If there ever was a strong reason to lower your sights about the positive effects of this never-ending presidential nomination process and the need for even hardened politicos to take cover here it is.

This diary is a follow-up to my previous entry, entitled "Do NOT Decriminalize MaryJane- Legalize it."  ( http://www.dailykos.com/... )

I did not have the chance to answer the questions that were posed in a timely manner, so I'll use this entry to do that and to continue the discussion of the Marijuana Question.

So check this out because it's really, really, really funny.

Mike Gravel, the cranky guy who ran for president in the Democratic Primary, was sort of laughed out of contention. So on March 11, he endorsed the Green candidate for president.

National Statesman and International Hero Senator Mike Gravel Supports Jesse Johnson's Bid for President

In what has to be the most unprecedented cross party statement of support Democratic Party Candidate for President Mike Gravel announced that he has decided to support the campaign of Green Party Candidate Jesse Johnson running for the nomination on the Green Party Ticket.

After a meeting between the two in Washington DC Friday, Gravel stated, "My political party long ago walked away from taking the necessary steps that will safe guard our nation's and our children's futures. I worked dedicatedly throughout my career as a U.S. Senator to protect the precious resources our country had within it's boundaries as well as to mitigate the negative impact our businesses and individuals were having on the planet. I have watched the ever important job of stewarding these gifts vanish from the political landscape and I hold the Democratic Party leadership responsible for giving up that fight."

Why did Gravel choose Johnson from among the other candidates vying for the nomination in all the campaigns of all available political parties? Gravel explains, "I'm supporting Jesse because he began his political career with the determination that the environmental plundering must stop. He placed every other interest on hold to run for office, in his home state and now nationally, to challenge the corporations that destroy our national resources and then harvest from this practice a toxic energy source; coal. The mountain top mining practices devastate the landscape by blowing apart mountains and then carbon belching plants burn the coal creating a form of energy that serves as one of the major contributors for global climate change."

Yeay for Jesse Johnson. What a boost! But oh no! Tragedy struck two days ago! Gravel is apparently not a political monogamist, but a total political slut.

Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel joins Libertarian Party ranks

Believes Democrats are out of touch with American citizens

Washington, D.C. - Mike Gravel, a former Alaskan Senator and Democratic candidate for president, has joined the Libertarian Party.

"I'm joining the Libertarian Party because it is a party that combines a commitment to freedom and peace that can't be found in the two major parties that control the government and politics of America," says Gravel. "My libertarian views, as well as my strong stance against war, the military industrial complex and American imperialism, seem not to be tolerated by Democratic Party elites who are out of touch with the average American; elites that reject the empowerment of American citizens I offered to the Democratic Party at the beginning of this presidential campaign with the National Initiative for Democracy."

Next up are the Constitution, Communist, Independence, Natural Law, Reform, and Workers World Parties. They all want a piece of Gravelmentum, and apparently there's plenty to go around!

Yes, in honor of another stupid, counter-productive Nader ego trip I am asking everyone to donate, hopefully $25, in his honor...to effecting REAL change, not just feeding Nader's ego.

Growing up, I saw Nader as a hero. But by now I despise the man. The Greens did the right thing in 2004 by steering away from him...and they should just keep moving on away from Nader and form themeselves into something other than a Nader fan club.

But more importantly, we all have to reshape the left into something effective and a force to be reckoned with. Nader's way did nothing but further marginalize himself and the left. Below are my suggestions for donations in "honor" of Nader.

crossposted from unbossed

The December 8 Science News includes a troubling story about the future of farming -  Lettuce Liability: Programs to keep salads germfree raise wildlife and conservation concerns (Subscription Only).

A new industry program to self-regulate most salad producers is forcing affected farmers to choose between adopting measures unfriendly to wildlife and a loss of major markets for their greens.

I own a slow food restaurant and am concerned about where our food comes from and how it is grown. One of my friends forward this email this morning. Please post comments concerning leafy greens at http://www.regulations.gov/...
Also think about joining the Slow Food movement Slow Food USA

In the summer of 2006 I wrote the following commentary (updated a little for today’s purpose) urging the recruitment of independent labor militants as write-in candidates for the mid-term 2006 congressional elections based on a workers party program.  With the hoopla already in full gear  for the 2008 election cycle I repost that commentary below with that same intention of getting thoughtful leftists to use the 2008 campaign to further our propagandistic fight for a workers party that we can call our own.

After being dragged through the mud this week, the week of October 9, 2007, watching the Republicans debate in Michigan and a couple of weeks ago having to fortify myself with strong drink just to get through the Democratic 'debate' I am ready to go to war. Yesterday's entry dealt with a review of the heroic age of the Republican Party so I decided to carry over on that theme today with a commentary written in the thralls of last year's mid-term elections. Funny, the points made then with proper updating for current events retain their force today. Hmm. Yesterday's promised lashing of the Democrats is included free of charge.

A new Field Poll indicates that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a whopping 30-point lead over Sen. Barack Obama in California.  The latest poll of 418 likely Democratic primary voters found 49% support Clinton, 19% support Obama, and 10% support Edwards.  

This essay is not about Hillary, but rather, to put the argument that this tells us something about the nature of the California Democratic Party today.  Forget the 1960s stereotype about the "Left Coast." Democrats in Big "Blue" California are not the revolutionary Avant-garde.

Ron Paul is the Internet darling. Libertarians think they're being "clever" by hinting Mr. Paul would choose Black economist, Walter E. Williams, as his running mate. In fact, they have inadvertently "outted" themselves as captives of the idiotic old "race" politics as practiced by cynical Democrats and Republicans for nearly forty years. On the Green blogs, there has been heavy arguments over a Greens-Libertarian alliance (see for example: "a ron paul even a green could love" and also California Greening). Most of the Greens, to their credit, reject the seductions of libertarianism.

Here's the problem: I am an African-American who has studied Walter E. Williams career for many years. The man is a total rightwing nutcase!

Although I'm a Democratic Party activist in Asheville, NC - I'm live-blogging from the 2007 Green Party National convention in Reading, Pennsylvania. I'm the only media covering the event. :)

While DailyKos is a space by Democrats for Democrats - I felt it was worth giving a quick "heads-up" because they could be major spoilers in 2008. I'd like to share what I've learned, and, hopefully, start an internal conversation about how we, as Democrats, can have Greens in our tent rather than run against them.

I want to get paid.  I can do this shit, I really can.  

So, I wanna go into the big leagues. I'm ready.

Here's my audition:

Well I was outraged by the decision. Although admittedly not keen on abortion, I found the 5-4 decision rendered by the court to be wrong on so many levels. As most people know partial birth abortion occurs primarily when the mother is going to die and the baby has a sever condition like hydrocephlous.

I had some thoughts about it. I will describe them beneath the fold.

How the heck did a guy like George Bush ever get into power?

Tomorrow there is going to be a $3 million election for the Los Angeles School Board and this crazy campaign is another example of why the combination of relentless right-wing Republicans and clueless Democrats leads to perdition.

Los Angeles School "Reform"

Democratic Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is a rising star. They say he could be our first Latino governor (they also said that about San Jose Democratic Mayor Ron Gonzales -- before he was indicted. But I digress).

Villaraigosa pushed a plan to share power with the school board over the Los Angeles Unified School District.  

Standing in Villaraigosa 's way is United Teachers Los Angeles.  Once upon a time Villaraigosa was a union organizer, but hey, that was then, this is now.  UTLA backed two incumbents, Jon M. Lauritzen and Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, an African-American representing a district gerrymandered the usual way to protect incumbents.

We've got a Democratic mayor, School Board, state legislators, including the Assembly Speaker, and a teachers union that always supports Democrats.  

So, why the hell couldn't these guys work something out without a big, expensive, nasty, public food fight?

Kos put up a post talking about the spoiler effect of the Libertarian party pulling away conservative voters and winning Democratic candidates their seats.

This is a pet peeve of mine, one I've carried with me since the whole "Nader stole the election" theme came around. Unlike many people, I don't believe a third party can ever be blamed for the demise of a major party campaigner on either side.

As someone who has believed for 30 years that we need to 'save the planet' I am continually astonished when I come across what I think are counter-productive attitudes among self-described Greens and the environmental left.

Case in point: The Prince of Wales' visit to America. British Greens are calling him out for an 'ecologically harmful junket'. Tonight Al Gore (last year's winner) will present Prince Charles with the Global Environmental Citizen award from the Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment.

According to the AFP:

But green activists in Britain criticized the royal couple's decision to fly across the Atlantic with a 20-person entourage, accusing the prince of "green hypocrisy."

"Why can't he set a genuine example and accept the award by video link instead?" Sian Berry, the principal speaker for Britain's Green Party, was quoted in Britain's Independent newspaper.

"I am disappointed to see that ... his recognition of the threat posed by climate change does not extend to toning down his personal flying habits," Berry was quoted as saying.

Inconvenient facts after the flip.

Thinking of a recipe to feed the trolls? Well, not exactly. It's the new environmental movement in Los Angeles headed up by a hero you might not have heard of...until now..the OTHER Antonio to know about in LaLaLand - Antonio Gonzalez.

When the first Earth Day was held in 1970, few words in the eco-vocabulary translated into Spanish. Today, González is a prime example of a new flavor of green activist, the so-called Salsa Verde environmentalist. Named for a spicy Mexican green sauce of tomatillos and hot peppers, the Salsa Verde movement is built on words like familia, comunidad and esperanza. Concerns about parks, clean air, clean water and healthy neighborhoods are the themes of this emerging movement, and Los Angeles is its epicenter. Associated with the sounds and smells of their cultural heritage, Salsa Verde places Latinos solidly at the environmental table. - Whole Life Times Magazine

Can Jim Webb pull ahead of George Allen in the squeakiest of squeaker races?

We all heard about the GOP financing a Green Party candidate in Pennsylvania to disrupt the campaign of Bob Casey, and I suppose we see how well that worked out.

But, has a Green busted up what could have been a Democratic victory for Jim Webb in Virginia?  It might appear to be the case.