JRE Buzz (6)

Oh, it's buzzing again today.

News:
Senator Edwards and poverty as his signature issue is one of the web exclusives in Time magazine today. JRE is interviewed, and here's the lead paragraph. (photo credit: Time)

John Edwards may well end up a candidate for president in 2008, but for now, he's director of the new Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Since the last election, John Kerry's running mate has spent much of his time speaking around the country about the 37 million Americans who live under the poverty line. He has also supported Justice for Janitors campaigns and other efforts to address the struggles of low-wage workers. He spoke with TIME's Jeremy Caplan about his thoughts on poverty and why he's made it his signature issue.

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OK, you all, help me understand how HIllary Clinton leads in a Michigan poll about 2008 Presidential chances, as recorded by News Max:

"Among Democrats, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton led with 32 percent, former Vice President Al Gore got 19 percent – up from 15 percent in the last poll – former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards received 40 percent and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold both got 7 percent. Other potential candidates received less than 3 percent."

Now, either the writer got the math wrong, or I did, but isn't 40% more than 32%?

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More anti-Hillary stuff, but at least JRE gets mentions for his corrected stance on the war and for his work in the Netroots/Net Neutrality, with Hillary lagging behind in trying to court the bloggers. As Josh Gerstein penns on the New York Sun:

Last week, a former senator from North Carolina who is considering a presidential bid in 2008, John Edwards, sent a similar message to his followers. "On the Internet, big corporations are on equal footing with everyday people. And it needs to stay that way," he said.

Echoing themes from his 2004 presidential bid, Mr. Edwards warned darkly of a plan to create two Americas on the Web. "Special interests are pushing bills through Congress that would divide the Internet in two. Corporate deals would determine which Web sites would run incredibly fast and which ones would barely run at all," he wrote.

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Robert Scheer's article at Huffington Post in which Hillary is straddlin' the Iraq war fence, and Dems don't like it a bit. JRE is mentioned along with Feingold and Kerry. Good company to have.

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American Street, one of the places you will find Iddybud and Anonymoses, two Tar-Heel Tavern bloggers that I adore along with Coturnix, has a post about how GOP House lawmakers give themselves raises, but steal money from the working poor. Frustrating for all of us.

Well, we know working poor is going to mention JRE somewhere. Here it is:

"A moderate Dem is Jon Tester, Stephanie Herseth, Howard Dean, Bill Richardson, Harry Reid, John Edwards and John Kerry. Though some of them have strayed to the right briefly, all of them have retained most democratic principles and considerable ethical foundations throughout their elective careers."

Well, that's true, but here's what's interesting. The first comment on the post read:

"If all the big Dems in the picture right now, my hopes are highest for Edwards, who really is walking the walk. I wish I didn’t think “DLC” when I thought of him. I’m working very hard to believe that he’s seen the light. The biggest point in his favor with me is that Jude believes in him and I believe in her.

He’s willing to talk about poverty and solutions to poverty. He openly supports not only unions the but idea of unions ( there’s a difference). I’ve heard that he didn’t want to concede 2004 when Kerry did. He doesn’t do enough about voter-verified paper ballots and proper audits for my taste, but it’s possible that he learned from that election and is a proponent of election reform that includes VVPB."

I'm with you, blogger.

Finally...

Elizabeth Edwards posted a really thoughtful piece about pardons and accountability on OAC blog. It's easy to agree with her position. Speaking of...I found a clip of her at PDF. Thanks, Blip TV dinarebecca for this clip, entitled "Elizabeth Edwards on politicians blogging without being edited." (logon may be required, and I had to use headphones for the audio). You look good, Elizabeth!

For more comprehensive news--a JRE News Digest--click here. OAC Regulars Mbair and NCDem design and write it each Sunday (give a day or two). It's a great place to find out about OAC News too.

More buzz l8tr..

see also JRE Buzz(5), JRE Buzz(4)

JRE Buzz(5)

OK, I have more new buzz to offer, including JRE's upcoming events.

John Edwards. Former U.S. senator, VP candidate. World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. Union League of Phila., 140 S Broad St; lunch & program $55; reservations required; 215-561-4700; http://www.wacphila.org/; news credit: today's Philadelphia Inquirer.

11:15 a.m. Fri.

Breakfast Keynote Speaker at the NOBEL Conference, Portland, OR on June 30 (then off to Gnomedex)

JRE to speak in Bismarck on August 9 at their convention. "State party director Jim Fuglie says Edwards is popular with North Dakota Democrats -- and they're excited that he's making a stop in the state." Another story has surfaced in the Grand Forks news.

Update, June 19th: Love this headline...Will the Next President Be a Podcaster?
Read at Podcasting News.

Marc's Voice has some musings about what he would like to ask JRE at Gnomedex.

The Hotline continues to be in the river of Egypt (denial) about JRE in Iowa, instead touting Hillary. I wrote them and told them to start reporting facts and not fabricating them. Read the blogs. The 5th Estate continues to tell the truth. Update: they wrote me to say that potential staff is what they meant in their post, in terms of who can whip up campaign staff, and that their post was to complement JRE. You read it and tell me if you understood that context.

Chris Bowers believes that Edwards is a strong 2008 contender. Check out his post on My DD, Not Down to Three Just Yet.

Blue Girl, Red State is as glad as I am that Hillary is not the heir apparent. I loved her last paragragh:"We need a leader who will tell us hard truths, and not give us our way for whining. John Edwards just might be the guy to tell us to stop sniveling and get our asses to work."

A marketing blog called ClickZ gives acknowledgement to Edwards and OAC. TO from OAC is quoted. I thought it was interesting that author Kate Kaye termed the OAC "an anti-poverty organization". I guess it is.

Debunking JRE

Update, June 20th: CNN Poll ; most against Jeb Bush and Hillary, but no mention of JRE or Warner (in either vote for or vote against). Some other blogs have taken note too the absence of JRE's name. Me thinks the poll was conducted about more prominent, possibly polarizing figures, thus it's just as well.

Stuf I didn't notice until today: New Media Musings
Comment: "Gnomedex, now sold out, has a first-rate keynote speaker: former Sen. John Edwards, who should have been the Democratic nominee for president two years ago."

Yeah, well, VP would have been good too.

More buzz l8tr..

See JRE Buzz(4)

Two Birthdays Today

I'd like to wish two outstanding men happy birthday.

My first wish goes to my friend, Walt, who one of the most easy going and kindest men I've ever met. I have the privilege of knowing him since 1998. I haven't seen him in awhile, but hope to this fall.



My second birthday wish is for Paul McCartney, my favorite musician and activist for animals. He is 64 and wrote a song nearly 40 years ago that I love, "When I'm 64." I saw him in concert in 1990 and the most famous song "Yesterday", was recorded at Worcester, MA, and is on the album, Tripping the Light Fantastic.

Like JRE, Paul wants to alleviate poverty.







They Say It's Your Birthday

Two Fathers Remember Their Sons

I don't have a father to share Father's Day with. Haven't since June 8, 1991. But my spouse, who loves our pets as much as I do, is a fine substitute.

However, I've read two articles about fathers who lost their sons in Iraq. Their thoughts are humbling, to say the least. I am going to give them some blog space here and links so that you can read the rest.

To them, I dedicate my father's day wishes. Must be hard. But to my readers who are dads and have dads, I am glad you will be remembered today.

From Truthout:

His buddies in the Marines called him the "Aztec warrior." Jesus Suarez del Solar was one of the first Americans killed during the invasion of Iraq. On March 27, 2003 Jesus stepped on an undetonated U.S. cluster bomb and bled to death in a remote desert near Diwaniya. Jesus left behind his wife and 1-year-old son, his mother, three sisters, and a father who now speaks out against the occupation of Iraq. As a representative of Military Families Speak Out, a burgeoning organization of 1,500 families who call for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, Fernando Suarez tells high school and college students: Stay in school; don't be deceived by false promises from recruiters for Bush.

Fernando Suarez del Solar is a Mexican-born American citizen. With his wife and children, he immigrated from Tijuana, Mexico, to Escondido, California, where he delivered newspapers and worked at a Seven-Eleven store.

And the second is from Common Dreams:

by Michael Berg, Nick Berg's dad

Of all of the holidays a grieving father can be confronted with after the death of his child, Fathers Day is for me the most difficult.

My son Nick died in Iraq on May 7, 2004. He is buried next to my father, who had died just a year and a half before. That is not the way it’s supposed to be.

I’m supposed to go somewhere between my father and my son in the graveyard. Nearby are my proud immigrant grandparents, who died first. That is the way it is supposed to be.

There is a lot else going on that is not the way it is supposed to be. Our leaders are not supposed to lie to us. Yet because George Bush and company told us to beware of weapons of mass destruction and so-called Iraqi involvement in 9/11, my son and the loved ones of 150,000 other grieving souls on both sides lost their lives.

Berg's story makes me cry, especially when he says, "Though I doubted our president’s words, I did too little too late."