As someone who subscribes to the personally prolife, but politically prochoice position, I am in wholehearted agreement with prolifers who abhor people who abort on the grounds of discovering their child has Down's syndrome. This column in the Wash post mentions how abortion approaches 90% for those detected with Down's Syndrome. I am curious if progressive prochoicers find this disturbing. If so, I believe it would help the prochoice image in the eyes of many voters, who believe prochoicers have no moral code or values when it comes to abortion.

Washington Post Column

Now I see what the right wingers were saying about the extreme left's blind Bush hatred. I find Stark's comments to be totally fine and on target except the words "for the President's amusement." I may loathe Bush's war and his policies, but I would never say Bush is "amused" by all the men and women dying in Iraq. I'm sure Bush cares rather deeply--thus why he is so determined to "succeed" in Iraq and stick with his bone-headed inept policy instead of changing course.

I remember back in the day diary after diary on the "nuclear option."

Nuclear Option Is Coming

Back in 1998, we learned to our collective dismay that Gerald Ford was right all along: an impeachable offense really is whatever the House says it is.

Similarly, we now find that Senate rules, long thought to have been in continuous operation from Congress to Congress, and to have required a 2/3 vote to amend, are in fact... whatever the Senate says they are.

Or at least, that's the current argument of... conservatives.

But now, isn't this the argument of so-called ... liberals?

Folks here have a tough time understanding why Liberals get tarred for being "anti-religious" and why this then transfers over into Democrats being "anti-religious."

While i admire much of the important work Rev Barry Lynn does for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the reason why Christians such as myself view him with much suspicion is because he really does seem to confirm the stereotype of the "secularist" Democrat that Obama (rightfully) condemned who wants to eliminate ANY role for religion in the public square. Never mind religion has always been present in most every social movement in American history (both for better AND worse...)

Faith Talk Derided

The biggest, most diverse, exciting grassroots progressive conference ever held in the United States is about to start tomorrow. and no, it's not the YearlyKos. It's the first ever US Social Forum, an outgrowth of the amazing World Social Forums previously held in Brazil, Venezuela and Kenya that focuses on building alternatives to the current globalization, neoliberal order.

https://www.ussf2007.org/

What disturbs me, as someone who has worked in this movement for years now, is how completely divided the progressive movement is, embodied in the fact that most so-called "progressive" netroots activists and Kossacks seem to have no clue that the US Social Forum is even going on, despite the 10,000 activists expected to show up tomorrow in Atlanta. It is always amusing to see the netroots claim to represent the progressive movement or the "Real grassroots" when it remains mostly an overwhelmingly white, secular, upper middle class phenomenon.

Interesting that there has been so little interest among liberals highlighting the new movie Amazing Grace, about William Wilberforce, the British Christian evangelical credited with helping Britain to abolish slavery. This movie has been the talk of my church and Christian publications. It shows that religion isn't always the evil certain secular liberals make it out to be. and it shows the commitment of both secular human rights groups and evangelical groups (including Focus on the Family and Concerned WOmen for America) to ending modern day slavery.

It is always amusing when white liberals wring their hands over the influence of the megachurches and despair over at trying to find alternatives for progressives to organize in. Sure, a lot of the megachurches i've attended have irritating bad music and shallow sermons, but I, as a lot of other minorities, believe churches can and should be involved in politics, and that they can be a force for good. All of the great progressive victories for people of color were forged in the church, so when the secular radicals proclaim that "religion should have no place in politics" it rings quite hollow for many of us.

In Dallas County, TX, a huge "Super Sunday" effort by black churches led to smashing victories for Democrats across the board, from local judicial candidates to county officials. Notably, the rancid TD Jakes was not part of this effort.

This diary pointed out some of the positives of the new very interesting Pew Forum poll:

http://www.dailykos.com/...

What i want to point out is that the American electorate is fundamentally a very religious one, that they think religion has a POSITIVE impact on society, unlike the many folks here who believe, as Marx said, it is the opiate for the masses. and that again, there are fundamental divides between two bases of the Dem party, african american/minorities vs secular white liberals. We all have to work in a coalition together, and as someone who tries to build those bridges, i'm simply just pointing them out.

When folks can get outside SF or Cambridge or their local NARAL meetings, they would realize in many parts of the country, particularly in the rural areas where Dems are now an endangered species, pro-life Dems are a majority and that even in a Democratic primary, being pro-life is a WINNING position.

and those who voted against cloture/filibustering Alito, tearing up your Dem registration cards, going on and on and on and on about abortion/spying and all the other issues that most Middle America voters do not give a fig about but which elitist liberals obsess over, the beleaguered so-called "sellout" Democratic Party was trying to desperately save catastrophic cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, Student loans, welfare TANF reform, child support funding, foster care funding, and all those other things that have a direct impact on American lives in ways much more real to the average voter than Alito's membership in some stupid college club decades ago. The House today had to vote again on the $40 billion spending cuts known as the Budget Reconciliation bill...

I just received a very frustrating phone call solicitation from the DNC. I think there is a bit of a disconnect between their internet strategy and their fundraising phone call operation.

Something that has gone completely overlooked by the media, DC Democrats and grassroot activists and even certain womens groups is the fact that the Budget Reconciliation bill contained the MOST significant changes to welfare reform/TANF in 10 years, since the original 1996 welfare reform passed.

I have seldom seen this mentioned anywhere, and even when discussing the rancid bill that passed yesterday with Darth Cheney's tie breaking vote, the focus is on the medicaid/Medicare, student loans, foster care cuts. Nary a word has been mentioned that this bill contains the most radical and farreaching changes to the 1996 welfare reform bill, all done through shitty procedural moves that were every bit as unethical and disgusting as attaching ANWR to the Defense Appropriations. This will have a heavy and devastating impact for the least among us.

Sorry, but it doesn't matter if it's a Dem or GOP, black or white, abusing public resources for selfish purposes while people are dying is inexcusable. William Jefferson used the natl guard to visit his house, check on his belongings for an hour, letting all the Natl Guard and their resources sit around while people were drowning and trapped in their houses. Now Rush Limbaugh is already reaming him out for it, but to show how we the left differ from the right, i say cast him out. don't make no difference what party he's from

Story reported by ABC News:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1123495&page=1

I'm surprised i have not seen more info about this from folks, but I believe a major story is happening in Kinky Friedman's bid to become the first independent governor of Texas since Sam Houston in 1859. A Jewish cowboy in Texas, who fronted a band called the Texas Jewboys and authored mystery novels and has a documented history of cocaine problems has started to run a renegade campaign that just might well be the tonic for most folks of all political stripes who are sick and tired of politics as usual. there's enough about Kinky to offend right wing moralists and politically correct lefties and inspire the imagination of the rest of us. As Molly Ivins says, "Why the hell not Kinky?"

www.kinkyfriedman.com

people sprouting the canard about how abortions have gone down under Clinton and up under Bush need to recheck their facts. it HAS gone down under Bush too.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/18/AR2005071801164.html

As i have noted before the fundamental cultural divides that separate people of color from the liberal white elite that controls the Dem party (and much of the liberal blogosphere). i am not a Democrat because of Roe/abortion, gay marriage, church/state, flag burning or whatever else consumes the social liberals. i'm a Democrat becuase i fundamentally believe in the role of government to regulate in the public interest and that i hate and despise corporate power above all.

the framing that has occured over the battles over the Supreme Court has deeply disturbed me. Democrats wonder why the working class "votes against their economic interest" or why the GOP resonates among rural or middle class folks, who think of Dems as cultural heathens or elitists. i think exhibit number one has to be the framing in the midst of the Supreme COurt nomination, where all i have heard is SAVE ROE! SAVE ROE!

I found out about Fred Phelps latest sicko campaign from right-wing Newsmax.

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=90258

Phelps is now targeting soldiers funerals and saying they deserved to die, since we have brought on the wrath of God by endorsing homosexuality and whatever else.

As a political person who has to deal with explaining to white liberals i work with over and over why the beliefs of people of color are more closely aligned on many issues with white evangelicals than the MoveOn/DailyKos crowd, we MUST understand these beliefs if we are to hold onto the African American vote. Laughing at REpublican outreach efforts and their history of racism won't do much good when they start making serious inroads...

this beliefnet article does a decent job highlighting some of the major points where african americans diverge from white liberals.

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/138/story_13891_1.html