From 2003 when I walked through hospital wards and saw children dying of shrapnel wounds from the ‘precision’ missile strikes, to 2013 walking through different hospitals 10 years later seeing babies die of mysterious birth defects, it’s clear that [Iraqi] children have been the greatest victim of this war, …the young ones are dying and suffering from wounds of a war they never saw. We’ve really let the children down, in dramatic ways that will have long-term implications.

It’s kind of like Americans are a bunch of people on a flight to Disneyland and there’s this guy flying the plane and all of a sudden he starts freaking out and we are going down and down and he’s like “I can’t handle this!” and we’re about the crash into the ground but then this other guy is like, “Hey, maybe I could try driving for a while” and then we don’t crash…

…but the guy lands us in like Kansas or something and all the people get off the plane and are like “Man, what the fuck!? I thought we were going to disneyland!”

In effect, what Democrats said Friday was that in any case where the political pain caused by sequestration becomes unbearable, they will agree to cancel that particular piece of the bill while leaving the rest of the law untouched. The result is that sequestration is no longer particularly politically threatening, but it’s even more unbalanced: Cuts to programs used by the politically powerful will be addressed, but cuts to programs that affects the politically powerless will persist. It’s worth saying this clearly: The pain of sequestration will be concentrated on those who lack political power.

It’s much harder to be a liberal than a conservative. Why? Because it’s easier to give someone the finger than a helping hand.

Now, I’ve also heard some in the Washington press suggest that what happens to gun violence legislation in Congress this week will either be a political victory or defeat for me. Connecticut, this is not about me. This is not about politics. This is about doing the right thing for all the families who are here that have been torn apart by gun violence. It’s about them and all the families going forward, so we can prevent this from happening again. That’s what it’s about. It’s about the law enforcement officials putting their lives at risk. That’s what this is about. This is not about politics. This is not about politics.

In the fall of 2010, the party combed through data to identify 23,452 households where residents were registered, and likely to be Democrats, but rarely voted. A team of 41 volunteers and paid staff then spent five weeks calling and visiting those homes, urging them to vote. The project cost a little over $40,000.

The results were startling: a 54% jump in straight-ticket Democratic voting, and a turnout rate nearly 20% higher than the rest of Travis County.

The conclusion, according to county Democratic chairman Andy Brown, who ran the drive: “People respond if you ask for their vote. And in Texas, millions of people have never been asked.

Mitch McConnell is known as the meanest, most negative campaigner in all of Washington, and Kentuckians and all Americans are sick and tired of his nasty, partisan brand of politics. No wonder he is the least popular incumbent senator in the entire country. We strongly disagree with the tweet that Mitch McConnell is referencing in his new ad, but let’s be honest: Mitch McConnell is not a victim. In fact, he is the reason for Washington’s dysfunction.