I am the Afghanistan Blogging Fellow for The Seminal and Brave New Foundation. You can read my work on The Seminal or at Rethink Afghanistan. The views expressed below are my own.
One of the best parts of learning about foreign countries and their cultures is the sudden realization that these places aren't actually foreign at all. You're not studying an opaque alien world, you're only looking in the mirror. As Americans, it fills us with hope to look across at, say, our progressive allies in Pakistan and note that they're working hard, just like us, to correct and reform their country's policies. But are we also capable of seeing the negative parallels? It's all well and good to lecture the Pakistanis about total military subservience to a strong civilian government, but what about our own weak President and our own anti-democratic generals?
American military officials are building a case to minimize the planned withdrawal of some troops from Afghanistan starting next summer, in an effort to counter growing pressure on President Obama from inside his own party to begin winding the war down quickly.
With the administration unable yet to point to much tangible evidence of progress, Gen. David H. Petraeus, who assumed command in Afghanistan last month from Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, is taking several steps to emphasize hopeful signs on the ground that, he will argue, would make a rapid withdrawal unwise. Meanwhile, a rising generation of young officers, who have become experts over the past nine years in the art of counterinsurgency, have begun quietly telling administration officials that they need time to get their work done.
When something like this happens in Pakistan, we completely lose our s**t and call them a failed state, a tyrannical dictatorship, a collapsing nuclear-armed time bomb full of apocalyptic religious fanatics and corrupt, out-of-touch plutocrats. When it happens here, it's called a "media blitz." Oh you know, General Petraeus is just out there to "counter the growing pressure" by the American people, and hopefully force the Commander-in-Chief's hand on war making policy. The young officer corps is simply pressuring your elected politicians to give them more time to occupy foreign lands and engage in aggressive wars. Totally normal, everything is fine.
It's time for Congress to wake up. Petraeus needs to be reminded of exactly who he works for. The generals don't tell us what to do, we tell them what to do. This is not Pakistan, this is the United States, and if President Obama is too weak to preserve our civilian-military order, then Congress is obligated to enforce its constitutional authority over the power - and the purse - of war.
Sometimes stories happen because of planning; other times serendipity intervenes, which is how we got to the conversation we’ll be having today.
In an exchange of comments on the Blue Hampshire site, I proposed an idea that could be of real value to unions, workers...and surprisingly, employers.
If things worked out correctly, not only would lots of people feel a real desire to have unions represent them, but employers would potentially be coming to unions looking to forge relationships, and, just to make it better, this plan bypasses virtually all of the tools and techniques employers use to shut out union organizers.
Since I just thought this up myself, I’m really not sure exactly how practical the whole thing is, and the last part of the discussion today will be provided by you, as I ask you to sound off on whether this plan could work, and if so, how it could be made better.
It’s a new week...so let’s all put our heads together and rebuild the labor movement, shall we?
Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governor's Association: "By contributing $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, Fox has crossed a bright line. Fox can no longer pretend that it is a ‘fair and balanced' news organization when Rupert Murdoch greenlights a million dollar contribution to defeat Democratic governors."
News Corp. Spokesman Jack Horner: "News Corporation believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA’s pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy."
News Corp. "Standards of Business Conduct": "No payment shall be made to, or for the benefit of, any public official in order to induce or entice such official to: enact, defeat or violate any law or regulation for the Company’s benefit; influence any official act; or obtain any favorable action by a governmental agency or official on behalf of the Company. ... No gifts in the form of cash, stock or other similar consideration shall be given, regardless of amount."
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Don Siegelman didn't say this, but he could have: "The new politics -- it's no longer good enough to beat you on policy. They have to completely drown you and put you in prison and destroy your family and your reputation and finances, then dance on your grave."
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Peter Beinart: "In today’s GOP, even bigotry doesn’t spare you from bigotry."
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Alabama GOP, in a push poll "asking" about Joe Hubbard, Democratic challenger to incumbent Rep. David Grimes (R): "How do you feel to know that Joe Hubbard is a lawyer who has sued local businessas and has defended many corrupt Montgomery politicians?"
David Grimes (R), who with Hubbard, pledged to condemn negative campaigning: "I don't find anything personally offensive nor do I find anything that breaches the promise ..."
Democrat Ron Sparks and Republican Robert Bentley, will be at Samford University Thursday morning speaking to the Auntie Litter's Take Pride statewide conference.
The event, which is open to the public, will be at 8 a.m. in the Wright Center.
I hope someone asks them about earmarking of all gasoline tax revenue exclusively to roads and bridges, effectively prohibiting the state from investing in any mass transit, light rail, etc. What would you like to hear?
Alabama Lt. Governor Jim Folsom, Jr. is encouraging people to join his Facebook Fan page. Now, you may already think you have joined! I did, but never saw many campaign updates and asked a campaign staffer about it. ooops! I hadn't joined the "official" page, but one set up by supporters.
The staffer said that the campaign had been working with several groups of supporters who had set up "Jim Folsom pages" and encouraging them to send their fans to Folsom's official Facebook page. The campaign makes almost daily updates and you can keep track of where Lt. Governor Folsom has been and where's he's going to be (in Huntsville tonight, as a matter of fact).
Meanwhile, what are they doing with the other hand?
The GOP "handshake" offers an Arizona-style, unconstitutional, immigration package (get ready for big bills on that one) that does nothing to deter employers of illegal workers, a pledge to pass a constitutional amendment to make sure Alabamians aren't "compelled" to participate in the health care system, assurance they will keep Alabama a right to starve work state, and guarantees they will control spending (Republicans are soooo good at that - see chart below) and end corruption in Montgomery -- although their plan says nothing about ending PAC to PAC transfers of money or limiting contributions to something semi-sane like $20,000 or even $50,000 per entity.
Just wanted to open a dialogue to get opinions of the mosque that is proposed to be built near ground zero. I have been hearing different opinions from all over the political spectrum. Some feel that it will be used as a base of operations for an attack. Some feel it is an insult to all the innocent people that lost their lives on 9-11.
I think these people need to give all this a little more thought. We are at war with Islamic extremists. Not the religion of Islam. But there are most certainly people in this country that want nothing more than a war with Islam as a whole. Most of them are Republicans.
When Republicans are in control of Washington, the only way they know how to govern is by employing Military Keynesianism. That means the U.S. needs an enemy at all times.
As we found out during W's years, the U.S. just cannot afford to do that anymore. I believe that building a mosque near ground zero is just what the doctor ordered. You have to know that one of the prime directives of such a mosque would be to explain that God (Allah) does NOT want people to kill other people in his name. To sway people from misinterpreting what the true nature of God is. (as the extremists are doing) I insist that this mosque be built.
I insist we turn the other cheek. There is nothing to fear and peace to be gained.
The Birmingham Downtown Democrats are kicking off the fall campaign season in high style with the former Governor and current Lt. Governor of the great State of Alabama, Jim Folsom, Jr.
Folsom will be the featured speaker at the Downtown Dems luncheon on Friday, Sept. 10th at the Harbert Center, 2019 4th Avenue North. No word on whether his wife Marsha (pictured with him at right) will be able to attend, but the event is sure to be a treat either way. Details:
Lunch will be served @ 12:00 noon (cost $15.00)
Please RSVP by emailing downtowndems@gmail.com or by calling Judy at 822-8416. Please do this as soon as possible because we are again expecting a large crowd and need an accurate count for lunch.
As all of you know, Governor Folsom is up for re-election this year and has opposition in the general election. If you would like to visit his campaign website, the address is www.folsom2010.com and if you would like to join him on facebook, that address is www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Folsom-Jr/142036924080.
Gov. Folsom will also make an appearance in Huntsville tomorrow evening for a fundraiser followed by a Young Folks for Folsom reception at Amendment XXI. Details on the Folsom fundraiser:
Tuesday, August 17th 2010, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Sirote & Permutt, PC 305 Church Street Southwest Huntsville, AL 35801
Suggested contribution of $500 per couple. Other amounts also appreciated.
Please RSVP: to 540-239-1730 or laureneklumpp@gmail.com
Young Folks for Folsom Reception at Amendment XXI - A casual meet and greet among the young folk of Madison County interested in supporting the campaign and meeting the Lt. Governor.
Please don't make the mistake of assuming that Folsom will be a shoo-in and doesn't need your support just because he is an incumbent and a well known figure in Alabama politics. This is not an election cycle where anything should be taken for granted.
This will be short and not-so-sweet. The issues in the California Prop 8 case, the proposed mosque in Manhattan, and the Arizona Immigration fiasco are exactly the same. One issue- only one. Rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights of our Constitution were said to be inalienable and God-given. California voters have no power to strip gays of their rights. New York pundits and Republican politicians have no power to strip Muslims of their rights. Arizona Republicans and one insane sheriff have no power to suspend search and seizure laws or circumvent the Federal government's sole power to defend borders and set immigration policy.
Speaking in Huntsville, AL at his campaign headquarters on Saturday, AL-05 Democratic nominee, Steve Raby, challenged Mo Brooks to distance himself from the national GOP's efforts to privatize Social Security:
"Today, Mo Brooks is campaigning across the district with a Washington politician named Representative Marsha Blackburn. Congresswoman Blackburn is an outspoken critic of Social Security and has sponsored legislation that calls for the privatization of both Social Security and Medicare." [...] "This great country made a promise to its hard working citizens a generation ago, a promise of economic security and stability after a lifetime of hard work. I pledge to the voters of the 5th district that I will fight to preserve and protect this vital program."
BLACKBURN: You know, people forget Medicare is a program that individuals have paid into every single year with their Medicare and their Social Security beneifts the federal government has first right of refusal on that paycheck. And this is one of the reasons we need to make sure individuals get the money out that they have placed in. This is one of the reasons we have had the discussion over and over for our younger earners of having accounts that have their Social Security number and their information on that — personal accounts.
Ok campers! Pull out your 401k statements from, say, 2006 and compare them to 2007 or 2008 statements. Now, imagine if you'd retired during the summer of 2008 and watched your nest egg get swallowed up by the great crash of 2008:
Stocks skidded Monday, with the Dow slumping nearly 778 points, in the biggest single-day point loss ever, after the House rejected the government's $700 billion bank bailout plan.
The day's loss knocked out approximately $1.2 trillion in market value, the first post-$1 trillion day ever, according to a drop in the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000, the broadest measure of the stock market.
Raby is correct to be asking Brooks to clarify his position on Social Security. The popular Republican "solution" seems to be private accounts. That's worked so well for privatized pensions - ie 401k plans - hasn't it?
I was surprised last week to hear an endorsement of the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Robert Bentley, from a fellow physician whom I've known previously to have more moderate opinions. It seems that many of our state's physicians are so excited to have a doctor running for governor that they have neglected to investigate Bentley's actual positions. If you haven't done so, please visit Bentley's website and see for yourself! But don't just look under the healthcare tab (in "Issues"), which just has the usual conservative stance-- go down to the Family Values section. It's pretty scary.
Among the many worrisome plans he has, Bentley says "I fully support parental rights to consent to medical treatment for their children including mental health treatment, drug treatment, alcohol treatment, and treatment involving pregnancy, contraceptives, and abortion." If you don't know the background on this, it could sound innocuous. Why shouldn't a parent be allowed to give permission for a child to get medical care? Obviously it is already the case that parents do this. What Bentley means is that ONLY a parent (or a legal guardian) can give consent-- another matter entirely. Currently, in Alabama, a person is a minor until the age of 19, unless married or declared emancipated; but at age 14 or older, a minor is allowed to consent to medical care with full confidentiality. This is the reason we pediatricians kindly ask parents to wait in the lobby for a few minutes during teenager checkups, and yes, that's when we talk about sex, drugs and rock-n-roll.
Having been that parent myself, I admit that I didn't like being kicked out and was just dying to hear what my kids were saying! But there is an excellent medical reason for those private interviews, one which has been validated repeatedly by published studies-- teens are simply far more likely to tell the truth to doctors without their parents in the room. Some don't talk to their parents because they don't want to be punished or prevented from carrying on these risky activities. Many fear more that they will lose the respect and approval of their parents, or cause their much-loved families grief. Or they are just embarrassed. But they might tell a doctor, alone-- which means we have a chance to help them, sometimes in literally life-saving ways.
We can catch a sexually transmitted disease before a teen shares it with others or before it results in scarred Fallopian tubes (which can then cause deadly ectopic pregnancies or permanent infertility). We may be able to assist in an evidence-based early management of substance abuse, before your son or daughter winds up dead in an alcohol-related car crash. We can identify early signs of depression or even prevent a potential suicide. And more often than you'd think, we are able to persuade a teen that it is much better to be honest with parents, even offering to help them break the hard news. I know you think, as a parent, that if your kid were doing dangerous things you would be able to tell. After all, your kid gets all A's, won the poster prize for best anti-drug message, goes to Bible study every week. But being a good person with good parents and good intentions does not prevent a teen from making mistakes. I see it happen every day.
Being able to take an accurate, complete medical history is an absolute requirement for providing quality medical care. Physicians who treat adolescents and who are up to date on the research should know that if Bentley is successful, he will reduce the quality of medical care they are able to provide, endanger patients, and put communities at risk for untreated sexually transmitted diseases. I do not see how, in good conscience, ANY physician can support a politician who proposes such.
The Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee met yesterday in Montgomery in a meeting room with no air conditioning, no wifi and precious little cell phone signal. Uncomfortable and isolated -- it may be an appropriate metaphor for the party this year.
[Update: ADP Chairman Joe Turnham has provided a statement on yesterday's SDEC meeting. It is included below the fold in its entirety.]
What did the Committee Members do in this sweltering room with no links to the outside world? This is what I can piece together from the two news reports (hat tip Dana Beyerle and Eric Velasco) and a few personal reports of the event.
They changed the bylaws to allow the Executive Board to seek re-election immediately rather than next January. They did so and the current Board was re-elected. "Turnham said that conducting elections Saturday rather than in January preserves continuity through the November election." Ummm, holding the election in January would have provided the exact same continutity. This guarantees the same Chairman, Vice Chairs, Secretary, Treasurer, etc. for another 4 years. We need more detail on this point -- Dr. Paul Hubbert said he was resigning from the Board effective yesterday so who was elected Vice-Chair for Public Labor Sector?
They changed the bylaws to base minority representation on the % of minority voters who voted for the Democratic candidate in the most recent presidential, rather than gubernatorial, election. This is not a number that anyone can actually determine (a license to make stuff up for political advantage), but in practice it will allow an increase in appointed minority committee members to bring the minority (when asked yesterday, Joe Reed said "minority" means "black" in this case) representation up from about 55% to about 65%. "Alabama Democratic Conference chairman Joe Reed said the change won’t materially affect the racial makeup of the party’s executive committee." That's spin for the mathematically challenged. Reed is the big winner in this action since he has the major say in who gets those extra seats on the committee.
The committee did not vote on an amendment that would give the President of the Alabama Federation of Democratic Women a place on the Executive Board (I think it's definitely the Board, not just the Committee). Why the hell not?
The committee confirmed Tuscaloosa District Attorney Tommy Smith as the Democratic nominee for the general election. I don't follow the details here, but this action will apparently prevent a challenge to Smith from an independent candidate who was on and then off the Democratic primary ballot.
The committee took no action to fill the ballot vacancy for Circuit Court Judge, Place 7 on the 23rd Circuit in Madison County. I'm told Madison County did not bring a nominee. Why the hell not?
Here's the agenda so you can see what they planned to take up yesterday. No word on whether they filled any vacancies on the SDEC, but I'm told there are still some vacancies. I don't know what if anything they did about the District Court Judge vacancy in Calhoun county or the House District 8 vacancy. [See below the fold for action on those items.]
Not sure which Joe was presiding today. Turnham, Reed or Stalin #alpolitics#asdec
Which I take to mean that things were being pushed right along from the podium. Several attendees said many people were "disgruntled" in the wake of the meeting.
The usual ritual at these events is that the runner-up in the primary embraces the winner and pledges full-throated support for the nominee in the fall.
In a break with tradition, I did not attend that event and will not be campaigning for the Democratic gubernatorial nominee. I want Democrats and independent-minded voters to know just why not.
One of the reasons I entered elective politics as a Democrat is because I worried that the Republican administrations of Guy Hunt and Fob James had set the state back in fundamental ways. The emerging Republican Party in the state offered little in the way of new approaches to revive the economy or modernize our schools. A few narrow interest groups held unusual influence in the GOP, and those interests appeared uninterested in any public purpose beyond maintaining their own power.
After almost two years of navigating the Alabama Democratic terrain as a gubernatorial candidate, I fear that the forces that dominate my party have turned into the same conservative anti-reform elements that I went into politics to oppose.
Davis has said he never planned to be a professional politician and he certainly doesn't sound like one now, although his assertion that jobs should be the next governor's top priority is politically astute. He pointedly did not endorse Bentley either (although some will accuse him of it) and reiterated his intention to leave the political arena when his term in Congress is over. This is Artur Davis speaking his mind, expressing frustration with the conservative mindset reformers are up against in the Democratic power structure and closing with a familiar lament that so many educated young Alabamians still have to leave the state to find opportunity.
I regret that neither political party in Alabama has laid out a genuine course to keep those young people home. I'm not surprised that Republicans haven't done better, and I am deeply disappointed that Alabama Democrats are failing the test as well.
A lot of people are disapponted in the Alabama Democratic party and concerned about its future, as well as the future of the state. The folks who run the Alabama Democratic Party have literally bet the party on B-I-N-G-O in 2010. The leadership has no time or interest for Democrats who care about any other issue beyond gambling. Constitutional Reform? That's for do-gooders. Ethics in government? Dreamers. Jobs from green industries? This is Alabama. Now this strategy may pay off in a big way in November if Democrats hold both houses of the Legislature, take back the governorship and most of the constitutional offices and win back the 5th district congressional seat in North Alabama. If that happens Ron Sparks and the party leadership will be hailed as heroes.
My question for the ADP leadership is this: why change the bylaws to re-elect yourself now, well in advance of the November election if you think you'll be heroes after the election? Is it possibly because the leadership is concerned that even a hand picked SDEC might be in an ugly mood next January and decide Alabama Democrats need to go in a different direction? Elect different leaders who might care about more than a single issue? That path is now closed -- Democrats could lose every race in November but we're guaranteed to keep the same party leadership for another 4 years, whether they're heroes or heels. It makes no sense to me, but it apparently makes a lot of sense to the party leaders who are concerned with "continuity" -- and/or hanging onto their positions.
I'd like to see some vision and leadership from the party and our nominees. I'd also like to have seen some calls for party unity after the primary. The Republicans are talking up unity, airing their disagreements and at least getting their grievances out in the open, but Democrats have simply gone back to their isolated corners after June 1 and stewed. Ron Sparks hasn't adopted even token parts of Davis' campaign platform, in spite of his early pledge to "woo" Davis supporters. At least in public, no one in the leadership is even bothering to urge Davis voters to get behind the nominee in November. Ignoring this rift will not bridge it.
I don't say these things because I enjoy being critical of my Party or of our gubernatorial nominee -- I hate it -- but because I'm genuinely concerned that the lack of leadership toward bringing Democrats together in a sense of common purpose is going to hurt us in November. None of us will be better off if Democrats lose big this year. If we run the table on Nov. 3rd I will obviously have egg on my face, happily so, but right now I'm worried that we're headed for the political wilderness for a good long time. The future may look bright to you folks in Montgomery, but I'm hearing "all is lost" from too many insiders and November 3 is shaping up more like Armageddon than Oz from where I stand.
(Thanks for adding context to the statement of these candidates. - promoted by mooncat)
Last week, gubernatorial candidates Ron Sparks and Dr. Robert Bentley appeared on WSFA 12 news in Montgomery to discuss the gambling issue. Listen below.
Browsing in a bookstore a few weeks ago I noticed a new fiction genre, global climate change. The book that caught my eye was Ark by Steven Baxter but it's a sequel so I took the plunge and started with Flood by the same author. Climate change is a gradual process so the day to day change may not register at first, but Baxter presents the world through the eyes of people who have been totally cut off from the outside for several years. Folks caught up in the grind of daily life take the rain and floods as just "a wet period" but those who've been out of touch immediately realize the weather is seriously abnormal. To further illustrate what rising ocean levels would do to civilization, Baxter introduces a factor besides climate change to raise ocean levels even more rapidly. In this way he can describe the effects of a 1 meter, 20 meter, etc. rise in sea level. Waterworld here we come. It's very well done and I can't wait to read the sequel.
The other neat thing I'm "reading" (actually listening to) is The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation by Drew Westin. Dardango was kind enough to loan me this book on CD and one of the very first things I learned through listening to it is that I may have "serious brain damage or psychopathy." You might to, if you think the path to your own or any voter's heart is strictly through reason. Find out how the human brain processes information and arrives at important decisions ... like who to vote for. Fascinating stuff, and many thanks to Dardango for lending it.
What are you reading? Share some favorites with your progressive friends, even if you've "read" them on an iPad, Nook, Kindle or old fashioned CD instead of printed paper.
Alabama artist Darryl Daniels is using his considerable talent to help the Jazz Foundation of America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping musicians with medical care and basic living expenses. He's offering his series of artwork based on jazz musicians - titled the "Darryl Daniels Jazz Collection" - for sale and donating 20% of the proceeds to the Jazz Foundation.
Now, I like jazz, but I've never been much of an art lover. However, I LOVE this series of paintings and it's really cool that this is coming from an Alabama artist. More about Daniels:
Darryl Daniels was born in Selma, Alabama and lived equal parts of his upbringing in the Bronx borough of New York City and his hometown.
He was drawing from as early an age as he could remember on just about anything he could find. When he was seven years old, Darryl saw a print by the artist Norman Rockwell in one of his grandmother's S&H Green Stamp catalogs. 'I couldn't believe that someone could draw people that well and decided to become as good at this as I could.'
While working as a graphic designer, Darryl was also searching for his identity as an artist. His answer would come in the form of a growing admiration for jazz musicians. The result was the first in a series of paintings in 1990, later known as The Darryl Daniels Jazz Collection.
In addition to being part of collections around the world, works from and inspired by this series have appeared in television, commercial and film, including the 1990's Bill Cosby series The Cosby Mysteries and the motion picture Justice, on a half dozen CD covers, including Chick Corea's Live In Montreux, several books on the history of jazz, a series of ties and scarves for Absolut Vodka, promotional material and billboards for events like the Syracuse Jazz Festival, cellphone covers. A large mural of Mood Interlude was even recreated, with the artist's permission, in a campus computer room at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Now, this artist Web site is really cool. I looked at the Artist Directory page and found more than a dozen local artists listed. They're creating everything from iPod cases to canvas paintings to pen and ink tarot cards.
Gee... if I spend too much time there, I might get interested in art! :-)
In the meantime, I'm saving my pennies for the Daniels painting pictured here in the blog post.
Use this as an open thread to talk about art, politics, the weather, or whatever else is on your mind!
(I'd love to be a fly on the wall at today's SDEC meeting. Anybody planning to tweet from the meeting? - promoted by mooncat)
The Democratic nominee for one of the Jefferson County judgeships has had her law license suspended by the State Bar for allegedly taking some money from a client.
Now a subcommittee of the Democratic Party has voted to remove her as the nominee, thereby clearing the way for the woman she beat in the primary/runoff to get the nominee
Danny at the Political Parlor is reporting that Joe Reed is behind a move to pick the next Democratic Party Chair at tomorrow's meeting of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) instead of in January as would be typical. Obviously, that puts the kibosh on any deal that would put Ron Sparks in the chairmanship (should he lose in November) or allow Sparks to essentially pick the next party chair (which would be customary should he win in November.)
Danny's sources also indicate that Reed will be backing a move to change the way SDEC minority membership is calculated.
Minority membership is currently represented on the SDEC in proportion to their presence in the Democratic Electorate of Alabama as determined by those who voted for the the Democratic nominee for governor in the last general election. (See Article III, Section I here in a .pdf file.) Reed’s proposal is to instead use the last Presidential election to determine the proportion of minority members who make up the Democratic Electorate.
Essentially, the motion described would exchange one mathematically impossible system for rigging the SDEC membership to another mathematically impossible system which gives the Vice-Chairman for Minority Affairs (Joe Reed) even more power than he currently has to select SDEC members.
The relevant paragraph in the current bylaws (from Article II, Section 1) is below the fold.
If you like the internet the way it is now -- where you have the same access to every web site, not just those that pay providers like Google or Verizon -- then you are for net neutrality. Sam Seder explains:
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The Birmingham Downtown Democrats are kicking off the fall campaign season in high style with the former Governor and current Lt. Governor of the great State of Alabama, 
The Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee met yesterday in Montgomery in a meeting room with no air conditioning, no wifi and precious little cell phone signal. Uncomfortable and isolated -- it may be an appropriate metaphor for the party this year. 
by the same author. Climate change is a gradual process so the day to day change may not register at first, but Baxter presents the world through the eyes of people who have been totally cut off from the outside for several years. Folks caught up in the grind of daily life take the rain and floods as just "a wet period" but those who've been out of touch immediately realize the weather is seriously abnormal. To further illustrate what rising ocean levels would do to civilization, Baxter introduces a factor besides climate change to raise ocean levels even more rapidly. In this way he can describe the effects of a 1 meter, 20 meter, etc. rise in sea level. Waterworld here we come. It's very well done and I can't wait to read the sequel.
by Drew Westin. Dardango was kind enough to loan me this book on CD and one of the very first things I learned through listening to it is that I may have "serious brain damage or psychopathy." You might to, if you think the path to your own or any voter's heart is strictly through reason. Find out how the human brain processes information and arrives at important decisions ... like who to vote for. Fascinating stuff, and many thanks to Dardango for lending it. 
Danny at the Political Parlor is 
