DemocracyChat.com is a lot fun. The folks there are very friendly and helpful.

the Dean's of Democracy for America are first.

Linda, it's a hack saw with a chain where the blade should be.  I keep mine hung up in the tool shed.   It makes a better visual joke than a written one.

Great threads, DFA ... the problem is that they keep me too busy reading during my alloted "blog time!"

It's so good to see so many different people posting ... and many new ones!  Loved *seeing* kimmy last thread ... when you've had that baby, you'll be so happy!

And jc, always good to *see* you ... I've been just before or just after you lately.

*********

I tend to agree with FireFox and those who want to participate in the primaries but without endorsing a specific candidate, especially since none of those who have so far announced are ones that I would back at that stage.

But I WILL support whoever the Dem nominee is ... because there is no person in today's Republican party that I will ever support for President.

Hagel certainly sounds better than many Dems who are playing it safe or trying to have it all ways but he still has that R after his name ... and that R brings a lot of baggage with it. 

Hi Judy.  Good to see you.  I know what you mean about reading taking up all the time.  Its one reason I don't post as much as I'd like to.  Thanks for putting your opinions up, though.

I tend to concur with this article about Hillary but I do not concur that the named candidates have "clear anti-war" credentials ... at least about the war in Iraq ... my memory is a bit longer than that.  But Hillary wants to have it all ways.

While some may since have repudiated their stands, they did not do so when it counted.  Better late than never, yes, but still too little and much too late.

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

· Fight for Democratic party presidential ticket hots up
· Failure to denounce war could cost her party vote

Hillary Clinton risked being outflanked in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination yesterday when she revised her stance on the Iraq war but failed to go far enough to satisfy anti-war critics.

Mrs Clinton, who voted for the war in 2002 and has so far refused to repudiate that, took to television and radio studios for a media blitz yesterday morning to set out a new position after a visit to Iraq and Afghanistan last week.

But she still remains well out of step with the other main potential Democratic candidates - Senator Barack Obama, Senator Joe Biden, and John Edwards - who all have clear anti-war credentials.

Her shift came as opposition gathered momentum in Congress against President George Bush's planned 21,500 troop increase. Democratic and Republican congress members published a draft joint resolution, to be voted on in the next few weeks, saying "it is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq, particularly by escalating US troop presence".

[...]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329688825-110878,00.html

How are you, Barb?  It's always good to *see* people in real time!  And you are definitely one who is active on the ground.  Thanks for that!

**************

Why is it that we almost always seem to support the most RW fascist, bloody governments?  The US has a huge presence in Colombia and the security situation there is almost as bad as in Iraq.

At least this guy is finally being prosecuted.

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

A senior commander of Colombia's rightwing militias has admitted taking part in some of the country's most grisly crimes in the first of what could become a flood of confessions from demobilised paramilitary leaders.

Salvatore Mancuso told a prosecutor in Medellín this week that he was responsible for hundreds of kidnappings, murders and massacres during his 15-year career in the death squads that spread terror throughout Colombia in the name of fighting leftist rebels.

In two days of testimony, Mancuso admitted to directly participating in or ordering the murder of hundreds of people, among them mayors, union leaders and peasants. With presentations projected from his laptop computer, Mancuso listed in chronological order the massacres at El Aro, Mápiripan, El Salado and other towns, all of which he called "anti-subversive operations". He also named the victims.

Some relatives of the dead heard the confessions. When Miryam Areiza heard Mancuso read her father's name as he recounted the 1997 massacre at El Aro, where he and 14 others were tortured and killed, she said she felt ill. "Where does he get off saying my father was a guerrilla? My father was a peasant, tending to his farm. He was tortured and killed and Mancuso was responsible," she said outside the special room for victims and their families to watch the closed proceedings.

Ms Areiza said she saw little contrition. "He seemed proud of what they'd done, not remorseful," she said.

[...]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329688763-110466,00.html

Love the article on Hillary.  A day late and a dollar short!

Olmert on the hot seat ... putz & co should be heartily ashamed for their encouragement of Israel's criminal assault on Lebanon last summer.  Compared to the RW leadership hoping to profit from Olmert's problems, Olmert looks like the voice of reason.

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

· General was accused of mishandling Lebanon war
· Prime minister also faces criminal investigation

The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, once again faced fallout from the war in Lebanon yesterday after the surprise resignation of the head of the armed forces.

Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz, chief of staff of the military, quit after months of public criticism over the handling of the 34-day conflict against Hizbullah. His departure came after internal military inquiries into the conduct of the war but before an investigation, known as the Winograd commission, delivers its interim findings, due in February or March.

In his resignation letter, Gen Halutz spoke of taking responsibility but pointedly admitted no failures or mistakes in the conduct of the war in Lebanon. He was the third senior general to resign since the war. A fourth was sacked for criticising the handling of the conflict.

[...]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329688780-103552,00.html

So long as Guantanamo exists, justice does not.

The shame that America will bear for a long, long time ... even if it is closed down completely tomorrow.

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

“This is the closest I have been to my son in almost 5 years,” said Zohra Zewawi, the mother of Guantanamo prisoner Omar Deghayes, as she stood in front of the gates of the prison on the Cuban side. “On the one hand I feel incredibly sad that I am so close but can’t see or hold him; on the other hand I am happy because focusing the world’s attention on this shameful place might help get my son out of prison.”

While protests were happening all over the world to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the first prisoners taken to Guantanamo on January 11, 2002, a group of us traveled to the city of Guantanamo to bring our protest close to the gates of the US prison. The group, organized by CODEPINK and Global Exchange, included U.S. activists such as retired US Colonel Ann Wright, peace mom Cindy Sheehan, mother of 9/11 victim Adele Welty, and constitutional lawyer Bill Goodman. But the most compelling members of the delegation were three people most directly affected by the prison: Zohra Zewawi and Taher Deghayes, the mother and brother of a current prisoner; and Asif Iqbal, a former prisoner who spent 2 ½ years locked up in the cages of Guantanamo.

Zohra Zewawi and her son Taher Deghayes traveled all the way from Dubai to shine light on the plight of Omar Deghayes. Omar had been captured in Pakistan in September 2002, accused of being an enemy combatant. While his family is convinced that Omar never committed any crimes and was picked up merely for the $5,000 bounty the US military was offering, they were not in Cuba to plead his innocence. “We are simply asking for due process and fair trials for my son and all detainees at Guantanamo,” said Zohra.

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0117-20.htm

How many warnings does it take?

So long as putz is in charge ... we cannot keep repeating them enough.

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

Climate change stands alongside the use of nuclear weapons as one of the greatest threats posed to the future of the world, the Cambridge cosmologist Stephen Hawking has said.

Professor Hawking said that we stand on the precipice of a second nuclear age and a period of exceptional climate change, both of which could destroy the planet as we know it.

He was speaking at the Royal Society in London yesterday at a conference organised by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists which has decided to move the minute hand of its "Doomsday Clock" forward to five minutes to midnight to reflect the increased dangers faced by the world.

Scientists devised the clock in 1947 as a way of expressing to the public the risk of nuclear conflagration following the use of the atomic weapons that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War.

"As we stand at the brink of a second nuclear age and a period of unprecedented climate change, scientists have a special responsibility, once again, to inform the public and to advise leaders about the perils that humanity faces," Professor Hawking said. "As scientists, we understand the dangers of nuclear weapons and their devastating effects, and we are learning how human activities and technologies are affecting climate systems in ways that may forever change life on Earth.

[...]

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2162862.ece

And Ehren Watada cannot use the legallity of the war as an argument.  Funny, we made the Germans use it.  Soldiers had to have a moral stance.  But our Soldiers cannot.  Have to blindly follow orders.

I am truly beginning to believe that removal of putz & co from office ... down to the last one ... whether we start lower down and work up as some have proposed or begin from the top and work down (trickle down?) would be the single greatest service our Congress could perform.

Singly, these idiots could have been offset.  Collectively, they are a disaster.

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

The White House has dashed hopes of a dramatic shift in climate change policy by George Bush, but says the President will lay out his strategy to combat global warming in next week's State of the Union address.

Tony Snow, Mr Bush's spokesman, denied that the administration was ready to accept fixed caps on carbon emissions by specified target dates.

"That's not something we're talking about," he said. Instead, the President is likely to emphasise the importance of scientific innovation, and call for greater use of alternative energy sources, in particular ethanol and hydrogen fuels, to reduce the country's "addiction to oil".

Pressure has been growing steadily on the administration, both at home and abroad. Tony Blair raised the issue during his visit to Washington in December, as did Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, which has the presidency of both the EU and the G8 - whose summit agenda will focus on climate change when its leaders gather in the summer. The topic is also set to dominate next week's annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

[...]

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2162850.ece

And Ehren Watada cannot use the legallity of the war as an argument.  Funny, we made the Germans use it.  Soldiers had to have a moral stance.  But our Soldiers cannot.  Have to blindly follow orders.

Must go now, but I leave you all with Mark Fiore's latest ... *King of OppositeLand* ... *smart is dumb.*

*I came, I saw, Iran ...!*

http://www.markfiore.com/animation/land.html

http://tinyurl.com/2fcue7

Here's the link

I sure never realized what a bad shape some of the state parties were in when Howard took them over.  Here is some stuff found at The Next Hurrah.    Florida was in bad financial shape, and many were in trusteeship and bankruptcy. 

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/950

OUr Chair of the State Party sent out an email pushing Obama and his "bid" for presidency. I about gagged.   I sure as hell hope that the State Party isn't going to slate our primary like they did in '06.  I paid for a lunch with our LD chair and the State Chair along with a good friend and the Chairs are going to get quite an earful from us.

G'nite dear bloggie

What if Hagel were to change that R to I?

Hi, Judy!! 

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, intent on putting global warming atop the Democratic agenda, is shaking up traditional committee fiefdoms dominated by some of Congress' oldest and most powerful members.

She's moving to create a special committee to recommend legislation for cutting greenhouse gases, most likely to be chaired by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a Democratic leadership aide said Wednesday.

Markey has advocated raising mileage standards for cars, trucks and SUVs and is one of the House's biggest critics of oil companies and U.S. automakers,

Pelosi has discussed the proposal with at least two Democratic committee chairmen: fellow Californian Henry Waxman of Oversight and Government Reform, and West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall, who heads the Natural Resources panel. Pelosi intends to announce the move this week, said the leadership aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because not all of the details have been worked out.

The move, to some degree, would sidestep two of the House's most powerful Democratic committee bosses, in shaping what's expected to be at least a yearlong debate on global warming:

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell of Michigan, a defender of the auto industry and at 80 the longest serving member of the House.

New York Rep. Charles Rangel, who as the 76-year-old chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, would have to clear any tax on carbon-based fuels like coal, oil or natural gas, which have been blamed for warming the atmosphere. A chief advocate of such a tax is former Democratic Vice President Al Gore.

http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FPolitics%2Fprint%3Fid%3D2802663 

By FREDERIC J. FROMMER
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 17, 2007; 6:14 PM

WASHINGTON -- Comedian Al Franken has reached out to Democratic lawmakers from Minnesota in recent days, seeking advice on a possible Senate run against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman next year.

Franken, a veteran of "Saturday Night Live" and radio show host, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he's called all of the Democrats in the delegation.

"I didn't call Coleman," he deadpanned. "I want to mainly touch base and get advice and counsel on certain issues."

Franken said he's also been reaching out to campaign veterans, pollsters and others to get their advice. While people have been encouraging, Franken said, they've also warned about possible pitfalls.

One in particular, Franken relayed: "It's unknown how people will respond to a comedian running for the Senate. I need to figure out a way to let people know I'm extremely serious about Minnesotans and their lives."

Franken said he hopes to make a decision in the next few weeks. Last year, he moved his radio show from New York City to Minneapolis.

Rep. Collin Peterson, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said that when he picked up the phone, the first thing Franken said was, "I need you to explain countercyclical payments to me."

http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F2007%2F01%2F17%2FAR2007011701639_pf.html 

Here's the clickie

http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F2007%2F01%2F17%2FAR2007011701639_pf.html 

Nite all.  Sleep with the angels.

Tomorrow will bring more good news!   

Good morning, everybody

Was trying to read through the previous thread and then the spouse said

"McCain was a prisoner of war for six years, but Gore's been in Limbo for longer"

Cracked me up. That was prompted by his hearing a MoveOn ad on the TV against McCain. They're not calling it the McCain Doctrine--didn't catch what it is being called, but the surge is being hung around his neck.

Also spent some time looking for an image in the Globe hard copy that I wanted to share. It's of marines sleeping in a house they've obviously been quartered in in Iraq--wearing their muddy boots and huddling under someone's comforters. Shameful that our troops are reduced to doing that. Who knows what happened to the family that used to live there.

good morning, good bloggers. lovely threads lately - the topics and the comments - thank you!

my thought is that we will soon see the dark horse for the dems in 2008 - and he/she will come from the ranks of Governor, just as our dear Howard did. (couple of months, tops - March sounds right...) stay tuned...

as for Hagel - he is a fine man. he has shown he can buck his party in a lot of cases, but I fear there are too many big items on our agenda he would fight against. pres, NO, just about any cabinet position, YES. but honestly, he's doing his best work right where he is, imo. (and you have to wonder if he and Biden might be contemplating a VP slot for him if Biden gets the bid)

hi Monica! nice to 'see' you this morning! as always, thanks for all you do and all the info you share.

and please tell me about this guy, Bernie Quigly - are you familiar with him at all? his thought that we all really wanted Clark had me rolling on the floor...

..."In the primary of '04, which was the coldest winter on record here in New Hampshire, I brought a lot of people in to warm by the fire who were campaigning for Democratic candidates. Most were campaigning for Howard Dean. When I said that I was a volunteer for Wesley Clark, invariably they said that they would like to see Wesley Clark as Vice President in a Dean Presidency. Howard Dean did not really want to be President; he knew he did not want to be – but his followers found in him a comfort – I would call it denial of the crisis and a denial of the responsibility to face it – but beneath that they saw the authentic figure, Wesley Clark. Kerry people wanted Clark as VP as well. Everybody did.

Then when Clark said, "I'm not going to be Howard Dean's Dick Cheney," it revealed to everyone what they already knew: They wanted Wes Clark to run the show as Dick Cheney runs Bush's show: They wanted Wes Clark to be the President. He is the one necessary ingredient to face the leadership crisis today in America. His progress will be a graph of our willingness to face the crisis; as his line goes up, the other lines will go down. He will be the one indispensable ingredient and the rest of us will be ready to cross the river with him in the upcoming year."

http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/2...

this is an interesting story from The Hill - very hopeful for the future of the relationship of the DCCC and the DNC - I like VanHolland and think this is going to be a great time for Democrats. and they remind us why the DLCers can't work with Dean... they don't like him and they never did. what infantile, unprofessional asses! buh bye, Rahm and friends!

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/T...

"Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the new chief election strategist for the House Democrats, welcomed Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean to his office Tuesday for a “jovial” meeting in which the two pledged to work together during the 2008 election cycle.

Such amity contrasts with the contentious relationship between Dean and former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.). They clashed last year over how much money Dean would commit to get-out-the-vote efforts and television advertising campaigns in individual congressional races."

clip... "“Victory is a great aphrodisiac. Rahm Emanuel had to make decisions [on a race-by-race basis]; Dean’s job is to rebuild the national party. They were both right,” newly elected Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who is close to Dean, said.

Still, some House Democratic aides close to Emanuel find working with Dean difficult. In a profile of Emanuel in GQ magazine’s January issue, an unidentified Democratic aide and Emanuel ally said, “[Dean is] so frustrating. I just don’t like him, anyway. I haven’t liked him from the beginning. It’s totally bizarre dealing with him.

She continued, “It’s not just that we only got $2.4 million, but we’re also supposed to not say mean things about Howard Dean. And Rahm’s supposed to act like everything’s wonderful.”"

guess I missed you, Monica. enjoy your day! it's warming up to 30 and sunny here today so it will feel like a heatwave!

Old thread.

New thread, actually