As much as I'd like to believe that a President Obama will move our country onto a new path, there's this lingering fear in me that our next leader will be challenged unlike any other in our recent history and some of those challenges might be more formidable than any mere mortal can handle.

We need to resolve right now that, assuming Barack Obama becomes our Commander In Chief and he doesn't morph into the Anti-Christ as the wackos predict, that we will not succumb to fear should things go terribly wrong.

I'm old enough to remember the civil rights era, the riots, the murders, the marches of the KKK, the images in the magazines of signs over drinking fountains that shouted out "Whites Only".  At the time, you could have walked through the streets of most Southern towns and pretty much known that nearly every white person you passed had bigotry embedded firmly in their psyche.  Most felt no guilt about the trait.  After all, their mothers, their grandmothers, their slave owning ancestors all accepted it as a way of life.

I apologize in advance for this very short diary rant but I only have a few minutes before I have to hit the road.  I just read about Hillary's gas tax cut bill before the Senate and her "with us or against us" bullying.

This is going to be a short and sweet diary but I'm just not reading this simple message in all the outrage I'm seeing.

This is a tale about an air conditioning system and a little insight into some of the fundamental problems facing our climb out of the economic chaos we face today.  My recent experience trying to make my life more energy efficient is an excellent look into the complexities of our modern lives.  

Ah, here we are again in that same situation as we were decades ago when the outrage was building over the Russians brutalizing the Afghanis and heading towards some sort of political boycott of the Olympic games.  

I'm here to tell you that although we did the noble and feel-good thing back then by staying home from Moscow, Jimmy Carter, a man I have great respect for, might have made a mistake with the boycott and it seems possible we could make the same poor choice if we allow emotion and protests to keep us away from full participation in the upcoming games.

This is not a full-fledged diary but a primer on one I'll be writing as I compile all the facts on this topic.  However, this one's burning in me and it's worth getting some light shown on it right now.

I've had it.  After reading the diaries and news today about Senator Clinton's latest dirty politics and the number of very quality people that are actually saying they could never again vote for her even if it meant McCain wins the White House, I've come to this conclusion - it's time for a voter intervention.

First, let me state categorically that I still am firmly in support of Barack Obama becoming our next President but, after watching this morning's news on MSNBC before heading off to work, I'm seriously concerned about the damage the airplay of the rantings of Reverand Wright are going to have on his campaign.

Not only were they there in all their glory on TV but the audio of those same vitriolic outbursts were being played over and over again on talk radio (including Air America) as I drove in.

These must be addressed now and with conviction or Obama will be as damaged as Howard Dean was when his "Yee haw"s knocked him out of contention.  Here's the response I think will blow it away.

I'm truly sorry if I'm going to offend any Hillary supporters out there that are outraged over the outrage coming out of diarists, media personalities, and bloggers but there is legitimate cause for concern that the Democratic Party has truly entered circular firing squad mode....and for good reason.  

In my opinion Hillary has crossed the line where people on here are actually talking about staying home for the general election or committing the abominable "sin" of voting for Nader.  How absurd.  Even in my wild nightmares of Hillary being a person that transforms into a vampire at midnight would I ever consider throwing away that tiny little bit of power we have to use right now that will push the Republicans out of the White House and send them packing for the pits of Hell.  

Ok, this is a long shot but, after reading a diary that wanted our opinion on the merits of an Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket, I had this epiphany.

Obama could secure the nomination and run away with the remaining primaries if he makes a committment right now to choose a woman as his running mate.  (other than Hillary)

First, this is not an anti-Hillary diary but the impetus to bring up this point came from watching her speech last night after her victories.  This phrase in particular inspired me to write this.

We're ready to reach out to our allies and confront our shared challenges. We're ready to end the war in Iraq and win the war in Afghanistan.

I haven't followed the speeches by other Democratic contenders enough to know if similar rhetoric is used but, if it is, referring to either of these situations as "wars" exposes a huge weakness and gives the advantage to the Republicans.  Americans require that we be a winner of a war.

And it's our fault.

I'm writing this diary because I keep reading over and over within other diary posts that people are supporting candidate ________ because of their recent speech about _____ where they promised _______ and that they'd never support ________ because they are diametrically opposed to their position on ________.

As much as I respected someone like Dennis Kucinich for his detailed and concrete plans to actually enact change, the lesson we should have learned here is that no matter how sophisticated and issue oriented we try to be as voters, the entire thing still comes down to gut feeling and we have in fact designed the process we are stuck with today.  We want our eventual candidates to be evasive.

Andrew Thomas, the Republican Maricopa County Attorney in Arizona has launched a campaign to shame people convicted of DUI offenses.

Now I'm all for there being laws protecting us from drivers abusing alcohol but apparently this "gentleman" has now decided that he is entitled to go beyond the penalties assigned by the legislature and can add on public humiliation while he receives a little free campaign marketing.

This intent of this diary is to engage this wonderful army of internet soldiers that demonstrated the power of the American spirit over the last few days in the ethical battle with Cigna.  The bitter sweet victory was very likely a glimpse into other victories I believe are inevitable in this fight of corporate greed against progressive compassion.  I believe in the America I know and love that the system as we know it must and will be changed and I embrace that change with all my heart.  However, one aspect of that movement seems to escape most debate and I think it's time we brainstormed this.

What happens to the millions of Americans that work in the health insurance industry when we move to a universal single-payer system?

During the days leading up to the Civil War, a Senator name Preston Brooks beat a colleague to within an inch of his life with a cane as a result of a debate over the issue of slavery.  Obviously he was putting up a fight for what he truly believed in at great risk to his political future.  Obviously, this is not a man I'd invite to a party with any alcohol served.

Now I don't believe in violence for solving issues except as an act of self defense.  It's a stupid and ineffective way of dealing with divisive topics as illustrated by where our country went in the wake of incidents like this one.  I do worry however when I see titles of diaries indicating we're bringing a (insert ineffective weapon here) to a (insert overwhelming weapon here) fight that we may find ourself in some bloody battle that nobody wins.

It's been awhile since I've written a full diary but I'll use a new one to keep going a discussion I got into on another diary that quickly fell off the list. (Agnostic's excellent entry titled Pathetic Pelosi, Reidiculous Reid)

I've been just blown away by the apparent lack of spine by what I thought were greatly empowered Democratic leaders to take on the Republican thuggery and then I had this thought:

Oh my.  We've definitely entered the Twilight Zone if a speech George Bush given to the Federalist Society is any indication.  Either that or his speech writers are beginning to get a sense of humor.