Democratic Party Rises From Ashes In Stephentown

From The Press, the community newspaper of East Rensselaer County in New York.

Andrew White’s quest to reestablish the Democratic Party in Stephentown, begun about a year and a half ago, appears to have borne some fruit. Former Elections Commissioner Tom Wade said then that he had worked with White before he became the new Chairman of the Town Democratic Committee and knew him to be a person who sets goals and accomplishes them.

Yes, that's *our* Andrew C. White. Kudos to Andrew. Sweet, chocolatey Kudos. Mmmmmmm!

To read a fun entry about Homer Simpson in which he is describe as a "post-modern philosopher of the Millennial period" check out his entry in the Uncyclopedia. To read the rest of the article about Andrew's quest to revitalize his local Democratic party, click here.

Alternate link for comments

The Blue State Brothers

Jim even has the right sideburns for this. ;-)


From the overnight thread:

Here's a test of the Blues/Dean Brothers. (click) They fit pretty well. I'm going to try to put together a parody of the actual movie poster tomorrow.
Demetrius

Alternate link for comments

Dalai Lama on D.C. voting rights

I saw this headline on the main page of Yahoo News this morning: Dalai Lama Needles U.S. over democratic rights. My first thought, of course, was, "Which ones?" There is so much to criticize right now, and so many areas where the U.S. falls short, in spite of its current insistence that it is ordained to bring democracy to other countries. Well, it turns out it was about Washington D.C.'s lack of Representatives or Senators. A student at a school in the capital city asked the exiled Tibetan leader what he would do if his citizens were deprived such a privilege.

The 70-year-old leader pondered for a while and shot back the same question to Bernard Igbedian, a 17-year-old pupil of Booker T. Washington Public Charter School for Technical Arts.

When Igbedian said he saw no reason for the denial of voting rights, the Dalai Lama, himself battling Chinese authorities for greater autonomy for Tibetans, said the people should speak up and find out why.

"Then you should find out. If there are sufficient reasons, we have to think more carefully, but if there is no reason, then shout," the maroon-robed leader told the student, drawing laughter among the 200 odd students and visitors.

Sounds like a downright Howardly idear. ;-)

He said he wondered why a "small pocket" of people living in the world's "champion of democracy, liberty and freedom" lacked full voting rights and representation in Congress.

"Quite strange, quite strange," he remarked, drawing further laughter.

In related news: China unhappy with Bush-Dalai Lama talks. Seems like Bush is in one of those "can't win for losing" spots. Awww. All I can think to say is "It's about freaking time!" He's been able to skate by with this "master of low expectations" scam for way too long.

Alternate link for comments

Advance Questions for Special MViMV Guest Blog

On Monday, November 14th, 8-9:30 PM EST, Dolores Huerta of United Farm Workers of America--Cofounder and First Vice President Emeritus--will participate in a Conversations with the Cabinet. Conversations with the Cabinet is part of a regular phone conference series hosted by the Backbone Campaign. This special bilingual event is a collaboration between the Backbone Campaign, My Vote is My Voice (MViMV), and Latinos for America (LFA).

While the mother of 11 children, 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, Dolores has been an inspirational leader of the American civil rights movement, the labor movement through "La Causa" (the farmworkers’ cause), the Chicano movement, and women’s rights. Advocating for farm worker rights, Dolores has been arrested twenty-two times for non-violent peaceful union activities.

If you wish to ask a question of Dolores, please post your question at the MViMV Blog and those questions will be asked during the phone conversation. Answers will be posted during or shortly after the phone conversation. Questions are being accepted in English and Spanish.

Alternate link for comments

A Matter of Life or Death

Teri Mills is a longtime Democracy For America community member. Her guest column on health care appears on Blog for America on Fridays and she blogs at nationalnurse.blogspot.com.

Next Tuesday, November 15th, Libya's Supreme Court will rule on whether to overturn an execution order of five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian physician who were convicted last year of deliberately infecting more than 400 children at a hospital in Benghazi with the HIV virus. At least 40 of those infected died of AIDS.

Since their arrests seven years ago, the nurses and physician have been subjected to repeated torture to force their confessions of this crime. These health care workers have always maintained their innocence, declaring they had been tortured with daily beatings, sexual assault, and electric shocks by the police in order to obtain their confessions.

As the press and others investigated, they learned the HIV virus was most likely transmitted to these children because of poor hygienic conditions in the hospital, not because of intentional acts by their caregivers. Nursing leaders across the United States including the Center for Nursing Advocacy and the American Nurses Association are taking note, calling for the immediate release of these nurses and physician to their home countries. All nurses, physicians, and health care providers should be fearful of this precedent because it is often necessary to have close contact with our patients in order to provide them with the best outcomes for their well being.

Many countries are rushing to organize humanitarian aid such as medical equipment, medications and treatments for the infected children as a means of resolving the dispute. Even the President has issued a strong statement asking that the nurses and physician be freed. Negotiations have been reported by Reuters quoting Arab diplomatic sources close to the Libyan government as saying the nurses and physician would be asked to pay compensation to a special fund and a charitable organization run by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam as a compromise solution.

With little time remaining before the appeal, we are being asked to add our voices with those calling for release of these workers, who have been so unfairly accused. To learn where to send your letter, visit the website the Center for Nursing Advocacy has set up on the behalf of freeing these health care providers. I hope you will join me today in writing your letter, because truly this is a matter of life or death.

—Teri Mills, RN, MS, ANP
Democracy for Oregon

Alternate link for comments

Friday Comics

Soldier (flash)
Doggone Man
Outsourcing
Condi's Smoking Gun
Worthless
Improper Frame
Youth In Asia
Terminated
Pirates of the Potomac
Sheeple
Self-Mutilation
Nosferatu
Random Mutation

And my favorite for today: Attention Deficit Disorder



Alternate link to comments

Howard Dean on The Situation Room

For anyone else who, like me, missed seeing Howard Dean on The Situation Room last night, here is the transcript of that segment from CNN:

Democrats are savoring their off-year election victories this week. And they're now eagerly looking ahead to next year's key congressional elections. That's what they say. After the votes were in, I spoke with the former presidential candidate and current Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean. I asked him if he's worried about the possibility that his party could blow this opportunity before next November.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: It's always out there. The Republicans are really battling this headwind of corruption and incompetence and Iraq and all these budget problems and jobs, high oil prices. They got their work cut out for us. What we need to do is come across with a message that people will appreciate.

One is that we can do better in America if we're together. And we will be. Two, we need a healthcare system that will work for everybody. We want jobs that will stay in America if we're going to have a strong public education system. If we stick with that message and reach out to people and talk about our values, we'll be the majority party 2006.

BLITZER: Here in THE SITUATION ROOM, I interviewed New Mexico's governor, Bill Richardson. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: What we need to do as Democrats is we have to enunciate positive policies. We can't be negative on the president. There's plenty of problems that the Republicans have caused. At the same time, unless we as Democrats have a policy on national security, on Iraq, on defense, on healthcare, on making our schools better, on a lot of national issues, the public's going to stay where it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Do you think he makes a good point there?

DEAN: I think we need to have a positive message. We're going to have jobs that stay in America. A big energy policy. Reducing our enormous fuel plans. Secondly, we're going to have a health care system that will cover everybody. Like all 40 other industrialized countries.

BLITZER: Let me ask a question on healthcare, how do you plan on doing with the Republicans in control of the House, the Senate, the White House. How are the democrats going to make that happen?

DEAN: That's why Americans need to put Democrats back in the Congress and the White House. So we can make that happen. We we're going lay out a positive agenda. And if people like it they'll support us, just like they supported Tim Kaine and Jon Corzine.

BLITZER: Here's the new "Washington Post" ABC News poll that you saw a lot of bad numbers for the president. When it comes to a party with strong leaders only 35 percent of those who responded say Democrats had a party with strong leaders, 51 percent thought the Republicans have strong leaders. That seems to be a serious problem that the Democratic party has.

DEAN: I don't think it's a serious problem. We have planned to do deal with that. And I think we'll win in the end because the Republicans don't have any leadership. They led us in the wrong direction; strong leaders harming America is not a prescription for a winning message.

We're going to do some fundamentally different things. We're going to have to put ethics back in Congress again and ethics in our government again. Second thing we're going to do is talk about the values that we hold as Democrats. We think it's a moral value that kids don't go to bed hungry at night. We think it's a moral value that if you work hard, you have health insurance and a pension that you can look forward to.

Fundamental changes in America. We're going the wrong direction in this country. I think we can go in the right direction.

BLITZER: You want to maintain the governorships in New Jersey and Virginia. But New York City, arguably the most Democratic city in the country, the bluest city in the country, Bloomberg gets almost 60 percent of the vote, the Republican. Fernando Ferrer, 39 percent of the vote. What happens in a big city like New York?

DEAN: Well, first of all he spent $100 million; that buys a lot of votes. I think Mike spent about $147 per vote. Second is a great quote I saw in an AP story that said, "I don't really think he's a real Republican. If he was, I couldn't really vote for him in good conscience." And I think there are a lot people in New York that haven't figured out that Mike's a Republican yet.

BLITZER: So you're not worried about the trend in New York City that he gets reelected, the Republican?

DEAN: No. I think the most important election -- there are two really important elections. Obviously, Jon Corzine a great person and he's going to be a great governor. From the national point of new, having George Bush land in Virginia 24 hours before the election and having Tim Kaine win overwhelmingly is a big national message, not just a local message. And defeating all of Governor Schwarzenegger's initiatives of California, people are sick of what's going in California. They're frankly sick of what's going on in Washington. They want a change and we're going to give them the change in 2006.

BLITZER: Listen to what Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas said on Monday on the Senate floor. Because I keep hearing this from other republicans. Raising, in effect, the patriotism of Democrats. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: Merely venting angry without proposing alternative solutions is not the work of serious people. It's a sad commentary on our public discourse, when politicians seek to use the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform to advance a political agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas made basically the same point. And other Republicans are raising that now. How worried are you that they're coming after you, you Democrats and raising this issue of you're undermining the moral, you're endangering the troops by raising questions about the war in Iraq?

DEAN: There's only one person that's endanger to the troops and that was the president when he sent them to war without telling the truth to the American people.

They have some nerve with some 256 brave Americans dead to even begin to speak like that and they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

The truth is, the Democratic Party is never going to send troops aboard without equipping them properly before they go. It's a disgrace, for troops families to have to have bake sales to raise the money to buy the adequate equipment to protect them.

Frankly the people who are running this war from the White House, don't know what they're doing. Most of them haven't served a day in their life, in uniform abroad. We shouldn't be there. We are there now. It's going to be up to the Democrats to figure out how to get out of there in one piece and saving the respect of the United States of America. We will respect not just the United States of America; we'll respect the troops and we'll do it. First of all, by telling the troops and telling their parents why they're going, in an honest way.

BLITZER: We're out of time, Governor. Thanks very much for joining us.

DEAN: Thanks very much.

Alternate link for comments

This is from the left coaster. Says it better than I could.

Thank You, California Nurses

Before anyone forgets amid the euphoria of batting around Arnold’s political testicles with badminton rackets this morning, I would like to say a special thank you to the California Nurses Association.

Only 18 months ago Arnold was considered to be unbeatable for 2006. Being the rank corporatist Republican liar that he is, he told the nurses that their extremely hard-won patient ratios meant nothing to him. They, the law and their patients would suffer and die as he lied about heisting the money.

Some lines are just never crossed—the risks are so horrifying one just never goes there. Like lying to your wife, the consequences are going to be nuclear and leave nasty scars (assuming one survives), no matter how stupidly one rationalizes the act. Arnold is a novice and a dumbass, so I guess it isn’t surprising, really, that he thought he could cross nurses over their patients.

It simply didn’t matter that Arnie was hugely popular, that most analysts thought he could get away with it, or that organized labor had not won a big fight in a while. The nurses knew damn well a thief had come in, stolen what they had worked a generation for and was laughing as he gave them the finger across the street. Get out the mattresses and die going down, if it means that, for something like this could never stand.

They dogged him relentlessly at every public appearance, becoming a great story picked up over the country. They aired commercials, got on the news cycle agenda with creative tactics and relentlessly messed with the Arnold message machine. They got into his head and knocked him down, and when he was there they stepped on his neck until the results came in.

Along the way a lot of other people stepped up, encouraged by the results. It gained momentum and this morning that odious lying Republican cretin is politically crippled.

Read the rest, here.

Alternate link for comments

Pat Robertson's mean, scary god

Yes, Pat, I used lower case intentionally. The god you talk about all the time--the one you appeal to, threaten people with, and squint your eyes and pray to on television is small god. He is a petty thug of a god, undeserving of a capital G. Your god reminds me of the caricature shown in Monty Python's Holy Grail movie.

I must admit, though, that I occasionally wish I could make myself believe in a god that relied so heavily on vengeance in dealing with sinners. Bush would be toast, I'm sure. And, if I believed in such a god, I'd pray that he strike you mute, so that you would be unable to say things like this in his name...

Robertson tells Dover, PA citizens, after the election: "Don't turn to God if you need help"

On today's 700 Club, Rev. Pat Robertson took the opportunity to strongly rebuke voters in Dover, PA who removed from office school board members who supported teaching faith-based "intelligent design" and instead elected Democrats who opposed bringing up the possibility of a Creator in the school system's science curriculum.

Rev. Robertson warned the people of Dover that God might forsake the town because of the vote.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover. If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there."

Alternate link for comments

Liberal Church Audited for Anti War Stance

I don't have much to add here as far as my own words/content, but I felt it was important to share this before too much time passed, so here you go...

Liberal Church Audited for Anti War Stance

Here's the web site of All Saints Church, with more on this subject. Here's the action taken by Linda in Cincinnati, including the information you need if you'd like to help challenge the double standard that is evident here. (Apparently politics from the pulpit are only a problem when they are *liberal* politics.)

Linda*in*Cincinnati wrote on November 8, 2005 12:13 PM:

I am sitting here on hold at
1 877 829 5500
The tax exempt line at the IRS.

I posed a couple of questions to them and I have now been transferred 3 times and now I'm holding on an eternal music loop.

Question 1
Are they telling me an anti war service at a church is considered political and tied to an election (because that is the law with separation of church and state). I thought people of all policital parties could be for peace and it didn't tie it to an election.

so, 2nd questions,

2. Are they telling me they will now investigate and pull churches tax exempt status if they ARE involved in elections. Because I have a list of churches from Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia that I would like to give them for the IRS to pull their tax exempt status for influencing and threatening their members to specifically vote a particular way in an election.

I assume that is why I have now been on hold for at least 15 minutes.

Linda*in*Cincinnati wrote on November 8, 2005 12:51 PM:
OK,

The good news.

I spoke with a very nice gentleman at the IRS named Mike. He said he AGREED that the churches pushed the envelope on the last election and overstepped their 503C status.

He said I can write a letter in support of the Church that is being investigated for their Anti War Service (which he agreed if that is all they did, nothing against their 503C status was done) to the same place I am asking churches to be investigated for violating their 503C status by getting involved in an election.

Here you go folks. TAKE ACTION. THis is what you've been waiting for. If you know of a church that was directing people to vote a specific way on an election file a complaint, give as much detail about the institution and mail it to.

Exam Referral
E O IRS-Capital EO Classification
4910 DAL
1100 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75242-1198

Give complete details. You will stay confidential and do not have to give your name and phone number if you don't want, but is reccomended.

Alternate link for comments

Thursday Comics

Swine Flu
Van Pelted
Kinder, Gentler Gouging
Had Me At 'Hell No!'
Truth In Advertising
Racism, Poverty, Inequality
Just Like America
Suprématie Blanche
And Liberty For None
Da Comrade
Ties That Bind
J. Edgar Cheney
Branding Campaign

And my favorite for today: Liar, Liar, Prisoner On Fire



Alternate link for comments

Pro Choice

On my drive to the vet's yesterday morning with a very ill cat, I for once ejected the tape. My driving tapes are all stained glass bluegrass (WAMU, taped by a friend who lives in D.C. ~~ ironic it's impossible to get bluegrass on the radio here) and the first song that came up was Angle Band. Not wanting to think about anyone's eternal home at that moment, I turned the tape off. So I heard the gardening guy, next state over, being asked why the caller's grandmother's iris will no longer bloom. He was advised to lift all the rhizomes, cut out the hearts, and leave only the new shoots, and then to re-dig the whole bed, mixing in all kinds of good flower vitamins, then re-lay the young sprouts, and just barely cover them with soil. Iris like light. And while he was about it, he was told to check his shade. It was likely there was more of it now than when the original bed was planted.

Clearly one has a choice: flowers or trees.

Sunlight or shade. Both are lovely. Both desired.

But you can't have both in the same space.

Choose.


Alternate link for comments

Enough is Enough

DNC Chair & fearless leader Howard Dean sent this e-mail today.

Last night was a sign of change to come. Democrats swept governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia -- a state George Bush won by 8 percent a year ago. These victories are proof that when Democrats have strong candidates and a strong agenda, we win. Voters in those states made a conscious choice to reject the Republican culture of corruption and their slash and burn politics.

They are not alone. We've all had enough -- enough of Republican incompetence, arrogance and corruption. We saw it in Virginia and New Jersey, we saw it on the Senate floor last week when Democratic Leader Harry Reid demanded accountability on Iraq, and we will see it every day from now until our country is put back on track. Democrats are ready to lead.

To celebrate the Democratic victories in Virginia and New Jersey yesterday, we will send a special "Enough is Enough" bumper sticker to everyone who contributes $25 or more in the next three days. Make your contribution now:

http://www.democrats.org/enoughisenough

The DNC invested $5 million in Virginia ahead of this election. It was $5 million not just for Tim Kaine, but for candidates up and down the ballot. It was $5 million not just for 2005, but for building a permanent Democratic infrastructure for the future.

We saw the first dividends last night. But these are not short term investments, and each one of us must take responsibility for building our party.

It's not business as usual for the Democratic Party. It's the day after the election, but our organization will stay in place and our work continues. We have a 50-state grassroots organizing strategy and we are committed to reaching and empowering every Democrat in every single precinct of every single state.

Taking this model nationwide is a multimillion-dollar commitment that is unprecedented for our party. All this work depends on you -- and you can support it by making a contribution now:

http://www.democrats.org/enoughisenough

Thank you for all that you have done -- but don't stop now, because this is just the beginning.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

P.S. -- In less than a week the work of the next year will begin with over 750 Organizing Kickoff meetings happening in neighborhoods across the country. You can learn more here: http://www.democrats.org/organizingkickoff.

Don't wait! Order your bumper sticker today -- operators are standing by.

Alternate link for comments

Wednesday Cartoons

Kwame Won!
Moderate Republican
Fair & Balanced
Beep! Beep!
Feels Your Pain
Torture Exemptions
Until A Democratic Presidency
Kettle-->Pot
Religious Intolerance
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
Whites Only
Noblesse Oblige
Mixed Marriages
Infidelity
Cutting His Losses

And my favorite for today: F Alito



Alternate link to comments

Happy Birthday, TeaTimeTim!

Major bummer about the Reform Ohio Now amendments going down. There would be so much more cause for celebration if Ohioans hadn't voted like a bunch of ignorant monkeys who don't know better. But regardless, your blog family sends the warmest birthday wishes.



Here's the Blog Family Birthday Calendar jc maintains. Happy Birthday a day early to ChrisNYC.

And, for anyone who doesn't know, there's a very special birthday coming up on November 17.

Alternate link for comments

Where Inner space Meets Cyberspace

By Subway Serenade

In my two previous posts, I discussed Fractal Geometry and its relationship to the eventual ascent of our species to Son Of Man. Today I would like to talk about the actual nuts and bolts of this ascent.

My generation has grown from watching crude Kine scopes of Milton Berle and The Twilight Zone, to watching our grandchildren play computer games with astounding interactive graphics that make me think, "Thirty five years ago you needed really good acid to see this kind of stuff!"

Just this week I was watching my friend playing with a very complex military style flight/battle simulator. It fully presented the illusion of being at the central point inside a sphere, allowing the player to "fly" (read "think") in any direction. When I asked what the age range of the game was, he said his eight year old nephew was on the game's third level. It actually made me wonder why such knowledge isn't considered subversive. I would figure folks would realize that for children to be using such complex graphic interfaces, there would be profound effects on both their dream states, as well as those parts of the brain where imagination happens. Nor do they realize that constant exposure to these graphic interfaces could eventually produce expansions
in awareness quite similar to those that occurred in the days when "Virtual Reality" came in sugar cubes.

Folks may recall, a few years ago, when several hundred children in Japan became ill while watching an episode of "Pokemon." The cause was linked to their watching a certain graphic sequence in the animation that was then removed from the episode. This should have been a heads up to the world. It certainly was for me. In the animated film "Madagascar" Alex the Lion gets shot with a tranquilizer and some of his hallucination is a 4th dimensional graphic generated by a computer.

What happens when five year olds imagine a 4th dimension?

Alternate link for comments

It's Déja Vu All Over Again

I guess it's too much to expect that Election Day would go smoothly.

Tim Tagaris (via Kos) reports on voting machine problems in Ohio.

Here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, things have not gone very smoothly, either--

Furious with Virginia - The moral of the story is, if you move, don't count on DMV forwarding your change of address to the Board of Elections.

Diebold Cheating in Virginia - With 23 systems in use throughout the Commonwealth, this may be a more frequent occurrence.

If the Phone Rings, Today, DON'T ANSWER IT! - Perhaps the fines for violating election law should be a bit higher.

Intrade currently has the odds in favor of Tim Kaine, who leads with a bid of 74 with Kilgore at 25.

At a GOTV rally for Kilgore last night in Richmond, Bush said, "I know a man of character and of integrity, and he's standing right next to me, and that's Jerry Kilgore.

"The thing I like about this fella is he's from Virginia and he grew up on a farm," Bush continued. "That means he's a down-to-earth person. He doesn't have a lot of fancy airs, a person who knows how the common man thinks."

And we all know that Farmer Bush is such a good judge of character, too. We'll know tonight if he helped Kaine or Kilgore.

There are no exit polls today so we'll have to wait to hear the results tonight.

UPDATE: The reports keep coming in--

Voter Fraud in Los Angeles County


Alternate link for comments

Tuesday's Comics

Beignets
Strategery Guy
Yo Cuz!
Statue Of BDSM
Patriot Games
White Supremacy
Phuq Alito
War On Poverty
Clone Troopers
Choose Life
Caveat Emptor
Cognitive Dissonance

And my favorite for today: Let Them Eat Beignets



Alternate link for comments

Intelligent (tasty?) Design in Schools

Interesting Kos diary by Six Degrees of Aaron about the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Back in June, Bobby Henderson contact numerous school boards that were pushing "Intelligent Design" into the classroom. Sadly, my local school board was contacted. Well, Bobby has just secured a book deal that will produce a book in February.

Bobby's letter (below the flip) is funny!!! It makes IDers look like the fools they are. In our recent school board, a friend and I brought up the theory of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The board member that is really pushing ID was ticked to no end. People laughed and laughed. The Chairman tabled the issue till next month's meeting - guess what we are going to bring up. I suggest the same for others that are fighting ID.

More here. Also, see the Open Letter to the Kansas School Board, which is cc'd to other school boards including (*cringe*) Ohio's.



Alternate link for comments

MViMV Guest Blog

Tonight from 8pm-9pm EST on the My Vote is My Voice Blog

http://blog.myvoteismyvoice.com/

FairVote Communications Director, Ryan O'Donnell, will discuss electoral problems caused by hurricane Katrina, such as displaced voters and absentee ballot difficulties.

Monday Comics

Only In The Comics
Detroit Lions' Postgame Analysis
Karmic Relief
Leak Probe
The Other White Meat

And my favorite for today: Theory Of Devolution



Alternate link to comments

Reform Ohio Now--GOTV

I just got a call yesterday from Jared, a volunteer for Reform Ohio Now. Given that we've been bombarded with calls and mailers from the anti people, I was certainly glad for that. I just looked up their web site, and am passing the details along for anyone who can use them.

Make calls to Ohio voters Tuesday!

Election day is Tuesday. With a huge number of Ohioans still undecided, we can be victorious if we do an amazing job of getting out the vote, but every phone call counts. We need volunteers to make calls on Tuesday for Issues 2, 3, 4 & 5--no experience necessary!

The earlier you can make your calls during the day on Tuesday, the better! If you can't call during the day on Tuesday, we can still use your help Monday night. Just check the boxes below indicating when you're free.

We're asking everyone to commit to reaching 25 "yes" voters.

It couldn't be simpler:

• A RON staffmember will email you your call list and call script ASAP.
• You'll be calling to urge people to vote YES on Issues 2, 3, 4 & 5--your call script will tell you exactly what to say
• Each call will average less than 5 minutes
• You can make your calls anytime Tuesday before the hour you choose below.

Details here

And here's a pic from yesterday's rally.


Alternate link for comments

Al Gore in 2008, Whether He Wants It Or Not

Courtesy of Maryscott O'Connor's recommended Kos diary

I thought perhaps I ought to make the case for Gore, but frankly, if you don't get it, nothing I say will make a difference. I'm tired of repeating the obvious.

I saw a pickup truck with a Hillary in '08 sticker next to the Impeach Bush one. Granted, Hillary would be better than Bush. Then again, a demonically possessed sock puppet would be better than Bush.

All the evidence you need to know Gore is the man for '08 lies in his speeches over the past two years.

Click here for the rest of the diary, and here for the Draft Al Gore petition.

Here is a recent op-ed by Al Gore: The climate crisis and the need for leadership, and here is the story of his role in the airlifting of nearly 300 Katrina survivors to his home state of Tennessee. And finally, if you missed it before, you really should check out Al Gore's remarks at the We Media conference.



Alternate link for comments

Word For The Week

(Originally posted at The Underground Railroad)

Alternate link for comments

For the last few months I have been looking for a new job with no success. A little while ago someone mentioned to me that if I was a Republican then I probably would have been hooked up with a job a long time ago, to which I responded that while that may be true, the 30 pieces of silver just wasn't worth it. I mention this to raise this question: what is your price? It is said that every man has a price, that there is a set of circumstances where a man will do whatever you want him to do, so what is your price?

For Judas Iscariot it was 30 pieces of silver. For 30 pieces of silver he betrayed innocent blood to those who sought to kill Jesus. For 30 pieces of silver he turned his back on the One who loved him despite knowing that Judas would betray Him. For 30 pieces of silver Judas forfeited his place in the Kingdom of God.

What is your price?

What would it take for you to deny Jesus? What would it take for you to turn your back on the Lord? What would it take for you to sell out? These are questions with which I have been wrestling myself - should I just chuck this whole ministry thing and focus on stacking papers and looking out for me and mine? Should I give up on this political stuff and just look out for myself? Should I simply curse God and die? What is my price? What would cause me to forsake everything that I know and love? What is my 30 pieces of silver?

What's yours?

I have decided that I will stand firm - come hail or high water I shall not be moved from the firm foundation upon which I stand. Come famine, pestilence or starvation I will stand firm on the solid rock that is Christ Jesus my Lord. No matter what else happens I will proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of men's souls. I will advance the Kingdom of God by feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, comforting the sick, and visiting the imprisoned. And I will stand firm against those who have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof, those who claim to be Christ's disciples yet bear no fruit, those who vote Republican in His name and in His name cast out homosexuals and oppose many abortions, yet may well hear Jesus say in that Day, "I never knew you - depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" I may well end up standing alone, but I will indeed stand.

How about you?

May The LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who implores you to reject your 30 pieces of silver,
My He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Alternate link for comments