I have a very strong feeling SOMETHING is going on.

None of Kerry's activities seem random. I heard on NPR that it looks like the Dems will unanimously oppose Gonzales. And now Kerry is going to Davos. Hmm. Iraq , the Middle East and the World Economy. I have a feeling that Gonzales might be the straw that breaks the camels back. He could tie the whole Admin to war crimes. This might be the Watergate people are looking for. I don't know why that entered my head but it did. I could be crazy but I think there is a pattern. What it is , I am not sure, but it isn't good for Bush. And election Fraud is raising its head again. The case in Ohio is still pending. They have discovered vote tampering in one county. We now have all these paid off journalists. Bush admits it. Says they shouldn't do it "anymore". And John Kerry is now the defender of our children. And he is going on MTP. Something is up folks. Anyone else feel that way?

and i hope what i'm thinking is right.

and he is doing a fine, fine job. I would happily support him in 08, so maybe after all he will be my first vote.

I think Bush is going down, and it might be through Gonzales. And Kerry may be leading the charge.

He's already my greatest living political hero, I mentioned that in my comm service essay. It really is too bad I don't get the chance to work for him.

I want to see this administration go DOWN. Don't really care what does it as long as it happens. There're plenty of scandals to choose from; take your pick.

I'm not sure how Kerry enters into it, but if something happens that ends up rendering the senior officials (maybe including **) virtually powerless, then he could be preparing to step into the vacuum and be the de facto president. That sounds weird, really... for the "loser" of the last election to assume such a role rather than a Congressional leader... which (if this is correct) suggests that election fraud IS part of the picture.

At this point it's still difficult for me to swallow that all of this is tied together AND that the Dems are planning it.. but I'd love to see it!

Here's hoping that the other shoe is about to drop. :toast:

Opposing Gonzales is the right thing to do. I truly hope that the vote comes down to a partisan 55-45 vote. That puts the Democratic Party on the record as being morally opposed to *'s nominee because he supported torture as official US policy. The Democratic Party does not condone torture. We vigorously object to government officals who do support torture. This is a moral question about our values as a country. Let the Republicans speak to why they condone torture. Let them take their case to the court of World opinion. I know what my values are, and they do not include raping kids in front of their mothers in order to get information of dubious worth. They do not include waterboarding prisoners who might only be guilty of petty crimes. And I do not stand with torturers who defame the good name of the United States of America with actions that speak of petty thuggery. I will not allow the proud history of America as a moral nation with high values and regard for human liberty to be dragged in the mud by repulsive right-wingers who think they have the god-given right to do whatever they want. This will not stand.

How can * think that he is out defending freedom from all enemies when he is the one who is doing these undemocratic and tyrannical things? This is a slap in the face to generations of Americans who proudly fought for this country as a moral force in the world. Torture as state policy lumps us in with Saddam Hussein. It is a horrible stain on the honor of this nation and Democrats must not condone it. Ever.

Is this typical John Kerry behavior? Flying all over, doing so many things with such visibility? Or is this a new John Kerry? It does seem to point to something, as I was saying in my post this morning ("Exciting times...) Like he is purposefully doing something. Has he always been so intense? He seems to be stepping taking over the role of head of state, if not head of government--well it's true there is a definite vacuum.

Like at the World Economic Forum yesterday when Clinton was sitting there with Bill Gates, Blair, and others...no mention of Bush--it's like they are just going to proceed to run the world without him--cause he's a hopeless case, a waste of space. Clinton was brilliant, by the way! A wonderful representative for our country.

Circumstances have changed. Two years ago, he was the junior Senator from MA, under Teddy's shadow. JK was mainly known for his investigative skills (so well shown off in last week's Condi hearings.)

Things have changed. He is a former nominee of the Dems for President. He has a soapbox now that he didn't have before. I am glad that he is using it. But it is new. This opportunity wasn't there before.

I think it's absolutely in character for him to be doing these things, but he didn't have the public forum/attention before.

I also think people should not be fooled by his statesmanlike demeanor. He acts like a gentleman, but in private he curses like the sailor he is, and it's my guess he's done a lot of that since the election. A lot of dems don't get that about him. He is, I 100% guarantee it, royally pissed off. Pissed off about the election nonsense, pissed off about the direction (off the cliff) * is taking the country in. Just pissed off.

I have a story I haven't posted yet, but maybe this is a good time and place. I have it third-hand, but the hands are good. Comes from a friend of a friend of my daughter's.

This friend, a young man, was so distressed by the election results that he felt compelled to do something. So he took some flowers by Kerry's house. This was about November 4 or so. He rang the bell, and the housekeepeer answered the door. She tried to refuse the flowers, but he insisted, saying he felt so terribly about the election, he just wanted to let them know how much he cared.

At this point, the housekeeper broke down in tears and told him, "You don't know what it's been like around here. It's like someone died. Everyone's so sad. It's terrible."

I'm not sure why this struck me as powerfully as it did. Maybe it was because of the brave face at the concession. Maybe it was because of all the lefty freepers spouting off about how JK deserted them and was a coward. The story still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.

But those of us here, who truly do have his back, should never forget how deeply he cares, and how no matter how awful we felt in the days after the election, he and Teresa felt it ten times worse. At least. And he will not ever, ever give up until these wrongs have been righted.

I bet it was real bad. And I too have heard things about how much JK does care about things. (Oh, and the fact that he is a real live Masshole and swears about as much as the rest of us. Admit it Whome, swearing is the common speech around here. Especially if you happen to drive.)

I believe Larisa, and I believe that this ain't over yet. I really and truly do. But the evidence has to be rock-solid and the timing has to be right. Patience.

I know what you mean. It hurts my heart too.

And totally, about the swearing. Some people think his "off-the-mike" moments are out of character. Well, they're not. He's as much a Masshole as you or me. Just ever so polished in public. Having lived here nearly my entire life (except for my first 3 years in NY and my college and post college years in VT), our national image puzzles me. It ain't all tea and crumpets, that's for sure!!

It has about nothing to do with us.

This web site sounds like real Bostonians. Read this section on politics and scroll down to see local reaction to last summer's DNC.

LOL!

http://www.boston-online.com/common/cat_politics.html

Everyone thinks all we do is milk the cows, and cheer the Packers wearing cheeseheads, while drinking beer and eating bratwurst. :eyes:

if we wore SHOES in Iowa.

I think they thought we listened to polkas or something because they also wanted to know what music we listened to and TV we watched. We get the same thing you do, you dumbasses!

So, Midwest states harass each other? Wow! It isn't just the Eastern Elite picking on youse guys?

For some reason this really tickles me.

bash Iowa the other day - that's typical and goes both ways.

Kansas and Missouri have a huge rivalry that goes back to the Civil War with the bloodiest and most vicious fighting of the entire war. Raids across the border murdering people and Lawrence, KS was burnt to the ground.

My family is from MO but we lived in Overland Park so I heard both sides vent about each other. I never felt like I had a dog in that fight.

Large and small geographic rivalries are everywhere.

Wisconsin people "look down" on Illinois people, especially when they come up and drive on our freeways and use our vacation spots, because "they ain't got any of their own-haha!" And when we go down there, we are irked that you have to actually PAY to drive on their tollroads. All roads in Wisconsin are free.
So yeah it's stuff like that. We can also tell an Illinois accent from a Wisconsin one, believe it or not!

WildEyedLiberal and Withywindle can probably give you the other side of the argument!

...what a WI license plate on the car in front of you on the street in Chicago means to us. }( We tend to wonder why you aren't on the tour bus parked in front of American Girl Place and Rainforest Cafe like the rest of your mild-mannered, slow-walking cohorts.

Looking at the general slams, a lot of it seems to be assumptions of rural vs. urban people no matter where you are.

I'm in Cedar Rapids, a big City for Iowa (ha ha) and I'm in the same demographic market as Boston and NYC in the Zogby polls because the top option is 100,000 or larger city. But if I was in Chicago they would assume I'm a hick who doesn't wear SHOES. Yet people that come here from the little towns think this is huge.

oh you mean those folks that walk up and down Michigan Ave. in their white jogging shoes, t-shirts,shorts and fanny packs? A family of four all dressed alike, craning their necks up at the tall buildings so that they almost get hit by those cabs that turn corners at 80 mph? LOL...

Jeez, and we only have Cow Hampshire and Maine to make fun of. (We would make fun of Vermont, but really, what would be the point.) LOL! Wow! We have strange touristy creatures in Boston as well. They insist on making Beantown jokes. Nobody calls Boston Beantown. Well, except for the DNC. Last year they assigned people to follow state delegations around and show them the city. They called these guides, "Beantown Buddies." Gack!

Of course, we get that treatment when we travel to NYC. Sigh!

They're all blond, too. And they fan out and walk FOUR ABREAST at a snail's pace all the way across the sidewalk on the Mag Mile and wander all over the place. (Sidewalks have lanes, people. Southbound. Northbound. Slow traffic. Passing lanes.)

Someone in the New Yorker coined the exquisite, perfect term for these people: Meanderthals.

A lot of people don't even know we're part of the United States. They think we live in igloos and that the weather must be horrible. One woman thought Alaska was an island because it's always off by itself on the maps. Sellers on E-Bay charge us an extra $25 dollars shipping even when they're sending things through US mail. Besides that, national candidates NEVER EVER come up here. They don't even run ads. The only time we saw ** or Kerry on network TV during the campaign season was during the debates and the evening news. And besides that, our state capitol is only accessible to the rest of the state by ferry or airplane, so it's almost impossible to go protest anything. We feel so left out up here. Grrrr........

Rant over........

how bad they felt, especially after thinking you had won for most of the day.

That is one reason why I find the attacks by people who were his "supporters" so disgusting.

Seriously, the bums me out

Bush is going to take down the whole repub party--and those in Congress have got to be worried about that. They are in power now, but what does the future hold for them? They are attached to a loser, who, yes, is going to be exposed sooner or later. There are too many smart people on the other side who will see to it that the public gets informed.
The Democrats will be there to take their rightful places. My dream is that Kerry becomes our next president and takes HIS rightful place.

It may be generational as well as geographical.

When I started reading the Brinkley book, I was surprised at the combination of swearing and really exquisite language in the excerpts from Kerry's journal. My surprise was NOT that the language was there, but that Kerry had not asked for it to be cleaned up, which it could easily have been without changing the character. It actually strongly reminded me of a long ago co-worker (also Navy Lt) - who used similar language in a way that I found totally inoffensive. His concerns and growth in that journal were inspiring - and made him seem an intensely likable person.

I feel good ;)

seems to include cursing. I remember hearing about when he finally fired his campaign manager in 2003. They reported it ended up very heated with "fuck you's" flying all over the place.

You can't have a decent conversation around here with FU entering into it.

Hi Mom! Want some Tea? Btw, FU
Hes, yes, I would like some F-ing tea! Tahnks! Now FU!

Politics is a rough game. It attracts tough people. The language follows.

I curse when its uncalled for. It's just a force of habit I guess, haha

And going off like I do sometimes. Some people get offended so easy over people cursing. Around here they do. Oh well Fuck these people. I can tell I'm moving to the right place. Most of the time when I get pissed and say what I think it's over politics. But everyone I know and met during the campaign loved the hell out of it when Kerry would get pissed and say some of the stuff he did. That would make everyone's day! They would be like hell yeah kick ass John! It was funny and kept you energized seeing him fight and say what he thought. That is one thing I miss so much.

that's funny--never thought of that. But yeah,I knew that about him just by following him closely in the media for a year. Nothing wrong with that--he knows how to be a statesman when he needs to--unlike some politicians I could mention. I like knowing he's a regular guy, not a stuffed shirt.

I can imagine he was devastated, not so much for himself, but for the nation. So much he was planning on doing. And as for the lefty attackers--they are so ignorant but assume they know so much that it's really pathetic.

If he didn't care, I think he would have slipped into Senate-speak again.

Remember how in September and October he finally started talking in short, to the point sentances? That's how we knew that "The Closer" had arrived.

Well, he hasn't stopped. Whenever I hear he's still talking more clearly and succinctly, I figure it is a sign that when he said he was fired up as he came back to the Senate, he meant it.

That, more than running for 2008, is why he has hit the ground running. I do hate that lefty freepers around here keep repeating that talking point. That's just what Rush keeps saying. You'd think we had lefty Dittoheads around here.

I will just keep repeating "To hell with who you are supporting in 2008! Support the ACTION. NOW." Let 2008 take care of itself the closer we get to it. Not now. Focus on 2006 first.

So more power to him! It must be so hard to fight against these rotten people all your life and keep the will to fight. He's got to be driven by something deep inside him, a fire for justice and truth.
I can't imagine possessing that kind of courage.

Kerry has done dangerous fact-finding tours before his recent Mid-East Tour like...


Shortly after taking office in 1985, Kerry and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa went on a fact-finding trip to Nicaragua, where they met with Daniel Ortega (right) and other Sandinistas. The trip was criticized when the Sandinistas cemented ties with Moscow.


John Kerry inspects a US Army-issued pistol during a visit to the army museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. While in the country, he also visited two sites where it was reported that missing American soldiers had been spotted but not uncovered

This is nothing new, the hard work, the traveling, the leadership skills, it's just that his new fame has brought it more to the light.

he's started off his 2nd term with MANY enemies and a horrific agenda.
I don't think Bush will be impeached or war crimes will be uncovered but I do think that he's popularity is going to plummet even further taking the repukes with him.

like we all hope it will. The last 4 years have left me dragging my jaw around from hitting the floor so often. I am so shocked and appalled by the * administration and Americans who can still defend his actions. That is why I hesitate to truly believe that anything will really take them out. (such as impeachment, etc.) I do believe that John Kerry took his role seriously. When he was running for President, he had all the hopes that we all did to better our country after the appalling assault it has been under. I think he is continuing to use his role as US Senator to further this agenda and I am grateful to him for it.

The last 4 years have left me dragging my jaw around from hitting the floor so often.

Me too.

I think so too - good to know I'm not alone. I just can't forget that he's got that amazing track record as a prosecutor and investigator. He's got to have so much information, and be so preoccupied with the best way to make it stick, to take this crowd DOWN. And I'm pulling for him so damn hard!

These people that continue to bash him and make their scarcastic nasty remarks don't know jack crap when it comes to John. Because if the did you wouldn't hear some of the garbage come out of their mouth. John is one of the best fighters you will ever see in politics. He is the type that never gives up, never sits around licking his wounds, can handle anything the others try to dish out and come right back at them with such a heavy hit they are left wondering what the hell happen, and he doesn't give a damn who likes what he does or what the hell they have to say about it because he does what he feels is right for his country and the people in it.

The republicans know this and are looking for anything and everything to try to bring him down. They are scared to death of John and I don't care what others say I know that is true as well as obvious. Those that have doubt need to go do a little research and study about the man. They need to study and learn about his day as a prosecutor where he never lost a case, the need to study the Iran-Contra/BCCI, They need to study his race against Weld for Senate. They need to do some research and find out what people like Nixon and Weld have said about him and what a damn fighter he is and how people better think twice if they think the man is a pushover, don't know how to fight, or won't bring down the bad guy.

JK must know that * is so dangerous to the country, and that four more years will be enough for him to destroy the US. Look at the global warming warning that came out this week, we've got so little time to turn this around before it becomes an inevitable climate destructive climate change. Kerry cares deeply about the environment. It must be incredibly frustrating, but he is taking action anyway.

Gonzales nomination has got to be making him furious. He will most certainly oppose it and probably in a very public way. I never watch Meet the Press, or any news or fake news tv other than Jon Stewart or Keith Olberman, but isn't JK on this weekend for an hour. I won't be around to see it unless it's on in the morning, what time is it on, anyone know.

JK went to meet with world leaders, I'm sure they are also treating him as the real president, probably gave him information they would have had he been the president officially. Something is in the wind.

The Neo-cons are overreaching, way overreaching. The economy is on the brink of real danger. The PNAC just sent out another letter today (on their website if you have the stomach to go there) that all but calls for the draft. That will be the clincher. Their arrogance knows no bounds but they will be making a very big mistake if they try and get away with a draft. People will recognize it for what it is, even if they try and disguise it as something else. Kerry will be on it.

What is the election tampering in one county in Ohio that you mention? I must confess I've been concentrating on the cabinet nominations for the past couple of weeks and haven't checked out what still might be happening with the election fraud investigations and court case still pending.

It would be so wonderful if these hunches we all seem to be having play out. NOthing would make me happier than deposing His Fraudulency and having JK become the President.

It's on at 9 a.m. Eastern time on NBC, and if you get MSNBC, it is repeated on Sunday night. I think also on CNBC on Sunday night, too. Live John Kerry for the hour!

In addition to JK, I would think that John McCain would be up in arms about Gonzales. He knows torture first hand.

I don't think anything will be able to put Kerry in the White House now, except for the 2008 election, (or possibly a coup of our government)! Hey, maybe we could get France to invade and overthrow Bush! With all the troops and national guard busy in Iraq...but I digress...Bushco seemed to think it was a good idea to go into Haiti and overthrow their duly and democratically elected president! How would he like it to happen here! Ah, well.

and is happy letting the Rethugs rub his belly and accept their leftover biscuits. How sad. As Randi Rhodes says on AAR they must have pics of him naked playing golf with Satan in hell. How else to explain the monumental cave to his hated opponents.

will. I hope he surprises me but he won't. He sold out to Bush.

He has shocked so many people with his change in attitude and all he has said and done. The shock isn't positive for him either. He has los alot support and respect. Hell they have to have the goods on that man or have pictures of Cindy or something. Hell the whole thing is weird and gets worse. And if he votes in favor of Gonzales you know something is fishy. We will see what he does on that. But I find it hard to believe that he would vote for Mr.Torture Chamber after all he went through. That just don't jive.

If McCain votes for torture Gonzales, something is definitely up.

longshot. I guess the dream I have is that the * crime family drops the ball somewhere, the election fraud can be proven concretely and then somehow miraculously it's proven that Kerry really won (like we all know he did), then what happens. There is no precedent for that occurrence, maybe he would be instated as Prez in that case. A girl can dream can't she. I know that if he continues to be strong and fight against the administration's criminal behavior during the second reign, he will stand a great shot at being Prez in 2008. He would be doing it because it's the right thing to do though, not because of his ambitions to still be President.

I will have to catch the rerun of Meet the Press.

This crime family has ignored/changed/side-stepped/trampled the Constitution countless times. If/when the truth of the election comes out, there has to be something that can be done to remove *. Why should that part of the Constitution be set in stone and the rest of it not be? Yes it's a long shot and it would be unprecedented, but that's doesn't mean it can't happen. The majority of the US still wants Kerry as President and so does most of the world. I'm hoping Kerry is doing all he can to expose this and reveal the BFEE for what they really are in the meantime. He's definitely the right man for the job.

"from your lips to God's ears". :)