam War. The statements were not intended to imply the he wished they had set more bombs.
In the forward of Ayers’ memoir, he comments on his reflections about his time as part of the Weathermen:
[I am] embarrassed by the arrogance, the solipsism, the absolute certainty that we and we alone knew the way. The rigidity and the narcissism.
In a 2001 interview, Ayers pointed out:
“We weren’t terrorists. The reason we weren’t terrorists is because we did not commit random acts of terror against people. Terrorism was what was being practiced in the countryside of Vietnam by the United States.”
In a letter to the editor of the same paper, Ayers wrote:
“I condemn all forms of terrorism — individual, group and official”
In 2004, Ayers was asked again: ”How do you feel about what you did? Would you do it again under similar circumstances?” His reply:
“I’ve thought about this a lot. Being almost 60, it’s impossible to not have lots and lots of regrets about lots and lots of things, but the question of did we do something that was horrendous, awful? … I don’t think so. I think what we did was to respond to a situation that was unconscionable.”
He continued:
“The one thing I don’t regret is opposing the war in Vietnam with every ounce of my being…. When I say, ‘We didn’t do enough,’ a lot of people rush to think, ‘That must mean, “We didn’t bomb enough shit.”‘ But that’s not the point at all. It’s not a tactical statement, it’s an obvious political and ethical statement. In this context, ‘we’ means ‘everyone.’”
Where is Ayers today? What has he done with his life? According to Wikipedia:
Ayers is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education. His interests include teaching for social justice, urban educational reform, narrative and interpretive research, children in trouble with the law, and related issues.
He began his career in primary education while an undergraduate, teaching at the Children’s Community School (CCS), a project founded by a group of students and based on the Summerhill method of education. After leaving the underground, he earned an M.Ed from Bank Street College in Early Childhood Education (1984), an M.Ed from Teachers College, Columbia University in Early Childhood Education (1987) and an Ed.D from Teachers College, Columbia University in Curriculum and Instruction (1987).
He has edited and written many books and articles on education theory, policy and practice, and has appeared on many panels and symposia.
During the 90′s, Ayers worked with Chicago then Mayor Richard M. Daley in shaping the city’s school reform program,and was one of the co-authors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge grant proposal that won $49.2 million for public school reform. In 1997 Chicago awarded him its Citizen of the Year award for his work on the project.
Ayers has served on the board of directors for the Woods Fund of Chicago, an organization devoted to poverty relief and the promotion of social mobility.
Now… Barack Obama’s “association” with Ayers: Both men worked separately on education reform in Chicago. The two men met at a luncheon meeting about school reform when Obama was named to the Chicago Annenberg Challenge Project Board of Directors to oversee the distribution of grants in Chicago.
In 1995, Ayers hosted a “coffee” for Mr. Obama’s first run for office.
Sen. Obama also served as one of the board of directors of the above mentioned Woods Fund of Chicago between 2000 and 2002. The board met twelve times.
According to the Chicago Sun Times:
Ayers and Obama interacted occasionally in their roles with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a not-for-profit group charged with spending tens of millions of dollars it obtained through its affiliation with a school-improvement foundation created by late Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg. Obama chaired the Chicago Annenberg Challenge’s board of directors. Ayers served on the Chicago School Reform Collaborative, which made recommendations to the board on which organizations should get grants. The groups worked on school-reform efforts between 1995 and 2000.
In April 2001, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama’s re-election fund to the Illinois State Senate.
Mr. Obama has openly condemned the actions of the Weathermen. He was only 8 when Ayers was active in the group.
CNN’s review of project records found nothing to suggest anything inappropriate in the two men’s involvement together in non-profit projects. Reviews by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time magazine, The Chicago Sun-Times, The New Yorker and The New Republic came to the same conclusion. The New York Times said that “their reporting doesn’t support the idea that Obama and Ayers had a close relationship.”
Chicago political strategist Marilyn Katz had this to say about Ayers:
“What Bill Ayers and Bobby Rush [Black Panther-turned-U.S. Rep.] did 40 years ago has nothing to do with [the presidential campaign. Ayers] has a national reputation. He lectures at Harvard and Vassar. He writes the textbooks that are the standard for innovative approaches to reaching inner-city youth.”
You can decide for yourself what you think of Bill Ayers and whether or not you believe Mr. Obama’s “connection” to Ayers is “worrisome” and whether that connection makes Mr. Obama himself–as many McCain/Palin supporters have suggested–a terrorist. I, for one, know how I feel. And it’s not the same as Sarah Palin. Which brings me to another point…
Sarah Palin considers herself a good Christian. An extremely religious, church-going, creationist-believing Christian. Now I may have a vast misunderstanding of the Christian faith, but I was under the impression that a large part of that faith was about forgiveness. So where is Sarah Palin’s forgiveness of Bill Ayers actions almost 40 years ago? Has he not proven himself to be a valuable member of society? Has he not expressed regret at some of the actions he took that may have caused harm? Has he not given back to society, at least in part, that which he may have taken away? Where is, at the very least, the ability to understand and show compassion? I do not see it. What I see is someone pointing fingers, calling out “terrorist” and inciting others to do the same. What part of Christianity does Sarah Palin claim to practice and represent? And why not this part?
Let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?
Sarah Palin’s husband, Todd Palin, was an active member of the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP). This party is decribed on Wikipedia as:
A political party in the U.S. state of Alaska that advocates a state vote which includes several options, including increased state autonomy, territorial status, becoming a separate nation or commonwealth state, and, failing that, nationhood. It calls for increased Alaskan control of Alaskan land, gun rights, privatization, home schooling, and reduction of governmental intrusion in the private lives of its citizens with adherence to the founding documents of the United States. The party has appeared on the ballot in Alaska in all state elections since 1970.
But what else is it? According to Salon.com:
The AIP was born of the vision of “Old Joe” Vogler, a hard-bitten former gold miner who hated the government of the United States almost as much as he hated wolves and environmentalists. His resentment peaked during the early 1970s when the federal government began installing Alaska’s oil and gas pipeline. Fueled by raw rage — “The United States has made a colony of Alaska,” he told author John McPhee in 1977… During a gubernatorial debate in 1982, Vogler proposed using nuclear weapons to obliterate the glaciers blocking roadways to Juneau. “There’s gold under there!” he exclaimed.
Here’s where it gets interesting:
Vogler convinced Richard Nixon’s former interior secretary, Wally Hickel, to run for governor under his party’s banner. Hickel coasted to victory, outflanking a moderate Republican and a centrist Democrat. An archconservative Republican running under the AIP candidate, Jack Coghill, was elected lieutenant governor.
Hickel’s subsequent failure as governor to press for a vote on Alaskan independence rankled Old Joe. With sponsorship from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Vogler was scheduled to present his case for Alaskan secession before the United Nations General Assembly in the late spring of 1993. But before he could, Old Joe’s long, strange political career ended tragically that May when he was murdered by a fellow secessionist.
Hmmm… the Islamic Republic of Iran… Now I’m not saying good, bad, or otherwise. I’m just talking about connections here. Todd Palin, Sarah Palin’s husband, and the Alaskan Independence Party which talks of seceding from the Union, run by an America-hating extremist… Just saying. It could beg the question, How much do Sarah and Todd Palin really believe in the McCain/Palin slogan ‘Country First’? And what about their link to a “terrorist country” like Iran? You know, the country we’re talking about invading? My point here is, lines can be drawn connecting people to certain belief systems and certain people. And this connection is far greater and far more worrisome (or at least should be) in the Palins’ case than it is in the Ayers/Obama case.
One last thing, though records show that Sarah Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982, AIP Chairmen and members continue to suggest that Mrs. Palin was an AIP member herself. Regardless of membership or not, Mrs. Palin has spoken at AIP conventions as recently as this year quoting “Keep up the good work.” And her personal ties to the organization go even deeper than that as is pointed out in great detail by Salon.com and The Nation’s Max Blumenthal on the Rachel Maddow Show:
See how easy it is to start drawing connections between candidates and extremists?
Recently I wrote about Sydney Schanberg’s article in THE NATION suggesting that John McCain sponsored and pushed into federal law a set of prohibitions that keep the most revealing information about POWs left behind in Vietnam buried as classified documents. Last night, during the debate, John McCain made this comment:
“I know the veterans, I know them well, and I know that they know that I’ll take care of them, and I have been proud of their support and their recognition of my service to the veterans, and I love them, and I’ll take care of them, and they know that I’ll take care of them.”
Here’s a video put together by a group who call themselves “Vietnam Veteran’s Against McCain“. They discuss, in great detail, the circumstances behind the federal classification of these documents:
Add to this the organization “Veterans For Peace“, a large national organization made up of veterans of every war, from Korea to Vietnam and Iraq, who led a protest in the streets of St. Paul against the Republican National Convention.
A formation of 60 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans marched in uniform to Xcel Energy Center… to deliver a briefing on veterans’ issues to Senator McCain on the opening day of the Republican National Convention.
IVAW member Wes Davey led the march and attempted to deliver the briefing to Senator McCain’s staff. Despite numerous mailed, faxed, and in-person invitations to meet, McCain’s office refused to send anyone to receive the briefing. When Davey, a retired Army First Sergeant and former St. Paul police officer, attempted to deliver the briefing, he was escorted off the premises.
On the other hand:
Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) marched to the Pepsi Center in Denver on Wednesday, August 27 where they were met by Phil Carter, Senator Obama’s Senior Veterans’ Liaison. Carter is negotiating the terms of a meeting with IVAW representatives. IVAW has requested a meeting with Senator Obama himself and his Senior Foreign Policy Advisor.
“Iraq Veterans Against the War” also stated the following about McCain on its Website:
Senator McCain has consistently voted against veterans interests. In a recent report, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Senator McCain a “D” rating to Senator Obama’s “B+.” Disabled American Veterans reports that Senator McCain only voted for legislation that benefited veterans 20% of the time while Senator Obama supported veterans’ needs 80% of the time.
USMC veteran Adam Kokesh, also a member of IVAW, held up a two-sided sign at the RNC that read: “You Can’t Win An Occupation” and “McCain Votes Against Vets.” He ended up getting tossed out of the convention. Here’s the video:
And once again, Senator Barack Obama has openly supported the bipartisan effort to improve the G.I. Bill.
And finally, here is footage of John McCain belittling Delores Alfond, head of the National Alliance of POW/MIA whose brother went missing in action in Vietnam. His denigrating attitude here is eerily similar to his tone toward Senator Obama in moments from last Friday night’s debate:
I can’t say for sure if all the accusations against Mr. McCain are valid or not, but what I can say with some certainty, is that there are a large number of veterans out there who would disagree with Mr. McCain’s comment that “I know the veterans, I know them well, and I know that they know that I’ll take care of them.”
I’m not sure what to make of this. If true, it’s disturbing news indeed. Sydney Schanberg recently wrote an article for The Nation which very strongly suggests that John McCain is and has been highly involved in a coverup involving hundreds of American POWs who were knowingly left behind in Vietnam. For those not familiar with Schanberg’s writing, here is a brief biography:
Sydney H. Schanberg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, has for nearly 50 years been a reporter and columnist for the New York Times, Newsday and the Village Voice. He has reported extensively on the POW story.
Schanberg has written extensively on foreign affairs–particularly Asia–and on domestic issues such as ethics, racial problems, government secrecy, corporate excesses and the weaknesses of the national media.
Most of his journalism career has been spent on newspapers but his award-winning work has also appeared widely in other publications and media. The 1984 movie, THE KILLING FIELDS, which won several Academy Awards, was based on his book THE DEATH AND LIFE OF DITH PRAN – a memoir of his experiences covering the war in Cambodia for the New York Times and of his relationship with his Cambodian colleague, Dith Pran.
For his accounts of the fall of Cambodia to the Khmer Rouge in 1975, Schanberg was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting “at great risk.” He is also the recipient of many other awards – including two George Polk awards, two Overseas Press Club awards and the Sigma Delta Chi prize for distinguished journalism.
In the opening paragraph of his article, Schanberg states:
John McCain, who has risen to political prominence on his image as a Vietnam POW war hero, has, inexplicably, worked very hard to hide from the public stunning information about American prisoners in Vietnam who, unlike him, didn’t return home. Throughout his Senate career, McCain has quietly sponsored and pushed into federal law a set of prohibitions that keep the most revealing information about these men buried as classified documents. Thus the war hero people would logically imagine to be a determined crusader for the interests of POWs and their families became instead the strange champion of hiding the evidence and closing the books.
I would go on to detail the theories and facts, but could never do justice to the large body of information Schanberg has collected, and will therefore simply put up a link to the article itself. There are two versions of the article: A shorter one which appeared on September 17, 2008 which can be read HERE, and a longer, far more detailed version of the article which can be read HERE.
Sad news today as reports surface of the apparent suicide of actor David Carradine. According to the Huffington Post:
