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"A cataclysmic fight to the death"
So Donald Rumsfeld is R.I.P., and we're launched into a new age of what the president repeatedly called "bipartisanship" at his news conference today.
Might we be a little skeptical of this sudden enthusiasm for bipartisanship, coming from a man who is arguably the most divisely partisan presidents in the country's history?
Even in fairy-tales, the leopard struggles with the spot-changing problem. As for a spot-changing White House, Time Magazine reports on thinking within the White House in recent weeks, when an unnamed "strategist" said that the Bush team was planning:
"a cataclysmic fight to the death" over the balance between Congress and the White House if confronted with congressional subpoenas it deems inappropriate. The strategist says the Bush team is "going to assert that power, and they're going to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court on every issue, every time, no compromise, no discussion, no negotiation."
That sounds like fun doesn't it?
--That's the attitude that Bush unveiled in November of 2000 in Florida, and it's the attitude that has carried him through the first 6 years of his presidency.
--It's the attitude that paid for the airline tickets for Republican staff thugs from the Congress to fly down to Florida and stage a Brown Shirt assault to stop the vote counting.
--It's the attitude of a "torture first, write legal fig leaves afterwards" administration. It's the attitude of keeping a House vote open for three hours while threatening one retiring congressman with cutting off the funds for his son's campaign to succeed him.
--It's the attitude of a party that paid for thousands of phone calls threatening voters with imprisonment if they showed up at the polls to vote.
Under our system of government, the presidency has aggrandized an ever-more powerful arsenal with which to fight the restraints of the legislative and judicial branches.
So while the voters have voted in the most unmistakable way against the president's leadership, and have specifically repudiated the president's policy on Iraq, there is no reason to believe that anything will change without the most unrelenting pressure.
Changing control of the Congress was necessary. But the election was only the first step in a continuing process that will require an even greater level of mobilization over the coming years to succeed.
Americans should be proud
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/simon_jenkins/2006/11/post_593.html
a British view
Over the last two years, here in Missouri, Republicans finally walked over to the blue table. Fortune was in our corner because we were able to offer them Claire McCaskill-- the word "fighter" doesn't begin to do her justice-- and wasted little time in past recriminations, as tempting as they can be, because we needed their disgust and we needed their muscle. We're in this together now. The issues haven't gone away, we're still stuck in the mud, but this time, there's a few more of us pulling on the rope. It *is* a beautiful day.
What I'm trying to say is, reason is the watchword.
Some of the public have truly woken up. They finally see GWB for who he is, a naked man on the world stage, trying on his imagionary clothes made by his tailor (Rumsfeld), who has just announced he will resign.
Pressure, yes. But pressure with reason and not hate and as little of "nah nah" as we can. Because what we do here and now will be a lesson for what is yet to come, and that's dealing with the terrorist attack on the US, which we've yet to deal with in any sort of mature way. IMO.
So how do we keep fighting while included our new independents, Repubicans, and moderates, and greens who all gave up their party attachment to do the necessary job?
I think this is one thing we must seriously discuss. The people have spoken. We need to make sure that Demcocrats keep their promises or risk disillusioning their new support.
Some want us to 'lay of Bush' now and others want us to Impeach! We need to find ways to make sure they understand that we're fiscally rsponsible and we are going to go forward with a progressive agenda that helps average Americans and saves lives.
Posted by: kj at November 8, 2006 03:56 PM
And somehow we need to lower the anger level too. We have to tone down the rage and spread hope. And we need to remind each and everyone of them that they're there for us.
KJ...
Mature = War Crimes Trial
You needed their 'disgust', now do not let these bastards escape into history.
No more playing nice with liars and tyrants.
It is not about Revenge, it is about a Reckoning.
And Restoration.
Posted by: Christy at November 8, 2006 04:08 PM
Christy,
I was just talking to a Republican who doesn't want us to screw up our chances in 08. He's a tentative Democrat.
He's all for collecting testimony, as long as we can be fiscally responsible, but he does not want Bush impeached and he doesn't want to see time wasted on other things that need to be done.
Yet, he's all for taking him to court after January 2009.
Interesting Nat'l Journal article over at the Dem Daily, and how we Dems cut and run from Kerry, forever insecure about our national security creds. Wondering, too, with the conservative influence will truly change that behavior and policy.
I think the fact that we are not ideologues, won't obstruct discussion and legislation, will go a long to change policy and Dem perception.
http://nationaljournal.com/mercurio.htm
I wonder would the dead, alllll of the pitiful, pitiful dead who have been left behind...
I wonder if they would tell you to 'lower the level of anger'.
It is a JUSTIFIABLE ANGER.
A rightious one even.
To hell with republicans who say, 'Well ok but just don't impeach him'.
SCREW THEM. Of course they do not want him impeached because THEN They will have to come face to face with ALL of the sins they have supported. And they will be forced to explain themselves.
It is about accountability.
Our inability to call a liar a liar has NEVER ONCE stopped him from lying us into a slaughter.
Screw playing nice.
The dead do not demand honor they demand JUSTICE.
And by God I do not care what bushevik tells me that justice is just some pipe dream, nor will I listen to it from any dem either. Justice IS our only hope.
Our dreams is the only reason this damn nation exists in the first place, and he has left them all shattered and violated.
It is time for him and all that supported him to pay the freaking piper and if he does not I will never again call myself a 'patriot'.
A patriot of what? There will be nothing left here.
And somehow we need to lower the anger level too. We have to tone down the rage and spread hope. And we need to remind each and everyone of them that they're there for us..
~~Posted by: Suz at November 8, 2006 04:08 PM
Suz, Exactly. I think out-of-control rage is what brought us Bush the first and second time (leaving out discussions of voter fraud, which I just don't discuss). Rage of the neocons after Iraq War I and rage (both real and manufactured) after 9/11.
Rage isn't going to bring us anything but another Bush. If Americans can't see that, we're in deeper than yesterday's results seem to indicate. Rage has it's place, I think. It's very good at calling attention to an issue. ;-) Sort of like a bonfire. But on-going rage won't do anything for a situation other than ignite it further and it's up to us collectively to decide if we've had enough fires of rage for this decade. I know I have. I've had enough of BushInc and his band of neoconartists too. I don't care anymore if he is impeached or put on trial or just sent away to Crawford to live out his days with the lizards. I just want the man to go away and never his ghost return!
Instead of using their 'disgust' to win elections, why not just deal with the thing it is that is so disgusting his own kind do not even want to be part of it...?
That is why the dems were put into power yesterday, if you do not believe it you are making a lethal mistake.
Our ANGER is not the problem.
George W. Bush murdering over half a million people for lies will be a problem regardless of how 'angry' the rest of us appear over it.
Posted by: Christy at November 8, 2006 04:21 PM
I agree about the pitiful dead Christy. Yet I believe that we have to make sure our unity pushes the process forward so that we can move forward and accomplish what we want to.
It doesn't mean that you can't keep pushing in honor of the fallen, and in fact it means we must not stop pressing them every step of the way.
But if we eliminate the anger maybe we can make more progress. And yet, I'm not saying stop emoting anger. I'm saying sprinkle the anger like salt and pepper so that it's more effective.
"So how do we keep fighting while included our new independents, Repubicans, and moderates, and greens who all gave up their party attachment to do the necessary job?
I think this is one thing we must seriously discuss. The people have spoken. We need to make sure that Demcocrats keep their promises or risk disillusioning their new support.
Some want us to 'lay of Bush' now and others want us to Impeach! We need to find ways to make sure they understand that we're fiscally rsponsible and we are going to go forward with a progressive agenda that helps average Americans and saves lives."
~~Posted by: Suz at November 8, 2006 04:03 PM
I too think this is a very important topic that needs serious discussion by citizen patriots. We're going to have different ideas based on our life experiences and where we live in the country, but that's to be expected.
I think the first thing we do is decide what we (collectively) want.
Le roi est mort, vive le roi!
Posted by: Christy at November 8, 2006 04:08 PM
What will be, will be. We all have our parts to play in this drama called Life in 2006. If rage and anger is your thing, the answer to all these issues, I say, go for it. I know my own rage pretty well and it is most effective in sparing doses. Some would prefer I had none at all. I no longer care about GWB. He's naked, the bulk of America sees that, and I'm on to solutions now. If some of those solutions include him, well, thems the breaks. We're on the down side of this man and I can hold on a few more years if I have to. But if you, Christy, want to go another direction, have it. As I said, we all have our parts to play. Some of the parts overlap, some don't. All are necessary.
UNITY...? What unity..?
I am sitting here watching you again, like de javu, be more concerned with appearing angry than having the conversation we have been waiting to have, specifically, 'When can we impeach this bastard and have him arrested for TREASON..?'
You saying things like 'eliminating the anger...'
All I can hear is this scream in my head saying ' What about eliminating the PROBLEM... namely the presidency of one George W. Bush...?'
These people impeached clinton for lying about a blowjob then went on to kill a half a million people for NO REASON AT ALL.
Do you REALLY, HONESTLY, I MEAN REALLY, do you in any way believe they give a damn about 'unity' and 'progress'...?
They are too busy trying to escape into history, to get as far away as they can from being held LIABLE.
And they will succeed too and it will sound just like this 'I just want the man to go away and never his ghost return!'.
What in the name of God Himself will we tell the other 600,000 ghosts that are haunting us right now?
What do I want?
* Energy independence
* Thriving R&D in America
* Awareness of our impact on the planet we live
* Awareness of our impact on the lives of every single person who doesn't live in the US
* Jobs
* Healthcare
* Safety nets for Americans in most need
* A global, evolutionary leap in consciousness
:-)
Asked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said, “Well, there’s certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon.”
DUH!
"And they will succeed too and it will sound just like this 'I just want the man to go away and never his ghost return!'.
What in the name of God Himself will we tell the other 600,000 ghosts that are haunting us right now?"
~~Posted by: Christy at November 8, 2006 04:41 PM
I will tell them: I've used every minor talent I to see that this didn't happen, and when it did, to stop it, and see that it doesn't happen again. I get along well with ghosts, Christy. We communicate often.
Suz,
Good luck with your discussions. I agree, they are important and now is the time to have them.
Blames, your prezzie's got you locked up in blames.
And they're the kind you Repos can't flee.
Whoa, oh, those blames of Bush gonna burn D.C., yeah.
Claims, well you can't break away from his claims.
Can't save Iraq, 'cause it's not free.
Whoa, oh, these claims of Bush won't let you be, yeah.
He wants to tell us, everybody,
That things are fine.
He'd like to fool us,
But, Repos, you're imprisoned by these...
Shames, your base was finally shocked by his claims
And they won't buy what they can see,
Uh, uh, those shames of love got you Mark Foley.
We don't believe him when he tells us,
That things are sweet.
He'd like to fake it,
But he can't break away from all of these...
Flames, your prezzie's gonna go down in flames
And they ain't the kind that you can flee.
Whoa, oh, these flames of Bush gonna burn D.C., yeah.
the song is ending but the malady lingers on,
Otter
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.
- Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address
I can not believe I am even having this conversation.
You know, it figures you would be concerned about my rage making you look bad when georgie punks you every damn day.
I can not believe you would use my disgust to win an election, but now it will no longer be a factor in OUR decisions.
But then again, I can believe it because that is all this has been about for as long as recent memory allows. It is all about who is the new slave master it has NEVER ONCE been about freeing us from them.
Your party is in power, congratulations. You were elected to face down george w. bush, not forgive him.
Soon enough the people will know if that is actually what you will bother doing with the power you were given.
"I am sitting here watching you again, like de javu, be more concerned with appearing angry than having the conversation we have been waiting to have, specifically, 'When can we impeach this bastard and have him arrested for TREASON..?'"
~~Posted by: Christy at November 8, 2006 04:41 PM
Just saw this. Christy, you're certainly not talking to me. I am *so* not afraid to appear angry. LOLOL Hey, it's beautiful outside. Gorgeous fall day. A gift.
Christy,
I'm not sure who you are talking to. Your rage making me look bad? Your rage doesn't make me look bad. And "use" your disgust to win an election? I didn't use anyone's disgust to win an election.
But maybe you aren't talking to me, in which case, nevermind.
And if you are talking to me Christy, and you're looking to fight, I'm so not fighting with anyone today. For any reason. Marshmellows and chocolate. Good green tea. Love and lava lamps. Fairy rings. Incense. Flight. The Beauty Way today. Don't even have to try. It's just HERE. ;-)
Anyone who knows me, can't through a discussion about anything without a segue to electronic voting. I live and breathe about it daily.
Markos writes about how e-voting is dead, because both sides see the peril, but he's not thinking warfare. I also add that he has had a dislike of the subject, almost banning it from Daily Kos.
Not to be the naysayer, or rain on our celebratory parade, but I agree with Dick, as always, and say our work has just begun. On e-voting in particular.
We have won because the opposition was more motivated in 2004. I don't underestimate them to hold open the possibility of wanting to gain power again, illegally and opportunistically.
Like when we talk about the chain of custody of electronic voting, and how much trust we have to have in people, programming and entire systems we don't know.
Why we still insist on the paper ballot, filled out by the voter to be able to recount, yet by Boards of Elections which only want electronic counting.
Meanwhile, by law, most states don't have to recount. Laws that avoid and allow the many manipulations of computers.
However much we like hand-counting, that is not fool-proof, so where do we go if not hand-counting? The Boards also refuse the inconvenience and lack of glitz with old-fashioned paper.
Frankly there are errors, deliberate and accidental, in hand-counting. If we went to owning the scanners, as does Oklahoma, would that be solution?
The documentary Hacking Democracy was a slanted and incomplete look at the problem and the systems. The movie didn't mention anything about programmable fraud, why the NM recount wasn't pursued and not Kerry's fault that Richardson said no, only that memory cards are vulnerable. Not a worthy look at where we are, and where we have to go, considering what she knows.
For all the lovers of lever voting as I am, because of the difficulty to hack, we need a whole industry to start up again, with better PR that it isn't obsolete.
Therefore, I push for PBOS despite its flaws of a memory card, that laws don't support recounts of any kind, only because it conceals just the counting (unlike privatized all electronic voting and counting that conceals everything), and since voters will still have confidence in the legal ballot they fill-in themselves.
There are corporate interests and legal hurdles, with election law that is confusing, insufficient, favors and written by the vendors, and difficult to change.
We also don't know how much the media will downplay and drop this issue if the spotlight isn't shone by us on the glitches, switched votes, machine meltdowns, because the systems are junk and never proven to work. After all, we won, so there isn't a problem.
Remember that in 2004, 90% of all shifts, resulting in more than a million votes estimated by some, three vendors, 13 states, all went from Kerry to Bush. Without that mainstream spotlight, or Richardson authorizing a recount, we couldn't have begun to start.
There aren't any reasons to drop our guard about stopping e-voting. Asking the computer to audit itself with a paper trail is not enough of a reason to stop the concern or the fight.
.
This was posted on DU this morning by 'The Witch'. It seems particularly appropriate to quote it here in this discussion. (Original post plus long string of replies is at http://tinyurl.com/yjmv6y )
---------------
Dear dismayed conservatives:
I hereby make these promises to you.
We will protect your lives and livelihoods.
We will listen to and respect your beliefs.
We will never try to force you to change your religion, sexual orientation, or first language.
We will do our best to reduce the number of abortions in our country.
We will have no tolerance for corruption and cronyism, even in our own party.
ESPECIALLY in our own party.
We will never tell you that you are unpatriotic.
We will never tell you that your opinion doesn't count.
We will never waste your lives for power.
We will hold our leaders to a high ethical standard and when they succumb to lust for power, WE WILL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE.
If we forget this, please, please, please, remind us.
We need you to do this. You are America as much as we are.
Let's go.
---------------
don't be afraid to forgive your enemies, because it *really* pisses 'em off when you do,
Otter
Bush to Rummy:
Don't be here now.
it's a zen boosh thing kj,
Otter
Boy, I blather on too quickly. By Boards of Elections, who only want all electronic- really "casting, storing, retrieving and counting the votes."
So, Marjorie, why not the Oregon "Vote by mail" plan?
Looking to fight...?
Ummm, not hardly.
And yes, I was talking to you and Suz. Forgive georgie all you like but that is not what yesterday was about.
If I were looking for a fight, I would have picked someone willing to have one.
It is beautiful outside here too, but I doubt that you can see it from Baghdad.
"Oh, blather," said Pooh.
tiggers is as tiggers does,
Otter
Marjorie, I don't talk about voting fraud because I made a decision after 2004 to leave it to those better (smarter) able to understand the issue. Numbers of any kind aren't my area of strength. But my lack of discussion doesn't mean I don't value the work others, like you, are doing. We all have our parts to play. :-)
I agree with Dick re: pressure. As always, I'm just attempting to toss a little bit of "living in red" understanding into the pot. And of course, there are a few people I'd like to throw *in* the pot, to boil, just a little. But that "wouldn't be prudent." bwahhhaha!
Otter, fantastic list.
"Looking to fight...?
Ummm, not hardly."
~~Posted by: Christy at November 8, 2006 05:19 PM
My mistake. But I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.
"Bush to Rummy:
Don't be here now.
it's a zen boosh thing kj,
Otter"
~~Posted by: Otter at November 8, 2006 05:15 PM
hahahahahahaha!
"Chop wood, Got wood?"
"Chop wood, carry boosh home?"
Okay, I'm no good at this. ;-)
Yeah, what about the Oragon mail-in vote. Secure?
there is no reason to believe that anything will change without the most unrelenting pressure.
Changing control of the Congress was necessary. But the election was only the first step in a continuing process that will require an even greater level of mobilization over the coming years to succeed.
Posted by dickbell at November 8, 2006 02:53 PM
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!
Good thread header, good reminder that the fight continues. We can take a breather, but not rest on our laurels.
That horrid unconstitutional and illegal war in Iraq MUST END ASAP, our troops brought home where they belong (notably guard and reserve troops, while redeploying the others elsewhere).
Really bad laws, not to mention unconstitutional and illegal legislation that Congress Critters passed in a state of being bribed by corporations and/or PACS, or when they were at least temporarily insane (MCA '06, the so-called Patriot Act, other legal maneuvers that infringe on our rights and our privacy), all need to be repealed, necessitating filling email inboxes and/or phone calls to the newly elected legislators....
By week's end I'll be drafting letters....
Contrary to popular belief, I actually prefer to be a pacifist.
I do not like the thought of throwing our nation into chaos either, but if we don't punish him, then it will set a precedent and we, this country will never be safe again.
Never.
The Iraqis must be given justice as well, or they will punish us themselves. They will make Beslan look like a habit.
Missed most of last night's really good election coverage by Stewart & Colbert, but I found this that made me laugh...
What will happen now that the Democrats have taken control of the House, and may take over the Senate? Colbert knows all too well:
“Tomorrow, you’re all going to wake up in a brave new world, where the constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones created in a stem-cell research lab run by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags, where tax-and-spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio and teach evolution to illegal immigrants. And everybody’s high!”
Dear Madame:
Have we told you lately that we love you?
just askin',
Otter
Just a muse in general because I'm on a posting roll: My goal has been to expose the Neoconartists. They have been exposed. Not to everyone, true, but their jig is up. They're moving on out the door. Some are even decrying their own work. (That is so sweet.) ;-D
My plan today was to write a cautionary fairy tale about the evils of falling for neocons, but instead of writing, I messed around all day on-line. Maybe I'll be forgiven for wasting this day, maybe not. But Claire McCaskill beat Jim Talent. And Claire made major inroads into the rural vote. Major. She did it. She breached the red rural line and she did it after losing a state-wide campaign just two years ago. We don't deserve her here, you know? But we got her anyway. It is a good day.
Posted by: madame defarge at November 8, 2006 05:36 PM
Heheheheh Colbert was good last night.
And did I mention that Missouri passed an amendment to its Constitution to allow stem cell research in this state? And a mininum wage increase? And that Claire McCaskill beat Jim Talent?
I know, I should go away and shut up.
DCP, thanks for the use of the living room. Couch was comfy and conversation good. I hope I didn't scuff the table.
kj:
Don't you dare.
blogs are made by those who show up,
Otter
Matt, there are many things I like about mail-in voting conceptually. Others say it insures 110% turnout. NY is too big, too dysfunctional to consider it, I think.
KJ, you are plenty smart!
kj:
Um, [don't you dare] shut up and go away, that is.
The table was already well and truly scuffed before you got here.
kj, go right ahead and brag you and McCaskill did a great job worth crowing about. 6 years was a long time in waiting for Missouri to come through. We are all so proud of Missouri.
Great meesage I read today:
"Bush, Allen and the GOP Opposed a Florida Recount in 2000. Let's Not be Hypocrites Guys. Webb Won the Virginia Senate Seat Fair and Square. Message to George Allen: Get Out of Jim Webb's Senate Office. And Katherine Harris Isn't Around to Help You Steal the Seat."
Otter, you are kind to this old broad. Okay, not that old. But old.
'And everybody’s high!'
I admit it, I am the one that found the preachers thrown out meth.
It was so good I got a gay hooker to give me a rub down but only on the condition we did'nt have sex.
My excuse for this giddyness is I really didn't expect my adopted state MO to turn any shade of blue. There were hopes, but I was fully prepared for a loss and then a scramble to find someplace to put this remarkable woman named Claire. Would she do another run for governor? Who would we get to run for Senate next time? How long before another viable candidate was ready to take on the machine in this state?
Bubba, you're right. 2000 was such a sad year especially with Governor Mel Carnahan's death. He would have been so good in the Senate, it was crushing to lose him. And then Jean Carnahan's loss in 2002 and Claire's to Matt Blunt in 2006. I thought we were toast here and would lose by 1% or less.
Otter I probably made some of those scuffs. And that burn mark too, I think.
Marjorie, all night I was on the SOS's site and reporting the number of precincts reporting. JBK thought I was reporting percentages. I don't know, maybe I did say percentage, but it had to do with numbers and I got confused and that's why I stay away from the voting machine issue. Numbers, percents, software issues. Skeery.
What?
I just talked to my aunt on the phone, I just walked in from work, and she said the Dems didn't take the House or the Senate.
????
Truth,
We've got the House, the Senate is up in the air until the Virginia race is settled, and Rummy resigned.
Rummy RESIGNED.
Hey everybody,
First time cathcing up today. Belated congratulations for the great work. You all are such a great community - there's no one else I would've rather spent last night with! ;0)
I woke up this morning thinking OK - now we've gotten things back in balance, now we've got a ton of work to do.
I'm not ready to make nice with Bush either, but I'm also not ready for impeachment (I surprise myself). There is too much damage to repair and too much hard work to do. Impeachment would just take up our time and efforts at this point, imho, and I find myself not giving a rat's ass about Bush right now.
We've got work to do, and if we win the Senate, Bush may just be irrelevent.
Great job DCP!!! Here's to you, and here's to us!
Thanks again for the sit, leaving behind some tea.
Dick is right, pressure on. Tomorrow.
here's an email I received today:
SCHADENFROIDE
I would just like to thank druggie Rush Limbaugh for making fun of Michael J. Fox.
I would like to say to Katherine Harris - what goes around comes around.
I would like to say to Blackwell in Ohio - ditto.
I would like to say to Kerry Healey - clean up your act.
I would like to say to Nancy Pelosi - you can measure for drapes now!
I would like to say to George (Maccawitz) Allen - you might as well come out of your closet and enjoy being your bigot self!
I would like to say to W. - in the famous words of Sean Hannity in 2000 and 2004 - "GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON!"
I would like to say to my shrink - I think I can put the Zoloft back in the medicine chest now.
I would like to say to the young men and women serving and dying in Iraq- 70% of Massachusetts voted to bring you home immediately so please hold on a just a while longer.
And finally, I would like to say to Jesus, I always knew you weren't in favor of tax breaks for the rich, not in that schmata and sandals.
Thank you Lord!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Carol, priceless, but I would add that many in schmatas and sandals are for tax breaks for the rich, as embarressed and disappointed as I am to say.
Dick, excellent post.
Posted by: kj at November 8, 2006 06:20 PM
KJ!!!!! I FREAKIN KNOW IT!!!!
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!
I WISH I HAD SOME WINE OR CHAMPAGNE. OH MY GOD!!!!
I JUST WENT INTO FOX NEWS TO CHECK WHAT ON EARTH MY AUNT WAS SMOKIN' AND I SAW THE LINK ON THERE...
HERE IT IS.....
O.M.G.!!!!!
After six years on the job, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will resign, President Bush said Wednesday.
• New defense secretary
Nov. 8: President Bush announces a replacement for Donald Rumsfeld.
MSNBC
NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down as defense secretary on Wednesday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses.
President Bush nominated Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.
http://tinyurl.com/yyt7ax
sorry to yell folks. I guess I was a little excited!!!!
Thank you Lord.
Let there be peace on earth......
"sorry to yell folks. I guess I was a little excited!!!!"
~~Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at November 8, 2006 06:48 PM
Heeheehee I love your yelling. Was just thinking about going outside (it's dark now) and yelling "Hurray!" at the top of my lungs. Or banging pots and pans. Something! D@mn!
Come on, Virginia!!! It's your turn!!!
(I really haven't had much coffee. Just a few cups this morning. This is all relief. RELIEF)
"I would like to say to the young men and women serving and dying in Iraq- 70% of Massachusetts voted to bring you home immediately so please hold on a just a while longer."
~~Posted by: Carol at November 8, 2006 06:26 PM
AWESOME.
Here ya go, Troofie -- print it out and show it to your ostrich-headed auntie if ya gotta, even:
----------------
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Punched in the gut by voters, President George W. Bush acknowledged on Wednesday Democrats gave his Republicans a "thumping" and said he would try to make the most of the new political landscape in his last two years.
At a White House East Room news conference, Bush seemed in remarkably good humor for a leader whose party had just lost control of at least half of the U.S. Congress and possibly the other half as well in Tuesday's elections.
"Look, this is a close election. If you look at race by race, it was close. The cumulative effect, however, was not too close. It was a thumping," he said.
He quickly announced the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, whose removal had long been demanded by Democrats, while insisting the decision for him to leave had been made before Election Day.
[snip]
Bush admitted intentionally misleading reporters when he said Rumsfeld was staying on.
"I didn't want to inject a major decision about this war in the final days of a campaign," Bush said.
He also said he responded that way because he had not had a chance to meet with Robert Gates about replacing Rumsfeld, "and I hadn't had my final conversation with Don Rumsfeld yet at that point."
Bush, who as Texas governor from 1995 to 2000 worked cooperatively with conservative Democrats, emphasized his desire for bipartisanship on issues that will consume the rest of his presidency: Iraq, changes to the Social Security pension system and immigration reform.
He abruptly shifted from his hot campaign rhetoric.
Democrats were no longer soft on terrorism, but rather, they "care about the security of the country, like I do," and "Democrats are going to support our troops just like Republicans will."
"The message yesterday was clear: The American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences, conduct ourselves in an ethical manner, and work together to address the challenges facing our nation," Bush said.
[snip]
After days of mocking [Nancy Pelosi] for already "measuring the drapes" of her prospective new office on Capitol Hill before Election Day, he joked he told her he had some Republican interior decorators she might want to try for the job.
"You know, look, people say unfortunate things at times. But if you hold grudges in this line of work, you're never going to get anything done. And my intention is to get some things done, and soon," he said.
[snip]
Sitting off to the side in the East Room was Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, who had winning election strategies in 2000, 2002 and 2004 but whose efforts to turn out conservative voters fell short against the tide this year.
Bush could not resist a good-natured dig at Rove when asked who was ahead in his competition with Rove on who could read the most books.
"I'm losing. I obviously was working harder in the campaign than he was," he said to gales of laughter.
---------------
And you know what? He looked hugely relieved during his live press conference this morning when he was saying those things. It seemed almost as though he was glad to finally be able to cast off the Rovian puppet strings that had so tightly hamstrung him for lo these many years.
And that's the kind of thing that really makes ya go "hmmm..."
so tell auntie red that even her premier boosh admits it's a done deal already,
Otter
Seems to me that the Iraqis have learned all the wrong lessons from the Republicans:
From Sunday's NY Times Magazine:
"When the election came, Chalabi was wiped out. His Iraqi National Congress received slightly more than 30,000 votes, only one-quarter of 1 percent of the 12 million votes cast - not enough to put even one of them, not even Chalabi, in the new Iraqi Parliament. There was grumbling in the Chalabi camp. One of his associates said of the Shiite alliance: "We know they cheated. You know how we know? Because in one area we had 5,000 forged ballots, and when they were counted, we didn't even get that many." He shrugged."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/magazine/05CHALABI.html
World sees vote as Bush rejection
Dems' wins in U.S. are embraced overseas
http://tinyurl.com/yldv59
Bush diminished as world leader
Analysis
By Paul Reynolds
World Affairs correspondent, BBC News website
The US leader is already highly unpopular abroad
The mid-term elections have left President George W Bush diminished as a world leader.
The sudden news of the resignation of the Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld adds to a sense that the ship of state is in rough seas.
The word abroad will be that George Bush is on the defensive and has taken a knock. Enemies will be encouraged. Friends will take cover.
To his own publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the way things are going in Iraq has been added voter dissatisfaction with him.
His party is even in danger of losing the Senate as well as the House of Representatives.
As Oscar Wilde might have put it: "To lose one House may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness."
Mr Bush will have to find a way to stop the slow strangulation that Iraq is now exercising on him and his party.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6129350.stm
(I take no pleasure in this, btw)
Posted by: Christy at November 8, 2006 05:19 PM
Christy,
Sorry about the long delay responding. What can I say? I never said forgive and forget. I never said don't impeach. What I did say is use our position right now to make things happen: to stick to an agenda, to investigate, and to use our new-found position to impeach when the evidence proves it's necessary.
If we stop screaming long enough for the evidence to be heard, impeachment may naturally follow.
I just know for me...I don't want to gloat or keep this giant ball of anger in my chest.
But if you think for one minute that I won't be working to keep put Bush behind bars, then you're wrong.
I just want to keep this tidal wave for our cause going strong for longer than six months.
Christy,
I forgot to say...please repost that link you had for candles. I never clicked before. I was too busy. Or you can email me.
Anyone catch how many times we heard the word bipartisan today by Reynolds and Republican leadership? Interesting how that word has totally escaped their vocabularly in the last 6 years.Perhaps that is code is that Republican leadership is now planning on how they can tag Pelosi with the failures in Iraq and how they will try and co-opt things like raising the minimum wage, stem cell research and reinstating Pell grants and veteran benefits--claiming itw as their idea in the first place and it was the Dems obstructing its passage. Soon they can say they were for it before they were against it.
AP just called Virgina for Webb (according to Countdown)
NBC News is now projecting Webb as well.
Posted by: Otter at November 8, 2006 05:47 PM
Aw shucks, Otter... Don't make me cry now... I've been so strong today...
Posted by: Cyrano at November 8, 2006 08:45 PM
Please let it be.
WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Otter,
I called my aunt back and asked her which channel she was watching tv on, and told her that that wasn't the truth, that the Dems had swept the House, and that we were waiting on two states to see if we took back the Senate, and that Donald Rumsfeld had just resigned.
- Get this -
She said all nasty like (picture a twisted little prune face) "TOO BAD it wasn't true."
I just smiled a coy little smile and said "Talk to ya later...."
AHA HA HA HA!!!!!
Ummm Rummy...... BUH BYE.........
The difference a week makes.
BUSH BACKS RUMSFELD TO THE END
Washington
November 2, 2006 - 8:11AM
"US President George W Bush says he expects Donald Rumsfeld to stay on as defence secretary for the rest of his presidency, rejecting election-year demands the Pentagon chief resign over Iraq.
Bush also played down reported strains in relations with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki over war strategy, saying he spoke to him last week and "I didn't find many differences of opinion when I talked to him."
Reuters
Note the 2nd last word. Even the mighty - now fallen - never talks "with" anyone. Only "to" them. He talks, they listen. Until Tuesday!! Well done!
This early battle is won. The work continues.
I did hear again last night that "Impeachment is DEFINITELY off the table." I hope not.
I have had focussed anger for six years.
It has finally begun to pay off. You might not recognize it as anger at all because it's so sustained that it's not violent. It's more like a laser. It's so familiar that it's begun to feel normal. I've been on my guard for six years. I'm still angry - it's a way of life, but I intend to use it. I'm not so sure if you'd call it anger anymore but it's not just frustration. It's just channeled. I think that people think of anger as an irrational person exploding. & especially for women. The way that a conservative insults a woman, especially a successful & independent woman - is to call her "angry." I've actually been angry since I was about 15 years old, but you'd never know it because I've never really stopped fighting. There was a relaxed period when I let down my guard a little and didn't fight enough. That was a big mistake. We can't ever be complacent again. It doesn't mean we have to go around looking all pissed off. If you want to hear truth and channeled anger, listen to John Murtha. That's just one example. Of course I'm happy at the way things turned out, and hopeful. The lid is off - the whole world is watching. This is nothing new though. I lived through Kennedy, MLK, Carter, Clinton adn more but also through Nixon, Reagan and the Bush dynasty. Human lives have been in the balance and the word "anger" has a negative connotation but what is it but a strong quest for justice. Don't let anyone tell you not to be angry - just don't waste your anger. Use it where it counts. We just did but we can't stop at this.
Ok - into traffic.
Posted by: Bubba at November 8, 2006 08:31 PM
That's a good one, Bubba.
Bush was for Rummy as his Sec. of Defense as long as he was President until he was against him as his Sec. of Defense when he found out the American people hold him responsible.
"Heh, heh. (wink)
I was for 'im before I was agin 'im. Heh heh."
Music, boys......
to go with the champagne......
"This early battle is won. The work continues."
Yes. Indeed. Just so. Very much just so.
So... what does it say about The Neocons vs. The Planet when woz down in Tazzie is as every bit as well-informed and as cynically anti-Shrub as we are up here?
wtg wendy glad you're onboard down there,
Otter
Ask and ye shall receive, TSP...
--------------
The party's over
It's time to call it a day
They've burst your pretty balloon
And taken the moon away
It's time to wind up the masquerade
Just make your mind up the piper must be paid
The party's over
The candles flicker and dim
You danced and dreamed through the night
It seemed to be right just being with him
Now you must wake up, all dreams must end
Take off your makeup, the party's over
It's all over, my friend
The party's over
It's time to call it a day
They've burst your pretty balloon
Now you must wake up, all dreams must end
Take off your makeup, the party's over
It's all over, my friend
It's all over, my friend
---------------
what is the sound of one red balloon popping,
Otter
Otter, you'll appreciate this one...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2947711
Democrats Take Control of the Senate
WaPo: http://tinyurl.com/yzh4rd
~snip~
The Senate had teetered at 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans for most of Wednesday, with Virginia hanging in the balance. Webb's victory ended Republican hopes of eking out a 50-50 split, with Vice President Dick Cheney wielding tie-breaking authority.
The Associated Press contacted election officials in all 134 localities where voting occurred, obtaining updated numbers Wednesday. About half the localities said they had completed their postelection canvassing and nearly all had counted outstanding absentees. Most were expected to be finished by Friday.
~snip~
Democrats Take Control of the Senate
WaPo: http://tinyurl.com/yzh4rd
It should be said at the start that while I do realize that the results are not fully in and that the requisite tabulations have yet to be completed pending detailed analysis by an appropriate panel of experts whose determinations will be subject to further review by a blue-ribbon bipartisan panel, I also feel as though it is now safe for me to say without further equivocation or possible risk of subsequent potential discordance on the part of my esteemed colleagues that an appropriate response to the announcement that one 'aimzzz' has just shared with us here might well be, though of course is not now or in the future will be limited to, what the representatives of our proud independent press may possibly quote me in the future as saying, "Woo and/or Hoo."
Thank you.
oh my I am as giddy as a little girl now,
Otter
Your talk of quelling rage and wiping legal ramifications for your president says that once again the rich and powerful are beyond the law. This president has cost Americans far more than Nixon did. (imho)
On Australian ABC online last night was this. John Howard would have been sending panting salivations to your pres by phone. And he'd have been LISTENING to plenty. And here are the conclusions that he reached.
"Rumsfeld resignation won't alter strategy in Iraq: PM
The Prime Minister says the US strategy in Iraq will not change because of the congressional elections.
John Howard says the US is not going to suddenly pull out of Iraq.
He has described the decision to replace the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, as a gesture by President George W Bush to the voters.
"Clearly the President has reacted to the vote, obviously he has and that is sensible but his reaction does not amount to a fundamental change in direction," he said.
Now, I don't know how you feel about this. Much of your media believes that this election wasn't about electing democrats, it was about showing your president that his subjects are displeased.
Dow Reaches New High on Election Results
WaPo: http://tinyurl.com/yffruo
Wall Street rose for a third straight session Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrials reaching another record close as investors grew more confident that a huge victory by Democrats in congressional elections would result in gridlock and keep lawmakers out of the way of business interests...
Posted by: Otter at November 8, 2006 09:36 PM
I feel like Snoopy at suppertime!
Would you please watch and refer this clip to all people you know. Work at closing Guantanamo in the shortest possible time. Please. Let David Hicks come home to his family and to those of us who are appalled at the American treatment of one of our young people. You'll need to send a few plane loads of cash to pay for the mental health catastrophe caused by the Bush-Terror-Enforcers. Actually, no - since this was done with the full acceptance and agreement of the current Australian administration. Go see this movie/documentary and you will be ashamed.
My thanks to the Tipton Three for telling their horror.
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1776846.htm
Woo HOOO!!
Say goodbye, boyzz.............
Hit the Road Jack
~Ray Charles
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Woah Woman, oh woman, don't treat me so mean,
You're the meanest old woman that I've ever seen.
I guess if you said so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Now baby, listen baby, don't ya treat me this-a way
Cause I'll be back on my feet some day.
(Don't care if you do 'cause it's understood)
(you ain't got no money you just ain't no good.)
Well, I guess if you say so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Well
(don't you come back no more.)
Uh, what you say?
(don't you come back no more.)
I didn't understand you
(don't you come back no more.)
You can't mean that
(don't you come back no more.)
Oh, now baby, please
(don't you come back no more.)
What you tryin' to do to me?
(don't you come back no more.)
Oh, don't treat me like that
(don't you come back no more.)
Hey All:
I know I've been gone for a bit, but I really do want to convey to all of you how much this DCP community has sustained me over this long winter of our discontent. The hard part starts now, but, for a moment, I just want to share in the good feelings and express my thanks to all of you.
Thanks Again,
Chuck in Houston
for Christy, DiAnne, and all of us really:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwc5YSAc-7g
...and don't you come back no more
Right back atcha, Chuck.
And that goes for the rest of you, too.
There's nothing you can do that can be done
There's nothing you can sing that can't be sung
There's nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy....
All you need is love
(All together now)
All you need is love
(Everybody)
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need....
Or something like that.
Hate to embarass everybody with my "Kumbaya Moment" but there you have it!
Or, as Howard Dean once said:
"EEEEEEAAAAAAOOOOOH!"
Chuck in Houston
And here's one more for Troofie, too:
---------------
Standing in line marking time
Waiting for the welfare dime
'Cause they can't buy a job
The man in the silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes
Just for fun he says "Get a job"
That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them
They say hey little boy you can't go
Where the others go
'Cause you don't look like they do
Said hey old man how can you stand
To think that way
Did you really think about it
Before you made the rules
He said, Son
That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them
Well they passed a law in '64
To give those who ain't got a little more
But it only goes so far
Because the law another's mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar
That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them
---------------
don't stop til you see the blue of their eyes,
Otter
Hey Otter:
And likewise! I hesitate to name names because, and I have to say this, pretty much everyone who has contributed whatever it is they could contribute to this blog over the longer haul has touched me and helped me. A thread or two back I notices some themes (and a very eloquent post by you), namely: patience, tenacity, and perseverence. Add "hope" and "faith" and that's a fair approximation of what the DCP means to me.
Chuck in Houston
PS: Special thanks to the hard-working folks that make with blog happen. Thank you.
Suz,
Perhaps 'forgive' was the wrong word to use. To be honest, the celebrating scares me. We are still not anywhere near out of danger.
Of course I'll repost that link. I just recieved my first order today, and the one called Texas Bluebonnet is fantastic
http://www.candlesforaline.blogspot.com/
Her case is becoming what I can only describe as astounding. When I was a kid, this was a living ghost story. It frightened me then, and all through the years the strangeness has always been ominous.
But, I can honestly say it scares me more now than it ever did then. The more I know the worse it gets.
There has been some really fascinating developments going on, and I would tell you about them, but, I really am not sure I can even make it sound literate. It is hard for me even to believe it.
It is not just a stunning one it still is so confusing it hurts.
There are so few real mysteries in life. It is just not often that your life can be truly touched by something so... strange. Her very existance haunts so many, and none of us understand even the most basic questions about what happened to her.
The Shreveport Times is going to do a write up on Alines candle site and Texas Eqqusearch.. hopefully that will generate a lot of candle buying. We know it is not realistic to believe she will be recovered, but we have to try.
The LA AGs office called my momma today and got an earful, I think they are about to jump in on it too.
My interview on cam, the two part special on Robert Browne, is slated to air November 15th and 16th. It will lead the nightly news both nights.
I will link yall up to it but be forewarned... I was totally sick that day and the camera crew showed up by surprise a full 24 hours before I was expecting them.
Yes I went on TV camera looking like total crap.
Please do look up my cousin and buy a candle. She is not haunted, she is downright possessed.
I think her momma would be proud of her, I just wish w e could have searched sooner
Chuck:
Um, er, gee, uh, aw shucks. *blush*
Christy:
No matter how or when or how many times we say it here, you cannot begin to imagine just how much your ongoing story about your relentless quest to bring to justice those who hurt Aline has affected all of us here who have come to know you over the years.
Please know that we all are with you at each step of your quest, and that we hang on every word you choose to share with us as the tale unfolds.
Aline deserves no less than our attention and concern, even filtered through your words so long after the fact; and you, too, deserve no less than our care and concern and love as well.
She has it, you have it, and that is as it should be. Never doubt it, because we do not. And we will not, not now, not ever... because you are one of us.
and blessed be you and all of yours,
Otter
To be honest, the celebrating scares me. We are still not anywhere near out of danger.
Posted by: Christy at November 8, 2006 10:44 PM
True, but in keeping with the thread title, it's not something we will ever see the end of. Meanwhile, there will be moments like this one, and it's worthwhile to look back (ex 2 tears) and look ahead, and then pause to do the suppertime dance bacause some hard work bore fruit...
Aimzzz:
Sure hope there are some more "moments like this one...."
Chuck in Houston
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/08/virginia-result.html
Chuck in Houston
PS: Thank goodness, doesn't look like I have to repudiate my Virginia roots after all
And this:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2006/story?id=2639921&page=1
Chuck in Houston
Go Old Dominion! Go Commonwealth!
Oops! Sorry about the double-post. I forgot the web address the first time. Too much excitement for this Oz elder! Of course I'm sure that all of you here will be ashamed of your dictator's decisions about torture and guantanamo. You have rallied up those who want to redress ALL the issues and actually make a change, so that we can get back respect for both/all countries.
Otter, on Wednesday, when you were all out working I felt very alone and the only news reports that were getting through were those about the neocon gap-closing. Scary stuff! Phew! Glad it didn't close!
Yesteday, as every every national election is for me, felt like
suspended animation. Today, I feel like the gears are working again. I am not sure why that is. Perhaps it is the fact that only
once every two years Americans are given an opportunity to take the power back, and for those brief twenty four hours we operate as a single force hoping to make a difference. The next day, we all take a moment to see what we have done. When we take stock of our accomplishment, there is a collective sigh of relief as we realize that we have righted ourselves. Our country made a choice and we will not, and can not, let that sacred choice be wasted.
You said it. And here it is. Confirmed in Oz, too - in media manipulated by Howard's cronies! Wonder what our PM has to say now. I remember the Boosh saying of him when he visited the White House, "The Australian Prime Minister isn't the prettiest boy on the block, but....." Hmmm. Does that mean that if you're as pretty as he, then you don't have to work so hard to make and keep powerful friends? Think again pretty boy!!
And I thought it couldn't get much better....
DEMOCRATS TAKE THE SENATE
Washington
November 9, 2006 - 1:08PM
CONGRATULATIONS! AND THANKYOU ALL! Celebrate and continue this remarkable achievement. You've proved to the world - change is possible, no matter how untouchable the powerful seem to be. This is brilliant!
I look forward to your continuing journey to the reclamation of truth and freedom for all.
More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/08/AR2006110801435.html
Chuck in Houston
Well, All, I amy lurk a bit, but wanted to sign off with a revised reprise of an earlier post under the rubric of "What the DCP Means to Me" or how I survived the last two years:
"Patience, tenacity, and perseverence. Add 'hope and 'faith.'"
But I left off my sentamental favorite: "Reason."
Chuck in Houston
Try and catch Larry King later tonight. Bill Maher was on and had some nice things to say about JK. Hiliarious on shrub !! It's a new day,my anger is finally subsiding and my arms are finally improving. That's progress!!
John Kerry on Jim Webb's Victory in Virginia
"Virginia has chosen a leader with courage who will work to do what's right about a broken policy in Iraq.
"Jim Webb had the courage to speak out on Iraq before the war and now has the backbone to fix our nation's course in the Senate.
"Virginia has voted for change.
"I could not be happier for Jim Webb and his family who went through so much to achieve this historic victory."
DiAnne:
Kerry and Webb, Democrats in Montana....
Going back to my old Kerry-blog themes, I see some healing about to happen between people of good intentions.
Chuck in Houston
Yes I'm happy but ok to feel a little vindictive too.
from http://www.thepremise.com
Now we know what 2000 was worth to the Republican Party. Six short years after the Republicans hijacked an election, thwarting the will of the people, the Republican Party has taken a fist to the face and a knee to the groin.
Gone are agents of theft Katherine Harris; Mark Foley and his red-state seat; the tag team of Tom Delay and John Sweeny, who turned congressional aides into political thugs during the recount; and Jeb Bush, who’s term-limited in Florida. In tatters is Karl Rove’s reputation; the legacy of the Boy President, George Bush; the idea of an enduring Republican majority; the Middle-east; and the failed state of Iraq.
That’s what stealing an election gets you. Six years in which to hang yourself.
– Mark Barrett
Chuck - all the values you cite are those that we should hold to, within ourselves, not only within our governments. Reason is right up there at the top and too often reason is the first casualty.
I thought the DCP might be interested in the reaction of others down here in Oz.
http://blogs.theage.com.au/yoursay/archives/2006/11/midterminal.html
Chuck in Houston
You certainly called it about Webb!
& we had a Blue Tsunami here!!
Woz
Thanks for the Aussie blogs!
Posted by: Otter at November 8, 2006 10:58 PM
Wow. You just made me bawl like a baby.
Thank you.
Found on site about Buddhist perspectives on anger:
Grant me the stubbornness to change what I can, the laziness to accept what I cannot, and enough beer to sit around and endlessly discuss the difference between the two.
Dick Dunn
Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you?
But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window.
Steve Bluestone
Hey DiAnne:
God bless you and yours. I do feel like we've all been through the wringer on this several times, so for me this is the moment to say we passed a "benchmark" (timetable? What timetable? It's BENCHMARK, see?). I guess I'm just howling a bit tonight.
Christie:
Please forgive my horrible haiku's over the years. God bless and may NOLA rise!
Woz:
Did you used to be Rossi or something like that?
All:
Sorry I'm a bit maudlin tonight....
Thanks again to all -- keep up the good work team-mates!
Chuck in Houston
If you have time, please do drop by Correntwire and give MJS and the gang a read....some funny stuff.....
http://www.correntewire.com/bush_presser#comment-22710
Chuck - no, I was never "Rossi or something like that." I do forget things. But so far I'm pretty sure I haven't lost an identity.
DiAnne, the Aussie blog is not one of like-minded people. It's a cross-section of views. But we've been blindly following your president for so long that I thought you should know that we also live with the lies of the "Born-to-Rule" and the meatheads who love to act upon the hate and bigotry our leaders incite.
Sad as the situation is, it's a great time to be involved in politics. A time of remarkable change. A swim against the current. Again. I remember standing on a city corner in the heart of Melbourne on a hot afternoon in December, 1970. My friends and I became separated within seconds of our arrival from the train station. It didn't matter. The crowd moved as one. The first Moratorium on the Vietnam war. Our change of Government in December 1972, ended our participation in that war and our young men came home. Damaged. But home. Still damaged. History repeats itself. And those who send our young ones to their death, or destruction of spirit, learn nothing.
On learning:
I think the lesson is clear this time. Now we are the teachers and we must continually remind them of the lesson.
Next week is pork week; when the defeated come back and try to milk the people for more and more.
We will be there and we will remind them of what the lesson was this week.
We will be clear. And they will be accountable. Count on it.
karen, I believe you will.
Oncall said: "Yesteday, as every every national election is for me, felt like suspended animation. Today, I feel like the gears are working again. I am not sure why that is. Perhaps it is the fact that only once every two years Americans are given an opportunity to take the power back, and for those brief twenty four hours we operate as a single force hoping to make a difference. The next day, we all take a moment to see what we have done. When we take stock of our accomplishment, there is a collective sigh of relief as we realize that we have righted ourselves. Our country made a choice and we will not, and can not, let that sacred choice be wasted."
~~Posted by: oncall at November 8, 2006 11:46 PM
Beautifully said, Oncall, truly beautiful and true.
And it never occurred to me that anyone would stop working after this election. That is my blindness, I guess, due to the fact that I've been involved in politics, one way or another, since I was 14 years old.
We celebrate the wins, we mourn the losses, and we work like the dickens in-between.
I wondered if maybe it was hard to identify with the typical Iraqi citizen, til I found this "man in the street" comment! (Reuters)
Yassir Jabar, a 48-year-old laborer in Falluja in the restive western province of Anbar, said he followed the election closely. "I vowed to slaughter a goat if the Democrats win because they will put pressure on Bush, and he could fall and not complete the term of his presidency," he said.
Again, thanks to everyone for the gracious use of DCP space yesterday. I'm sorry if my jumping on the couch like Tom Cruise on Oprah was a little over-the-top. In retrospect, I could have gone to the local HQ, but I really did want to spend yesterday with people I "knew" and have been in the trenches with longer than I've known the people here. (Which isn't long at all.)
It was a great, great day and Oncall's description above is perfect, absolutely perfect.
Namaste. @;-)
Woz
Thanks! I do read "The Age" along with "The Guardian" in UK as one of my main news sources! That actually started on 9/11/01 and I don't think I've missed since. I'd pretty much gone to public radio and cut out tv after the lst Gulf War, and stayed with newspapers, then amped it up to add more foreign press.
Blogs fill in, but am going to read more foreign blogs. Wish I was fluent in languages!
KJ
I could see you jumping on the couch!
Woz, Chuck
I think Rossian is over at Christy's blog. Kangaroo.
"I vowed to slaughter a goat if the Democrats win because they will put pressure on Bush, and he could fall and not complete the term of his presidency," said Yassir Jabar, a 48-year-old laborer in Falluja.
~~Posted by: DiAnne at November 9, 2006 09:15 AM
DiAnne, that's it! We are global... the sense of togetherness. Yesterday we were all about the goat.
(There's a book I've been meaning to read: "The Feast of the Goat" by one of my favorite authors, Mario Vargas LLosa.)
Europe's AntiWar Leaders Feel Vindicated by US Polls
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nL09411069&from=business
For those who believe perception is everything..
"We've got to start making some friends on this planet."
John Kerry
For a long time, there were those who would say that they were critical of the US government but not the US people. Then when it became known how many people here supported the war, that's when surveys like the Pew showed a serious decline in our overall reputation in the world.
Now .. this is what democracy looks like. We are moving in the right direction.
DiAnne, I've been on a international author reading kick since 9/11. Fiction though, so I don't know if you'd want the list. Couch jumping, sigh. Hey yesterday, I thought we all could fly. :-)
All I could think with that Iraqi reference is My Pet Goat.
Glad you're feeling better, Patti, but I don't see that great Bill Maher about Kerry. A dismissive Larry King, who I might add got plenty of second and more chances, in marriage and career. In 1971, I worked at a store in Miami, which denied him credit for a number of reasons, and couldn't charge. A pariah in some places.
I watch all these articles, all the appearances and news focus on everyone but John Kerry.
There wouldn't be a Webb, and others, with his early support, financial and stumping. He's the original diplomat to work across the aisle, and the GOP smear should not be allowed to stand.
The comics are the worst hit to the gut. Larry King really needs a little sense of his history. His bad stuff was far more deserving.
This is my inner child that saying life should be fair.
typu-sorry, withOUT his early support.
For Marjorie:
"Truly Authentic Leadership"
~~By Bill George * Posted Sunday, October 22, 2006
U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/061022/30authentic.htm
Hi everyone! I have been busy with work and personal life so I haven't had time to post anywhere, but after Tuesday's historic election I had to take a moment and stop by and say hello to everyone and............
WOOOHOOO!!!!! :)
KJ, good article, just saddens me that someone so worthy, having given fully and positively to make a difference that is so affirming, however multi-leveled the reasons, should be so absent from the recognition.
The world is cheering.
After 2004 being snatched away, and few applauding how difficult the goal or how well we did, I'm not in the mood for the syncophants not knowing the facts, getting it wrong, or ignoring.
As the leadership did not mind the money and effort, his to give without knowing about any payoff, but always theirs to say thanks anyway, but no thanks.
Marjorie, what is that old saying about a prophet not being recognized in their hometown? Or the hero, returning to his/her society with their hard-gained/earned boon, not recognized? And their boon not recognized? Steeped in hero/individual journey lore, that is how I see our guy. He's done the work, he (and Teresa) know who he is, if he isn't recognized by the many, he is by the few. If his day of his recognition doesn't happen... it's a loss for the whole but not for him, necessarily. Because he knows who he is and those who love him know who he is and sometimes... that is enough. Of course, if he is recognized, I want to be standing there next to you when it happens. :-)
Hi floridadem! Woooohooo right back!
Kerry is a workhorse. He needs a vacation. I think recognition would be nice, but I hope he's getting in some time on his Harley, getting to a good bookstore and maybe listening to some U2 and Springsteen.
Funny how the right demonized windsurfing while championing waterboarding!
By the way, check out the stuff coming out on Pat Tillman's death by "friendly fire" and also there will be new stuff coming "across the pond" related to how we went to war.
This is all going to be interesting.
I did get an email from locals asking me to write a thank you letter to Dean for the 50 state program. Yeah fine but they can do that and I'm thanking Kerry.
And I'm also thanking demographics, economics and time, which is to say the universe in general, with it's tendencies to entropy and equilibrium.
Funny how the right demonized windsurfing while championing waterboarding!
Posted by: DiAnne at November 9, 2006 12:39 PM
perfect! thank you DiAnne! Let's use it!
I just thanked, but mentioned thanks to them both.
'60 Minutes' correspondent Ed Bradley dies
Ed Bradley, the longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent who reported on subjects ranging from jazz musicians to the Columbine school shootings, has died from leukemia. He was 65.
cnn.com
BREAKING NEWS
Source: Allen to concede in Va. Senate race
Burns concedes in Mont.; Webb’s win gives Democrats control of Congress
NBC News and news services
Updated: 4 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Sen. George Allen will concede the Virginia race to Democrat Jim Webb when he addresses supporters Thursday afternoon, a source within the Allen camp told the National Journal.
The Journal, a MSNBC.com content partner, said the source was someone close to the Republican incumbent.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15635543/from/ET/
Hey KJ!!!
Hey floridadem!!! Are we walking on air, or what? ;-)
Speaking of Dean and Kerry and heroes....
While I have nothing against Howard and feel he grew as a person from his national exposure and experience as a candidate for the Dem nomination and I am *extremely* grateful to everyone behind the 50 state strategy, I always felt that Howard was susceptible to Joe Trippi's "Let me make you a hero" offer. I thought Dean bought his own press, so to speak. I don't think that Kerry has done that since he was a very young man. Whenever, where ever and however he learned it, I think Kerry knows that the boons from the hero's journey isn't something anyone can bestow upon someone else. It is earned, by the person, all the way. And it's in that earning that the person knows themselves what they are and what they are capable of becoming. Self-definitation. The pundit class not necessary. Of course there are others who think that Kerry isn't in the class of the hero, and I maybe it's the speck in my own eye, but I think he is.
Fe,
Very good comments and lots to think about. In the last few days it has felt like a weight off my shoulders but if I implied yesterday we should forgive and forget then that wasn't what I meant.
Your article points out the things that we have to remember to fight for. Nancy Pelosi is still trapped between and unethical egomaniac and the his servant media as well as the remaining people who orchestrated Clinton's demise.
I'm not sure if anyone caught this about Rush but I gather from his statement that he's going to love to dig his teeth into her and draw fresh blood.
http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=24814
Well, it took John Warner 10 minutes to introduce Macaca-George just so he could admit the obvious: there'll be no recount, he has conceded, it's a done deal.
And, of course, Allen then went on to spin the hell out of his actions in so doing. There's not much doubt that he's already positioning himself to run for Warner's seat when the latter retires in 2008, and the framing of this announcement was a carefully calculated move to make sure the voters of Virginia know that Warner's on board with that also.
It was practically already a known thing by late yesterday, of course, but these things technically ain't ever over 'til the volumetrically-expansive chanteuse chirps.
But chirp she did, so it's official now: we own the Senate as well as the House.
all their base are belong to us,
Otter
Battlebob glad to see you back here, most all of our '04 members have returned here except for hardrain. Even saw a post by wildsalmon a while back. You should be thrilled that JD has been put out of his misery but now you and sparrow can share some harsh winters. I am still interested in your insights into conservative Arizona politics. McCain is kissing up to the far right of the Republican Party primary voters, but I no longer see him as a sure thing as their nominee which would give us an opening in places like Arizona and Colorado in '08.
Gilmore said yesterday he too may be interested n Warner's seat if he decides not to run. Would love to have Mark Warner run against Allen or Gilmore in '08.