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!

This is Blackwater’s "quinceañera" party. Their debutante ball.

Here is the invitation they sent to their sympathizers;

So, what is this Blackwater coming out party all about?  What message does Blackwater want to convey?

The workers in the Long Beach yard of Waste Management told me to tell you all that they are proud to work for Waste Management or at least they used to be.  Some of them worked for this company for 30 years.  

The last labor action at the Long Beach yard was more than 15 years ago.

Today I witnessed serious and even dangerous confrontations that went on and on.  This video is an example of the many 3 minutes game of chicken that took place.

It seems 3 minutes is all they can hold up a truck before the sheriffs can arrest demonstrators for impeding traffic.

In another yard in Los Angeles incidents of workers in the picket line being hit by Waste Management pickup trucks have been reported.

So how did things get to this point?  Why in 2007 are we back to the 1870s when workers fought for 8 hour days? Why is it that his strike is not just about pay and benefits but also "respect and dignity"?  

No! Let them keep their outfits.  What I mean is that the difference between the French Foreign Legion and Blackwater is that France operated the legion within its army.  90% of the officers in the Legion were French and had official active duty ranks in the French Army, according to Wikipedia.

What I propose is that US Army officers control Blackwater, given that it will be very very difficult to get rid of Blackwater.  

I want to see a US Army general running it. Colonels, Majors or Captains for every 100 Blackwater personnel. Down to Lieutenants or Sergeants at the squad level.  All under the UCMJ like the French Foreign Legion is under its French equivalent.  

This may be the only way to prevent catastrophe.  Whether we like it or not, something must be done.  The only thing that makes sense is the assimilation of Blackwater into the regular US Army org chart.

Think about it.

Fellow Kossacks, I have reason to believe that Specialist Jeremy Hall is being looked after.

I have also reason to believe that he is for real, multiple datapoints and one very reliable source.

I feel relieved and I wanted you to know this.

I just don't know what to make of the disappearance of Maj. Paul Welborne.

Some time earlier today the reports started appearing writing  and now they are spreading.

The targets of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation lawsuit are SECDEF Robert Gates and Maj. Paul Welborne who disrupted Jeremy Hall's authorized gathering of atheists.

So does Maj. Paul Welborne even exist?

What is going on in the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq?

Update: The mixup was the first name Fred not Paul.

Atheist whistle blower Army Specialist Jeremy Hall has become the target of despicable threats by Dominionist Christians in his own unit.

This from Jason Leopold at Truthout.org;

Friday 21 September 2007

An Army specialist stationed in Iraq said he has been repeatedly threatened by other US soldiers after word spread that he sued the secretary of defense and an Army major this week for allegedly retaliating against the soldier when he convened a meeting of atheists...

This is completely out of control

Jeremy Hall, 22, who is on active duty at Combat Operations Base Speicher, Iraq, sent an urgent email message to Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, whose organization is a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Pentagon. The email said a fellow soldier has threatened to "beat his ass," called him an "atheist ass pirate" and "a faggot" and enlisted a "lynch mob" of other soldiers to intimidate Hall ...

This is beyond outrageous.