Meaningful Movies

http://www.freedocumentaries.org
Link for free documentaries on-line for download (isn't showing up above, at least on my screen)

NPR had a story this week on "Scarecrow Video," a local video store that has an affiliation with the place described above where you can rent movies for a group. "Scarecrow" has 80,000 titles, with many obscure, arty, foreign titles.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5162943
Here you can listen.

It's nice to support the shrinking indie market, for both video stores & movie houses.

Now the site shows up. Thanks to whomever!

Still waiting to hear news of Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor's journalist (from Ann Arbor) who is being held captive in Iraq...

firedoglake talks about her today too. Did you know that there are over 30 kidnappings a day in Iraq now compared to 2/day in January 2004... Yeah, things are getting better over there alright...

http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/

Chuck in Doha on the Big-Screen-Meme:

I guess I'm just old-fashioned -- I like the messages in Casablanca and A Wonderful Life. But there were two Frontline documentaries I really found interesting. One was about Saddam Husssien -- it came up in the early nineties. The other was mid-late eighties, I guess, about Mai Lai. That one especially was powerful. I found it fascinating that the kids that went along turned out to be miserable and the one or two guys that refused to participate went on to live normal lives. I think that is the real cost of war that people don't talk about -- the living hell of memories no one should have to face. I don't of course know that from any personal experience other than having known people that were in bad combat situations. But I remember how that documentary struck me then.

Chuck in Doha

Here also is a chance for a bit of local activisim as well. Dianne, I'm sure this isn't an issue in Seattle, but for many of us who live in what use to be called "the boonies" it can be hard to get to see any of these films.

I was amused to note that my local chain never bothered to show Clooney's "Good Night and Good Luck". It wasn't too much of a surprise, they screened Farinheight 9/11 only after the local news did a story on the fact that they had no plans for it even after all the hype. It showed up about 3 weeks later, played to packed houses, they even had to add a couple of extra weekend screenings.

Here's my point, in each of these movie house there is generally a manager who is responsible for booking. He WILL listen to enough requests for a film. The bottom line tends to trump their distaste for a film they don't agree with.

Yes, of course you can wait for the DVD. The issue is it sort of feels like corporate censorship, which I dislike, be it Walmart or the local movie house. Besides, I don't care what movie Clooney is in I want to see it...

Alas, in most movies houses these days -- which are almost inevitably chain operations, particularly in smaller cities -- the individual theatre's house manager has got basically zilch as far as input goes when it comes to which films are available for him/her to show and which are not.

There are only so many prints of a given movie in circulation at a given time, which means if a print's showing at cinema 'A' then it's not showing at Cinema 'B' simultaneously; there are complicated schedules and contracts to be contended with in order to decide which films go where, especially in chain-theatre operations; and, of course, local market patterns and profit motives dominate the decisions as to which films will and will not be shown in a given locale.

If you want to get a local theatre where you live to show "Good Night and Good Luck" (or "Syriana" or "Fahrenheit 911" or whatever), you'll have better luck contacting the local independent movie houses (if there still are any) or the local college/university film programs to get it onscreen instead.

That kinda sucks, sure; but it's the nature (as opposed to the number, ahem) of the beast.

666k(3) -- the personal retirement savings account of the beast,
Otter

My sister pointed me to this website by Ron Kovic, the Vietnam Vet whose post war experiences were the subject of "Born on the Fourth of July." He has an amazing piece up now on his site about what the soldiers coming home from Iraq might face.

Please take time to read this -- or at least pass it on to someone who might be or know one of those soldiers.

Here's a small but poignant excerpt:

We who have witnessed the obscenity of war and experienced its horror and terrible consequences have an obligation to rise above our pain and suffering and turn the tragedy of our lives into a triumph. I have come to believe that there is nothing in the lives of human beings more terrifying than war and nothing more important than for those of us who have experienced it to share its awful truth.
http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/forgotten_wounded_20060117/

There was talk & links on the blog yesterday to Kerry's diary over at Daily Kos. There's another good diary over there now that we all could learn from...

The Problem with John Kerry's Diary and Comments

I finally took the time to read John Kerry's diary and most of the attached comments and I understand why we cannot beat the Republicans. We lack focus.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/21/112737/438

The Republican Road Show resembles this Steve Martin hit--Leap Of Faith

http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/097363279242IE.html?id=UAb6w2d5

Description for Leap of Faith DVD
--Con-man Reverend Jonas Nightengale (Steve Martin) trades salvation for donations to his touring ministry

Posted by: madame defarge at January 21, 2006 11:48 AM

This is what saddens me mostly about the anti-France (crap) and the whole "support our troops" while they don't try to bring an end to war. They turn and call liberals wimps and then they wear idiotic bandaids and smear vets.

Gutless idiots who NEVER stepped anywhere near a war zone call others wimps.

Now I'm really ticked off!

mdf:

"I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
--Will Rogers

*Amen* to that, sister!

better fix it fast before it's broke all the way,
Otter

OK, let's lighten up the Saturday morning with some fun... Check out Michael Moore's site... You won't be sorry.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5598

No wonder Chris Matthews hates him.

moore is less sometimes,
Otter

(I mean, whether it's funny or whether it's not, it's still just another series of cheap-shot sight gags.)

michael row your bull ashore,
Otter

Posted by: madame defarge at January 21, 2006 11:54 AM

I disagree with the lack of focus based on one blog entry and its responses.

First, consider this...for many people it is their first time to FEEL as if their thoughts and their heart will be read by the person they voted for. They want to speak their mind.

And furthermore, it's the first time since the John Kerry blog went down that people have had a chance to pour their hearts out.

Next, had this been John Kerry's twentieth post and the lack of focus still been happening, then that would indicate a perpetual and systematic lack of focus. To me...THAT is the time to decide if this is a temporary problem or something that needs critiqueing and tweaking.

Furthermore, I'd say this same comment no matter who made the first post. (ie. Edwards or Dean or whoever!) The fact is, the posters feel it's their chance to be heard and they want to let it out. Then they will feel ready to move on.

Posted by: Otter at January 21, 2006 12:04 PM

Otter,

Bowling with Gutless (from yesterday...) hahaha

Posted by: sparrow at January 21, 2006 12:07 PM

The lack of focus was on the part of the commenters, not Kerry. Read the diary again.

Posted by: madame defarge at January 21, 2006 12:10 PM

The commenters ARE not focused at this point on that thread. We both agree on that.

MY point was that they're 'dumping' in psychological terms, and will be more focused in say.. a few more JK posts later.

Posted by: madame defarge at January 21, 2006 12:10 PM

P.S. I'm really sorry if my comment seemed overly harsh to you. It wasn't my intention. I do disagree with the broad statement (that author made) about lack of focus and implying that it's a longterm and permanent problem with Democrats or Independants.

The blatantly-obvious lack of coherent focus among Democrats, democrats, independents, progressives, liberals, and what-have-you is by no means limited to one diary entry or one blogsite or one philosophy among equals.

The group(s) to which we belong, as a general rule and without much fear of contradiction, *ARE* hopelessly disorganized and unfocused and lacking in effective coherency.

That's why they have been powerless to halt the neocon-driven onslaught of Rethuglican powergrabbers in Washington, in the statehouses, and in the local towns and hamlets of our country, for lo these last four decades.

Those who believe as we do have been, and still are, hopelessly Balkanized, and about as effective as Estonia is when it comes to accomplishing anything worthwhile. *That* is our most important problem in terms of taking back our country from the warmongering greedheads who sit at its helm today, and our most difficult task is to fix it while there is still time.

And saying it ain't so won't get us any closer to making that happen, alas.

unite or die,
Otter

Posted by: Otter at January 21, 2006 12:18 PM

Otter,

But as April pointed out yesterday, the very idea of dissent is part of the culture of the Democrats, Independents, and Greens. We're not like the neoCON zombies who just vote with the herd.

We pride ourselves on having the ability to research and come to our own conclusions.

The ability to occasionally disagree is good.

The inability to ever agree, however, is bad.

Very, very bad.

got to be good-lookin' cause we're so hard to see,
Otter

I want to see if this movie is playing here yet.
I heard an interview with the Director on NPR & it sounds great. The premise is that the US government decides to send a Jewish comedian to India & Pakistan to find out what makes Muslims laugh (which is NOT what Karen Hughes does).

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433116/
http://wip.warnerbros.com/lookingforcomedy/LFC_content.html
http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/ lookingforcomedyinthemuslimworld/

Rolling Stone : Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World : Review
There is so much sitcom slop at the multiplex this winter that Albert Brooks' Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World sounds damn near revolutionary.
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/ movie/_/id/7489459/rid/9139189/

It's our anniversary & we're going to a place called "Monsoon," where the owners were recently flown to NYC to cook for James Beard!!

It's hard to focus when there is SO MUCH BULLSHIT to focus on, and activist groups that are intent on blurrying the picture.

Granted, I'd like to take about 95% of the D representatives and knock their collective noggins against a pillar, but I still believe the onus is on the citizenry, and I'm not sure there is one.

I came to that conclusion based on the stunning lack of mass anger or public outpouring of discontent given the littany of horrors that have befallen this country over the last 5 plus years. There's a laziness and rah-rah attitude that's bloatedly sickening to me. Staggering, really.

I know this much, as sure as I'm leaning here on one elbow... Only those who dig for the truth know it when they see it... others want to believe it when they are told it.

Once a cheerleader, always a fearleader.

Ladytechnie

Did you see the link to the Seattle organization that will send out DVDs to you & your friends & then you can have discussions afterward?

It got some anonymous funding from a donor that made it possible. That was the impetus for the article.

this link: http://www.thefilmconnection.org

Okay, fellow DCPeeps, if this so-called 'unanticipated side effect' of the neothugs' drug-industry-windfall legislation doesn't *really* honk you off, then you're just not paying attention...

----------

MEDICARE WOES TAKE HIGH TOLL ON MENTALLY ILL

by Robert Pear, New York Times -- http://tinyurl.com/apjab

HILLIARD, Fla., Jan. 16 -- On the seventh day of the new Medicare drug benefit, Stephen Starnes began hearing voices again, ominous voices, and he started to beg for the medications he had been taking for 10 years. But his pharmacy could not get approval from his Medicare drug plan, so Mr. Starnes was admitted to a hospital here for treatment of paranoid schizophrenia.

Mr. Starnes, 49, lives in Dayspring Village, a former motel that is licensed by the State of Florida as an assisted living center for people with mental illness. When he gets his medications, he is stable.

"Without them," he said, "I get aggravated at myself, I have terrible pain in my gut, I feel as if I am freezing one moment and burning up the next moment. I go haywire, and I want to hurt myself."

[snip]

Dr. Jacqueline M. Feldman, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said that two of her patients with schizophrenia had gone to a hospital emergency room because they could not get their medications. Dr. Feldman, who is also the director of a community mental health center, said "relapse is becoming more frequent" among her low-income Medicare patients.

Emma L. Hayes, director of emergency services at Ten Broeck Hospital, a psychiatric center in Jacksonville, said, "We have seen some increase in admissions, and anticipate a lot more," as people wrestle with the new drug benefit.

Medicare's free-standing prescription drug plans are not responsible for the costs of hospital care or doctors' services. "They have no business incentive to worry about those costs," said Dr. Joseph J. Parks, medical director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, who reported that many of his Medicare patients had been unable to get medicines or had experienced delays.

[snip]

At Dayspring Village, in the northeast corner of Florida near Jacksonville, the 80 residents depend heavily on medications. They line up for their medicines three times a day. Members of the staff, standing at a counter, dispense the pills through a window that looks like the ticket booth at a movie theater.

Most of the residents are on Medicare, because they have disabilities, and Medicaid, because they have low incomes. Before Jan. 1, the state's Medicaid program covered their drugs at no charge. Since then, the residents have been covered by a private insurance company under contract to Medicare.

For the first time, residents of Dayspring Village found this month that they were being charged co-payments for their drugs, typically $3 for each prescription. The residents take an average of eight or nine drugs, so the co-payments can take a large share of their cash allowance, which is $54 a month.

Even after the insurer agreed to relax "prior authorization" requirements for a month, it was charging high co-payments for some drugs - $52 apiece for Abilify, an anti-psychotic medicine, and Depakote, a mood stabilizer used in treating bipolar disorder.

[snip]

"If I didn't have any of those medications, I would probably be institutionalized for the rest of my life," said Deborah Ann Katz, a 36-year-old Medicare beneficiary at Dayspring. "I'd be hallucinating, hearing voices."

Michael D. Ranne, president of the Jacksonville chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said the use of powerful psychiatric medications "virtually emptied out state mental hospitals" in the 1970's and early 80's. Ms. Katz said she had been "in and out of hospitals" since she was 13.

Sponsors of the 2003 Medicare law wanted to drive down costs by creating a competitive market for drug insurance. They focused on older Americans, not the disabled. They assumed that beneficiaries would sort through various drug plans to find the one that best met their needs. But that assumption appears unrealistic for people at Dayspring Village.

Heidi L. Fretheim, a case manager for Dayspring residents, said: "If I take them shopping at Wal-Mart, the experience is overwhelming for them. They get nervous. They think the clerks are plotting against them, or out to hurt them."

Residents of Dayspring Village see worms in their food. Some neglect personal hygiene because they hear voices in the shower. When nurses draw blood, some patients want the laboratory to return it so the blood can be put back in their veins.

Under the 2003 Medicare law, low-income people entitled to both Medicare and Medicaid are exempted from all co-payments if they live in a nursing home. But the exemption does not apply to people in assisted living centers like Dayspring Village.

Douglas D. Adkins, executive director of Dayspring Village, said: "Some of the pharmacists have been saying, 'No pills unless we get a co-payment.' Well, how are these people going to get the money for a co-payment? They don't have it."

[snip]

Luis E. Collazo, administrator of Palm Breeze, an assisted living center for the mentally ill in Hialeah, Fla., said many of his residents were forgoing their medications on account of the new co-payments.

"Because of their mental illness," Mr. Collazo said, "they don't have the insight to realize the consequences of not taking their medications. Without their medicines, they will definitely go into the hospital."

----------

There's an old joke that says "One out of four people is mentally ill. So take a close look at the three people standing next to you. If they look like they're sane, then you're the one."

It's a joke that's only funny because it's true, as they say. A surprisingly large number of people today are mentally ill to one degree or another, at least according to the criteria listed in latest version of the DSM-IV (the fourth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual).

Not all of those who are technically mentally ill are dysfunctional in the real world, of course; but a growing minority of them are, particular since the baby-boomer generation is aging into the realm of Alzheimer's and other dementive disorders... and *especially* in the decade or two since the state and federal powers that be began discharging mentally ill people (who had previously been considered dysfunctional and in need of institutional care) out onto the public streets in an effort to save money.

So... it may be that one out of four people in your immediate circles are not mentally ill to the point where they need professional care and psychiatric medications in order to maintain their ability to function in the so-called real world. But stop and think about it for a minute... and I'll just about guarantee that each of you know at least one or more person in your lives who fits that description. Possibly, even probably in some cases, it's a member of your family or your circle of close friends who qualifies.

And remember... that person, those persons, are getting well and truly screwed under the current administration's bogus corporate-giveaway legislation when it comes to the prescriptions that they need every day in order to keep themselves out of the hospital wards and the rubber rooms and the shabby, scabby 'private-sector' dumping grounds for those who cannot see clearly enough to fend for themselves in these compassionate-conservative times.

put that in your palm and pop it mr. boosh,
Otter

Most Americans struggle to meet obligations ; bills, mortgages, children, education, etc. Graduate a doctor and you probably have over 100,000 in Debt to pay off. Dont go to school and you will probably work the rest of your life just to pay your bills. Most people do not have the time to understand politics, and that is the grey area that allows policians to operate as they do.

It is an ugly Cycle, one that health care and education programs would eliminate.

However, the medicare pharmacuetical legislation recently passed will result in close to One Trillion dollars in Debt.
At the same time education is being cut across the board, creating a new generation of less than potentially capable Americans.

Add this to the 500 Billion for the Iraqi Invasion (cost so far) and we have 1.5 Trillion dollars in new debt added just in the last 3 years, for these two programs alone.

There should be a shutdown of Government to protest this larceny, and there isnt.
There should be a Shutdown to illuminate the cuts to education, there is none.

Why should Americans be concerned when the leaders they elected, democrat and republican, behave as if everything is just fine.

Madame DeFarge

I read the diary about Kerry's diary & its comments but I don't think I'd go so far as to generalize about Kossack's lack of focus & the Democrats in general. Many of them are young, like the old Dean blog, & it's a social party as much as anything. I read some of the diaries because Kossack friends send them but I don't generally read the comments. Kos gets alot of hits & there are some good diaries but the "comment" situation is not unusual.

I think the Republicans are only in power because they give breaks to the multinational corporations. On top of that, they co-opt the social conservatives. That's a hard thing for a party of ordinary people to compete with. We common free-thinking people have the support of much of the world though.

Did you see Karl Rove's new game plan for 2006?
It was sent out by Seattle Voice, one of our grassroots groups, but I found the link from WA Post too. It's not long & I think you have to "subscribe" to read in WA Post, so I'll post it all.

I put it on the last thread but want it to have more visibility. I noticed a note from Otter that I shouldn't cut & post things in their entirety because of the copyright disclaimer. I had actually edited the Into down some and I do have permission from the owner, in any event.

Received by members of local grassroots group:
If you think Republicans are worried about the scandals and the war, read this article from the Washington Post.  We Democrats can no longer allow Republicans to define us or stake out a position that is illusion at best.  Seattle Voice is a step in gathering together, to share the active, to act instead of complain.  This Election does matter. Cantwell is a large target.  Think about your immediate future if this election is not won. 

Let's get started today.  This article shows the road they will take.  Let's choose a better road.

Rove Offers Republicans A Battle Plan For Elections

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove offered a biting preview of the 2006 midterm elections yesterday, drawing sharp distinctions with the Democrats over the campaign against terrorism, tax cuts and judicial philosophy, and describing the opposition party as backward-looking and bereft of ideas.

"At the core, we are dealing with two parties that have fundamentally different views on national security," Rove said. "Republicans have a post-9/11 worldview and many Democrats have a pre-9/11 worldview. That doesn't make them unpatriotic -- not at all. But it does make them wrong -- deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong."

Rove spoke at the winter meeting of the Republican National Committee and, with RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, provided a campaign blueprint for fighting the Democrats. They spoke at the beginning of an important election year in which Republicans are battling historical trends, public unrest over Iraq and a spreading corruption scandal that together threaten to reduce the GOP majorities in the House and the Senate and possibly shift control of one or both chambers to the Democrats.

At a time when Democrats have staked their hopes in large part on the issue of corruption, Rove and Mehlman showed that Republicans plan to contest the elections on themes that have helped expand their majorities under President Bush. They see national security and the vigorous prosecution of the campaign against terrorism at the heart of the GOP appeal to voters.

(Edited by moderator: Please read the rest at the link below.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/20/AR2006012001853.html

Monkey
I agree about the strange rah rah cheerleading pattern and general passivity (if that is a fair paraphrase). I thought the response after 9/11 was hysterical, commercialized & shameful (flag mugs etc). People were ready to swallow anything they were told & it wasn't just the government who didn't connect the dots. & I was shocked when people took the two obviously stolen elections so passively. That type of response is probably more scary than the government itself! Do people end up with the type of leaders they deserve, or even want?!!!

From old Europe Mamma to restless American Blue kids : yes, you are different. light blue, dark blue, turquoise blue, pale blue, vivid blue...with spots, stripes, dots, checks... but if you don't unite, you get stuck in the "blues".
Is that what you want? I'll just tell you what my grandma told us as kids when we had done something wrong and we were not willing to acknowledge it : "Put your pride under your feet". I shall just add, "and work together to achieve your goal".
Last time you surprised the whole world because you were UNITED. Never forget it.
Your weaknesses and your strenghts root at the very same basis. just keep strenghts in mind, please.

oncall you posted last night:

"Miller directs our attention to Bush's high-handed treatment of dissenters. If electronic voting machines programmed by private Republican firms remain in our future, dissent will become pointless unless it boils over into revolution. Power-mad Republicans need to consider the result when democracy loses its legitimacy and only the rich have anything to lose."

oncall isn't Roberts a really right wing ideologue? To hear this from him shows us how far adrift this country really is.

Andree I just finished reading the bio on John Adams and recall a quote where Adams, while an emissary in Paris, said very directly that without the French there would not have been a United States. What a traitor that Adams guy was. Today he would be banished by this Adminitration.

Amazing that the neocons have absolutely no understanding of American history.

(Just FYI, DiAnne... the Washington Post article that you reposted again is still the same length in your post as it is on the Washington Post's original copyrighted page. Editing down the intro to it that you got from your mailing list is not the same thing as editing the actual article; and unless you got permission to repost the latter en toto from the Washington Post itself, then the odds are that you don't actually have valid permission to repost the original article at full length here on our site.)

I'm just sayin',
Otter

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 01:39 PM

Merci, Andrée. Vous savez bien.

Your weaknesses and your strenghts root at the very same basis. Andree

I agree with this. I have thought about that alot.

What does not destroy me makes me stronger.
Nietzsche

(Imagine an American actually quoting a philosopher, if he was one - I used to have it written on a t-shirt, of course. That's very American.)

Otter
let them come after me

No Otter, seriously - I'll try to snip away.

DiAnne:

What a thoroughly Rethuglican attitude for you to espouse!

(Yikes!)

who'd'a thunk it,
Otter

Posted by: DiAnne at January 21, 2006 01:57 PM

DiAnne, it's not only you they will come after. It's the site owners too. They can and will sue the DCP. Those "fair use" laws are posted in our comment section for a real reason. Please, please adhere to them for the good of the DCP. Thank you.

(Not like any of the rest of us have never done the same thing either, of course... but I'm just trying to pay extra attention to the details these days so's we don't get our collective asterisks into a ScAlito-shaped sling...)

don't touch my bags if you please mr. customs man,
Otter

You know in Bush's Brain - the logic of Rove is exposed. He says to attack the strengths of the Democrats, because they will attack their own weaknesses.

That explains things like the Swift Boat Vets.
Kerry was a combat vet, Bush was an AWOL.
Recently they even question Muhrta's medals, these chickenhawks.

They also accuse others of things they are guilty of (which is called hypocrisy) and they tend to say the opposite of what they mean (which is Orwellian - Clean Air Act means Dirty Air Act etc).

Yes it's the Rethuglican in me - my shadow side.
heh heh heh heh - that's why I'm able to study Rove and his tactics.

Yikes redux! You mean that DiAnne's evil twin sister is actually...

*Karen HUGHES*??

be afwaid be vewwy afwaid,
Otter

It's actually kind of hypocritical for me to accuse Kos commenters of drifting off focus!!

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

The Fog of War is an AMAZING film!
http://www.sonyclassics.com/fogofwar/indexFlash.html

Otter
Yes I am not a Rethuglican but a DemoRat.

Huh? Happy Anniversary to us? *Already*? Gee, it seems like it was only yesterday...

what does not deploy me makes me stranger,
Otter

I prefer to think of moi as a small-d 'democractivist' myself...

otters is as otters does,
Otter

The Fog of War is an AMAZING film!
http://www.sonyclassics.com/fogofwar/indexFlash.html

Posted by: NativeTexan4Kerry at January 21, 2006 02:08 PM

Yes it is!! Very powerful.

Otter - LOL
You need to make a coffee table book of your signoffs (or would it be a little book you read on the toilet)?

May our second Anniversary be full of joy,good health, and humanity.

le chaim.

And salaam aleichem, too.

blessed be,
Otter

DiAnne,

What does not destroy me makes me stronger.
Nietzsche.

OK for me, but if you had been "destroyed" that would work. Except you were "stolen" 2 elections. Call it the way you want, mainstream people didn't get a clue about it.

That's why I kept to basic politics, and what do you need? Voters.
The probem of the democrat party is that it covers a laaaaaarge span. One candidate will never fulfill the wishes of all the voters (we have some 10/12 parties that could fit in your dem party) , that's why you have to focus on the main issues.
As I said it's "blue or blues", at any cost about your darling differencies. Are they really worth it.
The deal is simple : red or blue.
After, you can still negociate...with the Blues.

Talking about blue. I only like pink(s) (though I never voted socialist, and white. Too bad for me, there's no party for me....

Hey! Let's have a party for Andree!

only if I get to make the balloon animals though,
Otter

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 02:20 PM

Andree,

You've successfully created a portrait of our Democracy as tie dye.

Congrats! :) That takes some doing!

Now we know how to appeal to the young voters out there.

Red/pink tye die or shades of blue.

sparrow:

I vote for Door # 2 -- http://tinyurl.com/8k5dt

the ides of texas are upon you,
Otter

Sparrow,

You got it!

I've been watching you for some two years now. I couln't vote, but whe you said "vote on this , or that" about polls, I just followed. And I travelled to places, that I will never see, that I didn't even know where they are, but I did it, because I love your country and I'm blue to the marrow of the bones.

I think that sharing so many things with you, got me to be the "unknown" better specialist of the dem world.

Otter,

OK for the party. We had it in Paris with DiAnne, when are you dropping in?

And I would just like to say, that I'm very happy to see Wild Samon Back. He/she was the first one to wake up on the old blog.

I'll have you know that I have several red, white, *and* blue tie-dyed shirts, thankyouverymuch, including a couple that are recognizably remiscent of an American flag pattern. And they came in quite handy when I was canvassing certain neighborhoods during the last election cycle, too.

but all red/pink ties must die,
Otter

I have a tie Dye John Kerry even, but it won't fit you Otter, or I would have sent it.

I like the red and pink neckties, myself!

As for pink, there is Code Pink!! They are great! http://www.codepink4peace.org
Superb, brave & tireless!!

Even Republicans aren't all bad. I have permission to post this, from a Republican, & it also went to wife of a former multiple-time US Presidential candidate in the GOP. It's about corporate corruption & the reason these people are bailing from their party. These former GOP people & Independents are not going to fit the "politically correct" profile of the progressive Democrat but we need them, to win. We will have to be a bigger tent than ever!

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P139870.asp?GT1=7620
CEOs Cut Pensions, Pad Their Own

This is the man - a GOOD Republican
http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1947/1101470825_400.jpg "If we are right, we will win"

Stassen gained a reputation as a liberal, particularly when, as president of the American Baptist Convention in 1963, he joined Martin Luther King in his march on Washington, D.C.. He was a prime representative of the liberal stream of American Republicanism. Much of his political thought came from his religious beliefs. An active American (or Northern) Baptist, he held important positions in his denomination and in local and national councils of churches. Many remembered him as much as a church figure as a political candidate.

Otter,

I'm awfullu sorry for you about colours, but my daughters have a student's job at GAP, and I only dress in GAP.
Oh what? Not in Chanel or Dior? Nooooo. They have the best bargains on earth.
Today I'm wearing a beautiful strawberry pink wool top, that Camille got for 9€ instead of 49€. They just get the items out of the bag. For mummy it's XS for tops, and size 0 for pants....they always fit perfectly. So thank's to an American firm for having me looking as if I sat on my checks book, even if it's not the case.
I love my last bag, paid 3,50€ instead of 69€.

Merci GAP, merci l'Amérique.

You never thoungt of that, hmmm????
GAP is a top hit in France.

DiAnne knows. We need more *real* honest and fair liberal Republicans like him. (Which see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Stassen )

hey! you stassen me back, young missy?,
Otter

Andree?
Do you want more GAP? It may be cheap enough on sale to pay for the postage!! Or I'll smuggle some more in a suitcase. I buy it if it's cheap enough because it's well made, but never buy retail.

Otter,
Really - my uncle used to force me to go to the MN Republican convention, and Stassen was his friend. I knew he was running for office, but I was a Eugene McCarthy worker (fellow Minnesotan) and firmly against the Vietnam war. I really did not know the Stassens were actually pretty cool, & next time I go to MN I want to meet his widow.
Really, poor Harold would be rolling over in his grave. It's the Culture of Corruption that finally got to my uncle, who is kind of like what we call a Dan Evans Republican here in WA - fiscally conservative but only moderately socially conservative. That sort of person is no liberal but on the other hand, they are a liberal Republican and doubly betrayed by this administration, like we are. There are also some sorts of Libertarians who are very poor fits with this administration.

I think that compassion for the poor and wish for the greatest good for the most people is what our party's historical strength is. We should capitalize on that.

In some ways, I think the neocons are choking on their own greed. I wonder who Libby's lawyers will subpoena though (which journalists) - makes my skin crawl.

Andree,
I am wearing a bright orange leather jacket (James Dean style) that I bought in Paris.
It wasn't really a bargain. :( I love it.

In the very audio-visual medium of TV, the constant repetition of the words/phrases terror, war on terror, terrorism, terror alerts (et cetera) are - have, or will be - desensitizing people to the meaning of the words, just like the violence in movies has desensitized the broad spectrum of young people who "entertain" themselves by going to, or renting, scary movies incessantly. Since that first week after 9/11, people went back to living their lives normally (How could they not? The deaths of 3000 people took place in the same amount of time as a short scary documentary, and the sound bytes were repeated endlessly for months on end.), but the 'nooze' anchors have repeated the same words over and over and over (some anchors even use heightened and fake-frightened drama-queen voices).

Fear "entertains" a great many people (especially younger people), some of voting age, at the movies and on TV and via computer games. Reality that involves "terrorism" is the same as fiction to them. It's meaningless entertainment because of the steady diet of "fear as entertainment" for the last 15 or 20 years. The dumbest thing I've heard anyone say is "people like to be scared." It makes no sense to me, and indicates that the person saying the phrase has never known genuine fear.

The idea that their rights are being taken away from them by the Bu$hCo administration means nothing to people who love to be scared for "entertainment." It's those of us who are older (and usually vote) who know what's at stake because we've studied history and we know the difference between the freedoms we have taken for granted and the freedoms being yanked from us by the Bu$hCo administration who feel the losses, or potential losses, most keenly.

I'm hoping the Rovian campaign strategy of scaring kool-aid drinking sheeples half to death with "terror" in the upcoming political races will backfire on the neoCons.... IF the Dems get some good campaign managers on their side who know how to counter the incessant drivel about 'terror' and divert their attention to the illegalities that have taken place for five years and inform voters what's at stake for rights and privileges that are being taken away and being replaced with psychological warfare against the citizens of this nation by the current administration, then we stand a good chance of winning a huge number of Dem seats this fall, and in '08.

The key to effective brainwashing is endless repetition of statements that can be deconstructed and proven false by anyone with an IQ higher than a rock. Brainwashing like we've been exposed to for five years works precisely because of the endless repetition of key phrases (which we can hear any time we turn on infotainment nooze). We Dems need short, truthful, bumpersticker phrases that can be endlessly repeated to counter the original brainwashing, reversing the cult-like repetition of the endless neoCon lies of the last five years that everyone who tunes in to the evening news hears over and over and over....

The endless distracting and false issues ("values" and "morals" things having to do with bandwagon patriotism, gay marriage, and that counter the First Amendment's separation of church and state that Rethuglican neoCons bait us into so we never get around to discussing the important things, like the number of laws the Bu$hCo administration has broken, and the laws they've taken into their own hands illegally) need to be totally ignored, or dealt with - and dismissed - in short bumpersticker phrases. We need to stop letting ourselves be suckered into endless debate that amounts to 'much ado about nothing' and impedes progress in talking about real issues!!!

The endless LIES and LIES to explain the original LIES having to do with the illegal, unjust, immoral, and unethical war in Iraq - all grounds for IMPEACHMENT of a pResident for LIES, high crimes and misdemeanors is the strongest point at which Dems can hammer away at endlessly (many divisions to talk about in just that area alone). That's Issue #1. Medicare which is FUBAR is Issue #2. Tax cuts to the wealthy and to the corporations which have decimated the treasury in a time of a war of choice based on LIES is Issue #3. If the Dems truthfully hammer away on those three issues - endlessly, repeatedly - we should be able to make some headway in the '06 election.

Yes, I'm aware of the other issues like how the media has been co-opted by the fundies and the neoCons, and eliminating those damned voting machines that can be hacked into (which SHOULD have been dealt with immediately after the 2000 Selection, but Congress failed to do so, and the '04 election was stolen as a result, and it SHOULD have been dealt with before the '06 election, but I seriously doubt Congress will do anything about it in time), education (and sex ed) and pro-choice issues, and the like, are important, but we must pick and choose from a long list and hammer the points over people's heads until they wake up to realize they've been had for the last five years, let them know they have choices to make when they vote, and once the sheeples stop drinking the kool-aid, perhaps they'll come out of their comatose states, and that will lead to productive dialogue on the other genuine issues. We need to de-program the cult-like thinking processes....

The "values and morals" nonsense is a major distraction that has nothing to do with the price of tea in China. Besides which, what good are morals and values when a corporate dictator is so ready, willing, and able to brainwash people by telling them what to think, what to believe, and what to do, and he's the one telling people what their "morals and values" must be.... and it's always "do as I say, not as I do" - there are no morals and values to believe in when someone dictates what those morals and values must be (according to one man and his corporate cronies...).

Isn't it about time the Democrats LEAD these discussions for a change, instead of just reacting to, or being suckered into, the neoCon agendas of endless distractions???

Yup. It's definitely time to lead, follow, or get out of DeLay.

oh tommy boy the pugs the pugs are calling,
Otter

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 02:41 PM

Andree,

And your words and your voice (and your heart) has been SOOO appreciated here by all of us! You are the voice that keeps us fighting here, knowing how Europe watches our struggles and hopes we can overcome this current darkness.

((((((Group hug...))))))

Hey, who just goosed me?

Otter,

You've never been so right.

this is what I mailed to DiAnne before reading your post :
DiAnne,

“lack of focus”, that’s what i ‘ve been writing about.

There is NOTHING to be written about it. OR YOU GO UNITED OR YOU LOSE.

I’ts as imple as that, it’s high time you stop quibbling hair about your differences. You don’t have the means anymore.

Andrée.

Time to lead? Show it, and speak in a single voice.

It's reciprocal too - I always pull for the good people of Europe. The spectre of neocons & creepy industrialists & warmongers hangs over the whole planet, actually.

Small things:
I just donated $20 to the DNC, who called.
I just filled up with my 15th tank of Citgo, Venezuelan petroleum.
I just found out I can listen to this on the way home, instead of "Marketplace" (or as an alternative) on NPR. I know just where on the road to start tuning it in.
http://www.democracynow.org

GREAT THREAD HEADER, DG!!!

Thank you!!

I didn't alot of these films exist. I would love to watch most all of them.

Question:

Can this list be part of the DCP, either linkable to on the front page, or in the forum, and updated as new films come out?

How about too if (I'm hoping here that I can get access to them being way up north like I am)we could get a review thread, or a review night in the IRC, or a review link in the forum to some of the films?

I love films, and art in general. I think it would help us further get to know each other, as well as relieve some tensions from the horrible mess BuschCo has gotten this country into.

And on this pesky 'focus' issue... it says a lot to me than in response to Wednesday's announcement by the Democratic Congresspersons of their own campaign finance and lobbying reform initiatives -- which I must note got remarkably little attention here on the DCP, gee why is that you reckon? -- Oliver Willis of 'Media Matters' flat out said, "I swear, the universe must have rocked off of its axis on Wednesday because the freaking Democrats stayed on message."

That doesn't exactly project a sense of happy smiling unified Democrats all pulling on the same end of the same rope at the same time, now, does it?

we must hang together or we shall hang separately,
Otter

DiAnne,

Do you know who are the people who keep us going for the time being? Hollywood and the last movies, that are on the line of the 70's/ vietNam war.

There are tons of articles written about them and the way they oppose and denounce the Bush system. They are not locked to the ùmovie industry. We have tons of debates about the message they pass.

It may look over simple to you, but that's the way a message can be passed abroad....and there are lines in front of theaters.

Truth Shall Prevail
I can make a film listing like that when I get a little time, like in the Forum where the Links are. I'll include the site where people can have DVDs sent to rural areas, etc.

Glad you liked it!

Andree,

Good tie-in about the movies. I do know that alot of our movies & music are seen & heard abroad. & I also know that conservative administrations have never liked Hollywood, as there are many thinking, conscious actors, directors & even financiers. Some things are produced that are crassly commercial and for money only, but there is still art with a conscience. There are still alot of creative, intelligent, curious people in America and they tend to be on our side.

There will be McCarthyesque attempts at suppression and blackballing, but that's to be expected. There are plenty with access to channels of their own. There are always those like Audrey Hepburn or Angelina Jolie who are not just a pretty face but have a conscience. & they have money.

Posted by: Otter at January 21, 2006 01:30 PM

Consider me sufficiently "honked off".

That is so CRUEL.

Many, if not most, of the homeless are mentally ill, and are not able to fend for themselves.

What a creepy society we have.

Isn't it about time the Democrats LEAD these discussions for a change, instead of just reacting to, or being suckered into, the neoCon agendas of endless distractions???"
NonnyO

Ooh were it so, Nonny.

Democratic leadership allows republicans to define this party, and for one reason or another simply does not get it.
Karl Rove fired a shot across the bow, and began to define the Democratic party for the 2006 elections, this week. Since we do not have cohesive strategy, it will stick.
And we are back again, fighting AGAINST a definition of who we are, instead of Speaking for ourselves.

This strategy did in Kerry/Edwards, and we learned Nothing from it. We are a Political Punching bag, keep taking blows, keep coming back for more. When is the DNC going to punch back..?

There are millions of people working in progressive groups, and are largely untapped. I saw this in the Kerry website; There were incredibly shrewd and smart strategies, commercials, slogans, ideas, etc that bested anything DNC million dollar consultants came up with, yet were ignored.
It soesnt matter WHO good ideas come from, Use Them.

Bush won because they ran a tougher, disciplined campaign. When this is brought up in DNC circles, immediately we are told democrats encompass wider Ideals, diversified policies, blah blah blah, so we cannot run a smart tough campaign, which is an educated manner of saying we give up.

The definition of a leader is someone that brings groups together and unites for a common goal. Bush / Rove are a lot of things and represent an ill future for the United States, but they ran a superior political campaign, one the DNC simply was / is not capable of competing with.

Clinton has a tryst with an Intern and nearly impeached. Bush leads the nation into a fraudulent war, invasion, bankruptcy and worse, and sits in defiance of the Constitution.

We need new leadership Now...

Andree,

I am also aware that Michael Moore did very very well in France, before he even hit here, & at Cannes, of course.

I remember meeting the Goth guy at the shop near your house & with little English & little French we had a very good conversation - about Cindy Sheehan!!!

Fox News has very little influence outside US.
I read an article critical of Al-Jazeera today, in an Illinois newspaper, but I noticed that the end comment said that Bin Laden doesn't release tapes for US consumption anyway - they're intended for the Arab world.

The US does not (yet) control the world's media, though we do have a big propaganda operation in Iraq, where journalists have been paid off if they will report certain things. I'm sure things like that were done in every war though. My dad told me about the little pamphlets that rained down on the soldiers when he was in Australia in WW2, some from Americans, some from Japanese.

Toolmaker
The DNC called me. I renewed my membership.
There website looks fine. Give Dean a chance.
I got a mailing last night from the head of one of our grassroots, presenting Rove's plan.

We need Rove indicted. He gets alot of his ideas from Democrats attacking themselves publicly.

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at January 21, 2006 04:03 PM

How about it mods and crew? Would you consider a review time of the above mentioned films, perhaps one a month, or one every other month, with a corporate review hour or forum page?

(I am also aware that come March and the thaw from winter and we should be hitting the ground running hard for the '06 elections.)

Which party gets the biggest corporate donations?
I think it's partly about messages but largely also about promises made to corporations. Bush rarely vetoes. He owes alot of favors.

Truth Shall Prevail

I'd like a way to keep the film thing at least updated - alot of the ones I found were made pre-election and there was a rush to get them out because of that, but the political documentary and intelligent film isn't going to go away - as there is a definite audience for it.

If there is a spot on the Forum, then people can submit entries, but it would really be nice to have a graphic or visual way to direct people's attention to new things, so they don't get buried.

Truth Shall Prevail
I just looked at the icons on the right of the main page. A movie icon could go under book icon, for quick clicking, then direct the reader to the Forum.

DiAnne,

Michael Moore is already far behind, he was on the opposing/voting process.
The guy who is focusing all the media is George Clooney, not only because of his movie, but because of his interviews (that you will never see printed in US) but because of his values, and the way he stcks to them. We don't care about Doctor Ross, or the money he makes about blockbusters....Whe he comes here, he speaks his mind and it gets a lot of echo.

All the problems you are raising here each day, cannot call to a foreign mainstrem ear, even if you think the same. But when Clooney, or Spielberg says a thing...that you say , we just think "these people are great"...and "Americans are not all Bushies idiots".
When exchanging ideas, you always have to keep in mind those who dread politics and think they are not up to it, except they vote.

Posted by: Suz at January 21, 2006 11:56 AM

Totally funny movie.

Ha ha

Martin (to a man with hemorroids) "Show us your affliction brother", (man) "No, I just can't."
Martin "Don't be embarrassed, show us your affliction." - Well, you can visualize the rest!

Thank you for the link to the MM site that showed pics of Bin Laden and Chris Matthews, MM really really has a grasp of whats going on Chris is billed basically as a Dem if he is then I am Conservative Republican!!

Andree I second everyone else when they talk about your dedication to our countries politics. I have always enjoyed you world veiw of us and the facts that you can provide that our news papers and programsn often do not. Not to mention i just think you are an all over nice person :)

April,

You have no idea how happy I feel to have you back here.
I must also acknowledge the fact that I forgot to send you the Xmas pictures I was due to send you.

From 3 girls mum to 3 girls mum.

I love you.

I know Democrats have a big tent but its coming to a point were we all need to pick one central issue that we agree on and we can fight about the other later after we take back the country and try to fix this mess. Everyone believes their issue is the most important right now I see the only issue of impotance as being to fix the mess we have now!!

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 05:28 PM

Love Ya to and I would love to see those pics :) HUGGGGGGGGGSSS

So there's Chris Matthews comparing Michael Moore and OBL. Now there's Tucker Carlson claiming that the Dems & NYT are giving OBL his talking points.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001882866

So wonder what the real story is... Is the tape a creation of Rove, since it seems to be right down his alley of talking points?

Or is OBL playing us all for fools? He makes what seem to be reasonable requests to end the war, but ones that he must know this regime will immediately reject (which they did). Progressives rag on this regime for not accepting the requests; OBL can claim he tried, but the US wouldn't accept, thereby giving him (in his mind & to his people) legitimate reasons to carry on another terror attack on US soil...

This is all too insane.

Posted by: madame defarge at January 21, 2006 05:43 PM
Great points!!

I do feel like we live in a world gone mad.

April,

Go to your mail.

You've got your picts. Welcome into the family.

Andrée.

Posted by: madame defarge at January 21, 2006 05:43 PM

This is why I don't think it matters whether we're on message or not; why it's not important if we present a united front. We HAVE been on message for the last few weeks - the anti-corruption, invasion of privacy message. We've been hard on that message. Our message - the message of truth and justice and what used to be the american way - just got kidnapped. They just took it right away from us. The thugs can create any negative buzz about the dems they want just by feeding to one of their many talking heads.

Until people start standing up and demanding free media and lawful government, we're going nowhere. All it takes is Matthews, Carlson, and I'm sure Rush will pick up on it if he hasn't already, to say the dems and OBL are in cahoots, and we're losing in November.

Until our leadership starts demanding that Bush be held accountable, until they shut down the Congress and demand that we get our country back, we're going nowhere.

Clearly, the loudest voice wins. We can't afford to be gentile anymore. We can't afford to be the voice of reason anymore. We need our leadership to stand up, speak out, and quit acting like the abused victims they are.

Enough is enough.

(ok - rant over)

Clearly, the loudest voice wins. We can't afford to be gentile anymore. We can't afford to be the voice of reason anymore. We need our leadership to stand up, speak out, and quit acting like the abused victims they are.

Enough is enough.

(ok - rant over)

Posted by: Carol at January 21, 2006 06:11 PM

Hear, Hear!

So when can we start your political campaign?

;)

madame- I thought the tape might be a Rovian tactic too, until I heard Jerry Springer comment on that subject on Air America Radio yesterday. What he said made sense- the tape came to us through Al Jazeera (sp?), and they probably have enough connections to know that it's real and not a US hoax.
Also, they have no reason to want W's approval ratings to go up because of an Al Qaida threat. I think it's the real thing.

It's just more proof that what they really want is us off their soil. And I have even more reason to want that tonight- my daughter just told me this afternoon that her best friend who she's known since elementary school will be deployed to Iraq sometime later this year. She joined the Marines last spring and only recently finished boot camp. It's very depressing- she basically joined because she couldn't decide what else to do with her life. So many young people go in the military for that very reason- they're floating around and some recruiter gets to them and offers them a plan for the future.
I used to be nice to the recruiters who phoned my house, but now I have to admit that I hang up on them. They're extremely agressive nowdays.

Posted by: Carol at January 21, 2006 06:11 PM

Right on, and I think some of them are.

IMHO, there is politics inside politics. Senators are trying to hold on to their seats through pandering to their constituency, plus sometimes they need to make deals in Washington to get things they want for their constituency.
Some of them are just full of ego (I'm thinking of Biden here) and say whatever sounds good, but vote the opposite.

I've said it before. Talk is cheap. NEVER, never, NEVER look at a man and decide who he is by what he says - look at what he DOES.

Rove is shrewd. I think the tape is Rovian. Period. And, walla, they have their talking points.....anything to try to discredit the democrats and the doves. People are smarter than that, however, they are afraid of another terrorist attack.

When the Repugs are down, they play their trump card.....bin Laden is the King of Diamonds.

Shameful, Orwelian and fascist.

Sparrow,

I used to think I wasn't diplomatic enough, but after what I just wrote, maybe that's our problem. We need to quit worrying about that.

Not enough energy or money or connections to run at this point, but thanks for the vote of confidence!

I dont see so much attacking as asking what the heck is going on. Karl rove is smart, but more importantly he is not afraid to go on the offense with effective strategy.
Is there a National Strategy from the DNC for the 2006 election, if so, what is it? Its getting late in the game to admit we have none.

Republicans have no issue laying their cards on the table, labeling democrats as unpatriotic and worse, twisting events to instill fear and panic.

Democrats dont have cards to lay out, we absorb these body blows day in, day out, election cycle after election cycle, offering little to no resisitance.

I refuse to believe Neocons are able to accomplish their goals while we are supposed to wring our hands, toss ashes on our foreheads, and cry out in anguish.
The Constitution was not written for weak minded and ineffective political leadership. We need to FIGHT for our rights, through Elected representatives. That is the mechanism provided.
Lead, Follow, or get out of the way. We demand action, or replace them, this is what the Constitution provides. Half measures promote the neocon agenda and i am tired of watching democrats bend. We are becoming accessories to the fact.

Show Backbone, or get out. Stand, Speak and demonstate, or resign. If you dont understand the obligations of your office, reread the oath you took when sworn to represent this Republic. You are not important, your office is, stop wasting the space.

I watched Nancy Pelosi the other day...she has leadership qualities. She should be given more support, more airtime, more, more, more. She answered tough questions, and took to task this administration while honoring our military. If the DNC were smart, they would focus National strategy to make this Congresswoman MAJORITY leader. I wish we had another dozen like her.
It isnt difficult, it just takes guts and leadership from the DNC.

Also, the Repugs have Rove.

We need a Rove - equivelent (only one who is not amoral) to strategize and lead us to victory.

WHO are our leaders? What is the structure of our leadership? Do we even know who SHOULD be our leader? Don't say Dean, his job is to raise money.

WHERE is our structure? I'll tell you why I think the Repugs have done so well, they are very structured, like the government is, and like churches are. They have a top person and a strategy person, and they are really organized.

We are only punching air if we don't get organized and structured. And, sadly to say, if we don't do it soon, we are losing our democracy and civil rights.

Posted by: DiAnne at January 21, 2006 04:27 PM

I agree that would be nice.

Posted by: Carol at January 21, 2006 06:22 PM

Carol,

I've been seriously thinking about asking public servants to be strong and assertive like you suggested.

Sure...the peacemaker part of me says, "Don't tick anyone off..."

But then the other part of me says, "Heck..you only have one life to live, so live it honestly and live it faithfully and with integrity, then you'll have nothing to be ashamed of later."

So I realized, I really want our Representatives to pick choice number two. It's what drew me to Conyers, Kerry, Boxer and Obama.

It's what I want them to have...Integrity. I want them to have integrity and not worry about the next election results.

So when can we start your political campaign?

Sparrow,

This is what I asked last week, when I quoted there was no pilot on the plane.

Your American political system is very harsh on the the loser. The one who has been carrying all your hopes and values is just thrown away as a tissue paper. In Europe he becomes the head of the opposisition, respected and carrying the other camp values. And it WORKS.

So where is the problem? You are going on with a 18th century voting system, while you got to be a super power (yes, you're gonna tell me, not anymore). Since you had 1 constitution, whe had 5...evolving with times.
De Gaulle was the last one who had us entering in modern age, well, that was in 1958, and the Constitution kept evolving.

When will you be willing to have your constitution brushed up to 21th century?

I feel you're all gonna yell at me.

On the united front issue- here's what I think Democrats can agree on:
Spying on American citizens is wrong, it is illegal. George W Bush has broken the law.
Election reform is needed- we need a paper trail when we go to the polls and vote. Anything less is not acceptable.
All Americans have a right to some form of health insurance- be it through government subsidies to private carriers or through outright government control of the health system.
Equal rights under the law for all citizens is not a subject that is up for debate. Nothing less can be accepted.
Both freedom of religion and freedom from religion are constitutional guarantees.
The votes of our elected officials should not be for sale to any corporation or lobbyist.

Things we cannot expect Democrats to agree on:
Abortion
The right to die
Same sex marriages
The War in Iraq
Taxes
Gun control
States rights
The death penalty
Affirmative action

Unfortunately, the issues that are in the news are the ones in the second half of that list. What we need to do is stop debating the issues that we don't agree on and present a united front on those that we do agree on. And also, to not let the media or the Repugs focus so singularly on those divisive issues that we seem to have no focus.
Unfortunately, the issue of the war isn't going away, but we can minimize our reaction to the other issues and focus on what unites us- and that's well within OUR power to do.
It can be done, and we don't have to create a litmus test to be a Democrat.
The republicans have a litmus test to join their party- and we don't want to become like them.

Posted by: Linda Enterkin at January 21, 2006 06:20 PM

Maybe so, but I remember hearing that the United States got Al Jazeera to hold back airing a tape of bin Laden right before the '04 election.

Gee, I wonder WHAT made Al Jazeera comply with that request? WHY would they comply?

Word was when they aired the tape a few short days before the '04 election, that Al Jazeera had had the tape for some time before they were finally "allowed" to air it mere days before the election.

Doesn't this all just seem a little bit weird to all of you?

WHO profits from war? Corporations like G.E. and Bechtel and Halliburton, and big oil conglomerates. Gee, WHO is in it for oil profits?

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 06:37 PM

Andree,

I'm trying to understand your post. So I'm not going to yell at you. (Don't yell at me either.)

Anyways, first...I think John Kerry by travelling this week and meeting with foreign leaders has been that opposition leader. The 'rank and file' who are the disappointed voters seem to want to knock losers off their throne.

Next...I don't know what you mean by the rest of your statment. Please explain it to me.

Posted by: Linda Enterkin at January 21, 2006 06:40 PM

Nice lists.

I agree with your points. I think Lakoff stated something similar. It's time for progressives to work from where they agree instead of finding ways to splinter.

Posted by: Linda Enterkin at January 21, 2006 06:40 PM

Great list but guess what you just dispproved in 5 seconds the Republicans painting us all as Liberal!!

And Adree I think I understood what you were saying and I agree most the time, the rest of me is scared at what would happen if we change such a precious Idea to much.

Making changes to it to make we the people have more control than corporation though I can live with!

Sparrow,

Yes, I said you might yell at me because I dared say your Constitution... was old fashioned. You always refer to the Constitution. Of course we have one, but it's the 5th one, initiated by de Gaulle.

You have one, I'm up to the 5th one.

To make it short , you always refer to the Founding Fathers....Let's say our Revolution. 1789/1793..

That was the first Constitution, nowadays we live under the 5th one. And that 5th one has been undergoing lots of make-overs as abortion or gay unions.

NO ONE CONTESTS. And they are talking about a 6th Constitution.

So, who is old (Europe)? We or you?

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 06:37 PM

Andree and sparrow,

Here's an interesting editorial about the outdated constitution idea. By a British freelance journalist.

Why George W. Bush Is Really Our King, by Ian Williams Oct. 2005

Snip

In this issue (Ian) Williams makes a more far-reaching argument: He sees the presidency itself—embodying the roles of both chief executive and head of state—as an unfortunate relic that the Founding Fathers would have done better to reconsider. Of course, such a critique has no hope of resulting in transformation of any sort. But taking the opportunity occasionally to see things through the eyes of a brilliant foreign correspondent can give us a fresh perspective on the state of our democracy—where we are today and how we got here.

snip

Essentially unchanged since then (1770), the American political system has escaped the reforms of the British and other democracies. While the powers of the European monarchs have become more and more diluted with each passing year until the kings and queens have all the significance of a team mascot for their nations, the presidential office has retained all those quasi-monarchical powers of centuries past.

snip

Loyalty to the nation and its people now demands an exposure of the disloyalty of the governing party. Its preparedness to lie and invent facts in order to procure a war that it has yet to explain adequately; its willingness to compromise national security to protect its lies; its confusion of loyalty to the Bush family and to its cronies with loyalty to the country, all capped with a willingness to retaliate at once against any liberals who speak out.

In fact, it demands the application of European standards of political conduct, which, even if they are more often honored in the breach than the observance, would pay dividends for a revived American democracy that currently shows signs of ignoring decent standards altogether.

http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20051115kinggeorge_2.cfm

In fact, it demands the application of European standards of political conduct

Thak you Carol,

You got what I meant.. When we look at US, that for so long was an example, we are just sick of it. And when I say we, it's not the political elite but mainstream people.

Do you know that that journalism in the States is taught as the wose example nowadays, in journalism schools? It is.

Many of you were unable to read the article by Libération (and it's long for me to translate), that I posted previously. Libération, is the kind of intellectual, left wing paper, that you cannot have in the States. To me it's not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of balance.

I do not always agree with them, but I trust what they say.

Notice to all you Official Large-D Democrats out there:

Either huddle up together behind the scenes, decide how you're really going to reach out to the real world, and then finally grab control of this outta-control political roller-coaster-ride and GROW A DAMN COLLECTIVE PAIR OF BRASS ONES ALREADY... or simply quit wasting the rest of our time, our talents, and our treasure on your same-old-same-old retreaded, bifurcated, balkanized bullshit.

sorry to be so blunt but even otters eventually hit their maximum bullshit threshhold sometimes,
Otter

Andree,

I must admit that many of us are ignorant about democracies outside of our own. This is what we've always known, so this is what we hold dear.

The right wing would clearly like to have a constitution that lets them do whatever they want. At this point it is impossible to imagine the two sides actually sitting down and hammering out something new.

This is not to say that it will never, or should never, happen. I just can't see it.

Been re-reading some Virginia Woolf...it was about time...

she speaks compellingly about the pitfalls of letting others define your issues, your goals, even the shape of your sentences...of course she was speaking in a different context but I think the applicability to politics is striking.

This observation in particular I love:

"All this claiming of superiority and imputing of inferiority, belong to the private-school stage of human existence where there are "sides", and it is necessary for one side to beat another side, and of the utmost importance to walk up to a platform and receive from the hands of the Headmaster a highly ornamental pot.

"As people mature they cease to believe in sides or Headmasters or in highly ornamental pots."

Veri -

I hope loud and mature aren't mutually exclusive ;0)

Andree, Carol, April,

I get it now.

Ok...so I can point out one issue in which many have wanted to change. That issue is the set up of the electoral college.

Since the electoral college was originally set up within a much more balanced rural/city atmosphere, the idea was somewhat more equalizing. But nowadays, many feel it gives people in rural states much more power over those who are in cities or blue states.

Therefore, they'd like to see the electoral college eliminated. They consider it one vote/one person and all equal. However, opponents point to the original constitution and can not envision eliminating it.

To them, the Constitution has served the test of time.

Now...I think I'll go back to my fence and observe all of you hashing it out.

Posted by: Veritas at January 21, 2006 07:46 PM

Gosh, Veri,

To think...some people compare it to sports.

Virginia Woolf is much more elequent.

Here is Robert Fisk on whether the Bin Laden tape is real, what it could mean, & remember - Fisk has been living in the middle east for a long time. I sent it to Bert, he sent it to me, & we crossed in the mail:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012006Y.shtml

& as I read in another article, these tapes are released primarily for mideast consumption, not for ours. Granted, the administration takes advantage of the fear factor.

Recall that Bin Laden & Al-Zawahari released dueling tapes - they are competing for poster boy for Jihad.

---

Everything is loaded with symbolism.

All I did was go to the Asian Art Museum.
Young girls were fighting each other while wearing spongy huge sumo wrestler costumes. They could fight all they wanted but no one got hurt. It was interesting that it mostly interested girls.

An ice sculpture shaped like a dragon was starting to melt. An elderly lady walked up to it, looked at it, looked at me and said, "Every thing in life has a seam."

Inside, looking at centures of Chinese scrolls, saw one from the 14th century & thought of the culture of corruption. Even in those days, a gentleman was: UPRIGHT as bamboo, INCORRUPTIBLE as pine, PURE as plum blossoms.

Rove is no gentleman. He is a criminal who has not been convicted yet.

Re the French Constitution - of course it is evolving - they are an old country. We do have periodicals that are very good - problem is not enough people read them. An example is The Nation.

Speaking of France, our son just handed us French chocolates made by a French man but they are made here in Seattle. He is the friend of an American baker, who recently won the World Bakery Cup (Coupe de Monde du Boulangerie), held in Paris.

It doesn't take so much to learn the basics of other forms of government. Even Wikipedia is a good start, or a few college texts. I'm no expert but not intimidated just because I never travelled out of my hemisphere til age 40. By then I had students from all over the world (teaching American English pronunciation, slang & idioms).

It's a big world, it's a small world. It's nice when others are interested in our system & when we're interested in them. There are plenty of things which transcend borders, boundaries & nationalities - dance, music, art, food - lots of universals.

Alot of Americans think it's alot more expensive and difficult to travel than it is. I thought so for many years & it held me back. Now I know that it's actually as easy or easier than going to Disneyland, Vegas or Hawaii and probably more educational.

& there are plenty of Americans who aren't insular, who care about the rest of the world and know about it. If our country is becoming the laughingstock of the world, it is due to these neocons. They don't represent us, we are forced to make apologies for them & that I do resent when travelling, & also having to prove we're not all provincial idiots. That I get real sick of.

Re: The Patriot Act, Spy Scandal in U.S., and the Federal Government's subpoena of Google's database:

"CHERTOFF: Well, we have. We have disrupted attacks. Sometimes we disrupt cells before they become operational. But, you know, one of the things to be careful about is not to wait until a cell is actually about to commence an operation to take the cell down.

If you look at what happened in London, it seems as if the people who were involved in that July 7th bombing, up until a couple of weeks before the bombing, seemed to be sympathizers by people who were just ordinary citizens, and they quickly became operational.

So we have to anticipate the enemy's moves. We can't wait until the last moment."

- Michael Chertoff -
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY - Larry King Live
January 20, 2006

Carol,

I'm not entitled to say a thing abut your domestiic policies. It's just a matter of politeness to me, but I read you each day...and I often think you've got nuts.
It's as if, instead of studyiing Shakespeare, you all got into studying punctuation in Shakespare...before I'm finished with with this post, someone will have posted the worst article, on the worst articlee.

So what? Is politics focusing on the worst of all, or just getting out of it?

Yes, you're in deep shit. Now you have 2 solutions. Either you keep relishing on it, or you get out of it.

And that won't happen behind a computer.
Voters are just human beings.

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at January 21, 2006 08:16 PM

Next step- SpyWare

Next step- ESP Ware

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 08:20 PM

Sink in the Sh*t or Swim in it?

What a deal. For sure I'll get off the computer!

Here is my son's interpretation (political science major):

In France, if Bush and Kerry were the top two vote getters, Bush would be President and Kerry would be head of the opposition party, like Speaker of the House or something.

In Britain or Canada, you vote for a party, not a person, so the head of the majority party is the Prime Minister, so Bill Frist would be the head. That is for the House of Commons - the power is split proportionately between the parties. The House of Lords (called the Senate in Canada) is still appointed by the Queen of England.

In US, we vote for electors who vote for a candidate for a party. The candidate for the winning party (Bush) becomes President. The guys with 2nd most votes (Kerry) goes back to whateve her was doing (unless he resigned, in order to run).

So for Kerry to really head an Opposition Party would be less likely here. He has done well to go back to the Senate, continue his travels and investigations, keep up his votes and his PAC, campaign for people like Senator Cantwell and for Christ sake, blog on Kos!!

There is one place in US that is run like France & that is the state of Louisiana. The top two vote getters in the primary advance to the general election regardless of party, unless one has more than 50%, in which case they don't have a general election.

We just approved that at the last election here in Washington and will use it for the next Presidential election. It's called the "Cajun Primary." It eliminates 3rd party spoilers (so I won't have to participate in a lawsuit against Nader again).

(My son is also the one who told me about John Kerry)

Sparrow,

make it simple : 1 VOTE = 1 CHOICE.

I show my Election card, my ID, they check my address and I put my bulletin inside a transparent box.

As simple as that.

And when I vote, I give 1,50€ to the party I vote for.

No more Lobbying.

That's how it works in my old democracy.

Does it seem dangerous to you ?

He also says we don't have a real party leader per se - we have several - we have Harry Reid, we have Howard Dean, prominent voices such as Clinton, Kerry, Edwards - it's about the person not just the party and its leader.

Same with the Republicans - there is the party leader, the Senate leader, the house leader, the RNC leader etc. Ken Mehlman, Bill Frist, the new Tom Delay (Blount?), oh yeah, Bush & Cheney.
Do they have a spiritual leader? Rove is a personal advisor, not part of the government. He's a "strategist."

I asked why people still listen to Rove if he's a criminal & he said, "Well, people listen to alot of criminals, if they're smart."

This is fun.

Speaking of foreign politics, Britain has a new Lib Dem head because the old one quit because of a "rent boy" scandal - he liked the guy to dress up as a football player.

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 08:32 PM

Hmmm....doesn't sound too dangerous.

But I think I'll sit on the fence a while longer to hear opposing viewpoints.

Though... Andree...How many Provinces are there in France? How many people hold office? And how is the distribution fair or unfair for either city dwellers or rural people?

Familiarize yourself with this site:

http://www.transparency.org/

There is not a government on the planet that does not have some degree of corruption: lobbying, nepotism, bribery, favoritism, payoffs.

There are officials who get cheap housing for their family. There are officials who own most media outlets. There are countries where the Mafia and Tongs have their way.

For world ranking for transparency and also for fair elections, I've done a little research and the US usually ranks pretty low among the developed nations (with a wide spread between the richest and poorest, so high per capita income but swayed because of our richest rich). Then there are usually a bunch of third world countries more corrupt than we are, and we turn a blind eye if they are helpful to our "strategic interests" - usually that means those of the rich not the regular person.

Progressives in many places in the US are talking about instant run-off voting, which sounds something like the "Cajun Primary". It eliminates the third party spoiler, like Nader. Gore would have in in 2000 with this system.

You vote your choices in the order you like them. If no one gets 50+% of the vote, the bottom candidate is thrown out. Those votes go to the 2nd choice candidate of those voters. this continues until someone has the majority.

This is the way they do it in a variety of other democracies around the globe.

Good explanation on Wikipedia here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting

Here's the link to the transcript of last night's
interview with Chertoff by Larry King:

Re: The Patriot Act, Spy Scandal in U.S., and the Federal Government's subpoena of Google's database:

"CHERTOFF: Well, we have. We have disrupted attacks. Sometimes we disrupt cells before they become operational. But, you know, one of the things to be careful about is not to wait until a cell is actually about to commence an operation to take the cell down.

If you look at what happened in London, it seems as if the people who were involved in that July 7th bombing, up until a couple of weeks before the bombing, seemed to be sympathizers by people who were just ordinary citizens, and they quickly became operational.

So we have to anticipate the enemy's moves. We can't wait until the last moment."

- Michael Chertoff -
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY - Larry King Live
January 20, 2006

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at January 21, 2006 08:16 PM

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0601/20/lkl.01.html

Carol

Gabe says "Instant Runoff" isn't the same but a variation. You write 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. on your picks & if your lst choice doesn't make it then your 2nd does etc. It sounds like it takes it a little further. I'm still learning.

Seems to be alot of interest in these ideas and in abolishing the electoral system in favor of popular vote.

I've been hearing about more counties refusing to use electronic machines now too or going to all mail-in balloting. Oregon has the latter and Washington is going to it.

Man, if Delay can get Texas redistricted, seems like we should be able to make some positive changes of our own. Seems the only changes help the conservatives.

One thing that must seem strange to those from other countries is that we have so many differences between states and regions. It seems like we're really a bunch of little countries. I always supported a stronger federal government, but not with these jokers in power!

For now, I prefer to live in a city that tries to fight against the war, the Patriot Act and other abominable things.

Carol,
Thanks - I looked at the Wikipedia.
It does take it a step further than what we are doing here, but it looks like this may have been a step in that direction.

One thing that must seem strange to those from other countries is that we have so many differences between states and regions. It seems like we're really a bunch of little countries.

Posted by: DiAnne at January 21, 2006 08:50 PM

To that end, it seems like the only a way a change like Instant Runoff Voting or the Cajun Primary would happen here is by starting on the local and state levels. Once people see how it works at those levels, they would embrace it at the national level. We're working toward it in Massachusetts.

Sparrow,

We don't have provinces as you may think about states.
It's the same law all over the country, according to the constitution.
We just elect presidents, deputees or mayors diectly.
Nothing else.
Comissaires/sheriffs, judges are not elected upon their political opinions. They have to be NEUTRAL, because justice is a matter of balance. They depend upon the ministries, according to theit skills.
I'm not going to say there are some flaws. We are deep in it, about a case that took place some 4 years ago, and that went astray. But we can follow the public hearings n TV, and legislation will certainly undergo a change after it.

The good thing is that we don't have business mixing with policies. Don't try to sell that to French people, they'll get out upon the streets.

That's the big difference we have with you.

The good thing is that we don't have business mixing with policies. Don't try to sell that to French people, they'll get out upon the streets.

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 08:56 PM

If only the American people would "get out upon the streets"! Where is our passion?

Dianne,

I did show you my voting card (Carte d'Electeur), and each time I voted, and I did a lot, there was a stamp on it.
It may look oldie to you, but at least we know who we vote for. When the process is finished, they just ask regular citizens to count the votes under the supervision of an official person.... But that goes on with all the parties running, supervising the vote.

No way to cheat.

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 09:09 PM

Andree, can you explain the counting and recording process a little more?

Thanks,

Posted by: DiAnne at January 21, 2006 08:50 PM

DiAnne, mail-in is great, the only problem is that they send out "changes" to the ballot after you've already mailed yours in, then they say your ballot is invalid. Or yours gets randomly returned to you in the mail although the address is pre-printed on the envelope. Never had problems before, but that happened with a surprising vengeance to Kerry voters in 2004.

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 09:09 PM

Yes, I'd like to know too.

So far, I'm ready to hop OFF the fence and join you in France.

Want some company?

Posted by: Veritas at January 21, 2006 09:25 PM

I don't remember that. Do you have a link?

Truth,

It's very simple. We always vote on Sundays, in schools near to the places we live in. No waiting.

The process is simple. When you are 18, you just go to the Mairie (City Hall) to register. No one has the right to ask you if you belong to such, or such party, it's PRIVATE.

Then you get your "Carte d'Electeur" (Election card) with your name, address, and the polling room (always in public schools).

You get in, you take your PAPER bulletins, get into a booth, put the bulletin into an enveloppe...then you go to the main desk where the transparent box stands. You show your ID, you put your enveloppe into the transprent box, you sign in a register book with your name and address, you're given back your ID. You're finished.

By 8 p.m., it's finished. The box is opened under the watch of the citizens who watced the election, and ALL the parties have members watching while the bulletins are counted, in order to prevent any contest. And the one who gets the majority wins.

That may sound very basic to you, except we have thousands of voting places and that all parties are involved.

And don't forget, we only elect politicians. It's not a big mix and match as you have in US.

I would never ever trust a sheriff or a judge who had been "elected". In my country, their career evolces accordinf to their competence, not their political leanings.

Andree,

It sounds quite similar to our voting here, except that some places have a paper ballot, and some the dreaded electronic voting machines. It depends on where you live.

The basic process sounds similar, but because there is so much corruption, once the counts begin - especially with the electronic machines, it depends on who is doing the counting. Many of us have lost all faith in our system.

My local system has paper ballots, and I have good faith in the people here, but, for example, the state of Ohio - I have no faith in. And because of our electoral vote system, that matters.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that if what happened with the vote counting in Ohio happened in France, " the people would be upon the streets".

Why, oh why aren't they upon the streets here?

Posted by: sparrow at January 21, 2006 09:44 PM

Sorry I don't Sparrow, the comment came from personal observations, comments from friends who live there, etc. Not scientific.

Carol,

The big mystery to us, is that over a day you have to punch (elect) so many people.

We never mix. It the president, the deputee or the mayor didn't get a majority of ballots, we re-vote 2 weeks after.

But it would never, ever come to us to "elect" a sheriff. He has to be the best, of the best an be selected vy the "Ministère de l'Intérieur".... Sorry for the comparison, but that seems to be Gonzales to you, to us it's Sarkozy. The big cop in France...running for Presidency in 2007, except he has to cope with the law.

Hello all,

Thanks to the minstrations of the tech goddess, dwahzon, I have my laptop and my connections back.

So I am catching up and checking in...

This is a relief...

Does most of Ohio have electronic voting machines? How about Florida?

I think I could reasonably add the direct election of the president to the list of things all Democrats agree on, and that they could make part of a platform without alienating ANY democrats at all. I have yet to find a person, even in my highly Republican area of the country, who still agrees with the electoral vote system that we have today. Even when Bush took office in 2000, most of the Republicans I know who were happy about it still said they understood that it wasn't truly fair. Their only comment was "oh well, that's just the way it's done. It probably needs to be changed though." I think our party could go a very long way with a pledge that, if we retake congress this fall, we would pass a Constitutional amendment to get rid of the electoral college. I'd like to see every democrat who is on a ballot nationwide campaign on that issue, and also on the promise that spying on American citizens would end when they took over power. The Google issue is changing a lot of Republican minds about domestic spying right now. There are issues we can agree on, and that we can make part of a unified front this fall. What we need are candidates who know how to change the subject. I've watched Republicans do that for years on the talk shows- they'll be asked some question and they'll change the subject to whatever point they want to get across, and the moderator rarely calls them on it. Maybe our candidates need a nationwide workshop on "changing the subject while on camera."
Too bad we couldn't get someone like Newt Gingrich to teach it. He was always a master of that particular talent :-)

Truth- Florida has electronic voting machines in most of the Democratic areas of the state, and machines with paper trails in most of the Republican areas. I kid you not. Someone did a survey on that a couple of years ago.
On a personal note- right here in 70% Republican Pensacola, we mark our choices on a paper ballot and it is run through a machine for counting. It's an optical scanning machine- all we have to do is match one part of an arrow to another. It's very easy. But then, this is a REPUBLICAN area of the state.

Posted by: Linda Enterkin at January 21, 2006 10:44 PM

Dean has that talent, in fact he is pretty smooth with it, smoother than I would be.

He basically socks it to them with a smile on his face and with a nice friendly demeanor.

Like after he let the Republicans have it day before yesterday, Wolf Blitzer asked him if he still thinks about the "scream". Dean smiled, and said "Well, you had fun with it. You know that the cable companies took out all the background noise and had fun with my scream, but that's over now, and we have to think about a Democratic return to power." I thought that was a really classy way of telling Wolf to get a life.

Linda,

Yes, I hear ya. Imagine that! The paper trails are created in Republican districts. My my, and imagine that Florida is a crucial state for the electoral process.

Just like Ohio is.

Just thought, gien the last several posts, you all my like to take a look at this article I saw in Trouthout by Jesse Jackson Jr. on a voting rights amendment:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012006A.shtml

Oh well, off to work!

Keep it up!

Chuck in Doha

Something I somehow missed:

I did not know Santorum brought home a 20 week miscarriage rather than take it to the funeral home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61804-2005Apr17.html

Another thing I could have lived without - local Nazis. Youth Against War & Racism sent this & they're having a counter protest tomorrow, under the Space Needle:

We have just learned that the National Socialist Movement (NSM) inspired by Adolf Hitler, the largest Nazi Party in the United States is holding a "white power" rally Sunday 22 January. This bigoted outfit has announced it wants to start a chapter in Seattle and throughout the Pacific Northwest. They are calling for a for white greater America that would deny citizenship to non-whites, Jews and homosexuals. Nazis target people of color, immigrants, feminists, Jews, queers, people with disabilities, unionists and radicals. They align themselves with other white nationalist groups such as the KKK (Ku Klux Klan), Aryan Skinheads, the Racial Nationalist Party of America and many other Nazi and Aryan groups.

Now some good news:

John Kerry on This week with George Stephanopoulos, tomorrow (Sunday) am, Jan. 22

THIS WEEK (ABC,), 9 a.m ET, Washington, DC and BostonSen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Reps. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.)
and actor Gary Sinise .

Jane Harmon is the congresswoman froma congressional district in So. Cal that is the classic-red-area-in-a-blue-state. She was the first Dem. elected from there in eons-- maybe ever! Before Harmon, the creepy Congressman was B-1 Bob Dornan!

The good thing is that we don't have business mixing with policies. Don't try to sell that to French people, they'll get out upon the streets.
That's the big difference we have with you.

Posted by: Andrée - France at January 21, 2006 08:56 PM

I agree with that & then we have the mixing of church and state. The companies have enough influence here that union membership has seriously eroded. Unions were traditionally Democratic ways to organize, like conservative churches are for the Republicans now.

Yes, the voting does sound similar to ours. Why we must elect everyone at once I don't know! We do have alot of smaller elections for more minor offices and also a bunch of initiatives that are written in legalese that even people like me with 3 degrees have a hard time deciphering. Half the time I take a fat pamphlet in with me so I can remember who all the minor characters are!

The part we really object to is that some of the electronic voting machines have software that can be hacked remotely and the main companies selling the equipment are Republican-owned, in fact the Diebold and Sequoia people are supposed to be related to each other! I can check on that, but I am back-and-forth with Elizabeth tonight and she is about as expert on voting fraud as anyone I know.

As for Ohio, I remember reading that some people stood in long lines while voting machines were locked in closets & there weren't enough. Anyone remember that?!

There is a big Forum on voter fraud coming up in Seattle here very soon.

One more thing - the info about the Nazi rally here tomorrow included a website and it's really hateful. I refuse to put it on the internet because that could give it more exposure, unless anyone wants to study it in which case I'd supply it 1:1. There is such a thing as Free Speech but to me, this is should be covered under Hate Crimes laws (if they still exist).

John Kerry on 'This Week with George Stephanopoulous' on ABC starting 9 am est -- which is NOW

Kerry did good He didn't pull punches and he didn't back down. And now Rep. Jane Harman -- that's "Harman" with two A's, by the way -- is standing up spunkily to the host's interruptive questioning as well.

It's good to see change happening in the way official Dems speak truth to media these days.

people get ready there's a sea change comin',
Otter

Sequoia was Smartmatic that now is Venezuelan owned, with that clunky, compromised lottery equipment as part of their funny elections. Considered crooked, the CEI was not allowed into this country as a threat. However, we use the equipment used in secret with vendor technicians doing the programming and administering. Lovely.