Dem-Festers are First !!!!
:)

im jealous.

And points to Mike for the Radiohead reference !!

(how about.. 'the world is a gunboat in a sea of fear'?)
;)

I'm jealous too.

Greetings from Charlie Grapski here. 

Me. too, Renee.  I would love to be there as well. 

But don't forget to watch the video of Howard Dean and Matt Bai....from last year.  We need to see more of him on TV.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1339

Cheers for all Dem-Festers!  Please blog and let us know what's happening. 

Hi Renee. didn't mean to avoid you a couple of days ago I had been up north fishing and went off to read back threads

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

I'm going to just lurk and allow space for deanfesters to report

 (I'm waiting)

Outsourcing the war --- with contractors (a few are)  but most are mercenaries. 

The facts concerning the 'hidden army'  is kept secret from the American people.  Reports of from 10,000 to 60,000  OR MORE of them in Iraq.  They're paid very high wages, as much as $100,000 a year.  Our soldiers resent them, not only for the pay, but because these mercenaries are under no one's control -  no laws; not like the military or even a U.S. citizen.   Reports of them shooting innocents - and they were at Abu Ghraib.   They are made up of a lot of fairly good people, but also - rebels, etc. from Columbia, South Africa, you name it.  Hidden war costs, hired by companies as 'guards' or whatever.  Eventually, WE pay for them.  There were rumors that just maybe a lot of the missing billions in Iraq, was ..uh... lifted by some of these 'guards'.  Also rumors that they just might not want the War in Iraq to end...  could be behind blowing up of the mosque and other things.  Who would know?

Under no one's laws.   Under no one's control.  In such a sensitive place. Their goals may not be our goals.  An army unto themselves.   Paid for their services, maybe ...paid more by the other side.  ?   NOT A GOOD THING.

chili, it's common  courtesy to let people on the old thread know that there's a new thread.

Putz's dear friend, Bandar, is in $$$ trouble.  Blair trying to cover everyone's a$$.

Pace has been replaced becuz "he'll be looking forward instead of back," paraphrase by Gates.  The WH doesn't want any negative reporting on the occupation so they found another liar to go before Congress.

How can these criminals still be in office? 

The 600 page immigration bill was a disgrace and how many actually read it?  Enforce the laws now on the books and shelve this mess until we have a prez who can actually think.

It's clear no one but Gore will do. 

7

sea, i went to the old thread and there had been only one post the the half
hour previous...

its common sense to check for new threads..
;)

No lurking Phil, blog away...you know it's the more the merrier around here. I didn't hear a response when I asked if I should video tape some of DemFest a while back so I'm not sure if i should. I didn't take a camera out from the station but may still be able to get one tonight...I'm only at DemFest on Sat., no Howard : (

If in the next 15 minutes or so I hear whether or not I should get a camera, I will try. I know me posts are lost in the jumble of regular posters here so can understand no reponse earlier...just thought a DemFest video would would be nice on youtube.

The clock be ticking......... 

Reed you son of a gun you got me. sure I want to see video

Hey, Phil. It was only after a couple of fruitless visits that I commented about feeling invisible. I have so little time for blogging any more, I guess I get impatient pretty easily if I post and don't get any response.

Been a crazy week--work has been pretty taxing, and on the homefront, Demetrius  has been dealing with stuff with Son in Ohio's school that we really shouldn't still be dealing with.

OK Phil, I'm out the door to see if I can get a camera...no promises though.

REED!!!  I may be late on your time clock....but if you're still around........I would LOVE...repeat, LOVE you to tape DemFest.  It also ads to the fun....imho.

From bloggers Breakfast  DemFest 1

The ROCK STAR!!! 

chili, it's much easier for one person to advise the old thread than for everybody to keep checking times and running up to see if there's a new thread.  It's called common courtesy.  I think you'll find it's the prevailing attitude around here.  :-)

Howdy Renee, Charlie, Phil, Seashell, Chili, Judy and everyone else who may grace this blog with their presence, while the others are playing at DemFest :)

Snapshots:

I'm reading Gore's book and waiting for reports, and if you festers aren't forthcoming I will philibuster with quotes.

The introduction alone is worth the price of the book, plus building the fund for a run.

Buy it!

Renee, you define howardly action, I'm sorry I missed you as it is always nice to have a conversation. Right now I am triple tasking as I'm reading Gore, listening to Moyers, and lurking here. (and waiting ...)

look at those DEAN SMILES

The Republican presidential candidates are running themselves off a cliff. On every issue, they try to out-right each other and every time they get a little further from the middle and a little closer to George W. Bush and oblivion. In fact, the only times they disagree with Bush is when they are to the right of him. This is a recipe for disaster.

As you can see with Bush's approval numbers and polls on issue after issue, the country is nowhere near this mean and divisive. Immigration is a fair example. Recent poll showed that the majority of Americans are very thoughtful on the issue. Fifty-five percent say that penalizing employers who hire illegal immigrants is the best way to crack down on illegal immigration. That is exactly right. But what was more interesting was the number of people who thought the harshest idea was the best idea.

From Black Agenda Report

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." - George W. Bush

According to an old saying, many a truth is often said in jest. Not enough people took notice on December 18, 2000 when George W. Bush said those awful words. On that date the president-elect went to Capital Hill for a get acquainted session with Congressional leaders. He emerged from that meeting with his well known smirk, and gave Congress and the American people the finger. No one should be shocked when a man who tells jokes about dictatorship turns into a dictator.

With dems like these, we don't need enemies of democracy.  And Pelosi was right up there with this, secretive....

| Hillary Clinton

This is another in a series of ongoing posts following the announcement of a secret free trade deal on May 10, 2007 between a handful of senior Democrats and the Bush administration. That deal encompasses free trade agreements with Peru, Panama, South Korea and Colombia, and is designed to pave the pay for the passage of presidential fast track authority - the authority that lets presidents eliminate all labor, environmental and human rights provisions from trade agreements.

Can the Clinton machine deliver another NAFTA? That is the question in Washington on trade these days, as dynamic similar to the NAFTA debate begins to take shape. The Colombian government, which has been tied to paramilitary gangs that execute union organizers, is spending lavishly to enlist top Clinton administration officials - including Hillary Clinton's top campaign strategist and President Clinton himself - to pressure Democrats on Capitol Hill to pass the Colombian Free Trade Agreement - an agreement that is part of the bigger secret deal. This campaign is being backed up by a wide array of businesses such as Wal-Mart and Citigroup. To date, the legislative language of the secret trade deal has still not been released - but that hasn't stopped the furious efforts to build a coalition of Clinton administration officials-turned-lobbyists, a handful of top Democrats in Congress and corporate interests to ram the secret deal through Congress. Here is today's report.

You might have missed it--a story buried in that slush pile of celebrity news, happy talk, and un-vetted press releases that now constitute so much of American journalism--but a report released by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta has recently added a new threat to the nation's growing stack of worries.

An intensive study of 1,000 randomly-selected Americans has yielded conclusive evidence of a heretofore unnoted contagion, an offshoot of Tourette's Syndrome doctors have labeled BES, or Bush Exasperation Syndrome. As first reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), symptoms of Bush Exasperation Syndrome include involuntary outbursts of projectile cursing whenever the name or image of President George W. Bush is flashed before sufferers of this malady. This catalytic image (or trigger) has produced bouts of explosive and uncontrollable profanity in well over half of those tested for the disease.

Saturday, June 9

Democracy for Iowa Annual Convention
Iowa City Public Library
123 S. Linn Street, Iowa City
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Contact: Caroline Vernon, (563) 676-7580

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have hay down and won't even make the deaniac confab 130 miles away.

sigh

outbursts of projectile cursing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheney does it for me.

this country is gone. blackwater, they coming for me soon? I won't be home this weekend so I am safe.

I see charlie g. Hi charlie, keep us posted kiddo.

I'm back with the bad news...sorry folks but all of the cameras were taken out for other events. I guess  photos will have to do. My fault for not getting the camera earlier...I'm bummed!

linda b
Fri, 06/08/07
9:48 pm
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Its gone......forget it..listeming to the Democratic candidates play up to the Evangelicals is simply mind blowing...........prayer this, God that........not to get too regional but this all started with Southern candidates and of course Reagan.....our most reasonable Presidents hailed from the NE............

This is The Divided States of America, and if any one candidate has some crazed idea to bring us all together he/she is nuts......plain nuts cause it aint gonna happen folks........

This is why ill sit this one out or go Green...........what a frickin mess..........

Perhaps we need to do what Biden suggests, only here.  Four regions;  the East, the South, the Midwest and the West.  And four presidents.    Actually, 3 regions would work...the East and West coasts, the MidSection and the oh so devout South.

We're divided by race, by class, by sections of the country and by idealogy.  How much worse can it be? 

How do we get back to separation of church and state?  

If the dems are gonna kiss the fundies, then by all means do it, get their votes and then ignore them. 

We could celebrate by having a Bible burning event. 

22.  Thanks, Seashell.....I've got all the symptoms!

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/21146...

New thread - I grabbed firsties.

Phil, Gore's book has been getting rave reviews from every one.  

 _________________________________

Seashell, I have the disease too.  Seriously, if everyone remembers shortly

04 election, much depression was going on.  Some were REALLY having it bad

remember Vincincent D'Onofrio?

______________________

Reed, don't be bummed.  You tried and we're grateful that you tried. 

Heck, it just means you should have more time to enjoy the Fest yourself, 

instead of worrying about filming everything.   Pictures are great, too. 

listeming to the Democratic candidates play up to the Evangelicals is simply mind blowing...........prayer this, God that........not to get too regional but this all started with Southern candidates

The South has always dragged this country down to its level. But since these days the South always vote GOP it doesn't make much sense for Democrats to keep kissing their collective ass.