From Political Waves by Jude On a Labor Day with little or nothing <On a Labor Day with little or nothing in that category to celebrate, we're poised on the big push toward the mid-terms, a tsunami of political hijinks and hype ... this day marks the official opening of the campaigns, although they've been going on for mo>  in that category to celebrate, we're poised on the big push toward the mid-terms, a tsunami of political hijinks and hype ... this day marks the official opening of the campaigns, although they've been going on for months.  The Dem's are leading by default but now the war chests will open, the rhetoric will amp, the accusations fly, the mud-slinging ad's begin and the Pub Congress will be focusing exclusively on security to attempt to scare the nation into compliance. It's apt to be down-'n-dirty ugly this year, the first time since '92 when so much was at stake.  If the vote were taken today, we'd reap the spoils ... we'll see how much fear and "terrorist activity" can be packed into the next 65 days ... how much the Pub "targeted" phone calls and personal visits impact a lethargic and embarrassed Republican base. These next two months will produce a blunderstorm of poor behavior, judging by what's already been misspoken, and a lot of high camp for those of us who follow the in's and out's of political theatre -- I've included a front page article on the Dem edge in the House from WaPo ... and added a link on the same topic from NYT.  It's interesting that they don't agree on who's got the best shot -- WP calls Arizona [one of the toss-up races] for the Dem's, NYT's says it's a long shot. Time will tell. To sweeten the pot today, for the 39th time <On a Labor Day with little or nothing in that category to celebrate, we're poised on the big push toward the mid-terms, a tsunami of political hijinks and hype ... this day marks the official opening of the campaigns, although they've been going on for mo> , we've caught another Big Qaeda Fish*, a Number Two this time, with the usual [ho hum!] Pub spin that this will quell the horrific violence in Iraq.  That is increasingly unlikely, with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani <On a Labor Day with little or nothing in that category to celebrate, we're poised on the big push toward the mid-terms, a tsunami of political hijinks and hype ... this day marks the official opening of the campaigns, although they've been going on for mo> ** pulling out of political life in a snit [on the same day, his senior aide was assassinated in an escalation of Shiite on Shiite violence,] taking his moderate voice with him.  Day by day, Iraq becomes more dire -- the Dem's, with a handful of Pub support, will be sending a vote of No Confidence Rummy's way very soon [here <On a Labor Day with little or nothing in that category to celebrate, we're poised on the big push toward the mid-terms, a tsunami of political hijinks and hype ... this day marks the official opening of the campaigns, although they've been going on for mo>  and here <On a Labor Day with little or nothing in that category to celebrate, we're poised on the big push toward the mid-terms, a tsunami of political hijinks and hype ... this day marks the official opening of the campaigns, although they've been going on for mo> ] ... although, as George Will pointed out yesterday, since Donny "serves at the pleasure of..." the Little Twit, it will likely produce no change. But "change" is the name of the current game -- the public craves it ... we'll see if it decides to demand it, and the ride should prove Very Interesting Indeed. This is your only post of the day -- I trust you're engaged in much more pleasant amusements, anyhow; if you aren't, this intro is packed with links to follow.  And the last two articles are Excellent Labor Day reads [the Roy Orbison piece especially, I thought] and appropriate to a holiday that seems to be dancing on the edge of irrelevancy, now that we've shipped away our jobs and cut the legs out from under job protections and unions; begs the question ... what if you gave a holiday, and nobody knew what the hell it was for except the end of warm weather and one final outdoor weenie roast? Jude * Clearly, anyone who disagrees with the Bushies is Al Qaeda -- AQ is a catch-all buzzword like WOT [War on Terror,] an illusion within a conundrum issued in a cloud of smoke like a fart-attack from the Decider, and designed to keep the public fretful.  Who knows HOW many actual Al Qaeda members there are ... or where! ** As I was reading through Juan Cole's <On a Labor Day with little or nothing in that category to celebrate, we're poised on the big push toward the mid-terms, a tsunami of political hijinks and hype ... this day marks the official opening of the campaigns, although they've been going on for mo>  posts about Sistani, I came across this paragraph -- I'm highlighting the sentence I had to go back and read several times: Sistani's theory of the guardianship of the jurisprudent is much more limited than that of Khomeini and his tradition in Iran. Sistani believes that the supreme jurisprudent should only intervene in structural matters affecting the "order of society," not in everyday politics. (Thus, he did intervene to ensure one person, one vote elections in Iraq in the face of Bush administration opposition). But he believes that even this structural role can only be played by a Shiite cleric who has gained the allegiance of the people and is popular among them. I take it he is saying that it is his perception that he is no longer in a position to play that pivotal role because Iraq's Shiites have been turning to leaders such as Muqtada al-Sadr. (Since al-Sadr is sort of an all-but-dissertation Ph.D. student and Sistani is the most eminent professor in the system, this desertion of the old man for the younger one in the street is a real slap in the face to the Najaf establishment.) What the hell?  With all the Bushy bluff and bluster about "purple fingers" and "Iraqi voters" and "democratic Iraq," what DID he want if he didn't want one man, one vote???  See -- this is the ramification of living with a lazy and cowardly mainstream media. http://planetwaves.info/polwaves.php ============ What's right and good doesn't come naturally. You have to stand up and fight for it - as if the cause depends on you, because it does.  Allow yourself that conceit - to believe that the flame of Democracy will never go out as long as there's one candle in your hand. ~ Bill Moyers (In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)