What Do the Republicans Do, Drink Conservatively?
...so asked a friend of a member of our monthly political, social, and ethanol-based discussion group, Drinking Liberally. North Adams has a chapter, founded by the very hard-working Executive Director of Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, Rebecca DeWitt. Tuesday was the third meeting of the group, which is turning into a real look-forward event for both me and Tara. Good to see both Marge Ware and Ben Downing there; Ben pointed out he co-founded the Tufts chapter of DL. He'd probably be the only State Senator to have THAT on his resume.
Ben's got a series of debates coming up against Republican Matt Kinnaman and Independent Dion Robbins-Zust this month: first is tonight (the 11th) at Girls Inc in Pittsfield and another one the 26th right here at MCLA in North Adams. Plus, plans are firming up for the candidates to address a joint lunch of the Williamstown and North Adams Rotary Clubs in Williamstown on Tuesday the 24th. That session may be open to the public--I'll let you know as soon as I find out.
So there's a story from the Drinking Liberally meeting. Those of us who read the Transcript's Letters to the Editor have read Peter May's October 5th entry, here in its entirety:
I pledge resistance to the flag
Of the United Corporations of America
And to the corrupt dictatorship
For which it stands,
One nation,
Under Bush divided,
With terror, inequality and injustice for all.
— United States of America, 1776-2006, R.I.P.
This triggered a snarky response from one citizen, which engendered a refreshing non-partisan shout-out from Transcript editor Glenn Drohan, and a rebuttal from Peter. This stuff makes great editorial, especially in an election year.
Anyway, Peter's got a version of the Declaration of Independence worded up as well. He's stirring up support for a visit to the next North Adams City Council meeting, where he and Eric Buddington are going to propose a Resolution For Impeachment, to call for the removal of the President and Vice Presidents of the United States as well as the Secretaries of State and Defense from office.
[Edited to add: The wording of the resolution has been updated: the proposal now calls for "encouraging the North Adams City Council to pass a resolution that calls on Representative Olver and Senators Kerry and Kennedy to impeach President George W. Bush and remove him from office."]
This'd be the evening of the 24th at City Hall. Should be a helluva show. If you're on Peter and Eric's side, they're looking for some help spreading the message, and at the very least to show up at the City Council meeting. You can get more information or sign up at Eric's web site. It's going to be something else, one way or the other. No doubt about it. If nothing else, the reaction to the proposal will be pretty enlightening, and if debate is allowed on the measure, it will be a good chance to hear the views of the city's elected officials.
See what you missed? Head over to the North Adams forum of the Drinking Liberally web site, or join their mailing list for info on November's meeting, which'll probably be the Tuesday AFTER election day. I'm sure there'll be lots to talk about.
Ben's got a series of debates coming up against Republican Matt Kinnaman and Independent Dion Robbins-Zust this month: first is tonight (the 11th) at Girls Inc in Pittsfield and another one the 26th right here at MCLA in North Adams. Plus, plans are firming up for the candidates to address a joint lunch of the Williamstown and North Adams Rotary Clubs in Williamstown on Tuesday the 24th. That session may be open to the public--I'll let you know as soon as I find out.
So there's a story from the Drinking Liberally meeting. Those of us who read the Transcript's Letters to the Editor have read Peter May's October 5th entry, here in its entirety:
I pledge resistance to the flag
Of the United Corporations of America
And to the corrupt dictatorship
For which it stands,
One nation,
Under Bush divided,
With terror, inequality and injustice for all.
— United States of America, 1776-2006, R.I.P.
This triggered a snarky response from one citizen, which engendered a refreshing non-partisan shout-out from Transcript editor Glenn Drohan, and a rebuttal from Peter. This stuff makes great editorial, especially in an election year.
Anyway, Peter's got a version of the Declaration of Independence worded up as well. He's stirring up support for a visit to the next North Adams City Council meeting, where he and Eric Buddington are going to propose a Resolution For Impeachment, to call for the removal of the President and Vice Presidents of the United States as well as the Secretaries of State and Defense from office.
[Edited to add: The wording of the resolution has been updated: the proposal now calls for "encouraging the North Adams City Council to pass a resolution that calls on Representative Olver and Senators Kerry and Kennedy to impeach President George W. Bush and remove him from office."]
This'd be the evening of the 24th at City Hall. Should be a helluva show. If you're on Peter and Eric's side, they're looking for some help spreading the message, and at the very least to show up at the City Council meeting. You can get more information or sign up at Eric's web site. It's going to be something else, one way or the other. No doubt about it. If nothing else, the reaction to the proposal will be pretty enlightening, and if debate is allowed on the measure, it will be a good chance to hear the views of the city's elected officials.
See what you missed? Head over to the North Adams forum of the Drinking Liberally web site, or join their mailing list for info on November's meeting, which'll probably be the Tuesday AFTER election day. I'm sure there'll be lots to talk about.
posted by Ross @ 10:54 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Eric and Chris--you guys both make some excellent points, and it's good to have you reading my blog. Thanks.
I think one of the less spoken things thats causing so much disappointment across the entire political spectrum is the loss of innocence we've all suffered.
It used to be that you could always at least fool yourself into thinking the USA was really, in its own dysfunctional, Johnson/Nixon way, trying to free folks from evil dictatorships and spread freedom throughout the world.
Now it's just totally obvious that we're the people we grew up vilifying. WE torture. WE manipulate the press. WE invade countries for no good reason.
That's the kind of realization that brings out a visceral sense of disappointment. You can't blame anyone from trying to do what they can to bring back the feeling that we're part of something noble and uplifting rather than dark and evil. If you're a progressive, you put petitions in front of the City Council. If you're a conservative, you bomb Iranian nuclear reactors. Either way, it's probably not going to work.
Even if we get back on the right track, the horse is out of the barn. Let's learn to live with who we are and just do better starting tomorrow...or the next election...or whenever we can.
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