Rest in Peace Tim Russert

I'm sure you've heard by now that the great Tim Russert tragically died today. Tim Russert has made a career of being one of the greatest in political analysis and journalism. This black background of this post is never more fitting than for this post. In watching the remembrance of Tim on MSNBC and NBC I have shed several tears. He will be greatly missed by anyone who has ever watched Meet the Press, or television in general, and especially by this guy here. As I have made a habit of saying of people, and I really mean it this time: thank god for Tim Russert. Goodnight sir, we will miss you greatly.

Dennis Kucinich, An Unknown American Hero

I commend the great Dennis Kucinich for his bill that calls for the impeachment of George W. Bush. This just makes me sad that he will never become president. From the point that he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination this time around, to the day that he dropped out, he was my candidate, my favorite Democrat not only in the race, but also in the race. I even preferred him to Mike Gravel whom I would later show my support. I'm including a clip of some of his reportedly hours-long reading of the introduced and (and likely to be crushed) bill. Thank god for Dennis Kucinich.

Not Improtant?

Just a quick one here, John McCain's statement that when the troops came home was "not important" is more than just absurd, it's offensive. I'm sure those men and women in Iraq think that it's quite important when they come home, or at least a majority of those brave patriots. Further more, John Kerry's assortment that John McCain is confused about his own policies, and my own assertions that this also applies to his former campaigns and votes in the Senate, is quite accurate. He is completely oblivious when it comes to both foreign and domestic policy. His winning the Oval Office could possibly be the worst thing in....well four years.

Indeed He Does

It seems as if all the news organizations have declared Barack Obama the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party of the United States. Congratulations to Sen. Obama. Now let's look forward to November!

Obama Wins the Nomination?

Okay, so according to AP reports Barack Obama has secured enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination. CNN reports that he is ten delegates away, and NBC says he's 11 away, but with 31 delegates at stake and Obama favored to win at least one of tonight's contests it's looking like he's either won it or will win it tonight. As a person who favored Barack over Hillary all the way (though I was an early and staunch Edwards supporter) I am quite pleased with this outcome. I hope all the numbers come into his favor sooner than later so that I can leave a congratulations here for him. And again, Thank god it's almost over!

Ted Kennedy In Surgery Today

While watching Morning Joe on MSNBC today they broke in with a statement by Ted Kennedy saying that he was going into surgery today to remove his brain tumor. Again, I must say that my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and I wish him the best of luck on his procedure.

Also I'm highly anticipating tomorrow's primaries and what will hopefully result in Barack Obama's official nomination. I just want this to finally be over. And congrats to Hillary Clinton on winning the second most pointless and unnecessary primary of the process (after Guam), but it is a victory nonetheless, so congratulations.

Today's Rulings

Two stories out of today's ruling by the Democratic Rules and By-Laws committee. First they finally made a decision on how to count Florida and Michigan. I totally support the decision of the committee to grant the delegates only half a vote, as it would look poorly upon the party to grant the full restoration of the delegates and votes. The second story is the incredible rudeness and gull and of the pro-Clinton protesters. I was astounded at how horrible people can be in a upscale setting that required the all the poise they could muster. I think they should be ashamed of themselves. I agree with one committeeman who said that they brought disgrace upon their candidate. It was a terrible showcase for the Clinton-ites. That is all I can say about that.

Keith Olbermann Speaks the Truth

This is a little old, but I can't help but watch it over and over again.

Jesse Ventura on Gay Marriage and Religion.

He may be as articulate an ape at times, but I have to vehemently agree with his opening statements on the civil rights for homosexuals. Government cannot regulate love.

Bob Barr Wins Nomination

Bob Barr edged out Mary Ruwart for the Libertarian Nomination today. Wayne Allyn Root got the Veep spot. Mike Gravel made it to the fourth round. Nothing much to report, not really any surprises here.

Lloyd Bentson Making History

I just think this was one of the great debate moments of history.

Libertarian Debates

Watching them live on C-SPAN. About an hour in it's hard to declare a winner, but so far I've been very impressed with the performance of Mary Ruwart, her confidence and cool on the issues almost makes me want to become a libertarian, until I realize that she partially cites Ayn Rand as an influence. Steve Kubby has also shown an impressive ability. Wayne Allyn Root has proved himself a dunce, with no eloquence in his words at all. And of course Mike Gravel holds a special place in my heart, and his words always strike a chord, or five. At this point, the only thing I can do is declare Wayne Allyn Root the loser of this debate. This of course means that he will probably win the nomination or seriously contend for it. Bob Barr has been totally unimpressive as well, though in a way I'm supporting him to win just so he can take away votes from John McCain.

Bushleague

When I first saw the clip on the "liberally biased" (and according to my mother, anti-Hillary Clinton biased)cable media my jaw literally dropped, followed by a nervous gasp. I was appalled by he comments of the lame duck, country tarnishing president likening an "unspecified" political rival to 1930's Nazi appeasers. Not only does this president not know the true meaning of appeasement, but he yet again embarrassed this prestigious position he holds. His comments were uninformed and utterly deplorable. Even politicos such as conservative charmer Tucker Carlson and the less than charming Pat Buchanan have called the comments at least inappropriate. This is clearly an understatement. Saddest of all though is John McCain's unabashed support of Bush's comments. These are among the many reasons I have made a return home to the Democratic Party for they (and clearly Senator Barack Obama) are our only chance of not extending this money draining and immoral and illegal war, ensuring a public healthcare system and simply not granting George Bush a third term. John McCain's entire foreign policy platform will cause nothing but domestic, fiscal, and international devolution and tragedy. This "maverick" is nothing but a pandering conservative who knows nothing about straight talk and everything about flip-flopping on key issues. Look back to 2000 for example. I don't even recognize that man. There is no independence left in is blood. His attempts to link Barack Obama to terrorism and terrorist groups is pitiful. How can a politician be so godforsaken desperate that he has to revert to such McCarthyism to win an election. There is no age reference in the description of losing his bearings. The man is either going insane or his backbone has been completely shattered by the weight of shameful ambition. The election of John McCain could be the worst possible thing to happen to this country in four years. We need to rise up against this foe. We need to realize that we need change, true change throughout Washington. Not just a speech, nor a smear-campaign. Nobody is perfect but it is obvious that we could do much worse.

President Bush and john McCain need to be institutionalized for their commitment to be failed actions. Insanity is repeating the same act and expecting a different result. What does this say about 95% of the Republican Party? What does this say about John McCain? I hope I don't have to spell this one out for you...

The Great Liberal Lion

Just a quick post to let my readers know that all my thoughts and prayers have been with Senator Edward Kennedy since his diagnosis of having a brain tumor. Having had personal experience with this through my own father, I know how difficult a time this is and I hope to god he and his family will make it through okay.

Michael Bloomberg Shows Some Genius

Michael Bloomberg may have lost some credibility in my eyes for his unabashed support for Iraq and the pointless "War on Terror" (i.e. "terror" being the new communism), he retains a strong voice on many social issues. His mix of economics and social reform in many cases should be commended. In this video he speaks about how we can implement a productive, and simply all around superior health care system. He also talks about the corruption of candidates bowing down to special interest groups. Despite some issues I may have with the man, I think Michael Bloomberg would have made a fine leader in many ways and could have possibly worked to break this two party mold we're set in. It's a pity that in recent interviews it appears that he is likely to support the ultimate warmonger himself Sen. John McCain of Arizona. I vehemently oppose the Bush-esque policies of Sen. McCain, and fear that if he is in fact elected it will just be more of the same, though I digress. Here is the video of Michael Bloomberg that impressed me so.

The Heart of Virignia

In a way this post particular is less political than it is a moral obligation to spread awareness for mental health reform nationally and in my home state of Virginia. As someone who is diagnosed with a mental illness and with a family history of mental illness this issue effects me greatly. Please do whatever you can to support this organization and any other which fights so that another tragedy such as April 16th, 2007 can be avoided

www.theheartofva.org

http://www.myspace.com/theheartofvirginia

Ralph Nader and the Damage Done

I personally believe that Ralph Nader is destroying the ability for a third party cadidate to make any difference in our society at all. He's essentially your average far-leftist liberal, but with enough controversy around him that he can set up a campaign based on a career of public advocacy and failed attempts to do anything but getting George W. Bush elected. I understand that these same charges could be waged against my endorsed candidate Mike Gravel, but in my own personal opinion people fail to realize that he can attract a lot more dissatisfied voters, including the fanatic supporters of Ron Paul, many having said that they would support him if Paul does not run in the general race. Though I'm sure no third party candidate can win in this election cycle, I don't think any are doing more of a disservice to the viability of an alternative candidate than Ralph Nader.

Further Warmongering from Joe Lieberman

This is despicable, in my opinion we should use military force only if attacked. Have we been attacked by Iran? I don't think so. Joe Lieberman is one of my least favorite politicians of the modern era. Why did he have to win?

Chuck Hagel on Iraq

In my opinion Joe Lieberman is ill-informed and irresponsible. Chuck Hagel and I may only agree on one issue politically, but I applaud him for this interview and his outspokeness on the Bush administration. In his own words: It's not unpatriotic to question your government - it's unpatriotic to not question your government.

My First Post

Due to the lack of coverage for the true patriots of our nation I have decided to start up my own political blog. In this blog I will post coverage of the progessives that make this a wonderful country, and occaisionally point out the faults of voting for certain politicians.

My first duty to you I feel is to reveal myself for what I believe in. My candidate of choice is Mike Gravel. Though I was dismayed when he moved to the Libertarian Party, as that organization and I have several key differences in our philosophies, I fully support his move as it will be more likely to get out his message. I would also like to say I do not support ANY of the other Libertarian candidates as the two leading the race, Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root, are nothing but hungry Republicans with a handful of "maverick" views on civil liberties. I also do not support anything having to do with the laissez-faire philosophy, I believe in a limited free market to protect our businesses, employees, and consumers.

Though I support a third party candidate, I often allign myself with the Democratic Party. In the primary cycle I have supported Dennis Kucinich, and after his dropping out I supported John Edwards, but only to a minor degree. Primarily, I believe in peace and social justice. I believe in gay rights (including the ability to marry), a woman's right to choose, and of course ending this unconstitutional war. I feel that politicans such as Joe Lieberman and John McCain are completely reckless when it comes to foreign policy. I prefer diplomocy over a war.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you stay tuned in to my blog.