Howard Dean and only Howard Dean is first around these parts!

Have a fun but safe New Years Eve all you Dean guys and gals. "See" ya next year.

Political mail from the last day of the year, here in good ol' Iowa....

1 My Congressman's (Bruce Braley) Special Report on Recalled Toys

2 Happy Holidays cards from Bruce Braley

2 Pro Hillary from AFSCME

1 Exercise your rights and caucus letter from onevote08.org

2 Pro Obama from the Obama campaign

2 Exercise your rights and caucus from the Iowa State Education Association

1 Exercise your rights and caucus from 'Strong American Schools'

1 Pro Hillary from the Hillary campaign

AND, the most interesting.......

1 Pro Ron Paul from the Ron Paul for President campaign  (they must have forgotten that I am an active Democrat)

 Take care all and have a happy and safe New Year's Eve Celebration!

What's wrong with trial lawyers?
by kos
Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 01:10:31 PM PST

I am really starting to see Obama as someone who will rush to embrace every right-wing talking point against every Democratic constituencies.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/31...

Happy New Year Deaniacs!

In a speech this afternoon in central Iowa, Barack Obama seems to have widened his criticism of the politics of the past to encompass not only Hillary Clinton but John Kerry and Nobel Laureate Al Gore.

Making an argument for his electability, Obama said, "I don't want to go into the next election starting off with half the country already not wanting to vote for Democrats -- we've done that in 2004, 2000," according to a person at the event (rush transcript).

http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/local/lo...

oops...too late.

Answer to your question on a previous thread.

19.

audrey.nc
Mon, 12/31/07

Congressman McNerney is the best thing that has happened for Central California in decades.

----

From Jerry: "After the Iraq vote: A time for courage, vigilance and action"
This is a time for courage.

This morning, you woke up to the unfortunate news that a "compromise" bill was passed in Congress last night giving President Bush a blank check to continue waging the war in Iraq.

As you may know, this supplemental funding bill did not include:

1. Enforceable benchmarks.

2. A reasonable timetable for withdrawal.

3. Any requirement to initiate a diplomatic strategy to end this conflict (a primary recommendation of the Iraq Study Group).

4. Provisions to ensure that our soldiers are prepared, rested, and ready to wage this war as safely as possible until it is brought to an end.

Without these fundamentally important conditions, I could not vote for this bill. With a heavy heart, I voted "No" because I cannot, in good conscience, grant President Bush another blank check.

Beyond my insistence on the necessity for diplomacy and the proper care and protection for our troops and veterans, I have consistently called for real benchmarks and a reasonable redeployment timetable. This bill provided neither. That's why it was a blank check to the President.

This is a time for vigilance. read the Congressman's full post: http://podcast.jerrymcnerney.com/2007/05...

12.31.2007 3:05 pm Barack Obama (437) Democrats (1640) 2008 (1027) Al Gore (38) General (1458)




Obama Attacks Gore in Iowa

No one has reported on this yet. I got this from a reader who heard this went down in Iowa, then confirmed it and emailed me the quote:
"I don't want to go into the next election starting off with half the country already not wanting to vote for Democrats, we've done that in 2004, 2000." - Barack Obama


Going out in style.

Not only does Mr. Obama attack Kerry, but he goes after Al Gore, someone with impeccable credentials who the entire Democratic party rightly respects. As for 2000, I think Mr. Obama needs an American history lesson. Seriously, is there no Democrat Mr. Obama won't attack for his own ends?

http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view...

Invest in a shredder, Kevin...what a waste of $$$ (and landfill expense).

I'll be glad when IA & NH are over.

Sick and tired of hearing the blather, re: "polls" and one-up spin.

Go, Rep. Tom Allen & Chellie Pingree (ME U.S. Sen. & House races).

http://www.actblue.com/page/mf

http://tomallen.org/index.asp

Proud feminist supporter of Chellie...since forever (I'm named twice on her list, but don't tell anyone). :::wink:::

http://tinyurl.com/yslcla

http://chelliepingree.com/

Murderous complicit Susan Collins is kaput...an abject disgrace.

But Linda ~~ He's a *Uniter* (sound familiar?)

8:20 pm

Lead article from previous thread....

When promoting HR676 and mentioning the lack of presidential candidates supporting a not for profit health care plan, Dennis Kucinich should be mentioned. He worked with John Conyers and co-authored the bill. It is one of the key issues of his campaign.

10. puddle Oh yeah...he's a UNITER alright....uniting everyone against HIM!.

I do have to get in that habit Susan recommended of timing our own posts.

8:42PM

susan Rowe.....7

Thank you Susan, that's good to hear. I somehow was getting the impression that he was overly impressed with the surge.

Pombo was the enemy of planet earth itself. McNerney is a saint if he just warms the seat, but of course he is much much better than that.

Happy New Year.

Phil... 9pm

Much better than Pombo.

My wish that DFA grows by leaps and bounds, and that we see much more of Howard in his successful endeavors, and DFAers much hope and energy just in case we need extra.

Happy New Year

Hey guys - Brian and I are on our second glasses of Prosecco. May the best candidate win in Iowa. I wish it was Gore, Feingold or our Howard but oh well...

Cheers!!!!

Jonathan Alter's (Newsweek) take on the Dem candidates:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/82522/page/3

(for the general election). I'm really sick of this electability stuff (think Kerry).

Oh my! Iowa is turning into a blood bath. Here's Joe Biden regarding Edwards.

(This is from Daily Kos)
------
Edwards, electable? Not so much, according to a blistering memo out this afternoon from Biden Communications Director Larry Rasky.

In short, if John Edwards is so electable, why couldn’t he be re-elected in his home state?"

He then hits Edwards for not carrying his home state as part of the Kerry-Edwards 2004 presidential ticket, and that they even lost Edwards’ home county.

Even better:

The memo ends with, "These are the facts. Wishing you all a happy and thoughtful New Year. Larry."
-------

Hey Puddle, hey Linda in NM, hey Joan, He Jessica, how the health are you all.

I admire you all so much.

Happy New Year.

Off to Richmond next week to see the swearing in of our new State Senator John Miller of whom I helped get elected!!!

The State Senate in Va is now blue.........................

Now working on so many other things. Got to take time for me..................

Peace to all.

There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of prisoners by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators by destroying videotapes of their sickening behavior. It was impossible to see the founding principles of the greatest democracy in the contempt these men and their bosses showed for the Constitution, the rule of law and human decency.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/opinion/31mon1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin 

Mary...tell Brian I said to have a Grappa for ME!

linda b....back atcha lady!

9:38PM

Linda - He can't drink Grappa alone. He likes a Grappa buddy and I'm not it. LOL. But I betcha he'll pull it out later tonight...

I think part of the reason KOS readership may possibly be down is both the plethora of candidate endorsement diaries and the leaning toward Edwards - nothing wrong with leaning toward Edwards if you're not bashing everyone else. I'm glad on our blog we have people for just about everyone, well, except poor Hill. And as for 2000, 2004, I love Gore too and think he won in 2000, but he may have REALLY won if the country hadn't been so down on the Clinton scandals and ergo Democrats in general -- there was a Democrat fatigue then I think -- in other words, old Obama was just telling the truth.

I've got a sneaking suspicion I won't make it to midnite our time so HAPPY NEW YEAR BLOGGIE!!!!!

10:02 PM ET in Gatorland

Annilow - My husband thinks Clinton is the one who started to divide the country as well (it's largely due to his and Hillary's hangers-on). Bush and Rove perpetuated the division and furthered it. If Hill wins - it's a concern to me because she is so damned polarizing and I'm not using rightwing talking points - it's my own feelings. I could live with Obama, Dodd or Edwards.

Here's the latest Des Moines Register Poll - you know the poll that is truly the most reliable. Good news for Tom Bearse and rdorgan.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/1...

10:05PM Mary...tell him I'll buddy him VIRTUALLY...And I can even tell him a tail of when I went to dinner AFTER my first Grappa that I told you about recently.

...Still feeling the effects...my brother and I went to a great (italian-is that necessary if you're in Italy?) restaurant after the Grappa (and changing). We had a GREAT meal. I don't remember what my brother ate, by I had Calamari over Linguini in Ink sauce. It was DE LICIOUS...of course, the best ever. My brother had a hard time watching me eat it...tentacles and all, but he was cool. They brought our salad our (of course) after the pasta...I was eating the salad and my brother and I were talking when all of the sudden, I looked down to get more salad, as my brother looked at the same time, readying to say...did you put some of your calamari in your salad....when I looked down, mouth flew open and I dropped my fork. A live snail was crawling out of my salad...up the side of the bowl...reaching the rim and spreading his tentacles almost as though he was singing with a finale'. I couldn't even speak. I held up my hand...the waiter came over, and all I could do was point. He yelped and scrambled off. My brother and I started laughing so hard, we couldn't stop. We were burying our faces in to the wall we were next to.

To this day, all I have to do, is stick my two hands on top of my head pointing and my brother and I start laughing.

28. Oh my gosh, Linda, that was disgusting!!! I hope you got your dinner for free. The worst for us was in Rome. It was a Saturday night and Brian ordered Tripe. Well, you never order Tripe on a Saturday because they kill the cow on Wednesday. Well, he was sick for two weeks - the worst food poisoning ever - two trips to the hospital in Italy. But he still talks about how good it was. Mama mia. I think he may have to pass on his Grappa this evening. He's had a touch of the flu for the past two days (he did manage to get in a bike ride though) -- Prosecco was quite enough.

Off to watch *Hot Fuzz* and *Eastern Promises*.

Buona Notta e Buon Anno!

29. YIKES. So sorry. How awful. Food poisoning, away from home and on vacation to boot.

No, didn't get a free dinner, but they gave us one incredible dessert on the house.

Cento Anni!

vb wrote "Off to watch *Hot Fuzz* and *Eastern Promises*."

I haven't seen Hot Fuzz.  Happy New Year.

Hot Fuzz (great movie !):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425112/trailers-screenplay-E31113-314

Happy, joyful, fun, healthy, wealthy New Year!!


11:53PM

Happy New Year 2008 !

CHANGE is in the air !

Go Obama !

HAPPY NEW YEAR east coasters.

Lets hope for a REAL change for the PEOPLE not the Corporations!.

Time for
a COOL
change,
GORE!

Happy New Year Everyone! Go Liberals, one and all!

Happy New Year!   2008

Good luck to your guy, Phil.


12:33 AM

Unlike every other candidate in this race, Barack's campaign is not paid for by Washington lobbyists, special interest PACs, or outside groups. We do not take their money, and they will not run Senator Obama's White House.

Now, with only three days left until the Iowa caucuses, Barack is gaining in the polls and is positioned to do very well on Caucus Day.

The very candidates who benefit most from the support of Washington insiders -- the ones who tout their skill at playing the same old Washington game -- have begun to say that they're the ones who can change it.

You cannot claim to be master of a broken system -- and yet claim to be the person best able to reform it.

It's going to be an amazing week.

Happy New Year,

Paul Tewes
Iowa State Director
Obama for America

Deepak Chopra


The War To End All Wars (For Real This Time)


So far, the parallel to World War II is holding true in frightening ways. The threat against us is obvious, it isn't going away, and yet lack of leadership and wishful thinking prevail. Only on the brink of disaster did the Allies unite to fight back against Fascism. Global warming hasn't reached that stage. The recent Bali conference on climate change ended with little more than an agreement to set a future agenda. The United States jockeyed to protect the interest of our corporate polluters, following the Bush agenda that favors total non-regulation of businesses and turning a blind eye to the destructive practice that corporations want to pursue. It's easy enough to condemn their head-in-the-sand attitude, but the situation is now so alarming that the Democrats aren't in a position to create the necessary change, either. The Democratic candidates for President say all the right things about climate change in front of the cameras, yet in essence they are fiddling with their makeup while Rome burns.

The time-wasters on every front didn't count on the pace of global warming speeding up, but it has, as recent scientific reports about melting Arctic ice prove

snip

But the real issue runs deeper still. The entire system of nationalism is a fatal holdover from a time that is gone forever. We are being forced to think beyond national boundaries, and yet human nature isn't equipped for that -- not so far, at least. Two things that nations are very good at -- military action against their enemies and fierce trade competition -- head the list of destructive habits killing the planet. Militarism diverts money away from the trillions needed to reverse climate change. Trade competition entices corporations into polluting in the name of profits. Both traits put up barriers between countries at a time when dropping all barriers is the only way we can hope to win. There is no viable strategy except a zero pollution global economy, or the closest we can come to that ideal.

In short, the next world war is upon us, and it's the strangest conflict humans will ever fight, because the enemy is our own mindset and the outmoded habits it has engendered. Pessimists point out that human history has never been free of aggression and competition. But one can point out with equal truth that human history has never been devoid of adaptation, either. Aggression and competition can co-exist with cooperation (as shown by the joint effort between the Soviet Union and the U.S. to eradicate smallpox from the world, a venture that succeeded during a period of hostility between the two superpowers.) Now we need to take the next step and make cooperation dominant. Already a significant number of people wake up every morning without the urge to kill an enemy, and they are the front-line warriors in this new conflict, not the traditional militarists and nationalists. Over the next decade the world will watch and wait to see if these new warriors prevail, as surely they must.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-cho...

so there are the closing arguments of the two front runners

is it the lobbyists

or is the problem the people that pay the lobbyists' salaries?

puddle if Joe Biden has joined the attacks on Edwards I take that as a pretty good sign he is in the lead now in the internal polling of his opponents

the message that it is time to change the way America conducts its government has won support of two out of three Iowans or so

as we here all know Howard was ahead of his time

ten minutes to go and counting down til I scare the coyotes and ward off the evil spirits for another year

now nine

11:51CST

2008

the year America rejoins humanity?

2008

the year the people regain control of our democracy?

Welcome 2008.

Dylan & The Stones (Like A Rolling Stone)

Fix the f^cking blog, folks...real blogware.

SoapBlox.

Happy New Year, folks.

Here's a beauty:

Bob Dylan - Nettie Moore

@ http://hypem.com/track/447900

Behind the Edwards Surge: Right Message at the Right Time

According to the latest DMR poll it's Obama who's surging. 

But then, a good cheerleader never looks at the scoreboard. 

Holy Moly.  Deepak Chopra has gone political!  This is great news.

Not yet midnight here and I think I'm staying in tonight blogging with you all and wishing you a very happy and healthy New Year.  We are family and I love all of you and coming to this blog almost every day provides me with cyber-friendship that I didn't believe  possible.

Thank you for being here.  :-) 

Sorry, all.  I haven't a clue where I got this info since it's been hanging out on the desktop all day.

 
Vinton, Ia. - Elaborate efforts are afoot today on the Democratic side to convince Iowa women to ignore the popular phenomenon that is Barack Obama, to dismiss loyalty to familiar favorite John Edwards, and to caucus for the woman who is running for president.

With Hillary Clinton’s dream steeped in uncertainty, her campaign and other backers are banking on women to carry her through Thursday night.

“I think most women, our internal research shows, they’re not-fly-by-nights, they’re strongly enthusiastic: ‘We’re going to show up in the sleet, snow, the ice, we’re going to be there,’” said Clinton’s campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle. “I know the strength of our support.”

The campaign is expecting women to dominate the caucus by as much as 60 percent. To recruit more into their sisterhood of politics and to bump up the urgency for backbone supporters, an army of Clinton volunteers logged more than 10,000 house calls and 4,000 phone conversations on Saturday alone.

But some female Democrats are rejecting the message they’re hearing about Clinton, long a controversial political figure. And some men are turned off by what they see as an estrogen-soaked campaign.

Iowans who do a Google search for “children” or “recipe” or “safe toys” will see a sponsored link to a “You go girl!” site promoting Clinton. The ads are targeted to IP addresses registered in Iowa. The women-tailored advertising is paid for by Emily’s List, the women-friendly fund-raising group. It’s also using ads on sites such as babynames.com and cooks.com, and social networking sites such as MySpace and Twitter, to lure women who might be interested in caucusing but don’t know much about it.

Goodies are being shoveled out the door of the Clinton campaign’s headquarters: coffee mugs for women who mail in a lottery-ticket-like scratch card, snow shovels for volunteers to dig out sidewalks for older women, and for first-time caucus-goers, “Hillary 2008” lapel pins, bumper stickers and refrigerator magnets.

“We are definitely firing on all cylinders,” Karen Hicks, deputy campaign manager, said this morning.

And the campaign is microtargeting women within certain groups. For example, a radio ad featuring the honey-voiced poet Maya Angelou targeted black women in Des Moines, Waterloo, the Quad-Cities and elsewhere. Older more well-to-do women like Clinton’s e

5...4...3...2...1...Happy 2008 from the Sonoran Desert!

Let's Toast to Ten Good Things About 2007 By Medea Benjamin   As we close this year on the low of Congress giving Bush more billions for war, and the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, let's remember so...

Hillary Signals Free Pass for Bush By Robert Parry   Hillary Clinton's campaign is signaling that a second Clinton presidency will follow the look-to- the-future, don't- worry- about- accountability appr...

Top 10 Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories of 2007 By Mary Shaw  (1 comments) Each year, the group Doctors Without Borders publishes a list of the top 10 most underreported humanitarian stories. Here is this year's list.

And some men are turned off by what they see as an estrogen-soaked campaign.

LOL....it all the testosterone she wallows in that turns me off. 

This certainly is an un-reported story.  Hillary is still calling the occupation a war.  We need to stop her and that kind of dishonest talk.

Len Hart: BBC Censored Benazir Bhutto's Reports that Bin Laden Had Been Murdered (1 comments) The BBC "censored" portions of Benazir Bhutto's interview with David Frost. Left out was Bhutto's revelation that Bin Laden had been murdered. The "War on Terror" is, therefore, a big fraud!

The BBC "censored" portions of Benazir Bhutto's interview with David Frost. Left out was Bhutto's revelation that Bin Laden had been murdered. The "War on Terror" is, therefore, a big fraud!

2008

the year the people regain control of our democracy?

Get real, Phil.

Do you really think the craven and corrupt DCDems who have rolled over to Bush for 7 (going on 8) years are going to let the government be wrestled from them in this election? By whom? By Edwards -- who just a few years ago was their "esteemed colleague" and voted the DLC line? And we've seen evidence of only a handful of primary challenges to the rotten Dems who hold the balance of power by their collaboration with the GOP in serving corporate America.

The Democratic Party will be almost entirely as bad after the elction as it is now, if not entirely so.

Fantasy Island is a nice place to visit once in a while, but you shouldn't live there and try to trick others into it. 

The BBC "censored" portions of Benazir Bhutto's interview with David Frost. Left out was Bhutto's revelation that Bin Laden had been murdered. The "War on Terror" is, therefore, a big fraud!

Actually, the censorship proves or disproves nothing about bin Laden, but does suggest strongly that the BBC doesn't want ideas which go against the line of the government they shill for to be aired openly.

Has Edwards' attack strategy backfired?

New Iowa Poll: Obama Widens Lead Over Clinton

DES MOINES REGISTER Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has widened his lead in Iowa over Hillary Clinton and John Edwards ...

Happy New Year, Sitka, you handsome, sometimes cantakerous devil, you ~   :-)  And to all lurkers, who are also likely to be handsome and beautiful. 

Anyone else think this is a tad insane?

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) — Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign
reported late Monday night that the New York senator raised “over $100 million
for the year” in her bid for the Democratic nomination.

The campaign did not release additional details such as the percentage of
contributions that may be used for the primary and general election. But
through the first nine months of 2007, Clinton raised more than $70 million,
and transferred an additional $10 million from her Senate to presidential
campaign account, according to reports filed with the Federal Election
Commission.

The Clinton campaign released the $100 million figure two days before the
Iowa caucuses — the first presidential nominating contest of the 2008 race for
the White House.

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/ 

Why, thank you, Sea! I've looked at myself in the mirror lately and know that you really are being too kind. But, according to Thankful, it doesn't cost a thing.

Despite Media Hype, Iowa's Democratic Caucuses Will Have No True Winner Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet Horserace journalism obscures caucuses' true value: How Iowa Democrats settle on a candidate

CONCORD, N.H. -- As his populist stump speech has grown even more forceful in the final weeks before primary voting begins, John Edwards has a new applause line about the outrage of high CEO compensation. "You've got the head CEO of one of the biggest health insurance companies in America, last year he didn't make a million dollars, he didn't make tens of millions of dollars, he made hundreds of millions of dollars. Hundreds of millions of dollars," Edwards told voters in Laconia, N.H. last week, about an unnamed executive.

Edwards also did not name another chief executive who did quite well last year: Wesley Edens, the president of Fortress Investment Group, the New York hedge fund and private equity firm that paid Edwards nearly $500,000 for his work as a part-time adviser in 2006, where Edwards has about $16 million invested, and whose employees earlier this year raised $167,000 for Edwards' campaign, his largest single source of contributions.

Edens earned $109.2 million in 2006, according to documents Fortress filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of its initial public offering earlier this year, and the total value of Edens' shares in the firm following the public offering is estimated at about $1.8 billion. Fortress' top five executives, including Edens, earned an average of about $90 million each in 2006. In addition, the five principles earned a combined $409 million in the first two months of the year when the Nomura Group purchased an $888 million stake in the firm.....

Saddam Provided More Food to Iraqis Than the U.S. Dahr Jamail, Ahmed Ali, IPS News War on Iraq: The U.S.-backed Iraqi government will half Iraqis' rations because of "insufficient funds and spiraling inflation."

1. CIA Jet Carrying Four Tons of Cocaine Also Made Trips to Gitmo [VIDEO]
   Manila Ryce, The Largest Minority AlterNet: Video. December 27, 2007.

It must be midnight.  Neighbors are shooting off fireworks.

***********

Ordinarily smart friends of mine can't believe our very own CIA is corrupt.

********************* 

CIA Jet Carrying Four Tons of Cocaine Also Made Trips to Gitmo [VIDEO]

Posted by Manila Ryce, The Largest Minority at 12:43 PM on December 27, 2007.

Other Western countries like Great Britain are quite honest about their history of drug trading, but we still engage in self-censorship, even amongst the Left, when it comes to acknowledging that similar activities have been carried out by the CIA in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and Latin America during the Iran-Contra Affair. Perhaps the reason why the CIA’s well-documented role in the global drug trade is never really acknowledged is because it never really ended.

Remember this story? The video to your right is an update into the specifics:

A Gulfstream II jet that crash landed in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in late September bearing a load of nearly four tons of cocaine. This particular Gulfstream II (tail number N987SA), was used between 2003 and 2005 by the CIA for at least three trips between the U.S. east coast and Guantanamo Bay — home to the infamous “terrorist” prison camp — according to a number of press reports.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Gary Webb uncovered that the CIA was responsible for distributing cocaine into poor Los Angeles neighborhoods. Shortly after Webb exposed the CIA, he was killed (the official story is that he committed suicide by shooting himself twice in the head).

War is profitable, and the so-called “War on Drugs” is no different. Government agencies make money in every part of the process: from sale, to seizure, to incarceration. America has 25% of the world’s incarcerated population, and a higher percentage of its black population in prison than South Africa did at the height of apartheid.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/71783/ 

Happy New Year since you are all now officially in 2008!

*********
mainefem & Paine ... zen posts for sure. Not at all bad on occasion.

*********
Can't stay too long because we have guests coming and lots to do yet. Got to hear the grandbaby (to be 1 on 2 Jan) say her latest words "Woof" & "Meow" ... can't see her on Skype because the parents' 'puter with the video software is not available so the sound effects were greatly appreciated. It sounds as if she's already trying out foreign languages, LOL.

**********
Bad Barack ... who is showing some history-challenged aspects. 2000 & 2004 were years that more Democrats voted for Dem candidates than ever. And Dems only lost in both because of Rethug cheating; the final vote count in 2001 showed that Gore actually won, but 9-11 distracted from that news. Obama could more properly have chosen other years. That was a misstep and not well received by me, for one.

**********
Even Bhutto's husband rejects an al-Qaeda link. The real murderers are generally seen to be Musharraf's supporters/minions, especially when the Pakistani government is opposing an autopsy and pressuring doctors as is also being reported.

=================
Zardari rejects claim of al-Qaida link to Bhutto's murder
Pakistani officials trying to muddy the water, Guardian told
Declan Walsh in Naudero
Tuesday January 1, 2008
Guardian

Benazir Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, dismissed government claims of al-Qaida involvement in his wife's assassination, accusing officials of a cover-up and comparing it to the death of John F Kennedy. "I think soon the chickens are going to lay their eggs and we will blame them on al-Qaida," he told the Guardian at the family home in Naudero. "Al-Qaida has nothing to fear; why would they fear us? Are they our political opponents?" he said.

New evidence raised fresh doubts about the government's version of Bhutto's death. Fresh video footage appeared to show that she died last Thursday from an assassin's bullet and not, as the interior ministry said, from a blow to the head in the force of a bomb explosion.

"They want to muddy the waters," said Zardari, sitting in a room filled with portraits of his wife. "[Even] Kennedy's murder is not solved. What do they do? They always find 10 excuses and 10 people to blame, and one to hang."

As wailing mourners continued to arrive at the family estate, Zardari outlined how he intended to "groom" the couple's son Bilawal for his new role as party leader. The 19-year-old Oxford undergraduate was appointed chairman of Bhutto's Pakistan People's party on Sunday. However, power will remain with a committee of regents, headed by his father, until his education is completed.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33192...

My poor cat, Dante, is cringing under the computer desk.  He hates the noise....don't blame him.

I don't think there's a heck of a lot to celebrate on a national political level...

I am very sorry that this didn't work out for the New Year, but it is not surprising since, among other thing, there was so much media attention. The rebels do not like being in the limelight ... it is literally a death sentence.

Not that I approve of hostage-taking, not at all. Lots in France are disappointed by this news.

Oliver Stone will likely be a candidate for the putzCo hit list.

====================
Setback for Chávez in mission to free hostages
· Colombian rebels silent on captives' location
· Hollywood director joins Venezuelan leader's team
Ed Pilkington in New York
Tuesday January 1, 2008
Guardian

A mission spearheaded by Hugo Chávez and Oliver Stone to free three hostages held by Marxist guerrillas in the Colombian jungle was on a knife-edge last night after the rebels failed to deliver on the promised handover.

Venezuelan military helicopters bearing the Red Cross insignia sat for a third day in Villavicencio, a small town on the edge of Colombia's vast eastern jungles where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as Farc, holds sway. They waited in vain for the guerrillas to tell them where to fly to inside the rebel-controlled zone to pick up the hostages.

The mission is being watched by Latin American leaders, the US, France and other countries with citizens among the 3,000 hostages being held by Farc. They hope that the championing by Chávez - the Venezuelan president - of a political solution involving the exchange of hostages for jailed guerrillas could open the door to further releases.

A group of 10 international observers from Latin America, France and Switzerland included the unlikely late addition of Stone, a Hollywood director, who was invited to join the rescue mission only a week ago when he met Chávez in Caracas. Chávez quipped that Stone was George Bush's emissary to the operation; Stone in return called Mr Chávez a "great man". The two flew together to Colombia at the weekend on the presidential jet.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33192...

Hi, Judy.  Yes, I agree that the ISI and maybe the CIA were behind her murder.

Speaking about stolen elections ... when it looked as if the Kenyan Prez was losing, the vote-counting was delayed and guess what ... he won.

Following putz's example of cheating. When the world's so-called greatest democracy has cheated in its last two Presidential elections and gotten away with it, others try to emulate.

This is the wrong thing to emulate ... and the Kenyan people are not taking it sitting down ... as we have.

This is the last for now ... have a great New Year's Day!

===================
Kenya on the brink as more than 100 killed in poll riots
Disputed election result sparks worst violence in 25 years
Xan Rice in Nairobi
Tuesday January 1, 2008
Guardian

Kenya's reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies was shattered yesterday as the fallout from Sunday's highly controversial presidential elections led to nationwide rioting and the deaths of more than 100 people.

Police and protesters fought running battles in a number of Nairobi's slums as supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga burned down homes and looted shops owned by supporters of the victorious incumbent Mwai Kibaki.

In western Kenya, where Odinga's support is greatest, 40 people were reported to have been killed, many of them by police, and a day-time curfew was enforced.

The government enforced a nationwide media blackout and civil society groups said there was "an undeclared state of emergency" in the country. British citizens were advised by the Foreign Office to stay indoors.

Tens of thousands of security officers were deployed in the main towns to try to quell the increasing fury at an election result about which Britain, the US, Canada as well as the EU observer mission have expressed concern. Several members of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), who awarded Kibaki victory, also appeared to have second thoughts yesterday.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33192...

Democratic Candidates Answer to Native American Questions

by: June Caldwell / American Chronicle

On Thursday, August 23, 2007, history was made in Indian Country at the Presidential forum following an exhaustive week of training for Native American political leaders. Three Presidential candidates and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Governor Howard Dean assembled at the Morongo Casino in California, to address questions posed by a room of 300 elected First American leaders and representatives of 75 Indian nations. Frank La Mere, the highest-ranking American Indian in any political organization in the country and member of the Executive Committee of the DNC, acted as emcee periodically throughout the 'Prez on the Rez' event. Howard Dean explained the goal is not just a place at the table - but also a place on the ticket - for Native Americans.

Governor Richardson (NM) had the largest and most visible support of the Presidential candidates that attended. He was the first candidate to have cabinet level Native Americans in his state and promised one for his Presidency, as they all did.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH) modeled his cabinet level Dept of Peace House Resolution, HR 808, on the Peacemaker system of Native American dispute resolution and showed understanding and affirmation of the sovereignty of Native Americans on decisions about their lives. He went one step further expressing commitment to not only give the Native Americans a place at the table, and on the ticket, but also to lead the way to peace for us all.

Former Senator Gravel (AK) Alaska had worked extensively with native issues there and expressed the importance of term limits in the Judiciary to make sure representation is corrected if necessary. ...full article: http://www.americanchronicle.com/article...

---

Meet the presidential candidates

by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today

Barack Obama

CHICAGO - Sen. Hillary Clinton's Web site includes veterans, children and women among her top issues.

John Edwards' site lists blacks, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, Latinos, the elderly and young people among his concerns.

Sen. Barack Obama talks about all of the above, but of the three front-running Democratic presidential candidates, he's the only one with a permanent place on his Web site for America's indigenous peoples.

''First Americans for Obama is a community of people dedicated to bringing positive change to American politics and breaking the cycle of partisan ideology,'' according to the First Americans for Obama page on his Web site (http://tribes.barackobama.com/page/conte...). ''Perhaps more so than any population, American Indians are painfully aware of the need for change. Tribes have experienced firsthand the lack of progress under prior administrations. Please use this Web site to learn about Obama's policy initiatives supporting tribal peoples, to spread the word, and to involve your family, friends and community. Together, we can bring in a new generation of politics - one based on respect, honor and unity.''

With just a few weeks before the Iowa Caucus, Obama has come from behind to surge ahead of Clinton, who until now has dominated the Democratic race. At press time, polls say he is running head-to-head with Clinton in New Hampshire.

Clinton was the only candidate to make a live Web streaming appearance at the National Congress of American Indians annual meeting in November, where she was warmly received by a tribal leadership that largely perceives the Clintons as friendly toward Indian country.

But in his short time on the national scene, Obama, 46, who was elected U.S. senator from Illinois in 2004, has consistently reached out to Indian communities and supported issues important to Indian country.

In September, for example, he met with Eastern Band of Cherokee leaders and he won support from some members.

''As a tribal member, I was greatly impressed with Senator Obama's willingness to discuss the finer points of tribal sovereignty and his awareness of issues that impact the daily lives of American Indians. I left the event feeling a sense of hope for the future of Federal Indian Policy. More importantly, I felt that we finally had a friend in Washington that we could count on,'' Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle wrote on the First Nations blog on Obama's Web site.

Obama supports a ban on dumping nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, a sacred site to the Western Shoshone and Paiute tribes, and land that was guaranteed to the tribe by treaty. In October, he wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer, asking them to officially abandon the proposed nuclear repository there.

Obama co-sponsored the Indian Health Care Improvement Act of 2007, which was recently rescheduled for a vote in January after the Christmas and New Years recess.

When the bill passed out of the Senate Finance Committee in September, Obama issued a statement in which he said, in part: ''While the U.S. government has a responsibility to provide health care stemming from treaty obligations, it is also this country's moral imperative to address the significant health care disparities between the Native American population and the American population as a whole. We must ensure our tribal health care programs are adequately prepared to provide preventative health care as well as treatment for substance and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and mental health issues. Native Americans also deserve the same high quality health care professionals that care for families throughout the country.'' ... full analysis: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm...


---

Meet the presidential candidates

by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today

John Edwards

RAPID CITY, S.D. - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has not made public any opinions or ideas he may have about American Indian issues at this point in his campaign.

As the Iowa caucuses approach in earnest and most of a candidate's time is spent on issues that relate to the nation in general, specific issues that may involve Indian country are rarely, if ever, mentioned.

Edwards has made policy statements that address issues of interest to blacks, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders and Latinos. The closest he has come to mentioning indigenous people was to mention Native Hawaiians in one sentence of a policy statement. ...full analysis: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm...

---

Meet the presidential candidates

by: Jerry Reynolds / Indian Country Today

Hillary Clinton

...Clinton has announced her support for improved Indian health care, education, law enforcement, housing and economic development, and Indian country has played no discernible role in her recent travails. Attendees at the National Congress of American Indians convention in Denver in November showed support for her in ubiquitous lapel pins and regular hallway conversation, according to an Indian Country Today reporter who was present throughout the proceedings. Endorsements from tribes and individuals have continued to come in. In Iowa, where the Sac and Fox Tribe has endorsed no candidate but historically votes Democrat, according to executive officer Larry Lasley, Clinton counts among her supporters tribal elder Don Wanatee, a veteran sovereignty advocate with deep roots in the Indian education movement.

Closer to home for Clinton, in New York, Shinnecock Indian Tribe Board of Trustees Chairman Randy King said the federally unrecognized tribe wants her to be more visible on local tribal issues. ''But she's not really addressing New York state tribal issues. She's addressing tribes out West and trying to build coalitions out West.'' ...full analysis: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm...

Good morning and happy new year

We slept in, as we do most years. 

Senator Chris Dodd: Archived Speech

HEARING BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
Statement of Senator Chris Dodd
September 17, 2002

First, I want to thank Senator Inouye and Senator Campbell for agreeing to hold this hearing. This is an extraordinarily important issue - both to the people of my state and to people across the county. I also want to thank Senator Inouye and Senator Campbell for their leadership on issues pertaining to Indian affairs. Nobody has done more in the Senate, or in the whole Congress for that matter, to advance the cause of improving America's understanding of native peoples and native cultures. Senator Inouye and Senator Campbell have worked to enable America to better understand itself, to see ourselves as one people who have grown out of many traditions. They have helped us to define and harness one of our greatest national resources - our diversity. ...full speech: http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/...

The issue that we are here to discuss today is the issue of how the federal government goes about the business of identifying which Native American groups have maintained such cultural, social, and political distinctiveness that they should be recognized as separate sovereign nations. This is an issue that profoundly impacts the rights and obligations of the federal government, the states, and the various Indian nations of North America.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UnychOXj9Tg

making the link clickable

The way she mentioned the murder of Osama bin Laden in passing makes 

it sound like common knowledge. 

Susan, nice find.

It's my sense that a significant portion of the Bush/Cheney interest in the sovereignty and immunity claims of Indian nations arises from their perception that these attributes are available to be exploited to evade the various restrictions the federal government faces in making public resources available for private exploitation and gain. So, for example, Indian nations might be persuaded to make land available for energy exploitation without the usual environmental protections. 

bitter cold here but the caucus is still days away

the canvassing mobs must not of gotten the memo about the perfect storm not working because they are all trying it this time

standard issue stocking caps looks like they would be a welcome addition

good luck to them all

I'm watching football 

Reed

good luck with this storm it has you in the bullseye

hope you get a fat check adding double time to the overtime having to miss the Rose Bowl

we have winds moving the snow around 

In Bossy Bush world, "sovereign immunity" is the holy grail, the key to doing what he and his cronies want without contradiction and restriction.  Since the Indian nations have it, they want to claim an interest for themselves.  I am reminded that a majority of the U.S. Attorneys who were summarily removed had participated in Indian nation matters, the most recent of which was the successful challenge of the mega test explosion in Nevada (?) by an Indian group.  In that case, the U.S. attorney failed to "promote" the interests of the federal government sufficiently.  And then there is the interest of organized gambling to conduct enterprise on Indian lands that the states don't allow.

83.  Surely not watching football at this time of day.  LOL

Did you know that this is the thirties anniversary of "Star Wars" 

Buffy Sainte-Marie's Self-Portrait is an imposing image. 

Eagle man
climbing the skies
red light of evening
falls like rain
rainbows my yarn
the sky is my loom
I will weave sunsets
later on

http://www.mouthbow.org/cyber.html

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

my contribution to Susan's discussion

the poem above is Buffy St.Marie's ; one of the most inspiring individuals I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. funny how the mind works

~~

nameless direction  all at once

still we turn each way,spirits rising bring the dawn

blood red to the sacred center

humpfatdancing in a newyear

Good 1st morning of 2008 to everyone.

My News Years eve was spent snoring in the easy chair...exciting eh?

Phil...check is already spent, gotta clean up the charge card with it...mostly for the water pump, water line and supplies costs incurred from a few weeks ago...but I've got water.

This was sent to me by James Landis (Landis list/fatalities in Iraq) for the New Year and thought I'd share with you...

FOR OUR WORLD

We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment....
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.

We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Silent for a moment....
Before we forever lose
The blessings of songs
That grow in our hearts.

We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment...
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.

Stop, be silent, and notice.....
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.

We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment....
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.

And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace.

From: "Journey Through Heartsongs"
by Mattie J.T. Stepanek, age 11
September 12, 2001

INDN's List 'NAN' Targets Native Voters - NAPT Seeks Journalism Fellows - Briefs From Native Celebs - Sherman Alexie To Speak

Dear INDN Friend,

From Kalyn Free

On November 1, we launched the next chapter of the empowerment of Indian Country. On that day we fielded a staff of professional Indian organizers to register voters on Nevada's 24 reservations - the start of the Native American Network (NAN).

Our team of trained Indian organizers is boosting Indian participation in the caucuses to unprecedented levels by registering Indians to vote, conducting caucus trainings, locating caucuses on many of the state's 24 Indian reservations, and turning out Indians on Caucus Day.

With Nevada a new battleground in the primary race, our organizers are maximizing the influence of native voices in the Nevada caucus process and allowing us to showcase the growing influence of Indian Country in the political process.

Visit our brand new website at www.indnvote.org to learn about NAN and to support our efforts in Nevada.

But what we're doing in Nevada is only the first step. Building on our success there, we will expand to six other battleground states in the 2008 election. These states are ripe for Indians to become THE swing vote in 2008. As leading political pollster Celinda Lake notes in our new video:

"In these new battleground states ... the native vote is a key electoral vote. This is a vote that's completely Progressive. It's a huge percentage of the vote in these new swing states.

With more than 3.2 million voting age Indians in the United States, Indian votes comprise a bloc roughly the size of all-important Iowa. ...full post with video links: http://nativeunity.blogspot.com/2007/11/...

About NAN: http://www.indnvote.org

84.

Monica Smith
Tue, 01/01/08

I hope Mr. Dodd will have more to add soon.

And I hope Mr. Edwards might make a few comments at his campaign's blog.

Where is American Indian policy?: http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2007/1...


89.

Phil Specht
Tue, 01/01/08


Thank you

Here is some of my favorites.

http://www.walela.com/

http://theband.hiof.no/albums/music_for_...

http://www.johntwohawks.com/

Nader throws support to Edwards

Rocky, Nader call on Demos to stop Clinton

Well, will this will have wieght? 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7647.html

[...] 

"The issue is corporate power and who controls our political system and it's not who has experience for six years or two years,"

[...]

On Monday, Nader also issued a public statement criticizing Clinton as a "corporate Democrat," echoing the exact words Edwards uses to challenge Clinton. Nader said he has watched Edwards from afar and sees his more pugilistic brand of populism as a "glimmer of hope."

"It's the only time I've heard a Democrat talk that way in a long time," Nader said, acknowledging what was, for him, a rare moment of praise for a Democratic leader.

"Iowa should decide which candidate stands for us," he added. "Edwards is at least highlighting day after day that the issue is who controls our country, big business or the people."

http://www.moteldemoka.com/

26 pages down to  December 21st, 2007

Nice. 

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson joined Ralph Nader on Monday in lambasting Hillary Clinton as a stooge for big business who should be stopped from capturing the Democratic nomination for president.
    "Do you really believe if we replace a bunch of corporate Republicans with a bunch of corporate Democrats, that anything meaningful is going to change?" the statement asks. "This has to stop. It's that simple."

>

Woot!  Rocky, Rocky, Rocky ::shaking my head with a big smile::  Isn'y Rocky related to the Deans? hahaha!

This is something with Rocky in the mix, atleast for me! 

Happy New Year Everybody!

Bring Them Home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yApAg0hl4...

lovely thread - HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

Rocky - woot!  what a guy!  I do believe he's Howard's cousin.

Reed - thanks so much for Mattie's poem - that child brilliant soul was the most amazing peacemaker and poet.  please be careful in the storm.  gotta love all this snow, tho!  it's a reverse 'make hay while the sun shines' kinda thing...!

DEMS NEED A FIGHTER

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_andrew_b_071231_a_fighter_3a__what_the.htm

As the Democrats are about to begin choosing their standard bearer for the battle for the White House next fall, I maintain that the single most important characteristic the Democrats should base that choice upon is, "Who is most able and willing to fight the Bushite forces.

The face-card Bushites may leave office, but the Bushite forces behind them are not going away. Remaining to bedevil any Democratic president will be the Murdocks and the Limbaughs and the corporate thugs who think our democracy should serve as a tool for their own private greed.

Clinton has been able to persuade me that, in some sense, she is "tough." But her vote to label the Iranian Republican Guard as a "terrorist organization" (among other things) tells me that she cannot be relied upon to use her toughness where it is needed. She seems more eager to counter the perception of female=weak, so that she can get elected, than she does to fight Bushite fascism.

Obama has made it a hallmark of his campaign to sound the note of reconciliation, of bringing people together. In many situations, I would applaud this. But to talk about reconciliation when there's still a war going on, and when the enemy is still dominating the field, takes a spiritual virtue and converts it into a sign of faulty judgment. We need a warrior now, and if Obama cannot understand that this is a moment to fight, then he's not our man.

Of the three candidates who seem to have a reasonable shot at the nomination, only Edwards has spoken like the fighter we need. As I mentioned in a commentary to an earlier piece, I am still wondering what it says about his judgment and his capacities as a warrior that Edwards refused in the general election campaign of 2004 to be even as tough as too-wimpy John Kerry wanted him to be, and to tackle Darth Cheney head-on in those debates. But the John Edwards we see in the campaign these days, and who made his fortune as a courtroom warrior, might conceivably have the guts and the skills to tackle the dark Bushite forces in the coming general election campaign and thereafter from the Oval Office

8:52 AM

Emmetsburg, Ia. - John Edwards gave a long, passionate response Monday to rivals' claims that if he becomes the Democrats' presidential nominee, he would be financially handcuffed because he agreed to federal campaign spending limits that will last throughout the primaries.

The former North Carolina senator said other campaigns are raising the issue because, even though they are much better financed, they haven't been able to pull significantly ahead of him in Iowa.


"It scares them to death, because what they know is, what this candidate and this campaign stands for is working," he said. "Can I ask you a question? If they have more money, and money's what matters, then why are they worrying about me?"

His words came in response to a question from a voter here who said he and his daughter heard the allegation at a campaign event for Democratic rival Barack Obama.

The man, John Ryan of Pocahontas, an Edwards supporter, said Obama's wife, Michelle, asked his 17-year-old daughter whom she was supporting in the caucuses. Ryan said his daughter, Bonnie, told her that she was backing Edwards. He said Michelle Obama then told his daughter that she shouldn't support Edwards because he had accepted campaign spending limits that are attached to federal campaign matching money. Bonnie Ryan, who was sitting next to her father, confirmed her father's account.

Edwards has agreed to limit his primary campaign spending to $54 million in return for federal matching money. Obama and Hillary Clinton did not accept the matching money, so they are not bound by the limits.

Edwards voice rose as he spoke about Ryan's account of the encounter with Michelle Obama. "When you're resorting to arguments about how much money somebody has, you're in a bad place," he said. "Because you're not saying, 'He's wrong on this issue, or he's wrong on that issue. And he's not a good candidate.' They're not saying any of that. They're saying, 'But we have more money.' "

Obama aides have been telling reporters that Edwards' decision to accept spending caps would cripple him if he became the nominee.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...

new thread

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Mayor Rocky Anderson: "These disastrous Bush years" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu1mlg5HE...

John quoted Andrew Shmookler who wrote, among other things, that:

"What we do not need, in the face of such forces, is a Democratic leader who will recapitulate the strategies of capitulation that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have enacted so cravenly this year.

" . . . .

"Of the three candidates who seem to have a reasonable shot at the nomination, only Edwards has spoken like the fighter we need. As I mentioned in a commentary to an earlier piece, I am still wondering what it says about his judgment and his capacities as a warrior that Edwards refused in the general election campaign of 2004 to be even as tough as too-wimpy John Kerry wanted him to be, and to tackle Darth Cheney head-on in those debates. But the John Edwards we see in the campaign these days, and who made his fortune as a courtroom warrior, might conceivably have the guts and the skills to tackle the dark Bushite forces in the coming general election campaign and thereafter from the Oval Office."

Thanks for providing this delerious, comical coda to the primary preseason.  A "Democratic leader who will recapitulate the strategies of capitulation" enacted by Democrats?  A commentator would have to consider his audience morons to think their memories are this dramatically impaired.  The problems wrestled with in Congress this past year stemmed from the foolish votes of past lawmakers like Edwards who simply fled Capitol Hill to run for higher office after the damage was done.

"Edwards refused in the general election campaign of 2004 to be even as tough" as Kerry?  He was the one urging Kerry not to renege on his commitment to the Iraq invasion when Kerry was, as usual, wavering.  Not Edwards.  He's the "fighter" who hadn't yet picked the optimal moment to contritely wash his hands of the wreckage left in the wake of his horrible decision to support the President.

Conceivably, Edwards has "the guts and skills to tackle the dark Bushite forces." If he does, it will basically render his voting record in the Senate a practical joke on the poor people who suffered from his representation.  Who knows whether his conduct will mirror his rhetoric or his record?  Maybe it's worth rolling the dice.  For that matter, I think I'll go buy a lottery ticket today.  I'ts true I've lost before, but you never know.  It's entirely possible that history is no guide at all.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/1/8554/92924

ABC is looking to limit the last Democratic candidate in NH to just four. 

Opera crashed.  That should be Democratic candidate debate in NH is to be limited to four.  Republicans will get to hear from six.

There is a new thread.