Take a moment between the baked beans and the astonishing hot dogs, the sparklers and backyard barbecues, the catching up with friends and family, sunshine, cool drinks, dog walks, cat naps, and rare free time.... to read the precious words enscripted this week - 232 years ago. You'll find pieces of General Clark, of our history, of our very present needs, and of yourselves in them. Pick a favorite passage and read it aloud at your get togethers over the holiday weekend.

Happy Independence Day Clarkies!

Pay it forward.

Each year at this time I re-read the Declaration of Indpendence to remind me how this great country came into being and the philosophies underlying our independence. It always also reminds me of just how radical this document is.

Yeah right

"The judiciary should not have a check on the legislative or executive branches. "

These are the words of Sen. Jeff Sessions this morning in an article regarding his opinion of the U.S Supreme Court decision last week regarding Guantanamo prisoners.

As the story goes, the Supremes decided 5-4 that the U.S. Government is violating the rights of terrorism suspects as Guantanamo Bay by not giving them a right to argue in Civil court.

Finley Peter Dunne's Mr. Dooley famously noted that "No matter whether the country follows the flag or not, the Supreme Court follows the election returns." Well, Mr. Dooley never lived long enough to witness the Florida 2000 election. Furthermore, the public hasn't spoken yet about the detention of the prisoners called "unlawful enemy combatants" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We may hear from them in the next presidential election, though.

First - and I apologize for the length - but i'm going to post the full article (with the author's permission) by Mark Simon, from last month's Animation World Magazine.

This absolutely frightening - and needs our active participation to resolve!---Kelly

Think Again: There They Go Again: The “Pro-Military” Conservatives

WARNING - This is a fairly long and convoluted account. It is not scholarly, and a lot of the statements can probably be explained, footnoted, or made more precise. The purpose is to give a sense of how complicated this situation has become and why understanding the historical origins of current situations is important. Without naming names, or making comparisons, it is an example of why knowledge and experience may be important in foreign policy. I would not know how to deal with these issues. Would you?

Recent Events

I just came back from a discussion on Iran and US Foreign Policy with Scott Ritter and former US Diplomat Edward Peck, hosted by Cleveland Peace Action at Trinity Cathedral in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio. After some brief introductory words, Scott Ritter gave a 20-minute presentation about the looming US military action against Iran.