An Exhumation (and Reincarnation)

For some reason, a reason I have not yet fully fathomed, I have decided to exhume this old blog and try to make it readable again.  There is a lot here - years of my thoughts and realizations, which I am reluctant to bury, some good, some awful, but mine none-the-less.  I started this blog in order to combat the lunacy of the Aways Wrong Right during the years of the George "Dubya" Bush debacle.  Motivated by my brother, Scroff, I joined other Progressive bloggers in an attempt to counter the Right's lies and insinuations, hence my participation in the American Patriot Institute.  How, I reasoned, could we who had served be labeled Un-American and traitors?  The swiftboating of a legitimate war hero, John Kerry, showed me that in Right Wing politics there is no room for "reason" of any kind.  This was only reinforced by the Right's lame efforts to discredit Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential elections.  Indeed, to this day, their claims that he is a Muslim, (as if that in itself should disqualify him somehow in a country founded, in part, on religious freedom), or that he is not a natural born citizen, still ring from the mouths of the Right Wing shills on Fox News and from the likes of Rush Limbaugh on Right Wing Radio, and is eagerly consumed by legions of common working folk, too scared or bamboozled to act in their own best interests.  (Face it, the wealthy, who are for the most part, the Real Republicans, are far too educated and intelligent to fall for such blatant nonsense.)  With the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States, I naively considered the battle won and slowly withdrew from the field.

But it is not politics that draws me back.  Rather it is death. The death of four good friends over the last eight months.  I have come to see my own vulnerability and mortality and it is this realization, that tomorrow should never be taken for granted, that motivates me now.  There is no more "later".  There is only now for me, and if there is to be a "later" for someone-else, a later that involves a truly free country, with equal opportunities and real justice, a later in which all the sick are treated and all the hungry fed, a later where all children are able to reach their potential, where war is a last resort and not a method of strong arm diplomacy, where good, hard working men do not die in mines or offshore oil rigs to feed the Corporate Coffers of soulless, arrogant men, then I must act now.

No longer can I sit by while our work is shipped offshore and our hardworking citizens left to languish in fear, choosing between eating, medical care or paying bills, as rich Republicans deny even the smallest bit of help by refusing to extend unemployment benefits. No longer can I bear to watch once proud workers who built our nation and raised our families struggle, with no help at all from their fellow citizens while Big Banks, Oil Companies and Automakers feed freely at the public trough!  Welfare is evil and only encourages laziness! Unless it is Corporate Welfare under the guise of Bail outs!  Too big to fail is too big to exist! That is real free market economics!  Socialism works fine for Mismanaged Corporate giants, for Wall Street... but not for Main Street! Main Street is told to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and carry on as the rugged "Real Americans" always have, and the illusive carrot that is dangled is "work hard and you too can join the ranks of the wealthy"!  Ah yes, Capitalism at it's best ~ indeed, then let that free market capitalism apply to all.

Myths like the Protestant Work Ethic apply only to the working class!  Easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!  This false promise of reward and social justice in an afterlife is small comfort to the family watching their child die due to lack of adequate healthcare.

It is time to level the playing field.  And that is exactly what I will try to do.  Will you join me?  Will you help me? The future is ours, but we must act now.

d.

Move Your Money!

It's so simple an idea I don't know why it took this long for someone to come up with it! If Washington can't or won't control the Big Banks, we can!

Read the article below and take a look at the video. Then repost this everywhere! Let's put our money where it will do us the most good!

d.

Move Your Money: A New Year's Resolution

Arianna Huffington

and Rob Johnson

Last week, over a pre-Christmas dinner, the two of us, along with political strategist Alexis McGill, filmmaker/author Eugene Jarecki, andNick Penniman of the HuffPost Investigative Fund, began talking about the huge, growing chasm between the fortunes of Wall Street banks and Main Street banks, and started discussing what concrete steps individuals could take to help create a better financial system. Before long, the conversation turned practical, and with some help from friends in the world of bank analysis, a video and website were produced devoted to a simple idea: Move Your Money.

The big banks on Wall Street, propped up by taxpayer money and government guarantees, have had a record year, making record profits while returning to the highly leveraged activities that brought our economy to the brink of disaster. In a slap in the face to taxpayers, they have also cut back on the money they are lending, even though the need to get credit flowing again was one of the main points used in selling the public the bank bailout. But since April, the Big Four banks -- JP Morgan/Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo -- all of which took billions in taxpayer money, have cut lending to businesses by $100 billion.

Meanwhile, America's Main Street community banks -- the vast majority of which avoided the banquet of greed and corruption that created the toxic economic swamp we are still fighting to get ourselves out of -- are struggling. Many of them have closed down (or been taken over by the FDIC) over the last 12 months. The government policy of protecting the Too Big and Politically Connected to Fail is badly hurting the small banks, which are having a much harder time competing in the financial marketplace. As a result, a system which was already dangerously concentrated at the top has only become more so.

We talked about the outrage of big, bailed-out banks turning around and spending millions of dollars on lobbying to gut or kill financial reform -- including "too big to fail" legislation and regulation of the derivatives that played such a huge part in the meltdown. And as we contrasted that with the efforts of local banks to show that you can both be profitable and have a positive impact on the community, an idea took hold: why don't we take our money out of these big banks and put them into community banks? And what, we asked ourselves, would happen if lots of people around America decided to do the same thing? Our money has been used to make the system worse -- what if we used it to make the system better?

Everyone around the table quickly got excited (granted we are an excitable group), and began tossing out suggestions for how to get this idea circulating.

Eugene, the filmmaker among us, remarked that the contrast between the big banks and the community banks we were talking about was very much like the story in the classic Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life, where community banker George Bailey helps the people of Bedford Falls escape the grip of the rapacious and predatory banker Mr. Potter.

It was a lightbulb moment. And, unlike the vast majority of dinner conversations, the excitement over this idea didn't end with dessert. It actually led to something -- thanks in great part to Eugene and his remarkable team, who got to work and, in record time, created a brilliant, powerful, and inspiring video playing off the It's a Wonderful Life concept. Watch it below.

Within a few days, the rest of the pieces fell into place, including an agreement with top financial analysts Chris Whalen and Dennis Santiago, who gave us access to their IRA (Institutional Risk Analytics) database. Using this tool, everyone will be able to plug in their zip code and quickly get a list of the small, solvent Main Street banks operating in their community.

The idea is simple: If enough people who have money in one of the big four banks move it into smaller, more local, more traditional community banks, then collectively we, the people, will have taken a big step toward re-rigging the financial system so it becomes again the productive, stable engine for growth it's meant to be. It's neither Left nor Right -- it's populism at its best. Consider it a withdrawal tax on the big banks for the negative service they provide by consistently ignoring the public interest. It's time for Americans to move their money out of these reckless behemoths. And you don't have to worry, there is zero risk: deposit insurance is just as good at small banks -- and unlike the big banks they don't provide the toxic dividend of derivatives trading in a heads-they-win, tails-we-lose fashion.

Think of the message it will send to Wall Street -- and to the White House. That we have had enough of the high-flying, no-limits-casino banking culture that continues to dominate Wall Street and Capitol Hill. That we won't wait on Washington to act, because we know that Washington has, in fact, been a part of the problem from the start. We simply can't count on Congress to fix things. We have to do it ourselves -- and the big banks are the core of the problem. We need to return to the stable, reliable, people-oriented approach of America's community banks.

So watch Eugene's amazing video, then go to www.moveyourmoney.info to learn more about how easy it is to move your money. And pass the idea on to your friends (help make this video -- and this idea -- go viral!).

JP Morgan/Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America may be "too big to fail" -- but they are not too big to feel the impact of hundreds of thousands of people taking action to change a broken financial and political system. Let them gamble with their own money, not yours. Let's turn big banks into smaller banks. We'll all be better off -- and safer -- as a result.

Make it your New Year's resolution to move your money. We can't think of a better way to start 2010.

Fix it!

While perusing my feed this morning I came across this from Fixer at Alternate Brain. Sums up the way I feel exactly, so head on over to Alternate Brain and give it a look.

"Fixing shit is what I do, and I do it well. Everything from lawnmowers to jet engines, I can figure out what's wrong with it and make it work correctly, or let you know it's beyond hope. All except our political system. I wouldn't have a clue of where to start. This health care "reform" process shows me it's pretty well beyond hope."

Read the rest here.

While you're there, look around. A lot of good stuff going on over there!

d.

Big Giant Head Rips Wolf; Law & Order

Bill O'Reilly Slams "Law & Order" Creator Dick Wolf: 'Despicable Human Being'

Huffington Post | Danny Shea

First Posted: 12-11-09 03:28 PM | Updated: 12-11-09 05:09 PM

Bill O'Reilly slammed "Law & Order" and its creator, Dick Wolf, Thursday night on "The O'Reilly Factor." O'Reilly took particular offense to a recent segment in which one character said:

"Garrison, Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly, all of them. They're like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate. I mean, they have convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that fail to pay a living wage or a broken health care system."

O'Reilly called that "simply defamatory and outrageous," and labeled Wolf "a coward"...

Full story here.

Crazy... Pure, unadulterated bullshit from the Big Giant Head!

I have worked on every Law & Order show there is, including the original series. I can tell you that Mr. Wolf puts his money where his mouth is. He uses Union labor. He pays extremely well. His employees all have one of the best healthcare plans available. He cares about those he employs.

There have been times in the past, when other shows pulled out of New York to seek cheaper labor in Canada or Right to Work states, with little care for the hard working, dedicated people they left behind. Mr. Wolf is NOT one of these. He has helped to shape the New York Television Production industry more than any other single person or company and he has fed my family countless times and will continue to do so in the future.

It is not often that a behind the scenes crew member will publicly defend a producer or production company, but in this case I have no problem putting my name on the line in Mr. Wolf's behalf. If Mr. O' Reilly did half the good for people that Dick Wolf does, he would be a saint. As it is, all he does is sit on his butt and criticize those who do.

So STFU Billo! You aren't fit to be a pimple on Dick Wolf's ass!

Chris "Snaggle" Markunas
Shop Craftsman
IATSE
Local #52

Updated 12/12/09, 2:42 pm, est, to correct omission of source and author

Betrayal!

I never expected this much betrayal from the Dems...I guess it's time to reopen deuddersun says... and go back on the offensive. These folks need to know that we won't forget and we certainly won't forgive.

Bank-Friendly Dems Shut Down House, Threaten To Kill Wall Street Reform

www.huffingtonpost.com

A group of Democrats friendly to Wall Street interests forced a delay in consideration of the landmark financial regulatory reform bill scheduled to hit the House floor on Wednesday, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told reporters in the Speaker's lobby. ...

Blackwater? Black deeds...

I found this this morning at Walk of the Fallen. It's a must see. As a United States Marine, it makes me sick to my stomach. I may, we may, have to fight these people some day and it breaks my heart to think I might have to take up arms against fellow Marines, but they made their choice...

Hat tip gratefully given to Walk of the Fallen.

d.

Saving Grace, by Amanda Mueller

This is a guest article by Amanda Mueller and it really hits home on the Abortion issue. Take a minute and read it. It's well worth it.

Pulling up to the home of Gail and Robert Anderson, a large statute of the Virgin Mary sits in the yard welcoming guests into the home, while protecting the family that lives there. Next to the statute of Mary, inside of labyrinth of daisies, daffodils, tulips and roses is a stone engraved with the word grace. For the Anderson’s grace is not just a word or a concept taught through their strong Catholic faith, but the name of the daughter their hopes and dreams hung onto. It is the name of the daughter they said goodbye to in the Kansas office of a man named Dr. George Tiller.

Both coming from large families with faith deeply-rooted in the Catholic church, the Andersons looked forward to starting their own family with great anticipation, eagerly awaiting pregnancy test results each month in hopes that they would discover they were to become parents. The April morning that their hopes were realized is described by Robert as being one of the best days of his life. After breakfast, they went to the local bookstore together to purchase books on pregnancy, for him and for her, and celebrated by inviting their parents to dinner, sharing their news between the gumbo and the dessert.

“We were the first of our families to marry and were the first in our families to have children. With our parents around the table, we celebrated a generation being added – being first time parents and first time grandparents. It was a moment of love, hope and joy,” Gail says, thinking back to the day that was to change their lives forever, unknowing exactly how much would change.

Their world was now filled with routine doctor visits, baby name books and trying to decide what color to paint the nursery. With no complications known to them, the Andersons enjoyed their last moments together as husband and wife before they would also become mother and father.

It was during a routine ultrasound, Gail’s first, when concern was raised over the development of the child. Told by their doctors that there was no cause for alarm, the Andersons were referred to specialists who referred them to another set of specialists. Finally, at 27 weeks, a doctor out of Baton Rogue gave them the honesty they had needed, informing them with regret that cystic masses were covering the child’s left lung, forcing pressure on a heart that had not fully developed.

Gail would be forced to deliver her child through c-section, as the stress of a traditional birth would be too much for their baby’s body to handle. Their baby would need to be on life support machines for months until able to have the surgeries required that could repair the damage of the child’s suffocated heart and remove the masses from the undeveloped lung. As painful was it was for the Andersons to hear that this child they wanted so badly may not live even after the surgeries intended to repair damage, they were forced to make a decision that not only challenged their personal strength, but where they fit into their Catholic faith.

After a frank discussion with their specialist, they decided that not only did the quality of life of their unborn child need to be questioned, but the life expectancy even if surgeries were successful. There were no guarantees and one day, one month or one year could be added to the life of their child, but not much more than that. After discussing every option available to them, the decision to visit Dr. George Tiller’s office in Kansas to have a late-term abortion was made. Both the Andersons sunk into a depression, feeling as if they were losing both their child and their religion.

“We are catholic. We are supposed to be against abortion, but the church teaches mercy as well. The church examines quality of life. It isn’t a black and white issue as so many like to make it, ” Robert says, looking away while fondling with his fingers the golden crucifix he wears around his neck.

As they packed their car to travel to Wichita, Kansas, members of their parish came, trying to talk them out of their decision. Unable to deal with the confrontation, Gail admits she almost called the trip off at the last minute, unsure of how she would be able to sit next to these women in mass. This group was the same women she had gathered with outside of a clinic that performed abortions in Metarie, Louisiana, once a month coming together, praying for the souls of the unborn babies; for the souls of those making this choice. They traveled in silence, both trying to come to terms with their own perceived failures in the choice they were making.

“It was the longest car ride I had ever been on. I didn’t know what to say to my wife. I didn’t know what to think for myself, ” says Robert, recalling the trip that led them from Louisiana to Kansas, finally reaching the one-story, beige Women’s Health Care Services building where Dr. Tiller practiced.

“Dr. Tiller was a very gentle man to my husband and I. He wasn’t the villain that people, me included, had often painted him. He was soft-spoken. He held our hands while we mourned our loss. He even prayed with us.”

Explaining the procedure to the Andersons and the efforts the clinic would make to help them memorialize their child, Dr. Tiller showed the Andersons the compassion and support they so badly wished they had received from their neighbors and friends.

The next day as they arrived to the clinic, they found themselves surrounded by protesters chanting, begging the Andersons to change their mind and group of children holding a pro-life model of a fetus while calling the Andersons murderers, telling the Andersons that God would not save their souls for taking away the life of another. What was already a traumatic experience, was now infused with guilt, panic and fear.

“The staff was respectful and allowed me to have a little bit of dignity where I didn’t think I had any left. It made me sad that I didn’t get that from my friends or my religious community, but from strangers in a hospital setting. To this day, I am bitter about that,” Gail confessed.

On the wall of their living room, next to a crucifix and a painting of the Virgin Mary and St. Brigid of Ireland, is a plaque that holds on it two tiny foot prints.

“They do not just look at this as being abortion mills – the staff,” Robert says, looking up at the footprints of their baby Grace.

“She was real. They made her real for us. Those footprints was Dr. Tiller’s idea. He wasn’t a man with crazed-eyes anticipating the kill like some anti-abortion activists would like you to picture. He understood the difficult position we were in. He allowed us to still have a piece of the family we wanted. He even called the baby be her name, by Grace.”

It was very difficult for the Anderson family to learn of the murder of Dr. Tiller. Because he was one of the few individuals that showed them understanding, he became an unofficial member of their family, the quiet uncle that sits in the corner, observing, quiet except for a few pieces of sage advice.

“The people that praised Dr. Tiller’s murder - they are the real monsters.”

The Andersons have not left the Catholic church, still strong in their faith, believing that the church has begun to rely too much on the word of man rather than church teachings, becoming dangerously involved in politics and losing sight that the world simply is not black and white.

They continue forward, despite for some calling of their removal from the church, because they know that they are not alone. They move forward because it is their hope that other Catholics faced with similar situations will realize that they are not alone. They move forward by the Grace of their daughter. They move forward, with two beautiful boys, ages five and four, who send kisses to their sister in heaven each night, their head held high, believing their only crime was showing mercy to the meek.

Amanda Mueller is an independent journalist based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. Her reporting on human rights issues has been published in syndication and internationally and she serves as a researcher and the only United States member of Press for Peace, an organization focused on advocacy, research, education and networking in peace, human rights and environment related issues. She is also the winner of the 2009 SIANS Human Rights Award and serves as the United States Development Officer for PNN English. Her website can be found at amandamueller.com

Ali G on Drugs

A little humor to warm you up for the really funny shit below...



Any questions?

d.

The Reagan"Purity" test

This is too dam funny! They never cease to amaze me with their absolute ignorance of facts!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

d.

Give Unto Ceasar...

Chris Matthews schools Bishop Thomas Tobin in the separation of church and state.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The arguments put forth by Bishop Tobin, that religion trumps all and therefore justifies any activity, might well have come from Osama Bin Laden. You make the call.

Keep your bible off of my laws!

d.

Nooooow I understand!

Got it?

d.

On Tuesday, November 10, 2009, the United States Marine Corps will celebrate it's 234th Birthday. For 234 years, United States Marines have been defending and protecting each other and the citizens of the United States and her allies. In recognition of this event, I will be posting videos and tributes to the Corps. As one young fellow once said, "Becoming a Marine is the proudest achievement in my life." Forty years later, I still feel that way. For my Brothers and Sisters, Semper Fi! For everyone-else, we have always been, are now, and will always be, there to protect and defend you! Here is a little slice of what it means to be a United States Marine! OohRah!

d.

You Tell 'em Ed!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Need I say more?

d.

Why We Need Government-run, Universal, Socialized, Call-it-what-you-want, Healthcare

Any questions?

d.

Shall The Circle Be Unbroken?

And so the Lion is laid to rest. The son of a wealthy family who, along with his older brothers, fought tirelessly for the poor and underpriveleged, the common man and woman, upon whose backs this country was built. America has lost a Champion.

The words he spoke at his brother Bobby's funeral echo in my mind today, and ironically, apply themselves to him better than any tribute I could make.

"My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."

Who now will pick up the torch? Who now will Champion the masses? Who now will seek for justice and equality for all men and women?

It is no accident that Senator Kennedy so fervently endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy for President. In passing the torch he annointed a new Lion. A young Lion. In our grief, let us affirm what Ted Kennedy stood for. Let us throw our stength and will behind the new torch bearer and complete Senator Kennedy's dream. In doing so, we will ensure that he didn't struggle on our behalf in vain.

For Jack, Bobby and Teddy. Thank you all so very much.

d.

This is exactly why I voted for him...

Go Get 'em Prez! You've got my support!

d.

Philadelphia Celebrates!

Why am I not at work today? Because I was here last night!





I just don't have the words to describe what I'm feeling today so I'll leave it up to the two most beloved Philly women since Betsy Ross -

Lauren Hart and Kate Smith!



God Bless America!

d.

VICTORY! For all of us...

I have been writing here since March, 2004, ever since my brother, scroff, and his Lady, Ruthie, (now his wife), brought me to my senses regarding the machinations of the Bush Administration. I actually awoke sometime earlier, when they invited me to post on Activist San Diego, and then, on their website, Any Which Way. Eventually, I came to realize that Bush was a fraud, a liar and a gangster supreme, and so I started this blog, to support John Kerry, a fellow Vet, and to expose the Bush Cartel for the traitors they are. I never believed that Bush was dumb. I always believed that he was shrewd. He played the "Good Ole Boy" like Liberachi played the piano and once I "saw" him, I knew I had to do everything I could to defeat him.

2004 was a major disappointment to those of us in the reality based community. It was a hard slap in the face. We were so sure our fellow Americans could see what was so obvious to us. Bush's re-election was an icy cold dagger through our collective heart. And so it was with renewed resolve and dedication that we set out to save our country from itself. While many on the Always Wrong Right prayed for our failure, it seems God delivered to us a man who could finally help us recover all that was good about America - that man was Barack Obama.

Tonight, Barack Obama is the next President of the United States of America. Yes, he is the first President of African American heritage, and that, in and of itself, is earth shattering and history making. But more importantly, he is a man driven to bring out the best in America, to bring out the best in all Americans, and it is that quality that made him my candidate.

I have blogged for him. I have spoken for him. I have turned away from former friends who could not get over their racial prejudices for him. I have campaigned for him. I have sent him my money, given him my time, invested my future in him - in him and America. Because like him, I love my country and only want the best for it. And he hasn't let me down. And I doubt that he will.

A long time ago, before many of my readers were born, I served my country to the best of my ability. Now I am proud to pass the torch to a man who will also serve his country. A man who will lead the next generation into the 21st Century and re-light the flame of Freedom that for so long was a beacon to the rest of the world.

That man is Barack Obama. My job is finally done.




From one "Boss" to Another...thanks Bruce...you helped put it over the top

Sing along.. I wanna fuckin hear ya in Philadelphia!




I need a rest. Good night and God Bless...

d.

We The People...

We the People...

Powerful words. In those three words lie the basis of our Constitution, our Nation, our Freedom, for all power given to Government is derived from the People. We are the Government and those we "hire" to do our will are answerable to us. Otherwise we become the "governed", subject to the rule of a handful of others, rather than a free and independent people, self-governed through Representatives we elect to serve us.


For the last eight years we have been "governed" by a handful of "others" who have sought only to serve themselves and their own self-interests. They have taken the Power we gave them and abused both it and us. It is time to take that Power back. It is time for a second American Revolution. It is time for change.

Today we will have the chance to make that change. To Revolt against those who have misused our sacred trust. Who have misled us into an un-necessary war for profit, bankrupt our economy, left our children behind, abandoned our fellow citizens in time of National Disaster, (Katrina), deprived the new Veterans they have created of the proper medical care and benefits they have earned, shredded our Constitution, broken our Laws shamelessly and without fear of reprisal, lied to us continuously, allowed Bin Laden to remain dangerous and at large,and made Justice a travesty. They have made profit for themselves their only goal, while using our hard earned money for corporate socialism as they ignore the plight of millions of Americans who have lost homes, jobs and hope.

Today it is time for us to Declare our Independence once more. Today we can take back America, and make it ours again. Today, with one vote at a time, we can tell those who would reduce us to a feudal state that we will take no more, we will not allow them to rape us for the benefit of multi-national corporations whose only interest is maximizing profit at our expense. We can tell them that we want our freedom back - the freedom of a worker to choose whether or not he or she joins a Union, the freedom of a woman to choose what to do with her own body, the freedom to communicate with each other without government eavesdropping, the freedom to peacefully assemble and petition our government without jackbooted thugs attacking us, the freedom from fear of an unforeseen health crisis destroying our lives, the freedom from religious zealots imposing their will upon us. Freedom. The very foundation upon which our America was built - that foundation which the Bush-Cheney regime has consistently undermined and sought to destroy for the last eight years.

Today we must say NO to those who would continue the failed policies of the past. Today we must reclaim the Power we gave to the usurpers and return it where it belongs, with We, the People! Today we must unite together, millions of Americans speaking with one loud, clear voice, it... is... over, we will take no more! We will choose freedom over slavery, hope over despair, the future over the past!

Today we will elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden!


Power To The People!



Turn it up!



VOTE!

d.

Wassup? 8 Years Later...

VOTE!!!

Obama - Biden for Change We Need!

Hattip to my good friend and Union Brother - Manny Sanchez

d.