August 2008 Field Hands of the Month: The Denver Posse!

Great to see what Field Hands are up to.

And Al, in the column of "you were right, I was wrong", I give you this editorial in the WaPo by Howard Wolfson:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/31/AR2008083101620.html

You had stated that some of Obama's biggest detractors in the Democratic Party would be his biggest supporters. Honestly, I didn't think you were right. I thought the best we could hope for is that they would not actively fight against us. I was stunned by this article by Wolfson. He is now fully on board.

Fabulous Field Hands. What a privilege it is to be a part of this community. Thinking of the well-being of Twin Cities Field Hands, and all joining them. I expect this has made the local news - but here it is too:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/30/police_raids/

That Wolfson Op-Ed mentioned above IS really touching and important.  Now if we can get one of those from Ickes, we'd really have reset the table!

What an incredible team we have here.  It really is something special.  Congrats and thanks to all.  The convention week was something to behold.

Now on to another topic that I hope will not be deemed as gossispy or tasteless.  Sarah Pailin's 17 year old daughter, Bristol, is 5 months pregnant.  How does this play?  The McCain camp is insisting that they knew but to my eyes, it just reinforces the 'she wasn't vetted' story.  Apparently there is a large team of McCain folks now on the ground in Wasilla.  As the DKos post title says...McCain - Ready to Vet on Day 3.  I hate that this innocent girl is being thrown in to the spotlight like this but the media is going to be all over this - presumably at least.  Can you imagine if this were Obama's daughter?  The religious right would be demonizing him.  I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole if I were Obama...but the public at large and the media are going to have this conversation.  How's that abstinence only eduacation and no birth control position working out for you, Sarah?

Tara - I wish you hadn't even had mentioned it here (and if any commenters that aren't copublishers want to talk about the the private matters of the underaged children of any politician, I will delete the posts before anyone sees them).

It's completely out of bounds that anybody would consider it a legitimate issue of public concern. It's not. And it certainly is not going to be a topic here, either in its current manifestation or certainly not in its previous one.

 Thanks to everyone who blogged and helped out during the convention. I looked forward to every new post each day.

O/T-Watching this storm is heartwrenching. I hope the levees survive.

Al, I appreciate & respect your request not to discuss the private matters of any underaged children.  Here's where I have a problem.

I have worked for years for projects to improve the lives of women in the world, especially women in Africa, India, Asia, trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty.  It was so painful when this Republican administration, in order to placate their 'conservative base' stopped ALL funding for Women's Reproductive Heath Programs - unless they included abstinence, and did not offer any kind of family planning.  Millions of women around the world have suffered.

Here, in the States, I know of so many School Board members in communities fighting to have any kind of 'sex education' in the public schools.  Abstinence only is the only 'acceptable' teaching.

It is very difficult for me to remain silent on these issues.  I do not wish to make a specifici example of any child, and I stongly support a policy of Choice: abortion being safe, legal and rare.

When I lived in Washington DC I also worked on programs to prevent teen pregnancy.  Talking with a 13 year old pregnant girl is still one of the most painful conversations I can ever remember having.

I want to respect your guidelines, and these issues are very important to me.

Suzy - As I titled the previous post, "Context Is Everything."

If you suddenly start talking loudly about the policy issues surrounding underaged pregnancies today, it's going to sound opportunist, bullying and disingenuous given the way a young teenaged woman has been dragged into the public discourse.

It doesn't matter who put her there, or what it says about her parents: It will be rightly slammed as doing something that not even the old-style mafiosos would do: Only the lowest of the low go after peoples' children.

And the belief by most Americans in that moral principle is much stronger than their views on either side of that policy question.

I haven't heard you bring up the issue before in many months of commenting here so it's not so "difficult" to "remain silent on these issues," apparently, unless a minor child gets dragged into the coliseum for the media's ritual human sacrifice on young women. And pleading suddenly, today of all days, that it's a moral imperative to talk about just seems to me - and will seem to millions more - as a cheap shot against that young woman, as ugly and meddling as that of those that would tell any woman that the government or public opinion must decide her most very personal and private decisions.

In other words, I find it hard to believe that any truly pro choice person would pick on a kid for choosing to have a child, no matter who her parents are. In any case, like I said, it's not going to happen on this blog, no matter what sick angle anybody comes up with.

The issue of a person running for VP who held views so opposed to those I held on these matters was also not a factor.  i don't mean it's necessary to JUMP on them, commenting in regard to your position, I don't think those issue should be 'off the table' in this campaign.

But as you know, it's your blog.

Suzy - If I'm not convincing, maybe my young colleague, quoted in Michigan a few minutes ago, will be:

Speaking in Monroe, Michigan, the Senator denies his campaign is behind rumors about Sarah Palin's youngest child.

"I am offended by that statement. There is no evidence at all that this involves us."

Vows to fire any staffer found to be spreading them.

Notes that his own mother had him when she was 18, and tells reporters to "back off" the story.

Unfortunately, it was the bullying efforts of bloggers and others purportedly on Obama's side that poisoned the waters by first nailing the daughter to a libelous cross even before the latest announcement. Thanks to them, yes, the topic is more off limits than it would have otherwise been.

She had him at 18 not 'he'. Hate to be so picky.

Thanks Christi. (That's what I get for copying and pasting from the link!)

Thank you Al! I loved reading that. I am going to print your post and save in my Denver memorabilia drawer. We Fieldhandsand Feild readers really did have quite a bit of fun, and Ann stated it well explaining that it was hard to blog or post everything you wanted to in the hectic, fun week in Denver.

I did want to say that Hadi = Mo.  I never did get Hadi's last name but his story is very interesting. He has been very active in the Obama campaign (when not studying for the bar) and was, I believe, working in one of the "I" states where Obama was successful (Iowa, Indiana or even both? Hadi, if you are reading this, set my memory correct) during the primary. You did meet him at the Drinking Liberally night where he added to the fun.

I really wanted echo and broadcast big kudos to Tonya who organized all of the Big Tent schedules; this was not perfectly easy. We are all thankful to her.  She too admitted to having trouble getting actual writing work done. She also reported being able to score a ticket to the speech on Thursday at the last minute. Hooray Tonya!

Thanks Al so very much for the wonderful write up above. We all enjoyed getting to meet you and Laura personally last week.  People might be surprised (or not?) at how very quick your verbal jokes and come backs are!  Stunning. Ed. Note: Thank goodness for Laura too, who would actually answer the questions.  A good team are you two. Words fail me here but thank you for taking the time in your blog to highlight the fabulous, wonderful people and Fieldhands who were part of the loose cadre there.  And thank you for initiating all the fun and exhaustion that ensured from last week and being the match to the flame.

At one point, when I had Begged you to introduce me to Nate Silver (I'm a daily fan), he asked what Tonya and I were doing then at the Big Tent.  I laughingly said: "Oh, we are just sitting here waiting for Al to tell us what to do." And you cried, "Stop Waiting! Stop Waiting!" Very funny, and slightly profound, all round.

We all, by the way enjoyed being able to meet interesting famous and perhaps no so much bloggers from all over.  I wanted to mention that everyone also enjoyed the famous Sean from 538 as well. He is very gregarious and was a Fun, Fun add to our group at Drinking Liberally.   I never got his or Nate's email address, but he and Nate were really wonderful to hang with in addition to Ted that night. 

Did you tell everyone how you and Ted stole those guys' Biden sign? That was an ongoing trauma at our large table as those were large guys and they were mad and they were looking for the culprit. Ted won out in the end. I hope my lovely mental picture of Ted sitting there happily at his home in Capitol Hill (now sans the Al) with his freshly stolen Biden sign to remind him of the crazy night and week is true.

We surely had a great, fun group of positive, resourceful, talented and interesting people (even those with larceny in their souls... ok I admit I was a partner in all that but only in spirit).

I wish we could do it again.

Again, thanks Al for the instigation, the write up above and, well, everything! Good memories and positive forward-moving ideas all around .

Janey

I have some nice (and some really poor) pictures up, as does Al, Dave, Ann and others over on the Denver Posse board. I have actual pictures of the famous Erin Rosa, my hostess, and if you check later today, you can catch a cute one of her amazing cat, Hans. He liked me as I left with only one sock showing little Hans kitty teeth marks on it. I was rigorous in my courting of him and it paid off.  He was a great mascot to our little girls' dorm space; at one point there were four women in Erin's 700 square foot cottage near the convention center. I'm afraid that Hans probably went into withdrawal after we left. But...more of that on the Fieldhands/Denver Posse board...

Janey

http://www.youtube.com/user/palofield