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  • Chapter 6: A Self-Inflicted Rhetorical Wound-

    I ate the fried chicken breast and salad that Uncle Bud fixed for me, while listening to C-Span's replay of some of LBJ's taped phone calls. Uncle Bud suggested I listen to them to find out how a real politician worked. LBJ was Uncle Bud's favorite Democrat. Come to think of it, LBJ was damn near the only Democrat he admired. He loved the way the big Texan could overwhelm any opposition. "Listen carefully, and you can hear the toilet flush," Uncle Bud had said as he walked out the door. "The bastard's chewing out the Speaker of the House from the can! And I swear, when he flushes, he must be holding the receiver in the bowl, just so the Speaker knows where he's calling from!" I guess style is in the eyes, and ears, of the beholder, but I have to admit that McCormack seemed shaken by the flush, and his initial objections were swept away in the spiraling woosh. He promptly agreed to pass the latest Supplemental Funding Request for the Viet Nam War, and hung up. I think he was desperate to get off the the line before the President of the United States and the Leader of the Free World audibly sighed and zipped his pants with a grunt.
      A loud knock on the door interrupted my lesson in practical politics. I hit the mute and hollered, "C'mon in!" The door swung open and slammed against the wall. "The White Wonder!" boomed the bass voice of Freedom Fyter. His six foot, five inch frame filled the doorway.

  • Chapter 7: The Black Bag-

        The black bag. Freedom Fyter had been, I think the legal phrase is, “keeping it about his person” since he and I drove to DC from Detroit. I was firmly told to stay away from the black bag for my own sake. I knew that Uncle Bud was concerned about the bag the night that he and FF had their argument at the bar. And it seemed like Fyter was finally ready to let me in on the secret.
        “Let’s get out of here,” said FF, rising to his feet and sweeping the bag off the table with one large hand. “Too many Republicans. Besides, I’ve got some people I want you to meet.”
        It was 10:30, and I had to be ready to begin work in the tunnels by 7:00 a.m. the next day. I miss those days when sleep was an option. In younger days, my theme song had been, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.” Well, I guess Zevon is catching up on his sleep these days, and I spend more time napping than I do awake in wee, small hours.
        “Wait a minute, FF. Where we going? How long’ll we be gone. I’m beat, and I’ve got a busy schedule tomorrow.”
        He cast me a piteous look and shook his head. “You’re worried about your bed-time? Curiosity doesn’t give you that adrenaline boost, anymore?”
        “Curiosity’s all well and good, but every time I look at that bag I hear one of Rove’s hand-picked US attorneys reading my name from a list headed ‘Conspirators.’”
        He shrugged. This was not reassuring. “Life’s about taking risks. You comin’ or not?”
        “Ah, what the Hell,” I grumbled, adding that little “Uhn” that accompanies my getting in and out of chairs these days. “Nothing like a fool-hardy adventure to pretend that time stands still. But do me a favor, will ya? Give me the heads-up before the  felony stuff happens. Give me chance to reach the door safe in my ignorance, OK?”
        “Word,” FF said, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “Have I ever let you down?”
        “Yeah, well, just remember I’m the one who usually has to get the bail money together, so don’t get me locked up with you, or we’re both screwed.”

       

  • Happy Trick or Vote Day!-
  • The Election Starts Today- According to the calendar, there are 45 days to election day. But in reality, the election starts today. Yes, today, September 19, 2008, some Virginia voters can cast absentee ballots, starting off the early voting calendar. In all, eight states that allow people to vote in September. So all of us who are thinking that there is still time to get going on this election, well, we have to think again. The election is upon us. Votes are being cast today.
  • Voter Protection Key to Legislation Today- At a time when organizations across the country are focused on increasing voter registration, the Student Association for Voter Empowerment (SAVE) has worked hard to make sure that when those newly registered voters go to the polls, their votes will count. Today the movement to protect our votes will take a giant leap forward when SAVE teamed up with Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois and Congresswoman Jan Shakowsky of Illinois and Congressman Steve LaTourette of Ohio present the Student VOTER Bill of 2008. Durbin said on the floor:
  • Double Trouble Bubble Boy!-
    I expected it, didn’t you? Instead of "Hanging Chads", this time we got the instantly infamous “Double Bubbles" on the 2008 L.A. County primary ballot. Independent voters were required to ask for a Democratic ballot, and then required to check a little BUBBLE at the top of that ballot to confirm they wanted to vote in the Democratic primary. What is this, government by Larry David? *
  • 21st Century Democrats Endorses Darcy Burner- Twenty-First Century Democrats is proud to endorse Darcy Burner for Congress in Washington’s 8th Congressional District.
  • Political Heroes- Some stories are only for entertainment, and some stories are meant to teach us a lesson. At least that is what we have been lead to believe for the last fifty years or so. However, when we look for the stories that are only meant to entertain us we almost always find some thoughtful instructive lessons in those stories regardless of their entertainment purpose.
  • Life and Death Struggle Against Voter Suppression: TX Senator Gallegos Blocks Voter ID Bill- Weekly Voting Rights News Update By Erin Ferns This an entry in a series of blogs to keep people informed on current election reform and voting rights issues in the news.
  • Local Politicking: I Attend a County Commissioner Candidate's Forum- Cross-posted at DailyKos. In my experience, most "netroots" progressives are the kind of people who follow the national news. They're likely to already know who's running for President on both the Democratic and Republican sides. They're likely to know who's running for Congress, Senate, or Governor in not only their own state, but also states half way across the country. They're likely to have contributed money to a candidate, or to have spent time working for one (or more) themselves.
  • Where Every Vote Counts: Voting in Local Elections- Cross-posted to DailyKos. The dust has settled in the Pennsylvania primary election. Debra Todd and Seamus McCaffery are now the Democratic nominees for two open State Supreme Court positions. Act 1, part of Governor Rendell's plan for property tax relief, faced a resounding defeat, everywhere in the state. And, in my home county of York, Pennsylvania, Doug Hoke and Ned Grove, in a surprising upset, defeated incumbent Doug Kilgore in the Democratic primary for County Commissioner.
  • Action for DC Voting Rights, April 16, 2007- I am passing on a request from a reader of my Uncle Bud's Select Taproom series. He would like to spread the word about a march in DC tomorrow, Monday, April 16th, for DC Representation in Congress. Info about the March. Mike's name and email are used with his permission.
  • Chapter 3: Freedom Fyter Brings Democracy to DC, pt.2-

    I had about twelve hours to myself as I drove back to Detroit to think about what had happened. My trip to visit my Great-Uncle Bud's had skidded off the tracks when he and my friend, Freedom Fyter, had locked horns. FF didn't trust the old Republican, and the feeling was mutual. FF refused to tell Uncle Bud why he wanted to go into the tunnels under DC. Uncle Bud refused to let him in until he knew FF's plan. They went back and forth, until FF accused Uncle Bud of wanting to know the plan so that he could prevent it. He said something along the lines of, Why the hell am I begging from a political hack who's needed pardons from every Republican President since Eisenhower? This pissed off Uncle Bud, who is little touchy on the subject, and he told FF to get out of his bar.

  • Christine Jennings to Vern Buchanan: "Remember Me, Big Boy?"-

    Cross-posted at My Left Wing and BlueSunbelt.

    Ok, so she didn't really say that but she should start practicing a similar statement in front of a mirror -- if a decision by Florida's First District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee goes her way, that is -- and it very well could.