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Archive for May, 2015

I am sure we all join the Clintons with our thoughts and prayers for the family at this difficult time of tragic loss.  Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of one gone way too soon.

My heart is broken for the family of Beau Biden—a wonderful man who served his country with devotion and lived his life with courage. -H

Hillary & I mourn the loss of Beau Biden – so full of life, love, honor, and service – and we pray for the strength of his wonderful family.

Sunday
May 31
2015

Statement from President Clinton and Secretary Clinton on the Passing of Beau Biden

Statement

Hillary and I mourn the loss and give thanks for the life of Beau Biden, so full of love, honor and service – and we pray for the strength of his wonderful family. He was a son to be proud of, a brother to cherish, a husband and father to love and be grateful for. The pain of his loss is so great because his life was so large and good.

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Because it is simply so loving and touching, I am also sharing Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement and sending him wishes for a speedy recovery.

Statement on the Passing of Beau Biden

Press Statement

John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
May 31, 2015

Teresa and I are heartbroken for Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill, and Joe, and particularly for Beau and Hallie’s two remarkable children, Hunter and Natalie. Beau’s loss is crushing for everyone lucky enough to have known him and the whole Biden family, because you can’t know them without feeling their overwhelming love for each other – for family.

For the Bidens, being there for each other was and is everything. Any real conversation with Joe was about family and how much he and Jill loved their children and grandchildren.

Life for them is family.

I’ll never forget what Joe Biden said to me about Beau while he was serving his country in Iraq. Beau had just turned down what some considered the opportunity of a lifetime, to be appointed to the Senate seat his Dad had held for almost 40 years.

“Beau is just so good,” Joe said. “He’s so good.”

What an all-encompassing statement about how much Joe loved his eldest son and how much Beau loved his Dad.

Beau Biden was a son any father might hope to raise, and Joe Biden is the kind of father any boy would want. It made their relationship special. Beau also was special.

I got to know him just listening to Joe talk in the Senate cloakroom about his boys. Then I was fortunate to spend time with Beau when he first ran for Attorney General in 2006. He went off to war two years later. He didn’t have to go. He didn’t have to do any of it. But he was filled with a sense of honor, duty, and humility – to the core. He was a class act, period, ingrained with integrity, compassion, a sense of moral obligation to help others, and especially people who were hurting.

All that and more has long been ingrained in the Biden family, which has experienced pain before and come out stronger at the broken places, as Hemingway wrote so poignantly.

As we know, there are some things only God can explain. The tragic loss of the good, the young and the brave has haunted me for a long, long time now – and again today, with Beau’s passing.

A few years ago, Joe, who, tragically, was already speaking from experience, described the period after losing a loved one as akin to “that black hole you feel in your chest, like you’re being sucked back into it.” But Joe has also said there comes a day “when the thought of your son or daughter, or your husband or wife, brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes.”

As usual, Joe said it better than anyone else could. And while I know it may not come soon, Teresa and I wish that same peace for the Biden family, and all those who love them.

That’s the solace we all rely on as we mourn Beau Biden and extend our profound shared sorrow to all the Biden family.

Biden family statement

It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life.

The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau’s spirit will live on in all of us—especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter.

Beau’s life was defined by service to others. As a young lawyer, he worked to establish the rule of law in war-torn Kosovo. A major in the Delaware National Guard, he was an Iraq War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star. As Delaware’s Attorney General, he fought for the powerless and made it his mission to protect children from abuse.

More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father’s saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did.

In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.

Rest in heavenly peace, Beau.

You can leave your personal message of sympathy at this White House book of condolences. 

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Anita Finlay invited friends, fans, and followers to her exciting new website, this week.  Featuring interviews, op-eds, and news from all corners of 2016Land, it promises to be a go-to spot for all who want to stay informed on this exciting election cycle.

Subscribe free to my new website — great articles & video in an inviting new format. Go to http://www.anitafinlay.com and get my latest on Hillary, social, political and pop culture in your inbox!

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Current offerings there include an interview with feminist filmmaker and writer Jennifer Hall Lee whose article at The Broad Side this week, took the weepy press corps to task for tantrums rivaling the one little Claudia Chaudhary threw in front of President Obama this week.

 

Hillary’s Listening Tour Makes Media Angry. Poor Babies!

Younger, hipper and less traditional media members, like Buzzfeed’s Ruby Cramer,  totally get what a listening tour is, are patiently following this phase of the campaign,  and know that ultimately, when Hillary has listened for awhile, she will unveil a message that will pack a wallop.

Hillary is organized, deliberate, and methodical.  During this listening phase she is taking it all in. Before long, she will explain how she, as POTUS, plans to address the concerns she is hearing from Americans.  I do not expect that to be a one-word solution.   It is a big reason why I love her.

Finally, earlier today in characteristic cordial fashion, Hillary welcomed Martin O.Malley to the arena.

 

 

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Amid the flurry of activity this week, the announcement from the  New York Times  of a new edition of Hillary’s story from Bluewater got lost in the shuffle.

Credit Bluewater Productions

Bluewater Productions, which publishes comic book biographies, has come down with 2016 presidential campaign fever. On Wednesday the company will release “Hillary Clinton: The Road to the White House,” written by Michael L. Frizell and illustrated by Joe Paradise. It follows the release of a comic devoted to Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, and there are plans for comics focusing on Jeb Bush, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

Read more >>>>

This edition follows two previous editions of Hillary’s story.  A 2008 offering came on the heels of her first presidential campaign.

BLUEWATER BREAKS NEW GROUND WITH BIOGRAPHY ON SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON

BELLINGHAM, WASH. (September 23 , 2008) — Bluewater is pleased to present a unique venture in the history of comic books, a biography featuring the historical Hilary Clinton. The comic will be released in January for Inauguration Day.

Undoubtedly historic, Hillary Clinton’s life has had a major impact on politics over the last twenty years. From her beginnings at Wellesley to her battle for the democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton has changed a battered political landscape for women in ways that we are only beginning to comprehend.

“We’re excited to bring this book to the table,” says Bluewater’s Vice President Jason Schultz.“There are a couple comics focusing on John McCain and Barack Obama, we wanted to feature Hilary who broke all the rules in this election and made history”

Read more >>>>

In mid-2011, Bluewater Productions’ Political Power debuted starring Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

 Bluewater is making a library of biographical materials about presidential hopefuls available for young readers.  The GOP must be keeping them hopping!

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Here is a great example of how Hillary Clinton innovates, teaches, and generates change.  A little while ago, her Twitter account tweeted this quote from her speech at Day in Blue today.

Hillary on equal pay: “This is not a women’s issue. This is a family issue. This is an American economic issue.”

For seven years I have posted remarks Hillary has made here in the U.S. and all over the world on issues that I have automatically tagged “women’s issues.”  You can search that category here and come up with pages and pages of posts with that tag.

But the truth about these issues is what Hillary said today, and I shall have to create a new, and more powerful tag:  NOT a women’s issue. 

For many years, George Lakoff, linguist and political commentator,  has been busting his suspenders over the way Democrats have allowed Republicans to control framing.  Here is a sample.  There are many.

George Lakoff: Progressives Need to Use Language That Reflects Moral Values

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 10:00 By Mark Karlin, Truthout | Interview

OK, so he doesn’t wear suspenders.  He just looks like the kind of guy who would.  The point is that for decades Democrats have allowed Republicans to control the language of policy-making and legislation.

In Hillary Clinton,  Democrats may have the candidate who can change all of that,  Hillary is inventive where language is concerned, so much so that when her 2008 campaign site urged us to follow her on Twitter I thought she invented brand-name.  It sounded like something she would make up, and I asked her that on Twitter after I joined.  Who had ever heard of a “townterview” before Hillary became Secretary of State?

She may not have laid out a platform yet, but Hillary has, since she began her public speaking tour in 2013, been drawing the blueprint, and it involves changing points of view by changing the way we talk about things.  Framing, in the end, is really all about how often people encounter issues ensconced in specific terms.  We can help change the frequency and the terms.

Today she made something clear.  “Pink” issues are red, white, and blue issues.  If we adopt her phrase as a tag and a hashtag we can go a long way toward establishing some of the viewpoints Hillary is going to be advocating.  In other words, we can help her reframe the issues by adopting her vocabulary.

I have never failed to learn something by listening to Hillary.  Her 1000 Days initiative taught us how providing good (and surprisingly inexpensive) maternal and child nutrition over the 1000 days from conception to age two can change the future, not just for families, but also for nations.  Her Clean Cookstoves  Initiative taught us how cooking over unsafe fuels affects the health and lives of billions of people all over the world.

When Hillary Clinton speaks, there is always something to learn.  I have learned today that I can help  her reframe how we talk about (frame) and then see things by changing how I categorize them.

P.S.  Something else I just learned.  I think the hashtag works better if you leave the apostrophe out.  #NotAWomensIssue   *sigh*

What has Hillary Clinton taught you?

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It should be safe to call this volume one since it is pretty certain Hillary will return to the Palmetto State in the future.  Might as well be organized from the start!

In the state capital today, Hillary gave the keynote speech at the Third Annual Day in Blue at the Columbia Marriott.  She told women legislators and leaders that she is running to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue again and wants to reverse a trend.  Since she has been coloring her hair for years, she told the audience, no one will see her turn white in the White House.

Video of this event here >>>>

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Last stop of the day:  Columbia’s Main Street Bakery where she sat down with Frederick Donnie Hunt.

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“We need to raise wages for the lowest paid jobs in America—which are disproportionately held by women, especially women of color.” –HRC

Hillary on equal pay: “This is not a women’s issue. This is a family issue. This is an American economic issue.”

HRC: “When any parent is short-changed, the entire family is short-changed. And when families are short-changed, America is short-changed.”

“Everyday Americans need a champion…who will fight for them every single day. Not for some Americans but for ALL Americans.”

First stop in Columbia? Chicken, waffles, and good conversation at Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles.

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Back in February, 2011, I spotlighted Karen Finney in a post at The  Department of Homegirl Security.

Meet Karen Finney

Having introduced,  last night,  the brilliant young woman whom I see as an up and coming leader, a powerhouse,  for the traditional principles of the Democratic Party, I thought I would share a little more about her.  Do not go looking for her on Wikipedia.  She is not there!  I have no idea why not.  But I have seen parts of her story at Mulatto.org.

https://i0.wp.com/images.politico.com/global/arena/karen_finney_250.jpg

The story I found at that website was poignant.  It was sad, challenging, triumphant, sweet, and hers.  The first time I read it, I welled up.

Read more >>>>

When I posted that, Karen was appearing regularly on several MSNBC offerings and occasionally filled in as a host for Martin Bashir’s hour.  I was spending all of my TV time then watching cable news (a holdover habit from 2007-2008 and preceding my giving that up for Advent in 2013) and was in a pretty good position to see that Karen was no run-of-the-mill anchor and brought a special brand of mellow fierceness to reportage that I saw in no one else on cable news.  She exemplified the iron fist in a velvet glove with her calm, lovely demeanor as she lit sticks of dynamite.

One example of  Karen’s  effect at MSNBC was her unmasking of ALEC  (American Legislative Exchange Council) behind the Stand Your Ground laws in many states, including Florida, in the wake of George Zimmerman’s fatal attack on Trayvon Martin.  No one, in my experience of viewing multiple hours of MSNBC,  had ever mentioned ALEC.  But after Karen filled in for Bashir that day, it seemed that not an hour went by without some anchor bringing up ALEC.

If you do a search of her name at The Department of Homegirl Security a healthy few pages of preview blurbs come up because Karen never pulls a punch and, as a result, took a few in return.  The homegirls did what homegirls do – we defended and supported her – usually by using her own words which are always right on target.

Finney friends and fans were delighted when she released this news on Facebook last month.  Great news!!! Karen Finney Joins Team Hillary!  We all had long known Karen in association with Hillary, so it was no surprise that Karen was back in Hillary’s office, but,  with the announcement coming from Karen herself,  it did send a coded message to one and all that a bigger announcement was coming as indeed it did just six days later.

Hillary could not have chosen a smarter, stronger, or better experienced person for this job.  Like Hillary, Karen is charming, lovely, brilliant,  and no-nonsense.  So as Karen’s fan and friend, it is with delight that I share Nina Easton’s portrait of her in Fortune.  Thank you, Nina and thank you Fortune!  Well done!

 

Meet the woman who speaks for Hillary Clinton

Go Karen!!! Rock on!!!

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When Bill Clinton rallied voters in Little Falls for Jon Corzine the day after Hillary’s birthday in 2009, he said that he loves Passaic County because we were the county that put him over the top in New Jersey in 1992.

That was an unsettling evening for me because,  bad as I am at lip-reading,  I clearly saw WJC say  “She’s safe” to Bill Pascrell who was suddenly several shades paler than usual.  I tried, later, to fight my way to the front of the crowd to ask him “Safe from what?”  Being kind of small, I failed.

The next morning we all knew that a market in Peshawar had been bombed timed to coincide with Hillary’s first official visit to Pakistan as Secretary of State.  The death toll neared 100.  That day, Hillary stood resolute and strong before the Pakistani people and reassured them.

 

She was as presidential that day as the Resolute Desk I still thought should have been hers.

Now she is once again asking us to hire her as our champion, and the word has gone out in New Jersey.  Passaic County is strong on Clintons, and Tuesday evening the excitement at the VFW  Hall in Clifton was palpable.

The Passaic County for Hillary crowd turned out big-time along with folks from Bergen, Essex, and Hudson Counties among others.   The very rough and conservative estimate was 150.  There could have been more.  One participant came from Easton, PA!

Jenny Davis, the  Grassroots Organizer for New Jersey,  led the meeting, asked attendees to introduce themselves briefly, and took notes as people gave buzz-word reasons why they support Hillary for President.

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I could not reduce my reasons to a single word or three.  My reasons are the archive of this blog and more.  So I just gave my URL.  It is all here at Still4Hill.com.  I am not sure I made it onto the roster, but that’s  OK.

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Clifton Councilwoman Lauren Murphy and Vice Chair Barbara Tanis of Passaic County Dems  also had a few words for the assembly.

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Participants broke into small discussion groups for a time.  Each group had a facilitator who took notes.

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When the crowd reassembled some ideas were shared and folks were encouraged to sign up for action groups prior to leaving.

One particularly interesting, charming, knowledgeable, and funny person I was honored to meet  was Dr. Bhmooz of Montclair.  He is a nuclear physicist who told us that he has known  Hillary since before Chelsea was born when he was involved in a nuclear energy project in Arkansas.   He worked on her 2008 campaign, and thinks people do not really know how funny Hillary is.  (Not a problem here.)  His advice is for Hillary to market her great sense of humor.  We agree!

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Before the crowd dispersed, there was the compulsory group photo.  It was impossible for me to get the whole group into one photo.

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Maybe Sharon did a little better.

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And, of course, we signed up!

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All’s well that ends well … and BIG!

Note to Still4Hillers:

It’s a little like freshman orientation at college.  Everyone there has the same SAT and ACT scores as you (or higher)  Their GPAs are as good as yours. Some have a similar roster of HS activities and many do not.   Some graduated from Hillary HS in 2008 with you.  Others – more than I expected – came from Barack Obama HS classes 2008 and 2012.  More than I expected did not seem to be very social media savvy.  They do not know what we have been doing online for the past seven years.  They do not have that history.  It is a gap that needs to be bridged.

And then … there were a few young actionnaires who can’t even vote yet.  The early acceptance kids who always blow the rest of us away with their algorithms.  They introduce themselves and you just go  “Awwww ….”  or anyway, I did.

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It is now possible to buy your official Hillary Clinton gear online.   There are plenty of sources of merchandise bearing Hillary’s name, likeness, and quotes, but only at this official site is your purchase guaranteed to assist Hillary’s campaign.

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Thank you, Rumana Alvi, for these great pictures!

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Hillary for America

Friend —

I learned the meaning of Memorial Day from my father, Hugh.

During World War II, my dad was a chief petty officer at the Great Lakes Naval Station outside of Chicago, responsible for training thousands of sailors before they went to the Pacific Theater. Sometimes, my dad accompanied his trainees to the West Coast before they shipped out. He told me later that it broke his heart to know that some of them would never come home.

When my dad died twenty-two years ago, many sailors who had served under him sent me letters and photographs. My favorite photo shows my dad in his uniform smiling broadly. To me, he looked as handsome as any 1940s movie star. It meant a great deal to me that these men took time to honor my dad, the same way my dad taught us to honor those who fell in the line of duty.

Today, I hope we’ll all take a moment to remember the many men and women who gave their lives to protect our country. These brave Americans knew that freedom is earned by each new generation.

My thoughts today are with those families whose sons and daughters sacrificed so much so that all our children can be safe. I hope all of us will honor their memories with our own service to our country, and to each other.

Thank you,

Hillary

We have a sacred responsibility to those who serve and sacrifice for this country—today we remember and honor the values they fought for. -H

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Clintons march in Chappaqua, NY, Memorial Day parade

Adam Edelman NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Today
article-hillary-0525
Hillary Clinton returned to her adopted hometown of Chappaqua, N.Y., on Monday to march in the village’s annual Memorial Day Parade.

The recently minted presidential candidate, sporting a navy blue sweater and an American flag-themed scarf, was all smiles as she walked down the streets of the town of 1,500 alongside her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Read more >>>>

 

 

Some video here >>>> LI_05-25-2015_ClintonsLeadParade_CF_5pm.mov.

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Yesterday, the New York Times published a pdf of emails pertaining to Libya.  Today, the State Department provided 592 emails at its Virtual Reading Room site.   Hillary reiterated to the press gaggle today her hope for earlier rather than later releases of all email the department deems safe to publish.

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Go to the Department of State Virtual Reading Room to access the emails >>>>

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