Have you, dear reader, ever experienced a confluence of seemingly unrelated events or facts which absolutely blew your mind?
I cannot go wrong when my longtime friend and avid bookworm Annelle Poole recommends a good read. Thanks to her I’ve devoured mystery series by James Lee Burke, Nevada Barr, Ann B. Ross and Janet Evanovich. Recently, she reminded me to try prolific British mystery writer Anne Perry’s “Detective William Monk” series, one of many bestselling series by the author. I’m into the third book of the Monk series, and all I can say is Perry delivers!
In 1994, LOTR director Peter Jackson made “Heavenly Creatures,” a fascinating and amazingly crafted film based on a 1950s murder in Christchurch, New Zealand. Two schoolgirls, the beautiful and extroverted Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) and sulky and introverted Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) formed a bond of adolescent love and fantasy which led to their murder of Parker’s mother. The crime was horrific, the mother bludgeoned to death with a brick tied in a stocking. The girls served five years in prison and upon release were ordered never to see each other again.
It took my friend Bill Sumrall, who has never forgotten any detail he’s heard or read, to remind me of something I had filed away in some dormant grey cell.
Apparently the two girls never saw each other again, although they both eventurally ended up in Scotland. Pauline Parker ran a girls riding school and now lives on the remote Orkney Isles. She has never granted an interview about the murder. Juliet Hulme moved to England to live with her mother and assumed her stepfather’s name. She became the very successful writer of murder mysteries Anne Perry.
6.14.2010
6.10.2010
'You know how he is'
Carly Fiorina, who will challenge California Democratic Sea. Barbara Boxer in the November election, failed to heed the advice, “Treat every microphone as a live microphone.”
Innocuous enough, while waiting for a broadcast interview, were her quotes of a friend making fun of Sen. Boxer’s hair style.
My favorite moment of the chit-chat was Carly’s assessment of Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Questioning why Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman would choose to appear on Hannity’s show, the mike caught this critique:
"It's really surprising that on the first day of the general [election], Meg Whitman is going on Sean Hannity, I think it's bizarre…I think it's a very bad choice actually. You know how he is."
Yes, Carly, we know how he is: a pouty-faced, ineffectual whiner whose personal emotions and rude interruptions override truth.
A spokesperson for Carly told CNN’s Political Ticker the Republican candidate for Boxer’s seat was just making “early morning small talk.”
And, for prime time small talk, there’s always Fox News.
***
A brief post follows.
Innocuous enough, while waiting for a broadcast interview, were her quotes of a friend making fun of Sen. Boxer’s hair style.
My favorite moment of the chit-chat was Carly’s assessment of Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Questioning why Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman would choose to appear on Hannity’s show, the mike caught this critique:
"It's really surprising that on the first day of the general [election], Meg Whitman is going on Sean Hannity, I think it's bizarre…I think it's a very bad choice actually. You know how he is."
Yes, Carly, we know how he is: a pouty-faced, ineffectual whiner whose personal emotions and rude interruptions override truth.
A spokesperson for Carly told CNN’s Political Ticker the Republican candidate for Boxer’s seat was just making “early morning small talk.”
And, for prime time small talk, there’s always Fox News.
***
A brief post follows.
Update on Warren Jeffs
Arizona has dropped charges against polygamist leader Warren Jeffs at the behest of prosecutors and victims who want him to face the more serious felony charge, in Texas, of sexual assault of a child. Jeffs is a "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). ARTICLE
I recommend anything written by Jon Krakauer, but, in this case, his “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith” is one of the best resources for a history of the Mormons and a revealing investigation of the offshoot FLDS sect Jeffs has lead.
I recommend anything written by Jon Krakauer, but, in this case, his “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith” is one of the best resources for a history of the Mormons and a revealing investigation of the offshoot FLDS sect Jeffs has lead.
6.09.2010
Beck's bibliography
The combination of someone named to Time’s “100 Most Influential Persons in the World” and someone hell-bent on revising American history is lethal.
I’m guessing most DemWit readers don’t tune in to Glenn Beck’s history lessons via radio and Fox News.
But, plenty of people do, and the history Beck is dishing out is based on a bibliography boasting a crackpot anti-Semitic and Hitler sympathizer, a John Birch Society fanatic and even opponents of the civil rights movement.
To hell with historians who have laboriously documented their works, Beck’s sources, he claims, reveal the true history of this country - which progressives seek to erase.
The scariest enemy he can conjure for the gullible is “the intellectual elite.”
Beck even evoked imagery of the civil rights movement telling his listeners “dogs and fire hoses” might one day be turned on them. Fear, you see, is the first step in brainwashing.
Yesterday’s PROGRESS REPORT, Center for American Progress, has an eye-popping exposé of just exactly what Beck is teaching his followers.
Recommended: “Radical Right: Glenn Beck’s Revisionist History”
I’m guessing most DemWit readers don’t tune in to Glenn Beck’s history lessons via radio and Fox News.
But, plenty of people do, and the history Beck is dishing out is based on a bibliography boasting a crackpot anti-Semitic and Hitler sympathizer, a John Birch Society fanatic and even opponents of the civil rights movement.
To hell with historians who have laboriously documented their works, Beck’s sources, he claims, reveal the true history of this country - which progressives seek to erase.
The scariest enemy he can conjure for the gullible is “the intellectual elite.”
Beck even evoked imagery of the civil rights movement telling his listeners “dogs and fire hoses” might one day be turned on them. Fear, you see, is the first step in brainwashing.
Yesterday’s PROGRESS REPORT, Center for American Progress, has an eye-popping exposé of just exactly what Beck is teaching his followers.
Recommended: “Radical Right: Glenn Beck’s Revisionist History”
6.08.2010
A kick-ass morning!
I don’t take lightly this opportunity to learn and inform. Yesterday DemWit chose to feature a column by Frank Rich of The New York Times’ op-ed page.
I’m betting an astute staff member made sure that column got into the hands of the president.
Happy to read in these early morning hours that Obama is looking for some “ass to kick” in the disaster that is ruining our Gulf and its ecosystems.
Obama’s comments in this CNN article - taken from an interview to air this morning - might well have been left on Mr. Rich’s column, because they sure address the challenge.
Get up and get your coffee and tune in to the Today show this morning to hear Obama’s bold remarks!
I’m betting an astute staff member made sure that column got into the hands of the president.
Happy to read in these early morning hours that Obama is looking for some “ass to kick” in the disaster that is ruining our Gulf and its ecosystems.
Obama’s comments in this CNN article - taken from an interview to air this morning - might well have been left on Mr. Rich’s column, because they sure address the challenge.
Get up and get your coffee and tune in to the Today show this morning to hear Obama’s bold remarks!
6.07.2010
Can Obama wield a big stick?
In a letter written in 1900, a year before he became president, Theodore Roosevelt wrote, “I have always been fond of the West African proverb: ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.’” He repeated what he called this "homely old adage" in a speech as president in Chicago in 1903, and twice again in his writings. Every time, it was "Speak softly." – Source: askville.amazon.com
***
Perhaps the so-called stars of the Republican Party are doing President Obama a favor – masking with their ridiculous rhetoric the very real problems which could damage his leadership and derail his presidency.
Just when it seems Sarah Palin and Rand Paul are trying to out-stupid each other, when John McCain vows the opposition in the U.S. Senate will never support him, when RNC chair Michael Steele calls for an independent investigation into the (gasp!) corruption in his administration and Newt Gingrich pens a book about him so absurd in its thesis as to be laughable, someone with sense comes along and delivers a genuine criticism of the president.
President Obama gets a wake-up call from the powerful op-ed page of the New York Times: Frank Rich’s “Don’t Get Mad, Mr. President, Get Even.”
The irascible Mr. Rich begins by speaking softly:
“It turns out there is something harder to find than a fix for BP’s leak: Barack Obama’s boiling point.
“The frantic and fruitless nationwide search for the president’s temper is now our sole dependable comic relief from the tragedy in the gulf. Only The Onion could have imagined the White House briefing last week where a CBS News correspondent asked the press secretary, Robert Gibbs, if he had ’really seen rage from the president’ and to ‘describe it.’ Gibbs came up with Obama’s ‘clenched jaw’ and his order to ‘plug the damn hole.’ (Thank God he hadn’t settled for ‘darn.’) This evidence did not persuade anyone, least of all Spike Lee, who could be found on CNN the next night begging the president, ‘One time, go off!’”
Lest you think this is leading to a cry for Obama to fight back in the face of critical fools, it is not.
Rich turns to some very valid weaknesses in Obama’s, shall we say, style, then offers the president some very good advice. And, he does so with some rather startling facts.
“This all adds up,” Rich concludes, “to a Teddy Roosevelt pivot-point for Obama, who shares many of that president’s moral and intellectual convictions. But, Obama can’t embrace his inner T.R. as long as he’s too in thrall to the supposed wisdom of the nation’s meritocracy, too willing to settle for incremental pragmatism as a goal, and too inhibited by the fine points of Washington policy debates to embrace bold words and bold action. If he is to wield the big stick of reform against BP and the other powerful interests that have ripped us off, he will have to tell the big story with no holds barred.”
This is a DemWit must-read: LINK
***
Perhaps the so-called stars of the Republican Party are doing President Obama a favor – masking with their ridiculous rhetoric the very real problems which could damage his leadership and derail his presidency.
Just when it seems Sarah Palin and Rand Paul are trying to out-stupid each other, when John McCain vows the opposition in the U.S. Senate will never support him, when RNC chair Michael Steele calls for an independent investigation into the (gasp!) corruption in his administration and Newt Gingrich pens a book about him so absurd in its thesis as to be laughable, someone with sense comes along and delivers a genuine criticism of the president.
President Obama gets a wake-up call from the powerful op-ed page of the New York Times: Frank Rich’s “Don’t Get Mad, Mr. President, Get Even.”
The irascible Mr. Rich begins by speaking softly:
“It turns out there is something harder to find than a fix for BP’s leak: Barack Obama’s boiling point.
“The frantic and fruitless nationwide search for the president’s temper is now our sole dependable comic relief from the tragedy in the gulf. Only The Onion could have imagined the White House briefing last week where a CBS News correspondent asked the press secretary, Robert Gibbs, if he had ’really seen rage from the president’ and to ‘describe it.’ Gibbs came up with Obama’s ‘clenched jaw’ and his order to ‘plug the damn hole.’ (Thank God he hadn’t settled for ‘darn.’) This evidence did not persuade anyone, least of all Spike Lee, who could be found on CNN the next night begging the president, ‘One time, go off!’”
Lest you think this is leading to a cry for Obama to fight back in the face of critical fools, it is not.
Rich turns to some very valid weaknesses in Obama’s, shall we say, style, then offers the president some very good advice. And, he does so with some rather startling facts.
“This all adds up,” Rich concludes, “to a Teddy Roosevelt pivot-point for Obama, who shares many of that president’s moral and intellectual convictions. But, Obama can’t embrace his inner T.R. as long as he’s too in thrall to the supposed wisdom of the nation’s meritocracy, too willing to settle for incremental pragmatism as a goal, and too inhibited by the fine points of Washington policy debates to embrace bold words and bold action. If he is to wield the big stick of reform against BP and the other powerful interests that have ripped us off, he will have to tell the big story with no holds barred.”
This is a DemWit must-read: LINK
6.04.2010
The immeasurable cost of war
Andersonville was a Confederate prison. Located in Georgia, it was nothing more than a stockade for corralling and killing the human spirit.
Although masterfully written, I would not recommend MacKinlay Kantor’s 1955 novel “Andersonville” for every reader.
In all, 12,913 of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners held in the prison died there from starvation, malnutrition, diarrhea and disease.
Kantor brings the suffering to the human level with his beautifully crafted characterizations. Before he makes you experience the horror, he allows you to experience the human, and it is pretty hard to take.
The musings of prisoner Nathan Dreyfuss on the cost of the Civil War stopped me cold. I replayed the passage again and again. Why had I not thought before of this immeasurable cost of war? Liken it to undiscovered “miracle cures” lost in the destruction of a rain forest.
What then of a loss of humanity? Nathan’s words:
“The great lamentation of the future will be concerned only with the fact that, by and large, the most energetic and high-minded youths of all these states involved were the ones who perished. And, most of them were too young to leave their seed behind them. It will be a long weakness for the united nation of the future.
“The soul which might have written the compelling opera went winging at Manassas Junction. The hand which might have sculptured a shape fairer than Moses was shot off on the Chickahominy. The brain which could have managed the richest agronomy of all time was drilled by a conoidal at Stones River.
“The hearts which might have beat with the rhythm of philanthropist and priest and educator; oh, wicked Gettysburg; oh, doleful Vicksburg; oh, thrice-lewd Fredericksburg.”
(…)
“Will ever I know the future? Oh, sad, maimed future! Where is your prime inventor? The ocean covered him with barnacles when the Monitor went down. Where is the saint whose scalpel or microscope was intended to still the scream of cancer? We Federals spattered his skull at Missionary Ridge.
"Oh, long, discordant future drowned in tears as now my soul is drowning. Where is the president whose power and nobility might have led a healed nation to world-enfolding glory? The fever took him at Rock Island, in Arkansas, in Libby Prison, at Fort Delaware.
“He wore blue; he wore butternut; he drew a lanyard; he tore paper of a cartridge with his teeth. He galloped behind John Morgan; he rode to meet the lead on that last charge of Farnsworth’s in a Pennsylvania glen.
“Minister and explorer, balloonist and poet, botanist and judge, geologist and astronomer, and man with songs to sing.
“They are clavicles under leaves at Perryville, ribs and phalanges in the soil of Iuka, They are a bone at Seven Pines, a bone at Antietam. Bones in battles yet to be sweated. They are in a soil instead of walking. The moss has them.”
Although masterfully written, I would not recommend MacKinlay Kantor’s 1955 novel “Andersonville” for every reader.
In all, 12,913 of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners held in the prison died there from starvation, malnutrition, diarrhea and disease.
Kantor brings the suffering to the human level with his beautifully crafted characterizations. Before he makes you experience the horror, he allows you to experience the human, and it is pretty hard to take.
The musings of prisoner Nathan Dreyfuss on the cost of the Civil War stopped me cold. I replayed the passage again and again. Why had I not thought before of this immeasurable cost of war? Liken it to undiscovered “miracle cures” lost in the destruction of a rain forest.
What then of a loss of humanity? Nathan’s words:
“The great lamentation of the future will be concerned only with the fact that, by and large, the most energetic and high-minded youths of all these states involved were the ones who perished. And, most of them were too young to leave their seed behind them. It will be a long weakness for the united nation of the future.
“The soul which might have written the compelling opera went winging at Manassas Junction. The hand which might have sculptured a shape fairer than Moses was shot off on the Chickahominy. The brain which could have managed the richest agronomy of all time was drilled by a conoidal at Stones River.
“The hearts which might have beat with the rhythm of philanthropist and priest and educator; oh, wicked Gettysburg; oh, doleful Vicksburg; oh, thrice-lewd Fredericksburg.”
(…)
“Will ever I know the future? Oh, sad, maimed future! Where is your prime inventor? The ocean covered him with barnacles when the Monitor went down. Where is the saint whose scalpel or microscope was intended to still the scream of cancer? We Federals spattered his skull at Missionary Ridge.
"Oh, long, discordant future drowned in tears as now my soul is drowning. Where is the president whose power and nobility might have led a healed nation to world-enfolding glory? The fever took him at Rock Island, in Arkansas, in Libby Prison, at Fort Delaware.
“He wore blue; he wore butternut; he drew a lanyard; he tore paper of a cartridge with his teeth. He galloped behind John Morgan; he rode to meet the lead on that last charge of Farnsworth’s in a Pennsylvania glen.
“Minister and explorer, balloonist and poet, botanist and judge, geologist and astronomer, and man with songs to sing.
“They are clavicles under leaves at Perryville, ribs and phalanges in the soil of Iuka, They are a bone at Seven Pines, a bone at Antietam. Bones in battles yet to be sweated. They are in a soil instead of walking. The moss has them.”
6.03.2010
SCOTUS and Miranda
“Let me get this straight: To preserve your right to remain silent, you have to talk?”
So queried one of tnlib’s readers on Parsley’s Pics yesterday.
After four decades of hearing it on our favorite TV shows, we all know the Miranda warning:
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”
On Tuesday the Supreme Court of the United States made a decision that will weaken a suspect’s rights. The menatality of the Court’s five assenting justices seems to be “Guilty until proven innocent.”
Before Tuesday, HERE, clearly spelled out, were YOUR rights, everyone’s rights who suddenly found themselves suspect in a crime.
Read Parsley’s Pics’s “So goes the Supreme Court” for a clear and concise report on Tuesday’s decision and how it will affect Miranda.
And, be good.
So queried one of tnlib’s readers on Parsley’s Pics yesterday.
After four decades of hearing it on our favorite TV shows, we all know the Miranda warning:
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”
On Tuesday the Supreme Court of the United States made a decision that will weaken a suspect’s rights. The menatality of the Court’s five assenting justices seems to be “Guilty until proven innocent.”
Before Tuesday, HERE, clearly spelled out, were YOUR rights, everyone’s rights who suddenly found themselves suspect in a crime.
Read Parsley’s Pics’s “So goes the Supreme Court” for a clear and concise report on Tuesday’s decision and how it will affect Miranda.
And, be good.
6.02.2010
The weight of her crown
Elizabeth II has had her share of problems. One year it got so bad she referred to it as her “Annus Horribilis.” The most recent incident with Fergie is the last in a series of, shall we say, family problems.
I’ve always liked Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, for the same reason Prince Andrew did: she’s fun. So, I was saddened by the mess she got herself into, particularly since her two daughters, Beatrice, 22, and Eugenie, 20, are currently fifth and sixth in the line of succession to the British throne.
Despite it all, Elizabeth II has reigned - but not ruled - with unwavering dedication to the job she swore to do more than half a century ago.
Today she celebrates the anniversary of her coronation.
Should the queen still reign on 12 May 2011, at the age of 85, her reign would surpass that of George III, and on 10 September 2015, at the age of 89, she would surpass Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning monarch in British history.
Curiosity piqued, I decided to take a look at the line of succession, and, amazingly, there are 100 persons with legitimate succession claims to Great Britain’s throne!
The LIST is fascinating. The first 15 heirs are, of course, direct descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip.
Beyond the royal family, the list includes persons born in the 1920s and the youngest, ranked #26, is Leopold Windsor, age one.
Quite a few have been excluded by British law because they either became Roman Catholic or married a Roman Catholic. None have been excluded for having been born out of wedlock.
Believe it or not, the list includes members of the royal families of Norway, Romania and Yugoslavia. The king of Romania has been excluded for marrying a Roman Catholic, but his descendants remain in the line of succession.
The list is a work in progress, constantly changing with births and deaths. Prince William’s children will bump Prince Harry down the list and so forth.
I regret that Princess Diana did not live to see her son become king. Given the longevity of the royal bloodline, I might not, either. Seems that Prince Charles, born in 1948, will be past his prime if he lives to ascend the throne.
We got our first TV when I was 11. After adjusting the outside antenna, the first snowy black-and-white images to appear on the screen were of film footage from Elizabeth II’s coronation. June 2, 1953. Some guys were going with her under a tent to anoint her naked breasts with oil. I was hooked! I would reconnect my cable TV to experience another British coronation!
***
Read the New York Times account of Elizabeth II’s coronation and marvel at how much her kingdom has changed!
I’ve always liked Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, for the same reason Prince Andrew did: she’s fun. So, I was saddened by the mess she got herself into, particularly since her two daughters, Beatrice, 22, and Eugenie, 20, are currently fifth and sixth in the line of succession to the British throne.
Despite it all, Elizabeth II has reigned - but not ruled - with unwavering dedication to the job she swore to do more than half a century ago.
Today she celebrates the anniversary of her coronation.
Should the queen still reign on 12 May 2011, at the age of 85, her reign would surpass that of George III, and on 10 September 2015, at the age of 89, she would surpass Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning monarch in British history.
Curiosity piqued, I decided to take a look at the line of succession, and, amazingly, there are 100 persons with legitimate succession claims to Great Britain’s throne!
The LIST is fascinating. The first 15 heirs are, of course, direct descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip.
Beyond the royal family, the list includes persons born in the 1920s and the youngest, ranked #26, is Leopold Windsor, age one.
Quite a few have been excluded by British law because they either became Roman Catholic or married a Roman Catholic. None have been excluded for having been born out of wedlock.
Believe it or not, the list includes members of the royal families of Norway, Romania and Yugoslavia. The king of Romania has been excluded for marrying a Roman Catholic, but his descendants remain in the line of succession.
The list is a work in progress, constantly changing with births and deaths. Prince William’s children will bump Prince Harry down the list and so forth.
I regret that Princess Diana did not live to see her son become king. Given the longevity of the royal bloodline, I might not, either. Seems that Prince Charles, born in 1948, will be past his prime if he lives to ascend the throne.
We got our first TV when I was 11. After adjusting the outside antenna, the first snowy black-and-white images to appear on the screen were of film footage from Elizabeth II’s coronation. June 2, 1953. Some guys were going with her under a tent to anoint her naked breasts with oil. I was hooked! I would reconnect my cable TV to experience another British coronation!
***
Read the New York Times account of Elizabeth II’s coronation and marvel at how much her kingdom has changed!
5.30.2010
To be perfectly Frank
I hope when Dennis Hopper, dead at age 74, got to the Pearly Gates, Frank Booth wasn’t held against him, and he got Brownie points for making full use of his God-given talents.
Hopper and I go all the way back to 1955 when he had a minor role in “Rebel Without a Cause,” followed by a supporting role in “Giant,” while I fell head over heels for star James Dean.
In my video collection, I probably have every major film Hopper has starred in – there are just so many over a six-decade career. Often his supporting performances were so much a part of what made these movies great.
But for me, David Lynch’s bit of genius, “Blue Velvet,” gave us filmdom’s most chilling character ever – Frank Booth – and Dennis Hopper played him.
Hopper reportedly told writer-director Lynch, “"I've got to play this part, David, because I AM Frank."
I hope not. With all the innocence of the world whose creepy underbelly the film exposed, I’d like to think that nowhere in the world there exists a Frank Booth, and that Hopper was just giving us one of the best performances of his life.
***
DENNIS HOPPER’S FILMOGRAPHY
Hopper and I go all the way back to 1955 when he had a minor role in “Rebel Without a Cause,” followed by a supporting role in “Giant,” while I fell head over heels for star James Dean.
In my video collection, I probably have every major film Hopper has starred in – there are just so many over a six-decade career. Often his supporting performances were so much a part of what made these movies great.
But for me, David Lynch’s bit of genius, “Blue Velvet,” gave us filmdom’s most chilling character ever – Frank Booth – and Dennis Hopper played him.
Hopper reportedly told writer-director Lynch, “"I've got to play this part, David, because I AM Frank."
I hope not. With all the innocence of the world whose creepy underbelly the film exposed, I’d like to think that nowhere in the world there exists a Frank Booth, and that Hopper was just giving us one of the best performances of his life.
***
DENNIS HOPPER’S FILMOGRAPHY
5.28.2010
Hillary's 2 cents on taxes
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, making it very clear she was giving her own opinion and not that of the Obama administration, told the Brookings Institution “the rich are not paying their fair share of taxes.”
She pointed out Brazil's successful economy:
"Brazil has the highest tax-to-GDP rate in the Western Hemisphere and guess what – they're growing like crazy. And, the rich are getting richer, but they're pulling people out of poverty.
"There is a certain formula there that used to work for us, until we abandoned it, to our regret in my opinion."
Economics is not my long suit, but I know enough to realize that the Bush administration policy of cutting taxes for the wealthy while this country was engaged in wars on two fronts was not exactly a formula for success.
I do remember phrases like “spillover benefits” and “spillover costs” and apparently when “the rich” – individuals and corporations alike – pay their “fair share,” there are spillover benefits for everyone.
SOURCE: CNN’s Political Ticker
***
Have a great Memorial Day weekend, guys. Take time to remember those who have served – past and present. See you on the flipside.
She pointed out Brazil's successful economy:
"Brazil has the highest tax-to-GDP rate in the Western Hemisphere and guess what – they're growing like crazy. And, the rich are getting richer, but they're pulling people out of poverty.
"There is a certain formula there that used to work for us, until we abandoned it, to our regret in my opinion."
Economics is not my long suit, but I know enough to realize that the Bush administration policy of cutting taxes for the wealthy while this country was engaged in wars on two fronts was not exactly a formula for success.
I do remember phrases like “spillover benefits” and “spillover costs” and apparently when “the rich” – individuals and corporations alike – pay their “fair share,” there are spillover benefits for everyone.
SOURCE: CNN’s Political Ticker
***
Have a great Memorial Day weekend, guys. Take time to remember those who have served – past and present. See you on the flipside.
5.27.2010
Art Linkletter, 1912-2010
I’m not an autograph hound, but I do have a few collected through the years.
The autographs of singer Ray Stevens and actress Katharine Hepburn resulted from letter exchanges.
Chances are we all made out to Johnny Mathis. After being told “Mr. Mathis has left the building,” I was allowed backstage to meet the singer after producing my vinyl album, “Open Fire, Two Guitars.” “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one,” Mathis said, as he autographed it for me.
News came yesterday of the death of Art Linkletter at age 97. Hard to imagine there’s a whole new generation of TV viewers who probably have no idea who this man is. (Read the story.)
“Art Linkletter’s House Party” was one of the most popular shows on TV. Especially entertaining were his “Kids Say the Darndest Things” segments. Many will never forget Linkletter’s deadpan expression when the kid pointed to the little boy next to him and said, “Leroy farted.”
Art Linkletter’s autograph cost me 10 cents.
In the early 60s I made a trip to California with friends Ronnie and Richared. Our hosts were Ronnie’s aunt and uncle, and for three wonderful weeks they made certain we did not miss one attraction in the Los Angeles area – from Disneyland to Knott’s Berry Farm to a game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine - where I got to see my old arch enemy Casey Stengel,..
At CBS Studios, we attended a taping of Linkletter’s show. The celebrity moved through the audience, chatting with fans before taping began. As he neared, I reached into my purse, pulled out an envelope, extended it to him and asked for his autograph. He said, “It’ll cost you” and moved on up the aisle. I reached into my purse again, and as he headed back down to the stage to begin his show, I said, “Here’s a dime; give me your autograph.” He stopped, signed the envelope and took my dime!
Art Linkletter once told The Wall Street Journal, “I was Oprah before there was Oprah,” and he was.
All those funny little kids will never forget you, Mr. Linkletter, and neither will I.
The autographs of singer Ray Stevens and actress Katharine Hepburn resulted from letter exchanges.
Chances are we all made out to Johnny Mathis. After being told “Mr. Mathis has left the building,” I was allowed backstage to meet the singer after producing my vinyl album, “Open Fire, Two Guitars.” “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one,” Mathis said, as he autographed it for me.
News came yesterday of the death of Art Linkletter at age 97. Hard to imagine there’s a whole new generation of TV viewers who probably have no idea who this man is. (Read the story.)
“Art Linkletter’s House Party” was one of the most popular shows on TV. Especially entertaining were his “Kids Say the Darndest Things” segments. Many will never forget Linkletter’s deadpan expression when the kid pointed to the little boy next to him and said, “Leroy farted.”
Art Linkletter’s autograph cost me 10 cents.
In the early 60s I made a trip to California with friends Ronnie and Richared. Our hosts were Ronnie’s aunt and uncle, and for three wonderful weeks they made certain we did not miss one attraction in the Los Angeles area – from Disneyland to Knott’s Berry Farm to a game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine - where I got to see my old arch enemy Casey Stengel,..
At CBS Studios, we attended a taping of Linkletter’s show. The celebrity moved through the audience, chatting with fans before taping began. As he neared, I reached into my purse, pulled out an envelope, extended it to him and asked for his autograph. He said, “It’ll cost you” and moved on up the aisle. I reached into my purse again, and as he headed back down to the stage to begin his show, I said, “Here’s a dime; give me your autograph.” He stopped, signed the envelope and took my dime!
Art Linkletter once told The Wall Street Journal, “I was Oprah before there was Oprah,” and he was.
All those funny little kids will never forget you, Mr. Linkletter, and neither will I.
5.26.2010
God knows, Obama's tried
During the 2008 presidential campaign, it was evident that Barack Obama had read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book about Abraham Lincoln, “Team of Rivals.”
Unlike my friend Frodo, I make no comparison of Lincoln and Obama, save for the fact that I believe each was a man for his time. Like Lincoln, though, and unlike George W. Bush, President Obama desired to be president of all Americans.
Toward that end he has made every effort to quell the rabid partisanship gridlocking this nation today and to work “across the aisle” with Republicans.
My feelings about his efforts to do so have run the gamut from “Hallelujah!” to “Who gives a damn?”
Arizona wants more National Guard troops to control our border with Mexico. Obama sends 1,200. Immediately, Sen. John McCain of that state says, “1,200 is not enough. We need 3,000.” If Obama had deployed 3,000, McCain would have called for 6,000.
In his continuing effort to work with them, Obama met in a closed-door session with Senate Republicans yesterday. He sought bipartisan cooperation on issues such as the economy, climate change, nuclear arms reduction and immigration reform The White House reported the meeting was “productive.”
Apparently Sen. Bob Corker, still wet behind the ears from his Tennessee victory over former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., didn’t think so, telling CNN’s Dana Bash “that he accused the president during the meeting of taking an excessively partisan approach to critical issues such as financial reform, and then having the ‘audacity’ to come to the Senate GOP conference and use the Republicans as election year ‘props.’"
I’m hearing the echo of “You lie!”
Corker seemed pretty proud of insulting POTUS face-to-face: "I said I realize we are props in this meeting and asked how do you reconcile that duplicity? It obviously hit a nerve. For the president to come in and for us not to have a frank conversation is a wasted opportunity."
I will try really hard not to dip into hyperbole and fiery rhetoric – or curse words. I just don’t believe in my heart of hearts that the good people I know who vote Republican fully realize what that Party has become.
As my friend Sue would say on her blog: Helloooo, Mr. Presidnt, are you listening?
Sir, I am very tempted to say to you, “No more Mr. Nice Guy,” but I don’t think any good was ever attained sacrificing integrity and honesty by assuming the posture of an enemy.
And, like it or not, the Republican Party is becoming an enemy of the state. Hasrsh words, but how else can one define a Party which has put partisan politics above the good of the nation?
I went back to DemWit’s post the morning after your election, Mr. President, and all who commented expressed hope that this country can find unity in diversity.
Many of us still feel that way.
Unlike my friend Frodo, I make no comparison of Lincoln and Obama, save for the fact that I believe each was a man for his time. Like Lincoln, though, and unlike George W. Bush, President Obama desired to be president of all Americans.
Toward that end he has made every effort to quell the rabid partisanship gridlocking this nation today and to work “across the aisle” with Republicans.
My feelings about his efforts to do so have run the gamut from “Hallelujah!” to “Who gives a damn?”
Arizona wants more National Guard troops to control our border with Mexico. Obama sends 1,200. Immediately, Sen. John McCain of that state says, “1,200 is not enough. We need 3,000.” If Obama had deployed 3,000, McCain would have called for 6,000.
In his continuing effort to work with them, Obama met in a closed-door session with Senate Republicans yesterday. He sought bipartisan cooperation on issues such as the economy, climate change, nuclear arms reduction and immigration reform The White House reported the meeting was “productive.”
Apparently Sen. Bob Corker, still wet behind the ears from his Tennessee victory over former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., didn’t think so, telling CNN’s Dana Bash “that he accused the president during the meeting of taking an excessively partisan approach to critical issues such as financial reform, and then having the ‘audacity’ to come to the Senate GOP conference and use the Republicans as election year ‘props.’"
I’m hearing the echo of “You lie!”
Corker seemed pretty proud of insulting POTUS face-to-face: "I said I realize we are props in this meeting and asked how do you reconcile that duplicity? It obviously hit a nerve. For the president to come in and for us not to have a frank conversation is a wasted opportunity."
I will try really hard not to dip into hyperbole and fiery rhetoric – or curse words. I just don’t believe in my heart of hearts that the good people I know who vote Republican fully realize what that Party has become.
As my friend Sue would say on her blog: Helloooo, Mr. Presidnt, are you listening?
Sir, I am very tempted to say to you, “No more Mr. Nice Guy,” but I don’t think any good was ever attained sacrificing integrity and honesty by assuming the posture of an enemy.
And, like it or not, the Republican Party is becoming an enemy of the state. Hasrsh words, but how else can one define a Party which has put partisan politics above the good of the nation?
I went back to DemWit’s post the morning after your election, Mr. President, and all who commented expressed hope that this country can find unity in diversity.
Many of us still feel that way.
5.24.2010
Two women
From time to time I check “Dead or Alive,” which lists on its home page notables who have died in the past six months. (There is also a search engine to check on notables.)
Quite a few with celebrity status have died in the last few months, but there are two women, who, while their names might not at first be recognizable, deserve mention.
I recognized the names “Miep” (rhymes with “peep”) and "Mankiller" right away.
For 25 months during WWII, Miep Gies and her husband Jan Gies protected and fed Anne Frank and seven other Jews as they hid in a secret annex above Otto Frank’s business in Amsterdam. It was Miep who saved for posterity the handwritten pages which would become “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.” Miep died on Jan. 11 at age 100 from “a fall.” Of all involved, she was the last survivor, but the diary lives on. (Read the New York Times obit.)
On April 6, Wilma Mankiller died from cancer at age 64. Mankiller, in 1985, became the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. She left office in 1995 because of health reason, but continued as a revered tribal adviser. During her 10-year tenure, the Cherokee Nation grew and prospered. (Read the New York Times obit.)
I will leave it to you, dear reader, to ponder what these two women had in common.
***
A brief post follows.
Quite a few with celebrity status have died in the last few months, but there are two women, who, while their names might not at first be recognizable, deserve mention.
I recognized the names “Miep” (rhymes with “peep”) and "Mankiller" right away.
For 25 months during WWII, Miep Gies and her husband Jan Gies protected and fed Anne Frank and seven other Jews as they hid in a secret annex above Otto Frank’s business in Amsterdam. It was Miep who saved for posterity the handwritten pages which would become “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.” Miep died on Jan. 11 at age 100 from “a fall.” Of all involved, she was the last survivor, but the diary lives on. (Read the New York Times obit.)
On April 6, Wilma Mankiller died from cancer at age 64. Mankiller, in 1985, became the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. She left office in 1995 because of health reason, but continued as a revered tribal adviser. During her 10-year tenure, the Cherokee Nation grew and prospered. (Read the New York Times obit.)
I will leave it to you, dear reader, to ponder what these two women had in common.
***
A brief post follows.
Obama at West Point
I did not hear and have not yet read the transcript of President Obama’s commencement address Saturday to West Point cadets. I did note this comment by columnist John Cory of Reader Supported News:
“President Obama gave a commencement speech to West Point. You should read it because frankly it chilled me to the bone to hear how the wars all started, why they continue and what is ahead on the horizon - more of the same but not as much.”
I’ve read about a kajillion words concerning how the wars started, and I do know that a total of 5,471 U.S. soldiers (6,498 total coalition) have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And, I am interested in “what’s ahead on the horizon.”
So, I’m getting off to read the TRANSCRIPT.
“President Obama gave a commencement speech to West Point. You should read it because frankly it chilled me to the bone to hear how the wars all started, why they continue and what is ahead on the horizon - more of the same but not as much.”
I’ve read about a kajillion words concerning how the wars started, and I do know that a total of 5,471 U.S. soldiers (6,498 total coalition) have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And, I am interested in “what’s ahead on the horizon.”
So, I’m getting off to read the TRANSCRIPT.
5.21.2010
Jackson State shootings, May 1970
If given a word association test, many would respond to “civil rights struggle” with “Mississippi.” How much do you really know about the past struggles, the on-going struggles, for racial justice in my home state?
On 4 January 2010, I noted in “Greed and ghosts of Mississippi” that one of my heroes, Bobby DeLaughter, was headed off to prison for lying to the FBI during a corruption investigation.
DeLaughter, portrayed by Alec Baldwin in the movie “Ghosts of Mississippi,” was the prosecuting attorney who finally won a conviction of Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
Having come of age in Jackson, Mississippi, during the turbulent civil rights struggles, all of this was very close to my heart. I was stunned, therefore, when people I deem informed had never heard of the case, the movie or Medgar Evers.
May 4 marked the 40th anniversary of the shootings at Kent State in Ohio, but did my readers know that 10 days later, on May 14, 1970, there was a similar incident at Jackson State University, then all-black Jackson State College, in Mississippi – a law enforcement barrage which left two student dead and many more injured?
Growing up I lived in such proximity to Jackson State to hear the Tigers marching band and the cheers of football fans.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the Jackson State shootings, Democracy Now! hosts Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman interviewed longtime Mississippi civil rights activist Gene Young. Young, by a twist of fate, was born on the Jackson State campus and became a hero on that fateful midnight.
I thank my friend Clara for sending me the transcript of the interview, and I would encourage readers to spend some time this weekend reading it in its entirety. It is a window to the past, replete with all the players and the places which helped bring about Dr. King’s dream.
I have added personal notes throughout the interview from my own recollections and experiences.
As to the question of why the media paid and still pay more attention to the Kent State slayings, I agree with Mr. Young’s assessment that whites shooting white students was bigger news, in the context of the times, than whites shooting black students.
And particularly heart-warming are Young’s words of tribute to our Mississippi home.
Step back into the struggle. This enthralling and enlightening interview is in The Reading Room.
On 4 January 2010, I noted in “Greed and ghosts of Mississippi” that one of my heroes, Bobby DeLaughter, was headed off to prison for lying to the FBI during a corruption investigation.
DeLaughter, portrayed by Alec Baldwin in the movie “Ghosts of Mississippi,” was the prosecuting attorney who finally won a conviction of Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
Having come of age in Jackson, Mississippi, during the turbulent civil rights struggles, all of this was very close to my heart. I was stunned, therefore, when people I deem informed had never heard of the case, the movie or Medgar Evers.
May 4 marked the 40th anniversary of the shootings at Kent State in Ohio, but did my readers know that 10 days later, on May 14, 1970, there was a similar incident at Jackson State University, then all-black Jackson State College, in Mississippi – a law enforcement barrage which left two student dead and many more injured?
Growing up I lived in such proximity to Jackson State to hear the Tigers marching band and the cheers of football fans.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the Jackson State shootings, Democracy Now! hosts Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman interviewed longtime Mississippi civil rights activist Gene Young. Young, by a twist of fate, was born on the Jackson State campus and became a hero on that fateful midnight.
I thank my friend Clara for sending me the transcript of the interview, and I would encourage readers to spend some time this weekend reading it in its entirety. It is a window to the past, replete with all the players and the places which helped bring about Dr. King’s dream.
I have added personal notes throughout the interview from my own recollections and experiences.
As to the question of why the media paid and still pay more attention to the Kent State slayings, I agree with Mr. Young’s assessment that whites shooting white students was bigger news, in the context of the times, than whites shooting black students.
And particularly heart-warming are Young’s words of tribute to our Mississippi home.
Step back into the struggle. This enthralling and enlightening interview is in The Reading Room.
5.20.2010
Our Founding Scoundrels
I have to tell you, dear reader, that I am learning some stuff about our "Founding Fathers," who should be called our "Founding Scoundrels." I have been trying to listen along to some fairly new biographies of all of them. So far, I've examined Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and John Paul Jones. John Adams is the only one, so far, who lived his life on a high moral plane. (I believe the beloved Washington was so boring, he didn’t have a choice.)
Most of them, including Adams, left their wives to rear the children and maintain hearth, home and the family income.
According to some pretty astute biographers, most were womanizers – a-drinkin’ and a-whorin’ as old Ben would say - and Thomas Jefferson was, in my opinion, a HYPOCRITE. Not just for keeping his slaves while saying all men are created equal – he did not even free them upon his death; they were sold to pay off his debts. Not even for fathering at least one (and probably all) of slave girl Sally Hemings’ children. Jefferson used surrogates to level brutal personal attacks on some of his best friends, including John Adams, when it was politically expedient for himself.
The point is: politics and most politicians have been rotten since Day One, and the miracle is that this nation has survived and risen above it through the years. Something is working, and that's a good thing.
***
The books, so far:
“1776,” David McCullough
“John Adams,” David McCullough
“American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson,” Joseph J. Ellis
“Benjamin Franklin: An American Life,” Walter Isaacson
“John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy,” Evan Thomas
“Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation,” Cokie Roberts
Most of them, including Adams, left their wives to rear the children and maintain hearth, home and the family income.
According to some pretty astute biographers, most were womanizers – a-drinkin’ and a-whorin’ as old Ben would say - and Thomas Jefferson was, in my opinion, a HYPOCRITE. Not just for keeping his slaves while saying all men are created equal – he did not even free them upon his death; they were sold to pay off his debts. Not even for fathering at least one (and probably all) of slave girl Sally Hemings’ children. Jefferson used surrogates to level brutal personal attacks on some of his best friends, including John Adams, when it was politically expedient for himself.
The point is: politics and most politicians have been rotten since Day One, and the miracle is that this nation has survived and risen above it through the years. Something is working, and that's a good thing.
***
The books, so far:
“1776,” David McCullough
“John Adams,” David McCullough
“American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson,” Joseph J. Ellis
“Benjamin Franklin: An American Life,” Walter Isaacson
“John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy,” Evan Thomas
“Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation,” Cokie Roberts
Best-laid plans
Just a quick entry. I continue to have Internet connection problems - static on AT&T's underground cable. If I do manage to get on for just a minute, I get kicked off. Please continue to check DemWit. Thanks, BJ
5.15.2010
Young love, first love
Those of you who have read my blogs through the years know my buddy Chris. Chris, 27, is mentally challenged, and I met him when he was seven and his folks were my neighbors.
Sometimes I am as equally amazed at how Chris’ mind works as I am with how it doesn’t work. You meet a lot of people along life’s way, but few impress you with true wisdom. So many times, I have gotten that from Chris. It’s all a matter of understanding and interpretation.
Through the years, I believe I have been a help to Chris, and now he helps me. On his visits, he helps me “see” to cook and do household chores.
Last Sunday, as we ate dinner, Chris told me he is “in love with a girl at training.” Both are in a special program designed to help them secure a job. After seven years in the program, it has become evident to me that Chris is not trainable and cannot learn the skills required.
I’ve never been able to teach him to use a can opener, yet he never forgets anything. His recollection of movies, movie quotes, actors, directors matches that of the online International Movie Database.
A keen observer of normal life around him, it’s not surprising that the following dinner conversation ensued:
“I asked her to marry me,” Chris confided.
“At work?”
“No, I asked her on the telephone.”
“What did she say, Chris?”
“Oh, she said she didn’t think she was ready for marriage, but she might be one day.”
“What did your mother say when you told her you asked the girl to marry you?”
“She cried.”
A mother’s tears that Chris cannot live independently, much less marry.
I changed the subject: “Chris, you can’t kiss this girl at work, because they have rules against that, and you could get in trouble. Have you kissed her?”
“No,” he replied, “I blow her kisses.”
Sometimes life really doesn’t seem fair.
Sometimes I am as equally amazed at how Chris’ mind works as I am with how it doesn’t work. You meet a lot of people along life’s way, but few impress you with true wisdom. So many times, I have gotten that from Chris. It’s all a matter of understanding and interpretation.
Through the years, I believe I have been a help to Chris, and now he helps me. On his visits, he helps me “see” to cook and do household chores.
Last Sunday, as we ate dinner, Chris told me he is “in love with a girl at training.” Both are in a special program designed to help them secure a job. After seven years in the program, it has become evident to me that Chris is not trainable and cannot learn the skills required.
I’ve never been able to teach him to use a can opener, yet he never forgets anything. His recollection of movies, movie quotes, actors, directors matches that of the online International Movie Database.
A keen observer of normal life around him, it’s not surprising that the following dinner conversation ensued:
“I asked her to marry me,” Chris confided.
“At work?”
“No, I asked her on the telephone.”
“What did she say, Chris?”
“Oh, she said she didn’t think she was ready for marriage, but she might be one day.”
“What did your mother say when you told her you asked the girl to marry you?”
“She cried.”
A mother’s tears that Chris cannot live independently, much less marry.
I changed the subject: “Chris, you can’t kiss this girl at work, because they have rules against that, and you could get in trouble. Have you kissed her?”
“No,” he replied, “I blow her kisses.”
Sometimes life really doesn’t seem fair.
5.14.2010
Enough, already!
Hats off to Hawaii for saying “enough, already” to that delusional segment of our society known as “birthers.” The state passed a law Wednesday which allows state offices to ignore the endless demands for President Obama’s “real” birth certificate.
Despite the fact the state furnished a copy of Obama’s “Certificate of Live Birth” – not to mention copies of 1961 newspapers which bear the hospital’s announcement of his birth – the so-called birthers continue to insist Obama is not a U.S. citizen.
The conspiracy theories about Obama float from email inbox to email inbox – he’s a Muslim, he’s a Communist, he’s a fsscist – ad nauseam. I get them and either refute them or delete them. And, I’m intrigued that people who don’t take time to keep up with what’s going on around them, will use that time to read such unattributed and undocumented tripe – and pass it along.
I honestly believe the underpinning of all these foolish claims is racism, and that those who buy into them cannot tolerate that an African-American holds the highest office in the land.
It’s not surprising that Hawaii, with its multi-cultural, multi-racial heritage, would be fed up with these attacks on its First Son.
Its state motto, after all, is “Ua Mau ke Ea o ka 'Āina i ka Pono,” Hawaiian for “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”
In other words, “Birthers, bug off!"
Despite the fact the state furnished a copy of Obama’s “Certificate of Live Birth” – not to mention copies of 1961 newspapers which bear the hospital’s announcement of his birth – the so-called birthers continue to insist Obama is not a U.S. citizen.
The conspiracy theories about Obama float from email inbox to email inbox – he’s a Muslim, he’s a Communist, he’s a fsscist – ad nauseam. I get them and either refute them or delete them. And, I’m intrigued that people who don’t take time to keep up with what’s going on around them, will use that time to read such unattributed and undocumented tripe – and pass it along.
I honestly believe the underpinning of all these foolish claims is racism, and that those who buy into them cannot tolerate that an African-American holds the highest office in the land.
It’s not surprising that Hawaii, with its multi-cultural, multi-racial heritage, would be fed up with these attacks on its First Son.
Its state motto, after all, is “Ua Mau ke Ea o ka 'Āina i ka Pono,” Hawaiian for “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”
In other words, “Birthers, bug off!"
5.13.2010
Primary concerns
DemWit looks at three races in last Tuesday’s primaries and what they mean, plus what to look for in Tuesday’s upcoming primaries.
TUESDAY, 11 MAY 2010:
RACE 1: A ‘SIGN’ OF GOP VULNERABILITY?
Nebraska’s 1st and 2nd Congressional districts: Will Republican incumbent Lee Terry be unseated in November by the Obama win in the 2nd District and his close race in the 1st? Experts say not likely.
FROM THE OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 12 MAY 2010:
The results of Tuesday's primary election most notably a strong showing from a little-known challenger to Republican Lee Terry was met with glee by national Democrats. They say it's a sign the time is right for a Democrat to unseat the six-term Republican.
National Republicans countered that Terry still drew more votes than his Democratic rival, State Sen. Tom White, and they continue to believe the political winds favor his re-election.
White and Terry both garnered their party's nominations Tuesday, setting the stage for a hard-fought battle into November's general election. White is arguably one of Terry's toughest challengers, with a proven ability to raise funds.
White ran in his primary uncontested, while Terry faced a challenge from the right wing of his party in the form of political newcomer Matt Sakalosky.
A Tea Party sympathizer, Sakalosky spent little money on the race, while Terry blanketed likely Republican voters with five direct-mail pieces.
In the end, Sakalosky drew 37 percent of the vote, while Terry took home 63 percent.
“Despite actively campaigning ... Terry's primary win was hardly a clearly defined victory,” said Gabby Adler, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
She called it a “sign” that Terry is vulnerable.
RACE 2: THROW THE BUMS OUT?
West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District – Incumbent congressman, Democrat Alan Mollohan v. challenger State Senator Mike Oliverio. This race is seen as a test of anti-incumbent fervor. Will West Virginia “throw the bums out”?
FROM THE WASHINGTON POST, 12 MAY 2010:
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.) lost his bid for a 15th term Tuesday in a primary defeat that further affirms the anti-incumbent sentiment coursing through the country.
He is the first House member to lose a re-election bid in the 2010 campaign, and his defeat comes days after Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) was knocked off the November ballot in that state's convention process.
Mollohan hadn't faced a serious primary fight in more than a decade and was seen in some circles as unbeatable, given that the state's 1st Congressional District seat had been in his family since 1968. (His father held it for seven terms before he won it.)
But state Sen. Mike Oliverio ran hard against Mollohan's entrenched-incumbent status and made much of the lingering whiff of ethics problems that dogged the congressman for years.
With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Oliverio had 56 percent of the vote to Mollohan's 44 percent. In November, he will face former state delegate David McKinley, who won the Republican primary Tuesday night.
RACE 3: THE LONG, HOT SUMMER?
Gerogia’s 9th Congressional District: The race to fill the seat of Republican Nathan Deal, who resigned to concentrate on his campaign for governor. Whoever wins will serve in Congress just two months before competing again in the state's July 20 primary, which will determine who is on the ballot in November.
Huh?
FROM THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11 MAY 2010:
Tom Graves of the tiny northwest Georgia town of Ranger and Lee Hawkins of Gainesville are headed for a runoff for the 9th Congressional District seat. (BJ: In June.)
Both Graves and Hawkins have served in the state General Assembly, but voters in the conservative district showed a strong streak of mistrust of longtime politicians from the beginning of the campaign.
Al D. Marks, a Republican Party official in Hall County, said people were listening to the candidates and asking, "Do we want to send another career politician up there that may have a lot of favors out there, or do we want someone with a little less experience in Washington but clean?"
But political bases, experience and money finally made the difference.
It was a short campaign, after former Rep. Nathan Deal resigned March 21 to run for governor. The winner will finish Deal’s term, which ends in January, but the feeling of victory might be short-lived.
The six Republican candidates in the special election also qualified for the July primary for the seat's next term, so the winner of the occasionally nasty special election will face another challenge before getting unpacked in Washington. A seventh Republican, who wasn't in the special election, also qualified for the July primary.
If there is a runoff after the July Republican primary, voters could be called to the polls in May, June, July, August and November.
TUESDAY, 18 MAY 2010:
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
CNN: “Will Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln lose in Arkansas? Can Sen. Arlen Specter survive his first Democratic primary? Will newcomer Rand Paul upset the establishment and win Kentucky's Republican Senate race? Will the anti-incumbent fervor take hold of voters and wipe out Congress as we know it?”
TUESDAY, 11 MAY 2010:
RACE 1: A ‘SIGN’ OF GOP VULNERABILITY?
Nebraska’s 1st and 2nd Congressional districts: Will Republican incumbent Lee Terry be unseated in November by the Obama win in the 2nd District and his close race in the 1st? Experts say not likely.
FROM THE OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 12 MAY 2010:
The results of Tuesday's primary election most notably a strong showing from a little-known challenger to Republican Lee Terry was met with glee by national Democrats. They say it's a sign the time is right for a Democrat to unseat the six-term Republican.
National Republicans countered that Terry still drew more votes than his Democratic rival, State Sen. Tom White, and they continue to believe the political winds favor his re-election.
White and Terry both garnered their party's nominations Tuesday, setting the stage for a hard-fought battle into November's general election. White is arguably one of Terry's toughest challengers, with a proven ability to raise funds.
White ran in his primary uncontested, while Terry faced a challenge from the right wing of his party in the form of political newcomer Matt Sakalosky.
A Tea Party sympathizer, Sakalosky spent little money on the race, while Terry blanketed likely Republican voters with five direct-mail pieces.
In the end, Sakalosky drew 37 percent of the vote, while Terry took home 63 percent.
“Despite actively campaigning ... Terry's primary win was hardly a clearly defined victory,” said Gabby Adler, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
She called it a “sign” that Terry is vulnerable.
RACE 2: THROW THE BUMS OUT?
West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District – Incumbent congressman, Democrat Alan Mollohan v. challenger State Senator Mike Oliverio. This race is seen as a test of anti-incumbent fervor. Will West Virginia “throw the bums out”?
FROM THE WASHINGTON POST, 12 MAY 2010:
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.) lost his bid for a 15th term Tuesday in a primary defeat that further affirms the anti-incumbent sentiment coursing through the country.
He is the first House member to lose a re-election bid in the 2010 campaign, and his defeat comes days after Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) was knocked off the November ballot in that state's convention process.
Mollohan hadn't faced a serious primary fight in more than a decade and was seen in some circles as unbeatable, given that the state's 1st Congressional District seat had been in his family since 1968. (His father held it for seven terms before he won it.)
But state Sen. Mike Oliverio ran hard against Mollohan's entrenched-incumbent status and made much of the lingering whiff of ethics problems that dogged the congressman for years.
With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Oliverio had 56 percent of the vote to Mollohan's 44 percent. In November, he will face former state delegate David McKinley, who won the Republican primary Tuesday night.
RACE 3: THE LONG, HOT SUMMER?
Gerogia’s 9th Congressional District: The race to fill the seat of Republican Nathan Deal, who resigned to concentrate on his campaign for governor. Whoever wins will serve in Congress just two months before competing again in the state's July 20 primary, which will determine who is on the ballot in November.
Huh?
FROM THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11 MAY 2010:
Tom Graves of the tiny northwest Georgia town of Ranger and Lee Hawkins of Gainesville are headed for a runoff for the 9th Congressional District seat. (BJ: In June.)
Both Graves and Hawkins have served in the state General Assembly, but voters in the conservative district showed a strong streak of mistrust of longtime politicians from the beginning of the campaign.
Al D. Marks, a Republican Party official in Hall County, said people were listening to the candidates and asking, "Do we want to send another career politician up there that may have a lot of favors out there, or do we want someone with a little less experience in Washington but clean?"
But political bases, experience and money finally made the difference.
It was a short campaign, after former Rep. Nathan Deal resigned March 21 to run for governor. The winner will finish Deal’s term, which ends in January, but the feeling of victory might be short-lived.
The six Republican candidates in the special election also qualified for the July primary for the seat's next term, so the winner of the occasionally nasty special election will face another challenge before getting unpacked in Washington. A seventh Republican, who wasn't in the special election, also qualified for the July primary.
If there is a runoff after the July Republican primary, voters could be called to the polls in May, June, July, August and November.
TUESDAY, 18 MAY 2010:
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
CNN: “Will Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln lose in Arkansas? Can Sen. Arlen Specter survive his first Democratic primary? Will newcomer Rand Paul upset the establishment and win Kentucky's Republican Senate race? Will the anti-incumbent fervor take hold of voters and wipe out Congress as we know it?”
1.23.2010
'Goodbye, yellow brick road'
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1.22.2010
Citizens United v. FEC
In a number of Constitutional, tort and media law courses, I learned that the majority opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States more times than not make perfect sense – if you bother to read them.
The classic example of this is: the Supreme Court in Murray v. Curlett never said children can’t pray in school. The Court said children can’t be FORCED to pray in school – which, of course, is their constitutional right. In another decision, the Court ruled that school regents could not write a prayer for student use, again constitutional.
In Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission, the question before the Court was “whether a politically charged film could be defined as a campaign ad under the bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, commonly known as the McCain-Feingold Act.”
This, then, is essentially a First Amendment case with the full court concurring with Mr. Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion.
It is in the other opinions, with various justices concurring and dissenting, that lobbyists got a big break – at the expense of candidates, political parties and you, the voter. See The New York Times, 22 January 2010: LINK
I was interested in Michael Moore’s comments on yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling because he makes the same sort of documentary which lies at the center of this case. Yes, Mr. Moore has been known to stretch the truth and, yes, he has used his films to attempt to influence elections. Interestingly, the headline on his Web site reads,”Supreme Court throws out crucial campaign finance law, opens floodgates to unlimited corporate cash.” He makes no mention that the decision protects both the films he creates and his influence.
All the ramifications of this ruling aside, let me call your attention to the closing paragraphs of the New York Times article linked above:
“ … David Bossie, the conservative activist who brought the case to defend his campaign-season promotion of the documentary ‘Hillary: The Movie,’ said he was looking forward to rolling out his next film in time for the midterm elections.
“Titled ‘Generation Zero,’ the movie features the television host Lou Dobbs and lays much of the blame for the recent financial collapse on the Democrats.”
Nobody naïve here. We all know campaign ads distort, misinform and lie. We get ‘swift-boating.” But, there’s something downright disheartening when the Supreme Court gives its stamp of approval to the continuing corruption of our election process.
Brace yourself. We cannot imagine what big money will do to the November elections. Thank goodness, I disconnected my cable TV.
***
Read the Court’s opinions on SCOTUS’ Web site HERE. I found the Wikipedia entry on this decision to be concise, accurate and easier to read, go HERE.
The classic example of this is: the Supreme Court in Murray v. Curlett never said children can’t pray in school. The Court said children can’t be FORCED to pray in school – which, of course, is their constitutional right. In another decision, the Court ruled that school regents could not write a prayer for student use, again constitutional.
In Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission, the question before the Court was “whether a politically charged film could be defined as a campaign ad under the bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, commonly known as the McCain-Feingold Act.”
This, then, is essentially a First Amendment case with the full court concurring with Mr. Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion.
It is in the other opinions, with various justices concurring and dissenting, that lobbyists got a big break – at the expense of candidates, political parties and you, the voter. See The New York Times, 22 January 2010: LINK
I was interested in Michael Moore’s comments on yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling because he makes the same sort of documentary which lies at the center of this case. Yes, Mr. Moore has been known to stretch the truth and, yes, he has used his films to attempt to influence elections. Interestingly, the headline on his Web site reads,”Supreme Court throws out crucial campaign finance law, opens floodgates to unlimited corporate cash.” He makes no mention that the decision protects both the films he creates and his influence.
All the ramifications of this ruling aside, let me call your attention to the closing paragraphs of the New York Times article linked above:
“ … David Bossie, the conservative activist who brought the case to defend his campaign-season promotion of the documentary ‘Hillary: The Movie,’ said he was looking forward to rolling out his next film in time for the midterm elections.
“Titled ‘Generation Zero,’ the movie features the television host Lou Dobbs and lays much of the blame for the recent financial collapse on the Democrats.”
Nobody naïve here. We all know campaign ads distort, misinform and lie. We get ‘swift-boating.” But, there’s something downright disheartening when the Supreme Court gives its stamp of approval to the continuing corruption of our election process.
Brace yourself. We cannot imagine what big money will do to the November elections. Thank goodness, I disconnected my cable TV.
***
Read the Court’s opinions on SCOTUS’ Web site HERE. I found the Wikipedia entry on this decision to be concise, accurate and easier to read, go HERE.
1.20.2010
Jesus Guns?
DemWit can never resist pointing out an idiot, but it’s downright scary when that idiot is speaking for CentCom.
Perhaps you’ve heard the ABC News reports that biblical scriptures are engraved on guns used by the U.S. military in Muslim lands – so-called “Jesus Guns.”
The CentCom spokesman has made a statement that ranks right up there with George W. Bush referring to our military efforts to combat terrorists as a “crusade.” That silver spoon in Dubya’s mouth never yielded a silver tongue. I remember him standing with Vladimir Putin in a Texas school and repeatedly referring to a red-haired boy who had asked a question as “Red” – a moniker for Communists in mid-20th Century. (I digress.)
According to ABC News:
“ …. A spokesperson for CentCom, the U.S. military's overall command in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he did not understand why the issue was any different from U.S. money with religious inscriptions on it.”
Is he crazy?
Perhaps you’ve heard the ABC News reports that biblical scriptures are engraved on guns used by the U.S. military in Muslim lands – so-called “Jesus Guns.”
The CentCom spokesman has made a statement that ranks right up there with George W. Bush referring to our military efforts to combat terrorists as a “crusade.” That silver spoon in Dubya’s mouth never yielded a silver tongue. I remember him standing with Vladimir Putin in a Texas school and repeatedly referring to a red-haired boy who had asked a question as “Red” – a moniker for Communists in mid-20th Century. (I digress.)
According to ABC News:
“ …. A spokesperson for CentCom, the U.S. military's overall command in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he did not understand why the issue was any different from U.S. money with religious inscriptions on it.”
Is he crazy?
1.19.2010
Fortress on the Tigris
The U.S. public, by and large, is probably unaware of the mighty fortress built in Baghdad at taxpayer expense. The new U.S. Embassy, which opened in January 2009, is the largest and most expensive in the world – comparable in size to Vatican City.
As Iraqi police training and reconstruction projects are being transferred from the DOD to the State Department, I thought we should take a closer look at the embassy, now headed by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher R. Hill.
Throughout its construction phase, the embassy was wrapped in secrecy and controversy. Work on the rising embassy complex, under contract with First Kuwaiti Trading and Contracting, generated reports of unethical practices and even human trafficking in slave labor.
According to the official government Web site, total cost of construction was $592 million, a supplemental spending bill signed by former President George W. Bush. This does not include on-going operational budgets.
Located on the Tigris River inside the Green Zone, the embassy complex houses 21 buildings on a 104-acre site. Facilities include:
* Six apartment buildings for employees
* Water and waste treatment facilities
* A power station
* Two major diplomatic office buildings
* Recreational facilities including a gym, a cinema and a swimming pool
* Heavy fortification
So, we’re all set in Iraq, right?
Apparently not.
“The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad ‘is planning to double its ranks' as it takes over a host of missions for the military there, Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Ford tells Foreign Policy. ‘If Congress gives us the money we are asking for, this embassy is going to be twice the size it is now. It's not going down, it's getting bigger,’ said Ford.”
The Foreign Policy article is essential reading for those interested in the transition of the United States’ role in Iraq. (Citation below.)
Ford puts the embassy’s mission in simple terms: “ … (I)t's simply time for the United States to start taking its hand off the bicycle seat and let the Iraqis learn to fend for themselves.”
When the article states the embassy will double its size, it appears to refer to personnel rather than its actual physical plant. Yet, Ford goes on to state:
"My biggest problem here is figuring out where are these people going to live, how are we going to get the security for them, how are we going to get food for them, and how are we going to get their mail delivered."
Isn’t he saying the current facilities are inadequate?
In my opinion, the only government projects U.S. taxpayers raise hell about are those which have an actual price tag - say, healthcare reform. In areas where the true costs might never be known – homeland security, our mission in Iraq, our mission in Afghanistan – there seems to be blind acceptance. Ironically, the most protested programs stand to benefit Americans.
I am not espousing isolationism, but I do assert that the costs of solving our continuing domestic problems undergo inordinate scrutiny and opposition while those which bleed our treasury seem acceptable.
SOURCES:
“U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has plans to double in size,” Foreign Policy, Josh Rogin, January 7, 2010: LINK
“New U.S. Embassy in Iraq cloaked in mystery,” MSNBC, April 14, 2006: LINK
"Fortress America" (VIDEO), NBC Nightly News, April 17, 2006, Andrea Mitchell reports: LINK
Official Web site: U.S. Embassy – Baghdad: LINK
U.S. Ambassado to Iraq Christopher R. Hill: LINK
“Embassy of the United States in Baghdad,” Wikipedia: LINK
As Iraqi police training and reconstruction projects are being transferred from the DOD to the State Department, I thought we should take a closer look at the embassy, now headed by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher R. Hill.
Throughout its construction phase, the embassy was wrapped in secrecy and controversy. Work on the rising embassy complex, under contract with First Kuwaiti Trading and Contracting, generated reports of unethical practices and even human trafficking in slave labor.
According to the official government Web site, total cost of construction was $592 million, a supplemental spending bill signed by former President George W. Bush. This does not include on-going operational budgets.
Located on the Tigris River inside the Green Zone, the embassy complex houses 21 buildings on a 104-acre site. Facilities include:
* Six apartment buildings for employees
* Water and waste treatment facilities
* A power station
* Two major diplomatic office buildings
* Recreational facilities including a gym, a cinema and a swimming pool
* Heavy fortification
So, we’re all set in Iraq, right?
Apparently not.
“The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad ‘is planning to double its ranks' as it takes over a host of missions for the military there, Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Ford tells Foreign Policy. ‘If Congress gives us the money we are asking for, this embassy is going to be twice the size it is now. It's not going down, it's getting bigger,’ said Ford.”
The Foreign Policy article is essential reading for those interested in the transition of the United States’ role in Iraq. (Citation below.)
Ford puts the embassy’s mission in simple terms: “ … (I)t's simply time for the United States to start taking its hand off the bicycle seat and let the Iraqis learn to fend for themselves.”
When the article states the embassy will double its size, it appears to refer to personnel rather than its actual physical plant. Yet, Ford goes on to state:
"My biggest problem here is figuring out where are these people going to live, how are we going to get the security for them, how are we going to get food for them, and how are we going to get their mail delivered."
Isn’t he saying the current facilities are inadequate?
In my opinion, the only government projects U.S. taxpayers raise hell about are those which have an actual price tag - say, healthcare reform. In areas where the true costs might never be known – homeland security, our mission in Iraq, our mission in Afghanistan – there seems to be blind acceptance. Ironically, the most protested programs stand to benefit Americans.
I am not espousing isolationism, but I do assert that the costs of solving our continuing domestic problems undergo inordinate scrutiny and opposition while those which bleed our treasury seem acceptable.
SOURCES:
“U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has plans to double in size,” Foreign Policy, Josh Rogin, January 7, 2010: LINK
“New U.S. Embassy in Iraq cloaked in mystery,” MSNBC, April 14, 2006: LINK
"Fortress America" (VIDEO), NBC Nightly News, April 17, 2006, Andrea Mitchell reports: LINK
Official Web site: U.S. Embassy – Baghdad: LINK
U.S. Ambassado to Iraq Christopher R. Hill: LINK
“Embassy of the United States in Baghdad,” Wikipedia: LINK
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