STORMGLASS

In my attempts to introduce people to the candidacy of Dennis Kucinich and the host of pressing national and global issues that he represents I suddenly became aware that an acquaintance of mine, who I walked my dog with at times, was a Fox news watching republican. I never would have guessed. When I brought up politics after a good number of weeks of never stumbling upon that topic I assumed he was a democrat so I was blown over when he told me he thought the war was great and that we needed such a war to keep the cost of oil down.

I was speechless. "Then why is it going up" was all I could muster. "Well, that's only temporary" was his confident reply. After spending a lot of time discussing issues with like minded Kucinich supporters it was stunning contrast. He had tremendous confidence that he was being protected and provided for by the same people who brought us the war and that they were fighting to make his life as comfortable as possible. After regaining my composure I thought for a while about how to approach the situation.

Finally, I started painting a picture for him of a small Iraqi village where suddenly shells start exploding and American forces are breaking down doors, shooting people, arresting, raping and torturing. He denied that anything "too serious goes on" but admitted that bad things do happen in war and that's a shame. When I urged him to he even looked at it through the Iraqi's eyes and saw that the whole situation would be different if he were one of them instead of an American. He had to admit that if that were the case he would be against Bush and the war.

He then pointed out that so long as the park we were walking in was quiet and safe and so long as he had a good paying job and a roof over his head, that he would feel satisfied with the policies that provide that security be they democrat or republican. He just happened to lean toward republicans because it culturally suited him.

After all he was a city kid brought up in a house of democrats who when he moved out to the sticks wanted so badly to fit in with the locals that he changed his name to Bud and started listening to country music. Fox news is just the natural place for a redneck wannabe to wind up during his off hours. But the funny thing is, Bud is one of the nicest people I've ever met. I mean a really good guy through and through.

He even helped me fix my car a few times while a good friend who had been promising to do the same for months was a no show. Bud was the kind of guy that could disagree with everything I said about politics and yet neither of us would feel as if it mattered a damn weather there was agreement or not. He was willing to concede that I was very well informed about all kinds of things he would never have even thought of taking the time to look into but for the most part he insisted that on key issues I was the product of liberal propaganda which was made up of lies to make the president look bad. He pretty much considered all of the news media to be liberal propaganda lies except Fox news.

Even after polls started suggesting that the vast majority of americans were against the war and Bush and a slim majority favored impeachment, including a lot of republicans, Bud still had the bumper stickers and still towed the Fox party line. He did once admit that the bumper stickers started out as a way of trying to get out of tickets since he spent a lot of time driving for his job and was convinced that all cops were Bush supporters. In fact it was a company car so while he would otherwise be driving a used car, his job allowed him to drive around in a new one. This was one of the things that he held up as why he can't complain about the system.

He was a strange mix but the most interesting thing was that morally and ethically he seemed to be an outstanding person - they just didn't translate into how he would vote. He would admit that wrong doing, and lies and corruption was bad but would shrug his shoulders about it all the way a lot of liberals do and just chalk it up to necessary evil. Finally, in desperation, I pulled out a trump card. I asked him what his religious beliefs where. "Christian", he responded, although I think more specifically he had been raised catholic.

"Oh, Christian" I said and then went on to ask what Jesus would think of torture and rape and pillaging oil and trying to take over the world not to mention small communities with wall marts and fear tactics and race baiting and all in his name no less. Well that seemed to do it, Bud got kind of quiet. He thought for a while, then smiled and thought some more. He didn't have an answer to that one. Fox news had not prepared him for that approach. The answers were spinning around in his head, I could practically hear them but he was shooting them down himself as he knew I would, albeit in a good natured teasing way. He knew there was no credible rebuttal and was actually pretty amused by it.

The words were something to the effect of "I guess you're right" but there was some shrugging and a bit of hemming and hawing about how we humans can't possibly understand the world as Jesus would see it. "True" I told him, but I can't picture the savior of saviors sending a soldier to heaven because he's a good christian who just happens to blow up babies as his day job working for a president who claims to launch wars for god. It just doesn't make sense.

The conversation was rightfully over as we politely trailed off onto another topic. Bud was calmly reflecting. He was so sure that traditional morality was the stuff that fox news was spouting and that real morality having to do with higher principals was just not very relevant to the modern world. I could see he was rethinking it a bit. He even said in parting that he would keep his ears open for Kucinich though he was just being friendly. After that the political discussions went on the back burner again and when it did come up once and a while he was still holding firmly to the republican party and Fox news.

He said it would take loosing that job and the company car before he actually started taking someone like Kucinich seriously. Like other things he is very confident about, I doubt it. I think someday he will just wake up and decide to scrape off all the old bumper stickers and turn off his television.  He will go out and take a deep breath of fresh cool air and think to himself a thought concerning how everyone deserves to live this way.

I think the same thing will happen to all of the liberals who support people like Hillary, Obama and Edwards and take all their cues from CNN and Larry King. They are just as trapped as Bud. They are even better educated than the Fox news crowd and therefore even more confident in their ignorance. The ignorance of why the New York Times is hiring neo-con hacks for it's op-ed page while refusing to print opinion pieces by Congress members trying to launch impeachment hearings. It is a willful ignorance born of not wanting to face the truth of what is happening to our democracy. Some day, hopefully soon we will all wake up and realize that it is better to aspire toward truth and be unsure of yourself than to believe lies and be confident in your ignorance.

Dear Dennis,

You're doing great. Keep doing what you are doing. People are starting to come around. Sure it may be taking a bit longer than we'd like and of course there are those pesky corporate media shills and spooky election riggers playing their part but what would life be without a good challenge right?

In general, considering all of that and more, I'd say your doing a fantastic job and it is pretty impressive that with all the work they do to black you out of the media, you are still as popular as you are. Much of it is due to your determination and vigilance. Much of it is due to the fact that your bravery and steadfast persistence has inspired the same in the hundreds of thousands if not millions who support you. Of course I know it doesn't help you that the portion of the population who support you also happen to be the bottom third economically and don't have a lot of loose change floating around to be donated to worthy causes. Of course that was a joke. Nothing could be more honorable and true to form for a revolutionary leader than to be supported by those who are struggling - it is the proof that you are the real deal. Republicans may round up a large gaggle of unsuspecting working folk every four years but the vast majority of their support comes from the richest people in the world and that kind of money always buys you a certain amount of support from the unsuspecting classes.

Your support is as deep and genuine as it comes and much of it is from hard working people wiht main stream values that are not reflected by the corporate media. You understand where their hearts are because you have been there. You have never wanted to run away from your roots and people respect that. You have a loyal following because you have played a crucial role over the last few years trying to keep us on a sane course. Those who support you feel their support deep within themselves even when they betray you and vote for a corporate candidate.

the depth of your connection with voters is far beyond what any other candidate has achieved in years and if you got a fraction of the media that the frontrunners get you would be so far ahead in the polls the entire election would be considered a done deal. That deep connection comes from your level of honesty and integrity. It comes from being incorruptible and hopeful. Things that are very needed right now making you a very good role model. Perhaps the rest of us need to look carefully and learn a trick or two about humility, ethics and peace.

Perhaps then there would be such an upsurge in the desire for reform that Washington would actually become not such a bad place to work. Or such a frightening place to work. I don't think there is any telling how far your supporters will take you. Just stick with them and they will stick with you. Just keep running and they will make sure you get there, if not now then soon. Nothing else makes sense.

The only thing I would suggest, if I were to be so bold, would be that perhaps you can afford to be a bit more controversial - people love controversy and lord knows there are plenty of festering scandals and secrets lying around these days. Perhaps a bit of controversial truth is just what the people need to spur them on to the next level. Enough of it is leaking out anyway so you would only be confirming the majorities suspicions. Just some food for thought - might be time to raise the stakes and all that.

PS
I wrote a letter to Barack asking him to be your VP - hope that's okay. If not you can just pretend to have poor cell reception when he calls.

Someone recently threw out the suggestion that perhaps being blocked from the recent debates in Nevada and elsewhere was actually good for Kucinich in that it revealed that his accusations of media cencorship are correct. He had been blocked from other debates and is being blocked from future debates as I write this, but there was a dramatic twist in Nevada. A lower court judge decided that Kucinich was entitled to debate and the State Supreme Court overruled that verdict about an hour before the debate was to begin. This dramatic twist is a perfect illustration of something much bigger and more consequential to the Kucinich phenomena than just the fact that the media censors the only candidate with real integrity. What it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt in my mind, or should I say what it disproves once and for all, is the media myth that everyone has swallowed whole for the last four years that Dennis Kucinich is somehow "unelectable".

This is the only reason why the highest court in Nevada would risk it's entire reputation, not to mention NBC, just to keep one brave candidate out of the room, a man that supposedly doesn't even rank high enough to matter. So if he is so insignificant, the question looms, why not just let him debate. Sure that may not have been your first choice for perfectly warped reasons but once a judge tells you to let him debate and the public sees that, why then go to such lengths to make sure he doesn't win this little victory. I'm sure there are some executives who took Kucinich's legal challenge a bit personally but generally major corporations are extremely savvy about when to concede to public or legal pressure when is to it's own benefit. For NBC and the Nevada Supreme Court to expose themselves as being pretty much on par with the right wing news hacks on Fox, flagrantly flexing their muscle in the name of their own best interests then they really must be pretty desperate about something. What interests are at stake here, we have to ask ourselves. If Kucinich is so "unelectable" why not just concede graciously and make yourself look good in the process.

I think we all know why. Because they know what nobody else knows. They know what even Kucinich's supporters often doubt. They know that the democratic leadership along with all other media organs of this country (and when I say all I mean pretty damn close) are conspiring desperately to keep Kucinich out of the public eye because they know, unequivocally that Kucinch would catch on like wildfire if they were not in such united opposition against him. They know this just as sure as they know that without the billions of dollars in soft money that the major networks lavish upon the so called "main stream" candidates they would eventually fizzle out just like any other product that the people stop believing in. The only time people keep buying a product they've stopped believing in is when there are no other alternatives on the shelf. The hypocrisy of it all shines right through this grandiose national charade due to the fact that Kucinch polls better than any of the other candidates on the issues showing that he is in fact MORE main stream than the big three.

The big three are in actuality out of step with the majority of people evidenced by their policy positions which closely match the policies advocated by corporate power brokers and the neo-cons who serve them. So NBC's little legal scuffle with Kucinich is the front line of a very high powered, high stakes propaganda war between the entire establishment and very large group of people who are dedicated to somehow, someway, change the course of our country away from war and predatory corporate practices. Who is winning this war between the elites of the world and the people of the world, all of whom seem to be embodied by and/or invested in the United States of America?

My view is that the people are winning. I think much of the violence and turmoil that we have seen over the last several years has been an indication of that. Why would the media tighten its grip on a population arbitrarily? Because some impatient old men are desperate to get a better taste of ultimate power before they die? I don't think so - at least not exclusively. It is because people are actually catching on in large numbers, in the first time in human history to the true extent of the utter corruption and clandestine manipulation of opinion that has always been underlying every system, institution, government, or established culture ever known to human history with the exception of certain isolated aboriginal communities.

This knowledge is a heavy burden to bear and many people just don't want to look at it. But deep down they know the books and articles and photographs and films that they have spent a life time avoiding are telling some part of the truth. The problem with knowing the truth deep down but never letting it come to the surface is that you get scared and cynical which is really the same thing. We fear the fact that we cannot improve upon the world or ourselves therefore we never do.

On the other hand, despite what people may imagine facing the truth about the harm we and the elite are doing to our culture and our democracy brings about a renewed sense of bravery and hope. Sure you might get depressed for a while but it is only fitting that every American be a bit depressed right about now - and we shouldn't use pills and/or alcohol to try and solve the problem either. If we started to read blogs coming straight from Iraq, and found out for ourselves the kind of devastation and carnage we are leaving behind we would be more impelled to mourn personally for the dead, raped, maimed and traumatized. We don't really deserve to be very happy right now but the world is waiting for us to find enough bravery and hope to actually change our course, enough to elect someone like Kucinich to high office and thousands of others just like him to public service on the national, state and local level. We have hard work to do - that is what will make us deservedly happy.

Our leaders are all around us and this is what the major corporations are trying to keep you from realizing. Have you ever noticed how much of what you see on television is designed to make you feel inferior. It's all there - psychological warfare 101. The dreadful truth, when you open your eyes to it is that the entire media not only routinely plays upon and stokes our fears they also systematically works on our self esteem. NBC knew that only a relatively small percentage of the population would even notice that Kucinich had been blocked from the debate.

They know that only a small percentage of people even know that he has brought forward impeachment proceedings on the floor of the house even though the vast majority is pro-impeachment. Again their dramatic daily manipulation of our awareness level is at an all time high. Twenty four members of congress have voted to impeach, over two hundred thousand people have written in to encourage impeachment, the majority of the country favors it in polls, one or two states and dozens of towns have voted for it, but somehow, it is not newsworthy in the slightest way and all of the major candidates avoid the subject like the plague. Is it impeachment that they are afraid of or is it Kucinich's popularity. He has wisely locked himself to this issue so that any move to impeach automatically shows who the first one to push for it really was. If you look closely there is a perfect storm brewing that will place Kucinich in the white house, if not now, then at some point in the future. He has after all beaten all the other democratic candidates by wide margins in internet polls which hundreds of thousands participated in as opposed to the few thousands involved in most corporate polls.

We know that high powered corporations are tied in with high powered PR firms who employ high powered focus group experts and there are thousands of people whose job it is to scientifically try to predict the future while simultaneously creating bogus statistics with leading questions and polls where certain candidates are simply left out but later conspicuously added with 0% to make them look weak. We know they rig elections and those are regulated - so what of these polls.

Isn't it a safe conclusion that since in news and opinion these days the internet is actually the safest bet, regardless of all the garbage that floats around, that in polls the internet might have a bit more integrity as well. Especially since the groups hosting the polls are grass roots non-profits who are not tied into major corporations who sponsor candidates like Disney. Sure not everybody has the internet or bothers to take part in these things but a lot of people also hang up on phone surveys with smarmy dubious approaches, including yours truly.

From what I can tell, among the wise and sensible people in this country Kucinich is wildly popular. People may not feel he has a chance because the establishment machinery won't let him have a chance but they still love him and how often does that even happen with a candidate? Not often. That's why we have to just check off the list. People love him, check. Next item on the list, get him elected. WHAT NOT TO DO: abandon him for yet another corporate controlled candidate who has finally come around to stealing a few pages from Kucinich's hand book.

In fact the "qualification" barrier in the debates is the perfect symbol for what the corporations are trying to do to Kucinich. They are saying he simply doesn't "qualify" to be president. Sure he may be the best one but when there are powerful people trying to take over the world, integrity is an automatic disqualifier for high office. Deep down we all seem to know this sad fact and THAT is where our deep, depressing cynicism is coming from.

In order to pull ourselves out of the naive hope that someone like Obama is going to magically make it all better without actually committing himself to anything, we must look the truth straight in the eye. We could do much worse than to realize that we must remove the pillar of money from underneath the bloated corporate monopoly that our culture has become. By rearranging where we spend, store, earn and invest our money we have the power to change the world practically overnight. We just have to act in unison. We can shift our economy so that it is based upon peace, integrity, education and fair play and in doing so we would also create the perfect climate for a Kucinich presidency. Without such fertile political soil he would have a hard time beating back the wolves of the past who in their extinction feel the need to lash out.

The way to ensure that Kucinich will effortlessly sift his way to the top is by changing our lives individually and dedicating ourselves to being informed and active in both local and national politics and spending and earning our money wisely. If we all changed just our banking habits today the world would change tomorrow. If it takes us four years then Dennis will have enough momentum to challenge the incumbent, if it takes us eight years he will still be there, waiting patiently for the moment that his life has led up to - the moment when we all realize that he is not only electable, he is inevitable.