If you have not yet heard the story of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman, then please watch the 60 minute story that aired recently:



Governor Siegelman is a political prisoner, he was prosecuted not for criminal reasons, but for political reasons, and the national GOP is involved with this miscarriage of justice.

If you so desire, you can send Governor Siegelman a letter of support, let him know that as Americans we will fight for his freedom and seek to bring to justice those who would so abuse their power that they would make a mockery of our judicial system.

Don Siegelman
24775-001
FPC PO Box 5010
Oakdale, LA 71463

We cannot afford another four years of GOP corruption, and it is with your help that we will take back the White House in 2008, for Governor Siegelman, for all Americans who care about the rule of law over politics.

In case this race wasn't "interesting" enough for you, guess who's back to liven up the party? Yes, Ralph Nader is running for President.

I'm honestly loathe to say too much this morning as I learn this news, because I try to keep a civil tongue in my head.

What I will say is that Nader continues his arrogance of thinking he knows what the American people want and need, despite there being little sign that what they want or need has anything to do with him.

The Republicans like to think Hillary and Obama's neck and neck race to the nomination means the Democratic Party is split. I hope they keep thinking that, because it will lead them down an errant path. The truth is, I think, that the Democratic Party hasn't had two such strong and inspiring candidates to choose between in a long time, and we're excited about it. The vast majority of each candidate's supporters will end up supporting the other if their person doesn't make it. Every poll says so.

Nowhere do they say that we've all been missing the presence of Ralph Nader in the race. I'm sure the Republicans are thrilled, but they should remember this little stat:

Though he won 2.7 percent of the national vote as the Green Party candidate in 2000, his percentage dropped to just 0.3 percent as an independent in 2004, when he appeared on the ballot in only 34 states.

I'm not too worried. In fact, I feel a little sorry for Ralph.

In case you haven't yet seen this amazing video, here it is:





And then.....well, then there is this video, destined to be great as well, but for reasons that the GOP would rather not discuss:

We have all heard the talking heads discuss who is the front runner, who is gaining, who is losing support. We have heard these same talking heads go on about how much of a problem Democrats will face if we don't have a nominee right away. Well, the real story is something beyond what the talking heads are bringing up, and it gives us all something to think about, and it does not bode well for the Gopers.

Let us take a moment and look at the number of voters who are turning out to vote in 2008. For instance, in Santa Clara County:

Completed Precincts 929 of 929
Total Registration 689,052
		Percent	Votes
Vote by Mail Reporting Turnout		40.61%	279,813
Precinct Reporting Turnout		21.63%	149,047
		62.24%	428,860

So, we had 62 percent of voters turn out. Now, let us take a closer look and see who those voters were:

Democratic Registration & Turnout
Completed Precincts 929 of 929
		Percent	Votes
Vote by Mail Reporting Turnout		62.06%	163,358
Precinct Reporting Turnout		37.94%	99,849
Republican Registration & Turnout
Completed Precincts 929 of 929
		Percent	Votes
Vote by Mail Reporting Turnout		67.66%	80,196
Precinct Reporting Turnout		32.34%	38,330

Non Partisan Registration & Turnout
Completed Precincts 929 of 929
		Percent	Votes
Vote by Mail Reporting Turnout		79.86%	28,587
Precinct Reporting Turnout		20.14%	7,208

Democrats had a total of 263,201 voters turn out, and the local GOP? A grand total of 118,526. 100,000 more Democratic votes in our county, actually the Democratic turnout was more then DOUBLE the number of GOP voters.

And this disparity is not unique to our county, these types of numbers are being seen all over our nation, Democratic turnout beating the GOP turnout out by record numbers, even in the "red" states.

The people of our nation are waking up to the reality of a failed presidency, of a failed party, and they are coming home to support Democrats in 2008. We still have work to do, we still have a hard and long campaign ahead of us, but as the numbers show, it is clearly within our grasp to win back the White House this year, and even gain seats in both houses of Congress.

As Democrats we must not lose sight of our goals, we should remember that we are stronger when we work together, and to win the White House we will need to come together after this primary is over. While I support Obama, if Hillary wins the nomination I will be there in full force to support her and my party and country.

It is an honor to be a Democrat this year, as we create history in so many ways. Obama, the first African American to have a real chance to become president, Hillary, the first woman to be a viable candidate for president. I can't ever remember a year when being a Democrat was so filled with awe, with respect, with amazement and excitement.

Together we can, together we will. GO DEMS!

*The following statement is offensive, and please be aware that the writer of this post is repeating this as a means to expose the person who made this statement.

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno."

So, who do you think made this statement? As a bit of background, this statement was made at a GOP fund raising dinner in 1998, this was not an spur of the moment joke, it was presented as part of a prepared speech.

Who, who would be so rude, so vile, so absolutely without any concern for the feelings of a child, who would this person be? If you guess Rush Limbaugh, you are wrong. And no, it wasn't Hannity. No, it wasn't any of the right wing talking heads, nope.

The person who made this statement? Senator John McCain.

In 1998 Chelsea Clinton was 18 years old, a young adult who had endured horrific, vile attacks from the far right before, but this, this is different. The person who uttered these words wants Americans to trust him to be president, he wants people to elect him based on his ability to make decisions. If there is ANY example of why this man has no ability to make good decisions, let this be the prime example.

McCain read this statement from a prepared speech, he knew the joke was in there, he thought it was perfectly fine, funny even, to make this statement. McCain had the opportunity to remove this statement, to show that he did have good judgment, but instead he choose to utter those absolutely vile words.

Chelsea Clinton is a beautiful young woman, she is smart, vivacious, she is self assured, a great communicator (like her father and mother), and she is a shinning example to all of the young adults in our nation.

If you haven't already guessed, I am outraged beyond words. And I can tell you this, I will do all I can to make sure that our Democratic nominee becomes the next President of the United States.

GO HILLARY! GO OBAMA!

In California, registered domestic partners have now been granted greater equal rights including the responsibility to file joint state tax returns. However, since the federal government still offers no legal recognition of gay and lesbian families (including my own family that includes my longtime partner and our 4-year old daughter), completing this joint state return has put many California families in a tax quandry.

Nonetheless, we're doing everything we can to comply with the new state law. As I can't wait to get my hands on our expected tax rebate, I dutifully completed our tax returns as TurboTax recommends: - complete and file the individual federal returns and then create a faux married federal return for the sole purpose of completing the state tax return.

After spending hours in completing a "married" federal return that I had no intention of filing, I was shocked to learn that my family was being severely penalized by the federal tax code. You see, if we were allowed to file a federal return as a legally married couple, we would be paying $7,000 LESS in federal taxes. That's right - we're being penalized $7,000 by the federal government even though the state of California has affirmed our family status as registered domestic partners.

I always assumed that LGBT American families were paying more in taxes than legally married people but I had no idea that the penalties were so great. Clearly, LGBT families are being punished by the federal tax code. All Americans who believe in tax fairness ought to be aware of this violation of the 14th amendment and join with the Democratic Party in fighting for equal rights for all Americans.

The Democratic nomination process is, well, complicated. First of all we are not really voting for a candidate on Tuesday, rather we are electing delegates to go to the convention to vote for the candidate we have asked them to vote for. Now, these "delegates" are awarded based on percentages of the vote and the number of delegates alloted for the district these delegates are in. Got it? Clear as mud ; )

To complicate things further there are super delegates which are not "elected" in the primary, they are elected officials and members of the DNC (which are also elected by party members.)

What this all means....is, well, we could see our nomination go until the convention, something I have never seen in my lifetime. Basically there would have to be wheeling and dealing for one candidate to garner enough votes to become our nominee. And you thought politics were boring?

Here is a link that will explain the process much better then I did.

Another interesting article from MSNBC makes a rather interesting point, for the first time in the history of our nation two sitting senators will be running against each other:

More astonishing and profound is this: It is likely two members of Congress will be running against each other for president – the first time this has happened in the history of the United State. (According to my colleagues at the Newsweek Library, we’ve had many senators as nominees, but never two simultaneously, and no members of the House at all.)

I can't wait for tomorrow, if you are a political junkie like I am, then this something that comes but once in a lifetime. So, hang onto your hats and tune in for what is sure to be one hell of a night tomorrow.

GO DEMS!

For the first time in decades, CA voters will "count," and unlike the Republican primary, the Democratic primary is open to independents. It will be interesting to see how much of the vote on Tuesday comes from DTS (Decline To State) or independent voters, and even more important for the November general election, will Democrats show up to vote in larger numbers then Republicans?

No matter which of the two remaining Democratic candidates wins, one thing is for sure, our nation will be a winner as either Obama or Clinton become not only the next President of the United States, but also the first African American or woman to hold our nation's highest office.

We are well on our way to taking back the White House this year, GO DEMS!