John Kerry Leads

I am glad to have the report of how JK did today. I have to tell you all, what I am seeing on television over here bears little resemblance to what we see back home. The Iraqi riots are reported. with footage; there are interviews with Iraqi leaders and citizens, and it looks pretty horrific from this vantage point.

I know we always talk here about how we are not getting the whole picture, and Andree has told us this as well. So I am just here to add how true it is. It was shocking to see the amount of information we are missing.

BTW, we lost the war. A few months ago.

The interview just concluded here. If he doesn't announce his candidacy later this year, I will eat my hat.

It is also obvious that the Bushco Propaganda machine will wage a war against Kerry the person and not campaign against his ideas. Tim Russert did not focus on Kerry's plans, but rather Kerry the candidate.

Posted by: Karen at April 9, 2006 11:18 AM

We lost the war when Abu Gharib was leaked.

While I agree with the bit about firing the incompetents, here's my fear, especially in light of Fitzgerald's investigation and this week's leaking news...

Cheney will take the hit for the leak and will resign. Bush will put McCain in as VP, setting him up for '08.

Call me crazy, but...

Crazy like a fox.

Casey, thanks for posting at Kos. Sheer weight of reasoned posts has to help us build better activism.

Talking in triplicate, why does every MSM show host have to be cheerleaders for the administration. I'm watching Wolf Blitzer couch everything as he's mistaken or going back on his word.

Let's hope they are forced to eat their words soon, and do reporting instead of propagandizing.

Wow. I'm stunned. I stopped getting the Chicago Tribune because of conservative columnists like Kass (not to mention the Trib's endorsement for Bush...). But if conservative shills are starting to turn, maybe there is hope...

Bush's words too slippery to clog leaks
John Kass

President Bush was supposed to be the straight talker from Texas.

It was that other fellow, the Arkansas Democrat who was famous for shaving the hairs off words as they passed his teeth.

But now, I'm not so sure which one is truly the better word peeler.

"I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information," Bush told reporters in Chicago when asked about leaks on Sept. 30, 2003. "If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action. There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of."

He might take a look in the mirror. It appears the president himself authorized the leaking of secret intelligence information to reporters, allowing him to thwack those critical of the war in Iraq.

--snip--
So the hands of the Bush White House are covered with tar. It was sticky enough just listening to Bush spokesman Scott McClellan try to spin out of it, attempting to distinguish between the president's opposition to leaks, and, well, other leaks.

"There is a difference between providing declassified information to the public when it's in the public's interest and leaking classified information involved in sensitive national intelligence regarding our security," McClellan said.

I don't have to remind anyone that if Bill Clinton had leaked classified information to debunk Republican critics, we'd all be deaf from angry Republican shrieking. President Bush better start talking straight and loud and clear on this, and soon.

http://tinyurl.com/n86dq = Chicago Tribune (gasp...)

The war was lost from the beginning- it was always unwinnable. There are things that even our military cannot do, no matter how many soldiers we send into a country. That's what America needs to learn, but it would take learning some humility first, and this generation is not very good at humility. I suppose mine wasn't either, because my husband still says we could have won Vietnam had we had the guts to bomb the cities and harbors from the get-go, and if we hadn't tried to limit our collateral damage in that war. (Yes, my husband is a Democrat, but he's stll a vet of that era, and those vets still have an emotional attachment to that war.) We could NOT have won 'Nam, because the Vietnamese people themselves were sick of decades of rule by foreigners, and many of them weren't too fond of our military either. To open a can of worms here- there is a large segment of the planet that is very happy not being like us. Iraq is a part of that segment of the planet. When given a chance to vote, the Shiite majority of 65% was alway going to win-it's just a matter of numbers, and Bush couldn't count. All we did, all we ever could do by removing Saddam was, as Randi Rhodes is so fond of saying, to return Iraq to the middle ages. We returned the Shiites to power, and they don't much like either the infidels or the Sunnis or Kurds because their religious beliefs are just a hair off. And, as should be obvious from the centuries long struggle with Israel, the Arab people tend to believe, no matter what their religion tells them, that anyone who opposes their strict religious doctrine does not deserve to live. It always was simple enough to see- we could not win, even if we prevailed militarily. Because Democracy always meant Shiite rule, and Shiite rule always meant that NO ONE was going to appreciate or much like us being there. The war was the height of stupidity- and there should never have been any authorization or approval of any kind that even vaguely allowed our ignorant, warmongering president to think he had anyones permission to go in. He'd have done it anyway, he's never believed there was anything he shouldn't have been allowed to do, but at least there would have been no Democrats to blame for it. Barbara Bush must have NEVER told Georgy NO to anything, that's all I can figure. He definitely doesn't know the meaning of the word.

Karen
Thanks for confirming that US television media shows so little about what's going on. & enjoy your visit!

Casey
Thanks for getting up the link so soon about Kerry on "Meet the Press." For that, I actually watched television but it's hard to see Russert without thinking of a cartoon pig. It was worth it today.

Linda Enterkin
Yeah, it doesn't seem like this admin can explain why they would want to install/allow/encourage/tolerate (choose your slant) a Shiite-dominated system and call it a people's democracy. Something smells about that - particularly since they made/allowed/instigated (choose your slant) a similar process to happen in Iran and it has backfired. & who suffers the most? Women & children. Afghanistan is no success story & the Russian generals tried to warn us, so it & Pakistan remain partly no-mans-lands headed by unpopular puppet governments.

Posted by: madame defarge at April 9, 2006 12:09 PM

That is a very possible scenario, M.D. And I hope it doesn't happen. One bit of hope that I have that it won't is that they named Bush as a leaker, along with Cheney. Deals must have been made, and I'm sure this thing is as ugly as sin. If they push McCain, we can beat him easily. We have footage of him contradicting himself time and again. He has been kissing the backside of Bush, and I hope to goodness people are sick of the whole lot of them.

I don't think Cheney will quit or keel.
& as for McLame, yes I think he could be beat.

Truth- I think that our hope could be in the fact that it's still going to be the 36 % who support Bush who turn up for the Republican primaries, and they still hold a lot of animosity towards McCain over 2000. I don't think even their esteemed leader's blessings would cause them to go for McCain in the primaries- not against any REAL conservative at least. But if McCain does get the nomination, I wouldn't underestimate him at all. Not everyone is a political junkie like us, and McCain has a lot of support out there from Indys. I think he's the ONLY republican who would be a formidable opponent in the General Election, but he would be. He'd hold a lot of appeal to people who are just sick of both parties- they don't necessarily look on McCain as a party man. McCain is the only possible presidential candidate I'm afraid of right now (because he even fooled me once- I switched parties for a month to vote for him in the primaries in 2000.) Be very careful of him. He has Tremendous appeal and charisma.

BTW, we lost the war. A few months ago.
Posted by: Karen at April 9, 2006 11:18 AM

Will someone please tell the President? He says freedom will prevail by the end of this century.

* We will complete the mission, because the security of the American people is linked to the success of a free Iraq. And when victory is achieved, our troops will come home. There will be more tough fighting ahead, with difficult days that test the patience and resolve of our country. Yet we can have faith in the final outcome because we have seen freedom overcome the darkness of tyranny and terror and secure the peace before. In this century, freedom will prevail once again.

Linda Enterkin
That thought is depressing. Those are the Indies everyone fights over. We need to create a "brand" that will attract them.
There are alot of them. We need an overall unifying message that is broad-based enough to include most people's values.
We need everything but the most lunatic fringes.

Posted by: Marjorie G at April 9, 2006 12:32 PM

Don't watch Wolf Blitzer. IMO, he's a hard core shill. They aren't all like him. He hasn't changed since the '04 campaign. There are others who are at least making an attempt to tell the truth, even while presenting "both sides".

Blitzer had Kerry on the other night after Kerry's proposal was in the Times. Kerry looked slightly amused as Wolf was apparently trying to discredit him. Wolf looks from time to time like he is caught in a bad dream, LOL. (Blitz Blitzer.)

KAREN,
To hear you tell it from the way things are broadcast over the pond there is a whole lot we don't know. Ticks me off. We lost the war early on in all actuality. Kerry has been saying for months if not years that the war will be won politically over there, not militarily.

GO, SENATOR KERRY!,
Millions are behind you. We have been crying for a leader, and you have stepped up to the plate. People are a fickle lot. Just tell the truth, and go for it. Let people trivialize this into a campaign move. Twits. Stay in the saddle. I believe in you, and I thank you.

Posted by: Linda Enterkin at April 9, 2006 01:57 PM

You aren't the only one who thinks McCain could win, I have heard that before. What about all the footage of the slime machine saying he is mentally unbalanced? I watched him last week on Meet the Press with Russert. Make no mistake about it, he's slick.

I never will forget the cartoon I saw on SNL during the '04 campaign. It showed McCain in his trailer banging his head on the wall over and over as he prepared to go out and endorse Bush.

For anyone interested, MSNBC airs Meet the Press again on Sunday evenings.

Truth Shall Prevail
I haven't travelled alot but when I do, I see tv sometimes in hotels and airports. They showed more in US, Belgium, Netherlands, France and even Turkey. I have a friend whose wife is from Phillipines & they live in Mpls. They get some cable or satellite system where she can see Phillipines tv and they show more there. In Thailand, they show too much! (LOL) The local news is bloody and they're Buddhists.

Anyway, my point is that there is a reason i can't watch the stuff.
I read Bush's latest Iraq position on his website & I think they have to memorize it before they begin to broadcast, because it matches. Before the war started, the censorship began to get worse. No bodies at Dover, nothing that might upset the applecart.

DiAnne- we have a free Iraq now. They were free to vote, and they voted. That's the whole problem. They voted Shiite. And the Shiites are no more likely to let the Sunnis and Kurds have a serious voice in their government than the Republicans are to let Russ Feingold have a serious voice in ours. And why should they? The Shiites are the majority party, legally elected, in a free country. It's good old democracy in action. Iraq is FREE. Halleleujah!!!!
Now, how 'bout let's go home.
Yes, I do think we need to be truly afraid of McCain. I'm afraid that a lot of moderates will forgive him for kissing Georgy's back parts to get the nomination because they really know how it all works, and they'll think he'll govern as a moderate when he's finally elected. But McCain really isn't a moderate- we'd still be in Iraq today if McCain were president. I believe that.
I do think he's a moderate on issues such as abortion and taxes, and I think he would be a "compassionate conservative" in the real sense of the word- McCain does have a heart. But he's still too far to the right for the good of this country, and a lot of moderates wouldn't see that- especially since the 2000 race between him and Bush was so bitter. They'd think there actually are more differences between the two men than there are. I think we should be very worried about him right now, and not about anyone else. Even Jon Stewart had a hard time being angry at him the other night. The man can be very charming. Like a snake.

BTW- Jerry Falwell has already asked John McCain to speak at his Bible college. When Rush Limbaugh begins to soften his rhetoric about McCain, we'll know who the next Republican nominee for president will be.
I just wonder if getting the nomination will finally "legitimize" McCain's adopted black daughter, or if the right will still whisper behind his back about her. Guess we'll have to wait and see on that one.

Linda Enterkin
You're right - but why did they free Iraq in that way - it makes it harder to get AT the oil. Doesn't make sense?

McCain is a warhawk. He still thinks there are Communists under the bed. He is unacceptable. We can't control who the Republicans run, but we can get our party machine in order. We can make our politicians listen to the grassroots not just the consultants and make our donations and volunteer labor as well as vote hinge on that. We can do it state by state. We need a message and candidate, but we can not do anything if they run a strong candidate but counter him & top him. They already have a strong machine but they're faltering now because they've messed up. Now is the time to work on it.

RE: McCain... He is most definitely working any angle he can. So...did the NYTimes out his hypocrisy or are they catering to his campaign...

McCain Emphasizing His Conservative Bona Fides
KEENE, N.H., April 8 — Senator John McCain began his week by embracing the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the conservative religious leader he once denounced as polarizing. He ended it by joining Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal Massachusetts icon, in a fight for an immigration bill opposed by many conservatives.

Mr. McCain has long sought to present himself as a singular sort of American politician — straight-talking, iconoclastic and hard to quantify. But as he began a campaign-style trip here that will take him through Florida, Ohio and Iowa, he faced an extraordinarily complex political challenge as he sought to reconcile his appeals to an unusually diverse audience and cement his early standing in the emerging Republican presidential field.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/washington/09mccain.html

Ok so let's assume the Republicans will run McCain. So what.

Democrats are doing well now in states like Colorado.
We need to capitalize on what is good about us. McCain belongs to the party that has messed up the country.

Enough about him.

Truth- yeah, my brother bought into that stuff about McCain being unbalanced back in 2000.
And my mother voted for Bush in the primary because she "knew something about McCain" that I didn't know- evidently, a reference to the rumors about his daughter really being his illigitimate child.
But the slime machine may be on his side this time around. Like I said, keep an eye on Limbaugh. He's as anti-McCain as you can get, and if he begins to soften..............

Posted by: DiAnne at April 9, 2006 02:31 PM

Oh I'm sorry DiAnne. I didn't mean to change the subject from Kerry...

Machine then message then candidate.
They have already done it.
We have to catch up.
Let's organize.

What do we have they don't?
Can we get the youth vote?
Didn't Rupert Murdoch just buy MySpace?
They are thinking years ahead stragegically.

We need young people who are really good with computers,
we need new people to run - the dynamic barack Obamas, the Elliott Spitzers. They are formidable too.

We need to link unions, blogs, progressive churches, and
leverage our influence so politicians don't just rely on their
highly-paid consultants. We need to use new media. The
media share of newspapers is shrinking, that of tv is holding
about the same, but use of internet is growing. Young people
get majority of their news on the internet.

Jon Stewart was mentioned. He's more influential than one
would expect a comic to be. There will soon be more
liberal thinktanks and training institutes for activists. There
is tv equivalent of Air America in the works.

Publicly worrying about potential opponents gives them power.
We need a strong & desirable & forward-thinking identity that
will attract most sectors.

madame defarge

Part of the subject of Kerry always ends up to be potential combatants - part of the Vietnam alpha male lineup thing, I guess. Kerry is used to it & so are we!

I just think it's putting the cart ahead of the horse & we need to build our organization. It's gotten stronger these last 2 elections but we had corruption in business, conglomeration of media, dicey voting machines & disenfranchisement. We need campaign finance reform. We need to clean up politics.

Kerry is obviously sick and tired of politicians playing politics with our money and lives and showed today that he realizes we are sick of it too. We want health care, education, peace. We are paying for it, working for it and deserve it.

keep an eye on Limbaugh. Linda Enterkin

Please no! He is another cartoon pig.

DiAnne- I agree with you that we're doing better now in the Red states, but I don't think we can underestimate the guy, that's all I'm saying. And you're right - he's a warmonger. That's my main beef with him. He's too far to the right on military issues. I actually agree with him on SOME aspects of domestic policy, and I do think he has a heart, unlike what we have in the WH now. What we need to concentrate on now is getting a Democratic congress, which will be a guarantee that, no matter who wins in '08, we can move the country in a more positive direction. And I see McCain's rise as more of an incentive to do that- because, just in case we didn't win in '08 (and I don't really want to think about that), we could at least hold the president in rein a bit. He scares me to death though- I have to admit that. So I'm gonna make up my mind soon on what best to do to support Bill Nelson, even though he's not my fave democrat in the Senate. Because he absolutely has to stay there.

Where we're headed if Dubya gets his way. Do note the part that the Catholic Church played in getting this law passed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/magazine/09abortion.html

Linda
The antidote to slime is truth. To get truth out, we need a free media. The slime people don't like a free media because their ideology is not fact-based. We need to make the media do their job. I need to work more on it but my whole obstacle with MSM particularly television is that the ratio of time spent to information is so low that I haven't been able to stomach it, notwithstanding the propaganda spewed.

I'll take radio. I listen to BBC and NPR and Air America and Pacifica so I'll study Limbaugh because at least I won't have to look at his pigface. I spend alot of time in my car & there was a time I actually got to listen to music.

DiAnne- you'd be surprised how many people still listen to the cartoon pig though.
Did Rupert Murdoch really just buy myspace? And if so, will I still be able to go there and check up on my kids' private lives without their knowing it?
Durn.

Matt
That's a 9 page article but I'm going to shut up and read it, now that I know South Dakota is right up there with Chad and El Salvador. I had seen something on Bush's website about is visit to the Catholics & thought about reading it. So this is what he's been up to. & I thought he was safely on the ranch.

Linda Enterkin
I just learned that trick (MySpace) - it'll stay spyable because that's how the conservatives will mine their data on that demographic, the "Millennial Generation" - those under 28.
I learned alot of this from Marcus of DailyKos during the Q/A session at his book signing (see article last thread).

The opposition thinks ahead.

DiAnne- we have a so called Christian College in our town- Pensacola Christian- that recently kicked a student out of the school because she had written on myspace that she liked "Christian Rock" music. Evidently, the college routinely spies on their students- all you really need is an e-mail address to do so. And, they're not fond of Christian music that is also labelled "rock," so the girl will have to find another college to attend.
I suspect that the conservative groups who mine data from myspace will be a bit disappointed by the activities of a lot of the kids who post there. Hey- I'm a bit disappointed by the activities of some of them that I know personally as well. My daughter says that if I don't want to know, I shouldn't look. She may just be right :-)

DiAnne, couldn't agree more. Is it because of all the military in the Repub party that they have such good strategic (long-range) planning?

Democrats are better at crisis action (immediate/reactionary) planning. There are places for both.

Karen...drink a pint on me....and say hi to my surrogate mother-country for me :)

Posted by: Linda Enterkin at April 9, 2006 02:56 PM

Too damn funny...the neocons co-opted the great Christian alternative/rock music scene to serve their own twisted ends (i.e. indoctrinating young people)...and apparently they did it so well they don't even realize it now.

The Christian rock scene in the early and mid nineties was raw and exciting and daring (and painfully clean). Now it all seems sort of banal and forced. Of course, maybe I'm just growing up.

Evidently the beat is just too "unChristian" now for the college to bear. BTW- spying on your child on myspace is a good way to make them change their settings to private. Now it's hard to get access to what she's writing, but it also is much more difficult for perverts, military recruiters, or Republican operatives to get access to it as well.
So, mission semi-accomplished on that front.

Veritas
I thought Christian Rock was an oxymoron.

Linda Enterkin
I had no idea how easy it was to spy on MySpace. You can Google your kids name and My Space. Bingo. I only tried it once, after my husband told me, and I found out my son had joined ASCAP and was selling music for royalties. That explained why he's graduating from college but wants to keep working as a barista. Typical Seattle career trajectory. They do talk with their friends about their drinking habits, etc. I am going to respect his privacy now but I can see how it could be a goldmine of data. Even without spying on the kids, they have the whole log of who belongs and could do polls & questionnaires. It's mind-boggling how much data - ages, preferences. One 13 year old I know told me he's been warned not to use it because of predators.

"freep" the poll on this kos diary if you would...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/9/145757/0693

Posted by: DiAnne at April 9, 2006 03:05 PM

DiAnne, remind me I need to send you some good Christian rock music :)

Christ Among the Partisans
by Garry Wills

"THERE is no such thing as a "Christian politics." If it is a politics, it cannot be Christian. Jesus told Pilate: "My reign is not of this present order. If my reign were of this present order, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews. But my reign is not here" (John 18:36). Jesus brought no political message or program."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/opinion/09wills.html

Linda Enterkin
Info on the so-called "Millennial Generation" (born 1977-1985)

The world has different reference points than it does for older folks. The Kennedy Tragedy for them is the plane crash, not an assassination. Someone named George Bush has been on every national ticket but one since they were born. There have always been ATM machines and round the clock coverage of news and public affairs on cable. They've never used a bottle of White Out or heard a telephone actually "ring."

Here are the events that they remember based on a survey of high school seniors in the class of 2001.
Colombine Shootings
War in Kosovo
Oklahoma City Bombing
Princess Di's Death
Clinton Impeachment and Scandal
OJ Trial
Fall of Berlin Wall
Mark McGwire/Sammy Sousa homerun contest
They've been well cared for. Children seem to be valued and cared for most in alternating generations. These folks caught a generational wave where children are highly valued and they've benefited from the longest economic boom in history. When they were kids, they got four times the number of toys that their Boomer parents got just twenty years earlier.

Today, nearly six in ten Millenials aged 6-17 have a TV of their own. There are different estimates of the teenagers personal spendable income, but the lowest is $60 per week. Twenty-two percent of the older teens have their own checking account and forty-two percent have a credit card. So, they've got high expectations.

(from http://www.mondaymemo.net)

Yes, it is an absolute gold mine for predators. I've had to advise my kids to stop putting so much personal info on there- they'll put pictures of themselves on their site, and then tell people where they work. It's very scary. So, seriously, my nosiness has cause both my daughter and my son to privatize their sites and make them available only to friends, and I think that's a lot safer for them anyway. Of course, I'm now pretty much out of the loop. But there are still ways ..........:-)

Republicans are studying them and who knows who pays for it.
This is how they knew to target the conservative Christians & that the "exurbanites" were a promising group. This is a big part of how they win.

The other day I put something on here about how they were sending out messages to Democrats here saying they had possibly registered wrong or there had been a problem and to re-register as Republicans. A RoboCall was followed by papers.

This morning I got an email from someone in Missouri saying she had gotten the same Robocall verbatim. It's national. This is going on NOW.

Linda Enterkin

The people I just described are the biggest Predators of all.

Agreed. Gotta go. Have a great afternoon up there in the Nawthland.

Posted by: Veritas at April 9, 2006 03:12 PM

Michael W. Smith.

Posted by: dwahzon at April 9, 2006 03:12 PM

I encourage everybody to go to the site that dwahzon posted and let their feelings be known.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/9/145757/0693

Posted by: DiAnne at April 9, 2006 03:12 PM

DiAnne, the description is good but I think the dates are a bit off. People my age have used Wite-Out (sic) and even manual typewriters. And rotary phones although push-button was more the norm. But they were all plugged in. We used computers with black screens and green text and learned to program in BASIC. Your description matches people born about 5+ years later...maybe 1985 instead of 1977.

And Truth, I'm not a huge Smitty fan myself...my taste runs toward classic DC Talk and Jars. There's also a great group called The Kry that's still around if you're into that sort of stuff.

Posted by: oncall at April 9, 2006 04:18 PM

O.K. On Call, I did. I waited my 24 hours and I am now an official KOS poster.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060409/pl_nm/nuclear_iran_usa_dc
Iran accuses US of "psychological war"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/08/AR2006040801082.html
U.S. Is Studying Military Strike Options on Iran
Any Mix of Tact, Threats Alarms Critics

Seymour M. Hersh: The Iran Plans
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040906Y.shtml
The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack, according to Seymour M. Hersh.
~~~~~~~~~~

"...Tell the truth, fire the incompetents, get out of Iraq." [John Kerry]

OK. That's the short message needed that could conceivably fit on a bumper sticker, and it's short enough for a sound byte in Lamestream Media. Works for me! Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat that message - then repeat it some more - even if we all know The Cretin and Vice Cretin and their Criminal Cabal will NEVER tell us the truth about anything. Congress has the power to control the purse. They can elect to support the regular troops wherever, but they can ALSO, if they want, refuse to pass any more emergency legislation to pay for The Cretin's war in Iraq. If the Iraqis really and truly want us out of Iraq, they'll form their own government PDQ, before May 15, and then The Cretin will have no excuse to stay there - and I'm not forgetting that the May 15 deadline is only Kerry's proposal and not binding on The Cretin or anyone else in Congress. (And, IMHO, we certainly don't need to be caught in the middle of any civil war in Iraq. Their tribal grievances go back over a thousand years, we don't understand any of it, never will, and the Iraqis need to settle those differences on their own terms. We've already lost too many people, thanks to The Cretin's LIES and his illegal war, and we don't need to lose more people to someone else's civil war.)

HOWEVER, then I read stories about The Cretin's insane plans to attack Iran, and I have to wonder how the heck our Clueless Congress is going to stop him and his Criminal Cabal from ordering an attack??? I wonder if The Cretin is going to attack Iran before the '06 election... say, as an October surprise or before - timed when the Iranian Oil Bourse opens so US oil corporations won't lose too much money??? If that happens, the dumb $h!t will nuke 'em and the entire world will be at war (and it will be also inside this nation if that happens, and not "over there" like the two previous world wars, 'cuz other nations are not going to sit idly by and let him do the same kind of thing Hitler did in invading innocent nations on his paranoid belief that another nation "might" be a threat to the US, so they'll become allies against the US because of The Cretin). And, of course, there's the chance The Cretin will declare martial law and suspend elections in favor of his illegal war (another illegal war, that is, by Nuremberg and Geneva Convention standards). I put nothing, however remotely evil and crazy-sounding, past that Criminal Cabal - absolutely nothing! - however insane it sounds to the rest of us who still have some sanity left - and I personally believe they are collectively insane, drunk on the power they've got, which is dictatorial and tyrannical at this point, even if the majority of people know the whole lot of 'em have been LYING to us and the rest of the world for years and years.

Also, IF the Vice Cretin is caught in Fitzgerald's investigation as a primary leaker (even though we all know the order to release the info came from The Cretin himself), and IF the Vice Cretin is somehow forced to resign (or is impeached?), I'm not as sure that The Cretin would install McCain as VP. There's little brother Jebbie waiting in the wings, waiting to be groomed to form a Bu$h Dynasty of preznitwits, and after him, there's Prescott, another speaker at the RNC. Jebbie can't run for gov of FL again because of term limits, AND Jebbie's signature is on the PNAC web site as one of the founding members.... Jebbie may be more quiet and unassuming than his more stupid brother, but that may ultimately make him more evil for his more modest appearance. The Cretin would be more "loyal" to his family (and their money) than he would to a groveling underling like McCain was when he abased himself at the RNC in '04 and what he continues to be by supporting The Cretin and his war, in spite of The Cretin stabbing him in the back over the torture bill with the signing statement, etc.

The only thing that can save this nation is getting that whole nest of pit vipers out of DC as soon as possible. Censure in the Senate, Impeach in the House, then send them all to The Hague to be tried for War Crimes, throw them all in jail for the rest of their lives and throw away the keys....

If we don't have politicians inside this country strong enough to stop The Cretin, Vice Cretin, and their Criminal Cabal from destroying us, then the rest of the world will step in and do it for us.... Do I think it will come to that? Well, quite frankly, I don't know. The silence from our legislators about The Cretin's stance on attacking Iran is deafening. Individuals in Congress can push to get out of Iraq and/or Afghanistan ASAP all they want, or set any deadlines they want, but none of that is binding on The Cretin unless they DO SOMETHING and enact legislation to stop the insanity. Their opinions, and even their legislation, in the past have never stopped The Cretin from doing exactly as he pleases - he has all these nifty signing statements and secret executive orders to get around Congress and the Judiciary, it seems, and that makes him the de facto dictator, whether we like it or not. Censure and Impeachment proceedings are stalled with not enough signatures to even begin debates on either action (censure isn't much, but if the House gets its collective butt in gear, perhaps something could be done). If our Clueless Congress does not act SOON, I fear the worst....

Transcript for this morning's Meet the Press interview with Senator John Kerry.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12169680/page/3/

Posted by: madame defarge at April 9, 2006 12:09 PM

Well, for years we've thought they were going to toss Cheney out at some point even if they had to use health as an excuse; however, it's difficult to completely embrace impeachment with the knowledge that whoever will replace them will be an incombent. On the other hand, if there were ever a time in our history when impeachment was most called for and most important, it would be now! They are exactly what the framers were frightened of! And if we don't impeach then we are setting a terrible precident for accepting high levels of abuse and law breaking.

Ok..Censure-Take back the Congress, then hold two year impeachment hearings and impeach him November 2nd (right after the 08 elections) and in the meantime maintain the greatest extent of oversight ever given to a PResident!

I'll have to go over to Kos & vote for this entry & support it - I notice it's cross-posted. I finally signed up over there again the other day.

I'm at a different Apple store & this one is across the lake where I have not ventured since Election Day 2004, when I went across to try to figure out the poliltical climate. Well, it's so wealthy that people don't worry about things like the Iraq War. They're too busy spending their money & trust funds. I can't believe how upscale this mall is. I saw a $1400 blouse. It's obscene. The cheapest thing I could find to eat was a tiny $8 salad. Aaarrrrghhhh!! This is the conservative part of the county.
They're not so much social conservatives as really greedy status-conscious types.

Veritas
If you have some good Christian rock, send away. I like any kind of music that's good. I have some good religious music (Sufi) too. & of course I am crazy about some gospel (black church style). Yes you are probably a good reporter for the next gen. I noticed the 2001 dates & that's 5 years ago - we're light years from there now. That's part of the whole point though - the soc called Millen Gen has quite a spread, like their parent Baby Boomers, but it's even accelerated now b/c change happens faster now (except the conservatives devolve and go backward)

NonnyO
Did you order your Cretin/Cochon bumper sticker yet LOL.

Truth Shall Prevail, Dwazohn
See you on Kos - glad we're getting more reps there.

Matthew Carnicelli
Thank you for safeguarding the separation between church and state, or at least reminding us what it was like, or is like in theory.

To the link, to the link!! (kos)

Can't blog on Kos from here - cop is giving me dirty looks.
I notice the supportive link has 300 comments, the other (predictable backlash) one has less than 100. Will check it out when get home. I noticed the "for" votes outnumbered the "against." Kerry has good friends like Al Franken, Imus etc. & notice they've been coming through for him lately. He also has lots of good friends her & lots of other places.

Since immigration is still a big issue...
Ever wonder why some really bad Latino schools have a lot of very good students?

Well, read this link and the PDf linked to it to find out.

http://www.arizonafuture.org/latinoEd/index.html

Want to have a good time?
Cruise All Franken's blog...

http://midwestvaluespac.org/about

Posted by: battlebob at April 9, 2006 06:34 PM

That is one cool site. If it can be used to its fullest potential, the results will be amazing.

Posted by: oncall at April 9, 2006 07:08 PM

Oncall, great comments on Kos. You addressed new ways of looking at some of the current events and I appreciated reading a new perspective.

Linda,

I believe McCain doesn't have the appeal he did in 2000. Even the media is saying, "McCain giving up his maverick label and woooing the Christian conservatives."

I think that will turn many people off. And that was the mainstreem (radio) media that I caught while driving to/from work. I think that message is being heard in real life, not just political junkies.

Having been an active member of dailykos for quite some time, I am dismayed to see the references on DCP as if the commenters there were some sort of adversary that require admonishment and training. I consider myself a part of the dailykos community almost as much as I am a part of the DCP community. I have been active over there for over a year and have trusted user status. I have to say that some of the comments on this thread and prior threads concerning dailykos are condescending.

Our community here at DCP is a microcosm of the community at dailykos -- there are those who come to rant, those who write thoughtful opinion pieces and those who do tremendously thorough research pieces. To characterize them as if they were one homogenous group does them a disservice and reflects poorly on the ones providing judgment.

If those judgements are based solely on the front page posts and the comments, then one has missed 75% of the breadth and depth of the activity in the dailykos community.

As a member of dailykos, I'm insulted. As a member of DCP, I'm saddened.

One World
by The Police

One world is enough
For all of us
One world is enough
For all of us
It's a subject we rarely mention
But when we do we have this little invention
By pretending they're a different world from me
I show my responsibility
One world is enough
For all of us
One world is enough
For all of us
The third world breathes our air tomorrow
We live on the time we borrow
In our world there's no time for sorrow
In their world there is no tomorrow
One world is enough
For all of us
One world is enough
For all of us
Lines are drawn upon the world
Before we get our flags unfurled
Whichever one we pick
It's just a self deluding trick
One world is enough
For all of us
One world is enough
For all of us
I don't want to bring a sour note
Remember this before you vote
We can all sink or we all float
'Cos we're all in the same big boat
One world is enough
For all of us
One world is enough
For all of us
One world is enough
For all of us
One world is enough
For all of us
One world is enough
For all of us
It may seem a million miles away
But it gets a little closer everyday
It may seem a million miles away
But it gets a little closer everyday
It may seem a million miles away
But it gets a little closer everyday
One world...

dwahzon,

Kos is a huge resource and though it started small now has a huge array of articles as well as grassroots opportunities.

I know when I called my Congressman and needed some help, you sent me some links from Kos from some people there who thoroughly researched their diaries.

Also, there are still things I'm learning about kos. Like your reference to 'trusted user' makes no sense to me. I have no idea what a trusted user gets, unless it means they've posted often and with knowledgable information...I know I'm still learning my way around kos, but I do know that it as well as many other sites offers valuable articles for all of us.

Speaking of McLame (sorry)

Helen Thomas | Want more Bush? Elect McCain

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040906G.shtml
Helen Thomas argues that the most visible Republican on television outside the White House, Senator John McCain of Arizona, is seeking a presidential nomination by moving to the political right.

If you want to be reminded of what we don't want, open this link
and remember this photo:

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2585

Dwahzon
Thanks for speaking out.
I had a couple of friends who are active at Kos & really like it.
I'd joined a long time ago but didn't go there much and wasn't even sure to how to sign on til I returned recently. I'd been reading things they sent me but now I'm a little more familiar with the site, how it works, and who it attracts. Plus, as you know, I sought out the Kos reading so I could get a handle on where he's going and his book, how it ties into what I already knew - that he is a "reform Democrat." I thought that what he & his co-author (from My DD) had to say & what they had learned in their travels thruout the US promoting there book were refreshing, practical and sensible. There is no reason to compete with his blog, assume that all the posters represent the blog or Kos. It's a mixed bag and quite a free speech area. What I've read is fairly well researched. I think people should look into it a little deeper before being critical and also that some of the people there should read/research more about Kerry, for example. We need to keep an open mind because we can't win elections or reform the political process unless we work together. Personally, I'd like to work more closely with that group. Thanks again. I have noticed that you post things from there and are involved.

If anyone is seriously interested, they can go back a topic and read the Q/A with Kos (Marcus Moulitsoz Zunos) that I wrote about and the first comment which follows it, which is a lengthy but very excellent and informative book review posted by you. That review gave just such an excellent overview of how everything could fit together and the history leading up to it. One point made was that even after the war wasn't avoided, then Dean was not the nominee to change things.

I thought most of the comments were quite positive and that the posters kind of police their own. I think sometimes it's better to just skip over kneejerk posts. The kind of speak for themselves if they are followed later by someone eloquent. I don't think some of them should be dignified with an answer. They're just trying to get a rise out of someone, and unfortunately, they do.

I was impressed the diary which is also posted above got 300+ comments just today and last I looked, the one from yesterday got 500+. Now I'm going to look at the "backlash" one. I see a few streams of thought among the disgruntled and all of their questions would be answered if they would actually read Kerry's speech transcripts.

I checked out the "reaction" diary - the person sick of "Kerry on Fire" stories. There were not that many comments for a site that size, quite a few were from the same people, quite a few were positive, some were willing to work with him now because the end justifies the means, & some who weren't admitted to being things like former Nader voters. I am quite encouraged.

I am really curious what Lind at DNI is going to say about the Kerry plan as he has been saying similar things for a while.

For those with friends in Florida who may be interested in opportunities to do something active, there's this urgent diary from dailykos:

Critical: Found: A new Fighting Dem! He needs our help NOW in FL 15 CD

May I introduce: "Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Lt. Col., USAF, ret. . . . He flew 101 combat missions in Vietnam . . . .- a Rocket Scientist for the Space Coast! see

What's more important is he supports women's right to choose, gay rights, single payer healthcare, is truely supporting vets and on IRAQ, and says bring them home now.

read the rest of the diary here...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/9/18155/67481

Molly Ivins | A Good Swift Kick
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040906H.shtml
In general, Molly Ivins is against kicking 'em when they're down ... unless really awful people are involved. She figures Tom DeLay is so awful, plenty of people would gang up on him and she could pass.

Halliburton-Issued Water Causes Infections
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040906D.shtml
A US Army doctor serving in Iraq has linked an outbreak of bacterial infections among US troops to allegedly contaminated water, supplied by Houston-based Halliburton Co.

Vermont Democrats Call for Bush Impeachment
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040906B.shtml
Democratic Party leaders in Vermont on Saturday passed a motion asking Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against George Bush.

{{{I sent this to my rep..., along with a letter urging him to talk to his fellow reps to sign on to impeachment proceedings, and if nothing else, follow Vermont's lead, since they are using Jefferson's handbook to start impeachment proceedings from the state level. My rep has already signed Conyers' impeachment bill.}}}

40,000 Immigrant March in St. Paul

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/9/22581/90397

Diary by my friend Bert so it'll probably be on our blog soon too, which is called Silenced Majority.

Just heard from blogger Patti Ferschkes & she's not able to type much yet due to an injury, but is doing better & had alot to say about the recent JK sightings and hearings! She may show up Tues. if she makes it over by ferry in time, for the Cantwell/Kerry event here in Seattle. Hi to all - she's been lurking.

This isnt fun.

snip

Asked who is the more dangerous to world peace and stability, the United States was rated higher than al-Qaeda by respondents in both Jordan (71%) and Indonesia (66%).
America was also rated more dangerous than two countries considered as "rogue states" by Washington.

It was rated more dangerous than Iran, by people in Jordan, Indonesia, Russia, South Korea and Brazil, and more dangerous than Syria by respondents all the countries, except for Australia, Israel and the United States

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2994924.stm

Posted by: James/DiAnne at April 9, 2006 11:43 PM

And those countries that think The Cretin is more dangerous than Al Quaida or Iran are right.

So, when will our Clueless Congress wake up... and impeach the bam dastards?

I'm sending that link to my rep & Dem senator, too.

Yeah, I know. If DumDum is impeached, that leaves Dead-Eye Dick. But there's a possibility Dickie could be charged with outing Plame (a federal offense) and forced to resign (and wouldn't it be jolly if DumDum was charged and forced to resign, too?), and if the Speaker of the House got the job, he would be basically ineffective as a replacement lame duck until a new president can be inaugurated. And, there's a chance Dems could take control of the Senate and the House in '06, which could render a neoCon ineffective as president. Hopefully, the elections won't be rigged....

I can deal with turmoil in our government for the next two years as long as Congress does SOMETHING - ANYTHING - to get rid of those two menaces in charge right now (and stop the stupid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our Guard and Reserve troops home ASAP, and redeploy our regular troops somewhere safe immediately after that, etc.)!!!