Before you head out to your New Years Eve bash, think about donating to Blue Majority candidates. People like Rick Noriega, Mark Pera, Donna Edwards, and Darcy Burner are running tight primary races against conservative Democratic incumbents. Burner is just $10,000 shy of reporting an amazing $600,000 cash on hand, and Donna Edwards and Mark Pera have primaries coming up in just a few short weeks.

Today is the last fundraising day of the quarter, so your donations can help push their numbers over the top and gain them recognition and campaign money from the national Democratic organizations like the DCCC.

If you're tired of Democrats capitulating on Iraq, privacy rights, torture, or children's healthcare, electing people like these progressive candidates will change that. Please donate tonight!

Thanks for making 2007 a great year. Here's to more and better Democrats in 2008!

Palestinian pilgrims returning from the Hajj not allowed to reenter Gaza have begun rioting in Egypt. They are being told that they must cross through an Israeli checkpoint before coming through, which has led many to fear being arrested in this process.

With the world focused on the capture of the three hostages captured by Columbia's FARC guerilla's, there hasn't been as much attention on former FARC victims. Clinical psychologist Dary Nieto has stated, "A kidnapping doesn’t end with the release. Victims who have been freed or rescued say recovery is a long and painful process, and may be as difficult as the time spent in captivity."

In the vein of get out the vote efforts, Obama has been the only Democrat to set up a campaign office in Alaska, a relatively inconsequential state. This speaks a little towards the concern of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's concern at the Iowa-NH hype, with candidates moving to involve more states in the process.

The New York Times documents the 23 buzz words of the year. The best one, by far, has been lolcat.

Lastly, for New Year's Eve, you can write your New Year's Wish on a piece of confetti that will be released in Times Square. I wished for "the demise of global capitalism".

Also for the New Year, we have The Ice of Boston by The Dismemberment Plan (I love how all the people jump on stage and start dancing):

HERE'S TO ANOTHER GODDAMN NEW YEAR!

Close, contested, bitter primaries often cause intense disillusionment among certain Democratic voters. They complain that infighting is tearing the party apart, and that too much money was wasted fighting other Democrats that could have been spent fighting Republicans. Yet, I feel this presidential primary season is proving once again that heavily contested primaries are good for the Democratic party as a whole.

The heated primary race in Iowa is driving a huge get-out-the-vote effort, something that will benefit the Democratic party for years to come.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat who has not endorsed anyone in the race, said in an interview in his office on Friday. “The get-out-the-vote efforts are going to be the best ever.”

Specifically, Barack Obama is targeting young voters, a demographic that has been growing in recent years and played an important part in the Iowa caucus in 2004, though not in the way many had expected. Hillary Clinton is also spearheading a large get-out-the-vote effort which seems to be concentrated on the elderly.

Simply getting these people to the polls, especially those who have not voted before, is crucially important for the Democratic party, and possibly even more so for the progressive wing of the Democratic party. It stands to reason that voters who caucus or vote in primaries are more likely to vote in the general election. Moreover, to vote in most primaries you need to register with a party, thus giving that party the opportunity to raise money, volunteer hours, and awareness with that newly registered voter. Young voters especially tend to be more Democratic, and possibly more progressive than their older counterparts.

As a bonus, Democrats in general are leading Republicans in get-out-the-vote efforts, further widening the gap between the parties and making future wins easier.

Bottom line, the more voters Democrats as a whole can turn out for primary votes, the better shape they will be in for elections to come. If you can convince a first time voter to vote in a partisan primary, you are more likely to turn them into a lifelong Democrat. Hotly contested primaries not only define the Democratic party by allowing Democrats to define themselves with respect to each other instead of simply being everything Bush isn't, but help build long-term infrastructure.

More the reason to primary challenge every Democrat, especially those elected officials who appear to be Democrats in name only.

The trouble with representative democracy

We have descended a long way from stated ideals of the original proponents of democracy. The great march of freedom has been replaced by national and international political discourses consumed with fundamentalism and extremism of the Christian, Muslim, Jewish and even Hindu types. Lofty ideals about the nature of humanity, progress, and a bright tomorrow when racism, fascism, apartheid and sexism would be discarded to the dustbin of history to be replaced by a loving, green and peaceful world have been all but forgotten.

The situation has led to a sense of disempowerment or resignation if not exacerbation among the greater populations at large. Instruments for the protection of civil liberties have become blunted and unresponsive. Politicians act like agents of the ‘market’ – whoever or whatever that elusive policy determiner may be. Wars are launched and maintained for indefinite periods in the face of public opposition. At best, public opinion is seen as something that must be managed rather than followed. Talk of ‘people power’ has been replaced by ‘leadership quality’. Put simply, representative democracy seems to fail the public.

What is democracy?

So it is time to go back to the drawing board and ask the question: what is democracy? What was the essence of all the fuss made in the first place?

Democracy has in essence three separate aspects:

1. The free and equal right of every person to participate in a system of government
2. A system of government based on the principle of majority decision-making
3. The control of an organization by its members, who have a free and equal right to participate in decision-making processes.

The core problem with the situation today is that while the first two aspects are to varying degrees practiced in various countries, the third aspect is hardly ever practiced anywhere. This raises a fundamental question on the practicality of the ideal itself: how is it possible for individuals to participate in government-level decision-making if there is a dearth of democratic organisation in social institutions or organisations such as the family or the office. There is always a representative or leader in place wherever you go and whatever you do. The question is: Why?

The glitch

A simple answer to the question of ‘why’ is found in the capitalism/democracy dichotomy. But this is not a satisfactory answer to those who believe in freedom in a personal, human way rather than the intangible ‘market’ way. In fact, the mysterious ‘market’ appears to successfully negate democracy and our efforts to achieve it.

The driver for this contradiction would appear to be in the system of representative democracy itself: Giving up individual freedoms in a social contract that essentially disempowers the ‘masses’ in favour of the chosen few. Put differently: where exactly is the ‘power’ of the average citizen today in between transient election fevers?

Perhaps this is the case today largely due to the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few. Perhaps it is time to roll back the power of the oligarchy.

Riots have erupted in Kenya where incumbent president Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of Thursday's contested election. All live television broadcasts have been suspended.

An international rights group has labeled both Britain and the United States "endemic surveillance societies".

Pakistan's largest opposition parties are vowing to proceed with the January 8th election. Meanwhile, videos are surfacing making it clear that despite insistence from the Pakistani government to the contrary, Bhutto was shot.

899 American troops died in Iraq this year, marking the highest total in the now nearly five year war.

The Republican primary is a one way ticket to crazytown.

Senegalese Islamic leader Serigne Saliou Mbacke died today of natural causes. He was a very influential advisor to President Abdoulaye Wade.

AOL is ceasing development of the once extremely popular web browswer Netscape Navigator.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is questioning the wisdom of allowing Iowa and New Hampshire to pick our presidential candidates. Well played, Governor.

"Bonddad" tells us what to watch for economically in 2008.

Bloomberg is inching torward an independent presidential bid. Prediction: Dems and independents aren't buying what he's selling.

Check out Ron Paul's Time Machine Mega Money Mania

Did I miss anything interesting?

Charlie Wilson's War is worth seeing. But it doesn't go nearly far enough in telling the story of the Cold War endgame. Without some reading on the side, you the viewer will leave with a shallow understanding of the American impact on Afghanistan in the 1980s. And without some more ambitious political filmmaking, the point the film tries to make will go unheard.

The frustrating thing about the movie is that it comes close to questioning some basic assumptions in post-Cold War America, but ultimately leaves them untouched.

These assumptions are:

1. Reagan was a great president.

2. The Soviet Union fell because of the size of Reagan's balls.

3. Developments in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal were unconnected with US foreign policy.

The war in Afghanistan is a perfect example of what happens when you view a situation from only one angle. From Langley or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, it seemed that one thing led directly to another - we funded the mujahideen (okay, we funded the Pakistani ISI who funded the mujahideen, if you want to split hairs), the Soviets withdrew, the Soviet Union collapsed. Our policy worked, right? The whole ideology of American interventionism rests on premises such as these: boil complicated, interrelated events down to simple causation, claim success, and ignore the undesirable consequences. That's what we're doing in Iraq right now.

This week, we ask you if you think 2008 will be a better year than 2007. But first, last week's results:

Last week, in the aftermath of Chris Dodd's FISA victory, we asked you whether you thought telecom immunity would pass the Senate when all was said and done. 65% of you thought that it would, saying that Dodd's filibuster would be nothing but a speed bump for the Senate to roll over. 35% of you thought telecom immunity would not eventually pass.

Tomorrow, 2007 turns itself over to 2008. Many people have big hopes for 2008. It's an election year, people are hoping for a turnaround in the economy, and people are looking for progress in Iraq, Palestine, and Pakistan. Do you think your life will get better or worse in 2008 compared to 2007? Voting begins now in the sidebar at right.

NPR:

The Democratic-led Congress on Wednesday officially waved the white flag of surrender on its top domestic issue: the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. Eleven months and two presidential vetoes after vowing to expand its reach, the House instead passed and sent to President Bush a bill that will essentially continue the program in its current form until 2009.

Associated Press:

Politically, the move was a victory for Bush, although Democrats say it will come back to hurt Republicans at the polls. Two times, Bush vetoed bills that would have broadened coverage to more children.

One of Ron Paul's strongest points in his Presidential campaign has been his consistency. He consistently votes against foreign intervention, social programs and what he calls unconstitutional government spending. He has used this as justification for voting against congressional medals of honor for American heroes like Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali. "Why should American taxpayers pay for these medals?" he asks incredulously.

The Congressional Gold Medal is made of solid gold, and in every instance it is awarded, it can cost taxpayers upwards of $30,000. This money not only pays for the gold to make the medal, but also the mold that needs to be specially created since each medal is tailored to its recipient. Congressman Paul voted against awarding this medal over and over because he does not think it is a good use of taxpayer dollars

While browsing through the congressional record, trying to find a single piece of legislation Dr. Paul has passed (I can't), I came across a bill he introduced in December 2001.

H.R. 3417: To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the award of a medal to persons who served in the Armed Forces during the Cold War.

Debate in Nigeria over $100 laptops for primary schoolchildren.

Nigeria’s new education minister, Igwe Aja-Nawachuku, told the BBC recently that he found the project questionable given the absence of basic equipment in many Nigerian schools. “What is the sense of introducing one laptop per child when they don't have seats to sit down and learn, when they don't have uniforms to go to school in, when they don't have facilities?"

So far only 300 laptops have been delivered to children at one school in Galadima, a village in the outskirts of the capital Abuja.

Teachers there told IRIN that computers have had a poisitive impact on the students. “Nice classrooms are important - and indeed the [school] environment here is not the best - but what is more important is the knowledge that we can bring to children,” one teacher, Olugbile Oluyinka, said.

Chavez' helicopters land in Colombia to pick up three hostages released by FARC.

Why are California prison inmates dying of fungal infections? Apparently, the spores are stirred up by new construction.

The epidemic at the prison has led to a clash of priorities for a correctional system that is dealing with below average medical care and chronic overcrowding.

Last fall, heeding advice from local health officials and a federal receiver charged with improving the state’s prison medical care, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation delayed plans to add 600 new beds out of concern that the construction might stir up more spores.

Officials at the prison blame the construction of a state hospital nearby for causing a spike in valley fever. The construction was under way from 2001 to 2005, and valley fever hit its peak here in 2006, when the disease was diagnosed in 514 inmates.

Robert Fisk questions the narratives surrounding Bhutto's death.

Kenyan opposition party the Orange Democratic Movement claims victory in the presidential elections based on a partial ballot count.

VIDEO

Jedi Mind Tricks, "Uncommon Valor": a reminder of the bloody legacy of the Vietnam War and the damage it inflicted on our country, as well as Southeast Asia. No video, but the song is good enough to keep your attention.