Ted Kennedy

To me, it feels like the 60s have died. Senator Edward Kennedy is gone. For those of my generation what voice, what symbol of that turbulent and violent decade remains? Our world view was formed by the events that a younger generation thinks of as history. Ted Kennedy buried two brothers who struggled to lead their country in a time of chaos. He went on to take his place as a leader in his own right, as spokesman for fairness and rights for all oppressed people. For all of his personal failings and weaknesses, this man was truly a great American.

The election of President Obama signaled the transitions to a new generation of leadership and I believe that is a good thing. The death of Ted Kennedy is almost like the close of that transition. Yes, there are many of my generation still in leadership positions but only for a short while. New, younger leaders with fresh ideas not shaped by the 60s are already moving into place. And the sooner some of those older neo-cons step aside the better (yes, Mitch McConnell, your days should be numbered).

I can’t help but wonder who will fill the void of the man who is being buried today. Where will we find the voice to speak for the oppressed, who will have the kind of understanding of the best values of our country that Ted Kennedy consistently put forth to remind us all of the principals that are the foundation of this country?

It’s a beautiful summer day in Kentucky. But it is a sad day for the United States and all Americans, even those who don’t share my admiration for Senator Kennedy.

American Experience: We Shall Remain

PBS is airing the series We Shall Remain on American Experience.  This amazing but under publicized and under reviewed series tells the history of America since the arrival of Europeans from the perspective of Native American Indians. 

I have long had an interest in history, especially American history and consider myself to be fairly well read.  I am shocked to realize how little we have been taught about the real story that is American history.  History has always been written by the victors but over time a more balanced view of that history usually emerges.  So far that really hasn’t happened in the United States. 

We denounce those who deny the holocaust and demand that other countries meet our human rights standards but hide our own history of genocide.  We deliberately destroyed cultures older, more sophisticated and certainly more in harmony with nature than that which we were importing from Europe. 

The first four episodes have aired and the final episode will air on Monday, May 9^th.  The entire series will be available online at www.pbs.org.  This outstanding program should be required viewing for all high school history students.  I hope you will take the time to watch, learn and discuss with your family and friends. 

American Experience:  We Shall Remain

    After the Mayflower

Tecumseh’s Vision

The Trail of Tears

Geronimo

Wounded Knee

SS United States

SS United States

The SS United States is the fastest ocean liner ever built, and at 990 feet it is the largest liner built in the United States.  Built between 1949 and 1952 in Newport News, Virginia, the SS Unites States shattered world eastbound speed records for crossing the Atlantic on its maiden voyage.  On its first return voyage it also captured the world westbound speed record.  It was not only faster than any other passenger ship, it beat the record held for 14 years by the SS Queen Mary by 10 hours. 

Built in cooperation with the US Navy, the ship was the safest and most technologically advanced ship afloat when it was launched in 1952.  Its distinctive red, white and blue funnels came to represent the best of America in every port of call.  Carrying 2,000 passengers with a crew of 1,000 it provided luxurious accommodations and consistently met its schedule regardless of weather conditions.  Even in the fiercest North Atlantic storms the ship maintained speed and comfort for its passengers. 

The hull and propulsion system designs where top secret as the ship was intended for use in times of emergency by the US military as a troop transport ship capable of carrying up to 15,000 troops nonstop for as much as 10,000 miles.

This magnificent ship sailed the high seas from its launch in 1952 until it was abruptly pulled from service in November, 1969.  Today the ship can still be seen at a pier in Philadelphia, the only liner of its era not scrapped.  A series of owners with various plans to restore the ship have been unable to put together viable financing to make it a reality. 

The most recent, American based Norwegian Cruise Lines had planned to rebuild the interior to include modern cabins with private terraces so much in demand in today’s market and sail the ship along the east and west coasts of the United States and through the Panama Canal.  Those plans were dropped and the ship was once again put up for sale due to the poor economy. 

Fortunately the company announced that this historic national icon will not be sold for scrap and will not be sold to interests outside the United States. 

The documentary about this amazing vessel is currently being shown on PBS stations.  Check with your local station and be sure the watch this fascinating film, SS United States: Lady in Waiting. 

You can learn more about efforts to save this symbol of American design and engineering excellence at http://www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/SSUS/Home.html 

You can also explore more information about the ship at 

http://www.ss-united-states.com/i2.html  

Inauguration 2009

Tomorrow we will have a new President. It is incredible being in DC for this historic event. I arrived on Amtrak after 14 hours on a train that originated in Chicago. A train full of people as excited and as hopeful as I am. Everyone believes this man can change the world. Everyone wants him to be successful. The sense that our country can once again live up to its founders’ vision, that it can live up to the rest of the world’s expectations of us, is palpable. A new generation of leadership is about to move into the Oval Office and young people feel that anything is possible, that all the mistakes of past generations and of the previous administration can be corrected. The time is now!

But for me, the sense of hope, the desire to believe things can be different is tempered by a deeply suppressed feeling of dread. Fear, really.

I remember a very similar feeling of hopefulness around the 1960 election of John Kennedy. Perhaps the sense of possibility, the sense of hopefulness and the belief that it was possible to fundamentally change the world as we knew it was enhanced by being Catholic and attending a parochial school, but I remember the feeling very well. With the election of JFK anything seemed possible.

I had just turned 13 and was in the eighth grade when President Kennedy was assassinated. The sixties raged around me during high school and college. Vietnam, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the ultimate horror, the death of all hope with the assassination of Bobbie Kennedy. I think all of us who experienced the sixties during those formative years were damaged. I’m working really hard to overcome the disillusionment and cynicism that is a part of me.

I want to believe that a majority white country that can elect a black man as its President is a different country than the violent and hate filled one that I grew up in. I want to believe that the sixties are in our past and cannot be repeated. There should never be another generation of American youth exposed to the worst of human nature, to Americans attacking their own democracy, killing their fellow countrymen.

So my sense of hope is tempered by a knot in my stomach, that place that holds the memory of that decade deep inside and the effort to keep it there, to hold it in is almost painful. As much as I am looking forward to tomorrow, to hearing President Obama’s Inaugural address, to the ceremony, to the many balls and especially to the Out for Equality Ball that we will be attending, really, I think I just want it to be over. I want the swearing in to be official and the Obama’s safely in the White House.

I want to believe that we can be a country in touch with our better angels, that we are ready and able to pursue a course of fairness and peace. I know we can be, I guess. But I wonder if we will be? Hope lives but fear is not far away.

Thank You, George W. Bush

Thank you, George W. Bush. It’s hard to believe I can not only say it, but mean it. I may not forgive the lies, the war deaths, the loss of civil liberties and habeas corpus, the total bankruptcy of our country both fiscally and morally, but still I can say the words and mean them.

George W. Bush made Barack Obama possible. No one else could have done it. The horror and destruction of hope over the last eight years is directly responsible for the rebirth of our nation. The world celebrates with us today and looks to the United States with renewed hope and admiration.

Today we live in a new world and America can once again be proud to provide leadership in partnership with the nations of the world. We can hope that never again will the arrogant incompetence of the last eight years diminish our world standing, destabilize world peace and deplete our military to the breaking point in an attempt to create a new empire of world domination.

In the words of John F. Kennedy, “the torch is passed to a new generation.” My generation had its chance. I celebrate the possibilities a younger generation can see that my generation cannot even imagine.

Hope is still alive!

Ditch Mitch

Those of us who live in Kentucky frequently feel that our vote makes little difference in national races since we are locked in a Southern very red state.  But we vote in each election and hope to see incremental change.  (We once again have a Democratic Governor, thankfully.)

This year it is unlikely that Kentucky will go for Obama.  Still, Kentucky is a critical state this year if an Obama Presidency is to be successful.  For the first time in my memory, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is vulnerable.  The most recent Blue Grass Poll showed McConnell in a statistical dead heat with his opponent, Bruce Lundsford.

In the last congressional session Mitch McConnell led Senate Republicans in 104 filibusters!  And that is with a Republican President.  It is hard to overestimate how much of an obstructionist McConnell with be with at Democrat in the White House.  This race should be receiving national attention but is getting very little ink as far as I can see.  The most powerful Republican Senator can be defeated next week.

If you live in Kentucky, please be sure to vote.  If you live in another state and can spare a few bucks, please donate to the Lundsford campaign.  http://www.bruce2008.com/

Defeating Mitch McConnell is an essential part of any real change in Washington!

Homelessness on the Rise for Families with Children

USA Today reports on the shocking rise in the number of families who are homeless.  The article quotes Philip Mangano, Executive Director of the Washington based U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. (see article below) 

 

Philip Mangano created the term “chronically homeless” and is the key architect in directing severely limited Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) resources for homeless programs to those that will serve this population.  By his definition families with children are excluded from programs targeting the chronically homeless who, by his definition, are single without children.  His U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness also has consistently fought any effort by advocates to expand the Department of HUD’s definition of homelessness to be more consistent with other Federal agencies.

 

These policies can only exacerbate the serious problems facing homeless families and the organizations attempt to assist them.  Advocates who have compromised with the Interagency Council on Homelessness and supported these policies, however reluctantly, must now face the long term consequences of the politics of expediency.

 

Homeless numbers 'alarming'

 

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY

More families with children are becoming homeless as they face mounting economic pressures, including mortgage foreclosures, according to a USA TODAY survey of a dozen of the largest cities in the nation.

Local authorities say the number of families seeking help has risen in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle and Washington.

"Everywhere I go, I hear there is an increase" in the need for housing aid, especially for families, says Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which coordinates federal programs. He says the main causes are job losses and foreclosures.

Other factors have been higher food and fuel prices hitting families with "no cushion," says Nan Roman of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Many mayors have 10-year plans to end homelessness and had reported progress until this year. The most recent official count, in January 2007, found 671,888 people living on U.S. streets or in shelters, down 12% from January 2005.

"We saw family homelessness began to increase last winter," says Sally Erickson, Portland's homeless program manager. "There's definitely a spike in the last six months." The number of requests for emergency shelter doubled from fiscal year 2007 to fiscal 2008, which ended in June.

Darlene Newsom, who runs United Methodist Outreach Ministries' New Day Centers, which provide shelter programs for families in Phoenix, says the number of requests is "alarming." She says families who never sought help before are calling.

Los Angeles says it has no 2008 data. Miami reports no major change. Chicago has not had a surge in requests, but more come from renters evicted because of landlords' foreclosure, says Nancy Radner of the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness.

USA TODAY found:

• In New York City, 2,747 families applied for shelter in September 2008, up from 2,087 in September 2007.

• In Hennepin County, including Minneapolis, 880 families were in shelters from January through August 2008, up from 698 in that period last year. At least 10% this year came from foreclosed properties where most had been renters, says Cathy ten Broeke, county coordinator to end homelessness.

Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania professor of social policy, expects foreclosures to cause a "big increase" in homeless families.

Mangano says a new federal law gives communities $3.9 billion to buy foreclosed properties or provide services to the homeless.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-21-homeless_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip