Are you not just a little tired of all the whining and pouting?

Many of us have had "to settle" not once, not twice, but sometimes three times. And each time we made the transition and stayed with the Democratic Party. I don't recall that any of us threatened to go vote for a damn Republican.  I know I didn't--that will be the day!

And many of us went through a lot more unfair treatement of our candidate than either the Hillary or Obama fanatics have had to endure!  Corporate America decided to designate the candidates in "tiers" according to how much money they had--now that's fair, isn't it? Thus our candidates got about three minutes to Clinton, Edwards and Obama's 10 minutes.  It was ridiculous the allocation of time.  Certainly not democratic by any standards.

That's bad enough, but our candidates were treated even more shabbily. Beginning with Gravel, CNNBC owned by the largest war contractor (GE) in the nation told Mike Gravel, 24 hours before the second debate that he could not appear because he had not raised a million dollars.  Isn't that fair now?  How would you have liked it if Hillary were told in the second debate that she could not appear because she didn't have enough money--or for any reason for that matter?  Corporate America dictates who can and cannot appear in our National debate! Did the DNC do anything about that?  Hell no.  Did any of the other candidates (Hillary or Obama for example) refuse to participate, or walk off the stage?  Hell no.  As a citizen, I did all that I could.  I contacted Chuck Todd of NBC, called the DNC, sent letters and called the offices with no responses of all the candidates.  and they all appeared and debated. SHAMEFUL

Was that the end of the crappy biased treatment? NO.  In Iowa, less than 24 hours before the Iowa debate, the The Des Moines Register (a.k.a. Ganett Corporation) called Dennis Kucinich and told him that he could not participate in the debate because he had not had an Iowa based permanent storefront since October 3.  (That debate was in December.  I called the Des Moines Register and asked for a written copy of that rule.  No one could find one for me.  I also asked them if that were the case then why didn't  they have the common decency to notify Kucinich of that the middle of October as opposed to two and a half months later.

Again I contacted the DNC regarding my outrage that once again corporate America was being allowed to dictate who can and cannot participate in a national political debate.  That is so wrong.  Again I called all the other candidates offices and left messages and wrote letters.  Again, all the remaining Democratic candidates participated in the debate as if nothing had happened.

SO TO BOTH HILLARY AND OBAMA FANS:  BUCK Up and stop acting like you are victims.  If we are going to play THAT game then you people are going to have to go to the back of the line because if THAT is the game, there are a lot of us who deserve to be ahead of either Hillary or Obama fans.

WELCOME TO AMERICA where we allow multinational corporations to dictate who can and cannot participate in our national political debates.  The jury is still out on whether we will act like a banana republic and count the votes in a state where one of the two candidate's name was not even on the ballot.  But that would be no worse that the travesty that has already been allowed.  At least more people a paying attention to this one.

and I don't care that I didn't use the extend post. I usually do but I don't feel like being polite this time.

I just read a wonderful article by Elizabeth Edwards about the press and how it is failing the electorate. In it she cites the campaigns of several candidates on both sides of the aisle and how the press handled their coverage of those campaigns.

Before you go to the article (if you haven't already read it) think about whether you know more about Obama's bowling scores than his healthcare plan.

LINK 

if so, send him an email and tell him why.

http://www.governor.state.nm.us:80/email.php?mm=6&type=opinion

cindy adams in today's ny post:

More. New Mexico. Gov. Bill Richardson, taking with him the precious Latino vote, endorsed Obama, thus putting a shiv in the back of his mentors, patrons and friends, the Clintons. I asked everyone why. The overwhelming answer? Pure me-me. Waiting until Florida and Michigan ruled no revote, estimating Hillary couldn't cut it and Obama would, the 14-karat ingrate thus threw his chips in wherever he thought he'd cut a better deal down the road. Maybe he wants to be Sec'y of State. Sec'y of Agriculture? Sec'y to the VP?

since the state of new mexico was won by hillary clinton, and clinton was endorsed by new mexico's lieutenant governor, one has to wonder what bill richardson is thinking by endorsing barack obama.  clearly, the interest of the voters is not his priority.  the only interest served by this endorsement is his own.  from huffington post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/a-few-unanswered-question_b_92751.html

well, of course he's being pursued!  how hot is that beard?  from the ny times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/us/politics/23richardson.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1203771826-W0pYf6DSyc9uhNozw0OiQQ

 FROM NPR http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2008/01/  
(a great link for news about candidates and primaries)

 "The Detroit News reports that Michigan Democrats could turn out in larger numbers than expected for the presidential primary on January 15. But Sen. Hillary Clinton is the only 'major' candidate whose name will be on the ballot . (Chris Dodd, Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich are also on the ballot, even though Dodd has dropped out of the race.)

Sen. Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Bill Richardson previously withdrew their names because Michigan moved up its primary despite being told not to do so by the Democratic National Party. And they did not file by this past Friday's deadline to allow their write-in votes to be counted.But according the News, more Democrats than Republicans could turn-up to vote in the primary even without a real contest. (Another sign of how energized Democratic voters are?) State Democratic officials, including party Chairman Mark Brewer, have encouraged Democrats to vote, even if their candidate isn't on the ballot.

Supporters of Edwards and Obama could mark the "uncommitted" portion of the ballot. If 15 percent of Democrats statewide or in any congressional district vote "uncommitted," the state could send some delegates to the national convention who would be free to vote for any candidate they wanted to support.(Although the national party said it would strip Michigan of its delegates if it didn't move its primary back, Brewer stuck to his guns and said the state party would still send delegates and he expected them to be eventually seated despite the penalty.)

And there in lies the problem for Clinton. What happens if there are more "uncommitted" votes than votes for her? Detroit News pollster Ed Sarpolus said Friday that Clinton would get a black eye if she gets anything less than 60 percent of the vote."

The following is a first hand, EYEWITNESS account from the diary of an Iowa Caucus volunteer from Leftinalabama:

The total count in our precinct: 232, which meant a candidate had to have 35 people in the first round to be "viable" and eligible for the second round.   

There were people there for Edwards, Obama, Clinton, Richardson, Biden, and Kucinich (one guy for Dennis: he asked me if I knew who the Kucinich precinct captain was and I told him that I thought he was it).  Only Edwards, Obama, and Clinton had enough people on the 1st round, so then they started swarming around the other candidates' voters. 

Except for one Richardson supporter who went to Clinton, ALL the Biden, Richardson, and Kucinich people went for Edwards. 

Then the horse trading began in earnest, with Obama & Clinton precinct captains running the numbers and offering a couple of people to Edwards to deny the other person a delegate.  Edwards needed 8 more to get a second delegate and Obama needed 3 more people to deny Clinton a delegate.  Clinton was right on the edge and couldn't give up any voters although her precinct captain was desperate to keep Obama from getting 4 instead of 3 at that precinct.  She was working on the Edwards people to help her out...

D in Nebraska, in his post regarding "how it really was" during the Iowa caucus offers hope not only for Hillary, but for Edwards, Kucinich and Richardson.  and it makes me sad that Dodd and Biden dropped out so early.  I have a feeling that they might have gotten much better results in New Hampshire.

Not all of us are bold extraverts.  And that is what I surmise from D's reports that it really takes to win a caucus.  If this is true, and since so many of Barack's supporters were young people, that could, in part explain his edge.  Few could argue that young people are not louder and more enthusiastic than mature people.

So given that the format was a caucus--a physical face-off.  It is no surprise that Obama would be the victor.  John Edwards with many of his tough in your face union supporters and Hillary with her well organized machine were the three winners.

The quieter ones were shut out.  Likely many of them didn't even participate in the caucus.

New Hampshire will be different. [I'm not saying that the results will be different but I am saying that the different format--voting behind a curtain--can affect outcomes in any number of ways.  Shy people will vote.  Older people will vote.  Everyone's vote will be counted equally.  It won't matter who can shout the loudest.

It will be very interesting to know the outcome on the 9th.

Dennis Kucinich has not dropped off the face of the earth.  Nor has Ron Paul.  Nor has Bill Richardson.  And all Americans should care—regardless your choice of candidate.  Democracy is not about silencing dissent.

[You can watch it on Bill Moyer's Journal  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html ]

Some may think that Dennis Kucinich has dropped off the face of the earth, and it is more than obvious that the media want American citizens to think that he has.  However, nothing could be farther from the truth.  He is alive and well and campaigning in New Hampshire.  Today he held a rally in Manchester where over 700 people attended.  Perhaps it got local coverage there I don’t know.  I didn’t see any coverage on mainstream media.

Even if you are not a Kucinich fan, if you are a fan of democracy, this should concern you.

The truth is that his voice has been effectively removed from mainstream media.  It is very eerie.  It is as if journalists have been ordered to avoid him.  Today, I worked from home, political junkie that I am, so I could write and watch the happenings in New Hampshire (at least the happenings that mainstream media allow me to see).   All day long I stayed tuned in to CNN over 10 hours.  I saw Hillary, John, Barack, Huckabee, Romney, McCain, and even a glimpse of Thompson.  I don’t recall even seeing Richardson, but I certainly did not see Dennis Kucinich or Ron Paul.

Both are still on the ballot and both are still actively campaigning in New Hampshire.  Neither will be allowed to participate in the national debate on Saturday.  The bandwidth of the debate is severely reduced without the inclusion of these voices. It is not much of a debate when the candidates’ positions are so close in alignment, especially the two that they have decided to dub “the top two democrats” in spite of the fact that Edwards and not Clinton finished second in Iowa.

RATING DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES AND CHOOSING THOSE WHO ARE THE MOST BELIEVABLE TO ME ON ISSUES THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO ME  

ISSUE OF PEACE: 

#1 Dennis Kucinich would best represent the people not only the people from the United States, but the people of the world on this issue.  He is the only candidate who features the word “peace” as part his slogan. STRENGTH THROUGH PEACE. 

But Dennis Kucinich is much more than a slogan.  We have this history of his actions to reinforce that Dennis means what he says. Unlike the other candidates, Dennis Kucinich has NEVER once voted for ANY of George Bush’s war mongering legislation.

Mike Gravel also deserves a #1 place alongside Dennis.  Mike Gravel has a long and proven record for peace.

#2 Bill Richardson is the #2 man in my books for peace.  I base this opinion on having listened to many of Governor Richardson’s speeches on the topic of how he would handle the situation in Iraq.  Governor Richardson makes no bones about it.  The only way to begin negotiating peace is to get ALL American troops out of Iraq now.  As long as there is a single American soldier on their soil, there will be no peace possible.  He is not suggesting that we leave the people of Iraq, but that other international forces be brought in place of Americans.  Iraqi’s view us as part of the problem.

#3 Edwards and Obama tie with me for third.  Edwards did vote for the war when he was a Senator.  But at least he, unlike Clinton, is willing to admit his mistake.  Since the main reason we ever have war in the first place is because of Corporate America who profit from war, and since Edwards has a long history of fighting corporate America,  I believe that he would do the right thing for peace.  Since Obama had the good sense to know that war in Iraq was not good in the first place, I give him that for good judgment.  However, I’m not fond of a statement he made to the effect that he was not opposed to war, just dumb wars. In my opinion, all wars are dumb.  Any war has a better solution that does not involve murdering people and destroying property and environment.

These are the ones who profit from it.
These are the ones who have Hillary Clinton in their back pockets.

Here is a list of them from 2003 to 2004, before they even got started.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/resources.aspx?act=total

We provide more welfare for war mongers than we do for our own people  here at home.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E6D81739E13ABC4B52DFBE668383609EDE

Harry Truman wasn’t in favor of corporate welfare.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=13586&st=&st1=

Corporate America provides mercenaries who murder civilians with impunity.  Blackwater, one of these firms, has as it PR representative, a firm that is a subsidiary BKSH that is part of the business owned by Mark Penn, Hillary Clintons campaign strategist.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=240313

http://verbena19.wordpress.com/category/us-war-contractorsblackwatermercenaries/

Our military presence in Iraq is prolonging the violence, costing us more than $10 billion a month, and distracting us from the war against Al Qaeda. George Bush's "surge" has suppressed some of the violence, at least temporarily, but it has failed to bring about political reconciliation. Our troops have done everything we've asked them to do -- but they cannot win someone else's civil war. Now it is up to the Iraqis. We need to get our troops out so that a new political process can begin.

My plan will end the war and stabilize Iraq, and the most important step, upon which all others depend, is to remove ALL of our troops quickly.

Our Camapign Manger just shared this memo with us. Here it is for your review.

I think you'll share my sentiment...SWEET!

From: Dave Contarino
To: Richardson Campaign Senior Staff
Subject: Iowa Momentum

As you know, we are well positioned for a big upset on caucus night. The biggest hurdle we will face in bringing our supporters home will be questions about viability on the ground. Here are the numbers we have confirmed to address this directly:

Momentum! Every crowd down the stretch has been overflow and standing room only. In the last 24 hours, over 350 in Ames, 500 in Des Moines with voters lined up outside waiting for a chance to come inside to meet the Governor or have their pictures taken with him as he departs. In some cases, we are getting triple (Onawa and Carroll) the size being expected by local organizers. The Governor's Des Moines speech was interrupted by raucous applause at least a dozen times, and I don't know if I've seen a more excited crowd. When he finished his speech, the Governor walked into the crowd and was immediately swarmed by supporters. It took him more than twenty minutes to leave the event because there were so many people who