Those poor folks trying to stop the CAFO being built above the Roaring River springs just a mile from the state park line. They’re fighting city hall the county board and state government at the same time.
They obtained a stay from the Administrative Hearing Commission to stop construction of the chicken CAFO. That was at the end of July. Construction continues, and the Department of Natural Resources does nothing to enforce that stay. Huh?
Then there’s the Barry County Commissioner, John Starchman, who “neglected” to put the names of Mark Stephenson (pictured), one of those requesting the stay, and twelve other people on the agenda. They were not allowed to speak at that meeting of the county board. Another meeting was conveniently canceled without notice.
It’s “who’s bought and paid for,” Stephenson said after recalling how the health department meeting agenda was tabled last May after the department in response to what they labeled an “outburst from the audience,” had phoned the police.
Stephenson also called attention to Ozbun’s contract with George’s Processing, Inc. And who do you think gives legal advice for George’s? Why none other than Matt Blunt’s brother’s law firm, Stephenson replied.
Another way to say it, Mr. Stephenson, is that the barricades you’re facing are made of money.
Thanks to the Joplin Independent for the photo and for their fine article on the stonewall Stephenson and his friends are running into.
Since I am neither a deer hunter nor a close neighbor of Jesus, why should I be interested in reading a book called Deer Hunting with Jesus. Because the title drew me, and the following excerpt on the book flap captivated me.
After thirty years spent scratching together a middle-class life out of a “dirt-poor” childhood, Joe Bageant (author) moved back to his hometown of Winchester Virginia, where he realized that his family and neighbors were the very people who carried George W. Bush to victory. That was ironic because Winchester, like countless American small towns, is fast becoming the bedrock of a permanent underclass. Two in five of the people in his old neighborhood do not have high school diplomas. Nearly everyone over fifty has serious health problems, and many have no health care. Credit ratings are low or nonexistent, and alcohol, overeating and Jesus are the preferred avenues of escape.
As a resident of a state, formerly known as a swing state, more recently counted among the red states, and currently showing some maroon overtones, I figured I might learn something useful about the cultural makeup of my neighborhood and beyond. I wanted to understand the divide that separates the Rural Red from Urban Blue in our state. And the author, Joe Bageant, delivers in no uncertain terms.
He speaks to the subject of “deep fried and double wide”, the importance of the gun culture and how urban liberals just don’t get it, and of charismatic religious movements. He tells of the futility of lives of the Lynddie Englands and their struggles for survival. Many are descended from the American Scots Irish, and Bageant supplies the following for our contemplation:
Since arriving in America during the first seventy five years of the eighteenth century, Calvinist Ulster Scots have constituted a parallel culture to that of the enlightened Yankee liberals. Scots-Irish Calvinist values all but guarantee anger and desire for vengeance against what is perceived as elite authority, college-educated secular people who run the schools, the media and the courts. One Calvinist premise has always dominated: The word of God supercedes any and all government authority. Period. That same flaming brand of Calvinism brought here by the Ulster Scots launched American Christian Fundamentalism. Now it threatens to breach the separation of church and state… indeed its most vehement elements push for a nuclear holy war…there are millions of Americans who believe we should nuke North Korea and Iran, seize the Middle East’s oil. “Kick their ass and take their gas”..
This is an immigrant movement that arrived initially in Pennsylvania, drifted south into Virginia and then westward across the south all the way to Texas. They were used by the powerful to man the frontier, to overcome resistant native populations and to club Mother Nature into submission. Today they are used to wield the club in Vietnam and Iraq and any other place that seems to need clubbing.
Bageant labels “the great beery, NASCAR-loving, god-fearing, church going, gun loving America that has never set a foot inside Starbucks” as the unacknowledged parallel world of educated urban liberals. Life is hard for these people and getting harder. Existing on a continuum between complete insecurity to the not quite complete insecurity of having a job that may be outsourced any minute, there remains a strong belief in personal responsibility, a strong aversion to welfare, for themselves and others. The Reagan myth of the Welfare Queen takes root quickly here. Anti-union, pro-globalization, they are mainly Republican. They work hard and there is little time and perhaps less inclination toward intellectual activity. What they get they usually get via a substandard education system and the ubiquitous TV?
The book is an easy reader, but it packs the burn of a triple martini, or maybe a double six pack, (whatever that is) while providing a compassionate look at the lives and struggles of the rural white working class. Although most of us occupy at least a facsimile of the parallel world, it much behooves us to be aware of the origins and motivations of this world and to remain critically alert to the corporate and political perpetuators of cradle to grave hand to mouth lives. This is our counterpart, our political competition, Bush’s base, and we ignore at our peril.
But grab a copy of the book and read a few pages. It gives an antidote to what Pageant calls “the American Hologram” – the televised, corporative virtual reality that distracts us from the insidious reality of American life.
Today we celebrate the document that embodies the American spirit and ideals.
Today we celebrate the document that embodies the American spirit andideals.
In May of 1787, when the delegates to the Federal Convention convened to overhaul the Articles of Confederation, debate over the issues the new nation faced brought the delegates to the conclusion that the original governing document should be set aside, and an entirely new frame of government established.
The end result was the Constitution of the United States; the Social Contract that to this very day governs our lives and defines the boundaries of our relationship with our government.
Competing visions of government were considered and debated, and a draft emerged on August 6th.Two weeks later, commerce and slavery collided, and nearly ceased the proceedings.A week into September, the delegates were exhausted and ready to return home, and the final draft was turned over to committee for the preparation of the final draft, which was returned finished on September 12.On September 15, it was voted on by the convention for the last time, and it passed unanimously.Every vote on the roll call was “aye.”
From there, it went to the states, where now the fight was between the Federalists who backed ratification and the anti-Federalists who opposed.
Pennsylvania was the first state to call for a ratification convention.All eyes in the nation were cast toward that state.Pennsylvania was large, wealthy and powerful, and there was much at stake.The positions of both Federalists and anti-Federalists were printed in newspapers throughout the land.
Passions were high.
When the Federalist-dominated state ratifying convention lacked a quorum of members to conduct the vote on September 29, an angry mob took Participatory Democracy to a whole new level.
They went to the homes of two anti-Federalist lawmakers and dragged them to the statehouse, forcing their presence, and a quorum.
Anti-Federalist sentiments ran equally high, however, and in New York, a series of essays penned under the pseudonym “Cato” began appearing, assailing the Constitution for the strong central government it established.
A counter offensive was undertaken by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, with the help of James Madison.Before the end of 1787, the first of the Federalist Papers would be published.The 85 essays, most penned by Hamilton, examined the failings of the Articles of Confederation, and building the case for a strong central government.Thomas Jefferson later called the Federalist Papers the “best commentary on the principles of government ever written.”
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The fight was not over.By January 1788, only five of the nine states needed for ratification had voted to do so – Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Georgia and New Jersey.The ratifying convention in Massachusetts did not ratify until the addition of a Bill of Rights.
That made six.
But the Federalists were not on the homestretch yet.The New Hampshire convention would be adjourned before the vote by Federalists sensing defeat.Rhode Island put it to the citizens in the form of a referendum, and the citizens turned down the Constitution with an overwhelming 10-to-1 rejection.
The Federalist leaders were getting nervous.They turned their focus to Maryland, and Madison wrote to George Washington “The difference between even a postponement and adoption in Maryland may . . . possibly give a fatal advantage to that which opposes the constitution.”Madison expended much anxiety needlessly.The Maryland convention overwhelmingly approved the Constitution, with 63 delegates voting “aye” and only 11 “nays.”
That made seven.
In May, South Carolina adopted the Constitution, so when New Hampshire ratified in the summer of 1788, the Constitution became the Social Contract.With the ratification of the Constitution by a reconvened New Hampshire convention, the Congress appointed a committee “for putting the said Constitution into operation.”
By September, Virginia and New York would ratify as well, but the votes were very close.
Heroes of the Revolution, Patrick Henry foremost, had opposed the new Constitution because it was vague, and it was only adopted when the amendments we know as The Bill of Rights were added.
It was an age of debate and participation and compromise.In the end, the founders gave us a Republic.It is our charge to keep it.
September 26, 2007 – Hanover, New Hampshire
October 30, 2007 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 15, 2007 – Las Vegas, Nevada
December 10, 2007 – Los Angeles, California
January 6, 2008 – Johnson County, Iowa
January 15, 2008 – Las Vegas, Nevada
January 31, 2008 – California
Well, all the hoopla and “O” press has winded down. Still throughout the week the MSM was talking about the “O” & “O” affect. From this standpoint, it was a hell of a party, a lot of monies was raised, folks were still talking about it throughout the week, and Obama is Oprah’s candidate for her talkshow couch. Nuff said.
Obama Was Taken to School by Rush and Learned the Hard Way
This is a good article with the viewpoint of Congressman Bobby Rush of Chicago. Candid, frank, and honest. Because you can’t win them all, but you must learn not to make the same mistakes, again.
The rise of Barack Obama includes one glaring episode of political miscalculation. Even friends told Mr. Obama it was a bad idea when he decided in 1999 to challenge an incumbent congressman and former Black Panther, Bobby L. Rush, whose stronghold on the South Side of Chicago was overwhelmingly black, Democratic and working class.
Mr. Obama was a 38-year-old state senator and University of Chicago lecturer, unknown in much of Mr. Rush’s Congressional district. He lived in its most rarefied neighborhood, Hyde Park. He was taking on a local legend, a former alderman and four-term incumbent who had given voters no obvious reason to displace him.
Mr. Rush’s name recognition started off at 90 percent, Mr. Obama’s at 11. Then Mr. Rush’s son was murdered, leading Mr. Obama to put his campaign on hold. Later, while vacationing in Hawaii with his family, he missed a high-profile vote in the Legislature and was pilloried. (One Chicago Tribune editorial began, “What a bunch of gutless sheep.”) Then President Clinton endorsed Mr. Rush.
“Campaigns are always, ‘What’s the narrative of the race?’ ” said Eric Adelstein, a media consultant in Chicago who worked on the Rush campaign. “In a sense, it was ‘the Black Panther against the professor.’ That’s not a knock on Obama; but to run from Hyde Park, this little bastion of academia, this white community in the black South Side – it just seemed odd that he would make that choice as a kind of stepping out.” more
NY Time Gets It Wrong OnObama Q&AWith Samantha Powers Obama’s CaliforniaStrategy
clinton, obama univision debate, university of miami
Iraq, Immigration, Univision
The candidates were asked why they supported a wall along the Mexican border _ and not a similar fence along the U.S.-Canadian border _ a question that seemed to catch them somewhat off-guard. Most avoided answering directly, saying simply that they believed security was a key part of comprehensive immigration reform.
“I do favor more security on the border and in some cases a physical border because that has to be part of securing our borders,” Clinton said.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama spoke of his father’s experience as an immigrant and noted that he supported the comprehensive immigration bill that passed the U.S. Senate last year.
Richardson, who has opposed the wall, said he would commit to comprehensive reform in the first year.
“If you’re going to build a 12 foot wall. You know what’s going to happen? A lot of 13-foot ladders.”
But there are strong feelings against the Iraq war among Hispanics, so that topic lead the debate, with the moderators noting that two-thirds of Hispanics support a withdrawal from Iraq. Kucinich was loudly applauded for saying he would pull troops out.
Obama aligned himself with Kucinich.
“I was a strong opponent of the war, as Dennis was,” Obama said, adding that President Bush is trying to make it appear that the 35,000 troop surge earlier this year has had an impact. more, Newsday
In Little Havana, Cuba Si, ObamaNo Obama to Reboot hisIraqPolicy ObamaScheduled for Iraq Speech in Clinton, Ia
Obama and Iraq
Senator Barack Obama unveiled his Iraq plan in Clinton, Iowa on Wednesday. It was promoted as a major policy speech and it was.
Obama proposes pulling all combat brigades out of Iraq by the end of next year. This plan will leave a small amount of troops in Iraq to battle terrorists, continue training Iraq personnel and to watch American interests. It is an aggressive plan, one that has come under fire, but we all know what that is about, after his Pakistan speech. A speech which foreign analysts and his contemporaries, in the end sided with Obama.
Speaking in Iowa, Mr. Obama combined an attack on both parties in Washington for having gotten the United States into the war with the outline of an approach for getting out that immediately drew criticism from the left of his party for being too timid and from Republicans as being irresponsible.
“What’s at stake is bigger than this war: it’s our global leadership,” Mr. Obama said. “Now is a time to be bold. We must not stay the course or take the conventional path because the other course is unknown.”
There really is no one with the exception of Gravel,Kucinich and possibly Richardson, who can tout and criticize why we are in Iraq. The left of the party want total out, and who does not? The right, Republicans, want us to stay the course, or whatever course it is now. Sorry, that course keeps changing every time President Bush opens his mouth.
“The best way to protect our security and to pressure Iraq’s leaders to resolve their civil war is to immediately begin to remove our combat troops,” Mr. Obama said. “Not in six months or one year – now.”
In his address, Mr. Obama proposed removing American combat troops at a pace of one or two brigades a month, which is about twice as fast as American commanders in Iraq have deemed prudent. There are currently about 20 combat brigades in Iraq, which General Petraeus has committed to reducing to 15 next summer.
Under the Obama plan, no more than 10 brigades would be in Iraq at that point. Military experts who supported the administration’s “surge” strategy called the troop levels proposed by Mr. Obama insufficient.
Well, it would be insufficient, but this is about troop reduction with the eventual, OUT. This is what Americans want.
Polls suggest that there is considerable public support for the approach outlined by Mr. Obama. In the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, 56 percent of Americans said they favored reducing troops levels in Iraq, but leaving some forces in place to train Iraqi forces, fight terrorists and protect American diplomats.
Twenty-two percent favored a complete withdrawal in the next year, and 20 percent favored keeping the same number of troops “until there is a stable democracy in Iraq.”
No matter who you talk with, Americans do understand that we cannot “yank” troops out with an “adios” to Iraq. We started the mess in the Middle East, though it was under fraudulent means, The United States of America, in the end is responsible. And the careful getting out, as careless as we were getting in, is very applicable here. Yes, whether we like it or not.
September 17, 2007 – Michelle Obama, Anderson, SC
September 18, 2007 – Coundown to Change, Washington, D.C.
September 19, 2007 – Michelle Obama, Dallas, TX
September 20, 2007 – Countdown to Change, Atlanta, GA
September 20, 2007 – Town Hall, Rock Hill, SC
September 25, 2007 – Countdown to Change, Portland, ME
September 25, 2007 – Michelle Obama, Chicago, IL
Obama/Edwards Ticket? Or Edwards/Obama? South Carolina Poll, Movement Towards Obama in the African American Community
kos, kerfuffle & misinterpretation
On Thursday, kos, wrote a piece comparing Dodd and Obama. It is fair, all candidates and positions should be examined, taken apart, and re-examined. What happened was that a kos based his diary on a misinterpretation by AP writer, Mike Glover.
The article was based on Obama being frank, stating that the Senate does not have the votes to push through legislation, at this time about Iraq.
Despite the Iraq war’s unpopularity, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that Congress lacks the votes to force a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops and will focus instead on putting a ceiling on the number deployed.
“One way of ending the war would be setting a timetable. We’re about 15 votes short. Right now it doesn’t look like we’re going to get that many votes,” Obama said, referring to the number needed to override an expected veto by President Bush.
What is wrong with this? Let’s be real here. Jonathan Singer on mydd wrote a diary today stating 60 Votes Does Matter. And guess what? It does!! And 67 votes is cause for popping champaign, because you can override a presidential veto. So, why the kerfuffle?
kos’ vent was the question if Obama will stand up and fight for anything? Well, those that are supporters were livid, and rightfully so. Then, kos gets the full remarks of what Obama said, EXACTLY, from his campaign. See, got to have the audio going 24/7, because if you leave it to any reporter, guess what happens? Your words get skewed.
Well, kos then back peddled and did the right thing, called, a “correction”. And the Obama Campaign must have had some choice words for the AP reporter, Mike Glover, because his article was revised. So, what did we learn through all of this?
That when you start writing, yes these diaries, you should have more than one article, information, etc., to back up the consensus of what you are writing. And if you are going verbatim of what a candidate has to say, let’s get the full text of what the candidate said. Why? Words can be interpreted different ways by people, period. Go to a play. At the intermission, just listen to what people have to say about the play, thus far. You will get different opinions from practically everyone. So, if we are serious about what these politicians say, exactly, let’s write about that, exactly. kos did the right thing, he knew he was wrong, and he corrected, himself. I am sure he will not put his foot in his “laptop”, again. And neither, should we.
maquoketa, ia
Announcements
California Women for Obama; LA Controller Co-Chair for California Women for Obama; Congressman Sanford Bishop for Obama; Wisconsin Lawmakers Endorse Obama; California Black Caucus for Obama; Wisconsin Govenor’s Son for Obama; Vermont Lawmakers for Obama; Iowa Lawmakers Backing Obama; New Hampshire Veterans Steering Committee; Nebraska Straw Poll For Obama; Obama wins Hamilton County Straw Poll
He managed to burnish a reformer’s reputation while swimming in the muddy waters of special-interest- infested state politics.
He worked on a nice-guy image while practicing the hardball and brawling tactics of Chicago-style politics.
Now, promoting himself as a fresh face on the national political stage, proclaiming his distance from lobbyists and the Washington culture of special interests, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has to contend with his own history.
From Chicago to Springfield, his past is filled with decidedly old-school political tactics — a history of befriending powerful local elders, assisting benefactors and special interests, and neutralizing rivals.
Obama may be packaged as something new among presidential contenders, but in this town where politics is played like a blood sport he fit right in.
“He knows how the game is played,” said Jay Stewart, executive director of Better Government Assn., a nonpartisan group that honored Obama for helping overhaul state ethics law. Stewart called Illinois politics “deeply troubled, if not corrupt” at its core.
“It is very difficult to come out of a system that is flawed and walk out unscathed. Sen. Obama has done better than most. But it’s not as if he is a babe in the woods,” Stewart said. more
students for obama, movement
Video/Audio
Women for Obama; Obama on Today Show; Senate Foreign Relations Hearing with General Petreaus; Obama’s Iraq Speech, with introduction by Zbigniew Brzezinski (ZBIG); Iowa Changes Ad; NPR, “All Things Considered”, Audio; Zbigniew Brzezinski Online News Hour, Audio
Events
Become a Nevada Precinct Captain Here; Iowa City Fundraiser Event, Sept 20th; Northern California Organization Meeting, Sept 19th (Boulder Creek); Houseparty With General McPeak, Sept 23rd, Gorham, NH; howardpark’s dc events; Las Vegas Book Club Meeting, Oct 5th; Register to Vote, Here
p.s……Best Two Speeches at Harkin Steak Fry…Edwards & Obama Clickhere, no more wondering if Obama is going to vote for more funding of this war. But better yet, watch part of it below…..
Quarter Three, Ends September 30th
There were thousands of Countdown for Change Houseparties, Saturday, September 15th, all across this country. As we are on a quest for real change, one can not disassociate money and running a campaign. Especially with the primaries for 2008 being frontloaded on February 5th. This means that The Obama Campaign need the resources to compete, build, recruit volunteers, and have the troops ready for all they need in these early states and the tsunami of Februay 5th. If you have not given, tip my obama jar. Five bucks is the minimum. This goes directly to the Obama Campaign. If you appreciate the weekly roundup, go on and tip it. FYI. I finally got a blog for all “This Week’s”, in one spot. I was asked to do this for other sites, since it would be easy for them, to post just one link. But check it out and bookmark it. This Week With Barack Obama.
icebergslim’s last word: iraq, no “adios”
I did not know what to write about for my last word, this week. I mean it has been an up and down week for Obama. As I was drinking my coffee this morning and powered up my laptop, I ran across this diary on Daily Kos, “not only WHEN we leave, but HOW we leave”, by teacherken.
I have been extremely critical, angry about what has happened in Iraq. I have been disappointed in our government, the politicians who voted for the authorization of Iraq, and the lame media (MSM) who were afraid to report, challenge and fight for the truth coming out of Iraq. I only want to hear two words, GET OUT!
Well, teacherken, put it out there and sadly, he is right.
Mr. Bush is right, though not in the way he intended. The United States must withdraw, that has become evident, but cannot leave the way we left Vietnam, in a paroxysm of self-absorption, political manipulation, escapism and shame, in which the fates of the Vietnamese became simply collateral damage in our struggle with ourselves. The planning for withdrawal must include provisions for the security of Iraqis who put their faith in us, and that means resettling many of them in the United States. We must not make the same mistake again.
For us to just think that we can leave Iraq with no consequences, is looking at this war with rose colored glasses on. We can’t. It is simple as that. What the United States of America did was invade a country with no proof of “weapons of mass destruction”, dismantled its government, moved over 100K contractors into Iraq, doing god knows what, opened this country up to terrorism, and a continuing mountain of debt being paid by our banker China.
That is the reality of Iraq. I know and understand, our troops being sacrificed on a plate, diced up by congress, and dying daily, is a horrible option. The truth is we just cannot pull out, say “adios”, “it’s been one, Iraq”. No we cannot. No one is angrier about this war than me. No one is more untrusting of any politician, than me. No one is more pissed off after listening to George W. Bush, on Thursday, stating that we will be in Iraq for decades, than me. But, the reality is that we are responsible for what has happened in the Middle East. We are.
No presidential candidate running for office can pull out all the troops. They cannot. And to promise to do so, would be a fallacy. We are responsible for over or close to a million Iraqis being killed. We are responsible for these families being removed from their homes in Iraq, to become refugees. We are responsible for no schools, medical care, city services, crime, destitution, yes we are. But more importantly, we are responsible for not listening to the Arab nations who told us “not to invade”, and look what it has cost us and this region.
We are not leaving, because these Arab countries cannot afford to let us leave. Until strong, fervor diplomatic solutions are to partake, we will continue to be in Iraq. These diplomatic solutions is with everyone at the table, yes, even the “axis of evil” which constitutes other countries and “insurgents”, that Bush don’t like. This is not going to happen by the time Bush leaves office, by the time the next president enters office, and may not even conclude the first term of the next president. This is the reality.
Do I like this? No. But the reality is that no presidential candidate can afford all the troops out. Not a one. And until we can sit everyone at the table, until all can come to a conclusion, this war will continue. Just keepin’ it real, folks.
Following up on last week’s announcement, if you’re in the St. Louis area, you should drop by the Royale tomorrow evening for a meetup of local bloggers. The Royale is cozy enough that you should be able to spot the group, but for identification purposes, I’m the guy wearing a “I Got Pssst at YearlyKos 2007” T-shirt.
Date: Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Place: The Royale at 3132 S. Kingshighway
Time: 6:30 pm until ???
In the wake of all the fuss about Tax Increment Financing (TIFs) in Missouri the last couple of years, the legislature is now considering a compromise. It has passed HB 741, which instructs a special legislative committee (Joint Committee on Tax Policy) to study a TIF-like program.
The new version, like the old, gives Sam’s Club, Lowe’s, or shopping malls,for example, tax breaks on the infrastructure for the new development–on the cost of the parking lot, say, or water systems, sewers, and new off ramps from a nearby highway. The difference between TIF-like and the real thing is that TIF-like programs require the approval of all concerned institutions–fire departments, school districts, whoever stands to lose money if the tax give back ends up cutting into their revenue.
That’s the upside of this program, but brace yourself for the downside because it’s steep.
Rep. Clint Zweifel (D-Florissant, pictured) warns that such TIF-like developments will be in their own special legal category and as such will be “exempt from any changes in TIF laws.” For example, he says, last year the legislature passed a law forbidding TIFs to be awarded for developments in green field spaces. It makes sense to insist that an open field dotted with cattle is hardly a blighted area in need of redevelopment. But that law would not apply to a Tif-like proposal. Missouri doesn’t need an additional TIF program that would require its own set of laws. This arrangement would not be “double your pleasure, double your fun” but “double your headaches”–and triple your chances that developers will find ways to rake in tax money they don’t deserve.
“Well,” you might say, “who cares if a TIF-like area is not really blighted as long as all the concerned parties think that granting the tax incentive is a good idea?”
The reason is that, as it now stands, communities vie with each other to draw the big boxes and malls–and the tax revenue they generate–to themselves. They bid against each other, and the winner sometimes comes out ahead and sometimes not, when the tax incentives are figured against the potential tax revenues. That system allows Wal-Mart and Target to play us off against each other. It would make so much more sense to reserve TIFs for really blighted areas that wouldn’t get development without those incentives. But St. Louis municipalities like Florissant and Ferguson or Wildwood and Ellisville would come out ahead if a St. Louis County board made those decisions about where the big guys can locate. That way, no tax incentives would need be given. As long as the distribution of such stores was fairly even, every municipality would come out ahead.
And if the day ever comes when such a sensible county or regional perspective is considered, we won’t want to have to jump the hurdle twice to get it enacted–once for TIFs and another time for TIF-likes.
The crowd had filled out to its full size of 12,000 (probably minus a few no shows).
I stopped to talk to two women who were sporting Hillary stickers. I asked them where they were from. “Grinell, Iowa.” I asked them who they were supporting. “Hillary or Obama. They both have platforms we agree with.” One said, “It’s a triumph of American politics I’d like to see. Both are smart.” I asked if they would be participating in the caucus. Both said they have in the past, and they will this time, too.
Senator Tom Harkin introduced his six guests in the order they were speaking. The crowd response to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards was big and about the same for each. The candidates had contingents of supporters, but most in the crowd applauded all of them.
One of my traveling companions noted that this was probably indicative of the current state of the race in Iowa.
I noticed more than a few people with stickers of most, if not all, of the candidates plastered on their shirts.
A singer performed the national anthem with pre-recorded accompaniment. Her rendition was heartfelt and definitely unique. Most people would have had difficulty singing along with her. I noticed that all of the candidates except Obama held their hands over their hearts. Obama held his hands folded in front of him throughout [This is not criticism – the “hand over the heart” looked awkward on the stage – I was standing in the same fashion as Obama].
As the speechifying started I realized I wasn’t going to be able to talk to people in the crowd. They were paying attention to whoever was speaking on the stage. I later made the mistake of trying to talk to some Edwards supporters after he had finished speaking. A woman dismissed me with [rightly so], “I’m trying to listen to this speaker…”
The candidates spoke in an order determined at random. First up was Barack Obama:
…Some of the reason you’re all out here. You’re sick and tired of George Bush…
Barack Obama supporters started trickling to the exits after he spoke.
A man noticed me and my press pass. He came up to me and said, “Have you ever noticed when people run for office they sound like a dictator? They’ll say they’ll do this, but don’t mention there’s a Congress they’ll have to work with or anything.” I listened politely. He walked away.
Bill Richardson:
…Al Gore has been right, we all just hope he doesn’t get in the race…
…with Bill Richardson you get change and experience…
Hillary Clinton was introduced and a good portion of the crowd got on its feet:
…building a new field of dreams for the country we love, and we’re going to take it back…
If you’re ready for change, I’m ready to lead…
…[referring to the Bush administration] The era of cowboy diplomacy is over…
…[referring to cabinet appointments] let’s appoint qualified people to do the job in America again…
…[a 90 year old woman] said, ‘I was born before a woman could vote and now I’m going to see a woman in the White House’…
A number of Hillary Clinton supporters exited the grounds after she spoke.
Chris Dodd:
…doing something greater than ourselves…
…All 12,000 of you are invited to spend Inaugural night at the White House [Harkin supposedly quipped, “We’ll all be there.”]
John Edwards:
…When we walk away from the poor and defenseless our party loses its identity…
…We need more than the rhetoric of change…
…[the system] is broken. It does not work for ordinary Americans. When you give [corporate interests] a seat at the table, they’ll eat all the food…
…I don’t want to see us replace corporate republicans with corporate Democrats…
…George Bush has not damaged America’s standing in the world, he’s destroyed it…
Every [war] funding bill sent to Bush should have a timetable for withdrawal…
Most of the crowd started to stream out.
Joe Biden:
…I’ve also seen ‘Field of Dreams’, but if I’m not mistaken this [event] has taken longer than nine innings…
…George Bush has made it abundantly clear that he will not end this war. One of us on this stage will have to end it…
…This war must end…
[He somberly recited the number of American dead and wounded in Iraq to date]…
Joe Biden’s speech was well received by the crowd that remained.
The event was certainly interesting. The press pass made it more so, surreal even.
I never made it to the press filing/blogger building.
I had given my full admission ticket to one of our traveling companions who didn’t have a ticket. My press pass got me on to the grounds, but I still never got a chance to plunk down the ten dollars to get something to eat.
Getting out was easier than getting in. By the time we made it to the parking lot most people had already left. It reminded me of the crowd at a sporting event leaving with time still on the clock.
We drove past long lines of people walking back to the cars they had parked further out when they tried avoiding the traffic jam.
We stopped at a local convenience store to gas up the vehicles and headed to I-35 – four and a half hours later we reached home.
It’s time for another round of the Q & A series we’re holding here for the Missouri AG candidates. The answers to the last round can be found here; Rep. Jeff Harris won the first poll of our readers convincingly.
This week’s question: “What job that you’ve held in the past has best prepared you for the job of Attorney General? Why?”
The rules are below the fold.
We’ll be asking the AG candidates every couple of weeks to respond to a question, and when the deadline is up, we’ll post the answers together in the order we received them. You’ll then be able to cast a vote for the best answer, as well as discuss in comments who you believe had the best answer.
The rules are simple:
1) Answers must be 250 words or less.
2) Answers must be received by noon on Wednesday.
We’ll put up a link to each candidate’s ActBlue page every time they respond according to the rules. Feel free to suggest future questions in comments.
As I walked through the entrance gate a twenty-something asks me for my ticket, then sees the press pass, smiles and says, “Sorry,” then motions me through. I’m wondering the same thing.
Down the rabbit hole.
There was an army of volunteers at the entrance from one campaign or another passing out campaign stickers (and still others working the crowd, handing out campaign paraphernalia and getting Iowans to fill out cards). They see my pass and don’t offer me anything.
There’s no mud. People stream in through the entrance. The food lines at the south east are humming with activity. The huge tents with tables are occupied. I see a big crowd to the north east.
Ah. The scheduled photo-op.
The attendance to the event is eventually announced. 12,000. A record. That’s one big mass of humanity.
I have my bag over one shoulder and may camera in hand. The damn press pass keeps twirling in the wind – the chain chokes me. I keep having to untwist it. The t-shirted campaign volunteers handing out “stuff” approach everyone – they see my pass and purposefully avoid me.
I made my way to the food line tents. I take a few photos of people in line. Surprisingly, of the close to 100 photos I took, almost all look decent. I made my way to the large crowd at the photo-op. I find myself in the midst of large organized competing Hillary and Edwards groups. John Edwards is working the fence line. I see one of his national campaign staffers who I’ve been acquainted with over the years. I call out his name. He looks at me over the fence, sees me and smiles. I call out over the crowd, “Do you remember me?” He nods. I continue snapping away with my camera, a full size slr digital job. An event staffer, seeing my press pass tells me, “Follow me.” He grabs a few others inside the crowd with press passes and takes us in tow, escorting us inside the fence to the inner sanctum of the photo-op.
The photographers and video camera people mob John Edwards. Elizabeth Edwards, too. The crowd at the fence line keeps their competing chants going. The Edwards people have more “home made” appearing signs and a guy with a bullhorn.
Jeff Greenfield interviews Edwards – with the crowd at the fence line as a back drop. Other video and still photographers surround them, only leaving an open space for the view of the crowd behind Edwards. A campaign staffer makes sure of that.
Then, somehow the Edwards are gone and another contingent arrives to the photo-op (a group of volunteers grilling steak and chicken in a fenced off area).
Hillary has arrived. She eventually makes her way to the fence line. She’s mobbed by the crowd at the fence line on one side, and the media still photographers and video cameras on the other. I lean over the fence into the crowd with my camera to try and get a better angle. A young women on the line lets loose with loud wolf whistle three inches from my ear. There’s going to be permanent hearing loss. The crowd is large, noisy and boisterous.
At one point Hillary made her way back to the fence line to greet a man in a wheel chair and his attendant. Two young women, oblivious to those around them, push to the fence to get closer to Hillary, pushing the attendant into her charge. The attendant loudly says, “Excuse me.” She repeats herself. The two young women don’t seem to notice.
The mob scenes around Edwards and Hillary make me thankful for the fences.
Because of the photo-op I missed the grand entrance of Obama and his supporters on to the grounds through the main entrance [they made their way from the off site rally].
I made my way back to the public grounds. I see Joe Biden. There are three people around him. I take a few photos.
I spot a swirling crowd. It’s Obama – he’s surrounded by a swarm of media and supporters. I join in and and start taking pictures. The mass of humanity makes its way to the photo op-area. After Obama walks into the fenced area those of us with press passes follow.
Obama is engaged in a lengthy conversation with a grill volunteer. He listens intently.
Joe Biden makes his way into the photo-op area. He and Obama are simultaneously greeting the people in the area. They see each other and shake hands.
I see a couple, Obama supporters by their t-shirts, at the fence. I approach. “Can I ask you a few questions?” “It depends.” [Ah, the press pass.] I ask them where they’re from. “Amana, Iowa.” “Why are you supporting Barack Obama?” “He’s a fresh wind. He’s brilliant. He doesn’t take money from lobbyists. He’s raised $20 million five dollars at a time. His speech at the Democratic National Convention. The country needs change. He’s working for people.” I jot down their comments on a note pad. There’s an inquisitive look from the woman. I explain that I’m a blogger. “Show Me Progress.” She indicates she’s going to look it up. They mention they intend to participate in the caucus. I ask, “Have you done this before?” The indicate that this is the first time they’ll do so.
I look to the main grounds. The crowd has grown to its full size. I make my way back from the photo op.
They obtained a stay from the Administrative Hearing Commission to stop construction of the chicken CAFO. That was at the end of July. Construction continues, and the Department of Natural Resources does nothing to enforce that stay. Huh?
The new version, like the old, gives Sam’s Club, Lowe’s, or shopping malls,for example, tax breaks on the infrastructure for the new development–on the cost of the parking lot, say, or water systems, sewers, and new off ramps from a nearby highway. The difference between TIF-like and the real thing is that TIF-like programs require the approval of all concerned institutions–fire departments, school districts, whoever stands to lose money if the tax give back ends up cutting into their revenue.