Letter from a Region of My Mind

[H2O Man]

A Letter From a Region Of My Mind
dedicated to James B.

{A} "Of all our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research." - Malcolm X, 1963

In the past 48 hours, I have received several communications regarding the status of the DU Plame Threads. I have been asked to address some of the concerns that had been raised, and to explain what I believe my role on this forum is. I have hesitated to to do without first giving it serious consideration.

Yet, because I have asked people on here to both write letters to editors, and to put their on letters to elected officials, and because my "role" will include doing that in the future, I will take this time to address those questions. I hope that it will be viewed as a step towards reducing some of the tensions that have taken a toll on the efforts on these threads.

I spent some time reading a wide range of DU threads in these two days. There is a wide range of issues being raised, discussed, and actions being taken on DU. And that's a great thing. The forum is generally an opportunity to discuss these issues of importance. It is clear that there are concerns being expressed by people who catch a lot of hell in our society, or who are concerned about other people catching hell. Some people because of their sexuality. Some because of the color of their skin, or their religion. An estimated 1 in 4 Americans lives too close to a site contaminated by toxic wastes, which creates health risks. Other people are either underemployed or unemployed. Some have trouble with college expenses. Many have relatives in the military. And some are concerned about the innocents suffering from the savage war being carried out in Iraq.

While on the surface, these may appear separate issues, they are not. These are all problems for the citizens of the communities in America. They all effect our extended families. And they all are tied to a common enemy. Because to a large degree, we find they atre connected to the Bush Administration, and the business interests of the "power elite" that backs George w. Bush.

Each of these "interests" is like a finger on a hand. Alone, the enemy can break them easily. But if we clench those fingers together, we form a powerful fist that is fully capable of protecting those interests.

I watched a few minutes of the news last night. When I see the battles being played out between the Bush and Kerry camps, I realize that this nation has some unfinished business from the 1960s. I see that Fox news openly promotes the giant triplets that Martin Luther King fought against: militarism, materialism, and racism. And so I turn the tv off, and read two of my favorite speeches from the '60's that were mentioned on DU: Malcolm's "Message to the Grass Roots," and Martin's "Beyond Vietnam."


{B} "The past is never dead. It's not even past." - William Faulkner; Intruder in the Dust

Ten months ago, an associate suggested that I view four different internet forum sites. One was DU. It quickly became my favorite, because it provides a forum for what I consider the far-left wing of the democratic party, to meet and discuss issues with other like-minded peoples. I am proud to consider myself a member of the democratic party's far-left wing.

In fact, I think that I am radical. I am radical, because I like to get things done. I am radical, because I know things can be done. I am radical, because I believe in miracles. Every day is a miracle. Every human being is a miracle. And I know that political miracles and cultural miracles happen. They just take a heck of a lot of work.

I found that on DU there are people from across this country who likewise are ready, willing, and able to get things done. People who may have a different point of view on one subject or another, but who have been accomplishing serious works for many, many years. There are many work horses that have done the incredibly hard work that social progress requires. I began to converse with kindred spirits.

As many of you know, I am interested in the Plame case. I responded to an interesting post on the case. A conversation started, and the Plame Threads were born.

I had a goal of spreading a specific message about the Plame case on a grass-roots level. That message was that there was a very good chance that VP Cheney was the driving force behind the exposing of a CIA agent. The theory of why two White House officials used Robert Novak to expose Plame is outlined on the Waterman Paper.

I had considered a number of avenues for reaching this goal before deciding on DU. I believe that DU was the proper way. Within a short time, the Plame Threads had reached a large number of grass-roots groups and individuals. This was because of the hard work and very real talents of a group who became known as the DU Think Tank.

Further, as a few people know, I had communications with a number of individuals from other areas interested in the Plame Threads and our ideas on the case. While their interests ranged from mild to serious, and some agreed with more of our ideas than others, it was clear that our grass-roots work was getting some attention.

I was proud to have played a role in a group effort. At that time, I considered borrowing a line from the president -- "Mission Accomplished" -- and ending my participation in the group.


{C} "A drop in the ocean partakes of the greatness of its parent, although it is unconscious of it. But it dries up as soon as it enters upon an existance independant of the ocean" - Gandhi

In politics, there are groups: 1- those who always agree with you; 2- those who never agree with you; and 3- the undecided. The initial goal of the Plame Threads had been to reach others in the 1st group with information on the significance of the case. In deciding to continue the effort on the threads, I asked others if it would be worthwhile to try to reach the 3rd group.
This would be done by writing letters (and sending e-mails) to editors of newspapers, to tv stations, and to elected officials. There is the potential for meaning results if, for example, we could have gotten 100 people to write letters to the editors of Time regarding the Plame case.

The reaction was mixed. Several individuals wrote numerous letters, while others wrote a few. Of the people involved in the letter writing, there was a great deal of excitement. One person noted that he thought we were going to be doing something really big.

I responded with the above quote from Gandhi. My own goal was only to be a small part of a big thing. I am aware of the consequences of trying to be a big thing. Also, if our group could not have the discipline to get a group of 100 to write letters to specific targets on a weekly basis, it was unlikely we would reach the status needed for major accomplishments. Any attempt to do so would put too much pressure on this young group.

Some responses to the Gandhi quote indicated people understood. Others showed a lack of understanding. This is not a case of "good" or "bad." People shared similar goals, yet there was a growing impatience to do more. And, in some cases, to have huge results.

In groups looking for results, a dependable work horse is of greater than an impatient race horse. No grass-roots group makes huge strides in a matter of weeks.Not even in months. That only happens in Hollywood movies and works of fiction.

Thus, at the same time the DU Think Tank flowered with RP's American Judas, an outstanding paper that details the Cheney connections with the nuclear K-Mart, the seeds of self destruction were being sown. Several members who wanted immediate results from the very early efforts to reach the 3rd group were off to the horse races. Rather than continue reaching the grass-roots on Plame, and attempting to reach the undecided, as a part of an election year movement, they branched out in numerous directions.

I took off a week to climb some mountains in my mind. When I came back, the threads were no longer discussing Plame to any significant degree. There was some very important examination of the Sibel Edmonds controversy. But most of the threads had to do with researching 9-11, with a fanciful goal of "solving" the case.

The team was accumulating a huge amount of information at a rapid rate. I suggested that we take one day per week to discuss its significance.This would allow the opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff. My suggestion was rejected.

Their 9-11 research had numerous weaknesses. For example, it ignored Usama bin Laden. I suggested they consider that he played a major role. I recommended a book that I thought was significant. I was told it was not of value, because "the author sucks."

Because the Plame Threads had received attention from outside sources, and because we were in a position to potentially reach that 3rd (undecided) audience, I stressed the need to refocus, and to be able to present information that someone from group #2, like a Sean Hannity, could not easily discredit. There are times when you get an opportunity, and you need to be prepared to take advantage of that opportunity. Once it passes by it's gone forever. Another opportunity that looks, feels, and smells like it may come by, but it can never be that same opportunity. I wanted the members of the research group to be ready. However, for a variety of reasons, my advice was ignored.

I believed it would be better for them to hear the weak points of their 9-11 theory from me, than from a group #2 person like Hannity. Hence I wrote "Sometime in New York City," which addressed the role of Usama bin Laden in 9-11. I posted it here, on a friendly group #1 site. There has been nothing on the Plame threads to indicate that the 9-11 researchers could hold their own on a debate on 9-11; yet they prefer this to engaging on the now national debate on the Plame case -- something they could provide a valuable service on, and kick any "Sean Hannity's" behind on.

The response has been a series of posts that question my motivation, and express a concern that I "used" their previous efforts for personal gain. I want to address that.


{D}"And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live." - Martin Luther King, Jr; Beyond Vietnam

Before saying who I am, I will say who I am not: I am not looking to make money off my participation in the Plame case, not on DU or anywhere else. I had suggested that the Plame threads could be a part of a DU book, for a fund-raiser. I offered my services for free. But these threads should only be part of a bigger book, including more issues and discussions.

Some urged me to write a book for my own gain. Others question if I've used this for employment. I will remind people that I was seriously injured in an automobile accident, and am retired. I will be frank and say -- as I said at the time -- that some people approached me about a job writing for a leftist paper for college student paper. Yet they were race horses, and I did not waste my time. I'm retired, and financially comfortable. I'm not using the DU for a spring board to the "big time."

I have been on tv, bumped shoulders with famous people, written for papers and magazines, and been the subject of articles in papers and magazines, and have had more than my fill of publicity. I'm not engaged in any form of self-promotion.


{E} "I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls." - Job; 30:29

I am a retired psychiatric socil worker, ith more than three decades of grass roots activist experience.

I've worked on legal cases involving the "wrongfully convicted;" for jail reform; and have helped the rightfully convicted. Three years ago, I helped a 18-year old kid who was given a life sentence for a non-violent crime that white kids get probation for; he won an appeal in the NYS Court of Appeals.

I've worked on cases for social justice, and on cases opposing anti-social injustice. I had a person hit me with a board during one march for social justice: luckily it hit me on the head, breaking the board. I've seen the best and the worst in human nature.

I've learned patience. I worked on Super Fund cases that took 25 years to resolve. I've helped the US Dept. of Justice on an environmental case that went to federal court. I've assisted in preparing Native American burial protection cases that have been heard in state Supreme Court. I've advocated for teen-agers and the elderly, for poor people, and for the mentally ill. I've invested a large amount of my time and money in this work. I've never sought or accepted a penny for my efforts.

I belong to a small group of individuals, from diverse backgrounds, who work at a grass-roots level for social justice. We share a very real concern that America as we have known it is dying. We are concerned that the American dream may not be available for future generations. We are dedicated towards trying to promote constitutional democracy. My area is the grass-roots.

I believe the grass-roots has three focuses: public education, voter registration, and grass-roots participation in the political process. It's a long and difficult line of work. And while our greatest enemy may be the Bush Administration and extreme right-wing republican fascism, our most immediate danger is that which has produced the divisions in even the small Plame "think tank."


{F} "Now there's a time to fight, and there's a time for healing. As the sun will melt the snow on clear bright April mornings, our fight has run its course. Now's the time for healing." - Ron Kavana; Reconciliation

Where do we go from here? I endorse the idea of having separate threads, as proposed last night. I think this is already occurring. There are probably at least three threads and sub-groups. Some people get along with everyone, and they should feel comfortable conversing with anyone, without petty issues being raised.

Due to hurt feelings and hostilities, other people should agree to avoid each other, and should not damage the group effort by selfishly trying to get insults in under the monitor's radar. We don't have to like each other to agree to work towards a common goal. And maybe as we achieve results, hostilities will fade like snow on a bright April morning

There is only a short time left until election day in November. We will not have this opportunity again. Let's use it wisely.