DEAR CHRIS JACKSON...

Dear Chris Jackson:

For many months, you have been seen on most political blogs, and even started one of your own, extolling the virtues of the Representative of Memphis' 9th District, one Harold Eugene Ford, Jr.

You've even exhorted those of us in Blogsovania to put aside our differences and agree on common ground to make sure he wins Bill Frist's Senate seat in November.

However, since he's one of 40 Democrats that said with their vote yesterday that torture is a good idea, please tell us again, why, "a few of his votes" should not matter in the overall goal of getting him elected? Please tell us why we should overlook that he has voted like a card carrying ReThug for the last four years.

Please tell us what is so virtuous about Harold Ford that he can stand in a church and film a campaign ad, extolling his Christian faith, and then turn around and vote for a bill that Jesus wouldn't condone. Where's the consistency between talking about his faith, and actually living it?

You seem to really know the man - why don't you come on this board again, and tell us why we should get behind this modern-day eqiuvalant of Judas? If you read your Bible, you know Judas was an original disciple of Jesus, but when Jesus didn't bring an earthly kingdom into being like Judas wanted, he sold Jesus to the Jews to be executed for 30 pieces of silver. Afterwards, realizing that he had betrayed God's only begotten Son, Judas, at least, had the conscience to realize the magnitude of his actions, and because that magnitude was so great, he went to a field and killed himself, rather than live with the shame of what he'd done, even though I believe if he'd confessed, God would have forgiven him, even then.

Yes, I call myself the Christian Progressive Liberal. Because my ideology, my values, my beliefs and life lessons have moulded me in that way. Yes, I have slung a couple of words that may cause people to question my faith, but that's baby Christians who would question the swear words I drop every now and then. Doesn't mean my faith and belief isn't real, because to me, it IS. Real Christians, mature ones; there are things so frustrating, so beyond the pale, so mind-boggling - that either we sling an epithet or take action that would really contrast what we believe against what we actually do as Christians.

I'm raising these questions because your candidate says he's a Christian. He even taped a campaign commercial in a church to send this point home, and to score votes with those in the Bible Belt. The Bible actually puts it this way: "Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." (Matthew 5).

We who are observant are beginning to recognize the fruits of Harold Ford Jr.'s labor. Actually, we've been recognizing it for some time, but as of yesterday's vote, he can't sink any lower than a snake's belly, can he?

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that these are the fruits of the Spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control.

Your belief in Harold's ability to be a United States Senator seems to know no bounds. Given that I've actually quoted some Bible passages for the two of you to chew on, can you answer me the following questions:

Where is the love for his district in his votes for economic legislation, like the BK bill, Estate Tax repeal, and consistent votes to keep pouring money into Bush's black hole, better known as the Iraq war?

Where is the peace and patience required in dealing in matters of foreign policy, rather than cavalierly voting to hand over authority to the President to bomb, maim and yes, now, TORTURE anyone this government chooses to detain because they can?

Where's his kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control when he deals with people like me, Pesky, Autoegocrat, Jeff, Kibbitzer, Thaddeus Matthews, or any other blogger who calls him out on his actions and his response is to lobby snark or snakey remarks because we're not singing his praises and overlooking his pecadilloes?

A mature politician knows the art of self-control. Harold's response to those of us actually challenging him to provide direct, concise, concrete and comprehensive explanations, responses, statements to anything he does that contradicts what he purports to represent, has shown us that not only has he not acquired this maturity, he's decidedly lacking.

Get past your hero worship of the man and look at his voting record. Examine what his votes actually mean. They mean to torture people; they mean to leave them physically, mentally and emotionally bankrupt. They promise to deliver a prehistoric time that the forefathers of this country ran away from England from, because they decided that they didn't want to live like that again, EVER.

They promise not to educate our kids. Tell me how a voucher is going to do that, when an economically strapped family still has to pay to send his kid to St. Albans, even if he gets a voucher; it only pays a portion of it, and the family still has to cough up the rest of the tuition.

They promise to limit whether or not you can send your child to college; or a person buy their own home, or start businesses, or keep sending 18-year olds off to fight in wars that they are ill-trained, ill-equipped and psychologically not mature enough to handle.

I'm not demanding you answer me, Chris. In light of how Harold has voted, I'm begging you to answer my questions, and don't be flippant about it, either. The vote on a bill that literally authorizes the President of the United States to engage in a campaign of fear and physically torture whomever the hell he wants, at his whim, without any proof of collusion or treason, is a threat to all Americans, and his vote essentally indicates a decided unwillingness to do his job as a United States Congressman to engage in oversight and the concept of Checks and Balances upon which the very fabric of this Government and this country were founded.

Please, please, please tell us why Harold Ford should become the next Senator in the United States Senate, when his votes have consistently demonstrated either a naked ambition that rivals Lucifer, or a lack of knowledge, skills and ability to interpret and actually apply the tenets of the Constitution he swore to uphold when he took office.

In case you're wondering who Lucifer is, according to Isaiah 14:12:

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

Lucifer is now known to many of us as Satan. He was thrown out of Heaven when he aspired to be like God, the One who created him. Does Harold have similar aspirations? He may be cast out of the political mix just like Lucifer was cast out of Heaven, for trying to ingratiate himself with those who would just as soon ask him to fetch their cars at the local Country Club, rather than vote for him to be Tennessee's next Senator.

And yeah, Hugo Chavez told a truth many of us have longed to hear, and have been waiting on Congress to make the same charges (that our President is a devil), but remained mute, silent, and are astonished that we're Mad as Hell and we're not taking it anymore!

I'll be waiting on your answers, Chris, because Memphians, Tennesseans, and most of all, Americans, deserve one. May God bless you and give you the words to say when you answer these questions, if you choose to do so.

THE INTELLIGENCE SQUAD STRIKES AGAIN

And it's a good smack down and run down of one George Felix "I ain't no Jew" Allen.

Here's the part that has me ROFL:

Even more exciting, he is officially the leading contender for 2006 Strommy Award, our award recognizing the elected official displaying the most distressingly backwards attitudes and behaviors on matters of race for the year. The award is named after Strom Thurmond, the late US Senator from South Carolina who set the American record for Senate filibusters of 24 hours, 18 minutes in an effort to block passage of a 1957 civil rights bill. Previous winners have included Trent Lott, John Ashcroft, and George W. Bush.

So head over to my friend Tom Grayman's blog and show him some love, please. The man is the African-American Keith Olbermann...

KERRY LAYETH THE SMACK DOWN ON LIEBERMAN

And it's about friggin' time, too.

Listen, I still haven't forgiven Kerry for his 2004 cave-in on the stolen election; nor have I forgotten that when it came time to challenge those Ohio election results in January 2005, his behind was in Switzerland talking like he was big-ballin', and sayin' nothing, while Barbara Boxer obeyed her conscience and did the right thing.

But, over at DKos, Kerry laid the smackdown on Lieberman about his position on Iraq in the most direct (for Kerry, anyway) manner possible.

Here's a tidbit:

"Iraq has been a national security disaster and a terrible set-back in the war on terror. As Robert Kennedy said of Vietnam, there is enough blame to go around. We must all accept our responsibility to change course. We don't need misleading speeches. We don't need slogans. We need leaders who will tell it straight and stand up to this administration and say it's time to change course. Ned Lamont is providing that kind of leadership..."

Kerry even looks Presidential:



If only Kerry had stuck to his guns two years ago, he could have ended this nightmare. But, then again, his not getting elected was probably a blessing in disguise, because remember, Dear Leader has already gone on record saying that the Mess'o'potamia we now see will be for the next President to clean up...

SINCE WHEN???

Since when did Reps. Charlie Rangel and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi become the Democratic apologists for George W. Bush?

I'm sorry, but if Venuzualan President Hugo Chavez stood up at the United Nations and called the President the "Devil", I'm not going to argue with the Truth.

Has KKKarl Rove and crew so intimidated the Democratic Party that Rangel and Pelosi are compelled to start the fine art of sucking up to Dear Leader? After all, Chavez is a man who overcame a rigged election (done by the United States) and survived an assassination attempt (also done by the United States). Even a good ol' Christian boy like Pat Robertson was on the 700 Club, talking about "taking out Chavez" and so horrifying his sidekick, Ben Kinchlow, to the point that the brother couldn't mask that horrified look of realization that maybe it was time to put Rev. Pat out to pasture.

Why are you going to say that no one can come here and diss Bush, but Bush can go into anyone's country and look like a friggin idiot:



We ought not to dish it out if we can't take it. Maybe that's been the problem...

And, I said, for my money, Merkel should have slugged Bush for invading her personal space that way. It was clearly more embarassing for the leader of the Free World to embarass the United States with his frat boy behavior and the obvious indication that he never learned the meaning and importance of boundaries. So, if I'm in agreement with Chavez's statement that "the smell of sulfur is still in the room", will I be arrested for agreeing with the truth than trying to prop up a President who's clearly in the wrong and got called out on it?

Next week, if Champagne Charlie takes the floor to denounce Bush, I'm going to tune out because that vision of his speech, and hearing his voice denouncing Chavez for telling the truth, is going to superceede anything worthwhile he or Pelosi have to say.

THE DEMOCRATS. The only political party in town who can hit a triple and the batters behind them hit into a triple play without the winning run scoring...

THIS IS FRIGGIN' SCARY

Why have people buy health insurance if they're going to take your money and pull crap like this:

“When Steve and Leslie Shaeffer’s daughter, Selah, was diagnosed at age 4 with a potentially fatal tumor in her jaw, they figured their health insurance would cover the bulk of her treatment costs.” But “shortly after Selah’s medical bills hit $20,000, Blue Cross stopped covering them and eventually canceled her coverage retroactively.”

HAT TIP: Egalia and crew over at Tennessee Guerilla Woman. I recommend you head over to Egalia's place to read the rest of the Insurance Coverage Horror Stories - where the insurance company essentially takes your money and don't give you coverage if it's going to be costly.

Now, we should be putting on our thinking hats and wondering who the hell in Congress is taking payola from the HMOs to make sure there's no effective legislation on record to combat this crap? One person comes to mind...



For my money, I wish they would take the phrase "Honorable" away when addressing Mr. Wynn. He's as Honorable as...Jack Abramoff.

And, since he now appears to have to steal elections in order to continue sitting in the House and doing jack regarding his constituents except sell out their interests to the highest bidder, my fondest wish is that he spends the next two years with the FBI breathing down his back, and progressives watching his voting record like a fly on stink. Every vote against his district's interests is going to fall into Donna Edwards' arsenal in 2008 and I hope she clobbers him with it. Even if he's gotten his seat back, just how much influence do you think Wynn has for the next two years? He's going to look like a sick horse that needs to be put down. Donna Edwards is going to be back with a vengence, but for now, I hope she's readying her attorneys to fight the election results, because they appear to be tainted and maimed, and Wynn has the blood on his hands, especially after being fool enough to actually brag about it.

Here's a tidbit. Hat tip to Matt Stoller at MyDD

BARTON: Down in Texas, we had a Democratic primary about 50 years ago that Lyndon Johnson won by 54 votes. And he got the nickname "Landslide Lyndon." We have Mr. Wynn next. He had a little bit of a tussle last week, but he did win. And so, I want to recognize "Landslide Wynn" for any opening statement that he wishes...
WYNN: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. In fact, they're still counting, but we're quite optimistic. And I did take a couple pages out of Lyndon's book, so if I win, it can be attributed to Texas know-how.
(LAUGHTER)
(UNKNOWN): Did you (inaudible)?
BARTON: I hope not. I hope you win fair and square.
(LAUGHTER)
WYNN: A win is a win.

I don't know about you, but anytime the oil-soaked Joe Barton is giving you props, you are a suspect DLCer and bipartisanship be damned. Even the hapless Harold Ford, Jr. is smarter than Wynn to gloat about what he's doing to win the Senate seat in Tennessee and I actually respect that. Albert Wynn is worse than Joe Lieberman, and his narcissism knows no bounds. But I hope that we in the progressive blogsphere can make his term a living hell.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THIS WEBSITE

Is starting with the DLC losing their tax-exempt status. They lose it because they don't want to reveal who is that masked man who's been spouting that schtick that the Democratic Party should become more like Corporatists.

From Steve Gilliard's blog:

Via correntewire from Forbes Magazine (where it's behind a membership firewall) comes this inspiring human interest story about our poor, beleagered friends over at the Democratic Leadership Council losing their tax-exempt status for being too, well...partisan.

Will wonders ever cease? Join me after the flip.

Now, in a previously unreported action, the Internal Revenue Service has revoked the DLC's tax exemption on the grounds that it primarily benefited a private group--Democrats, and particularly "New Democrats" running for or holding office--rather than the community at large. The DLC has sued in federal court to overturn the decision;

Of course, no true sob story would be complete without a tragic helping of irony. For little did we know, "benefit" is now a synonym of "contaminate." But perhaps the sordid details of this plot will reveal where we, as a society, with our labyrinthine tax laws, went so horribly wrong that we allowed ourselves to do a grave injustice to that little lamb of God, Al From:

The DLC isn't a 501(c)(3) charity like the United Way. It won exemption in 1986 under section 501(c)(4) of the code, covering civic and social welfare groups. Contributions to civic groups aren't deductible. But 501(c)(4)s are allowed to lobby more than charities and to even get involved in partisan politics. The National Rifle Association, MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood and the National Right to Life Committee are all 501(c)(4)s.

What's the practical value of a (c)(4) designation if it doesn't generate writeoffs for its donors? A (c)(4) isn't taxed as a for-profit business would be and doesn't have to disclose its donors, as a political action committee does.

For their next trick, the DLC will demonstrate how they have been true Democrats all along...

OKAY, I HAD TO POST THIS

Because if you've ever dealt with family dynasties, you'll also know they will go to any lengths to preserve said dynasty. This bunch is the mob equivalent of the Sopranos in how far and how long they will go to preserve Harold Ford, Sr's legacy.

Too bad his sons are screwing it up for everyone else. My blogging pals at the Freedonian and Left-Wing Cracker has their opinions on this issue...

THIS IS WHAT A CAN OF "WHUP A--" LOOKS LIKE...

CAN OF WHUP A--. NOW, WE KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

Progressives intend to clean house in the House of Reps as well as the Senate in November. And thanks to Memphis Blogger Thaddeus Matthews, every Vichy Democrat will now know what a can of whup a--s looks like, before, during and after it's been broken out on them.

Thaddeus, thanks for making my day with this.