... but I turned it on about ten minutes late. Did I miss it? Somebody please tell me. If it's over, I want to go to bed, so that I can start posting on Salon early tomorrow.

This reminds me of Gore refusing to support Lieberman, and coming out too early in support of Dean. Rembember?

This story has no big significance. Kennedy should keep quiet in public for several months months.

He has made it to the level of Serious Candidate. So now let's read his book, and listen to what he says.

I will be delighted if we end up with a choice between Obama, Gore, Edwards, Clinton, Clark, and Kucinich! Plenty of time before we have to chose... Take it easy.

It just dawned on me that Rumsfeld and Bush don't want to call Iraq a Civil War, because the Geneva Conventions apply to Civil Wars. Did everybody except me already realize that?

Ya know... Barack is African, and he is American, but he is not an African-American in our usual sense. All these posts about, "Can a black man win?" are off-target.

It is incorrect to put Barack Obama into the same "Black Politician" category as (say) Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Obama's story and his heritage are completely different.

I am not sure what effect this might have in the election, but it should affect our thinking in some way.

Bush and Snow (sounds like a cozy pub, The Bush and Snow) want us to submit a triplicate requisition for water, for review and comment, while the barn is burning down.

P.S. Poster Chas: Please join Salon, so that we have an archive of your great posts.

1. Astounding and pleasing to see the wide support for General Clark here on Salon! Somebody, please, quick, send the General an e-mail, and tell him of his support. Tell him to take a look here. What the heck is he doing? I have not heard anything form him in months.

2. All of you posters who write long, dense paragraphs: COOL IT! Please, please break your messages onto three or four-sentence chunks! Serious! Make yourselves comprehensible, please.

Lord Almighty, just imagine what we could do for tsunami relief and hurricane reconstruction and soul restoration in general, if the American President had not spent every nickel plus every deficit dime on napalm and rocket propelled grenades!

Dear Senator Kerry,

We will not nominate you again.

The "Botched Joke" fiasco was your own personal fault, because you mixed up Vietnam-era thinking with current reality. The Swift Boat problem was your own personal fault, because you did not respond. The "Flip-Flop" label was your own fault, because you said a very silly thing.

You are a great American, but you are a terrible candidate. You are lucky to have your Senate seat. Please just hang onto your Senate seat.

And if you can raise money via the www, God bless you! Please use that money wisely to advance good causes, including somebody else for President.

This guy is not exaggerating. Please pay attention to the fact that most of his calls for help are from regular Christians.

The "Christian" fundamentalists have been on a rampage for years, and people such as Salon posters still do not understand them as a serious threat.

Have you noticed that fundamentalist intimidation and rape both have peaked at the Air Force Academy recently? Don't get me started. I could write all night.

Good source: talk2action.org This is a website about the fundamentalist threat.

I am delighted to have an excuse for my little dinky dinky! It's the soy! I'm going to have that tattooed on my member, if it will fit.

Ann Arbor was the first to make marijuana a misdemeanor! There are a select few American towns who want to dispute Berkeley's claim to be America's kookiest.

(Don't forget those Merry Medical Mentions.) Merry Christmas!

Indeed, what is the alternative approach?

The only alternative would be to ring some part of Iraq with American troops, and invite many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis inside the ring, including the current government and the current Iraqi army.

Then, Americans would train and equip Iraqi soldiers. And the Iraqis would venture out to fight insurgents, while the American troops would hold the safe base. Eventually, then, many years from now, the American-supported Iraqis might take back their country.

Does that sound practical? No! But what is the other plan?

Today in the Detroit Free Press, Michael Rosenberg explains Gil Meche's $55,000,000.00 five-year contract:

Gil's ERA last year was 4.48. That was eight one-hundredths (.08) of a run better than the league ERA of 4.56.

And that means that over the course of a 200-inning season, Gil will save his new team, the Royals, a total of about 1.8 runs.

Not per game... That is for the whole season. The Royals will be fewer than two runs to the good next year, compared with having an average pitcher. For eleven million dollars.

But, what does an average pitcher make per season? Maybe $11,000,000.00 is the new average.

"What Is Chanukah? Annual Tips for Gentiles." And the ever-popular "Kwannza For White Folks" Q&A.

I am just piling on here: Your headline writer should have written, ET ALII or ET ALIIS, rather than, "et alia." (These are people rather than things.)

I already am the Official Latin Consultant for King Kaufman's sports column. Please go ahead and ask me any time you want good Latin (no charge for great writers).

If we take a few of the good posts here on Salon, and cobble them together into a succinct message, we will get a good statement of the situation.

Must we wait for a "leader" to wake up? Somehow, can Salon take (say) five of us on the road, and have us repeat a straightforward message?

The Washington people are too bogged down in protocol and so on, apparently. We have no baggage. We have a clear message.

How can we do this?