Wimpy, Wimpy, Wimpy - Jeb Bradley on Social Security

In 2002, when Jeb Bradley ran for Congress, he said he was against privatizing Social Security. A funny thing happened after he went to Congress. He went from being a moderate Republican state legislator to a conservative Republican Congressman. In 2005, after being elected to a second term, President Bush decided that Social Security "reform" would be the centerpiece of his legacy. Apparently invading a country that was no threat to us, or creating the largest deficit in US history wasn't enough for him. Bush now set his sights on privatizing (destroying) Social Security. He set about getting the faithful aboard the privatization train. Jeb Bradley wasn't leaping on board fast enough, so Bush came to NH for a hit and run visit at Pease International Tradeport. Both of our US Senators were there. Jeb Bradley wasn't invited - to a presidential visit in his district.

Big snub.

The event was billed as a town hall meeting, even though no one was allowed to ask any questions. The event was limited (in true George Bush style) to the party faithful, to ensure no dissent. White House description of the "town hall" meeting to discuss strengthening Social Security. Strengthening is a euphemism, just as privatizing is. What Bush and his cohorts have in mind is dismantling and destroying the most successful anti-poverty program in our nation's history. Jeb Bradley got the message behind that big snub, and began to change his tune about Social Security. At town hall meetings, he discussed the need to have all the options on the table. The only option ever mentioned was Bush's plan. It was hugely unpopular. I know, because I was at most of those town hall meetings. Bradley refused to take a position on Bush's plan. He would not, despite the best efforts of thousands of constituents say whether or not he would protect Social Security from being destroyed. He refused to take a stand, right up to the bitter end. He was on the NHPR show, The Exchange" about a week before election day, and would not make his position clear, even in the face of uncharacteristically strong questioning by Laura Knoy.

The plan to privatize Social Security proved to be extremely unpopular with the voters. Many excuses have been made as to why Jeb Bradley lost the election to grassroots candidate Carol Shea-Porter. The unpopularity of the war, the unpopularity of Bush, etc. I believe that one of the great unsung reasons for the Bradley loss was his non-stance on Social Security. Carol Shea-Porter ran a better, stronger campaign that flew under the wire. UNH poll meister Andy Smith never gave Shea-Porter a chance. On election day, he was on NHPR predicting a big victory for Bradley. You may have noticed his polling shows the same kind of results this time. I'm not sure why we should take any poll with a 6% margin of error very seriously.

Bradley's been off the radar for the last two years. During that time, NH has voted in a civil union law (Bradley was against any kind of legitimizing for same gender relationships), voted to refuse to participate in the REAL ID program (Bradley voted for it). Things are changing in NH. Has Bradley learned from his loss? Has he listened to the winds of change?

This video: WMUR Commitment 2008 may provide an answer to that question. The video is both of the NH-01 GOP primary candidates answering the question, "What will you do to protect Social Security?" Bradley doesn't tell us. We learn that his children will be of retirement age when Social Security goes bankrupt. Given Jeb's multi-million dollar stock portfolio, it's unlikely that the kids will be worried about eating cat food or living under bridges when they're old. What Jeb tells us is not his position on protecting Social Security. Instead of taking a stand, he tells us we need to have a discussion on increasing the returns of the money we put into Social Security. What a wimp. What a wimpy, fraidy-cat answer. Bradley isn't brave enough to take a stand in favor of privatization, knowing how unpopular it would be with voters - so he wimps out on answering at all.

Imagine if Bush and company had gotten their way, and turned the Social Security Trust Fund over to Wall St? How might things be looking today for NH seniors?

One thing is certain. We can't rely on Jeb Bradley to protect Social Security. We can't even rely on him for a straight answer.

Shea-Porter Statement on Financial Bailout Vote

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter released the following statement after voting against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act:

“Our economy has been battered by eight years of a financial wild west on Wall Street. There was no oversight and no accountability. I thought it was a mistake for the Administration to ask Congress to vote on a $700 billion bill to bail out Wall Street with only a single week to consider the proposal and a single day to review it. The Administration asked Congress to give up its Constitutional power of the purse and hand over a blank check for $700 billion. Congress said no.

“While I believe it is essential to address our credit and liquidity crisis, I voted against the Bush Bailout. I could not support the bill because it did not address the fundamental problem in our economy that caused the crisis in our financial institutions.

“I voted against the bill because it gave the Secretary of the Treasury -- a political appointee -- unfettered control over the execution of the bailout program. If the bill had passed, the Secretary of the Treasury would have had absolute authority to decide which securities to buy, from whom to purchase, and how much to pay. The Secretary of the Treasury would have also had absolute authority to decide who he would hire to manage the assets he purchased.

“More than four hundred economists, including three Nobel Laureates, appealed to Congress to slow down and make sure we got this right. Congress took about 8 months to draft and pass the legislation establishing the Resolution Trust Corporation -- and this only involved about $100 billion of taxpayer money. Certainly, Congress needs more time than one week to invest $700 billion of taxpayer money in a bailout.

“American taxpayers need a better bill, a better plan, and better protection. That is why I voted to stay in Washington and continue working on this bill. That is why I voted against this bill.”

Campaign Insanity

Last week, John McCain assured us that the fundamentals of the economy were basically sound. This week, he’s suspending his presidential campaign to ride his white steed into Washington to save the US economy. One thing is certain; a McCain presidency wouldn’t be dull. No Canadian bacon at breakfast? Bomb Canada!

McCain is suspending his presidential campaign to deal with the financial crisis that he and his cronies helped create. Despite his near miss with the Keating Five, McCain has been shilling for deregulation for years. We just never learn. Sure we learned for a little while, after the Depression, but no matter how many times the free market zombies are slain – they keep coming back to life to tell us that the market works, and deregulation is the key. Now we the taxpayers are being told that we’re going to bail out the financial sector – bail out companies that are failing. We can’t have single payer health care, because that would be socialism – but bailing out Goldman Sachs? We have to do that to “save the economy.” In other words, corporate socialism is essential to our nation. Single payer health care, however, would be the end of us all, it would be….socialism, the next thing to godless Communism.

McCain is suspending his campaign, and has asked to postpone the first presidential debate, because of the financial crisis. Barack Obama has said that now, more than ever, the American people need to hear from the candidates, seeing as how one of them will be responsible for cleaning this mess up. One wonders if, at the first sign of multiple crises would McCain suspend his presidency?

We are looking at a very old man who wants to be president. An old man who has had serious health problems, yet won’t release his medical records. This should tell us something. This old man has recently hired a makeup artist who works on the TV show “American Idol”. He’s paid her over $5,500 for makeup so far. The media that raked John Edwards over the coals for a $400 haircut is surprisingly quiet about McCain and his makeup. Of course when he’s on TV without makeup, he looks a decade older, and shockingly unhealthy. Somehow I’m certain that 5.5 years in a POW camp is the answer to any questions about all that spackle.

It’s long past time to question McCain’s judgment. The Keating Five. The joke he told about Chelsea Clinton. The joke he told about a woman enjoying rape. The cover-up of his wife’s criminal behavior when she was stealing drugs from her non-profit. The angry insults he snarled at his wife in front of reporters in 1992 (too obscene to print). The endless flip flopping on everything he ever held dear, just to become president. In the middle of the Democratic Convention, he panicked, and picked Sarah Palin, a completely unqualified woman, to be his vice president. Now, in the face of a debate, he’s suspending his campaign and bailing out on the debate. It’s clear that the Senate doesn’t need his help – he’s missed 60% of the votes this year. He told us himself that he “didn’t know much about the economy” only a few months ago. Running away from the debate seems to be motivated solely by fear. We are a shallow people. The contrast between a calm, young, tall, elegant man and a frenzied, old, short, stumpy man won’t be pretty. Still – if he’s going to single-handedly turn the economy around, why not send his running mate to the debate? Is this a man who has the judgment and temperament to be president?

We are told that Sarah Palin is ready on day one to be president – yet she isn’t allowed to speak with the press or hold press conferences. Palin is a gift that keeps on giving: the pregnant teenaged daughter, Troopergate, the road to nowhere, the bridge to nowhere, and now Thomas Muthee, the minister who hunted witches in Kenya. There is footage on YouTube (footage that was scrubbed from the Wasilla church website) of Muthee praying over Palin, imploring Jesus to put her in the governor’s mansion, and get her all the money she needed to get there, and to keep her safe from witches. The Palin family is a traveling episode of the Maury Povich show.

One can only imagine the media frenzy that might ensue if there were footage of Obama with a witch doctor. On Fox every night, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity are still trying to turn Obama’s acquaintance will Bill Ayers into something, still trying to eke out a little more interest in the Reverend Wright story – even though both were played out months ago. Oddly, despite their claims of fairness and balance, a lot of information is missing from their “news” programs. Earlier this week, a kid who was kicked out of school for wearing a tee shirt calling Obama a terrorist’s best friend, was on Hannity’s show, with his father. Hannity went into a tirade and started questioning the kid about Obama and Bill Ayers, even though it was obvious the kid didn’t know what he was talking about. The good news is, that if Obama wins in November, Hannity’s head may explode and put us all out of his misery.

"We should be able to deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies." –John McCain, Kenner, Louisiana, June 3, 2008

This was published as a Conway Daily Sun editorial Sept. 26, 2008

The Gender Card

Raising our Expectations

The seemingly endless presidential campaign has taken on some real wackiness in recent weeks. The Democratic National Convention sent McCain into such a panic that he decided to pick a running mate on the basis of gender, which certainly shored up his sagging old white guy campaign. It’s also created a level of media hysteria from the right that would be amusing if the future of the country weren’t at stake.

The Republican Convention was quite an event. Every speaker that got on stage told the story of John McCain and his 5.5 years in a POW camp. This is a story that the media had led me to believe that McCain was reluctant to talk about, so it came as something of a surprise to me to find that he only talks about it whenever he opens his mouth. After days of hearing the story, John McCain got on stage on the final night to tell us his own version of his experiences with enhanced interrogation techniques.

There were endless speeches about hating public education, hating socialism, hating the taxing of the wealthy, hating Social Security, hating anyone who thinks about changing our health care system, hating “Democrat elites” and in particular, hating community organizers.

Rudy Guiliani and Sarah Palin both sneered contemptuously about community organizers. Right wing blowhard Sean Hannity seethes with rage about community organizers every night on his “news” show. NH’s own Fergus Cullen, the head of the NH GOP has jumped on the anti-organizer bandwagon. Who are these loathsome people, these….organizers?

Without community organizers, Sarah Palin would be home chained to a stove and birthin’ up an even bigger family. From the Declaration of Sentiments at the Senecca Falls Convention to Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party, women organizing in their communities and states are the reason that women have the right to vote today. Community organizers in Montgomery, Alabama fought for the end of segregated buses in 1955, when the bus boycott began. This was a triumph of community organizing. It took a year, but they won. I have worked as a community organizer. In 2004, I was one of many who worked to get unregistered voters in NH to register and vote. I knocked on doors all summer in Berlin. In November of that year, Berlin had a 92 percent voter turnout. I don’t accept the contempt of Sarah Palin or Fergus Cullen. Their snide comments about community organizers should enrage every person who organizes a blood drive, a soup kitchen, or a walk for cancer. Those who sneer at community organizers are themselves elitists.

The GOP attempts to position itself as the party of the REAL people, which is why so much was made of small towns, as though people from small towns are wrapped in a special kind of American flag painted by Norman Rockwell, that ensures they are brimming with apple-cheeked wholesomeness. It’s the “Democrat elites” we have to fear. One almost has to admire the bold mendacity of the GOP, turning a guy who was brought up in a single parent family, a man who exemplifies the Republican bootstrap meme, a man who put himself through college as being some kind of elitist. Yet the man who had everything handed to him on a silver family platter and married his way into the rest is presented as being a regular John. A week before the GOP convention McCain couldn’t remember how many houses he owned. His wife wore an ensemble to the convention that was valued at $300,000 – but we’re supposed to believe they’re just regular folks. It’s that uppity arugala eater who is the REAL elitist.

We Americans spoon that stuff down like ice cream. We wouldn’t think of hiring a neurosurgeon who was a “C” student – but we elected a president who was proud of being average. Sarah Palin is presented to us as a hockey mom, which is supposed to reassure us that even though she’s one of us, she’s qualified to be the leader of the free world. So what that a month ago she asked what the vice president does – she can field dress a moose! Yeah! Turn Putin over to her! Yeah! Drill, baby, drill! USA! USA!

In 2000, the Supreme Court appointed George W. Bush president. In 2004 he was elected for his second term. We were told that Americans thought he was the guy they’d most want to have a beer with, as though that were a good reason to vote for him. (Think about everyone you’ve ever sat next to in a bar – would you vote for them?) In those two terms, Bush has invaded a country who didn’t attack us, borrowed billions to finance an endless war on a vague concept, justified torture, justified secret prisons, justified wiretapping of US citizens, allowed thousands to die in New Orleans, has not kept his promise to help rebuild, has destroyed the US economy, cut spending on alternative energy sources at every opportunity, and besmirched the reputation of United States in countries around the world. That’s what the C student, the average guy did for us – and the GOP is telling us to repeat that behavior by voting for John McCain.

John McCain is selling the same failed policies of the Bush administration, the same failed policies he’s supported for the last 8 years. He’s trying to tell us that even though he’s pushing the same agenda, the results will be different with him at the helm. We’re also supposed to ignore the fact that even though Republicans claim to hate affirmative action, they’ve just engaged in the most blatant affirmative action promotion in recent history! Sarah Palin is not ready for prime time, and we all know it. The next president is going to have a lot to shovel for the next four years, trying to clean up the mess Bush and his henchmen are leaving us with. We need to aim higher – to expect better than average for our country. This is no time to settle for less.

“The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.” Winston Churchill

Dear Sarah,

September 4, 2008
An open letter to Sarah Palin,

Dear Sarah,

Congratulations on becoming the Vice Presidential nominee for the Republican Party in the upcoming election. It is a great thing to see a woman on the GOP ticket. Your candidacy is a truly historic event.

Still -let us not mince words. You were selected because of your gender. The GOP decided that you would appeal to female voters, especially middle aged white women. Women like me.

I watched your speech last night. You emphasized your small town experience and lifestyle as part of your appeal. I’m from an even smaller town than you are. I’m a wife, and a mother. We have some things in common.

You lost me when you ridiculed Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer. I’m a community organizer, Sarah. I spent much of 2004 knocking on people’s doors in NH, to get them to register to vote. It was a non-partisan effort. Much of my work was in the city of Berlin, NH, which has a population of approximately 10,000 people. In 2004, Berlin’s voter turnout was 92% in most wards, thanks to community organizers. I don’t view the work we all did to ensure participation in the democratic process as being something that you, or your party should dismiss as unimportant, or contemptible.

Community organizing has a long, proud tradition. Community organizers started the Civil Rights movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a triumph of community organizing – and done without modern technology. The people of Montgomery met at night after work, in churches and planned their strategy. After a little over a year, they won the fight, and buses in Montgomery were no longer segregated.

Another triumph of community organizing is responsible for you being where you are today. Without the women’s suffrage movement, you would never have even been Mayor of Wasilla. You would be home, having babies, with no right to own property, no right to sign a contract, and no right to vote. You would be chattel. Beginning with the Declaration of Sentiments, that proclaimed “all men and women are created equal” to the very end, where Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party ensured the passage of the 19th Amendment, you owe your presence on the national stage to those women. Some of those women were jailed and tortured to win you the right to vote. Those women -those community organizers you spoke of last night with such seething contempt.

I don’t accept your contempt, Sarah. I don’t accept your glib premise that somehow community organizing is a sport for elitists. I’m betting that the community organizers of the Red Cross would agree.

Sincerely,

Susan Bruce
Jackson, NH (population 835)

McCain advisor solves health insurance crisis!

In 2004, the Bush administration hit on a novel idea for coping with the loss of manufacturing jobs. A simple reclassification of a well-known service job, and voila, assembling a fast food burger becomes a manufacturing job.

It is in that same spirit of creativity that McCain advisor John Goodman has solved the health care crisis:

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American - even illegal aliens - as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.
"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

This is the kind of innovative thinking that has gotten the GOP where they are today!

The US Political Olympics

The end of the Olympics this year meant the beginning of the US political Olympics, the Democratic National Convention this week, to be followed by the GOP convention next week. At the Democratic Convention the traditional media has worked hard on pushing the meme that there is a great deal of dissent within the party, that Hillary supporters are going to vote for McCain, and so on. There is a group calling itself PUMA, who have received an inordinate amount of media attention, given that they are a relatively small group of people who don’t come across as particularly informed when questioned. They are found where the media is, hovering over Chris Matthews in particular, much to his glee. The fabrication of “splitting the party” is so much more fun than telling the actual truth. These women claim to be all about supporting one woman, yet will vote for McCain, who would do his best to eliminate reproductive choice, and do nothing to ensure equal pay or justice for all woman. A man who has called his wife abusive names in public. We’re supposed to take these malcontents seriously? Only the PUMAs themselves and the corporate media do.

The Democratic Convention seems to have accomplished what it intended to. Michelle Obama had a chance to make a very good speech, that may allay the fears of some who seemed to envision her in the way she was portrayed on the New Yorker cover. Senator Clinton was given her due, and made a terrific speech about her candidacy, and her support for Obama. She walked a fine line with grace and good humor – and set herself up for a future run for the White House. President Clinton was given his due, as was Joe Biden. Biden was a tad overshadowed by the emotional introduction given by his son Beau. Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana rocked the house on Tuesday night, with his energetic call to action. It was thrilling to see NH Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter on stage with a large group of Democratic women leaders.

One of the great moments of the convention was the speech given on Wednesday night by New Hampshire’s own John Hutson. John Hutson is a retired Rear Admiral, former Judge Advocate General, and Dean and President of the Franklin Pierce Law Center, in Concord. Dean Hutson has been a critic of the Bush administration’s policies on torture, on rendition, on treatment of detainees, on habeas corpus, and the Geneva Conventions. He’s testified many times in front of Congress, notably in 2005, in opposition to the appointment of Alberto Gonzales as US Attorney General. Hutson has also appeared in two documentaries, The Ghost of Abu-Ghraib, and Taxi to the Dark Side. The latter movie focuses on the death of an Afghan taxi driver named Dilawar. In 2001, Dilawar was arrested by the US military, and brought to the prison at Bagram Air Base, where he was tortured and beaten to death. He was arrested on a tip from some men who claimed Dilawar had been part of a rocket attack on the US military. It was later revealed that the men who framed Dilawar were the real attackers. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary of 2007.

Last summer, when working for the Kucinich for President campaign, I had the honor of being present while Congressman Kucinich met with a group of retired generals and admirals assembled by Dean Hutson. These men and women questioned Kucinich at length about his views on the military and the future. It was remarkable to be in the presence of so many powerful men and one woman who have thought deeply about the future of the US military and the rest of the world.

John Hutson isn’t always in front of a Congressional committee. He visited Carroll County on a Thursday night in March 2005, where he spoke in Tamworth about military prisons, torture, Abu-Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and how the US torture of prisoners might affect our own troops. Approximately 150 people turned out that night to hear Dean Hutson. It was an event that drew people from all areas of the political spectrum.

Dean Hutson gave his speech at the Democratic Convention during prime time on Wednesday night. His speech came between those of President Clinton and Senator Joe Biden. When Hutson announced he’d been a lifelong Republican, he was greeted with boos – but those boos turned to cheers when he announced that he was there as a proud registered Democrat endorsing Barak Obama. Hutson said: “Why? Because the Republican Party I once knew has become something different, something I no longer recognize. The "Grand Old Party" is no longer grand. It's just old. The same old, failed policies.”

As I listened, I was struck by the loss to the Republican Party. Losing intelligent, articulate men like John Hutson should be a wake-up call to the GOP. I’ve heard the same kind of reasoning from others, including NH Senate candidate Bud Martin, who told me that he felt as though his party left him behind. The GOP doesn’t seem to be listening, just repeating the same familiar themes of the Reagan years. All they have to sell us is their vision of the glorious past, a vision that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. We can’t move forward into that past.

“From the invasion of Iraq to the devastation of Katrina, I see arrogance abroad and incompetence at home. And I simply cannot tolerate, and America simply can't afford, more of the same. “ Retired Rear Admiral John Hutson of NH.

the correct answer is POW

Hooray for Bloggers!

It's always a great day when candidates recognize the importance of the blogosphere. Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH CD 1) is one of those candidates. Today, she chose to preview her new TV ad at the Daily Kos.

Here's the ad:


Here's the link to Carol's first post at Kos

Stay tuned for live blogging with the Congresswoman at Blue Hampshire
I'll be posting the date and time soon.

Approval Ratings: The Public vs McCain

Forward Into the Past

New Hampshire’s own US Senator, John E. Sununu has been to Conway twice in recent weeks. He is running for re-election this year, running against the same candidate he opposed in the questionable 2002 election, former governor Jeanne Shaheen. That was the election where the NH GOP jammed phones in Manchester – so that Democrats weren’t able to receive calls asking for rides to the polls in the biggest city in the state.

Sununu spoke to folks at the opening of the Carroll County Republicans office in Conway, attempting to make the case that the GOP ticket headed up by Senator John McCain is a strong ticket. He also tried to make the case that the Republicans are right on energy; that they understand the need for a balanced approach to our nation’s energy needs. No word on whether he was able to say that without blushing.

It’s hard to know where Senator Sununu has been for the last 8 years, but one thing is certain – apparently he hasn’t been paying attention to his own party’s energy policies. There has been absolutely no move to diversify our energy portfolio, quite the contrary. The lions share of tax breaks have gone to big oil and big nuke (often one in the same). Money for renewable energy has been cut at every opportunity. The GOP hasn’t even been able to show leadership on the most basic energy saver of all – conservation. Instead, CAFÉ standards have not been raised, and tax rebates for gas guzzling vehicles continued unabated. It’s not as if the oil crisis was unexpected. We all new it was coming. The GOP had 8 years to do something, anything – and all they did was shovel money at Big Oil. Now that prices have skyrocketed, the GOP mantra is drill, drill, drill – even though Big Oil holds 68 million acres in leases they aren’t using. If there isn’t any oil in that acreage, let the leases go. The GOP answer to our energy needs is STILL oil, oil, oil, with tax breaks for nukes, too. Uranium is a finite resource, and one that requires a great deal of energy, and water to mine, and leaves behind dangerous waste. On top of that the nuclear industry is heavily subsidized by taxpayers and ratepayers. I see no reason why we should have to pay, and pay, and pay for a dirty, and dangerous form of energy.

Senator Sununu also said (unblushingly) that the way to create jobs is by keeping taxes low. The Bush tax cuts lowered taxes on the wealthiest one percent. Has that translated into jobs? Not in northern NH. Not anywhere else, either. Unemployment is spiking up all around the nation. It’s the same foolish rhetoric Reagan spouted – and it didn’t work for him either. I’m sure I’m not alone in remembering what the Reagan years were like in this part of the state. Our Senator spoke of helping small businesses afford health insurance. The free market, the altar at which Sununu worships, has done nothing to lower the cost of health insurance, or make it affordable for many working people. Sununu said that helping small business is the Republican way. The Republican way isn’t working out so well for the uninsured. This is the same Sununu who told NH business leaders back in December 2006 that they should stop complaining about the cost of health insurance, since there was nothing that could be done about it. At the Conway Rotary, Sununu said that he’d support tax credits for individuals to buy insurance. Folks that are already dealing with the increasing cost of gas, oil, and food – not to mention college tuitions, will undoubtedly have all kinds of money left over to buy expensive health insurance.

The GOP ticket is headed by a 72 year-old man who doesn’t know how to get on the internet without help. He is a man of the past. Sununu isn’t offering anything new, or innovative. The Republican Party is offering a rehashed version of the kinds of policies that got us into the mess we’re in. Shame on anyone who thinks we should march forward into the past.

h/t to stopsununu.com for the picture

Who Decides?

John Edwards served one term as a US Senator from North Carolina. He was chosen as John Kerry’s running mate in 2004. He ran for president in the 2008 election, but failed to win the nomination. At this point in time, he is not a candidate, and he is not holding any public office. He is, however, being excoriated all over the media for having been caught cheating on his wife.

Edwards was an absolute idiot – visiting his ex-mistress and her baby of uncertain paternity, in a hotel in Beverly Hills, was the height of stupidity. As my little old lady friend Fran pointed out, “He should have gone to Omaha.” We can all agree that his conduct was reprehensible. Cheating on one’s spouse is never a good thing. When one’s wife is America’s sweetheart, Elizabeth Edwards, who has terminal cancer, it’s even worse. The thing is – since Edwards is not a candidate or an elected official, this story is being blown way out of proportion. If Willard “Mitt” Romney was caught cheating – would talking heads on CNN be saying that Romney “owes us” an explanation? And when did CNN become a Fox News clone, anyhow?

The media is so busy exploiting the Edwards family, it’s a wonder that there’s been time to cover the Olympics. It may explain why the conduct of President Bush at the Olympics hasn’t received so much coverage. Google up “Bush drunk at the Olympics” and take a look at the pictures, especially the pictures of five Secret Service agents “helping” Bush out of the stands. Shouldn’t we the people be made aware if the president is so frail that he needs five guys to help him out of the stands? Should we be informed if our president is so drunk in another country that he can’t stand up in public? Is the conduct of a sitting president more or less important that the conduct of a former presidential candidate? Who decides? How much do we have a “right” to know?

Predictably, right wing hate radio has had a field day with all of this. Rush Limbaugh was caught on video squirming in his seat like a ten year old boy getting ready to launch a spitball, as he chortled gleefully that perhaps the real problem was that Elizabeth Edwards talks too much. He didn’t stop there. He went on to say that if she’d spent more time doing something with her mouth other than talking, perhaps John wouldn’t have strayed. A tasteful commentary from a thrice divorced man, who was caught with someone else’s Viagra in his suitcase on his way back from Thailand, where child prostitution is quite common.

The hypocrisy of the right finally made the biggest patsy on Fox News finally grow a spine. Alan Colmes has long been the liberal foil to blustering, right-wing bully Sean Hannity on the Fox News show “Hannity and Colmes.” Hannity was blabbering on and on, and on about how cheating on his spouse would make Edwards unfit to lead, and the normally mild mannered Colmes pointed out that John McCain was an adulterer – which sent Hannity into a tizzy of epic proportions. From Hannity’s response, I gather that cheating on your wife after spending time as a POW is justifiable. Or more to the point – it’s okay when Republicans do it. Holmes didn’t back down as he customarily does – he pushed Hannity into loudly spouting his hypocrisy for all of us to hear.

For too long the dishonesty of right wing hate radio and TV has been unquestioned. Those days seem to be coming to an end. Hannity’s endless condemnation of Edwards was bound to lead into a discussion of John McCain’s adultery. Hannity just wasn’t smart enough to realize it. John McCain’s wife was injured in a car accident while he was in the POW camp. When he came back, she was on crutches, having lost 4 inches in height and having gained some weight. She wasn’t the model he married. So, he went out and played around, finally meeting his current spouse, the heiress whose money launched his political career. He dumped the wife who faithfully waited for him, and married the heiress. We don’t hear much about that, just as we don’t hear much about the Keating Five, or the unsavory ties McCain has to so many lobbyists. We also don’t hear much about the newer Mrs. McCain’s illegal (yet unprosecuted) conduct when she was stealing drugs from her non-profit.

How much do we need to know about a candidate’s life? Who decides? Who decides that we need to roast a former candidate and his wife over an open pit, while giving a pass to a current candidate who seems to have some serious problems in his history? We can all say that we don’t care what people do in the privacy of their own homes and relationships, but that doesn’t seem to be true. Somewhere out there, clearly many, many people care – because rather than discussing the ethically challenged current candidate, we’re far more concerned with the salacious conduct of a man who will never be a candidate again.

“Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.” Oscar Wilde

Hannity Loses His Mind

Rush Limbaugh is a scum sucking misogynist

Hiroshima

2008 Peace Declaration

Another August 6, and the horrors of 63 years ago arise undiminished in the minds of our hibakusha, whose average age now exceeds 75. "Water, please!" "Help me!""Mommy!" ― On this day, we, too, etch in our hearts the voices, faces and forms that vanished in the hell no hibakusha can ever forget, renewing our determination that VNo one else should ever suffer as we did."

Because the effects of that atomic bomb, still eating away at the minds and bodies of the hibakusha, have for decades been so underestimated, a complete picture of the damage has yet to emerge. Most severely neglected have been the emotional injuries. Therefore, the city of Hiroshima is initiating a two-year scientific exploration of the psychological impact of the A-bomb experience.

This study should teach us the grave import of the truth, born of tragedy and suffering, that "the only role for nuclear weapons is to be abolished."

This truth received strong support from a report compiled last November by the city of Hiroshima. Scientists and other nuclear-related experts exploring the damage from a postulated nuclear attack found once again that only way to protect citizens from such an attack is the total abolition of nuclear weapons. This is precisely why the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Court of Justice advisory opinion state clearly that all nations are obligated to engage in good-faith negotiations leading to complete nuclear disarmament. Furthermore, even leaders previously central to creating and implementing US nuclear policy are now repeatedly demanding a world without nuclear weapons.

We who seek the abolition of nuclear weapons are the majority. United Cities and Local Governments, which represents the majority of the Earth''s population, has endorsed the Mayors for Peace campaign. One hundred ninety states have ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. One hundred thirteen countries and regions have signed nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties. Last year, 170 countries voted in favor of Japan's UN resolution calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Only three countries, the US among them, opposed this resolution. We can only hope that the president of the United States elected this November will listen conscientiously to the majority, for whom the top priority is human survival.

To achieve the will of the majority by 2020, Mayors for Peace, now with 2,368 city members worldwide, proposed in April of this year a Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol to supplement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This Protocol calls for an immediate halt to all efforts, including by nuclear-weapon states, to obtain or deploy nuclear weapons, with a legal ban on all acquisition or use to follow by 2015. Thus, it draws a concrete road map to a nuclear-weapon-free world. Now, with our destination and the map to that destination clear, all we need is the strong will and capacity to act to guard the future for our children.

World citizens and like-minded nations have achieved treaties banning anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions. Meanwhile, the most effective measures against global warming are coming from cities. Citizens cooperating at the city level can solve the problems of the human family because cities are home to the majority of the world’s population, cities do not have militaries, and cities have built genuine partnerships around the world based on mutual understanding and trust.

The Japanese Constitution is an appropriate point of departure for a "paradigm shift" toward modeling the world on intercity relationships. I hereby call on the Japanese government to fiercely defend our Constitution, press all governments to adopt the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol, and play a leading role in the effort to abolish nuclear weapons. I further request greater generosity in designating A-bomb illnesses and in relief measures appropriate to the current situations of our aging hibakusha, including those exposed in “black rain areas” and those living overseas.

Next month the G8 Speakers' Meeting will, for the first time, take place in Japan. I fervently hope that Hiroshima's hosting of this meeting will help our "hibakusha philosophy" spread throughout the world.

Now, on the occasion of this 63rd anniversary Peace Memorial Ceremony, we offer our heartfelt lamentations for the souls of the atomic bomb victims and, in concert with the city of Nagasaki and with citizens around the world, pledge to do everything in our power to accomplish the total eradication of nuclear weapons.

Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima

For a demonstration of the current US nuclear arsenal:

McCain pimps wife to bikers

CNN

Indeed, McCain felt so comfortable at the event that he even volunteered his wife for the rally’s traditional beauty pageant, an infamously debauched event that’s been known to feature topless women.

“I encouraged Cindy to compete,” McCain said to cheers. “I told her with a little luck she could be the only woman ever to serve as first lady and Miss Buffalo Chip.”

What a classy guy! Offering his wife up to a bunch of drunken bikers!
Combine that with his "jokes" about women:
Chelsea Clinton joke

woman raped joke

How do we beat the bitch?

and you could get the idea that he's a dyed in the wool misogynist. How gentlemanly of him to suggest that Cindy participate in a topless biker beauty contest. Since she's the one with the money it's hard to imagine why she's keeping the neanderthal around.

Jeb in Jackson

This morning former NH CD1 Congressman Jeb Bradley visited the J-Town Deli in Jackson, at 8:30 am. Bradley was greeted by a small group of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. Did I say small? There were six of us.

During Bradley's last term, Congress was working a 3 day week. When the Democrats took over, they pledged a 5 day work week, which Jeb says is a promise they haven't honored. When asked about the policy that prevented solar and wind power generation on public lands, Bradley responded by attempting to compare that with Cape Wind - the windmills proposed for off Nantucket that have been bitterly fought against by the wealthy residents of the island, including Senator Edward Kennedy. I pointed out that the two were hardly comparable, but Jeb was unwilling to acknowledge that. Bradley and his staff of 3 left for other unspecified destinations in the area.

In today's Conway Daily Sun is a letter from a Bradley supporter in Wolfeboro who mentions Bradley's stance on immigration. Most folks I talk to in Carroll County are worried about heating their homes this winter. As usual, Bradley and his supporters are out of touch with the concerns of average voters.

Domestic Terrorism

On Sunday, July 27, 200 people were attending the Sunday worship service at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville. Twenty-five children were performing “Annie, Jr.” for the congregation. A man named Jim Adkinsson, who was carrying a guitar case walked in to the church. Once inside he opened the case, pulled out a 12-gauge shotgun and started shooting. The first person he shot was Greg McKendry, a big guy who members of the congregation say stood in front of the gunman to protect them. He killed McKendry, and wounded seven more parishioners. Members of the congregation tackled Adkinsson, and subdued him until the police arrived. Later, Linda Krager, who had been critically injured, died at the hospital.

Churches are sanctuaries - places of peace and worship. Churches are often meeting places for communities, and traditionally places where good works are done for the less fortunate. Stories of violence in churches are made even more horrifying because no matter how we feel about religion, we think of churches as safe places.

As the story from Knoxville unfolded, we learned that Jim Adkinsson is 58 years old, unemployed and having a hard time finding work. He had planned this in advance, and intended it to be a suicide mission. He wanted to be killed by the police responding to the shooting at the church. We also learned that he had written a 4-page letter, explaining that he hated liberals, and blamed them for his failure to find work. According to one of the investigators, Adkinsson targeted the UU church because of “its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country.”

Jim Adkinsson was out of work for a long time. He was about to lose his food stamps. He’d had two DUI’s in the past, and in 2000, his wife took out a restraining order against him. Apparently their marriage ended because of his drinking, and the fact that he put a loaded gun to her head and threatened to kill her. His ex-wife was once a member of the TVUU congregation, but hadn’t attended the church in years.

Adkinsson left his house unlocked, so that the police would be able to enter without difficulty. That may seem odd, but remember, he wanted to be killed by the police. In addition to the 4-page letter, the police also found a stack of books. The books were: Liberalism is a Mental Disorder by Michael Savage, The O’Reilly Factor by Bill O’Reilly, and Let Freedom Ring by Sean Hannity. His reading list certainly is likely to have shored up his prejudices against liberals – may even have created them.

In 1987 the Fairness Doctrine was repealed. In 1988 Rush Limbaugh began his national radio show. That show was the beginning of the tide of hatred that is constantly spewed on our airwaves by conservative talk radio hosts. The decades of bile spewing and casual talk of killing liberals has taken a toll on the nation. The divisiveness of our political and social discourse can be traced back to its beginnings in the Reagan era.

Today, Savage, Hannity, and O’Reilly are three of the most popular voices of the right. Both Hannity and O’Reilly are part of the Fox News network, which claims to be fair and balanced. I’ve had occasion to watch a lot of Fox lately, and I can attest that they are neither. O’Reilly and Hannity both present a very narrow viewpoint, and are not concerned with anything as gauche as the truth. O’Reilly has stated repeatedly that Vermont is a haven for sex offenders who are moving there in droves. There is no factual basis for his claims. Hannity, during his constant anti-Obama tirades on energy, says over and over that Obama is anti-nuke. That’s a lie. Obama is in favor of nuclear power. I heard him say so, last summer in Conway. It’s also easily documented. In the ongoing quest of the right to keep the faithful angry and engaged, the truth is a liability.

Some quotes from the people Jim Adkinsson was influenced by:

“I’ll tell you who should be tortured and killed at Guantanamo: every filthy Democrat in the U.S. Congress.” - Sean Hannity

“I was so angry and appalled, and the far left has made this guy into a hero, this Glick guy. And, it was just revolting. And if I could have whacked him, I would have.” - Bill O’Reilly (Jeremy Glick’s father died at the World Trade Center on 9/11)

“If I ran this country, I’d hang the lawyer. I would try her for aiding and abetting terrorism — I’d hang her and I’d hang every lawyer who went down to Guantánamo to defend those murderers.” - Michael Savage

The shootings in Knoxville were discussed at length at the far right website freerepublic.com. A participant identifying as “antiunion person” said,” My best guess is the shooter was probably a diaper wearing Islamic fanatic.” Another forum participant identifying as CharlesWayneCT said, “Its a little surprising to find a UU church had anyone attending who would stand up to a gunman.” He followed that up with disparaging comments about UU theology. There was also a long discussion about how the liberal Knoxville sheriff was probably covering the fact that the shooter was actually a liberal disguised as a conservative to give conservatives a bad name. In other places around the Internet, folks were offering up sympathy and prayers for the UU’s of Knoxville.

There will be those who write in crying that I’m blaming conservatives and advocating censorship. Sadly, there is nothing I can do for those who either can’t comprehend what they read, or are determined not to. I do think that decades of hateful conservative speech, speech that sometimes condones violence against liberals is having an affect on our country. I think that an already unbalanced individual like Jim Adkinsson could be influenced by that kind of violent speech. It’s a conversation that we all should be having, with the folks we usually talk to – and then we should try branching out to talk to the folks we don’t agree with. Don’t let the professional haters continue to divide us.

“A tragedy such as this makes us acutely conscious of the beauty and fragility of our lives and those of our loved ones. I am especially saddened by this intrusion of violence into a worship service involving children and youth.I know that many people, both in Knoxville and around the country, are struggling with shock and grief right now. I pray that those so affected will find strength and comfort.” Reverend William Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association


messages of support for TVUU

Knoxville Relief Fund

NH gas prices

I paid $3.91 per gallon in Meredith on Sunday. On the same day, in Conway, gas was $4.13.

We routinely pay higher gas prices than anywhere else in the state.

No Good News

The price of gas has tripled during the last eight years. Oil companies have posted record profits, and their CEO’s are enjoying unbelievably high bonuses. We the people are now reaping the rewards of having oilmen in the White House, record high gas prices, and record high food prices. If it weren’t so painful, I’d be amused listening to the complaints of those who seem surprised by what’s happened. After all, we can’t say we weren’t warned.

We’ve been here before. The OPEC embargo of 1973-74 caused a shortage of oil and gas in the US. President Nixon ordered thermostats turned down to 68, reduced highway speed limits, and air travel Carpooling and public transportation increased as gas stations closed or limited sales.

Our much-reviled former President Jimmy Carter developed a comprehensive energy plan in 1977. The oil embargo was still fresh in his mind, and he saw a chance for us to take control and diversify our energy sources with the future firmly in mind. If we’d listened to him, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now. Instead, he was ridiculed for putting on a sweater and asking us to turn down the thermostat. Carter had solar panels put on the roof of the White House, and ensured that tax credits were offered to those who chose to purchase solar energy systems. Say what you will about Carter, he showed real leadership on the issue of energy. When Reagan took office, he had the solar panels ripped off and eliminated the tax credit. That’s pretty typical of the GOP energy plan: Oil, Oil, Oil, (subsidized by taxpayers) and nuclear power (subsidized by taxpayers.)

So, now we find ourselves being pinched at the pump, worrying about heating our homes, and paying for food – because of our glutinous addiction to oil, war, and of course, our consumer driven economy. When jobs disappear, paychecks remain static, and the cost of living skyrockets, it seems likely that we’ll be buying less cheap crap from China. Since we don’t manufacture much of anything any more, it will be interesting to see what happens with the economy that George Bush described this week at a press conference as “basically sound,” despite troubled financial institutions. When asked why he wasn’t asking Americans to conserve energy, he said that people were “smart enough to figure out whether or not they were going to drive less” and that “the marketplace works.” The unemployment rate in the US has hit a 2-year high, and long-term unemployment has climbed 37 percent in the last year. All of those folks are surely feeling the invisible hand of the market – flipping them the bird. There will be no leadership on the nation’s energy needs coming from the limping duck in the White House.

This week, we were treated to the comedic stylings of McCain economic advisor Phil Gramm. Gramm was quoted as saying we’ve become “a nation of whiners” and the country is only in a “mental recession.” Gramm, who is employed by Swiss Bank USB, is now a hot contender for the centerfold of the GOP compassionate conservative calendar. Presidential candidate John McCain has said that drilling offshore would provide a “psychological” boost for the country. We wouldn’t see any benefit from drilling for 10-20 years, but apparently we’ll feel better if we imagine that we’re seeing lower prices. If we can imagine hard enough, maybe we can imagine that recession away. Click your ruby slippers, folks!

The cost of gas and oil is going to have a profound effect on the economy of our area. We can’t blithely march forward into the future thinking that the steady stream of SUV’s will continue to park at our hotels, outlet stores, and chain restaurants. Some friends in Conway had to move heaven and earth to put up a windmill on their property. It’s time to rethink outmoded zoning regulations. It’s time to rethink our local energy needs, and the future of our local economy. It’s also time to rethink the bypass. It’s a waste of money. The state would be wise to invest that money in fixing bridges and dams around the state. We’d also be wise to think about reinstituting rail travel to the area, and investing in public transportation.

This week, 21 New England lawmakers sent a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking for a $9 billion boost in federal heating aid. They also asked for an increase of $1 billion for weatherization programs that would help homeowners conserve energy and save money. They’ve asked that these funds be included in new economic stimulus bills. Our Congresswoman, Carol Shea-Porter was one of those who signed the letter, and spoke at a group press conference, as was CD 2 Congressman Paul Hodes. Our NH Congresspersons understand that the winter ahead is going to be very difficult for many NH residents.

The NH Food Bank, which supplies food to shelters, food banks, and soup kitchens around the state, reported this week that their supplies are lower than they’ve ever been. As gas and food prices increase, so will the need. Local food pantries are also feeling the pinch. All who can afford to donate food or money to local food pantries will find a printable list for Carroll County here: http://www.bm-cap.org/pdf/EFAP%20Food%20Pantries%202005%20Directory.pdf
Please be as generous as you can.

“Unsustainable situations usually go on longer than most economists think possible. But they always end, and when they do, it’s often painful.” Paul Krugman

McCain is NOT pro-choice

It has come to my attention that a lot of people think the former maverick is, in fact, in favor of a woman's right to make her own reproductive decisions. He may have said that, back in the old days, before he repudiated everything he's ever stood for - but McShame is dying to overturn Roe v. Wade.

McCain on the issues

Awaken Your Inner Elephant

">


Stop whining, and let Phil Gramm teach you how to imagine a good economy!

Crimes and Cover-ups

In July of 2005, a US Army Private named LaVena Johnson was found dead in a contractor’s tent. She had been raped, beaten, shot, and set on fire. LaVena Johnson was found with a broken nose, a black eye, loose teeth, and lye had been poured in her vagina. There was a blood trail leading away from the tent, and she had been set on fire. The Army determined that Private Johnson’s death was a suicide.

When LaVena’s body came home, her family became suspicious of the Army’s investigation and conclusion of suicide. Her father, Dr. John Johnson was concerned about the bruising on her face, and the fact that the Army claimed his daughter had shot herself with her M-16. The exit wound in her head was too small, and appeared to be from a pistol. He wondered why the exit hole was on the left side of her head when she was right handed. White military gloves had been glued on to her hands to hide burns. That did it. Dr. Johnson and his wife began calling for an investigation into what really happened to LaVena. For the next few years they used the Freedom of Information Act and Congressional offices to request information from the Army.
After 2 years, the Johnson’s were able to get a copy of a CD that showed photographs taken of LaVena’s body at the scene, and other pictures of her naked body taken during the investigation. There were bruises, scratches, and bite marks on the upper part of her body. The right side of her back, and her right hand were burned. Her genital area was bruised and lacerated, and lye (a corrosive liquid) had been poured into her vagina, presumably to destroy DNA evidence of rape. It boggles the mind that this could be ruled “suicide.”

According to the Department of Defense, one in three women who join the US military will be sexually assaulted or raped by men in the military. I doubt that statistic is hanging on the wall in recruitment offices, or even mentioned to the young women who bravely volunteer to serve their country. This statistic is double the US national numbers for rape. It is unconscionable.

Private Johnson’s death is not the only suspicious “suicide.” Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, approximately 94 military women have died there. Of those 94 women, the military says that 36 died from non-combat related injuries such as: illnesses, vehicle accidents, natural causes, or suicide. Two female sailors were shot and killed in Bahrain by a male soldier, and remarkably, their deaths were classified as a homicide. Five other deaths (including Private Johnson) were labeled suicide. There are other deaths that are suspicious. Eight women at the Camp Taji base have died of non-combat related injuries. Three were raped before they died. Two military women have died of non-combat related injuries on the Balad base. One was raped before prior to her death.

US Army interrogator Specialist Alyssa Peterson, an Arab linguist, expressed concern about how interrogations were being handled. After two nights of working in “the cage,” she refused to participate in any further interrogations. She died in Sept. 2003 of a gunshot wound to the head, an alleged “suicide.” Members of her unit refuse to discuss the interrogation techniques Peterson objected to, and the military says all records of those techniques have been destroyed. Mighty convenient all around.

The military has never welcomed women, unless they were nurses or secretaries. Women have long been regarded as “spoils of war” by military men, the execrable conduct of military men in Japan being a perfect example. Hundreds of women have been raped around the Okinawa base since 1945, and the military has generally turned a blind eye to the crimes. In April of this year, a Marine was charged with raping a 14-year-old girl in Okinawa. He is serving a 36-month sentence. Sadly, there are many more stories, including that current investigation of another rape of a 14 year old by a member of the US military.

At the Navy’s Tailhook Convention in 1991, dozens of US military women were accosted and sexually molested by their brothers in arms. The Pentagon Inspector General found that the Navy deliberately undermined it’s own investigation to avoid bad publicity, and ignored the participation of senior officers. A number of charges were made, but no one was ever found guilty. The Navy promised change – this incident was supposed to create all kinds of new changes in attitudes toward all women in the military. To be perfectly blunt – it hasn’t.

In 2006, Col. Janis Karpinsky told judges at the Commission for Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration, in NY, that several women had died of dehydration in Iraq, because they stopped drinking liquids in the afternoon (during 120 degree days) so that they wouldn’t have to use the latrine after dark. The bathrooms were poorly lit, and place where women were frequently assaulted or raped.

Rather than face any of this head on, the US military has continued to cover up and enable the crimes of military men. They have lied to grieving parents about the way their children died. This is unforgiveable. The military needs to be investigated, and held accountable for the crimes and cover-ups it has perpetuated, and they need to change their long held contempt for women.

“The military wants a system that protects its policies and privileges.” Benazir Bhutto

The photo at the top of the page is Pfc LaVena Johnson.

Please sign this petition asking for justice in the LaVena Johnson case.

Roadblock for FairPoint

FairPoint Communications announced this week that it would need more time to complete the takeover of Verizon’s telephone network in northern New England. The controversial sale of Verizon’s landlines to the small company took place at the end of March, after being approved by the Public Utilities Commissions of Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Those who opposed the sale pointed out that FairPoint was too small a company to be able to efficiently take over the much larger Verizon.

The company was scheduled to assume total control of Verizon’s network in September. In order to do this, FairPoint would need to prove “an irrevocable notice of readiness” by July 7. The company admits that this isn’t going to happen. The date for the total takeover, or cutover as it is called in the industry, is November. Meanwhile, FairPoint is paying Verizon approximately $16 million a month in transition fees. This is on top of the $2.4 billion they paid for Verizon.

It has not been a smooth transition. Maine just fined FairPoint $25,000 for disruptions to the 911 system. There was a problem at the Penobscot Regional Communications Center in May that led to 911 calls being transferred to Orono. One woman in Penobscot County called to report her husband wasn’t breathing. She didn’t get an answer, and finally called her local rescue department. The problem seems to have been with the power supply, which has been replaced. In April and May there were problems with the 911dispatch system in Gray and Windham. There was a delay of up to an hour for 911 calls to be routed to a backup system. Apparently neither the personnel nor the equipment have changed since the FairPoint takeover. Naturally, this is of great concern to Maine lawmakers. The state pays FairPoint $6.45 million per year to provide 911 services under a 5-year contract previously negotiated with Verizon.

FairPoint’s transition is being supervised by Liberty Consultants, who point out that a number of Verizon employees did not transfer to FairPoint, and that FairPoint has made progress in hiring new employees, but needs to step up the pace. Based on my limited television watching, I can say that they’ve sure spent a lot on their advertising campaign, which seems intended to make me feel better about the sale. I’d feel better if they were spending less on ad campaigns and more on hiring and providing better service. I’d feel even better if my phone bill hadn’t gone up about $10 in the last two months.
The delay in the cutover means a delay in the rate decrease FairPoint had planned for August. Some $18 million in rate cuts had been negotiated, which would mean an approximate cut of $4.50 per month for residential customers and $6.00 for businesses. I can’t help but wonder how many other customers have already experienced the same rate hike I have, which apparently I’m supposed to forget about when (and if) I receive a rate cut of approximately half of the rate increase I’ve already experienced. The rate cut will be retroactive to whenever the cutover takes place.

We all know that the economy is bad. Unemployment is at record high levels, and people are scrambling for the low wage jobs that seem to be the only ones available. The cost of energy, and everything else is skyrocketing. When the Verizon FairPoint sale was being negotiated, naysayers (like me) warned that a small company taking on huge debt would be raising the rates and providing less service. The handwriting already seems to be on the wall before FairPoint has even taken over. I’m guessing that customers will drop FairPoint like a hot rock, and then what? As they lose customers in a shaky economy, our whole telecommunications system in NH will be in jeopardy.

I still don’t understand why this sale was allowed to happen. I attended several hearings. There was little testimony in favor of the sale. There was great opposition to it. Many state legislators opposed the sale. The consumer advocates opposed the sale, at least in the beginning. Still, apparently FairPoint/Verizon were able to grease enough palms to make it happen, despite all of the evidence that pretty much guaranteed that NH would become a dead end on the information superhighway. Without the investment in communications infrastructure, NH will fall behind the rest of the country. Without a national commitment to invest infrastructure, the US will continue to fall behind the rest of the world.

“I hate to be the one who told you this, but I told you so.” Larry Birkhead

picture from NHIndymedia

We've Come a Long Way, Baby

On June 4, 1919, Congress approved the 19th Amendment, (also known as the women's suffrage amendment) and sent it out to the states to ratify.

Women fought for over 70 years to gain the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony devoted her life to the movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton began working for suffrage, and later moved into all areas of women's rights - while raising 7 children, at a time when there were no washing machines, computers, or telephones. She wrote at least 6 books, and innumerable pamphlets, periodicals, and other statements. These women were partners in the suffrage struggle, yet neither lived to see women get the vote.

Alice Paul was a leader in the last push toward the vote, heading the National Women's Party. Other suffrage groups at the time were focused on lobbying for individual states to give women voting rights. The NWP chose to lobby for a constitutional amendment. These young firebrands were not beloved by the women who had dominated the suffrage movement for decades. The women of the NWP had a huge suffrage parade on the day before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, hoping to take advantage of the expanded media presence in Washington. The parade was disrupted at several points by angry mobs. The police turned a blind eye to the violence of the mob. It is interesting to note that most men thought that women should stay home and be cherished little darlings, yet had no compunctions about beating them up in the streets.


In January of 1917, frustrated at Wilson’s unwillingness to promote (or even discuss) a constitutional amendment the women of the NWP began a silent demonstration in front of the White House. The daily picketing continued for two months, regardless of the weather. On March 4, over 1,000 women marched around the White House, on the eve of Wilson’s second inauguration. In April of 1917, the US entered WWI. By summer, the picketers began to encounter resistance. Demonstrating during wartime was considered an outrage, (my, how history repeats) and so the women began to be beaten, harassed, and arrested. Once again, the police ignored the violence against the women. Guantanamo Bay was not an option at that time, so the women were sent to a prison in Virginia. They demanded to be treated as political prisoners, and when their demands were ignored they went on a hunger strike. Alice Paul was put in a psychiatric unit (in an attempt to discredit her) and force fed three times a day. Word of the torture these women were undergoing did get out to the media, and traveled around the world, tarnishing the US reputation in other countries. Again, history repeats. After enough stories of torture and ill treatment were leaked the public pressure became strong enough that the women were released, and Wilson decided to support the suffrage amendment. (This a very condensed version of the story.)

We’ve seen two historic presidential campaigns over the last 16 months. Barack Obama is not the first African American to run for president, but he is the first to become the nominee of one of the two major US political parties. Senator Hillary Clinton is not the first woman to run for president, but she is the first to be viewed as a serious contender, the first to nearly win her party’s nomination. Considering that a little over a century ago women were the property of men, this is a huge leap forward toward equality.

Senator Clinton was often the subject of media sexism. There were endless comments about her appearance, her laugh, her tears, and her voice. The party who had the shrillest candidate of all – Ron Paul - dared to call her “Shrillary”. There were the Hillary “nutcrackers” for sale. The fear created by a powerful, ambitious woman is astonishing. On the other hand, sometimes gender worked in her favor. Clinton was not subjected to endless lapel scrutiny or ruthless questioning about her ongoing lack of a flag pin. Her church affiliations were ignored completely by the right wing corporate media – a media that seemingly embraced and supported her candidacy.

Now, we’re being told that angry Clinton supporters, feeling their candidate didn’t get a fair shake because of her gender, plan to vote for McCain. The mind boggles. We’re supposed to believe that angry feminists will cast a vote for a right wing Republican who has a terrible voting record on women’s issues and will most assuredly nominate more fascist activist judges to the Supreme Court to ensure his stated goal of overturning Roe v. Wade? I have a hard time believing that is even an option – that women would cut off their noses to spite their wombs. Any woman who is considering that should get out her copy of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and re-read it.

I was often badgered about my failure to support Senator Clinton’s candidacy, and told on more than one occasion that it was my duty to vote for her, because she is a woman. I responded by pointing out that women my age worked hard for equal rights for women, and that by rejecting Senator Clinton as just another candidate I could not support, I was giving her the compliment of treating her as an equal. That said, I hope I live long enough to see a woman elected president, and I’m sorry I was unable to support Senator Clinton. I was unable to support ANY primary candidate who voted to authorize the use of military force in Iraq. I was unable to support a candidate who voted for the Patriot Act. My ovaries go into the voting booth with me, but they don’t hold the pencil.

I’m grateful to Senator Clinton for her candidacy, and paving the way for the next woman to run. We’ve come a long way, baby.


“I've always met more discrimination being a woman than being black.” Shirley Chisholm, Congresswoman and presidential candidate.

For a detailed chronology of the National Women’s Party: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/detchron.pdf

Drowning in Failed Policies

We are all feeling the pinch of the failed Bush economic policies of the last seven years. Unemployment is on the rise, and so are food and energy costs. The sub-prime loan crisis is causing record numbers of foreclosures. Working families are in desperate need of relief. This administration has been on a borrow and spend war spree that is destroying our nation’s financial stability, and plunging us so deeply into debt that it will take generations to dig our way out.

It is disheartening to see the NH GOP ready to repeat the same mistakes that have gotten us to this point. Congressional candidate John Stephen recently brought Grover Norquist, of the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) to NH, so that he could sign Norquist’s pledge against raising taxes. This was a staged tableaux, since Stephen actually signed the pledge in November of 2007, according to the ATR website. Former Congressman Jeb Bradley signed the Norquist pledge in February 2008. Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu, Jr. have also signed the pledge.

Grover Norquist is most famous for saying, “ My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.” This is code for cutting spending on just about everything except defense. We’ve seen the results of that shrinkage - in the failure of the levees around Lake Ponchartrain, in the aftermath of Katrina, where residents did not require a bathtub in order to drown. We saw the results in the collapse of the bridge in Minnesota, which came about because repairs were put off - to save money. The repairs and rebuilding will cost more than the upkeep ever would have. When we choose to pay the pound of cure, it’s a sign that our spending priorities are out of alignment. Federal spending on domestic programs has been shrinking, even as federal spending on defense has skyrocketed. As we borrow billions to fund the war in Iraq, we neglect our own national infrastructure. In addition to risking American lives, this jeopardizes our economic future.


Americans For Tax Reform is a lobbying group that is funded by lavish contributions from special interest groups and conservative foundations. The ATR served as a conduit for funds that Jack Abramoff’s clients donated in order to secretly fund grassroots lobbying campaigns. Norquist’s goal is to eliminate taxes on the wealthy. The Bush tax cuts were a move in that direction. Most of us understand that with taxes we pay for things like roads, bridges, fire and police protection, and education. These are some of the benefits we reap in a civilized society, but they aren’t free. Most of us are willing to pay our fair share, and we think that everyone should, including those who happen to be financially fortunate. Norquist and the GOP leadership are not interested in fairness or equal taxation. They don’t care if the middle class has to pick up the tab - they just want to ensure that the rich don’t see the bill. Warren Rudman, himself no liberal, had this to say about Norquist: "Americans for Tax Reform is a wonderful-sounding name. As far as I'm concerned, it's a front organization for Grover Norquist' lobbying activities."


There’s a distinct lack of solutions coming from GOP leadership. They continue to advocate the same economic policies that failed the last three Republican presidents. Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.” What we need are some new ideas and solutions, and a collective return to sanity. Instead, we have John Stephen embracing Grover Norquist, who said when he was in NH, “We consistently don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.” This is the same mantra used by the NH GOP for generations - the mantra that left us with dams about to burst, and bridges about to collapse. The NH GOP loves to invoke the image of families sitting around kitchen tables going over their budgets. They fail to point out, however, that when there isn’t enough money to meet basic needs, someone’s going to have to take a second job to bring in more money.

Stephen also invokes the name of Meldrim Thomson at every opportunity, which seems a curious choice. Thomson was a “colorful” conservative governor, who wanted to arm the NH State Police with tactical nuclear weapons after the first big anti-nuclear protest at Seabrook. Given that all protestors had to go through non-violence training in order to participate, this seemed somewhat extreme. Thomson dressed in military fatigues and flew by helicopter to the site of the Seabrook nuke in order to personally order the arrests of 1400 demonstrators in 1977. Thomson flew NH flags at half mast whenever he felt the urge. NH officially mourned the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty and the official US recognition of Communist China. Thomson used NH State troopers as his personal drivers, and often ordered them to pull over and arrest drivers who were speeding on 93. Looking back at Mel Thomson, it’s clear that he transcended the category of mere eccentric, and was actually pretty crazy. Thomson is an interesting choice for a politician seeking to create his own political image to ally himself with.

Thomson won election in the 1970’s on the same platform Stephen is trying to win on “no new taxes.” That’s a real problem for Republicans. Recycling the same old tired slogans for decades is not new, innovative, or interesting. Jeb Bradley is running is first attack ad against incumbent Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter. In the ad he says that in 2006, NH voters wanted change, but this (Shea-Porter) “isn’t what WE had in mind.” I don’t remember Bradley being interested in change in 2006. In fact, he was very pleased with the Bush status quo. The only change he was in favor of was privatizing Social Security, which put him squarely at odds with most of his constituents. The same old GOP tired mantras about guns, abortion, gays, and taxes are meaningless at a time when NH families are facing frightening financial insecurity. We need solutions, not recycled versions of the failed policies that have brought us to this point.


“We are trying to change the tones in the state capitals - and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship.” Grover Norquist

(Picture from campusprogressive.org)

Out of State Interests

Late last month, NH’s junior Senator, John E. Sununu, Jr. published an editorial in the Union Leader, NH’s own Republican newspaper. Sununu waxed poetically about NH’s admirable record for protecting our water, air, and land. Luckily he didn’t pat his own back too, far, since his own environmental record is less than stellar. His reason for writing, however, is that he’s miffed at the Sierra Club, of whom he says, “I don’t endorse its Washington-based approach of lawsuits and partisanship.” Apparently the Sierra Club is trying to stop some timber harvesting in the White Mountains. One wouldn’t know that from reading Sununu’s editorial, however. He states that the Sierra Club is trying to stop timber harvesting, a calculated move to ensure that the average UL reader reads ALL timber harvesting, without him actually saying so.


Senator Sununu is running for re-election in 2008. He is running against former Governor Jeanne Shaheen. We last saw this same election matchup in 2002, the year of the infamous GOP phone jamming incident. Governor Shaheen was endorsed recently by the Sierra Club, which has the GOP in a tizzy. I don’t remember the Sierra Club’s endorsement of Charlie Bass in 2006 as generating any GOP commentary. Our very own local state Representative Gene Chandler had a letter to the editor in the Conway Sun this week, and that same letter was sent out to (the erroneously named) Foster’s Daily Democrat. Chandler went on at great length about out-of-state interests making decisions for NH, the subtext, of course, being that Shaheen is the tool of the aforementioned out-of-state interests. The implication is of course that conversely Senator Sununu is not a tool of out-of-state interests.

That, of course, would be incorrect. Take a trip to opensecrets.org and find out where Sununu’s campaign funds are coming from. HINT: not NH. Over 75% of Sununu’s contributions come from out of state. They come from places like Washington (that place of lawsuits and partisanship), New York, Houston, Maryland, and Virginia. His top contributor is the Club for Growth PAC. The Club for Growth is so firmly entrenched in reality that there’s a commentary on their website saying George Bush may turn out to be a top economic forecaster. Other contributors include FMR Corp, an investment and wealth management company, Citigroup, Goldman-Sachs, AT&T, and Verizon. The top four industries who have contributed to Sununu’s campaign thus far are: Securities and Investment, Insurance, Leadership PACs and Lobbyists.

Senator Sununu has said that he wants to see more research on climate change before he joins the rest of the world in recognizing that there is such a thing. Thousands of scientists around the world have issued reports saying they believe humans are contributing to climate change. Sununu isn’t buying that. He says we need to put more money into research to understand how different greenhouse gasses affect long-term global temperature. Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farms was quoted in 2007 as saying, “At this point there are only about three people on the planet who are denying that humans are heating our planet. Two of them are in the White House, and the other one is Senator Sununu.”

Senator Judd Gregg has acknowledged he seriousness of climate change, pointing out that overwhelming scientific evidence cannot be ignored. Sununu has said that he supports making all cars and light trucks meet fuel-efficiency standards - yet he’s consistently voted against increasing CAFE standards both as a Senator and a Congressman. In 2003 he voted against the Climate Stewardship Act, which would have created a cap-and-trade program. Gregg voted for it.

This regressive viewpoint puts him squarely at odds with most of his NH constituents. In 2003, 2004, and 2005 he voted against bipartisan proposals to reduce greenhouse emissions. In 2006 he opposed cutting carbon emissions, saying the environmental impact would be minimal but the costs to business would be substantial. After Hurricane Katrina, he voted against a bill that would have made gas-price gouging a federal crime.

Senator Sununu voted with George Bush 90% of the time. In early December 2007, he voted against a modest increase in LIHEAP funds, which would have eased the burden of heating costs for some NH families over the course of this long NH winter. He chose to side with out-of-state interests, rather than represent the in-state interests he’s supposed to be concerning himself with.

At the Carroll County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner, a thank you letter (and bumper sticker) signed by Henry Mock, was handed out, thanking Sununu for voting against “higher energy taxes.” The vote mentioned was not about higher energy taxes, it was about removing $13 billion in taxpayer subsidies to the oil and gas companies. The money would have been used to create renewable energy incentives and 3 million green jobs. It was a part of the tax package on the Energy Security and Independence Act. Sununu cast the deciding vote against it. He’s received over $210,000 from the oil and gas lobby, including a contribution from Chevron the day of the vote.

Governor Shaheen is currently ahead of Senator Sununu in the polls. Senator Sununu is in danger of losing his job. He’s supported an extremely unpopular president (22% approval ratings) 90% of the time. He’s been a strong supporter of the war in Iraq. He’s told businessmen in Concord to stop complaining about the high costs of health care, because nothing can be done about it. At every opportunity, John Sununu shows us just how out of touch he is with the voters of NH. He’s doing real well, though, with those out of state interests.


"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously."  Hubert Humphrey, on lobbyists

The ad pictured at the top was done by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

more on FLDS breeding and indoctrination camp

Half of Sect's Teen Girls Have Been or Are Pregnant

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- More than half the teenage girls taken from a polygamist compound in west Texas have children or are pregnant, state officials said Monday.
A total of 53 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 are in state custody after a raid 3 1/2 weeks ago at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Of those girls, 31 either have children or are pregnant, said Child Protective Services spokesman Darrell Azar. He didn't specify how many are pregnant.

"It shows you a pretty distinct pattern, that it was pretty pervasive," he said.

and later in the same article:

Of those 463 children, 250 are girls and 213 are boys. Children 13 and younger are about evenly split -- 197 girls and 196 boys -- but there are only 17 boys aged 14 to 17 compared with the 53 girls in that age range.

So - teen girls are being raped and impregnated by old men who tell them if they don't submit, they'll burn in hell. And, in order to ensure the old bulls don't have any competition, they're systematically thinning the boy herd after puberty. These boys are kicked out - taken to cities and dumped there - told they don't have families any more. They have no money, no education, and no life skills. They've never been out in the secular world. Over 400 Boys Excommunicated

Still, I keep reading that we must respect their religious freedom. I just don't seem able believe that rape is a mandate from God.

"It's like having the Taliban right up the road from Vegas, and no one pays any notice." ~ Jon Krakauer author of Under the Banner of Heaven

A short film by Thomas Elliot of Fresh Produce Media: Damned to Heaven