The Political Dogfight

Still Stranded and Still Using Antique Notebook

Sorry for the lack of posts and analysis. I promised a look at Obama's run and he reinforced that yesterday with more empty rhetoric about 'National Health Care'.

Yet I continue to have very, very limited Net access and little actual online time to get the analysis done. And just now I was told to get off as this person who's connection I am using has a JUNO plan, for god's sake, with a limited number of minutes. <sigh> More when I can. Damn what a ridiculous situation for a long time blogger.

Laptop in the Shop and Stranded in AZ

Normally I try to post every day or nearly so. Currently I am stranded in AZ with a busted motorhome and now a laptop that is on the fritz!

So I am typing this from the world's slowest PC in a public library. It also has the most antique keyboard I've seen in years. <sigh>

If you are a regular visitor I apologize for the lack of new content. I'll be posting again as early as tomorrow. Keep a good thought for the ol' Big Dog...this isn't a good situation.

Tomorrow's post: What the Hell is Obama Doing and Why? (Or at least I think that will be the title of the post. ) I became terminally interested when he couldn't be tied down to a real answer about the Iraq War and what should be done on the day after his announcement.

It's one thing to say you are against the War...that's easy. Taking a position on one the Democratic initiatives, and there are several, takes more guts. More tomorrow. (I think there's more than meets the eye in this effort...)

The War on Baghdad

Last night I watched THE SPEECH with no expectations that anything would change. In most repects I was right as has been pointed out in Front page commentary and a lot of diaries.

But I haven't seen anyone really react to some of the practical considerations embedded within President Bush's speech. Since I constantly advocate Practical Politics maybe I should call this 'Practical Reality'.

First how many noticed the embedded changes of emphasis on which side President Bush is supporting and the internal conflicts within the Speech? [much more on the flip]

The Speaker....Speaks

"The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over."

-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, quoted by CNN, after banning smoking in the Speaker's Lobby.

A sentence with double meanings if I ever saw one!  TBD

Bobby Kennedy Still Speaks To Us

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped."

Robert Kennedy

This great man's essence is still with us. Sometimes we need a voice from the past to remind us of our possible future. TBD

The Political Dogfight & Plans for the Future

I am changing residences from Orange County, in the beautiful East section where the last natural part of OC survives to another spot deeper into that beauty up a rough road 2 miles to a ranch where I will be living in a Motorhome. While I intend to get back to OC very quickly after I pick up the coach next week there is no guarantee that the wanderlust that seems to have inflected the males of the O'Neill Clan for generations won't grab the wheel!

But I have an Aircard so I will continue to be online nearly every day. I will 'dateline' each post. Sounds like fun to me which is why I've deliberately taken this course. I have big plans for this year which I have hinted at before today. More in the coming days.

Already I have 3 interviews with great people I haven't had time to edit and get ready for broadcast. I will make a point of getting them ready for next week.

They are Jack Carter, Scott Kleeb and Ellen Miller of the Sunlight Foundation. All of these people have substantive things to say. Jack Carter and Scott Kleeb, of course, were favorites of Dogfight during the Campaign. This will be my third interview with Jack Carter. Jack's other interviews and many more can be found at Political Interviews, my sister blog.

As things settle down a bit, I will be merging Political Interviews and The Political Dogfight into one platform. You will be able to visit either site and, if I use the platform I am considering, there will be a tab at top that will simply flip to the other blog. Also they will be more community oriented so that comment strings and diaries can be written by our audience/members.

These changes, and more, will happen as time and $$ permit. Please don't forget that this blog and Political Interviews are not advertising supported. If you find these blogs of interest please make a donation to help the cause!

And the People Speak

Here's some data that I don't have to explain. It shows the drastic difference between reality and George W. Bush.

Olbermann on Bush's Proposed New 'Sacrifice'

Keith Olbermann hit the nail on the head last night with the most emotional and confrontational of all of his Special Comments. He appeared to me to be angry and highly emotional at the end of his simple, eloquent truth-telling attack on the concept that now America should be told to 'Sacrifice'.

The President, apparently, will ask for 'Sacrifice' by the Nation. Now we all know that really means the Sacrifice of our mothers, fathers, bothers, sister and children who serve in the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force in Iraq, not to mention more innnocent Iraqi's as collateral damage. All of this without one general on the ground calling for 20,000 more troops. Check this news story for verification. all in order allow a President to fulfill his ego. Steve Gillard has an even more hard hitting assessment.

To me this was a historic event. I am old enough to have participated in politics for 40 years since I started so bloody young. Never, ever to my knowledge has a national newsperson so directly attacked an Administration as Olbermann has in the video below. I truly believe that someday we will realize we witnessed a historic political event .

A Better Year Starts and a Horrible Statistic

I'll have more to say in the coming days about the New Year, which I truly believe will be better than last year, but today let us understand and take this one truly horrible landmark to heart:

Three Thousand Dead in Iraq!
Nothing more I can say. What a horribly unnecessary loss....and that doesn't count the maimed, physically and mentally. Simply a horror.
Yet I believe it really will be a better year.
This I have to believe to withstand the pain.

Join me in truly believing in your heart and soul. Together we can help change the world.TBD