Blue Spot

While the media has already decided who the Democratic nominee will be, and the Democratic leaders have chosen to disenfranchise millions of voters, the voters of still want to have their say. Here are a few of those voices on C-Span last night.

Labels: Comment, Cultural issues, Election 2008, Hillary

Little Isis: My Correspondence With Donna Brazile

Hi Donna!!!!
I am emailing you on behalf of many people. I am, as you may know, a Hillary Clinton Supporter. You have probably gotten a lot of emails from her supporters, and I understand from the blogs I often frequent that you have responded to many of them.
I want you to know that I read bits and pieces of your autobiography, Cooking With Grease, and thought it was wonderful and well written. I came to understand from your book and from a lot of what I have witnessed in this election cycle that to simply put groups of people in Demographics and Exit polls is a misunderstanding of both America and the Democratic Party.
What I have learned is that people often vote based on their experiences. You, as an Undeclared Obama supporter, probably identify strongly with his candidacy because of the struggles you went through during a time when race relations in this country were in turmoil. I voted for Hillary Clinton, not only because I relate to her strongly as both a person and a woman who is very spiritual and devoted to her family and to helping others, but also because she is the greatest candidate to lead this country out of the mess we're in, and because her policy proposals have been phenominal and close to my heart, because it proves to me that she is not simply talking and promising change, she is telling me how she is going to make it happen. It proves to me that she actually cares.
As a young person, I have a big future ahead of me, and I also have dreams and ambitions, and strong opinions and many other things. CNN tells me every day that I should be supporting Barack Obama, because his freshness and newness should appeal to my fickle nature. But I support Hillary, and like many of her supporters, I feel sad and dissappointed and hurt and many other things by what I see, based on rationality and facts, as the poor and undeserved treatment she and her husband have received by the DNC party elite and the Chicago Style Campaign tactics of Senator Obama's Campaign that I have witnessed with my own eyes and heard a number of stories about.
I understand that many of the emails you have received by Clinton Supporters urging you to do the right and ethical thing by seating Michigan and Florida delegates have been angry and often probably obnoxious. But you cannot possibly understand how frustrated they are. And while you may say that they are "the reason" Hillary is losing, whatever her supporters have done or said pale in comparison to the abuse and mistreatment we have suffered from some supporters of Senator Obama.
You may use Roe V Wade as a trump card for accusing them of being petty in their vows to not support Senator Obama, should he be the nominee, but I assure you that using something like that as a threat will not work, because there are few (actually, no) politicians I have seen that are as devoted to a woman's right to choose than Hillary Clinton, and you know that as well as I.
Ms. Brazille, I urge you not to disclude and disenfranchise millions of voters from every walk of life from this nominating process simply for the sake of one candidate, because doing so would be an awful mistake. I have respect for you as a person, Ms. Brazille, but I would implore you to make the right decision and seat Florida and Michigan . I would also implore you to stop encouraging super delegates to force Senator Clinton out of the race, because the more they do this, the stronger she gets.
Ms. Brazille, I cannot pretend to understand what you have gone through in your life, nor what you are going through now. It would be ignorant of me to try. But many people feel angry when they are stereotyped or put in a box because if what candidate they support. I support Hillary Clinton, and I love all of my friends. Including the great African American friends I have that I adore. and all of the African American women at my mother's church who embrace me and always tell me how "pretty" I look every time I see them. I also love my Latino friends, my Italian friends, my Jewish friends, my Catholic friends.
As I said, I cannot pretend to understand your experiences, but nor can you understand mine. Just because a person's skin may be paler that yours, does not mean their lives are without suffering.
I, for one, cry at night wondering what my republican mother will do if anything happens to her, because she doesn't have Health Insurance. And because of this, my mother may just support Hillary Clinton over John McCain come this fall. She is a Republican who supports Hillary Clinton not because Rush Limbaugh told her to, but because she believes that Hillary Clinton is a Candidate that may actually care about her.
So Ms. Brazille, I would yet again urge you to do everything you can to seat Michigan and Florida properly, and also, I would ask that you stop saying you are "undeclared" on CNN's panels when clearly you know which candidate you support.
Thank you very much for reading this email. Like you, I am very emotionally invested in this Campaign, (as is Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Congresswoman from the district next to mine who also supports Hillary :D) and wish you all the luck in the world.
respectfully,
A young female voter from Ohio

I urge all of you to go to Natalie's site, Little Isis. Here was the response from Donna Brazille to Natalie Bryan's beautifully worded, polite, carefully measured letter:

Thanks Natalie,

As of today, I am not going to respond to any more anti American, Anti Democratic emails. Have a nice day.

I am sorry because you are sincere, but the Hillary forces are uncivil, repugnant and vile. When you come up for air and would like to email a person who cares about America and not just a personality, I will respond.

Thanks for your time and your interest.

Donna

I'm sure Donna must know how uncivil and vile Obama supporters are toward Hillary supporters throughout the blogosphere. I can't imagine she is unaware of the antics of many Obama supporters at caucuses all over the country. I think her response is disingenuous at best and totally reckless. Is this how Obama supporters intend to bring unity to the party? Despite the fact that Brazille has worked hard for the Democrats, and she feels that she is a valuable asset (if you check out some of my YT vids, you'll see the arrogance in full display), there are very few people I can think of that have done more to destroy our party this past year. Her hyper-sensitivity, which unfortunately is getting all too common throughout this country, makes her react by pointing the finger at the Clinton's and accusing them of race baiting. For saying some simple truths, like the fact that White middle-class voters are still an important constituency in the Democratic party, she is practically branded a racist. And Brazille has led the charge against the Clinton's on this point. Her and other party fat-cats, as well as the rest of the fawning media are not only trying to shut her bid down, but they are trying to completely destroy the Clinton's. We can't let this happen.

Let's make CNN at the very least, force Brazille to finally declare her support for Obama.

Labels: Comment, DNC, donna brazile, Election 2008, Obama supporters

globeandmail.com: Hillary: so macho, she's 'scary' Interesting article from a Canadian media outlet. I'm not sure if a deeper, hidden respect for Hillary becomes present toward the end of this female author's sexist article.

She's mowing down everything in her path.

There was Hillary Clinton on early morning television yesterday, fresh from her Pennsylvania primary victory the night before, in what I call full mental jacket (plus necklace), deliciously upending every gender stereotype on the block by being the most macho politician on the airwaves.

The senator was being challenged to explain her latest campaign ad that showed, among other threats to American security, a picture of Osama bin Laden, as if to convince voters that without her, the terrorists would surely win.

"I would consider him a person we must take out," she replied serenely, making me wonder for a moment whether she was secretly thinking Obama and not Osama.

How macho is she? She makes George W. Bush look like a wimp, John McCain look tender-hearted and her main rival Barack Obama look like a whipped puppy.

Ms. Clinton is now viewed as so "scary" and even mean in her campaign tactics that The New York Times editorial board, who once (in what now seems like another century) endorsed her for the Democratic nomination, pleaded with her to "call off the dogs."

In another interview Ms. Clinton gave recently, she said that if Iran attacked Israel while she were president, "we would be able to totally obliterate them."

Whoa. That kind of commander-in-chief cojones, combined with an almost otherworldly resilience and determination on the campaign trail - despite Hillary deathwatches and pundits and party members calling for her to quit - has evoked equal amounts of admiration, terror and, well, irritation in Clinton watchers.

Whether you consider her to be authentic or a five-star phony, Ms. Clinton is no longer trapped in the bitch ditch. With a ferocious command of facts at her fingertips - no one seems as policy-prepared as she does - and that Olympian tenacity, she seems all of a sudden to have transcended gender.

Was this what we wanted? If so, I wonder why Ms. Clinton's toughness is making some of us uneasy in a new way. Now I'm hearing women who once were drawn to her clearing their throats.

This isn't exactly what we meant, they say. "She's really starting to bug me," said one woman, worried about Ms. Clinton's bruising effect on the Democratic chances of winning the election.

Yet all I know is that while her approach may not be "nice" or filled with hope or idealism or any of those very fine Obamaesque themes, if I had to slog through crap of any kind and end up a winner, I'd channel my inner Hillary to do so. She is one tough mother.

Whether she can also transcend character or baggage or even numbers to win the nomination is quite another matter.

But for the sheer delight - and intrigue - of watching her, she's still the best thing that's ever happened to women in politics.

What's even more fascinating is the comment section, with some Canadians leaving statements that mirror the kind of vitriol you usually see in American blogs.

Labels: Canada, Comment, Election 2008, Hillary

How Obama Fell to Earth - David Brooks -New York Times

Back in Iowa, Barack Obama promised to be something new — an unconventional leader who would confront unpleasant truths, embrace novel policies and unify the country. If he had knocked Hillary Clinton out in New Hampshire and entered general-election mode early, this enormously thoughtful man would have become that.

But he did not knock her out, and the aura around Obama has changed. Furiously courting Democratic primary voters and apparently exhausted, Obama has emerged as a more conventional politician and a more orthodox liberal.

He sprinkled his debate performance Wednesday night with the sorts of fibs, evasions and hypocrisies that are the stuff of conventional politics. He claimed falsely that his handwriting wasn’t on a questionnaire about gun control. He claimed that he had never attacked Clinton for her exaggerations about the Tuzla airport, though his campaign was all over it. Obama piously condemned the practice of lifting other candidates’ words out of context, but he has been doing exactly the same thing to John McCain, especially over his 100 years in Iraq comment.

Obama also made a pair of grand and cynical promises that are the sign of someone who is thinking more about campaigning than governing.

He made a sweeping read-my-lips pledge never to raise taxes on anybody making less than $200,000 to $250,000 a year. That will make it impossible to address entitlement reform any time in an Obama presidency. It will also make it much harder to afford the vast array of middle-class tax breaks, health care reforms and energy policy Manhattan Projects that he promises to deliver.

Then he made an iron vow to get American troops out of Iraq within 16 months. Neither Obama nor anyone else has any clue what the conditions will be like when the next president takes office. He could have responsibly said that he aims to bring the troops home but will make a judgment at the time. Instead, he rigidly locked himself into a policy that will not be fully implemented for another three years.

If Obama is elected, he will either go back on this pledge — in which case he would destroy his credibility — or he will risk genocide in the region and a viciously polarizing political war at home.

Then there are the cultural issues. Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News are taking a lot of heat for spending so much time asking about Jeremiah Wright and the “bitter” comments. But the fact is that voters want a president who basically shares their values and life experiences. Fairly or not, they look at symbols like Michael Dukakis in a tank, John Kerry’s windsurfing or John Edwards’s haircut as clues about shared values.

When Obama began this ride, he seemed like a transcendent figure who could understand a wide variety of life experiences. But over the past months, things have happened that make him seem more like my old neighbors in Hyde Park in Chicago.

Some of us love Hyde Park for its diversity and quirkiness, as there are those who love Cambridge and Berkeley. But it is among the more academic and liberal places around. When Obama goes to a church infused with James Cone-style liberation theology, when he makes ill-informed comments about working-class voters, when he bowls a 37 for crying out loud, voters are going to wonder if he’s one of them. Obama has to address those doubts, and he has done so poorly up to now.

It was inevitable that the period of “Yes We Can!” deification would come to an end. It was not inevitable that Obama would now look so vulnerable. He’ll win the nomination, but in a matchup against John McCain, he is behind in Florida, Missouri and Ohio, and merely tied in must-win states like Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A generic Democrat now beats a generic Republican by 13 points, but Obama is trailing his own party. One in five Democrats say they would vote for McCain over Obama.

General election voters are different from primary voters. Among them, Obama is lagging among seniors and men. Instead of winning over white high school-educated voters who are tired of Bush and conventional politics, he does worse than previous nominees. John Judis and Ruy Teixeira have estimated a Democrat has to win 45 percent of such voters to take the White House. I’ve asked several of the most skillful Democratic politicians over the past few weeks, and they all think that’s going to be hard.

A few months ago, Obama was riding his talents. Clinton has ground him down, and we are now facing an interesting phenomenon. Republicans have long assumed they would lose because of the economy and the sad state of their party. Now, Democrats are deeply worried their nominee will lose in November.

Welcome to 2008. Everybody’s miserable.

Labels: Comment, Election 2008, Obama

Well it looks like your're hearing it all over the place now. I just heard this garbage on ABC. To Hillary supporters, all I can tell you is that this is just a full-force blitz by Obama supporters to suppress the turnout in PA (thus preventing a blowout) and the rest of the remaining contests. Here's an incredible example of what some groups are trying to do. A group headed by Michael Fisher and calling itself the "afrosphere's" Committee to Unite the Democratic Party has started an online petition calling for Hillary to "concede defeat and support the democratic presidential ticket". Among some of the reasons they list on their web page:

(1) The Democratic Party base has spoken. The delegate count shows that Senator Hillary Clinton cannot win the nomination on the strength of earned delegates, based on the will of the voters.

That's funny considering that Obama can't win on the strength of earned delegates either.

(3) This divisiveness is regrettable because, via the presidential candidacy of Senator Obama, the vast majority of African-Americans stand united with millions of white Americans and Americans of all colors, genders, ethnicities and religious backgrounds, erasing divisions to implement a program of Democratic change.

This is also curious as Hillary also has support across the spectrum including a majority of the Latino population, the Gay community, millions of poor working-class and blue collar voters, as well as people of all religious backgrounds.

(6) Mrs. Clinton must wholeheartedly support the winner of the nomination, who has earned the most delegates, and devote herself honestly and enthusiastically to defeating Republican electoral hopes in 2008, not attacking Democratic politicians and Democratic constituencies.

This is down right hypocritical considering the next reason.

(7) Should the Democratic Party leadership nullify the people's votes by giving Mrs. Clinton the nomination, despite the popular will as represented by earned delegates, we would then call upon African-American voters and all Democratic Party constituencies and supporters to withhold their support from a Hillary Clinton candidacy in November. We have survived eight years under President Bush and, if compelled to do so, we will survive four years under a President McCain. However, we cannot and will NOT survive the nullification of our most hard-won right - our votes.

OK, first of all, tell that to the people of MI and FL. Another thing is...really?!? You would really support McCain by not voting for Hillay? Considering this group says it's part of the "afrosphere", I'm going to assume that MLK Day is important to them as it is to me as well. Why would you then go ahead and support a candidate who opposed the creation of this special day? The man who McCain idolized, Ronald Reagan, also opposed the creation of the holiday. In fact, the holiday was not recognized in McCain's state of Arizona until the year 2000. Would you really vote against a Democrat who has a record of helping African-American causes and vote for a candidate who admits to the mistake above and supported the display of the confederate flag atop the SC Statehouse in 2000 due to political pressure. All I can say is, be careful what you wish for.

The national polls still show the race just about even. For all those people yelling about "the rules", I want to see if they bring up the rules if the momentum shifts and the super-delegates decide to vote for Hillary, which the rules state they can do if they feel she would be a better candidate against McCain. The best way for us to be unified as Dems is to let the process continue and have every state be heard.

I hate sports analogies, since they remind me of Chris Matthews. However, (here it goes) can you imagine everybody calling for the Red Sox to quit in 2000, for the good of baseball, because they were down 3 games? What a series we would have missed.

You can e-mail the editor of the petition, Francis L. Holland, at francislholland@yahoo.com

Labels: African-American issues, Clueless Pundits, Comment, Election 2008, Hillary, Media, MLK

A special message to the voters in Ohio & Texas from this mother & daughter from NJ.

Labels: Comment, Election 2008, Grassroots, Hillary

It's really ironic seeing all these so-called conservatives attacking McCain for not being conservative enough when back in 2006 and earlier, they attacked the Dems for not supporting Leiberman against Ned Lamont. Remember that? All those Republicans criticized us for eating our own and not being tolerant.

Dick Cheney was quoted in the NY Times on August 10th, 2006 saying: “And when we see the Democratic Party reject one of its own, a man they selected to be their vice presidential nominee just a few short years ago, it would seem to say a lot about the state the party is in today.”

This is from the August 8th O'Reilly Factor: the media has generally ignored the far left hatred directed towards the Senator and his family. The far left in America is dominated by haters, people who despise their own country and want to injure those with whom they disagree. These smear merchants are now all over the mainstream media and have spread like lice on the Internet. Joseph Lieberman is a good man, he's honest, loves his country, and obeys his conscience. You may disagree with his politics but he is a man of respect. You can't say that for those who have smeared and slurred him."

From the October 13th 2005 show:

In an apparent effort to demonstrate that the Democratic Party has no room for moderate politicians, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT) "was the first guy thrown out" of the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries

Labels: Comment, GOP Hypocrisy

As Hillary gets projected the winner of the NH primary, I thought it was worth looking at her campaign rally the night before. I told a few people that her display of emotion yesterday would only help her. In this rally, you could see that Hillary's support was still strong as of the night before and they never wavered.

Just like I said back in May, last year, when Hillary is attacked, when she looks like the victim, she is much harder to beat. It turns out that the women of NH turned out in big numbers to completely stun the media and pundits who just about wrote Hillary's campaign off. This is a stunning victory. The press already had Obama sweeping away the nomination before tonight. Comparing him to Bobby Kennedy, he should have won this contest by double digits.

This is exactly why I keep saying the pundits and pollsters are sometimes worthless and they need to learn to let the voters decide instead of trying to influence the outcome. Although she's not my pick yet, I salute NH for not caving into the media and delaying the "coronation" of Obama.

Labels: Comment, Election 2008, Hillary

Hi everybody. Just getting back from Arizona where it was 100+ degrees everyday I was there. I had a great time though and got a much needed break. Nothing like staying a top notch resort to help you get the relaxation you need. Thanks to the friendly and professional staff at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North.

Anyway, what a week for the Republicans...Larry Craig! Gonzales! Now Warner is announcing his retirement. Wow! I'll be putting up some vids this weekend. Talk to you soon.

Labels: Comment

Democratic hopefuls snub party moderates - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON - Bill Clinton will be there. So will 300 officeholders from more than 45 states. But one thing will be missing when Democrats gather in Tennessee this weekend to discuss how to appeal to moderate, independent-minded voters in 2008: the Democratic presidential field.

Not a single one of the eight presidential candidates plans to attend the Democratic Leadership Council's summer meeting, a snub that says less about the centrist DLC than it does about a nomination process that rewards candidates who pander to their parties' hardened cores while ignoring everybody else.

This article is totally one-sided. If anybody knows the best way to contact the writer, please post the info. I think the snub says more about the DLC an their divisive founder than it does about the nomination process. Al From has proven to be down right hateful to anybody left of the DLC and has made his contempt for organizations such as MoveOn.org very public while embracing "Big Business." This is why the candidates, especially Clinton, are smart not to attend this meeting. Even mainstream Democrats are tired of seeing these DLC so-called "centrists" like Joe Lieberman, continually cede influence and authority to this president and the GOP (Grand Obstructionist Party).

Labels: Comment, DLC, Election 2008

FreeVideoCoding.com Click Image to Play Video

I recently received a message (or maybe I should say a rant) on You Tube from somebody called rxw4life. When I went to check out his profile, I was not surprised to see that his two featured videos were about backyard wrestling. Well anyway, rxw4life was not too thrilled about a Bill O'Reilley video I posted a while back and decided to let me know about it. The following is what he wrote (word-for-word):

Do you watch your left wing news shows abc, msnbc, nbc, cnn do not give a fair shake to anybody other then their own. Everytime I have listened to O'Really he talks about idiots left wing nuts who call the president a nazi or a terrorist it's fucking stupid in my opinion. Whats your plan lets leave Iraq and let them come get us because if you think that al quada doesn't want us dead think again. They aren't going to stop til were dead kind of like japan in world war 2 didn't stop until we stopped. I'm just sick of people bitching about the war and the president if you don't like it leave or you can be a man and deal with it. Do what you need to do to vote your party in but to bash the president and republicans for mistakes is stupid clinton made mistakes to including having affairs and not worrying about the country but we don't here about that shit do we no. Because everybody is so focuse on hating George Bush wether he does something right or not you people will always find a way to hate him. Deal with it another year and half and he'll be out so quit bitching and support our troops even if you hate bush fuck him then just support then men and women that bust there asses everyday for you so you can bitch about the president and state your fucking opinion. As for watching other news stations or fox I don't watch any of them because they are useless they just lie and spin O'Reilly is a middle man he questions everybody republican or democrate and if you don't know that then you haven't watched or listened to his shows so you don't know shit I do because I listened to his show on the radio for 2 months. He tells it like he sees it some of his points go one way or the other but he's fair. If you don't like it move to Canada I say and get ready for more terrorist attacks when Hillary is president because she'll be hugging trees and gay people and killing babes and won't be worried about u or me. She'll also raise your taxes which I know you want to happen as well. I'm excited I wish the election was now because I just want to see her completey destroy the country Bush has done a great job at destroying the country the damn terrorist that he is frees a county of a mass murder but who cares about that all we have to go by is the past and the weapons of mass destruction that no one seems to forget about. Tell me this since when is it wrong for a country to free another country and give them a chance tell me what is so damn wrong with that because if you know you tell me. Last time I checked the US has always helped other countries why should we stop now. I know i'm a nazi now 2 because I speak my mind and my facts aren't real right that's what you'll say i'm waiting for it. Don't be an ass like your party.

It's nice to see that our future is in good hands. Really though, I'm glad to see that more & more experienced and intelligent Republicans like Victor Gold are finally turning away from the current crop of so called conservatives. What passes for conservative these days are reactionary thugs like the one I describe above.

Labels: Cheney, Comment, Conservatism, GOP Hypocrisy, Religious Right

While discussing the Libby commuted sentence, Chris Matthews on Hardball proclaimed, "I'm just trying to find consistency here from Kate O'Beirne." Matthews is sometimes obnoxious himself, but I've been waiting for somebody to tell her that for years.

So when prosecutors are putting away Dems, they are doing their job. When they go after Republicans, they are partisan or political. This whole GOP reaction to everything about this case is the ultimate example of how hypocritical the GOP is.

Below, Keith Olbermann & David Shuster debunk the right-wing spin surrounding the Libby sentence, especially the "no underlying crime" claim.

Labels: Cheney, Comment, GOP Hypocrisy, Hillary, Libby Trial, Plamegate

As long as the right-wing has Ann Coulter as their spokesperson and the mainstream media does nothing to curb her careless, extreme, partisan, acid-tongued attacks, there will always be a strong left-wing infrastructure that includes blogs such as this one.

I hear the voices from moderates recently, calling for a cease-fire. Bloomberg dropped the GOP label so he can appear more non-partisan. To some degree, Obama is running on promises to be less divisive and unite the country. To do this he will have to move to the right at some point. Some say that judging from the debates he's already started. It seems like the "in" thing to do these days is to denounce partisan politics. Coming off of six years of Bush, it's easy to see why.

Most sane, regular people would like to see a national discourse that is more civil and, as Al Gore would say, less hostile to reason. I'm all for this. The trouble is that it's a little like laying down your arms in the middle of the battlefield. The right-wing began this degradation of the public sphere. Their infrastructure has steadily been built over decades starting after the Goldwater defeat and solidified by the 2004 election. Their constant whining about a perceived left-wing media bias over the years and the relentless stream of pundits on talk radio and even the mainstream media, attacking any person, idea or organization that is even a fraction left of, let's say Karl Rove, has left a lasting scar on the liberal agenda.

Let's face it folks, the Left, either because they are wimps or because they are just more open to other ideas, usually cave in to Republican ideas if they are not too extreme. They are more willing to compromise. On the other hand, anything that the Right even slightly disagrees with, is met with the full force of the Right-wing noise machine. This is why that in the face of so much evidence against the Bush administration regarding WMD, the tactics and strategy employed in Iraq, it's only now or very recently when most Republicans (many of whom face re-election in their home districts) are finally beginning to say the very same things the Dems have been saying for years.

So what should we do? Should we just lay down our arms and accept the attacks from the Ann Coulter's, Sean Hannity's or Rush's of the world? You know the more I hear her the more I'm surprised that some lefty nut hasn't already killed the bitch. I'm serious...I mean think about it, a couple of pies in the face can easily be replaced by a couple of slugs in the gut if she's not careful.

But I say we keep doing what we've been doing. Fight back with facts. We keep getting the truth out there. We don't need a lefty Fox News. We don't need to have annoying, comedic, lefty "hitmen." Leave the personal attacks alone. It's not enough to shout about how much you hate Bush. We need to be more responsible. We need to stop being lazy and participate whereever and whenever we get a chance. Go to Meetups. Read, read & read. Pass info. to friends and yes, do talk about politics. It's not a taboo anymore. We should look to our own communities, reach out and support the best leaders starting from the lowest levels & up.

Support lefty organizations. I can't believe the attacks that Air America was getting before the sale, from their own community. We can't expect to agree on every single issue. If we did we'd be 2004 Republicans. There were many single-issue lefties who would not support AAR simply because they didn't like one of the hosts, when there were so many great hosts to choose from. This is non-productive...Support independent media like Amy Goodman at Democracy Now!

Finally, we keep pushing for what we know is right. Keep writing to the media, to businesses, to your Congressperson, to your Senators. If Hillary or Obama become the closest to what we can call a leader, make sure they remember who put them there. Let's get this country's reputation back and keep up the good fight.

Labels: Comment, Coulter

Here's a scene from the classic movie The Battle of Algiers, about Algeria's fight for independence from France from 1954 to 1962.

Scary how this movie mirrors Iraq in many ways. After you watch this clip you have to ask yourself: Do we realy want to keep going down this road? Do we want to lose our moral authority and continue damaging our reputation around the world? It's funny how we didn't learn from the French mistakes in both Viet Nam or Algeria.

Labels: Comment, Terrorism, Torture

Still illogical on Iraq

See if you can follow this argument: The United States has to be in Iraq to fight the terrorists who are in Iraq because the United States is in Iraq.

If you do follow that familiar argument, you're going in a circle. It's familiar because President Bush has argued it many times before, trying to make the case that Iraq is the "central front in the war on terror." His circular argument didn't persuade Americans before. But that hasn't stopped him from recycling it now.

This editorial somehow invokes an image of Bush as a dog chasing his own tail...take a look.

Labels: Comment, Iraq War

Well it's easy to see why the Republicans are not so thrilled with this year's batch of GOP candidates. Giuliani, in particular, did not come off as presidential as his lead would suggest. In fact, given the format, folks like Huckabee & Romney came out looking just as good as the former mayor. McCain also showed that he has a chance to get back on track.

As this clip shows, I believe the constant attacks on Hillary if not curbed by the GOP candidates, will only serve to help her overtake Obama, as many Dems will begin to give her a pass on her Iraq vote and rally around her.

It's funny how you hear Rudy somwhere toward the end of the debate mention that as the Dems gathered for their debate, there was no mention of Islamic Fudamentalism.
Well some words you didn't hear tonight from them were Katrina and poverty was only mentioned by Rudy only as a response to a question and his answer was put in the context of fighting crime.

Labels: Comment, Giuliani, GOP Hypocrisy, McCain

Here's a couple of clips from the Democratic debate in SC earlier tonight. The Dems seemed pretty much united in their criticism of Bush & the war. It was for the most part, a civil night with a couple of contentious moments brought to you by Dennis Kucinich & former Sen. Mike Gravel. For somebody who hasn't made up their mind yet, like me, this forum didn't produce any clear winners. All performed well. The format didn't allow for lengthy answers, which was a shame in some cases. We really need to know where they stand in some areas and these short, sound-bite formats don't help.

Labels: Comment, Election 2008

How many Columbines do we need to go through before we realize that there are just too many guns in America. We have to start making it harder for people to carry guns. This guy bought his weapon legally. It's funny how these NRA, Right-wing types cry about their rights when it comes to gun control but yet they are so eager to surrender their rights when it comes to domestic spying in the name of fighting terrorism. It's high time that we stop terrorizing ourselves. Get the guns off the streets. Raise the age limit to buy guns if we are going to keep it legal, and make it illegal for students to own guns. My prayers are with the families of all the victims and everybody at Virginia Tech.

Labels: Comment, Gun control

From a fellow YouTuber:

I'm Norwegian and Norway has been a log time ally of the USA(and will continue to be so). I grew up during the cold war, and considering how Norway borders with Russia we all looked towards the United States for protection against the Soviet Union. (Norway has only 4.5 million people)

In the past few years (as you probably have noticed) there has been a rise in anti-American feelings all over the world
due to American foreign policy. Many people who previously had high thoughts about the US got a wake up call and discovered that America had changed. Norway was no ecception.

However, recently I have seen more and more people such as yourself standing up and voicing their opinion as a contrast to the far right Christian side of the current administration. To me, people like yourself represent the America I once got to know and the America I feel in love with as a child.

I hope this post was in no way offensive to you.
(hard to tell sometimes on account of cultural differences etc)

Response
Tomas:

Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope that many more people around the world realize that not all Americans are like what they see from the Bush administration and his supporters. I'm afraid that the events that happened on 9-11 left an opening for the right-wing to use fear to control the national discourse and policies of this country. However, many people have begun to see through this and the failed policies of the Bush agenda. Many people who once supported Bush are beginning to see that you can not seek democracy abroad while letting it decay at home.

Most Americans are decent, generous people. Unfortunately, there were many who let themselves be fooled by the promise of safety and security. The right-wing used divisive and dirty tactics to paint their opponents as weak. However, many Americans are starting to realize that no single party can keep you safe. It is up to us to force our government to implement policies that are fair and will enhance our relationships with our allies. Hopefully we will vote for a president in 2008 that does not think that he is a king and that can restore America's good name throughout the world.

Labels: Comment

To those of you who I know personally who lost loved ones on 9-11, my thoughts and prayers are with you today. We all know somebody who has a story or was directly affected by this tragic day. Everybody can remember what they were doing on this day. Fortunately for me, I was visiting my brother in Florida. Otherwise I would have been on my way to work, passing right by the towers on the express bus from Bay Ridge, around the same time the first plane hit. I can remember the folks in Florida being afraid as well as people began to think all the symbolic monuments or sites(like Disney World) were targets. My thoughts were mainly focused on my dad and cousin who work just a couple of blocks from the WTC. It was impossible to reach anybody. I finally reached my cousin's wife who told me that she and my cousin were both safe. I finally reached my dad the next day. He was among the many that you saw covered with that white, ashy residue from the towers. I was lucky. But many I know were not as fortunate. They did incurred heavy losses. The wounds are still very deep.

But fear is a funny thing. It can make a man's heart dark. With an incompetent leader in charge, this fear can be used to distort our values. Despite the many posts criticizing the way the other side governs, I pray that we as a nation can come together someday the way we did immediately after the attack. It was incredible to see the solidarity displayed during this time. What we try to do here is bring to light the best way for this to happen and the best way to keep our country safe from further attacks by posting ideas, opinions, policies or examples from the nation's best leaders, journalists, scholars, activists, authors, etc. and highlight mistakes or bad judgment by those who attack these people. We have to bring the truth to light otherwise, what did we really learn 5 years later? I urge all of you to participate.

Labels: Comment

Originally published on Daily Kos, 8-18-06

I don't mean a RINO like Bloomberg. I'm talking about a real rubberstamping, Bush kiss-ass conservative. His name is Vito Fossella and he's the Republican Congressman representing New York's 13th CD since 1997. And as much as Vito wants to run from his party, he can't hide the obvious: the man loves Bush.

From The Daily Gotham

I'm sorry but a conservative? In one of the most liberal cities in the country? In a city where registered Dems outnumber Republicans over 5:1? You have to ask yourself, why? Well let's take a look at NY-13.


For those of you not familiar, NY-13 covers Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn such as Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Gravesend and Bensonhurst. Ah, Staten Island...If you're going to be a conservative in NYC, this is where you would most likely be happy. Now obviously, not everybody in the district will fit the same type, but generally speaking, you will find many folks who fit the right-wing authoritarian follower mold described in John Dean's book "Conservatives Without Conscience." Dean compiled data that provides some insight about the dispositions of these right-wing authoritarians. Many of them share the following traits:

* They travel in tight circles of like-minded people.

* Their thinking is more likely based on what authorities have told them rather than on their own critical judgment, which results in their beliefs being filled with inconsistencies.

* They harbor numerous double standards and hypocrisies.

* They are hostile to so many minorities they seem to be equal-opportunity bigots, yet they are generally unaware of their prejudices.

* They see the world as a dangerous place, with society teetering on the brink of self-destruction from evil and violence, and when their fear conflates with their self-righteousness, they appoint themselves guardians of public morality.

Some of the other traits that they may commonly share, according to Dean: they are submissive to authority, aggresive (on behalf of authority), conventional, prejudiced, mean-spirited, narrow-minded, intolerant, bullying, zealous, dogmatic, uncritical toward chosen authority, hypocritical, inconsistent, highly self-righteous, moralistic and prone to panic easily.

In this district you will find (and I have nothing against any of these occupations) many blue-collar, hardhat types such as construction & sanitation workers, police, firefighters and other first responders, many of which were at Ground Zero on 9-11. Also, union workers who no longer follow the traditional political paths of past generations. Instead they buy the way the Democratic Party has been framed by the GOP regarding moral issues and believe the distortions peddled through the right-wing noise machine.

If you could be a fly on their wall, you would see them tuned to the Fox News Channel cheering along another O'Reilly or Hannity rant. They maybe listening to Rush on the radio or maybe something non-political...like wrestling on the Spike Channel, NASCAR or 24 (although I confess I watch this too). They read the NY Post (religiously). Their idea of an idol is Tony Soprano. They hate the French. They defend Ann Coulter. Many of them have never been outside the Tri-state area except for maybe Florida. Some of them don't know a thing about politics or the details of current events, but they nevertheless wrap themselves in the flag and shout at the top of their lungs, all the jingoistic, vitriolic b.s. they may get from their buddies at work or clueless relatives. They are men's men, and so are the women. In fact, some of them swear they have balls.

My father lives in this district. He has always been kind of a right-center type. I remember when I was a kid, he supported Nixon. However, as he got older he began to lighten up on certain issues. He even voted for Clinton twice and for Gore in 2000. But a funny thing happened after 9-11. It was that speech...you remember. The one where Bush is standing on top of the rubble at Ground Zero with a bullhorn, alongside the NYFD Commissioner. It was right after this pep rally that my father turned to me and said, "now that's my president!"

Many New Yorkers see SI as a fort against the evil gays and liberals that inhabit the rest of the city. Of course, that isn't exactly true. Although, that $9 toll makes you wonder sometimes. It's funny how you have to pay so much to get to another part of your own district.

In 2004, during the height of the right-wing hysteria, a few months before the election, my uncle actually got into a fight in a diner with one of these rah-rah Republicans, because the guy didn't like that my uncle was criticizing the president. I mean, is this NYC or Texas?

So you would think that the Dems in the rest of the city would get together to kick Fossella out of office. After all, he's voted with Bush about 89% of the time (with Delay, 91%). He's been in the news recently for his questionable use of campaign funds. He's constantly siding with big business and has a cozy relationship with Halliburton. He co-sponsored HR 5252 (the COPE bill that threatens Net Neutrality). Fossella voted for the GOP energy bill that gave billions to oil, gas and nuclear industries. You can see more of his disastrous record here.

Yet, there's a Democratic candidate named Steve Harrison who has been endorsed by SEIU 1199, UFCW Local 1500, the United Federation of Teachers and the Working Families Party but still virtually ignored by NY's Democratic incumbents. I mean, I don't remember seeing any public photo ops with people like Schumer or Clinton. Where are the fundraisers? It's like everybody just forgot about this race. It can't be because they think Harrison is not progressive enough. He's against the war in Iraq. He would like to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the nation's wealthiest. He has vowed to work toward ending our dependence on fossil fuels if elected, within a decade. If they think he can't win, they are wrong. If he had their support, the numbers would change almost instantly. Take Hillary for instance, who is building a huge war chest for a race that is practically uncontested (thanks to the media). Any money she's collecting now would most likely be needed for her 2008 presidential bid. She can easily help Harrison's chances for regaining this seat and make a lot of friends in SI & Brooklyn at the same time.

If there's any criticism I have for Harrison is that I wish more attention would be put toward reaching out to the Netroots. There are several blogs covering the race including NY13, The Daily Gotham, Take Back NY and my own blog, Blue Spot. But there needs to be more effort to reach out to the national blogs. This is in part why I'm writing now. It's my hope that some of you fellow Kossacks can help out (you like the way I slipped this in-jk). Even just a little support would go a long way in convincing yet another aspiring polititian that the influence of the netroots can't be ignored. Even if you can't give financially, I urge you to take a minute and email the campaign and send him a note of encouragement. If you do, remember to mention that you're from Daily Kos. If enough of you do this, I'm sure the camp will wake up and you'll soon see Steve writing his own diary.

To donate go to: Actblue.com/page/bluespot or Harrison06.com

Labels: Comment, Local

OK, we all know Al Gore should have been president back in 2000. After all, he did win the popular vote; he would have one Florida if he sought and received a statewide recount; and as Michelle Martin explained in a NOW show episode:

Harris's office hired a private company to draw up a list of people to be removed from Florida's voting rolls because they were felons. Florida is one of seven states that doesn't allow felons who've served their time the right to vote.

But there was something fishy about Harris's list. Thousands of people on the list weren't felons at all. They were perfectly eligible voters, many of them African American, who showed up on Election Day and found they couldn't vote.

In testimony two months after the vote, Katherine Harris admitted she was aware of concerns about the list.

All this made me wonder, what if you took King George's record and applied it to a President Gore? Let's say, despite numerous warnings (remember: the 8/6/01 PDB titled Bin Laden Determined to Atttack U.S.) the nation suffers the worst terrorist attack ever. How would the Republicans have reacted to that? How would the Republicans react to a President Gore who sold the country on a reason to go to war that did not exist and then continued to justify his war by trying to fool the American people, passing false information, using his VP as a proxy to allege false ties by our opponent's dictator to terrorists that were never in his country before we decided to put our young men and women in harm's way? What if under a President Gore, the perpetrator of the worst terrorist attack in the history of the world was still at large 5 years later? What if the country witnessed the worst response ever under a President Gore, to one of the country's worst natural disasters ever? What if a year later, this same region was being neglected under a President Gore? What if a President Gore leaked the name of a covert CIA agent for political reasons? What if a President Gore sought to eavesdrop on Americans and listen in on their telephone conversations? What if a President Gore showed contempt for the Constitution, Congress and the whole notion of checks and balances? What if Ken Lay was a friend of a President Gore and was on the short list to become President Gore's Energy Secretary and one of the worst corporate scandals in this country's history (Enron) happened under a President Gore? What if a President Gore held only a handful of press conferences during his first term? What if a President Gore alienated our allies because of his extreme policies and damaged our reputation throughout the world? How would the Republicans have reacted?

He would have been IMPEACHED! Whenever the GOP identifies a target, they go after him until he is impeached or recalled (remember: Grey Davis in CA). If we win back Congress this year, we should do the same. Or at the very least, support Sen. Feingold's measure to censure.

The damage that is being done will not be appreciated until after King George has left office. His energy policies have accelerated global warming. And now, as expected, King George has dashed the hopes of millions of people with his (first ever) veto of the stem cell research bill. When Americans finally realize that Bush and his followers were on the wrong side of history, hopefully it will not be too late to fix the damage. Make sure you do your part to make them see the truth sooner rather than later.

Labels: Al Gore, Comment