If you've been hanging around this website as long as I have, first off, congratulations for sticking around this long.

If you can remember a time when this website was the go-to place for insightful news and thoughtful commentary from a well-informed liberal perspective, then I'd bet you're feeling as disappointed as I am. By now, you've probably been called a race-baiter, a woman-hater, and everything else in-between. Are you fucking sick of it yet? I know I am.

This community was once a lighthouse of reason and common sense, and it can be that again. So, rather than write up some pathetic GBCW diary, I'm setting myself the ambitious goal of trying to steer the conversation in this community back toward the high ground of rational, informed discussion for which it was originally known.

First, however, we must clear up some bullshit. In order for us to do that together, you must follow me below the fold.

WASHINGTON D.C. - Reacting to news reports of Vice President Dick Cheney's claim to membership in the legislative branch, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asserted executive privilege Friday as the reason for refusing a routine request for documents relating to an upcoming July 4 "Energy Independence Day" bill from House Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell.

The Speaker of the House is entitled to a claim of executive powers as the third person in line to the Presidency, Pelosi told a group of reporters gathered outside the Rayburn Office Building on Friday. "The Constitution lays out a clear role for the House Speaker in the event of the impeachment and removal of both the President and the Vice President," the California Democrat said.

This ad was not racist, Tennessee voters are not stupid, and nearly everyone outside the state is missing the point.

As you read this, Rep. Marsha Blackburn is hosting a 'meet and greet' at the Chamber of Commerce in Arlington, TN. From a recent press release:

She will be in  Arlington at the Town Hall Center at 8 a.m. this Friday, October 20  It is a visit to the Chamber of Commerce as an elected official and is not considered a campaign stop. The room capacity is about 75. There is a possibility that she may take some questions...

A couple of days ago, she bailed out on an engagement with 4,000 U.S. soldiers at Fort Campbell, KY, citing "foul weather." Something there was indeed foul, but it wasn't the weather.

 While I would take issue with the Nashville paper's characterization of the Morrison  campaign as a "longshot" (please see this diary for the latest poll numbers) the  Tennesseean neverthless makes a strong endorsement of the 7th District's best  choice for change:

 Morrison, an Army veteran and middle school teacher in Shelby County,  characterizes himself as a conservative both fiscally and socially. He says he  would like to put aside party labels. He advocates tackling various issues with  new approaches, such as establishing partnerships between government and  businesses to solve many public policy issues. While that may be easier said  than done, Morrison appears to have enthusiasm for trying new ways of tackling old problems. He seems well versed in the vast array of issues facing the nation.

The Democratic sweep of Congress is underway, and a little-known race in the heartland of Tennessee has now become competetive.

Bill Morrison, a father, a veteran, and a teacher who was nominated for Disney's Teacher of the Year award, has been busting his tail to defeat the odious Marsha Blackburn. He is poised to knock her out of Congress this year, and he needs your help.

A recent poll conducted by Penn, Schoen, and Berland shows that when told about Morrison's story and Blackburn's voting record in Congress, voters in Tennessee's 7th choose Bill Morrison over Marsha Blackburn by over 20 points.

More numbers after the jump.

(Cross-posted on the River City Mud Bugle. This story is verfied, but incomplete. I am waiting on a response from the blogger of Stop Sex Predators.)

"I have been away for a while," wrote the pseudonymous blogger on the two month old weblog Stop Sex Predators, "so please accept my apologies for the lack of blog posts." His apology was unnecessary, as it was followed by the first published revelation of charges of inappropriate advances toward a congressional page against Congressman Mark Foley. He continued, "while I was away, the blog has been noticed and some shocking emails have been received!"

Here in the 9th District of Tennessee, which makes up most of the city of Memphis, progressive Democrats are celebrating the nomination of Steve Cohen for U.S. Congress. Steve Cohen was a progressive in the Tennessee General Assembly since before it was cool, and Tennessee hasn't sent a real progressive to Congress since Al Gore.

Memphis is a solidly Democratic city, and it's an assumption that the candidate who wins the Democratic primary wins the seat. But this year, there is an independent candidate running against the Democratic nominee who stands a chance of splitting the Democratic vote.

His name is Jake Ford, and his brother is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Harold Ford Jr.

There is a movement afoot to nominate Cindy Sheehan as the Time Magazine Person of the Year for 2005. Without any doubt, Cindy's tireless efforts have been the spark for the downturn of the Bush administration's political fortunes. But her work has always been on behalf of someone else. Furthermore, to think of Cindy strictly in terms of her political influence tends to miss the point.

This is why I believe that Cindy's son, Casey Sheehan, should be recognized as Time Magazine's Person of the Year.