Presidents are hamstrung without strength and support in Congress. Regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination for president, this coming November, what will determine our future more than anything is the kind of individuals sitting in the seats in the Senate and the House. We have an opportunity to build a majority in Congress that supports what most Americans want - fair trade, affordable education, health care for all Americans and peace.

For those of us that live in states that have already had the presidential primaries, politically, it's time now to deliver our support to senatorial and congressional candidates that are dedicated to health care reform, education reform, jobs and social justice. As a Californian, I'm thrilled to see things changing in the middle of American, especially in red states like Oklahoma. Ever since Ally introduced us to Andrew Rice, a man in Oklahoma who is running for the U.S. Senate, I've happily paid attention to his campaign. He's the kind of candidate that just makes you smile. I recently ran across a blog post he wrote and I'm sharing excerpts of it here:

My wife Apple and I were recently reminded why so many Americans are frustrated and anxious about healthcare. Our 11-month old son Parker was hospitalized here in Oklahoma City for three days last November with pneumonia. He received excellent care and, like most youngsters his age, he has rebounded very quickly from what was a scary time for all of us. But, that is only half the story...

Here's the rest of that story...

A "no bid contractor" usually refers to a private for-profit corporation that receives American tax payer monies in large amounts (billions of dollars) without having to competitively bid for the contract. One of the most famous "no bid contractors" is Halliburton. Since Bush and Cheney have been in the White House, Halliburton has received tens of billions of dollars of our money.

There's four important things to remind ourselves about Halliburton...

Although presidents and politicians often seek to occupy the limelight during Black History Month, celebrities really are not central to its importance or its purpose. Black History Month is meant to be about everyday citizens and their rightful places in our nation's future and especially its past.

It all started when one young educator who is now revered as the Father of Black History, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, was dismayed to discover that the history of his own people had been largely left out of the history books written about his country. Carter Godwin Woodson was born in 1875. He didn't begin any formal education until his late teens because he had labored as a child in the coal mines of Virginia. However, once he began studying, he never stopped. He eventually became the second African American to receive a Ph.D. in history from Harvard.

After completing his doctorate, Dr. Woodson dedicated his life to two Herculean tasks...

Under George Bush's control, in the last six years, federal contracts have become the fastest growing component of federal discretionary spending. Now, Bush’s new budget request calls for more than double the amount of spending on defense accounts than did the budget he inherited from his predecessor.

This growth in federal procurement has enriched private contractors. But it has also come at a steep cost for federal taxpayers. Overcharging has been frequent, and billions of dollars of taxpayer money have been squandered. (Dollars, Not Sense: Government Contracting Under the Bush Administration)

Even defense experts are surprised at how generous the Bush administration is willing to be with the taxpayers' money, in light of a faltering economy and deep cuts to domestic programs. Not counting the hundreds of billions that Bush has already demanded from us for his Iraq operations, now he insists that we give him another $515 billion just for building up the defense department.

No-bid (non-competitive) contracts have grown by 115% under Bush. Seven years of the unbelievably healthy profits experienced by defense contractors will continue for at least another year, if George Bush has anything at all to do with it.

In 2004, the 9/11 Commission recommended that the U.S. government establish the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board in order to safeguard Americans' privacy and civil liberties in the wake of post-9/11 national security laws.

On Jan. 30, 2008, the board members' terms expired, but the Bush has yet to nominate any candidates to fill the positions. Now, thanks to Bush, you are protected by empty chairs.

The Bush administration has failed to nominate any candidates to a newly empowered privacy and civil-liberties commission. This leaves the board without any members, even as Congress prepares to give the Bush administration extraordinary powers to wiretap without warrants inside the United States. (Abracadabra! Bush Makes Privacy Board Vanish, Wired)

Civil-liberties advocates like Lisa Graves, deputy director of the Center for National Security Studies, considered the board to be apologists for the government's anti-terrorism policies, rather than independent civil-liberties watchdogs...

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Maya Angelou has been dear to my heart ever since I read all of her autobiographies. She is the African-American poet who has rightfully become one of the most influential and respected literary voices of this modern age.

Now, Angelou has written a poem praising Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. She is supporting Clinton despite her close friendship with television personality and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, a prominent backer of rival Democrat Barack Obama, the first black presidential hopeful with a real chance of reaching the White House.

She is the poet that inspired so many at Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 when she read her poem On the Pulse of the Morning, describing the long awaited dawning of the new day. That was 15 years ago.

Here's the new poem she just wrote for Hillary...

"The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In this, our overly violent world, it is so appropriate that on this day of remembrance that we do not allow ourselves to have selective memory regarding the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s principles and teachings. Dr. King was against violence. He actively protested, marched for peace, and spoke out against war.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

His guiding principles were influenced by Thoreau, Gandhi, and, ultimately, Jesus who said, "Love your enemies." Dr. King's message was non-violence - and reconciliation, always.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in peace and the power of love.

Democrats: With all Democratic caucuses reporting, It was Obama 38%, Edwards 30%, Clinton 29%, Richardson 2%, Biden 1%, and Dodd 1%.
Republicans: With all Republican caucuses reporting, Huckabee: 34%, Romney: 25%, Thompson: 13%, McCain: 13%, Paul: 10%, Giuliani: 4%, Hunter: 1%

Nomination for the Democratic candidate is likely to be a close call between Edwards, Clinton and Obama, with the decision riding on the coming primaries in other states. It appears that Iowa hasn't offered the Democratic party a clear winner. Onwards to New Hampshire and all the other primaries and caucuses in other states!

"A record number of Democrats turned out to caucus - more than 239,000, compared with fewer than 125,0000 in 2004 - producing scenes of overcrowded firehouses and schools and long lines of people waiting to register their preferences." New York Times

I wrote a blog post last week (a good one, too, if I do say so myself!) about the cost of war and George Bush's role in destroying our economy. Tom Raum from the AP has added today that the national debt is now expanding by about $1.4 billion a day:

Even if you've escaped the recent housing and credit crunches and are coping with rising fuel prices, you may still be headed for economic misery, along with the rest of the country. That's because the government is fast straining resources needed to meet interest payments on the national debt, which stands at a mind-numbing $9.13 trillion.

And like homeowners who took out adjustable-rate mortgages, the government faces the prospect of seeing this debt -- now at relatively low interest rates -- rolling over to higher rates, multiplying the financial pain.

Economists are estimating that by the time that President Bush leaves office in 13 months, Bush's handling of the treasury will have resulted in almost a complete doubling of the national debt.

3,875 soldiers dead and more than 28,000 wounded Americans, plus more than 1,000 private contractors killed and many more injured.

The costs of the invasion and occupation seem to have no end. This endless war was the result of a wrong turn. We've been stuck slogging through the results of the mistake for almost five years now.

How did all this happen anyway? How did President Bush move our country from a strong dollar, decent gasoline prices, a strong jobs market and a surplus in our national treasury into a situation where now we have the largest trade deficit, biggest national debt, fastest wage reductions, highest gas prices and a declining dollar?

I finally see a flickering light at the end of this long and dreary tunnel. It gives me hope. Filled with the spirit of the Thanksgiving holidays, I wish to offer gratitude to those holding up candles for us. Held up as beacons by a few brave members of our Congress, the lights at the end beckon us. So, let's dust ourselves off and walk in their direction. On the way, of course, we can talk more about how all this happened and what we can do to prevent it from ever happening again. C'mon, come with me....