I don't believe in my years on DU I've ever seen such a thing, but I wanted to give it a shot because I think if someone actually declared it, we might actually get it, and if we actually got it, it might turn out to be really friggin cool.

What I want to do for the first if only time, is declare this Saturday "Post a thoughtful, sincere, from your heart thread in GDP" day. We all get so caught up in the back and forth and fast paced environment here, that we sometimes don't take the time out to really sit, think, and pen a quality thread that might really get people thinking. I mean something from inside of you, that means something to you. Something that others here will read, take a moment to think about, and hit the recommend button not out of knee jerk "they said somethin good bout my candidate!" type button pushing, but instead because of the actual thoughtful quality of the thread itself.

Since it's GDP, it would have to be aligned towards the intention of GDP, of course. But that still leaves open so many opportunities for personal topics or perspectives. You can post a thread on what this election means to you. A thread on why winning in November is so important to you. A thread on why a candidate has touched your heart. A thread on some personal experience that leads you where you are today, and why that impacts your thoughts on this election. You can post a thread on who you are as a person, and what you truly want to see for this country going forward after a new president is elected. You can post a thread on so many things, but make it from the heart and something positive, pensive and worthy of reading.

Wouldn't that be a cool concept? Wouldn't that be refreshing to take a break from the fast pace and truly read threads that were all well thought out and personal? Couldn't we see so much more into each other and realize how we are all human behind the keyboard, fighting the same fight, and all good decent people?

I dunno. Maybe this will fall on deaf ears. But I thought it an interesting enough concept to blow a thread on it, so your thoughts are appreciated.

I'd say the rules of the game should be replying in this thread with a commitment of participation, that you'll create a thread under those terms above sometime this Saturday. I figured that gives us all a few days to think about what we want to write about and why. I think there should be a rule that if some choose to enter those threads and reply in the spirit of baiting, that no one feed them and the comments are left to stand alone. That we approach these threads with a genuine mindset and act respectfully inside of them, and those that don't can just blend in with the rest of the posts that do. I'd love to see tons of people here participating. Not just with replies, but by having made their own heartfelt thread. I want this to even apply to those who normally shy away from posting threads, or who we do not hear from often.

So is anyone here willing to give it a try? Would any of you be up for using the next two days to come up with a personal concept you'd want to write about, as it relates to the GDP format? Do you think this, if only for one day, could make GDP the most interesting and thought provoking forum on the entire site?

If this thread sinks like a stone, so be it. I'm aware this is an impulsive request and one that I can't recall ever being made as an official day. But I'd love it if this Saturday could be "Post a thoughtful, sincere, from your heart thread in GDP" day.

Peace,

OMC

That's a fact.

It is a speech that cut through political tripe and went right to the soul of the issue in a matter of fact way. It said many things that needed to be said. It put things in the proper perspective. It gave a dose of reality to those who otherwise refuse to let that reality enter their minds.

It was something that carried with it the core values and integrity that EVERY member of the Democratic Party subscribes to. The words, the tone, the facts, the intent and the message, were all inarguable.

I commend Senator Obama for a fine speech. He said exactly what needed to be said and did so with grace and conviction. I am proud of him, and I am proud to be a democrat.

There are some that will ignore the speech. They will dismiss it and not pay its wise words any heed. They will do so for several reasons. Some will do so because they are on the other side of the aisle, and don't want to hear those words. Some will do so out of hatred, racism, and bigotry, and a refusal to consider changing their ways. Some will do so out of sheer ignorance and lack of understanding as to how true those words were. Others will do so merely because he is not their choice candidate, and they will let their sports minded like mentality become more important than the powerful words spoken today.

But no matter, because anyone in any of those groups is not a true democrat at heart. They may believe they are, may claim they are, but at their very core they are not. No true democrat would be ignorant enough to turn a blind ear to these wise words today. No true democrat would let their passion for their candidate rise above a speech with such a greater purpose. No true democrat would try and squash those words and dismiss the message, which is a message so true and pure that we should be excited to spread it far and wide.

So I say to all: Do not be discouraged in the face of those who would undermine this message. Try and teach them, try and help them understand, and if that fails, then simply ignore them. This is a message all of us, from every camp, from every walk of life, from every political ideology, should readily be able to applaud. As democrats, I'm confident we all are.

Hear hear to you all, and a toast for tomorrow...

I can't sit back so quietly any longer. After watching Olbermann's special comment tonight, I knew in my heart he was right. I didn't agree with every single aspect of what he said, but I didn't need to in order to recognize that the core of what he was saying, the spirit of what he was saying, was absolutely right.

This is a post of objectivity and reality. It is a post that is as real as it gets from me.

As soon as I learned about Ferraro's comments I was immediately bothered by them. But because of my DU addiction and the tone of GDP, instead of focusing directly on that issue I instead felt inclined to protect Hillary from the backlash, since I knew some would try and connect it to her. At the time, knowing how disgusted I had been, I felt confident that Hillary would quite quickly condemn with force those remarks and issue an unmistakably clear statement that such comments are reprehensible. Unfortunately, as I type this right now, that hasn't occurred and it is too late to change that.

I've seen defenses of Ferraro's statements, and I let many slide because lord knows the Clinton side here gets beat up enough already. But there is a line sometimes that transcends politics and candidates, and racism is one of them.

Geraldine's comments were beyond a shadow of a doubt racist, even though I am convinced that she doesn't BELIEVE that they were. But one need not believe in something being racist for it to in fact be racist. The fact of the matter is that she used his race as the defining characteristic of why he is where he is. It was said in a condescending way and almost with resentment. Now granted, I understand how passionate she is that Hillary be the nominee, but politics should never trump the concept of finding racism unacceptable. It was if with her comments, she was implying that Obama could've just been any black man, and that it's all some game of "Hey!!! Let's boost up a black guy for once! It's time!". That is, in essence, what she was attempting to get at. She was acting like if you take away the fact he's black, then he would've been home licking his wounds by now. By saying such a thing, she is undermining him as not being a person just like anyone else, but instead just being a novelty; a black novelty. Yes, such a mindset is most certainly racist.

But the problem is that she doesn't even know it. In fact, those continuing to defend her don't even know it. That's a huge problem, and one that's even more of a problem than blatant racism.

I say that because racism still permeates our society to unacceptable degrees. It's softer than it used to be, it's more hidden than it used to be, it's more subtle than it used to be, but it exists just the same. The fact of the matter is that so many in our society continue to be so blind to the subtle racism that exists everywhere, and continue to let it slide as if it's ok. Make no mistake; it isn't. Geraldine and others don't recognize that her words were racist because they're so ACCUSTOMED to such things being ok to say. They're accustomed to the nuances and subtleties of racism that permeate our society, and aren't aware enough to actually recognize the racism.

That's what bothers me about all of this. It's the fact that we have grown as a society to recognize blatant in your face racism and for the most part when displayed our society stands up and condemns such things. But what is so sad is that subtle racism, nuanced racism and justtttttt approaching the line type racism, is largely ignored and ofttimes not even recognized by so many. This is the 21st century. By now, any display of racism should glare out to us all like a piece of food stuck in someone's teeth. But that's not the case. Sometimes, we need to be spoonfed the explanations of racism in order to see it at all, and even then sometimes still fail to understand. But my friends, that just simply is not good enough. Racism, subtle or otherwise, is simply unacceptable.

Back to the issue. Hillary of all people should be able to recognize racism when confronted with it. She had the opportunity, yet for political reasons; since Geraldine was probably valuable as a friend to her; chose lazy dismissal of the incident over doing the right thing and outright condemning it strongly and in unwavering fashion. That was a mistake. It was even more of a mistake because this issue had visibility. Whenever an issue of racism arises in an arena where a strong message against it could be sent to MILLIONS, such an opportunity should NEVER be missed. Not for politics, not for convenience, not for ANY reason. She had the chance to send the right message to the american people. She had the chance to remind everyone that racism is simply unacceptable; period. I'm saddened to say this opportunity was in fact missed, and it makes my heart heavy to say that.

It makes my heart heavy because I know when it comes right down to it, we aren't as far ahead in this society as we should be. Racism, though in a more subtle way, is still far too acceptable to far too many, and that, in and of itself, is a disgrace.

To any Hillary supporters who won't condemn Geraldine: I ask you to reconsider. Step back from politics for a second and try and see what is right. Please, please agree that racism, even when subtle, is unacceptable and not something that ANY of us should tolerate or keep silent about. Remember what I'm about to say, and remember it LOUD and CLEAR: What you tolerate, you teach.

We cannot continue to teach others around us that subtle racism is ok. It isn't. It is every bit as unacceptable as blatant racism. Please realize that.

Obama is most definitely not where he is on account of being black. Her saying so, even without realizing she was doing so, exposed her as someone who is still a victim to the inherent acceptance of the subtle racism around us. To those who condemn racism and can recognize subtle racism, we all know that her comments were disgusting and inaccurate. I hope those who have not gotten there yet will step back from the bias of politics and try and reach a level where they can see just why this is true.

Obama is where he is because he is a talented, intelligent, inspiring and motivational politician. Unfortunately, that gets muddied because as a society and as this primary season has readily exposed in many ways, we are still way too consumed with racism and sexism when viewing our society as a whole. I'm saddened to have to say that, but it's the truth. Because of that, some men have gone to Obama, some women have gone to Hillary, some african americans have aligned with Obama, and minor bigots to major bigots have gone to Hillary. The rest of their support has been from regular people who don't give a shit that she's a woman or he an african american, but instead just view them as, well, good candidates.

But because of the inherent sexism and racism that still permeates our society, both gender and race have come into play. That's a shame, but it's the truth. It kinda proved that even if in the end of it all we DO elect our first woman or african american president, that there were large parts of the country still not thrilled to have done either. My god we should be so much better than that by now. I've seen throughout this season that we're not, though thankfully many of us are. Just simply not enough of us (us meaning our society in general).

But as it relates to Obama, he is competitive and ahead because of who he is, as a HUMAN BEING. Sure, he is getting almost all of the black vote with many of them doing so due to race. But we can't view that in a vacuum. When combining those going to Hillary because of gender, with those going to Hillary due to their own minor if not major bigotry issues, those numbers are almost undoubtedly a wash. See, when you break down the numbers and try and discern %'s of those voting genuinely, meaning on the candidates' merits instead of races or genders, you'd see that it is still an amazingly competitive race with Obama likely ahead. So if the black vote was more evenly split as we'd expect otherwise, if the southern males (and many others for that matter) weren't racist, if some weren't picking Hillary based on gender, we'd likely see that they'd BOTH still be competitive and that the numbers given back to each in the respective categories would still put Obama as being ahead. So saying he's ahead because of being black, or because of blacks aligning with him, is just an exercise of stupidity. It is patently false.

But it is so easy for people to say that. It is so easy for people to dismiss, and at times even approve of, Geraldine's comments. That is UNACCEPTABLE. Her comments were racist whether intentionally so or not. They are not readily recognized by some as being such because as a society, we tolerate and accept far too much racism and are so accustomed to such things as being normal, that it doesn't cause us alarm. But that needs to come to an end. It starts with sending a strong message EACH and EVERY time such racism, subtle or not, is detected. It starts with all of us. Hillary had the chance to declare to millions that even subtle racism is unacceptable. She missed that opportunity. I'm very disappointed in her for that. But I'm not gonna miss mine. I AM going to make a strong statement against Geraldine's comments and other people's acceptance of them. In fact, I just did.

Racism is unacceptable. Always. Period.

Please, stand up and declare the same.

rest is all perception.

Everything we think, everything we feel, everything we know, is all just perception. It's all just little sparks of electricity jumping around in our brains convincing us of what to see, think and feel. That's important, because it gives you the basis to understand that you can override those perceptions and hit pause whenever you want.

Too many people go about their days and forget that we all can hit pause whenever we want. That darkness that lies behind your eyes as you close them holds all the possibilities in the world; for within that darkness contains your thoughts; your very core being. You can put whatever thoughts into that peaceful darkness as you'd like. In fact, if I told you to close your eyes right now and think the phrase "the pink elephant ran across the room", you could do so at will. So too could you put whatever other thought into that darkness that you desired.

But first, you must hit pause. First, you must recognize that everything you are thinking and feeling at that moment is perception and trickery, but that you're in fact breathing in and breathing out just like everyone else. You're the same as everyone else at that moment. Then, you take a deep breath and hit pause. Hitting pause means basically taking a time out from all that you feel, all that you know, all those impulsive thoughts that constantly flow through all of our minds.

We may take it for granted, but at the end of the day, much like the pink elephant example, we can place temporarily any thoughts into our heads we desire. We just need to become aware of the temporary need to do so. I say temporary, because no one can be expected to think that way all the time. No one can be expected to hit pause all the time, and carry that strength they feel when doing so around permanently. But that's ok: We don't need to. We can go through most of our days frustrated, fixated, using the frontal voice near our foreheads that guides us with impulse and immediacy. We can have our moments of weakness, desperation or despair, and that's always ok. We just have to remember to take a temporary pause when we need it, if only for a few moments, and remind ourselves what is real. And what is real, is that as long as we are breathing in and breathing out we have the opportunity anew to bring ourselves up from whatever is ailing us.

I'll give you an example of what I mean by us all being the same. If we all right now stood up straight, closed our eyes, thought about nothing, and just breathed in and out; what would the difference between any of us be? No matter what our perceptions were for that day, no matter what hardships we thought we endured, no matter what frustrations we had, no matter how many problems we feel we have in life during our day to day; at that moment we all stand up, close our eyes, and just breath in and out with no thoughts, what separates us? How are we different?

To put it another way, I've often said to take the richest man in the world with the best luck, and the poorest man in the world with the worst luck, and put them in the same bed. As they lay there asleep, what is the difference?

So the answer to your question as it relates to taking control, is to simply re-identify with the fact that you exist like everyone else does. Hit pause. Never forget to do so, even if just for a few moments. Think about whatever you want, but just hear yourself do so. Don't use the frontal 'forehead' voice, but instead use the middle, deeper, identity voice that resides in the middle of your mind. Hear it. Hear it right now in fact. It's the very voice that's reading these words to you off of the page. Do you hear it? That's you. That's the true you. Hear it, identify it, get in touch with it, and know that voice is there at your disposal whenever you need it. Right now even as you're reading, you're likely able to do so without emotion. The voice in your head, if you hear its tone right now, is quite straightforward and almost emotionless as it reads these words. That's the power of that voice. As you're reading this, you've already hit pause and didn't even realize it. Feel what that feels like. Feel what it feels like to hear that voice, and to be objective with that voice, and to be able let it guide you without the impulsive emotions and perceptions we're used to.

Now granted, this is quite hard to explain online, especially when I'm all hopped up on Vicoprofen right now, but I've tried my best. Just don't ever forget that whatever ails you right now will at some point go away. Time goes on with or without you, for you do not control time. And time will go by so that it will be 10 years from now. And when 10 years from now comes, will this particular situation still be as relevant as it seems to you now? Likely it won't be. Likely, you will have moved on from it and onto other things that will require your control. But 10 years from now WILL come. If it is unlikely to be relevant anymore then, why make it so now?

Basically, remember this simple rule of life in which I swear by: If you have circumstance A that is a shitty circumstance, hurtful circumstance, negative circumstance and it can't be controlled or readily changed (since if you could, it wouldn't be there), all you can do is react to it with reaction A or reaction B. Whichever one you pick is irrelevant to circumstance A, since it cannot be changed anyway. Reaction A is to react negatively, to sink, to fall into depression, to let it bring you down to unhealthy degrees. Reaction B is to keep a positive spirit, to look yourself deep in the eyes and smile anyway, since why the hell not? To have an attitude of 'oh well, all I can do is continue forward the best I can". So it comes down to simple logic: How would you rather feel or be? Would you rather reaction A or reaction B? After all, whichever one you pick isn't going to affect circumstance A, so the way I see it, it's a no brainer to go with reaction B every damn time. Takes practice to get the hang of it though.

Just always hang in there. Never forget to hit pause. Always remember that every circumstance is temporary, but that voice in your head is permanent. Never forget to smile. You have no idea how powerful looking yourself deep in the eyes in the mirror is, and then giving yourself a big smile while thinking "yup. I'm still breathin in and breathin out. I'm perfectly fine!".

peace,

OMC

Ok ok, I don't believe I'm going to post this but my wife dared me to. It's something she just made me put on youtube for her own use, but after it was done she dared me to put it on here. So alrighty then! LOL

It's a clip from our wedding video of me singing an original song I wrote for her when we were dating. Back then, I had promised to sing it to her at our wedding if we ever got married. Needless to say, she held me to that promise. Now please understand, I'm a songwriter and keyboard player, NOT a singer. Never sang a note in front of anyone in my life in fact, so it stands to reason that I was pretty terrified. She was nervous too. That's why in the video, we both look so tight and awkward: She's focusing so hard on not crying and not distracting me, while I'm concentrating so hard on her in an attempt to tune out the 200 people watchin me lol. It was terrifying for us both, but we got through it. I sound like a dying cow, but it's the music and lyrics that are my forte, not singing. I'm playing the keyboard in the background, that I had to record on tape for the DJ to play in the background.

So even though most of ya probably couldn't give a rat's ass about watchin it, my wife dared me and what can ya do.

Here ya go: The softer side of OMC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ueNw6kPBY

Let's break down the whole spiel into its most basic indisputable logical form. Then, if confronted by any friends, acquaintances, relatives or otherwise who utter such nonsense premise, just repeat the basics below:

Not voting for the Democrat, whether through voting for a green/indy or not voting at all, can be broken down into meaning only two fundamental things:

1. They don't want the Democrat to win
or
2. They don't care if the republican wins.

Let's take number 1, 'don't want the Democrat to win'. Not wanting the Democrat to win means wanting a different candidate to win. Since in today's political picture that offers only ONE alternate candidate, that means they want the republican to win. Shame on them.

Now let's take number 2, 'don't care if the republican wins'. Not caring if the republican wins is no different than declaring that they do want the republican to win. Either way, they are condoning or accepting republican victory. Again, shame on them.

This is all it comes down to. Unless there is a viable third party candidate, this is the indisputable logic of the situation.

No argument on their part can overcome this fundamental logic of the situation.

In fact, his narcissistic and deceitfully manipulative ignorant spouting is hugely in part responsible for the messes we find ourselves in today.

So I'm woefully discouraged at how much "Nader was right!!!" garbage we keep seeing here. For god's sake aren't we supposed to learn from history? Hasn't his ignorant narrow-minded deceit of the past, which significantly impacted the 2000 election, taught us anything?

Sure, many of us are disappointed and discouraged with our beloved Dems. But there's a huge difference between being angry or disappointed with them and claiming that the epitome of ignorance Nader was actually right. C'mon now.

No difference between the Dems and the Repubs? How laughable. Any member or lurker at this site has MORE than enough at their very fingertips to be able to conclude otherwise. So please, before you just knee jerk spout out something as naive as "Nader was right!", please peruse this site a bit and educate yourself to the reality of the situation first. It should be able to be deduced fairly quickly that there is a HUGE difference between the two parties. Huge. Fucking enormous.

So no, Nader wasn't right then. No, Nader's not right now. His words are every bit as ignorant and short sighted as they were then. That's an easily verifiable fact. So please, spare us the Nader was right shit. The goal of this site at the end of the day is to encourage the election of Democrats; not to disillusion people falsely by blurring the line between the political parties so that they are more apt to abandon the Democrats and rally for some useless misguided green candidate.

Most of us have our emotions a bit high for what we consider some disappointment with the Dems. But calling them the same as republicans is in line with calling a prius a hummer, cause they like both use gas and stuff.

No, Nader wasn't right. Not then, not now, not for any foreseeable reason in the future.

Radfringe had a thread earlier (referenced below) about using your own store bought magnetic sheets to glue your bumperstickers to. When I saw it, I decided to finally reveal an invention of mine I created almost 2 years ago. I think many here would find it extremely valuable and it is quite easy to make. I'll copy the instructions that I already posted in Radfringe's thread. This is an awesome way to swap out bumperstickers on the fly or even every single day if you want. You can easily print your own as each day's event changes. For example, Helderheid posted a pair of bumpersticker slogans earlier that I combined a little and printed out in two minutes. And voila! On my truck it was. Here's the details:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...
"Ya take the same magnetic sheets, but cut it about a centimeter larger on all sides. Then, cut out the middle square which should be the size of the bumper sticker you want to use. Now you have two pieces; a solid center piece and an outer frame. Now take a piece of laminating paper (which is what I used, but any durable and thin plastic sheeting would suffice) and cut it to the exact dimensions of the outer frame, but leaving the center solid. Glue it to the edges and voila! You're done. Now just make a template in MSWord the same dimensions (use the ruler) as the inside square, and design ANYTHING you want in color. Print it out, cut it out of the paper, slap it right on the backing square WITHOUT glue, and just put the frame around it. The magnetic frame part will fit perfectly around the inner piece and all of the sides of it, including the backing square, will lay flat against the vehicle. This means the whole thing is sealed from rain. When you are tired of whatever sticker you printed, just take off the frame piece and put a fresh design right in! Switch it up in 10 seconds flat!

I've always wanted to share that here because it works great and you can literally print out a new message every single day if you wanted to and switch it up in seconds. The only reason I haven't shared it is because I still didn't know if it was something I could patent and market. But fuck it, it's been so long I might as well share it with my DU'ers. I hope you all like it! Maybe later I'll post a picture of it if anyone wants."

Here are some pictures (I gotta make a new one, as mine's getting old now. But you'll get the idea):

I had thought about it a lot yesterday on my ride home from work; but after reading a few different posts here today I figured I'd share my thoughts.

After Cindy was on with Randi yesterday, Randi started talking about how when she first started at Air America she was begging for anyone to speak out. She then told this story of some Blackwater employees sent to get food utensils, that ended up being slaughtered and hung from a bridge in fallujah.

As she was retelling the story, something immediately occurred to me: I had never heard of this incident. That's what got me thinkin. Why hadn't I? Well, it was because I didn't discover DU until the day after election 2004 and didn't actively participate until a year later. Though I feel like I always had DU and can't imagine a time when I didn't have it to rely on, the fact is that there were many years that went by since the Gore injustice in which I was ignorant. I didn't have DU, and the only news I got was from the MSM. That being the case, that means I didn't know much. I didn't know about the Blackwater incident, I didn't know about god knows what after 9-11, I didn't know about a lot of what DU'ers already surmised during the run up to the war, I didn't know squat when it comes down to it. I can't imagine having only gotten my news from the news, but I know that had to be the case.

That's when I took a quick moment in my car and appreciated the hell out of DU with a big smile on my face.

See, many here bicker all the time (myself included, obviously hehe) and some claim how bad DU has gotten or how downhill it is going or it just isn't the same anymore etc. But I think that those who truly believe that are losing sight of what makes DU valuable to begin with. Though my opinion only, all the discussion and back and forth dialog here, along with the immense passion and spirited debate from all angles, is what makes DU fun, exciting, addictive and even at times monumentally frustrating. But I don't think that's what makes DU valuable.

I think what makes DU valuable is the fact that in any given hour, you can be made aware of almost every noteworthy topic to be made aware of. That's the value of DU to me. And it doesn't matter what the topic is, what position one takes on the topic, or how much one agrees with it. The value lies in being aware that the topic even existed for discussion or debate to begin with. I didn't know about the old blackwater incident because I hadn't been on DU. Had I have been, I would've known for certain.

So I guess my point is that no matter how frustrating things can seem here, no matter how much bickering, arguing, nonsensical rambling, anger, dissent, differing points of view, provocation, personal attacks, or distasteful interactions there are at times, we are still informed and aware of every possible topic we should be aware of, and to a degree a brazillion times higher than if we just relied on the media like others do.

Like I said, that applies whether any given topic is agreed upon or otherwise. We're still aware the topic exists. That's the true value of DU to me: That from here on out stories like the blackwater incident early on in the war will no longer go quietly by me. Because of DU, I'm aware and informed. I would challenge that any one of you, no matter how frustrated you are here, could engage in conversation with anyone on any given noteworthy topic on any given day. Manager killed at Wendy's? Yeah, I heard about that. Chavez shut down some tv stations? Yeah, I recall something along those lines. Valerie Plame is now confirmed (yet again) as covert? Yup, just read it. Alberto Gonzales might be disbarred? Yup, familiar with that too. The hubble telescope snapped an awesomely detailed picture of another universe that was amazing? Yup, I saw it. Great pic too.

Just wanted to share because after hearing the story from Randi, it really occurred to me why and how this site is so valuable to me. It isn't the discussion, it isn't the ability to hone my wiseass skills, it isn't the stimulation of debate and it isn't the fast paced addictive action of a good flamefest. It's the ability to know that I'm informed more than anyone else who isn't here.

it's gonna be a hell of a ride.

And when I see 'WE' I am also including those from the other side of the aisle. Both sides have anticipated a showdown like this for quite some time now. Both sides want it. Our side wants it in order to show that the Executive branch can't just do whatever they want whenever they want; and the other side wants it in order to show that the Executive branch has such power to deny what they consider 'congressional meddling'. Well, it appears the battle is here and it's gonna be quite some ride. How will it turn out? I have no idea. Chances are it will drag on and have many unforeseen events unfold. We'll just have to wait and see. But I am in firm belief that the battle will begin and we will witness the official clash of the three co-equal branches of government.

What does it all mean? Who will win? What will come of it?

Well, with all the things I've run through my head I'm convinced it comes down to one thing and one thing only: The public.

See, this is going to grow much bigger than what it now represents. It will take on a life of its own and the majority of the public will be aware to the battle. People will choose sides. People who may not normally get involved with day to day politics will undoubtedly end up choosing sides as well. I think at the end of the day what it comes down to is how many congregate to each side of the battle. Will the majority of the public side with the Executive and believe the Dems are on a political witch hunt and the President is acting honorably in defending himself? Will the majority of the public side with Congress and believe that the Executive is corrupt, hiding things and is acting completely inappropriately by bringing us into a constitutional crisis that could've been avoided merely by being transparent and honest?

Fact is, there is much yet to unfold and I have no idea which side will win the masses. What I do suspect, is that in the end of it all this very one thing may be the biggest factor in 08. If this battle rages on with longevity and people choose the right, then in my opinion we'll be thrashed in 08. But if the masses believe the left is acting honorably while the executive is power hungry, corrupt and playing the role of blockers, then I think they'd be thrashed in 08.

But I do believe this can turn out to be far more important in the overall scheme of politics moving forward. The battle is about to commence. Once it does, whichever side speaks the loudest, the most often and with the most support; wins. We need to make sure that's us.

Buckle up indeed.

For far too long we had no voice. In about 36 more hours the 110th Congress will convene. We will once again have a voice. I'm looking forward to hearing what that voice has to say. It's gonna be a fun ride.

Cheers.

and desperate has not caused enough suffering, and that only their footing of the bill would complete that circle of suffering, I say this:

You have much different personal definitions on what it means to be a truly decent human being than I do.

To each their own I guess.

For this brief moment in time, I have pushed pause on all other thought processes and passions going through my mind.

Because for this brief moment in time, I am paying respect with a brief moment of silence to all of our brave patriots that perished on December 7th, 1941.

May God bless them for their sacrifice. May God bless their families. May God bless those who survived.

Thank you to all of them and to all of you who have served honorably.

May they rest in peace.

It is short, simple and factually accurate:

After 6 years of utter failure and bullshit, the majority of Americans no longer believe in this administration and congress. They want change.

Remember this:

We already have more than enough people willing to vote Democratic on Tuesday to take back not only the House, but the Senate as well. This fact will not change. After years of hard work and tremendous frustration, all that there is left to do is to GET OUT THE DAMN VOTE; understand? We HAVE enough voters. We HAVE the numbers to win. They are THERE already. We simply just must find a way to get those voters to the polls to cast those votes. That's all we need to do to win, period. That's it. Remind yourself again: We have the numbers. We have enough people who want change. We have enough to control both houses of congress. We just have to make sure they get to the polls on Tuesday. Nothing else matters.

That is all.

Goodnight,

OMC