It saddens me deeply to write this.  But I have had a vision of the future and it is indeed frightening.  Others have echoed this both on the blogs and in the corporate media, but increasingly I sense the vision materializing, much as I did when I saw Reagan gaining traction in 1980.  Follow me below the jump for my thinking.

I happened to turn to C-Span and caught a McCain campaign rally and my head just about exploded.  When the camera started to pan the crowd...

After many years of being a fan of John Kerry's, I just unsubscribed from his mailing list and sent a note that expressed my disappointment in him.

Why?  Take a look below the jump...

It seems to have slipped through relatively unnoticed that William McGuire, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, got his ass whipped by the SEC:

McGuire agreed to a settlement the Securities and Exchange Commission valued at $468 million, including giving back $320 million in stock options. He had already agreed to reprice some stock options, reducing their value by another $200 million.

That and a $7 million civil penalty was enough to get the SEC to settle with him. But the SEC said its investigation of the company is continuing, and a review by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York is also outstanding.

Oh but it gets so much worse.

I checked if this had been diaried, and it was by xofferson, but this story deserves much greater recognition.  Here's why...

So many people, Republicans and Democrats (especially Hillary), blame the Iraqis for the failure to stand up a government and especially (in the case of Republicans) to pass the Oil "Revenue Sharing" law.

I think what we have is a case of deliberate passive-aggressive resistance.  Follow me below the flip for why.

As noted in another diary, Jim Webb is already showing what kind of Senator he will be.  This display, along with his entire campaign, gives an indication of what kind of Senator he will be.  That is why a Clark - Webb ticket would stomp the opposition.

More below the fold.

Well, no surprise a compromise was reached between the Chimperor and his lackeys in the Senate.  Was there any doubt?  I believe this was all a setup.  Follow me below the fold...

The "Path to 9/11" propaganda piece is another Swift Boat attack, only this time they have managed to subvert one of the Big 3 networks directly.  If anything, this shows incontrovertibly the unholy alliance between corporate media, the Repiglican party, and the state in its full glory.

So, what should we have learned from the Swift Boat Liars incident, and what should we do about the Path to 9/11 Liars?

Follow me below the fold...

WaPo announces that embattled Robert Ney (R-OH) is not seeking re-election.  But the reason why tells all about the Rethuglican mindset.  Follow me...

Well Hallelujah.  

Former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed conceded defeat about 9:50 p.m. in Georgia's Republican primary for lieutenant governor.

Looking at the volume and passion of response to my previous diary, I would venture that any 2008 candidate that brings this issue forward as a key one in his campaign (as both a symptom and a cause of how the average American has been politically and economically disenfranchised) will attract a groundswell of support from the netroots.  

The question is how to frame the issue.  I think there is a simple way, and it was suggested by many respondents to the previous diary.  Follow me below the jump...

Today the WaPo had a major piece about the vulnerabilities of electronic voting machines, entitled A Single Person Could Swing an Election.  [Apologies if this has already been diaried, I did a perfunctory search but did not see it.]

This could mark a "tipping point" on the media treatment of election fraud.  About time.  More below the fold.

The diary on the Overton Windows by thereisnospoon is tremendously illuminating, and certainly set me thinking.  One of the key challenges we face is that we are trying to change things, not make them more so.  What do I mean by this?

Dig this out of the chaff and front page it:

Bernhard's Official Report to Congress: Iraq War Prepared In 2001 examines the first official report, from CRS, to show that money was diverted prior to the invasion to build up to the war.

In the past, many times leaders of nations have needed a pivotal event, a trigger, in order to shake loose the masses from their inertia.  Evil men are not above manufacturing such pretexts:  the Reichstag Fire, the "invasion" of Germany by Poland in 1939 are among a long string of criminal actions.

Well, a friend sent me something that has caused me to rethink some things.  More below the flip.

As noted in mcjoan's post, Digby has stumbled across an excellent meme: forced childbirth.  

More on the flip.

I was reading an article from last week's WaPo Magazine on the whole brouhaha over Evolution, and a thought occurred to me: Fundamentalists (Jewish, "Christian" and Islamic) by their very actions exemplify what they most abhor--that man is a primate and descended from "apes".

More below the flip.