Daily Kos

it is with heavy heart ...

Thu May 17, 2007 at 06:22:55 AM PDT

i watch the inauguration of the new french president.   and, yes, i just changed the title because people may not understand why i am writing this.  please don't misunderstand.  the excitement and joy portrayed at the inauguration of sarkozy is not the reason for my sadness, indeed, the spectacle and pomp surrounding the new leader of france is, indeed, encouraging that one leader can follow another in a peaceful transition following a hard fought election cycle.

no, what makes me sad beyond any description, is the view of this new president riding in an open vehicle, proudly waving to those waiting to greet him on his new journey.

what breaks my heart is the recollection with angry satisfaction at seeing our own current "head" of state being pelted with snowballs during his mad dash to the safety of an enclosed ceremony - with angry americans being locked away from his narrow view of america.

our nation has fallen so far from the ideal of democracy that we are unable to participate in the simple joy of the process successfully working to place a newly elected representative of ALL of america into a new, hopeful term of office.

in france, sarkozy is greeted with firm acceptance and honest recognition of an election won - fairly, without manipulation, without fraud.

he has taken his place at the forefront of his nation's government and on the world stage with a legitimacy that our own "leader" lacks.

he is met with respect, unlike our own cowering representative that has so pathetically bungled every aspect of national and global policy that he is too terrified to even meet the unfiltered within our own nation.

watching the spontaneity of sarkozy walking among the people lining his inauguration parade, rushing to meet the crowds, he is decribed as having the image of "a man of power".  i am struck by his powerful strides toward his countrymen - and i am struck by the cowardice of our own "self-anointed ruler" and his race away from the members of our nation.

how far have we fallen?  how low has the moral of this nation sunk to allow our elected? representatives to avoid facing those who he is supposed to represent.

how long will we allow this to continue?  how long, before america reclaims the right shared by citizens to demand our leaders represent us, not their own desires.

i celebrate for the french people for keeping what we have lost, for fighting to maintain and protect that which is precious to all humankind... freedom.

i weep for america that we have allowed this freedom to slip away from us so easily.  

i pray that we will find the courage, strength and honor to reclaim that freedom - and, once again, regain the respect of all nations.

impeach.

now.

Tags: Nicolas Sarkozy, freedom, George W. Bush, impeachment, Iraq (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 26 comments

  •  how do we get our country back? (32+ / 0-)

    how do we get our respect back?

    how can we learn to respect ourselves again?

    i want to cry when i realize what we have lost in the last six years.

    my heart is breaking.

  •  On January 20, 2009... (11+ / 0-)

    ...there will be another inauguration.  And it will be a time for celebration.  It will likely mark the ascendancy of either the first woman or the first African-American to the Oval Office, and it will almost certainly mark the end of the GOP's eight-year reign of terror.  

    It is now the deepest, darkest part of the night, but morning approaches.

    "We must move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom." - Kodos

    by Jon Stafford on Thu May 17, 2007 at 06:17:40 AM PDT

    •  thank you for reminding me that (7+ / 0-)

      the sun does rise after darkness.

      for this, may i share what has kept me going... every day, it reminds me that all things come to an end, even this.

      •  Thanks for the link. It does help. (3+ / 0-)

        Recommended by:
        edrie, 4Freedom, possum

        I thought about security while I watched part of the parade.   I'm beginning to feel more optimistic with some of the people who are pushing back.

        They all said, Sit down. Sit down, you're Baracking the Vote. There have to be some guys and dolls around who recognize the song. me

        by maybeeso in michigan on Thu May 17, 2007 at 07:00:05 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  did the difference affect you (5+ / 0-)

          the same way it did me?  a profound sense of sadness and loss over the disconnect between this administration and the people of this country?

          watching sarkozy stand and wave with joy and excitement to a celebrating audience was far different than watching the hand-picked "invited" audience that "greeted" bush along that inaugural drive in 2005.

          it made me so sad. i remember clinton walking - watching other presidents stand in proud glory - and then there was bush - pelted with snowballs, greeted with signs calling for his ouster.

          how sad, how very sad.  for us, that is. the weariness shown by sen. byrd, his plaintiff "god help us..." as he sees the destruction of a nation he spent a lifetime serving...  how sad...

          •  It did. I had tears in my eyes when when I (1+ / 0-)

            Recommended by:
            edrie

            remembered the way we used to be.  

            Senator Byrd's speech also brought me close to crying.  No Senator should have actual cause to say things that he had to say.

            911 didn't change everything.  The hideous scum we have for a president and his sycophants and enablers have.

            God help us...

            They all said, Sit down. Sit down, you're Baracking the Vote. There have to be some guys and dolls around who recognize the song. me

            by maybeeso in michigan on Thu May 17, 2007 at 09:52:39 AM PDT

            [ Parent ]

            •  i can't imagine what it must be like (2+ / 0-)

              to have been a democrat in congress for many years and to see what has transpired while being unable to stop it.

              used to watch cspan when the thugs controlled the congress - and then tune into the media decrying the dems as ineffective, all the while they KNEW the dems could not get their voices heard... either in congress OR in the MSM.

              what a true tragedy - and now, honorable members like obey, pelosi and more have to suffer fools like tina richards and code pink and the naysayers who accuse them of not "fixing" everything in three and a half weeks!

              how very sad... for all of us who betray those who have tried to serve us.

  •  i'm going to sleep now... perhaps (6+ / 0-)

    when i awake, this will be but a dream... one that has lasted 6 years with horrifying images that may yet prove untrue.

    please let me awake from that long sleep to find my nation once again strong and proud...

    •  I would be very proud (3+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      edrie, possum, Alex of the Sea

      of our country if we were actually able to effectively remove this administration through impeachment and install a government worthy of our pride.  At this point, if we DON'T impeach we will respect ourselves and our country even less.  Our future generations depend on our succeeding in our attempt to set right what we all know deep down inside (and have known from the VERY BEGINNING) as being wrong.

  •  seems i'm not the only one feeling (6+ / 0-)

    the sense of loss this morning.

    sen. byrd is excoriating bush this morning.

    he is calling bush a "sad, uncompromising president" who "closed his ears" regarding the "terrible, awful mistake we made in iraq!"

    he is talking about how anti-americanism is now more robust now than in ANY period in our history and how the international community is sceptical of our postition because of iraq - how our constitution has been trampled because of iraq.

    thank you, senator byrd for pledging NOT to remain silent.

    we all need to raise our voices... first regarding iraq, THEN to remove this charleton from the honored place for leaders in this once great nation.

    byrd just said that (p)resident bush has lost all ALL credibility because of iraq.

    turn on cspan2 - what this speech.  listen to sen, byrd as he asks that god grants this congress to come together and answer the cries of the majority of people "who sent us here" to find a way to end this horrible, unspeakable UNSPEAKABLE ongoing calamity called iraq!

    "may god help us... i yield the floor...."

    and i, too, yield the floor.

  •  I'm personally pissed at the fact that we got (7+ / 0-)

    the wrong president. I voted for Royal and I'm willing to wait another five years to see her where she belongs. Hopefully Sarko will not have fucked things up a la Bushco and will refrain from invading Belgium or some other hapless country.

    I share your feeling though about how free of violations our current voting system is but I also remember how wonderful (when I lived in the USA during Clinton's inauguration & first term) it was to see a president walking through Washington streets shaking hundreds of hands. And he could make uplifting speeches without reading notes or mangling his sentences.

    We're all looking forward to Gore or Edwards or even la femme clinton in 09.

    •  I like the "La Femme Clinton" comment! (6+ / 0-)

      She's not on the top of my list, but it brought out a big grin anyway.

      +4

      Happy little moron, Lucky little man.
      I wish I was a moron, MY GOD, Perhaps I am!
      -Spike Milligan

      by polecat on Thu May 17, 2007 at 07:14:46 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  at LEAST, sarkozy was ELECTED, (4+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      justjoe, 4Freedom, possum, Alex of the Sea
      not SElected.

      sigh.

      i could have lived with bush "winning" if he had actually won the election - i would have hated it, but i could have accepted it.

      the fact that twice in america we had an election stolen - each time by the same operatives and same man says much about our country disinvolvement in politics.

      hopefully, the last six years will have served to put on notice the NEXT generation that politics DOES have something to do with them - it has everything to do with all of us.

      where do we start? my vote is with public education.

      last night on cnn, anderson cooper had this whizkid on - smart - knew tons of words in the dictionary - could spell them, too.  

      but when cooper asked him his favorite books, i almost died!  after some kid raising a wild animal, he glazed over and said "and i really like the kid's "left behind" books!"

      seems this kid is "home-schooled" - which is now becoming a catch phrase for "indoctrinated".

      we need to return to mandatory schooling until sixteen and cut the nonsense of homeschooling so that kids can be "protected" from the evils of (a non-christian) society.

      •  I used to make my kids read for two hours every (4+ / 0-)

        Recommended by:
        edrie, 4Freedom, MarketTrustee, possum

        day. I don't even have to ask them anymore (3 girls aged 6, 9 and 10) as they do it on their own bat, lapping it all up. Give kids decent books and they're away.

        •  boy do i agree with you on this! (2+ / 0-)

          Recommended by:
          Asinus Asinum Fricat, possum
          i grew up in a house where it was considered "normal" that the hall coat closet was stacked floor to ceiling with books!  and we had more bookcases than anything else (except perhaps, music - classical, pop, jazz, country and western, etc.)

          reading was the favorite passtime after bedtime (flashlight under covers in private space living the excitement of jules verne's mysterious island, etc.)

          books and knowledge go hand in hand.  open access to knowledge and ideas and great writers... the james thurber carnival, wind in the willows, archy and mehitabel, harry golden's for 2cents plain, shakespeare... books, books and MORE books!

          that is what gives a nation life - and experience and knowledge.

          good for you AND your kids - they are very lucky!

        •  i also share current events (3+ / 0-)

          Recommended by:
          edrie, Asinus Asinum Fricat, possum

          the white washed, PG-13 violence presented by newshour, dontcha know.

          Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

          by MarketTrustee on Thu May 17, 2007 at 07:48:09 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  your kids are lucky, too, to have (3+ / 0-)

            a parent involved in teaching about what is really important.

            i used to HATE the "political" shows on sunday morning as a kid, but they were always on in background - as was the evening news, the live drama presentations, etc.

            now, all the kids get, if left unattended, are violent "entertainment" shows non-stop.

            i know parents can't help having to work multiple jobs to keep a roof, but what ever happened to responsibility in broadcasting?  oh.  forgot.  corporations. profits.  duh! silly me!

  •  got an urgent email from hilary's (3+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    justjoe, 4Freedom, MarketTrustee, possum
    campaign manager today - they need me to help pick the "campaign" song.

    well, my choice isn't on the list.

    MY choice is THIS one... and the candidate who uses it gets my vote!

    EDWIN STARR lyrics - "War"

    www.OldieLyrics.com

    War, huh, yeah
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Uh-huh
    War, huh, yeah
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it again, y'all

    War, huh, good God
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    Ohhh, war, I despise
    Because it means destruction
    Of innocent lives

    War means tears
    To thousands of mothers eyes
    When their sons go to fight
    And lose their lives

    I said, war, huh
    Good God, y'all
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it again

    War, whoa, Lord
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    War, it ain't nothing
    But a heartbreaker
    War, friend only to the undertaker
    Ooooh, war
    It's an enemy to all mankind
    The point of war blows my mind
    War has caused unrest
    Within the younger generation
    Induction then destruction
    Who wants to die
    Aaaaah, war-huh
    Good God y'all
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it, say it, say it
    War, huh
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    War, huh, yeah
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Uh-huh
    War, huh, yeah
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it again y'all
    War, huh, good God
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
    War, it's got one friend
    That's the undertaker
    Ooooh, war, has shattered
    Many a young mans dreams
    Made him disabled, bitter and mean
    Life is much to short and precious
    To spend fighting wars these days
    War can't give life
    It can only take it away

    Ooooh, war, huh
    Good God y'all
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it again

    War, whoa, Lord
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
    War, friend only to the undertaker
    Peace, love and understanding
    Tell me, is there no place for them today
    They say we must fight to keep our freedom
    But Lord knows there's got to be a better way

    Ooooooh, war, huh
    Good God y'all
    What is it good for
    You tell me
    Say it, say it, say it, say it

    War, huh
    Good God y'all
    What is it good for
    Stand up and shout it
    Nothing
    EDWIN STARR lyrics - "War"

    www.OldieLyrics.com

    War, huh, yeah
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Uh-huh
    War, huh, yeah
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it again, y'all

    War, huh, good God
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    Ohhh, war, I despise
    Because it means destruction
    Of innocent lives

    War means tears
    To thousands of mothers eyes
    When their sons go to fight
    And lose their lives

    I said, war, huh
    Good God, y'all
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it again

    War, whoa, Lord
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    War, it ain't nothing
    But a heartbreaker
    War, friend only to the undertaker
    Ooooh, war
    It's an enemy to all mankind
    The point of war blows my mind
    War has caused unrest
    Within the younger generation
    Induction then destruction
    Who wants to die
    Aaaaah, war-huh
    Good God y'all
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it, say it, say it
    War, huh
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    War, huh, yeah
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Uh-huh
    War, huh, yeah
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it again y'all
    War, huh, good God
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
    War, it's got one friend
    That's the undertaker
    Ooooh, war, has shattered
    Many a young mans dreams
    Made him disabled, bitter and mean
    Life is much to short and precious
    To spend fighting wars these days
    War can't give life
    It can only take it away

    Ooooh, war, huh
    Good God y'all
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Say it again

    War, whoa, Lord
    What is it good for
    Absolutely nothing
    Listen to me

    War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
    War, friend only to the undertaker
    Peace, love and understanding
    Tell me, is there no place for them today
    They say we must fight to keep our freedom
    But Lord knows there's got to be a better way

    Ooooooh, war, huh
    Good God y'all
    What is it good for
    You tell me
    Say it, say it, say it, say it

    War, huh
    Good God y'all
    What is it good for
    Stand up and shout it
    Nothing

  •  Well said; thanks. (4+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    edrie, Gorette, 4Freedom, possum

    watching the spontaneity of sarkozy walking among the people lining his inauguration parade, rushing to meet the crowds, he is decribed as having the image of "a man of power".  i am struck by his powerful strides toward his countrymen - and i am struck by the cowardice of our own "self-anointed ruler" and his race away from the members of our nation.

    •  one of the things that sucks about being old... (0+ / 0-)

      is that we can remember how things USED to be...

      not just the recent past.

      i am so sad for young friends of mine who have known no difference that this abuse of government in their short adult awareness.  for the last 15 years, we have watched the process being corrupted and despoiled - but we have something in context to compare.  they don't.

      cloture is now invoked on the clinton mcconnell amendment to appropriations bill  - agriculture aid... voting for passage.  passed.

      yays and nays called by sen. byrd... oops, not a sufficient second - so the bill is amended is passed.  

      this is the bill on appropriations?  

      okay... what was that that just happened?

      seems that the appropriations bill just passed and is going to conference with the house.  hmmmm another veto on the horizon?

      i HATE it when i blink and something happens on the hill!

      will check and update if this isn't what happened.

  •  Yes. When I started reading I was remembering (2+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    edrie, possum

    John Kennedy whom I saw giving a speech in Cleveland and who looked so fresh, his hair reddish in the sun. There were no police, no barriers, and I was up close. It was a far cry from the fear this prez has encouraged.

    Well written diary! Thanks.

    Thank God the Democrats won control of the Senate... otherwise, think of how different everything would be. -G.Greenwald

    by Gorette on Thu May 17, 2007 at 08:09:39 AM PDT

  •  WE are the hope I see for this country. (3+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    edrie, possum, Alex of the Sea

    If WE the People can unite to the extent that we can overturn the wrongs the Right has brought on this country WE may be able to turn the tide in America.

    During and after WWII, Germans, who had titled themselves the Master Race, were viewed with suspicion and mistrust by many other countries. WE are the suspect people today.

    Americans are the new Germans, the new torturers, the new empire builders, the new globalists. Americans are waging belligerent warfare in Iraq and suppressing the population of a sovereign nation. We Americans have become international outcasts because of the actions of our government.

    It will take more than a national figurehead, no matter how ideal, to turn this tide. It will take more than our members of Congress. It will take as many of us as are willing to work for the change we want to see in our society to accomplish that change.

    There is enough discontent and outrage at present in America that there may be the collective will to bring about that change. That is where I find hope. On sites like this many of us are actively looking for truth and sharing our findings. Then we engage to spread the word to media and Congress.

    Our actions will help bring our society back to pre-Reagan times, when caring and compassion weren't touted as political slogans but were core social values. I hope to see us revert to the rule of law under our Constitution, rather than being governed by oppressive signing statements.

    My hope is that enough of us will find common ground to act in adequate concert to bring about the restoration of our Constitutional rights and remedies. That hope is being fed daily by the good investigative work being done in Congress, and the good analysis being done in some media and on these sites.

    McCain: Same as W, only older.

    by 4Freedom on Thu May 17, 2007 at 08:12:02 AM PDT

  •  Tags cleaned (0+ / 0-)

    names should include first names, and, for Bush, George W.   Also, Iraq is a proper noun, so capitalized

Permalink | 26 comments