Rachel, Rachel, Rachel!

Rachel Maddow stands strong on this most salient point: John McCain CANNOT be allowed to say "I was a POW for five years" to excuse every bad decision, memory loss, on & on, across the board. Here's the video:

New Obama Sing Along...

Very clever & totally true!
McCain "Don't know much" - Music video

Night of Delusion

What an incredible roller coaster ride Hillary Clinton “treated” us to. I am more than dubious about her intention to use this forum to present all her most wonderful and hopeful ideas, and take some comfort knowing her words will be heard far and wide. She spoke of issues we have all wanted to hear about, and more. I was impressed by her command of the audience, her ability to never get rattled while the audience shouted their encouragements and personal hosannas. But her ability to make you think, this is it, she’s going to …, the roller coaster would cross the peak and it’s all downhill again.

And what was the deal with keeping people in a bunker, without the ability to use cell phones or know what was going on in the outside world? New Yorkers locked in the basement of Baruch College! WITH ANDREA MITCHELL!!!! Is Hillary the ultimate control freak or what? Maybe I’ve had it all wrong about the Clintons, thinking she was the nurturing one while he slay the dragons. If she plays Bill like she played the media and us, his cojones must be in constant pain.

The Unbearable Heaviness of Hillary

First of all, know that I’m not a democrat or even a big Hillary fan. I’m not writing this as a groupie or as one concerned about “healing the party” or any other political motivations. What does motivate me is watching a human being become physically debilitated before my eyes and not being able to do anything about it. Damn, I’m saying I’m worried about the lady’s health and if having a blog means being able to write whatever I want (and maybe have an impact) then it would be wrong not to express these thoughts.
Since this campaign took off you could measure the toll it was taking on her by the extra pounds she’s put on and the deepening creases on her face. A year ago she had a genuine, warm smile and ease of movement as she stepped up to the podium. But now, when I see her on TV I cringe. She appears to be physically suffering from the weight of her burden as she pursues this valiant and perilous journey to “success.” Perhaps she believes political success will rectify the pains she suffers now, but that cannot be so.
A candidate for such a stressful and difficult position as president must love the process, even thrive in the relentless glare of public scrutiny. Just looking at these two pictures makes it clear that Hillary the person is not thriving. She is literally bound by the heaviness of herself. The extra pounds may add coverage and protection from the barbs and endless criticism, but cannot nourish her spirit. I wonder if there’s a part of her trying to satisfy someone else in this effort, a man like her dad or husband, or maybe she doesn’t want to let women down.
I'm just saying Hillary’s done the tremendous work needed to break ground for future candidates of the female persuasion.
Now Hillary should take care of Hillary, get a massage, hear the Stones, go shopping, hang with Chelsea, get exercise and back on track with her core constituency, right here in New York City.
Please, Senator, take good care of yourself so we can have you around for future battles.

Many Ways to Seize Our Democracy

Another creative approach: Let the lawyers do what they do best...SUE THE BASTARDS!
CitizenClassAction.com Because It's Time To Take Our Country Back
It's Time To Act To Save Our Democracy, Friday, 18 January 2008
[...] The practice of excluding candidates from presidential debates has become far too common and casual. Who has the right to decide which candidates the American people get to hear from? Who has the authority to select which political positions are acceptable, and which ideas should be considered? That's not a choice that the corporate media or their corporate masters should be permitted to make. The decision about which candidates are 'viable' is entirely up to the American people, and it is expressed when they VOTE. The American people have repeatedly spoken out about this issue, but they are largely being ignored.
[...] The only recourse left to concerned citizens now is to take legal action in the form of a class action lawsuit to force the corporate media to allow all presidential candidates to participate in broadcasted presidential debates.
[...] we believe that there are valid legal grounds to pursue a lawsuit in order to correct the injustices that the corporate media are perpetrating against the American people, and against our democracy.
But, we need your help. In order to effectively pursue this lawsuit, we must demonstrate that the American people support our claims, and want to remove the stranglehold that the corporate media is exercising over our election process. We need a large group of concerned citizens to join our class action suit. If you want to help protect our democracy, and are troubled by the way the corporate media is manipulating our election process, please sign up to be part of the lawsuit.[...]
Last Updated ( Sunday, 20 January 2008 )
http://www.citizenclassaction.com/
When you sign up you will be asked the usual questions as well as more specific ones. You do not have to answer them. Just to be clear, they say they have “material evidence” to convince the ACLU that a case can be made. I happen to have personal reasons to believe the ACLU is not the way to go with something like this, but … I joined anyway. Use your own judgment.

Do Ya Wanna Caucus With Me?

Oh, yeah! Technology is the people's weapon for advancement to knowledge + power!
If IM-ing ideas from your brain to your fingers in real time to get responses from other like-minded citizens, or you just want to read without making a comment, go to:
http://bravenewfilms.org/election?utm_source=rgemail
About our coverage:
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Most of all... have fun!
-Jim Gilliam, Brave New Films

Presidential Candidates and Tibet

Sovereignty for Tibet was “taken off the table” by His Holiness the Dahlia Lama, to reassure the Chinese government that he is no threat to Chinese sovereignty. While this may seem absurd, given the power of China compared to the exiled Tibetan government, the “middle path” of compromise and reconciliation seemed the only way to protect the Tibetan people, and provide an opportunity to maintain their culture, in any form possible.
As “free” Americans, we have an opportunity to use our liberty, (what’s left of it) to help those who cannot help themselves, as so poignantly stated by 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma (Myanmar). Please use the link below to review what some of the candidates have to say about the Dalai Lama and the future of Tibet.
The 2008 Presidential Campaign season is heating up as we head into six major primaries in January alone. And, Presidential campaigns are aggressively working to connect with voters. These days, every vote counts.
After 20 years of advocacy work in Washington, the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) knows that the administration must be responsive on the issue of Tibet. Who we elect as the next President of the United States matters greatly for the future of Tibetans. Many of you helped ICT secure the Congressional Gold Medal for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In short, your vote in this election is extremely important to Tibetans.
Now, please take a few minutes and read the responses to our questionnaire from US Presidential Candidates.
http://www.savetibet.org/campaign2008

Better Than Computer Dating!

WQAD has posted a quiz for all those "ambivalent/undecided/wanting to know more" voters. It may surprise you to learn the candidates’ records are not always what you expected.

http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460