The eight ball says "It is likely."

HOWARD IS FIRST!

Thank you for the donation links.  Disasters seem to be happening exponentially.

on one ballot!  Biggies, too.  What kind of voter education is being done?

the Ethics item i sof concern, I agree it opens the door for witch hunts and Roving.

From last thread Phil mentions a Kirkwood Animal Shelter -- not sure if this is the right one but sounds like a deserving one (quote from web page of Kirkwood Community College):

In an effort to assist direct flood-related needs, the Kirkwood Foundation has established two funds to assist employees and their families facing hardship from the flooding, as well as animals rescured and cared for by this disaster. All interested parties may direct donations to the Kirkwood Flood Relief Fund or the Friends of the Animal Shelter Fund: Care of the Kirkwood Foundation, Mansfield Center/PO Box 2068, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-2068.

http://www.kirkwood.edu/site/index.php?d=633&news_id=1209

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

also:

from Obama's webpage:

http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

You may need to click on "Help the Flood Victims" to the right

Barry's unreleased 'from the vault' song is growing on me - it must change keys five times and the harmonies are interesting. Hint: you have to click the play button on the little jukebox.

http://www.manilow.com/Exclusive390uj93%20938%200239%20000.html

Also, Deutsche Grammaphon will be releasing Rene Pape's first totally solo album done with the Dresden orchestra (I can't spell the German) - I think he recorded it a couple of years ago - it's called "Gods, Kings, and Demons" but in my head I keep calling it "Gods, Guns, and Gays" LOL. I cannot wait till August 15.

http://www2.deutschegrammophon.com/artist/biography?ART_ID=PAPRE

...and with that water cooler subject I will bid you all goodnight...

Spent the day registering folks and bringing a few candidates out to meet their constituents and community leaders. Perfect, Hot day for barbecue , music and fun people stuff. Near universal enthusiasm for Barack Obama here. Good vibes and LOUD peaceful day in the park 4000 strong. Revelation o' the day--live hip-hop for hours is really, virulently,. fun. We had 30+ volunteers for our County Democratic Party Tent. Thanks again, Howard for the Power and the inspiration. Please folks, treat every race like it will be won by a 5-vote margin, and speak accordingly to prospective voters.

and shows Obama with a possible landslide.  Poblano was the best pollster (and he doesn't get paid for it) this primary season.

clicky

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/15/01046/4962/940/536054

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I hope there are a lot of angels with the people of Iowa tonight.

Why did Howard get shot down?
Why did Dennis get shot down?
Why are the good and powerful ones killed?
How is it we ended up with a choice between HC and BO?

********************************

"The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government of the U.S. since the days of Andrew Jackson."-- U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a letter written Nov. 21, 1933 to Colonel E. Mandell House.

"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.."-- Bill Clinton USA Today--3-11-93, page 2a

"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal"--Janet Reno

"I believe that if the people of this nation fully understood what Congress has done to them over the last 49 years, they would move on Washington; they would not wait for an election....It adds up to a preconceived plan to destroy the economic and social independence of the United States!" --George W. Malone, U.S. Senator (Nevada), speaking before Congress in1957.

"The invisible Money Power is working to control and enslave mankind. It financed Communism, Fascism, Marxism, Zionism, Socialism. All of these are directed to making the United States a member of a World Government ..." -- AMERICAN MERCURY MAGAZINE, December 1957, pg.

more fencing and moving cattle today

waking up to rain and glad I didn't mow hay yesterday, looks like it will be tough with every little front bumping into this low level moisture

I enjoyed yesterday's bird song better.

another good cause is an effort to replace medications for the mentally ill lost in the flooding and another gap  ...  I'll come back with a link when I find it

mental health issues are sure to impact a wide area in the months to come

Steve's post from Omaha has me whistling this morning even if the birds aren't.

I will miss Tim Russert this morning, I always appreciate someone that tries to do their job right.

bbl

Since the lap-top is in the shop, I am forced to do some hard-copy reading before I roll out of bed.  So, I actually read through my expensive National Journal and am prompted to write William Schneider and Ron Brownstein a little critique of their verbiage.  Schneider entitles his "Long Division" and speculates about how divided the Democrats are, while Brownstein thinks the Democrats are gambling with the presidency because they didn't go with the sure thing--Hillary Clinton.

I'm going to get my money's worth.  LOL

Meanwhile, you all might want to check out the conference being put on by the Personal Democracy Forum.

At the fifth annual Personal Democracy Forum, leading campaign strategists, bloggers, journalists and e-activists will gather for an in-depth exploration of internet-driven politics, advocacy and governance.  Learn how to convert online support into on-the-ground action; how to master and understand the new online video landscape; how to engage young people online; how to amplify your fundraising; and get the latest on the role of the "net-roots" and "right-roots." and how e-transparency is changing government.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Arianna Huffington, Elizabeth Edwards, Brian Lehrer,Craig Newmark, Josh Marshall, Michael Arrington,Vint Cerf,Robin Chase, Cyrus Krohn, Clay Shirkey, Larry Lessig, Sarah Lai Atirland Patrick Ruffini, Ben Smith, Chuck Defeo, Steve Grove

REGISTER ONLINE AT  WWW.PERSONALDEMOCRACY.COM/CONFERENCE

 JUNE 23-24, 2008   |||| ROSE HALL, THE HOME OF JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER, NEW YORK CITY

that the little drop-down boxes on your tool bar do work to adjust font and font size when you are composing.  That's how I got the larger font in the forum notice I typed up from the announcement in the National Journal.

Just want to say Good Morning and Happy Father's Day.  CSPAN doing gay marriage and now Matt Stoller w/ a RW blogger talking about the election - Stoller - map to victory through the Southwest.  Also something from Britain - Bush using a special forces from Britian to 'get bin Laden before I leave office' -- I'll go look for a link.  What bugs me is they are going to 'mountains of Pakistan' - isn't that exactly what they pummeled Obama about - going into a sovereign nation to get a terrorist - said Obama didn't know anything about foreign policy?

Here's the link  "Get Osama Bin Laden before I leave office orders George W Bush" from Times Online

here's my joint letter to Schneider and Brownstein in response to their essays in National Journal (subscription required)

Dear Sirs:

One of the true peculiarities of the American electoral process is the persistent insistence by pollsters and pundits, such as yourselves, on the power and importance of the candidates for public office, rather than the electorate who actually decide. Since almost every pre-primary prediction from the mouths of the experts turned out to be wrong in 2008, one would think you'd consider changing your tune.

Oh, I know why you don't change. It's part wishful thinking by people who like to think that their influence is great and expect the American public to be swayed by their words, like a field of grain in the wind. So, there's an identification on the part of pundits with what they perceive the task of the political candidate to be. It's also based on the realization (perhaps subconscious) that the audience for their punditry actually prefers predictions that turn out to be wrong, especially when it turns out that they themselves were right. And then, of course, there's the fact that it's much easier to make predictions than to report accurately on what's already happened.

Now for a couple of particular observations in response to your opining.
Mr. Brownstein, I find it interesting that you refer to the voters selecting Senator Obama as the Democratic nominee as "insurgents." It raises the question whether Americans who resist the traditional power structure are now to be identified with the Iraqi resistance to occupation, or if the Iraqi resistance is now going to be recognized as the indigenous Iraqi response to occupation that it is.
The core problem with your perception of reality, of course, lies in the failure to correctly identify who's doing what. When you speak of "Obama's magnetic appeal to young people," you are reversing the proper relationship between subject and object. The real subject is the young people who find the young Senator attractive. Ditto your observation that "Obama should also inspire a huge African-American turnout." Do you even realize how condescending that sentence is--assigning responsibility for the behavior of millions to one man?
But, when I come to your assessment that "Clinton, with her eight years as first lady, might have more easily crossed the experience threshold," I am left speechless. Did you not pay any attention to the campaign and realize that the majority of the voters rejected the hostess experience claim?

Mr. Schneider, your commentary is no less disappointing. But, let me just observe that exit poll results--indeed the results of all verbal polls--are heavily dependent on what question is being asked and, like the science of economics (which is also often wrong), focuses on a single point in time. So, it's unlikely that voters were even asked whether their selection was influenced by the strong possibility (given the trends in the early primary states) that they could vote for her now and him later--i.e. have their cake and eat it too.
Moreover, although you allude to the different approaches to selling themselves that were employed by Clinton and Obama, as "fighter" and "dreamer," it seems not to have registered with you that the promise to do FOR the American people is very different from pledging to carry out the will of the American people. Did you not notice that Clinton was about "I" from beginning to end, while Obama was focused on "you" and "we?" Did you not notice that Clinton's chanting of "Yes we will" was not only a crass immitation of "Yes we can," but a promise of a future for which there was/is no predicate in the present?
Also, as an older (67) white woman, I really find the effort to dissect the population on the basis of age just as offensive as ascribing behavior on the basis of gender, skin color and ethnic association. There's a long tradition in America of pitting diverse peoples against each other--appealing to false and irrelevant criteria in an effort to subjugate and manipulate--and we're getting sick and tired of it. Finally, in case you missed it, the Supreme Court, in issuing its ruling in Boumediene v. Bush, has asserted that even the most recent effort to differentiate between citizens and foreign persons is unconstitutional when it comes to the agents of government carrying out their duties and obligations--that what's determinative is what people do, not who they are. No doubt we'll all find it easier to focus on performance, if the fourth estate does its job and reports what people do, rather than who they are or would like to be.
Looking forward to a change, I am

Sincerely yours,

The ostensible goal of term limits is to keep bringing fresh blood into the system.  Administrators like it because inexperienced council members are easier to manipulate.  Groups that have traditionally promoted "public service" (chambers of commerce, real estate organizations, law firms, corporations) don't mind since they've got a big pool of like-minded individuals to draw from.  Community groups are going to be disappointed, if they haven't a pool of people to elect.

Since the disposition of the power company is also under consideration, one might suspect that the motivation is to transfer public assets to generate private wealth.  Also, the contracting and bonding issue suggests an effort by the financial community to have easier access to public funds.  Financial brokers have recently begun offering bundling services to local and state governments to generate immediate revenue for capital projects with long-term commitments of the taxing power.  Now that various formerly "secure" investment opportunities, such as residential housing, school facilities and prisons have all been rendered more risky, infra-structure bonds are suddenly looking good again.  But, it's always better to have an "in" and participate in the development of the supporting data (as investment counselors) than to wait until the project is let for competitive bids.  Traditionally, everything over five thousand dollars has required council or commission approval. They usually have consent agendas to expedite the truly non-controversial stuff and still enable watch-dog groups to know what's going on.

WHITE HOUSE 2008
Long Division
Why can't the Democrats' fighters and dreamers join forces, maybe on the same "dream ticket"?

by William Schneider

Sat. Jun 7, 2008

At the end of this race, how divided are the Democrats? By some measures, deeply divided. Barack Obama won the nomination, but Hillary Rodham Clinton won six of the final nine primaries.

Some of the party's divisions are predictable. In a contest between a woman and an African-American man, it's hardly surprising that

women and blacks tended to support different candidates. In Pennsylvania, for instance, 59 percent of women voted for Clinton, according to the network exit poll. African-Americans went 90 percent for Obama.

That division burst into the open at the meeting of the Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee last weekend, when pro-Clinton protesters erupted in rage. "Why aren't the men in the party defending the women?" one Clinton supporter complained. "Why aren't they defending women's interests instead of hiding behind racial cloaks?"

WHITE HOUSE 2008

The Democratic Gamble

In a year so tilted toward Democrats, Hillary Clinton might have represented a safer bet to accumulate the bare minimum of 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

by Ronald Brownstein

Sat. Jun 7, 2008

Obama is the first true insurgent to win either major party’s nod since Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976. In the modern primary era, the only other insurgents to capture nominations were Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964 and Democrat George McGovern in 1972. And none of those three defeated a front-runner as formidable as Clinton. Obama’s campaign will likely be remembered as the most successful primary insurgency ever.

It’s difficult to overstate Barack Obama’s achievement in wresting the Democratic presidential nomination from Hillary Rodham Clinton—or the magnitude of the gamble he represents for his party.

I see that Tom is still pushing the canard that Congressional oversight is preferable to impeachment. With no obvious sense of  irony. he uses as an example of the fruitless demands for documents by a congressional committee.

Sure these gutless wimps posture, demand documents, threaten action (but never take it), and throw up their hands in despair that Bush keeps stonewalling.

On the other hand, Bush can't stonewall an impeachment panel. Executive privilege just doesn't apply when the president's crimes are at issue.

Once again, the link to Rob Kall's excellent rebuttal of al the pnoney-baloney excuses for not impeaching.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_071207_rebuttals_to_reasons.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/14/mccain-its-tough-in-some_n_107163.html

Where's the media outrage over this statement?

So a man finally got a question into McCain and he had a very different sort of question. The questioner noted that he had been educated at Princeton and Harvard and made more than $300,000 a year. "How can I be proud of my country?" he asked....

"I'll admit to you that it's tough, it's tough in some respects," McCain said, seeming to lend credence to Michelle Obama's observation. McCain said America needed to be "more humble, more inclusive."

Type in what code for the toolbar?

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/15/learning_to_be_michelle_obama/

Learning to be Michelle Obama

At Princeton, she came to terms with being a black achiever in a white world

By Sally Jacobs

Globe Staff / June 15, 2008

As Catherine Donnelly climbed the stairs to her dorm room at Princeton University over a quarter-century ago, the Louisiana freshman felt ready for whatever lay ahead. But then she met Michelle.

...

http://www.examiner.com/a-1442303~Today_on_the_presidential_campaign_trail.html

Today on the presidential campaign trail

Jun 15, 2008 9:17 AM (40 mins ago) By The Associated Press, AP

After inquiries, McCain cancels fundraiser held by Texas oilman who once joked about rape

...

(continued)

...

The campaign said it would not return money Williams had raised for McCain because the contributions came from other individuals supporting McCain and not from Williams. Williams told his hometown newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram, that he had raised more than $300,000 for McCain.

Democrats said McCain should give back the money.

The flap comes as McCain's campaign reaches out to women and to backers of Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Interviews with some of the men released from Guantanamo.

http://videos.mcclatchydc.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=1927337#

Are we not announcing new threads any more?