I’m a lurker. For many years. Since the Libby trial. I learn so much here, but I don’t feel like I have anything important to add. So I mostly listen. I really appreciate this site, the writers, and the commentors. It’s the first place I land each morning. I love the book salons. And the sticky buns in the morning. Thank you all for what you do.

I worked for Herman Miller (Herman Miller Research) in the 70s. Actually Herman Miller was VERY supportive of its designers and if they did market research (I don’t know if they did then) if there had been a conflict, they would have gone with their designers before any market research recommendations. It was a wonderful company to work for.

My dad was a “general practitioner” (family practice) in a small town which he started after he came home from WWII. He had a small office, made house calls, delivered babies, set broken bones, etc. He retired before he should have but mostly because his malpractice insurance was too high (even tho he had never been sued). I talked to a resident at the VA about ten years ago who wanted to set up her own practice in an area where there weren’t physicians but she was already in debt for $100,000 in student loans so her only option was to join a corporate group of physicians. It’s too costly to go to school, and the insurance industry has helped this along. Very sad.

I was looking for hotel information for an upcoming trip and I noticed soon after that on pages that I visit, they started being populated with hotel ads. So I think it more has to do with what we (the visitor) have been looking at rather than what FDL is targeting.

That’s great! I’d sure rather donate to this fund than to ANY politician!!! Thanks for all you do.

You may be too young to remember Martha Mitchell….

I wish the media would report more on Cain’s ties to the Koch Brothers.

Second: One truly critical way in which money politics COULD at least theoretically be tamed is by amending the telecommunications act to require commercial TV and radio stations, as a condition of their licenses, to give gobs of free and reduced rate advertising to political candidates.

That idea seems like a really good one to me and possible.

I have a suggestion that you add an “Upgrade Membership” category for those of us who maybe could only join at the lower cost but may be able to upgrade later.

Love the “Joe Lieberman’s neck” visual….have a great week!! And thanks for all you do. It’s nice to have a place to visit that always makes me smile.

I’m an Ann Arbor person and I write daily to Obama, Pelosi, Stabenow, Levin, and Dingell and the democratic party to repeat that I will not vote for any politician who cuts Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security and further that I will actively campaign against them. I’m sure my messages go straight into the trash, but they make me feel better.

Regarding “gang of six” – I think the term “gang” is probably meaningful about this group in the way a couple of dictionaries define “gang”:

Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: gang
Function: noun
: a group of persons associating for antisocial and often criminal purposes and activities

World English Dictionary

gang
–noun
a group of people who associate together or act as an organized body, esp for criminal or illegal purposes

GREAT picture!!!

wordle.com is a fun way to create “word clouds” and the most frequently repeated words are the largest.

Thanks for the link Selise.

I agree about getting more of your work in traditional outlets. Not that traditional outlets are my favorite these days, but there are lots more people (probably) who read USA Today than who log in and read blogs. I also think there are MANY people who are hungering for factual information and are tired of the usual government propaganda spewed by Cable. I’ve stopped watching those Sunday morning programs. Anyhow, good luck in your new venture. You’ll have an ever-growing following!

First you leave Ann Arbor, and now this!! ;-)

I’ve wondered how long you could keep up that pace with such careful, high-value research and information output. I started reading Firedoglake when I read in the Ann Arbor News (now gone), that an Ann Arbor person would be live-blogging the Libby trial…and so it began. I’ve learned SO much on this site and thank you for all that you do.

I look forward to continuing to follow your blog — where ever that is.