Howard Dean is the keynote dude around here, too.

thanks for the headsup last thread, Steve.
been on the phone, and oding other stuff...

Thankful to Mitch for the link...

thanks for the headsup last thread, Steve.
been on the phone, and oding other stuff...

Thankful to Mitch for the link...

this blog software is so screwed up that i can't believe that anyone takes this place seriously...

that being said..howard's always 1st...and furthermore...

this blog software is so screwed up that i can't believe that anyone takes this place seriously...

that being said..howard's always 1st...and furthermore...

double posts are nice...

to Howard's speech...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/18/141254/541/733/553550

listening - missed it earlier...

they are, aren't they, mprov

listening to the Gov

"we welcome people"

"everybody deserves a chance"

...

voter lists...
this race should not be confined to areas we are comfortable in...

we believe...

Thankful2 and Thankful4 Howard Dean.

double posts are great - how very odd that every time I refresh this screen it goes blank. Me thinks the gremlins are at it.

HBD: on voter lists being shared
on how we can win in NV and the south
there will be 50 bloggers from every state at the convention, no spin

♥'s atcha HBD and to AMS for getting me to listen

Phil ~ awesome, w/e works is good.

must sleep here,

♥'s an hugs to all

Kindness IS free!

listening to part 3 of speech, then over 'n out.

Watching the youtubes-----So neat to see a master physician diagnosing, prescribing and healing.   

Saturday project here is doorknocking unregistered addresses in my precinct.  Offering registration and vote-by-mail request forms.   Inviting folks to join this Democracy.  Friday phonebanking project was calling Republican women to invite them to meet my Senate candidate at one of his local office grand openings.  Really great results-about one third positive.....near zero negative.   Sheer genius from our slave-driving campaign manager. sleep beckons.....goodnite all.

Steve ~ yer among the bestest!

Nite atcha :-D

double posts are great and happen, mprov.  Somehow I didn't see them earlier, either didn't scroll up or I swear they didn't show.  Just checking in before pillow time - for real... nearly 4:30 here and I'm tired of/from boxes and papers.  Taking the day off tomorrow for a picnic in the park to get mellowed.

Nite Denise ~ princess of democracy  :-)

all of youz is the bestest.

and Kindness IS free! ...and freeing.

They claim it is money, but it is volunteers. They are the gold. A campaign that has enough money to provide training, support, and tasking for volunteers, leverages the funds. Because of the ethusiasm factor McCain would need three times the money Obama has, good luck with that. I always like to steer first time people into what I'm sure will be a winning campaign so election night they want to do it again next time. This year they can have their pick, because we are going to have a clean sweep.

Since I now have to use a mouse with the lap-top, I catch up on my reading with my morning coffee and don't get to the computer until later.
Haven't finished the New Yorker article on Obama yet. Been distracted by the National Journal issues I've been stacking up but find that they don't keep well. If not read right away, the news gets stale.
This morning I got side-tracked by a political report on Obama's campaign in rural areas and sent off the following to the author. I think it's pretty self-explanatory.

If you'll permit, Mr. Hagstrom, I'd like to make a few comments about your
essay on Senator Obama's trip to North Dakota.
The opening sentence--
"Barack Obama's campaign stop here on July 3 raises the question of
whether the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee really expects to
win rural states in the Plains, the Mountain West, and the South"
makes no sense.
First of all, a campaign stop cannot raise a question. Then, "raising a
question" means that there's a doubt (in this case about someone else's
expectations?) for which there is no logical predicate. I mean, if Obama
had NOT visited North Dakota, it might raise a question about the
sincerity of his 50 state strategy. And, then again it might not (he
might be planning to visit later). In any case, what anyone expects at
this point in the process is probably not something worth writing about.
Besides, since elections are a voter action, what Barack Obama expects now
or later is largely irrelevant, even if that's what the pundits want to
write about from now until election day.
Secondly, the "winning" meme is really annoying. Candidates for public
office are applying for a job; they are being interviewed by the people
who will do the hiring (and some who won't). It's clear that the public
relations industry is convinced that candidates can be sold like soap
flakes and candidates would like to believe that they control the
process. But, the reality is that it's a voter action and, to the extent
that the voters are dismissed in the public discussion, they'll either be
disaffected (putting democracy in jeopardy) or, at a minimum, continue to
discount the sources of public information (which also puts our democracy
in jeopardy).
Finally, your assertion that "Obama did not mention his African father or
his biracial heritage" is both gratuitous and irrelevant. Humans are one
race and there is no significant genetic difference associated with either
place of birth or skin color. Moreover, if I were so bold, I would guess
that no-one whose father voluntarily abandoned his family responsibilities
before his son was two years old would waste time on that issue when time
is at a premium.
Ask yourself the next time you look in the mirror whether you notice your
skin color as an indicator of race. If the answer is no, then ask
yourself why Barack Obama should be different. Classifying people by the
color of their skin is a social artifact which, since skin color has no
connection to significant behavior (dark skinned people do often suffer
from excessively dry skin and need to use emollients to keep it from
cracking--an important but insignificant behavior), is practically
useless. When it fuels prejudicial antagonisms, it's socially destructive
and your bringing it up is not helpful.
Oddly enough, although the height of candidates does seem to have been
significant in prior elections, I have yet to see a routine reference to
the fact that the Obamas are both exceptionally tall. Perhaps pundits
are reluctant to bring it up because they perceive height to be a source
of intimidation. I would suggest that because very tall persons are often
constrained to bend down in order to listen to their interlocutors, they
actually come across as more deferential to the interests of other people.
M/H

http://www.freeforall.tv

...was on CSPAN this morning right before Washington Journal -- I think they make an editorial comment when they decide what to 'repeat' at 6:30 and this morning it was Howard -- so CSPAN thought it was the newsiest item from yesterday is how I read it.  The speech got better with a second watching.  I think it would make a wonderful platform for the Democratic Party.  I only heard the last 15 minutes this morning, but he said stuff like how the Evangelicals main interests sound like Democratic interests -- environment, Darfur, don't remember the third -- his point was we need to combine not divide to put the country forward.  And I still like his grading system A=run for office, help another campaign, give $ and vote.

How nice it is to see threads where people's posts haven't been disappeared to the WC!  It's almost like the "old" blog.

*****

Special thanks to Kate Drazen (truly excellent posts!) and to the Netroots Nation posters for the timely reporting!  Monica, I LOVED your LTE!

*****

Waves to all!

Am happy to report that I am now on the Other Side of The Pond once again .. will have a couple woozy days before the body gets used to the time change.  But I do appreciate being out of the hot, humid Maryland weather.   The apartment here is naturally air-conditioned, with a wide balcony-terrace that is shaded and an excellent cross breeze.  Best of all, there is no sticky humidity/ 

The trip over went well although I had been sweating the onnections a bit.  After collecting my bags and depositing them at home, I had to wash up immediately, change and go back into town to an event commemorating the life of a former colleague and good friend who was killed in the ME in April since I was honored to be one of the speakers.

There is just one downside so far and it is likely to be an expensive one. During my absence, some of the enterprising "cambrioleurs" who are always present (yes, even in this comparatively crime-free paradise, I'm afraid), attempted to break into the apartment. The good news is that the sliding glass doors are so secure that they couldn't budge them at all; the bad news is that they damaged the exterior frames significantly and cracked one glass panel. So far as I understand, this kind of damage is covered by the condo insurance, but I needed to make a police report. So two (appallingly!) young gendarmes came by yesterday afternoon to see for themselves, wrote up a report and I have now sent it to the condo management, as instructed. The very nice gendarmes told me that this region there are lots of such attempts and most are successful, unfortunately. The attempts also are ratcheted up during the "traditional" vacation period (July & August). The gendarmes also told me, rather bitterly, that they do occasionally catch the culprits but that they see the sames ones over and over again because the magistrates keep releasing them.

I had left a key with the upstairs neighbor who was keeping an eye on things. Another friend also stopped by every couple days while I was gone to check on the apartment and to keep the larger balcony plants watered (the smaller ones were already living in her garden for the time being), so it wasn't as if it wasn't being watched or had been left unattended altogether. The condo management was also aware of my prolonged absence. Unfortunately, however, the apartment downstairs (on the ground floor) had also been vacant since the first part of June (there is a major story behind that which ended happily; new renters are apparently beginning their move in this weekend). And last weekend, the upstairs neighbors themselves left for vacation.

We believe that the attempt was probably made last weekend, after they had left but I won't be able to ask them whether they heard anything until their return. I am sure that, if it had happened before their departure, their dog would have barked. He's a lovely boxer who looks like a real bruiser but is a real sweetheart. So, the best time estimate that we could make is sometime between last Thursday at 6 pm (when my friend watered the plants) and Monday evening, when she notced that one of the exterior blinds was slightly askew, but didn't try to raise it. On Wednesday, she also came by, but this time raised the blind; then she noticed the damage to the door frame itself and wasn't able to lower the blind again, so it was clear that it had been partly forced from its tracks.

These wonderfully solid doors literally cost a fortune, as do the blinds. The insurance should take care of it, or at least most of it (I'm not sure yet whether there is a deductible ("franchise") that I have to pay).

We are a bit mystified as to how they scaled the balcony and the gendarmes could not find ladder marks anywhere. They must have been as athletic as gymnasts, but their tools would have had to be pretty solid to leave the damage that they did, so it would have been a challenge for them.

Hopefully, the experience will warn them not to try to enter anyone else's apartment. Apparently, I am the first in this phase of the development to have a visit. I would rather have done without the "privilege."

Even if they had gotten in, their "haul" would have been quite disappointing. My PC and associated equipment here is an old one (the good laptop was with me); any valuables were locked in the apartment safe and mementos, etc., that are most valuable have been shipped back to the USA. The TV is nice but that would have been practically impossible to remove intact.

Usually, these cambrioleurs are just hoping to get in quietly and get out quickly and have hopes of picking up cash, credit cards or jewelry. They have even been successful at doing this while people were actually in the house, awake or asleep!

Now when I am here, I will no longer leave the balcony doors open at night with the blinds down, as had previously been my habit, in order to get the air circulation. There are more secure windows that I can use. But it's another bit of innocence lost, I'm afraid, and also a reminder of why it is nice to have one's property insured.

more substantively.

Here's one FOR the wolves!  And it's another reason why I love my friends in Missoula!

Here's Barack making his first oversees trip as a candidate.  I hope that he listens to the aid and development workers, rather than ONLY to the military.

According to a former colleague I saw the other evening, who is now quite active in DemsAbroad, people are trying to get the candidate to come to Switzerland, among other countries.

Afghans call for new strategy as Obama visits

Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:24am EDT

By Jonathon Burch

KABUL, July 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has called for more U.S. troops to be sent to Afghanistan, but many in the war-torn country doubt whether more soldiers will help stem the rising tide of violence.

Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday on the first leg of a trip aimed at bolstering his foreign policy credentials ahead of the Nov. 4 U.S. election.

"I don't think decreasing or increasing troop numbers is going to yield a long-term stability here or peace," Matt Waldman, policy adviser to Oxfam International, one of the largest development agencies in Afghanistan, told Reuters.

"I think there are other factors which are more important than that," he said.
[...]

Foreign spending on aid and development is dwarfed by that spent on military operations in Afghanistan. The U.S. military alone now spends some $100 million a day fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, aid agencies say, but spending on aid by all donors since 2001 amounts to only $7 million a day.
[...]

glad the fools didn't get into your home - sad they weren't caught! enjoy your weather - it's hot and sticky here, but I won't complain - I can always go hop in the lake!

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/91931/?ses=76d6bb80d48445df23142b70ce7855cf

The Obamaniacs will be on me like Old Navy on white trash for this.

In the asylum that is American politics, beware a candidate like Barack Obama when he is lauded for moving to "the center" -- because usually that means he is drifting away from it.

Over the last month, the Democratic presidential nominee has backed a measure to permit warrantless wiretapping and protect telecom companies when they violate customers' privacy; sent conflicting signals about whether he will reform the NAFTA trade model; and threatened to revise his timetable for ending the war in Iraq. Universally, reporters have billed this dance as a move to the middle.

Most politicians and journalists who set the parameters of our political debate live in Washington and make six-figure salaries. They are geographically, financially and socially isolated from the blood-and-guts consequences of today's two wars -- the one in Iraq and the one on the middle class. That insulation skews viewpoints.

When regular folks talk to friends and neighbors, we sure feel like our desire for privacy, disgust with NAFTA and opposition to the Iraq war are mainstream majority positions -- and they are. But then comes the barrage.

Day after day, smiling anchormen, blow-dried correspondents and silver-tongued congressmen follow the Big Lie theory of indoctrination, taking to our televisions, radios and newspapers insisting that crazy is normal, the majority is the minority and -- most importantly -- the fringe is the "center." This is no accident.

More Aldous Huxley than George Orwell, these are the methods of modern propaganda, with the celebration of Obama's "centrism" the latest doublespeak. In this brave new world, language is sculpted to skew the "center," intimidating the majority from demanding concrete change for fear of looking like lunatics. It is a slickly packaged process of marginalization and demoralization -- one with an underlying goal: keeping the real lunatics running the asylum.

Big Al wants us to go here:

http://wecansolveit.org/

http://wecansolveit.org/

Pelosi and Al taking questions at NN at this time.  See above link or go to KOS.

Aren't the DFA staff there?

Q Would you accept position in Obama admin to push these changes?

Q Meat causes more carbon emissions than cars true?  what to do?

Q WV Mountaintop removal - something about coal

Q Pelosi, how hold Admin accountable for warrantless wiretapping?

AG:  Honored by sugg that I consider job in next admin - want to convey my respect - not best thing for me to do - my best use is to focus on enlarge space where officials address climate crisis.  Need base outside of the country to make bold changes, sea change in public opinion across party lines.  Go to wecansolveit.org

AG:  Meat in diet, pollution -- one factor increasing meat eaters people imitating USA, healthier for planet if we consume less meat.  Undercurrent - why not more prominent - guilty myself - can only do so much at once - I am a meat eater - want to acknowledge it however.  We must walk before we run.  None are perfect.  

AG:  Mountaintop mining - atrocity - outrage - Tipper/I gave award for Mountaintop Mining the film.  Dump the detritus into the creeks - poison's eco system - part of dysfunctional energy system that is causing global warming - moral blindness to what we are doing - we should guarantee good job in fressh air for every coalminer affected by reneable fuel.  

AG:  Look at dependence of US on foreign oil it would be possible to squeeze liquid out of coala nd put in gas tanks - but would vastly increase CO2 for each gallong  burned.  Switch from fossil fuels to renewables - not coal.

NP:  I thank AG for being a visionary, etc, etc.  as Speaker and a Granny.  Forces wedded to past not present - VP Gore gives us a path to the future.  Also for leadership in telecomm issues.  W/O him no NN.  Applause.

AG:  No comment LOL

NP:  Prez says drill, drill as excsue for failed energy policy -- don't validate his misrepresentation - will do nothing for price - use it or lose it.

NP-Don't drill ANWR go to Nal Petroleum Reserves.  Look for excuse not a reason.  Don't give Prez any validation I tell my colleagues - not true - Gore is leader of wecansolveit.org.  I'm here saying to support it - we must be bipartisan.  Help price at pump - release no more than 10% at SPR - 10 days not 10 years - Free Our Oil.  Call the WH - Free Our Oil.  End Speculation which may contribute to price.  Accountability -- in legislation report to Judiciary and ?? committee to hold them accountable.

Q from floor - Gore, follow plans of Buckmister Fuller - put wind on power towers?

Q Science - NCLB - kids get no science instruction, inferences, etc -- END NCLB

Q Pelosi, challenge to leaders from Gore -- do you accept his challenge to go to clean renewables in 10 years?

Q computers/TV have toxins - our waste going to developing countries -- will Congress stop dumping of electronic waste?

AG:  BFuller idea - wind turbines are important - his design might be reconsidered due to expense - they must go where wind blows.  Find wind rivers.  TBP investing millions in TX - wind and solar and geothermal is important - wind is intermittent - drives utility mgrs nuts - new solar energy w/ mirrors is constant and they have onsite thermal storage to even out wind.  We need to do both or all 3 - they are better together.  I agree on NCLB - harmful to have science AND arts AND athletics pushed out of schools to teach to a test.  Good elements in a n'al program. Ewaste - serious issue - get companies to focus on ways to reduce it and make recyclable - they do understand.

NP:  Does Congress accept Gore challenge -- salute him for the challenge - it is possible to do so.

Renewable electricity standard - everybody said wouldn't pass but we did?

NP cont'd:  Senate would not pass renewable energy standard - 59 votes yes.  Will bring it up again.

NCLB - Pelosi - saw problem w/ budget - no funding - millions of dollars behind in funding NCLB.  G Miller will revisit with a new president.  Won't renew NCLB (I think she said).

Q Nuclear w/ increase emissions?

Q Battery technology?

Q Speigel magazine, Malaki endorsed Obama's timeline - will you follow up w/ legislation?

Q Global warming in Africa where it affects tyranny and genocide?

AG - I am next to one of our greatest leaders, I went 32 years ago, my father there 32 years, I knew Nancy's father, if every member had the depth of conviction that Pelosi had, we wouldn't have the problems we have in the Congress.  If we elect a Dem and increase our majority we will still have a problem b/c the strenthg of special interests, denial, are still obstacles.  What you NN are doing, is so crucial.  Climate issue - must build wecansolveit.org.

Storage - batteries investment to improve technology.  We need breakthroughs.  Thermal storage store 6 to 8 onsite in salts in thermal form - very efficient.  Need more breakthroughs.  photovoltaics is also a big wave of the future.  Cost coming down.  Specialized silicone 2 years ago 200/kg now 50/kg - number of factories that convert the sand to solar cell.  Wind price goes down on demand, oil goes up.  I'm getting tired -- sorry :~)

Water Works

U.S. Army Pfc. Holtzhauser squeezes in next to several cases of water bottles in his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Diyala, Iraq, July 13, 2008. Holtzhauser is assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's Troop G, 2nd Battalion. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Seeber.

AG - Small increase in nuclear use - but not much due to waste, terrorist attack.  If we choose Nuclear, we would have to put reactors where we wouldn't want them, also pressure on uranium, etc.  Problem of economics - they are expensive to build.  Florida power and light going to photovoltaic, TX to wind.  Nuclear is most expensive of all - but will play some role.  Developing countries - world bank, IMF, tell us global warming will be on developing countries - need global Marshall plan to solve climate crisis.  Put up solar cells, etc, create jobs in developing coutrnies.  CO2 anywhere is a threat - we need to help developing countries shift over to renewables for our own good.   AND address poverty and disease in developing countries.

NP:  == I agree with Al.  WAr:  Admin says everything is great, but we can't bring troops home.  Iraq hasn't taken it's steps -- Pelosi thinks we should work out a plan with Iraqis to bring troops home.  We've been there longer than WWII.  We have to have meeting to work out terms of redeployment.  Enable us to work on the real work on terror war.  End could be in sight - it will not happen w/o Barack O.  We have a choice btw past/future.  That's what this election is about.  We need the best info and AG has brought it forward and he won Nobel.  AG there in non-partisan capacity.  wecansolveit.org and elect Democrats.

Thank you!  Thank you!

they consume grains which can only be harvested once or twice a year and keep them from being consumed by rats and other non-useful organisms.  Beer and wine are also storage alternatives.  The problem isn't the storage system, it's the over-consumption of one kind or another.