The high cost of both education and health care are taking a toll on the average middle class worker.  I know, I am one of them!  I couldn't afford to retire as my health insurance is sky rocketing out of control. My grand kids are going to need help with their educational expenses or face uncertain futures. Our economy is on the edge of a very bad place and a slight push the wrong direction will devistate our nation.  All this in 7 years!  Wake up America! This is NOT a test of our emergency broadcast system.  This is the real thing!  No time to "duck and cover", we must take action, NOW!

Howard Dean is always first at the bfa.

48.

Phil Specht
Wed, 04/02/08

...I think this contest would be a model of how a mature Party works through a very contentious struggle for the control of the party

through history most such changes have been achieved through armed struggle in the streets

grassroots re-control of the peoples party is revolutionary stuff
------------------

Phil, through history “struggle for the control of the party” usually had NOT been accompanied by “armed struggle in the streets”. Usually it’s been internal, undercover struggle within Party’s elite (that’s, imo, exactly what’s going so far with Demos party).

Grassroots do not need “re-control of the...party” they need re-control of the economy! Such IS really revolutionary stuff which IS happening NOT without “armed struggle in the streets”..., including in the streets of Baghdad.

Hope, not Fear.

When is a guillotine ever a legitmate tool? lol

no argument from me former, our economy has been hijacked, not coincedently with the takeover of our party by the duopoly

6.

Phil Specht
Thu, 04/03/08
--------

I'm just saying, people don't need Party, they need economy!

2:46 PM EDT

TIME has this year's 100 rating system (if you want to vote in it; fyi - there's 200 contestants):

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1725112_1726934_1726935,00.html

The 2008 TIME 100 Finalists

We asked for your thoughts on more than 200 finalists as we compile The TIME 100—our list of the most influential people in the world. Here's how they rate so far on a scale of 1 (least influential) to 100 (the most.)

...

Randi Rhodes has been suspended from Air America radio for calling Hillary a F in whore.

wow

Florida Democratic leaders simply can NOT be gracious.    They can not keep their collective mouths shut for long. 

 http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1963

Wasserman Schultz says Dean was not as "combative" as usual.  Oh, Debbie.  Just hush and be polite. 

Also...the media is already ridiculing Dean for his offer to seat them and give them hotel rooms.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080403/OPINION/80403047/1075

"INSTANT EDITORIAL: Howard Dean surrenders to Florida"

"As Nelson in “The Simpsons” would say, “Hah-hah!” Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Party, has said Florida’s delegates to the party’s national convention will be seated after all.

That’s despite the early primary the state held in January in defiance of the rules of both national parties.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton still have to negotiate how the delegates will be apportioned between them, but Florida has called the party’s bluff, and Dean blinked.

Now we need to press ahead against the primary system that triggered the rogue primary in the first place. Instead of giving the early voting each presidential election to the same small, unrepresentative states, set up a system of regional primaries, and rotate the order of voting."

When "electability" is a candidate's last desperate argument to superdelegates that they should overrule pledged delegates and overturn the popular vote, news like this has to be a stake in the heart.

Randi Rhodes has been suspended from Air America radio for calling Hillary a F in whore.

No problem with that here. I've been calling her "Lady Limbaugh" since since 2004 when she invited Nader onto her program and then shouted him down. 

Air America also has a morning show that is as stupid and vulgar as any. Emulating the worst of radio wasn't what I hoped for AA when it statred.

Re: Dean blinked

From now on, it's a free-for-all. Lots of primaries on January 1, no matter what the party decrees.

I expected better from Howard

I don't see any problem in seating the Florida and Michigan delegations at the festivities in Denver - so long as the delegates represent a reasonable proportion for the respective candidates.

Otherwise, those party animals would have been turning over tables in every saloon and p**ing in every alleyway near the convention hall.

here is the joint statement from the DNC and FL:

"We are all committed to doing everything we can to ensure that a Florida delegation is seated in Denver. We all agree that whatever the solution, it must have the support of both campaigns. While there may be differences of opinion in how we get there, we are all committed to ensuring that Florida's delegation is seated in Denver. We're committed to working with both campaigns to reach a solution as soon as realistically possible. We are also laying the groundwork to ensure we win in Florida in November and spent time here today talking about how to do just that. We will continue to work towards a solution to ensure delegates are seated and logistics are in place for a Florida delegation in Denver."

so what's the dif, now?  Howard's been saying that all along and he's given them lots of options. 

Barack will seat the delegates once he has pulled in the required SDs to take him over the top to be the undisputable winner of the primary.

>> re: Randi - she does get rather wound up.  I don't agree with everything she says but she is fearless and she has done some real good with her testimony on Capitol Hill. I have to say, my thoughts on Hillary haven't been much better than that lately, but then I don't have a national radio show.  buh bye, Randi - I'm sure you;'ll find some place to land.

Love Randi Rhodes.

Hate her statement - in this case.

Of all the hosts on AAR, she has always been my favorite - and will continue to be ( I hope ).

Rhandi Rhodes didn't call Hill a *f whore* on her show - it was at an Air America-sanctioned event. Well, I missed her show yesterday. ;-(

I should add that I think it was in extremely bad form of Rhandi to say what she said about Hillary (in public).

New PA polling. I apologize if it's already been posted.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4...

John wrote "I expected better from Howard."

Your swipe at Dean is completely gratuitous.  The decision not to certify delegates apportioned by rogue state delegate selection contests was made by the duly appointed Rules and Bylaws Committee under the DNC delegate selection rules.  Dean enforced their ruling.  He never contended that those delegates wouldn't be seated, and why would he?  The rules provide for their certification under the proper circumstances.

Dean, in fact, consistently reiterated that the delegations would be seated if either they were selected by a process in compliance with the rules, which he repeatedly encouraged, or if the Credentials Committee permitted it as provided under the rules. 

Furthermore, Dean has been ardent in his efforts to reach a compromise resolution of this impasse by agreement with the campaigns.  That was the significance of his statement that he would do everything in his power to seat the delegation from Florida.  He also stressed that this will only occur by the agreement of the two candidates.

There was only one problem with the Florida and Michigan primaries, namely, they were held in violation of the party rules.  The penalty imposed was provided by the rules, specifically, the delegates apportioned under those primaries would not be certified.  The rules provided certain remedies to allow the delegates to be certified, which Dean is pursuing.  Obviously, having them seated under the rules is not an incentive to proceed to have contests in violation of the rules in the future, as you imply.  In actuality, the primaries will not be the basis for the apportionment of delegates to the convention unless, by some odd circumstance, the Credentials Committee permits it, which they may under the rules, or the candidates agree to it, which the rules also permit.  Thus the states will have been sanctioned for their violations even if the delegates are certified, because the results of their selection process was not honored as it was for the states whose selection process complied with the rules.

Your attempt to belittle Dean for executing his obligations as Party chair is representative of a mendacious crusade to blame him for the poor judgment of others. 

Status check

# of members: 59,156

# of new members today : 13

# of groups: 844

# of Congressional Districts: 431

# of upcoming events: 494

Most New Members This Week
Democracy for Texas (2)
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Texas Bloggers (2)
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NJ Draft Gore (2)
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NJ for Obama (2

 

From today's USA Today: 

Why the Democratic race could end in North Carolina

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-04-02-Endgame_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

So the bar keeps moving!! Incredible.

I have no idea why randi would call hill that. They used to be friends, or so I heard.

I have no way of knowing, tee hee.

Randi said the other day she was moving back to florida. maybe she knew what was coming but her website is still saying her show is on and who the guests are.

I love Randi.

Yesterday's news...

DNC convention stance surprises campaigns By: David Paul Kuhn

full article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/040...

No, Howard has NOT blinked. He has always given both candidates choices to be on the ballot.

The only one possibility left now is to evenly divide the delegates between the candidates so they can have their seats in Denver. Even then, the candidates must approve that. If she makes a mockery of it all, well that's what her campaign has become anyway.

If Hillary goes down in disgrace by demanding delegates she never won, then so be it. That will be sad news for the delegates who hope to be in Denver if only to party. Their votes will change nothing but so what.

Hillary is a liar tho. Everyday something different. Moving the goal posts.

Obama always seems fresh and on the ball. Not the bowling ball. Maybe he should get a Wii. That will help you get to playing well. We have one and it is great.

So the bar keeps moving!! Incredible.

DLC shill Harold Ford actually started moving the new goalpost to NC last week when the PA numbers first started looking bad for Hillary. 

But it's not much a move since Obama's lead there is growing. 

At this point there is nothing but copius amounts of hot gas coming out of the Clinton campaign. What's amazing is how many, including so called experts, are sucking it in. 

Senator Clinton seems to be toning down the harsher  of her rhetoric in the past few days. I hope she will bow out gracefully if she doesn't win Pennsylvania in a landslide.

I'll be there around the 19th to do whatever i can for my "once in a lifetime" President - Barack Obama.

And, as always . . . . .  .

More analysis regarding the delegate certification controversy, from Suzanne Smalley's Newsweek article: 

"Ron Klein, an uncommitted Florida superdelegate and a Democratic congressman from Boca Raton, said the state's congressional delegation is actively negotiating with both campaigns to work out a mutually acceptable formula for counting Florida's delegates. Klein waved off suggestions that Obama's campaign lacks an incentive to cooperate, saying both candidates recognize how important it is for the party that Florida's voters feel involved. He also maintained that counting the Florida delegates may have less of an impact on the dynamics of the race than people think. Based on the disputed election results in Florida, Clinton only netted 38 more delegates than Obama, he said, a relatively small gain out of the state's total haul of 212 delegates. 'You have to make some adjustments because neither candidate campaigned here. And we understand that Senator Clinton had an advantage going into it if nobody campaigned,' he said. 'But even if you took one extreme, which is one gets 38 more than the other, it's still not that dramatically different [in terms of the overall race].'"

Hmmmm

Randi Rhodes gets suspended while Limbaugh's acid rants go on and on and on . . .

But I agree, Rhodes is a liberal and liberals are not supposed to say things like that -- I guess.

Obama's book, "Dreams from my Father" is incredible! It is sooooo well written, the diversified vocabulary of it makes it all intriguing. And intribuing it is.

What a background he has and story he had to tell. It reads like fiction, but if it were fiction one would probably put it down as being so unbelievable as to make it ridiculous. His memory for details of it all is also fascinating.

It'll be awhile before I finish this book, I just keep going back to read passages over again. Maybe I should just get the CD and listen to Obama read the book to me.

Hitting close to home...

As most of you know by now, Secretary Hanley's son Patrick was seriously injured in Iraq this weekend. Patrick's injuries include the loss of an arm and a head injury. Assessments of the head injury indicate that there may be no permanent brain damage.  Of course, he is heavily sedated but he is responsive.  It is anticipated that he will arrive late Tuesday at Bethesda, which is a change from earlier plans.

Secretary Hanley does not know when she will return to the office, but SOC will be functioning as well as possible without her being here.

Secretary Hanley has asked me to express her deep gratitude to all who have contacted her.  I would ask you to consider making any contact with her by email at this time. Please pass this information along to members of your respective staffs.

Wayne Turnage
Chief of Staff
Governor Timothy M. Kaine

5:02 PM EDT

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/apr/03/obama-catching-up-in-pennsylvania/

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press
Thursday, April 3, 2008

WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has gained ground on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Pennsylvania by drawing more support from men and younger voters, according to presidential polls in the state.

...

Anderson, IN is my and my hubby's hometown. We have lots of family and friends who live there. Anderson University is religious college for the Church of God. My Mother and Father are both laid to rest in mausoleum on their campus cemetery. Our whole family loves Robert Kennedy. RFK is one of my hubby's heroes. He quotes him a lot.

---

http://www.RippleofHopeMovie.com

Heartland in association with Indiana Black Expo, Inc. will present two screenings of A Ripple of Hope, an independent documentary which was produced by Covenant Productions at Anderson University at the Madame Walker Theatre. Screenings will be at 1 pm and 7:30 pm. The 1 pm screening is geared towards community youth and will be followed by a panel discussion on how we can respect, accept and appreciate the world's rich diversity and different forms of expression. The evening screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by WTLC radio personality Amos Brown. Event sponsored by Locke Reynolds LLP, the Pacers Foundation, Inc. and Fifth Third Bank.

On April 4, 1968, the tragic day when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, Robert F. Kennedy offered a glimmer of hope to a disillusioned inner-city crowd through an inspiring speech he gave in Indianapolis. A Ripple of Hope captures the historical significance of Kennedy's words that fateful day. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Donald Boggs and featuring original music by Grammy Award winner John Colby, A Ripple of Hope uses digitally restored footage to retell this gripping and historic story. Featuring interviews with the late Congresswoman Julia Carson, veteran Indianapolis news anchor Tom Cochrun and others, A Ripple of Hope poignantly relives Kennedy's role in leading Indianapolis through one of this nation's darkest events.

---

btw, Indiana Black Expo is a very BIG DEAL. So is the Indy 500. Lady and Gentlemen start your engines!

5:15 PM EDT

fyi - new Front thread

Does anybody know anything about this or have heard of it?

www.TED.com

Hillary's SD gas tanks are starting to suck fumes... et tu, Jack, Jon?

(CNN) — Two prominent supporters of Hillary Clinton suggested Thursday the New York senator needs to best rival Barack Obama in the total popular vote to have any chance at winning her party's presidential nomination.

In separate media interviews, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and Pennsylvania Rep. Jack Murtha both indicated they believed Clinton will be unable to convince enough superdelegates to support her if she finishes second to Obama in both the pledged delegate count and the popular vote.

clip... Corzine also suggested he himself may cast his superdelegate vote for Obama should Clinton fail to win the popular vote, though the New Jersey governor insisted he thought Clinton would come out on top in that count if the Florida and Michigan contests were counted.

Murtha echoed Corzine's sentiments in an interview later Thursday, saying, "Clinton has to win Pennsylvania…She has to be ahead in the popular vote to have any chance at all of getting this nomination."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/03/clinton-backers-she-must-win-popular-vote/

My brother's shop is located in the old Stutz Building downtown Indianapolis. Here is a picure of me with a Stutz Blackhawk replica located in the lobby. The original was crashed on the sands of Daytona Beach.

Photo: http://www.dfalink.com/uploads/group_pho...

http://www.racingcampbells.com/content/c...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stutz