The standard operating procedure for a nominee is to let the contenders for say, Secretary of State, fight it out through the general election in a battle to bring the nominee the most votes, the most money, the most positive press and the most assistance. I saw this first hand in 2004 when a constant barrage of contenders tried to outraise and outhelp John Kerry.

At the time, I often brought up, wouldn't it be smart to have a Shadow Cabinet? An unofficial assortment of Democratic leaders that allows a much more direct comparison to the current crop of failures.

It's Tuesday May 13, 2008 and on this day in history, The Beatles debuted the movie "Let It Be" in 1970 and back in 1943 German and Italian forces surrendered in Africa but that's nothing compared to what we have for you today.

Right now, it's 7:30 am here in Seattle and 10:30 back in Washington DC where as far as I can tell, not one elected official has thought today about the fact that by now, two or three, maybe more, young American men and women who served their country in Iraq and Afghanistan have killed themselves.

Some may have used a gun and pulled the trigger when they couldn't take the pain or the wait of up to six months that they are told to wait before seeing a mental health specialist. Some may use pills or drive their car into a wall. Some will slit their wrists.

All our brave young and women we as a nation have failed to serve with a hint of the honor and courage that they served us.

I like to think I've seen it all, or at least a good portion it. But this Friday, a new movie comes out; one that is nothing more than creationist propaganda in the fine tradition of cigarettes don't kill you and global warming is just a natural occurrence.

The movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, has been reviewed and reviewed and discussed.

But what hasn't been discussed as much is the fact that Yoko Ono either sold or gave the rights to "Imagine" to the producers of the film. In screenings around the country, and in copies of the movie reviewed, everyone notes the odd inclusion of the song.

I often write about what I see as the collision of the two power cores in politics, the aging DC legacy establishment and the new real world of politics that knows that access to information is changing the landscape forever. See here, here and here.

I predicted that we would see some might spin out of Iowa,but the clarity of the results slowed it down a touch, but no one showcases the clear lunacy of a legacy campaign than the email that Hillary Clinton sent out on Thursday night to her supporters.

Two weeks ago, there was a stunning admission contained in a National Intelligence Estimate about Iran. NIE's represent the composite view of all 16 American spy agencies' they are not the views of rogue agents or analysts but comprehensive collective views of opinion.

As such, when they make a declaration, it is usually absolutely correct.

This is how the New York Times reported the findings:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb.

One of my core frustrations with the Corporate Media is how fast they turn onto, and off of, stories Veterans Day has come and gone and that means, sadly, coverage of veterans will come and go as well.

I saw this happen incredibly clearly with the Burma NewsLadder I launched just over a month ago, boom, everyone was on Burma, and then absolute silence from our media - interestingly enough, overseas the media has continued to cover the story; and we are continuing to link to all the stories from around the world and we are still getting great traffic to the site.

Here's a little news item you may have missed this morning:

"This Year, Deadliest For U.S. Troops In Iraq."

It seems that the five more unnecessary deaths of men and women yesterday gave us a new record, hell of a job Georgie, five more families's world is getting destroyed today, destroyed. And where are the Democrats on this issue of Iraq? Where is the media? Where is the outrage that this month, November 2007, we will spend:

$9 Billion In Iraq. NINE BILLION DOLLARS.

Hello? Is anybody out there?

A few weeks ago, we were inundated with pictures of the courageous monks in Burma - the days of demonstrations and protests filled our airwaves and the newspapers, and then, with the attention span of a toddler, the corporate media in America turned away, and away and now the issue is no longer front and center.