I heard David Gergen repeat it again last night on CNN.  "Iraq and foreign policy are McCain's strength" or something like that. This and the myth that the Republicans' strength is national security are repeated over and over as accepted wisdom by the media or in the GOP campaign in the manner of the "Big Lie" technique perfected by certain totalitarian regimes trotted out routinely by the GOP anytime they want to demonize some tinhorn dictator or quasi-dictator.  How many U.S. citizens know that Iran's "I'm a dinner jacket" is far from being a dictator?  He's more like a cheerleader.

This is the crowd that ignored the serious threats of imminent attacks in the summer of 2001, opposed the 9-11 Commission, and misled us into a war in 2003.  How many Americans recall that there were UN inspectors in Iraq just before we invaded and that they were making progress?  The fact is that Bush was determined to start a war, regardless of the facts. McClellan's book and the record show that this was a war not only of choice but of Bush's vanity.  He wanted to be a "War President". And that is not good foreign policy or prudent national security.

It was 40 years ago yesterday that Robert F. Kennedy was tragically assassinated in the middle of his historic campaign.   I felt I could not let this anniversary go by without telling you how this man inspired me.  I invite those who are old enough to remember Bobby to join me in this tribute, and those who are not, to read and learn a little something about this incredible man and how he is so much like Barack Obama that it gives me goose bumps.  .  Also, you might want to check out Chris Matthews tribute to RFK on HARDBALL last night.  I know sometimes Chris can be a real idiot, but he does a good job at touching upon how we all felt on that tragic night.  So please join me after the jump /\, and for the older members of the crowd, please feel free to post your feelings about RFK in the comments as a tribute thread, so we can educate the young-ins.

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the spring of 1968. We heard the news of Martin Luther King's death on Brazilian radio. Our friends began to knock on our front door, also frightened.

I was nine years old, sitting next to my mother on the couch in our living room, watching our black and white television, as she wept.  Bobby Kennedy had been shot and she had woken me up because she knew that I'd be as devastated as she was.  My father, a meat-cutter, had left for work as usual at 5:00a.  

She probably heard it first on WBZ-AM radio out of Boston.  In those days, long before 24 hour news, there was not much TV programming before 6:00a, and we only got four stations anyway and one of them was UHF . . .

So my mom woke up her nine-year old - the youngest of five and already a political hound - and together we watched a sad bit of history and wondered how the world had gotten so uck-fupped.  We tried to make sense of why and who would feel the need to kill Bobby Kennedy, he who had seemed a ray of positivity in a dark time.  Who would want to kill someone who had stood up in a dark moment just a few months earlier and extemporaneously given eloquent voice to the collective wail of grief at the murder of Martin Luther King?

This diary is a companion to the diary I posted Wednesday evening prior to leaving for the ceremony described below.  I suggest reading that one first.  That diary provides background on the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, news clips, and some musings about the fact that the 40th anniversary of the assassination was, save for a few interviews, going official unnoticed in the city where it had occurred.

I was the organizer of the official ceremony commemorating the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, which took place for approximately 20 minutes, from 12:13 to 12:33 a.m., in Downtown Los Angeles at the former site of the Ambassador Hotel, where it took place.

This was the "official" ceremony only because, so far as I can tell, no other commemoration occurred.

The ceremony was attended by me, my wife, and briefly by three stylish young men and one official representative of the Los Angeles community.  Photos of the event may be found below.  

Looking at the amount of hope and inspiration espoused on this blog and looking at the hatred, bitterness and vitriol being spewed by Larry Johnson on his blog is like going into an alternate universe. I love you guys here at Dkos because you guys are optimistic, hopeful and like me dreamers. Believing that the world as it is is not the world that it has to be, we can work together and accomplish this and the only way to do it is by working together for it.

this diary was originally published january 10, 2005.  given that today marks the 40th anniversary of rfk being gunned down at point-blank range after winning the california democratic party primary, i thought the historical time frame also offers another perspective to the murder of rfk, namely by showing just how chaotic the world was at that time.  

in just 143 days, the entire world changed.  

at least, for most americans in 1968 it did.  

over the course of just 143 days, between january 16, 1968 and june 6, 1968 not only was the nation turned upside down, but it was then turned on its ear, inside-out, and then turned every which way it could be turned.

it begins on january 16th, when the YIPPIES are formed...  [snip]... 142 days later, bobby kennedy was declared dead after being gunned down on june 5th in los angeles.

there's more after the fold:

Forty years ago today, Senator Robert Kennedy was murdered right after giving his presidential primary victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. This was two months after Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down by the Hollywood-based James Earl Ray. The nation was in shock, and in the chaos, the murder of RFK was never closely looked at. Police Chief Daryl Gates took over the investigation and basically removed it from public view for the next twenty years.

Rather than getting into the rabbit hole of assassination research, this diary will examine the factual relationships between Peter Ueberroth and the various actors in the traumatic event.

I had gone to bed right as the state was called for RFK, it was late to be up for a 14 year old high school Freshman so I didn't see anything that had happened afterwards. It was a big night for me, I was so happy RFK had won and on the following morning of the 6th, a little personal victory for me was slated as well. I was going to be sworn in as class president for our upcoming Sophomore year. I had been on cloud 9 for a week since my own little landslide victory.

Just watched a pretty amazing documentary with some great commentary by the likes of Dick Gregory, Gloria Steinem, Gary Hart and McGovern himself. Narrated by Amy Goodman (also features an excellent interview with her.)

I encourage everyone to check this out: "One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern" by First Run Features.

He really picked up RFK's mantle and I would say perhaps even outdid him. I don't think people realize that his landslide loss to Nixon only came after some pretty sinister and ridiculous events. He was very close to surging to political victory during the summer of 72. He said the things that this nation needed to hear and I hope brother Obama knows this story! Tragic to see how right McGovern was and wrong everyone else was, particularly those who voted for Nixon. Hopefully our history will start to reflect this someday.......

For those who are still awake...at 12:15 AM, let's take a moment to reflect on the senator and his life and work. A life tragically cut short at age 42, let's work to fulfill the unfinished work on the horizon, and let's do it not just for Bobby, but for ourselves.

May he rest in peace, and may his dreams be fulfilled.

A terrible day 40 years ago today/tomorrow. I wish he and his brother Jack were here today to see this as their hopes for the future finally become fruition. And may his brother Teddy have a full and complete recovery so he can continue to serve his country.

May his dreams continue to live on...

Rest in Peace Bobby...1925-1968

... well it's my birthday, too - yeah!

Last night Senator Clinton did not concede. She appeared conceited. But was there (I hope) an altruistic reason behind her motives?

Today is the 89th birthday of Dorothy Rodham - Senator Clinton's mother. And, by a strange bit of coincidence, it is my 39th birthday (yes, really 39 - not 39 "again").

Could Senator Clinton's delay in concession be as a "gift" to her mother?

I was in a large office, full of light, outside the window on the east was the morning sun, the window to the west showed the sea, to the north was a bright full moon, sparkling stars, and a great night-view city-scape in the distance, with a spring-laden orchard in view to the south.

I could hear the sound of furious activity coming in from a hallway somewhere, leather soles drumming rapidly on marble floors, phones ringing like mad.  

In front of me there were three men seated at a conference table, sipping coffee, or water, occasionally making notes.

Young men and women were coming in and out of the room often, bringing papers and dashing back out again with memos or other tasks.

There's an old-fashion paper desk calendar there, and in the surreal way that only dreams seem to have, an assistant casually tears off a blood-stained page that reads "June 1968", leaving the crisp new one that reads "June 2008.

Slowly I begin to get the identity of the three men...

This truly is a night of nights. Something we have all dreamed but didn't think it could ever be.

First used by myself in a discussion on Digg.

A portmanteau of "hystrionic" and "troglodyte" combining both shrill hyperbole and boorish behavior. Exemplified in Hillary Clinton supporters attempting to get "their girl" the nomination or at least the VP position as they move from the Denial through Anger to the Bargaining phase in the Kubler-Ross model of the five stages of grief.

In what could be considered a controversial move, I decided to check sites that were not as pro-Obama-saturated as Daily Kos to see what the reaction was about Hillary's now-rightly-infamous gaffe.

Unsurprisingly, there were a number of comments on news blogs (e.g. The Huffington Post, The Stanger's SLOG), news sites (e.g. CNN), and other places (e.g. YouTube videos) that ranged from not understanding what the outrage was about to flat-out accusing Obama supports of this being another symptom of (what must be an awfully complex and potent form of) "The Kool-Aid".

Now, I know reason sometimes doesn't work so well against a lot of Hillary supporters, especially the die-hards - this isn't because they are unreasonable people by default; emotional turmoil is just an ill-suited environment for reason to survive and thrive - but I thought I'd give it a shot.

So let me if I can couch the reasons why people are so shocked and appalled at this. It is not just a symptom of the fabled Obama Kool-Aid. Trust me, if Obama had said this, it would have been just as obscene.

There are basic reasons why her actions are, at best, in poor taste. I'll try to abstract them away from the specific people involved.

A few days ago, I put a post on here calling for an end to the vitriol when it came to Hillary Clinton, believing that she should be given the benefit of the doubt.  I am now forced to retract that statement in light of her comments regarding RFK.  

I was wrong.  There I said it.

The following is the entry from my personal blog regarding Sen. Clinton's latest.  Go to http://shannonlstewart.blogspot.com for more.