Monday, December 22, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Yanni - At the Acropolis
This epitomizes my bio-rhythm... my body language and the music in my head... my energy... crashing barriers to death... to death.
Yanni – Nostalgia
Monday, September 29, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
In Memory of the Last Love of My Life
Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992)
You Beat Me to the Punch
Your Old Standby
The One Who Really Loves You
What Love Has Joined Together
Laughing Boy
Old Love
Operator
Two Lovers
When I'm Gone
My Guy
You Beat Me to the Punch
Your Old Standby
The One Who Really Loves You
What Love Has Joined Together
Laughing Boy
Old Love
Operator
Two Lovers
When I'm Gone
My Guy
Monday, August 25, 2008
Dream Merchant
What fault would you find of the Dream Merchant, seller of dreams and hopes? Tell it to a man who spent 12 hard years in maximum security where men never come home.
Lord, I came home, but she was not there any more, and neither was the fragrance of her memory was left behind.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Another Tribute to Phyllis Hyman
From Eddie Griffin
I Don’t Want to Loose You
[Previous]
Did I ever tell you the story about how I fell in love with a female prison guard, whose brother, also worked inside the same prison?
It is one thing for a black inmate to fall in love with a white female prison guard. But it is another thing when her brother worked in the prison’s food department and, on the sideline, organized Klan meetings with his buddies who also worked inside the prison.
Falling in love again, after 18 months in the prison dungeon known as the Control Unit, I found it humanizing, insofar as my senses and sensibilities returned to me in a passionate way.
When I first saw Debbie, striding across the prison compound, golden hair blowing loosely in the wind, in her gray uniform, and black jacket boots, the iceman melted, by the radiance of her beauty. The angry, notorious rebel in me came out like an evil spirit cast to the winds. My heart ached with secret desire.
I had not seen nor spoken to a woman in over six years. I was a Spartan, a eunuch, gladiator, and fierce warrior in the toughest penitentiary in the country. My life always flashed before my eyes. And, my vision of death in hand-to-hand combat was thwarted over and over again only by the grace of God.
But I was not prepared to die from heartbreak. So, began one of the most interesting experiences of my life.
[To be continued]
Phyllis Hyman (July 6, 1949 - June 30, 1995)
Died by suicide because of lonliness... but I will always remember
I Don’t Want to Loose You
[Previous]
Did I ever tell you the story about how I fell in love with a female prison guard, whose brother, also worked inside the same prison?
It is one thing for a black inmate to fall in love with a white female prison guard. But it is another thing when her brother worked in the prison’s food department and, on the sideline, organized Klan meetings with his buddies who also worked inside the prison.
Falling in love again, after 18 months in the prison dungeon known as the Control Unit, I found it humanizing, insofar as my senses and sensibilities returned to me in a passionate way.
When I first saw Debbie, striding across the prison compound, golden hair blowing loosely in the wind, in her gray uniform, and black jacket boots, the iceman melted, by the radiance of her beauty. The angry, notorious rebel in me came out like an evil spirit cast to the winds. My heart ached with secret desire.
I had not seen nor spoken to a woman in over six years. I was a Spartan, a eunuch, gladiator, and fierce warrior in the toughest penitentiary in the country. My life always flashed before my eyes. And, my vision of death in hand-to-hand combat was thwarted over and over again only by the grace of God.
But I was not prepared to die from heartbreak. So, began one of the most interesting experiences of my life.
[To be continued]
Phyllis Hyman (July 6, 1949 - June 30, 1995)
Died by suicide because of lonliness... but I will always remember
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Confession of an Underground Think Tank Strategist
By Eddie Griffin
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I thought to share some of the strategies we used in the revolution back in the 1970s at a time I was a member of an underground prison think tank. Each strategy had an appropriate name, such as: The Scatter Gun Strategy, which consisted of hitting multiple political targets at once, firing from single scatter gun position; and The Overkill Strategy, which consisted of targeting an objective beyond the “kill point”.
Conventional Frontal Assault upon a political target met force-for-force, pound-for-pound. Going up against a prison administration was fruitless and in vain. An institution can best be attacked by undermining its support structure. But how could you convince a bunch of knuckleheaded inmates of the foolishness of fighting on prison guard in hand-to-hand combat and riots? Still, some of these guys would rather fight than eat, both prisoners and guards.
I was not one for violence, and neither was I a coward. What we had to do, I suggested, was to outsmart them? It is a work of art. That was how and why Eddie Griffin stayed in hot water in prison. They called me troublemaker. The riots, I knew, they could crush, easily. But the Overkill was designed to wipe them out before they knew what hit them. Our target was the warden. This issue was R-E-S-P-E-C-T… respect for our rights as human beings. The warden thought that Respect was too much to give. There it is. That is the picture.
So we plotted to carry out a prison hunger strike to coincide the national Bicentennial Celebration on July 4, 1976. For the sake of posterity, it would be our date in infamy. Wherever in the archives of Bicentennial newspapers, there will be a little story about the hunger strike at Marion Federal Prison. It took two years to plot, which meant holding the ranks together until D-Day, and this in a prison that averaged a killing per month.
It was insane. Instead of killing each other out of frustration, prisoners should take their hostilities out on their captors, namely the prison administration. But instead of head-to-head, we would attack indirectly. The idea was: To go straight for the US government and watch the “Trickle-Down Effect” from Washington, D.C. Rattle Washington and watch the warden jump.
Maybe the brothers could get some prison policy changes, like some hiring minority prison guards to supplement an all-white prison force. We needed “eyes” to refer the fight between guards and inmates. We were losing in the fight to defend our humanity.
And so, the Overkill Strategy comprised of sending grievances to Washington, through the slow appellant process, and to the United Nations, above and beyond the warden’s authority. The Overkill Strategy consisted of multiple attacks, with the Bicentennial hunger strike being the clincher.
The other means of attack consisted of creating a paper-jam in the grievance filing process, and consuming incalculable hours of government legal scholars’ time. We made a pact: File long drawn-out complaints, a minimum of 25 pages each. About 20 prisoners pledged to file on daily complaints, 25 pages or more per clip, knowing beforehand that the warden and his staff would rubber stamp our redress petition “DENIED”.
We then appealed up the pyramid, to the appellate level, at a 50-page clip, to be DENIED again, on up the line to Washington, this time at about 100 pages per 20 inmates. Like day-in and day-out clockwork, the grievance poured out, until the system was jammed.
At the time, I had unlimited access to a class of law student at Southern Illinois University Law School, just outside the prison. To break the logjam, the courts and Congress instituted the “Informal Resolution” formula to put one more step in the process before we could go to courts. It was designed for prison officials and inmates to settle their problems at the institutional level, informally.
Our objective was not so much a resolution, but to generation tons and tons of paperwork. Therefore, most of the complaints were duds that covered for the real legal complaint that would make its way to court. While the warden was busy rubber-stamping prisoners’ complaints, some good cases sneaked through the cracks and got the court.
There, we had them again. This time in court, against the formidable People’s Law Office in Chicago, and at least a dozen outstanding and zealous civil rights lawyers.
Okay, I admit, Eddie Griffin was one of those trouble-making masterminds that wardens liked to keep out of circulation. Per capita, prisoners like us cost the government millions per day. Incarceration was not supposed to be so cheap. And, legitimate grievances can be even costlier. My estimated cost was at least a million dollars per day.
The warden’s budget was headed for a new ceiling. Beside legal woes, he now had to the media. “We will be trying our best to hire more colored prison guards,” I remembered hearing him say on the news. Inmates fell out on the floor laughing… the very thought of a black prison guard wearing federal grays.
What about the overwhelming display of force used to suppress the July 4th hunger strike, the warden was on the defense against the media. And, the media came back, again, and again, until the warden barred them. There was a security threat.
By Day 10 of the hunger strike, the prison was surrounded by protesters. “The Indians have surrounded the prison. Lock down! What?!
Among the throng of protesters carrying placards and chanting: FREE THE MARION BROTHERS, there were a group of Native Americans supporting Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement prison, and a contingent of Puerto Ricans and Latinos protesting the 25-year incarceration of Rafael Miranda. Hundreds of people, they said. But I never saw a one. They blacked out the TV news.
I was the Marion Brother who wrote the petition and hand-delivered it to the warden on the morning of the hunger strike. He turned red, as red as any Redman I had ever seen, and I imagined smoke coming off the top of his cranium.
That was it: The Scatter Gun Strategy in a nutshell, and I was the sacrificial lamb. The prison administration was fighting on multiple fronts, in the courts, in the media, and against outside protesters, carrying signs and shouting slogans. It got worse… worse for the warden and worse for me.
Now the Congress got into the act with an investigation, just around the time the United Nations began looking into human rights violations around the world, particularly in the Soviet Union and South Africa.
Warden Fenny had his hands full with inquiries. He literally said as much, when he deposited me into the safe keepings of solitary strip cell, refrigerated by the open winter skies. I was put on “No-Human-Contact” status, known as boogey men in the federal prison system, but not before I spoke to a Russian reporter named Ilong Andronov of Literaturnaya Gazeta. In all of the interviews I had done, as a kind of spokesman for the prison reform movement, the media had always allowed the warden word, but not with the Russian.
The Literaturnaya Gazeta was the Soviet’s equivalent of Time magazine. Now the warden had an international controversy on his hand. US prisoners on a hunger strike against an oppressive all-white prison regime, staffed with a crew of doctors working in secret on mind control techniques, with CIA and undercover FBI agents involved behind the scene. The US media broke the allegation open when Dr. Edgar Schein, esteemed MIT pioneer in brainwashing research admitted to the behavioral research.
All of these developments exceeded my wildest dream. It started out as a power struggle between prisoners and prison officials over humane treatment. But the strategy was Overkill.
As a reward, I was released from the dungeon and transferred to another prison, where I discovered Klan organizing among prison guards. But that’s a different story for another day and an altogether different strategy.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I thought to share some of the strategies we used in the revolution back in the 1970s at a time I was a member of an underground prison think tank. Each strategy had an appropriate name, such as: The Scatter Gun Strategy, which consisted of hitting multiple political targets at once, firing from single scatter gun position; and The Overkill Strategy, which consisted of targeting an objective beyond the “kill point”.
Conventional Frontal Assault upon a political target met force-for-force, pound-for-pound. Going up against a prison administration was fruitless and in vain. An institution can best be attacked by undermining its support structure. But how could you convince a bunch of knuckleheaded inmates of the foolishness of fighting on prison guard in hand-to-hand combat and riots? Still, some of these guys would rather fight than eat, both prisoners and guards.
I was not one for violence, and neither was I a coward. What we had to do, I suggested, was to outsmart them? It is a work of art. That was how and why Eddie Griffin stayed in hot water in prison. They called me troublemaker. The riots, I knew, they could crush, easily. But the Overkill was designed to wipe them out before they knew what hit them. Our target was the warden. This issue was R-E-S-P-E-C-T… respect for our rights as human beings. The warden thought that Respect was too much to give. There it is. That is the picture.
So we plotted to carry out a prison hunger strike to coincide the national Bicentennial Celebration on July 4, 1976. For the sake of posterity, it would be our date in infamy. Wherever in the archives of Bicentennial newspapers, there will be a little story about the hunger strike at Marion Federal Prison. It took two years to plot, which meant holding the ranks together until D-Day, and this in a prison that averaged a killing per month.
It was insane. Instead of killing each other out of frustration, prisoners should take their hostilities out on their captors, namely the prison administration. But instead of head-to-head, we would attack indirectly. The idea was: To go straight for the US government and watch the “Trickle-Down Effect” from Washington, D.C. Rattle Washington and watch the warden jump.
Maybe the brothers could get some prison policy changes, like some hiring minority prison guards to supplement an all-white prison force. We needed “eyes” to refer the fight between guards and inmates. We were losing in the fight to defend our humanity.
And so, the Overkill Strategy comprised of sending grievances to Washington, through the slow appellant process, and to the United Nations, above and beyond the warden’s authority. The Overkill Strategy consisted of multiple attacks, with the Bicentennial hunger strike being the clincher.
The other means of attack consisted of creating a paper-jam in the grievance filing process, and consuming incalculable hours of government legal scholars’ time. We made a pact: File long drawn-out complaints, a minimum of 25 pages each. About 20 prisoners pledged to file on daily complaints, 25 pages or more per clip, knowing beforehand that the warden and his staff would rubber stamp our redress petition “DENIED”.
We then appealed up the pyramid, to the appellate level, at a 50-page clip, to be DENIED again, on up the line to Washington, this time at about 100 pages per 20 inmates. Like day-in and day-out clockwork, the grievance poured out, until the system was jammed.
At the time, I had unlimited access to a class of law student at Southern Illinois University Law School, just outside the prison. To break the logjam, the courts and Congress instituted the “Informal Resolution” formula to put one more step in the process before we could go to courts. It was designed for prison officials and inmates to settle their problems at the institutional level, informally.
Our objective was not so much a resolution, but to generation tons and tons of paperwork. Therefore, most of the complaints were duds that covered for the real legal complaint that would make its way to court. While the warden was busy rubber-stamping prisoners’ complaints, some good cases sneaked through the cracks and got the court.
There, we had them again. This time in court, against the formidable People’s Law Office in Chicago, and at least a dozen outstanding and zealous civil rights lawyers.
Okay, I admit, Eddie Griffin was one of those trouble-making masterminds that wardens liked to keep out of circulation. Per capita, prisoners like us cost the government millions per day. Incarceration was not supposed to be so cheap. And, legitimate grievances can be even costlier. My estimated cost was at least a million dollars per day.
The warden’s budget was headed for a new ceiling. Beside legal woes, he now had to the media. “We will be trying our best to hire more colored prison guards,” I remembered hearing him say on the news. Inmates fell out on the floor laughing… the very thought of a black prison guard wearing federal grays.
What about the overwhelming display of force used to suppress the July 4th hunger strike, the warden was on the defense against the media. And, the media came back, again, and again, until the warden barred them. There was a security threat.
By Day 10 of the hunger strike, the prison was surrounded by protesters. “The Indians have surrounded the prison. Lock down! What?!
Among the throng of protesters carrying placards and chanting: FREE THE MARION BROTHERS, there were a group of Native Americans supporting Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement prison, and a contingent of Puerto Ricans and Latinos protesting the 25-year incarceration of Rafael Miranda. Hundreds of people, they said. But I never saw a one. They blacked out the TV news.
I was the Marion Brother who wrote the petition and hand-delivered it to the warden on the morning of the hunger strike. He turned red, as red as any Redman I had ever seen, and I imagined smoke coming off the top of his cranium.
That was it: The Scatter Gun Strategy in a nutshell, and I was the sacrificial lamb. The prison administration was fighting on multiple fronts, in the courts, in the media, and against outside protesters, carrying signs and shouting slogans. It got worse… worse for the warden and worse for me.
Now the Congress got into the act with an investigation, just around the time the United Nations began looking into human rights violations around the world, particularly in the Soviet Union and South Africa.
Warden Fenny had his hands full with inquiries. He literally said as much, when he deposited me into the safe keepings of solitary strip cell, refrigerated by the open winter skies. I was put on “No-Human-Contact” status, known as boogey men in the federal prison system, but not before I spoke to a Russian reporter named Ilong Andronov of Literaturnaya Gazeta. In all of the interviews I had done, as a kind of spokesman for the prison reform movement, the media had always allowed the warden word, but not with the Russian.
The Literaturnaya Gazeta was the Soviet’s equivalent of Time magazine. Now the warden had an international controversy on his hand. US prisoners on a hunger strike against an oppressive all-white prison regime, staffed with a crew of doctors working in secret on mind control techniques, with CIA and undercover FBI agents involved behind the scene. The US media broke the allegation open when Dr. Edgar Schein, esteemed MIT pioneer in brainwashing research admitted to the behavioral research.
All of these developments exceeded my wildest dream. It started out as a power struggle between prisoners and prison officials over humane treatment. But the strategy was Overkill.
As a reward, I was released from the dungeon and transferred to another prison, where I discovered Klan organizing among prison guards. But that’s a different story for another day and an altogether different strategy.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
A Right to Choose
By Eddie Griffin
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
A recent survey of elementary school girls revealed that the majority wanted to be mothers, but they did not want husbands.
What!?
That was my initial reaction until I realized something about young pre-pubic girls. Isn’t this the age group that still hates boys and still believes in Santa Claus? Of course, they want babies, as in baby doll, while fanaticizing the real thing.
What are we teaching our kids in school? It’s certainly not sex education. And, it is a question of what age should we start. We certainly can’t teach toddlers who are still discovering themselves.
Little girls may imagine they can have a baby like the Virgin Mary. But later in life, they will discover that it takes a male and female to procreate.
Some people are troubled by the fact that God knew Jeremiah before he was born, before he was conceived in the womb, and that his purpose in life was predetermined (as set before him to be a prophet to nations). People have an issue with the question: When does life really begin? Does life begin when God breath into man the breath of life and man became a living soul? Or, did life begin when God said, “Let us make man after our own image”?
I believe life begins in the mind of God.
In order for a woman to conceive, she must have a man. This is a biological fact of life. It takes both male and female to procreate, but God plays a part in the conception. Bringing life into the world is a divine miracle. Who can deny this truth?
The problem arises when God is not part of the baby-making process, during the engagement of sex. Marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled, the bible says. But young men and young woman do not aspire to marry as much nowadays, as in ages past. They want the sex, but not the commitment. They want the sex, but not the baby.
What choice does a pregnant mother out-of-wedlock has? She can either have the baby, along with the responsibility and whatever shame that comes with it. Or, she can terminate her pregnancy? This is her choice, her conscious, a matter between her and God.
What about the sperm donor, the young man? Is not the baby the product of both? Are the two (male and female) not One? Of course, they are not One, except in holy matrimony. Otherwise, it’s mama's baby and daddy’s maybe. But if it is the dad for sure, then the male sex partner must have a word in the termination of a pregnancy. This should not be a unilateral decision to be made by the mother-to-be alone.
That a woman has a right to do with her body as she so wishes, who doesn’t have suc a natural right? We have the right to blow our brains out, but is that the best choice? Some people have two choices: Good or Bad. Some people have no choices, because they are "bought with a price" by the blood of Christ.
Making good choices that strength the institution of family as the basic unit of our society requires that we teach that marriage is an "honorable thing", something to wish for, something to hope for, something to prepare for. Too many single and divorced mothers, along with shiftless, irresponsible fathers teach, by example, the worse lessons about life and marriage, making it something to dread and avoid.
Children’s first role models are their parents. But today, parents are not teaching the right lessons. The schools are teaching the wrong lessons. And, most churches are teaching nothing.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
A recent survey of elementary school girls revealed that the majority wanted to be mothers, but they did not want husbands.
What!?
That was my initial reaction until I realized something about young pre-pubic girls. Isn’t this the age group that still hates boys and still believes in Santa Claus? Of course, they want babies, as in baby doll, while fanaticizing the real thing.
What are we teaching our kids in school? It’s certainly not sex education. And, it is a question of what age should we start. We certainly can’t teach toddlers who are still discovering themselves.
Little girls may imagine they can have a baby like the Virgin Mary. But later in life, they will discover that it takes a male and female to procreate.
Some people are troubled by the fact that God knew Jeremiah before he was born, before he was conceived in the womb, and that his purpose in life was predetermined (as set before him to be a prophet to nations). People have an issue with the question: When does life really begin? Does life begin when God breath into man the breath of life and man became a living soul? Or, did life begin when God said, “Let us make man after our own image”?
I believe life begins in the mind of God.
In order for a woman to conceive, she must have a man. This is a biological fact of life. It takes both male and female to procreate, but God plays a part in the conception. Bringing life into the world is a divine miracle. Who can deny this truth?
The problem arises when God is not part of the baby-making process, during the engagement of sex. Marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled, the bible says. But young men and young woman do not aspire to marry as much nowadays, as in ages past. They want the sex, but not the commitment. They want the sex, but not the baby.
What choice does a pregnant mother out-of-wedlock has? She can either have the baby, along with the responsibility and whatever shame that comes with it. Or, she can terminate her pregnancy? This is her choice, her conscious, a matter between her and God.
What about the sperm donor, the young man? Is not the baby the product of both? Are the two (male and female) not One? Of course, they are not One, except in holy matrimony. Otherwise, it’s mama's baby and daddy’s maybe. But if it is the dad for sure, then the male sex partner must have a word in the termination of a pregnancy. This should not be a unilateral decision to be made by the mother-to-be alone.
That a woman has a right to do with her body as she so wishes, who doesn’t have suc a natural right? We have the right to blow our brains out, but is that the best choice? Some people have two choices: Good or Bad. Some people have no choices, because they are "bought with a price" by the blood of Christ.
Making good choices that strength the institution of family as the basic unit of our society requires that we teach that marriage is an "honorable thing", something to wish for, something to hope for, something to prepare for. Too many single and divorced mothers, along with shiftless, irresponsible fathers teach, by example, the worse lessons about life and marriage, making it something to dread and avoid.
Children’s first role models are their parents. But today, parents are not teaching the right lessons. The schools are teaching the wrong lessons. And, most churches are teaching nothing.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Republican Consultant Bryan Eppstein:
Mindless Boy Wonder and His Crystal Ball Politics
Bryan Eppstein got out on a limb yesterday, speaking at a Republican forum. He predicted that if both Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were not on the ticket, John McCain would win in November.
Bryan Eppstein, The Eppstein Group, is widely recognized as one of the best political minds on either side of the aisle in Texas. The Fort Worth consultant has concentrated on the Legislature and run hundreds of campaigns for House and Senate candidates, winning far more than he's lost… His methods are sometimes controversial - and he's not shy about picking a fight. Some Republicans don't like the idea that he doesn't necessarily despise all Democrats as a matter of habit... The Eppstein Group's award-winning resume includes a second-place Pollie from the American Association of Political Consultants last year for a direct mail effort for Michael Burgess in his U.S. House race in 2002.
Republicans usually pay thousands of dollars for Bryan Eppstein’s political advice, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “Eppstein predicts Clinton/Obama ticket”.
In addressing the monthly meeting of the Republican Forum at the Petroleum Club in downtown Fort Worth on Thursday, Eppstein said:
“Hillary is appealing to the older Democrat faction. Barack Obama is appealing to the younger faction… If they don’t hold that together, then I’ll go out on a limb: Republicans will win. John McCain will be the next president... They cannot hold their party together unless they have that ticket.”
Alas, here is a case of Crystal Ball politics put to open shame. Is this strategy or prophecy?
Eppstein speaks to his fellow Republicans like an angel of doom, bringing glad tidings for the Democrats. Is he advising the Democrats what they must do the win the Whitehouse? Or, is he painting a doomsday scenario for his clients? Or, is he forewarning of what must be done to stop the Democrats?
The Republican Party has more than a crystal ball reason to fear the upcoming November elections. But, it is Mr. Eppstein’s job to see that his clients win. So, why does he speak with such inevitable certitude of an Obama-Clinton ticket? Is he suggesting that McCain cannot beat such a ticket? Is he suggesting to his clients that the Republicans throw in the towel if an Obama-Clinton ticket emerges?
“A lot of people will say the race at the top of the ticket in this upcoming election will be the presidential race,” Eppstein said. “Well that’s not really true. The race that’s at the top of the ticket will be the straight ticket option... I see a lot of people voting but I don’t see a lot of them voting straight ticket, because I think voters, Democrat and Republican voters, have kind of lost their sense of confidence in the two parties."
Well said by the doomsday prophet: Only the mindless masses will vote a straight Democratic ticket, but the discerner will pick and choose carefully. Herein is the only hope for some of his clients. Can they survive the impending Democratic tsunami?
“We’re not going to lose the majority in the Texas House. We’re not going to lose the majority in the Texas Senate. But those majorities could continue to shrink,” Eppstein said.
He noted there are a few tough races in the state senate, including one in Tarrant County. Eppstein is representing State Sen. Kim Brimer of Fort Worth in his re-election bid against former Fort Worth City Councilwoman Wendy Davis.
Eppstein is like gasoline to his clients, a man with a crystal ball standing in the light of day... hot as a firecracker genuis... too ready to blow.
For example: In trying to keep candidate Wendy Davis off the ballot through some petty technical violation, the strategy backfired and created a formidable foe for Eppstein client Kim Brimer. The incumbent good ole country boy's day in the legislature might just be coming to a crystal ball end.
Voting in the March 4 primaries for Texas Senate District 10
Republicans 33,500 for Ken Brimer
Democratic 62,500 for Wendy Davis
Total Tarrant County Republican Votes: 100,000
Total Tarrant County Democratic Votes: 200,000
Bryan Eppstein got out on a limb yesterday, speaking at a Republican forum. He predicted that if both Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were not on the ticket, John McCain would win in November.
Bryan Eppstein, The Eppstein Group, is widely recognized as one of the best political minds on either side of the aisle in Texas. The Fort Worth consultant has concentrated on the Legislature and run hundreds of campaigns for House and Senate candidates, winning far more than he's lost… His methods are sometimes controversial - and he's not shy about picking a fight. Some Republicans don't like the idea that he doesn't necessarily despise all Democrats as a matter of habit... The Eppstein Group's award-winning resume includes a second-place Pollie from the American Association of Political Consultants last year for a direct mail effort for Michael Burgess in his U.S. House race in 2002.
Republicans usually pay thousands of dollars for Bryan Eppstein’s political advice, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “Eppstein predicts Clinton/Obama ticket”.
In addressing the monthly meeting of the Republican Forum at the Petroleum Club in downtown Fort Worth on Thursday, Eppstein said:
“Hillary is appealing to the older Democrat faction. Barack Obama is appealing to the younger faction… If they don’t hold that together, then I’ll go out on a limb: Republicans will win. John McCain will be the next president... They cannot hold their party together unless they have that ticket.”
Alas, here is a case of Crystal Ball politics put to open shame. Is this strategy or prophecy?
Eppstein speaks to his fellow Republicans like an angel of doom, bringing glad tidings for the Democrats. Is he advising the Democrats what they must do the win the Whitehouse? Or, is he painting a doomsday scenario for his clients? Or, is he forewarning of what must be done to stop the Democrats?
The Republican Party has more than a crystal ball reason to fear the upcoming November elections. But, it is Mr. Eppstein’s job to see that his clients win. So, why does he speak with such inevitable certitude of an Obama-Clinton ticket? Is he suggesting that McCain cannot beat such a ticket? Is he suggesting to his clients that the Republicans throw in the towel if an Obama-Clinton ticket emerges?
“A lot of people will say the race at the top of the ticket in this upcoming election will be the presidential race,” Eppstein said. “Well that’s not really true. The race that’s at the top of the ticket will be the straight ticket option... I see a lot of people voting but I don’t see a lot of them voting straight ticket, because I think voters, Democrat and Republican voters, have kind of lost their sense of confidence in the two parties."
Well said by the doomsday prophet: Only the mindless masses will vote a straight Democratic ticket, but the discerner will pick and choose carefully. Herein is the only hope for some of his clients. Can they survive the impending Democratic tsunami?
“We’re not going to lose the majority in the Texas House. We’re not going to lose the majority in the Texas Senate. But those majorities could continue to shrink,” Eppstein said.
He noted there are a few tough races in the state senate, including one in Tarrant County. Eppstein is representing State Sen. Kim Brimer of Fort Worth in his re-election bid against former Fort Worth City Councilwoman Wendy Davis.
Eppstein is like gasoline to his clients, a man with a crystal ball standing in the light of day... hot as a firecracker genuis... too ready to blow.
For example: In trying to keep candidate Wendy Davis off the ballot through some petty technical violation, the strategy backfired and created a formidable foe for Eppstein client Kim Brimer. The incumbent good ole country boy's day in the legislature might just be coming to a crystal ball end.
Voting in the March 4 primaries for Texas Senate District 10
Republicans 33,500 for Ken Brimer
Democratic 62,500 for Wendy Davis
Total Tarrant County Republican Votes: 100,000
Total Tarrant County Democratic Votes: 200,000
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Corrupt Effect of Tony Rezko
The Rezko Corruption Effect
While Hillary Clinton is trying to connect Barack Obama with accused Tony Rezko, she forgot to that a look at the Skeletons in Her Closet. Guess who? The Clintons & Tony Rezko… just the three of them.
This morning a photo surfaced of Bill and Hillary Clinton smiling with Tony Rezko. She was forced to answer to the photo this morning on the Today Show, saying only that she didn't remember meeting Rezko and that her comments to Obama were merely a "counter attack."
"I don't know the man, wouldn't know him if he walked in the door, I don't have a 17 year relationship with him..." she told host Matt Lauer. [End]
Sounds familiar? "I don't know that woman... I never seen that woman in my life... I did not have sex with that woman... I wouldn't know that woman if she walked through the door."
It's the Clinton way.
While Hillary Clinton is trying to connect Barack Obama with accused Tony Rezko, she forgot to that a look at the Skeletons in Her Closet. Guess who? The Clintons & Tony Rezko… just the three of them.
This morning a photo surfaced of Bill and Hillary Clinton smiling with Tony Rezko. She was forced to answer to the photo this morning on the Today Show, saying only that she didn't remember meeting Rezko and that her comments to Obama were merely a "counter attack."
"I don't know the man, wouldn't know him if he walked in the door, I don't have a 17 year relationship with him..." she told host Matt Lauer. [End]
Sounds familiar? "I don't know that woman... I never seen that woman in my life... I did not have sex with that woman... I wouldn't know that woman if she walked through the door."
It's the Clinton way.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Barack Obama: "You've done a great job"
Greetings Tarrant Obama Team,
How exciting! Last night Barack Obama paid his first visit to my lifelong home of Fort Worth and received a warm Texas greeting from more than 11,000 cheering supporters. I tell you truthfully that, with the exception of the births of my two wonderful children, I don't recall a more exciting and rewarding experience in my entire life. Thank you so much!
The list of folks who deserve kudos is far too extensive for me to try and cover, but I do want to make a few special mentions.
First, to the more than 250 of you who served as volunteer staff for the event - thank you! We signed up hundreds of new volunteers, Precinct Captains, etc., and distributed thousands of pieces of literature and information that will help us win here in Tarrant and surrounding counties. You will note that the most recent polls show Obama now in a narrow lead but trending strongly, and my analysts tell me that we are doing very well in Tarrant County thanks to all your wonderful efforts.
Secondly, I want to give a special thanks to Terry Ryan, Jimmy DeFoor, Annissa Hubbard and Rebekah Franki, who in a heroic effort managed to create, print, deliver and distribute the 15,000 Texas Two Step push cards in an incredible turn-around time of 36 hours. Wow!
Of course I can't say enough about Hallie Schneir and the incredible team of staffers she has led to such incredible results in just a couple of weeks on the ground. I know that you are all as impressed with these talented, energetic and dedicated young folks as I have been, and I sincerely hope that their introduction to Texas via the greater Fort Worth area is an experience they will always treasure.
There are too many more of you to mention, and we still have a tremendous amount of work to do between now and the close of our precinct conventions Tuesday evening. I am unbelievably sad that I will be out of the country on election night and not be able to be with you at our victory party. Please know that while I will be thousands of miles away, my heart will be with you here in Fort Worth.
In closing, I want you all to recognize that when Barack gave me the unexpected "Shout-Out" last night, it wasn't just for me, but for all of you. And when he shook my hand coming off the stage, looked into my eyes and said, "You've done a great job," that message was for all of you. My role in this has always been small and insignificant. It is you who have done the work that has taken us this far, and it is you who are going to spend the next five days on the phones, walking your neighborhoods, turning out the votes and dominating the precinct conventions to help bring Texas home for Barack.
Now, let's get to it!
Mark Greene/Organizer
Tarrant for Obama
www.tarrantobama.org
How exciting! Last night Barack Obama paid his first visit to my lifelong home of Fort Worth and received a warm Texas greeting from more than 11,000 cheering supporters. I tell you truthfully that, with the exception of the births of my two wonderful children, I don't recall a more exciting and rewarding experience in my entire life. Thank you so much!
The list of folks who deserve kudos is far too extensive for me to try and cover, but I do want to make a few special mentions.
First, to the more than 250 of you who served as volunteer staff for the event - thank you! We signed up hundreds of new volunteers, Precinct Captains, etc., and distributed thousands of pieces of literature and information that will help us win here in Tarrant and surrounding counties. You will note that the most recent polls show Obama now in a narrow lead but trending strongly, and my analysts tell me that we are doing very well in Tarrant County thanks to all your wonderful efforts.
Secondly, I want to give a special thanks to Terry Ryan, Jimmy DeFoor, Annissa Hubbard and Rebekah Franki, who in a heroic effort managed to create, print, deliver and distribute the 15,000 Texas Two Step push cards in an incredible turn-around time of 36 hours. Wow!
Of course I can't say enough about Hallie Schneir and the incredible team of staffers she has led to such incredible results in just a couple of weeks on the ground. I know that you are all as impressed with these talented, energetic and dedicated young folks as I have been, and I sincerely hope that their introduction to Texas via the greater Fort Worth area is an experience they will always treasure.
There are too many more of you to mention, and we still have a tremendous amount of work to do between now and the close of our precinct conventions Tuesday evening. I am unbelievably sad that I will be out of the country on election night and not be able to be with you at our victory party. Please know that while I will be thousands of miles away, my heart will be with you here in Fort Worth.
In closing, I want you all to recognize that when Barack gave me the unexpected "Shout-Out" last night, it wasn't just for me, but for all of you. And when he shook my hand coming off the stage, looked into my eyes and said, "You've done a great job," that message was for all of you. My role in this has always been small and insignificant. It is you who have done the work that has taken us this far, and it is you who are going to spend the next five days on the phones, walking your neighborhoods, turning out the votes and dominating the precinct conventions to help bring Texas home for Barack.
Now, let's get to it!
Mark Greene/Organizer
Tarrant for Obama
www.tarrantobama.org
Monday, February 18, 2008
Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama Address Our Issues & Concerns
[Excerpts of Obama’s Response to the NAACP 2008 Presidential Questionnaire]
I will increase federal funding for programs that help working families, including universal health care, dramatically improving education opportunities from birth to college, providing a “Marking Work Pay” tax credit to 150 million working Americans, fully funding the CBDG program and other programs that increase the availability of affordable housing, increasing funding for transitional jobs and career pathway programs... (p. 19)
As someone who was largely raised by my grandparents, I recognize that Social Security is indispensable to workers and senior… I remain committed to making sure Social Security is solvent and viable for the American people, now and in the future… I will be honest with the American people about the long-term solvency of Social Security and the ways we can fix the problem… I believe that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll tax system. Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $97,500 a worker makes. I support increasing the maximum amount of earning covered by Social Security and I will work with Congress and the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security completely solvent for at least the next half century. (p. 27)
I believe that the travesty of justice we saw in Jena exposed glaring inequities in our justice system that were around long before the schoolyard fight broke out. And as president, I’ll take steps to ensure that our criminal justice system works for everyone… Part of what we saw in Jena was a rush to prosecute and try young men as adults. As president, my Justice Department will work with local law enforcement to strengthen, identify and implement strategies to seek to prevent youth crime before it occurs. I will build on my efforts in the Senate to end racial profiling… improve the quality of our nation’s public defenders by creating loan-forgiveness programs for law students who enter this field… replicate the successful efforts of drug courts… I will ensure that our federal courts and probation offices have adequate resource to deal with this new program. Couple with the elimination of sentencing disparities and mandatory minimum reform, this will help many of our youth avoid a life of crime. (p. 18)
Nearly 2 million children have a parent in a correctional facility. It is simply unacceptable to keep ignoring this crisis in American families and communities. In the U.S. Senate, I cosponsored the Second Chance Act and have worked to provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and employment opportunities to ex-offenders… I will create a prison-to-work incentive program, modeled on the Welfare-to-Work Partnership, to create ties with employers, third-party agencies that provide training and support services to ex-offenders, and to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates. I will also reduce bureaucratic barriers at state correctional systems that prevent former inmates from finding and maintaining employment. As a state senator, I fought for and passed legislation to provide ex-offenders with expanded mental health counseling and remove barriers that prevent non-violent offenders from finding and maintaining employment. (p. 13)
I have been a strong advocate of re-entry programs for prisoners… Additionally, many faith-based organizations and nonprofits have successfully worked to provide needed programs to prisoners, and I will work with these groups to reduce our high recidivism rate as president. (p. 17)
I support government efforts to partner with faith-based organizations… important partners in delivering social services, whether it’s helping with prisoner ere-entry programs or providing job training skills. (p. 5)
I support restoration of voting rights for ex-offenders. I am a cosponsor of the Count Ever Vote Act, would sign that legislation into law as president. (p. 7)
I will implement a multi-prong strategy of address homelessness in the United States, building off of my record in the Senate to tackle homelessness with our nation’s veteran population. (p. 30)
I will work to engage more chronically unemployed Americans into the workforce by investing $1 billion over 5 years into transitional jobs and career pathways programs. (p. 30)
I will also expand resources for ex-offender job training and support services, as well as substance abuse programs to help more disengaged Americans rebuild their lives. (p. 30)
I will work to make sure Washington represents the national interest instead of the special interests. We must increase the minimum wage to $9.50 and hour and tie future increases in the minimum wage to inflation… And we need to make the minimum wage a living wage that helps American families not just survive, but succeed. (p. 28)
In the Illinois State Senate, I expanded Illinois version of SCHIP to cover 150,000 children and parents. I have continually opposed President Bush’s efforts to undermine these programs. (p. 28)
As a member of the Illinois state senate, I led efforts to reform a broken death penalty system that sent 13 innocent people to death row… I drafted and passed a law requiring videotaping of interrogations and confessions in capital cases to ensure that prosecutions are fair. As president, I will encourage the states to adopt similar reforms. (p. 16)
I will increase federal funding for programs that help working families, including universal health care, dramatically improving education opportunities from birth to college, providing a “Marking Work Pay” tax credit to 150 million working Americans, fully funding the CBDG program and other programs that increase the availability of affordable housing, increasing funding for transitional jobs and career pathway programs... (p. 19)
As someone who was largely raised by my grandparents, I recognize that Social Security is indispensable to workers and senior… I remain committed to making sure Social Security is solvent and viable for the American people, now and in the future… I will be honest with the American people about the long-term solvency of Social Security and the ways we can fix the problem… I believe that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll tax system. Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $97,500 a worker makes. I support increasing the maximum amount of earning covered by Social Security and I will work with Congress and the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security completely solvent for at least the next half century. (p. 27)
I believe that the travesty of justice we saw in Jena exposed glaring inequities in our justice system that were around long before the schoolyard fight broke out. And as president, I’ll take steps to ensure that our criminal justice system works for everyone… Part of what we saw in Jena was a rush to prosecute and try young men as adults. As president, my Justice Department will work with local law enforcement to strengthen, identify and implement strategies to seek to prevent youth crime before it occurs. I will build on my efforts in the Senate to end racial profiling… improve the quality of our nation’s public defenders by creating loan-forgiveness programs for law students who enter this field… replicate the successful efforts of drug courts… I will ensure that our federal courts and probation offices have adequate resource to deal with this new program. Couple with the elimination of sentencing disparities and mandatory minimum reform, this will help many of our youth avoid a life of crime. (p. 18)
Nearly 2 million children have a parent in a correctional facility. It is simply unacceptable to keep ignoring this crisis in American families and communities. In the U.S. Senate, I cosponsored the Second Chance Act and have worked to provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and employment opportunities to ex-offenders… I will create a prison-to-work incentive program, modeled on the Welfare-to-Work Partnership, to create ties with employers, third-party agencies that provide training and support services to ex-offenders, and to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates. I will also reduce bureaucratic barriers at state correctional systems that prevent former inmates from finding and maintaining employment. As a state senator, I fought for and passed legislation to provide ex-offenders with expanded mental health counseling and remove barriers that prevent non-violent offenders from finding and maintaining employment. (p. 13)
I have been a strong advocate of re-entry programs for prisoners… Additionally, many faith-based organizations and nonprofits have successfully worked to provide needed programs to prisoners, and I will work with these groups to reduce our high recidivism rate as president. (p. 17)
I support government efforts to partner with faith-based organizations… important partners in delivering social services, whether it’s helping with prisoner ere-entry programs or providing job training skills. (p. 5)
I support restoration of voting rights for ex-offenders. I am a cosponsor of the Count Ever Vote Act, would sign that legislation into law as president. (p. 7)
I will implement a multi-prong strategy of address homelessness in the United States, building off of my record in the Senate to tackle homelessness with our nation’s veteran population. (p. 30)
I will work to engage more chronically unemployed Americans into the workforce by investing $1 billion over 5 years into transitional jobs and career pathways programs. (p. 30)
I will also expand resources for ex-offender job training and support services, as well as substance abuse programs to help more disengaged Americans rebuild their lives. (p. 30)
I will work to make sure Washington represents the national interest instead of the special interests. We must increase the minimum wage to $9.50 and hour and tie future increases in the minimum wage to inflation… And we need to make the minimum wage a living wage that helps American families not just survive, but succeed. (p. 28)
In the Illinois State Senate, I expanded Illinois version of SCHIP to cover 150,000 children and parents. I have continually opposed President Bush’s efforts to undermine these programs. (p. 28)
As a member of the Illinois state senate, I led efforts to reform a broken death penalty system that sent 13 innocent people to death row… I drafted and passed a law requiring videotaping of interrogations and confessions in capital cases to ensure that prosecutions are fair. As president, I will encourage the states to adopt similar reforms. (p. 16)
Friday, February 8, 2008
My Dear Family & Friends:
The Obama-Clinton presidential contest is coming to Texas. The primary is March 4. What an exciting time for those of us who thought we would never see the day when a man of color could possibly win the White House.
To young people, age 30 and below, it is no big deal. They grew up an integrated generation and have little post-effects of racism. They grew up together without being aroused to hatred by the color of a person’s skin. But the older generation is not dead yet.
I was born on August 3, 1946, not a very special day in history, as a Negro male child. My birth certificate identified my race as Negro, and Malcolm X told us what the word “negro” meant.
Contemporaries:
George W. Bush — Date of Birth: 6 July 1946
Eddie G. Griffin – Date of Birth: 3 August 1946 (Negro)
Bill Clinton — Date of Birth: 19 August 1946
Hillary Rodham Clinton — Date of Birth: 26 October 1947
I know these guys. They are my contemporaries. Not that I know them personally. I remember their kind, during my time. As long as language doesn’t change, we are all speaking of things, mutual to our understanding, from a long continuous dialogue from the past. I am one of the Black Panther Party, the third political, in lieu of the southern Dixiecrat.
Sure, I would have loved to have been the first black President of the United States. But the times were not right. But I remember my early aspiration.
“When I grow up, I was to be the first Negro President of the United States,” I told my eighth grade classmates. Then I was immediately ashamed of having the “big head”, wanting to be more than it was possible for me to be. I was innocent in the knowledge of racism. I was a dreamer, like Joseph.
First Touch of Mutual Love
Some of us overcame hatred to come together and embrace each other in love. Electing an African-American President of the United States, would be a star in the crown of America. It will have meant that WE HAVE OVERCOME (RACISM).
Nobody ever asked us why we Negroes sang that song: We Shall Overcome. There was always a hidden meaning about what we were overcoming. Electing Barack Obama will have demonstrated that we have overcome the ideology that those of white color should always rule over those of black color, and to discriminate against providing avenues of opportunities for a people’s self-improvement and self-determination.
A Time of Freedom and Refreshment
Freedom is at hand, against the tyrannies of those who rule by “Divide and Conquer”. O How long have we been divided and entrenched in our prejudices and hatred? But the heart hardened will not cede power. Clearly, the fight is not about race, but about supremacy of white-skinned people who feel its their right to rule the world. Upon this ideology is built the premise of hatred between races and nations.
WE SHALL OVERCOME only when a child of the descendant of Africa has an equal chance at the presidency as a German-Irish child. Though we were ashamed of being Negroes, there is nothing to be ashamed of being an African-American. In fact, I am more proud to be an American because an African-American has the greatest opportunity in the world: To become the President of the United States.
YES WE CAN
To young people, age 30 and below, it is no big deal. They grew up an integrated generation and have little post-effects of racism. They grew up together without being aroused to hatred by the color of a person’s skin. But the older generation is not dead yet.
I was born on August 3, 1946, not a very special day in history, as a Negro male child. My birth certificate identified my race as Negro, and Malcolm X told us what the word “negro” meant.
Contemporaries:
George W. Bush — Date of Birth: 6 July 1946
Eddie G. Griffin – Date of Birth: 3 August 1946 (Negro)
Bill Clinton — Date of Birth: 19 August 1946
Hillary Rodham Clinton — Date of Birth: 26 October 1947
I know these guys. They are my contemporaries. Not that I know them personally. I remember their kind, during my time. As long as language doesn’t change, we are all speaking of things, mutual to our understanding, from a long continuous dialogue from the past. I am one of the Black Panther Party, the third political, in lieu of the southern Dixiecrat.
Sure, I would have loved to have been the first black President of the United States. But the times were not right. But I remember my early aspiration.
“When I grow up, I was to be the first Negro President of the United States,” I told my eighth grade classmates. Then I was immediately ashamed of having the “big head”, wanting to be more than it was possible for me to be. I was innocent in the knowledge of racism. I was a dreamer, like Joseph.
First Touch of Mutual Love
Some of us overcame hatred to come together and embrace each other in love. Electing an African-American President of the United States, would be a star in the crown of America. It will have meant that WE HAVE OVERCOME (RACISM).
Nobody ever asked us why we Negroes sang that song: We Shall Overcome. There was always a hidden meaning about what we were overcoming. Electing Barack Obama will have demonstrated that we have overcome the ideology that those of white color should always rule over those of black color, and to discriminate against providing avenues of opportunities for a people’s self-improvement and self-determination.
A Time of Freedom and Refreshment
Freedom is at hand, against the tyrannies of those who rule by “Divide and Conquer”. O How long have we been divided and entrenched in our prejudices and hatred? But the heart hardened will not cede power. Clearly, the fight is not about race, but about supremacy of white-skinned people who feel its their right to rule the world. Upon this ideology is built the premise of hatred between races and nations.
WE SHALL OVERCOME only when a child of the descendant of Africa has an equal chance at the presidency as a German-Irish child. Though we were ashamed of being Negroes, there is nothing to be ashamed of being an African-American. In fact, I am more proud to be an American because an African-American has the greatest opportunity in the world: To become the President of the United States.
YES WE CAN
Thursday, February 7, 2008
An Endorsement from Eddie Griffin
Chris Turner
For State Representative
P.O. Box 171138
Arlington, TX 76003
817-561-4900
Re: An Endorsement from Eddie Griffin
Dear Chris Turner:
It has been a pleasure meeting you on the campaign trail on a number of occasions. The more we talk, the more I am convinced that you are the man to best represent Arlington as State Representative.
On yesterday, I had the honor of speaking with students at UTA. I would have hoped to sing your praise, but I had to ask permission to wear my Obama button. I never can tell the political mood of a college campus.
However, I did find a few who were eager to be politically active. Therefore, I will include some student leaders on this email list, as a means of introducing your candidacy.
QUESTION about your Opponent incumbent Representative Bill Zedler.
Mr. Zedler describe himself as a conservative defender of limited government, limited taxation, and free enterprise.
Now I don’t know what all that means. But his biography says that he is 28-years old and is Vice Chairman of the Public Education Committee.
Tell me that I’m dreaming. How has Public Education improved since Mr. Zedler sat in that seat in the state legislature?
His bio also says that he served on the Select Interim Committee for Child Welfare and Foster Care. Look at the Child Welfare and Foster Care system in the state of Texas. We have children in the custody of the Child Protective Services sleeping in chairs, because there are no provisions for them.
Is this what “conservative defender of limited government” means? Tie the hands of the government, so it cannot help the poor.
From your Supporter,
Eddie Griffin
http://eddiegriffinbasg.blogspot.com/2008/02/yes-we-can.html
For State Representative
P.O. Box 171138
Arlington, TX 76003
817-561-4900
Re: An Endorsement from Eddie Griffin
Dear Chris Turner:
It has been a pleasure meeting you on the campaign trail on a number of occasions. The more we talk, the more I am convinced that you are the man to best represent Arlington as State Representative.
On yesterday, I had the honor of speaking with students at UTA. I would have hoped to sing your praise, but I had to ask permission to wear my Obama button. I never can tell the political mood of a college campus.
However, I did find a few who were eager to be politically active. Therefore, I will include some student leaders on this email list, as a means of introducing your candidacy.
QUESTION about your Opponent incumbent Representative Bill Zedler.
Mr. Zedler describe himself as a conservative defender of limited government, limited taxation, and free enterprise.
Now I don’t know what all that means. But his biography says that he is 28-years old and is Vice Chairman of the Public Education Committee.
Tell me that I’m dreaming. How has Public Education improved since Mr. Zedler sat in that seat in the state legislature?
His bio also says that he served on the Select Interim Committee for Child Welfare and Foster Care. Look at the Child Welfare and Foster Care system in the state of Texas. We have children in the custody of the Child Protective Services sleeping in chairs, because there are no provisions for them.
Is this what “conservative defender of limited government” means? Tie the hands of the government, so it cannot help the poor.
From your Supporter,
Eddie Griffin
http://eddiegriffinbasg.blogspot.com/2008/02/yes-we-can.html
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Bob Ray Sanders Takes Me Back to Camelot
Bob Ray Sanders took me back to the nostalgic days of Camelot, when there was a twinkle in the eye of black kids like us who were inspired to hope in the future of America. We each recall when President John F. Kennedy came to Fort Worth on that November night. Downtown was dressed up in yellow lights, like the Yellow Rose of Texas, so the President could see this "Queen of the Prairie" from his Air Force One. We were a small, but proud city.
We remember seeing JFK emerge from his black limousine in front of the Texas Hotel. Mr. Kennedy sent the Secret Service scrabbling when he stepped out on the passenger side, in order to touch the crowd. We were little colored boys squeezed in the crowd, with the audacity to hope.
During the lunch hour the next day, November 22, 1963, while listening to one of those new modern transistor radios, we got the news that Kennedy had left Fort Worth and had been shot in Dallas. Bob Ray Sanders, and the rest of us young teens at I.M. Terrell High School, shed our tears in the dust of a segregated school. But we woke up the next day as the children of destiny- the students that propelled the Civil Rights Movement.
This morning, associate editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Bob Ray Sanders, my fellow schoolmate, added his voice of endorsement to Barack Obama. (See “Keeping that hope alive”). We are aged old black men, with that same magic sparkle of exuberance and hope.
We remember seeing JFK emerge from his black limousine in front of the Texas Hotel. Mr. Kennedy sent the Secret Service scrabbling when he stepped out on the passenger side, in order to touch the crowd. We were little colored boys squeezed in the crowd, with the audacity to hope.
During the lunch hour the next day, November 22, 1963, while listening to one of those new modern transistor radios, we got the news that Kennedy had left Fort Worth and had been shot in Dallas. Bob Ray Sanders, and the rest of us young teens at I.M. Terrell High School, shed our tears in the dust of a segregated school. But we woke up the next day as the children of destiny- the students that propelled the Civil Rights Movement.
This morning, associate editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Bob Ray Sanders, my fellow schoolmate, added his voice of endorsement to Barack Obama. (See “Keeping that hope alive”). We are aged old black men, with that same magic sparkle of exuberance and hope.
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