Scores of people are now dead in Iraq. The New York Times calls the violence "the worst sectarian violence since the American invasion."

But, this should come as no surprise. Indeed, the strife in Iraq is the reality, not the pronouncements of progress in Iraq that we hear from the president. The U.S. invasion set the stage for this violence. War begets more war and more violence. The long-standing, generations-long tensions between the Sunnis and Shiites have been made worse by the U.S. occupation.

And it's the reason the occupation must end immediately. I can't predict what will happen once U.S. troops leave--the invasion has created a wound that will not easily heal.

Today, we wake up to news that more than 100 people have been killed in the aftermath of the destruction of a Shiite mosque. In retaliation, CNN reports that 50 Sunni mosques have been attacked.

The violence stems directly from the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the continued occupation.

When will pro-war Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, finally grasp the extent to which the occupation continues to fuel the violence, admit the invasion was a mistake and bring the troops home immediately?

I wanted to take a moment from our busy campaign to thank all of our contributors. Many people are giving all they can - take this message from a recent contributor:

"I just sent you another $250 via Act Blue. That's way beyond my means, BUT . . . . I BELIEVE!"

We thank her for her belief and support. There have been others like her! Our campaign is going to be fueled by individuals, not corporate money, so visit our donation page and give what you can.

The president unveiled his budget yesterday and it is shocking to see the huge number for defense--$439 billion, plus $30.9 billion for homeland security. That comes at the expense of Medicare, education and other human needs.

Now, you will hear a lot of cries from the Democrats about the immoral nature of the budget. Certainly, I agree.

But, my opponent and any other Democrat who voted for the war cannot escape their own responsibility for this state of affairs. Voting for a war that has cost us more than $250 billion--and will likely end up costing at least $1 trillion (if you include the real costs like taking care of the maimed and wounded soldiers, the interest on the debt created by the war)--means you decided to spend money in one place that we don't have, then, for Medicare and education.

Sure, the president's tax cuts are a huge part of the fiscal mess (how does a five year deficit of an additional 2.2. trillion sound?). But, war has devastating econominc consequences. For that reason alone, the incumbent does not deserve re-election.

My friends, it's been a hectic few weeks and certainly a busy few days. So, it's been hard to blog daily.

First, we have a full-time campaign manager, Liese Schneider. She has already hired a full-time field/volunteer coordinator, Lea Kiefer, as we begin to staff up. We're building our outreach teams, signing up volunteers by the dozens, creating crack Internet and research teams and much more.

I've been speaking and visiting with folks all around the state, from peace activists to union painters--and I had a little quick trip to Los Angeles where we had a very successful fundraiser.

We're going to have a lot more information coming out beginning next week so...stay tuned.