Howard Dean is first for following the rules as we were all taught to do. Stick to your guns, Howard.

-----
Poblano has an excellent polling analysis up for the general.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3...

You won't want to miss it.

Thanks for all of the KOS links, mary. It helps as I don't go there much except when folks link to it, so I know it's worth the time.

Daschle alluded that the right thing to do as an SD would be to give their delegacy (is that a word?) to whomever had the most pledged delegates. He said "that's what we're supposed to do."

Did anyone else see that on yesterday's show?

Hillary still has her "magical thinking" going on.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1879

This is a reprint from The New York Times that was in The Rutland (VT) Herald today. Thought you folks might be interested in reading it. (Sorry it's so long, but worth it!)

The New York Times said the following in an editorial:



If recent history is any guide, this fall's presidential election will be marred by vote suppression and cynical dirty tricks. Congress still has time to stop some of the worst offenses. The Senate is considering two bills, one to outlaw so-called vote caging and another to rein in duplicitous robo-calls. Congress should pass both bills well before Election Day.

Vote caging is a little-known but pernicious technique. Political operatives mail letters to voters, targeting areas where the opposing party is strong. If a letter is returned as undeliverable, the voter's name is put on a list to be challenged at the polls. The challengers try to persuade election officials not to let the person vote, or only to let them cast a provisional ballot. Some voters end up disenfranchised. No matter how the challenges turn out, they often create confusion and long lines, reducing turnout in the targeted precincts.

Minority voters have been especially victimized. In an infamous case in Louisiana, a Republican political operative boasted that a vote-caging program "could keep the black vote down considerably." Vote caging is sometimes defended as a way of removing ineligible voters from the rolls. But there are many reasons letters are returned, including errors in names and addresses, which are common on direct-mail lists.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has sponsored a good bill that would require operatives to present better evidence when they challenge a voter's eligibility, such as verifiable proof that a prospective voter has moved or died.

The bill would not deter legitimate efforts to keep ineligible people from voting, but it should greatly reduce the use of voter challenges as an Election Day dirty trick.

Political robo-calls are another tactic desperately in need of regulation. In the 2006 election, voters described being harassed by automated telephone calls — which called back as many as eight times after the recipient hung up. In some cases, the recordings began by saying that they included important information about one candidate, although they were really placed by the other side. The caller would then blame the wrong candidate.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has introduced legislation that would restrict political robo-calls in the run-up to an election, limiting an organization to no more than two such calls to the same phone in a single day. It would also require the call to begin with a clear disclosure of the group that was placing it.

Almost invariably on Election Day, there are reports of skulduggery followed by cries for reform. Once the election is over, however, the damage has been done.

This year, Congress should take strong action to prevent the dirty tricks before they occur.

The DNC blog has all the videos of Howard Dean's appearances this morning.  He was truly outstanding and outspoken.  He did not allow some of the talking heads to put him on the defensive.   He has a tough job, and he made it clear he is not going to back down on the rules.

 http://dnc.org/a/2008/03/dean_on_morning.php#comments010855

37.

Denise
Thu, 03/06/08
=================

Thanks for the input, Denise. I have always been raised and conditioned to support Israel and "stick up" for the Jews there, and "stick up" for American interests globally. About twenty years ago I started to feel compassion for the story of the Palestinian people, a story few people tell in this country.

I understand what you mean about the mafia. Those low-life Italian people are the first thing most of these hillbilly's think of, when they meet an Italian. It doesn't bother me anymore. I have no affection for Italians anymore (I am 100%) and my children are half Asian.

I have read several book critical of the middle east situation, and try to educate myself in the history and politics of the region. It is one of the most propagandized societies since the USSR, and much of that is translated into our society.

I have recently had a Jewish person (who's been to Israel) tell me that I can go to Israel and become a citizen if I wanted to. This is totally false. One has to prove their ethnic and religious Judaism to immigrate.

Much of the apprehension and distrust of Jewish people originated from the pogroms and the Nazi extermination. This is understandable, and human nature. What is hard to understand is how the Palestinian have been paying the price for this rage and desperation.

For the first generation or so of the Zionist movement. The Palestinian welcomed the Jews back into the region as lost brothers. It was only after they picked up on the apprehension, and suspicions of "The Iron Wall" dogma, did they start to feel threatened. The betrayal of the Arab alliance with the British, by the British did not help either. The Balfour Declaration was also a top-down imperialistic decree, with no consent from the indigenous aboriginal people of the region. The assumed basis for it being an ancient scriptual mandate.

It was a very small group of Zionists (a segment of the movement) that started this cycle of violence. Far be it from the masses of good Jewish people. But the holocaust changed everything.

From MyDD....

Hillary still has her "magical thinking" going on.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1879

"The rules the party has put in place to choose its nominee are not the rules of the Clinton campaign...."

Pretty much says it all -- except, not only do The Clintons think the rules of their own party don't apply to them, they don't think the rules of common decency do either. 

Can they be trusted, if elected, to think the rule of law applies to them any more than Bush thinks it applies to him?

The DNC blog has all the videos of Howard Dean's appearances this morning. He was truly outstanding and outspoken. He did not allow some of the talking heads to put him on the defensive. He has a tough job, and he made it clear he is not going to back down on the rules.=============

I agree-he's been great. Been watching his commentary on this.

9.

Sitka
Fri, 03/07/08

Hillary still has her "magical thinking" going on

===============
who can forget "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to"

Obama won Texas.

Iowa elects delegates on June 14th at our State Convention.

Fred thanks for your thoughts.

Michigan could be freed of the connection between the primary allocation and election of actual National delegates at the District Convention by making all such delegates unpledged and start a new process there without spending a cent. I'm guessing National Rules would agree.

all states have two steps an allocation and an election of the actual named individuals going to Denver

we make such a vote at our District Conventions and so could Michigan

and it wouldn't add a cent to the cost just the approval of National Rules for a variance

there are ways to do it if Michigan is willing, and wants to be sure of being seated at Denver.

HALPERIN’S TAKE: The Dangers Which Might Await Obama If He Makes Negative Attacks Central To His Campaign

Printable version

A group of UK-based human rights and development organisations have called for fundamental policy changes towards the Gaza Strip by Israel, the international community and the West Bank-based Palestinian leadership.

Their report details what are calling the worst humanitarian crisis in the strip since Israel occupied it in the 1967 war, and describe it as a man-made disaster resulting from the isolation and blockade of Gaza after its take-over by Hamas militants last June.

The following are the main points in the report, sponsored by Amnesty International, Care International UK, Cafod, Christian Aid, Medecins du Monde UK, Oxfam, Save the Children UK and Trocaire.

8.

Denise
Fri, 03/07/08

Fred thanks for your thoughts
=============================

no problemo. An excellent unbiased history of the Zionist movement and the evolution of modern Israel is "The Iron Wall" by Avi Shlaim. The book was banned in Israel until the courts overturned the ban.

Shlaim is a professor in UK, who was from a wealthy Iraqi Jewish family. They lived for centuries in peace among moslems there until 1948 in Palestine, the events of which compelled them to leave under threat of being killed. He and his mother emigrated to the infant State of Israel and Slaim served two years in the IDF. After moving to the UK with his mother, he married the great-granddaughter of the Lord Balfour, after whom the Balfour declaration was named.

It is a very difficult history book to read. It is loaded with referenced material dug up from archives in the government and newspapers. It is very rich in researched material.

He's Back.....

Are the Archie Bunkers of the world still stinkin' the place up?  

 Now would be a good time for Obama to remind people that he's NOT black enough.  God, this is getting ridiculous.

Last Updated: Thursday, 6 March 2008, 22:55 GMT BBC: Printable version In quotes: Jerusalem shooting reaction

Hopefully Obama will step back from the edge of The Clintons' mudpit that they've been inviting him into with them since the first smears on his name and color.

There's nothing they want at this point more than a mudwrestle with Obama rather than just throwing it at him and looking bad in the process. 

Here's the wikipedia link for Archie Bunker for the young ones.

Other than him bringing up Clinton releasing her tax info, he has said nothing. And when he does, he doesn't have venom dripping from his mouth and hate-filled glazed over eyes like she does.

http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/235/1030/17183/1/frameset.html

Before the Israelis started scaling back their operation in Gaza, one of their officials told the BBC that after what he called the "current round" they wanted to leave no perception that Hamas had come out on top.

As soon as Israel said it was pulling its troops

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

E-mail this to a friend

Some Palestinians took to the streets in the Gaza Strip. Gunmen fired into the air in celebration. The militant group Hamas praised the attack.

It was the first major attack in Jerusalem since 2004, coming at a time of heightened tension after Israeli forces killed more than 120 during operations in the Gaza Strip in recent days.

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/24131...

new one

Bigosh, I think that the Deans are FIRST on the next thread ... until someone tamps me down!

Thanks, Danny, for starting the new thread when I refreshed!

The superdelegates could vote for Richardson, followed by the other delegates on the second ballot.  But unfortunately, that is not what will happen...  Richardson could beat McCain even in McCain's home state of Arizona.

The Hamas rockets have got to stop.  Maybe Hamas should start following the principles of Martin Luther King and they would help their own people more.  Innocent Palestinian people are being harmed by their own "leaders" more than by Israel.

When Israel withdrew from Gaza, there was a story in the media about a Palestinian family that wanted to go on a vacation at the beach.  Of course, we all wanted such families to be able to enjoy a normal vacation at the beach.  But what did Hamas do when it took over Gaza?  Instead of spending money on building a Palestinian community, with schools and vacation spots for innocent Palestinian families, they created a military buildup and fired rockets into Israel.  Now they are firing rockets deeper into Israel.  Whether we like it or not, a country is going to try to stop another country from firing rockets onto their people. The rockets have got to stop.   Israel has consistently agreed to a Palestinian state and peace. This is documented in Albright's book.  The extremist Palestinian leaders are more interested in attacking Israel than in building their own country.  The Palestinian people are too afraid of them to complain, so they blame Israel.  Stop making Israel the scapegoat.  The Palestinians have to take responsibility for building their own society and their own peace movement.  The US should try to limit excesses by Israel, but there are two sides of this story. 

The liberal Democratic Party must not become part of the Arab extremists' propaganda machine.  Of course, it is basic human rights that no Palestinian should ever have to live in a refugee camp, and no child should grow up in a refugee camp.  We want peace, decent neighborhoods, and economic opportunity for the Palestinians.  However, the Palestinians have to take some responsibility for building and definig their own society, rather than continuously blaming Israel for everything.  The real underlying agenda of some people, bought into by some Americans these days, is that Israel should not exist as a state.  That is the motive of the extremists who want to fire rockets and buy weapons rather than building community health care and schools.  Not everything done by Israel has been right, but there are two sides to this issue.  Also, the AIPAC paranoia has to stop.  Most of the Jewish contributors to political candidates take an objective, and even critical, view and do not blindly accept whatever the Israeli govenment does.  In fact, Israel's own citizens have been deeply critical of Olmert.  The AIPAC paranoia are just another form of the traditional Anti-Semitic view that the Jews have some kind of disproportionate money and influence.  The truth is that Israel is a tiny country with no political power and not even enough resources to become a major industrialized country.  The truth is that is peace were to occur in the Middle East, that is the best way that Israel and Palestine could become a major industrialized area.  The other fact is that the Jews are a tiny minority in the US, and they vote primarily on the basis of health care and elder care more than on the basis of Israel.  If you read Albright's book, you will see that any time Israeli negotiators tried to play games, Bill Clinton put a stop to it, and he was not pushed around by anybody.