I posted a list of possible Democratic VP choices a few months ago. I didn't make a list of my top choices at the time because I wanted to see if Obama could actually win the nomination. Now that Obama has actually won the Democratic Party's nomination, I have come up with my top 5.

1. John Edwards

2. Bill Richardson

3. Tim Kaine

4. Ted Strickland

5. Jim Marshall

Wesley Clark could fit in there as well, although I am no particular fan of his. But I only allowed myself 5 choices.

Obama appears to be damaged goods, and may be done. You could probably stick a fork in him at this point. Or does he have enough miracles left to overcome the nations attempt to swiftboat his campaign? And yes...this has now become more of a national effort. Everyone seems to be getting in on the act.

That's one of the many reasons why I lost interest in this circus filled election season.

Hillary's race baiting campaign has done serious damage to Obama and his hopes for the nomination, especially in the context of the General Election. Even if Obama somehow stops the bleeding enough to win the nomination, the General (s)election will be a different story. Obama will have to garner a broader range of support in the General Election as compared to the Democratic nomination contest...and it's going to be a steeper hill for him to climb in the General to accomplish that mission.

Of course he has to survive the swiftboating by Clinton and the White Corporate media first.... something that will be a miracle in my opinion.

Possible VP choices below....
19 names

(light diary for a Saturday)

Obama must refuse, reject, and denounce any idea of having Hillary Clinton as his running mate.

After all that she has done...the racism, race baiting, the fearmongering, stirring xenophobia, the smears, the lies and distortions....the McCain remarks.... She must be really delusional & crazy to believe that she would make a viable VP choice.

But the coronation ceremony (this process by which American zombies go to the polls and vote with the belief that they are actually deciding something) will go on as planned. Democrats will vote for her anyway.

During tonights debate in Los Angeles, Hillary Clinton pledged that she would pull troops from Iraq in her first year to 18 months in office. That's what she has been saying publicly to get votes. But this is not what she has been saying in behind the scenes discussions with her advisors. (Be sure to listen to Ted Koppel's Commentary).

....Well, a test of what little Democracy that this Country has left

"Will Caucus goers confirm the idea that a politician can buy his or her way into the White House or will they send the message that Iowans can't be bought?"

When I think of U.S. Democracy and our system of voting, the concept of free and fair elections doesn’t come to mind. The fundamentally flawed U.S. political system with its 2 dominant parties limiting voter choice (often between bad and worse), and its culture of facilitating corruption, doesn’t inspire much confidence that the politicians will really be accountable to the people they are supposed to serve. We live in a political system where the corporate media often chooses the next President; playing the same role that State-Run media plays in less than Democratic regimes overseas. Evena former U.S. President has admitted that the U.S. voting system does not meet basic international standards for free and fair elections.Elections in this Country have been flawed, and heavily influenced by corporate interests for the last several decades.

But recently, the corruption of U.S. elections seems to have gotten worse.

The Crisis in Pakistan has shown no signs of calming. Protesters are beginning to fill the streets in larger numbers, and the Chief judge is calling for Pakistani's to "rise up". Benazir Bhutto is also vowing to fight the Martial Law.

Meanwhile, some believe that the Bush Administration is supporting, and will continue to support dictator & ally Pervez Musharraf, as he tries to tighten his grip on power. Watch/Listen to report from Democracy Now.

She is getting so much support because she is the media favorite. The other key candidates (like Edwards) can't get the same TV time. Other candidates have almost been shut out of the process already.

This is one of the reasons why election reform is needed... this is one of the areas that needs to be fixed (media coverage). Candidates should get equal time, whether it's radio, TV, or online ads.

An Open Letter To NPR: A Tale Of Two Soldiers

The following is a letter that I sent to NPR last week, regarding the disparity in the news coverage received by Ciara Durkin & Lavena Johnson. While Durkin received a considerable amount of national and international media coverage (almost immediately), Lavena Johnson has received no national media coverage....and her case has been dragging on for 2 years.

What makes Jessica Lynch, Pat Tillman, or Ciara Durkin more important stories to cover? Why do they garner so much media coverage when stories equally as worthy (if not more so) are ignored?

The purpose of the letter was not to downplay the loss of Durkin or any other soldier... On the contrary, I simply wanted to encourage equal coverage for Johnson's case. I directed the note to NPR's All Things Considered program.

Bush Makes Joke of The Sacrifice of U.S. Troops In Iraq

On this day of reflection, it is important for Americans to really see the kind of people who are running this Country. It is important to look back and to see how Bush really feels about the sacrifice of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. He always talks about the bravery of the soldiers and expresses his admiration for them in his photo ops, but would a man who really admires the troops do something like this?

This joke incident happened a couple of years ago but never received any significant news coverage.... the corporate news networks were too busy covering Britney Spears, or studying the size of Anna Nicole Smith's chest.

FOLLOW LINK

Main Page

Bonus Video (although I don't see the impeachment idea as being practical or achievable... I thought that the placing of the lies side by side with the denials was great).

The Bush Administration is claiming that the "Surge" plan is responsible for the Sunni's in Anbar switching sides and helping U.S. troops in the fight against Al Qaeda. The White House and the media, as well as some members of Congress want to give General David Petraeus all of the credit for what is happening there.

While campaigning in Iowa on July 4th, Hillary Clinton loudly proclaimed the following regarding the question of getting our troops out of Iraq:

"If this President (Bush) will not end our involvement in Iraq - when I become President- I will".

But is Hillary telling the truth? Unfortunately not. She was lying through her teeth in Iowa. I'm surprised that her pants didn't catch on fire! In fact, none of the main candidates are being honest with the American people on the issue of a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. But Hillary even acknowledged that she was a liar on this issue.

While campaigning in Iowa on July 4th, Hillary Clinton loudly proclaimed the following regarding the question of Iraq:

"If this President (Bush) will not end our involvement in Iraq - when I become President- I will".

But is Hillary telling the truth? Unfortunately not. She was lying through her teeth in Iowa. I'm surprised that her pants didn't catch on fire! In fact, none of the main candidates are being honest with the American people on the issue of a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. But Hillary even acknowledged that she was a liar on this issue.

A new report reveals that Dick Cheney, through his attorney, ordered the Secret Service not to keep logs of who visited his residence, and to purge any logs that they had. This would be a violation of the Presidential Records Act,which requires that records, such as visitor logs, be maintained, for both the President and VP. This comes after his involvement in the Valerie Plame fiasco.

Greg Palast has been digging deeper into the case of fired U.S. attorney David Iglesias. What Palast finds is chilling. He contends that Karl Rove was involved in orchestrating the firing of Iglesias because Iglesias did not agree to play politics. Palast broadcasts an exclusive interview that he had with Iglesias, where Iglesias makes it plainly clear what he believes led to his firing. The mainstream U.S. media has yet to pick up Palasts story which has been shown overseas via BBC. SEE VIDEO BELOW.

This is a case that I have been following for a long time. The case of Army Pvt. Lavena Johnson has been under the nations radar for two years. But it now looks as if things are finally beginning to move.... See video of latest developments here.

Republican Spokeswoman Ann Coulter Laughs About Darfur Genocide.
Suggests that the killings are not happening fast enough.

Coulter: "Who's running this holocaust in Darfur, FEMA?"

Yes, we realize we should really stop paying Ann Coulter any mind. Yes, we realize she's only looking for attention at this point, and yes, it does make us feel vaguely dirty to give it to her. But her latest column was just so over-the-top awful that we couldn't help ourselves.

Titled "If at First You Don't Appease -- Cry, Cry Again," the column is all over the place: from Iraq to pot-smoking hippies and -- of course -- Bill Clinton. But it starts with a discussion of Darfur, Sudan.

Bud Cummins, one of the 8 U.S. Attorneys fired by the Bush Administration, was interviewed on Monday, March 19th on KMOX Radio in St. Louis.

Cummins says that he is not bitter about the firings themselves, but he has a problem with the "reasons" given by the White House and Attorney General Gonzales for the firings. The White House says the attorneys were fired for poor performance.