With the "Red" States series over, there are a ton of e-mails re: DNC head. A lot of you have already been sharing your comments and I hope that others will. The address is common_ills@yahoo.com to leave e-mail.
I was asked today, by someone e-mailing regarding a posted reply on this site if they shouldn't be e-mailing. I think the e-mail is what makes this site. It's what keeps me interested and it makes it a dialogue.
My comments on Sunday were to say that in the past I was writing more in e-mails than on this blog. And people who shared something and wanted input got more input than I'm sure they ever wanted. So I wanted to put a policy up so that no one would feel they were being ignored if they got a two line response.
The e-mails do matter. Your e-mails are not just the reason that the "Red" State series was done, they're also the basis for it. That's why the series started with an e-mail.
You know as much as anyone with a camera aimed at them yammering on about some subject. In fact, you tend to know a great deal more because you're sharing your experiences.
When an e-mailer was outraged to read that Michele Norris had been banned from political coverage during the election, that led to the post on Robert Kagan as well as to the posted reply on WBUR.
And we'll be addressing the issue of DNC head possibilities because of your e-mails. (I will try to have that up by Sunday at the latest.)
Frank in Orlando e-mailed today to complain about the "joke about Judy's bangs." I though it was funny. I read Janeane's e-mail after having lost the NY Times post and not in the mood to redo the thing. Janeane's comments on Judith Miller's bangs made me laugh. I needed that laugh, so thank you, Janeane.
Frank in Orlando also wrote to complain about the posts of two people on this blog today. He wasn't the only one. There are thirty-seven e-mails on that.
I don't know who they are. Anyone is welcome to read or to post. I don't think they've read the series (to answer Betsy question), no.
Rebecca found the two's posts "patronizing." Others cited the use of "we" (as in, from Troy, "'We?' Well who the ____ are you to show up telling us what 'we' need to do?"). On "we," I think it should be noted, it could be a cultural thing. There are people who use "we" instead of I. (The use of "I" is often considered an American characteristic.)
Larry asks, "Do I have to go through the stupid registration process just to make sure this blog doesn't turn right?" No, you don't. (And again, I didn't realize that people had to register -- and some say then create their own blog -- to post here until it was pointed out to me.) And no, we won't be going right.
We are of the left. We are proudly of the left. We're staying that way. And the two posters are welcome to leave any comment that they want but it's not going to turn this blog to the right (or to the "center").
I was asked to delete their posts. If there was foul language, I would. We do have that policy here so that no one on this site proper ends up getting written up if they view this site at work and unknowingly come across something.
That said, if the e-mails hadn't come in, I wouldn't have known anyone had posted comments today. After I'd read the first set of e-mails, I logged on to see what had been written.
I understand why so many of you wrote that you didn't need someone lecturing you to turn right. I agree with you. And this site will not go right-wing, we're not going to go center.
Ted shared his lament that two of his favorite blogs "got big and then as soon as we needed them, they started turning on us, Oh we can't discuss Ohio! We need to get over it."
That won't happen here, Ted.
I don't really have anything to contribute regarding Ohio. (I did contribute to the recount and to Bev Harris' organization.) Three of you had already written asking for Ohio coverage and then another wrote regarding WBUR's refusal to cover it.
Because the Times ignoring it, that's a reason I've had to blog on it. But if we have anyone in Ohio reading this with a story to share or information to pass on, they haven't thus far. Buzzflash has a link on the side of this page (sometimes it's near the top, sometimes the links are at the bottom) and they've covered Ohio (through links and commentaries) from day one.
Today, Jesse Jackson and Cliff Arnebeck were on Democracy Now! discussing the Ohio vote with Amy Goodman. So links were provided for that. (And you can read the transcript or listen to the segment or watch the segment or any combination at http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/30/1526202.)
But most of the time, I'm not feeling that there's much I can add to the subject.
Right now, on The Majority Report, they gave out two links and I'll offer those because I haven't seen them linked online.
http://www.gregoire2004.com/ is the web address to go to if you'd like to contribute money for the recount in the governor's race. The total needed for a recount is $750,000 for hand recount and the Democrat is behind by 41 votes.
To ask John Kerry to get involved in the Ohio recounts there web site is http://www.thepen.us and this was also just given out on The Majority Report.
"We need to know and we deserve to know the truth," Jesse Jackson on the Ohio vote count.
Court suit filed on this coming Thursday (re: an Ohio recount) in Columbus and a protest this Saturday in Columbus, according to Jackson.
A number of you wrote about Michael Kinsley's comments on The Al Franken Show today. I didn't hear it and am downloading it from the archive now. I doubt I'll be able to post on it tonight but hopefully tomorrow (and I'll be including comments so anyone who wanted to comment should e-mail on it). I'd also encourage you to read Dar Jamail's blog regarding what's going on in Iraq. I'll try to do a link on that on the side (where Buzzflash & Democracy Now! are) but in case I can't figure that out, here's the site http://dahrjamailiraq.com/weblog/.
But I want to stress again that we're not going to turn to the right on this site. I'm also not sure that the two were suggesting that. If they post again, hopefully they'll clarify their remarks because at present a lot of people are very upset by them.
Brenda says on one comment (that a conservative Democrat can be a beautiful thing), "Yes, they're lovely in fall right before their leaves change colors and fall off to reveal that they're Zell Millers." That made me laugh so I thought I'd share it.
But let me repeat one more time, we are not a conservative site and we're not going to become one. We're not a conservative Democratic site and we're not going to become one.
