While every declared candidate for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee would do a good job, Howard Dean clearly offers some unique qualities and insights that would help advance both the Democratic Party agenda and future electoral prospects. Dean created in 2004 an energy in the grassroots activist base of the Democratic Party that was unmatched by any of the other Primary contenders. He would be a great public face and manager for the national Democratic Party.

Howard Dean understands the power of the Internet as a tool for matching the Corporate Media dominance of the rival Republican Party. Dean understands the threat to American democracy posed by media concentration. It is clear that Dean would act aggressively to support the creation of an alternate Democratic media outside the control of Corporate Republican interests. His list of roughly 3 million Democratic activists email addresses, developed in his Presidential race, would be an amazing asset for the Democratic Party and rivals closely the entire existing list currently being used by the national Democratic Party.  

AUSTIN, Texas -- In the Texas legislature, they are called "prior-roarities," such a happy coinage. What should come prior?

When the pitter-patter of falling year-end columns comes again, not necessarily next year, but certainly four years from now, I fearlessly forecast a dismal unanimity: that the Bush Administration II suffers from bad and dumb prior-roarities.

Actually, the passage of time is not required for proof -- look around. The Bushies are about to launch a $50 million to $100 million dollar propaganda campaign to convince us the Social Security system is in crisis. Actually, it's not. It's quite robust and has astonishingly low administrative costs, less than 1 percent.

According to President Bush's own Commission to "Strengthen Social Security," the administrative costs of keeping track of private accounts will be 10 to 30 times the cost of administering the current system.

Thirty-three Members of the US House of Representatives, and one all-important Senator -- one more than four years ago -- voted not to accept Ohio's 20 electoral votes for George Bush. The votes were 33 to 260 and 1 to 72. The protesters lost. What does it mean?

First, it's worth noting that more than one Senator took action. Barbara Boxer announced her intention to challenge the election on Thursday morning. By midday Senators Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, and Barak Obama had let it be known that they would support Boxer. During the discussion in the Senate, Richard Durbin, Debbie Stabenow, Edward Kennedy, Ron Wyden, Frank Lautenberg, and Tom Harkin joined the others in speaking in support of Boxer's challenge. And in the House, numerous members spoke, one after another, until the time was up, and the number voting for the challenge jumped to 33 from the 8 that had been known early in the day.

This is a report for all those people who over the month of December went, at one time or another, to nine rallies/vigils held at the White Plains FBI office to urge the agency to investigate vote rigging in Ohio, Florida and other states and for those who have been following the struggle to get vote justice in these states.

On Thursday, Jan. 6, the day the Congress took up the certification of GWBush's election, and Barbara Boxer displayed singular courage by objecting to the certification, Gayle Dunkelberger, Barbara Ehrentreu and I joined several hundred other demonstrators in Washington to be a force for objection and specifically to carry the White Plains FBI protest to FBI headquarters in Washington.

We arrived at FBI headquarters at the appointed time, 9 a.m., and were almost immediately joined by a woman from Pittsburgh who had learned about the rally on the internet. She helped us hold a 16' banner that read: "FBI: Investigate the Election". After about 15 minutes we were joined by about eight people from North Carolina and then two women from Brooklyn.

A handful of progressive Democrats in the House and a lone Senator, Barbara Boxer of California, forced the Republican-dominated Congress to hear two hours of protest Thursday about how the 2004 presidential vote was replete with efforts to disenfranchise Democratic voters and suppress turnout in a torrent of tactics reminiscent of the Jim Crow era.

“We have spent our lives fighting for things we believe in – always fighting to make our nation better,” Boxer told the joint session. “We have fought for social justice. We have fought for economic justice. We have fought for environmental justice. We have fought for criminal justice. Now we must add a new fight – the fight for electoral justice.”

By invoking a law used twice since 1877, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, D-OH, and Sen. Boxer, stopped Congress’ ratification of the 2004 Electoral College vote by challenging the Ohio results. That forced Vice President Dick Cheney, the presiding officer, to order each chamber to debate the merits of the Ohio vote for two hours. A week earlier, Cheney refused to accept a notice of deposition in a lawsuit challenging the results of 2004 Ohio presidential vote.