Anyone who thinks that this is a lousy way to run a country and make public policy should read William Greider's book, "Who Will Tell the People."

You can buy Congressional earmarks worth millions of dollars for a few tens of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions.  Then, the politician can use that money to give jobs to his family members, buy votes for his pet projects by distributing it through a PAC, and even get a building named in his honor at his alma mater by donating the balance of his campaign account when he retires.

I agree with you, Lowell.  This is the most despicable aspect of our political system.

The Wrecking Crew.  Also, I recommend David Sirota's book The Uprising.  It may be time for one, the only problem is that too many people can be bought off with a few 'smores. Ugh.

Just saying, I'd go just for the food, and tell 'em to go to hell...

...how many people tell them to "go to hell," as you so aptly put it.

It sounds like there wasn't any decent vegetarian food there.

Would you throw veggies at hungry wolves?
:)

The Economy is Energy Stupid
Carl Pope from Denver, Aug. 25

That's clearly the underlying message as this convention opens. The coal industry has "clean coal" billboards everywhere. Last night's Green Jobs reception by the Apollo Alliance drew an incredibly heavy crew from Congress -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, Representatives Ed Markey, Hilda Solis, Rush Holt, and John Hall. Steelworkers President Leo Gerard was on the podium, and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney was there. My schedule is filled with forums, events, press conferences, and receptions on the issue of building a new, green-energy economy.

I'll be appearing at a forum on Wednesday with T. Boone Pickens and members of the blogging community, and already the buzz is beginning.

My job this week: See if it's possible to get this convention to raise the bar and roll over the media's efforts to trivialize the issues in this year's campaign. That happened naturally last week in Las Vegas. It's going to be tougher here because the town is swarming with political reporters, who are masters of horse-race minutia. But there are also a lots of stakeholders here who understand that if we want to be a first-rate country, with a first-rate economy, and a strong middle class -- a green energy future is the only viable path.

Which will win -- vision or trivia? Stay tuned.

Was it real corn on the cob, or that spindly stuff masquerading as corn on the cob in the grocery store?

The shame is not that these guys can be bought, but that they can be bought so easily.

The Sunlight Foundation has built the ultimate tool for tracking the lavish parties lobbyists and big companies put on for our politicians. As the Democratic and Republican conventions start this week, we thought those of you who aren't in Denver or Minneapolis would like a window into kind of influence pushing is happening there. (And for those of you who are there, I suppose it'd be a handy party-crashing guide.)

More than 400 convention parties being thrown by the likes of Citi, Eli Lilly, AT&T and powerhouse lobbying firms such as Patton Boggs can be found at Sunlight's new site, http://PoliticalPartyTime.org

Political Party Time is the results of months of work gathering faxed-in invitations from our tipsters - otherwise this information would have been near-impossible to completely uncover.  

bought Mark Warner years ago - have you forgotten that Mark Warner as governor signed the bill authorizing the Wise County power plant?

You can't treat politicians like rock stars when they are running for office than piss and moan about their philisophical shortcomings after the fact.

So Lowell, why not take Warner on over the coal plant.  He is going to win, and win big - draw a line is the sand!  

Warner is the poster child for using the tag line "clean coal."  

I rake Jim Webb over the "coals" at least once a month for his stance on a number of issues, lead by the Iraq war, but I have no intention of not voting for him.  But he needs to hear some noise - and Mark Warner does too.

So Lowell, make some noise!