Democratic Debate Tweets (2 of 3): Starring Martin O'Malley as Hercules

Here is our second tweet script from tonight's debate at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. These tweets were taken as Martin O'Malley (pict. top) the former Democratic governor of Maryland took the stage.

 One female tweeter's enthusiasm for his physical appearance made us decide to compare him with Hercules, last played on film by Lou Ferrigno (pict. bottom), well, not that may not be entirely accurate!

Brer Rabbitt (pict. center) is our way of making sun of the South (my mom's side of the family is actually from South Carolina). On a personal note, my late grandfather Dudley "Doc" Sturgis taught at Winthrop. Here are the tweets:

1) Jessica Taylor (NPR): O'Malley applauds Obama on Keystone decision but not Secy. Clinton got there just last week.

2) Abby Miles: Could not be prouder to be a student at Winthrop University than I am tonight.

3) John Iodorola (Liberal talk show host/producer): On O'Malley's etch-a-sketch, he's winning in a landslide.

4) Dayna Colbert: I'm loving this. We need more forums.

5) Rachel Wright: O'Malley brought up the zeitgeist. I love fancy words.

6) David Doyen ("Salon"): None of the things O'Malley is saying will help him in the South.

7) Phillip Kessler: Candidates get to talk turkey without interruption from other candidates.

8) Kay Hanley: Martin O'Malley has ripped abs and glistening pecs but for some reason he insists on being in politics.

9) Toasty Poptart (Bernie Sanders supporter): I don't hate Martin O'Malley, but he has ZERO chance. He's barely a contender. This is a waste of time.

http://www.winthrop.edu

https://martinomalley.com/

Democratic Debate Forum Tweets from Winthrop U in Rock Hill, SC (1 of 3): Larry David 2016

Tonight, we give you live tweets from the Democratic Debate/Forum aired on MSNBC (which we are taping, but first we want to inform the world that the University of North Carolina women's volleyball featuring Paige Neunfeldt (pict. bottom) won on the road at Syracuse University by a score of 3-1 (25-19; 18-25; 26-24; 25-21). Kudos to the Tar Heels.

The Democratic debate took place at Winthrop University (center image is school mascot) in Rock Hill, SC, where my late grandfather Dudley "Doc" Sturgis once taught economics.

Though we didn't find any tweets we could use referring to comedian/actor Larry David (pict. top), there was much mention of him as he played presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) who was joined at Eagles U by Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley.

Since the last debate in Las Vegas, candidates Jim Webb and Lincoln Chaffee have dropped out of the race.

Here we go; most of these tweets were right before the start of the forum. Others are about politics or political views  in general:

1) Winthrop U: As Byrnes Auditorium filled up before the forum, attendees took time to document the special night with selfies.

2) Jim Bradley (A WSOC-TV reporter; ABC/Charlotte, NC): "Supporters outside Byrnes Auditorium. National spotlight on Rock Hill, SC. I'll let you know what the candidates say."

3) Bernie Sanders (from earlier in the day): Anybody who suppresses the vote, who intentionally tries to keep people people from voting, is a political coward. They are undermining democracy." (Ahhh, it's too bad Sanders didn't run against Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey; we aren't a fan of his).

4) Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va., from earlier in the day): Effects of climate change in VA are real. Sea levels rise and recurrent flooding putting community of Hampton Roads at most serious risk."

5) Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC, from earlier): "The president's rejection of Keystone XL pipeline, which has strong bipartisan support, is shameful."

6) Anna Douglas (newspaper reporter for "The Rock Hill Herald"): "The stage seats are full now too. I see many Winthrop students. They look excited."

7) David Corn (liberal journalist with "Mother Jones" referring to the next GOP debate): "Chris Christie in the kiddie debate will be like Godzilla against the kittens."

8) Michael Clark (WBTV-TV; CBS/Charlotte, NC): A mix of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Sanders supporters outside forum.

9) Chris Cillizza (Washington Post blog "The Fix" discussing GOP contender Ben Carson): "Just to avoid future controversy; I applied to Stanford. They saw fit not to admit me."

Presdiential Quote (16 of 16): Grover Cleveland (again..........)

Well, we couldn't resist............


Due to time constraints and our hopes to post another entry later in the day/evening/night, we are cutting to the chase with a quote from Grover Cleveland, the only president to hold two terms non-consecutively:

"Officeholders are the agents of the people, not their masters."

Presidential Quotes (14 of 16): Grover Cleveland

Today, we quote president Grover Cleveland, who is the only president to serve two non-consecutively. Cleveland was thus both the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, so we will actually quote him twice. Cleveland, whose first term in office was from 1885-1889, was the only Democratic president from 1861-1913.

As it turns out, the city of Cleveland, Ohio was not named for Grover Cleveland but a general named Moses Cleaveland. There are Grover Cleveland High Schools in New York, Buffalo and Reseda, Calif.

Here is his quote:

"The United States is not a nation to which peace is a necessity."

http://www.millercenter.org/president/cleveland

Presidential Quotes (7 of 16): James Buchanan

Today, we quote James Buchanan (1791-1868), a Democrat who was the 15th president of the United States. He is surprisingly the only person from Pennsylvania, one of America's most populous states, to be elected to the presidency though ultra-conservative former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania tried to win the Republican nomination, that went to Mitt Romney, in the last election cycle.

Buchanan was also the only life-long bachelor to occupy the White House. He actually won a three-way race for the president over former prez Millard Fillmore and John C. Fremont, who was the first U.S. Senator from California.

Of course, the president after Buchanan was Abraham Lincoln.........but, here is the quote from Buchanan:

"The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among free men."

Presidential Quotes (6 of 16): Franklin Pierce, the Only President from New Hampshire

Greetings to our blog-readers in Canada, The Bahamas and Peru.

When one plays the "Name All the Presidents" trivia game on the web site for "Mental Floss" magazine, President Franklin Pierce, the 14th president and the only to hail from the Granite State, New Hampshire, may be one of the names one is most likely to forget.

But, Pierce, who served in office from 1853-57, was able to overcome the tea party radicals of his day, and defeat the conservative Whig Party candidate Winfield Scott by a 50-44 margin. Pierce's veep was William King, from Alabama, who alas died of tuberculosis a mere 45 days after becoming vice president.

Here is his quote: "Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion."

http://www.millercenter.org/presidents/pierce

http://www.mentalfloss.com

http://www.visitnh.org

Pre-Convention Tweets from Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC

One ironic thing we found out while putting this together is that the Carolina Panthers, the football team for Charlotte, NC, the city hosting the Democratic National Convention (DNC) will be playing their first game on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Tampa, Fla., is the city that hosted the Republican National Convention, which ended with Mitt Romney's platform speech on Thursday night.

But, today, we are posting tweets from earlier this afternoon regarding the DNC in Charlotte. The images above are of: 1) James Taylor, the folk/adult contemporary singer will be performing at the DNC on Thursday; Taylor is a North Carolina native. 2) The donkey is the traditional mascot of the Democratic Party and 3) a cheerleader for the Carolina Panthers.

Here are the tweets:

1. @DavidCornDC (David Corn, a liberal journalist who works for "Mother Jones"): Already time for another convention. Anyone have any suggestions what to do in Charlotte tonight?

2. @BuzzFeedAndrew (Andrew Laczynski): Occupy Protestors of DNC Banks got bailed out. Charlotte got sold out. Remind me again what stadium the DNC is in.

3. @karentravers (Karen Travers): 10 copies of Sunday NY Times at 7-11 near my Charlotte airport hotel. I can't even find it in Northwest DC sometimes! Well done Queen City!

4. @TheClothier (William Wilson): 90% of the population of Uptown Charlotte are police officers. I've never felt so safe, yet so trapped.

5. @ChuckTodd (Chuck Todd, a White House correspondent for NBC News): In place on floor of Charlotte Convention, will be doing a quick report on gender battleground state politics for @meethepress.

6. @debprice50 (Deb Price, a right-wing Tea Party activist): Obama campaign says it will fill football stadium for convention finale....yeah...right.

7. @LOLGOP (A satirical pro-Democrat tweeter): Silence has asked Mitt Romney to stop using its stuff at his rallies.

http://www.demconvention.com

http://www.demconvetnion.com/blog/

http://www.ncdp.org

http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.nbcnews.com

http://www.panthers.com

Quote of the Day- Gary Sinise

Today, we continue our series of quotes from actors who have played real-life presidents with a quip from Gary Sinise, 57, who has been on the CBS police drama "CSI:New York" since 2004.

Ironically, Sinise, a Republican, played President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat in the HBO film "Truman" (1995). Alas, this week's that film's director Frank Pierson, also an Oscar-winning screenwriter, died at age 87 this week.

Sinise was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the film "Forrest Gump" (1994) with Tom Hanks. in spite of political differences Sinise is reportedly a close friend with Hanks, a Democrat, and the two have appeared in six films together, including "Forrest Gump," which also won a Best Actor for Hanks and a Best Picture Oscar.

Recently, Sinise gave a benefit concert in Martinsville, Va., for area resident Marine J.B. Kerns, who lost both legs and his right arm resulting from an explosive device while he was serving in Afghanistan, with the actor's musical group The Lt. Dan Band, named after Sinise's character in "Forrest Gump."

The concert was a part of the Hope for Warriors project which Sinise is involved in.

The Harry S. Truman Museum and Library is located in Independence, Missouri.

Here is Sinise's quote:

"Sometimes you're in great demand. Then suddenly your career hits the brakes."

http://www.hopeforthearriors.org

http://www.garysinise.org

http://www.trumanlibrary.org

http//www.visitindependence.com

http://www.visitmartinsville.com

Quote of the Day/Week- Thomas Jefferson

Today, we continue quoting the first eight American presidents in honor of the up-coming presidential election in the United States in November. Egypt just had elections over weekend, and Mexico is expected to hold them this week.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), one of eight presidents to come from Virginia and the first one from the Democratic Party, has approximately 16 high schools named after him, including ones in Alexandria, Va., Brooklyn, NY, and Dallas, Tex.

The late comic actor Danny Kaye (1913-1987) who our sixth grader teacher mistakenly told us was dead (this was 1982, he did indeed die five years later) graduated from the JHS in Brooklyn, while actress Brenda Vaccaro, who is alive and presumably well, graduated from the school of the same name in Dallas.

Jefferson's historic home Monticello is a major tourist destination in Charlottesville, Va. I was supposed to go there on an ninth-grade field trip, but I overslept (the bus left at circa 7:30 p.m.) ...oh well!

Here is Jefferson's quote:

 "A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit."

http://www.monticello.org

Quote of the Day/Week-Harry S. Truman

Today, we conclude our quotes from former vice presidents of the United States, with Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) who also became president. In fact, Truman, a Missouri native, spent less than three months as veep before he took the oval office due to Franklin D. Roosevelt's passing. In addition to Truman, John Garner and Henry Wallace were vice presidents during the FDR years.

Truman is also famous for defeating centrist Republican Thomas Dewey, who had been governor of New York, in the 1948 election. Erroneous reports that Dewey had in fact been the victor lead to the famous photo of Truman holding up a newspaper with the headline: "Dewey Beats Truman."

A man with the president's name, Harry R. Truman, a resident of Washington state at the time of the Mount St. Helens' eruption of 1980 became famous for his stubborn unwillingness to leave his home, and he thus became one of the 57 casualties from the catastrophe.

Interestingly enough, (president) Truman, a Democrat, was portrayed in the 1995 film "Truman" by a then-40-year old Gary Sinise, now the star of "CSI: New York," who is one of the most outspoken Republicans in Hollywood.

In Jefferson City, Missouri, the state capital of Truman's native state, it was 86 degrees today.

Here is Truman's partisan quote:

"A bureaucrat is a Democrat who holds some office that a Republican wants."

Thanks to those of you in South Africa, Norway and Poland who visited our blog today.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org

Quote of the Day/Week- Al Gore

Today, we continue our month-long series of quotes from American vice presidents. Today, we quip Al Gore, 64, who served under President Bill Clinton, who is for some strange trending on Twitter today. My fellow progressive Turkish-American Cenk Uygur hosts "The Young Turks," a progressive political talk show on Gore's Current-TV at 7:00 p.m.

Gore is also known for being an advocate for global warming, which seems to be quite accurate given that Minnesota is now as hot as Alabama on any given day in July.

We have a quote from Walter Mondale, who served under President Jimmy Carter, on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."

Here is Gore's quote:

"The day I made that statement about inventing the Internet, I was tired because I'd been up all night inventing the camcorder."http://www.algore.com
http://www.current.com

Quote of the Day/Week_ Bill Clinton

Today, we continue to quote the last eight presidents of the United States (others are listed on our other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time") in honor of the upcoming November presidential election here in America, with a quip from President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and the first person from the state of Arkansas to become president. The Bill Clinton Presidential Library is located in that state's capital of Little Rock.

Here is the quote:

"Sometimes when people are under stress, they hate to think, and it's the time when they most need to think."

Quote of the Week- John F. Kennedy

Today, we continue with quips from famous New Englanders with a quote from the legendary Democratic President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). The 'forever young' president who was 46 when he was assasinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Tex., would be 94 today.

Here is his quote:

"A man may die, nations may rise, but an idea lives on."

Kennedy was born in Brookline, Mass., on May 29, 1917, and the JFK Library is located in Boston.

SIDEBAR ONE: Gazooks! It was 107 degrees today in Little Rock, Ark., today where the Bill Clinton Library is located.

SIDEBAR TWO: PBS will air the first episode of "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided" tonight, local times may vary.

SIDEBAR THREE: Michelle Goldberg of "The Daily Beast" is reporting that far, far-right Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who is currently a congresswoman from Minnesota, is the first GOP candidate to sign a pledge to fight pornography and 'find a cure' for homosexuality!

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Senator Talks Sports

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), one of our entries in the now-defunct Know Your Congressional Rep and Senators series (that was as popular as Porky Pig cartoons in Pakistan), tweeted tonight that she was delighted to see her beloved University of Missouri tigers stun top-ranked Oklahoma in college football:

"WE WON!!! So special to see The Tigers beat those Sooners!! So much fun. And, we deserved to win."

Of course, this being the political the right-wing web site fireandreamitchell.com, which presumably believes everyone to the left of Newt Gingrich is as radical as Che Guevara, cited the Missouri senator and made her out to be The Joker from "Batman."

And, to think some 45 percent of my fellow Americans share this idiotic far-right political views, especially in places like the tiny Shenandoah Valley hamlet of Toms Brook, Va.!

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Model T-Ford (1908)

The town of Rocky Mount, Va., in Franklin County located between Martinsville and Roanoke, will be hosting an old car show this weekend. So, we thought we'd feature a photo of a 1908 Model-T Ford even though we have no idea if this particular car will be among those at the show. The area is most known around the state, and perhaps around the world for its many moonshine still though most are no longer in existence.

I must profess that as I drove through the area this weekend that I was wondering if the Franklin County Democratic Party was now outlawed as signs for far-right Tea Party Republicans were everywhere in view as were militant pro-life billboards. Similarly, many churches in the area (also in neighboring Henry County, Va.) had very overt, anti-Obama messages--so much for the separation of church and state along Route 220!

Apparently, the Franklin County Democratic Party in Rocky Mount does in fact still exist, but when we did an arbitrary web search for the organization we stumbled upon the web site http://www.fcdp.org

I got quite excited before I realized it was the web site for the Franklin County Democratic Party in Columbus, Ohio!

Silly Picture to Fill Space- A Donkey

Today, I am posting images of a donkey and an elephant on our two blogs since the health care debate has finally been settled as Democrats in the House successfully passed the bill in spite of Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) declaring that the bill was a greater threat to domestic security than Osama bin Laden.

The State of North Carolina, where I reside, actually has eight House members from the Democratic Party. But, surprisingly enough three of them including Cong. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) did not vote for the bill.

While researching this piece, I found out that Jews and Arabs actually agree on something!

According to Wikipedia, 39 percent of Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans have tended to vote Democratic since the Iraq War, which is now entering its seventh year. 26 percent of the same demographic vote Republican.

Meanwhile 70% of Jewish Americans vote Democratic as well though ironically Judaism is the faith of Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va), the arch conservative minority whip who many Democrats cite for making passage of the bill quite difficult.

David Young, a Greensboro businessman, is the current chair of North Carolina Democratic Party.

Donkeys happen to quite popular in my late father's country Turkey, which reportedly sold a donkey to the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan for $18,200 in 2009. But, Yashar Aliyev, the Azeri ambassador in Washington, DC, assuredly probably has too many other important things to deal with to confirm or deny this for me.

There is also a place called Donkey Island in Turkey off the coast of the resort town of Cesme in the Aegean across from the Greek island of Chios.

Cesme, Turkey, was actually sister cities with the town of Wise, Va., in the far southwestern part of my home state.

Former Virginia governor Tim Kaine is now the national head of the Democratic Party.

Know Your Senators and Congressional Reps (13 of 21)

Everyone knows that Pennsylvania Senator Arlene Spectre (R-Pa) became Sen. Arlene Spector (D-Pa), but fewer people seem familiar with his counterpart, who is actually the ever unusual pro-life Democrat.

Is this Senator, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and is pictured here:

A) Chuck Schumer

B) Norm Coleman

C) Bob Casey Jr.

D) Mark Warner

NOTE (6/6/09): The answer is Bob Casey Jr. We had initially butchered Sen. Spector's name, but we sincerely apologize for that error although I'd be surprised if he stops by this blog.