SCRAPS FROM THE WOOD PILE

“I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank. ”

– Barack Obama Campaign Promise October 27, 2007

• Yesterday I went to the Portland Public Library for the third Draw-a-thon where artists and activists from around the state gathered to make posters with the messages of Bring Our War $$ Home. They were surrounded in the basement art gallery with many portraits created by artist Robert Shetterly of Americans Who Tell the Truth. A good number of local citizens came down the stairs into the gallery and they saw the poster making process happening. On their way back up the stairs they couldn't miss the Bring Our War $$ Home banner hanging over the railing. Good work done by Kenny Cole, Natasha Mayers and Lisa Savage to keep the message alive.
• When I picked up the Sunday Boston Globe this morning I began pulling out all the advertisements and other junk that fill the newspaper. It struck me that the last section, almost hidden inside the huge mound of paper, was my favorite part - the Ideas section. An interesting commentary on the state of democracy in our country these days.
• Read this morning that the Lib-Dems in England, who helped the Conservatives stay in power by forming a coalition government with the Tories, are now falling on hard times. Last April the Nicholas Clegg led Lib-Dems had a 34% approval rating but now are supported by only 9% of the population. A series of bitter betrayals, particularly Clegg's decision to triple the cost of tuition for university students, has led to this steep decline in support. One student told the media, "I supported the Lib-Dems. I campaigned for them amongst my friends and handed out leaflets. But now I feel that I was championing a childish cause, a cause for people who were not honest about what they stood for...There are many students who will never vote Lib-Dem again." Many people are now calling the Lib-Dems the "human shields" for the Conservatives.