It has been an eventful week. The economy has shown signs of considerable collapse. One of the most stodgy and respected banks, Bear Stearns, collapsed from being worth some $130 a share to being bought out for a mere $2 a share. AND it needed bailing out by the government as well. Inflation and stagnation...what used to be called stagflation. That is what we are seeing. Back when we first saw this horrible combination, at least our Presidents admitted it. Ford's slogan was "WIN: Whip Inflation Now!" It was worthless, but at least it admitted the problem. Bush merely "reassures" us that there is nothing to worry about. He claims there is no recession, no inflation, no problem. "Don't worry, be happy." The mantra that worked so well for his father.

This week it was all about the economy, the war and race. That's a pretty heavy week!

I wrote this last year right after Al Gore appeared on Capitol Hill to give testimony about the effects of climate change and how the climate crisis is now and will effect this planet. Today is one year since that testomony wherein he explained that the Arctic ice cap should it all go will not come back in any timeframe relevant to the human species. However, I still don't see the urgency that needs to be seen by enough of US to begin doing what we must to mitigate this.

Just the other day, Mr. Gore not only launched The Climate Project-India to continue the worldwide grassroots education many need to inspire action, he also stated in a videoconference that business was leading politicians on this. That is because he is in the private sector spurring on the change that needs to come from the right sectors in order for political will to have that tipping point. Yet, where is the support for all of the work he is now doing on this? How far have we come in one year's time to really stand up for this planet? It is sad to see that my skepticism regarding Congress was true.

Let's face it - it's unfair, undemocratic and quite preposterous for the Democratic  party to select a candidate for president without including voters from every state in the union. Now that it seems unlikely that either Florida or Michigan will have a revote for the presidential primary, the Democratic National Committee needs to move forward with a decision that empowers those states' voters without undermining DNC Rules and Bylaws and the state courts that have gotten involved in DNC's decision to strip those two states of their delegates. It's likely that no matter what the DNC does at this point they won't please everyone, but since we're seeing an unprecedented response from Democratic voters this year the DNC needs to move forward quickly to ride the wave of public engagement this primary has already engendered.  
A productive way for the DNC to validate rank-and-file voters is to find a reasonable way to reinstate their pledged delegates without seating any of those two states' superdelegates. Superdelegates are supposed to be experienced party leaders with the vision and judgment to do what is best for the Democratic party, even when it means overturning the will of the voters. Florida and Michigan's supers could have used their "superior judgment and vision" to get their states to comply with the primary plan that had already been agreed to by the DNC and their states. Yet those supers were either supportive of, or chose not to reject, the decisions to move up their states' primaries which led to the dilemma the Democratic party now faces. They may have figured their states could best influence the primary by shaping early perception of the candidates, even if it meant forfeiting their delegates. Their poor judgment last year and now their blaming of the DNC in a refusal to acknowledge their key role for this fiasco indicates they lack the vision and leadership skills required of superdelegates. To send a strong message that prevents future line-jumping by other states, the DNC is right to penalize the supers of these two states by refusing to seat them at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

The Clinton campaign wants desperately to woo primary voters – and swing superdelegates – with the argument that wherever she has led in the "big states" when she matched against Barack Obama she will surely carry the day in November in a faceoff against Republican John McCain. Her strategists cling to that hoped for scenario in states like CALIFORNIA, NY, FLORIDA, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, and so on.

But the numbers that came out since last weekend, though overshadowed by Obama confronting the controversy of his pastor, expose the Clinton big-state falsehood. Obama bests her against McCain . . .

  . . . in the very biggest states.

But, that particular memory is overshadowed by another, a more recent memory that has led to a shared painful reality, a reality that some say has divided and fatigued an entire nation, a reality most of us witness from the comfort of our homes and communities, a reality that is nightmarish, a shared but awful truth of where we the people find ourselves today.

Justin Soutar

(NOTE: This article currently appears as the cover story in the inaugural issue of U. S. Politics [April 2008].)

Well, for those of us living in New York this has been, shall we say, an "interesting" week. I discuss the scandal surrounding Eliot Spitzer in some detail in this newsletter. In the end it just may be a good thing. Our new governor, Governor Paterson, is untested in many ways...and some consider him a bit weak. But I have a better feeling about him than I did about Spitzer when he was elected. But time will tell.

This week also has been horrible for our economy. Things are getting worse and worse and no end in sight. I am seriously concerned about the economic situation. But Bush has been "reassuring" America that the economy is just fine. This reminds me of his father telling us "Don't worry, be happy." Which, of course, led to the brilliant counter line, "It's the Economy, Stupid." Well, "It's the Economy Stupid" applies more than ever, as I write on Culture Kitchen. Halliburton, Exxon/Mobil, Shell Oil, Chevron etc. rake in record profits while you and I have trouble making ends meet...and Bush "reassures" us. Pardon me, but to Hell with that! This economy has sucked during the entirety of Bush's term, with this being the SECOND recession he has given us. And inflation has been a problem at the very same time. I am not reassured.

But change is coming. Whether our nominee is Clinton or Obama, I am eager to see a change. Either way we will see some of the nastiest attacks from the Republicans we have ever seen. Be prepared. And be prepared to fight it tooth and nail. They will be as sexist and/or racist as they need to be to win. They will lie, steal and cheat to win. We are poised to take the Senate solidly, win more House seats and take the White House. This week alone we won yet another House seat (in Illinois) and successfully defended a threatened seat (in Indiana). But they have more dirty tricks up their sleeves and we have to be ready for it.

by Cody Lyon
History shows that Democrats gave up on the South after the successful Southern strategy by Republican candidates who first latched onto racism and later pedaled hot button right wing social topics that played well in the Bible Belt, while the truly immoral injustices of economic, health and educational equity continued to fester in many parts of the region.

This week's newsletter focuses a little more on simply winning as Democrats and a little less on primaries within the Democratic Party than my recent newsletters, but it is time we start focusing on winning the Senate and Presidency. I do still refer to the need for progressives to win primaries, and once again draw people's attention to my Progressive Primary Act Blue Site. Hope you guys can help in these primaries as well as in the Senate races I highlight. But mostly, this weeks newsletter directly confront's John McCain as the candidate who promises us nothing but more war, more recession, more inflation.

by Cody Lyon
Despite party rules over when those votes were cast, any attempt to disenfranchise a voter, much less an entire state, regardless of what party officials point to as guidelines, is fundamentally wrong. Such a move threatens the very spirit of our democracy unless there is a tangible and workable solution that gives every voter a voice in the selection process.

Mr. Hannity: The new appeasers claim that UN (United Nations) authorization is needed for war. (pp. 139-140)

July 6, 2007

Each year, it seems, the Grand American Puppet Show is getting longer, and the assortment of characters more diverse and talented. This time the curtain was lifted in the middle of 2006, more than two years before the Grand American Puppet Choice Day--er, excuse me, Election Day. The first two characters to appear on stage were New York Senator Hillary Clinton, representing the Democratic Party, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, representing the Republican Party.  

(Comment-Cody Lyon)This March 2, 60 Minutes report will probably go down in media history as one of the most important and moving stories ever produced in television journalism. CBSNEWS' 60 Minutes holds up a mirror to America, and the reflection we see is a heartbreaking, cruel and unjust crisis in America's Health Care system. Absent from the story are the familiar policy wonks and debates over political rhetoric. Instead, viewers see and hear real life stories that illustrate the cold reality facing those who have no insurance or inadequate coverage at best.

But, it is also a story about real life angels like Stan Brock, founder of the organization "Remote Area Medical" or RAM, who works with teams of volunteer health care providers by setting up weekend clinics, that offer free health, dental and eye care to the often poor or working class who have inadequate policies or are fully uninsured.

As it stands, an estimated 47 million citizens of the world's wealthiest nation have no health insurance. While that's a startling number, even more startling are some of the real life stories shared in this report. It left this viewer asking, how is it that we as a nation allowed ourselves to become so indifferent to the plight of our own?

Thank you RAM for your efforts at providing some relief to these fellow Americans and thank you 60 Minutes for restoring some faith in the mission of modern day journalism.

The year is such a big one for politics. I am amazed how many people are extra involved. One friend describes it as "Democrat fever," and is finding that people are eagerly digging deeper than usual to win. And there are already payoffs.

One of the most important things to happen this last week was Kofi Annan has finally gotten the battling factions in Kenya to sign a peace agreement. I was watching a segment on Current TV about the situation in Kenya and it was really worrisome. Some thought it could turn into another Rwanda, though others felt Kenya would pull itself together before it sank that low. But the truth is, one of Africa's more stable nations nearly collapsed into a bloody civil war. Kofi Annan has for now eased the crisis and could deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. The chaos in Kenya had a personal connection for me because some of my loans through Kiva were in the areas of Kenya where the fighting was taking place. As I write here, the situation there was really bad and many of the businesses I loaned to in Kenya may no longer exist.

Lots more below the fold!

Black holes collapse on themselves, with a such a density that they change the path of light with no light escaping them.  In coming days, the Global Warming disinformation organization, the Heartland Institute ("the leading propaganda mill sowing confusion about climate science"), will convene a Global Warming skeptic/delayer/denier coven with the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.  RealClimate asked a great question:

What if you held a conference, and no (real) scientists came?

For anyone concerned about a polite (an overly polite) shredding of a front organization's event, take the time to read it.