Thanks Julie!

Wisconsin Rapids and Marshfield owe Julie Lassa a great big THANK YOU for getting us money from the Department of Commerce to offset property tax losses.

Here's a picture of Julie presenting a check to Marshfield Mayor Chris Meyer:

A Message from Russ Feingold

Dear Wisconsin Democrat,

As a Progressive heavily involved in your county party, I don’t have to tell you how important this years election is. At the state level, we have a great opportunity to increase our margins in the State Senate and retake the State Assembly so that our Governor has a legislature more willing to move Wisconsin in the right direction come 2009. In the 8^th CD, Congressman Steve Kagen has been a tireless advocate on behalf of his constituents and his reelection this November is going to be vital in our efforts to turn our country around following eight years of the Bush Presidency.

However, I don’t have to tell you how important of a role Wisconsin will play in electing our next President. No other state in the country has been closer these past two Presidential elections than Wisconsin. That’s why it’s up to each and every one of us to do everything we can to ensure Barack Obama wins Wisconsin – and the presidency – come Election Day this November.

I’ve enjoyed working with Senator Obama and I’m proud to support his campaign. With his strong Midwestern roots and his dedication to public service, Senator Obama understands, like we do, the values of hard work, standing up for what’s right, and making our country a better place for us, our children and our grandchildren.

At both the state and federal level, Senator Obama has been able to reach across party lines and work with members from both parties to help move our country in a better direction. From fighting to create jobs, to making health care available and affordable to all Americans; from fighting for our rights and freedoms, to ending the war in Iraq, Senator Obama has the strength and leadership ability to get our country back on track.

It’s not going to be an easy task and I’m going to continue to do everything I can to help him win Wisconsin and the Presidency this year – and if you haven’t already, I hope you will join me.

Thanks again for all that you do.

With high hopes,

Russ

Whew!

Sorry I've been away for a while but things have been a whirlwind around here for a couple of weeks....it seems like there has been one demand on me after another and I haven't even had time to update my personal blog in quite a long time. Here are a few goodies.





The McCain (god-forbid) Presidency:










And a few words from Matt Yglesis that reflects how most of us felt about the decision to go to war and the continuing insistence by the media on interviewing and cannonizing only those who were dead, center WRONG on the war. Matt does a good job here:

This reflects, I believe, an incredibly damaging mindset that's been crippling the Democratic Party for years and the prospect of excising this mindset is the single most appealing thing about the prospect of Obama being the nominee. Clinton's "street cred" on national security consists, of course, of being massively wrong on the most important national security issue of her career. Paradoxically, a lot of folks find her massive wrongness on this hugely important issue reassuring because they and their friends were also wrong and they view having made the right call to be a suspicious quality. After all, the Iraq War may have led to thousands of U.S. deaths, tens of thousands of U.S. casualties, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths, and millions of Iraqi refugees all at a cost of over $1 trillion and in ways that's damaged the strategic position of the United States, but war opponents were all a bunch of hippies.

In other news:

Thanks Norm Tritz for getting the Democratic Party Float out to Pittsville on Monday. And thanks also to Dean Matthews for letting us store it on his site until the Construction on Western Ave is completed.

Congratulations to Dave Wille for a successful 7th Congressional District Convention. As you know, Dave, as first Vice Chair assumed the reins of the 7th Congressional District when Marlys passed away last year. Dave presided over the convention which was the first time in over thirty years that someone other than Marlys had presided. Dave chose not to run for a full term as 7th CD Chair but remains first vice chair.

Amy Sue's office hours

Amy Sue's office hours in the district are posted on her website, you can see them by clicking on the link entitled "events"

Here's the link to her website

Her Hours will be:

Village of Arpin
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Arpin Public Library
8091 County Road E

Village of Vesper
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Vesper Public Library
6550 Virginia Street

Village of Rudolph
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Rudolph Village Hall
1580 Main Street

Village of Junction City
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Junction City Village Hall
1001 Main Street

City of Nekoosa
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Municipal Building
951 Market Street

Town of Port Edwards
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Port Edwards Town Hall
2000 County Road G

Town of Seneca

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
3:30 p.m. to 4:30p.m.
Seneca Town Hall
3540 County Road Q

Town of Rock
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Lindsey Bar & Grill
8484 County Road V

Town of Hiles
Thursday, May 1, 2008
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Hiles Town Hall
10108 County Road V

City of Pittsville
Thursday, May 1, 2008
3:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Pittsville Community Hall
5291 3rd Avenue

Town of Plover
Friday, May 2, 2008
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Plover Town Hall
5081 Hoover Avenue

Town of Hull
Friday, May 2, 2008
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Hull Town Hall
4550 Wojcik Mem. Dr.

Town of Sharon
Friday, May 2, 2008
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sharon Town Hall
State Highway 66

Village of Auburndale
Friday, May 9, 2008
11:00 a.m to Noon
Auburndale Village Hall
5988 1st Street

Village of Hewitt
Friday, May 9, 2008
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Hewitt Village Hall
7688 McLean Drive

City of Marshfield

Friday, May 9, 2008
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Marshfield Library
211 East 2nd Street

Coffee with the Dems....

Just a few quick updates...

Had coffee with the retired Dems again this morning and it was an active and lively group. We discussed everything from the shameful media event that was falsely advertised as a debate on Wednesday night to the Marshfield Smoking ban to the fun we had visiting with Julie Lassa last Wednesday morning.

We also had a lot of fun sparring with the table of local Republicans about LoLo's Obama 08 tee shirt....it was all pretty good natured.

I've invited Amy Sue's staff to join into the blogging as well as Julie's staff. I suspect neither staff has the time to devote to it so I asked that they keep me informed about meetings within the district as well as any legislative initiatives they are taking in our behalf.

I understand Amy-Sue is going to be making the rounds of listening sessions late this month so I've asked the staff for her schedule....I'll post it here when I get it. (okay,okay,okay....I LOST the newsletter)

Dave tells me that the meeting went well last night. Now that my committee assignments have been changed I plan on attending more meetings.

feel free to leave a comment and join in....I know we're getting some decent traffic....(for us anyway) 30-35 hits per day.....so don't be shy....jump in.

Update on Julie's Listening Sessions

Hi again...

Dave sent the times and places out in an email....in case you missed them, here they are again.

Marshfield---The Daily Grind, 10--11am
Pittsville---Pittsville Community Library 12-1pm.
Wisconsin Rapids---From the Ground Up 1:30-2:30 pm
Nekoosa---Nekoosa City Hall 3-3:45 p.m.

Stop in and tell Julie what's on your mind....

Ummm...an endorsement?

Thanks to our friend, ColdH2O and, of course, Mad Magazine......

Say HI to Julie!

Hey folks, our favorite State Senator, Julie Lassa will be making the rounds in Wood County on Wednesday to hold office hours....

I know she'll be in Marshfield, Pittsville and Wisconsin Rapids on Wednesday....she'll be at The Daily Grind in Marshfield from 10 -11 A. M. but I don't know what time the other appearances are scheduled. Give her office a call.

"...because I have been to the mountaintop.."

Forty years ago today, these words inspired striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, and later that night, a single bullet made them imortal.

Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated in Memphis 40 years ago today...but these words still bring a chill to my spine:

And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?

Well, I don't know what will happen now.

We've got some difficult days ahead.

But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.

And I don't mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

And so I'm happy, tonight.

I'm not worried about anything.

I'm not fearing any man!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!

Check out another exerpt from the speech over at Hullabaloo....dday sums it up with wonderful clarity:

The power of collective action. The power of bottom-up organizing. The power of seeing a world where everyone is in it together, where everyone has a stake in one another. The power of fighting for justice and fairness and right, and moving mountains just by walking together. We get cynical in this medium a lot, and maybe we have a right to; after all, forty years ago they shot Dr. King for leading such a movement. But the legacy lives on, and I believe in his aphorism that "the long arc of history bends toward justice." This movement, this place where we've all gravitated, is but a small kernel of that legacy. But it's growing, and regardless of the President or the Congress or whoever it will continue to move forward. And one day, we will get there.

Well said dday....and thanks for reminding us.

Vote

To all our local candidates, best of luck to you today.

All Points Bulletin

News stew...

Okay...it's not very creative but it is appropriate.

Here's a mishmash of news and issues to comment on today:

Our friend, Tbogg, is fed up... he says:

But I am tired of the antics of Hillary Clinton and her campaign.

I even more tired on some of the Democratic leaning blogs that are totally and inexplicably in the bag for Clinton, and believe me, Obama was nowhere near my first choice. Or my second choice, for that matter. I can understand some people's (read: young peoples) passion for Obama, but Hillary Clintonphilia leaves me scratching my head.

I don't care about todays polls because they don't mean anything this early. The polls next week won't be any more illuminating.

I think we're all tired of the primaries by now.....make. it. stop....please.

Although via Digby, we learn that Naomi Klein (author of Shock Doctrine)thinks we're missing an opportunity. Here's a snippet:

Many argue otherwise. They say that if we want to end the war, we should simply pick a candidate who is not John McCain and help them win: We'll sort out the details after the Republicans are evicted from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Some of the most prominent anti-war voices--from MoveOn.org to the magazine we write for, The Nation--have gone this route, throwing their weight behind the Obama campaign.

This is a serious strategic mistake. It is during a hotly contested campaign that anti-war forces have the power to actually sway U. S. policy. As soon as we pick sides, we relegate ourselves to mere cheerleaders.

On the local level...Dave wants to remind us about the Caucaus...he writes:

Also, our county caucus will be Sunday, April 6 at Legion Hall in Pittsville. Doors will open at noon and the event is scheduled to start at 2p.m. sharp (those arriving after 2p.m. by rule can not participate). This is the first step of the two step process I discussed last month that will determine our Seventh CD delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver next summer. I'm not running this year, but we do have county party candidates hoping to get to Denver. We hope to have Wood County again represented at the national convention.

Another message from Dave.........apparently.......

On an even MORE local level. I haven't talked to my friends in Rapids yet but the local politics here are getting really nasty.....it's hard not to take sides because the two sides have been so radically polarized.

Oh yeah, the Smoking Ban proponents in Marshfield got a boost yesterday from EAU CLAIRE. The City Council in Eau Claire voted 7-4 for a complete indoor smoking ban. I'm guessing it will go to a referendum.

The soul of conservatism

E. J. Dionne Jr. sums it up well in this link.

And I riffed on it here.

enjoy

County Party meeting

Hi Everybody....

Dave emailed the agenda for Thurdsay night's meeting....some interesting stuff here...like the resolutions for the 7th CD convention....could get some interesting resolutions ...

DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF WOOD COUNTY
THURSDAY, MARCH 20-6:30 P.M.
PITTSVILLE LEGION HALL

AGENDA
I. Secretary’s report (Dede)
II. Treasurer’s report (Deane)
III. Chairman’s report (Dave)
IV. Committee reports (chairs)
V. Special reports (elected officials and reps)
VI. Discuss and vote on CD resolutions*
VII. Solve all of the world’s problems in 120 seconds (two minutes by anyone on anything)

*We can take up to 10 resolutions to the Seventh Congressional District Convention is Chippewa Falls in late April. These must be under 100 words and can deal with any topic---national, state, local or party.



Coming up in April:
-Discussion of CD, state and national conventions
-Discussion of county party dinner and county party field trip

Blurb and X-post

First, the lengthy cross-post here

and a short blurb.......

Blue Texan who blogs at firedoglake gives us the latest slap at Obama' Patriotism from the last remaining brilliant essayist of the modern Neocon movement, Jonah Goldberg.....

got that?

Okay, when your done laughing click here to read the funniest parts. But here's a snippet, or two:

"If you can't even say the word [patriotism], how can you claim to love your country?"

Hmmm, good point. I can't really remember the last time I heard Obama say the word "patriotism" -- so clearly, he's an America-hating subversive.

But wait! Teh Google tells me that Obama says the word "patriotism" all the time. Whew.

snip:

"When Democrats do speak of patriotism, it is usually as a means of finding fault with Republicans, corporations or America itself. Hence the irony that questioning the patriotism of liberals is a grievous sin, but doing likewise to conservatives is fine."

Now I'm totally confused.

I thought we had established: (1) Obama, like other Democrats, never talks about patriotism. (2) Not talking about patriotism makes you unpatriotic, whereas talking about it proves you're patriotic. But now we've got, (3) Democrats talk about patriotism to say mean things about Republicans; therefore (4) Democrats are in fact, according to (2), patriotic.

Go read....enjoy....

A Message from Russ...

Dear Wisconsin Progressive,

As the Democratic Presidential contest continues to chug along throughout our country, it’s important to remember that whoever our nominee and eventual Democratic President is come January 2009, he or she is going to need a Democratic Congress to work with to get our country back on track.

And while much of the talk has been about building on our gains in Congress this election cycle, we cannot forget about the strong Democrats who were elected last time and who now face stiff challenges this November. Here in Wisconsin we need not look any further than Congressman Steve Kagen in the 8th CD.

Since coming to Congress, Congressman Kagen has been a leader on a variety of issues - including advancing our combined effort of making universal access to affordable health care a top priority.

He’s refused to cave in to the Bush administration’s fear-mongering tactics by not immediately passing a flawed extension of the so-called "Protect America Act" – legislation that would weaken privacy protections for American citizens and provide retroactive immunity to telecom companies. In fact, a phony issue group has run television ads that accuse Congress Kagen and other freshman Democrats of being weak on national security issues – when nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s up to all Democrats in the 8th CD and across the state of Wisconsin to stand and fight for Steve Kagen leading up to this election. I’m going to continue to fight to keep him Congress and I hope you will join me. For more information, or to join our effort to support Congressman Steve Kagen, please contact the Kagen campaign at 800-255-9355 or brad@kagen4congress.com.

With high hopes,


Russ Feingold
United States Senator
www.russfeingold.org

Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

Thanks to our fellow Wisconsin Blogger and DGL (damned good liberal), ColdH2O who runs the blog BillyCreek, we get a look at a story that has been all but buried in the press. In addition, he gives us links to OneWisconsinNow who has been all over this story from the beginning.

Here's the gist of it:

Former Republican Governor Scott McCallum admitted Thursday he manipulated the judicial appointment process established by his own executive orders in order to appoint Republican Party official Mike Gableman, a McCallum donor and fundraiser, to the Burnett County Circuit Court.

Republicans linked with money and corruption? Nah.....say it ain't true!

and another snippet:

“Governor McCallum confirmed what we already knew, that Mike Gableman got his job as a judge because that’s what McCallum wanted for his donor and fundraiser,” said Scot Ross, Executive Director of One Wisconsin Now. “Why are there no state documents showing that Gableman ever formally applied for the job, that he was ever interviewed for the job, or that he ever answered the extensive questions designed to indicate his qualifications and competence to have the job?”

Cool.....I wish somebody would give me a job I didn't even apply for.....

He also points out something I missed in the land of GreaterBlogSylvania: Here's the link and a snippet:

We had to suffer the bullshit of the right's attack on President Clinton in the '90s. I, for one, was happy we had a President who actually had an active sex life. All the money spent to impeach him, what a fucking waste of time. However, when Bill says stuff like this is really pisses me off.

And then he painted this scene: “She and John McCain are very close,” he said. “They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other.”

I can tell you I'm not at all happy about that quote although I haven't seen it published anywhere else...but there IS this picture.

Go to the link and read the whole site. And also put BillyCreek in your favorites file!

Wow! Hillary made a comeback!

I'm going to suggest (at the risk of getting flamed) that the political landscape is strewn with the corpses of pundits who have underestimated (misunderestimated?) the Clinton's ability to campaign until they drop and the overwhelming desire.....make that obsession...for winning. She pulled it off last night winning both Texas and Ohio and also Rhode Island. From what I understand, she ended up with a net gain of about 10 delegates but nobody knows how the Texas Caucaus vote will settle out.

It ain't over yet!

Respect for Conservatives?

I wrote a pretty good tribute (I think) to William F. Buckley over on my own blog the day after he passed away. Although some of Buckley's positions were repulsive (Praise of Joseph McCarthy for one thing) he was the most eloquent speaker the Conservative movement ever had and he alone came closest to providing a true philosophical basis for the Conservative movement.

But it seems our "friends", the modern neocons who have managed to completely trash Buckley's vision of the true conservative movement, are none too happy with ANY praise or respect we liberals (known to the right as DFHs, or dirty f**king hippies) give to conservatives.

Our friend Thers over at Whiskey Fire Buzzards has a great post....Here's the link

And here's the "money shot".

"
"The strange new respect liberals have for Ronald Reagan would be another."

That would be a very strange phenomenon indeed, were it to exist. Reagan is "respected" by liberals only to the extent that he was no George W. Bush, which is like saying that snot is "respectable" because it's not diarrhea."

Read the whole link...you'll enjoy it.

Lots to catch up on

Lots of things to talk about.

It looks like primary season and the "brickbats" thrown between the Hillary Camp and the Obama Camp may shortly come to an end....at least maybe after the Texas and Ohio primaries.


The Repubs aren't wasting much time though. They've already started attacking Barak Obama on just about every word that comes out of his mouth. Like this Bill Kristol article yesterday (by way of Digby) snip:

But Obama chose to present his flag-pin removal as a principled gesture. “You know, the truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin. Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we’re talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security, I decided I won’t wear that pin on my chest.”

Leave aside the claim that “speaking out on issues” constitutes true patriotism.

Yep, that certainly does remind me of the painful scene in Office Space where Jennifer Anniston was criticized by her boss for not wearing enough "flair" on her uniform. She eventually gave the guy the finger and quit....Pretty snide huh? I'll bet we haven't seen anything yet!


And then there's (Saint) John McCain....it seems that the "Straight-Talk Express" is really powered by lobbyist money and McCain apparently never met a lobbyist he didn't like...and one in particular, he seemed to "like" A WHOLE LOT! But because the story was broken by the New York Times, you know that "liberal rag", and never mind that the ultra-conservative Washington Post also broke the story, the right wing Wurlitzer is buzzing in defense of the nominee apparent. So Rush and Ann are now firm McCainenites...(sarcasm/on)who would have guessed? (sarcasm/off)

On the local level....I apologize for missing the announcement of the regular Monthly meeting last Thursday night. I had another civic obligation to attend (actually two in addition to our meeting) and couldn't attend...that should end in April though...


I hear that the meeting got a little....ummmmm....let's see....ummmm .....

frisky?

Rowdy?

Contentious?

Adversarial?

I'm looking for the right words here folks...anybody want to join in?

Congratulations Senator Obama

A Stunning Victory!

Wow.....

Let me ponder for a moment....how long has it been since the Democratic Party has TWO world-class candidates to choose from?

Not for many years my friends, not for many years....

Vote Dammit!!!

Today is THE DAY!!! All the sniping (on other blogs) doesn't mean diddly if you don't vote.....

on edit: 1:57PM

I have now received my fourth robo-call today from the campaigns...and they have been evenly divided..two from Hillary's Campaign and two from Obama's campaign. I've had three previous calls since Saturday....anybody else getting bombarded?

Captured! Picture of Liberal Tree Hugger

As you can probably tell, I'm bored out of my mind today because I have a touch of the flu and can't do much but punch (contaminate) my keyboard while in a nice warm rob, wearing slipper socks and sipping a nice, hot (todie) liquid.

Hope everyone is well tonight....

Be careful on the roads, the liquid from the salt is starting to freeze over again.

All in favor of "calling the question" on Winter, raise your hands....

Hey DeDE will you count the votes?

Back when I smoked a pipe....

I think this would have come in handy....

(thanks to WTF IS IT NOW.BLOGSPOT.COM for the pic)

Campaign Messages

Here are some messages from LoLo and Dave concerning campaign activites for both of the major candidates...I'm passing them along to you.

Re: Hillary's Campaign

from Dave:

Here is the contact information for Hillary's campaign. Our office is located at 308 2nd St in Stevens Point, and the phone here is (715) 544-4014, and my cell phone is (603) 289-8660. I can also be reached by email at any time (georgiana.cavendish@gmail.com, or gcavendish@hillaryclinton.com), and our office is open around the clock, 7 days a week (for people traveling from out of town to the area, please have them call us beforehand, so we can make sure to be around when they get here!)

from Lolo:

Tomorrow from 3-4 pm. Bill Clinton is appearing at the Radisson Ballroom in La Crosse--free, no tickets, needed, first come first served. (source: La Crosse Tribune) and various Madison media outlets.

Obama Campaign:

I also have some Obama information. They will have canvassing going on Saturday through Tuesday from 9a.m. to 8p.m. in Wausau, leaving from Washington Square Mall. Shifts are 9-1, 1-4, 4-8. And their office is open in Stevens Point at the Main Street address I previously gave you.

Soooooo.......

It looks like Dave has taken up snowmobiling too eh?

More truth than fiction

Hi all....Bill in Portland Maine over at DailyKos treats us to a bit of levity this morning with a parody of how the primary season seems to be going....

Here:

[Beep!] Hello, this is Barack Obama reminding you to come out and caucus for me on Sunday. Together we can bring hope and change to America. Thank you.
[Beep!] Hello, this is Hillary Clinton. If you agree that we need a new direction in America, please caucus for me on Sunday. I have the experience needed to hit the ground running on day one. Thank you.
[Beep!] Hi, Barack again. Did Hillary just call you? Look, she and I were friends before the primary season and we'll be friends after. But right now she's just acting crazy, understand? Vote for me and I may let you stand next to me at my inauguration.
[Beep!] Hillary here. Barack's feeding you a line 'o crap and he knows it. Not only will I let you stand next to me at my inauguration, but I'll give you the cabinet position of your choice. You have to admit, that's pretty sweet. Love ya!
[Beep!] Hey, it's Barack. Love ya more. Wanna be my VP?
[Beep!] Oh, he's not gonna make you vice president and he knows it!
[Beep!] Will too!
[Beep!] Will not!
[Beep!] This is Chelsea Clinton. Have you seen my mom or my dad? I'm supposed to be at a rally with 'em but there's no one here. Today's Nebraska, right?
[Beep!] Hi, this is Oprah. Despite what the Clinton campaign says, I am not going to crush your skull between my thighs if you don’t vote for my man Barack. That would let you off too easy! Hint hint.
[Beep!] Hi, Barack again. That wasn't Oprah. That was Hillary pretending to be Oprah. You see how these people work? I think it's... Oh, wait, it was Oprah. Never mind. Vote for me!
[Beep!] Hi, this is Chuck Norris. I'm hiding behind your bathroom door, and as soon as you come in to pee I'm gonna break every bone in your Defeatocrat body. I'll start with your femurs.
[Beep!] Hi, this is Mike Gravel. Chuck's hanging by his underwear from a hook on the back of your bathroom door. The police are on their way. Wish I could stay but I've gotta stop a meteor that's hurtling toward Earth. Have a nice pee.

Sad News

Our friend Marlys Matusak passed away last Friday night or Saturday Morning. Marlys had been very ill for some time.

Arrangements have been made for Marlys's service.It will be held this Saturday February 16th at theRose Garden in Wausau beginning at 12 noon and lasting until about 2 p.m.The Rose Garden is located at: 131Thomas Street and their telephone is715-843-7673.The family will be available to meet visitors at about 11:30.

If anybody from Wood County wants to go, contact Dave Wille.

Dave Wille, First Vice Chair, will assume duties for the 7th Congressional District.

I can't imagine the 7th Congressional District without Marlys. She was a force...she had a strong and demanding personality that was the organizing force of the 7th CD Democrats. As formidable as she was in her official capacity she was an equally formidable friend. I met her over 25 years ago and immediately recognized she was the one "in charge". She was in charge then and remained in charge until she died.

I will miss her greatly.

Rest in Peace Marlys.

Help Needed!

I don't normally do this but I think Digby and Monkeyfister are quite an inspiration and I will rise to their request for a "blogswarm" because the cause is true, just and non-controversial.

I don't know how many noticed that during the excitment of Super Tuesday there were many severe storms hitting the southcentral and southeastern part of the country. In fact, it was the worst tornado outbreak since 1981 and historical in the fact that it was the only recorded tornado outbreak of that severity in the month of February....EVER! (Global climate change anyone?)

The extent of damage and human suffering resulting from this outbreak is just now sinking in to our bone-headed national media but Digby and Monkeyfister are trying to do something about it....let me quote Monkeyfister:

As Scout Prime is to NOLA, I am, suddenly, to the Mid-South area (I LIVE here, and was Live-Blogging these horrible storms all night), and have started to get the help-ball rolling down here. Some of you know where I work. I started a Food Drive there today for the Mid-South United Way Food Bank.As the area affected is so broad and detached, and everyone in the Country was distracted by politics last night, as yet, there is no central assistance hub set-up. So, at the link, above, you'll find the two agencies with the broadest radius to help the area right now. Both take DIRECT donations.

.".... I can't describe how wide-spread the damage is down here. It's enormous. The Media, per usual, is only just now waking up to the situation, after their Super-Duper-Let's-All-Wet-Our-Pants-Together- Tuesday Political Hangover. Like NOLA, these are REALLY poor folks down here, and have nothing, and nowhere to go."


And here are the links she talked about:

Right now, I recommend the:American Red CrossMid-South Chapter1400 Central AvenueMemphis, TN 38104901-726-1690

And:United Way of the Mid-South phone in a donation at (901) 433-4300.

If you have anything to spare, please do what you can.

It's only because I am a "weather geek" that I have seen the devastation from these storms on the Weather Channel. There is video at the link that will break your heart.

UPDATE: Since Monkeyfist's original post, the death toll has risen to 55. Damn...even with the sophisticated warning systems in place .....damn....

Super Tuesday was.....

Well, Super Tuesday is over and what did it prove?

Both Obama and Clinton camps have huge successes they can point to and claim the day a victory for their side.....but neither side landed the definitive "knock out blow" that they were looking for.

So the race goes on and from a purely geocentric, egocentric point of view, I'm rather happy about that because it means we may actually stand a chance of having a real, live Presidential Nominee candidate visit our area soon. I'm guessing that such a visit will take place in ...say...maybe Stevens Point because of the target rich environment of young voters that the city is famous for and, becasue it will draw crowds from many different directions to assure a suitable media event for the candidate....

Because of the relatively small number of delegates that Edwards was able to muster yesterday, I'm beginning to think that there isn't much hope of getting him enough votes in Wisconsin to negotiate with the other two candidates. That means that I, like many of you, am going to be forced into making a choice on Feb 19.....

Actually, this could be fun.

Repeat after me.....

McCain = Bush

McCain = Bush

McCain = Bush....

proof? ya want proof ya say......

Dreaded X-Post....

Yeah, I know....I'm lazy...but come on...it IS Superbowl Sunday.. (click the linky-thing.)

btw: Dave Obey will give a Federal Budget update in Marshfield tomorrow in City Council Chambers from 11:30 to 12:30....come up and say "Hi" to Dave.

and just for fun.....

Tbogg treats us to some classic rightwingnuttery over the Republican Nomination here's a snippet:

First choice for Mitt! seems to be the reanimated corpse of "Can't Fog A Mirror" Fred Thompson, but others are pulling for Duncan Hunter (I am not fucking kidding), Condoleezza Rice (our first gay Vice President!), and Michael Steele (because... well, you know, the Democrats are doing it), and JC Watts (see Steele, Michael).

Enjoy

Ahem...

"And just where is your Hillary flair?"

What's in a CAMPAIGN SONG?

Our buddy Jesus' General analyzes campaign songs trying to Divine (pun intended) the character of the candidate from the song he (or she) chooses for their campaign rallies. He warns us of the "dangers" of these songs chosen by our "ungodly" candidates.

For instance, Barak Obama chose Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered for his victory rally in South Carolina. (The General warns us: " it's the kind of devil music that gets the hips a moving in such away that you're fornicating all over the place before you even realize it. ")

Hillary chose Celin Dion's You and I as her song. Again, the General warns us: " has the opposite effect on people. Listening to it causes a man's little soldier to crawl up inside itself and hide, thus making fornication impossible for at least a month."

The General suggests theme songs for the Republican hopefuls...here are his suggestions:

Rudy Giuliani - They're Coming to Take Me Away by Napoleon XIV. Why? Well, because, as he announced during a speech to the Coral Gables Rotary Club, he actually is Napoleon XIV.

Mike Huckabee - Every Sperm is Sacred by Monty Python. We'd have no problem passing Huckabee's personhood amendment to the Constitution if every American heard this song.

Mitt Romney - The Girl from Ipanema by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Because when he passes, each one he passes goes "ahhhh." There's nothin' wrong with having a president who has a purty mouth.

Ron Paul - The Horst Wessel Song. Isn't it time to get the government off the back of your local jackboot cobbler?

John McCain - Bomb Iran - because he sings it from the heart.

Poll: Vote by commenting

BillinPortland over at DailyKos has a poll up about the pResident's State of the Union Speech tonight...he wants to know if you'll watch it....

Thought I would ask the Wood County Dems the same questions...here they are:

Will You watch the STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS?

YES. It is an event of historical importance.

YES. I'll watch it the same way I slow down and gawk at a traffic accident on the highway.

YES. It has more laughs per minute than anything else on TV (except Fox News)

MAYBE.

NO. The Geneva Conventions state that Dubyababbling is torture.

Vote by leaving a comment.....

btw: I took the second option.

How incredibly APPROPRIATE!

I'm going to refrain from posting on the primary for a day or two to avoid the nastiness that is going on ...

Instead....I decided to get back to what we SHOULD be doing and that is bashing the Bush Administration...

I liked to this from our good friend and fellow Wisconsin blogger coldh2O at Billycreek and I haven't seen anything more appropriate to describe the Bu$h Administration. From Harper's Magazine, we get this description of "Dubya's" favorite painting which he has dubbed "A Charge to Keep". Here are a few snippets:

George W. Bush is famous for his attachment to a painting which he acquired after becoming a “born again Christian.” It’s by W.H.D. Koerner and is entitled “A Charge to Keep.” Bush was so taken by it, that he took the painting’s name for his own official autobiography.

snip

So Bush’s description of “A Charge to Keep” struck me as very strange. In fact, I’d say highly improbable. Now, however, Jacob Weisberg has solved the mystery. He invested the time to track down the commission behind the art work and he gives us the full story in his forthcoming book on Bush, The Bush Tragedy:

[Bush] came to believe that the picture depicted the circuit-riders who spread Methodism across the Alleghenies in the nineteenth century. In other words, the cowboy who looked like Bush was a missionary of his own denomination.

Only that is not the title, message, or meaning of the painting. The artist, W.H.D. Koerner, executed it to illustrate a Western short story entitled “The Slipper Tongue,” published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1916. The story is about a smooth-talking horse thief who is caught, and then escapes a lynch mob in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The illustration depicts the thief fleeing his captors. In the magazine, the illustration bears the caption: “Had His Start Been Fifteen Minutes Longer He Would Not Have Been Caught.”

So Bush’s inspiring, prosyletizing Methodist is in fact a silver-tongued horse thief fleeing from a lynch mob. It seems a fitting marker for the Bush presidency.

Bush has consistently exhibited what psychologists call the “Tolstoy syndrome.” That is, he is completely convinced he knows what things are, so he shuts down all avenues of inquiry about them and disregards the information that is offered to him. This is the hallmark of a tragically bad executive. But in this case, it couldn’t be more precious. The president of the United States has identified closely with a man he sees as a mythic, heroic figure. But in fact he’s a wily criminal one step out in front of justice. It perfectly reflects Bush the man. . . and Bush the president.

Horse Thief Escaping a Lynch Mob.....how incredibly appropriate!