Bluegrass and Anthracite

We’re finishing up the primary season in an area of the country that was near and dear to Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s heart- Appalachia. The mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky supply much of the country’s coal and is home to the hard working but eternally poor. Those rich veins of coal extend up into my hometown region of PA where occasionally an old abandoned mine will subside and swallow houses whole. The area was settled by Scots-Irish Americans. For those of you interested in this fierce breed, check out Jim Webb’s fascinating book, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America.

Appalachia was the scene of one of RFK’s most moving journeys. I was only a little girl when it happened but some memory of it remains. People who live there are proud and self-reliant but had lives cut short by black lung disease and malnutrition. About a month before his assassination, he gave an interview with David Frost and had this to say about his commitment to fighting poverty:

Something about the fact that I made some contribution to either my country, or those who were less well off. I think back to what Camus wrote about the fact that perhaps this world is a world in which children suffer, but we can lessen the number of suffering children, and if you do not do this, then who will do this? I’d like to feel that I’d done something to lessen that suffering.
“There are children in the Mississippi Delta whose bellies are swollen with hunger … Many of them cannot go to school because they have no clothes or shoes. These conditions are not confined to rural Mississippi. They exist in dark tenements in Washington, D.C., within sight of the Capitol, in Harlem, in South Side Chicago, in Watts. There are children in each of these areas who have never been to school, never seen a doctor or a dentist. There are children who have never heard conversation in their homes, never read or even seen a book.” RFK

(It’s a compassion and solidarity thing, Chris. You wouldn’t understand) I’ll have more to say about hunger tomorrow morning and what you can do about it.

The mountains are also home to one of America’s unique sonic landscapes- bluegrass music. The sound can be sharp and twangy with percussion plucked from a banjo and melody scraped off a fiddle. Or it can be sweet and sad with mandolin, guitar and “high lonesome” harmony. Once of my favorite bluegrass artists, Ricky Skaggs, had to wait many years before he could break a record contract and make his first bluegrass CD. Someone paired coal and Skaggs and made this video. Enjoy!

The Buzzing Boyz are Sometimes Girlz. Beware.

Uppity Woman called this, “Cavuto Hands Desperate Obama Adolescent Her Head On A Plate”

[UPDATED] See below the fold . . . .

Hang on Hillary, Hillary hang on! Tomorrow’s Money Friday: We’re ready to help.

Friday Fast: Save your breakfast, lunch and dinner money tomorrow and send it to Hillary. The Big Boyz have been very effective in discouraging people from donating and volunteering for her. If you send in $10 on Friday and everyone reading this does the same, we can help refill her coffers. Also, one day of fasting will give you presence of mind and remind you of what is so important here. There are millions of Americans who are one paycheck away from insolvency, who have to use a food pantry every month to feed their families and these people are going to get written off by the “new coalition”.

Visiting the Blogosphere 2.0 (An Open Thread)

I’m writing this up fairly early in the morning, so there’s probably been a lot of good stuff posted since now (smile.) Also, it’s more than likely I’ve missed someone or something interesting. So please share anything that you think worthwhile or interesting in the comments. Whew, here goes:

What’s Anglachel thinking about?

Taylor Marsh SAW Hillary yesterday:

When she came down the long rope line towards the stage she stopped and talked, took pictures, and you could tell that everyone was exchanging energy, feeding off one another.
HLF had a table right on the aisle, second from the front. What a seat I had thanks to her. The table she purchased at the event was in honor of her mother’s memory, as well as her sister-in-law, who was there and I got to meet. It was part of the $1 million plus raised at the event that included over 1,500 people, mostly women.

As Hillary turned to walk close to where I stood, I reached out to shake her hand. As I always do with people I don’t see frequently, I always say my name to them when greeting. We’ve met before, but she also knows and reads this blog, so I knew when she heard my name she’d remember. Instead, she took my hands tightly. She looked into my eyes, then said “Thank you. Thank you,” squeezing my hands even tighter. There was no doubt, the moment moved us both.

Jeralyn wonders why Obama did worse in North Carolina than Virginia. It does seem strange for the Presumed Nominee, doesn’t it?

At Corrente, BDBlue is not surrendering to anyone.

Sugar is breaking my heart

I don’t know how to link to a post at The LeftCoaster but, take a look at Kingmaker by Turkana.

And finally, the Ghost of Doctor Violet Socks isn’t going to vote for Obama. Find out why.

I’ve left out a ton of good stuff so I beg of you to post what I left out. Like I said, I’m writing this first thing in the morning and I’ve GOT to get dressed and out the door for work. Excuses, Excuses . . . .

Offering Clinton Money to “take a dive”

If this is true, it is the most despicable thing I’ve ever read. Thomas Edsall at Huffpo has a post called “Big Rewards Await Clinton If She Ends Campaign Now”:

One of the most inviting is the near certainty that the Obama campaign would agree to pay back the $11.4 million she has loaned her own bid, along with an estimated $10 million to $15 million in unpaid campaign expenses.
…
“If she leaves the stage gracefully, as Gore did in 2000, she will be able to rebuild her political capital within the party fairly quickly, and over time most of her perceived and real sins will be long forgiven and/or forgotten,” said Dan Gerstein, a Democratic consultant and Obama supporter.

Hey, remember Dan Gerstein? Danger Stein the political operative for Joe Lieberman of Independent Democrats for Lieberman? Yeah, how did that turn out for us in CT and the senate?

And there’s that word again, “gracefully”. I’ll tell you what, elections were never won by the graceful. They are won by the tough. I applaud her for turning this offer down cold but it is becoming increasingly clear that Obama and the DNC will stop at nothing to secure the nomination and take us all down the road to perdition.

The Big Boyz’ Haka has been very successful in shutting down the Clinton campaign’s ability to raise funds. She most likely has a treasure chest of money she can use to fund herself in the General Election but she can’t touch it right now. Now is the time to reward her for not taking a dive. If you’ve got it, send it. If you don’t, ask someone else to do it for you.
Just do it.

48 + 2 = Legitimacy

Free the Florida and Michigan Delegations!

The Confluence is united in it’s adamant insistence that all 50 states be seated with equal power and authority at the Democratic convention this summer. We believe that any discussion of “delegates needed” or “magic numbers” must use the number 2209 for validity.

The time for reasoned arguments is past.  What’s left is this simple truth:  This country has 50 states and Guam isn’t one of them. Unless full delegations from all 50 states vote on our Democratic Nominee at the convention millions and millions of voters from across the country will not accept the legitimacy of the nomination process.

The very idea of this historic convention being overshadowed by what should have been a minor procedural issue disgusts me. We’ll be writing about this issue everyday until it’s settled: We will not let it go!

Comments and slogans and graphic art would be gratefully appreciated.  Let’s do our bit to keep this issue alive and in the public eye.

2025 <> Legitimacy.

Thursday: Make them earn it

Many of you Conflucians are starting to realize that the time to act is now, not after the primaries are over or when the nomination is set in stone. You have the power, right now, to turn this train wreck around. Here is the opportunity for Barack Obama to show his quality. If he really wants the nomination, he has to come to YOU and address YOUR needs. If isn’t your responsibility to give up YOUR hopes and dreams to quell the panic of a bunch of Obama supporters who are trying to shove Obama down our throats whether he’s good for the country or not. Are the Obama supporters more afraid of McCain or Hillary? Time to make a choice.

On Tuesday night, the DNC mouthpiece essentially disowned us, the “Old Coalition” for the newer, fresher, young, affluent and post partisan. But we’ve been told that we have to put aside our concerns about Obama’s electability and qualifications and vote for him anyway. We’re on a path to disaster in the fall when the media gloves come off and Obama’s lack of qualifications are exposed for all the world to see. And the American people will never trust the Democrats again for giving the country yet another weak candidate who is going to get crushed by the GOP machine.

Well, “now is the time for all good Conflucians to come to the aid of their party’ and help it avert this speeding train. We have to unite ourselves and tell the DNC that we are leaving if they don’t come to reason. Here’s what you can do:

1. If you live in a state that has already voted, re-register as an “unaffiliated” voter. Tear up your current voter’s registration card and mail it to the DNC with a little note to tell them that if they don’t resolve the FL and MI delegation issue immediately, they can not count on your vote now or in the future. Also, encourage them to push Hillary and Obama to form a joint ticket with Hillary on top as this is the only viable option for averting an electoral disaster in November. They created this rift in the party. It’s their responsibility to unify it. Not ours.
2. Have a news moratorium for the next two weeks. For the next week, turn off every network and cable news program and catch up on your gardening. Watch only C-Span. If you have TiVo or a DVR, the cable and satellite companies do disk diagnostics every night to determine what you’ve watched and they pass this info onto the networks for ad sales purposes. You will make an impact if you abstain for the next week.
3. Friday Fast: Save your breakfast, lunch and dinner money tomorrow and send it to Hillary. The Big Boyz have been very effective in discouraging people from donating and volunteering for her. If you send in $10 on Friday and everyone reading this does the same, we can help refill her coffers. Also, one day of fasting will give you presence of mind and remind you of what is so important here. There are millions of Americans who are one paycheck away from insolvency, who have to use a food pantry every month to feed their families and these people are going to get written off by the “new coalition”.
4. Volunteer for Hillary in West Virginia and Kentucky if you live in one of those states or one of the surrounding states. Hell, you don’t even need to do much. Just go there and stand at the side of the road with a sign. Let the country know that you aren’t going down without a fight.

Stop the speeding train.

Pass it around.

Note to Obama Supporters: You have a choice. If roe v wade is so important to you, if you dread 4 more years of Republican rule, you have an obligation to put you words into action and put the candidate most likely to beat McCain st the top of your ticket. It is not our obligation to continue to indulge you in your fantasy. We are backing the strongest candidate and if you continue to try to drag us down the road to destruction of our chances in November and our party, we are standing firm and will not join you. Savvy?
There are still three choices in this race. Choose wisely. It is not too late to seat MI and FL and save face.