I have recently been selected to be a delegate to my county's 2008 Convention, where a proposed Democratic platform for my county will be edited and approved.  This responsibility to help draft my county's platform pushed me to think about platforms, and what can be accomplished with them.

There is something that the Democratic Party could put on a platform and implement without the need for Republican obstruction:  a statement of party governance.  While many at Daily Kos are not particularly enamored with corporations, they have surprising (small d) democratic features that can be borrowed to improve the likelihood that external stakeholders (like that guy on a horse down there) can influence or overthrow those in control of the organization.  And this is a very good thing.

And that means us.  Gate crashers.  Rabble rousers.  Netroots.  Kossacks.
Charge with me after the fold for more details.

Sometimes I get interesting feedback on the calls and emails that I send to my Senators and Representatives.

Considering the heated nature of the FISA fight, it is interesting to see how the legislators that voted in favor of retroactive immunity and of legalizing the government's ability to spy on its citizens justify their votes.

In this case, as is probably often the case in controversial issues, Senator Ken Salazar provides some pretty weak rationales for his vote supporting the unmodified Senate version of FISA that passed in the upper house.

Let's journey through his excuse letter and evaluate the truthiness that abounds therein below.

First, this is a diary to thank Senator Chris Dodd for leading the fight against the despicable FISA bill that included retroactive immunity for lawbreaking telecoms.  We should all be happy that we have yet again, and against all probability, defeated that odious, authoritarian bill.

Let's hear it for the rule of law!

So, how can we incent more behavior like that?  How can we make sure that Senator Chris Dodd continues his crusade on our behalf and on behalf of our Constitution?

If you don't already know, follow me to find out.

I gladly helped in every way I could to get Democrats elected to Congress.

I wanted the Democrats to stop the Bush administration with the power derived from our Constitution, to stand up and be the voice of the majority of Americans.  

I wanted them to restore and protect our Constitution.

I wanted them to stop the environmental rampage that is ruining our children's futures, our health, and our economy.

I wanted them to stop the war in Iraq, stop the profit motive for being there.  

They have all of this and more within their power.

But they have done none of these things.

This is a very simple and short diary in response to a recently Recommended (WTF???) diary slamming one of the Democratic candidates for President.

I will vote for whatever nominee the Democratic Party - us - decides to run for the White House.

Why, you ask, even though some apparently think that Senator Clinton is harmful to puppies, pooties, the Democratic "brand" and definitely takes money from PACs?

Well, let's list a few together shall we?

A new solar techology is coming out of the lab in Korea - not in America.  America is again missing its oppotunity to be an alternative energy leader, but at least someone is leading.

The photovoltaic technology does not use silicon to generate electricity.

Silicon solar panels cost

US$2.30 to generate one watt of electricity, which is three to 10 times higher than the production cost of thermal or hydro power. The new plastic solar cell costs just ten cents per watt.

$.10/watt.  Holy smoke!  Looks like the solar revolution is a few years away, at this rate, and it looks like Korea will be the beneficiaries of investing in the alternative technology.

If these hit the market by 2010 or 2012, do you think you would buy solar panels?

Unfortunately, bad behavior sometimes begets bad behavior.

As we are very well aware, Al Gore has been telling all of us about the Inconvenient Truth of climate change, especially on polar ice caps.  Now, there's a new twist to the narrative that we should all take very seriously.

Not only is global warming melting off the polar ice, it could accelerate the causes of global warming because of the vast deposits of oil and gas under the ice and ocean.  From Drake Bennet at the Boston Globe:

Fifty-five million years ago, the Arctic was riotous with life. With average temperatures in the mid-70s, it had palm trees, crocodiles, and mosquitoes...

Of course, petroleum is the outcome of such a riot of life from fifty-five million years ago.

Sort of ironic, isn't it, that carbon dioxide pollution and the resultant global climate change would increase the amount of recoverable petroleum?

Flip for more.

I have been surprised over the last day or so seeing the diaries about whether we have rights or not, whether they are granted or not and by whom, and who decides about them.  For such a bunch of liberals, it is pretty funny that we don't have the bedrock liberal philosophy down (even me).  So, while I am not a philosopher (not even close!) I wanted to touch on some important issues that liberal thought is based on - mainly because the ideas are what have set us free, and the subsequent documents articulated the details.  

Jump with me for more on our liberal thought-forefathers.

Iran has frequently made its nuclear ambitions known.  They are not part of the nuclear club, and they have been shown the example of how to join: Pakistan and India both joined belatedly after setting them nuclear bombs in a show of force meant to intimidate the each other.  It seems to have worked - all has been quiet on that front for a while.  

Iran has also made it known that they will be obtaining nuclear techology regardless of what the world does to stop their attempts.  They have even gone so far as to make generic (but scary) threats against nations who attempt to block their efforts to obtain nuclear technology at the United Nations.

After all, what can the world do once a nation has harnessed atomic energy?  Accept and move on seems to be the likely scenario.  Let's talk about Ahmadinejad's scary offer after the flip...

We can all come up with at least one serious problem (only one, you ask?) with having the President be an absolute loony.  We've all heard the chorus, and have all sang along on occasion.  (Sing with me:  My pet goat, No WMD, No Child Left Behind, Faith Based Initiatives, Divider not a Uniter, Oil based economy, politicizing intelligence, pre-emptive war, Where's Osama Bin Laden?, Hurricane Katrina - you can make a few verses I'm sure.)

However, who can think of a single good thing that George W. Bush (might) accomplish, even if it hasn't quite happened yet?  That's one hell of a challenge.

So, here is my effort to document the one (potential) inadvertant accomplishment of George W. Bush.

Bush could have had victory at any time in Iraq.

ANY. TIME. HE. WANTED.

(image warning in extended for non-broadband users)

There has obviously been a lot of discussion about Crashing the Gates and Barbarians and other warlike references at DKos for quite some time, mostly inspired by the book, of course.  However, we are not the barbarians.  We are not brutal, not bloodthirsty, not intolerant, not using force; we are the antithesis of barbarians - we are the reformers.

Yet again, we have noted the apathy of the voting public.  In this case, it happens to be Democrats in Virginia, but this doesn't seem to be an isolated incident.  How can we ever hope to take back the Congress in 2006 if we don't get these voters out?  

So, after seeing another item about the myopic interest groups supporting Chaffee, I am joining a large group of Kossacks that have simply had enough with them declaring a truce with the enemy.  

I have changed my mind on how to handle them completely.  Specifically, instead of complaining, ragging on them, calling them, or anything else, I am now going to speak with my wallet.  Obviously, these groups simply don't get it without a large stick whacking them across the rump.

Instead of giving any money whatsoever to any single issue group, I will only give money to the Democratic party until they are back in the majority.  After that, I will consider donating to them again.  If they don't understand the Republicans will always bait and switch votes to obtain high ratings while trashing all of these single issue groups' pet policies, then I will help them stop being so foolish by drying up their funding.

See more justification below.

We as a community have noted many times the lies, the greed, and the pride which have led us to the Iraq war.  

We have waited for neo-conservatives to acknowledge their huge error in pushing us into this war.  We have waited for the Bush administration to acknowledge the "facts" were made up at every stage of the runup to this war - and beyond.

What can we do proactively and constructively as a community at this point to start the rehabilitation of America in the eyes of the world?  What can we do to take control of this God-awful situation?  What can we add that will bring some peace to our minds and to the poor Iraqi civilians who are on the receiving end of the neo-con idiocy, the Bush-created insurgents and newly awakened ethnic factions, and the Iraqi Taliban who want to impose religious rule on a previously secular society?

Read on to find out my small idea to bring a new moral spotlight on the conflict.

Only in Oklahoma.  

First there was Nixon.

In May of 1974 President Richard Nixon addressed graduates.

Then there was HW.

Sixteen years later President George H.W. Bush spoke during OSU's spring commencement.

Now there is W.

Bush, who will speak at Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday, May 6, will be the first commander-in-chief to address graduates at a college or university in the state since President George H.W. Bush spoke at OSU in 1990.

I am bringing this to your attention with some final wisps of resignation, as I will be moving out of this Red-Dirt/Red-politics state within two weeks of W speaking to OSU's graduating class.  

More below:

The sudden proliferation of diaries about the pros and cons of Hillary Clinton for president in 2008 is simply not constructive for the 2006 election cycle.  Why are we focused on this?  

More on the flip.

It has been noted by Geekesque and kos that the New York Daily News has been really jumping with articles on October 19 - just three days after the October 16 article by the New York Times trying to justify their abysmal reporting.  Also on the 16th, the Judith Miller wroter her piece feebly justifying her protection of anonymous high government officials (or "Hill staffers" as certain administration chicken-hawks prefer to be known) who anonymously smear their opponents with the help of journalists sorely in need of a basic journalistic ethics class.  pontificator and Hunter have had good diaries discussing the potential effects of recent testimony on the White House staffers (and potentially elected officials), but I am going to focus here on the recent unexpected emergence of a main stream media news source on the Plame affair, the New York Daily News.  

In other words, why the rash of articles from the New York Daily News on the Plame affair?  Though I don't read the NYDN, I have some sneaking suspicions regarding how they suddenly have an explosion of news that is worthy of the Times in its glory days.  More after the flip.