The Poli Stew Café Blog

Support The Troops Rally Coming UP!

2008-03-06T23:31:00.000-08:00

I'm passing this on. EaglesUP West is organizing this.

There will be a SUPPORT THE TROOPS rally in Berkeley CA on March 22, 2008
Time: 9 - 5
Meet at: US Marine Officer Selection Office at 64 Shattuck Square - it’s a one way street and therefore will be on your left side.

For more info contact:
Doug Lyvere
PGR Regional Ride Captain
SgtMaj, Marine ret
www.patriotguard.org
www.eaglesup.us
west@eaglesup.us

Parking will be difficult, so if you can take the bus or the BART, you might avoid the crowds and a parking ticket.

Bring your signs, wear your t-shirts, and come with good spirit. You're there to support the troops. Expect a counter response, but as long as you all stay peaceful and law abiding, let them get arrested not you!

EaglesUP is requesting this as a "non-spend" zone, meaning if you want to buy stuff do it beforehand. I have loads of Pro-troop merchandise in my store.

Remember, none of us is pro-war. We see a need to support our military with honor and respect. We must continuously challenge the language and rhetoric coming from the Code Pink side, which has called them "killers," harking back to the 1960's. Please go to the comments section of a post I wrote about things reported in the Berkeley Daily Planet.

What We Need Is Passion

2008-01-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

This month, we closed our Waitress Polly store. As agreed upon, it was a three month fund raiser for the NMFA, and we ended up not only raising hundreds of dollars by selling t-shirts to send kids to camp, but many others mailed their checks in directly. As stated before, none of the money ever came to us, but went directly from CafePress to the NMFA. The designs, and log in to the store are now the domain of the NMFA.

Ours is an example of a very small impact that helped cultivate an awareness of how important it is to support military kids, as frankly --when Mom or Dad serve, the whole family does as well. We did it with commitment and passion.

This past week, Stephen Colbert, talk Show host of the faux-political "The Colbert Report" has rasied $171,525.00 for the Yellow Ribbon Fund, which goes to help families travel to military hospitals to visit their injured soldiers.

As reported in The Washington Post, he did it buy selling silicone wrist bracelets that touted "Wrist Injury Awareness," a cause he came up with when he broke his wrist several months ago. His cast sold for 17k, and he talked everyone from NBC's Brian Williams to Katie Couric into wearing a Wrist Strong Bracelet.

I wanted to impart this information to you because I think over the next few years, there will be much that needs to be done for the men and women who are facing life-changing illnesses, injuries and mental health ailments. Our support for them can't waiver, or stop when someone like Colbert moves on. Rather, we need to use our creativity to find new ways to stay involved, to raise money and also to make sure our politicians don't do what they've done so often in the past --cut funding to military and also public health programs (which many might have to tap into someday).

So in order to do this, we need passion. Passion to spark the enthusiasm and commitment to do it, passion to follow through, passion to get others excited, passion to work through differences in order to reach a common good, and most of all, passion to sustain a long-term interest.

Think what you may of Stephen Colbert. He has exhibited the kind of passion that took a small incident (a broken wrist) and turned it around to involve many people and raise $171,525.00 for an organization that will help a lot of people.

So don't wait for me, and don't wait for Stephen to get the next thing going. Don't think you're going to get a slice of pie from me for posting anti-war stuff, or the other side: anti-anti-war stuff. Do something. Get involved. Reach out on a human level. Go beyond your comfort level. Don't get stuck behind your computer. Give to groups like the Yellow Ribbon Fund, the NMFA. Take some military kids whose parent is away in Iraq and see if they need help with homework.

Whether you have a fund raiser in your neighborhood, or go bigger, approach it with passion.

Merry Christmas, A Gift To Give

2007-12-21T21:46:00.001-08:00

It has been quiet on this blog. Shortly after returning back from visiting my uncle for Thanksgiving, I got a new job. I drive about 4 hours a day, and with family obligations, my time for blogging is small.

The fund raiser is in its final month. We raised money and awareness for the people at the NMFA and their Operation Purple. People sent in money, as well as purchased things in the store. Thank you for your support.

I wanted to leave you with a note before Christmas about a gift each of us can give all year long.
It doesn't take much energy or time to give a kind word, encouragement, comfort, friendship, a word of thanks, and a smile to the children of soldiers who serve.
These kids live with the fear that something might happen to their parent. It's always in the back of their mind, and for all the resillience they show, their worries are real.

This autumn, my daughter was excited about some new girls at school. Quick to befriend newcomers, I asked her to describe them. "Their father is in Iraq," she said. She was quiet for awhile, then smiled. "And they make me laugh really hard!"

So as of late, our home is a second home to these two wonderful kids. He's a career soldier, and has served several tours in their lifetime around the world. But their parents marriage couldn't survive the absences and a myriad of other issues large and small. They divorced. Now Dad is in Iraq, and Mom is making ends meet by working in a high pressure job about 80 hours per week. She's also terribly depressed. It seems like they've moved a lot, the house is clean, but somewhat bare. Through the turmoil of their parents situations, the kids need friends --not just kids, but adults as well. The result? They love to come to our home. Even if it's after I get home from work and they just want to blow off steam for two or three hours before they go to bed. SURE, you'd better believe I'm wiped out after working all day, but no more than they are by sitting at home while their mother works, waiting...hoping.... that someone picks them up and takes them out for the day.

So while I can't provide all the solutions for the mother, I can welcome the kids into our lives. And really, it's not hard, and if there's one thing about military kids is that they are just super.

So if your son or daughter mentions that a kid at school has a parent at war, put aside any ill feelings you might have about the political situation. These are kids. Invite them to your home. Let them have a few precious hours where they aren't thinking about the difficulties at home, or worrying about their parent at war.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Blessings To You All

For the week

2007-11-15T21:57:00.000-08:00

I'm taking off for a bit. Thanksgiving and all. I'm driving ten hours to have dinner with an uncle. He's a character --78 or 82, I can never remember, a veteran, can still tell a great joke.

I'll leave you with Bouhammer's recent posting on about his participation on a radio show on KQED.

Also, check out Writer Wordsmith at War, who scored with a gig in the New York Times.

There's also an article about the lack of mental health services for our young men and women. This is something that many of us have long known. Not only did we already have issues getting help to vets from past wars via the VA, we knew that there'd be big problems providing for the current ones in the system we have now. We must work to increase the military budget for healthcare. Read about it at Gun Toting Liberal. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that even though a soldier might be covered under Tri-Care, many psychiatrists and psychologists don't contract with this provider.

And please, take a moment to go over to Anysoldier.com and put together a box of things to send to them. I've been doing this for about three years now, and always find that I receive so much more than I give.

Being Tried and Deservedly So

2007-11-14T18:45:00.000-08:00

Hissyspit --who has no blog, nor email address, wrote a few posts back, accusing me of right wing propaganda because I pointed out that many members of Code Pink as well as peace activists have dredged up the language of hate. All of this has been documented in the very liberal Berkeley Daily Planet. My willingness to point this out has apparently upset a few folks on the left. But frankly, like I've said, "If you can't point out the faults of your own side, you've already lost." I found this out when I took on MoveOn. After I personally experienced their distortion of first amendment rights, I quit the Democratic party and became an independent. Most folks on the left can't understand my support for the military. I might disagree with politicians, with contractors with a lot of things, but I'd never take it out on soldiers. I have a long history of family members who've served and made careers in the military.

But as far as I'm concerned bullies aren't allowed on either side. Hence, this story.

Ex-Marine drill instructor guilty of abusing recruits

By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
1:57 PM PST, November 14, 2007

SAN DIEGO -- In the most serious case to hit the boot camp here in decades, former Marine drill instructor Sgt. Jerrod Glass was convicted by a military jury today of eight counts related to the abuse of recruits.

Jurors indicated, however, that they did not believe dozens of the allegations against him in which there was no witness besides the recruit making the allegation.

Glass, 25, who was accused of kicking, punching, slapping and ridiculing young recruits during training incidents at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and Camp Pendleton, faces a maximum 9 ½ years in prison, as well as a possible dishonorable discharge. The same Marine jury of three officers and three senior staff noncommissioned officers will sentence him this afternoon. Both the verdict and the sentence will be reviewed by Brig. Gen. Angela Salinas, the commanding general of the recruit depot.

Glass stood ramrod straight as the sentence was read. His mother, Barbara, and father, Jerry, had tears in their eyes.

Mother and son had embraced just before the verdict was read. Immediately afterward, Glass' father, a retired sheriff's deputy from Arizona, patted his son on the shoulder.

Glass was an honor graduate of the drill instructor school. The abuses occurred during his first two months as a drill instructor.

Convictions like this one are rare. In the last three years at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, 44 drill instructors have been charged with misconduct toward recruits. Of the 44, only two prior to Glass went to court martial. Others were dealt with through an administrative process.

The jury deliberated eight hours over two days. Votes on the counts were not disclosed, but a two-thirds vote is required for a conviction.

Glass served as a Marine dog handler and had two tours in Iraq prior to becoming a drill instructor. During the trial, a dog handler who served with him testified that he followed the cardinal rule of dog handling: Never hit a dog.

Marine rules prohibit drill instructors from touching recruits except in specific situations, such as when they are showing them how to march or hold a rifle.

During the trial, even his defense attorney conceded that several incidents of abuse had occurred -- that Glass had hit a recruit over the head with a tent pole, punched a recruit in the face, hit another with a flashlight, and performed "hygiene stomps" in which he stomped on the hygiene kits of recruits.
______________

As a side note, this is the sort of story that the MSM carries on the front pages over what we've seen on Milblogging, which is a collection of blogs written by soldiers. Not to diminish the meting of justice, but it would be best to see more equal coverage in the MSM.

Obviously, Glass crossed the line with his own superiors. They're the ones who turned him in. The tragedy of this situation is that I'd guess this Marine has been struggling for a very long time with behavioral issues, cognitive and coping skills. I certainly hope he gets the psychological and even psychiatric help that he needs. I don't think he's a bad person, but I do think his impulsive streak that led to the use of both physical and verbal abuse is something that has to be addressed directly, quickly and consistently in a clinical setting.

Veteran's Day, Kansas City, MO

2007-11-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

The language of hate is alive. I don't know who did this. I understand being impassioned, however you can be against the war, you can be against the politics, but to continue to use the language of hate and carry it to a physical level only means you are destroying yourself.

Love and respect is bigger than any damage you seek to inflict.

Something from Time Magazine
"...in the dark hours of Sunday morning by vandals who kicked down thousands of the flags and left behind a cardboard sign with a single word splattered in red spray paint: "MURDERERS."

"Anger is the force that destroys your virtuous qualities"
-The Dalai Lama in The Joy of Living and Dying in Peace

On This Veteran's Day

2007-11-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

The Marlboro Marine is a photo essay and article written by LA Times Photojournalist Luis Sinco about the young marine that he photographed in Fallouja. As it turns out, while James Blake Miller was inadvertently made an icon for the war, he --as should be expected, was fallible and human. Suffering from PTSD, Miller has had a rough road since coming back home. It has included drinking, getting married and divorced, starting and quitting a PTSD counseling program and a suicide attempt. He even went to Washington DC to share with others his experiences with PTSD. While he was met by many congressional representatives, one experience hit him hard:

"DC was a slap in the face. I even had a congressman miss a meeting, and when I showed up at the office the assistant said he didn't have time to meet with a veteran. I didn't understand why a man with that type of job couldn't take five ten minutes out of his day to speak to someone who had fought for everything this country stands for."

I'm asking you to read and watch the article and photo essay. This is why we have to see beyond the hoopla of "Support our troops" and really demand more than chest thumping. There are issues, and I'll touch on two of them.

We need to challenge the language of groups like Code Pink, who have called soldiers "murderers." I understand passion, and I understand peace. I want both for the military. But it is inconsistent to consider yourself a messenger of peace and use violent and untruthful language. The decision of some of their followers to use it shows immaturity and that they're extremists who think nothing of humiliating and denigrating other human beings. We simply cannot tolerate the language of hate from one impassioned side against the other.

Or as the Dalai Lama has said:
"The practice of morality --guarding your three doors of body, speech, and mind from indulging in unwholesome activities --equips you with mindfulness and conscientiousness. These two factors help you avoid gross forms of negative, physical, and verbal actions, deeds that are destructive for both onself and others."

We also need to work beyond party politics and insist that our men, women and families get the very best of care after they leave the major Army and Navy medical centers and return home. There needs to be community hospitals that contract with TriWest to give them ongoing psychological and psychiatric treatment, orthopedic and neurological treatments, physical therapy and occupational training. I have asked the Chief of Surgery at a major medical center why civilian hospitals don't contract with TriWest --especially since our VA's cannot possibly handle the numbers they already have, and in many areas, there aren't any. He thought it was a great idea. I will try to meet with the CEO in the upcoming months to see if their IPA can't indeed serve more men, women & families by contracting as a TriWest provider. They already do this with programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. But this can only be done if others get as upset as I am, and look to solutions beyond what all politicians (regardless of party) just can't see, because that's not what they do.

Tomorrow we will commemorate Veteran's Day. If you want to do something beyond taking a few moments to give thanks, consider this: there are many James Blake Miller's coming back home to futures that are uncertain. Donate time, money or services to a local mental health clinic, and remember ---some of these men and women have families. The children need your attention. Volunteer at a school where there are military kids, offer to tutor, serve as a mentor showing compassion, patience and kindness. If there's a Boys & Girls club, get involved.

There are many aspects to the words "support our troops." If you have supported my fund raiser for the NMFA, I thank you. If you have not, please consider writing them a BIG FAT CHECK to send kids to camp, or stop by my store Waitress Polly where all the profits go to the NMFA.

I'd also like to send out a big hello to Josh Morgan of a new startup company called Intense Debate and let him know how very proud I am of him for all that he is doing. Vets like him should make all of us proud and grateful to have young men like him to achieve so much. Thank you for serving, Josh. I hope your trip to BlogWorld Expo was a success.

How Waitress Polly Feels

2007-11-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

...about the turning over of shopkeeper information so quickly to mammoth powerhouse groups like MoveOn.Org

Yahoo execs defend company 's role in arrest of Chinese journalist

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From the Associated Press
11:38 AM PST, November 6, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Two top Yahoo Inc. officials today defended their company's role in the jailing of a Chinese journalist but ran into withering criticism from lawmakers who accused them of complicity with an oppressive communist regime.

"While technologically and financially you are giants, morally you are pygmies," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said angrily after hearing from the two Yahoo executives.

He angrily urged Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang and General Counsel Michael Callahan to apologize to journalist Shi Tao's mother, who was sitting directly behind them.

Shi Tao was sent to jail for 10 years for engaging in pro-democracy efforts deemed subversive after Yahoo turned over information about his online activities requested by Chinese authorities.

Yang and Callahan turned around from the witness table and bowed from their seats to Shi's mother, Gao Qinsheng, who bowed in return and then began to weep.

Yang contended that Yahoo "has been open and forthcoming with this committee at every step of this investigative process" -- a contention Lantos and other committee members rejected.

The committee is investigating statements Callahan made at a congressional hearing early last year.

Callahan said at the time that the Sunnyvale, Calif., Internet giant had no information about the nature of the Chinese government's investigation of Shi when the company turned over information about him.

Callahan has since acknowledged that Yahoo officials had received a subpoena-like document that made reference to suspected "illegal provision of state secrets" -- a common charge against political dissidents.

Last week Callahan issued a statement saying that he learned the details of the document months after his February 2006 testimony, and that he regretted not alerting the committee to it once he knew about it.

He reiterated that regret Tuesday and contended that Yahoo employees in China had little choice but to comply with the government's demands.

"I cannot ask our local employees to resist lawful demands and put their own freedom at risk, even if, in my personal view, the local laws are overbroad," Callahan said.

Lantos rejected that argument.

"I do not believe that America's best and brightest companies should be playing integral roles in China's notorious and brutal political repression apparatus," he said.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., compared Yahoo's cooperation with the Chinese governnment to companies that cooperated with Nazi Germany during World War II.

Lawmakers demanded to know what Yahoo would do to help Shi's family and reacted with derision when neither Yang nor Callahan provided a concrete answer.

Callahan also couldn't say whether there were outstanding demands for information from the Chinese government to Yahoo, or whether Yahoo would react the same today to a demand for information from the Chinese government as it did several years ago when the authorities wanted information about Shi.

In 2005 Yahoo bought a 40 percent stake in China's biggest online commerce firm, Alibaba.com, which has taken over running Yahoo's mainland China operations. Callahan said it was up to Alibaba officials how to respond to the Chinese government's demands.

Smith dismissed that explanation as "plausible deniability."

Callahan did say that in going into future markets such as Vietnam, Yahoo would aim to find a way to avoid turning over information to the government on citizens' on-line activities.

"I would hope to have a structure in place ... that we would be able to resist those demands or have that data not be accessible," he said.

Human rights and free-speech advocates have lambasted U.S. companies including Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. for helping the Chinese government stifle the flow of ideas in exchange for greater access to the country's rapidly growing Internet market. But the convictions of Shi and another Chinese journalist Yahoo provided information about have focused the most strident criticism on Yahoo.

A MUST read on the contractor issue

2007-11-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

"....my son loves the United States Marine Corps. He doesn't love war. He had absorbed the honorable selfless ethic of the Marine Corps. He was a citizen soldier, not a professional hired gun."

Frank Schaeffer has written a great commentary in the Huffington Post about how the hiring of mercenaries a.k.a. contractors strips those who serve in the military of honor.

It's a must read. A very well written piece by someone who has written several books on the military family and also raises the issue of whether or not we should continue with volunteer service or shift gears and go to revised draft system as described in his and Kathy Roth-Doquet's book "AWOL." Frank is the author of the book pictured, as well as novels and other non-fiction books.

Yankee Mom Visited

2007-10-27T16:06:00.001-07:00

Question posted on a board to a mother of a soldier:

"What's wrong with standing up for peace?"

The mother being questioned is one who lives with one eye on her business, the other on CSPAN and watches with disgust the posturing of both the right and the left. She feels deeply when she hears of soldiers being accosted by groups such as Code Pink. She attends protest rallies, not because she is pro-war as her detractors would like to box her in, but because she believes in the duty that her daughter has decided to embark upon for our country.

Though you might not see it, people like Yankee Mom are anti-war and pro-peace. But there’s a difference between a lot of them and others who sequester themselves on a side of self-righteousness. She, like others, have someone they love on the front lines, putting down their lives if need be in order to bring peace, educational, social justice and economic opportunities to those who don’t have them.

Quite frankly, neither she nor others want war. She, nor others raised their children to kill people, like so many of the Code Pink's Judy Christopher have insinuated. But wars, including the others that are raging in other parts of the world –like Africa, are an unfortunate reality that they have sadly accepted.

There’s nothing wrong standing for peace, and you have to believe that our men and women in uniform do this. They exist to bring order and peace to a region that lived in fear of their oppressors, then find their own country torn apart by war, corruption and vast differences of religious and cultural beliefs.

What's so objectionable about some of the groups in question --CodePink and MoveOn is the language and tactics they use. We simply cannot tolerate a revisiting of the 1960’s, when the people who served were spit upon and forgotten by everyone from politicians who let veteran’s benefits flounder, to the impression of the elites and academics of this country, that the military is “something for those who have no other options.”

There’s much more to this than just standing up for peace. I think what we’d like to see from all groups is a deeper level of thinking about the message they're trying to send.

CodePink, for instance, cannot say they support our troops, then systematically interfere with recruiting stations, get in the face of soldiers, dredge up hateful vocabularies to describe them and accost them with. They can’t call themselves a voice of reason if they interrupt congressional hearings, and get in the faces of either appointed or elected officials. They cannot claim to be for equality, if they contradict themselves in a single sentence on their website: Women are not better or purer or more innately nurturing than men, but the men have busied themselves making war, so we are taking the lead for peace." Zanne Joi of Code Pink cannot be serious when she claims that by using duct tape and washable chalk used to deface the areas around the Berkeley military recruitment center that they were "respectful of the environment." Let's put it this way: if you defaced my business, home or car with chalk or duct tape, I'd see it as one hell of a lot more serious that TP'ing. And there's one more thing --why do these women so qualify their aberrant actions? Do they want to be liked?

Let me put it to you this way. You're not cute, and pink isn't your color.

Likewise, MoveOn cannot say that they stand for freedom when two of their founders systematically carried out a campaign of oppression of free speech using the threat of litigation. This was done not only in two instances that we know of, to Google and CafePress, and who knows to whom else bogus trademark infringment claims were sent.

In short, if we do NOT point out their inconsistencies, dishonesties, hypocrisies then we empower them. And they’re just not to be given free reign with our trust. They haven't earned it, and I think life under their rule would be one of chaos. As for Code Pink, I’ve read their goals, and find them lacking in any substantial plan other than just (in their words,”rabblerousing").

A few years ago, a lady in Germany sent me the most patronizing e-mail. She said, as is oft repeated today, “Books not Bombs,” or “Bread no Bombs." However, she was overlooking the circumstances Mavis Leno knew of: the repressive regime of the Taliban. If the oppression is so great, then good will is not going to get through. In the case of the Taliban, we could’ve dropped textbooks from airplanes, and because of their social strata, none of it would’ve gotten to either women or girls. At best, I call them full of warm fuzzies and idealistic goals. At worst, I call them unrealistic and too eager to oppress the people with whom they disagree.

I think we all have to ask ourselves, what are we willing to give up so that others might prosper and live peacefully? And that can be on a local, a state, federal or international level. Yankee Mom and so many others have accepted their loved one's decision to serve, so that the middle east and other regions will have increased educational, social justice, equality and economic opportunities so that they don’t fall into Islamic extremism.

There are no easy answers to this question, but we expect that the language we use to express ourselves to go beyond what was tattered even in the 1960's. I take no comfort in the far left, and find them as block-headed as the far right.

Two items for your interest

2007-10-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, read it here . The Waitress Polly story was mentioned in the Washington Examiner

Also, from the military site: Jews In Green.

"B’nai Brith Buddy Bears for Troops’ Kids
October 23, 2007

For Hanukkah, the JWB Jewish Chaplain’s Council is partnering with B’nai Brith International to support and thank the families of deployed troops by sending their children a special edition B’Nai Brith Buddy Bear. We hope this cuddly bear will provide comfort and companionship to children who miss their parents serving overseas. We want to let them know that we care and appreciate their personal sacrifice.

Click the image for more details!"

I hope they get the bears that they need. This Waitress will try to send one.

Late night meanderings

2007-10-24T23:38:00.001-07:00

Photos from the LA Times

We've had fires here in Southern California, and all week I've been worried about my house going up in flames. Tonight, I took the dog out. It smells of something beyond just wood burning. It's sickly sweet. It's the smell of metal, and all sorts of materials being incinerated. It isn't good. The winds roared from the desert, picking up speed as they came down the mountains and the force could be heard all Sunday night.

It was with a familiar feeling of dread that I thought about the fires already raging in Malibu. I'd had been nervous before. At one point, we lived in a gorgeous canyon area. But we knew it had a wicked side. There was one flat road in, and one hilly road back down the ridgeline if ever the flat road got closed. When fire season came, I'd put records and belongings in empty laundry baskets, line up the pet carriers, talk to a neighbor about a plan of evacuation --essential for her because she not only had horses, but an adult son with CP, confined to a wheelchair. Then, I'd listen to the volunteer fire department patrol all day & night.

On Sunday night, it was apparent that the fires had the upperhand. I spent the day rewatering potted plants, fretting over a tree that I hadn't had money to trim this summer. And then if felt like I just waited, sniffling, sneezing, and worrying about my youngest with asthma. One of my staff called in sick on Monday --like the rest of us, she hadn't slept and sounded extraordinarily stressed and congested. On Tuesday, we found out that her elderly grandparents had been evacuated into Qualcomm center in San Diego.

The winds have stopped. Some of the fires are only 10% contained, a few burning out of control. All the fires are in steep terrain, and people live there because they love it. 25 years ago, even 8, many of these new communities didn't exist. But then 25 years ago, we didn't have as massive a population (42 million, I think) that we do today.

At some point, we need to talk about the numbers we have in California. It's expected to reach 50 million in the next decade. This isn't the state I grew up in. It's already at numbers that aren't environmentally sustainable. The more we push into these rugged terrains, the more terrible loss of homes and lives we'll see. I take the very conservative view that a bit of planning and can act as prevention. Unfortunately, politicians would rather talk about feeling gypped that they didn't "get" the funding for fire fighting equipment. While this might be true, they have to realize they were part of the process that let it slip through. Simply put, we've got to quit building entire developments where they don't belong.

I've pretty much given over the fund raiser to run itself. I've made the changes as to assure the charity that I chose, can not ever get worried over their nonpartisan status. I've made enough merch --now we have to let the ads take over, and hopefully the military families will get behind it and start sharing with their friends and family. I believe in providing good ground so that fruitful things happen. I think it's just the way to be, and I'm optimistic that they'll get the funding they so deserve.

The kids haven't been allowed outside all week at school due to "unhealthful air" conditions. They're going nuts. On Friday I pick up my daughter and her new friend from school. I'm also picking up the sister. I'm taking them for ice cream, then they'll come play here. She's just moved here. Her mother works a lot as a nurse. Her father is a Marine in Iraq. They're divorced, but they both love their kids. All in all, it's not an easy situation. I hope that for awhile, my house can be a place where they can relax, have fun. I'll ask her mother if their dad has a laptop with a camera and microphone. If he does, I'll tell them that they can connect with him at my house if it's possible.

That's all for now.
I really do like reading your blogs.
I'll write more on Monday.

Name & URL Change

2007-10-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

The new url for the military merchandise store is
http://cafepress.com/waitresspolly
It's now known as the Waitress Polly Store. It's filled with fresh, original merchandise for the military family. As usual all profits from military-themed merchandise from this independent fund raiser will go directly to the NMFA.
Please re-bookmark this change.

The PoliStew Cafe Store has been rebuilt. The two stores are being run independently, and the rebuilding of the PoliStew should take about a week.

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!

2007-10-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I've been working overtime, making some big changes that I want you to be aware of.

1. The military merchandise will now be separate from the political merchandise. A new store will be set up for them. The new fund raiser site is named "The Waitress Polly Store." The url is http://cafepress.com/waitresspolly.

2. I've set up a new blog just for the store. All buyers of Waitress Polly Merchandise will be directed to the Waitress Polly blog. Changes are being made to this blog. The fund raising posts are being moved to the new Waitress Polly blog.

3. I am still directing all the profits from the Waitress Polly store directly to the NMFA. The fundraiser will cease on 17 January 2008. At this point, the designs will be turned over to the NMFA for their exclusive use. If they choose to do e-commerce once a year, they can use those designs. CafePress is very easy to set up. A 3 month shop costs only $18.00 or so.

4. The PoliStew Café is being rebuilt! The url is http://cafepress.com/polistew. This is for my own profit, and will be a welcome spot of income for me and my family.

5. The fund raiser will go until 17 January, 2008. At that time, I will confer with the NMFA to see how best to help them raise MORE money. The merch designs will all be turned over to them for their exclusive use.

Have I covered everything? I don't know. I hope so.
All of these changes will take some time. I have a job already, and so this will be done as quickly as I can do it.

I continue to be enthusiastic about having my world opened up in this way. There is no stronger impetus to make changes like having been bullied.
And so in the aftermath of this tumbling arrival, I have arrived into the nicest hands --you.
A month ago, I didn't know any of you. A month ago, I didn't know how to use Photoshop. A month ago, my world was on an even keel --it was good, but everyone here has made it richer.

Thanks for your support and enthusiasm.
The horizon looks very bright, indeed.
Just remember: you're terrific. I'm taking the sidebar folks over with me to the new blog.
Best,
Waitress Polly

Remixed..and a reminder...

2007-10-23T11:02:00.001-07:00

This will always be up near the top. Scroll down for new additions.

Another Planet

2007-10-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

The antidote to Code Pink available at the PoliStew Cafe Store.

As I was refilling the salt & pepper shakers, the TV was on. Pundits, Code pinkers, politicians and all the rest had something to say. None of them were even listening to the other... or could. It's combat by soundbite right now, and the problem is when it's thrust in the face of those they want to take on. It's not so much to elighten one's own perspective, but often it's more for a play at power, a chance to take out your frustrations.

We're not all going to agree, and it doesn't warrant calling people names. Especially now, when the Code Pinkers have taken to using old stereotypical words, first dredged out in the 1960's when the Vietnam Vets came home. "Liars, uneducated, idiot, killer, baby killers," these are all ways to demean someone. I could also say the same about those on the other side. Commie, pinko, wimp traitor. These aren't words meant to encourage dialogue either. But I want to stay on this issue of soldiers.

Sometimes it's the press that wants to taint you with ink-stained kindness. There's no better example than in the patriarchal attitude in an editorial in the Berkeley Daily Planet by Becky O'Malley.

What she meant to say was, "Support our troops." But she ended up taking a lengthy detour and patronizing them all. Especially, one local recruiter.

"Captain Lund, I strongly suspect, is intelligent enough to realize that invading Iraq had very little connection with the problem it purported to solve, the attack by al Qaeda on the World Trade Center. I’d bet that like most Americans he knows by now that Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living in Afghanistan, and that we’ll never be able to catch him as long as our troops are tied down by the pointless exercise in Iraq."

Suspects? Yeah, Becky. I'd bet he's intelligent enough to know a lot of things. But as long as we're on the topic, did you ask? Why assume anything? Then again, he might not share his personal views with you. He is, after all, a representative of the US Army, a soldier for this nation. His Commander in Chief is the President of The United States, and it's policy that a lot of these guys just don't shoot off their mouths to people they know who already have made judgments against them.

It's a bizarre recommendation for supporting the troops. As a writer, she's annoying because she tries to please everyone. As a journalist, she does something fatal: she drifts.

This editor tries to act as a scale of balance. Code Pink balanced by an honest military recruiter. Ehren Watada is mentioned, though as she says, he's no pacifist (meaning, he'll shoot if he has to). She drags in the history of military leaders speaking the truth, and fifty black soldiers in WWII who refused to unload munitions at Port Chicago. She points out that in this country four ethnic groups are always trying to kill one another. And at the end, she tries to pull it all together by telling the reader how impressed a visitor from Spain was because many houses displayed their flag (what she didn't tell the visitor, was that a lot of these were probably conservatives).

As long as she brought up her feelings that the US is becoming an increasingly policed nation, she might as well suck it up and look at what MoveOn tried to do to suppress free speech by writing C&D letters claiming trademark infringement to both Google and CafePress. They won with Google. But not with CafePress. The legal team at CafePress took the right stand by allowing shop owners to continue to post anti-MoveOn merchandise using their name. They understood it was parody, and that what her beloved MoveOn really wanted wasn't freedom, but control. That they did it by threatening litigation and closing off with the names of their lawyers (right there in Berkeley) is not only slick, it's repugnant. And this is the junk you won't find in the Berkeley Planet.

MoveOn and CodePink don't stand for all Dems or those who believe in peace (they're hardly buddhist in their approach), just as the religious right doesn't stand for all Repubs or those who support the military. I've come to realize that will tear us apart as a nation is if we keep giving those with mean sound bites (and lawyers) the power to control through oppression.

Support the troops. That's all she has to say. No explanations, no apologies.

Back to wiping down counters.

-Polly

Our Youngest Heroes

2007-10-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

The latest design. Available at The PoliStew Café Store

My daughter has a new friend. They laugh and talk a lot. One day my daughter said, "Her dad's over in Iraq."
"Really?" I asked.
"He's a marine."
She got very quiet. "I think she misses him," she said.

As time passes, this fund raiser is moving away from the politics, to where it rightfully belongs. To the children and families of soldiers.

I've paid out of my own pocket for an ad in Milblogging. I'm not sure when it'll go up, but hopefully soon. If you own a business or have a blog, feel free to promote it. Remember, none of the money comes to me. It goes directly to NMFA.
When a soldier serves, his or her entire family does. And to them, we owe a debt of gratitude, and the least we can do is say "thank you," and send the little ones off to summer camp so that they can have a break, too.

New Cool Commenting System Up

2007-10-17T10:14:00.001-07:00

Waitress Polly* has added a new commenting system, which is in the beta testing phase. The development of this product shows how the internet can bring together people from different parts of the world and country to work on an "idea."

So far as I can tell, IntenseDebate (ID) is the culmination of cooperation and brainstorming between a former Medical Sales Rep and Marine in Florida, a graduate student in Missouri, and a photoshop guru from Sweden. They've gotten rave reviews. Read about them and their product over here, then go see it in play on the Political Grind.

I'll let Josh Morgan, one of the founders describe it:

"The Intense Debate comment system creates a better commenting experience for the blog reader. With the combination of threading, an online identity that will follow you across any blog in our network, give your friends the ability to track your comments through an rss feed, and help give the comments section a sense of community as we share more information to help get to know one another better."

Calling all liberals: Political Grind mentioned they needed a few more liberal posters. If that's your cup of tea, you might venture over there. I just stumbled upon them in the last week, and have to say, they're a pretty good bunch. They're not like other blogs. It's bipartisan, and folks over there might have their differences, but they do remain civil, and most even know really big words!

Amount raised: $312.00

I'd like to hear from a camp counselor from Operation Purple! If you know someone, send them here. There's a guest blogging spot open for you.

*Yes, often I refer to myself in the third person. I figure if Queen Elizabeth can do it, so can Waitress Polly.

The New "Behave" Section Added

2007-10-16T11:52:00.001-07:00

Now, let's say I was a certain organization. And let's say I had lots of little minions to do things like meta tag searching my name. And let's say that I had the time to send out lots of C&D letters claiming trademark infringement, had the audacity to bandy about some names up of attorneys I really hadn't consulted, and in general, could make your life a living hell if I happened to disagree with you. And let's say I didn't give a hoot about karma, or hadn't ever watched "My Name Is Earl" and learned a thing or two.

But who would do that?
Not me.

Instead, I just make you wear my T-shirt, buy a mug, help send kids to summer camp. I call it coffee shop karma, maybe you should call it that too.

Some shirts are doubled with the original "Banned" design. Others just have this new design. Some have the new design discreetly tucked up on the pocket. But, if Polly is in a hurry, she might just throw the $15 Buck T over at you!

More News:
Knickers Untwisted
Google decides to run the Collins ads.
Apparently, with the blessing of "the organization that shall not be named."

"We don't want to support a policy that denies people freedom of expression," says Jennifer Lindenauer, MoveOn.org's communications director.

This, made me laugh. I had to fan myself with the C&D letter that MoveOn COO Carrie Olson wrote to Café Press.

But just to be sure, no one confuses our shirts with official merchandise from that organization, we've made sure to play some word games, too.

Amount today: $305.00

The Grits Are On Hold

2007-10-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Waitress Polly is sorry to say, that things have come to a standstill. Good vibes, & prayers are needed for customer Michael, who is in the ICU with pneumonia. He's the guy in the wheelchair, who comes in with his Dad & Mom. Sorry, the café crew is too upset to post anything more today.

Redneck in a Volvo

2007-10-12T08:38:00.001-07:00

This design is available at the store

He'd been educated at the finest schools. He graduated summa cum laude, was inducted into all the top professional organizations.

And yet, he drove a truck. It was a Ford F-150 with a primer patch on the rear quarterpanel. The truck had been run through his older brothers & sisters, all of whom, like him, had gone the college route. Our guy had a pretty fancy job in the city. So one day, he got real practical and bought a brand new Volvo was for the 29 mile commute. He'd blast country FM through the fancy speakers, and then he'd go into the office where he was to many, a safe reliable Volvo driver.

But we knew. The truck, with the shovel in the bed, really suited him best. Folks at the PoliStew Café understood that even though he could discourse on the First Amendment, Descartes and El Niño, deep down he'd never gotten rid of his redneck roots. Over the years he started letting them come through.

In small ways, of course. He started wearing Lucchese dress shirts instead of the usual button downs. Our good guy was left a bolo tie collection when his grandpa died and so he wore those too. He finally gave in to going bald, and started wearing hats as well. He'd always take them off when he went inside. On weekends, he'd show up in jeans and a flannel shirt.

And one day it happened. The Volvo got a big dent in the side.
Just like that. Boom! A shopping cart careened into it at the Whole Foods Market parking lot. Some twit in a Mercedes sped away.
He almost said some ungentlemanly things, but being a redneck and all, he didn't.
So he went home. Decided he could live with the ding.

His wife got another ding when she went to the beauty parlor and sideswiped a pole. He decided he could live with this, too. Started to toss in saddles, horse blankets, the occasional bale of hay. He even gave his daughter's 4-H goat a ride, when the old truck refused to act more like a mule and refuse to start.The Volvo's headliner started to sag a bit, so he used a bit of duct tape to hold it up. Still,the shine on the outside held up, and it ran like a well bred horse.
And soon he had the redneck version of the Volvo.
Amen, good guy. God loves you and so do we. Now, have some pie.

And we like this joke, too.

Love, Waitress Polly

Note: Mrs. Redneck went green and got a Prius. She nearly ripped the back fender off. Mr. Redneck fixed it with the "everyman's tools."

Waitress Polly Is Such A Twit

2007-10-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe it was the flood of customers who came in the other day. But my correct email addy is on the sidebar now. Yup, that's right. All of you who sent photos of your boots to polistew@gmail, well, that poor sucker is trying to figure out what the whoo ha happened. Maybe he's got an ex-wife he ascribes it to, I assure you, it wasn't this waitress. But do send me photos of your boots, preferably with you in them. Anyway, your waitress had a good laugh over that one. Speedy the Chef told me to take the day off. I'm fixin' to go do some brain yoga.

Okay, in two weeks time, I'll have some Xmas card designs. If you can't get over to the blog that often, then do sign up for a newsletter on my Café Store site. I send those out once a month. One just went out last night. Here's a sample.

I've added more blogs to my sidebar. Like any diner, we serve everyone. So you'll find a lot of different people to rub elbows with, which I think is one of the strengths of this country.

Also want to alert you that I found out that a customer who has passed my way from time to time, Frank Schaeffer has a new book out. You might recognize him as the person who wrote about his son's surprise enlistment in the Marines, and how it forever changed his outlook over his own entitlements that he'd taken for granted. Frank's a good guy, a military supporter and an impassioned writer & speaker.

Special Top Secret Project, Yanno?

2007-10-09T22:54:00.000-07:00

I need your help!
Do you wear boots? Cowboy boots? Paddock boots? Stiletto heeled boots?
Send me photos of your feet (knees down) or someone's you know. Like these!

Well, maybe if you own these, you really don't want the word to get out, yanno?

Send them to me via .jpg on an email OR post it on your blog and with your blessing, I'll take it off. My email addy is on the sidebar, yanno?

So Polly Made A T-Shirt

2007-10-07T12:08:00.001-07:00

Waitress Polly gives supporters permission embed this "remix" onto your blog, or send a url to your friends.
Hit the blue button "share" on the lower right. You'll pull up two url's.
To send it to a group on an email: Copy and paste the top url marked, "LINK."
To embed it onto your blog: Copy and paste the lower url marked,"EMBED" to a new post on your blog.

Amount raised: $296.00. Thank you so much.

Military Kids

2007-10-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

This section of the store means a lot to me. I hope it will to you.
They face challenges bigger than worrying whether or not their homework gets done, or if they're chosen first or last for the dodge ball team. The military child has worries so deep, and no one sacrifices more for the armed services than them.
No one.
I've lowered the profit on this entire section, so that you can buy them for siblings. Want to order in Bulk? Order 15 or more of any item and you'll get a deep discount. They may not be for resale as any profits must go to the NMFA. Please call Cafe Press directly at 1-877-809-1659.

Every kid needs to feel special. Here's a way so they can let the rest of he world know, too.
Please watch this segment on Operation Purple, and the children who go to camp each summer thanks to the NMFA, Sierra Club, TriWest and good people like you.

Click on this link: CBS Sunday Morning News on Operation Purple