Another Hurricane is moving towards Louisiana.  

This is going to be a radical idea, but since we currently have Harry Reid as the majority-leader in the Senate is something to think about.  What if instead of having a vote for leadership, the VP automatically became the leader of the Senate (when the VP's party is in the majority)?

A new CNN poll has the race tied folks. Yes it's early.  But if the race were held today let's look at what would happen.  

Joe Biden voted for the AUMF against Iraq.  Some people cannot forgive such a big mistake by members of Congress.  Some people on this site actually have made the case that Congressman can also be guilty of war crimes for their vote.  

This is my defense of Joe Biden, and other members of Congress who gave the President authorization to invade Iraq.  

Can the media still play up the meme that McCain's strong point is foreign policy?  After months of gaffes from not realizing the difference between Sunni and Shia, not knowing that certain countries don't exist, etc, this may be the most damning blow:

Iraq and the Bush administration have reached a preliminary agreement to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraqi cities, where most of the fighting has taken place, by next June. It would link troop reductions to achievement of certain undisclosed security milestones. The deal also would require the endorsement of top Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi parliament, which is far from certain.

McCain repeatedly has said that events on the ground in Iraq should dictate any pullout schedule. He once suggested, however, that troops would come home, victorious, by the end of his first term, in early 2013

CHARLES BABINGTON
AP News

Well, actually it's a Republic (so is America).  Here is a quick definition for those who use democracy in place of republic often.  

Democracy: Democracy is a system of government by which political sovereignty is retained by the people and exercised directly by citizens.

Republic: A republic is a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people)[3] have impact on its government. The word originates from the Latin term res publica, which translates as "public thing" or "public matter".

RUSSIA's Power Play:  Pentagon No Evidence of Withdrawal From Georgia

 CNN "Breaking News".  

BTW, I broke my pledge to never watch CNN again.  I was playing poker online when suddenly a loud "Breaking News" cut off the broadcast and a very serious sounding Wolf Blizter came on the screen.  He went to a reporter who announced the breaking news that Russia was not withdrawing from Georgia. Breaking news!!!

Hearing the details of John McCain's tragic Hanoi story made me feel very proud of the man.  Pride in humanity, our armed forces; proud that McCain is American.  I first heard the tale in 1999 (or 2000 I forget) and instantly I knew that I would prefer John McCain over George Bush any day.  

McCain was hungry, tortured, in ill health, and offered a chance at freedom and he decided to stay in that hell hole.  What an amazing story!  Would that I had the courage to willingly choose prolonging agony because of principle.  

Recently there have been a number of excellent diaries outlining the history and proper context in which to analyze the recent Russian-Georgia conflict.  Through a bit of struggle most people on the site can see clearly that the conflict was started by Saakashvili (probably with the blessings of Washington real or imagined).  

That members of the DailyKos generally are wise enough to peer through the media bias and propaganda is an amazing thing.  However, I'm afraid that most citizens of this great country of ours do not have the time (or in some cases a resource as powerful as the internet) to wade through the sewage of propaganda that fills the airwaves.  

The United States has won.  We have missile defense capability which makes MAD obsolete (close to obsolete).  This may actually be seen by some as a declaration of war against Russia.  

Imagine for a moment that we were 100% sure that Russia's nuclear ICBMs and nuclear submarines could not strike it's targets.  What could prevent us from dictating to Russia (or any state for that matter) it's foreign and domestic policy?  

Obama has been right on so many issues regarding foreign policy that this line of thinking is both shocking and disturbing:  

"I have consistently called for deepening relations between Georgia and transatlantic institutions, including a Membership Action Plan for NATO, and we must continue to press for that deeper relationship. "

Can the people overthrow a modern dictatorship complete with all the trappings of modern military killing power?  Is it in Musharraf's power to arrest or kill all of his myriad enemies in Parliament?  

The outcome of this internal struggle between tyranny and freedom is not a new one, but this struggle in this time is something never seen before. It has always been possible with enough unrest to unseat anyone human being from power.  Today, technology may have finally made despots immune against all but military mutiny.  

Russia and Georgia are in open warfare.  Putin and Bush are in the same country and have been talking to one another.  Doesn't this require a wee bit more attention than the President is giving?  I mean, shouldn't he be speaking with advisers and foreign policy/international law experts round the clock at this moment?

I've been watching for about 20 minutes and the main stories have been a long segment on how people in a small city in Tennessee believe Obama is Muslim no matter what he says.  Blitzer asked the reporter how they selected the city; reporter responded that it was random but assured Blitzer that the same "study"? could be done in all 50 states (as though he could know the opinions of people in every state).  

I watched as Blitzer began to say that Obama was losing ground to McCain and a pundit say that the Republican attack machine is working and he needs Clinton on the ticket.  How Obama saying that McCain would attack him for being black was a huge blunder.  How many Americans want more drilling or don't blame the oil companies.  

Recently my father's lung cancer has spread.  He is now in Stage IV and while his cancer is not curable the doctors say that it is treatable (whatever that means).  Two of my close friends have lost their fathers to the same disease; one in February and one this month.  

This diary could be written about the evils of Philip Morris and the tobacco industry.  Honestly though I'm not at all angry with the manufacturers of cigarettes right now. My thoughts keep coming back to my father's condition.  

Especially given a shift now of 230 million dollars from counter-terrorism to upgrade the countries F-16 fighter jets.

Perino's spin is that the jets are used for counter-terrorism but the truth is this is a ploy to prop up the Pakistani government as Pakistan is suffering from a food and energy crisis.  God forbid the Pakistani government use $230 million on energy or food for the people.  

But to shift aid away from counter-terrorism at a time when the Taliban grow stronger in Afghanistan and extremists thrive inside Pakistan's border is outrageous.  

Just how far will Obama go in his pursuit of the Presidency?  He has repudiated his own pastor after vowing not to do so, toughened his language on Iran, supported the death penalty, supports a bill that guts the 4th Amendment, supports the Supreme Court's ridiculous interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, left Gen. Clark out to dry, and now attacked MoveOn.org.now attacked MoveOn.org.

Bob Barr could be responsible for handing Obama one or two Southern states this election.  He has been as high as 8 points in Alabama.  It's early but everyone knows that those die-hard southern conservatives don't like McCain.  How about when everyone donates the max to Obama you also donate to Bob Barr.