Google ad, right there on the Front Page, under the top story?
Yes, yes, I know, Google's algorithms automatically associate this page with politics and put up ads for related terms. But it is jarring to see a promotion of one of the worst of the worst on the front page of the Daily Kos.
First ad on the Daily Kos today is for the "Susie for President Campaign." I was shocked to see that Markos would let someone who is not only Constitutionally ineligible, but gives no evidence for Democratic Party affiliation, advertise on the site. Whatever happened to our "Democratic blog?"
Senator Dodd has shown courage and prescience on this war again and again. True, he voted for the initial war resolution, but his work on the front lines of trying to end it more than make up for his past sins in my book (just like John Edwards). Dodd has been the most visibly antiwar of the credible presidential candidates, and he deserves more recognition.
The three American soldiers who died today have pushed American military fatalities in Iraq to 2700, according to icasualties.org. Given that the war there has been given less and less ink of late, I thought it'd be nice to spend a few moments reflecting on those brave men and women in that impossible situation, and hope (and work) for the day when they can all be home safely, as soon as possible.
So far in the month of September, 58 American troops (and five allied soldiers) have lost their lives. A countless (or at least, uncounted) number of innocent Iraqis have perished as well. It would be well to reflect on these poor souls, who would, if Bush in his infinite hubris has his way, be only an appetizer of the main course of an Iran invasion. For the sake of the rest of our men and women in uniform, as well as the people of Iran, let's take the reins of power from GOP hands to avert such a tragic calamity.
Montenegro, or, rather, the Republic of Montenegro, was born a few hours ago. This isn't the first time this little strip of land has been its own country. From 1910 to 1918, the area was the Kingdom of Montenegro and fought with the Entente in the First World War, until it was annexed by Serbia, which was itself annexed by Yugoslavia. After the breakdown of Yugoslavia, it was part of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, one of the most awkward names of any country anywhere. Today, roughly 55.3% of voters voted for independence, narrowly passing the 55% threshold for independence, making Montenegro the world's newest country, number 193. We haven't had a new country since Timor-Leste back in 2002, though Kosovo's final status is to be determined by the end of 2006, so another addition is possible very soon.
May Montenegro's 616,000 people be a sterling addition to the world community, and may it prove to be a true competitor next Eurovision (hey, that's why European microstates are for, right?).
I know all of you are tired of the saga of Jack Abramoff. You've heard the story every imaginable way. Well, I am too. I've decided to do something creative, something that would drive the point home.
In Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore, Sir Joseph Porter has a rather pleasant recitative number where he explains just how incompetent and unsuited he is to be "the Ruler of the Queen's Navee." I've taken the liberty of rewriting that famous scene into a more modern context.
Without further ado, the DeLayly Carte is proud to present "The Briber of the Hill &c."
I used to be a fan of Dallas Mayor Laura Miller. Lately I haven't been so sure. On November 8, I will be headed to the polls for the first time ever, and will vote against the anti-gay marriage amendment and on a variety of other measures. However, I'm as yet undecided about the Dallas strong mayor proposal.
After the Ray Hunt issue, I'm seriously questioning Mayor Miller's sanity (his deal really isn't that extreme, but her response sure was), as I have been since the Terrell Bolton fiasco last year. She simply cannot deal with people, and seems to take a perverse pleasure in pissing people off. I support having a modern form of government in Dallas, the City Council doesn't work in the 14-1 setup. Period. I want things to change, but I don't want to concentrate power in the hands of someone like Mrs. Miller. In short, I'm torn on the issue: should I vote for a strong mayor, or against the lady who would benefit from that proposal?
I've heard about Arnold's plan to leave the redistricting of your fair state up to a panel of retired judges. Now, I know, it's Schwarzenegger, but is this a bad plan on its merits? I want to hear California Democrats explain to me why this is a bad idea.
It seems every time I come to this fair site, the premium dKos ad space hasn't been taken. Now, the steep price for said slot is the obvious reason why. $5000 a week is pretty darn steep. The regular slots and the second slot usually look full. Now, far be it from me to criticise Markos' business model, but if that top slot isn't going to show any profit, why not reduce the cost?
Bob Novak promised us a resignation by the Chief Justice today. That cranky old Rehnquist with the curiously striped robe (a nod to this guy) would be leaving his exalted position today. Many on this site apparently made the mistake of believing Bob Novak, rather than the Chief himself, who said today with his usual laconic wit, "That's for me to know and you to find out." I concur with William Rehnquist, and beside my usual joy at seeing Novak with egg on his face, I cheer for another reason: that for once, the newsmakers should be allowed to make their own news.
The great resource icasualties.org has an interesting new feature. This is a list of all American soldiers who died in Germany or the US. It's nearly sixty names long, and they put it up to prove they don't just count those dead in Iraq. It may also be worth your while to go click on the fatality metrics link on the front page and play around with the filters. I was interested to learn that more Sargents have died than Corporals or PFCs. Going over to icasualties and spending half an hour or so fiddling around will eventually draw home an important point: we really have lost 1726 people over there, with personal info for each. Looking through the site will draw home the sheer scope of President Bush's folly.
has anyone else had a problem with the ads not showing up where they're supposed to...and in fact, showing up in very annoying places? I keep getting the ads jumping around. Sometimes they are on the right side of the page, moving down all my user info and the diaries column. Sometimes they are at the bottom of the page...no problem there. Sometimes, they are at the top of the page, filling up the center column. I went on the site this morning and couldn't figure out what happened to dKos, there were ads straight down the centercolumn. I'm using Firefox. Just wanted to know whether or not I'm crazy, or if it is happening to other people.
Yes, this is my first diary in six months. I'm just really frustrated.
Why do we put ourselves through this? Religious people can be convinced to vote Democratic, but the rabidly radical "God Hates Fags" set will never come onto our side. But we can and should use religion as a positive tool in fixing our party. There are many positive aspects of use of God, and many negatives. I've been thinking these over, and here's what I'm coming up with.
Okay, so on Thursday I'm going to go do my second "lecture" to one of the third-grade classes at my school about elections and what they're about. The last one went really well. I got through how America was the land of immigrants, and how people came here fleeing dictatorial oppression (brought up how my grandfather's parents walked from rural Russia to Odessa to flee the Czar). I brought up slavery, women's rights, and other indications of how the franchise has extended. I brought up how we are lucky to be in a country that has free elections. Really smart group, always asking good questions. (One kid actually raised his hand when I said the US was the world's oldest democracy and said, "What about Athens?" ATHENS! I didn't know about Athens 'til I was 10! I said, "Oldest surviving democracy. Athens ran into some problems.")
"They misunderestimated me." -George Bush, November 6th, 2000
Kerry is wooden, stiff, and cannot connect with the American people. Kerry is wooden, stiff, and cannot connect with the American people. Kerry is..."Reporting for duty!"
Kerry used what Bush termed "the soft bigotry of low expectations." Because everyone thought he was going to do a pathetic, dull speech, he gets up and gives a good speech and everyone sees him as William Shakespeare.
Been completely out of touch for about 2 1/2 weeks, at debate camp. I've been at Catholic University, and we had next to no free time to be able to surf the net or even keep up on the news. Besides for the big stuff (Cheney's f-bomb, the handover, Ken Lay, and the Senate Intelligence) I know nothing of the events of the past few weeks. It's driving me crazy.
As I plan to post on dkos for a LONG time, I was wondering about my pseudonym, teenagedallasdeaniac. I know a lot of us have Dean pseudonyms. Since I can't change my name without losing all my mojo, I'm going to be tdd for a while. How many of the rest of you have Dean names?
But not as a member of the US Military, rather as a proud member of a security company (I forget which one, I'll ask my dad). The point is, he was offered $90,000 for 3 months. That's 1 grand a day. They said that, among other things, he's to provide training for Iraqi Army men, but that's not the only part of his job. His current job, a police officer in Arlington TX, only pays 38 grand a year, and he jumped at the chance to get an opportunity to use the skills he developed in the Marines (as a sniper) in Iraq.
