Obama '08 -- Donate Now, Vote Feb. 5

I'm proud to support Barack Obama. I hope you'll consider supporting him too. His views are well-explained here: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/.

Holiday Forecast

The blog holiday forecast -- fewer posts and a moratorium on political punditry this holiday season, possibly increased silliness.

Toys Not Made in China, Making Finding Them Easier

The Cool Mom Picks Safer Toy Guide is a toddler mom's toy fantasy land. It boasts the best finds of the season for moms who are fed up with toy recalls. Sellers offer gifts in almost every price range, from the $6 set of four colorful German-made balls at Oompa Toys to the $249 rocking dory hand-crafted by artisanal Maine wood-workers at Nova Naturals Toys and Crafts.

While major retailers are slower to respond to demand for toys not made in China, some toys made in the USA and in Germany can be found on the web sites of FAO Schwarz, Target and Toys R Us. These retailers don't make it easy though. Searching the sites is time consuming and often fruitless. Many, if not most, of the toys offered are made in China and, particularly in the case of Target and Toys R Us, often little or no manufacturing information is offered. (We found even if we called customer service to ask where a particular product was made, a Kiddi-O Tricycle by Kettler, neither Target nor Toys R Us could tell us. They suggested calling a local store, not exactly an efficient use of time.)

Even "The FAO Schwarz Toy Buying Guide," includes a statement from CEO Ed Schmults saying, "All toys sold in the US must meet certain US government safety standards concerning safety (choking hazards, toxic substances, etc.). However, the recent recalls suggest that it is possible for harmful substances to make it into toys." Perhaps an understatement?

Schmults also says, "There are many quality-oriented factories in China that don’t cut corners, but if you are uncomfortable with China production, then seek out alternative toys made with quality design and quality raw materials." While Scmults acknowledges that some people may be uncomfortable with China production, to continue defending Chinese manufacturers seems almost counterproductive. At this point, parents are more concerned with finding alternatives to toys made in China than trying to find a quality-oriented factory in China that can be trusted with the health of their children.

Schmults does go on to offer some helpful advice about selecting quality toys in general saying, "Look at how the product was designed : Does every part have a purpose? Toys with excessive moving parts can be prone to breakage and factories may use cheaper materials to reduce the cost of manufacturing a complex item." Notably, FAO Schwarz does stay ahead of Target, Wal-Mart and Toys-R-Us by offering the capability to search for toys by country of origin. Then again, based on price and reputation, it seems FAO Schwarz should be offering more non-China products than they are.

All-in-all, mainstream American retailers are still missing the mark in responding to the recent toy recalls, leading former customers to smart solutions like The Cool Mom Picks Safer Toy Guide and new relationships with the toy sellers found there.

The Last Straw -- No More Toys from China

(*Correction, the FAO Schwarz site does not identify country of origin for individual toys. It allows visitors to search by country of origin. Not a quick process, but still better than the information many other sites offer.)

According to a CNN report today, 80% of US sold toys are made in China. There are alternatives though. FAO Schwartz and the Cool Mom Pick Safer Toy Guide identify toys made in the USA, Germany, and other countries with higher production standards.

I'm cleaning out the toy box and starting over, with no toys from China. The best way to lose a mom's business is to sell her something unsafe for her child. Pretty obvious, at least I would have thought so before 25 million toys were recalled.

No Deal, Focusing on Corporate Greed

Bargain hunters are not to blame for the recent onslaught of dangerous toys in the American marketplace, despite suggestions otherwise. Parents didn't strike a deal to injure their children in return for ten dollar toys.

The decision to buy a cheaper product does not equal an implicit agreement to purchase harmful goods. The failure of US toy companies to ensure product safety reflects directly on corporate executives who more diligently protected their own stock options than children's safety.

Those who control profit margins, namely corporate executives, are responsible for setting prices and being good corporate citizens. This can be fairly interpreted as a responsibility to not injure consumers, regardless of the price of the product.

With millions of mainstream toys recalled, it's nearly impossible to believe that executives care as much about product safety as corporate profits. "That's not my job," doesn't seem to cover it when consumers of the products are children and executive salaries dwarf average American incomes.

Arguing US parents are getting what they deserve because they are somehow responsible for jobs going overseas, by buying cheaper toys, is sadly opportunistic. By the same logic, Americans agree to eat food unfit for consumption because much of it is imported. We agree for our identities to be stolen because major banks have outsourced call-centers, and we agree to ingest tainted prescription drugs because ingredients are often manufactured outside the country. We have bargained for this because corporate executives were forced by our greed to find a way to keep profit margins high, protecting their own compensation packages by keeping production costs low.

The issue is not so much consumer greed as it is corporate greed, as has been true in most product safety debacles, from cigarettes to snake oil. It's important that the distinction between the issues not be lost because, in order to solve the problem, the problem must first be accurately identified. Pointing to consumer greed lets toy companies and executives off far too easily.

Clinton's Unanswered Question

Can Clinton's refusal to answer a hard-hitting debate question be blamed on the inequity of the question, or her own approach to playing politics? View the Hardball discussion and actual video footage of Clinton's evasive answers on New York Governor Spitzer's plan to provide drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.

Winning Hearts and Minds Online

Chris Dodd's online campaign talks specifics, and it teaches voters how to talk specifics too.

When lead-tainted toys flooded the U.S. market, Dodd called for suspending all imports of toys from China and asked people to call on the President to protect children from unsafe Chinese imports.

Children don't vote or make campaign contributions, but moms, dads, and grandparents do. Dodd caught my attention with this move and holds it with timely, action-oriented emails.

Dodd's recent "Four Down, Six to Go" email names the members of the Judiciary Committee who have expressed opposition to any FISA bill that provides telecommunications companies retroactive immunity. Moreover, it asks readers to contact the remaining Judiciary Committee members and ask them to do the same. Names, telephone numbers, and a sample conversation are provided through the clickable link to the web site.

Even if Dodd doesn't become President, he has become a politician I respect.

An Afternoon with John Dean

When John Dean steps to the podium for "An Afternoon with John Dean" hosted by the Escondido Democratic Club, he doesn't look like a California Democrat. His blazing orange tie and glowing complexion say Beverly Hills investment banker, not left coast liberal. Dean says he is an Independent, not Democrat or Republican. His books make clear, regardless of party affiliation, he is not among the Republican faithful.

Dean's most recent book Broken Government, How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches criticizes changes made to government's basic structure, changes that take power out of the hands of the people, instituting a reformed government controlled by the elite.

At the outset of his book, Dean gives readers this quote from Alexander Hamilton's Federalist No. 1:

It has frequently been remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force.

Americans' seeming acquiescence to the Republican power grab troubles Dean. He was incredulous at Democrats' failure to specifically address it during the 2004 presidential election. He even spoke with presidential campaign staff, asking why they didn't talk about it. The response was that people aren't interested in process issues.

"Process, while it may not be a very sexy word or thought, it is the name of the game in Washington," Dean tells the Escondido group. "If Democrats don't start raising process issues, we are in trouble."

The change Republicans have made is sweeping. "Cheney has swallowed the presidency, and he is accountable to nobody," he says.

In Chapter Two of Broken Government, "Second Branch, Broken and in Need of Repair," Dean elaborates on his concerns about Cheney, writing:

Dick Cheney's infatuation with Nixonian government has involved activities far more insidious than merely promoting unsound, inaccurate, and specious constitutional war powers arguments. He has also reinvigorated the efforts of conservative Republicans that began in the Reagan years to ignore, nullify, or simply violate the efforts by post-Watergate Congresses to check and balance the executive branch, and then to expand presidential powers far beyond those of even the imperial presidency.

Dean's concerns don't end with Republican efforts to make the presidency the predominant instrument of federal government. He emphasizes the erosion of our system of checks and balances through continued efforts to appoint fundamentalist judges.

"They have taken the non-political branch and made it political," Dean says. "The most activist courts we have had have been conservative courts."

In Chapter Three, "Third Branch: Toward the Breaking Point," he writes:

Republicans are not satisfied with a conservative [italics included] federal judiciary; they want a fundamentalist one, and they are frighteningly close to achieving that goal. The question raised in this chapter, as in the earlier chapters, is what should or should not be done, what will and will not work, and does anyone really care that Republicans are insisting on operating each of the three branches outside the precepts of the Constitution?

Dean doesn't abandon readers at an apocalyptic proposition of continued Republican rule. Instead, in Chapter Four, "Repairing Government: Restoring the Proper Processes," he proposes a solution. While it is not an instant fix, the solution is fairly simple, and fairly well summarized by the chapter's introductory quote:

"Democracy is like sex -- it works best when you participate." -- Anonymous (sign in store on East Nineteenth Street, Manhattan)

Dean's faith in people continues to be tested, but he hasn't lost hope. At the end of his presentation, when an audience member asks what can be done, Dean responds, "If you give people the information, then they can understand and can respond correctly."

*John Dean's book, Broken Government, How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches, is available in book and CD format at Barnes and Noble online.

**For a peek at the motivation behind current efforts to reallocate California's electoral college votes for the 2008 presidential campaign, see Dean's references to Tom DeLay's Texas redistricting scheme and its impact on the balance of political power in the state. pp. 34 & 48

***To learn more about the Escondido Democratic Club click here.

Weekend Political Feature: In Their Words, Iraq War Blogs

A roundup of commentary from soldiers and their spouses and Iraqi citizens:


Dragonfly, the blog of a personal friend whose husband is currently serving in Iraq. This post is particularly insightful. I admire the grace and strength with which she approaches life while her husband is at war.

She Who Waits from the loving wife of a marine serving another tour of duty in Iraq.

Intel Dump from Phillip Carter who served in the Army's 101st Airborne Division as an adviser to the Iraqi police in 2005 and 2006.

Great Baghdad, the blog of Al-Rasheed, a 33-year-old man living and working in Baghdad. In "The Federal State of Iraq" he supplies an analysis of what some politicians and pundits positively spin as federalism in Iraq.

My War
"Endlessly surprising…delightfully profane… an unfiltered, often ferocious expression of his boots-on-the-ground point-of-view of the Iraq war."
- Arianna Huffington

An American Soldier, in Still Alive, January 15, 2007, Rob offers a first-hand account of Al Qaeda's strong presence in Iraq.

Baghdad Burning a young Iraqi woman tells of her plight and that of her country.

365 and a Wakeup from soldier who returned home in 2006. Excellent photos from a soldier's viewpoint. Albums accessible from the right column. Links to United States Central Command and Military.com sites.


(Blogs of current soldiers and military spouses are subject to regulation under military code and therefore may be subjected to heightened scrutiny.)

Oprah and Obama: What Will Be the Impact?

Late yesterday, Oprah Winfrey hosted a political fundraiser at her home in Santa Barbara home, raising some three million dollars for Barack Obama. Obama is the first political candidate to receive such public support from Ms. Winfrey despite her long history in the public eye.

Could Oprah's support of Obama significantly impact the Democratic Presidential Primary? It could, but the degree to which it will depends upon the degree to which Oprah is willing to tie her image to Obama's politics and the Democratic party.

Undoubtedly, Oprah has demonstrated the ability to influence American pop culture and buying patterns. With her book club and "Oprah's Favorite Things", she has demonstrated influence arguably unrivaled by any single television personality. For all the influence she wields though, she has to an obvious extent avoided publicly endorsing any political candidate, until Obama.

People are taking notice of her interest in Obama and that will serve him well. While hosting a three million dollar fundraiser at her Santa Barbara home brings big money and an intimate personal touch, both trademarks of Ms. Winfrey's business sense, it is likely not enough to sway a major voting block.

Could Oprah have the sort of impact required to change the outcome of a presidential primary? Yes, but it would come from involvement more akin to the type we saw with Michael J. Fox's very public endorsement of candidates supporting stem cell research in 2006. Oprah certainly has the skill, the funds, and the wherewithal to be significant influence in the Democratic Presidential Primary and the 2008 Presidential Election, but whether she will remains to be seen.

* A cross-post from Political Popsicle/Political Pollyanna.

The Disney Princess Machine, Has It Gone Haywire?

Princesses are in. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel. Odds are if you have daughters, you see plenty of ads for these princesses and others. The list goes on: Pocahontas, Mulan, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, and debuting soon, Disney's first black princess, Maddy. Old movies are new again, and new movies are being made featuring old movie princesses -- Cinderella III; Disney Princess Enchanted Tales; The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition; Princess Party Volume Two: The Ultimate Pajama Jam!; Disney Princess Stories Volume Two: Tales of Friendship; and more.

It is troubling to see this amount of marketing effort applied to animated characters directed toward youngsters, but it doesn't end there. When attention is turned to real life Disney teen stars, we see a Disney pop princess machine that seems to have gone awry. From Hillary Duff, to the Cheetah Girls, to Hanah Montana, to Ashley Tisdale, to Vanessa Hudgens. It is not enough to have these teenage girls to be TV stars or movie stars, they are promoted as pop stars too. Their television shows and ads for their movies are followed by videos featuring their next hit single. It is nonstop marketing.

Too often, the image of the girl seems to take a back seat to the desire to create a saleable pop sensation. One of the Vanessa Hudgens videos, in particular, seems so inappropriate that I change the channel or turn off the television if it comes on. Of course Disney should back Ms. Hudgens following her recent error in judgment.

The bigger question is: Is Disney pushing girls too far too fast, or growing their careers to quickly, to turn them into the next pop princess sensation? Of course parents and child performers make their own decisions, but as an expert in the industry and key decision maker, what role does Disney play?

The Senator Larry Craig Bathroom Sex Scandal: A Rush to Judgment or No?

I rarely have trouble making decisions. Ask anyone who knows me well, I usually have an opinion -- an opinion that I am happy to share. But when it comes to the Larry Craig bathroom sex scandal, I still have questions, on a couple of levels.

First, I'm not convinced that people would care as much if the scandal didn't revolve around accusations of homosexuality. At this point, it's significant that news conversations revolve as much, if not more, around Craig's sexual orientation as around sex of any kind in a public place, or even the fact that Craig is married, which is often mentioned only as an afterthought. Really, shouldn't the point be that the man was accused of soliciting sex in a public restroom?

Second, I find Craig's guilty plea perhaps persuasive, but not determinative of his guilt for anything other than legal purposes. As any lawyer, I am fully aware that it is sometimes in individuals' best interest to plead guilty to crimes which they did not commit. Sad, but true. Unfortunately, in this case, it was clearly not in Craig's best interest to plead guilty, but he did, and that cannot be undone.

Third, "You have to be guilty in order to plead guilty" which has become the mantra of CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin, usually a quite well-reasoned commentator, is misleading at best. While, yes, that exact language may be printed on the plea form that Craig signed, it is basically meaningless. It is a standard convenience clause included in an attempt to preempt later challenges to guilty pleas. This is something I expect Toobin knows full-well, which leads me to my next and final point.

It is the reaction of Washington insiders coupled with Craig's willingness to plead guilty which I find most persuasive of his guilt, far more so in fact than his actual guilty plea. No one in Washington came to Craig's defense. When the story broke, it was immediately reported that Craig's sexuality had been a point of ongoing discussion for many years. While Craig and fellow "Family Values" Republicans argue against extending equal rights in many arenas to homosexual individuals and couples, they seem fully aware of closeted individuals who serve the party well and at the highest levels. This is something they seem to have little problem with until there is a scandal. The fact that no one came to Craig's defense, not even the staunchest Republicans, makes me believe the accusations against Craig and his guilty plea were something they found not only believable, but almost expected. If he did not actually commit the crime to which he pleaded guilty, it would require more cynicism than I can muster even for the Republican party.

More troubling than the scandal or its impact on politics, I find it deeply disturbing that we live in a society where many men find it more amenable to seek out anonymous sex in public restrooms than acknowledge an identity they are told is sinful and morally reprehensible. This only furthers deep and shameful secrecy that destroys the lives of these men and others.

Mortgage Market Woes Explained -- A Brief Explanation of the "Loan to Own" Approach of Lenders

If you have any financial decisions to make, other than just how to spend the interest income from your inexhaustible trust fund, it's important to understand the cause and impact of the current mortgage crisis. In this video, John Vogel, from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, gives a brief, easy to understand explanation of the "Loan to Own" theory that furthered the competitive mortgage lending frenzy.

I found it interesting and think you might too.

Video from Beet.TV

Bad Toys, Bad Toys, What Ya Gonna Do?

Sign the petition. At least that's what I did, plus dumping what seemed like dozens of toys in the trash.

Click here to to go to Senator Chris Dodd's petition page. You can learn more there, and sign the petition if you wish.

Debating the Democratic Debate

Watching today's Democratic Debate, you might have thought Barack Obama was the front-runner and other candidates were desperate to bring him down. You might have thought that until you noticed Hillary Clinton's responses were largely unimpassioned and low-risk. Then you might have thought the nomination was hers to lose and the other candidates, in large part, would rather attempt to make themselves look better by stepping on Obama instead of sparring with the front-runner.

Biden, Richardson, and even Edwards (Say it isn't so!), nitpicked Obama's answers, while avoiding direct confrontation with Clinton. While Obama is perfectly capable of holding his ground in any toe-to-toe debate, the tactic of several individuals working together to belittle another can be amazingly effective, especially in public settings.

Edwards, Biden and Richardson came across as more interested in bringing down Obama than in answering questions. It is, after all, easier to point out somebody's inadequacies than propose your own solutions.

If you are competing for the nomination, why not point out the inadequacies of the front-runner? Is the nomination process really so far afield from populist democracy that before even the first vote is cast, Washington insiders know full-well who the nominee will be? It certainly seems so.

Clinton was never engaged in a full-court press. She simply held the ball, waiting for the clock to run out, while the other players scrambled to keep Obama at the other end of the court.

Dodd performed admirably, and Kucinich and Gravel used the debate as a platform to blast politics as usual, but overall, the lasting impact from today's debate is the way in which candidates who could be front-runners bowed to Clinton.

Political Bling

Feel free to download these buttons, post them to your blogs and share them in email. The catch? When the time comes, vote.

Just click on the icon to be taken to the album where you can choose from over 100 different designs.

Photobucket Album

*Brought to you courtesy of my ever-growing obsession with PhotoShop.

Get Involved

Getting involved and making a difference may be easier than you think. Online activism and use of the web for organizing are making it easier than ever. Whatever side you are on, your voice is important in achieving true democracy.

Easy places to get started for the 2008 campaign:

Political Party Sites:

Call Talk Radio
The Republican guide for calling national talk radio shows, complete with call-in tips and talking points.

GOP.com
Republican Party Web Site (available in English and Spanish)

Democratic Party
Democratic Party Web Site (available in English and Spanish)

50 State Strategy
A quick explanation of the 50 state strategy

Democratic Presidential Candidate Sites:

Obama '08
Barack Obama Presidential Campaign Site

JohnEdwards.com
John Edwards Presidential Campaign Site

ChrisDodd.com
Chris Dodd Presidential Campaign Site

Bill Richardson for President
Bill Richardson Presidential Campaign Site

HillaryClinton.com
Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign Site

JoeBiden.com
Joe Biden Presidential Campaign Site

Kucinich 2008
Dennis Kucinich Presidential Campaign Site

Republican Presidential Candidate Sites:

Tommy2008
Tommy Thompson Presidential Campaign Site

TeamTancredo
Tom Tancredo Presidential Campaign Site

MittRomney.com
Mitt Romney Presidential Campaign Site

RonPaul2008.com
Ron Paul Presidential Campaign Site

JohnMcCain.com
John McCain Presidential Campaign Site

GoHunter08.com
Duncan Hunter Presidential Campaign Site

JoinRudy2008.com
Rudy Giuliani Presidential Campaign Site

Brownback.com
Sam Brownback Presidential Campaign Site

Thanks Giving Thursday -- There's a New Candidate in Town

Money talks, and $25 million says a lot. Barack Obama raised over $25 million in the first quarter of this year alone, a sure sign he is a serious contender for the Democratic nomination. Notably, Obama reported donations from 100,000 people compared to donations from only 50,000 for Hillary Clinton, indicating broader support for Obama and possibly a continuation of the grassroots level of involvement repopularized by the Howard Dean presidential campaign.

Goodling in the Spotlight Again

How pivotal is what Goodling knows?

As the Justice Department's former White House Liaison and senior counsel to Attorney General Gonzales, Monica Goodling was involved in ongoing meetings about the dismissals for months. She was one of five senior Justice Department Aides in a November 27 meeting with Gonzales in which he approved a detailed plan for the dismissals even though he claims he was only minimally aware of plans to remove the prosecutors.

Perhaps just as importantly, as a participant in an April 6, 2006, phone call between the Justice Department and Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), she may have first hand knowledge regarding the nature and extent of the Senator's urging that then U.S. Attorney David Iglesias focus more on a corruption probe against Democrats leading up to the 2006 elections.

Dems seek to interview Gonzales aide
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer
Tue Apr 3, 8:24 PM ET
from Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON - House Democrats on Tuesday asked a top Justice Department aide to come to Capitol Hill for a private interview in the next week on the firing of federal prosecutors, arguing that she cannot simply refuse to testify on the matter.

Monica Goodling, who has said she would assert her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid appearing at Senate hearings, must tell Congress which specific questions she's refusing to answer, Democrats said in a letter to her lawyer. . .

Testimony and Emails Fanning Flames of Political Firestorm Surrounding U.S. Attorney Firings

This week Kyle Sampson, former Department of Justice Chief of Staff, dropped a political bombshell when he flatly rebutted U.S. Attorney General Gonzales' statement that he was not directly involved in decision making regarding the plan to fire U.S. Attorneys. The flames of the ensuing political firestorm are being fanned by documentation available from Department of Justice and White House emails (some of which are available for review online) showing not only the factual inaccuracy of Gonzales' statements, but also a surprisingly cavalier attitude toward the dismissals and their impact.

Easy access to breaking information in the investigation of the firing of U.S. Attorneys can be found at the following sites:

Attorney Firing Investigation page on C-SPAN.org with video of Sampson's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, documents selected for public release by the Department of Justice, and video of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' press Conference.

Full Coverage: U.S. Attorney Firings from Yahoo! News, featuring links to news stories, editorials, video, audio, and related websites

Full audio files for NPR's continuing coverage at NPR.org

For a view from outside the United States, read the latest on the "U.S. Prosecutors Row" as reported by the BBC.