Springfield Lyceum

Thoughts on gun control

Larry Stevens — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 21:27:16 EDT

I once sat in on a Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee meeting at the Statehouse here in Springfield and I remember seeing a good-looking young Senator from Chicago. I figured he was heavy into gun control and I wanted to share my perspective with him, but I demured. I'm much better expressing myself in writing and not a very confident speaker. This is what I would have said to him, though.

Chicago has something like 600 homicides per year. I've seen estimates that say about half of these murders are over drug turf disputes. This is what any rational society would label prohibition-related violence. Mike Gray, in his book, "Drug Crazy," says the gangland map of Chicago these days is almost an exact copy of Al Capone's Chicago.

I think a coalition between people who want to keep their guns and people who want safer streets could be formed around a campaign to promote drug policy reform with the intent to end prohibition. Deadly turf wars and a raft of other social ills would vanish if people got their drugs at clinics or pharmacies or other regulated venues. This would take pressure off of legitimate gun owners.

In today's world, spectacular acts of violence like the VT massacre grab our attention, but the majority of gun deaths in this country continue to be from prohibition-related turf battles that get practically no attention whatsoever.

Friedman slow, but catching on

Larry Stevens — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 21:31:58 EDT

Link have to confess that I've been very impatient with NYT columnist Thomas Friedman for many years. He often seems to have it out for Americans who don't marry as well as he did. Those of us who actually have to do something productive with our lives in order to enjoy food, clothing and shelter are regularly scolded by the wealthy columnist for our attachment to good-paying jobs he'd rather see Indians or Chinese prisoners doing for pennies on the dollar.

I can't argue with his column on Obama too much, though. Perhaps he's isolated enough to believe that Obama's global appeal is actually a good selling point to an increasingly xenophobic American electorate. I happen to agree that the good will generated by an Obama presidency would entirely overcome what has happened to our standing in the world since we took Friedman's advice on invading Iraq with Bush at the helm.

I remember clearly Friedman wagging his finger at students in 2002, saying, "Just because Bush says it's true doesn't mean it isn't." That was his justification for advocating war with Iraq, the notion that not every single thing Bush says is a lie calculated to benefit Cheney's (and Friedman's) stock portfolio.

Bringing them back home

Larry Stevens — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 16:56:02 EDT

It's interesting to note that Obama is proceeding with an approach to Iraq policy more in tune with the needs of the general election rather than the primaries. For better or worse, he's allowed Clinton and Edwards to get to the left of him this.

Perhaps he's counting on on the solid support he's garnering to sustain itself through the primaries. Clinton and Edwards now are singing the right tune to pick up more anti-war support, but you can bet that if either of them actually get the nomination, they'll immediately go to the right of McCain.

I like to think that Obama is going to win the nomination with the proverbial one arm tied behind his back. That is, he'll do it by winning the primaries despite running on a position keyed to the general electorate. The advantage is he'll avoid having to make the classic flip-flop that all candidates have to manage once they transition from the primaries to the general.

I've always thought Obama plays things too safe. He could use his charisma to attract votes even while going to the left of Kucinich. He'd still have all the support he needs to win, and the country finally could get the policies it despirately needs.

Why court AIPAC?

Larry Stevens — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 12:24:24 EST

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Obama gave a speech to AIPAC on Friday beating the drum for war with Iran.

I support Barack Obama 100%, but I have some questions about this position. I ask these questions seriously because I hold out the possibility of being persuaded.

1) Why does America need Israel? This is always presented as an article of faith, but I've never come across an actual nuts-and-bolts case for the argument. Since the end of the Cold War, it seems clear that our "special relationship" with Israel is a big net negative for U.S. interests.

2) Why does Obama need AIPAC? I'm not a professional politician, so maybe I'm missing something here. If I were running for president, I'd stay as far away as I could from an organization that puts the interests of a foreign country ahead of those of the U.S.

3) How will bellicosity against Iran help the moderate voices among the Iranians?

Public financing

Larry Stevens — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:51:35 EST

Politico has an analysis of Obama's letter to the FEC and the Commission's favorable ruling titled, Ruling Could Prove Moot, Backfire.

Obama pollster Cornell Belcher

Larry Stevens — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:09:59 EST

Check out this item on Cornell Belcher, a DNC and Obama pollster.

Another great speech in Springfield

Larry Stevens — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:23:26 EST

Then we stood where we could see
Every band,
And the speaker's stand.
And Bryan took the platform.
And he was introduced.
And he lifted his hand
And cast a new spell.
Progressive silence fell
In Springfield,
In Illinois,
Around the world.
Then we heard these glacial boulders across the prairie rolled:
"The people have the right to make their own mistakes....
You shall not crucify mankind
Upon a cross of gold."

And everybody heard him-
In the streets and State House yard.
And everybody heard him
In Springfield,
In Illinois,
Around and around and around the world,
That danced upon its axis
And like a darling broncho whirled.

From "Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan" by Vachel Lindsay

YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED 2

Larry Stevens — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:40:10 EST

You will be assimilated

Larry Stevens — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 20:29:20 EST

Some modest predictions

Larry Stevens — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:13:15 EST

Predictions for '08

1) Obama will be elected president in '08.

2) Obama will swamp the primaries. By the time the primaries start, the contest will be amongst the also-rans for VP or just for influence.

3) Obama will garner significant support from traditionally Republican voters, winning the general election with at least 59 percent of the vote. Contingent prediction: the percentage will be in the mid to high 60s.

4) Obama will run in the general election on public financing alone and will win spending only 1/5 that of the Republican, setting a higher standard for all future presidential candidates. After President Obama finally leaves office in January of 2017, people will assume that a presidential candidate who needs obscene amounts of money to run won't deserve to win.

5) After serving two successful, transformative terms as POTUS, Obama will become Chief Justice of the SCOTUS and serve the remainder of his long life presiding over a court of his own making.

Modest enough predictions if you ask me.

Fox Attacks: Obama

Larry Stevens — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:25:59 EST

See the video and sign the petition.

Tell the Nevada Democratic Party it's not okay to partner with Faux News.

Another prairie populist

Larry Stevens — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 22:29:21 EST

Would I might rouse the Lincoln in you all,
That which is gendered in the wilderness
From lonely prairies and God's tenderness.
Imperial soul, star of a weedy stream,
Born where the ghosts of buffaloes still dream,
Whose spirit hoof-beats storm above his grave,
Above that breast of earth and prairie-fire --
Fire that freed the slave.

Vachel Lindsay

Obama and Clinton

Larry Stevens — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:25:58 EST

Obama has momentum and Hillary doesn't.

Obama can inspire. Hillary can't.

Obama can unite. Hillary only divides.

Obama can lead. Hillary can triangulate.

Obama will be our next president. Hillary already knows it.

Support our vets

Larry Stevens — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 17:28:26 EST

"Caring for our returning heroes is one of the things we can still get right about this war, and that's why the deterioration of the conditions at Walter Reed is both appalling and unacceptable." Sen. Barack Obama

Link

Las Vegas Slideshow

Larry Stevens — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 18:27:55 EST

Yahoo News has a great slideshow of an Obama rally at a High School yesterday. Are any of the also-rans getting these kinds of crowds this early on?

Campaign Matters

Larry Stevens — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 07:58:47 EST

John Nichols at The Nation campaign blog, Campaign Matters, has an interesting piece on the Ford/Jackson quotes:

"Suggesting that nominating a black candidate for president would 'kill' Democratic chances in 2008, Ford said, 'Everybody else on the ballot is doomed [if Obama wins the nomination]. Every Democratic candidate running on that ticket would lose because he is black and he's at the top of the ticket. We'd lose the House, the Senate and the Governors and everything.'

Andrew Ferguson on Barack Obama

Larry Stevens — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 22:09:10 EST

Andrew Ferguson, Senior Editor of the neocon magazine The Weekly Standard appeared on C-Span with Brian Lamb on 02/09/07 to discuss Obama's two books.

Link

Note: This content may require the latest RealPlayer, which is not available on Windows 95, Mac OS9 or Linux systems.

Talyor Marsh can run, but she can't hide

Larry Stevens — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 09:17:03 EST

Last night I got the first comment on a blog post at Huffpo by Taylor Marsh in which she chided Sen. Obama for skipping the Carson City cattle call.

I posted a link to the article here last night, but the article never appeared on the Huffpo home page. (I originally found it doing a Yahoo search).

Now this morning, Marsh's article was repackaged and reposted without my commentary, so I left essentially the same comments as last night there.

Fresh feed from SC

Larry Stevens — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:42:26 EST

Fresh Obama video.

Taylor Marsh at HuffPo

Larry Stevens — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:22:40 EST

Talyor Marsh has just posted a criticism of Obama at Huffington Post. She's chiding him for skipping the cattle call at Carson City.

My commentary hasn't appeared as of this writing, but I think I got her good with some fine trash talk about the "also-rans" who'll be there in CC.

The Myth of the Center

Larry Stevens — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 17:11:11 EST

This is a model of the American political cosmos as I see it. It's a non-linear representation of the political spectrum. The red sphere represents the political right, the blue sphere represents the left and the little violet spheres represent the non-ideological individuals who self-identify as the so-called "center".

Most voters do not stake out thoughtful ideological positions. They may pick and choose various positions from either the left or the right on any given issue. They do not think of themselves as conservative or liberal. The media, using a linear scale, labels them inaccurately as the center. The people thus misidenified nevertheless like the label. They are in play politically and either the left or the right spheres may generate enough "gravity" to draw enough of them in, creating a critical mass for a mandate.

The implication is that "triangulation" is folly. For triangulation to work, there has to be a center toward which to draw a line. As we see above, no such center exists. Rather, the "gravity paradigm" in which a critical mass is drawn together by the force of ideas must replace the two-dimensional plane upon which triangles are drawn in the linear paradigm.

The left and the right spheres account for roughly thirty percent each and the non-ideological spheres account for the remaining roughly forty percent of the total mass.

Paying it forward - Obama for America

Larry Stevens — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 21:20:12 EST

Dear Larry,

Thank you for your generous donation of $25.00.

Your gift will be immediately put to work building a campaign to change our country and our politics for the better.

Looking for more ways to get involved?

Head over to My.BarackObama.com where our growing set of tools puts the future of this campaign in your hands.

There will be much more to come in the weeks and months ahead thanks to your support.

Thank you again for your donation.

Obama for America
http://www.BarackObama.com

Souvenier issue

Larry Stevens — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 19:15:24 EST

Springfield's daily newspaper, The State Journal-Register, did a fantastic job covering the announcement last weekend. This front page appeared the morning of the event and is obviously intended as a keepsake issue.

Not forgetting some of the painful, shameful history of the town square where Obama brought America together that day, Paul Povse recounted the events surrounding the race riot of 1908. That event shocked the nation and spurred the establishment of the NAACP. Springfield tried to cover up the shame of the riot for generations before we finally acknowledged it publicly and officially just about a decade or so ago.

Disappointing news item

Larry Stevens — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:14:11 EST

This AP story by Jim Davenport appeared in the State Journal Register today.

S.C. black leaders will support Clinton
Senators: Obama is bad for the party

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Two key black political leaders in South Carolina who backed John Edwards in 2004 said Tuesday they are supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

State Sens. Robert Ford and Darrell Jackson told The Associated Press they believe Clinton is the only Democrat who can win the presidency. Both said they had been courted by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, but believe his winning the primary would drag down the rest of the party.

"It's a slim possibility for him to get the nomination, but then everybody else is doomed," Ford said. "Every Democrat running on that ticket next year would lose - because he's black, and he's top of the ticket. We'd lose the House and the Senate and the governors and everything."

[snip]

The Old State Capitol

Larry Stevens — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:17:57 EST

I'm a little sad to see the original cut of Obama's announcement go by the wayside on Barack TV. The new cut is fine, but I liked the uncut U2 music with Obama waving to the cheering throng; it always gave me an emotional lift.

What a perfect background that buff limestone of the Old State Capitol makes for Obama. That limestone was quarried in the 1830s from a creek about seven miles to the southeast. The native stone gives the classic Greek Revival structure a real ancient look for such a young state.

The small-d democratic spirit of the gathering for the announcement was perfectly complimented by the democratic message implicit in the architecture.

I'm sure my fellow Springfieldians will agree, the footage taken of Obama's announcement are some of the best pictures ever taken of our historic town square.

What it will take

Larry Stevens — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:47:03 EST

What Obama's got, money can't buy.

What Hillary hasn't got, no amount of campaign money can buy.

My Obama initiation

Larry Stevens — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:16:18 EST

I was sitting right here at this very desktop three years ago when the phone rang. To screen for solicitors, I have a "2 second" rule in which I hang up if I don't get an immediate response from my hello. I picked up the phone and got an immediate response. It was a pollster.

I was interested in responding. The pollster had identified me as a Democratic primary voter and wanted to survey my opinion of the various contenders in the primary race for U.S. Senator, including Obama. I believe they asked me about both Democratic and GOP candidates, but they said the poll was being taken for the Dems.

Good joke leads to fundraising opportunity

Larry Stevens — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 17:01:46 EST

I began my fundraising today by hitting up my folks for money. Actually, I emailed them a link to barackobama.com in response to a joke my dad sent me which follows here:

###

One sunny day in 2008, an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he'd been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the Marine standing guard and said, "I would like to go in and meet with President George W. Bush."

The Marine replied, "Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer President and doesn't reside here." The old man said, "Okay," and walked away.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, "I would like to go in and meet with President George W. Bush".

The Marine again told the man, "Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Bush is no longer President and doesn't reside here."

The man thanked him and again walked away . . .

The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same Marine, saying "I would like to go in and meet with President George W. Bush."

The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Bush. I've told you already several times that Mr. Bush is not the President anymore and doesn't reside here. Don't you understand?"

The old man answered, "Oh, I understand you fine, I just love hearing your answer!"

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "See you tomorrow."

###

I particularly like that the joke is set in 2008, indicating Bush has left office before the end of his term.

"I would bring that kind of judgement to the White House."

Larry Stevens — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:49:30 EST

I occasionally comment on Huffington Post under the user name "illinoisan".

I took Lincoln's birthday off today and I've been sparring over there.

I've started plugging barackobama.com there as well.

"He is among us . . ."

Larry Stevens — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:24:41 EST

Springfield is world-famous as the hometown of Abraham Lincoln, but we're also proud to be the hometown of the poet, Vachel Lindsay.

I'm Secretary of the Vachel Lindsay Association and I blog for the Association here.

Barack's appearance here in Springfield yesterday made me think of a famous Lindsay poem which I will share here.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN WALKS AT MIDNIGHT

It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down,

Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play,
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.

A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.

He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us:--as in times before!
And we who toss and lie awake for long,
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.

His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why;
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.

The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.

He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come;--the shining hope of Europe free:
A league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.

It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?

Welcome to Springfield!

Larry Stevens — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 19:25:42 EST

Senator Obama,

Thank you for bringing your heart-stirring announcement to Springfield this morning. My ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Sangamon county; one of them was the first judge in Sanagamon county. I am a blood relation of Lincoln's law partner and biographer, William H. Herndon. An uncle of mine many generations ago married Mary Todd Lincoln's niece. My people were Abraham Lincoln's people. I have to say that I see him in you.

"We must have many Lincoln-hearted men," wrote my other Springfield hero, the poet Vachel Lindsay.

America needs you and I believe the country knows it in their hearts already. You and I may disagree about this or that policy, but there is a need in America today that goes beyond policy. What your presidency would say about us as a people would dramatically improve our situation in the world and among ourselves.

I feel the destiny. I am confident you will sweep the '08 primaries and win over significant bi-partisan support in the general election.

With much love to you and your wonderful family,

Larry Stevens