This is more of a question than a diary, but the VP thread that Markos posted is looking too full of comments to get anything constructive out of, so I'm posing this question in a diary as a way to learn why Russ Feingold doesn't get mentioned much on this site as a possible VP choice.

I haven't written a diary in a long time, partly becuse of personal time constraints, partly because since 2006 I've felt the tide has turned our way and my energy is not quite as needed as times prior (not saying it's not needed mind you, just not as much, and my money is still being donated).

But two undecided voters have recently pointed out to me that they have tried to look up where Barack Obama stands on specific issues and have gone to his web site (like I'm sure we would wish all undecided voters would do), but have come away not so much illuminated by Barack's policy thoughts and plans, but instead frustrated because it took so much effort to find a satisfactory answer. Want to know why? Well the subject of the diary gives it away...

So, I was over reveling in the victory by wading in the sludge that is the Instaputz, and came across this link:

Fallen Dems

In which the Instaputz links approvingly to a post denigrating the service of U.S. Veterans who ran for congress as Democrats in 2006 by saying it was a "bloodbath" for them, that they are "fallen" Dems, that they were political "casualties", and that it was an "Election Day Alamo".

Besides pointing out once again just how little respect folks on the Right have for Veterans, the link also was nice enough to point out the % of the vote the Republican incumbents in these races received in 2006 compared to 2004.

The results were nothing less than astounding:

2004: Republican incumbents in these districts received 72% of the vote on average.

2006: 58%

That is amazing! Besides the wins of Carney, Murphy, and Walz, the Fighting Dems helped bring a bunch of gerrymandered Republican districts into contention, diverting Republican campaign money into formerly safe districts, and creating a momentum that will most likely lead to further victories 2 years from now. Thank you, Fighting Dems!

So, I've witnessed a few occasions of wingnuts who have been arguing that the election wasn't that big a deal because of the small victory margins for the crucial Democratic victories in both the House and the Senate.

Short answer to that: What a bunch of Baloney!

Long Half Answer to that: The Senate elections of 2006 was a Landslide of Historic Proportions.

The Democrats (including the I's who will caucus as Dems) won 24 of 33 races (73%). Even more amazing, the Democrats won 6 of the 15 available pickup opportunities. Simply amazing!

How did that happen? 7.2 Million who voted for Bush in 2004 voted for a Democrat for Senate in 2006.

See the full landslide numbers below the flip.

I think what needs to become crystal clear to evangelicals and religious conservatives throughout this country is that the concept of Separation of Church and State is not all about keeping the Church out of Government, as they think, but perhaps more importantly about keeping Government out of the Church.

As will be illustrated by the new book Tempting Faith and the 60 Minutes special that goes along with it, our current Government is not "serving" religion, they are using it.

As a result, we have a supposedly religious President who has started an unneccessary and unjust war that has cost the lives of thousands, and who has created a policy of torture and indefinite detention.

But none of this is new.

To further illustrate, I looked back at another time in history when a government started to use the church in order to advance their own agenda: 16th Century England.

WASHINGTON, DC - Following up on a comment made by Commander In Chief George W. Bush, the Defense Department announced Monday that official Pentagon policy has been adjusted to follow all mentions of the current Iraq War going forward with a Comma, changing prior policy of following mentions of the current Iraq War with a Period.

Assistant Secretary of Defense Larry DiRita spoke, "We would like to announce that from now on any punctuation that is used by the Defense Department after describing the current Iraq War will be a Comma. We have made this policy decision in order to better reflect happenings on the ground. Whereas past hopes of the Defense Department were for the current Iraq War to be the last war fought in that country in a long line of wars, therefore necessitating the use of a Period after listing the current war, in the present context this no longer appears to be the case. Also, whereas past hopes of the Department of Defense were for the current Iraq War to be the last war fought in the larger context of the War on Terror, this also no longer appears to be the case."

WASHINGTON, DC - Facing a GOP revolt in the Senate, President Bush urged Congress on Friday to join in backing legislation to spell out strategies for torturing and trying terror suspects as well as wiretapping citizens without court orders, saying "the enemy wants to attack us again because they still hate us for our freedom."

"Time is running out," Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference. "Congress needs to act wisely and promptly. We have to balance the freedom teeter-totter."

"Listen, you guys just don't seem to be getting what I'm saying. This is why I have brought out this graphic of the freedom teeter-totter. See, there are terrorists out there, and they hate us for our freedom, see because we're way up on the teeter-totter enjoying the fresh air and they are way down by the ground."

WASHINGTON, DC - In a Pentagon briefing, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld unveiled the latest comprehensive strategy for the U.S Defense Department, a Multi-Level Defense Strategy.

"So, I would first like to mention that I have been harshly criticized and rebuked by members of the media for the last 4 years. But you know what? I don't mind. We've had a plan this whole time, people. I mean, come on, did you really think I was this incompetent? I'm Don Rumsfeld. Have we wanted to lose in Iraq and Afghanistan? Not exactly. Are we doing as we planned all along? You betcha," Rumsfeld started off the briefing. "See, here's the thing, when I came in to this job, the U.S. military budget was astronomical. We spend more on defense than the rest of the world combined. This is simply untenable. So, with the help of former Amway CEO, Dick Devos, and a tremendous amount of foresight by many members of President Bush's White House, we started to implement the Defense Department strategy for the 21st Century: Amfense, which I am now unveiling to you all"

New York, NY - In an off the record conversation with White House press pool reporter Tabasco Jenkins, President Bush spoke about how having to honor his failures was getting on his nerves.

Tabasco Jenkins: "So, Mr. President, what do you think about going to all of these events to honor the anniversary of 9/11 just days after doing the same to honor the anniversary of Katrina?"

President Bush: "Well, Tabasco, off the record?"

TJ: "Oh, certainly, of course sir."

Bush: "Well, to be honest with you, all this honoring my failures is really cramping my style. I mean, it wasn't so bad the last few years, but now with the addition of having to honor my failure on Katrina, it's really starting to get tiresome. Take what I had to do earlier this month. That was my vacation time. I should have been back on my ranch pretending to be a good ole boy and sipping non-alcoholic cognac while working on my Highlights For Children. But no, instead I have to go down to New Orleans and honor my failure by pretending I care about black people. Honestly, is this what I should be worrying my beautiful mind about?"

Osama Bin Laden would be dead.

This country, our country, is currently heading in the wrong direction. There are many ways to show how and why we are headed that way. But, as my mother so wisely tells me, "I not only like it when someone intelligently communicates the problem, but I like it if they can also suggest a course of action that might avoid the train wreck.". So here is my attempt at doing just that.

America is Due for a Comeback

Americans love a comeback story, whether it be Lance Armstrong winning the Tour De France after overcoming cancer, whether it be John Travolta jump starting his career by starring in Pulp Fiction, whether it be the plot line of every episode of VH1's Behind the Music, or whether it be the ultimate American story of comeback and redemption, Rocky.

But the greatest American comeback story of all time can be put into motion right now: the Comeback of America.

Reading Bonddad's diary from earlier today, The 5 Major Flaws of Bush's Economy it struck me that it highlights some very worrying symptoms, but doesn't quite go so far as to quantify the disease.

So later today when I came across this essay from 1996, it hit on some things that seemed all too familiar

The Main Causes of the Great Depression

the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade...Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe.

The names have changed but the faces remain the same.

Earth to Media: Stop Taking the Bush Admistration's Rhetoric at Face Value.

Syria and Iran didn't start this war. Hizbullah and Israel did.

First a timeline: 1) Hizbullah kidnaps two Israeli soldiers 2) Israel attacks Hizbullah 3) Hizbullah launches rocket attacks at Israel 4) Israel launches full scale attack on Lebanon

Why did this happen? Well, I'm no middle eastern expert (feel free Kossacks to fill in the blanks or correct me where I'm wrong), but unlike the media, I can use Google.

Hizbullah: Secretary General Nasrallah has pledged to their supporters that they will do anything they can to win the release of Lebanese prisoners in Israel, including kidnapping Israeli soldiers, a tactic that, in their eyes, has been successful in the past.

Israel: Prime Minister Olmert has pledged to his constituents that he will not negotiate with terrorists (who engage in actions like kidnapping or rocket attacks) because that only emboldens the influence of extremists and lessens the influence of moderates.

Okay, I have a little mystery for everyone. Below the fold I have made a list of some of the votes a certain politician has made since he was elected to national office, and some quotes of his that illustrate just how two-faced he really is.

To sum it up briefly, this man is one of the worst of the elected officals we currently have in this country.

No, it isn't Rick Santorum, and no it isn't Joe Lieberman. But, he is up for re-election, and there is more than a realistic shot that he can be defeated. So, in my opinion, he should be written about and his competitor should be supported, with the same amount of zeal as Santorum and Lieberman and their competitors.

Defeating this politician would not only be just as symbolic as defeating those two, for reasons I will mention later, but it will also do much to improve our country, and that's really what most uf us care about in the end, anyways.

So, let's check out our mystery man:

In case anyone needs some good perspective to forward to the 34% of the country who still haven't figured things out yet...

In George Orwell's 1984, these were the slogans of the controlling party:

• War is Peace

• Freedom is Slavery

• Ignorance is Strength

In order to ensure ignorance of the populace:

History was Rewritten and Propaganda was Used

In order to manipulate enemies:

Torture was Used

In order to keep party grip on power:

Science and Technology were Shunned

In order to stifle dissent:

Citizens were Subject to Surveillance

In order to quell the populace's desire for individual growth:

Socio-Economic Class Differences Were Reinforced

In order to maintain a hierarchical society:

Standards of Living were Forced to Remain Stagnant

In order to keep standards of living stagnant:

Perpetual War was Fought to Waste Surplus Industrial Production

Well, Old Falafel Bill O'Leilly, Ted Baxter, the Giant Head, well, he's having himself quite a day. We all know about his petition to have an unnamed MSNBC anchor of their 8:00pm EST time slot show fired, and we've all seen RenaRF's corresponding petition to have O'Reilly fired. Just now, Keith Olbermann also responded in kind with a great recap segment of Bill's dubious history of being a multiple Worst Person In the World award winner

And then, immediately after that segment, I clicked over to Fox to see what that muppet head was up to at the time. Well, It's not often that timing is so unbelievably serendipitous. What was he up to?

He was chatting with Geraldo Rivera and the first sentence out of his mouth was:

"I believe Iran was behind this whole mosque bombing"

It was such a stupid statement that even braindead Geraldo gave Bill a look like he was crazy and replied meekly that no it was probably Al Qaeda.

Bill O'Reilly: once again the Worst Person in the World

So, it's 2006. The Republican party has had control of the White House for 17 of the last 25 years, and control of Congress for the last 12.

What has that gotten us?

The slow death of the middle class.

Morning in America, indeed.

Details in the extended body...

Unbelievable. According to Jr Rodriguez, the President of St Bernard Parish, Canadian mounties had made it to the parish to help two days after the hurricane hit, while FEMA and the US Federal Govt were nowhere to be seen.
From WWLTV.Com
Katrina Blog

I expect Bill O'Reilly will call for a boycott of Canada any day now.