I am much bemused by this article over on MSNBC.com about President Bush's visit to Colombia on Sunday.  From a journalistic standpoint the article does state the Who, What and Where.  But not only do they miserably miss the Why, they end up confusing the issue of why along the way.

It has come to my attention that Michael Alton Gottlieb sort of took a poke at the rules on a new feature around here.  Mind you, I don't believe there is actually a written rule against what he did but it was obvious that he was attempting to bend the rule beyond the spirit of the rule.

Having administered several internet discussion forums over the years, I always had a chuckle when finding someone attempting to subvert the system in some clever way.  Generally a warning was issued along with a sharper eye on such a devious character.  But always with an appreciation for that rule bender's cleverness.

With Enzi, the Republican Senator from Wyoming, ignoring the close result of the election in November in Trauner's race against representative Barbara Cubin and continuing to rubberstamp the Bush agenda by voting for escalation, the DNC should encourage Trauner to go for the big prize in 2008.  And, to start right now...

This type of diary is not my normal fare. I generally am not great at instant analysis. There are better bloggers here and all over the internets for this type of thing but watching a number of events occuring at DailyKos has caused me to venture way out from my comfort zone.

Two DKos regular contributors who I truly respect, mcjoan and BigTentDemocrat, are making the case here and here that much of the bluster by the administration about Iran is a carefully planned ploy to get Democrats, the media and the people at large to look over at Iran for a bit while they achieve their underhanded aims in Iraq.  Note, this is a huge simplification of mcjoan's and BTD's argument, but I think the summary is accurate enough. They aren't arguing to ignore Iran altogether. They are mostly making the case that we shouldn't take our eye off of Iraq and domestic issues by falling for the head fake at Iran. It's a subtle argument, but I think it's wrong for a few reasons. The problem with subtle arguments is that sometimes they can be too clever by half.

In a nutshell... all closets will be ransacked and opened to the light of day.  Or phrased another way... Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts R Us.

Nowhere is this lesson better underlined than the announcement today that Howard Dean and the DNC have hired Michael Gerke to head up opposition research for the DNC through the 2008 Election.  Gerke was hired by Kerry in 2004 to do oppo research on Dean.  And by all accounts, he did a pretty good job, especially if one looks at the results.  So Dean is, in effect, letting bygones be bygones.  In an effort to do the very best for DNC, Dean is putting aside any personal animus to hire the best.  If oppo research was less important, then perhaps Dean would have had the luxury to indulge in a bit of pique.  But this hiring truly does underline the real political lesson of 2006.

Assembling on Union Street

I had the pleasure to walk with many others through the Central District of Seattle, an older neighborhood that still sports a racially diverse population, on Saturday January 27th in solidarity with other Peace Marchers across the country and in solidarity with US Troops serving in Iraq.

I took some cell phone camera pic's along the way.  Sorry about the lack of quality, especially on the 1st and final pics as the camera seemed to automatically select a lower rez setting.

There is one huge topic concerning the Iraq War that nobody in America seems to want to talk about.  Oh, the occasional short piece might turn up on NPR or in Atlantic magazine.  The lefty blogs do a little bit better on writing about it, but most of these diaries sit largely unread and unrecommended.  Politicians on both sides of the aisle are reluctant to bring this up.  Ted Kennedy talks about it an eensy weensy bit.

All of this miniscule dialogue about something that is a huge problem for America...

What to do about Iraqi refugees?

Four years ago I had the good fortune to take one of the 3 trips I've been on in El Salvador.  During this trip I was part of a group that went to a remote village in the mountains to oversee a water pipeline project to bring potable water to the families of the village.  After the trip to the mountains, I got to participate in their annual celebration of the Death of the Jesuit Martyrs, their housekeeper and her daughter.  All and all it was a very moving experience and trip for me.  But that's only prelude to my real Thanksgiving story.

Well, I'm surprised none of the 20 or so people who showed up at the Elysian Fields diaried this yet.  So I'll give it a whirl.

Or better yet, recommend this diary instead:
http://www.dailykos.com/...

After YearlyKos it was written over and over again that "We take care of our own!"  I can't remember names, but the person who organized the event and our webmaster here (who had suffered some damage back home) were helped out tremendously by our generosity.

Well, Jean Hay Bright is one of our own.  She ran against Olympia Snowe in Maine.  Jean has come onto DailyKos and diaried her experiences as a Democratic candidate multiple times.  

Ever since "Don't Think of an Elephant" was published, it would seem the Democrats have been on a Quixotic adventure searching in vain for the right issue to turn the tables on the Republicans.  One where we define the frame and the MSM gobbles it up, and then we repeat it endlessly, the MSM repeats it more, and even to the point where our opponents get confused and buy our frame.  We've been on the opposite side of such frames for far too long.

Enter: stem cell research

FRAME: Republicans are against stem cell research and therefore against potential cures of a whole host of diseases and disabilities that Americans face.

I was at the Darcy Burner celebration tonight and after hearing speeches from Governor Gregoire, Senator Murray (interrupted by cheers for Webb), and Congressman Dicks, we were finally treated to Darcy coming down and talking to the troops.  Good speech, and her 3 year old son did a great job of warming up the crowd initially.

But she had to repeat it twice that the race was too close to be determined by midnight Pacific time.  That we wouldn't know until long into the morning the next day, if then.  She sounded cautiously optimistic but very gracious no matter what the outcome.  And judging by the slow rate of returns, it would seem that this race will be counted last in the entire nation.

Hee haw!  Finally some good news.  I was really really worried that they might let Sadaam off on a technicality, like in those fancy pants lawyer shows on the tv.  I don't trust Iraqi juries.  Never have.  I'm just grateful to the Republicans that somehow they got a conviction.  Even though the judge and jury were Iraqis, I give American Republicans 110% credit.

Also, I'm hoping less Republicans will commit suicide on November 8th because of this verdict.  No matter how bad the election news, we got Sadaam!  That's a reason for keeping on living.

Another thing... I hope now that Saddam is history, we never have to hear about the Republican Guard.  It always made me queasy that Sadaam named his evil troops after the Republican Party.  It just didn't seem right.  I hope the media persons now stop talking about the Republican Guard.

I'm happy.

I hope the noose don't break when they hang him.

I realize Al Gore's focus has been on the planet.  I realize he has used his status to improve diplomacy around the world.  I realize he has fought for the basic rights of not only citizens around the world, but also for the very health of the planet.  I realize he has traveled around the globe to commune with all, but...

We need Al to come home and heal our nation.

This diary isn't about wishful thinking, nor some obsessive love for Al Gore.  It is simply my observation that there is no other person for the job of unraveling the mess that Bush and all other Republicans have made.

One of the things that this Foley scandal is bringing to the surface again is the age old argument of when kids officially become adult.  Since the physiological and psychological actual date for any one kid varies on a wide scale, society is left with the task of setting some arbitrary age and defining it as the point at which kids should be allowed to _fill-in-the-blank_.

Atrios argues that perhaps some of the laws around age of consent issues should be re-examined.

Indeed, the Adam Walsh law does sound like bad law. Yes, most of us aren't too thrilled with the idea of 52 year old men having sexual relationships with 16-year olds (not accusing Foley here - there's no evidence available that says he actually did), and yes the custodial relationship between Foley on the pages makes the possibility even worse.

There will be a rally for Darcy Burner on Saturday (tomorrow) at 12:15 p.m. at Bellevue High School.  Darcy is trying to unseat Republican incumbent Dave Reichert in Washington State's 8th District.  Please, if you have time, then come attend the rally.  There will be 4 special guests... Washington Senators Patti Murray and Maria Cantwell, and California Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

Let me just add that Darcy will be an awesome representative in Congress.  She is bright, articulate, has a great resume and is a true progressive.  In 10 years she could very well be the brightest star in the House if she hasn't already been promoted to the Senate.  We need Darcy in the House of Representatives.  Come support her at this Saturday rally!

One reason that might be overlooked in regards to protests and/or boycotts of this false 9-11 Mocumentary is that the nascent progressive grassroots movement must flex it's muscle in order to be taken seriously in the future.  Unless corporations, advertisers, etc., understand that crossing progessives will hurt their bottom line, they will ignore us.  The anti-Kerry show on Sinclair was a great first effort.   Influencing the Social Security debate was another. And this protest/boycott is yet another significant effort.

And it's very important to follow up on threatened boycotts.  No more Disney, ESPN, MNF, etc.  Unless they see a drop off in ratings, they will continue with business as usual.  I'm a big sports nut so this isn't theoretical for me.  But I'll find other interests and activities.

Adam Nagourney, often referred to as Ad Nags in the blogosphere, just can't seem to let a criticism of Bush go by without a follow up question inferring his incredulity that anyone would so brazenly criticize Commander Codpiece.  In this NY Times article  he chides the Dick DeVos (Republican candidate for Governor of Michigan) campaign by way of a follow up question.