Ohio's Todd Schneider: Kerry In Akron/A Dem Weekend

Todd J. Schneider, Ohio Correspondent Checks In

A Democratic Labor Day Weekend in NE Ohio
John Kerry in Akron, Ohio

A 'loyalty-oath'-free 3 days was enjoyed by all Democrats this weekend in the land of John Brown!

It actually began early in the week, with a phenomenal job of preparation for a surprise visit (at least to most of us) to Akron by Senator John Kerry.

My family's involvement started on Tuesday, when I picked up 20 tickets. I am sad to say the person at the office didn't trust me to have this many - I think she thought I would waste them on no-shows. They were gone by Thursday, and every ticket given represented a body at Firestone Stadium in Akron on Saturday.

Friday evening was the volunteers' meeting for the rally, then Sat. at 6:30 the volunteers' arrival at the Stadium. After some waiting for the magnetometers to get set up, we finally got into the stadium to go to our assignments - ours being voter registration and absentee ballot applications. My apologies for this amount of boring detail, but for those who will have Senator Kerry or Edwards coming to their town, this is the formula, so you will know ahead of time.

The rally itself was a gathering to make every Democrat proud. In the crowd were Union folk, business men and women, the elderly and invalid, babies, their moms and grandmas, veterans, firefighters, teachers - in other words, America was there. And on the stage was a list of speakers that represented everything Democrats could hope for, and a group that while unique to Ohio, would register in the minds of Democrats across the nation. There were Representatives Sherrod Brown, Tim Ryan, Stephanie Tubbs-Jones and Dennis Kucinich. There was our beloved John and Annie Glenn, and the man who we are working to make another great U.S. Senator, Eric Fingerhut.

My personal favorite though, is Akron's Mayor Don Plusquellic, who is currently the President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. Mayor Plusquellic and Rep. Tim Ryan breathe some fire, my friends. They call them as they see them, and every Democrat was on their feet while they slung some crap at our boy-king and his minions.

Senator Kerry was right on the money with all that he said, though every last one of the 12-15 thousand attendees not-so-secretly wished he would REALLY let 'what's-his-name' have it in the manner that the repubs dish it out. Taking the high road is not always easy to like. Even so, every person that we gave tickets to said they wouldn't have missed it for the world.

On Sunday, we had a nice gathering of Democrats in nearby Tallmadge, in the 'circle' (Northeasterners - the ancestors of us all in the Connecticut Western Reserve - will know this as a 'rotary'), ably put together by Pat, Lisa and Mike Carano and our independent Summit Dems group, led by John Cross.

Considering the energy-draining day we had the day before, we were very pleased by the attendance. It would be hard to gauge the exact number, but the eagerness to be there and the fellowship displayed made it seem like thousands. And let me say that it was a day that sprung from a meeting of 12 or 13 people in a Starbuck's back in February - a group of people that heard the clock ticking and wasn't going to wait for the Party apparatus to get moving. If ever the term 'grass roots' could be applied as a visual aid, this group would be the poster child.

The very same day (5 Sept.), The Cleveland Plain Dealer had an article that showcased our grass-roots organization, emphasizing the cross-section of life it represented, and the urgency with which it has acted. This author is blessed to have been some small part of this cadre, and I will treasure these past months forever.

On Labor Day (brought to you by our progressive ancestors), the anti-Bushite City of Barberton held it's annual parade, which according to Al Canfora (who gracefully answered my 14-year-old son's inquiries into his May 4 1970 bullet wound) was a rousing show of Democratic politics in this proud, yet depressed Ohio city. For me, our talk with Alan and Gwen was the icing on the cake of this Democratic weekend. It was a talk with an two courageous Democrat soldiers that gave us inspiration down the home stretch.

The Sunday before last, it was a glorious adventure with anti-Bushites from across the land in beloved NYC.

Last Sunday, it was more of the same with friends and family at home.

We are ready to defeat the tyrant here in NE Ohio.

Will you join us?

--Todd J. Schneider

Alan's Ditty

Jesus would vote for me, you fools!
Why won't you?--you know He rules!

I'm gonna be spankin' that slaveholder Obama
Get me Jesus on the Hotline, hoo-lawdie Mama!

-Alan

Dick Cheney: "D" stands for Dr. Horror

Dick Cheney:
"D" stands for Dr. Horror

David Corn writes about Dick Cheney's fear-mongering:
'Expect Worse Than This'.

"Vote for Kerry and die!"....it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?



If "W" stands for WRONG,
"D" stands for DR. HORROR
Mwuhahahaha--ha!.

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James Wolcott describes Dr. Horror Cheney as a "broken down sidekick ready for a lawnsale".

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Juan Cole's analysis of Dr. Horror's comments: 'Cheney seems to be saying that the reason there won't be another attack if he is reelected is because he will keep fighting "preemptive" wars. So, he is promising us more wars, folks. And he almost certainly has Iran foremost on his mind.'

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At the WhyWeAreBack blog, Ron shows us How to Cheney Cheney.

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This golden tidbit from Bill Maher was mined by Atrios. It's a must-see.

9/11 wasn't a triumph of the human spirit. It was a fuck-up by a guy on vacation.

Nothing But a Lie

Nothing But A Lie

"So bring them back, and make it soon
Before we lose one more
And tell us now what we can do
To end this needless war

We honor and respect our troops,
and hold our flag up high.
But please don't make them shed their blood
for nothing but a lie."

--Mona Abboud, writer of the song "Nothing But A Lie"

Ben Barnes Unfairly Characterized By White House

Ben Barnes Unfairly Characterized By White House

If you're wondering what the significance of THIS might be, I'll explain.
On 60 Minutes tonight, Ben Barnes will reveal how he got Bush into the National Guard.
As you might expect, the Bushites are ready and willing to trash Barnes.
Today, White House spokesman Scott McLellan said of Barnes’ comments: "It is not surprising coming from a longtime partisan Democrat. The allegation was discredited by the commanding officer. This was fully covered and addressed five years ago. It is nothing new."
Longtime partisan Democrat...hmmmm.....that's funny....

In 2002, Ben Barnes gave $10,000 to the GOP's own Carole Keeton Strayhorn's Texas campaign. (See that link again).

Oh---and by the way......

Carole Keeton Strayhorn is Scott McLellan's MOTHER!

James Carroll: The unwinnable war

The unwinnable war
By James Carroll

"..There is the single most troubling aspect of the war in Iraq. We launched it against the wicked Saddam Hussein, yet the majority of so-called "insurgents" against whom our forces are arrayed hated Hussein more than we did. We are killing people by the thousands who threaten absolutely nothing of ours....

...Even though the war on terrorism is indeed, as the president said, a "crusade," it has nothing real to do with Islam.....although Islam is surely its target. Not Islam as it actually exists in dozens of different settings and cultures across the globe, but an imagined Islam that exists only in the troubled minds of a people who project "evil" outward and then attack it. Alas, it is an old Christian habit.."

Please read this article.

Bush Service Questioned In 'Texans For Truth' Ad

Bush Service Questioned In 'Texans For Truth' Ad

A new group, Texans for Truth, are claiming that George W. Bush dodged his military responsibilities during the Vietnam war.

A timeline of Bush's National Guard service is here.

You can watch the group's new TV ad online.

There was an article about the group and its ad in USA Today.

Texans for Truth plans to spend $100,000 to $250,000 to run the ad for a week in closely contested states that are home to large numbers of families of U.S. troops killed in Iraq. Such states include Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Oregon and Arizona.


If The Texans for Truth don't have enough information for a super-sleuth like you to read through, you always have the option of going to AWOLBush.com

At ChangeForAmerica, Adam Mordecai is a wee bit skeptical about what could have happened to all those records that the dog ate; or that were burned or wrecked; or just plain got lost or "don't exist".