Could it be?
Bush planning to use Hispanic immigrants for a new draft?
"....The masses rarely catch-on until it is way too late in the game to go back. Every alien, illegal or not, denoted immediately above, that registers for the new three year immigration status will be simultaneously (though likely without knowledge of it) be registering to be selected for service in the United States Army or Marines. They will, along with other Americans chosen, be selected by a lottery system most are familiar with. Their tour of two years minimum will lighten the load on America’s Reserves and National Guard forces deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan presently, and it seems likely in Syria and Iran (but anywhere U.S. forces are deployed) later on in 2004-2008. It hasn’t helped any that there has been some 1,700 deserters from the Iraq war alone. Bush is having trouble convincing the youth of America that to enlist in the Armed Forces is the patriotic thing to do; enlistments is all branches of the military are off drastically. So reinstitution of the draft is a necessity if Bush and Pentagon are to continue their plans for an extended Pentagon “footprint” throughout the world. While there are some 12 million aliens in the United States presently (illegal and legal) Mr. Bush isn’t likely to overlook this unregistered pool of draftees for long..."

"...One can already hear Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity squealing: “If they want the benefits of the American dream they have to accept the obligations which come with these freedoms.” Of course nearly every single talk show host in America has never served their country either and will not be subject to the new draft as they will fall over the 25 year age limit (initially at least)..."

Toronto Star/Tom Harpur:
NASA photo captures sacred
"...One icon, one transcending image towers above all others at this hour--not the cross, not the steeple, not the minaret, not the dome, nor all the sacred books of all the faiths. It is the image of the Earth itself as portrayed by the NASA photo of the planet taken from outer space a few short years ago. A huge reproduction of it should hang prominently in every place of worship, of every creed, denomination, faith, sect, or "ism."



-There are no borders in that world. There are no divisions. Meditating on it leaves all claims by this group or that to have a monopoly on God's truth exposed as absolutely silly; or, even worse, perverse. It speaks transformingly of one God, one world, one brotherhood and sisterhood of all humanity. It trumpets both the beauty and the fragility of our sacred trust in being given stewardship of such a miracle. It convicts the sins of arrogance, avariciousness, indifference, and injustice wherever they are rampant. It evokes a reverence and awe beyond that contained in any temple or shrine. By it, the Great Spirit speaks..."

Universal fascism, freedom betrayed: What is Mr. Bush doing?
".....Bush may be neither a Christian nor a conservative. He is something all-together different; something the world hasn’t seen for many decades, but all-together dangerous and maybe worse than history portends. Yes, for the true believers of the Left, there are much worse things than your skewed view of a Christian conservative. And for Christians on the Right, your views are not held in esteem at this White House. There is a not-so-new breed in charge these days..."

"[Michael] Ledeen has gained notoriety in recent months for the following paragraph in his latest book, The War Against the Terror Masters. In what reads like a prophetic approval of the policy of chaos now being visited on Iraq, Ledeen wrote,

'Creative destruction is our middle name, both within our own society and abroad. We tear down the old order every day, from business to science, literature, art, architecture, and cinema to politics and the law. Our enemies have always hated this whirlwind of energy and creativity, which menaces their traditions (whatever they may be) and shames them for their inability to keep pace. Seeing America undo traditional societies, they fear us, for they do not wish to be undone. They cannot feel secure so long as we are there, for our very existence-our existence, not our politics-threatens their legitimacy. They must attack us in order to survive, just as we must destroy them to advance our historic mission'..."

"...What are we to make of all this? Is this just the isolated mad ramblings of an overwrought mind, an intellectual masturbatory rant the likes we would expect from Michael Savage rather than an American Enterprise Institute intellectual? I fear we must take this all-too-seriously...."

"..There is much to ponder from authors like Detlev J.K. Puekert, Zeev Sternhell, Sebastian Haffner, and the masterwork of Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, who, each in their own way, their own research or memoirs, finds the German people of the inter-war years, like the American people today post 9/11, seemingly, willingly prepared to throw away liberty, the U.S. Constitution, be harangued by a president whose language increasingly fills {mine if not
yours) my ears with a Towering Babel of rant, obfuscation and mediocrity; language better suited to a lower ranking non-commissioned officer. Come-on? “Bring ‘em on!”
-This is not the language of a statesman but a tyrant; language of “you’re either with us or against us.” This is language not befitting a free republic based upon democratic principles and liberty; a nation founded upon dissent and discourse not defamation and vitriol. But like it or not, left or right, free or bond this is the language of the new world order..."

SF Gate runs article about fellow blogger Kos
"...The city that Markos Moulitsas Zuniga runs isn't named Berkeley. It's called Daily Kos...and it's a city in the metaphorical sense, reached by mouse and keyboard...According to the Truth Laid Bear, a blog that tracks blogs, Daily Kos is the second most popular political blog, with about 70,000 visitors a day, trailing only the conservative Instapundit.

Speaking of fellow bloggers, my vote for the TTLB Showcase this week goes to American Amnesia

FYI:
2004 Primary Schedule- State by State
Alabama---June 1...................Nebraska- May 11
Alaska--- No Primary..............Nevada- None
Arkansas-- May 18.................N.H.- Jan 27
Arizona---- Feb 3....................N.J.- June 1
CA.--- Mar 2.................N.M.- June 1,Cauc-Feb 3
Colorado--- No Primary............N.Y.- Mar 2
Connecticut-- Mar 2................N.C.- May 4
Delaware--- Feb 3.........N.D. Caucus-Feb 3
Florida--- Mar 9..........................Ohio Mar 2
Georgia---Mar 2..........................OK.- Feb 3
Hawaii Cauc-Mar 2...........Oregon -May 18
Idaho-- May 25,Cauc-Feb 24.....PA. -Apr 27
Illinois--- Mar 16........................R.I.- Mar 2
Indiana- May 4..........................S.C.- Feb 3
Iowa Jan 19 (Caucus)..............S.D.- June 1
Kansas No Primary...................TN.- Feb 10
Kentucky May 18.....................Texas Mar 9
Louisiana Mar 9.................Utah No Primary
Maine Caucus-Feb 8..........Vermont Mar 2
MA.- Mar 2.........................Virginia Feb 10
MD.- Mar 2...........WA.-Caucus- Feb 7
MI. Caucus- Feb 7.......Wash D. C. Jan 13
MN.-Caucus- Mar 2...........W.V.- May 11
MS.- Mar 9..................Wisconsin Feb 17
MO.- Feb 3.............Wyoming No Primary
Montana- June 8

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iowa is tomorrow!

The New Hampshire primary is January 27th.

On February 3, we'll see primaries in the "Super Seven" states: Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, and North Dakota, New Mexico (last two are caucus states).

Michigan Democratic Caucus comes on Feb 7.
Maine Democratic Caucus is slated for Feb 8.
February 10th bring the Tennessee and Virginia primaries.
Wisconsin wil be Feb 17.

Super Tuesday could indeed be super in 2004, with voting in ten states: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont. (Texas was also supposed to vote on March 2, but because of its redistricting brouhaha, it will be delayed until March 30.
Every campaign will find some hope in the March 2 list, with states West, East, North and South, large and small, not to mention liberal, moderate and conservative all up for grabs. It could be argued that a nominee will emerge on March 3 – or that the political world will wake up to a jumbled mess of several candidates with enough delegates to move on for another week.

March 9 is Southern Tuesday – Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi – and with Bob Graham no longer in the race, Florida, and its 228 delegates, is back in play. After the March 9 votes are counted, 82 percent of the delegates will have been determined and the nominee will most likely be known.

Slice of Grassroots Life-
A Dean Campaigner E-mails home from Iowa:

This is from an e-mail from a dedicated Central New York Dean grassroots campaigner. Currently in Iowa, Vicki writes "home" to the Syracuse For Dean group.

Excerpt:
"......Went out canvassing all day, same thing as petitioning in NYS, but you just have to also get the people to their local caucus site. As usual I had a blast. I feel somewhat disconnected because I haven't been able to read any net, or watch news, I just know how the people in Colfax, Iowa are feeling.


Colfax, IA

Louise gave me some of her homemade bread and then promised that she and her husband would caucus for Dean. The bread was out of this world.
Well I must really go and try to get some sleep....."
-Vicki from Syracuse for Dean