Pre-primary, Pre-Caucus Fever Open Thread Version

I confess...I think the noice is media manufactured. I think some of the so-called "Democratic blogs" add to the echoing chamber.

I'm tired of the false contraversies and the pretend outrage by the candidates.

THIS is the only thing I care about:
http://wexlerwantshearings.com/

Impeach Cheney and Bush!

Then it's natural that ending the war, getting universal health insurance, bringing back jobs, ending the corporate media, and so on will just follow.

I bet two apples and a ding dong that Edwards takes it.

Two apples and a dingdong? Who can resist that bet?

I bet you those apples and a dingdong and add in a powder-puff puffer that Edwards doesn't take it but that Clinton does.

Wait....

Maybe I'll bet those two apples and the dingdongs that Obama takes it.

Make that Powder Puff Puffer a Power Puff Girl, and you got a bet!

GIRL POWER!

GO EDWARDS!

Christy,

I can't take that bet. I'd rather bet a couple of dingdongs and a video of Moses parting the red sea that Kucinich pulls out a miraculous win.

BTW, Carol, And NMP,

I am holding off on painting until either this cold spell passes or my man figures out how to properly finish insulating my shop.

If nothing else, I will move my easel and paints back into the house until the spring.
I can't paint with frozen fingers. Or half frozen paint.

Yes, Yes, Sparrow, it is COLD here.

Are you happy now?

Kucinich winning would be the equal to Moses parting the Red Sea.

Miracles are welcome.

Move to Impeach Cheney Gains Support in Congress

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/january022008/cheney_impeach_1207.php

Protesters at the Rose Bowl Parade made it in Reuters.

56 min. ago...move to impeach Cheney gains support.

Source: Salem-News

(SALEM, Ore.) - A House Resolution to impeach U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney, Dennis Kucinich's H.R. 799, is gathering more support. The national impeachment continues to grow and generate increasing interest since being referred to the House Judiciary Committee last month, a Kucinich spokesperson said.

As a member of that committee, Representative Robert Wexler and two other committee members, Luis Gutierrez and Tammy Baldwin, have joined together in demanding that the legal action against Cheney moves forward.

...

House leaders and the leading Democratic presidential candidates don't support impeachment. One thing they point to is the timeframe and expense that surrounded the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton, citing how the business of politics in the U.S. ground to a near standstill as the nation's attention was diverted by the effort to expose the President over a sex act with a White House intern. Gutierrez saying hearings, "need not tie up Congress for a year and shut down the nation."

The White House, in a statement, said Democrats were shirking responsibilities on issues such as childrens’ (sic) health insurance "and yet they find time to waste an afternoon on an impeachment vote against the vice president. … This is why Americans shake their head in wonder about the priorities of this Congress."

But Kucinich and Wexler and others in Congress say they won't be swayed as they utilize an existing arm of the Democratic system to see that impeachment proceedings are brought forward against the elected leader of out nation's second highest political office.

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/january022008/cheney_impeach_1207.php

ANOTHER REASON TO IMPEACH CHENEY (AND BUSH)

THE FEMA NON-RESPONSE TO KATRINA:

Oops..you beat my post by a few minutes Christy. (Sorry about the double post.) Off with my head!!!

No beheadings on my behalf. I don't do blood or other assorted bodily fluids.

Double post all you like darlin. It just makes it twice as likely to be seen.

NMP

By the way, I'm uploading an image to illustrate the ludicrous claim by the Pope that gays and lesbians are a threat to world peace. Ideas appreciated.

If there was any bigger threat to world peace than two people of same sex in love, it is the Pope and his own DEATH CULT that's killed BILLIONS over the past two millennia.

Another "Anti-War" NY Representative Explains Why He Won't Impeach

My father had a sign on his wall saying "Playing it safe is risky business". I've always felt that meant we should always do the right thing, even in difficult circumstances. Then again, I've never been a Member of Congress.

John Hall, freshman Congressman from NY's 19th District was recently asked by a constituent if he supports investigation for impeachment. His reply struck me as being extremely similar to the reply I got from Congressman Eliot Engel in the next district over.

First Hall stated a blanket criticism of Bush/Cheney, speaking of "the wrong direction" and "damage done" in leading us into "a devastating war in Iraq based on misleading statements and false information". He agrees BushCo "undermined the criminal justice system, weakened Constitutional protections for U.S. citizens, and created staggering federal deficits with its misplaced priorities and reckless federal spending. It has condoned the use of torture and illegal wiretapping, and attacked the Constitutional separation of powers." Good so far, right?

But Hall believes we should merely censure the President - for misleading the public about the basis for war in Iraq, for outing Agent Plame, pardoning Scooter Libby, ignoring federal statutes, gagging appointees in Congressional hearings, signing statements, FISA violations, the Alberto Gonzales debacle and more.

Part 2

Another "Anti-War" NY Representative Explains Why He Won't Impeach

Though impeachment hearings would seemingly tie all these things together, Hall does not believe "our country should be put through an impeachment proceeding at this time." This, despite 50% of the population in support of it? Hall continues "Further, it is apparent that no article of impeachment would result in a conviction in the Senate." I wonder how Hall can say this with such surety before the actual presentation of evidence and testimony - is he telling us 'between the lines' that we are wasting our efforts because the fix is in?

Hall writes "The process would be extremely disruptive to efforts to pass substantive legislation to block further abuses by the Bush-Cheney Administration and efforts to pass legislation to help solve problems for American families." In other words, Hall thinks impeaching Bush/Cheney would slow Congress's ability to stop abuses by Bush/Cheney? Here is where I get lost - there must be something in Congressional logic that eludes my "general" logic.

Impeaching Bush/Cheney, in my mind would be an extremely direct way of stopping abuses by Bush/Cheney, especially if they are removed from office. But even if there is no conviction in the Senate, the influence of the White House becomes severely diminished once all the dirt is hashed publicly. Many lawyers, pundits and scholars feel the impeachment proceedings will bring out many important facts, all at once, tying all of these various abuses and violations together - the mother of all hearings.

Hall paradoxically writes "...I was elected in 2006 by voters who urgently want change in Washington, and an end to the disastrous Bush-Cheney policies." He then lists how many areas Bush/Cheney in which must be opposed: fiscal responsibility, homeland security (such as 9/11 Commission recommendations), meaningful ethics and lobbying reforms, alternative energy programs, child health insurance, student loans, etc. But why fight all these battles separately instead of tackling the source of the problem? Read on...

Hall adds he did vote "with a majority of the House to send H. Res. 799-a resolution outlining articles of impeachment against Vice President Cheney, to the Judiciary Committee to consider..." but the bill, after going directly to the House floor "bypassed the Judiciary Committee and would have subverted procedures for introducing impeachment findings...a dangerous precedent for future Congresses. In addition, the resolution itself cited actions which, while outrageous, do not meet the Constitutional standard for impeachment of "treason, high crimes or misdemeanors."

Fellow Americans, this is exactly the reason we need a thorough investigation and official hearings. Either Congress will meet these high standards of evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors during the process, or not, in which case the accused will be exonerated - wouldn't they want this if they were innocent?

But not investigating gives the White House an automatic pass in the face of a long list of improprieties, courtesy of a timid Congress. Reps. Hall and Engel both sound so vague because they cannot come out and say 'we haven't got the juice to do this'.

Some say it's moot, because it's already too late, the preceedings would take too long and that Bush should be allowed to ride out their term, with the torture, wiretapping and defense contract cronyism continuing for another year. Rep. Hall believes the current committee investigations and oversight hearings have "dramatically increased accountability, which was completely lacking in the previous Republican-led Congress", essentially telling us these 'baby steps' are best for us.

Though only in his first term, Hall is already something of a calculating politician, balancing his stands on the issues not on how he ran for office, but what will now keep him there. This is perhaps not so much Hall's fault as a problem with our system, where elections are won with money and support from special interest groups and political friends, not the votes of a discriminated, informed electorate.

Hall knows his Congressional seat is highly coveted by the Republicans who he took it from. He owes thanks to support in his 2006 run to Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Jack Murtha, Steny Hoyer and others. In return, he endorsed Hillary for President ponderously early in the game, in spite of her poor war record and her lovey-dovey relationship with Entergy, the company that helped Bill Clinton back in Arkansas and who now runs the Indian Point nuclear plant. Hall's watchers question this endorsement because of his (formerly) long history as an anti-nuke activist, helping to raise money and organize celebrity studded music festivals for the cause when he was himself a chart-topping musician.

Christy

I am fine with beheadings as long as the executed is Christian or Muslim.

After all, the Death Book prescribes a lot of sins to be punishable by death.

If Benedict thinks I am a threat to world peace, I WILL destroy *their* peace, if only in the interest of self-preservation.

While at it, boycott the death cults' biggest sponsors - including BMW.

Ralpheh

That's very par for politics. Which is why the grassroots must keep up the pressure on the elected. Power corrupts.

As for me, I only wish I had more purchasing power, so that I could redirect it away from the likes of BMW, and toward more deserving companies. In a capitalist society, the only thing that talks is money.

Ally I am not ok with beheading anyone. I am not even ok with saying it is ok for the sake of argumement.

As far as the bible goes, I do not follow words I know in my heart are WRONG and contrary to what my soul believes.

Honestly Ally, you are now literally saying you are ok with beheading people. For whatever reason.

That my friend is what Saudis do. And that is what republicans endorse. Yes, they would do it unto you, you however do not have to become THEM.

I agree the Christian faith can be just as vicious and misinterpreted as being a Muslim, but... YOU ARE TALKING SH*T ABOUT BEHEADING PEOPLE.

Do we really need to have this conversation?

By now, everyone knows I am myself a BMW driver.

In the light of their darling Pope's speech yesterday, I have decided that I will no longer service it with genuine BMW parts. Only aftermarket parts from now on. Even though BMW really wants me to use its proprietary engine oil, I will no longer do so, when the Pope and BMW themselves are a big threat to world peace. (Warranty expires next month anyway.)

The only reason I will not retire the car outright is because it could fetch a new buyer in the used car market, and win BMW a new customer/fan to replace me. Which takes away the point of getting rid of my car in the first place. Also, my particular example is made in South Africa (with legalized gay marriage), not in Bavaria (home of Benedict), and I want to honor South Africa's fight for democracy and equality.

And I still haven't forgiven BMW for its utter lack of response in inquiries into its support of O'Reilly-Yearly Kos/San Francisco fiasco last summer.

Christy

What the Pope is doing is utterly unforgivable.

And when I am cornered, as I am now, I will bite hard, if only to survive.

I may be in peace groups like CodePink, but being in a peace group does NOT mean that I refuse to defend myself in a war someone else starts against me. And this is WAR. If the choice is to kill or be killed (with no chance for coexistence), I will gladly kill.

Pope-on-a-Rope... better than a dingdong.

Domino's Nabisco.

Ally, you did not suggest beheading the pope.

You said you are ok with it as long as it is CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS.

I am a freaking Christian. And I do not give a damn what you drive or how you feel about it.

When you start being ok with DECAPITATING PEOPLE and saying so TO THOSE PEOPLE...

Do not be surprised that someone has a problem with it.

Yes, this is WAR, would you commit the same WAR CRIMES as they?

Can you justify it any better than they can? Because being pissed at BMW is NOT A GOOD ENOUGH REASON.

Are you ok with blowing a head gasket?

I was joking about beheading me.

I'm not ok with saying anyone should be beheaded or even thinking it.

Christy

I should've made it clearer - I need to state that because the Bible and the Koran advocate beheadings, that's why I said they apply to believers of those verses. (Mann Coulter, especially, because s/he is a sodomite to start with - both texts do say sodomites must be put to death.)

I don't need to commit war crimes if I can avoid them. But increasingly I feel that I don't have a choice. They are NOT interested in coexistence. They only want domination and elimination.

Honestly, those Christians that show off their "NOT OF THIS WORLD" decals should live up to that theme, and exterminate themselves, instead of attacking those who want to make the world a better place, like us.

I am utterly fed up, and I will post to my blog about my plans of action in a few minutes.

As for the car, it's just an extension of the whole "buy blue" theme that started after Kerry's loss in 2004. My next car may be just as pretentious, or it may be a lot more humble, but it will NOT be a homophobic product.

My Point Oh Two...

Unless you are being actively singled out for literal extermination because of your sexual orientation, I don't think anyone else can say what they would or wouldn't do to survive.

I'll just say this, and then I hope everyone takes a chill pill... if anyone tries to go after say, my younger brother, I would stop at nothing to defend him.

Now, do we advocate peace or don't we?

Now I'm off for a bowl of piping hot Gumbo.

Love y'all!

monkey

The reason that the US Department of War is now called the Department of Defense, is precisely for the reasons you state re: your brother - we don't want war, we want peace, but if someone brings the war to us, we will fight it to defend ourselves.

Of course, the actual conduct of US DoD is closer to its former name as Department of War, but that's another topic.

'Now, do we advocate peace or don't we?'

Funny because niether Ally nor I consider ourselves 'peace advocates'. In that we are one.

I hope for peace, but I have not a single reason to believe it will come to pass.

There will be no peace in our times. It can not be asked or negotiated or implemented.

It has to be FOUGHT for.

It is too late to advocate. It is not to late to FIGHT.

One more thing re: Catholic homophobia

It's a severe problem in some countries, and we must recognize that. Specifically it's the worst in Poland, home of the former Pope, as well as Central American countries from Guatemala to Nicaragua, where you can get away with murdering LGBTs perfectly fine.

There are lots of Central Americans in Los Angeles, and their homophobia is turning mainstream. Already, they helped California ban gay marriage.

I can also bore you again with the extremist antics of Korean Catholics and Protestants here in SoCal, but I won't, other than that I am sh*tlisting Hyundai and Kia right alongside BMW.

So when the Pope says things like what he just did, it's not just some empty threat.

When you say things like you just did, that is also no empty threat.

The only gulf between words and actions, is time.

BTW Ally...

I love you.

Even though you are OBVIOUSLY crazy and in love with me.

Christy

Even though you are OBVIOUSLY crazy and in love with me.

LOL

Seriously, thanks! I love you - and EVERYONE here at DCP (especially for putting up with my frequent rants).

Go fill up your personal rides with gas people! Don't wait, today!

Oil just hit $100 a barrel and is still going up.

Tommorrow it will hit the pumps, maybe tonight.

WHO GETS LEFT OUT IN THE IOWA CAUCUS:

Caucuses Give Iowa Influence, but Many Iowans Are Left Out
By Jodi Kantor
The New York Times

Wednesday 02 January 2008

Des Moines - Jason Huffman has lived in Iowa his whole life. Lately he has been watching presidential debates on the Internet, discussing what he sees with friends and relatives. But when fellow Iowans choose among presidential candidates on Thursday night, he will not be able to vote, because he is serving with the National Guard in western Afghanistan.

"Shouldn't we at least have as much influence in this as any other citizen?" Captain Huffman wrote in an e-mail interview.

He is far from the only Iowan who will not be able to participate. Because the caucuses, held in the early evening, do not allow absentee voting, they tend to leave out nearly entire categories of voters: the infirm, soldiers on active duty, medical personnel who cannot leave their patients, parents who do not have baby sitters, restaurant employees on the dinner shift, and many others who work in retail, at gas stations and in other jobs that require evening duty.

As in years past, voters must present themselves in person, at a specified hour, and stay for as long as two. And if these caucuses are anything like prior ones, only a tiny percentage of Iowans will participate. In 2000, the last year in which both parties held caucuses, 59,000 Democrats and 87,000 Republicans voted, in a state with 2.9 million people. In 2004, when the Republicans did not caucus, 124,000 people turned out for the Democratic caucuses.

The rules are so demanding that even Ray Hoffman, chairman of the Iowa Republican Party and a resident of Sioux City, cannot caucus on Thursday night, because he has to be in Des Moines on party business.

Iowans begin the presidential selection process, making choices among the candidates that can heavily influence how the race unfolds. Now some are starting to ask why the first, crucial step in that process is also one that discourages so many people, especially working-class people, from participating.

GREG PALAST'S OFFICE

ON THE KATRINA DISASTER

WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced on Wednesday that he will not seek re-election this year because he has cancer of the esophagus.

Lantos, 79, is the only Holocaust survivor elected to Congress and is known for his dedication to human rights issues. He is serving his 14th term as a House member.

"It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress," Lantos said in a statement. "I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country."

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22474160/

Woz I start watching at around 10 am in the morning, here, so it will be 10am Friday morning.

Oil Prices Soar To $100 A Barrel For First Time

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20080102/oil-prices/

Oil Prices Soar To $100 A Barrel For First Time

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20080102/oil-prices/

Leave a comment

@@@@@@@

I heard a lecture where a fellow was advocating mandatory "flex-fuel" cars in the United States. I.E. cars that can run on gasoline, ethanol or methanol. He pointed out the Brazil is already doing this - to much success. His argument is that a flex-fuel car would give the consumer the option of switching to the cheapest fuel at any point in time. If the price of gasoline drops dramatically and below the price of ethanol, consumers can switch from ethanol back to gas. Or the reverse..

Mukasey: Criminal probe begins into CIA tapes
CIA said last month it had destroyed tapes of harsh interrogations

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22474868/

Ralpheh

General Motors sells lots of flex-fuel vehicles in California, from Impalas to Suburbans. I'm pretty sure Ford sells quite a few too.

The problem is, there is no ethanol infrastructure here, and these vehicles will pretty much run on gasoline only for their lifetime. Somebody needs to start an infrastructure.

(Not to mention that the vast majority of California vehicles are import brands, and they are gasoline only - even the hybrids.)

And you know how expensive (and difficult to formulate) our gasoline is, due to air quality regulations!

Ally,

In starting the infrastructure, the big corporations would put their money and guns together and force a new entity out of business.

I'm very sorry to hear about Tom Lantos, not because he's a Dem, but because of what he fought for and has endured.

I honestly feel that at this point in history, it's not so much the Dems v Republicans as it is the Corporatists v the Dominists v the People. So far the people are losing.

BTW...I must have a mean streak a mile wide.

Someone just called me. He had dialed the wrong number, so I told him, "By the way, can you do a favor for me? Go to wexlerwantshearings.com and sign up to Impeach Cheney! Thanks!!!"

You should have heard the silence after my statement. Ha ha ha...You could HEAR his confusion!

175584

NYT Defends Hiring Kristol »

Kristol Clear: It's Official --'NYT' Explains Hiring New 'Op-Ed' Wag

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003690036

You should have heard the silence after my statement. Ha ha ha...You could HEAR his confusion!

Several activists from World Can’t Wait, joined by other antiwar activists are at Jerold Nadler’s Brooklyn office today. They don’t intend to leave until they get a commitment from Nadler to get impeachment started in the House Judiciary Committee. They are requesting that you put out the word, asking people to call Nadler’s offices to make the same demand.

Washington Office: Tel. 202-225-5635
Manhattan Office: Tel. 212-367-7350
Brooklyn Office: Tel. 718-373-3198
(posted at 11:19am)

~~~

Hmmm 4:16 and I just saw this. I hope they did a good job of swarming this around.

BTW...I must have a mean streak a mile wide.

I just had to post that at Rebelle to give anyone who checks in a laugh.

Sparrow said

I honestly feel that at this point in history, it's not so much the Dems v Republicans as it is the Corporatists v the Dominists v the People. So far the people are losing.

Not only is this true, but the corporatists have a way of making people vote AGAINST their best interests, while thinking they are voting FOR their best interests.

This was true in France and South Korea last year, was true in Australia for over a decade until last November, and will most likely be true in Taiwan this March. And the US won't be any different, unless the people WAKE UP like the Australians.

Some Catholic left me a blog comment, in the typical "you need to be saved by Jesus" condescending tone.

The ONLY thing I need to be saved from is his followers.

I'm so upset that I am pretty much giving up on getting any productive work done today.

Just sent off emails to the NYTIMES complaining about hiring Bill Kristol:

The New York Times
Clark Hoyt, NY Times public editor
public@nytimes.com
New York Times
letters@nytimes.com
executive-editor@nytimes.com
managing-editor@nytimes.com

sparrow Author Profile Page said:

175584

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

I think it's going to take a lot more than 200,000 or 300,000 signers (or even 500,000) on a petition to get the House Judiciary Committee to move on impeachment. I think it's going to take letters to the editor; faxes; phone calls; and threats like Sheehan's run against Pelosi.
(I would focus on Pelosi offices and Conyers offices and Dem members of the Judiciary Committee)

I am going to try to get a copy of Wexler's video and put it on cable access this month. Even with all this, the Dems will probably wimp out...

From sparrow

Gutierrez saying hearings, "need not tie up Congress for a year and shut down the nation."

Tell me - what useful work has congress done over the past year. Every worthy decision is vetoed. Impeachment would give them something to do at least - rather than taking forever to get nowhere. And they would earn their salaries.

BTW - loved that picture sparrow - We The People - Impeach Cheney and Bush

January 2, 2008 3:56 PM
sparrow said:

Hahaha sparrow! I love it!

Ally - you keep on keepin' on, and don't let anybody tell you what you need to be saved for, or from...

I do believe your unalienable RIGHT to the pursuit of YOUR Happiness is covered, and is supposedly endowed by the very Creator that the zealots who attack you love to claim is without fault...

Who loves ya, baby?

Samaritan Davis, Jr.

Huckabee made good on a promise to clean up his act, after he held a news conference Monday to say he wouldn't run a critical ad against Romney — but then showed it to a room full of reporters and cameramen.

"It does remind you a bit of a person who stands up and says 'I'm not going to call my opponent any names, but here are the names I'd call him if I were going to call him names,'" Romney told reporters in Johnston.

Romney continued his ads against Huckabee. He also assailed Huckabee's defense of his own failure to read the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran last month.

"President Bush didn't read it for four years; I don't know why I should read it in four hours," Huckabee said in an interview published Monday in the Mason City Globe Gazette.

Romney seized on the comment: "I'm not sure whether Governor Huckabee meant the attack as a joke, but this is not a time to be mocking our president, and it was I think in bad taste."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22470054/

Folks, that's top notch comedy.

btw, when IS it a good time to mock "our" president, Mitt?

I just got this from DNC Howard Dean:

Dear Rolf,

The Democratic Party has never been healthier. Just look at the vigorous presidential primary we've got on our hands. Right now, every one of the Democratic campaigns is working around the clock to become our nominee, and any of them would be a great choice.

But when the dust settles and people like you pick our nominee, the real challenge will begin. This time, though, it won't be a debate of ideas with fellow Democrats. It will be against a Republican machine eager to redeem its losses in 2006, fighting to extend George Bush's policies for another four years.

We've all seen the way they run campaigns, so we have to be unified and ready. We know that the Republicans are going to come at us with every scam they think up to suppress the vote.

In the past, they've abused robocalls that hide their true identity, jammed the phones Democrats used for getting out the vote, and purged voters from the voter rolls. We need to be united in order to stop them.

Stand up and show our candidates, our opponents, and the country just how strong the Democratic Party is by joining me in a pledge to support the Democratic candidate for President in 2008 - no matter who wins. When we have a nominee, they'll know that thousands of Democrats from across the country are united - even if they may not have supported them in the primary.

http://www.democrats.org/GetUnited

Every one of the Republican front-runners - Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and John McCain - would continue President Bush's failed policies. America can't take a third Bush term, but that is all the Republicans offer.

They believe that President Bush's war in Iraq is a success. We believe that it's time to bring our troops home.

They support President Bush's pardon of White House Aide Scooter Libby. We believe in widespread ethics reform legislation to clean up the mess in Washington.

They agree with President Bush's veto of children's health insurance funding. We believe that

"Elaine Brower and three other women were arrested after 5 pm at Jerold Nadler's Brooklyn office."

Who could of guessed that would happen?

U.S. lets in fewer Iraqi refugees, not more
Steady decline comes despite promises to boost admissions

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. admissions of Iraqi refugees are nose-diving amid bureaucratic in-fighting, despite the Bush administration's pledge to boost them to roughly 1,000 per month, according to State Department statistics obtained by The Associated Press.

For the third straight month since the United States said it would improve processing and resettle 12,000 Iraqis by the end of the current budget year on Sept. 30., the number admitted has actually slid, the figures show.

The steady decline — from 450 in October to 362 in November and 245 in December — means the administration will have to allow in 10,943 Iraqis over the next nine months, or roughly 1,215 per month, to meet the target it has set for itself.

But that goal will be difficult to meet and there are few precedents for such large influxes since hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese refugees were resettled here after the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

In the past five years, with few exceptions, notably Somalia and Liberia, the United States has never been able to admit more than 1,000 refugees per month from any country, according to an AP review of statistics from the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

Iraqi refugees are subject to more security checks than those from almost all other nations and the most Iraqis ever admitted to the U.S. in a single month since 2003 was 889 this past September.

The administration has come under heavy criticism from advocacy groups and lawmakers for its poor performance on admitting Iraqi refugees who have fled violence since the 2003 U.S. invasion. Many critics say, and Bush aides have acknowledged, that the administration has a moral obligation to Iraqi refugees.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22476090/

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Presidential candidates are making a final plea to Iowans: Turn out for Thursday's caucuses. Democrat Barack Obama says the "only thing that counts" is showing up. And Republican Mike Huckabee is urging followers to "rent a van" or even "hijack your church's bus" to get bodies to the precincts. Polls are tight for the leading Republicans and Democrats.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22470054/

Amid murmurs of "Amen!" at a pizza parlor in Sergeant Bluff, Huckabee urged hundreds: "Don't go alone. Take people with you. Fill up your car. Rent a van. Hijack your church's bus, whatever you've got to do to get people to the caucus who are going to vote for me."

Funny.

Any other child of God would be arrested for suggesting something be highjacked. That is illegal.

Must be nice to be huckleberry.

BTW, why is it ok for his kid to torture a dog to death and not mine?

I mean, I'm just sayin'...

Can you just IMAGINE the rush little huckleberry got, knowing he had tortured this dog to death, and then watching the top cop investigating him GET FIRED by his daddy!?

Oh, it had to be a rush. You can't touch me or my daddy will deal with YOU!

Little bastard.

These people just make me sick.

monkey

The poster - the last thing I needed...

Seriously, you put the humor into an angst-filled situation.

I do believe in a higher being, but what I feel/believe about him/her is too removed from Christian orthodoxy to ever be compatible.

They can all go huck themselves.

monkey, Christy

And it's perfectly okay for my Christo-Republican neighbors to attack my cat twice and kill him. My racist white-wannabe Republican household think it's the job of a coyote (after all, such things only happen in black and Latino neighborhoods, they say, not this elite white-Asian area), but the first attack's injuries were surely human tools in origin.

"Culture of life" indeed.

I Believe
by R.E.M.

When I was young and full of grace
And spirited - a rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor, not to tell

I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract
Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need, there's the key,
Your adventure for today, what do you do
Between the horns of the day?

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and give and take
And foolish said my fool awake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor, on your honor
Trust in your calling, make sure your calling's true
Think of others, the others think of you
Silly rule golden words make, practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and fault lines change

I believe my humor's wearing thin
And change is what I believe in
I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and full of grace
As spirited a rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor, on your honor
I believe in example
I believe my throat hurts
Example is the checker to the key

I believe my humor's wearing thin
And I believe the poles are shifting

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change...
Is what I believe in

Just home from work & headed to the gym.

Chuck
If you show up later tonight, click on my name for some Hendrix Brothers Coffee - I just discovered it today!! It's really good!!

Monkey - welcome back - your quips have been missed.

Would any big Hollywood production company make "Elmer Gantry" today?? I don't even image it happening.

The battle in Iowa for the Republican nomination, at least according to NPR, is between the two religious giants: the Huckster (and boy if he doesn't sound smooth as a preacher) and the Mormon Mitt (with special underwear???). In my local newspaper was a desperate plea for sanity to return to the Republican party by nominating John McCain - but I think McCain is too "liberal".

I'm not the only one who can't work out what the definition of democracy is.

Finger-wagging will not help fledgling democracies flourish
Simon Jenkins
January 3, 2008

DEMOCRACY is looking sick just now. At the start of 2008, Churchill's nostrum that it is the worst form of government "except for the others" is being tested close to destruction, assassinated in Pakistan, sabotaged in Kenya, massacred in Iraq, strangled in Russia, ridiculed in South Africa and purchased in America. But then it depends on what you mean by democracy.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/fingerwagging-wont-help-build-democracies/2008/01/02/1198949896987.html

Today's Age Editorial on the Iowa caucuses and the outside view of America right now.

Restoring faith in the president is the primary race
January 3, 2008

IOWA. Almost 3 million people live in its Midwest towns and farms, neatly hemmed between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. It's mostly a quiet land: not much news is heard from the 99 counties of Iowa. That is, except every four years. Today, January 3, is "caucus" day for the people from the state where the tall corn grows.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/restoring-faith-in-the-president-is-the-primary-race/2008/01/02/1198949897030.html

I do believe in a higher being, but what I feel/believe about him/her is too removed from Christian orthodoxy to ever be compatible.

Amen Ally

Newspapers' Bad Year: $11 Billion In Newspaper Stock Lost In 2007
The newspaper industry is now worth 42% less than it was three years ago and 26% less than twelve months ago, says former newspaper man and Reflections of a Newsosaur analyst Alan D. Mutter. Wacko street analysts and newspaper executives chalk this up to "cyclical weakness." Mutter knows better$23B zapped in news stock value
The market value of the American newspaper publishers entering 2008 as independent, publicly traded companies has fallen by $23 billion, or 42%, since the end 2004, the year before the wheels started coming off the industry.
Nearly half the slide in the market capitalization of newspaper stocks came in 2007, when the shares lost a collective $11 billion, or 26%, of their value. Thus, newspapers lost nearly as much value last year as they did in the two prior years put together.

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/01/newspapers-11-billion-of-market-value-vaporized-in-2007.html

Australia Votes

Iowa: First runners to be dumped from White House race

http://www.news.com.au/feature/0,,5012572,00.html

I voted for Al Gore apparently

Well he one White House in 2000, didn't he. As far as I am concerned the Supreme Court and the Media are totally complicit in the deaths of 3900 + American Military and 1.6 million Iraqis. They put the Bastard in the White House, didn't they with the help of the American Citizens.

Me too rossi - Al Gore - then Barack Obama which surprised me. Some of the questions I couldn't answer - like which famous person would I be pleased about - wouldn't have the foggiest.

Musharraf a 'serious liability and should resign'

Edmund Tadros
January 3, 2008 - 9:33AM
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is seen as complicit in the death of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and Western governments should stop supporting him, the International Crisis Group says in a new report.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/musharraf-a-serious-liability-and-should-resign/2008/01/03/1198949942448.html

Huckabee courts controversy by appearing on Leno

On the eve of the Iowa caucus, presidential politics intruded: Huckabee appeared on Jay Leno despite his apparent confusion about the strike and a bid by picketers to keep him away.

-snip-

Huckabee said he supports the writers and did not think he would be crossing a picket line, because he believed the writers had made an agreement to allow late-night shows on the air. But that’s not the case with Leno; “Huckabee is a scab,” read one picket sign outside Leno’s Burbank, Calif., studio.

The writers guild urged Huckabee not to cross their picket line after he flew out to California. But Huckabee appeared on Leno, even showing off his electric guitar playing with the band.

“Huckabee claims he didn’t know,” chief union negotiator John Bowman said. “I don’t know what that means in terms of trusting him as a future president.”

more on...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22471887/

Claims of "not knowing" make him a perfect president by todays standards.

On eve of caucuses, Giuliani skips Iowa

WOLFEBORO, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Lagging in the polls in Iowa, Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani skipped ahead to New Hampshire Wednesday to call for a renewed push against al Qaeda and its fugitive leader, Osama bin Laden.

-snip-

Most other Republican and Democratic candidates spent Wednesday concentrating on Iowa, which holds the first contest of the 2008 presidential campaign on Thursday. The latest CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found Giuliani running fifth there, tied with Rep. Ron Paul of Texas at 8 percent.

In New Hampshire, a CNN/WMUR poll Wednesday found Giuliani running third, with 12 percent support, six days before next week's primary.

But despite his recent skid, Giuliani still appears at or near the top of national polls -- and his campaign is looking past early contests toward the delegate-rich "Super Tuesday" states that hold primaries February 5, an aide said.

U.S. commanders, particularly senior Army officers, have warned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have put a severe strain on the American military. Giuliani said he would call for the military to add 10 combat brigades -- between 35,000 and 50,000 troops.

He also pointed to the December 27 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, as a sign the threat of terrorism "is not over." He compared the threat posed by al Qaeda to the enemies the United States faced in World War II, saying, "I think it wouldn't be unfair to describe us as the 9/11 generation."

"Osama bin Laden is just the latest in a long line -- or at least a line -- of dictators and terrorists and bullies and people in that category who somehow hear all this division that we have and think that it is a sign of weakness," Giuliani said

more on...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/02/giuliani.nh/index.html

I put the Wexler thing about the Google buy r/t Cheney up with a subversive graphic but it uses the F word. (click my name)

Good morning, & off to work - hope to catch up on reading comments later! xo

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