I vote in Nevada and am active in the Democratic Party. They have some fine hard working volunteers. However, few are activists. I do volunteer at phone banks and go door to door. Also open my home to gatherings.

In frustration, I started house parties based on discussing issues. We divided into groups and aired our views. To put their concerns into action I made a list of Internet organizations where they could sign petitions, review poignant issues and call their senators and representative.

I hold their hand every step of the way. I send out e-mails letting them know an issue that needs a phone call from them. My concern is that I am the active force behind this activity. If I am indisposed the ball is dropped and sits there. Give me some suggestions on how to get people to be independent and self-motivated. I really need some inspiration myself at this point. I’m burning out.

Just a thought (I hope you see it) but perhaps just asking one or two of your regulars to back you up, because you need the help. Don’t expect them to hit the ground running immediately, but coach them. Sometimes people don’t step forward, but wait to be asked.

This is the Republican response to the good Senator’s … whatever:
…
Any questions?

Yeah, why do Republicans hate America?

Actually, I have this sneaking suspicion, and it becomes more like an alarming suspicion from time to time, that the whole matter of impeaching Bill Clinton was done to give the country impeachment fatigue. I wonder if they didn’t bring such bogus charges that would not fly with the American people so that when they elected the next president, and he was a Repug, no one would have the nerve to bring him up on charges no matter how outrageous he acted. …

I feel certain that’s what happened. They’ve known for a long time the kind of mayhem and chaos they were going to inflict on the world and they planned it very carefully — not Shrub of course.

Richmond @ 174

Interesting: Venezuala AND Saudi Arabia both contemplating switching from the dollar. …

Iranian Oil Bourse–oil traded in Euros only. I think it might be related to what you find “interesting”. I am trying to understand the impact myself as a layman. …

If Euros (or something else) is to be used for international trade of oil, then there would be less real economic activity underlying the dollar and thus much less need for dollars.

This doesn’t necessarily impact the American economy until those dollars start finding their way back here and inflating the supply of dollars actually here in America, floating around our economy.

How does an economy get rid of unneeded cash? What are the side-effects of their presence and of the process of getting rid of them?

bg @ 168

The Asia Times has been publishing on how unhappy China is with the de facto devaluation of the dollar through the interest rate adjustment. Venezuela has already started to dump dollars.

Interesting: Venezuala AND Saudi Arabia both contemplating switching from the dollar. Enemies and more enemies (both with oil!! Hmmmm). What are the dates for the major downturn of the stock market (for profit) again?

Don’t forget: the stock market (DOW) represents corporations which make money from foreign labor, so the American economy might crash without the stock market going down so far or fast.

Ever since the beginning of the outsourcing of jobs began there has been a splitting of the markets from the American economy.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 217

I’m sorry, james — did you somehow miss the part at the very top of the post where I said to be polite? Asking pointed questions is one thing, not only allowed but encouraged. But namecalling is another thing altogether in a guest thread.

We work very hard to get people of a lot of different stripes and experiences to chat on this blog. We get them here to have a conversation. That sort of juvenile idiocy is not helpful. If you think it is easy to set something like this up, then you have another thing coming. It is disrespectful to the blog and to Jane, and I will not have it. Understood?

I don’t believe I ever directed any rude, name-calling at Hart. I expressed my opinions about impeachment, and when he was finished telling us why we should suck it up and bite the bullet and pointedly left the comments are, I believe I responded to another commenter’s remark about pimping books.

If that is what you are referring to then I don’t see where anything I said was rude. I and others here greatly appreciate your time and effort in putting these things together, but when a prominent former presidential candidate, who lost the nomination due to Democratus erectus, tells us we should impeach this guy ourselves and dances around the issue while putting himself forward as a voice of virtue and prudence….sorry, he had a shot at saving our country from the first Bush which would have saved us from this current monster.

I don’t mean to be confrontational but when someone puts himself in the crosshairs is there a set code of conduct by which we should conduct ourselves? I didn’t come right out and ask about Donna Rice, did I?

[CHS notes: No, but I believe the words pimp and whore did come up. Think of it this way — is this the sort of conversation you’d have with your grandma or some other person with whom you are polite? All I’m asking is for some politeness during guest threads. Not too much to ask, I don’t think — you can be as confrontational on the issues as you like. Just watch the namecalling and the rudeness. This isn’t up for debate with me — we enforce this regularly in every guest thread across the board. And we are able to get guests for chat for precisely that reason. This isn’t some barroom brawl, it is a discussion. Please treat it as such.]

The words “pimp” and “whore” came up in a totally different context in response to something someone else said and by that time the distinguished adulterer had left the site.

Any way you want to cut it to defend your argument and your criticism of what I said, you’re wrong. I was nothing but deferential to Hart and if you think what I said about pimp and whore being the middle names given to senators when they get elected take a good look at Lieberman, Biden, Clinton, and the entire GOP membership of that body.

Hart defeated the Democrats in 88 just as much as Clinton did in 2000 with his behavior albeit the Supremes hijacked that election.

newtonusr @ 284

Hugh – I sort of sympathize with the former Senator here. He has had his public moments and highs and lows. It’s his choice to focus on his personal passions and leave us to ours.

Gary Hart’s reputation derives from what are supposed to be his well considered views. I have no problem with him having different interests from mine. It just seems to me discordant with his image for thoughtfulness that he dismisses so lightly what is the core question of the Bush Presidency: To impeach or not to impeach. It is not just another question. It is the question.

good point

darkblack @ 238

The core effect of an Iranian oil bourse would be an accelerating devaluation in the American dollar, tied as it is to per-barrel petroleum pricing internationally.
If other countries follow, you have the makings of a ‘wheelbarrow economy’ in the U.S., as there is no currency fallback standard (gold, for example) to rely upon for balance.
Hussein in Iraq flirted with a bourse, and Iran has threatened one for years.

IMO, it is one of two reasons why the current U.S. government has designs on Iran…The other being revenge for the loss of American hegemony during the cultural revolution of 1979.

U. S. effectively controls the world oil-market as the dollar has become the “fiat” international trading currency. Today U.S. currency accounts for approximately two-thirds of all official exchange reserves. More than four-fifths of all foreign exchange transactions and half of all the world exports are denominated in dollars and U.S. currency accounts for about two-thirds of all official exchange reserves. The fact that billions of dollars worth of oil is priced in dollars ensures the world domination of the dollar. It allows the U.S. to act as the world’s central bank, printing currency acceptable everywhere. The dollar has become an oil-backed, not gold-backed, currency.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler……_euro.html

Up above it was suggested that a stabile currency was essential and the US and Euro are rationally traded and float. We complain a lot about the Chinese having a fixed currency and not allowing it to float. DOes that mean if an oil exchange were demonimated in strictly controlled Chinese currency, there would be problems valuing oil in a floating market and therefore international monetary chaos?

What the fuck is going on?? Either (a) our leaders have absolutely no idea how to play politics in a way to keep from getting wedged or (b) They dont realize the first freaking thing about building a coalition is to prevent wedging (c) They are more afraid of the “left” than the right.

How about (d) They are not really Democrats and they are there to destroy the Party from within?

I was saying this throughout the 90s with the Clinton and friends. After the events of the last few years especially, with J. Low LieberME! and the Blur Dog Coalition amoung several others, can it be any more obvious?!?

They are not on our side. They are there to serve their Conglomerate masters, and throw us just enough bones to keep Liberals, the majority of the country, pacified enough to keep voting-in the mega-Corporate candidates. Keep the status quo, and make sure there’s no repeat of the 50s and 60s upheavals.

ET at 253 — I figured that. Sometimes not getting a question answered tells you as much or more as getting one.

Bless you, Christy.