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One of our Obama-Biden banners hanging out in its natural habitat, the front porch:

Your government is in a big rush. All of a sudden, poof!, just like that, dealmakers in Congress have announced that a bill called H.R. 6304 will be voted on tomorrow.

But here’s the thing — the bill is so new, just introduced, that the Library of Congress hasn’t even yet published it for, oh, I don’t know, the American public to read or something.

Why is your government in such a hurry to pass a bill before the American public reads it?

Fortunately, the Electronic Freedom Foundation has obtained a copy of the text of H.R. 6304, and we’re providing a mirror copy it for you to download and read.

Download it. Read it. Then agitate. Call your House Representative. Tell him or her to put a brake on the passage of this act until the American public gets a chance to read it. Ask if he or she has actually read the bill. Chances are, the answer is no. See if you’ll get an honest answer.

Don’t let your government turn representative democracy into a sham.

Since 2003, we’ve been selling our own politically and socially progressive bumper stickers, buttons and such. Since last year, we’ve been selling sweatshop-free made in the USA shirts, too. Today, we’re happy to take our offerings to a new level. Click here to check out our new tool for you to create your own election 2008 bumper sticker, poster or button.

Here’s how it works. We’ve created twelve poster, button and bumper sticker designs promoting the candidacies of Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama. All the items are located on a special webpage, ready to be customized by you. The candidate’s name is fixed (and the word “for” in each design is fixed too, kind of to minimize the evil Republican snark factor), but the rest is up to you to dream up. Carpenters for Hillary Clinton? Dreamy Poets for John Edwards? Frenchmen for Barack Obama? Mais absolutement! Find the poster, button, or bumper sticker design that you like best supporting the candidate of your choice. Then type in the word or short phrase you’d like to see in the blank space of the design. We’ll generate an instant link for you to a product with the phrase just as you type it. The link will send you through to a Zazzle shop on which you can purchase the product and get it sent out to you lickety-split. If you don’t like the look of the phrase, realize you’ve made a spelling error, or perhaps want a different font of a different size, you can even mess about with it further, right then and there.

Give it a whirl. We hope you like it.

Very quickly, the race for the Democratic presidential nomination is expanding to a national level, as each of the remaining contenders gazes at an empty wallet and gulps at the prospect of 22 states in which voting will occur simultaneously. Why, it’s almost as if candidates will lose control of the process and Americans will get to decide for themselves. Almost. Sigh.

Trends in Americans’ interest are mirrored in patterns of sales from our collection of Election 2008 bumper stickers, magnets, campaign buttons, t-shirts yard signs. Since the Election Day debacle of 2004, we’ve kept track of committed support for various presidential contenders, indicated by sales of this political merchandise. While polls measure fickle opinions, our measure tracks the stronger commitment marked by the laying down of cash to promote a candidate in public. The more strongly committed are more likely to caucus and to vote. The following is the percent share of sales of our Election 2008 gear in the past week of January 13 to January 19, 2008:

Barack Obama: 53.3%
Hillary Clinton: 27.0%
John Edwards: 5.0%
Dennis Kucinich: 2.6%
Mike Gravel: less than 1%
Others: 11.9%

That 11.9% is largely due to a weird little, ok, reasonably big, one day blip in sales for the idea of Ed Rendell as a presidential candidate after the Associated Press speculated that the Pennsylvania Governor might jump in with Michael Bloomberg in a cross-partyish ticket. Otherwise, the patterns look about the same as last week’s.

In the Iowa Caucuses of January 3 2008, support for Barack Obama bloomed over the still-considerable support for John Edwards and Hillary Clinton in the second round, when those who had supported candidates such as Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich and Bill Richardson shifted their support. Some of that support went to John Edwards, but most of it was redirected to Barack Obama, giving him the largest share of caucus support (although only a one delegate lead over Hillary Clinton and a two delegate lead over John Edwards, making claims of a blowout overblown).

The same appears to have happened during this week in our sales. Since the Election Day debacle of 2004, we’ve kept track of committed support for various presidential contenders, indicated by sales of Election 2008 bumper stickers, magnets, campaign buttons, t-shirts and lawn signs. While polls measure fickle opinions, our measure tracks the stronger commitment marked by the laying down of cash to promote a candidate in public. The more strongly committed are more likely to caucus and to vote. The following is the percent share of sales of our Election 2008 gear in the past week of December 30, 2007 to January 5, 2007:

Barack Obama 2008: 44.5%
Hillary Clinton 2008: 24.4%
John Edwards 2008: 8.5%
Joseph Biden 2008: 5.1%
Al Gore 2008: 4.0%
Dennis Kucinich 2008: 3.6%
Chris Dodd 2008: 3.0%
Bill Richardson 2008: 1.7%
Mike Gravel 2008: 1.6%

As a static snapshot, this may look like an uncomplicated blowout of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards by Barack Obama. But let’s compare this past week’s results with the week before, and all the weeks before that of 2007:

In the past week, Hillary Clinton’s share of sales actually went up, as did John Edwards’. The difference is that Barack Obama’s share went up by much more, as the share of sales by candidates such as Joseph Biden, Dennis Kucinich (and, off the chart, Bill Richardson) took a nosedive. My interpretation of this pattern is that the same thing is happening nationally that happened locally in Iowa: supporters of the candidacies of Biden, Kucinich and Richardson are switching their allegiance in the wake of the Iowa caucuses, and they’re not doing so evenly. Barack Obama is pulling these supporters away disproportionately.

Is this substantively based switching, or is this behavior about following a winner? If Hillary Clinton were to win the New Hampshire primary this upcoming Tuesday, would we see commitment swing back to her? Wait and see.

There are just four days left until the process to nominate presidential candidates for the election of 2008 commences with the Iowa caucuses of January 3, 2008. Coronation, my foot: there’s been a real horse race between contenders for the presidency among Democrats, and there are some real choices for Democratic primary and caucus voters to make. Since the Election Day debacle of 2004, we’ve kept track of committed support for various presidential contenders, indicated by sales of Election 2008 bumper stickers, magnets, campaign buttons, t-shirts and lawn signs. While polls measure fickle opinions, our measure tracks the stronger commitment marked by the laying down of cash to promote a candidate in public. The more strongly committed are more likely to caucus and to vote. The following is the percent share of sales of our Election 2008 gear in the past week of December 22 to December 29, 2007:

Barack Obama: 26.8%
Hillary Clinton: 20.1%
Dennis Kucinich: 20.1%
Joseph Biden: 9.8%
Bill Richardson: 9.1%
John Edwards: 8.5%
Al Gore: 2.4%
Chris Dodd: less than 1 percent
Mike Gravel: less than 1 percent

It’s still a race here, with committed support for Barack Obama garnering the highest share of sales but with Hillary Clinton and Dennis Kucinich tied not too far behind. Hillary Clinton and Dennis Kucinich, tied in committed support? “What’s up with that?,” you may ask. “Isn’t John Edwards supposed to be the third-place candidate?” Well, yes, he is … in Iowa, the one state out of fifty where he has been campaigning since 2005. John Edwards’ strategy is to do phenomenally well in that one state and use it as a springboard to success in other states. But he has not been catching on as a candidate elsewhere, at least not yet. As the trend chart below for Biden, Clinton, Edwards, Kucinich and Obama shows, John Edwards has not garnered a significant share of our sales nationally during the year.

Dennis Kucinich, on the other hand, has been gaining in committed support, especially since the candidacy of Mike Gravel fizzled itself out and it became clear that Al Gore would not be running for president (Senators Dodd and Gravel, it’s a problem when your level of support is lower than that received by someone clearly not running at all). In 2004, you may remember that Dennis Kucinich stuck it out in the presidential primary race for a long time, using his campaign to let voters make a statement about support for a policy of peace. Given the level of support for Kucinich this time, and his ability to run a low-cost race, look for him to keep his campaign going, and look for protest votes (against the establishment candidacies of Obama, Clinton and Edwards) to coalesce further around him after the beginning of the year.

In just four days, the nominating process begins with the Iowa caucuses, a process that may (or may not) upend the pecking order in the Democratic presidential race. Sing Auld Lang Syne and kiss the Baby New Year, bringing with it our hopes for a new government in touch with reality.

It’s only eleven days until the process to nominate presidential candidates for the election of 2008 commences with the Iowa caucuses of January 3, 2008. Despite the predictions of a number of pundits at this time last year, there hasn’t been a coronation of any agreed-upon nominee before voting begins — we’ve got a rooting-tooting real horse race here, and if anything, the race is evening out coming down the stretch.

For the past three years, we’ve kept track of committed support indicated by sales of Election 2008 bumper stickers, magnets, campaign buttons, t-shirts and now lawn signs that we sell in support for each of the Democratic candidates in the 2008 presidential race. While polls measure fickle opinions, our measure tracks the stronger commitment marked by the laying down of cash to promote a candidate in public. The more strongly committed are more likely to caucus and to vote. The following is the percent share of sales of our Election 2008 gear in the past week of December 16 - December 22, 2007:

Barack Obama: 24.5%
Hillary Clinton: 23.5%
Joseph Biden: 14.7%
John Edwards: 13.4%
Dennis Kucinich: 10.1%
Al Gore: 5.2%
Bill Richardson: 4.2%
Chris Dodd: 2.9%
Mike Gravel: less than 1 percent

This past week, Christopher Dodd took to the well of the Senate and through the force of his will and his arguments brought the anti-constitution, anti-accountability, big brother FISA Amendments Act of 2007 to a halt. And while Dodd’s percentage share of campaign items grew sixfold as a consequence this past week, that sixfold increase was from a very, very small portion of Election 2008 goods up to a simply small portion. If this act of political bravery won’t catapult Chris Dodd into competitiveness, I can’t imagine what will.

But the current frontrunners, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, aren’t as far out in front as they used to be. It’s not just Chris Dodd who gained an appreciable amount of support this week. Joseph Biden and John Edwards also gained share, John Edwards most notably. Nobody’s in the mood to fall in line behind any agreed-upon candidate of someone’s invented consensus. Good.

Eleven days, folks. Eleven days until the nominating process begins. We’ll be keeping close track of developments as the days close in, sharing what we know with you between bites of figgy pudding.

Eighteen days from today, voting in the presidential campaign of 2008 will commence with the Iowa caucuses of January 3, 2008. Most of the other votes will take place in the month or so after that. And just like that, we’ll have our national choices set out for us. As the dates for actual votes come closer, let’s look again at the choices of people willing to put their money where their mouths are.

As voting comes closer for Iowa, New Hampshire, and a large load of other states, we’re keeping track of committed support indicated by sales of Election 2008 bumper stickers, magnets, campaign buttons, t-shirts and now lawn signs that we sell in support for each of the Democratic candidates in the 2008 presidential race. While polls measure fickle opinions, our measure tracks the stronger commitment marked by the laying down of cash to promote a candidate in public. The more strongly committed are more likely to caucus and to vote. The following is the percent share of sales of our Election 2008 gear in the past week of December 9 - December 15, 2007:

Barack Obama: 31.4%
Hillary Clinton: 28.5%
Dennis Kucinich: 11.5%
Joseph Biden: 8.1%
Al Gore: 5.7%
John Edwards: 5.5%
Bill Richardson: 4.0%
Mike Gravel: 1.4%
Chris Dodd: less than 1 percent

Barack Obama has taken the lead from Hillary Clinton. And as a look at the longitudinal trend shows, it’s been a neck-and-neck race between the two for the last couple of months. Hillary Clinton is down this week, but she’s been up most:

Dennis Kucinich and Joseph Biden trail behind Obama and Clinton in the second tier, as they have for some time. You might say that all they need is a little something to boost them, but other than the catasrophic, what would that be at this point? There aren’t even any more debates scheduled before voting begins in a bit more than two weeks.

Well, here we are. This is it, people. One month from today, the first vote in the presidential campaign of 2008 will commence with the Iowa caucuses. Most of the other votes will take place in the month or so after that. And just like that, we’ll have our national choices set out for us. As the dates for actual votes come closer, let’s look again at the choices of people willing to put their money where their mouths are.

Since the day after Election Day of 2004, we have been tracking the number of bumper stickers, magnets, campaign buttons, t-shirts and now lawn signs that we sell in support for each of the Democratic candidates in the 2008 presidential race. While polls measure opinions of the moment, our measure tracks a more strong and lasting and lasting commitment to show their support for a particular candidate in a public way. That kind of strong commitment can turn into donations and votes. The following is the percent share of sales of our Election 2008 gear in the past week of November 24 - December 1, 2007:

Hillary Clinton: 28.6%
Joseph Biden: 22.6%
Barack Obama: 18.9%
Dennis Kucinich: 13.5%
Bill Richardson: 8.1%
Al Gore: 5.4%
John Edwards: 2.4%
Chris Dodd: less than 1 percent
Mike Gravel: less than 1 percent

And here’s a longitudinal look, showing the change in share for each candidate, week by week, during the year so far:

I’ve shown just the top five sharegetters for sake of visual clarity. There’s clearly some noise from week to week, maybe having to do with various new people linking into our shop, maybe having to do with weekly performances of the candidates. Hillary Clinton got some positive attention last week for her handling of a hostage crisis, and consensus continues to build in the punditocracy (and perhaps in the public) that Joseph Biden is a very good debater. But stretching our view beyond the week-to-week noise, some patterns are perceptible. Barack Obama is nowhere near the anointed status he had earlier in the year. Hillary Clinton is dominant, but not unapproachably so. Joseph Biden and Dennis Kucinich — not John Edwards and Bill Richardson — appear to hold the second tier in popularity among those committed enough to buy a bumper sticker, button, shirt or lawn sign expressing support.

It’s not long now until these indicators become moot and preferences become fixed into votes. There are only four weeks to go until all this waiting and watching and wondering ends and the voting begins. Look for another update next week.

Since the day after Election Day of 2004, we have been tracking the number of bumper stickers, magnets, campaign buttons, t-shirts and now lawn signs that we sell in support for each of the Democratic candidates in the 2008 presidential race. While polls measure opinions of the moment, our measure tracks a more strong and lasting and lasting commitment to show their support for a particular candidate in a public way. That kind of strong commitment can turn into donations and votes. The following is the percent share of sales of our Election 2008 gear in the past week of November 4 - November 10, 2007:

Hillary Clinton: 43.2%
Dennis Kucinich: 13.6%
Barack Obama: 11.4%
John Edwards: 10.2%
Joseph Biden: 8.9%
Al Gore: 8.8%
Chris Dodd: 1.8%
Bill Richardson: 1.7%
Mike Gravel: less than 1%

So much for the notion being floated after the last Democratic presidential debate that Hillary Clinton was tumbling from her “inevitable” status. You know who tumbled here? Barack Obama. Dennis Kucinich is doing better than Barack Obama this week, and Barack Obama has just turned in his worst performance in sales share for the entire year. Look at the trends:

What’s going on? I think it’s that Barack Obama has been a placeholder for a lot of people’s hopes and dreams. People want a shining hero, a perfect Jack Kennedy who will sweep them off their feet, give them an ideological orgasm and ride with them off into that magical sunset destination of that Star Trek colony where everybody wears Earth tones, nobody fights, and they have those interesting cubes of primary colors for food. But the thing is, even Jack Kennedy wasn’t perfect — he was a womanizing, nuclear-threatening, Vietnam-engaging politician who was reluctant on civil rights before he got involved. People love him and have turned him into this perfect creature because, let’s be blunt, he was shot at the right moment. Or how about Harry Truman? Got us bogged down in Korea. How about FDR, Mr. Internment Camp? There ARE no perfect heroes out there for the left, and the left is starting to recognize that Barack Obama will not be that statuesque idol of heroism in the way that the right has finally figured out that they will never have that beer with George W. Bush. Beyond the hero worship, Barack Obama is a pretty interesting guy with a unique history for a politician which includes some interesting organizing experience. Not exactly the shining city on a hill, although I hear Senator Obama does bring a prism along for his stump speeches. As Barack Obama has had the chance to put himself in the public spotlight, he has — surprise!! — not turned out to be a demigod, and there’s no grand sunset, and nobody’s gotten their goddamned orgasm yet. How frustrating.

Meanwhile, Dennis Kucinich is the fellow who’s always been written off as a kook. I know, because we’ve called him on some of his very kooky ideas and behaviors from time to time. But that sets low expectations. So when he shows up for a national debate and has something intelligent to say, something that no other candidate will dare say because he’s more interested in ideas and they’re more interested in winning, people notice. And the people who agree with Dennis Kucinich’s ideas are going to stick with him because nobody else is picking them up. Not Barack Obama. Not John Edwards.

And not Hillary Clinton. She’s just running a very efficient campaign to win, and trying very hard not to say anything that could pin her down as having a position on anything. Meanwhile, she just soaks up all the predictions of all the people who say she’s the right one to support because she’s going to win anyway. It’s very high school student council, but it seems to be working.

There aren’t too many weeks left until the voting begins, folks. Count ‘em: a bare seven weeks until the Iowa caucuses of January 3. Look for another update next week.

Our “I Support the 4th Amendment” Lawn Sign, situated in front of the ol’ duplex, just in case you were wondering what our liberal lawn signs look like in real life.

How meta can you get? In the time it took me to write this article about Unity08’s current database crashes and post deletions, Unity08 has deleted all references to those database crashes and post deletions from its website. Is that due to a yet another database crash, or are these latest post deletions intentional, like those taking place earlier this month? I’d ask them over at Unity08, but it looks like my question might be deleted, either from a database crash or another round of purging dissent.

Oh, the humanity!

Nice to see that our poster’s being put to good use.

Photo credit: New York Times

Get it here yourself…

… and within a week, we’ll be making it available as a lawn sign, made in the USA of course.

It’s happening in Switzerland:

To create security … my home, our Switzerland … Swiss Quality.

Criminal Foreigners Get Out!

It’s happening in the United States:

It happened before:

One People, One Land, One Ruler.

Germany Lives:

Do what you can to keep it from happening again.