Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

My friend, the Village Green, had her father pass away the other day. I never met him but feel like I will miss him. I wanted to post a link to her tribute to him on her blog:

Long Live The Village Green

There is also a book that he and her mother wrote about their love letters during WWII after he had to come back to the states for a while and she was still in her native England:

Dear Stephanie, Dear Paul

OBAMA'S PATRIOTISM

On Monday on Countdown Keith brought up this story:

In our fourth story tonight: Measuring a man’s patriotism by his allegiance to symbols. The “Associated Press” reporting yesterday, the conservatives question Senator Barack Obama’s patriotism because he does not wear a flag pin and because he did not put his hand on his heart during the national anthem last September. CNN.com aiding and abetting with a shocking online poll: Does Barack Obama show the proper patriotism for someone who wants to be the president of the United States?

Obama has already said his grandfather, a World War II vet taught to put his hand up for the pledge but stand for the anthem a common practice as you can see in any ballgame. As for a flag pins, Obama stopped during in the runup to the Iraq invasion when it seemed to become, quote for him, “A substitute for true patriotism”.

Yesterday, he challenged the Republican monopoly on supposed patriotism: “A party that presided over a war in which our troops did not get the body armor needed or was sending troops over who are untrained because of poor planning or not fulfilling the veterans’ benefits that these troops need when they come home or undermining our Constitution with warrantless wiretaps that are unnecessary? That is a debate I’m very happy to have.”

Keith then brings on Rachel Maddow, my favorite left wing radio person, to comment on this and zeros in on the important part:

He’s doing something here that national level Democrats have either been too insecure or browbeaten to do in the last few years. He’s not in hiding. He’s not wishing this away. He’s literally confident and calm in picking up this teargas canister and flinging it back from where it came. He’s saying, you want to talk patriotism, let’s talk patriotism. You want to talk American ideals, all right secret prison guys. Let’s do it.

If this had happened in 2004, this would have seen as John Kerry taking those swiftboat veteran attacks and using them to say, all right, if you won’t denounce this George W. Bush, let’s talk about your Vietnam era service. That’s what a confident candidate does with these kinds of attacks.

And this is exactly the kind of thing I've wanted to see for years. The rightwingers twist the debate and accuse the dems of doing the very thing the Republicans are doing, and the Democrats never set the record straight. If Obama can turn the tables on them I will be very happy, to say the least.

Hillary Done?

Can we stick a fork in her? Yeah, I'd say so. The pundits say she would have to win 65-70% of the vote in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania and that's impossible. Obama's momentum has been incredible and it keeps growing, and his campaign seems to be extremely well organized while her's is not.

I feel sorry for her, it's not that she's run a bad campaign, it's not that she's an inadequate candidate, she just had the bad luck to run in the same year Obama ran. The problem is that HE is just that good, at least at getting people excited. Democrats have turned out at the polls with almost twice the number of voters as Republicans, and Obama is also claiming most of the independents. If Obama can keep this level of excitement up the November election should be a blowout.

I sure wish I had her to vote for in 2004 rather than John Kerry. He was a pretty weak candidate and that is being generous, Hillary would have blown him away. But she waited one more cycle, not realizing Barack Obama was waiting for her in 2008. Who could have known that. Obama is a phenomenon, just being good isn't enough. I just hope he can actually get things done when he gets into office. I still have serious doubts about his level of experience but I hope I'm wrong.

If Hillary is smart, and can swallow her pride and not go negative in the next two weeks, she should become Obama's VP. She can be his Cheney, his behind the scenes knife fighter. That way she can add her experience to the ticket.

American Atheists

This is the head of American Atheists telling secularists not to vote because no one is courting our vote. This has got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. All not voting would do it make us completely irrelevant in national politics.

My Mom

Finally got over to the nursing home my mom had been sent to, just haven't had the time or energy to get over there. She just had a jaw infection but we can't get anyone to say why they sent her to the nursing home for physical therapy afterwards.

When I got there I leaned over to gently yell in her ear to say hello, her hearing has been going steadily for 40 years. When I'd last seen her she didn't even know who I was at first because she couldn't hear me and her macular degeneration had gotten so bad she couldn't see me, either. So I knew I had to yell in her ear, as soon as I did she started hitting me and yelling at me to get away.

“Who are you! What are you doing here! Get away from me, get away from me!”

The level of hostility was startling but I figured she was just scared and didn't know where she was or what was going on, when someone can't hear no one at the hospital bothers to try and make her understand they just keep doing things to her. So I tried her other ear in case she could hear better in that one, nothing, she kept yelling and hitting and pushing me. So I stepped back, with macular degeneration she can still see around the edges so I thought if I stepped back she could see me.

And she did, she stopped for a second and said: “Kevin?” Then started yelling again: “What are you doing here?” Over and over, like she thought she was some place I couldn't get to. Then she yelled: “I don't believe it, you aren't Kevin, go away, go away!” While continuing to push and hit me. So I went and talked to the nurse since I only seemed to be upsetting her, the nurse didn't have much to say except that she had been like that since she had come in.

It looks like her hearing is gone completely now, but worse, that her mind is gone too. It was only a few weeks earlier that I'd seen her last and she had trouble focusing and kept drifting off and repeating herself but was otherwise perfectly coherent for someone 91 years old. And I've never seen that much hostility from her before. She had been getting more hostile in the past few years because she was in such bad shape she couldn't do anything any more and was pissed as hell about it, but nothing like this.

From what I understand Alzheimer's shouldn't come on that quickly, but hostility is one of the signs of it. I've been prepared for her to die for a while, even wanted her to because she was so miserable, but I wasn't prepared for this. I immediately went home and had 2 beers to calm down, and I drink so little these days that 2 beers is two months worth. I wouldn't even have the beer if Rod hadn't come over 2 weeks ago and I had gotten beer for him. But for the rest of the day I've been shaky and very nauseous. Monday we'll have to try and get in touch with her doctor and find out what is going on and see what we need to do. Maybe I'll go back with a large note pad and marker to see if I write things - very large - if she will respond to them. Maybe if she just knows what is going on she'll calm down some.

Made My Decision

A friend of mine sent me an article written by Noam Cohen in The New York Times on Hillary and Obama:

On one thing, the experts seem to agree. The differences between hillaryclinton.com and barackobama.com can be summed up this way: Barack Obama is a Mac, and Hillary Clinton is a PC.

As a longtime Mac user now I want to vote for Obama, but wait, I better keep reading:

While Mr. Santa Maria praised barackobama.com for having “this welcoming quality,” he added that it was “ethereal, vaporous and someone could construe it as nebulous.” He said there was a bit of the “Lifetime channel effect, you know, vasoline on the lens” to create a softer effect on the viewer.

Then it hit me; that is actually a good description of Obama and his campaign and one of the things that bugs me. He is indeed nebulous, pushing feel good generalities without giving too many hard facts or details. I don't like that, gives him wriggle room down the road.

The “hectic” site that the Clinton campaign is offering could actually be quite strategic, exactly in step with her branding. After all, Mrs. Clinton repeatedly emphasizes how hard she will work for the average American “starting on Day 1.” If she comes across as energetic online, that may simply be her intention. If she shouts a bit more, typographically speaking, that may be the better to be heard.

That is much more of what I want in a president. I don't want nebulous, I want hectic energy; I don't want compromise that looks just like failure, I want a feisty fighter.

I also think that Obama is more nebulous because he doesn't actually know what he's going to do when he's in the White House, just vague ideas about what he wants but no definite plan. While Hillary knows exactly what she is going to do and can get it done. It's the difference between experience and the lack of it.

So I'm voting for Hillary. Yes, I'm disappointed in her, she's far too conservative for me, but I'm not sure that Obama is any more liberal. That seems to be a tag the media put on him and it has no substance. The guy who was liberal enough, John Edwards, isn't in the race any more and isn't a choice so I have to settle for what is left.

With any luck Hillary will pick Edwards as her VP, although there is a certain symmetry in Obama being the VP. Perhaps in 8 years he'll have the experience necessary for the top job.

Super Tuesday

Big decision coming up and for once California is in the thick of things. In the past it's always been over before we had our primary, very frustrating. But now I have another dilemma, who to vote for? John Edwards has always been my man, he was the only one who seemed to understand that the country is run by the corporations and rich and they were all stomping on the poor and middle-class in a big way. And he was the only one mad about it, as mad as I am.

My first thought was that I had to go for Obama since he is the more liberal of the 2 left, but then I got this link from a friend that put all that in doubt. I'm not sure how accurate this is but I've seen enough that made me question Obama's liberal leanings already. Several searches on it have muddied the water further, some say he's more liberal some say Hillary is.

Then there is the question of who will win. Will Americans elect a black man with the name of Barack Hussein Obama? Will they elect a woman who also happens to be Hillary Clinton? Lots of people hate her, for no good reason in my opinion, but it exists all the same. I could make damn good arguments either way and I could make damn good arguments of what each one's advantage in the race would be.

Barack is young and dynamic and can inspire the young people to come to the polls, Hillary is tough and experienced and has the political backing and election machine to get it done. I just keep going in circles, all scenarios could happen and we won't know which one will actually happen until the election.

Been watching speeches all day on CNN. Oddly enough, Hillary has been more dynamic and magnetic than Obama today. Most important for me is she came right out today and said her ultimate goal is universal health care, not even Edwards said that, and Obama's health plan is a little too far to the right. His response to the current economic crisis was luke-warm as well, far too much of a Republican tint to it, let the market work it out crap that we all know only favors the rich.

And once they are in office who will be more effective? Hillary claims the experience and she has it, more experienced than most of our presidents have been, including Bill. I've heard that as Senator of New York she has worked tirelessly for the people of New York and been very effective. Obama is one of the least experienced to ever run for president. About the same age as Kennedy but Jack had 13 years as a Congressmen and Senator under his belt when he ran. And yet, Obama put together an impressive political machine very quickly when he decided to run and raised money like crazy, showing an incredible degree of competence. He's almost matched what Hillary had years to create, that's damn impressive.

If I knew Obama was going to take Edwards on as VP that might seal my vote, or even if Edwards comes out and supports him, seems odd to me that he hasn't. If I knew that if Hillary won she would take on Obama as VP I could go for that. That could give us a 16 year democratic dynasty. Might almost be enough to overcome the tremendous damage Bush has done to this country, damage I'm not sure we can recover from at all. Or even Edwards as VP would work.

I've been saying I won't vote for Hillary because she's been bought by the corporate lobbyists, but that is iffy because the only reason Obama hasn't been totally bought yet is because he's still new. Give him some time and I think he would sell out to a greater degree than Hillary. In fact, I almost think that once Hillary is in office she will feel like she has arrived and will feel like she can give the corporations the finger and do what she wants because she will have already achieved her biggest ambition and doesn't need them any more.

I tend to think Obama has a better chance of getting elected and still lean towards the idea of him being more liberal, but he is always vague when he talks, never really makes heavy promises or gives details. While Hillary does give details, like stating flat out that she wants to aim towards universal health care. That statement alone might just get my vote.

I have a feeling I'll be mulling this over all the way to the polling place on Tuesday. But right now I think I'm leaning towards Hillary, health care is the single, most important issue for me.

Edwards & MLK III

Here is a letter sent to John Edwards from Martin Luther King III after they met and talked.

January 20, 2008 The Honorable John R. Edwards 410 Market Street Suite 400 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Dear Senator Edwards: It was good meeting with you yesterday and discussing my father's legacy. On the day when the nation will honor my father, I wanted to follow up with a personal note. There has been, and will continue to be, a lot of back and forth in the political arena over my father's legacy. It is a commentary on the breadth and depth of his impact that so many people want to claim his legacy. I am concerned that we do not blur the lines and obscure the truth about what he stood for: speaking up for justice for those who have no voice. I appreciate that on the major issues of health care, the environment, and the economy, you have framed the issues for what they are - a struggle for justice. And, you have almost single-handedly made poverty an issue in this election. You know as well as anyone that the 37 million people living in poverty have no voice in our system. They don't have lobbyists in Washington and they don't get to go to lunch with members of Congress. Speaking up for them is not politically convenient. But, it is the right thing to do. I am disturbed by how little attention the topic of economic justice has received during this campaign. I want to challenge all candidates to follow your lead, and speak up loudly and forcefully on the issue of economic justice in America. From our conversation yesterday, I know this is personal for you. I know you know what it means to come from nothing. I know you know what it means to get the opportunities you need to build a better life. And, I know you know that injustice is alive and well in America, because millions of people will never get the same opportunities you had. I believe that now, more than ever, we need a leader who wakes up every morning with the knowledge of that injustice in the forefront of their minds, and who knows that when we commit ourselves to a cause as a nation, we can make major strides in our own lifetimes. My father was not driven by an illusory vision of a perfect society. He was driven by the certain knowledge that when people of good faith and strong principles commit to making things better, we can change hearts, we can change minds, and we can change lives. So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horserace, not a fight for justice. My dad was a fighter. As a friend and a believer in my father's words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I say to you: keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud. Sincerely, Martin L. King, III

Bush vs Jesus

Hell of a Day

That was yesterday and it isn't going to get any better for days. If I was a superstitious man I'd say the universe was out to get us and Darcy agreed that it sure seemed like that. For the 6 months when she was mostly in the hospital and we weren't sure if she would live annoying crap kept happening, exactly when we (mostly me) didn't want to deal with it. Things like my very reliable Camry breaking down twice, which makes 3 times in the 11 years I've had it. And 3 or 4 annoying things would happen every week.

Yesterday was a doozie. Started out with Darcy waking up with a bad tooth-ache. She's had this for over a week and has been taking Amoxicillin, because she's immune compromised such things can be very dangerous. We went to the dentist last Monday and he couldn't find the infection. He thought the anti-biotic had taken care of it and it would just go away. So waking up with it swollen and hurting on Sunday was bad, especially since she had to be in the hospital Monday morning for an operation. So we went to the dentist's office and saw another of the 20 dentists they had there (I really hated the place as soon as we saw it). After waiting 2 hours the dentist comes in, takes one look at the x-rays, the very same ones the other doc saw on Monday, and immediately said she had a massive infection in a tooth that had a root canal done to it. That it called for major surgery because it was in the bone. At this point all we know is that one of these dentists is completely incompetent but don't know which one. Probably be both.

Earlier in the day we got a call from the home where my mom is staying, saying she went to the dentist with a tooth ache but it was so bad he sent her to the hospital for oral surgery. ARRGGHH!

Back to Darcy's dentist, who now refuses to operate until she has Darcy's doc sign off on it because she has so many serious conditions. This is standard procedure and Darcy had told them to get that last Monday when we were first in but the doc said he didn't need it and they hadn't done anything. I'm holding my temper, all I want at this point is to get out and never set foot in there again but Darcy is chewing them out big time. Her closing shot was “If anything bad happens it's your fault.” When we got to the car a little old Asian lady had followed us out and in broken English tried to say it was our fault they didn't have her doctor's permission to operate. At which point I lost it and started screaming at her at the top of my lungs, this didn't faze her at all and she just kept trying to insist it was our fault not theirs and I just drove off with her still talking. Her son must own the place.

So here it is Monday morning and Darcy has to head over at 7am to get her arm operated on, which should have been done 2 months ago but the docs blew it. They had put a fistula in her arm for the dialysis, but it needed 6 weeks to grow and they went ahead with emergency dialysis by putting a plastic tube down a vein in her neck. This is bad because it is more prone to infection than the fistula but we had no choice. By the end of November the vein surgeon wanted to operate again and move the fistula to a better position. It had already been 6 weeks at that point, now it's 2 months later and we'll have to wait for this operation to heal and the whole idea had been to get off the plastic tube as soon as humanly possible.

And I forgot to mention that when I went to turn the TV on so I could record the playoff games our very expensive HDTV was dead. This is a problem because the thing weighs a ton, I can't even lift half of it, it takes 2 VERY strong guys to move it with difficulty. In the meantime we can't watch any of our recorded shows and sitting down to watch TV at night is our time together since even going out to dinner is a major effort. The shows will keep recording and our DVR will just start erasing older shows automatically as the hard drive gets filled to capacity. And who the hell needs to deal with this now!

My mom, as of last night, was resting comfortably but one side of her face was swollen up. Her doc is Dr. Saran and I said that I hope he can wrap this up quickly. Darcy didn't laugh, she thinks the love of puns is a basic, male genetic flaw. But I'm going to have to go over to her hospital after Darcy gets out of surgery - they are going to keep her overnight - Darcy that is, Mom has already been kept overnight.

And I'm pretty sure a couple of emergency rushes are supposed to come in today at work. I'm sure they will call me when that happens.

The Economy

Edwards is my man because he's the only one who talks about the 2 Americas. Rich Republicans don't even believe it exists, or if they do just don't care, they got theirs. The well paid, fat cat media doesn't relate to it either, but anyone living in that second America, the poor one, or the middle class one who is one disaster away from homelessness, knows exactly what he is talking about. And the worst cause of concern is health insurance, people pay a lot of money for it or don't have it at all and are worried that they will soon be in big trouble. But there isn't much point in paying a lot for health insurance because as soon as you come down with something serious they will refuse to cover you.

Here is something from Alternet:

Democrat John Edwards and Republican Mike Huckabee are the messengers of class politics in this election - the Huey Longs as I called them a while back. As Reuters today reports:

"Ask corporate lobbyists which presidential contender is most feared by their clients and the answer is almost always the same -- Democrat John Edwards...Edwards' tone and language on the campaign trail have increased business antipathy toward him. His stump speeches are peppered with attacks on "corporate greed" and warnings of "the destruction of the middle class.'...But this year Edwards is not alone. Republican candidate Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, sometimes also rails against corporate power and influence, tapping a populist current that lies just below the surface of U.S. politics."
On the Democratic side, Edwards class-based campaign has pushed candidates like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to lately vent more populist themes (though Obama's underlying message remains class-averse). That stands in contrast to the Republican side, where the rest of the field against Huckabee is digging in promoting more Bush-style upper-class warfare.

Even if Edwards doesn't get the nomination he deserves a lot of credit for changing what the top 2 are talking about. More and more they keep taking Edwards' issues and using them as their own. I don't think either would have come out with major health insurance reform if Edwards hadn't done it first. Now they are stealing his talking points on the economy.

Edwards deserves the nomination and would get it if he got the publicity the other two got. But the corporate media doesn't like him because they know he will not be friendly and expand their markets. The reporters are all well paid and just can't relate to his message, plus they think Hillary and Obama are better stories. They may be right but because we have such a shoddy media (if not downright corrupt) the man who should be our next president isn't going to get the chance.

Although I wouldn't right him off yet, he's tough. Simply the fact that the corporate lobbyists are scared of him is enough reason to vote for him.

Nightmare Girl

I've got a new comic book coloring project. Been a while since I had a juicy one and this is a doozie - 120 page graphic novel, I'll be at this one for a while. I've got 3 pages done so far!

With all the stress of the last year my brain is having trouble focusing, I'll answer an email and the next thing I know I've spent 2 hours answering emails instead of working, not my usual pace but I'm so easily distracted these days. Also I'm just damn busy, Darcy took care of just about everything around the house, cleaning, shopping, cooking. Now I have to do all that, and take care of her and work my usual 14 hours a day. She is getting more independent as time goes on so I don't have to stay home until almost noon to get her ready for dialysis, she can do it for herself now, but she is not up to shopping or cleaning yet and I'm not good at either one of those. But I'll get past it, I always do. She's trying to chip in by doing some flat coloring for me but 3 days a week of dialysis really eats up a person's time.

The name of the comic is Nightmare Girl and the page here is the main character just before the nightmare begins, click on the image for a larger view. Creator and writer is Jimmy Leigh, who really has a lot invested in this project and pays me on time, which is very important since times are pretty tight right now. Here is Jimmy's Facebook page. The only thing of mine on there is the background image, which is page 1, scroll down for page 4 of the comic. Jimmy is quite a character, which is a necessary requirement for comic book creators. Duval Stowers is the artist, doing both pencils and inks. Man, is that a lot of work for 120 pages but he's a talented artist. Haven't met Duval yet, just talked on the phone a couple of times.

Here is the official Nightmare Girl web page. Not a lot on it because we are just getting started but it will fill up soon with sample pages. As for me, I've got to get to work, even though it's 10:15 pm. Sleep is for the weak!

Iowa 2008

The news people are just so excited and having so much fun today. Nothing they like better than a tight race to increase their ratings.

Just saw David Gregory interviewing Edwards and he said that Obama says that we need someone to unite us and not be divisive. My thought was fuck that shit!! I want the neocons crushed like the bugs they are so they all scurry back into the deep, dark, dank holes they should never have crawled out from. And so completely crushed they would be afraid to show their faces for decades.

Edwards said he couldn't disagree more, he sees his job as president is to fight for the American people against the corporate interests and those people are not going to just go away and you are not going to "nice" them away.

Awright, John!! Of course, that means he's done for even if he wins Iowa. The corporate media will HowardDean him big time and sink his entire candidacy. They will hate him more than any other candidate.

The New Year

Here it is 2008. As I said in 2007 I'm continually amazed by these dates. We are actually in the 21st Century. Doesn't look anything like the artist's rendering of the future in magazines in the 50's and 60's. My granddaughter Ally will be 7 on January 7. This means she has never lived in a time when the yearly date didn't begin with a 2.

What I also said in 2007 was I hoped Darcy would still be around for this New Year because I could see she wasn't looking too good. Too many years past her lung transplant, all those heavy duty meds were taking their toll.

Little did I know how right I was. She spent close to all of the last 6 months in the hospital and got down to skin and bones, too weak to even lift herself up into a sitting position in a bed with railing. Twice I thought she only had a day or two left but she pulled through each time. She is now on dialysis because the drugs have completely destroyed her kidneys and has been home for 3 weeks. A week ago she surprised me by getting out of bed and walking to the living room by herself. I didn't even know she had done it until I walked in there and saw her on the couch.

So she has beat the odds again, as she has so many times in the past 15 years since her first diagnosis of a fatal lung disease. I think both of us are pretty sure she won't make it to 2009. The trick for times like these is to live in denial, don't think about it and just enjoy each day that you have. All those self help gurus got it all wrong, denial is a great thing and living in the moment really sucks. If you ever have to do it you will know what I mean.

But here is something to get the new year started off right:

Edwards Is Best Bet to Beat GOP

Here is an article that shows why Edwards is the best choice to beat the Republicans in the general election:

The conventional wisdom has it all backwards.

The Democratic Nomination

Edwards has consistently rated best against the Republicans from the beginning. That's one of the reasons why I think when it comes down to it when the voters get into the booth they might pick Edwards despite what they said in polls. Hillary is too hated by too many people, unjustly, in my opinion but it's there never the less. And too many people are afraid a black man can't yet be elected president in this country. So at vote time they will choose the good looking, Southern, white guy.

Edwards has been my man since the beginning and was even back in 2004. I think he's grown a lot since then, too. He is the only candidate who has been honest on the campaign trail and the debates, is very anti-corporatist, and has managed to maintain a top-tier ranking.

While I agree with Kucinich more on the issues I think Edwards would make a better leader. Part of it is that Kucinich has been unable to build up much support even though many Democrat agree with him more than anyone else. Edwards is just as shunned by the media as Kucinich but has stayed at the top, no small feat. It's survival of the fittest, perhaps we have a terrible system but we are stuck with it for now and we need someone who can work it to their advantage. I think Edwards would get a lot more done than Kucinich would. It doesn't much matter how good someone's ideas are if they can't implement any of them. And I think he really is a powerful and honest advocate for the poor and middle class and not for corporate America, which is why the corporate media doesn't like him. By honest I mean he really does want to help the poor, he isn't just saying that to get elected.

Edwards has said a number of things that really impress me, one is the idea of asking the public to sacrifice to get some things done, like helping the environment. He said it's about time Americans were asked to be patriotic about something other than war. Conventional wisdom says don't ask the public to do anything difficult, but Edwards says people want to be asked to participate in something important. That's the kind of talk that stirs people up and gets them excited.

I like Obama but I do think he is too inexperienced and it really shows sometimes. I think the best case scenario is for Edwards to get the nomination then pick Obama as VP. He is young enough that he would definitely be ready for the number one position in 8 years. And I think after 8 years as VP a black man for president would be much more acceptable to the
American public. And having him grandfathered in by a Southern, white guy has a better chance of working.

Why Right-Wing Ideas Keep Failing

Here is an interesting article that says what I've been saying for years; the Republicans aren't stupid and incompetent, they are doing things EXACTLY the way they want to do them.

But here’s the real problem for today’s conservatives: their movement’s intellectuals and experts are overwhelmingly the ones who have come up with the ideas that have largely proven to be just as bankrupt in practice as the gold standard that Paul wants to resurrect. The brains behind the enterprise don’t have any ideas left in the well to draw from that haven’t already been tried and failed. Frum says, “…politicians who want to deliver effective government and positive results have to care about more than values – and have to do more than check their guts. They need to study the problem, master the evidence, and face criticism.”

Okay, based on the evidence, here’s a criticism: movement conservatism’s lavishly funded think tanks have produced ideas leading to nothing but ineffective government and negative results.

The link above leads to a book all about the same thing , that right wing ideas keep failing because they are just flat out, objectively wrong. Everything they think is supposed to happen when they impliment their ideas goes wrong because all the basic ideas are wrong. They believe 1+1=3 and when it keeps adding up to 2 they just go crazy. Their solutions are always; do more of what wasn't working!!

The Republican's political and economic ideas are all based on ideology, which they believe with the fanaticism of any religious fundamentalist. What this means is they never look at what is ACTUALLY happening then make adjustments if things aren't working - you know, like a sane person does. Mostly they just look for people to blame, like Bill Clinton, and Bill is such an evil genius that even 7 years out of office and he is STILL making all their plans go awry. Damn, he's good, high five, Bill!

What this boils down to in practical terms is that Republicans should never, ever be elected to any public office of any kind for any reason, not even dog catcher.

And to those people who are Republicans, and I mean the average public, switch sides because conservatism as we know it today is wrong and will cause serious damage.

This doesn't mean the Democrats are always right, they are sometimes right and are more willing to change direction when actual evidence is shown to them. Republicans think evidence is a liberal bias.

Ten Reasons Why I Broke Up With God

I rarely copy an entire article I found online but I've just been too tired and stressed to post here as often as I would like. For the record, Darcy is doing better. She is at home and is even strong enough to get out of bed and get dressed by herself.

Anyway, all the appropriate credits are on this thing as well as a web link:
________________________________________________

Ten Reasons Why I Broke Up With God
By Annabelle Gurwitch, TheNation.com
Posted on December 13, 2007, Printed on December 14, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/70460/

After his address on religion last week, I'm sure I'll never be invited to Mitt Romney's White House should he be elected President. It's not just because as a National Public Radio commentator, documentary filmmaker, single-payer universal healthcare proponent and driver's license for illegal immigration-supporting liberal, I don't travel in the same circles as he does. As an atheist, I now know that I'm not even included in Romney's America.

You see, I broke up with God years ago, but not really because of the big stuff that leading godless heathens like Christopher Hitchens write about. As with most relationships, it's the little things that drove me crazy. Here's my top-ten list of reasons I gave God the old heave-ho. In no particular order:

1. Shellfish. My God would never make mussels, clams and oysters taste so good and then prohibit me, a Jewish gal, from eating them.

2. The meek shall inherit the earth. In my family, like much of America's workforce, not only have the meek inherited nothing, they are barely holding on to their standard of living. So on this point alone, I reject the Bible.

3. American Gladiators. If there were a God, American Gladiators would not be returning to TV this winter.

4. Iran. If there were a God one part of our government wouldn't be opening doors to negotiate with Ahmadinejad, while another fans the flames for military action.

5. There's not enough good Szechwan in Los Angeles. If there were a God, he would make better Chinese food more readily available in Los Angeles. LA is mostly made up of transplanted New Yorkers, so why can't we get good old chicken and broccoli in garlic source out West?

6. Britney Spears. If there were a God, Britney Spears wouldn't be one of the most Googled topics on the Internet. Although perhaps there is a God and this is one of the signs of the apocalypse. Example: Spears gave us views of her vajayjay: 3,450,000 Google hits. Jonas Salk gave us the polio vaccine: 212,000 Google hits.

7. Multitasking is of dubious effectiveness. Recent studies have shown that multitasking isn't that productive. If there were a God, he wouldn't allow my illusion of being able to accomplish more on a daily basis to be taken away from me.

8. God doesn't give you anything you can't handle. My God wouldn't allow people to make up inane aphorisms about him. I'm disorganized, easily distracted, have a fear of anything medical and have a kid with health issues. My God would know that I was a poor choice for this assignment, that this saying is just moronic and only serves to make people like me feel worse when we inevitably fail.

9. Trannies. Most all of the little beauty tips I've employed in my career as an actress I learned from the transvestites and transsexuals I used go-go dance with on the bar at the Pyramid Club in NYC. Especially tricks with crazy glue. My God simply would not stand for unequal treatment of gay people.

10. Darfur, AIDS, my awe and respect for the mysteries of science, that lead paint is in kids' toys, that we allow people to live on the streets, that we haven't passed stricter gun legislation... OK, I lied. I have a million top ten reasons why I reject the notion of the kind of God invoked in particular by the Republican candidates, though most of the Democrats have also enrolled in the campaign God-a-thon.

That said, I am willing to admit that I might be completely wrong about God. After all, round-toed Mary Janes are back, which is something I've prayed for, because it's just against nature to squeeze into pointy-toed high heels. Furthermore, Donny and Marie are reuniting. It seems so improbable that there is interest in them that even immaculate conception seems plausible to me now. Not to mention that the chance of a presidential run by former pastor Mike Huckabee -- not long after a movie about existentialism titled I (Heart) Huckabee was released -- seems to be the same as the notion that dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time as man.

But if Mitt and I ever did break bread, he would get no flak from me on the Mormon faith. Compared to burning bushes, people turning into piles of salt, plagues and general mayhem of the Bible, I find Joseph Smith's buried tablets written in the secret language that no one has ever heard of a perfectly reasonable story that was turned into a three-part series on South Park -- such consistently brilliant satire that its existence alone might just prove there is a God.

Writer and actress Annabelle Gurwitch is the creator and producer of the Fired! project. The documentary Fired! which was featured on The Sundance Channel in November 2007. Her column Fired Up appears regularly in The Nation, and her essays have appeared in publications including the Los Angeles Times, Glamour, Child, Premiere, and Penthouse.

© 2007 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/70460/

Impeachment

This survey is from American Research Group, inc.

Essentially what it says is that 53% of the American public want Bush impeached, which makes the dems inaction so damn frustrating.

All I can think of is they have been so intimidated by the pubs for so long when they say boo the dems hit the ceiling, like Sylvester in an old Tweety cartoon. And one time Sylvester hit the chandelier.

That's why I call them spineless, they don't even have the guts to do something the majority of their constituents want them to do and is something that serves not only their own self interests but the country's interest as well. It's really a no brainer unless you are
spineless. Hell, even the spineless would go ahead under these circumstances, they are lower than being spineless.

My guess is there is some kind of back room deal going on, the dems are playing ball with the pubs when they should be crushing them.

---

November 13, 2007 - Impeachment

A total of 64% of American voters say that President
George W. Bush has abused his powers as president. Of the 64%,
14% (9% of all voters) say the
abuses are not serious enough to warrant impeachment, 33% (21%
of all voters) say the abuses
rise to the level of impeachable offenses, but he should not
be impeached, and 53% (34% of
all voters) say the abuses rise to the level of impeachable
offenses and Mr. Bush should be
impeached and removed from office.

Question:
Which one of these four statements do you agree with about President Bush: 1. President Bush has not abused his powers as president. 2. President Bush has abused his powers as president, but the abuses are not serious enough to warrant impeachment under the Constitution. 3. President Bush has abused his powers as president which rise to the level of impeachable offenses under the Constitution, but he should not be impeached. 4. President Bush has abused his powers as president which rise to the level of impeachable offenses under the Constitution and he should be impeached and removed from office.
11/12/07	#1	#2	#3	#4
All voters	36%	9%	21%	34%
Democrats (39%)	16%	9%	25%	50%
Republicans (35%)	64%	6%	12%	18%
Independents (26%)	29%	11%	26%	34%
Based on 1,100 completed telephone interviews among a random sample of registered voters nationwide November 9-12, 2007. The theoretical margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points, 95% of the time.

The Patriots

I'm a big NFL fan, which is odd because I'm much more the bookworm type than a jock. In fact, there isn't any other sport I will watch 5 minutes of. So how did I get hooked on football? Simple, back in the early 80's I lived in Seattle. I soon discovered that on Monday morning at work the only thing everyone talked about was the Seahawks game the day before. So I started watching just so I would have something to talk to people about on Monday. Wasn't long before I was hooked and I've been watching ever since.

Once I left Seattle it was hard to find a team to root for, especially in the LA/Orange County area. I hated the Raiders and the Rams were just too pitiful. So I started getting hooked on the good teams because they were so much fun to watch. First it was the the 49ers with Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, who didn't like them? And they were even in one of my favorite cities in California. The combo of Joe and Jerry hooked me in even farther and Darcy got us tickets to one Monday night game at Anaheim Stadium (just up the street from us) so I got to see Joe and Jerry and the rest of the 49ers play the rams. My one and only pro game, I'd rather watch at home, much more comfortable.

There have been other teams over the years, especially with the Raiders and Rams eventually moving away so I didn't have a local team to cheer for even if they were good. The Bears when McMahon was QB, the Packers when Farve took them to the Superbowl, and of course, the 49ers under Steve Young who was almost as good as Montana. And, naturally, the St. Loius Rams, figires those guys would only become good after leaving OC. I thought Joe the best quarterback I had ever seen (but I'd never seen one before 1983). Until today when I think Tom Brady has now donned the mantle of best QB ever. And this year is his best year. So what fun to find a video of highlights of yesterday's game (which I missed because Darcy came home from the hospital) on the NFL site with links to it just like YouTube. It is so much fun living here in the future.

******************
Hrrumph. After several minutes of trying it is clear the link for the NFL video does NOT operate like YouTube so I can't embed the video itself on the blog. Sometimes living here in the future is very annoying. I will have to give the link to the website and have people go there to watch if they want. It's less than seven minutes but really gives you the feel of the game and the quality is FAR better than YouTube.

Monday Night Football: Patriots and Ravens Highlights

Political News

DICK CHENEY HAS IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT!!
Really, I think everyone is amazed that anyone found any kind of heartbeat at all. I wonder if they've ever found a regular heartbeat, doesn't seem possible. The name Darth Vader didn't stick to him for nothing. Then there is a recent poll that said 55% of Americans think Cheney is going to hell. Quite a statistic when you figure at least 9% of the population likes him and another 15-20% don't believe in hell.
________________________________________

TRENT LOTT RESIGNS!!
Horrible news, isn't it? We won't have Trent Lott to kick around any more. But then we have to look at the reason for him resigning, and specifically before the end of the year. New laws have been enacted that say anyone leaving Congress after January 1, 2008 has to wait an entire year before they can become a lobbyist and rake in the big bucks. So Trent just wants to make sure he doesn't miss a whole year of a 7 figure income.
________________________________________

RECESSION!!
Here is the article from CNN Money:

Even with a boost from holiday spending, the U.S. economy looks shaky, thanks to slumping housing prices, Wall Street woes and debt-laden consumers. How bad could it get?

It could get really bad, especially with the dollar falling so rapidly. We have Bush's economic policies to thank for this, although a better name would be Bush's Looting Policies. They have funneled money upwards to the rich so they could get much richer and the poor and middle class have to struggle twice as hard to to keep from sinking. When people are working too hard and getting sick without health insurance, and one pay check away from homelessness, they are usually too busy and too tired to march in the street or pay much attention to politics, and that is the whole point of Republican Economic Strategy. And besides, all of them have most of their money in foreign currency so as the dollar falls they actually get richer.
________________________________________

AL GORE AT THE WHITE HOUSE!!
He's were he belongs at last! Too bad it's because Bush invited him. George was having a visit today from all the American Noble Prize Laureates so he couldn't very well keep Al out, he would look petty if he tried. So he made the diplomatic move and called Gore personally to invite him over for a private meeting, makes him look like the big man even though we all know what kind of a man he is; one who isn't fit to shine Al's shoes. The fundies and Neocons all just about had a collective stroke when Gore got the Noble Peace Prize. They hate the guy with a passion (because they know as well as we do that Gore is the rightful president and Bush pulled off a peaceful coup) and they absolutely can't stand the idea that the rest of the world respects him. I think if they did a poll they would find him far more respected around the world than King George.

Stupid Citizens

Jay Leno talks to the people on the streets and asks questions that are on the citizenship test. It's scary that these people can vote. He jokes they are are deported for getting all the answers wrong, if only that were true.

At the very least we should make people take the citizenship test before being allowed to be a registered voter.

We DO Torture!

Vjack, over at Atheist Revolution has a good post on the history of waterboarding and that only America doesn't seem to know it IS torture and that we are engaged in it. And he has some unkind things to say about Christians on the matter:

Fortunately for the politicians, Christianity, often blended with a sense of white racial superiority, made it easier for the American people to swallow what was being done in their name. After all, the victims of waterboarding were not Christian and thus merely immoral beasts. It did not surprise me to learn that one of the early defenders of waterboarding was a Christian minister.

Keith Olbermann has even worse things to say in one of his Special Comments:

It is a fact startling in its cynical simplicity and it requires cynical and simple words to be properly expressed: The presidency of George W. Bush has now devolved into a criminal conspiracy to cover the ass of George W. Bush.

All the petulancy, all the childish threats, all the blank-stare stupidity; all the invocations of World War III, all the sophistic questions about which terrorist attacks we wanted him not to stop, all the phony secrets; all the claims of executive privilege, all the stumbling tap-dancing of his nominees, all the verbal flatulence of his apologists...

The link takes you to an Alternet site that has not only a video of it but a transcript. Powerful stuff, Keith keeps getting better - and angrier - as time goes on.

I understand his anger, I've been incredulous for months that America has sat back and let Bush and his crew turn us into the kind of country who tortures our enemies. I remember one Vietnam POW saying that one of the things that kept them going through all the torture they had to endure was knowing America would never treat their prisoners like that.

Guess we are now the Vietnamese now.

Leopard 10.5

Man, do I want it! I've never been one to update OS's quickly. I've got an old beige Mac that is still running 8.1 (that's a pre-OSX system for the uninitiated). When I got my Quicksilvers in 2002 I ran OS 9.2 for a couple of years because I didn't want to mess with OSX. Didn't use it until Jaguar. Then when Panther came out I waited a year before upgrading to that. Tiger I went to much faster, upgrading after only a few months after it came out because it had some cool features.

But Leopard I really want. All kinds of good things in it. The most important for me is the new Finder, which works much more like Mail or iTunes but I especially like the preview mode, Quick Look, in Finder. I bought a Finder replacement app, Path Finder, a while ago mainly because it had a good preview feature and the few times I've stopped using it and gone back to Finder I've quickly gone back to Path Finder because I really needed the preview feature. Works even better now that InDesign makes previews as well.

But my favorite feature is Back To My Mac. If you have a .mac account (and I do) you can connect to any other Mac of yours that is registered on .mac and use it like you were there. Which means while I'm at work I can open my home Mac and vise versa. There has been many a time I've left things at work I wanted to work on at home and forgot to take with me. Nothing for it but to wait until I get into work the next day. But with the new Leopard feature I can access the work Mac right from the Finder. You used to have to buy Apple Remote Desktop for that, a $500 program.

Time Machine looks great too. It saves a snapshot of your system and files every hour, but not the whole system only what is changed. Suppose you have a file you've been working on for days, at some point you realize you really want to go back to the version you had yesterday afternoon. You can flip through Time Machine until you find just that version of it and copy it back your hard drive.

And there are several other cool features, too. Preview will now let you combine several PDF's into one. Partition your hard drive without erasing it. Notes and To Do's in Mail look interesting. They have Dashcode, which is supposed to make designing Widgets easy, maybe I'll give that a try. Guest login so if I want to look up some porn without Darcy knowing it's all gone when that Guest account is gone :-) Or Private Browsing in Safari will do the same thing.

But my rule is to wait until at least 2 updates on a new OS for them to get some bugs out, but it's going to be hard. What does keep me in check is that there are several system enhancement apps I use that aren't fully Leopard compatible yet so I have to wait for them. Also, I just can't afford it right now which is what is really holding me in check.

Illegal Immigration & the Middle Class

A lot of talk these days about the question Hillary supposedly flubbed on the debates; driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. The idea is to make the roads safer but that really doesn't track for me. Those who are terrible drivers aren't going to take the test anyway. Perhaps a few might study up so they can pass and thus be safer drivers but I don't think it will really create much of a change.

The better argument is that those with driver's licenses can then get insurance. This makes more sense because it affects all of us to have uninsured drivers out there.

But the bottom line is it's a step toward legitimizing their illegal status. With a DL they can then become a regular part of society and get other things as well like jobs, apartments, credit cards, etc. Is this good or bad? It's a matter of opinion and I think both sides can be justified.

Illegal immigration is a very tricky issue for pubs and dems. For pubs the racists don't want any more brown people here, but the big business pubs want the cheap labor. For dems these are our fellow unfortunate and working class people that need a helping hand, but on the other hand they are surpassing wages for the rest of us. Then there is the issue that it is hugely unfair to those who have gone through the system to get here legally.

After much thought the issue that I think trumps all of them is cheap workers coming in and suppressing wages, and quality of life, for the entire middle class. I think the attacks on the middle class by the rich and the corporations is the most serious problem in America today, democracy requires a strong middle class in order to function. Not to mention the idea that people can work hard all their lives in this country and follow all the rules and still end up in their later years completely broke and unable to afford health insurance. To me this is just wrong, it is not the America I thought I was growing up in and not the America I want to see.

So I am against illegal immigration and against giving them amnesty because we need to protect our middle class which is being attacked at all levels and directions. The claim is that Americans won't do the jobs illegals do but I think that's a total crock. If there were no illegals to be used - and abused - by employers then they would have to pay a decent wage to Americans who would, then, do the jobs. Everyone says that will raise prices everywhere and if that is true then I say that it is the price we will have to pay, hopefully that will be offset by increased wages. But I have my doubts about how true that really is, one figure I heard is that if crop pickers got $15 per hour it would only raise the cost of food by less than 10%. In my opinion the problems with high prices and low wages is the crooks at the top, taking multi-million dollar payoffs and ones not even linked to performance.

For one individual to make $20 mil a year for 5 years then get a $200 million payoff when he leaves, even if the company is in worse shape than it was when he came in, is just obscene. The problem is how to stop that. I think the best thing is enormous taxes on that kind of income, something like 90% on anything over $20 mil in one year, which could pay for health care for everyone. The irony here is that universal health care for all of America would help the corporations enormously because they spend a fortune on health care for their employees. Most corps have huge departments devoted entirely to employee health care. Removing that cost & hassle would benefit the corps to the tune of billions a year.

And the middle class aren't asking to be rich, nor are they asking for there to be no rich people, they just want to not be in desperate poverty at the end of their lives or to spend their entire lives one paycheck away from disaster. I don't think that is too much to expect from this country, nor do I think it will cost the rich a significant reduction in their quality of life.

Edwards Speaks Against Government Corruption

This is a great speech that really does address what is behind all our worst problems in this country, that we are run by the corporations who have bought the politicians. And this speech is the reason why I support Edwards and do not want Hillary to win.


Remarks by Senator John Edwards
St. Anselm's College, Manchester, New Hamphshire
October 29, 2007

Many of you know that I am the son of a mill worker -- that I rose from modest means and have been blessed in so many ways in life. Elizabeth and I have so much to be grateful for.

And all of you know about some of the challenges we have faced in my family. But there came a time, a few months ago, when Elizabeth and I had to decide, in the quiet of a hospital room, after many hours of tests and getting pretty bad news -- what we were going to do with our lives.

And we made our decision. That we were not going to go quietly into the night -- that we were going to stand and fight for what we believe in.

As Elizabeth and I have campaigned across America, I've come to a better understanding of what that decision really meant -- and why we made it.

Earlier this year, I spoke at Riverside Church in New York, where, forty years ago, Martin Luther King gave a historic speech. I talked about that speech then, and I want to talk about it today. Dr. King was tormented by the way he had kept silent for two years about the Vietnam War.

He was told that if he spoke out he would hurt the civil rights movement and all that he had worked for -- but he could not take it any more -- instead of decrying the silence of others -- he spoke the truth about himself.

"Over the past two years" he said, "I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silence and speak from the burning of my own heart."

I am not holier than thou. I am not perfect by any means. But there are events in life that you learn from, and which remind you what this is really all about. Maybe I have been freed from the system and the fear that holds back politicians because I have learned there are much more important things in life than winning elections at the cost of selling your soul.

Especially right now, when our country requires so much more of us, and needs to hear the truth from its leaders.

And, although I have spent my entire life taking on the big powerful interests and winning -- which is why I have never taken a dime from Washington lobbyists or political action committees -- I too have been guilty of my own silence -- but no more.

It's time to tell the truth. And the truth is the system in Washington is corrupt. It is rigged by the powerful special interests to benefit they very few at the expense of the many. And as a result, the American people have lost faith in our broken system in Washington, and believe it no longer works for ordinary Americans. They're right.

As I look across the political landscape of both parties today -- what I see are politicians too afraid to tell the truth -- good people caught in a bad system that overwhelms their good intentions and requires them to chase millions of dollars in campaign contributions in order to perpetuate their careers and continue their climb to higher office.

This presidential campaign is a perfect example of how our politics is awash with money. I have raised more money up to this point than any Democratic candidate raised last time in the presidential campaign -- $30 million. And, I did it without taking a dime from any Washington lobbyist or any special interest PAC.

I saw the chase for campaign money at any cost by the frontrunner in this race -- and I did not join it -- because the cost to our nation and our children is not worth the hollow victory of any candidate. Being called president while powerful interests really run things is not the same as being free to lead this nation as president of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. If protecting the current established structure in Washington is in your interest, then I am not your candidate. I ran for president four years ago -- yes, in part out of personal ambition -- but also with a deep desire to stand for working people like my father and mother -- who no matter how hard things were for our family, always worked even harder to make things better for us.

But the more Elizabeth and I campaigned this year, the more we talked to the American people, the more we met people just like my father, and hard working people like James Lowe. James is a decent and honest man who had to live for 50 years with no voice in the richest country in the world because he didn't have health care. The more people like him that I met, the more I realized something much bigger was stirring in the American people. And it has stirred in each of us for far too long.

Last month Ken Burns -- who made the great Civil War documentary -- launched his newest epic on World War II on PBS -- and what a story it tells.

At the cost of great suffering, blood and enormous sacrifice, within four years after Pearl Harbor it is incredible what this nation achieved. America built the arsenal of democracy worthy of our great history. We launched the greatest invasion armada in the history of warfare against Hitler's fortress Europe, and, with our allies, we freed a continent of suffering humanity.

At the same time on the other side of the globe we crossed 10,000 miles of ocean and liberated another hemisphere of humanity -- islands and nations freed from the grip of Japanese militarists. While at the same time succeeding in the greatest scientific endeavor ever undertaken -- the Manhattan project -- and topped it off with building the Pentagon, one of the largest buildings in the world in a little over a year.

It is incredible what America has accomplished. Because no matter what extraordinary challenges we have been faced with, we did exactly what America has always done in our history -- we rose to the challenge.

And, now, as I travel across America and listen to people, I hear real concern about what's going on. For the first time in our nation's history, people are worried that we're going to be the first generation of Americans not to pass on a better life to our children.

And it's not the fault of the American people. The American people have not changed. The American people are still the strong, courageous people they have always been. The problem is what our government has become. And, it is up to us to do something about it.

Because Washington may not see it, but we are facing a moral crisis as great as any that has ever challenged us. And, it is this test -- this moral test -- that I have come to understand is at the heart of this campaign.

Just look at what has happened in Iraq. What was the response of the American people to the challenge at hand? Our men and women in uniform have been heroes. They've done everything that's been asked of them and more. But what about our government? Four years after invading Iraq, we cannot even keep the lights on in Baghdad.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the American people were at their best. They donated their time and their money in record numbers. There was an outpouring of support. I took 700 college kids down to help -- young people who gave up their spring break. But what about our government? Three years after hurricane Katrina thousands of our fellow Americans, our brothers and sisters, are still housed in trailers waiting to go home.

There's no better example of the bravery and goodness of the American people than the response to the attacks of 9/11: firefighters and first responders risking and too often giving their lives to save others, charging up the stairs while everyone else was coming down; record bloodbank donations; and the list goes on. But what about our government? Six years after 9/11, at Ground Zero there sits only a black hole that tortures our conscience and scars our hearts.

In every instance we see an American people who are good, decent, compassionate and undeterred. And, American people who are better than the government that is supposed to serve and represent them.

And what has happened to the American "can do" spirit? I will tell you what has happened: all of this is the result of the bitter poisoned fruit of corruption and the bankruptcy of our political leadership.

It is not an accident that the government of the United States cannot function on behalf of its people, because it is no longer our people's government -- and we the people know it.

This corruption did not begin yesterday -- and it did not even begin with George Bush -- it has been building for decades -- until it now threatens literally the life of our democracy.

While the American people personally rose to the occasion with an enormous outpouring of support and donations to both the victims of Katrina and 9/11 -- we all saw our government's neglect. And we saw greed and incompetence at work. Out of more than 700 contracts valued at $500,000 or greater, at least half were given without full competition or, according to news sources, with vague or open ended terms, and many of these contracts went to companies with deep political connections such as a subsidiary of Haliburton, Bechtel Corp., and AshBritt Inc.

And in Iraq -- while our nation's brave sons and daughters put their lives on the line for our country -- we now have mercenaries under their own law while their bosses sit at home raking in millions.

We have squandered millions on building Olympic size swimming pools and buildings that have never been used. We have weapons and ammunition unaccounted for that may now be being used against our own soldiers. We literally have billions wasted or misspent -- while our troops and their families continue to sacrifice. And the politically connected lobby for more. What's their great sacrifice -- higher profits.

It goes on every minute of every day.

Corporate executives at United Airlines and US Airways receive millions in compensation for taking their companies into bankruptcy, while their employees are forced to take cuts in pay.

Companies like Wal-Mart lobby against inspecting containers entering our nation's ports, even though expert after expert agrees that the likeliest way for a dirty bomb to enter the United States is through a container, because they believe their profits are more important than our safety. What has become of America when America's largest company lobbies against protecting America?

Trade deals cost of millions of jobs. What do we get in return? Millions of dangerous Chinese toys in our children's cribs laden with lead. This is the price we are made to pay when trade agreements are decided based on how much they pad the profits for multinational corporations instead of what is best for America's workers or the safety of America's consumers.

We have even gotten to the point where our children's safety is potentially at risk because nearly half of the apple juice consumed by our children comes from apples grown in China. And Americans are kept in the dark because the corporate lobbyists have pushed back country of origin labeling laws again and again.

This is not the America I believe in.

The hubris of greed knows no bounds. Days after the homeland security bill passed, staffers from the homeland security department resigned and became homeland security consultants trying to cash in. And, where was the outrage? There was none, because that's how it works in Washington now. It is not a Republican revolving door or a Democratic revolving door -- it is just the way it's done.

Someone called it a government reconnaissance mission to figure out how to get rich when you leave the government.

Recently, I was dismayed to see headlines in the Wall Street Journal stating that Senate Democrats were backing down to lobbyists for hedge funds who have opposed efforts to make millionaire and billionaire hedge fund managers pay the same tax rate as every hard-working American. Now, tax loopholes the wealthy hedge fund managers do not need or deserve are not going to be closed, all because Democrats -- our party -- wanted their campaign money.

And a few weeks ago, around the sixth anniversary of 9/11, a leading presidential candidate held a fundraiser that was billed as a Homeland Security themed event in Washington, D.C. targeted to homeland security lobbyists and contractors for $1,000 a plate. These lobbyists, for the price of a ticket, would get a special "treat" -- the opportunity to participate in small, hour long breakout sessions with key Democratic lawmakers, many of whom chair important sub committees of the homeland security committee. That presidential candidate was Senator Clinton.

Senator Clinton's road to the middle class takes a major detour right through the deep canyon of corporate lobbyists and the hidden bidding of K Street in Washington -- and history tells us that when that bus stops there it is the middle class that loses.

When I asked Hillary Clinton to join me in not taking money from Washington lobbyists -- she refused. Not only did she say that she would continue to take their money, she defended them.

Today Hillary Clinton has taken more money from Washington lobbyists than any candidate from either party -- more money than any Republican candidate.

She has taken more money from the defense industry than any other candidate from either party as well.

She took more money from Wall Street last quarter than Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Barack Obama combined.

The long slow slide of our democracy into the corporate abyss continues unabated regardless of party, regardless of the best interests of America.

We have a duty -- a duty to end this.

I believe you cannot be for change and take money from the lobbyists who prevent change. You cannot take on the entrenched interests in Washington if you choose to defend the broken system. It will not work. And I believe that, if Americans have a choice, and candidate who takes their money -- Democrat or Republican -- will lose this election.

For us to continue down this path all we have to do is suspend all that we believe in. As Democrats, we continue down this path only if we believe the party of the people is no more.

As Americans, we continue down this path only if we fail to heed Lincoln's warning to us all.

"At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected," he asked, "if it ever reaches us it must spring up amongst us. It can not come from abroad. If destruction be our lot -- we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we must live through all time or die by suicide."

America lives because 20 generations have honored the one moral commandment that makes us Americans.

To give our children a better future than we received.

I stand here today the son of Wallace and Bobbie Edwards. The father of Wade, Cate, Emma Claire and Jack -- and I know, as well as you, that we must not be the first generation that fails to live up to our moral challenge and keep the promise of America.

That would be an abomination.

There is a dream that is America. It is what makes us American. And I will not stand by while that dream is at risk.

I am not perfect -- far from it -- but I do understand that this is not a political issue -- it is the moral test of our generation.

Our nation's founders knew that this moment would come -- that at some point the power of greed and its influence over officials in our government might strain and threaten the very America they hoped would last as an ideal in the minds of all people, and as a beacon of hope for all time.

That is why they made the people sovereign. And this is why it is your responsibility to redeem the promise of America for our children and their future.

It will not be easy -- sacrifice will be required of us -- but it was never easy for our ancestors, and their sacrifices were far greater than any that will fall on our shoulders.

Yet, the responsibility is ours.

We, you and I, are the guardians of what America is and what it will be.

The choice is ours.

Down one path, we trade corporate Democrats for corporate Republicans; our cronies for their cronies; one political dynasty for another dynasty; and all we are left with is a Democratic version of the Republican corruption machine.

It is the easier path. It is the path of the status quo. But, it is a path that perpetuates a corrupt system that has not only failed to deliver the change the American people demand, but has divided America into two -- one America for the very greedy, and one America for everybody else.

And it is that divided America -- the direct result of this corrupt system -- which may very well lead to the suicide Lincoln warned us of -- the poison that continues to seep into our system while none notice.

Or we can choose a different path. The path that generations of Americans command us to take. And be the guardians that kept the faith.

I run for president for my father who worked in a mill his entire life and never got to go to college the way I did.

I run for president for all those who worked in that mill with my father.

I run for president for all those who lost their jobs when that mil was shut down.

I run for president for all the women who have come up to Elizabeth and me and told us the like Elizabeth they had breast cancer -- but unlike Elizabeth they did not have health care.

I run for president for twenty generations of Americans who made sure that their children had a better life than they did.

As Americans we are blessed -- for our ancestors are not dead, they occupy the corridors of our conscience. And, as long we keep the faith -- they live. And so too the America of idealism and hope that was their gift to us.

I carry the promise of America in my heart, where my parents placed it. Like them, like you, I believe in people, hard work, and the sacred obligation of each generation to the next.

This is our time now. It falls to us to redeem our democracy, reclaim our government and relight the promise of America for our children.

Let us blaze a new path together, grounded in the values from which America was forged, still reaching toward the greatness of our ideals. We can do it. We can cast aside the bankrupt ways of Washington and replace them with the timeless values of the American people. We can liberate our government from the shackles of corporate money that bind it to corporate will, and restore the voices of our people to its halls.

This is the cause of my life. This is the cause of our time. Join me. Together, we cannot fail.

We will keep faith with those who have gone before us, strong and proud in the knowledge that we too rose up to guard the promise of America in our day, and that, because we did, America's best days still lie ahead.

Darcy News

I've been neglecting this blog lately, I don't know if I have any regular readers but if so I apologize.

The problem is my wife, Darcy is not doing very well. We had to call the paramedics to take her to the hospital 4 weeks ago on Sunday. After 3 weeks she got out on Friday night, but by last Thursday (less than a week) she had to go back in. The doctor was very worried that all her blood stats had gotten worse, mainly the ones indicating kidney function. They say she is now down to 10% kidney function.

So, I've been too depressed to write very much, nor have I wanted to talk about it. I don't think she has much more time and I'm stressing out. I've literally been nauseas for the last 4 weeks. We always knew it was just a matter of time, that she couldn't dodge bullets forever, but we never anticipated a slow decline where she got to the point of being bed-bound. She's miserable now because everything is a struggle and she's in some pain, though not a lot most of the time.

After 9.5 years of her anti-rejections meds her kidneys and liver are failing and there isn't much we can do about that.

Young People Rejecting Christianity

I found this great blog article through Alternet, all about how young people - those under 30 - feel about Christians. Apparently you can't be obnoxious for decades without some kind of backlash, most do not look favorably on Christians, even the ones who are Christian themselves:

This study is prompting quite a bit of soul-searching among Evangelicals. Some feel this study verifies things they've long suspected; others are just stunned. Maybe it's the way everybody's always ignored their persistent conversion efforts -- they just got so used to being tuned out by the mainstream culture that it never occurred to them that anyone might ever take anything they said seriously. And now, they're genuinely surprised to find out that yes, we were listening -- and yes, we did take it all very much to heart. And, furthermore, what we've heard has deeply damaged our opinion of them.

All they've been spouting for years now is hatred and criticism and they are shocked that people find that distasteful? And note that this study is from Barna, a Fundamentalist organization. Here's more:

-- The long-term trend toward a less Christian nation is probably good news for liberalism in general. If there are comparatively fewer Christians, there will be more people of other faiths -- though other Barna studies have found that the biggest gains of all are being made among atheist and agnostic free-thinkers, who are also the most likely to be political liberals. This, in turn, bodes well for the various scientific fields that have come under attack by the religious right; and it opens the way for Christians and non-Christians to find some fresh common ground on issues like social justice and the environment as the religious leadership changes.

The biggest gains are being made among atheist and agnostic free-thinkers. Heh heh. I've long said that the most potent force for creating atheists is the bible, someone has to be brain dead to read the whole thing all the way through and not see something is seriously wrong. But it is looking as if the most potent force for creating atheists is Christians themselves. And it all bodes well for science and liberalism - AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!

I must have died and gone to heaven.

A Tale of Religious Abuse

And excellent atheist blog is Atheist Revolution. I found his entry called "An Ode for Tony" to be particularly heartbreaking. There isn't much I can add to the story, best to just go and read it.

But beware, it might make you depressed, it sure did that to me. The insanity of religion just infuriates me sometimes, and the insanity of parents doing this to their son in the name of religion can only be depressing.

Who's Got The Money

This video doesn't take much explanation except to say we have the Republicans to thank for this.