Hilary Clinton sees that the shifting sentiments of the public regarding l’Affaire Lott require her to modify her initial tepid comments a bit. I sent her an email saying I thought Lott should be censured by the Senate, at a minimum. I think he should be forced out, except that a damaged GOP is probably the safest thing for all of us.

Click MORE to see the December 11 and December 13 versions of her e-mail. I didn’t send a new e-mail in the intervening period. It appears two days later that she is shocked, simply shocked, to find racist behavior coming from Mr. Lott. I guess she hasn’t paid attention for the last 20 years.

December 11, 2002

Dear Mr. _________:

Thank you for sharing your concerns with me regarding statements made by
Senator Trent Lott. Following is a statement that I issued yesterday in
regard to the Senator’s remarks. It is very important to me to hear from
my constituents in regard to issues that are important to them.

“How can anyone doubt that America is better off having elected Harry
Truman in 1948. As many of my colleagues have said, these comments were
wrong and certainly warranted an apology. Our leaders should be bringing
people together not opening old wounds with statements that celebrate one
of the most troubling and heart breaking times in our nation’s history.”

If you would like to respond to my e-mail or contact me via e-mail about
this or any other subject, please use my web response form at
http://clinton.senate.gov/email_form.html. Because of the size of my
constituency and the growing number who choose to communicate through
e-mail, I have selected the web form as the fairest and most equitable
system to respond to e-mail messages. E-mails that are sent as a direct
response to my outgoing e-mail fall outside the system and do not receive
a response.

Please check my website at http://clinton.senate.gov for regular updates
on this and other important issues being discussed before the United
States Senate.

Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton

December 13, 2002

Dear Mr. _______:

I agree that what Senator Trent Lott said at Senator Strom Thurmond’s
100th birthday party is an extremely serious issue that must be addressed,
and I appreciate your taking the time to contact my office about it.

The ideas that were embraced in Strom Thurmond’s 1948 campaign were
strongly rejected by the American people because those ideas were wrong.
More than a generation ago, Americans of different races and creeds put
their lives on the line so that equality, justice, and economic
opportunity would be available to every American. We are far better off
today as a nation because of their struggle. Leaders in Senator Lott’s
position should be bringing the American people together by celebrating
our nation’s progress, not tearing us apart by suggesting that
segregationist policies of the past were or are somehow acceptable.

The public outrage over Senator Lott’s comments is justified. His
comments were offensive and divisive. In the face of great challenges at
home and abroad, Americans need to join together in celebration of and
support for the values that distinguish us as a great nation. One of these
values is the belief in the equality of all people, and the very idea of
segregation strikes at the heart of that equality. It is my hope that
every American leader, regardless of political affiliation, will strongly
condemn these comments, and make clear that there is no place in our
society, either in public discourse or private dialogue, for such
statements that seem to condone racist policies of the past.

Our nation long ago rejected segregation and it is shocking that the man
who holds the most powerful position in the Senate has suggested in 1980,
1984, and again last week, that it is an acceptable practice. This raises
fundamental questions about his fitness to be Majority Leader. I would
not vote for someone to lead my caucus who made those offensive remarks
but the Republicans will need to decide if this is how they wish to be
represented.

You can be sure that I will continue to work with my colleagues to fight
ideas and policies that are divisive or seek to take America back to a
time when equality of opportunity was not a guarantee. Thank you again
for sharing your views, and please keep in touch.

If you would like to respond to my e-mail or contact me via e-mail about
this or any other subject, please use my web response form at
http://clinton.senate.gov/email_form.html. Because of the size of my
constituency and the growing number who choose to communicate through
e-mail, I have selected the web form as the fairest and most equitable
system to respond to e-mail messages. E-mails that are sent as a direct
response to my outgoing e-mail fall outside the system and do not receive
a response.

Via FAIR

Voters seem not to mind gay-bashing insinuations

Shortly before Saturday’s runoff Senate race in Louisiana, the raspy voice of a Bill Clinton impersonator was heard in a radio commercial that was produced by the campaign of Suzanne Haik Terrell, the Republican candidate.

“Mary Landrieu is so liberal, she might be closer to Hillary than I am,” the voice said.

I love the MSNBC headline: ‘Smoking gun’ in church crisis?

The file on Burns contained not only lurid revelations about the priest’s behavior but also said Law told the Vatican that his archdiocese had assigned Burns to two parishes even though it knew of his “proclivity” toward molesting boys.

In his 1999 order defrocking Burns, the pope said the former priest “ought to live away from the places where his previous condition is known.”

But the pope’s order also offered the man’s religious superior an alternative to forcing Burns to abandon the areas where his condition was known.

The religious superior “is able to dispense from this clause of the decree if it is foreseen that the presence of the suppliant will cause no scandal,” the document said.

At the rate things are going, I’m going to need a “Religion” category.

Jonathan Capehart says Tom Duane doesn’t support gay rights if he’s not willing to abandon transgendered people to get SONDA passed. James tells it like it is.

Clinton was nearly impeached for lying about sex, but Bush appoints Elliott Abrams, who lied to Congress in the Iran-Contra affair.

The judge that says we can’t see Cheney’s energy task force records fought to release Clinton White House records when he was a deputy of Kenneth Starr.

Trent Lott says we would have been better off if the segregationist Dixiecrats had won the presidency with Strom Thurmond, but it takes days for the ‘liberal’ media to notice.

The U.S. intercepts the Iraq arms dossier intended for the U.N. to “make copies” and says it will only share it with certain members of the Security Council — not, so far, the weapons inspection team. Cynics might argue this is because it lists suppliers, including the U.S. and other Security Council members.

What pill can I take to stop noticing things? We’re not even pretending to be a real republic anymore. One party state anyone?

He appeared on Charlie Rose, ostensibly to promote the new Lord of the Rings movie, while wearing a No More Blood For Oil t-shirt.

Moving Pictures and Bill Viola at the Guggenheim

Group show at Massimo Audiello — in the 526 West 26th St. building

Joyce Pensato at Elga Wimmer — same building

K48 show — same building — photo

Apex is doing a cool thing — a different show every day. I recommend Charles Goldman on Dec. 12. We went to see Dean Daderko’s curation, featuring our friend Nancy Hwang, on Saturday:

For more info on the Charles Goldman event on Dec. 12, click MORE.

Thursday, December 12, 2002

7 – 9 p.m.

Apexart C.P.
291 Church Street
212.431.5270

An evening of sounds and sights presented by Charles Goldman

Featuring:
The Brides of Wittgenstein — sonic experimentation
Harrell Fletcher — video projection
Sxip Sheary — sound composition

The Brides of Wittgenstein are a group of visual artists who wish to remain anonymous. This public performance is their first and stems directly from their weekly explorations into the sonic transformation of concrete space. They are not a band and do not call this rock and roll. Opening for them is Sxip Sheary. Sxip is a composer, story teller and sound artist who has worked in various mediums all over the country. He performs on a variety of traditional and re-imagined instruments. For over ten years Harrell Fletcher has worked collaboratively and individually on interdisciplinary, site-specific projects exploring the dynamics of social spaces and communities. He will present a video made in collaboration with Jess Hilliard. This evening has been organized by Charles Goldman. Charles is an artist living and working in Brooklyn. In January of 2001 he curated an exhibition for Apexart entitled Making the Making. He is both a friend to and an admirer of the participating artists and the venue.

The event is free of charge.

From the People For The American Way auction:

Madonna — Ray of Light platinum award, signed personally to buyer

Palestinian-Israeli hotline melts hate

Sammy Waed never thought he would become friends with an Israeli soldier, especially one who had occupied his hometown of Ramallah.

But a month ago, the 20-year-old called a new hotline and ended up speaking to Arik, a 23-year-old from Tel Aviv.

“Arik told me how much he hated his army service, because he was in the middle of a civilian population, policing children and causing harm to innocent people,” Waed said.

“Before, I thought Israelis didn’t care at all when innocent Palestinians suffer and are killed,” he said. “But now I know they do care. And now I have hope that there can be peace.”

Waed is just one of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians who are using the Hello Shalom-Hello Salaam hotline, a phone service that enables Palestinians and Israelis to reach out across the divide of hate, violence and mistrust that characterizes the two worlds.

…