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The Fasting & The Furious

Saturday, Aug. 12, 2006 12:57 PM


Peace Activist Cindy Sheehan was hospitalized briefly for treatment of dehydration.

Let me whip out my violin.

I have no pity for Ms. Sheehan. Her condition is self-imposed, and, according to earlier news accounts, is a fast � not a 'hunger' strike. (I've always considered a hunger strike to be not eating, period.)

The human body is mostly water. Hydration is central to our existence - it sustains bodily function. It is not optional, an inconvenience, or something that will step aside as you make a political statement.

It should come as no surprise that this is a stunt organized by Code Pink � Medea Benjamin's group � that gets noticed more for its stupid stunts, and not for any message they may bear. The group's tips for fasting page lacks any advisory to consult one's personal physician prior to fasting, does not include guidelines attributed to a physician (in other words, if you fuck up, Code Pink ain't paying for your hospital bills), and, in fact, only has a link to an article by a woman who says she's successfully held multiple long-term fasts.

If you are motivated enough to make such a visible protest, you may wish to consider that Code Pink is a group whose members get arrested on a regular basis. They are not, in my opinion, someone to emulate or praise.


Much is being made of Vice President Dick Cheney's comment implying that a vote for Ned Lamont (who triumphed over incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman) will embolden groups like al Qaeda and make something like 9/11 possible again.

In other words, Dick is threatening Americans with harm. Dick is saying that it would be impossible to defend America if the country elects a Democratic majority to the House and Senate, because, heck, accountability and a foreign policy that consists of something other than a spoiled frat boy's temper tantrums is so inconvenient.

Cheney and his kind (which includes former New York Mayor Rudy Giulani, who used Thursday's crisis as the basis of a fundraising letter) don't want you to be aware and thinking, they want you to be AFRAID and OBEDIENT.

It should be noted that the prime suspect in the liquid explosives case (still not proven, to my knowledge) is al Qaeda � the same group the Bush Administration has gutted the funding for, captured or eliminated top leadership, and dismissed as irrelevant. Several times.

Whose policy is making al Qaeda's actions possible again?


Security Council: We have a cease-fire proposal!

Israel: That's nice. Looks good. We're not done yet.



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