I am a bicycle commuter in New York City and I freuqently participate in other sorts of rides, organized and otherwise.

Last month I was was arrested as I stood quietly on the sidewalk holding my bicycle. My bicycle was impounded.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of 'critical mass' it is a gathering of cyclists who ride en masse on the last day of each month. There is no route. The ride itself is organic. Those who ride in critical mass might be trying to send a pro-bike, anti-car message or an anti-dependence on foreign oil to stop oil wars message or they might be trying to send the message "i like riding my bike with others"

Okay. I do not want to screw John Bolton, not in the traditional sense.  But I would love to screw him out of a chance to be our UN Ambassador. It's like sending a 11th century priest to MIT - he's just not capable in believing reality.

This guy is a monster. I heard outtakes of his speeches on Franken today and he sounds like a dangerously myopic "America First" kook who dismissess anything the UN does as not relevant. He clearly cares nothing for the internation community. He will probably boo when Kofi Anan gives a speech.

Sorry for this brief diary entry.

Will anyone be protesting in their hometowns on this day?

I will be protesting in New York CIty but I haven't seen anything about it posted here.

http://www.internationalanswer.org/

I've had reason to go to a lot of protests these past few years and while it may feel pointless, you have to remember that more Americans feel as we do now; that it is a sham.

Please come out and show your solidarity wherever you are!

And let us know what's going on in your town.

Vietnam was before my time, but as a pacifist, war is always the worst 'solution' to any 'problem'. To me all 'problems' with other countries are better solved by diplomacy, economic pressure and building relationships - but what do I know?

(I'm so naive I think human being basically want all the same things, and generally don't want to die.)

I happen to grab some old casette tape laying around and found myself listening to the Woodstock album. Quite a blast from the past .

You could take my subtitle "read Lakoff" two way:

I have read "don't think of an elephant" and you take it as an imperative: Read Lakoff or contiunue to be marginalized!!

Don't mean to be repetitive or bore anyone but this is the most important book for progressives I have read - and I have read a lot this year.

The right-wing machine is BIG and ESTABLISHED. We are just starting, here in the blogworld.

But we are continuing to commit the same errors as are pre-blog forebears and our non-net democratic counterparts.

I have to admit being down-trodden. Zoloft, anyone?

But there is some some hope - at least I found some here: http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/005524.html

Why does this give me hope? Because Dean did what he said he was gonna do and the people who followed Dean's lead said what they was gonna do and they did it.

So many crimes to count, so many horrors, dreadful unfairness, cruelty, stupidity ignorance and bigotry. Damage to our democracy, to freedom, to the environment, to world peace.

Too many enemies - the White House, the Senate, Congress, Supreme Court (soon), big business, banking, energy, the monsterous media crap machine.

If you value humanity and peace, where do you turn?

Blogs, activism, LTE, call your crappy (in my case) Congressman?

How did I get past the last few days? Excessive pop-tart consumption and a bucket of sleepy-time tea every night kept me in a blissful, sated doze most of the time so I didn't even know what day it was.

My mother's suggestion: just pretend Bush's first term is just extra long and the end is closer every day.

I tried to break out of the Mopey-Molly phase and went down to Union Square Park in NYC to enjoy a small anti-war rally.

Yeah you. The democrat who wants to abandon the progressive social agenda so they can win the  elusive "center."

Well, didn't Kerry win the center? Hello President Ker -- wait a minute.

I don't know about you, but I always thought abortion must remain safe and legal forever.  Its a privacy and body soverignty issue to me.  No compromises.

The death penalty - unlike Kerry, I am an absolutist - never, never. Anytime anyone looks into the death penalties dealt in this country they are shockingly, disgustingly wrong.

Joe Klein, on AAR, paraphrasing Andrew Sullivan, said that democrats have to remove their progressive issues off the federal table and bring it down to the state level.

Abortion rights? Then Utahns slug it out. Gay marriage? -- let New Yorkers vote it in.

This concept has a certain charm, since we could have everything that we want on a local level.

Those states that want theocratic dark ages can have 'em.

Wheeee!

I am listening to Air America and Janeanne is going on fumes of the stage of denial. I had my own moment earlier today where I said "It will be okay."

Totally fucking nuts, right?

I even thought: forget, my kos addiction is over; I won't listen to AAR tonight.

And here I am.

Listening to Air America, and posting on kos.

Time for comic relief. Remember that horrible movie Jerry Lewis wanted to make about the clown entertaining children in Auschwitz before they were gassed? Yup, this is just as funny.

So what's so funny about CyklonB and the kiddies?

Not much, but I have to get through this day, and the next and the next without being a 'suicider'.

I look at my friends of all races, sexualities, and religions and love all of them and wonder at the hate.

As a former poor southern white I am amazed at those who willingly vote for their own marginalization.

Stop sniveling. You whiny bunch of crybaby worry worts! Freeks!

Ahem.

Osama is free because of Bush.

9-11 happened because of  Bush.

It's too late. Only die-hard kool-aid drinkers who thinks Jebus talks to W believes this is good for Bsh.

How the fuck can a reminder of his most montumental failure be good???

I have to admit it. I've been riding high since the debates, soaking in the certainly of victory...

But NJ does concern me for several reasons. First, there are the wack polls (Quinnicrap being the latest) showing a horse race.

Yes, Gore won the state by 15% in 2000 so how can this be. And no, 9/11 didn't change everything.

And the visits by Bush - truly Rovian smoke and mirrors. So what's to worry?

Woo-hoo! Today I finally went down to the Brooklyn HQ of Frank Barbaro, who is running for congress in NY-13.

Oddly enough, in this part of NYC, we have a Republican rep now - Vito Fosella, who is a Delay mouthpeice with a record of doing absolutely nothing.

I made about 30-40 calls (I was there for about two hours) and mostly left messages unfortunately. One person hung up on me, but
I didn't get any "nos".

Well, I guess John Kery hit the big time:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=6330881

I don't know how I feel, as a pacifist, with this game portraying our future president as a col' blooded killah!

It started, in recent times anyway, with those fucking Reagan Democrats - What were they thinking?!

A cute little catchphrase to describe a demograpic. More succint than Yuppies, less enigmatic  then Gen Xers.

Are these media-created terms adequate to describe the colorful mosaic that is Merika, or are they missing some important categories.

iI had the misfortune to be in the emergency room as a patient today.

I overhear the story of the young man in the bed next to me, and I was again amazed the total impact of a crappy government.