The Super Bowl and Local Bands to Rock the Senator

It looks like there are some exciting efforts coalescing around the efforts to save the historic Senator Theatre in Baltimore.

This Sunday, the Senator will be hosting an HD Digital presentation of the Super Bowl on the big screen. Come watch as the Pittsburgh Steelers battle the Arizona Cardinals!

Admission is free, but donations of non-perishable food are encouraged, because this event will serve as a food drive for the local GEDCO “Cares” food pantry.

Doors open at 5:00 PM. Kickoff is at 6:18 PM. The Senator seats 900, but based on the turnout for the inauguration event just over a week ago, you may want to get there early.

But what about the beer? Yeah, I know. Watching the Super Bowl works up a thirst, right? Don’t worry. There will be beer and wine sales to people over 21.

Hey! I just wrote my first blog about sports, and it didn’t even hurt. (OK, I admit to being not much of a sports fan personally, but I think I’ll go to this anyway.)

The next event is more like my cup of tea, really.

Starting on February 13th, there’s going to be a whole weekend of local band concerts to rock the Senator and help save it too. There’s a press release that came out yesterday, but it’s an evolving situation, and I hear the events will be much more extensive than the press release that’s on the Senator’s web site says right now.

I’m not sure it’s all set in stone, but it looks like there will be a rock concert on Friday night, the 13th, then an acoustic concert on Saturday, then a jazz concert on Sunday. Stay tuned for details, because I don’t know all of the band names or details just yet. But anyway, here’s a quote from the original press release:

BALTIMORE - Popular Baltimore-based bands The Payola Reserve, J Roddy Walston and The Business, and Wye Oak announced today their plans to hold a first-of-its kind live benefit concert to help the renowned Senator Theatre remain in operation. The concert is a timely response to actor David Arquette's recent celebrity MySpace blog highlighting the endangered status of "Baltimore's Premiere Showplace".

The Senator, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is converting to non-profit operation as an enhanced arts and entertainment facility; however the recent economic downturn and fixed overhead costs threaten to shutter the stunning art deco landmark theatre before the transition can be accomplished.

The indie band showcase, co-produced by The Payola Reserve and Manifesto Promotions, is envisioned as "a Fillmore-style rock revue with an arts twist" by promoter Sean Brescia." The concert, featuring an array of popular local bands, film
shorts and performing arts, is scheduled for Saturday, February 14, 2009. Proceeds will assist The Senator's transition into a community owned non-profit facility, offering a wide variety of live music concerts, HD simulcasts, films and special events.

I heard the rock concert is now going to be on Friday night, though, so I’m not sure that last paragraph I quoted is accurate.

As mentioned in the press release, the Senator is also getting some celebrity attention from actor David Arquette, who visited Baltimore and was really impressed by the theater. Thanks, David!

The Theatre Historical Society of America is also getting involved, writing in a letter from their president Karen Colizzi Noonan to Governor Martin O’Malley, Mayor Sheila Dixon, and city and state legislatures:

For nearly 70 years, The Senator Theatre has served Baltimore as an icon of architectural distinction, cultural excellence and civic pride; a revered and iconic neighborhood movie house whose neighborhood happens to be all of America.

When the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Main Street Center named "historic theaters nation-wide" as their top endangered element of American life, an image of The Senator's stunning facade was used as the attention-getting hallmark representing the mission to "Protect the Irreplaceable".

Truly, The Senator Theatre in Baltimore is one of the most intact and well known examples of the architecture, grandeur and elegance of Hollywood's golden era, when the theatres were themselves attractions along with the films being shown.

Today, we find ourselves at a cross roads for this magnificent, renowned structure. It either remains in day-to-day operation to evolve, or we watch it slip from our American tapestry. In the coming weeks the country will be literally watching Baltimore and the State of Maryland in relation to the precarious fate of the endangered Senator Theatre.

…

In 2009, The Senator now stands as the only remaining single-screen movie house in Baltimore, a former "City of Theatres", which once boasted over 150 unique movie houses that served as cultural centers and economic engines, anchoring the heart of the city's commercial and residential districts.

If The Senator's owner is not assisted in his efforts and the theatre is allowed to go dark, it will be to the detriment of Baltimore's historic fabric and economic vitality. An abrupt shutdown of the theatre must be averted, or it will quickly become a regrettable failure of vision and civic responsibility and a resounding loss to the cause of enlightened historic preservation nation-wide.

…

Owner Tom Kiefaber and his family have worked diligently for seven decades to protect, operate and preserve The Senator for the citizens of Baltimore. The theatre
under Kiefaber's independent stewardship and guidance is regularly honored in the national arena as a consistent, guiding light for the protection and preservation of America's remaining Main Street theatres.

Mr. Kiefaber has received numerous historic preservation awards and film industry
accolades as The Senator's devoted owner. We note that through his leadership, the community has been encouraged to become involved and helped to formulate an innovative vision for The Senator Theatre's future as the premiere, community-owned arts and entertainment venue in the region.

You can read the rest of the letter here.

For their part, the City seems to be slowly getting on board, also. My letter to Mayor Sheila Dixon received a response that said, in part “I assure you that we are committed to finding a long term solution that secures The Senator's future for generations to come.” That sure sounds like they plan to find a way to keep it open, which is encouraging.

Of course, the Senator also continues to play movies on a daily basis. Starting Friday, look for a return engagement of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which played there a couple of weeks ago and is back by popular demand.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend this movie, which has been nominated for 13 Academy Awards. I always like movies that are just a tad off-kilter from the reality with which we’re familiar, so the concept of a man who gets younger instead of older was immediately intriguing to me. Brad Pitt’s character, Benjamin Button, isn’t just a freak, though, but someone with surprisingly normal problems. Both he and Cate Blanchett are amazing in this movie.

If you enjoy being astounded by the crazy things film makers can do in terms of creating appearances, you’re going to have your jaw drop to your chest when you see the age makeup in this movie, too. You could just about swear they invented time travel just so they could film Pitt and Blanchett when they’re like 80 years old. It’s pretty wild stuff, but I bet it’s a lot more fun for us to watch than it was for them to wear.

Check the web site for times.

10 Goals for the Obama Administration

I struggled with the title of this piece. I was going to call it "10 things I expect from the Obama administration," but I don't actually believe Obama will do even half of these. Nevertheless, they are all vital to the health of our nation and necessary if we are going to truly get on the right track. I considered calling it "10 things the Obama administration should do," but that minimizes the necessity of these steps. I considered calling it "10 things the Obama administration must do," but in reality, many of these things will probably not be accomplished in eight years. Nevertheless, they are the direction we must be moving.

This is my personal manifesto on the most important goals for our nation. As you read this opinion piece, remember, I don’t believe I'm asking for too much. I'm demanding the minimum I believe we all deserve from our leaders. The fact that many of these goals seem far off and nearly impossible for Obama to achieve is only evidence of how badly our previous leaders have failed us. I’m not saying these will be easy for Obama, or that he will achieve them. I’m saying they need to be goals he has clearly in sight and he must work persistently toward them.

1. Restore our Constitution. After eight years of the Bush administration, I don’t recognize this country anymore. We’ve seen things happen that I didn’t think could ever happen in America --- very bad things.
   
   We’ve seen the probable theft of two elections. We’ve seen people arrested and held without due process of law and without their right of habeas corpus. We’ve seen a mockery made of our right to peaceably assemble, with protestors being confined to fenced-in “free speech zones” that look a lot like makeshift prisons. We’ve seen the phones of American citizens bugged, dissidents and journalists harassed and arrested.
   
   We’ve seen the Patriot Act attempt to codify many of these abuses into law, although a sane Supreme Court (which we don’t have right now) could not help but find some of its provisions unconstitutional. We’ve seen the president assert a right to dictator-like executive powers and make preparations that would allow him to declare martial law and deploy the national guard against American citizens.
   
   Those of us who have been paying attention to real events not necessarily reported by the corporate media have seen those things, anyway.
   
   We need action to restore the Constitution in the first 100 days of the Obama administration.
   
   We need a resounding return to the rule of law. We need Obama to give up the excessive executive powers claimed by Bush. We need an immediate legislative review of all national security legislation enacted during the Bush administration with a strict eye to restoring the Bill of Rights and the checks and balances in the Constitution.
   
   We need an end to the nonsense about sacrificing our liberties for national security. Without our liberties, where is our nation? The truly valuable aspects of America only ever existed as revolutionary ideas about liberty and human rights in the first place. Without those ideas, America has nothing much of real value to offer the world. There is no law higher or more sacred in America than the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. We need to affirm that, cherish it, restore it, and uphold it.
   
   Is the Constitution perfect? No. It certainly wasn’t when first enacted and, though amendments have vastly improved it, it isn’t perfect now. I can certainly see the need for additional amendments to spell out the right of each citizen to vote and have their vote counted accurately, the equality of rights for all citizens, and the facts that corporations are not persons and money is not speech. But those potential amendments largely fall into the category of “spelling things out for people who are too dim to get it and have obviously been tragically deprived of the use of a good dictionary, unfortunately including some Supreme Court Justices.”
   
   Even in the imperfect state where it stands, the Constitution is the highest law of the land and a good basis for our society. Nobody should be above that law, including the president.
   
   If you agree that restoring the Constitution must be step 1, please sign People for the American Way’s petition.



2. Kick the lobbyists out of Washington. Ask yourself how we got into this mess, how we got so far off track, how government officials stopped serving the public they are supposed to represent. If you think about it for long and you know how Washington works, you can’t help eventually coming to the conclusion that much of the fault lies with corporate lobbyists who are allowed by current laws to essentially bribe our elected representatives to do whatever suits their corporate clients.
   
   Lobbyists have far more access to our elected representatives than we do. Much of the legislation enacted by Washington is written by them. Campaigns are funded by them, with the clear expectation of a return on the investment once the candidate gets elected. Lobbying firms promise well-heeled clients access to our representatives, and they can promise that because they can get it.
   
   Former lobbyists go to work for elected officials. Former elected officials and their staff members go to work for lobbying firms. The closeness is incestuous, and it’s destroying our democracy.
   
   Obama made a major campaign promise to clean up this mess. He needs to do that with real reforms, not just the appearance of reform.



3. Guarantee election integrity. In 2000, the Supreme Court prevented Florida from having a meaningful recount so the theoretically impartial Court could throw the election to their preferred candidate. In 2004, systematic voter suppression resulted in legitimate voters being thrown off voter rolls or prevented from registering, as well as absurdly long lines in Democratic precincts in Ohio. In addition, there was probably voting machine tampering in several key states.
   
   In both cases, the election seems almost certainly to have gone to the wrong candidate. Together, these two election thefts resulted in the disaster that was our eight year long national nightmare of the Bush administration. We are in the horrible mess we’re in now because of depredation by a president who was most likely never legitimately elected --- in America, a country which prides itself on its democracy.
   
   We must never allow another election theft.
   
   To date, there is no nationwide voting system. The task of holding elections has been left up to states and municipalities by the Constitution. This is probably as it should be, since it prevents nationwide implementation of a fraudulent system just as much as it prevents nationwide implementation of a good system. I think, however, that it is time for some national guidelines on the minimum requirements for reliable, transparent elections.
   
   If voting machines are to be used, they must allow the voter to vote on paper and the paper ballot must be saved in case of a recount. In case of a discrepancy, the paper ballot must be the official record, which means the paper ballots must be carefully guarded and preserved. Ballots may be counted by a machine, such as in an optical scan system, but there must be a way to verify that the counting is done correctly, otherwise the count can be changed within the machine and you’d never know it unless a manual count of the paper ballots is done.
   
   The best way to allow verification that the counting algorithm is working correctly is to disallow proprietary source code and require open source code that can be inspected by interested parties. Proprietary source code means that a private company can keep the method they use for counting votes secret. The danger of privatization of our elections is illustrated by the incident with the chief executive of Diebold, Walden O’Dell, who in 2003 pledged to deliver Ohio to Bush. Diebold keeps its source code secret, so this could have easily been accomplished using an algorithm that would switch votes within the computer.
   
   Open Voting Consortium is on the forefront of developing open source, voter verifiable voting systems. They should be sought out for their input on voting system implementation.
   
   Citizens over 18 must be allowed to vote.
   
   There need to be some stiff penalties created to punish people who deliberately prevent voter registration, purge voter rolls, and try to suppress the vote. Voting rights laws need to be given some teeth so that crimes involving voter suppression are actually punished. The right to vote can be guaranteed nationwide, and the Voting Rights Act needs to be strengthened.
   
   Some citizens have trouble getting to the polls on election day because they must work. We should make it easy to vote by allowing early voting nationwide. Other measures to encourage participation should also be considered.
   
   Of course there need to be safeguards to ensure that each citizen only votes once, but such safeguards must be implemented without suppressing the vote. Checking to make sure that new registrations are for real people who are citizens over 18 and then having some sort of poll book system that prevents voting twice should be sufficient to prevent fraud by ballot stuffing. Some groups have sought to suppress legitimate voting under the guise of “preventing voter fraud.” This kind of anti-democratic activity must not be tolerated.
   
   America’s highest value is democracy. We must live up to that ideal by actively encouraging all citizens to vote. Deliberate interference with the democratic process must be punished as the worst kind of crime.



4. Stop the war profiteering. If there’s one good thing that’s come out of the past eight years, it may be the shattering of our illusions that American military operations are generally conducted for noble reasons like spreading democracy and releasing people from oppression. I know my own remaining illusions about this have been shattered.
   
   The sad reality is that America too often goes to war to create economic opportunities for American corporate interests. This has been the case for many years, but the Bush administration has taken war profiteering to a whole new level by increasingly privatizing the military so that private military contractors like Halliburton and Blackwater can get an even bigger slice of the death and destruction pie.
   
   America is a nation that kills people for profit. Yes, it’s a nasty and shocking thing to say. It’s also true. Let’s change that. Please, America, let’s collectively change that, because I can’t bear the thought of what this evil is doing to our national soul.
   
   I know that if you haven’t already understood the fact of American war profiteering, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. Some folks are no doubt in denial about it. You may want to watch Robert Greenwald’s recent documentary Iraq for Sale, or in case you just can’t take it without some sick, dark comedy, check out John Cusack’s War, Inc. If you opt for the fictional, satiric version, though, just remember that though the details may be changed for comedic effect, at a basic level, War, Inc. is telling the truth.
   
   Obama, like presidents before him, will be under tremendous pressure to continue the war for profit racket. It will take extreme courage and persistence to put an end to it. Nevertheless, this must be done.



5. Level the financial playing field and restore our nation to economic health. Rampant deregulation and letting corporations run wild in the name of a “free market” has been the Republican mantra for at least 30 years or so. It hasn’t worked. In fact, it has caused the financial crisis we’re in right now.
   
   Let’s get one thing straight: the idea that corporations are going to naturally look out for the good of the entire nation instead of merely their own bottom lines is just silly. Nevertheless, it has been the basis of Republican policy for decades. We’re paying for that folly now.
   
   Obama needs to lead the way to a saner economic policy that includes sensible regulation of the financial industry to rein in corporate greed. He needs to help America’s financial picture to get back in the black by working from the bottom up this time. That means finding ways to put people back to work and help them save.
   
   He should take a cue from FDR, whose WPA policies helped end the great depression, began the work of getting America back on a sound financial footing, and lifted millions of Americans out of poverty.



6. Commit to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. This is a target that should prevent the worst effects of global warming, although we are already too late to prevent all the effects of global warming. Major side benefits of this goal are the creation of green jobs and getting our country off its dependence on foreign oil. Add the fact that it seems unlikely many of us will survive without this commitment, and you’re left with no coherent argument against this goal.
   
   The Obama Administration must make a major investment in developing clean and safe alternative energy sources, and that means major scientific research grants.
   
   Start to make the carbon emissions reduction a reality without resorting to “clean coal" and "safe nuclear," which are currently oxymorons that will result in giveaways to the coal and nuclear industries. Now, I’m not saying that I’m unwilling to be convinced by strong scientific progress on the safety of these technologies, but neither of them is there yet, and any construction of coal-based or nuclear plants must be stopped until the technologies are safe and clean. In the case of nuclear, I doubt very much that it will ever be safe, because the half-life of nuclear waste leaves no room for human error of any kind.



7. Equal rights for all. Obama could not have been elected without the work done by the civil rights movement in earlier decades. It's time to fulfill the promise of the civil rights movement and guarantee equal rights for all regardless of race, gender, sexual preference, or ethnicity.
   
   This means making the social and economic changes that will allow historically oppressed African Americans to finally climb out of poverty and disenfranchisement. That means a commitment to affirmative action, guaranteed voting rights, and excellent public education in all public schools.
   
   It means equal pay and equal opportunity for women. This includes a commitment to women's reproductive rights, so that women can decide for themselves when it's time to make the potentially financially devastating decision to have children. It also means child care and education services to support children who are here and prevent single mothers from falling into poverty.
   
   It means all consenting adults must have the right to marry as they choose, including all the legal and social benefits that entails. It also means hate crimes laws need some teeth, so we prevent violence against anyone based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
   
   It means we need to stop discrimination based on ethnicity or creed, too. It is not a crime to be a Muslim, an Arab, Hispanic, an atheist, or any other ethnic or belief background. Our schools need to teach tolerance and understanding of others so that we learn to assess individuals on their merits, not make judgments about them based on their ethnic background or creed.



8. Universal health care. Health care is a human right. Period. Every person in America needs to be guaranteed quality health care. In the end, this will be cheaper than the snarling Hydra of our current monstrous insurance-based non-system. We can debate about how to do it, but it needs to get done. For-profit health care must end. We are talking about the rights of human beings, and they are not for sale.



9. Restore the function of a free press. Without a free press, we can’t have an informed populace. Without an informed populace, we can’t make the right decisions about our future. A free press means all points of view can be expressed, not just those of moneyed corporate interests.
   
   We cannot have a free press when five corporations control almost all of the media in this country and they promote or suppress stories based on what serves their other interests. These corporations are conglomerates, and that means they have financial interests in other kinds of industries besides just media and entertainment. Some of them have financial interests in military contractors, for example. Is it any wonder they conspired to sell us the Iraq war?
   
   Restoring a free press is going to take rethinking of laws that govern the media to promote independent media outlets. It is going to take grants to develop independent media. And it is going to take some major corporate trust-busting. It won’t be easy, but a free press is a right that is guaranteed to us by the first amendment, and it must be restored.



10. Reverse corporate personhood. I don't expect this to happen overnight. It will take a reversal of the disastrous, wrongheaded Supreme Court decision that declared corporations are persons in the first place. That means any Supreme Court Justice that Obama picks MUST see the ridiculousness of that proposition. Luckily, they have me and my fondness for noticing absurdity.
    
    For anyone not familiar with corporate personhood, it is the asinine legal concept that says that a corporation is a person and therefore has the same rights under the law as an individual (but not the same responsibilities, or else our prison system would be filled with tobacco companies, pharmaceutical companies, health insurance companies, and defense contractors convicted of murder). Let me show you how ridiculous the concept of corporate personhood really is.
    
    If corporations were persons, I'd be trying to get Ben & Jerry's to marry me. After all, they share my progressive values, they taste sweet, and they don't care if I gain weight. On second thought, I don't want to marry Ben & Jerry's. They make me look fat.
    
    As long as certain members of our society are over-concerned about the gender of people who marry, how do you assign gender to a corporation, anyway?
    
    Let's pretend for a moment that I care about fashion and I have a particular designer whose corporation makes clothes I love. Let's say it's Vera Wang. Now, I want to marry Vera Wang's corporation, but surely with a name like Vera Wang, it's a female corporation. Looks like the proposition 8 supporters will be against that, although I'm not sure they would be any happier with a man who wanted to marry the corporate personhood of Vera Wang. Come to think of it, I don't want to marry Vera Wang, Inc. This dress makes me look fat.
    
    There you have it. You can't invite a corporation into your home, feed it ice cream, serve it tea, or seduce it into your boudoir, no matter what your sexual preference, no matter how lucky you get, and no matter how sexy their shoes are. Therefore, corporations are NOT persons.
    
    Putting an end to corporate personhood is essential. If you read through this list of goals, each one of them has some relationship to the fact that corporations have managed to grab way too much power over our government.
    
    Some of these relationships are more obvious than others, but even in the case of human rights and equality issues, greedy corporate interests know that as long as we fight among ourselves and as long as our political power is held in check, we the people can’t take back control of our own government.
    
    Our government is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. People may work for corporations, but corporations are not people and corporate interests should not run our government.

Edwards Evening News: America Belongs to Us

Welcome to tonight's Edwards Evening News. Today, the Edwards campaign unveiled the America Belongs to Us campaign with a goal of getting one million voters to sign a pledge not to vote or caucus for any candidate who takes money from lobbyists and PACs. America belongs to all of us, and we're taking our country back! Click the image to sign the pledge.



Here's more on why America Belongs to Us from TomP's diary earlier today.

The "AMERICA BELONGS TO US" 2008 Pledge and website was anounced today by the Edwards campaign.

Lobbyists have taken control in Washington and America’s hard-working families pay the price. They've stopped universal health care. They've secured unfair and unsafe trade deals that have cost America good middle-class jobs. They've left our children at risk from unsafe toys. They've sabotaged clean energy legislation that would address global warming. And they've squashed efforts for cheaper generic prescription drugs. Enough is enough. America belongs to us.

If you want real change, Sign the Pledge:

Because I believe we need real change in America and an end to the broken system in Washington that works for special interests and not us, I pledge not to vote or caucus for a Democratic presidential candidate that accepts campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.

AmericaBelongsToUs2008.com

Edwards Walks the Picket Line with Striking Writers in New York

Yesterday, John Edwards walked the picket line in New York with striking members of the Writers Guild of America East. This is the second time during this presidential campaign that he has walked the picket line with striking workers, as Miss Laura pointed out in her front page diary earlier today. (It's definitely not the first time that he's showed up to support union workers, however, having participated in nearly 200 union events over the years.)




Edwards speaking to striking writers in New York

Edwards Explains His Healthcare Mandate

Today, Edwards explained the details of his healthcare mandate, which allows his healthcare plan to be truly universal.

"We need true universal health care reform that covers every single man, woman, and child in America. It is wrong to leave anyone without the care they need. A universal system will work better for all of us – delivering better care at lower cost.

"Barack Obama's plan leaves out 15 million people. The truth is that some people will choose not to buy insurance even though it's affordable, knowing that the rest of us will pay for their emergency room visits.

"But it is just as bad to say that everyone will have insurance without a plan to get there. Hillary Clinton says her plan will cover everyone through a 'mandate' but does not provide even the most rudimentary idea much less a detailed plan of how this 'mandate' would work. To get fundamental change in our health care system, we need a fundamental change in our politics. That starts with being clear and direct about what we are going to do and how we are going to do it."

Edwards' truly universal health care plan will ensure that every American has health insurance. He will require proof of insurance when income taxes are paid and when health care is provided. Families without insurance will be enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP or another targeted plan or be assigned a plan within new Health Care Markets.

Families who lose coverage will be expected to enroll in another plan or be assigned one. For the few people who refuse to pay, the government will help collect back premiums with interest and collection costs by using tools like the ones it uses for student loans and taxes, including collection agencies and wage garnishment.

Ezra Klein at Tapped had this to say:

Later today, John Edwards will announce the specifics of how his mandate works. And they're quite good. Whenever you come into contact with the health care system, or whenever you pay your taxes, you will be asked to provide proof of insurance, presumably a policy number or some similar identifier. If you cannot, you will automatically be enrolled in either a public plan that you qualify for (like Medicaid or S-CHIP) or the cheapest plan offered by his Health Insurance Market. Bills will then get sent out, and if they're not paid, will be collected just like the government collects on student loan debts, or taxes, or anything else, using tools up to and including collection agencies and wage garnishment. (It's notable, here, that Edwards doesn't shy away from saying what his stick will be.)

In this way, Edwards' plan is much less an individual mandate and much closer to a government mandate. The burden is less on the individual to seek new insurance and more on the government to simply enroll them in it. From there, they can opt in to a different insurer if they so choose, or simply stay with their default plan. It's a smart and efficient way to move towards universality, and, for now, it puts Edwards ahead of both Obama and Clinton on the substance of the policy, and the speed with which he presented it to the public.

PSSST! I hear a new ad is coming out in Iowa

I hear through the blogosphere grapevine that a new ad is coming out in Iowa in a couple of weeks, and our own Im4JRE, a longtime supporter from the Edwards blog, was there when they filmed it! So cool! Check out her first hand account:

John was relaxed and joked with all of us and he thanked us for our patience, hah...like it was an effort to see and listen to him...not.

I won't tell you what the ad was about as you will see it for yourselves in a week or two.

After the camera men were through, they took pictures of JRE just talking to the crowd, no sound, and it wasn't about politics, just ordinary people talking about this and that. I did ask JRE that when he won the Iowa caucus, would he wait for me to get to the celebration before he made his VICTORY speech... and he said for all to hear... Count on it!

I wanted to share this event with all of you to let you know that JRE is our man for President and that he is powerful and he will stand with us and for us to make America ours again.

You can read more in her diary. Congratulations, Im4JRE!



Send Out the E-Signal! Upcoming Events!

Edwards will be on Charlie Rose tomorrow, November 29th. Check your local listings. It's on at 12:35 PM where I am in Maryland. Thanks so much to Terre for this information! Charlie Rose also has a page of prior interviews with John Edwards.

UPDATE: Terre also tells me that Keith Olbermann will be interviewing John live from the campaign trail tomorrow on Countdown on MSNBC. Couldn't find confirmation on his web site, but anyway, Keith is always worth watching!

Also tomorrow:

John Edwards will deliver remarks to the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council
Nov 29, 2007
6:00 PM
Hotel Vetro
201 S Linn Street
Iowa City, Iowa
Click here to RSVP

John Edwards will speak to the DNC Fall Meeting outside of DC in Vienna, Virginia on Friday morning. I was at his speech to the DNC Winter Meeting much earlier this year, and it was fabulous! If you are in the DC area, come out to support John! You can RSVP for the event at the link above.

If you can come to an early state and volunteer, the campaign would love your help. Sign up here.

Some Cool Diaries You May Have Missed

Democratic Presidential Ads in NH and Iowa - What do you think? by Ellinorianne

A Plea to Early State Democrats From an Edwards Supporter by RDemocrat

John Edwards, in dead heat in Iowa, quietly starts to move up in NH and SC by JSamuel

Rasmussen: Edwards ties Obama in new national poll

According to Rasmussen's new national daily tracking poll out today, John Edwards has now tied Barack Obama for second place in the race for the Democratic nomination. Obama's popularity seems to have fallen precipitously since earlier in the year when he was tied with Hillary Clinton.

Edwards has also been leading in the key state of Iowa in most polls for many months.

To Build One America, End the Game

John Edwards made a magic, moving speech today to kick off his bus tour in New Hampshire. I'm going to have to just post it in its entirety, because I can't bear to cut it and I really have nothing to add. He says this so well. (Emphasis mine.)

This election is unlike any we have faced before. The stakes are higher. And the challenges we face as a nation are greater than at any time in memory.

We as a nation must choose whether to do what America has always done in times like these -- change direction and move boldly into the future for the sake of our children, if not for ourselves, or wander in the same stale direction we have traveled in our recent past.

The choice we must make is as important as it is clear.

It is a choice between looking back and looking forward.

A choice between the way we've always done it and the way we could do it if we dared.

A choice between corporate power and the power of democracy.

Between a corrupt and corroded system and a government that works for us again.

It is caution versus courage. Old versus new. Calculation versus principle.

It is the establishment elites versus the American people.

It is a choice between the failed compromises of the past and the bright possibilities of our future. Between resigning ourselves to Two Americas or fighting for the One America we all believe in.

As always, at these moments, the choice we make is not for us, but for our children and our great country. And this time, like no other time, the consequences for our children are truly profound.

Will we halt global warming, protect our environment and humanity from the cataclysmic consequences of inaction and leave our children a livable world rich in the resources that were left to us?

Will we prevail against terrorism by stopping those who would harm us and winning over the minds of those who have yet to take sides so that instead of an ever more dangerous and war-torn world, our children live in a nation that is safe, strong and once again viewed throughout the world as a truly moral leader?

Will corporate greed be all we value as we move further into the global economy, or will we put workers and families first, so that all jobs pay fair wages, every American has health care and corporate profits work for democracy and not the other way around?

Will we face our future as individuals, each of us asking, "What's in it for me?" Or will we return to the central value that makes our nation great? That we are all in this together and each of has a responsibility to the common good.

The choices we make will determine not just the quality of life our children will inherit, but the fate of the world we leave behind.

To succeed for our children where we have too often failed for ourselves, we must choose a new course. Those wedded to the policies of the 70s, 80s, or 90s are wedded to the past -- ideas and policies that are tired, shop worn and obsolete. We will find no answers there.

But small thinking and outdated answers aren't the only problems with a vision for the future that is rooted in nostalgia. The trouble with nostalgia is that you tend to remember what you liked and forget what you didn't. It's not just that the answers of the past aren't up to the job today, it's that the system that produced them was corrupt -- and still is. It's controlled by big corporations, the lobbyists they hire to protect their bottom line and the politicians who curry their favor and carry their water. And it's perpetuated by a media that too often fawns over the establishment, but fails to seriously cover the challenges we face or the solutions being proposed. This is the game of American politics and in this game, the interests of regular Americans don't stand a chance.

Real change starts with being honest -- the system in Washington is rigged and our government is broken. It's rigged by greedy corporate powers to protect corporate profits. It's rigged by the very wealthy to ensure they become even wealthier. At the end of the day, it's rigged by all those who benefit from the established order of things. For them, more of the same means more money and more power. They'll do anything they can to keep things just the way they are -- not for the country, but for themselves.

Politicians who care more about their careers than their constituents go along to get elected. They make easy promises to voters instead of challenging them to take responsibility for our country. And then they compromise even those promises to keep the lobbyists happy and the contributions coming.

Instead of serving the people and the nation, too many play the parlor game of Washington -- trading favors and campaign money, influencing votes and compromising legislation. It's a game that never ends, but every American knows -- it's time to end the game.

And it's time for the Democratic Party -- the party of the people -- to end it.

The choice for our party could not be more clear. We cannot replace a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats, just swapping the Washington insiders of one party for the Washington insiders of the other.

The American people deserve to know that their presidency is not for sale, the Lincoln Bedroom is not for rent, and lobbyist money can no longer influence policy in the House or the Senate.

It's time to end the game. It's time to tell the big corporations and the lobbyists who have been running things for too long that their time is over. It's time to challenge politicians to put the American people's interests ahead of their own calculated political interests, to look the lobbyists in the eye and just say no.

And it's time for the American people to take responsibility for our government -- for in our democracy it is truly ours. If we have come to mistrust and question it, it is because we were not vigilant against the forces that have taken it from us. That their game has played on for so long is the fault of each of us -- ending the game and returning government of the people to the people is the responsibility of all of us.

But cleaning up Washington isn't enough. If we are going to meet the challenges we face and prevail over them, two principles must guide us -- yes, we must end the Washington game, but we must also think as big as the challenges we face. Our ideas must be bold enough to succeed and our government must be free to enact them without compromising principle or sacrificing results.

One without the other isn't good enough. All the big ideas in the world won't make a difference if they have to go through this broken system that remains controlled by big business and their lobbyists. And if we fix the system, but aren't honest with the American people about the scope of our challenges and what's required of each of us to meet them, then we'll be left with the baby steps and incremental measures that are Washington's poor excuse for progress.

As Bobby Kennedy said, "If we fail to dare, if we do not try, the next generation will harvest the fruit of our indifference; a world we did not want, a world we did not choose, but a world we could have made better by caring more for the results of our labors."

But if we do both -- if we have the courage to offer real change and the determination to change Washington -- then we will be build the One America we dream of, where every man, woman and child is blessed with the same, great opportunity and held to the same, just rules.

For more than 20 years, Democrats have talked about universal health care. And for more than 20 years, we've gotten nowhere, because lobbyists for the big insurance companies, drug companies and HMOs spent millions to block real reform. Instead, they've grudgingly allowed incremental measures that do nothing but tinker around the edges -- or worse, they've hijacked reform to improve their own bottom line. So today, more Americans go without health care than ever before. Instead of prescription drug reform that brought down the cost of drugs, the lobbyists for the big drug companies got us a prescription drug bill that boosts drug company profits but doesn't cut patient costs.

I have a bold plan to finally guarantee true universal health care for every single American and cut health care costs for everyone. My plan will require everyone -- business, government and individuals -- to contribute something to reach universal coverage. And I am honest about the cost: $90 to $120 billion a year, and I'll pay for it by repealing the Bush tax cuts for families above $200,000. If we end the game in Washington, we can finally have a health care system that treats the health of all our people with equal worth.

Dependence on foreign oil is smothering our economy and choking our environment. Everybody knows it -- politicians from both parties have been calling for energy independence for 30 years. So what did the oilmen in the White House do? They handed the keys to the corridors of government over to the lobbyists for the big oil companies and let them literally write the energy bill. Now, gas prices are through the roof, carbon emissions are unchecked, and global warming is likely getting worse.

When I am president, we will cap greenhouse gas pollution and ratchet it down every year. We will avoid mistakes like nuclear power and liquid coal. We will invest in clean renewable energies generated in America and create a new era in efficient cars, made by union members here at home.

And look at our economic policies -- from top to bottom, they're a twisted reflection of American values. Instead of expanding opportunity for all and preventing special privileges for any, they hoard opportunity and protect special privileges for the very few at the very top.

Trade policy is all about corporate profits for big multinationals and not at all about lifting workers' wages or creating American jobs. The tax code provides breaks for hedge fund managers -- amazingly, even Democrats backed down from asking them to pay their fair share when Wall Street lobbyists put the pressure on. By the time a decade of corporate opposition to a minimal increase in the minimum wage is overcome, even its own supporters admit that the increase isn't enough -- so another decade of corporate opposition begins anew, and workers lose again.

It's time we put our economy back in line with our values. Let's restore fairness to our tax code by insisting on a simple principle -- nobody in the middle class should pay higher taxes on the money they make from hard work than the wealthiest pay on the money they make from their investments. Let's restore opportunity and responsibility to our trade policy by requiring that every new trade deal puts workers and wages first. Let's reward work by strengthening unions, raising the minimum wage, cutting taxes on working families and with a national commitment to end poverty within a generation.

And let's support our troops and end this war in Iraq. We should immediately withdraw 40-50,000 combat troops immediately and have the rest out in about a year. And when President Bush refuses to act, Congress should use its funding power to force him to act.

None of this will be easy, but all of it is possible.

I know. I've been doing it my entire life.

I am the son of Wallace and Bobbie Edwards. My father had to borrow $50 to bring me and my mother home from the hospital. I am here today because, like all the people my father worked with in the mill, my parents got up every day believing in the promise of America, and they worked hard -- no matter what obstacles were thrown against them -- to give me the chance for a better life.

That's the promise at the heart of the American Dream. What matters to our generation is of little consequence -- in America what has always mattered most is the consequences for our children and their children after them. And no amount of power or money gives anyone the right to break that promise with our future.

I have stood with ordinary Americans at the most difficult times in their lives, when all the power of corporate America was arrayed against them. I have walked into courtrooms alone to face an army of corporate lawyers with all the money in the world. I have walked off the Senate elevator and been besieged by an army of corporate lobbyists. And I have beaten them over and over again.

But let me tell you one thing I have learned from my experience -- you cannot deal with them on their terms. You cannot play by their rules, sit at their table, or give them a seat at yours. They will not give up their power -- you have to take it from them.

We cannot triangulate our way to real change. We cannot compromise our way to real change. But we can lead to real change. And we can start today.

Nearly ten years ago, I made the decision that I would never take a dime from a Washington lobbyist -- I wasn't going to work for them, and I didn't want their money.

Because in the courtroom, when you present your case to the jury, you can offer facts and evidence, you can argue your heart out -- and I have -- but the one thing you can't do, is pay the jury. We call that a bribe. But in Washington when an oil lobbyist gives money to office holders to influence our energy policy, they call it politics. That's exactly what's wrong with this system.

Money flies like lightning between corporations, lobbyists, and politicians. We need full public financing to reform the system once and for all. But we don't need to wait to reform our party. Two weeks ago, I called on all Democrats to reject contributions from federal lobbyists. To tell them -- we know that you give money to influence politicians on behalf of your corporate clients. Well, we're not going to take it anymore. Your money's no good here.

I repeat that challenge today. Let's show America exactly whose side we're on. We can reform our party and truly be the party of the people. And we can expose for all time who the Republicans in Washington are really working for.

There are 60 lobbyists in Washington for every member of Congress. The big corporations don't need another president that looks out for them -- they've got all the power they need. I want to be the people's president.

A few weeks, ago I met a man named James Lowe in Wise, Virginia. James spent the first fifty years of his life without a voice -- literally without a voice -- because he didn't have health care. All he needed was a simple operation to fix a cleft palate. That a man in the richest country in the world could go unable to speak for 50 years because he couldn't pay for a $3,000 operation is something that should outrage every American. We are better than that. America is better that that.

It's a stark reminder of our broken political system that leaves millions of Americans without a voice in their government -- a government that is supposed to work for them.

But it doesn't have to be that way. And we can change it together.

We must think big and end the game.

It's not about being ready to grab the reigns of establishment Washington and stand on the side of corporate elites. If it is, there are plenty who will do a better job than me at protecting the status quo, and preserving the policies and politics of the past.

It's about being ready to lift our country up, reform our party, and remake our government in line with the values of our people. It's about real change and a new vision that meets the challenges of the future and inspires the American people to work together for the common good.

We're all angry at what George Bush has done to our country. But with courage and conviction, with an unblinking eye on the future we believe in and an unbending knee on the road to get there, not only can we undo the damage, we can transform the world. No matter what life has thrown at us, Elizabeth and I have always chosen to be optimistic about the future -- and determined to make a difference as we strive toward it everyday.

I carry the promise of America in my heart, where my parents placed it. Because of them, I believe in people, hard work and the American Dream. I believe the future belongs to us if we only dare to seize it. And I believe to seize it, we must blaze a new path, firmly grounded in the values that first made America great. We must cast aside the established ways of Washington and replace them with the timeless values of the American people. We must end the game controlled by a privileged few and restore the promise that America owes to us all.

On that new path lies One America, where possibility is unbound and opportunity is the birthright of every American. Where the voices of the people are heard again in the halls of government, and government heeds their call. One America, where every individual takes responsibility for our common good, and the chance to reach one's God-given potential is every individual's common right.

I am the son of Wallace and Bobbie Edwards.

And I believe in the promise of America.

Now, if you believe John Edwards is right about lobbyists, please sign his petition.

Debate: John Edwards Comes out Fighting

It can easily be argued that John Edwards gave the strongest performance in the Democratic debate last night. Especially in moments when he took on Washington special interests and the sad state of health care in America, he showed himself to be the kind of fighter who will not rest until he does his best for the American people, which would be a big change from any president I can remember. (This is not to say that the two Democratic presidents I remember, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, weren't somewhat helpful, because they were. But, I don't remember Carter very well, and I know that Clinton made a lot of compromises he should not have made, such as NAFTA.)

In the debate last night, there were moments when Edwards was breathing fire. Most politicians sold us out long ago, and we the people need someone who will put up a good fight on our behalf. Edwards is that guy, and I hope at last that is becoming clear to everyone.

Before I get into the high points of the debate, I should take a moment to mention the new Edwards campaign video that everybody's talking about. The campaign obviously has had enough of a vapid mainstream media that can't seem to talk about the issues, because they are so obsessed with John Edwards's hair. In a powerful juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy, the Hair video asks us what is really important. The choice of music from the anti-Vietnam musical Hair is brilliant. It reminds us that then, as now, America fought a pointless war with obscure goals that our leaders seemed incapable of ending.



It would be nice to think that the reporters who have been perpetuating the hair story in the media are smart enough to know that they've just been roundly and justly insulted and decent enough to feel some shame over it. Time will tell.

During the debate itself, Edwards answered directly every question he was asked. His answers were blunt and to the point. Here are some highlights:

But I think the question is -- the question is: What is going to be done to stop this war?

The other people have raised the question earlier. And in fact, Senator Obama spoke just a minute ago about the White House agreeing that the parliament, the Iraqi parliament could take a month-long vacation because it was too hot, while our men and women are putting their lives on the line every day.

Here's my question. While the Iraqi parliament is on vacation, is George Bush going to be on vacation in Crawford, Texas?

What we need to do is turn up the heat on George Bush and hold him responsible and make this president change course.

(APPLAUSE)

It is the only way he will change course. He will never change course unless he's made to do it.

If you listen to these questions, they all have exactly the same thing, which is how do we bring about big change?

And I think that's a fundamental threshold question. And the question is: Do you believe that compromise, triangulation will bring about big change? I don't.

I think the people who are powerful in Washington -- big insurance companies, big drug companies, big oil companies -- they are not going to negotiate. They are not going to give away their power. The only way that they are going to give away their power is if we take it away from them.

(APPLAUSE)

And I have been standing up to these people my entire life. I have been fighting them my entire life in court rooms -- and beating them.

If you want real change, you need somebody who's taking these people on and beating them over and over and over.

And just this past week -- in fact, you were with me on the third day -- I went on a three-day poverty tour in America.

The last day, I was with a man in western Virginia, in the Appalachian mountains -- 51 years old, three years younger than me.

He'd been born with a severe cleft palate, and he was proud of the fact that someone had finally volunteered to correct it. He had not been able to talk -- I want to finish this. He had not been able to talk until it was fixed.

Here was the problem. It was fixed when he was 50 years old. For five decades, James Lowe lived in the richest nation on the planet not able to talk because he couldn't afford the procedure that would've allowed him to talk. When are we going to stand up and do something about this?

We have talked about it too long. We have got to stand up to the insurance companies and the drug companies that Barack just spoke about. It is the only way we're ever going to bring about real change. We should be outraged by these stories.

Asked by one of the YouTube members who submitted a video question whether the candidates would be willing to work for minimum wage while in the White House, Edwards answered with a direct and simple "Yes." Now, I recognize that John Edwards has money and so this would not be the same as a low income family surviving on minimum wage, but it is still an important symbolic gesture if, as president, he would accept the same wage that's earned by some of our nation's poorest workers.

Asked by another YouTube member whether he would protect the rights of atheists and nonbelievers, this was his answer:

As president of the United States, we will embrace and lift up all Americans, whatever their faith beliefs or whether they have no faith beliefs, as Stephen just spoke about. That's what America is.

Now, my faith is enormously important to me personally. It's gotten me through some hard times, as I'm sure that's true of a lot of the candidates who are on this stage.

But it is crucial that the American people know that as president it will not be my job -- and I believe it would be wrong -- for me to impose my personal faith beliefs on the American people or to decide any kind of decision, policy decision, that will affect America on the basis of my personal faith beliefs.

I thought John Edwards had by far the strongest answers in the debate, but you don't have to take my word for it. Here are some samples of what others had to say...

Roger Simon at The Politico:

“FIRST PLACE: John Edwards. Analysis: John Edwards has found a theme: He is angry and he is on your side. He is bold and he will use his boldness for you. Here was his key response, his voice rising as he went along: ‘Do you believe that compromise, triangulation will bring about big change? I don't. I think the people who are powerful in Washington -- big insurance companies, big drug companies, big oil companies -- they are not going to negotiate. They are not going to give away their power! The only way that they are going to give away their power is if we take it away from them!’”

John Dickerson at Slate.com:

...Edwards pressed his populist case as passionately as he has at any previous debate, presenting himself as the only one who would take the fight to banks, mortgage companies, insurance companies and other special interests. His genuine outrage was readily apparent which was a far more effective way of showing his passion than when he merely speaks about how passionately he cares about things.

CNN's Randi Kaye:

“The biggest spike of the night went to John Edwards. He may be trailing Clinton and Obama but on health care, one of his key issues, the meter movers thought he was tops.” The moment was when Edwards said, “We have got to stand up to the insurance companies and the drug companies that Barack just spoke about. It is the only way we are ever going to bring about real change. We should be outraged by these stories.” Said Kaye, “Take a look at that, did you see that? The meter hit 90, all the way up to 90. That was the most favorable reading of the night.” CNN’s group of viewers was comprised of undecided Democrats and non-partisan independents in New Hampshire.

MessageJury.com's New Hampshire focus group said it was "very much an Edwards night."

A plurality of our group (four of 12) thought Sen. Edwards won the debate. And we heard a word used to describe him afterwards that any campaign would want to be associated with their candidate: “genuine”. When asked, most of this group thought he was, indeed, “genuine.”

The questions in the debate, submitted by YouTube viewers, were often more pointed and more insightful than those offered in previous debates by reporters. Nevertheless, it seemed Edwards just couldn't get enough of answering questions. In a live webcast after the debate, Edwards answered additional questions, including the top 2 questions voted on by users at CommunityCounts.us.



It's kind of nice to see a presidential candidate who actually listens and responds.

Edwards Wins on Global Warming

Today, MoveOn announced that John Edwards won their straw poll on the candidates responses about global warming in their virtual town hall on the subject. Edwards got more than twice as many votes as any other candidate.




From their press release:

Former Senator John Edwards won MoveOn.org Political Action’s poll on the climate crisis which asked, “Which candidate’s position on dealing with the climate crisis do you prefer?” Of the field of eight Democratic hopefuls, Edwards received 33% of the total votes cast–more than twice the support of the next two candidates, Rep. Kucinich and Senator Clinton, who each garnered 15.7%.

MoveOn member vote results:

Edwards 33.10%
Kucinich 15.73%
Clinton 15.71%
Obama 15.03%
Richardson 12.60%
Biden 3.06%
Dodd 3.01%
Gravel 1.78%

MoveOn will run print ads in newspapers in early primary states Iowa and New Hampshire next week, announcing the results of the straw poll on the climate crisis. Fundraising for the ads begins today.

“The enormous response we got from our members on this issue emphasizes how important it will be for our next president to make solving the climate crisis a top priority in 2008,” said Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org Political Action.

“MoveOn members want leaders who will take on the oil and coal industry and create a clean energy economy. That’s probably why Sen. Edwards’ support of cap and auction systems – which force polluters to pay citizens—and his call for more green collar jobs received such strong backing,” added Ilyse Hogue, Campaign Director of MoveOn.org Political Action.

MoveOn will run a print ad that congratulates the top three candidates. You can see the ad, and contribute to help pay for it, here.

Here are JRE's responses to the questions asked by MoveOn members:

How does your plan differ from those of other candidates?



Would you auction off carbon emissions and use the proceeds to develop alternative energy?



How will Americans, just not corporations, benefit from the new energy economy?

Reviving my blog

It's been a long time since I've posted on this blog, but I've decided to revive it, because it's just nice to have a place of your own.

I've been posting on a lot of other blogs. They comprise my media empire. I plan to give Rupert Murdoch a run for his money and single-handedly take back the "liberal" media.

I've become rather single-minded in my blogging. That's because I've decided that we have one good chance in the foreseeable future to get America back on the right track, and his name is John Edwards. I've put a lot of other things in my life on hold to do all I can as a volunteer for his campaign. The way I see it, I'm most likely to be effective if I'm helping to get the word out, so that's exactly what I'm doing.

Another woman blogger for John Edwards!