So, using your inflammatory language, wanting to uphold the constitution (the 4th amendment, for instance) makes one a brownshirt? But voting to give unlimited power to the executive to jail anyone, including citizens, indefinitely, without charges, without a trial, with no avenue of appeal, is the proper way to be an American? Insisting that individual rights are upheld is being a communist? Do you even know what the fuck any words you use mean? Can you really be that dull-witted?

So, you're a big fan of Lieberman, a man with no principles he's willing to uphold, other than being re-elected no matter what. Anyone who wants to continue the policies of the worst president we've ever had (as Lieberman does with McCain), has automatically given up any credence to anything about himself. What does that say about a suck-up like you?

--Ron

<<Let's give "Blue Dogs" the boot

LOL, all you guys forget one thing... Blue dogs are called blue dogs because they come from blue areas. Do you think these blue areas are really going to want to elect a communist progressive?

And the democrats are the party of the big tent? Ask Leiberman what happens if he doesn't follow in lockstep with the party brownshirts.>>

You still don't get it, and I think it's on purpose. Not a single person here has asked for absolute adherence to every idea in their heads, that's a construct of your own flaccid imagination and dedication to the status quo.

If these congressmen that are mentioned in Mr. Greenwald's article can't be for upholding our rights of privacy (not being spied upon), can't be against torture, can't stand up for the 4th amendment, can't oppose Bush and the right-wing agenda on anything, then I agree with him that they need to be booted out of the party by having them lose an election. The people who we're wanting to boot them out is an informed electorate, informed by ads in their district highlighting the lock-step marches these congressmen march with the worst of the republicans. We have the right to fund those ads with our donations, to write in here and say why, and give reasonable explanations of same. What are you doing? Mocking, whining and shitting in your pants at the very notion someone would care about anything truly worthwhile. About the only thing Mr. Greenwald didn't mention in this particular article is that the democratic leadership should lose their positions too, particularly Reid, Hoyer and Pelosi. I agree with this article that nothing is going to change unless it becomes clear to these democrats that they'll lose their jobs unless they do stand for something of value.

If you're going to cravenly defend the status quo, at least do so rationally, by acknowledging that there is a problem with the congress we have today and coming up with some solution for it. All you're doing so far is smearing used toilet paper wherever you go.

--Ron

<<So did Stalin

Of course, not. But 'giving a boot,' 'purging a party,' 'bringig to heel' has distinctive brown-red tint. Be honest with yourself, there is repetition of 'How dare he be less progressive that I, or differently 'progressive' than I' in your posts and articles. Please don't act innocent 'Oh! we are modest and honest people just want to uphold the constitution.' You want to discipline a party into sticking to your own kind of orthodoxy. Fine, give it a try. Though Glenn, for one, does not strike me as one of nature's Stalins. He is more of nature's Kamenevs.

-- ezhik>>

Over the past year I've learned a lot about the life of the soil. There probably is more life going on in our topsoil (by far) than above the surface (and when reading most work of "journalists," I'm tempted to say more intelligent life). My partner and I have a 10-acre cut-rose operation, where we grow roses outdoors (not under glass), and use no chemicals whatsoever. We've been very pleased with how our roses have done!

I used to wonder why it seemed like diseases were more rampant with plants now than how it must have been in earlier times. I wondered how in the world they were able to grow anything without everything being eaten up by pests and diseases, considering the conventional wisdom of what it takes to grow veggies and fruit. The answer is that with a balanced soil system, you don't have all these problems, and no need for chemicals. The chemicals and strong fertilizers (anything over 10-10-10 destroys the soil cultures) are what's damaged our ecosystem probably more than any other factor, making the soils and nature unable to recover because the organisms that do the recovering are dead. For anyone curious, our rose site is linked to my sig.

--Ron Robertson

Not about Bill and Hillary Clinton, who I've had great respect for a long time now, but about Biden as the VP. I'd thought he was a terrible choice, but after seeing him speak tonight, I thought he showed he'd not be another wimpy VP like Lieberman and Edwards were (Edward's excessive deference towards Cheney in the debates was one of the main reasons I did not support his candidacy).

I enjoyed Hillary's speech, and very much enjoyed Bill's speech, but I thought Biden's was wonderful, and I loved how he went after McCain, and at long last it looks like democrats may e ready to fight back!

--Ron

This strikes me as a desperate move by McCain. It's hard to know what he could have been thinking (or his handlers were thinking) in choosing someone like her. She's not held any national office, has held her office as governor for less than two years, has shown some seriously bad judgment by getting her brother-in-law fired while he was in the midst of a nasty custody battle with her sister has to be the epitome of stupidity, then to top it off putting in someone who later had to resign shows she's not exactly good in the judgment department or the experience department.

There seems to be only two assets she brings, one is that she's a die-hard conservative so McCain and his handlers thinks that will shore up his base, who are apparently pretty dispirited, and two she's a woman, though with their base that's a double-edged sword at best. I don't see enough disaffected HIllary voters being one over by someone who wants to overturn Roe v. Wade to be tempted to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. Any that do deserve what they get.

And it's is sadly pathetic to have in our next-to-highest office the possibility of someone who basically doesn't believe in Science, which is a necessary foundation to being a creationist.

With the stupidity of so many people these days, I'd say evolution goes both directions, forward and backwards.

--Ron