Percy…

I just got word tonight that Percy Julian Jr. passed away; he was only 67 years old. Percy was the son of Percy Julian Sr. – the renowned scientist; he was a pioneering civil rights attorney [read more: http://www.madison.com/tct/news/274194].
He was also a student at Aikido of Madison. I had the pleasure of taking classes with him, but also of having some great conversations with him off the mat. On one particular occasion, we bumped into each other at Cleveland’s Diner off the Square and had brunch together.
He was a kind, intelligent, wise man who led a fascinating life.He had been away from Aikido for a while when he re-appeared this past Fall. It was great to see him on the mat, and to get a chance to catch up with him. I looked forward to many more conversations with him; those, alas, I will never have.
67; a stroke; it’s all so fragile, folks…

spineless…

Glenn Greenwald over at Salon.com gives a very thorough and easy to understand commentary on all of this, but the long and short of it is that the Democrats have once again rolled over and given the Bush administration a major victory, passing FISA – the Federal Intelligence and Surveillance Act, a bill that gives total, retroactive, immunity to Bush and members of his administration plus any telecom corporation that willingly gives over information on OUR communications (email, phone, cell phone) without a warrant. 

 

Says Greenwald:

“That’s really the most extraordinary aspect of all of this, if one really thinks about it — it isn’t merely that the Democratic Senate failed to investigate or bring about accountability for the clearest and more brazen acts of lawbreaking in the Bush administration, although that is true. Far beyond that, once in power, they are eagerly and aggressively taking affirmative steps — extraordinary steps — to protect Bush officials.”

 

Please note that neither Sen. Clinton nor Sen. Obama voted on this act. I know, they’re campaigning and all, but apparently their busy schedules didn’t afford them time to actually put their money where their mouth is and vote against this abhorrent piece of legislation.

 

Read more: 

 

Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/index.html