There is, and always has been, a broad spectrum within the polar opposites of a simple "for" or "against". To argue that it's one or the other seems to simplify discussion to a point where there is, simply, no discussion.

And to distill discussion on national policy to a handful of red flag issues dismisses the big picture. Not that singular issues are unimportant, aren't key to our agenda, or that there is real passion around some - but the notion that we are as a whole moving to the right misses something, imo.

i.e., there have always been Democrats who don't favor abortion, yet support the rest of what we call Democratic ideals, and compromise with the majority to personal support choice. Hence, it's not pro-abortion or anti-abortion. It's pro-choice. An effective compromise for all concerned.

Same with any of the wedge issues so loved by the media and RW politicos in re: all things Democratic.

A personal example. I don't favor state imposition of the death penalty - at any time, in any case. And I realize there are many Democrats that differ. So be it. I'll continue to voice my opposition when it comes up and encourage we move away from the practice in our country.

Yet, I don't propose that be a standard that defines my participation in the party, politics in general or, for that matter, Democratic Underground.

In a larger sense, I really think political nuance, the shades of political thought, is making a come back.

Perhaps we are all recoiling from the extremism of the last eight years.

Not moving right, left or to the center - but to a rationality of politics that works.

Presidential politics has long been about symbols, sound bites and today's talking points. It is now as it ever was, only more so, I guess.

And, as always, the world and our future remain just over that next election, come what may in our internal political arenas. Yet we remain one of the enfranchised nations. It's worth remembering.

There is a world beyond American politics. That world increasingly includes stateless factions, disenfranchised, that see violence as a viable political tool. Maybe they see it as the only tool at hand, I don't know.

This I do know, though, to disregard their role in the world and our future is shortsighted to a fault.

The Bush Administration has failed miserably to address organized stateless violence. They have ignored the assets of established - and legal - systems to ferret out mobile networks. They have cast, and recast, their 'war on terror' in outdated global frameworks, complete with a front line and a victory.

This is not our conflict with fascism, as in Hitler's nationalistic, geographic state bound agenda. This isn't the Cold War with some of the same overtones. This isn't VietNam, with it's clear, local geographical agenda for political control of an area.

Invading Iraq was part and parcel of that old mindset. Their 'war on terror' *can't* be won in Iraq. Nor can it be won. The premise is wrong.

Terrorism as a political tool has an agenda. Someone in our government ought to start looking at it in that context, in my humble opinion. And it has an appropriate response.

It's not going to go away on a slogan or a sound bite. I truly hope our candidates remember that as we prepare to take back the White House.

"It could always be like this."

There it is, finally said out loud in this beautiful story of ill fated love.

Watching it play out you know it won't be, yet I found myself rooting for them to make it work. Resolve the complicated side stories of all the relationships and ride up country. It's the crux and the real catch of the movie, I think. You know it won't be.

The story's resolution - and there is a resolution - is bittersweet.

The whole look of the film was beautiful, the sets, the scenery and the pacing. I loved the characters - each clearly individual yet part of the whole story.

It seems as Ang Lee intended - a classic love story, set in the West, among two men. I thought he hit it right on the head, as did the cast.

And, anyone who has lost someone relates to the final scenes of Ennis with Jack's shirt and jacket. That rang true as well.

Made this today, was great -

1 can solid white Albacore
1 hard boiled egg, coarse chopped

1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup sweet onion, diced

3 Tablespoons dry Chow Mein noodles

1 Teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 Teaspoon soy sauce
Mayonnaise

1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder, or less, to taste
2 Dash salt

Mix celery, onion, noodles, oil, and spices. Turn to coat well. Set aside (noodles will soften some).

Turn in chopped egg.

Turn in drained Albacore and just enough mayonnaise to bind well, no more.

Serve, room temp, open faced on toast. Top w/ lemon zest for that Food Channel touch.

Great with iced tea.

The disclosure of inappropriate, probably illegal, access of government passport files for Senators Obama and Clinton by the State Department highlights an insidious undercurrent in this Administration. It is the presumption that they are above the law, beyond basic ethics of professional conduct and unaccountable.

The information garnered was probably of little import. No matter. It's the attitude that's troubling.

From President Bush's signing statements on Congressional legislation, to Paul Bremer's colonial style reign in post Saddam Iraq, to then FEMA Director Brown's desertion during the Katrina disaster the message is clear. As long as the sound bites sell, we make our own rules and standards of conduct be damned.

Apparently mid-level State Department employees 'hacked' the passport files. And, to be fair, two have been fired. Yet the prevailing lack of standards represented at the higher echelons at the White House makes this kind of thing possible throughout the Administration. Not only possible, but probable.

That represents a culture of rogue lawlessness. Getting caught is more the problem than the behavior. And when caught - lie, misdirect, resign or commute judicial sentences.

Nixon's Watergate was well named "a cancer on the Presidency". The Bush Administration is a cancer on America.

We will be well done with it in '09.

This is not only an election for a new President. We stand the chance to turn the tide in Washington at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

The undermining of our basic relationships with the federal bureaucracy began before this administration. It was fostered in the House and Senate under Republican control and has in the last eight years festered to the boil that is now our national politic. There must be an end to this. We need to lance the wounds - electorally, civilly - heal and move on.

Washington is crippled. Federal departments are either rife with partisan appointees, leaderless or staffed with inexperienced and inept hangers-on. Republicans, in historic numbers, are leaving the Congress. The exodus from this administration's staff alone ought to be a clear warning that they, and their leadership, are in trouble. Congress' Republican flight underlines the situation.

We stand a great chance to strike back, start forward, and regain this government for its basic principles. Let's not lose sight of that my friends.

Let's take back the Federal government the way they took it away, piece by piece.


(ed for clarity)

DNC Elects Standing Committee Leadership for 2008 Democratic National Convention

January 14, 2008

Appointments Reflect Strength, Diversity and Energy of Democratic Party

DENVER - The Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) unanimously elected DNC Chairman Howard Dean's nominations for the Chairs of the 2008 Democratic National Convention Standing Committees that are responsible for reviewing Convention business and formulating recommendations for consideration by Convention delegates. The Executive Committee's vote took place during the panel's recent meeting in Denver, site of the four-day Convention in August.

"The record turnout and enthusiasm we've seen for our Democratic candidates is a clear sign that Americans trust Democrats to bring much needed change to our country," said Governor Dean. "These outstanding leaders reflect the great strength, diversity and energy of the Democratic Party, and I'm confident their efforts will ensure our Convention in Denver is reflective of our shared values and our nominee's vision for America."

The elections included the Chairs and 25 Party Leader and Elected Official (PLEO) members of the three Convention Standing Committees: Credentials, Platform and Rules. Each committee has a total of 186 members. An additional 161 members elected by each of the states' and territories' Convention delegations will join Governor Dean's appointments to the committees later this spring.

http://www.demconvention.com/dnc-elects-st... /

For a list of and biographical information on the PLEO members from each Standing Committee, click here (pdf file):

http://www.demconvention.com/assets/mainas...

Americans of all political stripes. As you note, it's the framing of the debate and the misconceptions that remain a big barrier to greater public support for a total socialization of health care or it's cousin, a government funded, single payer system, such as Medicare.

The bugaboo about "socialism" remains entrenched in the public's mind, I think. From the days of the Wobblies, through FDR's New Deal and on into the McCarthy era, socialism with an American face was likened to Communism/totalitarianism and the specter of a Big Brother government involvement in the basics of our lives. (Oh, the irony...)

I think that battle for perception is best not fought, in favor of the specifics, on a less visceral scale, in the discussion with opponents. (There will always be a fringe that refuses to accept any other point of view. They ought to ignored, imho.)

Some concrete concerns people seem to have:

Government will make your health care decisions, not you and your doctors.

Largely a red herring. Even in the VA, which is the closest we have to socialized medicine, in that the payer and the providers work for the federal government, day to day medical decisions are made by doctors and patients. In the instances where federal bureaucracies hamper delivery of adequate and timely care - as we've seen recently - it's the oversight that needs adjusting, not the basic system.

In the single payer Medicare, doctors and patients make health care decisions. The federal government, as payer, sets reimbursement rates and basic coverage guidelines. When these are out of whack - as reimbursement is today, it's the oversight that needs to be tweaked, and updated, not the system.

It's more expensive and wasteful.

Wrong. Medicare overhead is cheaper across the system than private insurance company systems, the multiplicity of billing systems adds another layer to health care providers workload, and costs are inflated to incorporate a profit for the private insurer.

Again, where a Medicare or a VA system is too top heavy for efficiency, oversight is the solution, not dismantling the basic structure.

There's long wait time.

I have no knowledge how it goes in the VA, but as a Medicare beneficiary, I've had no problems, even when needing to see a specialist. I have heard of delays due to the availability of providers in some areas, mainly due to reimbursement rates. (see above)

Someone will get something for nothing, or I'll pay for someone else's health care.

Well, I hate to hear this, but in answer I'll say, Yep, you're right. Just as all taxpayers fund national defense, the national highway system, local law and fire protection, schools, etc. etc. We can *all* fund national health care as an accepted, basic standard.

Thanks for your post.

becomes 'common knowledge' when trumpeted enough to gain a foothold. It's a useful way to make a point, play devil's advocate or highlight a broader picture. That's cool. I do it in meetings - follow a position to a logical extreme to make a point. I don't always believe my own hyperbole, and say so, but it can help frame a discussion.

But to the why? I haven't a clue. There's something to be garnered in the fact that disaster - personal and public - mayhem, crime and sundry 'end is near' reports are news. And water cooler, coffee shop, local bar, internet talk.

This I've found to work for me, on a small personal scale. Once, self employed, I ran across a successful small businessman who told me repeatedly - "Don't assume the worst and blame people, expect the best. Don't make people wrong, let them make themselves right. If they don't, move on. It's cleaner that way."

Change has become a big talking point in the Democratic campaigns, as it rightly should.

I work in HIV and Hep C prevention programs. We view change as part of a broader objective. The role of Public Health is to improve the well being of the community as a whole. While we mainly work with individuals, our first client is really the community, so our focus is on change in a bigger social context.

Truth be told, our job is to encourage individuals to help meet a big picture goal. Keeping that in mind, here’s my take on change and how it may relate to a similar political process.

Change is incremental. For most people, it’s two steps forward, one step back. Repeat as necessary. Some have that “Aha! moment”, but generally it’s a process:

1st unconsidered; 2nd considered; 3rd possible; 4th probable; 5th accomplished; 6th maintained.

Change isn’t always linear or permanent. Individuals, and communities, sometimes cycle through the process.

Change is rooted in social networks first. Professional, political and legal systems follow.

Change isn’t always easy. It involves realistic compromises between the end goals and the ways to get there.

Take infections from sharing injection equipment, for instance.

While the *ideal* may be that all injectors stop using, Public Health realizes that some people may not want to quit, some may not be able to today, right now, yet some can and will.

Keeping in mind the big picture goal of limiting blood borne infections, though, we know that many along that spectrum will be willing to use safe shooting practices. Thus, we support needle exchange programs.

Say we meet with 100 folks. 30 will likely walk away. 20 may “think about it”. And 50 of them will make some kind of change. We accept that, no strings attached.

And the success is that those 50 – 70 people lay the groundwork for change in the broader community. Each in their own way, each to the point they can accomplish.

Do those numbers sound familiar?

Put it in political terms. Out of 100 people, we may never motivate those hard core 30 right wingers to see our point of view. There may be another 20 on the fence. Yet 50 will respond to our agenda and help lay the foundation for change. Each in their own way, each to the point they can accomplish.

I think the process has been reflected in most of the major political changes we’ve seen in America over the years.

From our original founding as a country, through the abolishment of slavery, legalization of womens’ suffrage to the codification of civil rights – all were once unthinkable, then considered. They became possible, eventually probable and were finally accomplished.

Change is the twinkle in the eye of history.

When our grandchildren look back and wonder – “what the hell was the big deal about?” – we’ll all be able to grin and know we have done them, and history, well.

pinto

"We find out where conditions are the worst - the places that others are not going -
and that's where we want to be."

Nicolas De Torrenté, Executive Director of MSF-USA





Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural or man-made disasters, or exclusion from health care in more than 70 countries.

Each year, MSF doctors, nurses, logisticians, water-and-sanitation experts, administrators, and other medical and non-medical professionals depart on more than 4,700 aid assignments. They work alongside more than 25,800 locally hired staff to provide medical care.

In emergencies and their aftermath, MSF provides essential health care, rehabilitates and runs hospitals and clinics, performs surgery, battles epidemics, carries out vaccination campaigns, operates feeding centers for malnourished children, and offers mental health care. When needed, MSF also constructs wells and dispenses clean drinking water, and provides shelter materials like blankets and plastic sheeting.

Through longer-term programs, MSF treats patients with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, sleeping sickness, and HIV/AIDS, and provides medical and psychological care to marginalized groups such as street children.

MSF was founded in 1971 as the first nongovernmental organization to both provide emergency medical assistance and bear witness publicly to the plight of the people it assists. A private nonprofit association, MSF is an international network with sections in 19 countries.

MSF is often one of the first humanitarian organizations to arrive at the scene of an emergency. Its large-scale logistical capacity ensures that MSF emergency teams hit the ground with the specialized medical kits and equipment they need to start saving lives immediately.

Custom-designed by MSF for specific field situations, geographic conditions, and climates, a kit may contain a complete operating room, for example, or all of the supplies needed to treat hundreds of cholera patients. MSF kits and medical protocols have been replicated by relief organizations worldwide.

MSF has proven expertise in the field of epidemiology and is often called on to monitor, diagnose, and control outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera, meningitis, and measles.

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/about... /

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donat... /

It was a classic Bush cut 'n run.

His vague remake of stay the course seemed little more than...a vague remake of stay the course.

This one featured Petraeus for cover, but little has changed. Nor will it.

The president said - in a telling moment - that our involvement in Iraq will be an 'enduring relationship' that will last beyond his term in office.

New phrase, same story, with the coda:

Somebody else will have to pick up the pieces. Very likely, it will be up to us Dem's.

He'll be in a condo in Houston. His cohorts will be consultants, talking heads or felons.

Bush bails again.

Coat tails!

The time is now.

Regardless of whom we choose as our lead candidate in 2008, I encourage you to actively support our Presidential candidate's advocacy for increasing our Congressional majority.

We have a window of opportunity in this election cycle to remake a mis-administered, subverted federal operation into one more closely alligned with the majority of Americans.

While many rightly bemoan our current circumstances, these are also times that hold the opportunity to move a progressive, Democratic agenda back in to the forefront of American politics.

The time is now.

http://www.democrats.org /

http://www.dscc.org /

http://www.dccc.org /

The best of all possible worlds. Peppers, coffee, mint and chocolate. (Cream cheese optional)

2 jalapenos, diced
2 sprigs fresh mint, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons cinnamon

left over brewed coffee, in lieu of water
oil, per directions

brownie mix
eggs

**********************

(Prepare per "cake brownies")

Blend peppers, mint and spices with eggs.
Add brownie mix, turn to coat.

Add coffee and oil.
Blend all well.

Cook per directions. Don't overcook.

***********************

(I make this in two 8" cake pans, served as is, or stacked and filled with cream cheese and strawberries.)

(on edit) Dusted with powdered suger and diced mint works good as well.

The Administration's relentless smoke and mirror approach to governing the country may well, at long last, be their undoing.

From the days of cutting down trees to 'save our forests' and relaxing emission regulations to foster 'clear skies' they have built a convoluted house of cards that can not stand. The sheer weight of reality trumps all their short-sighted PR, prevarication and political sleight of hand.

Katrina shed the first well publicized light on the Administration's inability to make reality fit their publicity campaigns. "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie" may be seen one day as the beginning of the end of the charade.

Yet, nowhere is the failure of their PR campaign to mask reality more gruesomely evident than in Iraq. The shifting justifications for our invasion, occupation and escalation have not kept up with the litany of death and deprivation. Nor can they.

There was the mushroom cloud justification. (Debunked.) There was the mobile biological lab justification. (Debunked.) There was the Saddam/al Qaeda connection. (Debunked.)

There was the "is the world better off without Saddam" justification. (To echo a recent Rove statement - nice try.) There was, and is, the spreading democracy in the Middle East justification. (Grasping at straws...)

Once 'Support Our Troops' became the bottom line response to the death toll among those very same troops - well - most of America got it.

Something's really, really wrong here.

As the 9th Circuit Court Judge said in another matter, "I feel like it's Alice in Wonderland".

Now, as the lists of exits from this Administration grows ever longer, and Mr. Bush looks to some elusive legacy, one thing becomes clear.

Reality happens.

All the spin in the world won't change that.