HyperLincoln : "hyperlinkin' the blognoscenti"

Thursday Speaker Schedule - 2004 Democratic National Convention Official Site

Thursday Speaker Schedule - 2004 Democratic National Convention Official Site

Watch the convention on C-SPAN

posted by Unknown @ 5:34 PM 0 comments

Some pregnant quotes from Sharpton and Kucinich

S.M. Dixon, at The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, with some excellent quotes from the Democratic Convention, and other wondrous finds.

"Mr. President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took Florida so seriously, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our age. Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood of good men, soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us. This vote can't be bargained away. This vote can't be given away.

"In all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale."

--Al Sharpton


"The history of social and economic progress in America was written by the Democratic party. Democrats are the party of:
the minimum wage.
The forty hour week.
Time and a half for overtime.
We are the party of the right to organize,
the right to collective bargaining,
the right to strike,
the right to a safe workplace,
the right to a secure retirement.
We are the party of workers' rights,
civil rights, and
women's rights.
We are the party of national health care for senior citizens,
social security,
public education and
rural electrification.

When we show up holding the banner of social and economic justice, we win.

And now must create a new America."

--Dennis Kucinich

posted by Unknown @ 1:07 PM 2 comments

July 28 Convention News

July 28 Convention News


Credit: Reuters photo
Practicing for his big speech

12 Generals and Admirals Endorse Kerry
• Lieutenant General Edward D. Baca (United States Army, Retired)
• Lieutenant General Daniel W. Christman (United States Army, Retired)
• General Wesley K. Clark (United States Army, Retired)
• Admiral William J. Crowe (United States Navy, Retired)
• Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn (United States Navy, Retired)
• General Joseph Hoar (United States Marine Corps, Retired)
• Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy (United States Army, Retired)
• Lieutenant General Donald Kerrick (United States Army, Retired)
• General Merrill "Tony" A. McPeak (United States Air Force, Retired)
• Admiral Stansfield Turner (United States Navy, Retired)
• General Johnnie E. Wilson (United States Army, Retired)
~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE SPEECHES

MARTIN O'MALLEY TEXT.....VIDEO
"My friends, for this generation of Americans
to have a rendezvous with destiny, we must choose.
We must choose to build a stronger America.
We must choose to defend the brave and generous America that our parents and our grandparents were courageous to choose for us.
America the beautiful, whose alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears;
oh, my friends, to govern is to choose.
And at this hour, the man and the mission have met.
The mission is America's security.
The man is here.
And the choice is ours."


AL SHARPTON- TEXT...VIDEO
"Mr. President, we love America, not because all of us have seen the beauty all the time. But we believed if we kept on working, if we kept on marching, if we kept on voting, if we kept on believing, we would make America beautiful for everybody.."


DENNIS KUCINICH- TEXT...VIDEO
We have found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
I was mayor of Cleveland and I could tell you
that I've seen weapons of mass destruction in our cities.
Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction.
Joblessness is a weapon of mass destruction,
homelessness, a weapon of mass destruction...
... racism, a weapon of mass destruction,
fear, a weapon of mass destruction.
We must disarm these weapons.


Senator PATRICK LEAHY- TEXT...VIDEO

Retired General JOHN SHALIKASHVILI, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff "OLD SOLDIER/NEW DEMOCRAT"- not yet

BOB GRAHAM-not yet

JOHN EDWARDS-not yet


Google: Convention

St Petersburg Times: SSH! DNC tells Bob Graham his speech is too Bush-bashing, tells Bob to tone down the obvious.


Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley took the stage tonight. Mayor O'Malley addressed the burden of homeland security on U.S. cities.
He says his message hasn't changed much in the last few years because the Bush Administration has made so very little progress. Seen by many as having star-potential in the Democratic party, his national profile was raised during this afternoon's speech. READ IT HERE.....SEE IT HERE


Amy Sullivan on Barack Obama: "..maybe that's a little premature, but standing there listening to the roar of the crowd (only Clinton has received a louder ovation at this convention) after Obama brought down the house with his keynote address, with "Obama" signs blanketing the hall, I said to myself, "You're looking at our first black president."

Matt Stoller/BOP: The most impressive part of the speech was when Obama ripped into the red and blue state myth..

Michael Kinsley: "..Although Democrats sincerely believe that election was stolen from them, they have been cowed by the successful Republican campaign to make any reference to 2000 seem like bad form....the party that gets the most votes is not "out of the mainstream," whether getting the most votes is enough to win the election or not."




"Recently the Vice President used a really bad word. If I used that word, I would be put in a time out. I think he should be put in a time out."
--12-year-old Ilana Wexler of Oakland, CA, founder of Kids for Kerry



Google: Convention bloggers



NPR: Bloggers Offer Intimate View of Convention

Wired News: Stars of Convention: Bloggers



At ABC, Mark Halperin reports: Steven Spielberg was an adviser on John Kerry's convention biographical video that will be shown Thursday night. Spielberg made recommendations to James Moll, who produced the film. Spielberg, who had been contemplating producing the biopic himself, screened a rough cut recently and offered up his ideas.

Dean-Dems for Kerry: Boston street-kudos are still going to Howard Dean. These Kerry-supporters are unashamed to tell you they are Dean-democrats.


Tom Tomorrow: Saw Josh Marshall yesterday, crouched down behind Al Franken, listening in as Franken and Sean Hannity went at it. After the interview, Hannity said to Janeane Garofolo, with mock outrage, "You called me a creep?"

"You are a creep," she replied. Hannity continued to smile broadly, as if he just couldn't believe these crazy liberals.


Thanks to The Angry Liberal, I connected with Josh Marshall's writing about a question he decided to ask filmmaker Michael Moore as he quickly passed him at the Fleet Center in Boston. Josh's impromptu question, in a nutshell, was to ask Mr. Moore what he made of the obvious and deliberate absence of Bush-attacks during the convention. Mr. Moore's said he liked the convention and when it came to the DNC's choice to tone themselves down on attacking Bush: "You don't even have to say it. Everyone knows how bad it is." (Thanks to Moore and blogdom, everyone does know how bad it is.) Regardless of current polls, I think this goes along with the belief that the election is Kerry's to lose. I think bloggers are owed a tremendous debt by the DNC for keeping it real out here exposing "the emporer whose clothes (and brains) aren't there".

On Monday, I'd written the following: "..Why wouldn't the Democratic party press for primetime coverage by the major networks on Tuesday night? I would think, other than Kerry and Edwards' speeches, the speeches by these two men, Dean and Reagan, would be of great interest to many Americans. Certainly more so than "According to Jim" or "Big Brother Five"....right??" At Liberal Oasis, Bill Scher has asked the same basic question: Obama or Big Brother 5? What's wrong with this picture? See Liberal Oasis for some other really good at-the-convention coverage, including an interview with Representative Jan Schakowsy of Illinois.



THE COMPETITION: As I mentioned on July 26th, the Republicans are in Boston to counter any of the the Democrats' anti-Bush rhetoric to date. They plan to unveil an 11-minute video today that captures Kerry's changing positions on Iraq since 2001.



(more to come)
___________________________________

TODAY'S SPEAKERS:

*This Washington Post site will take you to text and videos of previous speeches.

Wednesday, July 28
A Stronger More Secure America

Steve Brozak, Ret. Lt. Col., USMC, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New Jersey
Elijah Cummings, U.S. Representative from Maryland
Cate Edwards, Daughter of John Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards, Wife of John Edwards
John Edwards, Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee
Bob Graham, U.S. Senator from Florida, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan
Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Greg Meeks, U.S. Representative from New York
Martin O'Malley, Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland
Harry Reid, U.S. Senator from Nevada
Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
Al Sharpton, 2004 Presidential Candidate

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 10:04 AM 0 comments

Convention bloggers in the News

Live From Boston: Democratic Convention Bloggers At Work 
InternetWeek.com - David L. Sifry, Messaging Pipeline. The Gore Speech: Jerome Armstrong of MyDD.com posted the text of Al Gore's speech before he gave it. 
Bloggers Offer Intimate View of Convention 
NPR (audio) - Bloggers at the Democratic gathering in Boston offer a more passionate, opinionated view of goings-on than that of traditional journalists. ...
CONVENTION BLOGGERS URGED TO CHALLENGE MAINSTREAM MEDIA 
AdAge.com -  dailies would die for and it continues to grow." He also suggested that the traditional media companies' coverage of the convention's bloggers will help boost...
`Pamphleteers of a new age' log measure of recognition 
Boston Herald, MA -  of information.''. Still, convention bloggers will now be face-to-face with those they've written about from a distance. 
Citizen journalists find their place at 'Bloggers Boulevard' 
Providence Journal (subscription), RI -  For more, visit conventionbloggers.com and technorati. com/politics, which are both collecting posts from the convention bloggers. 
Convention coverage reaches into 'blogosphere' 
Palm Beach Post, FL -  To get a credential to the convention, bloggers had to apply and then have their blogs scrutinized for originality, readership and professionalism. 
Bloggers at the gates 
Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA -  The NYTimes pulled this act today because they have a professional interest in portraying convention bloggers as “low-brow” and unworthy of reading, while...
Convention coverage reaches into 'blogosphere' 
Palm Beach Post, FL - To get a credential to the convention, bloggers had to apply and then have their blogs scrutinized for originality, readership and professionalism.

posted by Unknown @ 12:22 AM 0 comments

TV Networks & Anchors Fail America

Did Brokaw, Jennings and Rather watch the Convention during Primetime?
If so...why can't we? If not, why not? 
-HyperLincoln

     I don't know about Cable. I yanked it from my TV set after their pathetic performance during the Selection of 2000. I could not trust Cable.
     But I do know about ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS, and of these, PBS is the only reason I don't simply throw the TV out the window. But even they had pundits who talked over valuable films and speakers.
     Liberal Media MY ASS!

     My questions to Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather are these: 

1. Did you watch the Convention during the four hours of "prime time"?
2. If so, why is it that you can see it, and we can't? Are you more important than Carter, Gore, and the American People?
3. If not, why not? Do you not deem it important enough? Are you afraid you will be moved, and thus risk your Republican shillability?   
4. Are you receiving memos, like the lemmings of FOX News? Or are you the ones putting out the memos?
5. Are the memos by people who are more important than President Carter? If so, please tell us who these megabosses are?  They may pay you money, but we pay you eyeballs and ears...and sadly, minds and hearts as well.   And you wouldn't be where you are without our eyes and ears; our hearts and minds...

     Show us as much as you can. Try hard. Lord knows you make enough! And Lord knows many of you have performed great acts of bravery and courage. Use that courage now!
     Don't prostitute yourselves to your paycheck. Go above and beyond!

Why The Republicans want to reduce the coverage
They can't fill up the time. They haven't people or ideas.

     So why is it that pharmaceutical ads wind up on the screen instead of Jimmy Carter or Al Gore?  Well, for one, they pay to disrupt the coverage. For another, the GOP realizes that the less the people hear and know, the better off they are. 
     I'd go one step further and say...if they have to know more, make sure it is confusing, distractive, or divisive.
    

Clinton: "THEY NEED a divided America...WE DON'T" 
President Clinton warns about GOP, Big Media

       In what has been called the best speech of all time, Bill Clinton spelled out the differences between Kerry and Bush, the Democrats and the Republicans. He summed it up by warning, "They need a divided America...WE don't."       
      As it turns out, the same can be said for the Big Media...who are proving to be, like FOX, just another arm of the Republican Party. 
____________________________________________
"You look like George W. reading Children's books while the towers, and America, tumble down."
____________________________________________

     What we are witnessing needs to be documented as Exhibit A, when the perpetrators are finely brought to trial.  We see a foreshadowing in "Outfoxed" of how to get the dominant Media to either play it straight, or be upfront with their bias...even if it is simply telling the audience, like Bill Clinton did, that they are in the top 1%.
     And after doing that, how 'bout do some reading, from the classics, on Mammon, sins of omission and hubris. You may ask yourselves why you are being so lazy, here at the most important time of our lives? 
  
    You look like George W. reading Children's books while the towers, and America, tumble down. 

    As a blogger, with a conscience, I am glad I am not you.

- HyperLincoln - July 27, 2004


What bloggers are saying about the Media coverage:
 
Lost Remote...
 
DNC Day Two: The news is out thereThe always-easily-bored media decided on Tuesday that there is no news coming out of the convention. In fact, so many journos agree on this that it's the conventional convention wisdom. This is both an incredibly obvious observation -- and completely wrong. There is an entire party worth of politicians discussing the platform by which they intend to unseat the sitting president during (a sort-of) war. Not news? Not even a little?...

Nate Knows Nada...

Conventional media says something good about blogs. Most of the traditional media coverage that we've been getting has either been explanatory (what is a blog?  What are these people doing here?) or dismissive (They're not real journalists, They aren't objective, Don't pay too much attention to them).  (Hey, at least that's what we've been getting up in the "Blogger Boulevard."So it's a surprise to see this, from the Hollywood Reporter:

CNN political analyst Jeff Greenfield doesn't buy the arguments against blogs. He doesn't think Internet-based media has any corner on bad journalism."You can be just as sloppy or bad or downright false in established media as you can with the bloggers," he said. "With the bloggers, you have this added advantage that everybody's watching everybody else, so that if one blogger on the left makes a series of assertions, Instapundit will weigh in and say, 'That guy is so off base, and here's why.' I think they've added a lot to the whole political process."

Buzzflash...

Note to Tom Brokaw: Why I get my hard news from Jon Stewart
A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION by Ruth Lopez

     As for why young people think that The Daily Show is a good source of real news, ask yourself this: When the vice-president of the United States is caught, on TV, publicly lying about leading this country into a war where almost 1000 of our young people have needlessly died, and then later states, again on TV, that he never said what he said, why is it that the only "news" show to play the side by side tapes of him lying, and then denying what he said, is The Daily Show? Why wasn't that headline news on every news show? " Vice President denies saying what we have him on tape saying, soldiers dying every day because of it." That's news, but I have to watch Comedy Central to see it. What's wrong with this picture, Mr. Brokaw?
 ...

     You know, Mr. Brokaw, you guys aren't kids any more. What are you afraid of? You've made your fortunes. Even if you got fired today, you'll never be out on the street starving. How about finding your courage, and speaking some cold, hard facts: This country was lied into war. The vice president is a war profiteer who is being investigated for taking bribes and doing illegal business with sanctioned countries. Try it. Walter Cronkite could give some advice on this. Bill Moyers is out there trying to do it, I bet he'd like some company. Try grabbing yourself by your manly parts and standing up for the truth.
I bet you'd find an audience then. Hell, I'd watch every day.

posted by Unknown @ 1:27 PM 2 comments

Who Is Barack Obama?

Who Is Barack Obama?


Photo credit: www.senatedem.state.il.us

Barack Obama will be the keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic Convention. For those of my readers who are not familiar with Mr. Obama, I thought I would provide you with some factual reference and links.

Mr. Obama is forty-two years old. He is an Illinois state senator. Last March, he won the Illinois primary as the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate. Many voters had been drawn initially by Obama’s early opposition to the invasion of Iraq.

William Finnegan has written a definitive piece on Obama at the New Yorker. He has written that Obama "was a black child, by American lights, but his mother and his grandparents—the only family he knew—were “white folks,” and his confusion was acute."

Born in 1961 to a white American woman and a black Kenyan student, Obama was reared in Hawaii by his mother and her parents, his father having left for further study and a return home to Africa.

Mr. Obama wrote his memoir titled "Dreams from My Father" in 1995.

He went to Columbia University. After college, Mr. Obama became a community organizer in Chicago.Obama left organizing to attend Harvard Law School, and in 1990 he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he practiced civil-rights law in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation for a small public-interest firm. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, although he declined to pursue a tenure-track post, hoping to save time for politics. And when he got the chance to run for the state senate in his district, he jumped at the opportunity.

As Illinois state senator, Obama led a campaign for death-penalty reforms that resulted in unprecedented legislation, requiring the police to videotape all interrogations in cases involving capital crimes.

Mr. Obama's wife, Michelle, now works at the University of Chicago Hospital, as executive director of community affairs.

On a light note- According to Jay Rosen at Press Think, Mr. Obama, who is an unusually confident politician, has suggested he might need blogging tips!

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 10:37 AM 1 comments

Jimmy Carter Gives Heartfelt Speech

Jimmy Carter Gives Heartfelt Speech

The Honorable James Carter, President of the United States
Speech given at the Democratic Convention
Boston, Massachusetts
July, 26, 2004



Photo credit: cnews.canoe.ca

"At stake is nothing less than our nation’s soul."
--former president Jimmy Carter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He says he's doing everything he can to put John Kerry in the White House with John Edwards beside him. After seeing former President Jimmy Carter speak at the Democratic convention last night, I was convinced of his commitment. He waxed nostalgic for days past, when he believed that the goodness, honesty, compassion, decency, and competency of the government was more reflective of the nature of the American people. He stressed the fact that he preserved the peace for this country in the U.S. Navy under two other former presidents, a Democrat named Harry Truman and a Republican named Dwight D. Eisenhower, both of whom had faced active military responsibilities with honor.

They knew the horrors of war before they'd come to office.
They'd used restraint, wise judgement, and possessed a clear sense of mission due to their experience in the field.
They never put an American soldier at risk in wars in which the nation's utmost vital interests had not been threatened..
..nor did they mislead the citizens of the nation.

He stressed that John Kerry had shown up for duty and served with honor and distinction in the Navy. Like Truman and Eisenhower before him, John Kerry knows the horrors of war and the responsibilities of leadership.

In the war on terror, Jimmy Carter convinced me that he truly believed John Kerry would restore good judgement and maturity to our Oval Office. I think, after all is said and done this election year, there is no greater issue on the American mind than national secrity. After 9/11, we are a changed people who have lost our sixties-era innocence of belief that the world is going to be, by its own nature, existing in a state of permanent peace.

The fact that we are changed does not mean we are afraid. It means we are aware and alert to a reality we never fully knew existed before that beautiful autumn morning three years ago in New York City. Our finest Intelligence agencies didn't even grasp the reality. Knowing we are vulnerable to violence borne of such bitterness that exists ouitside our borders doesn't mean we need a war president to plot more unnecessary wars which will, no doubt, create more bitterness.

We have a great challenge facing us that should not be ours to face alone. This is an international challenge.

If our government cannot be truthful in their commitment to a measured peace or respectful, by its actions, for civil liberties and human rights, our nation shall fall from grace as an esteemed global leader.
The fall has already begun.
Our credibility has been shattered.
We are once again becoming an isolated nation, which not only endangers our freedoms as Americans as regular (now vulnerable) travelers of the world outside our borders, but takes us backward in the economic strides we've made in the world. If Americans are "safer" today because of Bush's wars, that safety zone doesn't go much further than the borders of their own American homes. We've made little progress in protecting our own homeland. You'd have to be delusional to miss the fact that new terrorists are being recruited and Iraq is on the brink of civil war while our troops still carry the full risk of their security issues.

Last night, Jimmy Carter said his words with bright-eyes and a smile that had the wisdom of many years of service to our nation and the good of mankind behind it. He told us that, "without truth — without trust — America cannot flourish".

"Trust is the sacred covenant between a president and his people and when that trust is broken, the bonds that hold our republic together begin to weaken."

There was a time Mr. Carter felt that we understood the positive link between the defense of our own freedom and the promotion of human rights. He believes this has been severely damaged by extremism in our recent foreign policy, which has disunited our nation from our allies. He spoke of the fact that, for the first time since Israel became a nation, the Middle East process has come to a "screeching halt". Radical departures from pre-9/11 policies (which were based upon key American principles and values) have squandered our opportunity for much-needed world cooperation in the war on terror. Carter believes that John Kerry will recommit our nation to common-sense principles that should transcend partisan differences. such as commitment to human rights; historic self-confidence (vs. fear and war-mongering); and a political agenda commited to uniting the country. Above all, Mr. Carter stated that in the world at large, we cannot lead if our leaders mislead.

Mr. Carter's core message on national security defined John Kerry's mission well. The issue is "whether America will provide global leadership that springs from the unity and integrity of the American people or whether extremist doctrines and the manipulation of truth will define America’s role in the world."

Jimmy Carter seemed confident and credible in what I believe was the best speech of the Convention to date. I believe he convinced many Americans that he truly trusts John Kerry to lead America back to greatness.

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 9:40 AM 1 comments

July 27 Convention News

July 27
Convention News

WP: Dems Show Unity Against Bush

THE SPEECHES

Ted Kennedy--FULL TEXT (NYT)



Howard Dean delivers emotional speech to 500 supporters (*Earlier speech-not the primetime speech)- Dean claims Kerry won't win the election despite his wife, but that Kerry is going to win the election because of his 'fantastic' wife. One line in the article quoted from Will Marshall, president of the centrist Progressive Policy Institute, made me scratch my head, because common sense tells me people usually "go" with what makes them feel good: "There was almost a collective decision in the Democratic mind to say, ‘OK, this guy (Kerry) will do'...Kerry was the beneficiary of a kind of sober decision by tens of thousands of Democratic activists that the most important imperative was to beat George Bush, not to indulge in votes that made you feel good..."

At MEDIA MATTERS, read how FOX News' Bill O'Reilly lied about Howard Dean's Iraq position.

WP: Howard Kurtz on FOX's Convention. Kurtz also provides a footnote from the bloggers at BOP.


Check out this Byron York article, "RFK Jr. Uses the F-Word", at the National Review. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. allegedly told an audience in Cambridge, Mass. Monday that President Bush has brought fascism to America. There's a rant about Al Franken and Joe Conason in the same piece.

Can you imagine conservative columnists saying that Kerry may win because voters need a breather? Josh Marshall is seeing it happen in places like this one.


At Daily Kos:
- DNC: Keep it Bland
- Open thread on Convention Speeches

A FIRST: Jeralyn has a photo of Atrios at her site.

Amy Sullivan and Kevin Drum have some interesting blogging about the Convention at Washington Monthly.

Don't miss Tom Tomorrow's coverage of the Convention.

Jesse Taylor calls CNN's John King on one of his 'breaks' with reality (regarding the hall's response to Al Gore's speech last night).

According to Holden at Eschaton, actor Richard Dreyfuss got a standing ovation when he spoke about Dick Cheney as the "enemy of thoughtfulness" and urged the California delegates (at a breakfast in Boston) to "counter the Republicans" upon every attack and to "be consistent and in their face".

Today's Speakers

Tuesday, July 27
A Lifetime of Strength & Service

Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, Democratic Leader
Howard Dean, Former Governor of Vermont, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Richard Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois
James Forbes, Senior Minister at Riverside Church, New York City
Richard Gephardt, U.S. Representative from Missouri, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Chris Heinz, Stepson of John Kerry
Teresa Heinz Kerry, Wife of John Kerry
Mike Honda, U.S. Representative from California
Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
Jim Langevin, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
Carol Moseley-Braun, Former U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
Barack Obama, State Senator from Illinois, U.S. Senate Candidate
Ron Reagan, Son of former President Ronald Reagan
Christie Vilsack, First Lady of Iowa
Ilana Wexler, 13-Year-Old Founder of Kids for Kerry

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 9:02 PM 0 comments

July 26 Convention News

Today in Convention News

Google News-'convention'

Google News-'Convention bloggers'

NYT/Adam Nagourney- Democrats Open Convention, Faulting Bush's Record (overview)

THE SPEECHES

Rev. David Alston Speech FULL TEXT

WP- FULL TEXT:Gore's Speech

Command Post- FULL TEXT: Jimmy Carter's Speech

Clintons' Speeches:
WP: Hillary's Speech FULL TEXT


Credit: AP photo

Guardian UK: Bill's speech FULL TEXT

TalkLeft: Crowd Loves Rev Alston

Howard Kurtz- Bloggers: Gadflies or 'Pretend' Journalists?

ABC News: Bloggers Offer Inside View to Convention

At Press Think:
- Weekend Update: Blogging the DNC
- Dispatches from the UnJournalists
- For Party and Press, the Conventions Are A Memory Device: First Report From Boston

BOP/MattStoller: A Note To Jay Rosen: Conventions Aren't Failed, But They Play Failed on TV

"..this Convention is more than gossip.."

Wall Street Journal: Meet the Bloggers (photos included)

John Edwards has a case of "tired-nasty-voice" (we are not calling it laryngitis just yet). The word is that he needs to rest the pipes for his big speech on Wednesday night.

Telegraph- Labour MPs will join fight in US to dislodge Bush:
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair will attempt to build bridges with the American Democrats this week by sending three allies to the Democratic convention in Boston. Ann Taylor, the former Commons Leader, Ross Cranston, the former Solicitor General, and Pat McFadden, the Downing Street political secretary, are travelling to the four-day "naming" ceremony. Meanwhile, some Brits consider Bush to be a complete and utter menace to the future security of the world and are working to help dislodge him from the Oval Office.


19-year-old Karl-Thomas Musselman (youngest delegate from Texas) has a lot of photos and information at his blog.

My fellow Liberal Coalition member 'Mustang Bobby' has posted the first Convention diary installment from his mother, who is a convention delegate from the swing state of Ohio.

Yahoo News: Stem Cells to Take Focus at DNC, Ronald P Reagan to speak Tuesday night. *No live coverage of Mr. Reagan's speech will be provided by NBC, ABC, or CBS.

Raleigh News- Networks have downgraded coverage of an event some say remains a linchpin of U.S. democracy. Is the image-making stage management of today's political conventions a setback for American politics? Do you believe it's true that the mainstream media already spends a lot more time on party politics than a lot of people think it's worth?

USA Today: Howard Dean will have a chance to address the convention during primetime on Tuesday. The major networks have dropped Tuesday (and Howard Dean, the "soul of the party's" speech) from their Convention coverage. The media helped immensely in destroying Dean's campaign (and image) by playing and replaying their crowd-roar-dampened version of "the scream" (not what the people in Iowa actually experienced), and now they will silence him altogether. Ron Reagan's speech will also be shunned by the major networks. Why? Why wouldn't the Democratic party press for primetime coverage by the major networks on Tuesday night? I would think, other than Kerry and Edwards' speeches, the speeches by these two men, Dean and Reagan, would be of great interest to many Americans. Certainly more so than "According to Jim" or "Big Brother Five"....right??

(more to come)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's Convention Speakers
*PBS live coverage 8-11pm, NBC/CBS/ABC will allow you to view for one hour, 10-11pm, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC and C-Span all plan to cover the convention from start to finish, within the context of regularly scheduled programming.*

Monday, July 26
The Kerry-Edwards Plan for America's Future

David Alston, Vietnam Swift Boat Crewmate of John Kerry
Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
Jimmy Carter, Former President of the United States
Bill Clinton, Former President of the United States
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York
Al Gore, Former Vice-President of the United States
Steny Hoyer, U.S. Representative from Maryland, Democratic Whip
Terry McAuliffe, Chairman of the Democratic Party
Kendrick Meek, U.S. Representative from Florida
Robert Menendez, U.S. Representative from New Jersey
Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston
Barbara Mikulski, U.S. Senator from Maryland
(joined by all Women Senators)
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, U.S. Representative from Ohio
Jim Turner, U.S. Representative from Texas

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Competition: Transcript of Today's Republican Press Conference

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 11:09 AM 0 comments

Could I Put Myself in Colin McNickle's Place?

Could I Put Myself in Colin McNickle's Place?
Would I?

It looks as if Teresa Heinz Kerry did say something in public on the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse at that now-infamous campaign event about people acting unAmerican. Colin McNickle had a right to question her about the comments. Colin is publically known (by readers in Pittsburgh) to be shamelessly Conservative and he often uses a distinct mocking tone when he discusses the Democrats. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It is what it is. Colin is an editor of opinion and opinion columns, not a straight-on news reporter. He wasn't there to look for factual information; he was there to editorialize. I would imagine he was hoping for something incendiary. I understand how people like Colin McNickle might think. I'm not that much unlike him when it comes to the passion that moves us to write about politics. In the case of Teresa Heinz Kerry, Colin surely got that incendiary result. It may wind up resulting in him being looked at as a bit of a lout, but he'll have a lot to talk about, as will the right-wing red-meat faction.


Mr. McNickle
Photo credit: pittsburghlive.com

I'd love to know exactly what Mrs. Kerry meant when she said "We need to turn back some of the creeping, un-Pennsylvanian and sometimes un-American traits that are coming into some of our politics." Perhaps Colin McNickle wanted to talk with her to get further clarification. Did he step over a line that Mrs. Kerry deemed to be inappropriate?

I imagine Colin isn't much different than me, except for the simple fact I'm leaning toward the ideological"other side". One big difference, though, is that my side of the ideological fence hasn't had the "benefit" of the vicious Scaife machine that David Brock exposes every day on Media Matters.

So, how would I feel if I was treated this way by Laura Bush? What if Laura had told me to "shove it" after I'd pressed her, a candidates's wife, to clarify the meaning of some words she had actually used in a public setting?

It would depend upon the situation. Perhaps I'd be flabbergasted that she said she didn't use those words when I had just heard her say them. But I don't really know how Colin McNickle framed his questions. I couldn't look him in the eye or hear the tone of his voice. The cameras did a poor job of relaying what occurred between the two of them. I'll tell you this-as opinionated as I can be, I'd never be less than professional and respectful to the wife of any political candidate.

Colin's a big boy and he put himself out there for any comment Teresa Heinz Kerry decided she would make in reply to his pressing. Teresa's outspoken comments were likely based on the way she believed she was being addressed and judged by Colin McNickle. I don't know if she had prior knowlege of Colin's obvious prejudgement of Democrats, but something tells me she sensed it clearly. She's no dummy.

Maybe she's sick of the right-wing mouth-machinery (as exposed by fellows like Rob Stein) and figured it was time to tell them, point blank, that she was not going to suffer any more of it like a good Stepford soldier. (I can't imagine Teresa being anyone's good Stepford soldier and I admire her honesty).

Rush Limbaugh is harping about all these pleas for civility, yet I distinctly remember a prominent Conservative he respects highly telling us a few years ago that civility often must be left behind in the pursuit of civic virtue. His name is Clarence Thomas. You remember Clarence, right? He was one of those nine voters who had the final say in "the people's" 2000 presidential election. Let's not be hypocritical. This is a fight for the soul of America and we must not fear our necessary honesty if it means a threat to the destruction of the virtues we personally cherish.

I'd like to remind Colin, since he's asked, that there is, indeed, a difference between a liberal and a socialist. If he was asking Mrs. Kerry something goofy like that particular question, I don't blame her for having the fortitude to tell him to "shove it". You couldn't hear the actual exchange between them on the news..it was muffled. I'd love to see a transcript (there's an unofficial one at Rush Limbaugh's site). It seems to me, judging by Mrs. Kerry's words "No, I didn't say that, I didn't say that," that she felt that Colin was trying to turn her words around to mean something different than she'd intended.

To Colin, I would say-- Be happy! Teresa made you a media star today.

If I was in Colin McNickle's place, though, that's not the way I'd wish to become a media star.

______________________
See reader comments at ThePittsburghChannel.com. John D. of Pittsburgh says: "..it is about time someone told Colin McNickle off!"

Read Mr. McNickle Goes to Boston

The LA Times editorial staff sounds off about the shove it.

Google: McNickle/Heinz Kerry

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 5:21 AM 1 comments

Lehrer's Challenge to Network Anchors

Lehrer's Challenge to Network Anchors
Bloggers Tell More, Networks Tell Less.



Jim Lehrer, champion of the people, challenges the network anchors by saying:
"You guys are a hell of a lot more important than your bosses are willing to admit."

EXCERPT:

"I think that starting tomorrow, we're going to have four of the eight most important days we can have as a nation," said Lehrer, criticizing CBS's Dan Rather, ABC's Peter Jennings, and NBC's Tom Brokaw for not getting more air time. "I'm sorry. You guys are a hell of a lot more important than your bosses are willing to admit."

Addressing the challenges of covering politics in a politically polarized environment, CBS Rather stated that "fear has increased in every newsroom in America," and added that reporting on explosive issues can bring a torrent of e-mails and phone calls. That can lead to a situation, he said, in which journalists conclude that "when you run this story, you're asking for trouble with a capital 'T'. . . Why run it?"

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 9:51 PM 0 comments

5 Things Kerry Needs to Take a Solid Lead

5 Things Kerry Needs to Take a Solid Lead

With a presidential race that's so close you couldn't fit a razor blade between the poll numbers to cut through the frozen picture of polarization, John Kerry really needs to work at being more than simply the "Anyone But Bush" already supported by nearly half the nation's voters. He'll need to convince swing voters of a few things. Five things, according to Bill Scher (of Liberal Oasis) at today's Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Kerry will need to be:

1-Reassuring us that a President Kerry will be tough on terror. No matter how some may deny it, the political truth is that the mainstream needs to feel safe and they vote based on their own security. They also vote based on their pocketbooks (and wallets, to be gender-fair). That said...

2-Saying precisely what he'll do with and about the economy. (Note-Have you seen Billmon's essay on the economy at Whiskey Bar? It's mighty good blogfare).

3-Telling his life story in a positive and inspirational way. He may seem to be one of the 'elite', but as the JibJab boys have pointed out, he's "got three purple hearts."

4-Keeping the acceptance speech reasonably short while leaving his audience amazed (as in not snoozing).

5-Kerry will need to make some contrasts between himself and Bush to give his candidacy a rationale..but he shouldn't spend more time criticizing Bush than the time he spends on selling himself.

It's your moment, Senator Kerry. Rack up the supporters. Cha-ching!


Note: I think it would help if the media was to show the rest of the nation that folks from Massachusetts (Boston, particularly) are just as gritty and religious and down-to-earth as anyone from any little town in America. (Speaking of Any Little Town, for some real Boston flavor, there's a song by that name sung by a great Boston-based band called the Push Stars). The Push Stars are Boston Red Sox sportscaster Peter Gammons' favorite band. Which leads me back to John Kerry.


Photo credit: Reuters

I turned on the game (Sox vs Yanks at Fenway) tonight and who do I see? None other than John Kerry throwing the first pitch and cheering from the stands. Asked by Mr. Gammons (during the game) if he'd make the troubling issue of steroid use in sports part of his platform, Kerry replied his major focus would be the war on terror, but commented that steroids defeat what sports are all about. Mr. Kerry also waxed nostalgic (already) about Grady Little (who was fired from the Sox organization following last season).

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 3:16 PM 0 comments

Today's Convention & Blogger News

Today's Convention/Blogger News

Blogger Quote of the Day:
"There's something a bit weird about sitting here at the airport blogging while watching a CNN report about bloggers on the news monitor."
-Atrios/Eschaton

TODAY'S CONVENTION EVENTS

Technorati's Guide to Following Weblogs During the Convention

See Technorati's FAQs about Blogging

According to Salon.com, delegates arriving for the Democratic National Convention were greeted today (around Boston Common) by 2000 competing protestors who were respectively against the war in Iraq and against abortion.


NY Daily News: Major Networks devoting only one hour a night, from 10-11pm (except Tuesday) for Democratic convention coverage. CNN’s “American Morning” is live from Boston tomorrow through Thursday at 7 a.m.; MSNBC’s “Imus in the Morning,” at 6 a.m., will include live convention updates; MSNBC.com will have continuous live, streaming video beginning today at 3:30 p.m. — likewise for CNN.com.

Newsday carries an article today by Press Think's Jay Rosen about blogging the convention.

UMass: UMass Boston and Harvard journalists to produce daily Newspaper at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (See Media Nation)

Joe Gandelman has done the best job, in my opinion, of covering Alex Jones' LA Times' statement about the blogger's low place in the information-chain. [Bloggers Are the Sizzle, Not the Steak]

The NY Times editorial on the Convention.

CSM: Old Boston/New Boston-A Work in Progress

BBC News Online: Bloggers go mainstream at US conventions
Excerpt: "We're not under a banner of [Fox's slogan] 'fair and balanced'. We are able to a little bit more flippant, more critical, more analytical. That is the nature of who we are, and that is why people read blogs." --Karl-Thomas Musselman

Karmalised has some interesting comments on the Convention-blogging.

At Wired.com, Adam Penenberg says: "I wouldn't be surprised if Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's The Daily Show were to mock a blogger -- or better yet, mock the mainstream media mocking a blogger." I'd really love to see that. I fully expect Jon, Ed, Rob, Stephen, or Samantha to do a silly segment on the blogger phenomenon. Rob Corddry sniffing his press pass at a candidates' debate comes to my mind. (Watch Debate and Switch here). Are the bloggers sniffing their press passes, I wonder?

(more to follow)

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 9:39 AM 0 comments

Democratic Convention Speaker List

Democratic Convention Speakers List

Monday, July 26
The Kerry-Edwards Plan for America's Future

David Alston, Vietnam Swift Boat Crewmate of John Kerry
Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
Jimmy Carter, Former President of the United States
Bill Clinton, Former President of the United States
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York
Al Gore, Former Vice-President of the United States
Steny Hoyer, U.S. Representative from Maryland, Democratic Whip
Terry McAuliffe, Chairman of the Democratic Party
Kendrick Meek, U.S. Representative from Florida
Robert Menendez, U.S. Representative from New Jersey
Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston
Barbara Mikulski, U.S. Senator from Maryland
(joined by all Women Senators)
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, U.S. Representative from Ohio
Jim Turner, U.S. Representative from Texas

Tuesday, July 27
A Lifetime of Strength & Service

Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, Democratic Leader
Howard Dean, Former Governor of Vermont, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Richard Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois
James Forbes, Senior Minister at Riverside Church, New York City
Richard Gephardt, U.S. Representative from Missouri, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Chris Heinz, Stepson of John Kerry
Teresa Heinz Kerry, Wife of John Kerry
Mike Honda, U.S. Representative from California
Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
Jim Langevin, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
Carol Moseley-Braun, Former U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
Barack Obama, State Senator from Illinois, U.S. Senate Candidate
Ron Reagan, Son of former President Ronald Reagan
Christie Vilsack, First Lady of Iowa
Ilana Wexler, 13-Year-Old Founder of Kids for Kerry


Wednesday, July 28
A Stronger More Secure America

Steve Brozak, Ret. Lt. Col., USMC, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New Jersey
Elijah Cummings, U.S. Representative from Maryland
Cate Edwards, Daughter of John Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards, Wife of John Edwards
John Edwards, Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee
Bob Graham, U.S. Senator from Florida, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan
Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Greg Meeks, U.S. Representative from New York
Martin O'Malley, Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland
Harry Reid, U.S. Senator from Nevada
Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
Al Sharpton, 2004 Presidential Candidate


Thursday, July 29
Stronger at Home, Respected in the World

Madeline Albright, Former Secretary of State
Joe Biden, U.S. Senator from Delaware
Wesley Clark, Four Star General, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Max Cleland, Former U.S. Senator from Georgia
James Clyburn, U.S. Representative from South Carolina
Alexandra Kerry, Daughter of John Kerry
John Kerry, 2004 Democratic Presidential Nominee
Vanessa Kerry, Daughter of John Kerry
Joe Lieberman, U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Ed Markey, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
Juanita Millender-McDonald, U.S. Representative from California
Eleanor Holmes Norton, U.S. Representative from the District of Columbia
Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representative from California, Democratic Leader
Jim Rassman, Green Beret rescued by John Kerry in Vietnam
Louise Slaughter, U.S. Representative from New York
(joined by Congressional Women)
John Sweeney, President of AFL-CIO
Mark Warner, Governor of Virginia

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 9:17 AM 1 comments

Democratic Convention Blogger List

Democratic Convention Bloggers


Photo credit REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi

• Convention Bloggers OPML XML site
• The Boston (D) Party DNCC blog
• Official Convention Site Dems2004.org
• Kerry/Edwards blog


Bloggers Confirmed as Credentialed

Kirk Johnson American Amnesia
Alan Nelson Command Post
Dave Winer Scripting News
Dave Weinberger Boston.com
Taegan Goddard Political Wire
Jay Rosen Press Think
Markos Moulitsas Zuniga Daily Kos
Rick Heller Centrist Coalition blog
Jerome Armstrong My DD
Aldon Hynes greaterdemocracy.org
Jeralyn Merritt TalkLeft
Matt Welch Reason.com
Mathew Gross Matthew Gross blog
Byron LaMasters Burnt Orange Report
Jessamyn Charity West Librarian.net
Natasha L.C Pacific Views
Tom Burka Opinions You Should Have
Paul McCullum Dinner for America
Jesse Taylor Pandagon
Patrick Belton Oxblog
Dave Pell Electablog
xian Power of Many, also blogging for Radio Free Blogistan, Greater Democracy
Bill Scher Liberal Oasis
Michael Feldman Dowbrigade
Peter Rukavina Reinvented.net (*See ReInvented's description of the credentialing process)
Gordon Joseloff Westport Now
Christopher Rabb Afro-Netizen
Joe Rospars BlogforAmerica.com, NotGeniuses
Allen Larson Larson Report.com
Matt Stoller BOPnews.com
Alison Teal hotflashesfromthecampaigntrail
Zephyr Teachout Blog for Victory
Nathan Paxton NateKnowsNada
Michael Andrew JREGrassroots.org
Dave Rock & Todd Beeton Dave & Todd's Wild Democracy Ride
Dave Johnson See The Forest
David Sifry and Mary Hodder Sifry's Alerts blog

Officially Credentialed, then disinvited:
*due to unforeseen lack of space at Fleet Center

Jude Nagurney Camwell Iddybud blog, Rational Liberal
James Landrith JamesLandrith.com
ANWR.com ANWR
Bill INDC Journal
John Tabin JohnTabin.com
Rob Galgano The Great Leap Forward
Justin Nawrocki Musings of a Drunken Monk


Others Who Will Be Blogging from the Convention:

Josh Micah Marshall Talking Points Memo
Matthew YglesiasMatthew Yglesias
Yglesias, Kuttner, Tomasky, Meyerson, Franke-Ruta TAP/American Prospect
Atrios Eschaton
Zoe VanderWolk Gadflyer.com
Cate Read CateRaed.com (delegate)
Karl-Thomas Musselman musselmanforamerica (Texas delegate)
Brian Reich Campaign Web Review
Erik Cornelius Dem Senatorial Campaign Comm. (Convention speech videos will be here)
Ana Marie Cox Wonkette
Dave Barry Dave Barry, of course!
Arianna Huffington Arianna Huffington blog
Jesse BerneyDNC/Kicking Ass blog
Faithful Correspondent BarkBarkWoofWoof (Ohio delegate)


• Hyperlincoln is dedicated to the best in blogging at the 2004 Democratic Convention. David Beckwith (Anonymoses) and I will be keeping you abreast of the best of the Convention blogging information as it comes in.

• Note: The new Convention Bloggers Website is up and running. I noticed an entry there about the 20 disinvited bloggers, a list on which, unfortunately, I wound up.

• Photoblogging Election 2004 was launched to make it easier for convention bloggers to do some of the things that professional journalists' companies do for them: index and archive images and retrieve them quickly for publication. They say they have prepared links to every DNC Convention blogger they know of.

• Politics.Feedster is another Convention blog aggregating resource.

• Technorati has a new website dedicated to covering the bloggers in real-time at the Democratic Convention and the news they will generate. Titled "BlogWatch", it will include CNN.com’s up-to-the-moment review of numerous Web logs covering the convention marks a first for convention coverage using Technorati, the leading monitor of blogs. CNN offers its own convention blog on CNN.com with updates from Candy Crowley on the platform and from CNN anchors, analysts and correspondents, including James Carville and Tucker Carlson, both of Crossfire.
Technorati has a politics-devoted news aggregator for up-to-the-minute blog news.

• There is an open Yahoo Group set up for anyone interested in talking about the convention.

• Hardblogger MSNBC Hardball

• Speaking of convention....Jon Stewart, whose Daily Show will cover the convention in their own (shall we say 'unique and delightful') way, speaks of Conventional wisdom in a conventionally wise way here. And there's nothing funnier than Ed Helms' timid-while-in-your-face challenges of "You're a jerk!" or "Labia! Urethra! Penis, penis, penis... vagina?" to a Boston cop from the "designated free speech zone" in Boston! I keep playing and replaying the (linked) video (titled "Freedom of Opression") and rolling with laughter.

posted by Jude Nagurney Camwell @ 9:15 AM 0 comments

______
COLUMN:
HyperLincoln 
 
Wealth & Inner Truth
Keys to Good Government
by HyperLincoln
 
     So often, when people actually take the trouble to understand and evolve a better government, they look to either the Democratic or Republican playbooks. But the answer is not there to be found. And if it were found, the other team would more than likely reject it, just because it was a product of the other team. This is one reason why HyperLincoln looks beyond time and space, and draws wisdom from distant places and times. Not just today's Democrats or today's Republicans. And we certainly are not going to rely of today's American media to provide us with any clues. They ain't got one.
 
     There are many problems to tackle, but today we want to concentrate on but a few: Wealth, management, Truth, and harmonious social relations. We will be drawing inspiration from the ancient Chinese. 

Chung Fu (Inner Truth) "Such conditions create the basis of a mutual confidence that makes achievement possible..."
 
ABOVE: Gentleness, forebearance toward inferiors.
BELOW: Joyousness in obeying superiors

"In ancient China, the entire administration of justice was guided by this principle. A deep understanding that knows how to pardon was considered the highest form of justice."

     Is this the way we live our lives? Is this the way our government, and its citizens behave? I suggest that this is not the case. Instead we have...

ABOVE: Heavy-handedness, disdain or disregard for inferiors.
BELOW: Regret and possible death in obeying orders.

     This needs to change. And for it to change may well take a change of administration, since the current administration has been...misadministering. Chaos and Confusion have been the reigning forces in the Bush Administration...from the many confusing types of "chad" to confusing recounts, and on through the Iraq War, and all the confusing information and misinformation that has permeated the entire affair.
 
     Compare the Bushian "Chaos & Confusion" with what is said about the superior system of justice that reigned in ancient China...

"It's aim was to maintain so strong a moral impression that there was no reason to fear abuse of such mildness. For it sprang not from weakness, but from a superior clarity."

SUPERIOR CLARITY

During the run up to the 2000 election, President Clinton was asked if he had any advice for the Democrats.He did, and it was this: "Seek clarity".
I challenge Bush to tell Republicans and Conservatives to do the same...for to do so would spell doom for the
administration and the Party. And why? Because they have things to hide. Many things. Maybe even most things.
     And yet our dear ancient scribe of Chung Fu tells us of what is to become of such secrecy and tight-lipped "small rafting"...

     "If a man should try to cultivate secret relationships of a special sort, it would deprive him of his inner independence. The more reliance he places on the support of others, the more uneasy and anxious he will become as to whether these secret relationships are really tenable. In this way inner peace and inner truth are lost."

Uneasy? Anxious? Is this why Cheney lashes out? Is this why Rush Limbaugh and others on the Rabid Right are spitting nails?

Again...

"Close ties may exist also among thieves...but since it is not invincible, it does not bring good fortune... Where the community of interest ceases, the holding together ceases also, and the closest friendship often changes into hate. Only when the bond is based on what is right, on steadfastness, will it remain so firm that it triumphs over everything."

So it is just a matter of time before these secretives implode from the weight of the lies and secrets they have to
maintain and justify. Let us hope that the Kerry/Edwards administration learn these valuable, timely, and timeless lessons. If America can administer justice wisely, gently and with clarity...we may be able to regain our place as moral leaders in this world. If not, we may well deserve to hand it over to our betters.

posted by Unknown @ 11:43 AM 0 comments

Headlines in the News

- Why Journalists Help Governments Lie
- Think Again: Fox Outfoxes Itself
- US set to develop huge bomb aimed at buried targets
- Selection of Edwards Puts Key Areas in Contention
- House Votes to Block Aid to Countries That Would Surrender Americans to World Court
- Bill Clinton sounds off on the current state of politics
- Florida Faces Vote Chaos in 2004, Commission Hears
- Fla. Lawmaker Says 2000 Election 'Stolen'
- On the trail of Bush's missing past
 

posted by Unknown @ 4:13 PM 0 comments

Democratic Bloggers Change the World

The New York Times > Opinion > Conventioneering.com:

EXCERPT:

"People who think the mushrooming world of wannabe polemicists and their Web logs, or blogs, is merely a high-tech amusement should talk to Senator Trent Lott, the Mississippi Republican.
In Web lore, bloggers are credited with relentlessly drilling Senator Lott after he expressed segregation-tinged nostalgia for the Strom Thurmond presidential campaign, a story that the major news media initially missed. Mr. Lott was subsequently forced to quit as majority leader.

Beyond its power as a source of news and commentary, the Internet has proved itself to be the ultimate fund-raising tool. Bloggers can be crass and biased, but politicians no longer scoff at their rich online realm. Hence the red carpet at the conventions at least for some of them.
The Democrats, needless to say, are already paying for their venturesome invitation. They received applications from 50 bloggers and later announced there was room for only 30. Conspiracy theories are already abounding on the blogs of the disinvited. Such is Web life. We do wonder whether a blogger's buccaneer self-image will suffer from having to wear a garish credential necklace just to watch conventioneers as they mainly say, 'Nice to see you!' to each other. Will bloggers be tamed into centrism? Or, like Mencken, will they gleefully report that the convention's main speechmakers are 'plainly on furlough from some home for extinct volcanoes'? Log on to find out."

posted by Unknown @ 7:50 PM 0 comments