Happy BIrthday, Mother!

Happy birthday, Mother!

Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman. Wishing you the great joy and happiness you have always showered on us.

We love you!

*****

photo by zteamie

Idea Incubator

Enchanted to work with stellar authors, especially those who don't realize how wonderful they are becoming. I feel that I work in a well-protected idea incubator, observing and guarding ideas until they hatch.

Ask me two years ago if this scenario was even conceivable, and you get the same laughter as I had contemplating the evolving work that would result in 30 trips to Russia to save thousands of lives, before it happened, while the dream was still in the incubator.

Old dream: save the former USSR from darkness, bring hope

New dream: save the current US from darkness, bring hope

*****

Krugman Wins Nobel in Economics

Bush critic wins prize: sweet

Paul Krugman of Princeton was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Let's hope someone in the government is listening to what he has to say. It's not too late.

May I say "Bush Critic Krugman Wins 2008 Nobel for Economics" is a wonderful headline. Talk about getting the most important information out there first.

Next post up will have some ideas for the bailout. Later today we've got action items for Congress. Great start to a busy day!

Pull Up A Chair -- Special Edition for Christy

crossposted 11 october 2008 firedoglake

Set it on the kitchen counter, ok?

On most Saturday mornings, Christy puts on a pot of coffee and invites us over to chat. Today, though, it's our turn to offer some very special FDL love to Christy and her family in the loss of her husband's mother this week.

We lean on each other so much here that it has become a real community of shared joys and sorrows. We offer Christy, her husband, and their family our deep sympathy, our hugs, our spiritual energy, and our flowing love as they go through this terrible loss. We are with you.

When people in our own neighborhoods suffer a loss like this, a lot of us would bring over a casserole, so that the family wouldn't have to worry about cooking for a while. Today, I'm asking you to bring a virtual casserole (or other comfort food) to Pull Up A Chair, since it's what we would do if we all lived in the same physical community.

Bring your favorites here, either a description or the recipe, for her family to contemplate, and maybe some of those recipes will become favorites of her family in the future as they remember the community who loves them.

We all grieve in different ways. At its worst, grief can nearly knock people down physically, and it can be hard to endure one hour to the next. It can be hard to imagine why the sky is still blue -- does it even matter? And how can people go on living normal lives all around us? Don't they understand that everything is different now?

Late Nite Hospital Visit: New Revelations

crossposted 26 september 2008 firedoglake

Murray Waas has a breaking story in the Atlantic with more details about that frightening hospital visit to Ashcroft, where the entire top tier of DoJ stood ready to resign.

Marcy's new Timeline here

According to people familiar with statements recently made by Gonzales to federal investigators, Gonzales is now saying that George Bush personally directed him to make that hospital visit.

[snip]

Gonzales has also told Justice Department investigators that President Bush played a more central and active role than was previously known in devising a strategy to have Congress enable the continuation of the surveillance program when questions about its legality were raised by the Justice Department, as well as devising other ways to circumvent the Justice Department’s legal concerns about the program, according to people who have read Gonzales’s interviews with investigators.

So, is it bad? What is the White House's reaction?

One scenario feared by the White House is that the IG or OPR could send a public report to Congress concluding that Gonzales or some other official may have committed a crime. At a minimum, that would make the conduct of Gonzales, or of any other official deemed to be under suspicion, the subject of a criminal investigation.

If the report also raised unanswered questions about possible misconduct by other senior administration officials, or even the president, that could lead to the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Good times, good times.

video from hidusr

The Debate is On: McCain Flip-Flops Again

crossposted 26 september 2008 firedoglake

The Presidential debate will go on as scheduled. So McCain's campaign suspension is suspended. Or something.

From Reuters:

Republican John McCain said he will attend the first of three presidential debates with Democrat Barack Obama on Friday, ending two days of suspense and setting up a showdown that could help decide a tight race for the White House.

McCain had vowed to skip the debate if a $700 billion rescue of the U.S. financial industry was not settled, but his campaign said in a statement that enough progress had been made to go ahead.

"The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the senator will travel to the debate this afternoon," the statement said. He will come back to Washington after the event and return to the negotiations.

photo by wedgienet

Thirty Years - A Toast

"Kingdoms come and go
But they don't last
Before you know
The future is the past.

In spite of what's been lost
What's been gained
We are living proof
Love remains"

*******

Collin Raye

photo by Picture Taker 2

Jigsaw Puzzle: Ur Doin It Rong

Bring me a hammer and the scissors please? Because that's the only way I can make these puzzle pieces fit.

*****

Dem Convention Journalist

When being recognized by Gavin Newsom, the young mayor of SF, doesnt even make the top ten amazing things that happened this week at the convention, it's time to start writing some impressions. Back yesterday, completely amazing time, so many new friends and colleagues and the opportunity to meet people I have been working with online.

In no particular order:

1. Talked with Senator Jon Tester - complete love fest in the press room.

2. Scoop interview with George Lakoff on framing: next steps. I saw him walk by and jumped up out of my chair to meet him, got the story on the new narrative.

3. Photo of me and snarky quote on Comedy Central site. And the producer and writer are so cool. Look at 11:03, my quote at 10:28, and photo at 8:45.

4. Four on camera interviews -- not bad for one whose pre-egregious screen name was "shygirl" -- including Reuters and Cox News.

5. Awesome time with old friends including Marcy, Ian, Christy, Jane, Pach, Dave Johnson

6. Interviewed Rep. John Hall -- "Still the One" --energy policy awaits Obama's election.

7. Spoke with a dozen governors, senators, congressmen, and candidates - list later. I'm tired. Sen. Salazar -- who was amused to learn about what firedoglake means. Gov. Schweitzer. Shulman. Polis. Taddeo. Sen. Durbin.

8. Came close to, but did not speak with: Rachel Maddow, Senator Leahy, Wash State Governor Chris Gregoire, Rep. Moran, Jonathan Alter of msnbc, Katie Couric, Sen. Schumer, Sean Penn, Paul Pelosi.

9. Met so many new folks -- again the full list must wait. Noneck - who got thrown out of China for interviewing people about Tibet, this is his photo of me. BenGoshi, attorney at kos, and the whole LeftinAlabama team. Crooks&Liars' Amato - wild man and his partner who is a complete sweetheart. Aravosis/Americablog. Glenn Greenwald. Markos/kos. Duncan/Atrios. Jesse, Lauren, Evan, and Sara at Group News Blog. Tim Tagaris.

10. Helped C-Span edit an article.

11. Back channel established with an official high up in the DCCC. Long off record interview.

12. Glad I didn't bolt the first day when I was so scared I nearly left.

13. SF Mayor Gavin Newsom recognizes me.

14. A new sense of self confidence as I try new things and many of them actually work. I look great and apparently am throwing off sparks. Thanks to Team Egregious for wardrobe advice and general support, you know who you are even if I can't name you in public.

Small steps, brave small steps, add up when it counts. Thank you new friends and old friends. We are going to elect Obama/Biden and rock the world.

*******

Sailing into the wind

Sailing by day, watching the Olympics, listening to Tom Lehrer -- who is surprisingly topical even now -- and playing family games by night. Still some stormy waters from the divorce, though folks are doing their best to focus on the positive, that we are here together for a few days.

*******

photo by thomashawk

Carry Me Back to Ol Virginia

Travel day, see you on the flip side.

*******

Photo by Elsie esq

Evolving Dreams

crossposted 9 august 2008 at firedoglake

"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true"

I love this photo with the combination of dark skies, calm lake, and stunningly bright rainbow -- a double rainbow for good luck.

It's tempting to get trapped in the dark and think it will be like this forever, whether politically or personally. To get beyond that it helps to reconnect with your dreams -- your childhood dreams, your young adult hopes, your current vision for the future.

To be at a point of transition, when one set of dreams has come to fruition, but the next set are waiting for the muse, is a special challenge.  I think a lot of us are experiencing this disequilibrium politically if not personally.  Our ideas about the way things are supposed to be have been shaken. Developing new ideas, new dreams, takes time and creative thought and way more patience that I can find sometimes.

Would love to hear from you pups about where you are in your evolving dreams...are you living them, considering new ones, basking in the joy of completed ones, despairing that you won't ever have them come true, where are you?

Come on in, have some coffee or tea and homemade cookies, and pull up a chair.... 

photo by Nicholas_T at Minsi Lake, Northampton County PA