I've made my choice; it's time for me to cast my vote

I woke up this morning going over my mental checklist of things to do today. And I decided that one of those things was to vote. I'm not even sure where I'll be or when I'm working next Tuesday. And the results in South Carolina this weekend helped me to make up my mind about whom to cast my ballot for.

Since it became obvious last October that former Vice President Al Gore would not be offering himself for president in 2008, I had been leaning towards John Edwards. He's the guy that I voted for in the 2004 Presidential Preference. And although I wasn't completely sure that I had done the right thing back then, I felt much more comfortable with him as my choice in 2008.

Edwards is a populist that just happens to hit most of the right notes with me. He's on top of healthcare issues that concern me, and could possibly affect me. And he's definitely in tune with my feelings about free trade, and what the free trade policies of people like the Bushes and the Clintons have done to this country. In short, outside of Dennis Kucinich, Edwards was the best fit for me.

I still feel that way. But I will not be voting for him today. With apologies to my many friends who are Edwards supporters, South Carolina was his last best chance to get a foothold in this race. And it just didn't happen.

I have so many friends and allies in the womens rights community that are supporting Hillary. Folks, I want to go there. I want very badly to join you. Way back in 1992, when I was working for and supporting Bill Clinton for president, I thought Hillary Clinton was someone that I would LOVE to see run for office one day. What an amazingly talented and intelligent woman with the guts to put herself out there and not be afraid to announce herself as a viable working partner to the man who would ultimately become our president!

I have always wanted more women to get involved in politics. I was thrilled to support Cathy Cox for governor of Georgia in 2006. And I'm looking forward to supporting Lisa Borders for mayor of Atlanta in the near future.

Women have had to fight their way to the table. And then they've had to put up with the smirking, the tush patting, and the condescension. They have had to go the extra mile and for less pay in many vocations just be true equals to their male counterparts.

My own mother is the reason why I care so much about what happens to women in our society. She was a woman that was shunned by her Baptist community in the 1950's because she divorced her first husband. It didn't seem to matter that she would have to sometimes stay home for several days behind closed doors in order to allow her black eyes or her busted lips to heal. To many, she was just a woman. And she was bound by her duties as a wife and a daughter of Christ as they mistakenly decided that it should be.

Here was a woman who was her class salutorian, with the intelligence to do anything that she wanted. But she never dreamed big dreams. Partially because she wasn't allowed to. Simply because she was female. She was encouraged to do nothing more than to find her husband, bear his children, and raise them according to religious and community standards.

She was also a woman, whom when my father became so sick and his business failed, had to step in and become a breadwinner, a disciplinarian, the head of the house, and everything else that my father had been in addition to being the loving and emotional heartbeat of her family. She worked in my high school lunchroom, and then K-mart, and then Goodwill. And she was someone who humbly accepted that anything above minimum wage was a "good day's pay for a woman."

This was a woman, that to her last day on this earth on February 12, 2007, gave everything she had away to others that she knew needed it more. My mother was an example of Christian liberalism without ever having known it. Because it was never her intention. But that is what she was. She gave of herself more than she ever received of anyone. And yet for most of her life she felt that she had no voice. That's just not right.

I would love for someone like Hillary to be her voice. But I just don't buy it.

I understand that women need role models, just like any other group does. And I understand that Hillary is that role model for many of today's women. I respect that. In a way, that is an accomplishment in and of itself. Believe me when I say that I'm with you in your intentions. I just disagree on the woman.

The Clintons that I thought I was getting didn't turn out to be what I had envisioned. Not out of what I simply wanted as a 20 year old thrilled to be involved in the elections process for the first time, but because of what I still feel to this day was promised - by them, themselves.

I thought I was getting one more step towards equality in the lives of those in the GLBT community. Instead I got "Don't ask, don't tell." And then in his second term I got the Defense of Marriage Act.

I thought I was getting someone who understood the value of the middle class, as well as the need to protect the lower classes from corporate America. Instead I got NAFTA, WTO, and other free trade organizations that have zapped jobs, family time with parents who now have to work 2 jobs to make what they used to make at 1, and decreased the power of the average American.

I thought I was getting someone who protested Vietnam because he loved America, not hated it. Because he wanted Americans to give their lives as a last resort, and for the right reasons. What I got was a president whose administration enabled a self-declared enemy of this nation (and in turn everyone that I care about) to leap forward by decades in missile technology possibly endangering our very lives. Meanwhile, we had their officials, including military leaders, renting out the Lincoln Bedroom.

To top it off, Hillary ended up supporting Bush's Iraq war.

I thought I was getting a Democrat. What I got was a Democratic president who ran his 1996 re-election campaign like a Republican. And then governed like one too. Ultimately, he hurt his V.P.'s presidential campaign in 2000. And, along with Hillary, tepidly supported John Kerry's bid in 2004. After all, Hillary didn't want to have to run against a Democratic incumbent in 2008. If there was ever any question in my mind about the Clintons' goals vs. Democratic goals (along with the good of the country), that was answered in the last 2 presidential elections. We are now left with 8 years worth of memories of the worst president (George W. Bush) to ever occupy the Oval Office.

No, the 8 years of the Clinton presidency wasn't all bad. It had its moments. And we were better off with what we got rather than another 4 years of George H.W. Bush or Bob Dole. But that doesn't fix everything. Furthermore, I'm not a Clintonite. I washed my hands of that in 1996 when I voted 3rd party as a protest vote.

And, yes, I know that it's Hillary that is running for president, and not Bill. But let's get something straight. She's used her 8 years as First Lady to say that she's more experienced than the other contenders. She also inherits the goodwill and affection that most Democrats had for Bill and his two terms in office. No matter what anyone says, her legacy is tied with Bill's. And she has used that to her advantage.

This is all fair game in 2008. Bill has thoroughly interjected himself in this race. And with each passing day he sullies his own reputation by playing the race card. The man who is beloved within the African American community and known as "America's first black president" is now dropping casual references to feel good, but failed campaigns past by African American presidential candidates. It's almost as if he's saying it can't really happen. That's so beneath him.

Could Hillary stand on her own two feet? The answer is yes. She had an opportunity as a United States senator to distinguish herself. Instead, she took the political DLC route and governed as her husband had governed in office with few idealogical or policy differences. That's not the Hillary that we knew in 1992. If Hillary had been running for president in 1992, I would've voted for her.

So, no, I cannot with good faith cast my vote for Hillary.

If I believed that her ambitions were about more than just power, I would do differently. If I believed that having Hillary as president would help the lives of the average woman like my mother, I would vote for her.

Call me an idealist, but I washed my hands of political centrism a year ago. Those of us on the left have bitten our tongues for the sake of political expediency too often. And we've gotten so little in return for it. Meanwhile these centrist politicians get exactly what they want. They get the power, they get the prestige, and it doesn't really matter what happens to average Americans who need them to be their voice.

Instead I'm voting for someone who I doubted a few months ago. I doubted his experience, his leadership abilities, and his political sustainance. But as time has marched on, I've come to respect and admire Barack Obama. He has experience in all the right places. Maybe not as an elected official. But as someone who has stood up and been counted in several different communities.

I will no longer doubt his leadership. This is a man that was against Bush's Iraq War when it wasn't politically advantageous to be so. To stand amongst the few and fight the good fight, that's courage. Anybody could do what Hillary did on the Iraq vote along with everything that she has done since. As her husband was so often accused of, she seems to govern by polls. But what Obama did took leadership.

And, finally, I no longer doubt his ability to put up a fight. We all know what the Democratic nominee will face this fall. It'll get ugly. But when things got ugly in South Carolina this weekend, Obama stood strong. He stared down Hillary's attacks at the last debate. And he has shown that he's not going to cower to a popular former president and party leader. He stood strong and he prevailed.

I have no idea what will happen next Feb. 5th. Or the week after that, or the week after that. But I suppose I can take what satisfaction there is from exercising my right to voice my opinion. No one should feel influenced by my choices in this race or any other. They should look into what's important for them and make up their own minds. And now, I've done just that.

Why do I have such a sense of dread about 2008?

I have been tending to other things these last few weeks. Work, sick people, family and friends, my dog, and all that encompasses the life of a dead politician. And now I'm ready to throw an opinion or two out there. I just hate that it's going to sound so negative. But that's my general feeling on this cold day in January.

First of all, it was great to see Obama win Iowa. That really seemed to put the Clinton machine on its collective heels. However, it has also brought out the negative attacks from Bill. It's truly payback time isn't it? For so many years, Hillary worked dilligently behind the scenes as Bill's attack dog. Speaking of which, does anyone know where Lani Guinier is these days? The last time she crossed her old pals' path she became a Clinton political casualty.

Thanks in no small part to Hillary, "Kiddo" went from being Bill's nominee for Attorney General to being left to die a slow and painful death as the national media and Republicans destroyed her reputation. Now, Bill's repaying his debt to Hillary.

On the Republican side of things, why in the hell would Michigan voters prefer Mitt Romney over anyone? Perhaps the state hit hardest by free traders and their middle class-destroying policies, Michiganders preferred Romney, a confirmed and unrepentent free trader, in the Republican primary. That state may have distinguished itself as a prime example of how America could end up with not just one term of George W. Bush, but two.........

Back to the Dems, John Edwards (who probably best represents me and my views) is hanging in there. But he sure could use a win somewhere. Two months ago I thought that he might win South Carolina and Georgia. After all, he has Carolinian roots. Plus he has the support of several prominent Georgia Dems such as former Gov. Roy Barnes. But it's not looking good for him.

I have this sense of dread. With Edwards on the ropes, Obama may become our only hope for a win in November. However, he's being pulled into a mud slinging contest by two of the best smear artists around. That's not his game. And it's taking him off message and distracting voters. Why does it seem like we've been here before?

No one can defeat Democrats like Democrats themselves.

Why is it that we can have 8 years of the worst Republican leadership possible and still be looking down the barrel of another defeat? Why am I sitting here in January already dreading November?

"Evangelical Cancer" on the Military?

I saw this article by Col. David Antoon on Truthdig via Alternet. He talks about some differences that he's noticed from his time at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado as compared to what he and his son experienced at his son's orientation..........


"Instead, my son's orientation became an opportunity for the academy to aggressively proselytize this next crop of cadets. Maj. Warren Watties led a group of 10 young, exclusively evangelical chaplains who stood shoulder to shoulder. He proudly stated that half of the cadets attended Bible studies on Monday nights in the dormitories and he hoped to increase this number from those in his audience who were about to join their ranks. This "invitation" was followed with hallelujahs and amens by the evangelical clergy. I later learned from Air Force Academy chaplain MeLinda Morton, a Lutheran who was forced to observe from the choir loft, that no priest, rabbi or mainline Protestant had been permitted to participate.

I no longer recognize the Air Force Academy as the institution I attended almost four decades earlier. At that point, I had no idea how invasive this extreme evangelical "cancer" had become throughout the entire military, that what I had witnessed was far from an isolated case of a few religious zealots."


Col. Antoon goes on to remind us of the ties between the oft discussed Eric Prince and Blackwater USA and the Bush administration that are deeply rooted in religion..........


"As described by Jeremy Scahill in his book "Blackwater," Prince, who attended the U.S. Naval Academy, comes from a wealthy theo-con family, is a "neo-crusader," and a Christian supremacist. He has been given billions of dollars in federal contracts to create a private army. COO Schmitz, another Naval Academy graduate, is a member of the Order of Malta, a Christian supremacist organization dating back to the Crusades, and happens to be married to the sister of Jeb Bush's wife, Columba. And Cofer Black, former coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department and former director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, who was quoted by the BBC as saying "Capture Bin Laden, kill him and bring his head back in a box on dry ice," brings his own skill set to the Blackwater team as vice chairman.

The Christian supremacist fascism first reported at the Air Force Academy is endemic throughout the military. From the top down, there has been a complete repudiation of constitutional values and time-honored codes of ethics and honor codes in favor of religious ideology. And we now have a revolving door between Blackwater USA, which is Bush's Praetorian Guard, and the U.S. military at every level. The citizen-soldier military dictated by our founding fathers has been replaced with professional and mercenary right-wing Christian crusaders in control of the world's most powerful military. The risks to our democratic form of government cannot be overstated. "


Unfortunately, many mainstream, well-meaning Christians will dismiss such things saying that anything involving Christianity can't be a threat to our nation and our freedom. But they will be wrong about that. If the United States is ever to be toppled, it will probably involve fundamentalist Christians with fear and hatred of people who are not of their exact beliefs. And their weapon of choice will be the Holy Bible.

The whole article is worth a read...........

Speaker Richardson, I've got one for you too.........

Before I start, I know this post won't be the most popular one I've ever entered into this blog. It's very true that I am the product of a man that looked at a Beta VCR and saw the future. As a result of those genes, I frequently find myself going against the grain.

Now, let's not kid anyone here. Even a part time glancer at this blog knows that I am against the death penalty. The reasons are many, and it's really not important to get into all of that right now. So you know where I'm coming from. What is important, is to point out the temerity of Georgia Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson.

Everyone remembers Brian Nichols. Not quite three years ago, he went on a courthouse rampage that left several people dead. Much of what took place happened in a very public way. There's no question about Nicholson's guilt or innocence. The only issue that needs resolving is Nichols' ultimate fate.

Understandably, many have clammored for the death penalty. Unfortunately, the Nichols case became a convenient talking point for politicians who favor such a punishment. In fact, last year, politicians from Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to Speaker Richardson made good use of it.

So when a plea deal on Nichols' behalf for life in prison without parole came up, the very idea of such a disposition didn't sit well with folks like the Governor and the Speaker.

Not surprisingly, every Superior Court judge in Fulton County recused themselves from hearing the case. Not out of fear or for some unreasonable excuse, but because they all knew the Superior Court judge and other court personnel that Nichols attacked and killed. Enter retired Senior Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller from another district to hear the case.

We have estimates of trial costs for Nicholson of upwards of $5,000,000 on both sides. Nicholson is being represented by public counsel. So in order to grant the Governor's and Speaker's death wish, this is the price that we must pay. The problem is that the defense has run out of money to mount a sufficient defense for a man that many want to see die. And before people get the idea that most of that money is going to the defense, it isn't. Prosecutors are mounting a huge case of over 300 witnesses that promises to keep Nancy Grace in business for quite a while to come.

In light of that, Judge Fuller has postponed the Nicholson trial several times. Fuller has also expressed his displeasure with the General Assembly for failing to appropriately fill the indigent defense fund coffers. Consider the General Assembly's cage rattled. Speaker Richardson wants a panel to probe Judge Fuller's actions.

In other words, how dare the judge point his finger at the very people who are responsible for the money shortage?

Apparently, Speaker Richardson feels that Brian Nichols is subhuman and not deserving of an adequate defense. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we all know that Nichols did it. And we all know how horrible the consequences of that terrible day have been for so many people. But Judge Fuller isn't the one to blame here.

Just imagine if Judge Fuller allowed this case to proceed with the defense attorneys not being given what they need to do their jobs. You should be able to smell the words "appeal" and "Supreme Court" and "retry" coming at this point.

Yet, Speaker Richardson's reaction isn't what I would expect it to be. Instead of working with the General Assembly and the Governor to find the necessary monies, he wants to have Judge Fuller impeached - impeached for nothing more than seeing that Brian Nichols is given his constitutionally protected right to an adequate and reasonable defense. You know, one of the bedrock principles that this country was founded on.

So Speaker Richardson, if you're so anxious to play judge, jury, and excutioner, go right ahead. But pay for it. Pay for your blood lust. We had a life in prison without parole deal on the table. But it wasn't good enough. You're getting what you want. So ante up!

I feel like picking a bone today.........

Okay, in a way, I do actually get a small kick out of watching three Republican governors finger point, call names, and go running to the White House to tell on one another. But, folks, the water crisis is serious. Despite water conferences between the three (Florida's Governor Crist is new to the fray) from Tallahassee to Bainbridge to Dothan, the states of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama just can't seem to share the water. So, we'll likely see things settled in a federal court. Hopefully, it will be a settlement that all three states can live with.

Yesterday's AJC contained a guest column by Alabama Gov. Bob Riley where he had this to say in response to Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue's assertion that Florida and Alabama are trying to take Georgia's drinking water:


"Contrary to some of the recent heated rhetoric emanating in Georgia, Alabama doesn't seek to cut off drinking water supplies to the Atlanta region. But Alabama cannot stand by and watch Georgia make a claim on the water in those reservoirs as if it belonged only to Atlanta. Downstream communities in Alabama and Georgia depend on the releases from those reservoirs to meet drinking water needs in times of drought as well as to support industry. If the water is not released, then the industries will be forced to shut down, and thousands of Alabama and Georgia families will lose their source of income."


Not to be outdone, Perdue offered a response criticizing the Corps of Engineers and suggesting that the amount of water Gov. Riley claims that Alabama needs isn't accurate in today's AJC saying:


"I will not stand for negligence when it comes to protecting Georgians' water supply. The Corps of Engineers' culpability grows every day. I will continue to seek a reasonable solution from the president of the United States, and by working with my friends in Alabama, but I cannot allow Riley's inaccurate assertions to go unchallenged."


Perdue won't stand for "negligence", eh? Well, former Georgia Democratic Party chair, Bobby Kahn weighs in over at Peach Pundit, and points out that Georgia's water crisis might at least be partially blamed on the Governor's own negligence (h/t Amy):


"Before Perdue was elected, Georgia was implementing a water plan. The Department of Natural Resources was looking to build reservoirs in North Georgia controlled by the state that would be used for drinking water. Currently, the lakes that supply the water to the Metro Atlanta region are controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers and have other purposes, including providing power and serving downstream environmental needs. That plan has been delayed for at least five years. As a result, Georgia finds itself fighting the Corps because we waited."



It seems that as Gov. Perdue postures and gyrates before the state's media, throwing in a punch or two to please the home folks, he himself has played a role in our water shortage. Considering that last year was a re-election year for the governor, it's disappointing that water wasn't a large issue between he and his opponent. Come to think of it, neither was transportation, nor the overdevelopment of north Georgia, which also contributes to our water problems. Consequently, south and western Georgians as well as Alabamians and Floridians are paying a price too.

So I'm hoping that the armchair political QB's that spent 2006 defending the slimey tactics of the undynamic duo of Perdue and Mark Taylor, and being concerned more about winning the election than actually solving the problems of the state are now happy. Continuing to turn important races that should be based on a little thing called issues rather than Wikipedia entries or writing letters to the editor over sports section headlines.

And if you're reading this and feeling a finger poking in your eye, don't blame me. You can't fault us "idealists" for feeling this way.

You want a good dose of "realism?" Well, I hope you can drink this bit of reality. Whether it be mussel farmers, people paying higher prices for electricity, or those of us facing water rationing, someone is going to be hurting - at least for a while.

Somehow I doubt that the any of the three states are completely right about their arguments. But I know this much, Georgia (metro Atlanta anyway) has made some unhealthy contributions to this crisis that plagues us.

So for our part, I'd like to humbly apologize to our neighbors and friends in "the other Georgia" as well as in the states of Alabama and Florida. Try not to hold it against us all.

Ode to the Mullet

Since I blogged about Izzy's slow recovery from his surgery a couple of weeks ago, many of you have continued to ask me about him. I'm glad to say that Izzy is almost back to his old self. But notice that I did say "almost."

One thing that has been slow to change is that his hair hasn't grown back where it was shaved, right on top of his little head. Now that it is coming back in little by little, he looks like a dog version of Billy Ray Cyrus complete with a doggy-mullet!

Which reminds me of 1984, when I - yes, I - had a mullet. But wait, wait.......if you're old enough, you probably had a mullet too! When I look at pictures of my teen years, I sometimes see my hair short and sort of spikey on top and longish in the back with a curl around my left ear. And before you ask, no, I won't be posting pics of that. ;-)

I was 12 in 1984, and I thought I was cool. I mostly wore tank tops or muslce shirts to show off my lanky arms and skinny upper body. I even wore cut off blue jeans now and then. But I also had a fascination with Panama Jack. I think the other difference in me that year was that I carried a pocket knife in my front pocket. It was a gift that I hadn't asked for. Nevertheless I walked around with it, along with my plastic comb handle sticking out of my back pocket.

I was thinking of Izzy's doggy-mullet this week and telling this same story to a girl that is 20 years old. It suddenly saddened me to realize that my mullet PRE-dates her existance!

Okay, now that I've given you an unpleasant visual, and perhaps rekindled some memories for you, it's important to remind everyone that even celebrities and sex symbols wore mullets. Soap stars, movie stars, sports figures, pin up girls and hunks, you name it and they had it.

Even fashionable women like tennis champ Chris Evert had one. I remember when she cut her hair off, perm fried it, and dyed it blond in a trashy, vampy sort of look so unlike the previous pristine Prissy Chrissy look with the long hair in a pony tail complete with bow. It was a part of her 80's power look, which she came up with when she switched from a wooden racquet to graphite and took up weight training in order to catch her great rival (and fellow mulleteer), Martina Navratilova.

By 1987, Chris' mullet did something quite scary. It grew wings! She curled her bangs over her forehead and created a tall dome on top of her head that extended down to her shoulders. Exactly what kind of hair products it took to perfect that look, I have no idea. Thankfully, my mullet never looked like it could fly away or knock down low flying planes like her's did.

So thanks everyone for asking about Izzy. Know that he's doing well and keeping me on my toes. As I look across the room, he's lying in the sun on his back tanning his pinkish belly. He looks comfy, so I may go over and do the same thing. However, we won't be sharing hairstyles!

Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize

Al Gore shares this year's Nobel Peace Prize along with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate for their efforts to call the world's attention to global warming and the measures needed to fight it. The Nobel committee recognized Gore's early attention to the matter.

The committee's decision to also honor the panel was a smart one. Those men and women have made great contributions in taking out the politics of the issue out, and establishing validity to the idea that global warming is indeed happening, and that humans are contributing to it.

Of course, this will spur on more speculation that Gore might be talked into jumping into the 2008 presidential race. Personally, I'm just happy to see the guy finally getting the credit that he deserves on an issue that is affecting every living thing on this earth.

On MSNBC this morning, former President Jimmy Carter was asked to comment on Gore's Nobel Peace Prize. He said that he was extremely happy for Gore, and that he hopes that Gore will participate in another "political event."

Could he have been expressing his wish to see Al enter the race? I take it to mean that. Although he could've also been talking about a future run for president beyond 2008 as well. The Gores and Carters have always been extremely close, including several joint collaborations between Rosalynn Carter and Tipper Gore on mental health issues.

Contrastly, the relationship between the Clintons and Carters has never been friendly. Not only have they had policy disagreements, but personal ones as well. Even to the point of Carter refusing to attend the 1996 Democratic National Convention, and subsequent inauguration. As well as Hillary's snub of Rosalynn Carter at a late 90's event in Atlanta for Georgia Democratic women, in which Douglas Brinkely ("The Unfinished Presidency") quoted Mrs. Carter as saying was, "hurtful."

Although, it is important to remember that Pres. Carter did invite John Edwards to Americus, GA to speak earlier this year. So, I feel sure that he will actively support whoever the Democratic nominee ultimately is.

Does the new "Bionic Woman" have fembots and cheesy sound effects?

Carter Slams Cheney; Al Gore Finally Getting his Due

Former President Jimmy Carter took another swing at our amoral Veep yesterday, saying that Dick Cheney, "hasn't been right on hardly anything." Carter went on to call Cheney a "disaster" with "undue influence" on the president.

I'm sure that conservatives and the whacko right will come down hard on Carter for his comments, as they usually do. You see, they can't refute what he says with facts. Because the facts rarely support their efforts to cover up for wayward Republican presidents and officials. Instead, they'll try to dismiss Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and go back to thinking of new and creative ways in which to spin the the unspinnable.

They'll also spout out some kind of hullabaloo about former presidents not speaking ill of the current administration. Which is always a hypocritical route to take considering that former President Reagan spent 8 years distorting the records of Carter and even fellow Republicans Ford and Nixon, just to deflect any criticism from him. I guess when Carter started firing back at Reagan they thought that they were entitled to some sort of presidential exception.

But frankly, I appreciate it when the former president calls upon his wealth of knowledge and experience to pass opinions - both good and bad - about how the current occupants of the White House are doing. It's not like he held his tongue when Bill Clinton was in office. So if Republicans stomp their feet and give in to their usual anti-Carter rants, just suggest to them that they should actually consider what he's saying. Because all Carter did was state the obvious.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Al Gore, 7 years removed from having the 2000 presidential election stolen from him, can feel a certain amount of gratification. Draft Gore launched their last best move in which to attempt to lure Gore into the 2008 presidential race. I more or less gave up any real hopes that Gore would enter the race during the summer. Since then I've operated on the assumption that I'm going to have to choose from the current crop of Democrats to support. If I voted my heart, I'd probably go with Dennis Kucinich. If I went with our best chance of winning in 2008, I'd vote for John Edwards. However, it would do my heart good to see Al step in this race, and step over Hillary and give us a real shot at changing the fortunes of this country.

Instead, we may have to settle for supporting Gore's chances for a Nobel Peace Prize. Still, it's great to see so many people embracing Al. He's possibly given more to us than we've given him.

Hillary: First Iraq, now Iran?

For someone who says that she regrets voting to give Bush authorization to use force against Iraq, Hillary sure has a funny way of showing it. Last week, Hillary became the only candidate for the Democratic nomination for POTUS to side with Sen. Lieberman to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group. For a more informed read into exactly what the Bush administration has in store for Iran, thanks to the Hillary's and Lieberman's of the world, take a looksy at Seymour M. Hersh's New Yorker article, "Shifting Targets."

The only question is when do the bombs start falling on Iran?

Hillary's being roundly criticized for her support of Lieberman and Bush here, here, here, and here, and justifiably so.

h/t: Beyond the Clintons and BlueBloggin

My poor baby.........

My friend Izzy is 11 years old now. He's normally picky, vivacious, spoiled, fiercely loyal, hard-headed, affectionate, and plays like a puppy.

But yesterday, he had to have a large mass (benign, thankfully) removed and 4 teeth extracted. His poor little head is shaved, he has stitches in 2 places, and he's still feelings the effects of the procedures.

He's just so pitiful. He can't stop staring at me. And he wants to be no where else but in my lap - which he is right now. This isn't the Izzy that I've known and loved for so long.

I know that what we did yesterday was for his own benefit. But I didn't expect him to be quite this way. Which makes me feel that I didn't ask enough questions before hand. I'm told that he should be "back to normal" in about a week.

Still, it's hard to watch him suffer. He whines and whimpers a bit from the pain. I give him the pills for pain that his vet prescribed for him. But only when he gets to that point.

So if you can spare a positive thought or two for Izzy today, please do so. Trust me, he deserves it.

"........bad people with evil intent"

Wow, I hope that my Georgia readers and others will wander over to Lydia Cornell's blog and check out "Blackwater Takes Taxpayer Money." Lydia reminds us that Obama and Clinton are upcoming guests on Basham and Cornell Radio. Recent guests have included Kucinich and Edwards. Their interviews are available from their archives.

She also threw this in:

"Best selling author John Grisham is finally speaking out. He said the current administration is built around "bad people with evil intent" and contends President Bush played politics as thousands died in Iraq. "

She then includes an article by Corey Flintoff on Blackwater and its GOP and fundamentalist Christian ties.

Great read.......go check it out.

AJC's "Life or Death" series

This week's AJC special series on the death penalty has made for some interesting reading for those of us that are interested in the topic. So far, lots of different angles have been covered by the AJC staff in terms of what kinds of cases get consideration, prosecutors and their personal feelings on the issue and what goes into their decision to seek or not seek the death penalty, concious and unconcious racism, jury perspectives, and the role of DNA in the acquittal of several residents of death row.

Regular readers of this blog might recall that I used to be in favor of capital punishment. However, over time, my position has changed. It has changed because I do not believe that the death penalty is a deterrent to crimes involving murder. Not to mention the fact that we now know for sure that there have been defendents found guilty of murder and sentenced to death who should not have been. Yes, the death penalty is fallible yet irrevocable once administered. Also, I don't think that I can morally justify the deliberate taking of life sanctioned by government, especially in light of such risk of getting it wrong.

More and more Americans are reaching the same conclusions that I have. The AJC's research shows that fewer prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and fewer juries are willing to levy it. According to this Heather Vogell article in the AJC, here are some reasons why:


"Ten of the 38 death penalty states have put executions on hold — seven because of challenges that lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, according to state officials and the Death Penalty Information Center.

Exonerations of death row criminals because of DNA and other evidence have also heightened fear that an innocent person could be executed, experts say.

Scott Sundby, a law professor and death penalty expert at Washington and Lee University, said he believes better training and support for defense lawyers also explain the drop in death trials. Three U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 2000 have underscored that the court will overturn a death sentence if the defendant is not represented properly.

The cost of death penalty prosecutions has climbed as capital defense has grown more thorough. Sundby said those higher costs, the reduced odds of victory, and a perception that perhaps the public isn't demanding death as it once did may all be discouraging prosecutors from taking death cases to trial."



But, rest assured, there are "though on crime" zealots out there that are trying to reverse these trends in spite of what we are finding out about the death penalty and the social issues surrounding it. Vogell notes that earlier this year, a group of them tried to change the law requiring a unanimous decision to impose the death penalty be changed to make it easier to get more death penalty verdicts. Surprisingly, we even had a Democratic gubernatorial candidate pander to those zealots in 2006 by coming out in favor of applying the death penalty to cases not involving murder.

I've mentioned this before, but I grew up in a home that was located approximately 15 miles from the heinous 1973 Alday murders, committed by escaped convicts from Maryland on a joyride through north Florida and south Georgia. Not only that, but based on the accounts of several different books and a movie on the subject, the killers drove right past the turnoff for our dirt road, not even 2 miles from where we lived. They also stopped at the mom and pop grocery store where I was later to work during my high school years. I even worked with an attorney that was assigned to defend one of the defendents in the original trial held in Donalsonville.

One of the most shocking aspects of this brutal crime was that it was so random. According to my parents, we were home. I was a little over a year old. So I never experienced the full shock of the actual events. But it left the people of our small, rural community devasted. By all accounts, these murderers killed good, decent, hard working people who may have been of simple means (as we all were), but were valuable assets to their community.

While the others received jail sentences, ringleader Carl Isaacs got the death penalty. Isaacs became the longest serving resident of Georgia's death row as he spent 30 years filing appeals and eventually won a new trial. During those 30 years, he spent much of it calling the residents of south Georgia "rednecks" and mocking the survivors of his victims by saying, "The only signifcant thing the Aldays ever did was to get murdered by me." However, Isaacs did eventually meet his date with death in 2003.

Perhaps even more cruel is the fact that the Alday family and the residents of Seminole County continued to suffer the consequences of Isaacs' and his friends' actions. With all of the male members of the Alday family dead, their widows and children lost their farms. The county, being one of the smallest and most poor in the entire state, was financially strapped and unable to provide some services to its own residents because it was burdened by Isaacs' endless appeals and chicanery.

So if anyone ever deserved the death penalty, it was Carl Isaacs.

I go into such personal detail, not to pretend in any way that I could ever understand the 30 year nightmare of the Alday survivors. Because I can't. I do it because I want those of you that care to read this to know that I don't sympathize with people who do such horrible things. My sympathies lie with the victims.

But even having known some of the people involved in one of the most traumatizing events in the history of the state of Georgia, I think it's important for people who support the death penalty to look into and understand the complexities of the issue. There are problems - serious problems that cross racial lines, economic lines, and go right to the heart of our sense of right and wrong. It's something that we all should consider.

One and done baby!

Dawgs take it in OT in T-town! h/t Dawg Videos

Radical Christian Conservative "Activists" Gear Up for 2008

First of all, if you haven't figured it out by now, if someone introduces themselves to you as a "Christian conservative activist," this is your cue to run away as quickly as you can in the opposite direction. Because these are people that are led by some of the most evil people on the face of the planet. It's not necessarily that they are evil people themselves. It's just that their fundamentalist "I'm right, you're wrong, and you're going to burn in Hell for all eternity" Sunday School brainwashing has prevented otherwise reasonably intelligent people from joining the rest of society in the 21st century where religion sits alongside science and reason.

I have said and will always believe that the downfall of the Republican Party was their late 70's marriage to the far right Christian evangelical radicals. President Reagan's alliance with Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority paid short term dividends. Falwell dishonestly convinced Middle America Christians that President Carter wasn't a Christian at all, but a man given to secular thought and a supporter of immorality. And Christians went to the polls in droves to oust Carter and annoint Reagan, a man who didn't even go to church.

Meanwhile, Carter spends the rest of his public life dirtying his hands with things that Falwell never, ever did. Notice that Carter doesn't spend his time touring Europe, Japan, Australia, etc. vacationing in lavish hotels and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees, even though he could. Instead, he focuses most of his energy on helping people that are otherwise forgotten by most of the world - the sick, the starving, and poor people who have little control over their own lives. You know, the people that many Christians claim to care about but don't do anything for.

But those short term benefits are now long passed. Even many Republicans have begun to move away from radical evangelicals' dangerous fundamentalist philosophies while maintaing their own faith. However, someone forgot to tell President Bush about this trend. His adminstration is littered with quite a few of the dimmest minds of Falwell's Liberty University. Funny, I would've expected more accomplished people from places like Harvard, Duke, or Stanford.

These radicals have noticed the fact that they're losing their grip on mainstream politics. And they're meeting in Florida to rally the troops:

"In Tampa, most panels stuck to hot-button themes aimed at
getting Florida conservatives involved in politics: The Homosexual Agenda. Life Issues. Redeeming the Culture Through the Legal System. The Church and Voter Registration. Several speakers highlighted threats from militant Islam, an increased emphasis in the movement."

In other words, their tactics haven't changed. Preach and encourage discrimination and hate against the LGBT community, put the government back in control of a woman's own body and using the death penalty as a cruel and racist tool, misusing the legal system to enforce their rigid, fundamentalist, flawed beliefs, and refuse to seperate church and state. And if all else fails, ignore their own shortcomings by pointing out radicals of other religions.

One of the absolute few bright spots in Georgia politics in 2006 was the repudiation of Ralph Reed. For that to happen in a red state was a significant sign nationally. But that doesn't mean that these radicals have given up. They're obviously getting ready for another round of battles in 2008.

Thank goodness for the Blogroll!

I didn't have a lot of time for posting last week. But I did do a lot of reading from the blogroll. Thanks guys and girls for keeping me informed..........

Mel means business (even on Saturday morning) with this youtube clip that she posted over at Blog for Democracy. The recall of various Chinese goods has been on my mind all year long as my archives will attest. So I'm happy to see that Wake Up Walmart is focusing on this.

Larry is all over Blackwater USA. They just happen to be major donors of the Republican Party, and they also have contracts with the our government to the tune of $500 million. No bids are necessary apparently. Along those same lines, Beyond the Clintons posted a youtube clip all about "Blood for Oil." Give that clip a look. Bush definitely has some low friends in high places.

Over at Blue Bloggin', nytexan blogs about an odd quote from our illustrious Yale grad prez.

Christopher picked up CREW's list of this year's "Most Corrupt Members of Congress" list. Not surprisingly there are only 3 or 4 Dems on the entire list. So I felt the need to congratulate Georgia's own Rep. David Scott for being one of them. You read all about his "service" to the public here.

David Sirota talked about the "New NAFTA." I never imagined that I would be so disappointed with this Democratically controlled Congress. From weak leadership that allows a president with approval ratings in the 20's and 30's to run roughshod over them to a sellout of the American middle class, it's almost as bad as having a Republican controlled Congress again.

Flack attack puts the spotlight on Sadie Fields. Leaving 200K poor kids uninsured isn't very Christian-like. And neither is lying about it. She needs some knee pads for her nightly prayers, because she's got a lot to ask for forgiveness for.

And Birmingham Blues made some interesting observations about the "Jena 6" story. She asked the important question of why black students had to ask for permission to sit under a tree where white students normally sit in the year 2006. Unbelievable..............

Oh, and I wanted to do a posting about UGA vs. Alabama this week. These two used to be huge rivals for about 50 years. In fact, Alabama's fight song "Yea Alabama" includes references to three schools, two of which are UGA and Georgia Tech.

But when Georgia Tech and Tulane withdrew from the conference in 1963, the SEC did some badly needed revamping of the conference schedules. Unfortunately, the UGA vs. Alabama series ceased to be an annual game. Still, when the Dawgs and Tide get together, it's usually a great game.

So here's hoping that Richt and the boys can "hunker down" tonight in Tuscaloosa. But they'll have to do it without Larry.

Ditch the Electoral College?

Since Republicans are trying to move California away from a winner-take-all electoral state, perhaps it's time to seriously think about doing away with the electoral college altogether. This isn't a new question. There have been proponents of a move to deciding elections for POTUS by popular vote for as long as I can remember. But considering the popular vote would've spared the U.S., and indeed the world, a George W. Bush presidency these last 7 years, that idea sounds like one deserving of some thought.

Just think, Al Gore would probably be in his second term right now. Thousands of soldiers and possibly millions of Iraqi civilians who were alive in 2000 would still be alive today. Our country would be involved with peaceful, constructive plans of action for stability in the Middle East, and not the cause of further unrest. Millions of people around the world who either looked favorably towards the United States or at least were neutral would not look upon our country as the instigator of war and suffering. And thousands of people who have decided to devote their lives and the lives of their children to terrorism against the United States and its allies would likely be going about their business every day without giving us more than a second thought.

On the homefront, the city of New Orleans would likely be well ahead of where it is now in their recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina. We would've never seen thousands of mostly poor, African American faces wandering around on I-10 bypasses wondering why no one seems to care as their loved ones suffer from thirst and dysentary, and their homes lay under water.

There would've never been an Attorney General John Ashcroft, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, or a Patriot Act restricting the freedoms of average Americans, while giving their government overreaching powers that could turn freely elected leaders into tyrants and dictators. There would have been no Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to send our troops into action without all proper equipment and forms of protection. Corporations like Haliburton wouldn't have their own hotline to the Vice President giving them a very large say in our nation's foreign and domestic affairs. And maybe, just maybe the people responsible for 9/11 would be apprehended and dealt with long ago. Or maybe there would've never even been a 9/11? I don't know if that's fair to say or not. But an America led by Al Gore would not be in the quagmire it is today.

Yes, deciding the winner of the 2000 presidential election by popular vote sounds good indeed.

Every other elected office in this country is decided by popular vote. So why not POTUS? I understand the need for every state to ensure that it has some level of importance in deciding our leader. It should be a 50 state process with all 50 states getting to see the candidates up close and personal. But when you see how the polarizing tags of "red state" and "blue state" diminish the importance of some states by one party or another, I'm not so sure that we wouldn't be improving things by going to the popular vote.

I found the National Popular Vote website via BuzzFlash. According to them, these Georgians are amongst the hundreds of politicians nationally that support their effort.

My Common Cause bretheren have been supportive of this movement for a while too. Maybe it's time I considered joining them?

Bush and China and the Death Penalty

Bush is in Sydney, Australia for the APEC summit. Yesterday, he spent 90 minutes with China's leader Hu Jintou. Amongst the topics for discussion were currency exchange, product safety, and North Korea. And Bush accepted an invitation to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

New York Democratic Senator and China critic, Chuck Schumer, wasn't satisfied with the results of what Bush called a " very constructive " conversation with the Chinese leader, saying:

``We need to get China to start playing by the rules on currency, safety of exports, and allowing American companies in key industries access to its markets,'' Schumer said in a statement in Washington. Bush ``has maintained a `talk softly and carry no stick' strategy for China.''

Given the close, mutually beneficial relationship between China and the Bush family that goes back at least to 1974 when former President George H. W. Bush was ambassador to China during the Nixon administration, we shouldn't hold our breath on Bush doing a darn thing towards China. Since then, the Bushes have profitted from a few business ventures with the Chinese (Tiananmen Square be damned). This would include Uncle Prescott Bush building China's first golf course. Wow, now there's something to brag about...........

"Neil Bush, the third of George H.W. Bush's four sons (George W., Jeb, Neil and Marvin), is the latest family member to hitch his fortunes to China.

In 1974, President Nixon named George H.W. Bush as his ambassador to China, a position he held for two years. In the 1980s, George H.W. Bush's brother, Prescott Bush Jr., began pursuing business opportunities on the mainland. In 1988, he teamed up with Japanese businessmen to build China's first golf course in Shanghai. He struck up a long friendship with former President Jiang, whose son is now a business partner of Neil Bush.

Prescott Bush Jr.'s Chinese ties generated their own share of controversy. He was criticized for meeting with Chinese business and government leaders just three months after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

The Shanghai golf venture became an embarrassment when allegations surfaced that his Japanese partners were trying to get business contracts by bribing Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. Prescott Bush Jr.'s ties to an American firm, Asset Management, were scrutinized in 1989 because it was the only U.S. firm able to skirt sanctions and import communications satellites into China.

When Asset Management later went bankrupt, Prescott Bush Jr. arranged a bailout through a Japanese investment firm later accused of having ties to organized crime. There was no evidence he was aware of the alleged mob connection."

The Chinese leader did seek to comfort Bush and Americans by saying that China was doing all it could do to ensure product safety. They did after all execute an official because over this earlier this year. I doubt that Bush even flinched over that considering his record on executions as Texas governor.

Speaking of China and executions, Amnesty International says that they continue to lead the world in executions. They are responsible for at least 91% of the world's known executions. This AI report says that it's impossible to know exactly how many people are executed in China each year because it's a "state secret." However, the "true number is believed to be as high as 8,000" executed in that country in 2006. There is also a report that Chinese school children were once a part of an audience of 2,500 attending the deaths of 6 men.

And I can't think about the death penalty without thinking of Troy Davis. Stay strong, Troy.

UGA "Dawgties" Cowboys, 35-14

As expected, the 13th ranked Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 35-14, yesterday to open the 2007 college football season. UGA controlled the game throughout, but the Cowboys were still in it at halftime, trailing only by 7.

But that's when UGA's much questioned young defense stepped up to the plate, made some adjustments, and shutout the Pokes in the 2nd half. OSU's offense was ranked in the top 10 in both yardage and scoring last year, averaging 500 yards of offense, including high powered showings vs. OU, Texas, a rout of Nebraska, and a win over SEC rival, Alabama.

UGA's other trouble spot, the offensive line, did a good job. They should continue to improve barring injuries. They only gave up 2 sacks on Stafford. And did well enough to spring Brown free for 2 TD's, and Southerland for another. Freshaman sensation Knowshon Moreno wowed the crowd with his moves and his speed.

Speaking of Matthew Stafford, the UGA QB went 18 of 24 for 234 yards with 2 TD's and 0 INT's. The difference in his poise and control of the offense is like night and day from this time last year. His WR's did a great job of holding onto the ball, which was a problem last year. And it was great to see SR. Sean Bailey have a good game after missing all of last year with an injury.

And how 'bout Mikey Henderson's big punt return? He backpeddled to his own 5 and ran 70 yards down to OSU's 25. That return all but sealed the Cowboys' fate.

For a better recap of the game, here's what the Athens Banner-Herald had to say.

From a Cowboy perspective, here's one blogger's take on UGA, Athens, and southern football in general.

Next up: The South Carolina Gamecocks

Should we boycott the Beijing Olympics?

According to this Yahoo News article, Richard Gere thinks we should..........

"Why should the world reward people who are obviously so bad to their
own people, so bad to other people."

Here in Atlanta, we saw for ourselves what the International Olympic Committee is really all about. The IOC is filled with a werid mix of rogue, thuggish elites that think they're worthy of titles, such as, "your excellency." How the government of China treats its citizens is of no concern to them. Apparently as it was no concern to those that awarded Olympiads to Adolf Hitler and the peace loving USSR, who just months before hosting the 1980 Summer Olympics, invaded Afghanistan.

I love the Olympics and what they stand for. But I'm not for governments using them as a propaganda campaign to put on a friendlier face for the world. I suspect this is the only reason why China was ever interested in hosting.

And I say that as someone who was proud of Atlanta's Olympic effort to put on the largest games in Olympic history. Attending the 10 year anniversary celebrations brought back some wonderful memories. But thanks in part to the IOC, not all of our memories were good ones.

Gere has always been a champion of the Tibetan people, who have been abused by the Chinese, and serves as Chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet.