Thursday, January 19, 2006

Perry's Low Profile Item

Thanks to Phillip over at BOR for this item from DM-N regarding Perry's attempt to slither past the real issue close to the heart of RWR's - school vouchers. In true Republican fashion, I expect a new name for the idea to surface after the special session - maybe "Equal Opportunity Rebates" or "Fresh Start Grants" or some other, I am sure, more confusing name. Here's what I'll do - I'll offer Candidate Larry's famous "Fish Killer" hat to anybody who correctly identifies the new Republican voucher meme before it first appears in the main stream media.

Monday, January 16, 2006

What's So Important About MLK, And Why Are We Stoppin' Work Over It?

So, today we find ourselves as a nation more divided than we have been since before the Civil Rights Era. We find ourselves more divided today than we were when women were finding their collective and individual voices. We find ourselves more economically divided than we have ever been. And we are at a crossroads. Do we capitulate to the power of greed and fear? Do we just try to enjoy what we have, hoping it will not be taken away by the vagaries of fortune or politics? Do we risk what we have to find that place of amity which we used to value called the quaint name "Common Good"?

Maybe.

If we heed these words:

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.


Maybe.


Martin Luther King spoke those words about 43 years ago, and each year they resonate in the hearts of those who remember "Common Good", especially on this, his birthday.


Maybe. If we can find, again, that faith.


Thanks to Matt for this link to the whole speech.

Whatcha Readin'?

Well, this political family has had a whole lot less time for readin', I tell ya'. (Except for COMM-D, who can read with her eyes closed). But Larry is reading "God's Politics : Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It" by Jim Wallis, and "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown. I don't even want to know what that one's about, this campaign is enough of a thriller for me. I, your weary blogger, dksbook, am reading "Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness" by Joshua Wolf Shenk. It sort of fits my mood, and is actually one of the most hopeful books I have ever read.

Now, you may have noticed that my name is dksbook. That is because I am a notorious reader and book-lover. If my mother-in-law were still alive, she'd love to just sit down and tell you how rude I am, reading right out there in the open at family reunions and how I'd rather read than sit at their table and play 42 with 'em. But I haven't read a mystery, or chick lit, or even a pornographic best-seller (they're all written by Republicans, anyway) since last summer. I don't know what's happened to me. I used to devour trashy books almost as quickly as COMM-D - and she is working and going to grad school! I am beginning to fear I have lost my focus. Eating chocolate and reading a good mystery no longer sound like a good vacation activity. Now all I want to do is sit on a beach and watch the waves for 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening. Then I want to sleep from all that wave-watching. Of course, a white-jacketed bar boy bringing fruity drinks now and then would be nice, too; but I no longer see books in that picture.

Don't ask me what COMM-D is reading. She reads about 3 books a day. I guess the campaign is not giving her enough to do.

As a side-note, I want to give props to the local Democratic Precinct 3 War Room. Those guys are caffeinated and ready to roll. I expect to see Precinct 3 go blue in the next election. Stay tuned.