We've heard a lot about Francine Busby in the past month or two. Jon Tester as well. The odd mention of Angelides and the whole CA-Gov mess. But there's an election going on today as well- one that makes me think a good deal about the 50-state strategy and the identity of the Democratic party. It's not a hugely competitive race, but it's real nonetheless- The South Carolina Democratic and Republican Primaries are today. Follow me for a summary and thoughts.....
Califlander's excellent diary on the subject, currently on the recommended list and otherwise available at http://califlander.dailykos.com, reminded me that last night, I had intended to write a diary on the suicides at Guantamo Bay. Predictably enough, the military is claiming that the suicides were an act of war, a suicide attack meant, I suppose to spite us. Those evil bastards, robbing us of our victory even in death! And of course, our community, quite morally and sensibly, I believe, feel pity for these poor people. However, after thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that this tragedy could not be a clearer example of why we have constitutional protections and ignore them at ours, and other people's, peril.
With the support of, oh, more than a hundred of our democratic part members, the house passed a bill to increase tenfold the obscenity fines leveled on broadcasters who violate "decency" standards.
Fine, whatever. Free speech? Who needs it. There are the real problems facing our country right now- gays getting married and tits on TV. OK, fine away. But I want any network that airs Ann Coulter calling 9/11 widows names to be fined the full 325K plus a 10,000 dollar bitch tax.
I love these diaries that tell us more about who we are as a community. It's fascinating to learn everyone's stories, tastes in books and music, anything that helps put some cool information with a username. Also, they're a welcome break sometimes from the political hectoring- reminds us, I think, that we should all (sort of) be friends here. I have been enjoying Buffalo Girl's "Is our Kossacks Learning" very much on this lazy Saturday, so I'm going to shamelessly piggyback on it- or try to- and ask what novels or works of fiction you are reading, or recommend. Here are mine:
The majority of stuff I've been reading here at Dkos about our friend Scalito has centered on two things: The infamous 1985 memo about Roe V. Wade and the Concerned Alumni of Princeton stuff involving the racism and sexism. And that stuff is very important, don't get me wrong. But in all the abortion fuss that engulfs every nominee that comes out, we are forgetting a few things. Dahlia Lithwick has an excellent article in Slate that I think should be widely read- link in extended. I'm going to summarize and comment on it, because I think it's a critical thing for this community (hell, for the country) but I strongly suggest you read it.....
I wear a lot of hats, here at dKos and in the world. Jack of all trades and master of none, you know the deal. Anyway, yesterday, as I was wearing my musician hat and leaving a gig, I saw an airplane perhaps 2 miles distant coming into land at the Columbia, SC airport. It was clearly a jumbo- rare here- and not in the paint scheme of UPS, which is the only airline that flies such things. I saw it from a distance, but it seemed that the fuselage and tail configuration (overhead wing but tailwings at the base of wing, wide body) meant it was either a C-130 Hercules of the US Military or the russian Antonov AN-124- the soviet equivalent of the C-5 galaxy and not a common sight around here. So I, being a nerd and having some spare time, drove to the airport to look- and lo, it was the An-124, with a big ol' Russian flag on the tail. I know planespotting is not an uncommon hobby, so I was just wondering if anybody around here knew why this plane could be where it was. My guess is it was flying some liberals to Eastern Europe to be tortured, but I'm open to other suggestions :)
I am ANGRY! Who the FUCK are all you people! I am FUCKING PISSED at the TREASONOUS, OUTRAGEOUS COWARDICE of the Bush administration! They burn our villiages, drink the blood of our infants, and I'm so pissed off I am going to USE A WHOLE BUNCH OF GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING BLOCK CAPITALS AND GRATUITOUS FUCKING F-BOMBS TO LET YOU ALL KNOW HOW PISSED OFF I AM AT THE OUTRAGEOUS MOTHERFUCKING CABAL OF TREASONOUS HALLIBURTON PIGS THAT SUCK THE BLOOD OF OUR PROUD NATION!
The hits just keep on coming, don't they? Delay is indicted for this PAC issues in Texas, Libby is indicted, Rove is in perennial jeopardy, the Abramoff deal keeps getting bigger and bigger....and now this relatively minor, but still worth noticing event.
I have liked this poem for some time now. I ran across it again today, and decided to post it here on Daily Kos. I think it is something that we should all read and think about- and beyond us, the soldiers, leaders, and people involved in this war and occupation in Iraq. This poem is over 100 years old, but it could have been written about the Iraq war yesterday. I think that our leaders need to think about what they are asking their soldiers to do, and why....the poem is William Vaughan Moody's "On a soldier fallen in the Phillippines."
I'm somewhat of a history buff, and I enjoy roaming around the countryside when I can, finding interesting things and places. Yesterday, I paid a visit to the Quaker Cemetery in Camden, SC, a small and very historic town about 35 miles east of Columbia. I found a plot there, and I would like to share it with you all. I don't have any ideology behind it- you can look at this, as I did, as a pacifist. You can look at it, as I did, and be reminded of the sacrifice that people make. But I want everyone to stop and think for a moment what it must have been like for this family.
Yes, this just about says it all. When asked about this stuff, Bill Frist is more concerned about the fact that people KNOW what is happening than that it is in fact happening at all. The problem is not that we have illegal prisons outside American soil, it's that the hoi polloi are finding out about them. The problem is not that we are using chemical weapons in Iraq, it's that the public knows about it. The people who need punishing here, Frist says, are the leakers, not those who commit the crimes in the first place. Despicable and a concise summary of how low the Republican party is.
I ran across two things today that I wanted to share with you. They may have both been diaried, but I haven't seen them yet. If so, let me know politely and I'll delete this. They are...
Today, as I sat in the pews of the moderate-to-conservative Episcopal church I attend while I'm at school, the director of outreach- a volunteer- spoke to the congregation, summing up the church's outreach programs. I often spout about the nebulous "good works" that religious people, even conservative ones, do, because I sometimes feel that that aspect of their faith is neglected here. So I post this not to start a fight or an argument but because for the first time, I actually have some specifics. Here is a snapshot of what this one church does with it's outreach money
I'm currently working on a very rushed undergraduate thesis for my honors degree at the University of South Carolina. I'm researching the musical influences on early shape-note singing from 1760 to 1800 (roughly) although any info on later stuff, sacred harp, et cetera, is welcome. So if anybody out here has any information on the following things, please post a comment or let me know:
Instrumental folk music in the USA, 1600-1800
Singing Schools in the 18th and early 19th century
The Shape-Note Method of singing instruction
Harmonic concerns of early American composers, such as Billings and Lowell Mason.
or anything else that has something to do with those things. Because I'm just interested in general, above and beyond the project. Thanks a bunch.
Believe me, I want to celebrate me some Fitzmas as much as the next guy- but I'm starting to get this eerie deja vu and I feel like it's October 2004 and there are a bunch of diaries about how John Kerry is about to send Bush back to Crawford....
Sometimes I jokingly tell people that I'm the most conservative liberal they'll ever meet. Usually, they interpret that as "conservative DEMOCRAT" and think I'm a moderate. But no, I really mean it. What I mean is that I am a very conservative person. I dress conservatively. I don't kick back much. I have views on faith and behavior and relationships that could be described as conservative- even very conservative. And yet...
having just got out of bed to see this on the news, I am, like many of us I suspect, caught on the hop, which I am quite sure was the idea. So these are my initial, instinctive responses to what I can tell about this woman (which isn't much)....
The whole Obama firestorm we've been having today has, to me, concisely (maybe not, since there have been a few diaries and over 1,000 comments on them) why I sometimes feel uncomfortable at Daily Kos. It's not a difference of policy- I'd say I'm to the middle of the road, maybe even a little more liberal than most Kossacks. I don't think it's a difference in goals- a fairer America and a more equal one, the end of the war, the defeat of the GOP agenda. The reason I feel uncomfortable here is simple: I feel like I'm surrounded by a bunch of conservatives who have had their polarity reversed.
