I got that e-mail from the Democratic Party asking for ideas on how to do better. I think I answered the survey a little unhelpfully. It asked how the party could get people to vote for Democrats more, and it asked how to increase turnout, but I didn't realize as I was filling it out that those aren't the same question.

I told them they need to get people to understand that the Presidency isn't the only important office, and to oppose the protrayal of Congress as one thing when it's really 4: the majorities and minorities of the House and Senate. Separating that in people's minds will allow the Democrats to get people to understand that the Republicans are responsible for the poor performance of Congress.

I also said they need to push the platform in midterms. People seem to think more in terms of parties than candidates at these times, so differentiating the Democrats from the Republicans, in order to get people to pick a party, would get people to vote down the ballot.

I got a similar survey from my state party, and, in addition to the above, I told it to show how state government is important.

The jury in a trial is called a petit jury, "petit" being the opposite of "grand". I was pretty sure grand juries were supposed to have more members, but that's based on watching "Law & Order", which shows only New York. Obviously things vary from state to state.

I seem to remember hearing on progressive radio in the last few months that a grand jury is where the prosecution makes its best case for indictment, to make sure that a trial is actually worthwhile. In this case, however, it seems that Bob McCulloch wasn't interested in that.