The worse thing for the Military . . . is Peace

Balanz

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Sunday August 15, 2010 · 7:47 AM PDT

2010/08/15 · 07:47

"The only thing wrong with peace is you can’t make no money from it."
- Gil Scott Heron "Work for Peace" Spirits, 1994

Nor can you maintain unlimited military financial support.

Balanz

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Thursday August 12, 2010 · 4:47 AM PDT

2010/08/12 · 04:47

Yes, I see things from a perspective of race in addition to garden variety material exploitation. I truly recognize that race is a social construct used to support class division in a "divide and conquer" strategy that has worked all too well. But I don’t apologize for talking about race because as a recent article by psychologist Elizabeth Page-Gould points out, racism is bad for the person with racists beliefs as well as the target. I would bet that extends those who hold all other "-isms" too.

Balanz

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Sunday July 25, 2010 · 1:29 PM PDT

2010/07/25 · 13:29

One thing that struck me about the speed that led to error with this recent Shirley Sherrod case is that I think it belies a belief in the racist judgment or stupidity of at least part of the Obama administration’s target audience. Certainly this administration doesn’t care to try to reach everyone. They aren’t advertising with Stormfront or the CCC. But it seems in this rush to get out ahead of this story by demanding Shirley Sherrod’s resignation without investigating or hearing her out, at least Sec. Vilsack and probably others at the WH believed they needed to do serious damage control without considering the source. Damage control for who and to what end?

Balanz

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Thursday February 18, 2010 · 8:35 AM PST

2010/02/18 · 08:35

"Investigators never followed up . . ." According to Justin Elliot’s reporting on the unfolding Amy Bishop tragedy, a girl with a gun, who had just shot her brother, didn’t warrant a full investigation back in 1986. Certainly that tragic shooting could have been an accident as reported but that is beside the point.

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Are you personally aware of an act of unwarranted privilege?

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Are you personally aware of an act of unwarranted privilege?

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We Aren’t Moderates, We’re Minorities!

Balanz

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Wednesday December 30, 2009 · 12:10 PM PST

2009/12/30 · 12:10

Perhaps it’s time to consider a shift in a common paradigm. We are in the minority. Yes, poll after poll shows majority support for a public option but how many people are out there doing something, anything to bring that about? Certainly not over 70 percent of the electorate is actively involved. Lots of people are in survival mode, and who can blame them? I would venture a guess that voting in a presidential election year is considered the high point of political activism for many Americans. We who spend our time reading, researching, discussing, and actively advocating for policies or candidates in support of health care as a right for all are in the minority and its time we act like it so we can win for everyone in the long run.

Balanz

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Wednesday December 23, 2009 · 8:32 AM PST

2009/12/23 · 08:32

Through it all, he rarely complained. It just wasn’t part of who he was to do so.

For the last 48 years of his life he had health insurance from the military and, following active duty, from a private plan that may be characterized as "Cadillac" today. Vignettes from his story have informed me that as we take this first step toward HCR (perhaps being generous in that feeling), the ones that follow need to come quickly and most of us need to take them in order to improve our collective health.

Balanz

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Monday December 21, 2009 · 4:43 AM PST

2009/12/21 · 04:43

After reading a number of diaries correctly decrying the compromise of women’s rights concerning their reproductive health in the current HCR legislation, I was struck by the arguments of those who want to continue and expand their choices over those of others. I cannot call this group "pro-life" as they would wish because many people in favor of another human being having the legal and financial ability to make choices about her health for herself also believe in policies that promote life as they define it. From a policy, non-religious perspective the limiters are against women having the legal and financial choice to bring a pregnancy to term or not, thus "anti-choice".

Balanz

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Saturday August 22, 2009 · 8:01 AM PDT

2009/08/22 · 08:01

America is probably not center-right politically, but our public discourse is. All of us left of center and President Obama are often caught up in asking the wrong question and answering the wrong charges. We are not negotiating with principled partners when we seek to find a middle ground; we are most often bargaining with opinionated and fact poor holders of ossified positions. In our opportunity for bold action, we are lost in pragmatic and moralistic arguments that have little impact on the other side.

Balanz

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Friday August 07, 2009 · 3:40 AM PDT

2009/08/07 · 03:40

Frank Schaeffer the self-proclaimed "Right Wing Turncoat" has once again provided insight into the current anti-Obama/anti-health care activities of the right. If he is right in his thesis written in an article released today that essentially some conservatives and parts of the universal health care opposition are committed to a "scorched earth" campaign, then perhaps it is time to rethink our strategy.

Balanz

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Tuesday August 04, 2009 · 3:31 AM PDT

2009/08/04 · 03:31

I was wrong. There I said it. I’ve played gotcha with a president, a Democratic party, and a system with which I have, and will have profound disagreements. But the bottom line is, real people, people I care about, are affected by their policies in issues of life and death. As I sit comfortably as an expat in my universal health care country, a relatively poor person with excellent insurance at an affordable price, I’ve learned something.

It is time for me to put away my thoughts about me on this site and think about them.

Balanz

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Saturday July 11, 2009 · 4:02 PM PDT

2009/07/11 · 16:02

Even though Pres. Obama prior to his first presidential trip to the African continent may have meant this as an expectation dampening statement, he went on to essentially deride countries in Africa for a long list of prosperity (and prospect of US aid) robbing ills including selfish elitism, corruption and poor governance.

OK, where was that sentiment when he was sending billions of dollars to Wall Street?

Balanz

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Tuesday December 30, 2008 · 3:57 AM PST

2008/12/30 · 03:57

Last night Rachel Maddow did something rare. She didn't ignore the potential lack of awareness of her audience and tried to educate. The problem was of course not what she said but where she chose to begin the history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict that made me very uncomfortable. So I wrote her the e-mail that follows:

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The worse thing for the Military . . . is Peace

Why talk about Race? It’s Good for You!-Updated

Just How Racist or Stupid does the Administration Think They Are?

This is what Privilege in Action Looks Like

We Aren’t Moderates, We’re Minorities!

The Need for HCR is Personal & Runs Deep

Can one be anti-choice and progressive at the same time?

The Myth of the Moderate Middle

Are We Bringing Hugs to a Street Fight?

I’ve Learned My Lesson--All Health Care All the Time

“I don’t know any more about Africa than my predecessors.”- Barack Obama

Letter to Rachel-Maddow's History of Israel