Dear DNC,

I was a contrubutor to Dr. Dean when he ran for the Presidency in 2004. I also caucused for the good Doctor in Washington State. After his campaign sputtered, I volunteered and worked for John Kerry. I gave to Tim Walz in his campaign to take a long-Republican seat in southern Minnesota (I'm in the military; Minnesota is my home of record) in 2006.

Alright folks - it is 7:32pm here in Honolulu so its much much later on the mainland. I did some time growing up in Texas, and I'm pretty familiar with the state and all its fun vagaries.

Three things stand out to me:

(1) Harris County is only just now coming in
(2) Webb County ISN'T coming in, but neither is Denton County
(3) Denton County + Harris County will more than cancel out Webb

RESULT: Barack Obama will win the Texas primaries.

I doubt it will make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but I can't stand idly by and watch this happen...

- Horace Mann, founder, Antioch College

A small, very progressive liberal arts college in rural Ohio (to which I have no connection at all) is about to die. Antioch College has been one of the leaders of progressive social change since its founding in 1852.

I think we need more Antiochs, not less, and I have called upon my liberal arts college's alumni association (one of the wealthiest in the nation) to help. I have sent in what little I can afford. Perhaps Kossacks can help too.

The fun starts here:

(http://www.dailykos.com/...)

I got into it with a right-wing troll. What was funny is that he is one of those guys that tries really hard to act like he's a reasonable person, but with a different perspective on the issue. So I started by engaging him honestly, mustering reason and research to bolster my points.

But he kept hammering on one single talking point (sound familiar?) and I realized that he was not engaging me...

I joined the Army b/c I was unemployed and in serious hock from student loans. Shortly after joining, my wife was diagnosed with MS. This has changed my military adventure from "something I gotta do for four years to get the Man off my back" to "holy crap, I might have to do 20 and retire to keep Tricare."

I'm writing today as an active-duty Soldier.

The war in Iraq is on many folks' minds today, what with the spending authorization bill landing on the President's desk and the fourth anniversary of the "mission accomplished," erm, "major combat operations have ceased" moment.

Here's what's happening in the real-live, active-duty, no-shit Army:

People are pissed off. They're angry because they want to retire, but they don't want to go back to Iraq again. They're angry because the quality of incoming recruit is lower and lower, and there's little that anyone can do about it, because its all a "numbers game" being played by TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command, the part of the Army that runs initial recruit training). They're really pissed about the 15-month deployments.

Yes, this is a "positive story" (of sorts) coming out of the current conflict in the Middle East.

It all starts when a Soldier gets hit with an SA-7 RPG round. The round does not explode, but partially impales the Soldier with the round embedded in his chest...

This is a new Army plan for "transformation" (I hate this word) of the Inactive Ready Reserve into a force which resembles a personnel pool for the Active Reserve Component.

The plan is detailed in an Army news release which is on the AKO ("http:us.army.mil" Army Knowledge Online) site, and which is behind a password wall to the rest of you.

More on the other side:

http://flathat.wm.edu/...

Virtually identical text was written and published by the noted conservative humorist P.J. O'Rourke in his chapter "Real Parties" from his book "Modern Manners," at page 176 and onward.

I was stumbling around downtown Portland today and I noticed that John Kerry and Howard Dean are going to be giving a little talk to us in Pioneer Courthouse Square TODAY, THIS AFTERNOON at around 4:30 p.m.

I live in SW Portland, within a mile of downtown. I live in a small 4-plex with Buddhist prayer flags hanging from the front porch.

To those of you who know Portland, you probably know that this is not a fruitful neighborhood for the Christian right. So, props to them for trying, I guess.

Louise sez:

"The White House apparently has released only the first and last pages of an 11 1/2 page document. If 911 is becoming Watergate, then the 9-page gap is a weirdly creepy version of Rosemary Woods' "18 minute gap."

"This is Bush's 33rd visit to his ranch since becoming president. He has spent all or part of 233 days on his Texas ranch since taking office, according to a tally by CBS News. Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency."

September 11, 2001 was the 233rd day of the Bush Presidency.

Anyway, he announced today that he is going on the Dennis Miller show. Among other things, he noted that Dennis Miller required him to submit all kinds of personal information in a waiver, and that he wondered if he would be called upon to bash Air America. he refused to do so when a caller invited him to... and went to an ad.

The Bank of Japan is no longer going to buy lots of dollars to support our currency. That leaves China as the principal subsidizer of the dollar.

Majority - 167

PSOE (Socialists) = 166

PP (Center-right) = 135

CiU (Catalan regionalists) = 10

IU (Unity Left) = 4

35% precincts reporting. 77% turnout.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/2442056