I'd like to make a request.  Could someone do a mashup of Penelope, the serial exaggerator from Saturday Night Live played by Kristen Wiig, and Hillary's serial exaggerations about Bosnia, Nafta, Northern Ireland etc?  My hope is that this will shame Lorne Michaels into doing a skit with Amy Poehler as Hillary and Penelope trying to one up each other. Here is a link to a Penelope skit.

http://www.fanpop.com/...

Many thanks,
Kant

I am a life long Democrat.  Never voted for a Republican and never will.  But I am tired of Hillary supporters asking me if I will support Hillary if she gets it.  So here is the olive branch: I will vote for the Democratic nominee whoever it is.  But I will only support the Democratic nominee if they make this pledge...  

I agree that whoever has the lead in pledged delegates credentialed by the DNC after all Primaries and Caucuses should be the Party's nominee and if I should have less pledged delegates then I will withdraw my name from consideration and support the nominee.  I further agree that Michigan and Florida will not be counted as per the DNC rules unless their respective state parties reach an agreement with the DNC that is acceptable to both candidates.

If team Hillary accepts this then I will pledge not just to vote for her but to support her candidacy.  If not, then I will vote for her but will withhold my support (financial and physical) because my fears - that she and her husband care more for themselves than for the democratic process or the Democratic Party - will have been realized.

In the Los Angeles debate on Thursday, Barack Obama buried his own lede.  Many pundits said that Hillary seemed to command the healthcare debate while Barack won the Iraq debate.  But Barack buried his own lede.  Hillary's botching of her votes on War Authorization and the Levin Amendment are analogous to her botching the Healthcare Task Force of 1993.

Barack made the argument that judgement is more critical than experience in a President.  But he made it too late.  He should have made that argument on healthcare and pointed to Hillary's failure in 1993.  She points to her experience as a stength.  He should have pointed to it as a weakness.  In doing so, he would have made the theme of the evening: Right on Day One.

More below...

I write this as someone who has no dog in the fight except to see a democrat win...

I think Barack can get a mandate.  Hillary cannot.  And I think that a Democrat needs a mandate to achieve the changes necessary to fix all the damage that has been done.

But Barack has to prove two things to Democratic voters in order to overcome Hillary's inherent advantages.

He has to prove he can connect INDIVIDUALLY and EMOTIONALLY with voters.

He has to prove that he has a system for processing intellectual issues and acting on them in ways that are emotionally compelling.

More on this below...

In tribute to Bruce Springsteen calling a spade a spade on 60 Minutes tonight, I offer - below the fold - an impressionistic look at the Bush Years...

My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town
It's a beautiful place to be born
It just wraps its arms around you
Nobody crowds you, nobody goes it alone.
That flag flying over the courthouse
Means certain things are set in stone
Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't."

Its gonna be a long walk home...
Bruce Springsteen
"Long Wak Home" from the CD Magic

Josh Marshall and Glenn Greenwald call our attention to a clear and dangerous shift in the coverage of the war in Iraq.  It appears that those whom we are fighting throughout Iraq - whom reporters formerly referred to as "insurgents" - are now commonly referred to as "Al Qaeda."

This seems to be right of out of the Luntz-Orwell handbook.  For details, see below the fold.

As reported by Paul Kiel at TPMmuckraker, Gonzalez chief of staff, Kyle Sampson will be testifying next Thrusday before the Senate Judiciary Committee... under oath!

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/...

It cannot have escaped Sampson what the penalty is for a Chief of Staff lying to protect this administration.

http://today.reuters.com/...

So that makes the questions asked by committee Democrats critical to setting the context for whether the AG or the White House Staff engaged in illegal activies in this matter.

Now I am sure that the Judiciary Committee Staff will be tuning in to this web site.  So those of you who have been pouring over the White House/DOJ document dump, let's use this diary as a thread for suggested questions for Mr. Sampson.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi squarely addressed the issue most on the mind of the President, saying Saturday that deep divisions over the Iraq war need not bring anyone's humanity into question.

"You know, I welcome debate in a time of war and I hope you know that," Pelosi said in opening remarks as she presided over a retreat that drew about 200 lawmakers to a Virginia resort.

She said disagreeing with her over the war — as the President does — does not mean "you don't share the same core humanity."

"You can get that thought out of your mind, if that's what some believe," the Speaker said. "These are tough times, but there's no doubt in my mind that you do not - nor have you ever - personally tortured animals or people in your spare time."

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This trans-existential message from Saddam Hussein to George H.W. Bush was just captured by the Administration's NSA wiretap program.

So you think that you finally got me.  Couldn’t do it when you were President, but got your son to do the dirty work.  Well let me tell ya... Kharma’s a bitch.  I had two sons.  The younger was the more competent of the two, but the older one seized the birth right and proceeded to fuck everything up.  I blame the calamity of the 2003 war on his corruption and incompetence... I mean he was wasting time on a Sports team when he should have been been preparing for leadership.  I had close advisers betray me because they knew he was an incompetent idiot.  Even my wife tried to warn me about him.  But would I listen?  Of course not.  

Why?  

(Answer below the fold.)

Make no mistake.  Jim Webb scares the Republicans (and their Democratic apologists) silly.  And not just the neo-cons but the theo-cons and the paleo-cons too.  And especially the DLC/Third Way crowd.  Why?  Because he represents the evolution of a movement that Howard Dean started, but could not - because of who Howard is and where he comes from - complete.  Jim Webb represents the return of the "Reagan Democrat" to the Democratic party and the rebuilding of the Great Democratic FDR coalition.

See below for details...

A picture is worth a thousand words... This is Joe's car at Fairfield University this am...

http://lamontblog.blogspot.com/2006/09/thousand-words.html

Update: Try to cut and paste...

I believe this will be Joe's Macaca.  Speaks volumes about his sense of entitlement... Especially after he tried to pick on Ned Lamont for daring to try to give back to the community and teach in a public school.  Like I said... It's macaca time... pass the word.

And please post the actual pic in comments... I can't scan or link.

That's it.  That's the frame.  They fucked up and they need oversight.

Listen to the drip, drip, drip that will fill the MSM bucket during the fall talk show circuit...

The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina (Hardcover)
by Frank Rich

Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War (Hardcover)
by Michael Isikoff, David Corn

The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power (Hardcover)
by James Moore, Wayne Slater

Add to that the resonance of:

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (Hardcover)
by Thomas E. Ricks

The One Percent Doctrine (Hardcover)
by Ron Suskind

and the MSM will be singing that tune come early November...

More below...

I can see why people want to call out Hillary to support Ned vociferously... Schumer too... and Dodd... and Kerry... These are Senators from contiguous states that have operational knowledge and clout in those areas.  They can help drive turnout and affect the votes of fence-sitters in in Connecticut.

I can see calling out Wyden... and Reid... because Joe is using their supposed promises of committee assignments as a foundation in his campaign.

But Warner?  He supports Ned.  More importantly, the guy just threw his support (financial and vocal) behind Jim Webb's campaign (and anemic fund-raising effort) in a big way.  And in a way that matters, since he was GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA.  I am willing to risk getting trolled to call out this suicidal tactic.  I'm not saying anyone should vote for Warner for President, but the parochial obsession with Ned is a symptom of a larger problem that will - if left unchecked - lead to a permanent minority status for progressives.

More below.

Update [2006-8-7 12:35:15 by kant]: After I typed this, I saw the diary about John Bolton had saying that Lebanese lives were somehow less valuable than Isareli lives. It is clear that Bolton is a charter member of the Axis of Ego. After Lamont wins the primary, stopping Bolton MUST be the next order of business.

[ORIGINAL POST]In recent days, I have read more and more articles and blogs about the Israeli government's desire to distance its interests from those of its neocon supporters in the US.  It is also interesting to see Tom Friedman hammering Bush and his impact on our place in the world, calling for a rethink on Iraq and encouraging a dialogue with Syria.  Meanwhile, the Axis of Ego (as I call them) Richard Perle, Newt Gingrich and Bill Kristol (with the implicit support of Cheney and Rumsfeld) are calling for WWIII, and trying to link the Lamont candidacy with a capitulationist "insurgency" here in the US.  

As we move to establish a legitimate alternative foreign policy and to defeat the Axis of Ego (and their solipsistic philosophy of self-destruction) once and for all, it is helpful, I think, to keep in mind a few key themes.

As stated in a previous diary, according to Rawstory, David Brooks is going after Kos.

NY Times columnist Brooks attacks 'Kingpin' of Daily Kos

In Sunday's paper, conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks attacks the founder of Daily Kos for acting like a "Kingpin" who "commands his followers" to "unleash their venom on those who stand in the way."

Well I have never met Markos, nor have I corresponded with him.  But I have read way too much of David Brooks and below the fold I have begun to assemble links to those who have previously put the pink-sirted one in his place...

And for the record, I have spoken with no one about this... it is sui generis and totally un coordinated.  Please join in if you care to.

I have read and heard much lament in the blogosphere and elswhere of the neglect of New Orleans, not just by Bush, but by Democrat politicians.  So I wanted to throw out an idea to raise awareness of this issue.

Having recently seen Bruce Springsteen's new show - which is inspired by the music born in New Orleans - and having read the reviews of his performances (particularly his performance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival)...

I suggest that the powers that be invite Bruce to lead an all-star concert/fundraiser/telethon to re-open the Superdome on the 1st anniversary of Katrina. Imagine how powerful that might be...

And why should the re-opening of that icon of Government neglect, corruption and ineptitude be dedicated to a glaiatorial spectacle.

It's Vote for Change meets the 9-11 Telethon meets Live Aid meets Live 8... I guarrantee you that it will be a special moment and may galvanize the emotions of those who want change in November.

(Sorry the diary is so short, but this seems like a simple but big idea.)

Anyway, just a thought...

On what basis was Mary McCarthy fired?  Was there any real evidence that she passed along classified info to Dana Preist about the CIA's secret prisons? In light of the WaPo article by Jeffrey Smith, it seems that she may have been fired and framed in order to counter her belief that the CIA lied to congress about the illegal imprisonment and torture of detainees.

Given the interest of Cheney and Bush in the revamp of the CIA, and given the corruption and partisanship of Porter Goss's tenure there, I believe that with some digging we will find the smoking gun that allows us to connect Cheney and perhaps Bush to the coverup of torture and rendition by the CIA... these would be War Crimes and Impeachable Offenses.  If proven, Cheney and perhaps Bush might as well turn in their pssports because they would never be able to travel anywhere without fear of arrest. They certainly would have added another impeachable offense to their repertoire.

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So for the better part of a full "back to work" Monday, TWO diaries (1 and 2) had the words Russert, Rove and Bitch within close proximity of each other in their TITLES on the Daily Kos!

We all know who reads the Daily Kos (see today's NYTimes)... So the next time that Nancy Pelosi or Howard Dean or Harry Reid sit before Timmeh, do you think that they may be a tad bit LESS intimidated by his power? Maybe through their minds there may pass the meteor of a memory of the phrase "Hey I'm talking to Tim Russert, he's Karl Rove's Bitch!"?

More below...