If you are against the war, and want to make that point clear, please don’t do it by demonstrating in front of a recruiting office. By doing so you are playing right into the hands of the Wing Nuts who have tried in vain for 5 years to paint you as "against the troops".

It is VERY difficult to propose that you support the troops, but not the war, when you are standing in front of a Marine recruiting office bad mouthing Marines. And, if you in fact DO believe that those Marines are evil, nasty people, then I have some pointed questions for you to answer.

Today, I cry. My candidate was forced to drop out by the rigged game he fought so hard to remove. I was not even allowed to vote for him. You and I did not determine his fate, unless you happen to live in NH, IA, or SC. Big money and big media determined his fate and it makes me cry.

I do not cry out of frustration, or anger. I cry out of concern for my country. Because for all the promises of change, only John Edwards told us what that change would look like. Only John Edwards had a detailed plan to get us from here to there. Only John Edwards cared more about us than about himself.

This diary is so short it is bound to draw the ire of the Diary Police.

Screw 'em.

We just spent, what, $2 Trillion on an unnecessary war. And one of our next door neighbors is eating dirt to survive!!!

(If this has been diaried I apologize. 3 searches by me turned up nothing).

This election has become completely dominated not by candidates or issues, but by media whims controlled by a few nameless editors and producers working for even fewer people who happen to have more money than God.

Up until now only Keith Olbermann at MSNBC stood out. But now, even MSNBC has totally forsaken, not just us, but all of America. They have turned their backs on democracy, fair play and everything that is decent in this country. MSNBC has decided that they, and they alone, shall decide who will be allowed to run for president. In fact, if they had their way, John Edwards would also have been eliminated as well and Clinton and Obama would have appeared in shorts and tank tops in the "cage match of the century" complete with chicken wire and canvas floors.

For months I have been leaving this comment on diaries all over Kos (and other places as well). Sometimes I’ll add something like "and you can’t stop me" or other equally bumper-sticker-like phrase. I’m sure I have probably irritated some, and I appear to have tickled others. But, believe it or not, there are actual reasons I have been doing this.

While I have been stating my support for John Edwards, I have also not been berating the other Democratic candidates. The reason for that is simple. I like the other candidates.

BUT ... there is something different about John Edward’s campaign. So, I have decided it is time for me to have MY say on exactly why I support Edwards.

Nataline Sarkisyan is dead because her life wasn't worth saving (according to CIGNA HealthCare **). She died at about 6 p.m. Thursday at University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center.

After about 150 teenagers and nurses protested outside their offices on Thursday, CIGNA HealthCare had the following to say.

" ... CIGNA HealthCare has decided to make an exception in this rare and unusual case and we will provide coverage should she proceed with the requested liver transplant."

Unfortunately, there was no time to save her. The initial request was delivered by letter on December 11, 10 days earlier.

Read the whole story here: Teen dies after insurance nixes transplant

** Despite the reversal, CIGNA said in an e-mail statement before she died that there was a lack of medical evidence showing the procedure would work in Nataline's case.

I love America. I love the very IDEA that IS America.  I enlisted, during a war, at an age that required my mother’s signature, to defend and support that dream.  But I have become frustrated beyond measure with the status quo political bullshit that is slowly but surely driving us toward the very end of everything we cherish.  And I have had enough!  What I am looking for is a few LEADERS!  Actual, honest-to-God leaders who can pull this country back from the brink which the Bush Regime has pushed us.

This is a plea to everyone that thinks that anything like the status quo is going to help us get past the total disaster that has been the Bush error.  If you for a moment think that another Republican (any Republican at this point) or any of the "established" Washington players (yes I am talking about the Clinton’s and the well financed Obama crew) are going to be able to bring real change, please read on.

I just read Steve Clemons latest entry over at Huffington Post and this scares the crap out of me.

The thinking on Cheney's team is to collude with Israel, nudging Israel at some key moment in the ongoing standoff between Iran's nuclear activities and international frustration over this to mount a small-scale conventional strike against Natanz using cruise missiles (i.e., not ballistic missiles).

This strategy would sidestep controversies over bomber aircraft and overflight rights over other Middle East nations and could be expected to trigger a sufficient Iranian counter-strike against US forces in the Gulf -- which just became significantly larger -- as to compel Bush to forgo the diplomatic track that the administration realists are advocating and engage in another war.

The other day I was riding my motorcycle home from another soldiers funeral wondering why there were so few there to say "thank you" when I remembered a story I had heard. Forgive me for not quoting the source, as I can’t remember who told this.

It was a soldier/sailor and he was standing in a hotel lobby waiting for someone. An older lady approached him and began talking; apparently thinking he was a bellhop (because of the uniform). When informed that he was, in fact, a military officer, the lady responded that she was happy to meet him and that she was "so glad that there were people like him to take care of those things" (I think the quote is reasonably accurate).

So why am I (sort of) quoting a story I heard once (probably NPR) and can’t remember accurately? Because, what I do remember was the point and tone of the story. That today, I don’t have to do __________ because there are "people like you" to take care of those things! There is NO sacrifice for those who can’t be bothered with such things required by this war.

Yesterday there were tens of thousands of protesters in the streets in Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities throughout the country.

Very Nice.

But where the hell was the outrage when it counted? Where were the marches and the protests and the smiling kids holding signs when Al Gore was still "the next President of the United States"? Where were the protests then? Where were the protests when the identity of a covert CIA operative was disclosed in the press (in a time of war which is F***ing TREASON) to allow an illegal war to be waged on an innocent country?

President Bush has done us a huge favor. We now have all the tools we need to outlaw, once and forever, every single member of the entire Republican Party, every single one of them.

The rules and laws that Bush has put into place don't just apply to him. They apply to ANY President of the United States, including the next President.

Everyone has been spending a lot of time lately trying to figure out how we could have been blind sided by Bin Laden on 9/11.  Who to blame?  What went wrong?  Why didn't we know?  It was Bush's fault!  It was Clinton's fault!

It is all bullshit!

This past weekend you successfully hacked the server network where some of my sites are hosted. Big Freakin' deal!

It was obvious from the page you posted that this was like a final exam for Jihad Hacker University. (By the way, over here you would be considered a Script Kiddie!) But you know what? If this is the best you can come up with (which is only slightly better than blowing yourself up) then we have won!

Here's why.

So now we are "arresting" terrorists?

Today, according to the Associated Press,

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops have arrested four Iraqi men in the kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll, who was freed in March after 82 days in captivity, a U.S. spokesman said Wednesday.

Wasn't it Cheney that said,

Because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again, that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and that we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind set if you will, that in fact these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts, and that we're not really at war.

I am a veteran and ride a motorcycle so it is no surprise to some that I am also a member of the Patriot Guard (PGR). But I'm willing to bet most of you have no clue who we are or what we do, or why.

The Patriot Guard was born in protest. Literally. But it is NOT a protest group. Nor is it political or religious. It represents an interesting cross section of America. Not all of us are bikers. Not all of us are veterans. We simply care about our troops and want to show our support and respect for them, especially when they have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Even if you don't ride or aren't a veteran, won't you join us?

The mid-term elections are getting closer.  Potential candidates for the next presidential election are starting to put out feelers.  But as I look at the candidates and potential candidates, I find myself dreaming of candidates with higher ideals, greater leadership abilities and true, patriotic, integrity.

I don't intend to badmouth anyone, or even suggest that the candidates we have, and will get in the near future, don't deserve our vote.  I just find myself daydreaming about persons of such integrity, charisma and leadership that we might actually be able to save our country from the wrong-headed, selfish and corrupt leaders we have now.

So, is my "perfect candidate" a left of left wing Deaniac?.  Is it a Clinton centrist?  Is it a conservative Liberal?  A Progressive Libertarian???

Like a lot of Americans I have f***ing had it with Bush and this war in Iraq.

President Bush said Tuesday that "it would be a terrible mistake" to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq and that politics should not play any part in a decision about withdrawal.

OK Fine. So then here is what you need to do if you won't leave right now.

From The Department of Homeland Security website -- "In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort.  The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS."