Just got back from an open meeting with Kendra Fershee at Bethany College, and we had a really good turnout:
Good turnout for @teamkendrawv at Bethany College pic.twitter.com/f8AA7VLyMM
— Nuck Fazis! (@Johngcole) September 21, 2018
She spoke for about 90 minutes, and there were a lot of great questions and a lot of great discussion. Some of the topics included universal healthcare, marijuana legalization, the supreme court nomination, the flawed environment v. business model, coal and natural gas, structural racism and social justice, cash bail and for profit prisons, court and criminal justice reform, education, the NRA stranglehold on the gun debate, women in politics, and much, much, more.
This was the first time I had met her in person, having only spoken with her via social media for the last year (I was an early adopter and got in touch with her shortly after she announced), and she’s the real deal. Just a great person, not slick and fake, she really connects with people when they engage her, and there isn’t a shred of the kind of arrogance you get with so many politicians. The students really liked her, and so did the adults. I’m really hoping she pulls it off because I think she is the kind of representation West Virginians deserve in Congress. You know how every now and then you just get excited about a certain candidate because they are a real person- that’s how I feel about Fershee.
Here she is posing with some students in front of the Bethany College mascot, the Bison:
BTW- she is not taking any special interest money and is really a shoestring candidate, and she needs all the support she can get. I’m throwing in another $100.00 bucks and I really hope you will, too:
Let’s get this baby to five or ten thousand! She has another event tonight at WVNCC, and I am thinking about heading to it.
zhena gogolia
That room has a beautiful view.
Mary G
Threw in $10 I don’t have, but she sounds like a Balloon Juice kind of people. Also the whole Kavanaugh meshugas is taking me to levels of white hot rage I didn’t even know I had in me, and Democratic women winning a landslide is the only thing that will satisfy it.
raven
Did she appear in that gym where we’d go to play hoops when I was at Ogelbay lo those many years ago?
raven
@zhena gogolia: Oops, that’s not the gym!
banditqueen
trollhattan
Was gonna ask when bison roamed West Virginny but then I recalled tigers never prowled my U’s campus locale, either. So okay then.
She sounds great, btw.
Mary G
O/T Federal District Court judge brings the heat:
geg6
That’s exactly how I feel about Conor Lamb. And the good news is the the NRCC just pulled all their ads for Keith Rothfus. Lamb didn’t take penny of PAC money, just individual donations. It can be done! Go Kendra!
MisterForkbeard
@Mary G: Actually punishing Trump Admin officials for false statements would be pretty novel.
PAM Dirac
Go Kendra! I have been volunteering for a similar type candidate for Maryland Senate and it has done wonders for my mental health. You wouldn’t know it if you spend much time on the “important” news organizations, but there are a lot of really smart, energetic, hard working people who really do want to make things better and are willing to address our problems with compassion and cooperation rather than dogma and lies. Any chance of a similar candidate in WV-2? The candidate I’m working for (Jessica Douglass https://douglass4senate.com/) is running against a clown that is in the Maryland Senate, but his full time job is chief of staff for Alex Mooney who is the incumbent in WV-2. It would be great to knock him out of two jobs.
Major Major Major Major
Does she know you’re kind of a big deal?
Ohio Mom
@trollhattan: Large herds of bison roamed through Cincinnati long, long ago; I just googled and they also lived in West by God Virginia. Boy did we kill a lot them.
What a great experience for those college studenta.
MisterForkbeard
@Major Major Major Major: “I’m not only a poster at a top 10,000 politics and pets blog, I’m also the owner.”
That’s how you get the girls, man. Cole probably just didn’t want to fluster her with his eminence.
trollhattan
@Mary G:
Hope he brings his soup can as a helpful prop. That fvckin’ guy….
raven
@Ohio Mom: Ya think?
laura
Off topic, the tubes are reporting that a Minnesota Republican State Representative just dropped his bid for reelection.
His 23 year old daughter has reported him for sexual abuse -starting at age 9.
Their party seems to have issues with decency, sex-pestery, and women as livestock.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: We had tigers in Los Angeles.
Martin
May I just comment that an iced maple pecan latte is a crime against humanity. What the fuck kind of society are you trying to build out there in WV?
Martin
@Ohio Mom:
Just about all of them. Same for the indigenous people.
debit
@laura: How awful. Jesus fucking christ, how awful.
geg6
@laura:
Whoa! Good for her. And how heartbreaking this is. That poor woman. So glad that #MeToo has given her the strength to do this.
Poptartacus
Kicked in 10.00
The kid asked me why I donate to Democrats
I told him I’d like him to have future that doesn’t involve cannibalisim
dmsilev
20 comments in, and nobody has mentioned the poster featuring THREE separate latte-type drinks? Clearly, this is a hotbed of liberalism, somehow stealthily embedded into Real America.
Also, pumpkin spice is kind of cliched at this point.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@laura: I always under the impression that like abortion, recreational drug use and atheism, the conservatives wanted homosexuality as a privilege of the right kind of people (as in white, Christian, Republicans), so I suppose to goes to follow that now homosexuality is socially acceptable behavior, the right just sidestepped into actual loathsome behavior like sexual assault and child molestation. The mind recoils at what will be next.
debbie
@dmsilev:
What? No cinnamon dolce latte?
Joy in FL
This is the third politician I’ve contributed to today! Nobody got much $, but they each got something. Andrew Gillum is one of them.
Also, I called Pet Plan pet insurance earlier today to verify something and told the person I talked to that I read a blog called Ballon Juice about politics and animals, and that one of the commenters had written about her experience with Pet Plan and highly recommended it. I wish I could remember whose post that was a few months ago; I would thank her/him.
Also I have ResistBot contacted Rubio and Nelson multiple times and called them about Kavanaugh. Senator Nelson’s staff member told me that he has requested 4 times to meet with Mr. Kavanaugh and not had a positive response. I asked what the Senator would do if he never got a meeting. The staffer did not tell me that Nelson would vote no. I told her I could not understand why he was even considering confirming Kavanaugh, since he was nominated by a president who is a chronic liar and a bully.
WaterGirl
@Joy in FL: It was me!
dmsilev
@debbie: I’m just the messenger.
laura
@debit:
Yeah, can you believe it? The same party rushing to install Justice Gang Bang to aid president 130K to hush about my peener hasn’t managed to find the time to vote on the Violence Against Women Act.
laura
@laura:They hate us.
Men. Hate. Women.
Not all, but too many, and too many in power.
Martin
@laura:
I’m increasingly of the view that white christians broadly have no actual understanding of the concept of consent – almost as if it were antithetical to belief. They either see themselves as superior to others by virtue of genetics and therefore better equipped to determine the fate of others, or they see absolution from their own actions because God is really the ones calling the shots here, or both. Girls get raped because they’re inferior. That Kavanaugh made it this far in life without having a piano falling on him is simply evidence that he’s in good standing with God regardless of what he may have done in life. Everything is just an exercise in reaching these conclusions. It’s why they equate gay marriage with marrying a dog, never recognizing that one can give consent while the other cannot. It’s how they can believe that women can just shut that whole thing down. Not that women have the power to do so, rather that God will take care of it for them.
I find the whole thing to be rather perverted.
Major Major Major Major
@MisterForkbeard: works for me.
Thoughtful David
@laura:
This reminds me: I want to start a database of politicians who have had their careers affected by wrongdoing. Multipartisan–I’ll include Democrats and independents as well. This guy will go on it.
I’ll draw up the rules for inclusion and see what everyone thinks.
Baud
@Thoughtful David: If you’re including future wrongdoing, I’m in.
Probably will need my own Excel sheet.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
North Dakota Senate candidate
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud: is this the aquarium thing?
MisterForkbeard
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m glad we’ve moved onto “Sure, he TRIED to rape her but he failed so it’s okay.”
There’s a nice side of ” Also, he was just a teenager so it has no bearing on him at all, and let’s just ignore that he’s lied about it already.”
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Let’s just say there’s a reason they had to free Willy.
TenguPhule
Why good government matters.
Free markets solve everything, amirite? //s
Cherries! Not just for Kavanaugh to try and pick through use of force anymore!
Private contractors solve everything! Including where all the money goes to.
Sen Grassley assures one and all that rhino shit does indeed taste like delicious candy unicorn poop.
Sen Schumer declines to comment as his mouth is full of rhino shit.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
So you’re saying you’ll fail the background checks too?
MisterForkbeard
@TenguPhule: It looks like the ROI on the program is… what, 2%? If that?
I wonder what the ROI on normal, government tax collectors is.
ruemara
@laura: You’re not wrong.
Ohio Mom
@raven: Yeah, I’ve seen that photo. Then you have to multiply that by who knows what.
We humans are a scourge to this lovely planet.
Martin
@MisterForkbeard:
Hey, 3rd base doesn’t put a run on the board, amirite?
TenguPhule
@MisterForkbeard:
700% or so. Every dollar to the IRS yields on average seven in collections.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
Three times?
MisterForkbeard
@TenguPhule: Yeah, and that’s not even 700% spent on “Tax Collectors”, that’s the IRS in its entirety. Including lots of people and systems that aren’t actively involved in tax collection itself, or are administrative, etc.
The ROI on an actual Government Tax Collector has to be really stupendous.
laura
@ruemara: for once, I wanted to be wrong.
BTW, how goes the citizenship process? I can’t wait until you take the oath and affirmation, register to vote, and celebrate.
El Caganer
@dmsilev: Wasn’t she the one who got fat-shamed out of the group?
burnspbesq
The Cruz – O’Rourke debate is under way. First question is on immigration.
Another Scott
@trollhattan: ‘Twernt all that long ago.
Donated++
Let’s do this!!
Cheers,
Scott.
MisterForkbeard
@burnspbesq: Interesting. In Texas, I wonder how that question swings. Like, does “We’re going to ask you a question on Immigration” default to benefitting Cruz or O’Rourke?
JPL
@burnspbesq: Is there a link?
burnspbesq
@MisterForkbeard:
Cruz is good at this shit. Claiming civil rights as a Republican issue in the course of an answer to a question about NFL/national anthem protests.
burnspbesq
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/09/21/ted-cruz-beto-orourke-debate-watch-texas-senate/
debbie
I’m thinking more than a few here will love this one:
Or this one:
Or even this:
burnspbesq
Cruz is really good at this shit. Somehow he got to the Second Amendment in an answer about Dr. Ford.
Beto is giving as good as he’s getting.
MisterForkbeard
@burnspbesq: I guess that’s “Good”. If Cruz was doing that in a debate I was running I’d be pissed he was clearly trying to be clever and as an audience member I’d see it as some pretty ridiculous pandering.
But I’m not the target audience here.
debbie
@burnspbesq:
Is Cruz perspire-y yet?
Mnemosyne
@MisterForkbeard:
Remember, attempted murder isn’t a real crime because you didn’t actually murder anyone!
El Caganer
@burnspbesq: How’d he get the Second Amendment in there? “Is that a pistol you’re packing or are you just trying to rape me?” He must be pretty good at this if he could actually put those pieces together coherently.
banditqueen
The old white men are still listening to themselves talk: Grassley has issued an ultimatum: Dr Ford has until 10pm tonight to “respond” to his demands–or by god he’ll have the vote on Monday.
JPL
@burnspbesq: Thank you for the link and Cruz is good at this. Go Beto!
Mnemosyne
@banditqueen:
It is bad that I hope Dr. Ford’s response will be to file charges in Maryland? It would really suck for her, though.
lamh36
lamh36
@lamh36: This was BEFORE she went public…so the Kavanuagh folks KNEW this was coming and sent Whelan and the PR folks to get ahead of it!
WaterGirl
@burnspbesq: is it televise? web link?
banditqueen
@Mnemosyne: Dr Ford and her team (the real team America) are doing well so far at calling their bluff–it helps to be reality based. But this is concerning, because team Special K has the voting power for the time being, no matter how trapped in their own dusty minds they are.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@burnspbesq: Cruz was a master debater in college.
lamh36
Bobby Thomson
@lamh36: that’s a huge unforced error.
She didn’t go to school with Kavanaugh, so it’s not like Whelan got her name from his yearbook. The only way to narrow it down that quickly is if Kavanaugh gave him the name, which is probably game-set-match, or he got the name from rumors, which is almost as bad (and arguably worse).
burnspbesq
I’m calling it a draw. No material movement of voters. Ted has a handle on all of Beto’s vulnerabilities, and he’s exploiting them effectively. Beto is at least holding his own.
burnspbesq
Cruz is trying to run on low taxes and job growth. He just told his first real whopper, on Medicare.
JPL
@burnspbesq: I had to turn it off.
debbie
@lamh36:
Nice!
Omnes Omnibus
@burnspbesq: I can’t watch Cruz. I just can’t.
Steve in the ATL
@JPL: I did that preemptively.
B.B.A.
@Bobby Thomson: The most innocuous explanation I can come up with is Watergate-style snooping on Feinstein’s office. Which is still pretty damn bad.
TenguPhule
@Steve in the ATL:
Premature exasperation?
waratah
I agree Cruz is good at debating but I was pleased that Beto did really well. He generally needs three minutes just to warm up. I think Beto is giving Texans another choice and he was able to do that. Cruz had to attack Beto even on the question of saying something nice about the other politician.
lamh36
waratah
@Omnes Omnibus: Cruz was hateful the type of person that is a backstabber in a fight. I only stuck out watching because of Beto.
tobie
@B.B.A.: When did Feinstein refer the matter to the FBI? Maybe someone in the FBI leaked Dr. Blasey’s name to GOP operatives?
Omnes Omnibus
@waratah:
Of course he was.
Steve in the ATL
@TenguPhule: my doctor says that’s normal for a man my age!
frosty
She sounds a lot like the woman running in my district, Jess King.
I went to a similar meet’n’greet and signed up to canvass every week up tonthe election. Just a really solid person running a grassroots campaign.
We need candidates like these! Good to see one in your district, John.
JPL
@tobie: Feinstein gave it to the FBI after it was apparent that it was leaked.
Bobby Thomson
@B.B.A.: @tobie:
Kavenaugh didn’t tell me, I stole this information from Feinstein’s office/email {a serious crime}. Hmmm.
Kavenaugh didn’t tell me, my sources in the FBI violated protocol by telling me.
I suppose both of those options are possible. Or more GRU/ZWikileaks/same thing intervention. But none of the explanations look good. None of them.
JPL
The FBI is all bad? That’s an interesting strategy on Trump’s part.
Bobby Thomson
@JPL: I guess another possibility is DiFi has a Republican mole on her staff. But that explanation also confirms that Grassley flat out lied when he said he just learned about this on Wednesday.
And wasn’t there a scandal a few years back where Republican Congressmen had access to Democratic electronic communications?
tobie
@JPL: @Bobby Thomson: Well, there are no good explanation of how Whelan got Ford’s name before she went public. These people are so abominable.
PJ
@TenguPhule: See, corporate welfare does work!
JPL
@JPL: Maybe he only meant the ones investigating Russia’s interference in the election.
hmm
lamh36
MisterForkbeard
@tobie: That was my question as well – if Kavanaugh told Whelan before she went public, then that’s game set and match; he clearly lied about not knowing anything about it.
If Whelan got it after Feinstein referred it to the FBI that’s a different kettle of fish but still pretty bad.
lamh36
Well damn..now THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT…call them racist family members OUT!!
MisterForkbeard
@lamh36: Yep. It’s maddening.
lamh36
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh36: Almost as good as Obama’s “Please proceed, Governor.”
Percysowner
Then there is this ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=60&v=IZuayQFD51w I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the Goser family Thanksgiving this year.
J R in WV
@trollhattan:
There were a ton of Eastern Buffalo, so many that there was Buffalo Running Grass, more recently endangered, but making a comeback from the ATVs running on the trails first formed by buffalo. Turns out that the Buffalo Running Grass needed to be squeezed hard – back in the day by buffalo hooves, nowadays by ATV tires.
TenguPhule
@burnspbesq:
So if this were a game of Mario Kart you’d say the Koopa Troopa that already had Toad peel his banana managed to catch up to Luigi and tried to squid ink his screen?
MisterForkbeard
@lamh36: Just donated 100 to Beto. He did well in that debate, I’m curious to see how the media covers it.
MisterForkbeard
@tobie: Apparently the current information is that Whelan did this within 90 minutes of the White Hoise learning about it.
So most likely, the White House immediately leaked it to Whelan and other conservative activists.
burnspbesq
@TenguPhule:
If that means what I think it means, basically yeah.
lamh36
@Percysowner: Look… I have 5 sisters… WHAT DA FUQ kinda person you gotta be to get 6 of your siblings to speak in an ad to support your opponent!!!
WOW!
WaterGirl
@lamh36: I know, I know! A total fucking racist dick?
Ruckus
@lamh36:
I’d say not a very good one.
But we already know that. They are just confirming.
J R in WV
@Percysowner:
OMG, you gotta watch this political ad – This Congressman Gosar guy has like 6 or 7 brothers and sisters, and they all are in the ad for Dr Brill, his opponent, whole heartedly, just ask them. Amazing, killer political commercial. I’m gonna contribute right now.