Letter to the editor in support of Joe Biden

Guys, I'm just doing a simple copy and paste from Joe's blog. This is a great letter to the editor that recently was published in North Carolina. If you see any good ones in your local papers, I'd love to here about them!

Letter To The Editor: “The Democrats Need To Get It Right This Time, With The Nomination Of Joe Biden”

August 25th, 2007 by Erin Medlicott

Aug. 25: A letter to the editor, published Thursday in The News-Record, by Jim Dye of Greensboro, NC, titled “Biden’s best equipped to be the next president.”

“It is of the utmost importance that the next president come to office with knowledge of foreign policy and the ability to get things done in Congress by working across the aisle with both parties. We should have learned after the last seven years. George Bush came to office having never been to Europe.

“It is astounding how the parties and the American people have allowed the press to lead them to rock stars whose big plus is name recognition. Hillary’s negatives, fueled by the right-wing hatred of her and Bill, will create one of the dirtiest campaigns in history. The dirt, mud and lies will bring this election to an all-time low.

“The most qualified candidate in foreign policy and experience working with Congress is also the same individual Bush asked to prep him before his first European visit, and the first with a political solution to ending the Iraq war. He has been on the world stage for 34 years working in a bipartisan manner. The Democrats need to get it right this time with the nomination of Joe Biden.”

Jim Dye
Greensboro

Give Joe His Props!

This is quick blog just to register my frustration to the continuing culture of celebrity candidates in the news media. When I logged on to vote on who I thought won the ABC debate, Joe Biden was third after Obama and Clinton, two candidates with far greater numbers in their troops to vote. He was well ahead of Edwards. He had given fantastic, straight-forward answers to the questions. All this, yet on the debate highlight clips on ABC's website, there was not one clip of Biden talking. They even had many Republican candidates giving responses to the debate--but no Joe.

This is a disturbing trend in the media. ABC is far from the only guilty party. On Meet the Press today, a panel of political pundits discussed candidates for 25 minutes. On the Democratic side, only Obama, Clinton and Edwards were discussed. The pundits were equally unfair on the Republican side--discussing only Guilliani, Romney and the as yet undeclared Thompson. Huckabee, with his surprisingly strong showing in last week's straw poll was not mentioned. The last I heard, the press was supposed to be covering the news, not anointing contenders.

Go Joe! Biden on Iraq.

I could bemoan why the bickering between Obama and Clinton is getting so much press or I could spend my time productively spreading the word on Joe Biden's plan for Iraq. Even better, I could let you hear him explain it! For some reason I can't get the direct link to work, so just go to www.joebiden.com, which you see on the right hand side of this blog. When you get to his site, click on his blog at the top of his page. Once you reach the blog, scroll down to the entry 'Video: "Not In The Lifetime of Anyone In This Room Will There Be a Strong Central Gov't In Baghdad"'. Don't worry, it is not a negative rant. He is going to layout an alternative strategy on a short YouTube video clip. Check it out! You too, may soon be shouting, "Go Joe!"

Show a little love for Peru

There has been a massive earthquake in Peru. Hundreds are confirmed dead and the death toll is expected to soar as rescue crews eventually reach areas that have been cut off by the devastation.

Peru is a country that only recently has emerged from a bloody legacy of a Maoist-inspired reign of terror and the dictatorial-like rule of President Fujimori. The people of Peru have been rebuilding their country and their society and are hard-working and wonderfully warm and welcoming. This summer I lead a group of my students through Peru and neighboring Bolivia. We felt well cared for and welcomed at every turn.

Please, show a little love for this wonderful nation. Send good thoughts or prayers that way and if you want to give to the International Red Cross, that would be so appreciated.

Russian Arms for Hugo Chavez and an Alliance Takes Shape

Just a little heads up, people. Our South American nemesis, Hugo Chavez, is now buying large quantities of arms from Russia. Scary? That's just the half of it. The New York Times reports today that many of these weapons are not consistent with the needs of his military. For example, 5000 specialty sniper rifles that are highly successful in guerrilla, urban combat situations, like those we are facing in Iraq. There are fears that Chavez will distribute the weapons to terrorist groups. Great.

Meanwhile, in another article in the Times today, we have Rafael Duasa, Cuban Ambassador to Bolivia quoted as saying, "Being in Bolivia today means being in the leading trench in the anti-imperialist struggle in Latin America". For those of you not into Latin American politics--the United States is the so-called Imperialist Nation. The Ambassador goes on to speak about a Cuban, Bolivian, Venezuelan political and economic alliance--The Boliviarian Alternative of the Americas. The Boliviarian in the title references Simon Bolivar, a South American liberator who dreamed of uniting all of Latin America. He may be turning over in his grave as he realizes that Chavez has usurped his legacy on his power-hungry socialist quest.

Yes, I lean left. But dictatorships are not part of my vision--nor is an armed terrorist revolution. Unless these are parts of yours, you should be worried about what is taking place in our neighborhood.

Watch what's going on to our South: Chavez is at it again.

I know we are focused on Iraq, but please do not lose sight of what is going on in our neighborhood. Hugo Chavez, the controversial president of Venezuela is setting in motion a plan to amend the country's constitution so he can be elected indefinitely, the New York Times reports today. He is already serving a term that will not come to an end until 2012. The national legislature is completely under his control, as is the country's Supreme Court. In addition, he is attempting to usurp the local and state governments' powers by setting up presidential committees around the nation, which would control infrastructure and social services spending.

We need to pay attention. This guy has major regional influence. Besides his 'bosom buddy' Fidel Castro, he has ties to Evo Morales in Bolivia and just signed a trade bill with Argentina. He uses the country's oil wealth to project his power. An executive in the country's oil company recently tried to enter Argentina with a suitcase of cash, causing a huge scandal in that country, which is nearing presidential elections of its own. And we know that Chavez received a much publicized and propagandized visit from Iran's president not too long ago.

Since the 1980s, a decade that saw the end of many of the region's military dictatorships, democracy has been taking hold in most of Latin America, and the United States has grown complacent. But these democracies are young and many may be more fragile that we think. We need to pay attention. Especially since the all-mighty oil money gives Chavez the leverage and the cash to manipulate many of the cash-strapped countries in his neighborhood. It also makes him an easy ally of America's foe, Iran.

Watch out.

Romney wins in Iowa Straw Poll--duh. Huckabee is the headline. No to Celebrity Candidates!

Um, hello? New York Times? Washington Post? Your headlines are not too earth-shattering, you know? With none of the other "top tier" candidates participating, with the gobs of cash he spent in the state, with his kids criss-crossing its every hamlet and dale in their big bus and even on bicycles, was there ever any doubt that Mitt Romney was going to win the Iowa Straw Poll? Who cares? Even the Iowans don't seem to care--only 14000 participated this year.

The only headline out of the Iowa Straw Poll was Mike Huckabee's amazing 2nd place finish. He had no bus, little cash--only a coherent, well-articulated message in debates that almost no one watched--except it would seem for a few, die-hard Republican political junkies able to withstand the charms of the "Five Brothers" in this mid-western state that time and time again has come together to filter the politicians' hype for the rest of the Nation. Huckabee made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows today--either in person or through the conversation of the pundits who had no choice to remark about just how remarkable the guy's showing really was.

Then many switched to how well the still undeclared "is he Reaganesque? Is he the only truly Bush-Republican in the field, even though he isn't officially in the field, yet?" Thompson is doing nationwide. What is wrong with everyone? Keep talking about Huckabee--he actually doesn't suck, and people in Iowa have figured it out.

I know. I know. I'm a Democrat. I am a Biden-supporting Democrat, so why don't I just stay the hell out of it and let the Republicans self-destruct? Because before I am a Democrat, I am an American. And because I see the same thing happening with Biden that is happening with Huckabee. This culture of celebrity in which America has been living of late is bleeding into our politics. Even the news media is caught up in it. Even when Biden gets mentioned (except for his Obama is "clean" blunder, which no one could get enough of for a minute), it is a quick blip on the radar screen and then it is back to Clinton, Obama and maybe Edwards, when he's having a good day. And it seems to me that too often the blip that gets a second of coverage is somehow related to Clinton or Obama--Biden differs with their plan; Biden takes issue with their stand and so on.

Please! Today the headline is Huckabee. Tomorrow or the next day or whenever Biden finally officially unveils his health care strategy that he outlined on Charlie Rose last week, that should be the headline. We need to get these smart ideas from smart people out there. Go Joe!

Go Joe! You rocked on Charlie Rose!

Last night, I was too pumped to go to sleep and happened upon Charlie Rose on the local PBS station. Happily, I had stumbled upon a fabulous interview with none other than my favorite Senator (since Sarbanes retired) and, by far, my favorite Presidential Candidate, Joe Biden. At last check, the video is not yet available on www.charlierose.com, but I am sure it will appear soon. Biden was with Charlie for the full hour and he was wise and plain-talking--no bullshit. Not only did he articulate his plan for federalizing Iraq in depth, but he also outlined a very sensible plan of attack on the health care front. And he told the truth--publicly-funded campaigns would go a long way towards reforming our nation's health care system. Go Joe!

The sooner we can raise Biden's profile, the sooner he can really get his message out to the broader American electorate. We have to find a way to get his voice heard through the noise. Those of us who spend our time watching debates and shows like Charlie Rose are a small minority. Luckily, we are also very likely voters, but we need to hear Joe's voice on the morning shows. We need to see his name mentioned every thirty minutes on the CNN news loop. We need to get him noticed. Of course, Joe is running low in the polls, but this time last election, Dean was getting all the hype. And I remember when Bill Clinton was unknown outside of Arkansas? Don't be blinded by the hype of the celebrity candidates. Biden is smart, prepared, insightful, wise and he doesn't bullshit.

Cohen vs. Byrne: Democrats, Get in the Fight, please!

This morning I read two columns, one a blog entry called "The Left Wing Circus Comes to Town" by Dennis Byrne on Real Clear Politics and the other an opinion piece in the Washington Post called "Not My Grandpa's Democrats" by Richard Cohen. These two were slugging away one from the right and one from the left with the Democrats getting creamed from both sides. Byrne was attacking the Democrats' performances at the YearlyKos Presidential Forum, while Cohen was criticizing the Dems for not standing up for the little guys losing their homes in the subprime market while Hedge-funders pay taxes at the low capital gains rate. While the pundits slug it out, we need to see our Party in this fight and in it to win it!

Byrne feels that Hillary Clinton was the only honest one in the bunch at the YearlyKos function, when she said that lobbyists represent real people, including corporations who employ millions of Americans. He felt others, like Edwards were just pandering to the base when they criticized the lobbyists' influence in campaigns and politics in general. Of course lobbyist represent real people, as Byrne points out, even "...teachers, who have shackled public education with their job protections and lush retirement benefits" (You know I'll take issue with that--as a highly educated professional who is underpaid and has a longer job description than even the Internet can hold). But let's face it, the energy lobby is going to out-bid teachers every time. And, let's face it, if teachers had as much say in Washington as the hedge funds, I'd be paying only 15% in taxes, too. And my students wouldn't be taking three bench mark tests a year in order to be ready for the real standardized test that the entire fate of my school and district is based on. Rather, we'd actually spend those countless hours teaching them something. Hey Edwards, pander away man!

All of you Democrats, pander, pander, pander. Seriously, though lobbying has reached insane levels. Do you know how many working people could be insured with the money the health care companies and pharmaceutical companies spend each year in lobbying alone? How much lower could our premiums be? Maybe if they stopped spending so much money on our elected officials, we'd actually do what every other industrialized country in the World--every other industrialized country in the World--does and provide health care. I actually know uninsured and under-insured people, citizens, of the United States who have had medical and dental procedures done in Mexico.

Cohen on the other hand thinks that we are not making enough noise about the lenders who helped poor, working people buy homes they couldn't afford and about wealthy hedge funds who pay almost no taxes or pay at the capital gains rate of only 15%. Luckily, I have heard several candidates talk on this issue--and it is a real issue.

The concentration of wealth in this country is getting to be a problem. The middle class is getting squeezed. College is incredibly expensive and it is not a guaranteed road to riches, anymore. I carried an educational loan out of college and not only was it scary to start my real life in the hole, but it affected the type of career choices I made. That was in 1994. Many kids today are graduating with loans that would make mine look small by comparison. And, it is my belief that a lot of ingenuity and entrepreneurial energy in this country is crushed under the great weight of the health insurance burden. If you have any type of pre-existing condition, leaving a job with a health benefit can be dangerous--not just risky, but dangerous, because while you can get some skeletal health insurance plans for relatively little, a comprehensive plan if you have any sort of chronic illness can cost a fortune that few Americans can lay their hands on every month. And what if you have a child with an illness? You cling to that job, man. You cling.

Iraq is incredibly important, but so is the American Dream. We may or may not be able to get out of Iraq soon. Where we are in Iraq is in the hands of this Administration until January 2009 and the soldiers can't just click their heels together three times and come home. We can't just say if we didn't spend money in Iraq, we could create a Utopia. Hello, there is a debt to pay back, too. We need to find ways to make this work. The tax code has to be reasonable. Education and health have to be front and center. Democrats, we need to put them front and center. Edwards has put these issues on the radar, but we need to keep pushing them through the noise. We cannot destroy ourselves from within. A few terrorists, as horrible as they are, are not going to bring this country to its knees.

I have lived in the Third World. I have seen disparity of income. Once you get out of the cities, the middle class is hard to find. We do not want to go the way of the Third World. Get in this fight!



Click here to see Richard Cohen's column
Click here to see Dennis Byrne's blog entry

Don't the Republicans have a bench?

My guess is that as a Democrat, I shouldn't be too worried about this. In fact, I should be elated. I look at the line-up of Republicans vying for their party's presidential nomination and I think to myself, 'this is it?' I mean, I'm even counting that "any minute I'm throwing my hat in the ring, I mean it this time" Thompson. Is he supposed to be the bench?

First of all, the starters look like a farm team--double A ball at best and they just keep looking worse. Last night, my husband had on an episode of The Family Guy in which the wife, Lois, runs for mayor. In a debate, she isn't getting any where with her well-thought out point-by-point plan, so she just starts answering every question with "9-11". Cheers erupt from the audience and she goes on to win the election.

Last night the Republicans also had a debate. If you didn't already know it, they're strong on defense--especially post 9-11. A high-point or low-point might have been Mitt Romney's remark that Bush "may have made some mistakes, but he has kept us safe." Is that all you can offer? I mean, if one terrorist slips through, Mitt's got nothing.

And anyway, has Bush really kept us safe? We've spent a gobzillion dollars on airport safety, but every other week there's a report about the latest test of the system where someone got through with a gun or a knife or whatever. Meanwhile, our subways are at risk, our cargo is not checked. Anyone can rent a truck and load anything into it. The infrastructure is crumbling. The weather patterns are shifting and wreaking havoc. I'm not crawling under my bed and hiding, but Mitt, man, you've got to do better.

Why not stand up and say, "Our party's in trouble. Bush screwed up. He took every opportunity after 9-11 and squandered it. We need to take back the party?" I don't know what these guys are thinking. Republicans--where is your bench? If there ever was a time to call in a wringer, now's the time. And guys, Thompson's not it. Thompson is not going to save your ass.

So now the question becomes, is there a bench? Or is President Bush just the tip of a very slushy iceberg? Did the Republican Party in some sort of drunk with power free for all, put everything behind that greedy, self-righteous, winner-take-all crowd headed by the likes of DeLay, Cheney and Rove and blindly follow them, leaving in their wake would-be statesman within the party who may have actually put the country's interest before their own wealthy constituencies?

There are some honorable Republicans out there: Warner, Snow, Lugar, Hagel. But I don't know if they even want to play on the same team with the current line-up. Guilliani? Okay, he looked in charge when the Towers fell, while George Bush read My Pet Goat and looked confused, but does the country know anything else about him? Look at the people he chooses to be around him. Remember the fiasco when he urged Bush to nominate former New York City Police Chief, Bernard Kerik, to head the Homeland Security Department? The guy's name was removed from the nomination process as skeletons began leaping from his closet. He has since plead guilty to corruption charges. Good guy.

Like I said, as a Democrat, I should be really pleased with this bunch, but as an American it is pretty hard to watch. The Republican Party represents a large percentage of Americans. We should want to see both parties put forth a roster of top talent--if only because it will force everyone to elevate their game.

Gratefully, I have at least five candidates on the Democratic side who I would happily pull the lever for in November: Biden, Edwards, Clinton, Obama and Richardson (in that order for now), but I'd like to think that it would be a hard choice.

Go Joe! and Immigration Legislation in the U.S. Senate

I don't know how many of you saw the CNN U-Tube debate the other week, but I was really happy to see one of my old favorites, Sen. Joe Biden of Deleware, mixing it up with the best of 'em. I am a big fan of Biden and have been for years, though he does occasionally put his foot in his mouth (describing Obama as "clean", for example). He puts his foot in his mouth precisely for the reason that most career politicians don't -- he speaks his mind. He is not nearly as guarded as you'd expect someone who has been in the Senate since 1972 to be. Yes, he was there for Watergate. The man has seen it all--and come out with a sense of humor and a profound understanding of foreign policy, finance--you name it. And he has friends on both sides of the aisle.

The problem with the U-Tube debate, though it was far better than any format I have seen in a long while, was that there were soooo many candidates on stage. I mean, I am thinking of coming out with trading cards--a Democratic and a Republican set--just to keep track of everyone. The plus side of the U-Tube debate was that all of the real contenders were pretty darn good. Besides Biden, I was really impressed with Hillary Clinton, who it seems, is actually winning over a good number of the Hillary-Haters. There are still a lot out there, but I am really pleasantly surprised. And Obama isn't bad. Not too much gravitas, but I could definitely live with him in the Oval Office. Refreshing, isn't it to actually have favorable opinions of multiple candidates. I think Edwards in right on with his war on poverty, too. He got my vote in the 2004 primary even though he was pretty much washed up by the time we got to vote in Texas--and he made Kerry look better, though not good enough, it seems.

But I liked Biden before I'd even heard of any of these other players. I liked Biden when I was in high school in the late 80s. I liked Biden before the Hillary-Haters hated Hillary (say that five times fast). I don't know if he can do it. He is betting on retail politics in the initial primary states, and I hope he gives everyone a run for his or her money. Even if he doesn't make it all the way to the nomination and the presidency, having someone as serious and as frank as he is on the stage at these debates is going to elevate the conversation of all the candidates. He's right about Darfur. He's right about Iraq--his federalist plan for the three regions is right on--and he's been saying it forever. He's right about the Dream Act of 2007 that I am going to address in a bit.

Go Joe!

As I said before, the problem with the U-Tube debate is that we don't hear enough from any one candidate. If you want to hear more from Biden, he gave a great interview yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show, which is produced by wamu, the Washington, DC NPR station out of American University. If you go to their website, http://www.wamu.org/ or to the blog on Biden's official site, http://www.joebiden.com/, you can find the podcast and listen to Biden for an hour. He discusses his past, his stand on issues, takes callers' questions and basically tells it like he sees it. I recommend it.

Meanwhile, there is legislation before the U.S. Senate called The Dream Act of 2007, it's bill number is S.774 and it was introduced by Senator Durbin of Illinois, but is co-sponsored by a number of senators, including Joe Biden. It actually has bi-partisan support. Wow! Basically, it gives illegal immigrants, who were brought here as minors (under 16), who've been here for five or more years and who completed high school and two years of college without getting into trouble with the law a chance at a pathway to legal residency and eventually citizenship. If you want to check out the details, I found the bill at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c110:2:./temp/~c110vkLRMA:e1418.
Note, if you go to http://www.thomas.loc.gov/ you can search all the legislation before Congress. Cool tool.

For those of you who have followed my blogs, I am very adamant that illegal minors who are doing the right thing and getting their education, should not be punished for the decisions of their parents. These kids often don't have the ties to be successful in their home countries. They've been educated here. I have an inquiry into Sen. Durbin's office to see whether or not kids currently in high school and here for more than five years can be considered for the pathway if they continue on and graduate and move to higher education. I'll keep you updated. I have some really highly motivated, smart, hard-working kids in my classes now that deserve a break. They keep trying to do the right thing, hoping that it will pay off somehow. But regardless, this will help some of my former students and I am grateful.

Okay, everyone. Get motivated. Get informed. Get going. And Go Joe!