Not unexpected, but sad news out of Hyannis this morning.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who planted the seeds for the Special Olympics when she launched Camp Shriver on the lawn of her Maryland home, and then with force of will and the clout of her family name spread her vision of lifting the developmentally disabled "into the sunlight of useful living," died this morning.Mrs. Shriver was 88. She had suffered a series of strokes in recent years and died at 2 a.m. at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, her family said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
When Mrs. Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968, holding its inaugural Summer Games at Chicago's Soldier Field, the 1,000 athletes outnumbered spectators more than 10 to 1. By its 40th anniversary last year, 3 million athletes in 181 countries competed in Special Olympics contests and uncounted millions more gathered to watch, cheer, and encourage.
Within the constraints of her era, gender, and social strata, she was the most ambitious, too, becoming an international leader more than a half century ago in the burgeoning movement to wrest mental retardation from the shadows of hushed conversations.
A younger sister of Rosemary Kennedy, who was developmentally disabled and institutionalized most of her life, Mrs. Shriver dedicated decades to ensuring that other families would not endure the fate of her own, watching a loved one whisked behind closed doors.
A most magnificent heart and voice may be gone, but will never be silenced.
Thank you, Mrs. Shriver, for the gifts your life gave my child and millions like her, as well as our families and communities.
You changed the world forever.
More below the fold.
< ;img src="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt51/melouisephb/parade.jpg" align=left>Statements today include those of:
Though at the end her body had become weak, her heart was strong and it was abundantly full. It was overflowing with faith in God's will. It was replete with a sense of contentment about the past and a deep hope for the future. It was full of love and gratitude for those to whom she had dedicated her life's work and who had in return given her life the gifts of clarity, aspiration and friendship.Her heart was full indeed of faith, hope and love. She was very much at peace.
As I write to you, her extended family of the Special Olympics movement that she loved so deeply, it is hard not to recognize that these same traits that sustained her at t at the time of her death had fulfilled and motivated her throughout her lifetime of advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities -- or as she always said, her "special friends."
Her faith in the athletes of Special Olympics was unfailing, even from the very start. When she was young and Special Olympics was still just an idea, few people particularly cared or knew about people with intellectual disabilities. Fewer still shared or understood her dream to awaken the spirit and denied potential of this forgotten population. And yet, though others could not see, she still believed, conceiving Special Olympics in her heart before she could unveil it on the field of play.
She believed that people with intellectual disabilities could - individually and collectively - achieve more than anyone thought possible. This much she knew with unbridled faith and certainty. And this faith in turn gave her hope that their future might be radically different.
Her faith in them allowed her to hope for an army of supporters - coaches, volunteers, donors, fans - that would emerge and grow and become the foundation upon which a worldwide human rights movement would be built. It allowed her to envision a world of formerly skeptical people who would witness the accomplishments of our athletes and say "Yes! I understand!" Hope allowed her to see the invisible, fight for the isolated and achieve the impossible.
She understood deeply the lesson our mother and father taught us -- much is expected of those to whom much has been given. Throughout her extraordinary life, she touched the lives of millions, and for Eunice that was never enough.The seeds of compassion and hope she planted decades ago in her backyard summer camp were inspired by her love for our sister Rosemary. Over the years, she grew those seeds into a worldwide movement that has given persons with disabilities everywhere the opportunity to lead more productive and fulfilling lives. We would never have had an Americans with Disabilities Act without her.
Though the Special Olympics will be her enduring monument, in our family she'll be remembered as a loyal and loving sister, a treasured wife to Sarge, and a wonderful mother and grandmother.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
"Eunice was the light of our family. She meant so much, not only to us, but to our country and to the world. She was a pioneer who worked tirelessly for social and scientific advances that have changed the lives of millions of developmentally disabled people all over the world."Insp ired by her faith in God and her love of her sister, Rosemary, she was on a life-long mission to expand opportunities for those with intellectual challenges and to prove that they are capable of great achievements.
"Apart from her family, her greatest legacy is the Special Olympics, which started as a summer camp in her backyard in 1962, and has grown into a global movement and organization that has transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
"Eunice was the devoted mother of five children, including my dear wife, Maria. My mother-in-law changed my life by raising such a fantastic daughter, and by putting me on the path to service, starting with drafting me as a coach for the Special Olympics. I will miss her every day, but I know her spirit endures through her amazing children and grandchildren, and through the many lives she changed."
Michelle and I were deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Eunice was many things to many people: a mother who inspired her children to serve others; a wife who supported her husband Sargent in the Peace Corps and in politics; and a sister to her siblings, including brothers John, Robert, and Edward.But above all, she will be remembered as the founder of the Special Olympics, as a champion for people with intellectual disabilities, and as an extraordinary woman who, as much as anyone, taught our nation - and our world - that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit. Her leadership greatly enriched the lives of Special Olympians throughout the world, who have experienced the pride and joy of competition and achievement thanks to her vision. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sargent; their children Robert, Maria, Timothy, Mark, and Anthony; and the entire Kennedy family.
It is very hard to adequately express my feelings right now- that one person's determination to change Society's views of disabled people such as our autistic daughter Jean was so strong that she DID it- I cannot thank Mrs. Shriver or her family enough for that gift.
Rest in peace, Mrs. Shriver, and many grateful thanks for a life well lived and a generosity beyond measure. You changed the WORLD.
Protect Marriage Washington has filed their Summary, Full Report Receipts and Expenditures, or "C4 report", for July, 2009. Protect Marriage Washington is the organization trying to force a referendum vote to repeal the new domestic partnership law in Washington. To preserve the DP law, voters must vote APPROVED if Referendum 71 qualifies for the ballot. See Washington Families Sta nding Together for details.
PMW's C4 report contains some items of interest.
1. Larry Stickney again received a handsome salary, and even got his son in on the cash action this time.
2. Protect Marriage Washington failed to name people they accepted cash contributors from in early August. They are identified only by their initials.
3. There remains no indication who their mercenaries paid signature gatherers were, or who paid them.
UPDATE: New info on item 2, below the fold.
1. Larry Stickney's handsome salary.
Those "grassroots" sure are well fertilized. And, "nepotism", anyone? Larry Stickney received $5,150 is salaries and wages in July. This was a bit of a come-down from his take of $6,500 in June, but Larry's salaries alone amount to almost 4>43% of all of PMW's expenditures to date. That is a terribly high rate of expenditure on non-program services. But I guess you can't accuse him of only looking out for Number 1, since starting in late June another Stickney turned up on the payroll. Son Matt was paid $1,050 in wages. Who would begrudge a kid a summer job? Not me. But the fact that the only other person paid wages by PMW was the son of its chief cook and bottle washer indicates that this is as much a cash cow operation for its leader as it is a sacred mission.
The combined Larry & Son wages and salaries amounted to over 45% of PMW's expenditures to date. Shades of Gary Randall, eh?
2. Hiding donor identities
The eight people reported to contribute cash to PMW thus far in August are identified as:
| Name | Address | Date | Amount |
| L. D. | CHEHALIS, WA 98532 | 8/1/09 | $100 |
| H. C. | CAMAS, WA | 8/3/09 | $100 |
| P. T. | WA | 8/3/09 | $100 |
| P. V. | CHELAN, WA 98816 | 8/3/09 | $71 |
| R. B. | WA | 8/4/09 | $50 |
| W. R. | WA | 8/4/09 | $25 |
| K. K. | WA | 8/5/09 | $50 |
| W. R. | WA | 8/5/09 | $71 |
The first three of these donors, L.D., H.C. and P.T., each contributed $100. State code clearly states that
(b) The name and address of each person who has made one or more contributions during the period, together with the money value and date of such contributions and theand the aggregate value of all contributions received from each such person during the campaign or in the case of a continuing political committee, the current calendar year: PROVIDED, That pledges in the aggregate of less than one hundred dollars from any one person need not be reported...This is the first time PMW has chosen this strange method of not reporting the names of contributors. They've previously even named people who contributed as little as $20. Even Gary Randall's Faith and Freedom PAC has disclosed the names of their August donors.
The purpose of the public disclosure laws is to help prevent illegal or unethical campaign finance activity. The Public Disclosure Commission itself was created by an Initiative to the People "to provide timely and meaningful public access to accurate information about the financing of political campaigns, lobbyist expenditures, and the financial affairs of public officials and candidates, and to ensure compliance with and equitable enforcement of Washington's disclosure and campaign finance laws." If Larry Stickney really believes in "the will of the people", he'll hew to the campaign finance regulations they set in place and disclose the identity of his contributors just like everyone else does.
UPDATE:
PMW posted this henny penny cluck on their website. Q: if alleged threats to campaign officials or supporters warrants hiding the identity of donors, does that mean that Mr. Pidgeon supports President Obama's campaign donors being anonymous? After all, Obama receives death threats daily.
R-71 Campaign Requests Emergency Hearing to seal names of donorsPRESS RELEASE
Monday, August 10, 2009Contact: Stephen Pidgeon, Phone: Telephone (425) 605-4774
R-71 Campaign Requests Emergency Hearing to seal names of donors
Protect Marriage Washington has submitted a letter (see below) to the Public Disclosure Commission to grant an Emergency Hearing and to otherwise seal the names of donors to the R-71 campaign as a result of threats of violence, including Bellingham, Washington resident John Bisceglia's nationwide inciting to use violence against churches, government property, and ALL of those working on the R-71 campaign. He goes so far as to urge people to get guns and kill. Protect Marriage Washington has not as of yet received a response from the PDC.
August 6, 2009
Public Disclosure Commission
711 Capitol Way, #206
PO Box 40908
Olympia, WA 98504-0908RE: Request for an Emergency Hearing for Suspension or Modification of Reporting Requirements - Donors to Protect Marriage Washington and the R-71 campaign
Dear Commissioners:
I represent the interests of the Protect Marriage Washington, the organization that has spearheaded Referendum 71 ("R-71). Protect Marriage Washington is now making a written request for an Emergency Hearing for Suspension or Modification of Reporting Requirements, and asking that any disclosures made prior to any hearing be held under seal..
The reason for the emergency request is because of recent threats levied by opponents to the measure against the lives and property of principals involved in this Referendum at any level.
On August 3, 2009, the following threat was retrieved from the website Queer Equality Revolution http://gaytaxprotest.blogspot.... blogger and Bellingham, Washington resident John Bisceglia making the following threat:
"I advocate using violence against the property of ALL of those who are working tirelessly to HURT my family; starting with churches and government property. Government is enabling a vote on whether or not I "should be allowed" to see my husband [sic] while he is dying in the hospital - any NORMAL man would be driven to get a gun and kill those who tried such evil cruelty against his loved ones."
This matter has already been referred to the FBI, because on its face is the incitement to use violence against potentially the Federal Courthouse in Tacoma, and a Federal Judge (and may include a threat against the PDC, the Secretary of State and so on). This is a true threat to the li the lives and property of those people who support the referendum process - in this case, to validate the actions of the state legislature to modify 201 statutes in a single bill.
The state of Washington has defined true threats:
A "true threat" is a statement made "in a context or under such circumstances wherein a reasonable person would foresee that the statement would be interpreted . . . as a serious expression of intention to inflict bodily harm upon or to take the life of [another individual]. State v Knowles, 91 Wash. App. 367, 373, 957 P. 2d 797 (1998).
The fear of harm aroused in the person threatened and the disruption that may occur as a result of that fear are some of the reasons why true threats are not protected speech. [Citation omitted]. That fear does not depend upon whether the speaker in fact intends to carry out the threat. For this reason, we hold, along with the vast majority of courts, that the First Amendment does not require that the speaker intend to carry out a threat for it to constitute a true threat. State v. Kilburn, 151 Wash. 2d 36, 46, 84 P. 3d 1215 (2004).
According to RCW 9A.46.020, a person is guilty of felony harassment if they threaten to kill a person without lawful authority. A reasonable person would take the statement about getting a gun and killing people who support R-71 as a true threat.
Given the scope of the threat to include "ALL of those" working with the R-71 project, Protect Marriage Washington now seeks an Emergency Hearing to Modify Reporting Requirements to redact or otherwise seal the names, occupations and addresses of those persons and entities required to be listed on form B, form C3 and form C4.
Attached as Exhibit 1, please find the website posting of John Bisceglia as referenced above. Attached as Exhibit 2, please find an additional posting by John Bisceglia naming Gary Randall and Larry Stickney as the recipients of Bisceglia's anger and harassment. We note that the threat set forth above is also an incitement to violence by others.
In addition, there have been clear threats by whosigned.org to intimidate voters and prevent signatures. The Secretary of State's own website posted the following:
Spokesmen for the new project [whosigned.org] say they want voters to think twice about signing the petitions and that opponents of R-71 should be able to talk with their neighbors and townspeople who signed to explain the ramifications.
http://blogs.secstate.wa.gov/F... . . .(The Secretary of State may have removed this link).Here is another threat:
"whosigned.org will fix YOUR little red wagon. We [meaning whosigned.org] shall boycott the businesses of EVERYONE who signs your odious, bigoted petition. Rest assured of THAT. Father Raymond Superior (retired), Community of the Resurrection." quilisma@cox.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript ecript enabled to view it
Here is another threat:
"You [sic] better stay off the Olympic peninsula. It's a very dangerous place filled with people who hate racists, gay bashers and anyone who doesn't believe in equality. Fair is fair." rockettrike@rocketmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Pursuant to RCW 42.17.370, commission shall find that a manifestly unreasonable hardship exists if reporting the names required under 42.17.341 "would be likely to adversely affect the competitive position" of the entity filing the report. There can be no question that death threats, threats to destroy property, threats to kill with a gun, and the inciting of violence in national blogs against named supporters of R-71 are "likely to adversely affect the competitive position" of R-71 proponents.
Given the possibility of the commission of serious crimes resulting from the publication of the names of the donors supporting R-71, Protect Marriage Washington furthers seeks written confirmation from your office that any names and addresses required to be disclosed on forms B, C3, and C4 will be sealed from public disclosure until such a time as the Commission can hear this request.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Stephen Pidgeon
Attorney at Law, P.S.
3. The Mystery of the Mercenaries
We know that PMW employed paid signature mercenaries, because reputable witnesses documented their interactions with them, newspapers have written about them, and one mercenary even admitted to lying to voters for PMW on tape. Yet curiously, PMW fails to mention any related expenditure or in-kind contribution. Ditto for Faith and Freedom PAC, the Oregon-based organization also trying to force Referendum 71 on the ballot. I'm pretty sure that the mercenaries didn't pay themselves, so who paid for their services, and why aren't Larry Stickney or Gary Randall reporting those expenses as mandated by law?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related
* Paid Referendum 71 Signature Gatherer is Baldfaced Liar
* Protect Marriage Washington Using Paid Signature Gatherers
* Gary & Larry's Financial Priorities
* Gary Randall just can't play it straight
Referendum 71 voters will be asked to approve or reject the domestic partnership law.
REFERENDUM 71
Ballot Title
Statement of Subject: The legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688 concerning rights and responsibilonsibilities of state-registered domestic partners [and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill].Concise Description: This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage.
Should this bill be:
Approved ___
Rejected ___Ballot Measure Summary
Same-sex couples, or any couple that includes one person age sixty-two or older, may register as a domestic partnership with the state. Registered domestic partnerships are not marriages, and marriage is prohibited except between one man and one woman. This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of registered domestic partners and their families to include all rights, responsibilities, and obligations granted by or imposed by state law on married couples and their families.
PRINT AND DISTRIBUTE HANDOUTS AND PLACARDS !
Wingnut radio host and supremely anti-gay and offensive Clown Hall columnist Kevin McCullough inadvertently gives a comical interview to Daddy-D's "news organ" CitizenLink. Perhaps the most revealing moment is a portrayal of actor and fundie Stephen Baldwin's immersion into Christian radio, something McCullough takes credit for:
I think everyone's going to want to know how you got Stephen Baldwin involved in all this!
I had moved to New York in 2003 to do a show there. And Stephen's wife, the lovely Mrs. Baldwin, was listening. She listens to Christian radio all the time. And she had my show on and she's using the butcher knife and she's chopping the vegetables for the dinner that night and she's talking out loud to no one in the kitchen. She's like, "That's right, you tell 'em!" "That's what I'm sayin'!" Stephen comes down and he's like, "Sweetie, who are you talking to?" And she's got this butcher knife in her hands and she wheels around and points the butcher knife at him and says, "You need to be more like that guy!" Stephen started listening and he's always been a junkie of talk radio. And so he called in and funny enough, I didn't know who he was! But he, for no explainable reason, befriended me and out of that friendship grew a real, simultaneous passion to reach the fifteen to thirty-four generation.
The interview also covers McCullough's unsurprising but tired opposition to health care reform by referring to the plan as 'Gestapo-care':
If you historically understand that the Gestapo was the part of the SS who were basically empowered to report on ort on their neighbors, to be the nannies of everyone else around them, that's what the White House asked us to do on its blog when it said, 'if you receive emails, if you are seeing web sites or if you're having casual conversations in which people are spreading "disinformation." And given what this administration seems to already have the penchant to do, and that is interpret things to their advantage at all times, if you just have a different opinion about it or draw a different statistical conclusion that doesn't square with their numbers, I could be considered to be someone spreading disinformation. As I told Cavuto on Fox News, the executive branch of government has no business monitoring my own private discussions about health care. So, on that level alone, I think that it is a Gestapo-like tactic that they were trying to very subtly encourage.
WTF? Isn't it interesting that people like McCullough (and his listeners), always seem to want government out of our private lives but they are the first to scream and protest for federal and state control over whether LGBTs can be fired for being out, or whether same-sex couples can marry.
More below the fold -- how this kind of garbage stokes the know-nothing/birther/health care town hall nutcases.***
And we can't even begin to go there with the behavior of the fear-mongering, and increasingly violent health care opponents that these right-wing media mouthpieces keep stoking. Look at this:
Earlier today, Fox News publicized the time and location of “gladiatorial” town halls hosted by Democrats — but not Republicans. With “heated” and increasingly confrontational town halls now dominating news coverage, Washington correspondent James Rosen announced he had “obtained a large Excel spreadsheet showing the schedule of town halls for Democratic members of Congress.” Rosen reported the time and location of several town halls, including those for Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA).
Or this:
FreedomWorks, an industry-backed right-wing group led by former GOP congressman Dick Armey, has been heavily engaged in organizing conservatives to ambush Democratic members of Congress supporting health care reform at town halls across the country during the August recess. Its “astroturf” campaign is designed to present the appearance of wide-spread public discontent with health care reform, but the reality is that the town halls have become forums for disruption, extremism and even violence.
Last night on MSNBC, FreedomWorks Vice President Max Pappas boasted about flooding congresspeople’s town hall meetings and “blowing them apart.” “We have about 400,000 on-line members who we can contact with an e-mail database that we have, send them information about when the town halls are, give them briefings on the health care reform plans,” he said.
...Another caller who claimed to be from the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) — a group that claims the U.S. is a European country and was founded by a “longtime white-power activist” — praised Pappas. “I want to salute you, you’re a true patriot,” he told Pappas, who later urged the CCC member to join FreedomWorks.
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