CountryCrats

B.S.

2006-11-19T14:49:00.000-05:00

I am so sick of this take on the election. The Democrats who won were not conservatives - period. They were toe-stepping Progressives. Sure, maybe ONE is a social moderate, but that is more of a libertarian moderate and not a "What are you doing in your bedroom?" conservative.

Read. My. Lips. The new Congress is dominated by Progressives thanks to the election of Progressives.

truer words....

2006-11-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

The great thing about Dobson

2006-11-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

The great thing about the Town of Dobson is how stormbear gives you some background on the cartoon below. Most of us know the specifics already, but if you want to keep up with what is going on in politics, and you are short on time, this and Doonesbury should be must reads. For today's cartoon you get:

What is up with James Carville?

First we find out from Woodward’s book that Carville told the White House about Kerry’s plans to contest the Ohio election. Now he is wanting Howard Dean to apologize for not winning big enough in this past mid-term election.

Democratic strategist James Carville yesterday said Howard Dean should be replaced as chairman of the Democratic National Committee for failing to pursue a greater margin of victory in last week’s midterm elections.

“I would describe his leadership as Rumsfeldian in its competence,” Mr. Carville said during a meeting with reporters, a reference to outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who has been reviled by Democrats.

Both Mr. Carville and Democratic strategist Stan Greenberg said the DNC should have invested more money in congressional races.

Now Carville wants to replace winning Howard Dean with right of center, election losing Rep. Harold Ford Jr.

Boggles the mind.

Jerry Meek asks for your help.

2006-11-11T16:40:00.000-05:00

If you are interested in Senator Elizabeth Dole and getting her out of office, if you are sick of Senator Elizabeth Dole and want to see her out of office, then go visit this thread at BlueNC and offer your suggestions. NCDP Chair Jerry Meek is asking for your help.

A Town Called Dobson

2006-11-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

if you aren't bookmarking it, you should be.

Liveblogging from NCDP Headquarters

2006-11-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

I will be at the NCDP headquarters tonight to live-blog the results of state legislative races on BlueNC. I am now making calls to Dems who have not voted yet. Join in, do your part. Win elections.

Hard Core

2006-11-05T09:04:00.000-05:00

It was a cold and early Saturday in early November. The streets were empty, but the parking lot of the Planetarium was filling up at 8:55am. Why? Because Saturday early voting was about to begin. Yep, there was a line out around the statue of James Polk waiting to vote early. Which raises only one question, why?

There really aren't any races left to decide in Orange County and the state-wide judicial races usually aren't that big of a draw. But, there they all were, and the line continued to grow after 9am when the kids and I came out from voting. I saw a few people I knew, including Zabouti and John Gilmore, Dogwood Acres Chair.

As we waited in line the fella behind me muttered, "I wonder how you find out about these non-partisan races?" To which I responded with a flourish of my OCDP voter guide, "With one of these!" He was very thankful and especially when I showed him the cheat sheet on the back cover.

All in all it was a great experience, the kids sat on my lap and helped me fill out the bubbles, to feed the ballot into the machine and they received their "I voted" sticker for the umpteenth time. Voting is a family tradition, take your kids to vote and make it an exciting family adventure.

Oh, as to the title, to those who showed up at 9am in the cold weather to vote on a pretty unexciting ballot - you are hardcore and a good friend of mine.

Orange County/School Buses

2006-11-03T09:47:00.000-05:00

I spoke with Al Terry yesterday about the bus situation with the Orange Public School Buses. Wouldn't you know that this man is already on the job. One problem with school bus drivers is that the hours are limited, the pay is lower than other driving jobs, and there is no summer employment.

Al is working with the school bus scheduler to create positions for drivers to work with the schools and with OPT. They would either:

Drive school buses in the morning, then for OPT the rest of the day. Or,
drive for OPT in the morning and then school buses in the afternoon.

I believe the total so far is around 8 part-time and full-time positions that will be scheduled to allow for this change-over. A large enough group of folks doing this would solve the crisis that Orange Schools faced this year. Of course, hiring a year-round recruiter to make sure they have enough drivers would work as well.

One problem with this that Al mentioned, is that school bus and OPT drivers are required to have different types of licenses. The cost of those two is almost $200 if I remember correctly. That is not insignificant to someone from a low-income family looking for a new job.

How Google Bombing Worked

2006-11-01T14:26:00.000-05:00

Let's say you go online to look into politics. Statistics say that most likely you are looking for information on a candidate. Who these people are that have internet access but don't know about the candidates, I can't imagine. Either way. You type in Robin Hayes because you keep getting flyers saying to vote for him, but you aren't so sure. You use Google because...well, everyone does. What do you get?

Hayes, Robin
Official web site for Representative Robin Hayes (R - NC, 98th District).
BORING old official web page. If you have insomnia, read an official web page.

Contact Cong. Hayes
Contact Congressman Hayes. As a member of Congress, I appreciate your input as a constituent of North ... Hayes statement on terrorist attacks - click here. ...
I have NO interest in contacting him, so skip this one.

Congressman Robin Hayes
Welcome to the Online Campaign Headquarters for Robin Hayes Congressman, 8th District of North Carolina. Welcome to my online campaign headquarters! ...
BORING old campaign web site.

newsobserver.com | Hayes is CAFTA foe no longer - 11:25am
"Robin Hayes ought to be ashamed," said state Democratic Chairman Jerry Meek. "Despite the fact he vowed to oppose CAFTA, Hayes caved in to Republican ...

WAIT A MINUTE! What's this? Robin Hayes vowed to vote against CAFTA then changed his vote, let me go read that story. The story is extremely unflattering of Robin Hayes and his flip-flop that cost NC soooooooo many jobs. Not only that, but it isn't an attack from the Democrat party web site, it is an attack from the News & Observer. Why did this article come up? Because of the google bombing brought to you by MyDD.

Thank you guys.

"Pretty pictures of blue...."

2006-10-31T14:56:00.000-05:00

the "freakin' tsunami wave" map.

Only Edwards can go to Connecticut

2006-10-30T11:10:00.001-05:00

Remember Only Nixon could go to China? Well, I feel strongly that only Senator Edwards can go to Connecticut and if he does, then he gets back lost momentum and becomes the frontrunner for 2008.

When I think of John Edwards I think of two things:
1. Grassroots populism.
2. Netroots activism.

I have long said that the Senator could lock up number 2 through a few simple actions, and now I think he could lock up both of these key donor and volunteer categories in one fell swoop.

Right now, if you are not paying attention, the CT race is between *Democratic* Primary winner Ned Lamont and /Connecticut for Lieberman/ party member Joe Lieberman. Lieberman has said that perhaps if he wins he will become a Republican, a threat to the Democratic leadership not to take away his seniority.

Well, Joe can take a flying leap. Ned Lamont is the Democratic candidate and the Senator was the first to show up in CT after the primary. Now it is time to go back.

Why? Because no one else is doing it. Look at the political upside for 2008.

Clinton - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had Connecticut Senate candidate Ned Lamont over for coffee Friday, discussing campaign strategy and offering to host a fundraiser, a spokesman for the senator said.

"It was a great meeting. Senator Clinton thinks Ned Lamont did a fabulous job in Connecticut," spokesman Howard Wolfson said, referring to Lamont's upset victory over Sen. Joe Lieberman in the state's Democratic primary.

So, she supports him? Well, that was August and not only isn't this Clinton NOT showing up, but, this Clinton IS showing up in Connecticut.

So, what about the new kid on the block?

"I know that some in the party have differences with Joe," *Senator Obama said*, all but silencing the crowd. "I'm going to go ahead and say it. It's the elephant in the room. And Joe and I don't agree on everything. But what I know is, Joe Lieberman's a man with a good heart, with a keen intellect, who cares about the working families of America."

Then, with applause beginning to build, he finished the thought: "*I am absolutely certain that Connecticut's going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the United States Senate*." That time, people cheered loudly.

This doesn't even take into account the Senate leadership that are backrooming with Joe, telling him he can keep his seniority if he wins, just those who will be opponents in 2008. It's time for someone to stand up for the Democrats that voted in the primary, for the people who said "Time to go, Joe".

Only John Edwards can go to Connecticut. He should go spend a week there if he must to make sure that Ned Lamont, the grassroots, netroots, populist candidate wins this election. This will put him into a leadership position among the base, who believe that Lieberman is wrong on Iraq, wrong to support the President, and wrong to abandon the Democratic Party's process. With that leadership position will come two things. [Money http://actblue.com/page/netrootscandidates] and [volunteers http://www.moveon.org/afreplace/].

Do it Senator, go to Connecticut, energize the base around your camapaign and become the front-runner for 2008 all over again - *and for good*.

Shut Up and Sing - NBC (a right-wing subsidiary)

2006-10-28T07:07:00.000-05:00

NBC is refusing to air this MOVIE TRAILER. Why?

Nudity? Nope.

Language? Nope.

Violence? Nope.

They are refusing to air it because it is negative about President Bush. Yeah, when did that become enough to get censored on the PUBLIC airways.

Unloading voter guides.

2006-10-28T06:48:00.000-05:00

I'm off with the kids today to unload a stack of Orange County Voter Guides. They are a must have this season, what with the "non-partisan" judge races. I have to say, what a lousy idea. Everyone is still running as a "former Democrat" or a "Conservative". This way, some people are just voting for the name that sounds right. Take Kris Bailey, HE ran a campaign ad with his WIFE in the picture instead of himself. To get the mom vote I guess.

Welcome to the War in Iran.

2006-10-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

During a pre-meeting discussion last night I mentioned that the latest tin-foil hat theory is that Bush would attack Iran before Nov. 7th. The wise old man replied, "That sounds like fantasy. It'll never happen." Which, I will admit, sounds about right. But, not everyone think it is crazy.

Bad news. Very bad news. Another expeditionary strike group will imminently enter the Persian Gulf where it will join the Enterprise, Eisenhower and Iwo Jima strike groups.

"We have been through spring practice, now the game is on."
- Capt. David Angood, Composite Warfare Commander (CWC) for USS Boxer (LHD 4) Expeditionary Strike Group

Well, sure, we have four expeditionary strike groups in the gulf, where we used to have one, then two, then three. But, what does that really have to do with reality? After all, David Kay says:

Washington needs to proceed cautiously because serious questions remain about its ability to assess realities on the ground in Iran.

While the government in Tehran has established what he calls "a substantial foundation" for a nuclear weapons program, Kay asserts any serious threat is at least five years and possibly 10 or more years away.

"Iran does not today, and in my judgment will not for some time, pose a nuclear threat to the United States or the state of the [Middle East] region," Kay said.

No threat, which means we should have plenty of time to negotiate.

Boom.

Welcome to the war in Iran. How will it start?

Naaah. That's. Just. Crazy.

That. Is. Just. Crazy.

Stay the Course

2006-10-26T14:11:00.001-05:00

Let the Google Bombing Begin.

2006-10-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Election Night?

2006-10-20T19:28:00.000-05:00

So, are we going to find a nice bar somewhere that will put the election up on the big screen and stay open until the wee hours of the morning.

Edwards Hitting the Campaign Trail in NC Again

2006-10-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

I think it is safe to say that John Edwards will win the NC primary in 2008. So, why is he stumping again for Heath Shuler? It has to be for all the right reasons - to elect a Democratic House.

From OAC:

You may remember that Senator Edwards campaigned for congressional candidate Heath Shuler back in August. (You can read about the event here and here).
Today the Senator will be campaigning for Mr. Shuler again, this time at a campaign rally in Asheville, NC. This is part of the Senator's ongoing effort to support Democratic candidates in the run-up to the November elections.

Continue reading this entry to learn more about this event.

Senator Edwards to address a campaign rally for congressional candidate Heath Shuler

4:00 PM

AB Technical Community College - Laurel Building
340 Victoria Road
Asheville, North Carolina

Homeless Shelter in the Cards?

2006-10-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

The "new" homeless shelter has been shunted from one side of town to the other. So, were are we? From the Orange Herald.

CHAPEL HILL -- The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service has asked the county to consider locating a new men's homeless shelter near the Southern Human Services Center on Homestead Road. Ann Henley, vice president of the IFC's board, told the county commissioners this week that a new facility is needed for the shelter's long-term viability and the agency needs help from local governments to secure a new location.
...
Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy, who is part of a town-county group set to meet next week on the topic, said Wednesday that the town clearly will need in the future the space of the current shelter, in the town-owned building at 100 West Rosemary Street. That building, he added, isn't well suited for a residential facility anyway. The IFC currently leases the building from the town.
...
At a meeting Tuesday, Commissioner Alice Gordon identified some possible disadvantages. She said some members of the Friends of the Chapel Hill Senior Center, when asked about the men's shelter idea, raised concerns, including how the senior center and shelter would co-exist on the same site.

Another concern was the proximity of Project HomeStart, where homeless women and children stay, to the men's site. Previously, IFC representatives said they wished to have separate sites for men and women, Gordon said.

About a decade ago, the county granted IFC a 25-year lease for three acres in the northwest part of the Homestead Road campus, where HomeStart was built.
...
Meanwhile, Foy reiterated the town's commitment to help find a new site for the shelter, and the challenges they face.

"We've made it clear we will provide town-owned property and financial assistance, but we haven't said to the IFC or to Orange County, do this or do that," Foy said. "It's hard to find a place that's just right. It's best if there is good access to transportation, and to support networks, like other agencies that may provide assistance with employment, substance abuse, or getting financial aid."

There has been a lot of support for this shelter...as long as it isn't in MY neighborhood. Everyone here is very progressive until it comes time to have a homeless shelter in their neighborhood. Too bad. Chapel Hill could do something really great for the homeless.

"Bob Ney, Guilty but Still at Capitol"

2006-10-19T07:46:00.000-05:00

I think that New York Times headline says it all, doesn't it? Republicans have a Representative that is guilty and will be going to jail. Yet, he's still there on Capitol hill, still has an office, still has a staff, still using our tax money to send out letters if he wants, etc. It isn't that the Republican leadership doesn't want him out of office, it's that they can't get him to quit. The Republican mindset is pervasive in his actions, "I'm a Republican, I can't be wrong."

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 — Representative Bob Ney is headed to prison early next year after pleading guilty to charges of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in illegal gifts from lobbyists. Until then, Mr. Ney, a six-term Republican from Ohio, has a comfortable place to bide his time.
...
In his guilty plea last week, Mr. Ney admitted to taking many gifts from Mr. Abramoff, including a 2002 golfing trip to Scotland by private jet, and then lying about them in his financial disclosure forms.
To the dismay of House colleagues eager to remove him as a symbol of the corruption scandals that are tarring several Republican candidates in next month’s Congressional elections, Mr. Ney, defying House leaders, has refused to step down for now, insisting that he owes his staff and his constituents a few more weeks of his time.
Until the House reconvenes after the elections, there is no way under Congressional rules to force him out. Republican House leaders have vowed to make Mr. Ney’s expulsion their first order of business when they return to Washington next month.

Thoughts on Atlanta

2006-10-14T09:43:00.000-05:00

1. I've come down with a mild stomach .... "problem", so that has taken some of the wind out of my sails.
2. There is just one word to describe Atlanta, "sprawltastic".
3. I love the MARTA and am always shocked when I come out of the tunnels in a near-empty cab and see the interstates backed up and barely moving. I have the choice between taking a bus from Buckhead down to the convention center or the MARTA. After one try on the bus, I bought a MARTA pass.

4. About above-mentioned traffic, it is only bad during rush hour, which begins around 7am and ends at 7pm. Otherwise, the roads are fine.
5. Real estate seems very reasonable - there were some condos nearby that start at a mere $1.3 million.

6. Unfortunately, Atlanta businesses seem short on money, as there are several skyscrapers that appear to have been left unfinished for lack of funds.
7. I was walking around five points and was really getting into downtown. The tree-lined streets, the area with the fountains and statues, the city feel. Then, I turned the corner and somebody asked me "What the hell you looking at n*****." Yeah. I was actually a wee bit intimidated so I just kept on going, which is what he told me, in so many words, to keep doing. This reminds me of the trip I took to Pittsburgh, when my wife and I decided to walk home from the restaurant. The bridge crossing was great, as was PPG plaza, then suddenly we were in a "seemingly" sketchy area. That is the problem with visiting new cities it seems. I'd like to add here, that my wife and I were once nearly attacked by a homeless man at the corner of Franklin and Columbia in Chapel Hill back in 2000 during the big snow storm in February. So, it can happen anywhere I guess.
8. I have met a lot of good friendly southern folk. The fella I sat next to at dinner last night (just some random bar), the people at MARTA (very nice and helpful), and folks at Publix (God I miss Publix, my favorite grocery store all through grad school), and some real nice people ON the MARTA. Have I mentioned that I love the MARTA?

Senate prediction - Mid-October

2006-10-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

It looks like all those Dems in NJ MIGHT have been right, the race is swinging their way, with new polls showing Menendez up by 4. MO is still too tight to call and VA has slumped back into Allen land after a brief hiatus in "illegal stock gambit aids Webb" land. Ford has had a bunch of big polls lately, but if there is one race I think we might lose in a stunner - it is TN. First African-American Senator from the South since the you-know-what.

Charles Taylor, Porkalicious?

2006-10-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

This is a draft copy.

Is Get Fuzzy Serious?

2006-10-11T07:15:00.000-05:00

Oh, yeah. My wife and I found out about this a long time ago. It's another "hidden" ingredient that has corn in it. Why do squashed bugs have corn in them? I have no idea.

From wiki:

Carmine (IPA: [ˌkɑrmaɪn -mɪn]), also called Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470 or E120, is a pigment of a bright red color obtained from the carminic acid produced by the cochineal insect, and is used as a general term for a particularly deep red color. Carmine is used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, paints, rouge, cosmetics, food additives, and crimson ink.
...
Carmine may be prepared from cochineal, by boiling dried insects in water to extract the carminic acid and then treating the clear solution with alum, cream of tartar, stannous chloride, or potassium hydrogen oxalate; the coloring and animal matters present in the liquid are thus precipitated. Other methods are in use; sometimes egg white, fish glue, or gelatine are added before the precipitation.

say hello to your red food coloring

Kalling for Kissell

2006-10-09T12:10:00.000-05:00

Ever hit the phones for a candidate? No. Well, give it a try. Each list is about ten names and the hit rate is pretty low. By the time you actually reach someone that listens, you'll feel great that you did.

Senate Prediction

2006-10-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

As of now, this is pretty much how I see the Senate races. Based on pollster.com results.

All in all, New Jersey and MO are still toss-ups. I think VA has lost its momentum, HOWEVER, there are reports that more racial slurs are going to come to light. If that happens, then this race could become closer again. The good news for us is that New Jersey hasn't elected a Republican to Senate since 1972. I still believe, in my heart, that NJ will go blue, which gives us 50-50 at the very least. MO is a Republican Senate seat and the race is close, close, close. In my opinion, the ONLY way we win this seat is if the religious right GOTV operation stays home out of frustration. 51-49 sounds so much better than 50-50, although I have my doubts that Joe will caucus with Dems if he wins and we sit at 51-49. I think he pretends to be all bipartisan and caucuses with Rs to even out the Senate.

Wanna Drive a Bus?

2006-10-08T07:38:00.000-05:00

If so, it seems like every school district in the country is interested in hiring you. The Herald Sun has a story on schools grappling with a lack of bus drivers.

"I am a frustrated parent," Haubert declared at one recent school board meeting. "I am tired of the same old excuses for the past four years: 'We don't have enough drivers.'"

It's not quite the Orange County Schools' fault that Haubert's kids are late either, administrators say.

Officials say they face the same problem many North Carolina school systems have faced for years: a driver shortage.

Well, to be blunt - yes it is your fault. It's your responsibility to have enough drivers and if you don't have enough drivers...it's your fault! What could they possibly do to fix the situation?

..."It's been like that for a while, and I don't know what it is. The pay's good. They're making $10 to $12 an hour."

The driving job is part time, for one thing, and it only lasts through the school year -- stopping abruptly when summer vacation begins.

So bus drivers often quit once they gain year-round employment, leaving school districts with buses and no one to man them.

Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that Orange County has a transportation department (OPT) that employees a number of bus drivers. Perhaps some kind of arrangement could be made between the two groups?

But with dozens fewer drivers than it needed, the school system faced a major problem. Calls from angry parents...flooded in.

...

School system officials switched into crisis mode, sending workers from the central office to answer phones in the bus garage.

They set up recruitment tables in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart in Hillsborough, which is close by the district's central and transportation offices.

...

The school system also has signed on a part-time recruiter to find drivers.

The techniques have worked.

And, that my friends, is why it is the schools fault. If they can find bus drivers after the school year starts by part-time recruiting, then they sure as shoot could find enough drivers BEFORE the school year by having a full-time recruiter and setting out tables at Wal-Mart, Target, and other high-traffic sites. Let's repeat this slowly, IT. IS. YOUR. FAULT.

Next year, how about getting started fixing the problem before it becomes a problem?

OC School Driver Leaves Kid in Bus all Day

2006-10-05T09:34:00.000-05:00

Seriously? Yes, seriously. Now we have all had those moments where we forget to finish unloading the groceries or leave them at the checkout. We've all had those moments of locking our keys in the car. But, locking a kid in the bus all day? To be fair, we don't know if the THIRD grader was trapped in the bus all day or not. But, he was IN the bus all day, and since most third graders aren't beyond the point of being afraid, I think we can assume - he was probably trapped. Maybe not, maybe he decided to hang out for an entire day on the bus.

HILLSBOROUGH -- An Orange County Schools bus driver was fired last week after he left a child on a bus an entire school day.

The third grader at Pathways Elementary was apparently asleep on Sept. 26 when the driver unloaded his bus at the school, said Anne D'Annunzio, a spokeswoman for the district. However, drivers are supposed to check all of the seats on the bus for students after unloading, she said.

"Apparently that was not done," D'Annunzio said. "This is very serious and we had to take serious action because of it."

District procedure states that leaving a child on a bus is grounds for termination, she said.

No kidding.

Last week's incident is another in a series of troubles that has plagued the Orange County Schools transportation department since classes began in August.

...

Parents reported their children arriving home two hours after school dismissed, or not being picked up in the morning at all. Some parents said their children were picked up in the morning after school began.

I wonder why the Orange County school district is having trouble hiring bus drivers? I didn't have to time make the calls on Friday, but next week I'm going to see if I can track down starting wages for city drivers, Chapel Hill/Carrboro school drivers, Durham school drivers, etc. My gut tells me that they are underpaying bus drivers, which is why they have a hard time filling the seats and end up with drivers that don't bother crossing their T's and dotting their I's.

My house...

2006-10-04T15:12:00.000-05:00

is the one with the car in front, in the middle.

Sorry Billmon

2006-10-04T07:54:00.000-05:00

A good post by Billmon today on the ruckus over the stockmarket.

Breaking Even

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high today: 11,727 -- four points higher than the previous record, set January 14, 2000. So if you invested $1,000 in the 30 companies in the Dow six years and almost nine months ago, you'd have $1000.34 today!

But, alas, if you invested that same amount in the S&P 500 Index (which in the winter of 2000 was bubbliciously full of tech stocks) you'd have only $910.56, and if you "invested" it in the companies in the Nasdaq Composite (the souffle of '90s equity indices) you'd have just $552.04.

The only thing not mentioned is inflation. At standard inflation, the $1000 invested in 2001 is now equal to AT LEAST $1,134.40. So, you've got a ways to go before you "break even" from 2001. Enjoy the Bush Economy and your "wages".

Republican Values

2006-10-03T13:42:00.000-05:00

OC School Board - What a bunch of jerks.

2006-10-03T08:21:00.000-05:00

I understand that Orange County schools don't want to raise taxes to pay for better schools and better education, I grew up in the country and I can see how they have bought into the Republican lie that taxes are some kind of inconvenience. In fact, taxes are the membership fees you pay for living in our society. As anyone who has ever joined a gym knows, the better the facility, the higher the membership fees. So, OC has schools that are not up to snuff with the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school systems. They aren't bad, they just aren't as good as the town schools.

What to do? How to save some bucks so you don't have to raise those dreaded taxes?

HILLSBOROUGH -- The Orange County school board is considering ending an agreement it has with a preschool program for children with developmental disabilities to house it in an unused building on one of its campuses.

...It's a move Linda Foxworth, director of the program, said she opposes.

"I would be really disappointed if this board asked to move its handicapped children to put staff in there," Foxworth said during a school board meeting Monday night.

District officials, though, said they could use the space for their own staff. Currently, the district has 32 staff members who work out of schools, rather than in the central office. While all 32 would not fit in the Hillsborough Elementary building, some could, said George McFarley, the assistant superintendent for support services.

Having more staff members in one building -- rather than spread all over the district -- would be more convenient, he told the board.

"It's kind of difficult right now to get all the heads together to make a decision," McFarley said. "It would make sense to all be in one space."

Convenient? Yes, that's right, it would be convenient for Orange County to toss the handicapped out onto the streets. Well, maybe you say, that the school needs these facilities and the handicapped kids aren't paying - so off they go!

Beyond the immorality and downright evilness of that way of thinking, there is this.

And, while CHTOP pays only nominal rent, it has improved the building, she said. In 1996, program officials spent $100,000 on renovations, Foxworth said. The next year, she said, the program paid for a $30,000 heating and cooling system. It has also paid for a playground and various other upgrades, Foxworth said.

But schools superintendent Shirley Carraway said as the district grows, schools are going to run out of space for central office workers to have offices. The Hillsborough Elementary space could be useful, she said.

"A department could potentially fit there," she said. "For example, curriculum and instruction."

So, let's see. You put these handicapped kids into a beat up old classroom that needed $100,000 in repairs, then a $30,000 HVAC upgrade, with old playground equipment and other things falling apart. NOW, that they have fixed it up, you want to kick them out?

That is morally reprehensible and I hope that every resident of the county will remember that the next time school board elections come around. When the Superintendent was hired, she had this to say:

"I'm just excited and looking forward to getting into Orange County," Carraway said.

"I have a lot of excitement, a lot of energy and a lot of ideas," she said. "I hope to bring a collaborative spirit."

I don't see so much of a collaborative spirit as I do a willingness to dump handicapped kids into a crappy classroom, have them fix it up, then kick them out. Nice.

Voice your outrage, contact the Superintendent.
Shirley Carraway - Superintendent

My History With Unions

2006-10-02T12:38:00.000-05:00

In the 1980s, when I was a youngish teenager, the UMWA (United Mine Workers America) came to Central Pennsylvania. There were a lot of strip mines around and almost all of them were non-union. The UMWA, to the best of my knowledge, had focused mostly on deep mines and was now pushing their way into the strip mine world. Which was all well in good you might say, but it wasn't.

My Dad had been a truck driver with one too many tickets, so he ended up driving a bulldozer in the mines. He moved up and around until he had done just about every job in a strip mine - dozer, rock truck, blasting, welding, mechanic. Until finally he was made night foreman. In the company he worked for, there were ten or twelve strip mines going at all times and each had their own daytime foreman. But, at night, my Dad was in charge of the whole thing and he traveled all around PA checking on different jobs. I went with him a few times and it was interesting work because each mine was different and each one had its own problems.

An unexpected consequence of this position was that he became close with the mine owner. Not like "Hey Bill, let's go huntin' together" close, but close as in he trusted my Dad's opinion on the mine operations and my Dad knew he wouldn't be misled. That was were it stood when the employees decided to gather to vote on allowing a union rep on site. This wasn't a vote to become a union mining operation, just to allow union reps on the site to talk with workers. Well, the owner sat my dad down and told him in no certain terms that the mines weren't making money anymore, he was just breaking even, and that his family had plenty of money. If the workers voted to allow unions on the site, they mines would be shut down.

He went to the meeting and said so, and not many believed him. They all thought the old man was lying and it caused a rift that exists to this day. Because, when the vote when for the union, many folks were surprised to find the mines chained up the next morning and their jobs gone. That was it. Not a stunt, not a gimmick, no more mines.

The old man kept my Dad on for a few months to see to the auctioning off of equipment, which turned out to be a curse. By the time he was done working there, the thousands of laid-off workers had scooped up all the decent jobs, which left Dad unemployed for nearly a year. Crappy jobs came and went for a few years until he finally landed the one he has now, running a logging equipment company. Those were lean years. No vacations, no trips, no new school clothes, plastic leather shoes for school, and I remember lots of rice and "casseroles" and watered down pasta sauce.
I learned to hate the unions that year, and that hatred lasted until I was in graduate school many years later.

It all changed when I read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I saw then how unions had at one point been a force for good. How they had saved lives and raised the working class out of poverty. But, there is still a part of me that recalls the stories of auto workers being given 16 weeks of vacation once they had enough seniority and I can't help but revert when I hear about the plants closing down and Ford going under. I'm still of mixed emotions, even though I just joined my first union - District 19 of the State Employees Association of North Carolina. I know there is good for unions to do, which is why I have joined. But, the lessons of my youth are not to be forgotten, and won't be forgotten.

Latest Senate Polls

2006-10-02T09:36:00.000-05:00

Here is a rundown of the latest senate polls:

Maryland, Ben Cardin (D) leads Michael Steele (R) 47% to 41%
Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse (D) leads Lincoln Chafee (R) 42% to 41%
Pennsylvania, Bob Casey (D) leads Rick Santorum (R) 49% to 40%
Missouri, Jim Talent (R) is tied with Claire McCaskill (D) 43% to 43%
New Jersey, Bob Menendez (D) leads Tom Kean Jr (R) 44% to 41%
Washington, Maria Cantwell (D) leads Mike McGavick (R) 50% to 40%.
Virginia, George Allen (R-VA) is tied with Jim Webb (D) 43% to 43%.
Montana, Jon Tester (D) leads Conrad Burns (R-MT) 47% to 40%
Ohio, Sherrod Brown (D-OH) leads Mike DeWine (R-OH) 45% to 43%
Tennessee, Harold Ford, Jr. (D) leads Bob Corker (R) 43% to 42%

At this point, the caucusing numbers looks like this (Sanders (I-VT) and Lieberman (CfL-CT) expected to caucus with Dems):

That's right folks, we have 50 seats with the possible pickups in PA, RI, OH, MT, and TN (where Corker is handing us lots of scandal). Add to that tied races in two more states and it is starting to look like freaking Christmas around here. If the molestation scandal hits hard, then expect Allen's woes to continue as the Republican Party becomes the party of immorality and hatred. Or, more properly, the leadership of the Republican Party is finally exposed as immoral and hateful.

An Open Letter to John McCain:

2006-09-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

Dear Senator McCain,
This morning on NPR I overheard your fellow Senator and Republican, Trent Lott, say that using dogs for torture was understandable and acceptable. It was not a big deal because as he said they were simply barking at the detainees and haven't we all had a dog bark at us when we delivered a paper or something else to a neighbor? Sure, there are reports of a few cases where people have died from heart failure after receiving this treatment, but that isn't the intent.

It was this insight from Senator Lott that lead me to understand your change in position on torture. After all, many of the things we are "squabbling" about are really nothing more than everyday occurances.

I would like to straighten this out for my fellow Democrats after the break - if they have a strong stomach.

First, the process of hanging someone on hooks by their shoulders to break their shoulders. This was a very popular method of "coersion" in the Vietnam era, but should we consider it torture? I mean, who among us hasn't taken a hit in a sporting game that caused a "stinger"? This really isn't any different than that, as described here.

Two homemade metal handcuffs (made of reinforced steel bar and an iron lock) are put on the victim's wrists. Then, the victim's arms are lift up, parallel to the shoulders. The palms face down. The arms are twisted and pulled to the back. At this point, the palms have turned 270 degrees . The victim's arms are pulled back forcibly and unnaturally at the shoulder joints, until both arms form a 90 degree angle with the body. After that, the handcuffs on the two wrists are tied together with a shoelace.

...In the best case, the victim's arms are numb, the shoulder joints have no strength and the victim feel jolts of pain for more than one year. In the worst case, the victim's arms are disabled permanently.

Now, I know that many of you in Vietnam had this carried out until that stage where their arms were permanently damaged and disabled, but remember that isn't the intent. The intent is to do no permanent harm and to gain valuable intelligence information. Here's such a case.

When my senses returned I discovered I had been blindfolded and trussed into the "pretzel" position. Thick leg irons shackled my ankles, my wrists were tied behind me, and a rope bound my elbows just above the joints. The guards tightened the bindings by putting their feet against my arms and pulling the ropes until they couldn't pull any harder. Then they tied my wrists to my ankles and jammed a 10-foot pole between my back and elbows. After a few hours the leg irons began to press heavily on my shins and feet like a vise. The ropes strangled my flesh, causing searing pain and making my arms go numb and slowly turn black.

In the middle of the night, one of the less hostile guards, whom we called Mark, sneaked in and loosened the ropes a little. If he hadn't, I'm sure I would have lost both arms. In this case I would have vanished with the other badly injured POWs who never were repatriated.

Of course, they didn't get any information from this fellow prisoner.

Okay, for number 2. Everyone's favorite, waterboarding. In waterboarding, well, why not let the same fellow prisoner describe water boarding.

Then I was told to write a war-crimes confession, saying I was sorry I'd participated in the war. When I refused, I got to serve as a stress reliever for about 20 guards -- each took his turn beating me to a pulp. They pounded me for six or eight hours. By then I was getting pretty shaky. Then they got serious. I was introduced to a bowl of water, some filthy rags and a steel rod. The guards stuffed a rag in my mouth with the rod, then, after putting another rag over my face, they slowly poured the water on it until all I was breathing was water vapor. I could feel my lungs going tight with fluid and felt like I was drowning. I thrashed in panic as darkness took over. As I passed out, thinking I was dying, I remember thanking God that we had made a stand against this kind of society.

Again, sure somebody might die from this kind of thing accidentally, but that isn't the intention. But, perhaps most importantly, this is really no different than getting knocked down by a big wave at the beach on a hot sunny day. Or, playing tag in the pool and getting an accidental mouthful of water, or even blowing milk out your nose. Now, I know there are some former POWs that say things like:

For instance, there has been considerable press attention to a tactic called "waterboarding," where a prisoner is restrained and blindfolded while an interrogator pours water on his face and into his mouth—causing the prisoner to believe he is being drowned. He isn't, of course; there is no intention to injure him physically. But if you gave people who have suffered abuse as prisoners a choice between a beating and a mock execution, many, including me, would choose a beating. The effects of most beatings heal. The memory of an execution will haunt someone for a very long time and damage his or her psyche in ways that may never heal. In my view, to make someone believe that you are killing him by drowning is no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank. I believe that it is torture, very exquisite torture.

But, that guy, pictured here, probably doesn't understand how today's world has changed the "math" of torture.

And, of course there are other torture methods that are really no worse than other everyday occurances, like Senator Lott says.

For instance, Admiral James Stockdale was "physically tortured no fewer than 15 times. Techniques included beatings, whippings, and near-asphyxiation with ropes". But, is that really so different than what happens to frat brothers during rush each year?

And, as for beatings, well...

No, all in all, I guess ol' Trent Lott is right, many of these torture techniques are nothing more than good old fun. It makes a person wonder why so many people are up in arms? But, at least we understand now why you are not against torture, because you've lived through the fun and games and understand that it's just another barking dog, another mouth full of water, and another broken kidney. No biggie.

Sincerely,

Robert P.

Matthew Dowd, Bless His Heart.

2006-09-27T18:56:00.000-05:00

On MSNBC Matthew Dowd just said that people don't care about the macaca comments, the "n" word, or any of that stuff. That it is only the press. Well, bless his heart.

In Virginia's U.S. Senate race, a new SurveyUSA poll finds Sen. George Allen (R-VA) with a slight edge over challenger Jim Webb (D), 49% to 44%.

Key findings: "Day-to-day data shows that the race is volatile. On Sunday 9/24, after Allen had been accused of using racial slurs in college, he led by 7 in SurveyUSA Sunday-only data . On Monday 9/25, after Allen strongly denied the accusations, he led by 11 in SurveyUSA Monday-only data. On Tuesday 9/26, after more people corroborated the accusations, Allen trailed Webb by 3 points, in Tuesday-only data. The 5-point Allen advantage shown here, when the 3 days of data are combined and averaged, cannot be considered stable."

UNC Best Value

2006-09-27T14:22:00.000-05:00

According to the Herald-Sun, UNC was once again named Kiplinger's Best Value, the Costco of schools you might say.

CHAPEL HILL -- Kiplinger's Personal Finance once again has named UNC the best value in public colleges.

Carolina has topped the list each time the magazine has surveyed public colleges. The ranking rates the top 50 values in public colleges, using a quantitative ranking system, to find schools where students can receive a top education without accumulating significant debt.

The schools on Kiplinger's list were ranked according to academic quality, cost and financial aid. Public schools that made the top 50 keep costs down through creative financing, such as using funding from lottery tickets, university-branded apparel and private fundraisers.

I will come out here with something that is completely against the grain in CH. I think the University should cost more to attend. AND, I think the increase in costs should occur hand-in-hand with the creation of more high-quality universities in North Carolina. UNCA is considered a great undergraduate college. Other than that, the state is hurting for high-quality state schools. Why?

I would like to see UNCW, UNCC, UNCG, or ECU molded into a top-50 public institution. There is too much pressure to keep UNC-CH a great school and a cheap school. If we would work to create two or three EXCELLENT public colleges in North Carolina, we would be in a lot better shape.

Orange County coming to Cumberland?

2006-09-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

The OCDP is organizing a GOTV effort with Cumberland county. It is supposed to happen the weekend of Oct. 21st, which I might not be able to make, unfortunately.

Stay tuned and as I find things out, I'll let you know.

What the Country/Senate Map Looks Like

2006-09-25T13:17:00.000-05:00

This is a population map of JUST the Senate races in 2006 with a 50-50 final split of the Senate.

This is what it will look like if we have a big wave and win TN and VA.

Add to that seated Senators in Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon, Iowa, Illinois, and South Dakota and you've got a nice blue/purple map.

A welcome to it's a librarian thing...

2006-09-25T12:44:00.000-05:00

any site that starts off with the Colbert On Notice board, is okay with me.

Lack of Responsibility

2006-09-25T09:43:00.000-05:00

I just dropped my mom off at the airport after a wonderful week-long visit during which both of our kids had their birthday parties. It was great and I could write a lot about this week. But, something happened at the airport that I thought I would post a short blog on, because it seems indicative of what is wrong with our society.

As I dropped my mom off I overheard a woman discussing her flight with the valets at the curb. They told her that her 9:30 flight was delayed until 11:00. She was extremely upset and haughtily huffed, "Uh! They should have called." To which the valet replied, well they would have to call everyone. To which the woman said, "Exactly."

Now, the valet played it perfectly and said how that was just about right and he was sorry, etc. And, you know what? If she bought her ticket through Orbitz she would have gotten an automated phone call. But, to me the point was, "Who the hell do you think you are that it is someone ELSE'S responsibility to tell you your plane is late? What, you don't have a cell phone?"

Lack of responsibility. That is the problem with our country.

Personal responsibility.

Corporate responsibility.

Government responsibility.

Grrrrrrrr

2006-09-22T11:20:00.000-05:00

I just found out my grant for shared instrumentation to the NIH got a lousy score. Not triaged, hopefully not bottom 50%, but lousy. Grrrrr...

Worked hard on this, thought it had a chance to get funded on first submission. I won't get back reviewer comments for a couple weeks and the program officer is out of the office. So, I'm left to...

Why Electoral-Vote.com has good news.

2006-09-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

This site seems to be accepted by many in the blogger-know. I'm not sure. But, I do know this. Their results are good for us. Reasons why.

1. They give NJ to Republicans and I don't believe that will happen.

2. They have the Senate split 50-50, but take away the NJ red state and you have us in the lead 51-49.

Their map with linky

UPDATE: St. Thomas More - Intersection of Faith & Fordham

2006-09-21T09:02:00.000-05:00

I read in the Orange Herald today that there was a discussion about the traffic problems caused/related-to St. Thomas More. As anyone who lives in Chapel Hill knows, events at the church cause a huge congestion on the surrounding roads as people try to get in and out of the "grounds". An interesting aside, I had no idea that the St. Thomas More site was 20.5 acres, so I googled it.

Wow, that is big. I'm not sure of the boundaries, maybe I can find a map later on the town site.

Anyway, the problem is:

The concept plan before the Town Council from St. Thomas More calls for a new Parish Center, gymnasium, library, classrooms, art and music building and athletic field.

Add that traffic to the traffic already there and Bam! you've got a problem. Okay, you already have a problem, but you have a BIGGER problem. While I think there are solutions, I have another question. Most Sundays and at least some other days (I'm not there when their school lets out) I see local police parked at the intersections manually running the traffic signals to ease the traffic congestion. On one hand, the traffic congestion is a "danger". On the other hand, I would imagine that it wouldn't interfere with 15/501 traffic if the signals were run as usual. It is the people leaving the church that would have long waits. Does that mean the town is paying its police officers to sit there for hours each week and operate a traffic signal so the church can empty out quicker?

UPDATE:
Thanks to the fast footwork & phonework of Citizen Will and the CH staff.

From: Gregg Jarvies
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 9:20 AM
To: Roger Stancil
Cc: Carol Abernethy
Subject: RE: St Thomas More School

We do not provide officers to direct traffic on school days at St. Thomas More except for one or two days per year when a special event takes place.  On Sundays officers are hired by the church to direct traffic.   Our policy stipulates that any officer providing police services to a non-Town organization or for a function not sponsored by the Town must be hired by the organization through the police department, must be paid by the organization, and such work must be performed by the officer while he or she is in an off-duty status.
Officers working off-duty for non-Town functions are paid directly by the organization, not through Town payroll.

Well, of course the Chapel Hill Police handle this professionally. There is a reason we pay them so well, it keeps up retention, which means we have a very seasoned and professional force Serving & Protecting.

Speaking of the Catholic Church

2006-09-19T11:13:00.000-05:00

I swear I am not on a crusade. I followed another link to the BBC and this story jumped out at me. It wasn't until I was finished with the post below that the connection to my previous post popped into my head.

I haven't followed the Pope v. Islam fight going on, because I'm not Catholic or Muslim I guess. But, this article caught my eye. It's an interesting question about papal infallibility.

Commentators have described Pope Benedict's recent expressions of regret as close to a rare papal apology. But how, they ask, can a man believed by Catholics to be "infallible" make a mistake?
According to the Roman Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome IS infallible - but only in specific cases. The current furore over remarks made by the pontiff about Islam does not fall into this category.
Papal infallibility only comes into play with issues of faith that concern the whole Church. It doesn't apply when the Pope is expressing a personal opinion or, in this case, quoting from a historical text.
Papal infallibility was hotly debated for centuries within the Church after the notion that the Pope was the preserver of apostolic - derived from the apostles - truth, was set out in the early 6th Century. But according to Catholic historian Peter Stanford the word infallible wasn't used because it was believed only God could be infallible.

Well, there you go. He's right when it matters, but not on the little stuff. And, don't call youns infallible says Him.

New Rasmussen Polls. What they mean.

2006-09-18T10:23:00.000-05:00

The new Rasmussen polls now have their Senate prediction looking like this:

9/18

41(D)

7(Lean D)

3 (Toss-up)

1(Lean R)

48(R)

That makes a total of:
48 - D
49 - R
3 - Toss-up.

The three toss-ups are Tennessee, New Jersey, and Missouri. New Jersey is safe. As my only proof of that I bring you this commentary.

I am from there. (1+ / 0-)

New Jersey.
And every single election, whether it's for the President, Senator, Governor, Senator, you name it.

This is what happens.
So not making this up.
You can do the research.
I'm too lazy right now, tired from work.

But every single time, polls come out showing the D in the lead months ahead.
Then the lead shrinks.
Then the R even gains a few points.

Then the NJ media goes beserk screaming TIGHT RACE tight race tight TIGHT tight WOW! could it be?? Yes, this is one hell of race.
Then they keep this up to election day.

Then kossaks and everyone outside of NJ goes OH SHIT. is Blue NJ going Red? Purple?

They said Gore was locked in a tight one with Bush.
Right up until days before.
Then Gore takes the state by like what?
12?
They said Bush might take NJ over Kerry by like four points?
Kerry wins it.

The polls showed a tight race for Corzine for Gov. with the R.
RIGHT up until the polls opened they said the R (Forrester) could very well win.
According to the polls.
And Corzine wins by double digits (two years ago).

It never ends.
I don't get it.

I am SO not worried about NJ going for Kean.
It ain't ever EVER ever going to happen.
I promise you.

I've lived here all my life.
I don't care what anyone says, Kean loses to the D, period.

by Christin on Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 07:04:53 PM EDT

* [new] I'm from there too (0 / 0)

I think Kean is not gonna make it either. If he was running for da guvner, maybe, but not for the Senate. New Jersey voters realize that there is much more at stake here. Note the large number of undecideds. I would bet most of those have actually already made up their minds, but people in Jersey like to pose like they can be swayed even when they can't.

by mertam on Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 08:39:25 PM EDT

* [new] Menendez vs. Kean (0 / 0)

...is this year's version of Knowles vs. Murkowski (AK-Sen) in 2004, only with the parties reversed.

Lisa Murkowski was an unpopular appointed incumbent and Tony Knowles a very likable challenger. Knowles led in many of the polls leading up to the election. However, party affiliation meant enough to Alaska's voters to make Murkowski the winner.

I suspect the same reasoning will put Menendez over the top. NJ is as blue as AK is red.

Let's make Tommy Moore our Governor.
Vote Ballenger SC-03

by wayward on Sat Sep 16, 2006 at 08:32:48 AM EDT

Add New Jersey to our side and you have:
49 - D
49 - R
2 - Toss-up.

The two toss-ups are Tennessee and Missouri. All signs look bad in Missou, we are going to lose that one. However, Ford is starting to produce a steady lead and is putting out a good ad buy.

That leaves us at 50-50. However, the lean-R race is Virginia. If you saw Meet the Press this weekend, you know we have a good shot at taking down Mr. Macaca, which means we are closing in on 51-49. And, that my friends, is why we never give up.

Race in the Blogosphere

2006-09-16T19:37:00.000-05:00

I was reading through the race wars going on within the blogosphere, starting over here and with a response over here. My take is probably a little different than anyone else. I wouldn't know an African-American blogger from a Swedish supermodel blogger if they smacked me in the keyboard with a flaming comment. Sorry, I read your stuff, agree or disagree, but I don't really consider race or religion unless that is the point of the post. Now, over at Pam Spaulding's place, which I used to have homepaged on my Mozilla tab, but really haven't read lately, you would be hard-pressed to miss the fact that she is an African-American. But, for instance, over at MyDD, it wasn't until the rubber-stamp video that I had any idea what any of those fellas looked like. Even at BlueNC, I've only seen Lance once, and Anglico maybe twice.

So, I guess my take on this is that perhaps the person doing the inviting was doing it based on what they liked and not out of concern for fairness to people of different races. Maybe not.

This was interesting timing because I just finished Tavis Smiley's What I Know For Sure (of which I managed to get an Advanced Reader's Copy). It was an excellent read of a man who has lead an extraordinary life. It is a perfect beach book or long weekend book or nightstand book if you have two kids, like I do. I'm left wondering how he would have handled this situation. First of all, I have this feeling that he would not have allowed himself to not be invited; as he seemed, from his own telling, to have pushed himself into every opportunity that arose. There were times when he admits that he "pulled the race card", but more often it seems that he simply outworked everyone else and pushed for what he wanted harder than anyone else. In this case, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Tavis Smiley calling for a minority blogger conference with the former President.

Maybe not, because after all, This Much I Do Not Know Is True.

There is hope for Democrats.

2006-09-16T07:29:00.001-05:00

I don't know whether this is happening in NC, and we are four years behind the RNC, but at least we're making strides.

Catalist, a private information firm founded by veteran Democratic strategist Harold Ickes, is providing the raw data. The firm has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to add demographic and commercial data to entries for each voter, often purchasing the information from information vendors.

In Michigan, EMILY's List asked Garin Hart Yang, a Democratic polling firm, to survey more than 12,000 Michigan voters with an in-depth battery of lifestyle and issue questions. From the massive poll, EMILY's List and Garin Hart Yang were able to profile distinct clusters of voters. These groups were then given names like Educated Postgraduate Democrats or Downscale Union Independents. Each cluster was scored for how likely it'd support Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, their affinity toward the Democratic Party and the likelihood they will vote.

And, if you think vote rigging is a thing of the past...

2006-09-15T11:12:00.000-05:00

this from the Washington Post about the debacle in Maryland last Tuesday.

Workers on Valette's staff inexplicably forgot to include the plastic cards needed to cast electronic votes when they prepared green canvas bags for election judges. The mistake -- discovered 45 minutes before polling places were to open -- delayed thousands of voters and sparked calls for the top two Elections Board officials to resign or be fired.
He said he doesn't know how the 13,000 blue-and-white access cards got left out of the voting materials assembled in the Board of Elections warehouse last Friday. The cards should have been in the security bag, which remains zipped and fastened with a red plastic padlock until 6 a.m. on primary election day, he said. The sealed bag contains passwords and other sensitive material.

Now, perhaps this is just an innocent mistake. Perhaps. And, perhaps George Bush is a compassionate conservative after all.

Liquid Armor - Fact or Fiction?

2006-09-15T09:46:00.000-05:00

If true, it is a GD crime that we do not have NC textile mills being opened to create this stuff for the military. In WWII we took over the auto plants to create tanks.

Today, we should be opening every closed textile mill to make this liquid armor clothing.

The most important story you'll never hear.

2006-09-15T07:58:00.000-05:00

I just did a Google News search and only one major traditional media source, NPR, was covering this story. Princeton computer scientists got their hands on a Diebold voting machine and showed how easily it could be hacked. The video is only a few minutes long. In the end, there is no way of knowing whether a machine has been hacked. But, I take you back to this:

Auglaize County: in October, a former employee of Election Systems and Software (ES&S), the company that provides the voting system in Auglaize County, was allegedly on the main computer that is used to create the ballot and compile election results, which would go against election protocol.

Sen. Allen, Stupid or Racist?

2006-09-14T10:47:00.000-05:00

Sen. George Allen (R-VA) was videotaped calling a young Indian man a 'macaca', a racial slur common in his neck of the woods. He then went on to make excuses, like that he said "mohawk" referring to the kid's haircut. Finally, he gave up and gave an apology.

...Allen again apologized for the remark. Then, for the first time, he expressed regret for his longtime infatuation with the Confederate flag.

"The point is, symbols matter, they should matter, and this is something that I wish I learned a lot earlier," Allen said. "Even if your heart is pure, the things you say and do and the symbols you use do matter because of the way others may take them."

Oh man. I wish you had learned earlier too George, early enough to realize you were a racist, maybe then something could have been done for you. Now, it is too late.

He hung a noose from a plant in his Charlottesville law office in the 1980s and a Confederate flag inside his home. As governor in the mid-1990s, he alienated some by signing a resolution that designated a Confederate history month in Virginia but did not acknowledge the evils of slavery.

Allen, 54, said he did not see racial overtones in the Confederate flag.

That is because you've never seen it as the end of your life, as the thing that took away your father, your mother, your son or your daughter.

He said he was a rebellious youth and viewed the banner as a "symbol against authority." As a history major at the University of Virginia in the early 1970s, he said, he also began to see the flag as a proud heritage symbol for those with ancestors from the South who fought in the Civil War.

Well, Sen. Allen, you must have been a lousy history major. The "Rebel Flag" is actually the Confederate Navy Jack and is not the flag of the Army of Virginia. You see, that flag is square. Today's flag makers like the one-size-fits-all production value of the Naval Jack. So, all you racist maroons have been flying the wrong flag because flag makers in China prefer to use a rectangle instead of a square.

Kalling for Kissell

2006-09-14T08:37:00.000-05:00

The other day I did some phone calling for Larry Kissell in NC-08, where he is running against Robin Hayes. The thing that amazed me was this, of the people who answered the phone, all but 1 were undecided. That one was viciously anti-Hayes.

I think this race will come down to cash. If the DCCC does not give Larry cash and soon, then the undecideds might swing back to Hayes or not show up at all. If they give cash, people get to know Larry (who has no background for Hayes to smear, what are you going to do, put him down for being a mill worker and a school teacher?). If people get to know Larry he wins.

End of story.

Orange County: If you restrict it, they will build it.

2006-09-13T09:36:00.000-05:00

I see that at last night's council meeting there was a debate about a new development idea in Meadowmont.

Health Decisions does pharmaceutical trials and is located on Quadrangle Drive in Durham County. On about four acres along West Barbee Chapel Road in Meadowmont, the proposal calls for two floors of office space totaling 52,000 square feet, and a third floor with 11 residential units.

The question the council centered on was whether it would want the developer to build two officially "affordable" condos out of the 11 units, working with Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, or to accept a chunk of money from Rosenberg and his partners instead to go toward building affordable housing elsewhere. It's the same question that comes up with many projects in Chapel Hill.

The problem in a nutshell?

Mayor Kevin Foy suggested the council probably could go ahead and decide Monday night if Rosenberg were willing to commit to paying $150,000 toward affordable housing.
...
Rosenberg said he thought he had a basic understanding that a payment-in-lieu of $112,500 would be acceptable, based on an estimate from the land trust's Robert Dowling that that was the cost for 1.5 affordable units. Foy and some of the council said they still had some interest in actually seeing two units included within Castalia, or at least for Rosenberg to make a payment of $150,000 for two units.

"You're asking a difficult question, because I'd have to go back and look at the economics of this," Rosenberg said. "This may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back."

Fine. Let it break. Orange County, Chapel Hill, and Meadowmont are good locations. If you restrict it, they will build it. If not this guy, then the next. Developers have been crying foul over building restrictions in Orange County since before I was born, but it is still built out isn't it? I have lived in a number of coastal areas, where growth is accelerated, so let me give you a heads up on what is coming.

1. Sprawl until every allowable inch of ground is covered in a development.

2. Teardowns of the smallest houses and businesses to make larger houses and businesses (already happening with houses in town, go to top of the hill and see the old gas station that used to sit on that site).

3. Teardown of larger businesses to create even bigger businesses (in Daytona Beach, five story hotels were torn down to create ten story hotels, in Miami Beach, 10 story hotels were torn down to create 40 story condo highrises).

Many years ago we lost the opportunity to do something special at Eastgate and out along MLK. Now, we have this.

Instead of something like this.

Starving the System

2006-09-13T08:44:00.000-05:00

If you are against Universal Healthcare/Single Payer Healthcare, your biggest enemy is Medicare. Medicare is an excellent single-payer system that covers a huge number of people with lots of serious medical conditions for a reasonable price and with low low overhead (2% versus 30%). So, if you are a Republican in the White House and in the Legislative Branch, what do you do?

You starve the program into submission. You don't come right out and say you are going to kill off Medicare, because no one will support that. But, you start trimming benefits here, making more paperwork there, donut-holes for you, and then you slowly undercut the whole program by making it unattractive to doctors. That is the secret plan if you will of the Republican Congress. Undercut medicare so that less doctors accept it, talk about what a lousy plan it is, and suggest privatization.

Physicians issue warning over Medicare pay cut
By Jeffrey Young

With the number of legislative days dwindling and a stiff Medicare pay cut on the horizon, interest groups representing physicians are again warning that lower rates will cause doctors to treat fewer beneficiaries.

Groups such as the American Medical Association (AMA) sound this alarm every time MedicareÂs complex and much maligned payment formula calls for a cut in their fees, as it has for several consecutive years. For 2007, doctors seeing Medicare patients will get paid 5.1 percent less than this year if Congress does not act.

The plan is already in action, your social security benefits have already been cut. How? Because for each 5% cut in payment, doctors must schedule more patients, which means that your time with the provider becomes limited, your care suffers, your health suffers, you suffer. Don't fall for it.

Healthcare for All is our only option for good health in this country, our only option for those who believe healthcare is a fundamental right and not aprivilegee given to the wealthy few.

Fight for Healthcare For All.

North Carolina, Immoral When It Comes to Children

2006-09-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

This is a statistic that ticks me off, and it shows that when you think North Carolina, you really need to think "mediocre". You need to think, "aiming for third-world status".

North Carolina's infant death rate continues to exceed the national average. In 2005, 1,077 babies died before their first birthday - a rate of 8.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Based on provisional data, North Carolina ranked 45th in the nation in infant mortality in 2005.

In this case, we aren't even mediocre, we are below mediocre, we are bottom of the barrel. But, let's look outside the US, let's see how we rate compared to other "modern" countries. These are the countries that have infant mortality rates BETTER than North Carolina. That is, the infant mortality rate for the WHOLE COUNTRY is better than for North Carolina, with UNC Hospitals, Duke Hospitals, Wake Med, Rex, etc. We have, what four medical schools? UNC, Duke, Wake, East Carolina? Anyway, here you go.

163 Chile 8.80 164 Guadeloupe 8.60 165 Hungary 8.57 166 Bermuda 8.53 167 French Polynesia 8.44 168 Cayman Islands 8.19 169 Virgin Islands 8.03 170 Estonia 7.87 171 Reunion 7.78 172 New Caledonia 7.72 173 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 7.54 174 Slovakia 7.41 175 Poland 7.36 176 Montserrat 7.35 177 Cyprus 7.18 178 Northern Mariana Islands 7.11 179 Martinique 7.09 180 Israel 7.03 181 Guam 6.94 182 Lithuania 6.89 183 Croatia 6.84 184 United States 6.50 185 Taiwan (Republic of China) 6.40 186 Cuba 6.33 187 Korea, South 6.28 188 Faroe Islands 6.24 189 Italy 5.94 190 Man, Isle of 5.93 191 Aruba 5.89 192 New Zealand 5.85 193 San Marino 5.73 194 Greece 5.53 195 Monaco 5.43 196 Ireland 5.39 197 Jersey 5.24 198 United Kingdom 5.16 199 Gibraltar 5.13 200 European Union 5.10 201 Portugal 5.05 202 Netherlands 5.04 203 Luxembourg 4.81 204 Canada 4.75 205 Guernsey 4.71 206 Liechtenstein 4.70 207 Australia 4.69 208 Belgium 4.68 209 Austria 4.66 210 Denmark 4.56 211 Slovenia 4.45 212 Spain 4.42 213 Switzerland 4.39 214 Macau 4.37 215 France 4.26 216 Germany 4.16 217 Andorra 4.05 218 Czech Republic 3.93 219 Malta 3.89 220 Norway 3.70 221 Finland 3.57 222 Iceland 3.31 223 Japan 3.26 224 Hong Kong 2.96 225 Sweden 2.77 226 Singapore 2.29

I highlighted those that stand out in my mind, not because they actually ARE third-world countries, but because in America we look down on these nations as below us. Not as good as us. Yet, here they are, MUCH better at keeping their babies alive than we are.

Where are the pro-life activists?

Where is your indignation?

Or, are you merely pro-birth, do you care not for what happens to those babies once they are born?

Shame on you.

Black Lung

2006-09-11T19:56:00.000-05:00

I've just seen on Keith Olbermann's Countdown and read on the N&O that many/most of the people that worked on the pile after 9/11 have developed lung problems.

The Mount Sinai study indicates that workers, many of whom were volunteers, inhaled a caustic, pulverized dust that reached deep into their lungs and sinuses. The dust contained "trillions upon trillions of microscopic shards of glass," asbestos and other carcinogens, the co-author of the study told the Los Angeles Times. Among the ailments encountered are asthma and gastroesophageal reflux disease, according to guidelines released by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

I watched my granny die from a similar malady. She had worked her whole life in a shirt factory and the years of breathing linen fibers clogged her lungs like asbestos or coal. The doctors of Central PA were amazed at how similar it was to Black Lung. These men deserve our immediate attention, their health needs deserve our every effort. These were the men and women who fought to claw bodies, living and dead, from the mass that had been the center of commerce in America. So soon we forget. There is no GI Bill for these citizens. There is no VA for their care. There is nothing, but platitudes.

Whitman said in a "60 Minutes" interview to be aired this weekend that the EPA did not have authority over the Ground Zero site, and claimed she provided an accurate assessment of the air quality following the attacks. She distinguished between the air in lower Manhattan, which was considered safe, and the air at Ground Zero, which was not. "The readings [in lower Manhattan] were showing us that there was nothing that gave us any concern about long-term health implications," she said. "That was different from on the pile itself, at ground zero. There, we always said consistently, 'You've got to wear protective gear.'" (AP, Sept. 8)
But this a bogus defense, given that she failed to make this rather critical distinction at the time. New York Newsday saves this Sept. 18, 2001 Whitman quote from the Memory Hole:

"We are very encouraged that the results frpm our monitoring of air quality and drinking water conditions in both New York and near the Pentagon show that the public in these areas is not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful substances. I am glad to reassure the people of New York and Washington DC that their air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink."

Yet she has the chutzpah to tell "60 Minutes": "We never lied." Ommission is a form of lying, Christine. Ask any lawyer.

Now, the President sits in a tie that is too tight, that makes him look like a bobble, and spouts off about WMDs. He is so full of shit that it makes my head itch.

Starving our Children

2006-09-11T09:26:00.000-05:00

I love that the newspaper publishes what our kids are eating for lunch. Have a look.

TODAY

Chicken tenders w/roll or sloppy joe

SIDE DISH: Green beans; creamed potatoes; peaches

Chicken tenders or sloppy joe. It was the chicken tenders that got Jamie Oliver involved in Britain, and resulted in better meals for the kids throughout the country. The peaches are probably canned in corn syrup, so they might as well be a Snickers bar for the high sugar content and lack of nutritional value. Same with the creamed potatoes, which probably have a thumb-sized dollop of fat in each serving.

TUESDAY

Chicken sandwich or corn dog

SIDE DISH: Steamed broccoli; corn; applesauce

Steamed broccoli and corn are good. Applesauce is okay, unless it has sugar added, then it's a desert. Chicken sandwich is probably breaded and full of fat; and, corn dog...seriously, you're giving them corn dogs???

WEDNESDAY

Pizza or quesadillas

SIDE DISH: Spanish rice; fresh carrots & cucumbers; oranges

The side dishes are not bad except that a serving of rice has about 40 grams of carbs and no fiber, so it is basically like eating a Snicker's bar. The pizza is probably nutritionally deficient, but tons of simple carbs in the crust, fatty cheese and oils. Quesadillas could be a great meal, but I doubt these are packed full of peppers, onions, eggplant, and the like.

THURSDAY

Taco salad or turkey hoagie

SIDE DISH: Shredded lettuce/diced tomatoes; pintos; pineapple

Nothing really redeeming here, again.

FRIDAY

Hot dog w/trimmings or fish sandwich

SIDE DISH: Baked beans; coleslaw; apple

Again with the hot dogs? Fish sandwich is probably deep fried, but at least has some nutritional value, if it isn't a garbage fish that they are buying on the cheap. Baked beans have lots of protein, but these probably have high carbs because of the sauce. Same with coleslaw, probably lots of mayo with bad fat content.

I want you to ask yourself if this is good enough for our kids? Is it? Because I don't think it is. I think it sucks. To prove my point, I was going to show the prison menus for this week because everyone knows that prisoners eat better than students. But, lo and behold, I couldn't find the prison menus anywhere online.

Do you wonder why the majority of Americans are fat? You've just stared it in the face. We feed our kids fat, we cut down on their exercise, we put TVs in their rooms, video games in their rooms, and drive them a block to see a movie. Our kids are fat because of us. The least we could do is give them a shot at good health by teaching them good eating standards, but no, we've got them eating crud from start to finish. Way to go us!

Bad with names, getting worse with age.

2006-09-10T10:52:00.000-05:00

I'm not ashamed to admit that I am horrible at remembering names. But, I think it is getting much worse now that I am in my mid-30s. Yikes!

Anyone have any suggestions?

George C. gets it right on Carolina North

2006-09-09T18:52:00.000-05:00

George C. is a common user over at Orange Politics. In an article from today's Herald-Sun, he gets it right on transit for Carolina North.

Chapel Hill delegate George Cianciolo reiterated the town's stance that the new campus should be oriented around using public transit right from the start. But Holden Thorpe, chairman of the UNC Chemistry Department, said one of his concerns was that scientists would need to have access to Carolina North labs during off-hours, when public transit wasn't an option.

Dr. Thorpe, in my opinion, is using Republican tactics here. No one, well, almost no one, is saying there should be no parking available on Carolina North. But, that the majority of movement should be through personal transit and public transportation. That doesn't change at night. If we create places to live on campus for grad students and postdocs, then they walk to work. One local professor I know thinks that is the BEST reason for having housing on campus, because he can get his workers to come in at night to transfer that blot into primary antibody instead of waiting a whole day. The parking at night will free up, just like it does now. Go to any building on campus at night and you will find student and postdoc cars filling the service slots and reserved tiny parking spaces. It seems to work. I've never had to park at the Cardinal or Dogwood deck in order to work at night.

I think, and this is just a guess, the reason many OFFICIALS are against public transit is because they are used to parking right in front of their buildings and scooting right inside. Many faculty in the medical school start out parking down by the Dean dome and taking a shuttle or hiking up. Then, they can get a pass to the Craig deck, still a walk. I've talked to many that wish public transit was more widespread and more timely so they could ditch the car and travel by bus.

Personal and public transit doesn't solve all ills, but it is a good answer for many people. Deal with it.

My Nobel Connections...

2006-09-09T18:38:00.000-05:00

Several years ago I did a month stint in the lab or Sydney Brenner. He was always very busy, but we had some nice chats about molecular evolution. Then, he won the Nobel Prize.

On Monday, I will be working with Oliver Smithies. Who is Oliver Smithies you might ask?

CHAPEL HILL -- Oliver Smithies, a UNC professor of pathology, has been named a 2006 Thomson Scientific Laureate in the field of physiology/medicine. The 27 laureates named by Thomson are likely contenders for Nobel Prizes in the near future, according to the company.

Want your name up in bright lights, just hang out with me baby.

Just kidding of course.

Republicans concede in Rhode Island

2006-09-09T18:09:00.000-05:00

This brings my prediction that much closer.

In an extraordinary pre-emptive announcement, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has said it will concede Rhode Island to the Democrats should Stephen Laffey, the mayor of Cranston, defeat Mr. Chafee in the primary.

Citing poll data, Republican leaders said they saw no way someone as conservative as Mr. Laffey could win in a state as Democratic as this; as it is, they are increasingly worried about Mr. Chafee’s hopes in a general election.

My Senate Prediction and Progressive Leaning

2006-09-09T10:17:00.000-05:00

Why not, everyone else is doing it. I've been reading all the polls, all the other predictions, and fooling around on this page at the NYT.
My predictions are:
Pickups
Pennsylvania - Win a close one (Casey is a lousy campaigner, Santorum is good, but he is too loony for PA).
Ohio - Win a close one (Ohio corruption stains the Imperial Republic Party).
Rhode Island - Win a blowout after Laffey wins the Primary.
Montana - Win with a fairly good margin (5-6 points) because everyone there is looking to hate Burns, and he is providing them the opportunity.
Virginia - Win a nail-biter, perhaps with a recount it is so close.

Losses
Tennessee - Again, a nail-biter, but I don't think we win Tennessee (yet).
Missouri - This race was trending nicely for us, but now is going the other way. I think Talent keeps his seat.
Nevada - I think Carter positions himself well for another run, another day, but loses by 2-3 points in Nevada. The only way this race turns is if the unions prove themselves to be like the unions in the 40-50s and create huge turnout for Dems. If Democratic turnout is much, much higher in Las Vegas than ever before, then Carter might win.
Arizona - I don't know why people are even polling this race anymore. Unless we have a huge scandal, like happened with Obama's opponent, Pederson loses.

Outcome - 50 Republicans, 49 Democrats, 1 Indy, which means a 50-50 split with Cheney having deciding vote.

HOWEVER, there is a huge upside to this. We replace:
Jeffords in VT with Bernie Sanders. Former Republican replaced with self-described Socialist. Progressive +1.

Lamont beats Lieberman in CT. Replace an Imperial-appeaser with a progressive Democrat. Progressives +2.

Tester is an organic farmer with all the right positions. Progressives +3.

Casey is conservative, but Santorum is man-on-dog conservative. Progressives +4.

George Allen is a racist KKK-appeaser. Jim Webb used to serve Reagan, only in this race could we say...Progressive +5.

Ohio and Rhode Island. We are replacing Republicans with Democrats. Those Democrats are not left-wing, but they are Democrats. Progressives +6, +7.

I'm not sure about Amy Klobuchar, she seems fairly progressive, but Dayton did too based on votes. So, in the end the Senate leans Progressive +7 compared to previously.

Ants!!!!

2006-09-09T09:53:00.000-05:00

Anyone know how to kill off a whole yard-infestation of ants? I have them everywhere and I think they are based on this tree that has about a million ant embryo cases.

I don't wanna use pesticides.

George Bush isn't Crazy...

2006-09-09T07:36:00.000-05:00

he's freakin' Goofy.

Is Orange County going to hell or is it just the Herald

2006-09-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the top stories on the Heraldsun.com website.

Drunken driver sentenced for hitting blind woman, guide dog
HILLSBOROUGH -- The man who hit and injured a blind woman and killed her guide dog was sentenced to four months in prison Tuesday in Orange County Criminal Superior Court.

Stephen Coffee stands with assistant public defender Sherri Murrell at a sentencing hearing Tuesday at the Orange County Courthouse.
The Herald-Sun/Christine T. Nguyen

• Man draws 25-30 years for killing romantic rival
A judge sentenced Henry Atkins Jennings to 25 to 30¾ years in prison Tuesday for shooting and killing a romantic rival and for three other drug and weapon charges.

• Woman receives judgment of $20M against killer
A judge has awarded $20 million in damages to a woman whose common-law husband killed their daughter, a friend and a toddler.

• Crime Log: Shooting deemed suicide

So, what is it? Is Orange County having a rash of violent crime or is the Herald Sun turning to the popular practice of sensationalizing death?

Baghdad vs. Lebanon

2006-09-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

More than three years into the Iraqi occupation and we still don't have things under control in Iraq. The residents of Iraq hate us and with good reason, they still have limited electricity and water and "frills" like food and gas are hard to come by and can get you killed. Children are dying in the bombings every day, women are afraid for their lives, and men cannot find work to provide for their families.

So, how are things working out in another country that has been bombed "back to the stone ages" as Republicans like to say? Let's take a look at Lebanon after the break.

It is three weeks into a truce in Lebanon and the government still has no reconstruction plan.
"If it does not deliver the services it's just simply a name and in this case it's just simply an empty shell," publisher of the Daily Star newspaper Jamil Mroue said.

But in the South, it's a very different story - bustling with money and energy.

Mustafa Bedredine is mayor of Nabatiyeh - a stronghold of the Shi'ite militant group, Hezbollah.

Pummeled during the 34-day Israeli bombing what was rubble has now been cleared. Electricity and water are already restored.

When asked where the money for this reconstruction will come from, the mayor answers flatly that Hezbollah will provide the cash. Throughout South Lebanon, Hezbollah has deployed its team of bankers and engineers - keeping promises to rebuild lives.

Even in the worst-hit parts of Beirut, 'Construction Jihad' - 1,000's of Hezbollah volunteers led by Bilal Naim are at work.

How long before Construction Jihad takes over in Iraq? How long before they sicken of our lies and war and simply start rebuilding the country themselves with money coming from Iran and the Taliban?

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that people in the beleaguered city (ar-Ramadi) had been eagerly awaiting the assistance, having been cut off by the Americans for several months, not only from supplies, but from running water and electricity. Women and children had already lined up to wait for the convoy. But with the Americans determined to keep all aid out of the city, the convoy was obliged to turn around and head back to Baghdad before sunset, when the hours of curfew set in.

We've spent billions and years on Iraq and we can't come close to the improvements that Hezbollah has made in Lebanon. Many say that when we pull out the situation will dissolve into chaos, but I say look at Lebanon where a puppet government is ineffective, but Hezbollah has taken over. The same will happen in Iraq, whether we leave now or in ten years. The majority will fall back on their roots and join forces with Iran based on how things are going right now. It might have been a different story if Bush had allowed the UN to run the country immediately and had used bidded-contracts with deadlines and goals to rebuild Iraq. But, no.

We could have had an Iraq with an international force keeping out the way while the Iraqi military ran things, but we disbanded them.

We didn't protect the cities after the fall of Saddam because we didn't have enough troops and from that chaos was born the state of chaos we have today. Where US troops are seen as too few to make a difference.

When we leave, and we will leave, Iraq will erupt in conflict, it will become a state not unlike Iran, it will sell its oil and have a lot of money, and it will hate us with all its being.

Thanks Republicans.

I'm back.

2006-09-02T07:55:00.000-05:00

It's going to take a little while for me to get up and going. Some rewrites and such, but I am going to use this platform as a personal blog, not just politics. I will be discussing Orange County politics here.

So, I'm off to the Chapel Hill park to let the kids play, then to hit Caffe Driade for a cup of coffee. Maybe I'll stop there first...

2006-04-30T20:13:00.000-05:00

Funding
Posted by Picasa

2006-02-03T09:33:00.000-05:00

Dad in Vietnam, he's wearing his shirt.
Posted by Picasa

Now is the time for Single-Payer Healthcare

2006-01-14T12:42:00.000-05:00

The disaster that is the Bush prescription plan provides Progressives with their best opportunity in a generation to push for single-payer healthcare. The Bush plan touts "competition" that will drive down prices and offer choices. How is that going?

Two weeks into the new Medicare prescription drug program, many of the nation's sickest and poorest elderly and disabled people are being turned away or overcharged at pharmacies, prompting more than a dozen states to declare health emergencies and pay for their life-saving medicines.

Computer glitches, overloaded telephone lines and poorly trained pharmacists are being blamed for mix-ups that have resulted in the worst of unintended consequences: As many as 6.4 million low-income seniors, who until Dec. 31 received their medications free, suddenly find themselves navigating an insurance maze of large deductibles, co-payments and outright denial of coverage.

Seniors vote, seniors hate the change and the maze that has been forced on them by the Bush plan. They would probably vote now for a plan that would be single-payer run, that would cover all drugs, and that would allow government bidding for prescriptions.

hat tip to MyDD.

Could This Scalito Court Work For the Best

2006-01-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

Let's face it - it's a long time ago in a land far, far away that abortion was illegal. I think most of us haven't lived through having friends, family, or neighbors die in backalley abortions. That includes those who are on the wrong (right) side of the issue - that means Republicans, just in case my pun was too punny.
So, what happens if Alito is confirmed, abortion comes up, and they overturn Roe? Well, states get to make the decisions, so many states outlaw abortion. In that case, it won't take long before people start having back-alley abortions, dangerous abortions, and dying from abortion.

This is a new era folks, the era of 24/7 news coverage and blogging. None of these deaths will go unnoticed. The question is, how many innocents have to die before the majority in these states come to their senses? In the end, will many of the states legalize abortion even if it is with a number of crazy safeguards? Or, will the Supreme Court have to reverse itself in the near future because of the pressure that so many innocent lives lost will cause to arise.

Can we say that the deaths of the Civil Rights Era were worth it? They made us change, significant changes for the time, which seem to have stagnated since that time. Perhaps it takes public calamity and death to make the American people stand up for themselves and their rights. Perhaps the Roberts court will reverse Roe v. Wade after 50 years, but who is to say that reversal will last more than a handful of years. Much as the Republican majority will have lasted for only a decade after Democrats held power for 40 years; only to hand it back to us because their ideas are awful and their morals corrupt. So to, will the American people see the truth of outlawed abortion - the lack of deaths in Blue states and the daily stories of Red State deaths due to illegal operations performed by butchers in the abattoir.

The Good News Post

2005-12-27T07:38:00.000-05:00

I recently got pissed off after reading about how we were only ten points down in yet another poll. I'm so sick of being behind and getting excited that we are finally going to win, only to have Lucy pull out the football. Then I got to thinking that it was really just a matter of perspective, we are doing well in a lot of races - so I thought I would find that data:

Diane Feinstein (CA) - As of the end of September, Feinstein had $5.2 million in the bank for her reelection run. No opponent.

Bill Nelson (FL) - Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson begins his reelection year with a 55 – 31 percent lead over U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, the only announced Republican challenger in the 2006 Florida U.S. Senate race. At the end of September, Harris had raised $1.3 million and had only $470,000 cash on hand.

Maryland Senate - It looks like Cardin will win, latest Rasmussen poll has Cardin at 45% and Steele at 40%.

Minnesota Senate - Mark Dayton (D) is gone from the Senate, the leading Democrat leads teh Republican Kennedy 48% to 41%.

Washington Senate - ( For the second straight time in a Rasmussen Reports election poll, Democrat Maria Cantwell leads Republican Mike McGavick 52% to 37%. The poll numbers are essentially unchanged from our November 10 survey.

Ohio Senate - Congressman Sherrod Brown, who plans to formally kick-off his Senate campaign today, trails DeWine by just two percentage points in the latest Rasmussen Reports election poll. Paul Hackett, an Iraq War Veteran and strong critic of President Bush, is within a single point of DeWine. Name recognition for the two Democrats is lower than for DeWine - I think we can say this is very competitive.

Nebraska Senate - The latest Rasmussen Reports Election Poll finds Nelson leading political newcomer Pete Rickets by a 52% to 29% margin.

Pennsylvania Senate - The latest Rasmussen Reports survey shows that Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is continuing to lose ground in his battle for re-election. Santorum trails Democrat Bob Casey, Jr by twenty percentage points, 54% to 34%.

Generic House of Representatives Race (Rep. - Dem.)
ABC/Washington Post RV -10
NPR LV -8
Diageo/Hotline RV -10
Democracy Corps -8
CBS/New York Times RV -9
Democracy Corps -10

NC House Update

2005-12-26T13:05:00.000-05:00

I thought I would put together some information from around the net on the NC House races. First, from the DCCC page, the list of candidates and opponents.
Races in North Carolina (Democrat incumbents in bold; Democratic challengers in italics)

NC-01 Democratic Incumbent Rep. G.K. Butterfield

NC-02 Democratic Incumbent Rep. Bob Etheridge

NC-03 Challenging GOP incumbent Walter Jones:
Craig Weber

NC-04 Democratic Incumbent Rep. David Price

NC-05 GOP incumbent Virginia Foxx
thinking about it:
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines
Former State Senator Ted Kaplan, from BlueNC

NC-06 GOP incumbent Howard Coble
Some thoughts from Ed Cone.

NC-07 Democratic Incumbent Rep. Mike McIntyre

NC-08 Challenging GOP incumbent Robin Hayes:
Timothy Dunn
Larry Kissell

NC-09 Challenging GOP incumbent Sue Myrick:
Bill Glass

NC-10 Challenging GOP incumbent Patrick McHenry:
Anne Fischer (2004 page, nothing new)

NC-11 Challenging GOP incumbent Charles Taylor:
Heath Shuler

NC-12 Democratic Incumbent Rep. Melvin Watt

NC-13 Democratic Incumbent Rep. Brad Miller

So, how are we doing?
Well, we hold 6 seats that look pretty safe based on past elections. In the 7 seats the Republicans hold, we have declared candidates in 5 of the races. In the Foxx race we have two potential candidates. As of yet, we have no one challenging Coble, but perhaps someone out there knows about an unknown candidate?

What are out best chances at pickups? I have to think that Heath Shuler stands a good chance of knocking off Charles Taylor. Shuler as of October 1 had a 250K to 9K lead in money. Is Taylor even running? Will he have trouble raising funds?
In the last election he raised $330K from Special Interest PACS. That same fund raising will tie into the fact he is ethically challenged, as this roundup does a good job of reviewing.

That race alone would push NC from 6-7 Dem to 7-6 Dem and into the Blue camp. But, we can't forget about our old friend Robin Hayes. Hayes is linked to the corruption, gives a rubber stamp to the Bush administration on almost every issue, and has made some bad votes on the issues - his last minute reversal on CAFTA chief among them. However, he has a $500K or greater to $49K lead over Tim Dunn as of October 1 - it should be interesting to see what happens over the next month. I have no funding information on Larry Kissell at this time, anyone else? All in all, this should be a really competitive race based on corruption and the Republican stain, however, we're going to need some more money.

Are there any other competitive races? NC 1, 2, 4, 7, 12, and 13 are our seats. NC 8 and NC 11 are the two competitive seats, so that leaves NC3, NC5, NC6, NC9, and NC10. NC5 and NC6 we have no candidates, so by definition, not competitive. That leaves NC3 (Walter Jones) and NC9 (Sue Myrick). Jones has $367K cash on hand (as of October) and his stance of Iraq might make it hard for Democrats to beat him. He has stood up to the Bush administration, against the Iraq war, etc. Not saying he shouldn't be voted out, but just that it will be hard. I don't have much information on Sue Myrick, so if anyone wants to update it, I can edit this diary. Myrick has $287K on hand, her opponent has none a of the October report.

Christmas Time

2005-12-23T22:08:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Time, so here is my wish list.

1. Iraqi government asks us to leave the country within 3 months.
2. Karl Rove is indicted for the Plame affair.
3. Senate actually investigates GWB and his illegal wiretapping.
4. Someone, anyone, captures Osama bin Laden.
5. Abramhoff gives evidence against a dozen crooked politicians and they spend time in jail.

So, what is your wish for Christmas?

2005-10-28T14:25:00.000-05:00

Any other news today?
Posted by Picasa

Allied Casualties To Date

2005-10-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

--originally posted on Daily Kos--

But, who are our allies? Only the Europeans? No. I would say the Iraqi's are our Allies as well. Those police and military Iraqi's dying every day. So, if you are going to report Allied Deaths, do it correctly.

BUSH: Let me answer what he just said, about around the world.

GIBSON: Well, I want to get into the issue of the back-door draft...

BUSH: You tell Tony Blair we're going alone. Tell Tony Blair we're going alone. Tell Silvio Berlusconi we're going alone. Tell Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland we're going alone.

There are 30 countries there. It denigrates an alliance to say we're going alone, to discount their sacrifices. You cannot lead an alliance if you say, you know, you're going alone. And people listen. They're sacrificing with us.

So, President Bush loves our Alliance, I think we should stand with him and present our casualties as Alliance Casualties.

Senator John Warner, chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee - This mistreatment of prisoners represents an appalling and totally unacceptable breach of military regulations and conduct. Most significant...these images...undermine the...substantial sacrifice by our forces and those of our allies in the war on terror.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld - In the last three years, under the leadership of President Bush and the 85 or 90 countries in the coalition, probably the largest coalition in the history of mankind, we've changed strategies, assumptions, and our view of the world.

Condoleezza Rice Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs - America's service men and women, working with Iraqis and coalition forces, are helping to usher in these improvements. Our troops in Baghdad and other cities are operating under difficult conditions. Baathist dead-enders, Fedayeen fighters, and foreign terrorists continue to attack coalition forces, innocent Iraqis, and symbols of progress.

So, what are the Allied Casualties at this point?

Coalition Casualties in Iraq 2164 Coalition Casualties in Afghanistan 243 Iraqi Allied Casualties 3396 Allied Contractor Casualties 273 Total Allied Casualties 6076

Don't hate America, include all of our Allies in the body count. Not just Americans and Europeans, but all of our Allies.

2005-10-04T10:24:00.000-05:00

Who runs C-SPAN?
Posted by Picasa

2005-10-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

What up with the goat, Ohio?
Posted by Picasa

2005-09-28T12:42:00.000-05:00

DeLay Indicted
Posted by Picasa

I just watched Fahrenheit 9/11...

2005-09-22T05:50:00.000-05:00

and I forgot how pissed off I am. Especially about this:

So Al Gore was the choice of Florida’s voters -- whether one counts hanging chads or dimpled chads. That was the core finding of the eight news organizations that conducted a review of disputed Florida ballots. By any chad measure, Gore won.

Yeah, that really pisses me off. Who knows where we would have been with a real President, someone who wasn't bought and paid for by corporate interests. But, at least Bush has learned from his mistakes of cronyism - especially after the Brownie disaster.

Good news: Democratic governors have embarrassed the federal government into acknowledging the oil price gouging issue, as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today announced a formal probe. Bad news: President Bush made sure to preempt any real investigation into price gouging by his financial backers in the oil/gas industry when last year he appointed a former ChevronTexaco lawyer, Deborah Majoras, to head the FTC.

Silly chuckles, a Neocon doesn't learn from his mistakes, he denies them until his death. Remember this?

In the years following, various episodes served as occasions for one pundit or another to declare Nixon's reputation restored. Nixon would visit Capitol Hill, or criticize George Bush's Russia policy in a strategically leaked memo, or meet with President Clinton; each time he was pronounced rehabilitated, even as polls showed that he remained unpopular. His death on April 18, 1994, brought a new zenith of revisionism: an outpouring of praise from President Clinton and other public figures. Television and radio networks aired a relentless parade of fond reminiscences about Nixon, news anchors drummed home the now-familiar lines about his comeback (again creating the fact they were ostensibly just reporting), and the eulogies at the funeral itself never once mentioned Watergate.

My greatest fear is that the Republicans will get their ship back on course before November 2006 - right now they are screwing the pooch as thoroughly as possible. Stay the course, George, stay the course.

McUSA Drops in World Health Measures

2005-09-20T08:09:00.000-05:00

As I have noted here earlier, the US does a horrible job of keeping its infants and children alive. Now, new data from the UNDP Human Development Report for 2005 shows that the US has dropped in comparison to the rest of the world with respect to life expectancy.

1 Japan..........82.0 2 Hong Kong......81.6 3 Iceland........80.7 4 Switzerland....80.5 5 Australia......80.3 6 Sweden.........80.2 7 Italy..........80.1 8 Canada.........80.0 9 Israel.........79.7 10 France........79.5 ... 18 Cyprus........78.6 19 Luxembourg....78.5 ... 27 Chile.........77.9 ... 29 United States.77.4 30 Cuba..........77.3

An interpretation of this data by others suggests the following:

Health is measured by life expectancy which is a pretty robust number. Not only have other countries moved ahead of us the gap between the US and the healthiest country has increased yet again. It is now 4.6 years, and if we eradicated heart disease, our leading cause of death, it would gain us about 3.5 years and we'd still be behind. Regarding the sensitivity of the number, doing the calculations with and without the 3000 deaths of Sept 11, 2001 would only affect it by 0.01 years.

So, what we have here is an indicator that the United States is once again, going backwards with respect to the rest of the world. They are getting healthier, faster than we are. Heart disease plays a major role in our unhealthiness, which is no surprise if you simply look around at all the McDonald's manging, Taco Bell stuffing, KFC finger-licking meals you see at work and at play. In both Florida and South Carolina, it was not uncommon for me to see parents drop off their kids at preschool or daycare with a McMeal for breakfast or lunch. Bad habits are hard to break. Giving kids bad habits is criminal at worst, stupid at best. The public needs help in educating themselves and kids need help educating their parents.

Smoke & Mirrors: Bush Relief Ends New Deal

2005-09-16T12:29:00.000-05:00

There have been a number of diaries about the Bush Relief plan, but I haven't read one that has seen the true underpinings of the Bush Relief Plan. This is everything the Neoconservative Movement could have hoped for - the End of the New Deal.

The President will live up to his promise.

The President will spend $200 Billion on Katrina relief.

The President will spend another $200 Billion on Iraq.

The Neoconservative movement will then have its wish, the destruction of the New Deal.

What happens if the President gets his way and we spend all this money? Do you think the fiscally conservative Republicans are going to forget about the balanced budget they want? No, they can play right along with the Neoconservatives to make sure everyone get what they want.

...On Thursday, even before President Bush promised that "federal funds will cover the great majority of the costs of repairing public infrastructure in the disaster zone," fiscal conservatives from the House and Senate joined budget watchdog groups in demanding that the administration be judicious in asking for taxpayer dollars....That sore spot was rubbed raw earlier this week when Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, suggested that the Republican Congress had already trimmed much of the fat from the federal budget, making it difficult to find ways to offset hurricane spending.

Mr. Coburn called such a claim ludicrous and other Republicans took exception as well.

"There has never been a time where there is more total spending and more wasteful spending in Washington than we have today," said Pat Toomey, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania and the head of the conservative Club for Growth. "There is ample opportunity to find the offsets we need so that this does not have to be a fiscal disaster as well as a natural disaster."

Are you beginning to see it? Sure, we'll spend $200 Billion dollars for businesses to build up the coast, paying sub-minimum wages. In the meantime, how should we pay for it? Well, I guess we will have to cut all those programs that poor people abuse. At a time like this, we need to focus on those who have suffered real tragedy and turn out those who are just lazy.

Where will they have their needs met?

"It is my hope that my constituents will join me in making a contribution to a charitable organization. The people affected by this storm desperately need our help right away. A donation to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, or other charitable groups will help provide the resources necessary for these people to survive." Representative Virginia Foxx

From the mouths of idiots, the plan. How many times did you something like this from the President last night:

Coast Guard and other personnel rescued tens of thousands of people from flooded neighborhoods. Religious congregations and families have welcomed strangers as brothers and sisters and neighbors.

Before giving credit to the state or cities, or to private individuals, or even FEMA - he makes it clear that CHURCHES provide the help needed.

This is how the New Deal will be lost - through the use of religious propaganda. Who needs Medicaid or Medicare, your churches will take care of you. Who needs welfare or food stamps, your churches will take care of you.

This is it people - the fight for the New Deal.

Our responsibility is to make this fight about the inability of the Neoconservative small government movement to keep a working government in place. Our responsibility is to make everyone realize that tax cuts to the rich are to blame for the levees breaking. Our responsibility is to make America see that Democrats, not Neoconservatives will protect ALL of our citizens, not just the rich, white citizens.

Truth and Politicians

2005-09-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

Do as I say, not as I do.
Lesson 1 - Town Rules are for YOU, not for US!!!

Signs proliferate, despite Cary rule
Candidates' campaigns fail to follow the town's ordinance, but they don't face fines.

...Since the campaign for Town Council kicked off a few weeks ago, candidates have broken the town's sign ordinance 62 times...The town's politicians are supposed to follow the same rules that bar their neighbors from advertising their yard sales on telephone poles or dressing up like Uncle Sam and waving to traffic to drum up business. ...Most prefer not to talk about it. Ed Yerha, whose campaign has had 23 illegally placed signs confiscated by the town, professed ignorance at a recent candidates' forum.

"I have always been a supporter of the sign ordinance in Cary because I think it makes it as attractive as it is," he said as his volunteers stifled snickers. "Hopefully, we're complying as much as we can with that."

So, as much as you can? As much as you can. "I'm sorry Officer, I tried to comply with the DUI laws as much as I can, but that waitress was really cute, soooooo, I had to keep buying drinks."

..."To me, if you're running for Town Council, you need to obey the law," council member Jennifer Robinson said recently. "If these people are sincere, they should take down the ones that are illegally posted."

Amen, and I am sure that all the good people running for office will realize the error of their ways and immediately change their ways.

"I originally said, 'I will not put any in public right of ways,' " [Jack Smith] said. "But the absence of mine was just too compelling."

UNC and Duke Hospitals - First Do No Extra

2005-09-15T13:28:00.000-05:00

I just read through a story in the News & Observer concerning UNC Hospital and the loss of a child's fingertip. There are two sides to each story, but in this one, it appears that bureaucracy trumped care.

I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgement, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. The Original Hippocratic Oath

One afternoon in March, Claudine Lee rushed her 20-month-old son to the only hospital in rural Bladen County, the tip of his right pinkie hanging by a flap of skin. The emergency physician, Dr. Vicki Lanier, told her the boy, whose finger had been crushed in a door, needed a larger hospital with surgeons who could repair it.

Lanier tried UNC Hospitals, but a doctor there refused to see the child. She tried Duke, where a doctor agreed to treat Marcus, but only after arguing that UNC should have.

It is probably an hour and a half drive between UNC and Bladen County Hospital in an ambulance, tops.

More than seven hours after the accident, a Duke surgeon stitched Marcus's finger back together. But the tissue died; his fingertip eventually was amputated...

The UNC physician who took Lanier's call, whose full name is not given, told her "it was not appropriate to send the patient" to Chapel Hill, the reports say. He also told her that Bladen County Hospital should have an orthopedic surgeon on call who could evaluate and treat Marcus, according to the report. "They are getting paid to do it," Lanier said the UNC physician told her. UNC, he told her, typically accepts orthopedic transfers only after a local orthopedist has seen the patient and determined that care at UNC is needed. But Bladen County Hospital, which has just 25 beds, does not have a full-time orthopedics department, just visiting orthopedists who come in from outside the county once or twice a week. Lanier explained this to the UNC physician repeatedly, the reports say.

In the future, McCall said, UNC will accept transfer requests even if there is debate about whether UNC is the best place for the patient to receive care. "We don't want anything like this to happen again," she said.

Really? How interesting. Go figure.

When UNC refused Marcus, Lanier paged a Duke orthopedic surgeon, who agreed that Marcus needed to be seen...

Thank goodness, way to go Duke, let's save this little boy's finger

But before starting the transfer, the surgeon asked Lanier to call UNC back and demand to know why the boy's injury wasn't worthy of its attention.

Uhmm, maybe you could find that out AFTER you save his finger?

He waited to hear back from Lanier, who told him that UNC repeated that the transfer was inappropriate and again refused to treat the child, according to the reports.

So, okay, UNC f**ked up, let's save the 20-month old boy's finger...

The Duke surgeon then called Duke's hospital transfer center.

Really? How interesting. Idiot.

According to the investigation reports, which quote a transcript of the call, the Duke surgeon said he wanted documentation that UNC had refused to accept the transfer of a 20-month-old child who needed orthopedic services. The surgeon said Duke was "getting dumped on by UNC Hospitals" and that he was "tired of this." Finally, the surgeon asked the Duke transfer center to call Bladen County Hospital and begin the transfer. Marcus then was treated; his finger was stitched back on, not actually reimplanted.

Can anyone else say, M-A-L-P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E.

State regulators also reviewed Duke's part in Marcus' treatment. The state recommended that Duke also be found in violation of the federal emergency care law, which also specifies that hospitals may not delay emergency treatment. But the federal government disagreed. Duke officials got a letter from federal regulators in July indicating that Duke had met its obligation to provide care.

I for one call Bullshit. Duke is every bit as much to blame as UNC. UNC might have made a bad initial decision, but they made it quickly. Duke dragged this shit out for hours and hours, which probably helped in the loss of a 20-month old's fingertip. But, hey, it's just a fingertip and he's only 20 months old - he'll never miss it.

Why Americans Have It All Wrong

2005-09-13T10:45:00.000-05:00

How many more SUVs, BMWs, Mercedes, beach houses, and face lifts do we need in America?

How many families do we need to foster and adopt children? Apparently, lots.

Eleven Children Found Caged in Ohio Home

Sheriff's deputies found 11 children locked in cages with alarms in a north Ohio home, and prosecutors are looking into possible charges of abuse and neglect.

The children, ages 1 to 14, were in nine cages in the walls of a house outside this city of about 1,000 about 50 miles west of Cleveland, according to the Huron County Sheriff's Office. They had no blankets or pillows, and the cages were rigged with alarms that sounded if the cages were opened, Lt. Randy Sommers said.

The children told authorities they slept in the 40-inches-high by 40 inches-deep cages at night. Doors to some of the cages were blocked with heavy furniture.

Sharen and Mike Gravelle are adoptive or foster parents for all 11 children, officials said. Prosecutors are reviewing the case, but no charges had been filed as of Monday night.

My wife and I are considering adopting or fostering now, or waiting until our kids are a little older. This kind of disgusting crap makes me realize that NOW is more likely. There is evil in the world, if you doubt that, read the blockquote again...EVIL. The reason these people get away with things like this is simple, because our society does not value the lives of poor children. Children born into poverty, who are taken from their families, or given away by parents who cannot raise them, are considered the dregs of our society. The righteous right would never make this an issue, because in their viewpoint these children must be bad, must have deserved this treatment.

The only people who can fix this is us, now. Only the Progressive Left with its belief in a caring family, with its belief in equality and equity for all, even the poor, we are the only ones in our society that can make a difference. We must not stand by, we must not focus our lives on more cars, more this, more that, but on raising up those who are less fortunate. Only then can we be truly Progressive, only then can we shame the Righteous Right, who care only about the birth of fetuses and not about what happens afterwards.

Natural Disaster vs. National Disaster

2005-09-02T07:37:00.000-05:00

For those wondering why the government, including sock puppet Scotty McClellan, are focusing on the Natural Disaster meme: From September 1, 2005 Press Conference with Scott McClellan

Q Scott, I know the President obviously is focused on response efforts right now, but can I talk to you about preparedness? Is the President satisfied with the way assets were pre-positioned, specifically in those areas like New Orleans and Mississippi, New Orleans particularly, a place that was identified by the Red Cross as being particularly vulnerable because of its geographical location. Is the President satisfied?

MR. McCLELLAN: ...This is not a time to get into any finger pointing or politics or anything of that nature. This is a time to make sure all our resources available are focused where they need to be, and that is on the people who have been displaced or the people who have been otherwise affected by this natural disaster. And that's exactly what we're doing.
...
I think on Tuesday everybody recognized that this -- if not sooner -- that this natural disaster is unprecedented. It is, as I said, perhaps the, if not -- certainly one of, if not the, worst natural disasters in our nation's history.

Natural Disaster - There is nothing we could do, it is an act of God. Any suggestion of blame is sacrilege.

National Disaster - Nation = United States; United States = President; President = George W. Bush; GWB = Republican; therefore, National Disaster = Republican Disaster

View Original

Katrina was a Natural Disaster, from yesterday on is a National Disaster. It is now Friday and there are still tens of thousands of people stranded in Katrina's wake. Hundreds of thousands without food and water. Millions without power. Reports saying that at one sight, hundreds of elderly and infants have died from exposure. THAT is a National Disaster based, once again, on poor planning by Nero, who diddled while Katrina churned.

President Bush Playing a Little Guitar AFTER Hurricane Katrina Hits

David Brooks, The Johnstown Flood, and Hell To Pay

2005-09-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

I started off calling this diary David Brooks is a Goddamn Liar based on his opinion piece in the New York Times. However, while he does let a lie slip through early in his opinion, the rest of the piece reads fairly well.

He begins by discussing the Johnstown flood, based upon his reading of David McCullough's book of the same name. While McCullough is famous for a variety of books now (John Adams, 1776), I first heard of him when I picked up The Johnstown Flood book back in 1996. So, a little about the Johnstown flood from Brooks.

In 1889 in Pennsylvania, a great flood washed away much of Johnstown. The water's crushing destruction sounded to one person like a "lot of horses grinding oats." Witnesses watched hundreds of people trapped on a burning bridge, forced to choose between burning to death or throwing themselves into the churning waters to drown.

The flood was so abnormal that the country seemed to have trouble grasping what had happened. The national media were filled with wild exaggerations and fabrications: stories of rivers dammed with corpses, of children who died while playing ring-around-the-rosy and who were found with their hands still clasped and with smiles still on their faces.

If it sounds bad, but not hideous, you're wrong.

It has been described as a rolling hill of debris (trees, trains, tracks, boulders, houses, people), 40 feet high and a half-mile wide.

Then, as David McCullough notes in "The Johnstown Flood," public fury turned on the Pittsburgh millionaires whose club's fishing pond had emptied on the town. The Chicago Herald depicted the millionaires as Roman aristocrats, seeking pleasure while the poor died like beasts in the Coliseum.

Even before the flood, public resentment was building against the newly rich industrialists. Protests were growing against the trusts, against industrialization and against the new concentrations of wealth. The Johnstown flood crystallized popular anger, for the fishing club was indeed partly to blame. Public reaction to the disaster helped set the stage for the progressive movement and the trust-busting that was to come.

Actually, the fishing club was totally to blame. The fishing pond was large enough to house a paddle-wheel river boat, sat on top of a mountain, behind a day. It was the club's responsibility to maintain the dam. The dam was allowed to fall into disrepair because it was going to cost too much to do the repairs. This from the wealthiest men in the world. The crest of the dam was allowed to droop and the flood gates were allowed to fall into disrepair. Had it not been for those actions, MAYBE the flood would never have happened.

This incredible painting gives the best indication of what happened.

Enlarge

BTW, What an Incredible Site

So, that is the lie, that Mellon, Frick, Carnegie and the gang of robber barons had a little bit to do with the Johnstown Flood. They were negligent and responsible.

However, I have to say that the rest of the article seems to suggest that their will be hell to pay for this flood. Most surprising, he seems to suggest that it is the current administration that will pay said hell.

Then in 1927, the great Mississippi flood rumbled down upon New Orleans. As Barry writes in his account, "Rising Tide," the disaster ripped the veil off the genteel, feudal relations between whites and blacks, and revealed the festering iniquities. Blacks were rounded up into work camps and held by armed guards. They were prevented from leaving as the waters rose. A steamer, the Capitol, played "Bye Bye Blackbird" as it sailed away. The racist violence that followed the floods helped persuade many blacks to move north.

Civic leaders intentionally flooded poor and middle-class areas to ease the water's pressure on the city, and then reneged on promises to compensate those whose homes were destroyed. That helped fuel the populist anger that led to Huey Long's success. Across the country people demanded that the federal government get involved in disaster relief, helping to set the stage for the New Deal...

Civic arrangements work or they fail. Leaders are found worthy or wanting. What's happening in New Orleans and Mississippi today is a human tragedy. But take a close look at the people you see wandering, devastated, around New Orleans: they are predominantly black and poor. The political disturbances are still to come.

Ass-Hat

2005-08-31T10:44:00.000-05:00

Link

Ferrell Blount is the Chairman of the NCRP, a.k.a. The Evil Empire. He is downright nasty, both inside and outside his own party. But, this is just funny, and what makes Ferrell Blount the proud recipient of my Ass Hat award. You see Tim Dunn just signed up to run against Robin Hayes in the 2006 election. Robin Hayes is dirty. He has lied to his constituents and voted for CAFTA. Robin Hayes is going down. So, what is Ferrell's response:

I read with great interest your announcement to enter the race for Congress in the 8th District...After a quick review of your Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports from the last time you ran, I see that you have not filed any reports since 1999. However, the final report you filed did not indicate that you were terminating your committee. You reported cash on hand and more than $18,000 in debts. Presumably, you are aware that “[d]ebts and obligations owed by or to a political committee which remain outstanding shall be continuously reported until extinguished.” 11 CFR § 104.11(a)...As an attorney, you should know that candidates and citizens don’t get the luxury of following the law only so long as it is convenient. As someone who said, “What Congress needs is more North Carolina values and less Washington politics,” you should stop talking to people about values until you at least come into compliance with the basic laws of the nation. As a native North Carolinian, I can assure you that your actions do not reflect the values of this state.

Ass-Hat. Your best response is to dredge up $18,000 in debt that may or may not have been paid for by now. Dunn's camp has denied the charge and, correctly, interpreted this as an attack to take away notice from the recent CAFTA LIE by Hayes. Let me tell you what North Carolina values don't include.

* Shifting the tax burden onto working people and off of wealth gatherers.
* Sending troops into harms way without the proper equipment or a plan to win.
* No-bid contracts to Halliburton.
* An Energy bill that gives big-time handouts to OIL COMPANIES that are collecting record profits.
* No Child Left Behind, being left behind because of a lack of funding.

NC gets a Lottery Like It Or Not

2005-08-30T14:56:00.000-05:00

The North Carolina Assembly just voted 24-24 to have a lottery, with Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue breaking the tie in favor of Governor Easley. The vote is normally 24-26, but two Republican Senators were not able to make the unusual session (sickness and HONEYMOON). The Progressive Viewpoint on the lottery is something I just don't get. Let me begin by saying I'm not sure how I feel about the backdoor politics played here to get the lottery in North Carolina. This is exactly the sort of thing that Republicans do to win ALL the time, so perhaps it is long overdue for Democrats to win at all costs.

I'm against raising the sales tax because it is regressive, you have no choice but to buy in our economy. Poor people pay more of their salary in sales taxes than rich people, so that isn't fair. But, the lottery is a choice. On the conservative side, I can understand those that think gambling is a mortal sin, so they oppose it on those grounds.

But, the argument from Progressives that we shouldn't have a lottery because it is regressive doesn't work for me. Ignore how the lottery income is spent for a minute, which I don't agree with (based on previous attempts, still looking for the wording of what passed), and focus on the lottery itself.

It is a sticky wicket being a Progressive. Our pro-life movement (vs. the Conservative pro-birth movement) insists that a woman's body is her own and that she has the free will to make her own choices. Our Human Rights movement (vs. the Conservative Gay Bashing movement) insists that government has no business interfering in the private lives of others. Yet, when it comes to the lottery, Progressives feel that the poor need protecting, because the lottery takes advantage of them. Where is the free will and private lives for those people? Or, do WE know better than THOSE poor people, so they need our protection.

What arrogance, what stupidity. I don't think this is an issue you can pick and choose - CHOICE.

This is a topic larger than abortion or the lottery, it is about personal responsibility and how much say government should have over our lives.

On a more local note, I recently got some gas out in the country here in North Carolina. I asked the attendant what he thought about the lottery. His reponse was that it would be good for business and it would mean he didn't have to drive to Virginia anymore to buy tickets. We're two hours from Virginia! The people want the lottery. If you are against gambling as a mortal sin, that I can at least understand. But, if you are for free will and personal choice, then how can you be against the lottery?

Hurricane Katrina, Life, Death, Poverty

2005-08-29T08:19:00.000-05:00

Hurricane Katrina has made landfall in Louisiana and is tearing up New Orleans. The prayers of millions are with those unlucky hundreds of thousands that remain in the storms path of destruction. The Superdome has become home to a largely minority population of 30,000 or more. The latest news is that the roof is coming off the Superdome - this could be the greatest tragedy in American history. If the Superdome fails and 30,000 poor people are left open to the wrath of Katrina...

Pray for these people.

The death and destruction will not occur only as the storm passes over, but also as it passes beyond, up the Tennessee Valley. The continuous rain will pour into the Mississippi, carrying along toxic waste, trees, crocodiles, snakes, rats, you name it. All of this will rush down and if the dams and levees don't hold, into New Orleans. The punch bowl, waiting at the bottom.

There are many rural residents with no way out, who hang on to their lives by a thread at this moment. All we can do is hope that the storm will dissipate quickly and that death will be averted.

The Best We Have To Offer

2005-08-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

From the Raleigh News & Observer .

CHERRY POINT MARINE CORPS AIR STATION -- Earlier this month, a pair of hulking transport planes touched down and disgorged the newest additions to the Marine Corps helicopter fleet: three MH-53E Sea Dragons that had been sitting in an aircraft "boneyard" in the Arizona desert for about a decade...Restoring the helicopters, which have been out of production since 1999, is an extraordinary step; but the Marines have little choice: They're running out of big choppers...At least part of the solution to the Super Stallion shortage, Milliman said, could involve the Cherry Point depot and the 14 other rebuildable helicopters sitting in the Arizona boneyard, formally called the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center. The boneyard is a combination junkyard and storage lot for military and Coast Guard aircraft that can be brought back into U.S. service or sold to allies.
There are 4,300 aircraft there dating to 1957, and most are suitable only for parts, said Terry Vanden-Heuvel, a spokeswoman there.

I can see the ads now.

Republicans spent billions on tax breaks for tycoons and heiresses...

While our troops made due with Hillbilly Armor...

and equipment sent to a desert junk yard 10 years ago.

What I find fascinating about this is JUST what an egregious example it is of Republican Abuse of Power. There are so many examples to pick from, lack of armor, lack of body armor, etc. But, there is something special about this one. It tickles the fancy. The Republicans buy big fricking SUVs for the private contractors, lose billions of dollars to Halliburton, give no-bid contracts that cost billions more than competitive bids, and then come up short when it is time to support the troops. What a load of hoo-ey.

The article goes on to give some reasons for the shortage that is starting and which will continue to grow worse in 2010.

It will probably be at least 2015 before the replacement choppers are deployed, he said. But the service life of a Super Stallion is 6,120 hours in operation, and current estimates are that the Corps will have to start parking about 15 copters a year in 2010.

That leaves five years in which the Marines' fleet of heavy lift helicopters will dwindle before replacements start coming into service...Asked whether the helicopter supply would have lasted through that gap without the wars, he said: "That is a reasonable supposition"...Aboulafia, the analyst, said the wars are not the only cause of the chopper shortage. He also blames the long-troubled V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor development program, the costs of which have soared.

That aircraft -- which can take off like a helicopter, then rotate its engines to go forward like an airplane -- has been in development since 1983. Its setbacks include two crashes in 2000 that killed 23 Marines and a scandal over falsified maintenance records. The program has repeatedly seemed close to being canceled, but now appears on track for full production.

The Osprey is designated a "medium-lift" aircraft, meaning it carries fewer troops and less cargo than the Super Stallion. It is planned as the replacement for the smaller CH-46 chopper.

The Marines have spent $13.4 billion on the Osprey, said Ward Carroll, a spokesman for the program. They have spent or obligated $111.8 million for the replacement for the Super Stallion, Milliman said.

"The Marines have put all their lift eggs in one basket, the V-22," Aboulafia said

So, while this is the Marine's poor planning coming home to roost, it is also irresponsible for our government NOT to get them new helicopters up and running NOW. No one even knows how these old copters will function, if at all. Nor, how long. The Republicans love to spend money on defense research and things like Star Wars, but when it comes to things that will actually make a difference on the ground, to the troops, they come up short.

IF State and Church are not Separate, Then Which Church Rules?

2005-08-25T10:43:00.000-05:00

This is a compelling argument that I continually make to myself, without any data to support it. So, I am mining web pages, thank God for the internets to find out exactly which religion George and company want to saddle us with. The president and others continually discuss the fact we need more religion in our society, in our schools, in our workplace, in our government. The big problem with this, the one the Founders saw coming WAY back, was - which religion? What about those who don't believe or agree with that religion? Forget all the talk about Family Values, this is about setting up an American Religion one baby step at a time.

Okay, so here are the facts. There are about a million ways to read the various statistics, but this is one of them.

George, Jerry, Pat, and Rick should quickly agree on the following premises (denotes percentage of Americans STILL represented by our National Religion based on the following premises):

Our National Religion will NOT be Judaism (98.6)
Our National Religion will NOT be Islam (98)
Our National Religion will NOT represent Atheist, Agnostic, Buddhist, anything but Christianity (79.8)
Protestant teachings believed by Bushco insist that the Pope is the antichrist, therefore, Our National Religion will NOT represent Catholics (54)
Oh hell, let's get to the point, if you aren't Protestant, your burning in hell. (42.5)
The Episcopalian/Anglican church has a gay bishop, and the UCC allows gay marriage (40)

Okay, here is where it gets difficult. How do you cull down the remainder? I'm looking for votes that show a trend opposite what the right-wingers would want.

Methodists - Despite opposition from approximately one-third of the church's members, the General Conference of 2000 upheld the ban on gay and lesbian marriages. (38)
Presbyterian - / Leaders of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have voted overwhelmingly to overturn a ban on ordaining homosexuals as ministers of the church, by a 317-208 vote/ (36)
Now, to be lazy, I'm going to take the average of the 33% and 60% from above and lump that onto all the other denominations, even the Baptists (16.74)

Okay. It got kind of iffy there at the end, but it is hard to find statistics for this kind of data. Pam in Durham has a diary, which suggests I might be too kind with my numbers. Only 22% of Evangelical Christians believe you will go to hell without Christ in your life.

The long and the short of it is this, if people accept that there should be no split between Church and State, then the Church State we will end up with might represent less than 20% of the American people. This is exactly why the Founding Fathers declared a separation between the two, because THIS was to be a country where every person had their voice heard and every idea could be debated, no matter WHAT a certain religion might think.

To those who go along with the flow NOW because they aren't gay, or they don't like abortion, I will close with this life lesson.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;

Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me.

- Martin Niemoller

Don't doubt that your day is coming.

Click to enlarge

When Terror Comes, Don't Forget Who Failed Us.

2005-08-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

Every couple of months I like to post a diary on this issue, here there, or anywhere. You see, terror will come to the United States, and it will kill lots of innocent men, women, and children. When it comes, I believe two lamps will be lit, as it will come by Sea.

Site Link

So, who failed us?

Poor man's missile.

In the aftermath of 9/11 attacks, container security has become a fragile thing because of its potential in being used as a weapon-delivery device for explosives and hazardous materials. A single incident triggered from a conventional weapon going off in a box can literally bring worldwide intermodal transport to its knees, said US Homeland Security director Jeane K. Kirkpatrick.

Container security is making sure goods loaded in a box are legitimate and authorized from its point of origin to final destination. Ninety percent of the world's freight move in containers but its vulnerability remains a worldwide dilemma.

Would-be terrorists have all the opportunity and motive to tamper and load containers with weapons of mass destruction. Kirkpatrick said the almost complete absence of security oversight in loading and transporting a box plus the growing volume and velocity at which containers move, give terrorists ample opportunities to tamper or load boxes with destructive material. Scenarios of explosive and weapons-laden containers are conceivable and real in Cebu with the absence of security measures at the port or the intermodal transport industry that screens container integrity.

While containers have been considered a "poor man's missile," what motivates terrorists to use these are its profound effect on economic disruption. Kirkpatrick said that other than the substantial loss of life from attacks done in containers, it also puts much of the freight movements that make up international trade at the mercy of terrorists.

In other words, 90% of the worlds trade is done in containers. WHEN the terrorists blow up a container it will mean all container traffic will be halted for some period - just like airline traffic. Say hello to the Great Depression, Part Deux. When will you be ready to have a container travel down your street?

You see, that is the scary thing about containers, they are everywhere. Start looking as you drive and you'll notice them. At the grocery store, on the highway during rush hour, in downtown Manhattan, in downtown Punxsutawney. They are everywhere. Millions of them are in the United States everyday and we check almost NONE OF THEM. And so it goes, one day a container will be loaded with explosives, shipped overseas, loaded onto a truck and driven into downtown (insert your city here) and exploded.

If we are lucky it will only be an explosion. If we are unlucky it will be a dirty bomb, or will target a bridge

Or a large building.

Or a high school football game.

No matter what it targets, we can't forget who failed to protect us. Every single elected official in Washington. Yes, it is largely the Republicans fault for not sponsoring and funding a law that requires some type of screening for ALL containers. But, if Democratic Senators had any balls, they could shut down the Senate until such a bill was introduced, passed, and funded. What American would not stand behind that action. It isn't about Supreme Court Justices, or U.N. Nominees, it is about American safety.

Not to say that Homeland Security hasn't beefed up its staff. My own Senator, Elizabeth Dole, has seen to it that Homeland Security is spending more money searching containers with agents who are specially trained to find dangerous...

Senator Elizabeth Dole - "I am pleased that the Administration now recognizes the problem of transshipment and is hiring Customs agents to focus specifically on keeping out illegal textiles, as directed by Congress," said Senator Dole. "Especially with the expiration of quotas, our textile industry needs trade agreements to be strictly enforced."

On March 7, 2005, Senator Dole wrote Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff calling for the department to explain why money Congress appropriated specifically for hiring Customs agents assigned to keep out illegal textile transshipments was not being used for that very purpose. During the past two years, Senator Dole has helped secure congressional funding for the hiring of these agents...

So, how about some agents to check out containers for bombs?

President Bill Clinton, 2004 Democratic Convention - On homeland security -- on homeland security, Democrats tried to double the number of containers at ports and airports checked for weapons of mass destruction. It cost a billion dollars. It would have been paid for under our bill by asking the 200,000 millionaires in America to cut their tax cut by $5,000. Almost all 200,000 of us would like to have done that, to spend $5,000 to make all 300 million Americans feel safer. The measure failed. Why? Because the White House and the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives opposed it. They thought our $5,000 was more important than doubling the container checks at our ports and airports.

There are nearly 300 million Americans. We all want to feel safe. How about a $5 tax on all Americans, across the board to secure our ports and borders? How about a $50 tax on all businesses to secure our ports and borders?

When the time comes and the bomb explodes, I will forgive no one. Senators and Representatives alike are responsible for the terror that will hit our shores, yet they do nothing to stop it.

Support Jon Tester - MT Senate

2005-08-05T12:09:00.000-05:00

I ran a bake sale over at DailyKos some time ago to see whom the grassroots would support. Well, they voted overwhelmingly for Jon Tester. But, only two people other than myself contributed. A shame.

Jon Tester was born in Havre, Montana on August 21, 1956, and raised near the town of Big Sandy, Montana, (population: 710) on the same family land that his grandfather homesteaded in 1916.

Tester grew up in Chouteau County, where the rich landscape and life as a farmer’s son instilled in him a deep-rooted conviction to Montana, family, faith and hard work.

Today Jon Tester continues to honor the agricultural roots his grandfather planted in Big Sky Country by continuing the Tester family dry-land farming operations. Tester also was a custom butcher operator.

A respected member in the community, Tester served for five years as chairman of the Big Sandy School Board of Trustees, is a past master of Treasure Lodge #95 of the Masons in Big Sandy, and served on the Big Sandy Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Committee and the Chouteau County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) Committee.

Tester is a former music teacher in the Big Sandy School District and holds a bachelor’s of science degree in music from the University of Great Falls.

Since the late 1980s Tester has put his stamp of leadership on the family farm by moving toward organic farming. The Tester family now grows organic wheat, barley, lentils, peas, millet, buckwheat, alfalfa and hay.

I recommend supporting Jon and giving the Senate Democrats a strong Western Voice:

European Style Vacation

2005-08-05T08:37:00.000-05:00

For years now we have heard from the Neoconservative Republican Movement that Old Europe gets it all wrong. They are lazy, they have bad habits, and they do not share our work ethic. Well, as our parents always told us, actions speak louder than words. None other than our own Republican President, George W. Bush, is taking a European-style 5-week vacation from his place of work. Five weeks! That is more vacation than most of us get in a year. The Presidency is a harrowing job, and as such no one should deny the President his due R&R. But, five weeks away from his job in the midst of a war, isn't that odd?

How does our Commander-in-Chief plan on explaining this to the troops, that his job is "hard work"? In fact, this President has spent more than 20% of his time in office at his ranch in Crawford. Thus, if you add in his time in Kennebunkport and elsewhere on vacation, the man has spent well over 20% of his Presidency just chilling. This is yet another example of Republican lawmakers being two-faced. They rail against minimum wage hikes, and then give themselves a big pay raise. They rail against healthcare for all, yet have the greatest healthcare plan in the world. They decry vacation time and overtime as a waste of productivity and harmful to good business practice, then sanction the longest Presidential vacation in 30 years.

The American Dream Rediscovered

2005-07-26T10:38:00.000-05:00

Click to enlarge

I grew up in a poor rural area. Coal mines dominated the landscape and the houses carried a gray tint from tri-axles spewing coal dust throughout the day. The mines left in the era of Reaganomics and so did the jobs. My dad was a foreman at a mine when it closed in 1985 making $33,000, he made $5000 the next year selling tires. He now runs a logging equipment company and if he's lucky he MIGHT be back up to $33K after 20 years.

I went to a small school, graduated 63 people, of which over half went to college. Parents knew that you HAD to get your kids into college and you HAD to get them out of town. Not one parent in my town had a college education, not one. The American Dream is for every child to have a better life than their parents - it's that simple. In my town that meant getting out and getting educated.

Many of my friends didn't take the opportunity. When I go home I see them. I see them going into bars at lunchtime, I see them driving 30 miles to the nearest Wal-Mart to make $9 an hour, I see them out in the snow patching up broken-down cars. They are lost and they know it. No future. The 1000 mile stare.

Link

In an urban area they probably would have turned to drugs and gangs, but in the country they turned to McDonald's and cheap beer. They don't think they are going to end up in jail, but I don't think they plan for a future either. When you have no future, to what do you turn?

In our American Society there is always a quest to get ahead, a quest to be more, be better. There is no satisfaction with today, there is only longing for the better tomorrow. In part, it is this drive that has made the U.S. so competitive and so successful over the years. But, the result of this societal drive is that those who feel they have reached their limits are driven to distract themselves from reality. Lottery tickets, alcohol, drugs, crime - all ways to ignore the future.

My wife was in the Peace Corps in Morocco, where she lived in a throwback town high in the Atlas Mountains. These people had NO future in the American sense, and yet they were happy. Why? Because their thoughts were on the day, on the crops, what needed to be done today to survive through the harsh winter? There was a real sense of community because they shared everything, their fields, their orchards, their animals, their chores, their love, their sadness, their religion. Don't scoff at the religion you non-believers! Ask yourself this, what would America be like if EVERY citizen took five 15-minute breaks throughout the day to silently pray or meditate on the world at large? Your first thoughts of the day and your last would be of peace and hope - not a bad idea, huh? They were happy because they were focused on LIFE, real life right there in front of them. With no future but survival they were content. Content equals happy.

Economists today think that we are on the right track - that we are heading in the right direction. They don't understand the pessimism, because they have never reached the point of having no future. Wages are growing at their slowest rate in a generation and minimum wage is well below a living wage, so now more people are falling into poverty. Health care costs are out of control and as such, more people can't take care of their basic health needs. Jobs are moving overseas or being cut to improve Wall Street expectations, which means more citizens can't rent a movie for their kids, go to the local amusement park this summer, or buy decent back-to-school clothes. Have you been the kid in the pleather sneakers from Payless? Who did you take it out on, your friends or your parents? There is no future for America's workers, and because of this there is no hope in America.

The American Dream is dead and gone. No longer do citizens dream of a brighter future for their children, instead visions of the Lottery, American Idol, and Survivor fame float through our children's heads. And, we let it. Why not, what did the American Dream get us? Poverty, hunger, strife. The Republican Party has done a good job convincing people that if you have not achieved the American Dream then you are weak and lazy, morally bankrupt. Moreover, they have redefined the American Dream for adults, so that it is not about your children, it is about your possessions. In their Dream everyone can have a new set of fancy-looking steak knives from Wal-Mart and a new lawn mower every few years from Lowe's, everyone can have 300 television channels, and everyone can lease a new car. In exchange, all they ask is that you give them the American Dream. Turn over your future and the future of your children in exchange for these magic beans - and pay no mind to the man behind the curtain - even if they are just cheap plastic knock-offs made in Sri Lanka. You there, textile worker in North Carolina, have another cheap NASCAR shirt made in China, never mind the loss of your job, Wal-Mart has a sale on real, imitation, leather suitcases for when your house is foreclosed.

The role of the Democratic Party that is too avoided or overlooked is to win back the American Dream. Taking back the ideal that each generation can be better off than the one before. Isn't that what we are up against? Do we not face a party that is in search of Aristocracy, a party that wants a wealthy ruling class and an impoverished working class? Will new members be welcome to the Aristocracy? Not likely. You will be smashed out of existence by Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble's, and Starbucks. The Democratic Party must fight for the American Dream, that is our framing, that is our message, no half-measures.

Look no further for your message Democrats, whether DNC, DLC, NDN, or NPA, this is what America expects from you. The lack of any real effort to make our lives better on a day-to-day basis is why no one trusts or cares about government anymore. If you want to make America better, then do it. Stop talking about it, stop framing it, do something about it. Something real. Reach out to your fellow citizens with real change, reach out to them with a new American Dream that this next generation will have a better life than ANY previous generation.

We fight for a living wage for all Americans that work a 40-hour week.
We fight for access to health care for all Americans.
We fight for freedom of small businesses to flourish under the heat of competition.
We fight for the future, we fight for hope, and we fight for the American Dream.

Hayes in Hot Seat

2005-07-25T13:26:00.000-05:00

This article does a good job of pointing out why Robin Hayes is in the electoral hot seat. I have other articles here and here that also show why we should be gunning for Hayes. The CAFTA vote will do nothing to endear him to his District voters either.

Hayes' seat a battleground again
Both parties already pouring cash, attention into 8th District race
TIM FUNK
Observer Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - A re-election bid by GOP Rep. Robin Hayes of Concord is again shaping up as one of the 20 or so House races both parties will be watching -- and trying to shape -- as they fight for control of the House in 2006.

The signs aren't hard to find:

Hayes is getting money from corporate PACs...Hayes is on both parties' lists mostly because he's a Republican representing a district with many more registered Democrats (195,452) than Republicans (118,069). Unaffiliated voters in the 8th District total 71,963...On top of the discontent with Bush, Democrats hope to use Hayes' recent votes and comments -- including his assertion on CNN that Saddam Hussein had a role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- to cast him as an out-of-the-mainstream Republican.

...Hoping to scare away any formidable Democratic opposition, national Republicans and their allies have already begun funneling money to Hayes' campaign. He is among 18 House Republicans receiving contributions from the so-called "Million Dollar Club" -- a dozen business PACs representing Wal-Mart, R.J. Reynolds, UPS, Pfizer and others.

...Those at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, meanwhile, have sent a barrage of news releases saying Hayes' votes and comments place him far to the right of even fellow Republicans.

One highlights his June vote against a measure to block the United States from transferring prisoners to foreign governments that may torture them. The amendment to an appropriations bill passed 415-8.

"A lot of these (Hayes) votes we've questioned are not Democratic or Republican issues," says Bill Burton, a DCCC spokesman. "Take the torture vote. More than 99 percent of the members disagreed with Hayes on that. ... It just shows that he's out of the mainstream."

Hayes says he's "obviously against torture," but considered the amendment -- from Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. -- a "very poor political effort to embarrass" U.S. troops.

Why did so many other Republicans -- 215 -- vote for it?

"It was the easy way to go," says Hayes. "Stay out of controversy."

Deadbeat Parents

2005-07-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

Johnston presses for payment
Sheriff's deputies rounded up two dozen parents who have not paid child support
I was just reading this story in the News & Observer about Johnston County Sheriff's rounding up deadbeat parents. As is so common in today's media, the story gives equal weight to both sides of the issue and fails to reach any conclusions.

Armed with arrest warrants for 185 moms and dads who have skipped out on child support payments, deputies knocked on doors before folks began stirring for the day. By 2:30 a.m., deputies hauled 24, including six women, to the county jail to settle their tabs.

"It's amazing how they can't come up with the money until they get behind bars," said Sheriff Steve Bizzell, who called for Sunday's roundup after the delinquent accounts started piling up at the county child support enforcement office.

OK, so I agree with this. That is why we call them Deadbeat Dads, and from the looks of it, Deadbeat Moms. But, then comes this story aimed at tugging at your heartstrings.

Carolyn Best, wiping sleep from her eyes, shuffled to a holding cell and stretched out on a belly swollen with ovarian tumors. Best, of 827 Ward St. in Smithfield, owed $548 to the grandmother of her 14-year-old, who had custody of the child for a while in 2004. Currently out of work to care for another sick child, Best couldn't figure out how she would settle up.

"Every time I go to court, I tell them I can't pay for it, but they just keep demanding it," said Best, a 34-year-old mother of five.

She'd pay this time with her freedom. Failure to comply with court orders to pay child support will keep her in jail for 30 days. She hoped a friend would look after her toddler until she got out.

Well, it worked. I feel sorry for this woman and it makes me wonder about the jaded nature of the night's work and our system. But, you know what. I'm not going to wuss out like that. What these Sheriff's did was a good thing. If you have a child, you have a moral and legal obligation to take care of that child. Ms. Best is an exception to the rule, perhaps given her healthcare issues she should be let off the hook. But, then who takes care of her other child? A grandmother? How is she to pay. She is "hoping" that a friend will look after her toddler? I'm certainly hoping that child services keeps tabs - what exactly does she think will happen to her toddler if her friend doesn't help?

If it takes getting thrown in jail or threatened with that action to get parents to pay, then so be it. Are there exceptions to the rule, of course. Ms. Best is one such exception, she should not be in jail given her condition. But, that does not detract from the overall good that comes from waking up Deadbeat Parents to the fact that they must pay for the children they brought into this world.

Easley Moves Ahead on Education

2005-07-21T08:03:00.000-05:00

Governor Mike Easley (NC) sent $75 Million to the state's schools today without legislature approval - Good For Him! The legislature has been caught up in a fight between Democrats and Democrats. The sticking point appears to be taxes, Democrats want tax breaks for the rich and corporations with savings through Medicaid cuts, while Democrats want no Medicaid cuts nor tax cuts for the rich. It appears everyone wants tax cuts for corporations. Go figure.

The Republicans? They don't care, we're killing ourselves, why should they bother.

The state is under a court order to make schools better for the poor and not just for the wealthiest North Carolinians. The Easley money goes to:

* $22.5 million to continue a fund for disadvantaged students in 16 of the state's poorest districts. Easley initiated funding for that purpose last year, after the legislature adjourned without acting on it.

* A $16.6 million increase in money the state distributes to about 70 "low wealth" school districts, where local resources for schools fall below the state average. Last year, those districts got $109 million, and Easley has proposed that the allocation be raised in the 2006-07 fiscal year by $42 million.

* $16.6 million to expand More at Four, increasing enrollment capacity for 4-year-olds by 3,200. Last year, the program received about $49 million and reached about 13,600 children.

* Nearly $6 million on high school reform projects, including 15 small-scale "Learn and Earn" schools that will be cooperative ventures with community colleges. There will also be 11 other smaller high schools oriented toward particular economic-development themes, such as health science.

* $11 million for an initiative to open 100 school-based child and family support teams through the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.