Washington Ding

The GingRICH who stole Romney's Christmas...cartoon idea

2011-12-07T21:52:00.004-05:00

No one's done this yet?

There he is, Santy GingRICH, dressed in red and white Santa apparel with a big bag of money and maps of Iowa slung on his back, trying to stuff himself down the chimney on top of a huge mansion (Romney's house) with the scene below inside the house at the hearth with dirt and soot coming from the fireplace while Romney stands in his p.j.s. beside the Christmas tree, anxiously awaiting Santa Claus's entry, wringing his hands and asking himself: "What is Santa Claus bringing me this year?"

Back to the roof: Beside the sleigh up on the roof (ho! ho! ho!) with GingRICH are his newest, best pals, Herman, Sarah, Michele dressed as elves, jumping up and down, screaming "Hurry up, Santa GingRICH, we don't have much time. Next stop: Iowa!"

Falling off the roof into the snow is, of course, Guvnor (sic) Perry, and desperately trying to crawl back on the roof is Jon Huntsman. Where is Ron Paul? Stuck in the snow and screaming something. Ditto Trump.

Maybe this is two cartoon ideas.

Illustration from hartlynkids.blogspot.com

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Attention!

2011-06-23T22:18:00.011-04:00

Dear Justice Ginsburg,

Please forgive my brazen request, but would you, please, consider retiring in the next few months? The reason I ask is that there is general agreement that President Obama will lose next year (Afghanistan and the economy (too late to turn around)), and we certainly don't want a Republican president appointing another Alito, Roberts, Thomas, or Scalia to the U.S. Supreme Court, please!

If you announce your retirement soon, there will be enough time for the president to nominate your replacement and get him or her confirmed before the president retires on January 20, 2013. However, if you promise you will stay on the bench through 2020 (the next president may win two terms), all this is for naught, and we don't have anything to worry about! (Well, at least not as much.)

With sincere gratitude for your well served tenure,
Patricia

P.S. In the U.S. Supreme Court photo taken by Steve Petteway last October, according to Wikimedia Commons, are, from left, retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Ginsburg, and Justice Elena Kagan

Gates gloats, Americans die

2011-04-08T23:12:00.020-04:00

Photos: top to bottom: Spec. Justin D. Ross, Pfc. Michael C. Mahr, Staff Sgt. Joshua S. Gire and family, Staff Sgt. Mecolus McDaniel, Cpl. Donald R. Mickler, Jr., and Master Sgt. Jamal H. Bowers

Below the story on page A9 in the April 8, 2011 edition of the Washington Post about Defense Secretary Robert Gates making a "valedictory" tour of Iraq where 4,446 American troops and 1,421,933 Iraqis have died, where 33,007 American troops have suffered injuries, and the U.S. price tag of $704 billion (February, 2010) leaps daily to assuage George Bush and friends' "giddy up" mentality now left to Bush taking out his aggression sweeping the bush and brush in Texas, are the latest names of troops who have died in the war in Afghanistan, the next big frontal assault where residents cry out "Leave us alone, Americans! Go home!"

Wherefore they go, Pakistan?

Why do we continue to wage war in a foreign territory not our own, when we cannot take care of our own within our own shores?

Bow your head in shame and praise the dead who gave up their lives for senseless games:

Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Meis, 20, Bennett, CO

Master Sgt. Jamal H. Bowers, 41, Raleigh, N.C.

Pfc. Rudy A. Acosta, 19, Canyon Country, CA

Cpl. Donald R. Mickler Jr., 29, Bucyrus, OH

Staff Sgt. Mecolus McDaniel, 33, Fort Hood, TX

Staff Sgt. James M. Malachowski, 25, Westminster, MD

Petty Officer 1st Class Vincent A. Filpi III, 41, Fort Walton Beach, FL

Staff Sgt. Joshua S. Gire, 28, Chillicothe, OH

Pfc. Michael C. Mahr, 26, Homosassa, FL

Spec. Justin D. Ross, 22, Green Bay, WI

Dearest Hillary,

2011-02-16T22:05:00.009-05:00

Yea, Sister Hillary, of which side of your mouth do you speaketh?

You have epitomized the Hypocritical Oath!

In yesterday's WAPO you are quoted speaking at George Washington University about "a serious conversation" pertaining to "rules to ensure an open Internet, noting it had helped power the pro-democracy uprising in Egypt but also served as a tool for terrorists and repressive governments."

Dear Hillary: Which repressive governments? Our repressive government?

To continue, in your second major Internet freedom speech you, according to WAPO, "said the United States supported the 'freedom to connect' - but that there should be some limits."

Some limits? Oh, I get it: Do as I say but not do as I do? Practice what I don't practice?

Prithee, Hillary, do you speak about your homeland which veers right when it suits your fancy in order to quell WikiLeaks?

"Clinton offered few specifics of what those rules should be." No kidding! Why would you offer specifics when they will not serve your dualspeak well?

"Critics have charged that the State Department has issued contradictory messages in advocating Internet freedom while harshly criticizing the WikiLeaks disclosures. Clinton called that a 'false debate,' saying that the WikiLeaks release involved stolen government documents."

Hahahahahahahahaha. Hillary, who stole the documents? How did it happen? Yet you and the U.S. government seek to charge a person who distributed the documents and you maliciously mistreat a soldier who has not been found guilty but who you think exposed documents.

Would WikiLeaks have served a useful purpose, like maybe saving 4,000 American soldiers' lives and 30,000 wounds and thousands of Iraqi lives, by exposing the falsehoods of the Bush government before the Iraq attack?

Oh, the U.S. may restrict Internet exposure when government documents are "stolen," but China, Syria, and Iran should not do the same. Is that it? You want your cake and chocolate icing, too! Hahahahahahaha.

"Clinton also took aim, however, at some Western countries that have sought mechanisms to limit 'hate speech' on the Internet, saying they could offer repressive governments 'an excuse to violate freedom of expression.'"

My dear, dear lady! This hypocriticalspeak does you no service: It undermines your credibility and our own Constitution and the rights it bestows on us, the citizenry. Come now, my dear, and cease this double gibberish which seems to emanate from each side of your head like hydratalk. Perchance, you were having a stroke or got befuddled like the newscaster who garbled her words at the Grammys.

Prithee, exercise some manner of consistency (lest others think ill of you, alas) and avoid casting yourself as old and confused. Mr. Colbert and Mr. Stewart have enough fodder and need no contributions from our Secretary of State, my goodness!

With sincerest and warmest regards,

Patricia

P.S. Please cut your hair.

Hallo! Hallo! Is anyone at home at Sen. Mark Warner's?

2011-01-05T23:18:00.007-05:00

Have you ever written Senator Warner when the reply was anything but:

Dear Friend,

Thank you for taking the time to share your views and experiences with me.

If you need assistance resolving a specific problem with a federal agency, please contact my office at 703-442-0670 or toll free at 1-877-676-2759. Otherwise, please be assured that we are reading and responding to your comments and opinions as fast as we can.

As the 111th Congress moves forward, please continue to be in touch with your views.

Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator

Do you wonder if anyone is actually reading his mail or does the fax machine just dump it into the nearest trash can?

About once a month, sometimes more, I write him (and Senator James Webb) about pulling our men and women out of Afghanistan and Iraq.

(Senator Webb's replies sound like maybe someone in his office is glancing at the subject line, however, the most recent reply included this at the end: Here is some recent news about your topic of interest: and there was nothing there! Just white space. Ho hum. You think their office staffs have got anyone over age 15?)

To date, Senator Warner has never replied with anything but the robo letter, so as a test I sent him the following on December 15, 2010:

Dear Senator Warner,

Since your office always sends the same replies (robo-replies) and no one must read the letters sent to you, I was wondering if you would like for me to send you a contribution for your next race. This is a test, Senator Warner, to see if anyone is reading, and I'll put the reply up on my blog.

Sincerely,
Patricia

Well, the response was, yep! Just as expected: the same. I guess he doesn't need my money, and I'll send it to someone who does.

Question: The 111th Congress was moving forward on December 16, 2010 when the reply came? You think the computer gurus in his office have changed the letter yet to read 112th Congress? I guess I need to send another test letter.

Warner says "responding to your comments...as fast as we can." Well, duh! I haven't received any response other than what's here, and he's been in office two years!

Dear Friend,

Thank you for taking the time to share your views and experiences with me.

If you need assistance resolving a specific problem with a federal agency, please contact my office at 703-442-0670 or toll free at 1-877-676-2759. Otherwise, please be assured that we are reading and responding to your comments and opinions as fast as we can.

As the 111th Congress moves forward, please continue to be in touch with your views.

Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator

Warner photo: Flickr/Forward Together PAC http://www.flickr.com/photos/govmarkwarner/191839366/

86% of American troop deaths in Iraq: non-combat related

2010-10-05T22:14:00.013-04:00

The names of seven dead soldiers who were stationed in Iraq are listed on page A13 of the October 4, 2010 edition of the Washington Post.

Pictured are Gebrah Noonan in group photo (courtesy, Patrick Jacques, Jr.), John Carillo Jr. (second row, left), John F. Burner III (second row, right) James A. Hansen (third row, left), Brandon Maggart (third row, right) and Marc C. Whisenant (last row).

Why are we still in Iraq? In Afghanistan? Why are we there for our soldiers to die and be maimed and kill each other?

Sgt. Brandon E. Maggart, 24, of Kirksville, Missouri was killed August 22 at Basra.

The remaining six soldiers died of non-combat wounds.

They are:

Sgt. Ryan J. Hopkins, 21, Livermore, California died January 8 of injuries suffered October 4, 2008 in a motor pool accident

Senior Airman James A. Hansen, 25, Athens, Michigan died September 15 of injuries suffered during a controlled (controlled?) detonation

Sgt. John F. Burner III, 32, of Baltimore died September 16 of noncombat injuries

Spec. John Carrillo Jr., 20, of Stockton, CA and Pfc. Gebrah P. Noonan, 26, of Watertown, CT died September 24 of injuries from a noncombat accident. The Associated Press reported that a soldier in their battalion was being held in pre-trial detention after both soldiers were wounded September 23 after an argument, according to another source. A third soldier was also wounded.

Spec. Marc C. Whisenant, 23, of Holly Hill, FL died September 24 of injuries suffered in a vehicle rollover accident, a training exercise.

Pakistan's cows are more important than American troop deaths: Washington Post

2010-08-30T21:10:00.007-04:00

In today's WAPO on p. A6, five columns with two color illustrations start at the top of the page and flow below the fold consuming more than a half page. The subject? The drownings and demise of Pakistan's cattle: "Livestock losses compound Pakistan's misery."

WAPO gives the single remaining gutter column to the deaths of seven American troops in Afghanistan.

WAPO sends a reporter to Pakistan to write about cows but is only able to pull up an AP story on deaths of our soldiers. Where are its priorities?

Who's left at the WAPO? All the editors are gone. Are teenagers running the joint now? Do they know where Afghanistan is? Or how to spell it? In Sunday's paper its own ombudsman complains about the paper's continuing decline. Pitiful is what it is.

Letter to Sen. Webb and Sen. Warner re: Afghanistan and a reply

2010-07-18T09:36:00.002-04:00

Dear Senator Webb and Senator Warner:

How long, o Lord, how long?

Day after day after day! We read and hear about more deaths and maimings of our troops in Afghanistan. Why are we there? Why are we expending our resources in a nation far away? Oh, so we are to continue our waste for another year so President Obama can then say before the 2012 election that he is bringing the troops home?

Senator Webb, Senator Warner, how are we exiting Iraq when 50,000 troops will remain?

President Obama is rapidly losing progressive support which he will not have in numbers for 2012 like he had in 2008. Contrary to Sen. Carl Levin's statement that there is "solid support" among Democrats to continue this waste! These deaths! For naught! Levin is dead wrong.

Sincerely,
Patricia

Senator Warner replies:

Saturday, July 17, 2010, 12:07 PM

Dear Friend,

Thank you for taking the time to share your views and experiences with me.

If you need assistance resolving a specific problem with a federal agency, please contact my office at 703-442-0670 or toll free at 1-877-676-2759. Otherwise, please be assured that we are reading and responding to your comments and opinions as fast as we can.

As the 111th Congress moves forward, please continue to be in touch with your views.

Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator

Almost 67% of American troop deaths in Iraq from non-combat related causes

2010-07-04T01:17:00.010-04:00

The Washington Post recently listed the names of soldiers killed in Iraq, now totaling 4,410.

Pfc. Alvaro Regalado Sessarego, 37, of Virginia Beach, VA, had suffered severe burns in a mess hall fire in April in Dahuk, Iraq. He died of his injuries May 30 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas.

Pvt. Francisco J. Guardado-Ramirez, 21, of Sunland Park, N.M. was in a heavily armored mine resistant ambush protected vehicle when it hit a highway overpass in Baghdad, officials said. He died June 2.

Spc. Christopher W. Opat, 29, of Spencer, Iowa died June 15 in Baquah, Iraq, from injuries in a noncombat incident. Military officials have launched an investigation, but offered no other details.

Sgt. Steve M. Theobald, 53, Goose Creek, S.C. who was a motor transport operator, died June 4 from injuries in a military vehicle rollover accident near Kuwait City.

Sgt. Israel P. O'Bryan, 24 of Newbern, TN, and Spec. William C. Yauch, 23, of Batesville, AR, were killed June 11 in Jalula when a suicide car bomb exploded near their patrol.

More than half of U.S. troops in Iraq die from noncombat injuries

2010-05-24T22:31:00.003-04:00

In last week's listing in the Washington Post (May 18, 2010, p. A11), seven of 13 of U.S. military deaths were caused by "noncombat injuries."

Why don't we get out sooner rather than later? Barack Obama has been in office almost 18 months. Why do we have to spend American lives and see our soldiers wounded and maimed to ensure George Bush's "democracy" in a nation not our own, where we try to instill our form of government?

Reverse the nations: Consider the U.S. being bombed, attacked, and occupied for seven years by another country on a hunt for "weapons of mass destruction" and finding none, then changing the goal to "let's git 'em" and after "gittin' him," changing the goal once more to "let's set up a theocracy" or whatever.

The listing of troops who died from non-combat injuries in Iraq and the dates of their deaths were:

Staff Sgt. Richard J. Jordan, 29, Tyler Texas, March 16, 2010
Pfc. Raymond N. Pacleb, 31, Honolulu, March 29
Sgt. Kurt E. Kruize, 35, Hancock, Minn., April 4
Pfc. Charlie C. Antonio, 28, Kahului, Hawaii, April 18
Staff Sgt. Christopher D. Worrell, 35, Virginia Beach, April 22
Staff Sgt. Esau S.A. Gonzales, 30, White Deer, TX, May 3
Sgt. Ralph Mena, 27, Hutchinson, Kansas, May 4

The troops who died from combat-related injuries were:
Spec. Robert M. Rieckhoff, 27, Kenosha, Wis., killed March 18 in Baghdad
Pfc. William A. Blount, 21,Petal, Miss, and 1st Lt. Robert W. Collins, 24 of Tyrone, GA both killed April 7 in Mosul
Staff Sgt. James R. Patton, 23, Fort Benning, GA killed April 18 in Tikrit
Sgt. Keith A. Coe, 30, Auburndale, FL, killed April 27 in Khalis
Sgt. Anthony O. Magee, 29, Hattiesburg, Miss., died April 27 of wounds suffered April 24 in Iskandariyah

Another American soldier died today in Iraq. How long, Mr. President, how long? Are we going to stay in Iraq until no more American troops remain standing?

The number of U.S. troops who have died in Afghanistan has surpassed 1,000, but who is counting?

Mr. President: You are losing your base.

The Post says 4,401 U.S. troops have died in or as a result of the Iraq War including 917 from "non-hostile actions."

When is "too long" long enough?

Message to President Obama and the DNC

2009-11-10T06:43:00.002-05:00

Please!

Will the Democrats and all the other causes which bombard us, the faithful, daily with emails (primarily from the DNC) begging for money that we the people are sick and tired of receiving, lay off for a while, already? Really!

How much cash do you think we have anyway? Who do you think reads all those e-mails? Lately, I don’t even open yours, Mr. President.

Please go hammer the doors of the rich! We the people, the grunters, the gofers who do all the down and dirty work: the canvassing, the phone calling, the baking, the making, the driving, the lit drops, the sign installations, the sign pick-ups, the sign recycling, the manning of the polls on E-Day from dark to dark distributing the sample ballots, the reporting, are worn out, and your constant solicitation is aggravating. You don’t believe me? Take a gander at last week.

Please (in case my message is not clear): Lay off for a change. Go lay on the wealthy. Thank you. This word is brought to you from We The People.

And by the way: Please get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan immediately.

From: President Barack Obama [mailto:info@barackobama.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 1:23 AM
To: Patricia
Subject: Making history

Patricia --

This evening, at 11:15 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to pass their health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history.

But you and millions of your fellow Organizing for America supporters didn't just witness history tonight -- you helped make it. Each "yes" vote was a brave stand, backed up by countless hours of knocking on doors, outreach in town halls and town squares, millions of signatures, and hundreds of thousands of calls. You stood up. You spoke up. And you were heard.

So this is a night to celebrate -- but not to rest. Those who voted for reform deserve our thanks, and the next phase of this fight has already begun.

The final Senate bill hasn't even been released yet, but the insurance companies are already pressing hard for a filibuster to bury it. OFA has built a massive neighborhood-by-neighborhood operation to bring people's voices to Congress, and tonight we saw the results. But the coming days will put our efforts to the ultimate test. Winning will require each of us to give everything we can, starting right now.

Please donate $5 or whatever you can afford so we can finish this fight.

Tonight's vote brought every American closer to the secure, affordable care we need. But it was also a watershed moment in how change is made.

Even after last year's election, many insider lobbyists and partisan operatives really thought that the old formula of scare tactics, D.C. back-scratching and special-interest money would still be enough to block any idea they didn't like. Now, they're desperate. Because, tonight, you made it crystal clear: the old rules are changing -- and the people will not be ignored.

In the final phases of last year's election, I often reminded folks, "Don't think for a minute that power concedes without a fight," and it's especially true today. But that's okay -- we're not afraid of a fight. And as you continue to prove, when all of us work together, we have what it takes to win.

Please donate to OFA's campaign to win this fight and ensure that real health reform reaches my desk by the end of this year:

https://donate.barackobama.com/History

Let's keep making history,

President Barack Obama

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Monetary contributions to the Democratic National Committee are not tax-deductible.

NYT abandons American troop casualties in Afghanistan

2009-10-28T06:58:00.007-04:00

Usually, when a news alert arrives from either the New York Times or the Washington Post, another arrives from the competitor within minutes.

Not so yesterday.

At 10:28 a.m. the Post sent an alert: Bombings kill 8 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan

When did the alert arrive from the NYT? Five and a half hours later when the Times put it in its lead in the 4 p.m. online edition.

Importance?

Obama's Afghan policy affects Virginia governor's race

2009-10-18T22:11:00.005-04:00

Why should we, the former impassioned, bother? After all we did last year to elect Barack Obama? When he continues the Bush policies in another country? Our vigor is gone, our enthusiasm, dimmed, by the wishy-washy administration policy of no change after all.

For what? To "defeat" the Taliban? Al-Qaeda? Cockroaches are infinite; they cannot be extinguished.

We continue pouring blood and money into a foreign nation a la Bush.

What change?

What next?

Pakistan?

India?

Mr. Deeds: Here is where many of your Northern Virginia voters are: misled, fed up, and disillusioned anew.

Letter from Sen. Mark Warner re: Afghanistan

2009-10-15T22:47:00.005-04:00

What does this say other than he's taken a trip to Afghanistan? Absolutely nothing. A great example for p.r. classes in how to write meaningless letters with content of empty words.

Dear Ms. ____________,

Thank you for contacting me regarding additional troops in Afghanistan. I share your concerns about the need to resolve the conflicts throughout Afghanistan and improve the lives of those living in that region of the world.

This is a very complicated and important issue. Last spring, I traveled to Afghanistan to get a first-hand look at operations on the ground. While in Afghanistan, I received several briefings from our top military and diplomatic leadership. I also conducted a site visit at the Kabul Military Training Center where our U.S. forces are working hard to train the Afghan troops. In addition, I traveled to Kandahar and met with Virginia troops and the US and Allied Commanders to get an accurate assessment of the situation.

In the coming weeks our military and civilian leadership will review our strategy and consider the resources required to ensure we have the most effective policies for Afghanistan, and the right equipment and training to protect our troops. I will continue to keep your thoughts in mind as the situation unfolds.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me with your views. As we move forward with the 111th Congress, please continue to be in touch with your opinions and concerns.

Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator

Why bother, Washington Post?

2009-09-27T23:56:00.004-04:00

Buried in the left corner at the bottom of page A10 in Saturday's (September 26, 2009) paper in the section "World Digest" under Afghanistan, are four paragraphs with a heading (not big enough for a headline):

5 U.S. Troops Killed in Attacks in South

Why bother, Washington Post? They were only five. Five soldiers who don't matter. Why even bother to put them in at all? The huge stories you have on Indian defense and mandatory flu shots are surely more important, but what? One hundred paragraphs on them was not enough and you had to squeeze the deaths? You supporting the Defense Department's order for more troops and you're trying to minimize more losses? Or maybe it's the green crew you've got in now, which can't exactly pinpoint Afghanistan's location nor does it know anything about our troops there or the past. Maybe Washington Post, you better get in some people with some history who know a thing or two about world events, more than the crew you've got now which relies on wire service stories and can't tell a dead soldier from a fighter jet.

The news is all the same

2009-06-07T21:23:00.004-04:00

Do you flip back and forth between the networks and wonder how and why they place their stories in the same order? And devote more or less the same amount of time to each?

The front pages of Friday's Washington Post and New York Times are almost the same above the fold. They must have been made up by the same editor!

In the left single column in both papers is the SEC story charging the Countrywide leader with fraud. The headlines are similar; not exact, but similar. Well, you say, it's the same story!

Then splashed across the rest of the top fold of both papers is the Obama Mideast speech with several color pictures of individuals and groups from the Mideast and Asia watching the speech. The only difference is that all the NYT pictures show males only. A family picture in the Post has some females.

Wouldn't you think one or two of the photos would be of Obama? Or some of the other leaders? Or the locale of the speech?

Is the main stream media now under the same ownership and direction and the announcements have not been made? Do they collaborate? Do the networks collaborate? Are the editors out of the same school? Of thought? Just wondering.

Timeline of Sotomayor announcement

2009-05-26T23:50:00.004-04:00

As received via e-mail:

The Supreme Court nominee announcement is coming! NYTimes 8:25 a.m.

The Supreme Court nominee announcement is coming! Washington Post 8:34 a.m.

The Supreme Court nominee is Sonia Sotomayor! NYTimes 8:39 a.m.
(Interesting that the story in this link shows a time posted as 8:15 a.m.)

The Supreme Court nominee is Sonia Sotomayor! Washington Post 8:51 a.m.

But I understand MSNBC and the AP beat them both.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at Brookings

2009-05-26T23:31:00.003-04:00

Speaking to a SRO crowd at Brookings recently, Arne Duncan endorsed the concept of using school buildings year-round, night and day. “School buildings do not belong to me; they belong to taxpayers.” he said.

“The more schools become part of community life, the better the community becomes"
since “families learn together.” Non-profits could use school buildings from 3 – 9 p.m. like some Chicago schools have done, and no rent is collected: “Whose room is it?” he asked.

Schools can be safe havens in crime areas. One questioner from the Service Employees Union said schools “are the safest places” in some communities.

A retired math professor said it was common knowledge that students now enter college less prepared than they were five years ago, and students five years ago were less prepared than their predecessors: “What are we doing about this?”

He lamented the lousy teaching of fractions, often taught by professionals who do not understand them themselves, noting “A massive amount of money is being spent on pedagogy” which would be better spent on “teaching content.”

Secretary Duncan said the massive infusion of stimulus dollars will save “hundreds of thousands” of teaching positions.

What should be a goal for 2012? Sec. Duncan said one goal should be to close the 500 “chronically underperforming schools.”

Managing federal money is not easy: The dilemma to use the funds “short-term” (before their two-year expiration) while trying to solve long-term problems puts schools in a quandary.

Nine states have already spent their stimulus money. Russell Whitehurst, a member of the panel which convened after Duncan's presentation, said $100 billion flowing from the U.S. Department of Education is a huge amount to manage.

When asked by a member of the audience, Velma Sawhill, another panelist, said there was a risk that some federal dollars would be spent unwisely since it is “so much, so fast.” Mike Smith, another panel member, said “it takes a long time to go through all the channels.”

Dr. Whitehurst said a recent study of technology in the classroom showed about the same level of performance by students who had technological classroom benefits as those students who do not. He said tech product developers protested the results of the study saying time and teacher training to implement the new technologies damaged the results.

100% troop deaths: noncombat related

2009-05-20T23:15:00.009-04:00

In the May 14, 2009 edition of the Washington Post on page A10, the names of seven dead American troops are listed. They all died as a result of "noncombat injuries."

Five of them were killed by the mentally-ill Army sergeant who shot and killed them May 11 at Camp Liberty in Baghdad.

Why do so many of our troops die from noncombat related reasons?

This morning NPR (and the Post) featured a story on three troop deaths due to electrocutions in "sewage showers." An engineer claimed that 90% of military electrical work done in Iraq was faulty. The inferior work has been attributed to KBR, formerly of Halliburton,Inc. Dick Cheney's old firm, whose public relation officer responded: "Us? No way. We are not to blame."

Is Patrick Tillman's death the only cover-up?

How do these numbers compare to those in other conflicts? Are soldiers rushed into combat so quickly they are not trained sufficiently? Does the Defense Department need numbers so badly that soldiers are sent to harm's way without adequate training about the deadly weapons they carry? The mentally ill carry them!

Does the Defense Department investigate these deaths and the reasons behind them?
What changes has the Defense Department implemented to stop them? Any?

Family members and taxpayers would like to know.

The five soldiers shot by their comrade were:

Spec. Jacob Barton, 20, Lenox, MO

Sgt. Christian Bueno-Galdos, 25, Paterson, NJ

Maj. Matthew Houseal, 54, Amarillo, TX

Navy Cmdr. Charles Springle, 52, Wilmington, NC

Pfc. Michael Yates, Jr., 19, Federalsburg, MD

Two other soldiers are listed in the May 14 paper who died from "noncombat injuries" were:

Pvt. Justin Hartford, 21, Elmira, NY

Spec. Omar Albrak, 21, Chicago

We hang our heads in sorrow.

Code Pink Rallies at the White House on Mother's Day

2009-05-16T23:51:00.014-04:00

Emerson, the driver, Joshua, and Julian provided transportation (right)

The handmade banners commemorate the lives of dead soldiers from the Iraq War

To know Code Pink is to love Code Pink, its presence at the Capitol Hill hearings and the pictures and signs members hold aloft behind the heads of the Big Shots testifying as they try to wrangle out of their (mis)deeds or vie for government dollars.

For a small group, Code Pink garners an unusually large amount of media attention. Hurray for Code Pink!

With admiration for its unceasing efforts and always applauding its goals, I joined the group last Sunday at Lafayette Park for a small and sincere rally to stop the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On a gorgeous Mother's Day afternoon we carried the long banner made by women from 20 different countries who sewed more than 4,000 squares in pink of many different shades. We marched in front of the White House chanting "I will not raise my child to kill another mother's child'" which is based upon the 1870 Mother's Day Proclamation composed by Julia Ward Howe

Code Pink leaders charmed the White House police corps which waived an arrest for one Pink member (for what I don’t know), and permitted, after denial, the laying of hundreds of pink, white, and red roses at the base of the White House iron railing.

Sadly, the withering roses represented the brief lives of soldiers and citizens
who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Al Franken carries baggage!

2009-05-12T23:15:00.004-04:00

Seen at National Airport in D.C. on Saturday afternoon May 2, Al Franken in person waiting at the luggage carillon to pick up bags.

Yeeks! A senator carrying baggage? Well, maybe it’s because he ain’t quite a senator yet so he lugs his own stuff.

Everyone knew who he was, and he graciously signed a book for an autograph seeker.

It was about three years ago that I saw him speak and sign books at the packed “Books a Million” shop in McLean and he cried, I mean he shed real tears, about Iraq. Most of the rest of us cried, too. (Don’t get me started about Iraq.)

Al, I hope you’ll always keep your head above water and continue to be part of us, the commoners, the voters, the people who matter, and resist "going out of your head" when you get to the Senate. Thank you.

75% Die in Iraq from Non-Combat Related Causes

2009-04-15T23:20:00.007-04:00

The causes of deaths of our soldiers listed in the Washington Post today are: non-combat related (6) and military action (2).

Why are these numbers so high?

Inadequate training? Friendly fire? Suicide?

I have raised the question with the Defense Department which sent me to its Web site and later, did not return a telephone call inquiring about the statistics of the dead.

Is anyone with any power asking these questions?

The names of the dead from non-combat related reasons listed today are:

Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo, Jr., 32, Albuquerque

Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell, 26, Anderson, S.C.

Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua, 20, Miami

Sgt. Devin C. Poche, 25, Jacksonville, N.C.

Sgt. Daniel J. Beard, 24, Buffalo

Lance Cpt. Stephen F. Dearmon, 21, Crossville, TN

The two soldiers who died from combat-related causes were:

Spec. Gary L. Moore, 25, Del City, OK

Spec. Israel Candelaria Mejias, 28, San Lorenzo, P.R.

The Book: "Know Your Power" by Nancy Pelosi

2009-04-04T13:32:00.006-04:00

Did you know Nancy Pelosi had written a book?

Nor did I until I spotted it at the library.

There’s a good reason it’s “under wraps.” It’s really not a book but a magazine piece written by a p.r. firm.

Not much in it except the last few pages offering encouragement to women who are considering a run for public office. The subtitle is: A Message to America's Daughters. We need more women in public office, Nancy (and Amy Hill Hearth, co-writer, likely the writer) cry.

Oh well. The writing style is what I call “chop, chop” or sentence structure something a bit more advanced than “Dick and Jane.” If you are looking for vocabulary and content, it ain't here, babe.

Pictures would have added something like maybe one of her dad? Her mother? A picture of Nancy with JFK? She writes so much about each! Her children? What does her husband look like? He has got to have wings and a halo.

But pictures cost more which would have reduced sales, and God forbid, that’s the only reason to write one of these, isn’t it? I mean look at the money Obama is raking in with his books.

The only issues Nancy (written in first person) describes at any length (which is not much) are AIDS and human rights violations in China. She does lambaste Bush for Iraq and that tragedy, but it’s a pity she didn’t use her bully pulpit when he was in office.

The book has no negatives in it, except for her friends (no names) who attacked her when she decided to run for office. That she had five children in six years, and she is still Pollyanna! Her life has been a bowl of cherries. Yawn. She could have told so much more. Maybe later, when she’s out of office and doesn’t have to fear backlash from colleagues, but I don’t think they open up then either. Dull, lackluster. Save your money but more importantly, save your time.

Lincoln Davis: Looking Good!

2009-04-04T12:52:00.005-04:00

At the Tennessee State Society, the South Carolina State Society, and the Alabama State Society joint fete the other night at the Rayburn House Office Building...

Has Lincoln lost weight?

Had a face-lift?

He is lookin' spry!

What Is Wrong With These Pictures?

2009-03-12T23:58:00.012-04:00

On a day the Washington Post reports that the Obama administration is going to put more emphasis on placing women in top posts, a picture of 11 men appears above the fold on the front page of the Metro section touting federal commitment dollars for the Dulles Metro extension.

Maybe one individual with red hair on the back row is a woman. It's hard to tell, and her/his name, of course, is not supplied. Two African-American males did make it in.

(The story quotes U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: “If this is not the greatest day for Virginia, I don’t know what is.” Good grief! And he is a cabinet official? That Virginians are celebrating a railroad track as "the greatest day"?)

In Women's History Month and the week the Washington Post reports that President Obama is going to place more emphasis on placing women in top slots, the Post carried a little one-paragraph story about the lashing and four-month prison terms of two men and a 75-year-old woman in Saudi Arabia found guilty of being together.

She is a grandmother. The men were delivering bread to her. One is the nephew of her late husband. Forty lashes for each perpetrator (for what? Delivering food to an old woman?) says a much lengthier story at YahooNews Canada.

Do we do business with Saudi Arabia? We know Bush and Cheney slept with Saudi Arabia.

By ignoring the plight of women in Saudi Arabia and other countries which actively discriminate against us, by remaining silent we condone its actions.

I wish the Obama administration, Michelle Obama, Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Barbara Boxer, Valerie Jarrett and other powerful politicians and celebrities would pick up their telephones and microphones and from their bully pulpits beseech the government of Saudi Arabia to cease and desist exploiting, raping, pillaging women.

How can a civilized nation rationally continue doing business with a country which treats women like possessed animals?

I wish a powerful person would adopt the plight of women in the Middle East and do something besides talk, talk, talk to colleagues about raising the stature of women. I wish someone would act, act, act. Why not use their ammunition and aim their weapons of strength at readily identifiable targets? Like boycotting Saudi Arabia. Who needs its stinking oil anyway? We American consumers continue to show a diminished need for it. The actions of the United States would encourage other nations to follow suit.

Pass it on. And act. It's Women's History Month.

Women Legislators Speak at Archives

2009-03-08T13:15:00.010-04:00

From left to right: Rep. Grace Napolitano, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Gov. Madeleine Kunin, Rep. Mazie Hirono, Lt. Gov. Jennette Bradley, and Eleanor Clift

By The Queen of Free

Anger and passion are not always negative. Use them!

As fuel for internal fire to make living conditions better for you and your children. To drive you like it propelled into politics female legislators who made up a panel Thursday night at National Archives: "Big Strides, Diverse Paths: Women's Journeys to Political Leadership."

The marvelous, the sharp, the witty Eleanor Clift served as moderator. (Now really, is there any better talk show on Sunday than “The McLaughlin Hour”? Eleanor started off the evening with “Well, it’s nice to be able to finish a sentence.”)

The presenters’ diversity was commendable: one Latino (Rep. Grace Napolitano,D-CA), an Asian American (Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-HI), an African-American (Jennette Bradley, former Lt. Governor, Ohio), and two Caucasians (Madeline Kunin, former governor, Vermont, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN).

Throughout the evening the panelists addressed their remarks to prospective candidates.

Strong mothers were identified as major components of the political successes of Gov. Kunin and Rep. Hirono.

After she protested the Vietnam War Rep. Hirono said she “eased” into political life “unlike the guys {who} never let incompetence stop them.”

Gov. Kunin said her worry and anger over railroad tracks which her children had to cross daily on their way to school ignited her political career. “I learned you can fight city hall,” she said. She collected signatures and learned to speak before groups, all great experiences for later political battles.

“Be angry about something, be imaginative, and be an optimist,” she suggested.

Rep. Blackburn frequently endorsed the advantages of having a non-risk adverse personality which voters perceive as an attribute. Women are usually not risk-adverse, she noted.

Rep. Napolitano’s parents divorced when she was 3 ½, and she began working at age 12 and has never stopped. She has a high school education.

“Use common sense,” she recommended. Her most important role in California, she said, is to represent “the people who sent me” to Congress. (Who in Congress would disagree?)
“Believing you can makes a difference” makes a difference, she said. Her children “hate” politics but “they’ve learned to accept it…You sacrifice your personal life." Be prepared to skip your daughter’s dance recital and your children’s sporting events.

And by the way, “Develop a thick skin because they’re going to come after you with everything but the kitchen sink.”

Former Lt. Governor Bradley, the first African-American female to win a lieutenant gubernatorial slot in the nation, said she refused to believe the naysayers who said she had no chance of winning since she was 1. Running against an incumbent and 2. Is black. The perceptions increased her anger and motivation. Other women helped.

Gov. Kunin, the author of Pearls, Politics and Power and Living a Political Life, said “Politics is not a dirty word.” Nor is “power.”

Why is it that more women than men need to be asked to run than run?

“Don’t wait to be asked,” Gov. Kunin urged the crowd. “Ask yourself.”

The panel noted female representation in Iraq’s parliament is mandated (what is the origin of that word?) at 25% and at 27% in Afghanistan, but in the U.S. where it is not mandated, only 17% of representatives in Congress are female.

Rep. Blackburn said being a PTA mother, hosting birthday parties and fundraising for non-profits are all good experiences for running a campaign.

Knowing how to speak, write, and read help, too, said Gov. Kunin.

Rep. Hirono said women must learn to open their checkbooks to political races like they open them to buy shoes.

Rep. Napolitano took loans out on her home to finance her race while Gov. Kunin never used her own money. She had to ask for it.

“Get over your fear of failure,” Lt. Gov. Bradley said. “What you don’t know, you can learn.”

When Ms. Clift queried the group about obstacles Rep. Blackburn noted it was her own fear of failure and worry about what people would think if she lost.

The audience, which almost filled the William McGowan Theater, was about 90% female, mixed ages, mostly Caucasian.

“George,” a 20-something who said his major was women’s studies, asked what men can do to spur more female candidates.

Rep. Napolitano: “Volunteer!”

Eleanor Clift: “Share the housework and child care!”

Gov. Kunin: “Be emotionally supportive.”

Another question from the audience concerned media bias against female candidates and Ms. Clift noted the cable news networks are male dominated with a lot of time to fill.

Gov. Kunin urged women to get mad and push back.

Introducing the panel, Carol Hardy-Fanta, the director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at U. Mass., a sponsor, noted that the U.S. is certainly not a model for female political achievement since the U.S. ranks 71st in Democratic countries in female membership percentage in a national congress or parliament.

How do you enter politics?

Unanimous group answer: “Volunteer!” Ask questions, keep up with the news.

Gov. Kunin: “Be curious. Hold on to your ideals.”

Lt. Gov. Bradley: “You must be willing to break barriers.” She did. We can.

Cartoon idea: The Mountain of Cash (Before and After)

2009-03-03T23:35:00.002-05:00

BEFORE:

Standing on a plateau on a big mountain top composed of dollars spewing everywhere are the rich people lolling around their swimming pools, jetting here and there, bedecked in their jewels, wrapped in fur, slurping drinks, shopping at the “high end” shops, driving fancy cars.

Holding them up “down below” inside the mountain with their cash infusions are the poor middle class people working hard at cash registers, assembling cars, taking food orders and dry-cleaning, standing in line to spend their precious dollars at low-end shops, driving trucks

AFTER: The rich are frantic, pulling their hair out, beads of sweat everywhere on their mountain plateau. Gone are the jewels, the furs, the jets because: “down below,” the mountain crumbles: The poor and middle class stand in lines waiting for food boxes. Their cash to support the rich class’ way of life has disappeared and along with it, the rich, now engulfed by the cashless monster

With apologies to Johnny Rivers and Charley Pride:

Standin' on a mountain lookin' down on a city
The way I feel is a doggone pity
Teardrops fallin' down the mountain side
Many times I've been here, many times I've cried
We used to be so happy when we were awash
High on a mountain of cash

Mountain of cash, the mountain of cash
You should be ashamed
You used to be my mountain of cash
But you just changed your game

Way down below there's a half a million people
Somewhere there's a bank with a lot of bankers weepin’
Inside the bank, there's an altar filled with dollars
Courthouse bells are ringin' and they should've been all ours
That's why I'm so upset, my dream is gone so fast
High on your mountain of cash

Night after night I'm a-standin' in the cold
Cryin’ out for you, I’ve never been so old
Prayin' you're not hungry and you'll buy something quick
Hopin' just by chance that you won’t call me a ----
Trying hard to find you somewhere in the mash
High on my mountain of cash

Mountain of cash, the mountain of cash
You should be ashamed
You used to be my mountain of cash
But you just changed my game

BredeSIN and Jen Doll

2009-02-25T23:40:00.007-05:00

Jason enters and presents:

Democratic Governor Considers Turning Down Stimulus Cash!

By Eric Kleefeld - February 24, 2009, 8:36PM

We now have another governor who says he's thinking about turning down the small portion of the stimulus package for unemployment benefits -- and he's a Democrat???

"We are evaluating this piece of money, whether it makes sense for us to take it," Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "We may well be one of the states that say we can't take on that portion of it."

Well, if this guy was ever on the HHS short-list before...

Patricia responds:

So typical of that pseudofraudclosetimpersonatin'DemocratRepublican! Yep! Just see if he gets HHS now! HAHAHAHAHA. A blog at the Tennessean yesterday was reporting that the gov. said he wasn't out of the running.

Hey Guv! You're a G O N E R now.

(Portions referring to the governor's physical appearance have been deleted to preserve sophistication.)

That makes sense, doesn't it? To turn down unemploymt dollars like Jindahl (sic) is saying he may do for LA. I wonder how that will go over wi. the voters. OH, YUCK YUCK YUCK. Let's add that seat to the Democratic list!

Jason changes subject:

Did you see Bobby Jindall’s (sic) speech last night? HAHAHAHAHA it was so bad, even on Fox they were panning it. David Brooks said it was the worst response EVER to a president’s address to the nation.

Patricia replies:

I was so glad he came on since I needed to shower, wash and dry my hair and when doing all that, I can't hear the telly, so no, I didn't hear him, but welcomed the timing of his address. You MUST read My Dana today about all the twittering during the speech. He raises an excellent point! Yes, I told my colleagues today: Jesus came...on Shrove Tuesday!

The Defense Dept. Answers RE: Non-Combat Related Deaths

2009-02-23T19:24:00.010-05:00

(Thanks to Sen. Jim Webb for forwarding my questions to the Department. The main thrust of the DOD letter follows. After studying the numbers and percentages, the question rises: Why have non-hostile deaths of our troops risen 250% from the Korean to the Iraq wars? Look at the numbers at the DOD Web site. Am I figuring incorrectly?)

Dear Patricia,

The Department has a casualty reporting system…and both combat and non-combat related deaths are posted weekly…along with the cause of death…at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil.

[Click “Personnel,” then “Military Casualty Information.”]

Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom each have a report titled “Casualty Summary by Reason Code” [which] …contain the reasons for all deaths, hostile and non-hostile.

Each Service analyzes the information…and they have safety boards to address deaths as a result of unsafe actions, equipment, etc. to try and prevent any additional harm to Service members….[including] suicide prevention and early detection. All of this information is used by the Department to try and prevent further injuries and deaths. Individual causes…are withheld to protect…privacy….

If you have any questions, please contact Kris Hoffman at 831-583-2500.

Sincerely,

Mary Snavely-Dixon
Director, Human Resources Activity
Defense Manpower Data Center

I appreciate the letter and Sen. Webb’s attention. I will send my computations below to Senator Webb after I receive an answer from Ms. Hoffman about reasons, if any are known, about the leap in non-combat related deaths. I talked with her February 23, 2009.

At the Web site supplied above I discovered approximately 20 percent of the deaths (830 of 4,228)of all troops in Iraq from March 19, 2003 through January 31, 2009 result from nonhostile actions:

20% of Army deaths (613 of 3,072) are from nonhostile actions

35%, Navy (including the Coast Guard) (34 of 97)

16%, Marines (162 of 1,010)

almost 43%, Air Force (21 of 49)

More than 62% (518) of all non-hostile deaths in the Iraq War have resulted from accidents; more than 21% (176), “self-inflicted” causes. You have seen the recent stories about the increase in suicides among veterans and at West Point.

Compare “In-Theatre” deaths of other conflicts (which are not broken down "In Theater" or "Non-Theater" for Iraq casualties):

Gulf War non-hostile deaths: 61.5% (235 of 382)

Vietnam non-hostile deaths: 18.5% (10,786 of 58,220)

Korea non-hostile deaths: 7.75%(2,835 of 36,574)

Why did the percentage of nonhostile deaths increase so dramatically from Korea to Vietnam? Reduced training? Lowered standards? Different measuring means? On Friday at Ft. Campbell, KY, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, told soldiers increased suicides among troops may be related to long and repeated deployments.

Many Vietnam troops were drafted and joined the service unwillingly. With economic conditions today and the Army’s lowered standards (accepting felons, more high school dropouts, more with lower intelligence levels) yet with supposedly additional safety measures in place, why has the number increased? Who measures the effects of the Army’s lowered standards? Also, I refer you to this site for casualty count:www.antiwar/com.casualties

Gwen Ifill on Stage at GWU

2009-02-14T01:00:00.009-05:00

(Top) Frank Sesno interviews Gwen Ifill and (right) they watch Eugenie Pete describe what Barack Obama's swearing-in meant to her.

By the Queen of Free

Utterly charming, comedic, uplifting, inspirational, engaging, informative, confident, knowledgeable, and captivating.

Can you tell she is quite likable? Gwen Ifill for public office! (Hey Gwen: I know a Secretary's spot which is open!)

On Thursday night Frank Sesno CNN special correspondent and director of the public affairs project at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs masterfully interviewed Ms. Ifill who had plenty to tell to keep the “sold-out” (seats were free but all taken) listeners (it was taped for radio) on their ears.

She was much more talkative (of course) and animated (of course) than she is on THE shows. She came to promote her new book: The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, and she told a lot more.

The book contains interviews with black politicians and a look behind their scenes: How did they do it? So many, she said, were told “it’s not time for you yet.”

Race ceased to be an issue in last year’s presidential campaign after The Rev. Jeremiah Wright was shut up. She said Barack Obama never wanted to bring up race as an issue but Wright forced his hand.

About President Obama's term so far: He's figured out how hard it is to come to Washington which is "complicated. Every president says he's going to change Washington." And "one thing we all know: Honeymoons end." She said she never thought Obama would be elected. Her predictions "are always wrong," she said.

Two days before Gwen Ifill moderated last fall's vice-presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin (a clip of the "Saturday Night Live" takeoff on the debate was screened during the interview), she fell at home coming down stairs and broke her ankle.

She received hundreds of questions to ask the debaters, "about 99% of them for Palin." She said the key to crafting questions for debaters is to try to steer them from their pat answers and get them into new arenas. As for the 2004 vice-presidential debate, John Edwards was "over-rehearsed and Dick Cheney just didn't care."

When asked about the dearth of female politicians in her book, she said few under age 60 exist, sadly.

She began her journalism career as an intern at the Boston Herald American where a crude note addressed to her about her race led to her hiring. Never one to look back and wallow in self pity, she said she seizes circumstances as opportunities to use for her own betterment.

Later working at the Washington Post and covering the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ifill said she likely is the only Post reporter to cover that beat who actually lived in public housing at one time.

A clip showed a black lady on Inauguration Day, Eugenie Pete (unsure of name), who caught Ms. Ifill’s attention. She beamed when describing Ms. Pete who was practically unable to speak amid her emotions about the momentous day and what it meant for blacks.

The crowd of about 300 was approximately 20% students (based on a show of hands) with the rest, alumni, a smattering of faculty, and the remainder, interested bystanders. Probably two-thirds of attendees were female. Ms. Ifill graciously answered several questions from the audience.

After the interview we happily partook of varied and delicious desserts and beverages at a reception while Ms. Ifill signed about 250 books.

Thank you, GW! A fitting way to launch Presidents' Day weekend and to recognize Black History Month, too.

Chevy Chase Bank Card Customers at Risk

2009-02-14T00:19:00.003-05:00

What? Is this happening so frequently now that there is not even a press announcement warning customers their cards may be vulnerable? Or maybe there was and I missed it. But when?

I just opened a letter from Chevy Chase:

Recently, Visa, U.S.A. notified [us]...that an unauthorized party accessed a large national payment processor of credit and debit card transactions, Heartland Payment Systems. Unfortunately, your...card number may have been...compromised...[which]means that an unauthorized party may [underlined] have access to your Card information...[but it] does not [underlined] mean than [the]...party actually has used your Card number.

Gee, thanks, Chevy Chase Bank whose envelope looked like so much junk mail I nearly tossed it without opening it. The stamp: Presorted First Class. How many thousands were compromised and shouldn't there be some kind of public warning issued?

No warnings or alerts on Chevy Chase's web site. No warnings or alerts at Visa, U.S.A. Wait a minute, down in the lower corner of Heartland's site is a sentence about "security breach" which, if you click on it, takes you to information saying the breach occurred January 20, 2009, and yet, and yet, it took Chevy Chase Bank three weeks to notify its own customers and who knew Chevy Chase Bank had any relationship with Heartland which I've never heard of, have you?

Yep, this is a fine example of NON customer service at Chevy Chase Bank, another reason not to do banking there. I spoke with a teller and manager at a nearby branch last Saturday, February 7,2009, and did either mention this compromise on my account? You guess.

Uncover the Coffins

2009-02-12T22:14:00.009-05:00

At Monday's press conference the AP reported President Barack Obama said policy change would be considered to possibly end the media ban photographing caskets holding our military dead from Iraq and Afghanistan as they arrive back in the U.S.

In yesterday's Washington Post (p. A-8) Defense Secretary Robert Gates "said he was told that, if media were allowed to cover the fallen service members return to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, many of the service members' families would feel compelled to attend, which would pose a financial hardship for them and slow the return of the remains."

How grotesque: "would feel compelled." And "slow the remains."

What words are there to describe Gates' callousness and total disregard for affected families? He nonchalantly tosses words around with no thought of their impact.

Should not the affected families be allowed to make their own decisions rather than the defense secretary quoting hearsay and making decisions for them?

At this most terrible times of their lives, affected loved ones can stand on their own without the Defense Department exploiting their losses so it can cover up its dead and the 65% who died of "non-combat related" causes. Enough of Defense Department cover-ups!

Would not local communities rush to raise money for Dover expenses for those in need? Those who want to come to praise, salute and honor their war dead? Theirs.

President Obama: Uncover the coverup of the coffins. We want to see them. We want to see how the military treats the return of our human treasures. We want to see the containers holding our dead on their last journey. We want to recognize their bravery and their sacrifices for us. We want to be stung with reality that inside the boxes are remains of troops who lived and whom we glorify.

President Obama: You said "change." The Bush/Cheney regime ended, praise God, on January 20, 2009. Please bring change.

65% of our Soldiers' Deaths in Iraq: Noncombat Related

2009-02-09T22:56:00.010-05:00

Dear Senator Webb:

“Nonhostile circumstances” have caused the deaths of almost 65% (14 of 22) of our soldiers in Iraq this year in a story reported by CNN today about four American soldiers who were killed in a suicide car bombing in Mosul.

This morning NPR carried a story about the Army meeting its enlistments goals, likely due to economic conditions, but the article listed felons who are now part of the service now that the Army has relaxed its standards. Does this play a role in the huge numbers of “nonhostile” (or as the Washington Post calls them, “noncombat related”) deaths?

Who investigates “nonhostile/non-combat-related” deaths of our soldiers? Who reports them? How do numbers compare to previous conflicts? Is training minimized in a rush to get soldiers to battlefields?

Taxpayers want a return on our investments of our human resources, equipment, and time. Answers would be required of any board of directors. Who is our “Board of Directors”? Who speaks for us? The voice is silent.

Sincerely,
Patriciadc

Darling Dangling Dapper Daschle Dashes

2009-02-03T22:38:00.006-05:00

Enter Jason who speaketh:

No statement yet but it's happening soon. Personally, I could care less about him not paying his taxes on a driver he employed to take him around town in a car. Nor do I care about Tim Geithner's tax problems or anybody else's tax problems. For heaven's sake, we elected a complete idiot for eight years and somehow he was allowed to escape practically unharmed by the media and now a lowly department head gets the ax grinded into him and has to withdraw his nomination??? We had Rummy issuing torture memos and orders to violate international treaties, and where was Anderson Cooper's outrage then? The VP is holding secret meetings with oil industry lobbyists and never a word said or uttered. Where was the NY Times editorial board then? Oh, yeah the NY Times was too busy employing figure heads who took the notes passed along by the VP's guy pal Scooter and printing them on page A1 all in an effort to appear patriotic. Well where is their patriotism now?

All this has done has poured more blood into the water, just as the stimulus bill is going to be voted on in the Senate. Now, watch every Repub but three or four will vote against the stimulus bill and all will have been for naught. Are we to allow every editorial board in this country the right to veto a president's pick to head an agency? Who sits on the NY Times editorial board anyone? And what exactly is their expertise when it comes to dealing with issues that face the country. The NY Times will be an online only publication in about 10 years, so apparently they're not even good at what they're supposed to be good at! Are we going to allow the minority party to dictate the stimulus bill? The reason why they're the minority party is because a minority of Americans agrees with them. Include them in the discussions, but I would rather see no Repubs vote for a bill than to see half of them vote for it, because in the latter's instance something would definitely be wrong with the final bill.

I suppose it's good to get all of the bad stuff out of the way now. Although, the timing really sucks. The president is going to be speaking to all the networks tonight and instead of talking about trying to reboot the economy and pass his stimulus package, the network anchors are all going to imitate O'Reilly and Limbaugh and try and outmaneuver each other on who can play the best gotcha, inside-Washington parlor game. No wonder good help is hard to find in DC. Who would want to go through this process?

Patricia enters and has her turn:

I am glad! Really! O campaigned on CHANGE and with the treas. sec. and Daschle's IRS problems and all Daschle's connections, I thought this a.m.: What has changed? I say; GOOD RIDDANCE. It was like all his own cronies coming out of the woodwk to talk about how great he is. Oh yeah, if he's so great you mean to tell me he didn't know about the $ due to the IRS 'til Jan.? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. He got caught wi. his pants down and oh no, he paid the IRS and now it looks like he could have put it off even longer! Poor old Tom. I guess he'll now have to forgo the taxis he started taking yesterday to Cap Hill for his limousine. Cry me a river.

Jason replies:

HAHAHA, cry me a river, yes. I don't feel sorry for Daschle. All these public officials should no better. My point has more to do with the media. We just found out that billions of dollars of our money was spent by Wall Street on bonuses and where is the media outrage? You don't see those managers of CEOs getting fired or having to repay the money? Why aren't those people blacklisted like these appointments to be cabinet secretary? It seems that they made mistakes and they have owned up to their mistakes and then some but still they get crucified? This is the kind of thing which led that guy in the Clinton admin to kill himself. It's petty, stupid, and ridiculous at a time when the country needs the best and the brightest to handle our nation's most stressing problems, and the NY Times editorial board is wasting its space on this??? Good thing I never went through with my daily subscription to them. I hope that ten years from now their print addition will be in a museum along with the dinosaurs!!!

Maureen squeaks:

p., relatively speaking, i think i am with jason on this one. m.

DeeDee comes in and adds her two cents:

Daschle knew he has tax problems but didn't take care of it immediately. Why didn't he tell the truth to Obama team? That should solve all the probs from the beginning.

OK, bets?

Patricia exclaims with vengeance:

I totally agree, DeeDee! Like whatzizsis name at Treas. now. Daschle didn't pay the tax since he thought he could get away with it until discovered by the vetting process. You'd think someone wi. that much $ would consider his tax debt a mite, but oh no, those greedy pigs get greedier. Show me to the trough, please, so I can load up some more.

What president has had this much trouble wi. so many Cabinet nominees so early in the game? Oh, oh...I can hear the Washington insider comments growing by leaps and bounds.

DeeDee responds:

Tim Geithner.. oh no, there's another one in line, Obama's choice for Chief Performance Officer..via TPM..

Presidents need to think big, isolate the source of problems and act to fix them. So I think Obama needs to abolish the IRS so his appointees can get confirmed and his program move forward. (Ed's note added later: Abolish the IRS....oh, hahaha, tweedledum and tweedledee, hahaha. Then who would pay for the Fat Cats' Bailouts? hahaha)

Jason fumes and adds a diatribe by Andrew Sullivan which The Editor chose to omit since this is getting lengthy and is anyone still reading?

From Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic: just goes to show what a truly shameful thing that has happened. Now we’ll get an more second-rate nominee who will have no clout to do anything about the uninsured, sky-high insurance rates, prescription drug costs, all of that. All because of petty, Washington politics. It’s a good thing I no longer live anywhere near the place. I would be ashamed.

Patricia's anger is not assuaged:

Yep, Daschle certainly knew the industry all right since it forked over to him $zillions. Line thy pockets, knave! Why, methinks this rings true of Duchess Clinton, TO WIT. Prayeth, what change hath El Presidente Obama wrought with his Knights of Greed?

Jason exclaims as he drives out of sight:

Oh you are going to hang on this one!!!!!
The Politico is reporting that Phil Bredesen, Jim Cooper, Howard Dean, and Bill Bradley are possibilities for HHS Secretary!

Patricia cries:

Show me the noose!

Letter to Sen. James Webb RE: Non-Combat Related Deaths

2009-01-28T21:55:00.003-05:00

Dear Senator Webb,

I received an e-mail from you dated December 16, 2008 in which you said you had referred my questions about non-related combat deaths of our soldiers in Iraq to the Defense Department.

I know it's a huge agency with much on its plate, but, alas, more than a month later and no reply!

The Washington Post listed yesterday the names of five more of our soldiers killed in Iraq (p. A-13), and of these, SIXTY PERCENT died as a result of "non-combat related" causes. I researched their names and found on the Web that one died as the result of a forklift accident and one died from a gunshot wound. (His father was quoted in the local press, and he was quoting the military.)

Above the names of these dead soldiers was a story about the crashes of two U.S. helicopters which killed four U.S. servicemen. It was listed as "non-combat related."

I would like to know about all the "non-combat related" deaths of our troops, their causes, and what changes Defense is making to stop these tragedies. Are our troops not trained adequately? Is Defense rushing troops to Iraq with insufficient training and therefore, equipment and gun accidents happen more frequently than in prior combat? Than on Army bases? A comparison would be revealing. We read constantly about the Army's lowering its standards to accept those without a high school diploma and to accept some with criminal charges which may factor in "non-combat related" deaths.

With the decline in our activity in Iraq, media, and therefore public, attention dwindles, and we tend to forget about 150,000 troops stationed there which plays to Defense's hands to ignore questions about anything Iraq.

With your military knowledge, experience, and interest, I would think Defense would pay more attention to you and to your requests for explanations. An entire summary of these deaths and their causes may shatter the public's mindset about our troops' training, or it may not. Whatever, since it is our money, time, equipment, and most importantly, human resources, we deserve to know.

Sincerely,
Patriciadc

60% of Our Soldiers' Deaths in Iraq: Noncombat-Related Causes

2009-01-27T23:18:00.006-05:00

Sixty percent of the deaths of our soldiers in Iraq listed in the Washington Post today were due to “non-combat” related causes.

What are the causes?

When last I wrote about this November 14 2008, I also emailed Sen. James Webb who responded on December 16:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding non-combat related deaths.

In order that I might provide you with a detailed response to your inquiry, I forwarded your message to Department of Defense. You should receive a response directly from that office.

I appreciate your letter and thoughts on this matter. Your correspondence helps me serve you better in the U.S. Senate. Please let me know if the response you receive does not resolve your concern or you need further assistance

.

No reply from DOD!

I shall write to Sen. Webb again and hope he is able to push the Pentagon to supply answers. Why isn’t anyone else asking?

The names of soldiers who died in Iraq are listed today on p. A13 below a story on the crashes of two U.S. helicopters which killed four American soldiers. “Nonhostile” causes are believed the reason for the crashes.

The names of our dead soldiers listed today are:

Sgt. Marquis Porter, 28, Brighton, MA (noncombat-related death)
Ricky Turner, 20, Athens, AL
Omar McKnight, 22, Marrero, LA (noncombat-related but shot according to his father quoting the military)
Roberto Andrade, Jr., 26, Chicago
Kyle Harrington, 24, Swansea, MA (noncombat-related but a forklift accident)

Please remember the supreme sacrifices our troops and their families made and make for us: 4,236 fatalities; 30,984 wounded.

Tickets Here! Tickets There! A Ticket Thicket Everywhere from Cong. James Moran

2009-01-21T22:54:00.011-05:00

He gave them away “from the trunk of his car” Saturday night after the Fairfax County Inaugural Ball, one recipient told me at the Netroots Ball in Arlington.

”I guess it just takes personal contact,” he gleamed. He is not a constituent of Cong. Jim Moran. I am.

I did not get one of Moran’s tickets.

I requested Inaugural tickets from Moran and from Sen. James Webb following the procedure outlined by the Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee. My requests were denied in almost replica e-mail letters I received from each. (See earlier post.)

Please understand: I campaigned for Jim Moran; I knocked on doors on fall weekends for Jim Moran; I telephoned for Jim Moran. For the Democratic ticket I cooked for the campaign, I used my car for the campaign. I gave up my time in-between jobs to work on the campaign. I went to weekly meetings for the campaign.

For Barack Obama I canvassed in three states. I traveled. I donated. I spent my own money on expenses.

I got a Inaugural ticket all right, but not from the campaign for which I worked so strenuously, so tirelessly, so energetically.

I got a ticket from a lobbyist.

Congressman Moran forgot about me. I won’t forget about him.

Call to Arms, Call to Arms, Sister!

2009-01-13T23:27:00.005-05:00

Please contact both of your U.S. senators immediately, urging them to vote to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, all designed to help working women achieve pay parity with their brothers in the workforce.

The U.S. Senate will take up these bills almost immediately, so it is urgent that you take action at once and urge your sisters to do the same! (Maybe, even some of the brothers will help out.) The House of Representatives passed the bill January 9, 2009 247 - 171.

With enforcement powers these bills will nail those work places which reward equal work with unequal pay. Victims will be able to more easily find redress.

We earn only 78 cents to every dollar the boys bring home! Up from 77 cents in 2006. What a giant leap for womankind!

Lower wages also mean a lower social security benefit when retirement comes.

The Senate narrowly defeated this bill last year so with more progressives in Congress, maybe, just maybe we can help proclaim victory for American female employees! If you contacted your legislators last year, it is important to contact them again.

Please contact me right away if you need your names, e-mail addresses, and/or phone numbers and pass this on! The American Association of University Women is a key proponent of the Act.

Who was Lilly Ledbetter? She worked for 19 years in Gadsden, Alabama for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (why do you buy Goodyear?) as the only female supervisor who successfully sued ($3 million) after she found out Goodyear was paying $thousands more to male co-workers for the same work. However, in the company’s appeal (why do you buy Goodyear?) the Bushes’ Supreme Court in a 5–4 decision last May rejected her argument saying she waited too long to file suit. (Ahem, how ya gonna file if he done you wrong if you don’t know he done you wrong?)

After the court ruling, legislation was quickly drafted to correct this injustice and, falling right in line with the business community (big surprise), Bush said he would veto the bill. All but six of his Republican Senate allies went along with him to defeat it.

Are you sitting down? That’s good for you will be shocked to learn that during the presidential campaign, John McCain did not support the legislation; Barack Obama did.

Sisters, unite and fight! For us! Pass it on.

Overheard at the U.S. Department of Education

2009-01-13T22:46:00.003-05:00

“Whatcha think about the new secretary of education?”

“You know a new secretary has never made a bit of difference around here. As a matter of fact, no one, not any superintendent anywhere, has ever made a difference in improving urban schools anywhere.”

“No!”

“Yes, it’s true.”

“I’d say there was a story in that somewhere.”

“Oh, really? Then why don’t you write one?”

An Embarrassed Democrat

2009-01-08T22:56:00.008-05:00

Patricia enters:
Are you not cringing at the way Roland Burris was thrown out in the rain on Monday? I mean, come on! It is disgusting. He was treated like a worthless dog. He is such a gracious man, never complaining. What an admirable fellow! With no hint of improprieties like most members of the Senate! He is unlike the Red Bull Demon Dog Democrats! 1000X better than they!

Are any of the blogs talking about the rude, contemptible manner in which he was treated? It was racist! Would a white person have been subjected so shamefully? Like a criminal! I am surprised they didn't put handcuffs on him and throw him in the Tidal Basin, yelling "Sink or swim, you common vagrant!"

Dee enters:
I second you.. think blogs were for him.. the left-wing at least.

Jason speaketh:
I for one was not for him. I think his appointment endangers the seat to be lost two years from now, especially if he decides to run for reelection. I do agree that throwing him out in the rain looked pretty nasty, and the Dems should have realized from the beginning that Blago was going to call their bluff and appoint someone. He just so happened to find a viable African-American to fill the seat. But, the fact that Burris even accepted the appointment from a crook like Blago says a lot about his character. Other IL politics, like veteran Congressman Danny Davis, who is black, reportedly were offered the position and turned it down. Burris should fit in well with the others in the “cesspool” that is Washington DC!!!

Patricia speaks:
Was it Davis I saw interviewed on Rachel last nt as I passed thru the room hither and yon doing chores? Whoever it was said Biansonofovitch had offered him the job before he offered it to Burris. Biansofivitch has a great atty. I think he's going to get off. He outsmarted the entire Senate! But that's looking easier and easier to do.

Jason speaks:
Patricia, you or I could be Senate Majority Leader and do 100x better than p---y hairy reid.

CNN = Cable National Nquirer

2009-01-08T00:41:00.002-05:00

At the top of CNN’s menu January 7, 2009 at 10:13 a.m. under “Other News”:

Which gadget do you want to hunker down with?

Officials fear Caylee bone pics will be sold

Boy,6, drives car 10 miles toward school

Knife left in woman’s head

School orders teen to fix haircut

New ‘Idol’ judge looking forward to challenge

Rather than a cable news network, CNN has become the Hollywood and voyeur’s network, the “National Enquirer” of television "news" suggesting the new name.

Congressional parties galore on Capitol Hill

2009-01-07T23:27:00.012-05:00

Congressman James Moran (D-VA) floated in and out (10 min.) of Cong. Gerry Connolly’s (D-VA)reception Tuesday night in Longworth, like so many others who flitted and floated from one party to another.

So many politicians! So many progressive parties and not enough time to hit them all.

It was SRO at Cong. Connolly’s event even after he took off to the Capitol to cast a vote on his first day in office.

Sen. James Webb (D-VA) put in an appearance at Connolly’s for at least 30 minutes and was mobbed.

When new congressman Connolly returned to his reception it took about 20 minutes for him to enter the party room since happy well-wishers including Dewita Soeharjono stopped him, greeted him, clasped his hands, and wanted to chat. Cong. Connolly obliged them all sporting a permanent grin throughout the evening as big as a Cheshire cat’s.

One woman inquired: “Are you giving away kisses?”

With his brother, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran who gave us his delegate seat in the Virginia General Assembly to run for governor, Cong. Moran also showed up at new Congressman Tom Perriello's (D-VA) (where the food lasted longer than at Connolly’s) along with new Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). Cong. Moran looked sad and dispirited at both parties, perhaps because they are "old hat" to him.

Meanwhile, Sen. Warner enthusiastically welcomed talking with constituents and posed for pictures.

Looking about 10 years younger than his 34 years, Cong. Perriello with the right gear, could be mistaken for an intern. (Note to Cong. Perriello: This is a compliment.) Many members of his family attended the celebration.

Attire at the soirees included huge smiles worn by all. It was a happy mood and a handful queried agreed on seating Senate nominee Roland Burris. "Why not?" was the constant refrain.

Hey, You! Mr. M.B.A. President!

2009-01-06T23:27:00.009-05:00

What happened, Dude?

You who prided yourself so much on being the first M.B.A. president!

If the stock price of the U.S. were valued at, say, $100 when you began your term in 2001, how would you peg it today? What about linking the price to your popularity rating of 27%? Too high. A value of $20 is more realistic meaning a loss of 80% of value which, when inflation is added, is more than 80%.

The fall in value of 401Ks could be another measure.

A Washington Post story on the front page January 12, 2009 says you realized the lowest percentage of job growth over a two year presidential term in 70 years! And the lowest annualized job growth since Truman! Good night, man!

Goal setting is an important part of what they teach you in B-school.

In early 2007 James Pfiffner writing in Public Administration Review praised you for many of your policy security goal “achievements,” (!) namely:

1. The war in Iraq (?),
2. The war against terrorism (??)
3. The treatment of detainees (!!!!).
4. The use of intelligence leading up to war (I kid you not; this is all in the abstract), however (whoa, buster, there really is an “however”):

Bush’s deficiencies as an administrator have undermined his policy successes.

.

(Mr. Phiffner, a teacher at George Mason University, must be a undercover comedian, kind of a reverse Al Franken.)

On the other hand Warren Hellman , a Harvard M.B.A. graduate like you, writing for Salon.com at the same time (February, 2007) said a superlative Board of Directors (ahem) would likely fry you real fast.

A characteristic of many failing CEOs when losses are mounting is to hide or obfuscate the real deficits. This president, in addition to incurring massive deficits, has managed to hide the magnitude of the losses by special (otherwise known as "off balance sheet") allocations of billions of dollars that do not appear in the annual budget.

The most important strategic decision made by CEO Bush was to minimize the importance of stabilizing Afghanistan, while at the same time choosing to invade Iraq. …Bush also had no business plan for his new endeavor, failing to take into account what the war would cost in lives and treasure …ready to reject any evidence that did not support the decision to invade

.

Dude! You did not even execute your own decisions, Hellman says, with inadequate troops, insufficient equipment and dissatisfactory research.
Why would a Board of Directors keep somebody like you?

Hellman continues (my paraphrasing):

Rather than replacing wornout, stale employees with fresh insights and new directions offered by a different crew, you kept the “yessiree, boss” people who only reinforced your old, tired programs and ideas.

Because you mismanaged revenues and spent it on strategic mistakes (Iraq), there is nothing left for R+D which is critical to the future success of any company.

The Board of Directors (the Congress) should have fired you to satisfy the shareholders (we, the people), but they neglected their fiduciary responsibilities to us and let you ride out into the tumbleweeds.

Methinks the Board of Directors needs to be wiped out, and we need a new one!

One of your classmates at Harvard’s Business School, Thomas Lifson writing in the American Thinker which he edits, vigorously defended you in an article in February 2004, and “the small handful of major goals” you defined for your presidency:

1. Winning the war on terrorism
2. Building Republican dominance in government
3. Keeping the economy growing “at a healthy pace”

How do you think you did, Mr. M.B.A. President?

From Harvard’s B-school comes a reply to a question posed by Business Week in its Nov. 5, 2003 edition: What did you learn in B-school and when did you learn it?

The school's focus is on general managers who can see the big strategic picture, establish priorities, and make the most of the functional expertise of those who work with them to make decisions and take action

.

The same article observes you went for “win-lose” results rather than “win-win” which is what Stanford teaches, according to Justin Wolfers, then at Stanford, now at Wharton. “My way or the highway” has always been your mantra!

Hey, Dude, you’re almost off of our cloud! Thanks to Time, and not the weak-willed, ineffective Board of Directors we have, you are almost done. And so are we.

The Book: The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the HuffPost Editors

2009-01-05T00:59:00.003-05:00

I had to go to three bookstores to find it and then place a telephone order at Borders to make sure I got one of the two copies Borders had.

Being an avid public library user and placing many bestsellers on reserve, it’s a rarity that I buy a book for myself but once I heard Arianna on Jon Stewart I rushed right out to get it.

Upon reading the first 50 pages I deemed it something to be digested in an hour but I soon discovered it contains far more with good recommendations on building traffic and one of the best chapters, the history of the creation of the Huffington Post.

Starting a blog is outlined in thorough detail with everything you need to know to begin. Free ways to count traffic are listed. The importance of providing background and identification of a blogger is stressed. The best blogs are named. The changing medium of the news business is described.

The layout is designed for “non-readers” (the younger generation which does not read anything longer than ingredients on cereal boxes, I think) with a horizontal format, huge margins almost the width of each line of type, bigger type size than most, and shaded boxed copy reserved for tidbits by HuffPost contributors. It all suggests one of the “Dumber” books: “Blogging for Dummies.” (Is that out yet?)

An index and headshots of the contributors would have added a lot but would have raised the price ($15.00).

Some of the best parts are the history of blogging, HuffPost humor, covering the 2008 election, the frequent “how tos”scattered throughout the book by HuffPost bloggers (Mayhill Fowler, Jason Linkins, David Weiner, ) how Arianna’s persistence broke the Judy Miller cover-up and the mediocrity of the New York Times, Mel Gibson’s arrest and the aftermath. The tip to and post by Weiner about the McCain recipe plagiarism is a riot and worth the price of the book alone. So many times I laughed out loud while reading.

The growing reputation and credibility of the Huffington Post unfolds with no boasting by the editors making me realize how many stories it does break.

The writing style is quick and fast but not demeaning; more sophisticated than a typical newspaper or news magazine but at a lower level than the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Really, for 15 bucks it’s a great value with lots of suggestions and tips on shooting to the blogging top.

On Vacation: The Governor of Tennessee

2009-01-02T22:37:00.013-05:00

Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, although a Democrat, must have taken cues from George Bush in Bredesen's handling of the sludge mess in East Tennessee.

For although the sludge ran amuck on December 22, Bredesen took nine days to go and see the yuck for himself.

The timing was wrong, you know: right before Christmas and all. Bredesen managed to squeeze in a visit between Santa Claus and New Year’s.

Could there be not enough voters in the area for the governor to care about it too much? Could it be his second term ending in 2010 and who gives a damn? Could be he hoped the whole muckety-muck would disappear, no appearance by His Holiness would be necessary and he could avoid getting mucked-up.

On December 31 the day of Bredesen’s visit the Huffington Post reported:

Bredesen said he chose to wait more than a week before touring the area because there was no loss of life and he's found in past disasters politicians sometimes hindered the clean-up process.

Now, isn’t that sweet? Prithee, Governor Bredesen, of which disasters do you speak? Hurricane Andrew when George Bush I couldn’t get away from his golf game to go and tour the disaster? Hurricane Katrina when George Bush II could not interrupt his monthlong vacation to see the destruction for himself? Hmmm, this all sounds so familiar.

Do you not realize, Governor, after all your years in office that a sitting governor attracts enormous press and attention when he speaks, tours, visits an area, especially, an incredibly damaged area sadly in need of some devotion from government folks, like, like…maybe you?

Did you honestly believe the people would accept your spin for a reason to skip a trip to the destructed Harriman so you could continue your Christmas vacation in, was it, Jackson Hole? It’s a wonder you could even venture over on New Year’s Eve, and interrupt your party plans, however, I imagine you got back in time to celebrate the beginning of another fabulous year.

Thanks, Governor, for all your time! And while you are here, please have some water and show the kind folks that you government people mean business: The water is safe to drink! TVA says it is so.

From the Huffington Post:

Though authorities have said municipal water sources are safe, school cafeteria workers will use bottled water to prepare meals and bottled water will be offered for sale at schools, according to a news release on the school system's web site.

(This editor's note: So generous of TVA to tell students, almost a third of whom live below the poverty level where the per capita income is 75% of the state's average per capita income which is $2,000 less than the U.S. per capita income, where Harriman ranks 264 in per capita income in the state of Tennessee which is the 35th richest state, to buy bottled water.)

On Monday, federal officials cautioned residents who use private wells or springs to stop drinking the water because some tests in the area had found elevated levels of arsenic, which can be toxic.

The AP reported Jan. 2 that although the poisonous level in tested water was 149 times the maximum level permitted, drinking water was still "safe." Yikes! Bring me a cup!

The toxic mess is so mysterious that the TVA cannot even name its components so how can it reveal them?

Of course, the entire mess is not the Great Agency's fault. Heaven forbid! TVA blames “rainfall” which did not fall according to historic patterns. Well, goodness gracious sakes, TVA, aren’t you the expert?

Here's a toast of the Harriman sludge water to the likes of you, Governor, and all your pals at the TVA! Please, have one on the residents of the community. They have plenty of muck to go around.

Cheats, Lies, and Letters from Citi

2008-12-30T23:25:00.005-05:00

Like millions of others I received a letter from Citi in early December saying in zero-point type that my interest rate was going to leap sky-high unless I wrote or called Citi.

What would you guess the percentage to be of letter recipients who called? Or wrote? Two percent? Likely too high. How many even read the letters? Citi counts on recipients’ failure to act, I'll bet.

I called immediately and told Citi that “nope,” I was not amenable to its high rate and I wanted to cancel the card immediately.

Whoa, buster! Do you know what it takes to cancel a credit card? Try about 45 minutes, that’s all, after you talk with Yaseen, Tanish, Hammad, and Jamaal who urge you to terminate termination and if you terminate termination, Citi promised to reduce my interest rate. Imagine!

After wheedling the rate down to 3.99% (and I do believe I could have gotten Citi down further had I kept pushing which occurred to me ex post facto), we hung up.

Well, la de da, can you imagine the shock and surprise which grabbed me when I opened an envelope from Citi about 10 days later, and, hang on, the interest rate was not 3.99%, but 11.99%. Oh, me. Silly error!

I suppose Citi thought I might ignore this envelope, too.

I slashed and burned the telephone wires to reach the bleeping (thanks, Patrick) Citi again.

“Oh, no, no, no, Ms. Patricia, we did not mean for it to be 11.99%, but you are supposed to receive 3.99%,” said Aamir, one of Citi’s 10,234, 532 employees in India.

“Then why does it say 11.99%?” I asked.

“Oh, oh. We will make that change right away,” Aamir said.

I asked Aamir to tell me the date of my earlier marathon discussion with Citi.

“Oh, Ms. Patricia, it was December 6,” Aamir said, reading the record.

“Isn’t that odd that my letter from Citi which changed my interest rate to 11.99% rather than 3.99% is dated December 6?” I said.

It pays to read your mail. It pays to scream and yell. It pays to be able to walk away, Renee, from the liars and cheats that your U.S. government handsomely rewards for malfeasance.

Rejected by Sen. Webb and Cong. Moran

2008-12-30T23:05:00.005-05:00

Interesting, isn’t it, that almost identical letters from Sen. James Webb (D-VA) and Congressman James Moran (D-VA) arrive on the same day, rejecting my request for Inauguration tickets?

Who put the wording of the letters together? Better still, who gets the tickets? Sadly, my 24-year-old son serving in the Army, a young skeptic, said to me: “Mom, their cronies get the tickets.”

Will the offices release the names of the ticket holders? If not, why not? Why doesn’t the MSM write about that? Huh? Huh? Write about seats the MSM gets? Are you kidding?

Here is most of the wording:

Thank you for contacting Senator Webb's office regarding Inauguration tickets. As you may know, the Senator's office has received more than 35,000 total ticket requests and has been allotted only a few hundred tickets. (Who gets them?) Unfortunately, at this time, we are unable to accommodate your request for tickets to the Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol. However, please note that the remaining sections of the National Mall will be open to members of the public who were unable to obtain the limited tickets available. (Now isn't that sweet? On the Mall with 4 million others!)

We wanted to give you this status update well in advance of Inauguration Day so that you can plan accordingly. (Oh yeah? What am I supposed to do? Set up camp on the mall for three weeks? You think the Park Service and Secret Service will okay my plans?) Please also be aware that in addition to the public viewing area on the National Mall, there are a number of events during the week, including the Inaugural Parade, that do not require tickets. (Oh boy! I'll get to see the parade upfront and right on the Avenue! I wish.)

Due to the extraordinarily high interest in the Swearing-In Ceremony, Senator Webb has sent a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, requesting additional tickets to account for Virginia's proximity to Washington D.C. Should Senator Webb receive additional tickets from the Inaugural Committee or any other source and be able to accommodate your request, we will be sure to let you know. (You mean I have another chance? I am waiting in the wings, Senator Webb. Thank you!)

The Swearing-In Ceremony is the only Inaugural event to which our office has received tickets. Please see the links below for updated information on other Inaugural events that may interest you.

Senator Webb and Congressman Moran: Who got your tickets? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Eugene Robinson: Clinton Flak

2008-12-19T22:57:00.007-05:00

Say it ain’t so, Eugene!

Say I misread the column yesterday and it was not written by you, but it was actually a paid ad which found its way to the Post’s op-ed page. It read like one.

“Only” 13 donors gave the Clinton Foundation $10 million or more. Only 13? Like you wrote: "Hey, times are tough." Poor Bill; poor Hill. What's a body to do?

Your own newspaper on the front page and others raised concerns about this special, conflicting self-interest relationship.

Is this the way it will be during the Obama administration? Pandering to the cabinet? The Harvard-educated, "lily white" in everything but color, elitist cabinet?

Let's see...hmmmm...the taxpayers give to the government. The government gives to Freddie. The government gives to Citi. Citi raises interest rates on the taxpayers. Freddie gives to Bill. Citi give to Bill. Bill gives to Bill! What goes around comes around; is that it?

Why aren't thousands screaming? Is it because, once again, "our representatives" sit with their hands out and receive some more and reap what they can from the coffers of the taxpayers?

Cartoon idea: Hillary is seated at a round table in a tent with a map of the Middle East behind her. Guards stand nearby. There are papers on the table. She is wearing a skirted suit and flashing a big grin from ear to ear. Seated with her is a sheik wearing wraparound sunglasses, sandals, white head dress and long white robe covering his entire body except for hands and face, and a sword is affixed to his cloth robe belt. He looks rather glum as he handles some of the scattered papers on the table.

Hillary says: “Yes, Chic (sic), I think I can arrange a meeting for you with President Obama.”

Below the table is a serpent with the head of Bill Clinton wrapped around her legs holding dollar bills in his teeth.

Shoes for Bush in Washington, D.C.

2008-12-17T23:57:00.009-05:00

As I approached the scene 20 minutes past the 11 o'clock hour in front of the White House Wednesday, the atmosphere of the Code Pink rally to memorialize Sunday's shoe throwing incident at George Bush was almost that of a garden party on pavement. The press vastly outnumbered the few activists who showed up, and together they stood around laughing, smiling, talking on a cloudy, cool day.

Some of the 20 activists threw shoes at the weaving, unsteady "George Bush" life-sized bobblehead dressed in mask and prison garb and holding "dollar bills" which he periodically offered to those nearby. An abundant but permissive, polite police force stood back, under worked by the small crowd.

Attending were Dana Milbank with photographer in tow, and David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet.org who graciously consented to yet another interview when approached by an Arabic cameraman and a reporter. A girl, about 8, dressed in pink, explained her presence at the rally to a television crew.

Was the Christmas message affecting everyone?

I added my old shoes to a small pile in front of "Bush" and sadly took note of the rows of shoes with widows' and orphans' names attached, like headstones at a cemetery.

A likely Code Pink representative "rescued" Bush when a senior citizen with a long grey beard beat the bobblehead with several shoes which were scattered hither and yon on the street, much like the bodies of the the injured and the dead from a bombing in Baghdad today.

A wasted pulpit: Laura Bush

2008-12-16T23:07:00.004-05:00

For eight years she commanded the rostrum. Or could have. But did not.

For eight years she could have visited classrooms, read to children, visited school libraries, drawn enormous attention wherever she went to the plight of reading among schoolchildren in this county, but she did not. Consider the press she would have attracted to the sad condition of thousands of school libraries!

But she did not. Why not?

It's too late now, Laura Bush. You, a librarian, who I imagine knows something about the poor performances of our children compared to those in other nations.

You whose husband shepherded the ill-fated No Child Left Behind to its certain death.

You wasted your pulpit! You gave up eight years to be a doormat and do absolutely nothing. Do you want your daughters to grow up to be like you?

Your chance is gone to help children read better, to show their parents how they could have read to their children for just ten minutes a day. You could have been a role model for mothers everywhere.

Michelle Obama is different from you, and I have not one shred of doubt that she will use the pulpit firmly planted in front of her, unlike you.

Oh, Please! "Please Donate"

2008-12-10T22:24:00.003-05:00

Good grief! Won't these people ever stop?

“Please donate” to Barack Obama. To the man we keep hearing has $30 million in the bank from leftover funds!

Please!

The"asks" came in two emails, no less, on consecutive days. The nerve of those people!

First, David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, writes asking that we continue, c o n t i n u e, campaign meetings at home. Please! Can we ever get a break? We are supposed to do this for the next four years?

To promote Obama’s platform? Please don't try to kid me it's "our" platform.

“At the house meetings, you'll reflect on our campaign, discuss the future of this movement, and identify some ways to get involved in your community.

"Meeting hosts will report back, and your feedback will be instrumental in guiding this movement through some important and unprecedented territory.”

When I saw the “Please donate” button on Barack Obama’s page, I was stunned. Was this an old page, I wondered, fearing the answer.

”Your donation will support the Democratic National Committee and help recover the enormous resources they committed to this campaign.”

Get real, people! Did not the voters of this nation just send a zillion billion more Democrats to Congress and the U.S. Senate? Another Democrat is busted for bribery, and you are asking us to fund more Democrats? In this economy?

What about the "little people," you know the ones who don't count, the ones in the middle and below the middle who actually need some of Obama's leftover cash? The ones who don’t feed off the public’s tit?

Is it not stupifying that Obama's team has the audacity to send out solicitation letters six weeks after we worked feverishly to elect him, and here he comes asking for more!

How about the big bailout money going to an entity other than the fat banks, and the execs who fly in and fly out like witches on broomsticks crying “poor mouth”?

Why do the taxpayers bailout Citi which forked over big bucks ("multi-millions") to fund Bill Clinton’s latest “global” meeting? (The taxpayers pay the government which pays Citi which pays Bill Clinton who pays Bill Clinton who pays Bill Clinton, and who is Secretary of State and he's not going to wave influence?)

The election’s over, the results are sealed, the people are forgotten to feed the coffers of the corporations, the greedy fat cats who need more and more and more.

What hath we wrought?

Inauguration and Fairfax County Democrats

2008-12-04T00:16:00.010-05:00

And you thought you were planning ahead?

How about camping out on Pennsylvania Avenue five days before the big event? That’s the plan, and how many more are going to throw down land claims? This place is going bonkers.

Then there’s the group trying to come up with the down payment for yet another Inaugural Ball, the "Grassroots Ball," to be held January 19 at the Ronald Reagan building ($52,000 deposit, and they are getting close) which, at the stroke of midnight will turn the pumpkin carriage scene into feet and legs to move to the Mall to stake out more land claims (if there is any land left at that bewitching hour, just precious few before the Big Event).

But where’s my date? Yeekers, yikers!
I'm late, I'm late for
A very important date.
No time to say hello, good-bye,
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late

Meanwhile, back in Fairfax County for a meeting Wednesday night of 30-some always strong willed Democrats, the “Brigades,” who just can’t give it up! ("We live it up!")

Echoing the statements of several present, Dewita Soeharjono, campaigner/canvasser extraordinaire, said she knocked on doors in Ohio and Pennsylvania for Mr. Barack Obama. One Middle Easterner said he traveled to 19 states for Obama. An official from the Fairfax County Office of Elections attending the meeting "on her own time" said the Obama effort to register voters was more than extraordinary, and she praised the group for its unearthly muscle, energy, and verve.

Thank goodness Virginia has elections every year to help satiate the political junkies who have it in their blood to run and run and run, or help others to run and run and run.

Seems like the 2009 governor’s race finds the determined Democrats supporting Brian Moran; the less-determined, supporting Creigh Deeds, and the Clintons, Terry McAuliffe.

Jon Bowerbank from Russell County, a candidate running in the Virginia 2009 race for Lieutenant Governor, had a spokesperson present, and Mark Keam formerly of Sen. Dick Durbin’s staff and huge Obama supporter, is running for State Assembly, a supporter announced. Where was Creigh Deeds' representative? A man supporting Brian Moran for governor spoke up, urging the group to support him.

Although McAuliffe has lived in McLean about 20 years, why does he seem like a carpet-bagger? Could be he’s never traveled south of McLean? Give that man a road map, one Republican said, so he will know the difference between Norton and Norfolk!

The Book: What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception by Scott McClellan

2008-11-30T23:34:00.011-05:00

We read so you don't have to but you'll want to

The critics fuss about the lack of “new stuff,” but for political junkies like me it’s loaded.

He has lots of detail and background on scenes, like what the White House was doing exactly where and when Katrina struck, the setup and disagreement over The Famous Silhouette Shot of George Bush from the plane overlooking New Orleans.

Like what went on behind the scenes on September 11, 2001.

I've always heard it's a sign of good writing when you can write like you speak. You can hear Scott McClellan's voice echo every single word. He speaks from the heart, thoroughly disillusioned and honest.

He was floored by the discovery Karl Rove had lied to him, and so did Bush resulting in McClellan's realization that McClellan had misrepresented truth to the media.

As much as I loathe him, George Bush does come off as more of a person with perhaps a smidgen of feelings for those he has caused to die and wound. He visits Walter Reed sometimes, and is upset by the mayhem and destruction he encounters, surprisingly.

He is still hardhearted George, unable to accept or hear any opinion which may be different from his which led to his downfall. He is driven to establish democracy in the Middle East. (Why? In his simplistic way, did he think he was playing little boys games, that it would be easy to crash and burn a land, kill residents, set up a new way to govern and think citizens would like you? Why is his way "the best way"? Who appointed George Bush, God? But I digress.)

Like the Emperor With No Clothes, Bush has his circle filled with "yes people" who came to believe in the mission and never questioned it. (Or if they did, they kept mum.) (Hello, President-Elect Obama: Reminder!)

McClellan faults the "perpetual campaign" begun by Clinton aides for creating the monster Washington has become: Always spinning. Always vying for the goal for the team at the cost of cohesive victory. The selling of the Iraq War is described. Colin Powell was the only one of the leadership team who tried to slow down the attack on Iraq. (Only 4,207 American soldiers now dead, 30,832 wounded "officially," more than 100,000 "unofficially," and 1,288,426 Iraqis have died as a result of Bush's invasion, but this is not in the book.)

As it dozes with the bailouts, the press fell asleep at the wheel before the Iraq War began, accepting in a baby spoon whatever the Bush administration fed it, McClellan says.

On pages 157-158 he sings the praises of the "liberal media" (or what's left of it), that it works for the common good of the minority, seeking to represent it unlike the centrist, conservatives presidents and congresses who, beginning more or less with Gerald Ford, have presided with their pro-business and narrow minded methods and legislation.

Karl Rove is portrayed as the Machiavellian monster that we abhor and admire. Cheney is his secretive self, sometimes "off message." Only all good things said about Andy Card.

A highly recommended book. Where is Scott McClellan now? I know he makes a mother proud.

Barack and Michelle Write a "Thank You"

2008-11-25T21:48:00.005-05:00

Astonishing.

That the president-elect's team, which thinks of everything, also thought of this.

That only hours after the election total was final in the wee hours of November 4, 2008 that the president-elect's team texted me and thousands, no millions, of others saying "we" did it!

"We!"

Now yesterday comes this without even a solicitation for cash!

Dear Ms.----,

...America is a place where anything...is possible.

Ours was never the likeliest campaign for the presidency...Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington -- it was built by working men and women, students and retirees...

It grew from the millions of American who volunteered,and organized...

(The best part:)

Patricia, this is your victory....The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. And we will be asking you to join in the work of remaking this nation...What began 21 months ago in the depth of winter must not end on a night in autumn.

Patricia, this is our moment....our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity...to reclaim the American Dream...we will respond (to negativism)with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.

...please accept our deepest thanks. We will never forget you.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama Michelle Obama

Now we are locked up rock solid for yes we did, yes we are, yes we can.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

2008-11-25T20:44:00.004-05:00

Said the little people to the big whigs on the hill,
"Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the air, big whigs on the hill,
Do you hear what I hear?
A change, a change high above the trees
With a bank as big as the sea,
With a bank as big as the sea.”

Said the right wing to the little man,
"Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little man
Do you see what I see?
The planes, the planes heading to DC
With the jets carrying GM in our sight,
The banks take the cash with their might.”

Said the little people to the mighty king,
"Do you know what I know?
In your palace warm, mighty king,
Do you know what I know?
The cash, the cash going to fatty cats
And there's none left for us, mighty king,
There is none left for us, mighty king.”

Said the voters to the mighty king,
"Do you see what I see?
A child, a child shivers in the cold
Let us bring Freddie silver and gold,
Let us bring Fannie silver and gold,
Let us bring the Bear silver and gold,
Let us bring AIG silver and gold,
Let us bring Citi silver and gold."
And leave the child to chill in the cold.

Said Obama to the people everywhere,
"Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people everywhere,
Listen to what I say!
My change, my change coming in the night
I will pray for peace and swing right,
I will pray for peace and swing right.”

Overheard at a Party of Democratic Activists

2008-11-17T23:59:00.004-05:00

Where: Tysons Corner, Northern Virginia

When: Saturday night

How many: 50

What: Support for Terry McAuliffe in his race for Virginia governor: nada,
zero, nothing

Other candidates: Brian Moran, most favored, and Creigh Deeds

80% of the Deaths: "Noncombat Related"

2008-11-14T00:58:00.008-05:00

Eighty percent (that's right: 80%) of the deaths of our soldiers in Iraq listed in Wednesday's Washington Post (p. A14) were caused by "noncombat related" reasons.

Why?
How?
Accidents?
Illness?
Heart attacks?
Suicides?
Are soldiers shooting soldiers in "friendly fire"?
Are guns going off inside tents?
Food poisoning?
More of the poisonous showers we heard about last winter?

We should be outraged!

In June, 2007 when I inquired about these "noncombat related" deaths from Mary Hadar, the Post's editor of "Faces of the Fallen" which, sadly, run too often, she wrote me that the Defense Department frequently spends six months investigating "noncombat related" deaths, and reasons for them are seldom supplied quickly. The Post tracks them in local newspapers to try and determine why and how soldiers die.

Who tracks these "noncombat related" deaths cumulatively and the causes? Anyone? Does anyone care? Hello! Hello! Anyone there?

Certainly it seems that some of the causes of "noncombat related" deaths would help to prevent others. Does the Defense Department try to cover them up to spare embarrassment? Dereliction of duty?

We taxpayers and families demand to know. We are footing the bill not only in dollars but, more importantly, in lives, past and present.

Names of the soldiers listed November 12, 2008 in the Post who died for "noncombat related" reasons are:

Pfc. Bradley S. Coleman, 24, Martinsville, Virginia

Sgt. Scott J. Metcalf, 36, Framingham, Massachusetts

Spec. Adam M. Wenger, 27, Waterford, Michigan

Pfc. Theron V. Hobbs, 22, Albany, Georgia

and Staff Sgt. Timothy H. Walker, 38, Franklin, Tennessee was killed November 8 in Baghdad.

For what did they die?

Dear Judy Feder

2008-11-09T21:11:00.005-05:00

I hope you won't give up. I hope you'll try again. I hope you run against the impermanent Frank Wolfe. You’ve got the spunk, the dynamo, the personality, the smarts to do it. We need you as our representative! Don’t give up! We are proud of you.

Here are some suggestions to put to work in two years:

When you came to the Sierra Club meeting in McLean on October 2 and your aide passed around a “sign up” sheet, no one ever contacted me about coming in to help you. Was the McLean office location announced?

When I visited your campaign office in McLean one Sunday to canvass for you, the staff told me all the walk sheets were gone. How can that be? With so many homes to visit, why were there none? No one asked for my name or contact information.

I took off for the Obama field office on Kennedy Drive to pick up walk sheets and wound up canvassing not only for Obama and Mark Warner, but for Jim Moran who did not need my help.

The week before the election I came by your office on two nights to do whatever I could to help, and no one asked me to sign a sheet or for contact information. The second night someone did ask my name. I assembled walk packets on both nights.

If my contact information was not sought, was it sought from other volunteers?

We all know the incredible organization Barack Obama’s team practiced. Lessons to be learned!

Within 30 minutes on November 2, I received three telephone calls from Barack’s Falls Church office following up my promise to drop lit on Monday night and to work at the polls on Tuesday. These were in addition to all the many telephone calls I received throughout the campaign from Falls Church asking me to help, to call, to canvass, to come to meetings, to blog, to vote, to cook, to whatever! Just come and do it, they implored. In the early stages someone called me weekly, then the calls became more frequent. They were never irritating, just friendly reminders to a political activist who welcomed the calls, that I agreed to help and when could I get there?

We know follow-up and organization are critical and that money talks!

I hope you accept these recommendations in the spirit in which they are sent for I want you to win, and I know you can do it! We need you in D.C.

Sincerely,
Patriciadc

Joy in the World: Mark Warner's Election Night Party

2008-11-07T00:30:00.015-05:00

There’s a party going on!

If I closed my eyes I was sure I was at a University of Tennessee football game (back when the school had a team) for the screams and cheers were just as loud and deafening. How happy not to be in Tennessee!

At the McLean Hilton, anywhere from several hundred (the Washington Post) to about 1,000 (my count) to 3,000 to 4,000 (an exuberant reporter who shed his “media” badge to jump in and clap and shriek with the rest of us) attended Mark's party to watch, scream, and cheer (most of) the projections which flashed across huge television screens, one to the left of us (CNN), one to the right of us (MSNBC).

Meanwhile: the media sat glumly behind us on its platform.

Shouts of joy drowned the ballroom when MSNBC projected a state for Obama, then, moments later ear-splitting screams when CNN called the same state for Obama (and vice-versa). Boos erupted when Tennessee was called for McCain, and later, when Sarah Palin's face was screened during John McCain's concession speech.

Off and on the stage: the “senior” senator from Virginia, James Webb; the governor, Tim Kaine; the winner and host of the magnificent buffet, Mark Warner; newly-elected congressman, Gerry Connolly.

Moments after Warner, Webb, and Kaine paraded on the dais for the first time for Senator-Elect Warner's victory speech, here they came again with their families for Gov. Kaine's announcement of a special telephone call just received.

The floor moved, the walls quivered, the lights twinkled and his pearly whites glistened when Tim Kaine exclaimed: AP was calling Virginia for Barack Obama!

The jubilant mass raised fists, shouted, cried, danced, and Gov. Kaine said Virginia’s electoral votes had delivered the presidency to Obama, but it was not Virginia.

An Arab American woman came up to me and sorrowfully asked where I, an Anglo-Saxon, had gotten my "Arab Americans for Obama" sticker which I wore proudly on my dress. I peeled it off and gave it to her who later wore it plastered to her cheek.

I passed Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust who smiled broadly: "It's a great day to be an American." He paused: "It's a great day to be a Democrat!"

To my pal in Blacksburg worried on Monday about the outcome, I said: "Don't you worry, Ann! We 'Communists' in the Great State of Northern Virginia will deliver for Barack Obama!" And we did...with sincere and everlasting joy.

.

Pollwatching in Northern Virginia

2008-11-04T17:12:00.005-05:00

Voting went off without a hitch today at my precinct at Tysons Corner where I was a pollwatcher for the Democrats.

When I reported “for duty” at 5:30 a.m., about 100 persons whom I could see in the dark to count, stood waiting for the polls to open at 6 a.m.

By the time I left at 2 p.m. some provisional ballots had been cast, but no serious, not even mild, problems had occurred, other than one of the touch screen machines breaking down twice which was restored to duty shortly thereafter by whom or what? I do not know.

(What happened? How do they know those votes are saved? In pollwatcher school, we were instructed to cast paper ballots when possible, but most people, not realizing I think, the paper trail left by paper ballots, wanted to stand in the longer line for the machines.)

One woman who missed the voter registration deadline of October 6 and had only registered to vote last week, showed up “hoping,” and even she voted by provisional ballot. That she could even submit a vote was an indication of the progressive attitude of voting officials who generally approved every questionable voter.

Two other representatives of the Democratic Party joined me “inside”: an attorney who stayed all day and another pollwatcher. We had three people outside. Throughout the day the Good Providence Democrats brought us doughnuts, coffee, bananas, and paper bag lunches they had made.

In addition to monitoring the voting process, our chief duty was to record the names of voters on the Democratic list whose names were picked up by runners at 9:30 a.m. and at 2 p.m. for submission to the data bank so that the party and volunteers could contact non-voters to urge them to get to the polls before closing at 7 p.m.

No McCain representatives came to pollwatch and from the window, I could see only one McCain supporter outside who didn’t stay long, maybe because those high heels were too high. She was dressed like Cindy McCain, in leather coat and dark hose. She violated the 40’ rule by leaving her “McCain/Palin” stickers on her red coat when she entered the building twice, but no one reported her. If it had not been for the elderly woman wearing a diamond donkey on her chest whom no one criticized at my book, I would have reported Cindy McCain’s violation at Tysons.

Then there was the man who returned for his “I voted today” sticker so he could go to Starbucks, he said, and get a free cup of coffee. This was the same man carrying a Salvatore Ferragamo purse in a bag which he was returning to the store, he said, for his “significant other” who wanted a bigger Ferragamo emblem to show off. “You see what you women make us do,” he laughed. No wonder he needed free coffee!

In the early morning voters told us they waited one hour and 15 minutes to vote, but by lunchtime, lines had vanished.

Without question the most thrilling part of the day was witnessing “Alex,” whom I registered to vote, show up to cast his ballot and seeing my neighbor, a naturalized citizen from China who works for a federal agency and feared for her job security if anyone found out she supported Barack Obama, vote for the first time.

Now it’s time to get ready for the big Mark Warner party down the street. It’s a good thing it’s nearby so I can crawl home.

Happy days are almost here again!

"It's Over," He Said

2008-10-27T00:27:00.005-04:00

"I told my staff last week it's done.

"For the first time in my life I voted for a Democrat today (Saturday). I voted for Barack Obama."

We struck up a conversation in a Tysons Corner store, and while I nodded to his words trying to keep a lid on my mouth so not to interrupt him, mentally I sprang to the ceiling and screamed, leaping from one light fixture to another before I floated down to the floor, trying to confine exuberance and enthusiasm.

He was 60 years old, more or less, and out shopping with his mother and wife.

"We didn't need that tax break," he said. "I know I didn't need it. No, I am not discouraged, I am totally livid" he exclaimed, before launching into emphatic criticism about the damage to the Republican party by members of the Republican party.

He leaned over and almost whispered: "You know his grandmother took him out of Indonesia and put him in Hawaiian schools. You know most of the people in Indonesia are Muslim, don't you?" Hhmmmnnn, I hmmmnnnnned.

But you know what? Colin Powell said "so what" if folks are Muslim! Who cares? And if it was so much of a big deal, why'd you go off and vote for him, tell me that! I mused to myself, trying to keep volatility behind closed doors. I had already been attacked at Tysons Corner once for critiquing Ms. Sarah Palin in a song to her by her children, and I didn't want to have another brawl right here in the middle of Tysons Corner.

Meanwhile, up in Long Island, two Republican sisters of a Northern Virginia friend of mine (who is canvassing for Barack Obama right now, and my friend was a Hillary supporter) are voting for the first time in their lives for, that's right, sistah, Mr. Barack Obama!

Happy days are almost here again.

Santa Claus at the Washington Post

2008-10-24T23:34:00.004-04:00

Is it just me or what's with the Washington Post and the Tysons Corner Santa Claus?

I mean, huh?

Three front page stories (of the Metro section)for three consecutive days, bam, bam, bam about a displaced, fired Santa at the Mall?

What? You've got to be kidding.

Is the Santa, whom the Post "saved" and who now has been rehired due to the publicity, the promotion, the free space, the video, the audio, the negative stories about the mean ole Mall in the newspaper, maybe, the uncle, the father, the brother, the partner of a top staff member at the Post?

Or, is this "happy news" the Post is producing to reduce even more losses of younger readers? You tell me. I mean, really, I thought I was reading a "Parade" edition of an "international" newspaper.

Have interns taken over? The Post's reduction in staff is telling.

What's up, Santa?

Feliz Navidad!

Bailout cartoon idea

2008-10-23T23:15:00.007-04:00

(This one has likely been used already, but anyway, for what it's worth):

Scene: The sinking of the Titanic (labeled "The Economy"). Huge waves are filled with Chinese sharks.

A gigantic iceberg named "Sub-Prime Loans" stands nearby.

The "Economy" has already hit the iceberg and is sinking almost at a right angle to the ocean just like you remember from artists' renderings.

On deck at the front of the ship which is tipping: Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke, George Bush, and white men all dressed alike in suits and ties jumping into lifeboats while Paulson, dressed as Captain Hook, waves his hook around which has a dollar bill punctured by the hook that flaps in the wind.

Capt. Hook shouts: "Jump for your lives, men. We don't have much time!"

Left standing aimlessly on deck, yep, you guessed it: Men, women, and children, shabbily dressed who are, indeed, "The American Taxpayers."

Signs of the Times: Dupont Circle

2008-10-23T22:53:00.005-04:00

Time: 12:10 p.m.

Day: Wednesday

Place: Lawson's Gourmet at the Circle

Crowds: None

(Est.) Percentage of Empty Seats: 75 (!)

Why is that? Next door at the more popular Cosi's, seats sat empty, too (though not as many). Rather than lunchtime, it seemed like snack time in mid-afternoon at Lawson's. One of the staffers was even seated eating lunch at one of the vacant tables at 12:15 p.m I guess she had nothing else to do. At lunchtime?

What does this mean? People bringing lunches? In D.C.? Incredible. The day was too blustery and chilly to eat outdoors where the Circle was practically vacant of people.

Despite all you hear and read that the District is not affected too much by worldwide economic conditions, don't believe the hype. Just take a gander around and see the truth. Restaurants (and boats) are the first things to go.

I interrupt this programming to

2008-10-22T23:56:00.003-04:00

spend every possible available moment until November 5, 2008 canvassing, calling, cooking, hosting, volunteering, writing, blogging, driving, pollwatching, writing checks for the Democratic cause, namely:

To elect Barack Obama President of the United States

and many other notable Democrats, too, like

1. Mark Warner, candidate for the U.S. Senate (VA)

2. Judy Feder, candidate for the 10th Congressional District (VA)

Please send Judy a check:

Judy Feder for Congress
6816 Tennyson Drive
McLean, VA 22101

3. Jim Martin, candidate for the U.S. Senate (GA) running against the sleeze, Saxby Chambliss who
defeated our own Max Cleland because Max wasn't "patriotic" enough! Max, triple amputee
from Vietnam! That was the Karl Rove - George Buzh duo at work. Let's beat them now! Here's
your chance. Please send a check to:

Martin for Senate
P.O. Box 7219
Atlanta, GA 30357

Thank you. This programming will resume in November, 2008.

Veterans Rally for Obama in Fairfax

2008-10-20T20:15:00.011-04:00

About 300 persons came to listen, talk, and eat at the Obama Rally for Veterans and their families on Saturday at the Veterans Amphitheatre in Fairfax, VA on a cool, windy, sunny, but sometimes cloudy, day.

Retired generals, captains, and a congressional candidate blistered the Bush Administration from the pulpit in expounding upon many reasons to support Barack Obama for the presidency.

Retired Colonel Larry Wilkerson who formerly served as Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell was the harshest Bush critic, calling the administration the most corrupt and incompetent that he has known, “and I am a Republican,” he thundered. The Bush team has torn the Republican Party completely asunder, he said as his words and phrases built to a crescendo.

Torture was a hot topic during the afternoon, and the speakers joined throngs everywhere, including both presidential candidates, wanting to close Guantanamo prison and send a message heard ‘round the world.

A former president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, retired Captain Paul “Bud” Bucha, was so effective a speaker one wondered why he does not run for political office.

“Only” 41% of the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seek counseling to help them recover from emotional injury, but 100% need it, Capt. Bucha exclaimed. “I’ve only been in counseling six months,“ he shouted to the audience, “and my doctor wanted to know why it took me 40 years!” Capt Bucha served in Vietnam and was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Nixon in 1968.

Gerry Connolly, Congressional candidate from the Eleventh District, was the first speaker. Other retired officers who spoke were Major General James Kelley, Brigadier General David McGinnis, Capt. Wesley Moore, and Capt. Angie Morgan.

Sponsors were the Fairfax County Democratic Committee and several area restaurants which provided food (not pizza !) gratis.

Tents shaded “Seniors for Obama” and “Veterans for Obama” where plentiful bumper stickers, yard signs, sign-up sheets, and political paraphernalia were available. The folding chairs were all filled during the speeches, and attendees stood and listened intently. Several retired veterans asked questions after the speeches ended, and the speakers took turns answering them.

Large and small Obama/Biden signs surrounded the amphitheatre where we initially planned to only stay an hour, but the words and passions of the military speakers hypnotized us, and we departed after the end.

Here are photos of the event taken by David Otto:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwotto/sets/72157608154992786/

Letter from Sen. Jim Webb

2008-10-19T14:20:00.009-04:00

(My letter to Sen. Webb (posted on July 21, 2008), included one paragraph about Iraq. It began with a query about Sen Webb's endorsement of FISA and my inability to understand his reasoning for voting for it, and my letter described an entirely different subject, also: my suggestion for a new law, the Airport/Airline Recycling Act. I suppose the letter templates his staff uses only address one subject. What's a body to do when multiple subjects are included? Anyway, Iraq, at least, is "on his mind" (maybe). It's the subject of many letters I have written to Congressional members.)

September 26, 2008

Dear Patricia:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the U.S. presence in Iraq. I believe that we must move forward to end our military involvement there.

The invasion and occupation of Iraq began in the absence of a clearly articulated strategy that should have defined our national objectives as well as the circumstances that would bring about an end point to our military presence in that country. Five years later, the American people are still waiting for the kind of political and diplomatic leadership that will end the occupation, stabilize the region, and allow our country to focus on other, vital strategic challenges around the world.

The U.S. occupation has tied down our military forces on the streets of Iraq's cities while the forces of international terrorism are still at large. Only when our political leadership matches the high quality of our military performance will we be able to resolve our current occupation of Iraq. And it is clear that we are not going to see that kind of leadership from the Bush administration. It is imperative that the next administration place great emphasis on robust diplomacy in the region to a degree that allows us to reduce our presence in Iraq and increase stability in the region.

In the coming months we must guard against allowing this Administration to position the next President into a situation where we have agreed to support a long-term military presence in Iraq. For more than six years, the administration has been less than open with the American public or Congress about its long-term intentions in Iraq. We must ensure that the future military presence in Iraq is decided not behind closed doors, but through the open air of free debate, including congressional consent.

As the debate on U.S. involvement in Iraq continues, Congress must protect the welfare of our troops and their families. For this reason, I introduced an amendment in 2007 to the defense authorization bill to require that active-duty service members and units have at least the same amount of time at home as the length of their previous deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. National Guard and Reserve units and members would have a minimum of three years at home for every year that they are deployed and would not be mobilized for longer than one year. These adjustments in today's rotational cycles would have eased the strain that our service members and families now experience. Repeated deployments with inadequate dwell time are taking their toll. The Army's active-component suicide rates, for example, have doubled from 9.8 per 100,000 in 2001 to 19.7 per 100,000 in 2007-an all-time high.

The Senate voted on my dwell-time amendment in July and September of 2007. Unfortunately, passage of this amendment also was prevented by a filibuster on both occasions, although the amendment was supported by a majority of the Senate.

On June 30, 2008, the President signed the FY 2008 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act into law, which included about $162 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This funding is necessary to provide our troops with essential protection and equipment to carry out their mission. In addition, this law included landmark legislation I introduced to provide post-9/11 veterans with comprehensive educational benefits. This bill properly provides a modern and fair educational benefit to address the needs of those who answered the call of duty to our country, often at great sacrifice.

As a combat veteran and as a member of both the Senate Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations, I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns on this important matter. As the Senate continues to debate the United States' involvement in Iraq, be assured that I will continue to pursue responsible policies that are fair to our troops and will ultimately enable American forces to leave Iraq.

Thank you once again for your correspondence on this matter. Please be assured that your views are very helpful to me and my staff. I hope you continue to share your views with us in the years ahead.

I would also invite you to visit my website at www.webb.senate.gov for regular updates about my activities and positions on matters that are important to Virginia and our nation.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb
United States Senator

RFK at Archives

2008-10-10T23:30:00.008-04:00

It is impossible for a 60s girl to watch the 30-minute film, ‘Robert Kennedy Remembered’ without shedding tears.

He was a man so different from most of the “leaders” today, especially when contrasted with the greedy so and sos on Wall Street and their representatives.

To hear him beckon his listeners at a impressionable age to stand up and be counted in the public servant’s world is to suddenly realize some of the emotion, history and perhaps, reasoning and understanding behind the urgency and willingness to try and make a difference somewhere, like he did.

At the National Archives recently about 200 gathered to see the film originally created as a tribute to Kennedy for the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, only two months after his assassination in June, 1968.

Part of the evening included a panel discussion about Kennedy led by his close
friend and confidant,John Seigenthaler, le pere, who was joined on stage by Jules Witcover, the columnist, Peter Vogt, the producer and director, and Robert Wykes, the composer for the film.

Like a 60s girl Mr. Seigenthaler was emotional throughout the evening as he said he is whenever viewing the film.

Mr. Witcover called the 1968 Chicago tragedy a “police riot.” Mr. Seigenthaler said there was “war in the streets, stink bombs in every hotel. The convention was disorderly from the first day to the last.”

One panelist said President Lyndon Baines Johnson wanted screening of the film to be withheld until the convention’s end, fearing the adulation and fawning which did indeed happen. A 17 or 18 minute non-stop ovation greeted Teddy Kennedy when he stood at the podium.

Eventual nominee Hubert Humphrey played no role in the film or its screening, a panelist noted.

The occasion at Archives was the Second Annual Charles Guggenheim Tribute Program, named after the famous documentary film creator who was represented at Archives by his business partner and daughter, Grace Guggenheim. According to the program, Mr. Guggenheim, who died in 2002, made more than 100 documentaries and won four Academy Awards, the George Peabody Award and three Emmys and created the RFK tribute film.

Introducing the panel was the U.S. archivist, Allen Weinstein. Has anyone ever attended an event at Archives where Mr. Weinstein did not perfectly capture the moment with his personal anecdotes, of which there are so many, and his brilliant beginning of any presentation? He is another of the thousand thousand Archives' treasures.

Preceding the film were five of RFK’s political advertisements created by Guggenheim for the 1968 campaign, so honest, simple, and poignant, they become poetry compared to the slash and burn content of today’s messages. A viewer could not escape the sincerity and genuineness of Robert Kennedy, a person who sincerely cared about those less fortunate than he. His mission leaped across the stage.

Consider it:

Excluding the calamity wrought by Katrina, when was the last time you saw a picture in a magazine, in a newspaper, on a news channel, on the Internet of poverty-stricken people? In Appalachia? In slums of any large city? Or heard or participated in a conversation about the same? They are the forgotten people whose existence is brought to life by films and words of Robert Francis Kennedy. He lives!

Reelin' and a Rockin' in Falls Church

2008-10-01T22:21:00.014-04:00

It's the way it is at Obama's headquarters on South Washington Street.

The buzz grows louder. The hum increases. The smiles and energy balloon. The momentum is getting bigger and louder and moving fast!

Every time I walk in the door I am astonished by the number of volunteers who are working the phones, filling out tally sheets, inputting data, welcoming newcomers, turning in canvass packets at 9 p.m. on a weekday night.

And the food! Never have I seen so much at a campaign office. Plates of cookies and vegetables with dip are placed conveniently on tables where telephone calls are made.

Kyle and Jon, both amazingly still standing, run a focused, energetic, fun-filled office, and that's what it's all about, isn't it, Alfie?

You want fun? You want frolic? You want to contribute to the cause? And be around like-minded individuals, brimming with enthusiasm, laughter, and purpose? It's the place to come, to be, to wake up to a new day and, dare I say, change.

I don't know if Chuck Berry is supporting Barack Obama and Joe Biden or not, but Berry's lyrics surely come in handy, and I'll bet he wouldn't mind if I sang a few verses from his tune:

Well, I looked at my watch it was nine twenty-one
'twas at a campaign office havin' nothin' but fun.
We were rollin' reelin' and a- rockin'.
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, it was nine thirty-two,
There's nothin' I would rather do than politick with you.
We were rollin', reelin' and a-rockin'...
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, it was nine forty-three,
And every time that I would call, the results astounded me.
We were reelin', reelin' and a-rockin',
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, it was nine fifty-fo'
I said, "You've got to dance Obamaman, go, go, go!"
We were rollin, reelin' and a-rockin' ...
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, it was ten o-five,
Man, I didn't know whether I was dead or alive!
But I was rollin', reelin' and a-rockin'....
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, it was ten twenty-six,
I couldn't stop acallin' cuz that's how I got my kicks!
We were reelin', reelin' and a- rockin'
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, it was ten twenty-eight,
I gotta get my calls in before it gets too late!
We were reelin', reelin' and a- rockin'
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, it was ten twenty-nine,
I had to hold him on the line since he was just so fine,
We were reelin', reelin' and a-rockin'
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, and what to my surprise,
The polls were coming in and they were more than twice John's size!
We were reelin', reelin' and a-rockin'
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

Well, I looked at my watch, and it was time to go,
The party leader said, "We ain't callin' no mo'!"
We were reelin', reelin', and a-rockin'
We were callin' and a- rockin' and rollin' till the break of dawn

A Love Song to Robert D. Novak

2008-09-22T22:21:00.014-04:00

Dear Bob,

You don't know me

You gave your book to me
And then you said "hello"
And I could hardly speak
The pen was flowing so
And anyone can tell
You know your words so well,
No you don't know me

No you don't know the one
Who respects your every word
Who admires the work you do
And all your stories, too

No, you don't know the one
Who thinks you are the best
Out of all the rest
No, you don't know me.

Oh I'm just a fan
That's all I've ever been
'Cause you don't know me.

No, you don't know me

For I never knew the illness that struck you
Would claim your colummmmmnnnnn, too
Afraid and shy, those words do not apply
To you, or the DC zoo.

You gave your book to me
And then signed it, too,
And so did Geraldine

And I am so proud
To have read it all
To have reminisced
About the things not bliss
For it's you I miss
And your skills upon the Hill,
And your words to read
About all the greed,
I know it's not the same,
The page without your name
No, you don't know me

About a year ago I was lucky to attend one of 26 fundraising dinner parties on Capitol Hill,held to raise money for libraries. Each home featured a different book, and my friend, Claire, and I chose the home highlighting The Prince of Darkness by Robert Novak, a tell all, great book filled with delicious tidbits and real "meat" which I had just completed.

The fundraiser, A Literary Feast, is an annual event sponsored by the Capitol Hill Community Foundation. (Upcoming October 25, 2008.)

The announcement for "our" dinner party hinted at a "special guest" at the princely dinner.

The book was so well-written! I carried it back and forth every day on the Metro going to and from work. The weight of it all: 662 pages and filled with details going back for many years, with names, salaries, conversations, events, exchanges all described. Of especial attraction to political junkies like me.

Only a couple of months before, I went to Politics and Prose to hear Mr. Novak tell a SRO crowd about his autobiography which includes description of his cancer bouts. Although he is of a different political persuasion than I, his arguments and life in politics are fascinating, and his book is no less.

As a matter of fact, of all the political books I have read in the past decade, it's on top for autobiography, and all political aficionados are enraptured by political biography, aren't we?

His predictions for outcomes in congressional and presidential races are uncannily, usually, right on target.

Below are comments about the dinner and conversation which I sent to close friends last year:

Robert Novak said he "hated" Rudi Giuliani, and why, he did not say.

He predicted that Mitt Romney might win Iowa, NH, and definitely Michigan, but that Giuliani was growing (in numbers). He said Romney's religion was a real problem for Romney.

He said Fred Thompson might be the Republican VP candidate, but "VPs don't matter in an election." Someone made fun of Thompson's accent. And makeup.

Novak said Obama would never be Hillary's VP mate, and that Hillary could implode at any time. Her running mate "today", which whom the crowd agreed, would be Evah Bayh.

When asked about the effect of Bill Clinton on the race, Novak queried the group of about 18 persons: Where had Bill been the last six years? The loud rejoinder: "In Canada!" (news to me.)

He said that if Hillary lost Iowa, it would be huge news. (The group believed that Hillary's election was far from certain. This group was all political junkies, of course! Why else were we there?)

Rather than the Iraq War, Novak said the 2004 key issue was John Kerry's "electability."

Novak talked about Jimmy Carter's dishonesty (which is mentioned in the book).

Contrary to public opinion, Novak said Congress was not Bush's rubber stamp since Bush's plans for social security overhaul and tax reform had "gone nowhere."

Novak agreed with an assessment that the U.S. Congress was nothing but a cesspool saturated by corruption and greed. Term limits, he said, would be one way to end the morass.

In only one or two cases, he said, did members of Congress actually "get better" after coming to DC, and I did not have the opportunity to ask which one or two they were.

When asked about the paralysis of the "Do Nothing Congress" and the absurdity of Nancy Pelosi and Party taking "credit" for a year of doing nothing (Ed's note: This was Fall, 2007), Novak said Congress was filled with self-adulation, totally unreceptive to criticism of any kind.

He mentioned the insanity of Pelosi and Party spending one month talking about the Armenian Resolution.

Novak said Iraq was a "fiasco" and the way to end it was to "get out."

He said the Democrats would definitely pick up Senate seats next year (2008) and "a few" House seats, but not many.

Mrs. Novak, who figures prominently in his book, also attended: a beautiful, kind woman who is almost shy and does not appear to welcome speaking in groups.

Before dinner Mr. Novak read for about 15 minutes from his book and answered questions. He graciously signed copies and when I asked Mrs. Novak to sign my copies also, she kindly complied.

Hosts were Carol and Bill Press, owners of a gorgeous Capitol Hill home, friends of the Novaks, and wonderful hosts, who had available about 20 copies of the book for guests. Bill Press of MSNBC and CNN fame, and Carol is an artist, a weaver with her own studio.

Menu: red and white wine, miniature crab cake hors d'oeuvres, tomato and lettuce with some kind of special cheese, roast tenderloin (I think that's what it was), mashed potatoes, herbed green beans.

Dessert was served a few blocks away at St. Mark's Episcopal Church where dancing to a jazz band and wine made it an extraordinary night of lovely darkness.

Asleep at 10 p.m.: The Washington Post

2008-09-21T22:25:00.004-04:00

Letter sent to the Post's Ombudsman, Deborah Howell, September 18, 2008

Dear Ms. Howell,

Did the Post close early last night which may offer explanation for the reasoning behind placing a feature today on the deaths of two 90-year-olds on the front page and leaving the helicopter crash which killed seven of our soldiers for page 15?

With its placement, lack of coverage and six paragraphs, the Post says to its readers that four nonagenarians out on a date and featured in 33 paragraphs with three pictures are more important than the deaths of seven of our soldiers in Iraq. Astonishing.

Would not this feature of celebration of the couples out having dinner have been more appropriate as the weekly obituary story?

Why are paragraphs devoted to ketchup and chicken more important than a small story in "Around the World" about our soldiers who died giving up their lives for us? I fail to understand.

Yahoo had a lengthy story about the helicopter crash before midnight last night.

Is the Post so immune to the Iraqi conflict and deaths of our troops that it fails to understand the significance and meaning of it all?

Had the editor left post before 10:30 p.m.? The page was already made up? There was no one on hand with the desire or energy to change makeup for another helicopter crash?

I hope you are able to provide me with a reasonable explanation, none of which are listed here.

Sincerely,

Sarah On A Leash

2008-09-15T22:46:00.006-04:00

Well, isn’t she?

Why not?

Suppressed.

Muzzled at the mouth by a “chastity belt."

Robotized.

Taught to heel and speak when ordered.

Brought out to parade and prance when called.

Is this not sexism at its worst?

Prithee, I beg you, do come and present your arguments to the contrary.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Hallo! Hallo! This does speaketh of a poem, forsooth to say...

Harken! The words, alas, they flow like oil through an Alaskan pipeline. Forthwith, speaketh or forever hold your tongue, knave!

Johnny had a little dog,
Little dog,
Little dog,
Johnny had a little dog,
Her fur was dark as night.

Everywhere that Johnny went,
Johnny went,
Johnny went,
Everywhere that Johnny went,
The dog was sure to light

Forsooth, come and present your arguments, your songs, your poetry, whatever, to the contrary, alight and enlighten us, Readers!

"Don't Cry For Us, Sarah Palin" Sung by Her Children

2008-09-04T22:36:00.005-04:00

(With apologies to Andrew Lloyd Webber and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina")

Don't cry for us Sarah Palin
The truth is you often left us
All through our wild days
Your mad existence
You made us promise
To keep our distance

It won't be easy
You'll think it strange
When we try to explain how we feel
That we still need your presence
After all that we've done
You won't believe us
All you will see
Is the child you once knew
Before you left us
For a new addresstus

Don't cry for us Sarah Palin

You had to let it happen
You had to change
Couldn't stay all your life here with us
Looking out at the mooses
While we're running looses
So you chose freedom
Running around trying everything new
But nothing impressed you at all
Not Cindy's dress or her shoe

As for your fortune and fame
We never invited them in
Though it seemed to the world
They were all you desired
They are illusions
They're not the solutions
They promise to be
The answer was here all the time
I love you and hope you love me

Don't cry for us Sarah Palin
The truth is you often left us
All through our wild days
Your mad existence
You made us promise
To keep our distance

Have we said too much?
There's nothing more we can think of to say to you
But all you have to do
Is look at us to know
That every word is true

The Book: Jimmy Carter's "A Remarkable Mother"

2008-08-30T14:01:00.008-04:00

It didn’t seem to me that Jimmy Carter had much of a presence at the Democratic National Convention. Won’t he help the ticket in Georgia?

Never mind.

Year ago a librarian thrust one of his books at me urging me to read it. I had never read any of his books. To be nice I checked it out. I read it. I was impressed. Don’t ask me which of his many books it was: I have no recollection, only that I thought it was well written. Like this one, A Remarkable Mother which I think would have been better titled: An Astounding Mother!

It’s short but enlightening, a “fast read,” about Miss Lillian. Carter writes matter-of-factly with a great deal of humor about his mother who heavily influenced his life, as most strong-willed mothers impact the lives of their children. (Ask Scott McClellan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and the list goes on.)

If you have any memory of "Miss Lillian" (being of a certain age), it’s a great book, especially for independent women and “wannabe” independent women. It gives one hope that life and activity continue well past the sitting stage.

In the summer of 1976, the year Jimmy Carter was elected, we took a detour off Interstate 75 in Georgia, on our way to visit my parents in Florida, to stop by Plains. In what memory tells me was a converted, painted, remodeled barn adorned by American flags which served, I suppose, as Carter’s Plains headquarters, sat Miss Lillian who talked as animatedly to us as if we were old friends. Our three-year-old daughter sat on her knee.

Miss Lillian was an uncommon woman who joined the Peace Corps at age 68, who made a difference not only to family members but to hundreds of people in India where she was stationed. She was a breath of fresh air in stale Washington. How delightful to be able to find someone of her personality there now!

Many highlights of President Carter’s own life are intertwined throughout the book. It is painful to read that upon Carter's graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy, his grandfather, “Jim Jack," didn’t recognize him and practically waved him away when Carter, in uniform, visited him in a drugstore in Richland, Georgia where his grandfather was passing the time of day with other “loafers.”

The deaths of Carter's sister, Ruth, and mother within one month of each other, from cancer, which also killed his father, were hard.

The cover is nicely designed, and the photographs add much to the book which remind me of another prolific author who also happens to be a politician who does his own work, too, I believe: Senator James Webb from Virginia.

This summer I saw Webb interviewed on (I think it was) Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” about his newest book, which may still be on the bestseller lists.

Sen. Webb remarked he had rather be writing than doing anything else. Then why in the world, I mused, is he in the U.S. Senate? I haven’t read any of his books: too manly for me, but where was I? Oh yes, Jimmy Carter’s mother.

A model for us baby-boomers who fear age, numbers, and reluctance to try all those things we want to do but instead, abandon dreams and cave in to society and expectations. Not Miss Lillian.

The Book: "White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters" by Robert Schlesinger

2008-08-24T23:49:00.006-04:00

Here is another title for political aficionados, and although it's not well written, much of the information is new and well researched.

It is astounding how many "fly by the seat of your pants" speeches are written at one time or another for most presidents. The public personas of the men are, strangely to me, the private personas.

The title is terribly wrong for a reader who might spot it on the shelves or on the table at a book store, and likely consider it another in the innumerable books about
"ghosts in the White House." The cover is a jumbled mess.

When was the last time you read a non-fiction book which gave you cold chills? It happens in the section on JFK. His Berlin speech. Truly, incredible.

Another speech he delivered on civil rights was not ready until seconds before he went live on the air. Robert Kennedy and JFK both believed JFK would have to speak extemporaneously since Ted Sorenson, JFK's speechwriter, was still plowing away at the speech, only having received a few hours' notice that it was scheduled.

Not until late in President Eisenhower's term does the book really take off. (It begins with President Roosevelt.) I never knew quite the bore Eisenhower was. Did you know he had a stroke in office? Truman was a man of his own.

Increasingly, I have come to admire and respect LBJ. This book reinforces my impressions. He demanded speeches which captured headlines, and his speechwriters generally succeeded.

Jimmy Carter was quite the control freak, and his dull speeches reflect it.
Ronald Reagan is the "happy go lucky" guy you know. Bush I is the same guy you always liked, no matter what your political persuasions: One who shuns "I" and is quite emotional.

Bill Clinton was often unprepared but was successful ad-libbing many speeches. On the way to deliver a speech in Annapolis, he spilled coffee on his shirt and took a loaner shirt right off the back of a Secret Service agent. Accidents happen.

Was there an editor? It is doubtful that any editor had much time with this book since it is rushed and crammed. "Forth Worth" (p. 163), "he had been snuck" (p. 352), "upon which he had campaign" (p. 405).

The book opens closed doors and provides good background information on "modern-day" presidents, their staffs, their skills and resources. It gives a reader appreciation for the many talents employed in speech writing. Some readers will be surprised to learn that not all presidential speeches are thought out. Some must be "vetted" up to 20 times by agencies, eyes, and departments, input which often damages the finished product.

The book peters out towards the end with the advent and reign of Bush II, and it seems to close too quickly, as if Mr. Schlesinger was hurried, but, after all, the final subject is unattractive and chilling, and who wants to dwell on the devil?

The speeches prepared for reasons and justification to attack Iraq are sickening, but who in the Bush administration is counting deaths and injuries? Present official numbers are 4,146 American soldiers who have died, and 30,561 American soldiers, wounded. Estimated are 100,000 American soldiers wounded but only 1,252,595 Iraqi civilians killed as the result of our attack on Iraq. Who reads books in the Bush administration anyway?

On Vacation: The Washington Post and 99 Words: Continuing Failure of Iraq War Coverage

2008-08-22T23:52:00.004-04:00

Letter sent to the Washington Post's Ombudsman, Deborah Howell, August 21, 2008

Dear Ms. Howell,

On a day when the New York Times carries four major stories on Iraq in its front section, when the Wall Street Journal carries a story about Iraq on p. 1 above the fold, when Yahoo News lists Iraq among its Top Five stories at midnight this morning, the Washington Post has three paragraphs about Iraq. Why is that?

Once again, I hope I am wrong and that I overlooked your Iraq story, but flipping the pages twice, I am unable to locate anything more than 99 words in two of your editions today.

Sincerely,

PatriciaDC

Cartoon Idea: Democratic VP Choices on Stage

2008-08-22T23:40:00.006-04:00

Idea submitted on posting to New York Times August 22, 2008:

Setting: A stage of "Miss America" beauty contestants who are the Democratic VP contenders, standing in bathing suits and drawn proportionately (ht., weight, age, etc.); Obama in suit and tie is crowning the winner who is ? Contestants have their sashes crisscrossing their chests with

Bayh: "Mr. Indiana"
Hillary: "I AM Hillary"
Biden: "Mr. Foreign Policy"
Kaine: "Mr. Virginia" and "Mr. South"
Richardson: "Mr. Latino" and "Mr. West"
Nunn: "Mr. Georgia" and First Runner-Up, "Mr. South"

Who else?
Caption: "There S/He (finally) is..."

Rachel Maddow Extraordinaire

2008-08-20T23:14:00.003-04:00

Comment sent today to the New York Times:

Stunning, isn't it, that a network would actually appoint a female with some brains without dyed blonde hair who doesn't wear transparent, tawdry clothes or gloss or jewelry or plunging necklines or flirt with colleagues or show leg or do any of those other things all the other females, the "fluff bunnies," do? Who has short, unsexy hair and wears monochromatic suits?

What are the networks coming to?

Egads! Might they think some of their viewers actually have brains who are uninterested in the sexual relationships of their announcers or the mumbo jumbo of Hollywood Vulgarities but, instead, are actually interested in content? Astonishing!

Buzh Bully Buzh

2008-08-18T23:07:00.005-04:00

Is it not ironic that the World's Biggest Bully accuses another country of the same? Is this not a laughable offense?

Bear with me and insert different words where the Biggest Bully has directed verbiage at Russia:

Quoting from the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune, August 15, 2008 with editorial changes:

Buzh (Putin) , reminding Russia (the U.S.) that "the Cold War is over,'' called on Russian leaders (Buzh; no reason to cite "other leaders" in the U.S. since there are none in Congress) today to withdraw military forces from Georgia (Iraq).

Russia (the U.S.) has "damaged its credibility,'' Buzh (Putin) said, accusing the Russians (the U.S.) of "bullying'' their neighbors (countries which have oil).

"Unfortunately Russia has tended to view (my) spread of freedom and democracy as opposed to its interests.'' (Reader, can you imagine not supporting the practices of a bully? The audacity!)

Warning that Russia (the U.S.) stands to isolate itself from the modern world if it cannot respect the autonomy of free neighbors, Buzh (Putin) contends that the Russians (the U.S.) will face consequences for the invasion of Georgia (Iraq).

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, attempting to secure the framework of a cease fire. Rice will join Buzh at his ranch outside Crawford, Texas, on Saturday, to play the piano and lull Buzh to sleep for his afternoon nap after he has been thrashing about all day in the brush at his Texas ranch where he fled to recover from the hazardous duty of watching the Olympics for 15 days straight, frolicking with bikini-clad women on Beijing's sandy shores, among other responsibilities.

"She will bring me up to date on what she has seen and heard, in Georgia as well as Paris,'' said Buzh. "I mean France, she did not go to Paris." (Actual quote.)

Bullying: A Handbook for Educators and Parents by Ian Rivers, Neil Duncan, and Valerie Besaq was published last year by Praeger.

The bully learns it is possible to gain emotional, social or monetary benefit from the bullying , so their (sic) modus operandi may become habitual. They learn they can use dominance for their own purposes...(p. 29).

A lot of bullying...contains an element of fun and entertainment for the attackers. The public humiliation of their victim adds to their attacks... Boys who bully are often school leaders begging the question, why do they do it? "They are bullying, autocratic leaders rather than benign democratic ones." They lead and bully for their own purposes rather than for those of the group. (pp. 16-18).

Perpetrators of bullying are more likely to have been convicted of crimes in adulthood compared to peers and have a 1 in 4 chance of having a criminal record before age 30 (p. 136). Perpetrators often have parents who push them to excel beyond what is normal at the expense of others, if necessary (p. 19).

Characteristics of whom?

Failure of Iraq Coverage in Washington Post

2008-08-17T00:06:00.005-04:00

Letter sent to the Washington Post August 14, 2008

Dear Editor,

I hope you are able to correct my oversight and tell me where among the WASHINGTON POST pages today is a story about Iraq. I am unable to find one, even a short paragraph in your "Around the World" summaries.

With 140,000 of our troops stationed in Iraq and a soldier's death reported last night on Yahoo, surely the POST has not abandoned Iraq to carry a story (on the front page) about ping pong in China or a long diatribe in the latest book attack on Barack Obama or a long story about a "religious center" in China for the Beijing athletes, has it?

With the POST continuing to ignore the seemingly ceaseless tragedy in Iraq, it is no wonder that our troops feel little, if any, support from home. "Why are we here?" must be a constant refrain heard in the barracks. Gone, and they are forgotten.

Sincerely,

Patriciadc

Major Mayor Fitness Fenty

2008-08-07T22:51:00.004-04:00

The Washington Post carried a story today about Washington Mayor Fitness Fenty. The story is big enough that you might think Adrian Fenty committed a felony, but no, he had a serious biking accident. The story describes witnesses’ accounts of the accident and how Mayor Fenty’s injuries affect his appearance and persona and blah blah blah.

What’s wrong with his image? Why not protect it? I like a mayor (or any elected official, a President?) who’s physically fit and proud of it. I like an elected official to be always dressed up and looking reverential, like he is ready to make a speech or meet someone important, like, like, maybe, somebody like me? I like an official who tries to make a good impression, who cares about his appearance.

Mayor Fenty is always sharp and distinctive. His nicely fitting, tailored suit is consistently buttoned; and he wears a colorful tie. His shoes are polished, and he is cleanly shaven. Rather like Candidate Obama.

Is there something wrong with dressing presidential? Or acting like a president? (Well, most of them anyway.) Is there something wrong with showing respect not only for himself (or herself) but also for the audience?

Wearing a golf hat, sunglasses, and golf shirt shows you are headed for the golf course, not the the highest elected post in the world.

In April I canvassed for Barack Obama in York, Pennsylvania, a day Mayor Fenty also came to town to canvass. There we were in our “glad rags” and there was the Mayor, all fit and proper, suited up, bright tie, nice suit, warm and gracious, greeting us at the gathering spot for canvassers, in a church. He said a few words to the 30 or so volunteers and shook hands with us all.

What struck me in York was Mayor Fenty’s appearance and enthusiasm. Honestly, I can’t recall much of what he said since I was so taken by the moment. And him.

Take a look at other world leaders and ask yourself: Do I want this guy making major decisions which will affect my life and those about me? Or, do I want a golfing buddy?

Image is everything, dearie. And don’t you believe otherwise.

We Interrupt This Program to Bring You the World's Worst Airport

2008-07-31T23:57:00.006-04:00

Why do I feel like I am in a washing machine when I am at Atlanta's airport? I mean, coming and going, daytime, nighttime. Who in her mind would want to change planes at this human crossroads of chaos?

The view from the air, the crisscrossing of the highways and interstates and cars, trucks, trucks, and cars on the red clay soon gives you to know you have lots to dread, for awaiting you below is a human tornado full of bodies churning up. Whenever I land at Atlanta, I am always so happy I don't live there.

Is it because Atlanta is the nation's busiest, and all the people walk up and down, across and yon, hither and dither all over you, yakking into their cell phones, or screaming at someone nearby?

My goodness gracious sakes! The food court at E concourse? Like it is not noisy enough, my gosh, and there on Wednesday afternoon was a real pianist playing his instrument, and why? Who can hear music when shouts and yells at the fast-food court raise the decibel level to that of a space ship lifting off from Cape Canaveral? I mean, really!

When we (Delta) taxied to a gate upon arrival from Albuquerque, we were kept waiting on board 30 minutes while an airport crew readied itself(you could see them from a window) and the pilot announced, "wing equipment repair" needed to be made. You mean, the repair could not wait until we de-planed? You got that right, sista.

Talk about a dichotomy: Albuquerque, location of gentility, manners, charm, and beauty. The security staff doesn't growl (Atlanta), bite, or snap. And, it has recycling bins!

Atlanta recycles? Oh, please. The woman at the information booth at E looked stunned at the question. I suppose it would make too much sense for the world's busiest (it gloats; who would want this appellation?) airport to recycle containers and trash. Who's got time? Inclination? Money?

The only bright note I found at the Atlanta airport was the organic restaurant, Natures Table Bistro, where the cucumber dill salad and the vegetarian chili were scrumptious. The woman dishing it up gave me a sample, and the man finishing up orders told me water was $300/cup (no typo). For just about $8, the airport food was surprisingly good. (I drank tap water.)

Upon arrival at BWI, I was knocked off my feet in a ladies room to find, hold on, freshly cut flowers in a vase with a pink ribbon. I mean, at an airport?

Maybe Atlanta could go to school in Albuquerque and Baltimore and learn some manners for it surely ain't got no Southern charm left. No one calls it a Southern city anymore, and it shows.

Celebrate Iraq! Dance to the Music!

2008-07-31T22:52:00.006-04:00

Buzh celebrated today the declining numbers of deaths of our troops in Iraq.

Bring out the champagne and cake! What, still below 5,000? Let's clink our glasses. Yahoo! Jump up and down. What an achievement, Mr. Buzh.

What? To celebrate, will you call up Cheneygang and plan a party?

Oh! Ambassador Ryan Crocker was "able to walk through Sadr City" last week? Marvelous! It only took the lives of 4,122 of our soldiers, the malicious wounding of 30,409 other American troops and the deaths of almost 95,000 Iraqi civilians, only 95,000, to afford Crocker a nice little walk. How sweet it is.

Thank you, Mr. Prezident. Will you, please, walk through Baghdad today?

(You would think the CNN scribes could at least list the number of deaths in this story, but that would be too much trouble and cause them to veer too much from Buzh's mouth release.)

Starbucks Does Not Recycle

2008-07-29T16:25:00.001-04:00

Scene: Los Alamos, NM

Date: Sunday, July 27, 2008

Time: 4 p.m

Two teenagers re-enter the Starbucks across from the P.O. carrying empty Starbucks containers and ask the barista who is cleaning:

Do you have a place to recycle these?

Barista shrugs his shoulders, makes no verbal sound and continues sweeping.

Cartoon Idea: John McCain on the Mountain Top

2008-07-21T23:38:00.006-04:00

Cartoon idea being born...DING DING DING...McCain in Middle East wearing sunglasses and hat, standing on Pakistan/Afghanistan mountainous border, in shirt sleeves with aides, Rudi (and mt. goats) standing around, surrounded by troops loaded wi. rifles and helmets... saying something like "Where are we? What time is it?" Then he could be saying something really profound like "After we send troops to India to finish off the Taliban, we'll send a brigade to South Korea to battle the axle (sic) of evil" or some nonsense.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain stands Barack Obama in all his glory tour with a halo above him and saying...saying...you finish it...

Response to Sen. Webb's Response to My Letter Including Support for an Airline/Airport Recycling Act

2008-07-21T22:59:00.004-04:00

Dear Senator Webb,

Thank you for replying to my telephone calls and letters about FISA. I appreciate your responses and the attention.

If I understand your letter correctly, it sounds like you opposed many parts of FISA. Then why did you vote for it? I do not understand.

Meanwhile (new subject): I support Sen. Barack Obama's quest to get us out of Iraq as fast as possible, and I hope you will assist him and work strenuously to achieve it. This is My Number One Issue.

(Another new subject):

When I travel I am appalled by the lack and customary absence of recycling containers in U.S. airports. In this day and time of attention devoted to recycling, I am stunned that airports and airlines do not recycle newspapers and containers.

A U.S. Airport/Airline Recycling Act would:

1. Improve the environment;
2. Create jobs;
3. Reduce the manufacture of more containers;
4. Reduce solid waste;
5. Reduce energy demands;
6. Save gasoline costs (for trucks used to haul trash);
7. Utilize newspapers and containers in an environmentally sound way to
produce recycled materials for other products;
8. Focus attention on recycling, thereby producing more recycling at homes,
schools, and businesses.

If airline employees and passengers can "carry it on," why can't they "carry it off"? Perhaps (another idea) incentives to passengers could be offered.

I pose this to you as policy to consider for legislation quickly. It has benefits for all.

Sincerely,
Patriciadc

Veep Chat

2008-07-20T00:20:00.008-04:00

Enter Jason:
So far, I'm not impressed with the list:

For Obama, Who's Being Vetted?
17 Jul 2008 05:01 pm

A simple exercise, based on public statements and some reporting.

Confirmed

Sen. Chris Dodd

Almost certainly being vetted (based on my and other's reporting)

Gov. Tim Kaine
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
Sen. Evan Bayh

Unknown

Sen. Chuck Hagel
Sen. Hillary Clinton
Sen. Claire McCaskill
Ex-Sen. Sam Nunn
Ex-Sen. Tom Daschle
Ex-Sen. John Edwards

Not being vetted

Sen. Jack Reed
Sen. Joe Biden (yet)
Ex-Rep. Dick Gephardt
Sen. Jim Webb
Ex-Gen. Colin Powell

Patricia enters:
Dodd, I don't think will do much for the ticket although I like him and his voice a lot in the Senate. Isn't he from CT? What happens to his seat if he leaves? The gov. appoints? Is the gov. a Dem or Repub.? We can't afford to lose a Senate seat.

Jason:
The Gov of CT is in fact a Repub. So, Dodd is out. Plus, he's got bad ties to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and Countrywide. Uh-oh. Not good!!!

Patricia:
Agreed.

NO WAY another woman would get it over Hill. Her supporters would be furious!

Jason:
I'm beginning to think that there may be a chance for a woman. Maybe Sebelius or McCaskill. Both actually have more elected experience than Hill. And if Hill can signal her blessing, maybe her peeps would shut up? Although, I sincerely hope McBush picks Carly Fiorina. That would be AWESOME--for us!!!

Patricia:
If McShame picks her, he is truly has fewer brains than I think he's got. Should we call and write urging her nom.? I do NOT think O will pick any woman but Hill and please, not her!

Kaine is out; hell, he can't even get anything done in VA. Why would he be included? A firebrand. Yeah, Kaine is out.

Jason:
Plus, I think he likes being Gov.

Patricia:
There have been a lot of problems with his ineffectiveness as gov. He is quite frustrated!

Jason:
Bayh is an insincere Hill supporter. Bayh is BORING--read, Dan Quayle.

Patricia:
Where is Rendell?

Jason:
He would be a horrible choice, because he always puts his foot in his mouth. Remember, back in February, I think, he is the one who said O would not do well in PA because of all the racists that live in his state, hahaha!

Patricia:
No, no, no to Daschle! Ineffective as Senate head.

Jason:
Daschle will make a great Chief of Staff.

Patricia:
Edwards could not carry NC 4 yrs. ago. Why would O go with him? Nope, not him. NC's prob. sewed up with all the blacks, anyway. I think the Edwards of today is vastly improved from the Edwards of four years ago. And, I do think that his and O's message is exactly the same. The only problem is would an Edwards pick carry the baggage of the 2004 campaign? It may look like it.

I like Edwards, but I don't think he has a chance bec. of leftovers from 2004 and suggesting Kerry (ouch; becoming like Dukakis almost).
Nope to Powell (another minority; the racists would have a field day, and besides, yrs. ago, he refused to be vetted)

Jason:
Powell will endorse O and that will be BIG enough.

Patricia:
Gephardt? Hhmmmmmm...good for location. But a "has-been'? A Washington type too much?

Jason:
HAHAHAHAHA, yeah right. If he does, say goodbye. Gephardt is more boring than watching paint dry. And we used to work for him!!!

Patricia:
Is Nunn too old? I like him, but my No. 1 IS......THE COWBOY

Jason:
Nunn is 69. Too old. Hagel . . . I still like him the most!!!

Patricia:
Oh, goody! That's two of us! And there was another posting to the NYT yesterday (after mine) saying Hagel would be a great choice!

Ring, ring, ring...there goes my telephone. It's likely Obama's team wanting my opinions on all the above. I'll just send this e-mail to The Team

Letter from Sen. Jim Webb RE: FISA

2008-07-18T23:51:00.004-04:00

July 14, 2008

Dear :

Thank you for contacting my office regarding legislation designed to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) (H.R.6304). I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns with me.

As you know, this legislation would amend current law by expanding the intelligence community's authority to collect foreign intelligence through electronic means. Having served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy and as Assistant Secretary of Defense, I relied on decades of experience in dealing with national security matters and classified intelligence when I voted - along with a bipartisan coalition of 68 other senators - in favor of final passage of this bill on July 9, 2008. Before this vote, I also met with a wide variety of people who were both supportive of, and opposed to, the legislation.

During the Senate's FISA debates in February and in July, I supported a number of amendments that were designed to improve the constitutional protections of our citizens. For example, in February, Senators Russell Feingold, Jon Tester, and I introduced an amendment that would have added additional checks and balances with respect to assessing the appropriate use of surveillance. Unfortunately, this amendment did not pass the full Senate.

Regarding retroactive immunity for telecommunication companies that participated in the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless wiretapping program, I do not support full immunity for companies who aided Government surveillance. I prefer a middle-ground solution that would allow court cases to proceed under appropriate circumstances. For example, during the July FISA debate, I supported an amendment offered by Senator Arlen Specter, which would have permitted cases to move forward if the court found that the Administration's surveillance program was unconstitutional. Similarly, I supported an amendment offered by Senator Jeff Bingaman, which would have required an independent investigation of the Administration's surveillance program before telecommunication companies could be granted immunity. Although these amendments failed, the legislation requires some court oversight in pending civil cases and does not foreclose future criminal cases.

Thank you once again for sharing your specific views on the important issue of electronic surveillance. As the Senate continues to debate policies related to surveillance and fulfills its oversight duties, please be assured that my staff and I will keep your thoughts in mind.

I would also invite you to visit my website at www.webb.senate.gov for regular updates about my activities and positions on matters that are important to Virginia and our nation.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb
United States Senator

CNN = Children's Naughty Network

2008-07-16T22:47:00.010-04:00

If you click on the tab for "Iraq War" at CNN.com, you are taken to a site where the most recent story, "Iraq Troop Surge Ends; 150,000 Left" was filed "4 hours and 19 minutes ago" at the time I looked today.

Beyond that, the most recent story filed under "Iraq War" was dated July 10, 2008 ("Senate Okays Petraeus as head of Mideast forces") six days ago. Before that, June 24, 2008 ("Iraqi military to take control of Anbar province") 16 days before July 10.

Did the war stop? Has CNN pulled its staff out of Iraq to focus on more important issues like the color of Britney's underpants today or where Paris was taking her dog for lunch?

On the list of ten "most popular viewed" stories of the hour was one about a rapper (#4) and another, about a "boy band promoter" (#5). Britney and Paris each has her own tab among CNN's "top (10) people."

And the war is a "forgotten war." Why is that?

No wonder it's all right for John McCain to send more troops into Iraq. No wonder it's all right for John McCain to pledge the children of the middle and lower-income to a forgotten war. They have no voice. But the salaries paid by the military to lure the family members of those who are not wealthy to its wares are enticing.

How many of our troops in Iraq and in Afghanistan are sons and daughters of parents in top income brackets? Hey, Defense Department: You got a study on that? Yeah, I didn't think so.

"You can take my money, but leave my children at home!" is the silent mantra of the Top Tier Whiners. "Let them fight my battles! Who cares?" Well, certainly not the decision-makers, the "deciders" at CNN.

I checked casualty figures for the days CNN failed to make an entry about the Iraq War:

On June 24, 2008 five American soldiers were killed in Iraq. Between June 24 and July 10 when CNN had no coverage of the Iraq War, 14 American troops died in Iraq. Between July 10 and July 16 three American soldiers died in Iraq. I haven't included the number of those injured. I guess these numbers are not high enough to compete with Paris' lipstick choice today.

Does not the "news" business demand some accountability of itself, some level of sophistication, responsibility, and professionalism? Must it continually serve up garbage to attract those with no more depth than a sponge, those who have never registered to vote, those whose only care is what kind of fluff can I wear today, those who have never had to provide, those who are unable to read more than a paragraph on a cereal box, those who are unable to compose a letter demanding coverage of world events?

Rather than a news source, CNN has become the channel for teenagers who are enamored by Hollywood types with empty heads and empty voices, rather like the heads of CNN's management.

Actually, it's surprising CNN even carries a tab for "Iraq War." I doubt its viewers click on that tab much or even know where Iraq is. Let us be thankful for small things. At least, Fox makes noise.

Yes, Virginia, there is Another Virginia

2008-07-15T23:19:00.003-04:00

Tim Kaine for VP?

In Sunday’s Washington Post Chris Cilliza has Gov. Kaine listed at the No. 1 most likely person Barack Obama will choose as his running mate on the Democratic ticket.

How is that?

Kaine can’t get anything done with the Virginia legislature when Northern Virginia is facing a real emergency with its traffic torment. How long have we been at this now?

He called the legislature into special session in June (which cost $22,000/day, according to the Post) to tackle the transportation nightmare, and what has it achieved? How about a big fat nothing?

Not only is there gridlock on the roads, Dr. Gridlock, but there is gridlock in the Big House!

Yes, Virginia, it’s payback time: The “Rest of Virginia” punishes Northern Virginia for its political tilt the wrong way and for dragging all of Virginia left, young man, that is, whoops, “west.”

Imagine, if you will, electing a Democratic senator to replace a incumbent racist Republican senator, and electing a Democratic governor, and, most likely, another Democratic senator this fall! The nerve of those Northern Virginia Damn Yankees!

Yes, Virginia, there is another Virginia. It’s “Northern Virginia,” and it’s high time for it to secede from the “Rest of Virginia,” much like West Virginia did in 1863. Then, the “Rest of Virginia” can deal with itself and pay for itself, too.

Tim Kaine as VP? Timmy, I hardly knew ye.

O Yo Bama Bro

2008-07-14T00:11:00.004-04:00

Hello, just wondering...

Is there a ratio between Obama's giant leap to the middle and his decline in dollars collected? In the decline of passion by those who've worked long and hard for him up to now? In the strides McCain is making, catching up?

Oh yeah, we are just the left, the ones he's abandoned for the middle. His base, the ones he's taken for granted in his march to vote against FISA, "refine" his stance on Iraq, approve the DC handgun lifting, and what else? And what has his shift brought him?

Like any company which neglects its "mission," the initial goal is slowly transformed into another and another, and soon, what was it any way? Has he become a student of the Terry McAuliffe school?

Just wondering, that's all...

Bob Novak's VP Candidate Column

2008-07-10T23:15:00.008-04:00

To Friends: I know, it's Novak, but he DOES have credibility...

Kaine: Low charisma!!!
Rendell and Casey are "blood enemies"?
Georgia: "probably unwinnable"?
Where is my Hagel?
Who is Rob Portman?
Crist is getting "married" "erasing one question mark." Oh, sure...
John Warner has not yet endorsed Gilmore which says a lot.
Novak says a lot about N. VA (for you N. VA folks).

Frank replies:

WESLEY CLARK! WHY IS HE NOT ON THE LIST? HOW CAN YOU GET ANYMORE QUALIFIED THAT AN EXPERIENCED GENERAL WHO KNOWS THE DANGERS OF THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND WHO IS ALSO A RHODES SCHOLAR

Patricia replies:

He screwed up last wk with his comment that being shot down did not qualify McC to be prez. (I agree wi. him, as I think many do; however, it, in effectuality (?), lost him the veep seat!)

Wait, there's more! Developing story...

Where is Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen? Left off list! Tennessee has shot itself in the foot again. But it's got guns, and now, plenty of volunteers with nothing to do.

Oh yeah? Fred Thompson! Left off list! Maybe because he's hibernating in the Tennessee woods?

But Al Gore is on. Right on, volunteers, right on! They may have something to do, after all.

Frank replies:

That's ridiculous. Clark is by far the most qualified. That's not a screw up! Who could quarrel with that comment? Getting shot down doesn't qualify you for being commander-in-chief.

Obama Oburnout Rev.

2008-07-07T23:37:00.002-04:00

Alrightalready!

My Obama pals are giving me so much grief and making me feel like I have succumbed to the Republican propaganda machine, that I feel like I need to make some sort of apology, but you'll note the post is still up and

Hey! Doesn't "refined" mean some sort of change? Just asking, that's all...just asking.

Obama OBurnout

2008-07-05T11:07:00.007-04:00

Is he like all the others the way my pal Maureen characterizes politicians?

I thought we were voting for "change."

Keenly irritating is his aboutface on FISA, then, perhaps a change of mind about Nafta, then, the child rape execution question, but the worst, the worst, is his waffling on Iraq.

When thousands of us passionately believed he was going to do all within his might to get us out of Iraq quickly, now come the words that, well, maybe he'll see things differently, the closer he gets to office.

Hillary? Calling Hillary! No need to call her since Obama's studying her playbook, but why? She failed in her quest!

Isn't this what she did: Tried to be all things to every body (two words), and turned off her base?

Like thousands of others, I am one of those passionate activists who has traveled from state to state canvassing for Obama, registering voters, making telephone calls, sending in my wee bits of money. Oh, sure, he's got my vote, but my passion has withered, and I am taking a break for now.

The Declaration of the People's Independence from the U.S. Congress

2008-06-28T12:59:00.003-04:00

Dear Congressman Kucinich and Congressman Wexler:

I applaud the efforts by you and a small minority of U.S. Congressional members to direct attention of the citizens of our great nation to the implatitudes and self-righteous acts of the United States Congress. For:

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the Congress which has disconnected them one from another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of the voters requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that their Creator with certain unalienable Rights endows them, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among the educated citizenry, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that men and women are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Representatives for their future security.

Such has been the patient sufferance of these people; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their Representatives.

The history of the present leadership is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these people.

To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

The Congress has refused its Assent to Laws as demanded by the people, namely the impeachment of the most egregious in the history of our nation, of the sitting President and Vice-President of the United States and has refused to make laws demanded by the people to withdraw troops from an independent nation which the United States attacked under lies and false pretenses, and yet the Congress has condoned and allowed the passage of laws usurping the United States Constitution which permit, among other violations of the Constitution practiced by the Congress, spying on its citizens in a manner like that practiced by totalitarian regimes and dictatorships.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

The U.S. Congress has refused to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance and has utterly neglected to attend to them.

Congress has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; for depriving many of the benefits of Trial by Jury; For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences; For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province,

For acting as an Arbitrary government, for failing to take action to heal the injuries suffered by the residents of a major city ravaged by a terrible hurricane, while, at the same time, expending the people's money for Representatives to live extravagant lives while the people suffer.

The Congress has abdicated our Government, by declaring by its actions and inactions, the lives of its people unimportant and of no consequence, to be expended whenever and wherever they will be most conducive for the pleasure of the Congress.

The Congress is at this time transporting large Armies to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens to become the executioners of Innocent People and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.

A President whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

We the people have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity of our Representatives, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.

We, therefore, the People of the United States of America, solemnly publish and declare, That we hold the right and urge our brethren to become free and independent, to totally dissolve the Congress, thereby electing new members of our representative bodies who shall declare their promise to humbly and righteously to represent us, the People, and not they, themselves.

For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The People, the Voters of the United States of America for which this Nation stands, One Nation with Liberty and Justice for All

George Will at Politics & Prose

2008-06-19T23:26:00.007-04:00

From the back row he looked 10 years younger than 67. Wearing a suit and that stern look on an expressionless face. But like all celebrities you see, they always look better in person.

George Will came to promote his newest book, his 13th he said, One Man's America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation, but I don't think the title was ever mentioned, if you discount the cover the Politics and Prose manager held up to show the crowd before Mr. Will spoke.

He said he quickly wanted to get to the topic of the day, and his anxious audience of about 150 persons (SRO; average age: 45) sighed: "Right on, brother!"

George Will doesn't think too much of John McCain: "I am comforted by the knowledge that he doesn't know what he's talking about....I love harping on (him)," which he did often.

About The Candidates: We'll soon know why it's only the third time that a sitting U.S. Senator will become president for U.S. Senators are seldom elected. (Quick: Name the others! Answer at bottom.)

Justice Antonin Scalia "has a sound bite in all his opinions."

Mr. Will agrees with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to grant habeas corpus to the detainees at Guantanamo which he believes should be closed.

"Creationism" is false and should not be taught in school.

The Bear Stearns bailout by the U.S. Federal Reserve was a mistake.

Tony Blair is "a good American."

"It's true that some nations are not ready for a democracy."

Congress will never vote term limits on itself. "Whenever the American people have voted on term limits, they've voted for it."

Barack Obama's biggest advantage is the dysfunctioning Republican Party which "has damaged its brand. When you're in a hole, quit digging....If the Democrats can't win (this year), they have to get out of politics."

He said he said long ago: "Whoever beats Hillary Clinton will be a giant killer, and I do believe that," however, "Obama should be well ahead of McCain by now...but there are 'miles to go before we sleep.'"

He thinks it possible for McCain to win Pennsylvania.

"The most stunning number was the 41 percent in West Virginia (difference that Hillary beat Obama). It is close to Pennsylvania. Obama basically carried state capitols and academic towns (in the primaries). He has some work to do."

He said 40% of voters in 2004 were 60 and older, and 46% of the Republican vote came from "White Christians."

He writes 123 columns annually, and his newest book is a compilation of columns.

You may not agree with him politically, but one must admire his writing style and his command of the dictionary which exceed that of any other public figure around. That he speaks knowingly and was unwilling understandably to bend to any of the arguments presented by 10 or so questioners is reason to applaud his debate.

(John Kennedy and Warren G. Harding were the other presidents to come directly from the Senate.)

A Putin Convention in Virginia

2008-06-16T23:35:00.008-04:00

What if they gave a convention and nobody came?

What if the "ballot" to elect delegates to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver was already predetermined? What if? What if? What if it were all true?

Ahead of the Virginia State Democratic Convention last weekend in Hampton where 2,000 "announced" delegates met to, among other things, vote on delegates to go to Denver, the
Obama campaign and the Governor's office "pre-selected" delegates for Denver.

The state "slate" as determined by Governor Tim Kaine and the Obama campaign was promoted in e-mails to some Obama Convention delegates beforehand, and "promoted" to all the convention delegates in two promotional pieces distributed just moments before the "vote" on Denver delegates was taken on the floor.

A "vote"? Votes were scattered among the 148 convention delegates who signed up to run and compete for one of the 12 coveted seats for Denver, thereby assuring election of those on the Governor and Obama's "slate" who really had no competition. Those not on the "slate" stood no chance. We were unhappy. We campaigned on a "I'm not on the slate" platform.

Many had spent money and time creating flyers, making posters, parading on the floor. All for naught.

A gentleman sat next to me during "musical chairs" (we switched chairs often throughout the day), and we introduced ourselves. I told him I was running for national delegate, and he said the same. "Wow," I said, "your name is familiar. I'm not running on the slate." He said: "Well, I am, and that's why my name is familiar. I am a member of the Virginia General Assembly." Oh, my. "I am not quite sure why the Governor chose me," Mark Sickles said, "and I am voting for the slate." Thank you, Mark Sickles.

The "vote" was conducted just like it was at the congressional convention I attended a few weeks before in Alexandria where the state "slate" was announced and promoted ahead of time, and where one delegate told me the Governor's office called and asked him to withdraw his Denver candidacy, and he obliged. Rather like an election in Zimbabwe.

Leaving (most of) the negative behind... (Jimmy Carter, where are you?)

If Mark Warner wins
John Warner's U.S. Senate seat in November, it will be the first time in 39 years that Democrats have held both Senate seats, so said Gov. Tim Kaine who noted that Democrats will field candidates in all eleven congressional districts for the first time in ? how many years? No one seems to know.

"No Child Left Behind" was booed as was John McCain's name every time it was mentioned from the stage.

It was fun standing around talking politics, politics, politics all the livelong day.

Awards:

Most Outstanding Performance:

The young man who sang the national anthem a cappella. Hire him! The crowd was spellbound; tears were shed. He was magnificent and could not have been older than 12.

Most Significant No-Show: Congressman Jim Moran

Most Significant Omission: No mention of Flag Day

Biggest Ego: Jim Webb who delivered his (standard?) "I" speech: "I" this, "I" that, "I" everything, blah blah blah. He still doesn't know the three most important words in English are "you," "you" and "you."

Best Campaign Speech: Mark Warner. We were so happy to learn he'll keep his Senate, and not the Veep, candidacy running. Of the candidates who spoke, his speech was the only one which silenced the crowd and brought delegates to a standstill.

Biggest Presence: Mark Warner (signs and staff)

Loudest District: The 11th (portions of Fairfax and Prince William counties)

Unhappiest Delegation: Hillary Delegates who wore their candidate literally on their sleeves. Signs to the right of them, signs to the left of them, signs, signs, signs everywhere atop their person. "Grrrrrrrr..." said most of them. Not all "older" females.

Unhappiest Spouse: Larry Byrne

Cleverest Campaign Slogan: "I tell everyone the three most important things in any campaign all start with a "V": Vote, Volunteer, and Vite a check" (Gerry Connolly, Demo congressional candidate, 11th District)

Most Praise Delivered from the Podium for Hillary Clinton: Tim Kaine

Most Crowd Interruptions of "Yes, We Can!" During a Speech: Tim Kaine

Most Number of Handlettered Signs: Creigh Deeds (running for governor)

Best Party Host: Creigh Deeds

Best Dressed: Mark Warner (his peach tie and blue shirt complemented the Democratic logo on stage)

Best Accent: Brian Moran (running for governor)

Best Button: An upside-down "W" (= "M") on a Navy blue background with "McSame" under the "M"

VP Polling:

All sorts of names were offered during informal polling: Smith of Washington State (who?), Cong. Robert Wexler of Florida (yes, yes!), Mark Udall, Wesley Clark, Joe Biden (gaining steam), Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Sen. Claire McCaskill, Bill Richardson (rumored to have some issues). No one, no one, de nada said Hillary's name but it who was mentioned from time to time as a Supreme Court nominee (good idea!).

Before Mark Warner trounced speculation that he would join the Obama ticket as the VP nominee, someone said talk was circulating that Don Beyer (no-show) would become the Senatorial candidate if Warner took to national roads. All convention delegates who were polled frowned upon either Webb or Gov. Kaine becoming the VP nominee since Virginia stands the chance to lose a seat in the Senate, and Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, "arch conservative" that he is as described by several, would take over the governor's seat.

On a musical note, I have asked Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs to step in and sing a few notes for Gov. Kaine:

Oh won't you stay, just a little bit longer
Please let me hear
You say you will, say you will

At the Latino reception where empty platters greeted delegates who got no food or drink because they stayed in the "big hall" to cast "votes," Gov. Kaine spoke Spanish and could not hide a longlasting broad grin when a portion of the crowd began to roar: "VP, VP, VP"!

Most Popular:
At least, silent auction items:

Prices shown are those posted at different times:

RFK Photo: $450, $480 (20 minutes later)

Three Clinton (BC and HRC) photographs in one frame: $225, no change after 20 minutes, $350 (75 minutes later)

Obama Photo: $300 (no change during time observed)

JFK Photos: $250 (no change)

MLK Photo: $120, $150 (20 minutes later)

Hillary Photo: $150, $170 (20 minutes later)

Why host a convention after all? An attendee at the 2004 convention said as far as she knew, no slate was pitched then. Why now?

The Tennessee State Society on Capitol Hill

2008-06-13T00:02:00.002-04:00

It was the Annual Congressional Reception in the Mansfield Room at the Capitol.

An elegant, tasteful room although not as large as the one where the 2007 event was celebrated. And a smaller crowd, and smaller number of Congressional representatives, too.

Last year most all of the Tennessee congressional representatives attended, including both U.S. Senators who are Republicans, Lamar Alexander and then, the newly elected Bob Corker, now tardy for failing to submit his annual financial disclosure statement due in May. (He got an extension since all his "ducks were not in a row.").
Marsha Blackburn (R-Middle, West, and Northern Tennessee (gerrymandering, you know) was also missing in action, likely working repair on her own financial woes, including trying to answer some of the 33 letters she has received from the Federal Election Commission about faulty reports of her campaign finances.

Last week Congressman John Duncan (R-Knoxville) and Congressman Jim Cooper (D-Nashville) were the only representatives who did show up, and both engagingly addressed those present (who numbered about 60). They spoke highly of each other and applauded the relationships among Tennessee congresspeople who actually get along (mostly) and work productively together, unlike some other states, they said, which they did not name.

John Duncan, a conservative, is admired and well respected by Democrats, too, for his sincerity and his always fierce opposition to the Iraq War, even when it was popular to support it six years ago.

Jim Cooper is a Blue Dog, but I shall not hold that against him. He well represents his constituency.

An important no-show! Steve Cohen (D-Memphis), the incoming honorary chair of the Society, replacing Congressman Duncan, the 2007 honorary chair. Perhaps Rep. Cohen was dealing with the Washington Post since it ran a big story the next day on him and his opponent, Nikki Tinker, whom Emily's List is supporting.

Attending: Mostly interns or intern alums.
Average Age: Under 30
Dress: Suits
Food: Some hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine
Caucasians: 97%
Cost: Membership in the Society is $20/year. A great value for several parties throughout the year, usually funded by lobbyists.

Veep Talk

2008-06-10T22:36:00.008-04:00

Jason speaks:

So far, I'm not really impressed with the list provided:

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/10/1127710.aspx

Although, one of the names floated is former Marine James Jones. He's been a staunch critic of our war and has the bona fides to back it up--he followed Wes Clark as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He's an out-of-the-box candidate, but the others on the list are quite boring. Except for maybe Sen. Jim Webb of VA. I still think that he is the odds-on favorite.

Patriciadc:

Webb is too much a firebrand. Too hot. Plus he did not endorse O 'til he was on the stage wi. him last Wednesday. Who the hell is Jones? No, no. no. Makes no sense to choose an "unknown". They can turn out to be REALLY bad (Quayle, Eagle). Kaine would be much better than Webb. I love Hagel. Webb was formerly a Repub. PLUS at least 6-9 months ago in Demo. circles in N VA he was then being talked about (it has not ceased) being replaced since he's not been of "the line" and is such a poor constitutuent representative.

Jason:

I think when you say that he was discussed among circles in N. VA you are speaking solely for yourself!!!

Patriciadc:

No, no, no: It came from D--- who has fingers in all the N. VA Democratic circles (and the DNC!). At the congressional "victory" party tonight I may hear more, but, unlikely, since Webb endorsed Leslie Byrne early (since she endorsed him early). Did you read that art. I sent you this a.m.? It pointed out that Webb only won VA by 9K votes and his "win" was largely due to Allen's gaffe which no one can dispute.

D----'s been talking about the ineffectiveness of Pelosi for months now, and who else???

Jason:

I still like Webb, but he has his problems because of his past expressions of disdain for women in the military. The media would drive home the narrative that this would exacerbate O's female problems. And picking a military leader who doesn't appeal to women could also be a problem. He's got to look to reformer Dems. People who want to shake things up. What about Bob Kerrey? Well, except for the fact that endorsed Hill and said during one of her events that O's middle name was a good thing, which created a huge firestorm, he would be a good choice. Well, what about Clark? He endorsed Hill, so doesn't that mean he thinks that O wasn't as qualified to be prez? Same for Strickland of OH and Rendell of PA. To be honest, I can't really think of anyone who he could pick. Even Hagel would be a stretch because the activist base of the party--women's groups, labor unions, etc.--would be up in arms that he selected someone of the opposite party.

Patriciadc:

Oh, oh, oh!!!! And that letter Webb wrote saying women could never be military leaders or some such garbage. Thanks for reminding me more of why he is not one of my favs.

Bob Kerrey? Bob Kerrey? For starters, many (it is true) will confuse him with John Kerry and think he's running again. For more starters, his endorsement of Shrill as you say, and I had forgotten he used O's middle name negatively. NO NO NO TO HIM!!!!! Why bother? Was he injured in Vietnam? That helps. We need a rugged, big strong, hunka hunka sexa sexa man like the rugged cowboy I adore named, yes! Chuck Hagel!!!!!

Once they see him, they'll swoon. Maureen is now swooning. Hagel is deeply sincere (as opposed to "lightly") and a man of strong convictions.

I think Clark is too old. (Late 60S?) He just ain't got much enthusiasm about him, altho' my FL pal has been supportive of him for a very long time. I like Clark. If he could add some wt. and drink RedBull about 10x a day, he would pep up.

Strickland? Who's he? Do you think Richardson has a chance (yes)?

Oh, my new boyfriend, George Will, is promoting his latest tome at Politics+Prose next Mon. night. I am giving up the Bette Davis Free (Queen of Free) Film Fest. to go hear Georgie Porgie

The Obamas' Marriage

2008-06-06T23:28:00.004-04:00

What message does this send?

That marriage might, after all, work out? That two people can be married for 15 years and still be in love? Unbelievable!

The photograph of them on the stage Tuesday night "fist bumping" says it all. They look like they're on their honeymoon.

Their eyes lock and show the love, the respect, the admiration, the devotion they feel for each other. It is almost like they are on their own cloud unaware that 20,000 screaming fans surround them.

With that shy, schoolgirl pose, and her fashionable dress, Michelle Obama reminds me of Princess Diana.

Yes, marriage is still alive and can endure.

A great image, no? For the young folks? For maybe some of the old ones, too.