Crossposted from the Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

• Mahatma Ghandi

If you were too busy taking care of your family, or working late on the job, or trying to take advantage of the nice weather, or even taking out the trash and cleaning the cat litter box, you probably missed Bill O'Reilly's temper tantrum broadcast over the Fox Noise Channel earlier tonight.

But if you had some time to kill while you were packing for YearlyKos, like we did, then you eagerly tuned in, just this one time, to witness the promised hysterics you were sure would unfold, right in front of your eyes.

We did more than watch, though. As O'Reilly spoke, we typed - and captured the rancor that gushed from his bloviating mouth.

All of the comments excerpted below refer to either Daily Kos, the YearlyKos Convention, or the Democratic Party leadership (congressional officeholders or presidential candidates). O'Reilly's words have been parsed and stripped down to make his harsh language clear.

If you live in Washington State and are planning on attending YearlyKos next week in fabulous Chicago, the Northwest Progressive Institute wants to hear from you!

We're working on organizing the state delegation and we'd like to know if you are planning on being in the Windy City this August so we can invite you to the state social (we had one last year, and it was a lot of fun!) as well as connect you with other local Kossacks.

This year the locals that have commited to be at Yearly Kos 2007 include Democrats Jay Inslee (WA-01) and candidate Darcy Burner (WA-08).

If you're going, please let us know by sending a message to netroots (at) nwprogressive (dot) org. Let us know your screen name/handle on Kos, where you live, and what plans and travel arrangements you've already made. We look forward to hearing from you!

Al Gore's son was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of possessing marijuana and prescription drugs after deputies pulled him over for speeding, authorities said.

Al Gore III, 24, was driving a blue Toyota Prius about 100 mph on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over at about 2:15 a.m., Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Just got this letter from Marty Meehan (MA-05) to step down July 1st to become Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts. Losing a Dem congressman is never a good thing, however Congress's loss is hopefully a U-Mass gain.

More to follow...........

I haven't seen this diaried yet so if it has let me know....

From the latest edition of The Des Moines Register

Decorah, Ia. - Gay troops should be able to serve in the U.S. military without hiding their sexual identity, Sen. Hillary Clinton said here Sunday.

Clinton said it's time to drop the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which began when her husband, Bill Clinton, was president. The policy says that gays may serve in the military if they keep their homosexuality secret but that they can be tossed out if they don't.

Clinton spoke about the issue in response to a question from the audience during a campaign visit to Luther College. She also said she supported the right of gay Americans to join in civil unions, though she did not mention the more controversial idea of gay marriage.

I'm not a big fan of Hillary, with the "Clinton Baggage" and all, but I am glad she is making a stand about this foolish discrimination.

More to follow........

As most of you regular DK readers well know, DailyKos has become the largest political blog in the known universe, attracting over half a million visits a day. (Not to mention recent boost attributed to posting of BabyKos pix >:^)

In a feature in the May 2007 hard copy issue of Discover Magazine, in a photo article called "Map: Welcome to the blogosphere" (page 22) is the following.......

It appears that the heads are continuing to roll after the controversial firings of 8 U.S. Attorneys who stepped down in January.

From The Buffalo News

Michael A. Battle, formerly the top federal prosecutor in Buffalo and now a senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice, called several U.S. attorneys from across the country Dec. 7 and gave them some unusual bad news.

It was time for them to resign.

Little noticed at the time, the unprecedented purge of eight of the nation’s 94 U.S. attorneys has caused a huge uproar in Washington that is culminating today in hearings on both sides of Capitol Hill. Democrats are alleging that the fired prosecutors, Republicans all, lost their jobs for political reasons.

Looks like someone else may have become a victim of the purge.......

Please forgive me for not linking; I got this directly from my paper edition.
I transcribe from a printed story under the  heading "Blog It" on page 2 of the Friday Jan. 13th Middle East edition of Stars and Stripes.

Take a look.............

From Larry Scott at OPEDNEWS.............

You know what to do and where we're going.........

By Cam Simpson
Washington Bureau
Chicago Tribune

September 18, 2005

WASHINGTON -- From the Indian Ocean tsunami to the church around the corner, Americans have shown time and again they are willing to open their pocketbooks for charity, for a total of about $250 billion last year alone.

But now, amid pleas for aid after Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration has launched an unusual effort to raise charitable contributions for another cause: the government's attempt to rebuild Iraq.

More on the flip...........

Rick

From: Steve Ballmer
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 6:40 PM
To: All Employees of MS in Puget Sound; All Employees of MS in MSUS
Subject: Microsoft and the Anti-Discrimination bill

Over the past two days, there've been a lot of stories about Microsoft and our position on an anti-discrimination bill in Olympia.

I've heard from a number of employees, and I take all of the input on all sides seriously, so I wanted to talk directly with all of you about the company's position and how I view these issues.
 

Imagine this: On his next trip to Japan, President Bush visits the vault at the Bank of Japan, where that country's $712 billion in United States government bonds is stored. There, as the cameras roll, he announces that the bonds, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, are, in fact, worthless i.o.u.'s. He does the same thing when he visits China and so on around the world, until he has personally repudiated the entire $2 trillion of United States debt held by foreigners.

Mr. Bush rehearsed just that act on Tuesday, when he visited the office of the federal Bureau of Public Debt in Parkersburg, W.Va. He posed next to a file cabinet that holds the $1.7 trillion in Treasury securities that make up the Social Security trust fund. He tossed off a comment to the effect that the bonds were not "real assets." Later, in a speech at a nearby university, he said: "There is no trust fund. Just i.o.u.'s that I saw firsthand."

From the Palm Beach Post:

"After 77 percent of Florida schools failed last year under the state's version of the federal No Child Left Behind law, Education Commissioner John Winn said Tuesday he's considering lowering student achievement standards under that law.

The changes would alter standards Florida set for itself under the federal law, something Gov. Jeb Bush and Winn said they wouldn't do just a few months ago."

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/epaper/2005/03/16/m1a_nclb_0316.html