Blogswarm - Online Political News Magazine

It looks like David Paul Kuhn, a CBS political scribbler, may be looking to hide behind more than just the company lawyers after attacking Duncan Black.

Unlike politicians, bloggers are not public figures and Mr. Black's history of writing under the name "Atrios" on his blog is further evidence that he should enjoy the same protections as any other American.

Yet Kuhn refers to him by his name, not his writing name, in CBS News piece full of inaccurate claims.

Now that we have a Democratic Governor in Montana it is time to have the discussion about planning the retirement of Senator Max Baucus.

Max Baucus isn't a Mike Mansfield. He isn't a Rankin. He isn't a Metcalf. He isn't a Williams. He is a disgrace to Montana's proud history of sending legislative titans to DC.

His unofficial slogan is "I've sold out so I'm not crazy like the other Democrats."

Max realizes a strong Democratic Party will dump him so he has invested next to nothing in organizing (except to organize around his slogan).

Congressman Williams retired rather than run state-wide at the same time as Baucus with his "suck all of the air out of the room" campaigns. This cost Democrats one of our great leaders.

Governor Schweitzer will be the foil for Max in 2008 if Baucus runs for re-election and if history is a guide Baucus will not hestitate to run a "Vote for me and the GOP" campaign by attempting to triangulate against the Governor.

Not only will Baucus probably sink Schweitzer and many down-ticket Democrats, but if the GOP runs someone other than a "gay hairdresser" they will easily win because Max has such soft support.

Max is a joke in Montana, especially in Democratic circles with support as soft as Gray Davis had in his final days.

As a sitting senator, Baucus will always have enough money to prevent the Montana Democratic Party from conducting the type of grassroots organizing necessary for long-term success.

Now that Montana finally has a Democratic Governor we have a rare opportunity to appoint somebody (Steve Doherty?) that can fullfill Montana's historic obligation to sentd legislative power-houses to DC.

If Max does not retire, he will probably lose the seat to the GOP while also costing us the Governor's mansion and the legislature.

So let's ask him to retire.

According to Section 13-25-202 of Montana Code, the most strategic time for Senator Baucus to retire is following an election (such as RIGHT after Schweitzer is sworn in). This will allow his replacement the most time to maximize incumbency prior to standing for re-election.

Please contact the office of Senator Baucus, thank them for 30 years of service and but tell them the time has come...

Washington D.C.
511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2651
(202) 224-4700 (Fax)
(800) 332-6106 (from MT)

Billings
222 North 32nd Street
Suite 100
Billings, MT 59101
(406) 657-6790

Bozeman
Federal Building, Room 114
32 East Babcock
Bozeman, MT 59715
(406) 586-6104

Butte
Silver Bow Center
125 West Granite
Butte, MT 59701
(406) 782-8700

Great Falls
113 3rd Street North
Great Falls, MT 59401
(406) 761-1574
(406) 452-1117 (TDD)

Helena
Empire Block
30 West 14th Street
Helena, MT 59601
(406) 449-5480

Kalispell
75 Claremont STE I
Kalispell, MT 59901
(406) 756-1150

Missoula
1821 South Avenue West
Suite 203
Missoula, MT 59801
(406) 329-3123
(202) 224-1998 (TDD)

Governor Dean's GWU Speech Transcript

Remarks made by Governor Howard Dean on the Future of the Democratic Party. Given at The George Washington University on December 8, 2004.

Thank you for that introduction. It's a pleasure to be here.

Let me tell you what my plan for this Party is:

We're going to win in Mississippi
...and Alabama
...and Idaho
...and South Carolina.

Four years ago, the President won 49 percent of the vote. The Republican Party treated it like it was a mandate, and we let them get away with it.

Fifty one percent is not a mandate either. And this time we're not going to let them get away with it.

Our challenge today is not to re-hash what has happened, but to look forward, to make the Democratic Party a 50-state party again, and, most importantly, to win.

To win the White House and a majority in Congress, yes. But also to do the real work that will make these victories possible -- to put Democratic ideas and Democratic candidates in every office -- whether it be Secretary of State, supervisor of elections, county commissioner or school board member.

Here in Washington, it seems that after every losing election, there's a consensus reached among decision-makers in the Democratic Party is that the way to win is to be more like Republicans.

I suppose you could call that philosophy: if you didn't beat 'em, join them.

I'm not one for making predictions -- but if we accept that philosophy this time around, another Democrat will be standing here in four years giving this same speech. we cannot win by being "Republican-lite." We've tried it; it doesn't work.
The question is not whether we move left or right. It's not about our direction. What we need to start focusing on... is the destination.

There are some practical elements to the destination.

The destination of the Democratic Party requires that it be financially viable, able to raise money not only from big donors but small contributors, not only through dinners and telephone solicitations and direct mail, but also through the Internet and person-to-person outreach.

The destination of the Democratic Party means making it a party that can communicate with its supporters and with all Americans. Politics is at its best when we create and inspire a sense of community. The tools that were pioneered in my campaign -- like blogs, and meetups, and streaming video -- are just a start. We must use all of the power and potential of technology as part of an aggressive outreach to meet and include voters, to work with the state parties, and to influence media coverage.

The most practical destination is winning elective office. And we must do that at every level of government. The way we will rebuild the Democratic Party is not from consultants down, but from the ground up.

We have some successes to build on. We raised more money than the RNC, and we did so by attracting thousands of new small donors. This is the first time in my memory that the DNC is not coming out of a national campaign in debt. We trained tens of thousands of new activists. We put together the most sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation our Party has ever had. We registered millions of new voters, including a record number of minority and young voters. And we saw those new voters overwhelmingly vote Democrat.

Now we need to build on our successes while transforming the Democratic Party into a grassroots organization that can win in 50 states.

I have seen all the doomsday predictions that the Democratic Party could shrink to become a regional Party. A Party of the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest.


We cannot be a Party that seeks the presidency by running an 18-state campaign. We cannot be a party that cedes a single state, a single District, a single precinct, nor should we cede a single voter.

As many of the candidates supported by my organization Democracy for America showed -- people in places that we've too long ignored are hungry for an alternative; they're hungry for new ideas and new candidates, and they're willing to elect Democrats.

Since we started Democracy for America last March, we raised over $5 million, mostly from small donors. That money was given to 748 candidates in 46 states and at every level of government.

We helped a Democratic governor get elected in Montana and a Democratic mayor get elected in Salt Lake County, Utah.

We helped Lori Saldana in San Diego. Lori, a Latina grassroots environmental organizer was outspent in both the primary and the general, won a seat on the state assembly.
We also helped Anita Kelly become the first African-American woman elected to her circuit court in Montgomery Alabama.

Fifteen of the candidates who we helped win last month never ran for elective office before.

And in Texas, a little known candidate who had been written off completely ran the first competitive race against Tom Delay in over a decade.

There are no red states or blue states, just American states. And if we can compete at all levels and in the most conservative parts of the country, we can win ... at any level and anywhere.

People will vote for Democratic candidates in Texas, and Alabama, and Utah if we knock on their door, introduce ourselves, and tell them what we believe.

There is another destination beyond strong finances, outreach, and campaigns.

That destination is a better, stronger, smarter, safer, healthier America.

An America where we don't turn our back on our own people.

That's the America we can only build with conviction.

When some people say we should change direction, in essence they are arguing that our basic or guiding principles can be altered or modified.

They can't.

On issue after issue, we are where the majority of the American people are.

What I want to know is at what point did it become a radical notion to stand up for what we believe?

Over fifty years ago, Harry Truman said, "We are not going to get anywhere by trimming or appeasing. And we don't need to try it."

Yet here we are still making the same mistakes.

Let me tell you something: there's only one thing Republican power brokers want more than for us to lurch to the left -- and that's for us to lurch to the right.

What they fear most is that we may really begin fighting for what we believe -- the fiscally responsible, socially progressive values for which Democrats have always stood and fought.

I'll give this to Republicans. They know the America they want. They want a government so small that, in the words of one prominent Republican, it can be drowned in a bathtub.

They want a government that runs big deficits, but is small enough to fit into your bedroom.
They want a government that is of, by, and for their special interest friends.

They want a government that preaches compassion but practices division.

They want wealth rewarded over work.

And they are willing to use any means to get there.

In going from record surpluses to record deficits, the Republican Party has relinquished the mantle of fiscal responsibility.

And now they're talking about borrowing another $2 trillion to take benefits away from our Senior Citizens.

In going from record job creation to record job loss, they have abandoned the mantle of economic responsibility.

In cutting health care, education, and community policing programs... and in failing to invest in America's inner cities, or distressed rural communities... they certainly have no desire to even claim the mantle of social responsibility.

In their refusal to embrace real electoral reform or conduct the business in government in the light of day, they are hardly the model of civic responsibility.

In their willingness to change the rules so that their indicted leaders can stay in power, they have even given up any claim on personal responsibility.

And in starting an international conflict based on misleading information, I believe they have abdicated America's moral responsibility, as well.

There is a Party of fiscal responsibility... economic responsibility.... social responsibility... civic responsibility... personal responsibility... and moral responsibility.

It's the Democratic Party.

We need to be able to say strongly, firmly, and proudly what we believe.

Because we are what we believe.

And we believe every person in America should have access to affordable health care. It is wrong that we remain the only industrialized nation in the world that does not assure health care for all of its citizens.

We believe the path to a better future goes directly through our public schools. I have nothing against private schools, parochial schools and home schooling. Parents with the means and inclination should choose whatever they believe is best for their children. But those choices must never come at the expense of what has been -- and must always be -- the great equalizer in our society -- public education.

We believe that if you put in a lifetime of work, you have earned a retirement of dignity -- not one that is put at risk by your government or unethical business practices.

The first time our nation balanced its budget, it was Andrew Jackson, father of the Democratic Party, who did it. The last time our nation balanced its budget, it was Bill Clinton who did it. I did it every year as Governor. Democrats believe in fiscal responsibility and we're the only ones who have delivered it.

We believe that every single American has a voice and that it should be heard in the halls of power everyday. And it most certainly must be heard on Election Day. Democracies around the world look to us as a model. How can we be worthy of their aspirations when we haven't done enough to guarantee accurate elections for our own citizens.

We believe in a strong and secure America... And we believe we will be stronger by having a moral foreign policy.

We need to embrace real political reform -- because only real reform will pry government from the grasp of the special interests who have made a mockery of reform and progress for far too long.

The pundits have said that this election was decided on the issue of moral values. I don't believe that. It is a moral value to provide health care. It is a moral value to educate our young people. The sense of community that comes from full participation in our Democracy is a moral value. Honesty is a moral value.

If this election had been decided on moral values, Democrats would have won.

It is time for the Democratic Party to start framing the debate.

We have to learn to punch our way off the ropes.

We have to set the agenda.

We should not hesitate to call for reform -- reform in elections, reform in health care and education, reforms that promote ethical business practices. And, yes, we need to talk about some internal reform in the Democratic Party as well, and I'll be discussing that more specifically in the days ahead.

Reform is the hallmark of a strong Democratic Party.

Those who stand in the way of reform cannot be the focus of our attention for only four months out of every four years.

Reform is a daily battle.

And we must pursue those reforms with conviction -- every day, at all levels, in 50 states.

A little while back, at a fundraiser, a woman came up to me. She identified herself as an evangelical Christian from Texas. I asked her what you are all wondering -- why was she supporting me. She said there were two reasons. The first was that she had a child who had poly-cystic kidney disease, and that illness made it impossible for their family to get health care.

The second thing she said was, "The other reason we're with you is because evangelical Christians are people of deep conviction, and you're a person of deep conviction. I may not agree with you on everything, but what we want more than anything else from our government is that when something happens to our family or something happens to our country -- it's that the people in office have deep conviction."

We are what we believe. And the American people know it.

And I believe that over the next two... four... ten years...

Election by election...

State by state...

Precinct by precinct...

Door by door...

Vote by vote...

We're going to lift our Party up...

And we're going to take this country back for the people who built it.

If you've been following the votes for the Kos DNC Chair scoreboard you've probably noticed that Martin Frost started out very well.

Then he fell behind.

Then his support flopped.

Looking at the comments in the relevant thread I believe it is fair to deduce that has campaign self-destructed because of the following revelations:

Frost ran TV ads showing his support of Bush while claiming he was more Bush-like than his GOP opponent

Frost's recent back to back losses where he embarrassed himself while losing his congressional seat (see above) and embarrassed himself with his criticism of Nancy Pelosi when she overwhelmingly beat him in the Democratic Caucus

That Frost's focus on "strengthening" the Party is translated to mean more of the same (i.e. losing) while he does his best to shift our Party to the right (i.e. losing worse).

Why is Frost so unpopular?

I think we need to examine this before we consider him a potential candidate to lead our Party. Why is it that the grassroots hate Frost?

Please use this thread to post your reasons.

Leadership: Reid, Pelosi, DNC Chair and Swing Voters
Mon Dec 6th, 2004 at 09:34:33 PST

"Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise. Once and again one of those great influences which we call a Cause arises in the midst of a nation. Men of strenuous minds and high ideals come forward.... The attacks they sustain are more cruel than the collision of arms.... Friends desert and despise them.... They stand alone and oftentimes are made bitter by their isolation.... They are doing nothing less than defy public opinion, and shall they convert it by blows. Yes."
- Woodrow Wilson "Leaders of Men, An Address" (June 17, 1890)

Yesterday's diary on Harry Reid has launched what I think has been a very positive discussion about what we (the grassroots, netroots and blogosphere) are seeking from our Democratic leadership.

Taking a step back from the question of how Senator Reid is performing as a Minority Leader and evaluating what we desire in our leaders will hopefully provide a construct under which we can judge not just Reid, but Pelosi and the candidates running for Chair of the DNC. At this juncture in our Party's history I believe it is imperative for Democrats to have this discussion.

While the overwhelming number of recommendations for yesterday's dairy speak to it's merit, some people assumed some things about me that (while irrelevant to the debate) seem to also speak towards what I believe to be Democrats' crisis in wanting to appear moderate at the expense of leadership. I believe this to be a false dichotomy and fundamentally flawed proposition. I am a moderate and I am probably more moderate than most of the posters here. When I have been involved in Democratic primary campaigns, I have seemed to always end up on the side of the moderate (even though that isn't why I supported them). When you consider that many of these primaries have been in the red state of Montana you'll see that I'm not some flaming liberal one toke shy of joining the Green Party. But as a moderate Democrat I support the Party in spite of it's moderation, not because of it.

When I examine politicians I look first to their leadership qualities. Only after passing this primia facia test do I look at their policy positions. I do not believe I am alone in this reasoning.

First and foremost, I want politicians I can respect. This is why the flip-flopping charge against Kerry was so powerful. A candidate who has strong beliefs and stands up for them as a leader is a known creature. A politician who continually changes stances for political purposes is an unknown...and dangerous.

The political center isn't looking for people to mimic their political beliefs because more often than not, they have little political understanding. These are the people who couldn't decide between Bush and Kerry until October. In the end they didn't decide on issues, they decided that Bush was strong and Kerry was weak; that Bush was a leader and Kerry flip-flopped. Attempting to follow the swing voters creates a situation where the swing voters can not follow us. That goes to the crux of my argument against the recent history of the Democratic Party. Our leadership seems so consumed with attempting to be popular that they forget why they want to be popular. Seeking to be moderate has not worked to engender support from the moderates, it fact it has been counter-productive. By definition, the swing voters aren't closely following political issues. Many swing voters are the type of indecisive people that you dread being stuck behind in line. Their indecisiveness is all the more reason to earn their respect through bold leadership, they desperately need to follow somebody.

This is why I support bold leadership and cringe when I hear our senate leadership declare that the lesson of our losses is that we need to move to the center. The lesson is that we need to lead. This has been empirically proven in recent elections. This is how the GOP advanced from near collapse in 1992 to near dominance in 2004. They are not in control because they are moderate, they are in control because they are willing to lead and they have the appetite to succeed.

If the GOP fights to move further to the right and Democrats seek to move further to the right, which way will we go? In negotiations you begin at a position that will achieve the end result you seek. If we begin by seeking a position to the right of our current situation then we have already lost, the only question is to what extent.

I firmly believe that Democrats can do better. I believe we must do better. I don't believe we should measure our leaders against their predecessors, I believe we should evaluate them based on whether on not they are doing enough. I don't want Reid to do better than Daschle, I want him to do enough. I don't want the next DNC Chair to do better than McAliffe, I want her to do enough. If attempting not to lose hasn't worked, maybe it is time for us to fight to win. Maybe Democrats need offense as much as defense, especially because we are in the minority.

I am a Reform Democrat because I believe we need to reform our Party to create a modern organization that people will respect and follow.

I hope people will list what they seek in a leader. I would like to leave you thinking about our DNC Chair race with another quote from Woodrow Wilson, this was from an address to the YMCA on October 24, 1914:

Be militant! Be an organization that is going to do things! If you can find older men who will give you countenance and acceptable leadership, follow them; but if you cannot, organize separately and dispense with them. There are only two sorts of men to be associated with when something is to be done: Those are young men and men who never grow old.

If we don't believe in learning from our mistakes, maybe we should Draft Gray Davis for DNC Chair.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/6/123433/505

http://www.mydd.com/story/2004/12/6/122814/648

Remember last week how everyone was delighted that Reid was going to have a state of the art WAR ROOM. Matt Stoller was wondering what they needed and everyone was excited that the Senate Democrats were going to enter the 21st century.

Sorry.

No such luck.

Not from Harry Reid.

The point is to communicate better on the radio:

What I've created is a communications center where we're going to take some of the resources that are already there and make sure that when someone comes to the Senate floor to give a speech, that talk radio stations know what that person had to say.

Sorry Harry, but your timing is 80 years too late and you've joined the radio age just in time for the funeral.

Oh, yeah, that stuff about a WAR ROOM, well it isn't a War Room, it is a communications center and hopefully it will be used for dancing. Really:

Well, I think war room designation is something that comes from inside Washington.
[...]
I hope we don't have to go to war.  As I said, Tim, I'd rather dance than fight.

So instead of standing up to the GOP we're going to ask them to dance with us? Even though they just won and they're in no mood do dance with anyone who isn't a far-right winger (ask Spector). So what is Reid going to do to make sure that we can dance instead of fight?

MR. RUSSERT:  In 1994, when the Republicans seized control of both houses of Congress, this is what Senator Harry Reid said.  "We all have to swallow a little bit of our pride and go toward the middle."

Is that still your advice to the Democrats?

SEN. REID:  I think there's no question about it.

So instead of creating a state of the art WAR ROOM to distribute alternatives we're going to sell out our values because we'd rather be dancing.

Reid isn't going to work as leader, he just doesn't get it. Ask him to save us all a lot of heartache and step down now:

Carson City
600 East Williams Street, #302
Carson City, NV 89701
Phone: 775-882-7343 / Fax: 775-883-1980
Link to Yahoo Maps

Las Vegas
Lloyd D. George Building
333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 8016
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: 702-388-5020 / Fax: 702-388-5030

Reno
Bruce R. Thompson Courthouse and Federal Building
400 South Virginia Street, Suite 902
Reno, NV 89501
Phone: 775-686-5750 / Fax: 775-686-5757

Rural Nevada Mobile Office
Phone: 775-772-3905 / Fax: 775-201-6010

Washington
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542 / Fax: 202-224-7327

We already lost, let's not keep lose worse.

Family Values

Kerik:

Bernard Kerik, the man tasked with protecting the United States from the threat of terrorist attacks, fathered a daughter with a South Korean woman while serving on the peninsula in the mid-1970s, U.S. media reported over the weekend.

Kerik, who was selected to replace Tom Ridge as secretary of the Homeland Security Department on Thursday, had the baby with a woman identified as Sun-ja after arriving in South Korea as a 19-year-old military policeman in December 1974, according to several reports.

The baby, named Lisa, was born in 1975. But Kerik deserted her and her mother when he left the country in February 1976.

I'm not talking about a rodent, I'm talking about the Recreation Access Tax (RAT) that is what economists with a wicked sense of humor refer to as Free Market Environmentalism.

Many Demcrats have stated that they want to win in the west. Well RAT is a perfect issue number one. It began with a poor (double-tax) philosophy, expanded to a counter-productive policy, and in the dead of night was resurrected without debate.

George Ochenski lets us know the story behind RAT:

Like a diseased rodent in a shipping container, a very nasty little RAT--the acronym for the new Recreation Access Tax--was slipped into the federal Omnibus Spending Bill as a rider last weekend and the consequences are not pretty, especially for those of us living in the West.

As the Denver Post put it bluntly in a Sunday editorial: "Get ready to pay through the nose to use your national forests and other public lands. A last-minute plan to charge recreation fees on some federal lands for the next decade was tucked into the 3,000-page appropriations bill that passed Congress last Saturday. The proposal never received even one public hearing and was rammed into law by a congressman who has no public lands in his district. It was lawmaking at its worst."

The father of the RAT is Rep. Ralph Regula, a Republican from Ohio, who was more than happy to slap on a charge to use federal public lands, although he has no federal lands in his congressional district. Rep. Regula abused his position as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee to slap on the RAT rider, despite a clear record of overwhelming dissent from Western senators and congressmen.

Now some of you reading might be thinking: sure it is a double-tax, but if the money helps out the environment isn't it a good thing?

The initial Fee Demo Program was supposed to be just that--a temporary "demonstration" program to see how it worked in practice. But the problems began to arise almost immediately across the spectrum of national public lands. Contrary to its initial intent, a General Accounting Office study found the Fee Demo Program was costing appropriated money to pay formerly nonexistent expenses for enforcement, ticketing and prosecution of those who didn't pay.

So if this has been discredited, how did it end up in the omnibus bill?

To make a long story short, the RAT's father, Rep. Regula, saw the handwriting on the wall and realized Congress would never pass legislation to authorize general fees for using federal lands. Rumor has it that he cut a deal with Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), in which Stevens received pork-barrel funds for building a remote road in Alaska in return for allowing Regula to attach the Recreational Access Tax to the Omnibus Spending Bill in the conference committee without a hearing, debate or full vote on the issue.

Come on, is this really that bad?

When federal agencies abused their new fee authority, a strong anti-fee movement arose at the grassroots level as citizens throughout the nation suddenly found themselves faced with fees to even park on public lands. Then the federal agencies began to charge fines for those who refused to pay and the opposition went thermonuclear.
[...]
To make matters worse, Regula's RAT rider also contains outrageous penalties of $5,000 and six months in jail, thus making criminals out of those who can not or do not pay the fees. As the Denver Post noted: "By comparison, damaging a fragile wetland with an all-terrain vehicle nets just a $75 fine."

OK, so it really is that bad. What does Mr. Ochenski think we should do?

The House of Representatives must vote on the Omnibus Bill before it can be sent to President Bush for his signature. That vote is scheduled to occur Monday, Dec. 6. All citizens who don't want to end up "paying through the nose" to access public lands they already own should let Congress and the White House know their feelings. For those seeking more information, a compendium of news articles on the RAT can be found at www.wildwilderness.org/docs/feedemo.htm.

The Week's Best Diaries You Didn't Read by Newsie8200
Sat Dec 4th, 2004 at 10:19:36 PST

The Week's Best Diaries You Didn't Read

Diaries fly by around here, and some good diaries that don't have attention-grabbing titles get lost in the shuffle and kerfuffle.  That is the reason why a weekly feature titled "The Week's Best Diaries You Didn't Read" got started.  It's posted on Saturday or Sunday, which are generally slow days.  I'll list a few diaries that didn't get much attention but are worth reading, because:

1. they're fabulously written
   
2. they'll educate you on candidates and states.  
   
3. newsworthy items that got lost in the mix

I can't read everything, so feel free to add to the list in the replies.  You can plug your own diary, but if you do, try to highlight someone else's diary, too.  The reason for that is that I don't want the diary to end up a weekly diary-whoring fest.   For previous editions, you can search my diaries for them.

Branding & Advocacy of Democrats & Democratic Policy
Ed. note: It's Democratic Party--Democratic with an "ic."  It's also RWCM. MSM is a freeper term, and while some want to "recapture" MSM, the mainstream media is seen by many as liberal.  It's not exactly the most pro-Dem frame either.  Right-Wing Corporate Media.  To push back "liberal media," you have to have something on the other extreme.  In domestic politics, you don't counteract a bullet with a spitball; you counteract with another bullet.

Straight from KE04 and BC04. A look inside the campaigns by Newsie8200

25 Books or Movies that Made Me a Democrat by stephdray (with backtrack to another good diary by Brian Nowhere)

Operation: Red Alert -- Message Discussion by Aethern

Media Literacy 101: The Kool-aid Antidote by mrsdbrown1 (Teaching high schoolers about the media.)

Conversations with a Radical Theocrat by Delaware Dem

Harry Reid building new Dem war room by daveweigel

Making the DNC listen to the grassroots by JDL

MBNA Cancellation by JenAtlanta

First Steps towards Renewed Democratic Success by fester

Dems for small business, part 1 by electroniceric

More Sunshine on Republicans Now! by Tim from VA

Yes, Virginia, people do convert from conservatism by Maren

Issues, News & People in the News

Ken Starr: "I shouldn't have dealt with Monica. OK, so are you personally going to re-pay the U.S. government $70 million?  Is right-wing sugar daddy Richard Mellon Scaife going to pony up the money?

1260+ by Bohica Sobering.

Topics We used to Care About (follow-up on previous diary) by lsoderman

A soldier from NJ is killed near Ramadi by jdeliaNYC Author knows the soldier KIA.

Wounded vets need our help by randym77 Several ways you can support the troops besides putting a sticker on your car.

Depleted Uranium & Birth Defects (warning: VERY GRAPHIC) by Avila

A Military Funeral by fugitive

Kofi Annan's son behaving like Dick Cheney! Scandalous! by balta1701 Re: oil-for-food investigation

Iraq: "The Generals Love Napalm" by Avila

Jennifer Granholm Responds by ashke The media in Michigan falsely reported her stance on the domestic partnership beneifts for gay couples and other issues accompanying the story.  Anyways, I hope as many people get to read Granholm's rebuttal, because it would be unfair to judge her by the earlier media reports.

Bush to Fish: Drop Dead by existenz

Bush Seeking Psychological Testing for all School Kids Without Parental Consent by Descrates

No Child Left Unmedicated by claude

A Message To Wal-Mart: Buy American by Power

Campus Conservatives Flex Their Muscles by Lancaster

The enemy within: The Fourth Estate? by libby I say the media seems to misinform rather than inform people.  

Medical Marijuana Initiatives Reach the Supreme Court by mad cowan

Ashcroft v. Raich: Medicinal Marijuana Supreme Court Outcome by ttagaris

WaPo: Why Bush Can't Get Good People for His Econ Team by RT Shorter WaPo: "Bush doesn't like dissent."

NC Recount Victory! by Nindec

Congress to cut NSF funding by aureas

Anti-Evolution Teaching Gains Foothold by pyrrho

Liberalism, Academia and the crisis of the left by Ben P Hey Ben P, it may not make the rec list, but it makes this one. ;-)

Do we believe any of this shit anymore? 12k more troops to Iraq by Armando No, we don't. (And the replies in this diary are pretty good.)

CNN Headline: "Pentagon debate rages over 'information operations' in Iraq" by brokenbottle Yea, that the paragraph can be described as ballsy is a sad testimony to our media today.  The media needs to do a better job scrutinize info coming from the Pentagon and the Bush administration. Stenography is old.

NJ Dems move on election reform. by sayitaintso

This is What John Kerry did today by lawnorder So, what's it going to take for Bush to attend a funeral for an Iraqi soldier?  Both Kennedy and Kerry made it to this one. The photo in the replies is heartbreaking, too.  

Tommy Thompson to terrorists: 'Idiots! Poison our food!" by Bob Johnson Do you feel safer? Yea, me neither.  

Get to Know These States, Regions & Their Players
Ed. Note: Make sure to read the replies in these diaries.  Sometimes the diaries that make it here are here for the replies.

If you skipped it, Kos did a story on higher office aspirations and analysis of house seats are throughout the replies. Check 'em out.

In Depth: Mount vs. Boustany (LA-7) Run Off by ttagaris  Run-off in Louisiana occurs Sat, December 4! (per ttagaris's diary)

House 2006: DeLay and DeFeat for Moderate Republicans by RBH

Montana Legislative Recount Ends in a Tie by Ed in Montana

MN Dems' neat stunt by pangolin  

Eastern Washington (specifically Spokane) suffering by murphy

Wild Wild West: Nevada 2006 Senate Race by displacedyankeedemocrat Please see replies.

VA Elections Results and Analysis on Future of VA by jiacinto

VA Election 2005...We can win this! by doctormatt06

Seeing Red: Southern Stories, Part II

The Truth about the South (and how we can win it) by Aethern

More on winning the south -- evidence of good & bad news by surfbird007

Kweisi Mfume MD Gov. or Senator in 2006? by pontificator See the replies.

George Allen Considering Presidential Run in 2008 by John

Hypocritical, Corrupt & Power Hungry Republican COWARD Watch

FYI, Kos did a main story on Earle Firing Back.  The replies were pretty valuable.

Lynne Cheney's "Sisters" published online-- excerpts and download by anna Haha.

Values? Scandal at Christian Coalition: messy divorce, tax fraud, insurance fraud by up2date I'd like to remind all readers of this column that last week Ralph Reed's name came up in a bit of scandal...

RNC Raunch: what they REALLY did in NYC by Plutonium Page

Ethics violations force a Republican in the NH state govt to resign his chair by nonverbalcoma

NH Speaker: Winger Rejected by realnrh A follow-up to the above diary.

Administration Hides Terra Report by Mike S

FL: GOP's Webster Struggles to Find Meaning of Democracy by norwood

The Truth About Bernard Kerik by DemWatch

Corrupt GOP watch from elsewhere in the blogosphere
Republican Nevada Controleer Kathy Augustine faces a state Senate impeachment trial in Nevada    

James Tobin, the man at the center of the 2002 New Hampshire phone-jamming scandal and New England regional head of BC04 has been indicted. There was a dKos diary on this, but it violated rules (no link) so the link is to TPM.  Josh Marshall has posted extensively on Tobin, so do a search at TPM if you want to know more.

FBI searches AIPAC offices again, and got subpoenas for grand jury appearances by four AIPAC staffers .

Bush Channels Stalin

Discredited Swift boat vet seeking conservative handouts... It sounds to me like this guy is swindling conservatives...

DeLay's troubles and that Indian gaming, er, shakedown, scandal.

Bernard Kerik once security chief for Saudi royal family's hospital system. Do the Saudi royal family connections with the GOP ever stop?

Bob Novak's ethics-free zone.

Deep Throat is male.  Ben Bradlee tells us it was a guy who helped bring down that Richard "I'm not a crook." Nixon.

Rudy Giuliani cashing in a chip for good old Kerik.

This Week's Middle Finger Goes to...
NBC's Brian "Tom Brokaw Replacement" Williams
because of what he said about bloggers. Dude, my dorm bathroom is the definition of ugly. I'd never spend extensive amounts of time blogging from there.  

Media Watch

Mr. President, will you answer the question? Dan Froomkin writes about what the White House press corps should do to get Bush to avoid tough questions.

Wow, Chris Matthews actually plays hardball with Rev. Jerry Falwell. Video at crooksandliars.com

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The Week's Best Hall of Fame
If someone's name shows up here, that person probably frequently posts diaries worth reading.  Sometimes these diaries make it to the recommended list, and sometimes they don't.  You may want to consider subscribing to the poster's diaries, because I will no longer be highlighting each diary on the weekly list to save space.  I got tired of  adding them on to the list, and then, taking them off b/c they got main-paged or on to the recommended list.  The only time I will still post their diaries is if it falls under the Corrupt GOP watch section.

Kagro X
Plutonium Page
Jeffrey Feldman & his Frameshop diaries
LiberalRakkasan

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Newsie's Blogosphere PSAs:

Not a blog, but many Democrats served. Many chickenhawks found.  In related news, the son of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has enlisted as a grunt in the airborne infantry.

Diplomats & Military Commanders for Change closes shop, but individuals will continue to speak out. Click here to read the concluding statement.

Humor of the Week: RNC Strip Club Blog If you missed this earlier this year, you've missed a lot.

Blog You Should Be Reading If You're Not Already: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com Josh Marshall has really been on a roll since the election.  I'd always made TPM a part of my daily reading, but for whatever reason, since the election, TPM has been much better IMHO.

Blog You May Want to Check Out: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/ Digby is a great writer, so check out Hullabaloo.

Another Blog You May Want to Check Out: CJRDaily. http://www.campaigndesk.com/ The Columbia Journalism Review has some great media critique and interviews with prominent journalists.

Video clips of pure fun: http://www.crooksandliars.com/ The site authors welcome any video clip requests that you may have.  Email: Crooksandliars@gmail.com

Spread the word: http://www.oliverwillis.com/branddemocrat

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The Personal Lives of Media Hacks Watch

Anderson Cooper: Gay or nay? I'm not sure what the answer is, but what am I supposed to make of the CNN transcript change? Atrios says  Cooper's gay.

John Tierney is one name in the mix for replacing William Safire.  Let's shout from the rooftops...Tierney is a reporter for the NYT, and he's apparently John Stossel-like. NYT even put him up for a Pulitzer.  Liberal bias? Searching...searching...nope, don't see it!  He also used to date Maureen Dowd, she of a staunch Republican family.  Someone find a photo of Tierney, and then, we can have fun manipulating photos of the two of them...what would their babies look like?   Without knowing what Tierney looks like, I'd wager major bucks a Dowd/Tierney kiddo would be much better looking than a Kagan/Limbaugh one.

Boston Globe reporter Nina Easton marries a GOP operative, Russell John Schriefer.

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Big Feet Item for Just This Week
Vice President Dick Cheney's shoe size is 10EEE. Hmm..., well you know what they say about guys with big feet. Somewhere, Andrew Sullivan is smiling. (and if anyone can find that post of Sully's where he says that Cheney's sexier than Edwards, please share...)  

Although, TPM has a far more serious take on it.

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