Whistling Past Dixie

'How Democrats Can Win Without the South'

Democrats should forget about recapturing the South in the near term and begin building a national majority that ends, not begins, with restoring their lost southern glory. Most of the South is already beyond the Democrats' reach, and much of the rest continues to move steadily into the Republican column. White southerners used to be among the most economically liberal voters in America but are now among the most conservative.....more

The Civil War in Iraq

Miami

World Class City Where Diversity Is Celebrated

Colorado Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo calls Miami a `Third World country'. pointed to Miami as an example of how ''the nature of America can be changed by uncontrolled immigration.

''I invite my friend, Tom, to visit beautiful Miami, my hometown, and experience firsthand our hospitality,''...Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Tancredo didn't visit Miami on the Nov. 18-19 trip, but has visited before, a spokesman said. And, if Ros-Lehtinen's invitation includes ''a stay at a five-star beachfront resort, he may be willing to look beyond the inherent dangers that he had cited and visit Miami again,'' his spokesman said.....more

In a funk
Why is the nation's happiest party still so unhappy here at home?

Let's start in Hillsborough, where the Democratic Party continued to lose ground. How bad was Nov. 7 for local Democrats? The only local Dems on the ballot who won the county vote were Congresswoman-elect Kathy Castor, House candidates Mike Scionti and Betty Reed, Senate candidate Arthenia Joyner and Tampa City Council member Kevin White. All five ran in districts with wide Democratic registration margins and represent no great achievement for the party......more

Peace sign a symbol of Satan

A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan......more

9/11 was a Tuesday. FEMA got there on Monday night

State chiefs credit Dean for victory

Democratic state chairmen, decrying postelection bickering, say the party's gains were in large part a result of National Chairman Howard Dean's 50-state strategy, which helped make deep inroads into Republican territory......more

Ridiculing the hicks

Despite all the rave reviews and boffo box office, I've had a distinctly uneasy feeling about Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat film-- and therefore haven't made an effort to see it......more

Rosa Brooks: Iraq is broke beyond repair

The invasion of Iraq, for instance, will go down in history as a national transgression of epic proportions — and our original screw-up (an unjustified invasion based on cooked intelligence books) was compounded many times over by our failure to plan for the reconstruction of post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.....more

The real Afghan war

The Taliban and the insurgency are not Afghanistan's worst problems. The country is now ruled by a new mafia of corrupt police and officials, who are crippling any hopes for a democratic future......more

What is the point of Iraq deaths?

Will God punish the United States for all the deaths, both Iraqi and American? I don't believe that God works that way. However, our intervention in that chaotic, broken country will certainly have created hundreds, perhaps thousands of would-be martyrs who will seek vengeance. We will have brought it on ourselves......more

Are the Germans Stationed in Afghanistan Cowards?

Southern Afghanistan is far from having been pacified -- a bloody war with the Taliban has erupted there. German troops have picked a relatively comfortable spot for themselves in the north of the country. Because they have avoided deadly fighting, they have been labeled "cowards" by the Americans and Brits. But are they?.....more

No Thanks to Thanksgiving
Instead, we should atone for the genocide that was incited -- and condoned -- by the very men we idolize as our 'heroic' founding fathers

One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.....more

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Giving Thanks

Let's take stock and be oh so thankful for the blessings of food, family, clothing and shelter that we take for granted. Let's reach out in 2007 to help others less fortunate in our own backyards. Whether volunteering at a shelter, giving food to a food bank, collecting signatures for petitions or staying involved in political actions, It's incumbent upon us to find ways to help heal our broken culture and neighborhoods.......more

Americans Now Say Iraq War Similar to Vietnam Conflict

Claims by critics of the war in Iraq that this conflict is similar in many ways to the U.S. experience in Vietnam have long been derided by pundits and administrations officials. But a new survey finds that almost 6 in 10 Americans believe that the analogy is accurate.......more

Faces of the Fallen

The News From Qatar

Al Jazeera English debuts

U.S. cable and satellite companies aren't exactly tripping over one another to carry the channel, which maybe has something to do with the widespread belief that Al Jazeera has an anti-American bias. The vast majority of Americans who want to size up the channel for themselves have to head to its Web site, where you can sample 15 minutes for free.....more

Rangel Is Right

Well over 95% of Americans, including Congress and White House staff, have no personal connection to this war--no relative or friend serving in Iraq. Over 99% of us have made no sacrifice for this war--we have not paid one more penny of taxes nor shed a drop of family blood. One of my military relatives thinks of it this way: "The American military is at war, but America is not at war.".....more

It takes a very special kind of combat coward to advocate combat for others.

David Caton Blogger Challenge: Question 14
Stop Discrimination

Have you ever been the subject of a complaint or investigation that included allegations that you discriminated against or harassed someone in the workplace, including but not limited to: sexual harassment, or discrimination based on color, race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, familial status, marital status, or sexual orientation? Yes 􀂅 No 􀂅 If “Yes,” explain: DATE EMPLOYER NATURE OF ALLEGATION DISPOSITION

click here

Michael Richards Pulls A Mel Gibson

I feel sorry for Jerry Seinfeld who had to insert himself into the controversy to keep the DVD sales from tanking, as it seems Richards chose the exact wrong time to decide to showcase his bigotry. His career was already down the drain, and now he's reached the very bottom of it......more

Howard Dean Wants More Gays, Minorities on the Ballot

Howard Dean said the Democratic Party must work toward getting gay and minority leaders on the ballot. "We've got to share power, not just responsibility, from now on," Dean told a crowd of about 200 at the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference Saturday, an annual gathering of gay public officials....more

Dean Out West

It's all about advertising money public opinion

After a firestorm of criticism, News. Corp. said Monday that it has canceled the O.J. Simpson book and TV special ``If I Did It.''......more

Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy?

In 1968, Robert Kennedy seemed likely to follow his brother, John, into the White House. Then, on June 6, he was assassinated - apparently by a lone gunman. But Shane O'Sullivan says he has evidence implicating three CIA agents in the murder.....more

Hil's no dump Dean fan

Her camp sez Carville on his own in coup bid

James Carville's attempt to topple Howard Dean as chairman of the Democratic National Committee failed after state party officials and even a vocal critic of Dean crushed the coup. The Clintonistas don't want an undeserved backlash from the activist wing of the party that overwhelmingly supports Dean......more

The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 269.....here

Republicans plot to bring down Pelosi ... and Clinton with her

The Republican strategy is not only to undermine Mrs Pelosi's control of the House but also to associate her in voters' minds with Senator Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the 2008 Democrat presidential nomination. "Two years of Pelosi gives a good idea of what four years of Hillary will be like," said Tom DeLay "They are both committed liberals and we will make that clear to the American people.".......more

U.S. is most unfriendly country to visitors

There is more fear of our immigration officials than of terrorism or crime

Rude immigration officials and long delays in processing visas have turned the United States into the world's most unfriendly country for international travelers, according to a global survey released on Monday.....more