Madelyn Payne Dunham passes away

In a sad final note to the most historic presidential campaign ever, Senator Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham passed away Sunday evening.

She was responsible for most of the Democratic presidential candidate's upbringing, and Sen. Obama credits her with instilling the work ethic and values that have helped propel him to the verge of the presidency.

From the AP story -

Obama announced the news from the campaign trail in Charlotte, N.C. The joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said Dunham died late Sunday night at her Honolulu apartment after a battle with cancer.

"She's gone home," Obama said as tens of thousands of rowdy supporters at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte grew silent in an evening drizzle.

"And she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side. And so there is great joy as well as tears. I'm not going to talk about it too long because it is hard for me to talk about."

My condolences go out to Sen. Obama and his entire family. While tomorrow may otherwise be one of great joy and spectacular achievement for him, it will do little to assuage the heartache of their loss.


(pic courtesy USA Today)













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...And to the wing nuts who cried about some sort of conspiracy when Senator Obama took a break from his campaign to visit the woman who so inspired him when she was ailing (documented at HuffingtonPost here) -


Bite me.


(Hey - Senator Obama and his family have to be tactful, civil, and restrained. Me? Not so much.)

Barack Obama and his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng have asked that people make donations to a search for a cure for cancer in lieu of flowers (CNN) If any of the wingers have even a shred of conscience, they'll make just such a donation.

I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.

Later!

Monday and GOTV

Edited so as not to offend MSM sensibilities...









A building full of GOTV volunteers in Tempe











What it's all about...

One day...

From the Tempe coordinated campaign office...

Higher priorities

Posting will be light until Tuesday night after the polls close.

No hypocrite I, so I will be involved with the GOTV efforts that I've urged everyone to help with. (Just read that sentence. I think an after-election grammar refresher is in order. :) )

If all goes according to plan, posting will pick up from the election night parties of Harry Mitchell (Fiesta Inn in Tempe) and the Arizona Democratic Party (Wyndham Phoenix).


Later!

Governor Howard Dean in AZ for Get Out The Vote efforts

On Monday, Governor Howard Dean, Chair of the Democratic National Committee and inspiration to Democratic grassroots activists everywhere, is visiting Arizona to cheer on volunteers as they make the final push to put Senator Barack Obama, Congressman Harry Mitchell, and the other Democratic candidates over the top in their quests to put the county, state, and country back on a course that is socially, fiscally, and economically responsible.

Scheduled appearances -

Time: Noon

Place: Pima County Democratic HQ

Address: 4639 E. 1st Street, Tucson (one block S. of Speedway, one block W. of Swan)

Other speakers: Congressman Raul Grijalva, Don Bivens, Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, and Vince Rabago, Chair of the Pima Dems


Time: 3:00 p.m.

Place: Coordinated campaign office

Address: 123 E. Baseline Rd., Tempe

Contact: (480) 820-2298 or allison.shannon[at]gmail.com

Other speakers: TBA


Contact the Arizona Democratic Party at (602) 298-4200 for more appearance info.

Mail Call - Last Minute Mailer

Somehow I ended up on a mailing list used by Wes Waddle, one of the Republican House candidates in LD17. He sent out a south Scottsdale-specific piece, with one hitting my mailbox on Friday.

(Note: I don't have a scanner in order to upload an image of it, but I'll look for one tomorrow and update this post if I find one.)

The address side of the card has a pic of Waddle dressed in a flight suit while posing next to an airplane of some type.

On the other side are pics of an "Old Town Scottsdale" sign and some other buildings and sights from Scottsdale's downtown area.

As for text on the mailer, the address side has the required "paid for by" statement, a proclamation across the top that he is "the only candidate representing Scottsdale" and one across the bottom proclaiming "Wes Waddle. Your choice for a better Arizona." In between, he has a brief letter that talks about how south Scottsdale has been represented in the lege by people from Tempe and how voting for him would mean that "Southern Scottsdale is treated fairly and not overshadowed by Tempe's slick politicians."

On the other side, he has a list of three generic headings with three bullet points each (gotta love things that come in threes, right?)

Evaluation:

Not bad, except (you just knew that there was going to be an "except" :) )...

Let's see -

1. Most of the pics he included in the mailer that I recognize are from *outside* LD17. A couple I don't recognize offhand, so I'm pretty sure they're not from LD17, but I can't say for certain. Yet. :)

2. I know it's supposed to be Scottsdale-focused, but the mailer reads like that of a candidate for Scottsdale City Council, not the Arizona lege. He talks about his small business experience and working "with the City to create a business-friendly environment" and protecting "private property rights in Scottsdale." Never does he mention his plans for the lege. Which brings us to the next point...

3. He never actually states which office he is a candidate for.

4. He never mentions that he is a Republican. (Not an unusual occurrence this year; it seems that most Republicans not named "McCain" are running away from their party.)

All in all, a solid mix of obvious deception and rookie mistakes.

Assuming Waddle doesn't win his race this year, he will probably learn some from the mistakes (I've met him at a campaign finance workshop put on by Clean Elections - he's intelligent) and has the opportunity to obviate the need for deception by getting more involved in the community (joining a City of Scottsdale board or commission would be a good start) and then maybe run for Scottsdale City Council in 2010 or 12. It seems to be more in keeping with his focus.

NB - At first, I figured that his shot at "Tempe's slick politicians" was directed at Ed Ableser and David Schapira, the Democratic incumbents in LD17. However, driving home through Tempe and south Scottsdale tonight I noticed how Waddle's Republican ballotmates, Jesse Hernandez (for State Senate) and Mark "Religion is OK - for Republican candidates anyway" Thompson (State House) have joined forces (signs all on the same poles, jointly sponsoring a TV spot, etc.) and all but thrown Waddle under the bus.

Now I wonder if Waddle's "slick" characterization was aimed as much at Thompson and Hernandez as at the Democrats they are trying to unseat.

NB2 - "The only candidate representing Scottsdale"?? That is probably news to State Senator Carolyn Allen (R-Scottsdale) and State Rep. Michele Reagan (R-Scottsdale). And probably to Congressman Harry Mitchell (D-CD5) and the staff of his Scottsdale-based district office, too.

Later!

Republicans detouring through Bizarro World as the election draws near...

Edit on 11/2 to correct an error pointed out in a comment...

It all started on my way home from work tonight.

- First up was the radio spot for the Republican slate of candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission. The run of the mill Republicans in AZ don't think that they can kiss big business' butt fast enough or sloppily enough, yet Marian McClure, Barry Wong, and Bob Stump are running a radio ad touting themselves as "consumer-friendly."

At least they stuck to tried-and-true Republican form by calling the Democratic candidates (Sandra Kennedy, Paul Newman, and Sam George) "divisive." They squeezed in the term by prominently quoting the AZ Republic editorial that endorsed the Republican ACC ticket.

Umm...I've met and spoken at length to all three. The only folks who could consider them to be "divisive" are Republicans and editors who object to the idea of Democrats joining the historically Republican-dominated ACC.

- Second up was a news article in today's East Valley Tribune. Normally, Republicans try to portray themselves as the "God-friendly" candidates, but not today.

Carol Thompson, the wife of Republican LD17 candidate Mark Thompson, criticized Democratic incumbent state representative Ed Ableser for being too involved with religion. She objected to Ableser joining the the LDS faith of his fiancee, Hilary.

From the article, quoting an email from Mrs. Thompson -

"This guy has no idea what he is and shouldn’t be counseling kids.”

She seemed to be objecting to the idea of the change, not to Mormonism itself. Still, Mr. Thompson is probably glad that he's not running to represent Mesa. :)

- And then came the coup de grace.

The McCain campaign is running a spot touting lavish, nearly endorsement-level, praise from a prominent Democrat.

That Democrat?

Senator Barack Obama.

Yes, the same Barack Obama who has been called "that one", "socialist," "communist," "Muslim," "pro-terrorist", and worse by John McCain and his surrogates.

From the examples of McClure/Wong/Stump, Thompson, and McCain, it seems that even Republicans are admitting that the Republican brand has lost its luster.

BTW - Congratulations to Ed and his fiancee Hilary. May they have a long and joyous life together.

Later!

Saban fires back at Arpaio campaign's lies

Dan Saban, Democratic candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff, has been the subject of a robocall smear campaign conducted by Joe Arpaio. The calls have spread complete lies about Saban, his positions, and his statements.

From a Saban press release -

One 60-second call claims that Saban “will close Tent City, coddle inmates, eliminate chain gangs and even ignore state laws that combat illegal immigration.” In fact, Dan Saban has never made any such statements. A woman’s voice on the call also claims that Saban would cause “hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes,” which Dan Saban called “absurdly false hyperbole.”

“Arpaio has hired a Washington D.C. swiftboat firm when he still hasn’t come clean about the funding of his last TV smear ad campaign,” said Saban. “Research shows that voters and media are rejecting negative advertising this year, and I hope they will see Arpaio’s tactics as below the belt. I have categorically supported the use of the tents, and I will bring in even tougher immigration enforcement efforts, going after real criminal aliens, not just janitors.”

Saban said he will eliminate unconstitutional housing and treatment of detainees and prisoners, and work to Arpaio’s policies that bring a never-ending stream of negligence lawsuits. Over his 16-year tenure, Arpaio’s mismanagement of the County jails has cost taxpayers more than $43 million in lawsuit payouts, settlements and attorneys’ fees. His chronic understaffing in the jails has resulted in more than 60 deaths—many of detainees awaiting trial—in the last three years alone. Last week, a federal court found conditions in Arpaio’s jails in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

“When you can’t talk about your own record, and when you’ve been caught lying in public, you get even sneakier. You’re more or less forced to resort to smear phone calls,” Saban said. “I want everyone to know that I will be a more honest sheriff, a fairer sheriff and a better sheriff than that little voice on your phone. I call on Joe Arpaio to halt this fraudulent robo-lying immediately and stop smearing me once and for all.”

All the way from the McCain campaign at the heights of the ballot down to the lowliest county hack trying to retain his ride on the nativist gravy train, the Republicans are running every scheme in their 'fear and smear' playbook.

As important as it is to work to put Barack Obama over the top in his quest for the Presidency, we need to support downballot candidates to effect the sort of change that affects people's everyday lives.

Volunteer this weekend to help get out the vote for Democrats across the Valley, and on Tuesday, vote for Dan Saban for Sheriff, Tim Nelson for County Attorney, and Ed Hermes, Joel Sinclaire, Marilyn Fox, and Leigh Strickman, Democratic candidates for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Later!

LD17 Candidate Healthcare Forum Tonight

...Apologies for the late notice, but I just found out about it myself...

From an email -

District 17 Legislative Forum - Focus will be healthcare and disability related issues.

Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Time: 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Focus: Health Care and Disability Related Issues

Forum Format: The candidates forum will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Please arrive early to meet the candidates between 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Pyle Adult Recreation Center (SW Corner of Southern/Rural)

655 East Southern Avenue

Tempe, AZ 85282

(480) 350-5211

Food: Refreshments Served

For information Contact: David Carey at (602) 443-0723.

Senate Candidates:

Meg Burton-Cahill, Democrat

Jesse Hernandez, Republican

Representative Candidates:

Wesley Waddle, Republican

Mark Thompson, Republican

Ed Ableser, Democrat

David Schapira, Democrat

Due to a conflict with my work schedule, I won't be able to attend the forum, but it should be an informative one, and with less than a week to go before the election, an important one.

Definitely well worth a couple of hours out of your week.

Later!

One week to go...

...and the last-minute voter contact and 'Get Out The Vote' (GOTV) efforts are fully up to speed.

Now is the time to redouble all of our efforts to bring responsibility, civility, and professionalism to elected offices at all levels.

In addition to volunteer opportunities with the Arizona Democratic Party and the Maricopa County Democratic Party, there are multiple opportunities to help out for people who don't want to fight downtown traffic.

All are looking for help with early ballot chasing this week and GOTV efforts this weekend, Monday and on Election Day next Tuesday.


East Valley Democratic coordinated campaign offices -

Scottsdale
7950 E Acoma Dr.
Scottsdale, AZ
480-607-4435

Tempe
123 East Baseline Road
Tempe, Arizona 85283
480-820-2298

Mesa-GEMDEMS
7141 E Main St, Mesa, AZ 85207
Phone: (480) 924-DEMS (3367)

Mesa-SEIU
2150 S. Country Club Dr.
Suite #29
Mesa, AZ 85210
(near Southeast corner of Country Club and Baseline)
Phone: (480) 217-6196


Campaigns -

Obama for President
922 N. 6th St. (corner of Roosevelt and 6th Street)
Phoenix, AZ 85004
602-689-8326

CD5 Congressman Harry Mitchell's reelection campaign
123 East Baseline Road
Tempe, Arizona 85283
Phone: 480-755-3343
Email: info[at]harry2008.com

LD17 Senator Meg Burton-Cahill's reelection campaign
info[at]keepmeg.com

LD17 Representative David Schapira's reelection campaign
info[at]davidforaz.com

LD17 Representative Ed Ableser's reelection campaign
info[at]edableser.com

GOTV efforts organized by Lauren Kuby; contact her at laurenkuby@gmail.com or 602-790-2156 to help out with those efforts this weekend thru Election Day.

Ed Hermes for Maricopa County Supervisor (SD1)
ed[at]edhermes.com
480-234-1753

Joel Sinclaire for Maricopa County Supervisor (SD2)
info[at]electsinclaire.com

Judah Nativio for LD18 State Senate
3440 East Southern Ave. #1109
Mesa, AZ 85204
Email: judah[at]@electnativio.com

Tammie Pursley for LD18 State Representative

Stephanie Rimmer for LD8 State Representative
stephanie[at]stephanierimmer.com
602.432.2486

There are a number of other East Valley and Maricopa County campaigns that need help too - contact your local coordinated campaign office for more info.

And just as a reminder - anybody with mail-in ballots should plan to have them in the mail by Wednesday to ensure that they reach the Maricopa County Recorder's office by Election Day. If you are unable to mail it in by then, voters can still vote early at the various early voting locations throughout the valley. The deadline for early in-person voting is Friday at the close of business at the various polling locations (see below).

Central/South Valley
Maricopa County Elections Depts.
111 S. 3rd Ave, PHX 85003 (SE Corner 3rd and Jefferson);
Mon - Fri; 8am to 5pm

510 S. 3rd Ave, PHX 85003 (NW Corner 3rd and Lincoln);
Mon - Fri; 8am to 5pm

212 E. Alta Vista Rd, PHX 85003 (East of Central);
Mon - Fri; 8am to 5pm

East Valley
Maricopa County Elections Dept.
222 E. Javelina Dr, Mesa 85205 (I-60 and Mesa Dr.);
Mon - Fri, 8am to 5pm

Tempe Public Library
3500 S. Rural Rd, Tempe 85282 (NW corner Rural and Southern);
Mon - Thur, 10am to 6pm; Fri, 10am to 5pm

NE Valley
Scottsdale City Clerk's Office
3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd.
Scottsdale 85251 (Indian School and Drinkwater)
Mon - Fri, 9am to 4pm

After Friday, any uncast ballots should be held until Election Day when they can be dropped off at any polling place in the county.

Hope to see you at one of the phone banks or GOTV events!

Dammit! I wanted to post a pic of the perp walk

...but that will have to wait until after the sentencing phase of the trial...

Ted Stevens (R-AK), the senior Republican in the Senate, today became the latest Rep elected official who has been convicted of crimes committed while in public office.

From CNN.com -

A jury found U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska guilty Monday of all seven counts in his federal corruption trial.

The jury found Stevens guilty of "knowingly and willfully" scheming to conceal on Senate disclosure forms more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts from an Alaska-based oil industry contractor.

The senator could be sentenced to anything ranging from probation to 35 years in prison (5 years for each of the 7 counts). Sentencing was put off until early next year by the judge in the case.

Personally, I don't expect Stevens to ever see the inside of a prison cell. He's 84 and the inevitable appeals of the verdict will take most of the few years he has left. In addition, he was convicted of non-violent crimes and has no prior record.

The only pertinent question left is - will Stevens lose to Mark Begich next week, will he resign from office regardless of the outcome of the election, or will the Senate expel him for his crimes?

The early line on those three possibilities? "Very possible" (the latest poll numbers are a statistical dead heat), "snowball's chance in Phoenix" (Stevens doesn't think that taking a gift and lying about it is wrong), and "your guess is as good as mine" (it depends on how pissed off the surviving Rep senators are and if they want to take out their frustrations on Stevens).

My guess is that the leaders of both parties in the Senate want Begich to defeat Stevens. That would be less embarrassing than having to kick one of their own out of the most exclusive club in America.

Silver lining note (for Alaskans, anyway :) ) - The felony conviction means that Stevens won't be able to pose for the de rigeur election day photo of the candidate casting his ballot for himself. :))

Later!

FoxNews.com disses Harry Mitchell's challenger

Well, at least they got Harry Mitchell's name right...

On the heels of a telephone poll last week where I had to help the caller pronounce Schweikert's name correctly comes this gem from FoxNews.com (emphasis mine) -

AZ 5: Harry Mitchell (D) is just too popular with his district to be replaced by is [sic] Republican opponent David Schleicher...

In the face of the McCain campaign's meltdown, Schweikert and the other R candidates for Congress just aren't gettting much love...not that I'm complaining. :)

But to not even get his name right???

Anyway, another indicator of Fox News' journalistic standards soon followed. From the same AZ CD5 blurb (again, emphasis mine) -

... But Mitchell is still a political novice and could misstep...

Ummm...Harry Mitchell isn't even a novice when compared to John McCain, and McCain is older than Methuselah

A brief refresher course for Fox News -

Eight years on the Tempe City Council.

16 years as Mayor of Tempe.

Eight years in the AZ State Senate.

Two years in Congress.

28 years teaching high school in Tempe.

A freakin' 30-something foot statues of him in the middle of Tempe.

"Political novice"???

They wish...

Later!

Impressive Democratic registration gains

Another one of those boring 'numbers' posts, but since I like the numbers in question... :))

All numbers taken from the Arizona Secretary of State's October 2006 and October 2008 voter registration reports.

Across the state, the Democratic Party has shown significant gains in voter registration, frequently outpacing any Republican gains by a margin of four or five to one in some districts. (PoliickerAZ coverage here)

In the Scottsdale/Tempe/Mesa area, the gains were both consistent and pronounced -

CD5 - 108,300 Democrats, 146,691 Republicans

In two years, CD5 Democrats gained almost 14,000 registrations, taking the gap from over 52K to just over 38K.

That gain, as well as an increase of nearly 17K Independent voters in CD5 is definitely positive news for centrist incumbent Harry Mitchell.


LD17 - 30,096 Democrats, 26,433 Republicans

In two years, LD17 Democrats turned a registration shortfall of 970 into an advantage of over 3600.

Definitely good news for State Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill and State Reps. David Schapira and Ed Ableser.


LD8 - 29,161 Democrats, 56,474 Republicans

In two years, LD8 Democrats gained over 2300 voters on the Republicans in the district; in addition, there are more than 5400 more independent voters in the district. While Stephanie Rimmer still faces an uphill battle in her quest for an LD8 House seat, that seat is well within the realm of reachable.


LD18 - 17,780 Democrats, 26,558 Republicans

In two years, the Democrats in LD18 have gained almost 2900 registrations on the Reps. Combine that with the fact that the LD18 Republicans were almost total slackers in registering new voters (they gained 813, or 3.1%, the Reps in the other area districts gained more than 5% each), and Tammie Pursley and Judah Nativio are in prime position to make LD18 purple, if not blue.

Of course, the brutal Rep primary between Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and Kevin Gibbons (R-Jeff Flake's brother-in-law) and the resultant divisions among the Rep faithful in the district doesn't hurt their chances, either.

All in all, some very encouraging numbers for the Democrats in the area (though LD8 will still be a tough nut to crack).

However, with John McCain at the top of the Rep ticket, Democrats will still need every available vote.

As such, there are precincts to walk in, doors to knock on, and phone calls to place.

Later!

Polished bigotry is still bigotry

There is so much to write about - a McCain campaign aide's race-baiting, the irony of both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin pulling off of the campaign trail at the same time - the irony being that Obama went to be with his ailing grandmother while Palin went to be deposed in the investigation of her abuse of office in Alaska - but I don't have enough time for that.

Instead, the focus will be much closer to home.

Specifically, the AZ Republic's endorsement of nativist John Kavanagh over Democrat Stephanie Rimmer in the race for LD8 House.

Of course, they have the right to endorse any candidate they choose, and for any reason that they choose. However, their rationalization for selecting Kavanagh for the endorsement was breathtaking.

From the editorial (emphasis mine) -

Kavanagh's signature issue in his first term has been, as he promised, illegal immigration. He is as zealous on the issue as Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, which makes us uncomfortable. But there is a profound difference between the two men: Kavanagh is more intelligent and more tactful in making his points...

Hey, I've no disagreement with the Rep on the main point - Kavanagh *is* more intelligent, educated, tactful, and just generally more polished than Pearce.

Even combined, however, intelligence, education, tact, and polish do not make nativists any less bigoted.

And have no doubt - Kavanagh *is* an unabashed nativist. He may have been on his best behavior for the Rep's editors, but when he feels like he is comfortably ensconced among fellow travelers on the anti-immigrant trail, he lets his hair down a bit, as documented in this post from June of 2007.

Simply put, Stephanie Rimmer is a much better choice to represent LD8's residents. She's an intelligent and hard-working businesswoman and community activist whose pro-education, pro-conservation, and pro-business views are a far tighter fit with those of the voters of north Scottsdale and Fountain Hills than Kavanagh's anti-public education, anti-brown people, and anti-government views.

Note: it is sort of hypocritical of Kavanagh to constantly rail against government spending when his entire career has been one of taxpayer-funded positions in the military, as a police officer in New York, as an instructor at Scottsdale Community College, and as an elected official.

Don't misunderstand me - based on what I know, he's had a laudable career of public service, but when he attacks the same government spending that has supported he and his family for decades, I have to wonder where his head's at. (Think: "dire need for cranio-rectal dislodgement surgery" :)) )

Anyway, help Stephanie Rimmer and all of LD8 by volunteering with her campaign or at the coordinated campaign office in Scottsdale (480.607.4435) to help put her over the top.

Have a good weekend!

Maybe Sarah Palin should have attended Harry Mitchell's Government class

She certainly is talking as if some rather significant part (especially significant for an elected official) of her education is lacking...

Yesterday, Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin once again told a questioner (this time a third-grader) that the job of the Vice-President of the United States is to "run the Senate."

For the edification of Governor Palin (and her handlers, who obviously don't know enough about the Constitution to correct her past misstatements on the topic), the germane sections of the Constitution -

Article 1, Section 3 - "The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided."

The 25th Amendment -

"Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President. "

"Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President. "

"Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. "

Even the U.S. Senate, the organization that Governor Palin firmly believes she would run if she is elected as VP, refers to the office of the Vice President as the "least understood, most ridiculed, and most often ignored constitutional office in the federal government."

The Senate's summary of the position - "Now, the vice president is usually seen as an integral part of a president's administration and presides over the Senate only on ceremonial occasions or when a tie-breaking vote may be needed."

If somebody was enough of a wiseass, they'd mail a copy of the Constitution to the McCain campaign with the relevant sections highlighted for Governor McCain to study.

John McCain 2008, P.O. Box 16118, Arlington, VA 22215

Of course, in a show of bipartisanship, Congressman Mitchell could draw upon his teaching experience and put together a lesson plan for Governor Palin.

I'm sure she'll have plenty of time to study it during the long Alaskan winter after the election. :)

Later!