Please write to Speaker-elect Pelosi urging her to appoint Rush Holt as chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

A bit unorthodox as far as seniority and power plays go - yes.

The best choice - absolutely!

Please see our community discussions at www.bluejersey.net if you want to find out more about Rep. Holt.

Please use this e-mail addy to write to Speaker elect Pelosi:

http://democraticleader.house.gov/contact.cfm

Please urge Rep. Pelosi to appoint Rush Holt at chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

And Joe, please write an article about Rush (not one paragraph), so people stop whining about the other two.

See also, posts at TPM and David Corn.

Perhaps I misspoke. The "e-mail addy" should be cut and pasted onto your browser. It leads to a Pelosi web site that allows you to contact her. Of course you have to put in all the hoo haa about you name, addres, etc. There is a space for comments.

Let me know if it works or doesn't work.

I tried the American Voices addy on my regular e-mail. No offense Write it, but I thought it was odd not to have go through a web site to reach a legislator. And Gawd knows I've written to lots of legislators. I even made it attn: Nancy Pelosi. It was returned because there was no such person at that site! I wrote a second time with Nancy's name in the body of the letter and asked that my mail be verified. You know that isn't going to happen. I felt as if I was sending my missive off into cyberspace and that it would never reach a computer screen. I hope I'm wrong.

Write it - did I do it right?

My friend, Beth, died the same day as Molly. Like Molly, she was a breast cancer survivor, until the cancer won. Like Molly, she was 62 years old and, when the time came, Beth had friends and family with her.

Beth was not famous. But she shared the same political wit and humor that Molly communicated to a far larger audience.

We comfort ourselves with the idea that Beth and Molly went off together into that good night. We believe that they are watching and commenting on the political scene from above. Hell, they must be really pissed, not to be around for the possible impeachment and the 2008 elections.

In their memory, we must carry on.

I have not read all 48 pages of letters, so forgive me if this has been posted before.

Samantha Power is a sophisticated international traveler and investigative reporter, among other things. One must assume she learned the rules of journalism as practiced on either side of the pond.

Since she has been working for Obama for over a year, one must also assume such a brilliant woman would have learned the rules of the game of politics, including the so-called new politics of hope, as it is played in the US.

It appears she has learned neither.

Calling Hillary a "monster" was a stupid gaffe. Overblown by the Clinton campaign? Sure. But it worked.

Blathering about Obama's plans for withdrawing from Iraq was a far more serious political gaffe, even if was the truth.

In any event, I don't think anyone will send her on a diplomatic mission very soon.

As for her resignation, it has little to do with her continuing to advise Obama. She just doesn't get to make public statements.

Like many of the other writers I feel anger, and I am insulted, both as a woman and an American.

But most of all, I am afraid.

This race is far from over and no one should be complacent about an Obama win. After 14 hours at the polls in 2004, I flopped into bed thinking Kerry had won. We all know how that turned out.

Despite all the horrendous things going on in America and the world as I write, we can't just "get over" Sarah Palin, as a woman, a politician and a vice-presidential candidate. She is an embarassment in all 3 categories and she must be evaluated from all of those perspectives. Certainly she does not speak for me in any of those areas, but neither does George Bush. We all know how that turned out.

Unlike McSame, most of us can multi-task. Questioning Palin's qualifications does not mean we ignore the mortgage crisis, the financial meltdown, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (remember them?), terrorism and every other issue threatening us.

So keep on keepin' on RT.

As for pity, the first thing that came to mind as I read about the pity parties being penned, most notably by Judith Warner in the MSM, is the deer in the headlights analogy. Since many have taken to characterizing Palin's facial expressions as similar to a moose in the headlights, I'll say it that way (even though I've never seen a moose).

The pity I have for Sarah Palin is the same as I would have if I were driving on a dark two lane road and a moose jumped in front of my car. For less than a nano-second, I would think, "Oh, poor moose. I'm going to hit him/her." Then I would try to avoid hitting the moose. Realizing I can't, I then understand that this moose is going to wreck my car and maybe even kill me. Friggin' stupid moose. Where did you come from?

That's as much pity as I have for Palin and figuratively, that's what she would do to all of us if elected VP.

BTW, it is my understanding that McSame wanted Joe Lieberman for VP, but the Rove forces made him pick Palin because she appealed to the conservative base and wonder of wonders, she was a novelty - a woman. Take that HRC, Gerry Ferraro and (RIP) Shirley Chisholm.