Current Article

Bush Opposes G.I. Bill (+ Wide Open Thread) [With a "Thank You" Update]

By SusanUnPC on March 8, 2008 at 12:34 PM in Barack Obama, Education, Hillary Clinton, Soldiers/Veterans

UPDATE: DO NOT miss watching Hillary’s personal thank you to each of you! There’s great footage, and a heartful thanks to all, with an important message and reminder. And — breaking news! (about 20 paragraphs down) — Barack is going to Europe! (No word if it’s about doing his damn job. Among those NoQuarter stories, be sure to read Joe Wilson’s op-ed here, “Obama’s Hollow ‘Judgment’ and Empty Record.”)

From Sen. Jim Webb’s home page: “Webb, Hagel, Lautenberg Reintroduce “21st Century GI Bill” with Senator John Warner as Key Co-Sponsor”

Sens. Clinton and Obama are among the 37 sponsors of the bill.

Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) today announced introduction of legislation developed with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to help returning veterans transition into colleges and universities and provide support to help them succeed in higher education. The Supporting Education for Returning Veterans Act will provide grants to institutions of higher education to establish one-stop centers to provide services and support to veterans on campus. Representative Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) has introduced similar legislation in the United States House of Representatives.

“We should do everything we can to support our servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and help them transition successfully to civilian life. …

Simon

I don’t believe any of them, anymore, democratic, or republican.

After the article in Rolling Stone, detailing the democratic duplicity on ending the Iraqi war (cynically using the issue to get votes, with no intention of working toward a solution) I don’t trust any of them.

It’s the results that count, now.

And to that end Clinton has come through, especially in regard to the college loan industry.

Watch what they do, not what they say.

In regard to the water boarding ban, it’s my belief now the democrats never really intended to oppose Bush, it’s all for show.

I hope the whole corrupt group gets flushed, it’s not as if they’re paragons of courage.

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

I do like Sherrod Brown, what I’ve seen of him and am glad that he and Hillary teamed up on that GI education bill.

By the way, Brown’s wife, Cleveland columnist Connie Schulz, was on Charlie Rose on Tuesday night, while the election returns were still coming in. She is smart as a whip. She’s been on his show before, by herself, and is riveting to listen to … and I love her open-as-the-prairies, handsome face.

She did battle — gracefully but very firmly — with Obama-Kool-Aid-binger Melissa Harris Lacewell.

Lacewell is, sigh, a professor at Princeton. Who in the hell are these universities hiring these days? She was abrasive and confrontational — and threatening all-out chaos — if Obama isn’t the nominee. (That kind of crap just promotes any possibility of violent chaos.)

LuigiDaMan

I used to interview Sherrod Brown on my Akron TV show from time to time when he was a congressman. We used to watch the Indians play on one monitor while answering question online to his constituents. He is a solid person, a smart guy, very affable, and means and does exactly what he says. He’s from a long line of public servants who have the best intereests in mind of the people they serve.

When Hillary works with people like that, it’s two good eggs working together!
kenoshaMarge

I don’t understand this whole “Hillary will tear the party apart rhetoric” that Mark Halperin kept referring to. Yes Obama has more pledged delegates but does not Hillary Clinton have more of the popular vote? Will not the SD take the popular vote into consideration and why would that tear the party apart?

Isn’t the popular vote the voice of the people?

AF

Tear the party apart – which candidate said “I’ll get her voters, but I don’t know if she’ll get mine.”

AF

Hhmmm

* [new] You know the irony? (12+ / 0-)

As long as people are fixated on the primary, my advertising is WAY down since advertisers know that no one will pay attention to anything that’s not Obama or Clinton.

On top of that, my hosting expenses have increased from added bandwidth and server needs. So actually, the huge primary battle has been TERRIBLE for business.

In fact, February may have been my worst revenue month in two years. Good thing I’ve got a little cushion in the bank, otherwise I’d be decimated.

If spreadsheets ruled my world, I’d be devastated that this thing will carry on.

by kos on Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 11:57:01 PM PST

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Pageviews, ad revenue down at kos?

* [new] No need (3+ / 0-)

You don’t know my finances. And really, this (business) turn of events is quite illogical. I can scarcely believe it myself, and I look at those spreadsheets daily.

Just don’t assume everyone is motivated by money. It’s not always true.

by kos on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:51:45 AM PST

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

Poor Kos.

I’m sure his woes have nothing to do with his complete loss of control over his thuggish community — well, let’s be accurate in that he doesn’t even TRY to control his thugs, and almost always only punishes HRC’s supporters — as well as his posting utter crap about HRC’s campaign doctoring photos of Obama (which has been 100% disproven and is bullshit anyway to anyone who knows the complexities of digital conversions).

People have noticed that his traffic has plummeted over the past several months. Blogs like ours have enjoyed a big increase in traffic. Now why might that be?

There’s also his dodgy support. The other night, after Tuesday, he wrote that he’s “always liked” Hillary Clinton. Then he posts that crap about the photos.

His “grandfathers” at MyDD would NEVER EVER post something like that.

ChrisXP

I’m getting a kick out of DK’s front page Google ads.

HillaryClinton.com ad
Men for Hillary ad
Hillary SNL skit ad

lolololololol

Revenge is a dish best served i-c-e cold!
ChrisXP

One more thingie about digital conversions…PLEASE tell Hillary’s video crew to DEINTERLACE video for the web! The banding you see in her welcome message is a result of that.

Sorensen has the best compression software you can get for a resemble price (both for digital video and Flash [.flv that YouTube uses]). Works wonders for videos on YouTube, too…a hint for those using it to promote Hillary with videos.
IndyRobin

The day he wrote ” I like Hillary … too bad she has so much slime around her” I wrote to him

“I use to like you Kos. Too bad you have so much slime dripping off you”

Then he posted the “dark face Obama photo’s” I wrote to him

“Kos, this is RACEBAITING and you are losing every last bit of your crediability. Keep this up and you will drive the rest of us away.

He STILL hasn’t kicked me off. Hummm
Simon

Yesterday, I was reading Kos average reader is a middle aged white guy, 43 years old, making 80,000 a year.

A thug behind a keyboard, and then not even, just clueless.

In real life, ah, not so much.

lol.

Simon

I read it everyday until it became apparent what was going on.

I won’t be reading it again, and since leaving, I’ve been exposed to so many other blogs far more open minded, democratic, and fun.

RIgso

WOW! I just found this site, Thank GOD! I cant stand Dailykos anymore, I really just want to slap kos in the face!

Simon

WOW! I just found this site, Thank GOD! I cant stand Dailykos anymore, I really just want to slap kos in the face!

Rumor floating Obama does too.

Kathleen

They will slap you back if you have a different opinion and kick you in the stomach while they are at it.

Simon

They will slap you back if you have a different opinion and kick you in the stomach while they are at it.

So I’ve heard.

I kick back, too.

Hard.

Don’t you?

Kathleen

In my opinion I would say that we both do.

At some point though when kicking starts being personal and not focused on opinions, etc the kicking becomes useless. I like debates but I do not like when people start personally attacking someone. (this happened over at FDL , the moderator would only object to personal attacks selectively).

This does not happen at Emptywheel’s Firedoglake blog. Not at all. Emptywheel is open to challenges as long as they are respectful!

Simon

At some point though when kicking starts being personal and not focused on opinions, etc the kicking becomes useless. I like debates but I do not like when people start personally attacking someone. (this happened over at FDL , the moderator would only object to personal attacks selectively).

I agree, the debate becomes internecine, and it’s just a matter of time until both parties die, unfortunately, like Israel, and Palestine, on their current track.

And like any infection, an internecine war opens a country, or a party up to opportunistic infection, and then you end up at the mercy of others, the body as a whole destroyed.

So you fight smarter.

Again, all war, all aggression is a result of an aberrant psychology, denial.

If you understand that about your aggressor, you can eventually defeat them, and even if it’s only you, or me, fighting, and we’re overpowered, we know without significant change, the aggressor will die, too.

Like Stalin, say, Bill Kristol to me is just another Stalin wannabe, who will end up the same way (in a glass coffin in red square? No. Disgraced? yes). So the people as a whole have to make a decision to change the system, like torture, say, or our country too will fail. So you hope the real PTB in America see it, our founding fathers had it right, were brilliant.

And THAT is survival of the fittest, not those idiots who would bomb everyone into oblivion, using the republican like politics of fear. With every action, they show they don’t understand what is going on, they are just doofuses, trying so hard for respect.

ChrisXP

Like Stalin, say, Bill Kristol to me is just another Stalin wannabe

His dad was a bona-fide Trotskyist and considered one of the main founders of Neo-Conservatism, so it’s no slur or partisan blah blah that his family’s history IS Stalinist.

It’s one of the main reasons Traditionals d-e-s-p-i-s-e Neo-Cons. They are literally Marxist offshoots, trying to pass off as conservatives. The only real difference between Neo-Cons and Far Left Communists/Marxists/Socialists, is that Neo-Cons love money, it’s their God. If that means giving business everything to make more profits, they’d do it (undermining TR’s direction). They also were never for social conservatism (which is why the GOP didn’t implode when the religious Right’s power ebbed). The power struggle now in conservatism — as you can see with McCain’s campaign — is to regain control back from those hijackers who AREN’T conservatives. Pro-Life and all of those other social agendas were never a conservative ideal, as it’s not a State’s business — and CERTAINLY not using the Constitution to push such agendas!

Hopefully, the extremism will cease, and the roles returned between the Left and Right philosophies. Where the firebrands on the Left push change, and those on the Right temper the change so it’s logically fits our government and palable to the masses. That balance that makes a government work!

TeakWoodKite

Salutations…. saluwha?
http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

A hearty welcome, Rigso! Bring your friends. We have a lot of fun here. There are some truly informed and clever commentators here — and I don’t mean the front-page stories — i mean those who comment here.

RIgso

Thanks, I will be! Are you SusanHU on Dkos? If so, I’m sure you get my utter frustrationg with that backwards place. Its all crap all the time now…

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

Yes, it is I. I suppose you know that I’m a racist, right?

RIgso

Of course, aren’t all HRC supporters?

Kathleen

Susan and Larry do not mind (in fact welcome different views) as long as you do not personally abuse.

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

Abuse what?

Kathleen

the person. I have noticed that both you and Larry have no problem with folks challenging peoples ideas or thinking. But when someone attacks the person and not the idea…the cannons come out. (as they should)

ChrisXP

Sigh.

When the banners and speeches leave, will the real politician that cares stand up?

I hear so much now about “we got to show we care about the troops,” but my question has always been — “Why didn’t you care in the first place?”

Back in the 80s, this congress that’s suppose to be so concerned about the HEALTHCARE (and now well-being) of the military,

CUT THE MEDICAL CARE OF RETIRED VETERANS.

This was a promise given to retirees upon recruitment.

The answer? If it’s not in the Constitution nothing is guaranteed.

This is an important lesson for folks today, promising the moon and the sky.

Veterans benefits and campaign promises are just the same rhetoric vets have experienced A-L-L the way back to the Revolutionary War (remember the promise the Continental Army gave to those who signed up, that they could get free land upon completing the war????).

Nothing ever is changed, not even in 200 years.
Kathleen

I am proud to say I put literally hundreds of hours in working for the campaign of Senator (former Congressman) Sherrod Brown.

Simon I agree with you watch what they do not what they say. Too often they are playing the numbers game.

Can you fucking believe the Bush administration (I am not surprised) they have no shame. None. They want to send your kids, and relatives off to a war that was completely unnecessary and terribly immoral. They are willing to sacrifice others lives for their agendas. This is the most arrogant and criminal group of psychopaths that our country has ever witnessed.

I wish my old friend Bill Clonch a (real Appalachian hard working, coal mining, farming) true grit kind of guy were still alive. Here is the punishment Bill would advocate for crimes measurable to the crimes the Bush administration has committed. Bill would always say “I would nail their balls to the barn floor and give them a hatchet and some mathces” They could choose. I am sure that would be against the Geneva Convention.

Whoa when I write that down sounds damn violent. But when you measure the death and destruction that the Bush administration has caused…that punishment sounds mild.

They need to held ACCOUNTABLE!

Ralph Naders says it all
Conscript the Children of Politicians into the Military
http://www.counterpunch.org/nader03042008.html

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

Thank you for helping Sherrod Brown get elected, Kathleen. I think highly of him.

Do you know his wife? Above in a comment, I linked to her on Charlie Rose on Tuesday night. She stood up to the rest of the panel. And how.

Do you read her columns? It just dawned on me that I haven’t looked up her writings for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nor have I seen her book.

Kathleen

As you said she is “smart as a whip”. I have heard her speak several times in person. Calm, Clear, and oh so intelligent.

Senator Sherrod Brown has been to Athens quite a few times.

There was quite the mix up when Paul Hackett decided to run for former Senator Mike Dewine’s seat. Paul Hackett (trial lawyer, Iraqi war vet) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hackett
did everything right, he approached Brown first before he declared to ask if Brown would be running against Republican Mike Dewine. According to Paul Hackett (some friends and I brought Hackett to Athens and I asked him this question directly) Senator Brown had said that he would not be running. So Hackett declared with the blessings of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Reid. Several months after Hackett declared Senator Brown declared. This was a major fuck up. Two great Dem candidates running for the same seat. When Brown came to town I was able to ask him about this fuck up, he claimed that he had told Hackett that he could not decide at that time due to family issues.
Soon after Hackett was asked to drop out of the race ‘allegedly” by the big girls and boys club. (pelosi and Reid.

The sad part of this is that because of the poor planning Paul Hackett could have run against mean Jean Schmidt (he had almost beat her in a special election). But when Hackett declared his intentions to run for Senate, he had told other Democrats who wanted to run against Mean Jean Scmidt that he would not run for that Congressional seat.

We could have had Paul Hackett beat Jean and taken that Republican controlled seat (Cincinnati region) and also had Senator Sherrod Brown. You get the picture…it was a mess.

I hope that we do not see something like this happen in the Presidential race. I hope one of them caves to the other and what our nation needs. The “Urgency of Now” can really be capitalized on by the Democrats if they play their cards right. I really do not care who is on top. Clinton/Obama, Obama/Clinton, but they better decide soon before more internal damage is done by all of this useless sniping.

If they were actually debating about real issues in a respectful yet challenging way I am o.k. But all of this sniping just serves to undermine this incredible opportunity to set up the Democrats for the next 16 years.

Anyone know who will be running for Obama’s or Hillary’s senate seats?

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

I thought Hackett was good, but a bit green — he hasn’t the experience of Brown. It was very sad, though, about the screw-up because Hackett could have taken on “Mean Jean.” Sigh.

P.S. I REALLY care who’s on top. It has to be Hillary. As VP, she could help an Obama administration avert disaster, but I am sure she’d get shoved aside repeatedly. Obama’s people would slam the door in her face… she might break the door down, but it’d be difficult to be heard.

He does NOT have the experience to be president. Does NOT. He also does not have the “buck stops here” mentality required for a good president. John Edwards and Joe Biden had it. Hillary has it. His mind, and his temperament, are ill-suited for the job. (Not saying that that’s a bad thing — it’s just who he is.) And that’s why I wish Hillary wouldn’t have to ask him to VP because he’ll never develop that kind of mentality. But I can see why she probably will have to, and i’ll cope with it.

Kathleen

Obama has the numbers right now. If the super delegates decide the Democrats are going to lose the African American vote, they will also lose the young folks that Obama has been able to get moving.

Susan I really encourage you to attend an Obama event, see it for yourself. I have never witnessed anything like this. Well maybe a Martin Luther King event that I attended in Springfield(may have been Xenia) when I was 13. Both Bobby and John Kennedy (my parents took me to these events ) had the crowds jumping.

Obama is a phenomena. If somehow (don’t know how) Hillary ends up on top. There is no way she can continue to move forward without Obama. I disagree with you on this.

Simon

Obama has the numbers right now.

Don’t forget rezko.

The republicans would love you to, so they can continue to use it against Obama.

This is how republicans fight, exploiting the weaknesses democrats won’t recognize about their candidates.

AF

Speaking of “buck stops here” – Slate’s Myers-Briggs profile put Hillary in the same category as Harry Truman ESTJ, a Guardian.

Obama came out as an ESTJ Idealist – no president has ever been in this category.

Idealists are rare in any executive position. In a survey Kroeger did of the personality types who make it to top management, less than 1 percent were ENFPs—while almost 30 percent were Hillary’s type, the ESTJ.

It says idealists, when they are leaders, lead by words rather than action.

AF

Correction – Obama ENFP Idealist.

Simon

I think Clinton learned, too, from the mistakes of her health care initiative.

And that is another good sign, the best presidents assess their failures, learn from them, and apply the lessons learned.

As compared to Bush and Obama, who delve further into chaos in the face of failure.

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

And why isn’t Hackett running now? “Mean Jean” has to run every two years, so why not now?

Kathleen

Not sure why Hackett is not running for Senator Voinovich’s seat.

I have not been following this. Although Hackett was damn discouraged after having the big boys (Reid and girls (Pelosi) draft (that was the rumor) him to run and then throw water on his fire by asking him to step out,after he had done everything right.

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

He needs to get over it. That’s the amateur in him coming out … he can do it! And win. But i think he should start with the House because he needs more experience.

Kathleen

I don’t think this was the “amateur”in him. I think it was the no fucking around in him that was discouraged by the lame strategy of the Democrats. I don’t blame him for being pissed. First they ask him to run and then they whack him.

Maybe the Dems should get their shit together before they ask someone to go all out..and he did. You should have seen the team he put together, the money raised and the bus he was traveling around Ohio in. A great deal of effort (find out before they ask Hackett to run clear it with Sherrod Brown for real)

The Dems will do themselves the same kind of harm if they do not start focusing on real issues, instead of who called someone a “monster”, real estate deals etc. This is all a bunch of sniping.

Get back to the issues that matter to the American public.

susanunpc

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so harsh. It’s just that I saw him on TV a couple times and he was very “fired up,” but a bit rash. And I suspect the Dems were worried about that as well as his lack of experience in elected office… but he could be GREAT! It was awful what was done to him. Awful. But Sherrod Brown has been a great choice, and Ohioans were so smart to elect him. I just hope he can put that behind him eventually and get his hat back in the ring. Again, I’m sorry.

TeakWoodKite

Has Sherrod Brown reached out to Hackett? I was impressed by what he had to say and he would be a fine addition.

Kathleen

Not sure if Senator Brown ever apologized for his part in the break down of communications. And I ended up with the feeling it had been Brown’s fuck up.

Kathleen

No problem.
I think Hackett experienced the Dem’s wide tent repercussions at such an early state of his willingness to serve that it really is a shame. Hopefully he comes back.

Will Rogers “I am not a member of any organized party — I am a Democrat.”

Rob G. in Chicago

I thought that I read somewhere that Hackett re-uped for another tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, after being pushed aside by Reid & Pelosi. Strange form of therapy, but if that is the case, it must work for him.

Simon

I thought that I read somewhere that Hackett re-uped for another tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, after being pushed aside by Reid & Pelosi

Ah, too bad.

I see a well developed Hackett as far more viable than a Pelosi and a Reid, I’ve written both off as weak.

And the corruption of a candidate matters, you simply cannot deny what is important, a nd what is not.

Whitewater was not an issue, Rezko is, as the implications go all the way back to Iraq, and American security, now, and in the future.

And this issue will not go away for Obama, it is about the law, and those of us who respect the law will hold him, and the others, accountable.

Period.

It’s not good to overestimate your power, it’s always best to respect the truth.

If you’re even capable, some aren’t.
Kathleen

Hackett expressed real concern for the American men and women serving in Iraq. he knows that their lives have been used by the Bush administration for cannon fodder. He is committed to them not to the rich white men and women who sent them into a country that had not attacked us based on lies.

I tell you Hackett is the real deal.

Simon

I am proud to say I put literally hundreds of hours in working for the campaign of Senator (former Congressman) Sherrod Brown

.

Kathleen,

What did you think of Paul Hackett?

I really saw him, (at least at that time, I’ll have to reexamine the information) anyway, I saw him as redefining the democratic party, in terms of showing a willingness to fight, to stand up and call the republicans on their garbage.

And then he was dumped for Brown, ostensibly for making the same mistakes Obama is, now, (but certainly not as severe, with the same national impact).

What was your opinion on the matter?

Kathleen

Above.

Paul Hackett is an honorable man, willing to put his own ass on the line in Iraq. (got to spend a half hour asking him questions when he came to visit Athens) Hackett was also willing to admit that Iraq is a mess, immoral, illegal and was unnecessary.

Paul Hackett was fired up and it was so sad to see his fire get doused by the poor planning on the part of the Democratic party. We need people like Paul Hackett in D.C.

Simon

Whoa when I write that down sounds damn violent. But when you measure the death and destruction that the Bush administration has caused…that punishment sounds mild.

Men like Auchi, and the saudis, who, IMO, OWN Bush, and Cheney, and Obama, deal in this manner with their people, all the time. Steal? There goes a hand.
Adultery? You get stoned to death.

If they feel they OWN our politicians, and they do, as a cultural outgrowth, how do men like Bush and Cheney and Obama think they’ll be treated if they screw up in terms of what their money men expect? They are no longer equals, they’ve allowed themselves to be bought, something I think the Saudis, and other middle eastern men, don’t respect, ultimately, the political whore. They’re like the mafia, from what I have read.

And our politicians walk around immune, in their little heads, oblivious to the harm those middle eastern despots practice, would practice, even on them.

Give it a few more years.
LuigiDaMan

Kathleen,

Are you in Southern Ohio? I hear you really got whacked by the snow. When I lived in Athens, I found out that they did not own their own plow. They wait for the state of Ohio to come in and eventually clean their streets. I live on a small farm near Akron.

Kathleen

Just barely got out of my driveway out in the country in Athens County (southeastern Ohio. A few hours ago I was driving over to Dayton to a birthday party and decided to turn back. The Chillicothe area has been hammered, several feet on the ground and the roads are terribly icy. Level three.

I lived in Colorado for 15 years, this type of snow out there is nothing, they are prepared, have the trucks and equipment to deal with this type of snow and ice. Not Ohio

Kathleen

This article explains the Hackett mess.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/politics/14ohio.html
IndyRobin

Susan .. OFF TOPIC, but I hope you don’t mind

NOW has issued a petiton asking the MSM to STOP their biased sexist coverage of Hillary Clinton. As you may know NOW is a very powerful voice for all women so hopefully you all will sign

http://www.now.org/issues/media/election_media_petition.html
Kathleen

Paul Hackett “Mr. Hackett said he was unwilling to run for the Congressional seat because he had given his word to three Democratic candidates that he would not enter that race.

“The party keeps saying for me not to worry about those promises because in politics they are broken all the time,” said Mr. Hackett, who plans to return to his practice as a lawyer in the Cincinnati area. “I don’t work that way. My word is my bond.”

Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate races for the Cook Political Report, said that part of what made Democratic leaders nervous about Mr. Hackett was what had also made him so popular with voters.

“Hackett is seen by many as a straight talker, and he became an icon to the liberal bloggers because he says exactly what they have wished they would hear from a politician,” Ms. Duffy said. “On the other hand, the Senate is still an exclusive club, and the party expects a certain level of decorum that Hackett has not always shown.”

Mr. Hackett was widely criticized last year for using indecent language to describe President Bush. Last month, state Republicans attacked Mr. Hackett for saying their party had been hijacked by religious extremists who he said “aren’t a whole lot different than Osama bin Laden.”

Though Republicans called for an apology, Mr. Hackett repeated the mantra of his early campaign: “I said it. I meant it. I stand behind it.”

Paul Hackett is the real deal. Hopefully the Democratic quagmire did not discourage him for good. The way I saw it Senator Brown owed Hackett a big apology. Hopefully Hackett got one.
IndyRobin

NOW has issued a petiton asking the MSM to STOP their biased sexist coverage of Hillary Clinton. As you may know NOW is a very powerful voice for all women so hopefully you all will sign

http://www.now.org/issues/media/election_media_petition.html
IndyRobin

Gee… sorry I screwed up and posted the petition here TWICE.
ChrisXP

Nice! Puerto Rico has changed from a caucus to a primary.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/07/puerto_rico_democrats_seek_to.html

Democrats in Puerto Rico have decided to change their contest from a caucus to a primary, and are seeking permission to move it up six days to occur on June 1. The switches would potentially increase the island’s role in the Democratic nominating process — and give the candidates a rare excuse to campaign legitimately in the tropics.

Now let’s hope other caucus states take Puerto Rico’s lead!

susanunpc

Thank god. I am kind of watching the reporting from Wyoming. They’re overwhelmed by people showing up — at one site, divided the people into two separate groups to vote separately.

But did they CHECK all of those people’s voter registrations? I doubt it. Once the “mob” comes in, how can they check?

ChrisXP

But did they CHECK all of those people’s voter registrations? I doubt it. Once the “mob” comes in, how can they check?

It’s anything goes in these caucuses. Anyone can show up, anyone can persuade — worse it violates the privacy of one’s vote (your neighbors will know who you’re rooting for, too. How’s that for mending fences????).

When I vote in a primary, I must sign in, have a valid ID, then it’s cross checked against residence records. But I don’t have to reveal to no one who I voted for, that’s between the ballot, me, and God.

IndyRobin

Hey Simon,

If you’re over here … on the other page you stated

Seventies Stevie Wonder music being the equivalent of Keats

I’ve just started reading the Y.B Yeats bio by Joseph Hone and curious about your divergent coupling
Kathleen

Catching up with what is taking place in the I/P conflict..The Gaza over at Counterpunch. Finally lots of articles over there.

March 8-9, 2008
The Silent Violence of Gaza’s Suffering That Candidates and Congress Ignore

By RALPH NADER

http://www.counterpunch.org/nader03082008.html

http://www.encounterpoint.com/trailer/index.php

One of my dear friends Art Gish.
Art in front of a bulldozer)

http://mideastchristians.virtualactivism.net/articles/amongapples.htm who has been to Israel at least 12 times with the Christian Peace Maker Team has just returned from his latest trip. He will be sharing his latest endeavors to witness the situation in the Israeli Palestinian conflict by living with the Palestinian people and walking Palestinian children to school past settlements where they are often subjected to abuse.
http://www.hdip.org/fact%20sheets/factsheet_children.htm

If is from Art and Peggy Gish who are committed to Peace and by attending some rallies and marches over in D.C. with the Palestinian people who had been run off their lands in the 1940′s by the Israeli army that I have expanded my view over the last 25 years as to what has been taking place in the middle east for a very long time.

Peggy Gish (they have a farm in Athens) was in Iraq before the invasion and after the invasion of Iraq. She has been in Iraq close to 4 years (accumulatively, she has come back to Athens at least four times to share her experiences).

I was able to persuade (lots of phone calls) NpR’s Neil Conan to have Peggy on his program during one of her trips home. Peggy was also able to make contact with Seymour Hersh on the Diane Rehm Show with her groups documentation of prisoners being released from Abu Gharib and family’s trying to make contact with family members in Abu Gharib back in the summer of 2003. Hersh used some of their reports in his story about Abu Gharib.

Peggy and Art’s commitment to being witnesses in dangerous places based on their very strong Christian beliefs is remarkable and an inspiration to us all.

All of Peggy’s weekly emails (from Iraq) have contained information and reports on events that we do not see written up in our press often weeks sometimes months after the events. (sometimes never)

A clip about Peggy and the CPT’s work
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4066835.stm

A short film about Peggy and CPT’s work
Members of Peggy’s group were kidnapped and killed in Iraq.

Several years later Peggy was kidnapped in Iraq (we were asked not to talk about it until Peggy was ready for this to become public)

this is part of Peggy’s story. In this film you will see clips of Art and Peggy’s farm and very simple home. Really worth the watch
http://soulofathens.com/#story/BeNotAfraid

Peggy is one of the only people that I have been around that seems to have no ego. She and Art are really filled with Love for all and the grace of spirit. Art and Peggy walk Christian talk like no one else I know.
Fed Up

Just read something amusing at Huff Po. Steven Weber, who apparently has acted in something or other, is one of Arianna’s self-appointed celebrity intellectual columnists du jour. Someone named ERose attached a comment to his blurb that started off with this insightful first paragraph:

“Hillary’s roots are showing. Always icy in mannerisms, now we see this ruthless bared-teeth harridan. A shrieking harpy. And yet she has this deer in the headlights look around the eye…those fright-night bulgy eyes. Someone ought to check her thyroid”.

What style. ERose has a bright future writing Harlequin Romance paperbacks. I’m sure Sen Obama is proud of his supporters.

Simon

“Hillary’s roots are showing. Always icy in mannerisms, now we see this ruthless bared-teeth harridan. A shrieking harpy. And yet she has this deer in the headlights look around the eye…those fright-night bulgy eyes. Someone ought to check her thyroid”.

Actually I was thinking the same about Obama the other day, the deer in the head lights look, or the deer in the rezko look, and I thought, my goodness, that man cannot hold his bowels, anymore, he’s so scared.

I was wondering if the diaper crew had come to fit him, as they do all the others in over their heads with enemies of state…

ChrisXP

I thought, my goodness, that man cannot hold his bowels, anymore, he’s so scared.

I’m also noticing that he’s pulling a Nixon — he’s showing that classic 5 o’clock shadow.

ritamary

Found an interesting article at Obamington Post. (Yes, I continue to go there. Must be a masochist.)

The Canadian PM’s office says that the Clinton campaign never contacted them about NAFTA. Go to see the Obamazoid comments about this article at HuffPo. Or go to the Canadian newspaper’s website:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080307.wnaftagate0307/BNStory/National/home

Ooops. Never posted a link before. Hope that works.

susanunpc

Right on.

And Hillary’s own Facthub.com has the same info. Yet the ‘droids continue to lie about that story.

Kathleen

I hope Senator Webb stays in the Senate a long time. He would be a great V.P. for either candidate.

Athens resident Peggy Gish was kidnapped in Iraq while she was serving as a witness there with Christian Peace Maker Team.

Great short video about her kidnapping in Iraq. Peggy is soon to return from Iraq. This was her seventh trip there since before the invasion
http://soulofathens.com/#story/BeNotAfraid

If any of you are interested in having Art and Peggy come visit your town to talk about their work and experiences I can put you directly in touch
Kathleen

Susan have you seen this?
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/03/did-the-clinton.html

susanunpc

Oh for god’s sake. DHonig killed this stupid story at Daily Kos– even after the idiot Kos wrote about it. I think you can find his diary here:

http://www.dailykos.com/user/DHonig

– many others also killed that story; DHonig’s is particularly good.

ChrisXP

Thanks for posting the link. Shows the “darker” photos in question, and yep, it was letterboxed (which changes the aspect ratio of the original 4:3 image). And because LCD/Plasma monitors have darker blacks, it will naturally appear darker all together.

Markos, is really a stupid idiot.

IndyRobin

Hey all,

Just recieved this from Hillary. She really does need our help. Even if it’s just five bucks I always
add .44 just to let her know that I believe she WILL
BE the 44th POTUS

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/thankyou/?sc=1682&utm_source=1682&utm_medium=e
Kathleen

Israeli F-16s Destroy Palestinian Federation of Trade Unions’ HQ
One Dead, Several Injured and Civilians Terrorized

05/03/2008
http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=1541

March 8, 2008
Fallon’s ‘No Iran War’ Line Angered White House
by Gareth Porter

http://www.antiwar.com/porter/?articleid=12483
Kathleen

Have you ever read about who controls the water rights in Israel and Palestine?

Water in Palestine
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/IMG/pdf/FS_water_20082007.pdf

http://www.imemc.org/article/46460
Kathleen

3o million people world wide marched against the invasion of Iraq. Not sure where it got us. But what the hell.

United for Peace and Justice.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/

We are just two weeks away from what promises to be an unprecedented day of coordinated nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience against the illegal war in Iraq and the five “Pillars of War” that sustain the occupation.

On Wednesday, March 19th, people from almost 40 states (so far) will gather in Washington, DC, for this historic day of action.

We hope that you too will decide to come to DC on March 19th! It is not too late! Check out the new and improved 5yearstoomany.org, which is updated daily with more resources, details about the convergence space, information about trainings, action details, and new flyers you can download and pass out in your community!

5YTM buttonIf you can’t make it to DC, there are still many ways you can take action. More than 370 local events are being held around the country, including viewings of the historic Winter Soldier hearings, and more are being posted on our calendar hourly! Find and take part in an event in your area, or organize your own!
TeakWoodKite

I read that both Obama and Rezko’s wife had the real estate purchase held in trusts. Obama’s was a numbered trust and the testimony by Rezko did not indicated what the nature of the trust was.

Are these trustes one in the same or related?

What is the structure of these trusts? Where can one get a copy of the court filings for each of these trusts? How were these trusts funded?

Simon

Are these trustes one in the same or related?

That hasn’t been clarified yet, and again remains part of the greater issue, ie, how much did Rezko really finance for Obama, and how did he do it, while claiming to have no money?

Auchi is a possibility, as prior to the purchase of the house, 3.5 million was wired to Rezko, from Auchi, at the same time Rezko claimed no assets, certainly not enough to help Obama buy a house.

Hopefully we get to the bottom of this issue, certainly it is known by someone, it’s just a matter of when it will be definitively revealed.

TeakWoodKite

I would really like to know more about them. Trusts require certian legal and financial considerations be accounted for. While Obama’s trust is a numbered trust at Northern Trust, I have seen no more details about Rezkos testimony regarding having his wife purchase held in trust,or what institution are involved. Penny bet it is Northern Trust…

I’m very interested in the funding instruments related to each trust. These documents are filed with a court and are public documents.
Why would Obama have his purchase “trusted”. I can understand why Rezko’s wife could not have it in her name due to her income, which would never have passed muster, but why did Obama do so?

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

John McLaughlin had this last night. I’ve been checking YouTube all day to see if anyone has put up his show from last night yet. And his site doesn’t have the Podcast yet. They spent a lot of time on Rezko, the trust, etc.

(His show is reaired on various PBS stations over the weekend. Check your PBS stations to see if you can still watch it. Report back. I saved it on my DVR but need to watch it again because I was very sleepy when I caught it last night.)

TeakWoodKite

I will look for it, thanks SusanUnPc…This stuff is way out of my lane but it is where on of the vectors are…
I figure, if as reported, Rezko and Obama met while Obama was at law school, and you follow the arc of this relationship, then add in the bond hearing testimony; one can make out the contours and MO’s and how Rezko and Obama are cogs in a money laundering scam and god knows what else.

Why this topic so prone to run on sentences? err.

Open thread

Hillary Clinton
Barak Obama
are both Iambic_pentameter; audio disonance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iambic_pentameter

http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

Obama is making a resolution on Michigan very difficult:

Michigan do-over election hits a new wall

Obama rejects Granholm idea, state party says

The obstacles to a do-over election to pick Michigan’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention seemed to grow Friday, after Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign officials told the state’s top party official that they wouldn’t accept Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s idea of a party-sponsored primary. [...]

Obama’s campaign doesn’t like the idea, said Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer.

“That’s what I’ve been told by his campaign, but it’s not my place to inquire about motivations,” said Brewer, who said he thinks a do-over primary has serious financial and logistical problems.

“And we can’t do anything without the agreement of both the campaigns,” he added.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has done better in primaries, Obama in caucuses.
In a conference call with reporters, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe didn’t address a do-over primary election, and the campaign did not respond to Free Press requests for comment.

Meanwhile, James Carville, a Democratic operative and Clinton supporter, said on CNN that he had been calling deep-pocket Democrats and pledged to come up with $15 million to help pay for primaries in Michigan and Florida. He challenged Obama supporter David Wilhelm, a former DNC chairman, to match it.

“I’ll guarantee $15 million and have the Obama people put up $15 million,” Carville said. “And let’s go to the polls come June 7. I’ve got fund-raisers that are lined up ready to go. I think the Democratic Party is going to look absolutely absurd if they don’t have primaries and let these people in Florida and Michigan vote.”

Wilhelm said the issue needs to be solved but was noncommittal to Carville’s suggestion. ….
Taters

I believe it’s quite obvious when it comes to supporting our veterans – this WH and it’s enablers have fallen woefully short on delivery, despite the rhetoric.
It’s good that Warner has signed on. This should be veto proof – if the senate had a conscience. Sadly, it probably can’t get the required votes.

Familiar with the Widow’s Tax?
From Wes Clark, Feb. 13, 2006

I was proud to join House Leaders Nancy Pelosi, Ike Skelton, Lane Evans, and John Salazar last year on Capitol Hill to unveil the new GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century, legislation designed to improve benefits for our soldiers and their families today, while providing long overdue benefits for our veterans and military retirees.

We recognized that something needed to be done to eliminate the “widow’s tax,” which penalizes the survivors of those killed in combat by reducing the benefits to which they are entitled.

Unfortunately, the one-party Congress has chosen to pursue their own agenda — focusing on making the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent. As for the “widow’s tax?” An amendment to repeal it was removed from the latest defense authorization bill by the Republican Congressional leadership.(Emphasis mine.)

It’s just wrong, and it’s bad for military readiness. This is not the time for politics. This is not the time for special interest haggling and pork barrel politics. If we are going to maintain the best volunteer, professional army in the world, we must provide soldiers with the peace of mind that comes from knowing the rest of us will take up for their families if they are killed. How can we expect good, qualified people to remain in military service? It is our duty, as a grateful nation, to stand up for our veterans and their families.

http://securingamerica.com/node/603

A poignant Op/Ed from the NYT from the same day.

February 13, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Left Behind
By DAN SHEA
Seattle

MY brother Lt. Col. Kevin Shea was killed by a rocket attack in Falluja on Sept. 14, 2004. He knew the risks when he joined the Marine Corps in 1989. But he also thought that if anything ever happened to him, the United States government would take care of his wife, Amy, and his two children. Sadly, that’s not the case.

Since Kevin died, Amy has had to deal with not only the grief of losing her husband and her best friend, but also with the difficulties of financially coping with life without him. Like most military spouses, during her time with Kevin, Amy endured multiple moves across the country and long deployments that forced her to put her career on hold. There are federal programs to assist her, but she and other widows of service members have found that these programs do not provide nearly enough.

You see, basically, a widow of a service member killed in the line of duty has two programs (excluding Social Security) to rely on for financial help. The first is a survivors’ plan paid by the Department of Defense, which is about 41 percent of the deceased person’s monthly salary before taxes. The second program is a dependent’s compensation paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs that is $1,033 a month tax free, plus a modest sum added for every dependent child.

Sounds fair, right? But here’s the problem: under the current law, the payment from the Defense Department to a surviving spouse is reduced dollar for dollar by the Veterans Administration’s payment. So while you would think my sister-in-law, as the wife of a lieutenant colonel whose basic monthly salary is $4,431.60, would receive about $2,850 a month (41 percent of $4,431.60, or $1,817, plus $1,033), in fact, all she’s getting is $1,817, that is, $784 from the Pentagon and $1033 from Veterans Affairs. Moreover, if Amy, who is 41 years old, remarries before the age of 55, she gets nothing. (Emphasis mine.)

cont’d

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/13/opinion/13shea.html?_r=1&oref=slogin