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Democracy for America personal blog for Tom Wyka
My run for Congress (NJ-11)
Linked to groups: Morris County DFA
Two hundred and ninety days ago, I decided that I couldn't stand by any longer and watch the America I knew continue to be dismantled before my eyes. I decided to stop shaking my head at the nightly news and I stepped up to challenge my well-entrenched GOP incumbent Congressman.
I was a David taking on a Goliath. I am not the scion of a political dynasty reaching back to the 18th century, whose name is all over the local landscape. Instead, I come from a long line of recent Polish immigrants. I don’t have a personal fortune valued in the millions of dollars as so many in Congress do. In fact, I have had to continue to work at a regular job throughout this campaign, what some might call "uniquely American." Perhaps most important, I would be running in a district that had traditionally been so “safe” for my opponent’s party that my own party had never run a serious challenge. This also meant that I would get exactly zero support from outside the district. So we all knew that we were facing nearly impossible odds. But that’s not what’s important.
What the volunteers on my campaign and I have been doing is building a movement here in Morris County. It is a movement based on a dream, what was once called the American Dream. It’s a belief in hard work, and what hard work should lead to. We believe that hard work should provide a decent living, and a secure retirement. We need an accountable government that supports a society that is safe, healthy, and smart. Safe means a sensible and decent foreign policy, adherence to the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, greater protection for the environment, and a major, concerted effort to free us from dependence on foreign oil. Healthy means universal health care, which is considered a birthright in all other industrialized nations and which is far more cost-effective than the system we currently have. Smart means better funding for education, from Head Start through college.
We believe that our government is one of the people, by the people, and for the people—not for corporations at the expense of the people. For this reason, I challenged the incumbent to a $50,000 spending limit. He ignored this challenge and raised over $900,000 for this campaign cycle, much of it from industry PACs. As in previous years, his own campaign expenses were much less that this, so he was able to make significant donations to the campaigns of other Republicans, many of whom are antiabortion zealots or have appalling environmental records. Thus, the money donated to the “moderate” of Morris County went to support the campaigns of extremists in “red” states. Incidentally, my campaign was far more "cost-effective" than his: we spent approximately 24 cents for every vote we earned, as opposed to the incumbent's $6.50 per vote.
We have accomplished several important things in this election cycle. First, we have started to build a movement. People are coming together and learning important new skills. Second, we have won a higher percentage of votes than any previous first-time candidate or Democratic candidate in the history of the 11th District (37%). One can only speculate how much higher the percentage would have been if my opponent had allowed our debate to be televised. Third, we have established a new set of benchmarks for how a candidate’s performance should be judged. From now on, the congressional representative of district 11 will be judged by his voting record, not by his family tree or how personable he seems to be. No longer will our Congressman be able to go to the veterans’ hospitals and press the flesh without being asked why he and his colleagues have a poor voting record on disabled veterans’ issues. No longer will he be able to have a photo-op at a Superfund site without someone asking why he got only 33% on the League of Conservation Voters’ scorecard. No longer will it be possible to praise a congressman for getting a few million dollars for the Highlands Preservation when he helped the federal government squander hundreds of billions of dollars on a completely unnecessary war-without-end in Iraq. We want accountable government, and accountability begins in district 11.
The volunteers who worked on my campaign, including a core set of DFA faithful, were working for something larger than me. They were working for their own dream of what America can be. They’re still game, and I’m still game. 2008 starts today.
www.TomWyka.com
Be the best you can be? How about be the best target you can be.....................................
CHAPEL HILL - Last year, the Chapel Hill Town Council called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Today, some residents will demand the immediate withdrawal of the Army from Franklin Street.A new Army recruiting station is scheduled to open today at 1502 E. Franklin St., and protesters plan to be there. Citing recent news reports of recruiters lying to potential enlistees, they say they'll march at 3 p.m. from UNC-Chapel Hill's campus to the station, where they have planned a 4 p.m. rally.
"We really tie the construction of this facility to the war in Iraq and the difficulties that the military is having recruiting youth and students," said Ben Carroll, who is involved with UNC-CH Students for a Democratic Society, one of the march's organizers.
Newest in the state
Tucked between a Mexican restaurant and a dentist's office, it is the Army's newest recruiting station in North Carolina. Initially, three recruiters will work out of the rented office, with a December goal of enlisting three recruits, said Bob Harrison, public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion in Raleigh.
To some, left-leaning Chapel Hill seems like an unlikely spot to find soldiers. But there has been steady, if modest, interest locally in joining the armed forces, said Linda Parker, the career development coordinator at East Chapel Hill High School. If anything, that interest has increased in recent years, she said.
"I am actually surprised at the interest," she said.
About 9 percent of East Chapel Hill High School students enlist each year, go to work or take a year off to decide what career path to take. Parker could not say exactly what percentage enlist each year.
Last year, East students scored higher than those at other North Carolina public school on the SATs, and 86 percent headed to four-year colleges.
Still, those who choose the military are often supported by their peers, Parker said.
"The students respect the choices that their peers are making. They are not necessarily driven by the stereotype of the peace protester," she said.
Deceptive tactics?
But Carroll said the military overstates the money recruits can get in bonuses or toward education. He said recruiters often exaggerate how easy studying would be and misrepresent the likelihood of war deployment as well.
"We are not just saying we don't want military recruiters in Chapel Hill," Carroll said. "We don't want them in our schools and targeting our youth."
The Army admits that a few recruiters try to deceive potential recruits, Harrison said, and the Army does offer recruiters financial incentives to enlist as many people as they can.
Still, the Army doesn't want to dupe people into enlisting, he said.
"It is important to the Army that everyone coming into the Army makes an informed choice," he said. "They need to make [their decisions] with more than just the information they get from the recruiter. They need to make it in counsel with their family ... and make an informed decision."
Visits to schools
Parker tells students to just say "no" if they aren't interested in the military and said recruiters who routinely visit the school respect its rules.
Staff Sgt. Bruce Hall stops by East Chapel Hill High to recruit for the N.C. Army National Guard about once a week. He said he is honest with recruits because he will see them for years to come during monthly weekend training.
"There are some recruiters, their tactics are definitely in question," he said.
Tom Wyka's campaign was never about money. It was about ideas, which flowed easily from that campaign - both policy ideas and strategic campaign ideas.
And it was about people. Morris DFA/PDA had canvassers going out 60-70 at a time on the weekends; you only get that if the candidate is inspiring (he is) and if the efforts are beautifully-organized (they were). You'd have to be from New Jersey to know how vivid this effort was; Morris County, NJ is apple-red, and has been written off by Democrats for years. But the people who live, and who organize there read NJ-11 beautifully, saw their opportunities and began building not a flash-in-the-pan campaign or two, but a vibrant movement of loyal Democrats and independents who know they're going to make change.
Morris DFA/PDA used to be the little engine that could. Now they're the big engine that could. Bravo.
Phil: LOL The US military is afraid of no one and is quite capable of dealing with anyone IT MIGHT FACE IN BATTLE. The people it is afraid of are the folks like you, Cheney, cC, Fred and the nutty lefties and righties. This post is to you, do I can use you to illustrate but what I am saying could be said about you and the others I mentioned in this paragraphs. IN fact the far left and the far right are the greatest threat to the US military. You have no connection with the US military other then “citizen”. As you have so well told us, your child is learning six languages so he isn’t going to serve. I am pretty certain NOT ONE of your relatives is serving or we would have heared about it from you. Yeah you “know” people who were are are in the military but that is it. Despite your expertise at the Iowa War College, you alos know very little about the military or military history or what it takes to run a military operation. That is very widespread here. Puddle, Monica, Mike, everyone is an” expert” in the military, without any credentials. cC’s best stab at it is that she loves to post “experts” who agree with her “gut guesses”. So other then the stake of an uninformed citizen who is responding to his/her ideological beliefs you have no real stake in the military. BUT you are fired up eager to send it. Like Cheney you know more then the uninformed military about what it is going to take to win. “Armed guys on horseback” reminded me a lot of Cheney’s “They will just step aside and great us as liberators”. There is not a single person in the uniformed military with stars that things Darfur would be you or Fred’s or whomever’s cake walk. NOT A ONE. NOT A SINGLE Brigade or equivalent commander told Cheney/Rummy that their plans could do what they wanted to do in Iraq. And you laugh when they were ignored, BUT YOU ARE VERY QUICK to take Rummy and Cheney’s place. And when it does work out? Had we only listened to you. JudyforDean in the last thread talked about the incompetence in the military. As if she would know. This is the person who “competently” made Colin Powell the Secretary General of the US. But like Cheney etc, you guys are so smart. And like then, you are smart with other people’s lives. The US military goes where the Soverign tells it to go. But once it is there it stays there AT THE COURAGE LEVEL NOT OF THE MILITARY…but of the soverign. You have no stake in Iraq other then uninformed citizen, but when your courage quits you are the first one to start beating the drum to leave. If Dems were in power and sent the troops to DArfur on their Peace Corps with guns, the other “Extremes” would be doing the same thing…as soon as it got just a little tough..their courage would fail. And they would say “cut and run”. All because their contribution to the “war” as it is, is politics back home. And that breaks faith with the people in the military. Everyone who joins knows or soon learns that the constant companion of the military is death…theirs. Even in peacetime but certainly in war, it is always there. It is not wanted, but it is something you know. What you count on, depend on if you are in the military is that if you have the courage to offer up your life on the alter of national existence, then the people back home who have nothing but YOUR LIFE at stake will have the courage to surmount their political differences and see the effort that was started through. Not just get tired and say “I cant take the pain on the TV stop it”. I was opposed to going to Iraq. I was opposed from day 1 to Bush and his presidency. But we did not get to Iraq just on his nickel. ALL THE MECHANISMs of The Republic came into play and took us there. Then in 04 we reaffirmed that decision by reelecting the Commander in Chief who elected to take us there. There was a lot of debate on the subject, a lot of back and forth. That is when the politics of it should have come into play. There have been enormous mistakes made. They cost lives. The people who made those mistakes should have been gone a long time ago. But you in Iraq and the right in Kosovo/OBL have kept the politics intertwined in the war long after the decision by the people’s representatives to go there. AND THAT IS ULTIMATLY THE ONLY STAKE YOU HAVE IN THE NATIONS FOREIGN POLICY…the politics of it. Because your kids are not in the fight, your relatives are not in the fight, and you are not in the fight. You have in all respects failed the “honest foreign policy test”. If you had said what everyone who knows the situation in Darfur said “It is bad, fixing it will take a lot of money, time, and American bodies; and we know that going in but it is in the national interest to do so”. Then we could have had a debate. Instead you, Fred, and others have said “It will be easy, wont cost that much money, and very few lives, but when the number of lives exceeds a certain number, then we are done”. All that tells me is that 1) you are willing to waste lives to a certain number and 2) you are not willing to stick it out when things get tough.; And when you made it clear that your son would not be going then you fit the Dick Cheney and neo con mold perfectly. Like the company? Robert
Phil: (
a repost to try and correct spacing on my PDA)
LOL
The US military is afraid of no one and is quite capable of dealing with anyone IT MIGHT FACE IN BATTLE.
The people it is afraid of are the folks like you, Cheney, cC, Fred and the nutty lefties and righties. This post is to you, do I can use you to illustrate but what I am saying could be said about you and the others I mentioned in this paragraphs.
IN fact the far left and the far right are the greatest threat to the US military.
You have no connection with the US military other then “citizen”. As you have so well told us, your child is learning six languages so he isn’t going to serve. I am pretty certain NOT ONE of your relatives is serving or we would have heared about it from you. Yeah you “know” people who were are are in the military but that is it.
Despite your expertise at the Iowa War College, you alos know very little about the military or military history or what it takes to run a military operation.
That is very widespread here. Puddle, Monica, Mike, everyone is an” expert” in the military, without any credentials. cC’s best stab at it is that she loves to post “experts” who agree with her “gut guesses”.
So other then the stake of an uninformed citizen who is responding to his/her ideological beliefs you have no real stake in the military.
BUT you are fired up eager to send it.
Like Cheney you know more then the uninformed military about what it is going to take to win. “Armed guys on horseback” reminded me a lot of Cheney’s “They will just step aside and great us as liberators”.
There is not a single person in the uniformed military with stars that things Darfur would be you or Fred’s or whomever’s cake walk. NOT A ONE. NOT A SINGLE Brigade or equivalent commander told Cheney/Rummy that their plans could do what they wanted to do in Iraq. And you laugh when they were ignored,
BUT YOU ARE VERY QUICK to take Rummy and Cheney’s place.
And when it does work out? Had we only listened to you. JudyforDean in the last thread talked about the incompetence in the military. As if she would know. This is the person who “competently” made Colin Powell the Secretary General of the US.
But like Cheney etc, you guys are so smart. And like then, you are smart with other people’s lives. The US military goes where the Soverign tells it to go.
But once it is there it stays there AT THE COURAGE LEVEL NOT OF THE MILITARY…but of the soverign.
You have no stake in Iraq other then uninformed citizen, but when your courage quits you are the first one to start beating the drum to leave. If Dems were in power and sent the troops to DArfur on their Peace Corps with guns, the other “Extremes” would be doing the same thing…as soon as it got just a little tough..their courage would fail. And they would say “cut and run”.
All because their contribution to the “war” as it is, is politics back home.
And that breaks faith with the people in the military. Everyone who joins knows or soon learns that the constant companion of the military is death…theirs. Even in peacetime but certainly in war, it is always there. It is not wanted, but it is something you know.
What you count on, depend on if you are in the military is that if you have the courage to offer up your life on the alter of national existence, then the people back home who have nothing but YOUR LIFE at stake will have the courage to surmount their political differences and see the effort that was started through.
Not just get tired and say “I cant take the pain on the TV stop it”.
I was opposed to going to Iraq. I was opposed from day 1 to Bush and his presidency. But we did not get to Iraq just on his nickel. ALL THE MECHANISMs of The Republic came into play and took us there. Then in 04 we reaffirmed that decision by reelecting the Commander in Chief who elected to take us there.
There was a lot of debate on the subject, a lot of back and forth. That is when the politics of it should have come into play.
There have been enormous mistakes made. They cost lives. The people who made those mistakes should have been gone a long time ago.
But you in Iraq and the right in Kosovo/OBL have kept the politics intertwined in the war long after the decision by the people’s representatives to go there.
AND THAT IS ULTIMATLY THE ONLY STAKE YOU HAVE IN THE NATIONS FOREIGN POLICY…the politics of it.
Because your kids are not in the fight, your relatives are not in the fight, and you are not in the fight.
You have in all respects failed the “honest foreign policy test”. If you had said what everyone who knows the situation in Darfur said “It is bad, fixing it will take a lot of money, time, and American bodies; and we know that going in but it is in the national interest to do so”.
Then we could have had a debate.
Instead you, Fred, and others have said “It will be easy, wont cost that much money, and very few lives, but when the number of lives exceeds a certain number, then we are done”.
All that tells me is that 1) you are willing to waste lives to a certain number and 2) you are not willing to stick it out when things get tough.
And when you made it clear that your son would not be going then you fit the Dick Cheney and neo con mold perfectly. Like the company? Robert
Jennie, I think it is way too late to send it by snail mail.
Good morning, all.
look who's baack...Trent Lott
Lott returned to the center of power by getting the position of vote-counting GOP whip, nosing out Sen. Lamar Alexander (news, bio, voting record). Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record) told reporters that Lott beat Alexander by a 25-24 vote.
Trent Lott has been chosen as Senate Minority Leader.
Another kick in the groin for Karl Rove who stuck the knife in his back in 2002.
congratulations to Trent Lott...what a personal comeback...
there are second acts in politics
Wonder who McNasty voted for?
Robert
Juliette Kayyem on the Iraq Study Group:
Baker/Hamilton is going to decide amongst a hodge-podge of less than ideal options. That is all. We've heard the options before. Baker may be more agreeable than Rumsfeld, but what we are waiting for is not a new idea, but the political cover to make some sort of change of course -- likely a combination of troop reduction and redeployment. That, too, is nothing new.
I hate to get off the Baker/Hamilton bandwagon. I think the political cover to do what ought to be done is still commendable, and, for the members of the Iraq Study Group, a service to this nation, a good attempt to move a seemingly unmoveable President. But, let's stop with the breathless anticipation.
Wed, 11/15/06
11:03 am
Reply to this
Good morning, all.
look who's baack...Trent Lott..
Lott is a far better choice then Alexander. Lamar is stunningly bad on TV off the cuff interviews. Lott is stunningly good.
It is an amazing personal comeback by a person who had fallen somewhat. His unfortunate remarks aside it is an amaing come back.
Robert
Ms. Dowd has a strong, smart piece on the battle between Bush administration insider realists and idealists and juxtaposes Bush's inflexibility with Reagan's dramatic turns.
Read the whole thing, but here's the best:
Bush junior cast himself as the Reagan heir. But as President Reagan showed in Lebanon, when he pulled out troops after 241 servicemen were blown up, and in Reykjavik negotiating with Mikhail Gorbachev on nuclear arms, he was incredibly flexible -- an effective contrast with his inflexible rhetoric. He pursued openings and even radical diplomacy.If the Gipper was wood, the Decider is stone.
Voters rejected W.'s black-and-white, good-and-evil, incompetent foreign policy last week. The president got the message that some shades of gray were desirable and brought in the family fixer with the bright green ties, who is perfectly positioned to come up with a solution that will fly in Washington and flop in Baghdad.
As the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr taught, morality without realism is naïvite or worse, and realism without morality is cynicism or worse. Morality should open your eyes, not close them.
Let's hope the President gets to reading the papers today.
-- Steve Clemons
cC is right. Lott is the new Whip. Still, a sign of Rove's newfound weakness.
*** cChalfonte***
Wed, 11/15/06
11:05 am
People like you and the person you quoted who have little knowledge in the real world...dont have a real clue what the Baker/Hamilton group is trying to do.
Baker and Hamilton are 1) realist and 2) enablers. Both know how to wheel and deal to get the political machinery to function.
I am willing to wait and see what they come up with. You dont have the expertise to do otherwise.
Robert
Issued today by Senator Harry Reid's office:
AGRICULTURE -- Tom Harkin
APPROPRIATIONS -- Robert Byrd
ARMED SERVICES -- Carl Levin
BANKING -- Chris Dodd
COMMERCE -- Daniel Inouye
ENERGY -- Jeff Bingaman
ENVIRONMENT & PUBLIC WORKS -- Barbara Boxer
FINANCE -- Max Baucus
FOREIGN RELATIONS -- Joseph Biden
HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR & PENSIONS -- Edward Kennedy
HOMELAND & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS -- Joseph Lieberman
JUDICIARY -- Patrick Leahy
INTELLIGENCE -- John D. Rockefeller IV
BUDGET -- Kent Conrad
AGING -- Herb Kohl
VETERANS -- Daniel Akaka
SMALL BUSINESS -- John Kerry
RULES -- Dianne Feinstein
JOINT ECONOMIC -- Chuck Schumer
INDIAN AFFAIRS -- Byron Dorgan
-- Steve Clemons
I like this idea:
Here are copies of two letters that Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Jim Walsh (R-NY) have distributed today to Members of Congress calling for the President to nominate Congressman Jim Leach as US Ambassador to the United Nations "in the event that Ambassador Bolton's term is not extended."
Here is the "Dear Colleague".
Here is the letter that they are asking Members to co-sign.
So far, after a jog along the mall today, Congressman Blumenauer ran into both Representatives Chris Shays (R-CT) and Jim Marshall (D-GA) who agreed on the spot to be the first co-signatories after Blumenauer and Walsh.
It's a good start.
-- Steve Clemons
Curious as to Phil's thoughts on this one.
ok...gotta run. bbl this afternoon.
Hope you all have a great day:)
Kudos to Tom (how about a Howardly, Phil?) for stepping up to the challenge. Build on the foundation you created....but beware of the Democratic machine.
Maybe I missed it, but why did we never hear about this campaign until after the election? Is DFA too timid in supporting long shots?
We need to spend some time meeting about how we're going to make gains next time around. The fact is: if a Congressional District gets close to switching, we can expect Rahm Emmanuel to swoop in and work against us. The DCCC doesn't care or help as we prepare the groundwork necessary for a future win. They're quite happy to see us take on very red districts as this one. But then completely disrespect our work and take us for granted when/if the win is possible.
Christine Cegelis is a good example of this. Our shining success story is Carol Shea-Porter and we need to explore how we expand that strategy around the country.
Tom Wyka's campaign taught us many things. First, that a progressive grassroots candidate CAN gain incredible traction even on a shoestring budget. I recieved about 4 mailings from Rodney Frelinghuysen this time around, clearly he had done some polling and found large #s of voters ready to consider Tom. Keep in mind NJ-11, albeit very Republican, cast 44% of its votes for John Kerry. Clearly there was a large swath of the district ready to vote for Tom. Second Tom's message of "Take Back your government" struck a strong cord. Far too many believe the Federal Govt only serves the powerful and well connected and not average Americans. Tom's campaign as an average man running for office against a guy who inherited the seat won over many voters. The canvassing and phoning we did for Tom clearly helped, as he won most of the areas we canvassed the most. Also of note, Tom won several Large towns like Livingston, Morristown and Dover that we had failed to win in the past.
Although we got 37%, a record high for us (previous record 31%) there is much we can improve upon when Tom runs in 2008:
1) we only raised/spent about $20,000 we really need about 5X that to be able to blanket the district with mail, TV ads and billboards etc.
2) we need to start earlier with our free media campaign and generate ways to build better free press
3) we need to build a much larger email list of supporters throughout the district and begin to email people flyers with targeted messages to pass around their towns
4) we need to continue to build strong Democratic clubs/groups in every town in the District so they can form the backbone of the campaign.
As Tom said, 2008 starts now. We fully intend to build upon our 37% showing and continue to hold Rodney accountable for his voting record.
Chip Robinson, Coordinator, Morris County Democrats
wow, not only did the rethugs take a beating but they are actually endorsing racism by putting trent lott as a leader in the rethug senate. I guess they thought they had something with that ford ad in tennessee. good job rnc, you just lost the '08 election.
congrats mike, you go and protest, proud of you kiddo.
I find it quite funny that raul emmanual and his cronies are congratulating themselves on the election.
hello!!!!!!! it wasn't u raul, it was the progressive movement, you nit wit.
Wed, 11/15/06
11:20 am
Reply to this
wow, not only did the rethugs take a beating but they are actually endorsing racism by putting trent lott as a leader in the rethug senate. I..
this coming from someone who worked for a guy who endorsed sexism.
"A horney womans dream".
LOL
Robert
OT-- Tom Wycat excellent post -- congrats on putting up such a great fight.
This is exactly why I voted for electorial reform in the weDemocrats poll. Link below
Rocky Jones
Wed, 11/15/06
11:23 am
Taunting and name-calling again??? Another example of a troll breaking the blog rules with impunity. LIndab worked her heart out for a candidate she believed in...and as a result Dems control the Senate. So stuff it, Rocky.
HQ, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS?
If you write LTEs, do mention, if only in passing, what the responsibilities of chairs are and may be. Suggest a contrast with the Republican practice of shutting out Democrats, figuratively and physically.
Indy Steve
Wed, 11/15/06
11:32 am
If Lott is a racist then Webb is a sexist. I am merely pointing out her logical inconsistency which is a trade mark of a lot of people here.
Robert
People like you and the person you quoted who have little knowledge in the real world...dont have a real clue what the Baker/Hamilton group is trying to do.
The people who supposedly DO have knowledge sure have screwed up. And it's obvious what the B-H study group is trying to do....
Indy Steve
Wed, 11/15/06
11:32 am
Haven't you heard Indy: "You have the power!" So you have the power not to listen, to respond, to even pay attention. Wait on HQ, and you will be waiting for a mighty long time.
25.
His name is RAHM, not Raul. Which may be part of the problem. Rahm means "cream" in German. So, he may think of himself as the "cream of the crop," while critics think of him as a cream-puff. Perhaps an inferiority complex is what makes him so obnoxious.
31.
Glad I turned on images. LOL, Sitka.
Indy Steve
Wed, 11/15/06
11:32 am
As for name calling. When you call down Sitka, cC and others who do it routinly then I will hvae more faith in your objectivity. Until you do then I dont.
Robert
teatimetim NE Ohio
Wed, 11/15/06
11:35 am
I will ignore his petulant posts. But, when he insults and name-calls I will oppose itt, draw attention to it, and send it to HQ for review. Others should do the same. HQ may grow tired of the emails and DO SOMETHING LIKE ENFORCE THEIR OWN RULES. But I don't hold out much hope for it! ;-)
But I will not debate or discuss anything with him until he earns the privilege of intelligent discussion.
Indy Steve
Wed, 11/15/06
11:41 am
The rules don't cut it either way, and are easily curcumvented through insinuation rather then out right name calling.
23.
Have a look at this diary for ideas on how to get the most bang for few bucks.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1...
old man's disease?
Start: 11/16/2006 - 09:00End: 11/16/2006 - 13:00Timezone: ESTdescription:
What: Sneak Preview of “Fast Food Nation”, healthy fast food, and a Press Conference
When: Thursday, November 16th
Where: Hunter College, Brookdale Auditorium, 425 E. 25th (b/w 1st and FDR drive), New York, NY 10010
When: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
RSVP: 914-630-0199 or email Kelley@healthylunches.org and include # in your party, name and contact info (not necessary if you are attending as part of a class, professors, please reserve for class)
9:00 – 9:20: Complimentary continental healthy breakfast (lobby of auditorium)
9:30 – 11:30: Pre-Release Screening of “Fast Food Nation”
11:30 -12:00: Q&A with Eric Schlosser, author of the book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal and Chew on This
12:00 – 12:30: Break and Complimentary healthy “fast-food” tasting (lobby of auditorium, including chocolate and vanilla soy shakes made with Soy Delicious ice cream and Vitasoy soymilk by Candle Café; veggie burgers and chili from Better Burger and Josie’s Restaurants; and pizza by Slice)
12:30 – 1:00: Press Conference featuring Eric Schlosser, Marion Nestle (PhD, MPH), Michele Simon (JD, MPH)
(Everyone is encouraged to stay for the press conference)
For updates and more speaking events visit: http://www.informedeating.org/newbook/newbook.htm
Location:Hunter College, Brookdale Auditorium, 425 E. 25th (b/w 1st and FDR drive), New York, NY 10010 Zip Code:
10010
oops sorry didn't know that post would be sooooo loooong!
Phil Specht
Wed, 11/15/06
11:53 am
A symptom of old mans disease is when the stay at homes courage fails before the courage of the people who are actually in the field.
LOL
Robert
WAR ON CHRISTMAS!?
Just start playing holiday music on the day after Halloween. Folks will be tired of Christmas before Thanksgiving.
I'm of the old school. The Christmas season begins when Santa arrives at Macy's at the end of the Thanksgiving Parade...
I'm a little nervous today. I'll be returning to Rector Street for the first time since my ordeal. Gonna try for 2 hours...
Baker/Hamilton, IMHO, are trying to salvage what they can of a thirty year dream to have a permanent American military presence, including a communications tracking facility, on the southern edge of Asia.
That was the goal in Vietnam and is the goal in Iraq, even though the military seems to have decided that Iraq will never provide the security that Germany has delivered for fifty years.
The reason there's a bi-partisan effort is because both parties have funded these dreams of American Empire anchored on the edge of the Indian Ocean.
Of course, the whole agenda is classified. So, nobody's supposed to talk about it--not the techs setting the facilities up; not the National Guard building the facilities; and certainly not the members of Congress who have provided the money for this pipe-dream.
Why does it have to be secret? Because the American people would laugh the proponents of such a scheme out of the halls of Congress, if they knew. Since, even without knowing, they've thrown a good percentage out, perhaps the others will take their chances and come clean.
Murtha is being attacked because he's said that the permanent bases are a stupid idea. Biden, btw, said they're a no-go, as well. Both, btw, supported funding for the initiate. Which is probably why they were reluctant to make the bases an issue, as Kerry was, lest they be "outed" as flip-floppers.
I remember when the War on Christmas used to be about the War.
40.
The word is "Liebchen" :)
Wed, 11/15/06
11:58 am
Reply to this
Baker/Hamilton, IMHO, are trying to salvage what they can of a thirty year dream to have a permanent American military presence, including a communications tracking facility, on the southern edge of Asia.
MONICA...DONT FORGET THE ICBM BASES....
They are more important then the communications tracking facility...
YOU WERE SO BRAVE...in breaking the news that the ICBM faciliites were being built!
DONT" GIVE UP ON THEM, just because there is no evidence for them!
Robert
By the way since my family who has served there may be called back through the new rules I'm going to be careful how I say this knowing how viscious and vindictive the parrot can be, but the Iowa War College has better intelligence than the five sided building based on accuracy.
and my "advisors" more years of boots on the ground than the bloviator
end of response
I think you all know that the troll is from the george allen school of intelligence.
how shallow can one be? well pretty shallow. george allen never read jim webb's books, they are over 10 pages long so george macaca and are troll where not up to the challenge.
kind of sad but I guess they were some of the chldren left behind.
guess who won? it wasn't allen.
thanks indy steve for the support.
42.
The problem isn't "fast food"; it's "fat food"
Wed, 11/15/06
12:01 pm
Iowa War College has better intelligence than the five sided building based on accuracy...
That is right PHil. YOu who have never served in uniform, dont have a clue how the military operates, never been to Africa not once, know more about what it would take to win in Darfur then the Uninformed leaders of the military.
You and Greggie. Greggie knew more then the Army Chief of Staff......
LOL
The courage and knowledge of the stay at homes.
Robert
Have been gone a few days. Went to chincogteague for a few days and spent yesterday on the beautiful beach at assateague. so awesome. as my husband fished I read and so it was well, wonderful.
after the election I needed a rest. but about after one day I started thinking., next up in va is the state leg. elections . and as in the last election, we need to get rid of the racist, hateful people that gave us the gay marriage ammendment. these so called leg. are biggoted and racist.
so next up for our city committee is to get rid of these do nothings. we are coming for ya.
Our city committee made a great difference in the outcome in last weeks elections . and my friends on the ground in northern va. where the tipping point that gave the election to jim webb.
and you know what? he is the real deal . not a "anybody but allen" candidate. he has heart, intelligence, and backbone. so these are the candidates we need next election cycle.
and I just got a thank you note from one of my precinct captains, we had 42, and he said "congratulations" , I said why would you say that? you are the ones that made a difference. well he said, we would not have been at the precincts if you hadn't set it up and give us the tools we needed. I did it cause we need to be the foot soldiers to take out country back.
howard dean told us that. he is my hero.
Have a good day, folks. Suggest you scroll the way you'd avoid dog poop on the sidewalk.
A symptom of old mans disease is when the stay at homes courage fails before the courage of the people who are actually in the field.
You're equating courage with stupidity.
The stupidity of some, like John Murtha who initially supported Halliburton's War, has indeed failed -- and that's a good thing.
But some, like you and Pat Buchanan who originally opposed Bush's Folly, have acquired the stupidity to now support it -- but fortunately, you are an ever shrinking minority.
As for me, I never supported it and still don't.
Subway, good luck❣ You'll do fine ~~ great hearts rule❣
Lunchtime Tune: Story of a Life
Sitka
Wed, 11/15/06
12:11 pm
Murtha is a George McClellan....and a fraud who barely avoided indictment only by selling out the other folks.
Robert
❣lindab❣
You did it, and you are doing it!! Others talk, and then talk some more ~~ you are right out there in the middle of it! I'm glad you got some down time, and did something beautiful and renewing with it. No one deserves it more. You are Howard Dean's dream.
Wed, 11/15/06
12:12 pm
the courage of a know it all...
Be kinder to Brother Phil. He has never served a day in the military but he knows more about Darfur then the "UNINFORMED" people who run th eUS military.
He and Greggie had never served a day in the US military but he knew more then the "uninformed" Army Chief of Staff about how many troops would be needed in Iraq.
Robert
puddle, thank you so much. I just did what I needed to do, no more no less. we are the ones who can make a difference.
hope all is well with u.
Murtha is a George McClellan....and a fraud who barely avoided indictment only by selling out the other folks.
You're a Confederate supporting a cause that is not only doomed, but wrong and immoral in the first place. I suspect you are a fraud too.
I was struck by the interview with the now retired Commander of the Ist Marines saying he got no answer to the question he had about Phase IV and went to war anyway. Why didn't he resign his commission rather than send in his troops with such knowledge?
I guess I don't know how the military works, I thought there had been an acceptance of the Powell Doctrine.
238.
rich^kolker
Wed, 11/15/06
10:48 am
rdorgan,
Any move away from the course we were taking is welcome, but neither am I ready to accept the attitude, "you reformers are free to shovel coal into the ship's boilers, just don't ask to be captain." It always seems (to make this personal) I am being asked to accept others as part of my big tent, but they are free to throw me out of their big tent.
**********
249.
Pat in Colorado
Wed, 11/15/06
11:57 am
Hi again,
Maybe, the captain should be less important.
----------
That's very interesting subject Rich touched, imo, because it belongs to the area where we (and the rest of the World) have no or very little experience..., we'll have to "learn as we go"...
Anyway, about captains, how many of them do we need?
Just the ONE called "President" for one single huge ship?
Or very many "captains" for much bigger number of much smaller "ships"?
How to find/choose/buy those very many "captains"?
Are they (will they become) important or not, as Pat says?
Subway should take a peek at HEP's top post
Boy...................someone got up on the wrong side of the sand dune today..............................
:+]
I think we saw in this election cycle was a rebuke of the hate mongering by the right.
and on this blog we have someone of shallow circumstance, still trying ot push what petulant agenda he has left. kind of sad but somehow the progressives have started to grow a backbone and we won't be stopped.
americans have been lulled to sleep by der fuhrer who rules by hateful retoric. well. we have woken up and are going to take back this country from the hate mongerers, one of which has attached himself to this blog. he enjoys spewing hate to all. what a sad way to live.
Boy...................someone got up on the wrong side of the sand dune today..............................
true, so true.
Frankly, I think that some people haven't yet digested that there's a new paradigm. The people who have been activated for this election aren't going to go back to sleep again.
There is no way, for example, that our internet guru in NH-01 is ever going to return to being a person that doesn't pay attention to political people and issues. And he's just one.
I like to say that politics is an acquired taste and lots of people have now acquired it. We need politics to be as popular as baseball and golf--with the difference that instead of just being spectators, the afficionados are participants.
question? is impeachment the only legal way to get rid of der fuhrer and his alter ego?
You're equating courage with stupidity.
The stupidity of some, like John Murtha who initially supported Halliburton's War, has indeed failed -- and that's a good thing.
But some, like you and Pat Buchanan who originally opposed Bush's Folly, have acquired the stupidity to now support it -- but fortunately, you are an ever shrinking minority.
As for me, I never supported it and still don't.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sitka,
Something tells me you wont be in attendance at Roberts welcome home parade?
I was struck by the interview with the now retired Commander of the Ist Marines saying he got no answer to the question he had about Phase IV and went to war anyway.
It's disturbing how so many who knew better, such as Colin Powell and the generals, let themselves be herded into Iraq like cattle by a bunch of NeoCon chickenhawks.
What a great bunch of Committee Chairs in the Senate.
Tom Harkin wrote the last farm bill and it was a good one so this will be easier. With our control of the House the Conservation Provisions will be funded.
76.
Sitka
Wed, 11/15/06
12:31 pm
I was struck by the interview with the now retired Commander of the Ist Marines saying he got no answer to the question he had about Phase IV and went to war anyway.
----------
It's disturbing how so many who knew better, such as Colin Powell and the generals, let themselves be herded into Iraq like cattle by a bunch of NeoCon chickenhawks.
********
Well, they had "The Captain"..., the ONLY ONE...
WEll, yet another blog thread shot to he!!. But I want to shout out to Tom and his supporters to come back sometime when the discussion is real. Thanks for all your hard work.
Too bad.....because the new folks who come here to support Tom and his campaign will be immediately driven away by one troll. HQ, you are building a new blog and doing a good job of driving people to it. BUT it will go down the drain unless you enforce the rules.
I'm outta here.
linda b
Wed, 11/15/06
12:28 pm
Reply to this
question? is impeachment the only legal way to get rid of der fuhrer and his alter ego?
.................................................................................................................................................
Resigning is a legal means of leaving office. Some of the 2008 Republican candidates might be in favor that route.
Well, they had "The Captain"..., the ONLY ONE...
Everyone knows the Captain isn't squat without Tennille.....
I hate to say it, but the Captain looks like Charlie Graspski.
Interesting. . . .
204.I Need A Name
Wed, 11/15/06
9:36 am
Comment removed due to violation of copyright and Terms of Service.
puddle
Wed, 11/15/06
12:56 pm
Looks like stat man, aka, what ever posted some content that was either offensive, or protected, or an unattributed source.
new thread
76.
I think they were sold on the premise that the peace of the world depends on the US maintaining nuclear superiority and being able to keep track of what every other nation was up to.
It probably never occurred to the military that it was being used to enforce monopolies and promote the enrichment of a particular class of elites.
The military always have to consider that, if they didn't intervene, things would be so much worse. There's a large dollop of paranoia that directs their thinking.
What would you do if you thought you were helping to keep China from targeting us with nukes? How would it be different from the time when everyone in the US was convinced that if the Soviet Union wasn't "contained" they would nuke us?
Tom - 290 days later - you continue to inspire. Your campaign was empowering to so many activists who too often hear about "unwinnable" districts. The question is not whether, but when we will win. And "how" we'll win is easy - with smart, strong, committed, progressive candidates like you. Thanks!
-JG
TeaTime ~~ from Denise, at 208.
204, whoever you are - I sure hope you didn't lift that from the Wall Street Journal without permission. You didn't provide a source link either. Careful there buddy. Dow Jones Inc doesn't take stuff like that lightly.
The Carol Gay Team was cheering for Tom on Election night at the Menendez Rally in East Brunswick! Tom ran a great campaign using the DFA model and Jeff is 100% right, With inspiring candidates like Tom and Carol, Rich Sexton, Linda Stender, it's just a matter of time till NJ is "True Blue" all over!
RK :0)
Great going Tom and all others involved!
Frankly, I think that some people haven't yet digested that there's a new paradigm. The people who have been activated for this election aren't going to go back to sleep again.
There is no way, for example, that our internet guru in NH-01 is ever going to return to being a person that doesn't pay attention to political people and issues. And he's just one.
I like to say that politics is an acquired taste and lots of people have now acquired it. We need politics to be as popular as baseball and golf--with the difference that instead of just being spectators, the afficionados are participants.
Thanks for all the (relevant) comments. You folks get it!
Thanks also for Carol's story in NH. I knew there were others out there with a better message to beat the big money.
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By David Cochran on Nov 15, 2006 9:18 AM ESTGo Tom! You said it right. Building a movement is about year-round organizing, so when the elections come around, the infrastructure is in place for the campaign mobilizing to stand on. DFA or Morris County will continue year-round events, activities, and more, to get Tom elected to Congress in NJ's 11th District!
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