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After Shock!
If you're a Hillary supporter then yesterday's election results left you shocked but happy.
If you're an Obama supporter then yesterday's election results left you shocked but happy.
Super Tuesday was full of surprises and narrow wins and losses.
The biggest shock of all is the final delegate count (as of 8 am) which is still hobbling in, and depending upon the source, you can find different delegate counts. I am stealing my count from Daily Kos, which has in turn stolen their count from CNN.
Here it is:
The first figure is pledged via primary and caucus, the second is super delegates:Clinton: 632 + 193 = 825
Obama: 626 + 106 = 732
Edwards: 26 + 0 = 26
So those are the numbers.
If I were a paid political consultant, I might tell you what those numbers mean. Since I'm not, you can be the unpaid political consultant and discuss it on today's Open Thread.
Enjoy!
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I wonder if Obama has the energy and support system to run as an "Independent Democrat" should the election continue to stay this close.
I think that is why people are emphasizing the split on the Democratic side, even though there is clearly a triple-split on the Republican side. (Frankly, I know they consider the split to be Huckabee, McCain, and Romney, but I actually feel there are more Paul supporters out here who are begging him to run as a 3rd party candidate.)
Ok, friends. Today is one of my long days at work.
So I'll catch up with you tonight or tomorrow.
(Or whenever I can sneak a post or two in.)
Republicans Conflicted: Tale of a Broken Stool
http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/2008/02/republicans-con.html
Kayakbiker compares the Republican party to a three-legged stool.
Today is one of my long days at work as well.
My guess is that a nominee won't be decided for awhile. There is too much horsetrading behind the scenes, the primaries coming up (like ours next Sat.) still matter, and then there are all the Superdelegates like party bigwigs. Obama could also still be getting momentum that isn't measured by polls (cell phones of the young etc).
THE DANGEROUS MYTH OF JOHN McCAIN
JOHANN HARI,
SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER
A lazy, hazy myth has arisen out of the mists of New Hampshire and South Carolina. Across the pan-Atlantic press, the grizzled 71-year-old Vietnam vet, John McCain, is being billed as the Republican liberals can live with. He is "a bipartisan progressive," "a principled hard liberal," "a decent man" -- in the words of liberal newspapers. His fragile new frontrunner status as we go into Super Tuesday is being seen as something to cautiously welcome, a kick to the rotten Republican establishment.
But the truth is that McCain is the candidate we should most fear. Not only is he to the right of Bush on a whole range of subjects, he is also the Republican candidate most likely to dispense with Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. . .
Rage seems to be at the core of his personality: describing his own childhood, McCain has written: "At the smallest provocation I would go off into a mad frenzy, and then suddenly crash to the floor unconscious. When I got angry I held my breath until I blacked out." But he claims he was transformed by his experiences in Vietnam -- a war he still defends as "noble" and "winnable," if only it had been fought harder. . .
McCain has distinguished himself most as an uber-hawk on foreign policy. To give a brief smorgasbord of his views: at a recent rally, he sang "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran," to the tune of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann." He says North Korea should be threatened with "extinction."
McCain has mostly opposed using U.S. power for humanitarian goals, jeering at proposals to intervene in Rwanda or Bosnia -- but he is very keen to use it for great power imperialism. . .
So why do so many nice liberals have a weak spot for McCain? Well, to his credit, he doesn't hate immigrants: He proposed a program to legalize the 12 million undocumented workers in the U.S. He sincerely opposes torture, as a survivor of it himself. He has apologized for denying global warming and now advocates a cap on greenhouse gas emissions but only if China and India can also be locked into the system. He is somewhat uncomfortable with the religious right (while supporting a ban on abortion and gay marriage).
It is a sign of how far to the right the Republican Party has drifted that these are considered signs of liberalism, rather than basic humanity.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/348434_mccainonline24.html?source=mypi
Oh yeah, Obama could do serious damage as a third party candidate. He actually could win.
Not only does he have the money, he has a whole nation sick of both dems and repellicans.
Do you realize how much he would have to say if he were no longer bound by loyalty to dems and concerned with the inparty positioning? He would be 'off the chain'.
If he does not get the nomination for dems, and decides to run indy, he may just ruin the dems with the exodus he would create with so many leaving to follow him. If Edwards is running with him they would sweep it.
He has the support and the money and the voters, the only question is will he go for it?
Roman Nikolaichik, critic of Vladimir Putin, is sent to mental hospital
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3315213.ece
And also the death toll from last nights tornados is now up to 47 across 4 states.
Glad to see you Christy. Scary stuff last night!
nmp -
Pat Buchanon this morning on the Today Show said McCain as president would make Cheney look like Ghandi.
Yikes.
"The medical examiner has ruled that Heath Ledger's death is an "accident," resulting from the "abuse of prescription medications."
Sometimes the truth just sucks so bad.
What a loss.
Obama claims delegate lead
In a surprise twist after a chaotic Super Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) passed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in network tallies of the number of delegates the candidates racked up last night.
The Obama camp now projects topping Clinton by 13 delegates, 847 to 834.
NBC News, which is projecting delegates based on the Democratic Party's complex formula, figures Obama will wind up with 840 to 849 delegates, versus 829 to 838 for Clinton.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8358.html
HAHAHAHA!
If McCain is smart, he'll pick Huckabee as his running mate, evangelicals will go blind crazy over that one, and McCain will suddenly be OK to them.
How is it possible that ALLLL of the media called it for Clinton last night, yet Obama actually has the delegates...?
Hmmmm. Declaring a premature victory won by the one who really goes on to lose.
Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah.
McCain has a very good chance of carrying California, between his "pro-immigrant" positions and his hawkish McCarthyism, which will bring out the immigrant vote in droves. And the immigrant vote has already proven itself in Orange County the state's second largest county, where it crushed powerful labor unions in the battle for county supervisor seats.
And if California goes, the Democratic Party is history.
And I agree with monkey - Huckabee, with his own "pro-immigrant" positions and social conservatism, would make a formidable running mate. McCain-Huckabee will be a wet dream for the immigrants here.
Christy
They've done that shit in Nazi Germany, in China, and in W's America too. Mental hospitals are great places to dump political prisoners, because, well, you'd have to be insane to oppose the great ruling regime.
Remember the Russian sub accident, where they lost an entire crew while the world just sat there and watched?
If I remember correctly it was an onboard explosion in very deep waters. Anyways...
While those sailors were down there dying, the Russian military knew PR-wise they needed to do something, so they held like a town hall style meeting with the relatives.
I remember looking at their faces thinking OMG these poor people. They know thier loved ones are dying. Then this woman stood up, a mother of one of the young sailors, and I don't speak Russian, but I didn't have to to get what she was saying. She was desperate. Horrible.
And all the sudden these people in suits were surrounding her, putting hands on her, like they were comforting her. But she only gets more upset.
And on the tape you can clearly see a woman behind her shove a hypodermic needle into her shoulder. She started swaying and seemed to be 'overcome' so they 'helped' her back into her seat.
That was when I decided I don't like Russia very much.
That is just sick scary and wrong.
In between classes and so posting quickly--I just wanted to make sure Christy was OK, with the news of tornados down there. Glad to see you all here!
Christy
My own gripes with Russia are that the Orthodox Church of today is acting a lot like the Communists of yesterday.
Rampant xenophobia and homophobia in Russia, especially Moscow.
I won't feel safe going to Russia - and the Russians made it tough for me to get a visa anyway.
I know I sometimes sound paranoid about visiting other states/countries.
But the truth is, even the "tolerant" Netherlands was unsafe for me. The Dutch tolerance seems to extend to the rampant racism, sexism, and homophobia of the Surinamese thugs of Amsterdam. Of course, with the offenders being Surinamese rather than Dutch, no white liberal, Dutch/American/otherwise, ever talks about them.
This puts much, actually most, of the world off-limits to me. But there is only so much risk I can tolerate when I travel - if my safety is on the line, I will seriously reconsider.
I'm sorry to hear of the deaths in last nights tornados. Nature can be a terrible thing. And for us here in my town today, we have icy roads and snow coming on top of the ice, also making it a frightening situation.
Christy, I'm glad you're ok. I noticed you were ok last night in the middle of the night when I woke up.
On a different note, I hope nobody was offended by my blog title today. I did make sure I stayed away from phrases such as "Blown away..." or "Hit by a whirl wind..." and yes, both of those entered my head, but then I saw the news about the Tornados so I discounted using those.
White House defends use of waterboarding
Spokesman says interrogation technique legal; Senate Dems demand probe
updated 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House on Wednesday defended the use of the interrogation technique known as waterboarding, saying it is legal — not torture as critics argue — and has saved American lives.
President Bush could authorize waterboarding for future terrorism suspects if certain criteria are met, a spokesman said.
A day earlier, the Bush administration acknowledged publicly for the first time that the tactic was used by U.S. government questioners on three terror suspects. Testifying before Congress, CIA Director Michael Hayden said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri were waterboarded in 2002 and 2003.
-snip-
Use of waterboarding to 'depend on ... circumstances'
Fratto said CIA interrogators could use waterboarding again, but would need the president's approval to do so. That approval would "depend on the circumstances," with one important factor being "belief that an attack might be imminent," Fratto said. Appopriate members of Congress would be notified in such a case, he said.
"The president will listen to the considered judgment of the professionals in the intelligence community and the judgment of the attorney general in terms of the legal consequences of employing a particular technique," he said. "The president will listen to his advisers and make a determination."
Fratto said waterboarding's use in the past was also approved by the attorney general, meaning it was legal and not torture.
Officials fear calling waterboarding torture or illegal could expose government employees to criminal or civil charges or even international war crimes charges.
more on...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23030663/
Obama claims delegate lead
In a surprise twist after a chaotic Super Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) passed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in network tallies of the number of delegates the candidates racked up last night.
The Obama camp now projects topping Clinton by 13 delegates, 847 to 834.
NBC News, which is projecting delegates based on the Democratic Party's complex formula, figures Obama will wind up with 840 to 849 delegates, versus 829 to 838 for Clinton.
Clinton was portrayed in many news accounts as the night’s big winner, but Obama’s campaign says he wound up with a higher total where it really counts — the delegates who will choose the party’s nominee at this summer’s Democratic convention.
With the delegate count still under way, NBC News said Obama appears to have won around 840 delegates in yesterday’s contests, while Clinton earned about 830 — “give or take a few,” Tim Russert, the network’s Washington bureau chief, said on the “Today” show.
The running totals for the two, which includes previous contests and the party officials known as “superdelegates,” are only about 70 delegates apart, Russert said.
The bottom line is that the two are virtually tied.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8358.html
Haliburton Sex Assault Case To Be Tried In Private Arbitration
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4249898&page=1
Christy glad everything OK, pretty rough night in the South last night.
NRCC probe scares GOP
By: Patrick O'Connor and John Bresnahan
Feb 6, 2008 06:10 AM EST
Top House Republicans were told in recent days that a former employee of their campaign committee may have forged an official audit during the contentious 2006 election cycle and that they should brace for the possibility that an unfolding investigation could uncover financial improprieties stretching back several years, according to GOP sources briefed on the members-only discussions.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has retained a forensic auditor to review its accounting for the last several election cycles, the sources said.
The NRCC’s accounting problems were discussed during two high-level conference calls between senior GOP lawmakers on Friday and Monday night, according to Republicans briefed on the calls.
“There is a sense that this could be very damaging to the committee,” said a Republican insider close to the GOP leadership.
The precise details of the suspected accounting irregularities and their possible fallout are not entirely clear. NRCC officials and top GOP leaders are being tight-lipped in large part because the FBI is investigating the matter. An outside lawyer advising members and staff has warned everyone at the committee to keep quiet. >>>cont
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8349.html
Everythings ok here. Thank the Lord. No tornados here but we did get one wicked show regardless.
It really is a shame we lost so many last night. It is such an unfair way to die.
The worst ones always come in the middle of the night and the middle of the day. But it is far more scary at night.
Hey Rossi,
I tried looking for an Iraq pic, and I went through some files where I MIGHT could find it until I was traumatized so badly I wanted to throw up, but I am thinking you might have it handy.
It is the one I had of Iraqi kids, the little boys staring directly at the photographer as one points a rifle directly at him. There are pretty little girls beside them, smirking... Do you have it?
Overtime: Obama has slim lead in New Mexico race: Developing...
No winner yet in NM Democratic caucuses
Democrats Clinton, Obama Locked in Tight Race in New Mexico Caucuses
http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/No_winner_yet_in_NM_Democratic_cauc_02062008.html
Vermont Town Official Says Supporters of Arrest Warrant for Bush, Cheney Outweigh Opponents
http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/New_tone_set_in_e_mails_on_Bush_war_02062008.html
I'm going on record right now as predicting a McCain-Huckabee ticket.
McCain has to get the conservative evangelicals establishment behind his campaign to win, and Huckabee has proven he can deliver just that very piece of the puzzle that McCain is missing...
McHuck
Ledger's death was not recorded as an *abuse* of prescription medications, but rather a toxic combination of them. Doctors and pharmacists need to provide serious education with such medication.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7231084.stm
"Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."
Media, however, love to use the *abuse* word. It's more sensational that way. Rather than damned tragic.
Hey monkey - the CIA only used waterboarding 3 times over all these years - so what's all the fuss about. Yeah right. And I believe that after evidence too obscene to ever be declassified, had to be obliterated completely.
And Christy, I too, am pleased that you and your family are all safe.
Sorry to go all tabloid on ya, but if memory serves me right, didn't the late Anna Nicole Smith AND her late son also die in seperate incidents linked to a similar lethal combination of prescription medications?
Could be monkey - I wouldn't have a clue. I guess I wasn't as enamoured of either of them as I was of Heath Ledger.
I am sorry but anyone taking those combination of drugs ARE abusing them, even if at low doses.
Oxycontin? That is hillbilly HEROIN. Along with Xanax Valuim AND sleeping pills...?
Yes it may have been a lethal combination, but it resulted from taking sh*t no one in their right minds should be taking.
Valuim, Xanax and Oxycontin. That is not to go to sleep. That is TO GET HIGH out of your gourd. Stoned to the bone.
Why is it so hard to believe he was 'abusing' them? Because he was a great talent? How many other great talents are ALSO junkies who OD'd by accident?
If Amy Winehouse can be a crackhead, then it does us no good to pretend Ledger somehow just got bad advice.
lol Monkey, I was predicting a McCain-Huckabee ticket today at lunch as we were handicapping the pres. race. Everyone was saying that McCain would beat Clinton, but Obama would trounce McCain...and these are mainly McCain supporters.
Christy I'm not going to worry about a 3rd party run until I see the shenanigans and ego-stroking in Denver this summer. I'm just happy all the states matter. So much for moving up the primaries!
Oh yeah, and here's my favorite stat from last night:
In the 19 states where both Democrats and Republicans had contests Tuesday, there were 73% more Democratic voters than Republican voters.
SEVENTY-THREE PERCENT!!!!!
Just an aside, but MAN I'd like to slap that muppet-like smirk off of Liebermans skull!
Monkey, you mean McCain's backdrop/sidekick? I really hope we aren't looking at a McCain-Lieberman ticket.
Monkey and V--
This will make you happy. LIEberman will not be able to use his super-delegate vote.
I can't find a link right now, but apparently Clinton has borrowed (loaned) 5 million for her campaign.
Obama's team is now asking for contributions to match her funds.
What a competition! ;-|
New York Times has that story.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/clinton-considers-lending-her-campaign-money/index.html?hp
Hey, I have a quarter for Sen. Clinton, maybe she can call someone who gives a sh*t.
... and LOVE that Liebershnitzel can't be uber-delicate!
Joe Mama
Stimulus plan hits a Republican wall in the Senate
The proposed economic stimulus package, with an additional $44 billion in payouts, falls short in the Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The fate of $600-$1,200 rebate checks for more than 100 million Americans is in limbo after Senate Democrats failed Wednesday to add $44 billion in help for the elderly, disabled veterans, the unemployed and big business to the House-passed economic aid package.
Republicans banded together to block the $205 billion plan from advancing Wednesday, leaving Democrats with a difficult choice either to quickly accept a House bill they have said is inadequate or risk being blamed for delaying a measure designed as a swift shot in the arm for the lagging economy.
The tally was 58-41 to end debate on the Senate measure, just short of the 60 votes Democrats would have needed to scale procedural hurdles and move the bill to a final vote. In a suspenseful showdown vote that capped days of partisan infighting and procedural jockeying, eight Republicans - four of them up for re-election this year - joined Democrats to back the plan, bucking GOP leaders and President Bush, who objected to the costly add-ons.
Democrats choreographed the vote for maximum political advantage, presenting their aid proposal as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition for Republicans and calling back their presidential candidates to make a show of party unity behind their stimulus plan. They calculated that Republicans would pay a steep price for opposing rebates for older Americans and disabled veterans, as well as heating aid for the poor, unemployment benefits and a much larger collection of business tax breaks than the House approved.
"There was a chance on the table to help low-income seniors and disabled veterans and Americans looking for work, and the Senate frankly blew it tonight," Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said in a statement after the vote.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/06/news/economy/stimulus_senate.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes
Wow! So this amazes me.
Thanks for the link on the Clinton story, Matthew.
http://www.officeplayground.com/flyingmonkey.html?gclid=CKWp
monkey,
That's some serious monkey business, there!
Christy
I am finally getting the reports on how SEVERE the southern tornadoes were. It's not a pretty picture.
Glad to know that you're safe.
Just made a political donation
HILLARY CLINTON AND BARACK OBAMA ARE BOTH COMING TO SEATTLE
They want our 90 delegates
OBAMA RAISED SIX MILLION ON LINE IN 24 HOURS FROM SMALL DONORS
"The narrow margin in delegates, and the growing likelihood that it will remain close, prompted concern on Wednesday from the chairman of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean, who said Tuesday night that Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton should avoid taking the nominating fight all the way to the party convention in August."
“I think we will have a nominee sometime in the middle of March or April,” Mr. Dean said Wednesday on the NY1 cable news channel, “but if we don’t, then we’re going to have to get the candidates together and make some kind of an arrangement. Because I don’t think we can afford to have a brokered convention; that would not be good news for either party.”
"An adviser to Mr. Dean said Wednesday that he had not discussed the idea with either candidate."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/us/politics/07campaign.html?hp
*****
So, Dr. Dean, that populist hero of our last election cycle, has a problem with the democratic process working it's way through... Now, isn't that special.
I didn't buy this guy's act the first time.
Matthew
It will depend on the SuperDelegates - people like Patty Murray and Ted Kennedy among them. They aren't committed but are pledged and loyal.
I don't know what a "deal" prior to the convention would consist of but didn't I read that the 1924 convention secured a nominee only after 124 ballots? (something like that) Could cause McCain to have lots of time to unify his party behind him (a difficult undertaking). I say let's find out what Mr. Dean has up his sleeve.
Holy. Cow.
Scientists hail spinal injury breakthrough
Researchers use bypass technique to restore movement in paralysed rats
A pioneering technique that uses the body's nerves to bypass spinal injuries could help thousands of people to regain feeling, and possibly even the use of paralysed limbs, scientists say. Using similar principles to heart bypass surgery, where veins from a patient's leg are used to get around an artery blockage, scientists in the US have shown that nerves can be used to circumvent spinal damage and reconnect the brain to the body.
The procedure, successfully used in experiments with rats, raises the prospect of the first human trials within five years, offering hope to the 40,000-plus people in the UK with spinal cord injuries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/feb/07/medicalresearch.neuroscience
I think I am going to cry.
More madness (from a friend)
After taxes, the "job" of President of the USA pays $1 million dollars, over the course of 4 years.
Willard Mitt "Joe Isuzu" Romney, in his self-financed campaign, has spent $1 million dollars per *each* single delegate that he has won:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/06/romney-paying-1-million-_n_85268.html
Between them, the campaigns of Barack & Hillary have thus far, not even halfway through the Primary/Nominating Process, raised, and spent/pissed away, a combined total of over $100 million dollars.
Matthew,
I don't like what Dean said. However, I was thinking about this whole discussion about if Obama ran as a third party and if Hillary were the candidate (or visa versa...Hillary were the third candidate and Obama was the Democratic party's candidate)... Anyways, wouldn't we be splitting the Democratic vote that way and ending up with McCain/Huckabee (my guess)... against two great candidates? Seems like a terrible way to have McCain come out the winner.
Sparrow
I think third party would definitely break the party. If Hillary "wins", Obama has a name and a movement. He could at least be offered a party hack job like Dean but I think he could do something more useful than head DNC. Dean is better than McAuliffe at least (who is now head of Hillary's campaign). Remember, Dean is remembered for "gaffes" and speaking impulsively.
I have thought about McCain/Huckabee and McCain/Lieberman. The latter would be too domestically liberal for the Republicans though, as McCain and Lieberman are a RINO and a DINO, overlapping and both pretty fair on domestic (compared to the rest of the pack) and horrible on foreign policy (if you are a Democrat). If you are a Republican, you could say the opposite. Republicans need a "hawk" each election but they won't warm to finance reform, global warming awareness etc. Isn't it ironic that McCain won in blue states where he won't do as well anyway?
The Obama campaign is expecting least to win Ohio and Texas but certainly to get 2nd. They could take the other states and likely ours on Saturday. The big problem with a brokered convention is that what the Clinton people are likely to do is have some suit or procedure with the DNC where they would get to count the Michigan and Florida delegates, which could put them over the top. There may be two legal ways they can do it. That would mean we'd had three screwy elections (at least) in a row.
Anyway, Hillary loaned her campaign 5 million and Obama raised 6 million in small donations in 24 hours. Hillary is coming here tonight and Barack is coming here tomorrow.
Christy
I didn't know you were so fond of rats LOL
Seriously, that's good news if they can get it perfected.
nmp,
I think the Florida primary at least has a little more 'realism' than Michigan did. The Michigan ballot only had DK and Hillary and UNCOMMITTED or Write-in as the choices. Therefore, if there were any sense of fairness, it wouldn't count. However, since politics seems to be about cheating and oneupmanship, I'm betting it would count.
(PS. I would think the same even if it had been Obama on the ticket and not hillary. We did not have a true election here. And how many people stayed home because they had been told to 'write in' or 'not write in' or 'vote uncommitted' 'no don't vote uncommitted'...ok. you get the picture. Nobody knew anything so of course it's a waste of money that they even held the dang thing.
Rats...? Umm. No. But I LOVE me some scientists! They give me hope.
This post..
February 7, 2008 9:12 AM
not my president said:
That reminds me of a conversation I had once with a very hip and pretty Mexican man.
We were just talking, you know, comparing our countries, our peoples, politics, and it turned to thier police.
He told me it cost $100,000 USA dollars to become a COP in Mexico. And most places on the police force were passed from father to son. At first I was like errr duh, I don't get it.
I asked, you know, why would you spend so much money to be a COP? Because don't cops get shot at and deal with the dregs of society for very little pay?
So he goes into this long and very detailed explanation of how all the cops in Mexico are literally corrupt, they work for this cartel or that cartel, so, by spending 100,000 to become a cop, as a cop, you could make MILLIONS.
And he said, "If it cost a million, they would still pay it, because they will make it back thier first year as a cop."
Any of these candidates will spend as much as they have and borrow ever more, whatever it takes to win it. Because once they become president of the worlds richest nation, everything they stand to gain will make their initial investment look like chump change.
If SOMEONE in georgies pentagon can walk away with 2.3 TRILLION dollars in ONE HAUL, and it be arranged so that no one even notices...Just think of the kind of resources they will control.
But you got to spend money to make money.
Also, think of the book deals, the speaker engagements, the bonus trips, and don't forget those free flying miles! [[sarcasm tag]]
... and free rounds of Gulf for life.
Imagine the commercial deals for Bush and Cheney!
(Voice in background:)
"Mr. Bush, now that you've successfully raped the treasury, single-handedly stirred up WWIII, and swindled the nation of the world's resources...what are you going to do when you leave office?!"
(Bush) "Why..um...thank you for asking. You know..um...being pResident and
lyingspeaking all the time is harrrrrrd work! So when I'm done with working so harrrd for the 'merican people, I've been offered a freeeeeee passssssss for life, so I'm gonna take my hat, take my cattle, and I'm gonna go to Disney World."Oh and here is Cheney's commercial. (Probably has to be specific for the Howard Stern show or Hustler...)
The camera focuses on whips, and chains and a surfboard... dead body's are strewn around and noises of the people gagging from their drowning simulation is heard in the background.
Then... the camera moves to a corner--a dark corner--where the outline of a indecent (and indecently covered) man is seen--watching and listening to the events in the video...
They go to a close up of the mans face and he pulls out his...
and says....
(You fill in the blanks)
Monkey...BTW, how are you feeling?
Are you going to make Monkey Ball next year? I am thinking of talking my man into it. He needs a vacation.
I wonder if I can talk him into tights for a Kings Costume...? HEHE!
I so doubt it.
Berkeley Could Lose Funding Over Anti-Marine Stance
UPDATED: 10:55 pm PST February 6, 2008
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Republicans in Congress are playing hardball with Berkeley after the liberal city council issued a declaration urging the U.S. Marines to move its recruitment office out of the East Bay college town last week. Now conservative lawmakers are fighting back with legislation that could eliminate millions of dollars in funding for UC Berkeley and a variety of city programs.
The controversy erupted last week after the City Council passed an item condemning the Marines' downtown recruiting center on Shattuck Avenue. The item told the U.S. Marines that if its recruiters choose to stay in their rented downtown space "they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests."
A small band of GOP lawmakers is fighting back with legislation that could eliminate millions of dollars for UC Berkeley, public safety programs, a new ferry service, and the Alice Waters foundation, an organization that provides lunches to public schools.
It was quiet Wednesday evening in front of the Marine Corps recruiting station on Shattuck in Berkeley, but the battle between city officials and the federal government is escalating.
An anti-war protest vehicle remains parked in front of the recruiting station, and now some republicans are retaliating by trying to slash $2.3 million in federal funds from several Berkeley programs after the city council voted last week to ask the Marines to leave.
Wednesday night, Berkeley's Mayor Tom Bates backed down from those earlier calls for the Marines to hit the road.
"We went too far when we passed [the resolution]. We said things we probably shouldn't have said," explains the mayor.
Pictures of the vocal protests that took place in front of the Marine Corps recruiting office from last week's demonstration infuriated some members of Congress.
Republican South Carolina Senator Jim Demint was among those angered. "Patriotic American taxpayers won't sit quietly while Berkeley insults our brave marines and tries to run them out of town, and the city doesn't deserve a single dime of special pet project handouts," said Senator Demint in a statement.
Senator Demint has joined forces with five other Republican senators and an Orange County representative to introduce companion bills called the Semper Fi Act of 2008.
One cut amounting to almost a quarter million dollars would impact the Chez Paniesse Foundation, which helps provide school meals to thousands of Berkeley public school students. Not surprisingly, Berkeley residents are shocked that the proposed legislation would go to such lengths.
"If you want to give a slap on the hand of a community because of their opinion and viewpoint, that in itself is questionable. But to attack our children to do that is absolutely unconscionable," said Berkeley School District spokesman Mark Coplan.
On the streets of Berkeley Wednesday night, many people said Berkeley city leaders went too far in their anti-war efforts.
"I'm against war, but I think if we didn't have the Marines we'd probably be all be speaking German," said Ralph Kratz of Richmond.
"I think Berkeley has a right to their opinion and I think the Marine Corps does too. I don't think federal funding has anything to do with whether there's recruitment or not," said San Leandro resident Ed Shapiro.
Mayor Tom Bates says he hopes the city can clarify it's position: "I'm not saying we're anti-Marines or anti armed forces. We're just trying to set the record straight that we're against this war. We think it's illegal. We think it's immoral. We think it's wrong and we think we've been lied to. We want this war to be over."
The showdown between Berkeley's city council and its critics comes to a head on Tuesday when the city council will vote again whether or not to urge the Marines to leave. Some council members appear to be softening their positions.
A pro-military group called Move America Forward says it will hold an all-day protest in front of City Hall the try to get Berkeley to back down.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/15240235/detail.html
republicans dont believe in democracy
Obama raised 7 million dollars, in one day.
Lieberman’s superdelegate status stripped.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for president, will be disqualified as a superdelegate at the Democratic convention “under what is informally known as the Zell Miller rule.”
http://thinkprogress.org/
Christy... I'm feelin a little better every day... as for Monkey Ball next year, who knows? I'd like to be there, but heck, I'm just tryin to make it day by day anymore, like the rest of us I guess.
This world really has turned to sh*t.
They surely don't.
The US military needs to get rid of its DADT first. That will also have the nice side effect of letting chicken hawks like Mann Coulter actually serve the couontry.
DADT alone is grounds for being unwelcome in Berkeley.
The UK will need to adopt primitive Sharia law, they say:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7232661.stm
Utterly unacceptable.
BREAKING NEWS
Romney is out of the race, saying that if he keeps running, he'll be helping the nation "surrender to terror."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7233537.stm
I so don't get what that statement by Romney means... anyway, good riddance.
Say hello to McCain-Huckabee
In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington Thursday, Romney talked of Democratic Candidates Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama retreating in Iraq and declaring defeat.
He then told the crowd he disagrees with McCain on a number of issues, but that he'd given the matter a lot of thought and if he fought on all the way to the Republican convention, "I forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I'd be making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win. Frankly, in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."
Romney added, "If this were only about me, I can go on. But its never been only about me. I entered this race... because I love America, and because I love America, in this time of war, I feel I now have to stand aside, for our party and for our country."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23050678/
WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats and Republicans have agreed to add rebates for 20 million senior citizens and 250,000 disabled veterans to a House-passed economic stimulus bill.
Senate Democrats, under pressure from party colleagues in the House, had agreed early to an economic rescue package that would add checks for Social Security retirees and disabled veterans but leave out extended jobless benefits and additional business subsidies.
The package would rush tax rebates of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples to most taxpayers and grant business tax cuts to revive the economy.
Leaders in both parties and in both chambers of Congress had agreed by Wednesday night on the idea that 20 million seniors whose sole or main income is Social Security and 250,000 veterans living off disability benefits should be added to those getting rebates under the $161 billion stimulus bill first negotiated by House Democrats and President Bush.
But Senate Democrats had refused a vote on the idea unless piggybacked on top of it were 13 weeks of added jobless benefits, home heating subsidies, and new tax refunds for coal producers and struggling corporations.
Now, Democratic senators are backing away from those demands, paving the way for a vote as early as Thursday.
"Discretion is the better part of valor. The best thing for us to do is declare a big victory that we've achieved, namely getting the rebate checks to 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.
All of those measures plus the rebates for seniors and veterans would have boosted the stimulus package's total cost to $205 billion, an amount sure to have produced a record federal deficit this year.
Supporters say sharing the rebates with seniors and disabled veterans will cost about $9 billion.
The retreat by Senate Democrats came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sided with Republicans, including GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and called on the Senate to stop its infighting and pass the bill.
In doing so, Pelosi, D-Calif., split openly with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who backed the more expensive package.
"There's no reason for any more delay on this," Pelosi said Thursday before agreement was reached.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23052292/
Super Delegates
Here’s a little something for all you list lovers out there — a list of superdelegates and who they have endorsed (so far). Keep in mind that superdelegates can change their minds before the convention, and some probably will — maybe back and forth a few times.
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 01/ superdelegate-list.html
Here’s a list of the superdelegates who haven’t endorsed anyone yet:
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 01/ superdelegates-who-havent-endorsed.html
Attorney general: No waterboarding investigation
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey told lawmakers Thursday he will not open a criminal investigation into the CIA's acknowledged use of "waterboarding" on terror suspects.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers asked Mukasey bluntly whether he was starting a criminal investigation since CIA chief Michael Hayden has confirmed the use of waterboarding.
"No, I am not, for this reason: Whatever was done as part of a CIA program at the time that it was done was the subject of a Department of Justice opinion through the Office of Legal Counsel and was found to be permissible under the law as it existed then," he said.
Mukasey said opening an investigation would send a message that Justice Department opinions are subject to change.
"Essentially it would tell people, 'You rely on a Justice Department opinion as part of a program, then you will be subject to criminal investigations ... if the tenure of the person who wrote the opinion changes or indeed the political winds change,'" he said. "And that's not something that I think would be appropriate and it's not something I will do."
Conyers, D-Michigan, and Mukasey argued over whether the Justice Department will provide documents on the waterboarding opinion to the committee.
Mukasey refused, saying the documents are highly classified and that he had already said he is not going to open an investigation.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/07/mukasey.waterboarding/index.html
McCain tries to make his case with conservatives
(CNN) -- GOP front-runner John McCain is heading to Washington to try to convince a conservative-rich conference that he's their man.
McCain has yet to secure the support of his party's conservative side, despite big wins in the Super Tuesday contests.
McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul are all to speak during the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference conference.
"Our message will be that we all share common principles, common conservative principles, and we should coalesce around those issues," the Arizona senator said Wednesday. Watch how conservative McCain's record is »
The conference is the country's largest annual gathering of activists, students and policymakers, according to CPAC.
Last year, McCain was the only major Republican candidate to reject an invitation to speak to at the conference.
Ahead of his big Thursday speech, McCain sent a letter to the Federalist Society, an influential conservative group. In it he promises to nominate "judges who understand that their role is to faithfully apply the law as written, not impose their opinions through judicial fiat."
-snip-
McCain is up against critics who say he's too liberal to carry his party's nomination. Conservatives point to him breaking with the party on immigration, opposing the Bush tax cuts and co-sponsoring legislation on campaign finance reform. Watch what McCain says about his relationship with conservatives »
"I do hope that at some point we would just calm down a little bit and see if there's areas that we can agree on for the good of the party and the good of the country," said McCain, who's been known to reach across the aisle at times.
Comments like those caused some conservative talk-radio hosts to light into to the Arizona senator a day after Super Tuesday gave him a commanding lead and put him more than halfway to the number of delegates needed for the nomination.
"When did the measure of conservatism, when did the measure of success, when did the measure of progress, when did it become reaching out to Democrats?" Rush Limbaugh said on his show Wednesday.
"Why is it so hard to understand that what we want is to defeat those people? We view those people as threats to the American way of life, as we've always known it. We view liberals as a threat to the founding of this country," he said.
Laura Ingraham also expressed disdain over McCain's victories on her show.
"McCain has so radicalized key conservatives that some have vowed to turn themselves into suicide voters next November by pulling the lever for Hillary Clinton," she said.
more on...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/07/mccain.conservatives/index.html
Super Delegates
Here’s a little something for all you list lovers out there — a list of superdelegates and who they have endorsed (so far). Keep in mind that superdelegates can change their minds before the convention, and some probably will — maybe back and forth a few times.
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 01/ superdelegate-list.html
Here’s a list of the superdelegates who haven’t endorsed anyone yet:
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 01/ superdelegates-who-havent-endorsed.html
McCain booed at CPAC.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/07/mccain-booed-at-cpac/
HAHAHA!
Now in there, they can use all the illegal techniques they have to hide from the public domain.
US admiral confirms secret camp at Gitmo
AP News
Feb 07, 2008 07:50 EST
Somewhere amid the cactus-studded hills on this sprawling Navy base, separate from the cells where hundreds of men suspected of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban have been locked up for years, is a place even more closely guarded — a jailhouse so protected that its very location is top secret.
For the first time, the top commander of detention operations at Guantanamo has confirmed the existence of the mysterious Camp 7. In an interview with The Associated Press, Rear Adm. Mark Buzby also provided a few details about the maximum-security lockup.
Guantanamo commanders said Camp 7 is for key alleged al-Qaida members, who must be kept apart from other prisoners to prevent them from retaliating against long-term detainees who have talked to interrogators. They also want the location kept secret for fear of terrorist attack.
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=37005
".. said Camp 7 is for key alleged al-Qaida members,"
Yeah right. I don't remember it being proven ANY of those people at Gitmo are 'Al Qaida' or 'Taliban'.
This Special Section in Gitmo is not a surprise, all prisons have an inner star chamber, if that is the right word.
If the Red Cross has inspected it, as he says, then I doubt that is where they are holding the so called 'ghost' detainees.
I doubt any of them are Al Qaida or Taliban either. Probably took the wrong taxi at the wrong time.
Now in there, they can use all those illegal techniques they have developed, that they have to hide from the public domain.
They admit to waterboarding, they don't even really have to hide it anymore.
We all know it is happening. They've perverted the law itself to make it legal and aquit themselves of any liability.
The Abu Graib Pics, the torture tapes. Pics of female Iraqi detainees being gang raped by masked soldiers being uploaded onto PORN SITES...You've seen the pics yourself... It is already in the public domain.
But, at this point, how do we end this without destroying our own nation and risk an even faster death to the US Constitution...?
I understand that is not a consideration to the Iraqis and Afghanis killed, maimed, and tortured for lies and greed, but to the 300 million of us that live here, it is the scariest freaking thing I have ever even contemplated.
In the end, when all that is left is for it to be written down how it all ended, those detainees will have the last laugh. History will give them justice, even if We were incapable of it.
Maybe future historians will bother to actually find out who these people were, and if they were in fact 'our enemy'.
Unfortunately, current and future "historians" will all have a bias either right or left, and you may never get a true accounting of who was who, and the whats, where's and why's.
Hell, I can hardly be objective when I look at anything anymore, which blows.
Since Nixon, presidents have done virtually nothing but create rampant cynicism.
History shmistory.
"Hell, I can hardly be objective when I look at anything anymore, which blows."
I was just thinking almost that very thing all day today. I used to trust this country so much, now I no longer trust a f*cking thing I see. It is like everything that should be, isn't. Everything that should not be, just is.
All I know anymore is I love the US Constitution and God will get us all. Everything else is a cynical game of semantics and death.
You are right, I doubt the future historians will get it any more right than present historians.
I don't really miss being blissfully ignorant, except at night when I am trying to go to sleep.
I don't believe that either Obama or Hillary will go third party. Their voters might, they'll not. I'm down to my 2nd choice at this point, with Edwards already gone (and my sentimental favorites, Biden and Kucinich, never even taken seriously by the media). But if Dr. Dean thinks that I'm going to buy Billary, and like it - after everything that happened since we went to war in 2003 - Dr. Dean is in for a surprise.
Monkey and Christy,
I was just discussing this with a co-worker at the end of the day.
She was saying she couldn't decide if the Obama yeswecansong made her tear up because it gave her hope, or if it was because she is now so cynical that she's really not sure IF we can.
No more rosey tinted glasses.
Dobson endorsing Huckabee.
Here comes the McCain-Huckabee ticket!
BTW...we can't all make the same bet on this. Someone else has to bet on McCain and LIEberman.
Everyone remembers that LIEberman was a loser the last time he ran for VP - and he drug Gore down with him. Pleahhh
I saw him standing behind Mc Pain before John went to the conservative convention only to get booed by them too! HA !
Kayakbiker's busy little hands have created a story about Angelina Jolie in Bagdad, complete with photo and video at http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com
Honestly, McCain-Huckabee is a ticket that worries me enormously, because it grabs tons of independents AND wraps up the evangelicals all in on swoop... and if Hillary gets the nod, God forbid, you will have a full out assault on the Clintons and a get-out-the-vote like you've never seen before.
Obama is the only chance as I see it.
new thread, carrying on the old thread conversation...