Comunique from my sister: Day 4 and 5 - powerful voices some gagged.

So your brother's bound and gagged
And they've chained him to a chair
Won't you please come to chicago (boston) just to sing
In a land that's known as freedom
how can such a thing be fair
won't you please come to chicago (boston)
for the help that we can bring
We can change the world
rearrange the world
It's dying - to get better

Note: Update early this morning (Thursday, July 29) Edain told me that all speakers to the convention are now being censored. Because of the speaking truth to power by some convention speakers - all speakers must now submit transcripts of what they will say to the DNC. The speeches are now being seriously censored...including Kucinich’s strong anti-war speech last night. Jesse Jackson went ahead and gave his speech against the war anyway!

Day 4 - Monday, July 26th

We went to the Cathedral of St. Paul, a very progressive church and the 1st church, and saw Mimi Kennedy (actress, Darma & Greg); James Cromwell (actor, I Robot); Dr. James Zogby, www.aaiusa.org (founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community); Dennis Kucinich and Jesse Jackson, www.rainbowpush.org.

The church was absolutely packed, it must hold at least 1,000 people, and the audience and Jesse Jackson were very supportive of Dennis Kucinich (Mimi Kennedy has campaigned for him for at least the last year). Everyone’s message was that the people have to mold the government. Jesse Jackson talked about the government having to be from the "bottom up" not "top down".

Next, we went to Harvard (Hawvawd to the locals) to another great old church, First Parish Church in Cambridge, and saw Joe Conoson, Sidney Blumenthal, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Al Franken, and Toni Morrison; sponsored by the Harvard Book Store & the Progressive Book Club. See http://www.harvard.com/common/event.php?id=1300

Robert Kennedy Jr - fight for the environment

Robert Kennedy Jr. had so much to say about the environment and how it is worsening the health of each succeeding generation of children. He has a passion and probably could talk on for hours, with facts and figures, about what is going on in our country and our world. His organization is actively taking legal action, and winning, against corporations that pollute. He told about flying over the Appalachian mountains and looking out his window and below he saw a piece of equipment that was over six stories high and cost over half a million dollars slicing the tops of the mountains, mountains that we thought would be there forever, to mine the resources out of the mountains. He went down to investigate on the result of this mass destruction of the Appalachian mountains and saw that the waste from the mountain was being shoved into the river below. He filed suit based on the pollution of the river and got the mining stopped. He told about the high incidence of asthma the children of today and legal action to correct it and how President Bush is raising the pollutant levels to allow more health hazards in our environment. Mr. Kennedy was so conscious of what is going on in the low income communities of our nation, he is truly carrying of the legacy of the Kennedy family to recognize the social and communal responsibility.

Al Franken was very funny but not very helpful, although he did talk about the war and the lies told to get us there. Toni Morrison was a disappointment. I know she loves words and can use them well but she was talking to an audience of in the streets progressives, not the Harvard elite. She was not very friendly either. Maybe she was tired.

Sidney Blumenthal was confidant to both Bill and Hilary Clinton, and was the only presidential aide ever to testify in an impeachment trial. He wrote "The Clinton Years" and is the Washington Bureau chief at Salon.com Joe Conoson writes for The New York Observer and Salon.com and wrote The Hunting of the President:... and Big Lies: The Right Wing Propaganda Machine.

After all the speakers spoke, and the question & answer part began, I got in line. I told them I was from San Francisco and came to Boston looking for answers and inspiration. I asked them how they felt about the huge state and government cuts that are causing such problems as libraries being closed in the schools (it doesn't seem like it could be called a school without books) so we can finance our little war. I told them that had worked on the Dennis Kucinich campaign (applause from the audience) and that I was having a hard time endorsing John Kerry because he wants to send 40,000 more troops into Iraq. They seemed like they were all against war. I asked if they had any suggestions or solutions. Al Franken, and many in the audience, responded by saying "Vote for John Kerry". I felt like if that was their answer, without justification, they weren't really hearing the question. When I sat back down others around me said "They didn't answer your question."

Then a young man that was in line a few behind me asked the same question, and articulated much better than I did. He didn't get much of an answer either and they stopped the Q & A shortly after that. They said that our goal above all was to get rid of Bush.

Afterwards many came up to me and said they wish someone would answer the question of what we do if we are against war. I guess these people were not going to be our gurus.

Day 5 - Tuesday, July 27th

I went to the Paulis Center to see Mimi Kennedy (again), Medea Benjamin (of Code Pink and Global Exchange), Tom Hayden, California State Senator (who spent time in prison as one of the Chicago Seven), formally married to Jane Fonda, and author of "Street Wars, Gangs and the Future of Violence"; Phyllis Bennis, Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies; and Dennis Kucinich.

Hope comes - learning to speak truth to others

This presentation finally gave me the hope I was looking for. All the speakers everywhere have been saying that we need to get involved in politics, like the people who got out in the streets for the civil rights movement. It sounded good but could it make any difference. All the speakers were informative and well informed, but these speakers added something that made a difference.

Mimi Kennedy said that when we talk to others in discussions that include disagreement we can diffuse conflict by using "we" statements while talking about our goals.

Medea Benjamin stressed that progressive, anarchist, green, independent, and even most republicans all want the same things. And that when we learn to work together in our common goals we will be a powerful force.

History - Democratic Convention - 1968

Tom Hayden talked about the history of change. He talked about their protest at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. About how only a few people showed up on the first day, although the police were prepared for huge crowds. But, when he and his comrades were not allowed to speak and were arrested for insisting on their first amendment right to speak, within a couple of days there were 10,000 people there. He said that when John Kennedy (who we think of one of our greatest presidents in many ways) was against civil rights for all, when he was elected president, but the civil rights movement was so strong and so universal in our nation, that he had no choice but to choose to support it. Mr. Hayden said that it does not really matter who is president, although it will be easier with Kerry than with Bush, because it is the power of the people that choose the direction of our country. Things can go poorly for awhile but eventually the goodness of the people will overpower any misdirection of our leaders if we are willing to be active and lead them.

I know that I can choose, in the very strongly democratic California, to express a protest vote in November, but if I were living in a swing state, or a close state, I would consider my first step to change getting Bush out of office by any means necessary, even if I have to vote for Kerry. But I believe that this cannot be the only step I take. We need to get progressive people in the Senate and Congress and even then pay attention to what they are doing. And even then, and especially, if we are not involved in our communities and in our country (as overwhelming as that may be) no one will know about our dreams. Even supporting causes by returning emails from moveon.org, or wecount.org or others makes a big difference because we let our leaders know that we are watching.

The democratic convention is beginning to heat up for the big day of speeches and votes tomorrow and it is going pretty well. I will write my observations later but for the most part it is going very well. I was being inspired by Tom Hayden (and buought his book as a reference for the work I have do back home).

Next, my friends and I went back to Cambridge and saw Michael Moore. It was so good!!! My friends filmed it and they are going to take it back to San Francisco and edit it into a documentary they are working on for the African American communities. One piece of great footage was when he said "I sure hope President Bush isn't watching the DNC and eating a pretzel at the same time" and then he clutched his throat with both hands as if choking. I have to go and don't have time to tell you about Wednesday but will get back to you tonight.

My reporter friend from Toronto interviewed Dennis Kucinich about the draft. See http://www.nowtoronto.com and look for "news" then "Alt Summit Raises Draft Fears"