"ELIOT NESS" OF THE DEMOCRATS

I always had a soft spot for Rep. Henry Waxman of Los Angeles (next to Diane Watson and Maxine Waters, of course) because he has long been brave enough to take on the Thug Party, even if he's defeated - but that's what he and the other 434 members of the House get paid to do.

"He's developed the model. It's what we would like every ranking member to do--to ask questions, be persistent and not accept silence. He's motivated other Democrats and has even created some discontent within the Democratic caucus because newer members on other committees sometimes don't think the ranking members are aggressive enough." - Rep. George Miller (D-California)

As David Corn states in the Nation, (http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050214&s=corn) all of our representatives should be willing to become "Eliot Ness" on the things that matter to their constituents. The DLC reminds me of the "Enforcer" Frank Nitti, when they band together to support neo-con sponsored initiatives that go directly against their constituents' best interests.

Note to DLC-er: Your Constituents didn't vote for "Frank Nitti" they voted for you. Act like it.

Has The Government Been Taken Over By A Cult?

I don't know, but it sure feels like it these days, especially with the likes of Jerry "Tinky Winky" Falwell and James "SpongeBob SquarePants" Dobson having the unlimited access to the annals of government that the average person will never see. Seymour Hirsch gives us a closer look at http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/26/1450204.

Read it and weep after being the judge...

Senate "Hit" List - Part Deux

Thanks to publications like the Guardian, we now know who were the 32 Democrats that voted to confirm Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State:

Continuing from my list (I think I may have to amend because of Evan Bayh's alleged vote):

Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas) known DLC member and is in a "new" faction that's the spawn of the DLC itself

Mark Pryor (Arkansas) Is Bill Clinton the only Arkansian with an individual thought process?

Ken Salazar (Colorado) We'd been just as worse off if Pete Coors had won this seat. At least he would have brought some beer for us to drown our sorrows in.

Christopher Dodd (Connecticut) okay, both he and Lieberman have got to go

Carper (Delaware) don't know much about him, except he cast a bad vote this time.

I see I do have to add Barack Obama (Illinois) to the list of sellouts. He may as well announced his membership in the DLC for all the protesting he did to Black Commentator.

Now, I need a drink; thanks to Barack Obama, I would have never been driven to drink, but we are getting an early indication where his priorities are...removing Evan Bayh from this list is small consolation.

Thirty Targets for Termination in 2006

Okay, people, after learning that thirty Democratic Senators voted with the Republican majority to confirm another "miserable failure" named Condoleezza Rice, it's time to take action. How much do you want to bet that the thirty Senators with no spine or backbone, are card-carrying members of the DLC?

I'm researching to find out who the other 26 Senators that voted with the Thugs in confirming perhaps the one individual who had an inking that 9/11 was about to occur and did absolutely nothing to stop it! She was with Bush on his cowchip also known as a ranch, the same month she received the now infamous PDB that Commissioner BenVeniste wouldn't let her run from,

"Bin Laden Determined to Strike U.S."

Gee, you had a warning from the man himself, Public Enemy #1 and the lame response provided to the 9/11 commission was "It was considered 'historical' ". Well, how "historical" could it have been if the man telegraphed his intentions on August 6, 2001, and the attack occurred one month and five days to the date you received that memo from Richard Clarke?

Anyway, back to the "Hit List" and I mean "Hit" as in actively working in the campaigns of these individual's opponents in 2006, in order to facilitate their defeat. I know the Democrats have 18 seats to defend, but depending on whether or not they are held by DLC members, we may have to absorb a little "collateral damage" of our own, if the sacrifices of these ill-bred members means we regain the control of true Democrats in the Democratic Party.

1. Joe Lieberman (Connecticut) - he's vying to become the Party's next "Zell Miller". Defect already so Connecticut can put up a real Progressive to run against and defeat you.

2. Dianne Feinstein (California) - after watching her repeated applications of her lips to Condi Rice's posterior, I think - no, I know California can do better. We deserve better representation in the Senate.

3. Joe Biden (Delaware) - I'm tired of him ducking and dodging; sounding like a Democrat while voting like a Republican. You would think busting him about papers he plagerized during his collegiate years would have taught him how low the Republicans will go to eliminate a threat.

4. Evan Bayh (Indiana) - He wants to be President. Face it, the table's being set for Jeb Bush in 2008. He's also known to be a card-carrying DLC member.

I am praying I don't have to include Barack Obama on this list; if I do, that will be the worst sellout, ever, and his being a new member will not excuse him...

"JESUSLAND" vs. Real Christianity

So we're told that GeeDubya won re-instatement (I refuse to call it re-election when we're not sure he was elected the first time) because he's a "Christian" and he has "moral values". Well, that might have been the case, but I submit that if those "Christians" had really read their Bible and stop accepting what their Pastor or Bishop says, GeeDubya couldn't get elected dogcatcher. An aside: unless you sit in a church where the Pastor teaches and expects you to read and study your Bible, some Pastors depend on their congregation being ignorant of God and what God says in the Bible. They want their congregations to be "sheeple" and not question edicts coming from the pulpit.

Otherwise, how do You explain GeeDubya still occupying the White House amidst lies, theft, greed, avarice and arrogance?

The DLC is in the same fashion as dumbdamentalist Christians who now wield percieved power in Washington. Now they want to embrace being a Christian, when the truth is, they would surely crucify Jesus all over again, should He return, because Jesus would point out their own hypocracy in their actions. Their refusal to embrace the core values that closely mirrors those held by Jesus Himself.

For a long time, I thought I was walking alone, shouting "Your walk should match your talk" to anyone claiming they were Christian, and yet, signing off on going to war, calling SpongeBob SquarePants gay, and pushing for a Gay Marriage Amendment. Jesus told us that before we tell someone else that they have a "beam" in their eye, we should check to see if our own eyes have "beams" in them. In other words, our own backyard needs to be in order before we tell someone else to get their backyard in order.

That means that the South should have an answer for why they have higher rates of divorce than other regions of the country, and they really pushed for the Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage, while strengthening their hold on the Second Amendment to carry a Winchester in the bed of their pickup trucks.

Or why they don't freely give to help the poor, as Jesus commanded.

Or why they feel comfortable in spewing racism and preventing people of color from moving into their neighborhoods.

But after reading the following article from Christianity Today, (http://www.christianitytoday.com/global/printer.html?/bc/2005/001/3.8.html) I have hope and am renewimg my fight for the issues that mattered to Jesus. My fight also includes doing whatever I can to eradicate any organization threatening justice, social peace, ending poverty, jobs, public education, and the environment. Let's face it, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and waddles like a duck, then it's probably a duck.

Same with DLC members. If you act like a racist, look like a corporate thug, sucking on the Corporate teat, and talk like a Republican, then it's a sure fact that you're not a true Democrat, and you have no moral values to speak of. The Native Americans would probably call you "He/She Who Speaks with Forked Tongue" because your walk doesn't reflect your talk and it never will. Like the Republicans, you aren't true Christians, nor are you true Democrats. You have inhabited "Jesusland" where everyone shouts "Jesus" but their is nothing in their character or makeup to indicate that it is Jesus that they serve or obey. The true gods in Jesusland are greed, avarice, racism, corruption, lack of morals and contempt for the poor and down-trodden.

A true Christian will walk as Jesus did, help others and share freely out of their resources. They have love, compassion and concern for the poor and down-trodden. They think higher of others than themselves. A true Christian is everything the inhabitants of "Jesusland" isn't.

So, where do you want to be? With true Christians or inhabiting "Jesusland"?

STAND FOR SOMETHING OR FALL FOR ANYTHING

In a day where it's convenient to go along to get along, many people fall for anything that comes along. Otherwise, how do you explain the thought process of 59 million people voting for a known liar whose walk with Jesus does NOT match his talk?

Why isn't acknowledgement of lying about the reason for going to war in Iraq hasn't called for Bush's impeachment?

Why hasn't Rep. Bill Thomas' attempt to make it a racial and gender bias on who gets a Social Security check in their retirement, generated outrage and a recall election?

My fellow bloggers at Daily Kos has a post that indicates a good deal of GOPers up for re-election in 2006 are beginning to distance themselves from Bush and his ill-advised policies in droves. Kos suggests that we "marry" these individuals to Bush, and his policies when they run for re-election; that we should not allow them to hide out until November, 2006.

I'll go one better - any DLC-Democrat who signed off on any of Bush's policies and caught in the sheets with the GOP; we should "marry" them to their policies, and their ties to Bush with any policy that refutes the best interests of their constituency, for this is not true representation of their Districts. We should hold them accountable.

I wish our elected officials would stand for something. I know how difficult, how uncomfortable it is to take a stand for something of great importance, especially when no one wants to stand with you. As a Christian, I do it more often than I would like; especially being a pro-choice, liberal, progressive Christian. Many times, it's not comfortable, but at the end of the day, I sleep at night with the comfort of doing what is right, and hopefully, being the recipient of God's favor. While I don't support abortion as a means of birth control, or I recognize what the Bible says about homosexuality, no where in the Bible do you see Jesus going around being a bigot and beating up those who disagreed with Him.

The Christian Right these days would probably crucify Jesus again if He returned, just because He hung out with 12 guys, and it's not Rapture Time yet. That group consisted of a tax collector (Matthew), an HMO doctor (Luke), a Benedict Arnold (Peter), as well as a known thief (Judas). The Christian Right would probably go as far as to suggest that John (the disciple whom Jesus loved) is gay, because John loved Jesus; yes, they have become that drunk on the Kool-Aid. So when James Dobson is going after SpongeBob Square Pants because he believes SpongeBob is gay, I say Dr. Dobson and the Dumbdamentalists have waaay too much time on their hands, and are really testing their "perceived" power with GeeDubya's regaining the White House by launching such asinine and foolish attacks. Why aren't they calling the President out on his foreign policies and the war in Iraq being based on outright lies? Is it "Christian" to start wars with nations who have done nothing to you, except tell you you can't have their oil?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was brave enough to take a stand for civil rights and civil liberties; he went to jail, he marched, he was beaten - his house bombed and finally, he sacrificed his life. Yet, Dr. King was often alone, because other African-American Ministers - (especially the ones who wouldn't even allow King in their pulpits back in the day) did not have his back. Now these are the same ministers, who, some 40 years later, loudly proclaim Dr. King as a brave and honorable man, while benefitting from the fruits of Dr. King's labors - and conveniently avoiding paying the cost. If any of them have stepped to his widow, Coretta, I would hope she spit in their eye. However, knowing the grace that is Coretta Scott King, she probably gave them a free pass.

These are the same ministers toting Bush's water for a slice of that faith-based money pie. They will probably go the way of Armstrong Williams on the Money Train, when their congregations, many of whom are Social Security recipients, find out that Rev. Dr. GreedyGut and Bishop BMW sold them out for the faith-based filthy lucre.

The motto for this year is "Stand for Something or Fall For Anything". The "Fall For Anything" is generally the DLC theme song.

Taking a Sick Day on the Inaugural...and Shutting Up John Kerry

I was literally sick at the thought of the "coronation" of GeeDubya, and my sinuses seemed to cooperate, so I took the day off. While I didn't plan it, you have to admit that it was appropriate to protest in my own way, by breathing enough polluted air the day before (wood-burning chimneys - what can I say?) to develop congestion that I wouldn't wish on an elephant, LOL.

However, today's Capitol Blue article does just fine in telling John Kerry to "shut up" about losing the Presidency. IF he were a Real Democrat, he should have been rising in objection along with Barbara Boxer, and giving some money to the litigation causes trying to fight what happened in Ohio. Does he? NOOOOO, he's out here in Cali, partying with the Governator and his crew. Also, his "No" vote against Condoleezza Rice is only for show...cause in his arrogance, he's considering a run again in 2008. That's typical DLC posturing for ya...and another reason why this bunch has got to GO...

Read it here:

JUST SHUT UP - If Sen. John Kerry believes he was cheated out of the White House, he should have challenged the outcome of the election. Since it is too late for that, he should just shut up and get on with trying to salvage the party from the wreckage he helped bring about.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_6066.shtml

Excuse me, but how do you salvage something you helped to bring about?

BuzzFlash Exposes the DLC

There are times when I don't have to say anything, because sites like BuzzFlash says it all. I've reposted their editorial in its entirety because if the reasons BF lists aren't reasons to eliminate the DLC, then it's a hopeless cause:

Corrupt Crony Capitalism Vs. the Free Market Economy: The Democrats Need to Become Advocates for a Level Playing Field and the Prosecution of Corporate Corruption
(Note: This marks the sixteenth of 20 consecutive editorials BuzzFlash will be publishing through January 20th.)

Why won't the so-called "centrist Democrats" make the exposing of and prosecution of corporate corruption a centerpiece of the Democratic agenda? Because they don't know what the heck they are doing, that's why.

Does the DLC and the "centrist" block of Democratic Senators really believe that Americans embrace and support corporate corruption? What idiots; it's one of the few issues that plays nationally and could win Democratic votes in even red states.

I mean what consumer wants to be ripped off? What shareholder wants CEOs to devalue stocks while taking down the company for self-enrichment? What small businesses want to be steered toward higher cost insurance because of insurance brokers getting kickbacks? What mutual fund investor wants to be taken financially advantage of? What consumers want to be sold inferior products without recourse or because of false advertising?

Is the DLC crazy, on the take, or just plain dumb as a box of rocks?
This isn't an issue of whether or not Americans support a free market economy. The vast majority do. But what they want is a true free market, a leveled playing field, not a rigged game for the guys at the top. They don't want to be ripped off. They want fair competition. They want consumer rights.

Bush is in many ways the role model of the corrupt corporate CEO. Bush is to the national government what his good buddy Ken Lay was to Enron. The privileged few make out like bandits, while the vast majority of the staff and shareholders get ripped off. Just replace the latter group with American citizens and the analogy is complete.

Bush represents the class of modern CEOs who get rewarded with millions of dollars in compensation as their companies go down the tubes. So many of the recent corporate scandals are based on CEOs and senior executives who used public corporations as vehicles to enrich themselves -- and, in essence, pay themselves inflated salaries, stock options and benefits for repeated failures in company performance. That's Bush in a nutshell. Only it's our government that is his corporation.

The DLC just doesn't get it. All it can do is follow around the GOP lead like timid, cowering also-rans. The DLC's basic attitude is, "Sure, we're against corporate corruption, but we don't want to make a big deal about it. We might sound too radical. And we might make our corporate backers mad. So please, shhh!"

Well, now that's a formula for getting big DLC salaries and losing elections, if there ever was one.
If you are for a free market economy with a level playing field and for the working class and poor, then you are vigorously against corporate corruption and Bush style corporate cronyism. You don't push it off to the side. You make it the centerpiece of a fair and just economy on behalf of the people who work honestly and hard for a living. You make it the centerpiece of a pro-consumer platform. You do it because it is the right thing to do -- and it is a winning, popular position among voters.

Elliot Spitzer, the Attorney General of New York State, should know. In 2002, he was re-elected New York State Attorney General with the largest winning margin—1,509,403 votes—of any statewide candidate. Known as the "people's lawyer," he's the odds-on-favorite to beat Al D'Amato's protégé, George Pataki, for Governor of the Empire State in 2006, if Pataki runs again.

The New York Times, in an article about corporate corruption, gave Spitzer "The [2004] Threepeat Award...for finding corruption in the third financial services industry in as many years. First it was Wall Street research, then the mutual fund industry. In 2004, it was the insurance business’s turn. Yes, it seems that those people who love to take your money and hate to pay your claims aren’t always on the up and up. Again, Mr. Spitzer found dubious industry practices that had been going on for years. But, as he made clear, that didn’t make them right."
And Spitzer's biography on his official homepage makes it clear why he is so popular among voters:

"Eliot Spitzer became the state’s 63rd Attorney General on January 1, 1999. Since that time, he has advanced initiatives to make New York a national leader in investor protection, environmental stewardship, labor rights, personal privacy, public safety and criminal law enforcement.
Spitzer’s investigations of conflicts of interest on Wall Street have been the catalyst for dramatic reform in the nation’s financial services industry.
His lawsuits against Midwest and Mid-Atlantic power plants will help reduce air pollution responsible for acid rain and smog in the Northeast.
His efforts to curtail abuses in the green grocery industry have been hailed as landmark labor rights cases.
His investigations of Internet companies and direct marketers have resulted in new privacy protections for consumers throughout the nation.
His "code of conduct" was the foundation for a settlement that reformed the way the nation’s largest gun manufacturer designs and distributes handguns.
His prosecutions of sophisticated white collar crimes have resulted in some of the nation’s largest fraud recoveries.
Through these and other initiatives, Spitzer is building the reputation of the Attorney General as "the People’s Lawyer." "

Why did it take the Attorney General of New York State to uncover these practices, when the Democrats who controlled the Senate for a short period of time could have launched an anti-corporate corruption crusade? In fact, Tom Daschle and Joe Lieberman, who chaired the committee overseeing such activity, did virtually nothing to expose the corrupt practices of Enron and Halliburton when they had the chance and when the scandals were red hot. Lieberman is very cozy with the insurance companies in Connecticut and the corporate world in general, and Daschle was worried about rocking the corporate boat.

But, excuse me, we are talking about alleged malfeasance and ripping off of American voters. Are you pro-corporate crime, or anti-corporate crime? It's really rather simple.
You'd think the Centrist "Bush Light" Dems would have learned a thing or two about leading the charge by now, instead of following Bush over the cliff.

But, you'd be wrong if you did.

It's not radical to be for a true free market economy -- one that is not rigged in favor of the GOP corporate cronies and one that doesn't rip off consumers and small businesses. It's not radical at all. It's as American as apple pie -- and is a sure vote getter among small stock holders, small businesses, consumers, working class voters and the poor, which is to say most of America.
When will the Democratic "centrists" realize that they aren't centrists at all? They are just enablers of corporate corruption, and proponents of a losing electoral strategy.

Like the corporate CEOs who got paid more as their companies plunged in value, the "Centrist Democrats" argue that their continued electoral losses are proof of their "successful strategy." Say what? It's a continuing formula for failure.

We don't know when someone like Elliot Spitzer might be considered presidential "timber," but we hope that the country can hold on that long.

As for the "Centrist Democrats," all that they really propose is holding up a white flag, because they've run out of ideas and courage, leaving a wide range of potential Democratic voters with no alternative but to vote for the corporate cronyism king, George W. Bush.

DIANNE FEINSTEIN HAS GOT TO GO

I've forgiven the Senior Senator from California for many things; i.e., her refusal to step up to the plate during that recall mess which gave us the Terminator as Governor. But giving Condosleezza Rice a pass in her hearings for Secretary of State, when Barbara Boxer is lighting Dr. Rice up faster than you can say "Minute Rice", really frosted my cookies, thanks to David Corn's giving us the skinny on his blog http://davidcorn.com.

For the sake of California, we Democrats need to find a challenger to Ms. Feinstein in 2006. Another DLC-er who needs to be euthanized on a political scale, cause she's not doing us any earthly good in the Senate...

Pimping Jesus

I don't care how many times I've heard that the Thug Party won the White House based on "moral values", but as stated the in article "Are these 'Moral Values?' ", I, too, get angry as I watch the faith I also love, get hijacked by fundamentalists who claim they have the Lord's ear and are speaking for Him in supporting:

• starting war under false pretenses
• avoid fighting in Vietnam, but attacks the one who did on their "patriotism"
• spending $40 million on Inaugural Balls during a time of war;
• using hatred to divide a nation
• saying anyone who doesn't support Bush is not a Christian

Read about it here: http://thehollandsentinel.net/stories/011605/opi_011605050.shtml

On to another topic: We need people to stand up and let us know when they are pimping in "the Name of the Lord" for that Faith-Based money from the Bush Administration, as indicated here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-faith18jan18,0,2826429.story?coll=la-home-headlines

This Administration is making a mockery of everything Dr. King stood for. Dr. King not only had a Dream; he also laid out the strategy for getting things done.

At this point, thanks to the DLC, we don't even have a plan, much less a Dream...

Turning Up the Heat on the DLC

Robert Borosage's article from the Nation gets it right. Not only is it about turning up the heat on Bush by progressive grass-roots organizing, it is also about turning up the heat on DLC operatives to the point that they are vaporized...because after a track record of eight presidential campaign losses (Bob Shrum) and losses of both Houses in Congress since 1994, is there any doubt that the DLC still enjoys credibility? Only to their own imaginations, cause if they venture outside of the Beltway, they would become convinced of their own uselessness. http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050131&s=borosage

OT: I don't see why GeeDubya is worried about people looking at him during his inaugural festivities next week. I find I can't look at him, much less listen to him mangle the english language, so here's one individual who will not have any problem in complying with his wishes.

On the other hand, if I'm a "Ranger" who donated money to get you (Bush) elected and to hold your inaugural balls, I should be entitled to put you under microscopic scrutiny next week, for as long as I want...but, then again, the people who are agreeing to this are not really people, but sheeple...

You can read about the "No-look" policy here: http://www.news-herald.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1698&dept_id=21849&newsid=13721845. This is your proof that we no longer live in a TRUE DEMOCRACY, and the DLC must be held accountable for every mess they made since the 1994 mid-term elections...by getting rid of them.

Where is the Love?

I blog and post on many sites of interest to me. So when a fellow blogger was lamenting about the state of our country, and why the Republican Party (and their first cousins - the DLC) are so unfeeling, arrogant with power and just downright mean - in the name of Jesus. Here's my reply:

Sack, there can be no love shown by those who don't know what love is. George Bush grew up privilaged and knows jack about what it is to grow up poor and suffering. While there are those who grew up privilaged but can have empathy for those who didn't, that's because they were also taught the value of love. If you compare the Bush and Kennedy families, you will find that, above all else, the Kennedys genuinely loved one another, despite disagreements, flaws, cheating, etc. You will find this in any Kennedy biography you read - love was their unifier. William Kennedy Smith is consistently shown love and support, no matter how many times he's up on rape or sexual harassment charges. They won't take that love away, but if he's guilty, 'ol Ted may let him take it on the chin this time.

The Kennedys also taught their children about the importance of not taking their privilaged status for granted, but to use it to advocate for the people who didn't grow up as privilaged. You see it through JFK's daughter, Caroline, as well as Bobby Kennedy's kids, through their professions; RFK, JR runs a non-profit for the environment; Joe Kennedy was a member of Congress as vocal on issues of civil rights as his elders; Ted Kennedy's son, Patrick is a current member of Congress, and Ted's older son, Ted, Jr., is an attorney advocating the rights of the disabled.

On the other hand, you have the Bush family, where every biography written on them underscored the same theme - Poppy was an absentee father and Babs was a cold and unfeeling mother. That resulted in GeeDubya learning about self-preservation at an early age. The Bush children were not taught about the importance of public service; instead they were taught that money talks and BS walks. They were not taught how to have empathy for the have nots; in fact they were taught if the have nots didn't have, it was their own fault. Those seeds of selfishness runs from generation to generation. You also see it in the Bush grandchildren. They are crying out for attention as evidenced by the substance abuse of Nicole Bush (Jeb's daughter) and the skanky Bush twins Jenna and Barbara (God help DC Unified, cause Jenna got a job there teaching, and I'm wondering how many qualified Black applicants they skipped over to give the job to her?).

You can't demonstrate what you haven't been taught to receive and give back; that's why our country has devolved into a nation of self-seeking, self-serving, arrogant SOBs. All we can do is make sure we are showing forth evidence of God's love when we encounter others and hope that our demonstration can go forth to break the cycle.

Elected Officials: Do You Want The Job, or Just the Title?

Given that only 31 lawmakers stood up to protest and bring attention to the inherent flaws in the voting process, I began to wonder why this issue was not important enough to compell all 44 Democratic Senators and 211 Democratic Congresspersons to take this stand.

I've worked in government positions for most of my career at the Federal, State and Municipal levels, where I've had responsible positions that involved policy implementation and development, enforcement and monitoring oversight involving governmental rules and regulations. I did the work, but I never held a title like "Deputy Director" or anything like that. My supervisors were the ones who held the title - yet we on the grunt line actually did the work. Many of them never got their hands dirty in the field like we did, and frequently had no concept of the mission of the Agency or the work we were charged to do; usually the title and the job was a political perk of supporting an individual in political office.

I've begun to think that our elected officials, regardless of party affiliation, just want the title and privilages that go with being called "Assemblyman", "Congressman" or "Senator". They don't want the job of having to actually sit down and read proposed legislation and thinking about what they read in terms of providing an analysis of it.

Yes, I know they have staff people who do the reading and research. But the staff person isn't the elected official. Even after the staff person reads and analyzes proposed legislation, the elected official shouldn't let it rest with his policy person - they should be providing feedback and analysis of their own. It's not like they don't know how; most of our elected officials are law school graduates, or college-educated in some field which requires them to know how to engage in critical thinking and analysis. We may like how they look - but we expect them to represent our interests by being able to engage in the critical thought and debate process, otherwise, why should they bother?

Some lawmakers actually demonstrate they do the job for which they were elected, like Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, John Conyers, Mel Watt, and others. I noticed during the Ohio election debate, the members of the Congressional Black Caucus arguing the voting process, presented the facts in evidence like an attorney would do. Not surprising, since all of them were either lawyers, and/or judges in a previous life before being called to serve in public office.

Other members of Congress do anything to hang on to their office, and that includes often going against the best interests of the people they purport to represent. Last night, on the Bernie Ward Show here in the Bay Area, Bernie asked the question "I wonder if the elected official fears actually having to go out and get a real job if they lose their seat? I think they are actually afraid that they can't do any other job except hold public office..."

Currently, the DLC has members who not only have done squat in their current office, but actually have the audacity to aspire for higher political office, where they can continue to do nothing, and have a longer period of time in which to do it, too. Our democracy, what's left of it, can't afford elected officials who want the title, but not the job.

It will be up to us, the people to call our elected officials on this and vote them out when they don't respond. For too long, we've paid the price of not holding our elected officials accountable and not getting a return on our investment of our vote. I refuse to remain silent - I hope you would, too.

If We Need a Reason to Remain in the Party - it's John Conyers

As related by Sheila Samples in her article: "Last Man Standing" if we need a reason to remain in the Democratic Party, the courage of Representative John Conyers is a very compelling one.

Read it here: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan05/Samples0111.htm.

Until I was reminded of this, I had my change of party affiliation voter registration card ready...

Frustrated Bloggers Write

I guess I look in the "comments" section to see if anyone's reading this blog. The following is an email I received from a blogger who's grateful that someone's gunning for the Democratic Leadership Council. I'm posting his comment here:

Your blog is great, it's about time someone went gunning for the DLC. I no longer feel lonely and misunderstood about this issue. Just got this passed along to me today. Naturally, I told them to get rid of the DLC. I said that we already have the so-called Republicans as the party of the corporations, let's have the Democratic Party repudiate the DLC and the corporations and become the party of the American people. http://www.standupdemocrats.org

Dan Van Riper
Albany NY

I'm like Palledin - Have Gun (in this case, blog) will travel. LOL

Bush is Trying to Advance the Rapture

According to columnist Arianna Huffington, the reason why BushCo is pushing the efforts to gut Social Security, the Environment, and anything else designed to make life easier for the rest of us, is because he and other rightwing nut jobs believe that Jesus is coming to Rapture the Church.

Well, maybe He is...as far as they're concerned.

The Bible is very clear that we may see these signs, but the end is Not Yet (Read Paul's letters to the Churches, as well as the Book of Revelation) until the Gospel has been preached to all corners of the earth (Acts 1:8). I don't think that's happened, yet, but in accordance with Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" Series, the best thing that probably could happen to America is for us to wake up one morning and find that the entire Bush Administration has been "Raptured" and those of us who are truly God-honoring Christians can help repair the damage done by these charlatans until it's really time for Jesus' return.

The Bible also points out that the same way Jesus left, that's the way He's returning, but until He does, we who are Christians, are to live our lives being good stewards over this earth and everything and everyone on it. We are not supposed to say "F--" the future, because if we live long enough, the future "f---s" us if we haven't been living right and preserving the natural resources on earth for the generations to come.

Ah the Republicans...and the DLC...so many hypocrites, so little time.

You can read Ms. Huffington's column here: www.ariannaonline.com

WARNING - If Roemer is the next DNC Chair, True Democrats will turn Green

My fellow bloggers over at Daily Kos are threatening to turn "Green" (as in defect to the Green Party) if Roemer gets to be the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee. That means the money of the would-be Green Party members is going with them, and the Democrats will truly become a minority party in more ways than the DLC has already facilitated.

While I can't see myself turning "Green" I can definately see myself leaving the party and renaming this blog something else to express my lament, frustration and anger with elected officials and the political situation emanting from Washington, DC on a nearly hourly basis.

HOWARD DEAN FOR DNC CHAIR! - If he couldn't get the White House, thanks to DLC members, the least you can do is give him the Chairman's job...

This Negro for Rent

Hey, I don't make up the titles from other journalist's articles. Especially someone like Farai Chideya (who's a transplanted Bay Area resident, yay). But her article on the biggest sellout since Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell and Ken Blackwell (do they get any bigger?) is worth reading.

You can read it here: www.popandpolitics.com. You can't make this stuff up.

BTW, I must correct two things: (a) Armstrong's payola wasn't $500,000; it was $240,000 and (b) the only other "sellouts" bigger than those I just mentioned are card-carrying DLC members.

You know I couldn't make a post without making the requisite dig at that sorry bunch...

Kerry is Not a Liberal - He's DLC and here's how I know

For those of you who still want to believe John Kerry is a flaming liberal, you might want to check out the following article from
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan05/Samples0111.htm.

He should also use that $50 million dollars he squirreled away to consider running again in 2008 to pick up the tab for Bush's inaugural ball festivities that the Government is trying to stick the citizens of Washington, DC with. They can't go, but they gotta pay.

Talk about Taxation Without Representation!

Armstrong Williams and the Money Train - Part "Deux"

First, he tries to justify taking money by saying "I really believed in the cause..."

Second, he tells David Corn at the Nation that "there are others who are doing this..."

You can read it here, courtesy of Daily Kos and the Nation.

In other words, Armstrong is like J. C. Watts...in it for the money. I thought you knew....

And just like others who have been caught...he begins to hint that he will "rat" out others who probably did a better job of CYA.

Where's the WiseGuys when you need 'em?

Is is Time to Pronounce the Democratic Party Dead?

I'm in that state when you've been told that your loved one is going to die and there's nothing more that the doctor can do, so go tell the loved one "goodbye". That's the way I'm feeling about the Democratic Party these days, especially when we have DLC-types like Tim Roemer being listed as "the front runner" for DNC Chair.

I started this weblog as a means of trying to keep the Democratic Party from being declared dead. Unfortunately, I don't seem to be winning...

Is it time to really say our "good-byes" to the Democratic Party? Is it time to prepare to give them a proper funeral and burial, so those of us who are progressives/liberals in the spirit of Barbara Boxer, Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich and the late Paul Wellstone, can seek a party where our core values will be truly honored? Or do we try to resicuitate the current Democratic Party?

I have to be honest...the Green Party minus Ralph Nader is looking pretty good these days.

Another Reason to Get Rid of the DLC

From my friends at AMERICAblog:

DNC chair wannabe's troublesome relationship with Scaife-financed right-wing think tank by John in DC - 1/7/2005 01:32:23 PM

That would be Tim Roemer. Just what we need. Another Democrat who belongs to the Republican wing of the Democratic party.

I told you that the DNC will be TOAST if Roemer gets the job. May as well stick with McAuliffe and the rest of us should start looking at the Green Party....if we want politicians who are progressive, liberal and advocates for social justice.

Armstrong Williams and the Money Train

There's a report on the major networks that Armstrong Williams was paid an estimated $500,000 of taxpayer money to use his position as a journalist to spout about the advantages of NCLB and other educational issues, like school vouchers, on behalf of the White House, in terms of promoting their propaganda. Senators Lautenberg, Kennedy and Reid wrote letters to President Bush, taking him to task for using taxpayer money to pay for advertising and using journalists to promote his agenda. Now the powers that be wants Armstrong to refund the money.

He's saying, "No Way" - so Rove and crew have begun a systematic lynching of Mr. Williams, by implying that all his op-ed pieces were not influenced by his own thinking, but by the filthy lucre. They will probably hang a rumor that he's gay on him, too. He will run back to the Black Community for embracing. And we are probably the most forgiving race on the planet - just like we did with OJ and Kobe - who continue to diss the Black Community. All I know is that I don't want to hear about how "liberal" the media is when they have shown that any journalist worth his salt can be bought and paid for by the Bush Administration. Just how "liberal" can the media be when the likes of Bush Rangers Sumner Redstone (Viacom)and Rupert Murdoch (Fox) and the guy who owns Clear Channel, are running everything because they own nearly all the media outlets (thanks to Colin Powell's son)?

Read more about this "promoter" of GOP family values at Daily Kos. He's the first cousin to the Democratic Leadership Council.

Real Democrats Threw Down the Gauntlet

If you watched the election debate on C-Span, you have to be proud if your representative was on the floor of the House, engaging in factual, articulate debate, while the Republicans came off as the weasels they are with spite, vitriol and attacks on Michael Moore.

And this is the party we have in charge the next four years. But I'm predicting self-destruction by 2006, because the cracks are already beginning to show among the ranks to the point they are administering beat downs to any independent thinking Republican. Start looking for defectors....

The Black Commentator Identifies the "Point Man" for the GOP

The Black Commentator (www.blackcommentator.com) has identified the African-American "Point Man" for the GOP. As surmised, the Congressperson is a card-carrying member of the DLC. Ugh.

Read about it here:
Cover Story:
Black Point Man for the Right: Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.
http://www.blackcommentator.com/120/120_cover_harold_ford.html

Just when I thought this "brother" saw the light, too.

Still Drunk on the Kool-Aid & Other Stuff

While Congressional Democrats with backbone are gearing up to challenge the results of the 2004 election, and blow the myth that some of our elected officials don't have morals and principles, there's a little-known story circulating on Yahoo.com that some Democratic leaders, still drunk on the DLC kool-aid, are actually trying to persuade outgoing DNC Chair (and miserable failure) Terry McAuliffe to remain in his position. All I can think of is "W-T-F"! (Sorry, I am a Christian, but this consideration is hard to swallow).

You have to be drunk on the Kool-Aid if you want to retain someone who's just as incompetent as the current resident of the White House. There's someone in the Democratic Party who's addicted to massive amounts of abuse, for even considering asking McAuliffe to stay. But I guess success means rewarding incompetency - just look at those Medals of Freedom Bush gave to the architects of the Iraq war; a fine, incompetently managed mess if ever there was one.

Any of these Senators or Congresspersons endorsing this idea needs to lose their seat in 2006, because to attempt to persuade McAuliffe to remain as DNC Chair is not representing the best interests of their constituents...unless their constituents are also DLC supporters. Ya think?

Other stuff: Major props for Rep. John Conyers and Senator Barbara Boxer for challenging the election results today. Even though it won't change the outcome (Bush stole another election), it will send the signal that Democrats are not going down meekly. But the fact that Sen. John Kerry has issued a statement saying he doesn't agree with the challenge and won't support it (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/06/politics/06elect.html), should signal to us that come 2008, we shouldn't answer his willingness to be "reporting for duty" when he tries to run for the office again. Instead, we should just go AWOL ourselves and consider a John Edwards/Barack Obama ticket....

That thought of two such good-looking, smart and intellingent guys running on the Presidential ticket in '08 is enough to make a girl swoon...not to mention that such a ticket would whip a Frist or Jeb Bush ticket to hell and beyond.

The Best "Man" for the Job...is Barbara Boxer

It is with a great deal of pride that I'm entering this blog to announce that the one Senator with enough courage to consider standing with Rep. John Conyers and the other House Democrats challenging the election results is the Senator from my home state of California, Sen. Barbara Boxer. She as much implied she would be taking stances like this one at her Christmas Party I attended at the Old Mint in San Francisco this season. She mentioned what Conyers was trying to do, and encouraged her collegues in the Senate to consider assisting his effort by signing off on the objection.

The best man for this job...continues to be a woman who has convictions, spunk and courage to act on her values. It also helps that she won't be up for re-election until 2010, long after the Bush Cartel leaves office...unless his brother gets the nod for 2008.

The male Democrats in the Senate should be ashamed that a woman is standing up to do something they won't...challenge the Nixon rule (which is a tacit agreement not to challenge questionable election results).

Not to limit my diatribe to male Democrats in the Senate (cause some of them are card carrying members of the DLC, also), but guess who else you won't see joining Conyers in announcing his objections?

All card-carrying DLC members. Ya think?

I bet you thought I was going to say moderate Republicans, but I'm beginning to believe there's no such animal as a moderate Republican. If there are any, trust me, they have been muzzled.

John Kerry - AWOL as Usual

People, this is a guy I voted for, even though I was a Dean supporter and he (Dean) caught a character assasination bullet by the likes of Gephardt and Lieberman to pave the way for the Boston Brahmin. I said in a Buzz Flash commentary that if he was going to talk Howard Dean's talk, he also needed to finish what Howard Dean started. Kerry failed miserably, and now, we're being insulted by his arrogant consideration to run again in 2008.

HELLO!? You didn't get the job done in 2004, Mr. Kerry. You couldn't beat a sock-puppet; by far the worst President since Herbert Hoover. And we're supposed to consider you in 2008? In the African-American community, you don't stand a chance, especially after reneiging on your promise to count all the votes. GET REAL, and don't you dare insult the likes of Jesse Jackson, or NAACP leaders to be included in representation without participation in another of your election fiascos in 2008. We African-Americans have better things to do...like getting a candidate who will be sensitive and responsive to our issues before we have to call him on it. Or her. We will dance with them that brung us. You brought us to the dance, and left us hanging while you chased after the prom queen...

Kerry promised us, especially African-American voters, that a repeat of 2000, regarding voting irregularities, would not be allowed. Less than 24 hours after Fox News called the election in favor of Bush, and over the protests of his own running mate, John Edwards, Kerry reneiges on his promise and caves in concession like the proverbial wimp he is. I wonder if he learned that as a member of that secret fraternity, Skull & Bones, during his Yale years?

Big talk during the primaries: "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty" but he went AWOL on the Swift Boat Liars - another product of DLC involvement in a campaign. As I write this, all DLCers who had anything to do with Kerry's campaign have jumped off his sinking ship like the rats they really are, and in their own appearances around the country, accuse him of not "articulating the message".

Well, he could have, if the DLC infidels had provided him with one.

So, at the very least, one would expect Senator Kerry to be around when Rep. John Conyers and 14 brave members of the Congressional Black Caucus will raise their objections to the vote being officially certified on Thursday...just like in 2000. I'm wondering why all 43 members of the CBC aren't uniting in calling for an objection to certifying the vote?

Remember, eight of the CBC members are also card-carrying members of the DLC (since Denise Majette wanted none of Cynthia McKinney in a re-match, the number is down to eight), and they have all received the message memo from Chairman Al From not to "even think about getting involved in that objection by Conyers'; if you do, don't expect any room to feed at the corporate money trough in 2006."

I also expect Cheney to tell the CBC members to go and f--- themselves when they raise their objections; therefore, no Senator is going to come forward, or risk Cheney's wrath. Because Kerry is going to be AWOL, again, at a time when Democracy needs him to take a stand on principle, he's going to avoid the vote, avoid the pressure and be traveling elsewhere.

Senators, you will not have Al Gore to blame for dropping the ball this time, now that you know what George Bush is all about. It is akin to committing treason if not one Senator stands up with Conyers on Thursday and signs off on that objection. Ted Kennedy, why don't you stand up? you've had a lock on that Senate seat since 1962 - even through that Chappaquidick mess in 1969; surely you could sign off on that objection?

What about you, Russ Feingold? The pundits had you down and out in a "Red" state that you carried easily. The Wisconsin voters would send you back to the Senate if for nothing else, to show they know how to separate fluff from principle.

Dianne Feinstein, you represent my home state. Too bad you have long identified yourself as a DLC card carrying member, too. That would leave Barbara Boxer, and trust me, we're flooding her offices with emails up the wazoo.

Robert Byrd? You can do it. We need you; enough to overlook your "white nigger" comment. Trust me, your comment was no worse than Kerry's bailing out on us...

Jim Jeffords - you could take the hit; after all, you had the convictions to break with the Thug party when you realized you weren't a thug yourself. Give it some thought...

The bottom line: any one of these Senators would be welcomed because Kerry's going AWOL.

For my girlfriends who work for Sen. Kerry (and convinced me to support him at the CBC Conference Breakfast they had in his honor last September), the only reason I am restrained in my vitriol is because of them. They are nice women who geniunely believed in John Kerry, and his candidacy. As did most of us when Dean, Kucinich, Moseley-Braun and Sharpton were shown the door in the primaries.

Senator John Kerry: NOT REPORTING FOR DUTY, BUT AWOL...AS USUAL.

See the link from BuzzFlash:Why my tenure as a Democrat is waning by a BuzzFlash reader getting tired of the Democrats' shtick. What he may not know is the DLC involvement in the wimpy political stances.

On Iraq trip, Kerry to skip election finale (Boston Herald)

Beginning a New Year

I know, I'm late with the Happy New Year's wishes and the usual resolutions. But I'm far more inspired by the late Shirley Chisholm's legacy in Congress. Her motto was "Unbought and Unbossed".

My wish for this New Year - That DLC members would grow a backbone and adopt a similar legacy. But it may just be too late to ask Satan to return their souls, once he's bought them, isn't it?