John McNicotine is now for the tobacco lobby after years of working against it.  He not only opposes the cigarette taxes he used to support but also opposes FDA regulation of the tobacco industry after years of supporting it.  McNicotine is an ex-smoker and should understand just how addictive nicotine is, and he even acknowledged the exceptionally high death rate for tobacco users when he joked that cigarette exports to Iran were part of his plot to kill Iranian citizens.  For McNicotine to cave in to the tobacco cartel is the ultimate flip-flop:
http://www.boston.com/...

Why has McNicotine caved in to the interests of the tobacco drug cartel?  It couldn't possibly have anything to do with hiring tobacco lobbyist Charlie Black as his senior adviser.  Move along folks.  There's nothing to see here:
http://firedoglake.com/...

Now let's use the traditional Rethug "moral values" and "sanctity of life" frames against McNicotine!  There's more in the flip.

Good evening! My usual "diary gig" is the nightly Countdown diary, but, when PastorDan asked for volunteers to cover for him tonight & next week, I decided to throw my proverbial hat into the ring in an effort to let you all know about other parts of my life which are extremely important to me. I am a dharma teacher in the Buddhist tradition in which I practice (the Kwan Um School of Zen). I've practiced in this tradition for 6 years but was raised Methodist. I'm also the director of the Indianapolis Zen Center, part of the Kwan Um School of Zen.

I've been a dharma teacher for nearly a year but went through a 2-year training period before I became a teacher. Part of the training consists of an essay outlining motivations for Kwan Um practice (or participation in whichever spiritual tradition in your life). Tonight’s diary is the essay I wrote. I thought we could talk to each other about our spiritual paths & the journeys along the way. What (if anything) has made you doubt your faith? What sustains your faith?

Here are websites for both the Indianapolis Zen Center & for the Kwan Um School of Zen:
www.indyzen.org
www.kwanum.org

Yes this election is about many specific issues, but the more I watch media coverage,political ads, townhalls and forums, the more I'm convinced this election will be a litmus test on what sort of intellectual capacity we have collectively as a people.

The Obama campaign's fight to define our candidate as the only one in the mainstream of American values is swinging into gear.  Not only are campaign surrogates carefully using language to position Barack Obama as the true values candidate, but the candidate may soon benefit from his participation in forums not normally associated with the Democratic candidate for president.

This strategy, if successful, will make John McCain's uphill battle this fall even steeper.  More on it below the fold.

Why are you a Democrat?

What makes you vote for the Democratic ticket on Election Day? What made you decide that just voting for progressive Democrats is not enough - that you also need to volunteer for the Obama campaign or for other progressives running in your area?

Perusing through the 99 diaries I have written before today, I realized that, in my year and a half here, I've never really discussed what it is that has molded my belief system - why it is I am a progressive Democrat. So I decided to use my 100th diary entry to offer a few thoughts on what I value, and how my values have shaped my worldview.

With your indulgence, I thought I might take this opportunity to give a more considered response to the revelation this week of John Edwards' infidelity. Few things hit closer to home, or seem to bring up more religious context, than the marital bond. If God doesn't have something to say about this, then what good is he?*

Ken Brociner's article: The American Left:  Does a Nationwide ‘Progressive Movement’ Actually Exist?  in In These Times asks the question I have raised here in the past.  It is worth asking again.  The dynamics of the last months of campaign rhetoric and the reactions to diaries here makes it a more open question than ever.  Having written scores of diaries, many of high impact, I may even be free of "but you are new here" types of put downs, but anything can happen here as I have learned.  It is clear there is an "in group" and the rules are bent often for them.  So what does that have to do with the question about the movement's existence?  look below the break and you will see.

According to a new Washington Post poll, Barack Obama leads among low-wage workers by a 2 to 1 margin over John McCain.

Obama has overwhelming support among African American workers, but also Latino workers.  And he leads McCain by ten points among white low-wage workers.

That's right--those hard-working (white) Americans we heard so much about, the ones he had to win over and convince he is one of them.  He's winning them by 47% to 37%.  What will the pundits say now?  

let us pray* for those who are hungry:

As a pastor in the United Church of Christ - a sister denomination of the Unitarian Universalist Association - I know very well how vulnerable congregations are to those who mean to do them harm.

I also know very well the kind of selflessness practiced by salt of the earth members like Greg McKendry, who absorbed the full brunt of a shotgun blast to protect the other members of Tennessee Valley UUC. "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends," Jesus tells us. There are millions of people across the nation who would be willing to take that saying seriously if called upon. In that they not heroic, but faithful.

With the all people, let us pray* for the community, those in need, and all of the creation.

In the past, I've considered writing about what a lifeline KOS is for me because I often feel isolated in a rural area for a Red state, Texas.  It is good to come here and read writings by like-minded people, to know that I'm not alone.

But, lately I've been concerned about the great disconnect I see between my online world and my "real" world.  It was particularly brought to mind by comments to a recent diary.  The commenters, almost universally, viewed the diarist's neighbor who had made a comment about hoping that Obama was killed if he was elected as just a fringe wingnut.  There was no recognition that as many in the "real" world may agree with the neighbor.  The commenters urged the diarist to make her Obama support even more public - with no recognition that in some areas, such as mine, such public support - while necessary - carries real risks not just of alienation, but of vandalism of your house, your vehicle, etc.

Sometimes, I think we are so comfortable among our like-minded associates that we forget about the "real" world on the other side of the looking glass.

I'm watching Obama talk right now. His speech is fantastic. It's so good that I'm tearing up a bit, remembering what it's like to feel proud of a country that has done a great many things for a great many people, rather than a country of unilateral warmongering. There is a great sense of joy in my heart at the thought of a Presidency of global purpose and unity.

So why am I so sad and disheartened?

Some of you here might know of me/my ideology, others not. In any event this diary has been a long time in formulation so I hope it makes some sense. People have been asking me for my thoughts on this topic and so I hope it does make some iota of sense.

I have given the issue a lot of thought.

What makes a conservative "different" from a "progressive" To me there is not one answer that could cover every and all situation since of course not all progressives nor are all conservatives the same. But I do think there might be an overarching theme, something that might cover the chasm of what separates the two groups.

Sure, some on the progressive side will say "Conservatives are evil, evil I tell you" that is how they differ from us... well those on the right will answer with "Progressives? They’re anti-American evil-doers" and be done with it. Case closed. Or is it? I do not think so. Even if everyone on one side thought everyone on the other was evil there has to be a reason for it.

<More after the break>

The following is part of the litany used at the Multi-Faith Worship Service at Netroots Nation this morning:

Family Research Council is drumming up headliners for its September 2008 Values Voter Summit. The list of confirmed speakers reads as one would expect it to: Chuck Colson, Phyllis Scaffley, Newt Gingrich, Bill Bennett, Mitt Romney, Gary Bauer, etc.

Both presidential candidates are listed as "invited speakers."

Will McCain accept the invitation in order to shore up his transformation into the Security and Values candidate?

Will Obama accept the invitation in order to quell any remaining tremors resulting from the Dobson debacle?

A hymn we sang this morning:

I think we've done this before, but what the heck. It's the Fourth of July.