After Coming Home from War...Robert Anthony feels many things, one of them being bitterness

Apropos of today’s Bear Stearns collapse, my view is that we're seeing nothing more at this point than the mere tip of the iceberg. The worst is almost assuredly still in the distance. The next President is going to have his or her hands full – and will need to be willing to think far outside the box.

On April 3, 2003, in an essay for Human Potential Left, I wrote:

"Pluto will leave Sagittarius in 2008, when it will begin a 16-year passage through the more dour, fastidious, and emotionally realistic sign of Capricorn. If Pluto in Sagittarius has been marked by irrepressible optimism, and a willingness to see the glass as half full (and even three-quarters full), Pluto in Capricorn is likely to evoke the other side of the equation – pessimism, a painful awakening to the hangover brought on by excess, and the catastrophic damage that results from basing one's future largely on hopes and dreams. Pluto's passage through Capricorn is likely to have profound implications for authoritarian governments, or countries or institutions (like organized religions) that have attempted to dominate regions or areas of human life. For instance, during Pluto's last passage through Capricorn during the 18th century, we witnessed an event that forever altered the authoritarian model on which the world was based – the American Revolution."

"Raymond Merriman's excellent study of the Foundation Long-Term Stock Index, featured in his Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 2 (Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles), strongly suggests that the absolute bottoms of bear markets are achieved when both transiting Pluto and Saturn temporarily reside in “cardinal” signs” (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). The next such coupling of these two planets is slated for 2010, a period in which the first of the baby boomers will have begun to retire, and hence are likely to be taking wealth out of the system, rather than contributing to it."

"This time period also marks the probable detonation of the Social Security and Medicare time bombs. Considering the record levels of personal and real-estate debt that Americans currently hold, and strong likelihood of a true bottom in the DOW coinciding with a serious economic recession, one suspects that personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures will grow to epidemic levels, and that only the most prudently run banks will be able to withstand these pressures. The rest will either need to taken over or bailed out by the Federal Government – which itself may be running massive yearly deficits if the rosy scenario envisioned in the Bush tax plan does not come to pass."

http://www.hpleft.com/040303.html

Thanks sparrow. A voice of reason. A voice that knows. How sad that the poorest of our children are those who are preyed upon by the military at the direction of governments.

You're welcome, Woz.

It took me a while to post a new thread header because I'm really overwhelmed at work. And I had to type Robert Anthony's story by hand, so that took a while as well.

My daughter is a copy editor at The Voice and is very nonpolitical; however, Robert Anthony's words even touched her.

I do not believe that generation is clinging to the 'we're fighting them over there so that we don't have to fight them here' theme any longer. And the whole 'freedom isn't free' isn't touching them either.

But stories like Robert Anthony's resonate.

I started a new thing today.

I keep getting these patriotic 'American' themed forwarded emails. All of them started off with taking swipes at immigrants, specifically Mexicans.

Usually, I just ignore them. But one of them was talking about how wouldn't it be nice if you can just hang up on immigrants that don't speak english very well, then goes on to say that JESUS and US soldiers are 'the only ones who were ever willing to die for me.'

It ended by saying If I 'agree' ...'pass it on'.

I decided to go backwards instead, and started going through all the names of people whos addys was listed from forwarding it and telling them just how disgusted their email makes me feel.

I felt the need to point out the irony of the fact that Jesus never spoke a word of english himself. And how many people would He hang up on?

Some of the people passing this crap to me and each other are VERY close family members of mine. How sick is that they send me this sh*t when they know perfectly well I have a half Mexican child, that they also claim to love sooo much.

I am so tired of it, I prefer to start a fight then tolerate it a moment longer.

I don't blame Mr. Anthony for being bitter. We are all going to wind up bitter about these times.

Christy

Those right-wingers better realize that their powers are derived from IMMIGRANTS themselves.

Both the English/German white stock of the past, and Murdoch and Moon of today.

Speaking of veterans speaking against the war...

I got an email from CodePink today, which shared a message from a Vietnam vet with an essentially identical message. Recruitment targets the wrong people, Iraq War is at least as evil as Vietnam War, and the vet wholeheartedly supports CodePink's anti-recruitment efforts.

Let me see if I can still find the letter in my mailbox.

Here's the full text of email I got from CodePink:

Dear ______,

When Condoleezza Rice testified before Congress on Wednesday, we were there with bloody hands. As we approach the fifth anniversary of this obscene war, we must stop Congress from funding it and stop the military recruiters from enticing our youth to fight in it. As we deepen our commitment, we are grateful beyond words to receive the support of someone who knows the human cost of war first hand: Ron Kovic.

Ron, who wrote Born on the Fourth of July, is a former US Marine Corp Sergeant who was shot and paralyzed from his mid-chest down during his second tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968. He writes:

"I am sending my complete support and admiration to all those now involved in the courageous struggle to stop military recruitment in Berkeley and around the country. Not since the Vietnam War protests of the late sixties has there been a cause more just than the one you are now engaged in.

Over the past five years, I have watched in horror the mirror image of another Vietnam unfolding in Iraq. So many similarities, so many things said that remind me of that war thirty years ago which left me paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair for life. Refusing to learn from the lessons of Vietnam, our government continues to pursue a policy of deception, distortion, manipulation and denial. As we approach the fifth anniversary of this tragic and senseless war, I can not help but think of the young men and women who have been wounded, nearly 30,000, flooding Walter Reed, Bethesda, Brooke Army Medical Center and Veterans Hospitals all across our country. Paraplegics, amputees, burn victims, the blinded and maimed, shocked and stunned, brain damaged and psychologically stressed, a whole new generation of severely maimed who were not even born when I came home wounded to the Bronx Veterans Hospital in 1968.

It is time to use every means of creative nonviolent civil disobedience to stop the war machine. Military recruiters must be confronted in every high school, every campus, every recruiting office, on every street corner, in every town and city across America. The days of deceiving, manipulating and victimizing our young people must end. I stand with you in this courageous fight and I am confident your actions in the days ahead will inspire countless others across our country to do everything they can to end this deeply immoral and illegal war!"

Let us honor the sacrifice and courage of Ron Kovics by standing up and saying "No More!" Please join us in Washington, DC or one of our events around the country to protest Five Years Too Many or find a vigil near you. To find out more about our counter-recruitment actions, click here.

And click here to tell Congress, who will soon vote on Bush's request for another $100 billion for war, to only fund the safe and speedy withdrawal of our troops.

Thank you for helping us reclaim the future for our young people and our country.

With renewed determination,
Dana, Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Liz, Medea, Nancy, Rae, Tighe and Vin

Great letter. Thanks Ally.

Off to bed but someone just sent me the original Woodstock Country Joe & the Fish "Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die" rag.

We are all about to get our arses handed to us by a German. Oh, man, this is going to be way toooo damn interesting.

One German Man Buys Three Full Pages of New York Times in Attempt to Educate Americans About American Wars

Snip

Todenhofer, according to Wikipedia,

"studied law at the universities of Munich, Paris, Bonn and Freiburg. He became a member of German political party Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1970 and was a member of the German parliament from December 13, 1972 to December 20, 1990 (five election periods). He also acted as party spokesman for development policy. In 1980 he visited soviet occupied Afghanistan and started to raise money for the country. Todenhöfer is one of the most prominent German critics of the US-led wars against Afghanistan and Iraq starting in the years 2001 and 2003, respectively. He is member of the exectuive board at German media comapany Hubert Burda Media."

The first five theses are:

The West is much more violent than the Muslim world. Millions of Arab civilians have been killed since colonialism began.

Faced with the warmongering of the West, it is really not surprising that support for Muslim extremists continues to grow.

Terrorists in Islamic disguise are murderers. The same holds true for the ringleaders disguised as Christians who wage wars of aggression in contravention of international law.

Muslims were and are at least as tolerant as Jews and Christians. They have made a major contribution to Western civilization.

Love of God and love of one‘s neighbor are the central commandments not only in the Bible but also in the Qur‘an.

Here is part 1: PDF.

Here is part 2: PDF.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/31805

Ummm. Wow.

video of Obama, from a friend who wanted it available to spread to those who need to know

it's about the religious stuff .. all the candidates are having to answer for the comments of others

RUSH LIMBAUGH STRATEGY?: REPUBLICANS VOTE FOR HILLARY/ DIVIDE THE DEM. PARTY BETWEEN HILLARY AND OBAMA (the strategy is working)

Christy

It's ABSOLUTELY true that Christians are as bloodthirsty as Muslims, but I don't believe the rest of what the German says.

The big difference is that the Christian world (at least Europe, Canada, and a few blue states in the USA) have let secular sensibilities flourish. No Muslim nation has done that, not even Turkey.

Unless secular sensibilities take hold in the Muslim world, and sharia laws rescinded, the Muslim world will not advance. But given that sharia laws are being brought in by POPULAR DEMAND, I won't hold my breath.

Of course, what I said about the Muslim world also applies to more backward Christian areas, like most of the US, South Korea, and Central America.

Ralph

I only have one conclusion.

The Republicans are brilliant tacticians, and the Democrats are morons.

I'll say it again and again...

What the Muslims really hate about the West is... its secular sensibilities. And they see our wars as a means of shoving that secularism down their throats.

As long as Muslims support sharia laws and extermination of my kind, I will not have any sympathies for their plight.

WHAT DOES THE RESIGNATION OF ADM. FALLON MEAN?

WAR WITH IRAN OR SYRIA?

Ralph

I only have one conclusion.

The Republicans are brilliant tacticians, and the Democrats are morons.

@@@@@

My conclusions are:

1) Hillary should not be running for president - the ONLY things in her favor are; her last name, "CLINTON" and she is a woman

2) Money and media hype go a heck of a long way in helping mediocre candidates - Hillary is a prime example

3) Democrats are not voting on issues but are voting on personalities.. Republicans have been voting on issues...

4) The Dem. party should strongly consider closed primaries...

My video on Sally Kern has become somewhat popular:

HOUSE DEMOCRATS REJECT IMMUNITY FOR TELECOM INDUSTRY:

Hillary is a fine candidate, she just isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Let's face it. McCain is a less than mediocre candidate. So was Huckabee, Romney, and Paul.

Hillary has done things in this country to help children. Sure, she's done things I don't like either, but no matter how you slice it she is not as bad as McCain. She's not as incompetent as Bush. And frankly, I she isn't my first choice, nor has she been, but I'm sick of seeing us beat up Hillary and not beat up McVain or McBush.

Hillary will still do better things than McCain will do. She isn't a incompetent person and she's very smart.

I have to tell you that I'm tired of logging in here to see more and more negative things written HERE about Hillary than I do if I log into the Free Republic.

Why can't we log into DCP and read about the bad things that have happened in our country but what has happened to give us hope that things may get better.

Mr. Anthony's words and actions up there are one example of things that have changed. Yesterday, I saw that the Dems have still refused telecom immunity. Would we know it by reading all this anti-Hillary stuff here?

Do I believe that the Republicans are stringing Hillary along at this point, and trying to split the Democratic party...? Well, sure...probably! But no matter how you slice it Hillary IS BETTER than McBush!!!!

Hillary has said she would not keep all that executive power. She has said that she would end the war. She has a plan for heathcare on the table. Does McBush?

So please... let's stop this waste of time on bashing Hillary.

If you don't like something about her campaign, then CALL HER or write her and speak your mind to her!!!

I call every day and I say, "Don't **** up like Bill did and stop investigations into GWB. Give us single-payer healthcare. Stop torture. Get jobs back!"

Could I call McCain's campaign and say the same thing? Well of course I could but would he listen? (If I said I was part of the religious right, he might but I doubt it.)

No matter what... Hillary is better than McBush. Hillary would be more competent than McBush. She may not be as good as Obama in your mind and so be it.

But I'm sorry. I am tired of the circular firing squad and if you want to see 4 more years of Bush via McCain then keep smearing Hillary. But if you want to fight for our beliefs then why not spend more time convincing our candidates to do the right thing NOW so that they know we're paying attention and willing to fight for them (NOW) if they're doing the RIGHT THING NOW!!!

Sorry for the rant.

Hillary is a fine candidate, she just isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Let's face it. McCain is a less than mediocre candidate. So was Huckabee, Romney, and Paul.

@@@@

She is an awful candidate

She has an awful voting record in the Senate - worst among all the Dems running

She is strongly dislike by about 40% of the public who not even consider voting for her.

McCain:

EXPERIENCE

LOTS OF EXPERIENCE (WAY, WAY MORE THAN HILLARY'S)

MILITARY EXPERIENCE

WAR HERO

STRONG ON NATIONAL DEFENSE...

For all those who think HIllary is a good candidate:

I have to repost this Code Pink video from 2003

(Hillary has blood on her hands - no excuse, none)

March 19 marks the fifth anniversary to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Facts & Figures

1.3 million Iraqis have died (Oxford Research Institute, Lancet); Nearly 4000 American battle dead in Iraq, nearly 450 in Afghanistan; US casualty total at least 63,830; Soldier suicides are at a record high, with 121 soldiers taking their own life in 2007.

$2.4 trillion if Iraq/Afghanistan wars stretch to 10 years (Congressional budget office), $3 trillion for all costs; almost as expensive as WW2, almost as long as Vietnam - $720 million/day, $500,000/minute - US spends more on military than the rest of the world combined.

U.S. Army of Occupation - 157,000 troops, about 130,000 civilian private contractors - The military “surge” lowered the official casualty count from an average monthly 568 civilian dead to 485 - not impressive & can't be sustained

War based on 935 lies about Saddam’s WMD and links to Al Qaeda Center for Public Integrity
80% or more Iraqi people want the United States to withdraw, as do 64% of Americans

Baghdad sewage lake so large it's “a big black spot on Google Earth”
4.5 million Iraqis have fled become displaced; approximately 70% lack clean water, 4 million don't know where next meal is coming from (UN); 80% of Iraqis say the availability of jobs is “quite bad” or “very bad”; 67% say availability of medical care “quite bad” or “very bad” ; 63.9% of women said violence against them had increased; 76.2% said girls were not allowed to attend school BBC pdf

McCain said troops could stay 100 years. Military spent $3.9 billion on recruitment per year. All candidates want to add 92,000 troops to the military

"I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq War is largely about oil." - Alan Greenspan

Robert Fisk: what war looks like
personal stories
50,000 in London
Half a million showed up to protest before the war started.

http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com

Ralph,

You're wrong--flat out wrong. Read the thread header. Read what Army vet Robert Anthony had to say about "Hillary supporting the war." It was 80% of the country supporting the war BECAUSE the facts were cooked and even those in the House and Senate had no evidence suggesting otherwise.

Even Senator Edwards supported the war.

Besides, the fact is that it's not 2003 any longer. It's 2008 and the IWR is not the only subject on which a person should be judged.

AND futhermore, McCain sits there supporting a hundred year war but Hillary does not.

Why don't you spend more time attacking McCain than Hillary?

Frankly, it's ridiculous that by bashing Hilllary you may make it more likely that an evil person like McCain will take office.

Hillary is better than McCain.

That's it.

It's not 2003 anymore and it's time to move on!

Well one positive thing to do is make phone calls for the Obama campaign.

By the way, according to Media Matters, the press ignores things like the true nature of McCain's "rustic cabin" -

He hosted them for a March 2 barbeque at his Arizona "cabin."

The Arizona Republic described it as a "rustic cabin"; National Public Radio described it as a "weekend cabin"; The New York Times called it McCain's "cabin near Sedona, Ariz."; the Associated Press called it a "cabin"; and The Washington Post -- which devoted two articles to the barbeque -- agreed that it is a "rustic cabin."

But McCain's "cabin" isn't quite like what you might imagine a "rustic cabin" to be. For one thing, there's a pool. For another, the cabin has a guest house and has been featured inArchitectural Digest.

Given the media mockery of John Edwards and John Kerry for their expensive homes, it's a little odd to see McCain's lavish home described so modestly as a "rustic cabin."

Kerry wasn't just mocked for living in a large house; journalists went out of their way to point out that his wife owns the house. Well, guess who owns John McCain's "rustic cabin" -- Cindy McCain, the wealthy and politically connected Arizona beer heiress McCain married shortly after leaving his first wife, and just in time to move to Arizona to run for Congress.

If the media applied to John McCain the standards they have applied to Democratic presidential candidates over the years, they would report constantly on his personal financial interest in the tax plan he now advocates and once denounced as skewed toward the wealthy.

As Joe Scarborough, MSNBC, has said of the national press corps, "I think every last one of them would move to Massachusetts and marry John McCain if they could."

And yes, Ralph. Hillary is a good candidate. Is she as good as others I prefer. Not likely. Is she better than McCain? Hell yes.

So if you want positive changes in this country, then go convince your neighbors how McCain is corrupt, participated in the Keating 5, wants to have troops there for 99 more years, and so on.

You're wasting your time and efforts bashing Hillary unless your purpose is to get McCain elected.

Want to help? Kid Oakland has numerous suggestions.

~~~

'd like to offer some reflections on the current state of the Democratic nomination as it relates to us in the netroots in 2008.

I'm going to try to be fairly straight up in this diary so forgive me ahead of time if I don't mince words.

My goal with this diary is to explain, to the best of my limited knowledge and ability, where we are at in 2008 and our possible role and limitations as grassroots/netroots bloggers.

Like I said, my ambition here is to be as forthright and straight up as possible.

Here goes...

GOP Congressman accuses Bushco of criminality UPDATED

Ralph, let's look at the McCain. You listed:

EXPERIENCE---Yep. He has tons of experience in corrupt endeavors--like romantic involvement with lobbyists, like corruption in the Keating five, like voting for election reform and then turning away from it. Like voting for the war and proudly supporting it every inch of the way. And like saying it's "a-ok" if we stay there 100 years. Wow...! That's a heck of a lot of blood on McBush's hands!

MILITARY EXPERIENCE--Yep. And he spent time as a POW too. Look how well that worked for him in 2000. Wasn't that McBush who was painted as the lunitic who 'lost it' due to his years as a POW? And isn't it McBush who has anger issues according to his own party members?

WAR HERO--Yep. He's a war hero from the 70's but right now he's an ugly, old man who wants to kill our kids and our grandkids and our great grandkids. Somehow, his hero status will not hold up against his war plans if you ask me.

He's a LIAR too. Did I happen to mention that? Like when he said Iraq was as safe as a market anywhere...while surrounded by our troops. Some war hero that is! and that shows how he's not safe of national security either. It simply shows how he's willing to lie.

STRONG ON NATIONAL DEFENSE... He's not strong on national defense. Can you or anyone even name one measure that he's taken that has proven he's strong on this? Maybe in his own state they think his anti-immigration rhetoric is strong on national defense but what most people will remember is that he's corrupt and a liar.

Heck...you're talking about a guy who didn't even defend his own family, his own baby, from Bush...and he didn't defend his own friend against Bush. He didn't defend his own wife against Bush. Anyone who can look at McCain and see how he let his own family be attacked so that he could have a political future will NEVER vote for him.

Sorry...each and every one of your bullet points is easily rebutted by facts and by people already knowing that Mr. Straighttalk is a wuss and a liar.

You may not like Hillary but I take it by your post that you like McBush better.

I don't.

There will be even more blood running off of McBush's hands. And that blood will be coming from our vets, our soldiers, our children. And when Mr. McBush has no plans for healthcare, there will be more blood running, as we and our children die off from horrible diseases without the insurance we need to get help earlier. And the blood will be running off from our fallen infrastruture--such as from the bridges and roads as they crumble--murdering our own here at home.

At least Hillary has a plan to get healthcare even if it's still inadequate it's better than the McBush plan: "Don't get sick."

Frankly, Hillary isn't my number one choice, but I'm not blind to the fact that Hillary is better than McBush.

Obama

Hillary

McCain

I would never vote for McCain over Hillary no matter what she did.
Not donate, not help much maybe but never McCain.

Well Pelosi did something good today - supported the position that the superdelegates should respect the will of the people. Can we please get this over soon?

At this point, the Zogby survey shows McCain beating Clinton and Obama, and it's Nader that makes the difference, with 6% support. I do actually know a few people that (unbelievably!) are supporting Nader.
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/McCain_over_Obama_Clinton/2008/03/15/80707.html
..which proves Nader is evil & wants McCain to win.

Indiana Obama tickets sold out immediately.

Half the 14 delegates allocated to John Edwards on the basis of caucus night projections switched Saturday and Obama got most, if not all, of them.

You're wrong--flat out wrong. Read the thread header. Read what Army vet Robert Anthony had to say about "Hillary supporting the war." It was 80% of the country supporting the war BECAUSE the facts were cooked and even those in the House and Senate had no evidence suggesting otherwise.

Even Senator Edwards supported the war.

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

22 SENATORS - INCLUDING BOTH LEVIN AND STABENOW - AND SOMETHING LIKE 160 HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTED AGAINST THE AUTHORIZATION OF FORCE IN 2002.

HILLARY DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO R-E-A-D- THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE ON IRAQ'S WMD.

Edwards - do you think I am ga-ga over Edwards?? Heck no.. I was desperately looking for a decent alternative to the painfully awful HIllary. I didn't even know who Gravel was. Kucinich didn't have a chance, apparently. Richardson seemed good at first but, on second look is more like an opportunist. Edwards had voted the wrong way on Iraq but renounced his vote (at least).

Other bad stuff:

HILLARY voted in favor of the Kyl-Lieberman amendment - WRONG/DUMB - basically threatening war with Iran - CAN SOMEBODY EXPLAIN HILLARY'S THINKING HERE???

I have been protesting the Iraq war for 5 years. And I ain't voting for Hillary who sat sleeping in the U.S. Senate for the past 5 years - not even daring to criticize Bush or the war directly. In fact, defending the war as the right thing to do....

Hillary stinks...

And yes, Ralph. Hillary is a good candidate. Is she as good as others I prefer. Not likely. Is she better than McCain? Hell yes.

So if you want positive changes in this country, then go convince your neighbors how McCain is corrupt, participated in the Keating 5, wants to have troops there for 99 more years, and so on.

You're wasting your time and efforts bashing Hillary unless your purpose is to get McCain elected.
March 15, 2008 5:0

@@@@

We disagree;

I find her every move and utterance insincere, calculating and phony. (hey, a lot like GW Bush with the expert assistance from Karl Rove).

There is the planting of the questions in her town hall meetings

her crying spells

her laughing spells

her raking in of dirty campaign money from Republican fat cat types

her not releasing her income tax statement

Bill Clinton's library slush fund...

I also find her pathologically ambitious.

If the Dems want to make this election a complete bore, make people even more cynical than they already are about politics and drive people like me out of the party, NOMINATE HILLARY!!!

Ralph, we all know how you feel about Hillary. That's great. No one says that you have to love her. However, I've been involved with this blog for a year and a half now and my feeling is that you don't dislike Hillary, Ralph. You don't loathe Hillary. You don't even hate Hillary. Day by day it has become clear to me and I've remarked upon it several times before.

Perhaps you are not *in love* with Hillary, but hell, Ralph, you sure are obsessed! That is one hellovan obsession that you need to trawl the internet daily to track down the tiniest glimpse of her. Are you stalking her too, Ralph?

We get it. You don't want Hillary for President. Satan him/her/self would be better to you than Hillary. We get it. We're all pretty smart. We get it. And we're tired. Let's work out how to make changes. Let's encourage the likes of Robert Anthony to tell their stories on their return. Let's ask others for ways we can improve the situation. Ok. Can we please have the next eight months without Hillary bashing? PLEASE.

Ralph

Ditto. If any thing ever .. makes me .. ever .. vote for Hillary - it will be that you have been going on for a year "preaching to the choir." It's insulting.

I've been protesting war since I was 15 and I'm 55. That's 40 years.

I have voted in all the Presidential elections. I don't need the REPETITION, the constant barrage.

It may have the opposite effect that you want. You come off as a troll.

Please stop.

The conclusion of a brilliant & useful diary:

Too much debt and not enough income was the problem.

And the solution is simple: stop debt (this is happening on its own anyway). and boost income.

How do you do that when there isn't enough money around?

By creating real activity rather than the money-shuffling kind.

And, as it were, there is a sector that is "real" and has an urgent need for action: infrastructure, and in particular energy-related infrastructure.

A plan that focuses on a few simple things:

massive public support for energy efficiency refurbishment of existing homes;
a massive, New Deal rural electrifaction scale plan to build renewable energy assets and the corresponding grid infrastructure;
a similarly massive plan to develop smart public transportation, both locally and intercity;
Spending the money currently wasted in Iraq on these 3 things alone would provide a real boost to the economy in the sectors that actually need it, would reduce oil&gas consumption and carbon emissions, and be an actual investment in the future, as opposed to the current drain on the future that's been engineered via debt used on mindless consumption of junk.

Add in plans to boost minimum wage, reinforce union rights and tax imports of carbon-rich goods, and you'd have a pretty damn good economic - and geopolitical programme.

Because the problem is the most of America's population is living, by design, above its means. It is kept dependent, fearful and distracted while the happy few gorge. Call it what it is: class war. Time to fight back.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/15/85833/3545/803/477181

Ralph,

McCain voted for the war. Yet, I have yet to see you spend even 1/100th of the time discussing how he has blood on his hands.

Hillary may not be exactly what you want, but she is by far better than McCain.

I personally can't wait until I come home from work and start seeing 50 videos and youtubes you create on McCain's IWR vote and on McCain's lies.

If you spent 1/2 the time focusing on McCain's terrible record, then your stances would look a lot more legit. As it is, you just come off as a Hillary-Hater and not really as a war-hater. McCain voted for the war. McCain voted to continue the war. McCain says he'll continue the war for 100 more years.

Looks like you should be able to focus your attention on McCain for a change.

Perhaps you are not *in love* with Hillary, but hell, Ralph, you sure are obsessed! That is one hellovan obsession that you need to trawl the internet daily to track down the tiniest glimpse of her. Are you stalking her too, Ralph?

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

If Hillary is nominated by the Dems

I WILL HAVE TO LEAVE THE DEM PARTY....

THEY STAND FOR NOTHING...

You're right, my position goes beyond HIllary - it goes to the crumby, weak, corrupt Democratic party and whether I should waste any time on it.. Suffering through the 2004 election was bad enough.

They nominate Hillary with all her negatives and Her God Awful Voting record in the Senate - I find something more rewarding to do than support a lousy presidential candidate....

This was taken by Kayakbiker and there are a whole lot more at http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com.

There is also a good Obama diary, top of the recommended list at DailyKos. I just watched the RFK speech given when MLK was assassinated.

We need unity and change.

Work. Focus. Donate.

Stay positive.

Peace.

Ralpheh
Try the Socialists or the Greens.
Consider Nader maybe.

I have felt the way you feel many times
but I would leave the country before
I'd give up on the party.

If I were younger I would do that.

Let's encourage the likes of Robert Anthony to tell their stories on their return. Let's ask others for ways we can improve the situation. Ok. Can we please have the next eight months without Hillary bashing? PLEASE.

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

PLEASE VOTE FOR HILLARY;

SHE SENT ROBERT ANTHONY TO WAR

I'M OUTTA HERE...

Ralph

As much as I hate the ineptitude of the Democrats, and will always point that out, they still have an advantage in their ideas over the Republicans.

Which is why I would rather see Hillary in power than McCain.

McCain's state dared to hold me as a political prisoner, and is a slave-wage hellhole. I don't want the rest of the nation becoming the same.

As for Nader, he needs to move to a welcoming Communist country. He has no more use in any modern market economy.

Ally
According to the latest Zogby, McCain beats Obama and Clinton and it's because of Nader, who gets 6%. He probably won't get that much in the end but it's sick.

My legacy is established. They're not going to tear seatbelts out of cars.

Ralph Nader

I hate him!

For future reference:
http://www.realchange.org/nader.htm
Nader Skeleton Closet.

Would love to sue him again.

NMP

Sick indeed, and that's what I was referring to when I said that Nader needs to move to a Communist country.

Obama and Hillary's other negative is their ongoing fight against each other. If that keeps up, instead of the Democrats working to overcome the Republican voter suppression tactics, I might as well stay home myself, since a McCain victory will be a foregone conclusion by then.

Ally
Obama went on all the tv shows and dealt with the "religion" business and he spent a long time with all the Chicago newspapers that endorsed him, talking about the business things. Then he picked up some of Edwards delegates in Iowa (those that didn't remain with Edwards) and in CA. & 200,000 new supporters in 2 days. He is not over. & he's taking the high road but not being a victim.

Ally
I am going to fight for victory.
If it doesn't happen, can't say I didn't try.

I have a friend who supports him - smart guy but cannot realize that we would not be at war if Bush had not won in Florida and who put him over the top? Nader. Why does he keep running? Because he can. He even said that on the radio. I think he has Republican backing.

NMP

Read your link on Nader. Great stuff - and disgusting at the same time.

I put the link on my personal blog as well.

McCain has blood on his hands.

Wonder what kind of Supreme Court corporate-partisan hacks McCain will pick. (Or what he'll do when levys are breaking.)

McCain in Iraq...for a hundred more years. But it's no different than a market any place.

No blood on McBush's hands though...

McCain: Al Qaeda May Intervene To Tip Election Towards Dems

Al Qaeda In Iraq Far Stronger Than Bush Admin Admitting

McCain different from Bush...how?

BUSH'S WAR

Back in September 04, I had a meeting in the Senate Intelligence Committee offices. I was there to discuss 9/11 issues. The war in Iraq came up in our discussions. I clarified and said, "Oh, you mean Bush's war?" The republican staffer said, "The president? The president isn't responsible for this war. Congress voted for this war. It is Congress' war."

The staffer's wry, spooky smile (I actually call him the Prince of Darkness) oozed with absolute pride over his new Rovian spin of who to blame for the Iraq war.

I bluntly looked at him and said, "Congress' war? Are you kidding me? Do you mean to tell me you guys are going to try and sell that line of garbage to the American people? That is was Congress who created and took us to this war? That it was Congress who started this mess? Do you really think you are going to get away with that? You will get destroyed. Everyone knows that Bush is responsible for this war! He started it! He owns it! It is his war! And nobody will ever forget that!"

And yet in 2008 we Democrats seem to have forgotten that it was George Bush (along with the Republican war machine) that brought us first and foremost to the war in Iraq.

I wonder if the Republicans ever imagined the success of their spin.

snip

ralphmich3 Author Profile Page said:

Let's encourage the likes of Robert Anthony to tell their stories on their return. Let's ask others for ways we can improve the situation. Ok. Can we please have the next eight months without Hillary bashing? PLEASE.

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

PLEASE VOTE FOR HILLARY;

SHE SENT ROBERT ANTHONY TO WAR
~~~~

No Ralph.

The IWR was not a vote for war. It was a vote to discuss if the UN and other countries would go to war with us IF we had evidence that Saddam had WMD.

It's Bush's war.

And it's Cheney's war.

It's THEIR lies and their set-up facts that led to it.

And if there's anyone who gets a little piece of the blame, it's Colin Powell because without his testimony (and what he now admits he new was lies) then the Senators and the people at large would not have supported the war.

Powell was the face and voice that made their case for war seem legit.

However...since you want to blame the Senators and not Bush, Cheney, and Powell, then go ahead and blame McCain--and start making your videos about McCain's blood.

Because with your single-minded-anti-Hillary focus, you sure make it seem like a single-minded vendetta against one person instead of a recognition that more than 50 people voted to give GWB the right to speak to other countries but that Bush promised he would come back and ask for a specific vote for war.

Winter Soldier (diary)

A Defense Department spokesman said he had not seen the allegations raised yesterday but added that such incidents are not representative of U.S. conduct.

"When isolated allegations of misconduct have been reported, commanders have conducted comprehensive investigations to determine the facts and held individuals accountable when appropriate," Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros said.
How laughable this would be if it were not so tragic. Mark Ballesteros hasn't even seen the allegations but he can already assure us that they're false!

snip

Some more reports out today:

Boston Globe
Veterans recall horrors of war in live broadcast

Liz Jackson's eyes were fixed on a screen showing a live broadcast of anguished testimonies by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans describing what they had seen and done during their combat tours.

Jeffery Smith recalled how his Army unit beat and humiliated Iraqi prisoners. Former Marine Bryan Casler recounted how fellow Marines urinated and defecated into food and gave it to Iraqi children. Former Marine Matthew Childers talked about how he used to humiliate Iraqi civilians during predawn raids on their homes. When he described turning away an Iraqi father who was asking American troops to help the badly burned baby he carried in his arms, Jackson began to weep silently.

"These soldiers are saying: 'I'm complicit,' " said Jackson, 29, a community organizer from Cambridge. "But every American citizen who saw this happen and isn't out there protesting is complicit. I include myself."

Another year, another $300 billion

THE SIXTH year of the Iraq war begins this week. The war is now the second-longest in US history - longer than any except Vietnam. So far, 1.6 million US troops have served, more than a third of them for two or more tours of duty. Almost 4,000 US service personnel have been killed, and 60,000 wounded, injured or contracted a serious disease. Many survive with severe multiple injuries ("polytraumas") that in previous wars would have almost certainly ended in death.

One-third of the 780,000 troops discharged so far have been treated at veterans' hospitals and clinics, including 120,000 treated for mental health conditions and 68,000 diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. This year alone the Department of Veterans Affairs expects to treat 333,000 returning veterans. The majority of these veterans will be eligible to receive lifetime disability compensation - 228,000 have already filed applications.

Boston Herald
Testimony from vets in D.C. fires up local protesters

A dozen Massachusetts veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars piled into a van bound for Washington, D.C., on Friday or traveled by other means to spend the weekend testifying about their experiences overseas and to protest the five-year war in Iraq.

A portion of the four-day "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan" public testimony at the National Labor College, just outside the capital in Silver Springs, Md., was shown at the First Parish Church in Harvard Square yesterday.

"I feel it’s not just something we should be against but we should actively work to end," said Liam Madden, a Northeastern University sophomore and ex-Marine sergeant. "Our presence there could not fix the harm we had done."

America Must Hear These Iraq Vets' Stories
If America listens to what they say, the war would be over tomorrow - Penny Coleman.

I missed the Winter Soldier Investigation in 1971. At the time I was married to a vet who desperately wanted to put his war behind him -- and he wanted me to help him do it. We were supposed to pretend it had never happened. It didn't work.

~~~~~

A lot more at the link

McCain copying Bush...willing to use our soldiers as a photo-op.

McCain makes unannounced trip to Iraq

~~ With all the chat about Hillary and Obama, McBush can't be heard unless he does stunts like this.

"The IWR was not a vote for war."

How can you say that when that is EXACTLY what was used to go to war?

And when he DID use it to go to war, why is it all those people who 'did not really vote for war', like clinton, why didn't they stand up and say 'Hey a**hole! That is not what I agreed too!.

Instead, he uses their votes to go to WAR, and all of them step back and simply cheerlead him along.

And now, after all these years, those people, like clinton STILL want to minimize their own culpability by pretending dick and georgie ALONE got us into this.

Yes, I voted for war on every occassion, but, it is not really MY war.

It is crap, and as far as I am concerned everyone who voted for the IWR is just as guilty as georgie is and every single one of them should be run out of our government.

Christy,

The purpose of the IWR was to give the President another tool to use IF they had evidence that Saddam had wmd. The fact is that the record itself shows that Bush stated, "This is not a vote for war."

The fact is that members of Congress spoke to Powell because they felt Powell would tell them the truth.

The end effect was that Bush used the IWR as the vote for war but it hadn't been the original intention.

Regarding the fact that everyone is to blame for the war, yes, many and most are to blame. But Bush, Cheney, and Powell have a bigger piece of the blame. So does McCain, Lott, and whoever the freedom fry guy was.

However, my point is that the single-minded focus on anti-Hillary allows another person who continues to sing the praises of war and the surge might become elected because more time is wasted attacking Hillary than McCain.

Bush also said we have a 'strong economy' but it does not make it true.

I know what he said about the IWR, but I also know it was not used for that purpose, and instead was used as the final manipulation he needed to go to WAR. And they all went along with it.

Any and most are NOT to blame. This war was not your fault, nor mine, nor my mothers.

The fault lies with those who can be so easily manipulated. But instead of taking that blame, they try to manipulate it themselves in any way they can to explain how it really really is not their own fault.

We were all lied too, and we were all used, but not all of us participated WILLINGLY in the fraud committed against our people.

The ones who WILLINGLY DID...They deserve every piece of crap that can be flung at them.

The fact is that NONE OF THEM, not a single one of them outside Edwards, will EVER come forward and take responsibility for what they have done. None of them.

And until we force them to face repercussions or consequences, the truth is they will walk away and willingly be manipulated AGAIN into yet another war based on lies, and even then they will still say 'BUT BUT, It is just not my fault!'

As far as the attacks on hillary goes, if she can't take the heat, she never should have gone to the kitchen.

I have never seen a woman in my whole life so utterly incapable of taking responsibility for her own politics.

Also, my point is that we have less than eight months left to convince people that McCain is corrupt, and is not the 'straight-talk express' that the media presents him as.

Each time we spend 3 hours discussing Hillary and the IWR vote is 3 hours that we didn't spend presenting McCain and his lies and ties with corruption.

And we can not let the events in 2002 color a race between McCain and Hillary (if she's the candidate) but instead we should be convincing people of what the future holds--not what happened in the past. (Frankly, even Edwards supported the IWR and was a huge cheerleader for the war, but we all accepted him because he attempted to make amends for his poor vote.)

Regardless...Hillary and McCain are not equal. Think about the Supreme Court appointees for one. If McCain wins, there will be at least a hundred years for an extremest partisan court to rule our land. We can not afford that.

No matter who Hillary picks for the Supremes it would be better than the corporate, Republican-hacks that McCain would pick.

And think about the 100 year war that McCain is promoting.

So even if a person supports Obama but not Hillary, then one shouldn't cut of their nose to spite their face. The fact is that we should be building 'our side' up and we should not be giving the Republicans fuel to use against us.

"The fact is that NONE OF THEM, not a single one of them outside Edwards, will EVER come forward and take responsibility for what they have done. None of them."~~Christy

Christy,

Edwards is not the only person who took responsiblity for what he's done. Powell has. Kerry has. The freedom-fry guy has. There were two other Republican Senators that have as well. I think they were Warner and Hagel (I think it was Hagel who threatened impeachment too.)

As far as the attacks on hillary goes, if she can't take the heat, she never should have gone to the kitchen.

I have never seen a woman in my whole life so utterly incapable of taking responsibility for her own politics.
March 16, 2008 10:36 AM

Christy,

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Hillary wasn't wrong.

All I'm saying is that it's time we put McCain on the hot seat about HIS CORRUPTION, HIS VOTES, and HIS ACTIONS. Or we will face another 4 years of Bush-like policies!

No, hillary and mccrazy are not equal.

But it is truly a mistake to believe hillary is any less corrupt than mccrazy. She is just not as sloppy as he is.

Republicans WANT hillary to be the nominee because she is corrupt and they have a whole sh*tload of ammo to use against her that they have been collecting for years.

There is a REASON they want us to believe a 'vote for obama is a vote for terrorists' because they are scared to death to confront a candidate who is NOT corrupt.

No one needs convincing mccrazy is corrupt, hell, even other republicans know it.

And let us not pretend that this infighting is not EXACTLY what hillary wants, because we alllll know for a damn fact if it was Hillary ahead in the delegate count right now, they would pretty much force Obama to 'step aside for the good of the party'.

The infighting ONLY helps hillary, and obviously the longer it goes on, the better it is for her, cause otherwise she would have to pack up her little HQ and go home.

Christy,

That's why we should be attacking McCain, while at the same time we should be speaking of the positive changes that Obama will bring.

Lift one up...(Obama) and set the other one down (McBush). Don't give McBush's campaign oxygen by breathing life into party infighting.

We don't need to do McBush's job for him. And that's what I feel all this has been about. All this anti-Hillary stuff brings life to McCain's hopes and it will snuff out ours.

Powell has taken responsibility?

Don't mistake a change of heart for some great act of taking responsibility.

If all I had to do was change my mind every time I was wrong, well, that would be easy. But taking it upon yourself to right your wrongs, nothing powell has done even remotely looks like that.

"I was wrong, hey look at my pretty medal!"

Powell is going to have to do a wee bit better than that to make me believe he 'took responsibility', but the fact is, he never can right what he has done wrong. Not because he CAN'T... but because he WON'T.

Funny how all of them could find a tv camera to gleefully promote LIES to get us into war, but none to be found to broadcast a mea-culpa.

"That's why we should be attacking McCain, while at the same time we should be speaking of the positive changes that Obama will bring."

We can not do any of that, until hillary gets out of it.

Again, if it were reversed and hillary was ahead in the vote count, the dem elites would FORCE Obama to step aside.

Instead, they are encouraging her to hang in as long as she can and split the party as much as she can, and she is obviously OK with it.

"We don't need to do McBush's job for him. And that's what I feel all this has been about. All this anti-Hillary .."

It is hillary that is doing the republicans work for them. Funny how she keeps doing that.

The longer she hangs in there, the more weakened we will be when she leaves. If she truly wanted the infighting to end, she would end her bid. We all know it is virtually mathmatically impossible for her to win, so instead she splits the party in such a way to make republicans moan in joy.

I say hillary wants it to go on, fine. But she better not walk away crying when she gets her arse handed to her by her own.

Just like we cried every damn time she ultimately did the work of the republicans.

It's up to Hillary and Penn and the rest of her team of political assassins to end the scorched earth campaign against Obama.

Edwards recognized that tide was against him, and gracefully stepped out of the race. In contrast, Hillary - of all people - has attempted to drown Obama amidst a tide of sewage.

Everything she does says ruthless political hack to me. Everything. This person cares for nothing but her own insatiable political ambition.

At work, there are these three guys who are very good friends. One of them is an international student (J). He's an avid Obama supporter. Then, there twins (two guys) (T1 and T2)and both were raised in Brighton (Home of the KKK). and not too coincidently it's a Republican-stronghold in the state.

Anyways, I asked "J" if he knew who T1 was supporting because I was curious if his support of Obama made his friend more likely to support Obama as well.

Apparently, T1 is considering supporting Obama, and T2 is supporting McBush.

You have to realize that nothing that is said about Hillary is going to change J or T1 or T2's mind to support her or not support her. Their decision is between Obama and McCain.

So that's why we need to convince T1 that Obama is his man. I doubt we could convince T2 to support Obama too. T1 is already fighting a girl friend's Christian-fundamentalism-pro-Republican influence as well as his family influence and his upbringing. T2 has already decided to vote Republican even if he has to plug his nose while he votes for McCain.

So my point is that time spent talking UP one Obama and talking DOWN McCain is better spent then campaigning against Hillary.

Campaign FOR a candidate instead and campaign AGAINST McCain!!!

The first thing when I wake up .. get dressed, wash my hair, open Comcast and see

McCain Makes Baghdad Stop; 8th Iraq Trip

WTF

He links his political future to US "success" in Iraq. He's "meeting with Iraqi and US diplomatic & military officials" and details are "not released" for "security reasons" and there are "no news conferences."

He is staying for about 24 hours. We are paying for it. Lieberman & Lindsey Graham are with him.

http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com

I also want to add that T1's girlfriend is a former coworker of mine. She may be religious and she may be against gay marraige and against abortion. But she is not anti-immigration.

When I've spoken to her, we've been able to come to compromises about governmental reform, taxes, universal health care, and other things. This is the same person who said she had nothing in common with Democrats--until she talked to me.

She would never vote for Hillary and has nothing but disdain for Bill Clinton. But, this goes back to my point....

Isn't it better to spend the time SUPPORTING a person who offers positive change and the policies we can agree upon instead of yacking about the one person (or couple) who has brought such shame to the office of the Presidency?

Anti-Hillary chatter is a distraction. And it's a distraction that colors the whole Democratic Party in a bad way. If we do nothing but yack about her and her vote, then we are basically putting her on a pedistal and saying "She needs to be brought down."

Obama hasn't made the progress he's had by doing that. He's brought people into the fold who want to LIFT HIM UP and LIFT UP HIS PROGRESSIVE VALUES.

And on that note...I have work to do. I'm not wasting another second on Hillary.

For those of you attacking Hillary, she is not going to bow out gracefully. She was leading in the beginning because of name recognition and she did well on Super Tuesday and in Ohio. As long as she thinks she has a chance at getting some Michigan and Florida delegates, swinging some superdelegates over and doing well in Pennsylvania - plus has all this time for Obama to be questioned, she will never even think of quitting. She also has a loyal base of older women and some Hispanics.

I looked at FundRace and Bill Gates Jr. and Mimi Gates support her. She is not popular here yet packed Benaroya Concert Hall with people we never see (some older & working women but also plenty with money who probably got favors from Bill & expect more.)

Their campaign style has really lost them points with me, and I feel they've had their time. I agree though, that time is better spent making calls for Obama and trying to figure out how in the hell to fight the should-be-feeble McCain. Also everything you write is read by opposition people - hers and his.

She doesn't have to leave the race - but she does have to run a campaign that acknowledges that Obama is every bit, AND I MEAN EVERY BIT, as qualified to be Commander-in-Chief as her husband was in 1992. And if Obama is unqualified to be Commander-in-Chief, then everything that Republicans said about Bill weakening the military must be correct - and hence Hillary's likely learned all the wrong lessons.

And she has to acknowledge in no uncertain terms that Obama is what he says he is - a Christian. Her pathetic response on 60 Minutes to this question deserves to land her in the outhouse of American politics.

And I thought Germain Greer's recent slam of Hillary was absolutely on point.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/191199,germaine-greer-sneers-at-hillary-clinton.html

"Isn't it better to spend the time SUPPORTING a person who offers positive change..'

Yes, it is, but hillary is the one making that impossible to do. We can not do it until she gets her, bill, and all the crap they bring OUT OF IT.

I agree 100% with Matthew. The worst attacks on Obama are not coming from republicans, they are coming from HILLARY.

Yes, I want to spend all my time attacking mccrazy, but until hillary get's out of the way, no one has a clear shot at him.

We all want what you want Sparrow, but the reality is, until mccrazy and ONLY OBAMA is going head to head, then there is a third head that needs to be lopped off.

She could do like Edwards did and gracefully exit, but instead she would rather CAUSE THIS than let go of her singleminded dream of being president someday.

I would rather not waste another moment talking about hillary either, but it is HILLARY that is making that impossible.

Hillary knows for a fact she can not win the numbers, yet every damn day another attack on Obama comes out of her camp. Up too and including flat out racist attacks.

WTF is she thinking? That somehow her tearing apart the one person who can win will somehow serve DEMS better when she is finally forced to exit...? Sje is trying to 'take down Obama', but the very thought of 'taking her down' somehow is biased or just so unfair? I don't get it.

She knows better. We all know better. She is the only one who thinks it is a good idea to continue a fight inside our own camp. Her and her supporters, which now includes lush limpball and coultergeist and all their minions.

Yeah, some idea. Yet, we all know she can not win, but she is willing to do it anyway. And her new republican followers are oh so willing to help.

If that is not her doing the work of republicans I don't know what it is.

If she had any love of this 'party' she would not be attacking Obama like this.

We are not the ones who need to be told the focus SHOULD BE on mccrazy. She is the one who needs to be reminded. But instead she will take Obama down in search of her own headlines.

And as long as she is making headlines attacking Obama, who the crap has time to focus on mccrazy? We are too busy trying to keep her honest because she INSISTS on being there for no other reason than those headlines.

We are not the ones who need to be told the focus SHOULD BE on mccrazy. She is the one who needs to be reminded. But instead she will take Obama down in search of her own headlines.

~~Absolutely Christy.

Call them. 703-469-2008 and let them know.

That's what I do every day! And forward that number on.

Make a ruckus at her campaign headquarters in VA.

(I think that's the right number. I don't want to go get my phone. I have work to do. yuck!)

Why would I call? So they can profoundly disagree with me and tell me how everything will be ok see, cause hillary really really does have my best intrests at heart. She 'hears' me. She 'feels' my pain...?

Oh, you disagree? Well you must just HATE her! How dare you! Thank you for calling but nothing you say will actually make a difference! By the way, Obama MIGHT BE a muslim! And BLACK!

Why would I call just to have a conversation with nobody about nothing important?

If I wanted to be lied to by a sly prostitute I will go hire one on my own dime to atleast tell me the lies I believe in.

Unless hillary herself is answering that phone, I don't have anything to say to those people except 'SHUT UP AND GO AWAY!'.

I am sick of hillary freaking clinton.

I call and I tell them to go away. I call and ask to speak with their press office. I tell them her actions have caused me to not support her.

I don't care who answers the phone. I follow the lead to different departments and I tell her she has lost my support due to ....

Also, it's no different then when I called the Republican office (in 2006) and said that I would not support the Republicans due to the war and their corruption. And the person told me they had received the same message from others.

The point being that the more people who call her office and tell her she's f*cked up, and as a result has lost a voter and an activist, the more likely it is for THAT person who answers the phone to think about where she is screwing up and why maybe they shouldn't be supporting her either.

I guess I am just tired of trying to 'talk them into' doing the 'right thing'.

Her, republicans, other dems, everyone. I am just literally sickened anymore by the thought of having to explain something they have no excuse to be ignorant of. Most people do not have to be TOLD to do the right thing, they just DO IT.

I am tired of the WILLFUL ignorance. And already it is something I specifically hold against her.

I am tired of talking. Actions speak louder than anything left any of us could say.

I just had coffee with an old friend who is a Hillary supporter, though her husband and two children are strong Obama supporters. She was born in Iran, grew up in London and has lived here for many years. Her husband was born here. His father came from the east coast to work for Boeing and his mother had to sell the house, pack up the eight kids and follow him. I met this woman when both of our boys were babies, and we vowed they would never go to war.

She was a Dean supporter before and so was the whole family. I at that time supported Kerry. I think that she now feels Hillary is a career woman and seasoned politician, that she's worked hard and deserves a chance, ie. I think she identifies with her. This is the type of situation where Hillary benefits with women. Being originally from Iraq (though not Muslim), she also thinks he will encounter so much discrimination by ignorant people who do not understand his origins, that it will hamper him against McCain. Again, I think she is projecting her own life experiences onto him (after 9/11, she would not go out, because she thought people were staring at her, even though she is highly secular and has lived here for decades.)

It was the positive new message and following of young people and chance for change that swung me to Obama. I also was uncomfortable with the fact that Hillary would not back down on not only her support of the IWR, but her moderate vs liberal views on the war, as if to establish her "security" credentials for the general election.

On the way home I saw one political sign in a window - NO IRAQ WAR, KUCINICH FOR PRESIDENT.

The newspaper (New York Times) in the coffee shop talked about how the superdelegates may decide the election and the party is splintered far too long, rather than being able to coalesce against the Bush-like McCain. When I got home, I saw speculation on a blog about who Edwards might endorse. A guest on Chris Matthews thought Clinton, but someone had read an article suggesting Obama (in other words, no one knows.)

I did see that quite a few Edwards delegates in Iowa switched to Obama, and that Clinton is trying to meddle with the Texas caucus results, that Michigan and Florida are still not settled (revotes or whatever), and that Obama may have been making his affairs "transparent" so he can probe at Clinton's secrecy (taxes, library etc.) Then she is wearing green & marching in St. Pat's parades, touting her "experience" in N Ireland, but Obama is actually part Irish. The question is - is he Irish enough (needs to keep the support of the white males, who need to withstand the race/religion race stuff.

Everything is so psychological. & it's all manipulated to try to gain our support. The microdemographic studies, the propoganda channels on tv etc.

I said:

Being originally from Iraq (though not Muslim), she also thinks he will encounter so much discrimination by ignorant people who do not understand his origins,

To be clearer, I will rephrase it as:

My friend is originally from Iran (though not Muslim), and she also thinks Obama will encounter so much discrimination by ignorant people who do not understand his origins (meaning race, religion, background, name.)

Please watch the testimony of the winter soldiers:

http://ivaw.org/index.html

Nothing else really matters right now, IMHO, except honroing what they are trying to do.

Check out Adam Kokesh at 97:20 on Panel #1 Rules of Engagement.

Send it around.

hahaha Matthew. Thanks for the link to Germaine Greer's view of Hillary. That is spot on and very funny.

Holy Crap!

They have found little Charlie Mansons OTHER victims!

http://www.tmz.com/2008/03/16/new-graves-in-manson-case-can-you-dig-it/

Hard thing to do really, disappear a body. They have a funny way of rising from the dead.

Well, in most cases, anyway.

Manson is truly freaking insane. I bet he will find it funny they are still digging up his bodies. Sick freak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAVhKjsImeI&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DksGi7B5BdM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x28jaeyX2s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr3TqLdWMLg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfM6nRVBvGs

Karen, I listened to Adam Kokesh over and over. His no nonsense, good natured account of what he was involved in and what he saw compared with why he was sent there in the first place, were remarkable. He made some simple points that this administration is just too damned stubborn to hear. I thought the medic who spoke after him was excellent too in his statements and claims.

Thanks for watching that woz. We all need to be aware of what remarkable stories were told this past weekend. I am hoping that we can be a part of a buildup towards the truth-telling that needs to happen--and fast.

The plethora of lies that are out there must be blasted away with a blazing light. Nothing short of that will penetrate the deep sleep too many citizens are in.

The Washington Post had an article about the Gathering of Eagles liars who were outside the IVAW hearings and as far as I can tell, that article, which mentioned the IVAW hearings in the 4th paragraph, was the only coverage of the entire event.

It's a searing white heat I feel today.

The Facts, Keith Olbermann and Rabid Hillary Shills

http://mediabloodhound.typepad.com/weblog/2008/03/story-of-the--1.html

A must read!

That is like reading a prolonged and deadly SMACK DOWN.

Nice!

WORLD MARKETS PLUNGE ON BEAR STEARNS, FED NEWS

-new thread- Gross Domestic Product is not the only way to measure happiness, satisfaction, progress, etc.

Kayakbiker's Mpls peace rally photos made the Right Wing News, as "dirty hippie fest"!

http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/03/dirty_hippiefest_2008.php

Lots of slow learners - according to this, McCain could win with broad support of the American people, many of whose questioning of the war seems very shallow. How discouraging.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/17/america/politicus.php
Is this something to be proud of?!!

NMP

Lots of slow learners - according to this, McCain could win with broad support of the American people, many of whose questioning of the war seems very shallow.

I do hope McCain bombs South Korea - the ONLY country in the world the US has the right to bomb legitimately.

F*cking up the US media and politics, just so that it could avoid the fate of South Vietnam, is a VERY COWARDLY ACT OF WAR, and must be responded to. Of course, that secret "FREE TRADE AGREEMENT" is unforgivable.

And the PEOPLE have widely approved of it by voting the fascists back into power. They must be BOMBED.

But given that they are helping the McCain campaign in myriads of ways, he will never do it.

And I don't want to hear that "we've exhausted too much resources in Iraq and Afghanistan" crap.

That's why you must fight wars against real threats, not imagined ones based on lies.

Ally
You must not wish for any living creature to be bombed.

IRAQ -- ONE YEAR LATER, MARKET WHERE McCAIN STROLLED 'FREELY' IS TOO UNSAFE TO VISIT: On April 1, 2007, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) strolled through the open-air Shorja market in Baghdad in an effort to prove that Americans are "not getting the full picture" of what's going on in Iraq. In a press conference after his tour, McCain told reporters that his visit to the market was proof that people could "walk freely" in parts of Baghdad. What McCain failed to mention was that he was accompanied by "100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead." Since that trip, McCain has claimed that the situation in Iraq has improved even more. A few months ago, McCain claimed that "we've succeeded militarily" in Iraq. McCain is now back in Iraq for a "surprise visit with Iraqi and American diplomatic and military leaders." But it is unlikely he will be visiting the Shorja market again. Yesterday, CNN's John King reported that reporters tried to visit the Shorja market, but it was too unsafe and they were unable to go. "[O]ur own security advisers here in Iraq did not want us to go there," said King. "They didn't believe it was safe for an American to be in that area." King also noted that the area is now "controlled by the radical cleric Moqtada al Sadr's Mahdi army."

NMP

I may belong to organizations like CodePink, and oppose wars that fulfill someone's greed at national expense (i.e. Iraq). But when a foreign power attacks the very foundation of American democracy, I won't sit down and just be steamrolled over.

Moon, with the full backing and blessing of the South Korean government, has declared war on American freedoms, and vows to exterminate all LGBTs in the US. That includes you and me.

I'm not surrendering to these bastards without a fight.

I've put up some thoughts on my personal blog:
http://rachelkso.blogspot.com/2008/03/going-to-war.html

Rachel
I understand about the fight but I do not believe in any type of bomb, small or large.

This is from Brave New Films" and a project supported by MoveOn.

Ally
Good writing you did. I don't think John McCain would stand up to South Korea, only possibly North Korea. He is afraid of any sort of Communism not Capitalism. So I think he would be more likely to welcome Reverend Moon into his fold. I would not support John McCain no matter what he did because enough of his program is repugnant Bush stuff that there is about the chance of a snowbell surviving i hell (that I would ever support him or anyone else r/t Bush's party and mentality.)

NMP

I think of this in the following analogy.

You see your father and your husband as scheming together to make your life a living hell. You are so fed up that you contemplate running away with a suitor.

Then you realize that your husband is being influenced by your father and his social network (all because they want a more "acceptable" son-in-law), and happens to be very misinformed. You still love your husband, and you will do everything to get him back to his senses - even at the expense of alienating your father, who is clearly in the wrong.

This is the situation I am in. South Korea is my father. (China is my estranged mother, but that's not in the picture.) The US is my husband. (The suitor could be Canada or another country.) The two both make me miserable - and I don't know who's brainwashing whom, since it seemingly goes both ways, kind of like the Israeli lobby's influence on the US. Then I realize that my husband once was a sweetheart of great ideals and morals, but now corrupted by my father's social circles (Moon). Given this background, if I have to cut my father out, even take out restraining orders against him or have him thrown in jail, to save my marriage and my spouse (and myself), I will.

Ally needs a wife.

That will take the fire out of that could be bombers soul.

In the mean time though Ally. I love you, if it is any comfort.

I don't believe in bombs either, unless we can bomb the crap out of Saudis....?

No? Damn. PLEASE?

C'mon! I'll beg.

Can't we buy her a wife, you know, online?

Ally, do you speak Russian, and can I borrow your credit card?

Christy

I knew you had a thing for the Saudis! :)

As for a wife, I'll wait till my life is sorted out. Thanks for the offer, however.

Cannot use bombs because there are always civilians, including babies. It's immoral.

Bill Keller is tonight's "Worst Person in the World" (according to Obermann)!

We warned them not to hire Kristol. I wrote them letter after letter. And now it's blown up in their faces, with Kristol sourcing a Times column attacking Obama from Newsmax - and, of course, the story being WRONG!

I finally watched a video of Wright. I agreed with most everything he said. Obama is giving a speech on race tomorrow. Political analysts say he must get the white male vote in places like Ohio. If he doesn't, it shows we still have a long long way to go in this country to not be racist. If he or Hillary either one is beaten by McCain, it shows people have attention deficit disorder, cannot connect dots, and especially between the sorry state of the economy and the war. On top of that, McCain admittedly has little knowledge or interest in economics.

Ok. Bombing people is immoral. And I love babies, even Saudi ones. Just as long as I don't have to change their diapers.

Ally, I don't blame you. Marriage sucks, so nevermind.

Someone asked me yet again the otherday, "Are you Michaels wife?'. Normally, that would be an uncomplicated yes or no. But, I never know quite what to say to it.

So, I decided just to tell them the truth. 'No. But, I will do until something else comes along'.

If it is the truth, then it isn't sarcasm. But try explaining that to a redneck with the giggles.

Christy

Saudi babies are just like any other babies - until they are taught the hateful, insular ways of their parents' generation.

Same with Korean babies. And American ones.

NMP

It will indeed be a shame if those "free-market" economic types (neoliberal or otherwise) vote for McCain.

At least they had an excuse for voting for W. W was the first President to have an MBA - though W's economics was still f'd up.

It is really bugging me watching McCain cavorting around Iraq in a bulletproof vest and red baseball cap.

March 16, 2008 3:18 PM

Karen said:
Please watch the testimony of the winter soldiers:

http://ivaw.org/index.html

Nothing else really matters right now, IMHO, except honoring what they are trying to do.

These testimonies through 2 parts of the program are all really important to get out to the world. The first half involves the testimony of 10 people involved in different parts of the military. The second half involves the testimony of 6 returned vets and the appalling lack-of-health-care-treatment given to them.

The vets tell parts of their stories that disturb them greatly every day and every night. Being sent to wage war in someone else's city. In residential neighbourhoods. We hear about the "whoops" factor. "Whoops" wrong house. "Whoops" wrong car. We hear about ordinary young men being given orders to shoot everyone/thing that moves after dark. There would certainly be a lot of "whoops" factors on those nights no doubt.

Then came health care testimony and recruitment promises. First was testimony of the absolutely callous and barbaric treatment of the way this young man's wife was forced to miscarry her baby out in the parking lot of the 2nd hospital she'd tried to receive care from. It appeared that the reason that he joined up - for the promised health care of his wife and soon-to-be-born child - was just the first of the recruitment lies to be exposed to him within his first few months of service. The brutal and callous way that this poor young pregnant woman was abandoned by the system that had wooed her husband away through lies, is criminal.

It also included the testimony of a mother and father of a vet who committed suicide. The atrocious treatment/non-treatment their son received, led to his eventual death. The final two to give testimony were men who were involved in some way with the vets hospitals and health care for vets. Many times I found myself sobbing through these pain-filled stories.

I hope that ALL candidates for President will take the time needed to see and hear these testimonies and all of the others that were given over that weekend. Part 1 is very long and at the time I was glad that I live alone and only had 1 phone call (amazing) during my watching and listening and crying and raging.

Watch them all, we owe these young people that much. And then direct them on to your candidate of choice to address on the campaign trail. For this administration the disappointment has been that so many vets survive physically. There was even a hint during one or two of these testimonies of illegal shifting of funds and bonuses for - who? - ahhh - the lobby groups collecting their millions I guess. This isn't stated outright of course. From start to finish this administration has cost many more than 4000 American lives in Iraq. The lives that come home are very fragmented. The vet often bears no resemblance to the young person who left them.

As the Luceys say of their late son, "He went to Iraq and lost his soul. He came home without his soul."

John Burns of The Times had an interesting appraisal of the Iraq situation in Sunday's paper. Burns has been largely supportive of the war, but pretty much acknowledged that reconciliation is less than likely. The surge may have dampened the violence, but it has not made the respective groups more willing to bury the hatchet. The Shiites want dominance in Iraq, not unalienable rights.

There was, at least from my point of view, some good news coming out of Iraq. A couple of weeks ago, The Times ran a story about how many younger Iraqis are growing disenchanted with their religious / militia leaders – not to mention exhausted by the violence. If you're looking for reasons to hope, this is as good as it gets.

Dinosaurs & Hookers & Dirty Dirty Money (from Gregpalast.com)

"When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis
and its devastating effects on so many innocent homeowners,
George Bush will be seen as the Predator Lenders' Partner in Crime."

- The Sheriff of Wall Street, ON THE VERY DAY HE WAS ARRESTED FOR HIRING AHOOKER!! Yes, the $200 billion bail-out for predator banks and the Spitzer charges are intimately linked by Greg Palast

While New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was paying an 'escort' $4,300 in a hotel room in Washington, just down the road, George Bush's new Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Ben Bernanke, was secretly handing over $200 billion in a tryst with mortgage bank industry speculators.
Both acts were wanton, wicked and lewd. But there's a BIG difference. TheGovernor was using his own checkbook. Bush's man Bernanke was using ours!

This week, Bernanke's Fed, for the first time in its history, loaned a
selected coterie of banks a fifth of a trillion dollars to guarantee these
banks' mortgage-backed junk bonds. The deluge of public loot was an eye-popping windfall to the very banking predators who have brought two million families to the brink of foreclosure. Up until Wednesday, there was one single, lonely politician who stood in the
way of this creepy little assignation at the bankers' bordello: Eliot
Spitzer. 'The Sheriff of Wall Street.' You didn't read in any of the media that Spitzer's lynching and the bankers' enriching might be intimately tied?!

How? Follow the money.... Perhaps becasue they don't have proof, or because they're largely owned by the culprits they should be exposing, the press has swallowed Wall Street's line that millions of US families are about to lose their homes because they bought homes they couldn't afford or took loans too big for their wallets. BUT THAT'S BLAMING THE VICTIMS!!

Here's what happened. Since the Bush regime came to power, a new species of loan became the norm, the 'sub-prime' mortgage and its variants including loans with teeny "introductory" interest rates. From out of nowhere, a company called 'Countrywide' became America's top mortgage lender, accounting for one in five home loans, a large chunk of these 'sub-prime.'

Stripped right down, here's how it worked: The Grinning Family, with US average household income, gets a $200,000 mortgage at 4% for two years. Their $955 monthly payment is 25% of their income. No problem. Their banker promises them a new mortgage, again at the cheap rate, in 2 years. But 2 years later, the promise ain't worth a can of spam and the Grinnings are told to scram - because their house is now worth less than the mortgage. Now, the mortgage hits 9% or $1,609 plus fees to recover the "discount" they had for two years. Suddenly, payments equal 42% to 50% of pre-tax income. The Grinnings move into their Toyota.

Now, what kind of American is 'sub-prime'? Guess. No peeking. Here's a hint: 73% of HIGH INCOME Black and Hispanic borrowers were given sub-prime loans versus 17% of similar-income Whites. Dark-skinned borrowers aren't stupid - they had no choice. They were 'steered' as it's called in the mortgage sharking business. 'Steering,' sub-prime loans with usurious kickers, fake inducements to
over-borrow, called 'fraudulent conveyance' or 'predatory lending' under US law, were almost completely forbidden in the olden days (Clinton Administration and earlier) by federal regulators and state laws as nothing more than fancy loan-sharking. But when the Bush regime took over, Countrywide and its banking brethren were told to party hearty - it was OK now to steer'm, fake'm, charge'm and take'm.

But there was this annoying party-pooper. The Attorney General of New York,Eliot Spitzer, who sued these guys to a fare-thee-well. Or tried to. Instead of regulating the banks that had run amok, Bush's regulators went on the warpath against Spitzer and states attempting to stop predatory practices. Making an unprecedented use of the legal power of "federal pre-emption," Bush-bots ordered the states to NOT enforce their consumer protection laws. Indeed, the feds actually filed a lawsuit to block Spitzer's investigation of ugly racial mortgage steering. Bush's banking buddies were especially steamed that Spitzer hammered bank practices across the nation using New York State laws.

Spitzer not only took on Countrywide, he took on their predatory enablers in the investment banking community. Behind Countrywide was the Mother Shark, its funder and now owner, Bank of America. Others joined the sharkfest: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup's Citibank made mortgage usury their major profit centres. They did this through a bit of financial legerdemain called "securitisation."

What that means is that they took a bunch of junk mortgages, like the
Grinning's, loans about to go down the toilet and re-packaged them into "tranches" of bonds which were stamped "AAA" - top grade - by bond rating agencies. These gold-painted turds were sold as sparkling safe investments to US school district pension funds and town governments in Finland (really). When the housing bubble burst and the paint flaked off, investors were left with the poop and the bankers were left with bonuses. Countrywide's top man, Angelo Mozilo, will 'earn' a $77 million buy-out bonus this year on top
of the $656 million - over half a billion dollars - he pulled in from 1998 through 2007.

But there were rumblings that the party would soon be over. Angry
regulators, burned investors and the weight of millions of homes about to beboarded up were causing the sharks to sink. Countrywide's stock was down50%, and Citigroup was off 38%. Then, on Wednesday of this week, the unthinkable happened. Carlyle Capital went bankrupt. Who? That's Carlyle as in Carlyle Group. James Baker, Senior Counsel. Notable partners, former and past: George Bush, the Bin Laden family and more dictators, potentates, pirates and presidents than you can count.

The Fed had to act. Bernanke opened the vault and dumped $200 billion on the poor little suffering bankers! They got the public treasure - and got to keep the Grinning's house. Quid Pro Quo NOT! There was no 'quid' of a foreclosure moratorium for the 'pro quo' of public bailout. Not one family was saved - but not one banker was left behind! Every mortgage sharking operation shot up in value. Mozilo's Countrywide stock rose 17% in one day. Bank of America saw its stock rise $10 billion in an afternoon.

And that very same day 'The Sheriff of Wall Street' was cuffed. Spitzer was silenced. It was the night of February 13 when Spitzer made the bone-headed choice to order take-out in his Washington Hotel room. He had just finished signing these words for the Washington Post about predatory loans:

"Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye... When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners the Bush administration will not be judged favorably."
Bush, Spitzer said right in the headline, was the "Predator Lenders' Partnerin Crime." The President, he said, was a fugitive from justice. AndSpitzer was in Washington to launch a campaign to take on the Bush regimeand the biggest financial powers on the planet.But now, the Sheriff of Wall Street has fallen on his own gun.

Do you think it's plausible Spitzer was taken down because he went after the predatory lenders, like Palast says?

Remember Wellstone.
He went after the pharmaceutical company and his plane soon iced over.

& it seems like someone is trying to create a Dean Scream for Obama - someone bigger than both Clintons combined. The Rasmussen data on his poll showings is discouraging.

TV can take anyone down in about 3 days.

March 18, 2008 12:14 AM

not my president said:

Do you think it's plausible Spitzer was taken down because he went after the predatory lenders, like Palast says?

Of course. What destroys credibility faster than death? The republicans ought to know the answer to this better than anyone considering the number of times their members have been caught preying on children and others in public toilets. Since prostitution isn't legal in America - here it would be bad, but a legitimate transaction exchange of service for money - in America, a person caught breaking a law, won't be believed about anything.

Spitzer's credibility was shot the minute he was exposed. This is what happens when you let your government control your phones and internet exchanges. Was the prostitute or Spitzer alleged to be a terrorist? Of course it's as Palast says. It stands out like dog's b*lls, as they say.

"The New Asian Hemisphere" written by an Indonesian author and university dean in Singapore. He believes that Western resistance to the continuous rise of Asia will be disastrous.

10:25 into the radio program is the interview.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/stories/2008/2192010.htm

Listen or download to listen later.

By the way. All of America's regular book reviewers have refused to review the book. I intend to read it. How arrogant we in the west have been for the last 200 years. The author believes that "the new Asian hemisphere" will reach from Japan to Israel.

This century can be horrific. Or it can be intelligent. Right now, we have a demonstration of "horrific".

The author asks, "How on earth, can anyone assume that when an army of Christian soldiers march onto Islamic soil to dominate as a superior force, that they'll be welcome? And yet this is how Cheney and Rumsfeld tried to portray it."

America's greatest debt is to Japan, 2nd to China and 3rd to India. Information we all need to consider instead of remaining blind, deaf and dumb to any other power than our own.

New Thread....

Sorry for the wait. I'm completely swamped at work.