winning

An Excellent Writer Graciously Consented

to allow me to repost a wonderful essay from DailyKos comments here at corrente.

(Hat tip to DKos poster BeninSC.)

Of COURSE we can lift the discourse!

We do it every NIGHT here in Top Comments. Every night.

(Spoiler alert: this is a LONG comment. ;x )

The idea that we are too ’small’ or too ’few’ to make a change is the greatest challenge to democracy that we face in this country (I am certain it is not a feeling exclusive to here). It is a thought which builds depression consequences. Democrats, particularly in red states, ask themselves the same question, come voting time, and all too often the answer is, my vote isn’t going to matter, my vote is too small, too insignificant, too inconsequential … those voting like me are too few …

If you regard conservatives as a terrible political adversary, that is nothing compared to the inner adversary of the idea that there isn’t much we can do.

Please take time to read it all in its original glory here:
BeninSC.

I have taken the liberty of reproducing it just  Read more 

Listen to the Doctor ...

So, I got an email from this guy today, and he usually sends me emails that are worth reading. This one’s worth repeating.

Dear Other Sarah,

There’s a lot being said about the primary process right now. I wanted to reach out to you and let you know how things look from where I stand.

First, I think we’ll have a nominee before the convention. It’s still early, and there are plenty of voters who still haven’t weighed in.

I also think that we’re fortunate to have two fantastic candidates that people are excited about — we’ve consistently had record turnout across the country, and whoever wins will have the support of a healthy Party that’s ready to fight. Hillary and Barack are meeting voters in places that don’t typically get to see our candidates so closely, and that’s good for both of them come November.

They’re both campaigning hard, and it’s great to see such excitement for two great candidates — I’m excited about them, too.

But while our process continues to play out, we can’t afford to sit around and wait. We must start right now — we can’t let John McCain get a head start.

While the pundits on TV talk about what it all means, we can get to work. … Don’t be fooled, John McCain isn’t a “maverick” at all. He’s loved by the media, but he’ll be a disaster for our country.

He’s been a vocal supporter of George Bush’s strategy in Iraq, and he’s said that he wants to be there for another hundred years. He’s committed to appointing judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade and privatizing Social Security. And he’s admitted that he doesn’t understand the economy, which would leave millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet.

He’s so bad that U.S. News and World Report recently revealed that the White House is thrilled to have John McCain picking up where they’re leaving off…

What’s behind President Bush’s expansive praise for John McCain? The president has become convinced that McCain will be an effective and strong defender of the Bush legacy in the general election campaign this fall, White House advisers to U.S. News. […] In an interview broadcast yesterday on FOX News Sunday, Bush went further than he ever has in analyzing the 2008 presidential race. He came close to endorsing McCain outright, praising him more than he did McCain’s competitor in the race, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

White House officials tell U.S. News that Bush is eager to help McCain as the party standard-bearer, mainly in three areas: helping to rally conservatives behind McCain, raising money for the Republican Party, and framing the political debate to portray the Democrats as tax-and-spend liberals who would prematurely remove U.S. troops from Iraq and endanger national security.

John McCain gives George Bush the third term he always wanted.

The guy who wrote me this email is Dr. Howard Dean, and he’s got more to say over the jump (and so do I)  Read more 

Peace Granny Triumph Friday

The Oregon Peace Grandmas, arrested after an action in which the most violent act appears to have been the throwing of some poster paint on a window, for which deed they were compared by the prosecutor to the suicide hijackers of 9-11…were acquitted. The news comes from the infinitely admirable FreewayBlogger, who got it out of the Portland (OR) Indymedia:

A Multnomah County jury found five grandparents charged with “unlawfully and intentionally causing substantial inconvenience to the United States” not guilty of Criminal Mischief in the 3rd degree on Thursday, December 13. Judge Richard Baldwin heard the case which stems from a silent vigil held by the Surge Protection Brigade, also know as the Seriously Pissed Off Grannies,  Read more