From: babeuf-AT-comcast.net
Subject: Re: where is everyone?
Date: Tue, 03 Aug 2004 19:36:24 +0000




hi shawn,
yeah, it was fun listening during the convention to brother clinton and deacon edwards smite the wicked and preach to the faithful, but i just can't get around the fact that senators kerry and edwards and h. clinton, et. al. voted for and essentially support this war.  
that's the tragi/comedy of it:  the political genius of the war (from bush's point of view) is that it does indeed split the dems.  i'd love to ask kerry exactly how he differs from the vietnam era democratic hawks that kept that war going for years and years.  is that the alternative to bush?
roger

-------------- Original message -------------- 

> I just finished a few days under the watchful eyes of the John 
> Kerry campaign and Secret Service. Kerry, Edwards, John Glenn, 
> and various local Democratic celebrities appeared directly below 
> the windows of my apartment and book stockroom yesterday. Those 
> of us who lived downtown were given the option of exile from our 
> apartments for 10 hours or being stuck inside them. Initially, 
> we were told it would be 34(!) hours, but that appears to have 
> been one of many confusions associated with security and planning 
> for the event. Some of you may have seen the event, which drew 
> 15,000 folks by early accounts. Our downtown is picturesque 
> enough to have made the "backdrop test" which seems so important 
> for this tour, so more easily secured locations were passed over. 
> This is also traditionally Republican territory - though there 
> were only about 25 young Bush supporters in evidence - with an 
> awakening university liberal crowd: moveon.org house parties; 
> farenheit 9/11 just done with a three week run at one of the 
> oldest theaters in the state, right where the event was staged; 
> etc. 
> 
> The expectations of the planners and security folks were unclear, 
> and frequently contradictory. The local cops did a fairly good 
> job of clarifying things when they were aware of questions, but 
> they were working with incomplete information. Despite the fact 
> that i live directly above the event site, my apartment was not 
> on their list for contact. Bowling Green will, for awhile, be 
> divided into the class of folks who have lived with the threat 
> of background checks (for which they took SSNs), Secret Service 
> intrusions, and bomb-sniffing dogs - and those that haven't. It 
> was a thoroughly unpleasant experience for most of us in the first 
> class. 
> 
> Unfortunately, the speeches - which i watched from outside the 
> cattle pens they set up - confirmed many of my worst fears about 
> the "alternative" presented by the Democrats. One of my Republican 
> friends was upset by the presentation, and i had to ask her what 
> parts of the program - more cops on the street, continuing the 
> "war on drugs," war (or preemptive strikes) "when necessary" (or 
> when the "intelligence is good"), the usual odd mix of "free 
> trade" and selective protectionism, "America first" patriotic 
> rhetoric, etc - she found objectionable. Tax-cut rollbacks for 
> the rich, i suppose, along with access to abortion an stem-cell 
> research. Oh, and that universal health care talk, even if it 
> was largely in terms of tax incentives this time around. 
> 
> Still mulling it all over... 
> 
> -shawn 
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------- 
> This message was sent using Endymion MailMan. 
> http://www.endymion.com/products/mailman/ 
> 
> 

HTML VERSION:

hi shawn,

yeah, it was fun listening during the convention to brother clinton and deacon edwards smite the wicked and preach to the faithful, but i just can't get around the fact that senators kerry and edwards and h. clinton, et. al. voted for and essentially support this war. 

that's the tragi/comedy of it:  the political genius of the war (from bush's point of view) is that it does indeed split the dems.  i'd love to ask kerry exactly how he differs from the vietnam era democratic hawks that kept that war going for years and years.  is that the alternative to bush?

roger

-------------- Original message --------------

> I just finished a few days under the watchful eyes of the John
> Kerry campaign and Secret Service. Kerry, Edwards, John Glenn,
> and various local Democratic celebrities appeared directly below
> the windows of my apartment and book stockroom yesterday. Those
> of us who lived downtown were given the option of exile from our
> apartments for 10 hours or being stuck inside them. Initially,
> we were told it would be 34(!) hours, but that appears to have
> been one of many confusions associated with security and planning
> for the event. Some of you may have seen the event, which drew
> 15,000 folks by early accounts. Our downtown is picturesque
> enough to have made the "backdrop test" which seems so important
> for this tour, so more easily secured locations were passed over.
> This is also traditionally Republican territory - though there
> were only about 25 young Bush supporters in evidence - with an
> awakening university liberal crowd: moveon.org house parties;
> farenheit 9/11 just done with a three week run at one of the
> oldest theaters in the state, right where the event was staged;
> etc.
>
> The expectations of the planners and security folks were unclear,
> and frequently contradictory. The local cops did a fairly good
> job of clarifying things when they were aware of questions, but
> they were working with incomplete information. Despite the fact
> that i live directly above the event site, my apartment was not
> on their list for contact. Bowling Green will, for awhile, be
> divided into the class of folks who have lived with the threat
> of background checks (for which they took SSNs), Secret Service
> intrusions, and bomb-sniffing dogs - and those that haven't. I t
> was a thoroughly unpleasant experience for most of us in the first
> class.
>
> Unfortunately, the speeches - which i watched from outside the
> cattle pens they set up - confirmed many of my worst fears about
> the "alternative" presented by the Democrats. One of my Republican
> friends was upset by the presentation, and i had to ask her what
> parts of the program - more cops on the street, continuing the
> "war on drugs," war (or preemptive strikes) "when necessary" (or
> when the "intelligence is good"), the usual odd mix of "free
> trade" and selective protectionism, "America first" patriotic
> rhetoric, etc - she found objectionable. Tax-cut rollbacks for
> the rich, i suppose, along with access to abortion an stem-cell
> research. Oh, and that universal health care talk, even if it
> was largely in terms of tax incentives this time around.
>
> Still mulling it all over...
>
> -shawn
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------
> This message was sent using Endymion MailMan.
> http://www.endymion.com/products/mailman/
>
>