"Five Ways the Democrats Can Avoid a Catastrophe..."

Memo To: President Obama and the Democratic Party Leadership From: Michael Moore Subject: 5 Things Dems Can Do to Turn It Around by November 2nd 1. Immediate Wall-to-Wall TV Ads, Internet Videos, and Appearances Hammering Who the Hell Put Us in the Misery We're In. We Americans have very short attention spans (Quick: Who Won the Oscar for Best Picture last year? The World Series? Exactly.). People need to be reminded over and over that it was the REPUBLICANS who concocted and led the unnecessary invasion of two countries, putting us in our longest war ever, wars that will eventually cost us over $3 trillion. Bush and Co. also caused the biggest collapse of our economy since the Great Depression. I don't know a single person in Hollywood who wouldn't shoot and produce those spots for you for FREE. Dems: Do not pull a single punch on this. Quit being a bunch of wusses and let the bastards have it! The public will be astonished that you've found your courage and your spine. We expect you to be Muhammad Ali, not Ally McBeal. 2. Indict the Criminals. Announce that the Justice Department will seek indictments against both those who caused the economic collapse and those who became war profiteers. Call it for what it is: organized crime. Use the RICO statutes. Use the basic laws that make fraud of any kind a crime. Get in the face of those who stole the billions, make them pay for it -- and the people will love you. We want Dirty Harry, not Dirty Dancing. 3. Announce a Moratorium on All Family Home Foreclosures. Last month (August) there were more home foreclosures than in any month in U.S. history. Worse than any month in the worst year ever, 2009. The bleeding hasn't stopped -- it's only gotten worse. And now, this week, two of the largest crime organizations who are throwing hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes (GMAC and JPMorgan Chase) have been forced to momentarily stop doing this. It turns out, they don't really have the paperwork to prove they actually own these houses! It's madness. So if you do one thing for the middle class this week, do this. It will take an hour of your time to draw up the decree and issue it. We'd rather watch "It's a Wonderful Life" than "Poltergeist." 4. Announce a New 21st Century WPA. "Who's hiring? THE GOVERNMENT IS HIRING!" Put together a simple plan to hire enough people to repair our roads, fix up our aging schools, and rebuild our infrastructure. Fund this by taxing the richest 1% who have more financial wealth than 95% of Americans combined! Unemployment will drop to 5%. Can you pass it? Well, you sure can't unless you try! And as you're trying, announce that you will force the Republican senators (who until now simply have had to say they "intended" to filibuster in order to kill a bill) to have to actually filibuster! Make them stand on the floor of the Senate and read from the phone book 24/7. They won't last a day. And America will see them for who they really are. 5. Declare That No Democrat Will Accept ANY Wall Street Money in the Next Election Cycle. Pick a day in the coming week. Have all your fellow Democrats in Congress stand in front of the Capitol (with President Obama) and pledge that if America allows you to retain control of Congress, none of you will take a penny from Wall Street for the 2012 election. Instead, promise to accept donations of only $2, $5 and $10. You will also pledge not to take a job as a lobbyist or lawyer for ANY corporation for ten years after you leave Congress. The message will be a powerful one to the average American fed up with corrupt political hacks. Act like Honest Abe, not Fast Freddie -- and see what happens. And here are two bonus suggestions: Use what sense of humor you have and go after these candidates and their agenda with all the hilarious ridicule they deserve. And quit complaining about "the base" not doing enough to help you. You want help? Do something this week to earn it. I've offered five suggestions. I'm sure the rest of "the base" has a few more.

The Rude Pundit explains why the victory by Al Franken is a shot-in-the-arm for fighting liberals:

1/06/2009 Al Franken Lives For Our Sins: Let's face it: back in 2000, most of us were pussies. We knew, fucking knew, that the presidential election was being stolen as we watched. And we didn't riot - we didn't explode into the streets in a flare of anger and righteousness and shut shit down, demanding that the Supreme Court and the Republican Party back the fuck off. We didn't head to Miami to block the right wing thugs who were stopping the recount at the canvassing board. We didn't go on a general strike to say, "Count the votes." And Al Gore fucked it up, too. He didn't tell us to do it. He didn't lead a movement. He could have said that, at the end of the day, democracy fails when you say that voting is just an exercise, not a right that people were killed for. Instead, we behaved like end of the millenium Americans, going about our business, thinking, in the long run, it wouldn't matter, anyways. (And to any conservative wad of fuck that thinks we need to get over 2000, look at your granny's retirement account.) Jump to 2004, and second verse, mostly the same with slight variations: the Johns, Kerry and Edwards, promise to count all the votes, yet, when Ohio is a clusterfuck of irregularities that'd make Boss Tweed go, "What the fuck?" and walk away, they throw in the towel for the good of the nation or some such shit, when, all they did was consign us to our own degradation for the next four plus years ('cause Obama's inauguration ain't gonna make it all shiny and good for a long time). When Al Franken decided to run for the Senate in Minnesota, it was as one type of crusade, to redeem the seat of Paul Wellstone, ripped away by Wellstone's death in a plane crash and then by Republican subterranean ratfuckers, who manipulated Wellstone's memorial into some kind of anti-American face fart. Franken, who has talked repeatedly about this as another kind of scar, went into the election to take down Norm Coleman, the slick as shit huckster who was elected over Walter Mondale, the Wellstone surrogate in 2002. There was redemption to be had, and someone with celebrity and name recognition and deep pockets was the person to do it. What the election turned into was another kind of redemption for Democrats. 'Cause, see, when Franken didn't concede the tight race back in November, he finally stood up and said let's see what happens when you actually fight for all the votes cast. When he decided not to be a mensch, like Gore and Kerry did with their tails between their legs, he demonstrated that Democrats can get into the kind of bare knuckle fight that Republicans have challenged them to time and again. And win. Yeah, Coleman might fight, but he'll lose. The Republicans are gonna be fucking pieces of shit about Franken's election, but that's what Republicans do. They'll lose, too. So now there's someone heading to DC who is a wholehearted liberal, someone who learned from 2000 and 2004, put on his brass knuckles, and said, "Let's go."

Top Stories of 2008?

The AP's Top 10 2008 stories:_1. U.S. ELECTION: Obama emerged from Election Night as a decisive victor and a symbol for the world of America's democratic promise. But he reached that point only after a grueling battle with Clinton for the Democratic nomination and then an often-nasty showdown with the McCain/Palin ticket in the run-up to the election. _2. ECONOMIC MELTDOWN: The bad news kept coming — collapses of Wall Street giants; huge stock market losses; plummeting home prices and a surge of foreclosures; desperate times for U.S. automakers. It added up to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and will cost the federal government well over $1 trillion in various rescue and stimulus packages. _3. OIL PRICES: The global economic angst produced hyper-volatile energy markets. The price of crude soared as high as $150 a barrel in July before crashing to $33 this month. In the U.S., the average price for a gallon of regular gas peaked at $4.11, then plunged below $1.70. _4. IRAQ: The much-debated "surge" of U.S. troops helped reduce violence after more than five years of war, but Iraq is still buffeted daily by bombings, ambushes, kidnappings and political uncertainty. A newly ratified U.S.-Iraqi security agreement sets a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal by 2012. _5. BEIJING OLYMPICS: China hosted the Olympics for first time, drawing praise for logistical mastery and condemnation for heavy-handed security measures. The games themselves were rated a success, highlighted by the record-shattering performances of swimmer Michael Phelps and sprinter Usain Bolt. _6. CHINESE EARTHQUAKE: A huge quake in May killed 70,000 people in Sichuan province and left 5 million homeless. Many thousands of children were among the victims — authorities said about 7,000 classrooms were destroyed in shoddily built schools. _7. SARAH PALIN: Few Americans outside Alaska knew much about its governor when Republican John McCain picked her as his running mate. That changed rapidly. To her conservative admirers, she was a feisty, refreshing change from most politicians; to her critics, she was in over her head, and worthy of all the lampooning she endured. _8. MUMBAI TERRORISM: Ten attackers allegedly sponsored by a Pakistan-based Islamic group terrorized India's financial capital in November, killing 164 people in coordinated attacks on hotels, markets and a train station. India's perennially uneasy relations with Pakistan were badly strained. _9. HILLARY CLINTON: She didn't win, but Clinton came closer than any other woman in U.S. history to becoming a major party's presidential nominee. Her determined primary campaign, waged vigorously even when it seemed a lost cause, inspired millions of women across the country — and helped persuade Obama to choose her as secretary of state. _10. RUSSIA-GEORGIA WAR: The two nations waged a five-day war in August ignited by a Georgian artillery barrage on the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russia responded with a drive deep into Georgian territory, causing severe economic damage and aggravating already troubled Russia-US relations. Stories that almost made the Top 10 included Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 84,000 people in Myanmar; Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which wreaked deadly damage in the Caribbean and on the U.S. Gulf Coast; and the seesaw fate of same-sex marriage in California, where a court ruling approving it was later overturned by a ballot measure. Several write-in votes were cast for two developments that occurred too late to be included on the AP ballot — the indictment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the efforts of struggling U.S. automakers to get a federal bailout. The alleged financial scam involving Bernard Madoff also was revealed too late to make the ballot...

Sarah Palin at 7? Maybe if you combine it with John McCain's failure to select a more qualified V/P pick.

I think the Environmental disaster in Tennessee should be in the top 10.

What are your top stories of 2008?

Plans tonight anyone? New Year Eve Open Thread.

If you remember nothing else tomorrowwhen you go to vote, remember this:

Voter Suppression in Arizona

Yesterday, Mrs. Seven of Six and I voted early here in Arizona.

The Wife likes to get on me about my paranoia over voter suppression. Low and behold, "mi espousa", was almost ruled ineligible for voting because according to registration records, the year she was born didn't match her drivers license. She was born in 1957, somehow, in a week it miraculously changed to 1937. The thing is, last week I made sure to check, as per Anjha's orders, with the county recorders office to verify we were registered, at the time, all was copasetic.

The wife couldn't believe it, she told the fellow Hispanic female poll worker, "I've been voting in Arizona for 5 years now, all of a sudden there is a discrepancy with my date of birth?" I mumbled under my breath, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, "Voter Suppression!" The young poll worker made a call, then commented, "It must have been a typo." Right... we believe that.

Mrs. Seven was a little bit more pissed than usual. She ranted on, "What if I waited until election day to vote? Would they have been so kind as to make that phone call while hundreds waited in line?" Now my wife is convinced our Republi-con Secretary of State, Jan Brewer and Republi-con Maricopa County Recorder, Helen Purcell, are purging Hispanic Democratic voters from the rolls.

Then I pulled one of my high pitched Jon Stewart imitations, "Told you so!" She smacked me in the arm!

Cross posted at Low and Left Part Duex

U.S. Citizens:

VotersUnite! has an excellent web site that everyone needs to visit before the November election. On this site you can easily check to see if you are registered to vote, and also verify your polling location.

All you need to do is follow the directions and enter your street address. You will know instantly whether or not you are properly registered.

The reason this is so important is because the Republican Party is doing everything it can, in this election, to disenfranchise as many Democrats as possible from the polls. In most cases, voters who thought they were correctly registered (but weren't) don't find out until they go to the poles on election day and discover that they've been removed from the registration roll.

If you're a citizen who lives overseas, go here:
https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/

If you're a student, go here:
http://www.brennancenter.org/studentvoting

Also, it is important that you let all your friends and family know about this quick and free service and urge them to check.

Sarah Silverman implores us to ask our Jewish grandparents in Florida to vote for Obama:

Before Americans go to the polls in November, wouldn't it be great if they all would first watch THIS FILM. Watch it for free, courtesy CAP.

Boxer on Palin

The Vice President is a heartbeat away from becoming President, so to choose someone with not one hour’s worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice. If John McCain thought that choosing Sarah Palin would attract Hillary Clinton voters, he is badly mistaken. The only similarity between her and Hillary Clinton is that they are both women. On the issues, they could not be further apart. Senator McCain had so many other options if he wanted to put a women on his ticket, such as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison or Senator Olympia Snowe – they would have been an appropriate choice compared to this dangerous choice. In addition, Sarah Palin is under investigation by the Alaska state legislature which makes this more incomprehensible. - Barbara Boxer

Catch a Wave...

Yes, he bodysurfs... not, windsurfs!

A plea to the younger voters:

It's getting close to that time where Democrats start ratcheting up their excitement and hopes for a Democratic President. In case you haven't noticed, it now happens every four years.

In 2000 Gore was a shoe-in for the White House, actually winning the election. Remember how excited we all were that the good times looked like they were going to continue? Unfortunately the corrupt U.S. Supreme Court possessed the W.H. keys and decided to hand them over to Bush, election results be damned.

Remember how we all knew Bush was all washed up four years later? Kerry won the election in 2004, but unfortunately fell victim to the electronic voting establishment, which was illegally programmed to only let Bush stay in the White House.

So, what's it going to be this time around? What horrifically illegal shenanigans are the Republicans going to use to keep Obama out of the Oval Office? There's no way an old geezer like McCain, who grimaces and stumbles over his lines even when reading from a teleprompter, will look "presidential" next to Obama. Therefore, the neocon powers-that-be will be coming up with some new method of thwarting the anticipated climax of Democratic redemption this November. I'm just wondering what deviant, deplorable scheme they're going to pull out of the gutter this time.

Tell me your predictions in the comments.

Turkana over at The Left Coaster explains why Clinton supporters must look at the bigger picture when thinking about not voting for Obama (snippet):

"....It isn't necessary that those who support Clinton now enthusiastically come to support Obama, but it is necessary that they come to support him. Even at the bare minimum level. And that bare minimum level is to vote for him, in November. You don't have to like doing so, but you do have to do so. The alternative is unthinkable. Many of you like to think of yourselves as wiser and more politically astute than are many Obama supporters, and it is time to make that case for yourselves. Be as graceful in defeat as the worst of them have been graceless in victory. Obama himself, however imperfect, is a far better person than those who do such a terrific job of turning people away from him. Keep that in mind. Keep in mind the irrevocable damage that would be done by four more years of neocon/theocon/kleptocrat autocracy. And keep in mind that the often odious behavior you have seen from online Obama supporters is not the fault of the candidate himself."

Republi-con Strategy and Blaming Barack Obama

Florida is a perfect example of how the rebuli-cons continue to screw the Democratic voter and party. It has nothing to do with Barack Obama. The repuli-con strategy in FL is on par with their gerrymandering efforts (among others). Take a look at what FL H.B. 537 accomplished for republi-cons:

Besides getting rid of touch-screen machines, the bill: - Moves Florida's presidential primary from March to the end of January. - Changes the "resign to run" law, so that Florida politicians can keep their state jobs and run for federal office at the same time. - Cracks down further on citizen petitions, and creates a mischievous counterprocess in which opponents can get petition signatures revoked. - Restricts complaints to the already-puny Florida Elections Commission to the point that rule breakers just about have to turn themselves in. - Stacks the executive committees of political parties, and gives the state party bosses absolute power to remove local party officers. - Deals with the ability of political committees to raise money under various names, and to conduct polling.

The state virtually assured itself of being republi-con for years.

I cannot comprehend how a Democrat (or voter period) in the State of Florida doesn't see that the republi-con state congress introduced the bill (sponsered by 2 repuli-cons, David Rivera and Dorothy Hukill) to move up the primary date... passed the bill with its huge majority... and was signed into law by a republi-con governor. This whole scheme worked great for the republi-cons and totally screwed the Democrats.

A fair state congress would have said, "Hey, the Democrats have certain rules we have to abide with, we will only move up the republi-con voting date but the Dems have to have their vote after Super Tues."

I argued with my neo-con sister in Tampa and she said, "The current strategy has worked to perfection so far."

As for MI... Hillary wouldn't give a shit about the revote if she was leading... she would be doing the same thing as Obama... which is a simple holding mode... waiting for this to play out.

The MI state congress (which also has a republi-con majority) went on vacation... the people of MI only have their state reps to blame.

The repuli-con party agenda is having fun at the expense of the Democratic voters and party.

But wait... I see a pattern developing... as with FL... it's all Obama's fault.

"Mark Penn Ties Drag Clinton Down"

Some highlights from Thomas B. Edsall's article on Hillary Clinton's campaign manager.

As the CEO of powerhouse PR giant Burson-Marsteller, Penn heads a bipartisan corporate conglomerate specializing in influence peddling, lobbying, phony front groups, and manufactured hype. Penn, the network of companies that he oversees, and the corporations to which he answers, represent precisely what voters have come to dislike most violently about Washington: the relentless cultivation and manipulation of political connections to generate wealth for a handful of operatives, all at taxpayer expense and in blatant defiance of the public will. There is no one in politics today who has ascended the special interest ladder as steeply as Penn. He's no Jack Abramoff, but in the public mind Penn, and the corporate structure that supports him, are an integral part of the same lucrative and corrupt system that produced Abramoff. The problem Penn poses for the Clinton campaign is reflected in the numerous stories in the media about Penn's conflicts as CEO of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, on the one hand, and as chief strategist for Hillary Clinton, on the other. To cite one example, just when Clinton was faulting Obama for his ties to Exelon Corporation, it was disclosed that Exelon had paid Burson-Marsteller over $230,000 in contracting fees. Similarly, after Blackwater USA security guards killed 8 Iraqi civilians, the company turned to BKSH, a subsidiary of Penn's Burson-Marsteller, for strategic advice on how to minimize the negative impact of dealing with Congressional inquires. Such conflicts only touch the surface. For the media, Burson-Marsteller and its affiliated companies could easily become a full-time beat pumping out a cascade of additional stories: * The creation of such seemingly innocuous organizations as the National Smokers Alliance, European Women for HPV Testing, and the Coalition for Clean and Renewable Energy - organizations which are in fact the creation of corporations seeking to win lucrative support for contentious fights over smoking in public places, the promotion of highly-remunerative testing for a sexually transmitted human papilloma virus, and the expansion of nuclear power facilities. * The laundry list of controversial Burson-Marsteller -- and its subsidiary BKSH -- clients includes US Smokeless (i.e., chewing) Tobacco, Johnnie Walker (distilled spirits), Morongo Casino Resort & Spa (gambling), Lockheed Martin (weapons), and Chevron Texaco (oil/gas) and Bristol Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, and Wyeth/Amgen (pharmaceutical). * Penn's work for BOTOX, as described on his firm's website, sharply contradict Clinton's feminist commitments and ironically clash with her particularly strong support among older women: "Burson-Marsteller worked to redefine the BOTOX image to speak to its benefits, drive a relationship with potential end users, minimize safety concerns and reflect its flexibility. Among the critical issues that needed to be addressed were consumers' perceptions regarding the side effects and toxicity of BOTOX Cosmetic....A multimedia initiative targeted key print, broadcast and online media outlets in top U.S. markets, and physician "key opinion leaders" conveyed scientific messages that provided objective, independent thought. The campaign resulted in more than 743 million positive media impressions for the BOTOX brand. Among prescription products, these results are second only to the benchmark launch of Viagra. In the first nine months of 2002, sales increased $90.3 million over the same period in the previous year. Media highlights include coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek (cover story), Time, Associated Press, Reuters, Dow Jones, Bloomberg and UPI. The BOTOX brand was also featured in stories on "Good Morning America," "Today Show," "CBS Early Show," ABC, CBS, FOX CNBC, CNN, CNNfn, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. * An equally controversial list of foreign clients including the Pakistan People's Party, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Colombia, Armenia, and Greece.

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.

Hold your hats, you're not going to believe this. Here's the video to which 7 of 6 referred in the Bits and Pieces this week:

glumbert - How many times can you vote in Texas?

I'll bet this is something Tom DeLay taught the Texas legislature.