Amen Brother Attaturk…thanks for the quote from our very own Hubert “the Happy Warrior” Humphrey, though he did have is weaknesses and his blind spots (he would be willin’ ta fight any war to the last of other folks’ children), whatcha see is whatcha got with the man…lotsa giants in the earth that must be thinkin it was all worth it.

Amazing, people ripping Tammy Duckworth last night and then tributes to LBJ and Hube the Cube. What a frickin joke.

This doesn’t count the Vietnamese, multiply by what, 100?
On August 28,
144 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.

On this day in 1962,
1 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
On this day in 1965,
1 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
On this day in 1966,
16 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
On this day in 1967,
28 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
On this day in 1968,
45 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
On this day in 1969,
33 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
On this day in 1970,
12 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
On this day in 1971,
8 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.

Citizen Raven:

I don’t think that those rippin’ Tammy Duckworth were rippin’ her service but rather were rightly exposin’ how her sacrifice was bein used in the service of Rahm Emmanuel and the war profiteers…and as for LBJ and HHH, you are, unfortunately right on…especially with regard to LBJ. LBJ was the perfection of the post WWII Democratic Party and it’s corporate sponsors…and those folks who ran LBJ shot JFK and got the first southerner in the White House since the Civil War…in the meantime, Democrats haven’t been able ta elect one who ain’t from the old slave South since. Ah the ironies of history…

Dump the Hump! Someone here is old enough to remember that HHH turned into the Joe Lieberman of his time, for some of the the same reasons. No matter how good he was on any other issue (and he was a lion on civil rights in the 40s and 50s), HHH will always be a pre-neocon chained to a war he thought we needed to fight.

Citizen StonyPillow:

My father’s best friend was a fellow highschool teacher who became advance man and cheif of staff for Humphrey when he was VP…unfortunately, Hubert’s politics were as a cold war, New Deal “liberal” and his first political accomplishment was to purge the unions in Minneapolis of all the commies and lefists…he was owned, lock stock and barrel by the big grain conglomerates…but he was up front about his “anti-communism” he jest didn’t see the great contradictions.

Her service, or use of it, didn’t cost millions of lives. As for LBJ’s, phony mofo wearing a goddamn silver star for being in a plane that turned around miles from any shit, xin loi.

Citizen Raven:

I’m tryin ta figure jest what is stuck in yer crotch here, Brother Raven…I mean, Tammy Duckworth was a tool of Rahm Emmanuel to run an unsuccessful campaign in a very winnable district and she beat a local progressive for the nomination with money from Rahm-Daley-DCCC and now she is bein’ rewarded with a state job and prob’ly another shot at a state office…the criticism of Tammy doesn’t have anythin’ ta do with her service but rather, for this old GI, she pisses me off ‘cuz she allowed herself ta be used by the very folks that got her legs blown off.

You should be pissed as hell about the exploitation of vets by the craven political hacks who could give a shit about their sacrifice or, ultimately, what that sacrifice means…

Hi, NorskeFlamethrower. Ever since the death of Roosevelt, the Republicans have been flicking that old booger that ”Democrats are soft on (X)”. The Humphrey response, the DFL response, and the Democratic party response was to try to be tougher on (X) than the Republicans. Hence HHH. And hence Scoop Jackson (D-Hell), the proto-neocon.

You’d think after 60 years, we could have figured this one out. You’d think that after yet another useless war we had no business starting we could have figured this out. You’d think that after dropping the ball on the very real but manageable threat of Qutbism, we could have figured this out.

FIDO

Good morning pups

Good morning, pups. It’s Collins, Cohen and Kristof this morning. Ms. Collins’ column is titled “The Torch Passes. Really.” She says the Clintons did everything they were supposed to do and in politics, like so much of life, feelings are irrelevant to everyone except the persons doing the feeling. Mr. Cohen asks “Obama’s From Main St., Ain’t He?” He inquires is Barack Obama more beer than Chardonnay? Is he a Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks guy? Is he one of us despite having what his wife Michelle called “that funny name?” Mr. Kristof, having been sued, writes about “Media’s Balancing Act.” He says the job of the news media is supposed to be to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. Instead, he managed to afflict the afflicted.

http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/

The coffee and tea are ready, and I’ve got lemon poppyseed muffins this morning. Last night’s speeches were splendid, and I’m looking forward with bated breath to Obama’s speech tonight. And then maybe I’ll be able to get some sleep… What with the Olympics segueing directly into the convention I’m a wreck! Have a great day.

Mornin’, pups -

Marion -

Is it just me or is lacollins more mish-mashed than usual (if that’s possible)?

Thank you Norske. Right on point. It has nothing to do with Duckworth or her service which is laudable. Sadly, she was used as a prop and unsuccessfully so—and then again last night. Sad to see our team so into shameless exploitation.

On another note, Susie made me want to laugh out loud this morning, but I had to stifle it—others still asleep:

Obvious
Why John McCain might pick Joe Lieberman as his VP nominee: Because he’s the only person who won’t make McCain look like a midget.

Is it Kismet, holy, design, history….what is the word for the fulfillment and celebration…that today on the Dream speech anniversary Obama accepts the nomination. I am so glad to be here to see it.

Both my sister and dad who are not alive would be incredulous, awe-struck. Obama has become the embodiment and fulfillment of hope. Let the world celebrate. John Lewis is talking about what a difference O. is making for young people. I can’t wait for tonight.

I hope John Lewis is given the spotlight if only for a bit. He and Jim Lawson were an important part of that history. And as more history is made tonight, they are emblems of the continuity of the struggle.

Well, it’s probably some sort of cognitive dissonance. What she probably wants to write (that the Clintons did a great job and unified the party) is at odds with what Her Corporate Overlords want her to write. Which leaves her with odd little tics…

Ticks, more like it. *g*

would those be dog ticks? Or deer ticks?

Gustav. Not good. The last thing we need is another disaster to hit NoLa.

I’ll bet McSame’s team isn’t too pleased with the timing either.

Morning!
Thanks for the link to Martin Luther King’s speech, what a great way to start the day today.

.
Here’s the schedule for Washington Journal

7:30-8:00 BRUCE KLINGNER Former CIA Deputy Chief
Korea Issue Group, 1996-2001
www.heritage.org
Topic: On Wednesday, North Korea threatened to resume its nuclear program, after the U.S. failed to remove the communist country from the list of states that sponsor terrorism. Our guest discusses the causes and implications of the current rift. He is the senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center.

8:30-10 Live from the DNC in Denver, CO
Locator: Denver
U.S. Bank Tower

8:30-9:00 Rex Nutting
at DNC MarketWatch
Washington Bureau Chief
www.marketwatch.com
Topic: A look at how Sen. Obama has proposed to improve the current U.S. economy. It’s one of the main issues that been talked about Democratic National Convention this week.

9:00-9:30 ERIC MELDER at DNC Former YMCA Executive Director
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Topic: Essay winner meets Sen. Obama tonight. Our guest will be one of ten people chosen by Senator Obama’s campaign that will get a private audience with the Senator tonight prior to his acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver. He previously supported former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee for President, but has since switched to Sen. Obama.

9:30-10:00 Rep. KEITH ELLISON
at DNC D-Minnesota, 5th District
Minneapolis
http://ellison.house.gov
Topic: 45 years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have A Dream Speech.” Our guest joins us to discuss the significance of the speech, what it means to him and the legacy of Dr. King as well as his impact on the Democratic Party & this week’s convention.

Whichever is worse…..’cause that was a miserable piece of writing.

Oh, please, let the Gulf (and especially New Orleans) be spared! To put a nasty bit of snark on it, the talking heads would surely say, “it’s to mccain’s advantage.” :-(

Off for a med appointment; y’all have a g’day.

This discussion has really clarified in my mind the Republican strategy of the past 30 years or so. Historically it was Democrats who won both World Wars and Republicans who arguably lost Korea and Vietnam (an extreme oversimplification). Both Korea and Vietnam were started by Democrats though, and they were both mistakes and they both hurt the Democratic Party.

Republicans realize that and so they call us soft on defense in hopes of spurring Democrats to make more mistakes like that which always hurt our party.

The war-mongering Democrats are just too stupid to see it. And what’s worse, is we have a Republican in the White House right now who is far more reckless and irresponsible than either Truman or Johnson, but Democrats can’t seem to take advantage because too many Dems can’t stand to be called chicken so they puff up their chests and continue their war mongering.

Republicans may be evil (again a gross oversimplification) but they’re not stupid.

you guys are not gonna believe what I was slapped in the face with from the new york post this morning when I went in for my coffee;

in bold, big as can be headline print, front page;

“MY GOD DEMS ELECT OBAMA TEMPLE”

who the HELL owns this paper and how the HELL do new yorkers buy it?

Congrats FDL on 61,000,000 site visits!

—–Girl Geek Squad

I’ve got to get to work, but I thought I’d share my own neuroses with you all since misery loves company.

I was listening to NPR as I was trying to get out of bed this morning and was getting all emotional about the timing of Barack’s speech tonight and the anniversary of MLK’s historic speech.

Then such a powerful, emotional moment for me was interrupted by my stupid, neurotic mind which started thinking that while this will certainly be a very powerful night for us die-hard liberals, I’m afraid it may have the opposite effect on the so-called swing voters who are bombarded with messages from the Right about how Obama is just a Black Panther operative or some such nonsense.

It’s really sad, but there may be something to my pessimistic brain’s theories.

I guess we just have to do what is right, honor those who deserve to be honored and hope that God (or whatever universal force you subscribe to) will somehow make things work out for the best.

go to the page and the bold new headline is this;

TEMPLE OF DEM ON MT. O-LYMPUS

in print this looks like “demon”

the first paragraph reads like so;

Democrats will kneel before the “Temple of Obama” tonight.

man, this paper needs a boycott worse then the ap needs it

I’m with ya Attaturk! It’s a good day to be a Democrat!

I’m afraid it may have the opposite effect on the so-called swing voters who are bombarded with messages from the Right about how Obama is just a Black Panther operative or some such nonsense.

I was thinking from the start it was indeed a big mistake to have obama’s speech on the night of mlk.

Good Morning and just wow.

Thanks for the explanation; I did not quite “get” the first post. We are in for a long ride. Maybe the crazies will turnoff the undecideds, etc. My hopeful spirit wants to keep believing that the time has come. But like the other above, sometimes my Lizard brain switches into a terrible fear mode that has to be quashed. This is the night for hope. The dream still lives; it has certainly been battered and tested.

Both my lizard and my very sane brain want this administration to disappear; to hide; to be prosecuted. That’s hope as well.

Both Korea and Vietnam were started by Democrats

Really? Got some real historians here.

Off topic somewhat…

Watch this PUMA whacko from Massachusetts talk! Holy cow! [Mod Note: please no violence, real or fantasy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vUUl8RIyjw

If Johnny McTeleprompter who wants to overturn Roe v. Wade wins, I’m tracking this Elizabeth down!

Hey, if I can switch to Barack Obama after Dennis Kucinich told me to, then this asshole can proceed with the wishes of Hillary Clinton. Oh wait! What the PUMA’s are really masking is their underlying racism by making up excuses to make it not look like they are racists. Disgusting.

Have a great day everyone!

Deep thought.

How come no one’s talking about Lindsay Graham as a possible veep? Could it be the closet thing? But they do bring up Charlie Christ.

Just sayin’

When I was a kid in the 1060’s and, I believe, when LBJ was running for president with HHH as his running mate, my mom told me about Humphrey’s 1948 civil rights speech and how the Dixiecrats walked out but HHH stood firm and Truman went on to win. That’s when I became a Democrat. In spite of all my major disappointments over the years, I still am a Democrat and so are my two teenage sons.

xin loi

Haven’t heard that in a long time. Right on.

what a looney tune,
too bad the McCainStreamMedia is using a few jerks to hype a non-issue

Norske, That is unfair to Hubert. You and I were there and you should know better. The Warrior was hamstrung by LBJ, who to judge by conversations I had with people who served in his cabinet could and did humiliate his associates when the mood struck him. Humphrey was a decent person who had the choice of in effect staying in the cabinet and assuming collective responsibility for what he and LBJ understood was a catastrophe, or dropping out and leaving the field to Gene McCarthy, who had a tinker’s chance in hell of gaining the election against Nixon. I supported McCarthy, but I never thought he ever had a chance. After RFK’s assassination Humphrey was all we had left. I will never forgive my left-wing friends who sat the election out, thereby throwing it to Nixon, with the consequences we now sadly see.

Attaturk, an excellent post.

I am a Chicano from the Sonoran Desert, as well as a Vietnam War Vet. Thus, I ascribe to Humility since that is the fundamental principle and guide for my membership in the slow-walk “maturation for moderation” Club.

Long story short, after my discharge from the military, I attended college. My older brother, a Navy vet, was busy acquiring his graduate degree at Antioch, Ohio, and if you know anything about Antioch, it was the ‘platform’ for what is now embedded into our institutions for higher learning and in particular, classes in “community service”. Thus, I took a class in “community service” and which led to my better integration and engagement into the world around me. Thusly, I became part of the leadership cabal that over a span of years, ‘reconstituted’ the Maricopa County Community College Distric here in Arizona, and the second largest educational systemic in America.

And having grown up as a migrant worker and familiar with Cesar Chavez, the United Farmworkers and Saul Alinsky’s guiding principles for community organizing, thusly, my ‘connection’ of experiences amply helped me develop my “expertise” for Survival and Success, and which continues to this day.

Today, I can look back fondly at America’s world of 35 years ago, and know that I have helped over the intervening years, hundreds of thousands of my fellow citizens in many ways, both for the subtle and the nuance. Thus, I was an intergral part of a cabal known famously as the Tyranny of the Dull that out-competed and out-hustled another cabal of the Tyranny of the Dull or the Status Quo to achieve this Success for Shaping Our Future Together.

Consequently, change is generically unwelcomed by the many, and yet, America has changed for the better, and folks like Hubert Humphrey is to be accorded the appropriate Kudos for his self-enlightenment. In short, he and many of the like-minded for Humility, helped my achieve my Humility.

And it doesn’t get any better than that! And thinking otherwise is for amateurs.

Jaango

Take note, knuckledraggers… the style of architechture featuring columns has been the feature of public buildings around the world for centuries. In the great republics of the world they do not represent the Gods, but rather the temples of Democracy. Open any book on our great capital and you will see columns on almost all of our great public buildings, as you will on court houses and state houses accross the country.

This is the most stupid and desperate angle of attack yet.

Yeah, both Hubert and LBJ were wrong on Vietnam. They had a lot of company — including the whole of the Republican Party, which if you will remember sent Anna Chan Chennault to Paris in 1968 to sabotage the Peace Talks for fear that peace in Vietnam would allow LBJ to remain in office and continue with his Great Society programs.

Remember, this was the decade of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Fidel was PISSED that Nikita didn’t respond with nukes against DC. It was easy for most people to expect the worst of Ho Chi Minh’s crew, not realizing that they were angels compared to Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge (with whom Kissinger happily worked).

Yupper. Especially since the main reason we were in ‘Nam past ‘68 is because Nixon sent Anna Chennault to Paris to make sure the Peace Talks went down in flames.

If the Peace Talks had succeeded, either LBJ or HHH would have run for and won a second term, the Great Society would have been consolidated instead of attacked, and we’d be a lot better off.

Knut, I agree Dems should have rallied to HHH’s side in 68, especially after he’d begun to show some signs of distancing himself from his boss’ War approach — the alternative of Nixon was just too awful to accept. Alas, for many, especially the McCarthy faction and McCarthy himself, HHH’s small steps in Sept and Oct were too little too late.

Humphrey though should have pushed harder about the War and basically challenged Lyndon to adapt to the compromise peace plank agreed to by HHH and the Kennedy and McCarthy factions, though for sure that might have put his nom at risk. Instead, he caved in as Lyndon ramrodded through the more hawkish plank. Not challenging Lyndon at the convention was a big mistake, and the nomination he got, with all the hawkishness it brought with it and the bad relations with the liberal wing, was a serious handicap going into the fall. HHH also angered the antiwar wing of the party when he publicly embraced Dick Daley’s police thugs. A wimpy and stupid response.

In the end, Humphrey, though he’d been strong on CR years earlier, just didn’t have the internal fortitude to stand up and draw a line in the sand when it mattered.

Meh. Nuts to Humphrey. He was nominated in 1968 despite winning not one single primary, and he supported the war.

Yes, he was fine on civil rights, but he was from Minnesota. It’s not as dangerous as being from, say, Texas.