Farewell to a Fighter: Ann Richards

Thank you, Dick. Ann Richards was & always will be such a great role model for all of us. Intelligent, witty, defiant, strong, honest, & imperfect -- by her own admission.

I never had the honor of meeting her in person, but I lived in Texas while she was governor. She made living in the state tolerable.

I'll miss her, and I'll never forget her.

Here are some words of wisdom she had for the 1994 graduates of Mt. Holyhoke:

The first rule in life is: cherish your friends and your family as if your life depended on it...because it does.

Number two: Love people more than things. You know those T-shirts that say, "He who has the most toys when he dies wins." I'm going to promise you that over the years I've spent my life collecting a great number of things I thought I was going to die if I didn't have. And I wouldn't give you a nickel for most of it today.

Number three: Indulge the fool in you. Encourage the clown and the laughter that is inside of you. You know? Go ahead and do it. Make time now for play, for the impractical, for the absurd, and make it a rule to do it. Not just every now and then. Let your heart overrule your head once in a while. Never turn down a new experience unless it's law or it's going to get you in real serious trouble.

Number four: Don't spend a lot of time worrying about your failures. I've learned a whole lot more from my mistakes than from all of my successes.

And number five: Have some sense about work. No one ever died muttering, "I wish I had spent more time at the office."

Dear Ann:

If there's an after-life, and if you're in heaven where you belong, will you please reach down and slap George W. Bush upside the head on our behalf and try to knock some common sense into that empty and cruel and ignorant head of his? He truly does have a silver foot in his mouth, his speech is garbled, no one can understand even half of what he says, and there's a complete disconnect on his part between reality and his dictatorial delusions. He doesn't even understand the language of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions; any third-grader with an average IQ could understand it, so we don't get why he doesn't understand ordinary language, and we are completely horrified that he wants to make torture legal (among other unconstitutional and illegal horrors he's inflicted on us).

You will be missed, Ann... and please, just one good solid thwack upside Georgie's head....

Bless you....

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dorf/20060731.html
Playing With Fire: The Administration's Draft Bill on Detainees Would Violate the Geneva Conventions and Thereby Put Americans at Risk

April found this link and posted it on the previous thread. I'm reposting her link because I think it shows how finely Bu$h is trying to parse words and language to keep him and his administration from being brought up on war crimes charges, albeit with illegal and convoluted language. If our Congress Critters pass that piece of toilet paper legislation, they need to voted out of office!!!

I still recall how dumbfounded I was that Texas had ditched the incomparable Ann Richards for some no-experience idiot and hoping that that kind of dumb wouldn't spread to my state.

Your Spirit and grace will be missed.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Third_Geneva_Convention#Article_4

Third Geneva Convention

Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Adopted on 12 August 1949 by the Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of International Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War, held in Geneva from 21 April to 12 August, 1949. Entered into force 21 October 1950.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Geneva_Convention

Fourth Geneva Convention

The Fourth Geneva Convention (or GCIV) relates to the protection of civilians during times of war "in the hands" of an enemy and under any occupation by a foreign power. This should not be confused with the better known Third Geneva Convention, which deals with the treatment of prisoners of war. The convention was published on August 12, 1949, at the end of a conference held in Geneva from April 21 to August 12, 1949. The convention entered into force on October 21, 1950.

As of 27 June 2006, when Nauru adopted the convention, it has been ratified by 194 countries.
[Links embedded in text on the web site.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IF I'm reading things correctly... the Gitmo prisoners aren't really prisoners of war, they're only "suspected" criminals by association (i.e. Kahlid Sheik Mohammed was only a driver for bin Laden, not an actual enemy combatant, so technically not a prisoner of war, since the invasion and occupation of Iraq is a war crime by Geneva Convention standards and the judgment at Nuremberg). And the prisoners at Gitmo are on a US military base (which laws apply on a military base?).

Right now the prisoners are in legal limbo. Most have not been charged with any crimes; some were only at the wrong place at the wrong time and hauled in with others. The most anyone could do is deport them back to their home countries, since they haven't committed any crimes of any kind.

Otherwise, see The Bill of Rights, Amendments 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.... If that pseudo-bill asking for "clarification" of the Geneva Conventions goes through, and if that garbage becomes the law of the land, then US citizens charged with "secret crimes" will have their rights violated at least five times over under our Bill of Rights (already our 4th Amendment rights have been violated with all these warrantless illegal wiretaps, I believe).

Help! We need a lawyer who specializes in Constitutional law to interpret all this...! I know full well that if that piece of toilet paper (proposed torture legislation) gets passed, it will spill over to affect the citizens of this country, not just apply to prisoners illegally held at Gitmo who have never been charged with a crime. Halliburton is already building concentration camps on US soil - allegedly for 'illegal immigrants' - but if no 'illegal immigrants' are housed in them, that leaves them empty and waiting to be filled with "suspected" criminals who are citizens of this country already (i.e., political opponents, journalists who report facts about the current administration, et al.), to be 'guarded' by mercenaries supplied by Halliburton subsidiaries: DynCorp, KBR, plus Blackwell and whichever other corporations supply mercenaries to Iraq and Afghanistan....

We've already been down the slippery slopes that no one thought we'd traverse since 2000, what with illegal and unconstitutional wars, illegal wiretapping, et cetera. This piece of $h!t legislation could easily become a greased slippery slope....

http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/funddocs/billeng.htm

Kerry on Bush's "Urban Myth"

On Failure to Capture Osama bin Laden

"President Bush says it's an urban myth that his Administration has lost focus on Osama bin Laden. The real myth is that Iraq, not Afghanistan, is the center of the War on Terror.

President Bush lost focus on Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora when he held back our military and outsourced the job of killing this barbarian to Afghan warlords.

President Bush lost focus on Osama bin Laden when he took his eye off of Afghanistan and instead invaded Iraq, which is why today we have seven times as many troops in a civil war in Iraq than we do in Afghanistan.

The Administration cut and run when they shut down the CIA's bin Laden unit. Maybe they thought that if they weren’t looking for bin Laden, no one would notice that they weren’t finding him.

The Administration has cut and run while Osama bin Laden and his henchmen hide and plot in a lawless no-man’s land. They cut and run even as we learn from Pakistani intelligence that the mastermind of the most recent attempt to blow up American airliners was an al Qaeda leader operating from Afghanistan. The same killers who attacked us on 9/11 are still plotting attacks against America and they’re still holed up in Afghanistan, and that's no myth."

lovely post, Dick. I was a mere TV observer of that convention, but I remember her speech well-- the highlight of that convention, and , for me, one of the two or three most memorable political speeches ever. What a great and feisty spirit. Great to know that her daughter Cecile is heading Planned Parenthood. .

I watched Ann Richards from the time I was a little girl to adulthood every 4th year at the DNC. She was always one of my favorites and was an influence on me to work for candidates. She got a bad rap in Texas and that was a shame because she was a great woman.

Democracy Now! has a priceless video of Ann Richards speaking at the 50th anniversary of the Texas Observer in December, 2004. If you're like me, you'll laugh & then cry...

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/14/1351255

When Ann Richards lost the race to GWB, a part of me wanted her to move to a higher playing field. I wanted her for President. Such a smart, clear, hearty woman. I already miss her.

Here's something you can do...

Light A Candle for Ann Richards
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/15/205350/341

Posted by: madame defarge at September 15, 2006 09:16 PM

thanks for posting that, md. what a cool site.

"I'm really glad that your young people missed the Depression and missed the big war. But I do regret that they missed the leaders that I knew, leaders who told us when things were tough and that we'd have to sacrifice, and that these difficulties might last awhile. They brought us together and they gave us a sense of national purpose.” - Ann Richards

I'm getting links to audio & video of Bush in the Rose Garden - I heard some of it on NPR while driving home & my husband had it blaring on Air America when I came in the house. The hysteria in his voice was incredible! Also heard his tirade to Congress (part of it) yesterday and it was quite agrammatical. The point is, he loses control when someone suggests anything less than full throttle torture. I hate to think he gets off on it.

Am waiting to hear how the protest of Rove here went today.

As someone who worked on her campaigns and was able to meet and speak with her in Houston through Billie Carr, I was truly devastated to hear of her loss. Her loss is getting very little coverage here in Cleveland, but I can assure you that those of us in Houston and Austin truly know what she meant to Texas. She truly loved and was proud of our state even with all our short comings. Unfortunately there is no one left in Texas and I have to say in our nation with her charm, whit and wisdom, to take her place. It will be really hard to carry on without her and all we can do is dedicate this election to her memory. Its what she would expect from us. Her loss to the Democratic family is matched only by the profound loss of Paul Wellstone and his family. What a sad day it has been. I still can not believe that she is gone, she almost felt like part of our progressive family.

she almost felt like a part of our immediate ve family. She was real, she was down to earth, she was someone you would love to have as a best friend to just hang out with The word I am struggling to find is that she was Authentic. And Karen except for her health problems and desire to spend more time with her immediate friends and family we were truly disappointed she didn't return to run for the US Senate from Texas. I believe that she felt that she had given her life to our state and wanted to enjoy the beauty and wonders of the rest of her life, without being an elected official in her final years. Had Gore taken office in 2000 I am sure he would have asked her to join his cabinet.

September 16, 2006
Editorial
The Pope’s Words

There is more than enough religious anger in the world. So it is particularly disturbing that Pope Benedict XVI has insulted Muslims, quoting a 14th-century description of Islam as “evil and inhuman.”

In the most provocative part of a speech this week on “faith and reason,” the pontiff recounted a conversation between an “erudite” Byzantine Christian emperor and a “learned” Muslim Persian circa 1391. The pope quoted the emperor saying, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

Muslim leaders the world over have demanded apologies and threatened to recall their ambassadors from the Vatican, warning that the pope’s words dangerously reinforce a false and biased view of Islam. For many Muslims, holy war — jihad — is a spiritual struggle, and not a call to violence. And they denounce its perversion by extremists, who use jihad to justify murder and terrorism.

The Vatican issued a statement saying that Benedict meant no offense and in fact desired dialogue. But this is not the first time the pope has fomented discord between Christians and Muslims.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/16/opinion/16sat2.html

Posted by: Matthew Carnicelli at September 16, 2006 07:39 AM

I hate the smell of 1930's Berlin in the morning.

Planet Z

Dan Slane,former chairman of the Ohio State University board of trustees and a very prominent Republican businessman here in the state of Ohio, attended a news conference with Rep. Ted Strickland yseterday and announced that he will head "Republicans for Strickland" and will raise major dollars for our campaign. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett immediately denounced Slane as a pig (nice touch).
Our campaign slogan "Turning Ohio Around" very important to the concerns of their very fragile economy here.

In a few hours I will be attending a Bill Clinton event expected to be attended by 800 or more contributors and will raise major dollars for the campaign.

Sherrod Brown announced yesterday his plan to make Ohio the silicon valley for energy independence.

Things are really starting to heat up here. Ney was just sentenced to 27 months in state prison.

Reporting from Cleveland.

About the Pope:
Some Holy Man - making Italy less safe. Berlusconi is gone, Prodi is better. The Pope may have "faith" but he certainly lacks "reason." Weren't some of the worst true Al Quaida terrorists plotting subway bombings in Milan.

Nice timing, Pope - just when it's come out as of September 11 that Al Quaida is aligning in France with Algerian terrorists who have a bone to pick with France historically?!

The last Pope tried to stop the war. This Pope apparently wants to start them.

I work for a Catholic Hospital and I'll bet anything that some of the Sisters (that I've seen at war protests) are experiencing a quandary at having this Busholic at the head. He's out of touch, like Pat Robertson or Fallwell. With people, with the planet, with his own religion, with reality.

Reporting from Cleveland.
Posted by: Ira at September 16, 2006 09:34 AM
Ira--Thanks for good news on the Ohio campaign front

I work for a Catholic Hospital and I'll bet anything that some of the Sisters (that I've seen at war protests) are experiencing a quandary at having this Busholic at the head. He's out of touch, like Pat Robertson or Fallwell. With people, with the planet, with his own religion, with reality.
Posted by: DiAnne at September 16, 2006 09:48 AM

DiAnne--thanks also for this. I'd guess your bet is right.

What a woman! I've been thinking about Ann
Richards a great deal today. I lived in Texas during her last 5 years in office. One of my last acts when I moved to Arizoma was to vote for her re-election-- my first vote against the shrub. His mendacity showed again yesterday when he answered the question about her at his media event. His campaign against her was a preview of the bag of dirty tricks he heaps on all his opponents, including anyone who happens to disagree with him. I'm sure you can imagine the slime and crudeness BushCo disseminated during the campaign. but she remained gracious.

This morning I was remembering her speaking at the 2004 Convention. Can't recall what she said, but I remember laughing..... Hmmm I think the videos of the convention are still available on C-SPAN :p

Rest well Ann-- you fought the good fight :)

I'd guess that DiAnne is right as well. As Vatican II participant Hans Kung noted in his March 26, 2005 critique, "The Pope's Contradictions", John Paul II carefully purged the College of Cardinals of its liberals and free-thinkers during his reign; hence, the group that elected Ratzinger Pope can hardly be considered representative of the wide span of American Catholic (much less international Catholic) opinion that I remember.

Here's a link to Kung's original piece:
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,348471,00.html

This Pope was not somehow anointed from above, by God, but elected by a cadre of Catholic conservatives and fundamentalists. The College of Cardinals has become every bit the political organization that the Soviet Politburo was in John Paul II's era.

Here is the link to results Z Zogby psoted yesterday, (sorry if somebody already posted them)

I decided to post the link before reading, but I don't like the way it starts-- hope there's something enougrabing in there! o_O
;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Released: September 15, 2006

Zogby: Battle for Congress Tightens

Republican Candidates Trail Democrats by Just 3%; Bush Job Approval Climbs to 39%

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1172

Well, according to the Zogby article, peeps are actually listening to shrub. o_O

I pasted a bulub below--

One plus-- the poll was taken during the build-bp to the 9-11 anniversary/media exploitation. frenzy, which followed on the heels of the Heathrow terror plot revelation. I would think both would be likely to affect the results of polls taken at that time. Maybe it's discussed in the article... I haven't finished yet-- had to pause & write while the nausea abates. Here is a snippet:
_____

Coming on the heels of a series of policy speeches culminating in a Sept. 11 address to the nation outlining the President’s vision for domestic anti-terror programs and the War in Iraq, the Zogby survey shows President Bush’s standing has increased five points since mid-August, when just 34% of voters rated him positively. Bush had previously risen to 37% in a Sept. 5 Zogby America poll.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1172

IMHO, whenever a Republican plays the terror fear card, our response shoud be Katrina. "Yeah, we got already a good look at how well this admin has prepared for major disasters"

I am so sorry it happened, 4 years after 9/11 and well into hte 2nd term, what can they say?

Leadership and inspiration can take many forms. Maura Casey wrote this appreciation piece for the NYTimes yesterday. It's short and it's sweet, so here's the whole thing rather than a snipped excerpt (though you can, of course, opt to read it in situ at http://tinyurl.com/p5zad also):

--------------------

Former Gov. Ann Richards of Texas will be remembered for her wit, her one-liners and especially for the keynote speech at the 1988 Democratic Convention, which was, in retrospect, the high point in the party’s dismal campaign for the presidency that year. To intrigued television viewers nationwide, Ms. Richards, with her big hair and big attitude, epitomized the kind of formidable woman that is a hallmark of the Lone Star State. People liked her down-home phrases. When she said, “We’re gonna tell how the cow ate the cabbage,” they believed her. She leavened a plain-spoken manner with wisecracks. Both helped elect her governor two years later.

But her political career eclipsed what Ms. Richards called “one of the great, great stories” of her life: her recovery from alcoholism and her nearly 26 years of sobriety. That triumph deserves to be more than a line in her obituary.

In so many ways, her decision to stop drinking and enter a rehabilitation program in 1980, after a painful intervention by family and friends, was necessary for her continued rise in public life. What made Ms. Richards different was her decision to be forthright about the fact that she was a recovering alcoholic. She didn’t hide it. “I like to tell people that alcoholism is one of my strengths,” she said. She was right. Alcoholics know that seeds of healthy recovery grow from the need to mend their own flaws to stay sober, one day at a time. Ms. Richards faced her imperfections fearlessly, and that enabled others to be fearless, too, if only for a little while.

She never stopped helping people. One well-known author said the first mail she received after enrolling in a rehabilitation program was an encouraging letter from Ms. Richards. A politician who left rehab and wondered how on earth he was going to avoid drinking when he got home well after midnight found Ms. Richards waiting for him when he arrived. As governor, she started treatment programs in Texas prisons. When she visited, she would tell the inmates the simple truth: “My name’s Ann, and I’m an alcoholic.” Her imperfection had become a source of inspiration for others.

Ann Richards was funny, wise and compassionate. At 73, she died too soon. But she died sober.

--------------------

Ann R. may be gone from this mortal stage now, but she still lives on where it counts: deep in the hearts of Texans. And as I posted to an earlier thread here the other night when the news started breaking...

Requiescat en pace, Governor Richards. You done good in your time here on earth, you done good early & often, and you will be missed.

now all we need is a thousand more just like her,
Otter

Posted by Matthew Carnicelli at September 16, 2006 10:48 AM:

"This Pope was not somehow anointed from above, by God, but elected by a cadre of Catholic conservatives and fundamentalists. The College of Cardinals has become every bit the political organization that the Soviet Politburo was in John Paul II's era."

Okay, so, and this makes them different than every other Pope and College of Cardinals in the last twenty centuries because ... ?

the vatican is a religio-fascist state-within-a-state so let's invade it too,
Otter

...she still lives on where it counts: deep in the hearts of Texans...
Posted by: Otter at September 16, 2006 02:52 PM

Guess that means I have to be a Texan then (damn it!)...because she'll live on in my heart.

While no one can replace her, we can carry on for her & because of her. I vow to try to keep as much of Ann Richards in me as I pursue my political activism.

mdf:

You're as Texan as you wanna be. It's a big state, don't blame everybody in it just because some of them got paid to vote for Shrubya in 1994 (ahem). Can you just imagine how different the next dozen years woulda/coulda/shoulda been, if only he'd lost his run for gubna back then and had to go back to resting on his laurels and his daddy's money again instead?

(And yeah, I know what you mean -- her and Paul Wellstone, both.)

always remember ann richards,
Otter

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060916/ap_on_re_us/anti_war_sermon
Calif. church ordered to give IRS info
LOS ANGELES - The Internal Revenue Service has ordered a prominent liberal church to turn over documents and e-mails it produced during the 2004 election year that contain references to political candidates.
~~~~~
The IRS is investigating whether All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena violated the federal tax code when its former rector, Rev. George F. Regas, delivered an anti-war sermon on the eve of the last presidential election.

Tax-exempt organizations are barred from intervening in political campaigns and elections, and the church could lose its tax-exempt status.
~~~~~
In a sermon two days before the 2004 election, Regas did not urge parishioners to support President Bush or challenger John Kerry but was critical of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts, Bacon said in an interview last November when the investigation was announced.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So... lemme get this straight.... It's okay for a church leader and/or the "Christian congregations" they serve to be pro-war (it would indicate "patriotism" and indirectly imply "support for the troops"), and it's okay for churches to accept money from US taxpayers (while maintaining a tax-exempt status) but preach pro-war sermons (they benefit from both the tax exemption and from US taxpayers of all religions while using that money to proselytize and gain converts to their particular fundamentalist 'Christian' faith). But it's not politically correct (per the Bu$h government) to preach peace or be against tax cuts that would take money away from costs of providing equipment for the troops, money for students in public schools..., et cetera....

So, is it only going to be "liberal churches" who are going to be investigated for "political sermons?" What about the "conservative churches" (mostly fundamentalist congregations and Catholic churches, all pro-Bu$h, pro-war, anti-choice, anti-equal-rights, anti-birth control) who so blatantly told their congregations who to vote for (or vote against) before the '04 election...?!?

So, that means the pacifism allegedly preached about by the alleged Jesus is not acceptable to the Bu$h government...?

Things that make an atheist go "hmmmmmmmm........"

Posted by: Otter at September 16, 2006 03:04 PM

There have been, from time to time, intellectually diverse College of Cardinals - as was the case at the time of Vatican II. This is not one of those times - and the man who brought the authoritarian style back to the Vatican was himself a product of an authoritarian state.

In Replay of Iraq, Battle Brews Over Intelligence on Iran
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091606Y.shtml
In an echo of the intelligence wars that preceded the US invasion of Iraq, a struggle is brewing over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program and involvement in terrorism. US intelligence and counterterrorism officials say Bush administration hardliners have manipulated information to portray Iran's nuclear program as more advanced than it is and to exaggerate Tehran's role in Hezbollah's attack on Israel in mid-July.
Excerpt:
Several former US defense officials who maintain close ties to the Pentagon say they've been told that plans for airstrikes - if Bush deems them necessary - are being updated.
~~~~~~~~~~

If DimWit "deems them necessary"~~~?!?!? WTF? He did NOT have the constitutional authority to start the illegal war in Iraq (based on LIES), and he does NOT have constitutional authority to start ANOTHER ILLEGAL WAR (per Geneva Conventions) in Iran...!!! WHERE are the Congress Critters who will speak out about these very REAL ISSUES concerning the LIES of the Bu$hCo administration and their false assertions regarding their bogus "war on terror"?!?!?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/16/ann.richards.ap/index.html

President Clinton escorts Ann Richards' casket
POSTED: 2:15 p.m. EDT, September 16, 2006
Adjust font size:

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- President Clinton tearfully escorted a flag-draped casket Saturday carrying former Texas Gov. Ann Richards into the state Capitol, where she will spend the next two days lying in state before her funeral and burial.

************************************************

She touched hearts and minds, made people think.

I miss having a President like Clinton who will get down and comfort a child and let people see that he really cared about them. When Clinton told us he felt our pain he just didnt speak the words he showed it and still does.

Colorado Lawsuit Seeks to Ban Computer Voting
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091606X.shtml
Voting on computer screens is so vulnerable to massive fraud that Colorado's November election is "headed for a train wreck," says an attorney who is seeking to have the equipment barred at trial next week. An expert would need just two minutes to reprogram and distort votes on a Diebold, one of four brands of computerized voting systems attacked in the suit, says attorney Paul Hultin.
Excerpts:
The four types of computer systems in question are manufactured by Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and Hart, and are used in some fashion by every county in the state, affecting hundreds of thousands of voters.
~~~~~
Meanwhile, there are concerns about another form of voting machine that would be an alternative to the machines under attack in the lawsuit.

Last year, two Colorado elections were reversed when recounts in tight races found that an Optech III-P optical scanner misread paper ballots:

The Pope should have kept his rat trap of a mouth shut.
One of the jobs a president has is to comfort. Clinton did it well. All one has do is to read or watch the Olberman response to Bush's tactless 9/11 speech.."Oh,but it's not a political speech",says Snow job.
Jim Wallce was just on earth watch on AA and someone needs to mail him all the transcripts from the 04'election. he claims: "JK never spoke about the environment and poverty or evangelicals would have voted for him!" Where do these people live.
ANNIE,take it to the Lord and bring the rath on BUSH. We will NEVER forget you.

Here is a good story about Ann Richards:

At a long-ago political do at Scholz Garten in Austin, everybody who was anybody was there meetin' and greetin' at a furious pace. A group of us got the tired feet and went to lean our butts against a table at the back wall of the bar. Perched like birds in a row were Bob Bullock, then state comptroller, moi, Charles Miles, the head of Bullock's personnel department, and Ms. Ann Richards. Bullock, 20 years in Texas politics, knew every sorry, no good sumbitch in the entire state. Some old racist judge from East Texas came up to him, "Bob, my boy, how are you?"

Bullock said, "Judge, I'd like you to meet my friends: This is Molly Ivins with the Texas Observer."

The judge peered up at me and said, "How yew, little lady?"

Bullock, "And this is Charles Miles, the head of my personnel department." Miles, who is black, stuck out his hand, and the judge got an expression on his face as though he had just stepped into a fresh cowpie. He reached out and touched Charlie's palm with one finger, while turning eagerly to the pretty, blonde, blue-eyed Ann Richards. "And who is this lovely lady?"

Ann beamed and replied, "I am Mrs. Miles."

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=21364

Does anybody have an idea why this story is getting published now and not three years ago? This article is a little long, but makes the Katrina nepotism look amateurish. Now you will understand where the 9 billion dollars went (it truly is unaccounted for).

THE EMERALD CITY American Misadventure in the Green Zone
Best-Connected Were Sent to Rebuild Iraq

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans -- restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers. But before they could go to Baghdad, they had to get past Jim O'Beirne's office in the Pentagon.

To pass muster with O'Beirne, a political appointee who screens prospective political appointees for Defense Department posts, applicants didn't need to be experts in the Middle East or in post-conflict reconstruction. What seemed most important was loyalty to the Bush administration.

O'Beirne's staff posed blunt questions to some candidates about domestic politics: Did you vote for George W. Bush in 2000? Do you support the way the president is fighting the war on terror? Two people who sought jobs with the U.S. occupation authority said they were even asked their views on Roe v. Wade .

Many of those chosen by O'Beirne's office to work for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran Iraq's government from April 2003 to June 2004, lacked vital skills and experience. A 24-year-old who had never worked in finance -- but had applied for a White House job -- was sent to reopen Baghdad's stock exchange. The daughter of a prominent neoconservative commentator and a recent graduate from an evangelical university for home-schooled children were tapped to manage Iraq's $13 billion budget, even though they didn't have a background in accounting.

The decision to send the loyal and the willing instead of the best and the brightest is now regarded by many people involved in the 3 1/2 -year effort to stabilize and rebuild Iraq as one of the Bush administration's gravest errors. Many of those selected because of their political fidelity spent their time trying to impose a conservative agenda on the postwar occupation that sidetracked more important reconstruction efforts and squandered goodwill among the Iraqi people, according to many people who participated in the reconstruction effort.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600193.html

Just came back from a Bill Clinon fundraiser for the Ohio Women's causcus Aopril where 800 contributors came to contribute to the Ted Strickland campaign and listen to Bill Clinton. I have heard him speak before and felt he was terribly uncharacteristically somber today. His first words to this crowd were that he had just left the rotunda in Austin to say good by to his dear friend Ann Richards. You could almost him him choke back the tears as he said how much Ann Richards meant to him personally and to the country. Sounded strange sitting in a Cleveland Sheraton Hotel listening to our reveared ex President speak so glowingly about my beloved ex Governor in front of 800 Cleveland activists. There was a hush in the room and a sense of sadness for a few minutes as we heard Bill Clinton talk about the loss of his dear friend. The women in that ballroom understood the President's entusiastic support for the Ohio slate of candidates, but also came away fully appreciating what Ann Richards meant to all of these women from all corners of Ohio.

Later this afternoon I had the unepected fortune
of meeting and speaking with Sherrod Brown, the candidate I came up here to help, and his wife directly about stem cell research and his plan of making Ohio the silicon valley for energy independence at a private fund raiser.

But April everyone in that ballrom could tell today that Bill Clinton was visibly shaken by this personal loss.

I have photos of these two events if I knew how to download them here or was allowed to do so or if others here even care to know what is happening here in the Ohio campaign.

Ira,

I would like to see those photos. Thanks for the update.

This video from Channel 4 (Britain) is extraoridnary. If anybody says to you the Iraqis should be grateful for the services we have provided, this video is more than enough to explain to them that they are repeating mindless propaganda.

http://getintheirface.blogspot.com/2006/07/iraqs-missing-billions-crime-of.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600193.html
Posted by: oncall at September 16, 2006 06:59 PM

Oncall, thanks for posting this. Horrible as it is, this story needs to be known. And your comments are right on the money.

From the Otterworld Quoted Without Comment Department...

Ann Richards on How to Be a Good Republican:

1. You have to believe that the nation's current 8-year prosperity was due to the work of Ronald Reagan and George Bush, but yesterday's gasoline prices are all Clinton's fault.

2. You have to believe that those privileged from birth achieve success all on their own.

3. You have to be against all government programs, but expect Social Security checks on time.

4. You have to believe that AIDS victims deserve their disease, but smokers with lung cancer and overweight individuals with heart disease don't deserve theirs.

5. You have to appreciate the power rush that comes with sporting a gun.

6. You have to believe... everything Rush Limbaugh says.

7. You have to believe that the agricultural, restaurant, housing and hotel industries can survive without immigrant labor.

8. You have to believe God hates homosexuality, but loves the death penalty.

9. You have to believe society is color-blind and growing up black in America doesn't diminish your opportunities, but you still won't vote for Alan Keyes.

10. You have to believe that pollution is OK as long as it makes a profit.

11. You have to believe in prayer in schools, as long as you don't pray to Allah or Buddha.

12. You have to believe Newt Gingrich and Henry Hyde were really faithful husbands.

13. You have to believe speaking a few Spanish phrases makes you instantly popular in the barrio.

14. You have to believe that only your own teenagers are still virgins.

15. You have to be against government interference in business, until your oil company, corporation or Savings and Loan is about to go broke and you beg for a government bail out.

16. You love Jesus and Jesus loves you and, by the way, Jesus shares your hatred for AIDS victims, homosexuals, and President Clinton.

17. You have to believe government has nothing to do with providing police protection, national defense, and building roads.

18. You have to believe a poor, minority student with a disciplinary history and failing grades will be admitted into an elite private school with a $1,000 voucher.

Ira,

It'd be great to see the pictures. I use photobucket.com for my online photo albums and it's relatively easy. Just register and pick a user name/password. Save the pictures to your computer. Then at photobucket.com you can "browse" your own hard drive and have the site upload your pictures to their site. Then just post the link in here.

It's not too hard. Just follow their instructions.

I am excited. I just go polled by LAtimes and bloomberg. Happy to say it wasn't a push poll. However, they're only inteviewing around 1500 people across the country so it's not truly a big enough sample to tell them anything.

Ira,

Please contact a site administrator regarding posting those photos.

Ira

If you'd like to email those photos to me, we'll find a place to post them so that everyone can see them. And thanks for going.

marianne@democracycellproject.net

I smell a thread header in the offing.

I have to figure out how to download them off my cell phone although someone promised to email their digital photos to me. Maybe in a few days but I will try and get them to you marianne presuming the campaign is ok with that; just don't want to step on any toes here.

all of us should commemorate the next 52 days to working for political change in Congress, in the memory of Anne Richards. I have some ideas for some virtual phone banking if folks want to email me personally.
This discussion reminds of the sick feeling I had when I wept for Paul Wellstone.

Associated Press story by April Castro, datelined 9/16/06:

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Former President Clinton tearfully escorted a flag-draped casket Saturday carrying former Gov. Ann Richards into the state Capitol, where she will spend the next two days lying in state before her funeral and burial.

Clinton delivered poignant and at times funny recollections of the woman he called "spontaneous, unedited, earthy, hilarious."

He told about 50 of her close friends and family about a lunch he once shared in New York with Richards and a group that included comedians Billy Crystal and Robin Williams.

"I thought to myself, I bet this is the only time in their entire lives that Billy Crystal and Robin Williams are the second and third funniest people at the table," he said, drawing chuckles from misty-eyed family members.

Richards, the Democrat known for her big, frosty white hair and sharp wit, died Wednesday at the age of 73 from esophageal cancer.

"In this case, goodbye is also a celebration, because of the big things that Ann Richards did," Clinton said.

A Texas Department of Public Safety honor guard rolled the casket into the Capitol rotunda, followed by Clinton and Richards' daughter, Cecile, as a girl's choir sang a hymn from a gallery above. Across the rotunda, Richards' painting hung next to one of President Bush, her successor as Texas governor, in its place among all their predecessors. Her portrait was draped in black.

Clinton called Richards "Texas on parade."

"For 30-plus years, that is certainly what she was to me and Hillary," he said. "First she was big: big hair, big bright eyes, big blinding smile. She also had a big heart, big dreams, did big deeds."

During her one term as governor from 1991-95 she championed what she called the "New Texas," appointing more women and minorities to state posts than any of her predecessors.

He described the world that Richards wanted for her grandchildren as one "where young girls grew up to be scientists, engineers, police officers and teachers ... where the dreams and the spirit were as big as the sky in her beloved home."

When Clinton finished speaking, Richards' daughter, Ellen, thanked him for "all the great times that you shared with our mom."

Clinton paused for a moment beside the casket, then greeted family members, hugging or shaking hands with each one in attendance. At one point, he bent down to comfort Richards' 8-year-old grandson Wyatt, who broke down in sobs.

After Clinton spoke, the Capitol Rotunda was opened to the public. Hundreds of mourners snaked around the building. Later, some visitors left tributes to Richards on a grassy area in front of the Capitol.

One note read: "Ann, Thank you for all that you've done for women in Texas. We will miss you dearly."

Richards is survived by her four children -- Cecile, Daniel, Clark and Ellen Richards; their spouses and eight grandchildren.

-- 30 --

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 15, 2006

Secretary Evans to Attend Funeral Services for Former Texas Governor Ann Richards

Secretary Don Evans will attend the funeral services held for Governor Ann Richards at the University of Texas Frank Erwin Center on Monday, September 18, on behalf of President and Mrs. Bush.

As a lifelong Texan, Secretary Evans had the highest regard for the Governor, and he appreciated her tireless efforts on behalf of the state and her zest for life that endeared her to the entire country.

The President regrets being unable to attend her funeral, and he and Mrs. Bush send their deepest condolences to the Governor's family.

Thank goodness Bush will not be attending Ann Richard's funeral reports the Austin American Statesman. Austin and the state of Texas have suffered enough heartache this week:

More good progbloggage with memories of Ann Richards here:
http://capitolannex.com/2006/09/14/from-the-blogs-remembering-ann-richards/

and here:
http://burntorangereport.com/frontPage.do

and, of course, here:
http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/09/remembering_ann.php

WASHINGTON (AP) -- When President Bush addresses world leaders at the United Nations this week, he will have fewer options and lower expectations on almost every major foreign policy front than a year ago.

The United States is relying more readily on international institutions and alliances for help in Iran, Lebanon, North Korea, Sudan and elsewhere. Yet, according to analysts, the Bush administration has less room to maneuver.

Bush and his foreign policy advisers have tried with some success to dispel the caricature of Bush abroad as a Texas cowboy riding alone and herding the U.S. into an unpopular war in Iraq.

But the war, now in its fourth year, devours resources and energy for other global objectives and feeds mistrust about U.S. intentions, experts say.

"I'm not sure they have changed their minds about to what extent to proceed unilaterally and how much to use military force so much as they have run out of options," said Richard Stoll, a political science professor at Rice University who studies foreign policy and national security.

With Bush nearly halfway through his final term, time is dwindling for him to accomplish his signature goals of confronting terrorism and spreading democracy, and he faces more distractions at home, said Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations at Boston University.

Friday, Bush told reporters what his Tuesday speech to the U.N. General Assembly would focus on. He said he would carry a strong message, "based upon hope, and (a) belief that the civilized world must stand with moderate, reformist-minded people and help them realize their dreams."

A year of change
A scan of the globe, however, points up the defensive posture for the U.S. these days and the changed circumstances from a year ago.

In Afghanistan, five years after the U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban from political power, the militant Islamic group is proving a resilient enemy for NATO forces in the south while suicide attacks have spread to the capital, Kabul. President Hamid Karzai's credibility has been undermined by the bloodiest fighting since the Taliban's fall, failure to control the drug trade and wide disparities between the rich and poor. Karzai is a U.S. favorite whom Bush will see at the White House this month.

In North Korea, the breakthrough weapons agreement announced during last year's U.N. opening session fell apart weeks later. Now the communist government is boycotting talks with the United States and other nations. The situation worsened when North Korea tested a long-range missile theoretically capable of reaching the U.S.

In Iraq, political gains and the capture of a terrorist leader have not stopped the wholesale killing. U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom Bush will see in New York, has failed to make his security plan stick. Washington shelved plans to withdraw some American troops this year despite declining public support in the U.S. for the war and growing calls from Congress for a phased withdrawal. Bush has acknowledged that U.S. forces will remain there for years.

In Iran, the government has accelerated its nuclear program and defied U.N. demands. The U.S. is still the main force for U.N. penalties that allies find unappealing or of questionable value. With Tehran trying to undermine a fragile U.S.-built consensus, the weeks ahead may show whether the U.S. can persuade the Security Council to impose meaningful penalties or whether the administration will concede the futility of a course pursued for more than two years. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to deflect suspicion that the U.S. intends to topple Iran's ruling mullahs or bomb its nuclear sites.

In the Mideast, the prospects for progress for peace between Israel and the Palestinians look more remote than at this time in 2005. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is unconscious from a stroke; his successor, Ehud Olmert, has political problems after an inconclusive war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Humanitarian and political crises followed the victory of Hamas militants in Palestinian elections and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was vastly weakened.

Hamas' victory was the biggest blow to Bush's goal of spreading democracy in the region. Yet the U.S. said little about political reform in Egypt and Saudi Arabia while appealing to those Arab allies for help during the recent Israeli-Hezbollah war.

Bush may need help around the globe, but he could not resist taking a swipe at the United Nations during his White House press conference Friday. He stopped just short of calling the United Nations feckless in its response to the death and destruction in Sudan's Darfur region.

"I think a lot of Americans are frustrated with the United Nations, to be frank with you," Bush said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/16/bush.un.expectations.ap/index.html

Is the whole damned world this slow, or is it just me?

Posted by: monkey at September 16, 2006 11:40 PM

When have you ever been slow...?

Quite frankly, I think the rest of the world is digging in their heels, waiting for Jan. '09 when DimWit will be gone and a new president takes over.... (assuming, of course, he doesn't make another 9/11 happen, declare martial law, and cancel elections - in which case, I wonder how many US citizens will openly revolt...? Or will Bu$hCo "only" rig elections to get more of their PNAC stooges in office...?)

I realize we all lost patience with DimWit before he was appointed to his first term, and I sense the rest of the world is losing patience with the whole Bu$hco regime at an increasingly fast pace. They've put up with his illegal and unconstitutional behavior with supreme patience, but if he keeps it up (like with the insult to the UN), the US will be outsted from polite society, so to speak.... and I don't blame them one bit. The only thing that *may* get the message across to him and his Criminal Cabal is if the rest of the world shuns the US until the whole lot of 'em are gone....

And, at this point, I hope the rest of the world does just exactly that. Something just has to wake up both the slumbering propagandistic Lamestream Media AND our Congress Critters who have done nothing but rubber stamp his harebrained "legislation" - none of which has done any favors for the ordinary citizens of this nation. I think the rest of the world should unite against Bu$hCo and take the so-called 'power' out of their criminal hands. The US can't be considered a moral nation or a moral leader until the US "leaders" and the Criminal Cabal are gone....

It's perfectly LUDICROUS to even be "discussing" potentially making torture "legal" and exempting the administration or their underlings from war crimes charges. For that latest outrage, the administration deserves to be shunned by the rest of the world - and the citizens of this nation. If the Congress Critters even come remotely close to making torture legal and exempting DimWit and his ilk from war crimes charges for the torture they've already sanctioned (in *our* names, no less!), this country's 'leaders' will have crossed all moral boundaries and deserves whatever befalls them (and by extension, us - or at least that 30% who still think DimWit is the bee's knees).

Every time I think they can't make this nation sink any lower in any moral sense, they out-do themselves....! The mere idea of the possibility of legalizing torture, let alone a "leader" of this nation having someone write legislation for such morally reprehensible "laws"... well, I can't truly express my moral outrage; words that profane haven't been invented yet...!!!

I didn't think I could be any more ashamed of our "leaders" than I already was... I was SO wrong...!!!

Nonny et al,
I agree that most of us are ASHAMED. I am at a conference in Utah and that seems to be the main attitude of folks here. We are embarrassed.

Hopefully people will vote in November and will quietly and clearly send the message.

Time for sanity.

Senator Ma kaka debates Jim Webb in a few minutes on Meet the Press.

Posted by: NonnyO at September 17, 2006 06:10 AM
Posted by: monkey at September 16, 2006 11:40 PM

It looks like other world leaders have had enough with Bush

Europeans May Meet With Iran, Sans U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) - European diplomats are considering a meeting with Iran on the sidelines of next week's U.N. General Assembly in hopes of de-escalating the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program - but the United States won't be getting an invitation.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060916/D8K66LFG0.html

I was cleaning out my sent items folder in Outlook Express, and came across a link to this old, but still timely, Boston Globe column - which beautifully elucidates the reasons why the behavior of the folks running the Vatican should be every Democrat's and progressive's concern:

Kerry's Catholicism

By James Carroll, Globe Columnist | September 28, 2004

IN LABELING John Kerry "wrong for Catholics," the Republican National Committee is lying about the meaning of Catholic faith, insulting Kerry, and moving the political exploitation of religion to a new low. The Globe's Michael Kranish reported Sunday on the RNC plot to target Kerry's religious unworthiness as a Catholic. Not only do the Republicans distort Kerry's positions on complicated moral questions; they misrepresent the current state of Catholic ethical thought. General outrage is the proper response to this strategy, but Catholics in particular should repudiate it.

I worship at the same Catholic church in Boston where John Kerry and his wife often attend Mass. Across the years I have observed the senator at prayer, and I have some sense of the seriousness he brings to his devotion. John Kerry's Catholicism is for real. His faith is informed by the spirit of the great renewal that occurred with Vatican II. At that council (1962-65), the Catholic Church finally and fully embraced the principle of religious liberty that had been pioneered in America.

It is not too much to say that Vatican II was the church's nodding to this country for what it taught the world about the primacy of conscience and the rights of all believers. That spirit of openness is reflected in the public positions advanced by John Kerry.

Today, some Catholics, including many bishops, repudiate the theology of the Second Vatican Council, and they are the ones most determined to stop Kerry from being elected. Having a Vatican II Catholic as president of the United States would be a blow against those who hope to roll back the reforms begun at that council. More than that, Kerry's positions on a range of issues, from abortion to the death penalty to the centrality of social justice, mark him not as a renegade Catholic but as one of that increasingly large number of faithful Catholics who understand that moral theology is not a fixed set of answers given once and for all by an all-knowing hierarchy but an ongoing quest for truths that remain elusive.

In the area of sexuality, for example, from which so many hot-button issues arise, it is clear that the human race is undergoing a massive cultural mutation, posing excruciating problems that human beings have never faced before. It is a distortion of the Catholic tradition to insist that all such questions have already been answered with "non-negotiable" regulations. The life of conscience is by definition negotiation with life. The "truth" is not something we possess but something toward which in humility we are moving. "A pilgrim people" is what Vatican II called the church, with a modesty that was itself refreshing change.

- more -

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/09/28/playing_politics_with_religion/

I achieved a milestone this week: my letter to the editor of our local rag was published. It was a letter admonishing our current congressional rubber stamp republican incumbent, so it would be meaningless to share the letter with you here at the DCP.

But the point is that it's important to write & submit letters to any & all newspapers that reach those who should be aware of an issue.

...And, that, it seems to me, means "all of them".

"I am delighted to be here with you this evening because after listening to George Bush all these years, I figured you needed to know what a real Texas accent sounds like."
-- Ann Richards

And if you want to know what a *real* Texas accent sounds like, why not go here and listen to what made Ann so great? It's got not just the text transcript but also the audio track to her much-remembered 1988 DNC keynote address:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/annrichards1988dnc.htm

Oh yes, and there's a delightful video of Ann Richards speaking her mind on a subject dear to our hearts that's posted over on YouTube, too. You can find it linked to from the top page of teevee reportator/commentator Craig Crawford's personal blog at:

http://crawfordslist.blogspot.com/

Posted by: madame defarge at September 17, 2006 10:39 AM

Congrats! Good work!

And thanks to you and Ellen, we all know about Mark Kirk.

Otter,

Thanks for that link to crawfordlist.blogspot.com What a wondeful lady Ann Richard's was. I can't help wondering how many Texans are ashamed of voting for Bush instead of her.

Well, let's put it this way, sparrow:

These days, there's a sign by the highway on the outskirts of town that reads "Welcome to Crawford, Texas -- Home of Cindy Sheehan."

Posted by: sparrow at September 17, 2006 04:24 PM

Not enough.

Today I was fortunate enough to be in town to see "Women on the Road to Victory" rally in A-A. They were there in support of Debbie Stebenow, but also speaking on her behalf was: Sen. Barbara Boxer, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen Barbara Mikulski, Sen Patty Murray and a new handful of women candidates from Michigan.

It was a great rally. When I first arrived there were only between 25-50 people there. But it heated up as it got closer to the time for the Senators to come out. Interesting enough, by time our little band of right-winged hate-mongers showed up, there was closer to 75-100 people there.

The hate mongers was a small band of 3-5 people who spewed such ridiculous stuff as "Stabenow is ugly" or "Stabenow kills babies." The first sign was clearly the tactic designed to mock Stabenaw and make someone vote for the Republican Brouchard who is her opponent. Not because he has morals, ethics, and great policies, but because he has a handsome mug. (which knowing Republicans nowadays comes in handy for those mug shots.)

The second sign was a little more difficult to deal with. A few people tried to stand in front of her sign (the babykiller one) but it became a game of 'chase'. I initially approached her although because it ticked me off so much I walked away. But after gathering my thoughts, I returned to her and asked her why she said what she did.

She said because Stabenow is pro-choice.

So I asked her "What about the baby's starving after they're born...Don't they deserve a right to a real life?" I then spoke about providing jobs so that people can FEED these children after they're born.

Her response was, "When I was sixteen and got pregnant, I kept my baby!!! He's a human being and nobody can tell me he's not!"

So I asked her if she was pro-war. This young girl said, "I support the war." So I replied, "So you're a babykiller too--except you approve of killing little brown skinned babies."

You should have heard the intake of breath around me when I said that. She turned and glared at me. She had two other friends who she 'ran to' at that point. Then she came back to say something else to me.

So I replied, "And the Iraqis children are human beings too. Except they're being born with birth defects thanks to the depleted uranium used by our bullets. The children of our soldiers are human beings too--except the offspring of our soldiers are dying for the same reason. So you're a baby killer too." And I repeated, "You support killing little brown babies."

At that point, she and a few of her 'ilk' gathered together in a huff and a young boy came out to protect her from my comments. So he asked, "What has Debbie Stabenaw done to help anyone?"

And so I replied, "She's fighting to get jobs to stay in our country." He smirked at that and attempted to roll of statistics about Michigan's employment situation.

So I responded, "Excuse me! The Republicans in the legislature and in our National Legislature have had years to fight for jobs and they haven't. You're talking to someone who knows how they obstructed bringing jobs into Michigan. Your Republican legislatures sat there all last summer and worked part time and refused to allow the minimum wage bill to progress to the floor for debate and a vote. And furthermore while they did nothing, people earning less than 11k per year and attempting to feed their own children went hungry and starved."

At that point he tried to tell me that his candidate was working 70 hours per week. So I asked, "Doing what? Because he wasn't in the legislature creating laws to help the average citizen."

He blabbed out, "Meetings, campaigning, etc..." And I said, "Campaigning is not working. (He should not be paid tax dollars to campaign!)" And he pointed out to me the women on the stage and asked are they working?

I replied, "They are not working for US when they're campaigning; they're working to get elected. They are suppose to be doing this on their own time--not our time!"

I asked him if he could live on 10-11k fulltime with no healthcare. He replied he had a hundred dollars in his savings. So I asked him, "Do you have a child to support?"

His response was no.

But at that point, he tried to point out that jobs will leave Michigan if the minimum wage goes up. At which point I pointed out the fallacies ant the talking points on that subject. Then he tried to argue against government interference--I argued that government already is involved by creating trade agreements, by running OSHA to keep workers safe, by making students under 18 get a workers permit to get jobs so that children don't have to work in factories. The reason they do this, I said, was because businesses have proven that they can not be trusted to take care of their employees.

So it was the typical circular argument, but maybe I at least got them to think about more than the talking points.

At that point, we just walked away from each other. But most people who saw I had tackled them, actually thanked me for interceding. And a few minutes later, the small group of irrelevant dissenters left.

(Oh..and by time they left, there was closer to 200 people there.)

IL-06 $362,151.30 $58,076.71

You want to know what those numbers mean?

In my Congressional District the NRCC has outspent the DCCC in the the campaign for the house seat by over six to one. What really amazes me is the effort that the DCCC put into keeping Cegelis from gaining the nomination, and how little they are doing for their poster child. If the DCCC and the Duckworth campaign don't get their act together, this district will elect a DeLay protege.

Duckworth is polling only 1% ahead of Roskam, but this is an extremely conservative district and when the undecided people make their choice, they will break towards the Republican - they always do. If we only had somebody with Ann Richard's street smarts running this campaign, it would not even be close.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/9/16/203625/291

Other type tidbits from the rally--I got a "blogger pass".

Bloggers are really getting recognised for spreading the word. (Right winged bloggers have long enjoyed the 'inside scoop' on their side of the aisle. But the 'left' is now beginning to see some use for bloggers for getting the word out.)

Each of the women had something to say about what is happening in our country.

Sen. Barbara Boxer spoke of media and the spin that is out there. She spoke of the war and ending it. And she spoke about why we need to keep fighting to get strong ethical people elected.

Sen. Murray spoke about what it's like to go home and hear the constituents talking about gas prices, food, healthcare, jobs etc...but when she goes to Washington DC it's all about gays and flag burning. She spoke of the disconnect between the people and the Majority party in Congress right now.

Senator Landreiu and Senator Lincoln spoke about the good things we will accomplish after November when we take back our country. They spoke about fighting for our hopes and dreams for the next 55 days and not taking it for-granted.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the women speakers. They showed strength and character. They showed that women belong in the House and in the Senate!

Frankly, Debbie Stabenow has committed a few votes that have really ticked off the grass roots. The Senators there today did a good job of trying to rehabilitate her; however, most grassroots activists are semi-supportive of her. We're likely to vote for her--for the strength that an incumbent and a Democrat might bring in January; however, many of us are worried that even if the Democrats take office, she will disappoint again.

(It's actually rather amusing. The conversation runs like this...

"Well....I'm not really sure how I feel about Stabenow. She really messed up a few votes."

``"Oh...so was it the war, the flag burning, or bankruptcy that did it for you?"

Basically, many people agree that the flag burning was 'explainable' due to the Western half of the state that tends to be Republican. However, most agree that the votes on Bankruptcy and war were simply inexcusable.

She has lost a lot of grassroots support due to those. It will be a tighter race as a result.

Posted by: oncall at September 17, 2006 06:13 PM

How can we help?

Posted by: sparrow at September 17, 2006 05:56 PM

Way to give it to 'em sparrow.

Now the fun part of my story--by 'hook and crook' (ok...really by having an adorable dog with me!) I got to speak personally with Sen. Lincoln and Senator Landrieu.

A message from Sen. Lincoln when asked what people can do to fight back. Basically her message was to get involved. Don't be afraid about the lack of experience or about having a degree. If you care about the community and are willing to fight for your beliefs you can do anything. (from running a campaign to running for office!) Caring will take you a long way. She pointed to Sen. Murray as a former mom who fought for her childrens' preschool programs as an example of someone who just took what she cared about and ended up in Congress fighting for more.

From Senator Landrieu-- (On the Katrina catastrophe) Basically her message was to create better evacuation plans. Not only for yourself but for your pets too. She pointed out that we have to do a better job of taking care of people and of taking care of the poor.

(On a side note...These women were kind enough to talk to me (and cappy) even though their 'managers' were shooing them away.

Posted by: sparrow at September 17, 2006 06:15 PM

Move here.

Posted by: oncall at September 17, 2006 06:33 PM

Hubby might disagree. But can I bring my dog? Register him to vote?

I don't know about anyone else...but with the stress of poll watching, precinct capt'ning and all the rest going on, it would be nice to pick a time to chat in the irc.

Anyone up to an 8pm est chat time?

That's one hour from now.

Posted by: sparrow at September 17, 2006 07:08 PM

Might drop by for a tale or two.

I might be able to check into the irc, too.

and check this out....

Breaking and details soon at rawstory:

Lindsay Graham: The US can survive without me in the Senate... Soon...

I'm LATE for the irc! Geez! How unreliable can a person be?

I'm there now though.

amazing defarge. I have had a few letters printed by our Houston Chronicle, but every time I write a letter and use Democrat this or Republican that it never gets printed. Congrats for getting your letter printed, its encouraging to hear that your news paper is open minded enough to hear partisan thoughts. Letters to the editor are critical and very overlooked as a political strategies. One of our Ohio dcp members had a very important response printed in her local Ohio paper to Dewine's first campaign commercial regarding terrorism and it did have an effect on voters, so congrats.

Not so good news. More razor-thin right-wing victories worldwide.

Isn't it interesting that all these elections are so close, yet it's always the right wing that wins?

Sweden: (though a Swedish right-winger is still more liberal than a US Democrat)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5353092.stm

Germany, where the far right is gaining:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5349696.stm

My new home to be, Austin, Texas to give Ann Richards a beautiful tribute tomorrow. Texans and especially Austin Texas has been shaken by this loss and will show their appreciation of her service to our state with her inaugural message of ringing bells throughout the community. Sorry I am getting a little misty eyed writing this. She represents the heart and soul of the loan star state; all good things about being a Texan which many of us have missed since she has left office. I regret that I will be miles away from Austin tomorrow. Our state will officially be in mourning tomorrow.

Bells will toll in memory of Ann Richards

By CLAY ROBISON
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN -- With admirers from near and far expected to attend a memorial service for Ann Richards Monday, religious congregations throughout Texas have been asked to toll their bells at noon in celebration of the former governor's life.

The one-minute peals, requested by several church-related groups, would coincide with the start of the service at Austin's Frank C. Erwin Center. Admirers hope they will remind Texans of Richards' Jan. 15, 1991, inauguration, when bells rang in Austin and other Texas communities.

For the second day in a row today, hundreds of people filed through the Capitol rotunda past Richards' closed casket. Some waited in the rain that fell part of the day.

A Democrat and Texas' 45th governor, Richards died at her home on Wednesday of esophageal cancer. She was 73.

Speakers at the memorial service will include U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; Henry Cisneros, former San Antonio mayor and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development; former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, who was Texas secretary of state under Richards; and syndicated columnist Liz Smith.

Honorary pallbearers will include former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, former Texas Land Commissioner Bob Armstrong; former Travis County Commissioner Richard Moya, writer Bud Shrake, advertising executive Roy Spence, public relations strategist Jack Martin and former members of Richards' staff.

Also expected to attend are former Govs. Mark White and Dolph Briscoe, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, National Democratic Chairman Howard Dean and entertainers Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bullock, Nancy Griffith, Jerry Jeff Walker and Ray Benson.

Richards will be buried in a private ceremony at the Texas State Cemetery.

The doors to the Erwin Center will open at 10:30 a.m. Limited parking will be available at the state parking garage at Trinity St. and Martin Luther King Blvd (enter on Trinity) and in state lots along Trinity between Martin Luther King and 17th St.

Austin American Statesman

sorry my typing sucks:
She represents the heart and soul of the lone star state..I think you know what I am saying.

Posted by: Ira at September 17, 2006 09:15 PM

Yeh, Ira. She represented the good...before darkness came and sucked out the light.

Is Obama running? He is not saying no. Just read and watch the report.

http://cbs2chicago.com/seenon/local_story_260184213.html

Patricia Kennedy Lawford dies at 82
JFK’s sister had pneumonia

BOSTON - Patricia Kennedy Lawford, the sister of President John F. Kennedy and wife of actor Peter Lawford, died at her New York home of complications of pneumonia on Sunday, according to a spokeswoman for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. She was 82.

"My sister Pat is irreplaceable," Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Kennedy said in a statement. "Everyone who knew Pat adored her. She was admired for her great style, for her love and support of the arts, her wit and generosity -- and for the singular sense of wonder and joy she brought into our lives."

Patricia Kennedy was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Rose and Joseph Kennedy's nine children.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14885771/

Posted by: oncall at September 18, 2006 12:25 AM

Sounds like he's running. But the "demonize Republicans" is bologna! After all, 04 was the election of John Kerry being 'the gentleman' while the Republicans played their usual game.

No way!

If Obama runs, the gloves have to come off!

Great op-ed by Paul Krugman at NYTimes (Select).

Here are a few juicy bits.

King of Pain
by Paul Krugman

A lot has been written and said about President Bush’s demand that Congress “clarify” the part of the Geneva Conventions that, in effect, outlaws the use of torture under any circumstances.

--snip--
But I haven’t seen much discussion of the underlying question: why is Mr. Bush so determined to engage in torture?

--snip--
I’m ashamed that my government does this sort of thing. I’d be ashamed even if I were sure that only genuine terrorists were being tortured — and I’m not. Remember that the Bush administration has imprisoned a number of innocent men at Guantánamo, and in some cases continues to imprison them even though it knows they are innocent.

Is torture a necessary evil in a post-9/11 world? No. People with actual knowledge of intelligence work tell us that reality isn’t like TV dramas, in which the good guys have to torture the bad guy to find out where he planted the ticking time bomb.

--snip--
So why is the Bush administration so determined to torture people?

To show that it can.

The central drive of the Bush administration — more fundamental than any particular policy — has been the effort to eliminate all limits on the president’s power. Torture, I believe, appeals to the president and the vice president precisely because it’s a violation of both law and tradition. By making an illegal and immoral practice a key element of U.S. policy, they’re asserting their right to do whatever they claim is necessary.

And many of our politicians are willing to go along. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives is poised to vote in favor of the administration’s plan to, in effect, declare torture legal. Most Republican senators are equally willing to go along, although a few, to their credit, have stood with the Democrats in opposing the administration.

Mr. Bush would have us believe that the difference between him and those opposing him on this issue is that he’s willing to do what’s necessary to protect America, and they aren’t. But the record says otherwise.

The fact is that for all his talk of being a “war president,” Mr. Bush has been conspicuously unwilling to ask Americans to make sacrifices on behalf of the cause — even when, in the days after 9/11, the nation longed to be called to a higher purpose. His admirers looked at him and thought they saw Winston Churchill. But instead of offering us blood, toil, tears and sweat, he told us to go shopping and promised tax cuts.

Only now, five years after 9/11, has Mr. Bush finally found some things he wants us to sacrifice. And those things turn out to be our principles and our self-respect.

(Hopefully I beat monkey to it...)

King of Pain
by Sting

There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top
There's a flag-pole rag and the wind won't stop

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

There's a little black spot on the sun today
(That's