We Must Have Human Services in Illinois

About an hour ago, I read a story in the Chicago Tribune titled "Parents cope with child with schizophrenia - Jani's at the mercy of her mind." It was originally published in the Los Angeles Times.

According to the story, 6-year old January Schofield has schizophrenia. Schizophrenia affects 1% of adults and usually appears in the late-teens or early 20s. Of those, 10% commit suicide. Childhood-onset of schizophrenia affects about 1 of 30,000-50,000 kids under the age of 13, but when it happens in children, it's 20-30 times worse than in adults.

Although Jani's IQ is 146 (high IQs are not uncommon for people with mental illnesses), January is controlled by the voices in her mind - animals and people. Anti-psychotic drugs that work for most adults don't come close to helping control her illness. Her parents have tried everything they can. They've been passed from doctor to doctor without a diagnosis and even accused of bad parenting, until recently when they finally received the schizophrenia diagnosis. The schools aren't equipped to help Jani and the residential programs for kids serve abused or neglected children, but not severely mentally ill ones.

There are no respite care programs to help the Schofields and family has pulled away. Mrs. Schofield was fired from her job last year and they are struggling financially, but she can't look for another one because Jani needs constant supervision.

This family is barely hanging on. I can only assume that they went to the press with their story in an effort to help other families, but also in the desperate hope that someone might see their story and be able to assist Jani and her family.

Yes, the Schofields live in California, but their story is typical of countless families across the country, including Illinois, who have developmentally disabled or mentally disabled children and struggle to provide the best care for them and mantain their own sense of family while not bankrupting themselves.

As a society, we owe it to the Schofields and all the families they represent to help ease their burdens. It's time for Illinois politicians to get off their rear-ends and guarantee that human services funding will not be cut and that human services will never be held hostage in budget wars again. The time for excuses is over.

That which we do to the least of us, we do to ourselves.

What You Do To The Least of These, You Do To Me

Do you know who is credited with the phrase in the title of this post? I'll give you a hint. The exact quote is "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Jesus Christ is said to have made that statement in the parable about The Judgment of Nations. I'm not a religious person, but what this statement says to me is that the way we treat the least among us (both the good and bad ways we treat people), those who are unable to help themselves, says more about us as a human race than anything else.

If you live in Illinois, you are undoubtedly aware of the debate in Springfield about the state's budget woes. Governor Quinn, like many other governors before him, is threatening to cut the state's human services programs by 50% unless the state legislators approve the 50% increase in state income taxes. Currently, Illinois taxes residents a flat 3% income tax. Under Governor Quinn's plan, that income tax would increase to 4 1/2% for two years and then revert back to the 3% tax rate.

What are human services? Many people mistakenly think of human services simply as welfare for poor people who don't pay taxes. That would be a far too simplistic explanation of it. Yes, human services includes programs for the poor (and by poor, I mean people who live further below the poverty line than you can possibly imagine), but it also includes programs for the disabled including special education, tutors, rehabilitative services, personal assistants (not someone to come take dictation, but someone to come in and assist the client with everyday living activities like getting dressed, bathing, etc.), respite care, residential services, drug and alcohol programs, programs for the elderly, day care, foster care services, and many other programs that anyone at any time could need.

The Republican legislators, while saying they do not want to cut these services, refuse to support Governor Quinn's tax increase plan. They say that cuts are necessary in other areas of the State budget. Democrats also do not want to cut human services and are generally supporting the Governor's tax plan. And that's where the impasse lies.

Human services programs are at the core of who we are. Any of us could become disabled or have a child with severe disabilities. With any luck, we will all live to a ripe old age and the elderly programs will make our lives a bit better. In this economy, we never know when we will lose our job and need assistance from some of the state run jobs programs. How we treat the least among us speaks volumes about us as a society. Illinois needs all the human services we have. They simply are not optional. Holding them hostage in these budget wars is despicable.

I took a look at the state-by-state comparison of income taxes for 2008 by the Federation of Tax Administrators (they are not doing this comparison again until 2010). State income taxes range from no income tax in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming to up to 9.5% in Vermont. At 3%, Illinois is right in the middle. Furthermore, income taxes have not been raised in Illinois in 20 years.

As much as I don't like the idea of paying more in the way of taxes and as much as I believe there are certainly areas in the State that could be run more efficiently and with less money, I also believe that we must take care of the least among us and the best way to do that is to protect human services. For those reasons, I encourage all of the legislators to quit balancing the budget on the poor and disabled and to vote for the tax increase and then get to work on finding areas to trim.

Arlen Specter: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

Today is not sitting right with me.

You may have heard that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter began the day as a member of the Grand Ole Party (aka Republican Party) and will go to sleep tonight as a Democrat. And that confuses me.

Sure, I like the idea that, with the addition of Senator Specter and once Senator Al Franken is allowed to be seated, the Democrats have the all-important 60 votes necessary to quash a filibuster.

But this switch wasn't about Senator Specter disagreeing with the fundamental things Republicans believe or even embracing Democratic principles. Senator Specter himself today admitted that his switch had everything to do with the fact that he did some polling and discovered that he probably would lose in a Pennsylvania Republican primary next year. He also made it known that he wouldn't just automatically vote along party lines. The fact is that the Republican party is now dominated by ultra-conservative fundamentalists who use abortion as a litmus test and Senator Specter's 2008 pro-choice voting record would not sit well.

The thing is that I can't get the images of Senator Specter grilling Anita Hill and calling her a liar in the 1991 Confirmation Hearings for Clarence Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court.

"The lowest point on the first day of the hearing came when Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter implied that Hill had simply fantasized Thomas' asking for dates and his lurid remarks about pornography. It is all but inconceivable that a similarly qualified man, black or white, would be accused not merely of lying but of imagining things." — Time Senior Editor Jack E. White, October 21, 1991.

Of course, I suppose that maybe we should be grateful for Senator Specter's behavior during those hearings. Watching 12 white men grill Anita Hill as though she was a criminal mobilized feminists nationwide and 1992 became known as the "Year of the Woman" as the number of female Senators grew from 3 to 5 and women were elected in droves to many other offices around the country.

Maybe. But I still can't help but think Arlen Specter's switch was more about self-preservation than about a shift in his fundamental beliefs. And I just don't trust that. I'll always look at him and wonder if he's just a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Picture of the Day

The President-elect and four living ex-Presidents all together in one room. Wow.

The collective brainpower in this picture . . . well, it's brought down significantly by the Bushes, but otherwise, it's pretty awesome.

But why won't anyone stand near President Carter?

The Rod Blagojevich-Roland Burris Saga Continues

I'm confused.

Although Governor Rod Blagojevich has been charged with crimes related to attempting to sell the senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, he has not been indicted, impeached, nor tried and found guilty of any crimes.

Now I'm no fan of Rod Blagojevich. In fact, I think that he's pretty much an abismal failure and blowhard. But he's still the Governor of Illinois.

Since he was arrested on December 9th, he's been doing his job. He's signed bills into law, most notably a bill requiring insurance companies to cover autism. He also set a date for a special election for the vacated 5th Congressional Seat vacated by Rahm Emmanuel when Rep. Emmanuel was appointed to be President-elect Barack Obama's Chief of Staff. Next week, he will preside over the swearing in of new State Senators and Representatives in the 96th General Assembly.

No one has questioned Governor Blagojevich's ability to perform these duties. In fact, many people are quite happy about them. I, for one, think the autism law was long overdue. But why are people so loudly protesting the Governor's ability to appoint a Senator? If Governor Blagojevich is capable of performing some duties (e.g., signing bills into law, presiding over the Illinois Legislature, and setting dates for special election), why isn't he capable of performing other duties? Why isn't there an uproar over every action he takes? Why are people selectively questioning his legal standing to do his job?

I don't buy the argument that since he's been charged with trying to sell the senate seat, there's no way he can appoint anyone without people thinking there was some pay to play involved. It is unfathomable to me that anyone would say that Roland Burris in not qualified to be a U.S. Senator. He's been elected to statewide office four times.

When Mr. Burris arrived at the Senate door this morning, he was turned away because his credentials were not in order, but it's been reported that even if Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White certifies his credentials, which is what is currently lacking, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that Mr. Burris will still not be seated. What? Even if he has the proper credentials, Roland Burris will not be seated? Why not?

Mr. Burris is meeting with Senate Leadership tomorrow because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to "negotiate." What? What is there to negotiate?

Why is the Senate, made up of 99 mostly white men and women, telling 1 black man that he is not welcome?

How Is It Different?

I have watched, somewhat quietly, over the last four weeks since Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested, the unfolding drama of picking new senators for both New York and Illinois.

As a bit of background, Illinois needs a new senator because Senator Barack Obama is about to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States (yep, I just like saying that). New York is in this same pickle because President-elect Obama has chosen Senator Hillary Clinton as the new Secretary of State.

Even before the November 4th election, there was great speculation about who would replace Senator Obama should he win. Familiar names including Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan were among the most talked about.

Personally, I hoped that Governor Blagojevich would name someone quickly as that person would have more seniority than the new senators elected November 4th and sworn in on January 6th. Unfortunately, he did not.

As we all now know, Governor Blagojevich is alleged to have tried to sell the senate seat to the highest bidder - the person who would raise $1 million for his own personal campaign fund. And that is what led U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to arrest Blago on December 9, 2008.

Now I'm not going to get into whether Blago is guilty or not. That's ultimately for a court to decide. Certainly, in the Court of Public Opinion, Blago is the most corrupt politician ever and should share a cell with former Governor George Ryan.

Last week, in a move that surprised everyone I know including many politicos, Governor Blagojevich named former 3 term Illinois Comptroller and 1 term Attorney General Roland Burris to fill the vacant senate seat. Immediately, a firestorm erupted with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying he would not seat Mr. Burris. Sure, Mr. Burris lost in his bids to be elected senator against Paul Simon in 1984, mayor of Chicago in 1995 against Mayor for Life Richard M. Daley and multiple runs for Governor, but the fact remains he won 4 terms to statewide office.

Looking at New York's situation, within minutes of Senator Clinton being nominated to be Secretary of State, Caroline Kennedy (of the Hyannis Port Kennedy's) tossed her name into the ring to replace Senator Clinton in a seat once held by her uncle, Senator Robert F. Kennedy. For the most part, the media and the public have loved this. Everyone is very eager for Caroline to breath life back into Camelot and take her seemingly rightful place in the Senate.

But what has Caroline Kennedy done to prove herself worthy of this senate seat? Since I questioned Sarah Palin's qualifications to be Vice President, I feel it would be unfair of me to ignore the fact that other than being a Kennedy, writing some nice books about public service and patriotism, and serving on some boards, Caroline Kennedy has no actual qualifications to be the next Senator from New York. She has never held any elected office, for example. It's recently been revealed that she failed to vote in a number of elections, which is a bit ironic since she claims public service and patriotism are part of her DNA. Obviously, she's over 30, a resident of New York, and a citizen of the United States, which are the only requirements laid out in the Constitution, but many people meet those requirements and remain unqualified to be a Senator.

Aside from the the nostalgia of Camelot, I think the only two things Caroline Kennedy does have, however, is instant name recognition and the ability to raise a significant amount of money to run again in 2010 and, should she win that special election, to run again in 2012 when her seat would normally be up for reelection. She also has the ability to raise a significant amount of money for New York Governor David Patterson in his 2010 gubernatorial campaign. He is probably going to need all the help he can get since he wasn't actually elected to his position. Of course, David Patterson is thinking of which candidate will best help his own political aspirations. To suggest he's not would simply by naive.

What I don't understand is how these situations are all that different. Isn't it always understood that politicians help each other out? It seems to me that the only differences between the New York and Illinois situations are that (1) Caroline Kennedy is a Kennedy, (2) no one likes Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, and (3) Blago wants his payment upfront and guaranteed, while Patterson will take an IOU. Democratic Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid obviously wants to keep both seats in the Democratic column in 2010 and Roland Burris won't easily win re-election and certainly doesn't have the name recognition to easily raise money. But, at the end of the day, isn't palm greasing palm greasing no matter how or when it's done? Why is one blindly accepted and the other a federal crime?

This is How Politicians Should Act

I'm not going to speculate on whether New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson did anything wrong or not. Frankly, I don't have any idea. But I do applaud his swift and immediate action of withdrawing from the nomination to become Secretary of Commerce. This is how politicians should act.

Richardson to withdraw as Commerce secretary
New Mexico governor cites pending investigation of business dealings

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, tapped in December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state.

"Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact," he said Sunday in a report by NBC News' Andrea Mitchell. "But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process."

He said he plans to continue in his role as governor. "I appreciate the confidence President-elect Obama has shown in me, and value our friendship and working partnership. I told him that I am eager to serve in the future in any way he deems useful. And like all Americans, I pray for his success and the success of our beloved country."

Obama said Sunday he accepted Richardson's decision to withdraw with 'deep regret.'

"Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office," Obama said.

Richardson, 61, was United Nations ambassador and energy secretary during the Clinton administration, and he is in his second term as New Mexico's governor. He also served seven terms in the House of Representatives.

If he had been confirmed by the Senate as secretary of Commerce, he would have taken over a sprawling department that oversees the National Weather Service, the Census Bureau, economic development programs and more.

One of the nation's most prominent Hispanic politicians, Richardson had pledged at the time of his nomination — in English and Spanish — to work to renew the economy.

Obama on Sunday gave no indication whom he might name to replace Richardson as the nominee but said "we must move quickly to fill the void left by Governor Richardson's decision."

Must See TV!

Set your TiVos, DVRs, or VCRs. You must see "The Choice 2008" from Frontline on PBS tomorrow night. Yes, I know you've already decided to vote for Obama, but watch it anyway.



From the Frontline Press Release

IN A HISTORIC ELECTION YEAR, FRONTLINE PRESENTS
THE STORY OF TWO UNLIKELY PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS AND WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT AMERICA

FRONTLINE Presents
The Choice 2008

Tuesday, October 14, 2008, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS
Encore broadcasts: Sunday, October 26, and Monday, November 3, 2008
Download free from iTunes beginning October 15, through the end of November.

It has been called one of the most historic presidential elections in our nation’s history--Barack Obama versus John McCain. It is a race that pits the iconoclast against the newcomer, the heroic prisoner of war against the first African American nominated by a major party. FRONTLINE's critically acclaimed series The Choice returns this election season to examine the rich personal and political biographies of these two men in The Choice 2008, airing Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings).

The Choice 2008, part of "PBS Vote 2008" election coverage, draws on in-depth interviews with the advisers, friends and those closest to these unlikely candidates, as well as with seasoned observers of American politics, who together tell the definitive story of these men and their ascent to their party's nominations.

When FRONTLINE first aired a profile of presidential candidates during the 1988 election, The Choice redefined political journalism on television. Now, in an unprecedented election year, veteran FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk (Bush's War, Cheney's Law) goes behind the headlines to tell a deeper political story about the candidates, the decisions they made, and why their nominations may indicate a historic change in American politics.

The story begins at the Democratic Convention in 2004 when Barack Obama, a little-known candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, stepped forward to tell his personal story and to call for a move beyond partisan politics.

"All around were people with tears in their eyes," Obama's chief political adviser David Axelrod tells FRONTLINE. "And I realized at that moment that his life would never be the same."

Also that summer, the future Republican nominee John McCain, a self-described maverick and sometime adversary of the Bush administration, took the stage at his party's convention to defend the president's national security policy. In an effort to win the support of his party, the longtime senator from Arizona had decided to try to walk a fine line--a line he had had trouble walking all his life--between being an unconventional outsider and a team player.

"I think McCain's goal was to make himself more acceptable to the party base without completely surrendering his outsider independent persona, and that was a very complex balancing act," says Mark McKinnon, a member of McCain's inner circle and former media adviser to President Bush.

As McCain the maverick was trying to make peace with his party, Obama the newcomer was discovering the afterglow from his speech was leading party elders to suggest the freshman senator consider a future run for the White House. Within two years of his arrival in the Senate, a window of opportunity seemed open if he was willing to take the chance.

"I told him he should do it," former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle tells FRONTLINE. "The longer he's in Washington, the more history he has, and the more history he has, the more he's going to be explaining his votes and his actions and his statements and his positions that undermine his message"--a message that was all about breaking with the past.

FRONTLINE follows the two candidates from deep inside their campaigns as they run the gauntlet of the 2008 primary.

"This primary, more than any in recent memory, severely tested the candidates," says producer/director Kirk. "Watching how Obama and McCain won reveals much about the men, their ideas, the kind of organizations they have built, and the way they face adversity."

In the summer of 2007, only months after McCain had officially launched his campaign, he was declared a "dead man walking" by the media and party leaders.

"McCain was stuck in this political purgatory where the people that liked the maverick, the independent, didn't trust him anymore, and the establishment conservatives still wouldn't embrace him," says political observer Charlie Cook.

But McCain persevered, firing much of his staff, scaling back the campaign, and focusing almost entirely on New Hampshire. FRONTLINE tells the dramatic story of this turnaround, with insiders involved every step of the way, which friends say was reminiscent of his determination during his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

At the same time, an Obama candidacy was still seen as a curiosity by the Washington punditry. He was a newcomer to national politics and facing the formidable political team of Hillary and Bill Clinton, but Obama and his advisers sensed an opening.

"The Obama campaign felt that Clinton was vulnerable if they would make the race about something different than the old rules," journalist Mark Halperin tells FRONTLINE.

One key to that strategy, Obama told his advisers, was to avoid being pigeonholed as an "African American politician." But as the contest between Obama and Clinton heated up, comments by former President Clinton and the release of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright tapes brought the issue of race, always lurking, to the forefront of the primary campaign.

"In the long run," observes House Majority Whip James Clyburn, the highest ranking African American in Congress, "it allowed Barack Obama to confront the one thing he was trying to avoid, and that's the whole question of race, because sooner or later, he would have to confront it."

With the race narrowed to two men--one whose life was focused by his military service and his years as a POW in Hanoi, the other a black child raised by his white family who found identity in grassroots organizing and politics in the African American community of Chicago--America is truly at a crossroads: historic lows in the public's confidence in our country's future; a battered incumbent overseeing an unpopular war in Iraq; a faltering economy as gasoline prices soar.

"This is a moment where people are both terrified and also hopeful," says Kirk. "They have a choice between two extraordinary candidacies, two men who are trying to embody change in a time where many Americans seem to believe partisan dysfunction has curtailed the ability of our political parties to lead."

As journalist Matt Bai concludes, "Both of them in what they convey to voters--one in a long career spanning decades, the other in a lightning flash of a career spanning what seems like minutes--[is] a sense of breaking with the status quo, a sense of change, a sense that things need to be done differently than they've been done before. And the question I think a lot of voters will have to ask themselves is, who's actually going to deliver?"

The Choice 2008 is a FRONTLINE co-production with Kirk Documentary Group, Ltd. The writer, producer and director is Michael Kirk. The producer and reporter is Jim Gilmore. The co-producer and co-writer is Paul Stekler. FRONTLINE is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Park Foundation. Additional funding for The Choice 2008 is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting/PBS Program Challenge Fund. FRONTLINE is closed-captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and described for people who are blind or visually impaired by the Media Access Group at WGBH. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. The executive producer of FRONTLINE is David Fanning.

PBS goes behind the headlines throughout the summer and fall with the "PBS Vote 2008" election lineup, offering Americans a unique opportunity to explore the presidential election. PBS' trusted news brands and personalities bring viewers in-depth information and insight into the issues and candidates. PBS' election coverage will be led by The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Washington Week with Gwen Ifill & National Journal, NOW on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal and Tavis Smiley, and enhanced by programming from other trusted PBS sources, including American Experience, FRONTLINE, Nightly Business Report and P.O.V. PBS.org's election hub page, pbs.org/vote2008, will provide further perspectives. The site will aggregate video from PBS, feature syndicatable content from across public media and highlight innovative Web-only projects from PBS producers and stations.

Free on iTunes and YouTube Beginning Oct. 15, Plus Elections '08 VOD

This election season, PBS's flagship documentary series FRONTLINE offers voters more options than ever to view its quadrennial award-winning election special The Choice 2008, premiering Tuesday, Oct. 14, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings), with encore broadcasts Sunday, Oct. 26, and Monday, Nov. 3, 2008.

For the first time, viewers will also be able to watch the complete two-hour dual biography of John McCain and Barack Obama on YouTube ( youtube.com/pbs ) and download it free from iTunes beginning Oct. 15 through the month of November. The Choice 2008 will also stream in the high-quality News & Public Affairs Player at pbs.org/frontline and on many local PBS station Web sites, where visitors can select from a rich archive of more than 45 full-length FRONTLINE reports, as always with no commercials.

"Now more than ever, new media plays an important role in how Americans learn and share information about the election," says FRONTLINE executive producer David Fanning. "It's important that we continue to fulfill the mission of public broadcasting by extending free viewership of The Choice 2008 to as wide an audience as possible and by reaching out to voters across these digital platforms."

Digital Cable television viewers will also be able to access The Choice 2008 via Elections '08 On Demand, a voter-education VOD channel that is being offered across the country on America's leading cable operators, including Comcast, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable among many others. The Choice 2008 also will be offered On Demand through additional local cable operators in select markets. Please check with your cable provider to find The Choice 2008 and Elections '08 On Demand. Finally, repeat broadcasts of The Choice 2008 are scheduled on the digital channel PBS WORLD on Oct. 15 at 7 P.M.; Oct. 16 at 12 A.M., 8 A.M. and 2 P.M.; and Oct. 19 at 12 P.M. ET.

Here are two more videos to tide you over til tomorrow night.

VP Debate Redux

I don't have a lot of time today (it's my College Reunion!), but I wanted to share my thoughts on the VP Debate last night.

Overall, Sarah Palin performed slightly better than I expected. She mostly formed coherent sentences, but she was clearly scripted and had done a solid job memorizing answers, which I believe explains her statement to Joe Bident and Gwen Ifill that she wouldn't be answering the way they'd like or in response to her questions.

That statement was obnoxious. One of the jobs of all candidates in any debate is to answer the questions that are asked. They are asked for a reason and are not "gotcha questions." As President or Vice President, a large portion of the job is about depth of knowledge and being able to think on your feet. I understand that Presidents have vast staffs to advise them, but without understanding the issues and the world more at more than just a soundbite level, a President risks becoming a puppet.

Senator Biden was respectful of Sarah Palin. He called her "Governor" all night, never once referring to her as "Sarah." He also never talked down to her, when it would have been easy to do so. I was a little worried that he might come off as condescending, but he treated her as an equal all night. She, on the other hand, talked down to him on a number of occasions. Remember her "Say it ain't Joe" statement? That was beyond the pale. She often felt the need to attempt to school him, which came off as condescending and disrespectful.

I'm worried about her refusal to look to the past for lessons or for causes of problems. Specifically, she did this global warming and the problems of the last 8 years. Imagine going to your doctor and saying, "Doctor, I'm in pain" and she simply says, "take 2 pain pills and you'll be fine" without attempting to find out the cause of your pain. Maybe you have appendicitis. Pain pills are not going to fix that. And neither will tossing random "solutions" at global warming or the economy or the war.

With regards to her "Joe Six Pack/Hockey Mom" persona and folksy way of speaking, we've tried that before. It's called the George W. Bush Administration. People say that her gaffes and lack of depth of knowledge about issues makes her like them. Well that's super. If you're electing the PTA President or Homecoming Queen. Unfortunately, that's not what this is all about. Is it too much to ask that our leaders have a well-rounded education on the issues and are better than just the guy I want to go drinking with? I know a number of people I'd enjoy having a few beers with, but I wouldn't let them baby-sit my cats, much less run the country.

I could go on, but I'm off to my College Reunion. I'll try to post some pics later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Possible 3rd Party Candidate - October Surprise!

This is HUGE!

We all knew there would be an October Surprise in this election and I know what it will be!

Thanks to grassroots organizing - community organizing, if you will - there is a new 3rd party candidate!

You can watch the media frenzy over this new political superstar by clicking here.

Feel free to leave your thoughts on this new candidate in the comments.

I think it goes without saying, but I'm withdrawing my support for Obama in favor of this candidate. Will you join me?

Let the Games Begin!

Have you decided which candidate has earned your vote? Want to have a little fun?

If you are part of the 8-13% of undecided voters or if you simply want to have some fun, LMS has the answer for you!

Buckle your seatbelts boys and girls: It's Match-o-Matic II time! And you thought Guitar Hero was fun!

Match-o-Matic is a fun-for-the-whole-family quiz that will tell who to vote for - McCain or Obama! Yeah!

Click here for the fun to begin!

You wanna guess my perfect candidate?

Random Election Related Thoughts & Questions

These are some random thoughts and questions I've had over the last few days. I have no answers for any of them, so please feel free to discuss them in the comments.

They are not meant to be funny in any way.

1. If Sarah Palin is found guilty of the charges against her that she, her family, or staff violated Alaska's ethical or state personnel rules in pressuring the Public Safety Commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law, will she be impeached as Governor? And if so, is she even eligible to be the VP?

2. Why is it bad for Barack Obama to be a "rock star" or "celebrity," but it's okay for Sarah Palin?

3. Isn't asking someone to be your VP after only meeting them once (and on the other side, accepting the offer), kind of like sleeping with someone on the first date? Fun in the moment, but usually something you wish you hadn't done the next morning?

4. Why do Republicans have such a disdain for community service unless it's military service?

5. Given that none of the GOP speakers wore flag pins at the Convention, does the fact that I recently bought new knickers with the Stars & Stripes on them make me more patriotic than them?

6. If you can't keep your daughter from having sex with "abstinence only" education, why must it be the law of the land?

7. Why is it sexist to ask questions about a woman's job qualifications?

8. How does drilling for oil in the Gulf or in ANWAR help make us less dependent on oil?

9. I've noticed that John McCain has proudly sucked off the tit of the Federal Government since 1954 when he enrolled at Annapolis. Today, as a US Senator, he has health care insurance that is quite literally the best money can buy, yet he continues to say that if Obama's health care plan (which says that everyone would have access to the same health care as Senators) were enacted, we'd have bureaucrats deciding our medical fates. Why is the Senate's health care plan good enough for John McCain, but not the rest of us?

10. Why is it a bad idea to do simple things to conserve like keeping our tires properly inflated, keeping our cars in good repair, turning off unnecessary lights, etc.?

11. If Sarah's got nothing to hide, why won't she do interviews or give press conferences?

12. Why does the McCain campaign assume that I would vote for him because I've got a uterus just like his VP?

13. How exactly did Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), who grew up in Atlanta, NOT know that the word "uppity" when used to describe people of African-American descent is ALWAYS pejorative?

14. Remember when Wal-Mart was all about "made in America" and "buy American"? I noticed that they recently dumped their red, white and blue logo with the big star for an orange asterisk. Are they no longer proud to be American?

An Open Letter to Sarah Palin

My friend Scott (he's one of the good guys) posted this on his Facebook page and I just have to share it with you.

Feel free to distribute it as you like.

Hello All,

I just can't refrain from sharing this piece with you which I wrote this morning after Sarah Pallin's appalling speech last night! I was so outraged by her smarmy sarcasm! This piece has just been picked up by Women's Feature Service, a syndicate to which I regularly contribute, so I am prohibited from submitting it to major dailies. However, feel free to share as widely as you'd like!

Elayne Clift
PO Box 299
Saxtons River, Vt 05154 USA
802-869-2686/fax 2687
eclift@vermontel.net
www.elayneclift.com

AN OPEN LETTER TO SARAH PALIN

Okay, you did it. You hoodwinked your party and a lot of other Americans too, I suspect, with your cheerleader’s charm and your finger-waving fervor. You got yourself called “Hottest VP.” Some say you “knocked it out of the park.” Well, I think you should be knocked out of the park, Sarah, and here’s why.

First, your hypocrisy is astounding. How can you possibly say that something like an unplanned pregnancy is a personal matter deserving of privacy? Doesn’t every woman who grapples with a painful abortion decision deserve the same privacy? What rock have you been living under that enables you to advocate for abstinence-only sex education when you can’t even teach that dubious value to your own daughter? Why do you speak of love and support for children (including the unborn) when your party refuses to legislate policies that would offer them decent healthcare and early childhood education and provide their mothers with a modicum of support, including paid maternity leave?

You are a selfish woman, Sarah, with dubious priorities. “J’accuse”, as writer Emile Zola wrote -- but you must pardon me for exposing my elitist education -- because as a mother myself, I cannot fathom how you would subject a teenage daughter in trouble to the kind of public scrutiny she now must endure in the interest of your own ambitions. At the risk of sounding like a failed feminist, I must also say that being the mother of a special needs child too, I just don’t get how you can abdicate the desperately important advocacy and monitoring that will be required in these first years of your son’s life. (I know your husband is deeply involved and responsible, but believe me, Sarah, no one does it like a mom.) As you said yourself, “Children with special needs inspire special love.” Where is your special love, Sarah? Family values, I might remind you, are not just a set of lofty ideals wrapped in grandiose rhetoric; they involve making hard choices in the best interest of everyone in the family.

By now many people are finding you either mean-spirited or remarkably ignorant. I think you are both. Nothing revealed these characteristics so much or so shockingly as your attack (and Rudy Guliani’s) on community organizing. “I guess a small town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer’ except that you have actual responsibilities,” you said. Don’t you get it, Sarah? Community organizing is what your beloved faith-based charities do! Community organizing by women all around this country is what happened in the 1970s and 80s to enable you to be taken seriously as a candidate for vice president, and to stand, God forbid, a heartbeat away from being the CEO of the most powerful country on earth. Community organizing is what got us the Americans with Disabilities Act which will serve your son well as he matures. I will never, ever, forgive you, Sarah, for your snide, sarcastic, demeaning, despicable disrespect for one of America’s finer traditions – or for your surly attacks on the media, America’s Fourth Estate and a pillar of any democracy.

Your much anticipated coming out party was billed as a way for all of us to get to know who you are. Well, Sarah, I know who you are. You are the bully in the sandbox, the teenager who thinks she can get her way by being flirtatious, the adult who thinks she can get by without doing the hard work and get ahead without paying much dues, the politician who believes that lies are more expedient than facts. I know who you are, Sarah, and I don’t like or trust you. I find you duplicitous, shallow, insulting and frighteningly retro – all qualities I am terrified to contemplate in a V.P. or a president.

For the record, by the way, here are just a few reasons, reported by the Associated Press, that I find you duplicitous and dishonest:

• You said you had protected taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending but the truth is that as mayor of Wasilla you hired a lobbyist and went to Washington every year to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. Since you’ve been governor Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal funding, the largest per capital request in the country. And that Bridge to Nowhere? You only dropped the idea after it was ridiculed nationally.

• You accused Barack Obama of never having authored a major law or reform, “not even in the state senate.” The fact is that as a new senator Mr. Obama worked in a bipartisan way to pass federal legislation, now law, that helped intercept illegal shipments of WMDs and made it harder to stockpile conventional weapons. He also co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

• You falsely accuse Mr. Obama of planning to raise all kinds of taxes without fully sharing his complete and complex tax plan. In reality, just for starters, the McCain-Palin plan would raise taxes for middle income taxpayers by 3% while the Obama-Biden plan would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly.

• You and Mr. McCain continue to inflate your experience and role as governor in a state that ranks 47th in terms of population. For example, you may be in charge of your state’s national guard, but your authority does not include calling those guards into actual military service. (Alaska has one of the smallest state guards in the country, by the way.) Contrary to what John McCain has claimed, you do not have national security as one of your primary responsibilities.

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. Even your own political pundits, Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy, were caught by a live mike calling your speech “political [expletive]” and bemoaning the fact that “It’s over.” Honey, I’m afraid that as the truth keeps surfacing and folks get beyond your being a “hotty,” and when you must finally respond to the press on the Sunday morning talk shows or at press conferences, and when the spotlight shines down upon you as you debate your formidable, experienced opponent you will no longer be the toast of your party. You will simply be toast. And that’s something I wouldn’t find hard to swallow at all.

# # #

Elayne Clift writes about women, politics and social issues from Saxtons River, Vt.

Those Damn Community Organizers

Ever since I heard Candy Crowley on CNN report the line about Community Organizers from an early copy of Palin's speech released to the press yesterday afternoon, I have been completely incensed.

I had to resist the urge not to throw things at my TV last night when she actually said it. My only saving grace was that I didn't want to punish myself by breaking my TV.

This morning, FranIam wrote a great post about how difficult it is for her to remain positive this morning in light of that speech. I gotta give FranIam kudos, she's really working hard to resist the urge to reach into the muck that the GOP is spouting.

In her post, Fran also asked for the opinions of her readers and what we thought of the speech. I commented about the community organizing line and I can't stop thinking about that comment.

Here's my comment:

I was over-the-top offended by many parts of her speech, but the line that will stay with me forever was the line that in 1 sentence managed to insult every volunteer helping those less fortunate in America:

"I guess being mayor of a small town is kinda like being a community organizer, except I had responsibilities."

Volunteers who help people with no voice have responsibilities too. Those responsibilities may not come in the form of municipal code, but they're a code from a much higher power - our conscious. The responsibilities of volunteers come from that place deep in our souls that won't allow us to ignore the poor, weak and the suffering. As far as I'm concerned, that's the highest calling there is and the most important responsibility we have as humans.

If not for those "community organizers" you clearly hate so much, would the
"community" previously known as the 13 Colonies have come together and risen up
against England? What do you think the Founding Fathers were? They weren't born
with that title. They were fucking COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS.

Oh, and that work you did on the PTA . . . THAT was Community Organizing too.

And all that GOTV stuff that goes on around election day? Community Organizing.

Rallying a group of volunteers to send care packages to the troops in Iraq, including your uber-patriotic son, Track? Community Organizing.

I could go on.

To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, "Governor, I know community organizers. I've
worked with them. They're friends of mine. Governor, you're no Community
Organizer."

Here's a few more things that occurred to me a few minutes ago (when I really should be focused on work) . . .

I guess you're gonna have to give up your relationship with Christianity, Sarah. Your messiah, Jesus Christ, was also a Community Organizer. He had no "responsibilities," except the ones to God and the rest of humankind.

You know your cute hubby, Todd Palin, the First Dude? You love to talk about how he's a union member. Do you know who started unions? Community Organizers.

And one more thing Sarah Palin, you know those women who came together in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries to fight for women's suffrage and ultimately made it possible for the likes of you to be standing at the GOP Convention and (God help us) a candidate for Vice President in 2008? You know those women, right? Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Lucretia Mott, Jane Addams, Helen Kendrick Johnson, Jeannette Rankin, Alice Duer Miller, M. Carey Thomas, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Olympia Brown, Maud Younger, Caroline Severence, and many many more.

They were ALL Community Organizers.

Before you go dissing Community Organizers with a cute, yet shrill (yep, I said it) sound bite, maybe you should think for a moment who fought for your rights and exactly how it is you are able to be where you are today.

In case you're unaware Sarah, Ordinary People CAN Change the World. The fact is, they usually do.

Community Organizers, Sarah. It all starts with Community Organizers.

Do You Need a Sweater? Hell Froze Over Today.

Are you a bit cold tonight? You may be because Hell officially froze over today. Now we KNOW that the Cubs will win the World Series in October.

It's truly a day of miracles. Who would have ever thought Mike Madigan and Rod Blagovich would kiss and make up? Not me. In fact, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.



Read about it in the Chicago Sun-Times here.

Let's just hope that this isn't just some PR stunt and things actually start happening in Springfield.

Aren't the Republicans the Party of Family Values?

I guess I'm really lucky. I have a brother, Dave (I may have mentioned him before), who I consider to be my best friend. Sure, we fought like the Hatfields and McCoys when we were growing up, but for at least the last 15 or so years, there has been no one I want standing in my corner more than him. When I have something to celebrate, I want Dave to know. And when I'm feeling down about myself or have bad news or need advice, I call Dave. And he comes to me for a lot too.

Sure, I jest about still having the only child syndrome, some 34 years after Dave was born, but I'm never serious about it. In fact, usually, the opposite is true. I want things for Dave before me. Never, in my wildest imagination can I conceive of a time when I would actually wish I was an only child or not acknowledge I had a brother. I am proud of Dave. I'm proud of his accomplishments and the man he has become.

So you'll understand why I get a little outraged at the story below from NPR. Now, I'll admit this is only one side of the story. But unless your sibling is Ted Bundy or the Unabomber, why wouldn't you admit to having them? Oh, ya, they're Democrats. Well, Cindy & John McCain, let me share a little secret with ya. If you stop shitting on your siblings and admit to having them, they MIGHT support you in your efforts to become President.

Nice family values, Cindy & John McCain.

Cindy McCain's Half Sister 'Angry' She's Hidden
by Ted Robbins

All Things Considered, August 18, 2008 · Last Tuesday, NPR broadcast a story about Cindy McCain's business and charity work. In it, Ted Robbins described McCain as the only child of Jim Hensley, a wealthy Arizona businessman. The next morning, NPR received an e-mail from Nicholas Portalski of Phoenix, who heard the story with his mother.

"We were listening to the piece about Cindy McCain on NPR, All Things Considered, and it just struck us very hard," Portalski said.

His mother, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, is also Hensley's daughter.

The Portalski family is accustomed to hearing Cindy McCain described as Hensley's only child.

She's been described that way by news organizations from The New Yorker and The New York Times to Newsweek and ABC.

McCain herself routinely uses the phrase "only child," as she did on CNN last month. "I grew up with my dad," she said then. "I'm an only child. My father was a cowboy, and he really loved me very much, but I think he wanted a son occasionally."

McCain's father was also a businessman — and twice a father.

"I'm upset," Kathleen Portalski says. "I'm angry. It makes me feel like a nonperson, kind of."

Who Is Kathleen Hensley Portalski?


Documents show Kathleen Anne Hensley was born to Jim and Mary Jeanne Hensley on Feb. 23, 1943. They had been married for six years when Kathleen was born.

Jim Hensley was a bombardier on a B-17, flying over Europe during World War II.

He was injured and sent to a facility in West Virginia to recuperate. During that time, while still married to Mary Jeanne, Hensley met another woman — Marguerite Smith. Jim divorced Mary Jeanne and married Marguerite in 1945.

Cindy Lou Hensley was born nine years later, in 1954.

She may have grown up as an only child, but so did her half sister, Kathleen, who was raised by a single parent.

Portalski says she did see her father and her half sister from time to time.

"I saw him a few times a year," she says. "I saw him at Christmas and birthdays, and he provided money for school clothes, and he called occasionally."

Jim Hensley also provided credit cards and college tuition for his grandchildren, as well as $10,000 gifts to Kathleen and her husband, Stanley Portalski. That lasted a decade, they say. By then, Jim Hensley had built Hensley and Co. into one of the largest beer distributorships in the country. He was worth tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.

Sole Inheritor To Hensley's Estate


When Hensley died in 2000, his will named not only Portalski but also a daughter of his wife Marguerite from her earlier marriage. So, Cindy McCain may be the only product of Jim and Marguerite's marriage, but she is not the only child of either.

She was, however, the sole inheritor of his considerable estate.

Kathleen Portalski was left $10,000, and her children were left nothing. It's a fact Nicholas Portalski says his sister discovered the hard way.

"What she found in town — on the day of or the day before or the day after his funeral — was that the credit card didn't work anymore," Nick says.

The Portalskis live in a modest home in central Phoenix. Kathleen is retired, as is her husband. Nicholas Portalski is a firefighter and emergency medical technician looking for work.

They say it would have been nice if they were left some of the Hensley fortune.

They also say they are Democrats, but Nicholas Portalski says he had another reason for coming forward.

"The fact that we don't exist," he says. "The fact that we've never been recognized, and then Cindy has to put such a fine point on it by saying something that's not true. Recently, again and again. It's just very, very hurtful."

Kathleen Portalski says she'd like an acknowledgment and an apology.

NPR asked the McCain campaign — specifically, Cindy McCain — to comment or respond. Neither replied.

Kathleen Hensley Portalski displays newspaper clippings of her father in World War II, as well as snapshots of herself as a child with her father.

Portalski is shown with her late father, Jim Hensley, who was also Cindy McCain's father.

Nicholas Portalski, whose mother is Cindy McCain's half-sister, says it's "very, very hurtful" that he and his mother haven't been recognized.

Okay, this is me again (vs. the NPR article). I know some people are going to say "oh Kathleen Hensley Portalski and her son are just looking for a handout." Well, maybe they are and maybe they're not. And I don't care either way. What I know for sure (here's my Oprah moment), is that I have to wonder if you can't tell me the truth about how many siblings you have (Cindy, you have 2), what else are you gonna lie to me about? And if I can't trust you (and your husband) to tell me the truth on the simple stuff (how many siblings you have is the simple stuff), then I sure can't trust you to be President or the wife of the President.

Of course, I suppose it's possible that all that pill popping Cindy did caused her to have memory problems and despite all the reminders, poor Cindy simply can't remember.

Gas Tax Holiday - Good or Bad?

One of John McCain's favorite ideas is the Gas Tax Holiday. He spoke about it this morning (link to follow).

A Gas Tax Holiday is a period of time when there are no taxes on gasoline. In this case, it would be Federal Taxes. State and/or local taxes would remain. If you drive a regular car, you would save, in theory, 18.4 cents per gallon. If you use diesel, in theory, you would save 24.4 cents per gallon.

There are a few things I don't understand about this idea.

1. On McCain's own website, he's a total of 4 lines to this idea. So you don't have to click on the link, here's his policy: "John McCain Believes We Should Institute A Summer Gas Tax Holiday. Hard-working American families are suffering from higher gasoline prices. John McCain calls on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day." Hasn't he thought more about his favorite idea?

2. Originally, he proposed that the Gas Tax Holiday would run from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but recently, the AP reported that he wanted to extend it without saying how long he wants to extend it. Specifics. I'd like specifics.

3. It seems to me that the 18.4 or 24.4 cents per gallon is not just "fun money," but rather it is used to pay for things such as roads, schools, and the like. These aren't luxuries, like a trip to Dairy Queen might be. We need these things. Where will the money come from to pay for them if we have a Gas Tax Holiday? Or will we have a tax increase after the tax is reinstated to recover the money lost during the Gas Tax Holiday?

4. Gas station owners claim that despite $4+ per gallon prices, they are struggling and only make about 10 - 12 cents per gallon and that gets eaten up with credit card charges. The idea behind a Gas Tax Holiday is that the price of gas will go down from say $4.18 a gallon (with the tax) to $4 a gallon (without the tax), but what's the motivation for the gas station that's been struggling, and in some cases losing money, to lower their prices? Won't they just think to themselves "thank goodness! I can finally make up some of those profits I've been losing?" I know you're thinking that if the Shell station on one corner lowers their prices, the BP across the street will follow. But what if none of them lower their prices? They're certainly not required to do so.

5. Won't people be even more irritated when the Federal Gas Tax is reinstated? And then what?

6. Would John and Cindy McCain be willing to personally cover the financial losses to the Federal Government from their vast beer fortune?

Discuss.

The Onion = Funny

It's the weekend and it's hot. There's no need to think much on days like this. So sit back and enjoy this video from The Onion.


Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

I'm Moving!

Call the moving company! Start packing the boxes! Betsey, Ross and I are moving!

I know you are in shock. You had no idea this is coming. Heck, members of my family are probably unable to breath and mad as Hell that they're reading this kind of news here rather than being told by me in person. Well, deal with it. I have found Utopia and we are moving!

Are we moving to back to DC? Um, no. Florida? Nope. You'll never guess, so I'm just going to tell you.

Well, okay, honestly, I'm not exactly sure on a specific location yet, BUT I can tell you that it will be well within the borders of the 6th Congressional District in Illinois.


Why the 6th District? Well, because I learned today that in the 6th Congressional District, which is represented by Peter Roskam, "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." Wait, no. That's Lake Wobegon. But believe me, it's an easily made mistake.

Anyway, there are no problems in the 6th District! Really! They don't have record high gas or food prices, jobs haven't been lost, there is no mortgage crisis, property taxes are low, the environment is pristine and global warming hasn't effected them, schools are excellent, the roads are in great condition, there is no crime, they are not worried about terrorism, and everyone has excellent health insurance.

How do I know this? Because Rep. Roskam is a co-sponsor of the Military Honor and Decency Act which would "forbid the sale of racy magazines and movies on Army bases around the world." That means that Playboy and any movie showing with any nudity would be banned.

According to the Sun-Times, the US already prohibits the sale of hard-core porn on military bases on U.S. bases, but this new bill is far stricter in its definition of nudity: "human genitals, pubic area, anus, anal cleft, or any part of the female breast below a horizontal line across the top of the areola with less than an opaque covering but does not include the exposure of the cleavage of the female breast exhibited by a dress, blouse, bathing suit, or other apparel."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not actually a fan of porn. But the fact is we ask our soldiers, specifically the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, to serve is horrific conditions for months and months at a time. They obviously can't be intimate with their spouses or significant others while they are overseas. We all know how the government feels about gay sex in the military. And now Peter Roskam wants to take away the one release they have left.

Peter has done such an outstanding job preventing or eliminating all other concerns in his District that now he wants to remove soft-core porn from military troops around the world. I bet his constituents are so proud.

I hope Jill Morganthaler mops the floor with Roskam in the November election. With leadership like this, I wouldn't vote for Peter Roskam for dog catcher. He's clearly got too much time on his hands.

Oh, and no, we're not moving.

John McCain Hates Me (and Probably You Too)!

Over on Monkey Muck yesterday, I learned that John McCain hates me (and you too probably). Truthfully, that's ok. I'm not really his biggest fan and wasn't going to vote for him anyway.

But still, hate? John McCain HATES me? Really? Why does he feel the need to put so much of his energy into HATE? This is just my opinion, but maybe if he put as much energy into his campaign as he does into HATING me (and you too!), he might be doing a bit better. I'm just sayin'.



Just so I'm clear, not only is John McCain bad for my sex life, but he also hates me. Well, ok then.