So where did Andrea Mitchell get the cojones to say on Meet the Press that "cone of silence" may not have been so silent?

Her statement was;

The Obama people must feel that he didn't do quite as well as they might have wanted to in that context, because that -- what they're putting out privately is that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama.

Well...according to right wing blogger Noel Sheppard in Newsbusters.com she probably based her insight from reading DailyKos;

So where did Mitchell get this idea from? Might it have been a Daily Kos blog posted at 9:22 PM PDT Saturday entitled McCain cheated? proof he knew the questions ahead of time:

It was jbalazs diary.

One of my three resolutions at Netroots Nations was to help Steve Young get elected in the California 48th US Congressional District in November.  

I met Steve at the Chicago YearlyKos and I bumped into him at several events last year. He is one of us.

In Austin we had a chance to talk at length. He is a very smart, very progressive and very hard working. And I cannot think of much we disagreed on.  We are very different people but when it comes to the direction we want America and Southern California to go there is no daylight between him and I.

His opponent is far right Repug John Campbell.

This is the 1st on a series of diaries I will publish until November.

I am NOT going to ask for $$$ for Steve.  I just want your best thoughts.

And I have some ideas based on the results of a recent poll in his district.  More below.

Yes we can baby!

Godspeed Barack!

I just listened to General Wes Clark and Governor Howard Dean speak at Netroots Nation in the big hall.

They both gave rousing speeches. I love these two. I'll follow them anywhere.

Both covered a lot of ground.

One thing both speeches had in common was that they emphasized and stressed how important and symbolic Guantanamo was.

They both referred how difficult is to win the support of the world community in any confrontation with a global terrorist organization or to act as a mediator in a geopolitical context if America cannot claim the moral high ground while Guantanamo stays in operation.

So I ask you. How quickly should Guantanamo be shut down once  Obama becomes President?

Can a hamburger be health food and taste good at the same time?

Can you go all the way with the green and organic trends and still offer great fast food?

Can someone with no restaurant experience open a restaurant turn a profit and set the stage to franchise the concept nationwide?

Yes, yes, and yes

First of all, they are delicious.  The "classic" O! burger tasted as good as the best hamburgers I ever ate.

With one difference; every single ingredient was organic.  The beef came from grass fed cows never given hormones, steroids or antibiotics, never fed other animal parts, never kept in a feed lot, never exposed to pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers, never irradiated.

The cheese, organic. The house sauce, slightly sweet, made from organic ingredients.

Watch this KTLA news segment video and then read the rest of the story below.

It may be conventional wisdom to pick a Vice President that can become President after the current presidential nominee's term expires, but I think this rationale is not useful this go around.

There are many reasons why.

A vote for General Wesley Clarkfor veep and more below.

General William E. Odom had a heart attack and died at age 75 on Friday.

General Odom was one of those rare flag officers who have what it takes to see the truth wherever it hides and tell this truth to power as he recently did in Congress and in Countdown.  

(Countdown You Tube links below the fold)

In April 28th 2007 he gave the Democratic Response to a Bush address on Iraq

How I wish he could have served in an Obama administration.

Torture is the tool of those who have power but no moral authority.  Today America is run by people who think torture makes sense.

I have a problem . I just cannot help myself from arguing with those who support or condone its use.   And lately I have been arguing a lot about this ugly reality.  Eventually I disconnect from these people.  
Torture is a defining issue to me. I do not want to have anything to do with people who torture.  I don’t want them to come to my home, I don’t want to talk to them in social settings, I don’t want to work with them, I don’t want them in police stations or in the Pentagon and I don’t want them in the White House or Congress.  

So, as of today, where do the presidential contenders stand on torture?  Which one gives me the most hope that the creeping cancer of torture will be contained and eradicated, which one will shut down Guantanamo faster, which one will most probably bring to justice those who have committed this crime, which one will set America on the path to reclaim some degree of the moral authority to play any leadership role in global politics?

They are featured in the body and comments of this diary below;

An Obama Video For Texas Latinos/as!!

I think they are very catchy, both the clasic Mexican and the reggeton.

If you Recommend Elegant Blogosphere's diary it will help get these fun videos additional exposure.

Si se puede!

I will delete my diary once Elegant's gets to Recommended.

The satellite shootdown, if it works, may cause a spectacular comet shower which may last for hours and may be seen by millions.  The news coverage may upstage the primaries for a few days.  This event will intersect presidential politics.

The window of opportunity for targeting lies between the landing of the shuttle Atlantis and the re-entry in the atmosphere of USA-193 (the failed spy satellite).

The Aegis US Navy ship Lake Erie will fire an SM-3 anti-ballistic missile from somewhere in the Pacific.  If it fails, two other such ships will try in the following days.

The danger posed by the hydrazine fuel is not the reason why this stunt will take place.  I’ll cover the real reasons below the fold.

McCain, with his military credentials, may benefit when all presidential candidates are asked to comment about the shootdown and Anti Ballistic Missile Defense.  Then again, he could blow it big time.

If I were Clinton or Obama I would be putting some thought into a coherent position regading this unprecedented event.

Hispanic voters in New York and specially in California may hold the key to Tsunami Tuesday.

Obama is doing something very smart about it (advertising in Spanish radio and TV) and he is enjoying the support of perhaps the greatest organizer of Hispanic voters in California, I am talking by El Cucuy de la Mañana, The Bogeyman of the Morning.

Take a look at the front page of ElCucuy.com today (El Cucuy in the red vest);

The key is this audio of the telephone interview of Barack Obama by El Cucuy broadcast late last year and available front this link below Obama's photo on the front page.

Towards the very end responding to Obama's invitation to meet next time he went to Illinois El Cucuy says;

Ojala nos veamos en la Casa Blanca.  

or

I hope we meet at the White House

The Wal Mart/slum lord exchange at the South Carolina debate was nothing short of hand to hand combat. It was clear that when Barack went on the offensive with his Wal Mart comment, Hillary had a planned move with her slum lord riposte.

The show of emotion in New Hampshire seems to have triggered a last minute stampede toward Hillary.

The "ratfucking"at the Nevada caucuses was ugly but it may have given Clinton the margin of victory

The Democratic primaries have become a dogfight between Clinton and Obama.

US Air Force Colonel John Boyd wrote the book on dogfights.

If Barack cannot get on Hillary's six o'clock quickly, he is doomed.  

As an Obama supporter I hope his campaign strategists understand and apply Boyd's thought before he gets shot down.

The idea is to converge in San Luis Obispo on Presidents Day weekend.  You can read additional details in this previous Diary; California Dreaming Convergence - Presidents Day  - San Luis Obispo

This may become the first get together of Northern AND Southern California Kossacks and progressive bloggers.

Navajo (of SF Kossacks and co-organizer) and I are trying to get a head count. This way we can get some group discounts going for room rates and function rooms.

In any case I will be there on Friday Feb 15 and stay until Feb 18.

How many Kossacks and progressive bloggers would like to converge in San Luis Obispo on Presidents Day weekend (Feb 15, 16, 17 and 18) to discuss important matters, to enjoy each others company, to take advantage of the many attractions that this mystical part of California offers and to dream of better days after we trounce the Repugs in November?

The 2008 Presidential Democratic candidate will long have been decided (I think) and it will be time to plan for the big one in November.

San Luis Obispo is half way between SoCal and the Bay area.  You can drive in about 3-4 hours, you can even take the train.  

I drove to San Luis Obispo last week to identify possible hotels, venues and transportation options and I have some suggestions (much more below).

Fact. We have known since Tora Borathat Osama Bin Laden is somewhere in Pakistan.

Fact. Al Qaeda  would probably not exist if instead of invading Iraq we had gone after Bin Laden and ALL his #2s.  

Fact. After 9/11, the average Muslim everywhere was ready to support our hunt for Bin Laden. Now, after an unending occupation of Iraq, a large percentage of Pakistanis, Saudis and Egyptians roots for Osama.

Fact. If Bush had captured or killed Bin Laden back in 2003, the level of violence, turmoil and support for extremists in Muslin countries would be much lower.

Fact. We have film of Osama Bin Laden protected by Kashmiri guerrillas (see the photo here)in 2001.

I am just getting started!!!

I had been drawn to Natalin's cause thanks to nyceve's diaries and also because my mother died last year from liver cancer. Certainly when you are 80 years old, liver cancer is very deadly, but an HMO made us waste time because they did not want to pay for her transplant. By the time I prepaid for one, it was too late.  But what I know is that liver transplants are far from experimental nowdays.  But they have to be performed quickly after a diagnosis to give the patient a better chance of survival.

Nataline was just starting her life.  The doctors recommended a transplant.  Cigna acted like the petty bean counters they are.

Their miscalculation was that Nataline was part of a very tight knit community of Armenians around Glendale where their HQ is.  Nataline had a fighting chance thanks to her family and friends and thanks to nyceve who mobilized us and the California Nurses Association.

Below are my impressions and some photos I took as I promised.  Since no relevant diary is available I post this short diary of my own.

Of all Republican presidential candidates none seems readier to trash the constitutional principle of separation of church and state than Mike Huckabee.

A Huckabee presidency would shift the Overton Window so far to the right, in the theocracy dimension, to the point of turning what is acceptable today into policy.

To get an idea of what IS acceptable in the military today look at the photos in the latest Military Religious Freedom Foundation report.  

Here is an appetizer.

Earlier today Senator Charles Schumer sent a letterto Ronald A. Rosenfeld, Chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board which regulates the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks

I write to express my serious concern over the lending practices of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, specifically in regard to the significant volume of advances made to Countrywide Bank.  I am concerned that the loans being pledged by Countrywide to secure these advances may pose a risk to the safety and soundness of the FHLB system as a whole.

Fasten your seatbelts!  Calling Bonddad!