My sister, Renee.

Donnie, Patty, Marilyn and Renee, August, 2007


I have been away from my blogging for a few days for a number of reasons. First I traveled to NY for business and some pleasure but returned with a bug. I was out of commission for about a week and during that time, I received word my sister had passed away. Renee, (in blue above) was a unique human being. Her family always came first and when we visited her, there was always plenty of food and good company. Early on, she purchased a cabin on a lake, that being her first venture into property but not her last. She was very shrewd when it came to buying and selling whether it was property or antiques. Her love of "old things" was something she shared with our mom and sister, Patty. (in white above) Donnie (the guy in the picture) and I were left out when those genes got passed around.

My kids and I loved going to the lake in the summer with Renee, Joe and their kids. We have so many wonderful memories. Last summer when this picture was taken, my kids threw a "big" birthday party for me and Renee and her children came to be with all of us. She created one more happy memory for us because shortly after the party, she was diagnosed with cancer and is now gone. Her love of family will remain with us and the comfort she gave all of us whenever we stopped in went beyond the food and drink, it soothed our souls and gave us respite.

And, she really wanted to vote for Hillary for President. We agreed if she wasn't the nominee, we were going to write her name in. I will keep that promise, Renee.

Where in the World is Rev. Jerimiah Wright? And a Footnote on Richardson.

Okay, since no one else is asking the question, I will. Where is Rev. Wright??

He is the only person I know to cause such a maelstrom and disappear without question or concern on the part of anybody. Someone early on said he was on vacation (getting ready to retire at the end of March) and then, he was out of the country, and finally the last I read, in Africa!! Wow. What about his family? Are they still in Chicago or gone too? What about members of the Church?? Any news anyone?? This is America isn't it where people are not supposed to just disappear. Then again, it is Chicago.

The media clearly doesn't think Wright's whereabouts matters since no one is looking for him. They did not see the need to look into a Wright story when Fox News first ran it in March of last year. Yes, that is right, in March 2007, Hannity at Fox ran a story about Rev. Wright and his Black Liberation Theology Church with its ties to BO but it was completely ignored by the major media. Just think what might have been different if they hadn't. Just a quick note: anyone catch the Easter Sermon at Trinity Church?? Lovely... about lynchings.

FOOTNOTE on Richardson......I have been mulling this one over and I think Carville is on to something with his thirty pieces of silver comment. It is documented that BO has donated thousands of dollars to the local races of super delegates presumably to warm them up to voting for him at the convention so why not Richardson? Actually, I am not a genius, Richardson himself gave it away in one of his many interviews this weekend (the man was clearly enjoying the limelight) when he mentioned his huge debt that he had acquired running for the presidency.

If that is not the reason for his endorsement, then possibly, you could think he is simply an opportunist climbing on the bandwagon of the person he thinks is the winner but why do that now? He is a little late---New Mexico already went for HC and the states with large hispanic votes are likewise done... So, the only other reason would be a spot on the ticket? Not likely. Two ethnic males will not be a very balanced team. Maybe a spot in the cabinet. Maybe....but that is a big prize to give away and Ricahrdson said it had not been discussed.

So, maybe Carville knows and that is why the thirty pieces of silver analogy. When you don't know why something is happening, remember.....follow the money.

The Politician and his Pastor--"Really!!"

I feel a little like Saturday Night Live and that part of Weekend Update when Amy and Seth give a current piece of news or statement by a person and then exclaim, “Really!?” I am a little in shock over the recent news, spin and media coverage of Obama and the Pastor. Can you imagine what MSNBC would be calling HC under such circumstances. “Hypocrite” and “Liar” come to mind quickly but not with the “Messiah”. BO did not go in front of a room of reporters like John Mc Cain and answer their questions, but chose to deliver his remarks on "race" by reading a prepared speech from teleprompters. It may have been an award winning performance and the media along with BO’s invited spinsters certainly loved it. Well, I want to look at those words….those important words not from the Pastor but from Obama, the presidential candidate.

He went on CNN. MSNBC, FOX and PBS over the weekend and on each one, he repudiated and rejected the devisive remarks made by his pastor but denied, yes DENIED ever hearing those words himself nor did he have any knowledge of those words until the media brought them to light this past week. No one believed him given that the Pastor was disinvited from his announcement last year of his presidential run. Why? --- if BO knew nothing about this Pastor’s vitriolic, anti-american speeches. Why not let him be a part of this important announcement? After all, Wright has been his pastor and spiritual advisor for over twenty years. And then, when the hate-filled sermons surfaced, only a spokesman responded deploring such words from any campaign, implying a comparison to G. Ferraro. Really!!!

When that didn’t work, the BO issued a written repudiation which didn’t work either and so we get the speech and the followup spin from all his supporters who were given time in every media outlet to rave about the courage of their candidate. Courage? This is a man who did not have the courage or the judgment to get up from the pew and leave the church when he first heard such horrible words. And then in that speech on race in America, he told us he LIED but no one noticed his confession because he said it so quickly and very quietly. His supporters continue to say BO never heard the speeches before. Go ahead. Check the speech on any web site anywhere and you will see his admission. BO sat right there in that church Sunday after Sunday listening to his Pastor “God D--- America.”


Now listen or read his “race speech” again and what BO does NOT say. He will not repudiate the man, only his words but then he says white Americans cannot understand how AA feel and that if he repudiates his Pastor, he would be repudiating his entire race. Really!!? Does this mean as a white person I cannot disown David Dukes, the man, only his remarks or I will be disowning the entire white race? What about Hitler? Think about what is being said, not how beautifully he says it. Isn’t he the new politician with integrity, character and judgement??? Please---do not allow this charade to continue because the Republicans will not for sure.

BP knew his pastor would be a problem and so did his chief architect, David Axelrod. They played a game with the people…..hide the truth and see how far can we get before we have to deal with it?? Credibility? Trust?? Now, that is up to the voters and it will be interesting to see what happens with the remaining 11 primares. Thank you Hillary for not being steamrolled into withdrawing…..just think, we could be dealing with Rev Wright in Sept rather than now. Shame on you BO first for deceiving the thousands of young people looking to you for a new day and maybe even more impoatant, shame on you for not getting up out of that pew the first time you heard such hate coming from the pulpit of your church. Oprah did---oh I wonder how she feels now. ”He is the One.” Oprah said. Really!!!!

One final comment----Did anyone actually see the speech or a rerun? If so, what is it about the BIG American flags surrounding BO as he spoke from his prepared text…(count them—SIX) three large American flags on each side…It is the purest example of “wrapping yourself in the American Flag I have ever seen (particularly from a Democrat) and he won’t even wear one on his lapel…Really!!!

What About Gore?

Any rational democrat is concerned that the presidency is slipping away. Once again, we democrats are our own worse enemy. It is becoming increasingly clear that there will not be a clear winner in Denver, one everyone who is active now will support. Obama people will not support Hillary (he has said this) and while he counted on her supporters being more amenable, that too is slipping away. What are we to do?? Maybe John Edwards saw this coming when he said, "I am the only grownup in the room" and he may have been right at least in the eyes of the general public.

I blame the democratic leadership for this because they may have been too cute by half in planning this primary/causus calendar. They purposely put certain southern states after Iowa and NH maybe to bring out the AA vote but they clearly discounted the enormous appeal of BO. Remember when the schedule of contests was set, HC was the presumptive winner and BO a marginal candidate to be encouraged to gain the base support and bring it to the polls in Nov. This is probably what Jessie Jackson has done in the past but Barack is different and so are the times. He is a genuine political force. However, as Abigail Adams wrote to John, "do not forget the women."

And so we are at an real rock hard impasse that can cause significant damage to the party not just for this year but for several years. Maybe, just maybe, we will have to get the parents of the party together and get everyone to get behind a third person, so this party can win in November and bring both blacks and women home together. If either candidate, BO or HC fails to fully support this candidate and bring this party together, their true colors in all of this will show. Such a failure will indicate their candidacy was the person and a particular cause than the good of this country.

And so, I ask, what about Gore?

Words...and their meanings

When we say things or make comments, we mean to speak clearly but that is often not what occurs. Sometimes we are careful in choosing our words to either soften what we are saying or to selectively target our audience. Good examples of this have surfaced recently in the comments made by Geraldine Ferraro and Senator Obama.

Ms Ferraro made a statement that Barack was lucky to be black at this moment in time because it was helping catapult him forward in his candidacy for the Presidency. I believe she is right and her comments should not be lifted out of context. The immediate reaction is a demand for an apology or a characterization of her words as "ridiculous". After all, how could anyone say that being born black gives you an edge over anyone in this society? True enough. But that is not what she said. Ferraro said that a woman white or black or a white man would not be in Obama's position and that is accurate. Not included but implied in Ferraro's statment is "someone with his limited experience." A good example of this is Carol Mosley Braun, an african american woman and a former senator from Illinois with a similar limited political history as Obama's who tried to run for the Presidency in 2003. She was completely ignored and withdrew after her poor showing in Iowa. Many people don't even know who she is.

It isn't "just" because Obama is AA, but it is a part of the reason. He is very bright, speaks eloquently, and is tall, always a positive for a politician and the democtatic primary voters love a liberal which he very clearly is. But the support from the AA community is critical in carrying him to wins in many states that come the general election, democrats will not win. Now, this is a discussion of facts, as if we were discussing Huckabee's evangelical support and its role in his winning certain primary contests. It is not racist but GF had to leave her supporting role in HC campaign and HC had to distance herself from the remarks.

Well, what about these words from Obama....."Don't let them HOODwink you." I watched him speak to an almost all black audience in Mississippi just before that primary and he said at least five times the word, "HOODwink" with the accent and emphasis on "HOOD". What do you think that word means to african americans? A hood brings up some very bad memories. Was Obama trying to remind his audience of what white people have done in the past and the need for AA to stick together now? The media is not discussing this but they will spend two days on Ferraro.

We will see what time they give to the words of Obama's religious mentor, Rev Wright. I will address that in another post especially since I have been asked by a friend what I think about religion in this political season.

I am having some computer problems so expect delays but I will do my best to be back on line quickly.

Spitzer, Sex and the Invisible Line

When I first heard the shocking news about Gov. Spitzer's participation in a prostitution ring, I said, "He's Done. Cooked. Finished"  Then I listened to his statement and realized that he wasn't going anywhere, yet.  I was confused.  So, I followed the news both print and video and realized there exists an invisible line of guilt or criminality on which he has yet to be placed.  

Some would say he isn't as bad as Gov. McGreevey who had an extra marital affair with a man. (that would be the homophobes) Others place him worse (therefore higher on that line) than Sen Larry Craig who was caught in a public toilet and admitted to a misdemeanor but whose crime seems to be about a wide stance.  Perhaps he is closest to Sen Vitter who also patronized a prostitute but then, Vitter is still in the Senate.  No one should overlook Rep. Barney Frank who patronized a male prostitute, survived without resigning and was even re-elected.  Of course, Barney never held himself out as a paradigm of virtue. So, is there a difference between being elected a Senator, a Governor, or President?

Add to all of this the fact mentioned today in the newspaper, that customers ("johns") are never prosecuted in this kind of sting.  Why?  I guess if the call girls are not prosecuted either then it might be fair and not unreasonably favorable to men.  Yet, no one can overlook the possibility of a Mann Act violation if the Gov paid to have the prostitute travel across state lines from New York to Washington.  Prosecutors have broad discretion when it comes to filing charges and they are not required to reveal their motives one way or the other.  So, this may come down to image.  He was the "Mr Clean" of politics and government and that is something he will never be again.  It definitely affects his credibility but does it impact his ability to govern? And so we get to the big sinner himself, Bill Clinton, who lied and lived to complete an impressive period of governing in this country.  

Someone on the news reported that the governor's wife, Silda, is one of the people around him urging him to stay on.  Does she know something we don't or is it a cultural thing in some groups that extra-marital affairs with women (yes, not men) are the norm for aggressive, dynamic, hard-working men? Or as Alan Dershowitz says this is a throw-back to a law which should have been off the books a long time ago.  He says the governor should not have done it and it is hypocritical but the voters can take all that into account in an election. Dershowitz also said we should get out of the bathrooms and the bedrooms and gauge a politician on his performance in the daytime especially where the crime is a victimless one.  Of course, AD is a friend of the governor and was a mentor for him earlier in Spitzer's career.  

Personally, Governor Spitzer has joined the ranks of ordinary human beings and if this makes him unfit to govern, then he will resign.  I believe his actions now will tell us much more about him and his skills and strength as a political problem solver than any task force he ever led.

I had planned to comment today on "code" words used by the presidential candidates but that had to take a back seat. I will do it another time.

Eating Chocolate

I just read in EatSmart by Jean Carper that what a pregnant woman eats may effect the brain of her unborn child and effect the brain for life.  In other words, certain foods can give your unborn child a higher intellectual ability.  I was very apprehensive about reading what foods do this because I am such a junk food person and I already know how brainy my kids turned out but guess what??? The substance needed is choline which can be obtained by eating 2-3 eggs a day or (and get this) wheat germ, soybeans, PEANUT BUTTER, CHOCOLATE, and beef liver. Three out of six---not bad.  I knew chocolate and peanut butter were food groups.  Have a great day....  look at that sun!!!

Obama money and rank rumor

Along with many others, I am amazed by the millions of dollars that this brand new senator virtually unknown except for one speech (there it is again, one speech) raised almost immediately for his campaign to be president.  At first, I thought maybe it is Republicans who want to stop Hillary before she even gets one step closer to the presidency and then I even began to accept the spin about all those little supporters from the internet.  But then, a friend of mine called with this tidbit. (Warning! Rank Rumor! No Proof Yet!) She said she knew of  two of her friends, both African American who got letters thanking them for their $50.00 contribution to the  Obama campaign EXCEPT they NEVER made any kind of contribution and were more than a little surprised.  Mmmmmmmm!!!  Of course, they did not want to make this public because they are AA and in their community, it is not a good idea to do anything to diminish Obama. Shades of O.J. Simpson and so much for the "politics of fear" purity.  Anyone else hear anything interesting on the money issue?

Tuesday and the Titanic

Like many, I couldn't watch.  I dared to hope (yes, that does belong to everyone) but I did not watch and then my son called asking if I had checked because he too, couldn't watch.  I went to my now favorite channel, Fox News, and there it was....she was winning.  Obama's tuesday titanic had hit the iceberg and his ship was sinking.  I smiled because, once again, she showed her courage, strength and stubborn staying power--just what we want in a President!! It is her game now.  Bill is right.  She will get the nomination.  Obama has turned into an ordinary politician, ambitious and duplicitous.  Hillary is not ordinary and her determination in this race will win over the people.  We want a fighter even if it is a woman. On to Pennsylvania and Denver.

Why I watch Fox news!!!

Yes, it is true I now watch Fox news.  I try to watch MSNBC, CNN and others and it is just depressing.  They spin everything for Obama.  It is to say the least, irritating and I really  wonder what happen to journalism.  I get more news from bloggers and comedy shows than MSNBC.  So, I wonder why?  The thought came to me today as I watched Fox News interpret trends in tomorrow's elections---they do not have a "dog in this hunt."  Come the Fall, I have no doubt the spin will swing to McCain but now they really don't care so they are more about the story than the spin.  But why is MSNBC so obamafickle?  Whenever I don't understand something, I always ask...where is the money??  And then it comes clear.  What age bracket does every tv channel try to cater to??  You got it--the 18 to 35 year old.  And what age bracket is the strong base for Obama? There is the answer.  MSNBC does not care about the story, the facts or fairness.  It is all about the money and they want those viewers and the rest of us can go elsewhere.  So, that is why I am watching Fox News.

And now we begin.....

I have been talking about blogging ever since I first heard about a blog. It was very attractive to me to have a place where I could comment without interruption about anything I wanted to. You see, I am very opinionated but not without reason or rationale. I believe in opinions and ideas that have a basis in fact and that are open for discussion.....the civilized kind---no yelling, or mocking (well, maybe just a little if it is funny...) I love movies and the theater and have close connections to both...(like an oscar)----no, not mine. But I also love politics and this is the year for that, isn't it?? Fortunately, for me, this is also the year I retired and actually have the time to blog. The stars have been positioned and it is my time so join me and join the discussion about anything and everything. I have lots to say and I think you do too.