Obama started selling his product... and people started buying.  His marketing and product quality are far superior that his competitor's.  And the "consumers" are voting with thier dollars.  Suck on that Charlie Gibson...

I don't know if this has been discussed here... so excuse me if I am treading on old territory.  I was given a link to a google video featuring a lecture by a guy named Lidsey Williams (a chaplain that worked in Alaskan oil fields) claims that there is MAJOR cover up of enough oil in the Northern slope to provide us enough oil for 200+ years...  He wrote a book called Energy Non-Crisis talking about this wild conspiracy theory regarding an illuminati type of secret society that is controlling the world by controlling oil.  I am not one for conspiracy theories... but what gets me is there is so little information on this allegation or this guy.  Every google search just brings stories about this guy and his claims... no secondary sources, nothing...

This issue has come up and up and UP, over and over and OVER again.  Both sides of the arguement have merit at therir cores.  However, I desire a solution that puts this thing to bed... both, in an effort to resolve the issue in a positive manner (re-enfranchisement along with a justifiable sanction), AND to kill the BS talking points... come below to see how this breaks out...

PocketNines posted a great diary about why the popular vote "talking point" is bogus...  And I fully agree with the diary...  But I say, let them bring it on anyway...  Bring on the popular vote, because SHE STILL LOSES!!!.  More below...

This may have been discussed (I searched, but found nothing)... I found the reason I suspect that Al Gore elected not to run for U.S. President.  There is a group that was formed with the goal of finding ways to better address global issues.  It is a special club called The Elders

I think there was a diary or 2 about this, but not enough...  The Secular Coalition has a piece on this...  Plus, I wanted add how a Christian feels about this (these issues tend to fall on Christian v. secular lines, with no inclusion of people of faith on the "freethinking" side).  Below is what I had to say to my congresswoman regarding H. Res. 888.

Hillary is the Democratic candidate and Paul is the Republican candidate on the ticket.  My instinct tells me this is NUTS, because I wholly disagree with his far right libertarian economic views...  But when I think about it a bit, I come up with some reasons to give the notion some further thought (just thinking  out loud).

I took a look at his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech...  He looks like he dropped a few pounds...  May not mean a damn thing in regards to the '08 election, but just being hopeful.

(Added photos links based on complaints)

Before - Feb 2007
http://newsbusters.org/...

After - Dec 2007
http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/...

But then again, even if he did jump in on Jan. 1, it doesn't seem like there is enough time (Iowa and New hampsire are early Jan, and MEGA-ULTRA-SUPER-MAXIMUM-TUESDAY is like Feb. 5).  That does not really seem like enough time to impact the Dem. primary.

I want to start by saying that I am both Christian and a Biologist.  As a matter of fact, I believe in evolution as wholeheartedly as I believe in God (not some grandpa in the clouds with a long beard, but an essence, a consciousness, the raw nature of the universe that is beyond our comprehension... or some other colorful description).  That said, I have concerns about the line being drawn that sets faith on the side of conservativism, and progressivism on the side of being secular.  Perhaps in truth, it is not the general public out there making this distinction (not accusing this board either)... but it is the rhetoric being pitched by the traditional media, and the small percentage of the population (religious figures and known atheists like Hitchens) that get to talk and engage publically in the discussion (arguements) and set the dialogue (talking points).

So with that, I submit the idea that evolution and the existance of God are not mutually exclusive concepts (unless you are an evangelical... yikes).  Likewise, neither is being of faith and being progressive.  Just seeing it on TV all the time, suggesting that there is a secular/faith line perfectly drawn between conservative/progressive views, is very off-putting.  That said, I want to expand on the discussion.  

This is about Rep. Stark's comments regarding the SCHIP veto, but so much more...  While people say that his comments were over the top, and that sort of thing can work against us, because supposedly the point in the debate becomes lost when the Right take the opportunity to criticize his choice of words and obfuscate the issue...  BUT... I really think that at this point in time, that kind of "blow-back" is of small concern and can be bypassed (like the attempts at "blow-back" on Rush and Coulter that never get anywhere).  Bottom-line, we need Democratic leaders in congress speaking with relentless passion and conviction about what is going on.  They may go "too far" as Rep. Stark did, but we need the message to be SHOUTED by all, and the collateral damage of word choice criticism can be knocked away by driving the real issues against the criticisms over wording.