Bailing Out In Desperation

Of course, McCain knows a little about baseless accusations and innuendos, given his experience in South Carolina in 2000. And in case he has forgotten what it feels like, he may soon be reminded; for there’s a story abroad on the Internet that says that rather than being a heroic, tortured prisoner of war, McCain was a collaborator who traded information for a comfortable apartment serviced by maids who were really prostitutes.

http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/much-ado/index.html

Say huh?

The more you know, the worse it gets...

Just consider what is going on here. The core credibility of war reporting by Brian Williams and NBC News has been severely undermined by a major NYT expose. That story involves likely illegal behavior by the Pentagon, in which NBC News appears to have been complicit, resulting in the deceitful presentation of highly biased and conflicted individuals as "independent" news analysts. Yet they refuse to tell their viewers about any of this, and refuse to address any of the questions that have been raised.

More amazingly still, when Brian Williams is forced by a virtual mob on his blog yesterday finally to address this issue -- something he really couldn't avoid doing given that, the day before, he found time to analyze seven other NYT articles -- Williams cited McCaffrey and Downing as proof that they did nothing wrong, and insists that his and their credibility simply ought to be beyond reproach because they are good, patriotic men. But those two individuals in particular had all kinds of ties to the Government, the defense industry, and ideological groups which gave them vested interests in vigorous pro-war advocacy -- ties which NBC News knew about and failed to disclose, all while presenting these individuals to their millions of viewers as "independent." Is there anyone who thinks that behavior is anything other than deeply corrupt?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/

Sparrow

Good point about the GDP. It measures production and productivity of the workers - and Americans are as productive as ever.

The problem is that much of the productivity comes because many Americans are either underpaid or laid off, and the gains only fatten the top management.

Thanks Ally. Problem is that most of us already agree!

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House said Wednesday that President Bush has paid a price for the “Mission Accomplished” banner that was flown in triumph five years ago but later became a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes in the long and costly war in Iraq.

Thursday is the fifth anniversary of Bush’s dramatic landing in a Navy jet on an aircraft carrier homebound from the war. The USS Abraham Lincoln had launched thousands of airstrikes on Iraq.

“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended,” Bush said at the time. “The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11, 2001, and still goes on.” The “Mission Accomplished” banner was prominently displayed above him — a move the White House came to regret as the display was mocked and became a source of controversy.

After shifting explanations, the White House eventually said the “Mission Accomplished” phrase referred to the carrier’s crew completing its 10-month mission, not the military completing its mission in Iraq. Bush, in October 2003, disavowed any connection with the “Mission Accomplished” message. He said the White House had nothing to do with the banner; a spokesman later said the ship’s crew asked for the sign and the White House staff had it made by a private vendor.

“President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said ‘mission accomplished’ for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday. “And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year.”

She said what is important now is “how the president would describe the fight today. It’s been a very tough month in Iraq, but we are taking the fight to the enemy.”

At least 49 U.S. troops died in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month since September when 65 U.S. troops died.

Now in its sixth year, the war in Iraq has claimed the lives of at least 4,061 members of the U.S. military. Only the Vietnam War (August 1964 to January 1973), the war in Afghanistan (October 2001 to present) and the Revolutionary War (July 1776 to April 1783) have engaged America longer.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24400896/

Update from Indianapolis...

My business trip here was to take an air conditioning controls class with Johnson Controls - the same company that probably made the seats in your car, among other things.

However, the class was an extremely biased environment, where California's environmentalism and gun control laws were dismissed as left wing lunatic ideas, among MANY other things.

When it came to the point this morning where families of victims commemorating the anniversaries of Virginia Tech massacre and other school shootings were dismissed as liberal pansies, and the Democrats were the source of ALL problems in this country, I decided that I had enough, and left.

The ringleader of this whole thing was the class instructor, visiting from Orange County, California.

There is another 1 1/2 days of business to do before I walk away with a certificate (what I came to Indy for), but I have no interest in a certificate from such a reactionary company. And I have no interest in working in such a reactionary field either.

It's very early morning back in California, but my family business has already been notified of my decision to discontinue the class, and is supportive of my decision. It's been left up to me as to whether I want to return home tomorrow, as scheduled, or today, as I feel like now. When I return home, we will brainstorm ways on how I will continue my education, but in any case, Johnson Controls will never be involved again.

And if you ever want me to install air conditioning controls for your building, rest assured that I will NEVER use or recommend Johnson Controls unless you specify it (as the military often does).

And as for my "colleagues" in this class...

I support the gutting of ALL corporate benefits and, if any, union representation for these bastards. If they love Republicanism so much, they don't deserve healthcare, they don't deserve huge expense accounts, and they certainly don't deserve union representation.

from now on, I am officially ALL for busting the construction industry labor unions.

I'm heading back to California - and its treehugger and gun control nuts - early. I can't stand Indy anymore.

I'm contacting United Airlines right now to re-book my flight home.

Ally,

Good for you. We all need to be doing much more voting with our feet. Have you asked for your money back yet? It is important to hit them in the pocketbook, since that is the only place they will feel any pain.

I am so proud of this little online community. We really have spent a lot of time coming to some consensus about how critically bad the policies of this administration are, and we really have empowered each other to act accordingly.

All support to you, and everyone here, for standing up to lies and taking the time to speak truth to power.

Karen, who is missing Rio

Good decision, Ally

Welcome back, Karen

I'll be heading to Portland on Amtrak for Cinco de Mayo. Portland is sister city with Guadalajara, where I just was, and I want to attend Mariachi Mass, see the Ballet Folklorico, & see the procession of children to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Today in Seattle, at noon hundreds of dockworkers and their families will participate in a rally on the waterfront & this will be happening all up and down the west coast - in protest against the Iraq war.

Also, "thousands" of Hispanics will converge and march downtown, ending up under the Space Needle.

& this is the 5th anniversary of "Mission Accomplished" stunt on the Lincoln, by Bush - I'm right next to where the Lincoln docks when it's not out to sea.

Most countries of the world have Labor Day today - the US has "its own" in September - too socialist or communist to join the rest of the world.

By the way, I was criticized before for speaking out against certain world leaders, even though many all over the world speak out against our leader. It turns out Berlusconi is back in control in Italy and there was a DKos story about his use of a fascist type salute and slogan - & Bush is happy.

Ally and NMP, travel safely!

Hey Ally, remember the idea we kicked around? I read this and was thinking of you. Sad situation, and tax payers should be mad as hell.

http://washingtonindependent.com/view/the-real-hud-scandal

Methodists reject SMU Bush Presidential Library 844-20

This rejection passed on Wednesday morning, 30-April-08, at the quadrennial General Conference of the United Methodist Church that is still meeting in Fort Worth, Texas.

This body is the highest authority of the denomination and cannot be over-ruled by any other body within the denomination.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_mikael___080501_methodists_reject_sm.htm

I wrote: (re our Labor Day being separate from
most of the rest of the world

too socialist or communist to join the rest of the world.

I meant:

too "socialist" or "communist" for us to join
(with sarcasm intended)

Army Ranger Killed in Afghanistan -- On 7th Tour in War Zone

By E&P Staff

Published: May 01, 2008 3:40 PM ET

NEW YORK An Army Ranger from Ramona, Ca., was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday—on his seventh tour of duty in that country or in Iraq.

Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, 30, died Tuesday in Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in a firefight when enemy forces attacked using small arms fires, according to the Pentagon.

His father was also an Army ranger.

McDowell had been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq seven times and was a recipient of two Bronze stars and a Purple Heart. His most recent tour in Afghanistan began on March 29.

He is survived by his wife, his high school sweetheart, Joleen; son, Joshua, 11; daughter, Erin, 3; his parents; and two sisters.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797539

Ally and nmp have a safe journey home and to Portland.

Regarding the labor unions and talking to right-wingers (or people who dissent about unions), I want to share a quick story with you.

Yesterday, I was talking to someone who mentioned how adamantly against unions she was. I asked her why.

So she commented that unions protect lazy workers.

I agreed with her that sometimes the lazy workers were protected, but I also mentioned some of the good things the unions do.

I mentioned how unions helped bring about a minimum wage and improve the life styles of many--so that a middle class even began to exist.

I mentioned how without the unions terrible things happened to employees. I asked her if she had ever read The Jungle and she said no. So I suggested that she read it. (Afterall, it's a fantastic book!)

I mentioned how the unions protect their employees in factories and provided break time and lunch hours and overtime and things we take forgranted.

But I didn't just mention those things, I followed Karen's advice from the Kerry campaign. I told a story (or two).

I told her about 'Bob" a former co-worker of my hubby. Bob use to work for a different employer before he joined my hubby at that other business. Bob was a hard worker, but the factory where he use to work was not unionized. Thus, the equipment they used was not equipped properly with safety buttons and observers to watch for the worker's safety.

So in this factory, the machines were loudly doing their usual, and the people were busily doing their work, and so was Bob. But one day, something different happened. Bob reached into the machine where he was loading whatever he was loading. And it grabbed his arm as he pushed the stuff inside.

Bob screamed for help.

But nobody could hear him over the noise. There was no safety button where Bob could push it and stop the conveyor himself, so it kept sucking up his arm. And there was no safety guard watching out for emergencies like this.

Bob realized he would be sucked into the machine too since he couldn't stop it.

So he PULLED HARD in the opposite direction. The machine kept pulling at him.

Eventually he pulled hard enough that he literally ripped his arm out of the machine.

He literally is amputated from the forearm down. All because an non-unionized factory neglected to keep their employees safe.

At that point, the person who I was talking to admitted that unions do protect workers from negligent employers. But she tried to turn it to the lazy people who are protected by the unions.

So I just spoke to her about not painting everyone with the same brush. Yes, a few bad apples get protection. But in every case, you have both good and bad.

Not all religious people are hypocrites. Not all atheists are 'godless evil or mean'. Not all union members are lazy and not all things unions do are bad.

She agreed with me by time we ended the discussion. I hope she will read The Jungle. I should have recommended The Triangle Fire too. But I hope by telling a personal story about the GOOD that unions do--even if there are some bad things they do--that she will think twice before claiming that unions are evil.

That's my hope. I know they're not 100% good. But I'd rather have the safety protections of the unions, and the increase in wages and the protections, than have no union at all. I think she may agree, now.

Karen, NMP, Christy - thanks for your support.

Christy - I will look at the link when I get home.

Status update: I am in snowy Denver - my friends at United did get me out of that Indy hellhole. I had to boost their bottom line by $280 to do that, however, but I've saved elsewhere by cutting my Indy stay short.

I hated Indy as much as NMP hates Simi Valley and Yuma. Never going back again.

Ally

You are right about Simi Valley and Yuma!!

I like unions. A lot. But how do we compete in a global marketplace where the other countries' workforces are not unionized? What are our labor unions doing to start unions in other countries?

Sometimes our unions these days seem so reactionary instead of progressive.

Sparrow

Re: unions - the reason I said construction trade unions needed busting was, because construction workers just don't get how good they have it because of unions, even if they are nonunion.

The Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wages, which all government contracts require, and which I pay, are based on prevailing union pay scales for fully experienced journeymen. Government contracts also require the same obsession with safety that unions require. And yes, it was the unions that fought for all of this, even for nonunion workers.

Maybe if these construction workers lose all their perks and are reduced to competing with illegal aliens for $10/hr menial labor jobs, then they will get a clue.

Sparrow et al

(1) Yes, I am home now.

(2) More on the subject of unions, I recently had to write a class assignment where I had to argue for what my novel character passionately believed in. (The class is Writing for Social Change, taught at UCLA Extension, with CODEPINK's Gayle Brandeis as instructor. I know, I know, I've mentioned her name a zillion times by now.) I decided that my character, a United Airlines flight attendant, had to be a fervent believer in labor unions - especially hers, Association of Flight Attendants. Writing that piece gave me a renewed appreciation for the work of unions, and got good feedback from people, even those who had negative union experiences. And I was thinking of that piece today as I flew back from Indy.

Karen

Johnson Controls' refund policy/guarantee requires that I withdraw by the midpoint of the class.

I was past the midpoint when I left this morning.

I will make sure Johnson Controls will hear from me regarding the class, anyway. Everything about the class - beyond the pathetic, reactionary political discourse - was unsatisfactory.

Poll: More disapprove of Bush than any other president

WASHINGTON DC (CNN) -- A new poll suggests that President Bush is the most unpopular president in modern American history.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday indicates that 71 percent of the American public disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president.

"No president has ever had a higher disapproval rating in any CNN or Gallup Poll; in fact, this is the first time that any president's disapproval rating has cracked the 70 percent mark," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director.

"Bush's approval rating, which stands at 28 percent in our new poll, remains better than the all-time lows set by Harry Truman and Richard Nixon [22 percent and 24 percent, respectively], but even those two presidents never got a disapproval rating in the 70s," Holland said. "The previous all-time record in CNN or Gallup polling was set by Truman, 67 percent disapproval in January 1952."

While Gallup polling goes back to the 1930s, it wasn't until the Truman years that they began surveying monthly approval ratings.

CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider adds, "He is more unpopular than Richard Nixon was just before he resigned from the presidency in August 1974."

President Nixon's disapproval rating in August 1974 stood at 66 percent

more on...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/01/bush.poll/index.html

p.s. “The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them.” - Albert Einstein

V-I do seem to remember of a union trying to get into one of the factories in China. It's a fuzzy memory.

Also, I have to confess...

My cell phone company doesn't like me when I call them. Because every time I talk to anyone overseas, I tell them the USA minimum wage and I tell them that they should be paid AT LEAST that minimum wage and should unionize.

Frankly, I do that with most overseas 'help lines' that I talk to. Of course only one has said he agrees about unions. He mentioned he's more progressive, blah blah blah... But he also mentioned that he gets good pay (for being there) and he's happy with his job. Most don't say anything though. It throws them for a loop. And also they don't want to get in trouble.

DC Madam Predicted She Would Be Suicided

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Thursday, May 1, 2008

Click here to listen to Palfrey clearly state that she would not commit suicide.

DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey predicted she would be "suicided" on several occasions both recently and as far back as 17 years ago - comments that now appear ominous in light of the announcement that the former head of a Washington escort service allegedly killed herself today.

"If taken into custody, my physical safety and most probably my very life would be jeopardized," she wrote in August 1991 following an attempt to bring her to trial, "Rape, beating, maiming, disfigurement and more than likely murder disguised in the form of just another jailhouse accident or suicide would await me," said Palfrey in a handwritten letter to the judge accusing the San Diego police vice squad of having a vendetta against her.

During several recent appearances on The Alex Jones Show, Palfrey also said that she was at risk of being killed and that authorities would make it look like suicide. She made it clear that she was not suicidal and if she was found dead it would be murder

http://www.infowars.com/?p=1862

Stinks. Real bad.

"Yesterday, we got a tip from fellow blogger Paddy, who writes at Cliff Schecter's blog, that he just watched MSNBC and saw Hillary, during her now infamous gas station photo op, was caught on camera trying to make herself a cup of coffee (cappuccino, we heard), and failing miserably. We alerted a ton of friends, and one was able to find and post the video on YouTube. It's now a thunderous hit. 300,000 views in under 18 hours (it's hard to get over 40,000 views for a SUCCESSFUL political video), the #1 most viewed video on all of YouTube, and the top of Drudge's Web site along with a photo of Hillary, head cocked, unsuccessfully trying to figure out how coffee machines work.

http://www.americablog.com/2008/05/hillary-vs-coffee-maker-is-1-on-youtube.html

Girlfriend, if you can't even figure out a coffee machine, you need to get the hell OUT of the kitchen before you burn something down.

Makes you wonder how often she drinks coffee.

NEW YORK (CBS) ― You may not realize it, but members of the House of Representatives can lease a car and have it paid for by you -- the taxpayer. And it's not just the car, but gas, registration, insurance … the works.

And as CBS 2 HD found out, there's no limit on how much they can spend.

http://wcbstv.com/seenon/car.lease.us.2.713776.html

Hey hillary supporters, you got a problem.

Yall can pretend he does not say what he is saying, but he says it and you can clearly hear it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/02/clinton-adviser-claims-in_n_99810.html

Who you gonna believe, the clintons or your own lying ears?

sparrow

India-based customer support and tech support are the norm these days, when I call for help, especially with computers. Even banks have outsourced their customer service to India (Bank One/GE Credit Services being a prime example). After all, a competent Indian engineer only requires $5,000 - only a fraction of what the pesky demanding Americans require.

Union or not, these people have not only strong accents, but also trouble understanding American idioms, and it's almost like speaking a foreign language when I talk to them.

If you are gonna sell products and services in North America, you better have support in North America. Anything else is unacceptable.

Most PC manufacturers, including reactionary Dell (except for their pricey XPS line) and HP, are guilty. I don't know where Apple Macintosh techs are based, however, but I don't think they are based in India.

I've had a couple of days where the chipmunks on the wheel that keep my pc running rebelled and refused to let me near the DCP.

Looks as though they may have worn themselves out.

Christy,

"Girlfriend, if you can't even figure out a coffee machine, you need to get the hell OUT of the kitchen before you burn something down."

very funny....

I haven't been able to watch any tv news channels once again. I get upset when they start spinning, and I think personally that Obama's former pastor showed that he cared more about his own ego than he did about the welfare of this nation. Really, really sad. I felt so bad when I saw that I almost cried ~ when Obama said "He obviously doesn't know me very well, and I don't know him as well as I thought I did." It probably is a good thing that it happened, though, because now Obama can distance himself from Wright without looking or feeling disloyal to him.

Yes, peeps, I have seen it all and then some. Another black eye on the name "Christian" and yet look how sincere Obama is and how disappointed he was that his former "friend" did what he did. This will give Obama a very good definate and constructive reason to distance himself from him. It must be noted however, that Obama was loyal to him before Wright came out and crossed the line. Guess he didn't know him as well as he thought he did. That's sad for Obama, IMO.

IMO Obama is a good man, a loyal man, who got thrown under the bus for that pastor's fifteen minutes of fame. It will work out for his best, though. Anybody with an ounce of brains will see who the slimey party is.

Ally,

I ALWAYS ask my customer reps on the phone where they are located. The answers I get crack me up. (In Indian accent "Denver, mum."
"Houston, mum.") I used to be a customer rep in the days when they paid U.S. workers to be customer service reps in call centers, and we heard it all. We had scripts we were forced to recite about various situations and problems, and some of the customers used to get so irate they would just scream at anybody who would listen to them. All calls are monitored though so there was no deviating from the script without being docked points toward your performance review.

When our computers were crashed we were ordered to tell people our computers were "updating", even if they had to "update" for 48 hours. One man, after two days, said "What's the matter with your computers?" I said "They are updating, sir." He said "I am a computer tech, and it never takes a computer two days to update. You are a moron." Laughed about that one a long time.

I must think up some interesting questions to ask the next foreign c.s. agent I get on the phone - something relating to an area around where he or she "lives in the U.S."

This is unbelievable.

Here is the original and the youtube clip. Turn your volume all the way up.

He DOES say exactly what youtube transcribed it as.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Informal_Clinton_advisor_badmouthed_Hoosiers_in_0502.html

Everywhere online hillary supporters are saying it is 'doctored' but their proof seems to be nonexistant. Denial is not proof the tape was 'doctored'. And he CLEARLY says it.

God I am so sick of these people.

Depressing...

Watching on HBO, "Hacking Our Democracy" while I'm grading final projects.

Can't decide which is more depressing.

Democracy already hacked, IMO.

We put our house on the market this morning. It looks like it might take a while to sell, which is fine, as we have no set plan for where we want to go next. Meanwhile, we get to live in a very nice house, with a lot less crap in it.

We get to live in it while we watch the Clintonistas embarrass themselves, and us, that is. Many of these folks are our friends, and I do feel badly that they chose their next professional steps in ways that led to the spin room.

I remember these days well, and not fondly: when the arguments ensued about how much JK should go off on the other candidates, robo-calls or not, some recommending the spread of disinformation about the competition (this was turned down, FLAT, I will add), etc.

I want a new President, yes, but I also want a new system -- one that is perhaps not perfect, but honest, that is perhaps not always functional, but that addresses the needs of real citizens, with real problems.

And I want to live in a new neighborhood, one in which I do not have to be ashamed of the people I run into, stifling the urge to grab them by the collars and yell "WTF are you people DOING?????". I want to move to a neighborhood of citizens who read, and think, and who work together for a better world.

It's worse than depressing. I am pretty much on the verge of tuning it all out, cuz it's not just these people I am so sick of as Christy so rightly put it, I'm actually sick of all of it, everything...

Except for righteous music and cool people.

That's my version of bailing out in desparation.

To quote the great and noble Popeye, "I've had all I can stands, and I can't stands no more".

Ah, ka ka kka kaaaaaa.

Depressed?

Ok. So we need a HAPPY BLOG.

So we should all purchase an island together. We can have music, great food, and honesty there. Some fun and games would probably go well too.

All I know is that if the system has always been like that, then, maybe it speaks to the quality of humanity and maybe it really does indicate that I need a effin island!

Karen

I just want a country where I don't have to deal with the idiots/moron that I had dealt with back in Indianapolis. And certainly no more of those "IN GOD WE TRUST" plates that use taxpayer money to fund Christian hatemongers.

Sparrow

Count me in.

TSP

I hate call centers - I was forced to work in a few when I lived in Tucson (the slave-wage call center capital of America) for the lack of better career options. I know what you're talking about.

I only lasted 3 weeks at close to minimum wage.

Karen

I sent a letter to Johnson Controls re: my experience in Indy this week, and told them that perhaps they should consider having their products provide heating/cooling comfort only to white, Christian, gun-toting Republican men. Meanwhile I will serve the rest of the population with a competitor's products.

Karen
Congrats on getting ready to sell the house!!

Excited to be counting down last couple of hrs at work & going to Portland on Amtrak tomorrow for Cinco de Mayo. They are sister city with Guadalajara.

I'll be meeting up with Robin, who originally came onto the Kerry blog after giving Dean a donation and wanting a refund! That was five years ago!!

Amazing NY Times blog about Hillary. Read it for yourself. My post is somewhere near the middle.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/clinton-presses-on-gas-tax-holiday/#comments

Here's a sample of the response's to Hillary's rhetoric on the Gas Tax:

1:25 pm “They are with us or against us.”

My goodness, Hillary is not running for a 3rd Clinton term, she is running for a third Bush term!!

— Posted by Hanna

After the meeting ended, I remember walking out of the Pentagon shaking my head and wondering how in the world Rumsfeld could have expected me to believe him. Everybody knew that CENTCOM had issued orders to drawdown the forces. The Department of Defense had printed public affairs guidance for how the military should answer press queries about the redeployment. There were victory parades being planned. And in mid-May 2003, Rumsfeld himself had sent out some of his famous "snowflake" memorandums to Gen. Franks asking how the general was going to redeploy all the forces in Kuwait. The Secretary knew. Everybody knew.

So what was Rumsfeld doing? Nineteen months earlier, in September 2004, when it was clearly established in the Fay-Jones report that CJTF-7 was never adequately manned, he called me in from Europe and claimed ignorance, "I didn't know about it," he said. "How could this happen? Why didn't you tell somebody about it?"

Now, he had done exactly the same thing, only this time he had prepared a written memorandum documenting his denials. So it was clearly a pattern on the Secretary's part, and now I recognized it. Bring in the top-level leaders. Profess total ignorance. Ask why he had not been informed. Try to establish that others were screwing things up. Have witnesses in the room to verify his denials. Put it in writing. In essence, Rumsfeld was covering his rear. He was setting up his chain of denials should his actions ever be questioned. And worse yet, in my mind, he was attempting to level all the blame on his generals.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1736831,00.html

War.

Crime.

HBO's film begins airing May 25, and while we hate to give away the ending, Al Gore won [PDF].

Of course, that's only if one bothers to count all of the ballots actually successfully cast (if not counted) in the state of Florida, as a media and academic consortium did, as seen at the link above, revealing that by every possible chad-counting standard (hanging, pregnant, swinging, etc.) Al Gore received more votes than George W. Bush. Period.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5940

http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/5/3/9241/48173/

also on DCP front page:

Why We're Leaving

God bless you Karen. A lot of us wish we could migrate with you.

Don Cazayoux took the 6th district in Louisiana!

Very. Big. Freaking. Deal.

The republicans strongholds are collapsing.

Frank Rich had an important column today:

The All-White Elephant in the Room
By FRANK RICH

"BORED by those endless replays of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? If so, go directly to YouTube, search for “John Hagee Roman Church Hitler,” and be recharged by a fresh jolt of clerical jive."

"What you’ll find is a white televangelist, the Rev. John Hagee, lecturing in front of an enormous diorama. Wielding a pointer, he pokes at the image of a woman with Pamela Anderson-sized breasts, her hand raising a golden chalice. The woman is “the Great Whore,” Mr. Hagee explains, and she is drinking “the blood of the Jewish people.” That’s because the Great Whore represents “the Roman Church,” which, in his view, has thirsted for Jewish blood throughout history, from the Crusades to the Holocaust."

"Mr. Hagee is not a fringe kook but the pastor of a Texas megachurch. On Feb. 27, he stood with John McCain and endorsed him over the religious conservatives’ favorite, Mike Huckabee, who was then still in the race."

"Are we really to believe that neither Mr. McCain nor his camp knew anything then about Mr. Hagee’s views? This particular YouTube video — far from the only one — was posted on Jan. 1, nearly two months before the Hagee-McCain press conference. Mr. Hagee appears on multiple religious networks, including twice daily on the largest, Trinity Broadcasting, which reaches 75 million homes. Any 12-year-old with a laptop could have vetted this preacher in 30 seconds, tops."

"Since then, Mr. McCain has been shocked to learn that his clerical ally has made many other outrageous statements. Mr. Hagee, it’s true, did not blame the American government for concocting AIDS. But he did say that God created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its sins, particularly a scheduled “homosexual parade there on the Monday that Katrina came.”

"Mr. Hagee didn’t make that claim in obscure circumstances, either. He broadcast it on one of America’s most widely heard radio programs, “Fresh Air” on NPR, back in September 2006. He reaffirmed it in a radio interview less than two weeks ago. Only after a reporter asked Mr. McCain about this Katrina homily on April 24 did the candidate brand it as “nonsense” and the preacher retract it."

- more -

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04rich.html

Here's my response on The Times' blog (assuming they print it!):

Frank, thanks for finally putting this all on the record.

As an ex-Catholic, graduate of a Jesuit university, and current student of The Reformation, I can understand the anti-Catholicism of the 16th century. I really can. And given this Pope's heavy hand while he was still a Cardinal, and the role that his rhetoric's played in encouraging American clergy to interject themselves into the 2004 Presidential campaign - an election where the Catholic candidate actually lost the Catholic vote, to a President advocating that America “do unto to others before they do on to you”, a stance that is more in sympathy with the spirit of Cato the Elder than Jesus Christ - I can appreciate why many Americans on the left would be furious at the Vatican.

But the kind of anti-Catholicism that Hagee is spewing in the 21st Century is truly beyond the pale. A lot of horrible things were said in the early modern period, on both sides of the religious barricades – and a lot of horrible things done. That Catholic Church, and the cultural and political climate that created it, no longer exists – thanks IMHO, in no small measure, to a couple of miracles in Philadelphia. Given the thrust of those miracles, that any 21st century American politician would seek to curry Hagee’s favor, rather than summarily denounce him, is shocking – and in my opinion paints that candidate as a panderer of the lowest sort. That McCain, of all people, given his previous denunciations of Robertson and Falwell, actively courted Hagee’s support suggests that this man, like Hillary Clinton in a different way, wants to be President a bit too much. The people may be sovereign, but the people are not always right. When they’re wrong, as they have been so many times in American history, they need to be challenged to find a better way by alleged “straight-talkers” like McCain, not pandered to in the hope of gaining their political support.

The Framers didn’t believe that a man should actively campaign for public office. We consider them hopelessly naïve today; but maybe they understood a bit more about the sin of ambition than we give them credit for. What we’re seeing in this election are at least two candidates who IMHO would literally say or do anything to become President. And their candidacies raise two essential questions: One, is it ever wise for America to elect a candidate who so lusted after political office that they would say or do anything to attain it? Two, when does a so-called “fighter”, be their fight in the name of retaining honor in a futile war, or in the service of an insatiable political ambition, become little more than a destroyer?

new thread!

Ally,

I worked at that call center because it paid well above the norm, but it was very stressful. We not only were monitored for accuracy and attitude, but were timed on our calls - a good time was three minutes a call.

Now when I get a Cust Service rep in India or somewhere else overseas, I can hardly ever get my business done in less than a half an hour with them. (Who cares about the consumer, REALLY?!?) It's all about the bottom line$.

I am saddened because when you see Karen and Richard go, you know things are very serious. You two are fighters, that's for sure, but there comes a time when you need to know how to fold 'em. Wish I could migrate too.

I am really sad today because I saw Obama on Tim Russert's "Meet the Press" today. Obama handled himself very well, he is our Rocky Balboa. He remained calm, collected, articulate, and believable. What made me sad was Tim Russert putting him on the defensive the entire time - when six months ago the media was acting like Obama was the "Teflon Darling".
Made me sick to my stomach.

I feel every ounce of hope I had for us to win this trying to ooze from me, but somehow, ever the eternal optimist, I still think Obama can and will win the nomination. The media is making it hard for him, and it reminds me so much of what happened to JK in '04.

I smell a Rovian Rat.

Matthew,

Rev. Hagee has "his" personal interpretation of certain biblical scriptures, along with at least a million other preachers who have their own personal interpretations of certain scriptures that don't agree with Hagee's interpretation as well. The trouble is, as all of us know, that Hagee's theory feeds the MIC's excuse for war. Most preachers won't touch those particular scriptures with a ten foot pole because they are so hard to interpret.

Your letter to Mr. Rich was astute, as usual.

I saw Obama restate his commitment to his "congregation", and to Jesus Christ today on Meet the Press, although he did have to draw a harsher line with his former pastor and disassociate himself with him. He looked so saddened by the debacle.

Matthew, I have so often admired the words you have written in your articles about the need for ego to be squelched in order to make way for real growth in a person's character. In this electoral season, IMO, sans Obama, I have seen nothing but atrocious egos flouncing their way across America's stage. From ducking under false sniper fire to having fits on the stump, to displaying duel personalities (IMO, McCain) according to which way the political winds are blowing. These are MY opinions, and not those of the DCP's. A close friend told me ten years ago that he thought Hillary was prostituting herself for power. When I spoke with him a few months ago he said "She still is."

These are indeed perilous times. And there is only one of the three candidates I trust to lead the U.S. at this time. Barack Obama. I hope people are wisened by his former pastor's faux paux, and realize that the two are two very separate identities with two very different agendas.

My close girlfriend here, who I thought for the longest time was a Republican, turned out to be an Indy, and so is her husband. We have each left the local circus congregation of Pharisees. She said of the Reverend Wright's faux paux: "He doesn't do much for the Cause, does he?" And I said "he doesn't do much for Obama's cause and I happen to believe Obama is authentic and real. No, he certainly doesn't." After I hung up I realized she meant Rev. Wright has certainly not helped the Cause of truth, love, helping thy neighbor, etc. either, ~ EVERYTHING that Obama stands for. (And Obama has a FIRM WALL BETWEEN RELIGION AND STATE.)

O.K. so we have all seen wolves in sheep's clothing. Me so much so that I see religion used to cover up so very many of man's deeply fatal flaws, and am repulsed by it. I am not throwing out the baby with the bathwater, however. I am just trying to stay away from those kinds of bathtubs. It gets old, but it is as old as time immortal.

Karen and Richard, there will be a time of grieving as your lives morph into something going in a slightly different direction, but believe me we are all mourning with you...What America was, and what it could have been....is something that many in my family and circle of friends are already mourning. You will always be leaders, but you have to do what is in your best interest in the long run. You are TAKING ACTION rather than reacting. You know what is best for your family. And, I admire you for wanting and getting out of a system that is a SHAM.

A few years ago I had to take action in my best interest. It gets old to feel like one has to explain or defend one's decisions. We no longer have to: the writing is on the wall.

My sadness is that it has come to this, and that the scent of the RRat is back this election season.

In spite of it all, I still hold on to the highest hopes that Obama will be our next U.S. President.