In one of those synchroncities that sometimes occur in life, shortly before I began to hear about the current unrest in Tibet, I had begun to read a book called The Essential Dalai Lama: His Important Teachings, edited by Rajiv Mehrotra and published by Penguin Books. The book is a compilation of essays and lectures on Buddhism by the Dalai Lama. It is a relatively thin book, under 300 pages, but I have yet to finish it a couple of weeks later, because each of the essays in the book is so full of meaning and deserving of further thought that I cannot read too much of it at once without stopping to absorb and ponder it.

I am not a Buddhist. I am someone who has a great deal of interest in spiritual questions about the actual nature of reality, but because of a questioning mind I have been unable thus far to accept any religion. As such, I am by no means an expert on this subject, but I want to convey some sense of what I believe is the deep importance of preserving the Tibetan culture. I have the impression that many Americans are unfamiliar with that culture and think of Tibet as far away and unimportant to them. I want to express why I think it is imperative that we support Tibet.

I don't know when our party began to turn away from the cause of working people, from the fathers who were working three jobs literally just to pay the rent, mothers sending their kids to bed wrapped up in their clothes and in coats because they couldn't afford to pay for heat.

We know that our brothers and sisters have been bullied into believing that they can't organize and can't put a union in the workplace. Well, in this campaign, we didn't turn our heads. We looked them square in the eye and we said, "We see you, we hear you, and we are with you. And we will never forget you." And I have a feeling that if the leaders of our great Democratic Party continue to hear the voices of working people, a proud progressive will occupy the White House.

-John Edwards

By now, you may have heard about the letter that Martin Luther King III wrote to John Edwards earlier this month. Then again, perhaps you haven't. The media has not covered it much.

Here's my favorite part:

So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horserace, not a fight for justice. My dad was a fighter. As a friend and a believer in my father's words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I say to you: keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud.

My title made you look!

"...what I was trying to do was represent the grown-up wing of the Democratic Party last night."

-John Edwards to David Letterman, in reference to Monday night's Democratic debate.

That and so much more in tonight's Edwards Evening News.

John Edwards spoke today at the NAACP's King Day rally at the Dome on the grounds of the state Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina. He spoke passionately about the importance of speaking out for all the disenfranchised in our society. He emphasized that all of us are in this together, and that we can no longer stand silent in the face of oppression.

I've been away from my home for three weeks. I was in New Hampshire helping the Edwards campaign, then I went to Michigan for Christmas, then I was in Iowa for the caucus. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of hard work. Sometimes it was an emotional roller coaster. Many things happened during that time, but through it all, one thing never changed: I will support John Edwards through the convention and beyond, no matter what.

In the UK, Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) is the day that you give gifts to employees, coworkers, or people who have served you throughout the year. According to Wikipedia:

Boxing Day is a traditional celebration, dating back to the Middle Ages, and consisted of the practice of giving out gifts to employees, the poor, or to people in a lower social class.

Somehow, it seems like an appropriate day to celebrate John Edwards, the candidate who has taken the gloves off to fight for all of us.

It doesn't say life, liberty and the pursuit of endless corporate profit in the Declaration of Independence.
- John Edwards

Welcome to your Edwards Evening News Roundup! I'm reporting live from New Hampshire, where at the moment, the big news is a heck of a lot of snow. I wasn't able to go into the office in Concord today to volunteer because of it, but I'll share my thoughts on why I've come up to New Hampshire a second time to canvass and phone bank for John Edwards, and I have news on upcoming events in the Granite State. It's cold outside here and in much of America, so grab a cup of hot cocoa and join me for the Edwards Evening News.