2005.5.3=2[#123]:4703.3.25[#60+24/60] 1)US Progressives. 2)US' E.&S.E.Asian Empire.

Thin cloud mild: Check SJMercury early, then bed and up, wait sons bath then gone, full bath & nails for tomorrow's trip. Then! starting from Dju's tel, it seems Betty had serious stroke 2pm yesterday (after Ying tel mom 12:35-:55 about trip, then received his mail with tel.info. for all). Xiang&Jung has to go next Monday late night, I'm going next week, mom says postponing to fall, Dju follows her. Last call from Dju, Ying wants mom, Hiro/Dju to go by air in response to Dju, and right away. Hiro has not tel his friend, travel agent yet, I remind her to call right away. Now already 11:36am. Called back ins.co. lady who called yesterday on "Dog Bite" case, fortunately right before I called back and got info from me, for her to call Jyun. Now US Progressive story topic. Out late, pass Savings Cleaners, meet Jung that Ying is very calm raincoat, to Maxx' again for lunch box, to Kinko's requesting to redo again, to o.h.: Dju tel no seat for me so cancelled also for $200 penalty, Ying tel mom repeats to take care of himself as Betty hopeless? Lunch, Dju shows up for talking, mom feels lonely, mails then left also for faxing back? as told by Mei. Mei back after 9pm cooking, now already past 10, dinner soon. Jyun still out. Now 12:39am to finish. 1:35 bed. 1) US Progressives: (1) "START MAKING SENSE: A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT", Wednesday May 4: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM PST: http://www.movingideas.org/chat/AlterNet/AlterNet.php "" Join AlterNet and Moving Ideas for a conversation with bold progressive thinkers, writers, and activists about creative and practical solutions for building the progressive grassroots strength we need to turn our country around. Start Making Sense, a new book from AlterNet, is an opening salvo on how citizens can begin to deliver U.S. politics from fear and fundamentalism. Featured Panelists: "" (2) "Excerpt: Rethinking Iraq: An excerpt from the Start Making Sense section The Iraq War." & "Start Making Sense Blog: An informative guide to the Start Making Sense world." http://www.alternet.org/sms/ (3) "Start Making Sense: Turning the Lessons of Election 2004 into Winning Progressive Politics", by Don Hazen (Editor), Lakshmi Chaudhry (Editor); Chelsea Green Publishing Company (April 20, 2005): http://tinyurl.com/ah858 "" Editorial Reviews Book Description The first look at the lessons learned from the 2004 election, and an opening salvo from leading American thinkers, writers, and activists on how citizens can begin to deliver U.S. politics from fear and fundamentalism. Millions of Americans were shocked by George W. Bush’s victory in the 2004 election. How could a majority of voters support a president with such a dismal and dangerous track record? The answer is clear for Democrats and progressives: It is time for new thinking and an end to our politics as usual. Start Making Sense brings together the best progressive thinkers, critics, and organizers to explain what went wrong and how we can build a new Democratic Party that best represents and communicates our values and vision for America. It offers new ways to think about organizing, communicating, and investing in the structures and resources required for a truly democratic grassroots movement. This book outlines innovative solutions for reaching out to all voters who value hope and tolerance over fear. About the Author Don Hazen is the executive director of the Independent Media Institute and the executive editor of AlterNet. The former publisher of Mother Jones magazine, he has edited several books, most recently After 9/11: Solutions for a Saner World. Lakshmi Chaudhry is a senior editor at AlterNet. Previously a staff writer at Wired News, she has written for various publications including Mother Jones, The Village Voice, Bitch, and Ms.Magazine. She is coauthor of AlterNet’s book, The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq. Other contributors to the book include: Arianna Huffington • Amy Goodman • Thomas Frank • Naomi Klein • Barbara Ehrenreich • Farai Chideya • George Lakoff • Ken Salazar • Tom Hayden • and other leading progressive activists, thinkers, and writers. "" Full 5 starts for "" Average Customer Review: Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers. Getting Down to the Business of Winning, May 3, 2005 Reviewer: Mick McAllister - See all my reviews Anthologies usually are a mixed bag. If half the essays are interesting, you are doing pretty well. And there's always at least one that is a total waste of time. This is the exception we hope for. There is not a page of the book that doesn't either illuminate an exciting idea, provide a useful fact, or suggest a promising course of action. Every sort of thing is here from the course-defining DNC speech of Barack Obama to a list of topics you could hook Letters to the Editor on for various holidays. (Mother's Day? Social Security, Medicare, Parenting.) The book is divided into three sections and ten topics. The first section analyzes what has happened. It asks some hard questions, like what it might cost us to adopt Conservative means to our Liberal ends ("Fighting Dirty"). There is a handful of tough essays in here, like Michael Lerner's on Liberal contempt for the electorate (which is significantly different from, though no bigger than, Conservative contempt for the electorate). But the overall message is one of hope and optimism. The last section emphasizes organizing and suggests ways to do it. This book and George Lakoff's Don't Think of an Elephant (also from Chelsea Green) will pay for themselves in a few hours. We got angry; now it's time to get active. Start Making Sense will provide some direction. "" 2) US East & Southeast Asian Empire: "Blowback : The Costs and Consequences of American Empire" (Second Edition), by Chalmers Johnson; Owl Books; Reissue edition (January 4, 2004): http://tinyurl.com/89j75 "" From Publishers Weekly This no-holds-barred indictment of what Johnson calls the post-Cold War American "global empire" is not for the faint of heart. Among the opening images is a plastic bag containing three pairs of bloodied men's underwear gathered as evidence from the brutal 1995 gang rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by two American marines and an American sailor, a crime that was officially passed off as an aberration but may qualify more accurately as another move in the endgame of, in Johnson's astringent phrase, "stealth imperialism." In his highly critical appraisal of the global U.S. military presence, Johnson, president of the Japan Policy Research Institute and prolific commentator on Japan and Asia, focuses on the effects of "blowback," a term coined by the CIA to denote the unintended consequences of policies that were in many cases kept secret from the American public. From anti-Chinese pogroms carried out by U.S.-trained soldiers in Indonesia to the viciously suppressed 1980 pro-democracy demonstration in Kwangju, South Korea, Johnson examines the fallout from what he sees as American "economic colonialism." Detailed assessments of American engagement in Japan, Korea and China are coupled with closer-to-home observations on the liquidation of American jobs in places such as Birmingham, Ala., and Pittsburgh, the latter yet another consequence of the massive U.S. trade deficit with the countries of East Asia. Brazenly spending ever-swollen defense budgets, Johnson argues, the Pentagon is fueling an "antiglobalization time bomb" that could blow up at any moment. His chilling conclusion--backed by copious and livid detail--is that a nation reaps precisely what it sows. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. ""