Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings diaries give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.
In lieu of daily check-ins, which have gone on hiatus, Welcomings diaries will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning) and then, if necessary due to a large number of comments, again on Wednesday or Thursday to close out the week. To find the diaries, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).
The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.
In 2005, I had a chance to fulfill a boyhood dream …. it took thirty-seven years (and a trip to London) but it was worth the wait, as I’ll explain after the jump ….
I grew-up in the town of West Hempstead on New York’s Long Island before we moved further east in 1969. And as an eleven year-old, I remember seeing this ad in the paper for a 1968 concert by the rock band that had quickly become my favorite:
Alas, my father thought I was too young (at age eleven) for a rock concert. As it turned out, the show had faulty equipment (that particular venue was a barn-like dump) and it lasted only 30 minutes, anyway.
Now, my father was a fair man: in September 1970, he allowed me (who just turned fourteen) and my brother (who just turned thirteen) to see Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden. And because in addition to an 8:00 PM show, they also had a 2:00 PM matinée (and our friend’s father was driving to work in Manhattan that day) we were able to attend. But that day was Led Zeppelin’s first performance (at MSG) of many they would make that decade … so even if Dad hadn’t allowed us to go then: we’d have many, many chances later on.
But Cream broke-up later that year in 1968 ….. and so I thought I’d never have a chance to see them (although I did see the three band members as bandleaders individually). To top it off: the night of that Led Zeppelin show, we saw on television the US premier of a documentary of the farewell concert by Cream in November, 1968 which – although director Tony Palmer receives criticism for – still showed the world what it had lost. So that night I again wished I could have seen them (photo below from that show). Before I fast-forward, some background.
Many of the most famous rock bands of all time were either childhood friends (Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, Beach Boys, et al) or had experience in bands or as studio musicians, yet were relatively unknown to the general public (think Steely Dan, Booker T and the MG’s, et al). Cream are acknowledged to be the first rock supergroup – musicians already known to the public. Other examples would be Bad Company, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and of course Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Cream blended the blues (as many of the earlier British Invasion groups had done) yet with a touch of mid-60’s psychedelia, plus a harder rock sound – and with lyrics written by a poet. Most critically: with three instrumental virtuosos, they were the antithesis of the ‘garage band’. They were not the only group to turn heads at that time: Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits said that after watching Jimi Hendrix he thought, “Well … it’s time to quit”. But while Noel Redding and (especially) drummer Mitch Mitchell were good sidemen for Jimi Hendrix: Cream had a more balanced power trio.
One needs little introduction to guitarist Eric Clapton – suffice it to say, he had performed in The Yardbirds previously, before a stint with British blues bandleader John Mayall – which satisfied the young Clapton’s blues roots. Only age 23 when Cream ended, at age 69 today he is the only person inducted three times in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – with the Yardbirds, Cream and as a solo artist.
Someone who changed the sound of blues/rock was drummer Peter ‘Ginger’ Baker – whose jazz influences remain with his style to this day, and he got his start in several British jazz bands in the early 60’s (Terry Lightfoot, Johnny Burch and Mr. Acker Bilk) and then blues/R&B bands (Alexis Korner and Graham Bond). Following his British jazz drumming idol (Phil Seamen), he had a long-time heroin that affected him for a long time – “Is he still alive?” was a common question before this reunion. Possessed with a volatile temper, the recent documentary Beware of Mr. Baker tells of one journalist’s experience, with Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke saying, “He influenced me as a drummer – but not as a person.” Still active today at age 75, he had a recent tour of the US with his Jazz Confusion band, along with a new album release.
One reason of many why I fell in love with this band was its bassist Jack Bruce – who became my favorite musician. Jack (along with his lyricist, the poet Pete Brown) was the principal songwriter and singer for the band, and I have followed his solo career avidly ever since Cream. He had previously been a member of some British jazz bands, along with a time with Manfred Mann and as a rhythm-section partner with Ginger Baker in Alexis Korner and the Graham Bond Organization as well. At age 71, Jack released his first solo album in years this past spring, which was well-worth waiting for.
Cream lasted 2-1/2 years, which ended for several reasons:
a) The band members were ready to lead their own groups
b) Ginger and Jack always had a difficult time getting-on personally,
c) Manager Robert Stigwood worked them in long, grinding tours, and
d) Used their profits to invest in the Bee Gees (his other main act), and
e) Their success fueled many a drug habit, leading to isolation
Still, they had an influential run, with hit singles such as White Room and Sunshine of Your Love which led to their 1993 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction – the first time they had performed together in twenty-five years. The reaction to their short (three song) set was so positive, that thoughts arose of a reunion, or at least a new studio album … all at their own pace, not management’s. Yet it never happened – for which one theory is that Eric Clapton’s manager Roger Forrester is regarded as always having counseled against, knowing how traumatized the young guitarist was by the grind the band put him through.
But by late 2004, stirrings were being reported that perhaps there was a chance that a reunion could take place. In part, enough time had passed to allow for old wounds to heal, and also Eric Clapton had parted ways with Roger Forrester and had been seeking new challenges. Yet another reason was that bassist Jack Bruce had undergone a liver transplant – which had initially not gone well, before he recovered. This gave an impetus to discuss getting back together … while they still could.
When the news finally came, many headlines included the words I’m So Glad – a song by the bluesman Nehemiah ‘Skip’ James that was a part of the band’s repertoire. When the band recorded the song, they made sure that Skip received the royalties he was entitled to, something that was not often done in those days. It paid for his medical bills, and the band received a letter of gratitude from his widow after his death in 1969.
Four shows were scheduled in the 5,200 seat Royal Albert Hall – the same venue they had last performed at – in May of 2005. Now, as it turned out: the shows at the RAH were so well-received, they later added three shows at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York that October … and had that been part of the plan from the start: I might have only concentrated on attending a show there. But that was yet unknown – and so even though none of my friends were interested in travelling to London for a concert, I could not let this chance slip by.
Tickets went on-sale a few months before at 9:00 AM London time (4:00 AM Eastern) on a Monday morning via telephone and Internet. The phone was terminally busy, and the Internet never completed. The RAH website did not have a “Best seat available” option (as the MSG website did have months later). So I kept choosing a section and row, then clicked “purchase” … only to have it come back as “Sold out”. Those who know me well know that I seldom use expletives (as my father never did). That morning, “rat bastards!” were the cleanest words I uttered … and after an hour, I went to sleep in frustration.
When I got to work that day, I saw the ticket I tried in vain to buy … were now for sale on eBay and ticket broker sites … and at (ahem) premium prices. Once again, I started muttering (silently, this time) and vowed not to reward these extortionists … and for any other show, I would not have. But I finally gave-in … this band meant that much to me. So I wound-up paying 7-1/2 times face value for an upper-level seat at the first show (May 2nd, 2005) which the broker said they would deliver to me the day of the show wherever I was staying in London.
The trip there was nice, and unusually warm for London (80’s during the day) and here is the RAH by day. For those of you travelling to London, this is a wonderful venue; worth taking a tour of. And while it is principally used for classical music shows, popular music has long been part of its offerings.
Another bonus: I did get to meet the two gents you see below (Grant Scale and Dennis Lawrenson, both from Australia) whom I knew from a Jack Bruce fan list-serve. And the night before the 1st reunion show: the Cream’s lyricist Pete Brown performed a show at the well-known Bull’s Head Pub m in the suburb of Barnes, and the three of us got to talk to him for a while before the show … such stories about the “old days”.
Also, two days before the show: on a hunch, I looked-up the address of the ticket broker and went there, to see if I could pick-up my ticket then. Wotta break: by sparing them the trip, they checked their inventory of single tickets (as they wanted to keep groups together). With that, they offered me a free upgrade to a Choir seat (behind the band, to the right in the old photo, way above) but close and – best of all – in the overhang row. I jumped at this, as now I went from paying 7-1/2 times face value for an average seat to 2-1/2 times for an excellent seat. Still unhappy … but much less so. Here is the ticket (with “No support” meaning “no opening act”).
I met Grant and Dennis for dinner again before the show – Grant had a ticket for that first night (Dennis for the next night, yet he tagged-long too). Since Jack Bruce had never before performed in Australia, an exuberant Grant asked me, “Ed, aren’t you going crazy?!” – but having seen all three band members at shows, I was relaxed. Here is the line-up at the show: there was a BBC helicopter that flew overhead, as the shows were on the news. I hadn’t been at this major an event in twenty years.
Alas, I have lost many of the photos I had (computer crash, and misplaced prints). Suffice it to say, I had a great time talking to people before the show – I recall a nice fellow from Brazil named Beto (there by himself, like me) and some other old fans, too. Yet there were some thirty-somethings, too.
The band came out at 8:07 …. no announcement, no flashpots, no strobes … just walked on-stage, picked up their gear and counted-into “I’m So Glad”. No one knew what they’d play …. it was basically the old songbook (plus adding “Stormy Monday”) and only briefly spoke to everyone. Talk about old school.
Song list:
———–
I’m So Glad
Spoonful
Outside Women Blues
Pressed Rat & Warthog(!!)
Sleepy Time Time
NSU
Badge
Politician
Sweet Wine
Rollin’ & Tumblin’ (Jack on harmonica)
Stormy Monday
Deserted Cities of the Heart
Born Under a Bad Sign
We’re Going Wrong
Crossroads
Sittin’ On Top of the World
White Room
Toad (6-minute solo from Ginger)
Encore: Sunshine of Your Love
(Note: the set-list was identical at the MSG shows that autumn, with the addition of Tales of Brave Ulysses).
That night, many of us (including Grant Scale, who spotted me from the orchestra section) got together for some drinks …. I didn’t sleep that night, I was so thrilled. Their voices were a bit worn, a line-or-two was flubbed … but they were great. There is both an audio CD as well as a DVD available as a composite from those four nights. I got to see the first reunion show in London …. and the last show in New York (at face value, and with my brother and close friends).
To sum-up: a wave good-bye from the fellas that night.
Perhaps my favorite song from the show, We’re Going Wrong is a song I’ve heard Jack sing with his own band … but hearing Cream perform it was the best.
In this week’s address, the President highlighted that six years after the Great Recession, thanks to the hard work of the American people and the President’s policies, our economy has come back further and faster than any other nation on Earth. With 10.3 million private-sector jobs added over 55 straight months, America’s businesses have extended the longest streak of private-sector job gains on record.
But even with this progress, too many Americans have yet to feel the benefits. The President reiterated the vision he set out earlier this week for steps that can lay a new foundation for stronger growth, rising wages, and expanded economic opportunity for middle-class families.
Hi, everybody. I’m at Millennium Steel in Princeton, Indiana, to have a town hall with workers on National Manufacturing Day. Because in many ways, manufacturing is the quintessential middle-class job. And after a decade of losing jobs, American manufacturing is once again adding them – more than 700,000 over the past four and a half years.
In fact, it’s been a bright spot as we keep fighting to recover from the great recession. Last month, our businesses added 236,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate fell to under six percent for the first time in more than six years. Over the past 55 months, our businesses have added 10.3 million new jobs. That’s the longest uninterrupted stretch of private sector job creation in our history. And we’re on pace to make 2014 the strongest year of job growth since the 1990s.
This progress has been hard, but it has been steady, and it is real. It is a direct result of the American people’s drive and determination, and decisions made by my administration.
During the last decade, people thought the decline in American manufacturing was inevitable. But we chose to invest in American auto industry and American workers. And today, an auto industry that was flatlining six years ago is building and selling new cars at the fastest pace in eight years. American manufacturing is growing almost twice as fast as the rest of the economy, with new factories opening their doors at the fastest pace in decades. That’s progress we can be proud of.
What’s also true is that too many families still work too many hours with too little to show for it. And the much longer and profound erosion of middle-class jobs and incomes isn’t something we’re going to reverse overnight. But there are ideas we should be putting into place that would grow jobs and wages faster right now. And one of the best would be to raise the minimum wage.
We’ve actually begun to see some modest wage growth in recent months. But most folks still haven’t seen a raise in over a decade. It’s time to stop punishing some of the hardest-working Americans. It’s time to raise the minimum wage. It would put more money in workers’ pockets. It would help 28 million Americans. Recent surveys show that a majority of small business owners support a gradual increase to ten dollars and ten cents an hour. The folks who keep blocking a minimum wage increase are running out of excuses. Let’s give America a raise.
Let’s do this – because it would make our economy stronger, and make sure that growth is shared. Rather than just reading about our recovery in a headline, more people will feel it in their own lives. And that’s when America does best. We do better when the middle class does better, and when more Americans have their way to climb into the middle class.
And that’s what drives me every single day. Thanks, and have a great weekend.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed a lower court ruling that had allowed provisions of North Carolina’s restrictive voting law to go into effect before the midterm election. Today’s order restores same-day registration and reinstates out-of-precinct provisional voting on Voting Rights Act grounds. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice are challenging those provisions, as well as the elimination of a week of early voting.
“The court’s order safeguards the vote for tens of thousands of North Carolinians. It means they will be able to continue to use same-day registration, just as they have during the last three federal elections,” said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project.
“This is a victory for voters in the state of North Carolina,” said Southern Coalition for Social Justice staff attorney Allison Riggs. “The court has rebuked attempts to undermine voter participation.”
Judge James Wynn, an Obama appointee, begins his opinion with a simple declaration – “[t]he right to vote is fundamental.” He then holds that two provisions of the new voter suppression law, the provision eliminating same-day registration and the provision calling for a voter’s ballots to be tossed out if they vote in the wrong precinct, must be suspended pending a full trial of this case on the merits.
Judge Wynn’s opinion reverses the decision of a George W. Bush appointed judge who allowed the entire law to take effect.
Yesterday’s Marquette University Poll of the Wisconsin governors race included polling on voter id. Roughly 30% of those polled did NOT realize that the voter id law was going into affect for this election and 1.2% of registered voters, about 44,000, do not have an id.
On Thursday, Justice Kagan asked for a response brief from the State of Wisconsin, due Tuesday, 10/7 at 5pm.
With registration deadlines rapidly approaching, almost 110 million of the nation’s approximately 225 million eligible voters live in the 20 states that offer online voter registration.
In 2008, online registration was offered in only two states-Arizona and Washington-accounting for just 4 percent of all eligible voters.
Much of our attention has been focused on our young black men, and rightly so, given the propensity in this culture for them to be shot in cold blood, killed and incarcerated. We’ve discussed President Obama’s initiative for young black men, “My Brother’s Keeper.”
Race and gender disparities in opportunity and academic achievement lead to high dropout rates, limited job opportunities, and increased risk of poverty
(Washington, D.C.) Due to pervasive, systemic barriers in education rooted in racial and gender bias and stereotypes, African American girls are faring worse than the national average for girls on almost every measure of academic achievement, according to a comprehensive report (executive summary) released today by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF). In sharp contrast to reports of the academic success of girls overall, African American girls are more likely than any other group of girls to get poor grades and be held back a grade.
The report, Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls: A Call to Action for Educational Equity, outlines what are sometimes insurmountable barriers to staying in school and how poor educational outcomes result in limited job opportunities, lower lifetime earnings, and increased risk of economic insecurity for African American women. In 2013, 43 percent of African American women without a high school diploma were living in poverty, compared to nine percent of African American women with at least a bachelor’s degree.
The report examines roadblocks faced by both African American girls and boys-such as under-resourced schools-and emphasizes those that have a distinct impact on African American girls due to the intersection of gender and race stereotypes. These barriers include lack of access to college-and career-preparatory curricula in schools; limited access to athletics and other extracurricular activities; disproportionate and overly punitive disciplinary practices that exclude them from school for minor and subjective infractions, such as dress code violations and wearing natural hairstyles; discrimination against pregnant and parenting students; and pervasive sexual harassment and violence.
“Our educational policies and practices must open the doors of opportunity for all – regardless of race or gender. Only then will we fulfill the promise of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark ruling that invalidated legal segregation in America 60 years ago,” said Sherrilyn A. Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc. “The report’s findings,” Ifill added, “complement the important, ongoing work to improve educational outcomes for boys and men of color and provide additional information about the challenges facing African American children in education.”
In the 2011-12 school year, 12 percent of all African American female pre-K-12 students were suspended from school, six times the rate of white girls and more than any other group of girls and several groups of boys – despite research showing that African American children do not misbehave more frequently than their peers. The experience of Tiambrya Jenkins – a 16-year-old high school student in Rome, Georgia – illustrates the impact that overly punitive disciplinary practices can have on African American girls. Two years ago, when Jenkins was a straight-A student in ninth grade with a dream of becoming a nurse, she got into a fight after school with a white female classmate. Both girls were transferred to an alternative school as punishment. The white classmate returned to regular school after 90 days, but Jenkins was held at the alternative school for the entire school year.
“It was like being in prison,” said Jenkins. “The classrooms had no windows. There was an adult in the room, but there was almost no teaching. We’d just sit around and talk until the bell rang. A year later, I was finally sent back to my regular school. But, by then, my classmates were way ahead of me. Now, I’m flunking math, my favorite class. I’m slipping further behind day by day and doubt I’ll ever catch up.”
The report shows that African-American girls are doing worse than the national average for girls on almost every measure of academic achievement. Globally, the United Nations has warned that gender inequality in education wastes vital human capital and stifles economic growth. As one of its Millennium Development Goals, the U.N. set an ambitious objective of eliminating the gender gap in education at all levels by 2015.
While reading I thought back to my junior high school experience, when, with 6 other black girls I was bused into a majority white school. All of us were selected to be in a special high achievement program to do three years in two.
When it came time to audition for New York’s excellent special high schools, those of us who were black, who took off a day from school to audition, were put in detention and give “JD cards” (juvenile delinquency). This didn’t happen to the white students. Only via the intervention of our parents, and the local NAACP branch were our records cleared.
Reading through the report a number of things we’ve discussed in the past stood out:
Stereotypes of African American girls and women date back to slavery – such as the view that African American women are “angry” or “aggressive,” and “promiscuous”
or “hyper-sexualized.” Such racial and gender stereotypes shape educators’ and administrators’ views of African American female students in critically harmful ways.
This implicit bias is rarely discussed or acknowledged, and therefore it goes virtually undetected. But addressing it is essential, as it can lead to the setting of lower
academic expectations for African American girls, significant discipline disparities and a higher rate of referrals to the juvenile justice system, all factors that push African American girls out of school.
We’ve read the reports on black girls being sent home because their hair is different – and dubbed “unacceptable”.
Who can forget Melissa Harris Perry’s message to Tiana Parker.
The report also discusses the very serious issues of sex-trafficking of young black and brown girls right here in the U.S. along with issues of sexual abuse and violence.
It isn’t simply a laundry list of what is wrong.
The report outlines recommendations for policymakers, schools, community members, and philanthropic organizations to improve educational and career outcomes, including the following:
Invest in early childhood education; reduce disparities in school resources; maintain transparency and accountability for the performance of all students;
Reduce reliance on overly punitive and exclusionary discipline practices in schools, such as suspensions and expulsions for minor offenses, and promote the use of alternative discipline practices, such as Restorative Justice, that encourage positive behavior and address trauma. Increase transparency in and accuracy of schools’ annually reported discipline data.
Increase access to and promote African American girls’ participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) courses;
Support pregnant students and those who are parents;
Reduce gender- and race-based bullying, harassment and violence, and train school staff to recognize and address signs of trauma in students;
Increase access to athletics and other after-school activities and programs;
Target philanthropic funding to provide social services and support systems that address the needs of African American girls, especially the most vulnerable – those who are low-income, in the child welfare system, victims of child sex trafficking, struggling to complete school, or in the juvenile justice system.
Maybe one day we will be able fulfill the words to this classic song, sung here by Nina Simone:
“We all need to be as passionate and hungry for this election as we were in 2008 and 2012,” Obama told a packed crowd at the Wisconsin Center Monday.
“When the midterms come along, too many of our people just tune out, and that’s what a lot of folks on the other side are counting on this year,” she said. “They’re assuming that we won’t care, they’re assuming that we won’t be organized and energized – and only we can prove them wrong.”
This rally was for Mary Burke but the words should be repeated at every Democratic campaign rally in the country between now and election day.
History suggests that Democratic voters don’t care much about the midterms but this year is different; this year we have the results of the low turnout 2010 midterms as a reminder of what happens when we can’t be bothered to vote. A reminder that those of us with school age children see every single day.
When Scott Walker chopped almost a billion dollars from state aid to education in order to give tax breaks to the wealthy and to outside business interests, he dealt a huge blow to our future. His future as a GOP presidential contender may be enhanced by his teacher-bashing credentials but those of us who call Wisconsin home and who are raising families here and who count on public schools want a different future, A New Direction.
The New Direction that Mary Burke envisions for education:
Education has always offered a way up to a good job and a better life. It’s the fabric of our communities, and it’s the key to a strong economy in the long term.
Mary believes Wisconsin schools should be among the best in the nation-and she knows that making historic cuts isn’t the way to do it. She’ll work every day to strengthen our public education system, from K-12 to our technical colleges and university system.
The Republican Party does not want people to have a way up to a good job and a better life. It is up to us to deny them the levers of power and take back our hijacked statehouses. The future begins at the ballot box.
Get Out The Vote … Get Out And Vote.
Elections Matter. Remember, when we vote, we win. Or as we say in Wisconsin: #WIvoteWIwin.
The ruling by the anti-voter judicial activists on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, the ruling which implemented newly developed and completely untested voter id rules for Wisconsin’s general election on November 4, 2014, will not be reviewed by the full panel.
CHICAGO – The full Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today declined to rehear a three-judge panel’s order reinstating Wisconsin’s voter ID law prior to the midterm election. The vote was split evenly, 5-5, meaning the panel’s order stands. Neither the panel nor the full court has yet ruled on the actual merits of the law, which was found unconstitutional by a federal judge in April. The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the law, and petitioned for a full appeals court review following the panel’s order on September 12 allowing the law to take effect. The ACLU presented oral arguments to the panel that day asking the court to uphold the April decision striking down the law as unconstitutional and in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The following is a statement from Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project:
“Allowing this law to take effect so close to the midterm election is a recipe for chaos, voter confusion, and disenfranchisement. The court could have avoided this pandemonium and given Wisconsin voters a chance to cast their ballots free of obstruction. It failed to do so, and we are evaluating our next step.”
Ten judges … because there is an unfilled vacancy*. Three judges appointed by Democratic presidents plus two appointed by Republicans but whose ideological blinders are not epoxied on, voted to hear the challenge. Five judges chosen for their ideology, paying back their Republican Party masters by disenfranchising those who can’t afford the de facto poll tax, refused. Poll tax? Isn’t that a bit of hyperbole, you ask? No, it is not. Voter ids can only be obtained 8:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday at designated Department of Motor Vehicle locations and I defy anyone who suggests that getting off work (or getting child care if you are not working) and taking public transportation to the DMV and standing in line for 4 hours is without cost. Judge Adelman saw it for what it was: a way to disenfranchise the poor and the disabled.
Given the ideological split on this court, as seen by the votes on the refusal, the likelihood of prevailing was pretty slim anyway. But is serves to underscore just how important the choice of people to serve lifetime appointments on the federal bench are.
In 2010, President Obama nominated a University of Wisconsin law professor named Victoria Nourse to this vacancy – Nourse was one of four potential nominees suggested to the White House by a nominating commission sponsored by the state’s two senators.
In 2011, newly elected teaparty Republican Senator Ron Johnson (WI), objected to Professor Nourse and declined to return a “blue slip” to Senate Judiciary Chairman, Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
What is this “blue slip” and why would it trump a nonpartisan commission’s recommendations and a presidential nomination based on that recommendation?
For much of the Twentieth Century, [the “blue slip” process] was merely a mechanism home state senators could use to voice their opposition to a nominee, but nominees who were opposed by their home state senator would typically still receive a vote from the full Senate. Leahy, however, is one of only two Senate Judiciary Chairs in American history who has given each home state senator an absolute veto over anyone nominated to a judgeship in their state. Under Leahy’s rule – a rule that Leahy could unilaterally change at any time if he chose to – Johnson’s decision not to return a blue slip on Nourse held up her nomination indefinitely.
In 2012, Professor Nourse requested to have her nomination withdrawn and the seat has been vacant for the last 4 years, denying a fair hearing to cases in Wisconsin and the other states that the 7th Circuit serves.
For Senator Leahy, “Senate comity” trumps “presidential elections have consequences” and, unlike Harry Reid, Leahy has not learned that when you treat Republicans as if they are honorable instead of seditious hacks bent on destroying our democracy, it is justice that loses in the long run. “Thanks”, Senator Leahy. You made it easier for yourself to enjoy Senate cocktail parties while you made it more difficult for people to vote in Wisconsin. Excellent tradeoff!
Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings diaries give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.
In lieu of daily check-ins, which have gone on hiatus, Welcomings diaries will be published at the start of each week (every Sunday morning) and then, if necessary due to a large number of comments, again on Wednesday or Thursday to close out the week. To find the diaries, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).
The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.
So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?
…
Good morning, Motley Meese! The week begins …
It is 20 degrees in Madison WI, on its way up to 29. Partly sunny skies are in the forecast.
Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings diaries give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.
In lieu of daily check-ins, which have gone on hiatus, Welcomings diaries will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning) and then, if necessary due to a large number of comments, again on Wednesday or Thursday to close out the week. To find the diaries, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).
The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.
In the wake of Eric Holder’s announcement that he will be stepping down as Attorney General, the media is filled with right-wing bloviating (no, right-wing, Eric Holder’s Justice Department is NOT “scandal ridden” … any more than “Romney won Ohio”).
This headline from The Hill stomped on my last nerve:
“Allowing Democratic senators, many of whom will likely have just been defeated at the polls, to confirm Holder’s successor would be an abuse of power that should not be countenanced”.
“This shall not stand!” proclaims man whose freshness date expired months ago. “Abuse of power” and “should not be countenanced” are, of course, code words for impeachment. Go with that, GOP!! It has worked so well for you in the past. If the Republicans want to waste their time on impeachment to please their shrinking base, let them. The country needs a strong, intelligent, principled, Democratic replacement to continue the important work that Eric Holder started; if we have a better chance to get that now rather than later, with a thinner majority, we should do it.
Oh, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell? May I say this about your comment: “I will be scrutinizing the president’s replacement nominee to ensure the Justice Department finally returns to prioritizing law enforcement over partisan concerns.” With apologies to bubbanomics, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The Justice Department that was replaced in 2009 was the most partisan in recent memory. A Republican Party operative, Karl Rove, directed the firing and replacement of 7 U.S. Attorneys who refused to go after Bush Administration political enemies. That is the very definition of “partisan”.
And one more thing, leaders of the Party of Southern White Males Still Bitter Over Losing The Civil War: Attorney General Eric Holder did uphold the law, the most important laws of the land: protecting the right to vote and the right to equal justice. Simply because it ran counter to the Republican Party’s plan to hang onto power by disenfranchising (and incarcerating) likely-Democratic voters, does not make it partisan. Yes, the citizens who need more protections than most tend to vote for Democrats — mainly because they are minorities, the poor, and women, people who feel, on a daily basis, your party’s disdain for them and for their concerns.
The relative liberalism of Millennials translates into a greater likelihood of affiliating with or leaning toward the Democratic Party compared with those in older generations. Today, about half of Millennials (50%) are Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, while just 34% affiliate with or lean to the GOP.
So a party that is anti-women, anti-people-of-color, anti-LGBT, anti-working-class, anti-education is not so popular with young people?
