Date

Wes Clark: Prison Not a Pass to Presidency

susan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:00:46 -0500

Booyah for Gen. Wesley Clark for calling the emperor naked. Or the POW not presidential. I've been having this same thought about McCain for a long time, but banished it to the basement for its unseemly lack of gratitude, if not downright un-American way of thinking.
Not that McCain didn't endure a horrific imprisonment and not that it was his fault that he was shot down. But I just didn't see how a miserable time in a Viet Cong preison makes him God's anointed leader. And placing my hand firmly on the third rail, I'd rather have the Navy pilot who didn't get shot down as my leader, not the one who did
But war heros are sacrosanct, right? Well, yes and no. Not if they're Democrats. More.

Cousin Susan Says, "Enough with the Hillary bashing."

susan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:32:40 -0500

Cousin Susan -- who isn't really my cousin, but is my best pal's cousin, ergo goes by that moniker -- recently wrote to the CLB about bashing Hillary vs. recruiting her supporters to help win this election. Barb's busy battling the cancer demon, and I'm busy hosting (healthy, thanks be) children and grandchildren. So voila, a guest posting by Cousin Susan, formerly of Topanga Canyon, CA, now back home in Des Moines, Iowa.
******
I've much enjoyed periodically reading your comments, most of which I find help my wandering mind organize itself at least briefly.

Back here in soggy Iowa, I've been talking with my friends who were early Obama supporters about a woman to woman campaign to bring Hill's Gals back to the Dems.
More!

Happy Fourth of July: Version 232

barbara — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:01:38 -0500

barbara writes

(When in the course of human events the government becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established, it is the Right of the People to alter it and demand restoration of those Constitutional Principles that have so long assured their Liberty, Safety, and Happiness. Therefore, on the anniversary of our Independence, we offer this new declaration for our times.

View video for full declaration and/or read text, compliments of Firedoglake here.)

When I was a kid, back in the Precambrian era, the Fourth of July was a very big deal. America was a very big deal. We had emerged from two horrendous wars into an era of peace and prosperity. Ike showed us that it’s possible to morph from military to civilian mindset. We had not yet succumbed to pervasive fear about the Great Red Menace.

My childhood was arguably an intensely civil time in our country’s history. We were sick unto death of violence and bloodshed and shortages. Even I got that, and I wasn’t especially tuned in as a kid. (Also, I grew up in a Republican household, but that’s a story unto itself.)

The Fourth of July was one of several times each year when Americans showed our colors, sang our songs, and unapologetically went flat-out patriotic. It wasn’t all for show. It wasn’t about dueling extravaganzas (extravaganzae?). We meant it. We felt it.

For a few hours each July Fourth, my taciturn grandfather lay down his protective mantle and became a kid again. He loved this holiday. The parade in his small North Dakota town included . . . well, everyone. Much as Garrison Keillor noted in last week’s monologue about the Fourth in Lake Wobegon, the first parade had everybody in it, and then they did it again so some of them could watch. Please read on.

A Telegram from John McCain. STOP.

susan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:44:28 -0500

Alec Baldwin writes in the Huffpost that Dems should not go after John McCain for his age. I agree. Age, as in chronological age, isn't the problem. Think Ronnie Reagan, who was ancient and had a tad of dementia, but is still revered by a bamboozled American public. It's how one adapts to old age. I'm 61, and I know how hard it is to keep up with technology, specifically all things cyber. Twitter? Huh?

But McCain has lost that race. He's completely out of touch with the modern world, whether the collapse of the economy or the downturn in the lives of working (and whining) Americans. Like George Bush the First, who didn't know about grocery scanners, McCain barely knows what a computer is, has never sent an email or used "the Internets."

Get this. He recently sent a Telegram to my mother-in-law, which came to us. Among the many hilarious paragraphs there's this one.
"Senator Obama and his wealthy liberal allies . . . are growing their mailing lists and phone banks, perfecting their technologies, developing their money-raising techniques -- from telephones to text-messaging to mail to the Internet to knocking on doors. STOP. And it is working. STOP."
More McCain

Vive la Minnesota!

barbara — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:07:54 -0500

barbara writes

(See UPDATE following post.

Quatorze Juillet. Fourteenth of July. Bastille Day. The rabble stormed the prison fortress, ultimately changing the course of history for France. It took a while, but it was worth it.

Shift now to Quatorze Juillet 2008 in the good old U.S. of A. And what do we have going on in the land of the free and the home of the media obsessed? We have (wee drum roll) Jesse Ventura Redux. Yes, right here in the heartland. The guy who seized the governor’s mansion in a now-famous 1998 coup d’etat.

In fairness, most of those who voted for Ventura believed it was a completely harmless, token protest to backroom, smoke-filled, good ol’ boys' politicking. No one imagined for a minute that the man could possibly win. After all, he was taking on the son of the iconic Hubert Humphrey and the smiley, party-hopping chameleon Norm Coleman (albeit prior to Norm’s dental makeover, which ultimately contributed to his electoral success--how else to explain it?).

Ventura’s polling numbers when he entered the race bottom-plopped at around nine percent. But in November, he garnered more than a third of the vote, winning the election and dumping the astonished pols on their good ol’ boy asses. I must confess to having some delight in that. Read on, Macduff.

Who will be next to enter the MN Senate race?

barbara — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:28:42 -0500

barbara writes

Some days, it is simply too weird out there to rise up from the mattress. Today’s the day.

Whodaya reckon will be the next U.S. Senate candidate to surface in Minnesota? Turns out it could be almost anyone! Booyah!

Recap: A few weeks ago, retired pro wrestler and former Minnesota governor, Jesse Ventura and his buddy, Dean Barkley, headed out to the links to determine which of them would run for the U.S. Senate. Ventura lost the golf match, or so the story goes, and thus he became the designated weird one (a role to which he is accustomed).

In some ways, this makes about as much sense as the more conventional selection process (walking caucuses and candidates selected by a slim minority of the population). Maybe this is a model for the future. Think Hillary, Obama and bowling. There's more, there's more!>

Gone fishin' -- back soon

barbara — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:03:40 -0500

barbara writes

Life is complicated right now. Back soon's I can make it!!

Bridging the year since August 01, 2007

barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:07:00 -0500

barbara writes

One year ago, a major interstate bridge in my home town collapsed into the Mississippi River.

The catastrophe mangled cars. It killed and grievously injured the human beings in them. As Senator Amy Klobuchar noted, bridges just aren't supposed to do that. This horror story brought national attention to the appalling state of our national roadway infrastructure. It’s a fair mess, and that’s a fact.

I won’t dwell on all of that today. What I will do is share with you the story of Garrett Ebling, whose great misfortune it was to be on the bridge (and subsequently in the river) when it went down.

I’ve gotten to know Garrett and his story because he works with David’s daughter. Like Garrett, she was on her way home from a company function on August 01, 2008. The only reason she didn’t end up in the wreckage with Garrett and the others was her last-minute decision to pull off the highway to gas up her car.

Garrett Ebling is a smart, funny, articulate man who has an indomitable spirit. Well, that and the love of a good woman -- his fiancee, Sonja. And about a bezillion friends.

Garrett has dwelt in and out of hell for one full year. He is still healing, by every definition. His is not the only bridge story, but it’s the one I know best.

In June, Garrett was invited to speak at the Minnesota Associated Press Association Awards banquet. When I read his speech notes, I asked him if I could share them with you here. Sure you can, he said.

Garrett Ebling is a compelling story-teller. His recounting of the bridge collapse and aftermath is powerful. I invite you to read what he told the AP gathering. All of it. Amazing.

I tore off my goggles and rubbed my eyes, trying to squeeze the salt water from the corner of my lids. I was exhausted, and I couldn’t climb out of the tank as I was covered in spandex, my feet clad in clumsy flippers and my back strapped with an air tank. I had been in that pool for days, scrubbing the walls and floor until my fingers ached so much I could have sworn they were about to fall off.

It was then that I had decided that enough was enough. I never volunteered to clean the animal tanks on this ship. How I became enslaved I did not remember, but this would be the last time I would ever do chores for a dolphin. I was going to have to make a run for it. I pulled myself up the ladder to the pool’s edge and desperately tried to dash across the deck and off the ship, which had made port. But I kept tripping on my flippers and the weight of the scuba tank prevented any quick escape. The guards tackled me and dragged me back to the tank and forced the large handled brush back into my limp grip. I wondered as I scrubbed: Would I ever be free again? When will normal return?

This nightmare replayed itself the 19 days I was kept in a medical coma following my rescue from the muddy Mississippi. Please read the rest of Garrett’s story.

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