The Saffron Road to Freedom

I am saddened by the plight of the people in Burma but heartened by their bravery and desire for democracy.

From Air America's Lionel show's blog, the link to Democratic Voice of Burma, and the comments on this article moved me to post some of them here:

Commenter:

The world is rightly outraged by the oppression and suffering imposed on the Burmese people by a violent, heartless regime. Who are we? Will we stand back and watch this, or will we by our actions declare that we are all one and that this is intolerable. When a people are violated and oppressed as here, love does not claim that this is an internal matter. The whole world should move to stop this. Right now.
Brinick
(France)
09/28/2007

My sentiments exactly:

This is the clearest defining moment of who we are as the "human race", our values, our beliefs, and what is sacred, and if we looked into the mirror tomorrow can we hold our head up and pride in being a human being. This is it! People! Young people the world over! You want a cause to believe in? Where are you now? Where is your voice?
Chung
(Taiwan)
09/28/2007

Want to do something, anything? Sign the Petition to Stand with Burma.

Important information from another poster:

EVERYBODY ALERT!!!!!!!! Now, the government is trying to make a diversion. They give 10,000 kyats (around $7) & a set of Thin Gan(yellow robe) to "Swan Arr Shin"(like USDA which the form as a group that to crash down violently to protester) team and make them to pretend as Monks. Then, command to destroy the Islamic Mosque. This intends to become a fight between Buddhisms & Islams. So, if u hear or see the news that the monks are destroying the Mosque, these are not real monks. They are just fakes. As u all know, the real monks have no intention like that. So, give this information to Islams who u know and tell them From Ko Htike web site http://ko-htike.blogspot.com/ News from Burma
Fellow
(Singapore)
09/28/2007

Here is Dawn's page (a Burma blogger).

A little slice of hope

Maybe the Dems can get something positive done this year. An unsigned editorial in today's NY Times gave me a little hope that they are trying to roll back some of the outrageous powers Bush has drawn unto himself. From A Step Away From the Imperial Presidency:

Fortunately, the prospects are better for undoing a lesser-known example of presidential overreaching. The defense budget bill heading for Senate passage contains a bipartisan measure to repeal wording that made it easier for a president to override local control of the National Guard and declare martial law. That language was slipped into last year’s defense bill.

The revision is sponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, and Christopher Bond, Republican of Missouri, and is backed unanimously by the nation’s governors. It repeals a major weakening of two protective doctrines of liberty. One of them, called posse comitatus, was enacted after the Civil War to bar military forces, including a federalized National Guard, from engaging in domestic law enforcement.

The other, the Insurrection Act of 1807, long contained a limited exception to posse comitatus for putting down lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion, where a state is violating federal law or depriving people of constitutional rights. Under last year’s revision, the exception was unnecessarily broadened to allow the president to use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or to any “other condition.”

Now, if they can only get a veto-proof majority on these important issues, this country might yet be able to outlast Bush's regime. I second the sentiment that ends the article:

For democracy’s sake, there will need to be many more.

Inadvertent Broadcast on c-span3 today

I don't know where this is coming from, either a person's cam that is inadvertently being sent to c-span 3's streaming, or perhaps gov't spying? Anyway, I captured a shot of it, just so I know I'm not crazy. The television is showing the regular c-span show.

Here's the sleeping man: