War is not politics, it is violence – murder – on an enormous scale. It does not lead to democracy, security, or good governance, it leads to anger, humiliation, and above all else, more violence.

I know I have been pounding the “Republicans are “_______” (insert perfidious, greedy, morally bankrupt, etc, etc, etc.) drums a lot but when most of an entire party is trying to be the one at the top of Crazy Mountain, a humble blogger can only respond to the input.

The latest outrage is growing choir of Right Wing Republicans who are against mosque building. The proposed community center and mosque a couple of blocks from the site of the Twin Towers is the one that has received most of the attention but it far from the only one.

"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"

The argument here is so bigoted and spurious it pains me to repeat it but here it is; since the folks who destroyed the Twin Towers were Muslims, then no Muslim should be able to build anything near it. It does not matter that like all religions Islam is hardly monolithic, not all of the 1.3 billion of their coreligionists believe that it was a good thing to attack the United States. They don’t even all agree on the tenants of their religion, just like Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists and Catholics can all be said to be Christians, but are far from agreement in what that really means.

The police tactics in handling the usually well behaved protesters around the G20 we’re off the chain.

Images of the Hands Across the Sand protest on the beach of Boca Ciega Bay, Gulfport, FL.

We’re down to the wire here on financial reform. I can’t think of a better time to put pressure on Wall Street and Washington to make sure there is adequate regulation to ensure that we never have another bailout. The AFL-CIO is about to have a protest at Wall Street on April 29th. Great, that makes sense. I’m sure the right-wing groups who are also upset about the bailouts will join them.

As Progressives it’s time to remember that we are the Secular left. Understanding that it is our duty to stand with our brothers and sisters in Iran.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop15) turned ugly today when police officers beat back hundreds of demonstrators, including a group of 50 to 100 delegates that were trying to meet with the protesters.

After the financial meltdown,some perspectives about where do we go from here

“There is no denying coal’s significance to the culture and economy of Appalachia,” said Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works water and wildlife subcommittee. “However, mountaintop coal mining is a long-term assault on Appalachia’s environment, economy, culture and the health of its citizens.”

You can always take a movement to the streets, but that does not mean that you should. Today’s Teabag protests are a classic example of how not to make your case with street protests.