Oklahoma Vets call Inhofe out on not supporting the troops

This is running on TV in Oklahoma, has been for about a month. I’m not sure of how heavy the rotation is, since I watch mostly just C-Span, MSNBC and Bravo for specific programs. But I see it frequently when I do watch. The production values are not the best, but the content is great because it’s simple and plain, and the speakers are unpolished. But Andrew Rice is rapidly gaining on Jim Inhofe, and I’m thinking this ad is playing a role.

You can help keep the ad running (and maybe produce some more like it) at Progressive Kick.

T. Boone Pickens flees from Q&A at Dem. Conv. about his “energy plan”

Plutonium Page has posted to Daily Kos a diary which helps to expose some important background information about T. Boone Pickens and his “plan” that supposedly will liberate us from foreign oil.

T. Boone Pickens’ Fancy Sales Pitch

Devilstower and I just went to a talk here at the DNC featuring T. Boone Pickens. Everyone was under the impression that the event would involve an actual discussion (as in, a Q & A session, like nearly all of the other Big Tent special topic sessions). We had a really energetic live blog thread going, where all of you were submitting questions.

Sorry, guys. Apparently, the whole thing was just a sales pitch. T. Boone hightailed it out of there before anyone could even raise their hand.

I’ll post some excerpts below, but really, go to the original, where you can also read the comments, which are just as illuminating.

Maybe he was afraid we’d ask questions like:

In 2004, you helped pay for the Swift Boat ads, along with fellow billionaire Harold Simmons, who’s funding the Ayres attack ads this cycle. If you’re willing to tolerate, and even encourage, that level of dishonesty in political discourse, why should we trust you on any subject?

(From Devilstower)

I wanted to ask him:

Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma is well known for saying that global warming is the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” and is one of the most outspoken climate change science deniers around, as well as being joined at the hip with the oil companies.

In your presentation today, you specifically said that you “believe global warming is real”.

However, you have heavily funded James Inhofe’s campaign. How do you reconcile your support for Inhofe with your promotion of renewable energy programs?

From an energy expert acquaintance via email:

Can you please explain why people should take your plan seriously when, for example, you do not include any energy efficiency measures within it?

For a real and honest debate on the topic of energy policy, see the liveblogging thread.

On which Devilstower summed up the Pickens Plan with this update:

Update [2008-8-27 15:7:47 by Devilstower]: And T. Boone heads for the door without taking a single question. Which makes the whole presentation worth about as much as day old spit.

Progressives to the rescue

How come we always have to clean up the messes conservatives leave behind?

Now I know what everyone’s raving about

This should have been the keynote speech.

OK Dems experience Denver light rail

Calvin Rees, one of the credentialed bloggers at the Democratic Convention  took a look at Denver’s light rail system, and wrote up something of a review of it.

We have been using light rail in Denver and trying to check out how it would work in Oklahoma City. I rode it to the Convention area in downtown Denver and back to the hotel which is located in southeast Denver.

It was an interesting experience even though I had experience when living in Europe. I talked to some locals and they said they are using it more because of the high price of gasoline but that it is not always convenient to where they want to go. Some of our Delegates liked it but some had to stand all the way to where they were going.

The price of the ticket was $3 for a round trip but a monthly pass is just $108 and $54 for seniors, Disable students aged 6 through 19.

Dem Con stuff you won’t see on C-Span, CNN or NBC.

Some behind the scenes fascist nonsense going down at the parties in Denver this week.

The Field: Al Giordano Reports the US Presidential Elections.

When I retook my seat, suddenly a big fat police officer came up to me, accompanied by this smarmy Bruno clown, and told me, “You have to leave, sir.” (Why do they always call you “sir” when they’re screwing with you?) I looked at Bruno and said, “I warned you. I’m sitting here quietly, not making any noise, and you send cops up? Do you want a disturbance as Maher is beginning his show? Because if they try to haul me out of here I guarantee you that you’ll have one! The entire show will have to stop for you to get me out of here!”

But that was small beans. Amy Goodman also got in a bit of a wrangle with the security goons, but this time they were working on behalf of AT&T, which was just trying to throw a nice private “thank you for that FISA vote going our way” bash for Blue Dog Democrats.

Glenn Greenwald was one of the voices you heard, one of the people you saw in that piece. He was outside AT&T Blue Dog fundraiser last night. Glenn is a constitutional law attorney and political and legal blogger for Salon.com. He joins me here in the Denver studio. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Glenn.

GLENN GREENWALD: Great to be here, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: So, we were there, dogging the Blue Dogs, trying, actually, just simply to get into the party. The delegates and the lobbyists were able to walk in and out, but we had a lot of trouble.

GLENN GREENWALD: Well, one of the things I found so interesting is that there’s a very stringent credentialing process, as you know, in order to obtain press credentials for the convention. And because I write with Salon.com, Salon has obtained press credentials for me and others.

And I expected, quite naturally, that the press passes would enable access to the party. I mean, here is a meeting between the nation’s—one of the nation’s most influential corporations and probably the single most influential faction in the United States Congress, which is the Blue Dog Coalition, meeting at this lavish party with hundreds of people present near where Barack Obama will speak. The last thing that occurred to me was that it would be closed to the press, given the public significance, the fact that members of the United States Congress are meeting. And yet, the first declaration that they announced when asked if we could enter was that press is completely banned. It was an entirely private affair.

I guess only Democracy Now! and us were the only press interested in covering it, in any event, but they certainly, whether that rule pre-existed our arrival or was created specifically for us, it was made very clear and enforced, through layers of security, that press would not be able to access the event.

AMY GOODMAN: The police were there, working in force. They clearly are telling—explaining to protesters what the rules are, the line that they can’t step over. And then when we came up, when Democracy Now! came up, the police very patiently explained this is private property. The security, not the police, but the security, was Mile High, as well as the actual venue of Mile High Station.

Those who hear not the music …

… think the dancers mad.

I think tonight a pivotal moment occured in American culture and history. You can read the reaction to the sea change on the comment threads of liberal blogs across the internet, where reaction to Michelle Obama’s speech is taxing servers to their limits.

And you can see that in some quarters, observers of the same speech express sincere (I guess) belief that it was nothing special, and won’t make a difference.  Their senses have been dulled, in every sense, and that is very sad.

Booman really captured the moment perfectly, so I won’t test my more limited skills.

And watching a convention (on CSPAN) that was totally unapologetic and unembarrassed to display its liberal, urban, progressive, and, yes, African-American roots and culture? Damn that felt good to watch. From the music selections to the speakers to the issues (Katrina, Health Care) to the faces in the crowd to the celebration of Teddy Kennedy…it all felt good. For once we we’re not shy, we were not hidden, we were not ashamed. It wasn’t in-your-face. It was self-confident…for once.

There is a lot at stake. But anyone that can’t recognize the progressive revolution, the sea-change in culture, expressed in the first night of this convention has just set their standards too high.

American Woman

Documentary intro, narrated by Michell Obama’s mother

Michelle Obama’s speech to the Democratic convention

Their story makes me so proud to be an American, and it will be so great to feel that way again.

Watch out, Bethany, we’re gonna ‘Rock Your Freedom’

Ron Marlett is running to unseat Sally Kern. If you care about justice for all Oklahomans, not to mention our global reputation , you need to get behind his campaign. Getting Sally Kern out of office would sent an extremely important message, and it’s an opportunity we can’t miss.

The concert, just for the music, sounds promising. I’ve seen the Electric Prima Donas, and they’re good. I’ve heard good things about Laci Stark. Don’t know about the rest.

Saturday, August 30 at Noon — be there or be square!

Google map for Lyon Park in Bethany, Oklahoma

Whether you can attend this event or not, donate to the cause.

Don’t know much ..

The diariest who posted this at Daily Kos called this tune “Don McLean-ish”. Ah, kids these days! It’s Sam Cooke’s “What a Wonderful World” made a hit in the 60’s by Herman’s Hermits.

Good ad though.