Here are at least two things you can do to help the Grannies!

Tonight! At 6 pm WRFG 89.3 will host members of the GA Peace & Justice Coalition who took part in the recent protest against the war by attempting to enlist. Please call in to speak with them, wish them well in the upcoming legal hooha and generally be supportive. Requests and Pledges: (404) 523-8989. While on the phone you could give a litle love to WRFG for their spring fundraising efforts.

Second Option: Make a donation to the legal defense fund for the Grannies, detaills below. APN coverage & some great picshere.
{Update}

On Monday, March 17, with the help of over 40 supporters, ten Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace carried out an act of non-violent civil disobedience in Atlanta, Georgia. Modeled on a similar earlier action by New York Grandmothers Against the War, our civil disobedience was part of nation-wide protests this week marking the 5th anniversary of the March 19, 2003, U.S. invasion of Iraq—actions by Grandmothers for Peace in 20 cities and by young and old in every state. We Atlanta Grandmothers entered the U.S. Army Recruiting Station on Ponce de Leon Avenue at 9:30 am, engaged the recruiters in conversation, and asked to enlist in order to take the place of young soldiers. When our offer was turned down, we refused to leave the property. We were arrested for criminal trespass at 10:30 am, taken to the Fulton County Jail for processing, and released 12 hours later on our own recognizance.

If you would like to make a contribution to the Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace Legal Defense Fund, send checks to:

Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition/Atlanta
P.O. Box 133016
Atlanta GA 30333
On the memo line, write Grandmothers Legal Defense.

Driver's License Renewal

Today I received my Driver License renewal in the mail. It laid out my choices for renewal. I could go into the Driver License Office (and where the heck is it anyway?); mail in my renewal with a check; or renew online with a credit card. With a motto like "If I can't buy it online, I don't want it", online renewal was for me. I had the option to renew for 5 or 10 years. Of course, go for 10! My last renewal was in 1999. 19 years between photos.

Now of course, thanks to fine face creams made from the recipes of nuns, my photo won't change much in 19 years... But, really?

Have you played Mind Habits yet?

MindHabits is based on new scientifically tested tools published in a journal of the American Psychological Association that help players reduce stress and boost self confidence and esteem using principles from social intelligence research.

The games are as simple as finding a smiling face in a crowd of frowns - yet they are powerful repetitive training exercises demonstated to refocus the way your mind perceives the world. Research has demonstrated benefits from playing just five minutes a day. Give it a try and see if it works for you!

From the mailbag:

Thinking of running for office in the next 5 years? APPLY NOW for the Fourth Annual Red Clay Institute Democratic Candidate Training Project

Saturday, April 12, 2008, 8:30am to 4:30pm
(Attendance is $25, lunch will be provided)
Location TBA

Presenters include:
House Democratic Minority Whip, Rob Teilhet
Grassroots and Field Organization from DNC Ted Terry
Campaign fundraising consultant Kristen Oblander
Direct mail consultant Jon Anderson
Campaign law expert Amol Naik, Esq.
A recent first-time candidate and other elected officials & leaders.

I was surfing through the dozen or so blogs I read every day, and was struck by this rant by the ABB ( Angry Black Bitch)

ABB's Patriot Rant (revised a wee bit)...

Most Americans study the Revolutionary War at some point in our lives. Along with the details of specific battles and historic moments, that history provides a very clear understanding of what an American patriot was and is.

This nation was founded by radicals. The rest of the folks were loyal to the monarchy. Speaking out against the monarchy was illegal...they called it sedition and it was punishable under law. Every single published quote...every single speech...every public gathering or meeting...every act of melting household items to make bullets or hoarding food to feed soldiers...all of that shit was radical as a motherfucker.

Her point is extremely timely since everyday I feel this overwhelming dread of creeping complacency in my activist life. It's always good to be brought up by the short hairs from time to time and reminded not to believe the revisionist BS history of the "founders". The founders while flawed had some serious kick ass moments.

Which begs the question, when was your last kickass activist moment? The Grannies, you don't need to weigh in, you know who you are!

So what say the rest of you?

There is no political universe in which a flyer of this sort would be considered an appropriate form of self-promotion for an intra-party election. This guy is apparently a real piece of work. Even his students can't stand him.

Full story here.

Democrats claim McCain and his party nearly parted

What McCain almost never mentions are two extraordinary moments in his political past that are at odds with the candidate of the present: His discussions in 2001 with Democrats about leaving the Republican Party, and his conversations in 2004 with Sen. John Kerry about becoming Kerry's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket.

There are wildly divergent versions of both episodes, depending on whether Democrats or McCain and his advisers are telling the story. The Democrats, including Kerry, say that not only did McCain express interest but that it was his camp that initially reached out to them.

Some of you may remember Paul Broun's homespun campaign identity from last year, but if not here's a refresher.

Well it appears Mr. Broun has gone all nouveau riche and traded his humble (and perhaps inadvertently successful) visuals for something much more, well, creepy. Clearly Mr. Broun now subscribes to the Republican model of campaign terrorism that aims to scare the bejesus out of voters in an attempt to garner their support. Apparently Republicans can't get out of bed in the morning unless they are scared half to death.

Once past the scary movie about the end of civilization as we know it, the user is met with cheesy music followed by Paul Broun's booming voice and NO WAY TO TURN IT OFF. Presumably this is to prevent anyone from actually reading the text on the front page since it's virtually impossible to read and hear different messages simultaneously. Even if you aren't chewing gum, drinking coffee and talking on the phone at the time.

Ex-Governor of Alabama Is Ordered Released

In its order, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, said Mr. Siegelman had raised "substantial questions" in his appeal of the case and could be released on bond from the federal prison in Oakdale, La., where he has served nine months of a seven-year sentence. The order did not say what those questions were, but his lawyers have argued for months that the bribery charge on which he was mainly convicted revolved around a transaction that differed little, if at all, from a standard political contribution.

Mr. Siegelman's case has been cited by Democrats here and in Washington as Exhibit A in their contention that politics has influenced decisions by the Justice Department, which prosecuted the former governor. In addition, Mr. Siegelman's conviction in June 2006 here sharply polarized the political climate in this state, and suggestions by his supporters and others that the former Bush White House political director, Karl Rove, may have been involved have only increased the tensions.

This is what happens when creationists visit a natural history museum. Griftdrift, you may want to sit down before viewing.

Doin' it for the lulz: meet the griefers.

This is not good. Not good at all.

Aw, Mike, don't be like that! We love you and your crazy campaign videos.

The true cost of ethanol.

This is possibly the most disturbing nature video I have ever watched. Don't say I didn't warn you.

It's off to the Plaza for Cayne!

Were you ever the treasurer or your middle school french club? Or your neighborhood association? What do you suppose would happen if while you presided over such a group their treasury went from $1000 to $60. Do you think they'd pat you on the back, take you out for a cocktail, and keep you on? No? Well, add a few zeros to those numbers and you find the story of James Cayne, Bear Stearns chairman (he resigned as CEO in January).

This week Mr Cayne sold his stock in Bear Stearns for $61,000,000, which according to commentators was just a year ago worth $1,000,000,000. Yeah. That's a lot of zeros for the guy who oversaw the demise of this once "great" financial institution. Reports indicate that he sold because he needs some scratch for his newly purchased $28 million living space at New York's Plaza Hotel. I'm sure the Bear Stearns employees who saw their retirement accounts go from $100,000 to $6,000 are facing the same struggles. Oh wait, no they are selling Bear Stearns memorabilia on eBay.

It's just, well, it's obscene.

Dunno about y'all, but I haven't seen too much personally from "I'm a Democrat - sike!" Mike Jacobs' challengers thus far, but Keith Gross made the rounds at the most recent Young Dems of Atlanta happy hour, and I thought y'all might like to see his campaign lit (below the fold). It really passes several key first cuts - it looks decent enough, isn't too bad content-wise, and has the union bug that indicates a) Keith has a clue how the system works and b) has the money to boot. Keith's web site needs some work, though (suffers from the usual massive blobs of text problem, but at least there's no flattened peach and it probably didn't cost him thousands of dollars).

As painful and infuriating as it is to watch things like this, we should all bear witness to the massive failures and deadly consequences of this toxic Republican administration. We need to know (or be reminded of) the full truth about the Iraq War and tell it over and over again. Thanks to the amazing producers and reporters of PBS Frontline for giving us the most complete documentary record ever assembled on the Iraq War.

Part one of the special Frontline documentary Bush's War replays tonight at 8:00pm on PBS (30). Part two airs tonight at 10:30pm.

From the horror of 9/11 to the invasion of Iraq; the truth about WMD to the rise of an insurgency; the scandal of Abu Ghraib to the strategy of the surge -- for seven years, FRONTLINE has revealed the defining stories of the war on terror in meticulous detail, and the political dramas that played out at the highest levels of power and influence.

Now, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, the full saga unfolds in the two-part FRONTLINE special Bush's War. Veteran FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk draws on one of the richest archives in broadcast journalism -- more than 40 FRONTLINE reports on Iraq and the war on terror. Combined with fresh reporting and new interviews, Bush's War will be the definitive documentary analysis of one of the most challenging periods in the nation's history.

"Parts of this history have been told before," Kirk says. "But no one has laid out the entire narrative to reveal in one epic story the scope and detail of how this war began and how it has been fought, both on the ground and deep inside the government."

Hilarious.

It just started (at noon). Tune in.

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time), whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.

Oliver Stone to Begin Filming Movie About Bush

Stone has said that the film, which will focus on the life and presidency of Bush, won't be an anti-Bush polemic, but, as he told Daily Variety, "a fair, true portrait of the man. How did Bush go from being an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world?"

I hope everyone will agree with me that when Sheila Jackson Lee gets booed just because she has chosen (so far) not to drink the Obama Kook-Aid, things have gotten out of control. I mean, yeah, let's get all us Hillary people together and go boo Ted Kennedy! BRILLIANT!

I think Mark and Cathy should go on a nationwide speaking tour called "How Divisive Primaries Can Completely Fuck Up An Election", because the deja vu is starting to hurt.

An "American Family Outing" is taking shape in the spring of 2008 so families can talk with mega-church leaders and congregation members to share the message that justice for LGBT people is compatible with Christian teaching. Pot lucks, picnics and soulful talk are the order of the day as Soulforce, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), and COLAGE invite churches to talk-the-talk so everyone is free to walk-the-walk.

In Atlanta, the American Family Outing is reaching out to Bishop Eddie Long and families at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Same-gender couples with or without children, supportive straight couples and families, single-parent families, young adults or adults with LGBTQ parents, and single individuals who want to participate with a member of their extended family are invited to apply. African American youth and families are especially encouraged to get involved.

Information and outreach session:
Saturday, April 5, from 11 am-1 pm @ Common Ground
139 Ralph McGill, Suite 103 (Positive Impact Bldg.), Atlanta, GA 30308

Yup..under the "now I've seen it all" category... a video game called "Miss Bimbo". Yeah I know, heads are exploding everywhere.... Check it out here, read the rest of the article here.

Things don't bode well for Sweet Potato. Ever since all this “Save the children!” hysteria started over Miss Bimbo, the online game site where she resides, the poor virtual paper doll hasn’t had a thing to eat. Not that she eats much anyway.

These contests of skank pit bimbos head-to-head. Participants can play against each other to win righteous Bimbo dollars, or just the satisfaction of besting a lesser bimbo. The site software judges the Bimbos on their Attitude points and high-priced duds. Sweet Potato likes to compete in her hot pink cotillion number teamed up with her rhinestone “Bimbo” belt and matching tiara — it’s the most expensive outfit on the site. (More than $21K in Bimbo dollars!)

Yes, I went there, and yes it takes forever to load and then you can't play when you get there. I look for a imposter very shortly.

I've been over the presidential primary for awhile now. I no longer listen to CNN or POTUS08 on the ride home. And Keith Olbermann? I forgot what he looks like. But I can't help but be pulled back in when I read things like this:

..it's a reminder that though the cliché is to say that Democrats are torn between two very strong candidates, in some ways we're torn between two very weak ones.