Saturday, May 9, 2009

Political Protests

For me, one of the oddest moments of the primaries came when I wasn’t even attending an event. I had gone to the grocery store, and stopped at a light on my way out of the parking lot. I looked down at my steering wheel for a second, and when I looked up I saw the three little pigs driving down the street. I blinked hard, and then watched the pigs pull into the gas station where I was headed. The biggest pig was a pink van with pig ears, rump and tail. It was towing a trailer with a medium sized pig on it, which was hooked up to a small pig that had wheels for feet.

The pigs were protesting the amount of money spent on military and defense spending. As I pulled up to the pump next to them, I planned to say, ‘That must be a real gas hog,’ but refrained, as the driver and passenger had quite a sour expression on their faces and did not appear to possess any sense of humor (which I really think should be a prerequisite to driving the three little pigs around New Hampshire).

This brings me to my favorite guilty pleasure of the primaries and political events in general - Protesters. The all time best came several years ago when a group came to protest at UNH the induction of a gay Episcopalian minister. Apparently there were not enough Episcopal churches in the area, so they decided to protest at the local Catholic and Baptist churches. Years have passed since this incident, and I still laugh thinking about these people who traveled from miles and miles away, protesting the Episcopalians outside the Baptist church. The poor Baptists seated in the pews for Sunday worship had to be wondering why in the world protesters were picketing their church that morning.

Except from An Independent Call - From New Hampshire On...

Friday, May 8, 2009

The McCain Campaign and Illegal Immigration

The anger over Senator McCain’s position on immigration seemed a bit more pointed in South Carolina, and as just referenced, there was some anger about Senator McCain’s stance on the Confederate flag. One call I made ended abruptly when the woman on the line emphatically stated, ‘We are all illegal immigrants here and aren’t allowed to vote!’ Click. However, I did have a conversation about immigration with another woman who was concerned because the hospitals in her area were seriously over-burdened. Our discussion reflected the difficulty the whole country is having with this issue. She understood and agreed with Senator McCain that emergency medical treatment should not be denied to illegal immigrants, but she was concerned because there was also the problem of emergency rooms being used for their routine medical care. Where her adult children lived, in particular, the hospital was struggling to provide adequate care to citizens because of the stress caused by illegal immigrants.

Excerpt from An Independent Call - From NH On

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Free Us Now Radio Featured Guest, Author Katherine Morrison

Featured Radio Presentation

Monday Night May 4th soROARity
Katherine J. Morrison
"Author of An Independent Call"

Free Us Now guest, Katherine Morrison wrote a book about the 2008 presidential election. The book entitled An Independent Call, chronicles the journey of an Independent New Hampshirite from wary observer of town hall meetings to eventual McCain supporter and volunteer. It is an amusing look at the events of a campaign. From meeting candidates from both sides of the aisle, to becoming a blogger for McCain, to being chewed out on campaign phone calls, to receiving press credentials for the Republican National Convention, this account relates the experience of being a participant at the lowest level politics from an outsider's perspective. A mix of good humor and political opinion from the middle.

Rockingham NH County Commissioner, Maureen Barrows, recommends An Independent Call stating that it is- "A must read for anyone interested in the day to day life of a volunteer in a political campaign-attention to detail is brilliant."
No radio needed The Free Us Now Radio show is online - If your computer is down no problem call on the phone and hear the entire show right on the phone- Please come! Monday 10 PM eastern/ Bring your questions.
Call-in 347 539-5420.

Event: Free Us Now Radio Show
Host: BettyJean Kling
Start Time: Monday, at 10:00pm
End Time: Monday, at 11:30pm
Where: http://www.Blogtalkradio.com/NO-WE-WONT
Call-in:  347 539-5420

Friday, May 1, 2009

Author Katherine Morrison to Discuss 'An Independent Call' on Blog Radio

Katherine Morrison will be on Central Park 7 Radio Saturday Night at 11:00 EST to discuss An Indpendent Call, hosted by 'The Dame of Truth.'

Also, she will be on Free Us Now Hear Us Roar Radio Monday Night at 10:00 EST also to discuss An Indpendent Call. Presented by PUMA United radio, Free Us Now is hosted by Betty Jean.