Benny's World

The Knotted Scarf: Remembering the Passing of Elizabeth Edwards

2011-12-07T15:41:00.001-08:00

Today is the anniversary of Elizabeth Edwards passing. It's been somber for many of us, although I managed to stay busy. Likely Elizabeth would have preferred that I or anyone be productive than dwell on her death.

Still, it is time to pause a little and think about her.

I bet she would have been proud of Cate and Trevor's wedding. Courtesy of one of Cate's guests, Bill Spiegel, here's a link to a picture he snapped of Cate and Trevor cutting their wedding cake. Note: you must be a FB friend of EE's to view it. I was and still am.

The Elizabeth Edwards Foundation (EEF) website is seeing some legs.

Speaking of the EEF, CEO Cate Edwards put out a call on Elizabeth's Facebook wall for folks to share quotes or other thoughts. Iddybud posted a lovely poem by WS Merwin entitled "Rain Light". Nancy Anania, Elizabeth's sister, was open with her feelings when she posted, "My beautiful sister, you know how much I miss you." Yours truly posted a pic of Elizabeth and the two younger ones when Elizabeth was voted Role Mother of the Year by Glamour.

In another part of FB, Dem Debbi, a former JREG blogger, posted the pic of Elizabeth when she learned her cancer had returned and many of the DU'ers contributed money for dozens of pink roses (still my favorite pic, I remember posting it at the DU when the campaign sent it to me) in support of her continuing on in the 2008 campaign.

BW Readers, I also bring your attention to One America Rising, which wove a photo blog tribute to Elizabeth.

I will conclude with a couple of thoughts which may to tie these bloggers to the anniversary of her passing. One of them is by Cate Edwards, who penned an article that was published in Self magazine this afternoon:

There are things quintessentially Elizabeth that will always remind me of her. Some of them are grating (a constant flow of grammatical corrections). Some of them gracious (the constant claim that friends and family--not herself--are to thank for her own strength). Some of them are ill-advised (putting together meals comprised only of 100-calorie snacks). Some of them are good advice (to put together the biggest dream you can for yourself, then go one bigger). Some of them are passing (her idea to buy a bush hog and cut her own path in our backyard). Some of them are lasting (her idea to be herself, regardless, and forge her own path in life). But every Momism that I took for granted during her life has served as a welcome reminder of her every single day during the last year. Some days they make me smile or laugh out loud. Some days they are more burdened with the sadness of losing her. And while I hope that the former overtake the latter as the years roll on, I am glad to know that a year will never pass-- or even a day--when my mom is not with me.

The other is by Elizabeth herself, from Saving Graces. The context is a scarf she received from Christine Lavin (one of my favorite folk singers)in the mail:

Christine had taken it on her tour and had asked the women in the audience to make a little knot tie or knit a little. ...That scarf was everything I believed in. It was a gesture--not a difficult gesture--but a thoughtful one. ...It was pulling people in because you do believe in the grace a community gives each of us. ...This scarf is Christine's gift at the same time that it is the gift of all of those women whose names I will never know. And it is, also at the same time, something I can literally can wrap myself and something I can figuratively myself,, this huge community of people, spread out among the towns she toured--people who were pulling for me and who believed in the strength of that tiny knot they tied." (pages 333-4).

Indeed we were all part of her fabric. And she of ours.

To Cate Edwards and Trevor Upham

2011-10-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10288821/

Cate and Trevor got it together.

To them, I hope they have a great honeymoon. Hope it was a great party after the wedding. I do seems easy. To Mr. Benny, I said "Absolutely" rather than "yes." I stand by it.

I know you are private folks, but Edwardians on this blog follow what you will do in light in your late mom's story.

We all are in support of a great lifetime together.

Here's song by Desiree:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvRBFFCBmcY&NR=1

We Knew

2011-10-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

I am using an expression that Elizabeth Edwards would say today but slightly altered: we knew. Her comment was about Wade, you know.

Yesterday, I received e-mails about a WaPO article regarding what John Edwards could teach our POTUS. I am a bit incensed that Chris Cillzza got the memo 4 years later, but it's easy for a progressive political journalist to look back, rather than taking a position at the time. I've visited and told many liberal bloggers that they looked at who could raise money over what was bold and right for all of us. They have conceded privately that JRE was right. But I hear this "but if" meaning JRE's personal trials were revealed in the media. Chickens because of what happened in the 80's by a popular Colorado guy.

Elizabeth knew something of John's problems at the time, but she was willing to go on the campaign. She has been criticized for knowing them. How could any one be nasty towards a person who would later have her illness re-occur? Peeps like Taylor Marsh, who still touts Hillary Clinton as the possible nominee because she was the first viable woman Dem nominee in an election year that was open to anyone?

This blog is about Elizabeth Edwards and JRE's ideas. I am not ashamed to say that we knew what was right for all of us. And I am a Liberal but independent like Bernie Sanders.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/what-john-edwards-can-teach-barack-obama/2011/10/17/gIQA85p8rL_blog.html

Thanks Chris for acknowledging JRE, but you are 4 years too late. We knew all along. So your next job is to help Elizabeth Warren, as her ideas are many like JRE's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvumTKOSYaI -End the Game (thanks Montana Maven for this reminder)

Team Edwards at the 3-day Race for the Cure

2011-09-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

Cate Edwards and a group of friends (some that we know from the campaign, are doing the race as I type this note. One of my blogging buds was tipped off via former campaign worker yesterday.

I sent a little change to support Nancy Anania, Elizabeth's sister, on Team Edwards.

This morning, Cate was interviewed by Andrea Mitchell:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44643196#44643196

Seems appropriate Andrea is a breast cancer survivor.

Go Team Edwards!

Update on Elizabeth Warren

2011-09-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Chris Bowers from Daily Kos sent a mass mailing to tell everyone that Elizabeth Warren did announce (link via TPM) she would run for the Senate seat held by Scott Brown in Massachusetts.

This should be an exciting race.

According to TPM:

"Brown was elected to the Senate in a special election in January 2010, following the death of long-time Sen. Ted Kennedy, in a stunning upset against Democratic state Attorney General Martha Coakley. A recent survey showed Brown leading the lesser-known Warren by 44%-35%, but with the incumbent below the crucial 50% mark in a state that is expected to vote Democratic by a wide margin in the presidential race."

Good luck Elizabeth!

Elizabeth Warren Considering a Run in MA for US Senate

2011-08-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

At the Daily Kos and TPM, it was reported that Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law Professor who helped set up the Consumer Credit oversight group, has set up an exploratory committee for a senate run in her home state. Already she has met with some local activists in Arlington (all of this has been reported at Blue Mass Group) and liberals in the state have raised $100K.

Warren should have been confirmed to provide leadership for that new agency, but she was rejected by all of the ~~sexist~~ Republican male senators. As usual, Obama didn't have the ~~stomach for any confrontation~~ will to back her as a top candidate, so she packed her bags and went home.

She penned an eloquent post at Blue Mass Group, a site I used to follow when JRE was in the race. Her narrative was about her family background, coming from a working poor family but emerged out of it because of education. Her law work led her to working for struggling families.

I think she is wise to explore first as her committee can conduct polls, and while she is not allowed to talk as a candidate, she can raise certain sums of money within FEC rules.

I have a feeling she will be at Netroots Nation in Providence next year. I really want to go to that conference, but I think work is going to preclude me on that one.

Run Elizabeth run! She's very much like our late Elizabeth Edwards.

Hey Party Girl

2011-06-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

I am beginning to wonder if the Gold Dust Woman in JRE's life is a sociopath for media attention.

Through her sister, she claims she wants to work if Hollywood gave her a decent offer:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2006928/I-wouldnt-trust-John-Edwards-far-I-throw-says-sister-mistress.html

Why a mother would want to embarrass her former lover over and over when he is providing every expense for her and the child? She's just a party girl and doesn't have a sense of maturity to buck up to handle her situation. Her sister is also to blame for blasting out against JRE.

JRE, you really goofed in being so intimate with this woman and allowing the affair to go too far. But most of all, I feel badly for Emma Claire and Jack--as well as the step sister involved. I think JRE knows now this woman was just a party girl and he treated her as such. But he owned up with his wallet.

She doesn't like being known as a party girl, but that is just what she is.

Overzealous DOJ (updated)

2011-05-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, the DOJ has some good reasons to appoint prosecutors for white collar crimes. Last year, our former governor in Illinois had 35 charges against him. No wonder there was a hung jury. They are trying Blagovich again, and I think he will walk out of it.

The DOJ has decided that it will have an indictment against John Edwards for accepting hush funds during the time he had his One America PAC. As far as I can tell, the DOJ is using some creative use of FCC laws about money that Bunny Melon and the late Fred Baron gave him to keep his pregnant mistress in hiding. Bunny considered it a gift and paid taxes on it. I don't know what Baron's wife has reported, which may be the crux of the problem.

Personally, if JRE is indicted, I hope he fights this in court. It will dredge up a lot of unpleasantness, but I'd like to see him win, especially since the prosecutor, Holding, is a Jesse Helm appointee, and may have an old vendetta against JRE since he took Helms' seat for the senate. It will take a lot of money to fight, but JRE shouldn't be concerned as he has plenty of that and can make more via his investments.

And I hope the Gold Dust Woman finally gives up on being a normal wife and mother of Jack and Emma Claire. That's not going to happen. I read she is looking for a book deal. Sleezy--just as Andrew Young was in writing "The Politican." It would be nice to see his truth or lies exposed in court, under oath. Both of them have harmed the Edwards family and their friends (and former supporters) more than JRE did in many respects.

Update: there appears to be much doubt that the DOJ can prove this is a criminal case: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/163785-edwards-affair-is-a-test-case-for-justices-political-prosecutions. (hat-tip to NC Dem Amy)

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

Many of the JRE/EE bloggers are human mothers. I am not one of them, but I always appreciated that EE knew I was not as she paid attention to the blogs she and JRE were in charge of.

I reflect more on this day since I lost my girl, Elmora, in late October. Teh Ben is my sole pet and a joyous one to have.

Today, I miss my mom, but of course that I miss EE and wondering what Emma Claire and Jack must be feeling without her. It's got to be challenging for them as youngsters.

I hope JRE is taking this day in grace.

Celebrating Libraries and Librarians

2011-04-12T06:02:00.000-07:00

Today is one of my favorite work days of the year. It is National Library Workers day. We get to give ourselves a little pat on the back for the many hours we put in, and at time when more major cuts are expected. I know we've lost many employees through attrition where I work, and that path will continue since the state of Illinois is in financial woes and can't pay its bills in a timely manner.

The American Library Association (ALA) issued a press release yesterday concerning National Library Week. It said that Americans (and others of course) visited libraries nearly 1.5 billion times and checked out 2 billion items, among them books, DVD's, audiobooks, equipment. I know when I go to my local library, which is generally on a weekend, the workstations are always busy as many in our community use social networking tools and do not have funds for at home broadband use.

Yours truly actually checks out books from time to time, mostly non-fiction. Travel books are among my favorites, especially if Mr. Benny and I are planning to visit a new part of Florida or some where else. I also read a lot of biographies. Last weekend, I checked out Howard Sonnes' biography of Paul McCartney, that was published in 2010 (title is Fab: An Intimate Biography of Paul McCartney). I had started it on the Allure of the Seas (yes, even the ship has a library of books for check-out), but it was so long that I couldn't finish it (it's 563 pages long) as I was reading another book I checked out from our Veterinary Medicine Library, Dewey's Nine Lives written by Iowa librarian, Vickie Myron. It's not exactly a sequel to Dewey, but Dewey became more of a theme for what pets, in particular, pooties, meant to us and got us through the hard times as well celebrating good ones. I confess I had to close the book at times to gather myself when I was reading it on the plane. The stories often turned sad when the kitty died, but other stories were uplifting too.

Today, I hope BW readers will go by and check out something at the Library; most of all, just give a library worker a smile. They make the library work and ensure you get your books, DVD's, keep the building open for teens to do their homework, help promote information literacy, and help job seekers fill out forms. We do a lot, behind the scenes, which is what we do best.

Hats off to my colleagues nationwide, especially to Mr. Benny, who is also a librarian.

Come as You Are

2011-04-08T03:18:00.000-07:00

Dear BW Readers,

This is the second of the two part series I intended to write about why I think many folks like cruises.

The pic is yours truly in doing a sport activity on the boat, known as Boogie Boarding on the Flowrider.

The Flowrider pumps 13 thousands and recycles them every minute that it is turn on. As you can tell, I am not wearing any sort of make-up, I am a bit overweight but still not ashamed of wearing a bathing suit as over time I've lost 50 lbs. Yes, I'm certain there were opinions held by others of my appearance, but no one in general cared or said anything openly about it. There were plenty of men and women who were obese or underweight, wore thongs or speedos, but during pool time on the 15th and 16th decks, you came as you are. There were plenty who also never donned a swimsuit, more comfortable in shorts and sitting in the shade to read.

This observation also reminded me of the time when I was involved with the One America blog and with the campaigns. Many of us identified with Elizabeth Edwards as she struggled with her weight. She looked like one of us. And I liked it that on this cruise, people of all ages were comfortable with one another.

Of course, folks like cruising too because everything is provided for them--3 solid meals, plus snacks, entertainment of all sorts, room was attended to 3 times a day by many of the stateroom attendants, and there were people to have lunch with if you wanted. I particularly enjoyed the trivia contests and the dancing parties.

Mr. Benny and I had a great time, but I think we didn't totally drink the cruising kool-aid of some that we met on the ship. One woman was celebrating her 71st cruise. I asked why she was a repeat customer. She said she was born for cruising. Not certain what to make of it. Others said they built up "frequent cruising miles" or perks, whereby their trips, except for the flights and drinks, were almost paid for. There was one couple who had been on a cruise three weeks before and was from Bayonne, NJ. Bayonne is not a great town, so I suppose it was a sad commentary that this couple felt the need to get away on cruises frequently. I think I would have just left NJ and move to Florida.

Drawbacks to cruises: Royal Caribbean in particular "nickels and dimes" you for even soft drinks. We paid extra for those sodas. I drank club soda most nights at dinner, and if we wanted any wine or anything else, we paid for those (which were few) at an entertainment establishment because they were cheaper than the Main Dining room.

Overall, I would recommend a cruise to any landlovers for a different experience. I don't recommend a big ship, such as the Allure of the Seas for very introverted folks; 6200 folks and 2200 staff is a lot of people to encounter daily. But would I do this every year, I think Mr. Benny and I believe that we can wait for a couple of years before going again as we want to do more urban trips in the future.

But I do like the idea of "Come as You Are."

One Love, One World

2011-04-06T01:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
I have been dilatory in posting. I think after Keith Olbermann left MSNBC and especially Elizabeth Edwards' passing, I had a lack of things to write as both of them sustained me in my thoughts.

I was on a cruise with Mr. Benny last week for our 10th marriage anniversary. Everyone notices my tan, but many do not know that in spite of the lack of TV and internet, I still thought about One America. But my scope broadened with One World, which is something EE (via JRE sorta embraced) was looking at during the campaign in 2008.

A week ago, I was sitting in one of the cafes on the ship (Allure of the Seas) and it occurred to me that I was part of a big planet of folks. There were 6200 customers from 55 countries. There were 2200 personnel from 77 countries, and they truly wanted to be a part of our lives for that week and many more weeks, depending on when one could cruise again. Most from Royal Caribbean work 7 months, then have 2 months off, then get on again. They work 10-16 hours a day, 7 days a week. I admire that tenacity for service to be part of Royal Caribbean.

Last week, our tour went to Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico. I have to say that Royal Caribbean bought properties in most of those places and I didn't get a real feel for any of them. Mr. Benny and I chose not to get off the boat in Jamaica since we had visited the place twice and we wanted to have options within the ship to participate.

But it was a golden night when the Allures of the Seas band played Bob Marley tunes after being in Jamaica. I danced with many women and a few men that night in Deck 5. In particular, I enjoyed dancing to "One Love". That's when I realized I was part of one world too.

The next day, I thought of Elizabeth Edwards, and her vision to persuade us to come together as one world. We had so much diversity in terms of wealth and those of us who had to scrape our monies together (Mr Benny and I had to come to a conclusion that we faced before: we will splurge at times, but we will get the $$ back and save in between). Many on the cruise were retired and had cruised many times. Must be nice.

Those who follow me on FB will see the pics from the cruise. Mr. Benny and I did some "wild" activities--snorkeling twice, the zip line, and the FlowRider, which was a big challenge, but we had such great fun in tackling those challenges.

To dance with me, here's a clip of Bob Marley's "One Love" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdB-8eLEW8g

Benny

Another Loss: Keith Olbermann Signs Off

2011-01-22T03:17:00.000-08:00

Seems like the liberals are being shown the door these days. Keith Olbermann had to sign off last night. I did not see the last segment live, but maybe that is OK since KO was one of my favorite pundits and I think this loss would have affected me personally.

Geez, even Rachel Maddow is likely to have to tone it down. All we have left these days is Bill Maher.

What Is it about the Republican Ilk When It is in Control of the House?

2011-01-09T02:39:00.000-08:00

When Newt took over the House in 1995--OK City Bombing occurred. Now 6 are dead in AZ when John Boehner takes over as Speaker and a Congresswoman is in peril for her life because of a Rethug-Sarah Palin fan who decided to use his god-given 2nd Amendment to possess a weapon. A nine year old is dead.

I am glad that the House is suspending votes this week because of the shooting of Rep Giffords, but it is mainly for politics, not for the real people who died or are in the hospitals. I hope the Republicans really take a look at the issue carefully for reform.

It's a New Year

2011-01-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

Hello BW readers--it's 2011.

A time to start fresh or even just little starts.

Last year, I lost at least one size in jeans. 55 Lbs since August 2009. Not too shabby. This year, I hope to start toning up my muscles and still retain my tan. Helps to be with Mr. Benny in Florida and bask in the sun when the weather is pretty.

Speaking of Florida, where I am right now, Mr. Benny and I went to Key West and enjoyed the atmosphere although the food was not quite as good as I rememembered it from 20 years ago. But we also went to the Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach earlier in the week, and it was a very fine museum. Not overwhelming and one can see most of it in a couple of hours.

During this holiday week, I have seen two new movies: The King's Speech and the remake of True Grit. I recommend both, but I wouldn't give either one quite 4 stars. The King's Speech is well done for a historical piece, but it was very slow at times and I almost fell asleep; True Grit-- I still miss the Duke, but Halie Steinfeld was better and more age appropriate for the role of Mattie Ross. All of the characters were a bit more edgy in this version.

We said good-bye to many people last year. One of them was my best friend's husband, who tragically took his own life on Wednesday morning. They were married for 20 years. I admire my girlfriend for not being bitter considering the financial mess he left the family in.

We also said good bye to Dennis Hopper, Leslie Nielsen, Tony Curtis, Alfie Kahn (economic advisor to Jimmy Carter), Tom Bosley, Rue McClanahan, Barbara Billingsley, Richard Holbrooke (political negotiator extraordinaire), Jill Clayburgh, Dixie Carter, Patricia Neal, Lynn Redgrave (one of the most bold actresses), John Forsythe, Lena Horne, and of course, our lady Elizabeth Edwards.

I also said good-bye to my long time companion, my cat, Elmora.

Wishes for the year: that I can get my house in better shape this spring and start thinking about downsizing into a smaller place. Many changes will be happening in my work place, and I hope that I can accept them with some control involved. I also hope to continue deepening my friendships in Illinois. I would like to get out to Montana this summer and visit my fellow blogger Feral Cat of Freedom. And of course, I still hope to see Mr. Benny about every 40 days if possible. This year marks our 10th anniversary in March.

As this is not an election year, I don't anticipate blogging very much about politics. Certainly if I feel strongly about something that the Congress has done (stupidly), then I might feel inclined to make a blog post here and there. I'll be watching Alan Grayson to see what portends for him if he decides to continue to be in the public service eye. I recommend though if you wish to keep up with national progressive politics to either visit the Daily Kos, Firedoglake, or Taylor Marsh--or watch MSNBC in the evenings, Daily Show, Colbert Report or Bill Maher's Real Time.

To BW readers, I wish you all a good New Year, and may you accomplish many good things.

Funny Cartoon

2010-12-17T13:48:00.000-08:00

This was posted at Firedoglake a couple of days ago. Anyone who was a volunteer blogger in 2007, especially at the Daily Kos, would get the humor in it.

Hat tip to the Feral Cats of Freedom. This is hilarious!

Want to Share a Memory of Elizabeth Edwards

2010-12-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

There has been a web site created for her:

http://elizabeth-edwards.org/

Former staffers were asked to do this, and I'm glad they told us the family wanted this website.

Cheers, Elizabeth and to the former Edwards supporters.

Elizabeth Edwards Passes

2010-12-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

Our Lady Elizabeth passed this morning. I was so in work details that I didn't know until now when a fellow JRE supporter just called to console me, and I'm not consoled. Not his fault, just didn't know it would be this fast.

Elizabeth knew.

Roses for our lady, Elizabeth Edwards

2010-12-07T02:32:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Edwards is in the last stages of her journey.

I remember when the DUers gave her roses for going on in the campaign. I hope there are no regrets from the group in sending a bit of money for them.

12 dozen pink roses. She appreciated them so much.

I will have more to write in the coming days, just want to express my gratitude towards this lady. I liked what Sam Myers wrote on Facebook. "The songbooks are out." Elizabeth always liked to sing.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f7/nanboz/EE_Roses_2_320.jpg

Missed this Beauty

2010-11-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

As everyone knows, there is a huge debate in the lame duck session of Congress about the sunset provision of the Bush Administration's tax cuts from 2001, which are mainly for individual and estate taxes, and 2003 tax cuts for corporations. If I recall from the Clinton years, we had higher rates for everyone, and everyone made money or lived decently. I was one of them who struggled, but my tax rate was not that high to begin with. We had a balanced budget, although I was very unhapppy how welfare mothers were treated. On the other hand, poverty and unemployment were not as great as they are today.

Rep Alan Grayson, who lost his Congressional re-election nearly 3 weeks ago, still has conviction and courage to stand up against the Wingnut machine. I missed this speech the other day, but noticed links to it on various blogs, including Taylor Marsh's which is where I finally saw the entire clip. It is classic.

I wish the Obama Administration would hire this man, but I think Alan Grayson is not enough centrist for them. They don't like anyone defending their progress directly, especially good Democrats. Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann try, but I think even they will get fatigued at some point.

Taylor Marsh has some serious criticisms of this Administration, especially on the weak messaging issues. More often these days, I find myself agreeing with Taylor's strong opinions. The only reason that I don't have her site on my blogroll is that her readers still keep pining for Hillary Clinton and how Hillary would have made a better president. I don't she would have as I think she would have moved to a more centrist position, albeit she would have worked on keeping her message consistent. While John Edwards was let go by this blogger sometime ago, I keep thinking Alan Grayson reminds me so much of what an Edwards Democrat would want for this country to get it out of the ditch.

Not on Oprah TV

2010-11-20T07:15:00.000-08:00

Most of the time, I don't like forwarding gossip from the NE, but this one is so amusing.

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/edwards_mistress_hunter_rejected_by_oprah/celebrity/69693

I'm not certain how the job interview went or why the interviewee even thought she was qualified. The other befuddlement is why she would admit to the NE that she was rejected. Drama queen I guess.

At least she is trying to get a job instead of just collecting child support from a famous politician.

Feral Cats of Freedom

2010-11-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

Montana Maven, one of my fellow Edwards supporters, has revamped her website, but under a different name (as she lost her domain name) and it is now called Feral Cats of Freedom. For those of you are liberal politically, I highly recommend going to her site and it is blogrolled here at BW.

http://feralcatsoffreedom.com/

My understanding is that she may start up a community radio show in Bozeman next spring, but I haven't heard if it will be streamed over the Internet. Stay Tuned.

Thank You Congressman Alan Grayson

2010-11-02T18:22:00.001-07:00

You were mainly a Edwards Dem--telling the truth (on political fronts and for common people), wanting a public option, etc.

I hope you stay in the fight somewhere. We still need you--maybe you and Howard Dean continue to be firebrands.

Thank you, sir, for taking on the establishment.

Elmo went to Rainbow Bridge

2010-10-30T01:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a couple of months.

My pootie Elmo was transitioned into Rainbow Bridge. She had cancer of the kidneys. A good friend drove us to help Elmo go to Rainbow Bridge. The vet agreed it was time.

I loved Elmo--she was my best company of 17 years and I am in emotional pain. But the friend who drove us to the vet was so amazing. She held me close last night and had me over for dinner to celebrate Elmo's life.

EE, even you would appreciate this celebration.

Attraversiamo

2010-08-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, I read Roger Ebert's review of the new release, Eat Pray Love. (The link is from Oprah's site, in which she was given permission by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author who wrote the book of the same title) He gave it a thumbs down, as he believed it was too narcissistic. There have been movies that I disagreed with him when he liked them and I didn't. My interpretation of his review is that he dismissed this film as a chick flick. Thus, I decided to go see it on my own, knowing that Mr. Benny wasn't likely to have much interest in it right now--and it may be out of town by the time Mr. Benny comes to visit.

The film was very well done. I think Julia Roberts was perfect for the part, and it's very much a Julia film, whereby Julia's characters generally lose themselves in men and run away from them in fear, but move towards of finding out about herselves (if there is such a word). I bought the paperback today because I know quite a bit of the movie used direct quotes in the script from the narration that Roberts has to perform. And some of those quotes resonated with me, one of them being "Attraversiamo" which is Italian for "Let's Cross Over."

I guess I liked the movie because it was a 21st century look at the conflict of feminism and being feminine. What I mean by that is I was influenced by the ERA phenomenon, driven by the feminists such Gloria Steinem. It was important for a woman to be strong and show solidarity with those who had been denied opportunities because of dominant male world. To this day, that is why civil rights are important and why I also believe in marriage equality.

The first time that this conflict really resonated with me in a visual art form was Wendy Wasserstein's 1988 Tony Award winning play, The Heidi Chronicles. Heidi searches for her soul, but undergoes many conflicts with Scoop, the man she loves but wants her to be submissive. They eventually part company, and Heidi eventually finds self-fulfillment, in being a mother and not needing even a partner to help raise her child. At the time, the play resonated with me because of the pain of a breakup with a college love. I had thought he was the "one" in my life. And it took me many years to understand why I was not the one or that we were too young to know what we really wanted.

Cue Eat Pray Love. It's a memoir of a mid-30's person who loses herself in her marriage and decides to end it. In doing so, she makes the mistake of getting involved with an actor in her play and moves in with him too soon. She goes to an Ashram with him and is electrified by the experience--as well as unnerved--and that is the part of the relationship that she takes with her once she realizes she has not been her own person. Using her gift for writing, she elicits an advance on a book about traveling in Italy, India, and Bali, spending 4 months in each place. In Italy, she indulges in the aesthetic pleasures of eating, drinking wine, and seeing wonderful architecture. In India, she stays at a Ashram, learning the discipline of worship--both to her God--and of her inner self. She also gets called on the carpet many times by her friend Richard, for taking short cuts instead of doing the work. Her last of her journey takes her to Bali, where she had been a year ago, and when she had been very unhappy. Bali is a beautiful place and she is encouraged to bringing together her indulgences for a life balance. Only when she confronts how she can maintain this balance is when she cracks open her heart to the possibly of sharing herself with another man. She is frightened again of being lost, but is reassured with these words from her Balinese friends: "To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life."

(At that part of the movie, most of the older women, including yours truly, were in tears).

So the comparison to Heidi is easy: both are comfortable about being silent or alone at times. The contrast is that Elizabeth Gilbert (Julia Roberts' character) has decided that she can be alone and be in a relationship--her balance.

The movie is beautiful in the filming, and I was taken back in time of when I went to Italy for a week and for the Bali segment, it sort of reminded me of Caines, Australia.

In crossing over, I hope that I can learn from some of the insights that Gilbert has provided. One inspiration today, and this is something Elizabeth Edwards did (yes readers, there is an Edwards hook this post) and that was to say good bye to the man she was married to. It was painful for her to do so, but it was the only way to find some peace. I joined her in a sense that symbolically, I finally said good-bye to John Edwards too, but in my case, the short-lived career politician. I had three yard signs in my garage that were from the 2008 campaign and I recycled them this morning. I had held on to them because of what the campaign represented to me, economic and social justice for One America. Those ideals will always stay with me, and as I have repeated many times, I have no regrets about as the thousands of hours of volunteer time I spent between 2004 and 2008 of blogging, helping taking care of the Edwardses' websites. Elizabeth put it this way to the campaign workers after John left the race--as described in her new chapter of Resilience:

The race is over for John, and in most ways it would seem that your efforts for his candidacy were for nothing, but that is not right, When some mentions health care, remember that your work got out the first health care plan among these candidates and set the bar for what they would have to say...and pat yourself on the back."

Well, we haven't seen them in the way we've wanted, but Elizabeth is right in general.

Yes, John Edwards misused a lot of money on that mistress of his and got lost in his own mirror of who he was or said he was. Like Elizabeth, I did believe in that John, and I was "seeing what you wanted to see, what you needed to be the truth. Believe in people is what we should do.." and her other words, which connect me to Gilbert's lesson, "Living and believing and loving are not a waste."

Ironic that new chapter of Resilience was written shortly after I saw Elizabeth last.

I hope to strike that balance that Elizabeth Gilbert has found (with Mr. Benny) and an inner peace of a transformed Elizabeth Edwards is uncovering in being alone at times.

Gilbert has said that many women have taken to her book because they know what it is like to be disappointed, to have disappointed themselves, and disappointed someone else. I think if Roger Ebert would have read the book, as he did not, he might have picked up on that theme.

Readers will note I have put away John's picture and have changed my theme--just slightly--to reflect "attraversiamo"--the cross over to what is really my world.

Do see the movie, Eat Pray Love.

Pax.

Update: due to some a-holes by acting like Fox News regulars who believe I am "sick" by admitting family problems and learning from mistakes--and how these same folks despise the Edwards family, I have removed the more intimate parts of this post. I'm not afraid for myself, but I dislike it when these same jokers refuse to be honest about why they attack me otherwise without any substance--and I will do no harm to my friends from the Edwards campaign. Obviously, intimacy is an issue for them. They are just interested in being a-holes.

Happy Saturday

2010-07-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Good morning, BW readers. I haven't given you much to read lately. Let's catch up for a few with your favorite AM beverage.

Frankly, I've been working a lot, still trying to do things around the house, taking care of the pooties. One of them is Benny, whom this site is named after. He's funny and just likes to either sleep, eat, or have fun.

In the news this past week that caught my attention:

More stupid ~~pet~~ tricks/comments by ~~money hungry~~Grizzly Mom, Sarah Palin. The Young Turks discovered this gem of one of her comments, regarding the WH and what it would do in protecting her against ethical allegations:

That's a good one: the Department of Law as a cabinet. Unfortunately for the Young Turks, they keep forgetting that half of the yahoos in Texas wouldn't know any differently from her comment. I think she actually knows there isn't a Dept of Law in the Executive Branch, but she plays to the lowest common denomination, which means any ill-informed regular viewer of Fixed Noise--or perhaps worse--listeners of Rush Limbaugh. The Young Turks' rant is not going to be helpful when our own Democrats, such as Ben Nelson, won't even help the jobless with a little extra helping hand in an economic crisis. See the NYT article about how the uber wealthy were the ones spending--and now even they are watching their vaults more carefully. Geez, is it possible they may have to pay more taxes than their administrative assistants and clerks?

If Sarah Palin is the new heroine of the Tea Baggers, then the picture of billboard in Mason City, Iowa should be plastered on any ad over and over by the DNC come 2012. For some good analysis about the fallout from this controversial billboard, go to Bleeding Heartland. I have to agree with Desmoinesdem that Tea Baggers do not understand how our current President is far from being Mr. Government takeover.

Financial Reform was allegedly passed this week. My reaction after listening to Dean Baker on Countdown? Meh. Here's Baker's comment:

"While the reform bill does improve regulation in many ways, it does not fundamentally change the way Wall Street works. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and the rest will be doing business pretty much the same way the day after reform as they did the day before reform."

(this comment was repeated at TPM Cafe, which is where I got it)

But as always, Senator Jeff Merkley did manage to point out the silver linings in this press release:

“I am pleased that the final bill includes the Merkley-Levin amendment that will ban high-risk trading inside the banks and put an end to conflicts of interest, where giants like Goldman Sachs bet against the very securities they were selling to their customers. This provision will encourage banks to return to the days where their main focus was lending. I can’t thank Senator Carl Levin enough for his tireless work to ensure that our banks won’t engage in high-risk trading and put our entire financial system at risk.

“In addition, I’m pleased that the bill includes provisions I championed to end some of the most egregious mortgage practices that led to the housing crisis and cost millions of families their homes. The bill will ban steering payments, liar loans, and prepayment penalties and give Americans the transparency they deserve when purchasing their own home. It will also create a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dedicated to protecting consumers from financial tricks and traps, such as unfair overdraft fees and exploding interest rates. "

Senator Merkley adds though:

“Now, this bill will not solve every problem in our financial system, and from my perspective, could be stronger in significant ways. Regulators have been given an enormous amount of responsibility to implement the bill as intended. In order to ensure that they hold up their end of the bargain, Congress needs to conduct vigorous oversight of government regulators and our financial markets. "

I agree. So why is Treasury Secretary Geithner wanting to throw Elizabeth Warren under the bus in making her the Chief Oversight of Consumer Credit Protection?

If you want to see what else got left out of the bill, read Chris Bowers' rant at Open Left, as he was one of the New Progressive Fellows who worked on the bill.

And finally, the answer to Senator Inhofe's rhetorical question to Al Gore in at an Environmental hearing in 2007, "where is global warming when you need it?" Answer: when you don't need it. The News-Gazette (my hometown newspaper in Central Illinois) published a report in which U of Illinois scientists have been running models on greenhouse gas emissions and their effects on weather in the Midwest. Chicago could have a month or more of 100+ temp in the near future if we don't cut down on fossil fuel usage.

Time to check the leader board at the Open Championship, which is being played at St. Andrews, Scotland, and to run errands, amongst them, two weeks of recycling!

Happy Saturday, all.

Update: in taking in some recycling this morning, the Recycle Center was gone--or at least I thought it was until I saw a relocation sign on the gate. When I drove around the corner to it, I realized that it became a real drop-off place. The other place was always crowded, with sometimes having to wait to park, and often it took awhile to drive out.

This new facility can be driven in, and it's easier to bring your stuff closer to the bins. And for a change, there was space in each bin. Here's a photo I took with my smartphone:

Progress!

Resilience: Take Two

2010-07-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

BW Readers,

As Mr. Benny had to stay in Florida this weekend, a dear friend from Madison came down for a couple of days. We did mainly little projects in the house--or should I say he did most of them--from fixing a bathtub drain to clearing and cleaning off the backyard desk, to getting old newspapers packaged and ready for recycling, making my new remote more seamless for not having to remember which remote to use all of the time--moving furniture between rooms (upstairs and downstairs), and helping me think about how I want to do some updates to the place.

Before he came, I did some house cleaning and clearing too, in order to prepare for the projects.

Yesterday was my 51st b-day. I took my place as a septugenerarian..and I do so proudly, if not for any reason but Andy Rooney's take on 50+ females:

“As I grow in age, I value women over 50 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 50 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 50 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 50 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 50.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 50 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.Older women are forthright and honest.. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk or if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 50 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 50, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?’ Here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!”

h/t to the Septuagenarian blog

In being in this group, in which I am the last of the true baby boomers, I will say that my age has challenges. It was a challenge to get ahead of those in front of me, and yet the generation Y is getting ahead of me, due to technologies they grasp and I do not fully.

I think I am part of being Resilient, but still not as strong as EAE.

Happy 61st Birthday, Elizabeth Edwards

2010-07-03T16:11:00.001-07:00

Greetings BW Readers, and most especially, Elizabeth Edwards.

This is the 5th year that Benny's World has celebrated EAE's birthday.

We are celebrating EAE's 61st year of life, with at least 8 years (I think Elizabeth will exceed that, but 8 is a good goal) more to come to blow out candles and have picnics. I hope Elizabeth gets a chance to read the e-card I sent her.

This week, I read the afterward in Resilience and noticed the time it was written: the week after NcDem Amy, BettyNC and I saw her at the Red Window warehouse sale near her home in Orange County. I know this because she mentions her sister helping out at the warehouse the week we were there.

I enjoyed the interviews EAE had this week. I just bought my People magazine copy but probably won't read it until tomorrow. I'll probably post my thoughts about all of those interviews on Monday, as tomorrow, I will be celebrating my own birthday--number 51, however 45 lbs less than last year, the best present I could give myself.

Tonight is Elizabeth's night.

Happy birthday, Elizabeth. Another gift...celebrating another year of life with your friends, family, and fans.

I'm Happy About Silly Love Songs (Happy Birthday Sir Paul)

2010-06-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

I love Sr Paul, always will, unless he says not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9QVN0bpa4

Many thoughts

2010-06-09T23:05:00.001-07:00

First, I am totally enthralled by the BP gusher disaster. It is a disaster, no one can dispute this fact.

Second, thanks go to Rachel M. She is the new queen of journalists who really looks into problems that affect us all and the MSM are ignoring the facts.

I have a lot of personal comments, but I want them to be salient here. On this blog, I still want to be good, not just a bomb thrower.

for Mr. Benny

2010-05-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe I was just in his place and now back here. Mr. Benny and I had some serious discussions, but overall, it was a good visit.

This song, by the late Nancy Lamott, is for him, since he discovered her first. And we heard her singing on the Jonathan show on XM Radio (channel 72) last Sunday.

Another AI and I totally Disagree

2010-05-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Like last year, I wanted the other person to win. Why Lee won I do not know except I think the far Right does phone in, and I did not.

JMW Turner Sky: a South Florida Experience

2010-05-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

Dear BW Readers,

Sorry I haven't posted much in the past few days (and my eyeball counts reflect it). I'm visiting Mr. Benny in South Florida where he lives. It's been an interesting experience so far. I have a sunburn from sitting out in the sunburn hours on Friday by the pool. I was engrossed in reading a Molly Ivins biography, so I didn't notice the time nor did I put on a lot of sunscreen either. :-)

Last night I did so some real swimming as the pool temp is perfect--refreshing after a hot day, and it was an opportunity to show Mr. Benny that I really can swim, just out of practice. The evening sky reminds me of JMW Turner painting--clouds which are rose-dusky with flashes of orange and Iowa corn-yellow with a cornfield blue backdrop. It's pretty warm, about 85 but the humidity isn't too awful since there has been little chance for rain. I feel fortunate in that regard for my first trip.

Lots of shopping, even went to a salon to have some work done. I found a specialist for my brows and I have an appointment w/her when I return here in late July. Otherwise, we bought and put together a taller fan so that we don't have to run the AC as much, and try to take advantage of Eastern breezes from the ocean. Also been rearranging things to make the place have more than Mr. Benny's mark on the place. The rug I bought from Red Window is in the kitchen and looks real nice there.

Speaking of, the experts are predicting tar balls within the next week or so to wash up from the ~~bastard princes~~ BP Gulf of Mexico major ~~gush~~ disaster leak. I'm outraged that BP claims it cannot do anything about it until Tuesday. Even Mr. Benny, who is a Republican, thinks this is a total disaster for the environment and doesn't understand why BP, who made record profits in the Billions 1st Q this year, can't do anything about this gusher.

Tomorrow we are going to the beach to enjoy it. I suspect we will be in big company.

Tonight I am cooking semi-wok, tomorrow AM a breakfast on the patio, then off to Dania. Tomorrow night Mr. Benny promises a seafood dinner out. Thus, it's time to get back to the kitchen.

More later...

For Joe Sestak and Bill Halter

2010-05-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Good luck to Joe and Bill in runofffs!

Another Maher New Rules Classic

2010-05-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

Spot on with "I Want My Country Forward."

But, but, but: Greenwald Puts Greg Craig on the Hotseat on This Week

2010-05-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Elena Kagan's nomination to the SCOTUS was at the top of the list (or at least a close second to the BP disaster) of the Talking Heads Sunday this morning. I watched MTP and didn't find it very enlightening on the discussion about Ms. Kagan's nomination, especially when Sen Chuck Schumer couldn't really defend her except perhaps she's a New Yorker and he represents her as a constituent. When NBC News puts up the transcript, I'll link to it here.

The more animated conversation took place on ABC News' This Week, and I was very happy to see Glenn Greenwald (who is garnering more respect as real progressive/liberal and not being criticized for it by other journalists) represent a real ideological view, along with George Will and Ed Gillespie --Ed being the big ideologue from the Rethugs--(I bet Glenn had to wash hands immediately after having to sit next to him) and Greg Craig, a centrist/moderate who was an adviser to Obama recently. Mr. Craig asserted that Ms. Kagan was the most qualified nominee in his lifetime.

Greenwald repeated the reasons for his opposition, posited from last week and added that she would have to share a little more of her legal viewpoints. Mr. Craig tried to counterpoint by saying that Greenwald preferred a judicial nominee. Greenwald was allowed to do something very different from Democracy Now nor on Rachel Maddow's show, which was to ask directly to Mr. Craig to point out anything that would illuminate Ms. Kagan's views. Here's the Youtube, courtesy of Firedoglake:

Like Larry Lessig and other Kagan supporters, Mr. Craig failed to be able to point out any clues, but instead that repeated her resume. I think Greenwald nailed it when requested specific articles and Mr. Craig, who took a very defensive tone--instead of one of a healthy debate--she taught students, administered law professors (I guess he was trying to make a weak argument that administration of faculty is equal to law clerks??), but he failed by not being able to point out one solid article she had written in this past decade.

To follow other discussions, Firedoglake has one here, and at Salon, Greenwald has unedited portions of that roundtable up on his page.

Even George Will complemented Greenwald at the end for bringing the left to the debate, but in a thoughtful way. I guess the two hadn't met before.

One note that hasn't been pointed out: Ruth Bader Ginsburg also said very little about her views during her hearings, except about privacy. And she was criticized for not hiring more women and minorities, similar to this year's nominee. I guess many of the Obama supporters are hoping the same on this nominee, but as Greenwald would likely point out: Ginsburg came from the Appellate.

Congrats to Glenn Greenwald, blogger and now a budding talking head liberal on a traditional network news platform. Some of the bloggers at Open Left think this may be the only time we see Greenwald on the bobbleheads. I disagree. I think he harbored a lot of goodwill as he was intelligent, but calm, and was after facts, not just bomb throwing. Of course, one could say he was a grown-up at the table--for opposing this nominee without a lot more answers, but the difference between him and the GOP is still from a liberal perspective, not just to blow more hot air in the room.

A Healthy Debate about Elena Kagan's Nomination

2010-05-11T16:15:00.001-07:00

I've been following Glenn Greenwald's opposition to the "blank slate" nominee, Elena Kagan, to the SCOTUS. Larry Lessig, Ms. Kagan's good friend, has her back.

BW readers probably can tell that I'm on Glenn's side on this issue (especially as I pointed out and Glenn has since done the same of problems pointed out by Jonathan Turley and Jeffrey Toobin), but as mcjoan at the Daily Kos pointed out this afternoon, this is a healthy debate. Like mcjoan, I hope progressives such as Bernie Sanders, Al Franken and Jeff Merkeley will pick up on these points in forcing Ms. Kagan to take some positions, whether we agree with them or not.

President Obama is squandering a golden opportunity when we have many Democrats who could carry a nominee forward without a single Republican vote. I would prefer a very progressive candidate to hold a candle to the many years Justice Stevens was on the court. If a nominee is too timid to say what's on her mind or fails to address her meager record, our POTUS should withdraw her nomination. Frankness and transparency, which candidate Obama promised, are at stake here and will mark his legacy to be characterized more like W's--more of a unitary executive--instead of a complement of three branches.

Stay tuned. I'm still looking for more opinions besides the ones I posted yesterday and today.

Update: as promised, I found some more opinions and facts via Alternet and Mother Jones. Very discouraging indeed.

Second update: Nate Silver at 538 has an angle regarding actuaries.

About to be sick and have to beg for wellness care

2010-05-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

Literally I have a part-time doctor (whom I've
not met) on my plan whose nurse has my medical history on the computer and insists I come in at their convenience instead of my needing the meds I and they know which have worked for years. I'm concerned about getting a sinus infection and my doctor's nurse didn't even callback today.

I have to call every day during M-F, 8-4. And yet, I'm paying big time for an HMO and little help. I guess the HMO hopes I will have to bleed out and need emergency care (during non M-F 8-4) in order to make more money. I'm unhappy when I know what meds work for me and all they care about is their schedules, not mine. I'm worried now that I'm like many of you readers.

Sux.

HMOs do not promote wellness care as they say they do.

Elizabeth Edwards Tells a Story in Carrboro

2010-05-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

According to the News Observer, Elizabeth was back in the public eye, telling stories about her parents, as that was the theme of "The Monti" which is a group that hosts arts festival--and in this case storytelling-- in Carrboro.

Here's something I didn't know about Elizabeth's parents: they were on the show Match Game.

Good to see Elizabeth out again.

Ugh --more Centrists for the SCOTUS

2010-05-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, I am asleep at midnight. Tonight I have many issues I am trying to think through as I have too many details to attend to on a local basis.

One of the thoughts I wish I wasn't having was about Obama's second pick to the SCOTUS and that is Elena Kagan as the nominee. Ugh, another freakin' centrist. One can tell Larry Summers was at the top of the advisor list with this one. She is going to be for corporatists and not for the true theory of justice--Harvard Law dean or what. I don't care if she is a woman or not. That doesn't count as much as views, and all of this is politics--and who can get through. What happened to rulings? This woman has almost NONE.

I worked at Harvard. I respect Harvard. But I have little respect for cronyism, Mr. President. I guess you do.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/its-kagan----obama-makes-supreme-court-selection.php?ref=fpblg

Update: see Glen Greenwald's commentary about Kagan.
Second update: see Jeffrey Toobin's piece in the New Yorker today. His comment about Ms. Kagan & comparing her to her nominator:

But on the Court, Kagan will have to do something she’s not done before. Show her hand. Develop a clear ideology. Make tough votes. I have little doubt she’s up to the job, but am less clear on how she’ll do it.

H/t to Desmoinesdem at Bleeding Heartland

Another update: Jonathan Turley nailed it about why progressives like me find this pick very disheartening.

"Obama’s record on civil liberties has long been attributed to a rather cold calculus that liberals have no where to go and that he should continue to play to the middle and right of the political spectrum. I am not so certain. There is no evidence that Obama actually believes in some of the principles that Stevens fought for, particularly in the area of terrorism. What is clear is that he has selected someone who will honor that legacy by dismantling a significant part of it."

Personally, I'm tired of sellouts. But I knew this president would do it.

Happy Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T16:14:00.001-07:00

Dear Readers,

Many of you are mothers of sons and daughters. I happen to be a pet mom and not a human mom. Given my lack of patience for some weeks now, it's just as well that I only have pets to be concerned with at present since I have a big space and yard to oversee maintenance.

Today, I did do something special for Mother's Day (the rest was trying to get my lawn mowed, which is trickier than one realizes). A work friend and I got together and had a nice lunch to honor our mothers. She had lost hers last fall, whereas I lost mine the spring before that. We each brought one picture that we liked of our mothers and/or families. And it was nice to share a memory of two. So to BW readers who are living alone like me and this work friend, I highly recommend sharing a lunch today with a friend. Remember the good times of your mothers. Look for common ground.

This particular friend asked about Elizabeth Edwards, and I said I had not heard from her since I saw her last. This friend's younger brother has terminal cancer, except his is more advanced than Elizabeth's from what I understand. The friend's sister had been down to visit--and like Elizabeth and Nancy, she is very close with her family.

To my friends Amy, Bettync, Jackie, and to Elizabeth and Nancy, happy mother's day. Aloha Nell Smith and Ruth Zumalt--Mr. Benny and I miss you very much.

Roxanne Conlin Charging Forward in Iowa

2010-05-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

I saw today that Roxanne Conlin isn't too far behind Senator Chuck Grassley in the polls today if the election were held. For Sen Grassley, it may unite the RNC/RNSC monies behind him, and yet, the DNC/DSCC may move towards helping Roxanne Conlin.

I am a big fan of Roxanne Conlin. See her website. It is so people-oriented in its message. If you have a couple of extra hours to knock on Iowan's doors before the primary or else-wise financially, she is worth the investment to get the goons out of DC.

Let's elect a real progressive to the Senate who won't hold up judicial appointments, will see that the health care bill is enacted well and make improvements, and also to help business be more green.

Thank You, Wendy Button

2010-04-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

Wendy Button used to be a staffer for JRE 08 campaign. And she was a pretty good writer too.

After all of the hype about yesterday's interview on Oprah (and the media in general this week having a field day about it), Button brings us back to the ground many of us cared about: progressive values such as getting ourselves out of Iraq, homelessness, poverty, the unemployed, with this article she penned at the Huffington Post blog.

It's worth reading.

Found Out About You

2010-04-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

By the Gin Blossoms:

Benny & the Jets Honor Austin Cloyd

2010-04-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

BW Readers,

Champaign is a happening place today. Ebertfest is going on. For those of you who aren't familiar with Ebertfest, it is a film festival that the City of Champaign, the U of Illinois, newspapers, bunch of others, and Roger & Chaz Ebert sponsor in order to keep the old Virginia theater going. I went to one of the films about 2 years ago thanks to a colleague who had some extra tickets. While this is not the Sundance Film fest, people from all of over the country, and directors from the world, actually come here. Of course, the sponsorships help pay for them to come speak, but they (the directors and artists) do it to honor their friend, Roger Ebert.

But more important, today is "Austin's Day." Austin Cloyd was a Champaign native who died in the crossfire in the tragedy at Virginia Tech back in 2007. (see link for Elizabeth Edwards' statement that afternoon) .

According to the Austin Day website, Austin "spent four summers on missions with the Appalachian Service Project, where she helped to renovate homes. Her favorite task was roofing. Cloyd and her mother, Renee Cloyd, were so inspired by the group's work that they started a similar program in her former hometown of Champaign, Ill., calling it the Champaign Urban Service Project. Austin was also a member of the Champaign Centennial Interact Club." (sorry, had a pic, but it was copyrighted I guess)

While I didn't know Austin personally, I knew her dad as he had worked for the b-school at the U of I. It was devastating for all of us, but especially for him as he had not lived in Blacksburg very long when Austin was killed. But in reading about Austin and knowing her dad, she would not want anyone to feel sorry for the family, but instead, give back to the community. And that is why each year, Champaign celebrates Austin's life by having a day of community service.

As I have been missing Mr. Benny (and other stressful things that have been going on at work), I decided I would not wallow in self-pity (just as Austin, her parents, or for that matter, any Edwards Democrat) by participating in this celebration.

Today, I worked with a group of 11 folks from 10:30 to 12:20 in a project called "A Million Meals for Haiti." I was alone, but the others were from the Champaign Church of Christ College group and they needed one person to work at table number 9.

The event was sponsored by the Salvation Army, but hosted by a non-profit called Numana. Robin, one of Numana's folks, came by and visited with us for awhile. As I was unfamiliar with this nonprofit, I asked her quite a few questions about the organization and how it got started.

Rick McNary is a spiritual man who started the organization because of missionary work in Nicaragua. According to the Daily Illini,

"He says he started working to fight hunger when a young girl he met on a trip to Nicaragua eight years ago whispered to him that she was starving."

Reminds me of when JRE went to Latin America and also to Haiti in 2009, when a woman begged him to take her child because she couldn't afford the health care nor to feed him. JRE and Sean Penn also traveled earlier to Haiti not long after the earthquake this year to deliver medical supplies.

While I'm not religious (and I don't know Rick's political beliefs, I presume they are socially conservative), I'm always drawn to those who work to alleviate poverty, most especially those who are in food insecurity. That's why I was drawn to John and Elizabeth Edwards as they cared about this issue. Can't speak for John, but I know Elizabeth still cares.

I had signed online to work 10-12 today. I had never seen so many people mobilized at once (well, at least since JRE announced his candidacy in 2007). The packaging event was held in former retail store and people were waiting in line outside the door to check in and get busy!

First, we had to put on aprons, hairnets, and gloves. A volunteer came over and trained us on how to do the assembly line, which considered of taking a case of product (soymeal, chicken flavoring of a sort, rice, and some beans), putting it through a sieve, scooping it, weighing it and putting it into a special bag, getting the air out of the bag, using a machine to heat seal it (that was my job) for 10 seconds, shaking it flat, then packing it in smaller boxes--and putting those smaller boxes into a larger one. Each big box held 44 meals (or sealed bags). We put together 20 boxes, or 880 meals, in less than 2 hours.

Like a telethon, someone announced over loudspeakers how many meals had been boxed (sort of like how much money had been raised). When I left, it was over 360,000 meals. I have no doubt the event may not happen tomorrow as everything went clockwork today.

Almost forgot: the woman on the lower right has an adopted cousin from Haiti, so this was personal for her as well.

If there is something I can do for others outside of myself, I am being part of my community but also giving thanks that I can do so for the people of Haiti.

Meantime, enjoy this remake of "We are the World". I told the "Jets" today I would play it in honor of our event. And get outside of yourself--give back to your community or to the world. We cannot do things by ourselves, after all.

What a day! Makes life worth living and remembering those who aren't with us anymore either.

Ciao!

Mr. Benny Moves to FLL

2010-04-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

Readers,

I had a busy week packing Mr. Benny for his move to FLL. Yes, that's Fort Lauderdale, FL. It was very hectic, sometimes spirited as he dropped his iPhone in the washer with his clothes. We checked about how to fix it. I think it's fu-bar, as he does.

I don't have many comments about politics this week. I do wonder the latest NE is mainly untrue about Elizabeth Edwards. One should ask if she is concerned about her health and was given edicts before, but thinks she can beat the odds again.

A Welcome Rug: Got to Have Friends

2010-04-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

Dear BW Readers,

This past week I was at a conference at Duke. While the first few days were the hottest on record and the pollen heaviest ever, springtime in the southland was splendid otherwise. I was treated to a walking tour in the Doris Duke gardens and dinner in its lodge. Many of the participants there are my personal friends I've known for years; felt comfortable.

Thursday night, a gentle rain fell in the area. It lasted several hours, but certainly did not deter me from any activities. On Friday morning, it was nippy (upper 40's--50's), but the sunshine awoke me to a beautiful day. I was looking forward to it albeit I would have to leave early in the afternoon to drive back to Champaign.

Fellow bloggers NCDem Amy and Bettync had e-mailed ahead to meet each other as both live within a hour of Duke and I was in town. I had met NCDem Amy before in person, but not Bettync. Amy and her spouse agreed to pick me up at my hotel, then we would meet Betty at the Red Window Warehouse outside of Carrboro as the store was having a sale. In addition to purusing the furnishings and furniture of the place, it was an opportunity to say hello to Red Window's proprietor, Elizabeth Anania Edwards.

The warehouse sale was housed in a former used tire store on Old Greensboro road. We drove past it, but in the midst, we recognized Elizabeth in the doorway. So we found the nearest driveway, turned around and turned into the gravel parking lot of the store. Amy went in first, giving Elizabeth a hug. Then I walked in, and Elizabeth recognized me as well. I said, "hello sweetie" as we hugged and she said "hello, how are you?" (And I asked, is it OK I call you sweetie?--"Sure")

Then Amy and I saw Betty. Betty was looking at a candle holder and said, "Benny?" I nodded. Then she said "Betty" and we hugged too.

We asked Elizabeth about the concept of her store and warehouse. Elizabeth explained that she enjoyed buying furniture and furnishings around High Point and was able to get many of the warehouse inventory at discount and was able to sale it to potential customers for wholesale or not much above. It was terrific that the profit meant enough to keep her business afloat but wanted to offer customers unique pieces at discounted rates. Much of the furniture was "distressed" to make it look antique, but many customers liked the textures. Indeed, the warehouse had many types of wardrobes, mirrors, as well as rugs.

We also met Elizabeth's sister, her niece, and her grand niece. Elizabeth's sister resembles her except she is a bit taller and has long darkish hair.

I bought a handcrafted rug (that you see at the beginning of the post) that I thought would be great for Mr. Benny's condo in Florida for when he moves. Elizabeth was unware that Mr. Benny was out of work and had looked for a job for over 6 months. She asked where he was moving and I said Florida. Then Betty was kind enough to tell Elizabeth he was moving to where she had given a speech not long ago--at Nova SE. Elizabeth quipped, "Oh that is a nice campus and everyone was so friendly!"

Elizabeth used a calculator to include tax with the price and wrote up all of the orders for us herself. She took credit cards and checks, but the credit card numbers were written down on a special form, which I thought was great in order to utilize low tech, be more approachable to the customer, and not worry about electronic transactions right away.

A funny moment. Amy was purchasing something and filling out one of those forms. She said she needed her reading glasses but didn't have them with her. Elizabeth had a pair on her head, and without missing a beat, handed Amy her glasses to use for better focus. Great timing and so down to earth!

Elizabeth treated all of her customers that way that morning --answering questions, acknowledging their needs, etc.

At one point, Amy mentioned that she (herself) wished that she had gotten into politics at an earlier age. Elizabeth's sister said Elizabeth would have been great at it too when she was younger, but Elizabeth was quick to point out that she grew up in the 60's when she was against the Establishment, so she was wary of politicians then. Touche!

For the most part, Elizabeth shied away from politics in our conversations back and forth in the group--understandable as she was wearing a business owner's hat. Instead, we talked about about Elizabeth's kids and how well they were doing. We found out Cate is working for a judge this year and thinking about private practice in the near future. Elizabeth's treatment is going along; she's adapting to some recent changes in medications.

No, we did not talk about John nor the Gold Dust Woman. Nor did we want to. Not an appropriate venue, and in our view, it's still a very private matter for them.

Elizabeth noticed I had lost some weight (at least when Amy pointed out that she almost didn't recognize me at first earlier that morning) and I was pleased to say I had lost 42 lbs since last anyone had seen me. Everyone beamed along with me.

Amy, Betty, Elizabeth, and I posed for a pic.

When we said good-bye, Elizabeth asked been curious for awhile as to how I came about being called Benny on the OAC/JRE08 blog or naming my blog Benny's World. I explained my story from 2004 from when John was running with John Kerry and I had 2 cats. One of them was from Massachusetts and was more of the personality of Kerry, but the other cat was named Benny. Benny reminded me more of Little Jack. She said, "it's great to know that you named your blog after your cat. " (As aside, Elizabeth is allergic to cats and I alluded to that point to her sister and Elizabeth in saying that I regret I could not have her visit my home, which she acknowledged, "oh yes, I am highly allergic to cats!")

As we were leaving, Elizabeth told me how proud she was of me. I replied, "you too." And a last comment to her, "And you hang in there, sister." One last tug on her left arm. She smiled.

What a classy lady.

The remaining 4 (Amy, Mr. Amy, Betty and I) went to lunch and caught up on the latest happenings of former Edwards supporters. We ate at Elmo's diner, but as many situations when we were volunteer bloggers, we had to go do other things. We also all agreed that the campaign's ideas moved Obama and Clinton from no campaign (it was all about them at first) at least to the middle, if a little more. And like my conference friends, I felt so comfortable with them too. Elizabeth made us feel comfortable too.

Too short of a visit. It was quality visiting though.

Elizabeth seems to be transitioning well; not at all being the politician's wife anymore. She's a mother, a sister, an aunt, a great aunt, an engagement speaker, and a business owner. And we have an opportunity to be a part of her transition as we continue to transition ourselves away from the campaigns.

A song for us all from Bette Midler, "Friends"--which reminded me of that experience altogether--from former politician to volunteers--some stayed or are now friends. That rug I bought symbolizes a welcoming one towards kindred spirits.

Next day--for Elizabeth, a woman who knows literature better than I ever would, but this quote resonated with me when I was in college, and it seems to describe you, as well:

One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield---Tennyson, "Ulysses"

London Town (for my friend Meg)

2010-04-04T02:57:00.000-07:00

I like this song. Meg, going to LT is going to be great. Wish I could go back as I was there 27 years ago.

Southland in the Springtime

2010-04-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

I've loved this song by the Indigo Girls, "Southland in the Springtime." And luckily, I had a big time springtime event in Illinois this week. Yes, Jim Inhofe, where is global warming when you need it? You got it this week. From 30 in the am to nearly 50 is something global warming, dude.

When I was younger (my mid-20's to mid 30's), I spent a lot of time in GA, and in the GA mountains, about the time the Indigo Girls were getting their music out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqFcWnVMTVo

In Memory of Nell Smith, My Momma

2010-03-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

The first image is of a commoner's medal--the Bronze for teamwork at the 2010 Olympics. She taught all of us, that we win when we compete together in serious competition. I appreciate that spirit.

My momma, Nell Smith died a year ago today. There was a song she wanted played at her funeral, but my siblings had no visible appreciation of old school gospel country songs. I found a video of Carrie Underwood's "How Great Thou Art" that I wish existed a year ago for Momma's funeral. Momma loved that song. She was a winner against the great odds, just didn't receive a great medallion.

So, in honor of my momma, I hope you appreciate Underwood's version of "How Great Thou Art." I'm not a bit religious, but I admire spiritual songs, and great modern inteprets thereof.

Gold Dust Woman

2010-03-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

To John's mistress, understand this website is more devoted to Elizabeth A. Edwards' ideals, not yours. You are a Gold Dust Woman, and Elizabeth has more grace.

Bush's Brain is Only 2 Miles from My House Tonight

2010-03-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

Karl Rove, aka Bush's Brain, has been invited by the Champaign County Gross Ol' Party's Lincoln Day celebration.

From the CC GOP website:

“Our goal this November is to challenge every Democrat in all federal, state and local races. It is a privilege and honor to have Karl Rove come to Champaign County to assist in our efforts,” said Jason Barickman, Chairman of the Champaign County Republican Central Committee.

Rove’s visit is part of his book tour promoting his forthcoming memoir, “Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight,” scheduled for release March 9.

‘Courage and Consequence’ is a candid and behind-the-scenes view of some of history’s turbulent and momentous years. It tells how President Bush got to the White House and what happened during his consequential presidency. It’s a frank account of what I witnessed and my often-controversial role,” Rove said."

I agree it probably was a controversial role, considering nearly 5000 men and women are dead from the Iraq war, and thousands of troops still stuck there. I don't think Lincoln would have picked this kind of fight for the good of our country, which is bankrupting our government when we could have had universal health care.

If only this had really happened:

Rove should have been arrested and tried for treason for outing a CIA officer.

Mr. Benny and I are planning to have dinner out of town this evening, to say the least. I don't think I eat my dinner, knowing Karl Rove is crapping only 2 miles from my house.

(cross-posted at the DU, with slight modifications)

Erin go Brough with the Celtic Women

2010-03-17T20:53:00.001-07:00

Did you wear a little green today? I did.

Here's Orinoco Flow from the CW's:

Happy St. Patty's Day, all.

A Couple of Changes at Benny's World

2010-03-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers,

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately. I've been busy helping Mr. Benny get ready to move to our Plantation, FL rental condo. Takes up a tremendous amount of energy.

Couple of changes at Benny's World in terms of the links. I have added Rep Alan Grayson's website. Alan Grayson is the most progressive member of the House next to Dennis K and supports the public option for health insurance reform. He's also very funny. He did an eloquent smackdown of Sarah Palin recently when she went to Orlando and criticized him. He also blogs at the Daily Kos, which is really kewl.

JREG bit the dust and no longer exists. It appears that JFrew, the blog owner, has redirected the URL to Andrew Young's book, and since I have no interested in publicizing the work, I have removed the link altogether. I'm sorry it went away, but I don't blame the owner either for disbanding it out of respect to Elizabeth Edwards.

In late April, I will be making some other changes to this blog in order to reflect the values of a former Edwards ideas supporter and one that appreciated Elizabeth more than John in the first place. Hopefully, I will have more time to blog then.

Who Will Take an Oscar statue Home?

2010-03-07T15:56:00.001-08:00

Hello BW Readers,

Sorry I've not posted anything in two weeks. I was in Ft Lauderdale helping Mr. Benny find a place to live. He's moving around the 17th of April and has a place to live in Plantation, FL, about a little over 5 miles to work.

Back to the topic. There are 10 films nominated, but still only 5 for individual awards. The nominees are as follows:

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

I don't understand the thinking of the Academy members in nominating the following two on this list: An Education and Up. And epic films such as Invictus and The Last Station left off the list?

I'm watching the last Barbara Walters Oscar special as I type. I realized while watching the guests over the years that I was a regular viewer to her show.

Best of luck, nominees!

Another Bill Maher Classic

2010-02-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

Bill Maher said that last night in the "New Rules" from Real Time. Vintage DUzy (courtesy of Touchdown) and Maher!

EE and Mr. Benny: Nova SE

2010-02-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

Many BW readers know that Mr. Benny has been out of work for awhile, and has been seeking employment in nearly any area of the country except Alaska, Hawaii, California, and New England.

He's about to sign on the dotted line at Nova Southeastern in a couple of weeks.

Now, here's an interesting thing: Elizabeth Edwards is speaking at Nova tomorrow night.

Planets not quite aligned yet, but man, is that coincidental or what?

Teh Bayh-Bye

2010-02-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

As just about all BW readers know, Sen Evan Bayh (Dino-Indiana) has called it quits after this year. Lots of speculation about the timing as much as why one has $13M in coffers, has won solidly twice, and waited until nearly the filing deadline.

Well, I'm one of those who isn't going to say good-bye to Bayh as I think he will be back, but maybe for a run in 2016 (which presumes--and I use that term carefully--Obama wins re-election). He's also betting that the left will leave him alone once he leaves.

In order not to pile on all of the negatives, I will say something positive about his decision: I've often thought we had too many career politicians, and yes, including Teddy Kennedy, as well as John Murtha, who is being buried in PA as I type this post. Both were good patriots, but many times, they weren't able to get the job done.

My point being (and at the risk of sounding almost libertarian) is that campaign finance reform won't happen. The SCOTUS made sure of that. Lobbyists will continue to take up more jobs in DC and our voices cannot be heard above the loud music played on K street. So, what is the alternative? Term limits --3 for the House, 2 for the Senate--in order to get rid of the asinine chairmanships that keep Joe Lieberman in charge when he should have been kicked out of the Democratic Caucus years ago.

Evan Bayh may be a career politician too. But yesterday, he activated a self-imposed term limit. That's a good thing.

Floyd Cramer and My Momma

2010-02-15T18:18:00.000-08:00

My Momma, whom I lost in late March, has a birthday tomorrow. She would be 79 years old.

What is not known with my siblings but I did know in hanging out at my pappy's bars with her and him, was her preference for a jukebox to play an old fashioned country-love song that was a "one hit wonder" on any station, Floyd Cramer's "Last Date."

Not certain exactly why my momma (and to a certain extent, my daddy) loved this tune, but it resonates with me with her memory of loving the tune.

Happy Birthday, Momma. First b-day with the heavens without humans. If there is a heaven, I hope Daddy is listening to "Last Date" as well.

http://tinyurl.com/ygc52na

"Be A Clown" Saturday Night

2010-02-13T16:12:00.001-08:00

For some who think I should take down my blog, etc, here's my response, and enjoy:

I was always a fan of the Marx Brothers. Hint.

I'm baking a quiche a la Benny tonight. Should be ready in an hour and not long after that, I'll be checking the net to see how Katherine Reutter did in her first heat in Women's 500 short track.

Be a clown!

O doesn't equate to FDR

2010-02-11T17:42:00.001-08:00

My pal Montana Maven has a salient post over at FDL about our current administration which shies away from liberal positions, even if they try to sell them (then back away, using the moniker "they make me do it).

From FDL:

Liberals, who I like, from Mark Thompson on Sirius Left to Les Leopold invoke FDR and the idea that he told activists to "make him do it". Or that Martin Luther King made President Johnson do it. Ergo, it is our responsibility to push Obama. It smacks of a variation on the "personal responsibility" meme of Bill Cosby and shifts the attention away from the Obama administration and their responsibility. And is it even true?
FDR was a natural fighter (and so was Johnson) and became even more fierce with his ongoing battle with polio. He had the first female Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, and she was often the last person to leave after a cabinet meeting. Who is last now? Geithner and Gates? And quick, who is the secretary of labor?

FDR saw who the enemy was and it was Wall Street or as he said, "entrenched greed." Obama said in his state of the union that he wasn’t interested in punishing the banksters that brought the world economy down. He reinforced this on February 9, 2010 in is latest statement:

"I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free- market system."
But FDR was not only interested in punishing the Wall Street gamblers, he got laws passed to break their kneecaps.

Yeppers, Obama is afraid of the conservatives. FDR was mindful of other considerations, in which his wife was his conscience.

I'm wondering if Mrs. Obama thinks as ER about all of the windows to present to her husband. I hope so but I'm not so sure since she has two little ones to consider. My point is that while she tries to be somewhat like ER (the garden and a few things), ER's children were already raised.

What do you think about Obama compared to FDR as a sound progressive or liberal?

And please, do not bring up JRE's personal life on this thread but if you think his ideas could have been like FDR's, that's appropriate. Otherwise, this is not an intelligent discussion of ideas, which is what this thread is about. Let's discuss ideas!!!

Congrats Saints!

2010-02-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

I was rootin' for ya all last night. I never gave up hope, just as you didn't. The Defense was spectacular in the second half.

The seal dealer: Tracy Porter (a Louisanan):

As he is running so fast past everyone, watch the change of hands in carrying the ball; they represented joy and good pride. He ran 78 yards in 11 seconds.

NOLA should be proud, especially after Brownie and Bush almost let it drown.

One of my NOLA buds called it the "Year of the Yat."

To the Colts credit, they were close to getting another touchdown. Just wasn't their night.

After the Pokes, I said even midway this past season, it looked to be the Saints' year. Pokes were lucky to win against the Saints in the latter part of the season, but I knew the Saints would likely win a rematch, the Vikings got to the Pokes first.

Thank goodness the Saints' coaches didn't listen to Phil Simms at 3:24 left in the game. And they took some nice risks. Great game, great job.

Update: this is crap from the media about Peyton Manning. He and the Colts do not deserve any big blame for not wanting to speak out. Peyton Manning was correct: it was the Saints' field last night.

Sure Miss this Politician

2010-02-06T08:14:00.001-08:00

http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/john_edwards_vi.php

(Flash 8.0 required)

He was right then. Too bad his personal life was different from the politician I wanted in the WH.

Those ideas, likely EE's too, are still on the backburner.

Elizabeth Edwards Supporters Group at the DU

2010-02-05T03:26:00.000-08:00

Well BW readers,

I went over to the DU this morning, and it appears that Skinner renamed the JRE supporters group to the Elizabeth Edwards Supporters group. The group didn't lose any content either.

We love Elizabeth!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=257x12569

DU Forum Name Change?

2010-01-30T11:13:00.000-08:00

Inspired, whom I know from the trails in Iowa, has suggested that the JRE supporters group be renamed the Elizabeth Edwards Supporters group. I actually favor the idea since EE was likely the brains behind the ideas in the last campaign.

I will always feel inspired here though by JRE and I would have not been able to meet his wonderful wife otherwise. I still wish she was POTUS or FL, although I have become a fan of Michelle Obama.

If are a DU'er and want to see that forum's name change, go here.

Soap Opera Media

2010-01-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

Geez, is this the best investigative journalism we can get? National Enquirer types who are attempting to get prizes for exposing a personal affair?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/27/edwards.split/index.html

When it is pornographic intent from a rejected lover to trap someone (male or female) (unless there is evidence of physical harm) and another issue when sexual or other abuses are done to youth under the age of 17? There is quite a bit of difference.

How one one get a tape of such evidence if there wasn't a plotting to trap someone like John Edwards (vis a vie possibly Young and the Gold Dust Woman) for extortion? I don't have evidence, I just watch Law and Order. I'm glad I was not and still not privy to any of this tabloid journalism. Just a volunteer and an observer.

No one can wait for history, I guess. History was 5 minutes ago if one is a wantabe as a celebrity.

My sympathy goes out to Elizabeth and to John (to a certain extent, but he really got himself into a mess--and my concern is without further counseling, he will continue on this path) , but no sympathy towards the Gold Dust woman. I do feel for Quinn, who is the most victimized due to two very self-absorbed unmarried parents, especially her lazy mother who was a party person with malice. A gold buddha indeed about the child. How sad.

But what happened to health care? Jobs? Economy?

Guess the Gold Dust woman doesn't care about those things at all. No wonder EE is unhappy, and the children are in tabloids' harms ways.

Geesh.

An JRE Ideas Supporter

2010-01-24T00:48:00.000-08:00

Hello John Edwards.

The media loved you when you won big lawsuits for the little person. The media loved you for being the underdog in a senate race 12 years ago. They sort of liked you when you garnered Al Gore's attention for a potential VP nominee in 2000. But they didn't like you in the 2007-8 race for President.

Now, they despise you for stepping out on your wife, thanks to your mistake of being involved with someone not at your social-economic status that you brought your family to due to being a great lawyer. I guess your greatest mistake was underestimating a person who was lazy and never wanted to work --- an antithesis to your own beliefs. I don't like what you did either but I still think it wasn't my business--it was between you and the families involved.

Now I will bring this post to a third person mode.

I never liked John for just being a good looking politician, even if the media did for awhile. I was inspired by him for his ideas, especially being for bold change. As someone who was never involved in politics before, I got involved, and if one talks to other JRE ideas supporters, they will tell you the same story in feeling inspired to help our country. I might add I became a more informed citizen about our government. My hair stylist fires questions at me than anyone else because she trusts my views about various events. We had a big discussion yesterday about what happened in MA and she listens to my opinions since I plug into the blogs. And like me, she doesn't care about JRE's sex scandals. She cares about our country in general.

John helped define the other leading candidates (exception, Dennis K) who were more about identity politics than having ideas. I liked what one of my fellow supporters said about the three candidates in 2007: if you want an engineer of change, you voted for Edwards. If you wanted a shop manager, you voted for Clinton. If you wanted a great salesman, you voted for Obama.

And guess what the media wanted?

John went to Haiti this week and brought back 31 refugees. And the media thinks this is a gimmick? It's not. I know John Edwards in this regard: he cares about the most impoverished. He took the time to meet with me in 2006 privately and was interested in my family history of a family who struggled, just as his did.

Thanks, John Edwards for going to Haiti. And I still wish you were President at times because I think you would have obtained more change that we needed. But America forgives rich Republicans for their un-puritanical mistakes, and not well-heeled Democrats.

Back to MA--a final note: guess what, MA voters were pissed at our POTUS? Why? Here's the answer. John Edwards would have already had health care in the bag and moved on.

Teddy RIP

2010-01-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight, a very unusual thing happened: a teabagger campaigned and won Teddy Kennedy's seat in a special election in MA.

Unbelievable. I'm not going to point fingers, but I will point out complacency and entitlement of this campaign--indicative of what the voters probably feel about Congress. Kos at DK seems to have a similar thought of my quick take.

Peter Daou opines: Liberal Bloggers to Dems: We Told You So.

However, there seems to be some in-fighting w/in the MA Dem Party in some circles.

Update (h/t DK): this is not so cool by Obama to tell the world he called newly-elect Senator Brown in congratulating him. I know, Obama thinks he can charm him, but I suggest otherwise; Brown is owned by the teabaggers' message which is "We hate government and therefore anything you stand for, except for helping Wall Streeters."

And apparently, newly-elect Senator Brown doesn't mind using his new status as Senator-elect to solicit dates for his "available" daughters. Real classy.

Wanker of the Day

2010-01-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

To borrow from Atrios, here's the wanker of the day by former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich:

""I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived," Blagojevich said. "I saw it all growing up."

I think Blago realized today the error in firing off another ball from his loose cannon arsenal.

JRE Still Helps the Needy

2009-12-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

NCDem Amy alerted me to latest JRE's helping again the needy:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30968.html

I don't care who you are, this man doesn't do everything because it's political. It is because it is just in the name of poverty.

JRE and my personal history inspired me to team up at work to help a needy family in our area, as one saw a couple of weeks ago.

Christmas Day Reflections

2009-12-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

Good morning BW Readers,

It is nippy but our ground is whiteless. We had snow a few days ago, but the rain washed it away. That's OK, I enjoyed the little bit we had.

Last night, I attended a candlelight service at the UU church in town. I went to the 5:00 one in order to be back in time to make a regular dinner for Mr. Benny and myself. The service was very spiritual--as I anticipated--full of readings from the gospels, poems, a children's book, and of course, familiar Christmas hymns which we sung together. The songs brought tears to my eyes as I hadn't sung them in quite awhile, and they evoked memories of my mother singing songs with us when we were little. It was difficult for me to sing the First Noel as it was one of Momma's favorites next to "Silent Night."

I needed that spiritual fellowship at the 5:00 service rather than the 7:00 for another reason: Momma often called me by 7:30 on Xmas Eve, and I needed to console myself ahead in order to get on with our family dinner, knowing the phone call would not come. I needed to be emotionally available for Mr. Benny who has been feeling glum due to looking diligently for work for 3 months. On Tuesday, the best prospect for employment, after Mr. Benny had interviewed 3 weeks before, retracted the position. I had predicted that might happen, but Mr. Benny held out hope. Now, he has to work harder than ever as job pools in his field are shrinking.

The bright light of the night was getting a phone call from my JRE friends, Animal and Karen about the time my momma would have called. They got engaged. You can see the announcement here. The news lifted my spirits as I've known these two for 5 years, and they have been dating long distance for 3.5 years. I said that John and Elizabeth brought them together. They concurred.

This morning, Mr. Benny and I exchanged cards and DVDs. Simple, but what we wanted. I'm doing some slow food today: Peking Roast (cooked in Caribbean coffee), roasted potatoes, asparagus, a berry salad, and french bread. I'm going to try making an Apple Crisp from the South Beach desserts menu.

Next stop: Daily Kos to participate in the WGLB Presents Family Diary.

Happy Xmas all, i will add more later.

Pax.

Two Families: So Different

2009-12-18T17:25:00.000-08:00

One woman of a family thinks of entitlements for having sex with a wealthy politician; the other is a recent widow and has two sons with cerebral palsy. For the second family, my workplace raised over $1200 and bought most of this following wish list:

Mom

Tide laundry soap
Baby wipes
Shampoo
Cascade Action packs

Oldest Son, age 24, confined to wheelchair

Shirts, adult size L
Jeans, 32 W, 32 L

More visual, can’t use hands very much, enjoys animated movies

Younger son, age 12, also confined to wheelchair

Shirts, child size medium or size 8
Pants or jeans, size 10

Hotwheels, just the cars
Transformer toys
Transformer II movie

Household

Both boys could use new sheet sets for bedding, twin size, no flannel

Bath towels, wash clothes

Kitchen towels

Pots and pans

In addition, staff brought cards, postage stamps, etc. I bought for them one of the sets of sheets (some nice all cotton ones).

Can you imagine wishing for laundry detergent and shampoo as personal gifts?

BW readers, we asked what the mom wanted for herself. She said she liked scented candles.

Mind you we are facing furloughs and layoffs.

The Gold Dust Woman in JRE's life is something else to demand 18K a month and doesn't even try to work. She is selfish and lazy.

I call her that based on this song by Fleetwood Mac:

http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoafteck.html

Poverty will always tug at my heart strings. I will not understand why John got involved with such a low class (in spirit) woman and put his family through the tabloids. This woman is capable of working and chooses not to. She is not the working poor when she demands $2100 for babysitting expenses and doesn't try to work.

Standing on the Side of Love and Competence: Annise Parker Wins Mayor Elect in Houston

2009-12-13T09:12:00.001-08:00

(photo courtesy of the Free Press Houston)

This morning, I awoke to several e-mails from our GLBT friends in which they were estatic about Annise Parker's victory in the mayor election last night. Ms. Parker did win in a similar way to Harvey Milk as one of the supervisors in the sense she proved her competence first as being a member of the city council, then became comptroller (the bean counter).

From the Houston Chronicle:

Annise Danette Parker was elected mayor of Houston on Saturday, winning her seventh consecutive city election and becoming both the first contender in a generation to defeat the hand-picked candidate of Houston's business establishment and the first openly gay person to lead a major U.S. city.
Parker, Houston's current city controller who first emerged in the public arena as a gay rights activist in the 1980s, defeated former City Attorney Gene Locke on an austere platform, convincing voters that her financial bona fides and restrained promises would be best suited in trying financial times. Parker, 53, will replace the term-limited Mayor Bill White on Jan. 1.

Annise is gay and has been with her partner for 19 years. They have 3 adopted children. Unfortunately, social conservatives, including many pastors in town tried to make Ms. Parker's sexual orientation an issue. I was heartened to see that the First UU in Houston (my former church) invited her and other ministers to join the congregation for fellowship last Sunday, and she/they accepted the invitation. I suspect this spurred many UU'ers to get out the vote about Houstonian issues, not just the focus on being gay. Ms Parker earned her spot.

I'm thinking Molly Ivins and Ann Richards are smiling today, and I bet Jim Hightower is too.

Congrats to Mayor -elect Parker and her family.

Yalies Push Back on Hate

2009-12-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

(photo courtesy of D. Carvalho, Yale Daily News)
I noticed that UU's got left off the poster's list.

Forever a classic, just like the new hate mail Markos got this past week at DK.

(h/t TN)

Senator Jeff Merkley Understands Concerns about the Surge

2009-12-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

I got this e-mail from Senator Merkley's office this evening about Obama's plan for the surge of American troops in Afghanistan. Jeff Merkley gets it. Read on:

“I appreciate that President Obama has taken the time to fully examine this issue and consider the available options. However, I’m not convinced the case has been made to add more than 30,000 new troops. Significant questions remain about our strategic goals in Afghanistan and the human and financial costs involved in achieving them.

He continues:

“I have a number of questions about whether the Administration’s goal in Afghanistan is realistic, and how that goal advances our national security. How will our strategy overcome Afghanistan’s history of decentralized power exercised by regional warlords, its systemic corruption, the insurgents’ ability to use the presence of a foreign force as a rallying point, the geography and topography of the country, and the Taliban’s easy access to explosives and funding? Does this strategy reduce or increase the number of extremists motivated to strike at our nation? What will prevent al Qaeda from finding other safe havens in other places from which to plot attacks against the U.S.? Are there other approaches that can meet our national security objectives?

And to ensure he will be asking for accountability:

“I look forward to discussing these questions with the Administration and learning not only the full details of their plan, but also reviewing how the sacrifice in lives and resources serves our national interest.”

Senate Merkley rocks. To repeat: he gets it.

All of the JRE supporters are likely to agree with Senator Merkley on this issue. I can't find one e-mail in which a JRE supporter can be supportive of the President unless he addresses the issues Jeff Merkley and Bernie Sanders raise in the Senate, or Dennis Kuchnich raises in the House.

Diversions from a public option for health care and the insipidness of insurance,

I don't like it. I bet those progressives don't either. And I think Obama is unwise to think to get Rethugs on this issue will buy him votes (or delays from fillibustering) on health care. I hope I am wrong, but so far, I've not been. Obama's inexperience in the Senate makes him appear naive.

And the Rethugs count on it.

Looks like Law & Order SUV Tonight on TV

2009-12-01T16:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight, our POTUS is announcing a surge in troop levels in Afghanistan. He sent more troops in the spring and summer, and now he wants 30K more. He won't fight for health care, but he is sending more of our men and women in uniform to get in the middle of a budding civil war.

This is not likely a war we can win or "to finish the job."

If you want to read some interesting opinions, look at the following:

David Mizner's diary at DK
TomP's diary at the DK
Digby
The Widderskins (h/tp to Corrente Wire)
And just about anything at the DU

I cannot stomach watching LBJ and Bush all over again.

Roll Me Away--for my cousin Pam

2009-11-28T02:18:00.000-08:00

My cousin Pam passed in 1984, and we all still miss her. My cuz Shelly told me that Bob Seger was one of her favorite artists. I didn't know that.

I think Pam would have appreciated "Roll Me Away."

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T04:32:00.000-08:00

Dear BW readers,

I wish you all the best of this truly American holiday. For many of you, it is to give to others, the gift of the time cooking, cleaning, or perhaps inviting a person over who is far away from family. Like President Obama, I will be thinking of the troops today as I prepare a meal of cornish hens, spinach, oven roasted red potatoes, and make a pumpkin pie for Mr. Benny. I can't eat the pie as it contains a lot of sugar, but the smell of it will be inspirational. And certainly, pumpkins as well as any of the squash family reminds us of the gifts of our Native American heritage.

I'm thankful for my two jobs, health insurance, and able to take vacation too. Mr. Benny still is looking for work, but hopefully he will find one in the next 3-6 months. He has to have 5 applications in each week to receive unemployment benefits. Anyone who sez that those on employment are just welfare receipents, then come to Illinois.

Thanksgiving also marks another tradition in the BW house: watching the Dallas Cowboys (as they play Oakland at home) on the telly. Go Pokes!

Adam Lambert's CD Finally Out

2009-11-25T07:01:00.001-08:00

and it looks energizing.

For someone who won 2nd place at Idol, (mainly because of the anti-marriage equality folks who voted for the other guy--where is he?) Adam is all of the talk. He should have won the competition and he is still the American Idol in my mind. He's a true performer.

Quick Dispatch from Kissimmee, FL

2009-11-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

Hello BW readers,

It's been awhile since I've posted. Why? I've been on vacation for the past week. It's been beautiful in Central FL, which is where I'm staying. Been doing Disney stuff, also saw the launch of the last flight for the shuttle Atlantis. Most of my photos are on Facebook since they are mobile, and the computer I am on doesn't allow downloads, so I cannot display them here at the moment. I'll try to get those to my flickr account this evening, then repost them here.

Today Mr. Benny continued doing apps for his job searches, and I took the afternoon off, just relaxing by the pool. The temp was identical for the air and water; about 83 deg I would guess. The sunset was fabulous; it looked like a glimpse of Jupiter, fading into the sunset.

I'll try to post once more before I leave. Meantime, what's on your mind? The flailing Senate health insurance bill? Gitmo prisoners moving to Illinois? Obama's campaign playing Chicago politics with the 2008 Edwards campaign? or something else?

More buzz l8tr...

Roxanne Conlin Announces Run for US Senate

2009-11-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

Roxanne Conlin, a trial lawyer in Des Moines, announced her bid for the US Senate seat for next year. She hopes to win her primary first, then take on Grandpa Chuck Grassley, the incumbent. Roxanne's campaign released this two minute video that is more biographical and she uses her own voice to narrate it.

Her biography is here. It's no wonder that she was a big supporter of JRE; their personal stories are similar, although she has been an Assistant Attorney general and ran for governor in the 1980's.

Benny's World is taking an early position about this race: we hope Roxanne Conlin wins the Democratic primary next year, but we wish all Democratic candidates well in general. It's time someone represented Iowa's true interests, and Chuck Grassley is not doing it.

Fox News Gets Mocked on SNL

2009-11-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

I was already in bed and asleep when SNL came on, but I saw this today on Facebook:

The only Dem pundit, Joe Trippi (former JRE staffer) isn't given any questions or opportunities to make a comment.

Pretty funny!

Trippi's comment on FB: "Speechless."

Congrats to Katherine Reutter of Central Illinois

2009-11-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Katherine Reutter won the gold in the 1500m short track race at the World Cup in Montreal with a time of 2:23. Katherine is a native of Champaign, and is on target for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver next Feb.

Stephen Colbert has graciously lent his name to the US Speed Skating team and Katherine also has sponsorship by local businesses. Colbert is asking his fans at Colbert Nation to donate here.

Katherine is a Benny family friend. Benny's World is very proud of her accomplishments, and very pleased for her parents, Jay and Beth, who have been the major part of her journey to the Olympics.

Way to go, Katherine!

Photo courtesy of Getty Images and Universal Sports.

Our POTUS Expresses Thoughts about Ft. Hood

2009-11-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

This morning, I watched our POTUS' weekly address. It was dedicated to our men and women who wear the uniform everywhere in the world, but especially to families and their fallen loved ones at Ft Hood.

As most know by now, Ft. Hood had a tragedy on Thursday. I remember seeing some of the updates at work, just stunned. I think our President expressed many of our thoughts here:

From the transcript:

Soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world called and emailed loved ones at Ft. Hood, all expressing the same stunned reaction: I’m supposed to be the one in harm’s way, not you.

But in beginning the healing process, President Obama offered these words:

Thursday’s shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base. And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America. We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades; tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured; using blouses as tourniquets; taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.

You can read the rest here.

Flag to fly at half mast until Wednesday evening, Veterans Day.

God Bless our soldiers, their families, and our country.

Jane Hamsher has a Point about Rahm

2009-11-05T03:17:00.000-08:00

Rahn Emmanuel keeps thinking life is like 1994. It's not the same dude.

From FDL:

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/11/04/lessons-learned-in-va-and-nj-is-rahm-emanuel-orchestrating-2010-democratic-massacre/

I'm not certain all of the blame is on Rahm's shoulders. But Rahm isn't effective as Obama thought he would be either. The Senate is our problem, not the House.

Watching the Maine Ballot Initiative the Most

2009-11-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

I don't care about the off-year elections, but I care about ballot initiatives.

Maine is bracing for a prop 8 of CA for itself, whereby Prop 8 folks poured money into traditional marriage (or YES to reject the Same Sex Marriage legislation). It looked like "no" to reject marriage equality early on, but now it's too close to call. I don't understand this weirdness, but I do know I am cheerleading for Bill in Portland Maine and his partner, Common Sense Mainer, to be married next spring.

Follow the numbers here: http://www.bangordailynews.com/electionresults.html

Medical marijuana treatments may pass, which is a good thing for those who have chemo for various reasons.

Save Progressive Radio

2009-11-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight I heard from my good friend Lady Di that her radio show is going to the tea bagggers. That smells.

from Diane Kamp today:

Saturday will be our last show. They will have solid right wing tea baggers all Saturday from now on. So say good bye to any alternative on AM Talk Radio in Gallatin and Park County. By the way, our show had the highest female ratings of any show on KMMSAM. Our numbers were very good. But the new guy is not George Carter. That we lasted 5 years was a minor miracle in these times.

Let's hope we can buy KPRK. Hopefully the Bozeman Community Radio will provide an alternative and allow some real left and labor voices on it.

On to write my book and HBO series, I guess.

Matt Taibbi was fab last weekend. I don't get it.

A Book I'm Not Likely to Buy

2009-11-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

The Audacity to Win by David Plouffe.

He trashes JRE and EE about cutting deals. No, he forgot Obama was willing to be caught on tape that he wanted JRE's endorsement in visiting his house. EE was totally unimpressed with the visit according to my sources.

DP is a scrub. Kiss and tell like Georgie on "This Week."

I'll read the book when it is available at the public library.

One of the Best Dumba** comments at DK

2009-11-01T03:12:00.000-08:00

Glenn Greenwald questions Obama all of the time about the lack of change in foreign policy from the previous POTUS. He is right to do so.

A Daily Kos poster agrees that Kossacks ignore good commentary or questions by Greenwald and also by Amy Goodman at Democracy Now.

Then this poster says he ignores them and gets plenty of tips for doing so:

I've been ignoring Greenwald and Democracy Now (106+ / 0-)

for several years now. It has created almost no problems for me.

Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

by bugscuffle on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 01:28:51 PM PDT

Here was my response:

It does for some of us

If not for you. It may mean that some like you may be asleep or follow Obama too blindly. I think we should question all leaders, not just Bush 43. If you think Obama is right all of the time, then go back to bed and don't comment that you never worry about our country under his leadership. Greenwald and Hamsher are correct in questioning him.

It still bothers me about all of the Obama bots.

JRE Supporter John O'Quinn Killed in Car Crash

2009-10-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

I was perusing at the DU and saw this latest breaking news:

Texas plaintiff's attorney John O'Quinn died Thursday in a single car accident on a Houston roadway.

According to the Houston Chronicle, O'Quinn and another man, who has not been identified, were in a black Suburban traveling at a high rate of speed on the Allen Parkway, just west of downtown Houston.

Police reported that around 8 a.m. Oct. 29, the SUV crossed two medians and then hit a tree. Roads were slick due to light rain during the morning.

I thought I recognized that he was a friend of JRE. I was right.

O'Quinn, 68, was one of the most well known trial attorneys in the country, and a big supporter of the Democratic Party.

He was one of the largest donors to presidential candidate John Edwards in the last election, and gave $2.5 million to Chris Bell who tried unsuccessfully to unseat Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2006.

O'Quinn first gained national attention in the early 1990s when he won $100 million for plaintiffs alleging health problems from silicone breast implants.

The Chronicle quoted Houston attorney Dan Cogdell:

"In his day, he was an incredibly gifted trial lawyer," Cogdell said. "John was a controversial figure, but he was always a gentleman to me, and gave a lot to our community. Everybody’s just in a state of shock, even criminal lawyers."

I remember that race with Chris Bell in particular, who was also a JRE supporter. It was a close race.

Tragedy for the O' Quinn family. JRE must be devastated too.

h/t to create peace at the DU.

Grief and Resilence at the CA Women's Conference

2009-10-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Edwards was one of the speakers at the Lunch Breakout at the CA Women's Conference hosted by CA First Lady Maria Shriver.

This session was about grief, healing, and resilience.

I thank Indyvoter for this wonderful h/t.

http://www.californiawomen.org/the-womens-conference-2009/lunch. It's about 1 hour and 41 minutes before one sees the Grief panel.

One Carolina Girl found the pic above. This is a powerful emotive group. Elizabeth is maintaining composure, but it's clear she is totally empathetic. She's right about the triggers, you never know when you have them. Gifts are great.

Thank you First Lady Maria S. I understand about the recent loss of your mother; it happened to me over 6 months ago.

Unlike Susan St. James who lost her son, the man who wrote to her with the comment, "I know what you are feeling, I lost my dog recently" this was an initial thought. She made a small joke about it, and the joke wasn't totally unfeeling, but Elizabeth was right to point out that not everyone means to say the wrong thing. Usually they mean well even if it's not what you expected.

Grief is not all about the human losing a human experience, Ms. St. James. It is about losing family members. I'm mourning the loss of our beloved girls, Sydney and Mattie, our Aussie Shepherds, who went to Rainbow Bridge 50 weeks apart in the last year. They were family too. I'm hoping Ms.St James will pay heed to EE in her words of being sensitive to many of us, even if we were human parents to pets. Many of us loved being humans of pets whom we loved them. And spent thousands or hundreds of dollars to save them when they were stricken with diseases challenging to fight. Many of us didn't want to give up our pets and ran bills to our plights.

We had to sacrifice $405 to get our Sydney diagnosed, and she expired 2 days later. But it was worth knowing what could happen, and our vet was pretty much on the mark. It was a challenging on our budget of mainly from one income, but we wanted our options for our Syd. I will not accept from anyone that pets aren't as acceptable as humans. Just my opinion.

Please, grief is about humans and our pets.

Mongomery Angels

2009-10-26T16:47:00.001-07:00

Last night, I watched Extreme Makeover. It's not a show I view often, but I was given a tip that the Montgomery Family of Central Illinois would be on this episode.

http://abc.go.com/watch/extreme-makeover-home-edition/92244/239285/montgomery-family

The Montgomeries are truly amazing people. They are a family which could have been well off today if Nathan, the father, had continued working as an engineer. Instead, he and the family believed they had a calling from God to help the poor. So they founded, Salt and Light, which feeds on average 265 families each Wednesday and has a store of recycled clothes for those who cannot afford clothes or food on the table.

The house they lived in outside of Philo (about 10 miles outside of the Champaign-Urbana area) was barely inhabitable. One looks of before and after pictures in the video, and it's mind boggling.

The family got to enjoy a real vacation, their first in years, at Disney World.

I had an employee who witnessed the rebuilding and had a family member volunteer his expertise. Watching the community do this work was inspiring. It reminded me of when JRE's campaign sent care packages to the troops, helped with weather proofing a home during the campaign. I miss the esprit d'corps.

I hope Elizabeth and John Edwards saw this episode. If not, they can watch it here.

http://abc.go.com/watch/extreme-makeover-home-edition/92244/239285/montgomery-family

I confess I was very teary-eyed at the end. Here's our local newspaper's article article that describes my and many folks' emotions in watching this special episode.

This week is National Volunteer week, and I'm very happy for this very deserving family. Looks I need to do my share later in the week.

Elizabeth Edwards About Her Cancer on Local TV

2009-10-24T14:19:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth was interviewed this week on one of the local channels. My understanding is EE was also a speaker at one of the universities this week concerning her battle with breast cancer. As she said in the interview, cancer may win, but why give anymore days or time to that process.

Keep fighting the good fights, Elizabeth. Especially when you are asked your expert opinion on other matters such as bankruptcy legislation that is being considered for medical care expense reform.

Now we need it for dogs, cats, and horses. Vet bills are expensive, and often pets are members of our families too.

UPDATE: Indyvoter posted a link to a C-SPAN recorded testimony about medical debt.

That makes sense to me. I couldn't figure out why the news would ignore this important hearing in the story. I guess they got short on time.

Here's a link too to the written statement.

Great smackdown by Senator Franken about stupid data samples concerning cancer rates around the world--and the lack of correlation to medical debt.

Elizabeth also does a polite smackdown of Sen. Jeff Session's comments about foreclosures and different states' provisions on chapter 7. He didn't appear to understand what he voted for in 2005. I noticed he sought her out after the hearing.

Support Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's bill, Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2009. Senator Russ Feingold has requested to be a co-sponsor. It is S. 1624. Let's reform health care, not just health insurance.

JRE supporters may recall JRE was against the Bankruptcy bill in 2005, and here's why (from TPM Cafe).

Rainbow Bridge for Sydney

2009-10-15T03:10:00.000-07:00

I awoke to cool temps in the house and no lights. I went throughout the house and lit candles everywhere. Our power went out for a couple of hours. Our pooties were loose in the house, which means Mr. Benny was so tired and didn't notice them.

I decided to come in and turn on the lights when the power came back on. I listened to "Let it Be." How did I know what would portend?

Not long after the song, I went out to see Syd in our garage. She was on her way of expiring after the power came back on. She was there, but barely breathing. Then I knew the moment of death was coming. In fact, I think I witnessed her last moments.

I woke Mr. Benny, and when he took a stethoscope to Syd, she was gone.

I am glad I saw Syd move into peace. It was quick, but I'm fortunate I was there for her at the last minute of her journey.

How I know these things, I don't know. But we have to let it be. I'm in tears, but I knew somehow.

RIP, Syd. We loved you. Here's something Walter Cronkite had played at his funeral, same age as you: When the Saints Go Marchin' In.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTJbpM0RcqY

Resilence: Another Family's Story

2009-10-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, Mr. Benny and I had to make a visit to our veterinarian. Our remaining Aussie Shepherd, Sydney, was low in spirits, would not eat, and had trouble getting up. Her symptoms appeared similar to her sister, Mattie, who went to Rainbow Bridge on October 30, 2008.

We had thought the worst and had expected to help transition Syd as we did with her sister to Rainbow Bridge. However, Syd rebounded yesterday afternoon. She ate some dog food out of a can and she was able to walk a bit better last night. Her spirits and face looked less sad. It was as though Syd knew we weren't ready for her to go; she didn't wish to disappoint us as she knew how much we love her.

While I wish the latter were true, we had some tests run on Syd. Her blood platelet count was exceedingly low, but the rest of the blood levels were fine. However, the x-rays revealed some mitochondrial looking cells around her spleen, lungs, and near her main artery. Her lungs looked compromised. I don't recall what the technical terms are called, but to simplify for BW readers, she likely has two forms of cancer, one benign, the other probably malignant. She has arthritis too in her back, but luckily, we had already started giving her vitamin supplements for it, and it's not quite as bad as it was for Mattie last year.

BW readers remember all too painfully about Elizabeth when her cancer returned with a vengence; this time, there would be no cure. She would have to take meds on a regular basis. We know from interviews and other sources (such as the book Resilence) that Elizabeth gets transfusions in addition to her daily tablet.

And if that weren't enough, her family suffered some other set backs. I read another story in the LA Times this evening about the awkward moments in a restaurant recently. Must be hard on the children, although Elizabeth is still considered popular in the area.

Benny's real world outside of this blog has experienced some setbacks as well. We lost Mattie 50 weeks ago. My momma died 6 months ago. Mr. Benny is now unemployed and while he gets some interviews, more places in his field are pulling the positions, or the HR departments are so sloppy in their "no thanks" responses. Some places haven't offered to pay for his mileage or for a meal in return for driving many hours for the one hour interview. Times have been tough for him. It's demoralizing at times.

Yours truly has taken on extra interim work where I am employed. I receive a stipend for it, albeit I've not seen it yet in my paycheck. Our work place is so stretched that it's hard to get all of the administrative tasks done in a timely manner. I don't make it a habit to talk about my work here, so I won't tell you what I'm doing. But I will say that I'm hoping the experience will pay off on my long term plans of moving ahead in my career. The stipend, when I see it, will be helpful in supporting my family.

I think it would not be wise to put myself in Elizabeth's and JRE's shoes because our situation is very different. Elizabeth and John live a relatively comfortable life. She gets the best health care money can buy (although she wishes for a Medicare option for anyone as I do). Mr. Benny is now on my health insurance, but we have to watch very carefully how it is used. Mr. Benny has make 5 contacts a week to earn his unemployment check. No one in the Edwards family has have to work, although Elizabeth chose to open a part-time furniture store just to leave a legacy for her children to remember. But what Elizabeth's family and my family have in common is that we will continue in the long term to be resilient. We will have more valleys than peaks for the months to come, but we welcome the peaks when they arise.

And in living with Syd's cancer, we were given two options: we could get an ultrasound to confirm, but we also were told that even if Syd would be operated on, she is at high risk for expiring on the operating table in problems with anesthesia. Her tests today were $405. We know we can't afford surgery for her, but even if we could, her survival rate wouldn't be much more than she has in just living with the condition.

Sydney was resilient today. She was happy, went for a short walk, and she had a good appetite this evening. She will continue to have collapses as she did last weekend where she may rebound but each time, the recovery time will take longer--or she may just finally go in her sleep. The vet said she may live a few more weeks or even months, or she may have another relapse in the next days. However, Mr. Benny and I decided not to go forward on other procedures for Syd. We will live each day with her (and for that matter, Elmora, who is afflicted with feline hyperthyroidism, but holding her own at the moment) as though it is another gift from the universe.

We thank all of the BW readers for their positive thoughts and prayers, and ask that you continue to send them as Syd moves through the last days of her earth journey. You are welcome to submit your thoughts in the comments section, even it is a struggle you are experiencing and would like prayers from us.

Blessed be.
Update: Let it Be:

Call to Action for Democracy

2009-10-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

Once in a while, I miss JRE's campaign for One America. I was so swept up in the cause of bridging the haves and have-nots, and creating a rising tide for all boats, especially the working poor and the middle class.

This afternoon, Mr. Benny and I went to see Michael Moore's latest film Capitalism: A Love Story. And with its overall populist tone, I felt as though I were back in time being a volunteer monitor for JRE's blog for a couple of hours.

Michael Moore grew up believing that capitalism was supposed to be a rising tide too for all boats. If one worked hard, received decent wages, got a good pension, and received health care for little or as part of the benefits package, then we were living the American dream. As Moore puts it, "if capitalism was like that when I grew up, I was all for it. " That's what I believed too growing up.

Moore smacks the Clinton and Bush Administrations equally for the repeal of the Glass-Stegall Act and the abuses thereof, although Moore could have made a better tie with explaining Glass-Stegall first if he was trying to make comparisons with the FDR era in certain respects. In fact Moore doesn't really mention the name of the act, perhaps recognizing that many of his fans may not know the name of it, and perhaps didn't think it to be as important. However, Moore rightfully admonishes Ronald Reagan for commencing the dismantling the unions, deregulating S & L's, and for being the poster man of Corporate America/Wall Street taking control. Moreover, Moore doesn't let off Congress either for taking gifts and giving so much power away to Wall Street either for the past 20 years, doing nothing to make the CEO's of the manufacturing sector accountable for their short-term shareholder outlooks.

As with any Michael Moore film, some new unseemly corporate practices are revealed and are shocking. I'm a business librarian by trade, and I wasn't aware of some of those practices. To me they are unethical, but as Moore points out, they aren't illegal either. I think they should be and I think Moore would like us to push for more watchdogs.

The title of the movie is somewhat a double entendre, whereby many of the financial services folks, such as Bernie Madoff and the CEO's of many banks, were so into predatory lending practices and derivatives that they got lost. One VIP lending officer at Countrywide gave heavily discounted loan rates to many members of Congress (ie Chris Dodd, Kent Conrad, etc) and friends of the CEO. He believed he did nothing wrong, it was his job as instructed. Thus, he and the others didn't feel remorse. Borrowing from the last line of the 1969 movie Love Story, their work didn't merit "having to say you are sorry." Yet, they all should have.

Moore doesn't really advocate for socialism, communism, etc. Instead, he advocates to make our elected officials more accountable and to have more regulations on industries in which the service is invisible, difficult to understand. Likewise, CEO's can share the fruit of the labor as an alternative business model. One example was Avocado Street Bakery in California.

The most poignant aspect of the movie was the historical film sequence of FDR giving his State of the Union message on the radio, but having a film company film a certain part of it so that folks could see it on the movie screens (if I understood this correctly). The sequence moved me deeply, and that's when I wanted to be part of an One America movement again. It was exactly what JRE and EE talked about, and at least we know EE believes to this day.

This movie is funny and at times, will move you as I mentioned above. I think this is my favorite Moore flick, although I will always be fond of his first one, Roger and Me, maybe as this kind of returned to that sort of theme. Difference is making this more quickly with "heavy capital" producers (which is fine, Moore is not criticizing making a lot of profit, it's exploitation as an intent by companies thereof). In the credits, he mentions everyone, including researchers, etc. And he hired editors instead of attempting to do more of the work himself; he is exercising more vision.

Capitalism: A Love Story is a must see for all JRE, Dennis Kucinch, Bernie Sanders, Al Franken, Alan Grayson, and Jeff Merkley supporters. If one loves the true progressive blogs like Bleeding Heartland, JRE Movement Continues, Old Elm Tree, Docudharma, Montana Maven as well as the DU,Open Left, or Progressive Blue --this film will resonate as this is Moore's finest to date. His remedy is spot on: spreading wider the populist seeds and pushing for extended fruits of democracy but deeper in the bushes and trees, where it be in Congress, the White House (Mr. President that means you as well) or in the workplace. Following our POTUS's new Nobel Peace laureate and his call to action missive, this movie is timely.

Nobel Prize in Peace More about Hope

2009-10-09T06:10:00.000-07:00

As we all know by now, President Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Prize for Peace. The committee liked his international outlook.

Obviously, this award was not about accomplishment, but more about being a world leader. It was also a smack down of Dubya.

Personally, I thought that Hillary Clinton should have shared this award with the President in this instance. She's been doing all of the ground work.

I also wished this would have happened next year. Oh well, one takes the victories when one can get them.

Ok Dems, pass health insurance reform. It's time. You've got a popular president.

Update: note from the POTUS himself:

Benny,

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

Good response, Mr. President.

Still Miss You, Momma

2009-09-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

Short post on BW. Today was the 6th month anniversary of my momma's passing. I was busy most of the day and I knew I would be. A good thing, but it doesn't mean that I missed her any less. It means that I'm still grieving, but working through the stages of grief as I go along.

One thing I know is that she would have been so disappointed to hear BS about bloggers and the accusations about EE being pseudonymous with the alias "Cherubim", I invite any of those folks to come here.

It appears Eugene Robinson quit circulating the NY Post rumors. Too bad I didn't keep those on my hard drive.

BW to Celebrate 5 years

2009-09-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Benny's World just turned 5 a few days ago. Here's the first post. I used to write more substantively then. Today, we're older, more relaxed.

We'll have a cake and open house for JRE-like (meaning policies, not personal lives) Dems soon.

This week, expect a special comment somewhere about the malicious comments ~~coming~~ against EE which I believe are unfounded. It's not as much about the comments is that there seems to be a perpetual silly season in which one former staffer's comments are more important to the media than EE's intelligent work or advocacy for health care reform, unless one is Keith Olberman or Rachel Maddow.

Stay tuned. Meantime, I'm certain the Edwardses prefer that the Panthers win over the Dallas Cowboys. It's a close contest, so may the best team win. Pokes ahead though 21-7, but the Panthers are still in this game. Meantime, my spouse thinks I'll have a sore throat from my passion in hollerin' for the Cowboys.

Rumors from Iowa

2009-09-27T01:49:00.000-07:00

I heard a rumor today from two good Iowans that Roxanne Conlin may consider a bid for the Senate next year.

I met Roxanne in 2004 when she held a meet and greet in her office for JRE before he was to speak at the Iowa Dems Convention. She is a pootie (meaning she loves cats) person and rescues them. It was a great event, and it was the venue where I first met JRE--and many good people, such as Im4JRE, Nanny, etc. JRE got all of the Dems fired up at the convention. He became the VP candidate for John Kerry, which is what many of us wanted.

If she does decide to run, I will make a trip to Iowa to help her out as she is a true blue Dem. I'm sick of Republicans who don't care about our health care issues and are just flat out partisan for AIG types.