Sunday, March 25, 2007

Edwards rocks at health care forum

Hillary revisits her past failures. Obama comes with empty pockets. Only Edwards has a solid plan for health care reform.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Trent Reznor's dystopian future

Nine Inch Nails is coming out with an album called "Year Zero" in April. In conjunction with this release, they have come out with a series of websites that tell a story of a dystopian future 15 years from now. A terrorist dirty bomb attack has destroyed L.A., we have nuked Iran, the government is putting mind control substances in the water supply, and the whole country has become a Christian totalitarian state. These websites illustrate different aspects of that future, from the resistance to the official government sites. It essentially amounts to a movie in website form. It's very cool.

You can also listen to songs from the new album on this site.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Elizabeth Edwards

Click on the above link to send a note of support to John and Elizabeth Edwards.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Hah!

A local news site posted a picture of my sign, but said I was in Oklahoma City. That seems unlikely. Link up top.

Update: They fixed it. lol.

More rally and march pics

Three Penny Upright, local folk band:



Bumper stickers for sale by the Tulsa Peace House:



Participants crossed generational, gender, ethnic, and political lines:



The media were there in force, oddly enough:



Another pic of Nancy Moran:



Signs:



Here we are marching:

Rally pics

Part One. As soon as I find the cord to hook up my digital camera to this laptop, I will post more.

Rev. Mary McAnally:


Me with sign:



Rev. Lavanhar of the Unitarian Church:


Here we go a-marching:


Me with Nancy Moran:



We all wore black armbands. Some wore sackcloth and ashes.


A good sign even if its target is no longer relevant:


Another apt sign:


Onlookers gave us support:

Tulsa anti-war rally

My partner and I joined my parents and several hundred other people at the Tulsa anti-war rally and march today. The event was organized by the Tulsa Peace Fellowship, along with Pastors for Peace and several other local organizations. I had made a sign for the event that read, "USA Out of Vietnam Iraq," which drew quite a bit of attention. I was even interviewed and photographed by the local paper.

The rally was held at the local Unitarian Church and featured an hour of short speeches, music & poetry. Nancy Moran, a leader in the Tulsa Peace Fellowship, emceed. She began the rally with a call and response of "all life is precious!" She then introduced Three Penny Upright, a local folk band, who performed a song called "Party All Night" that mocked war profiteers and the military industrial complex.

There was also a speaker from the so-called "9/11 Truth" movement, people who believe that 9/11 was some kind of government plot. Frankly, I think that's a little bit farfetched, and I'm not terribly happy that conspiracy theorists were invited to speak at this event.

Reverend Mary McAnally, a leader in Pastors for Peace and a noted local poet and activist, read a poem in which she imagined a negotiation between herself and the President about what words in the English language each of them could have. "You can't have any word that you can't pronounce," she said to the President, who didn't realize he was giving up all things "nucular." Her poem ended with a defiant "You can have "control" over my dead body!" There was tremendous applause.

After Rev. McAnally's poem, I headed over to the sidewalk next to the street and waved my sign. Near me were several young children holding signs from worldcantwait.org, which seeks to boot Bush out of office. The response from drivers passing by was definitely mixed, but everyone certainly took notice.

After some singing by the church choir and a rousing speech by the pastor, we followed a chorus of drumbeats out onto the sidewalk and down into a rather trendy part of town, invading the lives of yuppie revelers celebrating St. Patty's day. The phalanx of marchers was huge, and we definitely drew attention. Some drivers yelled very silly things out of their cars at us, while others gave us the peace sign and honked their horns in excited support.

I found that the number of people who supported us far outstripped the number of people booing or giving us the finger or shouting belligerently at us. We were a peaceful but vociferous crowd, a long, angry line of people who have had enough of Bush's criminal regime and its lies.

I would imagine there were at least 300 people there, if not more. I'm not very good at estimating numbers; I would suggest people look in the Tulsa World tomorrow, take their estimate, and double it.

I'll have some good photos up from the rally and march soon; I'm just waiting for them to come back on a photo CD so I can upload them. I also have photos from a digital camera but I can't find the cord to hook it up to my computer, so as soon as I locate that, I'll post those photos as well.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Oklahoma Senators Endorse Edwards

Just got an e-mail from the Oklahoma Edwards for President operation, with this press release attached:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2007

CONTACT:
Kate Bedingfield



30 Members of the Oklahoma State Legislature Endorse John Edwards for President


Chapel Hill, North Carolina – The John Edwards for President campaign announced today that 30 Democrats in the Oklahoma State Legislature endorsed Senator John Edwards for President. Among those endorsing Edwards are Oklahoma State Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan, State House Minority Leader Danny Morgan, 10 State Senators and 20 State Representatives.

“I am honored to have the support of these outstanding leaders,” said Edwards. “They work hard each day to represent the values of Oklahoma working and middle class families and I am proud to have them involved in my campaign.”

House Minority Leader Danny Morgan stated, “John Edwards will fight to improve the lives of middle class Oklahomans and working Americans. He shares our values, and he understands what it takes to build the middle class and move America forward.”

Senate President Mike Morgan commented: “Numerous Oklahoma Democrats from both chambers agree that John Edwards is the strongest Presidential candidate in the field. He relates to our values and can communicate with the people of our state.”

Representative Jerry McPeak, a key organizer of Senator Edwards’ support in Oklahoma, added:
“Oklahoma legislators representing both rural and urban areas from across the state are united behind John Edwards’ candidacy. We believe he is the best candidate to move our Party and our nation forward.”

The 30 Oklahoma legislators supporting John Edwards for President are:

STATE SENATORS
Mike Morgan (D—Stillwater), President Pro Tempore
Charlie Laster (D—Shawnee), President Pro Tempore-elect, Co-Floor Leader
Jay Paul Gumm (D—Durant), Co-Assistant Floor Leader, Energy Committee Co-Chair
Jeff Rabon (D—Hugo), Co-Assistant Floor Leader, Transportation Committee Co-Chair
Charles Wyrick (D—Fairland), Democratic Whip, Agriculture and Rural Development Committee Co-Chair
Kenneth Corn (D—Howe), Democratic Caucus Chairman
Sean Burrage (D—Claremore), Rules Committee Co-Chair
Judy Eason McIntyre (D—Tulsa), Education Committee Co-Chair
Richard Lerblance (D—Hartshorne), Judiciary Committee Co-Chair
Jim Wilson (D—Tahlequah), Finance Committee Co-Chair


STATE REPRESENTATIVES
Danny Morgan (D—Prague), Democratic Leader
James Covey (D—Custer City), Democratic Floor Leader
David Braddock (D—Altus), Deputy Democratic Floor Leader
Wallace Collins, (D—Norman), Asst. Democratic Floor Leader
Wes Hilliard (D—Sulphur), Asst. Democratic Floor Leader
Jerry McPeak (D—Warner), Asst. Democratic Floor Leader
Wade Rousselot (D—Wagoner), Asst. Democratic Floor Leader
Terry Harrison (D—McAlester), Democratic Whip
Eric Proctor (D—Tulsa), Democratic Caucus Secretary
John Auffet (D—Stilwell)
Scott BigHorse (D—Pawhuska)
Neil Brannon (D—Arkoma)
John Carey (D—Durant)
Jerry Ellis (D—Valliant)
Larry Glenn (D—Miami)
Darrell Gilbert (D—Tulsa)
Richard Morrissette (D—Oklahoma City)
Brian Renegar (D—McAlester)
Paul Roan (D—Tishomingo)
Glen Bud Smithson (D—Sallisaw)



Senator Morgan and Representative Morgan released the following letter announcing their joint endorsement of Senator Edwards:


Dear Fellow Oklahoma Democrat,

Our nation faces critical issues both here at home and abroad, and we need a real leader to get our country back on the right path. With the 2008 Presidential Preference Primary in Oklahoma less than a year away, we believe it is important to support a candidate who can transform America, which is why we are supporting Senator John Edwards for President.

After a thorough review of our many qualified candidates it is clear that Senator Edwards has earned our support. Senator Edwards has the ideas and vision to lead our country and restore America as the moral leader in the world. He will always fight to improve the lives of working Oklahomans and every working American.

Senator Edwards has been a friend to our state and to the causes we hold dear. He has spent more time in Oklahoma than any other announced or potential candidates, and he understands and can effectively communicate with our values-driven, populist electorate. During the 2006 election cycle, he worked tirelessly to support our efforts to elect Democratic majorities in the State House and Senate. He attended fundraisers on behalf of both the House and Senate caucuses, profiled our members on his website, and repeatedly offered his personal time and service when it could be of use for fundraising, candidate recruitment and messaging.

We believe it’s time to return the favor to Senator Edwards. Not only will we be lending our name to his effort, we will also be working on the ground locally to extend our volunteer organizations to his campaign.

As the leaders of the Democratic Party in both houses of the state legislature, we both offer Senator John Edwards our endorsement and our full support. We hope that all of our colleagues in both caucuses join us in supporting Senator Edwards – the strongest candidate for President in the Democratic field.

Sincerely,

Senator Mike Morgan
President Pro Tempore

Representative Danny Morgan
Minority Leader

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Someone asked me about McCain joining the race, and I responded:

Latest polls actually show Giuliani with a double-digit lead on McCain from evangelicals. Interesting thing is that Giuliani is a pro-choice pro-glbt rights candidate, while McCain has been courting the hell out of the religious reich for most of his career. McCain is a political chameleon and a right bastard--the Republican equivalent of Hillary. He's also got about as much charisma as a wet sock. But he's a media darling, which might help him. Thing is, I don't think he can get the independent vote anymore, since he's been drifting so hard right lately. And without the independents, and without the evangelicals, he hasn't got a prayer.

Giuliani, on the other hand, is a real problem. He'll take the independent vote and probably a few Dem votes as well. He's the mayor that saved New York from 9/11, remember. Whoever goes against Giuliani will have to either play to the right or label Giuliani as a conservative somehow in order to retain any chance at claiming the middle ground. Hillary can't beat Giuliani, because Hillary is a terrible candidate. Barak Obama? As far as I'm concerned, he's an empty suit. He hasn't put forth any ideas or anything substantive from his campaign - he's just a charisma machine. Which might work for him, but if Giuliani tacks to the right and captures the South, and the rest of the Repub vote, and captures the independents, Obama's finished.

Of the Democratic candidates, I believe the person with the best chance against either Giuliani or McPain is John Edwards. He's a charismatic southerner who can capture the core Democratic constituencies, labor and black voters, and he's got enough solid policy ideas churning out of his campaign that he might be able to capture the middle as well. And if he can get enough crossover Republican support against Giuliani in the south, he might be able to pull it off.

The bottom line is that the real threat is Giuliani, not McShame.