OT time or how I learned to love/hate my local world

Submitted by shaharazade on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 6:00am

I'm having a hard time dealing with the 'world as we find it' these days. I find myself focusing on local, state and regional as far as politics go. Politics, local, regional, national and global are not really separate from the global society at large. They seem to be a symptom of the general malice the world at large is suffering under. I do not blame ordinary people however as they really do not have any meaningful choice about the direction or agenda that is imposed on them. We hear online from everybody and his dog what the problem is and yet nobody has a solution. The cacophony of voices are powerless they just echo and mirror the divisions offered by unmitigated global power. The vampire squid on humanities face.

Locally it looks a lot like the present global so called reality. Axelrod's 'world as we find it'. I do live in American urban land so maybe that colors my perception. I doubt it. I'm no dummy I can see what's going down. I can also tie it to the what is going down across the universe. Bad news and getting crazier by the day. I wish I could write a cheerful OT that said Yeah Bernie or fall looks great. It doesn't it's freaking weird weather wise and not in a good hopeful way. Bernie is not the solution but he offers the elusive hope we all want. Same with my community the one I moved to in the 90's cause it was a diverse, affordable and livable place. Long gone that.

Now for the hopey side of this depressing and frightening global/local screw we all face. People do not seem willing in my community and other communities across the world to roll over and knuckle under to the reality were told is inevitable. People are resilient they keep moving along, that's how we got those self evident truths and inalienable rights. Sure they will go along out of fear of losing what they have but once they realize they too are up for the axe be it economic or just staying alive how do the powers that be keep the riff raff in line?

In my city the pillagers who by the way are Democrat's are in full power and demolishing this city neighborhood by neiborhood. Their vision is to make it grow, grow to accommodate unlimited growth for growths (profits) sake. FIRE is alive and being fed by investors from Shanghai to every slimy investor this world has allowed to flourish and rule the world. Anyway enough I'm getting off my soap box and bringing you some local music not of the yuppie type like the Decemberists for your enjoyment.

I'm clueless as how to alter the world, politics won't do the trick as they are rigged regardless of denomination as we find it. I'm not moving out of my house, neighborhood. community, to enable the demolition of a city I live in and call home. Send me more letters telling me you want to buy my old tired house to bulldooze down and build the slums of the future, cause the suburb's are no longer profitable to the developers from hell. I do see plenty of everyday people walking the streets and i hope we will prevail.

Some local music from the PNW, some old some local some new.

These guys played at my graduation prom on a boat in the Willamette river.

This band from the 80's was one my husband played with on a bill while in SF where we lived until the early 90's. A Portland local band.

Then there was Elliot Smith another grundge? suicide from the 90's PNW ...better then Everclear imo...

Another local Portland band I liked from the 90's that's still alive and kicking as their reincarnation The Pynnacles

So now there are over 1000 bands in Portland. Here's my favorite..Could be I'm biased as this is Shahryar's band the Cool Whips but still it's great.

Tags:

local politics

global politics

music local Portland

Vote

Comments

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Wed, 10/07/2015 - 11:06pm

Excellent OT, Shaz! Share many of the same sentiments

that you've expressed.

No, you're not biased--I especially enjoyed the Cool Whips, too!

Mollie

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."--Helen Keller

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 5:14am

It seems as though it's everywhere

The rampant greed aided by corrupt elected officials that is destroying our homes, our lives, our earth. There are times when it gets to be too much for me too. Lately my personal life has been too crowded with real life stuff and it has been difficult for me to follow all the outrages that are being committed all over our country and the world. So I retreat into more mundane things.

I know I cannot carry the burdens of the world on my shoulders nor can I or any other one person change things alone. My other half does not understand why I am even concerned or try via my small one on one efforts (Occupy, Peace vigil) to make one drop of change in a huge ocean that seems against us. I think it is the only way I personally can deal with it.

We all have our ways and even if it is dropping out, we have to do whatever preserves our sanity. I applaud you for your always raw honesty in your comments and in this wonderful open thread. This is definitely a conversation worth having and I hope others will join in with their own thoughts.

I really enjoyed the music, especially Shah's group, the Cool Whips. If this cut is typical, they have a great sound.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by dkmich on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 7:00am

Good morning

Adding to the gloom and doom is fall. We've lost all sunlight by 7 pm and don't get it back until 8 pm. I am also sick with a cold. Another perk of the season changing is everybody gets sick.

I'd like to know how S. Carolina can expect aid of any kind while supporting small government and not supporting aid for NJ. I think people should get what they vote for.

If we are going to have mass migration due to climate change, I think we should start setting up the rules for people asking for a residence in a new state. First we build a fence between the north and the southern coastal states. MI has a ton to offer until you get to our invasion of the red body snatchers. F@#kers are really doing a number of this state. Truly feel like I live in Mississippi or Texas.

Maybe when (and if) the sun comes up....

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 8:20am

Well, as someone who lives

in a red state, I have a sad. There are some damn good people who live in states in the South. If you read any of the diaries of the Asheville meetups, you would see how much people like those from the Asheville group and people like Rev. Barber are doing to try educate people here in the South.

It is easy to be angry with people with whom you disagree. But for me, as a humanist first, I personally do not subscribe to the idea of penalizing victims of a national disaster simply because they voted differently. I am of the opinion that reaching out and embracing our commonality goes much further than emphasizing our differences. This is something I have learned from my activism in both Occupy and my Peace vigil.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by dkmich on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 3:25pm

MI is red....

I don't feel sorry for us one bit. Detroit sat on their asses and didn't show up to vote. We had an unpopular governor that should have been easy to throw out. His opponent was Mr. Rogers....really nice and about as exciting and charismatic as oatmeal. He could have campaigned on legal pot and using the money to fix our road and funding our schools. Instead, he ran on mom and apple pie. Michigan deserves whatever it gets, which is all pretty awful.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 10:25am

I recommend this diary over at gos

For those familiar with him, this excellent diary was written by praenomen. Please give it a view and maybe some love too.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by dkmich on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 4:47pm

Now, I really want to see our local emergency plan. eom

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by gjohnsit on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 10:36am

That Awkward Moment

That Awkward Moment When One Nobel Peace Prize Winner Bombs Another

As Commander-in-Chief of the military that bombed the Doctors Without Borders hospital, this makes Obama perhaps the first Nobel Peace Prize winner to bomb another Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Or maybe not? Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, and he masterminded the secret bombing of Cambodia and Laos for President Nixon around that time. Shortly thereafter, it came to light that in that campaign, hospitals were routinely targeted for bombing. As The Nation recently reported:

“A letter from former Army captain Rowan Malphurs said that in 1969 and 1970, he analyzed aerial photographs where B-52 bombs (the ones ordered by Kissinger) fell on Cambodia: “I saw on several occasions where possible hospitals had been bombed…. On another occasion I observed a red cross on a building that was partially destroyed by bombs.”

By then, the Red Cross had already been awarded its three Nobel Peace Prizes.

Sorry, Obama, it looks like that’s one “historic first” you can’t claim. That old fox beat you to it.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 10:38am

Speaking of attacking hospitals

link

Adding to the questions surrounding last weekend’s calamitous US attack against a Kunduz hospital run by Doctors Without Borders, a strike which killed 22 civilians, including 12 staff members, it has since been discovered that troops from the Afghan Special Forces attacked the same hospital in early July.
In a Doctors Without Borders statement from the time, the aid group condemned the attack, in which the forces stormed the hospital, “physical assaulted three MSF staff members,” and “began shooting in the air.” They threatened to arrest three patients, and threatened a staff member at gunpoint during the raid, before leaving without any prisoners.
The revelation becomes all the more important following the revelation that it was Afghan forces who initially requested the US attack the hospital, and is raising speculation that ongoing Afghan hostility toward the site played a role in the request for “air support” by attacking it.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 10:40am

Speaking of bombing weddings

link

A rescue mission is ongoing in Dhamar Province, south of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa this evening, after Saudi warplanes attacked yet another wedding. At least 30 are confirmed killed and dozens wounded, though the toll is likely to rise.
This is the second time Saudi planes have gone after a wedding in the last 10 days. A previous attack on a wedding party near Mocha left 131 killed. In both cases, the reason for the attack is totally unclear.

2 in 10 days? The Saudis will catch up to us in no time at that rate.

Submitted by lotlizard on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 1:45pm

Speaking of that old fox:

http://www.salon.com/2015/09/30/kissinger_poisoned_the_middle_east_ameri...

Kissinger poisoned the Middle East: America is living in a quagmire of his making
W made matters worse, but the region's radicalization can all be traced to our steady support of the Shah of Shahs

Submitted by Shahryar on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 2:05pm

a cartoon you won't see at dKos

Submitted by gjohnsit on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 6:55pm

More examples of when we've bombed a Nobel peace prize group

I have forgotten this

Red Cross complex, Kabul, Afghanistan (October 16 and October 26, 2001)
At the beginning of the U.S-led invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. attacked the complex housing the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul. In an attempt to prevent such incidents in the future, the U.S. conducted detailed discussions with the Red Cross about the location of all of its installations in the country. Then the U.S. bombed the same complex again. The second attack destroyed warehouses containing tons of food and supplies for refugees. “Whoever is responsible will have to come to Geneva for a formal explanation,” said a Red Cross spokesperson. “Firing, shooting, bombing, a warehouse clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem is a very serious incident. … Now we’ve got 55,000 people without that food or blankets, with nothing at all.”

Submitted by gjohnsit on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 10:49am

An important student loan case

link

The unemployed 65-year-old, acting as his own attorney, spent three years appealing his way to the Boston federal court that is now considering his case. A win for Murphy would relieve him of hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt—and could fundamentally change the way U.S. bankruptcy courts handle borrowers who can't repay college loans.
...
Murphy’s appeal seems to have pushed the First Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its definition of hardship. Judges have been tinkering with the criteria used to determine whether a borrower deserves relief in recent years, but their efforts have not broadly affected the law. Murphy’s case could mark the first time a federal court weighs in on changing the standards in a decade.
...
“Creditors have been able to stack the deck in their favor as they have litigated what undue hardship means,” said Pardo. Regardless of the outcome, Pardo said, the case may well be appealed to the Supreme Court, which has never looked at the issue.
While the case is crucial for students, they aren’t the only ones with a stake in its outcome. Through a loan servicer called ECMC, the Department of Education has spent several years battling student borrowers who want bankruptcy relief. ECMC, which has an exclusive agreement with the government, has aggressively advocated that judges use the harsh standards to decide when it's appropriate to forgive student debt. Lawyers for ECMC declined to comment.
...
“It could be a really dangerous thing for them if the First Circuit announces a rule for debtors to discharge their loans in bankruptcy,” said Pardo, referring to the Department of Education. “That would call into question how much of this $1.2 trillion [in student debt] is collectable.”

From 2001 through 2007, Murphy took out several Parent PLUS student loans -- federal debt parents can use to finance their kids' education -- to send his three children to college. After accruing interest, the bill ballooned to $246,500. In 2002, Murphy lost his job as president of a manufacturing company when it closed shop to move overseas. He hasn’t found work in the last 13 years, he said, because he is viewed as too old for executive posts and overqualified for lower-level jobs. He lives on the salary his wife brings in as a teacher's aide, less than $15,000 in annual income. Murphy said he dried out his retirement savings, and his home was recently foreclosed.

The lawyers arguing the case on behalf of ECMC said in court documents that Murphy’s appeal “smacks of gamesmanship.”

Submitted by cybrestrike on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 10:50am

Orlando is the same way, Shaharazade.

Downtown Orlando, specifically Parramore (the neighborhood I live in), is experiencing the "joys" of gentrification slowly but surely. Once the Orlando City Soccer Club stadium is completed, I expect to see a lot more of it. The city's determined to transform the western bit of Church Street from Division Avenue all the way further west to the Citrus Bowl.

The Orlando Magic have taken over the properties across the street from their Amway Center, with a view to building a new headquarters/entertainment complex (their current one is in Maitland, 10 minutes north on I-4 at the RDV Sportsplex). Currently there are shuttered shops (used to be a candy store, hair salon, a good dry cleaners, an African art shop, a Jamaican restaurant, and a black-owned bar/lounge that had a lot of African American clientele), the current Orlando Police Department HQ (which will be relocating soon), and the homeless shelter (which will be relocated to a much better facility, but a bit further away from where it needs to be).

In the downtown core, while many of the established spots are still around (Tanquerays, Hamburger Mary's, Casey's, Independent Bar, Cleo's Lounge, Wally's), but many of the newer places are the same--sanitized, cookie-cutter...attempting to attract the New Age Yuppies and hipster crowd. And the newer investors are your basic Martin Shkreli types.

Buddy Dyer, the mayor, is up for re-election in November. Just got my sample ballot in the mail last week. Dyer's your typical neoliberal, but not as bad as Rahm Emanuel. His main opponent is some quasi-libertarian named Paul Paulson. I got a mailer from him as well and it had the usual right-wing economic stuff in it--cut everything, fiscally responsible boiler-plate jargon. The other candidate is Randy Ross, a local radio personality with some legal issues (insurance fraud, for one) in the past. He switched from Democrat to Republican. But party affiliation doesn't really matter, as the mayoral races down here are nonpartisan.

In the end, I predict Dyer will win handily. He's well-liked, connected to the right people, and brings in money to the city.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 11:32am

NATO threatens Russia

This is not good

Days after Russian jets violated Turkey's airspace near Syria, Ankara's NATO envoy urged the U.S.-led alliance to continue to deploy air defense systems, according to two people briefed on talks at a defense ministers meeting in Brussels.
While NATO's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said he was prepared to send ground forces to defend Turkey, the situation raised questions about NATO's strategy in the country, which shares a border with both Syria and Iraq.

No word yet in protecting Iraqi airspace from Turkish bombings.

Submitted by mimi on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 11:51am

I recommend reading this diary on the gos

because I know nobody wants to talk about the tensions that exist between those the diarist more or less accuses (I feel a couple of them are in this community here) and those who can't stand the diarist's accusation here.

The meaning of "life-long civil rights activist," for me. - byDenise Oliver Velez

Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Martin O'Malley are not - imho "life long civil rights activists."
They are politicians - who have supported a spectrum of issues that can be categorized as addressing civil rights.
I respect stances they have taken that address the issues that have meaning to me.

I am refusing to read - over and over again, references to - particularly Bernie Sanders (though I've seen it said about Hillary Clinton as well, though not as frequently) that he is a "life-long civil rights activist" without speaking up about it, cause it is pissing me off.

Attending the March on Washington in 1963 does not make you a life long civil rights activist. (btw - this characterization is pissing off a lot of black folks I know) Getting arrested as a student and bailed out for 25 bucks once or twice does not make you a life long civil rights activist. Hillary Clinton leading a student strike on her campus to get black studies does not make her one either.
The thousands and thousands of people who marched in the 60's and 70's and perhaps got busted at an anti-war rally were great. But that does not make them long term Freedom Fighters, in my book.
I'm sorry folks, but Bernie Sanders ain't Fannie Lou Hamer, or Martin Luther King Jr. or John Lewis, or Rosa Parks, or Yuri Kochiyama, or Grace Lee Boggs, or Fred Hampton, or Madonna Thunderhawk.
You had to be willing to die so that others could live. Period.

I have a lot of feelings over this issue. I also know that I can't voice them easily. I am just saying this: I remember having seen a Netroot Nation panel through a video posted, showing the discussion in which Meteor Blades sat in on a panel. It was a small group. Meteor Blades was asked if he had ever "put his life on the line" and to me that felt like people thought, that it is necessary for someone to defend his reputation by proving they put their life on the line. Couldn't help finding that a bit arrogant to ask for, especially if the person asking that question probably hasn't ever put his/her life on the line. At least I felt uncomfortable to watch how Meteor Blades had to answer that. I think he didn't feel that good about it either, but I guess that wasn't easily to see for most people.

So, what is then a real "life-long civil rights activist"?

If you happen to have been beaten up during a demonstration and bleed and get arrested, you are more of a hero or life-long civil rights activist than the fellow who marched a couple of rows behind that person and didn't get beaten up and didn't die or wasn't arrested?

Is this a competition for being the real life-long civil rights activist among those people, who believe they support with their small contributing activities the cause?

Do a google search. Or just search right here at Daily Kos. If I had a dollar for every time that term, "lifelong civil rights activist" is applied to Bernie Sanders I'd be able to fix my leaking roof and retire in comfort.

Attempting to re-write his history and embellish his resume and wrap it in some new mythology does him no favors, and turns those of us who know the difference off. The man is a progressive politician. I respect those of you who would like to see him win the nomination, and the Presidency. I have no beef with that.

Who made it necessary for Sanders to "explain" or "defend" his reputation, saying he is "insensitive" to racial issues? If he or his supporters wouldn't have started to "explain the Sanders view points through his past activities" the same people, who accuse them for doing so, would accuse the Sanders campaign for "not reaching out to the black community".

Have I now white splained so successfully that my being white and a closet racist is all written over this comment?

What I do think is that all of us should be united, no matter our candidate of choice, against the rising tide of right-wing extremists, who are advocating for our deaths.

I am with her in this, ie behind that wish to unite.

I guess people will hate me for this comment.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 12:29pm

My issue

with this diarist is even though she is right on a technical aspect of what is a lifelong activist, especially from the black experience, is the way she presents it is extremely divisive. But what she does, in effect, is she shuts off all conversation. This is exactly the same thing she did with her STFU/GTFO diary. That is the day she lost me.

It appears that she is using this diary to take a back handed swipe at Bernie Sanders and his supporters. Notice how she avoids mentioning all the harm that the Clinton policies have done to blacks and other minorities? Further she grades Bernie's credentials in the activism and his voting record as being far worse than Clinton's out and out racist pandering in 2008. I am assuming that she sees this as whitesplainin' which apparently is a far greater sin than the racist pandering that her candidate used in 2008. I guess those white people who see the light in their twenties like Bernie and try to rectify the wrongs of racism should have just STFU and GTFO rather making any attempt to do something about them instead if we are to listen to her.

My comment here is not to discount what she and her fore bearers have had to endure. Black people in this country still have to fear for their lives every day and that is horribly wrong. I respect that to no end, but if you must continually diss your potential allies to make a point, that I have a problem with. I am very much for building alliances because we are so much stronger working together than we are dividing ourselves over who has the best credentials. And yes, I know that was a rant on her part, and it is her right to do so. But what is her purpose in doing so other than to continue to shame Bernie Sanders and his supporters?

I am probably digging my own grave here by being honest in my comment.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by cybrestrike on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 6:12pm

You're not digging any graves at all, gg.

I didn't read the diary in question (I skimmed through enough of it to get the gist, though). But remembering the deplorable "Why are you here" diary from a while back, knew exactly where deo was going. She didn't just lose me that day, she out-right pissed me off to the point where I had to just walk away from the keyboard and have a drink. And I'm the most chilled out guy around.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 7:16pm

Thank you, Cybrestrike

Your comment means a lot to me. Thank you again, my friend.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by joe shikspack on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 3:07pm

this is just another deo pissing contest...

so, deo wants to control a particular terminology, such that it cannot be used except as she and her co-believers demand.

bernie sanders, i watched martin luther king on teevee - and you're no martin luther king!

bernie sanders is not martin luther king. but isn't that beside the point, really? bernie sanders is not running to replace martin luther king, he is running for president - and as such we want to know, will he do the right thing? we look for a pattern of words and actions to support the idea that a candidate will, indeed work assiduously in the interests of people of color and other groups.

the question of whether the terminology "lifelong civil rights activist," is a perfect fit is, in the context of the ongoing candidate wars, a red herring.

if it's not exactly a perfect fit, then perhaps deo, who seems to have a broad command of what everyone should be doing and how they should be categorized should examine bernie sanders life and the evidence of his character and propose a proper replacement terminology.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 3:38pm

Joe, as always!

Thank you. You said it far better than me.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by mimi on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 3:41pm

yes, I thought, what was missing in her diary

was the suggestion to find another expression for "lifelong civil rights activist" as well as an explanation what in her mind makes up a real "lifelong civil rights activist". She talked only about who is not one and just slightly touched why they are not. But I guess that's a very internal US Afro-American centered problem.
I guess I just should forget about it. I could think thought about a lot of civil rights violations in the world that are not Afro-American exploitation and discrimination related.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 1:25pm

Holy Cow!!!! Kevin Nc Carthy has dropped out

According to the New York Times, Kevin Mc Carthy has dropped out of the running for Speaker.

WASHINGTON — Representative Kevin McCarthy on Thursday abruptly took himself out of the race to succeed John A. Boehner as House speaker, apparently undone by the same forces that drove Mr. Boehner to resign.

“I have the deepest respect and regard for each member of the conference and our team as a whole,” Mr. McCarthy said in a prepared statement shortly after a meeting in which he told Republicans of his decision. “It is imperative for us to unite and work together on the challenges facing our country.

“Over the last week it has become clear to me that our conference is deeply divided and needs to unite behind one leader. I have always put this conference ahead of myself. Therefore I am withdrawing my candidacy for speaker of the House. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to help move our conference’s agenda and our country forward.”

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 3:42pm

I am sure there will be a lot of cheering

over this latest development, but this pinpoints a terrible problem for governance in the House. The majority caucus now has nihilists running it and we all know they want blood. They want to destroy the government and drown it in a bathtub. Along the way, they will be doing irreparable damage to the United States. I just hope the Dems do not bail them out this time. This is what we end up with when people who hate government are elected to govern.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by joe shikspack on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 6:00pm

heh...

i wonder if they will shut down the government again. perhaps if they do it for long enough, we'll just have to create us a new government.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 7:18pm

Heh!

Now that is a thought.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy