Panhandle (W.Va.) Grassroots for Democracy

New site

2007-04-22T21:45:00.000-04:00

Please visit us at West Virginia Blue. It's a group blog for Democrats in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. Join today. It's free and it's for freedom.

WV Kossacks

2006-10-02T17:24:00.000-04:00

Visit us at West Virginia Kossacks for new blog posts about West Virginia and the nation.

On bearing witness

2006-08-22T22:59:00.000-04:00

George W. Bush at a press conference Aug. 8, 2006:

"You know, nobody likes to see innocent people die. Nobody wants to turn on their TV on a daily basis and see havoc wrought by terrorists."

Barbara Bush on "Good Morning America" March 18, 2003:

"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"

It has been said that George W. Bush takes after his mother. I am not a psychologist and I won't pretend to understand this strange lack of empathy that they share for others.

But read President Bush's quote again: "You know, nobody likes to see innocent people die. Nobody wants to turn on their TV on a daily basis and see havoc wrought by terrorists."

What he does not say is "Nobody wants innocent people to die."

He does not say it because the loss of innocent life apparently is not important to him. What is important is that nobody sees it.

This is more than just semantics. Tens of thousands of Iraqis who never had anything to do with the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, Saddam Hussein, terrorism, crime of any sort, have died in Bush's illegal, unjust and unnecessary war.

It is the loss of innocent lives that is appalling. Americans should see the results of this tragedy. Then perhaps people would be less eager for war, less eager to seek military action against Iran. If people saw the results of war on their televisions -- not the far off drifting smoke from distant explosions, but the horrific results -- perhaps people would support diplomacy and negotiation at every opportunity and war would be seen only as a failure of effort and not a cause to support.

Despite the war not being seen in all its graphic horror, Americans have turned against the war. Of course President Bush (nor his mother) does not want us to see the casualties. Because if we did, we'd see how much of their blood covers George W. Bush's hands. And the stain of innocent blood can never be washed clean.

To his crimes, we should all bear witness.

Sen. Unger gets things done for the Panhandle

2006-08-20T17:59:00.000-04:00

From a West Virginia DOT press release:

Charleston, WV~~~~The Division of Motor Vehicles Charles Town regional office located at 8157 Charles Town Road in Kearneysville, will be "Open for Business" on Thursday, August 17. This full-service DMV facility will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

With the support of Governor Joe Manchin and Senator John Unger II, Chair of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, DMV received funding for the facility from the legislature.

According to Senator John Unger II, who was instrumental in getting the office open, "The eastern panhandle is the fastest growing region in the state, and this office will help the local economy and meet the needs of our citizens." "Working together we will continue to build a better and brighter tomorrow for every West Virginian."

Gov. Manchin holds open forum

2006-08-20T16:55:00.000-04:00

From an email:

A Vision Shared - Building a Better Future for West Virginia

TOWN HALL MEETING
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
6:30pm - 8:30pm
James Rumsey Technical Institute, Route 9 just east of Hedgesville High School

The primary goal of this Town Hall Meeting is to collect citizen input on improving the economy of West Virginia. Everyone present will have the opportunity to provide suggestions with respect to economic development topics (e.g., education, health care, tax reform, infrastructure).

A Vision Shared has four key focus areas:
1. Intellectual Infrastructure - Improving higher education, public education and worker training to create a workforce that allows West Virginia to compete in a global economy.
2. New Economy - Putting in place processes to diversify the economy and increase individual wealth.
3. Results-based Government - Encouraging state government to adopt policies that make West Virginia a better place to live and work and attract new investment to the state.
4. Building Bridges and Empowering Citizens - Increasing collaboration between private and public sectors throughout the state to gain maximum benefit of resources, knowledge and influence.

This Town Hall Meeting will give everyone the opportunity to talk, listen, and be a part of the dialogue. Please think about these issues and be prepared to present your ideas. Note cards will be available for participants to write down comments and questions if you prefer to not speak in front of a crowd.

The Governor and A Vision Shared want to collect as many ideas and solutions that are on your mind. This is your opportunity to let yourself be heard!

Black history celebrated; Klan shows up

2006-08-20T16:48:00.000-04:00

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is best known for the raid by abolistionist John Brown on the federal armory.

But Harpers Ferry also played a prominent role in African American history outside of the Civil War.

Storer College was set up to educate the recently freed slaves after the Civil War. And 100 years ago this month, the Niagara Movement held its meeting there, an event commerated with events this weekend at by Harpers Ferry.

Here's information about the [history ]:

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the outlook for full civil rights for African Americans was at a precarious crossroads. Failed Reconstruction, the Supreme Court's separate but equal doctrine (Plessy v. Ferguson), coupled with Booker T. Washington's accommodationist policies threatened to compromise any hope for full and equal rights under the law.

Harvard educated William Edward Burghardt Du Bois committed himself to a bolder course, moving well beyond the calculated appeal for limited civil rights. He acted in 1905 by drafting a "Call" to a few select people. The Call had two purposes; "organized determination and aggressive action on the part of men who believed in Negro freedom and growth," and opposition to "present methods of strangling honest criticism."

Du Bois gathered a group of men representing every region of the country except the West. They hoped to meet in Buffalo, New York. When refused accommodation, the members migrated across the border to Canada. Twenty-nine men met at the Erie Beach Hotel in Ontario. The Niagarites adopted a constitution and by-laws, established committees, and wrote the "Declaration of Principles" outlining the future for African Americans. After three days, they returned across the border with a renewed sense of resolve in the struggle for freedom and equality.

Thirteen months later, from August 15-19, 1906, the Niagara Movement held its first public meeting in the United States on the campus of Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Harpers Ferry was symbolic for a number of reasons. First and foremost was the connection to John Brown. It was at Harpers Ferry in 1859 that Brown's raid against slavery struck a blow for freedom. Many felt it was John Brown who fired the first shot of the Civil War. By the latter part of the nineteenth century, John Brown's Fort had become a shrine and a symbol of freedom to African Americans, Union soldiers, and the nation's Abolitionists.

Harpers Ferry was also the home of Storer College. Freewill Baptists opened Storer in 1867 as a mission school to educate former slaves. For twenty-five years Storer was the only school in West Virginia that offered African Americans an education beyond the primary level.

Here's the main story on this weekend's events from our local newspaper, The Martinsburg Journal:

HARPERS FERRY -- Picking up a colored ink marker, the 5-year-old girl from Philadelphia, Pa., wanted to make a statement rather than simply write a word.

But she needed a little help.

She turned to her mother.

"I think you should love each other," Ebony Jade asked her mother to help her write on the small, smooth wooden block. A block which would be glued on to The Freedom House located at the J.R. Clifford Youth Discovery Tent.

Here's a sidebar on one of the panels:

HARPERS FERRY -- The Rev. Walter Fauntroy steadily fanned Juanita Abernathy as she spoke of little-known efforts by women that pre-dated the well-known history of the civil rights movement.

Abernathy said the scene during a panel discussion that was part of the Niagara Movement Centennial Commemoration in Harpers Ferry Saturday played out differently than it would have in the heyday of the civil rights movement.

Back then, black men spoke out for freedom, and the women served up the refreshments, Abernathy said.

The audience twittered with surprise when Abernathy told them local black women were negotiating with bus drivers well before Rosa Park's defiance sparked the Montgomery bus boycott.

She continued later, "We opened doors, and we marched 381 days. There were women who had been pressing for civil rights before Martin Luther King came along. That was a time when a meeting started and the women were told to get the cookies or pour the coffee. It was a man's world."

Turning to more modern day concerns, Abernathy blasted religious leaders for leading voters astray during the last national election to the applause of the audience gathered on the campus of Storer College.

And here's a story on who else showed up:

HARPERS FERRY -- The audience barely missed a beat when about 20 members of the Ku Klux Klan showed up at the beginning of a Niagara Movement Centennial Commemoration event in Harpers Ferry Saturday afternoon.

Children, who were among the nearly 2,000 people of various races waiting to hear a panel discussion on racial issues, gawked in confusion. Most apparently knew little about the group.

"Could they bomb us here, mama," asked one boy.

"Yes," was the answer, and the boy looked mystified.

The adults, who remembered when the KKK wore white robes and hoods and terrorized blacks and others, seemed to stiffen as the black-clad group took their seats to the rear of the tent. Klan members were wearing an alternate uniform Saturday, consisting primarily of black clothing and Nazi regalia.

Another boy sized up the black jeans, T-shirts and red emblems the men, women and teenagers wore.

"Aw, we could take them, couldn't we," he said.

The crowd laughed and turned their attention to the stage as six black barrier breakers shared stories of overcoming racism and offered words of advice.

snip

Panelists included the Rev. Walter Fauntroy, the first District of Columbia delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives; Monte Irvin, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame who was among the earliest black players in Major League Baseball; Eddie Henderson, the first black to compete in the National Figure Skating Championships; Cheryl White, the first black female professional jockey and Joseph Wilder, a musician who helped to integrate Broadway.

The KKK members left the panel discussion after Juanita Abernathy, widow of civil rights leader the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, spoke to the audience about the importance of education and responsible voting.

Their exit, under escort by several federal police officers as was their entrance, went unnoticed by most of the audience.

In all seriousness, the 20 probably represented their entire numbers. And my guess is nearly all of them came from Maryland, where they occasionally hold marches and cross burnings in Washington and Frederick counties.

The Rev. Otis James, who I've met and walked with during an MLK Jr. Day event, summed it up well:

"This is America, and this is an open event for this town, this state and the nation at large," said the Rev. Otis C. James of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Charles Town following the panel discussion." They have a right to come here as long as they are peaceful and non-destructive. I hope -- I pray -- that they leave having learned something from this discussion."

But truthfully," he added. "I don't think they learned anything from what took place today, or enlarged their insight on humanity."

Support Mike

2006-08-13T22:18:00.000-04:00

There's many reasons why.

You can support Democratic candidate Mike Callaghan. He will be holding a community discussion in Berkeley County at 3:30 pm Tuesday at his headquarters at 123 South Queen St., Martinsburg. Unlike Capito, who closed off events to the public following criticism of her support of President Bush's privatization of Social Security, Callaghan wants to hear what people think about the war, Medicaid, education, policing. A rally will follow at the headquarters at 5:15 p.m.

Visit Mike's web site for more information or to contribute to his campaign.

Other diaries on the race:

The most important Lamont-Lieberman diary you'll read tonight

My kind of candidate

21 candidates tied to Abramoff

WV-02 Followup to the Bush fundraiser that cost taxpayers

The Bush affair

Capito and the Have Mores

Protest of Bush's fund raiser for Capito

Top 10 list of bad Shelley More Capito votes

2006-08-13T21:32:00.000-04:00

There are so many bad votes by Republican Rubber Stamp Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, the largest recipient of crooked Tom Delay's lobbyist money, that I'm surprised the West Virginia Democratic Party were able to narrow the list down to her 10 worst.

They're listed on the jump along with a way to replace her in Congress with a great candidate who'll work for the people of the United States instead of being a Rubber Stamp for George W. Bush.

1. Voted against a motion to the FY 2007 Department of Defense Authorization bill that would have ended the Military Families Tax (HR 5122, Vote #144, 5/11/06).

When she says she supports the troops, she doesn't mean it.

2. Voted for George W. Bush’s first tax cut measure that amounted to a $958 billion tax cut that gave the majority of the benefits to the wealthiest Americans--- 44.3% going to the wealthiest 1% (HR 3, Vote #45, 3/8/01.

She looks out for her fat cat friends in the corporate interests. I guess that's why Don Blankenship, who would mine his own mother's grave if money were to be made off it, is supporting her and why she supported an administration that fought cut mine safety inspections up to the Sago mine collapsed.

3. Voted for budget bill that would permanently eliminates the Estate Tax set to expire in 2010 which is estimated to cost nearly $1 trillion in revenue between 2012 and 2021--- a tax that effect only the most wealthy Americans and exempts 99% of estates (HR 8, Vote 102, 4/12/05).

Imagine the tax cut that the middle class and poor folk could have received if this tax had not been eliminated. She's willing to let the federal tax burden be carried by everyone else so the rich can get richer and the rest of us get poorer

4. Voted for a budget conference report that cut veterans health care by $13.5 billion over 5 years (HCR 95, Vote #149, 4/28/05)

Despicable. Just plain despicable. At a time when she can support the most corrupt administration which shells out billions to Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton -- much of which isn't properly accounted for -- she cuts funding to help those injured and maimed in war.

5. Voted for a budget resolution that proposed cuts of $92 billion from Medicaid, $14 billion in veterans’ programs, $2 billion in student loans, $6 billion in child nutrition programs and $7 billion in assistance to farmers over the next decade in order to help fund tax cuts favoring the wealthy (HCR 95, Vote #82, 3/21/03)

These are programs that are used by ordinary West Virginians. To me it shows Shelley Moore Capito does not like ordinary folk. I guess only rich folk get support from her.

6. Voted against a measure to require company executives to personally certify the accuracy of corporate financial statements and would have enabled the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to punish executives for falsifying their statements (HR 3763, Vote # 108, 4/24/02)

After Enron, WorldCom and other corporate scandals, this should have been an easy decision for her. Once again, the corrupt are supported by Shelley Moore Capito. When they contribute to her campaign, she's got to give them what they want in the corrupt Republican controlled Congress.

7. Voted against amendments in a budget bill to increase funding for state and local law enforcement and community policing and to restore $286 million to cuts made to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants which are a primary source for law enforcement to combat the production of methamphetamines (HR 2862, Vote ## 244 and 245, 6/14/05)

Of course Republicans are cutting law enforcement funds. They don't care about catching crooks. AFter all, they're busy stealing America blind.

8. Voted against a proposal to make it illegal during an energy emergency to sell crude oil, gasoline and petroleum at unconscionable levels (HR3402, Vote 500, 7/28/05)

She's got to support price gouging when she's in Tom Delay's pocket.

9. Voted to delay implementation of a new rule to reduce the allowable levels of arsenic in drinking water (from 50 parts per billion to 10 parts per billion) (HR 2620, Vote # 288, 7/27/01

This is just plain sad for America. I'm not sure how she sleeps at night.

10. Voted against a motion that would allow the federal government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for seniors and would ease requirements for importation pf lower priced drugs from Canada and instead voted for the Republican Medicare prescription drug bill that gives billions of dollars in subsidies to the health care industry, increases premiums and deductibles to seniors and produces a gap in coverage (HR 1, Vote ## 668 and 6691/21/03. 1/22/03)
Corporate payback for contributions.

So what can you do to oust someone from Congress?

Democratic candidate Mike Callaghan will be holding a community discussion in Berkeley County at 3:30 pm Tuesday at his headquarters at 123 South Queen St., Martinsburg. Unlike Capito, who closed off events to the public following criticism of her support of President Bush's privatization of Social Security, Callaghan wants to hear what people think about the war, Medicaid, education, policing. A rally will follow at the headquarters at 5:15 p.m.

Visit Mike's web site for more information or to contribute to his campaign.

The most important Lamont-Lieberman post you'll read tonight

2006-08-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

Here in wild and wonderful Connecticut, I am eager to see Ned Lamont defeat a Bush-loving, rubber stamping Joe Lieberman.

Ned, as you may know, was a federal prosecutor for nine years and ~~West Virginia~~ Connecticut Department of the Environmental Protection Secretary. He's taken on the corporate millionaires eager to exploit ~~West Virginia's~~ Connecticut's workers and resources. The same coal mine operator that would "mine his mother's grave if there was money to be made" is pumping in tons of resources to defeat Connecticut's Democratic nominee, Ned Lamont.

You can check out Ned's positions on the issues.

You can ignore what Lieberman is doing in Connecticut or you can help Ned so we can take back Congress in 2006 because every race counts.

Don't trust me? Here's what other people say about Ned:

Justin Williams, Buckhannon - "I like ~~Mike~~ Ned because he is very genuine and he connects well with people. ~~Mike~~ Ned should be elected because he works very hard for the people and he can help get this country on the right track."

Joyce Creel, Cottageville - "I like ~~Mike~~ Ned because he is inline with labor issues and he believes in the issues that affect working families. His positions on healthcare and education are what we need for this state. We need a change, and ~~Mike~~ is a great leader to help get us that change."

Jane Yearout, Martinsburg (and one of my canvassing partners) - "I like ~~Mike~~ Ned because he listens, he's smart, and most of all, he puts his fellow ~~West Virginians~~ Nutmeggers first."

Robin Truax, 2005-2006 Berkeley County Teacher of the Year, Martinsburg - "I like ~~Mike~~ Ned because he believes in the strength of the child/teacher relationship. He recognizes that No Child Left Behind was a failed policy, and will work to enact legislation that will actually help our schools. Better pay to keep the quality teachers here in our state is an important issue, and I know ~~Mike~~ Ned will work to make that happen."

Eloise Jack, South Charleston - "I like ~~Mike~~ Ned because he will defend our Constitutional rights. At the same time, he will not tolerate the corruption going on in Washington among the leadership. He will defend our national security without compromising our personal freedoms."

Patrick Bartram, Disabled Veteran, Charleston - "I like ~~Mike~~ Ned because he wants to actually do something about the war. It's time to quit making more disabled veterans."

Rhonda Golden, Martinsburg - "As a Republican, I like Mike because of his integrity and approachability. Mike is fair and his genuine concern lies with the people of West Virginia. He is a strong believer in national security, and I think his belief that every man, woman, and child should access to quality and affordable healthcare is important to the future of our state."

Mike Bright, Sheriff & Vietnam Veteran, Ripley - "I like ~~Mike~~ Ned because he is an outstanding person with integrity beyond reproach. I've known ~~Mike~~ Ned since he was in the U.S. Attorneys Office, and have been in court and trials with him. He is the most capable and intelligent attorney I've ever worked with, and I've worked with a lot of them. He will do an excellent job as our Congressman."

So won't you join me and my fellow Nutmeggers in supporting Ned Lamont for Congress in 2006? We need your help to win this race.

Callaghan supports veterans

2006-08-11T14:03:00.000-04:00

Republican Shelley Moore Capito, the largest recipient of campaign contributions from the crooked Tom Delay, reminds me of those people who put a "Support the troops" magnet on the back of her car and promptly forgets them. From Democratic candidate Mike Callaghan:

Released with the statement is a fact sheet on votes Callaghan’s incumbent opponent, Shelley Moore Capito, has made regarding veterans’ spending. "I want to help veterans hold the Bush administration and Shelley Moore Capito accountable for their cuts to veterans’ programs in the last six years," Callaghan said.

"The Bush administration and Shelley Moore Capito are trying to pull wool over the eyes of veterans by misrepresenting their voting record on veterans’ spending," Callaghan said. "My opponent has voted several times to decrease spending on programs for our soldiers, including recently blocking an amendment that would have provided $735 million that would have prevented an increase in veterans’ health care fees. That hurts veterans in our own communities. That is not fair to them."

Callaghan has met with veterans all over the state, discussing issues important to them. These discussions have focused on issues such as veterans’ health care and benefits, employment and proper care after returning from duty, and creating a plan for a resolution to the War in Iraq.

"Shelley Moore Capito is a rubber stamp for President Bush and his failed agenda. She voted to cut veterans’ benefits to give tax breaks to the wealthy. There is something seriously wrong with that." Callaghan continued, "When I am elected to Congress, I will work to get veterans what they deserve."

Help Mike Callaghan win so we can really have someone who supports the troops.

Ed Wiley

2006-08-09T12:55:00.000-04:00

Reprinted with kind permisson of faithfull.

(Cross-posted at the Appalachian Voices blog)
Deep in the hollows of WV, something miraculous is happening...

If we fail as parents, we have failed as Americans - Bo Webb

Grandfather Ed Wiley is no traditional environmentalist,
child rights advocate, or political activist. His history and his heritage
run deep into the coal encrusted veins of the Appalachian Mountains.

Ed Wiley has never fought sludge impoundments. He has built them.

He has never boycotted coal. He has extracted it.

He worked in processing plants just like the one less than a football field
from Marsh Fork Elementary School, in Sundial, WV - full of enormous
clanging machinery, explosive gases, and chemically treated coal dust.

He helped build the 2.8 billion gallon
sludge impoundment directly above Marsh Fork Elementary School where his
11-year old granddaughter goes to school and is poisoned everyday by those
same chemicals.

Now this man is spending his retirement walking 455 miles over 40 days and
nights in the heat of summer!

Why?

Ed attributes his "wake-up" to his 11-year-old granddaughter Kayla, who
attends Marsh Fork Elementary. After having to pick up the perfectly healthy
and enthused child from school three days in a row, color-drained from her
skin, Ed asked Kayla (who he affectionately calls "Possum") what was going
on.

He puts it as follows.

Kayla had tears running down her face. She said "Gramps,
these coal mines are making us kids sick."

The day this child had tears in her eyes, that's when I woke up.

-Ed Wiley

WELCOME TO MARSH FORK ELEMENTARY (small building with lawn, lower left.) If
that man-made dam broke (and its had NUMEROUS violations) those children
would have 17 seconds to live.

Behind the dam there is 2.8 billion gallons of toxic sludge.
Behind that theres a 1849 acre Mountaintop Removal site that's growing in
size and waste output.

These children deserve a new, safe, local place to learn!

...

The runoff from the site flows into the sludge dam. The Mine Safety and
Health Administration has cited the dam repeatedly for violations in its
construction and maintenance. In 2000, a sludge dam in Kentucky, operated
by the same company, released over 300 million gallons of sludge in what
the EPA called the worst environmental disaster in the Southeast. The spill
was nearly 30 times the volume of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill.

These children deserve a new, safe, local place to learn!

There is a coal
silo less than 300 feet from Marsh Fork Elementary School. The silo houses
tons and tons of toxic chemically treated coal dust. Ever heard of black
lung disease? Well, nowadays you don't have to go into the coal mines to
breathe coal dust and get black lung disease. You just have to go to class.

A survey was performed on 60 households with kids at the school.

Of those 60 households...
-88% had children who were commonly ill

Of those houses with a commonly ill child
-91% had kids with regular respiratory problems

According to Ed Wiley, "15-20 kids leave each day" because they are sick
from the coal dust they are inhaling.

These children deserve a new, safe, local place to learn!

For over TWO YEARS the children of this community have been insulted,
ignored, and brushed aside by big coal interests and the government of West
Virginia!

Now, Grandfather Ed Wiley is taking a radical step. He is taking the voice
of the people of the West Virginia Coal Fields straight on out of the
hollow, straight on out of the county, on passed the West Virginia border,
and all the way to Washington, DC!

The conventional wisdom in WV is that people CAN'T make a difference...and
thats where we come in.

Ed needs your support!

Today, he passed 100 miles. There is no doubt that the man is in fit
enough physical shape to finish the walk well ahead of his exhausted teenage
support team. SCREW CHUCK NORRIS! Here's a real American hero.

The trip has been an amazing success,
Pennies of Promise has a
short video of Ed talking about the trip as well as video of Day 2.

So, how did it get to be this way? So that grandfathers were walking 100s of
miles to raise awareness because the state was ignoring the fact that coal
poisoning their kids and grandkids?

I think of the modern American fixation on oil as a similar situation.
Democratic Senators Byrd and Rockerfeller of West Virginia are good on
almost everything, but remain deep in the pockets of the coal companies.
Local and state officials are the same way. Coal Company "X" can pour
millions and millions of dollars into a race for school board if they have
to.

West Virginia, because of its geographic makeup (mountains and "hollows") is
also very difficult to organize. Some of the most amazing labor battles in
American history - such as The Battle of Blair Mountain - took place in the coal fields of Southern
West Virginia. The Battle of Blair Mountain remains the largest post civil
war battle in American history. Needless to say, the unionizing miners lost
at Blair Mountain to a federal militia, and the only bombs America has ever
dropped on its own soil out of airplanes.

Over 200 years of company towns, violence, union-busting, and exploitation
by the coal companies, the people of West Virginia expect nothing else but
the shit end of the stick time and time again. And that's what they get!
51-54% of America's electric energy comes from coal, and yet the coalfield
counties are some of the poorest counties in the United States of America.

Ed worked on these sites. He has cleaned up spills. He has pumped sludge
around the impoundment to relieve pressure on the violation stricken dam.
And now...he has to spend his retirement WALKING ACROSS AMERICA SO THAT
HIS GRANDAUGHTER ISNT POISONED AT SCHOOL?!?! MY grandfather would be
HUMILIATED if he had to do something like that!!!

And yet - heres Ed, carrying an 8x4 ft flag and standind out like a flower
in a desert...

"If we do not stand up and take part of whats happening in our
Appalachian mountains we all are going to suffer from this." - Ed
Wiley

Support Ed and Pennies of
Promise, and join Appalachian Voices in following his footsteps
on this journey. Its for the children.

'Democrat of the Universe'

2006-08-09T01:29:00.000-04:00

From an email:

"Democrat of the Universe" - that's the title awarded to Mr. Earl Barney earlier this year at a party for him in Berkeley Springs [W.Va.]. After all, he'd been a Democrat all of his 88 years. He served on the Democratic Executive Committee for many years, and he was a wealth of knowledge about the history of Democrats in Berkeley County. He had a great laugh, and was a terrific storyteller about the way things used to be. Mr. Barney grew up on the road I live on now, when there were only three houses and lots of orchards on what was then a little dirt, country road. He worked hard all his life, in the orchards, as a bus driver, a school custodian, and a few other professions as well. He was always very active with local organizations, and loved the yearly Barney reunions.

Mr. Barney and his wife Lyndell were married for 69 years. Recovering from a stroke, Lyndell has resided in a nursing home in Berkeley Springs for the past couple of months. They were very dedicated to each other, and Mr. Barney visited with her every day. He told me how it had been his job to take care of Lyndell, but she was being taken care of by the nursing home now, and he thought she was getting along pretty well. They will be together in spirit now, and I'm sure he'll be watching over her forever.

Mr. Barney passed away peacefully in his sleep Saturday night.

snip

It's not going to be easy to say goodbye to a man who could make a better Democrat out of anyone. He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him. In his words, "Everyone should get out and vote - and vote Democrat!"

My kind of candidate

2006-08-09T01:11:00.000-04:00

How independent from Bush's failures do you think she can be when he's campaigning for her?

She's been nothing but a Rubber Stamp Republican who has provided no oversight of the run-amuk corruption and incompetence of the Republican leadership and this administration. She's earned an F when it comes to protecting the middle class. Indeed, she's benefited by it, receiving campaign contribution after campaign contribution from Delay and from corporations eager to profit off the Iraq War at the expense of our soldiers and eager to see the elimination of worker safety regulations and inspections. From the invasion of Iraq to lack of oversight of federal mining inspections before the Sago Mine Disaster, she's been with the administration in lock-step all the way.

From the Charleston Gazette:

President George W. Bush spent a few hours in Charleston Wednesday afternoon, raising money for a political ally at a private fundraiser and getting jeered by opponents of the war in Iraq.

Air Force One touched down at Yeager Airport at 4 p.m. Bush and U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., got off the plane and were first greeted by Gen. Allen Tackett, head of the state's National Guard.

Republican officials said about 275 people attended the fundraiser, which raised an estimated $500,000 for Capito. Many paid the maximum of $2,100 per person. She is seeking a fourth two-year term in a race against Democrat Mike Callaghan.

snip

Callaghan, Capito's opponent, said Bush's visit shows Capito's vulnerability this November and her solidarity with the Bush administration's failed policies. He held his own fundraiser Wednesday evening, asking $21 per person for dinner, or 1 percent of the maximum allowable donation.

"The Callaghan campaign is about changing the direction of this country, which includes pushing the administration to find a way to end the war in Iraq, pushing the administration into providing health care for every man, woman and child, and pushing the administration into making prescription medication affordable to our seniors," he said.

If we really want an independent voice who'll fight for the working people of West Virginia and not just for the wealthy people outside of the state, we need Mike Callaghan in Congress.

I've met Mike Callaghan twice at local events. He's the real deal who'll be able to talk to regular West Virginians. He grew up fishing in the stream in his front yard and hunting for deer in the woods behind the back yard. Religion is important to the people of West Virginia. Callaghan is a long-time member of the same church as Capito and even was her son's mentor at the church.

He was chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party -- which still has Democratic control with the Governor, the majority in the Statehouse, and nearly every statewide office in the state.

So what are his positions?

Ethics

Mike Callaghan is tough on criminals and strong on ethics. As a former federal prosecutor, Mike Callaghan will fight to end the culture of corruption in Washington, and he will put our hard-working families ahead of big money, big business and big influence. The days of Enron rip-offs, no-bid contracts and lobbying scandals will be over when Mike Callaghan is in Congress. He will not hesitate to use his power as a Congressman to call for accountability from those who violate the law and trust of our country, especially those who are elected to serve the people. He will not be led astray by lies from Republican leaders, and he will demand justice for the American people just as he did as a prosecutor.

Ethics. Now there's an idea. What won't Shelley Moore Capito (more Corrupto, I say) sell out when it comes to protecting our soldiers, our workers and our country? Look for yourself here.

War in Iraq

Mike Callaghan will defend our country in its fight against terrorism. Mike will never take a back seat to the Republicans in defending this country. He will demand swift action and hold our leaders accountable.

Mike believes we need to work towards a quick resolution in Iraq that includes a detailed withdrawl plan. We pray for and honor our men and women who have admirably served our country. Our top priority should be creating and executing a solid plan of action to bring families home. The best way to ensure an end to this war is to elect Democrats to Congress.

The highlighted portion is key to me and has swung me from lukewarm to strong support.

When I met Mike Callaghan the first time early in his campaign, I asked straight out his position on Murtha's plan of pulling out of Iraq. He was not strong as a supporter of withdrawal as I was. If I recall, he was not ready to commit to the plan then. And that was what I wanted. But Callaghan reached out to those of us supporting his anti-war primary opponent here in the Eastern Panhandle immediately after he won the nomination. He listened to them (I was unable to attend that meeting, but I heard good feedback from those who had). Callaghan is not somebody who waited for the party leadership to tell him how to stand on an issue. He listened to the people. He learned and studied.

He's a judicious man and that came across in my meetings with him. And I confess, I personally wanted more of a firebrand. But I recognized that what I personally want and what is best for my Congressional District and for winning that seat in Congress and maybe even in healing the deeply partisan divisions in the country are not always the same thing. I want an attack dog, but deep inside I know a judicious man is needed more than that.

Don't get me wrong. I've got the sense he can be as dogged in his pursuit of what is right as much as an other federal prosecutor we admire. And if the Democrats win a majority and hold long overdue oversight hearing and investigations, a former federal prosecutor who went after coal mine owners with hearts of coal would be extremely useful as a representative.

National Security

Mike Callaghan is strong on national security and will never take a back seat to Republicans when it comes to defending this country.

Mike opposes the Bush/Capito unlimited spying and wiretapping program. Protecting our country and protecting the rights of our citizens are both cornerstones to our democracy. Mike believes that not even the President is above the law and he will hold everyone who violates our rule of law accountable.

Mike grew up in a small West Virginia town where it was safe at home, safe at work and safe in his community. He understands these are the values important to West Virginians. He will work tirelessly to make every American safe at home, work and in their community.

That's what I'm talking about. He knows the value of law and the important of protecting liberty and he knows people want to be safe. And he recognizes those things are not incompatible with each other.

You can read more about his positions here.

This seat is highly winnable. Capito is a candidate who should be ousted for her overly close ties to Delay and Bush.

Even if she wasn't one of the worst in the House of Representatives (and she is) at representing regular folk, Callaghan would still be deserving of our strong support because of his intelligence, background and positions. He's not just an anti-Capito choice.

His positions are good positions and just the type of person needed to make the United States government of the people, by the people and for the people.

If you think Mike Callaghan is worthy of support like I do, you can contribute to his campaign here.

On the importance of hope

2006-08-09T01:10:00.000-04:00

Long ago, a veteran police sergeant and I went to the firing range alone to go shooting.

He was the firing range instructor for his department and he gave me the same lesson he gave the new officers.

So I shot with my right hand for a while and then he told me to shoot with my left. I asked him why it was important to shoot with my off hand. And he said sometimes you're not in a position to fire from around a corner without exposing yourself more unless you're shooting with your left, but more importantly if you're ever shot and can't fire with your right to learn to fire with your left. It was important to not quit fighting just because you're wounded. And I asked 'Why?' again, which I do when I don't know the answer. He said when people are wounded, if they think they're going to die, they are more likely to die. But if they stay in the fight for survival, they're more likely to survive.

Which leads me to Billmon.

Here's what he wrote, possibly partly in response to something I wrote here but more of it was directed in unacknowledged response to Steve Gilliard.

Gilliard can always speak for himself. So I'll address this in regards to Billmon's despair. (And if you think Billmon is writing from irony or out of sarcasm and not from some dark place your knowledge of human nature is as poor as your reading comprehension.)

My view is this:

But here is where you and I differ. I still have hope. I have hope that people are wakening up to the desperateness of the situation and they're going to get to work digging our way out. We're going to push the Republicans who led us into the disaster out of the way first and we're going to push out the Democrats who enabled them, beginning with the worst of the lot Sen. Joe Lieberman. But we're not going to stop there. We're going to go through the whole bad lot of them here and across the globe.

His response:

I had hopes once that the Democratic Party could be reformed, that progressives could burrow back in or build their own parallel organizations (like MoveOn.org or even Left Blogistan) and eventually gain control of the party and its agenda -- much as the conservatives took over the GOP in the 1980s and '90s.

But I think we've run out of time. Events -- from 9/11 on -- have moved too fast and pushed us too far towards the clash of civilizations that most sane people dread but the neocons desperately want.

I know time is short. With each heart breaking death, it is short.

Regarding Billmon, it's like all he can see is the cliff we're heading over and has tunnel vision regarding it. And it's a bad cliff. Don't get me wrong.

They're certainly free to follow their party over the cliff (we're all going over it anyway) but I'd at least prefer to do it with my eyes open.

Look, I am often as unhappy with the Democratic leadership as anyone else. But I also recognize that under the Republican-controlled Congress, there is often little that can be done to have a sensible debate about the Iraq war. We all saw how they twisted Rep. John Murtha's bill and put forward their own that was completely unreasonable.

Yet few Democrats, West Virginia's own Rep. Nick Rahall being one of the few exceptions, took the position I would have wanted. Here is Rahall's statement:

Instead of this balanced approach, the House passed a one-sided resolution citing Israel's right to defend itself - just as my resolution did - but also blamed the pro-American, pro-democratic government of Lebanon for not ridding itself of the extremist gang Hezbollah. I voted against this one-sided approach, not against Israel.

I do not think we need to enter this fray militarily but we can play a role diplomatically with an even hand. Last week I urged the President to call Israel's Prime Minister to ask for a cease fire, a cooling off period. I echoed the call President Ronald Reagan made to Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1982, when President Reagan said "enough is enough" and encouraged a cease fire between Israel and the P.L.O.

It is easy to suggest that Lebanon should manage its borders and maintain its own security and rid itself of Hezbollah as the House resolution stated. If Lebanon got the billions in foreign aid from the Congress that Israel receives each year, the task would be much easier. The facts speak otherwise. The young Lebanese government striving to reflect democratic ideals frankly does not have the ability to rid itself of foreign entanglements. In fact, Israel itself militarily occupied Lebanon for almost two decades and was not able to stamp out insurgents striking at Israel. This is an issue for the world community. The United States should defend Israel, and at the same time defend democratic governments in the region. This goal is the best way for us to secure Israel's future.

Christ's Sermon on the Mount included the charge, "blessed are the peacemakers." People can disagree, but I can not recall from the pages of history any people who have annihilated an enemy for all time. The United States since becoming a world power has generally played this key role. The President's couch potato diplomacy will probably end soon, but in my mind it can not end soon enough. The problems the Middle East faces can not be solved by military means. History has proven this. We should call for an end to all military actions on all sides, and work for a peaceful solution. This is Israel's most promising future.

That is a view I wish more Democrats and Republicans in Congress had taken. That is the view I wish President Bush held.

I cannot control what they do any more can I control what Hezbollah does or Israel does.

What I can do is to work to change the party mostly likely to align with my views. And that is the Democratic Party.

You make progress forward one step at a time. We win an election and gain a majority or closer to a majority in Congress, we make progress. We get a Democratic majority, we begin putting up primary opponents to beat the Democrats who aligned with the Republicans against peace and against humanity and the environment.

That is how we change the government for the better. Unless you want an armed revolution and that is not a view I currently support.

Even if time is limited, we should keep moving forward. We cannot know what the future is certain to bring.

In the scenario Billmon paints, his domino theory of nations falling to the Shi'as with Iran's government gaining control of Iraq and then Syria, he ignored the fact that while Syria might sponsor Hezbollah, the leaders of Syria are highly effective -- brutally so -- at clamping down on those attempting to bring theocracy to their secular dictatorship. So the picture he painted of Iran's military spreading into Iraq to keep the "peace" there then into Syria right next to Israel's border is not a foregone conclusion.

Worst yet, Billmon's position in the piece I criticized takes the view that nothing matters anyway so why bother. That is not a position I'm willing to ever accept.

Perhaps he's right that there isn't time. Perhaps he isn't. But I'd rather try to make the change happen than to say it doesn't matter as he did.

But there is cause for hope, slight though it might be.

If we quit, our chance of making the world a better place is gone, possibly forever. If we keep fighting we survive.

I'll leave off with one more anecdote. My best friend, a police lieutenant, once answered a call to break up a bar room fight and ended up having the five people fighting unite to turn on him. He was one of only a handful of officers working the entire county that night and backup was 30 minutes away. Ask anyone who has ever been in a real brawl how long it takes for someone not a trained professional boxer to run out of steam and begin sucking wind even when you're fighting just one opponent.

But he held on and kept fighting and when he finally heard the sirens coming far off in the distance he got a second wind. By the time backup arrived, he had the five brawlers in custody.

He won because he didn't quit.

Sometimes you just got to keep struggling even when the odds are overwhelming. We don't have a choice if we want to survive.

An open letter to Billmon

2006-08-09T01:08:00.000-04:00

Dear Billmon,

I hope you don't mind me contacting you in this way, but I suspect many people feel the same way you feel.
You've been on fire lately with your analysis of the Middle East fighting and political situation. I do not think any of the big name columnists at any of the major newspapers has been as accurate at describing the overall current events or predicting what will happen in the immediate near future.

For quite some time, you've been one of my favorite writers. I have a near obsession with Arthur Conan Doyle, would have donated an organ to keep Patrick O'Brian alive and writing, and wish Richard Laymon had not died so young. So when I say you're one of my favorite writers, I want you to know the company I place you in.

And so it isn't some thing I say lightly when I say I think you're wrong. You wrote:

So here's my confession: At this point I really don't give a flying fuck whether the Democrats take the House or the Senate back. No, wait, that's not true. The truth is I hope they don't. It wouldn't save us from what's coming down the road, in the Middle East and elsewhere. It wouldn't force President Psychopath to change course or seek therapy. But it would make sure that the "left" (ha ha ha) gets more than its fair share of blame for the approaching debacle.

That may well be the natural role of the Democratic Party in our one-and-a-half party system, but I don't want any part of it any more. Which means that when I say it's a bad sign (consensus opinion always being wrong) that Charlie Cook now thinks the Republicans are likely to lose their House and/or Senate majorities in November, I just mean that it's a bad sign for the Democratic Party and its professional hangers on.

For the rest of us, and for whatever is left of this country's soul, it doesn't really matter. We've already lost.

Believe me, I understand why you'd think that. Even if the Democrats win the House and Senate, we're not at a point where we can see light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel has collapsed. There is no light to be seen. The Republicans wrecklessly smashed through the supports and too many Democrats stood by or even abetted them.

I know about darkness. I've lived in it. The world is very dark. I understand your despair.

But here is where you and I differ. I still have hope. I have hope that people are wakening up to the desperateness of the situation and they're going to get to work digging our way out. We're going to push the Republicans who led us into the disaster out of the way first and we're going to push out the Democrats who enabled them, beginning with the worst of the lot Sen. Joe Lieberman. But we're not going to stop there. We're going to go through the whole bad lot of them here and across the globe. And when I say we, I don't mean the bloggers. We don't have that power despite the foolish claims of the pundits. It's the ordinary people who are going to do it. The bloggers are just ordinary people with cyber megaphones. But it's the people who are going to get us out of this mess. Not any pretend leaders.

I don't know as much about the current events in the Middle East or in Washington, D.C. as you do. But I do know about ordinary, plain folks. I hear their anger at the way the world is and their desire to work to make it better from the people sitting next to me at Sunday school and from the passenger seat of the junk-hauling dump truck.

We're going through a tough time around the globe, those of us who just want to work and raise our families in peace and quiet and who just want to love our neighbors and make enough money to take care of ourselves and a little extra to help those not so fortunate. The planet is going through hell. But you don't make steel without putting the raw metal into the fires of the forge.

As Americans, we can look back at our history where the cause of progress must have seemed hopeless and lost. Valley Forge. Bull Run. Labor relations. Segregation. Vietnam.

It is heart breaking that we continue to go through wars in the Middle East and have to fight to protect the rights of ordinary Americans here.

But peace and social justice are worth the struggle. I don't believe the cause is lost. The odds are overwhelming certainly. They were overwhelming against us when Thomas Paine and Gen. George Washington fought for independence against the greatest military force on the planet and the were overwhelmingly against us when Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. faced racial segregationists backed by the full force of law enforcement and defeated them with the force of their courage and love.

They did the impossible. And that makes them mighty. And their blood flows through our veins. The odds always seem overwhelming. But no cause is lost -- unless we decide it is and surrender. That it doesn't really matter. And from what I've read of your work over the years, I know you believe it does matter. That you'll be one working for peace and justice until you draw your last breath. With people like you fighting for the country's soul, it is only a matter of time until we win.

Independent voice?

2006-07-29T02:41:00.000-04:00

The other day I received a message from Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito saying she should be re-elected since she's an "independent voice" in Congress.

The thing is, she can't run from her record of being a Rubber Stamp Republican, one of the largest recipients of the corrupt Tom Delay's campaign contributions. And now she has President Bush fundraising for her.

How independent from Bush's failures do you think she can be when he's campaigning for her?

She's been nothing but a Rubber Stamp Republican who has provided no oversight of the run-amuk corruption and incompetence of the Republican leadership and this administration. Indeed, she's benefited by it, receiving campaign contribution after campaign contribution from Delay and from corporations eager to profit off the Iraq War at the expense of our soldiers and eager to see the elimination of worker safety regulations and inspections. From the invasion of Iraq to the cutting of federal mining inspections before the Sago Mine Disaster, she's been with the administration in lock-step all the way.

From the Charleston Gazette:

President George W. Bush spent a few hours in Charleston Wednesday afternoon, raising money for a political ally at a private fundraiser and getting jeered by opponents of the war in Iraq.

Air Force One touched down at Yeager Airport at 4 p.m. Bush and U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., got off the plane and were first greeted by Gen. Allen Tackett, head of the state’s National Guard.

Republican officials said about 275 people attended the fundraiser, which raised an estimated $500,000 for Capito. Many paid the maximum of $2,100 per person. She is seeking a fourth two-year term in a race against Democrat Mike Callaghan.

snip

Callaghan, Capito’s opponent, said Bush’s visit shows Capito’s vulnerability this November and her solidarity with the Bush administration’s failed policies. He held his own fundraiser Wednesday evening, asking $21 per person for dinner, or 1 percent of the maximum allowable donation.

“The Callaghan campaign is about changing the direction of this country, which includes pushing the administration to find a way to end the war in Iraq, pushing the administration into providing health care for every man, woman and child, and pushing the administration into making prescription medication affordable to our seniors,” he said.

If we really want an independent voice who'll fight for the working people of West Virginia and not just for the wealthy people outside of the state, we need Mike Callaghan in Congress.

Listen

2006-07-29T02:37:00.000-04:00

From the White House press briefing July 27:

Q In terms of world opinion, you keep saying the "what if" game, if it seems as though the strategy is to isolate Hezbollah. Is there a risk with the United States and Israel gets isolated in terms of world opinion by not saying, let's cut the shooting now, cut the rockets now, and work it out? I hear what you're saying about --

MR. SNOW: Let me counterpose. There's an even greater danger that if the U.S. looks ineffective in doing this, that you not only have a loss in terms of world opinion, but credibility. And you cannot -- we've said it many times, you cannot run foreign policy on the basis of public opinion polls. Quite often there are perceptions that people may get from fractional coverage of the situation that don't expose the real realities on the ground. We are in very constant consultation with people in the region to try to find out exactly what the facts are.

From The New York Times:

Now, with hundreds of Lebanese dead and Hezbollah holding out against the vaunted Israeli military for more than two weeks, the tide of public opinion across the Arab world is surging behind the organization, transforming the Shiite group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, into a folk hero and forcing a change in official statements.

The Saudi royal family and King Abdullah II of Jordan, who were initially more worried about the rising power of Shiite Iran, Hezbollah's main sponsor, are scrambling to distance themselves from Washington.

Listen. Some where at this moment in Israel or Lebanon or Iraq, a father like me is wailing in agony because his child is dead from an explosion or gun shot.

With each birth of my daughters I thought my heart would swell and explode through my chest because I was so filled with so much love and happiness by their arrival. I love my life, but if I ever had to trade it to keep one of them safe from harm, I would make that bargain with a glad heart for I love them so.

And some where in Lebanon or Israel or Iraq, a father who felt the same way about one of his children is holding a still-form. No torment in hell holds worse suffering.

Listen. Close your eyes and listen. You can hear his screams even here on the other side of the world.

The world should stop spinning in orbit to hear such a tormented soul's cry of despair.

Dear Lord, people are dead because the president failed to listen. Children are dead. They cannot listen. They cannot hear their father's cries. They cannot hear their mother's desperate screams to come back to them. They cannot hear their brothers and sisters calling out their names.

Listen. Diplomacy begins with listening to each other. awol just wants to speak and have people follow his orders rather than listen.

Listening never killed anybody.

He did not listen to those who warned of the dangers of invading Iraq.

He did not listen to the screams of the tortured.

No, he believes he can govern by photo ops. They do not require him to listen.

So when awol's spokesman speaks of a "greater danger," what danger is he speaking of? There is no danger in asking people to stop killing each other and to sit down and listen. What is more dangerous than the bombs dropping and the gun shots flying? Snow claims that the administration is in consultation with people, but certainly the Lebanese people will no longer listen to us. They are going to listen to Hezbollah for standing up to those that sent the bombs that were dropped on them.

The same is true for the Israelis and the Iraqis. They are not going to want to listen to those that shipped death and destruction their way.

And so the world trembles at the anguish of the fathers and mothers with their children dead. You can hear them, but awol cannot. He does not listen.

Listen.

'The President is always right'

2006-07-20T00:16:00.000-04:00

Crossposted at Political Cortex, skippy, Booman Tribune, and my blog, The Mystery of the Haunted Vampire.

Asked to explain the differences between the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Hamdan and President George W. Bush's description of the case, the U.S. Department of Justice's head of the Office of Legal Counsel Steven Bradbury told the Senate Judiciary Committee: "The President is always right."

In decision after decision, we have seen that this was not a lone statement from a sychophant. Remember, George W. Bush could not think of any mistakes he had made despite failing to prevent the worst attack to the United States in modern history. "The President is always right" is a view held by George W. Bush himself.

On a spring afternoon in May 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal was anything but equal.

"We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

But the schools did not become desegregated overnight. When the Little Rock Nine enrolled and were scheduled to attend school in September 1957. It prompted one of the most dramatic moments in U.S. history.

When Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround Central High School to keep the nine students from entering the school, President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to insure the safety of the "Little Rock Nine" and that the rulings of the Supreme Court were upheld.

What is often forgotten, but important to remember today, President Dwight Eisenhower had opposed desegregation. Before the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Topeka, Eisenhower had appealed personally to Chief Justice Earl Warren. He invited him to the White House to meet with segregationists in an attempt to persuade Warren to maintain "separate but equal" as the law of the land.

President Eisenhower, who later described the appointment of Earl Warren as chief justice as the worst decision he had ever made, was not as jubilant. At a White House dinner, he told Warren, "[Southern whites] are not bad people. All they are concerned about is to see that their sweet little girls are not required to sit in school alongside some big overgrown Negroes." Eisenhower added, "It is difficult through law and through force to change a man's heart."4 His heart, however, seemed to be with the opponents of integration.

One can say many things about President Eisenhower's personal views on racial inequality.

But when the time came, he set aside his own desires. He sent the federal troops in to enforce the Supreme Court's decision.

Eisenhower knew the president is not always right. And that alone makes him a better human than George W. Bush will ever be.

2,500 dead: the cost of 'freedom'

2006-06-16T20:23:00.000-04:00

I'm tired of the right wing war whore lovers who think this war is a videogame. The honored dead are meaningless to them.

They can't wrap their chickenhawk wings around the idea that each of these deaths is about the worst thing that will ever happen to these soldiers' families and friends.

I saw a SUV this morning in front of me on the highway. On the back, it had a spare tire with a personalized cover of a soldier in his helmet looking grim-faced under the words "Freedom isn't free." Below the poster-sized face was "My son, our hero." And it listed his date of birth and death.

Somebody's baby. How do you tell a mother her baby boy is dead because an idiot wanted to be a war president and had to one-up his daddy because he's got mommy issues that his sorry, alcoholic ass never dealt with when he was growing up because Georgie-boy never had to grow up?

That woman's son didn't die to preserve our freedom. For the love of God I can understand how she needs to believe he did. That her baby is gone because of a noble purpose. That his sacrifice and hers mean something.

But the gruesome reality is it doesn't. The 2,500 lives were spent needlessly fighting an unnecessary war based on lies.

And that makes the pain even more heartbreaking.

So what freedoms were preserved by the Iraq War?

* We are free from federal surpluses.
* We are free from lower gasoline prices.
* We are free from having to read stories of Osama bin Laden's capture or death.
* Our nation is free from being considered a global leader.
* Our nation is free from being viewed as a moral authority when it comes to defending human rights and dignity.

horsewithnoname compiled a good list of freedoms we no longer have since this administration took office.

Mollohan shows class

2006-04-21T22:48:00.000-04:00

A so-called "government watchdog organization" made allegations against Rep. Mollohan of West Virginia. Georgia10 has the details on how partisan the group is. The group has refused to release a 500-page report it claims supports it's allegations despite being asked to do so by Mollohan, his Republican opponent, the press and others. The word going around is the group refuses to release the report because it turns out the allegations are baseless. However, Mollohan showed class and has temporarily stepped down from his role as ranking member of the ethics committee. Unlike the rubber stamp Republicans in Congress who have turned a blind eye to ethics violations and criminal acts by their colleagues tied to Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay ::cough Shelley Moore Capito cough::, Mollohan, as Georgia10 nicely puts it, put the greater good above himself.

Cheney hearts Shelley

2006-03-29T14:40:00.000-05:00

From Shelley Moore Capito's web site:

"Shelley Moore Capito answers to no one except the people she represents. The President and I need people of Shelley's caliber to help us keep our nation prosperous. ..."
Vice President Dick Cheney.

Her caliber?

Capito was the largest recipient of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ARMPAC campaign contributions. DeLay is being prosecuted on charges of felony money laundering of campaign finances and conspiracy to launder money. To date, Capito has not offered to return any of the $48,500 she received.

snip

According to federal prosecutors, Capito's name appears in e-mails that suggest her former chief of staff was trying to help lobbyist Jack Abramoff secure a GSA lease for land for a religious school. However, Capito denies knowledge of the action and her former chief of staff claims that he did not bring the issue to her attention.

Publisher has no journalism ethics

2006-03-27T22:49:00.000-05:00

Anytime the president of the United States, even one as unpopular as George W. Bush, arrives in a small town it is big news.

However, the ethically challenged Ogden newspaper chain in West Virginia stepped so over the line from covering the news to being a Bush cheerleader that GOP water carrier and alleged Washington Post media critic Howie Kurtz called it a blunder (albeit in rather tepid criticism).

From the Wheeling Intelligencer:

Bush will be in Wheeling on Wednesday, March 22, to conduct a town hall meeting on the War on Terror. No time for the event has been released, though the visit is tentatively scheduled to take place at the Capitol Music Hall.

A number of local businesses are underwriting the event. Among them are The Ogden Newspapers Inc., Valley National Gases Inc., Paull Associates Insurance/Real Estate, EPS Industries Inc., Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center and Beyond Marketing.

"We are extremely pleased to have the president in Wheeling again, and we are pleased to help underwrite the expenses," said Robert Nutting, president and chief executive officer of Ogden Newspapers. "Terry Sterling (chamber president) has done a great job of pulling together the logistics and details of the visit.

A questioner asked Kurtz about this in the Post 's online chat:

Wheeling, W.Va.: Last week President Bush visited my hometown of Wheeling, West Virgina for a town hall meeting. The local publisher, Ogden Newspapers, proudly listed itself as a "sponsor" of the visit, along with the local Chamber of Commerce and some other businesses. The papers (yes, we still have morning and afternoon papers, both owned by Ogden) had numerous articles over the course of about a week before and after the visit, as well as several editorials. I would characterize the coverage as supportive of the President to the point of giddiness. I have to say that I was surprised by this - not so much by the editorializing, as the editorial pages of the Ogden papers have always been quite conservative - but by the papers' sponsorship of the visit and the cheerleading news articles. What do you think of the publishing company's sponsorship? Why would a presidential visit even need a sponsor? And what does this say about the papers' ability to cover the visit fairly?

Howard Kurtz: I had not heard that the papers co-sponsored the Bush visit. What a journalistic blunder. Why compromise yourself in that fashion when it's a big local story that your reporters will have to cover?

I can vouch for the questioner's characterization of Ogden newspapers. The local rag I subscribe to, the Martinsburg Journal, is owned by the same company.

Of course, Kurtz is handed a perfect example of the corporate media showing their support for Bush once again. Does he follow up this tip with a story about the media's conservative bias? Or will he ignore it like he has many other examples as he writes another story parrotting GOP talking points about the media out to get Bush?

I think we know the answer to that one.

Byrd's faith

2006-03-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

Article in the Charleston Daily Mail:

U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd is thankful that he and his wife of nearly 69 years grew up in Christian homes where they were taught that faith is a matter of action.

"Erma and I grew up together," Byrd said. "We were raised in homes of coal miners. She was my sweetheart since 10th grade.

"We have always been thankful we lived in the homes of parents who were religious people. They didn't wear it on their sleeve. They were quietly religious."

It's not too surprising that the Byrds quietly put together a booklet of their most treasured scriptures and are giving them away. Byrd said he paid more than $3,000 to print 10,000 copies of the black-and-white booklets.

"We gave some to various churches and those churches gave them out," he said. "That was our way of spreading God's word. We were amply rewarded by the desire of people to have these."

Entire article well worth reading.

Democratic candidates forum

2006-03-10T12:20:00.000-05:00

From an email:

THIS SUNDAY MARCH 12 4 PM
Charles Town Library
The Democratic candidates running in the primary for S.M. Capito's Congressional seat will present their views on Healthcare in West Virginia.

Organized by the Jefferson Democratic Women

Questions on other topics will also be entertained.

All are welcome!

Driving a stake through the heart of a monster

2006-03-06T23:54:00.000-05:00

Via BooMan and our own Georgia10, I see Bill Kristol is attempting to separate the failure of George W. Bush from conservative ideology.

BILL KRISTOL: I think it's become in people's minds an emblem of the administration that just isn't as serious about the competent execution of the functions of government as it should be. And even -- I'm struck talking to conservatives and Republicans -- they agree with the president on basic political philosophy, the they agree with his basic policy agenda, but they are worried that they just don't seem to be able to execute as well as they should be.

Kristol's just the latest in a line of conservatives to claim that Republican policies didn't fail Bush; Bush failed the Republican policies.

They cannot separate Bush from their movement, however. They can't escape the monster they created.

Kristol is like the conspirator in a murder case: "Sure I drove Bush to the house, gave him the gun, advised him what to do, but I'm not responsible for the crime."

The same is true of every Republican, conservative and neo-conservative that ever supported Bush.

They've got blood on their hands, and no amount of trying to wash the taint of Bush away is going to cleanse them of their shared guilt.

Bush gave them what they wanted and if they don't like it, they should renounce their party and their ideology and seek forgiveness and to undo the damage they have done to their country and the world.

They wanted less regulation of industry and America got dead miners.

CRAIGSVILLE, W.Va. -- In its drive to foster a more cooperative relationship with mining companies, the Bush administration has decreased major fines for safety violations since 2001, and in nearly half the cases, it has not collected the fines, according to a data analysis by The New York Times.

Federal records also show that in the last two years the federal mine safety agency has failed to hand over any delinquent cases to the Treasury Department for further collection efforts, as is supposed to occur after 180 days.

As John at AmericaBlog said:

This is Republicanism in action, folks. There's no way to sugar coat it. You vote Republican, this is what you get - people who favor corporations over people. Republicans alway say they're going to cut back on federal regulations, so no one should be surprised when they do.

snip

You vote for it, you own it. It's time the American voter takes responsibility for his and her own vote. You elected these guys, and they're doing what they told you they'd do. If you don't like it, then stop voting Republican.

Bush didn't fail the Republican policies. The Republican policies failed the American people.

Kristol and the Republicans should be handcuffed to George W. Bush to keep them from escaping what he has wrought.

Grover Norquist wanted tax cuts. Americans got the highest deficit in history.

Norquist wanted to drown the federal government in a bathtub. We lost an American city to flooding. And as people grew hungry and desperate, John McCain laughed and gave Bush cake.

The Republicans wanted less environmental regulations. We got melting polar icepacks and record-levels of children with asthma.

The Republicans wanted war in Iraq. Americans got dead soldiers, dead Iraqis, a broken military, an escaped Osama bin-Laden, high gasoline prices, lost national prestige and a rise in terrorism and anti-American hatred in return.

And the efforts by Kristol, Norquist and others to make Bush their Jonah should not be allowed to succeed.

Bush should be the stake we use to drive through the heart of their conservative ideology.

And once we drive the stake in, we need to chop off the monster's head, stuff the mouth with garlic cloves, burn the body, grind the bones to dust and bury them deep in consecrated ground to keep this horror from ever rising again.

Bush cuts fines for mine safety

2006-03-02T10:44:00.000-05:00

We lost 24 miners working in mines recently -- 12 in Sago -- with numerous safety code violations. So what does President Bush do in response? Cut the penalties that are used to make mine companies get into compliance and make the mines safer.

CRAIGSVILLE, W.Va. — In its drive to foster a more cooperative relationship with mining companies, the Bush administration has decreased major fines for safety violations since 2001, and in nearly half the cases, it has not collected the fines, according to a data analysis by The New York Times.

Federal records also show that in the last two years the federal mine safety agency has failed to hand over any delinquent cases to the Treasury Department for further collection efforts, as is supposed to occur after 180 days.

With the deaths of 24 miners in accidents in 2006, the enforcement record of the Mine Safety and Health Administration has come under sharp scrutiny, and the agency is likely to face tough questions about its performance at a Senate oversight hearing on Thursday.

"The Bush administration ushered in this desire to develop cooperative ties between regulators and the mining industry," said Tony Oppegard, a top official at the agency in the Clinton administration. "Safety has certainly suffered as a result."

Americablog sums it up:

Bush kills miners

What else to title this article?
This is Republicanism in action, folks. There's no way to sugar coat it. You vote Republican, this is what you get - people who favor corporations over people.

Republicans alway say they're going to cut back on federal regulations, so no one should be surprised when they do.

Just imagine what our country is going to look like if yet another Republican wins the presidency in 2008.

WV Dem stops anti-gay amendment

2006-02-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

"I'd hate to see discrimination put into the Constitution," Del. Joe Talbott (D-Webster County).

We won a battle for equality and it went unnoticed.

On Feb. 2, mph2005 had an excellent diary, WV Dems propose Marriage Protection Amendment.

The bill appeared nothing more than an incredibly stupid effort to appeal to bigoted homophobes.

It was a gift to the WV GOP in an election year.

The GOP delegates loved the measure so much they wanted to bypass all of the usual rules and procedures (no surprise) and demanded an immediate up or down vote.

"Courts throughout the country are attacking statutory enactments on the definition of marriage," said Delegate Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, who led the effort. "It's very important that we do this."

When introduced the measure was sent to the Constitutional Affairs committee and then assigned to the Judiciary Committee for review.

Del. Joe Talbott, chairman of the Constitutional Affairs committee, refused to bow to the GOP demands.

All bills have to be reviewed by committees.

The GOP forced a vote to bypass Talbott's decision. Here's how the Human Rights Campaign described it: Gay Marriage Amendment Fails.

CHARLESTON--The House of Delegates rejected a bid Wednesday to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that targets same-sex marriage, which is banned under a 2000 state law.

With two absent, a largely party-line vote of 35-63 defeated an attempt to have the necessary resolution bypass the House's Constitutional Revision Committee.

So I talked to Del. Talbott today and that's when he said that line I used at the beginning. He's not a proponent for same sex marriage. But he told me he does believe in liberty and people should be free to live as they want as long as it doesn't interfere with others.

He's been targeted by the religious right for killing this bill. They also hate him for his support of reproductive rights.

He represents a very rural West Virginia county. I ask that you take a moment and thank him for stopping the so-called "Marriage Protection Amendment."

Write a letter to

Joe Talbott

205 East

State Capitol Complex

Charleston, WV 25305

or email jtalbott@mail.wvnet.edu

or fax 304-340-3351.

Please remember: he helped us win a battle. We need allies like him to win the struggle.

P.S. Steve M has a nice email for those not sure what to say:

Mr. Talbott,

I just wanted to take the time to drop you a note and thank you for your courageous act in blocking the cynical GOP maneuvers on the "Marriage Protection Amendment."

It really doesn't matter what any of us think of someone else's marriage. America is supposed to be about equality and tolerance and as long as we remember those values we can't go wrong. I married a lovely woman last year and I do not feel that our marriage is the least bit "threatened" by anyone else's gay or straight marriage. Even if someone chooses to marry a Republican, I still don't feel that would threaten the wonderful institution of marriage in the least. We can all agree to let other people's business remain their business.

Thank you again for doing the right thing.

Best,

Steve M

Meet Mr. Robb

2006-02-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

** Richie Robb will speak at
Berkeley County Democratic Association
Monday, February 27
Hoss's on Edwin Miller Boulevard in Martinsburg
Dinner about 6:30; program 7:20. All are welcome!

** Unable to attend Monday eve.?
Contact Lynn Yellott to arrange meetings with Richie on Sunday, Feb. 26, late afternoon and evening.

** Arrange for Richie to speak with your organization
March 11-15,

** Political reality: it takes money to raise money.
Richie Robb seeks 2500 people to donate $25.
Send your contribution to:
Robb Congress
P.O. Box 8747
South Charleston, WV 25303

We've got fine candidates running to take on Shelley Moore Capito.

Democracy Bonds

2006-02-12T17:27:00.000-05:00

New feature added to the site. You can contribute to the Democratic Party through the button at the top or the meter on the side. Most of those listed as contributors probably already contribute, but if you don't already please consider doing so.

Corporate Capito and Abramoff????

2006-02-11T01:04:00.000-05:00

From Comcast news:

Friday's filings by prosecutors refer to a third member of Congress, Rep. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va. Her name appears in e-mails that suggest she was trying to help Abramoff secure a GSA lease for land in Silver Spring for a religious school.

Capito claims to know nothing about the effort. "The action taken by her former chief of staff was done without her knowledge, approval or consent," said her spokesman, Joel Brubaker. "She was not aware of any contact with GSA of any type on this matter."

We all know she took campaign money from Delay and is nothing but a vote for corporate America over us real Americans but now it seems the corpution is coming to her front door. Will West Virginia's 2nd district and especially the Eastern Panhandle wake up and vote out Shelley Moore-Capito before it is too late???

What Bush Really Said

2006-02-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

Let us go through the speech and see if I got anything right and also let’s look at what some of the speech would have looked like if Bush would have been allowed to write it.
My points will be in parenthesis and Bush’s version will be in brackets.

…Tonight we are comforted by the hope of a glad reunion with the husband who was taken so long ago, and we are grateful for the good life of Coretta Scott King. (Ding, Ding, Ding #5)

…In a system of two parties, two chambers and two elected branches, there will always be differences and debate. But even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone. And our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger.
To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of good will and respect for one another. And I will do my part. (Let’s just see if Bush calls people names.)And I will do my part.

…Tonight the state of our Union is strong,(Ding, Ding, Ding #1) and together we will make it stronger.

..We will choose to act confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom or retreat from our duties in the hope of an easier life. (Your with me or against me)

..We will choose to build our prosperity by leading the world economy or shut ourselves off from trade and opportunity. (My way or the highway)

..In a complex and challenging time, the road of isolationism and protectionism (name calling) may seem broad and inviting, yet it ends in danger and decline.

…Abroad, our nation is committed to an historic, long-term goal: We seek the end of tyranny in [the rest of the world and the continued growth of it here] our world.

…On September the 11th, 2001, we found that problems originating in a failed and oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and destruction to our country.(Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but we invaded Iraq)

…Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror. (The Palestinian election a great example of this respect for thy neighbor.)

…At the start of 2006, more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half -- in places like Syria and Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea and Iran (Uh Oh, Axis of Evil has new members)

…And one of the main sources of reaction and opposition is radical Islam; the perversion by a few of a noble faith [even if you are all going to hell unless you accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior] into an ideology of terror and death.

…Terrorists like bin Laden are serious about mass murder and all of us must take their declared intentions seriously.(you know like Bin Laden wants to attack inside United States and Arabs taking flight classes but could care less about taking off and landing)

(I have figured out why Bush has not caught Osama and why Osama was allowed to escape out of Afghanistan. Bush and Osama need each other. Each individual’s ability to recruit is helped by the other. Every time Osama puts out a tape Bush’s poll numbers go up and every time Bush does anything the terrorist network grows by leaps and bounds.)

…Their aim is to seize power in Iraq and use it as a safe haven to launch attacks against America and the world. [but instead we have gained control of Iraq and Afghanistan and will continue to send up our unmanned bombers to blow up unsuspecting women and children in the name of the War on Terror.]

…Lacking the military strength to challenge us directly, the terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear.[just like we republicans did in the last election.]

…But they have miscalculated. We love our freedom, and we will fight to keep it.[Even if I have to eliminate American’s freedom and liberties to do so.]

…But our enemies and our friends can be certain: The United States will not retreat from the world, and we will never surrender [our oil] to evil.

…America rejects the false comfort of isolationism. We are the nation that saved liberty in Europe, and liberated death camps,[and started a few,] and helped raise up democracies and faced down an evil empire.

…We're on the offensive in Iraq, with a clear plan for victory.
First, we are helping Iraqis build an inclusive government, so that old resentments will be eased and the insurgency will be marginalized.
Second, we are continuing reconstruction efforts and helping the Iraqi government to fight corruption and build a modern economy, so all Iraqis can experience the benefits of freedom. [Our majority in Washington may be corrupt, but we will not allow Iraq to be corrupt.]
…Third, we are striking terrorist targets while we train Iraqi forces that are increasingly capable of defeating the enemy. (Dind, Ding, Ding #2)

…The road of victory [in Iraq] is the road that will [send our troops to Iran.] take our troops home.

As we make progress on the ground and Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels. But those decisions will be made by our military commanders,[as long as they agree with me], not by politicians in Washington, D.C. [other than me]

…In the coming year, I will continue to reach out and seek your good advice. Yet there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success and defeatism (more name calling sounds like he is really willing to reach across the aisle) that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure.

…With so much in the balance, those of us in public office have a duty to speak with candor. [again as long as you do not disagree with me or my attack dogs in the press will tear you a new asshole you defeatist, unpatriotic bastards]

…Members of Congress, however we feel about the decisions and debates of the past, our nation has only one option: We must keep our word, defeat our enemies and stand behind the American military in its vital mission. (not by giving them the adequate numbers like other Generals have suggested or by giving them adequate armor or supplies, but just by giving them lip service and not asking the question when will the mission actually be accomplished.)

…Our men and women in uniform are making sacrifices[that I was unwilling to make]and showing a sense of duty stronger than all fear.

…We are grateful to all who volunteer to wear our nation's uniform.[and now we are looking outside our borders for people who want to defend America because we can not reach our recruitment goals any longer.]

…Raising up a democracy requires the rule of law, and protection of minorities,(like we did in the aftermath of Katrina…”you’re doing a heckuva job Brownie”) and strong, accountable institutions that last longer than a single vote.

…The Palestinian people have voted in elections. And now the leaders of Hamas must recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism and work for lasting peace. (or what)

…Saudi Arabia has taken the first steps of reform. Now it can offer its people a better future by pressing forward with those efforts. (watch Syriana it shows what happens to people who really want reform in the middle east)

…Isolationism would not only tie our hands in fighting enemies; it would keep us from helping our friends in desperate need. (Who the hell is for isolationism????? He keeps using this term. Is wanting to control our own borders an isolationist??? Is wanting a level playing field for American workers an isolationist??? Who is he talking about???)

(It is true)--It is said that prior to the attacks of September the 11th, our government failed to connect the dots of the conspiracy. We now know that two of the hijackers in the United States placed telephone calls to Al Qaida operatives overseas. But we did not know about their plans until it was too late.

…So to prevent another attack -- based on authority given to me by the Constitution and by statute -- I have authorized a terrorist surveillance program to aggressively pursue the international communications of suspected Al Qaida operatives and affiliates to and from America. (I am going to give myself a ding, ding, ding here #4 in my list and I want to know why we are not arresting them, charging them and convicting them or at least kicking them out of our country.)

…Previous presidents have used the same constitutional authority I have (all before 1978 when Congress, the law making body of government required Presidents to get warrants from a secret FISA court) and federal courts have approved the use of that authority. Appropriate members of Congress have been kept informed. (but were not allowed to comment, disagree, or tell anyone about it.)

…Our economy is healthy and vigorous, and growing faster than other major industrialized nations. In the last two-and-a-half years, America has created 4.6 million new (low paying) jobs (and eliminated 4.6 million higher paying jobs)
…So we're seeing some old temptations return. Protectionists (more name calling, but who is he talking about?) want to escape competition,(I think they probably just want fair competition) pretending that we can keep our high standard of living while walling off our economy.

…In the last five years, the tax relief you passed has left $880 billion in the hands of American [corporations and my wealthy friends] workers, investors, small businesses and families.

…Yet the tax relief is set to expire in the next few years.
I urge the Congress to act responsibly and make the tax cuts permanent.(Ding, Ding, Ding #3)

...Every year of my presidency, we've reduced the growth of nonsecurity discretionary spending. And last year you passed bills that cut this spending.
This year my budget will cut it again and reduce or eliminate more than 140 programs that are performing poorly or not fulfilling essential priorities. (like college education grants and healthcare for the poor)

…By passing these reforms, we will save the American taxpayer another $14 billion next year and stay on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009. [We will also only have 6 billion dollars in Iraq go unaccounted for down from 9 Billion in 2003 on track to cut it in half by 2010.]

…Congress did not act last year on my proposal to [scrap] save Social Security...

... yet the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away.

…And with every year we fail to act, the situation gets worse.(Bush and his Republican allies pushed through congress on of the most expensive and poorly run entitlement programs in history , Medicare Part-D, a program that was nothing but a give away to the drug manufacturers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers with nothing to control the cost or any way to pay for it.)

…So tonight I ask you to join me in creating a commission to examine the full impact of baby boom retirements on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
This commission should include members of Congress of both parties (Lord knows Republicans can not solve this problem) and offer bipartisan solutions.

…With open markets and a level playing field, no one can out- produce or out-compete the American worker.[, but my corporate allies tell me the American worker is too expensive at $5.15 an hour.]

...Our government has a responsibility to help provide health care for the poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility.[by forcing people off the Medicaid rolls and sending them to free clinics. I hope a liberal starts one up in a community near you soon.]

…And because lawsuits are driving many (BAD) good doctors out of practice (and insurance companies are driving many GOOD doctors out of practice. Bush proposes to penalize the lawyers and reward the insurance companies with medical liability reform.)

BUSH: Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.(which he made unstable)

(I am going to skip most of Mr. Bush’s INITIATIVES, since we all know that they are just pretty names with no substance.)

America is a great force for freedom and prosperity. Yet our greatness is not measured in power or luxuries, but by who we are and how we treat [our friends. So with the help of the Republican congress we have eliminated bankruptcy protection for real Americans and protected predator lenders, my contributors]one another. So we strive to be a compassionate, decent, hopeful society.

[We have kicked half the people off welfare and doubled corporate welfare.]…Welfare cases have dropped by more than half over the past decade.

BUSH: There are fewer abortions in America than at any point in the last three decades. (of course this has nothing to do with the availability of the morning after pill or all the education during the Clinton years)

…The Supreme Court now has two superb new members -- new members on its bench: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito.
BUSH: I thank the [Republican] Senate for confirming both of them.(Ding, Ding, Ding #6, and that completes my list) I will continue to nominate men and women who understand that judges must be servants of the [Christian Right and Corporate America .]law.

May God bless America. [and no place else.] (Bush stole this line from a Chris Rock movie)

WV-2 candidates

2006-02-02T23:13:00.000-05:00

We have two strong candidates running to take on Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia's 2nd District.

One, Mike Callahan, is a former federal prosecutor and Department of the Environment secretary.

The other has served as the Republican mayor of South Charleston for 30 years. He was one of the state's five presidential electors and he threatened to withhold his electoral vote from President Bush. He switched parties three months ago.

From an email:

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday Feb. 11 7:30 PM Place: TBA

Meet Congressional candidate Richie Robb who is opposing Rep. Capito.

Come find out more about Richie Robb who

has been mayor of South Charleston, WV for 30 years;

is a Vietnam war veteran;

wrote and shepherded through the South Charleston City Council a resolution calling for the end of the war in Iraq;

left the Republican Party, in part, because of the war;

came in 4th out of 10 in the last primary (Republican) for governor

supports a woman's right to choose.

Information on some of his other positions will be included in the upcoming message announcing the place for Saturday Feb. 11's gathering.

Article announcing his candidacy can be found here

The other candidate is Mike Callahan, a federal prosecutor for 9 years and Gov. Bob Wise's Department of the Environment secretary

He was at our county Democratic Association meeting recently touting his role putting coal mine operators in jail for safety violations when he was a federal prosecutor.

There's a lot to like about Callahan. When asked about his position on reproductive rights he said without hesitation he's pro-choice. When I asked -- I'm paraphrasing -- if he was willing to get as nasty as the Republicans will in order to fight back he said he goes to the same church as Shelley Moore Capito. He said he was her son's mentor at the church. When I said it didn't sound like he would use all the weapons the GOP has handed us with the corruption scandals, he said that bringing that up wasn't personal that it was political and he'd use all the political tools.

He talks like a genuine Bubba. He grew up at a home where he could fish in the stream in the front yard and hunt in the back yard.

Action alert

2006-02-02T16:55:00.000-05:00

Details here.

Property rights (Don't tread on me)

2006-01-24T00:51:00.000-05:00

When in the course of my travels I am with children in Washington, D.C., I point to the U.S. Capitol and say, "Do you know who owns that building on the hill?

They invariably shrug. "You do," I say. "You own that building. It's beautiful, isn't it?" "See that one there and there" and I point to the Smithsonians and the National Archives. "You own them too."

And just as invariably you can see them look at the Capitol in a new light.
I remember the first time I made this point to a 7-year-old. We were walking across the Mall. Her brown eyes got big and she asked me which room belonged to her.

"All of them," I said. "It belongs to you. You own that building as much as anyone in the land. You have to share it with your grandmother and your aunt and me and 295 million other people in this country."

I asked her if she remembered the White House we had walked by earlier in the day. She nodded. "You own that too. The president lives there, but he just borrows it. You own it. And if the president walks up to you, you can tell him `My name is Ariel and you work for me.'" (This was in 1994. Bill Clinton was president. He met with ordinary Americans without fear of their dissent.)

I told her of the American Revolution and how the colonists bravely overthrew a king and that because of that she never needs to bow down to anyone because of what they did, that she is the equal to any king or queen on the planet.

I pointed to the National Archives and how it stores the Constitution and how the Founding Fathers wrote it to create a new covenant between the people with each other. I told her that the Founding Fathers knew they couldn't make anything perfect, but they tried anyway with the Constitution. I'm sure a lot of what I said went over her head, but she listened anyway.

This is one of the reasons I am so angry at the administration of George W. Bush.

My family may not own much. Our house may be small and our vehicles have too many miles on them. But we own some pretty property in Washington, D.C., some terrific forests and beaches and wetlands across the country. We own them. We all own them.

And we own that piece of paper in the National Archives. Those words and what they represent belong to all of us.

People died to give them to us and people died to preserve them for us.

Yet Bush wants to take it away from us. From his efforts to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to his trampling on the Constitution to create an imperial presidency, he is taking away what is mine.

I take his misdeeds personally because it is. It is time to raise an old flag that belongs to all of us.

We owe it to those who came before us. And we owe it to those that will follow us.

Tears

2006-01-24T00:50:00.000-05:00

A lot of attention is being paid by the U.S. media to the tears of Mrs. Alito.

You want tears?

From NewsDay:

"Stop that car!" someone shouted out, seemingly simultaneously with someone firing what sounded like warning shots -- a staccato, measured burst. The car continued coming. And then, perhaps less than a second later, a cacophony of fire, shots rattling off in a chaotic, overlapping din. The car entered the intersection on its momentum and still shots were penetrating it and slicing it. Finally, the shooting stopped, the car drifted listlessly, clearly no longer being steered, and came to a rest on a curb. Soldiers began to approach it warily.

The sound of children crying came from the car. I walked up to the car and a teenaged girl with her head covered emerged from the back, wailing and gesturing wildly. After her came a boy, tumbling onto the ground from the seat, already leaving a pool of blood.

"Civilians!" someone shouted, and soldiers ran up. More children -- it ended up being six all told -- started emerging, crying, their faces mottled with blood in long streaks. The troops carried them all off to a nearby sidewalk.

It was by now almost completely dark. There, working only by lights mounted on ends of their rifles, an Army medic began assessing the children's injuries, running his hands up and down their bodies, looking for wounds. Incredibly, the only injuries were a girl with a cut hand and a boy with a superficial gash in the small of his back that was bleeding heavily but wasn't life-threatening. The medic immediately began to bind it, while the boy crouched against a wall.

From the sidewalk I could see into the bullet-mottled windshield more clearly. The driver of the car, a man, was penetrated by so many bullets that his skull had collapsed, leaving his body grotesquely disfigured. A woman also lay dead in the front, still covered in her Muslim clothing and harder to see.

Meanwhile, the children continued to wail and scream, huddled against a wall, sandwiched between soldiers either binding their wounds or trying to comfort them. The Army's translator later told me that this was a Turkoman family and that the teenaged girl kept shouting, "Why did they shoot us? We have no weapons!

Taking a stand

2006-01-24T00:49:00.000-05:00

After the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, Mohammed Irshaid and many other people in this country were arrested and thrown into prison cells for no other reason than they were of Arab descent.

Irshaid is a middle-aged man with a wife and three young children.

After the attacks, bumper stickers appeared on many vehicles with the phrase "We stand united."

And for the briefest moment of time after the attacks, the entire world stood as one.

I know. I took it upon myself to email the embassies and consulates of more than 100 countries to thank them for their support for the United States. Call it personal diplomacy. Call it quixotic. Call it what you will. To me it seemed like the right thing to do, like writing thank you notes to those who signed the guest book at a family member's funeral. And almost all of the people in the United States seemed united for the briefest of time too. (With the exception of the American haters like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and their ilk.)

I traveled to NYC two weeks after the attack. The New York Times had written an editorial saying if people wanted to help, what New York needed was tourists. That the city's waiters, hotel housekeepers, retailers, etc. were facing layoffs because of the dearth of the city's tourist trade.

So I went. I've mentioned before how much I loved New York City from afar and how Ms. Carnacki and I had spent our honeymoon there.

I looked up an old friend to see her for myself even though I knew she was OK. I went to the Jekyll & Hyde Club and tipped too much and bought T-shirts for the kids and spent more than I could afford because when something bad happened to one of us, it happened to all of us.

United we stand.

And you saw it with the regular New Yorkers. I walked every where and New Yorkers were friendlier than ever, people on a crowded Chinatown street corner applauded the police arresting a man and people opened doors for one another.

Of course, some of that fades naturally with time after any event.

And the government began locking up innocent people like Mohammed Irshaid.

And we saw how George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and others saw the event as an opportunity for partisan political gain.

We saw their use of the fear felt by many to push their agenda that had nothing to do with making America safer, but everything to do with enriching themselves, their friends and their consolidation of power.

We saw how they played up the irrational fears of terrorists so that a nation that once knew the only thing it had to fear was fear itself was told to fear everything.

And we saw "We stand united" bumper stickers appear on vehicles every where and we heard if we didn't stand by the president we stood with the terrorists.

And although I had tried to enlist in the military after Sept. 11th only to be told I was too old, I shook my head at this line of thinking in disgust.

We were still America, but we were being told to watch what we say. I had tried to enlist because it seemed like the right thing to do not because I ever thought al-Quaeda could defeat our nation. But the thinking and words I saw coming from the White House back then, that worried me. The only nation that could defeat America was America.

The "We stand united" stickers now make sense to me.

And it's a litmus test that separates the right from the left in this country.

To those on the left, "United we stand" means when something terrible happens to one of us, it happens to all of us be it the illegal detention of an Arab, an unjust invasion of Iraq, or a failure to help those trapped by the floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina.

To the Bush supporters, "We stand united" is a requirement for everyone. They want us all to march in lockstep with them. And they want to be part of a united crowd because they are fearful of those on the outside -- be they Arabs, Mexicans, gays, people of different cultural values. They fear the future.

They are frightened children willing to surrender all that America once claimed to stand for in order to save themselves from threats that exist only in their imaginations.

The Bush supporters want us to stand behind an imperial presidency. They want us to stand aside to allow the trampling of the Constitution. They want us to stand silent at the illegal detention of Mohammed Irshaid and others.

I don't stand for that and I never will.

Byrd challenges Frist and wins

2005-12-13T00:46:00.000-05:00

Via this diary on DailyKos:

On Sunday Bill Frist threatened to set in motion the "nuclear option" to block judicial filibusters if the Democrats threatened to filibuster Samuel Alito. Monday saw everybody's favorite parliamentary historian, Robert Byrd, react in a nice little debate with Sen. Frist...

"If he ever tries to exercise that, he's going to see a real filibuster if I'm living and able to stand on my feet or sit in my seat," Byrd said in a Senate debate with Frist, R-Tenn.
"If the senator wants a fight, let him try it," said Byrd, the Senate's senior Democrat. "I'm 88 years old, but I can still fight, and fight I will for freedom of speech. I haven't been here for 47 years to see that freedom of speech whittled away and undermined."

The animated exchange, springing from the majority leader's threat on Sunday to block judicial filibusters, featured Frist waving his hands and wiping his brow in exasperation.

Rumsfeld Ties to Tamiflu Corp.

2005-11-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

Did you know.....

Friday, October 21, 2005 - FreeMarketNews.com
>
> NEWS AND ANALYSIS
>
> Readers can be helpful, and one just wrote in to inform us of a link that
> we had never imagined - Donald Rumsfeld, until he resigned and joined the
> Bush Administration, was the chairman of something called Gilead which
just
> happened to make something called Tamiflu.
>
> Now anyone who hasn't been on Mars for the last month or two, knows that
> there were only two things that were going to stop the human version of
> bird flu. One was a bird flu vaccine (which probably would work better if
> you were a bird) and the other was something called Tamiflu. Yes, that
> Tamiflu. In such short supply that the hundreds of millions of orders that
> have been pouring into Gilead probably won't be filled for another 12
> months or so. But everyone has got to have it because somehow or other it
> became established that Tamiflu really worked.
>
> This was the party line, anyway, for about a week, until word began
> trickling back in that maybe Tamiflu didn't work. In fact, the word on
> Tamiflu has always been positive at first and then eventually negative.
> It's a kind of pattern. We even find corroboration of it here on the
> Democrats.com, in what appears to be either a chat room or news roundup as
> follows, "Rummy was CEO of Gilead Sciences until named to the Bush cabinet
> and, like Cheney, still has ties that bind to the 'old company.' Now isn't
> it an 'amazing coincidence' that the drug Tamiflu patented by Gilead
> Sciences is being pushed by the National Institutes of Allergies and
> Infectious Diseases as the NUMBER ONE choice for flu, which, wonder of
> wonders, is sweeping through in one epidemic after another."
>
> The post from January '04 adds, "Tamiflu is now also being recommended to
> fight avian flu ... Scroll through this NIAID page and you will find
> Tamiflu listed as ahead of all other recommended drugs for both prevention
> and treatment of flu. Trouble is, Gilead has been accused of rigging the
> trials of Tamiflu as a preventive treatment. Meanwhile Gilead is making a
> killing."
>
> The post then gives the following link:
> http://12.31.13.115/HealthNews/reuters/NewsStory0106200324.htm)
>
> We bet Gilead is still making a killing as is Big Pharma. Please notice
now
> that the orders are in, the hysteria has died down a bit. Perhaps
everybody
> is too busy counting the money. Or perhaps it was never about anything BUT
> the money. We weren't entirely sure, but we knew that none of it passed
the
> old "smell test." In fact, in serial articles we claimed that bird flu
> probably wasn't going to turn into human flu anytime soon, that even if it
> did, it didn't mean that the world was in for a dose of 1918 influenza all
> over again. We just couldn't believe that the people bringing us Spanish
> Influenza Redux - with all the hype and horror - were remotely qualified
to
> bring us even the opening of an envelope.
>
> We questioned everything, even whether 1918 was all just the fault of a
flu
> virus. Didn't seem likely to us then and doesn't now - especially since
> we've come to understand what hygiene was like for the soldiers coming
back
> from the war, how vaccine providers apparently unloaded their stock after
> the war, lowering immunities, etc. and, finally how the new miracle drug,
> aspirin, was all the rage, prescribed by medical parishioners everywhere.
> Aspirin lowers fevers and allows flu to build until it bursts out all over
> the body with renewed and potentially mortal violence.
>
> And that brings us to today. Bird flu still rages and, yes, it may mutate
> into human flu at some point and cause death, many deaths, or fewer
deaths,
> no one knows. It may indeed sweep around the world. But of more worry
> immediately were moves of civil authorities to float trial balloons about
> mandatory vaccination and to start sending vials of superflu bugs around
> the world in the name of science. We demanded that our viewers call the
> Capitol Hill and get out the word that the government was to cease testing
> new vaccines, cease ordering TamiFlu and bird flu vaccine, neither of
which
> work or will work against whatever it is that bird flu will turn into.
> Which at least some in government would love because then they could turn
> the President's apparent yen for martial law into reality. And Bush could
> use some martial law about now. Hell, he could use anything, maybe even a
> good book.
>
> We hoped that this latest epidemic of hysteria would finally force the
> government to come clean about other remedies - super doses of Vitamin C
> and even the use of silver as an antidote. We're still waiting. Sigh.
>
> staff reports - Free-Market News Network
> http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=1443

WV Serenade

2005-11-10T22:56:00.000-05:00

WHAT is the WV Serenade?
The Serenade is a huge variety show/concert featuring over a dozen of the region's most talented performers and performing groups - ranging from Gospel to Rock, Broadway to Blues, Bluegrass to Barbershop, Celtic to County to Classical. Besides celebrating our beautiful state, the Serenade also includes a moving tribute to Senator Robert C. Byrd - who has promoted WV artistry so vigorously throughout his career.

WHERE?
The Apollo Theatre in Martinsburg, WV. For more info on this beautiful, 500 seat theatre, please go to the website below, then follow link to the Apollo.

WHEN:
February 4, 2006 (Saturday). Preliminary show begins at 6:30 pm, main show starts at 7 pm. We strongly suggest getting your tickets as far in advance as possible, as an early sell-out is likely.

HOW ABOUT STUDENTS?
Fulltime students under 23 years of age are eligible for TWO-FER tickets (one ticket admits 2 students who arrive and sit together). See special order blank at website below.

WHAT ELSE?
Would you like to make it possible for someone to attend that cannot afford a ticket? If so, you can purchase and donate tickets to our Helping Others Team who will identify persons in need and distribute all donated tickets (about half going to veterans, and half to others). More info on this project is shown at the website below (and the ticket order form posted at this website).

WHERE TO GET TICKET ORDER FORMS & MORE INFO:
Just go to - www.berkeleyfun.org. YOU MAY ALSO PICK UP BLANK ORDER FORMS 24 HOURS A DAY from an outdoor dispenser at Appalachian Institute, 413 South Raleigh St., Martinsburg, WV 25401.

WHERE TO MAIL OR DROP OFF COMPLETED ORDER FORMS:
All checks must be payable to BCDA. Completed ticket order forms (with checks) may be dropped through the front door mailslot (24 hours a day) at Appalachian Institute, 413 South Raleigh St., Martinsburg, WV 25401, OR mailed to this address.

ANYTHING ELSE?
All income from snack concessions at the theatre plus all income from theatre rent go to the Apollo Theatre. All income from recorded music sold at event goes to the performing artists. Appalachian Institute is producing the event at no cost or fee, as part of an AI program that supports community theatre and performing artists. The event is sponsored by the Berkeley County Democratic Association, a WV Political Action Committee, who is paying all theatre rental, insurance, marketing and production expense. Net proceeds from ticket sales, after expenses, go to BCDA. Price of ticket is not tax deductible.

See you at the Serenade. Please pass it on, and thanks!!

A message from Senator Byrd

2005-11-10T22:52:00.000-05:00

From an email:

Dear Friend:

The Democratic victories in Virginia and New Jersey are gratifying - Tim Kaine and Jon Corzine are good men who offered a hopeful vision for the future.

But they were attacked viciously and relentlessly by their opponents and by National Republican organizations. These men were able to win because they had the financial resources to fight back against the negative and brutal Republican onslaught.

Contribute to Senator Byrd now.

We already know that the White House has targeted my re-election in West Virginia. Karl Rove and his henchmen are planning to spend $14 million to misinform my constituents.

Earlier this year, we got the first taste of their attacks when the Republican Senatorial Committee spent $55,000 on negative television ads against me in West Virginia.

We need to have the resources to wage a winning battle for re-election. We will need to match the millions of dollars that will be spent to slander me.

Contribute to Senator Byrd now.

In just under a year, voters in West Virginia will go to the polls to decide who will stand up for them in the U.S. Senate. Please stand with me - by making a contribution today of $25, $50, or even $100 - to ensure that our campaign will have the means to wage a successful campaign.

An open letter to George W. Bush

2005-11-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. President,

I call you Mr. President even though I don't believe you won either election in 2000 or 2004.

However, you're the president. And you're doing a heck of a job of it, the way your boy Michael Brown did a heck of a job as FEMA director for New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

I never supported you. I never thought you were qualified and I thought Al Gore was well qualified. He represented everything you did not: intelligent, curious, determined to reinvent government to make it serve the people better even as the budget deficits President Clinton inherited turned into the largest surplus in history.

The election of you ended that. As The Onion said, our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity ended with the Supreme Court's selection of you in 2000. Deep in your heart, you know the nation did not pick you and most Americans did not want you.

But we're stuck with you for three more years.

And let's be honest, you're stuck with the mess you've made for three more years.

Three more years of disaster. Everything you touched has turned foul.

You've brought dishonor on the country. And the world is letting you know it. People that loved America on September 11, people that surrounded our embassies to form human shields to show their support for our nation, people who lit candles and sang the Star Spangled Banner and proclaimed loudly that they too were New Yorkers, now despise us.

As well they should. We've not been the shining beacon on the hill as in the past, unless it's a warning beacon on top of a pile of bones.

Do you really want this job any longer? Seriously, life has always been easy for you and as my friend Mike expressed so eloquently the other day, being the Worst President Ever is hard work.

I want to help you. I want to give you advice on how to get out of your predictament.

Walk away from the job.

And you can do it in a way that will restore integrity and honor to your name.

Walk to Patrick Fitzgerald's office. Ask him to bring out a tape recorder. And then begin talking.

Confession is good for the soul, and you, Mr. President, need to remove the taint that stains your soul. Confession can be cleansing and it can help you on the path to healing.

Tell him everything. I suspect -- and I guess most of us suspect -- that the decision to out Valerie Plame as a covert CIA operative didn't come from Karl Rove or Scooter Libby or even Dick Cheney.

It fits the kind of thing you did for your father's campaigns.

Ambassador Wilson attacked your administration's rationale for war. And you wanted to be a war president and you didn't want anyone to question that. Of course you attacked back. It's what you do, whether it's Ambassador Wilson or Al Hunt or John Kerry or even your own father when you were a young man.

So own up to it. Confess. And then resign. You can return to your ranch and begin clearing brush. I'm sure it's good brush clearing weather down there. Clearing brush is so clean and simple. No families to meet with when you've cut down a brush at the prime of its life.

No, for your sake and the nation's, confess and resign and go home. Just walk away.

And take Dick Cheney with you.

Sincerely,

Carnacki.

West Virginians love our senators

2005-10-25T23:08:00.000-04:00

New SurveyUSA out on the approval ratings of the 100 U.S.Senators. Here's the numbers for West Virginia's.

8. Jay Rockefeller (D). 69% approve. 26% disapprove.
15. Robert C. Byrd (D). 65% approve. 32% disapprove.

Here's the specifics.

Vigil for our honored dead

2005-10-25T23:02:00.000-04:00

What: Vigil at Representative Capito's office

Why: Horribly, The total number of American military personnel killed in the war in Iraq has now reached 2000.

The purpose of the vigil is to call upon Congresswoman Capito - who voted to give President Bush the power to go to war - to support a Congressional effort to bring our troops home, close U.S. bases in Iraq, and instead fund the human needs laid bare by Hurricane Katrina.

We will commemorate the lost lives of 14 West Virginia and 2,000 US service members and up to 100,000 Iraqi civilians. We want to tell Representative Capito to use the power of the purse to ensure that not one more death nor one more dollar be spent on the war in Iraq. It is time to support an international peace strategy.

When: 12:30 to 2 PM

Where: 300 Foxcroft Ave Martinsburg (after turning on Foxcroft from King St., it is second building on left, across from Holiday Inn. Turn into parking lot before passing building.

Bring signs, if you can.

A candlelight vigil is at 6:30 p.m. at McMurran Hall (big building w/clock on German St.) in Shepherdstown.

Bring candles if coming for the evening vigil.

2,000

2005-10-25T22:58:00.000-04:00

From Senator Robert C. Byrd:

"Mr. President, press reports this afternoon indicate that the number of American troops killed in Iraq has now reached 2,000. This is another tragic milestone in this costly war, in which too much blood has been spilled already. I offer my deepest sympathies to the brave men and women who have given their lives in selfless dedication to service to our Nation. There are fourteen West Virginians among the 2,000 troops who have given their lives in Iraq. I offer to these families my prayers that God may comfort them in their grief for the loss of their beloved husbands, wives, sons or daughters.

As we mourn the losses that have already occurred in the war in Iraq, Americans should be mindful that all indications are that there will be many more losses to come. More than 135,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq. They did not ask to be sent to war, but each day, they carry out their duty while risking their lives. It is only reasonable that the American people, and their elected representatives, ask more questions about what the future holds in Iraq.

I was alarmed last week when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the President's ability to initiate another war. Specifically, Secretary Rice was asked whether the President must seek a new congressional authorization if he were to attack Syria or Iran. Secretary Rice responded: "I don't want to try and circumscribe presidential war powers. And I think you'll understand fully that the president retains those powers in the war on terrorism and in the war on Iraq."

I am astounded by that response. The Secretary of State seems to indicate that she believes that the President, has the power to redefine the war in Iraq and the "war on terrorism" to include a possible attack on Syria or Iran.

Mr. President, Congress made a grave mistake on October 11, 2002, in passing the resolution which transferred to the President the power to declare war against Iraq. But that resolution was limited to Iraq alone -- it has no mention of Iran, it has no mention of Syria. It cannot possibly authorize a new war against Syria or Iran.

Our troops are so deeply mired in the sectarian conflicts in Iraq, what point could there possibly be in contemplating an attack on Syria or Iran? Why did Secretary Rice dismiss the notion that the President must first come to Congress if he wishes to broaden this war to new countries? Is that not exactly what the Constitution requires?

The American people seek an end to this ongoing, bloody war in Iraq, not new conflicts in neighboring countries. For the sake of the Constitution, for the American people, and for the brave members of the United States Armed Forces, the President should publicly acknowledge that there will be no expansion of the war in Iraq without the authorization of Congress. There must be no more mission creep, no more billions committed, no more lives lost, without authorization by the people's representatives in Congress, including an open debate, and an up or down vote. Too many lives have already been lost in pursuit of the doctrine of preemption. I urge the Administration to turn away from that dangerous doctrine of preemptive war, and adhere to the requirements of the Constitution of these United States to which we all swear an oath."

Criminal Tom DeLay gets more BAD NEWS

2005-10-03T23:27:00.000-04:00

Here's more update on poor Tom's legal predicaments.....I wonder if they have room service in Prison?
http://start.earthlink.net/track?id=1018011&add=1&url=/article/top?guid=20051003/4340acc0_3ca6_1552620051003127417076

Now that Tom has finally gotten his....we now have to deal with Roy

2005-09-30T01:21:00.000-04:00

Roy Blunt's Rap Sheet
by DavidNYC
Thu Sep 29th, 2005 at 12:21:53 PDT
Armando (and Matt Yglesias) are both right: This is just "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." Well, we won't get fooled again. Here are the goods on Roy Blunt, courtesy of CREW:

Tried to slip pro-Big Tobacco provision into a Homeland Security bill (!) - while he was sleeping with a Philip Morris (aka Altria) lobbyist.

Hurt the war effort by passing legislation that reduced competition by limiting military cargo shipments to certain companies such as UPS and FedEx - while his son Andrew was (you guessed it) a lobbyist for UPS.

Funnelled $76,000 to his son Matt's gubernatorial campaign in Missouri by laundering it through a bunch of various campaign committees - while Altria also tossed $24,000 to Matt's campaign, and $100,000 to one of those middle-man committees.

PAC took money from top GOP arrested scum-bag-man Jack Abramoff, to the tune of $8,500. It's all about the company you keep, ay?

Took a trip to Korea in 2002 paid for by a registered foreign agent - which is against House rules.

Yesterday, I thought that perhaps David Dreier might suffer a fate like Bob Livingston - a very short time at the helm before resigning in disgrace. Roy Blunt may have more institutional support than Dreier, but now that CREW has apprised us of Blunt's sparkling record, I could see that fate befalling him, too.

This is just the beginning, there's much more to be learned, I found this on the Daily Kos

Capito stands with Bush not the Truth

2005-09-18T20:15:00.000-04:00

Corporate Capito has shown that she is not for really finding out who was to blame for the debacle that was the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. She voted against an independent investigator. Even though I believe that the aftermath was botched at all levels state, local, and federal. She seemed inclined to vote to make sure that her boss*, President Bush, does not take his portion of the blame. Yes, Mr. Bush did say that he would take responsibility but that is not the same as saying I am to blame for the failures of FEMA and Homeland Security. He could have stated that he failed the American people when he appointed Michael Brown, a long time friend, as the head of FEMA. Instead of a qualified individual, he appointed a crony with no experience at all with disaster relief. He could have stated that the Department of Homeland Security, his baby, has failed the American people since cities do not have proper evacuation plans in place incase of disasters. Instead he is calling for these now, 4 years after 9/11, and after numerous threats from terrorist. Apparently the threat level going up and down does not mean anything to Homeland Security since they are not ready to respond to a mass evacuation situation anyway.
It is time to get rid of anyone who votes to protect their party over West Virginians and Americans. Corporate Capito has yet to go out on a limb and state her beliefs on any issue that might cost her votes. She routinely states I am looking into the issue and listening to my constituents when really she is looking into which corporations will be affected most and who donated to her campaign. We are in need of real leadership in West Virginia not someone watching the polls and watching where the money is.

*I really thought we (the people of the 2nd Congressional District of WV) were her boss but you would never know it by her voting record.

Senator Byrd at Shepherd

2005-09-09T12:17:00.000-04:00

Senator Byrd to present address on the Constitution
Friday Sept. 16 4:00 PM ( Please arrive by 3:45*)Storer Ballroom, Student Center
N. King St. Shepherd University, Shepherdstown

(* C-SPAN will cover the event live beginning at exactly 4 PM, so it is important to arrive early.)

Senator Byrd's presentation will be the first in an annual lecture series, the Tom E.
Moses Memorial Lecture on the U. S. Constitution, which is named in honor of
the late Tom Moses Tom was a tireless advocate of civil liberties and the Bill of Rights. He was involved in many community projects during the 27 years he lived in Jefferson County, including the founding of the Eastern Panhandle chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The lecture is part of the Constitution Day program at Shepherd University. There is no charge.

Following Senator Byrd's address there will be a reception across the
street in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies.

The Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies and the Shepherd
University Foundation will co-sponsor the annual lecture on the
Constitution in September each year. A fund for this lecture was
established by Mr. Moses' daughters and is administered by the
Shepherd University Foundation.

Hope you will be able to attend!

West Virginians love Senator Byrd

2005-09-09T12:14:00.000-04:00

New Poll Shows Byrd in Strong Re-Election Position
Public poll numbers released in Charleston today show Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., with a 75 percent job approval rating and a 16 point lead over a potential match-up versus Representative Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. (She's a Tom Delay Republican.)

According to the poll, about 55 percent of registered voters in West Virginia said they would support Byrd in the election. Only 39 percent said they would support Capito. Poll respondents also had a higher opinion of Byrd than Capito and gave the senior senator higher job approval ratings than the congresswoman. According to the poll, 72 percent of residents have a favorable opinion of Byrd.

Ned Rose, chairman of the Friends of Robert C. Byrd Committee, said about the new poll numbers, "This poll reflects what West Virginians already know -- that our state has no better champion than Robert C. Byrd. Senator Byrd stands up for West Virginia. He puts the people first. Senator Byrd does right by West Virginia.

"There is a long way to go before the election, and poll numbers change. But this is certainly good news. And I expect that the poll would have been even stronger if it were taken after Senator Byrd came through to save the West Virginia National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston. Senator Byrd always uses his power, clout, and experience to fight for West Virginia."

The poll, commissioned by The State Journal, was conducted by RMS Strategies during the week of Aug. 8. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Pastors for Peace collecting for Katrina survivors

2005-09-09T12:12:00.000-04:00

Pastors for Peace are working with local groups to collect specific items needed for Mississippi survivors of Katrina. They will be in our area next weekend, to load a bus with things we collect locally. Pastors for Peace are working with Congressman Thompson and an established relief distribution center in Mississippi.

Two drop off locations are available

Trinity United Methodist Church
220 W. Martin Street
Martinsburg, WV (downtown)
(304) 263-9215
Drop off hours: Monday - Friday 9:00AM – 4:00PM
Debora Harding
197 S. King Street (old Fire Hall)
Shepherdstown, WV
(304) 671-9002
Drop off hours: 8:00AM – 7:00PM (ring bell or leave on porch)

We also need volunteers on Saturday, September 10, 2005 to assist with sorting and packing everything. Call Martha Murray to sign up as a volunteer – 260-0485 or martymm@earthlink.net .

The following items (ONLY) are being collected:

·

Diapers

·

Toiletries, including women’s sanitary supplies

·

Non-perishable foods (in bulk quantities only)

·

Household supplies

·

Cleaning supplies

·

Bedding and towels

·

NO furniture – space is limited

Maggie Bryant-Gainer will be traveling to Mississippi with Pastors for Peace to offer relief. Contact her directly to support this effort – (304) 876-1176

Please try to supply boxes with your donations. For more information, contact Martha Murray (304) 260-0485 (evenings) or Maggie Bryant-Gainer (304) 876-1176.

For more details about Pastors for Peace, see their website www.pastorsforpeace.org

------

Update and additional information.
On Sep 6, 2005, at 6:01 PM, Margaret Bryant-Gainer wrote:

We have about 4 days to “fill the bus” heading down south to deliver relief to Katrina Survivors. The need is imminent please pass this on to whatever lists you have.

Congressman Thompson is a member of the black caucus you may of watched recently deliver on television a compelling statement concerning the need for help and lack of response. Pastors for Peace is working with Congressman Thompson w/ a distribution center.

FYI Please note that IFCO/Pastors for Peace was founded by people of color and closely connected with folks down south asking us for this help… so it is a wonderful connection for all of us who may want to be involved in any way.

“The first national foundation controlled by people of color, IFCO has acted as a bridge between predominantly mainline churches and community groups conceived of and run by people of color; as a broker for the channeling of interdenominational support; and as a resource bank supporting the work of congregations and organizations engaged in the work of community-building. IFCO has acted as a monitor, supporting self-determination by the poor, the hungry, and the exploited and insuring that their needs are not sacrificed for the priorities of the privileged in American society. IFCO has acted as a catalyst and a conscience in the movement for social justice.” To find out more http://www.ifconews.org/about/IFCO-history.htm
Peace, maggie

Letter writing

2005-09-09T12:10:00.000-04:00

Amnesty International Upper Potomac Chapter
Letter writing meeting Sunday Sept. 11 7PM
Room 109 White Hall (corner of High and Princess)
Shepherd U. Shepherdstown, WV
More info: Robert Scharmer

As we observe the anniversary of 9/11 and remember the victims and their loved ones, our letters will focus on an additional casualty of the tragedy: our system of judicial process and protection against torture and other inhumane treatment.

We will write on behalf of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who came to the U.S. with his family on Sept. 10, 2001 to pursue post-graduate studies. He was arrested in December 2001and is being held as a material witness in the investigation into the September 11 attacks. Less than a month before he was due to stand trial, he was designated an "enemy combatant" and transferred to US military custody where he has been held on US soil for 3 years in solitary confinement as an "enemy combatant" with no charges filed and no date for a trial.

We will learn details of his detention, which appear to include torture. Please add your voice to the cause of restoring protections guaranteed by our Constitution, of providing Mr. al-Marri with a fair trial, of investigating the allegations of torture, and of bringing to justice anyone found responsible for these violations.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, please consider sending a letter from home. Details and a model letter are available at .

The meeting will also include details about the upcoming local "denounce torture delegation" to Congress. After the letter writing session, those interested will be able to view the AI-produced video "Raise the Roof" which provides step-by-step information on how to effectively educate and influence our officials. For more information about the lobby delegation, contact Robert Scharmer .

Katrina

2005-09-05T13:15:00.000-04:00

As I think of the dereliction of duty from President Bush and his administration, when I think of the Corps of Engineers officials who quit in disgust over the Bush administration's gutting of the levee funding to pay for their tax cuts for the wealthy, when I think of the president vacationing and strumming an air guitar as people died last Monday, when I think of the inaction by his administration when state and local officials ssked for federal help in preparation of the hurricane, when I think of the administration now blaming the state and local officials for not asking for help, bald-faced lies easily laid bare by the official record and FEMA's own statements, when I think of the lives lost because helicopters were grounded for Bush's photo ops, when I think of all of those things, my fingers cannot help but tremble with rage.

In 2004, three major hurricanes struck Florida. The federal government responded quickly. It was an election turning point for some people.

Now we see the results of tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. Now we see the results of the National Guard being deployed to fight an unnecessary war in Iraq, now we see what happens when Bush appoints political cronies to head important government agencies when they have zero experience at emergency management, now we see the results of four years of so-called preparations and billions of dollars spent preparing the nation for disasters after Sept. 11th: a total, inexcusable disaster.

Say what you will about Bill Clinton, the federal government responded quickly and efficiently to disasters, from the right wing terrorists striking Oklahoma City to hurricanes and earthquakes across the country. Help was on the way.

The Republicans have spent the past 25 years telling the American people the government is never a solution. That's a lie.

The government can save lives in emergencies. They can organize relief and construct projects to lessen the results of disastrous, from preserving wetlands that act as a natural buffer to natural disasters to building levees to channel flood waters away.

Bush said it is not a time for finger pointing - and then he immediately began to blame state and local officials for not doing more.

Yet it's in FEMA's own mission statement for the federal government to step in under those circumstances that would overwhelm local governments. If this had been a terrorist strike and the state and local leaders had been killed in the initial attack, who would Bush have blamed then? When Harry S Truman said "The buck stops here" he was stating the obvious. The president is supposed to be the leader of the nation.

President Bush has been called the personification of the ideal Republican leader. We see the results of their policies in New Orleans. He was warned on Aug. 6 before Sept. 11th attacks that bin Laden was determined to attack the United States but he stayed on vacation and did nothing. He was warned before Hurricane Katrina that a catagory 3 or higher hurricane would flood the city and he stated on vacation and did nothing.

The commander in chief of the United States could have ordered troops and equipment to be pre-positioned to respond swiftly to the scene. The commander in chief of the nation could have ordered airdrops of food and water just as done after the tsunami or in Afghanistan and other stricken places on Earth.

None of those things occurred. It is a dereliction of duty beyond comprehension.

The worst deaths on United States soil have occurred under this president. Many of the deaths could have been prevented with properly leadership. It is time for President Bush to step aside for the good of the nation.

Katrina

2005-08-31T00:24:00.000-04:00

While Bush vacations and does nothing, Dr. Howard Dean steps up:

This week millions of Americans fled Hurricane Katrina. Across the South families abandoned their homes and businesses, not knowing what would be there when they returned.

Many stayed behind and suffered devastating loss and injuries -- nearly a hundred have died that we know of, and hundreds of thousands need our help.

America is at its best when we realize that we are one community -- that we're all in this together. That means that each one of us has the responsibility to do what we can to help the relief effort.

The Red Cross is a great place to start:

http://www.redcross.org

They are already moving people and resources into the region to help. Donations will provide clean water, food, and shelter for disaster victims. The Red Cross web site also has important information for victims and their relatives across the country.

Many local Red Cross chapters are organizing volunteers to travel to affected areas -- doctors and nurses to provide medical care, workers to build shelters, first responders to assist in rescue operations.

You can find your local chapter here to learn what you can do:

http://www.redcross.org/where/chapts.asp

We are still learning the full story of the devastation, but there is no time to wait. Please do something now.

Thank you.
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Bush administration re-writing mission of National Park Service

2005-08-27T21:31:00.000-04:00

Some of my fondest memories involved spending time with my family at our National Parks. They're our land. We own them. We share them with 285 million other people, but we own them. And this is just flat out wrong what the Bush administration wants to do. From DailyKos:

According to the LA Times, Paul Hoffman -- deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks -- is looking to rewrite the mission of the national parks. J.T. Reynolds, superintendent of Death Valley National Park said, "They are changing the whole nature of who we are and what we have been. I hope the public understands that this is a threat to their heritage. It threatens the past, the present and the future. It's painful to see this."

Hoffman wants to upgrade grazing and mining to "park purposes," allow cellphone towers and low-flying airplanes within national parks, and allow snowmobiles on all paved roads in every park. In addition, he wants to take away the park managers' abilities to use laws such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act to protect the parks from development. Finally, he wants to deemphasize dark skies and quiet even though they are conditions needed by wildlife.

Hoffman came to the Park Service after serving as director of the Chamber of Commerce in Cody, Wyo. Before that he had served as Wyoming state director for then-U.S. Rep. Dick Cheney from 1985 to 1989.

By the way, this is the same guy who overruled the park superintendent at the Grand Canyon National Park and made the staff leave up religious plaques on display at the South Rim and also made them sell a book that said creationism created the canyon.

In reaction, a group of 400 retired Park Service employees scheduled a news conference to announce a campaign to block the changes from taking effect. Also, the seven regional directors who saw Hoffman's recommendations sent a "searing memo" to Park Service Director Fran Mainella "criticizing the revisions."

I guess it was only a matter of time before the Bush Administration tried to weaken the mission of the parks. I'm sure Cheney and crew see them as just another collection of lands that are waiting to be exploited by industry

Hope you got the chance to visit Harpers Ferry or the other National Parks to enjoy them while we still can.

Support Cindy Sheehan

2005-08-17T02:45:00.000-04:00

America stands by Cindy Sheehan. From an email:

Every additional attendee will mean more people standing with Cindy Sheehan. The bigger each vigil is and the more vigils there are will mean a greater impact. Please sign up for this event, or another Vigil for Cindy Sheehan near you—and invite your friends. Vigils are simple. Just show up and bring some candles. Please sign up to attend today.

Costs of War Vigil
McMurran Hall, Shepherd University
17 Aug 07:30 PM

Candlelight vigil in support on Cindy Sheehan. Bring a candle and appropriate sign.

Location: Shepherdstown, WV 25443
Host: Rie Wilson
Status: Public, open for RSVP, 18 Guests (Max 200)

2005-08-11T22:24:00.000-04:00

Via Eschaton, I found this. Right wing nuts in Martinsburg expressed many the same sentiments to me:

Staff Sgt. Jason Rivera, 26, a Marine recruiter in Pittsburgh, went to the home of a high school student who had expressed interest in joining the Marine Reserve to talk to his parents.

It was a large home in a well-to-do suburb north of the city. Two American flags adorned the yard. The prospect's mom greeted him wearing an American flag T-shirt.

"I want you to know we support you," she gushed.

Rivera soon reached the limits of her support.

"Military service isn't for our son. It isn't for our kind of people," she told him.

Chickenhawks. Willing to support the war 100 percent -- as long as other people do the fighting and dying. Cold, heartless right wing cowards unwilling to stand up for their beliefs.

Cindy Sheehan

2005-08-10T23:31:00.000-04:00

Cindy Sheehan lost her son Casey in Bush's war of choice in Iraq and she has a question for the president: What is the noble cause he keeps mentioning? She's one mother. And she's waiting outside Bush's brush ranch in Crawford where he's spending five weeks on vacation. Why is he, the so-called leader of the free world and commander in chief of the most powerful military on the planet afraid of one grieving mother? Perhaps truth frightens him.

You can hear Cindy Sheehan for yourself here.

John Unger's locality pay rallies

2005-07-25T22:56:00.000-04:00

From an email:

IMPORTANT - Senator Unger has been working tirelessly to get locality pay for State workers. He has succeeded in getting a 15% across-the-board increase for Department of Highway workers. He is still working hard to get teachers, state troopers, and all local State workers that same increase. We MUST support him in his effort!

There will be 2 Rallies this week in support of Senator Unger's effort to get Locality Pay for ALL State workers.

Senator Unger, Delegate Bob Tabb, and Delegate Locke Wysong will be attending --->

Wednesday, July 27 - 7-9pm - T.A. Lowery Elementary School just off of Route 9 in Jefferson County at 55 Shenandoah Junction Road, Shenandoah Junction.

Thursday, July 28 - 7-9pm - Orchard View Intermediate School, Delmar Orchard Road off of King Street extended, Martinsburg.

CAFTA and West Virginia

2005-07-24T15:50:00.000-04:00

Good article in the Charleston Gazette about the push for CAFTA and the effect it'll have on West Virginia.

Congress is likely to vote on whether to approve the Central American Free Trade Agreement before the end of the month.

On Friday, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, called CAFTA the “big ticket” item on the House agenda next week, which is strongly backed by President Bush.

Proponents argue CAFTA will promote trade and help some local businesses, especially farmers in West Virginia.

Critics point to the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by President Clinton in 1993, which eliminated many trade barriers with Mexico and Canada and ended up costing Americans more than a million jobs.

“I just read in the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s newsletter that West Virginia workers are the fourth-best in terms of giving productive hours to their employers,” Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., said on Friday.

“CAFTA says to these hard-working folks, ‘It doesn’t matter. We want to open the doors for corporations to throw up tin sweat shops south of the border, and they can take advantage of people less trained, less seasoned, with less health and safety measures and you can undercut American jobs.’

“Call it NAFTA, CAFTA whatever. It’s all about ‘shafta,’” Rahall said.

Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., said, “I will oppose CAFTA for the same reason that I have opposed every free-trade agreement to come before the Congress: they are simply not in the best interests of my district.

“Pitting a country with a high standard of living against one with a low standard of living will always hurt the country with the high standard of living. Pursuing free-trade agreements without any appreciation for that reality, or without any sympathy for the workers and communities adversely affected, is a formula for disaster.”

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has not yet made up her mind about the pending legislation.

R.C. Hammond, Capito’s spokesman, said on Friday, “She has not determined how she will vote. She has received letters from her constituents and is considering them now.”

Democrats Rahall and Mollohan are for the working people of West Virginia. And where's our Tom Delay Republican, Capito? Will she once again put the Republican Party ahead of the people of West Virginia? Considering her past voting record in support of corporate fat cats over regular folks, she'll vote as the corrupt Tom Delay tells her to vote.

UPDATE: For once she voted for West Virginians! She voted no even though her party voted almost unanimously for it and it passed by two votes.

Either enough of us sent a message to her that it broke through her reality-deflecting shields or else she's more worried about her chances for re-election in 2006 than we realized. However, kudos for her. She joined the state's Democrats -- Byrd, Rockefeller, Rahall and Mollohan -- in voting no to CAFTA.

Show Karl Rove our support

2005-07-13T22:36:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right. Click here to see how we can send a message of support to Karl Rove.

Karl Rove needs help

2005-07-12T22:42:00.000-04:00

Republicans put partisan politics ahead of national security. By doing so, they haven't harmed Democrats. They've harmed all Americans. And not just Democrats should be angry. All Americans should be outraged. From The Stakeholder:

Yesterday morning I noted something funny about Rove's defenses. There were of course the new silly defenses about not calling her by name and his motive being to correct the record, yada yada yada. But what was more interesting to me than just the silliness was the quesiton of why Rove was resorting to such silliness all of the sudden. It reaked of desperation.

As I wrote...

So the main damage control points coming from Rove's corner are utterly irrelevant, and this cannot be a good sign for him. All the more so if what's missing is missing for a reason. Reading those stories, I can't help but notice that the only possibly relevant point is suddenly on vacation. For years, it seems, Luskin has been rinsing and repeating with the "never knowingly disclosed classified information" line. Well, as Think Progress noted, it seems quite clear that classified information was disclosed, so the only question is whether it was knowingly. The "knowingness" would be the only thing standing between Rove and a crime, theoretically. Now maybe the papers got tired of printing the same thing over and over, maybe Luskin was off his game, but I suddenly don't see that defense in either of those articles. Interesting.

Today we hear from the LA Times...

Luskin declined to say whether Rove knew that Plame was a covert agent, even if he did not know her name, which analysts said was a crucial factor in determining whether the law was broken.

He certainly hasn't declined before. That sounds pretty darn close to Game, Set, Match...

Shelley Moore Capito won't protect Social Security

2005-07-11T21:06:00.000-04:00

The vast majority of Americans are opposed to Social Security privatization. The only ones for it at this point appear to be the deeply entrenched and scandal plagued Republican leadership, who apparently see a chance to make money off it. U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito has refused to stand up for West Virginians on this issue out of loyalty to Tom DeLay, in my opinion. I base that off her walking lock step with him on almost every issue, including those opposed strongly by most Americans. DremaDems is reaching out to her once again to do the right thing for the people in her district instead of her party bosses. I think she's a hopeless cause and the only way for us to do our part to protect Social Security from Enron-style financing is to oust her and other Social Security privateers out of office. From Drema Dems:

Help us get Shelley Capito "Off the Fence" on where she stands on privatization.

We need people to hold signs and "fences" during another "honk and wave," Wednesday, July 13th from 11:45 am - 12:30 pm in front of Representative Capito's office at 4815 MacCorckle Ave, Kanawha City. If you are available or need directions, please contact Marge at 346-5891 or marge@wvcag.org

SOCIAL SECURITY - White House Still Pressing For Robust Private Accounts

Congressman Rahall Stands Firm in Opposing Private Accounts

With the exception of Congresswoman Shelley Capito, West Virginians can count on their delegation to "Just Say No" to private accounts. Congressman Rahall joined the coalition last week in Logan for a spirited public discussion and pledged to do all he can to protect the guaranteed benefit program from government interference.

It's very decent of them to try to encourage her to do the right thing for her state. Too bad she needs to be reminded what that is.

Take Back Healthcare

2005-07-11T21:04:00.000-04:00

Added a new blog to the side bar, Take Back Healthcare. Check it out. It may be what the doctor ordered to cure our nation's health care ills.

Day camp planned

2005-07-11T01:32:00.000-04:00

Too bad my kids are too young.

A Human Rights Camp for children 11-13 years old will be held at Shepherd University July 27, 28 and 29.

The camp is free and sponsored by the Children’s Rights Coalition, Shepherd University, Amnesty International
and Amnesty International Upper Potomac chapter.

The camp is described as

"...designed to sensitively educate children on international
human rights and lead them through a fulfilling and fun process of
human rights activism. Our curriculum is largely based on the AI Kids
Education Package, Human Rights Watch’s Children’s Rights Resources and
the undergraduate course in human rights offered at Shepherd. The camp
staff will include a local educator, an attorney/human rights professor
and several seasoned human rights activists."

Not only is this a great opportunity for the children, but our camp is
the first of it’s kind! It is being followed as a prototype for future
camps, possibly conducted regionally throughout the United States."

Email me if you need additional details.

SCOTUS & ideology

2005-07-05T22:35:00.000-04:00

The Republicans were all for consultation when President Clinton was looking for judges to appoint to the Supreme Court. Jesselee of The Stakeholder calls them on it:

Orrin Hatch was on Face the Nation this Sunday and went into full clown show mode. Some excerpts from the transcript...

ROBERTS: One of the big issues that people are considering is this idea of consultation. Back in 1993, President Clinton came to you, Senator Hatch, and he said here's who I'm thinking about, Bruce Babbitt, as a member of the Supreme Court and you said, 'Well, no, why don't you consider Stephen Breyer or Ruth Ginsburg.' One of them he had considered. Ginsburg he hadn't. Not only did he consider them, but he ended up nominating both of them. What degree of consultation do you think President Bush should engage in with the opposition?
Sen. HATCH: Well, I think he'll do at least that. I mean, basically I didn't tell the president what to do and he basically said I'm interested in these people and Bruce Babbitt was at the head. And I just said, 'Well, you know, he may very well make it,' and, you know, I even indicated I would support him because he is president, and then I mentioned these other two at the time and he knew a little bit about Breyer but he didn't know anything about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But I would think the president is going to do consultation, but let's understand something. The Constitution does not require consultation. It's a courtesy that has only in recent presidencies been extended to any real extent, but the courtesy comes both ways. In other words, senators have to understand that it's the president's right to pick whoever the nominee is and it's our right to advise and consent which means a vote up and down.

I wanted to excerpt the full answer just for the laugh of seeing Hatch's "because he is president" line, but the key quote is "The Constitution does not require consultation." Next:

But let's just be honest about it. We were able to put Thomas out of the committee with a--without recommendation, because we recognized that the president and his nominee deserve a vote up and down. That's what advice and consent means.
Got that? "Advice and consent" means "up or down vote" but it does not mean "consult."

Definition of "Advise":

To take counsel; consult [emphasis added.]
We would like to provide a suitable definition for "consent," but we have yet to find a definition of "consent" that includes the term "up or down vote" - in any dictionary, or even any Constitution for that matter. Perhaps the internets are broken.

Strict Constructionism, anybody?

See what Repubs had to say during the Clinton Presidency

2005-07-01T13:57:00.000-04:00

I'm reposting this from another board that I am active in.....

"President Clinton is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."
-Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)

"No goal, no objective, not until we have those things and a compelling case is made, then I say, back out of it, because innocent people are going to die for nothing. That's why I'm against it."
-Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/5/99

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our overextended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today"
-Representative Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"
-Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
-Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

Sound familiar?

Senator Byrd supports the troops

2005-06-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

From an email from General Wesley Clark:

On Friday, the Washington Post reported that the Bush Administration "is short $1 billion" to cover the health care needs of America's veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs this year. The current shortfall is made worse by the Bush Administration's inadequate budget request for next year's funding.

This is a moral outrage. This Administration -- which sent our nation to war based on faulty information, and then failed to provide the body armor to protect our soldiers in combat -- is now turning its back on our heroes after they come home.

As one who has answered the call to duty, and who has spent my share of time in VA hospitals, I find this unconscionable.

But there is hope for America's veterans. Senator Robert Byrd has been a longtime champion for America's men and women in uniform. He has consistently supported our troops -- while they are in harm's way and after they come home.

Support America's veterans by supporting Senator Byrd

In fact, just yesterday, Senator Byrd offered an amendment to provide $1.4 billion in emergency funding to cover the Bush Administration's shortfall for Veterans care. Senator Byrd is a tireless advocate for our troops, and because of his influential position as the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Byrd has been a champion for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines -- and all of our nation's veterans.

But Senator Byrd is coming under fire from the same sleazy Republican political machine that attacked John Kerry in 2004 and Max Cleland in 2002. They are shameless, they are scurrilous, and there is no attack too slanderous for them to make.

Don't let the Washington Republicans -- who refuse to support our troops after they fight -- do to Senator Byrd what they did to John Kerry and Max Cleland.

Please make an immediate contribution today to send a strong message that we stand by our heroes.

Sincerely,

Wes Clark
U.S. Army (retired)

I agree with everything the General says.

"Top Ten Conservative Idiots"

2005-06-28T01:07:00.000-04:00

After a great meeting tonite of the BCDA I think it's appropriate to remember why we have a party of like-minded individuals instead of this administration's individuals who follow the party-line...enjoy....

Cheer harder

2005-06-27T23:19:00.000-04:00

Also if you clap hard enough, Tinkerbell will survive to fly again. But ZackPunk at DailyKos hit this satire out of the ball park:

Karl Ravech: So what do you attribute to Randy Johnson's ballooning ERA?

Harold Reynolds: Oh, the lack of support from the spectators, definitely.

Karl Ravech: Really... you don't think there's a problem with his delivery?

Harold Reynolds: Now you're trying to divert the issue. This isn't about mechanics. When Yankees fans fail to cheer loudly enough, the opponents start to feel like they can win. That's what this is about.

Karl Ravech: But you don't think his age might be a factor?

Harold Reynolds: Shut up, Karl. Out of respect for the men who go out there on the field every day, just shut the hell up. I'm cutting your mike. Just shut up.

"The War President"

2005-06-25T10:45:00.000-04:00

Interesting article from the NY Times writer Klugman, he reiterates the need for accountability for actions which led this country into the ill-fated Iraqi occupation which costs our nation hundreds of lives per month and getting worse all the time. I was watching our war prez yesterday on C-Span and he was off on a tangeant again and referred to the war as a quagmire, finally telling the american people the truth though he let his guard down and would never admit to saying it. Link here.

Bush hates Americans

2005-06-24T16:14:00.000-04:00

Mahablog has a great post on Karl Rove. But one should always remember Bush stands behind Rove's statements because Rove does the dirty work Bush is too cowardly to do himself. But make no mistake, Rove+Bush=Hate America. From Mahablog:

Words cannot express the contempt I feel for Karl Rove and for the chorus of brainless little yappers applauding his recent remarks on liberal reactions to 9/11.

I'd like to ask Karl and his puppies to stand anywhere in the vincinity of Ground Zero and repeat Karl's fatuous, lying remarks to a crowd of New Yorkers.

Whole lotta liberals in New York. Whole lotta those liberal New Yorkers lost someone in the towers. Whole lotta liberal New Yorkers who lost someone in the towers might want to break Karl's jaw today. Karl would be well advised to keep his sorry ass out of New York from now on.

Junior got less than a quarter of the New York City vote last November, as I recall. Yeah, the people most closely affected by 9/11, who are most intimate with it, are less than impressed with Junior and his war on terra.

It was the Bush that remained on vacation when the warnings were issued of the pending terrorist attacks on Sept. 11th. It was Bush that said only six months after the attacks he "didn't care" where Osama bin Laden was, and it was Bush that diverted the troops from Afghanistan to Iraq. It was Bush that sent the soldiers in without the proper body armor and equipment. It was Bush that did not send in enough troops into Iraq as recommended by the top ranking Pentagon generals. It was Bush that sent troops in to war based on lies. It was Bush that sent troops in with out an exit plan. It was Bush that told Iraqi fighters to "Bring it on." It was Bush that has no plan on how to improve Iraq now. It was Bush who Republican Senator Chuck Hagel called "delusional" when it came to Iraq policy. And it was Bush who spit on those who united behind him after the Sept. 11th attacks to push an agenda that benefits the most wealthy 1 percent at the expense of everyone else.
Bush, Cheney and Karl Rove should resign in disgrace for their mismanagement of this country.

Karl Rove needs help

2005-06-24T03:16:00.000-04:00

Here's a great post on Karl Rove:

Karl Rove's un-American attacks on those who disagree with him deserve the condemnation they're receiving. I've known him for 20 years, and I'm not surprised he said them. He's a socially inept but patient thug whose willingness to haunt the nation's dark political alleys for years, waiting for the right time and the right victims, is too often taken for unparalleled political intelligence.

Being attacked by Rove is a little like being criticized by the Boston Strangler. At least you know you're alive. If we want to understand Rove, maybe we should get an FBI profiler.

Rove's a hack. His strength comes from his immorality. There are no barriers. If power didn't corrupt, Rove would have corrupted it.

I've been on the road in America for much of the last two years. I'm asked all the time about the need for Democrats to find their own Karl Rove. If we ever find such a monster in our midst, we should exile him.

I like the black hat Rove wears, but it troubles me that so many people believe he really is a political genius. He's just pathological.

For years I've suspected that Rove is stuck in an adolescent rage, taking revenge upon the Civil Rights marchers (whose courage he couldn't match), the anti-war organizers (who beat him), and those who believe in and struggle for democracy (who drove off Nixon).

I don't recommend therapy for Bin Laden. But Rove might give Dr. Laura a call.

The differences

2005-06-24T01:54:00.000-04:00

Karl Rove was correct that there are differences between Republicans and Democrats. From DNC: Kicking Ass:
White House spokesman Scott McClellan says that Karl Rove just meant that Democrats and Republicans had "different philosophies" when it comes to their reactions following 9/11. We agree. Our philosophies couldn't be more different when it comes to fighting international terrorism. Let's compare:

Democrats
Believe capturing the person primarily responsible for the attack should be a top priority.

Republicans
It's been four years, and Osama bin Laden is still free, even though Bush's CIA chief says he knows where he is.

Democrats
Investigate the intelligence failures that led to 9/11.

Republicans
Do everything in their power to block the 9/11 Commission from doing its work.

Democrats
Propose creating the Department of Homeland Security.

Republicans
Push tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Democrats
Believe we should have stayed the course in Afghanistan, not allowing the Taliban to resurge, the warlords to take power, and the opium trade to skyrocket.

Republicans
Ignore Afghanistan as the situation worsens.

Democrats
Believe that we should be honest with our troops about the reasons we go to war, give them everything they need to be safe, and make sure we go in with an exit plan.

Republicans
Manipulate intelligence to trump up reasons to go to war, don't give our troops the support they need, constantly mislead the public about the direction the war is going, and fail to make an exit plan. And turn Iraq into the ultimate terrorist training ground.

Why the Downing Street Memo Matters!!!

2005-06-21T17:00:00.000-04:00

I'm posting this article from Mother Jones, it's a little wordy but I think it explains to no end in chronological order the exact decisions that led to the ill-fated war in Iraq.
Link here.

Pakistan

2005-06-18T21:07:00.000-04:00

Let us hope and pray for a happy ending to this terribly sad story. And let us not forget the type of nation W has supported. When W claims he's spreading democracy, remember what happened to Mukhtaran Bibi.

Senator Byrd for 2006

2005-06-16T00:04:00.000-04:00

Senator Robert C. Byrd's web site for the 2006 race is up.

Obstructionism in America

2005-06-15T23:26:00.000-04:00

We’re Obstructionist???

The President this week at a fundraiser (I swear that is all this guy can do right) said that the Democrats are obstructionist, the equivalent of a stop sign. I am getting sick and tired of this president, senate republicans, and house republicans calling the democrats the party of no. Does it seem odd that every amendment the democrats put forward is voted down on a straight party line vote? Does it seem odd that the Republicans control the all branches of government and we are the obstructionist?

I’m sorry the American people are not falling into line on your Wall Street Welfare Scheme Mr. President, but maybe it is time for you to take a page out of John Kerry’s book. That’s right I said it you need to flip flop. You Privatization scheme is not going to fly and you need to stop wasting tax payer dollars going around the country to tell hand picked crowds how great it is. I know wealthy Americans would benefit and that is your base, but enough is enough. It is a loser and you need to let it go. I don’t care how much money Wall Street dumped into your inauguration celebration ($40 million), they spent it and you just have to face the music you will not be able to deliver this windfall back to them.

As for obstructionism, I think that a government that will not allow the press to do it job is obstructionist. I think a President unwilling to release his National Guard service record is an obstructionist. I think a White House unwilling to tell us how Jeff Gannon got a press pass is an obstructionist. I think a White House that influenced CIA intelligence reports is obstructionist. I think the Republicans trying to stifle debate on life appointments to the bench are obstructionist. I think No Child Educated Properly (No Child left Behind for you right wingers) obstructs a teacher’s ability to teach. I think the Dirty Skies plan obstructs my child’s ability to breath. I think the War in Iraq obstructs Iraqi’s children ability to be safe. I think using a term like “Axis of Evil” obstructs your ability to be diplomatic with countries like Iran and North Korea. I think giving tax breaks to companies who ship working class jobs over seas obstructs real Americans ability to earn a living wage. I think tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans obstructs our countries ability to pay its bills.

After all this who is really the Obstructionist to a healthy, vibrant, inclusive America?

Bush's mess

2005-06-15T22:47:00.000-04:00

Listening to talk radio the other morning, I heard a Bush cultist describe Iraq like this: He said it was like the United States was a police officer who received a tip about a bank robbery. When the officer went to arrest the robbery suspect, the police officer discovered the suspect was innocent of the robbery (Iraq's possession of WMDs), but he was holding a woman hostage and the police officer rescued the hostage.

That's a fine analogy except it has nothing to do with reality.

Let's use the same metaphor of the United States as a police officer. The officer is in pursuit of the killer of 3,000 people on Sept. 11th. He has the killer cornered. But he sends all the backup officers who could surround the killer and capture or kill him away to go investigate a report of a man with a gun on the other side of town. And it turns out the report of the man holding a gun is not only wrong, but the police officer knew it was trumped up when he sent all of the other officers away from the hunt for the killer.

From the Charleston Gazette:

Worst of all, Americans still don’t know why the war was started. The original claim — that Iraq possessed horror weapons, and would give them to terrorists to use on America — turned out to be imaginary. Americans are left to wonder whether the attack was launched to gain control of Iraq’s oil, or to improve Israel’s security, or to finish a vendetta that began under the first President Bush, or for all those reasons. No official explanation has been provided.

Last month, British newspapers unearthed a secret memo showing that the White House planned the attack long before telling Congress or the U.S. public. The July 2002 memo, relating “recent talks in Washington” by Britain’s intelligence chief, said:

“Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.... It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbors, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.”

Months later, the White House stampeded America into the war it had long desired. In fact, the administration’s key leaders had been advocating an attack on Iraq since the 1990s, before taking office, and well before the 9/11 terror strike provided a pretext.

Now America and the world are stuck with the tragic result.

And going back to the radio caller's comparison to the Iraqi people as a rescued "hostage." The "hostage" thinks life was better before her "rescue." Meanwhile Osama bin Laden and the other masterminds of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks remain free.

Bond panel created

2005-06-15T22:42:00.000-04:00

From the Charleston Gazette:

In hopes of convincing voters that selling $5.5 billion of pension bonds is not the “big gamble” that critics say, Gov. Joe Manchin Tuesday introduced a 10-member panel of “fiscal and financial experts” that will have to approve any bond issues.

“This is another safeguard for the people of West Virginia,” said one of the panelists, Charleston lawyer/lobbyist Tom Heywood. “It is a bipartisan committee made up of experts in their fields.”

The Pension Bond Financial Advisory Committee includes business people, lawyers, certified public accountants, and business professors from Marshall University and West Virginia University.

The panel doesn’t include Massey Energy Chairman Don Blankenship.

Blankenship, who is personally underwriting an advertising campaign opposing the bond referendum, turned down Manchin’s invitation to serve on the committee.

“I just wanted to harness that energy,” Manchin said of his personal invitation to Blankenship. “If he wants to help the state, I wanted to give him every opportunity I can.”

Blankenship didn't comment.

The bond issue shows Manchin and the Democrats acting responsibly about West Virginia's long-term financial obligations unlike the GOP-controlled Congress which is running up federal debt to saddle our children with.

Blankenship sues

2005-06-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

Oh the irony! GOP corporate baron Don Blankenship, who is funding the campaign to smear Gov. Joe Manchin's bond levy, has filed a frivilous, $300 million lawsuit against the Charleston Gazette, an environmental advocacy group and the United Mine Workers for telling the truth about him. From The State Journal (no friend of the Charleston Gazette):

Jim Haught, editor of The Charleston Gazette, told 13 News reporter Kimberly Beary, "We report Massey coal problems simply factually."

"Massey has many more coal problems than any of the other coal companies put together. To me, we put them together in the newspaper as a matter of fact," Haught said. "I can't imagine why anyone would sue about reporting facts.

"I don't know if we said anything about Blankenship himself except describing his role in public life in West Virginia," he continued. "He has chosen to be a part of an active political scene. It baffles me that he would file a lawsuit when we didn't ever really attack him for anything. We just report the facts that Massey really ruined all those former Cannelton miners, but that's just business. We just reported the way business went."

Bush's numbers falling

2005-06-10T08:40:00.000-04:00

Corruption, lies, mismanagement catching up with George W. Bush. From the Associated Press:

About one-third of adults, 35 percent, said they think the country is headed in the right direction, while 43 percent said they approve of the job being done by Bush. Just 41 percent say they support his handling of the war, also a low-water mark.

snip

Thirty-seven percent support Bush's handling of Social Security, while 59 percent disapprove. Those numbers haven't budged after more than four months of the president traveling the country to sell his plan to create private accounts in Social Security.

Support for his handling of the economy was at 43 percent.

snip

Congress gets even lower grades than Bush, a potentially troubling development for those seeking re-election next year.

Only about three in 10 polled said they approve of the job being done by Congress, while 64 percent disapprove.

The Tom DeLay Republicans like Shelley Moore Capito control Congress and set the extreme rightwing agenda disapproved of by the American people while statesmen like Robert C. Byrd represent the mainstream of America.

Freedom

2005-06-10T03:18:00.000-04:00

James Wolcott directed me to this post by Lance Mannion that seems to some up perfectly why the right wingers hate the left now more than ever after Sept. 11. Make sure you read all the way to the end.

Rude Pundit has Howard Dean's back

2005-06-10T00:29:00.000-04:00

Go read Rude Pundit but be warned: Not work safe or for tender eyes and ears, but he tells it like it is about Howard Dean and why he's a great DNC Chairman and why the rightwing corporate media is trying to muzzle him.

One America Blog

2005-06-10T00:25:00.000-04:00

Added a new blog to the side bar, One America Blog and it's a really good one. Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards is among those posting there. Here's from his latest post:

What a flap has arisen over a disagreement about the way something is said! I was in Nashville over the weekend, thanking the good people of Tennessee who supported the Democratic presidential ticket this year, when I was asked whether I thought that it was fair to say that people who were Republican hadn’t done a good day’s work. Of course, I didn’t think so, and I said that. I don’t think our DNC chair, Howard Dean, would put it that way again if asked either. I disagreed with him, and I said so. And, I want to be clear, I would have to say so again if I were asked again. I said a lot of good things about Howard’s outreach program and invigoration of the internet as a communication and fundraising tool, but no one wrote about that. Instead the headlines blared that I disagreed with Howard. And then the flap arose: A chasm! A split! A revolt!

Instead, how about: Nonsense!
We are both talking about the Republicans and their failure to address the needs of working people. We both agree with this basic truth: This Republican president and this Republican majority are not doing what they should be doing for working people in this country. That’s a core belief we need to fight for. And what’s more, we agree that we - all Democrats and all working people - should be complaining, criticizing, and generally speaking out about this critical failure of the Republican party and offering our positive vision for America. And we have.

Howard and I have been saying the same thing about this for years. Hear that? The same thing. For years. Have I ever put it some way that Howard wouldn't agree with? Probably. And he put it in a way, once, just the other day, that I can’t agree with, since I come from a place where hard-working people, who are better served by the agenda and passion of the Democrats, somehow still vote Republican. But Howard and I are committed to a 50-state strategy that will reach out to those voters, in North Carolina, and in Kansas, and in Tennessee, across this country and tell the truth about what is happening in this country to their jobs, to their health care, to their forests and streams, to their vision of what this country is and should be.

This President is not fighting for our jobs. His administration has on numerous occasions said that the out-sourcing of American jobs is good for this country. Well, it may be good for Wall Street, but it is lousy on Main Street. If he thinks that jobs moving overseas is good for us, why would he ever fight for American jobs?

Our labor laws have seen weak enforcement during the time we have had this Republican administration in place. Companies that skirt this country’s labor laws have gotten a slap on the hand, and even that has come too slowly. Efforts to allow workers to choose whether to unionize have not been protected in the way that they should, and the mutually beneficial bargain between labor and management that made this country the greatest economic power in the world has been broken, all while the Republican administration and Republican majority stand idle, with their hands dug deep in their pockets.

Those working people I grew up with that I talked about earlier live where I lived, in our rural communities, which is exactly where this Republican president wants to cut broadband extension, firefighter grants and investment and market access programs that will protect our rural jobs. The manufacturing extension program, which helps small manufacturers everywhere stay profitable - and therefore open, gets little support from this President. How are our towns going to remain vital with policies that ignore them? Where will the sons and daughters in our rural communities have to go to find jobs?

And this President has made choices that, if enacted by the Republican majority in Congress, will deny the opportunity to learn the skills for a new job to an untold number of Americans. Vocational and adult education would be cut by 89%. He wants to drastically cut adult education and retraining programs that allow American workers to better their skills either to get ahead or to get a new job when theirs leaves for overseas.

And if you happen to be a working man or woman in the United States military, this Republican president doesn’t support loan forgiveness for your student loans or top quality health care when you get out of the military.

The safety net is eroding. The ladder has been pulled up. This is not new. For more than two decades, the Republican Party has talked about an agenda that addresses concerns of working people while they have passed an agenda that serves the goals of the wealthiest among us. Howard and I know that these are the wrong choices for America. We won’t always use the same words. But we will always fight the same fight: for the dignity, the respect, and the rights of those who built this country, the working people in America.

"Iraq before the War"

2005-06-08T23:24:00.000-04:00

As a constant reminder that we are involved in a stupid, costly, illegal, bloodbath I post this article from Citizen's Clearinghouse:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9045.htm

The rightwing conservatives vs. the GOP

2005-06-07T20:26:00.000-04:00

There was a time when the Republican party stood for smaller government, sound fiscal budgets, foreign intervention only when absolutely necessary to defend the United States. The GOP once stood for a time for Main Street values. Protection of the Constitution. Small businesses.

No longer.

Don't believe me? Look at how the federal government has grown to its largest size ever, with huge bloated bureacracies and billions of dollars unaccounted for. Look at the Downing Street Minutes which showed the Bush administration intended to go to war with Iraq and manufactured the "evidence" to justify the war hy deliberately lying to the American people. Look at the Patriot Act and the upcoming Patriot Act II which would allow police to enter our homes without warrants, which would allow those suspected of crimes to be stripped of their citizenship so that they could be shipped to Guatanmo Bay to be held with terror suspects there. Look at how the Bush administration's trade and economic policies benefit the largest corporations while not giving the same support to businesses that create jobs in the United States. Look at how the Republican party thrust itself into a private family matter in the Terri Schiavo case, the kind of heartwrenching decision families must make daily for their loved ones in hospice care. Look at Tom DeLay and his unethical behavior and forcing out ethics committee members who voted three times to censure him for his immoral acts.

Today's Republican Party has sold out putting party over the American people, putting party above nation, party above ethics, party above principles, party above old people, party above veterans, party above students.

Do you know who stands for and works for all of those things the Republican Party once professed to support?

State Sen. John Unger. He's worked hard to create economic development opportunities for small businesses in the region. He's supported the West Virginia State Police troopers by making sure they get a new barracks in Martinsburg. He's worked hard for more efficient government to make certain our tax dollars are spent properly. He's worked hard to provide benefits for our state's veterans.

He's a Democrat and like the Democratic Party, he represents the true mainstream of America.

And I'm proud to call him my state senator.

Big Oil, Big Price, Total Economic Collapse?

2005-06-03T16:37:00.000-04:00

I found this article very interesting regarding our dependence on oil and the impact of a much higher price in terms of our ability to survive/commute/stay employed et al...I don't think this is a "chicken little " type concept. Link here.

Upcoming events

2005-05-30T09:48:00.000-04:00

June 6. Berkeley County Democratic Executive Committee meeting at 7 p.m. in the old Planning Commission room.

June 16. Eastern Panhandle Democracy for America will have a letter writing session at 7 p.m. Contact ROMA for details.

June 25. Special Bond Amendment Election. Don't forget to vote and as Judy says, bring a friend to vote too.

June 27. Berkeley County Democratic Association at Hoss's Steakhouse on Edwin Miller Blvd. in their private dining room. Dinner at 6:30 p.m. with meeting at 7:30 p.m.

June 29. The Berkeley County Democrat Women’s Club will be hosting a Picnic at War Memorial Park at 5:30 p.m. - the Women's Club will provide the hot dogs, rolls, and drinks - please bring your favorite side dish and come out to the Park to picnic with fellow Democrats.

DailyKos meetup in Harpers Ferry

2005-05-29T00:48:00.000-04:00

My family and I had a wonderful day today.

When I say my family, I mean my wife and three children.

And I also mean my extended DailyKos family.

People like barb wires, kredwyn, Wolf Boy, mrsdbrown1, Oortdust, pastordan and Mrs Pastor, JanetTinMD, holy handgrenade, RPPA, Ides, RenaRF, jsmdlawyer, Brother Feldspar, Cabin Girl, Brother Feldspar, Halcyon, Rick (sorry, I can't remember your handle) and, of course, DCDemocrat.
Fellow Berkeley County campaigners Lynn and Sarah joined us. With children and spouses and other friends, there were 31 people there.

Let me interrupt recounting today's events for a moment...

Did you ever plan a party and you wondered if anyone would show up and you felt trepidation about it?

I had one of those moments this week. I had posted four diaries about today's event. DCDemocrat posted one and pimped it every where as did a few others. But organization is not in my skill set. And I didn't know how this would turn out today.

I called DCDemocrat. DCD, I said to his voice mail, tell me this isn't going to suck, that people aren't going to cancel at the last minute, that everything is going to be fine. Even if you think otherwise, call and tell me it's going to be great.

He called me back later. It's going to be fine, he said to my voice mail (we don't actually talk to each other, just to our voice mails). It's going to be great.

And you know what? Always listen to DCDemocrat because he's always right.

I know. I went to the wall with him on the Kerry-Edwards campaign in West Virginia. And when you go through a trial by fire like that with a man, you learn to trust him.

So when he said it was going to be great, he was right. Today was a great day.

Have you ever had one of those days where even a passing thunderstorm cannot dampen a good time? Where lightning bolts cannot match the charge you get from meeting people?

That's what today was like.

When my family and I arrived (on time for something for a change) there were already people gathered and talking.

Ides flew in to Dulles and rented a car. Holy handgrenade drove in from Philly, smoking a big old stogie on the way. Mrsdbrown1 and her wonderful husband and children drove up from North Carolina even though they had to turn around and drive home to attend a niece's baptism tomorrow.

You just don't meet friends like this every day.

So you probably want me to get on with this and give details.

We hugged. We chatted. We waited for 30 minutes for late stragglers then we took the bus down and we posed for pictures on the rocks. I did not know at the time my oldest daughter, 7, was scaling a cliff face. Pictures by BrotherFeldspar here.

We posed for the group photo and then we walked to the point where the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers merge. I'll leave it to poets to describe the scene, but it's one of the prettiest on the planet with Maryland Heights on one side and the Virginia hills on the other and the rapid water underneath.

We walked up to the Catholic church where a priest flew the Union Jack to prevent his church from being bombarded. I entered with pastordan and DCDemocrat and jsmdlawyer. The church's sanctuary has a beautiful grace. I pointed out the carved marble of the altar, a scene from the last supper and pastordan said it was probably carved in Italy then he went and prayed at the front pew and we left.

Some of us walked up to Jefferson Rock to see a view Thomas Jefferson described as worth a voyage across the Atlantic.

Once there, we were caught in a sudden downpour and waited out of the rain under a tree. It was a soft rain and it felt nice being under such a shelter with such good people. Holy handgrenade joked that it rained because he entered the church and I said it made God cry. Then a lightning bolt flashed in the sky. I pointed out that it might not be wise standing under the tallest tree on the top of a hill with lightning in the air so we moved back down the hill to the church.

I walked down chatting with barb wires, a lovely woman. I wish I had the chance to talk to everyone with us, but everyone seemed to be always talking to each other, genuinely enjoying each other's company.

We split up to eat lunch because no restaurant could hold all 31 of us. We got back together to chat more while some of us toured the John Brown Museum (not the wax museum).

About 4 p.m., most people departed to return to their homes. A group of about 14 of us stayed to walk along the river and throw walks into the water and shoot slingshots and listen to the 1840s music of the brass band and to see the Civil War re-enactors describe their equipment. Then we went to have dinner at the Hilltop House where JanetT and a friend are staying tonight. (Cabin Girl and her sons are staying at the Comfort Inn to go biking on the C&O Canal tow path tomorrow.) The adults drank beer and wine and the children ate more cake than they should, and it was a lovely if exceptionally noisy dinner filled with the kind of conversation that people have in intelligent movies that play only in the artsy theaters (except for me, of course. I was relegated to the kids table -- my C&J past catching up to me).

We parted with plans to get together for lunch soon and for jsmdlawyer and his wife to celebrate my birthday with my wife and I.

It was a great day. DCDemocrat was right.

Documentary

2005-05-27T23:24:00.000-04:00

Saturday in Charleston will be the premier of documentary "Robert C. Byrd - Soul of the Senate." It will be shown on our channel 25, Tuesday 31 May at 10pm.

Senator Byrd has a fan club

2005-05-26T00:04:00.000-04:00

Lots of people had great things to say about Senator Byrd over at DailyKos in this diary. Byrd voted for Judge Owens, one of two Democrats, but many point out that it was probably a back room deal to allow some of the judges to receive token bi-partisan support.

this whole nomination contest (4.00 / 3)

seems like a masters game of chess. I learned to play "back in my youth" but do not play now. however, I do remember the "traps" one had to learn to set, and "headfakes" to get your opponent to come out of his corner.
Is the trap set? Is it set by Byrd etc. for Bush et al? This could be the sacrifice of a pawn. I am still hoping. But I am getting some satisfaction by the disjointed response from different republicans. They seem definitely non-scripted at this point. That is a good thing.

and

He paved the way for others to cross over (4.00 / 2)
in votes to come, I suspect.
It is the role of the senior member of the Senate to offer that protection of a sort to others -- from either party. And he wears his role so well, doesn't he?
He also is such a born teacher, and I also suspect he is attempting to teach by example the way that bipartisanship and compromise used to be done. It is a Senate with more freshmen members than ever, I read, from the House -- and that it is no place to learn how to behave!

and

Sen. Byrd is above the petty politics of "just today." He has studied history extensively, not just recent but ancient history as well. He understands this battle was for more than a few petty judges this year, but for the balance of power to keep this government running. It was not without good reason that he gave that speech a few months back about similarities to the rise of Nazi Germany's Fascism. There are many frightening parallels with the current administration. Do the research for yourself.
snip
When you are able to cite Cicero in context with current events with authority, when you have a knowledge base of even modern history that is 1/10th of his - THEN you may express an opinion.
OK, so I may be just a little prejudiced. While not personally acquainted with the senator, I have observed him my whole life, all 46 years of it. I have seen much to admire, some things I have disagreed with, and some things I have not understood, in his service to my state and to our country. But overall, I have developed a deep trust of his intentions. I do not say this lightly as I came of age during the Watergate years, and trust in the government was all but totally destroyed then.
Long live Senator Byrd, and please God, we need more like him.

and

Testy reminder to Bush from a group which is one-half Republican.
The second most important part is holding onto the filibuster for Supreme Court nominee. The Dems maneuvered well.
Politics is the art of compromise. View Byrd's speeches again.
And it was most wise of the Democrats to manage a list of the grievances against this administration over the course of days and days of speechifying. Everything laid right out with an invitation to moderate Republicans: Think for yourself; come join us.

Quite a few others as well.

DNC chairman Howard Dean visiting WV

2005-05-23T23:12:00.000-04:00

From DremaDems:

DNC Chairman Gov. Howard Dean visits West Virginia
Join in on Wednesday May 25th as Governor Dean attends a good old fashioned cookout and rally at the State Democratic Party Headquarters beginning at 11:00 a.m. Complimentary hot dogs and refreshments will be served during this lunch hour event. Gov. Dean is expected to speak at 11:30 a.m.

Parking will be able along nearby streets, at Gov. Joe Manchin's former campaign HQ, and at Laidley Field. The State Democratic Party HQ is located on the corner of Greenbrier Street and Kanawha Boulevard in Charleston, easily accessed from Interstates 64/77 by the State Capitol/Greenbrier Street exit. Hope you will be able to join us for some Democratic fun!

Democrats Are For
Democrats are for honesty, responsibility and compassion. It's time we to stand up for the American values we value most in our own communities. Growing the party in every neighborhood is an action idea. It takes a lot of hard work and resources to reach out in every state, in every precinct, in every community. Everywhere I go, I meet Democrats who are hungry to win and ready to work hard. You can help now by clicking here . – Governor Howard Dean – DNC Chair

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

Quote that Bears Repeating
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid." --President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1952

WV Social Security Forums Fan Out
Hundreds of citizens have been turning out for the Economic Forums on Social Security being carried statewide by West Virginians United to Protect Social Security. The panelists include economists from the WVU Institute on Labor Studies and Research, the AARP, the AFL-CIO, WV Citizens Action Group, WV Council of Churches and the WV Fair Shake Disabilities network. If you live in Cabell or Upshur County mark the dates below and plan to attend. The forums are open and the public is welcome.

And if you will please, contact your local City Council and County Commission to ask that they sign onto the Social Security Protection Resolution. More and more local governments have been signing on opposing private accounts. For more information or a copy of the resolution, contact: Margaret Jarvis mjarvis@wvaflcio.org.

May 24, 2005
Huntington City Hall Chambers
800 5th Avenue
Huntington, WV
6:00 p.m May 31, 2005
Upshur County Senior Center
28 N. Kanawha Street
Buckhannon, WV
6:00 p.m.

More than 24 million women receive Social Security benefits, and without Social Security, 53 percent of all senior women would be living in poverty.

Walter Jones Jr., Fighting for Truth

2005-05-23T09:49:00.000-04:00

Panhandle (W.Va.) Grassroots for DemocracyI found this interesting reading that a bible toting republican congressman has decided not to toe the line with respect (sic) to the republican party dogma.
Link.

WV GOP picks mudslinger to replace dirty official

2005-05-22T17:46:00.000-04:00

From the Charleston Gazette:

Capehart is a Wheeling lawyer who served as Gov. Cecil Underwood’s secretary of tax and revenue. In that position, he pushed unsuccessfully for sweeping reform of the state’s tax system.

In 2004, he ran a low-budget, ideas-driven campaign to represent Republicans in the governor’s race. He came in third, behind winner Monty Warner and Mingo County businessman Dan Moore.

Kris Warner was accused of using party resources to help his brother’s cause, a charge that continued to haunt him through the November election and beyond.

After the election, Warner fired popular Executive Director Gary Abernathy. Donations to the party dried up. Prominent Republicans began to call for Warner to resign.

Warner did resign earlier this month. On his way out, he billed the party for more than $24,000 in expenses under the names of his business and his wife. The party faces a debt of more than $200,000.

While Warner was attracting criticism for his role in his brother’s campaign, Capehart was running the successful but controversial campaign to unseat former state Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw and replace him with a relative unknown, Charleston lawyer Brent Benjamin.

Brent Benjamin's campaign was considered one of the nastiest in the nation in a campaign season when the GOP made dirty tricks their standard operating procedure. Now the man who ran Benjamin's mudslinging campaign is the state chairman. Look for more foul play in the future from this group.

Senator Byrd: Soul of the Senate

2005-05-18T22:56:00.000-04:00

From Drema Dems:

Some Soul and Style Still Left In the Senate – You're Invited
MotionMasters and the West Virginia Humanities Council invite you to attend the gala premiere of the documentary "The Soul of the Senate: U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd."

The event will begin at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 28th at the Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia. To receive your complimentary tickets, please call the Clay Center: (304) 561-3570. Tickets are free and open to the public for this "black tie optional" event, so call now to ensure your seats.

Social Security events in WV

2005-05-18T22:53:00.000-04:00

From Drema Dems:

Social Security Forums Fan Out Across State
Citizens in Mason, Jackson and Roane Counties turned out Monday for the Economic Forum on Social Security being carried statewide by West Virginians United to Protect Social Security. The panelists include economists from the WVU Institute on Labor Studies and Research, the AARP, the AFL-CIO, WV Citizens Action Group, WV Council of Churches and the WV Fair Shake Disabilities network. If you live in Marion or Cabell Counties mark the dates below and plan to attend. The forums are open and the public is welcome.
And if you will please, contact your local City Council and County Commission to ask that they sign onto the Social Security Protection Resolution. For more information or a copy of the resolution, contact: Margaret Jarvis mjarvis@wvaflcio.org.
May 19, 2005 Fairmont Senior Center
105 Maplewood Drive
Fairmont, WV
11:00 a.m.
May 24, 2005Huntington City Hall Chambers
800 5th Avenue
Huntington, WV
6:00 p.m.
More than 24 million women receive Social Security benefits, and without Social Security, 53 percent of all senior women would be living in poverty. Democrats are fighting to save Social Security and stop privatization so that American women can continue to rely on this guaranteed benefit.
But despite 61% of the American public asking Congress to take private accounts off the table they power on. When do we get to the part where Congress does something for us instead of to us? House GOP Tries to Pass Soc. Sec. Overhaul

Social Security is still very much in danger, with President Bush's big business supporters spending $100 million to convince Americans. After you've watched this Flash, please sign the petition to protect Social Security from privatization. This animation is about what's wrong with the Republicans' Social Security plan—but it really is entertaining! This is the winner of the Bush in 30 Years contest sponsored by MoveOn PAC.

God is not spelled G-O-P

2005-05-18T15:59:00.000-04:00

From Jim Wallis of Sojourners:

Several weeks ago, Episcopal priest and former Republican Senator John Danforth began an op-ed in the New York Times by writing: "By a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians." And, I would add, some Religious Right leaders are trying to transform the church into the religious arm of conservative Republicans. Either way, these partisan attempts to hijack faith and politics are wrong.

Yet each week brings a new outrage. This week's news was of a Baptist church in North Carolina, where nine members, including three deacons, say they had their membership revoked because they were Democrats who supported John Kerry. According to the Charlotte News-Observer, the nine walked out of a church meeting when Pastor Chan Chandler asked them to sign documents agreeing with his political views. When they left, members remaining voted to terminate their membership.

While the pastor has attributed it to a "misunderstanding," the former members say that last fall he told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Kerry should either leave the church or repent. One, a 75-year-old deacon, told the News-Observer: "He went on and on about how he's going to bring politics up, and if we didn't agree with him we should leave. I think I deserve the right to vote for who I want to." News reports today indicate that Pastor Chandler is resigning.

It's the latest outrage in a continuing pattern. Last year, news stories included Republicans seeking church membership lists and mailing postcards implying Democrats wanted to ban the Bible. Just a few weeks ago, Religious Right speakers held what they billed as "Justice Sunday - Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith" in support of President Bush's judicial nominees. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was quoted in the New York Times as saying Democrats "have targeted people for reasons of their faith or moral position."

Because many other religious voices spoke to challenge the attempt to make God a partisan, President Bush, to his credit, repudiated the equation of faith with his policies. He was asked at his recent press conference whether he thought filibusters against nominees were "an attack against people of faith." He replied: "I think people are opposing my nominees because they don't like the judicial philosophy of the people I've nominated.... I don't ascribe a person's opposing my nominations to an issue of faith."

Then, on ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos asked Pat Robertson about his statement that "the out-of-control judiciary, and this was in your last book Courting Disaster, is the most serious threat America has faced in nearly 400 years of history, more serious than al Qaeda..." Robertson replied: "George, I really believe that. I think they are destroying the fabric that holds our nation together...the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings."

This latest news from North Carolina is the logical, inevitable result of the road the Religious Right and some Republicans have taken.

It is the assumption that Christians must accept one partisan political position on issues, or be accused of not being Christian. This is an assumption we must reject. Rather, we must insist on the deep connections between spirituality and politics while defending the proper boundaries between church and state that protect religious and nonreligious minorities and keep us all safe from state-controlled religion. We can demonstrate our commitment to pluralistic democracy and support the rightful separation of church and state without segregating moral and spiritual values from our political life. Abraham Lincoln, in his famous Second Inaugural Address, said of the two sides in the Civil War: "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other." He would say the same today.

The Republican Party is not God's own party, as the Religious Right and some Republican leaders seem to be suggesting. And, of course, neither is the Democratic Party. We must say it again and again until it is heard and understood: God is not partisan; God is not a Republican or a Democrat. When either party tries to politicize God, or co-opt religious communities for its political agenda, it makes a terrible mistake. God's politics challenge all our politics. Our faith must not be narrowed to the agenda of one political party.

Scenes we'd like to see

2005-05-15T23:36:00.000-04:00

From Billmon.

WV GOP turn on their own

2005-05-13T00:35:00.000-04:00

From the Charleston Gazette:

Delegate Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, said Wednesday he hopes that visitors to his www.MoveOnKris.org Web site will fulfill their pledges totaling $8,925 to the state Republican Party, now that chairman Kris Warner has agreed to step down.

Blair, a two-term delegate, opened the whimsical Web site a month ago, capitalizing on statements made by Warner indicating he would step down as state party chairman once the party’s $120,000-plus of campaign debts were paid off.

With the party’s vice chairpersons voting Tuesday evening to accept Warner’s resignation, Blair said he is prepared to turn over his pledge list to the party.

“I’ve said all along, I wouldn’t turn over all the pledges until I knew it was a done deal,” he said. “We’ll take the e-mail addresses and the names and turn them over to the interim chairman or whoever’s in charge.”

He said it will be up to the new party chairman to see that the pledges are paid up.

The state Republican executive committee may select a new chairman at its May 21 meeting in Morgantown.

Blair said he’s optimistic that most of the people who made pledges will pay up.

“There could be a few people who sent false pledges in,” he said.

Republicans lying and reneging on their pledges? That seems typical for the GOP these days.

GOP embraces corruption with open arms

2005-05-13T00:28:00.000-04:00

Corruption was once considered scandalous. Republicans now find it cause for celebration as they feted Tom DeLay, who traded votes for cash and trips. A writer at BooMan Tribune describes the party. His letter in the comments puts it succinctly:

When Republican Tom DeLay got caught in massive ethics scandals I expected the Republican party, the party that claims to be so moral, to reject DeLay's corruption and demand his resignation. That would have been the honorable thing to do. But to my surprise, the Republican party has instead embraced DeLay's corruption and defended him. Now some three-dozen House and Senate Republicans have held a gala last Thursday actually honoring the corrupt SOB! Even such high-ranking Republicans as House Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman are attending this celebration of corruption. How disgusting!