Mark Warner for U.S. Senate 2008

LET THE BAILOUT DIE!

BobVADemHawk — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:26:32 EDT

Some may believe that is harsh or ill-advised. They are certainly entitled to their opinion. But, IMHO, the worst thing we could do is to bailout these stupid, conservative, money-worshipping, fat cats. Bailing out an industry who was prone to make loans to people who had virtually no chance of being able to pay back said loans and even worse, were not intelligent enough to fully comprehend the terms of the agreement is just plain wrong.

The banks who made these loans are as much at fault as the dumba**es who accepted the loans. If you're a loan manager and a person comes to you wanting to buy a $250K house and makes $30K a year; what the hell are thinking authorizing that loan? Furthermore, if you're making $30K a year and a bank offers you a loan where the first year, or two, you only pay $500 a month but, in the next year the ARM kicks in and you're paying $1500 a month, what the hell are you doing accepting those terms? Are you planning on hitting the lottery? Perhaps you were waiting for a rich relative to die? More than likely, it was someone trying to ride the market up and flipping the house to some sucker who was going to pay 25% to 100% more than the actual property was worth.

Then, to top it all off, some nitwit conservative gets the idea of, "Hey, let's sell this worthless paper to some sucker and we're outta here!" This is the schmuck, now rich schmuck, the SEC should've been on guard for.

I do not feel sorry for Lehman Bros., Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, or any of the rest for being so stupid as to not check the validity and security of these so-called mortgage backed securities. They let their greed get the best of them. Why? Because they took out loans based on their holding of these worthless mortgage based securities and when they proved to be worthless they had no way to pay back the money they borrowed against the securities because the $30K guy woke up one morning and realized he had $4000 of bills, now that gas is nearly $4 a gallon as is milk and his personal property taxes are through the roof for his overvalued house, in one month and only $2500 of income. Oops! This is what happens when you let stupid people run things.

And then someone warns, "But we won't be able to get credit to buy cars and houses and fancy Made in China clothes". To those people I would say, here's a novel approach; cash and carry. And that concept is interest free! Save your money. Make some small investments, if you dare, in this economy. Walk into the car dealership or a realtor, stroke a check, and drive out. I'm sure GM or Century 21 wouldn't mind having all of that money up front. Then they don't have to worry about whether or not you're going to get fired, the economy is going to tank, again, you get divorced and your income drops 30% to 70%, or any other unforseen calamity.

The current polling...

BobVADemHawk — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:18:34 EDT

src="http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Icons/evmap.png"
alt="Click for www.electoral-vote.com" width="150" height="180" />

The “Being Stupid” and “Sounding Strong” Policy Connection

Stephen Crockett — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:39:38 EDT

Developments in the ongoing conflict between the nations of Georgia and Russia grew very hot this past week. The conflict has very long historical roots and has been potentially ready to explode since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The comments of John McCain on the current outbreak of war has demonstrated the close connection between “sounding strong” for domestic political considerations and “being stupid” in the execution of American foreign policy.

McCain has a tendency to talk tough and to threaten military consequences far too often for the comfort of many foreign policy experts and American citizens. McCain seems to have the first response impulse to use force and to send in the troops. This sometimes is appropriate but often is not the wise or intelligent course of action. McCain seems to discount the limits of military force in achieving foreign policy objectives and the negative blowback or other unintended consequences of getting involved in military conflicts without carefully studying the facts first.

Basically, McCain’s well-known bad temper marks him as a seemingly dangerously hot-head when it comes to foreign policy. McCain is very opinionated when it comes to many aspects of foreign policy. When conflict first erupted this week, McCain quickly made harsh comments criticizing Russia. McCain clearly appears to be threatening Russia with economic, diplomatic and, maybe military actions without considering the consequences for the United States.

His comments were not very helpful in persuading Russia to halt military actions. The Russians never respond well to direct public threats or orders from the United States. Intelligent diplomacy requires the very careful use of both carrot and stick measures to achieve the desired results. When you start “being stupid” in your public rhetoric by “talking tough” before thinking through the situation, you almost always fail to achieve your foreign policy goals.

Our foreign goals in the current Georgia-Russia conflict should be (1) halt the exchange of hostilities, (2) get Russia to withdraw their soldiers from occupied Georgian territory, (3) obtain a solid diplomatic front with our European allies especially NATO members regarding this conflict, (4) guarantee the international border integrity of Georgia, (5) protect the international oil pipelines running through Georgian territory, (6) guarantee the safety of American citizens in the war zones, (7) preserve both democracy in Georgia and a measure of ethnic self-rule in the breakaway provinces within Georgia, (8) avoid outright American military conflict with Russia and (9) avoid a new Cold War between Russia and the United States. “Taking tough” to “sound strong” in order to win points with the American electorate is a poor way to achieve any of these desired foreign policy goals. McCain was reckless and self-serving in his highly charged rhetoric.

Military action is all but impossible for the American government when it comes to responding to Russian actions in Georgia. The foreign wars launched by Bush (with the enthusiastic support of McCain) in Iraq and Afghanistan have drained away our military response ability when it comes to real threats to world peace and international emergencies.

McCain, like Bush, seems to be recklessly saber-rattling regarding Iran without having the necessary military forces required to back the threats being made. We need not to make the same mistake in Georgia.

How are we going to pay for more wars? McCain and Bush have not explained how we are going to pay for the current military conflicts or rebuilding our nearly exhausted military forces, much less launch even more foreign military misadventures. Economic mismanagement and disastrous trade policies have crippled our national finances and undermined our industrial capacity to fight wars.

Even economic conflict with Russia will have a very negative effect on the American nation. The world needs Russian oil. Disruptions in the oil supply from Russia will create severe hardships on American consumers. Only the oil companies financing much of McCain’s Presidential campaign would profit from such a situation. McCain’s “tough talk” might already be keeping oil prices higher than they would have been if McCain had not made those comments.

The fact that McCain has had a chief foreign policy advisor that was directly employed by the nation of Georgia while working on the McCain campaign demonstrates very poor judgment by Senator McCain. His chief foreign policy expert on Georgia was half of a two-man lobbying firm which received around $800,000 from the Georgian government while he was advising McCain. No advisor to any Presidential candidate should be a paid agent of any foreign government. It is no wonder that McCain does not have a balanced, well-informed approach to this subject.

McCain has dangerously injected himself into this touchy foreign policy/military crisis in a very public way. McCain should remember that he is not the President. Hopefully, for the sake of the American nation, he never will be.

Written by Stephen Crockett (host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com and Editor of Mid-Atlantic Labor.com http://www.midatlanticlabor.com ). Mail: 698 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, Delaware 19702. Email: demlabor@aol.com. Phone: 443-907-2367.

Feel free to publish without prior approval.

Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) to give high profile speech in Denver.

BobVADemHawk — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:31:16 EDT

HONOLULU (AP) - Mark Warner, Virginia's former governor and its Democratic candidate for the Senate, has been tapped to be the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, a plum spot that is often a springboard to national prominence. Four years ago another candidate for the Senate - Barack Obama of Illinois - used the keynote address to begin a rise in national politics expected to reach the Democratic nomination for president. Obama's campaign called Warner an innovative businessman and bipartisan leader in formally announcing his convention role Wednesday. Placing Warner in the national spotlight could help boost his campaign in Virginia, where he is trying to win the Senate seat of retiring Republican John Warner. Obama is also campaigning hard in Virginia, a state that Republican George W. Bush won in the last two elections but one the Obama campaign thinks could turn to the Democrats...

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080813/D92HDI0G0.html

Building Alliances and Voting for Change in 2008

Stephen Crockett — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:39:22 EDT

The American nation has an excellent opportunity to change the nature of politics in our country this year. We have a real chance to build lasting alliances that will re-define the political landscape at every level of government and permit us to take back our government by the average citizen.

For decades, the political power of the largest international corporations and the wealthiest of the Super Wealthy have been tightening their grasp on governments in America. They have effectively bought their way to power by giving billions in campaign donations and buying up the media.

The effect has been passage of laws that undermine the power of average citizens to control their own economic futures, have an effective voice in government policies and to hear opposing political viewpoints. It is no accident that most Americans think that their children will not have as high a standard of living as they currently experience. It was economic policy on the national and international levels that forced tens of millions of families to have both parents working to maintain a decent standard of living.

Your rights to sue corporations when they abuse you as a worker, investor or consumer are being stripped away by Republican politicians like George W. Bush, John McCain, Dick Cheney and your allegedly “moderate Republican” member of Congress. The same bunch of Republican politicians are and have been for decades falling all over themselves to pass legislation that ships high-paying jobs with healthcare benefits to Third World nations where the high pay and employer provided healthcare vanishes while corporate profits explode! Yes, Bush, McCain and Cheney love NAFTA, the WTO, CAFTA and the rest of these deals. They have been a goldmine of campaign cash for the Republican Right and the alleged “Republican moderates” in Congress.

By appointing corporate thinking federal judges and government regulators, American workers have seen their rights to form labor unions effectively undermined and often destroyed. The public fiction of “free elections” in the workplace is there for these deceitful Republicans to “defend.” However, in most workplaces, the reality is that these giant corporations make real free elections impossible by intentionally breaking the law (the penalties are a joke), firing pro-union workers, preventing union organizers from talking to workers or distributing material, issuing threats and the like. The reality of these “free unionization elections” is that they are no more free and fair than the “free elections” in the former Soviet Union, communist China or Nazi Germany! Still, the Republicans vehemently oppose passage of the Employee Free Choice Act which would return effective workplace democracy when it comes to unionization votes.

The decline of labor unions has meant the decline of the American Middle Class both economically and politically and corporate forces know it! An effective labor movement has meant real economic opportunity for tens of millions of working class and poor Americans. Labor unions have been the vehicle for millions of racial and ethnic minorities to join the mainstream, Middle Class majority in experiencing the American Dream.

Corporate controlled politicians like Bush and McCain are simply killing that Dream. Will we let them?

The wealthiest of the Super Wealthy control our mainstream media but not our votes.

We all should know that racism has an economic purpose. It is the tool most often used in America to get the working class whites and Middle Class majority to put in power politicians who vote against the economic interests of working class and Middle Class whites. Racism is the tool used to divide the non-economic elite majority so that all working class and Middle Class Americans do not demand government policies that provide real economic opportunity for the vast majority. Racism is a sucker bet for all poor, working class and Middle Class Americans!

Union Web Sites that can help you buy union-made products

Stephen Crockett — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:35:55 EDT

Union Web Sites that can help you buy union-made products

BUILD UNION, BUY UNION, SHOP UNION, BE UNION!

http://www.unionlabel.com

Miscellaneous

http://www.allamericanclothing.com

Clothing (Formerly Union Jean Company)

http://www.unionhouse.com

Clothing

http://www.justiceclothing.com

Clothing

http://www.unionmade.com

Miscellaneous

http://www.kinglouie.com

Clothing

http://www.legendaryusa.com

Leather Jackets (All Jackets Made in USA, Schott Jackets are Union Made)

http://www.tigereyedesign.com

Promotional Items – Bumper Stickers, Buttons, Pens, Etc.

http://www.unionvacations.com

Air, Hotel, Car, Cruises

http://www.unionsales.com

Miscellaneous

http://www.unionwear.com

Miscellaneous

http://www.atc-ny.com

Watches, Clothing, Clocks, Etc.

http://www.buyunion.us

Clothing, Specialty Items, Promotional Items

http://www.backdraftproducts.us

Specializing in IAFF Products Union Retail Stores

Greater Lehigh Valley Area in Pennsylvania

Wines & Spirits Shoppes

Rite-Aid

Super Fresh

Shop-Rite

Strauss Auto

Mailroom Copy & Print Center (call Stephen Crockett at 443-907-2367 for details)

K-Mart , T.J. Maxx Distribution Centers are Union, Retail is Not

Marshall’s

Do Not Shop! Wal-Mart Sam’s Club

Union Web Sites

• Bakery Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM)

http://www.bctgm.org

Food Products

• UNITE-HERE (UNITEHERE)

http://www.unitehere.org

Textiles, Hotels, Casinos, Etc.

• International Association of Machinists (IAM)

http://www.goiam.org

Motorcycles, Miscellaneous

• United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW)

http://www.ufcw.org

Retail, Miscellaneous

• International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)

http://www.teamster.org

Truck Drivers, UPS, Misc.

• United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1776 (UFCW 1776) http://www.ufcw1776.org Eastern Pennsylvania

• AFL-CIO http://www.aflcio.org

• Change to Win http://www.changetowin.org

-United Steelworkers of America http://www.usw.org

-United Auto Workers http://www.uaw.org

If you cannot find a Union Made product, please contact me at 610-217-5123 or at schlen@union-america.com

In Solidarity,

James S. Schlener

IAFF Local 735

UFCW 1776

Lehigh Valley CLC. VP.

Bethlehem City Democratic Party Chair

Border security first.

BobVADemHawk — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:37:22 EDT

Just west of El Paso, near where Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in 1598, construction crews have completed a steel fence authorities say is a new model for border security. The five-meter (18-foot) tall fence has a mesh woven so tightly that feet and fingers cannot grab hold, but it still allows people to see through. Steel pylons are set close enough to stop a truck from bursting through, and two meters of reinforced concrete underground deters any tunneling. The structure is designed to push would-be illegal immigrants and drug smugglers out into the desert where they are more easily caught, said Border Patrol Agent Martin Hernandez. "Will it completely stop them from coming across? Of course not," Hernandez said. "Rest assured, there will eventually be holes in parts of the wall made by people trying to get in. But it buys us valuable time." The US Department of Homeland Security is racing to meet a December 31 deadline to raise 670 miles of steel fences and vehicle barriers along the 3,200 kilometer (2,000 mile) long southern border. About half has been completed, including this six kilometer (four mile) segment at New Mexico's Santa Teresa Port of Entry. But DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff faces a flurry of lawsuits by environmentalists and border communities that could stop construction cold... http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080805132655.d1bc5iw6&show_article=1

Why Democrats should organize boycotts of Wal-Mart, picket their stores and challenge all store openings

Stephen Crockett — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:49:00 EDT

Wal-Mart Wants to Make Sure Its Employees Don’t Vote Democratic

by Tula Connell, Aug 1, 2008

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/08/01/wal-mart-wants-to-make-sure-its-employees-dont-vote-democratic/

Wal-Mart and all its $13 billion in 2007 profits are quaking. The retail monolith is scared that Democrats will be elected to office this fallâ€"and might pass legislation that would level the playing field for workers seeking to join unions.

The Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121755649066303381.html reports on Wal-Mart’s corporate tremors today, noting that

in recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

Downsides, huh? Like getting paid enough to support yourself and your family. Or maybe even the real big downside of having affordable job-based health insurance so that the emergency room isn’t the only option when your child has the flu. Because by not paying its employees enough to afford the company health plan, Wal-Mart dumps the cost of health care onto all taxpayers http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/walmart/upload/walmart_tax_memo.pdf , even making it a corporate policy to encourage new hires to use public emergency rooms, according to author Barbara Ehrenreich.

(You can tell Wal-Mart to stop its unfair and immoral workplace intimidation by signing a petition here http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/wal_mart_petition .)

Wal-Mart has been so intent upon piling up its billions in annual profits, it has created a mini-industry of anti-unionism to ensure it keeps its employees at everyday low wages. So, Wal-Mart is stepping up its efforts to prevent Democrats from being elected this fall, by telling employees http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121755649066303381.html that “voting for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in.” And Wal-Mart employees report feeling pressured to vote for candidates who oppose the Employee Free Choice Act.

Wal-Mart is doing even more arm-twisting workers on their way to the ballot box. Rather than pay its employees a decent wage and provide affordable health care, Wal-Mart is putting mega bucks into front groups that are spearheading a multi-million dollar ad campaign to slam workers, their unions and their efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/ .

For instance, Wal-Mart is the largest member of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, one of the main funders of the $30 million anti-union campaign called “Coalition for a Democratic Workplace http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/the-anti-union-network/chamber-of-commerce/coalition-for-a-democratic-workplace-exposed-20080424-557-273.html .”

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says this latest revelation of Wal-Mart’s egregious meddling into its employees’ voting preferences

goes to show the extent that companies like Wal-Mart will go to maintain the status quo, which allows them to exploit workers to maximize profit. It’s clear the business community intends to spend heavily to protect its interests but working people know this election is about creating real, lasting economic change.

Wal-Mart is ready to use its corporate power as America’s largest private employer to corrupt the political system to safeguard its profits. American Rights at Work has lots of info on Wal-Mart’s actions attacking the Employee Free Choice Act here http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/employee-free-choice-act/latest-updates/wal-mart-mobilizing-against-the-employee-free-choice-act-20080801-605-83-83.html and has a detailed report here http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/wal-mart/wal-mart/wal-mart-rolling-back-workers-wages-rights-and-the-american-dream.html on how Wal-Mart rolls back workers’ wages in an assault on the American Dream. Plus the worker advocacy organization also tracks the front groups behind the Employee Free Choice Act smear campaign, with info here http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/the-anti-union-network/chamber-of-commerce/coalition-for-a-democratic-workplace-exposed-20080424-557-273.html .

Take action now and tell Wal-Mart stop intimidating its employees http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/wal_mart_petition . Sign the petition here http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/wal_mart_petition .

Reposted but worth repeating, IMHO

BobVADemHawk — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:35:01 EDT

Fellow Democrats, I ask this question for a very good reason. Exactly, who is reading this post? Those of us who post here on a regular or semi-regular basis know there are about a hundred, or so, of us that fall into one category or the other. We average anywhere between five and twenty posts per day. Most are fairly innocuous. We’ll give our take on the news of the day, bash the Republicans as they bash us on their web sites, and forge relatively strong professional respect and bonds with our fellow bloggers. Of course, we do not agree all the time. Someone once said politics is like ordering pizza for a large group of people. While you’ll agree that your proverbial pizza will have a crust and cheese, all the other toppings are open for debate and you’ll never be able to make everyone happy.

But who else is reading this post? The DNC, to the best of my knowledge, does not post statistics relative to the amount of visitors to this website. I do not see a counter of any sort. Therefore, we bloggers don’t know exactly. And that bothers me.

If we knew that this was a private access blog, that no one could read this without an access code(s) that would be one thing. We wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, have to worry about what we said under those circumstances because, it would only be us here or it would have little or no bearing in the real world just like the conversations you have with your friends or loved ones. But that is not the case.

Before I go any farther, let me state for the record that I, or any of the rest of us bloggers, to the best of my knowledge, are not fully sanctioned members of the DNC. We are simply here to express our views and support the Democratic Party and or its ideals. We created our accounts and, to date, the moderators have not sent us away into the vast depths of cyberspace. Having said that, we are posting on the web log of the Democratic National Committee and that should carry some responsibility.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, perception is everything. In a nation where over half of the electorate does not know their two U.S. senators and over 75% do not know their House Representative, is the average person who comes here really going to distinguish us bloggers from the DNC? I think not. For those that disagree, go watch a segment of “Jaywalking” on the Tonight Show or listen to Glenn Beck’s Moron Trivia. Granted, they air the worse case scenarios however, I would point out that these people displayed have the same right to vote in the United States that you and I do. It’s darn scary, isn’t it?

Therefore, I would ask my fellow, regular DNC bloggers to be mindful of what you post over the course of the three months, or so. The primaries are over. We have our presumptive nominee. And while the General Election is not scheduled until November, every vote counts. Before you click that Post button you should ask yourself two questions. Could this post get any potential votes? How many potential votes will this post lose? Like it or not, agree with it or not, we DNC bloggers are the de facto faces of the DNC to the lurkers who do not comprehend that we are ordinary citizens like them posting on one of millions of web logs. It is my recommendation that, when we get fed up with President Bush’s latest assault on reason or Vice-President Cheney’s latest attempt to subjugate the planet, we vent our anger on a partisan blog such as DailyKOS or Atrios. I have an account at the Politico. They are more fitting places to call an a**hole an a**hole. Here at the DNC blog, we should try to take the same tact that our elected leaders do. We can respect the offices without respecting the office holder. We should show some civility to our fellow Americans, when deserved. Trolls deserve no civility because they do not give such.

In the four years that I have posted here, I have found that most of my fellow Democratic bloggers are thoughtful, intelligent people who want more than anything else, a better America to leave to their progeny. That is the goal of every decent American citizen. It would appear that half of us have one way to accomplish that and half have another. Such is the nature of politics. We settle our disagreements on strategy in the voting booths across this great nation of ours. And because we settle those agreements in the voting booth, every vote counts.

Today, I challenge my colleagues to take their political commentary to a new level. Let’s leave behind the cheap shots and name-calling and replace it with the thoughtful, insightful dialogue we are capable of. Let’s give new bloggers the benefit of the doubt and engage them in a respectful manner until they actually say something that is not respectful. And let’s kick the snot out of the GOP in 2008! After all, the world is watching…

Shhhh, Don't tell anyone...

BobVADemHawk — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:47:37 EDT

I found this non-partisan poll analysis website http://www.electoral-vote.com/ during the 2004 cycle. Also, this one http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ really breaks down the individual races and still has primary results posted for those interested. Either should be good resources for us.

What are you looking at?

BobVADemHawk — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:21:44 EDT

Fellow Democrats, I ask this question for a very good reason. Exactly, who is reading this post? Those of us who post here on a regular or semi-regular basis know there are about a hundred, or so, of us that fall into one category or the other. We average anywhere between five and twenty posts per day. Most are fairly innocuous. We’ll give our take on the news of the day, bash the Republicans as they bash us on their web sites, and forge relatively strong professional respect and bonds with our fellow bloggers. Of course, we do not agree all the time. Someone once said politics is like ordering pizza for a large group of people. While you’ll agree that your proverbial pizza will have a crust and cheese, all the other toppings are open for debate and you’ll never be able to make everyone happy.

But who else is reading this post? The DNC, to the best of my knowledge, does not post statistics relative to the amount of visitors to this website. I do not see a counter of any sort. Therefore, we bloggers don’t know exactly. And that bothers me.

If we knew that this was a private access blog, that no one could read this without an access code(s) that would be one thing. We wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, have to worry about what we said under those circumstances because, it would only be us here or it would have little or no bearing in the real world just like the conversations you have with your friends or loved ones. But that is not the case.

Before I go any farther, let me state for the record that I, or any of the rest of us bloggers, to the best of my knowledge, are not fully sanctioned members of the DNC. We are simply here to express our views and support the Democratic Party and or its ideals. We created our accounts and, to date, the moderators have not sent us away into the vast depths of cyberspace. Having said that, we are posting on the web log of the Democratic National Committee and that should carry some responsibility.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, perception is everything. In a nation where over half of the electorate does not know their two U.S. senators and over 75% do not know their House Representative, is the average person who comes here really going to distinguish us bloggers from the DNC? I think not. For those that disagree, go watch a segment of “Jaywalking” on the Tonight Show or listen to Glenn Beck’s Moron Trivia. Granted, they air the worse case scenarios however, I would point out that these people displayed have the same right to vote in the United States that you and I do. It’s darn scary, isn’t it?

Therefore, I would ask my fellow, regular DNC bloggers to be mindful of what you post over the course of the four months, or so. The primaries are over. And while the General Election is not scheduled until November, every vote counts. Before you click that Post button you should ask yourself two questions. Could this post get any potential votes? How many potential votes will this post lose? Like it or not, agree with it or not, we DNC bloggers are the de facto faces of the DNC to the lurkers who do not comprehend that we are ordinary citizens like them posting on one of millions of web logs. It is my recommendation that, when we get fed up with President Bush’s latest assault on reason or Vice-President Cheney’s latest attempt to subjugate the planet, we vent our anger on a partisan blog such as DailyKOS or Atrios. I have an account at the Politico. They are more fitting places to call an a**hole an a**hole. Here at the DNC blog, we should try to take the same tact that our elected leaders do. We can respect the offices without respecting the office holder. We should show some civility to our fellow Americans, when deserved. Trolls deserve no civility because they do not give such.

In the four years that I have posted here, I have found that most of my fellow Democratic bloggers are thoughtful, intelligent people who want more than anything else, a better America to leave to their progeny. That is the goal of every decent American citizen. It would appear that half of us have one way to accomplish that and half have another. Such is the nature of politics. We settle our disagreements on strategy in the voting booths across this great nation of ours. And because we settle those agreements in the voting booth, every vote counts.

Today, I challenge my colleagues to take their political commentary to a new level. Let’s leave behind the cheap shots and name-calling and replace it with the thoughtful, insightful dialogue we are capable of. Let’s give new bloggers the benefit of the doubt and engage them in a respectful manner until they actually say something that is not respectful. And let’s kick the snot out of the GOP in 2008! After all, the world is watching…

For your reading pleasure or pain....you decide

JC — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:47:40 EDT

In the extended, you will find the text of my speech in Martinsville, VA on Monday. Tom Perriello announced a 22 city Economic Revival tour to help restore jobs to the Southside.

Hope you like it.

Monday July 7 @ 11:00 a.m. VA-05

JC — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:44:20 EDT

Tom Perriello the Democratic candidate for the 5th Congressional District (currently held by Republican Virgil Goode), will make an announcement from the Historic City Hall steps. The announcement is expected to about a 7 point program to revitalize the rural area. Speaking on behalf of CWA Local 2277 will be your truly, as well as some local people affected by NAFTA and outsourcing of jobs. 5th District Democrats need to come out and support Tom and his campaign. Perriello chose the Martinsville-Henry County area to make his economic announcement because this area has been the hardest hit. The race between Goode and Perriello has been declared a targeted race by the DCCC and has attracted much attention. Visit www.perrielloforcongress.com to read more about this dynamic individual.

Is American headed for a New Revolution?

JC — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:07:36 EDT

I'm not advocating anarchy, nor am a talking about a political uprising across the country. What I am asking is this:

"How much are Americans willing to take before they rebel either in an armed coup or a non-violent coup against the status quo?"

Four points:
1) Our government is corrupt and supressing the middle and lower class working people.
2) Business is corrupt and suppressing the middle and lower class working people.
3) Our rights are being trampled on almost daily.
4) Media supports the above by ignoring it.

These are the very reasons that colonists revolted against the British empire.

Thoughts please.

From the London Times Online

JC — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:30:27 EDT

Someone else may have posted this but here it is....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4207235.ece

Christianity...A peaceful, loving religion?

JC — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:58:13 EDT

Read extended for this article by the AP....makes me sick.

Letters to the Editor

JC — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:36:50 EDT

This letter appears in todays issue of the Martinsville Bulletin.
Read the extended post for my reply.
Thanks all!
Peace

Save the United States from becoming a Third World country.
Both of the (presumptive) presidential candidates are against drilling for oil in the Anwar province in Alaska or drilling for natural gas off our shores. I think if we held back contributions to their campaigns until they changed their minds on this issue, they may get the message.
If the policies of the United States are not changed, we may quickly become a Third World country. If the citizens of the United States do not persuade our political leaders to change their minds, we may go broke and be deeply indebted to China.
We have billions of cubic feet of untapped natural gas, which could be used to power autos, trucks and other machinery. And we have huge deposits of oil in Alaska. But our own political leaders are refusing to let us develop these resources.
The leaders of the U.S. House and Senate will not let this issue come to the floor for a vote. Everyone should be putting pressure on their congressmen and senators to let this issue come to a vote. It seems unnatural for us to be building refineries in Iraq but not in the U.S. We have not built any new refineries in the last 30 years. We are not preparing well for the future.
I want to take this opportunity to thank 5th District U.S. Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. for the steadfast support he has given to try to make this drilling possible. We need more people like him representing us. Please write letters, make phone calls, or whatever you can do to get the attention of those who are now in office to realize there are alternatives to mortgaging our future to the oil producing nations.
Ronald A. Ressel Jr.

Why Obama CAN win!!!!

JC — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:40:41 EDT

....dummies

JC — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:09:53 EDT

I have been reading posts by certain...ah hem...shall we say...Demicans? Posting here as Democrats. I'm not talking about those folks we know are Dems that question, I'm talking about those that post crap straight off the RNC website, which I monitor.

I will not name names or screen id's, you already know who you are.

If you don't realize just how transparent you are, then the title of this posts fits you. Lets see how you like your own medicine...OK?

Virginia Rep Goode won't endorse McCain...yet!

JC — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:16:36 EDT

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/goode_wont_endorse_mccain_yet/4343/

Read this to see the veiled threat from the McCant camp to Virgil Goode...I love it when Repukes fight!