Howard is first*

(*as in doing a first-rate job)

Howard Dean is the best Chair of the DNC ever as per his record in the last election up and down the ballot. makes him first

http://www.johnedwards.com/iowa/video/iowa-tour-constitution/index.html

Tom,

The post was for Mr. Rooney to read. I read all of his.

Howard (as doctor, governor, as presidential candidate, as DNC chairman) has done his best to mend the system (and will go on doing as such in whatever future capacity he is in) --

scapel :

Susan wrote "The post was for Mr. Rooney to read. I read all of his."

Thanks.

Hillary won't be throwing her support to Edwards or anyone else because she will be above 15% and viable in most precincts. anyone spinning that is just innoculating the press for the spin for a third place finish

Iowa isn't going to decide anything this round which should delite all you caucus bashers.

Iowa has been caucusing since our statehood.  the fact that it was early in the year was seized upon by McGovern but they were happening prior to that.

This year the rest of you will all get a chance.

How are your national delegates selected? party rules allow no oaths so all delegates are only pledged to support the candidate they are registered for but at the convention are all free to vote there conscience

the caveat: in all cases the candidate gets to approve the people on lists of those intending to support in Denver based on allocations fairly decided by participants in the various primary contests

have you taken the time to make it on the list for your candidate?

remember Howard is the Chair, Denver should be a hoot

"When I'm president I'm going to say to members of Congress and members of my administration, including my cabinet: I'm glad that you have health care coverage and your family has health care coverage," Edwards says. "But if you don't pass universal health care by July of 2009 – in six months – I'm going to use my power as president to take your health care away from you."

Reading the Draft Al Gore comments always gives me hope.

This is just a short sample of what people are thinking and saying. I just took copied a group of comments that were recently added.


"I'm only 23, only Clinton and Bush have been in office as far as my memory is concerned, But darn if Bush hasn't made me terrified about what the wrong president can be like. I liked Clinton even when I was a kid, and I was only 16, but I wish I could have had a vote in 2000, I didn't even like Kerry, but between him and Bush I voted for him, but I like Al, I even meet him once when he was VP in Many Glaicer Park national park when even as VP he was speaking about global warming. Please run Mr. Gore, I'm in the reddest state in the union but I will vote for you

Body: Dear Mr. Gore, First of all, a very sincere congratulations I send to you on your Noble prize. As I watched and listened to your acceptance speech, it became very evident to me what I was witnessing. A man that truly sees things on a global scale, and what's to know how, and when, we will all orchestrate a plan for the future well being of our children, and our planet. Your vision, Mr. Gore is not a hollow dream. But rather a vision that you see in your minds eye every night when you go to sleep. I know, I see your concern and passion. Isn't that right Mr. Gore? If this is true, is a man such as this willing to wait and watch while another man hopefully fulfill his dreams and visions for him? Mr. Gore, "what's in your heart for this country?" Do your dreams and visions mean enough to you, to take complete control of them? Or will you entrust another mans heart, and hope that we all will be safe? The best place for you now to make a difference, is taking your dreams and visions to the White House. They will never mean as much to another man, as they mean to you. I won't request that you run for president of the United States. But rather, ask you to take a serious look inside yourself. Is it in you to go the distance, and make your visions a reality? If you truly meant what you said during your acceptance speech in Oslo, and I believe you did. It is clear to me what you must do.
Waiting to stand by your side, Brian W. Hall once a proud American

he's my only candidate. i'll be writing him in if his names not on the ballot

Give me a reason to vote PLEASE. right now i want to leave the country if any of the "HOPEFULS" get in office .. give us a Runner taht has some potential some chance to make a difference and some chance to make me like our govenment again

If ever we needed a credible leader, it is now. Gore would represent that much better than anyone campaigning.

LIFE=AL GORE

I'm living overseas now, and with the actions our government has taken and continues to take it can be hard to stand proud as an American at times. I love my country. I love where it comes from and who it's people once were. I have great hopes for who we, as Americans, can one day be again.

I have never backed a Dem in my life....don't let me down.

Americans overseas what you to run! Ive been a republican all my life.....now is time for change! Just Do It!

Gore would be the first person to run for office that would cause me to get off my arse and actually vote.

Please run sir. Help us.

I voted for al Gore the last time he ran and I am 100% behind him i believe he is on the right track.

I'm from the united kingdom and know that my signing of this petition is pretty useless, however I feel that America needs not just a string, but a wise leader who actually cares for the state of his country. The leader which now follows will have greater ramifications than most of his/her predecessors and I hope to God that Gore will find it in his heart to run and lead his people well through the coming difficult years.

Al Gore for President. I think we need someone in the White House that knows what he is doing not someone that thinks he is doing the right thing and that right thing is for his purposes only. We need someone in the White House is for the people of the country that I love.

Without you, the cause is going to die down. It is "the" most important issue today, 2nd to none

We need you NOW more than ever, sir. The republicans (big business), doesn't give a damn about the climate. IF YOU WANT TO LEAD THE WORLD TO SAFETY BECOME OUR NEXT PRESIDENT. YOU CAN DO IT."

It's nice to see the use of animation back alive and well on this blog (other blogs aren't so lucky to have such graphic-capability features; so the busted time-clock here is weighed against the YouTube, insert image, etc.-- seems like the assets outweigh the liabilities).

Thanks DFA techies (if you're still there ?).

Hillary won't be throwing her support to Edwards or anyone else because she will be above 15% and viable in most precincts. anyone spinning that is just innoculating the press for the spin for a third place finish

Hillary could perhaps see Edwards winning instead of Obama as being better for her. It will depend on if and how much further she falls before caucus day. What lends it credibility is that both she and Edwards have reputations as two-faced manipulators. 

Iowa isn't going to decide anything this round which should delite all you caucus bashers.

If so, it's because the rest of the country is sick of 140,000 Iowans thinking they are king makers and the corporate media selling them as such.....

There is a classic Jimmy Stewart movie, Magic Town, about "Grandview," a small town in the Midwest that is a perfect statistical microcosm of the United States, a place where the citizens' opinions match perfectly with Gallup polls of the entire nation. A pollster (Jimmy Stewart), secretly uses surveys from this "mathematical miracle" as a shortcut to predicting public opinion. Instead of collecting a national sample, he can more quickly and cheaply collect surveys from this single small town. The character played by Jane Wyman, a newspaper editor, finds out what is going on and publishes her discovery. As a result the national media descend upon the town, which becomes, overnight, "the public opinion capital of the U.S." The citizens of Grandview become self-conscious because they are now "the perfect barometer of national opinion." They begin to feel a heavy responsibility, knowing that what they say will be listened to throughout the world. They arrange to collect their own survey, "The Official Grandview Poll," but with the proviso that "reference libraries" be provided at every polling booth. Because the issues are important, they believe people should be informed.

With this new sense of responsibility, and their heightened interest in the issues, the townspeople's views soon diverge from those of the rest of the country. The climax comes when the town announces the result that 79 percent of them would be willing to "vote for a woman for president"! This is taken as such a preposterous departure from conventional opinion that they become a source of national ridicule. "The little town that has always been right turned out to be ridiculously wrong. People are beginning to wonder where Grandview is. Certainly it can't be in the United States." Comics start to use the explanation "He's from Grandview" as the punchline in jokes, to explain apparent idiocy. 

Yesterday in Oslo, Norway, Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming. I am inspired by his dedication to this critical cause and am proud to be sharing his journey - working to give our children a better future.

Few people are aware that not only did he donate his share of the Peace Prize award money to the Alliance, he and Tipper have matched that already generous gift with a special year-end donation to support the Alliance?s work. To help people show him that the world supports his tireless efforts to address this planetary emergency, we've set up a special campaign: Please go to http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=1A8B32F:B48891D42D1DD9F2516FD7B1665263151BE017235A2D02E5& to donate today and help match his donation to the Alliance.

When you donate, you?ll be able to send him a personal note (in addition to the strong message you?re sending by supporting our work with your donation):
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=1A8B32F:B48891D42D1DD9F2516FD7B1665263151BE017235A2D02E5&

I hope you will support our efforts by going to http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=1A8B32F:B48891D42D1DD9F2516FD7B1665263151BE017235A2D02E5& to donate today. Together, we can make global warming a thing of the past.

Sincerely,

Cathy Zoi
CEO
Alliance for Climate Protection
www.climateprotect.org

P.S. You can also ask your friends to sign our important petition, which Al Gore will deliver to the UN Climate Change Conference in 2 days: http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=1A8B32E:B48891D42D1DD9F2516FD7B1665263151BE017235A2D02E5&

Joe Trippi on MSNBC speaking for Edwards. Look for a drop in the next poll.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/group/ObamaHQ/

Today, Al Gore delivered his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, admonishing world leaders to rapdily address the growing climate crisis:

[T]he earth has a fever. And the fever is rising. The experts have told us it is not a passing affliction that will heal by itself. We asked for a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. And the consistent conclusion, restated with increasing alarm, is that something basic is wrong.

We are what is wrong, and we must make it right.

Here's what Barack had to say when it was announced that Gore won the Peace Prize:

By having the courage to challenge the skeptics in Washington and lead in the climate crisis facing our planet, Al Gore has advanced the cause of peace and richly deserves the Nobel Prize he's receiving today.  His voice and his vision have awakened the conscience of America to the urgency of this threat

...

An interesting torture discussion on the previous thread.
In VN, I hated taking prisoners. First of all, they are a pain to deal with, as people have to watch and secure them. And second, the officers we captured were given to our South Vietnamese counterparts who would gleefully torture them. After the screaming would stop, and the prisoner murdered, the information would be passed up the chain of command and then back down. We would try to act on the info. There was never, never any good information that came from the tortured person. Often times, some poor innocent person was murdered; or we wandered around in the Delta for a few days; and occasionally, we would be ambushed so the torturing actually got some of us killed. When I had the power, prisoner taking stopped. It was better to just kill those we captured and not turn them over.

 Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore meets children outside the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo December 10, 2007. The U.N. Climate Panel will collect the Nobel Peace Prize on Monday in Oslo along with Gore.

photos 

That Wyoming governor is at it again.   Remember Freudenthal, the one who dissed Howard Dean in 2005?  Well, now he is saying he doesn't like any of the Democrats running for president.  BTW, he IS a Democratic governor.  

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1687

"Freudenthal says none of the candidates--from either party-- has addressed important issues facing the West. "I frankly would reach beyond just my party, the Democrats, and say that my sincere hope is that I wouldn't have to vote for any of these people, on either side," Freudenthal boasted to the Associated Press. He acknowledges, perhaps with a sense of regret, that "in the end, somebody's going to be elected president." Let's just pray he doesn't get any ideas about a lunk-headed Wyoming governor who, for some inexplicable reason, calls himself a Democrat. One of Bush's strongest states-- in terms of support in 2000, 2004 and even in recent job-approval surveys-- Wyoming reelected Freudenthal last year with 70 percent of the vote".

Also the quotes he made about Dean are there as well.  Thanks for Down With Tyranny who was so angry he posted about it from India.  

Well wishers gather to watch Nobel Peace Prize laureates Al Gore and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Dr Rajendra K. Pachaur waving from the balcony of the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Monday, Dec. 10, 2007. Al Gore received his Nobel Peace Prize on Monday and urged the United States and China to make the boldest moves on climate change or 'stand accountable before history for their failure to act. 

Then-Vice President Al Gore delivers an opening speech of the ministerial conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto, western Japan, in this December 8, 1997, file photo. The American vice president was an environmentalist and the U.S. Congress was conservative. China and India were on the fringes of the climate change debate. And big business said going green would strangle industry. The Kyoto global warming pact, signed 10 years ago on Tuesday, was brokered under vastly different circumstances from those facing negotiators at a U.N. climate conference this week in Bali as they map out the agenda for a successor agreement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uO1NmC7hLk

When I had the power, prisoner taking stopped. It was better to just kill those we captured and not turn them over.

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

no one should wonder at our large number of MIAs either, then, the prison camps that never were?

war creates monsters and knows no laws

Hillary lost any chance of getting my vote when she voted for the Iran War authorization vote

better to avoid them.

dog soldier is on the fast server and I the slow one I see

Hillary lost any chance of getting my vote when she voted for the Iran War authorization vote

For me it was the Iraq authorization vote. And of course, that goes for several others.

But maybe you'll be able to forget about recent Hillary's Iran authorization vote before November as you've for forgotton about the Iraq one for Edwards et al? 

But maybe you'll be able to forget about Hillary's Iran authorization vote before November as you've for forgotton about the Iraq one for Edwards et al?

http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/13187

Daily Hip-Hop News:

Kidz In The Hall Put In ''Work'' In Barack Obama Campaign

Tuesday - December 11, 2007
by Janeé Bolden

Kidz In The Hall are doing their part to promote the electoral process, having recently recorded a new anthem in support of the Barack Obama campaign.

"Work to Do," the latest song from Kidz In The Hall, the duo comprised of UPenn graduates Naledge and Double-O, is an uplifting anthem aimed at promoting hard work and change - a message the group found fitting for presidential candidate Barack Obama.

...

As an Illinois native, Naledge, the MC of the group, has been able to observe Obama's political career from its early stages.

...

"Work To Do" is currently available for free download on the Kidz In The Hall's MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/kidzinthehall . Additionally, fans can view a behind the scenes look at the making of the song, as well as the official video, both on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJWNW3g6Blo .

Here's what Barack had to say when it was announced that Gore won the Peace Prize:

By having the courage to challenge the skeptics in Washington and lead in the climate crisis facing our planet, Al Gore has advanced the cause of peace and richly deserves the Nobel Prize he's receiving today.  His voice and his vision have awakened the conscience of America to the urgency of this threat

That's nice. But here's the record........

Increasing the Clean Use of Illinois Coal

Senator Obama worked with Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) to secure $85 million for research into a process that will turn Illinois-basin coal into clean-burning fuel for cars and trucks (Fischer-Tropsch fuels). Coal fuel has powered all of South Africa's cars and trucks for the last 50 years. The research could help us one day satisfy our energy needs from Illinois' coal mines instead of Saudi Arabia's oil fields.

"The American coal community applauds the leadership of Senators Bunning and Obama. . . America's coal reserves . . . can be utilized to provide ultra-clean transportation fuels for our armed forces, airlines and anyone interested in spending less at the pump to fill-up their vehicle. . . . Americans must take steps now to make greater use of our most abundant and affordable domestic source of energy: coal. This legislation is a big step in that direction. 

 
-Kraig R. Naasz , President and CEO, National Mining Association

 

The problem is that unlike renewable biofuels, the carbon that comes out of the tailpipe from cars running on fuels made from coal started out buried in the ground. It is new carbon which will add to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the global climate system, not recycled carbon like that which is found in biofuels and which does not increase atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. What does Senator Obama want to do? Does he want to address global warming or not?

As far as a candidate, the next President will appoint three Supreme Court justices(Souter, Stevens and Ginzberg). If a Repb gets elected, we can forget about RvW, and all other privacy rights issues.
I can not bring myself to support Hillary or Edwards. I cannot support Hillary as she is basically dishonest. Bubba lacked a moral center and it seems Hillary has the same disease. Besides, Bill's motto may be: "So many interns; so little time". Edwards lost me when he said he voted for the Iraq War authorization for strickly political purposes. I am often more concerned with why things are done vs. what was done. The whys give you insight into how people's minds work - or don't.

I am actively supporting Obama and Kucinich.
Lets suppose the worse case happens and it is Rudy vs. Hillary. Inorder to have a chance at Supreme Court judges who will make decisions that will affect my kids and grandkids more then me, I will probably sell my soul to Hillary. If Supreme Court judes were not an issue, I would not vote.
So my main task is to work as hard as I can to help the anti-Hillary; which is Obama. Kuchinich reminds me of my long-ago idealism and how his election will allow us to be better people and a better nation.

 you've for forgotton about the Iraq one for Edwards et al?

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

I supported Howard the last time in case you had forgotten. Since then Edwards has apologized, Hillary voted for another one. I haven't forgotten anything. That one vote may well cost Hillary her nomination and well it should.

22,
Most of the MIA ground troops are buried in the swamp somewhere. The VC dodn't want them as they take too many resources. I am sure they are dead.
The MIA pilots probably died with their airplanes. There are not many remains when a jet blows up.

I feel very strongly that the predators who prey on MIA familiy members should be severely punished. There were too many stories about POWs in this camp or that camp and all stories were bogus. The people who spun these yarns made a lot of money bilking people who would spend every dime they had to get their loved ones back.

Edwards lost me when he said he voted for the Iraq War authorization for strickly political purposes.

I haven't heard he admitted it before. Is this what you mean......

On a Feb. 4 appearance on "Meet the Press," for example, Edwards said he was very critical of himself for that vote, adding: "Anybody who wants to be president of the United States has got be honest and open, be willing to admit when they've done things wrong." Clinton's refusal to repudiate her vote is "between her and her conscience," he said at Feb. 21 forum.

That confessional stance has won Edwards considerable credit with Democrats.

Yet as John Kerry's 2004 ticketmate, the former North Carolina senator was anything but eager to acknowledge error on Iraq. Instead, according to several Kerry-Edwards campaign aides, Edwards argued repeatedly that the two should stand by their votes, even after it had become apparent that Iraq had neither weapons of mass destruction nor collaborative ties with Al Qaeda.

The matter came to a head in 2004. On Aug. 6, with no WMD found and no terrorist ties discovered, President Bush commenced an audacious political gambit, declaring that even "knowing what we know now" he would still have invaded Iraq.

What would Kerry have done, he demanded? To the dismay of many Democrats, Kerry, speaking at the Grand Canyon on Aug. 9, said he would still have voted for the war resolution because "it was the right authority for the president to have."

His response was quickly seen as a lost opportunity. However, one man who had been adamant that Kerry shouldn't disavow his vote was Edwards. Although Edwards wasn't with Kerry that day, the two had been traveling by train together over the weekend. Once Bush issued his challenge, the campaign knew the press would soon put the question to the Democratic duo, and so, prior to an event on that Aug. 7 in La Junta, Colo., Kerry and Edwards and various aides huddled to discuss possible responses.

"I specifically remember Edwards having a very distinct take," says one person in attendance, who paraphrases Edwards's argument this way: "We need to stick to this. We should stand by our votes, say we would vote that way again. If you admit a mistake, it shows weakness in time of war. That's what the Republicans want us to do."

Adds a senior adviser who was there: "There was a discussion about how to answer the question: 'Was your vote on Iraq a mistake?' John Edwards had a very strong opinion that we should not waver, and it would show a sign of weakness if we did." A third source confirms those accounts.

...

So my main task is to work as hard as I can to help the anti-Hillary; which is Obama.

...

dog soldier -

Thanks for that comment.

and also for the comment about what you experienced in Vietnam (I was so lucky to serve in the Mass National Guard and US Air Force when no major conflict was going on; your commentary though reminded of the scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan where the German bullets are pinging off the welded iron rails on the beach of Omaha in Normandy and GI blood is splattering everywhere)

Since then Edwards has apologized

The apology, my friend, blows with the wind. 

Hillary voted for another one.

That's disingenuous to claim since Hillary did NOT vote to authorize military force against Iran as she and Edwads did against Iraq. 

I haven't forgotten anything.

Then you choose to ignore or rationalize. 

That one vote may well cost Hillary her nomination and well it should.

I agree that it should. I also agree with many others who think the same applies to the Iraq vote which was much worse and is still being paid for in blood and treasure.

Sitka,
Not quite.
This is from:
http://jre-whatsnottolike.com/2007/08/24...
------------------------------------------
What is mind-boggling to remember at times like this is that Clinton and Edwards both voted in favor of the war in Iraq.

At the time, Edwards said that Saddam Hussein was “the most serious and imminent threat to our country.”

Now, Clinton and Edwards want to be president and have to explain how they - by their own standards - made such a grievous error.

They will tell you that the intelligence they relied upon was shaky. No weapons of mass destruction were found. They never intended the war to be so ineptly run. And they didn’t expect it to go on this long.

But the great thing about a presidential campaign is that all the nuances candidates use to muddy their record on essential issues fall away.

All that are left are the simple, basic facts.

In this case, it is that Clinton and Edwards voted for the war when it was popular. They supported it until their support threatened their political careers, and then they stopped supporting it.

It’s too soon to tell if their about-face was in time to save their own political skins. But one thing is for sure. It’s too late for all those young men and women who have already paid their last full measure.
------------------------------------------------------------

I think Edwards voted for the War to show how tuff he is and is now whining about those who hold his vote against him.

Sitka
Tue, 12/11/07
2:09 pm
___________________________________________________________________________

Great post............they ALL (excpet for a few brave ones like DK) got caught with their pants down.............if Iraq had only gone 1/10 right Edwards an all the other phonie balonies would be pounding their political chests at how great they were...............and some here wonder why a man of integrity like me will now refuse to vote for those wimps...............

sounds like some are running scared of Edwards here, because of their support for others

they probably should

Shrum sez Edwards' Iraq vote was a sell-out. Consider the source...
Edwards denies it...decide for yourself.

http://politics.wizbangblog.com/2007/03/...

http://cbs5.com/local/Barbara.Lee.Barack.2.607875.html

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California)

lee.house.gov

...

I think the the point about the Iraq vote that is not discussed is the willingness of Congress to give up their power to someone who all new is blantantly dishonest. Once power is given away, it can't be gotten back. Bush can do whatever he wants because Congress buckled.
Only Chris Dobbs talks about giving the executive power back to Congress. I am worried that unless checks and balances are restored, the next dictator may be a Dem.

13.

Sitka
Tue, 12/11/07
1:03 pm


That guy should really get out of the business. He's looking for his next gig.

40.

dog soldier


You can take your power back. It's a matter of the will.

34.

* rdorgan


The Congresswoman is very progressive in her opinions and she is known to command total control. Her disrtict is safely gerrymandered very blue. Just like Pelosi's.

43.

Susan -

Good to hear about Lee's district.

I've never been to San Francisco but would love to go (to the city often described as a sister city to Boston).

(and see Oakland, CA too)

36.

dog soldier


It's just despicable what people living below human survival level will do the for their masters of the all mighty dollar.

 district is safely gerrymandered

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

so many issues; so little time, all states should adopt Iowa's formula for the boundries of Congressional Districts, but meanwhile that is reason enough for a fifty state strategy

~~~~~~~~

http://www.johnedwards.com/iowa/video/iowa-tour-constitution/index.html

Dodd isn't the only one recognizing the danger to our Constitutional system from Bush's power grab. The fact his background includes a father that was a proscecuter at Nuremburg probably gives Dodd's concerns a little more weight to the worries of the outlaws. anyone correlate Cheney's visits to the C.I.A. and the destruction of the torture tapes?

41.

dog soldier


Bob Shrum is one THE major advisors on Mrs. Clinton's campaign. He needs to get out of the business too. He hasn't won a national election in years.

Hillary is greatly helped by the fact that there are seven anti-Hillarys and not one of them a woman.

Linda*in*SFNM


Thanks for all the great pictures! The Gores look so happy.

I think there's no question that Obama's support of synthetic fuel research is an obsequious gesture towards large coal producers in his state who are financially supporting his candidacy.  I also think that coal to liquid may be a dead end solution to foreign oil dependence, although there is a difference of opinion regarding this according to Gov. Scwheitzer among others.

I would just add that research in this area should be promoted because it represents a potential clean fuel alternative and because the feasability of carbon sequestration is worth exploring further, whether or not the technology is eventually found to be worthwhile. 

35.

* rdorgan


Represenative Lee's district is mostly located in the East Bay and Oakland areas. The Rockridge Institute is there. It's a fun district. Jerry Brown was the Mayor of Oakland for years after he was the Governor of California. I voted for him in the Indiana Primary for President when I was in College IU during the late '70's. I had a sorority sister from New Jersey who told me all about Governor Brown. Later I voted for Jimmy Carter. I had another sorority sister who thought Jimmy Carter was the anti-Christ. She was grew up in a Republican household. Her Mother was a widow. Some how she said she had calculated it all out by using numerology and astrological charts. Go figure. I think she reading too many of those tabloids down at the local market. She was very superstitious in nature like most folks who are drawn to hero worshipping and religions cults.

she reading s/b she was reading

I woke up in the middle of the night last night (well, thechnically, this morning) and found myself watching a Charlie Rose interview with Tom Brokaw about his book "Boom" and documentary "1968."

The topic of RoBert Kennedy came up, as it must in any discussion of that era and specifically that year, and the comment both made was about the exceptional growth he showed during that election campaign.  Both said no Presidential candidate before or since had shown the openness and acceptance of new ideas and new onformation on which to form them.

I'm certainly not saying John Edwards is RFK, but we have to leave open the capacity for growth from our politicians.  More than that, we should demand growth from our politicians.   That will never happen if out attitude continues to be "they once did X, and I can never forgive them."

After all, Bobby worked for Joe McCarthy. 

Rich wrote "Both [Rose and Brokaw] said no Presidential candidate before or since [RFK] had shown the openness and acceptance of new ideas and new onformation on which to form them. I'm certainly not saying John Edwards is RFK, but we have to leave open the capacity for growth from our politicians."

If Edwards were RFK, I'm sure I'd vote for him.

Rich K.......

Yes, RFK did learn on the campaign trail, but there already was an anti-war candidate who already knew in the race, and that was McCarthy.

Mccarthy literally begged RFK to enter, because he thought RFK had the name recognition. RFK was not inclined to do so until McCarthy almost won the NH primary. McCarthy had already won a grateful and sizeable following, burt RFK entering late served to split the anti-war vote.

49.

Tom Bearse


Yes, I think he has learned to listen to the people and is sincere with his message about the needed change. But his campaign's advisors are focusing too much of their attention on the future money their going to make. The money is important but when you're running a as populous candidate the message is primary focus.

"I think there's no question that Obama's support of synthetic fuel research is an obsequious gesture towards large coal producers in his state who are financially supporting his candidacy. I also think that coal to liquid may be a dead end solution to foreign oil dependence, although there is a difference of opinion regarding this according to Gov. Scwheitzer among others.

I would just add that research in this area should be promoted because it represents a potential clean fuel alternative and because the feasability of carbon sequestration is worth exploring further, whether or not the technology is eventually found to be worthwhile."

________________

Indeed, but he was fully aware of the damage that gesture to his donors would do. Especially don't forget, he was going to use tax payer dollars to help fund that. For 6 months the environmental groups were pleading not to push the Bill and WHY. So it was more than just a favor to his donors.

Coal as a possible "clean"fuel is as equal to oil being clean. To try to find a way to capture and sequester the emissions of Coal burning, still doesn't make it clean.

dog wrote "I am worried that unless checks and balances are restored, the next dictator may be a Dem."

Altogether possible if the people don't wake up.  The next huge thing coming down the pike is to take away our guns, which I don't have or want.  Dictators cannot have an armed *electorate* altho in our case being dumbed down is perhaps sufficient.  Rooney made some good points and I've always hated guns and think we need smarter gun control, not a destruction of the 2nd Amend.  We need to get those AK 47s or whatever they're called out of the hands of people - handguns only that shoot one little bullet at a time.  Maybe.  I really dislike guns.  Gun shows should be banned IMO.  And very strict laws for those wishing to buy a gun....

But it's becoming very clear that the gov't would like to strip us of all power.  Pelosi's letting that happen.

Mukasey who? 

http://chrisdodd.com/blog/text-dodd%2526%2523039%3Bs-speech-google#comment-43359

populous s/b populus

message is primary focus. s/b message is the primary focus.

Susan Rowe
Tue, 12/11/07
3:34 pm

Trippi must have some talents. But being a spokesperson for presidential candidates isn't one of them.

62.

Sitka

He's a good hustler.

He's a good hustler.

Edwards deserves him.

64.

Sitka.

No, Edwards deserves better. He and Elizabeth are both working very hard this time around.

Edwards and Dodd are both going for public financing of the general election.  Can we make that an important issue, heading in the direction of taking corporate funding out of the equation?

"The problem is that unlike renewable biofuels, the carbon that comes out of the tailpipe from cars running on fuels made from coal started out buried in the ground. It is new carbon which will add to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the global climate system, not recycled carbon like that which is found in biofuels and which does not increase atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations"

Carbon atoms burned from ethanol (a bio fuel) do not increase atmosheric greenhouse gas concentration because they come from plants and coal comes from the ground??  This could rate as this most ridiculous proposition on this blog this year!!!!  Carbon atoms released into the atmosphere are all carbon atoms.  The atoms don't know whether they are from the ground or a residue from a plant.  And they react, as atoms, just like other , well atoms.  Think before you blog. 

Linda wrote "Coal as a possible "clean" fuel is as equal to oil being clean. To try to find a way to capture and sequester the emissions of Coal burning, still doesn't make it clean."

I don't know, but I'm not an expert.  As I mentioned above, Gov. Schweitzer is actually a champion of this type of conversion, and has stated that the new technology is leap years beyond Fischer-Tropsch, a post-war processing technique.  I'm not pronouncing judgment, just suggesting that as an energy source, synthetic fuel is an improvement over fuel produced from crude oil and should be studied further if for no other reason.

I am currently reading John Dean's lastest, "Broken Government, How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches."There is a paragraph at the end of the text part of the book where Dean was talking to an old friend from the Nixon WH, a lifelong Republican who voted twice for Bush and Cheney, He told Dean, who had asked for his input, the following (the bold underlined I have added myself):"Just tell your readers that you have a source who knows a lot about the Republican Party from long experience, he knows all the key movers and shakers, and he has a bit of advice: People should not vote for any Republican, because they're dangerous, dishonest, and self-serving. . . I have come to realize the Democrats really do care about people who most need help from government; Republicans care most about those who will only get richer because of government help. The government is truly broken, particularlyin dealing with national security, and another four years, and heaven forbid not eight years, under the Republicans, and our grandchildren will have to build a new government, because the one we have will be unrecognizable and unworkable."I hope I haven't quoted to much so that I get sued by John Dean:))

I agree that Edwards deserves better than to be trashed. 

Gore/Edwards 

Did anyone watch Mr. Gore's full speech?

He mentioned what he advised us in October, that the Marines will be coming out with a report, that we may have as little as 7 years to BOLDLY ACT. 7 years. And, he repeated it that way yesterday as well.

http://www.c-span.org/rss/video.asp?Medi...

Mr. Gore's address comes on just over half way on the recording, if you didn't cared to watch the entire ceremony or Dr.Paurhcari's address.

...65....UGH, not Marines...what is on my mind LOL
Navy....US Navy researchers. sorry.

Winter must be socked in to the north. The robins arrived today en masse. Our sprinklers have been running (river water) and for a few hours it was a blast to watch all those dirty little robins taking showers and drinking water for hours, digging up worms in the yard,etc.

No doubt hey also came through some very dry states and happy to have that cool water.

The bad news is (for us anyway) that we know they will be roosting over my car all night, just as they always do when they are here, after it just had a wash and wax job!!

Major cities are already out of water.




Just in:

updated 1 hour, 7 minutes ago
Scientist: 'Arctic is screaming'


WASHINGTON (AP) -- An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years.

Dwindling sea ice is affecting wildlife.

Greenland's ice sheet melted nearly 19 billion tons more than the previous high mark, and the volume of Arctic sea ice at summer's end was half what it was just four years earlier, according to new NASA satellite data obtained by The Associated Press.

"The Arctic is screaming," said Mark Serreze, senior scientist at the government's snow and ice data center in Boulder, Colorado.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/12/...

About our precious votes. Let us all see to it that they are ALL counted and recorded properly this time. And that every person's voice is allowed to be heard without interruption.

---

CA Elections - Better Accurate than Fast! by Tom Courbat

Here's the problem. Many counties across CA will likely shut down their precincts after the polls close on Feb 5th, bundle up their paper ballots and drive them to the central tabulator for counting (those without precinct-based scanners). This means there is no counting at the individual precincts, thus no posting of results at the precincts, thus no check and balance on the report from the central tabulator that the votes CAST in precinct "x" are the votes REPORTED for precinct "x".

This is a perfect way to ensure the public cannot verify the legitimacy of the votes.

Hand-counting at the polls is the traditional and historical way used in America to minimize the likelihood of vote-count tampering. It is not that difficult to obtain four to eight individuals to come in fresh at the close of polls (generally at least half would be provided by the Democratic and Republican parties) and hand-count the ballots. If the Registrar were to embrace this approach, the political parties and the election integrity community would work with her to recruit the volunteers to make it happen.

With the February '08 ballot being especially light (a vote for president and a vote for each of six statewide initiatives), this election will be the perfect opportunity to test the return to hand-counting in the precincts. It has been done for two centuries BEFORE e-voting came in around the year 2000, so it can certainly be easily reintroduced in the upcoming light election where there will be no e-voting machines (except for disabled voters).

Here are some likely numbers. Each precinct is limited by law to 1,000 registered voters. About half of those who cast ballots do so via vote-by-mail (absentee). Turnout in the primaries is usually light - say 35%. If the typical precinct is 1,000 registered voters and half are absentee, then only 500 are registered to vote at the poll. So 35% turnout of 500 voters would be only 175 ballots. And many precincts will have even considerably fewer voters. ...full article: http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_...

65.

Linda*in*SFNM


Yes, all of it.

To fix your blog count, log off and then log back in.


There is a new thread.

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/23244...

Monica wrote "Edwards and Dodd are both going for public financing of the general election.  Can we make that an important issue, heading in the direction of taking corporate funding out of the equation?"

You left out McCain and that Biden may be next.  The more apparent link seems to be they're all short of money.  Dean opted out of public financing, and I don't feel the reason was to make sure he could hold on to his corporate campaign funds.

So sorry there is not a new thread. I was on the browse all page. This one is still at the front.

77. Amazing wasn't it? Including the performers. That woman sang Opera so effortlessly. It almost felt like it was a recording.

But, I must admit, as many times as I had to stop it to do other things, I only watched the entirity today.

...maybe I knew I would end up crying my eyes out.

The media didn't reporting the standing ovation Mr. Gore received from the Nobel audience. That was so touching, watching them rise to their feet and watching a young gentleman applaud so forcefully while standing, almost to try to figure what more he could do to express his awe.

It is kind of hilarious how petroleum apologists never credit the carbon sink which a growing field of corn is; as well as being a marvelous solar collector using the energy from the sun to make the conversion from carbon in the atmosphere to carbon in the starch portion of a kernal.and then they pretend to be literate

nice try fox

No, Edwards deserves better. He and Elizabeth are both working very hard this time around.

Covering up his record is hard work, all right. But he doesn't seem to succeeding at it very well.

at least firsties are secure for Howard Susan unless the blog grinch steals it.

81. Well, Susan, at least you got firsties should it come to the front. :)

...now, lets see if I'm in order again.

nope, didn't work for me.

sitka your anti-Edwards schtick is a vinyl record with a scratch in it, but you sure prove pavlov right

http://www.johnedwards.com/news/headlines/20070626-scotus-shift/index.html

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

I've now received three letters from Edwards supporters from around the country so the DFA letter writing must have worked, the surprise is I haven't gotten any for other candidates.

Edwards is all positive all the time now in his ads, just when the others went negative.

I'm liking his chances.

Happy Holidays anyone? (the x factor this go-round)

sorry seashell, but I bought a new gun anyway

my muzzle loader is a single shot if that makes you feel better

The blog count problem must have something to do with possible future upgrades that were entered by the orginial program creator. I think they may have been wanting in the future to create a posting format that would allow for mulitple comment threads under the main thread.

90. Well, I remember they wanted to do away with the blog and were only going to have discussion forums.

...who knows......surely not us.

89.

Sitka


I don't think Edwards has covered up anything. He has been very open and honest about his past mistakes. The problem is, is that there are so many of them. The K Street Lobbyists, the the DC insiders and staffers were very influential on him when he was a rookie in the Senate. And they still are. He's has spoken about his experiences there. I think he is the wiser for having had them and taking pause to reflect. He went back to his roots.

The reason I like it here is the blogs simplicity. It has an honesty about it. I'm not a Kos fan. Orange isn't one my favorite colors. It brings out the anger in people.

NEW THREAD (for real)

Thank you Phil for the heads up of the new thread...MINE! :)

Now there really is a new thread.

Congratulations to Linda and Al Gore!

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/23237...

I don't think Edwards has covered up anything. He has been very open and honest about his past mistakes.

Forget who I was and rest assured that I'm who I am now! TRUST me!

The trouble is, he advised Kerry not to disavow his vote for war back on 2004 and only disavowed his own vote after the polls shifted against being in Iraq.  

Edwards is thoroughly despicable.