Charlie Brown for Congress

[cross-posted in a comment at DailyKos]
Last night I met Jan and Charlie Brown at a house party in Rocklin. (That's me on the right.) What great people.

But beyond being nice, patriotic, progressive Americans, the Brown campaign is for real. Last night, hearing Charlie talk and then answer questions, I changed. I changed from wishing he could win to believing he can win. He has a realistic plan to WIN, even in this district with greater Republican than Democratic registration.

Maybe it's the Air Force background and the discipline which comes from that. Maybe it's having such a supportive family. Maybe it's just who Charlie Brown is as a human being. Well, surely it's a combination of all these things that make it more than a wish that this guy can beat Doolittle. It's a real possibility.

I gave a little more $$ to the campaign last night, and I volunteered to help however else I can. Today is the cut-off day for reporting, so if anybody wants to give $5, $10, whatever -- every dollar is a dollar that says Goodbye John Doolittle -- please click here and go for it!

When Reporters Don't Bother With the Research Thing

Thinking more about the "Seas of David,"



Do you think maybe the poor unfortunate was saying "Seeds of David"?

That would at least make some kind of sense, since the bible is loaded with obsessions on geneology -- the begats and the "branches of" and all.

A Post for Evil Parallel Universe

Herewith a list of Great Stories From Religious Traditions:


(my favorite) Taoism,from Chuang-tse: Butterfly

Ancient Tribal Hebrew Lore, revenge tale deluxe.

Found in Hebrew Bible, probably old Canaanite fertility poem.

Truly raunchy fertility poem, oops. I mean, the Sacred Marriage of Inanna and Dumuzi

On love and progeny from the Mahabharata.


Christianity -- Jesus goes too far and regrets his frivolous use of power.

Hopi creation story.

African creation story.

Muslim Terrorist, Christian Cultist -- Whatever

So the Seas of David, those pathetically unintelligent-appearing fellows picked up in last night's "Miami Terror Bust" are not Muslim terrorists after all. They are, according to CNN, "deeply devout followers of the bible." They practice a "biblically based Christian philosophy."

Now, who knows whether these guys were plotting evil? We've all learned, I think, not to believe anything we're told by the MSM in the rush to a good story. But man, I watched the sad, sad interview on MSNBC last night with one of the David dudes and, once again, I was just embarrassed for my country. This young man could hardly utter a complete sentence, and the words that did come out were ofen untintelligible. So naive, so earnest, so uneducated -- so pleased to be a member of something bigger and better than himself, he seemed.

When will we learn? I think of this thread at FireDogLake and the French Revolution. Madame Defarge came from somewhere. These "terrorists/truthseekers/lost souls" come from the same place: despair, sclerotic class boundaries, the knowledge of being not valued by your country.

And another thing, "seas" of David doesn't sound right. Seas? Where does that come from? "Branch Davidians" made sense. David being a branch of Jesse and related to messianic prophecies and all. Seas? And what is it about David that spawns all these sects, anyway? You could do a dissertation on it.

Starting to ramble. Will stop now.

From the Sublime to the Pathetic

Wonkette -- not to be confused with Wankette -- posts another lovely, heartwarming tale about another lovely, heartwarming scion of the Bush Crime Family.

This reminds me of Jeb's son, George P. Bush who is no doubt being held back for future greatness. By "held back" I mean hidden from public view at this inconvenient moment when someone might ask "Why dear George Bush the next are you not in Iraq?"

Something Different -- Jesus Pictures

I was searching for Donner's Pieta which is at the Gurk Cathedral and figures one of my novels when I came upon this wonderful compilation of New Testament art.

Even to an atheist like me, it's such a treasure trove, I had to share it.

Look! Look! See Me, Mommy! Look!

I. Loathe. This. President.

And all who voted for him in 2004.

Why do they let him out? Especially early in the day before his mouth has warmed up? Watching Bush speak this morning, I'm not so much disgusted as mortified. This stupid, stupid person is our face to the world. Babbling, babbling. I always think of him as the Bill and Ted President, and today it just seems worse than usual.

He's like a toddler who's just done his doody: "I went to Iraq! Did you see me! I talked to the army guys! I told them they were good army guys! Did you see!!!

Competence

The Republican Party should be ashamed to show its face on the basis of its gross corruption alone, but the other, almost equally damning component of Republican Party rule has been its incompentence.

In these bleak years since 1994, I've assumed that the Democratic Party would at least have been able to get the work of governing done. I wonder now if I am wrong to assume this. This post from FireDogLake sent a little warning off in my brain:

On CA-50, Russert, quoting the Los Angeles Times, suggests the Bilbray victory shows Bush’s unpopularity alone won’t translate to Democratic gains in November. Kos points out that the Republicans threw $11 million into the race in a traditional Republican district, but also chastises the Dems for failing to follow the Republican lead and throw everything they had into the race.

If the Democratic Party can't get its act together to get all hands on deck for this one race which was not a primary, and was so crucial to a well-tempered zeitgeist, then why should I think they have any idea what they are doing at all?

Thank the gods for Kos and FiredDogLake and MyDD and all the others. The Democratic Party is like a sickly plant. Let's hope the watering of its netroots has not come too late.

Same Song Second Verse

I'm watching Kos and Armstrong (Crashing the Gate) on Tim Russert. It's early on, I'm hoping they say something zingy to Russert.

First point: The right wing echo chamber -- what have the Democrats got to counter this? Answer, nothing.

So Russert asks why. My answer: Democrats always expected the media to do their job.

Failure of Leadership -- Not

Noron is pounding on her "failure of leadership" bit to explain Haditha. Well, obviously there is some kind of failure of leadership whenever anything goes wrong in any tiered organization. But "failure of leadership" is too nice a phrase; it lets the "leader" down on a puffy cloud for a soft, soft landing.

It isn't failure of leadership that leads to horrors like Haditha. It's abuse of power. And when I talk about abuse of power in terms of this president and his cohort, I refer to their power over people, the human capital GWBush is willing to spend so freely.

I've thought for years that George W Bush is a sociopath, and my main two reasons for thinking this are 1) he seems to derive pleasure out of other people's pain, and 2) he doesn't seem to have any awareness of other human beings as having any other worthy purpose but to adore George W Bush.

One manifestation of this sociopathology is the way George W Bush treats people who "don't count." Working people? They don't need no stinking living wage or doctors. Democratic voters? Find a way to destroy their votes -- or at least switch their votes from the other guy to a Bush. Soldiers? Lemme play army -- I'll show my dad who's the best!

The Bushes and their courtiers see everyone else the way the pre-revolutionary French court saw everyone else -- perhaps as curiosities, but mostly as sources of revenue and cannon fodder.

The soldiers at Haditha were on their THIRD rotation in a horrific situation for which they were not trained. I don't know what they were or were not guilty of, but I do know this: the man who sent them there is guilty of more.

Deja vu All Over Again -- Again

From Bush's little foto-op with his cabinet this morning:

"And now it's gonna be up to the Iranians to make their decision. And if they choose not to verifiably suspend, we have laid the groundwork for an effective international response."

Doesn't this sound just like the way George W Bush declared war on Iraq? How much more destruction and death before this man is brought to justice?