As we went through the pre-primary season, it was very nice to have a number of candidates that I would consider voting FOR.  High on my list (along with Senators Edwards and Obama) was Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

Now, it was pretty clear at the time that he had no chance (much like Biden or Kucinich), but his inclusion in the debates provided many useful things to us:

1. It raised his exposure nationally.  

2. It made us much more aware of what the Republicans and the Administration were doing to our civil rights.

3. Another voice of experience was on stage.  A different kind of experience.

4. He was willing to suspend his campaign for things he believed in, especially the Fourth Amendment

Right now he has a lot of remaining campaign debt.  Today I received an email from Tim Tagaris asking for some help in putting Chris' debt to rest and I contributed  to help.  I ask that you who read this consider doing the same.

But that's not the only reason for writing this because we (at dKos) have connected with him and he with us.

(Follow me below)

Dude has got to run for his own district.

Here's a key paragraph from the "Message from Ron."

I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen.

I wonder if that means the signs will disappear?

Will the next Republican debate be just McCain/Huck or will McCain refuse to debate him any more?

Isn't it fun when they kill each other off?

Yesterday I was reading in dKos about the kind of reprehensible trading of pork-for-continued-war-support that was going to be in the next budget bill and was physically sick.

But it occurs to me that this is what the current (and decidedly ongoing) role of congresscritters is -- to bring back pork to their districts, never mind the actual cost of it both to the district and to the nation at large.  It certainly doesn't have much to do with important stuff like Defending the Constitution or Oversight or the Common Good.

So much for doing the right thing, eh?

And this also brings the question of lobbyist money into it as it is the lobbyists that are generally the beneficiaries of the pork or pork-jects so enumerated.

With that fire smoldering I stumbled upon the following article in the LATimes this morning.

[follow me below]

One important characteristic of the Iowa Caucus is that if less than 15% of the people in your precinct are for your candidate, you need to pick someone else.

In 2004 there were arrangements made between the candidates and their supporters to go with each other's candidate if there were not enough of their own present.

So, potentially as important or more so, this poll addresses your SECOND CHOICE.  And if you feel inclined, please post a comment with your first, second, and third choices because I want to do a little data analysis on groupings and relative rankings (covariance, if you will).

So, here is the poll, styled after Meteor Blades diary.

Rawstory, Thursday 01-NOV-07

In a speech to the Heritage Foundation, Bush worked to imply that not confirming Mukasey would result in no Attorney General "during this time of war," guaranteed.

How is having no AG any worse than the present situation?

Doesn't the Acting AG have to report to Congress every 6 months, anyway?

Well, Obama just put his foot in it.  Kos has had two diaries on it today.  We've seen a lot of other interesting events, including a good speech from Edwards that will never make national press, Dodd has decided to filibuster the Attorney General nominee.  Clinton's name recognition numbers are shooting the moon (but we don't know whether that will translate into actual votes).

So, I figured I'd strike while the iron is hot.  Who's your candidate now?  (I've added "Too Pissed Off" as a choice, BTW.)

Now that we've seen Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd rise to the occasion and put a hold on the new FISA bill, we have a few questions to answer:

1. Where are the other Presidential Candidates who are sitting Senators on this?  Biden? Clinton? OBAMA?

2. What about the other Candidates?  Edwards, Richardson, Gravel?

3. What's going on down there in the House, Mr. Kucinich?  Have you got something in your pocket that will help in this case?  Say, a copy of the CONSTITUTION?

  Darkest Days by Stanley Gallon

It's twenty years after 9/11 and series of disasters befall the United States.

Here's the text from the back cover (I've added some pictures):

Air Force One crashes into the sea, with the US President aboard. Is it an accident?

Yellowstone National Park erupts in the most devastating volcanic catastrophe ever known. But, when evidence points to foreign terrorists, vengeance is swift and merciless.

From a recent article in Time Magazine "The Last Temptation of Al Gore," on the subject of getting Al to run for President:

Like many others, I have tried my best to convince him. So far, no luck.

-Steve Jobs

I've been on the receiving end of Steve's reality distortion field.  I'm an Apple Stockholder and have been for more than a decade.  If STEVE is unable to get through to Al, I can only imagine just how deep the loss of 2000 runs within him.

^{from the REVISIONIST HISTORY dept}

Friday of last week had Brad Miller (dKos member and Representative of NC in Congress) sending a letter (PDF) demanding an explanation why Google was showing pre-Katrina maps of New Orleans instead of current maps of the damaged city.  He had accused Google of "Airbrushing History."

from C|net

Google on Sunday said it had no intention of "rewriting history" but nonetheless was able to "expedite" the processing of 2006 aerial photography data for New Orleans that is of equally high quality. That update went up on Sunday evening, the company said.

^{from the BIG SURPRISE department.}

STORY LINK

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut said today while he has no immediate plans to become a Republican, he might change his mind if Democrats oppose funding the war in Iraq.

"I have no desire to change parties," Lieberman told the Politico. "If that ever happens, it is because I feel the majority of Democrats have gone in a direction that I don't feel comfortable with."

Trust an actor to properly put a (dumb?) jock in his place.

Video link[mirror link]

Cetain dumbass statements require thorough, thoughful, and massive retribution.

This definitely qualifies as such.

Far and away the best takedown I've seen in years!!!

UPDATE: George Takei has a website.

Think about it.  Every dollar that the Republicans send to Joe, doesn't get spent in any key Republican races.  Everytime they help him with dirty tricks, we get to pin those dirty tricks on Republicans.  This is a P.R. debacle for the Republican party if it doesn't work.

It better not work.  If we can arrange for him to go down in flames (and we really need videotape of the next stunt, hint, hint) that's all she wrote.

So, I'd like links/references to his most MACACA Joe Moment(um).

If we assume for the moment that there will be a Democratic Congress after November 7, 2006 (and by that I mean after January 20, 2007), then the 2008 Republican Strategy will have to change.

Specifically, they will have to use their Lame Duck Rubberstamp Congress NOW while they have still have it.

Enter the 1) Power of the Incumbency, 2) Dick Cheney, and 3) who will be the annointed one to replace GWB in the 2008 Election.

Join me below as we find out who our new master is going to be, assuming the old one is willing to step down and clear brush.

According to USA Today, Frank Lautenberg says that if Lieberman looses by more than 10 percentage points (GO LAMONT!) then he thinks it unlikely that Joe will mount his independent campaign.  (Might be better to retire with the money, eh?)

Here's the link to the USA TODAY Article

...this morning a close colleague and supporter of Lieberman's, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., told USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page that if Lieberman loses by more than 10 percentage points, he thinks it's unlikely the senator will mount an independent effort to keep his seat. Lautenberg said Lieberman hasn't specifically told him that, but that it's his (Lautenberg's) impression of what would happen. Page was guest-hosting on National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show, and Lautenberg's comments were aired live.

(my emphasis)

Six months before 9/11 the NSA instituted a program to record and store data by call subscribers.

It looks like AT&T was approached by the NSA to build a network operations center:

Pioneer Groundbreaker

The NSA initiative, code-named ``Pioneer Groundbreaker,'' asked AT&T unit AT&T Solutions to build exclusively for NSA use a network operations center which duplicated AT&T's Bedminster, New Jersey facility, the court papers claimed. That plan was abandoned in favor of the NSA acquiring the monitoring technology itself, plaintiffs' lawyers Bruce Afran said.

This places the statement by the Bush administration that the spying only became necessary after 9/11 into the realm of fiction.

Read the Fully Story at Bloomberg.

Can't say that I'm surprised.  What else are we going to find out?  Puts me into the MIHOP camp, you know what I mean?

Today, my wingnut brother called me a "secular progressive."  The term just rolled off of his tongue as he was on a rant about everything that was wrong with the Government (that we have one), Taxes (that he has to pay nearly 30% -- boo hoo), and Hillary Clinton (socialized medicine bugaboo).

Below I'll get into:
1) What kinds of terminology they're using about us (he called me a member of the "Far Left Wingnuts" ...  Dude, there are people WAAAAY to the left of me!)
2) Pointing out that people expect to get certain things from the social contract
3) That having Schools and Hospitals is actually a good thing
4) That Halliburton is a BAAAD company
5) That having immigrants as your neighbors does not give you the right to be a bigot, (And that maybe you should learn their language in a hurry!)

and more...

I had heard other people mention the RNC push poll survey that required you to pay in order to send it back in.

I didn't think they'd have the balls to send me one at work.

Aside: Has Ken Mehlman been associated with any scandals?

Clearly, I have no intention of sending it back in.  (Unless, I check the Other $ ....... item and make it $0.02.) Interestingly enough, the return envelope is prepaid so you don't HAVE to put a stamp on it.  They request that you do so... as if they're beggars or something!

Anyway, here are the questions in the "survey" for your edification.  As there is no © (copyright) of any kind on the document, I am forced to conclude that it is in the public domain.