Book Excerpt from "Ending Poverty in America"

I read as many books as my friends will allow. I just finished Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine", and may I suggest it to anyone looking for a good book that will make you think. I also recommend the Obama book if you have not read it already. Reading "The Audacity of Hope" more than anything helped me transition from a die-hard Edwards supporter to a member of the Obama nation.

Currently I am reading "Ending Poverty in America" edited by John Edwards. Senator Edwards has a different expert author for every chapter. Some experts are from the political right, some experts are from the political left, but they all are united in the moral issue of ending poverty. Each chapter is its own creature, each being authored by different experts. John Edwards has a 20 page conclusion that I have not read yet.

Here is an excerpt that grabbed me...

Would this cost money? Yes, but some of the expense would ultimately be saved. The more we invest in children, the less later we have to invest in prisons. The more we invest in health insurance and preventative care, the more productive our workforce will be. The lower the dropout rate, the lower the associated costs later in life, and these savings can be substantial: compared with a high-school graduate, a dropout earns an average of $260,000 less and pays $60,000 less in taves over a lifetime...

And the Crowd Goes Crazy!

For John Edwards!

Here's the video of the endorsement. It was probably up the other day when I said I couldn't find it, but here it is nonetheless. The crowd goes crazy for about 90 seconds for Edwards.



Their "endorsement" photo is still on the front page of the website.

Edwards endorses Obama

I haven't found the video online, yet, of Edwards endorsing Obama, however, I did find a video (released in April) on why Edwards cannot endorse Clinton- in his own words.



Also, Obama's home page has a great image of Obama and Edwards- very presidential/vice-presidential.

Thank You John Edwards For Class And A Focus On Poverty And Recovery

John Edwards ended his campaign the same place he started it.

"to remind the country that we as citizens and as a government have a moral responsibility to each other and what we do together matters"

thecount said it very well in the comments:

Thank you John and Elizabeth Edwards for fighting the good fight. Thank you for speaking up for the poor. Thank you for pushing for universal health care. Thank you for keeping the discussion on these topics which are so important. I can't help but think he was doing the Lord's work. God bless him.

It is with his return to New Orleans that I go back to certain numbers:
There are 35,129 Mississippians are still living in FEMA housing and only $1.64 billion of that money had actually been spent re-building the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Edwards Expected To Drop Out Of Race In New Orleans

Edwards expected to drop out of race today

Video I and a friend put together after we attended the John Edwards event in Canton, MS on his poverty tour.

Governor Haley Barbour Calls For Civility In Mississippi While Comparing National Democrats To Communists

The Daily Journal

Directing his comments to the 33 new members of the Mississippi Legislature during his State of the State speech, Barbour said, “You’ll learn that when I called Billy McCoy my friend, I meant it. And you’ll find a lot can be, indeed, has been accomplished by working together.”

Early in the afternoon before Barbour spoke, McCoy urged members of the House to attend the State of State address “to show respect for the governor.”

After the speech, McCoy said, “I thought he made a good overall assessment of where we have been and where we need to go.”

It sure sounds like he's a fan of civility. Combine that with issues we all agree need to be addressed and he's doing good right?

Well I guess it depends on the audience.

In a speech at the Republican National Committee winter meeting Governor Haley Barbour said this:

"I was worried that it was bad for us that Hillary seemed to be running in the center," said Barbour of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. "And Obama is to the left of that," he said of Sen. Barack Obama, D-N.Y. "Edwards," said Barbour "is running to the left of Mao Tse-tung."

Before a diverse audience civility sounds good, but put him in from of his friends and he compares mainstream Democrats to murderous Communist leaders.  

That's no great leap forward for our esteemed Republican governor.

The Democratic Iowa Results

My first choice barely registered with less than 1% of the vote. (Chris Dodd) I expected his no lose, but not come in worse than "uncommitted."

My second choices were Edwards and Obama and They came in 1st and 2nd so that's cool.

I fear that both coming in ahead of Clinton will put off the establishment of a two way race which is where an Edwards or Obama would pull decisively ahead of Hillary Clinton. It will be interesting to see how the race changes in New Hampshire.

Bad Omen For Republicans

Group News Blog:

Total Voter Turnout (approximate)

356,000

Percentage of total vote
24.5% Obama (D)
20.5% Edwards (D)
19.8% Clinton (D)
11.4% Huckabee (R)

I'm Currently Supporting John Edwards

I say "currently" because Democrats have so many great candidates this year that I'd be perfectly happy with most of them.

Happy Thanksgiving. Posting will be sporadic through the Thanksgiving holiday because I will be enjoying some quality time with the family as I hope you will too.

John Edwards for President

I think it would be amazing for America to have a John Edwards vs. Ron Paul race. It would be amazing because we'd have to talk about issues again. Poverty, the saneness of forign intervention, corporate subsidization and many more issues we face would have to be addressed in public debate when we have ignored them for so long. Public discussion is good and we won't get that with a Dem vs. Rep. superstar presidential race.

It's Election Season

After being inspired by Leesha Faulkner I'll post one of each of the candidates advertisements for President.

Hillary Clinton:


Mitt Romney:


John Edwards:


Barack Obama:


Bill Richardson:


I've probably missed a couple candidates with television ads. Let me know which ones in the comments AND please include a link to the ad.

John Edwards: Hair

What matters more? Really?

Elizabeth Edwards a "Mississippian"

From The Clarksdale Press Register:

Elizabeth Edwards accompanied her husband, presidental hopful John Edwards, to Marks, Miss. In an one-on-one interview, Elizabeth proclaimed "I call Mississippi home."
She explained that her mother was born in Hazelhurst and her family still has property there. Her father was in the Navy.
"I don't have a real home except where my parents are from and I call Mississippi home. I don't know if you claim me, but I claim you," she stated.

Exclusive Video: John Edwards in Canton, MS

I hope y'all enjoy my the result of my first experiment with original web video.

(Update: I think it just hasn't worked it's way through the YouTube system so give it an hour and then try again)

John Edwards in Canton (Photos)

John and Elizabeth Edwards, John Arthur Eaves, advocates for workers, and current and past poultry plant workers meet in a roundtable discussion.





They moved the press outside for questions and the light was far better thanks to the sun. :)

As others including Will Bardwell have pointed out, the lighting was bad inside so few of my pictures turned out.

Additional John Edwards Coverage

Will Bardwell provided good analysis at his blog of the event at his blog the convieniently titled WillBardwell.com

He also provided a news roundup of other stories including ours in a post titled Additional Edwards Coverage. Check out his website it has some good stuff.

He also tipped me off to an official Edwards video clip of the event:


Check out www.WillBardwell.com and then come back here later for more on the Edwards event.

Edwards In Mississippi

I'm not sure what I expected now, but it wasn't this.

After some difficulty getting in due to there being no Edwards person at the door when we got there we did get in and I was amazed to see how many journalists were there. There was already a virtual wall of television cameras in the back when we went in and I took my place behind a row of seats occupied by print journalism reporters.

I looked next to me and saw Anderson Cooper from CNN and introduced myself and Alex Scharr who came with me.

He was generally friendly and we engaged in a few minutes of conversation including Alex asking him why he'd backed out of an event at Loyola where he goes to school. Anderson Cooper gave a good reason that included international travel. I asked him when they were going to do another special on the Mississippi Coast with Kathleen Koch and he said he hoped they would soon. Our conversation was ended when a police officer came over and told Anderson Cooper that the mayor wanted a picture and he left.

Shortly after John Edwards entered with some current and former poultry plant workers and advocates for the poor and they sat down and spoke on issues of treatment in the workplace and poverty.

John Edwards mostly asked questions and listened thoughtfully with Elizabeth who looked good I think.

Afterwords the press was ushered through a side door to the rear of the Church where they waited for John Edwards to answer questions. We waited a while and I overheard the Fox News cameraman remark to another news person that John Edwards was giving a one on one interview with Anderson Cooper. Looking around I didn't see Anderson Cooper or John Edwards so I assume that was correct.

John Edwards then did come out and answered a half a dozen questions from the press. He started by saying that he wanted the press to focus on the poverty part of the Road to One America Tour and not him saying that he wasn't the point.

He then went and shook hands and signed the shirts of a few folks who had gathered from the community to see what was happening and then got in the van to head to the next stop in Marks, Mississippi.

---------------------

I'll put up selected video clips and photos starting tomorrow.

I'm Going To See John Edwards Today!

The Edwards Campaign is all about some new media so I've got press credentials.

I'll have photos, video, and a report from the Edwards event in Canton by this evening.

The trip is part of "The Road To One America" tour which began in New Orleans this morning with a town hall meeting on Good Morning America.

Ask John Edwards a Question

I will be going to see John Edwards at one of the events Monday in Mississippi and I'll be a credentialed blogger.

What this means is that I get to ask him a couple of questions like a member of the traditional (papers, TV) media.

Help me think of a couple good questions to ask. I might just ask one.

Keep in mind though that I will not ask a question that is framed as a personal attack or is made with the intent to embarass, y'all can do better than that.

John Edwards To Make 2 Stops In Mississippi Monday

The Details:

The purpose of this tour is to take a break from the normal campaign schedule to travel to 8 states to shine a bright spotlight on the issue of poverty in America . During the tour, the Senator will meet with people struggling with poverty, in order to share their personal stories with the nation. He will also discuss how we can build One America where every person has the chance to work hard and get ahead.

-----

Senator Edwards to visit workers at a mobile home park near the Peco Poultry Processing Plant

Westside Trailer Park

Corner of 3rd Ave. and Fulton Street

Canton, Mississippi



Senator Edwards to tour the Quitman County Development Organization offices and meet with local Marks, Mississippi residents

Road Side Park at Mississippi 6 & Charlie Pride Highway

Marks, Mississippi

-----

As soon as I know more about times and such I'll let y'all know. I'm going to try to attend the event in Canton.

Update 7-16-07: I understand these are not public event so if you attempt to attend w/o a prior invitation you may be turned away. I'll be at the Canton Event as a blogger given press credentials and I'll be sure to tell you all about it. :)