Can you spot the Irony?

So one of the stories burning up the CNN.com tonight is about a barista who donated a kidney to a regular customer. Turns out the customer had Polycystic Kidney Disease, but her "angel" came to save her. Does anyone see the irony here?

Here is one clue: Wiki Description of PKD

Here is a second clue:
Wiki Description for Treatment for Hypertension

Last clue, in question form: Does this customer drink decaf?


Information about Organ and Tissue Donation in the U.S.

(I had some nasty comments about this diary when I posted it on DailyKos. Needless to say, some got the irony, some didn't, and some didn't care. I was urged to add the link about donating organs and tissue though, so it was an overall good experience. For those of you who don't get it, the irony is that the barista has been serving this person COFFEE which is something that someone with PKD should avoid!)

Which guy would I like?

To all my friends and readers, here is a little test.  Which of the guys in this picture does it for me the most?  I think I know which one does, but do you?  How well do you know me and my tastes?

I want to see some guesses on here and later on I will come back and tell you which one is the most attractive me.

Alright, go for it!

The High Road, or how I lost by ignoring reality

(My latest diary from DailyKos)

I am not the best of writers, and I don’t have the patience to do all the research needed to thoroughly educate and raise the awareness of all the Kossacks across the nation, but I want to try to start a conversation that goes a tad beyond the Democratic nomination.  I need help though.  This is where you come in. 

I want people to think about the bigger picture of the forces who are trying to influence the 2008 election (Presidential AND Congressional).  I see two disturbing trends.

The first is the momentum behind candidates that talk about not accepting special interest campaign funds.  Sounds simple enough, but what about independent campaign expenditures?  Can the Democratic nominee raise enough funds from average Americans to beat McCain’s campaign PLUS the campaign waged by independent special interest groups?  Of course not.  Because of campaign finance reform laws are not comprehensive (namely that we don’t have mandatory public financing) the money has to, has, and will come from somewhere.

The second trend is how little I see progressive’s discuss the huge elephant in the room.  I am going to pick on one part of that huge elephant: Freedom’s Watch.  Someone here knows more about this than I, but I don’t see enough people talking about it.  They alone want to raise and spend close to $250 million to influence the election in 2008. 

Freedom’s Watch will raise close to a QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS to influence the election

They side with the conservatives, the tax-cut and spend folks, the global capitalists, etc.  They are not the only ones.  Yes, the Democrats have some big money thinktanks and funding groups gearing up as well.  They have always had labor.

But are we painting ourselves into a corner?  How can the Dems accept a $53 million AFL-CIO campaign to defeat McCain AND say they don’t accept or condone special interest groups?

AFL-CIO launches aggressive campaign against McCain

Where does this leave us people?  I don’t know exactly, but I want to see it addressed.  It feels like people are ignoring it because they know they can’t yet compete with that kind of funding and that it has the potential to do more damage to the eventual nominee than the intra-party war could right now. 

Will you join me in asking those who know to take it seriously and start talking to us?  Recommend this diary, and directly ask Kos to address this.

In the rain

I woke up late today, as I had been out late last night. I felt very good this "morning" and had a good breakfast at noon. It started raining, and when it rains in Florida it pours. The temperature was mild, perhaps 65 degrees or 70. For some strange reason I decided I wanted to be in the rain and then I figured if it was going to keep pouring then I could wash my car by hand. I changed into some athletic shorts and a cut-off t-shirt. Out into the rain I headed.

It was great. The rain was just the slightest bit cold but it felt good and refreshing on my skin. I used a rag to scrub my car off. It has so much crap on it that comes from the trees I guess, and it never comes off in the rain. I don't think I have ever really washed my car by hand. By some strange accident I have never taken part in a carwash fundraiser either. How is that possible? Isn't that a right of passage for middle American youth? My excuse is just that my Boy Scout troop never did one I guess.

It poured and I scrubbed. I got soaked and my clothes stuck to my body. My car received some much needed tender, loving care. And I was silly and young for a change. It was much needed as well. I played. I didn't care. I was by myself. When was the last time you played in the rain? Just for the sake of it, played in the rain, not to be crazy or to impress someone or because you were a little drunk.

When was the last time you played in the rain?

A dream over

John Edwards dropped out of the race for the White House. The candidate, with the most compassionate policies for America, for working Americans, and for the least among us, has ended his campaign. I really feel like he is the only one willing to tell the truth about how the government has abandoned the promise, how Americans are not taking care of each other, and how our hyper-capitalism allows MILLIONS of people to slip through the cracks. Economic Justice is no different from any other right, freedom, or liberty. Here is that Sen. Edwards said that really got to me:

*************************

We sat with poultry workers in Mississippi, janitors in Florida, nurses in California.

We listened as child after child told us about their worry about whether we would preserve the planet.

We listened to worker after worker say "the economy is tearing my family apart."

We walked the streets of Cleveland, where house after house was in foreclosure.

And we said, "We're better than this. And economic justice in America is our cause."

**************************

How much more clear can a politician be? This is a moral cause. And he has given us the moral clarity to understand it as such. Someone else said it better. Maybe it was Sen. Obama. He said something like that the Democratic party needs to say, "No, I AM my brother's keeper." Our individualist nature as Americans is tearing this country apart. We need to have more concern for the least among us and we need an America that works for everyone, not just the wealthy or the gifted or the entrepreneurs. Isn't starting a family being an entrepreneur? We never reward them with free money to locate in our community or offer them low interest start up loans.

Every person who works 40 hours a week should have health insurance, from day one in their job. Our economic policies should restrain the crazy boom in housing prices that prevent young people from buying their first house so they can start a family. Our government should stop subsidizing ethanol just because the election season always starts in Iowa, and start subsidizing the green power industry that will create jobs all over America, not just in the corn belt. It shouldn't be easier for a business to declare bankruptcy than for a real person to do so. We should reward labor as much as we reward capital. Our American prosperity shouldn't be wasted fighting a war that didn't have to happen.

So many things to do towards economic justice, and now the most clear voice has called it quits. If the Democrats really wanted a candidate to beat McCain, they just missed the boat. All of this "oh, all three are really good candidates" business is fine and good when we think we are only going to have to beat a Giulliani or a Romney. When McCain bounced back Democrats should have stopped and thought a little harder about whether they want to make a statement and history with their nominee, or make the choice to put Democratic values and policies in place by electing a Democrat to office.

For America's sake, I hope the nominee has the brains to pick Edwards as Vice President, and that Edwards has the humility to accept.

Obama’s Feel-Good Campaign

My first DailyKos Diary! Read below or find it (and vote in the poll!) at DailyKos


Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 08:32:04 PM PST

Warning: My first Diary ever! Please don't be cruel..in fact, be kind. And as for advice, just forget about it...the wise don't need it and fools won't heed it. I usually alternate between wise and foolish, with little time spent in between.

My first Diary is not so much an attack on Sen. Obama as it is an observation on how many of my friends relate to his campaign. This started as a comment, but I realized that I should start making diaries out of all my several paragraph long comments. So here we go:

I keep on hearing people talk about what "appeals" to them. Does anyone else see this as a problem? Follow below for my thoughts (and a great poll!).

Of course Obama "appeals" to people. He has built his entire campaign (and arguably his entire political career) to be as appealing as possible. It's a common thing to see people who belong to a minority but live in a majority of "others" change themselves to be as appealing as possible. "Don't give them any reason to not like you." I am sure my mother told me that when I headed into unknown territory.

His campaign basically makes people feel good for buying into it. Don't get me wrong, all good campaigns have to stroke the egos of their donors and volunteers. Obama has gone much farther than just appreciating his supporters. He has tapped into the aspirations of people and made them believe that by being active in his campaign they are doing what is right and what is good.

IMO, Obama appeals to the psychological needs of many, and that is why he is so popular. So many people, now feeling guilty (and foolish maybe) for their tepid Bush vote or their previous tepid dedication to the Democratic Party, need the perfect excuse for why they have never given a damn but why they all of a sudden do.

Thank you Sen. Obama for enabling the masses of the mushy-middle and the politically unaware, uninvolved, and uncommitted.

Poll

I am active in my candidate's campaign because:
it's the best investment of my finances.
0% 0 votes
I feel good afterwards.
0% 0 votes
my candidate gives me hope.
31% 5 votes
my candidate is likely to get me a sweet civil service position.
0% 0 votes
everyone in my circle supports the same candidate.
0% 0 votes
I am a purist and my candidate is pure as snow.
6% 1 votes
my support will push a great candidate just over the line.
6% 1 votes
they asked me to. (its amazing how a personal call can do that!)
0% 0 votes
my union/company/organization that represents me made an endorsement.
0% 0 votes
they have the best chance of beating a no-name Republican.
6% 1 votes
they are the candidate who can beat a McCain-Huckabee ticket.
6% 1 votes
my capital (and capital earnings) will grow.
6% 1 votes
my labor will rewarded more.
0% 0 votes
their campaign will deny another candidate the nomination,
0% 0 votes
all ships will rise in their tide.
37% 6 votes

| 16 votes | Vote | Results

My Endorsement, and this Friday

Dear Friends,

That's right. This Friday is the day that average Americans, working Americans, union members, progressives, SOUTHERNERS, and populists of the liberal persuasion will stand together and tell America that we are ready for a President who will change the SYSTEM, not just change the gender or color of the White House.

I am supporting John Edwards as our next President because he has the deepest commitment to wrestling power away from the wealthy interests of big business, Wall Street, big medicine, and lobbyists. He understands that you can't compromise power away from the powers that be.... you must take that power back! He, more than any leading candidate, knows that for this country to survive we must have a more equal distribution of wealth, power, and knowledge.

This is not a two horse race! Nationwide polling shows that only John Edwards beats all Republican candidates in the general election. People all across America are realizing that we don't have to elect a candidate just because they raise a $100 million or because they were Mayor of New York on a very bad day in 2001. The media is just now realizing that, lo and behold, voters still make the decision in this country.

By supporting John Edwards, you will be part of a grassroots movement to make the agenda of the Democratic Party more progressive, more democratic, and more people-focused. Every dollar helps John Edwards get his message to people who are ready to hear it. Every vote cast for him in your state primary helps earn more delegates to the national convention. A strong Edwards delegation to the convention will become quite a power broker to establish the agenda of the Democratic Party as a people-focused, progressive, problem-solving, and populist one.

I am giving what I can afford on Friday. Will you be part of this awesome day too?

Sincerely,
Casey