Do you love corgis? Of course you do.

My brother and I have combined forces (OK, I totally exploited my brother's force) to come up with a new store devoted to our love of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Please stop by and check out our high-quality products.

And don't forget to visit CmdrSue's contributions to popular culture via The Pith Stop.

Old is the New Young?

This sort of thing is driving me insane:

Joe Trippi, architect of the Dean insurgency, went mining on the Internet and tapped into a mother lode of youthful discontent. Dean meetups spread across the country, much as be-ins and sit-ins had in other eras -- only the meetups were a lot nerdier. And Web-driven contributions poured in. Kids and little people frightened by the Bush Administration sent in their nickels and dimes, and Howard flew higher. (Ciro Scotti, Business Week Online, posted on MSNBC)

Youthful discontent? I think the median age at our meetups was around 40, and the attendees ranged from 18 to 80+. Discontent? Yes. Youthful? Only in our hearts. Because only a youthful heart can still have hope, and hope is what bound the Dean campaign together.

OK Deanies, let's pony up one last time...

Seems the Dean campaign is $400K in the hole. I'll certainly chip in one more sawbuck as a thank you to Governor Dean. It's a small price to pay for giving me six months of hope and optimism...

Nader. 2004. Meh.

I guess I just can't bring myself to care that Nader's running again. I honestly don't see how it could possibly have an effect on Kerry v. Bush. Bush's performance these past 4 years really precludes any "the two parties are the same" argument Nader's running on, so any votes he gets probably weren't Kerry's to lose in the first place.

But since Nader's representing himself this time instead of the Green Party, and Kerry's more liberal than Gore, I'd be amazed if Nader pulls more than 0.5%.

Stop yer whining, Dems. This is still a two-man race, so keep your eyes on the prize: getting rid of President Nimrod.

Inspiration for Geeks Like Me

There is a greater darkness than the one we fight.
It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way.
The war we fight is not against powers and principalities,
It is against chaos and despair.
Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope,
The death of dreams.
Against this peril we can never surrender.
The future is all around us,
Waiting in moments of transition
To be born in moments of revelation.
No one knows the shape of that future
Or where it will take us.
We know only that it is always born in pain.

G'Kar, Babylon 5

Get the wave file.

Howard Dean Withdraws From Presidential Race

Let's look at the facts:
*We still had more delegates than Edwards (one of the authors of the Patriot Act).
*Kerry is a putz (among other things he voted for the Patriot Act and the Iraq War, while missing close and crucial votes for Medicare and the funding of NCLB).
*The Bush Administration is evil.

To me this all adds up to one thing - we need to stay involved in DeanForAmerica because WE WILL TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!

Although an important job, the President of the United States is only ONE public servant. Furthermore, he works for us. We've just forgotten that. We've forgotten that he has to pass OUR performance review. W and his administration have failed us on innumerable counts and we MUST vote him out of office this November. Then we MUST ensure that our new President HEARS OUR VOICES. We also need to send a message to the Congress and CHANGE our representation. If you don't go out and educate yourself on the candidates from local to federal, if you don't tell your candidates and representatives what you want them to do, then YOU have failed this movement.

They work for us. We have the power. This fight is long from over. Don't get depressed that our candidate didn't win. Get angry. Get involved.

WE WILL TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK.
Proud member of deanforamerica.

You Can't Argue With The Truth

Post from max in Raleigh NC on blogforamerica, February 16, 2004 05:41 PM

Kerry is an opportunistic liar. In yesterdays debate he blamed Bush for not fully funding the no child left behind act.

Here is the truth:

Everyone is talking about the fact that Kerry voted for the no child left behind act but very few people also know that on 3/11/03, by a slim majority senators successfully tabled the murry amendment #284 to fully fund the NCLB act and reduce debt by reducing tax breaks for the wealthiest taxpayers. The motion to table succeded by two vote’s. Guess which 2 senators did not bother to vote. Kerry and Edwards

Click here to see the vote record!

Watergate Salad?

The Times reports on the ongoing Senate investigation of Republican staffers who "improperly obtained" documents from Democratic senators, noting that:

Republican staff members' activities went on much longer and were far more extensive than previously believed.

They spanned more than two years and involved conscious computer hacking as some 3,000 Democratic documents were secretly downloaded, read and distributed by some number of Republican aides...

Hello! Democracy! Rights! I know you are out there somewhere. Will you answer our call???

"I've discovered one thing in this campaign: The American people are much better than the people who govern them."

~Howard Dean, February 15, 2004, Interview on Fox News

Well, you wanna know why I love Dean?

Recent post from his blog:

--

Guest-blogger John Daly of Richmond, VT.

My name is John. When I moved to Vermont, I was unemployed. I got a job as a dishwasher to pay the bills. Walking home soaking wet after work is a great way to get sick. I turned to the state for health care.

Under the Dean Administration, I saw a doctor for $2. I have had the pleasure of having a cavity filled for $3. (I still got a lollipop.)

I don’t wash dishes anymore. Now I own my own business. I went from eating ‘hand to mouth’ to earning ‘hand over fist’ under the Dean administration. My business is Piano Tuning. The first thing to go when things turn bad is harmony. But in Vermont I can still keep my business afloat because people know their social services are not evaporating.

Our primary goal as humans is to ensure the safety and health of our children. My clients are more willing to invest in my services than they would be if they weren’t sure their kids will be cared for.

I see the same doctor I used to see for $2 for a lot more now. But I’m proud to spend my earnings in Vermont. My spending helps my neighbor see a doctor when they need help. After my neighbor gets on their feet maybe they’ll buy a piano, and I might get to tune it.

--

It's not so radical as changing the world, it's because he's been a guy who has made government work for everyone. Anyone who does that should be rewarded with a promotion.

Pretty simple, n'est pas il?

Why I Love This Man

Ya wanna know why I love Dean? It's because he makes SENSE when he talks. He THINKS. The following is from the recent debate...

Senator Kerry, I thank you and all veterans for their distinguished service to our country. But to me, this is the only serious difference between you and the president.

From prior primary exit polls, it appears that the people of our great land identify with me more on the issues than they do with you. But I am greatly overshadowed by you on the issue of electability. I do not understand, and let me explain why.

You tell the president to 'Bring It On'. But when he does, he will be able to say that you supported him on 'No Child Left Behind'. When he does, he will be able to say you supported him on the PATRIOT act. When he does, he will be able to say you supported him on the tax cuts. When he does, he will be able to say that you supported him on the war.

You did this even when you had access to a classified document that explained the public information was likely exagerrated. Many of your fellow senators dissented. But all of what I have just mentioned, you supported. It was easy then. Bush and what he was pushing was popular. Only now do you complain and say Bush was wrong. This all applies to you too, Senator Edwards.

I stood against all of them at the time. Loudly, I challenged the Bush administration then. I also complained about the power of special interests over our government, back then in the early days of the campaign. You must now also understand the problems this poses, as you have begun speaking as I have all along. Only when it is pointed out that you have received and accepted that money, as you have also Senator Edwards, do you claim that it has no effect on you. Will not Bush say the same in his own defense?

And regarding dirty politics, there is an ad the people should know about. It was run in Iowa, partially paid for by supporters of your campaign, Senator Kerry. It showed Osama, and a voiceover said that I would not protect our country. It was similar to the one run by Republicans against another hero of Vietnam, and a supporter of yours, Max Cleland. Both were despicable ads, yet you refuse to decline the donations of those who ran it.

To the people of Wisconsin, and the entire United States, I ask you to stand with us. I try to be as direct and honest as possible, answering questions with a yes or no before I explain more fully. I like to believe that that is why so many are dedicated to this campaign. The media seems to believe it is some out of touch liberal movement. Call it liberal if that includes balancing budgets and a high rating from the NRA. To me, it is progressive, rational reform. It is all about making this country more accountable to working people. We Want Our Country Back, from those who say dissent is unamerican. And when I say 'You Have the Power', I mean you are gonna have to work for this change we want to see. There are people in Washington paid to get the laws to profit a few over the many. There are media companies that like it that way too. They are not evil, they are just doing their job.

You have the power, nay, the responsibility, to represent yourself and your children in the political process. You must find candidates to represent you, at all levels of government. You must make the committment to find out about their record and their stands on issues, even as the media seems more concerned with the horserace than differences in policy or accomplishments.

I stand here as the candidate, still 2nd in the delegate count, only because more than 600,000 people were willing to take time out of their lives in a difficult economy. I need your vote, but I ask a greater service of you. It is my hope that you take time to reflect on all of our records, plans for the future, and ability to take on and defeat George Bush. And then, do not only vote for one of us, but consider donating or volunteering your time to that campaign. Let us build a stronger party, one that inspires, one united in a new sense of community.

Oh, this is so good, it must be fattening...

Remember how Dubya, squirming and puffing through Russert's softball questions, insisted that all the info was going to come out about his military service?

Well, so far all his documents prove was that he was getting paid and he got his teeth cleaned once in Alabama.

Now it's even better. The dentist doesn't remember him.

When even your weak-ass evidence is getting rammed back down your throat, you know you're in trouble.

Good.

Three Guys Walk Into a Bar....

Three guys walk into a bar the night before the Democratic Primary. The bartender, to make conversation, says, “So who are you going to vote for?”

The first guy says, “I’m voting for Kerry. I saw on TV that he pulled a guy out of the water and saved him in Vietnam. That’s the kind of guy we need in the Whitehouse – someone who can pull us out.”

The second guy says, “I’m voting for Edwards. I saw on TV that he really cares about education, and to me nothing is more important than the future of America. That’s the kind of guy we need in the Whitehouse – someone who thinks about our future.”

The third guy is being real quiet, eating his peanuts, so the bartender asks again. “Come on, buddy, who are you voting for?”

“Well, I can’t vote for Kerry because although he was heroic in the Vietnam War he came back and married into money, then spent 20 years in the Senate without authoring or sponsoring a single bill. His voting record includes voting FOR the Iraq war and the Patriot Act. Then in 2003 he missed 70% of the votes, including the one on Medicare. I can’t vote for Edwards because he was one of the authors of the Patriot Act and now wants to blame the Justice Department for using the powers in it. I decided I have to vote for Howard Dean because while he was Governor of Vermont he provided health insurance for kids, implemented programs to reduce child abuse, supported small business and job creation, and balanced the budget for 10 years.”

The bartender says, “How do you know so much?”

The guy says, “Because I don’t watch TV.”

What I've Seen

I've been 'into' Dean since July 2003 and I think it's important to point out what I've seen so that people who aren't involved can understand how important Howard Dean is.

I've seen 18 and 80 year olds both feeling like they finally have a candidate that speaks for them.

I've seen Republicans and Libertarians who have finally found a Democrat they can vote for.

I've seen people of all colors.

I've seen the rich and the poor.

I've seen the practical and the idealists.

I've seen America.

Your vote counts. Vote DeanForAmerica.

You Know We'll Only Win If We Vote With Our Hearts

...because America isn't just a place, it's an ideal.

"Some Democrats cheated and looked into their hearts, where they found Howard Dean. But he was so appealing that he scared them. This is no moment to vote for a guy just because he inspires you, they thought. If he inspires me, there must be something wrong with him. So Democrats looked around and rediscovered John Kerry. He'd been there all along, inspiring almost no one."

Michael Kinsley in the Washington Post

Power to the People

One Dean supporters report from talking to voters in Fargo, ND.

...Most importantly, we talked about the state of democracy in this country. We both shared our concern for how we seemed so disempowered, as though someone else made our choices and all that was left was our rubber-stamping them. I talked about how democracy had become an exercise in calculation, not participation. And how when Howard Dean says “YOU HAVE THE POWER” – what he means is that you have to power to participate again; to talk to friends and neighbors and total strangers in the arctic wilderness of mid-west; to make your vote an accurate reflection of your vision for a better community and not just your best speculation on who the media can sell.

And she teared up. And so did I.

And she went into the polling room, cast her ballot for Howard Dean, came back over, ripped off her Kerry button, gave me a big hug, and went to talk to the press.

Folks…she was only one person. But there was nothing unique about [her]. She is a middle-of-the-road Democrat from a speck of a state. A teacher. Concerned about electibility. She wanted to vote for Howard Dean, but her head (and all the press) told her that Kerry was going to win and she wanted to pick the winner, the person most likely to beat George Bush.

But there’s a place where heart and head meet. It’s called your gut. And it is only in these one-on-one, face-to-face talks about who we are as a party, what we believe and what has been taken from us that we can convince people to vote with their gut.

If Wisconsin is where we make our last stand, this is how it must be done. Not in phone calls or door-to-door canvassing (though those are good things), but in the places where communities talk – in restaurants and offices, pubs and bowling alleys, at supermarkets and hardware stores, in schools and hospitals.

We are better at this than DFA [deanforamerica] is. We are.
Say that in your head again, slowly: WE ARE BETTER AT THIS.

It is up to us…person-to-person…on our own. With our own creativity and our own passion, our own time and our own money.

We can appeal to people’s guts. We can make democracy an act of participation, not calculation. We can get folks to take a leap of faith. We can make them believe again.

Posted by Chris Cooper on blogforamerica at February 5, 2004 05:16 PM

Inside CmdrSue's Studio
(Because no one is likely to ever ask me)

1. What is your favorite word? Snuggle

2. What is your least favorite word? Jumpy

3. What turns you on? Gentleness

4. What turns you off? Meanness

5. What sound or noise do you love? The forest at night.

6. What sound or noise do you hate? The TV on constantly.

7. What is your favorite curse word? Gruntbugglies

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Travel writer

9. What profession other than yours would absolutely not like to attempt? Concierge

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear god say when you arrive at the gates? Good job.

Things That Make You Say, "Hmmmm"

Transcript: Democratic Presidential Debate in Detroit

CAMERON: Senator Edwards, the PATRIOT Act, a piece of legislation that you voted for, a piece of legislation that has been much criticized by virtually everybody on this stage, falls two years old today. There has been a tremendous amount of criticism of John Ashcroft and the Justice Department for its enforcement of that legislation, legislation that you authored.

Shouldn't it, in fact, be incumbent on those of you who wrote the legislation to take responsibility for it, other than those who are legally responsible for enforcing it?

EDWARDS: Well, I did... Second, on the PATRIOT Act, which I, along with... which I, along with almost the entire United States Senate voted for -- here's the reality of the PATRIOT Act. There are some provisions in the PATRIOT Act, most of which get no attention, which did good things, which updated the law, which allowed us to go after money laundering, which allowed information-sharing, some of the problems that existed before September 11th.

The problem with the PATRIOT Act and the reason we need to make changes is because it gave entirely too much discretion to an attorney general who does not deserve it. It's that simple. And I want to...

CAMERON: But, Senator, wasn't the legislation written by the lawmakers providing that very latitude? Didn't you create that latitude in the legislation that you wrote?

EDWARDS: Yes, and the attorney general of the United States came before us and told us that he would not abuse his discretion. He has abused his discretion. He has consistently abused his discretion. We all know that now. These provisions need to be changed.

I hang my head in shame. Edwards is as bad, or worse, than Kerry. He was one of the AUTHORS of the PATRIOT Act? This is what I get for not doing enough research. Dean is still the only one who can help us out of the mire we are in.

And how about this one:

CONTACT THE MEDIA AND DEMAND A NEW HAMPSHIRE RECOUNT TODAY!!!!

THERE IS COMPELLING STATISTICAL EVIDENCE THAT THE NH ELECTION WAS FIXED USING DIEBOLD ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES!!!

If you know anything at all about statistics, you can see that there is something seriously wrong with the credibility of the New Hampshire primary election results.

Voting Tech Used and % Margin of Victory
for Kerry over Dean
Diebold 58.1%
ES&S 35.0%
Hand 4.7%

This is a dress rehearsal for November! You must act now!

ALERT THE MEDIA!

www.blackboxvoting.org

www.blackboxvoting.com

http://www.livejournal.com/users/explodedview/


Posted on www.blogforamerica.com by KEVIN SCHMIDT STERLING VA at February 3, 2004 10:18 PM

This is one of those things that can make you paranoid. And allegedly Diebold is owned by Halliburton.

Top Ten things Clarkies and Deaniacs agree on

10. Paul O'Neill is the Democrats new best friend.
9. Given the results of Iowa and New Hampshire, sobriety testing before voting should be mandatory.
8. Kerry?...KERRY?!?
7. The words "career politician" do not inspire trust and confidence.
6. Forget "time out"--the media needs a good spanking. With a belt.
5. Hint--endorsements by members of wealthy, liberal political families go from an asset to a liability once you move south of New Jersey.
4. Sharpton, Kucinich and Lieberman need to drop out. Now.
3. The American people will never put a man who looks like Treebeard in the White House.
2. Karl Rove is Satan's Puppetmaster.
1. BUSH MUST GO!!!!!!!

Posted on www.blogforamerica.com by DLPrice at February 3, 2004 08:05 PM

The Liberty Song

Come, join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
And rouse your bold hearts at fair Liberty's call;
No tyrannous acts shall suppress your just claim,
Or stain with dishonor America's name.

Chorus
In Freedom we're born and in Freedom we'll live.
Our purses are ready. Steady, friends, steady;
Not as slaves, but as Freemen our money we'll give.

Our worthy forefathers, let's give them a cheer,
To climates unknown did courageously steer;
Thro' oceans to deserts for Freedom they came,
And dying, bequeath'd us their freedom and fame.

Chorus

The tree their own hands had to Liberty rear'd,
They lived to behold growing strong and revered;
With transport they cried, Now our wishes we gain,
For our children shall gather the fruits of our pain.

Chorus

Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall;
In so righteous a cause let us hope to succeed,
For heaven approves of each generous deed.

Chorus

In Freedom we're born and in Freedom we'll live.
Our purses are ready. Steady, friends, steady;
Not as slaves, but as Freemen our money we'll give.

These American words were written by John Dickinson and published in 1768. Dickinson was one of the leaders of the American Revolution, a famous lawyer and Governor of Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Source: Popular Songs in American History

If this song has inspired you, DONATE TO DEAN for the new American Revolution!