Howard Dean is first.

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

http://www.grist.org/news/2008/03/21/kansas_coal/index.html

You betcha,Phil.

..from last thread (and then to read about Al) 

listener wrote "I just posted a long post about monotheism and violence."

I don't think that there's much connection bet. mono and Buddhism, except for the teaching  of the Oneness, which most monotheistic religions do not preach or practice as evidenced by the endless wars and killing.  I think monotheism ideally is supposed to teach that we are One and that there is no other god, and certainly no god that is *better* than any other.  Unfortunately, we now have poly-gods,each one better than the other, according to one's point of view, nationality, ideology etc.   And to think that 3 major religions sprang from the *loins* of Abraham...warring endlessly and aggressively.

Buddhism is pacific and eschews war. 

Perhaps we need to go back to worshipping Mother Nature and the tree nymphs.  :-) 

Oh Dear, Phil was first and now is 2nd and I'm second and now first.

DEAN IS ALWAYS FIRST EVEN IF #10. 

From Joe Kleins lips to god's ears...all of them...today we can call them the 100 superdelegates.

Gore/Obama!

Gore/Boxer 

Al Gore is a realist. He'll side with Obama. He's been advising him every couple of weeks anyway. There's no way he'd want the Hillbilly's back in the WH.

---------
Sucky day down in Seattle. Weather is yuckles - still snowing here. Mostly sleet down in the big city but my little island is snowy.

Charles, thank you for giving those of us who are not pleased with what's being served up for us, a reason to hope against hope.

Gore/Obama

Gore/Boxer

Condi as VP is being floated in the CM.  If BO is the nominee and has to choose a woman, McC will pretty much be forced to choose a woman with *foreign policy* experience as well.  And if she's AA, so much the better.  Is she still polling well?

Al Gore could easily side with BO, as Gore's VP.  :-)

Then again, as long as we're fantasizing,

Gore/Edwards 

Gore/Dean

There are several great choices for VP, with Gore as prez.

nam myoho renge kyo

Republican voting for Obama = Obama-can

Thank you Charles. I needed this one.

I'm over in San Jose for the CDP Convention.

bbl

Well, there are enough "games" in the field now to confuse everyone. Now we have Gore's name being thrown in, and Ventura considering something.

Is Bloomberg the one or Shumer trying to pacify Hillary with the Gov. of NY?

Howard said July 1, or sooner. He should go on a search for VP, like Cheney did, and appoint himself, as Cheney did, and be done with this.

If when all of the dirt settles, Howard Dean is not on this ticket, then I am just too sick and tired of all of it. I will just turn the channel like I do with the games on TV. Yo'll can just go ahead and elect either unworthy or unsavory. We let the better ones go early on.

The Velvet Underground’s ‘Squeeze’: Not as bad as you’d think

crash

caroline

wordless

friends

I just made a contribution AND signed up for Democracy Bonds. Howard needs our help with these Clinton cry babies wanting their money back. This has to be a first. Asking for your contributions back cuz your candidate wants to cheat and is being told no. She reeks of desperation.

I think Gore's time to run has come and gone.

As the NY Times said yesterday, Hillary has a campaign but Obama has a movement. She has prose but he has poetry.

My only co-worker who was an ardent Hillary supporter today said the Bosnian fairy tale did her in. She is now looking for a button that says, "Even my llama supports Obama," so she can wear it. (She loves llamas.)

Howard won't be on the ticket because he can't. He has the party chairmanship until 2009. He steps out of there we are likely to have McAwful again.

For the record, I never wanted Howard to take the chairmanship for just that reason, but he did and he's doing well and he makes us all proud.

I wish Obama would choose Barbara Boxer for his running mate but the GOP will paint her as a dangerous leftie. I'm pretty sure he will pick Kathleen Sebelius. She's not exciting but that might be a good thing.

I doubt McCain will pick Condi. I suspect McCain of being a sexist at heart. I think he'll pick Romney.

-- volney

Reality check time~

Try Clozaril.

Neither Gore or Howard are '08 candidates for any level of political office.

Wishful/delusional cognating. 

TX bats the Clintonistas upside the delegate haid tomorrow.

Well worth the wait. 

oh please, where has gore been? he crapped out in 2000 and later. get a grip

obama is the man

joe klein is a weasel.

and I know, want to know why? ask.

Gee, I don't know what Bible that Anglican dude is reading, but mine tells me if someone strikes me, turn the other cheek -- if they steal my coat I should also give them my cloak -- if they force me out of my path I should go the second mile.

My Bible says there is no scenario where vengeance is called for. My Bible says if we are to be like God we must forgive and forget every slight.

I have no idear in the world what he's reading.

-- volney

Volney Simmons...

Of course Howard could be on the ticket. He's not in Jail. The DNC would be glad to release him and appoint his assistant to finish a few months left of his term. He has a lot of support in the DNC and they already know he won't do another term. There is nothing to stop him from being VP.

Try clorazil.....LMAO

Firefox is working OK, but my IE - sucks, tonight.

One of my favorites:

0:00:00 (Real | MP3 | Pop‑up)

http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/26632 

Well, I suppose Howard could be VP but I don't think he wants to.

And OK, I'll ask, "Why is Joe Klein a weasel?"

-- volney

Ooohhh....Meddle

Lovely memories of being in my friend's 68 black Dodge Charger......

Hillary's latest sinister plan, and why she's harping about popular vote:

Puerto Ricans LOVE voting and vote even in primaries at an 80% or better turnout rate. They will have a primary rather than a caucus this year.

Clinton could come out of that one with a million popular votes more than Obama gets, then keep on harping that the popular vote winner should be the nominee.

That's what they said tonight on PBS. It wouldn't surprise me.

-- volney

Maine.....

Wishful, delusional and cognating?

Do I get to choose? or can I have all three?

Now, my turn...You don't know what you are talking about.

Al Gore will be involved in commerce.  End of story!  Al will talk to people in government, and try to the best of his ability to influeence persons in politics, but that will be it.  All I will say is: Best Wishes Al (keep us in your heart). 

If Richardson were down in Puerto Rico, maybe he could change the outcome.

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/b...

Y'all can stream Tristan and Isolde live from the Met in the background.

Al and Howard are pipe dreams kids.

Quick good night, but just finished watching Bill Moyers' Journal.  The program examined race today and 40 years ago when Detroit, Newark, and other cities burned.  Senator Harris from Oklahoma worked on the Kerner Report authorized by LBJ to find out the causes of poverty, violence, and racism.  Ten years later the report was forgotten and the situation is worse than it was then. The Reagan era particularly had a negative effect by convincing people that government was the problem and could do no good. A white backlash of resentment also contributed to the neglect of the solutions proposed in the Kerner Report.

 Corry Booker, Mayor of Nework, New Jersey was interviewed.  WOW! Articulate, passionate, an acitivist of the highest order.  He said he made a commitment to dedicate his life to the American dream, and he's doing it. He graduated from Yale, was a Rhodes Scholar, and then moved into the ghetto and rented an apartment in a project where he lived for 7 years.  He ran for mayor and lost, and then ran again and won.  In his administration, the murder rate is down 70 percent.  He's working to change policies.  

He said that he believes in the American experiment, that he would give his life for it, and when all the talk is over, what are we doing each day to bring justice, fairness, help to our fellow humans. As I think about that it's the best of all religions, and Buddhism in particular comes to mind with the dictim to serve human kind as our life's work.

I'd vote for him for president.  He's in the mold of Obama, and what a passionate, idealistic, and pragmatic generation they are showing themselves to be.  An outstanding and inspiring program tonight. He like Obama can bring out the best in us.  And we need to be our best desperately.  Like Obama he says, everyone must contribute.  Leaders can't and won't do it for us.  He proposed a new statue alongside the Statue of Liberty, and he named it the Statue of Responsibility and Obligation to give bacfk for what we've been given.  

typos: I'm sure I wrote Newark.  Must be finger Alzeimers.

Annilow....

I thought you all had hope now? I ask you why not?

Billy Bragg - O Freedom

Policeman broke my door down... 

 Freedom what liberties are taken in thy name 

___________________

I have hope -- I have hope that Obama gets the nomination, wins the presidency, and heals the US of A. Gore's time has come and gone. As much as we love Howard, the general American people see him as a polarizing figure. That could change by 2012 but not this year. Just my opinion for the evening.

what ya doin tomorrow?  want to help save the earth?  why don't you join me for Earth Hour...

Dear BED customers - Burlington Electric Department is a PowerSwitch Partner! with the World Wildlife Fund. As such, we would like to spread the word about Earth Hour, a one-hour event where people turn off their electricity.

Here is the info. http://www11.earthhourus.org

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships - Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time) - whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.

Join people all around the world in showing that you care about our planet and want to play a part in helping to fight climate change. Don’t forget to sign up and let us know you want to join Earth Hour.

One hour, America. Earth Hour. Turn out for Earth Hour!

Rush  Working Man   Rush 

Barack Obama must be taking lessons from Jesse Jackson

"George Bush said this is the ownership society, but he really meant this is the 'your on your own' society"

"Let's say the elders of the Democratic Party decide, when the primaries end, that neither Obama nor Clinton is viable. ... All they'd have to do would be to convince a significant fraction of their superdelegate friends, maybe fewer than 100, to announce that they were taking a pass on the first ballot at the Denver convention, which would deny the 2,025 votes necessary to Obama or Clinton. What if they then approached Gore and asked him to be the nominee, for the good of the party-and suggested that he take Obama as his running mate? ..

This is getting out of hand. "the elders of the Democratic Party decide?"
For Gore? Gee, I'm all confused. Gore and Obama his running mate?

Yep, the Dem Party is in deep doo doo.

youtube  Rush 2112

audrey, good response.  I agree that Howard could be on  the ticket and should be.  I, too, am tiring of this mess.

And yes,  I hope deals that are good for ALL of us are in the works.

Gore and Edwards are not being quiet for no reason - along with many supers who are holding their cards close.

There are 2 polarizing people running as dems, both of whom are neck and neck with McC,  and Rove hasn't even started yet to trash the nominee.  When that starts and McC pulls ahead, I think we'll see some fancy and surprising things.

Hope, not polarization! 

now gone dancing  :-) 

There are 2 polarizing people running as dems, both of whom are neck and neck with McC,  and Rove hasn't even started yet to trash the nominee.  When that starts and McC pulls ahead, I think we'll see some fancy and surprising things.

Yep, lot's of humans if not most like to be surprised. McCain is no surprise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r22eiRrjjWc&feature=user

Good night. 

42. seashell

=========

Rove is a big guy with lightweights.  Hillary is a sitting duck for Rove. 

But Rove has never confronted anyone like Barack.  And I don't worry about that sneaky old Nixonian bastard any more.  BO will schmaltz the schmuck.

Gore could have jumped in as late as Dec. First and had a 50/50 chance, his odds now are 100-1.

If the convention goes past two votes I like his chances as the default candidate if deadlock though.

Hillary is a 20-1 odds herself.

The person with the actual tie breaker votes is John Edwards in the improbable event Hillary stages a comeback.

volney:

What amazes me is that this is such an incompetend blog in regards to it's technical function.

And people are still posting here.

Can you believe it? Some poster declared this blog to be a Cadillac compared to it's beginning?

Sorry, I like fancy but if the basics are not working fancy is not working either.

Obama answered the "three priorities" question today on the view. that was the youtube clip I'd like to see again

anyone?

Rats I slept through the 'leibstod' oh well...nite all...

My husband and I watched In The Valley of Elah today.  Very powerful message.  Thought provoking.  Every American should see this movie.

Just another note tossed in this random bucket of words. As I look around and talk w/folks, tere are NO elders in the Democratic Party. my good buddy Helen is 90some, has been Mayor of Lincoln, and run for governor. Her mind is 30 something with extra wisdom and experience. The real Obama Girl. Our county delegates are largely 20 some and wiser than any twelve bushes. This Party is ready to quit puppy-fighting amongst ourselves and go after the massive expansive cancerous anal warts who attacked our country from the top.

Thanks for Meddle, Paine. There are memories.

Quick good night, but just finished watching Bill Moyers' Journal.  The program examined race today and 40 years ago when Detroit, Newark, and other cities burned

=================

Watching it now.  That's where I'm from.  Spent 10 years of my life rebuilding/restoring our 3-story 60,000 square foot tenement building at the edge of a decaying neighborhood.

Never really got payback for the labor,  but my mother was able to buy a condo in the suburbs for herself and is still living on a meager fixed income from value funds she got when she sold it.

13.

puddle
Fri, 03/28/08

Thank you puddle

Well, I'm back from dancing and I have a question for BO people.  Actually 3 questions.

Who of you would be very happy with a Gore/Obama ticket?

Who of you would be very happy with an Obama/Sibelius ticket?

Which combo(s) is a sure winner by a large enuf margin to offset repug mischief?

Good morning, everybody

So, are we doing a survey of states that have quirky voting systems that could be jiggled this time?

Did you all hear that the Hannaford credit card fraud was the result of soft-ware that was installed in each register in each store that sent info about credit card purchases to Europe?  Of course, since Hannaford was purchased by a Belgian outfit and Belgium is in Europe, that shouldn't be too surprising.   

sea, to answer your question, since I've been looking into the Clinton foundation machinations, I's not sure that Gore's enterprises are all that different.  The Clintons are part of the scam the monetary elite are running to evade the controls of popular democracy.  They want to go global in order to be free of local restrictions that might put a crimp in their schemes.  Local and even regional governments are seen as an impediment.  Indeed, even though it's almost too unwieldy to accomplish much, the United Nations has fallen into disfavor because the wrong interests are in the majority.

"scheming monetary elite" is actually a pretty good moniker. 

I think Fred's got it just right.  What African Americans don't appreciate is that white bigots are really terrified of them.  In a way, they're like little girls being scared of a furry brown spider that some naughty boy's brought to class.

hysterical republicans having to be persuaded that BO doesn't bite

How's that for a cartoon? 

DEA is now losing fewer lap tops and more guns than they did five years ago.  231 lap tops lost or stolen in five years; 91 firearms.

Good morning, BFA!

********
While I am not among those who believe that Al's time has *come and gone,* I do not believe that it is in the cards that he will run in any capacity this year.

If for nothing else, he's having too much fun and is not constricted by protocol. He is actually accomplishing a lot right now through international networks, much more than is being reported through our slaggard MSM.

While he would make an outstanding President (I thought that in 2000 as well and have seen no reason to change my mind since), he has never had his heart into campaigning in the way that we force our national candidates to do. He certainly would not be VP on any ticket. He's been there and done that.

IMO, the only way that he would be a compromise candidate is if there were overwhelming support at the convention for that to happen. As things now stand, I don't believe that is probably, but, as we have seen before in politics, anything is possible.

As for who he will endorse, IMO, Al will, like Howard, wait until all the primaries have run their course.

*probably* s/b *probable* ... sigh

**********
Dan Froomkin's latest on putz as ostrich.

===============
Bush's Simplistic Vision
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Friday, March 28, 2008; 1:36 PM

The new wave of violence sweeping Iraq is not just a powerful rejoinder to President Bush's insistence that the U.S. troop surge has been a success -- it's also a reminder of how the problems facing that troubled country are much more complex than he will acknowledge.

In the vision Bush puts forward, there are just two sides in Iraq: The good guys and the bad guys; our team and an enemy who, as he put it in his speech yesterday, "will try to fill the TV screens with violence." To Bush, the people of Iraq need our help to save them from terrorists who intend to overthrow Iraq's brave and unified government on their way to attacking America.

That the current battle in Basra is essentially between rival Shiite militias fighting for political power doesn't alter his narrative.

[...]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

Silvio's ba-a-a-ck!

Well, almost.

=====================
PC and nearly gaffe-free: the new Berlusconi
Former PM repackages himself as elder statesman in Italian election campaign
John Hooper in Rome
The Guardian, Saturday March 29 2008

Outwardly he is much the same, just disconcertingly younger. His facelift has settled down, so he no longer has the stretched look of four years ago. His hair transplant a few months later has endowed him with a thick, slightly unnatural pelt, the human equivalent of Astroturf.

But what Silvio Berlusconi is saying in the campaign leading to Italy's general election on April 13-14 is unrecognisable from even a few months back.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar...

Somebody ought to do a spoof of McCain "American" from the perspective of all those South, Central and Canadian Americans who consider the US claim to the designation a joke.

monin' judy,

you think maybe somebody's going to do a make-over comparison between Silvio and Hill?  which has been most convincing?

too bad the make-over business has become such big business it's hard to make fun of it anymore.  it's because the guys have got into it.  there was a professor of religion in Florida who kept getting his face peeled.  nobody made jokes to his face. 

So much for the Iraqis handling the battle themselves ... and if anyone truly believes that al-Maliki is commanding US forces, then they are deluded as putz is.

=============
American warplanes join Iraqi troops in taking the fight to Shia militia
· Sadr stronghold in capital comes under attack
· British army holds fire as battles intensify
Richard Norton-Taylor The Guardian, Saturday March 29 2008

US aircraft attacked Shia militia in Basra for the first time in the current round of fighting as intense battles continued between supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr and tens of thousands of Iraqi forces in a crackdown personally supervised by Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki.

[...]
Maliki has said that the operation, nicknamed Sawlat al-Fursan or Charge of the Knights, is targeting criminals, not Sadr's militia, and has vowed "no retreat". But distinguishing the Mahdi army from criminals appears to be cutting little ice among Sadr's supporters, many of whom believe that US and Iraqi forces have used a seven-month ceasefire to prepare to attack them. Many Sadrists believe the Baghdad government is siding with the Badr organisation, a rival militia allied to the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar...

Hi, Monica ... for a moment I dared to hope that posts were falling in orderly sequence. Your greeting shows not.

******
One difference between Silvio & Hill: Silvio is more entertaining.

Actually, very few politicians are truly themselves.

Perhaps we in the voting electorate are the ones who are primarily to blame for their *makeovers.*

No wonder the US is stepping in. It seems as though not all Shiites have their hearts set on killing each other.

But, nonetheless, whatever happens in Iraq, no matter how bloodly, is *proof* that the *surge* is a *success.*

Get it?

=====================
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Police Mutiny, Refuse to attack Sadrists;
Clashes continue in Basra;
Sadrists open New fronts throughout Shiite South

[...]
http://www.juancole.com/2008/03/police-m...

*bloodly* s/b *bloody* ... am afflicted by errant *ls* this am.

************
Let us all hope that there is indeed reason to hope. Although his tenure did not begin that way, Mugabe has since become the *putz* of Zimbabwe.

What a shame! People certainly do not always deserve the leaders they get. Opposing this one can literally result in one's death.

Yet many do ... they are setting an example for US.

==================
The last stand
As the country goes to the polls, our correspondent finds the people daring to hope for a new dawn
By Daniel Howden in Bulawayo
Saturday, 29 March 2008

Zimbabweans go to the polls today in the most important elections since the country won independence from Britain 28 years ago, amid increasing signs that Robert Mugabe's historic hold on the southern African country could be slipping.

Fears remain that a ground-swell of anger at the 84- year-old President and the perilous state of the once-prosperous nation, could be thwarted by a systematic campaign of election rigging and voter intimidation. Independent observers have already dismissed government insistence that the poll will be free and fair.

[...]
Once the unchallenged hero of the independence movement the former schoolteacher turned President has seen his popular support slide and his country engulfed in economic chaos. Hyperinflation has soared to 200,000 per cent and life expectancy among women is the lowest in the world at 34. Unemployment runs at above 90 per cent as the formal economy has all but disappeared and the majority survive on remittances sent home from the millions in exile from a country once among the most prosperous in Africa. The charity Save the Children said the number of Zimbabwean children who die before their fifth birthday has more than doubled since independence.

[...]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...

Our midwestern storms have made the international news scene.

Here is an article with some impressive photos.

==============
Chasing the world's wildest storms
The central United States is home to Tornado Alley and its awesome weather patterns. The stormchasers Eric Nguyen and Mike Hollingshead spent days driving thousands of miles in pursuit of these majestic and destructive events. Here are their photo diaries

[...]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...

Yes, they must truly hate us for our *freedoms,* both as interpreted by putzCo and as supported by his administration abroad. Syria & Sudan are among the few exceptions where putzCo do not *support* the governments.

Under putzCo, the US does not serve as a good role model. Not. At. All.

=================
RIGHTS-MIDEAST: Govts Ever More Draconian, Group Says
By William Fisher

NEW YORK, Mar 27 (IPS) - One of the Arab world's most widely respected non-governmental organisations is charging that at least 14 Middle East and North African governments are systematically violating the civil liberties of their citizens -- and most of them are close U.S. allies in the war on terror.

In a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) said that there have been "huge harassments of human rights organisations and defenders have been increasingly subject to abusive and suppressive actions by government actors... in the majority of Arab countries, particularly Egypt, Syria, Bahrain and Tunisia."

The group this week called upon the international community to "exert effective efforts to urge Arab governments to duly reconsider their legislation, policy and practices contravening their international obligations to protect freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom to form associations, including non-governmental organisations."

It added that "Special attention should be awarded to providing protection to human rights defenders in the Arab World."

[...]
As an example of typical area-wide human rights abuses, the CIHRS report cited the recent forced closure by Egyptian authorities of the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid, an organisation active in exposing incidences of torture. The Egyptian government claimed that the organisation "received foreign funding without having the consent of the Minister of Social Solidarity."

The organisation warned of "increasingly repressive conditions" being imposed on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Egypt, including a proposed amendment to the Law of Associations that it said would limit the right of association and expression.

Other Arab nations singled out for detailed criticism included Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The report also accused four other Arab countries of human rights abuses -- Libya, Algeria, Sudan and Morocco.

[...]
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=4...

Sorry, Danny, for posting more paras ... hadn't realized that I had picked up quite so many.

But it would really help if the column were not so conscripted by the wide blue margins, as many others have noted.

***********
This is the last. It really makes one wonder what the Pentagon contracts people have been smoking for the past seven years.

This is criminal negligence, not just incompetence.

=============
US gave $300m arms contract to 22-year-old with criminal record
· Old stock sent to Afghan forces battling Taliban
· 40-year-old ammunition had to be destroyed
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
The Guardian, Friday March 28 2008

The Pentagon entrusted a 22-year-old previously arrested for domestic violence and having a forged driving licence to be the main supplier of ammunition to Afghan forces at the height of the battle against the Taliban, it was reported yesterday.

AEY, essentially a one-man operation based in an unmarked office in Miami Beach, Florida, was awarded a contract worth $300m (£150m) to supply the Afghan army and police in January last year. But as the New York Times reported in a lengthy investigation, AEY's president, Efraim Diversoli, 22, supplied stock that was 40 years old and rotting packing material.

"Much of the ammunition comes from the ageing stockpiles of the old communist bloc, including stockpiles that the state department and Nato have determined to be unreliable and obsolete, and have spent millions of dollars to have destroyed," the paper said.

The report on AEY was the latest instance of private firms securing lucrative defence contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan under the Bush administration's policy of privatising growing aspects of the military.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar...

As a layman to me this sounds like a terrible idea. I'm all for regulation, but not from the Fed which Wiki calls a public/private institution. They already have enuf power, printing more money and all. This I find scary - another step toward fascism.

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the way the government regulates the nation's financial services industry from banks and securities firms to mortgage brokers and insurance companies.

The plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve, according to a 22-page executive summary obtained by The Associated Press.

Bush seeks financial regulation overhaul
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
8 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080329/ap_o...

platform work all day today so carry on dear blog

worth a stop in the mornings for your links Judy and your ruminations Monica, even if I have nothing to add with my driveby

tax the movement of money if for no other reason that regulation needs can't be engineered if you don't know where capital has aggregated and who controls it

the futures markets have broken down to the point of cash isn't coming to futures at contract close and that is essential for a price mechanism to work

battling hedge funds are jerking volitility to the point that options are too expensive

I have extra capital tied up defending my sales just because of the extra margin demands, none of which is good for the economy

grain dealers have ceased "dealing" as a result

later 

Privatization is really just a continuation of the long tradition of government as a transfer mechanism, moving public assets into private pockets.  As long as there were plenty of natural resources (land, water, mineral, air) available, that's what got transfered.  Then, when government was tasked with providing more services, it was only natural that revenue stream should also be directed into private pockets.

That public servants should serve the public good is a revolutionary idea that we still haven't quite figured out how to implement.  Regular inspection and accounting helps and that's why secrecy is preferred.  The whole national security regime needs to be reviewed and, for the most part, tossed.  Even putting a definite term on classifications would help.  Why, for example are twenty year old documents from Reagan/Bush still locked away?   

Well, I'm back from dancing and I have a question for BO people.  Actually 3 questions.

Who of you would be very happy with a Gore/Obama ticket?

I'd be more than happy with this, but it's NOT GONNA HAPPEN

Who of you would be very happy with an Obama/Sibelius ticket?

I'm not sure - the only thing In really know about her is one rather stilted speech.  He hasn't chosen her, so I haven't bothered to do any research on her.

Which combo(s) is a sure winner by a large enuf margin to offset repug mischief?

Neither combo is a 'sure winner'.  Running against the repugs, NO TICKET IS A SURE WINNER.

Now my questions for you-

Do you really think these are the only choices we have? 

Will you supprt Obama if he gets the nom, regardless of who he selects for VP?

What did you hope to learn from the answers to these 3 questions?

Privatization is really just a continuation of the long tradition of government as a transfer mechanism, moving public assets into private pockets.  As long as there were plenty of natural resources (land, water, mineral, air) available, that's what got transfered.  Then, when government was tasked with providing more services, it was only natural that revenue stream should also be directed into private pockets.

That public servants should serve the public good is a revolutionary idea that we still haven't quite figured out how to implement.  Regular inspection and accounting helps and that's why secrecy is preferred.  The whole national security regime needs to be reviewed and, for the most part, tossed.  Even putting a definite term on classifications would help.  Why, for example are twenty year old documents from Reagan/Bush still locked away?   

personally, I still think Obama/Dodd would be the best ticket.  Michelle and Jackie would make a most compatible pair and the four girls would probably enjoy each other.

puddle, thx for the great llama pic, I'll send it along.

For the record, I'd be great with a Gore/Obama ticket, except it isn't going to happen.

I'm OK with Obama/Sebelius. I do want to see him pick a woman if at all possible.

-- volney

scientific experimentation is the boon and the bane of this world.  this particular experiment scares the hell out of me...

More fighting in Iraq. Somalia in chaos. People in this country can’t afford their mortgages and in some places now they can’t even afford rice.

None of this nor the rest of the grimness on the front page today will matter a bit, though, if two men pursuing a lawsuit in federal court in Hawaii turn out to be right. They think a giant particle accelerator that will begin smashing protons together outside Geneva this summer might produce a black hole that will spell the end of the Earth — and maybe the universe.

Scientists say that is very unlikely — though they have done some checking just to make sure.

The world’s physicists have spent 14 years and $8 billion building the Large Hadron Collider, in which the colliding protons will recreate energies and conditions last seen a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. Researchers will sift the debris from these primordial recreations for clues to the nature of mass and new forces and symmetries of nature.

But Walter L. Wagner and Luis Sancho contend that scientists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, or CERN, have played down the chances that the collider could produce, among other horrors, a tiny black hole, which, they say, could eat the Earth. Or it could spit out something called a “strangelet” that would convert our planet to a shrunken dense dead lump of something called “strange matter.”

more, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/science/29collider.html?ex=1364529600&en=cc9bb80dbc0199c3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Gore/Obama

 Obama/Sebelius

^No way^

pipe dream on Gore and beyond comprehension (at this point) how Gore would be positioned before Obama.  Get a V-8, fer chris' sake, please.  Enough already with Al Gore!  

Sebelius?  Wow!  I mean seriously, that is bonkers.  Sebelius?  Got a clue?

Well, that's what I think.

White guy in a garage asked me if I was a ni@@er-lover (for Obama).  I told him, "I voted for Duval Patrick (Gov Massachusetts) and you know what they say, 'one ya go black ya never go back!'"

Here's something to chew on

 FYI

for those too young to have expierienced the time or uninformed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute

...American athlete Smith, who won the race in a then world record time of 19.83 seconds...and American Carlos in third place ... went to collect their medals at the podium... received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty.[2] Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride.[2] Carlos wore beads which he described "were for those individuals that were lynched, or killed that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the middle passage."[3] All three athletes wore Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badges, after Norman expressed sympathy with their ideals. Sociologist Harry Edwards, the founder of the OPHR, had urged black athletes to boycott the games; reportedly, the actions of Smith and Carlos on October 16, 1968,[1] were inspired by Edwards' arguments.[4]

Carlos had forgotten his black gloves, but Norman suggested that they share Smith's pair, with Smith wearing the right glove and Carlos the left. When "The Star-Spangled Banner" played, Smith and Carlos delivered the salute with heads bowed, a gesture which became front page news around the world. As they left the podium they were booed by the crowd.[5] Smith later said "If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight."

Tschau, off to yoga. 

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/johnstown/

Greater Johnstown High School
Gymnasium
222 Central Ave.
Johnstown, PA

Saturday, March 29, 2008
Doors Open: 11:30 a.m.
Program begins: 1:00 p.m.

...

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/statecollege

10:04 AM EDT

personally, I still think Obama/Dodd would be the best ticket. 

...

+++

I second that.

Morning Blog Friends,

A good article in the March 10th New Yorker profiling Michelle Obama.  She's a very strong personality, very real, confident, has a "mordant" sense of humor, and is not the typical President's wife.  I find her intrigueing, complex, very strong, and someone we need.   She would represent the best of women in terms of capability, outspokenness, having her own personality and history.

We were talking in our homestead about the "lesser of two evils" choices.  My husband said it was Eugene McCarthy who said that sometimes you have to vote for the lesser of two evils.  I don't recall.  We both agreed though that this doesn't apply anymore.  Our problems are too severe, too complex, too interrelated and consequential to choose any evil, lesser or no.

For  me, trust is an important factor.  While we are all human, will always make mistakes, and sometimes the best solutions have the worst consequences, trust and belief in the integrity of a candidate is finally what my decision rests on. I voted for Kerry while knowing he was weak, not very bright, and in many ways ineffectual.  However, I trusted his good will, his good intentions and his character.  Not so for me with the Clintons.

I do not trust them, do not believe that they will serve our country well, believe that they would use any tactic, any alliance, any compromise necessary to retain power.  How do we trust, and when it's lost?  Is it possible to regain it?   I don't have the answers.  But, listening to NPR this morning, someone mentioned Rovian tactics, and I thought, how would it be to be remembered as someone who was dishonest to the core, manipulative, willing to destroy people's reputations, willing to achieve power with no scruples or ethics at all?  What motivates such a personality?

Finally, Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, last night on Bill Moyers' Journal talked about the need for a spiritual renewal in this country, and he asserted, it isn't liberal or conservative, republican or democrat, it's a human spiritual renewal whereby we recognize we are one people on this planet and what happens to someone else happens to us.  We must join and help one another because if we don't we hurt ourselves as well as those we do not help.  I think that's the most powerful message of all.

Have a beautiful day, folks.   

Monica and rdorgan,  I also like Bill Richardson.  I think he showed what he is made of by endorseing Obama after Obama's speech on race.  Bill Richardson has character, experience, a sense of humor, and obviously integrity and ethics.  I like him very much and think he would be terrific as vice president or in the cabinet.

81.

Jo*in*Vermont
Sat, 03/29/08

===========
Hi, Jo ... just back from a great spell outdoors on this glorious day and saw your item.

I believe that chances of any black hole being created are pretty nil. If not, I'll be among the first to go, because those of us who are on the northern side of Lake Geneva are perched perched right over the collider.

CERN is really a fascinating place. Dan Brown had some fun with it in *Angels and Demons.*

Neither of these people appears to be in the scientific mainstream and there's not too much available on either, at least not through Google.

Here's some information on Mr. Wagner.

http://science-community.sciam.com/profi...

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guests/151...

Here's some on Mr. Sancho.

http://www.optevi.net/newstracker/defaul...

Here is a .pdf of a paper that he apparently wrote.

http://journals.isss.org/index.php/proce...

The suit sounds a bit like sour grapes, if not outright fantasy, to me. I am not sure how any restraining order could even be enforced. It is certainly an attention-getter.

And here's more from the NYT article that Jo linked.

[...] James Gillies, head of communications at CERN, said the laboratory as of yet had no comment on the suit. “It’s hard to see how a district court in Hawaii has jurisdiction over an intergovernmental organization in Europe,” Mr. Gillies said.

“There is nothing new to suggest that the L.H.C. is unsafe,” he said, adding that its safety had been confirmed by two reports, with a third on the way, and would be the subject of a discussion during an open house at the lab on April 6.

“Scientifically, we’re not hiding away,” he said.

[...]
This is not the first time around for Mr. Wagner. He filed similar suits in 1999 and 2000 to prevent the Brookhaven National Laboratory from operating the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. That suit was dismissed in 2001. The collider, which smashes together gold ions in the hopes of creating what is called a “quark-gluon plasma,” has been operating without incident since 2000.

Mr. Wagner, who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, studied physics and did cosmic ray research at the University of California, Berkeley, and received a doctorate in law from what is now known as the University of Northern California in Sacramento. He subsequently worked as a radiation safety officer for the Veterans Administration.

Mr. Sancho, who describes himself as an author and researcher on time theory, lives in Spain, probably in Barcelona, Mr. Wagner said.

[...]

We have some real fears to contend with. I believe it is safe to say that this is not one of them.

But if they are right, then we'll certainly not be around to worry about anything else. LOL

********
Now, back to the glorious day.

Grow up Florida Dems

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_laura_ro_080327_open_letter_to_flori.htm

Open Letter to Florida Dems - Stop Your Whining! Stop attacking and blaming Howard Dean for the mess you are in. Stop pretending that Florida Democrats were helpless -we have the video and the news articles that show otherwise. The vote for the change was 115-1. Thats right, YOU voted for it too. You did precious little to stop it.

10:25am

If Gore endorses Obama, the Clintons' will forever be blaming him for their "loss" which of course has already occurred. Gore would never endorse or vote for Clinton given his relationship with them. So it may be better for him to remain silent on the issue -- at least for now.

Just my two cents on the question before this thread closes.

Incompetently managed blog is burying my posts

Screw BFA!

10:27am

Obama just might write a showstopper in PA.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/20...

What made Richardson flip?

http://www.slate.com/id/2187560/

What really bothers me with the Clinton campaign is how vindictive they appear to be. My goodness, they have serious attitude and a sense of entitlement.

Carville's Intimidation Op-Ed.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

As a diarist at Kos says *is it more important to be loyal or to do what is right for the country*. Richardson made the right decision and did what is best for the country IMO.

77.

Monica Smith
Sat, 03/29/08


Privatization is really just a continuation of the long tradition of government as a transfer mechanism, moving public assets into private pockets.
--------------
...lol, Agree!


...when government was tasked with providing more services, it was only natural that revenue stream should also be directed into private pockets.
-------------
Again agree..., lol, except, government can “provide” nothing, people do that.
Government as you’ve said before “transfers” (e.g. redistribute) assets.


That public servants should serve the public good is a revolutionary idea that we still haven't quite figured out how to implement.
-------------
I love the word “should”..... lol, their bearers live in dreams.

As long as some ONE “represents” some OTHERS those others ultimately should not count on fairness and justice.
Only when some ONE represents him/her-self you have democracy in its strict meaning.

Therefore again, ultimately the Government is a mechanism to fool and deceive (governed) majority in the interests of (governing) minority.

In a conversation with two Democratic allies, she compared the situation to the "big boys" trying to bully a woman, according to interviews with them.

Who is really doing the bullying here? 

10:53 AM EDT

"it's back" - Iraq :

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080329/pl_bloomberg/ad9j2mehobos_1

Campaign Notebook: Iraq Violence Puts Focus on War

Joe Sobczyk and Kristin Jensen

23 minutes ago

March 29 (Bloomberg) -- The Iraq War's return to front pages may be a setback for presidential candidate John McCain and other Republicans.

...

11:04 AM EDT

Mr. Casey decided to back Mr. Obama because of his “ability to bring disparate groups together and transcend some of these racial and other kinds of divides,” the person close to him said. “Also, his kids were on his case, his four daughters. Not that they dictate to him, but he was paying attention. He was wondering, why are these kids, who aren’t very political, so interested? He does have the ability to light up a younger generation.”

For me, I found this to be the most common reason why alot of people are backing Senator Obama. I'm not sure what it is about him, but he just has a way of getting people of diverse backgrounds to come together in a common cause.  I've always respected Senator Casey and even moreso now that he has endorsed Senator Obama.

+++

Michael -

Nice comment.

Believe this or don't, the Florida Legislature is for the ninth time taking up the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to ratify it on April 1 (no fooling here). Only three more states are needed now to pass the amendment.

Many busloads are going to Tallahassee to lobby their legislatures.

Interesting info on it if you want to see the history here:

http://www.ratifyeraflorida.net/erachronicle.shtml

no, former, see that's where you go wrong.  The majority are the governing entity and the minority are directed what to do.  Clearly, the minority would like to see it the other way around, but that's wishful thinking.  The best they can achieve is not to do what they are told.  Which is what we see demonstrated in the Bush/Cheney regime.

The notion that public relations can manipulate the thinking of the majority of the population is an illusion that's about to be tested.  It's only effective as long as story is consistent with public experience.  The reason Bush/Cheney can realize that is because they have no real-life experiences.

I was thinking this morning about telling our grandson that when he arrives in town on the train, he should just walk into the town center until he sees his grandfather's vehicle in the parking lot.  He's 15 and only just now using public transportation on his own.  How long do you think it's been since either Bush or Cheney went anywhere on their own?  Is it any wonder they've lost touch with the real world? 

Judy - the claims of the plaintiffs aren't what I'm concerned with - they are certainly at the fringe of possibility.  but the energy involved in this experiment will most likely create totally unexpected consequences of some sort, so I am indeed concerned.  it's good that you're not, since you're so close by!

North Carolina looking for people to come register voters before the deadline of April 11. To vote in the Dem primary there, you must be registered as a Democrat or unafflilated by that date.http://nc.barackobama.com/CometoNC

It's the Sesame Street Generation. 

Conservatives were right.  TV is dangerous.  Kids watching too much TV is bad.  Teachers have known that for some time.  Children who grew up watching TV don't like to sit still.  They also don't like to be quiet.  After all, the TV never tells them to shut up and listen.  The TV never harrangues them or makes them feel guilty.  No matter how drunk or abusive the parents, the TV tells them there's another reality.  And the early years make all the difference.  Their brains are like sponges.  At the same time, they compare and contrast their experiences and negatives tend to be thrown out. 

I don't know, but if I were Richardson, knowing that the person I support wouldn't expect to own me for life would be benefit enough.

Hi Monica,

The media teaches.  It always has.  One of the most damaging aspects of TV is that it makes viewers passive.  With radio, you imagine.  Reading, you imagine and respond.  With images as in art, design, you also respond.  TV does it all for you and IMO blanks out the brain.

Humans have always been imitators and when TV shows are violent, slanted, stunted in terms of information, and totally distracting with commercials from every seven to ten minutes, this is a reality we are telling our children and our adults that is acceptable.

One incident comes to mind.  A local channel featured back to school clothes on its news hour a couple of years ago.  Children under 12 were shown with very revealing clothes: belly buttons, skimpy, skirts barely below the underpants line.  I was appalled that news people could be so irresponsible, exhibiting little girls with what could be called provocative sexually revealing clothing.  This would not have happened 40 years ago.  ( I remember the principal of my all girls Catholic high school making my best friend and me walk around with our hems ripped out because we had gone to school with hems above the knees.  I wouldn't recommend that kind of humliliation, but I'm also appalled that adults would make children into sexual objects.

Off now.   

Who of you would be very happy with a Gore/Obama ticket?

Me

Who of you would be very happy with an Obama/Sibelius ticket?

Don't know enough about her; hope he considers other candidates that will balance the liberal dinners he brings to the table

Which combo(s) is a sure winner by a large enuf margin to offset repug mischief?

Nothing we can do that is not down to their level will offset repug mischief. First we have to deal with Dem mischief cuz Hillary is in it for her, and not the country.

Obama/Boxer is the ticket I like.

I also like Obama/Dodd

Obama/Richardson

Obama/Napolitano

Gore/Obama was my first choice.  Or Obama/Gore.  But I don't think it will happen now.

12:05 PM EDT

PR  can stand for Public Relations or it can stand for --

Puerto Rico

(the June 1 ace card up Hillary's sleeve ?)

Still waiting for Goredot.

I can see Gore stepping in and calling for Hillary to bow out once it becomes mathematically impossible for her gain a majority of pledged delegates. But I can't see him injecting himself into the nominating process as an alternative to Obama.

Who of you would be very happy with an Obama/Sibelius ticket?

Or an Obama/Napalitano ticket. Either choice would put states into play that otherwise won't be.

Considering how influential some Democrats think Ralph Nader has been and will be, maybe Obama should consider him as his VP?

I don't know, but if I were Richardson, knowing that the person I support wouldn't expect to own me for life would be benefit enough.

I suspect there are many Uberdel politicians who want to be free of The  Clintons' hegemony.

As for Richardson, if he was promised anything for his endoresemt it was most likely Secretary of State; a post for which he is most qualified. 

What African Americans don't appreciate is that white bigots are really terrified of them.

I'm guessing that every African American is fully aware of such bigotry. 

And people are still posting here.

Yeah....like you.

Can you believe it? Some poster declared this blog to be a Cadillac compared to it's beginning?

That was me. I like being able to link, post images, and format -- as well as not fill in my name and email for every post. 

But it would be great if this blog worked as it should. Why it still doesn't is indefensible. 

12:36 PM EDT

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-03-24-puertorico-primary_N.htm?csp=34

Posted 4d 14h ago

Only three remaining states, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana, have more Democratic delegates up for grabs.

...

Clinton's campaign announced Monday that her husband, former President Clinton, will campaign for her in Puerto Rico early next month.

...

Puerto Rico's original plan called for selecting delegates at caucuses June 7.

...

The new date means Montana and South Dakota will hold the party's last nominating contests, on June 3.

Hi again,,

Just finished making about 30 phone calls for a town council election coming up on Tuesday in Estes Park.  I have to say I'm grateful for the courtesy and kindness of Americans.  People thanked me for calling; there wasn't a single rude person.  

In college to earn my way, I spent a godawful week or so telephoning people to buy magazine subscriptions.  Even now the anxiety is with me.  I quit after earning $14.00.  So, I do make phone calls, but I'm good for about an hour or so at a time.

Keep the dialogue going.  It's so important. Now off to a poetry class. 

Google puts up a black page to call attention to Earth Hour

www.google.com

8-9pm, your local timezone

Are we doing veep choices? I think a woman at #2 w/Obama is a bad choice. Getting (us) rednecks to accept a black as a candidate, asking us to swallow a female with that is asking too much. My choice for Veep w/ Obama is still Schweitzer. He's well educated and traveled (speaks Arabic) but comes across as a good ole boy, takes his dog to work, flies his own little plane I think, is governor of a predominantly red state, has Obama's common sense appraoch to issues. I can see him appealing to the Bible belt altho I believe he is a Roman Catholic. Truth in lending -- he reminds me of my big bro -- big bro's can handle ANYTHING. Btw there's a new interesting thread but comments on it are closed.

And after Schweitzer, my pipe dream veep would be Roussel Honore, the General who went into Nola after Katrina.

Well, there's a new thread about a pillow fight, but it's not active.  LOL

ok, I've made up a new post and I think the comments work

http://blogforamerica.com/view/24604#comment-1184078 

Maybe if you all recommend it will move from browse to front.  LOL 

New thread with no comments allowed.

The Field is reporting possible dirty tricks in San Antonio.

http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/

Great pillow fight video! Maybe an idear for DemocracyFest? Bloggers vs. Staff. LOL.

Why a Bosnian goose cooked Hillary.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3...

New Thread...and here's how to get there:

You have to go to Browse All (not Front) and access the comments page there. This link will take you directly there, hopefully...

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/24604...

New thread

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/24604#comment-1184091