Today existenz posted a diary "WWII Vet Vs. Right Wing Blogger Smackdown" about another sickening episode of the bottomless pit of ignorance we fight every day. It was about a conservative blogger who pursued an attempt to slander Obama by smearing his war hero Uncle,and that blogger has ended up:
1. Being totally owned by a WWII vet!

2. Showing us, again, that if you scratch a conservative, you find something disgusting - in this case a tinge of Holocaust denial.

As sometimes happens, the comments got off on many tangents - some trollish, some affectionate and ennobling. One thread wandered through how and what we've named our favorite relatives. Another became an impromptu salute   to the veterans - of WWII, mostly, but many others - who are near and dear to many kossacks.

Food and sex are two of my favorite things, because they are universal sacraments. They are practiced by all faiths, agnostics, and non-believers. Like other sacraments, food lends itself to transcendental  moments.

It's hard to imagine that Papa John's, Sbarro's, Domino's, and all the independent pizzerias were not always ubiquitous in America. Sure, there was pizza, but once upon the 1950s, when I was little, pizza could still be a new and wondrous thing.

I still remember when I was about five, and one day Dad slipped off in the car just before dinner time. I asked Mom what was up, and she said Dad was going to bring dinner home from some thing called a pizza shop.

In a diary I posted the other day, on the topic of creative cheapskatery during the Second Republican Depression, I veered off on a tangent about pondering whether to go through with this year's edition of what has become an annual tradition, for me to make a shrimp dinner for my old friend, Alli, due ti the cost of travel, food, shitty economy, etc.

Well, to the extent anyone commented about that birthday dinner, the consensus was to go ahead and do it, no matter how lean the times. It was this, from drchelo

But as for the coconut shrimp?  It's once a year, and Alli is a 30-year "investment" that has paid off over and over in good times, good laughs and good for your heart - so go for the long drive and the shrimp.  You can fast the next day.

that really won me over. Come over the jump for recipes. What's  for dinner?

Welcome to life in the Second Republican Depression.

I work as a self-employed consultant in the boating industry; Mrs.labradog is in health care (not the highly paid part of health care).
Mrs. labradog is doing OK, but my business was flat last year, and is markedly down this year - by 30-50%. Mrs.labradog has a modest 401k; my retirement plan is to work until I drop dead.

In the last few years, we've seen gas prices double, and our groceries have gone up by 30%. We've gotten by pretty well on ingenuity and a good attitude (usually), but now analysts are looking at food prices rising by 50% or more, and gas at $9-10 a gallon. What can we do adjust to life in the Second Republican Depression?

I have posted, here and there, my opinion that there is a good case to be made for a Unity ticket consisting of our two Democratic finalists, in one order or another.

I Received some polite replies, pro and con, and a slew of replies expressing horror at the suggestion.

Some voiced their certainty that Obama would never do it in a zillion years (based on the commenters' own opinion/wish, and their close relationship with Obama of nearly zero years.)

Others mocked my naivete', to think Hillary would dismount her BitchRocket long enough to laugh at an idea she surelydespised. These opinions came from peoople who have been close to Sen. Clinton and privy to her thinking for, um, never.

How did you spend St. Valentine's Day?

Are you a pull out all the stops and damn the cost romantic?
Or are you more the pick a bunch of dandelions type?
Perhaps a book of verse? Or Victoria's Secret and a quart of warm honey?

Where did you develop your sense of romance, such as it is? Did you take your cue from your parents? Or develop your own style?
Do you ignore it because it is consumerist bullshit?
Or do you ignore it because, after all, every day is Valentine's Day!

I've told people, when asked, that IMO a Democratic unity ticket wouldn't happen. But when it came up in the California debate, I have to admit to being a bit titillated. This could also unite two big Democratic factions - three if John Edwards comes on board as AG.

We would have the simultaneous, historic ascension to power of a person of color and a woman. We'd also have a man and woman both breaking stereotypes - of man the analytic mechanic of power, and woman the inspirational, emotionally connecting figure.

If you're nervous about this the so-called "Billary" concept, this arrangement keeps Bill a bit removed from the center of power.

...to screw in a light bulb.

Yes, it's time for a little tension-breaker during the primary diary season.
That most American haiku, the light bulb joke. And of course, to remind us of why we are here at dailyKos, The Republican Light Bulb Joke.

So, without further adeiu, as I only have but so much material for this thin diary until y'all catch the frisbee and fling it along:

From TPM's Election Central comes the story of Jesse Jackson, Jr., Barack Obama's national campaign co-chair, commenting on "Hilary's tears".

So which is it? Emotionally stunted iceberg, or weeping first lady of the campaign trail, turning on the tears at the flick of an internal cue card? That's an insulting and unrealistic question for one Democrat to ask another, about a Democratic candidate. (Never mind Chris Matthews).

It is not a noble moment for Barack's campaign, as Jackson questions what he sees as "other things that Mrs. Clinton did not cry for". Such politics of the denial of humanity may appeal to GOP dead-enders; it does not appeal to optimistic Americans.

Check the video below the jump!

Tweety takes a smackdown - from Hillary Clinton! At a presser in NH, Matthews was grilling HRC, then begged her to come on his show.

From mediabistro.com:

   Matthews: "please come on the show."

   Clinton: "yeah, right."

   Matthews: "is that an answer?"

   Clinton: "you know, I don't know what to do with men who are obsessed with me. Honestly, I've never understood it."

Later, Sen. Clinton walked over to Matthews. He pinched her cheek. She grazed his with her hand and said in a mother-to-child tone, "oh, Christopher. Baby." Matthews mumbled, "it's not an obsession."

In today's NY Times is an article, "The Hangover That Lasts", which summarizes observations made by the UNC Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies. They were looking into the effects of binge drinking in young rats who later stopped drinking, regarding their learning performance, versus teatotal rats.

Here's the whole piece, by Paul Steinberg.

The rats came from two groups, one of which never had alcohol, and a second which were given binge-drinking quantities in their youth, and then had their consumption halted. Then each was put in a small pool of water in which there is a tiny platform. They had to swim around, until they found the platform and could take a break. Then the platform was moved, and the test run again.

I took a phone call this afternoon, from an AMVET fundraiser. They are a charity that benefits American veterans. They also operate thrift shops, which you've probably seen.

He invited me to contribute, to back their efforts to support our troops. Would I make a donation, and put their sticker on my bumper, to display my support?
"No" I said, "Thank you."

Well, might I consider putting a sticker on my mailbox?
"No. No sticker, thanks." I said, adding "I'm supporting the troops, by directing any energy and money I have towards insuring that our troops never have another Republican Commander-in -chief." This is where I got my surprise.

Check Digby's Hullabaloo this AM. NARAL is endorsing Bush Dog and Democratic thug AL Wynn for Congress, instead of a true progressive Donna Edwards.

As Digby says,

Yet another thing that has to be cleaned up --- the foolish, moribund, liberal interest groups of the Village that refuse to enter the 21st century. It's exhausting.

I wrote to NARAL today:

In the Nixon administration, the Devil's bargain was struck with bigots and racists. All the GOP, restrained as it was by longtime Democratic majorities, wanted the this bunch for was that they vote against Democrats, who were turning away from America's racist heritage - to the the horror of the racist element in the American electorate. So the GOP courted racist America, but that wasn't enough votes.

GOP corporatist priorities are so twisted from what our public wants, that in order to have a shot electorally, the GOP had to start courting religious extremists. This energized Christianist freaks like Pat Robertson and his followers. But that still won't be enough.

They've tried to court folks after working to spook them babout  foreigners and homos. Not even enough of them to pull off their lizard-brained recasting of the American dream.

I spoke last night with a former client and now friend of some ten years or so. She's always been a rock-ribbed, heavily pro-gun, tax-phobic, Republican stalwart. How someone could be in many ways such a pleasant and  curious person, and yet fall for conspiratorial GOP crap, I'll never know. And, last night, she said "What do you think of Obama? I think he's real interesting!"

I didn't write this diary. It was forwarded to me by a friend, who received it from its author. I think it's beautifully put, and deserves wider reading than it can get in my inbox.

There are well over 100,000 User I.D.s out there, and for every one of them there's a man who made a difference. It may not be a DNA match, it's more important than that. Here's to all the men who made that difference to a little kid, a little kid who grew up, looked around at this imperfect world, and said "This shit cannot go on unchallenged.", got their UID, and are reading, and writing, and working for a better world.

Happy Father's Day!

In the aftermath of the Blacksburg massacre, conservatives, through what passes for their "senior statesmen" (reliable characters such as Newt Gingrich, George Will, and much of the ungrounded right wing blogosphere), are rolling out their public policy warhorse – catch people at a moment of fear and confusion, and exploit both for the sake of their pet policy fetishes, damn the consequences - that worked so well after 9/11.

They see the horrific events at Virginia Tech as a reason for us to ponder the improved world we’d have, were we all packing heat. The tone of voice reminds me of preschoolers speiling off their fantasies of how they’d protect Mommy and Daddy from a threat by crooks and pirates, bless their noble, yet childish little hearts.

A brief stroll through an alternative reality may be illustrative – to everyone but those who foster these lead-slinging tales.

There have occasionally been diaries posted on concepts like "What is your favorite album?" or "musician" or "top five", the most recent was What are your favorite albums.

Understandably, these diaries usually get participants derailed in reveries over music, which expand as the commenters recollections are tickled by the comments of others. That diary on fave albums got me thinking along a tangent that I have mused on to myself before. What music would I like to have played at my funeral?

How do you pick your funerary selections? Just your fave party tunes? Stuff that will comfort your bereaved family, friends, and fans? Careful choices that will define how you want to be remembered? Here are a few of my selections:

Adam Nagourney’s Sunday New York Times op-ed of March 26, 2007, Perks and Perils of a Heavy Gavel, perpetuates an errant view of our current political moment.

Two things to remember are the elements of the public will. One is which way the people allow their attention to be directed at the moment.  It is the product of a battle of the marketing wiz-kids and political gurus, and it produces short term swings in public perceptions. This was the source of the "Republican Revolution" of the 90s.

The other is the core, foundational beliefs of the majority of American people, what ideas they will support – when the alternatives are considered on an instinctive basis, and presented in the non-partisan context – in the long run. This is the source of lasting American  alignment with liberal sentiment and policy.