This will be a rather short diary, but this "surge" meme, along with the tepid response, is bothering me. Folks are apoplectic because McCain is acting like a Republican and the media are acting like the corporate prostitutes they are.

And yet what goes largely unmentioned is that the Democrats are again buying into the Thug framing. The "surge" has become the issue.  Did the surge work? Were there other factors involved in the reduction of violence? The problem of accepting that framing is that it ignores the real issue, the invasion of Iraq, which was based on lies that were apparent before the illegal military action took place.

Senator Obama is running as the candidate for change. McCain is attempting to get on the change bandwagon, but his efforts are almost laughable. A McCain election will obviously mean more of the same: the continued move to the right on domestic issues, the continued abandonment of working class Americans, more confrontation with other countries including a probable war with Iran.

When I think of change instigated from above (as opposed to change from below, such as the civil rights struggle or the union movement) FDR stands out as the positive standard and Reagan the negative.  President Clinton, on the other hand, didn’t really change the political paradigm. He accepted the Reagan limited government, free-market model. The status quo was maintained during his tenure.

What can we expect from Obama? After 8 years of an Obama presidency, what changes will there be? Will he be a Roosevelt or a Clinton? I have listed a number of issues below and how I see an Obama administration addressing them. It is not an exhaustive list and the comments represent only one person’s opinion. One can never predict what will happen on the political stage. Supreme Court Justices Earl Warren and Hugo Black are obvious examples.

In a couple of weeks I will be heading out for some relaxation. Part of my escape is catching up on my reading. So I requesting a few suggestions.

To give an idea what I enjoy, I will list some of the books I read last summer.

Thanks in advance.

We have enveighed against Hoyer, Pelosi and Reid on FISA, as we should. If those three have failed the courage test, so has Senator Obama. He should not get a pass. The Constitution is more important than any candidate.

In view of the latest FISA capitulation, it is time to revive this cult favorite, updated to keep apace with the breaking news.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged the new FARC . leader Alfanso Cano to end the guerilla war and to release all hostages.

Chavez appeared to be taking advantage of a historic change of leadership in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The rebels acknowledged last month their longtime leader, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, had died and been succeeded by Alfonso Cano, who political analysts say is more likely to negotiate over releases and possibly long-term peace.

I just got off the phone with my son. He attended the Obama rally in Grand Rapids and saw John Edwards endorse Obama. While the Senator is too centrist for either of us, he is nonetheless the best of the lot in the coming election and we are supporting him.

We were discussing the the impact of decisions made by those in the political limelite. Three people have seen their aspirations fade because of a huge lapse of judgement and courage.

Come all of you workers who toil night and day
By hand and by brain to earn your pay
Who for centuries long past for no more than your bread
Have bled for your countries and counted your dead

May 1 is International Worker's Day. It is a good time to reflect on the state of the working folks in this nation and the possible impact of the presidential election on these people.

Today is the 40th anniversary of MLKs assassination. I was a junior in college at the time. It was a surreal time: Gene McCarthy's candidacy; the surprise New Hampshire primary; RFK entering thr race; LBJ announcing that he would not seek the presidency; MLK's assassination; RFK's campaign and the electricity it generated; clean Gene's campaign and how it energized the Peace movement; RFK's murder; the Chicago convention with Mayor Daley's "gestapo tactics and the subsequent police riot; the election of Nixon; the absolute feeling of despair.

I debated how to vote in the Michigan primary today... uncommitted or Kucinich. In the end I settled on Kucinich, whom I have supported from the start. Is he the ideal progressive candidate? Far from it. He has many flaws. But then I don't believe any candidate is the political messiah. They all have many flaws. But Dennis' positions coincide with mine much more often than do those of the "mainstream" candidates.

I haven't been here in a while, but today I received an email from Democrats.com about voting for Romney in the Michigan primary, and I followed the link to find out what sort of nonsense Fearless Leader was promoting on his site.

This is not the traditional GBCW diary, but rather an "I Need To Focus On Other Things For Awhile" (INTFOOTFAW) diary. I need to take break from blogging for a number of reasons. The primary reason is time. I have what would be described as a semi-addictive personality. I have tried to become an occasional lurker but it doesn’t work. I find myself engrossed in some thread or diary and before I know it I am commenting and posting and an hour or two passes. So I have to make a complete break for a while.

The Democratic Party is in danger of becoming irrelevant to political progressives. Bush and Cheney do as the please regardless of what the American public thinks. The Democratic leadership does little to impede the agenda of the neocon psychopaths. Moreover, they have shown little inclination toward reversing the worst excesses of the present criminal cartel.

Barring the Democratic Party running a totally inept campaign (not out of the realm of possibility given past performances), they should capture the presidency and increase their control of Congress. They will then have no more excuses. The will have to step and deliver on the progressive issues. They will not be able to blame the Thugs if they fail to deliver.

Compared to the diaries about the volatile political situation, this one is somewhat reflective and not really urgent.

I was listening today to an old Judy Collins song, "Bread and Roses", which was based on a poem written by James Oppenheim to commemorate the famous Lawrence textile workers strike of 1912, known as the "Bread and Roses Strike". Led by the IWW, this strike captured national attention because of the role of women in the strike. The women who were so active in this strike wanted not only decent wages but also the ability and time to enjoy the good things in life; they wanted both bread and roses.
 

We on the left side of the political divide condemn the Democratic leasdership, correctly IMO, for a lack of political fortitude, for always looking to keep their powder dry.

Are we progressives also placing political expediency above sending a message to the Democratic leadership.

Yahoo and it’s executives were taken to task by Congress for the morally reprehensible act of abetting the Chinese government in its actions in jailing a Chinese journalist. I couldn’t help being struck by the irony of the words of the Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman Tom Lantos’ accusation, "Morally you are pygmies", directed  toward Yahoo’s Jerry Yang and Michael Callahan, were on target, but  IMO they could be just as easily been directed at the Democratic leadership or at himself.

An earlier diary reported that a poll of Americans indicated that they would "support a U.S. military strike to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon". The Zogby poll question was framed exactly as the Bush administration would want it. The question doesn't allow for the possibility that Iran doesn't presently have nukes, and is not likely to possess them in the foreseeable future. None of the major Democratic candidates or Democratic leaders have said anything that would allow for an alternative interpretation. If the majority of people believe that Iran is presently a significant threat, that is because few in either party have suggested anything different.

I wish that the diary title could not be interpreted as a play on words, but unfortunately, the "chicken"-like behavior of many in the Democratic leadership makes the pun entirely appropos.

As my diaries go, this one is very short.

This political cartoon appeard in our local paper today.

When I read these two diaries which are presently near the top of the rec list, I knew I had to at least post a link to this incisive Chris Britt cartoon. Please check it out.

Please let me know if the link doesn't work.
(I realize that I could have pasted the cartoon into the dairy, but it would have been a very overt violation of copyright laws.)