Two links to check out this weekend. First, former State Representative and current Democratic candidate for State Senate in Washington County Donny Osman takes his campaign to You Tube. Check it out:

Second, Shay Totten at the Vermont Guardian fleshes out his web-only report on the Rainville Plagiarism story into a full-blown, front page print piece in the current issue. If you’re either a political blogger or a regular reader/participant, it’s a must read. As far as GMD connections go, along with myself, Neil Jensen (Vermonter) is quoted heavily, and both he and Jack McCullough have their blogs referenced.

My favorite quote comes from She’s Right’s Charity Tensel:

“There are a growing number of conservative blogs, but there does not seem to be that ‘netroots’ formation like you see on the Democratic-progressive side with collaborative sites like Green Mountain Daily. I don’t see anything similar on the horizon for the Vermont right. I would love to take on something like that if I had the time,” said Tensel.

High praise indeed. This is the reason so many of us on the left-leaning poli-blogosphere like Charity so much. She can actually discuss things without having to fall back on nastiness (even though this site probably bugs the crap out of her). Imagine some of the usual right-wing suspects who comment on the other blogs allowing something positive about this site to pass their lips (ha)?

We need Charity to ground us all in the reality that just because someone disagrees with us, doesn’t necessarily make them disagreeable as people (even though it might be simpler to make sweeping negative generalizations about right wingers rather than actually engage with people).

This is not to say that people who say truly abhorrent things shouldn’t be called out on them – which is a set up for my next diary…

The Bushies hurl abuse such as cut and run re Iraq when the invasion itself was cutting and running away from the war against fundamentalist Islam and Al Qaeda.  I refuse to call it the war on terrorism.  That would be like calling WWII the war against the blitz.  Terror is a tactic not an enemy.

The relationship between fundamentalist Islam and Saudi Arabia needs to be examined.  In the old days of the British Empire, the term used to describe what we would call fundamentalist Islam was Wahabiism.  The Wahabi movement is the established  religion of Saudi Arabia. 

Fifteen of the 9/11 murderers were from Saudi as is Bin Laden (from the ruling class in fact).

Of course, Bush and his dad are in bed with the Saudis big time.

Remember that just after 9/11 the Bin Laden family members as well as other Saudis were allowed to fly out of the US when Americans were all grounded.

In that light, remember that HItler’s nephew lived in this country and was publicly known to during WW II and Stalin’s daughter lived in the US during the Cold War.