Jeez, I hate sounding like a concern troll who asks other Dems not to breathe, lest we risk angering the right-wing media. However, one of my coworkers, who frequents Democratic Underground, alerted me to an article in Salon that reveals an inconvenient reality for delegates planning to jangle keys at the convention.

More @ the flip.

How should I respond to the latest (non-Obama-related) right-wing email, covertly racist and under the guise of "national security," that I got from my 25-year-old right-wing cousin who is interestingly NOT overseas fighting for our Freedoms™ in the Great War on Terror™?

I'm tempted to write back simply, "Please do not deluge my inbox with this racist tripe. Now get your ass over to Iraq." But was hoping someone could suggest something more, umm, intelligent and family-friendly for a relative.

The full text of this drivel email is on the flip.

UPDATE: I replied to this email, incorporating several of your suggestions, which I thank you very much. I'll update again with how my cousin (or anyone else on the thread, whom my cousin unwisely did not BCC) replies.

Sometime between the 2004 election and the point before my husband and I started taking classes to become licensed to be foster parents, my dad predicted that something would happen to me that I've since proven would not. I love and admire my dad infinitely, but he is and has been far more conservative than me on many issues. So, it was after another Democratic meeting or event or something or other (I can't remember exactly which) that he told me casually yet quite self-assuredly:

"When you become a parent, that'll make you more conservative."

Along with my husband, I've been a foster parent since February, and we intend to adopt our two foster sons when the option becomes available to us. I can attest certifiably that I have NOT become more conservative. In fact, just the opposite has happened.

More @ the jump.

Jesus, not this bullshit again:

A billboard on display in Orange County, Florida shows the World Trade Center towers burning while telling passers-by: "Please Don’t Vote for a Democrat." The local ABC News affiliate reports that the person responsible is a local musician "trying to help Republicans" but that "officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate."

This is already making the rounds across the Internets, but I thought it prudent to put up an action alert here, as the sponsor of this billboard is quite happy to advertise both his Web site and contact information for you to spend five bucks on his shitty CD (and EVEN have him perform at your next social event!). The excitement never ends.

More at the jump.

Just got this in my inbox--this is great news. An AFL-CIO endorsement will help bring out the labor voters to support Obama. The labor coalition has also created an info site at MeetObama08.org to introduce the labor population to Obama's issues re: the economy, trade, and worker's rights. (Note: the site redirects to an AFL-CIO-hosted issues page.)

More at the flip.

So I was dropping my kids off at summer day camp before starting work, and was able to catch Bill Press's "Parting Shot" segment that closes his show on XM. He was very rightly calling out BushCo for failing to catch Osama bin Laden nearly 7 years after the 9/11 attacks, and blasting Bush for making it (finally) a priority now that he is essentially a lame duck, doing whatever he could to salvage his tarnished legacy.

I agreed with everything Bill had to say during this segment, but an error he made caught me quite by surprise. It's normally something that the right-wingers are prone to say by "mistake."

More on the jump.

It is nice to see that we are finally uniting behind a wonderful candidate, Senator Barack Obama, who clearly has a good shot at winning this November's general election and becoming our next President. It is also good that we have confidence in not only Obama's capabilities for doing the job, but in attaining the job and beating the opposition.

However, I read an article tonight that serves as a stark reminder that we've got quite a bit of work yet to do.

Follow me at the flip.

File this under, "Well, DUH." Just out on the AP newswire is this late-night tidbit:

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration repeatedly ignored corruption at the highest levels within the Iraqi government and kept secret potentially embarrassing information so as not to undermine its relationship with Baghdad, according to two former State Department employees.

More @ jump.

It's 3 p.m. EST as of this diary's posting, and my cell phone log is full of 215 area code phone numbers of people I've never called before. It's a slow work-at-home day for me, so I'm filling up some break time with some GOTV calls to help in the final push to get Barack Obama at the top of the ticket this November.

If any Barack Obama supporter here on DK is not busy working for the next five hours, please put in some last-minute time calling voters to Get Out the Vote (GOTV), consider canvassing in PA or volunteering in a PA office if you live in PA, or even pitch in some money.

The time is now, and it's up to us to be the change we want to see in this election.

I have to admit I'm more than mildly disappointed in McCain's latest capitulation to his buddy Mr. 19 Percent:

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said President Bush should veto a measure that would bar the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects.

McCain voted against the bill, which would restrict the CIA to using only the 19 interrogation techniques listed in the Army field manual.

His vote was controversial because the manual prohibits waterboarding — a simulated drowning technique that McCain also opposes — yet McCain doesn't want the CIA bound by the manual and its prohibitions.

A short continuation @ the jump.

I'm on Senator Leahy's action-alert listserv, and just now, he's sent out an action alert to email his fellow Senators (and our Congresspeople) to demand a House-Senate conference to produce a fair FISA bill:

There's still time to fix FISA and do it the right way -- providing the balance we need to protect national security, preserve civil liberties, and refuse retroactive immunity to phone companies who went along with Bush-Cheney Administration lawbreaking.  But I need you to join me in speaking out, right now, to make sure we get a fair FISA bill.

Join 11,514 Americans (diarist's note: as of my action): Forward an email to your home state Senators and Representative now, urging them to keep working until we get a fair FISA bill!

You know what to do, Kossacks...

Another hit-and-run diary b/c I'm short on time; but I just read that, per a new MSNBC report, Barack Obama is now the statistical front-runner, with a 100-delegate lead. Wow!

Link to MSNBC report, and excerpt:

No matter how one slices the election results from last night, there's no denying that Obama is the statistical front-runner. He's got a 100-plus pledged delegate lead and even has the lead if you factor in superdelegates. Here's our math: The NBC News election unit hard count stands at 1078 to 969. If you factor in the unallocated pledged delegates, our estimate rises to approximately 1128 to 1009 in Obama's favor (margin of error +/- 5 delegates). Toss in the superdelegates and Obama's lead is 1306 to 1270 (again +/- 5 delegates).

Go-bama!

Elegy and explanation at the jump.

Nope, this is not a diary about a candidate, a caucus, or Iowa--or why my candidate's milkshake is better than yours. It's about something rather horrifying that I found in my spam filter when I was searching for an Evite email notification that might have been sent there.

It's almost a parody of some They Walk Among Us type of flick, except it's real, and it's being instigated by that most un-Christian of "Christian" organizations, the American Family Association.

Details on this group's latest nauseating drivel at the flip.

Even though I'm a non-believer, I love Christmas: the pretty lights, the time spent with family, the overall semblance of goodwill and spirit, and even the liturgical Christmas music that puts one in the decorating and mulled cider mood. However, when I hear Amy Grant start to sing "Grown-up Christmas List" or another one of her Christmas tunes, I start to throw up a little in my mouth, and then I change the channel.

Explanation at the jump.

Another result of conservative government inaction; yet another item to file under: "Thanks, Republicans!"

When you're factoring in your donations for holiday charity, care packages for overseas servicepeople, and political candidates and organizations, please don't forget America's food banks.

More at the jump.

So I was listening to the Stephanie Miller Show this a.m. and heard something on her Right Wing World segment that made me want to gag.

***DISCLAIMER:*** I am NOT a Hillary Clinton supporter, nor am I shilling for her in any way. However, what makes me more enthusiastic about supporting her in the future--IF she gets the nomination--is to see how much wailing and gnashing of teeth would commence from the far right were Hillary were to become the U.S.'s first woman president.

Follow me at the jump to let me count the ways in which Mitt Romney and his wife have so pissed me off re: his comments about Clinton. (No, not THAT Clinton; the OTHER Clinton.)

Just got this email from one of the leadership members of the Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida:

The Bradenton Herald's website is taking a poll on "What should Planned Parenthood Do in Manatee County?"  They are asking because of our plans to open a new health center there.

Please go to the site and VOTE -- right now!  The "Anti's" are voting en masse -- and are leading!  So we need to have a Big Turnout.  It doesn't matter if you don't live in Manatee -- they are not taking names, etc.

Just go to: http://www.bradenton.com - Look halfway down the front page in the middle, you'll see "Editor's Blog" and beneath that, "Street Talk's Weekly Poll". Click on the sentence:  "What should Planned Parenthood do in Manatee County?"

Here's a direct link to the poll. As the email reads above, sure enough, the Freeper types are out in full force, so turn your Smurfbeams on and vote pro-privacy!