Newark March for Peace, Equality, Jobs, and Justice

Some pictures from "The Peoples March for Peace, Equality, Jobs, and Justice" in Newark New Jersey. Over a thousand people from more then 150 organizations showed up for the march. I attended it with my friends John and Allie, and we went up with the "Princeton Peace Coalition," http://www.peacecoalition.org/. It was great to see so many people showing their support for our troops and calling for an end to violence both domestic and abroad. Some people say that protesting doesn't really do a lot, but I say something is better then nothing. Its a lot better then just sitting around and taking no action at all. The more protests - the more media coverage. The more media coverage - the more public pressure on elected officials to take action. The only three presidential candidates that have promised to bring the troops home are Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, and GOP underdog Ron Paul. Keep that in mind as we get closer to the all-out campaign season.

Me, John, and United States Congressman John Conyers (D-MI)

Princeton Peace Coalition

Allie and John marching down Broad Street

-tg

My Response to the Senator Craig Sex Scandal: Uhhh....What???

What in the world is going on with our elected officials? Another "family values" Republican gets himself into trouble with some sort of sex scandal. The situation involving Senator Larry Craig is probably the most ridiculous scandal I have heard of in a long time. Let me try to sum up what took place:

1. Sen. Craig enters a bathroom stall and sits down.

2. Sen. Craig then proceeds to begin tapping his foot next to the man in the neighboring stall.

3. Sen. Craig then reaches under the barrier separating his stall from the neighboring stall and begins to rub his hand under the stall barrier.

4. Sen. Craig then proceeds to move his foot under the neighboring stall making contact with the foot of the man next to him.

5. At this point the man in the neighboring stall pulls out his police badge and flashes it under the stall - still no words have been spoken.

6. Sen. Craig then responds by pulling out his Senate business card and proceeds to slid it under the stall saying "what do you think of this?" -

- At which point the officer then leaves the stall and puts Sen. Craig under arrest for lewd conduct. Did I fall into some sort of black hole here? I don't think I've ever heard of such a ridiculous bathroom exchange in my life. According to the police report this was a sting operation trying to catch people soliciting sex in public restrooms. Tapping your foot while in a stall is apparently some sort of male-bathroom-seduction ritual. Little did the officer know he was going to end up catching a United States Senator.

According to Sen. Craig this is all "a big misunderstanding" and the police report "misconstrues facts." So what is Sen. Craig's defense? He entered the stall to relieve himself. The tapping of the foot was just some sort of subconscious act. He happened to touch the foot of the man in the next door stall because he has a "wide stance" while in the bathroom. I have no clue how he justifies giving the officer his business card. Keep in mind he also plead guilty to the charges to try and make it go away as quick as possible.

I only have one thought regarding this situation: .....uhh.....what? This is the leadership of our country? Where do these people come from!? Is this really the way an elected official is supposed to behave? Sen. Craig has been defending accusations regarding his sexual preference since 1982. These actions are from the same man who is one of the biggest supporters of the anti-gay legislation "Defense of Marriage Act." The hypocrisy among these people is astounding. I wonder who the genius was who told Craig to use "I have a wide stance on the toilet" as his defense?

I just want to ask Sen. Craig one thing: what were you thinking? What could possibly be going through your mind while this took place???

I think we can describe Sen. Craig in one exchange that took place on "Meet the Press" in 1999 regarding President Clinton's sexual affair:



-tg

Gonzales...Gone!

Wow. I had no idea that my simple post last week on our beloved AG could have had such an impact. I really don't know what I enjoy more, Gonzales finally resigning or the opportunity to comment on Bush's press conference announcing the acceptance of his resignation. As I've said before, Gonzales is a very smart man. It really is a shame he did not resign immediately after this story broke. He probably would have been able to save his reputation. Unfortunately for him, his loyalty to Bush has cost him his career and, to a certain extent, his dignity. I say dignity because he had to present himself to the whole nation as an incompetent moron. And for what? All to protect the President? There is always a tipping point as to how much someone can take before they jump off the bandwagon. I guess he finally just decided to cut his losses and do what is best for the country.

Bush is another story altogether. He didn't even accept Gonzales' resignation the first time he sent it. I would usually say "I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the President's press conference" but at this point there were no surprises. It might not have been the best idea to honor Gonzales by using the Patriot Act as one of his accomplishments and then tell the country he made "enforcement of civil rights laws a top priority."

Bush went on to say that while in his capacity Gonzales "aggressively and successfully pursued public corruption." I find this ironic since the reason for his resignation surrounds a conspiracy of public corruption involving him. Guess he didn't recall how to "aggressively and successfully" pursue himself. Bush is so quick to bring up the supposed "unfair treatment" of Gonzales yet forgets to mention the unfair treatment of the eight United States attorneys who lost their positions for doing their jobs ethically.

Bush claims that Alberto's name was "dragged through the mud for political reasons." Maybe his name was dragged through the mud because he dishonored the justice department, or disrespected the constitution, or involved himself in a conspiracy of corruption, or committed perjury?

Sen. Arlen Specter, a republican I actually respect, has already told the media that he will not accept the AG position if it is offered to him. Who can blame him? No one in their right mind would want to get a position anywhere in the Bush administration. Who knows what’s going to happen to the justice department now. History will look back on Alberto Gonzales’ tenure and deem it a very dark and depressing time for the judicial branch........ok, maybe that’s a little much. Nonetheless, I am very happy to see him gone - it should have happened months ago.

-tg

Vick is Despicable

Michael Vick should get no plea deal. There are some acts that are illegal but not immoral, ie. smoking marijuana. There are some acts that are not illegal but are immoral, ie. United States Government's use of torture. And then there are some acts that are both illegal and immoral. One example of this is "animal cruelty." People who carry out acts in the third category should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Why is what Michael Vick did immoral? I really don't want to get into a philosophical dissertation here, but in a nutshell - a dog is a sentient enough creature to understand pain and pleasure - under the confines of a certain moral school (which I believe) actions that lead to the increase of unwanted pain are immoral - dog fighting leads to an increase of unwanted pain - therefore dogfighting is immoral. That really is a watered down version, but it is the general gist of the argument.

Now to the legal aspect of Vick's actions. During his confession it is important to note what he was really saying. He told the public what he did was "immature" and that he "needed to grow up." What he did wasn't immature! Making farting noises at the dinner table is immature. Torturing animals is not immature its immoral. This displays Vick's lack of understanding regarding the true nature of his actions.

I also do not believe that Vick is truly sorry for what he did. He never actually apologized for hurting and killing animals. He just apologized for embarrassing his head coach, teammates, and the NFL. There is a huge distinction between apologizing for an action and apologizing for offending people due to the action. This shows that Vick is not upset over the regret of what he did - he is merely upset because he got caught and will have to face consequences. If I was Judge Henry E. Hudson, I would throw him behind bars for five years. I would also send him to counseling. I would also take his $171 million worth of contracts and donate them to charity. And if I was the NFL, I would permanently ban him from the game - the same thing the MLB did to Pete Rose. He shouldn't ask for forgiveness for offending people, he should ask for forgiveness for committing an act of animal cruelty.

I know some of the pictures are hard to look at, but only when people see them can they truly understand the magnitude of Vick's actions. Micheal Vick is a despicable human being and I hope his life is ruined by this incident.

-tg

I Don't Recall Our Justice Department Ever Being This Bad

If you weren't keeping count Attorney General Liar said "I do not recall" 72 times in one hearing. There are only two possible explanations for the lunacy of this video. One: Alberto Gonzales is an incompetent nitwit with a severe case of amnesia, or Two: He's a perjurer. Either way he should be thrown out of his position. In my opinion its the latter case. Gonzales' credentials and past experience in his various capacities within the justice department could not be accomplished by someone as dumb as the video tells. I think Gonzales' is an intelligent man who knows exactly what he is doing. He knows what George Bush did was wrong, he knows what Karl Rove did was wrong, and he knows what Dick Cheney did was wrong (interfering with internal affairs of the Department of Justice for partisan reasons). Subsequently, him allowing the administration to influence his decisions also made his actions, as the AG, wrong as well. Some will argue that he is not a perjurer based on the fact that he didn't actually say anything of substance during the hearings, therefore avoiding any spoken slip-ups. Remember, however, that he is under oath, and responding to a question with "I do not recall" when he really DOES recall, is lying; making him a perjurer.

We all knew this was going to happen during the proceedings. His loyalty to the President outweighs the public embarrassment of looking like a complete nincompoop on national television. All this is very calculated and he knew exactly what he was doing. Gonzales' even started laughing a few times during the preceding. He wasn't laughing because he thinks its all a big joke - he understands how serious these hearings are - he was laughing because he knew how asinine his responses were to some of the questions. For example, one such exchange took place when Senator Chuck Schumer asked whether it was President Bush who sent Gonzales to John Ashcroft's bedside while in the hospital. Gonzales responded by saying "I was sent there on behalf of the President," thus refusing to answer the question. As Schumer continued to ask the same question (getting the same lack of an answer) Gonzales actually started to laugh while giving his response. He also started to chuckle to himself after he explained to Schumer that he misspoke in a press conference, then clarified his statement to a Washington Post reporter two days later, but did not know what his clarified statement was (this of course regarding his first "misspoken" statement). He knew how dopey he sounded.

I think the whole hearing can be summed up in one exchange between Senator Diane Feinstein and Gonzales:

Feinstein: Were any other attorneys asked to leave?

Gonzales: I am not aware sitting here today of any other US attorney who was asked to leave...uh...except though there were some instances of people who were asked to leave quite frankly because there was legitimate cause...

Feinstein: So you're saying that some were asked to leave because the cause was not legitimate?

Gonzales: I'm not..now, what I'm saying is wrong doing, misconduct..there may have been..in fact I'm sure there were others...

Feinstein: What kind of misconduct?

Gonzales: Well..(He pauses and looks up to the ceiling)..and I'm not suggesting any of this conduct happened..but for example, an inappropriate relationship, taking action when you have a direct conflict of interest to help out a buddy, you know, something like that I would say would constitute misconduct, and there...

Feinstein: Were those specific things involved in any US attorney that was terminated?

Gonzales: (After a long pause)...No

So then what kind of "misconduct" got the US attorneys fired? Last time I checked (and it was this morning) remaining apolitical, not showing loyalty to the President, and investigating scandals is not "misconduct," its called abiding by the law judicial officials are sworn to protect. I believe somewhere along the line Alberto and W. also took this oath. The saddest part is, there really is no action anyone can take. Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton were cited with "Contempt of Congress" for their refusal to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The catch is, the Attorney General is the one responsible with enforcing a Contempt of Congress. Something tells me that Gonzales won't be too quick in enforcing this citation since it would force Miers and Bolton to testify at HIS hearing. What happens when the person in charge of the laws, breaks them? I like the steps Senator Schumer is taking in citing Gonzales for perjury. We all know nothing will happen with it though. The bureaucratic hoops that elected officials have to jump through to force any accountability on the Bush administration is too much for even the most courageous representatives. All we can do is wait. We made it through 7 years, one more can't be that bad...Or so I hope.

-tg

Mercer County Prosecutors Office, Are you for real?

You’ve got to be kidding me. That was the only phrase that came to my mind when I heard about the charges against Rider University Dean of Students Dr. Anthony Campbell. He is being charged with fourth-degree hazing in result of the death by alcohol fraternity pledge Gary DeVercelly. This could not only lend him 18 months behind bars but even more importantly – it could ruin his reputation, and along with it his career. Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini once again showing the public how much of an incompetent fool he really is. Here is what I don’t get about the whole case:

How can university officials, who know nothing about these frat parties, be held accountable for the actions of other legal adults? (I say legal because I question whether college students can really be considered "adults") If the family of the victim wanted to sue the University for allowing Phi Kappa Tau to remain a sanctioned frat despite their hazing rituals, it would be a valid case. But how can an individual administrator possibly be made accountable for the actions of the students in the frat? Here is a list of people I hold responsible for the death of the victim before Dr. Campbell:

1. The frat brothers who instructed the victim to drink.
2. The other people at the party that watched the victim drink himself to death without taking any action.
3. Friends of the victim for not advising him against consuming that amount of alcohol.
4. The victims parents for not teaching him to drink responsibly.
5. The victim himself for putting himself in the position in that dangerous first place.
6. The police for not breaking up the party when there were underage drinkers.
7. The ambulance for not getting him to the hospital on time.
8. Construction workers repaving route 206 which made the ride more difficult for the ambulance driver
9. The Alcohol industry for glorifying drinking
10. And any people under the age of twenty one who showoff and boost about how much they can drink, thus putting societal pressures on freshman to follow the crowd and drink as much as possible.

I’m not actually saying I blame any of these people; merely I would blame all of them before I blame Dr. Campbell. That’s right, I would blame every frat boy who ever boosted about drinking with phrases like “I got so trashed last night,” or “Wow, did you see how much I drank?” before I blame the Rider Dean of Students. He did not know of the party, did not know of the drinking, did not authorize the hazing, nor did he ignore information pertaining to the party. He did nothing wrong, legally or morally. People are not omniscient and cannot be blamed for something they had no knowledge or control over.

The point is this: Dr. Campbell will win the case because it is groundless - but at what cost to his reputation? Many times merely making public accusations can be just as career ending and life ruining as actually being found guilty. This was a tragic incident and I feel much sympathy for the victim and his family and friends. I understand that authorities are looking for someone to blame but to scapegoat a man who has dedicated 17 years of his life to the students of Rider U. is despicable. Besides blaming Mercer County’s moron of a prosecutor, Joseph Bocchini, I also blame Judge Andrew Smithson. The case should be thrown out. There is no judicial precedent leading anyone to the belief that the county actually has a shot of winning this case. There is no legal evidence, nor is there any possible testimony that could be presented to help the prosecution. Honestly, I’m also upset as a taxpayer. This is a waste of my tax dollars.

This whole incident is tragic, and thanks to the irresponsible leadership of Bocchini and Judge Smithson there is now more then one victim.

-tg

Technology and Blogs

I do not like technology interfering where it does not belong. Don't get me wrong, technology is great and has done great things for people; especially in the medical field and expediency within information transfer. I use a computer as much as anyone else and I would be quite upset if all my music download forums disappeared. Using microsoft word is much easier then hand writing everything.

However, technology sometimes oversteps its boundary. Take for instance, cell phones. Now that people text message everything, there is no need for any real human interaction, nor communication which helps build healthy relationships with others. Its this lack of communication which divides us as a society. Most do not see a connection between people helping others on the street and cell phone use. I do. By communicating face to face there are levels of non-verbal communication that make sub-conscious impressions on those involved in the conversation. Though to a much lesser extent, there are also subliminal imprints made on peoples minds when they talk via telephone due to voice intonation, etc. Even writing a hand written letter to some one has a level of personalization that cannot be matched (this is of course due to the time, thought, and effort that goes into writing and mailing a letter to someone.)

"Texting" does not take any effort to send or receive. Therefore, it does not have the inter-personal connection which writing letters does. Nor does it involve any body language, therefore lacking the non-verbal aspect so important to good communication. Nor does it involve any speaking, therefore lacking in voice modulation and any real life emotion which is essential to truly interpreting correctly. Rather, what you are left with is a superficial SOS of "Omg, u r so rite" which lacks any depth within the scope of true human interaction. People that communicate like this on a daily basis fall into a trap of "non-personal communication." This type of correspondence leads to a lack of communication between members of a society as a whole. This is one of the reasons why people no longer know how to be friendly and helpful to strangers. It stems from a lack of real intimate human interaction.

For example, it is much easier to ignore starving children in Africa, then it is to ignore starving children living in ones own town. One of the reasons is the "reality" behind the poverty. Both can equally be imagined, but actually seeing it in someones own town adds an intimate human aspect to the problem. It is this real human level of connectedness that brings prospective to the people. This real perspective causes people to develop emotions for the children they see while others overseas do not get the same level of emotion.

Like the people who never experience poverty first hand, sending a text message does not allow for the human level of interaction to flourish. The people that actually speak to each other in conversation, or write letters, retain that real human connection which brings them closer to other humans in society. Communicating via "texting" does not give a real human feel to communication. The inherently superficial nature of texting keeps people isolated from each other, and subsequently isolated from the human species. This is the reason that so many people go about there daily lives lacking genuine friendliness and a sense of unity among other humans. Just walk around in a big city like New York, Philadelphia or Chicago, watch as everyone from big executives to high school teenagers walk past homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks as they text message their co-workers or friends. The people that stop to help have come to realize that we cannot live in isolation and cannot function as a society, or species, if we only send superficial messages to each other and never develop the skill of real intimate communication and contact.

What does this have to do with blogs? Well, blogs are a technology of the 21st century, much like cell phones. I am defending the claim that I am not hypocritical for using a blog. Blogs are not superficial. Blogs are more like writing letters then texting. Blogs are also not used as a conversation tool, merely as a tool in expressing an opinion for the outside world to digest. I will stick to my guns and remain a person who sends hand written letters, someone without a myspace, someone who does not actively use facebook, and someone who has never sent a text message.

I will, however, begin to communicate my ideas and opinions to the outside world through this blog, but at the same time I will always remember the famous words of Stephen Hawking: "all we need to do is make sure we keep talking."

-tg