sweetheart-mine

a friend of mine, american but has lived in england for 40 years, is definitely left of center and we discuss politics all the time. she has never once mentioned the green party in europe, so i suspect they're organizational spazzes there, too. i'm going to ask her, though. in '04 we held a few meetings at our place, and about halfway into a meeting i was ready to burn the house down to get them out of here. i think one of the problems is that people active in the party like to consider themselves marginal people, and i get that, but if you aren't willing to let some of it go for the s

oh ugh.

yah, most people have heard of the green party by now, so those disappointed with the major parties' candidates will sometimes vote for them. other than those folks, it's the same green party members voting over and over in each election. pat lamarche in maine was actually the green party's v.p. candidate in '04 (with david cobb as presidential candidate), and in '06 she ran for governor here. the problem is, i've met her, as have a lot of other people in the state, and she's got a lot of problems -- including an addiction or two and generally erratic behavior. don't get me wrong, she

you're right, that's exactly what they need to do. take the green party, for example. in '04 they made a concerted effort to run candidates for the state legislature in maine, and they did successfully convince 23 people to run as reps for their districts (my husband, about the most unnatural politician you'd ever meet, was one of them, what a nightmare). that was a great beginning, considering we'd had only one green party member in the legislature up to '04. but very soon the campaigns started falling apart. the people running them were hopelessly disorganized, with not only differ

i don't feel sorry for her at all. it's her job, of course, to defend anything the campaign does/says no matter how ridiculous, but she has often done it with a sort of condescending snottiness that makes me want to gently land a pie in her face.

"beatified" -- another version of the stupid "messiah" trip. you might want to rethink buying into that stuff, since it's crap. i hold powell accountable for his role in the iraq invasion, absolutely. he was mislead, but i also thought he was cowardly in how he dealt with it in public (or, more to the point, didn't). he should have renounced the thing as soon as he found out he'd been made a fool's messenger, and loudly. he didn't. to me it's the biggest blemish on his record, and it's a biggie. given the rest of his record, however, why would an obama supporter be unhappy about

did you watch and listen to the man give his endorsement? just curious.

buchanan is way off the mark. he basically chose one thing -- an aside -- out of a substantial and multi-faceted endorsement and then warped it beyond all recognition, conveniently leaving out the meat of powell's reasoning and decision. makes buchanan look like a simpleton, but if he's happy with that, well, go for it, pat.

thank you.

thank you for bringing this up, really. i no longer remember how many innocent vietnamese civilians were killed by our bombs -- probably countless -- but mccain is hardly one to point fingers at anyone about bombs, killing children, or whatever else he may think his record is superior about.

transformational means transformational, it doesn't mean messiah. as someone pointed out, bush has been transformational -- and because of it, a lot of people are looking for transformational again, of a different sort, out of this black hole. i think any changes obama might manage to bring about on the home front would be down-to-earth, slow-moving, and more inclusive than we've seen in a very long time. it's on the international front, our relations with the rest of the world, where he could soar in ways crucial to citizens of all countries. he does stand for intelligent communicatio

i'll be rooting for the rays and have no idea who will win.

i'm sorry, but that lame poke has gotten so old it's crumbling under my feet as i type.

don't scare me. ok, please don't scare me.

jon stewart was incredible last night on palin, bachmann, and the whole anti-american thing. if you watch the rerun today, don't miss the very end, where he has a bit more to say about his "fuck you" re palin in boston the other night . . .

so nicely put! yes, where is beltmann and where is q23? not to mention viatroy. also crow daddy ____ . fun idea and great job, edie, and you might be wishing about now you'd never started it. i think "voice of reason" should go to mr rain, along with his balanced and fair. he is consistently, admirably, and amazingly reasonable. i'm reasonable only on some days. edit: mountain bed!

yes, at this point, i think "who is the real john mccain?" is the question! i really would like to know. edit: p.s. i watched the old "stepford wives" movie the other night. it didn't help.

yes, we almost wrote the same post! and i think colin powell also would agree with your last sentence here.

obama does just fine handling the garbage that has been thrown at him in this campaign. he isn't fazed, he doesn't let it throw him. yah, the knuckleheads do bother me. what bothers me more, though, is the campaign that is not only encouraging but planting that kind of thinking. if you can call it that. and if you don't think it's dangerous, your head is in the sand.

a "fuck you" from a master of comedy pales in comparison to cries of "anti-american," "traitor," "terrorist," and "kill him." not to mention the call for an investigation of congress to root out "anti-americans" by the likes of michele bachmann. i wonder if you think those folks are dickheads.

and?

c'mon, rush. powell is only one of many republicans and/or conservatives, both public and private, who recognize the consequences of this bush presidency and who believe a huge shift in course is needed. nothing new there, and given powell's well-articulated and obviously long-thought-out reasons for voting for obama over mccain, i think he'd vote for obama if he were purple, green, or mauve.

oh that IS a major plus! congrats to the rays -- they earned it well.

bobbob, i certainly can understand some of the confusion you express. but when you say this -- "I just can't stand knee jerk reactions" -- you are discounting years of thought and experience that lie behind the views of many people on this board. i have to wonder if you absorb only those posts that speak to your skepticism. i won't say anything more on behalf of the numerous people here who have expressed their thoughts eloquently in some of their posts and offered good readings over the long months of these election campaigns, but i will say this for myself: as an adult i've seen two

i'd love to have been there -- i'm envious up here in the corner! how was the speech? do you have more pics?