basically how i see it

exactamundo! cept my day will be march 16
ok howie. not what i would have said, but i understand. yes, some of us are angrier at the democratic party than the republicans. did bush and his cohorts cry and whine that buchanon was running in 2000? i dont think so. did dems in 2000 over nader, just like they are doing today? yep. imagine that nader is a hack for the republicans. it is legal. stop bitchin and fight. if you dont like it, work on changin the system. or change the party if you think you will lose voters to him.

good one. went to a politics forum today at UIC. pretty good, talk on foreign policy, IL and law, and the 2004 election. carol was there. i think she noticed me in my Dean shirt. i was gonna use the lunch break to go down to daley plaza, and be dean visible. but the schedule changed, and i missed the bus too. anyway, one new realization today. the democratic party is a bunch of pussies. i think it starts with the nature of all politicians to not want to alienate anyone, but in comparison to the republicans, the dems always look weak. it comes from being beholden to special interests, and here i include them all. corporations, gay rights groups, environmental, unions, just to name a couple. the two party system means that if you are mainly interested in only one issue, you have two choices. perhaps they both are against you, and then you are stuck with nothing, aka third party politics or revolution. perhaps one is with you and one is against. then your decision is easy. what if both dont really give a shit, or maybe only a little poop? then you have to go with whoever might be closer, or you are gonna get somewhat more fucked by the other party. basically this should be the strength of the system. is this misunderstood? is this what madison meant?

just what I wrote last night, hoping it might be Dean’s closing statement in the debate on Sunday…
Senator Kerry, I thank you and all veterans for their distinguished service to our country. But to me, this is the only serious difference between you and the president.
From prior primary exit polls, it appears that the people of our great land identify with me more on the issues than they do with you. But I am greatly overshadowed by you on the issue of electability. I do not understand, and let me explain why.
You tell the president to ‘Bring It On’. But when he does, he will be able to say that you supported him on ‘No Child Left Behind’. When he does, he will be able to say you supported him on the PATRIOT act. When he does, he will be able to say you supported him on the tax cuts. When he does, he will be able to say that you supported him on the war.
You did this even when you had access to a classified document that explained the public information was likely exagerrated. Many of your fellow senators dissented. But all of what I have just mentioned, you supported. It was easy then. Bush and what he was pushing was popular. Only now do you complain and say Bush was wrong. This all applies to you too, Senator Edwards.
I stood against all of them at the time. Loudly, I challenged the Bush administration then. I also complained about the power of special interests over our government, back then in the early days of the campaign. You must now also understand the problems this poses, as you have begun speaking as I have all along. Only when it is pointed out that you have received and accepted that money, as you have also Senator Edwards, do you claim that it has no effect on you. Will not Bush say the same in his own defense?
And regarding dirty politics, there is an ad the people should know about. It was run in Iowa, partially paid for by supporters of your campaign, Senator Kerry. It showed Osama, and a voiceover said that I would not protect our country. It was similar to the one run by Republicans against another hero of Vietnam, and a supporter of yours, Max Cleland. Both were despicable ads, yet you refuse to decline the donations of those who ran it.
To the people of Wisconsin, and the entire United States, I ask you to stand with us. I try to be as direct and honest as possible, answering questions with a yes or no before I explain more fully. I like to believe that that is why so many are dedicated to this campaign. The media seems to believe it is some out of touch liberal movement. Call it liberal if that includes balancing budgets and a high rating from the NRA. To me, it is progressive, rational reform. It is all about making this country more accountable to working people. We Want Our Country Back, from those who say dissent is unamerican. And when I say ‘You Have the Power’, I mean you are gonna have to work for this change we want to see. There are people in Washington paid to get the laws to profit a few over the many. There are media companies that like it that way too. They are not evil, they are just doing their job.
You have the power, nay, the responsibility, to represent yourself and your children in the political process. You must find candidates to represent you, at all levels of government. You must make the committment to find out about their record and their stands on issues, even as the media seems more concerned with the horserace than differences in policy or accomplishments.
I stand here as the candidate, still 2nd in the delegate count, only because more than 600,000 people were willing to take time out of their lives in a difficult economy. I need your vote, but I ask a greater service of you. It is my hope that you take time to reflect on all of our records, plans for the future, and ability to take on and defeat George Bush. And then, do not only vote for one of us, but consider donating or volunteering your time to that campaign. Let us build a stronger party, one that inspires, one united in a new sense of community.

ok, so there were ads run that showed osama and saddam and said dean would not keep us safe from them. similar to the ads run against max cleland, who was a vietnam vet who lost both legs and an arm. these were denounced by all democrats. finally, as it now legally must, it comes out who funded the ads against dean. some kerry and gephardt fundraisers did. and max cleland still supports kerry. kerry should refuse the money from these folks, or are we not to accept that kerry supports what they did? otherwise, shouldn’t cleland at least say something?

abortions for some, little american flags for others. truth for the government, bullshit for the people. so now it all makes a little more sense. the question remains how so many with the better info still decided to support it. so many people were saying the public report was bullshit. if you remember how it was at the time, there seemed to be a problem talking about it. besides being called unpatriotic and shit, there were no facts to go back to. it seemed like folks were from different planets. it is often like that with liberals and conservatives, but this was somehow worse. amazingly, the people were told shit that wasnt true to pump up support. so the word that you got from most media was propaganda. the other sources, coming from ex-CIA or other former staffers, bubbled up via the internet or alternative media. turns out those, so simply dismissed, were most similar to that given to our elected officials. so who do you trust now?

here. and supposed there is a pic in the last paper edition.

Truly Honest and Direct. That’s why he is inspiring! A Record of Accomplishment. That’s why he’s electable!
I have been thinking, and we need to explain the slogans like ‘take our country back’. why are we so inspired? I think most people in America think we are all leftists who wish to take the Democratic party in that direction, and we are energized at the prospect of doing so. but the truth is, we were inspired and are inspired by a politician who tells us the truth, and who asks us to understand and explain to others that we cannot have a lot more from government without paying some more. We cannot have a government that looks out for us without getting involved ourselves, because the special interests will, understandably, always be doing whatever they can to get favors.
So, we were impressed and looked into him further. It couldnt be that this guy actually had a record to back him up, could it? But of course we found that he did, a thoroughly impressive resume of dedicating himself to others as first a doctor, and then a legislater and governor. And as governor, he was impressively fiscally responsible and reasonable on all issues. Yet, he did not back down in any fight nor change his stands when polls showed them politically dangerous. Obviously, we got hooked.
And that is why he has convinced us to devote our time and money. We still believe in what America can be, honest and direct and united and dedicated to the hard work from all of us that it takes!
Dean for America

he said it before the push for war. most of the media ridiculed him. i didnt believe him either. i thought iraq had some stuff, but that the newly restarted inspections by the UN would find them if they were allowed to continue. the inspections were not allowed to continue, but we must remember that it was our administration and not the iraqis that stopped it.

nice