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BEGINNER'S MIND: We need a new approach!

MotherearthIn every direction, it is clear we need a new approach in how we think and behave and interact with each other, our country, our world, and the planet. Some days I ache, don't you? The more you take-in and ponder, the more you see the mess we've created for ourselves by our biases, our inaction, our indifference, our busyness, our closed-minds to anything new and different.

When I watch the highest leaders in the land tearing down each other with violent tongues, lashing out, making fun, doing anything to divide and conquer to win vs. reaching for a new approach. I admit Hillary has been deeply disappointing to me. Not because I would love to see a woman in the White House some day, but because of her approach, her divisive rhetoric that violates all I thought she so whole-heartedly believed in at one time, has taken me by surprise. This is more of the same. More of what we don't need. Imagine what our children are taking in when they watch adult leaders have at it this way --- and we wonder why some are disrespectful, violent, and mean. They are watching us.

My hope is going with Obama. Not just the man and the message, but I'm hooked on gathering of people demonstrating their desire for change, to be part, to take back, to reach for more --- I am willing to work for it, are you? It seems to start here.

I learned one time that Shoshin in Japanese means "beginners mind."
It doesn't mean a closed mind.
But an empty and ready mind.
If one's mind is empty, it is always ready for anything.
It is open to new thinking, new questions, new points of view, new people.
In a beginners mind there are many possibilities.
In the expert's mind there are few.

May this be a day of renewal
A clearing out...an opening up
Each of us in our own right
Unique and different
Beginner's minds.
Hearts beating.
For a moment
All in One.

Hold that thought.

What will renewal mean to you today?
What will it mean to all of us in the months ahead?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO

Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

9781576754993lpodtwsmall_2New Book! Putting Our Differences to Work (June 2008)
Learn more: www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com
Berrett-Koehler - BK Business

May 10, 2008 in Books, Community, Current Affairs, Differences, Leadership, War and Peace | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP via "Sticks and Stones"

LkeyIt is not my intent to make any attempt to appear as a political pundit. :-) I am not. I imagine many would suggest, I keep my opinions to myself. However, I do occasionally feel a real calling to be brave enough to write about my own personal experience and observations, sometimes sharing a perspective I am still pondering myself. It is in some ways cathartic. Today, I am so moved.

This morning, I heard on the Sunday morning talk shows again that "Hillary Clinton was holding solidly to the mature white women's vote. Well, as much as I would love to witness a women winning a Presidential contest and moving into the White House --- and have dreamed, hoped, and worked toward women's advancement with this idea some day in mind, Hillary does not have my vote. My reasons have nothing to do with her being a woman. They do have a lot to do with her leadership example in this campaign. My disappointment has been drawn from watching her behavior and listening to her message.

I have never wanted to see a woman in the White House that used the same, tired, broken, mean-spirited methods that often put a candidate's integrity into question. Hillary had an opportunity of a lifetime to do something really unique and different --- she's worked hard for it --- with a measurable lead in the beginning. It has been sad to watch and listen to her squander the opportunity to win big as she chose to move in and out of employing the "victim" technique, the half-truth approach to make a point, the desperate injection of race in order to win --- violating the integrity of her espoused beliefs and work for years, and the full-out assault of "sticks and stones" disparagement against Barack Obama --- especially, when any minor mistake is seized with a gloating, self-righteous tone. These are not behaviors that are any more becoming to woman than they are in men.

What is also notable, if one has watched the campaign carefully, is that this kind of rhetoric was introduced by Hillary Clinton into the campaign and it has resulted in domino effect in distorting, diminishing, and detouring the significance of this election and the discussion of the real issues of the people for days and sometimes weeks at a time. I don't mean that Hillary carries the full responsibility, but her campaign struck the match for the firestorm that has followed. It has forced other candidates into pointless discussion of side issues. I do not believe these are the leadership qualities that I want in a president, man or woman. Such methods are unnecessary for accomplished individuals --- including an accomplished woman like Hillary.

I don't know about you, I would like to have a president I can respect; imperfect in their humanness, but big enough to admit it. I want a leader that is honest and direct above all --- one that carries a vision for a new direction and leadership example that will radiate across the world --- one that demonstrates the "content of their character" in this process.

Years ago, I sat in the 4th row, center, when Hillary spoke as First Lady in San Francisco at a woman's political event. She was captivating, optimistic, and stood there on her own merit. Excellence speaking for itself. When I watch this new cynical, sometimes nasty, finger-pointing person --- that avoids admission of mistakes as if it is a weakness, and chooses "the kitchen sink" instead of the authenticity of all she has been blessed to achieve and accomplish----- I ache at the contrast I see in what Hillary appears to have become in the process, needlessly.

When I hear the real pundits talk about this political battle like it has to be this way --- "fair game," it reminds me that if we accept this kind of "sticks and stones" strategy as the only way, we will be living by what I learned one time in a leadership class: Unless things change, they stay the same.

Can we afford more of the same?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO

Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

9781576754993lpodtwsmall_2New Book! Putting Our Differences to Work (June 2008)
Learn more: www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com

April 13, 2008 in Books, Current Affairs, Differences, Leadership, Women | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Dr. MARTIN LUTHER KING's Wisdom for TIME OF WAR

Youngmartin4_1IN COMMEMORATION of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Legacy
Young Martin
Original Oil Painting by Bay Area artist, Sally K. Green
www.sallykgreen.com, see leaders with a lasting impression


At this moment in our history, we have experienced a week where the realities of an escalating war are suddenly confronting our consciousness. Its truth is coming at us directly from governmental actions, in what appears an abuse of power, most likely covert plans and rumors of a deeper level of war, killing and destruction. It is as if Dr. Martin Luther King is speaking to us across time. He seems to be tapping us on the shoulder to remember for reasons that may be more important now than ever before in our lifetime.

Take in his wisdom...challenge yourself to step up to be part of creating that tipping point where all of us change our misdirected course, demanding that our country live up to its values. Peace doesn't come from war. War begets war. Hatred and violence multiplies hatred and violence. We must ask...
How can MORE KILLING hold the answers we seek?

CONSIDER DR. KING's WISDOM...

OUR ROLE IN PEACE
"When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice."

LESSONS FROM WAR
"...The only change came from America, as we increased our troops commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept, and without popular support. All the while, the people read our leaflets and received regular promises of peace and democracy and land reform.  Now they languish under our bombs and consider us...not the real enemy. They move sadly and apathetically as we herd them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They know that they must move or be destroyed by our bombs, and they go, primarily women and children and the aged. They watch as we poison their water, as we kill a million acres of their crops, and they wander into the hospitals with at least twenty casualties from American fire power to one ["enemy-inflicted"] injury. They wander into the towns and see thousands of children homeless, without clothes, running in packs on the streets like animals. They see the children selling their sisters to our soldiers, soliciting for their mothers."

ISN'T WINNING MORE ABOUT RULE OF LOVE not War?
"The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows. One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. How much longer must we play at deadly war games before we need the plaintive pleas of the unnumbered dead and maimed of past wars?''

"Our freedom was not won a century ago, it is not won today; but some small part of it is in our hands... If we assume that life is worth living and that man has a right to survival, then we must find an alternative to war. In a day when vehicles hurtle through outer space and guided ballistic missiles carve highways of death through the stratosphere, no nation can claim victory in war."

BOOK REFERENCES and ARCHIVAL VIDEO of Dr. King's Wisdom
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Words of Martin Luther King Jr. and The Trumpet of Conscience
Selected by Coretta Scott King

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Visit to Grace Cathedral in 1965
Story and video of his message

What difference will you make to move us to the rule of love?
How will history record our response?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO

Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

9781576754993lpodtwsmall_2New Book! Putting Our Differences to Work (June 2008)
Learn more: www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com

April 04, 2008 in Books, Business, Community, Current Affairs, Differences, Diversity, Innovation, Iraq War, Leadership, Religion, War and Peace, Workplace | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: Dr. Martin Luther King, Iraq, Jr., peace, war

ECONOMY: Examining Our Wants and Needs

SmallhandsYesterday on a newscast, I heard an economist suggest that the way to stop our economic troubles was for us to SPEND. My first question was who would benefit from this kind of spending? I admit I flashed back to few years ago when early indicators showed that we had economic troubles brewing, security in question, and an ill-conceived war raging out of control. President Bush invited us to "go shopping" as I recall. Since that time, much has happened in the world to demonstrate the lack of wisdom in such short-term fixes. The wake-up call was one I badly needed and I recognize that what I've seen has been just a tiny glimpse of the far-reaching reality of what we've created for ourselves and our human family across the world.

I've been reading in a book, The Lessons from St. Francis: How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life. It seems much of our lives are driven by wants. BIG wants, not needs. I think many of us don't even realize how our wants have turned into greed and self-interest unknowingly --- and that our choices are having negative impacts our future, the environment, and the lives and future of others whose lives are filled with needs unfulfilled.
Have you given this any thought?

Author, John Michael Talbot offers this simple formula to help us distinguish between our wants and needs:

  • Food is a need. But a medium-rare T-bone steak smothered in onions is a want.
  • Clothing is a need. But a designer suit with matching shoes is a want.
  • Housing is a need. But a split-level ranch house with a semiattached garage, walk-in closets, and three bathrooms is a want.

Not all wants are bad, he reminds us, but moving through life with a higher consciousness about them and their implications on others is where change begins.

"Live Simply so that others may simply live." ---Gandhi

St. Francis left us with his call to action. Bay Area artist, Sally K. Green, shares three of her original paintings in oil with St. Francis messages to us all:

  • Brother Sun
  • Saint Francis of Assisi
  • Saint Francis of Assisi 2 with Jane Goodall

I leave you pondering my needs vs. wants.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work:
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more... www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com

Blog... www.globaldialoguecenter.blogs.com/differences


9781576754993lpodtwsmall

March 14, 2008 in Books, Current Affairs, Religion, War and Peace | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: bay area artists, current affairs, economy, oil paintings, st. francis

Sometimes It Feels Good To Stand UP and Be Counted

Motherearth_2Last night as I watched the people of South Carolina stand up for a new kind of politics and a new kind of leadership, I felt something deep inside. The faces, the energy, the possibilities, the new thinking, and Barack Obama's inspiring message to us all brought a new level of HOPE for America and the world. I admit it, I sobbed --- mostly it felt like eight years of grief for the blood, loss, corruption, and human tragedy we have experienced watching what happens when a president sees war as his unilateral vision and drills it into the fabric of our country.

I also think part of it was the feeling of being duped by the Clintons. Over the years, I've had my struggles with their style of leadership. I am grateful for the good that came and I have been willing to forgive them for the disgrace and detour we were forced to endure during their reign because of Bill Clinton poor judgment. This past few weeks, I have been so disillusioned by their very deliberate attempt to diminish this young, powerful leader with vision that is igniting people all over the nation. One would expect so much more from two political elders, who have had they day and professed their beliefs in equality for all people. Bill's intentional "code words" were not unnoticed. As far as Hillary --- I can say, I look forward to seeing a woman in the White House someday, but I do not want a woman to win that brings the same shoddy, dirty tricks politics that men use as sport. I do not want a woman that lies or feels called to diminish anyone for her own political advantage. We can do better than this. Instead I envision a leader that will inspire the greatness in all of us --- by their own greatness in who they are and what they bring to leadership, not just in experience, but in character and practice day-to-day.

27assess_600obamabig

Caroline Kennedy's Op-Ed in the New York Times endorsing Barack Obama said so much about how it feels to me and others I talk to that have experienced what Barack and Michele are bringing to this year's presidential campaign. There has never been another time since John F. Kennedy that this country felt such possibility and responsibility because of a leader with a clear vision. I share it here as it shouldn't be missed:

Logoprinternyt

A President Like My Father
by Caroline Kennedy

January 27, 2008

OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.

Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.

Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.

I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.

Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.

I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

Caroline Kennedy is the author of “A Patriot’s Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love

It feels good to stand up and be counted.

How about you? What's you view?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO

Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

January 27, 2008 in Books, Current Affairs, Differences, Diversity, Leadership, Religion, Women | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: Leadership, Politics, Women in Leadership

US: In and Out of Darkness

HeartThere are so many things in our government and society that are broken. Bill Moyer's Journal (an always beautifully produced show) this week put our failings on display in such telling ways. The profile with Countdown's Keith Obermann was moving. Then there was the "Massing of the Media" which is going on despite the outcry of the people of the United States --- soon all we will hear are far-right political talking points for news (we are not far off now on many days). It also focused in on how the Obama and Oprah factors were playing in a discussion with Dr. Ronald Walters on Race in the Race. Here we discover that African Americans seem timid and unknowing, just like the rest of us, about the power we hold in our hands if we stood up and took it.

What is deeply sad is most of us don't even care. Many us don't even know. This is what those in power count count on. We're so lost in our own miseries and the hype of celebrities and Dancing with the Stars to numb ourselves that we don't even see what's happening, what's eroding in front of our eyes. The greed for "power and money" seems to be winning on many fronts, but perhaps the "courageous and good" will triumph as it has before. This is my holiday wish.

My wish is that we could find our way out of darkness. I read a story  in an very old book about President Henry M. Wriston of Brown University: "... He might as well have been describing the convention which was called to frame the Constitution of the United States when he characterized the United Nations as 'a squalling, brawling brat of an infant with only about fifty-fifty change of survival. The only thing strong about it is its lungs.' For weeks the United States constitutional convention accomplished exactly nothing. Day after day the air was filled with bitter criticisms and accusations. Finally Benjamin Franklin stood up and addressed the chair which was occupied by George Washington and said:

We have been here, Mr. Speaker, for many weeks trying to act upon this important subject and have accomplished nothing. Only dark clouds of difficulty and embarrassment seem to be gathering before us. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, it is high time to call in the direction of a wisdom above our own. Because we have not, may be the reason why we have been so long in the dark. I therefore move, Mr. Speaker, that it be made a rule to open the business of this house every morning with prayer.

History records that moment as the beginning of the framing of the Constitution of the United States.

I think it is clear that we need courageous leaders to step up to with a new vision and the foresight to help us stop the madness of the seven years of war, greed, corruption, injustice and the ravaging of "we the people". We need an awakening of historic proportions that happens in each of us. Collectively --- in numbers, we have the power of our vote and our presence. It begins within each of us being willing to look at ourselves --- a solemn, serious, necessary, and sometimes frightening responsibility --- to recognize how our inattention and sense of helplessness is why we are in darkness; our awareness and action is how we get out.

What do you think?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com
http://www.debbekennedy.com

December 15, 2007 in Books, Current Affairs, Innovation, Leadership, War and Peace | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: current affairs, keith oberman, news, politics

Belief and Action Change the World

Spiral2A few years ago, quite by chance, I happened upon a best-selling book written in 1947 by Claude Bristol called The Magic of Believing. In it he speaks of the power of belief---the kind of belief that can change a mindset, a community and the world. One analogy he uses demonstrates the connection between planting seeds and the power behind the action that follows:

"Once the soil is prepared and the tiny seeds are placed in it, it is but a short time when they put forth roots, and sprouts begin to appear. The moment they start upward through the soil in search of light, sunshine and moisture, obstacles mean nothing to them. They push aside small stones or bits of wood, and if they can't do it, they'll extend themselves and grow around them. They are determined to emerge from the ground."

We have planted the seeds of change throughout the world. Even with the most miserable things happening around the world, you can almost feel the seeds of change as they move upward, upward. The sprouts have made their way through the most rocky soil and there is a ways to go---and we can see them reaching up and bearing fruit in some places. Now, it is up to us to keep the momentum alive by cultivating all the good things we envision for this world of ours. Attending to its needs. Giving it the sunshine and water of our mindshare and actions. We are the force that give this world life.

"There is no better companion on this way than what you do.
Your actions will be your best friend."


---Jalau'ddin Rumi

Mystic Persian Poet
Hold this thought!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com
http://www.debbekennedy.com

December 13, 2007 in Books, Community, Current Affairs, Differences, High Performance, Leadership, War and Peace | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

WAR & PEACE: Taking a Second Look at Ourselves

KeyholeI've been short on perspectives lately. Oh, I don't mean I'm short on opinions. We all have plenty of those, but watching the war, destruction, senseless killing, and rumors of more has left me numb. Listening to news that you know is propaganda, half-truths, outright lies, or never told at all leaves me feeling we've all been duped for longer than we know. Perhaps, things have been this way all along, but I've chosen or been influenced to see the good that is there; to dream a bigger dream. I also realize that perhaps this is what life is for --- a laboratory of living and experiencing that leads to being confronted with your own values in the face of injustice and other sorrows.

What has become so real to me since the beginning of the IRAQ War, and other misjudgments, injustices, long-term failed leadership, and broken systems that have been revealed since, is that we as a nation, and has people, need to take a second look at ourselves and what we've allowed ourselves to become.

As I've written before, for reasons I cannot explain, I have always been drawn to old books. The books I like are not necessarily classics, but instead ones that someone wrote from the heart about life and lessons learned in their time. There is something comforting about discovering that people before us struggled too. They lived and experienced, leaving us with their wisdom.

In a book written nearly 60 years ago, Take a Second Look at Yourself by John Homer Miller, he shares a poem about three monkeys talking about us humans:

Three monkeys sat
In a coconut tree,
Discussing things as
They're said to be

Said one to the others,
"Now listen you two;
There's a certain rumor
That can't be true,

That man descends
From our noble race.
The very idea!
It's a dire disgrace.

No monkey ever
Deserted his wife,
Starved her baby,
And ruined her life.

And you've never known
A mother monk
To leave her babies
With others to bunk.

And another thing
You'll never see,
A monk build a fence
Around a coconut tree

And let the cocoanuts
Go to waste,
Forbidding all the other
Monks a taste.

Here's another thing
A monk won't do---
Go out at night
And get in a stew.

Or use a gun
Or club or knife
To take some other
Monkey's life.

Yes, man descends---
The ornery cuss---
But Brother, he didn't
Descend from us."

--Author Unknown

What do you see in taking a second look at yourself and our nation?
I welcome your insights.

Debbe Kennedy
Founder of the Global Dialogue Center

Come visit us ... www.globaldialoguecenter.com

November 04, 2007 in Books, Community, Current Affairs, Differences, Iraq War, Leadership, Terrorism, War and Peace | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: injustice, iraq, peace, poems, reflection, self-development, war

IRAQ, BUSH and LINCOLN: Lies, Truth and Leadership

IraqWhat is in the consciousness of a man that can come on the world stage and speak for 17 minutes in lies, half-truths and language designed to hoodwink anyone listening. It was disheartening to listen to President BUSH's address to the American people about the IRAQ WAR. He has never been truthful, but like a "father" in a dysfunctional family, the co-dependent daughter keeps thinking, "This time, perhaps he'll change." Not a sign of it last night.

Aren't you tired of living with the vision of a self-proclaimed "war president" and all its negative implications and fear generating political tactics at others' expense?

I listened to the General David Petraeus' testimony this week on C-SPAN and it was not what one would have expect from the commanding officer in Iraq --- a clear report with RESULTS against PLAN with a clear strategy forward and defined NEXT STEPS. He is obviously been politically abused as a shield for BUSH's sham. The pain on his face showed. His honesty when called upon to give it helped one see he was doing as ordered. However, what we heard from BUSH took the IRAQ WAR propaganda coming out of the White House to new levels of sham and shame. It was clear that BUSH's speech writer cherry-picked half sentences and words taken out of context to create a deceptive picture of the TRUTH in IRAQ and its implications.

A New York Times Editorial, No Exit, No Strategy, described it well:

"This was the week in which Americans hoped they would get straight talk and clear thinking on Iraq. What they got was two exhausting days of Congressional testimony by the American military commander, hours of news conferences and interviews, clouds of cut-to-order statistics and a speech from the Oval Office — and none of it either straight or clear.

The White House insisted that President Bush had consulted intensively with his generals and adapted to changing circumstances. But no amount of smoke could obscure the truth: Mr. Bush has no strategy to end his disastrous war and no strategy for containing the chaos he unleashed.

Last night’s speech could have been given any day in the last four years — and was delivered a half-dozen times already. Despite Mr. Bush’s claim that he was offering a way for all Americans to “come together” on Iraq, he offered the same divisive policies — repackaged this time with the Orwellian slogan “return on success.”

The sad part is that as Chris Matthews said last night, the goal of the speech was to hoodwink at least of 1/3 of the American public with his speech to keep this his war going, because it paralyzes the Congress to move beyond his VETO power. How did we ever allow our country to be run by such incompetence and corrupt lust for power as we continue to witness? Last night as I listened, it seems Mr. Bush has lost it --- no one in a right mind could without conscious get up on the world stage and deliver that speech full of lies. It was almost embarrassing to listen, imagining the world was listening. Chris Matthews summed it up nicely saying something close to this (forgive me Chris for not quoting directly): Our soldiers are not fighting for the Iraqis; they are not fighting to protect the American people; they are fighting to sustain BUSH's failed policy.

CASUALTIES THE HEAVIER BURDEN ON OUR NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS
The heavier burden we all share is that allowing this war to continue under false pretenses rests on our collective conscience. How can anyone support BUSH's failure policy. While the "The Surge" was going on and Mr. BUSH was on vacation, along with the IRAQ political leaders and NO MEASURABLE RESULTS was achieved --- 649 US (608) and Coalition (41) soldiers died and 3890 US wounded and maimed --- and 11806 Iraq Security Forces and Civilian Deaths resulted ---- and these are just the ones devoted volunteers can piece together from DOD reports. Source: Iraq Coalition Casualties

______________________________________________

IRAQ BODY COUNT
See a comprehensive indepth analysis at the UK-based IRAQ BODY COUNT. As they quote at the top of their site from General Tommy Franks, "We don't do body counts." It was founded in 2003 by volunteers in the UK and US, who felt a responsibility to ensure that the human consequences of our military intervention in Iraq were not neglected. The service they provide is remarkable. They list three ways to contribute. Learn how you can help.
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PRESIDENT LINCOLN: Reflections from a War-Time President
In a old book that fell into my path written during WWII written by John Homer Miller (Take a Look at Yourself), it shares two stories about President LINCOLN. I ran across it by-chance this morning. It was comforting in a way to know that LEADERSHIP did exist. With what we've had to watch in our political leaders in recent years, one gets concerned that you never did see things rightly. President LINCOLN obviously ran his presidency with a different approach and thinking about his enemies:

"During the War between the States an elderly lady rebuked Lincoln for speaking kinds words for the South. 'Why do you speak well of your enemies,' she demanded, 'rather than destroy them?' 'Why Madam,' replied Lincoln, 'do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?'"

"Near the close of the Civil War some wounded soldiers of the Confederacy were kept prisoners at City Point. Among themselves they discussed bitterly the man whom they believed had brought on the war of rebellion. One day, Mr. Lincoln came to City Point. He went among the soldiers of the Northern army and did not forget the Rebel soldiers being cared for in the ward near by. After Lincoln had departed, one of the Rebel soldiers sat up in bed exclaiming, 'Is that the kind of man we have been fighting against for four years? Why, he even recognized a Rebel and treated him as well as any of his own. If God spares my life I will never again raise my arms against the United States Government."

What do you see in the contrast between LINCOLN and BUSH in these anecdotes?

How are you working to stop IRAQ WAR?

Debbe Kennedy
Founder of the Global Dialogue Center

Come visit us ... www.globaldialoguecenter.com

September 14, 2007 in Books, Current Affairs, Iraq War, Leadership, Terrorism, War and Peace | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

IRAQ: A Racquet with Secrecy of Human Costs

Iraq

The headlines are everywhere: Secrecy Shrouded Bush Trip to Iraq.

Secrecy seems to be a repeated pattern in the Bush Administration actions and behavior. Go for the surprise; show up for the staged show. Today, White House officials reportedly bristled at the idea that the trip was a publicity stunt.

The question they need to ask if how their actions, history and execution might have left such impressions?

"There are some people who might try to deride this trip as a photo opportunity," Perino said. "We wholeheartedly disagree. This is an opportunity for the president to meet with his commander on the ground and his ambassador on the ground. ... And he will be able to look Prime Minister (Nouri) Maliki in the eye and talk with him about the progress that is starting to happen in Iraq, what we hope to see and the challenges that remain."

The secrecy we live with has permeated every aspect of American life and we keep allowing it to hoodwink us as our human treasure and tax dollars are spent for greed and corruption as the expense of people here and there.

One of the Bush's secrets are the facts about the dead, maimed, wounded and displaced in Iraq. Oh, we occasionally hear the soldiers death total via the media --- and we show a picture up on the screen of some young life gone; and occasionally, we hear a profile of wounded soldier, but none of these paint the gruesome picture of the impact this war has had on soldiers and "collaterals". This would seem to be a key part of any status report.

Have you heard Bush personally give the American people a clearly stated assessment of the status about the lives loss and sacrificed in this war that is costing billions every month?  This would seem to be key accountability requirement.

The totals are shocking...

IRAQ WAR STATISTICS

158,509 wounded and medical evacuations

3740 dead - 118 self-inflicted 

77,808 Civilians reported killed by military intervention
(named and identified victims of the Iraq war by Iraq Body Count
New recent events

2.2 Million fled Iraq for Jordon or Syria in last four years

"The mass exodus and internal displacement of people have been brought on by escalating sectarian conflict combined with the presence of foreign troops. United Nations refugee agency spokesperson as saying that massive displacement of Iraqis, internally and externally, continues unabated, causing a great deal of suffering and uncertainty. Estimates put the number of people fleeing the violence at 2,000 daily." Source: Relief Web - Act Communications, Geneva, Switzerland.

Why is this administration left without accountability?

In the classic anti-war book, War is a Racket, written by someone who earned the right to provide a trusted perspective, Brigadier General Smedley D. Butler, known as America's most decorated soldier, wrote in 1935 what remains true today:

"War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes."

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center and
Leadership Solutions Companies
www.globaldialoguecenter.com

September 03, 2007 in Books, Current Affairs, Iraq War, Leadership, Terrorism, War and Peace | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: bush, Bush accountability, bush secrecy, casualties, iraq body count, iraq refugees, Iraq War, war

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