I’m sure y’all have noticed a lack of posts around here. Tax season is in full swing and I’ve been buried and will be buried for the next few weeks. I’ve not had time to watch “The Speech” but I hope to get to it this weekend. A couple of quick items:
- Bill Richardson has endorsed Obama. I’m disappointed but not surprised. Richardson has been angling for a position in the next administration and “The Speech” gave him an opening.
- Rev. Wright is coming to Norfolk. I have no doubt that he was invited before the storm hit. Bank Street happens to be one of my favorite churches. I have a lot of friends that go there and the former pastor was an absolute joy to listen to.
- Del. Tommy Gear is thinking of running for treasurer in Hampton. I’ll bet there are some members of the General Assembly who would love to see him vacate his seat. The Daily Press article says it is unclear when the seat would be on the ballot, assuming current treasurer Molly Ward is elected mayor in May. I seem to recall that the code says something about having to hold a special election if the next scheduled election is more than 120 days away, but I can’t locate that right now.
- March Madness is underway today. I haven’t watched the tournament in 20 years and couldn’t tell you who is ranked where. Needless to say, I didn’t bother entering the tournament sponsored by NLS and The Virginia Federalist. There is also a blog set up over at PilotOnline to follow the games.
Finally, here’s a video of generals supporting Hillary Clinton.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian:
Thanks for the h/u on Rev. Wright coming to Norfolk.
Hope you can take a moment and check out today’s posting at Mosquito Blog
I just “discovered” Hillary is a supporter of the defense of marriage act and believe in the one man one woman marriage thing.
Buzz…Buzz…
And Obama says he supports the repeal of DOMA but hangs out with homophobes.
Great video. As a companion piece to it, I suggest Ambassador Joe Wilson’s post on why Obama is not ready in a dangerous world. I find it funny that progressive media like Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes and Keith Olbermann have banned Larry Johnson because of his absolute backing of Clinton and his wake up call on the dangers of an Obama presidency.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/03/20/obamas-shallow-credentials-on-national-security-are-dangerous-for-the-country/
Hillary has a battalion of Generals and Admirals and Joint Chiefs Chairs. Larry Johnson and Joe Wilson. All these people know that if we were hiring the president and both came to us with resumes in hand, Obama would not make the final interview, much less get hired.
Bottom line, if you want something done, hire the experienced workhorse and not the latest fad and show horse. That said, either is preferable to the old mule who is the GOP candidate because a new foreign policy course will never be chartered with a republican in the WH.
PS…Can the whole Obama canard of unpledged delegates must follow the will of their states be laid to rest with Richardson’s endorsement?
Vivian…are you going to tell me that you don’t ever associate with folks who don’t think the same way you do?
Guilt by association? Heck I have family members who are homophobic and/or racist…it sure makes for interesting “discussions” but it sure doesn’t mean that I “think” the way they do. I do my best to work against racist, sexist, “gayist” thoughts, actions, and legislation. I don’t recall Obama endorsing or “supporting” homophobic ideas.
Obviously, I “just found out” that Hillary was a DOMA supporter. I know you have a history of being a strong supporter of LGBT rights. I’m just shocked at Hillary’s stance on this (and a few other issues). I have always had difficulty with her because I think she sold national healthcare out, , and she’s anti-Nafta, and I have not ever been able to feel that she was authentic and trustworthy. (I feel like the authentic and trustworthy is mostly my own gut level personal impression kind of thing and can understand if someone else “feels” differently on that score.) I had no idea that she holds so many non-progressive viewpoints with supporting DOMA among them.
Well, I hope tax season is “lucrative” for you and not too much of a hassle. I’ll be filing an extension and then visiting my acountant sometime in May or June….
Take Good Care Vivian
🙂 Buzz…Buzz…
Perhaps you are unaware of this. Sometimes, actions speak louder than words.
The issue, to me, is, knowing that Wright’s words were so provocative, why did Senator Obama choose to stay at that church while deciding to run for President?
Jeffy Jacoby writes in the Boston Globe on March 19, 2008:
“The problem for Obama is that Wright, the spiritual leader he has so long embraced, is a devotee not of King, – who in that same speech warned against “drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred” – but of the poisonous hatemonger Louis Farrakhan, whom the church’s magazine honored with a lifetime achievement award. The problem for Obama, who campaigns on a message of racial reconciliation, is that the “mentor” whose church he joined and has generously supported is a disciple not of King but of James Cone, founder of a “black liberation” theology that teaches its adherents to “accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy.”
Above all, the problem for Obama is that for two decades his spiritual home has been a church in which the minister damns America to the enthusiastic approval of the congregation, and not until it threatened to scuttle his political ambitions did Obama finally find the mettle to condemn the minister’s odium.”
Surely, Senator Obama knew that this rrelationship would cause consternation in the electorate and would be a distraction in the attempt to finally getting a Democrat elected to be President.
I know to run for office your ego must be enormous and maybe Senator Obama’s is enormous also. But he could have taken a different course: addressed it earlier in the campaign (in order to diffuse it); left the church long ago, etc. Personnally, I have no probelm with whatever Rev. Wright choses to say. The problem is that Senator Obama associated with a controversial minister and that is going to hurt Democrats.
The Republicans/McCain/right-wing will use this matter and I fear that once again we’ll have a Republican in the White House.
sleepless:
Folks like the Rev. Wright, who will speak truth to power are often attacked heavily. I would encourage you to not allow the corporate media to give you “their” picture of the Rev. Wright. The more videos I see of the Rev. Wright (that aren’t edited by corporate media) the more I respect this man. I would definitely attend this man’s church on a regular basis if he was preaching near me.
For ex…the chickens came home to rest speech….Rev. Wright gave that speech when Bush/Cheney and the corporate media were hustling this country to begin the illegal invasion of Iraq. Wright used that Malcolm X quote, b/c he had recently seen a “white” diplomat use that phrase to make a point similar to what the Rev. Wright was making….that “we” need to see who bears the brunt of war….innocent civilians. The impact on community and family is a horror that surpasses one’s greatest fears. The Rev. Wright was asking folks to think about revenge versus self defense (after all there were no Al Queda in Iraq when we invaded and Iraq had NOT attacked us) and what are the reasons for invading Iraq….before we set out on that deadly course. He wasn’t telling anyone what to do but to think for themselves and reflect on what was happening and using a Christian perspective.
You can see a clip of the chickens come home to roost blog at mosquito blog.
Now imagine this….with all the “time” the corporate news media has spent on this issue why wouldn’t they show his statement in a context so that “we” could form “our” own opinions of this situation. Instead we hear an out of context snippet and then the “corporate news” gives us the way we should think (i.e. “their” opinion, over and over and over again).
IF this was put into a context there would be more diversity in the reaction. In a normal context we are unique individuals after all…I think you would have some supporting the Rev., some NOT supporting the Rev…and the majority of the folks in the middle….seeing that the Rev. is just a person, like all of us, and a mixed response of aggreement and disagreement with the Rev.’s statements.
Then if you add up all the great community work that the Rev. Wright and his church have done you can see that the Rev. Wright is not the “bigot” or the “monster” that the media is trying to “smear” Obama with. I am thinking that Obama maybe “squeaky clean” when the media has to attack Obama based on the fact that they are choosing to attack him over something EVERYONE DOES. Obama chooses to associate with people, imperfect as we all are. Isn’t this what “we” all do? If we didn’t I fear we would be friendless, isolated, and alone.
buzz….buzz…
Vivian….
No I had not seen “this.” It definitely has me thinking….I’ve take a little time to delve more fully into the issue.
I began this election supporting Dennis Kucinich, 100% in my heart….however I ended up deciding that this was not going to be the election where Dennis could get his message out and be elected. So then I was for Edwards (I saw Obama as unknown and basically wasn’t looking at him much at the time)…I knew Edwards had personal difficulties with the lgbt issue but he pledged not to allow his personal opinion to influence his votes for fairness and equality of lgbt people. I respected his honesty and decided I could live with this. Then when it was obvious that Edwards wasn’t going to be the nominee I took a look at Obama. I respected his honest reflection of his “personal” struggle with lgbt but he pledged and his actions have shown that he supports laws that support lgbt rights and does not support anti-gay legislation. So I’m okay with his position on this.
Do I wish he was as far along as Dennis Kucinich on this issue…you bet I do. But there’s hope…. 🙂
Thanks for sharing that resource b/c I have had to look more deeply into the issue and I’ll keep my eyes open on this one.
Don’t get lost under all that paperwork gf!!
buzz…buzz…
TRUTH TO POWER?! Like the “truth” that the government is giving drugs to Blacks to keep them down? Like the “truth” that our government engineer the 9/11 attacks? Like the “truth” that our government created HIV to kill Blacks?
Right.