The Children's Party was attracting considerable attention around the United States as young parents, single mothers, and grandparents jumped on board its platform of children's rights and children's dignity. That, naturally, attracted candidates to the Party, and soon the woman known only as Liza and her ten-year-old daughter, Briley, had become political celebrities.
Relentlessly shy and modest, Liza was reluctant to put herself in the spotlight. But, as her political party attracted more followers, she and Briley became the focal point. For the good of the mission, Liza finally consented to doing something she never thought she'd ever do in her life: making public speeches before crowds of people. She started out talking to small groups of womens' organizations, PTAs, and childrens' rights groups. Soon she was being asked to speak at large rallies of fervent followers. Presidential and Congressional candidates wishing to run on the Children's Party ticket clamored for Liza's attention, begging for her endorsement and support.
"Why is it," Liza reiterated at many rallies, "that someone convicted of smoking marijuana for medicinal puposes can be jailed for thirty years, yet a convicted child molester can be paroled in less than five?" The Bush-infested U.S. Supreme Court had intervened in two cases during its 2007 session that had caused public outcry. One involved a 67-year-old Mississippi man who had been caught smoking marijuana in bar. Even though it was his own, home-grown stash used to treat a serious eye disease, he had failed to go through the proper legal procedures to obtain legal permission to use an illegal drug. The Bush administration, in its infinite wisdom, decided this trivial oversight was worthy of spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to prosecute. The case had lingered in smaller federal courts for years before finally being heard in the Supreme Court. The man was found guilty and sentenced to thirty years in a minimum security federal prison. The other case coming before the Supreme Court just six weeks later was that of a 41-year-old child molester from Cincinnati. After several previous convictions - all of which had been plea-bargained down to lesser charges of indecent exposure or public indecency - the pervert had finally been caught in what police believed to be a 'rock-solid, iron-clad' case. Financially capable of hiring the very best battery of attorneys, the man's case ended up in the highest court of the land with lawyers arguing that he had been impaired by excessive alcohol consumption at the time, and didn't know he had viciously raped a 12-year-old girl. He had forced her to 'drink' with him, and held her captive in a twenty-one-dollar-a-night motel room for three days. Lawyers persuaded the Bush-appointed justices of the Supreme Court that this had been a travesty of justice, and that Cincinnati police had made a wrongful arrest by not following appropriate procedures. A staunch supporter of the Republican party, the man had enough political clout to reverse his conviction in a lower court. Eerily reminiscent of the case involving Congressman Mark Foley just a year earlier, the man was mandated to enter an alcohol rehabilitation center for six months of treatment before being released to - once more - prey on innocent children.
Liza and her political allies exploited both cases as examples of a judicial system rigged for the rich and influential without compassion or regard for the young victims of sexual assaults or battery. "There are millions of children that go to bed hungry every night," Liza remarked in a calm, sometimes-inaudible voice. "Thousands of American children are exploited, abused, neglected, raped, and murdered each year in this country. And we spend more time and resources trying to coddle the offenders than we do trying to protect our children. This cannot continue. There is a two-tiered system of justice in our country - one tier for the rich and one of the rest of us."
A fear of flying resulted in Liza traveling to her stomping grounds via train. Soon O.U.T.R.A.G.E. provided her with a train of her own, which included six cars, including a Pullman sleeping car and a dining car where Liza met with potential party candidates and members of the press. Everywhere her train went she was accosted by hundreds of well-wishers. Liza had struck a nerve in Americans' hearts. She wasn't just looking out for children anymore - she was becoming a vocal opponent of the money-biased judicial and legal system that had infiltrated the American consciousness. It was no longer a matter of right or wrong; it was now more a matter of how much justice one could afford to buy.
More potential candidates noticed how certain political were being given access to O.U.T.R.A.G.E. money, vehicles, television studio time, and other amenities. In the interest of total fairness, O.U.T.R.A.G.E. decided to limit such largesse before being accused of improprieties or bias. A convoy of busses, a fleet of trucks and SUVs, and an O.U.T.R.A.G.E. "freedom train" were assembled for use by any O.U.T.R.A.G.E.-approved potential political candidates. Specific routes would be scheduled, and candidates would be invited to "ride along" at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis. Each candidate would be given the identical number of seats for his or her staff, and an equal storage space for supplies, banners, and materials. For purposes of official identification, the vehicles, busses and train cars were all painted in the familiar lime green color originally used on the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. lapel buttons when the television broadcasts first began in February.
The bus used by Lynn Patrick and Patrick Hamilton for the Patrick-Patrick initiative became the 'lead' bus in a convoy of what eventually would number twenty-eight. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. contracted with a number of independently-owned auto body and paint shops to refurbish all vehicles and train cars in the bright lime green paint jobs to provide continuity and identity. "That color reminds me of the good ol' days of drug-induced psychedelic hallucinations," Patrick Hamilton remarked. "I remember seeing dayglo greens, hot pinks, and awesome oranges - all through kind of a purple haze. God, weren't the seventies great?
It was a high time!"
Political stumping suddenly was back in fashion. Instead of hopping a campaign plane, candidates could roll into a city as part of a convoy of vehicles. Come in a bus. Or, pull up at the local train depot. It provided more personable means of meeting the candidates, just as it used to be in the good ol' days before politicians started to distance themselves from their constituencies with hordes of advisors, aids, and crowd-control personnel. Of course, this was only May - and the election was still six months away. But these candidates were already beginning to attract voters, even though most of them hadn't even been designated as the authorized representatives of their respective parties. They were spending more time explaining party platforms and position papers. You didn't see the typical razzle-dazzle campaigning - yet. This was still a time for reflection (and, in some communities, mourning). This was a time for bringing people together toward specific political and social goals. Most of the members of the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. convoys had a particular message to convey. Momentum continued to build. The work continued across America.
Relentlessly shy and modest, Liza was reluctant to put herself in the spotlight. But, as her political party attracted more followers, she and Briley became the focal point. For the good of the mission, Liza finally consented to doing something she never thought she'd ever do in her life: making public speeches before crowds of people. She started out talking to small groups of womens' organizations, PTAs, and childrens' rights groups. Soon she was being asked to speak at large rallies of fervent followers. Presidential and Congressional candidates wishing to run on the Children's Party ticket clamored for Liza's attention, begging for her endorsement and support.
"Why is it," Liza reiterated at many rallies, "that someone convicted of smoking marijuana for medicinal puposes can be jailed for thirty years, yet a convicted child molester can be paroled in less than five?" The Bush-infested U.S. Supreme Court had intervened in two cases during its 2007 session that had caused public outcry. One involved a 67-year-old Mississippi man who had been caught smoking marijuana in bar. Even though it was his own, home-grown stash used to treat a serious eye disease, he had failed to go through the proper legal procedures to obtain legal permission to use an illegal drug. The Bush administration, in its infinite wisdom, decided this trivial oversight was worthy of spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to prosecute. The case had lingered in smaller federal courts for years before finally being heard in the Supreme Court. The man was found guilty and sentenced to thirty years in a minimum security federal prison. The other case coming before the Supreme Court just six weeks later was that of a 41-year-old child molester from Cincinnati. After several previous convictions - all of which had been plea-bargained down to lesser charges of indecent exposure or public indecency - the pervert had finally been caught in what police believed to be a 'rock-solid, iron-clad' case. Financially capable of hiring the very best battery of attorneys, the man's case ended up in the highest court of the land with lawyers arguing that he had been impaired by excessive alcohol consumption at the time, and didn't know he had viciously raped a 12-year-old girl. He had forced her to 'drink' with him, and held her captive in a twenty-one-dollar-a-night motel room for three days. Lawyers persuaded the Bush-appointed justices of the Supreme Court that this had been a travesty of justice, and that Cincinnati police had made a wrongful arrest by not following appropriate procedures. A staunch supporter of the Republican party, the man had enough political clout to reverse his conviction in a lower court. Eerily reminiscent of the case involving Congressman Mark Foley just a year earlier, the man was mandated to enter an alcohol rehabilitation center for six months of treatment before being released to - once more - prey on innocent children.
Liza and her political allies exploited both cases as examples of a judicial system rigged for the rich and influential without compassion or regard for the young victims of sexual assaults or battery. "There are millions of children that go to bed hungry every night," Liza remarked in a calm, sometimes-inaudible voice. "Thousands of American children are exploited, abused, neglected, raped, and murdered each year in this country. And we spend more time and resources trying to coddle the offenders than we do trying to protect our children. This cannot continue. There is a two-tiered system of justice in our country - one tier for the rich and one of the rest of us."
A fear of flying resulted in Liza traveling to her stomping grounds via train. Soon O.U.T.R.A.G.E. provided her with a train of her own, which included six cars, including a Pullman sleeping car and a dining car where Liza met with potential party candidates and members of the press. Everywhere her train went she was accosted by hundreds of well-wishers. Liza had struck a nerve in Americans' hearts. She wasn't just looking out for children anymore - she was becoming a vocal opponent of the money-biased judicial and legal system that had infiltrated the American consciousness. It was no longer a matter of right or wrong; it was now more a matter of how much justice one could afford to buy.
More potential candidates noticed how certain political were being given access to O.U.T.R.A.G.E. money, vehicles, television studio time, and other amenities. In the interest of total fairness, O.U.T.R.A.G.E. decided to limit such largesse before being accused of improprieties or bias. A convoy of busses, a fleet of trucks and SUVs, and an O.U.T.R.A.G.E. "freedom train" were assembled for use by any O.U.T.R.A.G.E.-approved potential political candidates. Specific routes would be scheduled, and candidates would be invited to "ride along" at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis. Each candidate would be given the identical number of seats for his or her staff, and an equal storage space for supplies, banners, and materials. For purposes of official identification, the vehicles, busses and train cars were all painted in the familiar lime green color originally used on the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. lapel buttons when the television broadcasts first began in February.
The bus used by Lynn Patrick and Patrick Hamilton for the Patrick-Patrick initiative became the 'lead' bus in a convoy of what eventually would number twenty-eight. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. contracted with a number of independently-owned auto body and paint shops to refurbish all vehicles and train cars in the bright lime green paint jobs to provide continuity and identity. "That color reminds me of the good ol' days of drug-induced psychedelic hallucinations," Patrick Hamilton remarked. "I remember seeing dayglo greens, hot pinks, and awesome oranges - all through kind of a purple haze. God, weren't the seventies great?
It was a high time!"
Political stumping suddenly was back in fashion. Instead of hopping a campaign plane, candidates could roll into a city as part of a convoy of vehicles. Come in a bus. Or, pull up at the local train depot. It provided more personable means of meeting the candidates, just as it used to be in the good ol' days before politicians started to distance themselves from their constituencies with hordes of advisors, aids, and crowd-control personnel. Of course, this was only May - and the election was still six months away. But these candidates were already beginning to attract voters, even though most of them hadn't even been designated as the authorized representatives of their respective parties. They were spending more time explaining party platforms and position papers. You didn't see the typical razzle-dazzle campaigning - yet. This was still a time for reflection (and, in some communities, mourning). This was a time for bringing people together toward specific political and social goals. Most of the members of the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. convoys had a particular message to convey. Momentum continued to build. The work continued across America.
posted by Bushwacker! at 7:21 AM
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