Thursday Random Blogging

Bring on the snow. The horses are ready. The sleighs are painted. And the teamster is tired of politics. Come for a ride, my friends. You know how to reach me.

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Channeling Snarky: Tonight’s another night of Dem presidential debates. And – oh-my-god – I’m on the edge of my seat wondering if Hillary will rebound. And what will Obama be wearing? And will that thing come back on Edwards’ lip? Oh, and what about Dodd, will anyone notice that he’s there? The same for Richardson. But, most of all, I’m totally anxious about the crowd. I hope they behave. The last thing I want is to have to sit through any rude questions. I mean, a nation at war should not have to tolerate rude questions aimed at those funding the war. It’s just so….uncivil.

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And while I really didn’t want to slide into this pit again, some video clips of Sunday’s meeting with Welch have been posted on YouTube. I’ll be posting all three here soon if you can’t get over there yourself to check them out. I have, for now, posted the speech given on Sunday by Dottye Ricks in the bottom right corner of this site. Looks pretty peaceful to me. Until Welch threw his tantrum…

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Speaking of the meeting, the fine fellow who got all the head-bloating publicity over his blogging recap of the Welch meeting, JD at Five Before Chaos, has posted a little update at his site. And yours truly jumped in for a little commentary. Go give JD some traffic love and check it out.

But, if you’re like me, you’ll find his clip of the Norman Mailer fight with Rip Torn a hell of a lot more interesting. Good stuff.

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Speaking of Norman Mailer, I found a nice little personal account of Mailer by my friend, Jeff St. Clair, over at CounterPunch. Check it out. My favorite line was Mailer’s advice to St. Clair about writing:

Just write, man. And do it every fucking day.

And the best news is that St. Clair has been following that advice. Thanks, Norman.

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While Vermont ties itself in knots over the etiquette of anti-war meetings, people all over the nation are turning up their activist heat. The folks at Iraqmoratorium.com, for example, are reporting that more than a 1000 students from 40 different schools in Minnesota will be skipping class tomorrow to descend upon military recruiting stations to deliver and anti-war message. Cool.

In Virginia, the Washington Post reported yesterday that more than 800 citizens turned out for a – gasp – heated meeting with their liberal Dem congress member to express anti-war demands. Good for them.

And in Washington State over the weekend, more than a dozen anti-war activists were arrested for attempting to block shipments of military cargo. Commondreams has the story.

But don’t worry, Vermonters, the pot is being stirred here too. The energetic lads and lassies who emerged from the Welch meeting over the weekend have been meeting and corresponding all week about the next steps of this new ad hoc group. We’ll be meeting and training all day on Saturday to rev-up for the next action. Email me if you’re interested in getting involved.

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And for those questioning my assertion that these actions are necessary to put the war agenda back on the front-burner, consider this news from the Pew Institute: Currently only16% of the public mention the Iraq war as the top story on their mind. Last January, that number was at 55%.

Wake up America. Naptime is over.

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And what’s on your mind?