Paul Wellstone: Ten years ago today

[Satyrquaze]

More than a decade ago, man walks up to the register next to mine at Barnes & Noble.

Man: Hi, is David around?
Co-worker: I think so, I'll call him. What's your name, sir?
Man: Please tell him Paul is here.
(She picks up the phone to call our manager)
Co-worker: Sorry, whats your last name sir?
(I can't restrain myself any longer. I lightly flick her shoulder and through gritted teeth, quietly as I possibly can, I say
Me: THAT IS SENATOR WELLSTONE.
(I may have well followed it with "Show some respect!")

Out of the corner of his eye he smiles warmly at me despite my rude idiocy.

Ten years ago today I was crying like a baby because a great man whom I had the honor to meet once only briefly died unexpectedly in a plane crash in northern Minnesota.

Paul Wellstone
July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002

 

[PsychoPere]

This quote has been in my email signature line for at least six years now.

Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people's lives. It's about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and the world. Politics is about doing well for the people.

 

[T'Girl]

I can't restrain myself any longer. I lightly flick her shoulder and through gritted teeth, quietly as I possibly can, I say

Just from what you posted, it sounds like your co-worker was being very correct and polite.

Because I base my votes on people's records and positions, and not their appearances, I could likely talk to my representatives (city, state and federal) in a store without the slightest chance of recognizing them.

 

[Satyrquaze]

^Paul Wellstone had made himself quite visible since his election. If that meeting had happened just a few months earlier I probably wouldn't have known him. Paul Wellstone was the first and possibly only politician I felt that was sincerely fighting for my rights. That was the affect he had on like-minded people. You might think it naive, but I honestly believe that he was an honest and good man.

But, you're absolutely correct. In the heat of that moment and having not just a little bit of a fangasm, I was shocked that my co-worker didn't recognize him and show him the correct amount of respect that clearly only I could quantify. I recognize I completely over-reacted, and I know Wellstone recognized it too.

Similarly, as I watched his funeral with my roommmate and she intoned that 'he was just another politician and she was glad he was dead.' I restrained myself from telling her that she had no idea what she was talking about. I restrained myself from verbally attacking her on the grounds that she had spoken in ignorance about a man she knew nothing about and she had admitted she was happy that a good man, his wife and daughter had died. I simply finished watching the funeral (as it turned into a rally) and then went for a walk and actively feared for the prospects of the upcoming election.

 

[Gaith]

A horrible day; a horrible loss.

(And a horrible roommate.)

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Similarly, as I watched his funeral with my roommmate and she intoned that 'he was just another politician and she was glad he was dead.'

Wow, talk about insensitivity!

 

[datagal]

^Paul Wellstone had made himself quite visible since his election. If that meeting had happened just a few months earlier I probably wouldn't have known him. Paul Wellstone was the first and possibly only politician I felt that was sincerely fighting for my rights. That was the affect he had on like-minded people. You might think it naive, but I honestly believe that he was an honest and good man.

But, you're absolutely correct. In the heat of that moment and having not just a little bit of a fangasm, I was shocked that my co-worker didn't recognize him and show him the correct amount of respect that clearly only I could quantify. I recognize I completely over-reacted, and I know Wellstone recognized it too.

Similarly, as I watched his funeral with my roommmate and she intoned that 'he was just another politician and she was glad he was dead.' I restrained myself from telling her that she had no idea what she was talking about. I restrained myself from verbally attacking her on the grounds that she had spoken in ignorance about a man she knew nothing about and she had admitted she was happy that a good man, his wife and daughter had died. I simply finished watching the funeral (as it turned into a rally) and then went for a walk and actively feared for the prospects of the upcoming election.

I'm glad that you didn't slapped her. Are you still in contact with your former roommate?
Sen, Wellstone was one of the good guys.

 

[Satyrquaze]

A horrible day; a horrible loss.

(And a horrible roommate.)

Yeah, not just for that, either. I gladly moved out of there the following year.

Wow, talk about insensitivity!

Seriously.

I'm glad that you didn't slapped her. Are you still in contact with your former roommate?
Sen, Wellstone was one of the good guys.

Yeah, we have some acquaintances in-common but, we rarely see each other and when we do we're barely cordial.

 

[gturner]

Similarly, as I watched his funeral with my roommmate and she intoned that 'he was just another politician and she was glad he was dead.'

Wow, talk about insensitivity!

Well, when the memorial morphed into a campaign rally, it did strike a lot of people as horrifyingly bad, which is why the right-wing showed more clips of it than the left-wing, replaying it over and over again. It fired up the base and helped keep the House and Senate in Republican hands.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^ None of which is relevant. There's no excuse for telling a grieving person that you're glad the deceased is dead. Even when the deceased is "just" a politician.

 

[gturner]

It beats asking the fathr of a dead former SEAL "Hey, did your son always have balls the size of cue balls?" as they looked at his returning casket.

Smilin' Joe actually did that.

 

[Gaith]

^ Source please, from a reputable media outlet.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

US News & World Report covered it. Looks like they were the only mainstream / reputable media outlet to do so. interview with SEAL's father (sigh)

 

[gturner]

That came from an interview with Charles Woods, Tyrone Woods (the SEAL's) father.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...L-died-Benghazi-attack.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-bl...e-bidens-outrageous-comment-slain-benghazi-he

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/wa...-had-no-remorse-biden-made-disrespectful-joke

http://www.examiner.com/article/joe-biden-tells-parents-of-seal-killed-benghazi-their-son-had-balls

Interestingly, even though Charles Woods gave his statement on US television, almost no American news outlets have reported it, which fits with the almost complete news blackout regarding Benghazi.

The interview where he said it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yciEJXgG2o&feature=youtube_gdata

 

[Gaith]

US News & World Report covered it. Looks like they were the only mainstream / reputable media outlet to do so. interview with SEAL's father (sigh)

They covered the claim; they didn't report it as having happened themselves. Given the rest of what the guy claims about the president, and the fact that he told this to professional liar Glenn Beck, you'll have to excuse my not immediately accepting it as the whole, unvarnished truth.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Oops, yes, I noticed there was no corroboration of the guy's claim. Should've mentioned that! I'm skeptical, too.

 

[gturner]

Hey, it's not as bad as all the interviews Sean Smith's mother has been giving. So yes, the bereaved parents must all be lying about being lied to, even though we all now know they were being lied to, which is purely a coincidence. Really, a one in a million chance.

The reason for Biden's comment is that he'd probably watched the live video of two former SEALs taking out 60 to 70 Al Qaeda and militants from their machine-gun position before they were hit by a mortar, possibly coming from the same mortar position they'd earlier lased for an aerial missile strike that never came (or possibly just lased to flag the mortar's position to Washington).

The latest interesting story is a leak that General Ham, head of AFRICOM, had ordered the launch of his counter-terrorist rescue team regardless of White House orders and was relieved of command by General Rodriguez within about 30 seconds. Strangely enough, a few days ago Obama named General Rodriguez as the new head of AFRICOM.

Both Langley and the Pentagon are starting to leak like sieves on this one, perhaps pissed that the Vice President, whose only real function is to represent the United States at funerals without becoming a horrible embarrassment, is failing spectacularly at it, or perhaps because the entire episode really grates at them.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Similarly, as I watched his funeral with my roommmate and she intoned that 'he was just another politician and she was glad he was dead.'

Wow, talk about insensitivity!

Well, when the memorial morphed into a campaign rally, it did strike a lot of people as horrifyingly bad, which is why the right-wing showed more clips of it than the left-wing, replaying it over and over again. It fired up the base and helped keep the House and Senate in Republican hands.

It beats asking the fathr of a dead former SEAL "Hey, did your son always have balls the size of cue balls?" as they looked at his returning casket.

Smilin' Joe actually did that.

That came from an interview with Charles Woods, Tyrone Woods (the SEAL's) father.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...L-died-Benghazi-attack.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-bl...e-bidens-outrageous-comment-slain-benghazi-he

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/wa...-had-no-remorse-biden-made-disrespectful-joke

http://www.examiner.com/article/joe-biden-tells-parents-of-seal-killed-benghazi-their-son-had-balls

Interestingly, even though Charles Woods gave his statement on US television, almost no American news outlets have reported it, which fits with the almost complete news blackout regarding Benghazi.

The interview where he said it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yciEJXgG2o&feature=youtube_gdata

Hey, it's not as bad as all the interviews Sean Smith's mother has been giving. So yes, the bereaved parents must all be lying about being lied to, even though we all now know they were being lied to, which is purely a coincidence. Really, a one in a million chance.

The reason for Biden's comment is that he'd probably watched the live video of two former SEALs taking out 60 to 70 Al Qaeda and militants from their machine-gun position before they were hit by a mortar, possibly coming from the same mortar position they'd earlier lased for an aerial missile strike that never came (or possibly just lased to flag the mortar's position to Washington).

The latest interesting story is a leak that General Ham, head of AFRICOM, had ordered the launch of his counter-terrorist rescue team regardless of White House orders and was relieved of command by General Rodriguez within about 30 seconds. Strangely enough, a few days ago Obama named General Rodriguez as the new head of AFRICOM.

Both Langley and the Pentagon are starting to leak like sieves on this one, perhaps pissed that the Vice President, whose only real function is to represent the United States at funerals without becoming a horrible embarrassment, is failing spectacularly at it, or perhaps because the entire episode really grates at them.

Speaking of disrespectful, don't turn the OP's thread for remembering Senator Wellstone into your longwinded and completely unrelated personal rant against Biden and the White House. Start your own thread for that, but leave it out of this one. And if you want to argue the point, PM me.

 

[Gaith]

Well, when the memorial morphed into a campaign rally, it did strike a lot of people as horrifyingly bad, which is why the right-wing showed more clips of it than the left-wing, replaying it over and over again. It fired up the base and helped keep the House and Senate in Republican hands.

As now-Senator Franken wrote, that was a joyous event that was totally in spirit with Senator Wellstone's life and ideals. But the right-wing rage media, which treated him like dirt before he died, used their post-9/11 clout to do what they always do: treat progressivism as despicable, and borderline unpatriotic.

They played it "over and over again" because that's what they do: they create rage-fueled entertainment in order to pander to the egos of their audience, while conspiring, via international fiscal policy, to rob them blind.

I'm no expert on Senator Wellstone, but I bet he would have loved the event.

 

[Relayer1]

I knew nothing of Senator Wellstone - I don't think I'd even heard his name, so I looked him up.

Seems to have been that rarest of things - a good politician. RIP.