Professor Juan Cole, Iraqi expert, has summarized the current status of the Iraqi population, and I can't imagine it being any worse than this:

A new professional poll carried out by a British firm in Iraq concludes that excess deaths from violence since March 19, 2003 through summer 2007 came to just over 1 million. Note that excess deaths from violence do not necessarily imply that they are directly war-related. Thus, murders of a criminal sort, tribal feuding, and so forth would be included. Since Bush interfered with the establishment of a strong new government after his invasion, he promoted the sort of insecurity that permitted high rates of violence, whether political, criminal or war-related. This poll tracks with the findings of the studies of Gilbert Burnham and Les Roberts, published in the Lancet and disputes lower numbers found by a recent WHO study (which, however, only ran through June 2006 and was limited solely to civilians--this British study goes to 2007 and seems to include everyone.) The British findings are also consistent with estimates of between 1 million and 2 million widows in Iraq. These widows, many of them young, face extreme poverty without a breadwinner. As the Iraqi street has been captured by religious parties and militias, gender segregation and female seclusion have increased, which prevents single young women from going out to work in mixed-gender settings like stores and workshops. In short, Iraq is being Talibanized by Bush's war. Reuters points out that almost none of the widows are getting any welfare payments from the Iraqi government. It adds: "A report by aid groups found that 43 percent of Iraqis lived in "absolute poverty". Four million people needed food assistance and only one in three children under five had access to safe drinking water."

And who's responsible for this massive death and destruction? You might say George W. Bush. But no, he's only one person. There's 300,000,000 of us, and we all just let it all happen.

One thing you can most certainly say about the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties this election year is that the Republicans have ONLY white male candidates and the Democrats have NO white male candidates. (And don't bring up Gravel; he's not a serious candidate.)

If that is not an indication of which party is moving forward in this country, then nothing is.

(Mike)

Stirling Newberry

From The Agonist on the SOTU speech.

They did do nothing to deserve the name, "Americans". Showing that he is untouched by self-reflection, intellectual honesty, or self-doubt, George W. Bush has delivered a hard partisan, nasty and crassly self-promoting state of the union to a Congress. He demanded total acquiescence to his economic, foreign policy and domestic agenda, and high handedly threatened that Congress repeatedly if they did not yield to his every demand. Piling on dog whistle after dog whistle to anti-government and anti-tax zealots, in direct contradiction to being the most free spending executive in post-war history, he threw in the face of that same Congress his own duplicity on the matter. Trillions for corruption, but a few spare pennies for everyone else. Bush was never a uniter, he was never interested in bi-partisanship, and he was always interested only in imposing his will and vision on America. A series of Congresses, filled with the corrupt and the craven, not merely bent it's knee to the monarchial impulse, but eagerly participated in outrages against the Constitution that Bush now so gaily flaunts only the first three words of. Because the faith of the founders was in the Union, that web of people, states, government, law and history which was bound together by wars and conflicts, and given a living presence in a document which is fouled by the expectorant of signing statements, secret courts, and overturned elections. It is a mark of shame on this time, and on every American, that we have tolerated such continuous stream of lawless outrages by an executive that knows no honor, and a string of Congresses that have chosen to slop at the trough of pork and personal privilege, before even beginning to move a finger. The results show. This President has been mired below 50% approval for his entire second term, and below 40% for most of it. He is viewed highly negatively as a person by more people who like him even a little. And Congress? This Congress has an approval of 18%, a level which means that were the public given the option of abolishing Congress, they might well pass it by a constitutional super-majority. A foolish Speaker of the House has refused to prosecute high crimes and misdemeanors in the executive, and has cut deals on stimulus that shaft the poor, the children and the unfortunate in order to pile gifts to the extremely wealthy. A conservative Senate Majority Leader combined with her to pass more and more blank checks to the biggest squanderer in history. And two members of this inaugust Congress now vie for the nomination, topping each other in how little of the last eight years they want to undo. In poll after poll, both of them run double digits behind a generic Democrat running for the Presidency. Perhaps because the public understands how little they deserve that name. Someone must say these things, and those that curry for favor or jobs in the government or with a party cannot do so, and will not do so. Those who clamor for attention will find the road blocked by a media which rallied behind a unity towards an illegal war, and now are eager to smirk at the failures of policies that they failed to oppose. This was not an unfortunate outcome, but a clear and obvious result and culmination of exactly what was obvious on a chill night in Florida, when word came down from the Supreme Court that once an election was stolen, it could never be returned to its owners, and Americans had no right to vote for who would occupy the executive office. This is not a period of certainty, but of absolute certainty. America's position in the world is diminished, our share of global GDP is down, our dollar is at its weakest in memory, our credibility destroyed by outrageous lies to the world, our military ground up by the grit of the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time, while the more important wars remain unfought, and more dangerous prey remains unfettered. The clock of an aging baby boom has gone from the ticking of a watch, to the tolling of a bell. It will be midnight chiming soon. News is written by the winners, history by the survivors. Let me tell you what history will have to say about this President and all who enabled him: They did do nothing to deserve the name, "Americans". Go rally behind your spigot of falsehoods, around a President who has broken the laws, defamed the honor of the nation and obliterated constitutional protections that even the Kings of England would not have touched. But realize that unless and until there is a democratic revolution against this new age of absolutism, that there is only one road that we will walk, and that road is down, into the abyss of fallen imperial delusion, and among the shattered stone ruins of fallen crowns. But realize the people have turned against you. We do not merely distrust you, we hate you. We loathe your privileges and your powers. We curse your name in every day language. You can shroud your ears for many years, but with each haughty and high handed slap you deliver to the public's face, there are painful lashes coming from Clio's pen. You will not be forgotten, but remembered along side slave holders who would burn the Union down rather than be human beings, and along side the cult of gold that crushed American into Great Depression. Look upon the busts of Harding and Hoover, and reflect the long hard work you have done to give some other generation a chance to be great, by being worthy of the company of the incompetent and the incomprehensible. Let history write what ruin the arrogance of this age will bring, I say it now, because I have no love for your king. - Stirling Newberry

Bits and Pieces for the Week of January 20 - 26

How bad is the housing market in Cleveland? You can buy a house for $1. (Mike)

Well, that was just about the most underwhelming entrance into and exit from Presidential campaigning (Mike)

Starting tomorrow (when the New York Stock Exchange re-opens) you are going to be hearing/reading about all this for many months or even years. (Mike)

I hadn't really seen this with Democrats since Jimmy Carter. Obama is now playing his "good christian" card. (photo) (Mike)

Any moderate or independent voters considering or planning to vote for McCain: just refresh you memory with THIS PHOTO (Mike)

TV watchers (and Democrats) are going to be blitzed this election year with MoveOn.org's new, cash-infused counterpart Freedom's Watch. (Mike)

"Never again will the US occupy that extraordinary position of supremacy – military, moral and economic – that it held in the interlude between the demise of Communism and the attacks of September 2001." "Just one more year! Good riddance to George W Bush." (7 of 6)

Large people, with large appetites, discriminated against at all-you-can-eat buffet. Waitress says, 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,' Dang, that's the price of doing business as an all-you-can-eat buffet. (7 of 6)

From "the bonddad blog": The bottom line is the market is dropping hard. (7 of 6)

If there's been a "surge" in Iraq, it's definitely not related to electricity or petroleum (Mike)

Major breakthrough in Lithium Ion battery technology. Great for laptops, but I wonder if this can be extended to electric car battery technology. (Mike)

"The Leagacy of bu$h"

Full size view, from Think Progress.

In case you haven't been following the news:

Dear Friend: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new recommendations about the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medication for children. The new guidelines strongly recommend that these medications not be used for infants or children under the age of two because of the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening side effects. The FDA is currently reviewing information on the safety of these products for children from two to eleven years of age and has also issued a set of recommendations for these children. To learn more about the FDA’s new recommendations, I encourage you to view a report on the study by clicking here or the FDA’s question and answer section here. This information is of serious importance to all parents, guardians and others who care for small children. I hope that you will share it with people you know who may be impacted by this news. Sincerely, Barbara Boxer United States Senator

Collateral TV on our FUBAR election system:

"War does not work. It is too destructive. It creates too much blowback, as with Afghanistan and al-Qaeda. It leaves too much of the city destroyed, that it meant to save, as with Falluja. It cannot midwife rights or democracy, it is too gross, too indiscriminate, too brutal for that purpose. It produces Abu Ghraib and Falluja, not Monticello. "The US needs a defensive military, insofar as it can contribute to protecting us from asymmetrical or conventional challenges. But launching a war against a country that did not attack us, that is immoral and stupid." - - - Juan Cole

"New Generation Of Homeless Vets Emerges"

From Erin McClam at Huffington Post. What the "new" homeless Veterans are going through.

LEEDS, Mass. — Peter Mohan traces the path from the Iraqi battlefield to this lifeless conference room, where he sits in a kilt and a Camp Kill Yourself T-shirt and calmly describes how he became a sad cliche: a homeless veteran. There was a happy homecoming, but then an accident _ car crash, broken collarbone. And then a move east, close to his wife's new job but away from his best friends. And then self-destruction: He would gun his motorcycle to 100 mph and try to stand on the seat. He would wait for his wife to leave in the morning, draw the blinds and open up whatever bottle of booze was closest. He would pull out his gun, a .45-caliber, semiautomatic pistol. He would lovingly clean it, or just look at it and put it away. Sometimes place it in his mouth. "I don't know what to do anymore," his wife, Anna, told him one day. "You can't be here anymore." Peter Mohan never did find a steady job after he left Iraq. He lost his wife _ a judge granted their divorce this fall _ and he lost his friends and he lost his home, and now he is here, in a shelter. He is 28 years old. "People come back from war different," he offers by way of a summary. This is not a new story in America: A young veteran back from war whose struggle to rejoin society has failed, at least for the moment, fighting demons and left homeless. But it is happening to a new generation. As the war in Afghanistan plods on in its seventh year, and the war in Iraq in its fifth, a new cadre of homeless veterans is taking shape. And with it come the questions: How is it that a nation that became so familiar with the archetypal homeless, combat-addled Vietnam veteran is now watching as more homeless veterans turn up from new wars? What lessons have we not learned? Who is failing these people? Or is homelessness an unavoidable byproduct of war, of young men and women who devote themselves to serving their country and then see things no man or woman should?

PLEASE READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE AT THE LINK ABOVE.

Why are mentally ill Veterans still being discarded to the trash heap of life? Constanly left to fend for themselves! Yes, they knew what to do in war or in a military environment but being home, after the ordeal they went through, there is no training for that. Invariably, the sick troop is expected to know what's best or where to turn for help... basically, continually told to "buck up"!

I think it's time the military starts a new mandatory program before a soldier gets out, especially a potentially mentally ill soldier, "How to transition back to civilian life!" It would be the last course a soldier takes in their military career. The Pentagon forgets that most young soldiers know nothing else but the military. They were looking at the military as a stepping stone, not being dropped off a cliff.

I know our government has not learned anything from Vietnam with regards to Veteran's care. But some caring individuals have... and it could lead to increased government awareness:

Soldier On is staffed entirely by homeless veterans. A handful who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan, usually six or seven at a time, mix with dozens from Vietnam. Its president, Jack Downing, has spent nearly four decades working with addicts, the homeless and the mentally ill. Next spring, he plans to open a limited-equity cooperative in the western Massachusetts city of Pittsfield. Formerly homeless veterans will live there, with half their rents going into individual deposit accounts. Downing is convinced that ushering homeless veterans back into homeownership is the best way out of the pattern of homelessness that has repeated itself in an endless loop, war after war. "It's a disgrace," Downing says. "You have served your country, you get damaged, and you come back and we don't take care of you. And we make you prove that you need our services." "And how do you prove it?" he continues, voice rising in anger. "You prove it by regularly failing until you end up in a system where you're identified as a person in crisis. That has shocked me." Even as the nation gains a much better understanding of the types of post-traumatic stress disorders suffered by so many thousands of veterans _ even as it learns the lessons of Vietnam and tries to learn the lessons of Iraq _ it is probably impossible to foretell a day when young American men and women come home from wars unscarred. At least as long as there are wars. But Driscoll, at least, sees an opportunity to do much better. He notes that the VA now has more than 200 veteran adjustment centers to help ease the transition back into society, and the existence of more than 900 VA-connected community clinics nationwide. "We're hopeful that five years down the road, you're not going to see the same problems you saw after the Vietnam War," he says. "If we as a nation do the right thing by these guys."

"I'd rather have a President who cries than a President who makes me cry." - D.L. Hughley on Real Time with Bill Maher, 1/18/08, referring to Hillary Clinton's recent show of emotion

Bill Moyers' tribute to President Johnson as an explanation of Hillary Clinton's recent remarks about Martin Luther King Jr.:

FRIDAY F U N

• Finally, someone has invented a cat translation device.
• It looke a whole lot like the moon, but here's our first photo of a previously unseen side of Mercury
• Create your own electronic device using Bugs
• Customer receives return call from Microsoft tech support.... 10 years later
• Visions of the future: The Space Collective
• And finally, a blast from the past:
  
  

Why do we need a progressive government? How else would we prevent this from happening?

UC policy report says chemical exposures cost state estimated $2.6 billion By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | 17 January 2008 BERKELEY – Serious gaps in existing laws regulating the production and use of hazardous chemicals fail to protect public health and the environment, according to a new report to be released Thursday, Jan. 17, by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA. As a result of this inadequate oversight, chemical and pollution-related diseases among children and workers in California cost the state's insurers, businesses and families an estimated $2.6 billion in direct and indirect costs, says the report, which includes a set of recommended policy reforms for the state. In 2004, more than 200,000 California workers were diagnosed with deadly, chronic diseases - such as cancer or emphysema - attributable to chemical exposures in the workplace, according to the report. Another 4,400 died as a result of those diseases. The new findings, based upon well-established methodology for analyzing economic impact, indicate that those diseases resulted in $1.4 billion in both direct medical costs and indirect costs that include lost wages and benefits. An additional $1.2 billion in direct and indirect costs is attributed to 240,000 cases of preventable childhood diseases in California related to environmental exposure to chemical substances, the report says. The existing problems and recommended policy changes are detailed in the report, "Green Chemistry: Cornerstone to a Sustainable California," which has been endorsed by 127 faculty members from seven UC campuses, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The California Environmental Protection Agency commissioned the UC Berkeley and UCLA Centers for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) to prepare the report. COEH is a multi-disciplinary research program based at the UC campuses of Berkeley, Davis and San Francisco in Northern California, and at UC Irvine and UCLA in Southern California. Additional funding for the report came from the UC Office of the President, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This report, for the first time, puts cost estimates on the consequences for Californians of current chemical and product management policies," said Dr. John Balmes, COEH director, UC Berkeley professor of environmental health sciences and UCSF professor of medicine. "California has shown that creating new jobs and investment opportunities can go hand in hand with protecting human health and the environment. We have been doing this with vehicle emissions and energy use, and this new report makes it obvious that we will need to do the same with chemicals and products." The report was authored by Michael Wilson and Dr. Megan Schwarzman, both COEH research scientists at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health; Timothy Malloy, professor at the UCLA School of Law; Elinor Fanning, COEH assistant director of research at UCLA; and Peter Sinsheimer, a COEH affiliate and director of the Pollution Prevention Education & Research Center at Occidental College. The report presents data from the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control showing that 61 of the state's 85 largest hazardous waste sites are leaking toxic material directly into groundwater. In addition, an estimated 1 million California women of reproductive age have blood mercury levels that exceed what the U.S. EPA considers safe for fetal development, and biomonitoring studies have detected more than 100 synthetic chemicals and pollutants in breastmilk, umbilical cord blood, and other bodily fluids and tissues, the report says. With global chemical production predicted to increase 330 percent by 2050, health problems related to environmental contamination are likely to grow unless comprehensive steps are taken now, say the report authors. Green chemistry  the use of renewable and safer raw materials, manufacturing processes and products  offers a sustainable solution, according to the report. "Research conducted in the past decade has provided ample evidence of significant health impacts from exposure to toxic chemicals," said John Froines, COEH director at UCLA and professor of environmental health sciences. "It is timely for California to reduce the use of toxic agents through innovative technological approaches available through green chemistry. New policies that prevent hazards rather than cleaning up problems after the fact will foster innovation and help green chemistry emerge as a central part of our economy." The report calls on California to lead the nation in implementing a comprehensive approach to the management of chemicals and products. Policy recommendations include: ...Passing new laws to remedy the insufficient data available on the toxicity of chemicals so California businesses, regulators and consumers can make informed choices about the products they use ...Providing California agencies with a new legal framework to enable them to act when there are reasonable concerns about a product's safety, even when complete hazard or tracking data are unavailable ...Investing in the design of chemicals, materials and manufacturing processes that are inherently safer for humans Some of these recommendations echo a 2006 UC report to the California Legislature on green chemistry policy, which contributed to the introduction of new state legislation in 2007 to require improved reporting on the sale of high quantity chemicals and reductions in some uses of the most toxic chemicals. That legislation is expected to be reintroduced in 2008. A PDF of the report is available for download at: http://coeh.berkeley.edu/greenchemistry/briefing or http://www.coeh.ucla.edu/greenchemistry.htm.

Bits and Pieces for the Week of January 13 - 19

Greg Palast describes the great swindle of the American public by Bush and his Arab cronies. (Mike)

A view from Australia of the crashing U.S. ecomomy (Mike)

Some deal! bu$h gives Saudi Arabia 20 billion dollars worth of arms. What did our Veteran's get? $3.7 billion in “contingency” emergency spending for the Veterans Affairs Department. (7 of 6)

The sub-prime mortgage collapse is now running its course and will probably disappear in 2-3 years. Next up: the credit card crisis. Your best bet might be to get rid of as much debt as you can as quickly as you can. (Mike)

Reversal Of Alzheimer's Symptoms Within Minutes In Human Study With a father suffering from this hideous malady, I hope more studies are created and soon. This project needs to take off immediately, if this is indeed a positive breakthrough! (7 of 6)

"Dear Mr. President"

From my buddy Lurch, at Main and Central. A letter to President bu$h, from the Gulf News, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Dear Mr. President; Lest you forget. Invasion of Iraq. Thousands of dead. Looting the National Museum. Disbanding the Iraqi army. Donald Rumsfeld. Shock and Awe. Jay Garner. Paul Bremer. Inciting sectarianism. Abu Ghraib. Thousands of detainees without charges. Torture. Oil. Ghost WMDs. The Niger connection. Halliburton. Blackwater. Deadly security contractors. Mercenaries. Fallujah. Haditha massacre. Blind support of Israel. Instigating the suffering of Gaza. Ignoring the expansion of illegal colonies. Defying United Nations resolutions. Securing "a Jewish State". Allowing Israelis to extend the destruction of Lebanon in the 2oo6 war. Providing Israel with new Bunker Buster bombs to attack Lebanese towns. The War on Terror. "The Crusade". Clash of civilisations. Where is Osama Bin Laden? Afghanistan. Bagram massacre. Bombing media offices. Guantanamo Bay. Kangaroo courts. Indefinite detention. Presidential orders to ignore Geneva Conventions. "Unlawful enemy combatants". Illegal National Security Agency wiretapping. Fingerprinting visitors. Black prisons. Kidnapping foreign citizens on foreign lands. Khalid Al Masri. Abu Omar. Maher Arar. Central Intelligence Agency. "Aggressive interrogation techniques". Destroying the torture tapes. Iran tension. Isolating Syria. Embracing Syrian opposition Iraq style. The Chavez coup. Denial of global warming. Rejecting Kyoto Protocol. Marginalisation of the United Nations. John Bolton. Paul Wolfowitz and the World Bank. Carl Rove. Alberto Gonzales. Firing attorneys. Nepotism. False democracy promises. Dick Cheney, Dick Cheney and Dick Cheney. Mr President; The list goes on. You might not be able to recall some of it. But the people around you, Cheney and Condoleezza Rice especially, would. And they realise that on the subject of human rights, your administration has had the worst record of all, surpassing most Third World countries. The tension and the misery in parts of this region can very well testify to this. Mr President; In a famous speech in 2003 you announced an "historic" shift in US foreign policy. You pledged to support democracy and liberty while declaring "victory" in Iraq. More than four years later, Iraq is in chaos. It has virtually disintegrated and "the surge" did little to stop the killing or ease the sectarian tension. At the same time, you gave up on your freedom-for-all prophecy. We are all back to the old ways of doing business - arms and oil. The agenda of your current tour is evident. Mr President; This is your first official trip to a land you long claimed has a very special place in your heart. The land of the Prophets. However, you started out wrong. By maintaining your support of an Israeli "Jewish State", you are flouting your own ideals upon which your great country was founded more than two centuries ago. So much for the promise of democracy. What you advocate in fact is the creation of states on religious and racial lines, thereby justifying the atrocious actions of terrorists who hate and seek to eliminate the followers of other religions: The same terrorists you like to blame for every ill on earth and every failure of yours. Mr President; It has been reported that you are here to "lecture" us on democracy and human rights. But with a record like yours, you will not be very convincing. The people you are addressing have greater respect for human rights and dignity. You also said that your current tour aims to realise the long neglected peace in the Middle East. Regional peace, Mr President, will not be achieved by escalating tension and threatening to change regimes. And most importantly, it will not be achieved by supporting Israel, which continues to defy international law, occupy Arab lands, oppress the Palestinians and rebuff peace initiatives. Mr President; We hope you have enjoyed the trip so far. The scenery is great. The food is exotic. As for the more "serious" things, it is unlikely you will make any difference.

"The US electoral process which we're all suffering through right now, which feels like it's been going on non-stop forever, is replete with continual cries from the leading candidates about some kind of "change". Whatever can they mean? They mean nothing. And the media treats it all like some kind of horse race, a spectator sport. Is there any election system in this world as lacking in intellectual discussion, as hopelessly corrupted by money, and as undemocratic as the one Americans are blessed with? Where else in the world is the candidate with the most votes not necessarily the winner? If we could interview each and every American voter to determine exactly why they voted for a particular candidate, compared to what the actual facts are about that candidate**, and the results were widely publicized, it would be such a national embarrassment the next election might be called off. What does winning an election mean other than that the sales campaign was successful? An outright auction for the presidency would be more efficient, and more honest." - - - William Blum

**Which is why John Edwards, the best candidate by far, and the one who most closely matches the collective will of the people, will never get the nomination.

Bits and Pieces for the Week of January 6 - 12

Having been around and paying attention during the Carter Administration, I can safely say that this Onion piece is the funniest political humor that I've read in a long time. (Mike)

Bush calls for end of 'occupation' of Arab lands Don't get excited, he didn't mean Iraq! (7 of 6)

Interested in the details of Schwarzenegger's proposed budget for California? You can see all the details here. (Mike)

Great Q & A session with Sibel Edmonds at Democratic Underground. (7 of 6)

Nearly 800 US soldiers died trying to implement this. (Mike)

We're Number 1! Woo Hoo! US ranks first in inability to prevent deaths from treatable conditions. (Mike)

Boy Scout thwarts assassination attempt. I hope this earns him some kind of badge. (Mike)

Something you won't find in the big media: Edwards (and only Edwards) is surging nationally (Mike)

Microsoft charges customers for free services (Mike)

Looks like the High Definition DVD battle is taking a significant turn. Sony's Blu-ray is taking a commanding lead over Toshiba's HD DVD after Warner Bros. signed on exclusively with Sony. "Many analysts believe that Sony's insistence on putting Blu-ray on its PlayStation 3 players gave it just enough extra consumers to help tilt next-generation DVD sales toward Blu-ray." (7 of 6)

Big media continues its grossly unbalanced political coverage. Same old same old. (Mike)

"MANCHESTER, NH -- The family of Nataline Sarkisyan -- the 17-year-old California girl who needed a transplant but was unable to get one despite being insured -- urged voters here to back Edwards, who has made taking on big drug companies one of the main thrusts of his campaign." (7 of 6)

This just in from the Kucinich campaign:

DETROIT, MI - Less than 44 hours after NBC sent a congratulatory note and an invitation to Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich to participate in the Jan. 15 Democratic Presidential debate in Las Vegas, the network notified the campaign this morning it was changing its announced criteria, rescinding its invitation, and excluding Kucinich from the debate. NBC Political Director Chuck Todd notified the Kucinich campaign this morning that, although Kucinich had met the qualification criteria publicly announced on December 28, the network was "re-doing" the criteria, excluding Kucinich, and planning to invite only Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards. The criteria announced last month included a fourth-place or better showing in a national poll. The USA/Gallup poll earlier this month showed Kucinich in fourth place among the Democratic contenders. In an email to the Kucinich campaign at 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9, Democratic Party debates consultant Jenny Backus wrote: "Congratulations on another hard-fought contest. Now that New Hampshire is over, we are on to Nevada and our Presidential Debate on Tuesday January 15. This letter serves as an official invitation for your candidate to participate in the Nevada Presidential Debate at Cashman Theatre in downtown Las Vegas. You have met the criteria set by NBC and the Debate." Todd notified the Kucinich campaign this morning that the network had decided to change the criteria and limit participation in the debate to only three candidates. Kucinich is the only remaining Democratic Presidential candidate who: voted against the original Iraq War authorization in 2002 and every war-funding measure since; voted against the so-called Patriot Act; advocates a national, not-for-profit health system that covers all Americans; has called for the repeal of NAFTA and withdrawal from the WTO; and proposes a national back-to-work program (Works Green Administration) patterned after the Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA). The Kucinich campaign, which filed an emergency complaint with the Federal Communications Commission last week because of ABC's decision to exclude the candidate from a nationally televised debate, is considering legal action to address "the blatant disregard of the public interest in silencing public debate that dissents with the views of NBC, its parent company, GE, and all of the military contractors and their candidate-funding corporate interests. Corporate control of the media is one issue. Corporate media control of the information that is allowed to reach American citizens is much more dangerous, much more sinister, and much more un-American." "When 'big media' exert their unbridled control over what Americans can see, hear, and read, then the Constitutional power and right of the citizens to vote is being vetoed by multi-billion corporations that want the votes to go their way," the Kucinich campaign said.

I'm guessing that they ran out of podiums in Las Vegas.

FRIDAY F U N

• If you can't avoid getting into a fist fight, here are some helpful hints.
• Even back in 1967, they had the idea of email and online shopping.
• Be sure to pre-order your Monster Hoodies
• One reason to consider getting in better shape.
• If your computer screen is getting a bit grungy, click here for a free online cleaning
• Bone conduction headphones
• How to make fireballs that you can hold in your hand
• A ballet of chemical reactions.

The Democratic Party Direction

Former Senator from Colorado, Gary Hart, describes how I feel about the direction the Democratic Party must take in the upcoming Presidential election. We have to unload the "Dino Dems" who are weak and obliging the Republi-con Obstructionists. I feel this is the only way Progressives can obtain more control.

...The Democratic party is once again faced with a decision: whether to stay with the known, the familiar, and the "experienced" or whether to accept a new generation of leadership composed of those who have not had power or the experience of governing. If you believe, as I do, that the early 21st century is an age of huge transition -- of globalization, of information, of failed states, of climate change, of rising new powers, and so on -- then leadership hamstrung by old arrangements and commitments will not do... Democrats and Americans are faced with a big decision. Will we play it safe? Or will we embrace the future? This is not a time to put gender or race above what is best for the country or to make superficial choices. We have huge debts and deficits. The climate is rapidly approaching a tipping point. We are stuck in the Middle East. Most of the people in the world do not like us or trust us. Our education system is declining. And the list goes on. Only a new generation of leaders can solve these new challenges, because only a new generation of leaders is unbound by old policies, old commitments and arrangements, old deals and old friendships. This is a time when America must leave old politics behind. This election is about transition not power. We will either move forward or we will go back.

QUESTION OF THE MONTH: Why do some people, who have voice mail, answer their phone when they're in a meeting and then say that they can't talk because they're in a meeting?

Chris Floyd: Sibel Edmonds, the Bomb and Political Animals

The Bomb in the Shadows: Proliferation, Corruption and the Way of the World -- Written by Chris Floyd This week, the Sunday Times lifted the lid on one of the most important stories of the last quarter-century: how American officials sold nuclear arms technology to illegal proliferators -- including ideological allies of al Qaeda -- in return for bribes and other inducements. This widespread corruption has been protected from exposure by the highest levels of the U.S. government, which has gone to enormous lengths to protect the truth from coming out. The entire planet has been put at grave risk by the greed -- and geopolitical gamesmanship -- that lies behind this criminal enterprise, which actually is even more extensive, and goes back further in time, than the newspaper's remarkable revelations. The Sunday Times story is based on the evidence provided by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, who has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign of state-enforced muzzling by the Bush Administration since she first tried to speak out about the corrupt connections between American officials and foreign agents she discovered when reviewing transcripts associated with the 9/11 investigation. As even the leaders of the whitewashing 9/11 Commission themselves now admit, that investigation was deliberately sabotaged by the Bush Administration – in part to cover up the nuclear proliferation network that has directly or indirectly enriched so many in the American elite over the past decades – including the sitting president of the United States, George W. Bush...(use link to read the rest) This is the way the world works. Behind the glitz and gossip of presidential campaigns, behind all the earnest "policy debates" on Capitol Hill, behind all the "position papers" and "vision statements" of think tanks and political parties, behind all the great panoply of state and our august Establishment institutions, thieves and murderers have their way, in league with the great and good. Anyone who ascends to national power has to make a deal with the devil: either directly to plunge their hands into filth and blood, or else swaddle themselves in "plausible deniability," looking away from the grubby details but knowing full well that their minions, agents and backers are doing "whatever it takes" to keep the machine of power and money rolling on. This doesn't mean that leaders can't also try to do good things as well, and occasionally accomplish them. After all, Al Capone was famous for his acts of benevolence. Indeed, some leaders pursue idealistic or ameliorative policies in order to "justify" the crimes and lies that sustain the system which has raised them on high. But the devil will have his due, and the price of power must always be paid – and it is ordinary people, especially the most innocent and vulnerable among us, who always end up paying it.

Catch all the New Hampshire primary news live here. Or, just watch it:


TPM Election Central also has up-to-date news.

Remarks of Eric Bauman Chair, LA County Democratic Party, at the 2007 California Young Democrats Convention I'm not going to give you the traditional "you're so important” speech. I'm not going to give you the "you are the leaders of tomorrow” speech. I'm not going to give you the "next year's election depends on you” speech. And I'm not going to give you the "you are the future” speech either. I'm going to give the “tomorrow is today” speech. Your tomorrow is today because the geniuses of my generation have already usurped your tomorrow, they have mortgaged your future, and set us on a path of global warfare and on a course of declining hope and prosperity. They have limited your opportunities. They have wiped out the low hanging fruit, taken the path of least resistance, been corrupt, inept and selfcentered. They have even made deals with the devil to keep their wacko ideologues happy…All the while undermining your tomorrow. From ignoring the effects of global climate change to off shoring high paying professional, scientific and technical careers, to limiting educational opportunities, they have blunted your future. By obliterating the budget surplus and the sense of hope for the future, that bridge to the 21st century that, Bill Clinton left us, they have dug the deepest fiscal hole in the history of humankind; they have shut you out of much of your tomorrow. Your tomorrow is now today. Take it from an old hand like me, you can only get your tomorrow back, if you: Demand your government invest in your future. Demand your government look like you, sound like you, think like you and act like you. Demand your government start saving the health of this planet and the health of every person on it. Demand your government provide a high quality education for every child and ensure there is a decent paying job with real benefits for every person who wants one. Demand equality and social justice for every American, for every person. Most of all, you must demand your government stop mortgaging your future, with tax schemes designed to make the rich richer and a war that is costing so many billions of dollars that your great grandchildren will still be paying for it when they are your age. Those in power need to understand that their futures depend on your future and your future is today. I believe it's not too late to save your tomorrow, to regain your future, to build the kind of world you'd like to see. But to do it you have to stand up today! You have to speak out today! You have to commit today! Last year two million young people awoke, went to the polls and began changing the course of America. How many of you have emailed or called a legislator or member of congress to tell them your opinion on the war, the budget, healthcare, climate change, education or the use of torture by our spies and military operatives? How many of you are sick at heart and sick to your stomachs about the direction of our world, our nation and our state? How many of you are committed to the challenge of turning the White House into a blue house next year? If you are ready to create the America of your dreams…the America that is the beacon of hope to all people on earth.... the America that is one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all… then you will stand up today!

Mr. Bauman may have directed this speech to younger Democrats, but I think it still applies to the rest of us.

Bits and Pieces for New Year's Week of December 30 - January 5

New nicknames for Smirky McStumbletongue (Mike)

*sigh* Jobless rate climbing. The republi-con economic agenda works its magic. (7 of 6)

With the New Year, some things don't change. The first 3 fatalities of 2008 in Iraq. (7 of 6)

Ralph Nadar endorses John Edwards! (7 of 6)

2007 was the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 2003 invasion: 899 troops killed. (7 of 6)

"The holy grail of renewable energy came a step closer yesterday as thousands of mass-produced wafer-thin solar cells printed on aluminium film rolled off a production line in California, heralding what British scientists called 'a revolution' in generating electricity." h/t to Mary at The Left Coaster. (7 of 6)

Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power." - - Franklin D. Roosevelt

We are still the most powerful and influential nation in history. Everything in this video was directly or indirectly a result of us. Everything in this video could have been prevented by some kind of action (or inaction) by us. We are not and have never been a nation of peace. Let's hope 2008 is the year that we begin the transformation into a nation of peace and civility. The rest of the world WILL follow our lead.