Posted on 08/23/2003 5:08:42 PM PDT by kristinn
The story of Sally Baron, a Stoughton woman whose obituary asked that memorial funds go toward the removal of President Bush, was catching hold across the country as her family held memorial services Friday.
Dozens of people from around the United States have written to The Capital Times saying they will make donations to various organizations in her name, and the request was aired on national TV Thursday night.
Baron's story is also being hotly discussed on online bulletin boards, among both liberals and conservatives.
Baron "has become a sort of poster girl for all of us who despise George Bush," wrote Nancy Tonies of Appleton.
Baron raised six children, one of whom died of leukemia at age 21, in the timber and mining country of Iron County. Her husband was crushed and nearly killed in a 1969 mining accident and died seven years ago, shortly before Baron moved to Stoughton.
Her family described how their mother - a waitress, cook and factory assembly worker - was furious with Bush for what she saw as a stolen election and dishonest statements. Baron's favorite nickname for Bush, which she used to shout at the TV, was "whistle ass."
"I did not know Sally at all, but I wish I had had the opportunity," wrote Linda Brown, a retired teacher in Thousand Oaks, Calif. "We would have had fun shouting back at the TV together. I suspect my language would have been worse than hers."
Online comment on the politically left Web site democraticunderground.com embraced Baron as a hero.
"We can't lose now. We have a very special angel on our side," a person posting under the name "shirlden" wrote.
Another said: "I am amazed at how much more hope, more peace I feel after reading the story of this family of such generous spirit. Too often I feel such despair about our current situation, but here just one wonderful story lifts me up."
Others said they had made T-shirts with her picture on it, and would blow whistles to acknowledge Baron's nickname for Bush.
On the political right, those posting on the Web site freerepublic.com were not so kind.
"Pack of rust belt commies," one person offered. "Screw 'em. Screw 'em all."
A joke that was repeated by several on the site was whether Baron would keep voting after her death. One person wrote: "May she be remembered forever as a testiment to media propiganda and political slime."
But there was one area of consensus between the conservative and liberal commentary: Many people were taken with the nickname, and wondered where Baron had come up with it.
"Whatever else this article says pales in importance next to this useful insult. I really do like it," a freerepublic.com poster wrote.
"Has this insult been around long? If so, I'm sorry I missed it. I'm going to try to slip it into every conversation I have today," someone called "LanPB01" wrote on the same site.
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, who hosts "Countdown," repeated Baron's request and her nickname for Bush on his Thursday night broadcast.
Baron's family members said they weren't sure of its origin, only that Sally had used it for a long time and it was her favorite term for Bush.
Musta' been a "whistle ass" working as proofreader at the paper that night.
I recall hearing the term "whistle britches" in Texas, usually referring to a lout or self-important, egotistical liar. Perhaps it was a cleaned-up version of "whistle ass". I have no idea of the origin of the term. Railroad slang? A web search indicates that corduroy pants are also known as 'whistle britches'.
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