All The News They Hope You Miss.

Heh. I've been threatening to do this for awhile. And forgive me if someone else thought of it--they may have, and if so, they maybe do it better than me (and you'll tell me, yes?) While we have several news-link type series, this is a little different, as I'd like to focus strictly on news drops done on Friday starting roughly at 3PM Eastern Standard Time, through the end of the evening national news cycle--say, 1130 PM . I've long suspected that important stuff gets dumped in this time-frame, amid flurries of sensationalized, yet less-important news. The idea--something I know many of you agree with--is to time the release of these news items so that they are all but forgotten about by Monday morning.

All feedback, good and bad, is welcome, as is word on whether or not this violates any "fair use" (as most of this is pulled from Top Headlines on news feeds like AP or AP via Yahoo; if so, I'll pull this asap).

I hope others like this idea. Every week, I see at least one notable news story that seems to be lost in what appears to be deliberate placement, late on a Friday afternoon. Or perhaps we should call this mis-placement, if you prefer...

No, not me; Mr. O. I'll get to that in a bit...

Lord, how I've hated what these candidate wars have become. So I write this with trepidation, because I hate when these things get ugly. So be it. I'll do my best to not bash any of our candidates, and I will not respond to those who do.

But I have to--HAVE TO--say it one more time, loud and clear to those who continue to insist that Barack Obama is the only other choice there is besides Hillary Clinton, and that John Edwards should get out of the race...

Why? If you really care about "having more than two choices", make the jump with me now...

I don't know what pisses me off more--the fact that BushCO lied us into a war, or the fact that our media has rolled over and played dead since at least 9/11/2001.

Until now.

Sadly, my faith in the integrity of the Corporate-Owned Media is not restored. It's lost in yet another blizzard of weasel-words.

Sorry, this isn't exactly long, but IMO, it's an important point to make. And I have to get this off my chest so I can try and get some sleep...

On this day, January 21st, 2008, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential modern-day Americans in our long and storied history. It is fitting, therefore, as we bicker and fight among ourselves as to whether race or gender is being exploited in this primary, that today, we take a good step back. We can, should, MUST wonder to ourselves who Dr. King himself might find today, upholding the ideals he held so near and dear to his heart.

Come, now, and revisit some of King's historical words, so that you might reflect on what today should mean to all of us. There's also a little something here that I found to be quite amazing, as well...

Well? PhillyGal has taken some time off, so some of us other cat lovers need to step up, yes?

And after the wretched Week from Hell that I've had, I wanted to share something nice and (hopefully) entertaining, and perhaps even a little bittersweet. Not to mention at this point, I felt a real need to share something less...political. Otherwise, I will just rant like I did yesterday morning.

I am one big crabass sometimes, coffee or not!

OK! So, feel free to jump any time, as I share My Pootie Stories with my pals at DK.

For cryin' out loud, the spin I have been watching all over the Internets today is sickening.

I say that as a newly-registered Dem--first time in my life, even though I've voted for lots of Democrats over the years. I initially signed up because I decided this particular primary was critical to our Constitution, and to the health and welfare of this nation's citizens. I wanted to support a primary candidate who has never even made it as far as one of the Big Three. Dennis Kucinich can't get a fair shake, and that's bad enough. But now I gotta watch a boatload of otherwise-intelligent people trash John Edwards, too?

Don your wetsuits and your oxygen-tanks, and take the plunge with me, into the depths of Flapdoodle-Depravity, if you can take it just one more time...

Now that my diary draft is working again--are we all wound up tonight or what?--I needed to get this off my chest.

Heh. I just went three rounds with my dear love over the question "Hillary Clinton--Why Can't You Like Her, Honey?"

(Disclaimer--he loves her, while I've been for Kucinich. Amazing we haven't killed each other)

ANYway, this is not a Hillary-bash, I promise. It was just a fascinating conversation, and I felt like sharing a couple questions that came up. Skip on over the fold, if you really care what this very confused, newly-registered Dem has to think about here...

As if the US tourism industry hasn't had enough problems lately, we now have another pathetic and frightening story out of NYC this weekend.

First, I am going to state up-front, right now, that I am not advocating any overall "Conspiracy Theories" against any candidate. I'm simply posting this stuff, and letting it speak for itself. I will tell you, however, that what I am going to talk about is going to have its meta-moments, so I will try very hard to convey this information in a way that won't leave the average kossack's eyes glazing over.

That said, I found the following interesting bits quite by accident, and thought it was definitely worth sharing. This could affect ANY of our candidates. The crux of the biscuit is just a hop over the fold away...

Before I even start, props are in order for pioneer111, who has been posting a clip called Mouseland around daily kos lately:

I suggested that he/she compose a diary around this outstanding clip. Hopefully, that will happen. I'm not trying to steal anyone's thunder. This clip, IMO, is so great, it deserves multiple airings with multiple POV's.

I was so absolutely galvanized after initial viewing, I composed a letter to a couple dozen of my closest (not-as-engaged-as-I-am-politically) friends, to talk to them about Health Care in America, and Dennis Kucinich.

If you care at all about the health-care crisis in this country, please talk to your less-than-engaged friends. We need to get this right. I freely admit that I might not have this all sussed correctly. I'm not a lawyer, not a pol, and I don't work for either a campaign or an insurance company. It's just that I believe Kucinich makes the most sense on this issue...

I can't possibly be the first/only one who's going to post about this! Did I miss something? My Cynic-Meter™ almost exploded just now, so I thought I'd diary on this my way, even if someone else beats me to it and does a better job of it.

That being said, the AP Wire is breaking this story as of 829 PM EST Tuesday:

Domestic Spying Inquiry Restarted at DoJ

Say what? Yes, you should click that link, it is verrrrry interesting...

Remember the Read the Bills Act? That's the first time I ever paid much attention to a Daily Kos diary. I've always been activist, and always been a cynic, but this diary gave my Cynic Meter™ new life. As in "What? They have to pass a law to make Congress read the legislation they intend to vote on?" Who's gonna vote on it?

Well, fast-forward from 2005, and color me shocked--near as I can tell, this bill still hasn't seen the light of day much beyond a website and a Wiki entry. But, to my pleasant surprise, last night as I was reading, I ran across this diary, which clearly shows there is at least ONE Democratic candidate for President who doesn't need to be legislated into actually doing his job! Good to know--and one more reason to like Dennis Kucinich.

Then, during the ensuing discussion, this post popped up from citizen k, who highlighted something most startling.

WTF is this all about? Please help me work through this...

This is going to be short and sweet because I really should be working! So my apologies in advance if someone has made note of this already; I did a quick browse of all diaries, and don't see any obvious references.

I had to share with you this outrageous article. Those who continue to propagandize in our media and put fear into our citizenry are at it again. Big surprise? Take a little stroll with me, if you can possibly stand it...

OK, just so nobody pulls a gotcha, I'd like to point out that first of all, I'm the one who said this about the Ted Nugent incident.
 
I ultimately went on to say quite a few other things anyway, but if nothing else, that post properly highlights the depths of my cynicism, something I've always been pretty up-front about. Heh. Not sure how right I ultimately was, but no matter: after the dust settled around here Friday and yesterday, there must have been four or five diaries on this subject. The most recent one, found here, seemed to garner the most responses.

It is the theme of some of the responses there, and overall, that I felt a need to seek some clarification. Hop across the fold with me, if you are so inclined, and let me explain...

Some people say "O, what would you know about Democrats? You aren't even one yourself!!!!" Know what? I voted for plenty of you over the years, more often than not, and I've had my share of complaints about yas, but if I wasn't a radical Libertarian, I'd be a Dem. My parents were Dems (my siblings were, but I don't know what happened to them, either). The Love of My Life is a diehard Dem. And I still vote for ya, and I will again, too.

Anyway, after reading about some of this day's events, and after reading this diary, I no longer believe that the heinous crimes of BushCo continue, unabated, "Because The Opposition Guys Are Spineless Wussies".

Now, you're gonna have to work with me here, OK? I've been putting in 12-14 hour days, at least 5 days a week (if not six), for a good couple of years. So I'll cop to "maybe it's just me, and my brain's just a little overtaxed right now..."

Other than the obvious lack of sponsors, that is. I'm sure many kossacks agree with it in principle, as I do. But I'm having a difficult time wrapping my brain around something in particular, and was hoping someone here could help me do so.

With the vast majority of kos readers--and a large percentage of the American people--on board in favor of impeachment of George W Bush and his criminal cronies, period; and a healthy subset of both of those groups screaming for impeachment of Dick Cheney first; why, then, is it necessary to plead for support for an actual Democratic-sponsored bill that actually DOES impeach Cheney first? It's apparent to most people that he's the Brains Behind The Bush. So ...