Surgeon General Steven K. Galson has released a report on underaged drinking that is, in his own words, "devastating." Hang on to your hats as I devestate you.

It turns out more than 10 million Americans under the age of 21 have tasted alcohol. (Smelling salts, please.) The report does not say how many Americans older than 21 have had a drink, but that does not matter because of the other devastating news.

While many Americans older than 21 may go to a friendly bar and responsibly drink a few shots before driving themselves home in their safe SUV's, it turns out 30% of underaged drinking happens in the underaged drinker's own home! Right under the noses of the parents! And Galson is pissed!

Both Obama and Clinton say it would be presumptuous to talk about a running mate yet. But as we near the convention, the issue must be considered.

Some have said Howard Dean should be the choice. I love Howard Dean. There is no one I would rather send to the White House, and I would work hard for any ticket with Dean on it. Furthermore, the most effective ticket has a VP who can attack the opposition while leaving the presidential candidate above the fray. (In the last two elections, we suffered because the VP candidates were pussy cats who wanted to curl up in Bush’s lap, leaving the guys at the top of our ticket to do the dirty work and suffer the backlash.) Dean is at his best exposing Republicans’ shortcomings.

In 2008, however, Dean would not be the best choice. Democrats’ biggest challenge will be maintaining party unity after a primary with two strong candidates having a roughly equal claim to legitimacy. Supporters of the losing candidate will have some bitterness to overcome, and some of that bitterness will be directed at Dean.

Why did Hillary Clinton win last night? She did it because she was desperate to overcome the challenge of John Edwards' momentum. Ignorant people who get their news from newspapers think Edwards came in a painful 3rd yesterday and must be sinking fast. But those of us who get all our news from America's one reliable source -- diaries by other kossacks -- should have realized that Edwards lost on purpose.

You see, Edwards is lowering expectations. Sure he lost two competitions, and he'll lose Michigan and several more in weeks to come; but this is his plan! When Rhode Island finally has their primary, Edwards will finish first! Or at least in the top two! And expectations will be so low by then, he'll be celebrated nationwide for his remarkable comeback! That will give him the momentum (dare I say, the "jomentum") to bounce all the way to the top!

This is what Clinton dreads. So she decided to win NH to create the impression that she still has a chance against Edwards' masterful campaign.

Fundamentalists tell us it's important to strip away quality sex-education and replace it with "abstinence only" classes that offer youth moralizing sermons instead of educaitonal lectures. They like to point to a flawed study that suggested teenagers who loose their virginity at a younger age are more likely to become criminals.

Well, guess what. It turns out, surprisingly enough, that the fundamentalists are less than accurate. (Somebody get the smelling salts!)

The University of Virginia recently conducted a serious study on the matter. They studied more than 500 pairs of twins, teenagers growing up in identical environments with identical genes. What did they find? On average, the twin who lost his virginity first was slightly less likely to get involved in graffiti, shop-lifting, drugs, or other illegal behavior.

Bushies in Streetsboro, Ohio  have found a great way to stop Democrat Brett McClafferty from becoming their mayor: outlaw it.

McClafferty, 19, came within one vote of making the runoff. The current "leadership" of the city became so alarmed by this challenge, they are now working to ban anyone younger than 23 from running for the office of mayor.

To be pragmatic, one must first look at reality. And the reality is that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee. You may love it or hate it, but there are not enough votes in the entire Daily Kos bubble to change it. Barack Obama gave her a strong challenge, and he clearly has a long future ahead of him in politics, but Hillary Clinton has outpaced him in fundraising, outpaced him in endorsements, and outpaced him in the polls.

Sure, Howard Dean was in a similar position, and he got knocked off; but Howard Dean, a fabulous governor, was largely untested as a candidate. He was not yet experienced enough to avoid making those gaffes that would not have mattered in a world where voters had brains but mattered greatly in our world.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has been tested. She ran against Rudolf Giuliani in 2000 until Giuliani dropped out. She also survived races against George Bush Sr. and Bob Dole. (For the seven or eight Kossacks too young to remember the 1992 election, the Republicans spent more time lashing at Hillary Clinton than at the official candidate.)  Hillary has survived every ugly attack Republicans can make, and she has come out on top.

I only see one way Hillary Clinton could lose this nomination:

Congressman John Lewis, former Freedom Rider and head of SNCC, has decided to endorse Hillary Clinton.

Frankly, when I heard this, my jaw dropped. When a major Civil Rights leader passes over our first credible, promising black candidate to endorse Hillary instead, that says something amazing.

"I have looked at all the candidates, and I believe that Hillary Clinton is the best prepared to lead this country at a time when we are in desperate need of strong leadership," says Lewis. "She will restore a greater sense of community in America, and reclaim our standing in the world."

If you've ever taught a course in the subject, you know how hard it can be to get young people interested in history. I've often felt one reason youth are turned off from the subject is that history books so often omit the contributions of youth. October is the month to finally put young people back into our discussions of history.

Who are some of the youth left out? A prime example is Barbara Johns. She was one of the most exciting figures of the American Civil Rights Movement, but because she was 16 when she made her contribution, she was widely overlooked then and is all but forgotten today.

A 13-year-old Arizona girl was strip searched by employees at her middle school because they thought she had drugs. Not crack. Not heroine. Ibuprofen: an over-the-counter headache remedy that is safer for children than aspirin.

The girl could legally buy this drug at any grocery store, but her middle school, run by dedicated soldiers in the war on drugs, bans students from possessing any drugs, legal or otherwise. When an administrative assistant at the school heard a rumor this girl possessed Ibuprofen, they subjected the girl to a humiliating strip search, hell-bent on catching her. (It turned out she did not have Ibuprofen or any other drug on her.)

The worst part is that the 9th Circut Court -- yes the supposedly liberal one -- ruled the school was acting properly. Appearantly, the Bill of Rights does not apply when it stands in the way of protecting youth from over-the-counter headache relief.

More details here

For decades, Tipper Gore has told parents how to raise their children. In her book Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society, she shamed parents who dare allow their children access to youth culture. She insisted that following her example of selecting your children’s music and TV programs for them, of chaperoning your teenaged children at concerts, etc. was the only way to ensure children would grow up right and become adults who make the right choices.

We recently saw the results of Tipper Gore-style parenting. The son Tipper Gore raised, Al Gore III, was caught endangering people’s lives by driving 100 mph on a public highway. When police pulled him over, they found in his car several illegal drugs. This was not Al Gore III’s first such experience, of course. In 2003, he was stopped for driving at night with his headlights off and police found drugs then, too. Not only has Tipper Gore raised a junkie who endangers other people’s lives, but she has raised a son who can’t even figure out that when you have a stash in your car, you don’t drive 100 mph.

Now that we’ve seen the results of Tipper Gore parenting, hopefully parents will stop emulating her example. Because Al Gore III is not the only victim.

On the 4th of July, we celebrate the fighting spirit of those patriots who were willing to face sacrifices standing up to King George III. They risked jail and even death to end George III’s rule over America because they loved their country enough to fight for it.

This week, surrounding Independence Day, will we mourn the loss of that dedication, that patriotism, that willingness to fight for our country? Or will we embrace it?

(also available at My Left Wing)

What's wrong with those people? You know what I'm talking about. We have to be politically correct, of course, but let's say it: those people are stupid. Scientists I respect -- not those bleeding hearts who use fuzzy math, but REAL American scientists -- have revealed that those people have inferior brains, and that's why they don't deserve the level of respect you and I give one another. As our inferiors, they certainly should not enjoy the same legal rights. And yet, all too often, they do. The government often treats those people as though they were as good as us, and that is an insult to us.

That's why our company is proud to charge those people a higher rate than we charge you for the same service. And that's why you can be proud to do business with us.

Working together in giving those people the treatment they deserve, we will all enjoy a better society.

The More You Know

[Feel good music here]

People who buy hybrid cars now enjoy tax breaks as a thank you for doing their part to preserve our planet. Now there's a proposal to give similar tax breaks to vegetarians for the same reason. The bushies are going bonkers, insisting that proving a person eats meat would be tougher than proving an employer discriminates or proving a dictator has weapons of mass destruction. But while the bushies look for excuses to reject this idea, patriotic Americans are looking for ways to make this work.

The principle is certainly sound. It is well-documented that the meat industry contributes more to global warming than all the world's cars, trucks, and SUVs put together. Therefore, a person who stops eating meat does more for the planet than a person who stops driving a car, let alone a person who merely switches from a regular car to hybrid. (And I'm not trivializing hybrid cars; every bit helps.)

(If you didn't watch "Veronia Mars" this week, skip this diary. I'm too tired to explain it in much detail.)

"Veronica Mars" used to be progressive. It examined class conflict, animal rights, and feminism. Most of all, it resisted the prevailing winds of ageism, by portraying young characters repectfully.

All that changed tonight. After its 2-month hiatus, "Veronica Mars" returns to insult its most loyal viewers with an episode that could have been written by Bill Benett.

The Don Imus thing is hilarious, but mostly I laugh to keep from crying.

Where to begin? Let's go chronologically.

#1: The flap is out of proportion to the offense.  Had the same comments come from Chris Rock, no one would bat an eye. Had Rock made analogous remarks about white athletes, no one would care, except maybe Rush Limbaugh using it to show why white people are the REAL victims of racism; and we would all have a laugh. What Imus said was wrong, but hardly worth the attention it's getting (including from this diary - now I'm part of the lunacy).

Even more ridiculous was...

(also available at My Left Wing)

March is Women’s History Month, designed to put women back in our history books. Just as sad as the omission of women, I think, is that the few women who do get recognition are often the wrong ones.

When I was student teaching, the regular history teacher liked to tell me how her understanding of history was so much deeper than that of her 8th grade students. "These kids all know Betsy Ross made the flag, but they don’t understand she was risking her life to make that flag." She said this to me more than once, and she even said it to the class. I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming.

Gore provokes a unique reaction. A few nights ago, for example, I posted a comment suggesting if Al Gore gets the nomination, he will have difficulty winning the White House. This drew anger and troll-ratings from Gore-supporters, which in turn drew from others denunciations of TR-abuse. One asked why Gore-defenders are "so friggin' mad." I thought the question worth exploring.

Gore-supporters do act different, no question. In the past, I've posted comments criticizing and/or joking at the expense of Kucinich, Edwards, Nader, Obama, and even Clark. Others have, too. Supporters of these candidates responded sometimes with patient counter-argument, sometimes with anger; but never with cursing, slander, or troll-rating. So why do criticisms of Gore provoke such emotional response?

Dennis Lehane's bestseller Mystic River begins with a child being abducted and raped. After the rape, he is ostracized, even subjected to outright hatred and cruelty. People treat him as though it is he who did something shameful.

One might think Lehane is calling on readers to feel sympathy for child-victims, but that proves wrong by the novel's end. The message of the book seems to be that raped children should be ostracized.