Typically, resorting to name-calling is tantamount to admitting you've lost the argument; and when the Republicans begin throwing what they see as the most disparaging of all insults - "Socialism", "Marxism" - at progressive policies it also shows they're desperate.  They'd call the stimulus package a peanut butter sandwich if they thought it would scare you into voting against it. But the fact is that anyone who calls President Obama's initiatives "Socialism" doesn't know what the definition of Socialism is.

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When I was a boy, I remember reading a story about how farmers in Morocco plowed their fields with a team of a camel and a donkey.

Camels are very strong animals, and could easily pull the plow by themselves; but the way they walk has a curious effect. While most four-legged animals walk using alternating legs (right front and left rear, followed by left front and right rear), camels step with both their right front and right rear, followed by left front and left rear. The result? When they pull a plow, their furrow is deep but looks like a sine wave. And while a donkey can plow a straight row, it's barely strong enough to scratch the surface of the hard soil. But if you put them together, the donkey keeps the camel going straight as it digs a deep furrow.

I think this makes a great metaphor - with government as the donkey, a guide without which the camel, which represents business, would swing wildly through troughs and peaks. Government, if used effectively, could smooth the cycle. But, of course, used "effectively" is the operative word.

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Well, we're off and running!  I've sent out my press release announcing the formation of my Congressional Exploratory Committee and have so far lined up interviews with newspaper and radio, but no TV as of yet.

But by far the most gratifying response is from you, the Netroots!  After my intial "Hello World" diary I've received nothing but positive responses, encouragement and even some donations!  I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all.

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Today is the day when I try to make a difference.  But I'll need your help.  I'm launching an exploratory committee today, to test the waters for a run against Aaron Schock in 2010 for the IL-18 Congressional District and I'll only be successful if I have the support of the Netroots.  This is a PVI +5 district that hasn't elected a Democrat to Congress since 1914 so resources are scarce.  I'm pretty much starting with nothing and facing an uphill battle, which for me is familiar territory.

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We've been wating for this for a few months, but now it's official: A former basketball coach has announced that he wants a job up in the Capitol. No, it's not Dean Smith. It's Dick Versace.

Former NBA coach and commentator Dick Versace is looking for a new job: congressman.

The 67-year-old Versace, a Democrat, said Thursday that he will bid for the 18th Congressional District seat in central Illinois. Incumbent Republican Ray LaHood announced in July he will retire when his term runs out in 2009.

[...]

Versace is well known to basketball fans around the country. He is a former NBA assistant coach and head coach, and was a longtime television commentator.

In 2005, he stepped down as the Memphis Grizzlies' general manager after six years with the team.

But before that, he was at Bradley University [which is in the district], where he won three Missouri Valley Conference Championships and a National Invitational Tournament title from 1979 to 1986.

This is a winnable seat for the Democrats. Though in the absence of a retirement this district might not be on the Democrats' map due to the fact that it leans about five points more Republican than the nation as a whole in presidential elections, given that this is an open seat race and there is a quasi-celebrity potentially running on the Democratic Party ticket (not to mention a substantial chance that someone with deep Illinois ties -- either Barack Obama, who represents the state in the Senate, or Hillary Clinton, who originally hails from the state -- will top that ticket), this could be a race that the Democrats can win. And at the least, it's one more seat that the Republicans will have to worry about, which they can little afford to do at this point.

And just to add... I very much remember this basketball card, as well as this one (which I may actually have somewhere floating around in my stuff), from back in the day.

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