Red State Rebels

Elizabeth Edwards faces Big C again

From the AP just now:

John Edwards said Thursday that his wife is now battling an incurable reappearance of cancer but vowed to continue his second bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The recurrence of the cancer — this time on Elizabeth Edwards' bone — presents a setback for the couple, both personally and politically. But both said the cancer was treatable and that they would stick with their plans to campaign vigorously for the nomination.

More here. This is heartbreaking news for the Edwardses, who first learned of Elizabeth's breast cancer just days before the 2004 election, when John was the Democrats' VP nominee. Please join me in sending them healing prayers and positive energy for the road ahead.

Not the sharpest tools in the shed

As the 2007 Idaho Legislature winds down (but not by tomorrow), there are yet a few more examples of mismanagement, malfeasance, and neglect worth noting:

With all of Idaho's transportation woes, do you think we'd want to leave a million bucks of federal money on the table? Not if it means strengthening seat belt and child-safety seat legislation!

The Idaho GOP seems to have its very own version of the notorious K Street Project, complete with its very own Hammer.

Then there's the grocery tax. Democrats were right early on: The whole thing ought to eventually be repealed. But Butch Otter put forth the sensible (and much cheaper) solution of targeting a grocery tax break to the Idahoans who need it most. That's the best possibility now on the table. If you agree, tell your legislators, stat.

'The game has changed'

The creator of the sensational "Vote Different" ad - seen 1.7 million times in two weeks on YouTube -  has come clean at Huffington Post.

Philip De Vellis aka ParkRidge 47 has also left his job at Blue State Digital, a company that has worked with several presidential campaigns, including Barack Obama's. It's hard to say whether he jumped or he was pushed. From the Los Angeles Times:

"There are thousands of other people who could have made this ad, and I guarantee that more ads like it — by people of all political persuasions — will follow," De Vellis wrote. "This shows that the future of American politics rests in the hands of ordinary citizens."

He added that he made the ad "on a Sunday afternoon in my apartment using my personal equipment (a Mac and some software), uploaded it to YouTube and sent links around to blogs." He said the "underlying point was that the old political machine no longer holds all the power."

"The game has changed," De Vellis wrote.

Indeed. More here.

Ganging up on Simpson

And you know, he deserves it. Idaho's 2nd District Congressional rep has had a free ride in his heavily Republican district for seven years, but that may finally be coming to an end.

At We Have Failed Our Duty as Citizens, Diana has several pertinent posts. Best of all is this one, which points out that Simpson received zero ratings from the Disabled American Veterans in 2003, 2004, and 2005. (He'd pulled up to a 66 in 2006.)

At A Seattleite in Idaho, Jessica names all the names of the Republicans who last week voted to weaken support for the troops and reports that Simpson recently said that  "99% of Americans have the beliefs of the Republican Party." Mike, you've been living in Eastern Idaho way too long - and even there, it isn't true.

Idaho Rocks writes, "We are all so sick and tired of the hypocrisy of Republicans who say one thing but do another ... Way to go Rep. Simpson....you who have never served in the military, you who say you support the troops but then want to send them into war without protection."

The MountainGoat Report points out that the readiness standards Simpson rejects "aren't excessive, unreasonable or arbitrary — they are the standards set by the Department of Defense," and suggests that maybe we all ought to ask Simpson why he doesn't get this.

Is it any surprise that Simpson today issued a press release once again affirming his so-called support for the troops? He can spin this any way he wants, but the Disabled American Vets and other veteran groups will tell you: His voting record doesn't lie, and his support is mediocre at best.

Why is Simpson against the troops?

Last week, Idaho's Mike Simpson was on the losing end of a Republican-sponsored amendment designed to weaken the Iraq supplemental bill. Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously for the amendment offered by Rep. Jerry Lewis of California, who wanted to scrap language that would restrict the use of troops who are not properly equipped or trained, as well as kill assurances  that the Iraqi government is meeting benchmarks previously laid out by George W. Bush. The Democratic majority voted unanimously against the amendment, so it lost.   

Why is this important? Writing Tuesday at Daily Kos, KagroX noted how Republicans have repeatedly voted to send "unarmored, untrained, unrested" troops to Iraq. Salon's Mark Benjamin reported last week that in order to feed the escalation, the Army "is deploying troops with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle." And yet days after this report appeared, Mike Simpson toed the party line in his attempt to deny troops adequate training and equipment and his refusal to make Iraq more accountable.

It's time someone started asking Mike Simpson who deserves his loyalty: the troops he's ordered into harm's way or his political party's failed policy.

The myth of Democratic disunity

An email from MoveOn.org Tuesday brought the results of the organization's poll of its 3.2 million members. We were asked whether we wanted to support or oppose the current Democratic plan to wind down the war in Iraq. The measure to establish benchmarks for Iraqi success and bring U.S. troops home by next fall will be voted on this week in Congress, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Now, MoveOn.org has a reputation - among the dwindling ranks of Bush supporters, anyway - as a fringe organization full of people who want an immediate pullout from Iraq. But the MoveOn poll showed that 84.6 percent of the organization's MoveOn members (myself included) voted to support the bill; 9.2 percent said they weren't sure; and 6.2 percent voted to oppose it. As Eli Pariser of MoveOn wrote in the email, "The media has spent a lot of time focusing on divisions between the Democrats. But the biggest division is between President Bush, who says he'll veto any timetable for exit, and the voters, who want one."

For some people in the end-the-war-now camp, the current Dem plan simply doesn't go far or fast enough. A middle ground may be possible via an amendment suggested by Rep. Barbara Lee of California, who wants soldiers home by the end of this year. MoveOn.org says it remains open to Lee's option.

But four years after this misguided misadventure began, it's time to face reality. Iraq is in chaos. The handful of hard-core liberals who insist on an immediate troop withdrawal are wrong. So are the grouchy blue dogs who parrot the administration by claiming that a timetable will hamstring the commanders in Iraq. No matter: Most Democrats inside and outside the Beltway now realize that a bill that sets a realistic timetable for troop withdrawal - and helps Iraq start taking control of its fate - must be our main aim. If Bush vetoes it, as he has promised he will, that's more blood on his hands.

Send your child to bilingual preschool

If I had a young child, I think I'd be enrolling her in a bilingual preschool today. I'd do it partially to spite the Idaho legislators who felt compelled to pass a bill making English the state's official language, but mostly I'd do it to give her an advantage in navigating our increasingly multicultural world. Or as someone wise (maybe Jay Inlsee?) said not long ago, being "English only" is nothing to brag about in this global economy.

What is the purpose of this bill, with its many exceptions, other than to pander to the anti-immigrant crowd? People who want to get ahead in America will learn English. We don't need to mandate it. Once again, Republicans say they want less government in our lives, but they really mean they want less government interference in big business. When it comes to people being able to read government documents, or women being able to choose whether and when to have children, or urbanites being able to decide whether or not to tax themselves for transit or a community college - well, Big Brother says no.

But I digress, and I hope Idaho parents will seriously consider bilingual education whenever and wherever it's offered, so we can rise above the isolationist mentality that our state leaders advocate. I personally have been working off and on to learn Spanish for many years; the "English only" edict makes me want to redouble my efforts to become fluent. Meanwhile,  my daughter - now in junior high - has in fact already signed up for Spanish next year, and I look forward to practicing it with her. I have no doubt that knowing Spanish will help her no matter what career path she pursues.

Still, there's no finer time than the first few years of life to learn language. We have at least two Spanish immersion preschools in Boise: Garabatos (founded by Victoria Franco-Cronin, wife of our muy excelente  Ada County Democratic chair) and Puentes. Vamos!

Monday morning water cooler 3.19.07

I usually use the water cooler to call attention to Democratic events. But this week, I'm showcasing one from the other side of the aisle. Despite what Brandi Swindell would have us believe, this is what Republicans do when they bring speakers to Boise State: sow the seeds of racism and fear.

This Thursday, the BSU College Republicans are hosting controversial Canyon County Commissioner and 2008 U.S. Senate candidate Robert Vasquez on campus. To advertise this event, the College Rethuglicans have been disseminating this flier. I know it's too small to read, so I'll recap it (or you can click here to see a larger version, together with a lame "honest, we're not really racist" disclaimer). The headline says "America's Illegal Alien Invasion." Below, amid sample ID cards, is this text:

Win dinner for two at a local Mexican Restaurant. Climb through the hole in the fence and enter your false ID documents into the food stamp drawing.

I wonder if this sort of race-baiting vitriol is what Swindell had in mind when, in her Statesman op-ed Sunday, she wrote, "The dictionary describes discrimination as, 'biased or unfair judgment or treatment.' It should have no place in our society. Sadly, there have been chapters in American history where discrimination and bigotry were accepted."

Yes, and we are seeing one of these chapters being written on the BSU campus as we speak, by the young thugs whom Swindell defends. Interestingly, Swindell mentions African Americans, women, Jews, and Catholics as targets of past discrimination, but she makes no mention whatsoever of Latinos, who are truly the scapegoats of this young century.

I've heard there may be a counter-demonstration to Vasquez' appearance on Thursday, or some other response to the College Republicans' shameful marketing. If I learn more, I will post it here. (Update 7:15 a.m. Monday. I wrote this late last night. The story is now on Page 1 of today's Idaho Statesman, with the vigil information, which I've posted below.) Meantime, here are a few other events happening soon:

Tuesday, March 20 - The last Ada County Democrats Brown Bag Lunch for 2007 is planned for noon today in Room 406 of the Idaho Statehouse. (The legislature hopes to wrap up its work by Friday, March 23.)

Tuesday, March 20 - The Ada County Democrats hold their monthly Central Committee meeting, starting at  7 p.m. in the IBEW hall at 16th and Bannock in Boise.

Wednesday, March 21 - Al Gore is set to testify on Capitol Hill about global warming. Click here to send a message for him to carry to Congress.

Wednesday, March 21 - Boise Drinking Liberally holds its monthly meeting at Leku Ona, 111 S. 6th St. on the Basque Block. (Did you know there's now a DL chapter in Twin Falls? Oi!)

Thursday, March 22 - Silent vigil to protest the BSU College Republicans' promotions for Robert Vasquez' talk, from 6 to 7:45 p.m. at the Student Union Building.

Tuesday, March 27 - The last Ada County Dems' Legislative Luncheon of 2007 is set for 11:45 a.m. at the Owyhee Plaza. RSVP by March 23 by calling 331-2128. Cost is $15 at the door.

Saturday, March 31 - Together with Barack Obama supporters in locations nationwide, Idahoans for Obama plan a community kickoff in Boise starting at 1 p.m. (with an Obama webcast at 2 p.m.) at The Connector House of Catfish & Ribs, 249 S. 16th St. in Boise's Linen District. Come on down for live jazz piano, hip-hop, great eats and drinks (for sale), and Obama gear. Click here for more details.

This will be the last weekly water cooler/open thread until April 2, since I am taking a spring break starting later this week. The floor is open for your comments and events.

Soldier's dad: Support Dem plan

The father of an Army medic stationed in Iraq on Sunday asked his fellow Idahoans to support the bill up for a vote in Congress this week to establish benchmarks to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

"It's hard to maintain morale with a lack of a mission," Frank Sesek told several hundred people gathered in front of the Idaho Capitol to mark the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. The Democratic plan, with its timetable for Iraqi action, "would present a mission for our troops." Sesek spoke on behalf of his son Colin, who was supposed to be coming home from Iraq in August but who will now be there through the end of the year due to the Bush administration's escalation of the war. He also noted that although Colin signed on as a medic, his unit is so shorthanded that he spends most of his time on infantry duties. 

Colin's mother, Ann Flickinger, began her remarks, "I'd like to say first of all I am not anti-military." Flickinger noted how she comes from a long line of military veterans and herself served in the National Guard from 1971 through 1994. She expressed dismay over the war profiteering in Iraq, noting how soldiers sometimes go hungry if their duties keep them out past posted mess hall hours, and how Raytheon has years left to deliver on a contract for hardware that the troops needed yesterday.

After four years of failed strategy in Iraq - and competing with a glorious spring day better suited for yard work or picnicking - this year's anniversary rally seemed both smaller and more somber than the one held last year. A bagpiper played, people held tombstones, and several men carried an empty coffin up the statehouse steps to symbolize the war's unending casualties. Colin Sesek's brother, Evan,  described his family's grief just yesterday as Colin learned that another member of his unit had died. Most Americans are now "heartbroken and speechless" over the war, Evan said. "But now more than ever, we can no longer afford to be speechless."

Above, marchers carry a coffin from the Grove to the Statehouse in downtown Boise to mark the start of the fifth year of war in Iraq. At left, a young girl holds a paper daisy next to the Liberty Bell replica on the Statehouse steps. Sunday's events were sponsored by the Idaho Peace Coalition and Veterans for Peace.

Reminder: Boise peace march set today

Just a reminder that the Idaho Peace Coalition and Veterans for Peace plan to mark the start of the fifth year of the war on Iraq today (Sunday, March 18) with a commemorative event downtown. Meet at 1 p.m. on the Grove in downtown Boise.

Vigils also are set for 6 p.m. Monday in Coeur d'Alene (cormer of Lakeside and Northwest Blvd.), Orofino (Highway 12 and 105th St.), Twin Falls (at City Park), and Pocatello (Caldwell Park).