Yeah, she keeps making blatant sexual references in the title of her diaries; we all recognize those titles for what they are:  naked attempts to pimp her work.  

The truth is, she could just as well eliminate the tit-elation; her diaries would stand up of their own accord.  The are infused with intellectual Viagra.

But all of that is beside the point.

I'm writing because there is a side to OrangeClouds that you very well may not know.

She's a risk-taker, and for all the right reasons.

Follow me over the flip for the true dirt.

Update [2008-7-24 0:37:9 by Mike Stark]:  This diary will be effective only if you 1) read the whole thing; and 2) click on the rec button.  Do it for OC115.

last night CBS struck a blow against honesty, integrity, and ethics in journalism.  here's how we hit back.

The Dhammapada teaches

Conquer the angry man by love.
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
Conquer the miser with generosity.
Conquer the liar with truth.

While most of us understand the logic of this approach in theory, it far too rarely spills over into practice.

Originally posted by Dan Lucas at: www.21stdems.org/blog

This weekend, we kicked off our Urban Youth Initiative in Brooklyn, NY.  Our hosts were the Progressive Democrats Political Association of Central Brooklyn.  The goal of our training was to help empower the community by helping create a stronger grassroots network of determined, independent Democrats who want to be a part of the solution to problems confronting all of us in the 21st century.  These Democrats are changing the political paradigm in central Brooklyn.  They have already elected the first immigrant woman to the New York City Council; the first Haitian American to sit on that Council and the dynamic young Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-11).

In some ways, much of Kathy Kelly's adult life has been a walk against war. So it was completely in character for her to be walking through Milwaukee Monday, on a 450-mile trek to St. Paul and the Republican national convention.

Kelly, (left) a high school and community college teacher, has repeatedly risked her life and her freedom as an advocate for non-violence.  She is now affiliated with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, based in her hometown of Chicago, which organized Witness Against War now making its way across Wisconsin.

Indulge me, please.  One of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs is A Pirate Looks at 40.  Somehow it reaches out to that part of me that sometimes longs for a different world, different challenges, different opportunities.  And sometimes you look back at a bright moment of opportunity and wonder if it'll ever come back.  

Yes I am a pirate
two hundred years too late.
The cannons don't thunder
there's nothing to plunder
I'm an over-forty victim of Fate.
Arriving too late....
              ---A Pirate Looks at Forty
                 from Boats, Beaches, Bars and Ballads,
                 Jimmy Buffett

I'm looking at 58 this week and it's got me thinking about the miracles of the past year, from the candidacy of Barack Obama to the Peace Prize for Al Gore and the ICCC.

Maybe I get to be a pirate again after all.

Sunday evening found me knocking balls around with my old man at our favorite pool hall...but my thoughts kept wandering back.  For 4 days, I was cradled in the warmth of progressive Democrats.  I made promises.  Promises to myself and to others.  As a socially awkward cube dweller, I am hoping to be up to the challenge.  I am signed up here.

http://www.democrats.org/...

The DFA and Mindoca gave me the tools and the reasons why I needed to continue to step up.

An article today by Ben Smith, Obama Asserts His Americanness, tries to make the case that a too rapturous reception in Europe could hurt Obama politically in the US general election. I strongly disagree and decided to post my response. As I read down the comments, I was surprised by the number of wingnut verbiage, so if you have a chance to post over there from time to time, it might balance the comments a little...not that Obamans weren't there too.

Here was my response:

I've heard the wingnut chatterati recite this meme before...popularity in Europe could hurt Obama.

I disagree and think this is a misreading of most of the American public. We like a rock star. We like being popular abroad. We enjoyed Clinton's popularity and it never hurt him at all...and I don't think it will hurt Obama either.

To the contrary, I think it will help him a lot with independents and reinforce the choice for Democrats.

The one exception to this prognosis is the 27% of people who still support Bush (the Republican partisan base). They are often Europe haters for what they see the region's of socialism, universal health care and general anti-americanism. (Plus they take way too many vacation days.)

A video published today by the B'Tselem human rights organisation shows an unarmed, handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian being shot by an Israeli soldier at very close range with a rubber-coated steel bullet (not, as some would have it, a "rubber bullet").

cross posted from The Dream Antilles

From tomorrow, Monday, July 21 through Thursday, July 24, Pastor John Hagee will be in Washington, D.C. to lead the national gathering of his infamous Christians United For Israel.  The CUFI conference is studded with rightwing zealots and features workshops like "Radical Islam: In Their Own Words," led by neo-conservative Daniel Pipes and former right-wing Senator Rick Santorum; and "The Basics of The Arab Israeli Conflict," led by representatives of the pro-occupation David Project and StandWithUS and Gary Bauer, president of anti-choice, homophobic American Values.

Unbelievably, the Anti Defamation League (ADL), the supposed bigotry watchdog, has not condemned Hagee for his anti semitic, anti gay, anti Muslim rhetoric.  

Join me in DC.

This year marks my first excursion into political activism.

I have watched from the sidelines all my life.  I've always had strong political opinions, but I've always avoided airing them outside of circles of friends.  I've always voted, but never contributed or worked for a campaign.  I was in the "what can one person do?" camp.

One of my resolutions this year is to talk more about my support for Obama with people I meet casually, just to try to spread the word every bit I can.  

I'm writing this diary to others who might be in the same position.  You're a little shy with strangers.  You avoid confrontation.  Yes you can.  You can make a difference.  Today, I moved a low-information voter one little step toward voting for Obama.  I'm not a hero.  I didn't make much difference.  What will make a difference is if we all do a little bit more than we have ever done before.

Update:
Cool.  My first Rec List Diary.  A big thank you to all who rec'd and commented.  One of the great things about dKos is the ability it gives all of us to support each other with information and encouragement as we work together.

Netroots Nation 2008 has done something invaluable for me. It brought the senselessness and the travesty of the Iraq War back to the forefront. It was a potent reminder of why we're even here--the single most significant factor behind the rise of the netroots.

From the IGNT/Mojo Friday care packages for the troops, Pastor Dan's moving service this morning, and the remarks of every key note speaker, Iraq is bubbling up again to become the first issue we will expect our new President to address. Donna Edwards was particularly strong in her keynote Saturday night, running through the litany of challenges we face in our failing economy, and the salient fact that not a single one of them can be solved until we are our to Iraq.

The withdrawal from Iraq also featured largely in the panel that I participated in Saturday, "War Pundits," along with Mark Danner, Samantha Power, Greg Mitchell, and moderated by Ari Melber.
Spencer Ackerman attended the panel, and has a great live blog of the panel. I've got a lot of thoughts still emanating from the discussion that I'll be drawing upon in the coming months as the discussion about how we approach the withdrawal. But for now, my remarks from yesterday are below the fold.

Whatever happened to voting being our patriotic duty? Oh....Hmmmm....well not if you vote the wrong way or too lazy to go library and register!

We're here in Austin at Netroots Nation and our panel -- Organizing for Change: An Inside Look at Obama For America's Grassroots Strategy -- is about to begin. Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand, New Media Director Joe Rospars, Ohio General Election Director Jeremy Bird, and Georgia Deputy Field Director Joy Cushman, are all here to share stories and insights from the campaign and take questions.

Here's the official description and I'll be providing live updates after the jump...

In this panel, you'll learn about how the Obama campaign built an unprecedented grassroots movement -- from the way the campaign uses community organizing principles in its local field operations, to the campaign's use of online tools that empower supporters to self-organize, to the training a new generation of grassroots leaders through our Organizing Fellows program. And you'll learn about why the Obama campaign is the first in a generation to pursue a 50-state strategy, engaging new people and empowering supporters from all across the country to not only win an election, but build a long-term movement for progressive change.

cross posted from The Dream Antilles and docuDharma

WaPO reports that Maryland police infiltrated and spied upon peace and death penalty abolition groups in 2005.  The information the cops gathered was apparently sent to other law enforcement agencies.  No crimes were alleged to have been committed by the activists.

That crushing sound you hear is the crumbling of the First Amendment.

Please join me below.

a schedule for Obama's trip
7/22: Amman, Jordan

23. Jerusalem

24. Berlin

25. Paris

26. London

So, yesterday, the Obama campaign launched its Americans Abroad blog and highlighted Diane's story:

I was cycling toward Piccadilly Circus in London where I live... I stopped at a light, and a young man bearing a bunch of daffodils began to cross. He looked at my bike, took notice of the ["Obama '08"] bumper sticker, looked at me, looked back at the sticker, reached into his bouquet, pulled out a flower and tossed it into my basket.

This was not a random act of kindness. It was a thoughtful and informed response from one global resident to another. It was this fellow’s perception, shared by a good many citizens of the places where we live, that Americans who stand with Barack Obama, stand for policies that recognize and respect the needs of the wider world.

Below are some tips for Americans abroad.

This is a quick-hit diary to remind Kossacks that Democracy for America is holding another one of its famous "Night School" sessions today, July 17, at 5:30 pm eastern time.

More information is after the jump.

When I heard about the 60 year old librarian in Denver who was arrested and given a citation for trespassing at a John McCain Town Hall meeting for holding up a sign "McCain = Bush", I had longed wish that I had the money to start up a defense fund and put "plants" at various campaign stops.

My thought process was to have two volunteers with signs.  One that said McCain = Bush and the other that said I Love McCain.  Have them both standing side by side and see which one was told to leave the premises.  Of course there would be someone there with a video camera to tape it all.

The pragmatist in me tells me nice fantasy but rather unrealistic.  Not only would funding the project be an issue, but realistically, how many people are willing to go to risk going to jail for an experiment?