As the election season heats up and the races for state and federal offices begin their final mad rush through October toward the November 4 finish line, the overall theme appears to be one of much needed change.  It's time to dispense with the ideas that have wrought two wars, undermined our constitution, diminished critical federal oversight and cast us into an economic tailspin of failure, corruption and greed.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Red to Blue initiative has helped bring the Democratic 50 State strategy to fruition by helping candidates in competitive races get a leg up on funding and support.  It's a start, but it's incomplete.

There are some other bets worth placing, like in Kansas Congressional District 4, for example: candidate and Democratic State Senator Donald Betts, vs. Republican incumbent Todd Tiahrt.  It's a race that has the potential to unseat Tiahrt, a stalwart Bush/Cheney supporter who has been closely tied to both Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff.  I had the opportunity to speak with Senator Betts earlier today. I'll post the interview tomorrow; meanwhile, read on, learn about the race and help out if you can.

On January 12, 2008, I posted a piece titled Smarter Parts: Improving Efficient Energy Use and Demand? that touched upon an experimental program sponsored out of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The essence of the program was to create a home energy system that could respond to changing prices and peak demand loads by dialing back energy consumption. The system would be accessible via the internet so homeowners could make changes in absentia. An update to the story included another article indicating that in 2009, California regulators may have direct access to homeowner thermostats via radio-controlled devices in new or substantially modified houses and buildings to manage electricity shortages -- a plan cooked up by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

I opened a discussion thread for the piece in a few places, including several Delphi forums. In one thread,¹ some energy and water efficiency ideas came up. One in particular spawned the short poll that you're about to see. Please read on, and take the poll; results will be published at the end of next week and included in another piece that I will cross-post in all areas where this appears.

The following message is reprinted with permission from Congressman Wexler's office.

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Today, in hearings on Capitol Hill, I confronted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her role in the lies, exaggerations, and misdirection that led us into the Iraq war.

During my questioning, Secretary Rice falsely stated that she never saw intelligence casting doubt on the Bush Administration claims that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction. This unbelievable statement is flatly contradicted by numerous government reports and CIA testimonials.

Sources such as the 2006 Senate Intelligence Report, a January 2004  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report as well as former CIA agents (including Tyler Drumheller) have disclosed that there was contrary intelligence to the information provided to the Bush Administration in the lead up to the Iraq war.

See this video:

As the 2008 Presidential Race heats up, one of the largest issues looming in front of all candidates is the question of healthcare: how much, how should it be implemented and funded, who should it cover, what will it cover, where will the money come from, who will provide oversight, yadda yadda yadda.

I recently came across a post with a link to a tool that apparently provides the capacity to compare candidate healthcare plans four-at-a-time; I'm not directly familiar with the plans supported by any of the candidates, nor with the ins and outs of each plan, so I'm posting this here for people to examine and respond to.

Below the jump, read an excerpt of the post I read, follow the link, and check out the tool. I've got four questions at the end that I'd like readers to answer in comments. (Hat-tip Delphooie)

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Sometimes, a video is worth a lot more, whether it is simply an animated image or a full-fledged movie. Or simply an image that morphs (transforms) into another image. Over the past few days, I've been experimenting with image morphing software and posting a few examples of the results in various locations....

"Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God."

  -- Mark 10:14

The cesspool of vitriolic evil that comes from the lunacy of the radically unhinged -- those who so often tout the importance of "family values" yet staunchly fail to promote or defend anything remotely resembling an actual "value" -- has come alive, foaming at the mouth and conducting focused attacks upon two young children and their family. The curtain has been pulled away, and the creature behind it revealed for what it truly is: an un-evolved cretin, wearing a fleshy mask of humanity in an effort to blend in with the rest of the human race, but screeching an ungodly hypocrisy that is no longer hidden behind by a veil of illusion.

These are the same people who support an illegal war. These are the same people who forsake the freedoms our forefathers fought to provide this nation over 200 years ago. These are the same people who call themselves Christians and Patriots while undermining the fundamental teachings of Christ and subverting our Constitution.

They call themselves "conservatives." They call themselves Republicans...

Hi folks.  Sorry I've not been over here in a while -- life's been a little challenging, and I'd been forced to limit online time and participation.  As things clear up, however, I'm trying to get back in the game.

I was hoping to pop the following into an Open Thread, but I think this is worth burning a diary on for the sake of promoting a good discussion.  People here and on the European Tribune are well-informed, and could offer some great insights -- particularly due to the nature of the discussion and the unique perspectives available here.  

(Hence, I'm also posting this over on the European Tribune.)

...I'll check back and comment here, too, if folks discuss the topic here instead.

On June 9th and 10th, the fourth annual DemocracyFest will be held -- this time in Manchester, NH. I will be attending as a presenter for ePluribus Media along with luaptifer. We need your help to ensure that we can all get as much as possible out of this.

First, what is DemocracyFest?

DemocracyFest is an annual educational and inspirational festival for the progressive grassroots. DemocracyFest gives grassroots progressives the knowledge and skills they need to take our country back. Participants return home to their communities with renewed commitment, and new skills to help them making a difference.

Several VIPs will be in attendance. In addition to giving our own presentation on Sunday, we're going to try and land some interviews with these folks, and we want you to help us develop the questions.

Words. Single words, or small clusters numbering two or more, conveying information and signifying, in most cases, a communication between people.  Words can convey raw data, operating instructions, educational information, descriptions or emotion.

Words can provide insight, oversight, instill courage, inspire confidence, reveal truths or bestow knowledge. Conversely, they can also obscure, demure, delay, digress, diffuse, dissemble, shock, shame or mislead.

Words can also convey honor or disgust. They can serve as a barrier to effective communication every bit as much as they can facilitate it; usually, social customs and political intent conspire to wield them one way or the other, or employ words for both purposes simultaneously.

Throughout our nation's history, it is customary to see the nation's President addressed using the honor-based "Mr. President" or entitled "President Such-n-such." Custom has dictated that whoever held the office received the appropriate salutation.

It's time to part with custom.

Members of Congress, do you recall these words?

Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.

The words spoken by George W. Bush on October 7, 2002.The words evoked fear of a nuclear 9/11, pushing the nation and Congress to support action to prevent it.

Now we find ourselves upon the brink of another conflict, one which this Administration has long struggled to bring to fruition.

Smokey the Bear once admonished careless campers that only they can prevent forest fires; I, and the rest of the nation, must now take you, our Congress, to task. You, and only you, can prevent this Administration from initiating a nuclear catastrophe. Learn these words well, for they define this moment for all time:

Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.

This morning, a Republican Congressman gave voice to his concerns regarding the non-binding resolution about the Iraq War that coined a new term for the distinguished men and women of the Hill. It was well spoken, and hit the mark squarely.

He said it was a "deep shallow." (Hat-tip to Roxy of ePluribus Media.)

Article III, section 3 of the Constitution defines "treason" as follows:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The US Constitution does not explicitly define "enemy" as a foreigner. Indeed, the Oaths of Office for the primary branches of our government all explicitly contain the language "against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Nowhere is the concept of a "domestic enemy" defined.

Until now.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I do hereby swear and affirm that I believe George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney wholly constitute the definition of "domestic enemy," and that anyone who actively shelters them from the oversight of Congress, or interferes with the oversight and investigative portions of Congress, or who attempts to incite opinion against those who seek to investigate or maintain legitimate federal oversight, are adhering to as well as providing both aid and comfort to a domestic enemy of the United States.

In short, they are traitors to the nation.

The annals of history, as noted in Wikipedia, duly record the following with regard to "The Boxer Rebellion" of the early 20th Century:

The Boxer Rebellion was a Chinese rebellion from November 1899 to September 7, 1901 against foreign influence in areas such as trade, politics, religion and technology that occurred in China during the final years of the Qing Dynasty.

John Nichols, refers to something completely different in his piece called The Boxer Rebellion:

"the person who changed the course of history with regard to the debate over the Bush administration's nominee for secretary of state [...snip...] was Barbara Boxer..."

This time, the Boxer Rebellion was the first time that the excess and free passes of the Bush Administration were directly challenged.

It's time for another "Boxer Rebellion" in the Senate; it's time for both chambers, in fact, to finally rise to meet the challenge of curbing the most dangerous and deceitful Administration in history. Senators Boxer, Feingold and others - are you listening?

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

  -- excerpt from the start of The Destruction of Sennacherib, by Lord Byron,
     first published in 1815

A classic telling of a biblical tale, using the age-old image of a wolf descending upon a flock of helpless sheep, sets the proper tone for the events of our time. The analogy, however, would be incomplete without a reference to both Aesop and Shakespeare, on this day when we wait with baited breath for the tonight's telling of The State of the Union by our illustrious Emperor, George W. Bush.