Give us the truth

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson did not disappoint today, following his past performances with a stirring speech (PDF & HTML at Kos & Video at onegoodmove) at the big Bush protest, successful despite the best efforts of the GOP, who are hell-bent on shutting down debate.

Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism.

A patriot does not tell people who are intensely concerned about their country to just sit down and be quiet; to refrain from speaking out in the name of politeness or for the sake of being a good host; to show slavish, blind obedience and deference to a dishonest, war-mongering, human-rights-violating president.

That is not a patriot. Rather, that person is a sycophant. That person is a member of a frightening culture of obedience -- a culture where falling in line with authority is more important than choosing what is right, even if it is not easy, safe, or popular. And, I suspect, that person is afraid -- afraid we are right, afraid of the truth (even to the point of denying it), afraid he or she has put in with an oppressive, inhumane, regime that does not respect the laws and traditions of our country, and that history will rank as the worst presidency our nation has ever had to endure.

Separately, Keith Olbermann delivered a much-deserved rebuke of Donald Rumsfeld and his ironically fascist rhetoric. This clip will go down in television history as one of the most compelling moments of frankness and true patriotism from a broadcast journalist.

Mr. Rumsfeld is also personally confused, morally or intellectually, about his own standing in this matter. From Iraq to Katrina, to the entire "Fog of Fear" which continues to envelop this nation -- he, Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney, and their cronies, have -- inadvertently or intentionally -- profited and benefited, both personally, and politically.

And yet he can stand up, in public, and question the morality and the intellect of those of us who dare ask just for the receipt for the Emperor's New Clothes.

In what country was Mr. Rumsfeld raised?

As a child, of whose heroism did he read?

On what side of the battle for freedom did he dream one day to fight?

With what country has he confused the United States of America?

Well done, Rocky.

Well done, Keith.

Back in Blue

DB survived what was actually a fun weekend in Salt Lake City, where they are getting ready for Bush and Condi to arrive this week. Some of the preparations are being made by protesters, who will give Bush an earful, despite the fact that Utah is not a place where authority is broadly questioned.

On the other hand, since Utah is just about the reddest state on the 2004 electoral map and the place where Bush mysteriously remains popular, it may come as a surprise to learn that Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is a Democrat. And not just a Democrat, a real progressive Democrat.

Anderson is a former president of the Utah ACLU and a board member for Planned Parenthood. He's been outstanding for Salt Lake City in the areas of education, the environment and ethics in government.

And he announced last month that he's not running for a third term (PDF), which is too bad for Salt Lake City and Utah. Anderson's departure is also something that deserves some real attention from progressives around the country.

Hopefully the protests this week will get some coverage. Here's a sample of what Mayor Anderson had to say last April (PDF). Consider the kind of courage it takes to deliver a speech like this in Utah and during a visit from the president:

We are gathered here today to say, "No more!"

No more killing.

No more expenditures of almost $6 billion per month on this tragic war.

No more denial of health care coverage for over 42 million Americans, when we are paying more for this outrageous war than what it would cost for universal health care throughout the US.

No more dependence on foreign oil, while we could become independent if we focused resources wasted in the Iraq war on clean, renewable sources of energy.

No more attacks on immigrants who work so hard to build better lives.

No more inaction by Congress on fixing our hypocritical and inconsistent immigration laws and policies.

No more complacency by our news media, much of which has served as little more than a bulletin board for false government propaganda.

No more raping and pillaging of our people by the outrageous profiteers in the oil industry, by the health care insurance industry, and by the billionaire buddies of Bush and Cheney like the crooks at Enron and Halliburton.

No more war in Iraq.

No more reliance on fiction rather than the science of global warming.

No more historic deficits forever demonstrating that our President and our Congress are total hypocrites and liars when they call themselves fiscal conservatives.

No more torture of human beings.

No more holding people in detention camps without charges – without lawyers – without any semblance of due process.

No more sending people off to be held and interrogated in countries where torture and brutality is expected to occur.

No more arrogant, blundering, incompetent leadership of our military.

Which means no more Donald Rumsfeld.

No more manipulation of our media.

No more arrogance and incompetence posing as leadership in the White House.

Which means no more Bush and Cheney!

And no more arrogance, incompetence, and timidity posing as leadership in the United States Congress.

No more illegal wiretapping without warrants.

No more complacency by the American people.

No more members of Congress who voted to turn into felons 12 million people our nation has encouraged to come here to work.

No more disastrous cuts in funding for those most in need in our cities.

No more destruction of American Indian urban health care centers.

No more cuts in Community Development Block Grant funding.

No more cuts in Community Oriented Policing federal funding for our cities.

No more lies about a tie between Iraq and 9-11.

Which means no more Dick Cheney.

No more butchering of the English language.

Which means, of course, no more George Bush.

No more killing thousands of innocent people.

Which means no more of the Bush Administration.

And no more of those in Congress who have sat passively by while the slaughter continues.

No more killing.

No more maiming of men, women, and children, Iraqi and American.

No more apathy by the American people.

And no more refraining from saying "No more"!

Can't wait to hear what he has to say this week. If only every city had this kind of leadership.