John Edwards, Others at Casa per Piccoli Angeli in Haiti

John Edwards was in Haiti along with Madeline Stowe (who helped campaign for JRE last winter) and others to celebrate the ribbon cutting of a new children's rehab hospital in Haiti. The hospital was built by Italian non-profit NPH.

Edwards seemed pleased to be at the event:

"I am particularly excited about being here for the opening of this rehabilitation facility which is much-needed," Edwards told AFP.

"I am also here to help, we hope, bring attention to the plight of the Haitian people, their struggles and their efforts to have a better life."

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Northern Hemisphere as 70 percent of Haitians live on two dollars a day.

The new facility can assist 5,000 children per year, said NPH spokesperson Gina Heratz.

"In Haiti, handicapped children are often abandoned and are regarded as a burden and a waste of time," she said.

Good to see John Edwards working towards bringing awareness about poverty close to home, and that others have joined with him, especially when it affects handicapped children. The Italian company, Coccinelle lent a hand by launching their ethical 'Goodie Bag' a beautifully handcrafted leather bag at an amazingly reasonable price of $150. All of the proceeds from the sale of the "ladybug" bag went to the Francesca Rava Foundation, which is funding this new center which is also known as "the House for Little Angels". The Mediolanum Group was another benefactor for Casa per Piccoli Angeli.


(h/t to another JRE supporter, via e-mail)

Can't Blame Obama on this One

Jim Martin lost his race this evening in a runoff against Chambliss in the senate race in GA.

The Hill claims that a light turnout, especially among AA voters, is one of the reasons Martin lost. But they also said Obama wasn't willing to go and campaign directly for Martin.

Obama is smart politically, and I hope he chose not to go campaign for Martin out of spite (Martin was a JRE supporter) but rather he is going to be different from most Dems and not campaign any further; instead he will focus on governance. Often I thought Bill Clinton overdid the campaigning bit.

Therefore, I don't blame Obama for not going down to Georgia. Too much work to be done and needs to have his cabinet picks almost completely in place by January 20th. He has to appear to be ready from the get-go.

I think there is election fatigue in general, and that's why Martin lost. Georgia is a deep red state after all.

Tuesday Night Music: Celtic Women

Doin' "Sail Away"(Orinoco Flow):



I'm getting in the travelling mood, especially with snow on the ground where I live.

Chris Bowers on Tweety's Show

Chris Bowers was a guest on "Hardball" tonight. Bowers explained why he was disappointed that more voices from the Left weren't included in the National Security team Obama announced today. One of Bowers' concerns is increasing military spending and not being able to invest in more "left" programs for the country.

Matthews was pretty deferential to Bowers, which means Matthews is trying to court more lefty bloggers for his senate run in a couple of years in PA. I doubt though asking Bowers to be on the show would necessarily persuade Bowers since Bowers is his own man.

Interesting. When link appears on MSNBC to the show's segments, I will update this post.

Update: here's the link to the interview. And here are Bowers' thoughts about his appearance on the show.