Ron Paul is first tonight!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek8a-yVR7...

Anybody know the score of the Giants/Pats game?

Dennis Kicinich on Ron Paul AND wise-versa!...enjoy, lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjaMLuOpj...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJcnoDfFW...

Ron Paul asked about Dennis Kucinich as a running mate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx9a4hNeI...

Giants ahead by 12.

Audio of Kucinich talking about Ron Paul as a running mate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By_zxa1qn...

Revisiting the stuff Carville pulled in 04, giving out private info from the campaign to his wife.   All that stuff has been running around in mind today.  I have been watching bits and pieces of So Goes the Nation.   Kind of hard to watch.   

Mary Matalin was at the WH with George and Dick. Dear hubby called her.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1723

7. I have to say one of the main reasons I don't want Hillary as the nominee
is because of the Carville/Begala/Grunwald baggage she brings.

Congrats to the Patriots and their loyal fans.

Howard Dean is no.1. and that's a fact, not a place.

howard is 1st and paul has a small pecker in comparasion.

DNC Chair, Gov. Howard Dean M.D. is always first!

The Patriots have a pretty good QB.

mary vb

I'm with you, it isn't Hillary herself, it is Team Hillary. It is the only large organized anti-progressive force in the party right now.

Several of the other candidates might eventually put together a team that bridges the whole Party as President.

Team Clinton would hunt us down.

you thinks leadership caves now? just wait 

Howard Dean is 1st here.

Ron Paul is the antithesis of Howard Dean, except in one way: wanting us out of Iraq. And that's the truth.

*************
Looking through the past threads, it was fun to glean some small adages from BFA-posters.

mprov: choose the candidate who will do the least harm.

Phil: avoid houses where there are pit bulls in the yard.

*************
And on a riff about pit bulls: yes, it is true that they are a breed that was specifically bred for fighting. However, in this, as in so many things, how a specific dog turns out generally depends on the owner. Unfortunately, too many pit bulls (and other *savage* breeds) have owners who do not deserve to possess any animal at all.

Several years ago, my older son went to the DC shelter to get a kitten for his wife who had recently lost her well-loved cat. While he was there, he saw a young pit bull-Rhodesian ridgeback mix who had been accidentally shot in his front leg during a police raid and who was scheduled for euthanasia because his previous owners could not afford surgery. To my horror, my son fell in love with the animal and adopted him, paying for the surgery, and later on bringing him home. (He and his wife had to go back to the shelter later the same night because he was so caught up in the dog's plight that he had forgotten all about getting a kitten.)

As it turned out, *Jake* was clearly one of the exceptions to the rule. I have been proud to call him my *grand-dog* and he has brought joy to many lives. Unfortunately, he has now been diagnosed with prostrate cancer and his *parents* specifically remained at home with him over these holidays because they will likely be his last.

The Dog Whisperer is right. It's the people who need to be trained.

For some of the best news analysis about the situation in Iraq, one should always read Dahr Jamail (and thanks again to Monica, who mentioned him here several years back).

Any US Presidential candidate who is not reading what Dahr has to say does not deserve to be President.

===================
December 29, 2007
CHALLENGES 2007-2008: Iraq Progresses To Some Of Its Worst
Inter Press Service
Analysis by Dahr Jamail
WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (IPS) - Despite all the claims of improvements, 2007 has been the worst year yet in Iraq.

One of the first big moves this year was the launch of a troop "surge" by the U.S. government in mid-February. The goal was to improve security in Baghdad and the western al-Anbar province, the two most violent areas. By June, an additional 28,000 troops had been deployed to Iraq, bringing the total number up to more than 160,000.

By autumn, there were over 175,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq. This is the highest number of U.S. troops deployed yet, and while the U.S. government continues to talk of withdrawing some, the numbers on the ground appear to contradict these promises.

The Bush administration said the "surge" was also aimed at curbing sectarian killings, and to gain time for political reform for the government of U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

During the surge, the number of Iraqis displaced from their homes quadrupled, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent. By the end of 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are over 2.3 million internally displaced persons within Iraq, and over 2.3 million Iraqis who have fled the country.

[...]
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/arch...

Dahr's dispatches are printed in the Inter Press News Service, which contains some of the best news about the world generally.

I recommend especially ALL of the Challenges 2007-2008 features. These are contemporaneous versions (not academic treatises drafted years ago) of what is actually going on in the world.

Again, any Presidential candidate who is not reading such news(or more likely have his/her staff reading for briefing purposes) does not deserve our votes.

So, it would be worthwhile asking what their sources are.

Here's the IPS link.

http://www.ipsnews.net/

Good monring, everybody

Well, I'm always glad to hear Dahr is still alive.  

Sorry about the convoluted grammar in that last. Sigh.

************
I do not have a subscription to the NYT (or to the WaPo) for that matter and do not plan to get one. If I had had one, I might have thought of dropping it with the announcement that William Kristol was joining the Op-Ed staff (why on earth such a discredited person has been asked to join any of the so-called *liberal* media is beyond me), but the NYT still has Krugman and Frank Rich who make it worthwhile. Occasionally, MoDo also hits the nail on the head.

And the Editorial Staff is still worthwhile from time to time. Nice to see that they have picked this one up ... Poland finally returning to sanity after the insanity of the "twins." Czech Republic will hopefully not be far behind. Neither of those countries' populations was ever in favor of this and now the political leadership is *getting* it.

Even *New Europe* is finally beginning to regard putzCo with well-deserved skepticism, especially since his sense of geography is so skewed and those who are next door understand who the real target is.

============================
December 30, 2007
Editorial
The Poles Get Cold Feet

Poland’s new government is right to be taking a skeptical second look at the Bush administration’s proposal to station 10 interceptor missiles there as part of a European-based missile-defense system. The pragmatic conservatives voted into power in October want to make sure that the project offers real security benefits to Poland that outweigh its potential diplomatic costs.

The Poles are not the only ones with doubts. Last month, a thousand Czechs marched through Prague demanding a referendum on whether the system’s radar should be built in the Czech Republic, as the Bush administration wants. In Washington, Congress has voted to withhold money from the entire project until the Poles and the Czechs give final parliamentary approval.

It now seems that the only one with any enthusiasm for the effort is President Bush, who continues to argue that the shield is necessary to protect Europe and the United States from a potential attack by Iran.

[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/opinio...

When one's party stands for the worst, it is no surprise that it is in disarray.

==================
Republicans facing first poll in disarray
The ranks of the Grand Old Party of Abe Lincoln are divided as it goes into the Iowa caucus battle on Tuesday, with no agreement on what it stands for and no obvious contender to take on Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama
David Smith in New York
Sunday December 30, 2007
Observer

Clad in an orange and grey hunting jacket and an orange cap, Mike Huckabee raised his 12-gauge shotgun, took aim and fired, bagging a pheasant for the benefit of watching reporters. As another shot flew over their heads, it became too much for one journalist who cried: 'Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Don't shoot. This is traumatising.' Huckabee the hunter had demonstrated himself a 'regular guy', hoping to consolidate his lead in the Republican polls before Thursday's Iowa caucus, the first step to gaining the party's nomination for President.

His nearest rival, Mitt Romney, had shot himself in the foot by claiming to be an avid hunter, only to then confess he targeted mostly 'small varmints'. No such question marks over Huckabee, who said he not only hunted ducks, deer and antelopes but could eat varmint too. 'I figured out you could put grease in a popcorn popper and heat that thing up and you could cook anything,' he said of his student days. 'So we fried squirrel.'

There is growing unease among Republican organisers that the Grand Old Party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan could meet the same fate as Huckabee's squirrel. The presidential campaign has failed to produce a champion to take on Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or whoever wins the Democratic nomination. Instead the struggle for the party's soul has exposed fissures in policy, disarray over what it now stands for and distractions both banal and bizarre, 'redneck stew' included.

[...]
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,...

Interesting little piece here, but I myself am relieved to see it.

===========
Left Bank fumes in a smoke-free zone

Alex Duval Smith
Sunday December 30, 2007

Observer

Without it, film noir would have lacked its noir. Existentialists might have got bored working out the absurd, and husky-voiced Simone Signoret would have lacked huskiness. Yet on Tuesday France is due to become the latest country to ban smoking in its 280,000 cafes, bars and restaurants.
Whereas last year's ban on puffing in workplaces met with little resistance, intellectuals - who spend little time in offices and do much of their thinking in cafes - have come out in force against this one. It was Jean-Paul Sartre, after all, who declared that 'smoking is the symbolic equivalent of destructively appropriating the whole world'.

Left Bank waitress-to-the-thinkers Irene, who for 12 years has emptied ashtrays at Cafe de Flore, once one of Sartre's stamping grounds, says her customers are extremely upset. 'We have a non-smoking section on the first floor but it's almost always empty, because it has no atmosphere.

'We are taking away the ashtrays on Tuesday and we'll see how it goes. I'm not a smoker myself but I'm against this law because cafes, unlike offices, are places you go to by choice. Soon everything will be banned and people will go off to the toilets to sniff their lines of cocaine,' she said.

Cafe de Flore, along with its neighbours Brasserie Lipp and Les 2 Magots, owe their place in history - and in tourist guidebooks - to former smoking patrons, such as Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Pungent Gauloises and Gitanes were their brand at a time when the rest of the population was still enchanted with the perceived sophistication of 'les blondes' - toasted brands, such as Lucky Strike and Camel, brought over by the American liberators.

[...]
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,...

In line with the last ...

My husband and I have been spending odd hours over the holidays watching *Secret Army* since I purchased the full set (three series' worth) of DVDs from the Beeb store in London on a visit there last year and haven't had time to watch until recently. Up until now, I had managed to catch only a snatched episode or two when it was part of a UK Gold channel while I still had access to Sky TV (yes, Murdoch's group, I must 'fess up).

It is interesting to see how much smoking went on ... and surprisingly so since the series is set in Occupied Belgium during WWI, when cigarettes were generally available only on the black market.

If you are interested in a truly great TV series, check it out.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075579/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Army...(TV_series)

Now, to learn about Swiss watch-making ... bbl

Just popped back before going out to see that I made a big typo in my last ... WWII (not WWI). Big difference.

The Secret Army series is perhaps even more timely now than it was in the 70s when it was produced ... since it shows how ordinary people continued, even under the most dangerous and repressive of circumstances, to live out their beliefs and to fight for what they believed was right.

Now really gone.

Well congratulations to the NE Patriots for going 16-0 and coming back in last night win.  They deserved it.  But 16-0 does not say "SuperBowl Champins".........many land mines await NE IF they get that far.............and lets not forget one important thing...the NE patriots got caught taping NY jets practices befoe the first game of the season....................

Now, the REAL winner last night was the NY Giants IMO.  This team easily culd have rested all its starters in prep for next weeks playoff game..but they didnt and hats off to them for that, and they gave the supposed greatest team of all time all it handle..............

So, NE fans relish the glory of your undefeated REGULAR season.............Im certain Pittsburgh, San Diego and Indianapolis relish the thought of being underdogs..............

IF the Pats win it al, then they would have deserved it..........but its  along way to go until the Super Bowl.................NE definitley has  aHUGE bullseye on its back now.................leys just see how really good they are IF they ca win it all.............and i closing, the Super Bowl wil NOT be played in Foxboro this year.

Mike you missed your calling as a football analyst. couldn't agree more.

the Packers might not to want to follow the Giants lead though and rest the starters

my sentimental pick the Saints aren't out yet either

go Peyton

My hubby and I have been in Indiana for the last 10 days visiting family and friends for the holidays. The main topic by both our Democratic and Republican friends was how Indiana's Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) sold their toll road to a private Spanish-Australian joint-venture between Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte and Macquarie Infrastructure Group. Our freinds were not a bit happy about it. I think they thought there was something very Un-American about the sale and I agree. Folks have been paying for that toll road for years.

Indiana Toll Road http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Tol...

...As governor, Daniels has pushed through unpopular proposals that had the state adopt Daylight Savings Time and privatize the Indiana Toll Road. In 2007 Gov. Daniels proposed a cigarette tax raising Indiana's 55.5-cents-per-pack tax by at least 25 cents. The proposed increase failed to win approval in the Indiana House, after a bipartisian effort in the 100-member chamber voted against it... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Danie...

Un-American http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un-American...

Lost Highway
The foolish plan to sell American toll roads to foreign companies. http://www.slate.com/id/2138950/

Foreign companies buying U.S. roads, bridges http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006...

Governments Sell Roads to Raise Cash
by Kathleen Schalch
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story...

Indiana Toll Road http://charlieaverill.blogspot.com/2007/...

Famous Blue RaincoatArtist: Leonard Cohen
Album: Songs Of Love And Hate
Track: Famous Blue Raincoathttp://mog.com/Aboriginalien/blog_post/133686BOSTON - As a presidential contender, Mitt Romney has the looks, the money and the campaign machine. He also has something of a candor gapCAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaida and vowed to expand the terror group's holy war to Israel in a new audiotape Saturday, threatening "blood for blood, destruction for destruction." CAIRO (AFP) - France will have no more contact with Syria until Damascus shows its willingness to let Lebanon end its current crisis and appoint a new president, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday. BOGOTA, Colombia - A series of explosions ripped through an army base in the Colombian city of Medellin on Saturday, killing at least two people and forcing nearby residents to flee.

26.

Susan Rowe

 

>

I gather, that the corporate media deemed it unfit to be news outside of Indiana, for it stagers me that a story of interest (you plainly make the case) is so underreported.

  I knew it was a possibility - toll roads were being offered to *outside* interests, but was in disbelief. 

So now, Indiana is subject (IE - nolonger soveriegn) to the will of foriegn cultures ... or is it fascist culture once removed?

24.

Michael Ellis

>

Phil says you missed your calling, and you do waft a similar sent(iment) I hear from sports announcers and the once great coach of the Miami Dolphins (IE negative opinion).

Go Pack!  The Patriots may be ripe. 

Well, I'm still waiting for my Sunday Boston Glober to be delivered by my regular delivery guy.  I called the Globe customer service # and was told that most places will get delivery by 10am.

The reason for the delay ?

Well, it wasn't due to a snow storm (the last time there was a Sunday storm and a later delivery here was when the Globe endorsed Barack Obama for president -- neither snow, hail, ...).

This time it was due to the Globe presses wanting to front page about some game win last night.

Sshhhhh. I almost said a name of a team (yep, most things in life take a team effort).

typo - Boston Glober   s/b - Boston Globe

and speaking of breaking records, the storm coming tonight should push Boston over the all-time record for snowfall in the month of Dec

Iowa on caucus night Jan 3 looks free and clear of any storms

Good, to hear that -- means all those caucusing for the first time there have a better shot at showing up with all their enthusiasm

Global warming to alter Calif. landscape By NOAKI SCHWARTZ Associated Press Writer

12/29/2007

LOS ANGELES—California is defined by its scenery, from the mountains that enchanted John Muir to the wine country and beaches that define its culture around the world.
But as scientists try to forecast how global warming might affect the nation's most geographically diverse state, they envision a landscape that could look quite different by the end of this century, if not sooner.

Where celebrities, surfers and wannabes mingle on Malibu's world-famous beaches, there may be only sea walls defending fading mansions from the encroaching Pacific. In Northern California, tourists could have to drive farther north or to the cool edge of the Pacific to find what is left of the region's signature wine country.

Abandoned ski lifts might dangle above snowless trails more suitable for mountain biking even during much of the winter. In the deserts, Joshua trees that once extended their tangled, shaggy arms into the sky by the thousands may have all but disappeared.

"We need to be attentive to the fact that changes are going to occur, whether it's sea level rising or increased temperatures, droughts and potentially increased fires," said Lisa Sloan, a scientist who directs the Climate Change and Impacts Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "These things are going to be happening."

Among the earliest and most noticeable casualties is expected to be California's ski season.

Snow is expected to fall for a shorter period and melt more quickly. That could shorten the ski season by a month even in wetter areas and perhaps end it in others.
Whether from short-term drought or long-term changes, the ski season already has begun to shrivel in Southern California, ringed by mountain ranges that cradle several winter resorts.

"There's always plenty of snow, but you may just have to go out of state for it," said Rinda Wohlwend, 62, who belongs to two ski clubs in Southern California. "I'm a very avid tennis player, so I'd probably play more tennis."

———

Because California has myriad microclimates, covering an area a third larger than Italy, predicting what will happen by the end of the century is a challenge.

But through a series of interviews with scientists who are studying the phenomenon, a general description of the state's future emerges.

By the end of the century, temperatures are predicted to increase by 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit statewide. That could translate into even less rainfall across the southern half of the state, already under pressure from the increased frequency of wildfires and relentless population growth.

Small mammals, reptiles and colonies of wildflowers in the deserts east of Los Angeles are accustomed to periodic three-year dry spells. But they might not be able to withstand the 10-year drought cycles that could become commonplace as the planet warms.

Scientists already are considering relocating Joshua tree seedlings to areas where the plants, a hallmark of the high desert and namesake of a national park, might survive climate change.

"They could be wiped out of California depending on how quickly the change happens," said Cameron Barrows, who studies the effects of climate change for the Center for Conservation Biology in Riverside.

Farther north, where wet, cold winters are crucial for the water supply of the entire state, warmer temperatures will lead to more rain than snow in the Sierra Nevada and faster melting in the spring.

Because 35 percent of the state's water supply is stored annually in the Sierra snowpack, changes to that hydrologic system will lead to far-reaching consequences for California and its ever-growing population.

Some transformations already are apparent, from the Sierra high country to the great valleys that have made California the nation's top agricultural state.

full article: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iP-k4...

Mark wrote “looks to me like edwards is the only one here. although $25 is trivial. if your problem is with all 527's, well there it is. but emily's list and the unions are hardly the washington power brokers who are the real problem.”

You’re overlooking something important. Edwards opposes corporate PAC contributions. What’s the reason? They represent “special interests” who have too much influence in Washington. This is a very brave pronouncement to make in an election system that requires candidates to privately fundraise in order to run for office, so you would have to admire Edwards for cutting off this potential source of funds when he is running far behind the other major candidates in raising such contributions. So much so, in fact, that he did what Dean was able to avoid, that is accept matching federal funds, which will cap his spending in the primaries and, worse, in the period before his nomination at the convention if he has won the requisite number of delegates.

Unfortunately for his sterling reputation, he seems to be completely cognizant of this fact. His bold renunciation of PAC contributions seems to have come with the assurance that his 2004 campaign manager would be consulting a 527 group, who would be promoting his campaign with ads that outline the broad details of “The Edwards Plan.” In his or the group’s view, apparently, this is not overt support for his candidacy or a advocacy coordinated with the campaign.

You may believe he’s sincere, but remember that in 2004, Edwards accused Bush of idly standing by during the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign against John Kerry, claiming that Bush could and should “step forward and say three words: Stop these ads.” If you believe what he said then, you must believe he’s lying now, because he felt the candidate could stop these outside expenditures on his behalf, which he has said he frowns upon. If he was just mistaken then, well, that’s what we should come to expect from Edwards, based on his history. We just have to wait for him to apologize for his mistaken judgment in the past, having realized how his old view of things will hobble his future nomination prospects.

Edwards can count on Howard coming through with DNC generic help if he has the nomination wrapped up.

He hasn't decided about the federal funds for the general election.

Democrats are fired up and he will have plenty of money come the fall.

Yesterday, Saturday 12/29 in my mailbox:  Only three pieces of mail.

1 Pro Hillary from the Hillary campaign

1 Pro Obama from the Obama campaign

1 Pro Hillary from the 'American Federation of Teachers'

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-independents30dec30,1,1071933.story?track=rss

McCain losing votes to Obama in N.H.Nonaligned voters in New Hampshire have their pick of parties. This time around, they lean toward a Democrat.By Maeve Reston and Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
December 30, 2007 NASHUA, N.H. -- Like many New Hampshire voters, Dave Montgomery considers himself a dyed-in-the-wool independent -- which in this state means he can vote in either the Republican or Democratic presidential primary when he goes to the polls Jan. 8.

This year, the semi-retired school bus driver from Milford finds himself torn between two candidates, one from each party: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama of (D-Ill.).
Montgomery likes McCain, he said, because "he seems to be enough of a rebel." He likes Obama for pretty much the same reason -- because he seems to be "his own man."

"I think either one of them could do the job," he said.

Independents like Montgomery may be the decisive factor for both major parties when New Hampshire holds the nation's first primary next week, hot on the heel's of Iowa's caucuses on Thursday. And the choices these nonaligned New Hampshire voters make almost assuredly will shape the nation's later primary races.

"This big group in the middle . . . has a chance to really transform the election," said Tom Rath, a veteran New Hampshire Republican strategist who is advising former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.). Describing the efforts to woo independents, he added: "It's more like a general election here."

If Obama bests national front runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), he probably will owe his New Hampshire victory to independents, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll suggested last week.

Among the state's registered Democrats, the survey found Clinton led Obama, 35% to 28%. But among independents who plan to vote in the Democratic primary, Obama led, 37% to 24% -- turning the contest into a virtual tie....
And Obama's strength among independents now looms as a problem for McCain.

The Republican's campaign, after struggling mightily this year, has regained some of its footing and is hoping a New Hampshire win could propel him to success in later primaries. But he may fall short in the Granite State, in part because so many independents are choosing Obama.

The Times/Bloomberg poll found that among New Hampshire independents who have chosen the party primary in which they will cast a ballot, 61% said they planned to vote in the Democratic race, 39% in the GOP contest. And among those who have decided whom they will support, more than twice as many said they planned to back Obama, compared to McCain.

These voters include retiree Stephen Winship, 88, who plans to vote for Obama.

Winship said he supported McCain eight years ago "because he was candid," but won't do so now, in part because he disagrees with him over the Iraq war. McCain "has a conservative frame of mind and military background, so I think he would very much like to see this succeed," Winship said. "I think we need to get out."

Winship's shift reflects a broader trend among New Hampshire independents: Over the last eight years, they have drifted to the left....
  Obama and McCain, as they have courted New Hampshire independents of late, are acutely aware that they are competing not only with rivals in their own parties, but with each other.
...

Edwards and Obama are splitting the anti-Hillary vote, which are two thirds or more.

Iowa won't decide a thing this year. California's winner will be the likely nominee. It might well be Iowa's winner but it won't be because of Iowa.

Because Obama did not vote for the war, he is in good shape. Because Edwards stands with working people and this is the Democratic Party he is in good shape.

It is too close to call.

(continued)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-independents30dec30,0,4414280.story?page=1&coll=la-home-nation

McCain losing votes to Obama in N.H.

... 

Indra Edmonds, 40, a stay-at-home mom who voted for McCain in 2000, said, "He's not the same person" now.

"He struck me as the guy out to meet America on his bus the first time around," said Edmonds, who lives in Strafford. "This time around, he's using different tactics. He doesn't seem as enthusiastic and fresh."

She backs Obama, saying he's "younger, he's still more positive and he hasn't been there so long that he's bitter or negative."

She said she devoured Obama's book, "The Audacity of Hope," as she had McCain's autobiography -- and found similarities between the two. "I like their character; they're not big-government people," she said.

Though she was not budging from Obama, she added that, when the New Hampshire primary is over, "if it comes down to McCain versus a different Democrat, I'm back with McCain."

I can't wait until the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary results !

First impressions (ie. results) do count for a lot

Phil wrote "Edwards can count on Howard coming through with DNC generic help if he has the nomination wrapped up."

But he's certainly in a predicament now, or would be if he didn't have the help he receives from the campaign contribution loophole that 527's represent.

Kevin

My brother is really upset at the way the national media twisted Richardson's answer to a question about Bhutto's assination and thought it very well thought out and reasonable. Does his campaign have a youtube clip?

Phil wrote "Iowa won't decide a thing this year."

Is that your prediction if results in New Hampshire are identical to Iowa's?  That set Kerry's nomination on the glidepath designed by Terry McAuliffe in 2004.

Why wouldn't a candidate that stands with Unions not expect them to back him in their 527 ads?

SEIU is a great friend.

looks like one team is into a certain type of rock --

Heavy Metal (err Mettle):

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Av.R52mQF6lzedx7PJdzMo1DubYF?slug=cr-perfectpats123007&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Boston-sized speed bumps

By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports
December 30, 2007

...

As impressive as the Patriots' blowouts were during the first half of the season, nothing has said more about the mettle of this team than the last eight games. Not only did New England withstand the vice-grip of possibly going 16-0, it survived despite all types of adversity. In places like Indianapolis and Baltimore and Saturday in the Meadowlands, and at home against Philadelphia, the Patriots proved they could play winning football from behind.

...

28.

Imn2Paine
Sun, 12/30/07



http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006...

U.S. HIGHWAYS FOR SALE (The List as of 7/15/2006)

A glance at some of the nation's highways:

ALASKA: Backers of the Knik Arm Bridge say they will look to private funding for the $600 million bridge that will connect Anchorage to Point Mackenzie.

COLORADO: The Front Range Toll Road Company proposes a 210-mile toll corridor from Wellington to just south of Pueblo.

FLORIDA: The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority requested proposals from investors to build a 3.1 mile toll road connecting Interstate 275 to New Tampa Boulevard in central Tampa. The road is expected to cost $150 million.

ILLINOIS: Privatization of the 274-mile Illinois Tollway is the subject of legislative hearings and study.

INDIANA: Gov. Mitch Daniels wants a private company to help build a $1.8 billion, 142-mile extension of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville and then manage it as a tollway.

MISSOURI: In May, the Legislature approved a plan that would allow a $910 million bridge to be built between St. Louis and Illinois by a public-private partnership with the right to collect tolls.

NEVADA: In May, Boulder City agreed to study a toll road - possibly privately financed and operated - along a 10-mile stretch between the new junction of Interstates 93 and 95 and the new Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge.

NEW JERSEY: The Legislature is considering selling 49% of 173-mile Garden State Parkway and 148-mile New Jersey Turnpike to private investors.

NEW YORK: Privatizing the Long Island Expressway and the Tappan Zee Bridge have been proposed, but the state needs to change its laws to enable such deals.

OHIO: Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell proposes leasing the 241-mile Ohio Turnpike for $4 billion to $6 billion for 99 years.

OREGON: Oregon has invited a group led by Macquarie to assess the feasibility of three toll projects outside of Portland: an 11-mile bypass, a new corridor and a widening of an existing corridor.

TEXAS: On June 29, The Texas Transportation Commission approved a deal in which Cintra and San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Co. agreed to pay $1.3 billion to build 40 miles of state toll road from Austin to Seguin in exchange for the right to collect tolls for 50 years. The state will receive a share of the toll revenue. It's expected to open to traffic in 2012.nIn March 2005, the state entered into a $7.2 billion deal with Spanish-American consortium Cintra-Zachry to develop a 600-mile toll road from Oklahoma to Mexico and the Gulf Coast parallel to the existing Interstate 35.

VIRGINIA: The state is negotiating with Fluor-Transurban for a $913 million project to add a high-occupancy toll lane to the existing HOV lanes between the 14th Street bridge and Dumfries, Va. From Dumfries down to Massaponax, Va., two new lanes would be built. Fluor is a construction company based in Aliso Viejo, Calif.; Transurban Group, a Melbourne, Australia-based toll road developer.

*Source: Associated Press

Well, my Sunday Boston Globe still hasn't arrived yet and I need to get ready for Sunday church service.

42.

Phil Specht
Sun, 12/30/07

Phil,

 Let me check and see on the youtube video.

 

46.  Wonder if anyone's going to do a study to see how many of these projects are going to serve minority populations.  Privatization is nothing more than a scheme to avoid making public services available on an egalitarian basis, while taking advantage of the monopoly guarantees of the public sector and lower interest costs.

Kidz In The Hall - Work To Do (Obama Version)       http://hypem.com/track/444936

I expect Edwards and Obama to virtually tie. In New Hampshire where independents are decisive as compared to Democrats only in Iowa I would expect Obama to win, and again In South Carolina, and if Edwards squeaks out a win in Iowa he will stay competitive til Feb 5th.

I'd could see Edwards 33, Obama 32, Clinton 19,  Richardson 8, Biden 5, Dodd 3 in Iowa 

If Iowa was the only vote that counted Hillary would be out with that outcome but she has organizations in all the Feb. 5th states and no way will go away. and continuing the split in the anti Clinton vote means she comes on later still as they start to drop out.

49.&46.

Holding on to Democracy and our society is like holding sand in a hand with fingers spread.