When John Dissed Jennifer

I just can't get my mind off the moment last Saturday when John Conyers dissed Jennifer Granhom, one political heavyweight to another, at the 2009 Michigan Policy Summit last Saturday in Detroit. Some of us in attendance nearly fell off our chairs when Conyers, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, announced -- rather brusquely -- his withdrawal of support for Granholm's candidacy for the the Supreme Court vacancy because of her support for a "rightwing neocon" U.S. attorney. This off-guarded moment caused a couple of Michigan-based bloggers to scramble to get the surprise news on the internet. The video of Conyers announcement is provided below. Interestingly, Conyers also took a couple of serious shots at the Obama administration, while still calling the President the "smartest political person in the United States."

The Conyers incident brought to memory other "special" moments -- my personal favorites -- from the two previous Michigan Policy Summits, both held in Lansing. I realize, fortunately, I have them recorded. I'll need to dig into my video archive and bring those to you next week. Y'all come back now, ya hear?

-- Rico Thomas Rico

John Conyers' Remarks at the

2009 Michigan Policy Summit in Detroit

16 May 2009

RTR's Manic Monday 27 April 2009

More random musings...

= I’m more amazed every day as I re-connect with more and different people on Facebook, especially former classmates from high school, friends from the neighborhood, the college years, etc. Like the last two days, when a name pops up on FB and my reaction is “wow.” Each reaction has a different shade of meaning. None have been negative, so far. Still, it’s all uncharted territory as formerly-long-lost friends, acquaintances, lovers, and – yes – enemies can find you. Memories found and never quite evaded or discarded again.

= Facebook has made more obvious the point that Lansing, Michigan – call it the Greater Lansing Area – is truly a small town. A small town made even smaller by the Internet. Great.

= With amusement I watch a number old Democrats, still living off their long-worn liberal credentials from the 1970s, firmly planted in the establishment and very pro-business. Do they think nobody notices?

= The establishment old Democrats are balanced off by a good number of young Democrats who are establishment-wannabes. It doesn’t take long to figure out why some of our basic public-policy needs – national health care is one good example – go unfulfilled.

= For a long time, I have followed from a distance the music career of Stewart Francke, the singer-songwriter who is very well known in the Detroit area. Stu was an upperclassman when we both attended Saginaw Arthur Hill High many years ago (and we’re now Facebook friends). On May 7, 2009, he will receive a Lifetime Achievement Arts Award from the Saginaw Arts & Enrichment Commission. Read about here. An important commitment in East Lansing on that day will prevent me from attending the awards ceremony.

= Artist Mike Selley was a neighborhood friend while growing up in Saginaw and attending Catholic school. News hit the Internet that some his artwork will be used in the upcoming Sony Pictures movie “2012” starring John Cusack. Read about it here.

= From the “I-want-to-party-with-you” category on Twitter comes this mid-Michigan woman’s self-description: “Hedonistic coquette; happily married; mother of 2; combating the boredom and banality.” That deserves a double "wow."

= I was as surprised recently when a campaigner for a Lansing City Council candidate flippantly scoffed at and dismissed Twitter. It was astonishingly out of touch for someone who is twenty-something and supposedly politically astute. The candidate seemed to be similarly out of touch when it came to Twitter. Not a big deal, but candidates should not bypass access to the many opinion-makers that are chattering on Twitter.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

Heard Here First: Jindal - Palin 2012

My Mardi Gras evening was spent discussing Leonard Peltier at Gone Wired Cafe.  Must say, Colleen's got the cafe nice and comfy with the new seating configuration.  It's gotten even better to relax, drink your choice of brown water (coffee or tea, that is), and have a good chat about current issues, if not surfing or tweeting on The Internets.

I scampered home just in time to catch President Obama's address to Congress.  It was easy to tell that partisanship is still hanging thickly over the institution.  Numerous times the Republicans were real slow -- almost grudgingly slow -- at rising from their seats to applaud specific points from the president. There were outright catcalls in when the elimination of earmarks was mentioned.  Overall, the speech did not break new ground in the President's plan for the country.  Incredibly, the television showed some members of Congress jockeying to get the autograph from the President as he exited the Chamber.

I thought the night was over until - gaak! - Bobby Jindal came on the tube to give a rebuttal.  Contrary to the positive-spin build-up for Jindal on NPR today, his presentation and appearance was, well, less than positive.  While he basically espoused the tired Republican mantra "tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts," all I heard was "deficits, deficits, deficits." (Spend-and-borrow Republicans don't change, do they?)

I got the impression that Jindal is truly the standard-bearer of the Republican opposition.  My immediate tweet reaction was three side fist pumps and shouts of "Yesh! Yesh! Yesh!"  I immediately imagined a Jindal - Palin ticket in 2012.  They'd deserve each other and represent the Republicans well.  Do the Republicans have a political training academy 

to churn out these types of hapless "leaders"?  If so, I'd like to donate to it.

I was so inspired, I created what I hope is the first rendition of a Jindal - Palin '12 bumper sticker.  Feel free to print it and paste it on the bumper of your car.  It may not stimulate the economy, but it might stimulate some knowing smiles.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

Jindal - Palin '12 Bumper Sticker

            

U.S. Senator Sarah Palin Returns to Nieman Marcus?

The Alaska U.S. Senate vote count is still a toss-up. Press reports at this hour have Democrat Mark Begich ahead of convicted felon Republican Ted Stevens by four votes with more ballots to be counted. I am making the prediction that if Alaska voters indeed re-elect the convicted felon, Stevens will exhaust his appeals in 2009 and ultimately be removed from office by his colleagues in the Senate. That scenario will lead to a special election in which Sarah Palin will run and probably win the Senate seat.

If this plays out, Palin will need to loot Nieman Marcus again in preparation for her move to Washington. The whole story would be an economic stimulus package for the retail sector combined with a sitcom, "The Wasilla Hillbillies Go to Washington." Maybe Tina Fey could star?

-- Rico Thomas Rico

U.S. Senator Sarah Palin?

My Buddy Bill (Ayers)

I don't know Bill Ayers personally but, by association, you can call him my buddy because I attended and recorded his speech at Michigan State University on November 30, 2007.

I recommend that you listen to his 10-minute talk at the SDS reunion event -- provided below -- because his words from nearly 12 months ago resonate with new meaning.

In the ensuing months following his appearance in East Lansing, the repudiated radical right -- accompanied by a pit bull peep-squeak with lipstick -- tried to make Bill Ayers the Willie Horton of the 2008 Presidential election. The Karl Rove-like tactic did not work this time, but it is a tactic that won't go away.

Not surprisingly, you can still hear the Ayers name bantered about by radical right radio commentators, as these conservative spokespeople seem to be barking to themselves in a corner like they just suffered a nervous breakdown this week. It's nothing a little OxyContin can't fix.

Bill Ayers apparently managed throughout the election season, though he did not talk to the press during the campaign. He finally broke his silence on Tuesday and talked with the Washington Post. Ayers' post-election comments to the Post are worth reading as he talked about the radical right's attempt at turning him into a cartoon character and other issues.

Finally, one last admission about my association with my buddy Bill Ayers: We're both American taxpayers. Guilt by association.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

Bill Ayers Speaking at

Michigan State University

November 30, 2007

Music Video: History is Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Turn your sound up and hit play. This is the music video using the pictures from the Election Night Celebration at Gone Wired Cafe. It's a feel-good week all the way around, let's enjoy it now before we get down to business.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED!

Obamania: Gone Crazy @ Gone Wired Election Night

Here are photos of the crowd reaction at Gone Wired Cafe in Lansing, Michigan on the night of Barack Obama's presidential election win.

Gas: No One Rides for Free

Admittedly I get a grin when I see gas prices on the road nowadays. Just today I saw gas at $2.24 a gallon while driving to Fowlerville, Michigan. Months ago -- even before gas prices hit record highs this summer -- I told one of the Kravitz Patch Sisters that gas prices would plummet just before the election.


Remember how angry you were with gas well over $4.00 a gallon? Remember how angry everyone was at the time? The oil conglomerates could not afford to have that kind of public anger boiling at election time because it would hurt -- even devastate -- the conservative Republican cause at the polls. So prices have been manipulated downward to alleviate some political pressure and, so far, it has worked. Still, the conservatives are going to take a major hit on Tuesday but not as bad as if gas prices were still at record highs.


My prediction was an easy one, as oil companies can be predictable when it comes to their patterns of gouging the public. Regardless, I still have some people who argue with me on this point. These gullible people just cannot see or believe that oil companies would try to influence the U.S. elections by manipulating gas prices.


Well, let's go on to my next prediction: Gas prices will start climbing again after the election and will continue to climb right up through January 20, 2009. I'll revisit this topic on January 20th and we'll see where prices sit.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

George Waldo Bush

Where in the world is Waldo?

I finally figured out what the W. stands for in George W. Bush.

The poster child of the Republican Party has come up missing again, this time just days before the election. N.Y. Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes about it today in her White House column titled (print edition), "A President Vanishes, And No One Asks Why." Bush, apparently, is deliberately lying low for the sake of the McCain-Palin ticket. He doesn't want to remind voters of the disaster that has been the ultra-conservative policies of the Republican Party and his presidency, all of which McCain and Palin have supported.

This disappearing act is his presidential M.O. As president he came up missing during the Katrina disaster. He was nonexistent in the Palestine-Israel issue for seven years. You couldn't find him at this summer's Republican Party convention. He has been an empty suit as the Wall Street meltdown has been unfolding. Now days leading to the election of his successor, George Waldo Bush is basically a shadow of his empty self.

None of this surprises me. I understand the Air National Guard is still looking for the AWOL Waldo.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

Have You Seen George Waldo Bush?

For Whom the Bellweather Tolls

I have 'em - you have 'em.

They are "Bellweather" Friends. They are friends who are a fair measure of which way the casual political observer is going to vote this election year. These are the people who are not hardcore politicos who read 5 newspapers a day like some of us. They are the above average undecided voter who generally catch the drift of political messages and images and actually can be swayed by the messages.

I've been avoiding one such friend because of my experience in 2004. During that presidential election -- the Bush vs. John Kerry election -- my friend was clearly sauced on Swift Boat advertising and would say "John Kerry scares me; I don't know why but he just scares me."

I'd respond to my friend by saying "If Kerry scares you, Bush must be a heart attack." Still, in spite of his best interests, my Bellweather Friend voted for Bush.

So this year I didn't know which way my Bellweather Friend was leaning until he sent me the image shown below via email. It told me a lot. Soon after receiving this image, McCain-Palin cut-and-ran out of Michigan. Their polling must have been telling them for whom the bellweather was tolling.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

If the Candidates

Were Phones:

Some Serious Business

Desperation politics. That's what we are seeing now in these last days of our Presidential campaign. McCain-Palin are getting nastier each day as they roll out more nonsensical assertions against Barack Obama. The Republicans lack the issues -- not to mention a strong ticket -- so they sling the crud. That's all they got. In this new political era, this type of ugly politics is starkly distasteful.

Meanwhile, Obama continues to talk issues, ideas, and solutions.

Tonight I had to meet some serious friends to discuss some serious issues, so I missed Obama's 30-minute telecast. The initial responses posted on Facebook are giving it rave reviews. If you missed it too, you can watch it here with me when you get a chance. It is posted below.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

Barack Obama's Telecast

Catlike Conventional Wisdom in the Late Election Season

With the election just over a week away, I probably should not have rented the HBO movie, Recount, for my Sunday night viewing. Terri B. recommended it when I bumped into her at the Haslett holiday craft show last weekend. I went ahead with the rental tonight just to remind myself that presidential elections aren't over 'til they're over, especially with Republican dirty election-year tricks always lurking in the shadows. Let's face it, they stole two presidential elections already, manipulating Florida results in 2000 and Ohio results in 2004. With that kind of experience, who says the Rovian tactics won't be tried a third time?

My catlike instincts have been on high alert over the last week. I just don't trust the polling with most of it showing Barack Obama running strong, a few showing McCain gaining back some strength, and some showing a number of swing states as toss-ups. With the economy in a shambles and the popularity of the Republican standard bearer, George W. Bush, at an all time low, the conventional wisdom is that Obama will win.

But have you noticed that we live in a topsy-turvy world? Wall Street bankers are wards of the state. Gas prices are at handsomely low prices again. The Michigan State football team whomped the University of Michigan Wolverines in the "Big House." And, to top it all off, an African-American Democrat is leading the polls for the presidency. Someone please pinch me.

I know this presidential race is not over. Already I am starting to notice the corporate press, in Newsweek as one example, prominently displaying stories about a topsy-turvy scenario in that the Republicans win the White House. And John "I-am-in-Striking-Distance" McCain has been smuggly dismissing polling results -- a la George W. Bush -- as if he has some electoral insider information.

I'm worried about this country. Over the last eight years under George Bush's Republican leadership we have a government that endorses the use of torture and kidnapping, spies on its citizens, illegally invades other countries, lets Wall Street and capitalists ruin our economy...and the litany of transgressions goes on.

So many myths of American exceptionalism have been exposed, died, or been killed under George W. Bush. The last notion of free and fair elections -- having been seriously damaged in 2000 and 2004 -- may not survive one more body blow if the votes are not accurately counted and the people's will honored come November 4th.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

Obama Tickets Go Fast at Gone Wired Cafe

I am making this quick post between breaks at the JazzFest, as the Peace Education Center and GLNAWI are sponsoring a peace tent. Word spread quickly last night at the JazzFest about the Obama ticket giveaway at Gone Wired Cafe this morning at 9 a.m. I drove by the cafe last night at about 11:50 p.m. to see if anyone was lining up. The cafe doors were open and I saw a couple sitting in the chairs outside. It turns out, those people were the first in line for tickets.

I got up early this morning and got to the cafe at approximately 7:30 a.m. and already there was a line of people about 5 blocks long winding through the neighborhood behind the cafe. It was quite a scene. I snapped a number of photos and conducted some video interviews. You can see all the photos posted here. I will probably begin posting my video interviews tomorrow morning. So please stop back to check it out.

Ok, I gotta get back to the JazzFest. If you come out to Lansing's Old Town tonight please stop by the peace tent and say "hi"!

-- Rico Thomas Rico

Again the photos can be viewed here:

http://www.flickr.com/gp/9000299@N07/08z87G

Obama Supporters Having Fun Waiting in Line

Exclusive Interview: Jim Dean, National Chair of Democracy for America

After working out some technical kinks, I am now in the process of rolling out and publishing on the web various recordings that I have shot over that last six weeks or so. I am presenting here my one-on-on one interview with Jim Dean, the Democracy for America National Chair who was in Lansing, Michigan for the DFA Campaign Academy in early June 2008.

-- Rico Thomas Rico
P.S. This interview was also posted on the Mid-Michigan DFA blog.