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Friday Morning Open Thread
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http://savannahnow.com/node/538045
BOSTON - Is it any wonder that John McCain was feeling a tad neglected? There was Barack Obama on a nine-day trip through eight countries with three network anchors and all John got was a lousy T-shirt. Or to be more exact, all he got was a ride in George H.W. Bush's golf cart and a rejection slip from The New York Times' op-ed editor.
Even McCain's inner circle began to get snarky. They keep referring to Obama as "The One" and complain that the maverick boytoy McCain has been replaced in the media's heart by a new trophy wife named Barack. The straight talker's Web site even posted a video of "The Media is in Love," a montage of fawning sound bites against a soundtrack of Frankie Valli singing "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."
Never mind that Frankie's "Eyes" was a No. 2 hit in 1967, a year when Obama was 6. For some reason, McCain's cultural references have a sell-by date of 1970. It's like the strange "Summer of Love" ad that tries to place Obama in the upheavals of 1968 when he was headed to second grade.
But it wasn't just Frankie Valli that makes me feel that the Republican is locked into a 40-year-old time frame. It's the debate about Iraq itself.
Gary Hart once said, "In a way, John is refighting the Vietnam War." For a long time, the former prisoner of war has believed that Vietnam should have, could have had a different ending. Americans lost the war because they lost their will. He's thought more about the sorry last chapter of that war than its foolish beginning.
So, too, his attention on Iraq has been less on the war's origin than on some undefined victorious conclusion.
...
http://s3.amazonaws.com/apache.3cdn.net/7b9864298ec4958d1f_0gmv2vkj.html
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3267658/
DNC chairman Dean in N.C. to register voters
Posted: Today at 4:01 a.m.
Updated: Today at 5:55 a.m.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is rolling through North Carolina, registering voters in an effort to back presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Dean will bring his bus tour to Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte on Friday.
...
- Rich thanks for the open thread -- also a proposal for a truce with the blogestapo
By Annilow on Jul 25, 2008 8:42 AM EDTI get ticked at Thankful for being so darn nice to everyone, but she's doing it right. And the open threads (thanks Thankful for the idea) are our only salvation at the moment. So I was wondering if one of you less pugilistic folks might want to suggest to HQ that we could have one of THEIR threads then one of OUR OPEN THREADS then one of THEIR threads and then one of OUR OPEN THREADS in a stream. That way we wouldn't have to look for the open thread and rec it to death to get it on the rec list and HQ would quit getting bitched at by us. Just a suggestion.
C-SPAN (main) has Judiciary Committee at 10 on the subject of Executive Power. Kucinich will be testifying I believe. If you're not near the TV it will prolly be streamed at http://www.c-span.org
Off to the Publix in Palatka this morning
Good morning Monica if you are lurking you are missed.
Alternately, we could just post on Gerry's all day till the next Gerry's post appears the next day :~)
...no offense to the individuals, but the 'new' posters sort of appeared all at once it seems like. I wonder 1) where they came from 2) if they are paid 3) what their relationship is if any to current DFA staff
About #1 myself. It could be coincidence, but I think I see some direction from people at HQ. Paid? I doubt it. But encouraged to redirect the blog in the direction they want? Absolutely.
I met many of them. This is their style of blogging in general. DFA asked us to blog about our NN experiences, but never told us what to blog or even that it had to be flattering, lol.
These bloggers are just not involved in the blog fight right now and doubt they even know what is going on. Only the longtimers know as far as I can tell.
Just regular activists like you and me. Many were scholarship winners. Edwin has posted here a lot even before recently. Kenneth is a scholarhip winner and very active in politics at home.
John McCain, presumably advised by Karl Rove and definitely imitating the politics of George Bush, is now saying that Barack Obama would rather lose a war than lose an election.
This is a defamation; this is a slander; this is a lie. McCain should apologize to Obama.
This is the latest in a long list of cheap-shot, low-blow politics. McCain has learned nothing about why the American people are rejecting the Republicans and why the Republican brand has been compared to the appeal of defective dog food.
two points:
First, McCain repeatedly lowers the quality of discourse in American politics. The man who ran in 2000 has disappeared; the face of Bush 44 has taken his place with these Rove-like low blows. It is McCain who has always been the fair-haired boy of the press.
Second, John McCain has made a long series of substantial factual errors that will become a major issue. Whether the problem is age or sloppiness, partisanship or tiredness, on issue after issue McCain says things that are factually incorrect.
Couric protected McCain by editing out his latest and very substantial factual error, gaffe, falsehood or mistake (call it what you will).
Scarborough works to protect McCain by demeaning Olbermann, the messenger, who should be praised for doing real reporting (heaven forbid).
McCain's Rove-like attacks -- and his serious and repeated factual errors on major issues -- should be major topics in the election and staying silent about them does our political discourse no good.
The media also knows that Bush ordered that any government workers could not attend the speech given by Barack in Germany, even though the speech was given during the employees free time.
The media knows all of this and they refuse to report it. They do not report the news, they create it. The only way to fight them is to stop buying the products of their sponsors.
What I find more frightening than McCain, Bush, Cheney, are the people who vote for them.
putting a stop to Barack visiting the injured troops (sans cameras/reporters) at Ramstein is just plain wrong. He did it in Iraq. I hope when he wins that they clean house big time.
It appears that the reviews from Barack's speech are mostly favorable except for the usual suspects...
Off for the day. Enjoy everybody!
Now that they've shut down Gerry's and opened yet another NN thread
1. "Death wish" campaign repeats visual self-immolation trick first unveiled the night of Obama's nomination clinch. Even more devastating than the compulsive smiling against the sickly green background, Schmidts photo op points up the bizarre compulsion to frame McCain in the worst possible comparative light. If the strategy of the day was to emphasize McCain's ability, evoking a German setting, to successfully engage 199,990 fewer people than Obama captivated in Berlin, the event, topped off by the photo, was a rousing success.
Given all that -- and RNC's decision to run anti-Obama advertisements in Berlin, N.H.; Berlin, Wis.; and Berlin, Pa. -- the "Unique Impressions" is spot on.
2. You gotta love Lindsey's expression (not to mention the red, white and blue fashion statement). How do you spell "T - I - T - A - N - I - C ?"
3. Gaffe-ridden campaign makes the "fudge Haus" fit too
Sein republikanischer Kontrahent John McCain und Senator Lindsey Graham
hatte die Worte Obamas in "Schmidt's Fudge Haus" in Columbus (Ohio) verfolgt.
You signed a petition to FOX. They received the message!
Dear MoveOn member,
Big news! Your petition signature telling FOX to stop their racist smears against the Obamas had a really exciting day on Wednesday. Here's what happened:
1:00 p.m. - Your signature was printed off at a New York City Kinko's along with 620,126 others—filling 19 big boxes.2:00 p.m. - The signatures were piled in front of FOX's national headquarters at 6th Avenue and 48th Street.
3:15 p.m. - Hip hop star Nas (whose new album had just risen to #1 on the Billboard charts hours earlier) joined over 100 activists and delivered the petitions to FOX on behalf of ColorOfChange, MoveOn, and Brave New Films.
3:30 p.m. - FOX refused to accept the petitions. (Sometimes, the truth hurts.)
4:00 p.m.—9:00 p.m. - News of FOX's racism and the star-studded petition delivery made its way around the world—with stories in Rolling Stone, Billboard, USA Today, Associated Press, Reuters, India Express, Huffington Post, MTV, OpenLeft, and over 200 other places.
11:30 p.m. - Stephen Colbert welcomed Nas as his guest on the Colbert Report and dedicated over half of his show to FOX's racism. The boxes containing our signatures were stacked prominently on Colbert's set in place of his normal interview table and chairs—and he conducted the entire interview surrounded by petitions! Then, Nas performed his new song "Sly Fox," which is all about FOX's racism.
12:00 a.m. - Several MoveOn staffers, jaws dropped open, got on the phone and engaged in several rounds of, "Wow!" :)
Since then, the news has kept spreading around the world. You sent a message to FOX, and that message was very much received!
And the fight's not over. Together, we've denied FOX the legitimacy that would come by hosting Democratic presidential debates, and we got a company to stop advertising on Bill O'Reilly. This week's delivery made an impact, and we'll continue to push back together against FOX's racism and their smears against Obama.
But for now, enjoy the video of Wednesday's petition delivery—led by our friends at ColorOfChange—and the video of Colbert. Both videos are at this link:http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3980&id=13330-5171107-YW4gOnx&t=4
Thanks for all you do.–Adam G., Laura, Ilyse, Justin, and the rest of the team
P.S. You can listen to Nas's new single "Sly Fox" on the Colbert video at the link above. If you like it and want to buy the full album, it's available here:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3979&id=13330-5171107-YW4gOnx&t=6
http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney07252008.html
Yesterday, at the Victory Column in Berlin's Tiergarten, Obama extracted Old Glory from the burn-pile and gave Brand America a desperately needed shot of adrenaline. 200,000 ecstatic Germans jammed the streets in what turned out to be the political shindig of the year. Many of them were waving American flags and chanting, "Obama, Obama, Obama".
Have you taken a look at the crowds at a McCain event, lately. Usually, there aren't any. Typically, there are more journalists and cameramen then people; and even they look bored. It's the truth. He generates no enthusiasm at all. None. He may be the most uninspiring, tedious, pure-vanilla candidate of all time; a complete dud. I challenge anyone to recite from memory anything John McCain has ever said in his 40 years in office. Time's up! When McCain begins to talk, its a signal for women to pull out the nail-files and for men to figure out how they're going to get out of cutting the lawn this week. Really. No one listens.
I have no dog in this fight. I'm not voting for Obama because I don't think he'll withdraw the troops from Iraq or Afghanistan, repeal the Military Commissions Act, restore habeas corpus, negotiate a fair settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, or hold Bush and his gangster buddies accountable for the crimes they've committed during their time in office.
But, just because I'm not voting for Obama, doesn't mean I've lost my marbles. I can still see the affect he has on people. He's not a candidate; he's a phenomenon. Obama is an explosive, vital, charismatic politician. When he speaks people feel better about themselves and their country. And, they're more hopeful about the future, too. That's what makes him unbeatable.
McCain, on the other hand, is the perfect embodiment of his party; a rusty, broken-down hulk that's been stripped of its engine, its fenders and all its moving parts. Even the steering wheel is gone. It's a dead-loss; nothing is salvageable.
McCain is in way over his head. This election is going to be a real embarrassment for him. It's too bad. He should be back at the Phoenix Rest Home shooing kids off the front lawn instead of waiting for the ax to fall in November. It's a rotten way to end a career.
- Michelle Obama gets welcomed warmly in Ft. Myers
By floridagal . on Jul 25, 2008 1:20 PM EDTand other cities. I think it is great. Alex Sink and Grace Nelson met with her. That's good.
Michelle Obama gets warm reception in conservative Southwest Florida today.
floridagal -
Great to hear that !
My wife and I visited the Ft Myers area a number of times and liked it's atmosphere.
Michelle spoke at a sold-out (over 500 people) breakfast venue yesterday morning in Ft. Myers.
- Support of Guaranteed Health Care for All as a Plank in the Democratic Party Platform!
By Susan Rowe on Jul 25, 2008 2:28 PM EDT|
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Guaranteed Health Care for All
Some people see Guaranteed Health Care for All as a basic human right. Others dismiss it as just a political fantasy. |
I applaud this effort. Realistically, it's going to involve tax increases, which the Rethugs are trying to make a 3rd rail, but sooner or later the people are going to have to figure out that there's no free lunch!
ANYBODY KNOW WHY THIS THREAD HAS NEVER MADE THE REC LIST? IT IS ABOUT TO FALL OFF. I'VE REC'D IT EARLY AND OFTEN TO NO AVAIL.
don't like open threads except for their icky water closet
- That's strange. I added the bfa group to it. Let's see if that helps.
By Susan Rowe on Jul 25, 2008 3:03 PM EDTPlease folks recommend this post that you are presently reading.
Perhaps somebody has reported it as spam or inappropriate. But I sure hope that is not the case.
For a post to make it to the rec list it must
1. Have 2 or more recommendations
2. Less then 5 days old
3. not have been promoted to the front page.
(although it can be on both if it gets on the rec list first then promoted to the front page, it will remain on the rec list)
This post has 8 recs at the moment.
thanks for the feedback Tim. fyi, I had the same problem as puddle - when I went to reco this post it showed me as already having done so, only I hadn't yet. will try again to see if it works...
They fall off when someone else's post gets more recommends.
Here's a quote from mprov from last night:
rich's post earlier about mass exodus shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. there's pleanty of places to exist as a blog. problem is letting other oldtimers looking for us know where to go...
the question then becomes: is being/staying here a: 1. statement of ownership. 2. marking territory. 3. a clan issue. 4. a statement of power relationships. 5. just the point, dammit. 6. an attempt to keep the familiar group together. 7. something larger. 8. something smaller. 9. doesn't matter. 10. what???
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm not sure which it is -- I think I vote for number 6. altho it is becoming a #3. I just think it's wrong to give into them.
but I think these guys are probably too young to realize it has a negative connotation. You know who still uses that? Sites like US Weekly and other rag magazines. The connotation is about gossip and fluff and even though open threads have that, I would prefer they use "open thread" or even "townhall". Anything but watercooler.
It reminds me of the lazy people at work whose slack I always had to pick up because they were too busy backstabbing and gossiping at the water cooler to contribute...so putting us in that category is not a postive thing, lol.
Went to recommend this thread, and it showed me as already having recommended it. Since I just got up, that seems unlikely. . . .
Also, for the first time it shows my "tolerance" for -25 posts, which although I've changed it numerous times, has never actually changed before. Guess there is some work going on behind the scenes which they're not communicating. . . .
After it posted above comment, was back to minus three. So tried recommending again, and it let me. Then tried changing display settings, and it let me, and actually changed them.
without making the recommended list, despite the fact that it was recommended by several people.
WTF????
For a post to make it to the rec list it must
1. Have 2 or more recommendations
2. Be less then 5 days old
3. not have been promoted to the front page.
(although it can be on both if it gets on the rec list first then promoted to the front page, it will remain on the rec list)
Well why did this never make the rec list? I rec'd it; I'm sure Susan did. I haven't seen it front paged. It's less than five days old. Why isn't it on the rec list? What am I missing?
Btw folks Tim fixed the WC archive - altho I feel really defeated right this moment -- I don't have to want to post in the WC -- I'm worth more than that. This blog sucks.
anni - I can't help it and I know my coming across as all nicey-nice can be annoying :-) It's not that I'm too nice, not really any nicer than anyone else. It's not that I avoid confrontation, just have come to a place in my life that I look at people and the world differently and deal with things differently than I used to. I'm not afraid of nor avoiding confrontation, will go toe-to-toe with anyone. Long ago, I worked in IT. Most things can't be changed overnight and often changes don't go as planned. There are lots of IT projects, the blog is one of many. More communication would be nice but that's an easy thing to miss doing when in the middle of a project. I also think lots has been done that's not good and not working well, but the space is evolving, I believe the intentions to be good and that it can/will work out.
I've wondered about all the new posters too and often take a look at their member profiles - some are scholarship winners, many are with DFA groups. With all the trainings, campaign activities by groups, DFA presence at NN... where all are encouraged to come to the DFA site - anyway, they seem to account for most. Some may just be bloggers who happened on a place to publish. I agree with Rich that paid is unlikely.
That the wc archives are fixed is a good thing, that HQ put up an open thread is a good thing. I'm prayin' for more good things.
I don't MIND your niceness -- I admire you for it -- I wish I could achieve it, and there is little that gets to me these days, but dammit this is a place where I get to belong and I feel like it's being taken away from me. FireFox made a point above that someone else mprov alluded to and that is there is a generation gap happening. Most of us old timers who hang out here I believe are 'mature'. The powers that be are young and that's an issue. It's gonna get to be a REALLY BIG ISSUE if it turns out that the 'powers that be' the blogestapo is just rejecting us because we're grannies. In the brick and mortar world that is VERY MUCH AGAINST THE LAW. But back to being nice -- being nice always wins the day -- and your open threads may have saved us - espec since the powers that be seem to be adopting them - well they adopted one. So thanks, Thankful.
thanks. I think the youth issue plays into it, in inexperience bringing about major change. I can't imagine it has anything to do with our personal ages, they probably don't know most of them. I think it's the not bringing us along with the change that made me feel our blog was being taken away. I'm figuring the youth aspect is part of it, but we all learn by doing, and this is no doubt a learning experience!
As for the open threads, you're welcome :-) Just using the tools at hand. HQ is posting fewer threads these days and leaving it to us bloggers. I'd love to see the wc replaced by a regular open thread, 2-3 a day, but maybe we just need to post most of them and have Danny do the Friday night music one? Dunno, goin' with the flow for now.
might be that others have caught on to doing recos and out-reco'd us?
Thanks for the thread Rich :-)
Oh, I wasn't saying getting out-reco'd is sinister, just that others may have realized they need to do reco's to get their posts to move up. We aren't the only clever folks around, just some of the best :)
Late Night Music Post (Open Thread)
Written by: DFA Staff on Jul 25, 2008 3:55 PM
Thankful to HQ!
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