Sunday Late Night

I got nuttin. Anybody have any news to report? Issues to discuss? Righteous rants? Good links? Music? You have the floor.

This is an open thread.

Obama’s Vice-Presidential Double Bind

How will Barack Obama handle the delicate issues surrounding his choice of candidate to share the ticket with (if he becomes the nominee). He is is a very difficult spot, and it’s likely he won’t want to make a decision soon. However, he may be forced to do so. So many Democrats are calling for a “unity ticket” and the longer he waits the more speculation there will be about whether he will ask Hillary Clinton to share the ticket with him.

COMMUNITY ADVISORY — False flag alerts

Obots are out in force lately. Not just common trolls, but sock puppets and “false flag” posters who — in violation of every reputable Internet Service Provider’s Terms of Service agreements — impersonate established members of this community in order to disrupt and deceive.

Similar attacks are evident at other sites, and in some cases user names that have no posting history at The Confluence have been adopted from other pro-Hillary sites.

If you observe a comment from any poster, familiar or otherwise, who claims to have seen the light and decided to follow Hillary’s lead to support Obama, or pointing to McCain positions as reasons they must support Obama, please do not respond except if they’re using your username. For the time being, all such posts must be presumed counterfeit.

In time, with the assistance of their respective ISP’s, and possibly with the active cooperation of the Obama campaign itself, we’ll disable these miscreants. For now, do not talk back to them, and don’t believe any conversions on the road to Damascus.

If this is the Unity Pony’s best trick, it’s pretty lame, isn’t it?

Sunday: Go outside and play!

It’s June, fergawdsakes. Don’t you have geraniums to plant or beaches to go to? Why are you inside reading this blog when you could be outside making vitamin D and splashing in the pool?!

Ok, I know why you’re here. But I want to tell you that despite what happened yesterday, you have unbelievable power. You *are* the power brokers of 2008. That is what Hillary’s speech was all about yesterday. If you don’t believe me, read Anglachel’s most recent post, The Frontlines of Democracy.

We heard Hillary suspend her campaign yesterday but she did not concede a thing. She threw her support behind Obama but she set conditions on that support. Her business is the machinery of the party. Ours business is to see to it that Barry honors the principles of the party. That is our task.

Peeps, we are presented with a problem that has a number of givens and assumptions and only a few solutions. The givens are that Obama the Unready is the presumptuous nominee of the party. We have every right to expect the party to come to realize over the next couple of months that he is unelectable. I truly believe this. But for the moment, this is the person upon which all of their hopes and dreams rest.

We also know that he has gotten this far by flattering his supporters into thinking they are Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models with PhDs in Architecture. They are without equal. (Gag me with a spoon). But he will not win without us. Yes, Hillary wants us to unite behind him but uniting means different things to different people. To the Kossacks, it means capitulation. Alas, the Kossacks are every one of them deceived. True unity can only be accomplished when we all understand and agree to the principles under which we will unite.

We will yield not one inch. The party that many of us joined in our youth was one built on shared responsibility, equality, social justice, fiscal responsibility, a healthy planet, privacy and peace. Now, it is Barry’s turn to embrace these principles and demonstrate to us that he is assuming the leadership role of that Democratic party.

To unite means to become a true Democrat, to live those values and principles. It is our job to see that he does. If he does not meet our standards, he will not get our votes. And let us not get distracted by the overt sexism of this primary season. We are well aware of it. But appeasement on sexism without embracing the principles we hold dear will not achieve anything.

We must hold Barry’s feet to the fire and forge him into the Democrat we want. He has to prove himself to us. He has to bridge the divide and come to us.

Do not back down. Hold him to a higher standard and challenge him to meet it. Then, do as your conscience directs you on election day. You have the power.

Sweet dreams

All that’s missing from this video is Jake Gyllenhaal’s soulful eyes and Heath Ledger’s beautiful face…

We will lean on each other.