This week's Parade Magazine has essays from Barack Obama and John McCain on patriotism.

One can read the essays and then go online and vote in the poll which asks:  which essay is more in line with your views?

Of course, Barack Obama's stance on the FISA "compromise" bill has sparked debate and some anger.  There has been some polarization as well:  "hey, don't you want to win this November?  Lay off!" and the "blind loyalty is bad; look at what it has done to the Republicians" and to our country.

More below the fold.

I did a quick scan of the front page and of the diaries that haven't scrolled off the page and I don't see this anywhere.

Even if this appeared in the previous days, I am sure that not everyone has seen it.

There is currently a campaign called "Color Of Change" which intends to hold Fox News accountable for their brazen appeals to racism in their campaign against coverage of Barack Obama.

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Pew just released a massive study on the religious landscape of America.  Some newspapers released headlines loudly proclaiming how many Americans "believe in god".  

But when one digs down in to the survey itself, the results are a bit more nuanced than that.  More below the fold.

It is halftime and the Celtics are leading 58-35.  But in three of the previous 4 games, one team has broken to a big lead only to see the other team come back to make a game of it; in game 4 the Celtics ended up coming back from 24 to win.

So this time: the Celtic defense is smothering; Garnett has 17 points and Pierce has 10 points and 9 assists.

Kobe Bryant started out hot with 11 early points and has 14 right now.

As was pointed out, evolution was observed to have taken place in bacteria; this was observed in a laboratory and the experiment has been rerun.

http://www.dailykos.com/...

Of course this excited me; I love it when we learn more about how the world works.

Unfortunately, there are many who are completely shut out to developments such as these; there was a time where I was one of those people; more below the fold.

You've seen the "Obama is a Muslim" e-mails.  No biggie, right?

Well, the Republican 527's have started to spread the lies; they claim that Obama was "enrolled in a school as a Muslim" and "is lying about it now".

More below the fold....

Hi there.  Yes, some of you are sad and maybe bitter; perhaps some of you can't stomach looking at BHO right now and were in no mood to watch his victory speech.

Believe it or not, I understand disappointment.

But I have some suggestions, some of which helped me during those dark days of November, 2004.  

More below the fold.

One way or another, this primary season is winding down and entering a new phase.  Whether or not HRC decides to run all the way to the convention, suspends her campaign, or "acknowledges" that BHO has enough delegates to secure the nomination, the time to run campaign primaries and caucuses is over.

November is looming large!

This is my note to my friends and loved ones who have worked to see Hillary Clinton obtain the nomination.

Ok, while blogging, I was watching the Celtics vs. Pistons game on TV.  The Pistons rallied to take a 10 point lead but the Celtics finished strong to win 89-81.

So now they face the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Celtics and the Lakers have a history; during the Bird-Johnson era the Lakers went 2-1, where the Celtics won in 1984 and the Lakers in 1985 and 1987.

So John "more of the same" McCain is running on his knowledge of foreign policy and on defense issues?  If that is his strength, I sure hate to see his weakness!

A Huffington Post article reports on a question and answer session in which John McCain, in an attempt to bash Barack Obama, made yet another gaffe.

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Update:  There is already a diary on this but evidently it scrolled off.

So, your first choice for President didn't win the nomination.  You are mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore!

I can't say that I blame you; I wish you well as you go out there to work with your new Republican friends in your quest to punish the party and the "good old boy" network that deprived your candidate what was so rightfully hers.  

But it is a different world over there and a guide to help you adjust to your new political and social surroundings might be in order.  So, help is on the way!

I'd like to congratulate the owner of this website.  He has angered Bill O'Reilly so much that he has ranted against Newsweek magazine for hiring "our Kos" as a columnist.

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There has been some rumblings here, as well as in the main-stream media, that Hillary Clinton knows that this race is over.  But she is hanging on in hopes of damaging Barack Obama so badly that he loses the general election and she can run as the "I told you so" candidate.

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If you are like me, you have been getting heartburn when you read stories like this one.

Campaigning a few miles from each other Friday, Barack Obama trained his eye on November and the GOP, while Hillary Rodham Clinton battled for her political life, trying to hang on a bit longer in hopes of denying him the Democratic presidential nomination. [...]

When asked about Clinton, Obama heaped more praise than criticism on the New York senator, continuing his efforts to avoid antagonizing her or her supporters. [...]

Clinton took the opposite tack, knowing she can't take on McCain unless she somehow derails Obama. At a round-table at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, she criticized Obama's health care plan for promising universal coverage to children but not adults.

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I've heard some Obama and Clinton supporters say that they would either sit out or vote for McCain if their choice didn't obtain the nomination.

I argue that this is a very bad idea.

More below the fold.

Note:  I didn't even touch on many other significant points (e. g. his gaffes over the Middle East).

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

Just when I began to savor victory and soften my attitude about HRC and her supporters, we get the old "blacks and liberals" canard from the Clinton camp.

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I'd like to thank Teacherken for a nice diary which, in part, discusses a Bobby Herbert article.

http://www.dailykos.com/...

Yes, the Herbert article blasts the media for focusing on stuff of little consequence.  Yes, some of the right wing shills think that such focus is appropriate.

http://www.sj-r.com/...

But, Hope is on the way, if it isn't already here.  One of the things that gave me comfort is, believe it or not, a statistics article!  More below the fold