Sen. Pat Leahy has been, on occassion, trashed on dkos, and I thought it was only fair to remind this community that he was one of 23 Senators who voted against the war powers for Bush. Here is a link to his speech given today, the 25th http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200510/102405.html regarding the current state of the war. He pulls no punches as best I can tell.

I don't always agree with his decisions, but he's deep, thoughtful and worthy of respect from Democrats specifically, and from good well-meaning people of all political stripes.

I received two of these today, one from someone (a known right) on a school mail-list I belong to, another from a seemingly pro-Bush lady that I have been acquaintences with (we had never spoken about politics). It's the same wording, so we know it's coming from a central source via the right-wing but here's what I need help on--I need to debunk this, and we all will need to in the days and weeks that come. I've tried to find the right resources but I am here at work and expected to actually do work, so if someone can point out to me how to best respond to this e-mail, I believe we'll all find it handy in the game-blame days to come. The e-mail I received is below the dotted line:

I hope this isn't old, but it was new to me and thought I'd share:

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards.  With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs.  Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total
contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath.  The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air.  He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work.  It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day.  He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work.  He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive.  His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.  The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking,
cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.

Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take
care of themselves, just like I have."

Just heard today from NHPR...GOP operative found guilty of flooding Dem phone banks during '02 elections, sentencing in a few weeks with max of 5 yrs. and $250k. He is plea bargaining and will name at least one other state GOP official as well as national GOPer(s) who paid for this effort. Goopers play dirty, and it will come out. Company who did it technologically is in VA., I hope they get some grief as well.

Here's what we got in our Monday morning paper in the Upper Valley NH/VT (think Dartmouth College): Page 1 says:

Clinton: Bush erred on Iraq, but OK now.

The back page, which continues the front page story, says:

Clinton: Bush recouping In Iraq after error.

I did not see the interview, but is that all a possible lead interpretation of the Clinton interview?

Oddly I wrote this a day or so before Reagan passed. It boggles me that the perpetraitors of our Latin American debacle and horror are back in power, the Negropontes and Reichs and Abrams. We let that issue go away too easy, pardons notwithstanding, but I guess America just didn't want to look at the gruesome details so close to Vietnam.

spring of '70

spring of '70 now 34 years ago
there will be nothing like d-day celebrations
no memorials and speeches
years hence when i'm four score
thanking the young men and women
who opposed the war
who risked the thread of their lives
who took the giant leap of seeing past
the advertisements to see the culture for what it was
no memorial for that
instead a string of bitter failures
and endless battles
so many working so hard for so many issues
civil rights peace environment
but the bull horn is in the hands
of those who scream what a joke
feminists, ha!
environmentalists, ha!
pacifists, ha!
"we're christian godly people, don't you know,
and loyal americans
so how utterly contemptible are you to suggest
we invest in peace and protect the land
you whale-loving feminazis"
should not limbaugh be held for high treason
to so pollute the air
this magic that carries a voice so far and wide
has been used to distort
and destroy what in part did start
in the the spring of '70
with students dead and the air thick with bullets and lies
and more lies
it might have been a beaver cleaver life for me
but the grassy knoll started the ball
and it rolled right through mayfield
by the time we looked up
by the time we thought we could pause and pass the mantle
we were watching reagan
snuff the lives of tens of thousands
in central america
and they will not go away
no matter the light we shine on their lair
they own the air
we try to shout
but they own the air
they play not fair
and we're more or less back
to the spring of '70
can we tell if we made any progress or not
and by whom will that course be taught?

[more at
http://homepage.mac.com/alalessi/iblog

I don't write many comments at kos, not as many as I thought I might mostly because so many are saying it and saying it so well. I read often though and suffice to say this sight has contributed to my sanity, along with buzzflash [tho I miss mediawhoresonline, whoever it was wrote so well]. However I do have a poetry blog, not strictly political but some are, and some of you might enjoy the occassional visit
when you just need something other than exposition. It is found
at  http://homepage.mac.com/alalessi/iblog . Here's a sample, feedback welcome.

the bagpipers marched

the bagpipers marched in the memorial day parade
between the anti-tank gun mounted on the jeep
and the humvee painted as our flag
it is tempting to think it was nobler
when men marched to war in kilts
to the throbbing of the pipes
a sound that resonates to some reincarnation of mine
makes me want to grab a weapon
rush the enemy on a strange piece of land
soon to be blessed with blood
and hacked limbs and ended lives
sons and brothers and fathers
there is no greater gift to give
that is true
so when the king doth entreat you to maketh such sacrifice
you'd want to believe
the words are true
the meaning clear
failure is the loss
of daughters and sisters and mothers
that much hasn't changed
that much is noble
it's the blood and limbs and lives
given for the plutocrat's lies
that should choke the bagpipers' throats
and end their notes midcourse
how many battles have been
for some sound reason
so the last flicker of the eyes
before the darkest season
is in time to the thoughts of the mind
this too was good i gave my all
no regrets that today i fall
800 are dead in ancient babylon
and this they never knew
those that loved them
know that too

This is from a local newspaper, the Valley News, which is in the Dartmouth area of NH and VT, right along the Connecticut River, so there is no link, but buried in the discussion of why NJ Machine is re-locating to Canada with 30 or so jobs was that Canada provided full health for all, thus relieving the company of that extra charge (which must be close to $10k per now). So there ya' go---buy into the insurance companies rabid objections to universal health care and you may lose your job! With the Iraq debacle such issues may get buried, but it would seem to me that a succinct and persuasive argument for universal health should be made by the Dems and it would resonate. Methinks.