Your favorite RedBird is ailing today - flu symptoms, plus lots of angst and anxiety about my pending appeal over the Social Security Administration's rejection of my initial application for disability benefits for my hearing loss - two visits with my lawyer in five days (it's only Tuesday and I have to go back tomorrow) are just too much. I end up weeping sometime during each visit and drained for the rest of the day...
So many good diaries today but the biggest / baddest (you know which one I mean) made my browser(s) crash - I'm going to have to draw on other sources. So I'm just going to pull some good stuff from my e-mail in-box and call it a diary with multiple themes...
Great new blog by friend / musician Nick Stump, partnering with Matt Gunterman among others, looking to dump Senator Mitch McConnell in 2008 - www.ditchmitchky.com (permission for extended excerpt granted by Nick):
A recent quote from Mitch McConnell in the New Republic’s, Plank shows a visibly weakened Senator who may be seeing the handwriting on the wall. Will the Republicans take back the Senate in 2008? Let’s see what McConnell has to say in reference to the nation’s current focus on the Iraq War.
"Would I like the [2008] election to be about something else? You bet. We are the economic engine of the world in many ways... but that fact has become lost in public concern over Iraq. Iraq has "just put people in a kind of funky mood."
Indeed Iraq has put people in Kentucky in a "funky mood". Support for the war in rural America has dropped to 39%–the lowest since the beginning of the war. The Center For Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, Ky, tracked 2006 rural voting trends. Rural voters all over the country are slowly moving away from the Republican party. This little statistic should be most troubling for McConnell, for the day rural Kentuckians turn away from the Republican Party it will be a prime indicator that Republicans are in a lot more trouble than is now being reported in the mainstream media. Rural voters are often more conservative than urban voters, but looking at Eastern Kentucky we must remember that large parts of the area were originally Democratic, and in the past, different counties were still voting the way their great-grandfathers did during the Civil war. ...
Rural veterans see McConnell’s poor record concerning veterans issues. His scorecard from groups like the Disabled American Veterans is woefully low. As we move away from voting the same way our fathers voted, more and more Kentuckians are taking a hard look at Mitch McConnell’s real record on those issues that affect the working class in Kentucky. McConnell’s habit of taking from the rich and screwing everyone else just isn’t going to cut it.
Rural voters in Virginia and Montana helped secure the Senate for the Democrats with the election of Senators Webb and Tester, two strong populist Democrats who every day remind the country that government exists to serve the people. I see the 2006 Democratic victory as a sign reading – the little guy is fed up. The working poor can’t live on soupbeans and promises forever, and the promises made by McConnell and his cronies haven’t delivered help to anyone but the corporate owners of the Republican Party.
Personally I'd like to see State Senator Kathy Stein (D-Lexington) take on Mitch - what a race that would be! She and I grew up in the same hometown, went to high school together, and she's an absolutely fearless liberal voice in Kentucky politics! Go Nick! Draft Kathy!
Big win reported today - Families of Kentucky Mine Victims Win New Mine Safety Rules:
New coal mine safety legislation approved by the Kentucky state Senate and House yesterday restores many of the key safety provisions that had been stripped from the bill last month in a controversial move that drew strong condemnation from the families of miners killed and safety advocates.
In 2006, 16 coal miners were killed on the job in Kentucky, including five in a methane explosion at the Darby Mine in Harlan County. The widows and other family members of many of the mine victims spoke passionately about the need for tough new safety laws at a Feb. 21 rally and urged lawmakers to rebuild the gutted and stalled legislation. (Click here to see family members speak out at the rally.)
From the Rocky Mountain News (reprinted and sent to my in-box by the Knoxville News-Sentinel): Records: Feds sought limits for ill weapons workers:
Federal officials secretly schemed to limit payouts for sick and dying nuclear weapons workers, including thousands from the Rocky Flats plant outside Denver as well as the Y-12 plant at Oak Ridge [TN] and other facilities, newly released documents show.
The officials responsible for helping those workers went behind their boss's back, called on White House officials for help and tried to hide their efforts, according to internal e-mails and memos obtained by a congressional committee and posted on its Web site.... More than 60,000 ill atomic bomb makers have sought help. About 16,000 workers nationwide have received a total of $2.6 billion. Far more have been denied or still are waiting for help.
Throughout the documents, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Labor Shelby Hallmark and other officials express grave concern that the bill for providing $150,000 per ill worker could reach $7 billion over 10 years. Coincidentally, $7 billion is what the U.S. Department of Energy spent over 10 years cleaning up just one of its sites - Rocky Flats. The department has spent $65 billion so far cleaning up 84 of its weapons sites, which were left contaminated by the drive to win the Cold War. In the memos, Hallmark worries about compensation costs soaring in "an arms race among members (of Congress) jockeying to demonstrate their ability to bring home 'special' benefits to their constituents." His boss, Assistant Secretary of Labor Victoria Lipnic, bemoaned, "There is not a fiscal conservative left anywhere." ...
Now, the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is looking into whether the Labor Department overstepped its bounds and meddled in the payments illegally.
...
Don't forget that Sen. Mitch McConnell's spouse is none other than Sec'y of Labor Elaine Chao - is anyone surprised by anything from this Administration and the Republicans these days?
An excerpt from actor Mike Farrell's forthcoming memoir Just Call Me Mike: A Journey from Actor to Activist (Akashic: 2007) was posted today on Alternet and caught my eye.
Say I'm a "liberal" and some think they know my views on everything. They start dialing the phone or writing an angry letter without even knowing what I'll say. Or others think we agree, when we might not. I've been around the block a few times now, and I think I've learned some things. ... Being an American, as I've discovered, is often a great privilege. Being a privileged person in today's world -- a world where much of what we take for granted here is unknown elsewhere -- makes you think. It's made me think about the invisible people who live a quiet life of misery -- and about those whose misery has made them unwilling to remain quiet.
Where do I fit in? becomes the question, and, What is my responsibility here? What does it mean to be alive in the world today? What part do I play as an American? Like it or not, we Americans play a big part in the world, not all of it positive, as you'll note if -- unlike our current president -- you read the papers. So knowing who you are and what being a citizen of the United States means is important. ... It's more than "Don't worry, be happy," or "Shop till you drop" and spend your way into debt. It's more than "Go for the gold" and drink hearty and cheer the team -- singing the national anthem first, if you can remember the words.
It's much larger than that. It's what we aspire to and yearn for and what we owe to each other. It's about making the invisible visible, about salvaging those thought disposable, about recognizing and reassuring those who think they don't count, or perhaps fear they don't actually exist. But there are some who don't really want us to know all this, or take it too seriously. These are the folks who want to make your decisions for you; who want to put you to sleep. Today it's friends of Karl Rove, tomorrow it will be someone else. They want power and money, and money and power, and they don't want-regardless of what they say-you to think too much. They want you out of the way, kicking back and relaxing, dreaming about winning the lottery.
One more wee extract from Alternet's excerpt and I'll move along to Top Comments:
Those in power have continued to gull the public by exploiting negative attacks, fear of terrorism, and apprehension about homosexuality, thus securing a victory for "moral values." Scorning tolerance, generosity and mercy, the new arbiters of morality disdain equality, sneer at poverty, and rape the planet to amass wealth for themselves and their friends. Playing bait-and-switch, they pare away rights, puncture the social safety net, and ignore Katrina's victims, wrapping the flag around an arrogant, authoritarian, might-makes-right approach to the world, all the while covering their tracks with attacks on traitors, appeasers, and "girly men" at home and Jihadists abroad. (My emphasis added - love those lines!)
All fundamentalism is dangerous: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or any other. ... Religious certitude brings moral arrogance, and with it the fundamentalist Jews' expulsion of Arabs from their land; the fundamentalist Hindu's slaughter of Muslims; the Islamic Jihadists' suicide attacks; the fundamentalist Christians' bombing of clinics and assassination of family health providers. The belief that one speaks for God and can force his beliefs on another is a soul-destroying lie.
Today, a hyper-moralist triumphalism has gained ground in America, slipping in up the sleeve of imperialist zealots. Fundamentalist beliefs are insinuated into American life in Christian versions of the madrassas that inculcate young Muslims. If a religious belief or practice helps one deal with life's important questions, it is certainly of value, but it is a personal value. To impose a belief system on those who choose to find their answers in another way is to deny their basic human right-their "unalienable right"-to determine their own journey....
Activist? I prefer citizen. But just call me Mike.
Mike Farrell is the co-founder of Artists United to Win Without War. Please go read the entire Alternet excerpt and look for the book in bookstores or online. (I doubt that Alternet will be pissed by the extended quotes but I will bear up under any sanctions by Kos or other gate-keepers! This is good stuff deserving extended quotes!)
My picks for Top Comments:
Ray Radlein started a good discussion with Home Ownership on bonddad's Anatomy of a Subprime Mortgage Default.
Scientician has good thought about Senator Kennedy's diary: I commend your courage
Gooserock is so right but ... well, read it. There's a Cancer on the Constitution.
DCDemocrat nailed it with an empty room with lots of flags and the reply by jrooth seemed apropos as we waited for Gonzales' press conference.
By Newsie8200 - If the law's been breached... sums up my feelings about Gonzales perfectly.
By swoosher This is a watershed moment for dKos and America re: Sibel Edmonds, Perle, and Feith. (Lots of good stuff in the reply-thread as well.)
From Elise:
beagleandtabby leaves a hilarious comment in a funny diary. Is that vague enough for you? :-)
From homerun:
Funny. By Fred Fnord: A new definition of marriage.
From mehitabel:
cskendrick shows himself to be truly one of the good guys and a true progressive Democrat in what is otherwise a complete trainwreck of a diary: Atticus Finch Would Be So Very Proud
From Carnacki:
DCDemocrat had one of those days with comments that if he were a baseball player, he would have hit for the cycle and pitched a perfect game.
On what Schumer says.
An apt metaphor.
What makes DCDemocrat gag.
litigatormom on what we should be grateful for from the Bush
administration .
cskendrick issues an important reminder. (NOTE from va dare: this one got multiple nominations.)
as does Bob Johnson.
From kath25:
It does my heart good to see so - many - Kossacks - objecting - to - the - use - of - the - passive - voice in clammyc's diary Mistakes Were Made.
(folks: each of those words is a different example!)
Hal C tells us that the Army Corps knew that the replacement pumps were faulty when they failed a basic test in MrSnarkyPants' important (and serious, non-snarky) diary, New Orleans Pumps were faulty.
Finally, we get a response from JC at MediaMatters, following up on comments from yesterday's diary by David Brock. MediaMatters is looking to increase their online presence, so we can look forward to more reports of their research!
Don't forget to send YOUR nominations to Top Comments AT gmail.com and please make sure to include your UID so we can give credit where it's due...
Add links to comments you loved today below and forgive me for missing your favorites. TC is separate from 'Diary Rescue' but we're not strict about the rules so if you want to call attention to an under-appreciated diary, it's okay with me (with apologies to SusanG, ok?)!
I'm still feeling sickly so I'm depending on another TC-er gloriana for Top-Mojo... if I duck out early, ya'll keep the party going, okay?
Without obvious tip jars, C&J, and first comments:
1 Schumer says that DCDemocrat - 115
2 Yeah... Elise - 115
3 As you wish. DawnG - 115
4 adsf bonddad - 102
5 eugene... hekebolos - 101
6 Soul, I went back and forth over whether to Joelarama - 96
7 Webb has introduced S. 759 Night Owl - 88
8 we have plenty of effective ranters Turkana - 81
9 I said it earlier clonecone - 80
10 He read the email on the air... Elise - 78
11 I guess we should be grateful that litigatormom - 76
12 Great to be here Senator Edward M Kennedy - 75
13 Ya think? Lisa Lockwood - 71
14 And as I said on your diary TexDem - 71
15 Abu Gonzales will announce Carl Nyberg - 70
16 Same here dnta - 70
17 Ladies and Gentlemen, karateexplosions - 70
18 Mistakes were certainly made. The biggest feelingsickinMN - 67
19 i'm letting it blow over thereisnospoon - 64
20 No, Democrats fraudulently voting. Dead people Pirate Smile - 64
21 Thanks Joel... Soul - 64
22 He's going to announce... Roddy McCorley - 63
23 She's not a wingnut dtj - 63
24 MSOC's participation in Gibson's character and xynz - 61
25 I'm tired Tuesday Debbie in ME - 60
26 I would just like to say. . . LarryInNYC - 59
27 I don't want her to come back, good riddance astronautagogo - 58
28 I listened to it too. Niniane - 57
29 Maryscott, I rec'd this because you're right, renaissance grrrl - 56
30 And only you RedDan - 56
With everything!
1 No pleasure here... no tips. Soul - 289
2 This is Saturday Night Massacre stuff! EZ writer - 281
3 Tips Cenk Uygur - 278
4 ugh.... clammyc - 191
5 Will the real Democrats please stand up? Zen Blade - 187
6 tipjar lukery - 161
7 Where do we go from here? OrangeClouds115 - 153
8 Schumer says that DCDemocrat - 115
9 As you wish. DawnG - 115
10 Yeah... Elise - 115
11 adsf bonddad - 102
12 eugene... hekebolos - 101
13 Tips and Mojo CTLiberal - 100
14 Soul, I went back and forth over whether to Joelarama - 96
15 Webb has introduced S. 759 Night Owl - 88
16 Tips & Recommend above "to know theyself dKos" DrSteveB - 84
17 Thanks Senator egarratt - 83
18 we have plenty of effective ranters Turkana - 81
19 I said it earlier clonecone - 80
20 He read the email on the air... Elise - 78
21 I guess we should be grateful that litigatormom - 76
22 Great to be here Senator Edward M Kennedy - 75
23 Ya think? Lisa Lockwood - 71
24 And as I said on your diary TexDem - 71
25 Ladies and Gentlemen, karateexplosions - 70
26 Same here dnta - 70
27 Abu Gonzales will announce Carl Nyberg - 70
28 Oh, a belated tip jar!!! lorelynn - 68
29 Mistakes were certainly made. The biggest feelingsickinMN - 67
30 No, Democrats fraudulently voting. Dead people Pirate Smile - 64
Thanks, gloriana - leave her a tip below, okay?
Always the mountains,
va dare