RIP Elizabeth Edwards - thank you

JeremiahFP

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Tuesday December 07, 2010 · 7:24 PM PST

2010/12/07 · 19:24

Elizabeth Edwards was one of us.

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday August 26, 2010 · 6:58 AM PDT

2010/08/26 · 06:58

I'm happy that Ken Mehlman decided to publicly come out of the closet and then to join the fight for marriage equality.

Personally, it must have been a wrenching decision and Mehlman deserves some credit for finally doing something right politically.

BUT, Mehlman's political legacy is shameful and it doesn't get undone by one self-interested act. Mehlman shilled for the only President in history who wanted to write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution.

In order to get re-elected in 2004, George W. Bush appealed to the worst in the American people; he attacked gay marriage and equality; and it worked. It worked because of people like Mehlman.

Ken Mehlman reminds me of George Wallace, Governor of Alabama in the 1960s. Wallace cynically appealed to people's bigotry and fear in order to advance his political career. Then, when the tide of history moved on, he apologized.

Is it good enough?

Poll

50 votes Show Results

Ken Mehlman can repair his legacy

50 votes Vote Now!

Ken Mehlman can repair his legacy

If all he does is steadfastly advocate for LGBT equality

8 votes

If all he does is sincerely apologize

0 votes

If he singlehandedly ends the wars

1 vote

If he invents a time machine, goes back in time, and causes Al Gore to win the 2000 election

41 votes

Still PROUD to represent the DEMOCRATIC wing of the Democratic party

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 19, 2010 · 8:11 AM PDT

2010/05/19 · 08:11

Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will.

-Frederic Douglas

Remember back in 2003 when most elected officials went along with the destructive Bush agenda because they were afraid to stand up for what's right if standing up meant risking losing an election? Remember when most elected Democrats looked to polls before reaching a conclusion on great moral issues? Well, we stood up, and lead by Howard Dean, we began fighting to take our country - and our party - back.

The elections of 2006, 2008, and last night's victories in Pennsylvania - and the upcoming victory in Arkansas - show that our movement is growing. But we have lots more work to do.

My name is Jeremiah Frei-Pearson. I'm a Kossack, a community organizer, a civil rights lawyer who represents foster children, and I'm running for New York State Assembly, because I believe we will never fix the serious problems we face unless our elected officials come from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. I hope you will follow me around the fold to learn more. . . .

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday January 02, 2010 · 5:57 PM PST

2010/01/02 · 17:57

The title of my diary may be a cliche, but what a decade, politically and personally.

When the decade began, I was a 21 year old kid, 3 years removed from graduating in the bottom half of my high school class. I worked hard because I had dreams of becoming a lawyer and making the world more fair. My girlfriend was a freshman at NYU with dreams of becoming an actress. Here we were:

(I miss all that hair)

Spoiler alert, but 10 years later, we are married and doing our best to make our way and make a difference in these troubled times.

The history of this decade have been surreal. We began the decade prosperous and at peace, but still with many Americans living in poverty and without political voice. . .

Poll

36 votes Show Results

What is the definitive historical moment of the last decade?

36 votes Vote Now!

What is the definitive historical moment of the last decade?

9/11

14 votes

The election of Barack Obama

9 votes

The 2000 election

3 votes

The 2004 election

0 votes

The invasion of Iraq

2 votes

The invasion of Afghanistan

0 votes

Rising poverty

2 votes

Torture

0 votes

The economic collapse

3 votes

Karl Rove's marriage getting destroyed by gay people being allowed to marry

2 votes

Other

1 vote

Pie

0 votes

New York will have marriage equality & we will have a new Senate

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 02, 2009 · 1:30 PM PST

2009/12/02 · 13:30

Today the New York State Senate voted to deny the right to marry to millions of New Yorkers. I am deeply saddened by the actions of the New York Senate. By choosing to stand on the wrong side of history, they stood also against the wishes of the people of New York - because polls show that a majority of New Yorkers want equality.

I am especially saddened because my Senator, George Onorato, was among those who voted against equality. Senator Onorato stood against the wishes of the people he represents in Western Queens. In March, 2,500 of us rallied for equality. Less than 20 people rallied against. Our Senator once again ignored the voices of the people he represents.

Poll

127 votes Show Results

Democrats who vote against marriage equality

127 votes Vote Now!

Democrats who vote against marriage equality

Represent the wrong side of history

28 votes

Should be primaried

75 votes

Shoudl be primaried - except if they represent conservative districts

15 votes

Pie

9 votes

Marriage Equality in New York: Vote Tuesday. Action Diary

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday November 05, 2009 · 12:53 PM PST

2009/11/05 · 12:53

Sorry for the hit & run, but this is too important not to share:

Governor Paterson has announced that there will be a marriage equality vote in the NY State Senate on Tuesday. For those of you who haven't been following this closely, polls show that a majority of New Yorkers favor equal marriage. Our Governor supports it. Our state Assembly supports it. But our state Senate, a branch of government that is grotesquely ineffective, is so broken that they haven't even been able to have a simple vote.

Well, the wait for a vote appears to be over. In the wake of the Maine debacle, one of my favorite Martin Luther King quotes is even more apt:

"Truth crushed to earth will rise again."

There is a lot of work to do. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get involved. Follow me around the fold to find out how:

Poll

40 votes Show Results

How much longer should we have to wait for gay people to have equal rights in New York?

40 votes Vote Now!

How much longer should we have to wait for gay people to have equal rights in New York?

No longer

34 votes

Until we get a competent state Senate

2 votes

10 years

1 vote

Forever

3 votes

Pie

0 votes

Louisiana Judge refuses to issue interracial marriage licenses

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 16, 2009 · 8:55 AM PDT

2009/10/16 · 08:55

I just married the love of my life in September. It was pure awesomeness:

Karla is black; I'm white. It's not too big of a deal to most people. But it turns out that - today in 2009 - a Lousiana judge is refusing to allow interracial marriages in 2009!

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday August 26, 2009 · 12:44 PM PDT

2009/08/26 · 12:44

The greatest victories are often forgotten because they created a world where the conditions over which the the victor triumphed are obsolete

Senator Kennedy was a great man who spent his life fighting for those who have no voice. His work on healthcare dominates current media coverage, and his fight for economic justice deserves much more coverage than it will get. But, just as importantly, we all need to recognize Senator Kennedy's enormous contributions to the fight for civil rights.

Ted Kennedy was born in an America where black kids and white kids couldn't serve in the army together, couldn't go to school together (in much of the country), couldn't marry each other (in much of the country), and where millions were denied jobs and opportunities because of the color of their skin.

Senator Kennedy died in a country with a black president. We still have racial issues today and lord knows this country has problems to overcome, but we have come so far. I'm a white guy and I'm marrying a black woman in 2 weeks - Ted Kennedy deserves our eternal grattitude for building a world where most people don't bat an eyelash at our President or at my marriage.

Poll

131 votes Show Results

Senator Kennedy's greatest political legacy is:

131 votes Vote Now!

Senator Kennedy's greatest political legacy is:

Healthcare

6 votes

Standing with labor and fighting for economic justice

10 votes

Civil Rights

8 votes

Working on the judiciary

1 vote

Barack Obama

0 votes

All of the above

99 votes

Other

7 votes

The lyingest Liar of them all lectures the president

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday August 24, 2009 · 8:38 AM PDT

2009/08/24 · 08:38

Because profound incompetence combined with no sense of self-awareness means never having to apologize, Paul Wolfowitz is once again posing as a foreign policy expert.

I think reasonable people can disagree about foreign policy and we need to have a debate that includes a wide range of opinions. But Paul Wolfowitz should not be part of the debate. His lies and incompetence in Iraq have cost hundreds of thousands of lives and injured America's moral standing worldwide. Giving Wolfy any respect in the foreign policy debate is like putting Michael Vick in charge of a program to protect dogs.

But, because mocking the contemptible is fun, here is a symphony of the foreign policy expertise of Wolfy and his friends:

Poll

82 votes Show Results

Paul Wolfowitz

82 votes Vote Now!

Paul Wolfowitz

Should be tried for war crimes

28 votes

Should never be taken seriously as a foreign policy expert

5 votes

Should only be be covered by the media if they are reporting on war crimes of belatedly exposing his grotesque incompetence

2 votes

All of the above

37 votes

Should be treated as a legitimate part of the foreign policy opposition

3 votes

Is a great and wise man. Iraq totally had WMD. And it didn't matter that they didn't. And we didn't need more than 20,000 troops to keep the peace

3 votes

Pie.

4 votes

It was illegal for us to marry? Equal Marriage in NY

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday May 30, 2009 · 3:39 PM PDT

2009/05/30 · 15:39

Here's a clip of my fiancee and me:

She's gorgeous, right? Inside and out. I can't imagine living in a world where I wouldn't be allowed to marry her. But, 50 years ago, we couldn't get married in much of America. We can only freely enjoy our relationship because millions of Americans stood up for our civil rights. Now is the time for all of us to stand up for the civil rights of our LGBT brothers and sisters. Follow me around the fold to find out what you can do in New York

Poll

104 votes Show Results

Equal marriage for LGBT people

104 votes Vote Now!

Equal marriage for LGBT people

Is a civil right and needs to be legal right now

88 votes

Is a civil right, but people need to wait 20 years

1 vote

Is immoral and/or blasphemous

3 votes

Is a bad idea because if gay marriage is legal I might become gay, even though I'm totally not gay

6 votes

Is a bad idea for some other reason

4 votes

Is a good idea for some other reason

2 votes

Elena Kagan, Powerful Advocate and Possible Supreme Court Justice

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 12, 2009 · 11:25 AM PDT

2009/05/12 · 11:25

Here's what President Obama had to say about the judges he selects:

I think the Constitution can be interpreted in so many ways. And one way is a cramped and narrow way in which the Constitution and the courts essentially become the rubber stamps of the powerful in society. And then there's another vision of the court that says that the courts are the refuge of the powerless. Because oftentimes they can lose in the democratic back and forth. They may be locked out and prevented from fully participating in the democratic process. ... And we need somebody who's got the heart — the empathy — to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old -- and that's the criteria by which I'll be selecting my judges.

Last week I wrote a diary on Pam Karlan, who would be a fantastic Supreme Court justice. Today, I'm doing one on Elena Kagan, the first female Solicitor General, the former Dean of Harvard Law School, and another qualified candidate who would be an amazing Supreme Court Justice.

Poll

87 votes Show Results

I think the next Supreme Court justice should be:

87 votes Vote Now!

I think the next Supreme Court justice should be:

Elena Kagan

20 votes

Pam Karlan

14 votes

Kathleen Sullivan

4 votes

Sonia Sotamayer

18 votes

Deval Patrick

1 vote

Jennifer Granholm

5 votes

Cass Sunstein

5 votes

Merrick Garland

0 votes

Diane Wood

10 votes

Leah Sears

1 vote

Harold Koh

2 votes

Ruben Castillo

0 votes

Adam B

1 vote

Other

6 votes

Dear John ... and Elizabeth

JeremiahFP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 07, 2009 · 8:08 AM PDT

2009/05/07 · 08:08

Like thousands of others, I fought my heart out for your campaign. I believed in the message that poverty in America was immoral and that we must do something about it; that our economic and political structure had become corrupt and rigged against regular people; I believed that we needed to end the war in Iraq and capture Osama bin Laden; that we needed universal healthcare, that we must rebuild the Gulf Coast ... I believed very deeply in the message of your presidential campaign.

As you said many times on the campaign trail:

This is not about me, it's not about Elizabeth, it's about the future of this country. Because all of us have been given such an enormous responsibility.

There are a lot of cliches and judgmental things that could be said, but there are many more important things in the world and I'm not really interested in kicking people when they are down, so let me just share a couple thoughts.

Newer
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RSS

RIP Elizabeth Edwards - thank you

Ken Mehlman & George Wallace; Redemption isn't easy

Still PROUD to represent the DEMOCRATIC wing of the Democratic party

Looking back on a decade of triumph, tragedy & love

New York will have marriage equality & we will have a new Senate

Marriage Equality in New York: Vote Tuesday. Action Diary

Louisiana Judge refuses to issue interracial marriage licenses

Thank you Teddy for helping make my marriage possible

The lyingest Liar of them all lectures the president

It was illegal for us to marry? Equal Marriage in NY

Elena Kagan, Powerful Advocate and Possible Supreme Court Justice

Dear John ... and Elizabeth