Thursday, September 27, 2007

A Not-So-Hot Night for Obama



The good news for Barack Obama: MSNBC is the lowest rated of the three cable news networks. Obama delivered a lackluster performance at the Democratic debate aired by MSNBC on Wednesday night. His answers too often were listless and formulaic. He made few connections between his noble rhetoric and real-world matters. He did nothing to distinguish himself as the anti-Hillary. John Edwards, on the other hand, was fiery and forceful. He came across as sure-footed and knowledgeable. And Hillary Clinton plowed ahead, demonstrating her confidence and her command of facts and policies. Obama's people say he had a cold and was feeling poorly. I believe them, for it showed. It really showed.

One debate does not a campaign make, of course. But Obama at some point is going to have to make a clear and compelling case that he is better than she is. He did not do so this round.

Posted by David Corn at September 27, 2007 12:28 AM

18 comments:

capt said...

Dems won't commit on ending war



Presidential frontrunners avoid firm answers on getting out of Iraq


The leading Democratic White House hopefuls conceded Wednesday night they cannot guarantee to pull all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of the next presidential term in 2013.

"I think it's hard to project four years from now," said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the opening moments of a campaign debate in the nation's first primary state.

"It is very difficult to know what we're going to be inheriting," added Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

"I cannot make that commitment," said former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

Sensing an opening, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson provided the assurances the others would not.

"I'll get the job done," said Dodd, while Richardson said he would make sure the troops were home by the end of his first year in office.


More HERE

*****end of clip*****

My worst nightmare - after sweeping super-majorities in congress, the senate and taking the presidency - the dumbocrats make some weak excuse so we stay in Iraq - continue the BS “war on terror” - we continue to dump lives and treasure into the abyss.





capt

Gerald said...

Trying to Get a Rise

Dear Posters:

In my posts I try to get a rise out of people. I only feel successful when I really piss people off. Since I have been retired, pissing people off has been my primary objective in life. After years of having people piss on my leg and telling me that it is raining, I have now a chance in retirement to piss off people.

If you have read my posts, I refer to the United States of Evil as one way to get a rise from people. Yet, after reading Stephen Lendman’s article, “A Culture of Violence,” I now realize that all my posts on how truly evil the United States of Evil is I have been absolutely correct in labeling America as evil. Yes, we are the most evil empire in the history of the universe.

Stephen Lendman highlights and points out in his article several areas that reveal how truly evil the United States of Evil is. He says that WAR is used as the ultimate economic shock therapy. Nazi America must be constantly at WAR in order to survive. Nazi Americans are addicted to WAR.

Another area that Mr. Lendman mentions is expansionism and militarism is an American tradition. Ever since the West was settled through our manifest destiny, it has been characteristically an American tradition to expand globally by force and we have used our military to take down governments, pillage another country’s resources, and use whatever means necessary to be in control over the world population.

Mr. Lendman also discusses US imperialism post-WW II. He says that three men have the task to reshape the world to their own interests. These three men are Bush Senior, Cheney, and Wolfowitz. This group is seeking global dominance and WW II was more a beginning than an end to WAR. WARS with Korea and Vietnam were examples of unnecessary WARS. These were basically civil wars where we intervened to reveal our might as a military power. We are in Korea to stay. Vietnam was a setback but not a major deterrent from us waging more WARS.

We are truly an insane empire and a people. Ben Franklin has said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.”

Examples of our insanity are the WARS with Iraq and Afghanistan and soon our overt attack Iran. We have been at WAR with Iran through covert operations for sometime.

Yet, Nazi America will never learn because we are an insane people and country. We have been having air strikes on an average of 75 per day in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan but the media has been silent. We have also had a history of bringing a holocaust to people whenever and wherever we choose. For example our WARS and policies toward Iraq since 1990 have killed 2.7 million people. Yes, we are an evil people and nation. The Americans have a right to know but our government and the media have not informed us of our murderous ways.

Washington makes no secret that it wants regime change in Iran and so there will be a regime change by WAR.

So much for democracy in a nation stained by a near-unblemished record of illegal aggression throughout its history and in every post-WW II conflict fought.

Mr. Lendman also mentions in his article the harmful effects of imperialism at home. Ordinary Americans are the losers in lives killed and money wasted.

The CIA is a terrorist organization. It takes lots of cover-up and myth-building to create the illusion America wants peace, is “beautiful,” and respects the law and rights of people everywhere. The truth is quite the opposite abroad and at home where essential needs go unmet and violence is a way of life.

There is a Global Peace Index of 121 nations and Nazi America ranks 96 as a violent and warmongering country.

Stephen Lendman concludes his article with the subject of violence in America as a way of life at home and abroad. He discusses how bombarded we are with violence through television, video games, music, sports, sexual activity, the demeaning of women, and decreased family communication. These are some areas that influence violence at home and abroad. Our culture and its values are transported around the world so we do influence other countries.

Unless we confront the threat to our survival from foreign wars and a violent culture accustomed to them, we face what Albert Einstein and the philosopher Bertrand Russell warned 50 years ago saying: “Shall we put an end to the human race or shall mankind renounce war” and a culture of violence and live in peace because no other way is possible.

Personally, Nazi America is too far gone and her hatred for herself and the world population is so deep and widespread that Nazi America is bent on destroying herself and the world. Nazi America’s addiction to war means that she wants a global holocaust and the demise of the human race because throughout history Nazi America has brought holocaust as well as pain and suffering to most of the world and its people. Nazi America’s true manifest destiny is to totally destroy the planet and all living beings and creatures.

Sincerely,
Gerald

capt said...

"The United States must cultivate a mental view toward world settlement after this war which will enable us to impose our own terms, amounting perhaps to a pax- americana.": U.S. Department of State - Source: Minutes S-3 of the Security Subcommittee, Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy, 6 May, 1942, Notter File, Box 77, Record Group 59, Records of the Department of State, National Archives, DC.

=
"We could not leave them to themselves -- they were unfit for self-government -- and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's was .. there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them." -William McKinley - (1843-1901) 25th US President - Source: 1899, on the Filipinos, following the U.S. invasion of the Philippines in 1898. During the invasion and occupation, U.S. forces killed an estimated 200,000 Filipino civilians. Address to the Methodist Episcopal Church; cited in Olcott, The Life of William McKinley (1916), v. 2, p. 110; estimate of civilian casualties from U.S. Library of Congress, "The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War," 1998.

=
"This country is not pro-American. It is United States property."- Juan Bosch - President of the Dominican Republic Source: In 1965, the U.S. invaded the Dominican Republic to prevent the displacement of Donald Reid Cabral by Bosch's constitutionally-elected government. New York Times, 6 June 1975

=
"You know your country is dying when you have to make a distinction between what is moral and ethical, and what is legal." -- John De Armond

=
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."- Voltaire - [François Marie Arouet] (1694-1778)

===


Thanks ICH Newsletter!

capt said...

Sex change funding undermines no gays claim



 Ahmadinejad account rejected in Iran
 Homosexuality illegal but transsexuals tolerated



When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's combative president, provoked his latest controversy in New York this week by asserting that there were no homosexuals in his country, he may have been indulging in sophistry or just plain wishful thinking.

While Mr Ahmadinejad may want to believe that his Islamic society is exclusively non-gay, it is a belief undermined by the paradox that transsexuality and sex changes are tolerated and encouraged under Iran's theocratic system.

Iran has between 15,000 and 20,000 transsexuals, according to official statistics, although unofficial estimates put the figure at up to 150,000. Iran carries out more gender change operations than any country in the world besides Thailand.
Sex changes have been legal since the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution, passed a fatwa authorising them nearly 25 years ago. Whereas homosexuality is considered a sin, transsexuality is categorised as an illness subject to cure.

While the government seeks to keep its approval quiet, state support has increased since Mr Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. His government has begun providing grants of £2,250 for operations and further funding for hormone therapy. It is also proposing loans of up to £2,750 to allow those undergoing surgery to start their own businesses.

Maryam Khatoon Molkara, leader of the country's main transsexual organisation, said some of those undergoing operations were gay rather than out-and-out transsexuals. "In Iran, transsexuals are part of the homosexual family. Is it possible that a phenomenon exists in the world but not in Iran? Transsexuality is a real disaster. It's a one-way street. But if somebody wants to study, have a future and live like others they should go through this surgery."

At Columbia University on Monday, Mr Ahmadinejad said homosexuality did not exist in Iran. "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country," he told a questioner who accused his government of executing gay people. "In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who has told you that we have it."

But Ms Molkara - who persuaded Khomeini to issue the fatwa on transsexuality - said his stance was inconsistent with the state's sex-change policy. "They are saying homosexuality doesn't exist, but they have never given me a chance to use my influence among transsexuals to prevent transsexuality from happening," she said. "You could change the culture but the press and state TV are not allowed to write or say anything about transsexuality."

The president's claim was an eye-opener to Iranian human rights lawyers, who said the country's Islamic legal code made draconian provision for homosexual offences by men and women.

It also outraged international gay rights activists, who recalled numerous executions under Iran's sodomy laws. When legal officials announced the execution of 12 prisoners at Tehran's Evin prison in July, they said the condemned included several "sodomites". According to campaigners, several gay men have been caught up in a wave of hangings over the summer, although the claims are hard to verify.

There have been other high-profile cases in recent years, including that of two teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, who were publicly hanged in the north-eastern city of Mashhad in the summer of 2005 after admitting having sex. This summer, Pegah Emambakhsh, an Iranian lesbian, was granted permission to take her case to the court of appeal in Britain after claiming she would be in danger of execution if the Home Office implemented its ruling to deport her to Iran.

"Homosexuality is defined both for men and women in law. There is a section devoted to homosexuality," Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel peace prize-winning human rights lawyer, said. "There is one part for homosexuality in men, which is called lavat [sodomy], which is punishable by death. There is another for women, which is called mosahegheh. If the crime is committed up to three times, the penalty is 100 lashes. On the fourth, it is execution."


More HERE

capt said...

Saddam asked Bush for $1bn to go into exile



Saddam Hussein offered to step down and go into exile one month before the invasion of Iraq, it was claimed last night.

Fearing defeat, Saddam was prepared to go peacefully in return for £500million ($1billion).

The extraordinary offer was revealed yesterday in a transcript of talks in February 2003 between George Bush and the then Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar at the President's Texas ranch.

The White House refused to comment on the report last night.

But, if verified, it is certain to raise questions in Washington and London over whether the costly four-year war could have been averted.

Only yesterday, the Bush administration asked Congress for another £100billion to finance the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The total war bill for British taxpayers is expected to reach £7billion by next year.

More than 3,800 American service personnel have lost their lives in Iraq, along with 170 Britons and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

However, according to the tapes, one month before he launched the invasion Mr Bush appeared convinced that Saddam was serious about going into exile.

"The Eqyptians are speaking to Saddam Hussein," said Mr Bush.

"It seems he's indicated he would be prepared to go into exile if he's allowed to take $1billion and all the information he wants about weapons of mass destruction."

Asked by the Spanish premier whether Saddam - who was executed in December last year - could really leave, the President replied: "Yes, that possibility exists. Or he might even be assassinated."

But he added that whatever happened: "We'll be in Baghdad by the end of March."

Mr Bush went on to refer optimistically to the rebuilding or Iraq.

The transcript - which was published yesterday in the Spanish newspaper El Pais - was said to have been recorded by a diplomat at the meeting in Crawford, Texas, on February 22, 2003.

Mr Bush was dismissive of the then French President Jacques Chirac, saying he "thinks he's Mr Arab".

Referring to his relationship with Downing Street, he said: "I don't mind being the bad cop if Blair is the good cop."

The President added: "Saddam won't change and he'll keep on playing games.

"The time has come to get rid of him. That's the way it is."

Days before the invasion began on March 22, 2003, the United Arab Emirates proposed to a summit of Arab leaders that Saddam and his henchmen should go into exile.

It was the first time the plan had been officially voiced but it was drowned out in the drumbeat of war.

A spokesman for Mr Aznar's foundation had no comment on its authenticity.

Bomb attacks killed 57 people in Iraq yesterday.



More HERE

capt said...

Pajamas Media Goes Live on Weekly XM Satellite Radio Show



Pajamas Media launches its own weekly radio show TODAY on XM Radio's free channel - POTUS '08 - channel 130

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today marks the premier of a new one-hour show on XM Satellite Radio offering the best in political commentary leading up to next year's election. Pajamas Media goes live today with their weekly radio show, PJM Political, on the new XM channel POTUS '08, channel 130.

Every Thursday at 6 p.m. EDT, the show will feature interviews and commentary with the best in the business of political analysis, including bloggers, authors, reporters and politicians. The show will be hosted by Bill Bradley, a top pundit who blogs for Pajamas Media regularly on the state of the union.

"This is a momentous step in the astronomical growth of Pajamas Media as a major player in online news and opinion," says CEO and co-founder Roger L. Simon. "Pajamas Media contributors are trusted sources of analysis and opinion on major mainstream television and radio news shows. Now we're bringing our exclusive content to radio listeners across the country with a full hour of our in-depth coverage."

PJM Political will be available even to non-subscribers of XM Satellite radio if they have an XM receiver.

"The Show airs on POTUS '08, which is a free channel offered by XM," explains Ed Driscoll, producer of PJM Political. "So all you need is an XM receiver, which comes factory-installed in many newer model cars, and you can catch the show every week."

Tomorrow's premier show features interviews and commentary with Michael Barone (columnist with U.S. News & World Report), Jonah Goldberg (editor of National Review), Jeff Goldstein (popular conservative blog Protein Wisdom), John Podhoretz (columnist for the New York Post), David Corn
(political commentator) and many of the familiar names of Pajamas Media.

If you would like to speak to Pajamas Media CEO Roger L. Simon about PJM Political and the growing relationship between the blogosphere and radio, please contact Karen M. Northon at 703-683-5004 x121 or knorthon@crcpublicrelations.com.

If you would like to send a story idea or guest pitch to Ed Driscoll, producer of PJM Political, please email him at ed@eddriscoll.com.

For more information on POTUS '08, go to http://www.xmradio.com/potus.


More HERE

capt said...

Roots of Iraq Weapon Probes Date to 2004



WASHINGTON (AP) - As President Bush and Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry clashed in late 2004 over the direction of the Iraq war, a rising Army star joined the debate.

Then-Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, head of a new command overseeing the training and equipping of Iraq's security forces, said headway was being made.

Tens of thousands of rifles, pistols, body armor, vehicles, and radios, along with millions of ammunition rounds, had been delivered to Iraqis over a three-month period, he wrote in a commentary for The Washington Post six weeks before the presidential election.

The weapons and countless pieces of other gear, paid for with tens of millions of U.S. tax dollars, were indeed flowing - but as it turns out, not always to the right places or into the right hands.

In the rush to arm Iraqi forces against a violent insurgency, U.S. military officials did not keep good records. About 190,000 weapons weren't fully accounted for, according to one audit.

The accounting failures are at the heart of a broad inquiry by the Pentagon's inspector general, sharp questions from Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and complaints from officials in Turkey who claim that pistols used in violent crimes in their country came from U.S.-funded stocks.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, who preceded Petraeus as the officer in charge of training Iraq's forces, said he expects the inspector general will find there were too few people to handle the enormous influx of weapons and money into the country.

``One of the greatest irritants to me was watching the Pentagon cooking along at full strength while we in Iraq were running on a very thin personnel shoestring,'' said Eaton, a critic of the Bush administration's handling of the war.

``There have never been enough people, and there has never been enough bureaucratic support and effort to do this thing properly,'' Eaton told The Associated Press.

Peter Velz, a Pentagon official specializing in Iraq issues, said Petraeus' command was operating under ``extremely difficult, Spartan conditions'' and was in need of more personnel experienced in contracting and materiel management.

The training command had about 900 people in 2004, according to a command spokesman, and it now has 1,100.

There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Petraeus, now a four-star general and the top American officer in Iraq. And there is no indication that he is the subject of any of the inspector general's inquiries.

His commentary, however, is a reminder of how even cautiously optimistic assessments of the war in Iraq can turn with time.

In June 2004, Petraeus took over the just-formed Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq, more commonly known by the acronym MNSTC-I (pronounced ``min-sticky''). The organization's job is to train Iraqi army and police units so they are capable of operating on their own.

Petraeus has likened the experience to ``building an aircraft that was already in flight.''

Given the rising strength of the insurgency at the time, Petraeus felt it was more important to get weapons and ammunition to troops in the fight ``than to wait for a signature on a hand receipt,'' Army Col. Steven Boylan, Petraeus's top spokesman, said Tuesday by e-mail.

Petraeus left the post in September 2005.

Since then, audits have cited the Iraq transition command for lack of oversight.

An October 2006 audit by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction said there was ``questionable accuracy'' and ``incomplete accountability'' in the way MNSTC-I managed weapons.

In one case, 751 assault rifles were purchased, but there is no record of their delivery to Iraq's ministries of defense and interior.

More recently, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said until December 2005, MNSTC-I had no centralized set of records for the shipping of weapons to Iraqi forces.

The command said 185,000 Russian-designed AK-47 rifles, 170,000 pistols, 215,000 sets of body armor, and 140,000 helmets had been issued to Iraq troops by September 2005, according to the July GAO report.

But due to incomplete record-keeping, the command couldn't be certain if the Iraqis received 110,000 of the rifles, or 80,000 of the pistols. More than half of the body armor and helmets couldn't be tracked.

Military officials in Washington and Baghdad still have not settled on which, ``if any,'' accountability procedures apply to the train-and-equip program, the GAO said.

Velz, who works for the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East, said oversight continues to be a subject of debate inside the Pentagon.

``There clearly has been a lack of guidance to MNSTC-I on what accountability requirements apply to them,'' Velz said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week.

Federal investigators are also examining whether employees for Blackwater USA, one of the largest private security firms in Iraq, played a role in the loose arms problem by selling weapons on the black market that ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Turkish officials have complained to the United States that they had seized weapons from the PKK, a Kurdish militant group, with markings matching those intended for Iraqi forces.

Blackwater has denied any involvement in weapons smuggling and called the allegations ``baseless.''

Lawmakers who received a classified briefing from the inspector general last week expressed concern that U.S. troops might be injured or killed by firepower the United States purchased.

If ``there is a wholesale movement of weapons that U.S. taxpayers have paid for into the hands of those who would do us harm or further destabilize the region, we must make resolving this problem one of our top priorities,'' Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said at the Sept. 20 House Armed Services hearing.

Thomas Gimble, the Pentagon's deputy inspector general, said his office has 90 open investigations stemming from nearly $6 billion in contracts for supplies and equipment needed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gimble said his staff also is auditing $88 billion in wartime expenditures to see if further investigation is warranted. Since 2003, more than $19 billion has gone to build up Iraq's security forces.

Army Lt. Col. Levonda Joey Selph, a former assistant to Petraeus during 2004 and 2005, is a target of one of the investigations.

Selph served as the U.S. commander of a large depot north of Baghdad that was responsible for outfitting Iraq's military.

On Wednesday, Selph told AP a gag order prevents her from commenting. But before hanging up, she called press reports about her ``freaking lies.''


More HERE

capt said...

No clear GOP leader seen in N.H. poll



Mitt Romney's lead in New Hampshire has evaporated, according to a CNN/WMUR poll released yesterday.

Among likely Republican primary voters, Romney's support has dropped 10 percentage points, from 33 percent in July to 23 percent now. Rudy Giuliani rose to 22 percent, from 18 percent in July, and John McCain to 17 percent from 12 percent.

Fred Thompson, who officially joined the race earlier this month, barely moved: The poll shows him at 12 percent, compared with 13 percent in July. The sampling error of the poll, conducted Sept. 17-24, was plus or minus 5.4 percentage points.

"There is absolutely no clear front-runner in this race," Andy Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducted the poll, told WMUR.

In the survey, 66 percent of respondents said they were still trying to decide whom to vote for, while only 13 percent said they had definitely decided.

While Giuliani was seen as the most likeable candidate and the one with the best chance of defeating the Democratic nominee, McCain drew the most support for having the "right experience" to be president.

Meanwhile, Romney's attempts to portray himself as the candidate who represents change in Washington - the main emphasis of his recent TV ads and a key speech in Michigan last weekend - appears to be sinking in. Twenty-five percent said Romney was the candidate who could "bring needed change."


More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Seems nobody in the GOP likes any of their candidates. Both sad and kind of funny.



capt

capt said...

Senators vote to crack down on hate crimes



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted to crack down on hate crimes on Thursday in defiance of a possible White House veto. In doing so, it declared that the United States must combat terror at home as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"At a time that we are fighting terrorism abroad, the United States Senate says, 'We are going to fight terrorism, hatred and bigotry here at home,'" said Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.

The measure would bolster the ability of federal, state and local authorities to investigate and prosecute hate crimes based on race, ethnic background, religion, gender, sexual orientation and disability.

The White House has threatened to veto such legislation, and, along with many fellow Republicans in Congress, contends it is unneeded and existing laws are adequate.

The White House also opposed the Senate's cranking up pressure to approve the measure by attaching it to a defense bill authorizing Pentagon programs.

White House press secretary Dana Perino voiced displeasure with the hate-crime amendment, but declined to say if President George W. Bush would veto the entire massive defense bill.


More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Dana voiced displeasure? Well then, good enough for me.



capt

capt said...

What is the Iraq war's carbon footprint?


[...]

Amory Lovins, the world-renowned energy consultant, agrees that the US military has a "fat fuel-logistics tail" and believes that this is a "very teachable moment for the military" on reducing its immense fossil fuel consumption.

And it is indeed immense: according to a report in Energy Bulletin earlier this year, the Pentagon is the single largest consumer of oil in the world. If the Pentagon was a country, it would be the 36th biggest consumer of oil. The US military officially uses 320,000 barrels of oil a day, but this total only includes "vehicle transport and facility maintenance". What about the 130,000 US contractors in Iraq rebuilding the ruined infrastructure? (Lovins estimates that about a third of the military's oil is used to run generators, the vast majority of which power air-conditioning units.) And compared with the second world war, the military in Iraq and Afghanistan is using 16 times more fuel per soldier, according to a Pentagon report published this year.

Ultimately, the question posed is unanswerable, but what is known is that one thing war is good for is dramatically increasing a nation's fuel use.


More HERE

*****end of clip*****

No matter how or why big oil is eating their cake and having it too.



capt

Gerald said...

The Turd

Dear Posters:

I had an opportunity to listen to Bill Clinton on CNN. He at least can speak and know what he is saying unlike The Turd who is the occupier in the Reich House.

Bill Clinton was commenting on how the Swift Boaters ripped apart Max Cleland and he was compared to Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and that John Kerry did not deserve his medals.

Yet, the Move On ad about General Betrayus who was actually betraying us by discussing policy and not military strategy was ripped by the Nazi Party. Once General Betrayus started to discuss policy before Congress, he was open for criticism. Policy is for Hitler Bush to articulate and not the military’s job.

The Turd cannot even articulate a sentence beyond two words. He is either brain dead from inherent stupidity or his brain is dead from too much booze and/or drugs. One thing is certain that The Turd really cannot converse like Bill Clinton.

Sincerely,
Gerald

Gerald said...

Quotable
We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom.
– Stephen Vincent Benét

David B. Benson said...

Gerald in particular will appreciate what Juan Cole has to say today in Informed Comment...

Gerald said...

DBB, if what we are hearing that Saddam Hussein would have stepped down for a billion dollars, the Iraq war is such a tragedy beyond any words that can be spoken.

Reading Stephen Lenman's article, A Culture of Violence," offers serious thought about Nazi American personalities for the past 500 hundred years when Nazi America was founded.

This Iraq war is giving to our children and their children the sins of the father. Nazi America's image is tainted forever. Nazi America's image may be etched in stone for all eternity.

DBB, what truly amazes me, is our lack of a conscience regarding our sinful deeds. A conscience is important for the survival of a nation. We must know the difference between right and wrong.

I will probably cry myself to sleep tonight.

capt said...

GOP May Still Try to Steal '08 Election, But They Won't Do It In California



Howie Klein: Good news! The backers of an initiative to split up California's electoral votes are pulling the plug due to a lack of funds.


This post, written by Howie Klein, originally appeared on Down With Tyranny!

It looks like all that work by the Courage Campaign and the Calitics netroots has paid off-- big time! This evening the L.A. Times reported that the dirty tricks initiative to split up the California electoral votes by counties (without a corresponding split up of the electoral votes in Florida and Texas) has failed. I had heard that polling for it shows that only one in five Californians would vote for it. But the Times says the backers are pulling the plug because they have no money to hire people to get their petitions signed. and, believe me, this was never going to be a volunteer effort.


The Times' Dan Morain reports that the proposal to change the winner-take-all electoral vote allocation to one by congressional district is virtually dead with the resignation of key supporters, internal disputes and a lack of funds.

The Times, of course, tries assigning credit to some big money/Insider Hillary backers. It has more to do with the grassroots action against it, the organizing efforts of the Courage Campaign and the fact that the shady Republicans behind it, Californians For Equal Representation are a bunch of cronies of David Dreier's from Missouri and their actual agenda was the theft of the election for Giuliani.


More HERE

*****end of clip*****



I am no partisan and would never throw a party for the party but THIS IS GREAT NEWS! WOO HOO!


capt

capt said...

Senate Partitions Iraq




The US Senate voted for a soft partition of Iraq on Thursday. First they messed up Iraq by authorizing Terrible George to blow it up, now they want to further mess it up by dividing it. It makes no sense to me; the US Senate doesn't even have the authority to divide Iraq. Wouldn't that be for the Iraqi parliament?

The Iraqi political elite roundly condemned the Senate vote. Note that among the more vocal denunciations came from Shiite Vice President Adil Abdul Mahdi, whose own party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), favors the creation of a Shiite superstate in the south.

Iraq expert Reidar Vissar dissects the Senate vote and says it is, in Iraqi terms, unconstitutional.

The Iraqi government is incapable of even rudimentary auditing and corruption-fighting, according to a US embassy in Baghdad report. The difficulties range from the poor security situation to violent militia elements inside government ministries.

Historian Roger Owen explains why Iraq is doomed to warlord rivalry and chaos in the short to medium term, whatever the US military does in that country.

More HERE

capt said...

UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate agrees to raise U.S. credit limit



WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - With the U.S. government fast approaching its current $8.965 trillion credit limit, the Senate on Thursday gave final congressional approval of an $850 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority.

The Senate voted 53-42 to raise the debt ceiling to $9.815 trillion, the fifth increase in the U.S. credit limit since President George W. Bush took office in January 2001. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the higher debt limit earlier this year as part of the overall budget resolution and the legislation now goes to Bush for his signature.


"We have no choice but to approve it. If we fail to raise the debt ceiling soon, the U.S. Treasury will default for the first time in its history," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus.

"Plainly, especially in this credit crisis, we cannot let that happen," the Montana Democrat added.

The U.S. Treasury Department has been pressing Congress to pass the debt increase quickly. Last week Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the government would hit its current $8.965 trillion debt limit on Oct. 1.


More HERE

*****end of clip*****

And the handbasket-to-hell accelerates. Maybe the fed can devalue the dollar more?


capt

capt said...

New Thread