Ultra K, Back In Play

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeThe corporate overlords back in the Star Chambers of MSNBC must not be happy with a new ruling from Judge Thompson of Nevada, denying MSNBC the right to ban Dennis Kucinich from the Democratic debate. NBC News said Monday it will appeal a judge's ruling rather than include Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich in a candidates' debate in Nevada. ''We disagree with the judge's decision and are filing an appeal,'' said a statement provided by Jeremy Gaines, a vice president for MSNBC, sponsor of Tuesday night's debate. Gaines said the parent network would seek an immediate hearing before the Nevada Supreme Court. Hours earlier, Senior Clark County District Court Judge Charles Thompson ruled that Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, must be allowed to participate. If he is excluded, Thompson said he would issue an injunction to stop the televised debate. Kucinich's lawyer had argued that MSNBC at first invited him to participate, then last week reversed course and told him he could not. This explains why Chris Matthews was particularly moody yesterday! This is good news for the Ultra K camp and for democracy in general, especially since Kucinich's positions make a whole lot more sense than the rest of the Democratic field combined. I have always said we as a Nation are in such sorry, sad shape that half measures and slow routes to rationality will not cut it. The longer we wait to make serious changes, the more we will slide down hill. I have read the position papers of all the candidates and Kucinich comes out on top is rationality and effectiveness. Edwards is close on his heels. The front-runners, Clinton and Obama, have weaker and much less effective ideas to save America from our downward spiral. I know people who are voting for Obama because he is Black and I know people for are voting for Hillary because she is a woman. I just wish we would vote for people because the candidate wants to make college free for all Americans, or decriminalize drugs, or do away with insurance companies and nationalize healthcare. We will continue to get the government we deserve.

Sitting On the Fence Is Creasing My Activist Butt

The topic below was originally posted in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal, as well as the Independent Bloggers Alliance, the Peace Tree, Wild Wild Left and Worldwide Sawdust. Warning, this is a long post. It’s long because supporting a presidential candidate for me is deeply personal. It’s not simply deciding which candidate I will pull the lever for in the privacy of a voting booth. Rather I approach the decision as an activist and ask myself: after weighing all the virtues and flaws of the declared candidates on whose behalf am I willing to devote my free time? In my darker moments I’ll ask myself, “Do any of these lying corporatist whores deserve my support? Why bother with any of them?” The ship has long sailed on my days of being a "true believer." Ultimately, in spite of my disenchantment, I believe in the power of the vote. Even with the sordid history of stolen elections and broken promises, I remain convinced the best way to change the system is through participation in the political process. And the best vehicle for progressive reform is by leveraging the Democratic Party – flawed as it is. Which means I have to finally stop creasing my butt, get off the fence and choose a candidate. Picking a candidate this primary season has been especially agonizing. My top choices were former Vice President Al Gore and Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold. I would’ve volunteered for either in a heartbeat. When both opted not to run I was left cold and preferred to wait until the race sorted itself out. Meanwhile, this past year I amused myself reading blog postings on Daily Kos and elsewhere expressing certitude about the virtues of particular candidates while trashing rival campaigns. The theme was usually along the lines of “only my candidate is the true progressive with a chance to win while so and so is simply an enabler of the corporate pro-war plutocracy who will destroy the Democratic Party and eat your children.” The only certitude I felt was disenchantment with Hillary Clinton whom I believe would govern entirely from weakness and be an agent of the status quo. Furthermore, I never bought into the Clinton rationale about “experience” because of her tenure as First Lady. For what it’s worth, as a New Yorker, I believe Clinton’s done an admirable job of constituent service in the senate. But on the broader issues of war and peace, bridging the gap between rich and poor and being a progressive advocate, Clinton’s record is under-whelming at best. Otherwise the remaining field left me uncommitted. Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Barack Obama are all compelling figures with many virtues as well as flawed agents of a corrupt political system. And yes that includes Edwards who despite his populist message is also not a white knight. None of them are. I appreciate much of what Dennis Kucinich has to say, resent how he was denied access to a recent debate but never seriously considered supporting him. As a protest candidate Kucinich has contributed and I respect his supporters. But he was a failure as Mayor of Cleveland and would have as much chance winning a national election as I do of dating Scarlet Johansen. If I were twenty again, I might find stuffing envelopes, canvassing and phone banking on Kucinich’s behalf the right way to go. But that doesn’t feel right this time. Rather I believe it imperative Democrats avoid the calamity of nominating Hillary Clinton and supporting a protest candidate won’t get that done. Clinton’s original support of the Iraq war was a callous and cowardly act of political expediency. Her tepid ‘if I knew now what I knew then’ explanation regarding Iraq is neither believable nor acceptable. War and peace requires a different standard of leadership. Not calculating cynicism resulting in needless bloodshed. In 2007, Clinton’s vote labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization for example was irresponsible at best. One can presume that as president the political fifty-yard line will be looked upon as the Holy Grail and doing right a secondary consideration. Senator Clinton has managed to achieve a rare political feat: she is both a polarizing figure and without a principled core. As long as Clinton is regarded as a polarizing figure anyway, it boggles the mind why she refused to stand for something as senator. Clinton's had six years to put her prestige on the line for the working poor, human rights and a judicious foreign policy. Instead she only enabled the neo-cons and is now regarded favorably by the drug and pharmaceutical companies. Whereas Bobby Kennedy became a tribune to the underclass as senator, Hillary Clinton positioned herself as a reassuring figure for corporate special interests. Tell me Senator Clinton has scheming to achieve centrist nirvana taken the edge off your polarization in any way? Clintonism undermines the progressive cause just when the center of political gravity is in our favor. Conservatism is sucking wind and we can’t allow this moment in history to be squandered by nominating another Clinton. Edwards and Obama are the only Democratic candidates who have any chance of defeating Senator Clinton and prevailing in November. Hence, supporting any of the other candidates, regardless of their principles, personal virtues and credentials is a waste. Sorry, that’s just the way it is. I wish it were otherwise because the field beyond Clinton, Edwards and Obama is far more accomplished in my opinion. Unfortunately, our political system rewards style over substance. If I didn’t feel it so imperative to stop Hillary Clinton from getting the nomination I’d likely support Chris Dodd. But under the circumstances I’m left to choose between Obama and Edwards. There are positives in the biographies of both men. Obama could have pursued a career as a corporate lawyer after Harvard Law School and dedicated himself to making money. Many in his position would’ve done exactly that. Instead he chose community activism. That impresses me. As an Illinois state legislator, Obama skillfully navigated the complex web of race, entrenched power and ego that comprise Chicago politics to be an agent of pragmatic reform. It was there that Obama’s political persona was defined: he fights fire with water. That has translated into a presidential campaign of progressive advocacy with the soft rhetoric of unity. In my blog writing I’ve occasionally referred to Obama as a “platitude machine” in frustration at his reluctance to forcefully indict the agents of corporatism and militarism that have plagued our country. Too often this year Obama appeared content to utter polite words about bringing everyone to the table under the mystical aura of bipartisanship. Yet Obama has shown remarkable growth in recent weeks and found his voice. I am impressed at how he’s drawn distinctions without coming off as shrill. The fist in the velvet glove is a rare gift in politics and Obama seems to have it. He’s been especially effective at contrasting himself with Clinton’s institutional/machine oriented politics of restoration entitlement. I also note that among Obama’s foreign policy advisors is former Bill Clinton National Security Advisor Tony Lake. Unlike other members of the Clinton Administration currently advising Senator Clinton, Lake opposed the war with Iraq from the beginning. And of course so did Obama himself. For a time I was ready to jump on Obama’s bandwagon, excited at the prospect of his potential for knocking off Hillary Clinton. Also, symbolism does indeed matter in politics and statecraft. A dark skinned president named Barack Hussein Obama, with part of his childhood spent in Indonesia and possessing Kenyan ancestry is powerful. Domestically the very idea of a President Obama is unifying for a nation sundered by race and baby boomer culture wars. Moreover, Obama’s international profile offers the promise of helping America return to the community of civilized nations. The temptation to support him is almost irresistible and I was nearly seduced by it. America however needs far more than what Obama offers. Class warfare waged from the top has metastasized under the Bush Administration and must be forcefully reversed. Yes, water is usually the best antidote for fire. But this moment in history requires someone willing to make an omelet by breaking some eggs. Politics is a fight and the quest for fairness in our current gilded age won’t be accomplished without a determined struggle. Edwards as we all know rose from humble beginnings to take on predatory corporations in the courtroom and he won big. Whenever Republicans talk about tort reform its code to prevent advocates such as John Edwards from helping regular folks against entrenched corporate power. The fact Edwards earned a fortune at the expense of predatory corporations only angers the predatory conservative establishment even more. Remember the plutocracy considered FDR a traitor to his class too. As previously noted, Edwards is not a white knight. For much of 2007 I leaned toward Edwards but his original support of the Iraq War and dabbling in hedge funds bothered me. Was his apology for originally supporting it genuine or merely politically expedient? How can any of us really know? Politicians have a nasty habit of being chameleons as it suits them. Yet even as politicians pander to win over a public more interested in Hollywood scandal then global warming, it is possible to identify a core in some of these people. Al Gore for example, was a tactile politician who could shift with the prevailing winds but believed and worked for reversing global warming before it was popular. And John Edwards has spent much of his adult life standing up for ordinary people against predatory corporate power. This is a man who remembers where he came from. Some consider the John Edwards message one of anger and prefer the soothing rhetoric of Obama. I find the Edwards message empowering. As Paul Krugman wrote in today’s New York Times, “There’s a fantasy, widely held inside the Beltway that men and women of good will from both parties can be brought together to hammer out bipartisan solutions to the nation’s problems.” As we saw six years ago, even with no mandate, predatory conservatives had no interest in sensible bipartisan solutions. Instead they shamelessly exploited the symbols of patriotism and war to finance crony capitalism at the expense of consumers, small business owners and the very old and young. One can’t negotiate power with these people. Power must be taken from them. For the first time in a generation we have a window to facilitate a true progressive reformation if we’re willing to fight for it. We negotiate when we’re cutting our losses. We fight when we have hope. This blogger is opting for the audacity of hope and supporting John Edwards.

The Adventures of Testiculo, Starring Dennis Kucinich

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge In Town Called Dobson, I have been referring to Dennis Kucinich as Ultra K but Ultra may be too small a word for Dennis. On October 23rd, Dennis Kucinich announced he would introduce to the House of Representatives on a point of personal privilege a resolution of impeachment against Dick Cheney sometime before Thanksgiving. BALLS - Total balls. Why aren't the rest of the Dem candidates screaming about impeachment? For that matter, why isn't Peolsi? Impeachment is not an unpopular view. Take Vermont for example... Earlier this year, town meetings across Vermont asked citizens if impeachment proceedings should be initiated against the president and vice president. Thirty-seven towns voted yes, and the Senate approved a resolution calling for impeachment. Now a statewide poll conducted by CBS affiliate WCAX in Burlington, Vt. posed the question to 400 likely voters. Sixty-one percent said they would be in favor of Congress beginning impeachment proceedings against President Bush. Thirty-three percent opposed it, and 6% were not sure. The numbers for Vice President Cheney differed only slightly: Sixty-four percent favored impeachment, while 31% opposed it. Seventy-five percent of respondents said they categorized the president's performance as "fair" or "poor." For me personally, I would also want to see the Administration before the Hague, have all the appointed judges removed from the bench and Gore installed as the rightful President for 8 years. But for now, I will need to live vicariously though Dennis' testicles. SPECIAL NOTE: Wikipedia To Delete Town Called Dobson Entry. Wikipedia is far from perfect. Last year I stopped donating to Wikipedia due to their notability policy. Other than being vague, it allows "admins" to delete entries at will and usually without cause, justification or accountability. When the community votes to keep an article, admins have in the past EDITED the voting to reflect their personal wishes. No joke. Last week, without warning, Town Called Dobson was selected for "rapid deletion" for the reason of non-notability. Even though, TCD has appeared in print, won awards, has over 300,000 hits in Google and has over 100,000 readers a day, via its front page status on many leading blogs, it has been classified as non-notable. The best way to rectify this is write an article about TCD or political webcomics in general and mention TCD. Then go and add that link to the Reference section of the TCD article. If the editing system of Wikipedia is too daunting (it is a steep learning curve) send me the link and I will have the guy that maintains the entry to post it. If you are a newspaper reporter or editor, slip in an article about TCD! (long shot I know, but I am not above begging.) If you have used TCD graphics for use in a protest or campaign, please blog about the event and post it. TCD licensed under the creative commons agreement, so that is legal. Lastly, I want to thank all of my readers. You folks have meant a lot to me over the last 3+ years.

Kucinich: A Monk On the Road From Burma

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge With all the noise on mainstream media and fake rage from the White House over the slaughter in Burma, still we have only one candidate that has declared himself the peace candidate. Even in this time of the Iraq war where most of the population wants to bring the troops home, we only have ONE peace candidate. That is a disconnect I cannot puzzle out. I can understand the Republicans - the reach-around party, wanting to "double Gitmo" and wage continuous war, but the top three Dem candidates are as strong as watered-down tea when it comes to peace. Is it safe to discuss peace in Burma because it is "near that Viet-Cong place?" Or does BushCo simple want the regime to chill so his corporate junta can get back to business? As I try to ponder this, I am just going to sit around and Text PEACE to Dennis. God knows my elected officials aren't taking my calls.

Dennis “Firewall” Kucinich

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeThis is Part 6 of the series "I No Longer Fear The Kucinich Revolution." Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Looking at where we are at as a nation, we are in the same place with our domestic issues as where Cleveland was in 1977 when Dennis Kucinich was elected Mayor. When Kucinich took office, the city was out of control. The city was the leader of the newly emerging "Rust Belt." City corruption was rampant, especially with the city's police department. In essence, Kucinich took the most unwanted and thankless job in America because he had a vision of a better Cleveland, Ohio. During his tenure as Mayor, he began the long painful process of turning the city around and he risked his political career as well as his life to do so - to build a better Cleveland. Undoing decades of neglect, abuse and corruption cannot be completed overnight or in four years, but Kucinich's contribution to the city was to play the role of firewall or intervention counselor. He did his job so well, Republicans that had the job after him, praised his work as being visionary and the city would not be where it is today without his management of they city when it was in its darkest days. I would submit to you we need a firewall in the White House because the Virus In Chief is spreading out of control. Those who think they are throwing there vote away who also think Kucinich is the best for the job, well, that is just malware in the system.

Kucinich: Bulletproof Monk

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge This is Part 5 of the series "I No Longer Fear The Kucinich Revolution." Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 This strip isn't really about the mafia assassin that was sent to murder Kucinich, Grassy Knoll style during the Columbus Day Parade while he was Mayor of Cleveland. This strip is about the shield that grows around a person when they lead a life of honest work and wholesome living. I am not claiming Kucinich is perfect - but he does his job, and he does his job well. You have never seen Kucinich giving Masonic-level secret handshakes under the bathroom stall. You will never hear Kucinich say, "I spread my legs when I pull my pants down." He will never say it to a vice cop nor will he say it to a lobbyist. Kucinich has put everything on the line, and I do mean everything, for We the People. He did is as Mayor when he protected the assets of the people of Cleveland and he does it every day with his seat in Congress. If we, as progressives, keep voting for the person we think we can win, we are abject and total failures as Citizens. We are betraying everything Paine, Jefferson and Henry stood for - honesty, equality and freedom. Those three Americans had a vision for America that has yet to be fully realized. During the Bush Administration, we have taken many, many steps backwards from this vision. Under previous administrations, we took small, baby-steps forward. Lincoln did, however, suffer through a gusher of forward movements but the rest of American History is littered with small steps forward, until now. The other candidates in the field I believe will be better than Bush, way better, but I don't see anything in their policy speeches, voting records or position papers that illustrate a path to move us back to where we should be in 2009 after Clinton/Gore dropped us off in 2001. Most of the candidates only have plans on repairing barely half of the damage Bush has done... with the exception of Kucinich. His record, plans and policies all reflect quantum leaps in government, bringing us to a position of being able to manufacture goods in this nation again. Allowing us to feed our families, educate our kids and stay healthy. Baby step measures - do you really think they will do any good? Do you think they will even bring us back to where we were in 1992? Bush must own a time machine because he has wound back the hands of time to place this nation in the deep past. This nation is totally unrecognizable to me - the United States is at the bottom of the list in damn near anything. We had a better literacy rating in 1877 when Laura Ingalls Wilder was living in a Little House On The Prairie. Hell, my grandmother took Latin in 5th grade as a requirement back in the early 1900's and that was PUBLIC SCHOOL IN WEST VIRGINIA! And Obama's baby-steps are supposed to be some foundational culture shift for the American future? I don't think so. He got the beat down when he just mentioned talking with rogue states might be a good idea - then he backtracked like Louis and Clark. Oh yeah, that must be that spine we hear so much about. I'll take Ultra-K any day.

I no longer fear the Kucinich Revolution: Part 4

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge In Parts One and Two, I discussed the support Kucinich has and the irrational fear also associated with electing Kucinich. In Part Three, I discussed Kucinich's time as Mayor of Cleveland and how the GOP slander machine stating "he drove Cleveland into bankruptcy" is an out right lie. Today we are moving on to the real important stuff - issues. I have heard a lot of talk from the candidates stating "any Democrat running for President will be better than Bush." I believe that sentiment is true. But I also believe there are varying degrees of HOW MUCH BETTER they will be than Bush. In the comments in the previous parts of this series, there are claims that the changes we (The People) want to make to this country "can't be done." "The shift is too fast, these things will take time to change." Oh I hope not. We have 50 million people in this nation without health care. The rest of us have health insurance that is precarious. My wife just got a letter from our policy holder, Blue Cross, asking whether her recent yearly physical was the result of a work related injury - she has been out of the workforce for over ten years, yet we had to go through the damn motions with these chuckle-heads to get the claim paid. If it was something serious like cancer, I can't imagine the red tape that would get thrown at our face. With Americans daily needing health care that either allows them to live or die, this is not a problem we can gradually ease our way out of. We need swift, decisive legislation and leadership to get us out of this mess. Kucinich is the lone candidate that has universal health care for all as part of his platform - everyone else is offering "insurance." I have enough of insurance. Haven't you? Our jobs are being sucked out of this country at an alarming rate. A very alarming rate. When I was growing up in the real town of Dobson, NC, the town of 1,200 people was teeming with textile mills. They were everywhere. Even the gas station across from the court house had rented out one of the car repair bays to a guy who was making socks day and night. Jobs were plentiful, parents could send their kids to UNC or NC State and there was enough money to retire at 60. That was the horrible days of the Carter Administration in 1980. When Reagan got into office, the borders began to open for business and the jobs from my hometown were siphoned off and weren't replaced with new jobs. Now, the number one industry in North Carolina is logging. People in that Congressional District (NC-05) have had to go through "skill retraining" several times since then. You simply can't have a single career anymore in rural America. Hell, you can't even keep the same employer for more than four years - right about when you would receive matching funds for your 401K you find yourself out of work. Now, 27 years later, our economic base, the middle class has been pushed off a cliff and they (we) are tumbling toward a very nasty end. Our open border policies need to be clamped shut and not over the span of three decades. We need to exit NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT and the WTO today, now, 10 minutes ago. Which candidate has this as a policy? Take a guess. Kucinich. And oddly enough, this actually makes him appealing to conservatives. This brings us to the mother-fucking war. BushCo wants another $50 billion on top of all the other requests. Hillary wants to keep troops there, Obama wants to take our time getting out of Iraq. Biden wants to split Iraq into three pieces and keep troops there (that means we will be fighting a six front civil war). No thanks. We need out, we need out now. Kucinich is the only one willing to state the obvious - the war was a failure and we need to get out. He was the only one in the race not snookered into voting for the damn thing to begin with. Hillary was for the war up until six months before the 2006 election. If it took her that long to figure out the war was an idiotic idea, then for me, she doesn't have the mental capabilities to get this nation out of the cesspool of despair we are in. If you look at Kucinich's voting record and his anthology of submitted legislation over the past 10 years, they read as if written by someone with prescient abilities. I am not saying he is a soothsayer or a prophet from Ohio, I am saying he is one smart guy and we need more of people like him in Congress, not less. Our nation is in serious trouble and we have long since passed the point where half-measures would make any difference. Unless we get a President that is willing to actually take, Honest-To-God bold steps, we may be seeing the last days of Jefferson's America. Hillary, Obama and Edwards would be an improvement to what we currently have in the White House, but their histories show they are ill-equipped to handle the challenges ahead of us. Only Dennis Kucinich has risked ridicule and even his political career to do the right thing. His political past has been nothing BUT a series of career-ending decisions, but every decision has been for the benefit for the citizens, never corporate interests. That is why he keeps getting re-elected. He is the only one that has ever gone out on a limb for We The People. Now, I wonder how many VOTERS will join him? How many will join the Second American Revolution?

I no longer fear the Kucinich Revolution: Part 2

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge Read Part 1 HERE. Going back and watching Kucinich in earlier debates via YouTube, one thing I noticed was how he usually said thank-you for the question and was always very polite but firm and stern in his beliefs. Since I published Part 1, I heard in response two distinct voices, "Thank God people are starting to get Kucinich!" and the other was "He can't win." Well, neither can Hillary but that doesn't stop people from supporting her and dumping stink-loads of cash in her bank account. She is the only Democratic candidate that will motivate conservatives to come to the polls and vote AGAINST her. Obama and Edwards don't fuel that level of hatred. And in America, that is saying a LOT about Obama. At least America is maturing on ONE issue. There was one other minority position, but it was the most disturbing. Paraphrasing here, "We tried voting our beliefs with McGovern and you saw where that got us!" Friends, the Republicans ALWAYS vote on their beliefs and they are more successful than the Democrats. Why must progressives lower their standards? The Republicans don't. Since I have been voting, conservatives got two terms for Reagan, one for Bush Senior and TWO for Bush Junior - the later being the WORST PRESIDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. The fact isn't the Dems fail because they vote their beliefs, the Dems fail because that can't articulate what they believe in. Jesse Helms was bat-shit crazy but he constantly won and he had NO problem articulating his beliefs. Well, this is true to a point. Dennis Kucinich always speaks his mind, directly to the point with nary a waver. You know where he stands. My question is, do you know where YOU stand? SPECIAL FAVOR SECTION Never let it be said liberals don't support the troops. During the first Gulf War, I began collecting books to send to my college friends serving in Saudi Arabia. I must have sent hundreds of books. When US troops got deployed to Iraq, I started doing it again but I knew the job was too big for one person to do it, so I set up Books For Soldiers, a 501 (c)(3) charity to send free books, dvds and video games to deployed US soldiers. But I wasn't that smart since I only thought the war would last 6 weeks tops in Iraq. What was I thinking? Now, FOUR years later, we are still shipping books. But today I need your help. There is a contest sponsored by VAJoe.com, they will contribute $2,000 to charitable military organizations next month in its Charity for Charities event. You can vote on your favorite charitable military organizations. The top four charitable organizations and a randomly selected organization will share $2,000 in donations from VAJoe. Books for Soldiers has been included in the event. The Alexa Traffic Rank for BooksForSoldiers.com is 242,975 and you would not believe our bandwidth bills! So these next few days, I am asking (begging actually) for your vote for Books For Soldiers. It won't take you 30 seconds to help a liberal out! CLICK HERE TO VOTE! A short, fast and easy site registration is required. P.S. Thank-you Michael Moore for supporting BFS. P.P.S. if you just want to donate, click here.

I no longer fear the Kucinich Revolution.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge Most folks I know have a preferred candidate - Hillary, Obama, Edwards or Gore. But the crazy thing is, they will turn right around and say, “you know who I really want to vote for? Kucninch.” I have those same feelings - I love Kucinich and think he would make the best President. His values most closely resemble my own. Why not vote for him? Irrational fear. Total fear that the Republicans will lie about Kucinich and Fred Thompson will win the election. Wait, the GOP is gonna lie anyway, no matter what, so why the fear? One thing I finally noticed about Kucinich during the AFL-CIO debate was how Kucinich always made more points during his alloted time than other candidates. I have been thinking about this and found the answer when I was reading the transcript. Kucinich doesn’t equivocate. He doesn’t dance around an issue - he goes straight for the explanation and since his past is not littered with idiotic support of bad bills, HE has nothing to fear, so why do I? Yes, why do I fear? Do I think Hillary can win? No. I think she loses the election, the second she is nominated. Isn’t THAT something to fear? Do we think Fred Thompson, Gingrich or whatever other ass-wipe the GOP nominates will give a shit about universal healthcare, the environment or peace? Nope, it will be a straight continuation of 8 years of BushCo. Isn’t my fear displaced? Who is the strongest Democrat in Congress? Kucinich. What Congressman never LOST their spine in the politically crushing days after 9-11? Kucinich. Who knows how to answer a direct question asked by We The People? Kucinich. I think something changed for Kucinich during the AFL-CIO debate - I can’t put my finger on it, but something changed. Maybe it was his eagerness to address We The People with truth, honesty and integrity? Maybe it was just the other candidates equivocating on whatever nonsense answer their staff prepared for them months ago? Maybe it was because the other candidates showed fear and Kucinich didn’t. He never flinched. That is leadership as I see it. And from this point forward I will NOT fear to support Kucinich. He is just like me. My values are the same as his. If I was in Congress, I would vote like he does. I no longer fear. I refuse to allow the GOP to manipulate me into supporting lesser candidates. That just might be called courage. SPECIAL FAVOR SECTION Never let it be said liberals don't support the troops. During the first Gulf War, I began collecting books to send to my college friends serving in Saudi Arabia. I must have sent hundreds of books. When US troops got deployed to Iraq, I started doing it again but I knew the job was too big for one person to do it, so I set up Books For Soldiers, a 501 (c)(3) charity to send free books, dvds and video games to deployed US soldiers. But I wasn't that smart since I only thought the war would last 6 weeks tops in Iraq. What was I thinking? Now, FOUR years later, we are still shipping books. But today I need your help. There is a contest sponsored by VAJoe.com, they will contribute $2,000 to charitable military organizations next month in its Charity for Charities event. You can vote on your favorite charitable military organizations. The top four charitable organizations and a randomly selected organization will share $2,000 in donations from VAJoe. Books for Soldiers has been included in the event. The Alexa Traffic Rank for BooksForSoldiers.com is 242,975 and you would not believe our bandwidth bills! So these next few days, I am asking (begging actually) for your vote for Books For Soldiers. It won't take you 30 seconds to help a liberal out! CLICK HERE TO VOTE! A short, fast and easy site registration is required. P.S. Thank-you Michael Moore for supporting BFS.

It is time for some serious talk about impeachment

I saw the link to this video a couple days ago, I guess. I didn't finally decide to watch it until Maryscott O'Connor promoted it to the front page at My Left Wing, with these words (Kucinich may not be the most convincing messenger we have to send out to middle America; then again, what the f*ck do I know about Middle America, anyway? Maybe this earnest little man, in his earnest, soft-spoken way, can reach those people who turn away at the first sound of the strident, shrieking, raging voices like mine... Sadly, I think that his voice doesn't reach people at all. If it does, it comes filtered through the multi-millionaire media (hat tip to skippy) which "helpfully" provides the context by saying something about his "longshot bid" for the presidency. So I guess I've been a bit cowed from even mentioning Kucinich, because I would need to brace for the inevitable derisive comments on some sites. Or, with Dean people, the topic of that deal he made with Edwards in 2004 in Iowa. But, then I watched the video I included at the top of this post (transcript here). He's saying things that need to be said. Heck, at the beginning of the video, he says things that *I* have said, sitting at this very computer. My fellow Americans. We are in an interesting condition in this country, where we are told to take impeachment off the table, and keep on the table a U.S. military attack against Iran. I ask that you watch the video and/or read the transcript, and focus on the message rather than the messenger. And after you check out what Rep. Kucinich has to say about this moment in our nation's history, take a look at the tone of Bush's recent refusal to have his staff testify under oath. This is a man who is daring Congress to impeach him. This isn't about supporting Dennis Kucinich's campaign. This is about drawing attention to someone who is saying something important, and adding our voices to his. More discussion of the impeachment issue here: Impeachment on a Silver Platter--No Strings Attached!