Sunday, September 30, 2012

Romney and torture


When Obama became President, one of his first acts was to limit interrogators to those methods approved in the Army Field Manual.  We no longer torture people.  

Here’s what Romney said in Charleston, South Carolina, last December.  “We’ll use enhanced interrogation techniques which go beyond those that are in the military handbook right now.”  (Romney was quoted in an article by Charles Savage in the New York Times, September 28, p. 12.)

Enhanced interrogation?  This is what the Bush administration approved:  prolonged sleep deprivation, forced stress positions while naked in a cold room, locking people inside a small box, and, of course, waterboarding.  That is not enhanced interrogation.  That is torture.  That my government ever approved those methods makes me ashamed.  That a presidential candidate would even suggest bringing them back is obscene.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Governor Corbett defends "fracking"


I’m sure you have heard the irritating statement that goes like this:  “If they can put a man on the moon, why can’t they
...cure cancer."
...balance the federal budget."
...predict earthquakes."
  ...have the Cubs win the World Series."

Any thinking person knows what is required to put a man on the moon is totally different from what is required to cure cancer or balance the federal budget.  It was with great dismay, therefore, when I read Governor Corbett’s remarks reported in the September 29 issue of Lancaster Farming. 
Corbett said the anti-fracking activists were an “unreasoning opposition” who accept that the nation can land a space vehicle on Mars but don’t believe energy companies can safely harvest gas a mile under the earth’s surface.  

I believe a nation that is able to land a space vehicle on Mars can still elect a governor like Tom Corbett, who rewards his campaign contributors and ignores the needs of his state.  I believe that a nation that produces scientists that can land the Mars Rover can also produce voters who elect idiots to state government.  In fact, I have proof.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Consumer confidence growing


Annie Lowrey, in an article in the New York Times entitled “Economy Still Weak, But More Feel Secure,” points out that despite rather lackluster economic reports, Americans are gaining confidence in the economy.  Consumer confidence is at its highest level since February.  

Perhaps consumers sense that President Obama is on their side.  Perhaps they realize that a Romney administration would not be their friend.  Perhaps they realize that, even though the economy is not robust, it is a heck of lot better than it was during the last few months of the Bush Administration, when we were headed for a total meltdown.

Ms. Lowrey quotes Professor Lynn Vavreck, a political scientist at UCLA. Dr. Vavreck said that the fact that the economy was growing was a plus for Obama.  According to Dr. Vavreck, “Incumbents in growing economies, even slow ones, are hard to beat.”

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Support for Voter I.D.


According to an article in the Allentown Morning Call today, a majority of Pennsylvanians support the voter I.D. law.  That doesn’t surprise me.  People who have I.D.s can’t imagine that someone else wouldn’t have one.  It is the same mentality that was surprised when the Hurricane Katrina evacuation was ordered from New Orleans.   Authorities assumed that everyone had a car, even though thousands of people did not.  

Here’s the statistic that depressed me.  More than half of the people in the poll said they would still support the I.D. requirement even if many eligible voters would be prevented from voting because they did not have an I.D.

Do you get that?  Over half the people polled would be willing to deny a fundamental right to vote to people merely because they could not meet a bureaucratic regulation.

We are amazed that Egypt and Libya have problems with the newly emerging democratic systems.  We need to look into the mirror.  In a democracy over 200 years old, a majority of the people in Pennsylvania have no idea what democracy entails.  

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Democrats surge


Today Sandra and I registered eight voters at The Villages in Palmerton--two Republicans, one independent, and five Democrats.  Our volunteer Freddie walked across the street from our Lehighton HQ to the Highrise and signed up five residents--all Democrats for absentee ballots.  That’s ten votes in the bag.

And--Pennsylvania changed its rules on the I.D. requirements (obviously worried about Judge Simpson enjoining the entire law), to make it even easier to obtain a photo I.D.

And--get this--Obama has widened his lead in Florida and Ohio, two key states.  

And, at a rally, the crowd was chanting “Ryan Ryan.”  Romney tried to get the crowd to chant “Romney-Ryan,” but it wasn’t receptive.  

Finally, I’m pickling three different kinds of peppers.  This has nothing to do with politics, but I am the Pepper King of Carbon County.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Carbon County videos


Tonight the Carbon County Democrats for Change club previewed the rough cut of three videos.   The videos were the brainchild of Rene Calvo, award-winning filmmaker, who wrote, directed, and is now editing the footage.

The first video, entitled “Did It,” encourages young people to vote.  The second, “Dropped,” has Obamacare as its subject.  The third one, “Denied,” shows what happens to an elderly voter who does not have the proper picture I.D.  

Mr. Calvo produced two earlier videos in 2010 entitled “Tea Party Chickens” and “Have You Been to Hazleton Lately?”  Both are available on Youtube.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Antibiotics on the farm


Today I was asked to be part of a press conference on the farm bill.  I turned down the opportunity.  While it is true that I am the self-proclaimed Carbon County Hot Pepper King, I really can’t call myself a farmer.  Twenty-two chickens, two guinea hens, and a half-acre truckpatch does not a farmer make.

Nonetheless, I do have some opinions on certain farm policies.  I don’t like concentrated feedlot operations, Roundup Ready soybeans, and genetically-modified crops in general.  

I also have an opinion on antibiotics in animal feed.  Approximately 80% of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. are fed to chickens, cows, pigs, and other animals.  Many scientists think these antibiotics are a major reason reasons infections in humans are resistant to treatment.

It is difficult to determine if there is a link because the people who produce the meat we eat are not required to report which animals are fed the antibiotics or what doses are given.  

Producers, of course, argue that public reporting would entail more government regulation.  Of course it would.  It is the kind of regulation we need.  

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Russell Train


Mr. Train, generally considered to be the father of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, died last week.  Mr. Train was Richard Nixon’s first chair of the White House Council on Environmental Policy, and he later served as head of the EPA under President Ford.  

While he was in charge, the EPA banned four chemicals used on farms--aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, and chlordane.  I know my dad used at least three of those on our farm.  Mr. Train did so much more--opposing Miami’s proposed airport in the Everglades, using science to establish toxicity levels and risk analysis of chemicals, and, after he left the EPA, heading up the World Fund.

There was a time not that long ago when environmentalists like Mr. Train felt at home in the Republican Party.  I wonder if he felt despair in his later years.  I know I do.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Delving into it


Everybody is familiar with Romney’s 47% speech.  It was a disturbing display.  Almost as disturbing, however, was Romney’s total disinterest in a Palestinian-Israeli settlement.  He noted that a former Secretary of State (Rice?) had called him to tell him that peace might be possible after the Palestinian election.  Romney then told the group, “I didn’t delve into it.”

Can you imagine Clinton saying that?  Obama?  Heck, how about Perry?  Romney, a presidential candidate, displayed a total lack of interest in one of the most vexing issues of our times.  

Friday, September 21, 2012

Tucker Carlson (spelling?) in Lehighton


The Republicans held an anti-Obama rally in the park in Lehighton tonight with Tucker Carlson as the featured speaker.  Mr. Carlson, I discovered, is a personality on the Fox propaganda station.  A band played oldies.  A hot dog and a drink were provided at Diggity Dog, but when I went in for my free meal, I discovered you needed a ticket and a wristband which you evidently received after you listened to the speeches.  

This was clearly a Tea Party event.  You’ve seen them--oldsters who look mean and kind of constipated.  I don’t think the rally, billed as “Prosperity for America,” attracted any people who weren’t already committed.  

I was there with a sign that said “Prosperity for the 1%,” but I left before Mr. Carlson arrived.  Linda has pointed out that my signs are too obtuse, and nobody gets them.  She’s right.  I think next time I’ll just go with “Romney sucks.”

Here are three more observations:
  1. The emphasis is against Obama, not for Romney.  I don’t believe these people like Mr. Romney very much, but they really hate Obama.
  2. Even though the people there were already committed, they turned out.  I’d say there were at least a hundred people there.  I don’t know if our side could turn out that many.  I have my doubts.  
  3. Doyle Heffley was there.  As his ads say, he’s one of them.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Doyle Heffley's slogan explained


We received a mailer from Doyle Heffley today.  It was titled “Doyle Heffley:  Still One of Us.”  

I did some investigating and found out that this was what a lobbyist for the Marcellus Shale natural gas drillers said when he was asked if the natural gas industry could count on Rep. Heffley.  He replied, “Doyle Heffley:  Still one of us.”

I can’t verify the truth of that, but it sure sounds believable.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Arctic ice


The Arctic ice is melting at a record pace.  You can read about it in a front page article in today’s New York Times.  And guess what the nations who border the Arctic are concerned about.  

What can we do to mitigate global warming?  What policies can we adopt to slow the melting?  What about the effects on the rest of the globe?

Wrong.  

What they are concerned about is tapping into the oil and other minerals that are newly exposed by the melting ice.  Even China, which has no claim to the Arctic, is focusing on the Arctic in its foreign policy.

This is like badly written science fiction, where people are fighting each other for advantage while the world has a few days left.  Unfortunately, it is not science fiction.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

In praise of George W. Bush


Six days after the September 9/11 attacks George W. Bush made a visit to the Islamic Center in Washington where he spoke out against discrimination against Muslims living in the U.S.  He said Americans should respect Islam.

In this respect he was far better than Franklin D. Roosevelt, who signed the Executive Order putting American citizens of Japanese descent into camps.  

Mr. Bush said this:  “The face of terror is not the true face of Islam. That is not what Islam is all about.  Islam is peace.  These terrorists don’t represent peace.  They represent evil and war.”

George W. Bush had many faults, but sometimes he made me proud.  The visit to the Islamic Center and his remarks there was was one of those times.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Election Fraud


I am 69 years old.  I’m old enough to remember literacy tests, poll taxes, and worst of all, violence to prevent people from voting.  I can remember the murders of Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman in Mississippi.  Nevertheless, I have never experienced a nationwide attempt to deny ballot access as I have seen this year.

Don’t the Republicans who are leading the voter suppression drives understand the concept of legitimacy?  If people feel that an election has been stolen, the results of that election lack “legitimacy.”  If an election is perceived as fair, the losers accept the outcome.  If the winners are seen as manipulating or cheating the vote, the election lacks legitimacy.  There is no reason to obey the results. 

The Republicans are getting into dangerous territory here.  They are toying with the very legitimacy of democratic (small d) government.  This is new to the United States, and I fear the implications.  

Sunday, September 16, 2012

The Stimulus


In 2009 Linda pointed to a sign at a bridge construction site that said “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”  She said, “That should say ‘Stimulus Plan.  People won’t make the connection.”

It turns out she was right.  In an article in today’s New York Times entitled “Don’t Tell Anyone, But the Stimulus Worked,” David Firestone said this:  “On the most basic level, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is responsible for saving and creating 2.5 million jobs.  The majority of economists agree that it helped the economy grow by as much as 3.8 percent, and kept the unemployment rate from reaching 12 percent.”  Unfortunately, almost no one, it seems, made the connection.

The President himself did not appear for photo ops at various projects.  The tax cut was not in the form of a flashy rebate, but showed up in paychecks, so many workers weren’t even aware of the cut.  The Administration did a poor job in publicizing the Stimulus benefits.  Nevertheless, they were vital to keeping our economy afloat.

The Stimulus increased spending on food stamps, unemployment benefits, and Medicaid, which, according to Mr. Firestone, kept seven million Americans from falling below the poverty line.  That is just one of the positive features.  Check out the full article at <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/opinion/sunday/dont-tell-anyone-but-the-stimulus-worked.html?_r=1&ref=opinion>.

Republicans pick out a few items (Solyndra, an over-estimation of jobs created) and belittle the Stimulus.  What they don’t ever say is without that Stimulus bill, the U.S. would have experienced the second great Depression.  

Saturday, September 15, 2012

True the Vote


I took my first on-line training session for “True the Vote,” a right-wing voter intimidation group that was formed in Texas by Tea Party types, and now has spread nation-wide.  Think of me as a mole, infiltrating the group.  

The first training session involved listening for an hour to a woman with a grating south Texas accent explain why fraud was rampant and what we citizens would have to do to preserve our rights.  Afterward there was a quiz.  I scored 8 of 10, but you are allowed to retake it until you get a perfect score.

I must note that I personally am not in favor of voter fraud, but I also should note that I am in favor of everybody voting, including felons and non-citizens who pay taxes.  (Incidentally, non-citizens were once allowed to vote.  I believe Arkansas was the last state to forbid them.  If I remember correctly, the year was 1923.)

The major thing that bothers me about “True the Vote” is that they are concentrating on the wrong issue.  One of their slogans says “If our elections are not truly fair...we are not truly free.”  Ok, I’ll buy that.  The irony is True the Vote says nothing about the funding of elections.  Indeed there is evidence that True the Vote is partially funded by the Koch Brothers.  

Note:  I canvassed in Summit Hill today.  I talked to the mother of a young voter who lacks voter I.D. and has been the the PennDot Center twice.  Both times the lines were too long, and she couldn’t take that much time off work.  Her mother said, “I guess she won’t vote this year.”  Just what the Republican legislators were hoping.  I can hardly stand it.  Where is True the Vote on that problem?

Friday, September 14, 2012

Success!


I took Paul to get his photo I.D. for voting purposes today.  Paul was the first guy I took way back in July, and we failed because he didn’t have a raised seal birth certificate.  It finally came in the mail last week (cost $13.50).  We arrived at the PennDot center at 11:30 a.m.  Paul was number 9.  The number on the board was 78.  We got out of there at 1:45 p.m.  Nonetheless, we got the photo I.D.  Paul can vote in November, something he has done without a problem in past years.  He did have to swear that the I.D. he got was for voting purposes only.

I wish the judges who will rule on this law were required to help just one person get his or her photo I.D.

I will leave you with a quote from Thomas Paine.  Tea Party types don’t usually quote Thomas Paine.  First of all, he was an atheist.  Secondly, he was a true radical.  Here is what he said in his Dissertation on First Principles of Government, published in 1795.

The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected.  To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, and he that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case.  

Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Deck Party


Tonight the wife and I attended a party on the deck at Molly Maguires in Jim Thorpe.  The party was a fundraiser for Ron Rabenold, candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.  The deck was crowded with Carbon County Democratic activists, friends of Ron, and people who are tired of the inadequate representation that Carbon County residents are currently receiving in Harrisburg.  

I doubt if the campaign made much money, since tickets were only $12, and that got you two beers and a hotdog.  I do know that a number of attendees did make additional contributions.

It is an unfortunate fact that electoral success is often dependent on which candidate spends the most money.  The Connecticut Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate , for example, was way ahead in the polls until his opponent, the CEO of World Wide Wrestling, began to dump millions into the race.  

It would be a tragedy if Carbon County continued to be represented in the state House by a mediocrity who overwhelmed Rabenold by outspending him.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Libya


I really don’t have much to say about Romney’s attempt to make political hay from an American ambassador’s death.  What I would say, however, is given this administration’s record on dealing with terrorists, the people who killed the Americans in Libya are dead men walking.

Monday, September 10, 2012

No touching


We have a completely furnished and restored one-room school located next to our house.  The school is owned by the Palmerton Area Historical Society, and you can find it on the web at <www.kiblerschool.org>.  I am a volunteer docent at the school, and tonight I played host to a group of Cub Scouts and their parents.  I was telling them how, since we had no playground equipment, kids in one-room schools made up our own games.  

One such game, invented by my friend Smokey, was called “Hungry Deer.”  The Hungry Deer carried a stick to tag kids running around the school.  Any tagged kid had to stand in a marked-off space and try to catch kids as they ran by.  If he or she caught one and held on until the Hungry Deer came by to touch the captured kid with the stick, that kid also helped to catch the runners.  The game combined track and football and was incredibly rough--and fun. 

After my presentation, the Cub Scouts went out and actually tried the game.  I was talking to one of the boys later, and he told me the Palmerton Area School District has a “no touch” policy.  He said that kids can’t even do a “high five.”  They have to do a “virtual” high five with hands not touching.

I asked him what would happen if two first grade girls walked down the hall holding hands.  He said they would get written up.

If this is true, it is absolutely insane.  This is like those school policies that expel an kid for giving a friend an aspirin tablet under a no tolerance drug policy.  Policies like this show a complete abdication of adult responsibility.  Pity the kids.  

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Setting Paul Carpenter straight


Morning Call columnist Paul Carpenter this morning discussed the problems of ballot access that I detailed in my previous posting.  Needless to say, I was pleased.  I was not pleased, however, that he then went on to belittle the Photo I.D. law (he called the controversy a “flap”).

He noted that Pennsylvania recently had 200,000 duplicate registrations.  I sent an email to Mr. Carpenter explaining that this was hardly an issue of fraud, pointing out that when I was registering voters and they weren’t sure whether or not they were registered, I would urge them to fill out the form anyway.  If they were already registered, the Registrar’s office would catch the duplicate.  In any case, I don’t see the relevance of the I.D. bill, since when you vote, you need to sign in, and any duplicate will be caught by the poll workers.

I doubt if you will see an acknowledgement of my email by Mr. Carpenter.  He strikes me as a man who would not like to admit he screwed up.   But he did.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

3rd Party Challenges


The Republicans in Pennsylvania are not only going after Democrats, they have challenged the statewide petitions of the Libertarian and Constitution parties.  According to the September issue of the Ballot Access News, Pennsylvania is the only state in which a court checks the validity of the signatures, and then can assess the challenged party the court costs.  That can run a party as much as $100,000.

Because of this, the Constitution Party withdrew its petition.  It had 35,000 signatures; the state requires 20,601.  The Constitution Party decided it could not afford to take a chance.

The Libertarians, with 49,600 signatures, are fighting the Republican challenge.

The Republicans did not challenge the Green Party petition.  They want the Green Party on the ballot to siphon off votes from President Obama.  The Democrats, who play fair, also did not challenge the Greens.

Friday, September 7, 2012

An open letter to Bob Urban, Editor, Times News


I would send this letter to Bob Urban, Editor of the Times News, but from past experience, I know it would do no good. Mr. Urban is probably not even in control of what goes into the paper.   In any case, I and others have complained before about the unrelieved bias of the paper.  If anything, that bias has gotten worse.  So here’s the letter I would send if I thought it would have an effect.

Dear Mr. Urban,

     You really ask your readers to put up with a great deal.  You run a weekly column by an advocate of the Tea Party, you run a weekly column by a self-styled “expert” on the Pennsylvania Constitution, your editorials by Jim Zbick are screeds of anti-Obama venom, you have not run a cartoon that was favorable to the Obama administration in the past year, although you have included some that were in bad taste or denigrating, and your national columnists can be characterized as irresponsible and uninformed.

     The lack of professionalism and journalistic ethics is evident every time you run an article extolling an act at Penn’s Peak without a disclaimer that the same company that owns Penn Peak also controls the Times News.  

     The sad thing is that many of your individual employees and reporters are wonderful and responsible people who are trying to do their jobs with integrity.  Your paper is an insult to them and to your readers.

     In the past I have put up with your shenanigans because of the obituary page, the local news, and an occasional wire service story that was played straight.  Now the bias so evident in the editorial policy has slopped over into the news pages as well.  Look at the articles relating to the Democratic Convention on September 6 and 7.  The consensus among viewers was that the Democratic Convention was well-planned and that many of the speeches were outstanding.  You may disagree, but keep your opinions to the editorials, not the news pages.

     You never even mentioned that the Chair of the Carbon County Democratic Party, Billy O’Gurek was an elected delegate to the Convention.  Amazing.

     I know it is a free country, and our free press is guaranteed to anyone who can afford to publish a newspaper or own a television station or a radio station (or all three).  Nonetheless, most media outlets try to maintain at least some balance.  You do not.  I am finished with you.

Roy Christman

Fired Up


We held our Lehighton Watch Party at the Democratic Headquarters on Main Street last night. Prior to the party, a dozen volunteers worked a phone bank until 8:45, and then we broke out the chips and veggie trays and wine and settled down for the speeches.

The President did it right, noting Romney’s inexperience in foreign affairs, reminding people that the recession at the beginning of his term was the worst since the Great Depression, emphasizing that his administration had already cut taxes for the middle class, and hitting the themes of manufacturing jobs and energy independence.

One of the funnier moments for us was when Linda spotted Carbon County’s own Billy O’Gurek in a shot of the delegates.  “There’s Billy!” and the room erupted in cheers and applause.

A new movie by Obama-hater Denesh D’Souza predicts all kinds of bad things for a second term.  Consider a Romney first term.  War with Iran?  Increased taxes for the middle class and a free ride for the 1%?  Energy policy made by the Koch Brothers?  Further restricted voting rights?  A ballooning deficit?  Starved educational funding?  Medicare by voucher?  Increased pollution?  Loss of reproductive rights?  Official discrimination against gays?  

I could extend that list, but you get the point.  For America, for our children, for the future of this planet, we need to re-elect the President.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The Convention


No, I’m not watching it.  But I do read about it, and Linda has been watching it.  The differences between the Republican and Democratic conventions, it seems to me, are the Republicans pretend to be diverse, the Democrats are diverse; the Reps are pessimistic while the Dems are optimistic; the Reps emphasize individuals and the Dems emphasize community: and the Reps, especially Ryan, lie like rugs while the Dems are truthful. 

Did I get that right?

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

We've already lost


I finally finished my book “Blogging for Dummies.” One of the lessons was that a blogger should never quote from articles.  Put in links instead.  I’m completely ignoring that to quote at length from an article from Nicholas D. Kristof that appeared in the New York Times on September 2.  Here’s what Kristof wrote:

  • If an American woman in uniform is raped and becomes pregnant, Congress bars Tricare military insurance from paying for an abortion.

  • If an American woman in the Peace Corps becomes pregnant, Congress bars coverage of an abortion--and there is no explicit exception even if she is raped or her life is in danger.

  • When teenagers in places like Darfur, Congo or Somalia survive gang rapes, aid organizations cannot use American funds to provide an abortion.

  • A record number of states have curbed abortions in the last two years.  According to the Guttmacher Institute, which follows reproductive health, 55% of women of reproductive age now live in one of the 26 states deemed “hostile to abortion rights.”

  • The Republican campaign platform denounces contraceptive education in schools.  Instead, it advices kids to abstain from sex until marriage.

We talk about what Romney and Ryan would do if elected.  It seems to me that in large part it’s already been done.  What cruel and nasty programs have already been enacted by Republicans.  It is difficult for me to understand how people can be so mean.  

Monday, September 3, 2012

Labor Day


We spent most of the day driving all over Carbon and Lehigh counties delivering Obama yard signs for orders we took at the Redneck Festival.  It is late, and I’m tired, but I still think we ought to do something to celebrate the holiday that honors the working men and women of America.  After all, free unions and democracy grow together, and you will not find a truly democratic government that restricts union activity.

So here is what you do.  Gather round the computer and sing a rousing chorus of “Solidarity Forever.”  It’s sung to the tune of the chorus of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”  Ready....Sing!

Solidarity Forever.
Solidarity Forever.
Solidarity Forever.
For the union makes us strong.

Sing it again, louder this time.

Thank you.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Finding common ground


A man came up to the “Rednecks for Obama” booth today and obviously was looking for a confrontation.  He demanded to know why I thought the Democrats were better than the Republicans.  I said the list was long, but I would mention a few items:  First, I was worried what would happen to our environment if Romney won; second, I was afraid that women would lose their right to have an abortion.  He had no comeback for either of those.

Then I said I was bothered by the Republicans including in their platform that no restrictions should be placed on magazines of the type used in the Colorado movie theater massacre.  He said such magazines were a Second Amendment right.  I noted that individuals are prohibited from possessing RPGs or tanks, and he had to agree. 

Then he talked about the National Defense Authorization Act, which changes the rules on arrest and detention.  I told him that was a bi-partisan effort, one of the few in the past two years.  I noted that the Republicans should not have passed it, and Obama should have vetoed it.  Unfortunately, the Republicans did pass it, and Obama signed it.    While we didn’t exactly embrace and exchange phone numbers, we did agree on that.

As long as you keep the conversation civil and you keep talking, you may find at least one or two items on which you might come to an understanding.  Or so I hope.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Working the Redneck Festival


The Weissport Redneck Festival started four years ago in 2008.  At that time the Bethlehem NAACP said it was a racist event, but Linda and I decided to put up a booth for “Rednecks for Obama.” 

Our booth was amazingly successful.  That was just after McCain had picked Palin, and we got lots of support as well as orders for yard signs in five different counties.

Our booth this year has an empty chair to debate, and we got a large number of people who wanted their pictures taken next to the sign that said ‘Rednecks for Obama.”

Three bikers made nasty comments, but their collective IQ was somewhere just above pond scum.

We noticed once again how smart, clever, and informed Obama supporters are.  The question is whether the people who are smart, clever, and informed are enough to win an election.  

I’m reminded of a speech by Adlai Stevenson when a supporter yelled out, “The thinking people are with you,” and Stevenson replied, “That’s not enough.  I need a majority.”