Reporter How do you feel about gas prices at the pump?

Me I think you have to look at the big picture. I'm a high income guy. What with the windfall tax cut I have thanks to President Bush, it would be churlish of me to complain about the $85 it takes to fill the tank of my SUV.

Say "No" to bigotry.

Make any kid who thinks it is cool or hip to be Republican to think twice. This is the hubris issue where Bush has gone too far. It is not cool to align with the haters and bigots who want to weild the weight of law to discriminate.

I propose we add "Say 'No' to Hate" yard signs along with the "No War" signs.

This past week I attended two regular monthly meetings.

On Wednesday night I was at the Democracy for America meeting. The agenda was set by a self-selected steering committee (which is open to anyone who shows up), but not distributed before the meeting. The meeting was held in neighboring Ypsilanti, although most attending, like in past meetings, live in Ann Arbor. The crowded meeting took place on the back patio of a bar, with no microphone, which meant that many had trouble hearing over the noise of traffic. Candidates or their representatives spoke about their August 3 primary campaign, and the group was asked to endorse adding these candidates to a state "Dean dozen," but with no context of who else state wide might belong in this group, whether the candidates were running opposed in the primary, or how these candidates might compare to their Democratic party opposition, with no portion of the agenda offered for meeting participant questions or comments. Fortunately, those present spoke up anyway, sometimes much to the consternation of those running the meeting. The agenda included appeals to participants to join in future activities such as neighborhood canvassing or events promoted by other progressive organizations, but people were on their own to follow-up; no co-ordinated effort was made to have people commit to any of these activities. Since participants were not willing to recommend any candidate to a "Dean dozen" due to insufficient information or other considerations, all action was postponed to our next meeting, which will be held the day after Michigan's primary. Candidates looking for help in the primary were out of luck. No one was asked to recommend subjects for next month's meeting agenda.

On Thursday morning I was at the local Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting/presentation. All attending wore name tags (some wore their "customer greeting" name tags from their companies). All were encouraged to bring business cards to exchange. The meeting was held in a hotel centrally located in Ann Arbor, with adequate seating and a microphone. At the beginning of the meeting all new comers were invited to stand and be recognized. Then all who had previously attended were invited to stand (e.g., every person was recognized). Each person present was given a brief amount of time to explain what they were about to the group. Then there was a ten minute pause while attendees were encouraged to seek out, greet and talk with each other, based on the personal presentations. The advertised speaker spoke on a topic chosen by the meeting attendees at previous meetings. There was a question and answer period. There was a feedback form that invited a response to this meeting, and seeking recommendations for future meetings, with suggested future meeting topics that could be rated.

Which of these two groups most deserves to have the word "democracy" in its name?

Which of these two groups did the better job of promoting activity that would improve the world?

The point is that Repugs strategy of divide and conquer is ready to blow up in their faces, as long as the Dems can across the message that they are the true party of the South.

What follows are the reasons the South will shift BLUE:

Two years ago I read the Declaration of Indpendence.

Last year I read the Seneca Falls 1848 resolution, which is modeled on the Declaration of Independence.

Today I read Eisenhower's farewell address of 1961, which coined the term "military-industrial complex."

I strongly recommend that you read these -- aloud -- to yourself or to whoever you can get to still still long enough. All three are enough to make any progressive's heart go pitter-patter, and encourage you to reclaim the flag as our banner.

I confess it is a sad commentary when the words of a former general and republican president can serve as the cautionary script that progressives take note of, but that just shows how far to the right the country has shifted (and how effectively the republican party has been hijacked by the right).

1. Dean's campaign is the victim of unfair media treatment.
2. Kerry owes his success to Dems' voting for his "electability" which is a thoughtless way to choose a candidate. In fact, many Kerry voters would vote for another of the candidates (Dean, for example) if they voted on their beliefs, core values, and voted for the best candidate.

1. Winning the Iowa caucus
2. Having the media report that they won the Iowa caucus.

If you were writing the message for your candidate to deliver this weekend, what would that message be?

Disclosure: I am not an accountant or a lawyer. I do not prepare tax returns. I am not a tax analyst. I am the founder of a seminar training business that teaches people who work in corporate accounting how to comply with tax information reporting requirements of the IRS and the states. As such, I have been reading tax legislation since 1982.

Recent tax history: the pendulum swings from tax simplification to tax uglification.

Is this a sign that Kerry's campaign has some new life?