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Happy 5th Anniversary to Living Liberally!

Another reminder, author Mark Crispin Miller will be here tomorrow to discuss his new book, Loser Take All: Election Fraud and The Subversion of Democracy, 2000 - 2008, starting at 11:00 am Pacific/2:00 pm Eastern. He has plenty of cautionary tales that we need to take heed of as we head into the general election race. This is not a conversation to be missed. See you there!

Today at 5 PM Eastern/2PM Pacific, Firedoglake will host a live discussion with Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine -- “the gripping story of how America’s ‘free market’ policies have come to dominate the world-- through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries.” Jane Hamsher will host the conversation.

Everyone is invited to the conversation – bring your questions and thoughts and join in.

First Draft:

As the President rose to leave after 20 minutes, he said he hoped the visit would help the Falmouth, Maine, woman heal. Halley, 42, replied, ``What would really help my healing is if you'd start finding a way to bring our troops home.''

[snip]

``Now he's dead,'' Halley, an artist, says she told Bush, no longer able to contain her anger. ``For what? I've lost my soul mate.''

"I am so sorry for your loss,'' Bush said more than once.

Their conversation ended shortly after Halley began urging Bush to end the war. "We see things differently,'' he told her.

Halley says the encounter wasn't "sharp,'' even with her strong words and emotions. As they parted, they shook hands, he kissed her on the cheek and gave her a souvenir presidential coin. Read the rest...

Color of Change:  Pushing the Jena 6 letter-writing campaign over the top...  (h/t My Little Tribe)

Mother Jones/Mark Fiore:  Cheney-in-Chief, Fireside Chat #2.

Bush in 30 Seconds Blog:  Suddenly surrounded by idiots?

Workaday Liberal:  Will the US even accept a political solution in Iraq?

And don't miss Adbusters's conversation with Seymour Hersh. But don't get me started about Condi and the Pope.

Guest blogged by Blue Gal, who wishes her colleague Sandy Underpants a belated happy birthday as wonderful as his own self.

Via Iowa Independent:

Former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel, D-Alaska, is running, at age 76 and after years out of the public arena, the longest of long-shot candidacies for the presidency.

With his colorful confrontations of other Democratic candidates during a recent debate in South Carolina, Gravel has generated some buzz in the liberal blogosphere — and he even earned some time with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.

Gravel conducted a one-on-one, 45 minute conversation with Iowa Independent fellow Douglas Burns.

Iowa Independent: When I watched the debate the other night, and don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem awfully angry for a 76-year-old. Why are you so angry?

Sen. Gravel: "I'm angry because every day you and I are talking about this thing people are dying. How would you feel if you were over there (Iraq) getting shot at, getting crippled, because your leaders didn't exercise proper judgment. What about the people who are going die between now and Christmas because we don't end the war? That's a reason to get angry. That's blood. That's people dying and we sit here complacently and say, 'That's far away." Read more...

An instant classic...She attacks Jessica Valenti about taking a picture with a group of bloggers at a Bill Clinton luncheon some time ago and then flies into a rage (threatening to hang up) because it was brought up in the conversation by Garance Franke-Ruta of TAPped...She goes on and on after that about the meanies that attack HER...

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Althouse: I know you know some of the people who are especially nasty to me----I don't accept your..WAIT a minute...WAIT a minute. I DON"T accept your saying that Jessica Valenti breast controversy. I consider that an insult...you know..I, I'm on the verge of hanging up with you, for, for bringing it up that way...it was nasty and character assassinating to talk about it that way...

Narcissistic much? Michael Berube has more...Lefarkins transcribes another interesting tidbit ...Orcinus transcribes the whole painful exchange

Update: TRex goes into the original story and it ain't pretty for Ann...

But maybe this is why the Right Wingers like you. You have perfected one of their favorite maneuvers, the Reverse Malkin, which is where you launch a vicious, factually challenged, hate-filled personal attack against someone and then when they push back, you stand to the side and screech, "Wait! I'm the victim, here!...read on

(H/t BloggingheadsTV)

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DONOHUE: That's right. As a Catholic, I believe that everyone has the capacity to come to Jesus, to come to know Jesus, and to be saved. It's not the function of some sort of genetic code. You know, this same guy came up with this idea of the "gay gene", all right? I remember when that conversation was going on, gays were all of the sudden worrying if people would start aborting kids if they found out the DNA suggested that the kid might be gay. God forbid we run out of little gay kids. So all of the sudden, they became pro-life. Now here we have a situation where some of the atheists, they may want to have…to abort the kids if they thought in fact there was some type of religious-inclined gene. God forbid they might have a kid who believes in God…

You can find the line-up for the Sunday Talking Heads here. It's a cheery festivus of holiday goodness, chock full of scintillating Sunday morning conversation from the likes of George Sr. and Bar, Lynne Cheney, Laura Bush, Huckleberry Graham...oh yeah, a cornucopia of truthiness and delightful, in-depth analysis and introspection.

Aw, who am I kidding. Go hit the rum balls before Grandpa Edsel finishes them off.

So, who is your pick for the person most deserving of a big lump of coal this year? Are his initials GWB? Or does he have the nickname Dead-eye? Who is that one person who deserves the national airing of grievances more than anyone else, in your opinion? Do tell...

A LIBERAL DOSE: We already knew that the American electorate prefers terrorists to Republicans but now it appears that even dead people are preferable to Republicans

Beggars Can Be Choosers: Get ready for the mother of all GOP propaganda blitzes as the extreme Right debates a coup against the forces of Eeeeviiiil!!!!

d r i f t g l a s s: Provides an invaluable public service by monitoring the Sabbath Gasbags and parsing all conversation through the driftglass Translate-O-Matic (Now with flavor crystals!).

TBogg: The long, dark twilight of the Dick

The Revealer: Lou & Ted's Excellent Conversation

The Morning News: How G-Dub will hang a nickname on every one of his new, non-Republican buddies in Congress