Heat and dust
I'm sitting here in Charlotte, North Carolina. The weather forecast calls for ten days of "sunny", interspersed with a little "mostly sunny" and a lot of "plenty of sun". My lawn is dusty and brown,...
View ArticleDoris Lessing wins Literature Nobel
Apparently this is a highly controversial award, but as someone who has been reading Lessing for years, I couldn't stop smiling when I saw this news.She was praised by the judges for her "skepticism,...
View ArticleHelp me debunk an Obama smear
A not-so-lovely person of my acquaintance has just sent out the Obama/madrassa smear to a mailing list of nice people I know who (ironically) are mainly women who participate in middle eastern dance as...
View ArticleEconomy: what sectors are left?
This little snippet of information just rose to the top of Yahoo! News:The nation's service sector contracted in January for the first time in almost five years, a trade group of purchasing executives...
View ArticleTime Magazine featuring "Operation Chaos" today
When Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham are allowed to snigger triumphantly in the pages of Time about how they are spoiling the Democrats' election, it's time to wrap this thing up:Meanwhile, Limbaugh...
View ArticleCharlotte Obama HQ opens!
For those looking for a change from the endless Wright vs. Tuzla smackdown, I've got a little bit of good news today.Charlotte NC Obama HQ is ready to open and it's looking good!
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Enormous Obama organizing meeting in Charlotte
I just got back from an organizing meeting in Charlotte, NC, that was so mobbed it pretty much thwarted all of the advance team's carefully laid plans for getting the crowd organized into teams.Inside...
View ArticleClinton and Obama will debate faith but not science
As a scientist, I've really been hoping that the folks at ScienceDebate2008.com would talk the candidates into holding a discussion on the incredibly important topic of science, the role it plays in...
View ArticleI saw real people voting today!
I voted today in North Carolina early voting. There's no secret who I voted for. So that's one for Team "O".In line at 2:00 on a sunny Friday afternoon were several older African American voters, me,...
View ArticleSEANC becomes SEIU Local 2008
I just wanted to share a little piece of interesting news that has nothing to do with either Barack Obama (well, almost nothing) or Hillary Clinton.I just became a member of the SEIU!
View ArticleOn the ground in Charlotte
I got to the Elizabeth Ave. location at about 6:45 this morning. The campaign had called me last night to encourage me to arrive before 6:30 a.m. so I could go stand with a group at a busy...
View ArticleObama: The Republican Party better be prepared to debate issues
In an article with the hype-free title "Obama warns Republicans about critical ads" the AP reports on the Republicans' failed strategy in recent special elections:In recent contests in Louisiana and...
View ArticleAll of the heroes were already dead
Last night after a good dinner and a couple of glasses of wine I started idly pondering what it was that attracted me (a 40ish white woman) to Barack Obama so strongly that I was never able to...
View ArticleKennedy: up and walking around
Just some unadulterated good news for Senator Kennedy!I know this isn't much of a diary, but I keep seeing the story on Yahoo News. And it's better news than I expected, on a day already full of good...
View ArticleAn American Life
Not content with stripping Americans of every last dollar, implementing policies that funnel our wealth into the pockets of the rich at the fastest possible pace, it looks like the Bush Administration...
View ArticleObama talks science.
OK, are you as bored with Sarah Palin as I am? Good.Then you will find it fascinating to follow this link and read all about what Barack Obama plans to do for science in America during his eight years...
View ArticleWatch those labels: Cadbury pulls melamine truffles
We've heard in the last several days about tainted milk containing melamine being found in baby formula and other milk-like products.But now, the most heinous offense: it could be in your chocolate.
View ArticleACTION: I just made my last donation to Obama/Biden
I'm sad to say that today I made my very last donation to the Obama/Biden campaign.It's not because I'm maxed out.And it's sure not because I've changed my mind.
View ArticleHelp take down the next Michele Bachmann in NC-08
Robin Hayes.Who represents NC-08, a district that stretches from Charlotte to Fayetteville.Whose supporters were in the ugly Fayetteville crowd taunting early voters on Sunday. (Hayes sign clearly...
View ArticleEarly voting in Mecklenburg County, NC
The Charlotte Observer has a really nice article closing out the early voting story in Mecklenburg County today.By the time they finish counting, more than 205,000 Mecklenburg County voters will have...
View ArticleLarry Kissell HAS CRUSHED Hayes.
Tonight is a night for short but sweet diaries.Perennial netroots favorite and frequent dKos poster Larry Kissell is looking like he's thumping the Execrable Robin Hayes in NC-08. Robin Hayes,...
View ArticleScience IS stimulus (ACTION ITEM)
Science Debate 2008 has just prepared an awesome summary of how science will be impacted if the Senate version, rather than the House version, of the science budgets proposed in the stimulus package,...
View ArticleTime: Obama, "L'etat c'est moi"
OK, this should totally be an open thread comment, I'll admit that right off the bat. But Open Thread is already six posts down the front page, and I've got some idiocy that needs to be pointed out,...
View ArticleMarriage equality, Louisiana, 2009
So. On what grounds might a Louisiana judge deny a couple a marriage license in 2009? They're gay or lesbian? You're thinking WAAAAY too liberally.Check this out:A Louisiana justice of the peace...
View ArticleWHEE: Pushing Maximum Density
Between 2001 and 2003 I lost 60 pounds. Between 2003 and 2009, I put back on about 15 of it. Between Feb. 2009 and now I've taken off 22 pounds, and am still going. It's a long diary, because this...
View ArticleWHEE: keeping it fun
Today was a pretty low-energy day until I burned 855 calories in two hours in a Zumba double-header.WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are...
View ArticleWHEE: The calorie value of everyday tasks
The world is full of fitness tips and tricks which are less than useless for me: "just cut out the soda" isn't very useful if you never drink soda or juice, for instance. I'm sure we can all think of...
View ArticleWHEE: The Turkey and the Damage Done (+ HFC Open Thread)
OK, the holidays are over and it's time for a little postgame analysis. Did you move the ball toward the endzone over the holidays? Or, like me, did you give into the temptations that moved into your...
View ArticleWHEE: Holiday Fit Club open thread?
So I'm tired tonight and it got dark at 5:15 and it's the last weekend before finals and I'm just a little too whatever to write a witty diary about how my holiday fitness is going. This, therefore,...
View ArticleWHEE: Holiday Fit Club Open Thread
Well, we're 14 days into December. I've given the final exam, I've attended numerous zumba classes, and I've fallen off the wagon a bit eating-wise and gained a couple of pounds. I have the following...
View ArticleWHEE: So you say you've got a resolution?
Hi WHEEsters! I'm working on our new theme song! Whaddya think? Does it scan?You say you've got a resolution Well, you know We all want to change our ass You tell me it's a quick solution Well, you...
View ArticleWHEE: I get knocked down...
So, this week I was going to do a photo-mentary of what it actually looks like to eat less than 2000 calories per day. I was going to be all good and run a calorie deficit all week and exercise daily...
View ArticleWHEE: Barefootin'
Here's a little impromptu, off-schedule WHEE, just because.For those of us that run, there's been a whole lot of news to look at recently about the concept of barefoot running. Time Magazine just...
View ArticleBev Perdue frees NC-GOP hostages
North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue just thumbed her nose at the Republican legislature's punitive budget proposal. See, they've been holding unemployment benefits for a bunch of North Carolinians...
View ArticleCMS Superintendent resigns -- to join News Corporation
This is an interesting tidbit from our local Charlotte news. It's going to be a short diary because I don't really know what to say about it except "uh-oh, don't look now, but".Faced with budget cuts...
View ArticleBirth control: that's what $40/month means to me
The White House has a neat-ola website where you can tell the President what it means to you to get the 40 dollars per month back that you'll get if the Republicans let the payroll tax cut extension...
View ArticleRepublicans out to suppress NC vote (again)
There's not a whole lot to say about this that isn't in four letter words. One of the few vetos that Governor Bev Perdue manage to make stick last year was when she vetoed one of those horrible...
View ArticleEarly voting in Charlotte, NC
I voted early in Charlotte, NC this morning.I take Zumba classes from an outfit called Queen City DanceOut. They have their classes all over the city, often in community rec centers. This morning, I...
View ArticleY'all mock Chris Christie at your peril
There's yet another diary on the front page of this site that takes a swipe at Chris Christie. Not because he's a Republican nightmare waiting in the wings for 2016, whose horrible policies need to be...
View ArticleNorth Carolina. Action.
I am sitting here in Wisconsin, where I'm doing some caretaking for my elderly parents, and watching North Carolina happily follow Perry down the Road of Crazy.They are trying to sneak abortion clinic...
View ArticleSB 695 (NC): In case it was not crystal clear.
In case it was not crystal clear what the GOP and their anti-woman agenda is all about, witness. Witness this sign from the counter-protest in Raleigh this morning, where a whole lot of loud angry...
View ArticleSneaky sneaky NC GOP
Just a little more on the shenanigans from the NC legislature. While Pat McCrory's out front claiming he might veto the massively unpopular SB 695, the House Judiciary Committee is sneaking the same...
View ArticleThe cost in time and treasure to have valid ID
A couple of months ago I received the notice -- I needed to renew my driver's license. In NC, this requires going to a DMV location, taking a vision test, and all before the current license expires. I...
View ArticleEarly ballots in the NC primary
In North Carolina, more people cast early votes for tomorrow's primary than they did for the 2010 midterm elections.In North Carolina, more people cast early votes for tomorrow's primary than they did...
View ArticleNorth Carolina Leading the Way: Our Shot
The latest news from North Carolina is that a panel of three state judges has just smacked down the GOP legislature’s hyper-partisan laws limiting our new Democratic Governor’s ability to appoint his...
View ArticleThe people say "no ICE" in Mecklenburg County (NC)
It didn’t seem to get much notice in last night’s election diaries, because everyone was so excited about Pittenger, but in the primary race for Sheriff of NC’s Mecklenburg County, an incumbent also...
View ArticleNC-Sen: State Senator Erica Smith will run against Tillis
Hey everyone!Good news this week as State Senator Erica Smith jumps into the race to take out Thom Tillis in NC. Smith is serving her third term in the NC State Senate.Y’all know that our state...
View ArticleJaime Harrison walks all over Lindsey Graham
Yeah, yeah, Trump’s in the hospital, but did you SEE that Harrison vs. Graham debate?First, Harrison brought his own plexiglass divider to wall himself off from likely Plague Rat Graham. This was...
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He's in (Jeff Jackson for NC-Sen)
OK guys, this is HUGE. This is the best news since however many days ago it was that John Fetterman, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov and anger translator for Gov. Tom Wolf, announced that he was exploring running...
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Time to check your "pandemic of the unvaccinated" assumptions
I’ve seen a lot of overt and unseemly gloating lately about Republicans “killing off their base” because now it’s supposedly rural counties and Republican voting areas where people are getting sick,...
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