Neither of us has a lock on the truth.
This morning, I listened to someone who has no interest in what others think. Dem chair Joe Long guest hosted a morning radio show that has always accepted calls. Long started with a vicious personal attack against Angle, calling him just about every name in the book and declaring that Angle should never have been allowed on the air. He promised to give Angle's rap sheet to the station owner when he was done with his show. It was slander.
Then Long introduced his special guest, congressional candidate Sam Bennett. Do you know Sam? She's the candidate who's using party resources to push her candidacy, even though she has no party endorsement. She and Long droned on for an hour.
I called in to give Long a piece of my mind. I had a few questions for two-time loser Bennett, too. But guess what? Long and Bennett refused all calls. They're not really interested in what you think. They'll tell you what you think.
Do you honestly think I'd ever vote for someone who refused to take calls from the peasants? I've never seen Congressman Charlie Dent duck a call. Joe Long proves again that he may be a Democrat, but has no interest in what the people think.
45 comments:
Bernie,
You were incensed when several Easter's ago I published on my website an article titled "Springtime Follies."
The article, attempting at being a short allegory or parody, likened Ron Angle to Jesus and His crucifixion.
The article was occasioned by Angle's trial on March 7, 2002, in Northampton County Courthouse's Courtroom One.
Angle was subjected to this circus-like spectacle for alleged racist comments made on his station WAEB radio call-in talk show.
As punishment, he was stripped of his position as vice-president of county council and chairmanship of that body's finance committee.
His political enemies especailly wanted him removed from the latter so that the county could soldier on with profligate spending sprees.
So please. In this season of Easter-time once again, please don't condemn this comment as "OT."
Bernie!
1) If anyone DESERVES to be slandered, it's Angle -- because all he does is slander every Democrat he can;
2) How can you even SLANDER a lying, worthless piece of shit anyway?;
3) If Karl Rove and Scott Jennings were listening to that show, they just took Dent off of the White House list of the 20 "most vulnerable Republicans" in the country in 2008;
4) Somewhere, right now, Shawn Mullin is doing the "happy Snoopy dance" and laughing his ass off;
5) I'm (yawn) sure (yawn) it was (yawn) riveting (yawn) radio (yawn) at its (yawn) best and put Sammy up by 50 points in the polls;
6) Why shouldn't Joe Long go on the air to promote a long-shot candidate for 2008? After all, there are NO Democrats running this year who could use a boost right now... I mean, if there were, you'd think the Party Chairman would at least TRY to help THEM... I know, call me crazy; and
7) The 1st rule of talk radio is: you ONLY take calls from people who make YOU (the host) look good... after all, it's YOUR show. Like, duh?? So, the reason that Joe and Sammy didn't take any calls is because... well, you do the math.
Bernie Takes No Prisoners
I've always had low esteem for Angle. If he feels slandered, let him file suit. It's his right. My guess is that he won't.
What were your questions for Sam, Bernie? I'm always interested in the mind of Bernie.
Bernie TNP,
I'm certainly no expert when it comes to political strategy. That's for folks like you. But it stuck me as really dumb for Long to come onto a radio station where Angle has a loyal following, proceed to trash him, associate a congressional candidate with his slander, and then refuse to take calls.
Now as far as your own slander against Angle is concerned, Ron would probably agree with you. He is a partisan, and takes his shots. He does like some Dems, and he's trying hard to make amends with Lisa right now. But he does take shots, and mostly at Dems. And he's a big boy.
But this is what kills me. I first was mesmerized by you the day you called in to Ron on his show. He didn't have to take your call. He was interviewing Greta Browne at the time. Your call was totally unrelated. Not only did he take your call, but the two of you rolled around in the mud for a good thirty minutes. It was GREAT radio, extremely entertaining. And it was e4ver greater for political junkies like me who like to see great debaters make their points. I'd rate your joust a tie, and that's very unusual w/ Angle.
But this would not have happened if Angle worried about who was calling in. My blog would not be very good at all if it just consisted of my essays. It is people like you and many others who make this blog work. The same is true with talk radio. It doesn't work if you have to worry about sounding good. If that's your concern, you've already lost. So you may know political strategy, but not talk radio. And neither does Long.
Angle could get on his show and call you a "fake, a fraud and a phony." But you can always call him and let him have it too. Let the better ideas prevail.
Long doesn't want anything or anyone to contradict him. That's my point. It was completely idiotic. All he succeeded in doing is pissing off Angle listeners and hurting Sam Bennett.
She lost my vote today. If she's unwilling to risk questions from the public, I'm unwilling to risk my vote for her.
LVDem,
Long's statements calling Angle a criminal and crook, and his reference to Angle's "record", are slander. But that's not what bothers me, to be honest. What bothers me is that Long slammed Angle but was unwilling to take calls. It's contrary to what Angle does on his show. It's contrary to what Russo does on his show, too. It shows Long for what he is - a mean-spirited person intent on controlling the media. He tried to muzzle Wilkins. He physically threatened me. He only wants his message going out.
I have lots of questions for Bennett, believe me. But the nature of talk radio malkes a caller rude if he has more than one or two questions. So my focus would be Iraq. I believe her opposition to our involvement in Iraq is puirely political. She wet her fingers, stuck her hand in the breeze, and figured she'd garner more support if she said she opposes the war.
When Bennett preannounced for congress, she named Iraq as pushing her in that direction. OK. So what letters to the editor did she write? Op-eds? Did she participate in any candlelight vigils? Was she ever part of the cities for peace movement? Did she ever approach Allentown City Council or Lehigh County about the very real economic and human impact that war has had in this area?
This is just one line of questioning. I could not pursue it because calls were not permitted.
Actually, Iraq should not be thought of in political terms. It is dividing good people. And it is creating political opportunists. I believe Bennett is one such opportunist.
I don't listen to talk radio very often b/c too often its poisen. I listen to jazz instead! But I'll take your word on the formats and agree that having a radio show with no call in seems at the very least, well... odd.
As far as Iraq, I like the line of questioning. At the very least, I like to know what a candidate would do if elected. On another note, I'd like to get a better feel for Dent's real thinking on Iraq. First he came out against the surge, then he voted against a resolution that condemned the surge...at the very least that's a flip flop. I'm looking forward to your follow up on that.
We need to hold all candidates feet to the fire and not allow them to use the "signs of weakness" and "bad message to our enemies and troops" rhetoric, or even the "Bush lied to us" and "hold the White House accountable" crap. To the first candidate who says, "things were messed up and now we have some very unattractive decisions, all of which will result in death, enormous ammounts of money and lost political capital," and can identify a few realistic alternatives (immediate with draw and stay the course don't cut it), I'll sign up as a supporter. It's not popular, but it's the truth. If it's Sam, Lisa, Wallace or Dent (I doubt), the truth isn't easy, but it's reality.
Charlie Dent's toast in '08.
As a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, he is exploiting HS isues in his district for partisan political - hosting expos and fairs to hawk security-related commercial products, most cheap goods imported from Communist Red China.
This "People's Republic" poses a far greater threat to the security of the American people than does Iraq, or, for that matter, Resident George W. Bush's "Axis of Eveil" - Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.
How could George have overlooked Afghanistan and Pakistan?
Sam Bennett, and I would have to say Joe Long, at least heard, and understand, the loud and clear message from America's voters in last year's general elections:
GET OUR TROOPS THE HELL OUT OF THE ONE THAT IS IRAQ!
I suppose you feel, Bernie, that because you voted for the wrong "Charlie" in that last election, you must defend him - just as you defended him against the "Dent Nine."
Onr lsst "OT" point: Dent sponsored a bill that would deny Native Americans to ownership of land off their reservations in Forks Township, fearing they come up from Oklahoma and throw up a casino next the Binney & Smith's headquarters building while uttering not a word against Sheldon Adelman and Mike Perrucci U-Hauling its Sands BethWorks LLP Casino from Las Vegas and plopping it down next door to Northampton Community College - and directly across S. 3rd St. from Lehigh University, where a fellow student allegedly addicted to alcohol slipped into the dormitory of freshman Jeanne Clery and secually assaulted and murdered her.
LVDem,
I've only met Dent once, for lunch, at Hotel Bethlehem. I'll tell you something. He's an impressive guy. He's slightly on the right side of the political spectrum. Like it or not, that matches his constituency.
We did speak about Iraq. My impression was that he wants to do the right thing, and that his initial enthusiasm had waned. That, too, is a feeling shared by most of his constituents.
He did not support the Bush surge bc the Bush plan called for more troops in Baghdad. The bipartisan ISG frowned on that. It felt additional troops could be used, but to seal the borders.
I felt Dent should have voted for the resolution condemning the surge to send Bush a message. I think Bush would be more likely to listen to Republicans than Democrats.
Having said that, I didn't regard his vote as a flip flop. He would have voted for a resolution directing the troop surge elsewhere. "Congress must lead in a bipartisan manner and provide a way forward. The status quo—or stay the course—is unacceptable."
Those are Dent's words. I think he's right. Iraq is not an excuse for a few pols to advance themselves. It is a terrible tragedy. It can only be solved by people acting together in a bipartisan manner to find a way out that works. The ISG gave us that answer. Bush and many from both parties walked away from it. Shame on them.
In the course of responding to LVDem, I missed Billy's post. Yes, I voted for Charlie Dent. He has the distinction of being the only R I supported in the last election.
I thought Dertinger (who doesn't like being called Charlie) was much better as a congressional candidate than he is as a county councilman. But Dent won my vote the night they debated in Pen Argyl. I don't agree completely with everything Dent does in Congress, but certainly don't regret my decision.
Billy's immediate withdrawal demand is something that neither Dent nor Dertinger supported. All that does is destabilize the area and condemn an untold number of Iraqis to certain death.
The Dent Nineties were a bunch of geriatric kooks with walkers. They had already met with Dent twice, but probably forgot because most of them are senile. They then walked unannounced into his office one day, and demanded to see him, even though he wasn't there! Although the office was willing to give this group an appointment, that wasn't good enough. They demanded that Dent drop what he was doing to come and see them. He refused. They refused to leave.
All they succeeded in doing was to marginalize those who opposed our military misadventure in Iraq. They probably helped Dent get elected.
Billy, Long and Bennett haven't seen the light. Unlike you, they are not idealists. They are political opportunists, and will walk over 3,267 dead Americans to get a few votes. They'll walk over you, too.
It is somewhat early for the 2008 race and it appears that Joe Long will completely ruin Sam's chances for this or any other elected office in the future, oh well.
Hey Joe, maybe Rick Orloski will decide to lose another race, give him a call too.
Who will rise to challenge is anyone's guess at this point but one thing is certain as of today, Sam Bennett is only going home a 3 time loser.
i listened to that so call radio show this morning on wgpa. it was nothing more than a political ad. as for the host not taking any phone calls, it shows what a real chickenshit he really is. if you have a good candidate they should answer questions from the general public. you can say what you want,ron angle never ducked any questions. you might not like the answer you received, but you always got one.
That last comment came from the best auto mechanic ion the LV.
YAWN! Nobody cares, you boring blowhard. You could write seven million words a day and at the end of each day you could poop in one hand and hold the words in the other and the poop would be worth more.
Anon 8:39, aka Pat Gray. I have to admit you're the expert when it comes to shit. Why all one has to do to confirm that is visit the Silkwerks.
Bingo! Team Lardbutt comes out of the closet! Doesn't it feel good? Be proud!
I admit I've never been there. In a comment on your blog, I told you I didn't even know you had a theatre outlet. You indicated you were partly to blame for that.
Now you're talking about a $70k donation. Now be honest. Don't you know I google people before I write about them. You gave what you call $70k in materials to the Theatre Outlet. That's what I read. It was not cash. Correct me if I'm wrong.
How can I read Lookout's comment again? You deleted all your posts. Remember? All I can say is that I read thru every post on your blog before you deleted it last night. Some of it was very good, although I hate when business starts thinking the publiuc owes them something. But that's your opinion.
I was really troubled by the way you dealt with Lookout. We onl;y have one minority member in the LV blogospher that I know about. We only have a handful of women. That's not a diverse group. I hated it when you slammed her. And you did. I actually disagreed with her. I saw no bigotry in anything you wrote. But your reaction was totally off the hook. She's a 23 year old girl. She did not need all the obscenity. My daughter is 23. I would not tolerate anyone speaking to my daughter like that, and it really disturbed me about you.
I'll be happy to write a moire positive review about your blog and aboutt your business when you give me a reason to do so. I'll be happy to cycle against you or with you in June. But I honestly think a gentleman would apologize to that young lady. You do that and we'll be cool. Come on, be a man.
I saw it. You don't need to apologize to me. That's OK. But your obscenities at a 23 year old lady warrant an apology. She was wrong to label you. I've told you that several times. But a real man would admit he was wrong to curse at her. Think about it. Since you already think you're better than the peeople who live in the Lehigh Valley, why not impreess us by acting like a gentleman?
I'll tell you what. My review was based on what you wrote. It was a blog review, not a critique of your business. I'm not a good businessman and am not really qualified to write about a business.
But if you act like a man and apologize to that young lady for your choice of words, I'll be more than happy to visit your place, look at everything you're doing, and will want you to explain why A-town needs Silkwerks. I'll then post a blog about your efforts and that Theatre Outlet. That's what interests me the most. I told you twice I'm embarrassed I knew nothing about it. That is a worthy enterprise that promotes the arts.
I have no interest in trashing you. But I've been bloggin' long enough to know when another blogger is screwing up big time. The best way to make you aware of it is point it out.
I'll retract nothjing I said about your blog, but am willing to give you and your business and honest and fair look if you're willing to be a gentleman.
Bernie, Old Friend and Fellow Blogger,
As I e-mailed you recently, though we sometimes disagree we at least manage to keep the lines of communication open.
We both know much about Charlie Dertinger from our mutual friend Ron Angle, who exposed Charlie's conflict of interest as a member of Northampton County's crucially important Election Commission, effectively nullifying any influence he had over that body.
So I voted for Charlie (Charlie Dertinger, that is)not on his record but because it clearly was time to return both the House and the Senate to Democratic control preparatory to the Presidential election of 2010.
As for Sam Bennett, from personal knowledge I can say only two things: One, my friend David Clark, a former Downtown Easton businessman who co-authored two articles on my Billy Bytes website, spoke well of Sam. He knew her from when he was a businessman and poltical activist in Allentown, o waging a campaign, unsuccessful, agaist Mayor Al Dadonna.
Two, I know Sam only from one meeting I attended with her in the Atrium Room of the Brew Pub in Bethlehem, where she spoke as a candidate, also unsuccessful, for Allentown Mayor.
I was at the meeting with my wife Kathy (whom you still haven't had the pleasure of meeting, or she you)and our Parker Avenue neighbor Cliff O'Hearn.
This was Feburary 2, 2005, Ground Hog Day, and I attended the meeting to drum up support for candidates like Same Bennett and Tony Rybak to challenge incumbents like Allentown Mayor Roy Afflerbach and Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan.
That's what I thought National Democratic National Committee Chairman Candidate Howard Dean asked Democrats to do when Kathy and I and Jeanne Doyle met with other Democrats the preceding month at the Ship's Inn in Milford, New Jersey.
In a nationwide telephone conference call, Dean urged participants to rebuild the Democratic Party from the ground up, including the recruitment of candidates.
At the Brew Pub meeting in February, things smelled rosy until I announced THE ANNOUNCEMENT, as unexpected and embarrassing to the gathered congregation as the fart of a nun in church! (And for heavens sake, Bernie, please stop referring to another mutual friend, John Todaro, as "John Turdaro.")
The shocker was that John Todaro (not John Turdaro), standing at the foot of the Walnut Street steps leading to the Northampton County Courthouse and in the shadow of the historic building's collapsing cupola, had announced his candidacy challenging the excruciatingly corrupt incumbent County Executive, Glenn Reibman, in the 2005 Democratic primary.
I could go on with this tale, but I'll bob it instead, as I would with the tail of a box-breed dog, and conclude only with this:
When the faithful undeniably heard, saw - and smelled - the sacrilege in its midst, recruiting candidates lacking the imprimatur of the "Lehigh Valley" Democratic Party High Priest Joe Long, the congregation in its collective ears, eyes sensed me as the nun who committed the unpardonable, and ex-communicable, offense of farting in church and promptly ejected me from their midst - all alone except for Kathy and Cliff.
Billy!
I've met your wife Kathy several times. I met her once when we collectively were placing telephone calls for john kerry. I met her during a peace vigil in which you were nearly run over by some guy you pissed off. (I think it was Angle). I met her a third time at one of your parties. I usually stay away from parties, as you know. I'm very shy in groups, unless it's a public meeting or a courtroom. In a social setting, I always feel like my fly is open, and it usually is. But I did attend one of your parties at your daughter's house and had the pleasure of meeting Kathy. She's a beautiful woman and you don't deserve her. She obviously has poor taste in men or very bad eyesight.
I won't vote for a candidate who hides from the public. Her performance today was an insult to every member of the public.
Your description of High Prioest Long is pure poetry.
Lest I be accused of isolating Joe Long, or practicing the Amish tradition of "shunning," I am also pointing a finger at his alter boys, prominent of whom is the Easton Democratic Party Committee Chairman, James Edinger.
And Edinger is especially prominent. He is also Chairman of Easton's Zoning Hearing Board. This is the quasi-judicial body that as you with your training as a lawyer knows well hands down judgments on the decisions of Easton's zoning officer - decisions themselves appealable, either to the city's council or Northampton County's Court of Common Pleas.
This is the legal process that Easton's Mayor Phil Mitman and his planning commission, Historical Commission, Parking Authority, Redevelopment Authority, and Zoning Hearing Board have made a Mickey Mouse masquerade.
An active player in this masquerade is Northampton County, of which Easton is the seat, through its General Purpose and Industrial Development authorities and, in collusion with Northampton's neighboring Lehigh County, the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, LANTA.
Behind LANTA's mask, concealing their identity from most Northampton County taxpayers, are the real faces of Armand Greco, the authority's executive director, and Fred Williams, Northampton County's representative to LANTA, a former Easton city councilman and mayoral candidate, and the former owner of the Governor George Wolf Building.
Northampton County bought the Wolf property from Williams for $1 million, spent five times that amount renovating it, subdivided it subdivided the flood-prone parking lot behind the building, abetted by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, and, finally, entered into a sales agreement with Arcadia Properties for the fire-sale price of $500,000.
The sales "agreement" included Arcadia's "right of first refusal" to buy the building itself, complete with its KOZ tax exemption, at some future, unspecified, indeterminate date.
For City of Easton, Easton Area School District, and Northampton County taxpayers who get high on fantasy and taxes, take my advice: Don't squander your money on air-fair to Orlando, Florida - on Hooters or any fly-by-night, seat-of-the-pants carrier out of Lehigh Valley International Airport, LVIA, Northampton's and Lehigh's other bi-county authority.
(Aside. A third embryonic bi-county authority, a Northampton-Lehigh Health Department is still in its first gestation trimester of its birth.)
Instead, hang around Easton awaiting Riverwalk, a fantasy far exceeding Disney World's will never see the light of day.
That light will continue to illuminate the historic Governor George Wolf Building, as viewed from Riverside Park and across the Delaware River and the Free Bridge from Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Riverwalk's 12 stories will never be allowed to cast their shadow on the historic Wolf building, or any other to the horizon beyond, by the conjurers of this fantasy, who are themselves mere shadows on Plato's wall.
This wall happens to be Aristotle's reality of the sheer, high bluff that protects for posterity the generations-old Pennsylvania Governor George Wolf Building from the raging flood waters of the Delaware River and Bushkill Creek far below.
The officials of Easton, Northampton County, and the "Lehigh Valley" are uncaring for the city's heritage and reckless with its future.
But Pennsylvania's U.S. Senators Arlen Specter, a native of steeped-in-history Philadelphia, and Robert Casey Jr., victor in last year's elections over Rick Santorum, won't be cavalier - once they learn the history of and the truth about Riverwalk, including misleading and fraudulent statements of their Riverwalk involvement published in the local media.
Billy, for the 50th time, I was at that meeting at the Brew Works. The reason we looked at you with such funny looks wasn't b/c of your recruitment of candidates, it was b/c you were a jerk to everybody who disagreed with you. You yelled at everybody who agreed to the notion of not backing a candidate during the primary. You were there, not to promote democracy in the primary, but to promote your hand chosen candidates. When the assembled failed to bite, you flipped out and started yelling at the person who worked his tail off to organize the meeting.
But I suppose reality is too much for you to grasph.
I will, however, second Bernie's claim about your wife: stunning and clearly out of your league. I guess I should ask for tips b/c you have a trick or two up your sleaves that would certainly help me on that front.
Bernie!
WOW! I am truly amazed at your powers...
You have empowered more diverse political opinions here in 1 post than the mainstream media has even acknowledged (let alone listened to) in 1 year.
1) What you write here DOES matter, despite what the anonymous poster with a fecal fetish says;
2) radralph was CORRECT to say, "The Emperor has no clothes!" Most radio appearances by political candidates/officials are nothing more than warmed-over talking points for whatever agenda they are promoting; and
3) Sammy Bennett couldn't get a listener to Ron Angle's show to vote for her if SHE PAID THEM! Granted, his conservative audience is not happy with Dent, either (which is why Toomey is recruiting a "real conservative" to run against him in the Primary next year). But, Joe Long just wasted her time and his air time by trying to sell something that those listeners would NEVER buy in a million years.
You are doing God's work,
Bernie Takes No Prisoners
Lvdem 7:47 AM,
Thanks for your comment. It' good to hear from someone who attended the Brew Works meeting that evening of Ground Hog Day 2005.
I obviously backed John Todaro's short-lived challenge to Northampton County Executive Glenn Reibman.
I also supported Tony Rybak's challenge to Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan.
I can't comment of Tony's race for the 133rd legislative district vacated by T.J. Rooney beyond the knowledge that he lacked the backing of our mutual friend and fellow blogger Bernie O'Hare and others, who supported Tony's opponent Joe Brennan instead.
Though I respect the opinion of Bernie, and others, in their preference for Joe, I couldn't board that bandwagon for several reasons.
One, Rooney anointed Joe his successor.
Two, Joe was a member of the Reibman-controlled county council that floated the 2001 $111 million megabond, including $22.5 million for the county prison expansion.
Three, bad blood flowed on council between Joe and fellow Democratic member Ann McHale over prison-related issues that existed under Warden Cindy Markawicz - herself a fellow Democratic collegue of Ann and Joe on council before Reibman promoted her to the troubled prison position.
Lvdem, now that we all may be getting to know one another better, I have to interrupt this comment for the moment, and for which I apologize.
Kathy needs me to help give our Labrador retriever Bunny a bath.
Ciao,
Billy
I don't see anything to back up your contention that Sam Bennett is using Iraq for pure political reasons. Many people are deeply against the war, and haven't attended any demonstrations, for any number of reasons. Even if she just recently came to this conclusion, she is no different than many Americans, who were snowed by the propaganda which was so prevalent at the time.
And if she had participated in peace vigils, you would have criticized her for that. I remember you saying that LEPOCO was a useless organization that had never accomplished anything. They do peace vigils and write letters to the editor.
The only question is what she would do to move us in the right direction. We know that your buddy Dent is incapable of doing so, as he proved in two key votes this year. I think that the Congressional measure calling for withdrawal by 2008 is eminently sensible. Dent voted against that.
Actually, to my knowledge, you have completely ignored discussing Dent's vote on this. You took the opportunity to praise Dent when he voted with the Democrats in January. Your silence on the recent votes is quite mysterious. Maybe you don't think that the Democratic plan is a good one.
This is by no means intended to be an endorsement of Bennett. Its just curious that you are trashing her for speaking out against the Iraq war, and labelling it political opportunism with NO evidence.
I would assume that you would have to do the same thing to Lisa Boscola, if she decided to run. I am not aware that she has ever made any statements against the war.
Maybe Bernie, who TNP, can answer this question for us. If it is already a matter of record, I apologize for being ignorant of it.
Also, BTNP, is Lisa likely to run against Dent?
Finally, I salute Billy Bytes for having the good sense to vote for Dertinger because we needed a Democratic Congress. That was and is a damn good reason. Even some Republicans are seeing the advantages of having people who are competent in control of Congress.
---FtHillDem
Ft Hill Dem, I'll respond to your post fully tomorrow.
FtnHill Dem,
1) When Bennett preannounced and subsequently formally announced her congressional candidacy, she claimed Iraq was the motivating factor. That is bullshit. What motivates her is a desire to get elected, and she is using Iraq to get votes. She has never, to my knowledge, voiced her opposition to Iraq in any meaningful way. I believe that is evidence. Now that she perceives a political hot potato, she's trying to take advanatge of the situation.
2) I don't think Iraq should be viewed as a political issue. It has divided us for too long. It's time to come together and resolve it. There are no easy answers or simple solutions and it's time to recognize that and stop politicizing it. Both parties are equally guilty of doing so. Bennett is a candidate who will promote more division.
3) Boscola has been no outspoken antiwar advocate. And I can tell you I personally solicited her help when I was trying to get the cities for peace resolution underway. She did not respond to my efforts. But no one in state government did.
4) There are, however, big differences between Boscola and Bennett. Boscola could remain where she is and grow more powerful. She has nothing to gain and everything to lose should she announce. And if she does announce, Iraq would be only one of many issues prompting her to do so. I think that if Boscola runs, it will be because she thinks she can do the job better. Bennett is already a two-time loser. It's a bad comparison. I would not claim Boscola was being a phony because she won't mislead anyone about her intentions.
5) I would have praised Bennett had she decided to participate in a peace vigil, as I praised Dertinger when he participated in a rally against Big Oil.
6) My criticism of LEPOCO is that it uses 60s methods to deal with problems in the 21st century. They refuse, for example, to take advantage of the Internet. So has LVBO. Why not even a single blog to represent the LEPOCO point of view? Instead, they engage in counterproductive publicity stunts that marginalize them and cause more division. Some members of LEPOCO actually agree, at least partially, with my criticism. I've never criticized LEPOCO's peace vigils, and you're mistaken to suggest that. In fact, I recently promoted a peace vigil on the fourth anniversary of Iraq. But getting people to honk in support is often little more than ego gratification. Getting the message out is much easier now, thanks to the blogosphere. But LEPOCO shuns that. It also shuns the political process, the only way in which it could truly be effective. I told several members of LEPOCO that they could be team members on this blog if they wished to get their views more widely known. I've even told them that, if they think I'm too much of a loose cannon, they could set up their own blog and I'd happily link to it. Nothing. I do have one LEPOCO member with a townhall blog linked, but it takes very long to load.
7) Bennett lost my vote when she appeared on a radio talk show with a machine boss and refused to accept questions. I've heard Boscola on that same show accepting questions. I've heard Callahan and Cunningham do so as well. And my buddy Charlie Dent, as you call him, has not evaded questions on that radio show either. Bennett's performance was a contrived effort. Incidentally, I've met Charlie Dent just once. I did vote for him, as you know, and I don't regret that vote. Whether 2008 is a repeat depends on who runs against him. I sure as hell won't vote for Bennett.
8) When Dent voted against the resolution, I said I thought he had made a mistake on LVDem's blog. He and several other local bloggers had posts and I joined in the discussion. You did, too. Contrary to your assertion, i did not completely ignore the issue. Although that resolution was purely symbolic, I said that Dent should have joined in that resolution because it might make Bush pay attention when members of his own party tell him he's wrong. Now I did not do a separate post about it. But I didn't completely ignore it either, as you say. Perhaps you've forgotten, but I was critical of Dent's vote.
Even worse than Joe Long was Walter..aka " WALLY G" calling the Jolly Joe Polka show and going on air stating how "one sided" Ron Angle is. Wally G of all people saying some one is one sided!!!!!!!! Did you ever hear his checks and balances show on WGPA ?? It was nothing but obnoxious.
Iraq IS a political issue. It should be. It affects peoples lives every day. What is it if not a political issue? Your statement that it is not is a Republican talking point.
Wait, its worse. You make Iraq into a political issue when you use it against Bennett. You have no qualms about using her statement opposing the war to damage her politically, by accusing her of political opportunism with NO EVIDENCE. But when it comes to your buddy Dent, Iraq should be above politics. Just exactly how many peace vigils has Dent attended and op-eds has Dent written against the war? Yet you voted for him.
You talked about one vote on another blog, I grant you that. But not your blog. And how about the recent vote that Dent cast against against the supplemental spending bill that requires troop withdrawal by 2008? You still have said nothing about that. I think it is a good plan. The majority of Congress thinks it is a good plan. What about you, Bernie, and what about your opinion of Dent's vote against it? Do you stand with Bush and Dent on this one?
---FtHillDem
River, Wally G is a partisan, and I believe it was a mistake for a partisan hosting a one-sided rasdio show to chair the elections commission. I was unaware that Garvin had called the Timmer show but that does not surprise me.
Having said that, I've had an opportunity to talk to him several times during the elections panel meetings. I like Garvin. I don't think he has a dishonest bone in his body. I have the same objections, and he knows that. But I think he genuinely cares about his community.
FtHillDem, Thanks for your sincere criticism. I'll think about what you said.
I honestly agree with the Rs. about Iraq havingf become too political. Both parties are to blame for that.
I'll reply in detail later. Busy day.
This is really good stuff..."inside baseball" for local political junkies. Nice to know you L.V. Dems are just as screwed up as us L.V. Republicans.
Hey, Pal! Get it straight! WE'RE A LOT MORE SCREWED UP THAN you guys are!! Them's fightin' words...
Senator Boscola is against sacrificing the lives of American men and women to further the greed of multi-national oil companies in a War We Cannot Win in Iraq.
IF she were in the U.S. Congress, she would be fighting for more than "a nonbinding, limp-noodle piece of triple-compromised political hot air" that carried about as much weight as Bernie O'Hare's inflatable girlfriend...
Bernie Takes No Prisoners
To Bernie TNP!
That's good news about Lisa and what she would do in Congress! Maybe if there were enough Democrats, she would be able to get a more than "triple compromised etc. etc. etc" out of Congress. But politics is the art of the possible, and the "triple compromise" is about as well as we can do right now. It's a start. It's sure better than nothing.
Would appreciate hearing those words straight from Lisa!
Speaker Boscola! I like it! I like it!!
---FtHillDem
Anon 7:56, Thanks for chiming in. Aren't we all a mess?
Bernie!
Come on, sing it with me!!!!
There's nothing like the face
of a kid eatin' a Hershey bar.
A face as happy as it can be!
duh dah dah dah dah dum dah dee dee
There's nothing
like the face of a kid
when he's munchin' on
the greatest bar around!
Herhsey's!
The Great American Chocolate Bar!
Don't you feel better?
Bernie Takes No Prisoners
FtHillDem,
1) I agree Iraq affects peoples' lives every day. But what bothers me is that people from both major parties use Iraq as a stepping stone in their political careers. Honest differences are fine. But the outright politicization of foreign policy is very divisive and threatens our internal security in the long run. I know some right-wingers have been making this argument as a way of stifling dissent. That is not my intention. I'm concerned that some folks in both parties are using foreign affairs to advance themselves without offering any realistic solutions. If you perceive this as a Republican talking point, then I side with the Republicans on this one. Dems don't have all the answers.
2) I accuse Bennett of political opportunism because that's what I see. I saw no op-ed or LTE penned by her. She participated in no candlelight vigil. She was no member of the cities for peace movement in A-town. She did nothing until she preannounced for congress, and then she was suddenly opposed to our Iraqi involvement. When she appeared on a radio show, she would not accept calls. That is further evidence that she is merely an opportunist with a carefully orchestrated message. She was unwilling to expose her views to public scrutiny, in which it might be revealed that she knows very little about her supposed congressional motivation. This is the second time I've told you why I call Bennett an opportunist.
3) For the second time, you refer to Dent as my "buddy," I've already told you I've only met Dent once, and that was because his office wanted to respond to some of the things I was saying about him with his side of the story. I was trying to be fair. I don't believe you are being fair to me.
4) You assert I should not have voted for Dent bc he wrote no op-ed or LTE opposing the war, and was involved in no antiwar demonstration. You miss my point. Someone who claims to have been against the war should be able to produce some of the steps they've taken to show they've been antiwar. Since Dent had publicly supported the military misadventure in Iraq, why on earth would I expect him to be contradicting himself in LTEs? That's a sophist's argument.
5) Why did I vote for Dent? He was the better man. He had come to the realization that our foreign policy in Iraq was not working. He was extremely knowledgeable on most other issues as well, and he was an early supporter of alternative fuels, and has actually done something about it. Global warming and peak oil are very real issues, ones we tend to avoid like ostriches with our heads in the sand. It's nice to see a local congressman out on front on this issue. H2 is no silver bullet, but it probably is a partial answer. And before you start slamming H2, just read my post about BMW. It has already invested in H2 vehicles, not as concept cars, but as the real thing. Dent's opponent, Charles Dertinger, was a weaker candidate. That may not be the way you saw things. It was a close call, but that's how I saw it. And I have to vote the way I see things. I will not blindly support a candidate bc he or she is a Dem.
6) Dent votes against a meaningless resolution and you slam him. I claim Dent should have voted for it and you slam me because I did not write a big post calling Dent a snake or a flip-flopper or a phony. I read that in at least a half dozen other blogs. I didn't excoriate Dent because I did not think he was any of those things. If I had felt that way, I would have said so. Bernie TNP calls that resolution "a nonbinding, limp-noodle piece of triple-compromised political hot air that carried about as much weight as Bernie O'Hare's inflatable girlfriend..." Dent's refused to go along. So the hell what? The only reason I thought he should support this bullshit resolution is because it might have an impact on Bush. But Dent's reasoning, which you can read on his own website, sounds reasonable to me. Both parties can have reasonable people.
8) You ask whether I support or oppose the supplemental spending plan that requires troop withdrawal by 2008. Do I stand with Bush and Dent, or do I stand with the majority of the Dems? That's your problem. You're looking at a very gray issue and thinking it can be solved with a congressional resolution. That's complete bullshit. Let's be honest. Most Dems know Bush will never allow that to stand. If they were deciding this for real, their attitudes would be much different. Don't kid yourself. We've lost 3,200 Americans. At least eight times that number has been wounded. Who knows how many Iraqis have died? It could be anywhere between 61,000 and 66,000. We are talking about real people in a war that should never have been started. A timed withdrawal guarantees the following: 1) It renders all previous deaths meaningless; 2) It guarantees genocide against Sunni Muslims, and will create even more instability; 3) Iran will dive in to get rid of Sunnis and create another theocracy; 4) Turkey will come in and take care of the Kurds, who we will have abandoned again; 5) Saudi Arabia may be drawn in to protect Sunnis; 6) Syria will be tempted to make a stab at a weak neighbor; 7) Israel will get very nervous and that country has no problem launching preemptive strikes. We don't just wash our hands of that situation like Pontius Pilate. That's totally irresponsible and is much worse than what we did in Vietnam, which was strategically insignificant. So what do we do? First, we talk to our enemies. Second, we seal the borders with whatever troops are necessary. Third, we continue training soldiers. Fourth, we stop the nonsense of rotating senior military officers out of the region. This is war, and they stay until the job is done. Fifth, we don't allow troops to be rotated back into Iraq until they've had at least one year to retrain at home. Sixth, we don't send troops to Iraq without the necessary equipment. Seventh, we increase pay to soldiers and assure that proper benefits are paid to soldiers on disability. Eighth, we react swiftly and harshly to all human rights abuses by American soldiers. Ninth, we treat all detained foreigners in accordance with the Geneva conventions, and guarantee all of them a swift and impartial hearing. Tenth, we prepare to stay as long as it takes to make that area stable when we leave. Eleventh, no permanent military bases. Twelfth, we make a strong effort to put every Iraqi to work.
I'm sure I've missed at least 100 other things we should be doing. Right now, neither major party has a grip on the truth. We have to start listening to each other. The ISG was a great step in the right direction, and both parties thumbed their noses at it.
Hi Bernie. I don't doubt anyones honesty either till I learn different. If Walter Gavin aka "wally G" didn't love his comunity he would not be involved in locan and national politics. My point was that you can call the Ron Angle Show any day, any time. When the Wally G Checks And Balances show was on, Walter red of of a written script for an entire hour and no one was allowed to call in....I know I tried to call. Bernie, did you ever hear his show on WGPA?? I heard it many times and I must say he only had one agenda and that was to destroy George Bush. I don't like Bush either but Wally G paid to be on the air so it was more or less a political add. He may be honest but I certainly don't beleive he can have an objective opinion on the Elections commission. I felt his calling Timmers show last thursday crying how one sided Ron Angle was was Walter Gavin being the worlds biggest hypocrite.
River,
Wally is the chair of the elections commission. At the time that he did that partisan radio show, he was also a Democratic committeeman and an area chair. Under our Home Rule Charter, bno party officer may sit on the elections commission. In addition, Norco council solicitor Lenny Zito told council that the elections commission is a quasi judicials body and hence must avoid the appearance of impropriety. Garvin eventually did resign his party positions, but continued doing that show. That show was promoted on the local dems' website. I did listen to that show several times. In one of them, Garvin accused Dent of being courrupt. "If you sleep with the dogs, you'll wake up with fleas." Those were Wally's exact words.
When election results were tallied, NC showed Dent as a 127 vote loser whn he, in fact won in NC by over 3,000 votes. A telephone call from Dent to the voting registrar was directed to party boss Joe Long.
All of this, like it or night, raises the appearance of impropriety.
I like Wally G, aka Walter Garvin. I think he has integrity and is honest. But I also believe his radio show created an appearance of impropriety.
I know that show was basically an inomercial, a very bad format designed to discourage people from listening.
When he called TYimmer to complain Angle is one-sided, he is right. Angle is one-sioded,. Ron is cvery opinionated, but he encourages diverse views, including those that differ from his.
I'll give you an example that demonstrates, at least in my opinion, that garvin is very one-sided. During one of the elections panel meetings, the voting machine was demonstrated. The fellow who booted up the machine thought he was doing very well, and asked if we peasants had any questions. I did. I wanted to know why the version that was shown on the machine was not the version certified by the state. Naturally, people began to get upset at discovering we had just voted with machines that were never certified. At this point, Garvin had a "point of order," argung that my comments should come during courtesy of the floor. He was trying to shut me down bc this was making his office look bad. I thought that was partisan. And as it turns out, we'll be voting with uncertified machines again.
I think Garvin has great potential. He's very bright and is quite affable. I actually hope he seeks office one day. And I thiunk he's very honest. But if I were to offer a construction suggestion, I'd ask that he drop the "circle the wagons" mentality.
Bernie, I'm the one who has a busy day today. I will read your response more carefully tomorrow.
Yeah, I saw your blog on H2 cars. I will definitely educate you some more in this area sometime in the future. We don't have the luxury of taking a wrong path on energy at this stage in the evolution of the human race. H2 is a spectacularly wrong turn.
Iraq is a political issue. For its connection to local issues, check out the following link:
http://cbs4denver.com/politics/local_story_098173626.html
---FtHillDem
OK, Bernie, I read what you wrote. I have a little more time than I thought, so I think I will find out what wants to come out the the typewriter.
On the "meaningless" resolution. So what are we, who believe that our presence in Iraq is aggravating the the problem there, and bankrupting us here, supposed to do. Sit down and say, what's the point of trying anything, since Bush is going to veto it anyway. Boo hoo hoo. No, I think that you play your hand for all its worth, and see what falls out. At a minimum, you've put the President on the defensive, for once in his life. Your precious mainstream media are NOT going to do that. (Sorry, that just came out of the typewriter. Couldn't stop it.)
But thanks for answering my question about what you thought of the resolution. That makes you pretty much of a Republican. That's OK, lots of good people are Republicans.
Sophistry? No, really, I think that title belongs to you. When you can attack a candidate for trying to address the most important political issue in America, and give another one a free ride on the issue, well it takes a real master of sophistry to justify that. And a Republican.
Dertinger? You had your mind made up on that one from the day that Dertinger got enough write-ins to get on the ballot. I remember your blog attacks on him at that time. I guess thats what troubles me the most about your blog. It feels like I've stumbled onto the blogosphere version of "Democrats for Dent". But thanks at least for clarifying that you are really a Republican.
You know, I do think that you are concerned about the problems that we face as a nation. I think that at your core, you do really care about what happens to people. You will get nothing but agreement from me that peak oil and global warming are most serious problems.
But, in my humble opinion, something gets lost in translation between your heart and your head. (Damn typewriter). OK, so we aren't going to hit it off together. After all, you have already stated that morally and ethically speaking, we are from different planets. Funny, you also have BTNP getting the Mars edition of the Morning Call.
Finally, I said that I would make one last attempt to educate you about the futility of hydrogen FOR TRANSPORTATION purposes. Here is a link for you to read, if you dare!
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/15/zubrin.htm
---FtHillDem
1) It IS a meaningless resolution, passed purely to enable Dems to say we'd be out of Iraq if they were in power. Withdrawals were timed to coincide with the presidential election. How convenient! If the majority of Dems weren't certain that Bush would veto it, the competing resolutions with two goofy different dates would never have been adopted. If you think that, you must still believe in the tooth fairy, too.
2) Listen, I know you don't like Republicans. But I didn't realize how deeply you hated them until today, when you charged that I am one of them. You really shouldn't scare them like that. They've just lost both houses. And guess what? Most Republicans oppose our continued involvement in Iraq, too.
3) I did attack Dertinger when he first announced. But I also warmed up to him. I think he was a much better congressional candidate than he is a county councilman. And I remember our discussions during the campaign. You fail to point out that I wrote some very positive posts about Dertinger, especially as the campaign got underway. I condemned Dent's negative campaigning and complimented Dertinger for taking a position at the oil free rally. You're being unfair again. That's why I place no weight on your allegations of mainstream media bias. Your idea of fairness is not mine.
4) You tagged me for not posting about Iraq when Dent voted against the resolution. That's a fair criticism. I plead guilty. But it takes me longer to react than I do with the local stuff. I primarily blog about local matters. That's where I'm think I'm most knowledgeable Most locals disagree with me. Well, at least it's definitely where I'm most comfortable. But I will post about Iraq NOW. My view is a minority view to both major parties but it's time to let it loose. I will probably use some of your comments. If you're going to freak out, I'm letting you know right now. And I'll be happy to allow you to post an opposing blog that explains exactly why I'm wrong and you can call me whatever name you wish as well. I'll post your reply without editorializing it, and will only briefly introduce you as a person who has a different view. I realize you don't have much time for blogging or setting up your own blog, but your view is one I respect even though you always manage to piss me off. You must hit a nerve, because your criticisms bother me more than any other I get, and I get a lot. I think I annoy you, too, and I'm sorry about that.
To be fair to Long, Angle is very experienced talk radio commentator. He's had the show for how long? After listening to the big boys of talk radio for a few years, I've realized that the person familiar with
the medium is at a huge advantage (versus a caller). Long doesn't have the advantage that Angle has.
That said, no one's going to be very interested if there were no callers on. It must have been like a very long campaign commercial.
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