Speaking the truth is never a pointless exercise, it is a noble and ethical act even when it seems futile to do so...S

"I beseech you in the bowels of christ think it possible you may be mistaken."

On two occasions, the Dems in the Senate have let the GOP completely settle the issue. First, it was the Harriet Miers' nomination to SCOTUS. Now, it is the torture bill. This is troubling, as it shows they are quite content with their status as a snipping-at-the-heels opposition party.

http://editcopy.blogspot.com

...the Queen asked Faraday of what use such studies were, to which he is said to have replied, "Madam, of what use is a baby?"

I like McCain. But when he stood up and said, "Don't forget they attacked us first," in context to the question of the Iraq war, I wanted to reach through the TV screen and hit him right between the eyes.

I did inhale.

...Wellstone, who seemed to be glad to vote for the right over the concensus.

Hang in there, SP. Six more weeks and control of the house could change the tenor of this debate.

Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent. --Napoleon Bonaparte

Definitely not. Absolutely not. At least, not blogs like this one. There's so much here that is not picked up anywhere else. So much more explained in a reasonable manner than just about any other news source (including most other blogs). Certainly more than the news on TV or in the paper.

Let me tell you how blogs have effected my life over the last 3.5 years:

At the beginning of 2003, I was completely non-engaged in politics, world affairs, or any ideas outside of school, games, and general entertainment. My attitude toward the Iraq War was "Well, we have to test out our shiny toys somewhere--why not in Iraq?" Seriously, that's what I said. Then I happened upon Orcinus and read Dave Neiwert's "Rush, Newspeak, and Fascism." I immediately started reading more political blogs (predominantly on the liberal side of the web) and began my "journey."

Someone more religious than me might call this an "awakening" or talk of being "reborn." To me, the process has been one of evolution. I started out reading about 6-10 blogs/day and became almost obsessed with the issues on them. Over time, I discovered new blogs and came to realize that some of the ones I was currently reading were toxic (example: I think Atrios is lethal to mental health :) ). I've switched around and dropped/added blogs to my daily reading and now have arrived at a pretty healthy arrangement in the last 6 months or so: Orcinus, DailyHowler, Agonist, JuanCole, Billmon, WorldChanging, and Feministe (and BOPNews if it ever comes back up).

The amount of information that I've gleaned from these sites and others over time has been invaluable. I have gained access to information and opinions that I would have NEVER been exposed to otherwise--book recommendations, links to official studies and reports, and just the general knowledge displayed in each post. Sure, some of it is erroneous or biased, but, from reading blogs and the comments attached to them, I've developed a crude mental filter for discerning poor arguments and have learned efficient ways to confirm information.

So... I guess the point I'm making here is that blogs might not have much of an effect on the federal level--it's too insulated right now--but they can have a huge effect at the individual level. Blogs have challenged and changed my conceptions of how the world looks and works. I suspect that reading the posts here and elsewhere makes me a bit more depressed and pessimistic than I would otherwise be, but I prefer that to being almost completely in the dark about the way things are going around the world. Better to see the brick wall and be braced for the collision than to wonder what the heck we just hit and grope around in the dark for an explanation.

Thank you for blogging.

Go here, scroll down, click on Obermann and swallow with a drink of water.

I did inhale.

that the national Dem establishment would divest itself of the DLC and many of the 'consultants' that, from my far-removed stand-point, appear to be telling our pols that they can't beat the Repubs, no matter what they do, no matter how hard they try.

But then I see things like the Clinton/Wallace interview, and Olbermann (Yeeee-OW!!), and they show me that the night has stars.

keep the fires burning, and (slap me hard if you want...) ask your wife if she feels like she's "back in the USSR" (apologies to the Beatles)...gads, but I'm starting to feel like I'm there, only I understand the language now.....

-5.75,-4.05 "The invisible hand of Adam Smith seems to offer an extended middle finger to an awful lot of people"---George Carlin

Sean-Paul, read this story from Bowers. He's hardly a Polyanna, yet he's almost giddy in this post about Colorado, and the changes that have been wrought in the span of 4 years:

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/9/26/17038/5320

It's both about hopeful trendlines, and the part that blogging plays in it. Blogging is neither pointless nor hopeless.

You know, I read Ralph Reed's "Active Faith" (I was curious). Bit of a whitewash in some places (all the key ones), and deeply ironic to read as things started to fall apart for him, but I would highly recommend anyone trying to take part in the VLWC read it. It's about persistence. Start local, start small, work at it, be patient, keep with it. You look at how freakin hard the VRWC has to work to keep things from going off the rails, and I can't help but be hopeful that we can turn things around faster than they did.

... politically aware American. This is how German democrats must have felt in the 30s when the Weimar republic slipped away. For me it became unbearable to live in the US and I am not even American. I relocated to Canada - being here makes it much easier to stay sane. Living in NC I could not stand to watch the Bush Cheney stickers on cars any longer. But sadly Canada is not really an option for an American. You will suffer with your country wherever you go - such is the nature of true patriotism and love of one's country. Besides although times are bad the fight is not over - the world depends on good Americans fighting to pull their country back from the abyss.

http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/09/27/iraq-for-sale-the-war-profiteers/
It is worth a watch!

_{repressive governments mix administrative clumsiness & inefficiency with authoritarian tendencies.}

I was much like Bolo, only my epiphany about political responsibility came earlier, it came on 9/11. Having been a block away from the WTC when the first plane hit, I had a lot of jitters.

What I took away from the experience, apart from being traumatized, was a desire on an intellectual level to figure out why it happened.

I went through a period of therapy for post traumatic stress syndrome. I was also depressed. My therapist said part of my problem was that I was trying to carry the entire worries of the world on my shoulders and that was neither realistic nor my job.

That was helpful up to a point but I still needed to find an intellectual level understanding of things. I subscribe to the The Nation and TNR, publications which I thought would help me focus my thoughts. I found both not my cup of tea for different reasons.

Your blog, on the other hand, has been amazingly therapeutic to me and I am sure a lot of other folks. I have checked out other "progressive" blogs but this one has the reality based balance of liberalism and pragmatism that makes the most sense to me. You have also built a community SPK, something you should be proud of.

You can't carry the world on your shoulders either. Doing your best and soldiering on promoting your ethical standards is a whole lot more than what most people are doing. If we don't toss out the scoundrels this election cycle we can always redouble our for the next.

I am bummed about the Dems reaction to the McCain compromise as well. The glimmer of hope that may come from that is that, craven as the Dems may have been, if they end up with a majority in either or both houses, the damage can be undone.