I need to go on a diet of humor.

But now that I men shun it. 
Y U ...
[Hint] /?

But seriously,^ I was pondering a fantasy race today(3-25), and polled a few people.  Who would be a suitable candidate to run with Rand Paul, for a fictional set up of a Warren/Reich ticket?  Unfortunately one suggestion blew my punchline:  Dennis Kucinich.* 

Maybe I will fill in the inspiration^^ for this ponder/poll later.  Not that there is anything wrong with Hillary.  It is more of a take on the Hope and Change^ that has happened. 

* that was not the intent of my poll;
but then who am I ^^to advise R's.

D' Ribble:  "you people..."? / Who gets it?
Chimp ! Temporal / Monkey Business / C/D / (Eye of Be)Holder Courage / QCON: TruthOut (a, b, c/d, e, f)

^ 3-26-14 i.e. later
^^ who am I to advise: Throwing the Game / Apples and Oranges? 

A Black and White Chat

Last evening, I had a chat(FP2) with a fellow, that began with the subject of the Kobayashi Maru, and the nature of "no-win" versus "game changing" situations.

He was cynical, to say the least* about politics.  He was almost "fair and balanced"(to balance FOX with ideology**) in respect to his admiration for both Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul for their straightforwardness, while blaming both parties for their lack thereof and manipulation of the Overton Window.

Allow me to drop this with dissatisfaction @ how it was not really a debate and my not fulfilling a dream.***

* or to say inadequately characterize his view
** a spectrum [wMd?]
(***) or get to my work with metaphor (FP1)

Note: Italics signify prior posts. Bold(if links) signifies outside reads or to reads.

[Spoiler alert !!!!!]

Follow Up

3-25-11
[A] Trick Question of the Day? Whose Libya Policy is worse?*

[B] here is to the brave...journalist link added: It is important to ask the hard questions, but it is important not to negotiate or spill strategy to the enemy.]

[C] bonus feature links added

* Blunt Bolton 2012! OR Trump Bolton 2012
Odyssey Dawn 2012(No Princess Cruise)
[Top link and asterisk added 3-25-11]
[2012 Dream Race/Debate: Sanders Fiengold, Biden Obama, Trump Paul. I'm just saying that by attrition or distribution, there may be a shift in the political spectrum of the so-called middle. This would at least make for an interesting debate not that the organizational structure would cooperate. Fiengold might not be a player or choose this field of endeavor in rocking the party boat, Kucinich may be an alternate, and Trump and Rand Paul would have their own problems with the Republicans. Heck, there may as well be Pawlenty Bush 2012.]

[D.] Speaking of Brackets

[E.] Speaking of Spills, someone is getting a run for their money. Bored of the Day: Is it funny how 1996 was the year?
[See C. Supplemental/Flops]

[Final Crack: One of the premises for preemption was meaning what you say or following through. Well just how is Gingrich cracked up?]

[Bonus Crack: In all fairness it is not!

From the President, Monday -- quoting: "It is U-S Policy that Qaddafi needs to go."

From the Chairman, Sunday -- quoting. "It’s not about seeing him go," unquote. He added that the mission might be accomplished even if Qaddafi stays in power.

There is no inconsistency here: U.S. Policy is one thing. The Mission is another. Pure and complicated (and balanced.)]

Trick Question of the Day?

Whose Libya policy is worse?
A. Newt
B. Gingrich

I have often wished that there were more choices in these polls but this is as bad as O'Reilly or Beck. Sure enough Newt Gingrich was for a no-fly zone before he was against it, but that is being consistent. He was for a no-fly zone before the President got a coalition together, and he was against it after he did. Makes sense to me, in the bomb and then ask questions or become partisan world of Fox news and the Right.* For O'Reilly he gripes that if the President Bush had done what Obama has done the Left would have a fit. Well actually when Bush went into Afghanistan there was pretty much support for him, until he ginned up a false pretense for Iraq. It is hard to imagine Bush actually proceeding with following through on a U.N. decision or getting a decision that did not get a single veto. It is apples and oranges for O'Reilly.

[Bachmann Turn Her Overdrive.]

* Blunt Bolton 2012! OR Trump Bolton 2012
Odyssey Dawn 2012(No Princess Cruise)
[Top link and asterisk added 3-25-11]
[2012 Dream Race/Debate: Sanders Fiengold, Biden Obama, Trump Paul. I'm just saying that by attrition or distribution, there may be a shift in the political spectrum of the so-called middle. This would at least make for an interesting debate not that the organizational structure would cooperate. Fiengold might not be a player or choose this field of endeavor in rocking the party boat, Kucinich may be an alternate, and Trump and Rand Paul would have their own problems with the Republicans. Heck, there may as well be Pawlenty Bush 2012.]

The Other Thing...

is Wall Street, or rather the segue from the economy and colonial perspectives* is again from Ed Schultz.

Bottom-line or two: It is not about left or right, but pragmatic and fanciful.*** By this I mean in the perspectives of so-called "communists" or "socialists" and "free-market"tears. At the point that Dennis Kucinich and Bill O'Reilly can agree on something, maybe there is something for the artful dodgers. Is that preposterous or Tools R'Us?**

* more than one point of tangent, on the other hand.

** double entendre: which does not add upi.e. not an endorsement for the organization but maybe the hope, which may be a triple take

*** not so

[non hint nor footnote]
[but who knows?]
[Norman Goldman: Everything is on the Table is a fine slogan for No Labels(above Tools R'us), so Norman Goldman puts politics, and confrontation on the table, until compromise occurs to everyone.]

One of my readers

if there is more than one, is concerned about my communications.
Note Under Construction label. I agree, it is problematic at times and heavy in links to say the least.

Fair and Balanced News? is a link directing to The Daily Show.

That is called Ledership you can choose to follow.(The FOX NEWS motto versus Comedy Central as a news source.)

Debt is a Red Herring, is a statement and a link and spins from here:

Six Things Everybody Knows About Deficits ...
That Are Completely Untrue
Which I rephrase as truths:

1.) Current and future spending are not the problem with the defecit, except for paying for our history.
2.) Social Security is not a big deal to fix(separately), but could be impacted by the budget and other decisions.
3.) Austerity and investment are different stories, that both have an impact on the budget and winning the future as well as the now.
4.) Concessions should not be trickle down but incentives should be target up.
5.) Wall Street is not fixed enough to be that big or permanent a part of the solution.
6.) Social Security is not on the same budget table as Medicare and Medicaid and calling them "entitlements" is misleading, and means testing or tax changes could address their impact on our economy

The rest is context and more sources, which may merit more spin and unembedding here: segment,the club of association)

If you don't get it you maybe out foxed.

Nonetheless i will further comment on some of the above links.
Club: The Norman Goldman 4-Point Plan to Rescue America
Association Lawrence O'Donnell, Dennis Kucinich interview about Tea Party coordination.
More: Randi Rhodes interviews Ron Paul
Spin: It is hard to believe Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker could be outed by prank, as puppet of Tea Party Sugar Daddy David Koch.
And back to O'Reilly interview of Beck, it completes a circle. The democracy that means the so-called communists and fundamentalists Beck says will be at the table in Egypt will be practiced in some repects in America and there will be uprising against the crony capitalism of Governor (Mubarak)Walker.
[2-24-11 See Comment and added footnotes in the form of the last two links embedded.]
[Late find of Lawrence O'Donnell v. Beck: tangent out ]

Parsing Combat

{Bracketed (next) with both titles written before this blog post begins and this is not finished.}

Dennis Kucinich said something recently, which rankled me

"peace is inevitable".

I do not believe it is. Peace is "hard work"!

Having yet to hear(or read) the whole speech , the above "Parsing" refers to other's (Norman Goldman) comments.[I may continue to parse.]

Demon Pass

or Demonizing Politics with Deem and Pass!
At the 3 minute mark I agree the Democrats might be better off with a vote, but it is overly cynical of politics and ironically political to blame the creative process.
But Senator Stabinow defends or explains the process.
[Is that straight? I hope it is straight now, and I thought that the Klein and O'Donnell had fallen for some political spin, even though their intentions might be right. In fact, it is like the Valentine metaphor, but they just send them in one envelope.]

[Here are the demons who don't understand that self-executing is just what they seem to want, when it really means getting it done, and I don't mean Dennis Kucinich.]
[Belated Chalk Up and Kudos to Kucinich ]

Preemptive Comment

Only slightly: Pardon Cheney, he doesn't know what the "legal definition" of anything is. Pardon me, Chris Matthews, we need a new word for "beyond hypothetical". He asked a guest what they would be saying if Bush has just given the same speech. Since Ron Reagan was one the guests, it might have made sense if the other guest had been a Republican but maybe not. My point? This is not a speech that Bush could have given or ever would have given, no matter how similar one thinks it sounds. At least not on Cheney's watch.[**]

Speech - TEXT
CNN video
Biden support
Republicans agree. (OK this is a tangent, but I earlier thought that Cheney is getting too much coverage. If his comments would be filtered to what was really news and reasonably accurate, he would get none.)

MSNBC - General Eaton - Steve Clemons - Cenk Uygur * - Howard Fineman - Hardball - Rachel Maddow - also - Olbermann - Maxine Waters - Kucinich - Ed Schultz - Pragmatic
* I am in Karen Finney's corner
[**] 12-1-09 update: which gives short shrift to Bush's natural proclivities.

Progress is Global

...and incremental, pragmatic, and needs to reflect diverse views and dynamics. It also should put the health care progress in proper perspective, as there are both employment and international consequences to changes, which congress must be in on addressing. Despite the fears of some, this is not a dictatorship or even a one party system but a triumvirate for the tetrahedron of the people.

[Reference Base *...]

[[Setting the tea table? Huffington Post, Ron Paul and Kucinich on Auditing the Federal Reserve. And a placemat for Ed Schultz in Seattle November 15th. ]]

[update: 11-17-09 Just Foreign Policy - Progressive Caucus ]

* link added [update: 11-20-09 The Pacific President (CAP-TP)]

Other tracks.

Business Week and Russert and the Media.
My comment there:

Not being a regular consumer of his work, I did not have him on a pedestal, but given the nature of the business he was probably the best they could afford. And given the nature of the world, even harder to find one without more of an edge. Maybe as the comments on Kiley have shown.

My suggestion to MSNBC is to fill several pairs of shoes in memory of Russert's work. Not as in trying to fill his shoes, but to uphold his several jobs. It will still be difficult. [Maybe David Bender if not Rachel Maddow could fill one or more of those pairs, but not necessarily that they or GE* would want them to fit.]
[[[Ed Schultz would be a fit for some shoes here, but I think he enjoys the job he's got too much and could actually be in the running for the whole show. And of course Keith Olbermann would be great, if he was not so great at his present job.]]]

- - - - -

Meanwhile I have been writing in other formats, message board and email. And will get to the following (nfry), later.
- - - - -
When McCain Drops by Steve Rosenbaum
US General Accuses Bush Administration of War Crimes
Broken Laws, Broken LivesPhysicians for Human Rights
Michael Reagan Should be charged for terrorism
or they are right, our freedoms are what gives us terrorists.
How could a wrong be so right? NOT!

She talks about the real America. Will she be heard?
In no particular order:
Kucinich: Impeachment Not "Off the Table"

I hope to be back to these links, but wish that they did not tie in so well, that more will be following. But I will summarize my feeling that McCain may be just a place holder in a strategy where there is too much to loose not to give it more than he's got, and that plays into the way I see them always playing it.

Meanwhile Obama has "flip-flopped"[**] on the Public Campaign Finance System but faces it in a more honest a principled manner than the media can follow or wishes to follow. While McCain may just be a distraction for a sleeper candidate, they cannot come up with one that should not be asked what he or she would do about holding history accountable.

* GE profits are a picture that may not fit full disclosure journalism, economics or environment, but then I acknowledge I don't fit or have the full picture either. Meaning I have taken digs at them, and it does not mean that profits are above principles or question, but that it is another story.

** The Catch-22 for them not us, but we*** can't help it. "Flip-flop" is a charge that was created by those that fear nuance or the work required to do their jobs or an attempt to do too many jobs or diminish those that see your own flip-flops, which maybe is all they can see, since this has created a loop. [[I did not intend to throw the book at a term, but then we are all about the Catch-44. And then there is the actual records. Not that I want to go there, but that may be one of the reasons we are here, with McCain a candidate, not his record, but the difficulty in facing it all, and the actions/reactions that brings.]]

*** "we" does depend on a job sometimes and who "them" is, not to mention the word.(While there may be some typo's or gramatical sloppiness in this post, this line have been double and triple checked mentally, not technologically.)

Update

More Vetting and More Investigations? Monster?Gate?
...when first we practice... The Real Scoop?
NOT UPDATED but...
Still needs revisiting.
Flip-Flopping of McCain
Krafting
Hit and Runor the run around?

[Update: 3-11-08 GRAVEL KUCINICH PAUL NADER Is it worse than who thought? + Found Embedded in links somewhere above: CIA & UN Security Council Terrorist Groups? Or Market of Intelligence Forces ]

Clinton In South Carolina

Rachel Maddow on her show:

Rachel, Rachel, Rachel...
You suggest that Obama must go on the offensive? Maybe. But not in the way that you suggest. Not by making things up. Maybe by staging events or confrontations, but not by doing exactly what the opposition is doing. Maybe that is too much faith in the American people. Hillary and Bill, clearly are taking things out of context which display there intention to confuse or inability to understand. And when they are not, the media is. I may be unfair and unbalanced but to me, Obama is more careful in his context and less offensive in his connections. The Clinton campaign should cool it, and so should the media. Even Michelle Obama's comments could not clear the filters and it is not their fault that voters and the media add their own context, just like Hillary and Bill tend to do. Correcting any misinformation and exposing any misunderstanding is one thing but more of the same is counterproductive.

Ed Schultz on Hardball:
And I just turned on MSNBC to find Ed Schultz and Pat Buchanan and a third character on Chris Mathews, and the latter two fall into just these categories and Ed Schultz sure has his hands full cutting through what Edwards would call crap. [Meanwhile Clinton (Bill) takes a swing at the press and strikes at Obama again. It is like shadow jujitsu. Only good for the dark side.]

Dana Milbank on Countdown: On Obama not being uniter.
(OK, I don't have the exact quote. I am doing the press thing.)

Never has a candidate said they will not support the other candidate. (Although Kucinich missed a chance to be clear.) But to assume that they can bring their supporters is another thing.

[Live with Dan Abrams: now -> What some call politics: "I call lawyering". ]

The Democrats can be united. If they are not they are not really Democrats. Putting a Democrat in the White House is the important thing. But putting the best Democrat in the White House is the most important thing. To do that we need the votes of not just Democrats. But that does not mean that the candidate cannot be the best Democrat as well.

Finalizing in what Rachel Maddow also noted about lies.

[Speaking of from September 2002:
A for

Cowboy]

Progressive Caucus Semantics II

UPDATE * : "strategy aside"

Here are some thoughts that I will put down. Both Edwards and Obama are very spirited speakers. While Edwards is not now in the senate, and Obama is, the negative rap that Edwards gets for being a trial lawyer is undeserved and indeed a Republican strategy, to paint lawyers as bad, while forgeting that corporations hire them too. My point is that Edwards has been rewarded for his emotional skills (not to mention handling of evidence)for the sake of his clients, while Obama has not so displayed them in work on the issues.

* NW Progressive Institute: "Some thoughts on the Iowa caucus": is the update (the link) which is also inserted the in previous post under "strategy aside" at the time the above comments were posted.

ALSO: going back to 12-26-07 saved in a file was my quiz results (unweighted)as follows:
Kucinich 11
Dodd 10
In alphabetical order:
Biden, Clinton, Edwards, Gravel, Obama, Richardson 8
Giuliani 6
Ron Paul 5
Romney 2
McCain 1
Note that by this time Dodd and Biden have dropped from the race.

[1-8-08: How Green Is Your Candidate? Grist

Progressive Caucus Semantics

The political calculus:
Dennis Kucinich or Obama
or
Ralph Nader or Edwards
Nader / Bloomberg?
[Update or more of a sort: see comments in bottom brackets 1-3-07]
I was originally going to spin off on the first three words, but breaking commentary and news tweaked these lines.
More later. Maybe.

But these tangents are not really so wild, they revolve around the council one takes and that [**] one gives. Kucinich "the principled" or "the calculator". Nader "the idealist" or "the realist".
Standing up or compromising.
All are more than semantics.

Thanks to Brie Walker* and Thom Hartmann.

*Sitting in for Stephanie Miller.
[**] or which

[1-3-07: a straw poll was just distributed by the Democratic Party of Washington State so I will now add LOCAL to the LABELS for this post. I was going to make a comment but unfortunately I am making progress and asked a few preemptive questions which fine-tuned my course. They will do that. Questions that is. My original thought had to do with who the poll was distributed to, but it was broadly distributed and the best comment is on that site. "Congratulations to Kucinich supporters on their great organizing efforts." Not to take anything away from this comment, but Kucinich's comments in Iowa were the kernel of my original post and its Ramble and subsequent flip-flop. But strategy aside(or maybe I just can't or will not articulate it) I may stick my neck out for Edwards. I have too many theories but I will refrain from rationalizing this as one. But my alternate perspective given the latest input, is that Senators Dodd and Biden are pretty good guys or as the latter would say, "I really like" them, but the political calculus is not just from the base.

[UPDATE: 1-7-08 "strategy aside" link added ]

Thank You Senators Dodd and Reid

It is about time.
[between these lines? accountability is long overdue for so many misdeeds]
Thank Dodd as he thanks others. [ * ]
Telecom Immunity Issue Derails Spy Law Overhaul
Reid Pulls Legislation, Citing Insufficient Time Before Recess
By Jonathan Weisman and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writers

[ UPDATE 12-20-07: 2007 Democrats were more successful than 1995 Republicans but I must say...
And thanks to Rachel Maddow, and Campaign for America's Future,
a report Block-and-Blame GOP Stymies Progress]

Others:
Spying started well before 9-11
My:
QCON
Fourth Estate Blowing It.
Speake Strongly and Carry Little Stick
Rice Lacuna Planning Update.
[Note--See Comment-- I have pretty much updated the previous related links,
but lost in the mud or rice paddy is the problem,
lack of faith in nation building and the foundations and processes
otherwise updated in the right column as OUR FREEDOM and THE LAW.

[ * ]Disclosure: [I bought a Kucinich T-Shirt for his courage at the NW Progessive Convention but it must be remembered that the House has no filibuster, and the Senate has had many missed opportunities. And both have had untold negotiations and tactics.]

MEDIA FILTER

Media Matters
Free Press
- Stop Big Media

GoLeft.TV
AM 1090 Seattle [LOCAL}
Air America Radio
Ring of Fire
Consortium News

(to be expanded)

GRIST: Environmental news and humor
Blue Washington TV *
Kucinich TV

OTHERS
The Raw Story
DalyKOS
HuffingtonPost

* This may be an example of a gimmick, hijacking the terms Blue and Washington, which is not exclusively Left or State issues, but with names like Bill Moyers and Charlie Rose, they are not exactly what is called and know as "main stream media" by the media, but may be more main stream politics.

[[A SORTING OF EARLIER FILTERING]]
Network Comedy Beats The News
Gold Standard for News
Under Ed
Switching/Fixing Networks
NewsForTheLeft - Consortium News and more
Can anyone believe this?
Bush Retreat / Fox Attack
GoLeft.TV and more
Recess War!

[UPDATE: 11-21-07 THE LEAK Center for Media and Democracy
Source Watch
My Leaks
My Earliest.]

[11-27-07: Watching the Watchers: "the media's job is to act as a B_S_ filter."

"Vanity Fair" on "the so-called liberal media" ]

[4-9-08: Labels added -GAME,GoLeftTV - see links Watching the Watchers.]

Running List '08

YOU TOO CAN DO POLITICAL CALCULUS
A friend sent me the following Quiz which which upon my taking it seemed to rank the candidates based upon my own political calculus which is based on my very "course" filtering of the debates. Meaning I have watched extremely little of the actual debates but had used other avenues which filtered them and my equation.

Here is how they ranked in my opinion on the quiz:

Kucinich, Edwards, Dodd: 43
Clinton, Richardson, Obama: 38
Gravel: 35
Biden: 31
Giuliani: 21
Romney: 16
Paul, Huckabee: 13
Brownback: 11
Gilmore: 8
McCain, Hunter: 6
Tancredo, Thompson: 3

Here is how I last posted them.

Kucinich
Edwards
Obama
Clark
Richardson
Clinton, Dodd, Biden
Gravel

For another source of information GO HERE

Here is the orginal Running List '08 with dated updates where it should be noted that some candidate were on that were not running(Clark), and some were off that eventually jumped in (Clinton) between 12-4-06 and 2-1-07. From which I take this list:

For history sake I note MY original five candidates in this order: Edwards, Clark, Kucinich, Vilsack, Dodd

Hmm. I guess I was spot on. At least in my calculations and opinion.

[On a double take, my spot on is rather flat * as I still need to sort out Kucinich, Edwards and Dodd. More filtering will occur but another note of caution: Sometimes a candidate can agree with you on an issue (Ron Paul- Social Security) and be wrong on his take from it, and disagree with you on another (Ron Paul- Iraq) and take an even stronger stand in a potentially right direction. That is why more investigation is needed especially when they are tied. * Take it very carefully and it will not save your answers or your results (that I can tell), so my these numbers are based on my best recollection and retaking of the quiz. The numbers could very but the rank is as I recall.]

* In the long run this quiz did not sort out the original candidates for me, but they just happen to have been the earliest in the race, however the quiz ranked it close to my current feelings and will aid in the fine tuning.

Attorney General Gonzalez Retreats.

Congratulations Congressman Inslee.

The people have prevailed and more thanks to Daily KOS early on.

The New York Times was of help and the other Dems.
technical difficulties and other work keeps this brief
= = = = = = = =

Did Hillary Shoot Dems in the Foot?
In snooze mode this AM I heard something about a False Flag charge on the Stephanie Miller Show> Could it be this on the politics of fear? The political calculus is the fear at Rock the Truth as well.
On the strength of the comments from Democratic candidates they rate in the following order.
Kucinich: no comment. Already tough enough, already standing up.
Richardson
Edwards
Dodd
Obama: no comment?
Clinton
Standing up for what? Impeachment is the only way.
Standing up now is the way to tell who will stand up as President or is political calculus just using ones toes?

OK! This brief ramble is just about not falling for the Republican meme. Getting the message out that Democrats are not the problem and any problems will be the Republicans. Of course even in retreat, Bush blames the Democrats. See first story. Hence the need to pursue continued investigations and not let anyone off the hook.

The Big Tent vs. The Mess Tent in the Bush Bubble Error (err Era)

= = = = = = = =

Bush History Flip-FLop:
Vietnam, Korea or Japan

= = = = = = = =

What has happened.

Air of Inevitability?

I do not wish to imply that it SHOULD BE, Clinton versus Thompson.
Only that if it is, that it BE a rehash of Watergate.
They both have their baggage from that era.
Thompson just noted
Hillary here:
TimesOnLine
TheStar.com

[Posted at the listed time, but continued immediately with the noted pause below]
GuardianUnlimited

TheVastRightWingCon

I am just trying to be "fair and balanced", so I must note that I have not digested all of these sources, and should warn of the potential for food poisoning on the last item. But just [the teaser] of the just prior one is intriguing (paused to read that piece):
Hillary brought to book Watergate veteran Carl Bernstein talks to James Silver about the Clintons, George Bush, and the state of the American press
Having now read it, it is recommended highly.

Just what is the difference between the "vast right wing conspiracy" and the so-called "liberal press"? Only the label. Just what is the difference between trying to rewrite the rules of impeachment and the constitution? Apparently the party and getting away with it.

[Finally concluding approximately 1 hour from original post time: normally I do not note when a post is developed in this manner.(in a sitting) But I also now proceed and borrow from the top link that:

The 2008 Race could not only rehash accountability but the media's role

I would change that to SHOULD!]

[Updated Presidential Profile: 9:20 AM - Noting that I have not put much attention to the ratings of the candidates, I now update without comment, but with an aversion to inevitability.

Kucinich
Edwards
Obama
Clark
Richardson
Clinton, Dodd, Biden
Gravel]