Entries from June 2008 ↓

The Republican Party is made up of disreputable, highly unethical individuals who will completely fabricate lies, distort information, play upon the fears of a naïve public, and smear an opponent’s reputation if it will help them gain an edge in the election. That’s not an opinion but a statement of fact easily proven by reviewing their behavior during the last eight years and at least the past two presidential elections. I defy anyone to disprove those statements.

Knowing this will be their modus operandi, the Barack Obama campaign is attempting to fight lies with the truth and get ahead of the curve. Much like the Internet sites that debunk urban legends and hoaxes, they have created a new website to quickly respond to the rumors, lies and innuendo generated by the GOP disinformation machine. Fight the Smears was announced Thursday as a way to prevent a repeat of the kind of “swift boat” campaign of lies that derailed John Kerry’s race for the presidency in 2004.

“The Obama campaign isn’t going to let dishonest smears spread across the Internet unanswered,” spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. “It’s not enough to just know the truth. We have to be proactive and fight back.”

So next time you hear some fanciful tail concerning Obama bandied about, know a) you can fact check it on this new site, and b) it was probably created by associates of a party incapable of debating the real issues of this campaign, who have to resort to the underhanded tactics they do best.

While it’s always good to get out of the office and even out of New York City every now and then, there is a big difference between a vacation and a business trip. I was in hot-as-hell Washington DC for the latter over the past six days and although the job picked up the tab for the entire trip, it is nice to be home and able to sleep in my own bed.

Now before any of my DC friends scream, “How come you didn’t tell me you were in town” it’s not like I had a whole lotta free time. We were having our membership conference with some 1,500 participants. The department I work in manages the gathering and while event planning is not my everyday job, at times like these, everyone in the department is pressed into service. So I hit the ground running last Friday and put in long hours before, during and after the event.

And did I mention how oppressively hot it was down there? Our hotel was one block from the convention center and in that brief walk, in 90 degree temperatures with 100 percent humidity, the sweat dripped freely.

Nevertheless it was a productive conference. There was a large youth contingent present and while I’m not sure how much of the conference specifically focused civil liberties issues into a youth context or what the young people’s reaction to it all was, the fact that they did attend bodes well for further engagement with them in the future. The conference was also the occasion to publicly unveil a major fundraising appeal already underway, which not surprisingly has the right wingnuts quaking in their boots.

Related News:

Supreme Court Restores Rule Of Law To Guantánamo

Justices Rule Terror Suspects Can Appeal in Civilian Courts

The day after I arrived in DC, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton finally gave here concession speech, acknowledging what most of us knew months ago—she didn’t have a chance to win the Democratic Party nomination. She delivered the speech literally blocks from where I was but I was too busy with the conference to sit and watch it. I am told she urged her supporters to get behind Barack Obama but even so, there are many who are threatening a jump to the GOP. (See the next entry for reactions to that.)

That same Saturday, two sports related stories broke. Venerable ABC Sports journalist Jim McKay died. To us over-40 types he was a legend, covering 12 Olympic Games and in so doing, defining that event. His on-the-spot reporting of the massacre of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Games earned him an Emmy award and accolades from his colleagues across the news and sports profession. He will be sorely missed.

That afternoon, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, Big Brown, was a big disappointment at the Belmont Stakes. Another year without a Triple Crown winner.

That is the big question now that she has bowed out of the race for the Democratic Party nomination for President. Some commentators are weighing in on the real motivations behind her supporters’ lack of party unity and the ramifications for Democrats this November.

Tim Wise, a White man who calls Whites to task on their racism, pulls no punches in his open letter to Hillary supporters, Your Whiteness is Showing.

Meanwhile some key female Clinton backers are also calling for people to think before jumping on the McCain bandwagon. They point out that a vote for McCain is a vote against women’s issues.

I’ve never been crazy about traveling on business because most of it is done by plane. When you live in New York, hassle Number 1 is just getting to the airport. It’s a schlep regardless of whether you are flying out of LaGuardia, JFK or God help you, Newark Liberty. Add the recommended minimum one hour arrival time before departure, the indignity of airport security, the often late takeoffs, the cattle car-like seating, the fee-based in-flight services and it just takes all enjoyment out of the process. I didn’t even mention the rising costs of air travel.

So this recent trip down to Washington DC was a welcome relief because I took the train. Being a bit of a romantic, nostalgic type, I have always liked trains anyway, but this was an especially enjoyable journey. A simple subway ride from my apartment to NY Penn Station, then a seat aboard the Acela Express, the new roomy, quiet, clean, comfortable high speed trains that run between Boston and DC.

No TSA Nazi made me open my suitcase or remove my shoes. I took a seat in the “Quiet Car” where there was space to stretch my legs, get up and move around, go to a café car that served food at its real cost (not the $5.00 per everything rate the airlines charge) and in just a few short hours I was in downtown DC, a short cab ride from my hotel, rested and unstressed.

My recommendation to President Obama is screw the airlines. They’ve never been well run anyway. Let’s make a major investment in a far more environmentally friendly form of transportation and make railroad travel popular again in every part of the country. Get Americans out of their cars and ground the airplanes. Faster travel isn’t synonymous with better travel. Train travel is simply more civilized.