Let me be up front and say I was never a big Edwards Supporter unlike seemingly most of the Netroots. I was always pretty ambivalent about the guy, liked his politics and his wife a lot more than I liked him, but he was never my "A" Option when it came to Presidential picks. Nor did I see him as this Progressive Hero, nor did I see him as my Hero.

So when I heard about the affair allegations I didn't care all that much, but I assumed them to be true, because, well, honestly, I just assume everyone has a little something on the side, or a game they run, or a racket they play. No one does anything just out of the pure kindness of his or her moral convictions. Deep down everyone is a bit of a sinner. Deep down everyone is a little corrupt. Deep down everyone is a little morally bankrupt.

Especially politicians; whether they are from the Left or the Right.

That's right, Virginia, there are cynics in the world. And I am one of them.

This is of course prompted by the Edwards thing.  (And for the record, I'm thoroughly disgusted with the guy.  As it turns out, it mostly just hurts his family.  But as many others have pointed out, if the primary had ended differently we could all have been, well, screwed.)

But that's not really what I'm thinking about.

I'm thinking about our (Americans', Democrats', and especially kossacks') tendency to put people on pedestals.

A joke was recently presented to me in the form of an opinion piece by the Wall Street Journal.  In it, the author hilariously attempts to equate Batman as he is portrayed in the new movie with...  lol... sorry one sec...   lolololol... with George W. Bush.  Hold on. hahahahahahah.  Ok, I haven’t seen the movie, so I gotta know, does Batman let the main villain escape into the mountains then turn all of his effort, all of his technology, and all of his attention to a common street thug and fail even in that by the end of the movie?  

I know there have been other diaries about Joseph Dwyerm, but IGTNT, and some mornings I remember what is really important. Today is one of them.  This isn't about Joseph, this is about Tom, patriotism, and sacrifice.

It all started with the quote "Joseph never came home."

The title was going to be "Famous Americans who were pure in thought and deed".  But the rules forbid blank diaries.

So.... Instead..... I present

Even my heroes have warts

Yes, I do have heroes.  I am not so cynical as to believe that there are no heroes.  Some of my heroes are even (gasp) politicians.  In fact, one of the reasons I'm on this site is because I think politicians can be heroes.

It's always going to be a dirty game though.

Few people ever spring to life fully formed. Usually (spoiler alert), they begin their public lives by peeing uncontrollably, crying uncontrollably and sleeping uncontrollably.

But on this date in 1939, a new human comes into being, the brainchild of an art school dropout and an aspiring writer and part-time shoe salesman. About a year before, a publisher had struck gold with a muscle-bound man in blue with a red cape. The publisher wants to see if more money can be made off the idea.

Drawing influence from such pop culture elements as Sherlock Holmes and The Mark of Zorro, a star is born. He will have a cape and a skintight costume, albeit of a different color, but he will rule the streets not with his might but with his means.

Or, to be more precise: On this date in 1939, Detective Comics debuts Bob Kane and Bill Finger's creation, Batman.

In the time it took certain commenter's to define  the word Hero, we could have all e-mailed our Congressmen a zillion times.

I heard that there are right wing sock puppets out here trying to demoralize anybody with a brain.

Mind control, Brainwashing. Go after the apparent ring leaders, wise guys, cut them out of the heard first.

I laughed when I heard that Kos was supposed to be filled with hateful people.

*I Was Lost, Then I Found The Hippies On Kos* and I'm the person 130 commenters mobbed my first day.

Kos is Love* The Media is brainwashed.

I Would like to wish our Troops and Everyone else too a Great Memorial Day Weekend.

I will be fondly thinking of you all and praying for a fast resolution to the situation in Iraq.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
***Hero (male) and Heroine (female) came to refer to characters that, in the face of danger and adversity  display courage and the will for self-sacrifice, that is, heroism, for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence.

These young men and women do a job that not all of us can, or would inconvenience ourselves and do.
They're brave when others are definitely not.

When America is in trouble we call on our service men and women to save us.

Our US Military forces, unfailingly do what is needed to protect me and everyone in our nation.

The question of whether our government is right or wrong has no bearing on the fact that our brave service men and women put their very existence on the line for people like me and you.

If They Shoot At You; You Don't Just Stand There And Say
"Give Me A Hug Brother, I'm a Pacifist, I love you".

You Shoot Back!

Please forgive me if my love for you all offends.

HERO

I fell in love with Hillary when I was 11 years old and she gave the speech health care.  Bill said he has needed someone to take care of designing a new health care system, and that "luckily (he) didn't have to look far".  My mother said excitedly "He's talking about Hillary!"  I fell in love with her then.

That seems so long ago now.

(crossposted from Docudharma)

Fall River (MA) —

Before Saturday night, Bruce Hebert wondered why God kept him on Earth.
By 7:30 p.m., he had his answer.

Below the fold...

While the various polls show women over 50 or 60 supporting Hillary Clinton, there is still an incredible contingent in that demographic who passionately support Barack Obama.

In particular, I am humbled by and tremendously proud of one of these amazing women; she is and always has been, my greatest role model. This "woman of a certain age" is intelligent, compassionate, loving, articulate, strong-willed, and generally all around fabulous.

And one more thing about my mom -- let me tell you -- this lady is opinionated and it's absolutely inspiring to know her and to listen to her.

My 63 year old mother -- let me share her with you.

Some of my favorite politicians love to repeat that John McCain is a hero.  But in an election that so often turns on candidates' honesty and credibility, somebody please tell me - how is McCain a hero?

Please show me any real threat to my country from Vietnam that McCain ever fought to save us from.

• If being captured and tortured makes a hero, then the captives at Guantanamo are heroes.
• If following orders without question makes a hero, then Adolph Eichmann was a hero.
• If killing without regard to whether your target is a threat to the USA makes a hero, then Lieutenant William Calley of the My Lai massacre is a hero.

There are plenty of genuine heroes among our veterans from both Vietnam and Iraq.  We denigrate their service when we claim John McCain is a hero.

One of the favorite things I learned while in an Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery was the term "fool for Christ." These "fools" were simply, and often simple, spiritual people who had truly found their connection to God, to a higher order. It changed their lives, but in doing so it often cost their lives. The "fools" would confront what they perceived as non-Christian behavior in even the powerful, both within the church and the State. And for doing so, were often executed or persecuted for their efforts. Many of the Orthodox saints were "fools for Christ"

See Below for update #4, #5, #6, #7.

As many have noticed to different degrees, there is a bit of an economic crisis going on. Between the drastically falling -- after drastically appreciating -- house prices, the bad loans related to "securitization" and the domino effect of that ill-conceived mix playing out into the greater economy on the one hand, and the rising cost of commodities (aka resources) and falling dollar on the other hand, we have a whole range of financial issues in between that have been destabilizing financial security in America and beyond.

Some financial analysts are now saying the worst of all this is behind us, others are saying the worst is yet to come.  Ironically they are both right.  I want to give thanks to the netroots media for facilitating a shift in this story that was going to be all bad news, but now has a potentially happy ending.

If secular humanists drew and erected icons, who would be on their iconostasis?

We've all been enchanted by tales of conflict.  Of the villain fighting to "teach the world", and the normal person forced to play the 'hero' and fight back when pushed beyond the point of decency.

These have become basic roles carved into the psyche of countless cultures, some more noble, others more crass and cruel in response.  They've been played in different ways in countless tales and tales in response.  

In the real world though, everyone is at the same time trying to paint their  favorite people as the hero, and those in their way as the villain.

Bumper-sticker slogans and catchy catch phrases have begun a staple of American life, but many are fraught with enigmatic meaning and constantly applied non-stop.

Some -- a few -- are zingers that fly straight and true, striking the bullseye perfectly. Like the arrow shot from the bow of William Tell that struck the apple atop his son's head, a handleful of sig lines contain not only an element of truth but also call out to establish themselves by linking directly to popular cultural folklore and events.

"Who shot JR?" and "Support the troops" have nothing on them.  I saw such a sig line tonight, as did others...

The wire services are reporting that Sara Jane Moore - the woman who attempted to assassinate President Ford in September, 1975 - has been released from a federal prison in Dublin, California.

What few of the wire stories are saying - even today - is that the man who prevented that assassination was gay.