2006 is ending awash in media funerals, with a break from time to time to remind us that Saddam Hussein was hanged for his crimes. I can't put my feelings about the execution any better than Paula Reed did in her post Dead Dictator Walking:
It seems to me that any time one or more of us takes the life of another, it doesn’t speak well for our species. It's certainly not that I think that killers should be allowed to kill and kill again. It just seems like the whole revenge=justice thing is what traps us in wars and feuds and all kinds of nasty mires. As natural as it may be to want the ultimate payment for wholesale slaughter, taking that payment does nothing to advance us as human beings.
The funerals have been oddly juxtaposed. The raucous celebration of the life of James Brown, all music and dancing and spirit-driven improvisation, utilizing three wardrobe changes for Brown, preceded and proceeded by the somber ceremony honoring the life of President Ford. Middle Son was sure he could have gotten into James Brown's service and mad at himself for not trying. He kept saying, "I should have gone to that!" Al Sharpton eulogized Brown, crediting him with laying the groundwork for much that has come since: rap, hip-hop, funk. Hammer danced and everybody sang as they said good-bye to the hardest working man in show business.
I've been quiet about Ford's passing all week, except in commenting on others' blogs (Adrastos and Parenthetical). I knew one of his sons pretty well in college. In fact, although it would take a very long telling to explain why, that young man, who so many years later would walk his mother gently up to his father's casket in the Capitol rotunda, years ago sang to me, solo, on bended knee with candle in hand, surrounded by his fraternity brothers. It needed doin' and the fellow who was supposed to do it, an aforementioned Sweetheart, really couldn't be there, so his Big Brother in the fraternity, visiting as an alumni, filled in. Somewhere there's a picture of it, but I wouldn't begin to know where. I think that evening in the spring of 1973 was the last time I saw Ford's son until seeing him on television during the services for his father. I'm sorry for their loss. He was a good man.
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I've seen a couple of excellent documentaries on television recently. Hacking Democracy chronicles the work of Bev Harris, in her effort to find out if everyone's votes get counted and make certain that they do. From the website (linked above):
In the 2000 presidential election, an electronic voting machine recorded minus 16,022 votes for Al Gore in Volusia County, Fla. While fraud was never proven, the faulty tally alerted computer scientists, politicians and everyday citizens to the very real possibility of computer hacking during elections.
In 2002, Seattle grandmother and writer Bev Harris asked officials in her county why they had acquired electronic touch screen systems for their elections. Unsatisfied with their explanation, she set out to learn about electronic voting machines on her own. In the course of her research, which unearthed hundreds of reported incidents of mishandled voting information, Harris stumbled across an "online library" of the Diebold Corporation, discovering a treasure trove of information about the inner-workings of the company's voting system.
Harris brought this proprietary "secret" information to computer security expert Dr. Avi Rubin of Johns Hopkins University, who determined that the software lacked the necessary security features to prevent tampering. Her subsequent investigation took her from the trash cans of Texas to the secretary of state of California and finally to Florida, where a "mini-election" to test the vulnerability of the memory cards used in electronic voting produced alarming results.
Her search for the truth took her to those officially recorded minus 16,022 votes in Volusia County, which, of course, couldn't happen. There should be no such thing as negative votes. Unfortunately, the investigation into the negative vote totals ended when the Supreme Court ruled that George Bush "won" the election, but Harris and her little army of patriots continued and you can learn all about their efforts this month on HBO. It was fascinating. We have less than two years to clean up this mess.
I also caught most of Blog Wars, Sundance Channel's examination of the way blogs were used to change the course of Joe Lieberman's 06 re-election bid, forcing him to run in the general election as an independent. Together these productions are a stark testimony to the power of citizen action in the digital age.
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Amidst all the death, pending death and honored lives this week, John Edwards announced his candidacy for the Presidency. He is the only candidate in the race at this time who is not holding an elected office, which made him the only candidate who could not raise campaign funds without formally announcing his candidacy. He chose to announce in New Orleans, which remains the starkest possible example of the current administration's failure to keep us secure, or rescue us should we be stranded when a federal flood protection system fails catastrophically, or help us rebuild should 80% of a great American city become devastated, or act consistently with the Christian principles they so vehemently espouse, or manage anything with competence.
Edwards' campaign website includes a blog portal with official campaign posts as well as links to posts by members of their blogroll. There is also an invitation to submit your blog for consideration. They're smart in embracing the growing network of citizen journalists, and it's comforting to have hope for reality-based leadership, grounded in the 21st century world as it is, including that which is virtual, the promise of a leader who is aware. Edwards would do well to read what's being written by the NOLA Bloggers because there are some smart, insightful people who have gathered to write, independently, but in a concerted effort to make sure we have the chance to know what's really happening in New Orleans since the flood that followed Katrina's landfall. He could start with How long, lord? by Mark Folse from the Wet Bank Guide (h/t Maitri) who defines the spirit of New Orleans' citizens when he closes his post with this:
If we want a city that resembles the one of memory and desire, perhaps it is best if we are left to ourselves to build it. Give me enough people like Shearer, like the New Orleans bloggers listed at right and I believe we can do it: ourselves alone; Sinn Fein, as Ashley says. Going it alone, without fair compensation from the government for the damage they caused, will be painful. Some will try and not make it, risk everything to return and rebuild or reopen, only to loose everything. If we must go it alone, this will certainly be a smaller city, and some will leave ruined and broken by the effort. Whether we are recalled as heroes or fools only history will tell, but I think know the measure of those who have chosen to come home and try. There is no finer place to be an American today than in their company.
I don't doubt that there's no finer place to be but I hope they are not themselves alone. I hope that what's happened in New Orleans, what's happening in New Orleans becomes the national security issue that it is, front and center in the campaign because, how we respond to this, our great national domestic crises, will determine the nature of our nation's soul to come. Are we going to live our lives, our faiths, as examples of loving action or just talk about it?
I've gone long again, and this didn't evolve into my usual newsy dispatches, which means there's news left to tell of a busy but very pleasant holiday week with The Oldest and Middle Son home for a much needed (by me) extended visit, over way too quickly. I wish all of my wonderful blog friends the happiest of New Years. May 2007 exceed all expectation. May we prosper and be well. May we love our labors, listen to our true voices and find peace.
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Welcome, 2007. I'm feelin' hopeful, optimistic. Peace, out, ya'll.
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