SOTU Speech Shame:

NOT A MENTION NOR ONE MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR
THE 502 TROOPS

NOT A WORD OF THANKS TO
THE WOUNDED

NOT A MENTION OF THE NAME
BIN-LADEN


"Hey you sports dudes- Stop takin' 'em steeroids!!"

Let Judy be Judith
I would never want to see Judith as a Judy-doll Stepford wife.
What the hell's wrong with America,anyhow?

Send idiots like Maureen Dowd back to 1950-- when men were men and women were barefoot and pregnant (yet somehow always kept the beehive coif perfect).
Leave her there.

Israel Planes Attack Hezbollah in Lebanon
While I understand Israel's right to defend herself, what implications will this have for her ally..the U.S.? Did Sharon think before acting...really? We'd best not get bogged down with Syria. We cannot afford it, nor is it an appropriate fight for us to enter. I hope this does not wind up smelling of NeoCon.

Israel rapped in UN probe

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said yesterday that a UN investigation had found that an Israeli military bulldozer hit by a Hizbollah rocket attack was in Lebanese territory at the time of the strike.
"The investigation carried out by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) command has shown that the Israeli bulldozer was inside Lebanese territory," Lahoud said in a statement.
"And this constitutes a clear violation of the Blue Line," said Lahoud, referring to the demarcation line marked out by Unifil when Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in May 2000.

Republicans convert for Kerry?
Hmmmmmmm......

"...East Middle School precinct chairwoman Jan Olson said a few Republicans had converted just to participate for the day. "We are really glad you want to be a Democrat," Olson said, "as long as that day is in November," drawing a big laugh. Sturgeon said one site had eight typical Republicans taking part..."

I wonder if they were sincere converts. You see, in Iowa, even registered Republicans can switch parties - if only for the day - to participate in the caucus.

The Union Leader, New Hampshire's only statewide daily newspaper, has endorsed Joe Lieberman in the Democratic presidential primary.

HERE'S THE ACTUAL ENDORSEMENT.

One word- UGH.
~~~~~~~

Clinton agrees to be Middle East Envoy?
Did you know this?

"In a question-and-answer period, he [John Kerry] reminded a voter that he had already asked Clinton to be his Middle East envoy—and that Clinton had accepted."

~~~~~~~

Paul O'Neill: A Republican Rip Van Winkle

Think of O'Neill as some centrist Republican Rip Van Winkle, who came back to a GOP White House after 25 years only to find that his pragmatic approach to public problem-solving made him an alien to be ignored or a prop to be used for "cover" by zealots.."

Bruce Reed of the DLC is trying hard to crush Howard Dean by "going negative" on him

Last night on Charlie Rose, I saw Bruce Reed of the DLC ripping away at Howard Dean..attacking his viability, his electability, his style, his campaign...practically everything about the man. At the same time, Reed went on and on about the glory of being positive. What a hypocrite! Kerry attacked Dean in the debates at nearly every turn.
The DLC is lining up a disaster for November if they are falling for the old "must stay positive".
The GOP is going to use that against them...and yet they submit. We are going to need a tiger to stand up against Bush.This playing nicey-nice is not going to make the big cut.
Here's an example (from the bitterly partisan Washington Dispatch) of how the GOP will turn it around to bite a DLC candidate in the nice little a*s:

"The reason is that the DLC could wind up the real loser in Clark’s latest attempt to go ultra-negative in his attacks against the president and desert any positive tone in his campaign. The DLC bailed on its original candidate, John Edwards once his campaign seemed to stall early on. But Edwards stayed positive in Iowa despite early poll numbers that were in the single digits and is now polling well. Edwards now has an outside shot at winning in Iowa and can spin any close finish in Iowa into a victory as he came from way back to become competitive by staying above the fray. He will then use that in an attempt to bolster his positive campaign as the way to compete against the president. John Edwards has stayed positive while Wesley Clark has come unhinged with his accusations and negativity.
And that leaves the DLC with a dilemma.
Back an ex-General who was so uncontrollable in his last gig as the Supreme Commander of NATO that the Pentagon had to fire him over the phone, or throw everything behind the only positive campaigner in the entire Democratic field, John Edwards."

Wesley Clark unhinged? Do you see what's going on here? Any candidate coming out against Bush in an assertive and aggressive manner will be categorized as "unhinged...angry" by the Bushies. Will the DLC abandon Wes Clark for a "gentler, kinder" candidate? If there's one thing the Democrats don't need , it's more wimps.


In today's N.Y. Times column, Paul Krugman writes:

"...some Americans will respond to upbeat messages, no matter how unrealistic. And that may be enough for Mr. Bush, because while he poses as someone above the fray, he is continuing to solidify his base...the lying has already begun, with the Republican National Committee's willful misrepresentation of Wesley Clark's prewar statements. (Why are news organizations letting them get away with this?)"

Trading Votes: This is how it happens in the Iowa Caucus

"...Five minutes later, after a plea from Lyle Canceco, a 27-year-old political operative from Seattle who came to Iowa to be a precinct captain for Mr. Edwards, Mr. Kucinich's supporters joined the Edwards group.
Meanwhile, most of the Gephardt supporters joined Mr. Kerry's supporters...."

I'll be looking forward to see what New Hampshire, a non-caucus state, has to say. I want to see what happens when you have people going into the booth and deciding as individuals...without changing candidates because their preferred (weaker) candidate told them to go to a particular alternate candidate.

HERE'S A GREAT ARTICLE ABOUT THE IOWA CAUCUS


Springfield News-Sun:
OHIO: One thing's sure, nothing's certain

"..If Democrats and Republicans agree on anything, it's this: The winner of Monday's Democratic caucus in Iowa will not have a free ride to the party's presidential nomination."

..and I believe that Howard Dean will stand a good chance of winning Ohio.

Zogby: How Arab Americans will vote in Presidential race

"In the 2000 presidential election, Bush won 44.5 per cent of the community's vote. In a poll conducted in July 2003, Bush's support had dropped to 34 per cent, while in this January 2004 poll, his totals have further declined to 28 per cent. ...On the Democratic side, thirty-six per cent of Arab Americans indicated their preference for Dean in the Democratic primary. No other Democrat received a double-digit response. Retired General Wesley Clark received the support of nine per cent of Arab Americans, followed by Senator John Kerry with six per cent.

New Hampshire Primary Trivia:

Two tiny villages in northern New Hampshire -- Dixville Notch and Hart's Location (Population-37) -- will be the first to vote in next Tuesday's primary, as they do in presidential elections. Both have a tradition in which all citizens vote at midnight after which the votes are counted. In Dixville Notch, there are 23 voters: 12 Republicans, 11 independents and no Democrats. The 11 independents are eligible to vote in the Democratic primary.
Wow--Have you seen the Wentworth?


Now I've Heard Everything
Too many cannabinoids-
A guy ODs on Pot?!

"A man of 36 is believed to have become the first person in Britain to die directly from cannabis poisoning."

Well, there's one rare instance of which the drug czars will grab hold while they push the
"REPEAT AD NAUSEUM" button.

Lawrence Journal-World:
Young Republicans Crash Dean concert--Young Republicans get violent

"...Weinberg saw dozens of college-age supporters of President George W. Bush crash Saturday night's Dean bash at Drake University, which featured rock singer Joan Jett and comedian Janeane Garafalo.
Weinberg was close to the stage with a video camera and taped some of the Republicans who came in with signs, banners and chanted Bush's name. They grabbed signs from Dean supporters and one of them bumped Jett, Weinberg said. "She said, ‘You can hit me, but don't mess with my guitar,'" Weinberg said. "It was absolutely incredible."
Dean supporters started singing the national anthem to drown out the Bush people, who were finally ushered out by security, Weinberg said..."

COMPANION STORY HERE

Something tells me this is only the beginning. These Republican kids are a pretty angry lot.