Dean is first              

Morning Monica.

Have to clean the camper today and get ready for the smallest 4th of July parade in the country and then a community picnic.

Have a good day, folks.

weird - my comment is gone. sniff, sniff.

Have a great day everybody and Happy 4th to all. Busy wknd starts today.

A quick perusal of Truthout, an article about smears on Obama.  Here's an excerpt.

Thursday 03 July 2008

by: Michael Winship, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Presidential candidate Barack Obama is fighting back against those who question his patriotism. (Photo: Reuters)

    At the beginning of the week, a friend sent me a scurrilous, anonymous e-mail attacking Barack Obama that has been circulating around her elderly cousin's Jewish senior living community in New Jersey. Headlined "Something to Think About," it lists 13 acts of assassination, kidnapping, war and terrorism, all of which, it notes, were committed "by Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40."

    After several other claims, including a bogus citation from the Book of Revelation, the e-mail concludes, semi-literately, "For the award winning Act of Stupidity Now ... the People of America want to elect, to the most Powerful position on the face of the Planet - The Presidency of the United States of America to A Muslim Male Between the ages of 17 and 40? Have the American People completely lost their Minds, or just their power of reason? I'm sorry but I refuse to take a chance on the 'unknown' candidate Obama."

I'll go back and get the title.  I've only had a tool bar twice, have to admit, it startles me. 

The last line of the excerpt is a refrain I've heard too often on the blog.

Am puzzled by th deletions from the blog. It is confusing and feels like censorship. I'll wait to see what happens, since it seems inevitable that changes will be made, and for some reason need to be made.

hard to imagine any political comment on this thread that would belong at the watercooler
my suggestion would be to run an alternate "Open Thread" simultaneous of the posted blog that is front paged and let bloggers decide how best build an activist community.

driving away the people that kept DFA alive after the Dean campaign ended hardly seems appropriate

DFA members are working everyday to build a stronger more progressive Democratic Party. We believe the Democratic Party must be driven by people-power and responsive to the needs of everyday Americans.

Too often, once leaders from any party get elected, they get tied to a culture of incumbency and insular thinking that is dominated by special interests. DFA members fight for a culture of activism and rebuild policies and platforms for grassroots empowerment. It is our mission to constantly revitalize the party with new members, progressive ideas, and effective actions.

However, watercoolers have always struck me as superfluous.

The War in Iraq is a disaster for America and our morale standing in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people dead or wounded -- whether they were American soldiers, innocent Iraqis, or high paid mercenary contractors – DFA members are working to heal the damage and end this tragedy right now.

DFA members were against the Iraq War before the invasion and have never stopped working to bring our troops home since it began. Our members have made phone calls to congress and written letters to editorial boards and elected leaders demanding a quick and safe withdrawal of U.S. military forces.

In 2006, we created the wave of support for Democratic congressional candidates that lead to overwhelming victory and a new Democratic majority by focusing candidates on ending the tragedy Iraq. We led them to victory on a platform that called for a steady and quick withdrawal that would bring all our brave men and women home. Freshman Democrats were not able to turn the tide against an unwavering President and partisan blocked Senate and our fight continues today.

"Again, change comes from below; only when the people are convinced will the leaders follow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
hard to imagine any comments by the activists here would be off topic for such a main post

There are other threats to the freedoms and security of America than just terrorism. Climate change is a global threat that has endangered species and environmental habitats worldwide. With catastrophic consequences for Americans on the horizon if no action is taken, DFA members have been at the forefront calling for worldwide change.

There are other threats to the freedoms and security of America than just terrorism. Climate change is a global threat that has endangered species and environmental habitats worldwide. With catastrophic consequences for Americans on the horizon if no action is taken, DFA members have been at the forefront calling for worldwide change.

Where are the old watercooler threads. Audrey and I posted something excellent and now the posts are completely gone.

HQ, please cut this nonsense and censorship out!!!!!!!!!!!!!