Met a Proud PUMA in a diary today.  He makes a compelling argument for supporting John McCain and I just have to agree with him.  There is no price too high to show those media pundits who's boss, to slap back at the horrible Democrats for betraying their base.  No price too steep for the personal satisfaction of sitting back and smugly grinning as the Chickens Come Home To Roost.

With some help from the Jed Report, I stand firm with this handsome man in striking back at the sexist media, at Obama for not battling FISA this week, at all those who conspired to thwart his wishes.

No price is too high to pay for justice.

Reading Reaper0bot0's diary tonight reminded me very much of all the Internet Security debates I have been involved with since the early nineties.  I invented one of the early firewalls (BorderWare), and since that time it has been my mixed pleasure and angst to engage in heated debates that are very very similar to this one.

The people who know a lot about Internet security are by and large very smart technical geeks who spend all their time thinking and worrying about keeping bad folks from doing nasty things.  We get really passionate about it - if we screw up people are harmed.  In some areas of our profession like Critical Infrastructure (which I focused on 2005-2007), when we screw up, people die.

Tempers get very sharp about the specific things we should do, and how we can do them.  The worst part?  I never know whether what I believe to be the right thing to do is not horribly wrong, and may lead to horrible consequences.  But since the alternative is doing nothing, I have to do the best I can and live with the results.

MyDD continues to have a rec list easily dominated by those opposed to the Democratic Party's nominee for the office of president.

This does not accurately reflect the entire population of this site, it does not reflect the population of the Democratic Party, and it does not reflect the issues being addressed and considered by Progressives.

This is easy to fix.  

We are Americans.  We are people who believe in progressive and democratic ideals.  The core of these ideals is that the exercised power of the population to speak with their votes provides the best means for making decisions.  Decisions such as what commentary reflects the views of the people reading and writing on this forum.

The American Military today is a solidly built ship with a good crew. Unfortunately, the captain is morally bankrupt.  Without leadership that the crew can count on, all hope for the crew is lost.

Most people are familiar with the story of ancient Sparta, not least of all through the popular movie "300" which dramatizes the story of the 300 Spartans who held off Xerxes' Persian army against overwhelming odds.

Sparta has throughout history been synonymous with military fidelity.  Every Spartan soldier and officer knew without the slightest doubt that every other Spartan soldier and officer - from the least to the greatest - would accept the responsibility of fidelity without hesitation, without a moment's consideration to the consequences to themselves.

This level of fidelity is what is necessary to command people in battle.  The soldier who goes into harm's way knows little else than that he or she is not aware of the greater complexities of the situation and must carry the complete faith that those responsible for him or her are simultaneously responsible to him or her.

At least this is what the Spartans believed.  This is what great military historians and strategists believe.  This is what Colonel Charles F. Kriete (Ret'd), Distinguished Fellow, US Army War College believes.

Colonel Kriete and I have been discussing this for some time.  We agree that the current administration has failed to provide that fidelity.  We agree that Senator McCain's adherence to the philosophy of Total War - the philosophy that the current administration has followed and which has lead to both the macro failures of Iraq and Afghanistan and specific failures such as Abhu Graib - indicates that he will also be unable to restore that lost fidelity.

We also agree that Senator Barack Obama is the only person available who can restore that fidelity to the office of Commander In Chief.

With the naive belief that producing oil in America reduces gas prices (tell that to the Canadians - $5.00+/gallon), John McCain has decided to throw away the Florida vote by recommending lining the Gulf of Mexico with oil rigs.

Here is a current WaPo story of McCain's support for losing Florida's vote and destroying our ecosystem.

There is not a single thing that McCain can do to lose the Florida vote that approaches supporting oil rigs along the Florida coast.

I like MyDD.  This is a lively and interesting place that - at least until it finds a purpose and draws a lot of people to it - has a small population and therefore an intimate feel.  As much as my personal satisfaction may be served by having such a small community, I would think this is not the purpose of MyDD.  

In fact, if all we do is circle our own drain we can be certain that the population here will not get bigger and, in the end, will all go away.

So, I would like to suggest to the many capable diarists out there that they find something worth writing about on a progressive blog, and write about it.

The following is attributed to Mary Ritter. Used with permission, and short because it should be.

This comes from a discussion on MyBO, which was very civil but complicated.

It breaks down many ways and speaks to an issue close to my heart. "We are all Democrats here!" and other well-intentioned unity statements miss the overarching message Sen. Obama puts forth.

We are more than even that. I am an Indie - as are many of us - and quite a few are Republicans. If you try to parse and caveat to be inclusive it devolves into PC madness.

It's simple. We are Obama folks.

-chris

Hi folks!

Dawn Teo posted this article today on Huffington Post.

McCain Up A Mere Five Points In Home District

In Arizona, in his home district, Sen. John McCain barely leads Sen. Barack Obama, according to a recent poll. A Democratic candidate for the McCain family's 3rd Congressional District, Bob Lord, commissioned the poll. Published June 5, it reports McCain drawing 48 percent and Obama 43 percent.

Yep, you got it right!  John McCain is so popular that he is barely hanging on to his own home town!

Ah!  Nothing like a good corruption scandal to show the Home Town Folks how serious you are about Change You Can Have Moderate Faith In!

More below the fold.