I've Lived a Lifetime Since 2009

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Tuesday February 22, 2011 · 6:58 PM PST

2011/02/22 · 18:58

Well, many of you won't recognize my name, but my user ID tells a story. A long story of fights, arguments, allegiances, betrayals, and nuances. It tells of a time when "liberal" meant something but not enough. I left during the Obama/Clinton wars because the sides were involved in a cannibalizing masturbation of the Other. (How does that work?) I'm a 2008 Obama inauguration attendee, but I've been through all the documented stages of grief for both my party and my nation since then. I've gone from being a prolific Kos participant to missing in action. I once had the distinction of having written an issue (controversial) diary (on the Catholic church) that had more comments than any other in Kos history at the time of its publication. My Kos claim to fame. Seems like a lifetime ago.

After Obama's election, I found myself increasing disillusioned--sullen and morose. Now, I find myself seeking voices from outside the U.S. because the vast majority of voices here seem to be caught in a bizarre echo chamber that even accommodates those who disagree. How is that possible? Rod Serling most certainly had a screenplay or short story in the vault somewhere that anticipated the bi-aural echo chamber. It exists nonetheless and it looks like this: the only lens through which Americans view the world is one that is focused by American television and news media, which means the rejection of all other and foreign news sources. It is a lens that insists that American exceptionalism exists even though every metric on the planet suggests otherwise.

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Oh, Dana.....

lightiris

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Thursday April 09, 2009 · 7:47 PM PDT

2009/04/09 · 19:47

This diatribe is currently a comment on Dana Houle's diary, but I've been encouraged to post it as a diary, so I will. Just because:

Well, I’m one of those people who couldn’t take the Obama hagiography that punctuated the primary cycle this year—and I’m a survivor of the Howard Dean/Wesley Clark stuff of what feels like a bazillion years ago. (Check user ID now.) I lived through the pie wars and the NARAL shit-storm and the Fraudsters, etc., ad nauseam. I will say, too, that I have little in common now with most of the people posting on this site. I’ll say this, though: I respect Dana immensely. His gut instincts will point you true north each time and he’s a doer not a poseur, and that counts for a lot.

lightiris

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Sunday February 12, 2006 · 3:27 PM PST

2006/02/12 · 15:27

Deval Patrick won two-thirds of the state caucuses this past week in a stunning upset of A.G. Tom Reilly's lock on the party machinery and delegate apparatus. John Walsh, Deval Patrick's campaign manager has done a spectacular job organizing the grassroots and putting the campaign in the hands of local organizers. As Michael Dukakis has said over and over, you can't win elections if you don't knock on every door, and the Patrick campaign has signed on to that philosophy with conviction.

Even the conservative Boston Herald politico Wayne Woodlief gives the odds to Patrick at the moment, with all things being equal: Read More

Target Stores and Emergency Contraception

lightiris

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Wednesday October 19, 2005 · 1:40 PM PDT

2005/10/19 · 13:40

I responded just the other day to a Planned Parenthood online petition that urged people to let Target know that we will not accept the notion that a pharmacist has the right to refuse a legally written prescription from a licensed physician based on the pharmacist's personal views.

Well, I received this email in response just now: Read More

Almost 800 Posts & A Thank You

lightiris

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Sunday April 03, 2005 · 8:50 AM PDT

2005/04/03 · 08:50

As my diary fades into the sunset, I wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to those who participated in the discussion in good faith. I'm not much of a diary person as this was my first diary in months, not days and not hours, so the sheer volume of comments seemed rather tsunami-like in its effect. That's not to say, however, that I didn't see rough seas coming. Read More

Appalling Hypocrisy: The Pope, The Catholic Church, and Decency

lightiris

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Saturday April 02, 2005 · 1:35 PM PST

2005/04/02 · 13:35

Hmmm....where to start. Let's start with the little old lady. Travel back in time to 2000.

Sr. Jeannette Normandin was a prison chaplain in a Massachusetts women's prison for years and dedicated her life to working in the community helping needy women make something of their lives. She also worked extensively with the AIDS community in trying to alleviate suffering through real works based on real solutions. She touched the lives of many. Jeannette Normandin made the mistake, one day, however, of sprinkling water during a baptism and was summarily fired--as well as evicted from the home she shared with members of her order. Read More

Women's "Issues" & Kos: Why the Silence?

lightiris

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Sunday December 19, 2004 · 2:52 PM PST

2004/12/19 · 14:52

I have just posted a comment on a diary considering the increased danger to which pregnant women are susceptible in light of one of the most horrific murders we've seen in ages. I was the 9th poster, 10th if you count my comment on the hair-growing silence of this community. Also, does it say something that the Size 6 thread, which arguably in its extremity invites discussion on the sexual attractiveness of women, gets so much attention?
Read More

Congressman Jim McGovern's (D-MA) Advice to Dems

lightiris

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Sunday December 12, 2004 · 7:15 PM PST

2004/12/12 · 19:15

I've just returned from a Meetup with our Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-3). Over pizza and some drinks, McGovern gave us his take on the future. For those of you who don't know, McGovern is one of the most progressive liberal Dems in the House. He voted both against the war and against the Patriot Act I. He has a 100% rating from the League of Conservation voters. He fully supports gay marriage, abortion rights, and social services for the needy. He is something of an icon in this district despite his rather young age, especially after having beaten back a formidable and well-financed Republican opponent in holy-roller gay-bashing Ron Crews 71-29%. Read More

Yushchenko's Agony and World Indifference

lightiris

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Saturday December 04, 2004 · 6:31 AM PST

2004/12/04 · 06:31

I'm scanning the front page of the New York Times and lo and behold, after days, weeks, months of reporting the political machinations grinding away in the Ukraine, they finally publish a prominent piece (generated by the International Herald Tribune) on the alleged poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko--complete with side-by-side photos.

The detail of the piece is much more informative than any I've seen and lays out in fairly clear fashion the symptomology, treatment, and diagnostic decision-making: Read More

This Terrorist Gets Some Good News

lightiris

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Friday November 12, 2004 · 1:46 PM PST

2004/11/12 · 13:46

Well, it appears that colossal nitwit Rod Paige is calling it quits (or has been asked to call it quits) as the Secretary of Education. Paige, the mastermind of the deceptive manipulation of dropout data in Houston schools, the self-loathing "educator" who wishes to eviscerate public education in this nation, the voice of measure and reason who called the National Education Assocation (hence its members) a terrorist organization is riding, one can only hope, back to wherever it is he wishes to call home to live out his life in benign obscurity. The man was dangerous, and his policies have caused problems that are orders of magnitude worse than the ones he was supposedly trying to solve. Read More

Nascent Fascism: Are We in Stage One?

lightiris

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Friday November 05, 2004 · 6:50 PM PST

2004/11/05 · 18:50

As we ponder the realities of the recent election and attempt to make sense of all the implications of the results, one can't help but wonder about the true goals and objectives of those who drive the Bush Administration's agenda. Candidly, I'm worried and have been struggling with trying to reconcile everything that has happened. I'd like to offer the following for consideration as I believe we've reached a point in our political evolution, both as a nation and as an international neighbor, that demands real clinical scrutiny. Read More

Bizarre Robocalls in Massachusetts

lightiris

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Sunday October 31, 2004 · 5:36 PM PST

2004/10/31 · 17:36

A friend of mine received a call from her cousin who is an unenrolled voter (that's what we call independents here). He is a single guy, no civic/church connections, etc., and has received no calls prior to this point He has received seven--count 'em--seven robocalls in the last 60 minutes. All of the calls have a voice with a Southern accent--big surprise. One told him that if he's Christian, it is his duty to vote for George Bush. Another call told him that despite what Democrats are telling people (!!??), our polls don't close at 6 PM. Our polls, of course, close at 8 PM. Very clever, eh? Read More

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